#ROM Vol. 1

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

EARTH-BOUND MASSACRE IMMINENT -- THE SPACE DEMONS HAVE LANDED.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on the Dire Wraiths, space-faring demons from Wraithworld on a mission of catastrophic conquest of planet Earth, opening splash page, subsequent double splash page, and the following two pages, from "ROM" Vol. 1 #49. December, 1983. Marvel Comics.

"The wind howls in the high hollows this night, almost drowning out the hissing of the horrors that prepare to descend from the West Virginia hills. They are Dire Wraiths -- aliens -- demons from distant space driven in defeat to our shimmering planet. Their goal: conquest. Hunted here by ROM -- greatest of the spaceknights -- these sorcerous shape-shifters have determined to make their stand. And tonight, Clairton, West Virginia, ROM's adopted home -- shall share Wraithkind's revenge against the silver spaceknight!"

-- "ROM" Vol. 1 #49 (December 1983)

Story/script by Bill Mantlo

Artwork by Sal Buscema

Inks by Akin & Garvey

Colors by Ben Sean

Letters by Janice Chiang

Source: https://viewcomiconline.com/rom-49.

[kelaeri]

"Nightwing isn't *really* Romani. It was only mentioned in one or two issues and then basically never again." ... Seriously?

I can only imagine this kind of statement comes from people who don't actually read Nightwing comics. But for all the deniers out there...

Nightwing (Vol. 2) Annual #1 (1997)

The Titans #16 (2000)

Batman: Gotham Knights #20-21 (2001)

Nightwing (Vol. 2) #91 & #100 (2004)

Batman & Robin (Vol. 1) #9 (2010)*

Secret Origins (Vol. 4) #8 (2014)

Nightwing (Vol. 4) #8 (2016)**

Nightwing (Vol. 4) #82 (2021)

Friendly reminder that Romani people-- not to mention mixed Romani-- can have a huge range of skin tones, including light or 'white-passing' as we so often see with Dick. His father was alluded to being of Italian-Romani descent in Post-Crisis and New 52, and his mother was stated to be a French-Romani immigrant in Rebirth. It's unclear whether his father being Rom is still canon with the whole Gray Son of Gotham thing, but it's entirely possible it is, leaving the safe assumption that Dick is somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 Romani.

*His "barely decipherable accent" could simply be due to the fact Dick was raised surrounded by many people with all kinds of accents so he didn't learn a definitive one (think not Gothamite, Midwestern, etc. but a blend) or this could be Grant Morrison attempting a nod at his Roma heritage without really considering Dick did, in fact, grow up speaking fluent English rather than purely a Romani dialect which wouldn't be surprising considering their writing of other minority characters (*cough* Talia).

**The Cirque Romanès is a real French-Romani circus Mary Grayson and Raptor were canonically part of. For extra clarity, however, Tim Seeley confirmed on Twitter that Mary is indeed Romani.

[vertigoartgore]

1984's ROM (Spaceknight) Vol.1 #53 cover by artist Bill Sienkiewicz (the published version with Purple Man/Zebediah Killgrave and the first unused one with the eyes collage). Source

[animenostalgia]

Big news out of Anime NYC - Studio PEOW2 has announced they have licensed Hisashi Eguchi's 80s Shonen Jump trans rom-com Stop!! Hibari-Kun! manga for an English release! This will be the indie comic's first major manga release, which they're aiming to start releasing with vol 1 in the fall of 2025.

[ansbobcar]

“I’ll be frank.” “Either you have me act as your girlfriend or you’re gonna meet that teenager in a week and pray that she cheats on you down the line so the engagement gets cancelled.”

SYNOPSIS. Orter Madl's month has been nothing but blind dates inhibiting his work at the Magical Power Administration. All set up by his parents. He's suggested into a relationship of convenience by the woman who occupied his position previously, Rinka Ontarin, in order to solve his problem. Reluctantly accepting the proposal, they must now convince the whole kingdom of their romance whilst fulfilling their duties as Divine Visionaries. More questions arise than answers though as the strings are slowly unraveled.

NOTES. Inspired by business proposal the kdrama, title taken from dreamcatcher's starlight, lots of world-building headcanons, we're following the plot of mashle but it's more obvious later on, also in the same universe as my LOSER=LOVER fic with my other mashle oc, no love triangle, nvm i added a love 'triangle' but that's if you really squint your eyes, NVM IT'S GONNA BECOME CANON ADJACENT???

WARNINGS. Cringe rom-com (let's have fun shall we?), they're kinda ooc sometimes, possible descriptions of death and blood, off screen character deaths with lots of plot importance :>, slow burn in terms of plot and romance, planned bittersweet/sad ending, OH and random swearing?, I'm still writing it so please don't ask me about an update schedule.

_ _ _

EPISODES.

VOL 1 COMPLETED!

EP 1. Drink your problems away!

EP 2. Hangover and find out

EP 3. Day One

EP 4. A small problem

EP 5. The words of a "pacifist"

EP 6. Bloody Dress

EP 7. Resonance

EP 8. Business as Usual

EP 9. Run along

EP 10. Fleeting moments

EP 11. What a lovely night

EP 12. A Mother's Wish

EP 13. Was it really "love at first sight"?

EP 14. Can't it just be a fight?

EP 15. Remember your brother

EP 16. A letter of concern

EP 17. The letter from Miley

EP 18. The Researcher, the Rulemaker, and the Tamer

EP 19. A trip and a chat away

EP 20. The Madl Estate

EP 21. From hell with pettiness

EP 22. Evermore like snow

EP 23. What is there to smile for?

EP 24. We're already...

_ _ _

VOL 2 will be published after I finish my other mashle fic's VOL 1 (they're both set in the same universe, that's why and are kinda interconnected yet separate. It's so I don't mess up the timeline really bad.)

Let's have fun! and pray I don't ghost this fic. I wanna change the fic title so hard but I dunno what to name it. So currently it stays because I want to share.

UPDATE I'm rewriting it slowly on AO3 as ALL OR NOTHING instead

[dynared]

Well, Year Two of the Energon Universe is in the books with the Free Comic Book Day Special, and with the spoiled appearance of Matt Trakker of M.A.S.K., albeit not looking identical to Duke anymore, it's once again time to check on the other Hasbro properties and see if any of them are viable to also enter the Energon Universe, especially with a fourth slot for the books open, since Robert Kirkman was adamant that they would not publish more than four books at a time.

Well M.A.S.K. is set, but whether they get their own book or not is a question mark. Ever since Hasbro bought the property, they have had a loose connection to G.I. Joe as separate but allied organizations, culminating in a Matt Trakker figure being released under the Joe branding.

They could easily fill the role of a private organization studying the Cybertronians, or even what the Bay movies tried and failed to do with the Order of the Wittwicians, having a group aware of the Transformers and dealing with them in secret.

ROM and the Micronauts: When it first appeared that Marvel was going to be reprinting the ROM and Micronauts stories, there were some assumptions Hasbro had given up on trying to make stories about the characters independent of Marvel. Two years later, while ROM Vol 1 is the bestselling Marvel omnibus of all time, there has been no word on trying to make a new ROM or new Micronauts story. They could potentially return to the Energon Universe but would face the same problem they did in their atrocious IDW comics, trying to rebuild the mythology of the Spaceknights and Inner Space from scratch, and not being able to use any of the characters Marvel had came up with, although Marvel’s attempt to use them without the Micronauts resulted in Quantumania, aka the moment where the public opinion of the MCU started to shift considerably more sour than at any point prior. They may be available, but it may be an incompatible mixture. I don’t suppose Marvel is interested in them again, are they?

Action Man - Originally the branding for European releases of the original G.I. Joe figures licensed by Hasbro to British company Palitoy, Action Man was eventually turned into a do-it-all super spy when Hasbro directly bought the rights to the franchise, both as a competitor to Mattel’s Max Steel toyline and TV show (which also was about an extreme athlete turned spy. No word on whether or not the XXX franchise also took inspiration). A spy character could work as a supporting character for another book, but the last time Hasbro tried to do an Action Man comic, it died in four issues, leading Hasbro to awkwardly shove him into the critically panned low selling Revolutionaries comic. He may just not be worth the hassle to be his own star, but can work better as a supporting role.

The Visionaries - While it was originally believed that after the failure of Transformers vs Visionaries that the Knights of the Magical Light would be shoved into a corner to be forgotten, they get namedropped in Void Rivals. Furthermore, unlike the IDW versions, Hot Rod appears to have a rather favorable opinion of them, speaking fondly about a “Prysmodian wedding” (Prysmos being the planet where Visionaries takes place). They could easily be the focus of a Void Rivals arc where our heroes (depending on who you follow the book for, that’s either Darak or Solia, the titular Void Rivals, or Hot Rod and Springer, who seem to be on half the covers to boost sales) visit the planet while the magical war is going on. But getting their own series might be tougher.

Hell, so far that seems to be the issue with a lot of the non-Joe/TF franchises that could theoretically be in the Energon Universe. They would be potential interesting additions to the stories of G.I. Joe and the Transformers, but are far less likely to carry their own books. That leaves one Hasbro property, one that IDW adored even when it sold like crap. One Hasbro seems to have declared radioactive.

Jem and the Holograms.

Yes, Jem.

https://youtu.be/m6G_o1MYECg?si=ekg9_H_lVSs5xB8V

The theme song may say Jem is truly outrageous, but after the legendary failure of the Jem movie (less than $2 million profit on a paltry $5 million budget) and the comics from IDW selling the worst out of all of the Hasbro licenses, Hasbro tends to think she’s truly radioactive.

She has been mentioned ONCE during the Energon Universe’s run, in a letters page in the Cobra Commander miniseries from writer Joshua Williamson.

You know, there might be something to this. But it would be a radical departure from Jem as was done in IDW and might just piss off just about everybody.

What if Jem was a Dreadnok, or at the least, a member of Cobra? Someone whose family went into a cause that she could care less about when she just wants to sing? Only now she’s potentially armed with Cobra technology which she can use to start her music career, including a computer that will allow her to assume a disguise so no one know who she is.

The only problem is that she’s still a homicidal Dreadnok, one not afraid to kill anyone who starts with her. Think Hannah Montana meets Dexter.

If that’s too radical a departure for Jem, the alternative is Jem being someone who is trying to start a career, only to run smack dab into the insanity that is the Energon Universe. Cobra saboteurs because someone thinks a band called Cold Slither is good PR. Alien technology and robots interested in music. Black market tech and battles when she just wants to sing.

It would potentially be the most radically different of all the EU books no matter what route you chose, but a slice of life/music story in the same universe as all the shooting and robot wrasslin could potentially open up a lot of possibilities as to how the world has changed. The question remains is if Jem could attract an audience. A similar issue occurred with DC’s attempts to make Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld a thing and how DC could not find a market for her, because she was a character that was meant to appeal to young girls, constantly given to people and put in stories that wanted nothing to do with young girls, resulting in what can best be described as Tryhard horror stories that appealed to no one.

So two years later, it seems we have a lot of supporting characters, but no one who could lead a fourth book. Don’t suppose anyone at Skybound wants to write a Shinkalion comic, do they?

[nerdsleaze]

SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES NEW MANGA AND ART BOOK RELEASES FOR SPRING 2025 😍

English Translated Editions of New Manga Titles, The Apothecary Diaries Art Book, and FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Poster Collection Available for Pre-order Starting July 6

SQUARE ENIX® has announced seven (7) new manga series for English-language publication from the Square Enix Manga & Books imprints in Spring 2025. The hotly anticipated The Apothecary Diaries Art Book and the FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Poster Collection were also announced for release in 2025.

The Otaku Love Connection, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

A hilarious slice-of-life rom-com about one high school's gorgeous power couple and the romance otaku who stan them! Life has its simple joys, and for geeky fanboy Wataru Otonari, that’s admiring his gorgeous classmate Yuzuru Kakoi and her equally gorgeous boyfriend, Chihiro Kawai. As Wataru encounters other students who stan his favs just as much as he does, every day turns into a rollercoaster of emotions for this obliviously beautiful boy failure!

Wash It All Away, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

With an endearing protagonist and luscious art, this seaside slice-of-life story offers tranquility in the chaos of the modern world. For two years, Wakana Kinme has run a laundry service in the seaside resort town of Atami, where she’s built a fulfilling life making friends with the locals and visiting hot springs. Although Wakana has no knowledge of her own past, her cleaning services safeguard memories imbued in customers' precious items.

The Emperor’s Caretaker, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

A statesman's daughter finds herself swept into the world of palace intrigue when she's chosen to be a court lady in this richly illustrated period fantasy! Linhua, daughter of the Chancellor of the Right, is as gifted with caring for children as she is at playing the ehru. Her talents catch the eye of Souren, the highest-ranking regent, and suddenly Linhua is swept into the vibrant world of the inner palace as a new court lady—and the young emperor's personal caretaker!

Assassin & Cinderella, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

A sexy spy and an elite assassin enter into the world’s sweetest, deadliest marriage of convenience! Neneko is a spy blessed with catlike charms. Her mission? Seduce the ace assassin of a rival organization and expose his weaknesses. The problem? She’s blown her cover before learning a thing! But rather than dispose of her, the target makes an indecent proposal: marry him, since he can’t keep his hands off her body!

The God-Slaying Demon King, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

The strongest demon king in history returns from the dead and embarks on a grand adventure to find the god of all demons...and kill him! When demon king Hiram defied the demon god, resulting in divine punishment, he cast a spell that would reincarnate him years later with all his powers intact. With his life restored, Hiram begins a grand adventure to find the demon god and kill him once and for all!

On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

A lolita boy and a punk girl form a fashion-forward bond without realizing they already know each other from work! Outside the office, coworkers Sotaro Amata and Akira Hanku don outfits that metamorphose them into completely different people. So what happens when they form a connection after hours…without recognizing who the other person is?

Love in the Palm of His Hand, Vol. 1 (English Edition)

Through sign language and acting, two young men seeking their places in the world discover a connection that transcends the spoken word. Fujinaga is a university student who dreams of becoming an actor. When he meets Keito, a fellow student with congenital hearing loss, he’s introduced to the world of sign language. In a place beyond verbal limitations, can two people yearning to be understood forge a bond they never expected?

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH Poster Collection  (English Edition)

A collection of 32 premium-quality removable posters featuring the stunning character art of FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH. Printed on heavy, press-varnished card stock, this compilation of frameable, full-color art prints showcases artwork of Cloud, his comrades, and other unforgettable characters encountered in this thrilling installment of the FINAL FANTASY VII remake project.

The Apothecary Diaries Art Book (English Edition)

Experience all the gorgeous art from the first fourteen volumes of the best-selling The Apothecary Diaries light novel series, which inspired the hit manga and anime! This jacketed, hardcover volume includes more than 300 lavish pieces of art from light novel illustrator Touko Shino, as well as previously unpublished character designs, promotional and exclusive art, and an interview with the artist.

You can get more information on the releases by visiting nerdsleaze.com. I honestly want them all 💘

[posthumanwanderings]

Sega Saturn Sampler Stream 2

0:00 Pre-Stream Jams (Tengai Makyou: The Apocalypse IV) 6:20 Cleaning Kit for Sega Saturn 8:15 Develo Magazine Appendix CD-ROM for Sega Saturn 22:20 Dragon Master Silk 35:00 Flash Sega Saturn Vol.2 54:55 DecAthlete 1:26:40 Dead or Alive 3:05:00 Cyber Troopers Virtual-On for Seganet 3:15:50 GameWare Vol.2 4:45:05 Soul Hackers: Digital Devil Saga 5:47:15 Saturn Super Vol.1 6:16:00 Techno Motor 7:04:55 SegaSaturn Internet Vol.1 7:09:30 Sega Saturn Choice Cuts 7:32:00 VIRUS: Hybrid Adventure 7:57:15 Tenchi Muyou! Rensa Hitsuyou 8:22:05 Ginga Ojousama Densetsu Yuna: Mika Akitaka Illust Works 9:00:00 Flash Sega Saturn Vol.31

[y2klostandfound]

Review - Jet Set Radio Future on Evolution Magazine Vol.3 (Videogame Magazine) (Italy, 2002)

Translation in English:

(Page 54-55)

DISTRIBUTION - INFOGRAMES

GENRE: ACTION PLAYERS: 1-4 MANUFACTURER: SEGA DEVELOPER: SMILEBIT FORMAT:XBOX MEDIA: DVD-ROM

The concept of love, roller skates and a can of spray paint...

Almost two years ago, Jet Set Radio for the Dreamcast revolutionized the concept of modern video games. It wasn't a sequel, it wasn't a third-person adventure, it couldn't benefit from a character of attraction like Sonic but, despite everything, we were facing a great game. To tell the truth, it wasn't even easy to classify it in a precise genre; Jet Set Radio was an action game, but it had one feature that was increasingly difficult to find in this industry; the originality. Too bad that for most everything has gone unnoticed for the simple fact of running on Dreamcast. Fortunately, the European launch of the Xbox has resurrected a franchise deserving of the attention of the mass (yes: I said mass) of gamers.

The scenario of the action is a futuristic Tokyo of 2024, in which we will dart around with our "fireblade" model skates at high speed, drawing graffiti on the walls and performing acrobatic evolutions on all plausible and "grindable" surfaces. The aim of the mission, in the role of the young skater Yoyo, will be to recruit new members for our gang (after having regularly defeated them) and fight the terrible Rokkaku, a corporation that keeps the city on fire and acts with the complicity of the police local. This will chase us with any means, including tanks and helicopters! The whole adventure will be narrated by Professor K, a rebel DJ at the head of the transgressive private radio Jet Set. After passing the tutorial, disguised as the first level of the game, and having made the acquaintance of Gum and Corn (already present in the Dreamcast version ) we will be ready to dive into the most eclectic and fun challenge of our new career as writers: painting the walls of the city! And it's a real blast running around Tokyo, especially thanks to the beauty of the levels, some of which are truly jaw-dropping. Local traffic, crows perched on the roofs of houses, people in modern clothes who run away when they see us, everything has been created with particular attention to the refinement of detail. Unlike the first episode, in which the graffiti was created through complex rotations of the analog stick, now it is sufficient to press the R key (or the X and Y keys if you are in the air); understandable choice, if you take into account the fact that most of the graffiti you will have to do during the race. Jet Set Radio Future, in fact, is faster and more adrenaline-pumping than the prequel, and the emphasis was placed by Smilebit more on the stunts to be performed with skates than on the drawing of the graffiti. Precisely for this reason, to try to reach the most hidden areas to paint, we will have to learn how best to exploit the livery of our skates to slide (grind) on the most unusual surfaces (telephone wires, railings, stairs and lamp posts) and increase the thrust of our jumps. Furthermore, after collecting ten cans of spray paint, we will be able to activate the turbo boost, useful for having a greater thrust during the stunt phase. This effect is emphasized by the Xbox hardware through a spectacular screen deformation, which lets the gamer's jaw sink a few feet.

If all this were not enough, know that by continuing in the missions we will be able to select new characters, each with their own personal characteristics, from a rich roster that includes twenty-one skaters. JSRF is not only great playability: the originality and immediacy of the gameplay are accompanied by an equally valid technical realization. Graphically, Jet Set is one of the best titles to appear on Xbox so far, if not the best. The three-dimensional engine behind the Sega production is entirely in cel shading: although the environment is entirely polygonal, the less trained eye has the impression of watching and playing a real cartoon. The large number of moving objects on the screen at the same time immediately catches the eye; but the much-discussed slowdowns are very few and, certainly, not such as to negatively affect the gameplay.

The richness of details is astonishing: not only will you be "inundated" by polygons wherever you turn, but also the variety and resolution of the textures are incredible. The whole game is full of touches of class: lighting effects, lens flare used at best, stylistic traits designed to give greater dynamism and speed to the evolution of the characters, very vast and decidedly "alive" environments. And all of this shoots at an almost constant 60fps! Fortunately, Xbox Pai owners weren't penalized by the conversion: JSRF makes use of the 60 hertz mode, the image is full screen, without annoying black bars, and all the dialogues have been subtitled in Italian.

The audio part is no less impressive, with a soundtrack that mixes songs from the Japan and U.S.A versions of Jet Set Radio and adds new ones. The opening track made by Hideki Naganuma (The Concept Of Love) is already an editorial catchphrase, and we wouldn't be surprised if you started humming it habitually, too. If you own a Hi-Fi system with Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding, be sure to plug in Xbox and savor the sweet panning of Jet Set Radio Future. If you do not yet own it, you may be satisfied with the more classic stereo mode.

“...the originality and immediacy of the gameplay are accompanied by an equally valid technical realization.”

Some elements of the three-dimensional environments can be destroyed.

The characters are made up of polygons in Cel Shading and animated in a fluid way.

(Page 56)

THREE CHEERFUL GUYS OUT OF THEIR MINDS

JET SET RADIO FUTURE SOUNDTRACK

The Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack includes a tracklist created by artists from the American hip hop scene. The Latch Brothers, a group formed by three nice composers (Mike D, Tick and Wag), wrote and composed five tracks of the soundtrack of the title Smilebit. The chosen style varies from rock to hip hop, passing through electronic music that gives the title a greater futuristic atmosphere. In addition, the Latch Brothers have remixed the songs from the prequel (which we recall were played by the likes of Bran Van 3000, The Prunes and BS 2000), resulting in an almost unprecedented musical accompaniment. To top it all off, there are some "extended versions" by other musicians on the defunct Grand Royal label: Bis, Cibo Matto, Scapegoat Wax and Russel Simins. WaveMaster's Hideki has also left his mark on the Xbox version of JSR: by him the opening track "The Concept Of Love". A track that has already entered the Evolution charts ...

The Latch Brothers discuss with Smilebit the possibility of composing some tracks of the Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack.

After an elaborate discussion, the proposal is accepted! In exchange for three copies of the game, the Latch Brothers will produce five unreleased tracks and the remix of those from the last edition. Of course, the final compensation was quite different....

(Page 57)

On the longevity side, Jet Set Radio has some ups and downs: although finishing the game the first time will not engage you for more than 10-15 hours in total, the Sega title is not the classic product that, once completed, you abandon altogether. In addition to the aforementioned characters to unlock, we will have the opportunity to "learn" new graffiti as well as to create new and customized ones. In this way, we will be able to unleash our artistic talent and daub virtual walls with only the limit of our creativity. In addition, multiplayer ensures (if you have friends to play with) a good number of additional hours of gameplay. There are five modes available, supporting up to four players: City Rush, a real speed race; Tagger's Tag, in which the goal is to "tag" your opponent first with spray paint; Graffiti Wars, the "graffiti war," in fact, where the winner will be the player who manages to cover as many walls as possible with their graffiti (you can even draw over each other's graffiti), Flag, a nice variation of the "capture the flag" seen in titles with pronounced shoot-em-up ambitions, and, finally, Ball Hog, a race through the chosen level in the company of a ball that we won't have to let get out of our hands.

The latter mode is even more fun when played "cooperatively" together with a partner to whom you can pass the sphere!

Looking for flaws in a title like Jet Set Radio Future leads one to first analyze the framing system: often, in fact, the virtual camera, in the grip of the speed at which your "skater" travels, tends to lose sight of the centrality of the scene. Other times you will have to move on very narrow surfaces, and, at times, the too-close view will be the cause of easy and deleterious falls. Although in the long run this slight flaw can be frustrating, it will be possible, at any point in the game, to bring the virtual camera view back perfectly behind our backs by simply squeezing the left trigger of the pad (somewhat as happens in Capcom's Maximo). It is actually likely that you will still make it through all the levels without too much trouble.

The difficulty, on the other hand, could and should have been calibrated in a more thoughtful way: overall, Jet Set Radio Future is quite simple to complete and, in some points, it is boring having to repeat the same situation too many times; just think of the fight with the boss of the last level: to get to the platform where he awaits you and to be able to face him, we could take more time than the actual fight requires. Also, the streamlined nature of the graffiti certainly doesn't add to the hostility of the missions. In any case, these are minor flaws, which in no way affect Jet Set Radio Future as a must for anyone with an Xbox and looking for a fast-paced and fun game, but also exceptional to watch and... to listen to! And if you loved the prequel on Dreamcast, you really can't miss it: JSRF is worth at least double its parent! - Ornella Lepre 

“... the Sega title is not the classic product that, once completed, is completely abandoned.”

This is the amazing screen warping effect you will witness when you activate the turbo charge

The dialogues are all subtitled in Italian and help to better understand the story.

CONTROL BOX - XBOX

PLUS:

- Breathtaking graphics that are smooth and full of classy touches - Original and funny - Excellent Pal conversion - Numerous multiplayer modes

MINUS:

- Framing system not always perfect - Simplified graffiti system - Long-lived but not infinite

GRAPHICS - 9

PLAYABILITY - 9

LONGEVITY - 7

SOUND - 8

GLOBAL - 8

An original title, fun to play, beautiful to look at and full of touches of class. A must for new Xbox owners

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

A FORTY-YEAR-OLD ISSUE THIS MONTH -- THE BLOOD RUNS RED ON EARTH.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on cover art & opening splash/title page to "ROM" Spaceknight Vol. 1 #49. December, 1983. Marvel Comics. Cover Art by Al Milgrom.

""Massacre!" Death comes to Rom's closest friends when he returns to Clairton, West Virginia! And his energy analyzer is useless against the new breed of Dire Wraiths! You must not miss the dramatic developments whihc lead up to next month's double-sized, fiftieth anniversary issue!"

-- MARVEL COMICS, c. winter 1983

Story/script by Bill Mantlo

Pencils by Sal Buscema

Inks by Ian Akin & Brian Garvey

Colors by Ben Sean

Letters by Janice

Source: https://viewcomiconline.com/rom-49.

[ellena-asg]

I'm a curious animal and gooosh one scene in the Pilot kept eating me, so I finally decided to do some detective work.

So, there is this moment when Steve comes to Danny's motel room and he starts looking around

and he sees this:

Photo of Gracie. Gun. Money. Newspaper. Phone. Badge. Yeah. And on the other table... A BOOK.

This moment in the show is just after the garage scene so I wondered "Hmmm what this book is about?". I needed to know what Danny was reading when Steve came to him. I needed to know what Danny started reading after he met Steve in the garage, after Steve called governor and pissed Danny off.

I hoped it's some kind of "How to interact with difficult people, Vol 1: Irritating sassy commanders and how to tame one of them" 😉

I also thought that maybe it's some romance book (cause I was sure that I saw a kissing couple on the cover). I know that romance genre isn't Danny's cup of tea (oh, he was so bitter about that rom-com they watched in the cinema) but, huh, he just met a person that made him romantic, for the first time in his life he met someone that gave him butterflies feels (#feels everywhere) and he's like 🎶Heaven, I'm in heaven and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak🎶 Besides, sometimes harlequins are like "How to tame an irritating sassy officer" so 😉

So, the book title is very blurry but I could see some letters and thanks to my brother's help 💐 I figured out the rest (also, I found photo of this book).

(gosh, my brother's face when he was watching that motel scene 😂 he's, huh, allergic to romantic scenes of all kinds but in McDanno case he was like "wow, that one is powerful, that one is interesting to watch")

It's Sirchie catalog.

Info from their site: "Sirchie manufactures high quality forensic science and crime scene investigation products and customized special purpose vehicles and provides hands-on training for the law enforcement community around the globe".

So, when Steve pissed Danny off, Danny started reading about cop stuff.

Maybe it's because Danny's job is also his hobby and it allows him to relax and escape from problems (Hollander family before and, huh, now, in some way: Mr 'Now It's My Crime Scene' Commander. Okay, Steve/"problem" is part of this job but you know what I mean, right? 😉).

Or maybe Danny was so pissed off that when he was reading that catalog he was like "How to murder an irritating sassy commander... No, no, no, Williams, you can't. But geez, that schmuck pissed me off, he... Hmm, maybe new detective toys will cheer me up? Let's see...".

And then *knock knock*. Danny opens the door and... Ta-da! *Mr Schmuck says hello* 😂

[vertigoartgore]

1984's Marvel Age Vol.1 #23 cover by cover artist Bill Sienkiewicz (featuring his redesign of the Dire Wraiths ; Sienkiewicz also did a bunch of covers at the same period for the ROM Spaceknight series).

[lamentationsofalonelypotato]

2024 Reading Wrap Up!

Total: 37

Most Read Trope: Grumpy Vs. Sunshine

Favorite Books:

Seven Year Slip By Ashley Poston: A wonderful romp with a magical apartment, a main character who feels lost and a love interest who can COOK! This was the first book that I'd ever read by Ashley Poston and it is my favorite one of hers. The idea was interesting and the main character's growth from beginning to end was lovely. Not to mention the main character loves watercolor painting and I do too 🤗

Lost And Lassoed By Lyla Sage: An enemies to lovers/ grumpy vs sunshine between a woman who loves fashion and feels like everyone else is moving on and grumpy older single dad cowboy who loves and cares about his daughter and his family.- I'm also not going to lie, Lyla Sage writes a whole series in this "universe" and this is her third book. I have been WAITING for her to write this couple since the first book. It was worth the wait. Plus grumpy vs. sunshine has me in a chokehold...

The Paradise Problem By Christina Lauren: A fake dating (fake married) romance where the main character is whisked away to paradise to a destination wedding only to find out that her fake husband's family isn't as welcoming as they seem. This was the first book I've ever read from Christina Lauren (it's a two author team!) and I loved it! I'm hoping to read more for them this year.

Bride By Ali Hazelwood: A vampire and an alpha werewolf are forced to marry for an alliance, but it turns out that it's not as bad as they think. This one was really good. I've read books by her in the past, but this one is my favorite. This one reminded me of all the paranormal romances I read when I was a teenager and it was nostalgic in the best way!

Favorite Re-read:

The Outsiders By S.E Hinton: Told by a 14 year old boy living in 1965 from a poor family who experiences the tension between the Greasers and the Socs in his hometown. I read this book at least once a year and I am still on the look out for a 1965 love story between a soc and a greaser that's a book. 😊

Favorite Emily Henry Book:

Beach Read: A lovely enemies to lovers and of course grumpy vs. sunshine between two writers who challenge each other to write a book outside of their genre over a summer and who promise not to fall in love with one another. I really love this one, because it's a little abnormal. Not abnormal, as in weird, but abnormal in the way that Emily Henry fits little pieces into this story that make it more than just an uplifting rom-com. It's real and sometimes a little raw, but it's wonderful. All of her books are wonderful!

Book Written With the Prettiest Style:

The Secret History By Donna Tartt: A loss of innocence and a questioning of what is morality between a group of college students at a New England College. Alright I read this one for the dark academia vibes and it was written well. The style that Tartt writes in is hypnotic and pulls you in. I will say that this book was sad- but it was written well so I can't be mad lol. And also that I knew it was going to be sad from the get go 😂. I don't know how many of y'all have read "Paul's Case" By Willa Cather, but she's one of my favorite writers and this book reminded me of that story.

Complete List:

A Touch Of Darkness By Scarlett St. Clair

A Touch of Ruin By Scarlett St. Clair

How to Sell A Haunted House By Grady Hendrix

Tethered By Elyana R Gallea

The Outsiders By S.E Hinton

Twilight By Stephanie Meyer

New Moon By Stephanie Meyer

A Game of Fate By Scarlett St. Clair

Bride By Ali Hazelwood

Eruption By Michael Crichton and James Patterson

Love In The Time of Serial Killers By Alicia Thompson

The Dead Romantics By Ashley Poston

The Fake Mate By Lana Ferguson

Things We Left Behind By Lucy Score

A Werewolf's Guide To Seducing A Vampire By Sarah Hawley

The Rom-Commers By Katherine Center

Happy Place By Emily Henry

Fangirl Vol 1 By Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl Vol 2 By Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl Vol 3 By Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl Vol 4 By Rainbow Rowell

Midnight Is The Darkest Hour By Ashley Winstead

The House Across The Lake By Riley Sager

The Paradise Problem By Christina Lauren

Book Lovers By Emily Henry

The Old Man and the Sea By Ernest Hemingway

Lost and Lassoed By Lyla Sage

Done and Dusted By Lyla Sage

A Novel Love Story By Ashley Poston

Things We Never Got Over By Lucy Score

Funny Story By Emily Henry

To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

The Secret History By Donna Tartt

Romance Rules For Werewolves By Linsey Hall

The Sever Year Slip By Ashley Poston

Beach Read By Emily Henry

Eleanor and Park By Rainbow Rowell

[theguywithaplan]

List of Films Turning 10 Years Old in 2024

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

American Sniper

Annie (the remake starring Jamie Foxx)

As Above, So Below

The Babadook (we stan a gay icon)

Batman: Assault on Arkham (a direct continuation of the Batman: Arkham games)

Big Eyes

Big Hero 6

Birdman (won the Best Picture Oscar for this year)

The Book of Life

The Boxtrolls

Boyhood (filmed over the course of 12 years)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Chef

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead

Dear White People (the basis for the TV series on Netflix, and made by the same guy)

Dracula Untold (this was Universal’s second attempt at launching the Dark Universe)

The Drop (a crime drama starring Tom Hardy)

Edge of Tomorrow/Live Die Repeat

The Equalizer

Exodus: Gods and Kings (a biblical epic directed by Ridley Scott)

The Expendables 3

The Fault in Our Stars

Foxcatcher

Fury (the war movie with Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf)

Get on Up (the James Brown biopic starring Chadwick Boseman)

Godzilla (the 1st film in the MonsterVerse)

Gone Girl

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1

The Guest

Hercules (the one starring The Rock)

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (did you guys know the working title for this movie was “The Hobbit: There and Back Again”?)

How to Train Your Dragon 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

If I Stay

The Imitation Game (the movie where Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing)

Inherent Vice

Interstellar

The Interview (the movie that almost caused World War 3)

Into the Woods

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jodorowsky's Dune (a documentary about the Dune movie that we never got)

Joe (one of Nic Cage's best movies)

John Wick (the 1st one)

Kill the Messenger

Left Behind (one of Nic Cage's worst movies)

The Lego Movie

Life After Beth

Lucy ((the “humans only use 10% of their brain” movie. Which has since been proven false. Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-brains/ )

Maleficent

The Maze Runner

A Million Ways to Die in the Weset

Mr. Peabody and Sherman

Muppets Most Wanted

Need for Speed (Aaron Paul's first project after "Breaking Bad" ended)

Neighbors

Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (the third one. Also one of Robin Williams’ last movies)

Nightcrawler

Noah (a biblical epic directed by Darren Aronofsky)

Non-Stop

The Nut Job

Obvious Child

Oculus (one of the 1st projects from Mike Flanagan)

Ouija

Paddington

Penguins of Madagascar

The Purge: Anarchy

The Raid 2

RoboCop (the reboot that was actually decent)

Selma

Sharknado 2

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Son of Batman

St. Vincent

The Taking of Deborah Logan

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the one produced by Michael Bay. It’s also the one where the Turtles look like aliens)

The Theory of Everything (the movie where Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking)

Third Person

300: Rise of an Empire

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Tusk

22 Jump Street

Veronica Mars (the film continuation of the TV show)

A Walk Among the Tombstones

What If? (a rom-com starring Daniel Radcliffe)

What We Do in the Shadows (the film that was the basis for the TV show)

When Marnie Was There

Whiplash

X-Men: Days of Future Past

[sootrootdoot]

ways I would seduce pennywise vol 1

I would preform a musical number rom-com style

I make a love potion (using soaps from my bathroom)

I cosplay as pennywise (he'll be so flattered and in love!!)

Have "careless whisper" blasting on me 24/7

Not be scared when he tries to eat me (I'm different!!)

Serenade.

idfk run around in the sewers naked

i try to bite him back

make macaroni art of us (fucking)

thank you for joining my little seminar, till next time. also comment if u think i should try to draw these (would be funny)

[xmencovered]

Rom Vol 1 #17 / Published: April 1981 / Artist: Frank Miller