#...that are shusters sources

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Here are the issues I have with the book. Since it's a lot, I'll try to keep it as short as possible and only mention my biggest problems with it. So this list is not complete and I could write pages about it.

Let me start by saying that a good autobiography (or any book that highlights a real life person) should be balanced. It should not glorify that person or pretend that person is a god and without mistakes. I also have no problem with critizing Ze, because, let's face it, yes he made mistakes and fucked things up in the past and not every war decision or speech or whatever was good or perfect. The point is: the critique should be fair and balanced (this obviously doesn't apply to bad people in general and the books about them; but since Ze isn't a bad person...you get what I want to say). The portrayal of Ze in the book is anything but fair or balanced. Or true, for that matter (unless literally every person in Ze's life and who knows him better, including the Kvartal fam, Olena, Andriy or people like them, have been lying to everyone for decades).

Throughout the whole book Shuster does say that Ze is Ukrainian (and Jewish) but also always tries to paint him as an "Ukrainian Russian" - so Ze is actually Russian despite being a "Ukrainian" (basically using one of Russia's Propaganda lies). Ze is basically a stubborn "Ukrainian" who kind of deserves all the hate and arrogance he gets from "real Russians" during KVN times (and later) because Ze is an insufferable asshole during his KVN times. And that Russian treated Ukrainian (or from other former Soviet Union countries) teams badly (including racist remarks, looking down on them, treating them like slaves, insulting them, not giving them a fair chance,...) teams awfully is, in Ze's case, deserved. Because Ze was oh so focused on always winning - no matter what and the cost.

Speaking of KVN: According to Shuster, Ze was terrible as a person during his first years of stardom. A maniac who only lived for applause and needs it to survive and was willing to do absolutely everything to win and beat other teams. Because, you know, he's so obsessed with winning. To a point were even he gives a flying fuck about the Kvartal team and their members (Shuster basically hints that they all disliked Ze and he was some kind of group dictator who only wanted to work and win all the time and was reckless and took to many risks and almost destroyed everyones lifes). When Shuster finds something positive to write about, he quotes people from Kvartal but what he quotes are just general statements or people saying what KVN was like during the 1990s and early 2000s. The moment Shuster writes about Ze and was he (allegedly) like during this time it's almost only "team members" and "people who knem him" and "classmates" and all that stuff - so anon sources. Or it's just Shuster telling stuff without saying what his source is or him just have feelings and thoughts and drawing conclusions. If people get named they - surprise, surprise - have a lot of times bad things to say about Ze or are people who we never ever have heard of as being part of Ze's life. Btw, it's not very hard to guess who the "team member", who talked the KVN years and adds a lot of negative talk about Ze, is... . Denys (yes, THAT Denys) contributed to the book with pictures, so chances are high he also talked to Shuster. If you ever wondered if the asshole would ever get over the fact that he fucked up and Ze kicked his ass out of the group - well, the answer is no. He now just tries to cash in on Ze. And since we are talking about Denys' obvious contribution to the book - he, once again, gave out private photos. How much we all wanna bet that he, once again, didn't ask for consent?!

Shuster also tries to paint Ze's family in a bad light. The father a tyrann who sacrified his wife's (Mama Ze) health for his job and money. Also rarely being at home and giving a fuck about his son and family. Mama Ze spoiling her child and making him entitled. Both to unloving and hard and more or less making Ze's life a living hell. Also that Ze's family was suddenly rich. Not to mention indirectly questioning the trauma his family had to go through (and Ze talked about in the past) under Stalin and the Nazis and family members that are suddenly alive (despite Ze stating in the past that they were dead). Also, Shuster sees in the childhood and family of Ze a part of the explanation why Ze is such a horrible person today, to stubborn to just give up and end the fight (and all that nonsense) and won't win this war. Because the parents put Ze in all kind of activities without him finishing any of it but letting him believe he can do everything and always demanding excellent perfomance in every aspect of his life (to keep it short). So of cooourse Ze had to grow up into a maniac who can't loose and always continues despite what people may tell him and who needs the constant validation and love from others.

There are also a ton of negative remarks about Ze as father and husband in regard of his own family. Not to mentiont hat a ton of informations are factually not correct. Things like birth dates or dates in general, how and where Ze's family lived (missing important context several times), Ze basically being as awful as his father, Ze not giving a fuck about his families safety during the war (Olena was the voice of reason who protects the poor, poor children because their father just wants them back for egoistic reasons and doesn't care about their safety) or not seeing anything concerning about his sons military obsession and instead fueling it (again, it's the poor poor wife who has to protect the son from the awful father), Ze giving zero fucks about his relationship with Olena right from the start and that poor, poor, poor woman always staying behind and having to go through hell and hate because of Ze's maniac ambitions and facing an unsave future in the early 2000s because Ze was so full of himself and had the biggest ego,... . (reading several parts you would think that this "poor, poor woman" is trapped in some abuse situation or Ze somehow tied her to himself and the whole marriage is fake and there is no love) (also Olena simultaniously romantizing things and her life and Ukraine but also being the only who who sees the truth about Ze or several parts of their lives but, of course, can't tell her terrible husband because bad, bad Ze) Also Shuster indirectly claiming that Ze and Olena lied about their relationship and they didn't date for eight years but for a shorter period of time. Because suddenly Olena also was a part of KVN long before Ze (???) and was essentially just his work buddy and friend for a while and somehow and for whatever reason they ended up in a relationship one day. (Also prepare yourself to read about a new version of the "Basic Instinct" story we never have heard before...and Ze and Olena never said.)

Btw, the way Ze is portrayed during his KVN years is essentially with little variation how he's portrayed in later stages of his life. Including his presidency and the war (I'm not going to write several more paragraphes because I think you get the picture Shuster tries to paint of Ze).

Only one thing about Ze's war portrayal: Shuster swings back and forth between Ze as wanna be dictator who will turn Ukraine into something bad as soon as the war is over (and is already starting with that) and who already makes his own rules and gives zero fucks about people and is only interested in his own fame and people applauding him and all that stuff. And Ze being the worst President ever because the war and the current state of Ukraine (which is, of course, very bad and they are about to collapse and loose and big Russia and winning and blablabla) are somehow also his fault. Yes, Shuster really manages to make Ze (and with that Ukraine) partly guilty.

Throughout the whole book he also, sometimes more obvious sometimes hidden, Shuster portrays Ukraine in the worst way possible. He does mention how "bad" Russia is but somehow justifying it several times or leaving out important facts and, once again, context. Also the portrayal of Putin, especially in comparsion with how he writes about Ze, is a joke.

Oh, and, the "inside look in the bunker" life Shuster used for his marketing campaign and that the claim of the book - yeah, bullshit. It's nothing now and anon and all that stuff. Also, once again, portraying Ze in a bad light. Like, yeah, the first weeks of war affected him but to such a worrying point (according to Shuster) that Ze was actually unfit to rule any longer as President but continued (because, you know, he loves power sooo much...). And now he's the mini dictator of Bankova who is always grumpy and changed into a (an even more) awful person and... .

What can I say at the end?! As mentioned earlier, the book has a ton of fake news and wrong facts. It's incredibly poorly researched - if sources exist at all. A lot of times it's Shuster just sharing his feelings or thougths or conclusions or interpretations or whatever. Or just saying things without context. Or writing stuff without giving sources. And to be honest, in some parts it also feels like that Shuster just made stuff up.

If you have no idea about Ze and his life or know very little - that's not the book to get informed. If you know a bit more about Ze, you will surprisingly often feel that certain parts of "exclusive interviews" or "when I talked with XYZ" are strangely familiar...with interviews we all know from Ze's (and several other people) past...because it is these interviews. Just a lot of times missing context, shortening what was said, adding stuff or giving it a new meaning.

Speaking of using old stuff: Shuster also really used his old articles to include them in the book...to a point where it's basically almost word for word.

Overall, the book is in large parts poorly written (so poorly that you wonder how he became a TIME journalist in the first place).

In the end, you probably haven't learned anything new or interesting about Ze, his life, the war or Ukraine. When we talk about Ze, I may have read one, maybe two new things I haven't read before (but questioning both of them and will do research if they are true or just made up by Shuster). It's over 300 sites of wasted paper and ink. I know articles who did a better job than this "book". It's a waste of time and money. And in the end it's a Pro-Russia Propaganda book, trying to undermine the support for Ukraine and hurt Ze and his image (as well as Ukraine's). Shuster tries to be subtle at his try to do this but he isn't not. He tries to come off as critical thinker who wants to portray a balanced picture of Ze and also writes about the sides no one dares to talk about. But nothing about this is balanced. It's just 300+ sites of trashing Ze and backstabbing him and using every possible way. Same applies to Ukraine.

.

[cantsayidont]

January-February 1945. Several years before the introduction of Kryptonian headbands, the first Superboy story in MORE FUN COMICS #101 shows Kryptonians wearing these yellow (gold?) or purple head coverings when in public or in formal situations. The purple and green ones worn by the Kryptonian women here appear to be skull caps with a decorative flap, while the ear pieces on the men's headgear suggests a leather football helmet, giving an early Buck Rogers vibe.

Most of these scenes and a lot of the dialogue and narration was more or less standardized throughout the various early depictions of Superman's origin, and also incorporated into the radio show. Note that Jor-El goes bareheaded at home, but as soon as he goes outside, he puts on the headgear again.

Jor-El leaves his headgear on during his meeting with the Supreme Council, who all have the same head coverings, suggesting that the headgear is for formal occasions as well as going about in public. However, he removes it again after returning home. The Kryptonian headgear was a new feature in this story — I think the Kryptonian men seen in earlier versions in the comic book and comic strip were all bareheaded — and the headbands, first seen in 1948, after the departure of Siegel and Shuster, seem to have been an adaptation or variation on that idea. Another unusual detail is that unlike most later versions, all Kryptonian men wear identical outfits, not varying even in color. (One man in the first panel above has one green sleeve, but that's almost certainly a coloring error, which for once the reprint has retained.)

Note that while Kryptonians are aware that they would have incredible powers on Earth, that doesn't appear to rank highly among Jor-El's priorities; unlike the rather fascistic overtones of the later MAN OF STEEL version, his object is refuge, not empowerment. Also, unlike in many later versions, Jor-El hopes to save Lara as well as Kal-El, but she chooses to stay. Although it's not mentioned here, in some versions, including the initial radio episodes, Lara argues that Kal-El's ship will have a better chance of escaping without her added weight.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist 2000

"Frontier Psychiatrist" is a song by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches, that was released on 21 August 2000 as the second single from the group's debut album Since I Left You. It is built around several elements sampled from other music; Avalanches members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltman sampled music from several vinyl records in the production and creation of Since I Left You. The prominent orchestral sample heard throughout the track is sourced from a recording by the Enoch Light Singers of the 1968 composition "My Way of Life". The track also contains several vocal samples of Canadian comedy duo Wayne and Shuster, the most prominent of these samples taken from the duo's comedy routine "Frontier Psychiatrist", as well as the John Waters movie Polyester.

Only the aforementioned samples are credited in the liner notes of Since I Left You; various other uncredited samples are used in the track, with sources ranging from Harvey Mandel's 1968 cover of the spiritual "Wade in the Water", and comedy routines by Flip Wilson, sketches from Sesame Street, and Maurice Jarre's main theme from Lawrence of Arabia. The closing mariachi band plays "El Negro Zumbón", first performed by Flo Sandon's, who doubles Silvana Mangano in the 1951 movie Anna.

Upon release, it peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number 49 in the group's native Australia, becoming their first single to enjoy commercial success. "Frontier Psychiatrist" was well received by music critics, who praised the Avalanches' use of samples.

The "Frontier Psychiatrist" music video, directed by Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire, was the runner-up in the "Best Music Video" category at the 2002 Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival. Pitchfork Media placed the video at number 19 on their list of the "Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s". An alternative video was made, featuring actors acting out the 'dialogue' of the track in various scenes, including a psychiatrist's office and "Dexter's" bedroom. In addition, Rorschach ink-blots are animated to reflect various samples in the track.

"Frontier Psychiatrist" received a total of 73,2% yes votes!

[superman-the-secret-third-thing]

Golden Age Superman's Health Advice

I could still use this tbh...

Source is Superman #2 (1939) by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel

[lexiresources]

by CLICKING THE SOURCE LINK of this post, you will be redirected to #169 gifs of RACHEL SENNOTT (1995) in the film, SATURDAY NIGHT as rosie shuster. these gifs were made entirely made by me from scratch and were made for rp purposes, but you are welcome to use these gifs for however you see fit. if you alter/share them anywhere that aren’t for personal use then please link back to the original post and/or credit me on the post​. ​LIKES and REBLOGS are not required, but encouraged! DO NOT: use my gifs for taboo roleplays, to portray minors, to portray rachel herself, racebend, or edit the gifs without crediting me and/or asking permission.

[ohsalome]

A heads up about this new Times article, which somhow passed the editors despite consisting solely of "anonymous sources" and being written by a journalist with a history of anti-ukrainian bias.

Olexiy Arestovych recently came out as one of the sources Shuster spoke with. For an average person Arestovych is just a former speaker. But his less known lore is that Arestovych is a self-described exorcist; he has several scandals with ukrainephobic narratives; he has on several occasions spread straigt up russian propaganda about the war; and one of his recent scandals was a leak from his private seminar, in which he shared his opinions that, I quote, "a natural desire a man has towards a woman is to choke her, I mean of course fuck her first, but then choke, and keep your hands on her neck for several hours to be sure that that thing is really dead".

Sharing this tidbit just to give you a prespective of the quality of Shuster's "sources" and, as a consequence, Time's journalistic standards.

[fidjiefidjie]

"Est-ce une araignée qui pleure le vent d'automne ?" 🍁🕸🍂

Matsuo Basho

Source: Inge Shuster

[soulnottainted]

Safe House

(header source)

Boris Shuster x Self Insert (Kelsey Thompson)

Boris tends to the dame he rescued from the Kitty Kat Club. Three totems collected out of six, of supernatural origin, that summons creatures of hell to the mortal world. Her life won't be the same. Neither will his.

tw: mentions of death, alcohol

tagging: @batlesbianism @starlos-soulmate @dragonsmooch @emceescha @cherry-bomb-ships @edencantstopfallininlove

A soft, groggy stir came from the back of the apartment; the slight creak of the twin box spring mattress became a dead giveaway that his guest had woken up. Honestly he was surprised she woke up at all, considering what those devil broads at the Kitty Kat gave her. After he had taken out the trash in the club, Boris knew he couldn’t just leave her there and passed out, having to fend for herself when she awoke. The thought about the multiple patrons that went missing from that very establishment made the PI settle on the fact that if he hadn’t been there at the right time, this sweet dame would have been gone like the rest of them. So, he brought her back here, to his headquarters, his office, his home, the only place he could afford. It was hilariously small, but it suited him just fine. Although with his slowly awaking guest it felt a tinge bit cramped. Nothing Boris couldn’t handle though. Hearing her, that was his cue to get up from his desk, pausing the telegraph he was producing from his typewriter, not surprised in the slightest that the girl didn’t awake because of the loud clicks of the keys. The concoction that the unsuspecting gal sipped would’ve been deadly if she drank it all, but with the few sips that she did, she wouldn’t wake up for three to four hours, not waking up if a hulking steam train were to whip by her head.

The worn wooden floor creaked under Boris’ weight as he lifted himself off the chair, his calloused hands firmly pressing down near his knees, bending his elbows as he hoisted upwards. Normally Boris’ cases with the four totems he found so far, saw the victims already dead, but this one was a first: she survived.

It only took ten steps to take him from his desk to the back of the apartment, going from his office space to his residential, the bed not too far away from his lousy excuse for a kitchenette. If he turned on the stove too hot it would become a fire hazard just by placement to everything else alone. Unfortunately the payment he would get from cases, despite asking for payment in advance, wouldn’t leave much wiggle room for Boris to eat out much, no matter how Louie’s boss lowered the cost because the PI had been a regular. 

Supernatural cases were much less profitable than the simple infidelity or fraud, although Boris would argue that cases that dealt with these supernatural forces were the ones that should be double the pay. He couldn’t exactly bill anyone for these totem cases that he opened however, as that whole shtick had started personally, in 1948. The first totem, the vase belonging to the Baccanoid legion, arrived at the steps of the apartment, summoning a ghoul into his office space and having to shoot it down. The ghoul definitely didn’t mistake his residence for the laundry room, that was for sure, unlike some people. Things started to link together after realizing there was more than one totem, and the search was still going on. The funds Boris got from case solving mostly were from the normal, mortal-centric cases, nothing else. But enough of that, he’d focus on the incoming bills later. Right now, he needed to attend to his guest.

The curvy, dark blonde woman stared at her trembling hands which had rested near her face. Without her spectacles her world was blurry as it was: finish that off with sleeping off a poison and that made her world felt like it was spinning. Her eyes darted around the room, which was not the brightest idea given her condition, making the room spin worse and made her forcefully shut her eyes.

“Easy now, doll,” a voice with the local New York accent coaxed gently, as if it was trying to push past the roughness that it typically had for more of a smooth approach, “You’re safe here. Try not to move too fast or else whatever is left in ya is sure to spew, and y’don’t want that.”

She recognized it slightly, as she heard it before she had entered the club: a woman inside beckoned, "Boris! Get in here! Dance with me!" before Boris himself murmured, although his words were meant to be directed at the voice cat-calling from the inner club, “This city is lousy with temptation, and you're the Devil.”

Boris? His name was Boris? Was that right?

The whole incident was hazy now, except for the moment that would remain forever ingrained in her mind, when the She-Devils surrounded her excitedly, licking their lips as the girl choked on the drink they casually gave her, ready for her to pass out so they could devour her.

“W..Where…”

“You’re in my office,” Boris spoke a bit clearer, hands slipped into the pockets of his pants as he stepped closer, “Th’ name’s Boris. Shuster. Private Eye. I happened to stumble into the Kitty Kat right as you took a drink. Whatever those gals from hell gave you, it definitely was no ordinary instance of bein’ sauced.”

A pause.

“You alright, doll?” She certainly didn’t look it.

“Just…Head’s spinning,” she murmured, which prompted Boris to quickly stride a few steps to reach for an empty glass and fill it with tap water. 

“Don’t move your head or your pretty little eyes too much, just focus on somethin’ and keep ‘em there. Here.”

His calloused hand reached to hand it to her; the young woman’s body jolted for a split second as her softer hand grazed his ever so slightly. Appreciative, she took the glass in her slightly trembling hand before taking a cautionary sip before taking a definite one. 

“Thank you,” she murmured softly, although there was fear behind it, it wasn’t of Boris, “What happened to those girls? And my friends?”

Boris had been an officer for the NYPD, then a detective, working himself up the ladder until he decided to retire and become a PI. He had seen tremendous violence, any and every crime imaginable. After years in the field, it was as easy as flipping a light switch that Boris could shut down his emotions in an instant, relying heavily on the left side of his brain when he needed to focus.That came in handy when it came to the toughest tasks that any normal person wouldn’t be able to handle, mainly setting aside the gruesome and inhumane horrors and trying to piece clues together, as well as the thing that Boris had to carefully tread: telling the innocent that their loved ones were gone. His mind had to shut off when he spoke of such things, as the person opposite him would start crying in disbelief, telling him that the victim shouldn’t be dead, that this was all a dream. Then he’d have to tread sacred ground, sounding sympathetic while also trying to keep removed from the emotion at the same time. It was such a fine line to cross, and if not done properly would seem that he was cold, but if he leaned too much into it he would be too involved: such was the life of an investigator. As much as he wanted to be straight with her, the information he wanted to give her was a door opening to another realm, but she had the right to know. She might not even believe him, but one thing was for certain…

“I’m sorry,” he replied, not letting his heart leave his chest, as much as he wanted it to, “Your friends were turned into those creatures. They might have been your friends before, but when they came into contact with that totem, that vase? They were changed. What humanity was in them was taken away, only the hunger of having a meal of human flesh remaining. They might have talked like your friends, acted like them, but that was to coax you into their trap.”

As the detective suspected, she was in a state of disassociation, trying to grasp what he explained. To his surprise however, he heard her flatly murmur, “They weren’t human,” which prompted Boris to tilt his head to the side ever so slightly. Not a question she said, but a statement. She believed him, or at least the woman was trying to make herself believe him. Her pale blue eyes contained that despite looking off into nothing, she was remembering something truly horrific. Looking into the eyes peered right into the soul and from those orbs alone, the PI knew that her world changed at that moment, just as he did once upon a time. It was strange to think that there were years of his life not dedicated to those damn totems and the legions of supernatural horrors that came from it. 

Five years felt like an eternity. Five years ago, the gumshoe was panting heavily from having that ghoul who had infiltrated the modeling agency a few doors down, then his office, eat lead. He had successfully put in a few rounds into the creature, staring down at it with horror and fascination. Whatever that monster was, he was certainly bringing the ugly. Boris’ head felt like it was a spinning top as his mind couldn’t comprehend what the hell his eyes were taking in. No amount of whiskey would get that image out of his mind. But the instincts as a PI took hold of him, wanting to investigate further, wanting to figure out why, when this random vase showed up at his doorstep, did a supernatural creature wreak havoc in his apartment complex. His work was certainly cut out for him and the realm of spirits, demons, and other hell spawn suddenly became his focus. He never stopped. As much as it terrified him, there were innocent civilians involved. A rabbit hole was what he dug himself into about the vase, and  quickly the word Baccanoid became a prominent new word in his consciousness, it became an addiction. There were many pieces to the puzzle as he gathered more and more information and more of the totems themselves, but Boris remembered that first encounter he had with that ghoul. The girl sitting on his bed was still recovering from her own first encounter with creatures from another realm. She was certainly out of it, but it was clear that her mind accepted what she witnessed,  the private investigator confirming her internal thoughts without her having to even bring up the devilish women.

“Correct,” he solidified in return, standing about five feet away from the dame, “And you were going to be their next meal.” The PI took a couple steps forward, slowly leaning from side to side as he approached her, looking down at her out-of-it state and trying to make her refocus, “But you’re outta harm’s way now. The totem’s stored away and the devils can’t be lookin’ out for more people to nab.You’re very fortunate, Miss…”

The other was listening, but when Boris had alluded to asking her name, she blinked a couple of times, finally turning her head to peer up at him, hands resting in her lap.

“Thompson,” she replied fairly, “Kelsey Thompson.”

“Miss Thompson,” he continued with a respectful nod of his head, “I know this is a lot to comprehend. It ain’t easy. Hell, I didn’t believe in any of this until a similar incident befell me in this very room. But I need you t’ know that these things are real, that you ain’t imagining things. And I’m sure you have a lot on your mind. Whatever questions you have, I’ll try to answer.” Hands slid into his slack pockets. “You also might try to bury last night’s incident in the back of your mind. Trust me doll, I’ve tried that too; it never goes away. If you’d like to forget that night after this, we’re jake on that. But before you do, I want you to completely understand what happened, ‘cause if you don’t, and you never set eyes on me again? I know those questions are gonna consume you until you’re miserable and sick. A pretty gal like you doesn’t deserve that.”

“You already know I’ve been trying to forget, Detective.” All her responses were in her sweet voice, but all that was wrapped in it was an empty hollowness, traumatized. 

He picked up immediately on it, and he nodded again in agreement, his comfort coming in the form of assuredly repeating, a slight notch of a bittersweet smile forming on the side of his mouth, “Oh I know. I’ve done the same thing as you, sweetheart. But, I was alone when all of it happened, and I’ve attempted to deal with it in my own ways, unsuccessfully might I add. So if you have any questions-”

“How did you know to come in?” Kelsey gazed up into his eyes: close but also oh so distant in their focus. 

“How did I know to come into the club?” Boris clarified. When she nodded a little, he continued, “I was waitin’ outside, trying not to make myself stick out like a sore thumb. Several patrons had been goin’ missing the other night. I caught wind of it quick, since well-”

Shuster motioned his head towards the front window of his residence, past the lettering of his business, to the Kitty Kat Club neon signage across the way, “I can’t exactly ignore anythin’ that goes on in there. Also a regular. I wondered why there was no gorilla workin’ the door like usual. Things weren’t stackin’ up as the night went on. Had my back turned, but I kept close attention to the sound of who entered the joint and who left. I recognized the same broads comin’ and leavin’. They always left the place by themselves, then came back with one or two people. About thirty minutes would pass before the same two gals would leave the club, without the two they arrived with. New patrons would go in, none would leave. So either I was right or the nursin’ I took on that bottle of Lazy Bastard was truly kickin’ in.”

Kelsey listened as he continued. Honestly one would expect Boris to pace about the room as he spoke, but he stayed directly in front of her, no fuss about it.

“Then I suppose the she-devils that were runnin’ the whole show were gettin’ onto me. One of the gals from inside the club, her voice had changed. Kept askin’ me to go inside for a drink, a dance…I used every trick in the book to avoid doin’ so. And then I heard you and the same two gals who kept comin’ in and out of the Kitty Kat. I knew if I took the broads out on the street, it would cause a scene. Inside the club it could’ve caused somethin’, sure, but it’s a controlled environment in there. Also if I was inside, I could figure out what the hell was goin’ on with the other patrons, and by extension, makin’ sure that you weren’t gonna meet their same fate.”

“I almost did,” a tinge of fearful realization slipped into Kelsey’s tone, and that made Boris switch gears. One of his larger hands reached to firmly squeeze her small rounded shoulder.

“But you didn’t and that’s what counts, sweetheart. I couldn’t save the rest of the patrons, couldn’t save the people who had been turned into those creatures, but getting you out of there alive? Just one person? That was more than I thought I was gonna save. Unfortunately every encounter I’ve had with these totems from hell, whoever comes into contact, doesn’t survive. Every single person. Until now.”

“I owe you my life, Detective.”

“No, no you don’t doll,” Shuster sighed softly, coming out a bit more gruff than he wanted to, “It’s my job. And please, call me Boris, Miss Thompson.”

“Kelsey, Boris.”

A surprising, amused chuckle escaped him. Slowly but surely, he was getting Miss Thompson to open up. He wasn’t asking her to. It was a welcoming tone shift, although the heavy conversation was not quite done. She could walk out the door at any time. But instead of leaving Boris to talk of nonsense, she stayed, she listened, understood as much as it pained her to think about the horrific glimpse into the supernatural, a sudden drop into a terrifying world that Boris seemed to have inhabited for a long while now.

“Kelsey,” Boris confirmed with another squeeze of her shoulder before letting go, her name falling from his lips, his mouth warming up to the prospect of it, “You’re welcome t’ stay until you feel better, although my place isn’t the biggest and most luxurious, unless you feel like you have enough strength t’ go home and want to.”

He watched as despite the young woman having gone through hell and back in less than 24 hours, she was trying her best to understand and move on, thankful to have her life. There was debate in her eyes until she settled, “I…I think I’ll be okay D-....Boris. I should go home, get some proper rest.”

“Best to rest in y’ own bed, I get it. That bed’s on it’s last legs, honestly. Can’t afford a new one, but that’s none of your concern. You’ll snooze like a babe, I’m sure. But before you go, here. ”

As Kelsey slowly stood up from the creaking bed, Boris’ legs crossed the room to his desk before grabbing one of his business cards. When he turned back, he was still within arm's reach of her, as the space was so small, “Give me a call anytime. If you need to talk, I’m here. All of this talk of totems is all my business, nobody else’s. If somethin’ is bothering you about any of this, I want to know. I need to know. Probably would be the only other that would believe you. I can live with all of this bull, but you shouldn’t have to.You have a life to keep livin’, doll. My life jus’ happens to revolve around all this madness.”

When she stood next to him, Boris felt like a giant. The sweet dame took the card in her hand before slipping it into her cobalt blue velvet jacket, then adjusted it around her shoulders, “I…I will, Boris. Thank you….again.”

It was difficult to say much else, as Kelsey didn’t know what to say to the man who had saved her life, as he said he wanted nothing in return. 

“You’re welcome. Have a nice evening.”

For once, Boris didn’t think about the bills coming in and all his income going out in one fellow swoop. He wasn’t thinking about the stacks of folders filled with missing persons documents and photographic evidence of cheating that his associate Mr. McPhearson was digging up for him. 

Boris was thinking of the gorgeous petite beauty that left his office with a soft click of the door behind her. For a long minute, he just stood there, unmoving. The first person he saved from the clutches of forces beyond the mortal plane would go home safe. He wanted to see her sweet face again, as much as he knew in his mind that she probably would never acknowledge the card in her pocket. Even if she did care, talking to him would re-open wounds of the horrific night at the Kitty Kat, which Boris understood. Whatever she chose to do, he’d respect it, as it was his job to move on, his job to leave his clients with closure.

But this was a whole other situation entirely. Kelsey had been the sole surviving victim with a case he dubbed The Lustful Alibi, and with the previous cases of the totems linking together, her case wouldn’t entirely be closed, not until this whole mess of the other totems was solved and complete. Little did he know that three more totems needed to be found and that his thread with Miss Kelsey Thompson was far from over.

He figured the second part out when his telephone rang around 2 in the morning.

“Mr. Shuster? Boris, can we talk?”

“I was awaitin’ your call, doll.”

[tomoleary]

Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel - George Roussos Sketchbook Batman and Superman Illustration Original Art (circa 1942) Source

[kino-der-joon]

ask box is here 🎉

who's your favorite character (besides Richtofen obvi)? Who's your favorite side character? (ex: Maxis, Shuster, Pablo, Yena, McCain ect. NPC, I guess.)

💫OMG THANK YOU!! ✨

✨ That’s an amazing question, and my answer took no longer than 3 seconds to come to me. It HAS to be Dr.Schuster! ✨

🌟 I LOVE Dr.Schuster’s dynamic with Richtofen, it’s my favorite thing! They bond over their work on the teleporter so much that when Maxis orders Richtofen to halt his work, Dr.Schuster follows his rebellion without question! (Since that exchange between Richtofen and Maxis is meant to be private given the reveal of Maxis’ deal with the chancellor, Schuster’s immediate reaction implies to me that he had his ear up to the door while Richtofen and Maxis were talking!!) ✨

💫 Dr.Schuster sounds absolutely distraught when he says he hasn’t been able to locate Richtofen after the M.P.D incident, and when Richtofen comes back and drags him into the teleporter to show him what happened, Schuster, AGAIN, follows him without question! Griffin Station couldn’t have been built without Richtofen AND Schuster, I wholeheartedly believe that!✨

💫 But even Dr.Schuster on his own- He’s such a diva, I love him 😭 His monotone delivery and dry sarcasm absolutely kills me, I LOVE him and I’m so glad it’s Dr. Groff we have to kill in Der Eisendrache and not Dr. Schuster- I wouldn’t be able to do that 💔

✨ Here, he’s working on his own (and is diva-ing,) but at the end- That is his reaction to seeing the soulless body of Richtofen appear out of thin air seemingly, after YEARS of not being in contact, he sounds 💔DEVASTATED💔✨

Take a listen!

Source: ‘The Complete Unabridged Timeline of Call of Duty: Zombies. (World at War - Black Ops 4)’

✨ NEXT !! > ⭐️

[fdelopera]

Jew-hating bigots, get your paws off Moon Knight

What the hell is it with these anitsemitic Moon Knight "fans" who reblog my old Moon Knight posts??

You are engaging with posts written by a Jew, about a Jewish character.

And yet here you are, praising the terrorist organization Hamas, spewing Holocaust inversion, and comparing Jews to Nazis on your blog.

Listen up, you fucking BIGOT, you are a raging Jew-hater, and MOON KNIGHT IS NOT FOR YOU.

I'll go one step further: COMICS ARE NOT FOR YOU.

Comics are a JEWISH artform. Most of the early comics creators like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster were Jewish, and they coded their superheroes as Jewish characters.

They couldn't write these characters as definitively Jewish because of the antisemitism that pervaded the United States -- antisemitism that still pervades US.

The political source of that antisemitism may have changed from far-right to far-left, but it is as virulent as it ever was.

Let that sink in. You Hamasnik bigots are making the US as antisemitic as it was in the 1930s and 1940s.

Superman, Captain America, Spider-Man ... the list goes on -- they are ALL Jewish-coded characters. Some of them, like Peter Parker, are now intentionally written as being Jewish, based on who is in charge of the movie or the run.

Moon Knight is one of the few canonically Jewish characters in Marvel comics. And he PUNCHES Jew-hating scumbags like you Hamasniks.

So if you are a Jew-hating bigot, get the fuck off my blog.

But more importantly, get the fuck away from comics. In the words of Jewish actor and national treasure Gene Wilder:

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Jam, have you read the new Time article about Ze and the war?! I'm so fucking angry about it!!!!!!!!!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Never thought Simon Shuster, of all people, would become a traitor! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

I have and it is, indeed, a bullshit article.

If anyone had planned to read the new TIME article - don't. Use your time for something more useful (it has one, maybe two good parts but not really anything new or what I would say is worth a read). The article is full of bullshit, pro-Russian propaganda (to a point were you could play bingo and actually get one - think of any Russian Propaganda point and you'll most likely find it in the article) and basically a backstab from Simon Shuster.

Very sad to see that Shuster is now a pro-Russian Propaganda mouthpiece (again).

The article is awful in so many ways and he throws Ze under the bus, portraying him in an unfair, unjustified and very wrong light. Truly despictable article, not worth anyone's time.

The article is actually in fact so awful, I'm going to cancel my pre-order of Shuster's book about Ze. Because now I assume the book (who's title and summary changed in the past, btw) will now be written in the same style and I'm certainly not going to throw money into an awful Russian Propaganda mouth. I'll wait for reviews, maybe I'll get my hands on a copy in book store and I can glimpse into it.

Very sad to see that Shuster had this change in attitude and support regarding Ukraine (especially after his pro-Ukraine stance last year and his insightful and good reports about Ze), but given his history maybe it shouldn't be such a surprise (he wrote several pro-Russian and Propaganda articles in the past, mainly 2014 - I always assumed last year his case is one of the typical "didn't know it better, fell for Propaganda, learnt my lesson, now I support" ... well, looks like a "no").

[brawltogethernow]

I saw your post about the differences between marvel and dc and have some questions about this line :

At day 1 Superman is the Ubermensch philosophy conceived as villainous and then redesigned to be heroic before it could hit publishing

I've never heard of Superman starting out as villainous before, could you elaborate on that and how it changed? I've always thought of the creators judaism as informing their approach to the ubermench thing, so if you know anything about that I'm also curious how the creators perpective as jews seeing the rise of nazis informed those changes.

[the post] (Which I just realized I never put in my essays or meta tags...)

Five years before Clark hit Action Comics in 1938, his creators Siegel and Shuster collaborated (as prose author and illustrator) on a short story called "The Reign of the Superman", which had a villain protagonist. Then they tried revisiting, according to Siegel in several interviews, the same general concept as a comic, reworked to star a hero with the idea that that would work better for an ongoing story/sell better. "And that was the successful version?" Nope! That comic no longer exists because Shuster set it on fire (reasons for doing so disputed). Then there were a lot of other process steps but that seems to have been when the heroism was settled on.

Beyond that it gets muddier, and my phrasing may have been overly pat in the part you quote. Neither of them ever made a public statement, of confirmation or denial, on influence on their character by Nietzsche (filtered through 30's pop culture or otherwise) OR Judaism...so both remain up to individual interpretation. (A translation of Nietzche is the etymology of "superman" in English, but other fiction writers had been using it for effect for years at that point.)

I agree that the Jewishness of Superman's development is an interesting/valuable analysis lens, but don't personally have anything to add to that that hasn't been said before since I'm a middleweight Superman enjoyer at best and there are literal entire actual published books specifically on this topic.

AS a mere middleweight fan: All of this was fact checked against the "Superman" page + related links on Wikipedia, which I'd look at to dig into this more deeply since it cites a good handful of creator interviews that you can then look up to read in full (also some of the abovementioned books). I prefer to actually dig through primary sources myself before making sweeping statements like "they never ever talked about this topic", but that seems to be true? RotS's page fully just cites a weirdly informed-sounding StackExchange question at one point though so grain of salt.

[deadpresidents]

You used to list the books you've been reading every few weeks but I haven't seen a post like that in a minute. Anything good that you've been reading?

It has been a long time since I last posted one of those lists of recent reads -- probably about six months, so I'm not going to list everything I've read since then. And I don't remember exactly what I included last time, so hopefully I don't double-dip.

•Martin Van Buren: America's First Politician [2024] by James M. Bradley (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) If you want to make me happy, just publish a new book about one of America's more obscure Presidents. And in December 2024, we got a new biography of Martin Van Buren with fresh research from sources not previously available to earlier biographers, resulting in an updated, comprehensive book about Van Buren that now becomes one of the definitive biographies of our eighth President.

•Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents [2024] by Nigel Hamilton (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) I'm also an easy mark for books about Jefferson Davis -- not out of any sort of affinity for him or the Confederacy, of course -- but just because of his unique place in history as an American President who also wasn't really an American President (although, technically, he was.) Throw Lincoln into the mix and you don't have to sell me very hard on this book.

•Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East [2024] by Robert Fisk (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO) I wish Fisk had lived to write about the latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it doesn't require much imagination to know what he would have thought about it: he wrote honestly, critically, and with deep understanding about the subject for 40+ years while reporting from the heart of the struggle in the Middle East.

•The Garfield Orbit [1978] by Margaret Leech and Harry J. Brown (BOOK)

•The World and Richard Nixon [1987] by C.L. Sulzberger (BOOK)

•John Lewis: A Life [2024] by David Greenberg [2024] (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•Land Between the Rivers: A 5,000-Year History of Iraq [2024] by Bartle Bull (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare On How Leaders Rise, Rule, and Fall [2023] by Eliot A. Cohen (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•A Very Personal Presidency: Lyndon Johnson in the White House [1968] by Hugh Sidey (BOOK)

•The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis [2024] by Michael W. Higgins (BOOK | KINDLE)

•The President: A Minute-by-Minute Account of a Week in the Life of Gerald Ford [1975] by John Hersey (BOOK | KINDLE)

•The Lone Star: The Life of John Connally [1989] by James Reston Jr. (BOOK)

•The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky [2024] by Simon Shuster (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great [2024] by Rachel Kousser (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•American Gothic: The Story of America's Legendary Theatrical Family -- Junius, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth [1992] by Gene Smith (BOOK | KINDLE)

•Pathfinder: John Charles Frémont and the Course of American Empire [2002] by Tom Chaffin (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•A Brief History of the World in 47 Borders: Surprising Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps [2024] by Jonn Elledge (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•Eisenhower For Our Time [2024] by Steven Wagner (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

•The Ends of the Earth: A Journey to the Frontiers of Anarchy [1996] by Robert D. Kaplan (BOOK | KINDLE)

•The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat [1983] by Ryszard Kapuściński [Translated by William R. Brand & Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand] (BOOK)

•A Heartbeat Away: The Investigation and Resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew [1974] by Richard M. Cohen and Jules Witcover (BOOK)

•American Roulette: The History and Dilemma of the Vice Presidency [Revised & Updated, 1972] by Donald Young (BOOK)

•Centers of Power in the Arab Gulf States [2024] by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen (BOOK | KINDLE)

•The Formation of the UAE: State-Building and Arab Nationalism in the Middle East [2024] by Kristi Barnwell (BOOK | KINDLE)

•Iranian-Saudi Rivalry Since 1979: In the Words of Kings and Clerics [2023] by Talal Mohammad (BOOK | KINDLE)

•The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned [2024] by John Strausbaugh (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO)

[superman-the-secret-third-thing]

Why does Golden Age Lois Lane like Superman and not Clark Kent?

Answered by the original creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Their origins as comic strip writers is evident at this point interestingly. The early comics followed the same format as the newspaper's Sunday funnies, very set up and punchline.

Source: Action Comics #9 "Wanted: Superman" (1939) by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster

[chernobog13]

Wonder Comics #1 (May, 1939), featuring the first - and only - appearance of the original Wonder Man.

In 1939, just a year after his debut, Superman was so popular that he was practically printing money for National/DC Comics. Magazine publisher Victor Fox saw how much money DC was raking in (some sources state Fox had been one of DC's accountants, but comics historian Gerard Jones says that's not true) and decided to get into the comic book business himself. He even opened the office for his new company, Fox Features, in the same building that housed DC.

Fox then contracted Will Eisner and the crew at Iger Studios to create a copy of Superman for Fox's comic books. Eisner created, wrote and drew Wonder Man, which was then published six weeks later in Wonder Comics #1 (a book which also featured some work by a fellow named Bob Kane).

Unlike Superman, "timid radio engineer and inventor" Fred Carson gained his powers from a mysterious yogi (a popular source of super-powers back in the day). The yogi gave Carson a ring that granted him super-strength and invulnerability. Wonder Man could lift tremendous weights, was impervious to bullets and bombs, and could leap several hundred yards in a single bound. Sound like anyone familiar?

DC certainly thought so. They immediately slapped a lawsuit on Fox, claiming that Wonder Man infringed on the Superman copyright. Fox stopped publishing Wonder Man right away, but fought the lawsuit in court.

During the trial, Eisner was called to testify. For years afterward, Eisner claimed that his testimony essentially boiled down to admitting that Wonder Man was created, at Fox's direction, to be a copy of Superman. However, a transcript of Eisner's actual testimony was unearthed in 2010. In that transcript Eisner defends the originality of Wonder Man. In fact, he claimed Wonder Man was his own idea, and had been created years before Superman first saw print in 1938.

(Ironically, Eisner was one of the comic book editors who had rejected Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shuster's Superman strip when they were shopping it around to different companies before finding a home at DC.)

Nevertheless, the court sided with DC. Fox was forced to cease publication of Wonder Man, and the character was not be used in any media at all. It was a first-of-its-kind case for the comic industry, and empowered DC to vigorously pursue action against any other companies that fielded characters that seemed too similar to Superman.

Which eventually lead to the years-long battle between DC and Fawcett over Captain Marvel, but that's a story for another time.