duckmeat13

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My Dream Teams for Jessie and James (not including pokemon they've already had)

You can probably tell which one's which lol. I also wanna draw them with these teams at some point but team drawings take fking forever haha

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You wouldn’t think that flamingoes are extremophiles just from looking at them. It’s like somebody tried to build the vertebrate equivalent of that fungus that lives inside nuclear reactors, and ended up with a gangly pink dinosaur with a spoon for a face.

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I like to think that Arbok's hood patterns are influenced by their environment. When they evolve, they can take on the markings of their parent, or maybe they take after the trainer who raised them (who may or may not have an intimidating look to them)

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(1) The Heist, 1996; (2) Asia’s Room, 1996; (3) Anita & Sunny, 1998; (4) Before the Gig, 1997; (5) Cary Okie & Gee, 1997; (6) Bearded Lady’s Truck Stop Cafe, 1997; (7) Corner Store 14th & Guerrero St., 1996; (8) Beer Club with Malia, 1999 from Chloe Sherman’s Renegades: San Francisco: The 1990s

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hercules

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This is all I care about now

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Just realized I should probably give some credit to the art I’m using for my profile and banner, they’re from two recent comics I’ve read that imo are dreadfully underrated.

First, my profile picture - it’s the variant cover of Martian Manhunter (2019) (alternatively called Martian Manhunter: Identity), written by Steve Orlando with pencils by Riley Rossmo. This particular variant is drawn by Joshua Middleton. This series takes a really complex dive into one of the Justice League’s most mysterious characters with some incredible art and a high-concept sci-fi take on the Martians that I feel is really immersive and great take on what a Martian society could actually look like. The mystery Jonn Jonzz and his human partner have to solve also has some great layers to it and really plays with our expectations on who he actually is.

Easy recommendation if you’re a fan of Tom King’s Mister Miracle or Supergirl runs (also incredibly good!!!!)

Second, my banner is a two page spread from chapter 1 of a manga I picked up for its art style alone, then got sucked into the rest of it. It’s name is GACHIAKUTA, and it’s written and drawn by Kei Urana, with additional graffiti art by Ando Hideyoshi. It’s also published by Weekly Shonen Magazine, kind of the more mature, bigger brother to Shonen Jump. I’d call this manga pure, unadulterated eye candy, but that would discount the sheer power behind all of its art. Like, holy shit. This is easily one of my favorite looking manga in an extremely long time. The story (or at least as far as I was through it) follows a young boy sent into an underground, garbage dump hellscape full of other people who were rejected by the society on the surface. Almost all of the main characters have the ability to turn their most prized possession, whether that’s an umbrella, pair of scissors, or garden hose, into a deadly weapon called a ‘Jinki’. This makes for some incredibly creative fights involving clashes between people’s unconventional weapons and abilities, compounded with the street punk aesthetic of the comic’s world gives it this unmistakable identity.

At the moment, it’s only available online if you want to read it in English, but the translators are incredibly dedicated and really appreciate this work for what it is. It’s also getting an official English release on January 16, 2024, which I’m buying faster than you can blink.

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Wanted to take some time out of my day to gush over this one particular page of Chainsaw Man Chapter 137 (the most recent release as of this post) because of how genius it’s paneling and use of the comics medium is:

It’s very easy to think of comics as a combination of pictures with text bubbles/balloons/captions, but this takes it to a level I’ve rarely seen. Thought and speech bubbles are probably some of the most iconic elements of comic art beyond the single panel itself, but Fujimoto manages to COMBINE these two elements of comic design to create a sense of visual storytelling that only comics can.

To break it down, we see actions that the reader would normally assume to be reality itself, Denji’s thoughts and actions in real time. The pages prior to this one don’t imply anything other than the very real actions of the story are happening within the pages of the comic…

…despite this being the exact opposite of what is happening, as shown when we expand our view outwards to the next “panel” of sorts, or at least the next action being shown. If these were shown side by side in square panels, we’d assume that they happened one after another - Denji tries to rebut the mystery girl’s advances only to act purely on instinct in the next panel. Not very compelling for a character we’ve seen grow and change over the entirety of Chainsaw Man’s first major arc.

However, the use of the thought bubble AS A PANEL ITSELF transforms this into something that much greater. Denji has actions he’d like to do. He wants to have self-respect. He wants to be able to reject the advances of a women who clearly doesn’t have the best in mind for him (which is confirmed to an extent at the conclusion of the chapter). However, how Denji THINKS he should act is different from how he ACTUALLY ACTS. Despite seemingly knowing better, Denji goes ahead and takes the mystery girl’s bet. He knows he’s falling into old habits but for one reason or another choose not to. And THAT is what I find so genius about this single page.

Denji as a character has transformed from Chapter 1 in a very realistic way. He’s more aware of his needs as a human being and wants a better future for himself and his loved ones. However, his mind hasn’t really caught up with his body. Despite the danger it poses, he still WANTS to be Chainsaw Man. He wants to be idolized and worshiped and have women hanging off of his shoulders because he’s a goddamn superhero who eats other Devils for breakfast and looks cool as hell while doing it. As a result, his body hasn’t caught up with his mind - despite the events of Part 1 deeply changing Denji’s life from a physical and emotional perspective (now being the breadwinner of an apartment with a bunch of dogs, as well as a cat and a college-bound Nayuta), he’s still trying to do what he’s always done - kill Devils and try to live a fulfilling life.

As a result, what Denji recognizes as his wants and needs are separated from what he actually does, which this single pair of contrasting images communicates gracefully.

Denji knows he should stand up for himself more. That he shouldn’t be so easily convinced by a pretty face. But his thoughts and feelings are directly contrasted by what he actually does… and it’s not even clear why he does it! And yet, this message couldn’t be better communicated through the medium of sequential, visual art. Mic drop.

TL;DR The above page from Chainsaw Man Part 2 manages to completely explain Denji’s struggles as a character by nesting speech bubbles describing what he thinks he does within a thought bubble, that then shows what he actually does. It pulls off illustrating Denji’s contrasting character elements as well as subverting audience expectations about him in an intelligent and artistic way. Speech bubbles without speech might be the best thing since sliced bread.

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Hi there! I’m a fledgling writer and comics obsessed weirdo hoping to make my own big break some day!

In the meantime, I’ll be posting my own reviews and analyses on the books I’m currently reading, hoping to get some interaction on that front since I’m absolutely starved for conversation with likeminded folks, below are a few comics to get to know me and me interests well! Happy tumblr-ing!