#Mark Pryor

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Live Nation/Ticketmaster is buying Congress

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me THURSDAY (May 2) in WINNIPEG, then Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), Tartu, Estonia, and beyond!

Anything that can't go on forever eventually stops. Monopolies are intrinsically destabilizing and inevitably implode…eventually. Guessing which of the loathesome monopolies that make us all miserable will be the first domino is a hard call, but Ticketmaster is definitely high on my list.

It's not that event tickets are the most consequential aspect of our lives. The monopolies over pharma, fuel, finance, tech, and even beer are all more important to our day-to-day. But while Ticketmaster – and its many ramified tentacles, like Live Nation – may not be the most destructive monopoly in our world, but it pisses off people with giant megaphones and armies of rabid fans.

It's been a minute since Ticketmaster was last in the news, so let's recap. Ticketmaster bought out most of its ticketing rivals, then merged with Live Nation, the country's largest concert promoter, and bought out many of the country's largest music, stage and sports venues. They used this iron grip on the entire supply chain for performances and events to pile innumerable junk fees on every ticket sold, while drastically eroding the wages of the creative workers they nominally represented. They created a secret secondary market for tickets and worked with ticket-touts to help them run bots that bought every ticket within an instant of the opening of ticket sales, then ran an auction marketplace that made them gigantic fees on every re-sold ticket – fees the performers were not entitled to share in.

The Ticketmaster/Live Nation/venue octopus is nearly impossible to escape. Independent venues can't book Live Nation acts unless they use Ticketmaster for their tickets. Acts can't get into the large venues owned by Ticketmaster unless they sign up to have Live Nation book their tour. And when Ticketmaster buys a venue, it creams off the most successful acts, starving competing venues of blockbuster shows. They also illegally colluded with their vendors to jack up the price of concerts across the board:

https://pascrell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/ful.pdf

When Rebecca Giblin and I were writing Chokepoint Capitalism, our book about how tech and entertainment monopolies impoverish all kinds of creative workers, we were able to get insiders to go on record about every kind of monopoly, from the labels to Spotify, Kindle to the Big Five publishers and the Google-Meta ad-tech duopoly. The only exception was Ticketmaster/Live Nation: everyone involved in live performance – performers, bookers, club owners – was palpably terrified about speaking out on the record about the conglomerate:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

No wonder. The company has a long and notorious history of using its market power to ruin anyone who challenges it. Remember Pearl Jam?

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/pearl-jam-taking-on-ticketmaster-67440/

But anything that can't go on forever eventually stops. Not only is Ticketmaster a rapacious, vindictive monopolist – it's also an incompetent monopolist, whose IT systems are optimized for rent-extraction first, with ticket sales as a distant afterthought. This is bad no matter which artist it effects, but when Ticketmaster totally, utterly fucked up Taylor Swift's first post-lockdown tour, they incurred the wrath of the Swifties:

https://www.vox.com/culture/2022/11/21/23471763/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-monopoly

All of which explains why I've always given good odds that Ticketmaster would be first up against the wall come the antitrust revolution. It may not be the most destructive monopolist, but it is absurdly evil, and the people who hate it most are the most famous and beloved artists in the country.

For a while, it looked like I was right. Ticketmaster's colossal Taylor Swift fuckup prompted Senator Amy Klobuchar – a leading antitrust crusader – to hold hearings on the company's conduct, and led to the introduction of a raft of bills to rein in predatory ticketing practices. But as David Dayen writes for The American Prospect, Ticketmaster/Live Nation is spreading a fortune around on the Hill, hiring a deep bench of ex-Congressmen and ex-senior staffers (including Klobuchar's former chief of staff) and they've found a way to create the appearance of justice without having to suffer any consequences for their decades-long campaign of fraud and abuse:

https://prospect.org/power/2024-04-30-live-nation-strikes-up-band-washington/

Dayen opens his article with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is always bracketed by a week's worth of lavish parties for Congress and hill staffers. One of the fanciest of these parties was thrown by Axios – and sponsored by Live Nation, with a performance by Jelly Roll (whose touring contract is owned by Live Nation). Attendees at the Axios/Live Nation event were bombarded with messages about the essential goodness of Live Nation (they were even printed on the cocktail napkins) and exhortations to support the Fans First Act, co-sponsored by Klobuchar and Sen John Cornyn (R-TX):

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/arts/music/fans-first-act-ticket-bill.html

Ticketmaster/Live Nation loves the Fans First Act, because – unlike other bills – it focuses primarily on the secondary market for tickets, and its main measure is a requirement for ticketing companies to disclose their junk fees upfront. Neither of these represents a major challenge to Ticketmaster/Live Nation's control over the market, which gives it the ability to slash performers' wages while jacking up prices for fans.

Fans First represents the triumph of Ticketmaster/Live Nation's media strategy, which is to blame the entire problem on bottom-feeding ticket-touts (who are mostly scum!) instead of on the single monopoly that controls the entire industry and can't stop committing financial crimes.

Axios isn't Live Nation's only partner in selling this distraction tactic. Over the past five years, the company has flushed gigantic sums of money through Washington. Its lobbying spend rose from $240k in 2018 to $1.1m in 2022, and $2.38m in 2023:

https://thehill.com/business/4431886-live-nation-doubled-lobbying-spending-to-2-4m-in-2023-amid-antitrust-threat/

The company has 37 paid lobbyists selling Congress on its behalf. 25 of them are former congressional staffers. Two are former Congressmen: Ed Whitfield (R-KY), a 21 year veteran of the House, and Mark Pryor (D-AR), a two-term senator:

https://www.bhfs.com/people/attorneys/p-s/mark-pryor

But perhaps the most galling celebrant in this lavish hymn to Citizen United is Jonathan Becker, Amy Klobuchar's former chief of staff, who jumped ship to lobby Congress on behalf of monopolists like Live Nation, who paid him $120k last year to sell their story to the Hill:

https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/lobbyists?cycle=2023&id=D000053134

Not everyone hates Fans First: it's been endorsed by the Nix the Tix coalition, largely on the strength of its regulation of secondary ticket sales. But the largest secondary seller in America by far is Live Nation itself, with a $4.5b market in reselling the tickets it sold in the first place. Fans First shifts focus from this sleazy self-dealing to competitors like Stubhub.

Fans First can be seen as an opening salvo in the long war against Ticketmaster/Live Nation. But compared to more muscular bills – like Klobuchar's stalled-out Unlock Ticketing Markets Act, it's pretty weaksauce. The Unlocking act will "prevent exclusive contracts between ticketing services and venues" – hitting Ticketmaster/Live Nation where it hurts, right in the bank-account:

https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2023/4/following-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing-klobuchar-blumenthal-introduce-legislation-to-increase-competition-in-live-event-ticketing-markets

It's not all gloom. Dayen reports that Ticketmaster's active lobbying in favor of Fans First has made many in Congress more skeptical of the bill, not less. And Congress isn't the only – or even the best – way to smash Ticketmaster's criminal empire. That's something the DoJ's antitrust division could power through with a lot less exposure to the legalized bribery that dominates Congress.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/30/nix-fix-the-tix/#something-must-be-done-there-we-did-something

Image: Matt Biddulph (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/mbiddulph/13904063945/

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

--

Flying Logos (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Over_$1,000,000_dollars_in_USD_$100_bill_stacks.png

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[cynthiabertelsen]

Paris Fiction: Mark Pryor's Henri Lefort series not to be missed, etc.

Talk about rabbit holing! My latest writing project, about World War II France, takes me to new rabbit warrens every day, or so it seems. I thought it only fair to share some of my finds here on “Gherkins & Tomatoes.” And among those finds is novelist Mark Pryor. According to his bio, his background includes journalism and felony prosecution. That’s a terrific combination for his Henri Lefort…

[primmlife]

Review: The Dark Edge of Night

Review: The Dark Edge of Night by Mark Pryor from Minotaur Books #mystery #WW2 #France #HenriLefort #TheDarkEdgeofNight

Lately, I’ve been lucky to receive review books from Minotaur, which is a mystery/detective imprint. Just in this year, I’ve read more mysteries than ever before, and frankly I’ve loved it. Usually, I’m a science fiction and fantasy reader. Through in the occasional literary fiction, and that’s the genres I stick to. But Minotaur is publishing some excellent mysteries that are excellent stories.…

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Disneyfied X-Men by Mark Brooks

[wanderingmausoleum]

X-Men '97 - Episode 3: "Fire Made Flesh" The Bat Woman - Albert Joseph Pénot (1890)

thought this was a neat reference :)

[my18thcenturysource]

Egyptian Revival

Yesterday's post was about the full opening of Tutankhamun's tomb, but there have been several times when Egypt has had a strong influence in fashion and art, and here I selected a few things from the 1910s and 1920s that are Egyptian revival, and of course let me know which ones are your favourites of you can add some when reblogging this post.

Here we go.

The beginning of the century marked the birth of modern dance, so we see that part of the Orientalism trend had a deep Egyptian influence from Les Ballets Russes to the Denishawn school: strong lines, profile poses, spectacular costumes, all taken from the art and sculpture of the ancient Egypt.

Here a little video of the Denishawn dancers along Ted Shawn (not the dance of the picture above), with no music because this is FROM 1913:

Also, this influence is clearly seen in the art deco masterpiece that is the dance scene from Metropolis (1927):

Denishawn students (Lillian Powell, Charlotte Brendel, Grace McCrea, Irene Pryor, Claire Niles) in an Egyptian dance created as part of a vaudeville act by Ted Shawn (not related to the Denishawn Egyptian Ballet), Hixon-Connelly, 1918, The New York City Public Library.

Vaslav Nijinsky and Serafima Astafieva in "Cleopatre", probably by Ernst Sandau, 1912, National Portrait Gallery, London.

Desiree Lubovska as Cleopatra, ca. 1915.

Ida Rubinstein with costume designed by Erté, 1920s.

Dancers from the Folies Bergère with costumes designed by Erté, Paris, 1924.

Dance of the Priest of Ra, from Dances of the Ages, Denishawn dancers, 1913.

Dance Scene, from Metropolis, Fritz Lang, 1927.

Fashion and accessories were deeply inspired by Egypt in the 1920s, thanks to the simple shapes of the garments, the use of striking accessories and jewelry, and the use of embellishments and embroidery to elevate the simple dresses: from appliqués to bead embroidery, to burnt velvet and translucent layers. And of course, let's not forget the use of colour that gives the feel of ancient Egyptian art: gold, sand, teal, royal blue, and burnt orange.

Orange burnout velvet dress, 1920s, available in Antique Graces.

Egyptian revival brooch, Max Neiger, 1920s, sold at auction.

Egyptian revival silk dress with appliqués, 1920s, Stephens College Costume Museum.

"Cleopatre" grande robe du soir by Jean Patou, Les Modes, september 1921 (click that link! You can read the whole magazine!).

Evening dress, Thurn, 1923-26, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pair of leather gloves with silk embroidery, ca. 1925, LACMA.

Beaded Egyptian revival dress, 1920s.

Egyptian revival silver gild and enamel charms necklace, 1920s, on sale on etsy.

Of course, let's not forget the graphic arts. illustration was a key for advertising and communication when colour photos were not available. Here a small selection of my favourites:

"Cleopatra", J.C. Leyendecker, for the cover of the Evening Standard, August 1923.

Ad for Egyptian Deities cigarettes, 1920s-30s.

Egyptian Goddess, ca. 1929, George Barbier.

Ramses perfume ad, 1923.

Cover for Harper's Bazaar, February 1927, Erté.

Music sheet cover for the Tutankhamen Shimmy, 1923.

And finally an extra: a Tutankhamen shimmy recorded in 1926:

[fun-k-board]

Rules / About Me - Masterlist - Media / Characters I Write For

Media / Characters I Write For

Short list, specifics and characters below the cut - MARVEL, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, MORTAL KOMBAT, DETECTIVE COMICS, STAR WARS, NIX HYDRA, STAR TREK, HOYOVERSE, AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER, TOLKIEN, OVERWATCH, APEX LEGENDS, THE DRAGON PRINCE, STARDEW VALLEY, TROLLS, OBEY ME SHALL WE DATE, AVATAR, SEDUCE ME THE OTOME, LACKADIASY, BALDUR'S GATE 3, DEAD POETS SOCIETY, LEGO MONKIE KID, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, KNIVES OUT, LEGO NINJAGO, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, HELLBOY.

Note(s) : I do both book, movie, show, etc, adaptations for most media I write for here. If you're unsure, simply ask.

MARVEL -

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man -

Flint Marko / Sandman

Harold Theopolis ' Harry ' Osborn

Mary Jane ' MJ ' Watson

Norman Virgil Osborn / Green Goblin

Otto Gunther Octavius / Doctor Octopus

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

The Spectacular Spider-Man -

Alexander O'Hirn / Rhino

Curtis ' Curt ' Conners / Lizard

Edward ' Eddie ' Charles Allan Brock / Venom

Elizabeth ' Liz ' Allen

Eugene ' Fash ' Thompson / Venom

Felicia Hardy / Black Cat

Flint Marko / Sandman

Gwendolyn ' Gwen ' Stacy

Harold Theopolis ' Harry ' Osborn

Jackson W. Brice / Montana / Shocker

Mark Allan / Molten Man

Mary Jane ' MJ ' Watson

Maxwell ' Max ' Dillon / Electro

Otto Gunther Octavius / Doctor Octopus

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Quentin Beck / Mysterio

Ultimate Spider-Man -

Amadeus Cho / Iron Spider

Ava Ayala / White Tiger

Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider

Daniel Thomas ' Danny ' Rand / Iron Fist

Eugene ' Flash ' Thompson / Agent Venom

Harold Theopolis ' Harry ' Osborn / Patrioteer / Anti-Venom

Lucas ' Luke ' Cage / Power Man

Mary Jane ' MJ ' Watson / Spider-Woman

Miles Gonzalo Morales / Kid Arachnid

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Samuel ' Sam ' Alexander / Nova

The Amazing Spider-Man -

Curtis ' Curt ' Conners / Lizard

Gwendolyn ' Gwen ' Stacy

Harold Theopolis ' Harry ' Osborn / Green Goblin

Maxwell ' Max ' Dillon / Electro

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man -

Michelle Jones ' MJ '

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Spider-Man : Into / Across The Spider-Verse -

Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider

Gwendolyn ' Gwen ' Stacy / Ghost-Spider / Spider-Woman

Hobart ' Hobie ' Brown / Spider-Man / Spider-Punk

Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman

Margo Kess / Spiderbyte

Miles Gonzalo Morales / Spider-Man

Miles Gonzalo Morales / The Prowler

Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Noir

Marvels Spider-Man 1/2 and Miles Morales -

Felicia Hardy / Black Cat

Harold Theopolis ' Harry ' Osborn

MacDonald ' Mac ' Gargan / Scorpion

Martin Li / Mister Negative

Mary Jane ' MJ ' Watson

Miles Gonzalo Morales / Spider-Man

Otto Gunther Octavius / Doctor Octopus

Peter Benjamin Parker / Spider-Man

Phin Mason / The Tinkerer

Silver Sablinova / Silver Sable

Yuriko ' Yuri ' Watanabe / Wraith

X-Men : The Animated Series / '97 -

Anna Marie Darkhölme / Rogue

Henry Phillip ' Hank ' McCoy / Beast

James ' Logan ' Howlett / Weapon X / Wolverine

Jean Elaine Grey / Marvel Girl / Phoenix / Dark Phoenix

Jubilation Lee / Jubilee

Kevin Sydney / Morph

Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Lucas Bishop

Madelyne Pryor / The Goblin Queen

Max Eisenhardt / Erik Magnus Lehnsherr / Magneto

Ororo Munroe / Storm

Pietro Django Maximoff / Quicksilver

Piotr ' Peter ' Nikolayevich Rasputin / Colossus

Raven Darkhölme / Mystique

Remy Etienne LeBeau / Gambit

Roberto ' Bobby ' Da Costa / Sunspot

Scott Summers / Cyclops

Wanda Django Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

X-Men : Evolution -

Alexander Summers / Alexander Masters / Havok

Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla / Alison Crestmere / Magma

Anna Marie Darkhölme / Rogue

Danielle ' Dani ' Moonstar / Psyche / Mirage

Evan Daniels / Spyke

Frederick J. ' Fred ' Dukes

Henry Phillip ' Hank ' McCoy / Beast

James ' Logan ' Howlett / Weapon X / Wolverine

James Arthur Madrox / Multiple

Jean Elaine Grey / Marvel Girl / Phoenix / Dark Phoenix

Jubilation ' Jubilee ' Lee

Katherine Anne ' Kitty ' Pryde / Shadowcat

Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Lance Alvers / Avalanche

Ororo Munroe / Storm

Pietro Django Maximoff / Quicksilver

Piotr ' Peter ' Nikolayevich Rasputin / Colossus

Rahne Sinclair / Wolfsbane

Raven Darkhölme / Mystique

Ray Carter / Berserker

Remy Etienne LeBeau / Gambit

Robert Louis ' Bobby ' Drake / Iceman

Roberto ' Bobby ' Da Costa / Sunspot

Samuel Zachary Guthrie / Cannonball

Scott Summers / Cyclops

St. John Allerdyce / Pyro

Tabitha Smith / Boom Boom

Todd Tolansky / Toad

Wanda Django Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

Warren Kenneth Worthington III / Angel

X-23

Fox X-Men Movies (All Timelines) -

Alexander Summers / Alexander Masters / Havok

Anna Marie D'Ancanto / Rogue

Charles Francis Xavier / Professor X

Henry Phillip ' Hank ' McCoy / Beast

James ' Logan ' Howlett / Weapon X / Wolverine

Jean Elaine Grey / Marvel Girl / Phoenix / Dark Phoenix

Jubilation ' Jubilee ' Lee

Katherine Anne ' Kitty ' Pryde / Shadowcat

Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Max Eisenhardt / Erik Magnus Lehnsherr / Magneto

Ororo Munroe / Storm

Peter Django Maximoff / Quicksilver

Raven Darkhölme / Mystique

Remy Etienne LeBeau / Gambit

Robert Louis ' Bobby ' Drake / Iceman

Roberto ' Bobby ' Da Costa / Sunspot

Scott Summers / Cyclops

Sean Cassidy / Banshee

St. John Allerdyce / Pyro

Warren Kenneth Worthington III / Angel

Wolverine and The X-Men -

Anna Marie Darkhölme / Rogue

Emma Grace Frost / White Queen

Henry Phillip ' Hank ' McCoy / Beast

James ' Logan ' Howlett / Weapon X / Wolverine

Jean Elaine Grey / Marvel Girl / Phoenix / Dark Phoenix

Jonathon Silvercloud / Forge

Jubilation ' Jubilee ' Lee

Julian Keller / Hellion

Katherine Anne ' Kitty ' Pryde / Shadowcat

Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Laura Kinney / X-23 / Wolverine

Lorna Sally Dane / Polaris

Mortimer Toynbee / Toad

Neena Thurman / Domino

Ororo Munroe / Storm

Pietro Django Maximoff / Quicksilver

Piotr ' Peter ' Nikolayevich Rasputin / Colossus

Raven Darkhölme / Mystique

Remy Etienne LeBeau / Gambit

Robert Louis ' Bobby ' Drake / Iceman

Sarah Rushman / Marrow

Scott Summers / Cyclops

Wanda Django Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

Warren Kenneth Worthington III / Angel

Fantastic Four 2005 / 2007 -

Ben Grimm / The Thing

Johnny Storm / The Human Torch

Richard Reeds / Mister Fantastic

Susan Storm / The Invisible Woman

-

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES -

2003 -

April O'Neil

Casey Jones

Donatello

Karai

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

2007 -

April O'Neil

Casey Jones

Donatello

Karai

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

2012 -

April O'Neil

Casey Jones

Donatello

Karai

Leonardo

Master Splinter

Michelangelo

Raphael

Bayverse -

April O'Neil

Casey Jones

Donatello

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -

April O'Neil

Casey Jones

Donatello

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

Mutant Mayhem -

April O'Neil

Donatello

Leonardo

Michelangelo

Raphael

-

MORTAL KOMBAT -

X -

Baraka

Cassandra ' Cassie ' Carlton Cage

Erron Black

Frost

Grey Cloud / Nightwolf

Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion

Jacqueline ' Jacqui ' Sonya Briggs

Jade

Jonathan ' Johnny ' Carlton / Johnny Cage

Kabal

Kenshi Takahashi

Kitana

Kuai Liang / Sub-Zero

Kung Jin

Kung Lao

Li Mei

Liu Kang

Mileena

Sonya A. Blade

Syzoth / Reptile

Takeda Takahashi

Tanya

Tomas Vrbdada / Smoke

Zeffeero / Rain

11 -

Baraka

Cassandra ' Cassie ' Carlton Cage

Erron Black

Frost

Grey Cloud / Nightwolf

Hanzo Hasashi / Scorpion

Jackson ' Jax ' Briggs

Jacqueline ' Jacqui ' Sonya Briggs

Jade

Jonathan ' Johnny ' Carlton / Johnny Cage

Kabal

Kitana

Kuai Liang / Sub-Zero

Kung Lao

Liu Kang

Mileena

Skarlet

Sonya A. Blade

Syzoth / Reptile

Zeffeero / Rain

2021 Movie -

Cole Young

Jackson ' Jax ' Briggs

Kung Lao

Liu Kang

Sonya A. Blade

1/12 -

Ashrah

Baraka

Bi-Han / Sub-Zero

Geras

Jonathan ' Johnny ' Carlton / Johnny Cage

Kenshi Takahashi

Kitana

Kuai Liang / Scorpion

Kung Lao

Li Mei

Liu Kang

Mileena

Nitara

Raiden

Sindel

Sindel

Syzoth / Reptile

Tanya

Tomas Vrbada / Smoke

Zeffeero / Rain

-

DETECTIVE COMICS -

Young Justice / Green Lantern : The Animated Series -

Artemis Crock / Artemis

Aya

Barbara Gordon / Batgirl

Bart Allen / Impulse / Kid Flash

Brion Markov / Geo-Force

Cassandra Wu-San / Orphan

Conner Kent / Kon-El / Superboy

Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing

Garfield Logan / Beast Boy

Hal Jordan / Green Lantern

Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle

Kaldur'ahm / Aqualad / Aquaman

Kilowog / Green Lantern

La'Gann / Lagoon Boy

M'Gann M'Orzz / Miss Martian

Raquel Ervin / Rocket

Razer / Red Lantern / Blue Lantern

Roy Harper / Arsenal

Stephanie Brown / Spoiler

Tim Drake / Robin / Red Robin

Violet Harper / Halo

Virgil Hawkins / Static

Wally West / Kid Flash

Will Harper / Red Arrow

Zatanna Zatara / Zatanna

Gotham -

Bruce Wayne / Batman

Edward Nygma / The Riddler

Harvey Bullock

James Worthington ' Jim ' Gordon

Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow

Oswald Chesterfield Kapelput / Cobblepot

Selina Kyle / Catwoman

Titans -

Cliff Steele / Robot Man

Conner Kent / Superboy

Dawn Granger / Dove

Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing

Donna Troy / Wonder Girl

Gar Logan / Beast Boy

Hank Hall / Hawk

Jason Todd / Robin / Red Hood

Komand'r / Blackfire

Koriand'r / Starfire

Larry Trainor

Rachel Roth / Raven

Rita Farr

Gotham Knights -

Barbara Gordon / Batgirl

Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing

Jason Todd / Robin / Red Hood

Tim Drake / Robin / Red Robin

-

STAR WARS -

Prequels / The Clone Wars / The Bad Batch -

Ahsoka Tano

Anakin Skywalker

Barriss Offee

Bly

Bo-Katan Kryze

Cody

Crosshair

Echo

Fives

Gregor

Hunter

Kit Fisto

Kix

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Omega

Padmé Amidala

Rex

Shaak Ti

Tech

Tup

Wolffe

Wrecker

Originals / Rebels / The Mandalorian -

Caleb Dume / Kanan Jarrus

Din Djarin

Eighth Brother

Ezra Bridger

Garazeb ' Zeb ' Orrelios

Han Solo

Hera Syndulla

Kallus

Leia Organa

Luke Skywalker

Sabine Wren

Seventh Sister

Sequels -

Ben Solo / Kylo Ren

FN-2187 / Finn

Poe Dameron

Rey Skywalker

-

NIX HYDRA -

The Arcana -

Asra Alnazar

Ilyushka / Julian Devorak

Montag Morgasson / Lucio

Muriel

Nadia Satrinava

Pasha / Portia Devorak

Valdemar

Valerius

Vlastomil

Volta

Vulgora

Last Legacy -

Anisa Anka

Felix Iskandar Escellun

Rime Solano Varela

Sage Lesath

Monster Manor -

Casimir de Gévaudan

Rainier

-

STAR TREK -

The Original Series -

James Tiberius Kirk

S'chn T'gai Spock

Leonard Horatio ' Bones ' McCoy

Janice Rand

Nyota Uhura

Montgomery ' Scotty ' Scott

Hikaru Kato Sulu

Pavel Andreievich Chekov

The Next Generation -

Benjamin Lafayette Sisko

Jean-Luc Picard

William Thomas ' Will ' Riker

Geordi La Forge

Worf

Data Soong

Wesley Crusher

Beverly Crusher

Deanna Troi

Deep Space Nine -

Odo

Jadzia Dax

Miles Edward O'Brien

Quark

Julian Subatoi Bashir

Weyoun 6

Kira Nerys

-

HOYOVERSE -

Genshin Impact -

Aether

Ajax Tartaglia / Childe

Albedo

Alhaitham

Amber

Amy / Fischl

Arataki Itto

Baizhu

Barbara Pegg

Barbatos / Venti

Beelzebul / Raiden Ei / Raiden Shogun

Beidou

Bennett

Beur / Lesser Lord Kusanali / Nahida

Candace

Charlotte

Chevreuse

Chiori

Chongyun

Cloud Retainer / Xianyun

Collei

Cyno

Dehya

Diluc Ragnvindr

Diona

Dori Sangemah Bay

Eula Lawrence

Faruzan

Freminet

Furina de Fontaine

Ganyu

Gorou

Hu Tao

Jean Gunnhildr

Kaedehara Kazuha

Kaeya Alberich

Kamisato Ayaka

Kamisato Ayato

Kaveh

Keqing

Kirara

Klee

Kujou Sara

Kuki Shinobu

Kunikuzushi / Kabukimono / Balladeer / Scaramouche / Wanderer

Layla

Lisa Minci

Lumine

Lynette

Lyney

Mao Xiangling

Mika Schmidt

Mona Megistus

Morax / Zhongli

Naganohara Yoimiya

Navia Caspar

Neuvillette

Nilou

Ningguang

Noelle

Qiqi

Razor

Rosaria

Sangonomiya Kokomi

Sayu

Shenhe

Shikanoin Heizou

Sucrose

Thoma

Tighnari

Wriothesley

Xiao

Xingqiu

Xinyan

Yae Miko

Yanfei

Yaoyao

Yelan

Yip Gaming

Yun Jin

Honkai Star Rail -

Acheron

Argenti

Arlan

Asta

Bailu

Black Swan

Boothill

Bronya Rand

Caelus

Clara

Dan Heng / Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae

Fu Xuan

Gallagher

Gepard Landau

Guinevere / Guinaifen

Herta

Himeko

Hook

Huohuo

Jing Yuan

Jingliu

Kafka

Kakavasha / Aventurine

Li Sushang

Luka

Luocha

Lynx Landau

March 7th

Misha

Natasha

Pelageya ' Pela ' Sergeyevna

Qingque

Robin

Ruan Mei

Sampo Koski

Seele

Serval Landau

Silver Wolf

Sparkle

Stelle

Tanya

Tingyun

Topaz and Numby

Veritas Ratio

Welt Yang

Xueyi

Yanqing

Yingxing / Blade

Yukong

-

AVATAR : THE LAST AIRBENDER -

Legend Of Aang -

Aang

Azula

Katara

Mai

Sokka

Suki

Toph Beifong

Ty Lee

Zuko

Legend Of Korra -

Asami Sato

Bolin

Bumi

Desna

Eska

Huan

Iroh

Korra

Kya

Lin Beifong

Mako

Ming-Hua

Noatak / Amon

P'Li

Pema

Suyin Beifong

Tarrlok

Tenzin

Varrick

Wei

Wing

Zaheer

Zhu Li Moon

-

TOLKIEN -

The Hobbit -

Bifur

Bilbo Baggins

Bofur

Bombur

Dori

Dwalin

Elrond

Fíli

Glóin

Kíli

Nori

Tauriel

Thorin II Oakenshield

Thranduil

Óin

The Lord Of The Rings -

Aragorn II Elessar

Arwen Undómiel

Boromir

Èomer

Èowyn

Elrond

Faramir

Frodo Baggins

Galadriel

Gimli

Glorfindel

Legolas Greenleaf

Meriadoc ' Merry ' Brandybuck

Peregrin ' Pippin ' Took

Samwise Gamgee

-

OVERWATCH -

Akande Ogundimu / Doomfist

Aleksandra Zaryanova ' Zarya '

Amélie Lacroix (née Guillard) / Widowmaker

Ana Amari

Angela Ziegler / Mercy

Bastion

Brigitte Lindholm

Cole Cassidy

Echo

Elizabeth Caledonia ' Calamity ' Ashe

Fareeha Amari / Pharah

Gabriel Reyes / Reaper

Genji Shimada

Hammond / Wrecking Ball

Hana Song / D.Va

Hanzo Hasashi

Illari Quispe Ruiz

Jamison Fawkes / Junkrat

Jean-Baptiste Augustin

John Francis "Jack" Morrison / Soldier: 76

Kiriko Kamori

Lena Oxton / Tracer

Lúcio Correia dos Santos

Mako Rutledge / Roadhog

Maugaloa Malosi / Mauga

Mei-Ling Zhou ' Mei '

Moira O'Deorain

Niran ' Bua ' Pruksamanee / Lifeweaver

Odessa ' Dez ' Stone / Junker Queen

Olivia Colomar / Sombra

Orisa

Ramattra

Reinhardt Wilhelm / Reinhardt

Satya Vaswani / Symmetra

Siebren de Kuiper / Sigma

Tekhartha Zenyatta

Torbjörn Lindholm

Vivian Chase / Sojourn

Winston

-

APEX LEGENDS -

Ajay Che / Lifeline

Alexander Maxwell Nox / Caustic

Anita Williams / Bangalore

Ashleigh Reid / Ash

August Montgomery Brinkman / Ballistic

Blóðhundr / Bloodhound

Elliott Rodger Witt / Mirage

Jackson Williams / Newcastle

Kairi Imahara / Valkyrie

Kaleb Cross / Revenant

Loba Andrade / Loba

Makoa Gibraltar / Gibraltar

Margaret Kōhere / Mad Maggie

Mary Somers / Horizon

MRVN / Pathfinder

Natalie Paquette / Wattson

Obi Edolasim / Seer

Octavio Silva / Octaine

Ramya Parekh / Rampart

Renee Hope Blasey / Wraith

Rowenna Valentina Coffey Divina / Conduit

Tae Joon Park / Crypto

Tressa Crystal Smith / Catalyst

Walter Fitzroy Jr. / Fuse

Xiomara Contreras / Vantage

-

THE DRAGON PRINCE -

Aaravos

Amaya

Callum

Claudia

Corvus

Ethari

Ezran

Gren

Ibis

Janai

Karim

Naimi-Selari-Nykantia ' Nyx '

Opeli

Rayla

Runaan

Soren

Terrestrius ' Terry '

Viren

-

STARDEW VALLEY -

Abigail

Alex

Dwarf

Elliot

Emily

Haley

Harvey

Krobus

Leah

Maru

Penny

Sam

Sandy

Sebastian

Shane

Wizard

-

TROLLS -

Barb

Branch

Bridget

Clay

Cooper

Darnell

Delta Dawn

Floyd

Gristle Jr.

Hickory

John Dory

Poppy

Spruce / Bruce

Velvet

Veneer

Viva

-

OBEY ME: SHALL WE DATE -

Asmodeus

Barbatos

Beelzebub

Belphegor

Diavolo

Leviathan

Lucifer

Luke

Mammon

Mephistopheles

Raphael

Satan

Simeon

Solomon

Thirteen

-

AVATAR -

Aonung

Grace Augustine

Jake Sully

Kiri te Suli Kireysi'ite

Lo'ak te Suli Tsyeyk'itan

Miles ' Spider ' Socorro

Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan

Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite

Norm Spellman

Rotxo

Trudy Chacón

Tsireya ' Reya '

Tsu'tey te Rongola Atey'itan

-

SEDUCE ME THE OTOME -

Andrew Lewis

Aomaris / Sam Anderson

Ezaeur / Diana

Izroul / Damien Anderson

Mika Anderson

Naomi Patterson

Raestrao / James Anderson

Saero

Suzu Cappini

Uzaeris / Erik Anderson

Zecaeru / Matthew Anderson

-

LACKADAISY -

Calvin ' Freckle ' McMurray

Dorian ' Zib ' Zibowski

Ivy Pepper

Mitzi May

Mordecai Heller

Nicodeme ' Nico ' Savoy

Roark ' Rocky ' Rickaby

Sedgwick ' Wick ' Sable

Serafine Savoy

Viktor Vasko

Virgil

-

BALDUR'S GATE 3 -

Astarion Ancunín

Dammon

Gale Dekarios

Halsin

Karlach Cliffgate

Lae'zel

Rolan

Shadowheart

Wyll Ravengard

Zevlor

-

DEAD POETS SOCIETY -

Charlie Dalton

Gerard Pitts

John Keating

Knox Overstreet

Neil Perry

Steven Meeks

Todd Anderson

-

LEGO MONKIE KID -

Macaque / Six-Eared Macaque

Mei

Monkie Kid ' Mk '

Ne Zha

Red Son

Sun Wukong / Monkey King

Tang

-

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA -

Caspian

Edmund Pevensie

Lucy Pevensie

Peter Pevensie

Susan Pevensie

Tumnus

-

KNIVES OUT -

Benoit Blanc

Cassandra ' Andi ' Brand

Helen Brand

Marta Cabrera

Megan ' Meg ' Thrombey

Whiskey

-

LEGO NINJAGO -

Cole

Jay Walker

Kai

Lloyd Garmadon

Nya

Zane

-

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL -

Agatha Of Woods Beyond

Hester Of Ravenswood

Hort Of Bloodbrook

Sophie Of Woods Beyond

Tedros

-

HELLBOY (2004) -

Abe Sapien

Hellboy

Liz Sherman

-

[omniversecomicsguide]

Maddie Pryor - the Goblin Queen - makes it to our list of our 10 favourite X-Men villains in the brand new BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: X-MEN episode! Pod it or watch it, but don’t forget to to share it!

PLAY: Bring on the Bad Guys: X-Men

ARTIST: Derrick Chew

COVER: New Mutants #25 (2022)

FEATURING: Goblin Queen/Madelyne Pryor

Who else makes our list and which stories do we mark as our favourites?

This variant comes from the recent DESTINY OF X era of the X-books

[kemetic-dreams]

Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer and singer. He is considered one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time.

Hines began tap dancing when he was two years old, and began dancing semi professionally at age five. After that, he and his older brother Maurice performed together, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang.

Gregory and Maurice also studied with veteran tap dancers, such as Howard Sims and The Nicholas Brothers when they performed at the same venues. The two brothers were known as "The Hines Kids," making nightclub appearances at venues such as the Cotton Club in Miami with Cab Calloway. They were later known as "The Hines Brothers."

When their father joined the act as a drummer, the name changed again in 1963 to "Hines, Hines, and Dad."

Hines made his movie debut in Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part I (1981), replacing Richard Pryor, who had originally been cast in the role but suffered severe burns in a house fire just days before he was due to begin shooting. Madeline Kahn, also starring in the film, suggested to director Mel Brooks that he look into Hines for the role after they learned of Pryor's hospitalization.

Critics took note of Hines's comedic charm, and he later appeared in movies such as Wolfen, The Cotton Club, White Nights, Running Scared with Billy Crystal, Tap, and Waiting to Exhale.

On television, he starred in his own series in 1997 called The Gregory Hines Show on CBS, as well as in the recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace. He would return to voice Big Bill in Nick Jr.'s television show, Little Bill, in the end of 1999. He starred in The Tic Code in 2000.

Hines starred in more than 40 films and also made his mark on Broadway during his lifetime. He was the recipient of many accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

[deeisace]

So this morning, cs my brain is fried in many ways,

As a companion to the Draculas of New Jersey, have all the Frankensteins of England -

First, on the very first census, of 1841, we have Jacob Frankenstein and his family, living in Liverpool -

There really wasn't much detail on early census records, and whoever's filled this in has done it a slightly odd order (dad, youngest son, mum, oldest daughter, middle son), but we see we have Jacob Frankenstein, who is a merchant, his wife Sarah, and their children Henrietty (age 5), Samuel (age 3) and Nathan (age 1 or possibly 7), and that F in the last column marks them as "born in Foreign Parts".

The house they live in, they seem to share with two other families - an English roper, his wife and four children, and an Irish tailor his wife and their servant. I imagine, if I might, that it may have been one of those tall buildings you get in the town centre occasionally, with a shop below and two or three storeys above - the tailor would have the shop and the floor above, and the one/s above that would be split between Frankenstein and Choppers (the roper)

I'm not certain, cs nothing much is certain on the 1841 census, but I think that must be the case, because there's a 1 for 1 dwelling/building, and then the families have little notch marks separating them (you can just see one above the J in Jacob there).

If we skip forward 20 years, we find them not in Liverpool, but having moved to Islington, London

A little more detail on this record - we find out that Jacob and Sarah are from Hanover, which I gather is now a part of Germany. Henrietty has anglicised her name to Harriet, and that N must be Nathan, which means he was 1 on the 1841 record. We also see Harriet was born in Yorkshire, and Nathan in Liverpool, tho I can find neither record. And that Jacob's merchant-ing is going well enough that they needn't share housing and they actually have a live-in maid!

And, there's another record to show he joined the Freemasons in about 1850, so I imagine he was doing fairly well for himself.

-

There is, at the same time as our Jacob in 1841, another J Frankenstein, but this one is an "agent" - whatever that means 180 years ago - and he lives in Stepney!

He is also "of Foreign Parts" and also in his 30s, but he is instead a lodger, with several other single German-sounding men (you can see Doctor Gotentag above him there), in the house of some laundresses (Sarah Kelly, Elizabeth Pryor, and her daughter Sarah)

I jumped forward 10 years to 1851, and couldn't confirm finding this same Frankenstein, but there are a couple of new ones -

We have Adolphus, a tailor from Breslau who is lodging in Manchester with a Polish hawker and his family

And we have Isaac, a licensed hawker - a seller of things, the type that shout you over, like a marketstall man, tho maybe without a stall - in this case, jewellery - and he lodges in Portsea/Portsmouth, with Kitty Barnard and her daughters.

-

Then, if we jump again to the 1870s, there are a great many more Frankensteins -

We have Jacob, Israel, Simon and Harris Frankenstein, who are all Polish tailors (tho sometimes the record says "Russia Poland"). Israel and Simon live in London, Whitechapel and Spitalfields respectively. Jacob is in Cheetham and Harris is in Manchester. And all their families, too.

Also in Cheetham, we find Reub and his family - I imagine he is Jacob's brother or cousin (he is also listed "Russia Poland") - he is a glazier, and his teenage sons are tailors.

Philip Frankenstein, also in Cheetham and from Poland and so likely another brother or cousin, is a waterproof manufacturer (did macks exist then?).

And Leon, who lives in Rochester, married a Kentish woman called Lydia Jolley (nee Gladdish), and he is a picture frame maker, also Polish - tho he, unlike the rest, is listed under "Poland, British Subject" - either, he lived in England most of his life and was just born in Poland (see, my John Scarth, who always listed himself as "Portugal, British Subject", and was from Orkney), or because he married an Englishwoman, I'm not sure, and he, nor the census man, are not here to quiz.

If I go any later, I imagine there'll be a great deal many more records to trawl through and I don't really want to, so I shan't.

I am mildly disappointed there are no Adam Frankensteins, tho, I did check

[evil-doppelganger-duel]

Hey! I still have to put all the matchups together, but in the meantime here's a sneak peek of our line-up :]

List of characters under the cut:

•Alternate Barney (Dead End: Paranormal Park)

•Alternate Norma (Dead End: Paranormal Park)

•Anti-Pops (Regular Show)

•Bad End Pretty Cure (Smile Pretty Cure!)

•Bad Janet (The Good Place)

•Badeline (Celeste)

•Cesar's Alternate (The Mandela Catalogue)

•Ciel Phantomhive (Black Butler)

•Dahlia Hawthorne (Ace Attorney)

•Constantine (Muppets Most Wanted)

•Cure Unlovely (Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!)

•Dark Link (Legend of Zelda)

•Dark Meta Knight (Kirby)

•Dark Pit (Kid Icarus)

•Dark Samus (Metroid)

•Dippy Fresh (Gravity Falls)

•Ditto (Pokémon)

•Doodlebob (Spongebob Squarepants)

•Doppelganger (Scribblenauts)

•Doppelganger Arle (Puyo Puyo~n)

•Evil Xisuma (Hermitcraft)

•FalseSymmetry (Empires SMP)

•Father (Fullmetal Alchemist)

•Fowen (Story Thieves)

•Fukua (Skullgirls)

•Félix Fathom (Miraculous Ladybug)

•Gruffnut Thorston (How to Train Your Dragon)

•Helsknight (Hermitcraft)

•Imposter (Going Under)

•Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries)

•Katrina Spellman (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)

•Kevin (Welcome to Night Vale)

•Kimura Koichi (Digimon Frontier)

•Le Purr (Fetch with Ruff Ruffman)

•Ledroptha Curtain (The Mysterious Benedict Society)

•Liquid Snake (Metal Gear)

•Lore (Star Trek)

•Mad Ducktor (Donald Duck)

•Madelyne Pryor (Marvel)

•Man in Red (Ghost Trick)

•Mark Vorkosigan (Vorkosigan Saga)

•Mean Rachel (Animorphs)

•Metal Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)

•Millions Knives (Trigun)

•Mr. Edward Hyde (Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

•Nale (Order of the Stick)

•Omori (Omori)

•Robo-Fortune (Skullgirls)

•Robo-Reagan (Inside Job)

•Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)

•Scourge (Sonic the Hedgehog)

•Scruff Ruffman (Fetch with Ruff Ruffman)

•Shadow Kirby (Kirby & the Amazing Mirror)

•Shadow Mario (Super Mario Sunshine)

•SheZap (SheZow)

•Sonozaki Shion (Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni)

•Tac Nayn (Nyan Cat)

•The Rowdyruff Boys (The Powerpuff Girls)

•The Valeyard (Doctor Who)

•Tsukasa Yugi (Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun)

•Tyrone (Gravity Falls)

•Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)

•Vergil (Devil May Cry)

•Yosuke's Shadow (Persona 4)

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

🦘 Booklr Reads Australian - Authors on My Shelves 🐨

so, I’ve been trying to think of a way to recommend a lot of Australian authors really quickly for Booklr Reads Australian. what I came up with was just to give y’all a giant list of all the authors I have at home! 

most of them are YA and/or fantasy authors, and I’ve marked my favourites with an asterisk (*) but if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask 😊

1. Sarah Ayoub 2. Eugen Bacon 3. Shirley Barber * 4. AJ Betts 5. Danielle Binks * 6. Cally Black 7. Steph Bowe * 8. Alice Boyle 9. JC Burke 10. Meg Caddy * 11. Frances Chapman 12. Wai Chim * 13. Claire Christian 14. Lyndall Clipstone 15. Claire G Coleman 16. Katherine Collette 17. Harry Cook 18. Cath Crowley 19. Robyn Dennison 20. Cale Dietrich 21. Lauren Draper 22. CG Drews * 23. Michael Earp 24. Kate Emery 25. Sarah Epstein 26. Alison Evans * 27. Fleur Ferris 28. Carly Findlay 29. Helena Fox 30. Lisa Fuller 31. Emily Gale 32. Meg Gatland-Veness 33. Sophie Gonzales 34. Erin Gough * 35. Leanne Hall * 36. Pip Harry 37. Sonya Hartnett 38. Adam Hills 39. Simmone Howell 40. Megan Jacobson 41. Amie Kaufman 42. Melissa Keil 43. Nina Kenwood 44. Sharon Kernot 45. Kay Kerr * 46. Will Kostakis 47. Jay Kristoff 48. Ambelin Kwaymullina 49. Benjamin Law 50. Rebecca Lim 51. Gary Lonesborough * 52. Kathleen Loughnan 53. Miranda Luby 54. Tobias Madden 55. Melina Marchetta 56. Ellie Marney * 57. Freya Marske 58. Jodi McAlister * 59. Margot McGovern * 60. Nikki McWatters 61. Anna Morgan 62. Jaclyn Moriarty 63. Liane Moriarty 64. Garth Nix 65. Lynette Noni 66. Carly Nugent 67. Poppy Nwosu 68. Kate O’Donnell 69. Shivaun Plozza 70. Michael Pryor 71. Alice Pung 72. Emily Rodda * 73. Autumn Royal 74. Omar Sakr 75. Holden Sheppard 76. AG Slatter 77. Jo Spurrier 78. Krystal Sutherland * 79. Jared Thomas 80. Hayli Thompson 81. Gabrielle Tozer 82. Christos Tsiolkas 83. Alicia Tuckerman 84. Ellen van Neerven 85. Marlee Jane Ward 86. Vikki Wakefield 87. Lisa Walker 88. Jessica Watson * 89. Allayne L Webster 90. Anna Whateley * 91. Samantha Wheeler 92. Jen Wilde * 93. Rhiannon Wilde 94. Lili WIlkinson 95. Gabrielle Williams 96. Rhiannon Williams 97. Fiona Wood 98. Leanne Yong 99. Suzy Zail 100. Nevo Zisin 101. Markus Zusak

[mangoposts]

superficially hot. like i wanna see acne scars…show me something real like stretch marks…whatever kendrick lamar said!

IM SO FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF THE PHOTOSHOP SHOW ME SOMETHING NATURAL LIKE AFRO ON RICHARD PRYOR SHOW ME SOMETHING NATURAL LIKE ASS WIT SOME STRETCH MARKS

[sunbookie]

The Legendary Redd Foxx was a street-smart, natural-born comic, who, through sheer talent, guile and unbridled self confidence, overcame a life of poverty in the slums of St. Louis to make his mark on three entertainment genres: stand-up comedy, recorded nightclub comedy, and, finally, television.

With the 1956 release of “Laff of the Party,” Foxx was crowned “King of the Party Records,” and while his frank, trailblazing style opened the door for generations of African-American comedians, including Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, it did little for his own career. Shielded from mainstream (that is white) audiences both by the color of his skin and his refusal to tone down his ribald act, Foxx eventually clawed his way up the show business ladder, breaking through in Las Vegas and New York and appearing in a few films before the first episode of “Sanford and Son” changed his life completely. Foxx took the country by storm in January 1972 as crotchety Watts junk dealer Fred Sanford (Foxx’s actual name was John Elroy Sanford) and was propelled to become one of the most beloved sitcoms in television history. Fred’s histrionic “heart attacks” (“It’s the big one, Elizabeth! I’m comin’ to join ya, honey!”) and catchphrases (“You big dummy!”) turned Fred Sanford into a cultural icon and Redd Foxx into a millionaire. He passed away in 1991...

Rest In Power, Legend.

[juleskelleybooks]

I shut down my Patreon a while back because updating something on a regular schedule is kind of the antithesis of me as a person

but I'm having so much fun working on the worldbuilding and early parts of Blackthorn that I'm being seduced by the siren song of the idea: what if I put updates of the rough draft of Blackthorn behind a paywall on Patreon and people could read along as I wrote it but then I could still publish the whole novel when it was ready (and Patreon subscribers would get a free download of the ebook)

idk idk - would anyone be interested in this, even? (caveat: I know Patreon has made some changes since the last time I was there so if it's become unusable now, feel free to chime in and tell me what a good alternative is for a paid subscription like this)

Opening behind the cut to give you an idea of what the rough draft currently looks like.

Nate Dubarr hadn’t been around horses much, but even he could tell the team’s demeanor was changing as they approached a narrow stretch of road lined on either side by shrubby, stout trees frothing with white blossoms. Was it just the wind in the branches that had the animals spooked, or did they sense something he couldn’t hear yet? He adjusted his grip on the proton rifle in his lap and looked over his shoulder. It was a damn good place to ambush a vulnerable transport, and Sun Mountain probably wouldn’t have paid for his services as a gunman if they weren’t needed.

“Hear somethin’?” Willa, the driver, shouted over dusty plodding hoofbeats and the rattling creak of the wooden transport pod, and Nate shook his head.

“Not yet,” he yelled back, squinting into the rippling heat.

Aulis was mostly a farming and ranching planet, he knew, some areas thickly wooded and others rich with sprawling grass prairies, but the part he was riding through now, toward the little town of Blackthorn, was arid enough that he could feel his skin cracking and peeling as they went.

“Nothin’ grows here anymore,” the customs officer in Pryor had said as she looked over the crates marked for Blackthorn. “Probably why they’re tryin’ so hard to get that mine back in working shape out past the canyons. They’ll sure be happy to see y’all.”

Willa clucked gently to the horses, pulling up on the reins, and Nate braced himself on the warm wood of the transport pod. He hadn’t understood at first why they weren’t using one of the self-driving metal ones, but the heat and the dust had answered that question for him in the first half-hour. The gears would have gotten locked up in short order, if the metal hadn’t cooked them in their seats first.

The team of horses slowed now, snorting and blowing and tossing their heads, and Nate realized they were picking their way carefully over wooden bars embedded parallel to each other across the road.

“What’s that?” he asked Willa, alert to the possibility of a trap. Would it fall out from under them, taking the pod and the horses all at once?

“Cattle grate,” Willa muttered, her wrinkled, leathery hands steady on the reins as she coaxed the team slower. “Coupla ranches used to keep herds out here and would move ’em to different pastures on this road. The grate was to keep them from stampeding. The blackthorns were to keep them from just going around it.” She inclined her head toward the flowering trees, and Nate squinted, realizing the blooms hid the trees’ real feature: Thick, sharp spines as long as his hand.

“How do you keep cattle where there’s nothing for them to graze?” Nate asked, but before Willa could answer, there was a high-pitched buzz from behind them, and one of the horses tossed its head, eyes rolling so far Nate could see the whites. Fuck. It was a trap.

“Steady,” Willa crooned to the horses. “Don’t want them bolting,” she explained to Nate. “They’ll break their damn legs and then we’ll just be out here ’til the buzzards or the bandits get us.”

Nate lifted the proton rifle as he turned to look back down the road they’d already traveled, siting down the barrel, and fitted his goggles to keep his eyes clear.

He didn’t see anything yet, but the buzzing was getting closer, and he recognized it as the whine of a bike’s engine. Shit. It was a trap.

[docexe-mx]

So, for the final arc of the first season of X-Men ‘97, they indeed adapted “Operation Zero Tolerance” mixed with some elements from Bastion’s later appearances, which is what I expected. However, they also combined that with a condensed adaptation of the final part of “Fatal Attractions”, something that I wasn’t expecting, but that was thematically fitting considering Magneto’s character arc during the season.

Honestly, the final episode was fantastic, and the show overall was excellent, easily among the best X-Men media ever produced. I’m definitely looking forward to the next season, especially considering all the hints and teases they planted regarding what’s coming next.

The thing that surprised the most of the show, however, was how they managed to make you feel so much empathy for most of the characters, even when they were doing things that could be considered ethically or morally questionable. It’s something that, frankly speaking, the comics have often failed to do.

This was evident early in the show’s run, with how they handled the whole kerfuffle involving Scott Summers, Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor in the third episode. In marked contrast to the comics (where Madelyne was turned into a recurring villain while Scott was honestly a scumbag), the episode actually ends with all three characters coming across as extremely sympathetic and the tragedy that befalls them ends feeling even more devastating and heart wrenching as a result.

Then there was Magneto’s overall arc, showing that he genuinely wanted to honor Xavier’s dream of co-existence with humanity, only for Bastion’s actions and the attack on Genosha to push him into the path of vengeance, being effectively “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. While the show still showed that he was going too far and doing extremely destructive things that endangered the entire planet, it was still possible to understand where he was coming from and to empathize with his anger and grief.

In addition, once Magneto crosses the final line by ripping off Wolverine’s adamantium, almost killing him in the process, Xavier doesn’t just wipes his mind in retaliation like he did in “Fatal Attractions”. Xavier makes one final plea to his former friend to stop his rampage, only uses his powers forcibly after Magneto refuses, and afterwards proceeds to repair the damage caused to his psyche even at risk to his own personal integrity.

Honestly, the versions of Magneto and Charles Xavier depicted in this show might be the most sympathetic iterations yet of both characters in any X-Men media, and I frankly welcome that.

Hell, even Bastion, the central Big Bad of the season and a thoroughly irredeemable piece of work in the comics, gets reimagined as a more tragic figure here, even having a couple of sympathetic scenes in spite of all the carnage and pain that he causes.

It all feeds into one of the central themes of the season: How empathy is necessary to combat fear and bigotry, and to prevent anger and grief (even the ones that could be considered righteous) from becoming thoroughly destructive and senseless.