#Detective Conan character visual book

[coco-cups8]

IT ARRIVED!!

I can’t exactly read it but it’s still so fascinating and awesome nonetheless.

We got sketches!

Character bios with the boys and the Nagano trio!!

Episode recaps!

Conan’s gadgets!

GUNS

This book is great.

[mssoapart]

Day 7

Free-day (Out of order and late) Alenoah as Sherlock/Moriarty.

I like it when two characters play mind games and scheming against or with each other.

I didn`t plan to create an AU, but – my rant and bits of literature/character analysis (The Vision). Also, draw concept sketch.

Noah (Detective Sherlock Holmes). I mean, they're both geniuses, introverts who don't care about social opinion and some versions depicted him as being good with dogs. In Victorian England, I totally see Noah opening a detective agency, because you either go working on a plant or you might use your geniuses’ intelligence to solve crimes, like game puzzles, and make monies to pay bills and buy new books because in 1800 many books were expensive and produced in small quantities.

Plus! I might look at this too far, but I think the Sherlock and Watson analogy was implemented in London episode when they strip team Chris just to Noah and Owen for investigation.

Owen (Dr. Watson). Basically in the original books, Watson plays the role of the guy, your typical visual novel MC, well narrator, who has character, but his whole purpose is just to be a witness to detectives doing, asking questions for the audience. This leads to usually representing Watson as either annoyed with Sherlock's antics or (usually in kids' media) naïve but with good intentions because of this simplification, to show his kindhearted nature in cartoons and caricatures he is portrayed as chubby, which is what we need! But all of them did service in the Anglo-Afghan War, even Disney version mentioned it. (Also if you want to do Nowen version of Jhonlock I don`t mind, sure go for it)

Alejandro (professor Moriarty). Do I really need to explain? Both archvillains in their stories. Professor, respected in society for his talent and achievements, wealthy, but behind all of that façade he`s "Napoleon of crime". He doesn’t usually do crimes himself but rather, schemes, orchestrates the events, or provides the plans that will lead to a successful crime, like paying money to a court so that someone can be released from prison.

Heather (Irene Adler). OK, in the original books (all books written not by Arthur Conan Doyle are basically fanfics) her character and Sherlock don`t date (But if you like, it`s fine). She was more like “I know what you are” towards him.  I want to base it more on Warner Bros Sherlock where Irene works with Moriarty, but they also try to get rid of each other. She is also famous for blackmailing royals, If it isn`t most Heather thing I don`t know what is.

Eva (Mrs. Hudson). The landlady. I think it would be funny, she yelling at them to pay their bills in time.

See you next week

[batboyblog]

Public Domain Notice!

Happy Public Domain Day here in the USA!

today, January 1st 2023 marks the day all works published in the year 1927 enter the public domain! This includes books, movies and music.

Here are a few of the most famous and important works entering public domain today:

The final two Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. You likely have heard something about this, while the character of Sherlock Holmes has been public domain for many years a handful of stories in Conan Doyle's last collection of Holmes stories, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1927 remained under copy right. The famously litigious Conan Doyle Estate Ltd has used it's control of these copyrights to pressure movie, TV, and even authors to pay them when using the public domain character of Sherlock Holmes or adaptations of public domain stories. Well finally the last of their copyrights have finally run out and you can publish a collection of all 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories (and 4 novels) if you want, or use elements from these final stories in your own Sherlock Holmes story and the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd can finally go fuck itself.

speaking of detectives, the first 3 Hardy Boys novels, The Tower Treasure, The House on the Cliff, and The Secret of the Old Mill are also entering public domain, as such you are free to include Frank and Joe Hardy in your own work of fictions, but be careful to stick to their characterization from these first 3 books.

other exciting books entering the public domain today are, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Men Without Women (a short story collection) by Ernest Hemingway, The Big Four by Agatha Christie (big year for detectives huh?) Mosquitoes by William Faulkner, Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton, The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury, Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, Amerika by Franz Kafka

in terms of movies one of the most famous silent films ever made and one of the most visually iconic, Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang will reenter the Public Domain, The American copyright lapsed in 1953 making the film widely available and allowing for versions with material that had been cut from the 1927 version to be published in the 1970s and 80s. However under an international copyright agreement the film was returned to copyrighted status in 1996. But Today it's back back back again in the Public Domain!

Other exciting films entering the public domain are The Jazz Singer the very first "Talkie", Wings the very first Academy Award for best picture (or "outstanding picture" as it was then) The King of Kings directed by Cecil B. DeMille, Sunrise directed by F.W. Murnau (his first American film!) and The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog first first thriller directed by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock

the musical Show Boat by Oscar Hammerstein II will also enter the public domain with songs like Ol’ Man River, the musical Funny Face, and Good News with songs like Funny Face and The Best Things in Life Are Free, stand alone songs (I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream, Puttin’ on the Ritz, Potato Head Blues, Gully Low Blues, East St. Louis Toodle-O, and Mississippi Mud will all be free to the public today

Finally a piece of Disney history is entering the public domain. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit first appeared in 1927 and will be free to appear in works of fiction this year, a year ahead of his younger brother Mickey Mouse

[unhappy-sometimes]

other than spy fam what are your favorite animes :) p.s. sorry for causing a monsoon in your notifications, i recently followed and tumblr is putting all your stuff in my feed and for each one i'm like I LIKE YOU HAVE A CUPCAKE

i will not stop tho teehee

never apologize for spamming my notifs

(i like the taste of spam and i have notifs turned off anyway)

okay big list of series and opinions below the cut! as well as a little unso lore! please read it, tumblr crashed the first time i tried to answer and i had to retype EVERYTHING 😭

favorite series of all time: fullmetal alchemist

brotherhood, if we’re talking anime, but the manga is still the superior version no matter what. best art, best story, best characters, best fight scenes, best EVERYTHING: the pinnacle of what shonen should be. fma made me want to pursue visual storytelling and quite honestly changed the course of my life. could talk about it forever. cannot recommend it enough. riza hawkeye best character forever and ever.

second favorite series ever: ouran highschool host club

once again, the anime is decent but the manga is where it’s at. ohshc subverts classic shojo tropes while also playing into them and i love love love it for that. i recently reread it and was delighted to find that it still holds up for the most part. makes me scream with laughter and i cannot choose a favorite character (mouri best host tho). it was also just super ahead of its time. hilarious while also being heartfelt and genuine. greatest love confession scene in the history of the world.

the following series are not in any order, i just like them a lot:

spy x family

you guys already know what’s up

apothecary diaries

maomao MAKES👏THIS👏SERIES, i love her SO MUCH. this series has taken over my life. i watched the anime over and over and when i got tired of that, i read the manga over and over, and when i ran out of that, i began READING THE LIGHT NOVELS which i NEVER DO. i read nearly all of the light novels over the course of a week while i was super sick and coughing my lungs inside out, but it was a good time. i still actively read the english translations of the light novel chapters they come out and it honestly makes me week every time. also gaoshun is my favorite character and i would marry him SO fast.

mob psycho 100

yeah :,))))))

natsume’s book of friends (natsume yuujinchou)

if i had to describe this series in one word, it would be nostalgia. that may be because it was the second series i ever read as a kid, but it also just FEELS like blurry summer days and childhood friends you’ve nearly forgotten about. also manga natsume is way more fine that anime natsume. i can’t believe they changed his hair color >:(

detective conan

…or “case closed” as they call it in the united states. i have a lot of contempt for series that drag on for forever in the sake of making money but lemme tell you, early conan was GOOD. it was gory and dark and sometimes kinda scary but it was also a little goofy and cheesy. throwback to the early volumes when conan rode a large dog to rescue a kidnapped girl and also held the hand of a dying woman covered in blood as he told her his true name. you don’t get stuff like that anymore because the show’s demographic is getting younger. but i miss the days when people were getting decapitated via roller coaster. i stick with it for sentimental reasons because i’ve watched/read it since i was a tween. i also own the first 80 volumes of the english manga and named my cat Osaka aftwd heiji hattori. also kaito kid sucks and i hate him.

and now, rapid fire list of animes i saw and enjoyed

link click, frieren (first ep always makes me cry, manga is meh), buddy daddies, saiki k, vinland saga, demon slayer (the art was good, everything else was fine), inuyasha, a lot more but it’s late and i’m sleepy

ANYWAY, i have a LOT of anime/manga opinions but i don’t feel like getting into them rn. here is but a taste of them.

also, the first series i ever saw was called “hikaru no go” and i just think it’s funny that i’ve never met another soul who has heard of it and yet my childhood library in the middle of nowhere had the entire series. i think i own two of the volumes because i lost them, paid a fine, and then found them again. good time.

[cornus27florida]

Frederick's Inner Child

Warning: talking about mental issue and unaware this become long post, wao... Feel free to agree or disagree in the interactions through reblog or comment/reply or anything

In the mental health issue study, one of the famous theory of mental healing is "Hugging Your Inner Child" like this or this.

Which as wiki editor, I put that facts in Frederick's page :

One of the most unique personalization of Frederick is, he's the only character in the series that depicted with having an "inner child" persona. The first appearance of his inner child persona (wore the uniform of his academy) is at Episode 70 which appeared after he had meditation that Whitney that helps him to realizing what he wants. The second appearance is after the gala (wore the outfit of the tiniest prince), his inner child mimicking the pose that he held as he's crouching in guilt realizing that he's hurting Gwen at Jamie's Wake as Gwen overheard him calling her very ugly. In the first appearance, the words that his inner persona utters are "Failure" and "Loser". In the second appearance, the words are saying "Serpent" - "Monster" - "All Your Fault".

I personally feel very sad for Frederick's inner child especially at the second time of his appearance - no one tell him that what he thought is just negative thoughts and not exactly are all of these all of his fault. There's no Whitney that helping Frederick to meditate and realizing the truths. Gwen has inner negative thoughts too, but as far as the series goes and with my own interpretation - I see her case is the apparition of her image being shattered (like image below).

Frederick's case, although could be saying similar with Gwen as having shattered scene (which in his case is the collection of his model ships, and his books) - is different and that's means the solution is different too. Gwen's possible solution of being shattered won't be talked here - I find many nice theories like once she meet her mother in the dream she could be healing.. I want to talk about Frederick, that having inner child persona which I've seen in several media showing similar visualization be it the official (Kaneki Ken/Haise Sasaki from Tokyo Ghoul:[RE] is depicted to having conversation with multiple personas), or various fanarts like Jodie Starling from Detective Conan hugging her child persona that witnessing the horror when her father got murdered and the corpse is burned as her house in flames...

Based on their interaction so far, which actually just episode 70 because Frederick dealing with his inner child isn't shown up again.. What I get is that Frederick himself is shocked to realizing how 'idiotic', sassy and judgemental that his own inner child is. One thing that they're agree is thinking that Blaine's fan club is a pile of doo doo - which could be seen as the foreshadowing that the second appearance of the inner child is after the waffle-note being spread out by a member of Blaine's Fan Club at the gala...

Nice fist bro among one-self T^T

Now you just need to hugs him, Frederick. He def need it

Conclusion and the P.S:

Hugging your "Inner Child" is basically a mental health theory that telling about how the past innocence getting hurt, and one's need to embrace them as the start of healing...

Frederick is the only character in the CPC that depicted to having 'inner child', which appeared at two most important events of him - when he is realizing what he wants, and when he learning the truth that Gwen overhears his idiotic word.

I say to make conclusion of the 'self-love' that CPC moral want to say, we could also use the deuteragonist Frederick for it too - by making his inner child appear again in the future.

Gwen and Frederick deep down are very similar, they are hurting - need hug desperately to healing their trauma - and after getting healed they could starts relationship together

[bakerstreetbabble]

Granada TV Series Review: "The Sign of Four"

Finally, here it is! My review of the 1987 Granada TV adaptation of The Sign of Four...enjoy!

First of all, one could give this installment in the series a two-word review: mostly faithful. That is, the adaptation follows very closely all the main plot points of its source material, with a few little tweaks here and there. I shall mention some of the most obvious changes as I go along. It may be best to begin with the title: Arthur Conan Doyle's novella was originally published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine as The Sign of the Four (1890), but many subsequent editions omitted the second definite article and were released as The Sign of Four. Granada chose to go with the latter. In the novella, of course, Jonathan Small's calling card reads, "the sign of the four." 

As I said, the adaptation is nothing if not faithful to its source. This can be a bit problematic, as it means the last twenty minutes or so of the film are told in flashback by Jonathan Small, which strikes me as a bit anticlimactic for the flow of the story. However, if one were to place the past events told in flashback at the beginning of the film, one would be faced with a Sherlock Holmes story in which the detective doesn't show up until well into the story. Either way, it's a difficult problem for the writers. Overall, I think they did a very good job, despite some of the inherent problem of somewhat slow pacing.

Jeremy Brett is in excellent form throughout the film, despite the fact that he was beginning to struggle with his bipolar disorder around this same time. Perhaps this explains the unusual decision towards the beginning of the film, in which Holmes displays some rather unusual behavior as Mary Morstan tells her story. He complains of the messiness of the flat at 221B and begins to brush lint from his suit as she talks. His reaction ends up coming off as boorish and eccentric. Holmes in the book shows no such odd behavior. Still, Brett is mostly excellent in the adaptation, and Edward Hardwicke had clearly become quite comfortable in the role by this time, so the chemistry between Holmes and Watson works quite well.

I'm afraid Jenny Seagrove's portrayal of Mary Morstan struck me as a bit bland and uninteresting. I was at a loss to understand exactly why Watson seemed so charmed by her (apart from the fact that it's a fairly major subplot point in the book). She's adequate in the role, but I found her quite unimpressive. In contrast, I thought Ronald Lacey (better known as the creepy Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark) was delightful as Thaddeus and Bartholomew Sholto. He's eccentric, funny, and just a bit unsettling at times. Really, an almost perfect portrayal of the unusual character. Emrys James as Inspector Athelney Jones was also quite entertaining, serving as a pompous, comical foil to Holmes's far more intelligent investigation. Brett and James do a fabulous job in the scene in which Jones is presenting his theory of the murder of Bartholomew Sholto, with Holmes wryly responding, "On which the dead man very considerately got up and locked the door on the inside." (A marvelous line, straight from the original novella.)

As often happens in some of the Granada adaptations, the director makes several unusual visual choices, displaying a fondness for shots that show Holmes in mirrors or shots that are obscured by objects in the foreground. A few of those choices work fairly well, though. A couple that I thought were interesting: shortly after Holmes climbs down from the roof of Pondicherry Lodge, there's a brief segment of dialogue in which the camera focuses on the characters' shadows on the brick wall; a particularly effective shot is when Holmes is reading about "the aborigines of the Andaman Islands," and the camera slowly zooms in on him as he smokes, surrounded by stacks of books. Less successful were several shots during the river chase scene, where the view of the steamboats was obscured by various objects in the foreground. Very odd.

Of course, what would a Sherlock Holmes adaptation be without at least one scene where Holmes remains in disguise just to mess with Watson? Jeremy Brett always seemed to take a special delight in such scenes, as displayed in this film, when he shows up at 221B dressed as an old mariner and completely fools both Watson and Inspector Jones. It does require a bit of suspension of disbelief to accept that neither man would see through such an obvious disguise. Still, it's quite entertaining.

One unpleasant detail that I can't help finding cringe-inducing is, of course, the portrayal of Tonga. There's really no way to get around the inherent racism of Doyle's portrayal of other races, which was not at all unusual for the late 19th century English culture. But it is particularly uncomfortable in this day and age to see the obvious blackface makeup applied to actor Kiran Shah, who would later do quite notable work in The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And the prosthetic teeth are just badly done. It also doesn't help that, right towards the end of the film, we're given a really tacky shot of Tonga sinking into the Thames as gold coins splash around him (another Jonathan Small flashback, telling how he disposed of the Agra treasure).

A good decision made by the writers was the decision to move the revelation of the empty treasure box to occur after Jonathan Small's story has been told. I've always been confused by Doyle's decision to have that moment (as well as Watson's profession of love to Mary) happen before Small is allowed to recount his entire story. I still find myself wondering, however, how no one who lugged that treasure chest all the way across town (to Mary's employer's house in the book, and to 221B in the film) could tell that it was empty! I imagine many viewers have been disappointed that Watson's declaration of love and his subsequent proposal to Mary have been omitted. I can only guess that the writers for the Granada series were not interested in having Mary become a recurring character, and that they preferred to keep Watson and Holmes a couple of bachelors. Thus, we are only given a few longing looks from Watson as Mary goes her merry way. (See what I did there?)

I mustn't forget one of the most enjoyable moments in the film: the appearance of the famous Baker Street Irregulars. Although these little ragamuffins don't appear all that often in the canon, they certainly have earned the affection of Sherlock Holmes fans that probably ranks right up there with Sherlockians' fascination with Irene Adler (another fairly minor character who has achieved great fame). The scene where the Irregulars arrive at 221B, much to Mrs. Hudson's consternation, is done perfectly, and Jeremy Brett seems to be having a lot of fun at this point.

I have to say, overall, I enjoyed this particular adaptation of The Sign of Four. I found it engaging, despite just a bit of slow pacing here and there. Faithful to its source material, the film is a credit to its production team and cast. Brett and Hardwicke were quite comfortable in their roles, and the level of production value was still quite high at this point in the Granada series. As their first attempt at more long-form storytelling, it seems to have been a success, one that was not repeated with their adaptation of the most popular Holmes tale, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Ah, but that's a story for another time...

[junithys]

Nice to meet you, I’m Jun 👋

I’m a doll-jointed cat (more specifically, a nekomata, a two-tailed cat yōkai), and this is my original character design. I post daily on Twitter and am streaming on the REALITY app. Please feel free to join me on a stream. We do anime watch-a-longs, poetry readings, and karaoke streams, anyone is welcome to collab!

I am a singer, an artist, and have completed a trilogy of novels, called the “Juniper’s Tree” series, which I am in the process of adapting into a visual novel game. I blog regularly on WordPress and will post my blogs here as well.

◆ Portfolio eggheadluna.wordpress.com ◇ Vocal Covers https://on.soundcloud.com/qdS4jDmiNDXHGqtR6 ◆ Twitter twitter.com/junithys ◇ Patreon patreon.com/junithys ◆ Original Series and Webcomic www.goodreads.com/book/show/54230982-juniper-s-tree-pt-1 https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/wanderings-of-a-doll-jointed-cat/list?title_no=801211 🐞 Twitter Tags 一般 (general) 〜#junithys ライブタグ (stream/clips) 〜#junjabber アートタグ (fanart) 〜#junillust ファン名 (fan name) 〜#kamikakushi エモート (emotes) 〜🐞🦋🤍

Prounouns: They/Them ◆ He/Him ◇ She/Her

DOB: 6-18

Horoscope: Gemini

Zodiac: Goat

MBTI: ENFJ-1w2-126

Lucky Numbers: 11, 69, and 144

Bloodtype: AB

🥰: Nijisanji, visual novels, The Magus (John Fowles), Ultra Heaven (Koike Keiichi), The Smashing Pumpkins, 東方Project, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Urusei Yatsura, Evangelion, otters, Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru franchise, Kara no Kyōkai, Tsukihime, Utawarerumono series, Aty (Youtube), To Heart 2, White Album, Please Save My Earth, cats, Ghibli, Detective Conan, Ring series (Suzuki Kōji), Leiji Matsumoto, Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Senki Zesshō Symphogear, The Vampire Chronicles (Anne Rice), Philip K. Dick, Haruhi Suzumiya, books, Inio Asano, Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha series, Mahō Shōjo Madoka☆Magika series, Fruits Basket, Girls und Panzer, Devilman, Nana, Sayonara Zetsubō-Sensei, Texhnolyze, Kuroko's Basketball, Tamako Market, Renkin 3-kyū Magical? Pokān, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Phantom of the Paradise, Tōken Ranbu, Yama no Susume, Non Non Biyori, Divergence Eve, Tonari no Kyūketsuki-san, Tamako Market, Free series, Macross Frontier, Vladimir Nabokov, Vampire Princess Miyu, Fyódor Dostoyévskiy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Carl Jung, Yūreitō, Nana, Shinsekai Yori, iDOLM@STER games, Yoko Taro games, Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA-

[agentnico]

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) Review

Knives Out holds a special place in my heart. It was the movie I took my lovely fiancée to see on our very first date, and naturally both the film and the relationship turned out to be a great success. Now our 3rd year anniversary together is only weeks away, and ironically a sequel to the movie that started it all off for us has come out. Couldn’t get any more sentimental than this now can it. Was half expecting it to rain on the way to the cinema just to add to the romantic clichés. It didn’t rain though. Instead our Uber driver nearly killed us by driving against traffic on a one way street to the cinema. So that was fun.

Plot: Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.

Knives Out was a great whodunnit that shocked everyone by how good it was when it came out back in 2019. Not least due to it having been directed by Rian Johnson who was fresh off of making the very divisive Star Wars: The Last Jedi. However Knives Out was such a pitch perfect movie which brought the classic murder mystery to modern day, whilst still in-keeping with the old-school Agatha Christie vibe, with Daniel Craig even playing the very clear Hercule Poirot type character. The dialogue was sharply written, the performances were great and overall Knives Out was nothing short of being AWESOME. So much so that it was a box office smash hit. On a $40 million budget it made over $312 million profit. That’s a good fashioned pay-check right there. So then Netflix bought the rights to two sequels for a ridiculous $469 million, where the deal also includes a $100 paycheck to both Johnson and Craig for each sequel. Look I don’t really understand the Netflix algorithm and how it makes money, but now I REALLY don’t understand it. Knives Out was successful, but not successful with these paychecks! Again though, don’t get me started on algorithms - I don’t get them!

So Glass Onion is the first sequel to Knives Out, and one that sets out to show if Knives Out was a one trick pony or if this murder mystery is destined to be a hugely successful murder mystery franchise. The only real connection between Glass Onion and Knives Out is that they both feature the social commentary on the rich and wealthy, as well as Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc. So let’s start with Blanc himself. He stole the show in the first film with his Southern accent, and he does so again in Glass Onion. Seeing him be the fish-out-of-water by being a lower class member stuck on this Greek island with all the rich folk, it was adorable seeing him in his matching outfit be shocked and in awe at all the expensive tech and aspects of this place. When he tries a special celebrity-made hot sauce and exclaims “Oh Halle Berry! That has a kick” in his Southern drawl... honestly that was peak. Couldn’t get any better than that. Benoit Blanc is an icon at this point. He’s clever, funny, super likeable, and I would love for Craig to keep playing this character for as long as possible.

Rian Johnson is also back on both writing and directing duty, and he swaps out the cold and damp suburban setting of Knives Out to the colourful sunny holiday shots of Greece. It’s as if he’s trying to distance himself visually from the first film as much as possible to signify that this is it’s own murder mystery tale. Well, you know, just like with any Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle book. Same detective but dealing with completely different scenarios. But Ryan really establishes the light vistas of the island, and I must say I am glad I got to see it this film on the big screen rather than on Netflix (where it premieres end of December), as the setting and even the central ‘glass onion’ (yes, there really is an actual glass onion, it’s not just a metaphor) are worth seeing in their true spectacle. Speaking of spectacle, I’m also not going to talk much about the plot, as this is one of those films best seen when not knowing anything, as there are many twists and turns throughout that should be experienced in the moment. Johnson presents the movie in very non linear fashion on purpose, so as to reveal parts of the puzzle only at the exact time he intends to. Like an onion, he peels the layers one by one, only at the end revealing the entire grand plan. Does it at time become style over substance? Partially, however Johnson’s script is so cleverly put, and minus the first 30 minutes where the movie drags a little before getting to the actual murder mystery, the thing as a whole is really well paced an keeps you on your toes.

Glass Onion is also very funny. It dials up on the humour in comparison to Knives Out, and some of these new characters are even more wackier that the previous line up, with the cast all very game here. Edward Norton is evidently relishing playing the Elon Musk-type tech genius billionaire and is on top form. Kate Hudson is on a whole new level of over the top here, dancing and prancing her way from shot to shot wearing massive My Fair Lady hats and taking over the room with her exclamations. Janelle Monae plays the role that Ana de Armas had in the first Knives Out film in that she is the outsider, and the one that Benoit Blanc warms up to the most. Monae is very good in the role, but again, cannot say much about her character without spilling spoilers. The rest of the cast all play the parts well. You’ve got Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr.... they’re all great, however some are a little under-used. There’s also an abundance of great if not a bit random cameos, which were really fun. Look, we get to meet Benoic Blanc’s partner in this one for one moment, and I must say that the casting choice for that was brilliant. 

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a great successor to the original movie (though the first film I’d say is still superior) that goes bigger and wackier, and though it doesn’t always work (the first half an hour is rocky), it’s well made up by the murder mystery itself, the great cast and a solid script by Rian Johnson. It’s all very entertaining and super enjoyable. And again, Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc is a character creation that is so damn good, that I cannot wait to see him again.

Overall score: 8/10

[nick-eyre]

1&15 for book ask -- Mad

Hello Mad my beloved ✨ I’m so stupid I thought I posted this last night but I just saved the draft so good morning its devil time

1. book you’ve reread the most times?

this is absolutely the Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton I am completely unhinged about this book but there is no community on tumblr to make me worse so you guys have probably gotten away with not hearing about it that much but I've definitely spamed what little is here a few times so your not safe I stopped counting how many times I've finished the audio book but its a lot

I also have two physical copies one beat up paper back filled with annotations and sticky notes (my brother borrowed it for the second time last week so no picture) and a used signed collectors edition I payed to much money to have shipped to Canada from the UK and its beautiful

its probably my favourite book

15. recommend and review a book.

well Its gotta be also the Devil and the Dark Water by Start Turton

Have you ever asked the question: what would make iconic literary characters Sherlock Holmes and John Watson better and more iconic??? if your answer is to make John fucking huge and troll like with a heart of gold and a dark past and to make Sherlock sopping wet and pathetic in boat jail then I have the perfect book for you! jokes aside Stuart Turton is amazing! I loved his first book so much (The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) (not to be confused with that other Evelyn who has 7 husbands that was just a weird coincidence) It was an homage to the great Agatha Christie with a Sci-fi time loop twist (this is just a 7 Deaths rec now read that one too, it does things I've never seen the time loop trope do before and its exhilarating, so clever so fun, not as good as Devil tho but its like 10/10 vs 13/10 both rock) So with Devil he decided to pay homage to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These characters are not Sherlock and John but they fall into the same archetype and lean heavily into the Detectives Arrogance and has the side kick take the stage as main character. (This book is a love letter to John Watson). Here he adds horror to the mix and tells the story of multiple passengers aboard the Saardam a merchant ship headed for Amsterdam. Aboard they are carrying lots of spices and also maybe a DEMON?? Whos to say? (Arent) I don't want to say too much because it is a mystery thriller but this book is filled with so many amazing characters including an amazing villain who I also can't say anything about bc spoilers but trust me its good! The real villain is the East India Trading Company... thats only like half a joke I also just love the first chapters of the book it sets up the character and their relationship so well as well as gives us some truly cinematic visuals so please check it out if you like mystery thillers anyways ramble over!

[kyndaris]

Weathering With You

The last Tuesday of our trip in Japan rolled around and it was wet and gloomy. Despite the rain, bleachpanda and I were not deterred, starting the day off strong with a grilled cheese sandwich at the bakery at our hotel, before we set off to Shinjuku's JR station.

Our destination for first half of the day? Ikebukuro! Home to Sunshine City and an aquarium. But it's also where the Mega Pokemon Centre can be found (where I can enjoy some more Pokemon shopping), along with Otome Road, a major shopping and cultural centrer for anime and manga aimed at women (where bleachpanda could try and buy items pertaining to her favourite characters from the visual novels she tends to play).

Now I'm not judging her for her tastes...but, ok, no. You got me. I do judge her for her tastes. And I found it wanting while we were on this trip.

Worse, many of the characters bleachpanda liked weren't exactly current and she found it difficult to find anything. Much like how I could barely find anything in relation to Fire Emblem or Like a Dragon. True, Fire Emblem Engage wasn't as popular as Three Houses but I couldn't even spot a Claude, Dimitri or stray Edelgard anywhere. Even the Persona merchandise was relegated to a small portion of one shelf in Animate.

Least, I had Detective Conan goodies to tide me over.

But no, we started our day in Ikebukuro, weaving our way towards Sunshine City through the light drizzle of rain. Down we went, inside the shopping centre, emerging out near the Sanrio cafe. As I'm always craving a hot chocolate, we stopped to try out some of the food and to take a few photos of the quaint little shop before following the arrows towards the Mega Pokemon Centre in Ikebukuro.

Unlike my first adventure here eight years ago, this time, I knew exactly where I was going. And once we arrived, I couldn't help but flit around the store as I bought souvenirs for friends. I also bought myself a sleeping pachirisu. It's no Eevee, sure, but it was cute and adorable.

It wasn't long before we ventured to the other stores in the Department store, including another Mugiwara (Straw Hat) store while I took another gander at the Disney store there. I even flirted with the idea of checking out the aquarium but we had also promised my two friends from the day before to catch-up at Akihabara. So, it was with a heavy heart that we headed out of Sunshine City and headed to the flagship Animate store. This time, bleachpanda led the way while I followed.

The rain, by then, was beginning to worsen, and by the time we arrived, our umbrellas were soaked. Still, we took the time to check out almost all the floors in the shop - about six, before visiting the nearby K-books for any otome items bleachpanda might fancy. Alas, it was not to be as most of the stores she went to were stocked with doujinshi or dull pin badges of characters she didn't much like or hadn't heard of.

From there, we also checked out the Don Quijote at Ikebukuro (mostly to escape the rain) where I bought myself a new backpack and bleachpanda drowned her sorrows of not finding the otome characters she wanted with other goodies for her friends and family.

By the time we stumbled back out into the rain, it was half past 1. Hungry, I searched for a restaurant nearby but couldn't find anything decent. So, off we trotted to the nearby JR station and took a train to Akihabara. Or, as its more commonly known: Electric Town - a buzzing shopping hub where weebs gather to purchase figurines of their favourite characters from manga, anime and video games.

When we got off the train, however, the rain only seemed to intensify.

Thankfully, I'd chosen to wear my waterproof hiking shoes, but bleachpanda's feet were soaked.

Still, we pressed on, heading to a gyukatsu restaurant right next to Radio Kaikan, and which proved to be quite novel in how it served its food - which needed to be lightly grilled over a hot plate. By then, I checked in to see if my friends were in the vicinity and if they wanted to catch-up.

Of course, they were right in the store next to us, so into Radio Kaikan bleachpanda and I went, going through all the stores meticulously to see if there might be something we wanted to buy.

Spoilers: there wasn't.

And after my eyes had gone crosswise by seeing the exact same One Piece characters for the umpteenth time, bleachpanda and I headed to the nearby Square Enix cafe to check out the store. Whilst there, I bought a few more items in relation to the more recent games Square-Enix had published, like Octopath Traveler 2 and Bravely Default. And since the cafe also offered takeaway items with free place mats and coasters, bleachpanda and I tried our luck to see what Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth characters we could get.

Turns out, we both ended up getting Turks. I got Rude while bleachpanda got Reno.

Then, it was off to the second Animate store of the day as the rain continued to piss down on everyone.

Honestly, if it hadn't been for the rain, it might have been decent but considering how poor the weather was, I was very tempted to call it a day and return to the warmth of our hotel. Alas, we pressed on. And even weighed down by our shopping bags, we took up my friends offer to have dinner at a ramen restaurant.

Unfortunately, due to the heavy rain, my friend took a wrong turn and we ended up at a Korean restaurant instead. Still, since I'd grown accustomed somewhat to Korean food, it wasn't terrible. And once full, we headed back to Shinjuku.

So ended our third day at Tokyo. It would not be long now before bleachpanda and I would be heading back home to Australia. Oh, how I dreaded the return to reality. And work.

[bakloyd]

Critique

After crossing paths with the cold and mysterious Loki and being coerced to join th QED club, her high school life has never been the same. Join the partners in crime as they unravel the threads of mysteries, unmask evil intentions and put together the pieces of the puzzle in their adventures.Welcome to the world of Mysteries, Murders, and Mayhems! It is a story of young students who have the guts to solve mysteries and crimes like Detective Conan and Sherlock Holmes.In this story of young students who have the guts to solve mysteries and crime like detective Conan and Sherlock Holmes.Their main quest is to find who Moriarty/ Mori/ Moriya. The incidents that they are encountering are connected to the main quest of the story adds spice to it

has an interesting plot and settings are scenes solely happen inside the school.My heart goes to Lorelie knowing that Loki can't move on to what happened to his friend,Rhea.towards the end another person has become a member of a club and that's Jamie Santiago the girl who was pretended memory and yes moriarty identity has been revealed but is he the real one This story seems Sherlock Holmes inspired because of the names used especially with the main antagonist. It is written in Taglish but you will see how formal the story is thru its deep English terminologies. Because of its choice of words, it looks like I'm reading a book because of well-chosen words and idioms. It contains different cases that they need to solve but those cases are still connected with the main case. It was fun as a reader to solve cases with the characters. I think that is one of the reasons why I enjoy reading it.

There were a lot of names involved but you will never get a hard time getting familiar with them. The pictures of each character helped me visualize their looks based on the character's view and description. There are parts where I got bored maybe because of too much conversation and not spilling the tea

[zarabrown-the-artists-blog98]

I Need Space

There is something that has been a problem of mine for years that I find very difficult to get rid of, to the point that it is almost a thorn in my side, and it is a mind-set that I know I desperately need to get rid of because it truly is doing me no good. 

The thorn in my side is my mind-set with use of space in art.

I’ve had this unconscious belief for years, a belief that I forget I have till I’m staring at the issue face to face, that belief being that any illustration of mine doesn’t look professional or ‘finished’ if there is a large amount of unused space in the work. I’m not quite sure where this belief stems from but nonetheless it is one that continues to pester me.

I believe this thought to be limiting at best as it discourages me from experimenting with different types of art techniques, I need to realise that using space in my illustrations may be a good thing, and that negative space is merely using the space around a subject and that is what artists use to create the image (Dernavich, 2009).

Artists like Jon Klassen, who is well known for his minimalistic style in his various children’s books uses space to his advantage and it is something that I believe truly adds to his work. In many of his works the storyline is simple as are the design of the characters, however there examples of his work where negative space has almost become a character in itself, such as the case with the book: ‘The Dark’, in which Klassen was the illustrator and the character of ‘the dark’. 

Klassen, 2013

I love the way that Klassen has used huge spaces of black, representing the dark to emphasise that the dark is everywhere around the main character and is something that he must confront on his own. 

For years I have had this mindset that I must fill every corner of the illustration in order for it be considered finished and its actually been something that I’ve had great difficulty overcoming, however when I look at the works of Klassen I am reminded that the use of space can and often does have a purpose and in fact does add to an illustration, it doesn’t take away. 

This was the subject of talk I had frequently with a tutor maybe 2 years ago now, they had suggested I leave a large space around the subject and after voicing my opinion they advise to view space as not the absence of something but to view it as part of the work. Although the advice was very helpful it’s still something I struggle with greatly, but strangely enough it’s not large spaces of black I have an aversion to, it’s white. 

Truthfully whilst writing this blog I’m starting to wonder if this belief of white space meaning emptiness has stemmed from my childhood love of Japanese comics, otherwise known as manga, many Japanese comics when I was growing up such as Pokémon, Detective Conan and Fruits Basket were all black and white, only the covers and special editions had the first few pages coloured in and from my memory those were quite rare. According to Dragana white space does indicate emptiness, suggesting that is why it is so commonly used in minimalist architecture (Dragana 2017). 

When I look back at my comics whenever a spread was filled with black that meant something was present, such as something was in the dark and if a comic spread has spaces of white I often associated that with emptiness or lack of something present, or it was a break in the scene of the comic. This is in relation to the concept of ‘visual weight’, Golombisky suggests that visually, dark value is heavier that its opposite, light value. So, as dark value is used consistently through manga, the white space is used to visually balance out the heavy use of black (Kim Golombisky, 2017).

I have begun to apply the purposeful use of space in my own work as presented below and have started to find that white space, at times can add to your work more than filling every inch of your sketchbook might do.

(Brown, 2022)

Although, as I have mentioned many times in this blog the use of space in my work for the future is something I would like to incorporate as I do believe it would truly benefit me to no longer view white space as the enemy to my work and as a sign of incompletion but instead view it as something that can add to my work, not take away.

Although the use of white space does have mixed reactions with the public, an example being the white paintings by Robert Rauschenberg, I do believe like everything in the world it has its pros and cons I do believe it is important for illustrators like myself to understand the use that space and colour can have on our work and how people perceive it. I am looking forward to seeing how I will use it in my future practice. 

References: 

Vasilski, D. Nikolic, M. (2017). Minimalism in contemporary architecture as one of the most usuable aesthetically-functional patterns. Facta universitatis - series Architecture and Civil Engineering. [Online] 15(3), pp. 333-345. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323198218_Minimalism_in_contemporary_architecture_as_one_of_the_most_usable_aesthetically-functional_patterns [Accessed: 27th November 2022] doi: 10.2298/FUACE160814029N.  

Dernavich, D. (2008) ‘An Interview with Noma Bars’, The New Yorker. Available from: https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/cartoon-lounge/an-interview-with-noma-bar

Golombisky, K. & Hagen, R(2016) White Space Is Not Your Enemy : A Beginner's Guide to Communicating Visually Through Graphic, Web and Multimedia Design. [Online] London: CRC Press. Available from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/detail.action?docID=4807045. [Accessed: 28th November 2022] 

Klassen, J. (2013) The Dark [Online] Available at: https://tygertale.com/2013/05/30/1872/ [Accessed: 28th November]

Brown, Z. Untitled. Unpublished personal work

[mrsheo]

I'm sorry, I just want to brag about this here too!

Dad bought us this Detective Conan character visual book (+poster) and I'm so happy❤️❤️❤️ It was so unexpected!

It's all in Chinese, but it has pictures. :'> And there's always Google translate that makes everything funnier to read.

Also, just look at how tall Gin is. No wonder he looks down on people.

[tsuri-chan]

Detective Conan: Character Visual Book

Content:

Story of every protagonist

Model sheets of the anime

Interviews with the anime staff and the voice actors

Bonus material:

Poster

Rating:

10/10 characters

Very interesting, loots of (background) information. I love this book.

[cybernaght]

Detective L: Sherlock but make him jazzy

So if you were wondering why I’ve been slow to update with my next Guardian recap, it’s because my partner and I have spent every evening this week binging the hell out of Detective L/绅探, a procedural show set in 1930’s Shanghai, with Bai Yu in the lead role. Yes, we have watched it in a week. No, we don’t have any regrets.

“Well this is so far basically Sherlock”, messaged a friend of mine as she was watching this one a few weeks before I have gotten to it. 

Alright, I thought. Great. A western IP-inspired period procedural? That sounds fun!

And then the opening credits start, and...

Oh. Ohhhh. 

This is not inspired by Sherlock Holmes, the Conan Doyle series. This is inspired by Sherlock, the BBC series.

Right from the opening, right here. This is extremely close to The Game is On from the Sherlock soundtrack.

The parallels become apparent in the script, as well as some of the visual short-hands for the titular detective’s deductions. So, if this review is looking at it from this angle, Detective L brought it onto itself. But don’t worry, the comparison is mostly favourable. 

Our point of view character, a rookie policewoman called Qin Xiaoman, moves into a shared house which is owned by a boisterous landlady who is definitely not a housekeeper. Xiaoman discovers that her neighbour is a consulting detective called Luo Fei, and, after a brief misunderstanding in which she attacks him, the two become partners. They then go on solving a series of complicated crimes some of which may or may not be tied to a criminal mastermind known only as the Captain. 

The actual procedural side of Detective L is highly enjoyable, albeit rather formulaic, even for the genre. 

The show’s 24 episode runtime is divided into eight cases, each three episodes long, and each case goes roughly like this: a seemingly trivial crime occurs, something piques Luo Fei’s interest enough to investigate it, a wrong person gets arrested, then a set of clues point to the case being actually about something else entirely, protagonists find themselves in peril, the culprit is caught, there is a last minute twist addition to the case, and the characters are enriched by the events. Sometimes the order of those narrative beats changes, but all of them are present in most of the cases. That said, the elements within this structure are well presented. The audience is given enough information to follow the twists and turns of the investigation, and to reach correct conclusions around the same time Luo Fei does, but not enough to feel smarter than the protagonist. 

If you are familiar with the genre tropes, you will be able to predict, at times, exactly where the cases are going, but honestly, I prefer old fashioned well plotted murder mysteries over more outlandish ones that rely on critical information which is delivered by an omnipotent detective, and could never have been observed by the audience in the first place. I personally watch procedurals for the experience of solving the case alongside the protagonists rather than to marvel at the lead detective’s big brain. And if me saying this sounds like a jab at BBC’s Sherlock, it’s because it is. 

Detective L does not take itself too seriously, either, mostly due to its unyielding pace. 

The episodes are short and snappy; discounting previews, recaps and occasional screwball comedy specials tagged at the end of the cases, the actual runtime of each episode is about 30 to 35 minutes. And there is a lot that this show can cram into half an hour. Detective L simply does not have time to be pretentious. It’s fast, and loud, and over the top, and thrives that way. The action shots are incredibly idiosyncratic, equally loud and fast, chopped in a way which is almost reminiscent of comic book strips - but I genuinely think this is the only way they can offer any escalation to already relentless pace of the show. 

The aforementioned little extra featurettess tagged onto four of the main cases are an absolute delight: they are charming, there’s some genuinely expert comedy, and pretty ballsy forth wall breaking. This show’s ability to not take itself too seriously pays off there as well.

Production-wise, it’s beautiful. I’ve no idea where it was actually filmed - but the locations are stunning, the set design is wonderful, the costumes are jaw-dropping. It’s well lit; it’s mostly well shot and well edited, and, discounting the opening credits, pretty well scored. Tencent has money, and it shows. In every way you look, beautiful really is the word that comes to mind. Although I am currently rewatching Guardian so any show that has actors wearing foundation that matches their skin tone, and sets which are not held together with papier-mâché is going to be beautiful.

The only fault I’d say it has is wanting to be BBC’s Sherlock so damn badly, it introduces us to elements of Mind Palace-type arrangement, as well as superimposed effects explaining some of the deductions. 

While those are done reasonably well, not all of them are strictly speaking necessary, and their presence was at times distracting in a meta kind of way.

I had a fear very early on that Detective L’s hectic pace would mean that it would be void of any breathing room for the characters, but thankfully the show found time to linger on those. Thus, Luo Fei is actually a very interesting subversion of the Unsocial Detective trope. He is flippant, blunt and, yes, not very good with people: these are all parts of his public persona, which allows him to use sharp words to ensure that he is given space to be effective. The more the show progresses, the more of Luo Fei’s caring, kind heart is revealed to the audience. He is a character who would be beastly to his partner to her face, and then fiercely protective of her reputation behind her back; would verbally dismiss an emotional response to the resolution of a case, and then proceed to financially support those wrecked by it. 

It is also interesting that Bai Yu puts a lot of foxy energy into his character’s enthusiasm for crime-solving, there is a bubbly twitchiness to his physicality; and even the harsh words the script makes him say are mostly a played as a joke, a tease, a deflection. All of this makes Luo Fei infinitely likeable. 

Qin Xiaoman, the female lead and point of view character, is there, technically speaking, to have things explained to her, and, by extension, to the audience. Making her a detective herself gives two additions to that: one is maintaining a link between Luo Fei and the actual police force (which I’m like 90% sure is another censorship thing), the other is giving their relationship a mentor/mentee flavour. But - again, in a lovely twist - she is a protector more than a caretaker. She would be the one ducking out of the cover in a gunfight, she would be the one taking the bad guys out in hand to hand combat, she would be the one providing a shield to Luo Fei. And none of it would be played for laughs. It is a given that she is not just stronger than her partner, but stronger than most men on the show. 

The two have a will they/won’t they dynamic, complete with a set of romcom tropes, which include such things as accidental tumbling on top of each other with slow-motion yearnful gazing, and comedic bath times.

Still, the two characters’ relationship is still mostly based on mutual respect, and the resolution to the will they/won’t they question is entirely contextual. Bai Yu and You Jingru have a lovely chemistry, which is also a plus. 

It’s also... kind of interesting that Luo Fei is portrayed as having a close relationship with the coroner, Ben Jie Ming (or just Benjamin), in a way that has an almost OT3 kind of vibe. It could not have possibly been deliberate, but the protagonists’ romantic entanglements can absolutely be read as casually polyamorous. Which is a lot of fun to see. 

Aside from the two mentioned above, Luo Fei’s team contains an overworked superintendent, an enigmatic psychologist and a narrow-minded rival, which pretty much ticks every box there is for a group of misfits solving crimes together. 

Detective L’s shortcoming mostly comes from the last case being somewhat weaker than the rest: it is quite blatantly overwritten, almost as if the show ran out of time before it could put all the moving pieces into place, which really is a shame. “Oh boy, I hope they manage to salvage this” is not a feeling I like to experience before hitting “play” on the series finale. Thankfully, they do manage to salvage it, playing out a very well placed, and extraordinarily satisfying gambit. Make no mistakes through, this show does not wrap itself in a tight little bow, instead ending on a suspenseful, poignant, note. In many ways Detective L ends in a way which screams for a second season - only the second season never arrived, and, considering that this has been released in 2019, is unlikely to do so. 

I wish there was a season two, and a season three for that matter; I would happily watch many more adventures of Luo Fei and his team. 

—

This is not a comment on the show itself, but subtitles it comes with on YouTube and WeTV are so poor they cross all the way into sublime, and include some highly memeable content.

__

I feel like I need to clarify my feelings on BBC’s Sherlock, because I kind of ended up dunking on it here quite a bit. 

As a person alive on the internet between years 2010 and 2017 I was hurt by it: not just because of blatant queer baiting (while I was definitely shipping Johnlock, I did not have any hopes for BBC actually delivering on their relationship as endgame), but because the quality of the later seasons highlighted just how poorly plotted it was overall. Season four made every bad writing decision on this show retroactively apparent: every time a plot resolution came out of nowhere, every time it hyper focused on the protagonist over the story, every time choices were made with the female characters. 

BBC’s Sherlock is masterfully crafted from the visual standpoint. The camerawork is out of this world. It’s well acted. David Arnold and Michael Price’s score is wonderful. But I honestly cannot in good faith call it a good procedural. I’m not even into Conan Doyle’s writing, being more of an Agatha Christie gal, but even I had to sometimes question whether decisions made with the source material were wise. 

YouTube essayist hbomberguy has a savage dissection of that show, which I think very accurately analyses its failures. 

[maxwell-grant]

What’s the difference between a pulp hero and a super hero?

There is a common sentiment when discussing pulp heroes, when compared to superheroes, that positions the two as if they were separate by entire eras, with pulp heroes being as distinct from the superheroes as the dinosaurs are to mankind. But then again, the dinosaurs never really went away, did they? 

Oh sure, they endured a great extinction, they downsized and ceded their thrones to the tiny little rats that scurried in their shadow, who then grew to become just as big, and then even bigger, but they never went away. They simply adapted into new forms and formed new ecosystems. We call them birds now.

The gap between Superman and The Shadow is merely 6 years, hardly much of a generation. There are those that argue that the Marvel and DC universes still have pulp heroes, that Batman is (or was) one, that characters like The Question and Moon Knight carry on the tradition. We have characters like Hellboy, Grendel, Tom Strong and Zack Overkill as original, modern examples of pulp characters, strongly identified as such. Venture Bros had in 2016 the best modern take on the Green Hornet. Lavender Jack is still going strong. So the idea that pulp heroes are defined solely by being old and outdated isn’t exactly true, when clearly there’s still enough gas in the tank centuries later for stories with them to be told.

Is there any meaningful distinction between pulp heroes and superheroes? If not, can we identify one?

Costume is definitely a big part of it, as Grant Morrison famously argued in his own summation. Of what he considers the big difference between the two: 

“What makes the superhero more current is the performance aspect. That's what The Shadow and those other guys don't really have. Their costumes are not bright, and they don't have their initials on their chest, and everything isn't out front and popping like the superheroes. I think we can relate to that about them because in the world we live in, everyone has a constant need to be a star. I think superheroes are keyed into that parallelism. They're performers. They're rock stars, and they always have been.

And he’s right, to an extent. It’s definitely tied into the central differences between The Shadow and Batman, as I’ve elaborated. While The Shadow was far, far from the only type of pulp hero, the superhero’s costume has long been defined as THE thing that sets it apart from every other type of fictional character. At least, when it comes to American superheroes. 

Because the “criteria” for superheroes is nowhere near as set in stone as some would like to believe. Our basic definition of superheroes is based around comparisons and contrasts to Superman and Batman, and how they fit into what we call “the superhero genre”. The existence of a superhero genre is, in and of itself, debatable, and any working definition for superheroes is inevitably going to have too many exceptions. 

Superheroes are not defined by settings, like cowboys or spacemen, or their profession, like detectives. They can’t be defined by superpowers (Batman), a mission statement, having secret identities (Fantastic Four, Tony Stark), being good people, or good at their jobs. The costume, the closest there is to a true, defining convention, still has a considerable share of exceptions like Jack Knight’s Starman, a great deal of the X-Men who do not wear uniforms, or most superheroes created outside the US. The most basic definition of superhero is of comic book characters with iconic costumes and enhanced abilities who fight villains in shared superhero universes, but even that falls short of exceptions by including characters who are not superheroes (John Constantine and other Vertigo characters, Jonah Hex, the Punisher). Some people would call Goku or Harry Potter or Lucky Luke or Monica’s Gang superheroes, Donald Duck has literally been one. “Character with a distinctive design and unusual talents who fights evil” includes virtually every fictional hero that’s ever achieved a modicum of popularity in a visual medium.

Even telling stories with super characters doesn’t mean you’re going to be writing a superhero story (Joker). Superheroes are not defined by settings and genres, but they can inhabit just about any of them you can imagine. Horror, westerns, gritty crime drama, historical reconstruction, romance, space adventure, war stories, surrealism stories. As Morrison put it, they aren’t so much a genre as they are “a special chilli pepper-like ingredient designed to energize other genres”, part of the reason why they colonized the entire blockbuster landscape.

Aviation became a thing in the war years, so they started producing en masse aviation pulps as a subgenre. Zeppelins became popular, so they had a short-lived zeppelin subgenre. Celebrities starred in their own magazines. The American pulps were different from the German pulps, or the Italian pulps, or the Canadian pulps. In China, wuxia arose at a similar time period and with similar themes and distribution. In Brazil, we have “folhetos”, short, poetic, extremely cheap prose often written about romantic heroes and “cangaçeiros”, the closest local equivalent to the American cowboys. In Japan, “light novels” began life as pulp fiction, distributed in exactly the same format and literally sold as such. Pulp fiction has long outlived any and all attempts to define it as 30s literary fiction only.

Likewise, “pulp” and “pulp heroes” are terms employed very, very loosely. Characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage arrived quite late in the history of pulp fiction. You had characters like Jimmie Dale, Bulldog Drummond, Tarzan, Conan, a billion non-descript trenchcoat guys, and before those the likes of Nick Carter and Sexton Blake, dime novel detectives who made the jump to pulp. You had your hero pulps, villain pulps, adventure pulps, romance pulps, horror pulps, weird menace pulps. Science fiction, planetary romance, roman-era adventures, lost race adventures, anything that publishers could sell was turned into pulp stories starring, what else, pulp heroes. 

How do you make sense of it all?

The main difference to consider is the mediums they were made for. 

Pulp heroes were made for literature, superheroes were made for comic books.

Superheroes NEED to pop out visually, to have bold and flashy and striking designs, because comic books are visual stories first and foremost, who live and die on having attractive, catching character designs and the promise of an entertaining story with them. Pulp heroes, in turn, can often just be ordinary dudes and dudettes and anything in between in trenchcoats or evening wear or furry underwear, or masters of disguise rarely identifiable, because the only thing that needs to visually striking at first glance in a pulp magazine is the cover, so your imagination can get ready to do the rest. Smoking guns, bloody daggers, a romantic embrace, monsters hunched over ladies in peril, incendiary escapes. The characters can look like and be literally anything.

Comic books are a sequential art form where art and writing come together to tell a story, and every illustration must serve the story and vice-versa. It needs to give you an incentive to keep being visually invested in whatever’s going on. Pulp literature stays dead on the page unless animated by your expectations; you may have the illusion of submitting to an experience, but really it’s you expending your imagination to otherwise inert signals. You have to provide the colors and flashy sequences and great meaning yourself, and as a trade, you get much more text to work with in novels than you do in comic books, where the dialogue and narration are fundamentally secondary to the visual, whether it’s a superhero punching stars or a monster covered in blood.

Each art form has its strengths and weaknesses, of course, which are only accentuated when each tries to be of a different kind. There's been pulp heroes that tried making the jump to comics, and comic heroes that made the jump to literature. There’s good, even great examples, of both, but even at their best, there's always some incongruity, because that's not the medium these characters were made for. 

Superheroes are characters defined by being extraordinary. The pulp heroes are too, in many cases, distinguished from their literary antecessors because they were too uncanny and weird, a middleground between the folklore/fairy tale heroes and the grounded detective and adventure characters such as Sherlock, and the later far out superheroes. But they don’t necessarily have to be extraordinary. Sometimes they can very well just be completely ordinary characters, caught in bizarre circumstances and managing them as best they can, or simply using skills available to anyone who puts in effort to do good. Often enough the extraordinary comes in the form of a bizarre villain, or a tangled conspiracy, a monster from outside the world, a unique time period. The extraordinary is there, but it doesn’t have to be in the hero. 

That is, I’d argue, the other big fundamental difference between the two. "Superhero” is a name we use to define a type of character who fits an extraordinary mold, a Super Hero. It’s a genre, it can be every genre, it’s a shared universe and a stand-alone epic. There are guidelines, structures at work here. Grids, page count, illustrators. The Big Two and their domain over the concept. Academic usage of the term, standards that rule the “genre”, when it is defined as a genre. Malleable and overpowering and adaptable and timeless as the superhero may be, it’s still bound by a certain set of rules and trends.

The term “pulp hero” is a term that we use to label just about any character that happens to star in something we recognize as “pulp fiction”, even if it isn’t literally written in pulp, even if it’s decades later. It’s a “metaphor with no brakes in it”. Superheroes can be pulp heroes. The most powerless, unlucky, homeless bum can be a pulp hero, there were entire subgenres of pulp stories based on homeless protagonists or talltale stories told in bars. The cruelest villain can be a pulp hero. Boris Karloff about to stab you with a knife named Ike IS a pulp hero, and so is a space slug on a warpath (look up what happened when Lovecraft and R.E Howard collaborated).

As much as I may dislike the idea of pulp heroes largely only existing in the shadow of superheroes nowadays...that is kinda appropriate, isn’t it? Of course they are going to live and make their homes in the place where the sun doesn’t shine. Where Superman and co would never go to. 

Of course the 90s reboots of these characters failed. Because they tried turning these characters into superheroes, and they are not superheroes. They can visit those world, but they don’t belong in them, or anywhere else. They live in places where the light doesn’t touch, worlds much bigger and darker and more vast than you’d ever think at first glance, worlds that we still haven’t fully discovered (over 38% of American pulps no longer exist, 14% survive in less than five scattered copies, to say nothing of all pulps and pulp heroes outside of America). Not lesser, not gone, despite having every reason to. Just different, reborn time and time again. The shadow opposites.

In short: One is represented by Superman. The other is represented by The Shadow. There are worlds far beyond those two, but when you think of the concepts, those are the ones that things always seem to come back to.