#1990's Phantom of the opera miniseries

[lreaper127]

A little detail from the 1990's Phantom movie series I think about is when Christine wants to see Erik's face, and when he says no, she offers to sing for him in return. He very quickly shuts that idea down, and to me, it's a good bit of characterization for him. To me, it confirms that music is very sacred to him. We already know this about him at this point, but it hammers in that he hates when music is used to gain something. It says that he views music as something you should only do because you love it, and to share it with others. And to him, the thought of people using music to gain something, or in other words, people preforming or practicing music for any other reason besides enjoyment and love for it, is disgusting. He views it as the person not fully loving, embracing and/or treasuring music for what he views it as. Something to entertain, and to touch the very depths of the human soul and resonate with all human emotions.

I think that the opinion is something Erik truly believes, and I think that very well comes from the fact that his mom singing to him, showing she wasn't afraid of his face, was the only time someone showed no fear of his deformity. And even though he was very young when she died, it left such a strong impact that he can sometimes faintly recall her voice. This is a small detail, and I might be overthinking this. But to me, that little moment speaks a lot about Charles Dance's Erik, and goes into more detail about how he views music, besides just him loving it because he loves it. In my personal hc, Erik (any/all version) uses music as a way to escape his horrific life and self esteem issues. It was a way to escape and express his emotions. To be raw and vulnerable and be completely himself. Anyway, that's just some food for thought that I think about a lot more often than I should. I love Charles Dance's Erik, it's one of my favorite interpretations of the character.

[nessie665]

The Prophecy by Taylor Swift (2024) / Phantom of The Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011) / Phantom of the Opera (1990) / Takarazuka Y&K's Phantom (2004) / The Phantom of the Opera (1962) / The Phantom of the Opera (1989) / The Phantom of the Opera (2004) / Phantom Of The Paradise (1974) / Phantom Of The Opera (1943) / Love Never Dies (2012) / The Phantom of the Opera (1925) 

And I sound like an infant Feeling like the very last drops of an ink pen A greater woman stays cool But I howl like a wolf at the moon A greater woman has faith But even statues crumble if they're made to wait I'm so afraid I sealed my fate No sign of soulmates

[an-angels-fury]

I need a rank of your favorite to most hated version of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. From the original book to the latest adaptations.

Hey anon! Okay, I admit that I found your ask a little weird. I mean, why would you NEED my rank for The Phantom of the Opera?! You sounded quite demanding, if I'm being honest.

On the other hand, if you're just another curious phan who wants to know me better, I just warn you that I didn't watch or read all Phantom adaptations, so some of my opinions may be a little hasty. But, anyway, here it goes:

1- ALW's Musical/2004 Movie Adaptation

2- 1990's Miniseries

3- Gaston Leroux's Novel

4- 1925 Movie

5- Susan Kay's Phantom

6- 1943/1962 Movies

7- MaZM Game Version

8- 1989 Movie

9- Dario Argento's Movie

I didn't include Phantom of the Paradise because I barely knew anything about this movie (I only know it was directed by Brian de Palma and mixes other literature classics like The Picture of Dorian Gray and Faust). Same goes for the Yeston/Kopit's musical. I know the 1990 version is based on it (without the musical part tho) but, apart from this information, I'm not very familiar with this specific take on the story.

So yeah... that's it. Hope I have given you a satisfactory answer 😘

[roleplayfinder]

Hej!

I’m looking for someone who’d like to write as Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, against my Christine Daaé. I’m looking for a one on one, literate roleplay through Discord with someone 21+.

While I’m a big big biiig fan of the ALW musical (and absolutely crushed that it’s closing on Broadway—honestly, I don’t even want to think about it), it would be nice if my partner had some knowledge of other versions of the story. Leroux, Kay, Yeston & Kopit… You name it! I love adding bits and pieces from here and there to the characters and the storylines.

And on the subject of storylines, I have lots of ideas, but I’d also love to hear ideas from my partner too! I’m a fan of canon divergent AUs as well as complete AUs. Anything from Christine going back to the Opera instead of with Philippe after leaving the Bistro in the 1990’s miniseries… to actual Angel of Music/Eldritch Horror Erik.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, please heart this post and I’ll get back to you straight away!

.

[rpersearch]

Hej!

I’m looking for someone who’d like to write as Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, against my Christine Daaé. I’m looking for a one on one, literate roleplay through Discord with someone 21+.

While I’m a big big biiig fan of the ALW musical (and absolutely crushed that it’s closing on Broadway—honestly, I don’t even want to think about it), it would be nice if my partner had some knowledge of other versions of the story. Leroux, Kay, Yeston & Kopit… You name it! I love adding bits and pieces from here and there to the characters and the storylines.

And, on the subject of storylines, I have lots of ideas, but I’d also love to hear ideas from my partner too! I’m a fan of canon divergent AUs as well as complete AUs. Anything from Christine going back to the Opera instead of with Philippe after leaving the Bistro in the 1990’s miniseries… to actual Angel of Music/Eldritch Horror Erik.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, please heart this post and I’ll get back to you straight away!

-

[mandm-cringe]

🌈☆M&M's F/O's☆🌈

Catch all Self-Ship tag:

#💙|ShipShipHooray

🌟 Sharing Guide:

🩷 Completely fine sharing!!

💛 Not fine sharing!!

🩵 Unsure or Neutral about sharing!!

🌟 Queer Platonic F/O's

{Mains}

💛 Erik Carriere | {he/him} | The Phantom of The Opera {1990 Miniseries} | 💟 Life Partners | 🎭⚘️🎶

Tags:

#🎭⚘️🎶|ThePhantomOfTheOpera

#🎵|ErikCarriere

#🤍IHaveNeverSeenSuchPerfection🪞

💛 Gwynplaine Clancharlie | {he/him} | The Man Who Laughs {1928} | 💟 Dating | 💚🃏🐺

Tags:

#💚🃏🐺|Gwynplaine

#😬|TheLaughingMan

#💘FirstGodMadeMeAMan🐦‍🔥

💛 Raggedy Andy | {he/him} | Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure {1977} | 💟 Dating | ❤️🌼🧸

Tags:

#❤️🌼🧸|RaggedyAndy

#💙MyOwnBestBoy🪙

{Secondary}

🩵 Erik Destler | {he/him} | The Phantom of The Opera {Broadway Musical} | 💟 Dating |

Tags:

#🎶🎭|ThePhantomOfTheOpera

#🎼|ErikDestler

#🎶You'reMineAndMineOnly🕊

🩵 Christine Daae | {she/her} | The Phantom of The Opera {Broadway Musical} | 💟 Dating | 🤍👼🎵

Tags:

#🤍👼🎵|ChristineDaae

#🎶ThinkOfMe❤️

💛 Glamrock Bonnie | {he/they/it + neos} | Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach | 💟 Life Partner | 🐰🌟🎸

Tags:

#🐰🌟🎸|GlamrockBonnie

#🎸RockstarsGirlfriend🌟

🩵 Nico Di Angelo | {He/they} | Percy Jackson Books | 💟 Dating | 🖤💀🗡

Tags:

#🖤💀🗡|NicoDiAngelo

#💀SignificantAnnoyance🌈

🩵 Nameless Ghoul{ette}s | The Band Ghost | 💟 Polycule | 🎵🫶😈

Tags:

#🎵🫶😈|NamelessGhoul{ette}s

💛 Mountain | {he/him} | 💟 Dating | 💚🥁⛰️

Tags:

#💚🥁⛰️|MountainGhoul

🩷 Dewdrop | {he/they} | 💟 ?? | 🖤🎸🔥

Tags:

#🖤🎸🔥|DewdropGhoul

🩵 Phantom | {he/they + neos} | 💟 Dating | 🖤🎸🫶

Tags:

#🖤🎸🫶|PhantomGhoul

🩵 Rain | {he/they} | 💟 Dating | 🤍🎸💧

Tags:

#🤍🎸💧|RainGhoul

🩷 Swiss | {he/him + neos but also doesn't care} | 💟 ?? | 🩶💥👥

Tags:

#🩶💥👥|SwissGhoul

🩵 Cirrus | {She/her} | 💟 Dating | 🖤🎹💋

Tags:

#🖤🎹💋|CirrusGhoulette

🩵 Cummulus/Lulu | {She/they} | 💟 Dating | 💖🎤☁️

Tags:

#💖🎤☁️|CumulusGhoulette

🩵 Aurora | {she/her} | 💟 Dating | 🤍🎤🌌

Tags:

#🤍🎤🌌|AuroraGhoulette

🩵 Stratus | {She/they + neos} | 💟 Dating | 💛🎤🔆

Tags:

#💛🎤🔆|StratusGhoulette

💛 Aether | {he/him} | 💟 Dating | 💜🎸✨️

Tags:

#💜🎸✨️|AetherGhoul

🩷 Ifrit | {he/they/it} | 💟 ?? | ❤️🎸💥

🩷 Mist | {She/her} | 💟 Dating | 💙🎸💦

Tags:

#💙🎸💦|MistGhoulette

Tags:

💛 Air | {He/him} | 💟 Dating | 🩵🎹💨

#❤️🎸💥|IfritGhoul

Tags:

#🩵🎹💨|AirGhoul

🩵 Omega | {He/him} | 💟 Dating | 💜🎸Ω

Tags:

#💜🎸Ω|OmegaGhoul

🩷 Alpha | {He/him} | 💟 Dating | ❤️🎸α

Tags:

#❤️🎸α|AlphaGhoul

🩷 Earth | {He/they} | 💟 Dating | 🤎🥁🌲

Tags:

#🤎🥁🌲|EarthGhoul

🩷 Chain | {He/they/it} | 💟 Dating | 🖤💦⛓️

Tags:

#🖤💦⛓️|ChainGhoul

🩷 Cowbell/Bells | {He/him + neos} | 💟 Dating | 💙🐮🔔

Tags:

#💙🐮🔔|CowbellGhoul

🩷 Phil | {He/they + neos but also doesn't care} | 💟 ?? | 💜🗒✨️

Tags:

#💜🗒✨️|PhilGhoul

{Tertiary}

🩵 König | {He/him} | Call of Duty | 💟 Life Partners | 👑🇦🇹🔫

Tags:

#👑🇦🇹🔫|Tobias'König'Leitner

#👑UndDuBistMeineKönigin⚜️

🩷 Skwisgaar | {He/him} | Metalocalypse | 💟?? | 🎸💋🇸🇪

Tags:

#🎸💋🇸🇪|SkwisgaarSkwigelf

#💋girlfriendKLOK🎸

💛 Johnny Roe | {He/him} | MeChat | 💟 Life Partners & 💍 Promised | 🎮❤️💿

Tags:

#🎮❤️💿|JohnnyRoe

💛 Princess Mathilda | {She/her} | MeChat {Kristian Maphire'sRoute} | 💟 Life Partners | 🪞👑📚

Tags:

#🪞👑📚|Mathilda

🌟 Platonic F/Os

🩷 Toki Wartooth | {He/they} | Metalocalypse | 💛 Besties | 🧸🎸🇳🇴

Tags:

#🧸🎸🇳🇴| TokiWartooth

#🫧UnderwaterFriends~🐡

🌟Familial F/Os

💛 Primo {Papa Emeritus I} | {He/him} | The Band Ghost | 🧡 Papa | ✝️🥀🖤

Tags:

#✝️🥀🖤|PapaPrimo

🩷 Secondo {Papa Emeritus II} | {He/him} | The Band Ghost | 🧡 Uncle | 💚💵🍾

Tags:

#✝️🎤👻|ZiiEmeritus

#💚💵🍾|PapaSecondo

💛 Terzo {Papa Emeritus III} | {He/him} | The Band Ghost | 🧡 Uncle | 💜💋✨️

Tags:

#✝️🎤👻|ZiiEmeritus

#💜💋✨️|PapaTerzo

🩷 Copia {Papa Emeritus IV} | {He/him} | The Band Ghost | 🧡 Uncle | 💙🌹🦇

Tags:

#✝️🎤👻|ZiiEmeritus

#💙🌹🦇|PapaCopia

#🐀Rats~✨️

🩷 Will Solace | {He/they} | Percy Jackson Books | 🧡 Cousin | 🔆🩹💛

Tags:

#🔆🩹💛|WilliamAndrewSolace

#🌟LivingGlowstick💚

🌟 F/Os I'm in limbo with right now!!

Christine Daae | {She/her} | The Phantom of The Opera {1990 Miniseries} | 💛 Bestie | 🎶🤍🌼

Tags:

#🎶🤍🌼|ChristineDaae

Crybaby | {She/they} | K-12 movie | 💟 Dating | 💌💘🫀

Tags:

#💌|Crybaby

#💘HighschoolSweetheart💌

Simon 'Ghost' Riley | {he/him} | Call of Duty | 💟 Dating | 💀🇬🇧🔫

Tags:

#💀🇬🇧🔫|Simon'Ghost'Riley

The Collector | {he/they + neos} | The Owl House | 🧡 My star baby | 💜👥🌟

Tags:

# 💜👥🌟|TheCollector

#⭐️PlayingAndDreaming💤

[itsclydebitches]

I would recommend you watch Amphibia, The Owl House, and The Ghost and Molly McGee, but the issue is those are good shows you’ll want to continue watching while dropping RWBY like a sack of garbage (Speaking from experience). I like your opinions on RWBY, but I also know you deserve to happy so I recommend these shows while also recommend you STOP WATCHING RWBY /s For real, though, it’s sad how much happier I feel now that I’ve dropped RWBY and its fandom, and I do genuinely recommend these shows.

That's an Owl House icon right? I've seen enough clips cross my dashboard to recognize the art style :D

I hadn't heard about the other two shows before, but I'll definitely check them out sometime! I just watched both trailers and I particularly love the premise of The Ghost and Molly McGee. When ghost dude was all, "I curse you that wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be there!" I'm like, "Omg is this lonely new girl gonna interpret that as a promise of friendship?" Girl: "You're my BFF now!" Me: "YEEEESSS."

My own recs based on the very little TV I've watched lately damn all the excellent video games in my library: I did a quick post about it, but if you like Phantom of the Opera at all the 1990 miniseries was wildly fun and I've also been watching BBC's Ghosts, which is the perfect technically-festive-but-not-actually-scary show for Halloween month. Plus I love Call the Midwife and immediately latched onto Charlotte Ritchie. Oh! And the new season of Bake Off, of course. How happy am I to have my comfort show back? Ecstatic.

But yeah, RWBY is... RWBY lol. My blog definitely makes it seem like I'm all RWBY all the time, but that's just because I get a lot of asks on the topic and that tends to perpetuate itself. The reality is it's just one show out of a massive collection of entertainment I engage with, taking place only a couple of months out of the year (or less, given our current, extended hiatuses), and the fandom, while absolutely hostile at times, has also helped me make some of my closest friends on here. A very small price to pay for those relationships, imo 💜

[thefloatingstone]

On the subject of Phantom of the Opera, have you consumed most media related to it? Including the original novel, most movie adaptations, the musical, and the 1990’s miniseries? There was a lot of different takes on it before ALW came along, and he took most of his inspiration from the 1925 Lon Chaney movie.

I actually haven't. My mom has one of the versions of the Lon Chaney movie (I have to find out which one) but I still need to watch it myself. I like the play very much but I can't really call myself as enamored with it as some other people are. it's a very good story and I really like pouring into the psychologies of the characters when I have recently watched it, but otherwise it's not a story that struck me on a personal level, I guess (if that makes sense).

I guess it just doesn't have that uh... ...oh geez....je ne sais quoi? that would make me absorb into part of my personality XD

[epwhales]

Hi, I'm kinda new to fandom, and the only Phantom of the Opera I've seen is the 1990's miniseries. Tell me who the heck is Gerik?

Welcome to the phandom!

Gerik is the one with the sunburn accident

AKA 2004 POTO Andrew Lloyd Webber movie!

[smokeyloki]

Lion’s fairytale, everlasting daisy, honey perfume ☺️

Lion’s fairytale: Would you rather be the sky, the ocean, or the forests?

Not a question I get asked often, I will admit.  Let’s see..if I had to choose? The sky.  Big and colorful and open and sometimes it can snow or be rainy or it’s cloudy and overcast but it’s always beautiful. 

Everlasting Daisy: What’s the last dream you remember having?

A bad dream regarding some friends of mine not wanting to be my friends for some reason? Or coming out with some big secret that I didn’t know and didn’t agree with.  Something like that.

Honey Perfume: Favorite movie ever?

Ugh..I don’t have just one. Hmm.  Lord of the Rings, definitely, Paul: Apostle of Christ, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Little Boy, The Last Unicorn, The 1990′s Miniseries of Phantom of the Opera..those are the few that I can think of right now. 

[embergeist]

After a harsh day of finals, sleep deprivation and starvation, I was finally able to finish this guy!

Love me this guy. He is the best guy. 

Cherik from the Phantom of the Opera 1990′s TV Miniseries. 

[nessie665]

ALW!Erik: If she breathes, she a thot,

Y&K!Erik: ALL WOMAN ARE QUEENS!

[ofbeautsandbeasts]

Phan Survey 2018

Basic info Name (or what we should call you): Jaden Age: 🐙 Pronouns: They/Them Location: Midwest, US Discord: n/a Rabb.it: n/a FFN: n/a AO3: n/a Deviantart: ofbeautsandbeasts.deviantart.com Instagram: ofbeautsandbeasts Shop(s): society6.com/ofbeautsandbeasts Other: I do have a Twitter and FB page, but I never use them...

Phan history 1. General phan since: 2004 2. Part of Tumblr phandom since: 2015 (although I’ve been lurking since ~2012) 3. One-sentence summary of how you got into Phantom: I watched the 2004 movie and I was hooked. 4. Phantom-related performances attended: Vegas in 2009, US tour in 2016 5. Adaptations you’re familiar with: I’ve watched a ton of different movie adaptations and read several different book adaptations. 6. Other relevant tidbits you’d like to share (collections, costumes, celebrity encounters, etc.): Uh...I do collect books and random memorabilia related to PotO. You can see them here: ofbeautsandbeasts.tumblr.com/tagged/erik’s+adventures

Blog 1. Main blog: ofbeautsandbeasts.tumblr.com 2. Phantom sideblog, if applicable: n/a 3. Other sideblogs you’d like us to know about: n/a 4. Your blog focus/aesthetic, if you have one: You tell me :P 5. Types of fan content you produce, if any: I draw phanart and am planning to publish a PotO manga, but that’s taking awhile because I’m a slowpoke who has motivational issues. 6. Types of content you reblog (Phantom or otherwise): I reblog all manners of things...Much of it is humor, but I do try to reblog plenty of Phantom stuff. 7. Do you post or reblog NSFW content? Not really... 8. Other general interests: David Bowie, Labyrinth, Les Miserables, sleeping

Phan favorites 1. Favorite adaptation(s): The original novel, ALW musical, 1990 Miniseries 2. Favorite character(s): Erik, Christine, The Daroga 3. Ship(s) you ship, if any: E/C, R/C, Pharoga, and more. I could basically ship anything if there’s a good story attached. But that also means I’m not terribly invested in any ship.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 4. Favorite actor(s): Hugh Panaro and Davis Gaines are my ALW faves. I do like what Lon Chaney and Charles Dance contributed to their film roles. 5. Other Phantom-related obsessions: Uhh...I’ve taken up going to the opera, writing anonymous notes to the managers, dropping chandeliers on people, stalking sopranos, living underground, etc. Nothing crazy.

Fandom involvement 1. Favorite phan blogs: Gosh, so many. I can’t be bothered listing all y’all, but you probably already know who you are ^_~ 2. Content you’d love to see more of: I don’t know. I just want you guys to produce what your heart desires and there’s a fair chance I’ll enjoy it too :D 3. Phandom discord server(s) that you frequent: none 4. Do you/would you attend phan-hosted streams? If so, what would you like to see streamed? nah 5. Do you read fanfiction? If so, what kind(s)? I don’t read much, but I do read one here and there when the mood strikes. Usually E/C or Pharoga fics. 6. Anything else you’d like to add? The Phaaaantom of the Opera is heeeere... inside my miiiiiiind

[bethanygracewilliams]

hey hey!! for the phantom asks, 1, 2, 8, 18 & 30!

1. Who is your favourite ALW musical Phantom?

Ooh, this is a tough one! There's so many that I love! I can only narrow it down to two and those two would be Ramin Karimloo and Hugh Panaro.

 2. Which Phantom movie is your favourite?

Again, another tough one! I think my very favourite would have to be the 1990 miniseries, but Phantom Of The Paradise ranks a close second.

 8. Do you sound like a banshee when you sing Christine's part or are you quite competent?

When I first got into Phantom, I absolutely sounded like a banshee! But I've been training my voice since then and I've gotten pretty good!

Still can't hit that high note at the end of Phantom Of The Opera though...at least, not yet!

 18. Who are your favourite artists/writers in the phandom?

Ah, that's so hard! There are so many talented people in the phandom! Just off the top of my head, my favourite writers would be phantom-of-the-keurig, another-chorus-girl, and your-obedient-phantom. I also love your-obedient-phantom's art and muirin007's art.

 30. How does Erik look in your imagination?

Tall. Like ridiculously tall and thin as thin can be. He's like a stick. And he's stupidly pale. I picture his mask like Charles Dance's Erik, how it covers the whole face except for the mouth. I like his wig to look natural, somewhat unkempt. I often picture the wig that the Phantom wears in the new 2016/2017 production of Phantom. I picture his deformity very similar to Leroux!Erik. No nose, sharp features, golden eyes...very skeletal looking. He's got long piano fingers, a very graceful gait, and the most infuriatingly arrogant smirk you've ever seen.

 Thank you very much for your question! I appreciate it. ^-^

[aion-rsa]

Tell Me A Story: 15 Weird Superhero Comic Book Formats

Over their several decades of existence, American superhero comics have had to adapt to changing market conditions and changes in reader habits. Anthologies were more popular in the Golden Age but dwindled away as the Silver Age ended. Early Marvel superhero books incorporated continuing subplots to create super-soap operas, and DC naturally followed suit. Today, even as the individual issue with 20 story pages still dominates as the standard comic book format, many readers wait for collected editions.

RELATED: The 15 Weirdest Comic Book Swimsuit Specials

And yet, every now and then there are isolated instances of experimentation in which a publisher bends those dominant formats to either stretch storytelling possibilities or just to attract attention. Never mind the menagerie of 1990s-era cover gimmicks or the modern effects that digital and motion comics can achieve; good old-fashioned print had some surprising tricks. Today, as the “Kamandi Challenge” revives an old DC experiment, we look back (in no particular order) on some odd and unusual ways to present superhero stories.

ROCKIN’ ROUND-ROBIN

If you think creative teams don’t stick around as long as they used to, then you need to consider the round-robin format used in 1985-86’s “DC Challenge” miniseries and currently in use by the “Kamandi Challenge.” Each issue has a different creative team and the only real rule is to end on a cliffhanger for the next team to resolve. Notice that the rules don’t include “tell a coherent story,” because as much fun as the “DC Challenge” teams apparently had on each of their issues, boy-howdy was it hard to follow!

It started with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Adam Strange and some demons in Mark Evanier and Gene Colan’s “DC Challenge” #1, but before it was over, Nazis had won World War II, Superman had a red sun for a head and the JLA Satellite was full of confused super-people. Nevertheless, the round-robin can stretch the capabilities of both readers and creators, and it truly shows off comics’ limitless potential.

A BIG DELIGHT

Likewise, we include the ubiquitous one-page Hostess Cupcake ads of the 1970s for the only rule they appeared to have: Make sure the product is the star. That was the point, of course; but for readers used to Batman and Daredevil fighting ninjas and serial murderers in their regular books, the ads were a bit jarring to read.

Although they featured even wilder plots than the regular comics (birds stealing the Statue of Liberty, for example) and used ultra-powerful characters like Green Lantern and Captain Mar-Vell, the day was always saved by the timely appearance of Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes or Fruit Pies. Granted, who among us can resist rich chocolate taste and/or creamy filling. But the ads were so prevalent that, after a while, one got the impression that the Justice League and Avengers could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by stuffing the Anti-Monitor or Thanos full of sweet treats.

COMICS WITHIN COMICS

In the early 1980s, DC previewed new series with 16-page stories bound into the middle of selected single issues. The “Amethyst” preview was in “Legion of Super-Heroes” #294, “All-Star Squadron’s” was in “JLA” #192, and a little series called “New Teen Titans” was first seen in the middle of “DC Comics Presents” #26.

These previews didn’t have anything to do with the titles they appeared in, but later in the decade, “Bonus Book” inserts tied in more closely and featured up-and-coming talent. Today, the format is back, sort of, through “Dark Knight III’s” bound-in mini-comics. Basically they’re backup stories, but since they’re physically in the middle of the issue, you have to get around them in order to finish reading the main story, and then circle back and hope you read everything in the right order. Whatever you do, though, don’t risk your comics’ value (or its staples) by removing the inserts.

HEARD ANY GOOD PICTURES LATELY?

Another staple of the 1970s, Power Records specialized in book-and-record sets where kids could read along with an audio dramatization. Along with superheroes, the label featured sci-fi franchises like “Star Trek” and “Planet of the Apes.” While Power adapted existing issues, like September 1972’s “Fantastic Four” #126, December 1973’s “Captain America” #168 or January 1974’s “Incredible Hulk” #171, Neal Adams’ Continuity Studios also produced original stories for the label.

These included the Batman tales “Stacked Cards” and “Robin Meets Man-Bat” (reprinted in “Batman Illustrated By Neal Adams” volume 3); Superman stories by Cary Bates, Elliott S. Maggin and Ross Andru; and a 1976 Conan adventure by Len Wein, J.M. DeMatteis and John Buscema that was reprinted as November 1980’s “Conan” #116. Although the novelty comes from hearing an actor screech like Man-Bat or roar like the Hulk, we imagine “writing for the record” is a skill set all its own.

NEXUS IN STEREO

Sometimes the soundtrack is part of the main series. “Nexus” was a superhero series set 500 years in the future, initially published under Capital Comics and now owned by Dark Horse. Writer Mike Baron and artist Steve Rude’s independent sci-fi superhero classic started out as a magazine-sized black-and-white comic.

Bound into its third issue was a “flexi-disc” with the “Nexus” theme song (co-written by Baron) and an audio dramatization. An editorial explained the benefits: “The intonation of a character’s voice, background music to set the mood and electrifying sound effects all add new depth and dimension to the printed words and art.” While flexi-discs wouldn’t be in every issue, the editorial promised “next time we do this it’ll be even better.” However, there was never to be a “next time,” unfortunately, as the flexi-disc doesn’t show up in reprints and there weren’t any future issues that came accompanied with flex-discs to enjoy. However, “Nexus” turned out to be memorable enough without the audio accompaniment.

INDEPENDENT VOICES

Although it’s not really a distinct format to pair mainstream, corporate-controlled characters with comics creators from more of an independent background, anthologies like the “Bizarro Comics” and “Strange Tales” series are often both entertaining and illuminating.

“Bizarro” allowed DC to reprint Kyle Baker’s instant-classic “Letitia Lerner, Superman’s Babysitter” and “Strange Tales” gave us Kate Beaton’s take on Rogue and Kraven. Tom Scioli and John Barber’s “Transformers vs. G.I. Joe” series, which merged the superfans’ knowledge with their unique styles and filtered it through a ’70s Jack Kirby lens, is also a good example of combining the best of both worlds. Of course, with the Internet, it’s become easier than ever to find cartoonists’ “unsanctioned” takes on superheroes, but the official sanctioning of a DC or Marvel anthology may sand down some rough edges. Still, the freedom these creators normally enjoy usually transfers pretty well, and we’re all better for it.

NEXTWAVE EXTRAS

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s 12-issue cult-classic “Nextwave” (2006-07) took shots at a lot of superhero-comics targets, but it also used some memorable gimmicks to grow an audience. Mixed into Fin Fang Foom’s pants-related anger, the filthy half of the Captain’s codename and Machine Man’s contempt for fleshy ones was the “Nextwave” theme. So too were things like issue #5’s “Crayon Butchery Variant.”

Yes, quite a while before adult coloring books became a thing, “Nextwave” encouraged its readers to cast off the shackles of hues imposed from on high and color the issue themselves. Granted, this was a variant, so readers had to make an extra effort to get it. So unsurprisingly, the non-colored version of the issue hasn’t been reprinted in any “Nextwave” collection. As a further incentive, though, Marvel conducted a coloring contest, and the winner’s name (Matthew Keegan, whose entry can be seen here) was forever immortalized in said collections.

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING

The 12-issue weekly “Wednesday Comics” was designed to emulate the classic comics pages of Sunday newspapers, when adventure strips like “Prince Valiant” and “The Phantom” got ample room for their Sunday-continuity installments (Feel free to ask your grandparents for more details.). Each issue of “Wednesday Comics” folded up into a standard 7″ x 10″ comic-book size, but opened into 15 gigantic 14″ x 20″ broadsheet pages.

The features included DC’s A-listers as well as Kyle Baker’s “Hawkman,” Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook’s “Kamandi” and Paul Pope’s “Adam Strange.” Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred’s “Metamorpho” even did two pages which combined to form the Periodic Table of the Elements. “USA Today” also published John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo’s “Superman” strip. The collected edition is similarly impressive, and includes a “Plastic Man” short feature; but nothing beat the love-of-reading experience from picking up each issue as it came out.

EVENTS PUBLISHED IN REAL TIME

One series which demanded to be read as it came out was 2006-07’s sequel to “Infinite Crisis,” the year-long weekly “52.” Since all of DC’s ongoing superhero comics had gone through a one-year time-jump, only “52” chronicled the missing year. Its brain trust, which included writers Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Grant Morrison and Greg Rucka, and layout artist Keith Giffen, further imposed a strict real-time rule that each issue would cover one week. The only cliffhanger involved one issue ending at 11:59 p.m. and the next starting at midnight.

The method was popular enough, with some fans reportedly waiting to read each day’s events as they “happened,” meaning a fan on a Tuesday would stop reading on when he or she reached the part of the issue dealing with a Wednesday. There had been real-time comics before (the “Batman: No Man’s Land” epic played out over the course of a year, for example, from January to December 1999), but with elastic timelines a staple of superhero storytelling, “52’s” adherence to its internal rules was both a clever gimmick and a steadying influence on its pacing.

TRIANGLE TIME

Some superheroes are simply too big for one book, but when a hero has multiple comics titles being published, those books don’t necessarily have to flow together. When they do, however, the results can be quite engaging. In the early 1980s, Bat-writer Gerry Conway structured issues of “Batman” and “Detective Comics” so that “Detective” continued “Batman’s” stories, and vice versa. The format ended with 1986’s “Batman” #400, but not long afterwards the three Superman books (“Action Comics,” “Adventures of Superman” and “Superman”) picked it up.

To keep everything straight, the Super-titles put the reading order in a little triangle on each issue’s cover. It lasted about 10 years, before including the addition of a new monthly series (“Man of Steel”), as well as incorporating a new quarterly book (“Man of Tomorrow”) for the months that had five Wednesdays in them. It could be overwhelming at times, but the four series combined to tell some true epics, including the “Death of Superman,” “Funeral For A Friend” and “Return of Superman” story arcs.

PAGE-HOPPING

We’ve already talked about comics within comics, but Walt Simonson’s “Fantastic Four” #352 (May 1991) presented a story within a story, and the “inner” story was out of sync with the “outer” one! The main (“outer”) story involved Doctor Doom, Ben Grimm reverting back to the Thing, and Ben’s girlfriend Sharon Ventura giving up her own career as the Thing in her absence.

Doom had captured the FF and challenged Reed Richards to a duel using time-jumping devices. Their fight, which was waged across increments of minutes and seconds, was the “inner” story, and it unfolded in out-of-sequence vertical panels that ran alongside the in-sequence main story. Readers had to follow the timecodes in both stories in order to keep everything in order, and could check their work with the occasional panel where the two timelines intersected. It was a great use of single-issue real estate and the kind of innovative technique “FF” helped pioneer.

DIAL “R” FOR READER

Created by Dave Wood and Jim Mooney for January 1966’s “House of Mystery” #156, “Dial H For HERO” was one of Silver Age DC’s crazier concepts. It involved a magic “H-Dial” which would turn its owner into a randomly-generated superhero and, more often than not, a one-off character created specifically for the story.

The feature ran until issue #173 (March-April 1968) but was revived in February 1981 via a special insert (remember those?) in “Legion of Super-Heroes” #272. (It then moved to “Adventure Comics” and was a backup in “Superboy.”) This time, writer Marv Wolfman and artist Carmine Infantino’s gimmick was using characters submitted by readers, who both received credit for the idea and had a T-shirt sent to them in exchange for their intellectual property. While it was probably a time-saver for the creative team, no doubt they also wracked their brains trying to figure out how to work Lawnmower Lass, or whomever, into the stories.

THIS COMIC CAN KILL YOU

In “Animal Man,” Grant Morrison famously broke the fourth wall to introduce himself to the main character, Buddy Baker. Over 20 years later, Morrison would revisit the idea of characters addressing the reader directly in his “Multiversity” miniseries, especially in the “Ultra Comics” one-shot, which was an installment about a character named Ultra from the “real world” of Earth-33, who was a comic book come to life.

In other words, “Ultra Comics” was about itself, and by reading the issue, readers participated in the character’s life, including his birth and (very short) career. At the end of the issue, Ultra sacrificed himself by trapping his foe within the pages of the comic, begging readers not to let it out. To that point, “Multiversity” was already pretty meta-textual, so “Ultra Comics” was over the top on a number of levels. Nevertheless, the reader-participation angle gave the miniseries an entirely new dimension.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE COMICS

One of the many tools in Ryan North’s utility belt is a knack for choose-your-own-adventure storytelling. Besides his great mostly-prose Shakespeare adaptations (“To Be Or Not To Be” and “Romeo And/Or Juliet”), he’s also written a couple of chooseable-path comics. In November 2012’s “Adventure Time” #10, he and artist Shelli Paroline crafted a labyrinthine tale about the Ice King putting our heroes under the control of a mysterious force (guess who) which got more and more twisted as the issue played out. The ending even depended on the sheer number of options the story eventually encompassed.

More recently, in June 2016’s “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” #7, North and artist Erica Henderson allowed the reader to guide Squirrel Girl to victory against Quoggoth, Swarm, and/or Doctor Yes, with Galactus himself as your host. Chooseable-path comics aren’t new (see “The Unwritten” #17, for example) but North has brought them back into the limelight and made them a one-man trend.

TITANS SEPARATELY

Superhero comics of the early ’90s get well-deserved attention for the cover-enhancement craze. Therefore, to stand out from all the chromium and foil, DC promoted September 1992’s first issue of “Team Titans” with — wait for it — alternate interiors. That’s right, not only did “Team Titans” #1 feature variant covers for each of the five Titans, each variant also included the 18-page origin of its cover-featured hero.

Accordingly, if you wanted to get the whole story, you had to buy five different issues (all of which were written by Marv Wolfman). That was overkill, since the variants all shared the same 22-page main story; and on top of that, the main story was Part 3 of a Titans-franchise crossover! Those of you doing the math will realize that if you bought all five variants, you got 4 extra copies of Part 3 of the crossover. Needless to say, DC decided to keep the variants on the covers only from then on.

Got a favorite storytelling strategy or comic book gimmick? Tell us in the comments!

The post Tell Me A Story: 15 Weird Superhero Comic Book Formats appeared first on CBR.com.

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[nessie665]

Someone knows what the song Christine is singing in the 90′s miniseries the first time Erik listens her sing?

I saw the version dubbed into Spanish, but there were subtitles when she was singing. Here the translation of the song into English, from the translation of Spanish, from the translation of whatever language in which Christine was singing. so this is a triple translation, sorry if something got lost along the way

In my father's house, the laurels and grapefruits, and all the birds of the world I sing for the young people who don't think about crazy things I sing for everyone because I want to be beautiful Close to my rubia, how good it is! Close to my rubia, how good it is!