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X-Women costume updates and redesign commissions by Joshua Swaby (2023-2024)

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bitches be like:

and then 5 seconds later they're like:

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I want to get into Zatanna comics but I’m not sure where to start. What series do you recommend?

Hello! Don't worry, I can give you a short starting guide + some recommendations on this post so you can read without having to dive fully into thousands of issues (unless you want a detailed guide of more appearances).

The usual go to for any beginner is Zatanna (2010) by Paul Dini. It's her longest solo comic (16 issues) and it fits as a stand alone.

If you are interested, I'm currently working in a masterlist reading guide of her appearances. Zatanna is a very old character, so a lot of her appearances are scattered as cameo and team books, so often finding what to read is hard. If you want to get a little further into her character, these options I'm about to mention are good as well. More under the cut because this is a long post.

- Secret Origins (1988) (volume 2) #27

Offers a summary about of Zatanna's origin in the DC universe. A bit old, so the scans can be blurry, but still a nice read.

- Zatanna Special (1987) by Gerry Conway & Gray Morrow

Zatanna gets contacted by the ghost of her mother Sindella, which leads her to travel to secret city of the Homo Magi with her manager. A lot of details about her background are revealed her, it's one of my favourite comics for her.

Zatanna: Come Together (1993) by Lee Mars & Esteban Maroto

Four issue mini in which Zatanna tries to get a fresh new start in San Francisco, temporally retiring from her superhero career. Unfortunately, she doesn't expect to find her stay disrupted by a supernatural threat infesting the city. Still one of my favourite comics of her and the art is amazing too. It also explores her background from her mother's side of the family, which is always good and underrated.

Zatanna: Everyday Magic (2003) by Paul Dini & Rick Mays (one shot)

We see Zatanna in her best moment as a famous stage magician in a long tour. She seems to be doing great, but she still fights to have an ordinary personal life. Things get complicated when her former partner, John Constantine, shows up on her life once again.

This is a fun story! It's Zatanna only Vertigo solo book. There are some poorly aged jokes and the art is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a fun light hearted read for everyone.

Zatanna: Seven Soldiers (2007) by Grant Morrison & Ryan Sook

Zatanna attends a superhero support group. Her powers are weak and she finds herself in a low spot in her life, but the arrival of a mysterious girl pushes her to go on a tripe to find her father's missing journals.

This mini series is part of a bigger event written by Morrison called Seven Soldiers of Victory, but it can be read as a stand alone. If you want further context, I recommend reading the event, though.

I really like this comic, though. I wish we got to see more of Zatanna's mentorship role.

Black Canary & Zatanna: Bloodspell (2015) by Paul Dini & Joe Quinones.

A fun team up comic! It's an original graphic novel. I love Zee and Dinah's friendship.

Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace (2020) #15

A fun team up issue with Diana and Zee spending quality time together.

Justice League Dark (2011) (New52) & Justice League Dark (2018) (Rebirth)

Now, to clarify. I don't necessarily recommend the Justice League Dark books, but I'm incluiding them since most of Zee post new 52 appearances are in these two books which are...a mixed bag. Justice League Dark (new 52) wasn't of my liking with the exception of the last third of the whole book (Dematteis did a good job, probably the best out of the three writers heading the book). Earlier writers didn't know how to handle Zatanna, her personality is very watered down just as well as her abilities, and she isn't really given spotlight, leadership and full potential of her abilities until Dematteis takes the pen. I also don't enjoy how off was the characterisation of other characters of the book and the overall writing quality and pace, but that's a story for another post.

Justice League Dark (Rebirth) is a step up in quality from New52, but unfortunately it continues with the weird personality shift in Zatanna's personality and the a lackuster character design. As much as I love Diana, who is part of this team line up, I think Zatanna should have been given the leader role and the spotlight. Out of this book, I sincerely enjoyed Ram V's stage on the later half on this run, who deserved to stay longer on this title.

That said, you can take a look on these titles, but you know, at least you know what to expect.

Bonus: Graphic novels, webtoons and stand alone stories

DC's new talent showcase (2018)

Truth and Justice (2020) #7 - 9

Zatannna & the Ripper (Available for Free in Webtoon, still ongoing)

Zatannna & House of Secrets (Kids graphic novel)

Batman: Urban Legends (#11-16)

Johnny Constantine & Mystery of the Meanest Teacher (she's a co protagonist here)

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Polaris's reading guide

art by Russell Dauterman

@ffverr

non-exhaustive list (and may be updated from time to time)

★ X-Men vol 1 #49-#52

Her introduction

★ X-Men #60-#61, #65-#66

Lorna joins the X-Men

★ Giant-Size X-Men #1

Lorna throws Krakoa into space

★ Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #145-#146

Lorna teams up with Alex, Bobby and Banshee to defeat Miss Locke and free hostages in Murderworld

She also works on her doctorate

★ X-Men vol 2 #15-#16

X-Cutioner's Song (she appears in almost every issue but I thought she only really had a presence in these two issues)

★ X-Factor vol 1 #87

Therapy session with Doc Samson

★ X-Factor vol 1 #92-#105

Dematteis's run (the only one where havolaris seems healthy (my opinion), Lorna has her own storylines (without Alex), she develops as a mutant activist, she builds relationships with Forge, Random, Rahne and Madrox, she is once again confronted by Malice but this time she's allowed to kick her ass, she has some cool feats and I love Duursema's art SO MUCH)

★ Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #379-#380

★ X-Men vol 2 #99

★ X-Men Black Sun #3

Genosha

★ X-Men The End vol 3 #2

Lorna and Magneto fix a wormhole (au)

★ New X-Men vol 1 #132

Lorna is rescued in the ruins of Genosha and we learn that Magneto truly is her father

★ Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #418-#419, #421-#422, #424-#426, #429-#431, #433-#434, #437, #441-#443

★ X-Men vol 2 #157-#161, #163-#164

Austen's run (Lorna returns to the mansion, Havolaris's failed wedding, psychic therapy with Xavier where she deals with her trauma from the genocide and the Magneto's daughter retcon is explained, philosophical debate with Xavier in Genosha's ruins, Lorna asserts herself as a mutant activist)

★ House of M #5-#7

★ Civil War House of M #1-#5

House of M

★ Exiles vol 1 #1-#6

AU Lorna joins a new Exiles team with AU Wanda

★ War of Kings #1-#6

★ War of Kings Ascension #4

★ War of Kings Who Will Rule

War of Kings (and Lorna plays the game of thrones)

★ X-Men Legacy vol 1 #254-#258

She finally returns from space limbo and is reunited for the first time with Magneto as father and daughter

★ X-Factor #230, #233-#234, #237-#238, #241, #243-#245, #248-#256, #260

Back to X-Factor (her origin story is finally told, road trip with Siryn and Rahne, confrontation with Pietro, Siryn sacrifices herself for Lorna)

★ All-New X-Factor #1-#20

Lorna leads X-Factor, Pietro, Gambit, Doug, Warlock and Danger are on the team, the team dynamic is amazing, Lorna and Pietro's relationship really stands out, girls day out with Wanda and Danger

★ Astonishing X-Men #62

Bobby and his exes in a bar

'nuff said

★ Magneto vol 3 #18-#21

Lorna and Magneto's relationship, it's complicated

★ House of M vol 2 #1-#4

The House of M in Battleworld

★ Deadpool & the Mercs for Money #7-#8

AU Lorna is one of the last survivors during the war against the Inhumans

★ X-Men Blue #10, #15, #27

I'm not a big fan of Lorna's characterization in Blue but Bunn continued to develop her relationship with Magneto and there are some good father/daughter moments

★ Uncanny X-Men #1-#6, #8-#10

Disassembled

★ Age of X-Man Prisoner X #1-#5

★ Age of X-Man Omega

Age of X-Man

★ House of X #5

★ X-Men vol 6 #1

Lorna has skeptical views on Krakoa's viability

★ X of Swords Creation

Lorna shines a lot in this issue

★ X-Men vol 7 #1-#3, #5, #8, #10-#12, #24, #32

Lorna joins Krakoa's first X-Men team

She also mourns Magneto and joins the fight in Fall of X

★ Devil's Reign X-Men #1

The mini is focused on Emma but Lorna has a few good moments in the first issue

★ Marauders vol 2 #11-#12

Lorna helps Kitty on Genosha

★ Fall of the House of X #1-#2, #5

Lorna joins the fight (and teams up with Magneto against Nimrod)

★ Captain Marvel #43-#49

Lorna joins a strike team assembled by Carol to rescue Rogue and Binary and fight the Brood

★ Scarlet Witch vol 3 #3

team up with Wanda

★ Scarlet Witch vol 4 #2-#4

team up with Wanda and Pietro

Have a great time reading Lorna's adventures !

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Psylocke (2024) #1 variant cover by Tran Nguyen

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mercy is my name. but it is not my way.

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WIP - Yakuza Fiance or should I said Yakuza husband?

Just watching the anime, don’t bring manga spoilers, I shall get into it later. Thank you 🤭

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Chat.. I’m obsessed 😩💗💗 you don’t understand.

Asuka Konishi’s artwork inspired me a lot. The fashion, the concepts, ughh I can’t, I need to improve my art.

The mental gymnastics I had drawing these two was very funny since they look a lot like ❄️🍡.

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Kirishima and Other Women

Among the criticism and complaints of Raise Wa Tanin Ga Ii aka Yakuza Fiance the most common is about how Kirishima "cheats" but what if I were to tell you this aspect of him actually serves an important point within the narrative? Because it does, in fact it serves a few.

First and foremost this is common in the Yakuza subculture. The series is a bit of a send off to Yakuza subculture and media with references that tend to go over your head unless you are into it (most go over mine). This is no different. While this isn't as narratively important it is important to know overall, the series embraces all things Yakuza the good and the bad (unlike some other Yakuza series but that not a rant for here) And like it's implied pretty much all the guys in the series to it to some degree yes even Shoma. I only have some knowledge of this myself so I won't get into it but I would recommend looking into cause it is interesting and makes sense for the series to incorporate on some level due to this and it would feel wrong to not mention it here.

Now lets go onto to something more meaty and kinda spoilery, so don't read if you dont want. (though I don't think it will ruin your enjoyment)

So these other women actually help to better understand Kirishima and his relationship/feelings towards Yoshino. One detail the anime leaves out is who these women are and they are women. All college age or older, and all some kind of working professional who has skills or connections Kirishima does not have. Remember Kirishima is not technically Yakuza so he does not have access to resources that actual members of the group have but because he is involved with that world still he has to find a way to make up for what he resources he lacks. The safest resource he has found over the years is women.

Just like how Yoshino unintentionally raises the ire of women, Kirishima does the same to men both intentionally and unintentionally. He has difficulty connecting with people which is a topic in and of itself, but because of this he has learnt how to gain connections on a superficial level so he only does so with those he can feel some control over or feels safer. AKA Women. Kirishima knows he's attractive, and he knows how easy it is to charm people but those he had an ongoing connection with are those who understand it's a game and want something back.

It's all quid prop quo, he does something for them and so they in turn do something for him. FYI I'm pretty sure what he's getting out of it isn't psychical pleasure, information, connections and a safe house for sure but actual enjoyment from sex? Not likely again the anime doesn't show it very well but many manga readers have noted how disconnected Kirishima looks during these moments. (Which I will fully get to later) It's an exchange when Yoshino calls him a gigolo she's not wrong, and there is a greater discussion to be had here about how early Kirishima started doing this and all the messy stuff that comes with it but because we don't have enough information on how that started I won't get into it. (and its a little off topic)

Overall all though this shows the audience that Kirishima has a kind of warped view of sex and intimacy, he views it as a resource he can use much like his fighting ability, to him it's the same thing. At least at the start.

When Tsubaki tells Kirishima that he is actually very easy to understand when she has Yoshino there to compare, I believe this was a hint the author was giving us. To understand Kirishima and how he really feels about Yoshino one just need to look at how he is with other women.

It is INCREDIBLY telling that the closest thing Kirishima has to an ex-girlfriend is Nao, because notice how that term is never used within the story by the pair as to what their relationship was. Nao calls Ozu an ex but not Kirishima, he's just a guy she had a fling with (with a weird age gap) even though she seems to care more about him than Ozu (another deep dive I'll probably do). Kirishima also never uses the term, he does note that he did like her to some degree more than likely a little more than the other women he has similar situationships with but it was still at its core transactional. They both wanted what the other could offer more than them as a person. (also just fucking for weeks isn't a relationship) Kirishima always keeps everyone at a distance, keeps everything close to the vest, makes sure the situation is advantageous to him so he can't get screwed over, every single one. Except Yoshino.

You see it constantly in the series as Kirishima WANTS to connect with Yoshino. He wants to better understand and connect with her in ways he has never bothered to before. In fact you can argue that Kirishima is actually more emotionally unintelligent than Yoshino as he has such difficulty in understanding what Yoshino wants from him. He's so use to being fake, to acting the way women around him want him to that it throws him through a loop that Yoshino doesn't want that. She forces him to be a person not a persona.

Because of that, like Tsubaki says, he is desperate to understand and connect with her unlike with the women who he is connected to in a superficial way. I know it weirdly upsets some viewers that these women "Know" Kirishima in a way Yoshino hasn't but they don't actually know him Yoshino does. People often conflate love and sex as being the same thing but its not, sometimes it overlaps (and like that should be the standard but its not). This series sort of forces you to confront that assumption, because the real moments of love are in the smaller things.

It's Kirishima helping Yoshino with her garden, its him trying to get her focus on him, its him talking to her about mundane things, its him seeking out the things she wants, its him telling her his birthday, and yes it's him sleeping with other women to keep her safe. A LOT of people don't realize this but it is right there in the text he only reconnected with Nao because it would make the situation in Osaka more advantageous for him to keep Yoshino safe. There is a very good likelihood that if the situation would 100% not get Yoshino involved that Kirishima would have just stayed out of it. (which like damn sucks for you Nao) In actuality Kirishima likely would have preferred just a normal trip to Osaka with Yoshino (even though the chaos does help him confirm his own feelings again) Kirishima wants so desperately to be connected to Yoshino in anyway he can but you don't see that in how he is with other women, and it's in seeing that you can see his authenticity.

For further reference to something I noted earlier look at how Kirishima looks in these scenes with women both during and after sex.

There's little to no actual emotion or care, he operates almost robotically like you see when he fights someone he doesn't really give a shit about. It is something he's doing cause he has to not cause he wants to. Now compare these reactions to how he reacts when he finds out he accidentally/unconsciously felt Yoshino up

It's this flurry of emotions you can't even fully quantify like he can't even fathom he really did that. Kind of a strange reaction to give to someone who has done way more for way longer, but it makes perfect sense if you remember love and sex are different. With these other women he didn't care, sex didn't mean anything they could have been anyone and in all honesty if he could get away with not doing it he'd probably prefer it. But he loves Yoshino so he actually cares, he is actually turned on, he actually feels something.

THAT is the point of the side women. Kirishima is very hard to understand his character is a mystery for a majority of the series (and to a degree still is) these women help to solve that mystery if you take the time to really look at what's happening and not get parasocially angry that he is "betraying" his love for Yoshino. In his mind he's not because love and sex are different, sex to him until Yoshino is just a tool, its one of the many things that Yoshino changes in him over the course of the series. Lets not forget that one of his side women actually makes him realize the situation with Yoshino isn't all that great (the scene is better in the manga) cause he doesn't have the emotional intelligence to realize that himself and is a catalyst for the two actually growing closer. Like I keep having to cut myself short cause I'll just go off on how wonderfully complicated and uncomplicated Kirishima is as a character, but this is an important aspect to understand and shouldn't just be written off as "He's a red flag".

These women give us insight into how Kirishima is Pre-Yoshino and shows us how far he's come Post-Yoshino, in a way that could not be done otherwise. So maybe it makes you uncomfy for a bit but it's not bad writing it serves a purpose that could not be done otherwise.

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Zatanna ✨🪄🎩

My variant cover for issue #3! This one was a lot of fun.

Out: 4/16

Final Order Cutoff: 3/24

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mercy is my name. but it is not my way.

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next Punderworld episode is up on #webtooncanvas and tapas

new episode is up

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:D

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nico robin from one piece pleasee 💘

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