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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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You did one for Hulk (incredible btw). Got any thoughts on Spider-Man?

He used to be one of my favorites.

It's easy to see why Spidey took off as Marvel's premiere character, and competitor with Batman for the most popular superhero ever. If you'll indulge my DC bias, Spider-Man sits at the intersection between Superman and Batman. Like Superman, Spider-Man never knew his birth parents, and was instead adopted and raised by an elderly couple. Uncle Ben and Aunt May are the people Peter thinks of as his mom and dad, and it's their lives that help shape Peter. Both Superman and Spider-Man wear colorful red and blue costumes, both have iconic jobs working for newspapers with cantankerous bosses, and both have a lot of Jewish DNA in them because of their creators. Like Batman however, Spider-Man has a tragic parental figure's death to motivate him, he has a very poor reputation with the public, they both style themselves on animals, and both have strong roots in the cities they protect. That Peter's greatest foe, the Green Goblin, also stands at the intersection between Lex Luthor and the Joker makes for a great parallel. Add in that Spider-Man has the second best Rogues Gallery in comics, and it's clear Peter drew on the best attributes from his predecessors as a foundation.

What separates Peter from them though is that he was the first hero with real problems. Neither Superman or Batman had to worry about paying rent regularly like Peter did. Both stood apart from their peers by choice, while Peter wanted to make friends but wasn't able to do it. Krypton and the Waynes died through no fault of Supes or Bats, but Uncle Ben's death was something Peter was at fault for if indirectly. Then you had Gwen Stacy killed as a direct result of Peter's superhero career, introducing the idea of heroes who could fail. Spider-Man was pitched as the flawed hero, the human hero, the guy you could think of yourself as being if you got superpowers. You would screw up and make mistakes, but you'd try your best regardless. Of course the readers would be drawn to, and identify with him, and that's both the secret to his success and what keeps fucking him over. A lot of guys see Peter as their self-insert, so they keep trying to return to their youth through him which keeps derailing him as a character. My entry into Spider-Man fandom came during one of the brief lulls from Marvel trying to reset him to what they see as his "roots".

I remember seeing the Rami Spider-Man movies in the theater and being utterly entranced. I played the first Spider-Man movie tie-in game pretty religiously as a kid (fuck that level where you infiltrate OsCorp, those robots were insane), as well as other Spider-Man games such as Web of Shadows. Can still hear the theme song of the 90s animated Spider-Man show in my head, that show's versions of Green Goblin and Venom are still my favorite takes. All this is a rambling way of saying that "my" Spider-Man was formed during a period where Marvel seemed ok with Peter being more adult, something they've been trying to roll back ever since.

Peter was a college student in the 90s cartoon, the comics had him and MJ married (my first Spidey comic was vol. 1 of JMS' Amazing Spider-Man run, so Peter and MJ being married is the "default" for me), the video games were set in the Ramiverse so he was a college student there as well. It's such a weird era to look back on in retrospect given what's to come and what came before. Peter had problems and was flawed, but he was also so much more mature and thoughtful, intelligent in a way beyond just being a science whiz. He and MJ had a great dynamic as a couple under JMS. They were so clearly in love and also utterly unwilling to take each others shit that it was just a joy to read. That relationship really was something I dearly loved, and of course I took it poorly when Marvel broke the two of them up. Making it a plot where not!Satan comes down and takes their marriage away only rubbed salt in the wound.

Suddenly Peter was a lot more immature and stupid, and Marvel was insisting that this was "how he should be". Marvel was claiming that Spider-Man was all about youth, thus he needed to remain young and marriage free in order to work, which flew in the face of the character as I understood him. To me, Spidey was a character about the opposite, he was about growing up.

More than any other character in the MU, Peter was the guy who embodied character development. In his early years under Lee and Dikto, Peter was an asshole with a chip on his shoulder. Far from being the martyr figure everyone sees him as today, Peter initially just kept trying to make money with his powers. He was constantly moaning and bewailing his lot, because he was a fucking teenager! EVERY teenager treats ANY setback like it's the end of the world. Yet over a period of years, both in universe and out, Peter grew into the great hero everybody sees him as today. He became kinder, more charitable, and made friends with his peers. He acquired a steady stream of super hot girlfriends, ultimately marrying MJ. Peter married MJ before Clark Kent married Lois Lane, that's a huge freaking accomplishment! Totally makes sense that Peter would get married first because while Superman was more or less frozen in place like all DC heroes, Spider-Man was the one who embodied the Marvel trait of growth and change. The world kept throwing shit at him and Peter dealt with it as best he could, and that gave me hope because if he could overcome the forces arrayed against him to find some degree of happiness, so could I.

One More Day completely obliterated all of that. I didn't recognize this character anymore, I didn't care about the shallow relationships they teased him entering, relationships we all knew didn't matter. If Peter couldn't stay married to MJ, he wasn't going to last in a relationship with Carlie Cooper or any of the girls Slott set him up with. Peter being immature worked great when he was actually in high school and college, but Marvel wanted to write him as a high schooler without actually deaging him. The contrast between how he was characterized before and after OMD was just too jarring for me.

Ultimately I left for a while. I read Superior and Spider-Verse, but I was no longer religiously following Amazing Spider-Man any more. Checked out Ultimate Spider-Man which I had never read, and I enjoyed it, but I also held a grudge against it's success. Clearly this was the series that enshrined high school Spider-Man as the "ideal" status quo for a lot of people, and I couldn't help but blame the series for Quesada's successful torching of a more mature Peter Parker. I also read Spider-Girl which took place in an alternate continuity where Peter was still married and he had a daughter with MJ named Mayday. I loved that series a lot, and Mayday became my favorite Marvel superheroine. Eventually I came back to ASM with Spencer because a few of my fellows told me he reminded them of JMS, and I've enjoyed his characterization of Peter. Doubt the marriage will be coming back any time soon but it's nice to read a more adult Peter after how he was characterized under Slott.

Hard to say what the future holds for Peter. Tough to say for certain but with the end of high school Peter in the MCU approaching, it feels like we're on the edge of another shift in status quo for Spider-Man. May be that the creation of Miles is allowing Peter to finally start to mature again since Miles can be the corporate wet dream of an eternally young "diverse" Spidey. The insistence on putting Miles into more and more of Peter's stuff, with Peter mentoring him, makes me hope that Marvel is becoming more ok with Peter growing up. The Insomniac Spider-Man is a college graduate, he feels the closest in tone and character to the Spider-Man I grew up with under JMS and Rami. They even got to kill Aunt May off, something Marvel is still terrified to do in the comics, and the relationship between Peter and MJ is portrayed as crucial to both (as it should), even if MJ is a little too Lois Lane lite for my liking.

Hopefully Spider-Man can shake off Quesada's lingering influence and start being what he was created to be: the guy who moves forward rather than running in place.

#spider man #peter parker #marvel

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northoftheroad · 4 years

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Recommeded reading for Dick Grayson / Robin and Nightwing

This is an updated repeat of a couple of lists with reading recommendations with Dick as Robin and Nightwing (Pre-Flashpoint) that I've made earlier. But since I wrote them as answers to asks, the posts don't have a headline, and I find that they can be easy to miss (for me, when I want to look something up...) So I thought I might as well make a new, single post of them.

The stories are in what I imagine would be an in-universe chronology. They are from all periods, ignoring that the Golden age stories and Silver/Bronze/modern age stories have at times been considered two different universes. Most of them are stories that, at the time of their publishing, were canon and in continuity. None is explicitly Elseworld, so you can certainly imagine that they have happened ;-)

To be honest, not all of these comics are examples of great storytelling. Older superhero comics, for instance, are definitely something else compared to modern comics, for better and for worse. I've picked some because they are "the first time" or significant in some way (e.g. the first time Dick was almost killed, when Bruce has to fight to keep custody, an infamous fight between Dick and Bruce, the most well-known different origin stories, panels that are often quoted); others because they have a cute or fun moment. I have also included some books that I don't like myself but are well-known.

Storytelling has changed a lot since Dick was Robin. Back in the Golden and Silver age, with very few exceptions, comics were stand-alone short stories. In later decades, it's usually arcs that span at least a couple of issues and some stories have consequences for years.

Dick has been an active team member since the 1960s, and he has arguably been at his best in some team titles, but I still don't have a lot of team books here. I find it difficult to, off the top of my head, recall any "special Dick issues".

Obviously, these are very personal preferences, and the list is based on what I've read and remembered best.

Robin the Boy Wonder. Detective Comics # 38 (The original origin story. There has been maaany more since then – I've made a list just with origin stories....) (1940).

Batman: Year Three. Batman # 436-439. (An origin story where Dick spent some time at a nice orphanage before he came to Bruce.) (1989)

Robin Annual vol 2 # 4. (Another origin story, where the Gotham authorities remove Dick him from the circus, and he is put in the Gotham City's Youth Center. Not my preferred but it's well known.) (1995)

The Gauntlet. The Batman Chronicles #1. (The test before Batman let Dick start out as Robin.) (1997)

Grimm. Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #149-153. (A story set when Dick is new as Robin and still uncertain about his place. For a while, he wants to leave Batman and stay in a children's underground paradise.) (2002)

Robin: Year One. (Traumatic events during Dick's first year as Robin. He was nearly beat to death by Two-Face. When Bruce said he was not permitted to continue as Robin, Dick ran away because he didn't think there was a place for him at the Manor any more.) (2001)

The case of the honest crook. Batman #5. (1941)

The Batman plays a lone hand. Batman #13. (The first time Bruce ended the Batman and Robin partnership and left Dick to take care of himself.) (1942)

Robin studies his lessons. Batman #18. (1943)

Bruce Wayne loses the guardianship of Dick Grayson. Batman #20. (1944)

Clay. Batman Black and White #6. (2014)

Don't know where, don't know when. Batman Black and White #1. (2013)

Dick Grayson, author. Batman #35. (1946)

The Clocks of Doom. Star Spangled Comics #70.

The man Batman refused to help! Star Spangled Comics #88.

A birthday for Batman. Star Spangled Comics #91.

Robin, the Boy Failure. DC #145. (Dick gets amnesia, and Bruce tries to get him to remember that he’s Robin, without telling him outright.) (1949).

The killer-dog of Gotham city. Star Spangled Comics #100. (1950)

The trial of Bruce Wayne. Batman #57. (1950)

Race of the century. DC #157. (1950)

Dick Grayson, detective. Star Spangled Comics #111. (1950)

The strange costumes of Batman. DC #165. (Dick’s first time as Batman.) (1950)

The robberies in the Batcave. DC #177. (1951)

Partner for Batman. Batman #65. (1951)

Batman II and Robin, junior. Batman #66. (1951)

The plainclothes Robin. Star Spangled Comics #112. (Batman forbids Dick from going out at as Robin; he finds creative ways to use it in other ways.) (1951)

Operation Escape. Star Spangled Comics #124. (1952)

The new team of Superman and Robin. World's Finest Comics #75. (With Batman out of commission, Robin teams up with Superman. Batman is a bit apprehensive about Dick’s joy.) (1955)

Batman, jr. DC #231. (1956)

The grown-up Boy Wonder. Batman #107. (1957)

The last days of Batman. Batman #125. (1959)

Robin's new boss. Batman #137. (Dick wants to leave Bruce and get into a new partnership. Bruce is very distraught indeed.) (1961)

Robin Dies at Dawn. Batman #156. (Batman gets PTSD after participating in an experiment and he has to hang up the cowl becuase he is endangering Robin. Doctor Simon Hurt, who became a main villain when Grant Morrison wrote Batman, is the nameless doctor in charge of the experiment.) (1963)

The Olsen-Robin team versus the Superman-Batman team. World's Finest Comics #141. (1964)

The thousand-and-one dooms of Mr Twister. The Brave and the Bold #54. (The first team-up of Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad – the first step towards the formation of the Teen Titans.) (1964)

Teen Titans: Year One. (A retelling of the origin of the Teen Titans. The original version was told in Teen Titans vol 1 #53 from 1978, the last issue of the Silver/Bronze age comic book.) (2008)

Midnight raid of the Robin gang. DC #342. (1965)

The Round-Robin death threats. DC #366-367. (1967)

Batgirl breaks up the dynamic duo. DC #369. (1967)

The Nemesis from Batman's boyhood. DC #370. (1967)

Batman! Drop dead… twice. DC #378-379. (1968)

Geometry. Superman #700. (Dick goes out as Robin on his own, against Bruce's order. Superman has to fish him up out the harbour...) (2010)

Menace of the Motorcycle Marauders. Batman #202. (1968)

Operation blindfold. Batman #204-205. (1968)

Angel… or devil. Batman #216. (1969)

Prisoners of the Immortal world. World’s Finest Comics #200. (Dick had moved to Hudson University by now. Together with Superman and a pair of brothers, he's transported to a different world.) (1971)

Daughter of the Demon. Batman #232. (First appearance of Ra's al Ghul, who kidnaps Robin from Hudson as a test to see if Batman is worthy of Talia.) (1971)

Vengeance for a cop. Batman #234-236. (1971)

Night of the Reaper. Batman #237. (1971)

Earth - the monster maker. Justice League of America #91-92. (A story with characters from both Earth-One and Earth-Two, including the adult Robin from Earth-Two who is a member of the Justice Society of America.) (1971)

How many times can a Robin die? Batman #246. (A criminal sets out to revenge himself on Batman by setting up murders of lifelike Robin dummies; since he has kidnapped the real Robin, Batman can't know if the killings are the real thing.) (1972)

The return of the Flying Grayson. Batman #250. (1973)

Color me deadly. Batman #316. (1979)

The Iron solution. DC #487. (1980)

The Man in Black wears Green. DC #493. (1980)

The Lazarus Affair (plus). Batman #331-335. (Another story with Talia and Ra's al Ghul, but also about generation gaps and slum buildings. Robin is angrily opposed to Bruce being with Talia because he doesn't trust her; he seeks out Catwoman to help.) (1981)

Yesterday's heroes. Batman #339. (1981)

To kill a legend. Detective Comics #500. (The Phantom Stranger transports Batman and Robin to a parallel Earth where they have the chance to stop that world's Joe Chill from murdering the Waynes.) (1981)

Who is Donna Troy? New Teen Titans #38. (Dick helps Donna Troy, Wonder girl, to find out where she came from. A great detective story.) (1984)

The Judas contract (when Dick becomes Nightwing). The New Teen Titans # 39-40, Tales of the Teen Titans #41-44, Annual #3. (1984)

Nightwing Year One. Nightwing vol 2 # 101-106. (I honestly don't care much for this story, but it's good to know that it's one of several retellings of how Dick became Nightwing.) (2005)

A Little Nudge, in the Robin 80th Anniversary Special. (An alternate take on Dick leaving Robin to become Nightwing, where Bruce and Dick don’t split on hostile terms – Dick is just a bit annoyed. It is very unclear in what timeline, if any, this is supposed to fit, but I like it a lot better than the Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint versions.) (2020)

Trivial Pursuits. New Teen Titans vol 2 # 32. (A nice breather, when the Titans try just to relax together. It goes as well as can be expected.) (1987)

Wrath Child. (A story from when Dick was fairly new as Nightwing.) Batman Confidential # 13-16. (2008)

Batman # 416. (First post-Crisis meeting with Jason Todd) (1988)

The Cheshire Contract. Action Comics Weekly # 613-618 (Dick helps Roy find his daughter.) (1988)

The New Titans # 55. (Dick learns about Jason's death when the Titans return to Earth after a long period in space. He goes to Bruce to talk and what follows is the infamous scene when Bruce hits Dick, says he should never have had a partner and tells Dick to leave and leave the keys with Alfred.) (1989)

Batman: Year Three. Batman # 436–439. (Flashbacks with a retelling of Dick's origin, during Bruce's third year as Batman. In the "now", Dick tries to reach out to Bruce and Dick's parents' murderer is about to be set free.) (1989)

A Lonely Place of Dying. Batman # 440-442, New Titans # 60-61. (1990)

The New Titans # 65. (Tim turns up at Dick's place to learn what it is to be Batman's partner.) (1990)

Total Chaos. (In issues of Deathstroke the Terminator, New Titans and Team Titans.) (Mirage, a woman from an alternate future and who has illusion casting powers, takes the form of Starfire and sleeps with Dick, who is shamed by his team members for being unfaithful to Kory, even though this is rape. So, an important fact to know but not something I would recommend to read.) (1992)

Knightfall Prodigal (Dick's first longer stint as Batman. And he takes care of Tim and the Manor on his own!) In Batman #512-514 and three other titles. (1994-1995)

Nightwing Alfred's Return (Kind of fun, when Dick seeks out Alfred, who left Bruce's service because Bruce wasn't taking care of himself, in London.) (1995)

Nightwing vol 1 # 1-4. (I don't love this, but it is a milestone in that it's the first Nightwing solo series, Dick momentarily decides to leave the hero business, and gets his by now classic fingerstripe suit.) (1995)

Like Riding a Bike. (Donna checks up on Dick.) The Batman Chronicles # 7. (1996)

(Nightwing vol 2 began in 1996.)

Nightwing vol 2 # 6. (Tim and Dick talk and fight crooks.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 12-16. (Batman pays a visit and Dick makes his custom made car.) (1997)

The Flash plus Nightwing. (Dick and Wally on vacation.) (1997)

Then & Now. Teen Titans vol 2 #12-15. (The original four Titan boys find themselves fighting their past selves.) (1997)

Nightwing vol 2 # 25. (Tim and Dick talk and ride on train roofs. Dick has decided to become a cop.) (1998)

Detective Comics # 725 (A heart-to-heart between Bruce and Dick.) (1998)

The Technis Imperative. JLA/Titans #1-3. (1998-1999)

The Titans (1999) # 2. (The start of a new Titans team, Dick tells Superman to give them some room.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 32–34. (Dick at the Police Academy.) (1999)

Nightwing vol 2 # 35–39. (On a mission from Batman: To take control of Blackgate Prison. Afterwards, he recuperates at Barbara's when her place is attacked.) (1999-2000)

The Titans (1999) #15–16. (The original five Titans try to work out some difficulties.) 2000.

Transference. Batman: Gotham Knights #8-11. (2000)

Nightwing vol 2 # 45-46. (The Hunt for Oracle.) (2000)

Action Comics # 771. (Nightwing and Superman hang out and work together – what's not to like!) 2000

Gods of Gotham. Wonder Woman # 164-167. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 52. (Yet another example of sexual assault when Catwoman kisses Nightwing, in an effort to make Batman jealous.) (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 54-58. (Blockbuster, Nightwing's main adversary in Blüdhaven, hires an old enemy of Dick's to deal with the vigilante: Shrike. A character from Robin Year One.) (2001)

Matatoa. Batman: Gotham Knights # 16-17. (Bruce adopts Dick.) (2001)

Who Is Troia? The Titans (1999) # 23-25. (A visit from the Titan's children from the Kingdom Come universe.). (2001)

Retribution. Batman: Gotham Knights # 20-21. (2001)

Nightwing vol 2 # 64. (Nightwing as Santa's elf.) (2001)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (in several titles). (Dick refuses to believe that Bruce can be a murderer and it causes friction with for instance Tim. Also, a big fight between Dick and Bruce when the latter says he is going to abandon his Bruce identity.) (2002)

Nightwing vol 2 # 75. (Flashback's to Dick's early years with Bruce. Plus the first appearance of Tarantula (Catalina Flores; a controversial figure in Dick's history, she straddled the line between vigilante and villain.)) (2002)

Hush. Batman # 608–619. (# 615 for Dick, but it might be confusing only to read one issue.) (2002-2003)

The Obsidian Age. JLA vol 1 # 68-75. (The Justice League members disappear, Dick leads a new team for a few issues. In # 73, Bruce is quoted: "The only time I ever feel pride is when I look at Nightwing. Sometimes I think he's the only thing I ever did right."). (2002-2003)

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day # 1-3 (Donna is killed. Dick is devastated and declares that the Titans are finished.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 80-83. (Deathstroke is in Blüdhaven to kill someone close to Dick. Bruce asks when he will quit the force, Dick wants to stay as a cop, but when he saves Amy Rohrbach, she recognizes that Dick is Nightwing and fires him.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 86. (Dick, forced to rest after being injured, solves crimes on America's Most Wanted and drives Barbara up the wall.) (2003)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 1 (Roy talks Dick, who dissolved the Titans after Donna's death, into leading a new team, promising they will not be a family.) (2003)

Nightwing vol 2 # 87-100. (Definitely one of the darkest periods points in Dick's life pre-Flashpoint. Tarantula breaks up him and Barbara. Blockbuster destroys his circus, his home and kills people just for talking to Dick. Tarantula kills Blockbuster and Nightwing is too exhausted to prevent it, and afterwards, he has a panic attack and she rapes him (# 93). Not necessarily something I would recommend to read, but fans discuss it a lot.) (2003-2004)

The Outsiders vol 3 # 11 (Roy is angsting about going back to the hero business after narrowly surviving being shot to death, sparring and heart-to-heart with Dick follows.) (2004)

Under the Hood. Batman # 635-641, 645-650, Annual # 25. (2004-2006)

Supergirl (2005) # 3 (Supergirl has a huuuge crush on Nightwing... ) (2005)

Silent partner. The Outsiders vol 3 # 21-23. (Dick goes ballistic when he realizes Batman has been funding the Outsiders, Roy admits Batman has been feeding him information. Only it wasn't Batman – it was Deathstroke in disguise.) (2005)

DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy # 1-4. (2005)

Nightwing vol 2 # 107–117. (Dick leaves Nightwing, starts working for the mob and trains Deathstroke's daughter. I think the author has some kind of resolution to the crisis Dick had gone through the last years in mind, but Infinite Crisis got in the way. Blüdhaven is destroyed in a nuclear explosion.) (2005-2006)

Infinite Crisis. (DC had planned to let Dick die, he is central to the story even if he's not very visible.) (2005-2006)

Targets. Nightwing vol 2 # 125-128. (Dick hunts for a day job in New York and gets buried alive, which leads to some retrospection on his behalf. There's also fights with a guy with a weaponized armour.) (2007)

The Brave and the Bold # 15. Nightwing and Hawkman. (Deadman, inside Hawkman, says that Dick Grayson is the one guy that every crimefighter trusts.) (2007)

Outsiders: Five of a Kind – Nightwing/Boomerang. (It ends with Batman telling Dick: "Go back to the good fight, Dick. Leave the bad fight to us.") (2007)

Freefall. Nightwing vol 2 # 140–146. (Dick starts freefalling as a new hobby; Bruce is not pleased. And he gets a new daytime job, as a museum curator. Oh, and there's Talia al Ghul, too.) (2008)

Robin # 175. (Some fun panels with flashbacks with Dick and Tim.) (2008)

Superman/Batman # 55. (Batman has got Superman’s powers while Superman loses his. When Batman starts to get out of control, Nightwing tries to stop him.) (2009)

The Great Leap. Nightwing vol 2 # 147–151. (Two-Face wants Nightwing to save a life.) (2008-2009)

Titans (2008) # 10. (Dick leaves the Titans because he needs to go back to Gotham and "take care of my other family." (2009)

Nightwing vol 2 # 152-153. (That time when Ra's al Ghul called Dick detective. And Dick packed up and left New York to move back to Gotham.) (2009)

Batman # 682. (Just for the line about how Dick made colour come into their monochrome lives ;-) ) (2009)

Detective Comics # 85, Batman # 684 (Dick mourning Bruce) (2009)

The Secret Six # 9. (Some of the members of the Secret Six feel they should be the new Batman.) (2009)

Battle for the Cowl # 1-3. (2009)

If you don't mind reading comics that are not in the main comic universe, there are also a lot of fun reading in comic books that are tie-ins to Batman The Animated Series, and in Batman '66 which builds on the tv show from 1966. There is also Dark Victory from 1999–2000 – and tiny Dick is adorable in Batman/Scarecrow: Year One from 2005. Dick has about two panels in Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier from 2004, but I think it’s kind of worth reading just for those.

#Dick Grayson #Robin #Nightwing #Batman #Richard Grayson

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multiverseforger · 4 years

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Robin the Boy WonderEdit

Characters from an illustration by N. C. Wyeth for "Robin Hood" (1917) by Paul Creswick. The look inspired Jerry Robinson's design for Robin.[6]:83

Dick Grayson as Robin in his first appearance, on the cover of Detective Comics #38 (April 1940), along with Batman. Art by Bob Kane.

The character was first introduced in Detective Comics #38 (1940) by Batman creators Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Robin's debut was an effort to get younger readers to enjoy Batman. The name "Robin, The Boy Wonder" and the medieval look of the original costume are inspired by the legendary hero Robin Hood. The costume was designed by Jerry Robinson who drew it from memory based on Robin Hood illustrations by N. C. Wyeth.[6]:83

In his first appearance, Dick Grayson is a circus acrobat, and, with his parents, one of the "Flying Graysons". Robin was born on the first day of spring, son of John Grayson and Mary Grayson, a young aerialist couple. While preparing for a performance, Dick overhears two gangsters attempting to extort protection money from the circus owner. The owner refuses, so the gangsters sabotage the trapeze wires with acid. During the next performance, the trapeze from which Dick's parents are swinging snaps, sending them to their deaths. Before he can go to the police, Batman appears to him and warns him that the two gangsters work for Tony Zucco, a very powerful crime boss, and that revealing his knowledge could lead to his death. When Batman recounts the murder of his own parents, Dick asks to become his aide. After extensive training, Dick becomes Robin. They start by disrupting Zucco's gambling and extortion rackets. They then successfully bait the riled Zucco into visiting a construction site, where they capture him.

Robin's origin has a thematic connection to Batman's in that both see their parents killed by criminals, creating an urge to battle the criminal element. Bruce sees a chance to direct the anger and rage that Dick feels in a way that he himself cannot, thus creating a father/son bond and understanding between the two. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, DC Comics portrayed Batman and Robin as a team, deeming them the "Dynamic Duo", rarely publishing a Batman story without his sidekick; stories entirely devoted to Robin appeared in Star-Spangled Comics from 1947 through 1952.

The character history of the Earth-Two Robin accordingly adopts all of the earliest stories featuring the character from the 1940s and 1950s, while the adventures of the mainstream Robin (who lived on "Earth-One") begin later in time and with certain elements of his origin retold. Both were depicted as separate, though parallel, individuals living in their respective universes, with the "older" Earth-Two character eventually reaching death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Teen TitansEdit

1964's The Brave and the Bold #54 introduces a junior version of the Justice League of America. This team is led by the modern-day Robin, residing on Earth-One, and was joined by two other teenage sidekicks, Aqualad (sidekick of Aquaman) and Kid Flash (sidekick of the Flash), to stop the menace of Mr. Twister.

Later, the three sidekicks join forces with Speedy and Wonder Girl in order to free their mentors in the JLA from mind-controlled thrall. They decide to become a real team: the Teen Titans. By virtue of the tactical skills gleaned from Batman, Robin is swiftly recognized as leader before the Titans disband some years later.

In 1969, still in the Pre-Crisis continuity, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams return Batman to his darker roots. One part of this effort is writing Robin out of the series by sending Dick Grayson to Hudson University and into a separate strip in the back of Detective Comics. The by-now Teen Wonder appears only sporadically in Batman stories of the 1970s as well as in a short-lived revival of The Teen Titans.

In 1980, Grayson once again takes up the role of leader of the Teen Titans, now featured in the monthly series The New Teen Titans, which became one of DC Comics's most beloved series of the era. During his leadership of the Titans, however, he had a falling out with Batman, leading to an estrangement that would last for many years.

NightwingEdit

In the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the maturing Dick Grayson grows weary of his role as Batman's young sidekick. He renames himself Nightwing, recalling his adventure in the Kryptonian city of Kandor, where he and Batman meet the local hero of the same name. In post-Crisis continuity he is fired by Batman after being shot by the Joker and becomes Nightwing. He maintains this identity during his role in the Teen Titans, and occasionally returns to assist Batman and his successors as Robin in the form of Jason Todd and Tim Drake, Tim in particular becoming a younger brother figure to him.

When Bruce's back is broken by Bane during the Knightfall story arc, Bruce selects Jean-Paul Valley as his replacement as Batman as he does not want to burden Dick with the role and fears that Dick may go after Bane in revenge. However, when Valley proves to be too unstable to be Batman, Bruce undergoes a rigorous recovery and training program with the aid of Doctor Shondra Kinsolving and Lady Shiva to restore him to full health, defeating Valley with Dick and Tim's aid. However, feeling that he needs to re-evaluate Batman and his mission after Valley's defeat, Bruce leaves Gotham once again, after appointing Dick as his successor during the "Prodigal" story arc. While acting as Batman, Dick is left with a clearer idea of the psychological stresses Bruce must endure in the role, as well as facing some of Bruce's newer enemies — such as Killer Croc, the Ventriloquist and the Ratcatcher — while settling his own long-standing issues with Two-Face.

Miniseries and afterwardEdit

In Nightwing: Alfred's Return #1 (1995), Dick Grayson travels to England to find Alfred Pennyworth who had resigned from Bruce Wayne's service following the events of the KnightSaga. Before returning to Gotham City together, they prevent an attempted coup d'état against the British government that involves destroying the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel.

Later on, with the Nightwing miniseries (September to December 1995, written by Dennis O'Neil with Greg Land as artist), Dick briefly considers retiring from being Nightwing forever before family papers uncovered by Alfred reveal a possible link between the murder of the Flying Graysons and the Crown Prince of Kravia. Journeying to Kravia, Nightwing helps to topple the murderous Kravian leader and prevent an ethnic cleansing, while learning his parents' true connection to the Prince; they witnessed the original Prince being killed and replaced with an impostor who became as bad as his predecessor (although Zucco killed the Graysons before the conspirators could do anything about it). In the aftermath, Dick returns to his role as Nightwing, recognizing that, for all his problems with Bruce, Bruce never made him become Robin or join his crusade, accepting that he imitated Bruce's example because Bruce was worthy of imitation.

In 1996, following the success of the miniseries, DC Comics launched a monthly solo series featuring Nightwing (written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Scott McDaniel), in which he patrols Gotham City's neighboring municipality of Blüdhaven, relocating there to investigate a series of murders and remaining as he recognized that the city needed protection. He remains the city's guardian for some time, facing foes such as Blockbuster and new villains such as Torque, and even becomes a police officer so that he can make an impact on the city's criminal activity in both parts of his life. Later, Grayson divides his duties between Bludhaven and Gotham after a devastating earthquake and the subsequent decision to declare Gotham a No Man's Land, Grayson occasionally assisting his mentor and other members of Bat-Family in maintaining and restoring order in Gotham until it is fully rebuilt. When the Justice League vanished into the past fighting ancient sorceress Gamemnae, Nightwing was selected as the leader of the reserve League created by an emergency program Batman had established in the event of his League being defeated, Batman describing Nightwing as the only person he could have picked to lead the new team.

Eventually, the original League are restored, and Nightwing departs along with some of his League-although others remain as some of the original team take a leave of absence-although Batman notes that his leadership of the League proves that he is ready for more responsibilities. However, the death of Blockbuster prompts Nightwing to leave Bludhaven due to his crisis of conscience; Blockbuster was killed by vigilante Tarantula and Nightwing did not stop it even when he had the chance to do so. While Nightwing returns to Gotham to heal after assisting Batman in dealing with a series of gang wars, Blüdhaven is destroyed by the Secret Society of Super-Villains when they drop Chemo on it.

During the battle of Metropolis, Grayson suffers a near-fatal injury from Alexander Luthor, Jr. when he shields Wayne from Luthor's attack.[7] Originally, the editors at DC intended to have Grayson killed in Infinite Crisis as Newsarama revealed from the DC Panel at WizardWorld Philadelphia:[8]

It was again explained that Nightwing was originally intended to die in Infinite Crisis, and that you can see the arc that was supposed to end with his death in the series. After long discussions, the death edict was finally reversed, but the decision was made that, if they were going to be keeping him, he would have to be changed. The next arc of the ongoing series will further explain the changes, it was said.

After spending some time away with Bruce and Tim to heal and rebuild after their harsh times prior to the Crisis, Dick relocates to New York, but has trouble finding work as both Dick Grayson and Nightwing. During the Batman R.I.P. storyline, Nightwing is ambushed by the International Club of Villains. He is later seen being held in Arkham Asylum, where one of the surgeons, in reality also the civilian identity of ICoV member Le Bossu, arranged for Nightwing to be admitted under the name of Pierrot Lunaire (another ICoV member) and be kept both heavily drugged and regularly beaten by staff to subdue him. Scheduled for an experimental lobotomy by Le Bossu himself, he manages to free himself and come to Batman's aid for the finale of the story arc.

Batman: RebornEdit

Following the events of Batman's apparent death during the Final Crisis, Nightwing has closed down shop in New York so as to return to Gotham, where after the events of "Battle for the Cowl", he assumes the identity of Batman, with Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's biological son, as the new Robin.[9]

The new team of Batman and Robin is the focus of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's Batman and Robin series.[10] Their dynamic reverses the classic dynamic of Bruce and Dick, by having a lighter and friendlier Batman paired with a more intense and dark Robin. Over time, Dick's experience as the Dark Knight would harden his personality as his mentor.

During this period, Dick Grayson as Batman also features as a member of the Justice League in a short-lived run by writer James Robinson. After an intense confrontation with the Club of Villains and the mysterious Doctor Simon Hurt (who has established fake evidence that he is actually Bruce's father Thomas Wayne), Hurt is defeated when Bruce returns to the present. However, Bruce leaves Dick to continue to act as Batman in Gotham with Damian as his partner while he sets up the new 'Batman Incorporated' program, Bruce publicly identifying himself as Batman's financial backer to justify a global Batman-themed operation where he funds multiple other vigilantes.

The New 52 (2011–2016)Edit

See also: The New 52

Dick Grayson is re-established as Nightwing following DC's Flashpoint crossover event, after which the publisher relaunched all of its titles and made alterations to its continuity as part of an initiative called The New 52. In the new status quo, Bruce Wayne is once again the only Batman, and Dick, like the other members of the adoptive family, is a few years younger. Dick, despite being 19 is drawn a bit shorter than in his pre-relaunch frame. This is likely due to adding believability to his acrobat past.[11] According to various interviews it is stated that Dick was adopted at 16, as opposed to 12. This is due to the DCNU's timeline existing for five years.[12] Dick Grayson is shown in flashbacks as Robin with a revamped version of the Robin costume in Nightwing (vol. 3) #0 (November 2012) and Batman and Robin Annual (vol. 2) #2 (March 2014).

Dick Grayson in his New 52 Robin costume from Batman and Robin Annual, vol. 2 #2 (March 2014). Art by Doug Mahnke and Patrick Gleason

In his civilian identity he is attacked by an assassin named Saiko who insists that he is the fiercest killer in Gotham.[13] The series Batman Incorporated relaunches with a second volume, continuing its story while taking into account the New 52's continuity changes; Dick is now depicted as Nightwing, and not as Batman, but the change is not addressed in the comic itself. In Nightwing, Dick inherits the deed to the circus from a dying C. C. Haly and begins a relationship with his childhood friend acrobat Raya Vestri. Saiko tortures Haly for information on Nightwing's secret identity, and the old man dies in Dick's arms after telling him the circus holds a terrible secret.[14] Investigating leads, he tracks down a supervillain named Feedback, who used to be a childhood friend, but does not learn anything.[15] Following Haly's clues, he finds a mysterious Book of Names in the circus that has his name on the last page.[16] Later the circus announces they will be doing a memorial show on the anniversary of the night Dick's parents were murdered, and Saiko attacks by detonating a massive explosion.[17]

It is then revealed that the circus has been training assassins for years, and Saiko was a childhood friend using Raya as an accomplice. Grayson had been selected to become a new Talon for the Court of Owls, but when Batman adopted him, Saiko took his place. The killer plummets to his death and Raya turns herself in. Returning to the Batcave, Bruce reveals to Dick that the current Talon is his great-grandfather William Cobb.[18] During the Night of the Owls event Dick faces Cobb, who was revived while protecting Mayor Hady.[19] Following the event, Dick decided to keep Haly's Circus in Gotham and plans to invest in turning an abandoned amusement park into their new location without Bruce's money.[20] He works with Sonia Branch, the daughter of Tony Zucco, the crime boss who murdered Dick's parents, into getting a loan for this plan by investing his entire trust fund despite being a high-risk due to Saiko's recent attack. The problems arise because of the guilt Sonia feels towards her father's actions [21] and many members of the circus are afraid for their lives because of the previous disasters and accuse Dick Grayson of being a flake, making it hard for those who choose to stay.[22]

The "Death of the Family" crossover event across the Batman-related comic books led to a major shift in Nightwing's status quo. During the storyline, one of Dick's friends Jimmy Clark, who worked as a circus clown, was murdered by the Joker because Joker felt like Jimmy was a knockoff of him. Nightwing later discovers Joker broke Raya out of prison, infected her with his Joker venom and has forced her to fight him while wearing a makeshift Nightwing costume. The toxin eventually killed Raya, though Nightwing tried in vain with an anti-toxin to save her. Nightwing then discovered that Joker left a message on Raya's abdomen that he was targeting Haly's Circus next.[23] However upon arriving there, Joker unveils his plan to burn the circus to the ground and then infects Nightwing with his gas that not only causes him to experience hallucinations of Jimmy and Raya, but he is soon attacked by the other members of Haly's Circus that were also affected by the toxin allowing Joker to capture him.[24]

In the aftermath, Haly's Circus is gone, with Dick broke as a result for having lost his investment. While the other circus members survived since Joker used a different Joker venom on them, they blame Dick and decide to leave after Raya and Jimmy's funeral, though deep down they know it is not his fault. Dick becomes bitter from his loss. After he used excessive force to bring down some criminals that tried to plunder valuables from the remains of the circus, Damian, having been monitoring him, is able to talk some sense into Nightwing, which helps him recover.[25]

Nightwing is later deeply affected by the death of Damian following his murder at the hands of Damian's clone, the Heretic, in Batman Incorporated. With Damian's death and potential resurrection becoming an obsession of Batman's, Dick is shunned by Bruce when he tries to tell him to move on, in Batman and Nightwing (a retitled Batman & Robin #23).

Later, the Nightwing series changes its setting to Chicago, Illinois. Sonia Branch reveals to Dick an e-mail that indicates that her father Zucco is still alive. After giving the address to Red Robin to try and track down who sent it, Robin uncovers that Zucco is residing in Chicago. Nightwing moves to Chicago in order to find and arrest Zucco, who is now living under the assumed identity of Billy Lester, an assistant to the mayor. Soon after arriving in Chicago, Dick meets his new roommates, a photojournalist named Michael and a computer specialist named Joey. After leaving the apartment to meet with Johnny Spade, a borderline criminal who steals and sells information, their meeting is interrupted by the police. A short chase results in the accidental destruction of a newly rebuilt subway. Meanwhile, a criminal hacker called the Prankster tortures, maims and kills criminal con men who are untouchable by the police.

The Chicago story is later abruptly ended by Nightwing's role in a larger company-wide crossover event. After the Crime Syndicate invade Earth Prime at the conclusion of the "Trinity War" Justice League storyline and defeat the Justice League, the DC crossover story Forever Evil depicts Nightwing's capture by the Crime Syndicate, who expose his secret identity to the world. Following their escape from the Syndicate, Batman and Catwoman decide to rescue him. He then is invited by Owlman to help defeat the Crime Syndicate, which he accepts. Nightwing is severely beaten by Ultraman and is attached to a device from a parallel world known as the Murder Machine, which is controlled by his heart rate and is reportedly impossible to escape from alive. When Batman and Lex Luthor arrive to free him, Lex stops his heart in order to fool the system so he can disarm it. However, Batman, enraged over what Lex has done, attacks him. Luthor explains it is not too late to save Grayson.[26] In an uncharacteristically heroic moment, Luthor injects Grayson's heart with adrenaline, which successfully revives Grayson. Cyborg enters, having defeated Grid, and Grayson joins Batman, Cyborg and Catwoman in freeing the Justice League from the Firestorm Matrix. After the defeat of the Syndicate, Grayson is seen with Batman in the Batcave. Batman tells him that he has to send him on the most dangerous mission he could possibly undertake.

GraysonEdit

The Nightwing title concluded in April 2014 at issue #30, and was replaced with a new title, Grayson, which depicts Dick having given up his life as Nightwing at age 22 and going undercover as an agent of the Spyral organization where the former Batwoman Kathy Kane works.[27] Written by Tim Seeley and former CIA counter-terrorism officer Tom King, the career change for Dick Grayson comes from the urging of Batman himself, who convinces him to remain dead to the world. Seeley stated that the series will be "leaning into" Grayson's sex symbol status. The character's look also is redesigned with no mask, but a blue-and-black outfit calling back to his pre-New 52 Nightwing counterpart with an addition of a "G" on his chest, said to be reminiscent of the Robin "R".[28][29]

In the "Agent of Spyral" storyline, Dick (known as Agent 37) is enlisted by Mister Minos, the director of Spyral, after having been chosen by Helena Bertinelli to serve as a new candidate. However, Dick serves as a mole under Batman due to their agenda of unmasking heroes by collecting the Paragon organs, organs in which contains the DNA of the Justice League and bestows meta-bioweapons the ability to use their powers. He assists Spyral's agenda to know more about Minos and his endgame, resulting in Spyral attaining most of the scattered organs. In a later story arc, Minos betrays Spyral and attempts to leak its secrets. To his surprise he finds the new Agent Zero, who reveals that she, along with the upper echelon of Spyral, had used Minos to attract Dick into Spyral and kills Minos as he has outlived his life full of humor.[30][31]

During Batman and Robin Eternal, Grayson finds himself working with various other members of the Bat-Family-during the time when Bruce Wayne is amnesiac after his resurrection against the ruthless villain known only as "Mother", who, it is revealed, briefly met with Batman early in Grayson's career as Robin, believing that he shared her views on using trauma to make people stronger. Mother intends to trigger a global collapse with the reasoning that the survivors will rebuild a stronger world after being broken by tragedy and without the hindrance of parents to force their ideals on them, but Grayson and the rest of the Family are able to defeat her, Dick affirming that Batman helps the Robins become their own people who can avoid the mistakes he made in dealing with his own trauma rather than Mother's belief that she and Batman each teach people to use their trauma to define themselves. At the conclusion of the storyline, Dick meets with the restored Batman, assuring Bruce that, unlike Mother, he never forced his ideals on them, but simply gave them all an example that they chose to emulate while avoiding following it so exactly that they became like him.

When the Court of Owls plant a bomb inside Damian Wayne, they are able to blackmail Dick into officially joining their organization, although all sides are aware that Grayson intends to try and use his new position against them.[32] The Grayson series ended at issue #20, where in the final issue, it was revealed that all knowledge of Dick's identity was erased from most of the world with one of Spyral's satellites, allowing Dick to resume his superhero activities as Nightwing once again.[3]

DC RebirthEdit

Starting with the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016, Dick returned to being Nightwing with his black and blue costume, his Spyral contacts having wiped all global evidence of his dual identity and the bomb removed from Damian. He uses his new skills and expertise in espionage moving forward.[33] Nightwing is prominently featured in two Rebirth books: the fourth volume of Nightwing, his own solo book, and Titans, where Dick teams up with the other original Teen Titans after Wally West returns to the universe; through Wally, Dick remembers events of his life prior to Flashpoint and The New 52.[34] After the Titans are forcibly disbanded by the Justice League, Dick creates a new Titans team after the rupture of the Source Wall consisting of Donna Troy, Raven, Steel (Natasha Irons), Beast Boy, and Miss Martian.[35]

In his solo book, Dick is paired with a vigilante named Raptor and the two plan to bring down the Court of Owls from the inside. Barbara criticizes Dick's willingness to trust him and does not agree with his methods. Though Raptor seemed willing to play by Dick's rules of not killing, he tricks Dick into agreeing to a plan that results in the deaths of all of the Parliament of Owls in Sydney. After knocking Dick out, Raptor goes to Gotham and kidnaps Bruce during a conference. Nightwing confronts him alone in the ruins of a circus in Paris. Raptor reveals that he grew up in the circus as a child and fell in love with Dick's mother, Mary, as they stole from the rich and powerful in Paris. Raptor watched over Dick in the shadows as he grew up, and developed a hatred for Bruce Wayne as he represented everything he and Mary were against and felt it was dishonoring her memory to have Dick raised by him. Dick defeats Raptor and rescues Bruce in time.[36]

After joining forces with the pre-Flashpoint Superman to defeat the latest attack of Doctor Destiny, Dick contemplates checking out Bludhaven, based on Superman's reference to how the pre-Flashpoint Grayson acted as the city's guardian for a time,[37] and ultimately decides to go there.[38] While there he meets a supervillain rehabilitation group called the Run-Offs, all of which were villains he and Batman defeated in the past. He finds that most of them are being framed for crimes around the area and works with them to find the true culprits.[39] After solving the case and clearing their names, Dick begins dating their leader Shawn Tsang, known as the former criminal the Defacer.[40] Shawn is kidnapped by Professor Pyg after Dick discovers she might be pregnant with his child, and he teams up with Damian to track Pyg down and rescue her.[41] After Shawn is revealed not to be pregnant, she ultimately breaks up with Dick, who focuses his efforts on taking down criminals such as Blockbuster, the returning Raptor, the Judge, and Wyrm.[42]

During one of his nightly patrols with Batman, Nightwing is shot by KGBeast and nearly killed.[43] As a result, he suffered from severe memory loss and attempted to build a new life in Bludhaven. He changed his name to Ric, gave up being Nightwing, and became a taxi driver that frequently went to bars. With Bludhaven suffering from an increase in crime from the vigilante's absence, a detective named Sapienza comes across Dick's abandoned hideout in the subway and decides to become the new Nightwing.[44] Sapienza recruits a team of his friends in law enforcement to help him, and together they make a team of Nightwings using Dick Grayson's old uniforms. In addition to Sapienza, the team consists of Malcolm Hutch, the deputy chief in the Bludhaven fire department, Zak Edwards, vice of the 10th precinct, and Colleen Edwards, detective of the 14th precinct.[45]

During Year of the Villain, Ric is captured by William Cobb, his grandfather who is a Talon. A brain surgeon that Bruce hired to take care of Dick after he was shot named Dr. Haas was secretly a member of the Court, who was using a mystical memory crystal to alter Dick's memories and eventually shape him into becoming a Talon himself. William Cobb forces Ric to wear goggles and puts Dick under his spell. As a Talon, Grayson fights off other Nightwing heroes. A Nightwing hero name Connor Red shoots at Grayson's mask, making his eye visible. Connor Red pleads for mercy saying he has a family, and as the sun comes up Dick Grayson suddenly breaks out of his grandfather's control. Dick Grayson starts to remember his adventures as Nightwing. Ric defeats Talon, and saves his girlfriend Bea.[46] Afterwards, he journeys to Switzerland to learn more answers about his past from Dr. Haas, who attempts to use the crystal to alter his memories once more. However, an explosion seemingly sends her down a river to her death while Ric is able to retrieve the memory crystal she used on him. During the "Joker War" storyline, the Joker steals the memory crystal and uses it to brainwash Grayson into believing he is the Joker's adopted son, "Dicky Boy" and turns him against the Bat Family in his latest war against Batman. After Barbara gets the crystal back, Bea uses it to allow him to fully regain his memories as Dick Grayson.[47

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darrowsrising · 5 years

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Tag Game:

I got tagged by everybody and their mama (just joking! Thank you @thegorydamnreaper @violetfeverdreams @s-s-s-senp-p-p-pai ! I think you were really curios to know these things about me 😁, because I was never tagged that much, so, much love!)

Rules: tag people you want to know better and answer the questions

Favorite Colour: bright red, burgundy, emerald green, forest green, royal blue, blue-green, turqoise, midnight blue, black as the deepest abysses of the universe and dusky pink

3...ish Favorite Relationships: oh, boy! Here it comes!

I can feel all the judgy eyes drilling holes into my sould right now, but I answer only to Reaper, so 🖕🏻

Reaper x Mustang - they are amazing to me, ok? Their relationship is beautifully imperfect and I just can't help but love their dynamics and their love for each other. The respect they have for one another. I honestly love how their love started from snarky remarks, catching each other naked, rolling up in the mud, saving each other's arses, healing each other's wound and so on. And it blossomed so beautifully into something unique and exquisite. Of course, it has its rough moments, but they are forever. At least in my heart.

Draco x Hermione - yes, I'll get hate for these two. I don't really care for the canon pairings and the Epilogue was lackluster af to me. I always felt like Draco should have gotten a redemption arc. Mainly because of my personal reasons, but it felt to me that showing a character who was raised with the blood purity ideology and with the wealth said ideology provided change, she would have shown the complexity of the humanity better, as well as the fact that the Magic World can be changed. We all know how flawed it is. Harry goes into this world where it seems all of his problems don't matter. But in fact, it is far from perfect. Even without Voldemort there is a lot of prejudice against magical creatures and the blood purity was a thing even before Tom, he just used it as a tool to gain more power. Harry&co. save the world, but it seemed to me that defeating Voldemort didn't erase all the bad stuff. So that's why I believe things changed, people changed, ideologies were broken. Basically I just like to believe that Harry fought for a better world, not to mentain the status quo which was already prejudiced with or without Tom. From there my imagination ran wild.

Of course, that doesn't erase every horrible thing that he has done, not in the slightest. As a Slytherin myself, I just wanted that one (1) Slytherin character who gets a chance to show that Slytherin isn't inherently evil, that people can change and do better and be better. And no, Snape's arc wasn't redemption, imo.

I wanted to see a Draco who has seen all the horrors the ideology he was raised in has dobe and has chose to change, to help rebuild, to make amends to the people he has hurt so cruelly. No, I didn't want him to be forgiven, I wanted him to actively pursue betterment of his own self and the world around him. And only after that I can imagine him...maybe having a kind of friendship with Hermione, made over books (he is stated to be pretty clever, but always behind Hermione) or conversations about different magical subjects. I think that the events of the war humbled him more than a little. I can see him still being snarky, but it's more subdued and less whiny. Then, maybe that friendship grows up to be something more. In fanfiction it can work other ways, of course. I'm just stating how I would see it. However, key here is that redeemed!Draco is the best Draco. Doesn't work otherwise for me.

Try reading Isolation by Bex-chan or Clean by Olivie Blake if you want to know why I see them out of all the characters.

Jon x Daenerys - before purity police gets me, I need to say that this couple works because they are fictional. In the ASOIAF/GOT world Valeryans mixed their DNA with dragons' DNA so that the dragons would recognize them as a kin and would bond with them. That is the reasons they had incestuous marriages in the first place, to presearve the 'purity of the blood'. Of course that wasn't always the case, but, to get back on track, it is fiction, I'm not looking to replicate them irl, yuck! I like them in the show a lot, but as of last episode, I think I'll just wait for the books to be released and I hope we get to see them both in Winds of Winter. They are two of my favorite characters and I think their dynamics will be amazing. I love their parallels and their contrasts a lot.

Damon x Elena - Damon is kinda like me (Slytherin, Gemini...you can see a pattern here, no?) and his bad deeds included, I liked him a lot. Anyway, I liked his dynamics with Elena in the books and in the show. I do like couples who complement each other in their differences (in case it wasn't clear already). What I hate a lot is that the show was a CW show and it was meh at best overall. And that they took L. J. Smith's rights and ghostwrote the ending of her series, because she wanted to write Damon and Elena's story. The end result was still Damon and Elena, but written worse.

Sasuke x Sakura - I watched Naruto when I was like 10 and they were cute and now they have a cute little cool daughter. Not a lot of my ships end good, but they did (some things are shady, but they are endgame so I'm not complaining that much)

Nathan x Gabriel - it's too soon to talk about them. They are from the Half Bad Trilogy by Sally Green. If you ask me, they live in a seemingly abandoned castle somewhere in south of France, near the mountains and they are happy and peaceful.

Last song: She Knows by Ne-Yo and Juicy J (Ne-Yo deserves more love, his songs are amazing! And I would totally get tipsy and try to seduce the Minotaur of Mars on this song - 😏 - the tipsy version of me is the best version of me fyi)

Last movie: John Wick and John Wick 2...the next John Wick - 3: Parabellum comes next week I think and I need to be prepared for it.

I'm not tagging specific people, because I already wasted your time by making you read lots of shite about my fave ships (I haven't delved into my DC ships yet, because that would have been wat to much). Much love, everyone!

Howl on!

#ask game #ask astrea #tag game

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bigskydreaming · 5 years

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Having a nostalgia moment for The Winter Soldier, back when I thought it was good instead of just proof that even a Russo is still right twice a day. Plus its on FX and I’m too lazy to search for something else to put on in the background, so let’s bust this out and get it off my brain so I can go actually work.

Okay, hear me out:

Marvel/DC Captain America fusion.

Its the 1930s. Dick Grayson's parents die like they do in the comics, leaving Dick an orphan who’s left behind in Gotham when Haly’s Circus is forced to move on without him. He’s remanded to Ma Gunn’s Home for Wayward Youths, where he meets and becomes best friends with the younger Jason Todd. Despite being a couple years younger than him, the more jaded, street smart Jason takes Dick under his wing so to speak, and before long they’re practically brothers. Dick teaches Jason acrobatic tricks and other skills like knife throwing he picked up while growing up in the circus, and Jason teaches Dick how to brawl, and other tools for getting by on the streets.

They grow up together, Dick getting a place nearby when he ages out of the boys’ home, where Jason joins him when he does the same a couple years later. WWII happens, Jason’s quick to enlist, Dick has trouble enlisting because he’s Rom, even though that’s the very reason he’s so determined to enter the war...with Dr. Erskine eventually helping him, as he’s decided Dick’s a perfect candidate for his serum. Dick becomes Captain America, Jason at his side all the way, until the train scene, whereupon of course Jason is presumed dead and ultimately becomes the Winter Soldier.

Sam is still just Sam, there’s no DC equivalent that really fits him, nor does there need to be. Dick/Sam Wilson and/or Jason/Sam Wilson are both A++ ships. Its my AU, I’ll steal characters from both universes if I want to.

Replace Natasha with Helena Bertinelli, the new 52/Rebirth aka best version.

Clint is Roy Harper, duh.

Phil Coulson is irrelevant.

Nick Fury is still Nick Fury, and like....properly appreciated.

Peggy Carter is Babs, Dick’s first love who goes on to found SHIELD after his supposed ‘death.’ Stephanie Brown is this version of Sharon Carter, one of the numerous girls taken in and mentored by Babs and called her honorary nieces - or at other times, her Birds of Prey. Dick does not make out with her because in this AU, he goes to therapy and decides that emotional transference is not a healthy coping mechanism for his unique trauma. And also just no.

Tim is the infinitely superior and not unbearable version of Tony here, the adopted son of this version of Howard, aka Bruce. Alfred is Jarvis. Damian is still Damian because like Sam, there’s no clear parallel to him in the other universe, but he's necessary so in this AU, Tim/Tony has Tim’s usual hyper-competitive, kill all witnesses to any sign of actual affection between them dynamic with a younger brother, Damian. They both fanboy hard for Dick due to the stories told about him by their father, but neither will ever admit it, except for when they think they have conclusive proof that Dick likes them better than their stupid brother so HAH!

Who’s Talia here? Dunno, but not HYDRA, that’s for damn sure. I’m not the biggest Talia fan but we’re not going there, nah.

Crossbones is...eh, who cares. Make him that loser, Shrike. Deathstroke can stay the same, maybe a mentor of Dick’s from back in the 40s, with his own super soldier enhancements keeping him alive and relatively young. (Maybe he volunteered for a later version of the project after Dick was lost in the ice).

Insert other characters as needed/desired, I have done my part, I wash my hands of this AU and send it out into the world to like....idk, whatever AUs do when I’m not obsessing about them anymore? Its not like I pay attention to them past that point, how the fuck should I know what happens next with them.

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aion-rsa · 5 years

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The Secret Origin of Superman Smashes the Klan

https://ift.tt/35GYiuk

Superman Smashes the Klan may be set in 1946, but it's incredibly timely today.

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We currently live in a world where powerful bigots “fan the flames of a racial fire” instead of stoke violence with their savage racism. Where everything shy of uttering a racial slur in anger is merely “denounced by some as racist” or “racially charged.” So it’s easy to be concerned, when you hear about a new comic project about Superman taking on the Ku Kux Klan, that the story might be so slathered in euphemism as to be rendered entirely inert, even when it’s written by one of the sharpest minds in comics. So when we had a chance to talk with Gene Luen Yang about his new book, Superman Smashes the Klan, it was one of the first things we asked about. “I feel like we do go at it hard, but I also feel like modern storytelling sensibilities require more nuance than you can get away with in the 1940s,” Yang tells us. “You can't set up cardboard villains anymore. And while I'm not presenting that ideology as a good thing, I do hope that there is a little bit of humanity in the bad guys in our version.”

“Their version” is this new project, with art duo Gurihiru, updating a story from the classic The Adventures of Superman radio show, “Superman vs. the Clan of the Fiery Cross.” The original radio drama, available through Archive.org, was groundbreaking. Everyone knows that it was the Superman radio show that introduced Jimmy Olsen and Perry White and Kryptonite, but this is also the adventure that helped expose the real Klan. Stetson Kennedy was an author and human rights activist who had infiltrated the Klan back in the ‘40s. He worked with Drew Pearson, an NBC radio host, to name names in the Georgia KKK, and he connected with the producer of The Adventures of Superman, pitching the storyline that became “The Clan of the Fiery Cross.”

They included secret information to break the mystique of the Klan, but most of the damage they did with Superman was through ridicule. The “Clan of the Fiery Cross” and its members were garbage. Superman called them garbage. Perry White called them garbage on the front page of the Daily Planet. Even the Klan’s own leader called his membership garbage at the end, mocking the members as rubes while he criticized the show’s villain for taking their racist schtick too seriously, instead of just fleecing the rank and file like he was supposed to. And the wild thing about this fearlessness from one of America’s greatest fictional heroes is that it worked. Klan recruiting actually dipped noticeably in the wake of “Clan of the Fiery Cross” broadcasts.

This was one of the first things that jumped to mind when Yang was meeting with Marie Javins, DC editor and all-time great comics colorist, about new projects. "This is one of the most important Superman stories and it's never been told in his native medium. It's never been told in comics,” he said to her. So he got to tell it.

read more: New DC Universe Timeline Explained

Joining him on the book is Gurihiru. The art duo (Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano) have worked with Yang before, on the generally outstanding comic expansions of the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Their style is much cleaner and cartoonier than what’s common in superhero books today. One might even say they skew more all-ages in their artwork, but what is “all-ages” as a descriptor of comic art than a way of saying that the art is more in line with the target audience of Superman back when the radio show was on. “Marie and I talked early on about how we wanted the art to look like a blend of manga and those old Fleischer Superman cartoons,” Yang said, “and I feel like Gurihiru has absolutely nailed that.”

Part of their job was to punch up the action. The radio show was a lot of things, but one of the unfortunate descriptors might be “stationary.” Just by virtue of it being a radio program, there was a lot of time spent describing action to the listener, a lot of scenes that took place with dialogue and narration that worked well in radio, but would be a fundamental failure as a comic. “I think we give Superman a little bit more dynamism,” said Yang. “Gurihiru, they're amazing artists. [I] want to give them amazing action to draw.” So the Superman of Superman Smashes the Klan races down power lines, blasts the ground with his heat vision so hard it pushes him into the air, and shatters a wooden baseball bat with his barrel chest, instead of the static “So Superman flew to the river” scene changes of the radio program. “[Gurihiru was] my top choice for this project. As soon as Marie and I began solidifying the details of the project, I mentioned that I wanted to work with them again,” Yang says. “Every time I would get an email from them, whether it was with thumbnails attached, or with inks attached, or with colors attached, I was just astounded.”

read more: Batman/Superman and the Secrets of Evil DC Superheroes

Better action isn’t the only change to the story Yang and Gurihiru introduce. While the comic is set in 1946 just like the radio show, the creators make a couple of tweaks that make this new version really sing. The most significant is how they expand the roles of the Lee women. Dr. Lee is still the new chief bacteriologist at the Metropolis Health Department, living in a new Metropolis neighborhood with the rest of his Chinese-American immigrant family. Tommy is still the new hot starting pitcher for Jimmy Olsen’s Unity House baseball team (displacing Chuck Riggs, who ends up getting roped into the Klan by his uncle). But new to the cast is Tommy’s sister, Roberta, and Roberta and Tommy’s mother sees her role much expanded from just scenery in the radio drama to a pivotal character in the comic. The men are much more the public face of the immigrant experience. They speak English, join baseball teams, and work in local government. By contrast, Roberta gets homesick. Her mom talks about how wonderful Metropolis’ Chinatown is. And it’s through the Lee women that we see our best connection with Superman.

Kal-El has always been a metaphor for the immigrant experience in America, and it’s Roberta who interacts with him the most in the first issue. She’s the one who finds Superman after her brother goes missing at the end of the issue, and she’s the one who tells Clark Kent her mother’s philosophy about new homes. It is the single best Clark Kent moment I’ve ever read in a comic, one that is so perfect I wouldn’t dare to spoil here, but it is simple and elegant in how it draws parallels between Superman’s experience and the Lee’s, and one that lampshades his secret identity as a reporter beautifully. This was no happy accident. “By playing Superman, who is an immigrant, against the daughter of immigrants, I felt like I was really able to bring that out,” Yang told us. “I was able to explore something that I've been wanting to explore since I started working on the character.”

read more: Inside the Return of the Justice Society of America to the DC Universe

And while these changes take an already great Superman story from the radio program and turn it into one of the best Superman comics of recent years, Yang tells us that the frame was always there. “I listened to parts of it with my 12 year old daughter, and I thought that she would be like, ‘Oh, can we please listen to something else?’ But she was really caught up by that story,” he says. “She would ask for the next episode, even when I wasn't ready to listen to it. I'd be still taking notes on the first episode, and she'd be like, ‘Let's listen to the next one.’ So I think the spine of the story, the bones of the story are all there, you know? That's one of the reasons why we just kept all the bones.”

The end result, at least after the first issue, is a book Yang seems destined to have made. Superman Smashes the Klan brings Superman back to his immigrant roots, makes him a source of inspiration for working immigrant Metropolitans; their overwhelmed kids; and the scared but ultimately good kids of the rotten Klan adults as well. But Yang’s also bringing Superman back around - he’s had a go at the character once before. As the New 52 was winding down, DC tried some radical changes to their characters. Batman became Jim Gordon, Wonder Woman stopped being Diana, Robin turned into an Occupy flash mob, and Superman lost his powers and his cape and went back to a t-shirt and jeans. “Early on in that ten issue run on Superman in the Prime Universe, I wanted to explore his immigrant side,” Yang says. “The fact that he's actually from this other culture and, in a lot of ways, he has to navigate between Kryptonian and American culture. I feel like I didn't get to really do that there, and I get to do that now. I get to do that in Superman Smashes the Klan.”

He does it exceptionally well.

Superman Smashes the Klan is on sale now.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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davidmann95 · 8 years

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Multiversity?

1. Jim Lee should’ve had more time to work on Mastermen. For a prestige miniseries perennial-in-the-making on this scale you’d really want to see some All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder-level work from him, but it looks like he dashed this off the same as any issue of Justice League or Superman Unchained.

2. The Guidebook could have been a whole lot more. The backmatter showed that Morrison had worked out the Earths in an insane level of detail - he had figured out the fashions and popular videogames on Earth 4, for instance - but all we get here outside the framing device is heroes standing in a blank white space and a couple sentences of basic description. Give some statistics, give some dynamic shots, give something to work with! For that matter, while it hardly looks bad, I’d have liked to see more effort with the art on this - Darwyn Cooke drew the illustration for Earth 21, why couldn’t they get Alex Ross to step in for 22? Why didn’t Quitely draw Earth 4 and Lee Earth 10, given they drew their respective issues? Why Brent Booth for Earth 0 rather than Ivan Reis, or Jason Fabok? Bruce Timm couldn’t step in for Earth 12? Why on Earth have Bryan Hitch draw the regular Marvel Earth 8 rather than the specifically Ultimates-inspired Earth 7, especially when you just got a huge iconic get from Marvel in the form of John Romita Jr. to draw your classic Marvel-inspired Earth?

(While we’re on the subject of Earths, I know it was at Frank Miller’s request not to do it and I can respect that, but given it was clearly set up as such and Klaus Janson was planned to draw the illustration, I still wish Earth 31 had been the Dark Knight Returns world as originally planned; that’s already what Earth-31 had been before Flashpoint, and Miller’s said he has plans to expand the universe anyway. And for that matter All-Star Superman as Earth 1 if Convergence was going to confirm it’s part of the larger Multiverse anyway, rather than rightfully being presented as being as far above us as we are above the DCU. Morrison at least built in an escape hatch to keep it from being the dogshit OGNs forever though; given its golden glow, position on the map, and situation parallel to a Moore-dominated Earth, I’d bet he wanted that to be All-Star but was overwritten there too.)

3. We should have had at least some kind of inkling as to what happened with Adam. I was fine with most of the dangling endings - in the one-shots they connected back to the main story thematically rather than plot-wise and reached appropriate conclusions in terms of the characters having big ‘your sins have come home to roost’ moments if not the literal events, and I maintain the last issue ended on an appropriate note too - but he’s not only a dangling thread, but one of Multiversal significance, whose passing is completely ambiguous. Especially given the whole “he has to save the President” deal seemed an obvious setup for him somehow rescuing President Superman, the closest this series had to a lead. Even just indicating that this was how he was blown out of the Multiverse to meet the other heroes in Superman Beyond would have provided some closure.

4. Morrison should’ve defined those last 7 worlds. I get it, he put his faith in other creators to get what he was doing and do it right and he wanted to give them their chance, but as usual, even expecting that basic degree of competence in how to play with the toys he left behind turned out to be wildly overoptimistic. Or at least give it to me, I know what I’d do with each of those Earths.

5. This was what needed to bring back the infinite Multiverse. Even aside from Morrison very clearly and deliberately laying the groundwork in the Guidebook with mentioning the 52 were only ‘the local Multiverse’ and subtly revealing Hypertime was still out there, it’s been straight-up said in interviews that it happened in Convergence at Morrison’s suggestion. Which sure as hell makes me think it was intended for Multiversity but DiDio stepped in and bleated “Graaaaaant, I know this is something you’ve been building towards since literally your first project at DC and this would be the most sensible possible place to do it and we’ve officially made you our Multiverse guy, but I just NEED to hand it off to be done as a confusingly-presented throwaway element in a literal time-filling event comic so unmitigatedly, uncompromisingly Christawful it makes Countdown look like the Sistine Chapel fucking The Odyssey”. Personally? I’d rather see it the way it was originally intended, as the rightful climax of almost 30 years of Morrison’s work at DC.

#Multiversity #Grant Morrison #Convergence #The Dark Knight Returns #All Star Superman #Opinion

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austresearch · 6 years

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Jasper Ridge, global Change Experiment

Washington, DC– The climate models that project higher amounts of heating the century will be the ones that best align with observations of the current climate, according to a new paper from Carnegie’s Patrick Brown and Ken Caldeira released by Nature. Their findings imply that the versions employed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, normally, might be underestimating future warming.

Climate model simulations have been utilised to forecast how much warming should be anticipated for any given gain in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

“There are dozens of notable international climate models and also they endeavor different amounts of

Washington, DC– About 40 percent of northern Malaysian Borneo’s carbon stocks exist in forests that are not designated for maximum protections, based on new remote sensing and satellite mapping from Carnegie’s Greg Asner and their coworkers.

Asner’s flying laboratory, the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, was able to map carbon shares that–together with satellite imaging and other geospatial data–will guide conservation efforts undertaken by the Sabah Forestry Department in Malaysian Borneo, the Southeast Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP)and also the PACOS Trust, BC Initiative and other organizations.

“We are pleased to be a part of the revolutionary endeavor in the

Tuesday, November 17, 2017:

Tuesday, November 14, 2017:

Sunday, November 12, 2017:

Thursday, November 9, 2017:

Monday, November 6, 2017:

We have all seen the photographs. Extended panel tables full of people from around the world hashing from the intricacies of how to best combat climate change for endless grueling hours.

However, what’s it like to be in the room?

Carnegie’s Geeta Persad will be there and she’ll checking in together periodically to offer an insider’s look at the 3rd Conference of

Washington, DC– There is ample chance for producing wind power in the open ocean, particularly the North Atlantic, based on new study from Carnegie’s Anna Possner and Ken Caldeira. Their work has been published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Because wind speeds are greater on average over ocean than over land, wind turbines in the open ocean could in concept intercept over five times as much electricity as wind turbines over land. This introduces an appealing opportunity for producing renewable energy via wind turbines. However, it was unknown if the faster ocean winds could actually be converted to elevated amounts of electricity.

No content within this section.

Anna Michalak’s team joined sampling and also satellite-based observations of Lake Erie with computer simulations and determined that the 2011 record-breaking algal bloom in the lake had been triggered by long-term agricultural treatments coupled with intense precipitation, followed by feeble lake circulation and warm temperatures. The bloom began in the western region in mid-July and covered with an area of 230 square kilometers (600 km2). At its summit in October, the bloom had expanded to over 1930 square kilometers (5000 km2). Its summit intensity was over 3 times larger than any other bloom on document. The scientists understood that, unless agricultural policies vary, the lake will continue to encounter

Coral reefs are havens for marine biodiversity and underpin the economies of many coastal towns. However they’re quite sensitive to changes in ocean chemistry caused by greenhouse gas emissions, and to pollution, warming seas, overdevelopment, and overfishing. Reefs utilize a mineral known as aragonite, a naturally occurring form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3, to make their skeletons. After carbon dioxide, CO2, in the air has been absorbed by the ocean, it creates carbonic acid–the same stuff that makes soda fizz–which makes the ocean more acidic and thus harder for most marine organisms to grow their shells and skeletons and threatening coral reefs globally.

Until today, computer models are the primary instrument for estimating photosynthetic productivity on a worldwide scale. They’re based upon estimating a measure for plant vitality known as gross primary production (GPP), that is the rate at which plants capture and store a component of chemical energy as biomass over a specific moment. Joe Berry was a part of a team that took an entirely new approach by employing satellite technology to quantify light that’s generated by plant leaves as a byproduct of photosynthesis as shown by the art.

The plant produces fluorescent light when sunlight excites the photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll. Satellite instruments feel this fluorescence inventing a guide

Monitoring tropical deforestation and forest degradation with satellites can be a regular task for non-experts who encourage environmental conservation, forest management, and source policy development.

Through extensive monitoring of user needs, the Greg Asner team developed CLASlite (that the Carnegie Landsat Analysis System–Lite) to assist governments, nongovernmental organizations, and academic institutions with high-resolution monitoring and mapping of forests with satellite imagery.

CLASlite is a software bundle created for highly automated identification of deforestation and forest degradation from remotely sensed satellite imagery. It incorporates state-of-the

Leopoldo Infante became the director of the Las Campanas Observatory on July 31, 2017.

Because 2009, Infante has been the founder and director of the Centre for Astro-Engineering in the Chilean university. He joined PUC as an assistant professor in 1990 and has been a full professor since 2006. He had been one of the creators of PUC’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and served as its director from 2000 to 2006. In addition, he established the Chilean Astronomical Society (SOCHIAS) and served as its president in 2009 to 2010.

Infante received his B.Sc. In physics at PUC. Then he acquired a MSc. And Ph.D. in astronomy and physics in the University of Victoria in Canada.

Guillermo Blanc would like to understand the methods by which galaxies form and evolve throughout the course of the history of this world. He studies neighborhood galaxies in the “present day” world in addition to very remote and therefore older galaxies to discover the ancient epochs of galaxy evolution. Blanc conducts a series of research projects on the properties of young and remote galaxies, the large-scale structure of this world, the nature of Dark Energy–that the mysterious repulsive force, the practice of star formation in galactic scales, and the measurement of chemical abundances in galaxies.

To conduct this work, he takes a multi-wavelength system including observations in the UV,

Peter van Keken studies the thermal and chemical evolution of the planet. In particularly he appears in the causes and effects of plate tectonics; element modeling of mantle convection, and the dynamics of subduction zones–locations where one tectonic plate slides beneath another. In addition, he studies mantle plumes; the integration of geodynamics with seismology; geochemistry and mineral physics. He utilizes parallel computing and scientific visualization within this work.

He received his BS and Ph D from the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands. Before joining Carnegie he had been on the faculty at this University of Michigan.

Peter Driscoll analyzes the development of Earth’s core and magnetic field including magnetic pole reversal. Over the last 20 million or so years, the north and south magnetic poles on Earth have shrunk about each 200,000, to 300,000 years and is now overdue. In addition, he investigates the Earth’s inner core construction; core-mantle coupling; tectonic-volatile cycling; orbital migration– the way Earth’s orbit goes–and tidal dissipation–that the dissipation of tidal forces between two closely orbiting bodies. He’s also thinking about planetary interiors, dynamos, top planetary atmospheres and exoplanets–planets orbiting other stars. He uses large-scale numerical simulations in much of his study

from austresearch http://austresearch.com/jasper-ridge-global-change-experiment/

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atomicdee-blog · 7 years

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The More You Know...

Here at Atomic Empire, we eagerly anticipate Free Comic Book Day on May 6 this year: it is a time of superheroes and costumes, anti-heroes and angst, whimsy and people-out-of-time. We're getting all of the Gold level titles, so check the list out here. The previews this week are of FCBD titles we think you should scoop up when you stop by. See you then!

All New Guardians of the Galaxy by Gerry Duggan, with artist Aaron Kuder Gerry Duggan is currently writing for the Deadpool (2016), so getting him in this new project is excellent. The dynamic of Baby Groot with the GotG cast is such a fun relationship to explore, and it's more than enough to whet the appetite of anyone awaiting the GotG: Vol 2 movie in a few months. Sadly, the super-hush-hush sound-bite sized preview is a couple of panels with no dialogue *silently rages and shakes fists*, but it looks fun.

Secret Empire // Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man, with Chip Zdarsky and art by Paulo Siqueira Secret Empire This is coming straight out of the now infamous Captain America "Hail Hydra" story. Since Captain America as having been an agent of Hydra this whole time (don't worry, this is an unusual alternate universe situation), the entirety of the Marvel Universe is being threatened by Hydra. Spider-Man, the Avengers, X-Men, Inhumans, Defenders, Champions and more are banding together to destroy Hydra.

Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man is a new "back-to-basics" Spider-Man series which will run parallel to the current volume of The Amazing Spider-Man written by Dan Slott. You can look for the new title to start in June 2017. Chip Zdarsky's best known work is with Matt Fraction on the wildly popular Sex Criminals. He's well known for irreverent humor, and excellent writing that will get you hooked.

I Hate Image by Skottie Young This is delightful bloody romp through many of the titles from Image starring the cast of I Hate Fairyland. If you are not familiar with Skottie Young already, see my I Hate Fairyland review. Based on the cover of this title, our heroine Gertrude is standing over the broken bodies of very recognizable characters from some major Image titles: B!tch Planet, Walking Dead, Savage Dragon, Spawn, Invincible, Wicked and Divine, Saga, Southern Bastards, Descender, Black Science and more. If you don't know any of the series I just listed, you might feel quite lost. With the limited preview pages available, I was able to see a brief snippet of this quirky love letter to Image. This might prompt some people to pick up these titles, but the references are fast-paced and seamless enough that if you blink, you might miss the point entirely.

DC Girls -- This is an all-ages comic about teenage versions of Wonder Woman and the most visible super-ladies in DC. This is a light read, geared towards a younger audience that will catapult them into reading some of the main titles. Or simply realizing how awesome Wonder Woman is.

Boom! Studios Summer Blast -- This is a neat collection of stories from Mouse Guard, Brave Chef Brianna, and from the Lumberjanes' universe a new series: Coady and the Creepies. I'm looking forward to reading everything in this book, as Mouse Guard is an old favorite, somewhere between Redwall (book series) and Game of Thrones. Brave Chef Brianna is an owner of a new bakery, who moves into a reasonably priced store location which happens to be in Monster Town. Shenanigans ensue. Coady and the Creepies is a story of teenage band members that survive a horrible car accident, but the one person who was uninjured isn't talking about what happened.

Kid Savage -- The concept behind this is solid: a survival story of a caveboy and his two-headed pet in a prehistoric landscape. Then a strange thing from the sky crashes into his world, and nothing is ever the same. I'm told it's the beginning of a graphic novel conveniently releasing on the same day, so if you want more, it's available for order.

Knowing is half the battle; the other half is hiding the bodies,

Dee

#FCBD2017 #all new guardians of the galaxy #marvel comics #secret empire #peter parker: spectacular spider-man #i hate image #dc girls #boom! Studios #kid savage #042917

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aion-rsa · 8 years

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Legion’s Co-Creator, Bill Sienkiewicz Is Proud of His Off-Kilter Mutant

Three decades after the legendary, groundbreaking comic book artist Bill Sienkiewicz co-created one of the most unusual members of the extended X-Men universe, “Legion” is coming to television with a similarly striking visual dynamic, and the artist couldn’t be prouder.

In a 1985 issue of “The New Mutants,” Sienkiewicz, with writer Chris Claremont, introduced David Haller, the then-unknown son of Professor Charles Xavier whose prodigious array of mutant mind-powers was offset by extreme mental conditions, including severe dissociative identity disorder. The character, known as Legion, also featured a design that signaled Sienkiewicz’s increasingly expressionistic, graphically adventurous evolution which would characterize the bulk of his latter career.

RELATED: Legion Debuts Stunning Cast Portraits, Hi-Res Stills from Premiere

The David Haller of FX’s new series “Legion” – created by acclaimed “Fargo” writer/producer/director Noah Hawley and set in a self-contained parallel world rather than the established big-screen continuity of the “X-Men” films – appears in the less radical form of actor Dan Stevens. There are hints, though, that he may sport Legion’s famously sky-high hair in some form, and the series is as visually adventurous as Sienkiewicz’s memorable, game-changing artwork, in its own way.

While attending the series’ premiere in West Hollywood, Sienkiewicz met with CBR to recall the creation of the character and that particularly fertile creative period in the 80s and 90s, as well as to reveal his latest project with an A-list comics writer, the influence of graphic art beyond the comics medium and a very special request he honored from another comics legend, Jim Aparo.

CBR: What’s best about this show is that it had such a distinctive visual style, which is exactly what was happening in “New Mutants” when you created Legion?

Bill Sienkiewicz: Yeah, I think it’s called stereotyping. It is kind of exciting to see that, because I’ve always felt that what Chris and I were trying to do, and certainly what I was trying to do, I always felt like my own contribution to comics were always sort of an anomaly. They let me play in the sandbox with all the toys.

But when it came to having a character or a series of characters that were defined as canon, I never felt that my work qualified for that. There were the Spider-Mans, and the Iron Mans, and everything else. I was perfectly content to sort of be the oddball. And the fact that that’s being embraced, I find that quite gratifying.

What was going through your mind, creatively, when you first created the character of Legion, when you were visually designing the character. It was such an unusual creation at the time.

At the time, when I came up with the visuals for Legion, I wanted to sort of come up with a character that looked sort of deceptively non-threatening, which is one of the things I always loved about the New Mutants in general.

As far as the other New Mutants are concerned, there was one who was very, very sort of adorable little blonde girl who could unleash the hounds of hell [Magik]. To me, that struck as a perfect metaphor for what going through puberty is, and teenage years, and sort of coming to grips with the young part of us, and the potential, and all these dark absolutes that we feel.

I wanted to encapsulate a visual that could do that. I wanted him non-threatening, I also wanted him weird, and I also wanted him to be off-kilter enough so that he could potentially be incredibly dangerous as well. So, here we are.

Thirty years later, your work with Marvel, the X-Men titles in particular, has stood the test of time, still talked about and being mined by Hollywood. What does it mean to you to know that you actually had a moment like that in comics that has lingered for so long?

I’m almost still processing that, because I’m so used to, after being in this business for like 35 years and doing it, all of the things that I wanted to try that were met with, you can’t do that in comics, from painted comics, to collage, to bringing in all kinds of other art forms, from fashion, to sculpture, and putting it into a medium that had just been about people in tights, and within little [inaudible 3:22] All of the arguments, and the fights, and the sort of feelings, being misunderstood, all the things in some respects that I think as the character’s going through, in terms of the Mutant universe, I think in some respects, it’s still something I’m processing. I am enjoying it.

We’re hearing that your “Demon Bear” storyline might be adapted into a New Mutants film?

Yeah. I’m hearing that as well. I’m hearing that as well, yeah. [Winks broadly and zips his lips]

Not long ago I was at an exhibit at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences of movie poster art by Bob Peak, the great artist behind posters for “My Fair Lady,” “Camelot,” ”Superman: The Movie,” “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” “Apocalypse Now,” so many greats, and I thought I saw a connection with your style and his. And then suddenly I saw some of the items on display were from your collection. You own them!

I was a big fan. I always loved comic books as a kid, wanted to do them, but I also fell in love with art. I loved illustration, and painting, and fine art. So one of the things that I tried to do when I started working professionally in comic books – and comics were not just a boys’ club, but they were a little bit of a closed house, in terms of what was allowed. So when I came in, I said, I want to try doing women who look like fashion drawings, like from the newspapers, long and like 18 heads tall, with just sort of this wisp of hair in single stroke, this rendering. I wanted to bring in sculpture, collage, all the things that I had fallen in love with in terms of fine art.

Dan Stevens and Rachel Keller on “Legion.”

I thought comics were missing a great opportunity to use that as a vocabulary. I caught a lot of heat for it and a lot of ribbing and stuff. But as long as they leave me alone and let me alone to kind of run with it, I was happy. So to be able to do well enough, and to meet a lot of my illustration idols, and do well enough financially to be able to afford iconic pieces by some of my heroes, was also a real pleasure.

What are you working on right now?

I’m actually working on a series with Kelly Sue DeConnick. It’s called “Parisian White.” It’s a create-your-own series that we’re doing with Image, and it takes place in an alternate 1920s Paris, involving murder, and art, and race relations. I’m really excited about it. She’s one of the best writers I think I’ve read, so to be able to work with her — we’re both really excited to see where we could take this crazy medium we love.

I have a super-nerdy question of personal interest: before he passed away, you frequently inked the pencils Jim Aparo, one of the all-time greats and an iconic Batman artist. What was that experience like?

I love Jim Aparo. I’ve been really fortunate to have inked or worked on finishes over many of my childhood idols, like John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Jim Aparo, Carmine Infantino — all of the artists that I grew up reading. I’m in the business for a couple of years, and I’m feeling like a professional, and they ask me to work over Aparo. All of a sudden, I’m that eight-year-old, 12-year-old kid again going, “Oh, my God!”

I remember, at the tail end of his career and the end of his life, DC would call me up and they’d say, “Can you work on his figures? Can you fix some of his drawings?” Because he was getting older, he started to lose some of the finesse. I never met him face to face, but we had a really wonderful conversation, and we talked about everything.

At the end of the conversation, he said, “I have one favor to ask,” and I said, “Sure, you name it.” He goes, “Stop fucking with my faces.” And I was like, “Okay, you got it.” I went to the editors. I said, “Look, artist prerogative and respect. You want me to sort of fix what he’s not doing, and I have to respect what he wants. He says, ‘Ink it how I drew it.’”

He was perfectly willing to embrace the fact that his abilities had declined because of his age. But the editors were like, “What can we do now?” I think they tried to keep creators apart from each other, just to avoid these kind of conversations!

Starring Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Katie Aselton, Jeremie Harris, Bill Irwin, Rachel Keller and Amber Midthunder, season one of “Legion,” will consist of eight episodes and debuts February 8 on FX.

The post Legion’s Co-Creator, Bill Sienkiewicz Is Proud of His Off-Kilter Mutant appeared first on CBR.com.

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