#Phil Saunders

[crisisofinfinitemultiverses]

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Concept Art by Phil Saunders

[gebo4482]

Deadpool & Wolverine

Artist: Phil Saunders / Jonay Bacallado

[nickfuryagentofsword]

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Concept Art by Phil Saunders

MCU

[alphacomicsvol2]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Ironheart vs Namor Keyframe by Phil Saunders

[comicweek]

Blue Beetle Pitch Art by Phil Saunders

This art was used as part of a pitch by Writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and Producer Zev Foreman

They wanted three images that would capture the spirit of the movie to help get a green light from the studio. This first one expresses the joy and freedom of Jaime’s first flight. Zev and Garrett really wanted a hyper-saturated color palette in the spirit of Miami’s North Beach. 

A lot of fun evoking Jaime’s connection to the spirit and culture of the Keys, so close and yet so far from Kord and Palmera City. Writer @gdunnetalcocer had such a clear eye for all the little cultural cues, (such as the right way to eat a taco!) it was an immense pleasure to get notes. It was also a blast getting a first crack at iconic designs such as the suit and the Bug Ship. 

The last of three images I did for @zforeman to pitch #bluebeetle to the studio. I really loved the POV of this shot suggested by writer @gdunnetalcocer, focusing less on the battle between #bluebeetle and #carapax, but on what it means to the community to have a hero of their own. I really wish this moment could have been in the final film. (And I love that the girl is the only one to have the good sense to be concerned 😂)

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Have you ever read Borrasca?

Yes Anon, I read it.

I don't even know how to start this. My instinct is "Content warning" but like...where to even begin in terms of listing the content I would warn people about with Borrasca. I'll just say, that if you've already read it, you know what I'm about to discuss. If you haven't read it, do not go under the cut. Because it's better to experience this story yourself.

But only if you have the strongest of stomachs. You are not prepared and neither was I.

Still here? Okay. Content warning: Child sexual abuse, kidnapping/trafficking, (gruesome) murder, discussion of remains, infertility, incest, parental abuse, horror....did I cover everything?

I don't normally like creepypastas. I am not a horror fan. Never have been. It's easier to consume horror via reading because it ensures a lack of jumpscares but I still don't like it. The content all too often makes me queasy and just don't fit me. So it was fortunate that when I picked up this story, I had no idea it was horror. Because that genre just has telltale signs and, at least to me, those signs weren't initially there. It wasn't until the characters first visited the Treehouse that I began to feel uneasy, (especially the first instance of the Shiny Gentleman's "song of death") and not until Whitney disappeared that I knew the story would be dark. But then it throws you for a loop by doing that time-skip without any notification, no "Seven years later" etc. They just leave it to you to figure it out, House of The Dragon style, so it took me a bit to figure out what happened and that kind of wrapped up my attention. (Speaking of, as a major fan of the Thrones universe, a lot of this was stuff you'd think I'd be able to handle no problem, but that didn't make it any easier.)

Unfortunately, the story had fish-hooked me by this point and I wasn't going anywhere. One moment that properly stood out to me was Phil Saunders talking about all the missing people going in the ground, or, as he put it, "grounder." In hindsight, that is downright cruel foreshadowing, or maybe it was purely coincidental (but I doubt it) and it stuck out to me the first time. That whole sequence did, of him basically saying that when he got high, he would figure out that all these people going missing was no accident, and that everyone in town either knew, or chose not to know. For some reason, the "grounder" line stuck out to me, and the next time we heard the Shiny Gentleman, the description of it being metallic and everything just made me pause. I remembered the "grounder" line and...a truly horrifying thought crossed my mind about the place where bad things happen. And when I make obscure predictions about stories, I often wind up being exactly right. (It's a strange gift, I'd rather something useful like Sign Language or Tax Lax, but I digress.) What kept sticking in my mind was "Why?" I couldn't place who or why people were taken there to be put in the "grounder" or what they were wanted for.

Side note, a lot of my thoughts were wasted on trying to figure out the "skinned men." A masterful red herring with an actual explanation that works. I didn't think of the answer as a cop out, I just went "Ohhh...." The whole concept leads you on a wild goose chase to assume there is some sort of supernatural element to this story when there isn't, because reality is so much more frightening than fantasy. It all feeds into the Borrasca folktale, which helps build a mythos for the place and acts as a gateway for people in the town learning about it as they grow up without questioning it too strongly. Which is useful for things like the "song of death" which will be heard periodically but mustn't be something anyone overthinks. They ignore it, because they assume it's just a logging company up the mountain, or because they fear the whispers and legends about the "skinned men" and want nothing to do with it...or because they know. Or, even worse...they don't want to know. Like Tom Prescott said, the townspeople probably don't know everything, most of the time...but some of that is willful ignorance and complacency with a system that they must sense is rotten to the core. Even the more sympathetic characters like Anne and Meera, they aren't innocent in all this. Anne says it herself - everyone is guilty. Meera's refusal to participate in Borrasca to get a baby until she eventually wilts...that's not her "falling to the dark side." She was already there. Because clearly, she knew. She knew, and she did nothing. Then again...what can she do? What can any of them do? This is how evil institutions rise and remain in power. Complacency and hopelessness.

The other moment...I could call it prophetic, but like, I don't want to pat myself on the back. The story is just very well told. But I remember the moment, distinctly, that Graham Walker told Sam and Kyle that he would "never let Whitney go." And the wording...I noticed the wording. And I thought to myself in that moment, "You have her. I don't know how, but you have her." And it made sense. When children go missing, sometimes it's the parents who are behind it. I mean, we've all seen SVU, right? Up to that point I genuinely hadn't suspected Walker at all, because I just thought - if there is some deep conspiracy in this town, how could Walker be a part of it? He moved here, only a few years ago. But it's quite possible that he was involved with Drisking even before moving his family there because he did something "bad" that caused them to reassign him. Honestly, that entire act is filled to the brim with amazing foreshadowing. Like, the adults really shouldn't be talking about any of this or even hinting it around the kids - that's just a writing tool, right? Well, yes, but, all of the adults know and are either involved or they turn a blind eye, so it's the kind of thing they would want to introduce to the teenagers gradually - Owen and Meera's cryptic conversation about the "only other option." comes to mind. Especially Sam, as Walker undoubtedly wants to recruit Sam to the "business" even at this point, and so they have to start grooming him early.

Kimber. Probably my favorite character, though both her and Kyle are compelling. Kyle's fate may be the saddest part of the story, actually. But the entire journey of Anne's death, about the mysterious suicide note and the lengths Kimber had to get to in order to read it. The way her father slipped and mentioned it within earshot, and then all anyone could do was try to gaslight the kids into believing he never said that and there was no note. The way Kimber knew Prescott was involved but also just knew it wasn't an affair. Like, sure, she probably didn't want to believe Anne would do that, but it was much more than that too. The clues just didn't point in that direction - oh, and don't get me started on Tom Prescott's ravings, by the way...why did they put him in a home outside of Drisking if he's going to be ranting about Borrasca to anyone who talks their way into a visit? But I digress. Nothing made my heart pound more than Kimber's final texts. How she was so unresponsive for so long before just sending back "I found it." Like. She definitely had already read it, and was processing what she had been told. Of course, after being told that the police were coming to find her (complete with her father "objecting" to something with them) all she texts back is "They're here." And that's the last thing she sends, and jesus cartwheeling christ, that is basically proof that the cops kidnapped her but of course, Walker pretends he does not see it.

The foreshadowing is everywhere. There's a scene where Kyle says "She's my...my..." And Sam notes that he "still can't say it." Which, in hindsight...yikes. Like, the story itself stops short of saying what Kimber and Kyle are to each other. Obviously, Kyle meant "girlfriend" and that's what Sam understood. But rereading that moment is another punch in the gut. And so many of the most twisted reveals aren't actually reveals. A lot is left implied. You have to read between the lines and put the puzzle pieces together to figure some of it out. Like how the last baby born in the story is called "William" and then the Shiny Gentleman sings his song one more time. They don't explain what that means. But if you pay attention to the naming rule, then you know who William's father is. Whitney was putting out "shit babies" and Walker said he would "never let her go." He had to be the one behind her being sold to Borrasca, but he was seemingly the only one "visiting" her. I don't know how he arranged it that way but I know he did. They don't even directly confirm what the "Shiny Gentleman" is, if I recall. Oh, and Kyle and Kimber are an incestuous couple but honestly, that is the least of the town's problems and it's probably not a unique situation. They're all unknowingly unrelated, and it's not as though Kimber will be having Kyle's babies, right? Not in this town.

Like. Once you read it over again (or listen to one of the many live readings/podcasts) things become clearer. Jimmy Prescott is initially the worst human being in the story (and don't get me wrong, he's still a monster of immeasurable proportions, I cottoned onto that as soon as Kimber said he was checking her out when she was in fifth grade) but on a second consumption of the story...Graham Walker is the one I want to throw into The Shiny Gentleman, and he's never outwardly wicked the way Prescott and Clery are. He hides his darkness very well until his last scene and even then, he admits to nothing. Based on the scene where he tells Sam that he'll be taking the blame for what happened to Kyle, it reads in two ways. You think to yourself, he's definitely in on it, but on the other hand, maybe he just chugged the koolaid and is believing this town's bullshit over his own son. Until little William is born, and Anne's clue about the naming smacks you in the face. No, he's not just ignorant to the point of being part of the problem, he is so emphatically the problem.

Borrasca is...devastating.

It's horror, to be sure, but it's good horror, and I don't even come out of it scared. I come out devastated. Angry. Feeling hopeless. Because the villains win. The corrupt and wicked institution isn't going anywhere, because why would it? Prescott and Clery let Sam go, because why shouldn't they? The situation is under control no matter what Sam does. The entire town is either part of Borrasca or willing to turn a blind eye to it. Except Kathryn. I honestly believe she didn't know a damn thing and bless her for being a wholesome light in this dark facade of a town. There's nothing to be done except get the hell out of Drisking and never look back. To just try and forget.

P.S: I am aware of the sequel.

I didn't really talk about it here because I have mixed feelings about it. I appreciate the happy ending and god knows Sam and Kimber have earned it, but there were several aspects of the story that I just didn't enjoy. Don't get me wrong, the prose is as well written as ever, but the plot feels like wish fulfillment and without a mystery to drive the story I just wasn't as engaged. I mean, there was kind of a mystery but the answers didn't really click for me. While it's realistic and painful, seeing the way Sam treats Kimber is hard to read. It hurts. These two were best friends, and none of this is her fault. Obviously, she was a victim of Borrasca too. Also, I do not buy that Kimber would have ever trusted Prescott, even if he dangled Kyle's name before her. No way, no how. I don't know why Sam kept using his real name after he escaped, enabling both Kimber and Walker to find him again. I also think it's rather...I don't want to use the word "convenient" but the fact that he was best friends with a hacker...also, why would Borrasca have any records to begin with? Fine, fine, business and all, but why keep them for so long? Prescott talks about destroying all of them, including the backups, and it's like....motherfucker, why don't you do that on a regular basis? Why do you even have backups?

I also feel like the sequel just takes some of the dread out of the air by removing the ambiguity and the lies. Everything that was left implied in the original story is outright confirmed. Walker is shown to be the monster that we know him to be, when he never fully revealed those true colors in the original story. Ultimately, the idea that two people could walk into a criminal empire like this one and topple it so successfully, not to mention that they both survive...it just stretches my suspension of disbelief, especially for a story that has already established itself as gritty and heartless. I'm glad there's a happy ending out there for people who wanted one, and in my own way, I obviously wanted one too, but I remember being both sad and a little relieved that Kyle's years of trauma had taken physical toll on him and that he didn't just immediately embrace Kimber and Sam. Because there needed to be at least one bittersweet aspect to all of this, especially if they were getting Kyle back at all. Something about the way Kimber "reverted to her old self" and was even more than fine with physical affection again after the climax....like, no, that's not how that works, and the original story wouldn't have tried something like that. It's hard to explain but I just couldn't get into it in the same way.

[namorthesubmariner]

"I wanted to suggest specialized and aesthetic advancement and sourcing of aquatic textiles while keeping a clear link to the culture and design of the Maya in the 500 years.” 

Phil Saunders on Talokan concept art for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

[panelshowsource]

[ufonaut]

She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Like my mom was.

Kendra Saunders in JSA: All Stars (2003) #2

[incorrectfabfifteen]

Hello, welcome to Incorrect Fab Fifteen, a blog about all things Silver Age Teen Titans! I've come up with the term Fab Fifteen to broadly refer to all of the members (which I'll explain below) as well as a natural expansion of the Fab Five (plus, it's better than just calling them the OG Teen Titans or the 70s Team).

For DC newcomers, don't be afraid of some of the comic terminology present, they'll make sense with more exposure.

Introducing: The Fab Fifteen!

Dick Grayson

Full name: Richard John "Dick" Grayson

Alter Ego: Robin I, Nightwing, Batman III, Red X

Birthday: March 20th

Love interests: Bette Kane (Pre-Crisis), Princess Koriand'r, Barbara Gordon, Helena Bertinelli (DCYou), Bea Bennett [There's probably more, feel free to send an ask so I can fix this]

Reading recs: The Judas Contract, The Cheshire Contract [collected as Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies], Nightwing Vol 1 by Chuck Dixon, Batman & Robin, The Black Mirror, New 52 Nightwing by Kyle Higgens

Wally West

Full name: Wallace Rudolph "Wally" West

Alter Ego: Kid Flash I, The Flash III

Birthday: January 16

Love interests: Donna Troy (Pre-NTT), Rachel Roth (🤨?), Frances Kane, Linda Park, Jesse Chambers

Reading recs: Born To Run, Savage Velocity, The Flash by William Messner-Loebs and Greg LaRoque, The Flash by Mark Waid, Flash Forward, The Flash by Jeremy Adams (especially The Return of Wally West and One-Minute War)

Donna Troy

Full name: Donna Hinckley Stacy Troy

Alter ego: Wonder Girl, Troia (Who Is Wonder Girl? until Total Chaos; JLA/Titans until Infinite Crisis; No Justice onwards), Darkstar (Zero Hour until Meltdown), Wonder Woman IV (Who Is Wonder Woman?)

Birthday: April 26

Love interests (oh boy): Dick Grayson (FORMERLY), Wally West (only during the Silver Age + some weird thing during DC Rebirth), Garth (Titans 2018 + Titans United), Roy Harper, Kyle Rayner

Reading recs: Who Is Wonder Girl? [Collected in The New Teen Titans Who is Donna Troy?], Wonder Woman By John Byrne Vol. 3, The Return of Donna Troy, Wonder Woman: Who is Wonder Woman?, Titans: The Spark and Into The Bleed

Garth

Full name: Prince Garth of Shayeris

Alter ego: Aqualad (also legal name until Crisis), Tempest

Birthday: March 6

Love interests: Donna Troy, Tula Marinus, Dolphin, Lilith Clay (temporary)

Reading recs: World's Finest: Teen Titans, Death of a Prince, Tempest by Phil Jimenez, Aquaman by Peter David, JLA: The Obsidian Age, Aquaman: Underworld

Roy Harper

Full name: Roy William Harper Jr.

Alter ego: Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow

Birthday: November 1

Love interests: Donna Troy, Jade Nguyen, Kendra Saunders

Reading recs: Snowbirds Don't Fly, The Cheshire Contract [Collected as Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies], Arsenal by Devin Grayson, Outsiders 2003, Justice League of America 2007, Infinite Frontier, Green Arrow 2023

Lilith Clay

Full name: Lilith Jupiter-Clay

Alter ego: Omen

Birthday: Not stated but her debut was November 18

Love interests: Gnarrk, Donald Hall, Garth, Bette Kane

Reading recs: The Terror of Trigon, Teen Titans by Dan Jurgens, Teen Titans: Life and Death, Titans Hunt (2015), Titans Rebirth

Mal Duncan

Full name: Malcolm Arnold "Mal" Duncan

Alter ego: Guardian (Pre-Crisis), Hornblower, Herald (Post-Crisis), Vox (Infinite Crisis until Flashpoint)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Karen Beecher

Reading recs: Silver Age Teen Titans, Titans Hunt, Titans Rebirth, The Other History of the DC Universe #2

Fun fact: Mal Duncan was featured in the first interracial kiss in comics history with a goodbye kiss between him and Lilith!

Karen Beecher

Full name: Karen Beecher-Duncan

Alter ego: Bumblebee

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Mal Duncan

Reading recs: Silver Age Teen Titans, Titans Hunt, Titans Rebirth, The Other History of the DC Universe #2, Doom Patrol by Keith Giffen

Don Hall

Full name: Donald Hall

Alter ego: Dove

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Lilith Clay

Reading recs: The Hawk & The Dove, Silver Age Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths

Hank Hall

Full name: Henry "Hank" Hall

Alter ego: Hawk, Monarch (Armageddon 2001), Extant (Zero Hour until JSA)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Dawn Granger, Ren Takamori

Reading recs: The Hawk and The Dove, Hawk and Dove: Ghosts & Demons, Hawk and Dove (1989), Birds of Prey (2010)

Dawn Granger

Full name: Dawn Marie Granger

Alter ego: Dove

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Hank Hall, Sal Arsala

Reading recs: Hawk and Dove: Ghosts & Demons, Hawk and Dove (1989), Birds of Prey (2010)

Duela Dent

Full name: Duela Dent

Alter ego: Joker's/Riddler's/Penguin's Daughter, Card Queen, Harlequin

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Earth-1 Dick Grayson, Earth-3 Dick Grayson

Reading recs: Silver Age Teen Titans, Teen Titans: Titans East

Bette Kane

Full name: Mary Elizabeth "Bette" Kane

Alter ego: Batgirl (Pre-Crisis), Flamebird (Post-Crisis, current mantle), Hawkfire (N52 Batwoman only)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Dick Grayson (Pre-Crisis)

Reading recs: Teen Titans Vol 1 #50-53, Hawk and Dove Vol 3 Annual 1, Beast Boy (2000), DC's Legion of Bloom

Charley Parker

Full name: Charles Edmund "Charley" Parker (human name); Ch'al Andar (Thanagarian name)

Alter ego: Golden Eagle, Hawkman IV (Rise of the Golden Eagle)

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Kendra Saunders (I think?)

Reading recs: Hawkman: Rise of the Golden Eagle,

Tula

Full name: Tula Marinus

Alter ego: Aquagirl

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Garth

Reading recs: Tempest by Phil Jimenez, New 52 Aquaman, Mera: Queen of Atlantus, Aquaman by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Aquamen

So a special note: despite Beast Boy being a part of the Titans West (as well as appearing in the above photograph), they do not count as part of the Fab Fifteen, mainly because he's already part of the New Teen Titans. Also note that this acc won't be using the New 52 version of Duela Dent (although the Gotham Knights version is fine so feel free to send in any hcs about her)

Also you maybe be asking why Gnarrk's entry is below instead of with everybody else. That's because Gnarrk was never a Titan in the first place. Sure, he appeared as part of the title and was there when the Titans West was formed but he never actually joined the team at all. Gnarrk becoming a Titan became a thing when he was introduced following the New 52.

Gnarrk

Full name: Unknown

Alter ego: Caveboy

Birthday: Not stated

Love interests: Lilith Clay

Reading recs: Titans Hunt (2015), Titans Rebirth

Uhh, yeah, so that's the Fab Fifteen! Again, don't worry about this technical jargon if you're a newcomer and you just wanna look at the other posts, we're all here to have fun.

[wolverineholic]

Weapon X & AoA Wolverine designed by Phil Saunders for Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

[gebo4482]

Black Panther Wakanda Forever by Phil Saunders

[nickfuryagentofsword]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) by Phil Saunders

MCU

[alphacomicsvol2]

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Ironheart vs Namora Keyframe by Phil Saunders

[kemetic-dreams]

House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970's disco. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s, and as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat

House was created and pioneered by DJs and producers in Chicago such as Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, Jesse Saunders, Chip E., Joe Smooth, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, Marshall Jefferson, Phuture, and others. House music initially expanded internationally, to London, then to other American cities, such as New York City, and ultimately a worldwide phenomenon.

In its most typical form, the genre is characterized by repetitive 4/4rhythms including bass drums, off-beat hi-hats, snare drums, claps, and/or snaps at a tempo of between 120 and 130 beats per minute (bpm); synthesizerriffs; deep basslines; and often, but not necessarily, sung, spoken or sampled vocals. In house, the bass drum is usually sounded on beats one, two, three, and four, and the snare drum, claps, or other higher-pitched percussion on beats two and four. The drum beats in house music are almost always provided by an electronic drum machine, often a Roland TR-808, TR-909, or a TR-707. Claps, shakers, snare drum, or hi-hat sounds are used to add syncopation. One of the signature rhythm riffs, especially in early Chicago house, is built on the clave pattern. Congas and bongos may be added for an African sound, or metallic percussion for a Latin feel

One book from 2009 states the name "house music" originated from a Chicago club called the Warehouse that was open from 1977 to 1982. Clubbers to the Warehouse were primarily African, gay men, who came to dance to music played by the club's resident DJ, Frankie Knuckles, who fans refer to as the "godfather of house". Frankie began the trend of splicing together different records when he found that the records he had were not long enough to satisfy his audience of dancers. After the Warehouse closed in 1983, eventually the crowds went to Knuckles' new club, The Power House, later to be called The Power Plant, and the club was renamed, yet again, into Music Box with Ron Hardy as the resident DJ. The 1986 documentary, "House Music in Chicago", by filmmaker, Phil Ranstrom, captured opening night at The Power House, and stands as the only film or video to capture a young Frankie Knuckles in this early era, right after his departure from The Warehouse. 

In the Channel 4 documentary Pump Up the Volume, Knuckles remarks that the first time he heard the term "house music" was upon seeing "we play house music" on a sign in the window of a bar on Chicago's South Side. One of the people in the car joked, "you know that's the kind of music you play down at the Warehouse!" In self-published statements, South-Side Chicago DJ Leonard "Remix" Rroy claimed he put such a sign in a tavern window because it was where he played music that one might find in one's home; in his case, it referred to his mother's soul and disco records, which he worked into his sets