#fuck dan didio

[rxbin-iii]

Dan DiDio is back at DC and is dead-set on killing Dick Grayson again (is anyone surprised)

[unreversedumbrella]

teen titans (2003) #3

wait so bart gets shot on the knee by deathstroke... and his biggest worry is the flash finding out?? since when does he care about what his cousin thinks???

[thatstheproblemwithnapkinman]

batman (2016) #55 is wild because you'll be sat there having a fun time, dick making stupid jokes as usual, annoying bruce

and then bang

the worst thing in dc history not really but also yes really happens and I now have to suffer through 27 issues of nightwing + the joker war stuff all bc some idiot decided it would be funny fuck dan didio

[necrotic-nephilim]

Hello! New to comics and I don't really feel like the New-52 comics are for me and would really like to read and understand Pre-flashpoint and all the dark and good stuff there. Is there an order or starting point you would recommend? Thanks for your time, and I hope you have a great day!

hi! i'm so glad you want to get into comics! i'd love to help with some recs! since you're here, i'm going to assume you're a Batfamily fan and most of my recs will cater to that, but i will try to encompass a bit of everything to help you just understand some big moments and all this mess that is DC canon. adding a cut bc jesus this got long.

so your starting point for pre-Flashpoint is going to be Crisis on Infinite Earths. the TLDR of this event is: DC had a big multiverse in the 70s and early 80s that wasn't friendly to new readers. to try to push their titles more and become a proper competitor to Marvel, they created an in-universe storyline that nuked the multiverse and gave a solid entry point for new fans going forward. this is why you hear terms like Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis. it refers to the comics canon before and after this event, in 1985. some characters had some big changes (for example: pre-Crisis Jason Todd was a circus kid whose parents were killed by Killer Croc) but most remained largely the same, just simplified. you don't *have* to start with Crisis on Infinite Earths if you don't want to. it's a *good* storyline, but it's a big one and a lot of big multiverse-scale stuff happens. so as long as you understand it as "big event that nuked DC's multiverse and gave the world a clean slate in 1985", then you've basically got the gist. also Barry Allen dies during it, but he comes back so don't worry about it.

in general, if DC has some big timeline/canon-altering event, they're going to call it a Crisis Event. the only Crisis Events that will matter to you, trying to get into pre-Flashpoint are

Crisis On Infinite Earths - the above, starts the Post-Crisis/pre-Flashpoint timeline

Zero Hour: Crisis In Time - an event in the 90s that sought to fix some of the kinks that the above Crisis caused, like fixing the origins of the Legion of Superheroes and other Golden/Silver Age characters, not *super* important tbh

Infinite Crisis - this was a big event that brought back some characters who got nuked by Crisis on Infinite Earths, unfucked Power Girl's backstory, and set the groundwork to bring back the multiverse. if you've heard "Superboy Prime punched a hole in reality and it brought back Jason Todd" yeah, this is the story where it happened

Final Crisis - a big event that was partly meta commentary but heroes fought Darkseid, Batman died for a hot second, it was all a big deal about evil winning and all that

Flashpoint - the event that nuked this timeline, a big storyline to do with Flash and the timeline that would result in the New-52 in 2011

are you confused yet? good embrace the confusion it's going to become second nature of a comic fan. you don't need to read these events as a beginner. you really don't i promise. they'll sound big and important, but besides Crisis On Infinite Earths and Flashpoint, the start and end of this era, the rest you can just kind of breeze by so long as you understand the big plot points like Batman dying or Superboy Prime punching reality. unless you really care about a character central to these stories, skip 'em for now.

now for any character, if they have a Year One comic? that is a very safe bet as a place to start. it is what it sounds like. Batman: Year One is going to be Bruce's first year as Batman. same as Green Arrow: Year One, Batgirl: Year One, etc. when in doubt, if there's a Year One, start with Year One. (note: for Superman, his "year one" type story is called Superman: Birthright and it is worth reading if you like Superman)

for Batman, i am holding you by the shoulders when i say this: people will tell you to read The Killing Joke. they're liars. do not listen to them. it's a bad story. you don't need it. do not let the Joker fanboys lie to you. people will also say Dark Knight Returns. don't listen to *them* either. i *like* DKR, i talk about it a lot here. it's not a good intro to Batman. it's an AU story, it's not canon, ignore it for now.

now where you *should* start with Batman, imo, is as followed

Batman: Year One - as said above, Year Ones are good, this is solid to start with

Batman: The Long Halloween - this is an iconic story and it's a followup to year One

Batman: Dark Legacy - the followup to Long Halloween, also a very good story

Batman: Hush - this story is a solid starter if you want to understand the general vibe of Gotham, the typical characters you see in the Batfamily, and a good Batman villain

once you've got the basics down, you *can* get into the big boy storylines like Batman: Knightfall and Batman: No Man's Land, but don't worry about those right now. they're long and complicated and shouldn't really be your starting point no matter how good they are.

other very good pre-Flashpoint comics that are easy to pick up and iconic storylines

Death of Superman - this is a long arc in the Superman run that if you collect in trades, goes Death of Superman, Funeral For A Friend, Reign of the Supermen, Return of Superman, Doomsday. it's long, but a very iconic storyline

Wonder Woman by George Perez - this the run that helped define modern Wonder Woman within the pre-Flashpoint era

JLA: Year One - if you want a good Justice League story where you get characters besides Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman taking the shine, this is a great place to start

Green Arrow by Mike Grell - start with Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters and then go into Green Arrow (1988). this has the darker, very 80s vibes that gets a bit gritty and very realistic with the issues it faces bc Green Arrow comics tend to be more rooted

The New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman - this technically starts before pre-Flashpoint, don't worry about it it's fine. a good run for all of these characters, can get a little confusing, it is okay to be confused do not be afraid to google shit

so, some big stories out of the way i'm just. honestly going to run down the line of the major pre-Flashpoint Batfamily members and give you comic recs for them that you can start with. (besides Bruce obviously, bc well. see above)

Dick Grayson

NIghtwing: Year One

Robin: Year One

Nightwing (1995)

Tim Drake

Batman: A Lonely Place of Dying

Robin (1990)

Robin II: Joker's Wild

Robin III: Cry of the Huntress

Robin (1993)

Barbara Gordon

Batgirl: Year One

Birds of Prey (1999)

Jason Todd

Batman: The Cult (as Robin)

Batman: Death in the Family (as Robin)

Batman: Under The Red Hood

Red Hood: Lost Days

Cassandra Cain

Batgirl (2000)

Batman: No Man's Land

Jean-Paul Valley

Batman: Sword of Azrael

Batman: Knightfall

Stephanie Brown

Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma

Batgirl (2009)

Selina Kyle

Catwoman by Ed Brubaker

Helena Bertinelli

Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood

Huntress: Year One

Birds of Prey: Manhunt

Damian Wayne

Batman & Robin (2009)

there are other very important pre-Flashpoint stories for all of these characters, but these are starting points more than anything. figure out what characters you're interested and go from there. understanding the universe at large helps, do not get me wrong. but at the end of the day, comics are a choose your own adventure of who you want to give a shit about. you're *never* going to read everything "important" and you're probably not going to understand everything. that's okay. don't treat it like a media you need to "complete" like a tv show or a movie, but more like an open world game where you decide what characters/teams/stories you like the most.

pre-Flashpoint covers a lot of ground. some stuff will be darker and grittier, some stuff will be more light-hearted. it will all be about what titles you pick up and what characters you decide you want to read about. you're obviously going to get a much more grounded storyline out of Green Arrow than you are say, a JLA comic. i prefer the more grounded, "street level" sorts of characters. (if you like gritty detective stories, i will be biased and highly recommend the Question (1987) just because. i love him okay.) but you might find you like sometimes more worldly and big scale. at the end of the day: don't force yourself to love a comic you're not enjoying, even if you like that character. you can put that shit down. sometimes, "important stories" are by shitty writers that you won't enjoy reading and you shouldn't make this hobby a chore. i don't care how "critically acclaimed" it is, you don't have to like it if it doesn't click for you. and on the flipside, a comic might be considered "bad" but you may enjoy it (a personal example: Robin III: Cry of the Huntress is considered a very weak comic. don't care. i love it anyway.) accept the cringe, have fun, and enjoy yourself at the end of the day. none of it will make sense anyway so just read what sounds cool to you.

this was all over the place and rambly, but i hope it helps at least a little! welcome to comics anon! if you or anyone else would like more character-specific recs, feel free to ask! if i don't know, i can at the very least hopefully point you in the right direction <3

[drbatsponge]

I would love to love Batgirl 2009 but I can only unfortunately like it because DC editorial was a bitch about Cass.

[armed-with-a-waffle-iron]

"That was the 21st century Batman and Robin, THEY'VE BLOWN IT! Those guys were IT."

"My favourite part of [my run of Batman] is when Dick Grayson took over [as Batman], I could've written that for 10 years!" -Grant Morrison on Dick and Damian as the Dynamic Duo.

Source: Fatman on Batman

[roseworth]

Do you have a favourite Batgirl (2009) moment?💜

i have so many <3333333 hehe but here are my top 3 because i will not just choose one

every single steph & damian teamup in this book is the greatest thing ever btw! their dynamic is so fucking funny and i love it whenever they interact. i miss this so much

i LOOOOOOOOVE the girlhunt arc <3 there is not a single bad part of it and it was so hard to just pick out one part of it that i like fhajkdfhdjksf but THIS one is so funny bc steph's girlworstie organized a batgirl protest just for the hell of it and now steph has to deal with that <3 i love jordanna she is the embodiment of a female character in the late 00s written by a man

AND ONCE TOMORROW IS HERE THERES NOW MORE TODAY. SO WHY ARE YOU CRYING? BECAUSE TODAY IM HAPPY. fuck. i love the end of this book so fucking much. i started crying again just grabbing this screenshot. literally the perfect ending to the perfect book. this book could have 100000 issues and i would never get bored even one single time. it is a crime that she was erased from existence after this and i will never be the same.

HONORARY MENTIONS.

stephkara <3

and this teamup <3333 (someone told me once that stargirl was supposed to be mia here but they wouldnt let bqm put her in and that haunts me every day) (also as a certified bombshell hater. it should've been rose. but WHATEVER. IM NOT EVEN MAD.)

[radioactive-earthshine]

Wait.

Conner was homeless and Cassie didn't help him?

Weren't they dating at the time?

Where was Clark?

Tim?

Bart?

I have so many questions.

I avoided reading all of Superboy because of the unforgivable sexism but now I'm figuring that might have been a mistake.

1.) Conner was homeless and Cassie didn't help him?

Nope. Dan Didio did her extremely dirty.

Superboy #94 I don't even want to show the whole page of this because it is severely gross, but Cassie basically tells Kon to leave, despite Young Justice's HQs being more than large enough to accommodate him, and for some reason he was sharing a room with Slo-bo.... when it was more than large enough to house him.... idk.

"Stop depending on others" when you are BOTH sixteen and are in a TEAM where you HAVE to depend on each other to me sounds out of character for her, or at least in poor taste as it strips the compassion from her.

Didio decided this was the route to go with her, I'm not sure if he forgot these were sixteen year olds, or if he just didn't care, because either way it's not fair of a move to pull. You can argue that it's definitely something a teenager would pull but I think Cassie would at least have compassion here for Kon, even if she is a little high strung at this time and also dealing with PTSD (likely).

Cassie did recognize later in the issue that she was "rough" on him and it ends on a hopeful note that a new start for Kon would be good, but it doesn't bode to be a positive experience. His move was done on a sinking raft.

In a hypothetical situation where things go better and Cassie recognizes that it is unfair to demand that Kon leave when she herself has a home, a mother, and a large support system to protect her, I feel like she would allow Kon to stay at Young Justice like she allowed Slo-bo to stay.

2.) Weren't they dating at the time?

Nope. They didn't get together until later, they were flirting at this time in varying intensity. They both clearly liked each other but neither really made the push to make it anything more than being friends and annoying the hell out each other.

3. ) Where was Clark?

When Kon was actually homeless and looking for a place to live he was not present. A relator thought Superman was logically Kon's father but Kon quickly corrected that assumption and it cost him a place to live.

In issue #100 Clark reveals that sometime during the time Kon took up residency in Metropolis in the apartment complex he was working/living at, he had Jimmy filling him in on the chaotic events going on, but other than that he was not involved.

Clark did here what he should have done a long, long time ago. You can write a lot of meta, analysis and critiques for why it took Clark so long to act in this moment, and it would all be fair, but in the end he did finally help Kon.

Clark does eventually involve himself and save Kon from exploitation and a second homeless situation, thus ending Kon's comic series. He was too late, but he did solve the issue.

4.) Tim?

He had taken a leave of absence from Young Justice directly after the Our World at War story arc that preceded Kon's homelessness, so it's likely he didn't even KNOW this was going on.

Kon and Tim got into a huge fight as well, and it contributed to Tim's motivation for quitting because he didn't want to stay where he wasn't trusted (PTSD thanks to Granny Goodness as well).

Kon also did not know Tim's identity at this time, and he doesn't find it out until after The World Without Young Justice arc that takes place around Superboy #99. They're not really on speaking terms here from issues #94-#98, and in the majority of Young Justice they have more of a peer-based relationship than a friendly one. They do CARE about each other, but it's not this deep wholesome best friend relationship that Geoff John's made it into in TTv3 right out of the gate. They're not there, yet.

Tim comes back on the team AFTER the World Without Young Justice arc when his identity is revealed via Matt Stewart's meddling with events, by this time Kon is in Kansas with Ma and Pa Kent and the situation is over, his series is over.

In the hypothetical situation where Tim did know that Kon was homeless, I'd think he'd probably reach out to Dick over Bruce at this time and ask what they should do. Tim more often sought Dick out for these sorts of things than he did Bruce, and I feel like it would remind Dick of when Donna was homeless during his time as a Titan.

It would go from there I think, and Kon might have actually had a swifter response from Clark or maybe Kara or someone else with Dick sounding the alarm, but that's just one angle and all a "what if" and we cannot hold this as fact because... it's hypothetical.

It would make a GREAT premise for a fix-it fanfic.

TLDR: He just likely didn't know and they weren't close enough for Tim to know, but if he did he'd most likely ask Dick "WHAT DO?"

5.) Bart?

Bart left Young Justice at the same time as Tim did due to PTSD, however Kon knew exactly who Bart was at this time and they were very close friends. Out of everyone on Young Justice, they were the closest. Even so, Bart (likely) would not have known that this was going on with Kon as he had distanced himself from his teammates.

There was a point during one of the Impulse comics that Bart needed help for one of his cases, and he briefly considered reaching out to Young Justice but STOPPED because he had quit, he felt it was not a viable option, therefore it is logical to assume he was not communicating with anyone from his team.

Also to note, during this period of time of 2002, cellphones were not readily available (yet) and email, instant messaging and direct (expensive!) phone calls would have been the primary way to keep in touch over long distance, for them they of course could just meet up and chat but the comics don't show this happening when Bart left the team.

Kon likely never reached out for help, because Cassie told him to "stop depending on others" and it pushed a button for Kon to be stubborn and try to fix his own situation so he probably didn't even think to say "Oh hey btw I'm homeless!" (in fact the word 'homeless' doesn't even come up).

Had Bart known Kon was homeless and needed help, he might have asked Max for advice on what to do like Tim might with Dick, and Max has shown that when children are in peril (like with Cissie being abused by her mother) he will act.

I feel like Max would probably pull what Bruce did with Clark in YJA and tell him that he NEEDS to be there for him, NOW. It would likely be a push to get a more prompt reaction. Again though, this did not happen and is speculative.

Also, Max's 'death' almost overlaps Kon's homeless situation so another factor that can contribute to Bart not being able to help, or knowing, was that Bart himself was in crisis and in a full new transition from one household to another.

TLDR: Bart and Kon were extremely close at this time, but due to personal circumstances they likely just did not communicate well enough to convey the situation.

6.) I have so many questions.

Me too, why was Didio allowed to write anything, why couldn't he just remain a producer? He produced the Orion solo and that was amazing.

7.) I avoided reading all of Superboy because of the unforgivable sexism but now I'm figuring that might have been a mistake.

No, not a mistake. Not wanting to come across a lot of the more gross and unsavory themes that are depicted all throughout Kon's comics are a valid reason to skip it, however it is unfortunate that in order to really grasp him it would be extremely advisable to read it. If you are really deeply triggered by those gross themes, then don't hurt yourself, but if it is something you can consume to glean the rest of the events that are formative to Kon, I would suggest it.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

KATHERINA MINOLA (THE TAMING OF THE SHREW) (CW: Domestic Abuse)

1.) We had to read this for English my senior year. I got so mad at the way she's treated. She's the titular "shrew" of the play. She has to be married off before her younger sister can get married, because that makes sense.

Then the most dogshit man imaginable comes along, and everybody thinks they're perfect. He literally gaslights her and denies her food and water.

Fuck Petruchio and Katherine Minola deserved better!

2.) Literally the whole play is about how she is so awful that the main guy needs to change her entire personality, which he does as a challenge not because he likes her, and then proceeds to her abuse her for the rest of the play. Yet, he is portrayed as the hero, not a villain and she is shown to have "improved" at the end. People will say, oh it's open to interpretation, it can be played different ways, it's satire, but i don't find abuse funny and there is a distinct lack of commentary in the play to count as satire imo. Taming of the Shrew is a tragedy not a comedy, I will die on this hill. Kate deserves better!

3.) The title isn’t joking, ya’ll. She literally gets broken like a rebellious feral animal and it’s treated as a happy ending.

BARBARARA GORDON (DC COMICS) (CW: Ableism)

1.) Famously fridged in 1988, which was so popular with misogynists it became canon. After almost 2 decades of being one of the only disabled characters, was rebooted to a younger, more fun version of herself whose only history is that she was fridged but not disabled by it.

2.) The Killing Joke is one of the biggest comic examples of a female character getting hurt to motivate male characters. Also tbe way different cannons will trade off who her romantic intrest is out of Batfamily is pretty disturbing ranging from Bruce Wayne in Batman the Animated series universe (ew) to Tim Drake in the Arkham games (ew). Not to mention DC now is not letting her grow out of being Batgirl taking away her legacy of other young female heroes taking up her mantle and her getting to mentor them instead forcing her into a Batgirl cycle of purgatory when she was always better as Oracle (Its a little more complicated in the new Batgirl book but its still not solving the issues in a way that feels meaningful enough to make up the damage).

3.) Was shot as angst value for Bruce and her dad, implied to be sexually assaulted in The Killing Joke with absolutely no respect for her long career as Batgirl. When Alan Moore asked if he could, the editor said "cripple the bitch." She became paralyzed from the waist down. THankfully, an actually good writer picked her up from there and then wrote one of the best stories ever written (Oracle Year One: Born from Hope). Was one of the most iconic disabled characters in comic book history, hell, as Oracle, she was definitely up there as one of the most iconic disabled characters ever as well as a fantastic character, period. There were a few moments where people kept trying to make things out of her disability and had her be shitty to other women for no reason but for the most part, she was awesome. During her time In 2011, Dan Didio and some other misogynistic/ableist comic book writers were responsible for "curing" her disability and forcing her back into Batgirl, despite her having shown absolutely no desire to do so, as part of the New 52. They also made it an editorial mandate that she couldn't have glasses, a cool secret base, and her time as Oracle couldn't be referenced. This was because those writers were nostalgic for the 60s Batman show where Babs was played by an actress they all had the hots for and couldn't accept she'd grown up and moved on. That was bad enough, but over time, she's been increasingly deaged and reduced even further to just Dick Grayson's on and off again girlfriend and a generic girlboss. Batgirl of Burnsides burn in hell.

[pluckyredhead]

We made it, you guys! I'm wrapping up my blitz through all the Fourth World canon. I've already covered the comics of the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, and the 00s, so now let's get into everything post-Flashpoint!

Wonder Woman (2011): I'll be honest: this series is Not Valid, and Orion only shows up as a supporting character for about a dozen issues, so I just skimmed his appearances rather than actually reading the whole volume. Anyway this version of Orion slaps Diana's ass and hits on her relentlessly and isn't even from Apokolips. Highfather is emotionally abusive. No one else from the Fourth World even shows up. Throw it all directly in the trash.

Infinity Man and the Forever People (2014): Genuinely who was asking for a New 52 book about the Forever People (the most optimistic of Kirby's creations) written by Dan DiDio (a man on the record as saying he wanted "to take the smile out of comics")? Shockingly, it's not as bad as I was bracing myself for. I mean, the lore changes are baffling (Darkseid and Highfather are brothers! the Infinity Man is Highfather's conscience and that's why New 52 Highfather's such a dick all the time! Big Bear is from Apokolips and has a secret, angrier face because he's like a bonus Orion now!). And the art rotates through four or five different artists and all of the issues not drawn by Tom Grummett are hideous. But mostly it's just very boring and pointless? Let's all ignore it forever.

Green Lantern/New Gods (2014): Hey, do you remember when Green Lantern was one of DC's most successful franchises and they were publishing five simultaneous GL-related ongoings and they oversaturated the market so badly they could barely keep one GL book going until recently? I'm not saying shit like this is what killed the goose that laid the golden egg, but...I'm not not saying that either. (No seriously, I am genuinely fascinated by whatever the fuck DC did to the Lanterns in the 2000s and 2010s as, like, a publishing cautionary tale, but that's a story for another post.)

This was a three-month crossover across all five GL books - Green Lantern (Hal's book), Green Lantern Corps (John's book), Green Lantern: New Guardians (Kyle's book), Red Lanterns (Guy's book), and Sinestro - plus a New Gods one shot and a GL annual. That's 17 issues that are meant to be read in order to follow the story, and then you can optionally also read the tie-in issues of Infinity Man and the Forever People, which makes a whopping total of 20 issues dedicated to this storyline.

So what was the plot of this grand saga? Uh...Highfather tries to steal all the rings of every Corps like he's the fucking Trix Rabbit or something. The end.

Yeah, it's a mystery what killed the GL publishing juggernaut. 🙄

(Side note: this crossover adds a brand new Original Character Do Not Steal who is from Apokolips and was raised by Highfather and has a Secret Rage Face. After Infinity Man and the Forever People also gave Big Bear a Secret Rage Face. STOP STEALING ORION'S SHIT. You don't need extra bonus Orions, Regular Orion is right there!)

Bug! The Adventures of Forager (2017): This is a very charming, very strange series that isn't in continuity (it was part of the Young Animal imprint) and doesn't really forward the plot of the New Gods in any way, but it's funny and enjoyable. Basically, Forager wakes up after his death in Cosmic Odyssey (29 years prior, for those keeping track) and goes on a time- and reality-hopping adventure in which he interacts with various characters Kirby wrote and drew for DC over the years (although oddly, very few New Gods). It's the sort of series that rewards the long-time comic book reader, but I still enjoyed it even though I was very aware I was missing references. I wouldn't recommend it if you're brand new to comics, though.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (2016): Orion's in a couple arcs of this run, and they're pretty fun. Orion's heart gets removed from his body and Kyle keeps him alive with a construct! Hal races Lightray! Orion helps the GLs fight a shit ton of Darkstars! There isn't much in the way of advancing New Gods Lore (TM) here, but this is a pretty good series in general. A fun time!

Mister Miracle (2017): Sigh.

You know, the frustrating thing about this series is that some aspects of it are really good. The art is superb. Some of the humor really lands. Funky Flashman as the Frees' nanny is an utter delight. (The bit where he retells the Galactus Trilogy as "Jake's story" is especially charming.) The subtler take on Granny and the way Scott is still wrestling with her abuse and his complicated feelings about her is heartbreaking. And the big twist, when Darkseid demands baby Jacob in exchange for peace, and Scott's agony over the decision, is utterly wrenching. It's such a good conflict to give Scott, to have him try to wrestle with the decision his own father made and what the right answer is. I even believe King read more than one issue of Mister Miracle (1971) to research this! I mean, he references the Lump. That's a pretty deep cut.

But it's all undercut by his decision to make Orion a villain. King's Orion isn't just brutal and wrongheaded, like some earlier writers have portrayed him - he's a vindictive sadist who craves power and enjoys humiliating someone who, in all previous canon, he eagerly embraced as a brother. He has elaborately cruel plans and enjoys making others know their place - Orion, who is historically as subtle and refined as a two-by-four to the head. He's out of character in basically every possible way.

But this isn't just me being like "How dare you get my blorbo wrong?!" (That's my reaction to King's depiction of Lightray as a simpering toady.) Making Orion a villain, as I have said many times at this point, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the Fourth World's central concept, which is, like...not a hard concept to grok. The point of the baby swap isn't to see whether nature or nurture is stronger. It's that both babies grow up to be heroes. It's that good is stronger than evil. And if Orion isn't a hero, the whole thing falls apart. Instead, we get a bleak and fundamentally unbalanced take on the Fourth World that begins with a suicide attempt and ends with Scott resigning himself to a life from which he desperately wants to escape. And again, again, King's pessimism is mistaken for depth because someone else drew it real good.

Anyway I hate this comic, the end.

Justice League Odyssey (2018): The New Gods didn't really have a home base post-Flashpoint, which is why I'm covering so many books that aren't really New Gods books (Wonder Woman, the various GL books), because my crops are dying and I'm desperate for Orion to show up on his little scooter. Anyway this is actually first and foremost a Jessica Cruz book, which isn't really a complaint because I love her. Basically, Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael (who is pretty OOC and also why is he here??? he doesn't know these people and he can't breathe in space?????) decide to go on an Illegal Space Adventure and Jessica tries to stop them and they all get swept up into an incredibly convoluted plan by Darkseid to turn everyone but Jessica into a NEW New God and take over the universe? Or maybe destroy it? UNCLEAR. Also the last time they all saw Darkseid he was a baby but now he's not anymore. How? UNCLEAR.

Darkseid kills Jessica but it doesn't take because she's the GOAT, but now he's taken control of Vic, Kori, and JPV, so Jessica has to team up with Orion, Blackfire, and Dex-Starr the Red Lantern cat to defeat Darkseid and rescue the others. Overall this book is so unrelentingly high stakes and cosmic that I kind of tuned out. After a while I just hit "we have to save the universe!!!" fatigue. But a huge part of the second half of the series is just Jessica yelling at Orion until he grumpily does what she tells him, and I truly could have read 40 more issues of that. I hope when it was all over he went and pouted at Lightray about how the Green Lantern was SO MEAN to him (he deserved it).

Verdict: Don't bother to read for New Gods continuity, do read if you love Jessica Cruz.

Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom (2021): This book reintroduces Shilo Norman to the post-Flashpoint universe as a celebrity superhero and escape artist who aggressively protects his secret identity, because his predecessor Thaddeus Brown, who is Black in this series (and presumably going forward), had a public identity and dealt with horrible racism from the public. But his mask is partially torn off when he's attacked by N'vir Free, the daughter of Scott and Barda Free - who Shilo has never heard of. While Shilo tries to figure out who the Frees are and why N'vir thinks he stole her father's legacy, he also discovers that Thaddeus was secretly his grandfather, and has to unpack all of his emotional hangups about his own identity and legacy.

This is a great book for the humans of Kirby's Mister Miracle and a terrible one for the New Gods. Scott and Barda are not only dead, but their memories have been erased from most people's minds. N'vir is an awful character with a stupid name, and also a fascist dictator, which is...a choice for Scott and Barda's kid. (I'm assuming all of this is either taking place in a different universe than the main DCU, or has been retconned away, because Barda is currently appearing in Birds of Prey and is perfectly fine. And perfectly perfect. Please read Birds of Prey.) Orion does show up for a bit and he's great here, but he doesn't remember Scott either, which hurt my heart.

But it's a great book for Shilo, who gets to be a complicated, endearing but flawed protagonist instead of a sidekick who tends to get forgotten for years at a time. I'm a bit torn on having him be related to Thaddeus, since I like the idea of Shilo becoming a hero on his own smarts and spunkiness rather than inheriting it, but it allows for some really beautiful themes about legacy and being proud of where you come from, so it suits the story really well. And Oberon is a delight the whole way through (as always). Overall a good book, but somewhat to the side of the overall New Gods saga.

THE END. We did it, you guys! Now DC please greenlight a new New Gods book, thank you.

(Actually it should be double length and reversible so when you hold it one way it's a New Gods book and when you flip it to the "back" cover it's a Mister Miracle book and the stories intertwine. Do you see the vision???)

[soleminisanction]

There are very few ""headcanons"" out there that get a bigger side-eye from me than people who try to make Stephanie Brown into a Black girl.

Firstly because that is not a headcanon. That's just a whole-ass retcon created out of thin air. A headcanon would be saying she's a natural redhead like how Morgan Kohan played her on Batwoman, or that she's mixed-race because of the curly way some artist draw her hair. There's definitely flexibility in race interpretations for comics but looking at the blue-eyed blonde-hair white girl and declaring her "actually Black" is not one of them.

Secondly, because I have seen (and sometimes gotten) a lot of harassment from Steph fans aimed specifically at Tim's actual, canon Black love interests and teammates. I still seethe at the memory of this one CBR interview I read back when YJ2019 was running, where Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker were clearly there to talk up Naomi and Teen Lantern, and in the middle of their heart-felt conversation about the importance of representation for young Black girls, the interviewer butted in to interject, "But you know who I want to see more of?? Stephanie!!!" This going on while Steph fans on Twitter were going on racist tirades because the book dared to highlight the history of Teen Lantern, a character who was actually advertised to be a part of the book and a new member of the team, instead of giving them more of their white-blonde fav who had never been affiliated with YJ and was never part of the advertising.

Thirdly, she was created and so often written by Chuck Dixon, a blatant racist, and as a result there are so many little scenes of her that have uncomfortable racial elements to them. Like the one where he created a pair of Black girls just so Stephanie could call them "raging morons" to their faces and then later talk about how stupid and immature they are compared to her. (Which I am still convinced was Dixon directly criticizing the much better teen pregnancy subplot from Icon & Rocket). Or the borderline-blackface white savior ""demon"" where she wears a dead gnu and maybe accidentally calls herself a bitch in Swahili. (Disclaimer: I do not speak Swahili, and thus do not know how a sentence structure that should read "I am thorn" turns into "I'm a bitch" or "I'm crazy," but I checked that translation with three different robo-translators and got the same results so, shrug.)

And finally -- god, Steph is just, such a walking avatar of white women's privilege. Her entire thing is demanding that she get her way, never letting anyone tell her no, and still being treated by the narrative as a pure-hearted ""beacon of hope"" that everybody needs to protect and nurture at all times.

The inciting incident of War Games can be boiled down to, "A white girl got told no, and made it everybody else's problem." The first attempted Black member of the Batfamly fucking died during that event and got almost entirely forgotten because people only went to bat for the white girl who caused the whole mess and the white woman who got character assassinated to kill her off.

If Stephanie were Black, she wouldn't exist anymore. Fuck, if she were a brunette or just as butch as Carrie Kelly, she probably wouldn't exist anymore. She certainly wouldn't be Batgirl, I can't imagine Dan Didio replacing Cass with another woman of color.

And it's not even just her? Her father is also a very white character. It is incredibly easy to summarize Arthur Brown as a mediocre white man lashing out at the world for not handing him the success he felt entitled to. Take that petulant entitlement away from him and you lose his entire character.

I'm ranting about it on my own blog instead of picking a fight because everybody's entitled to their own fandom experience and blah blah, but this is just. Yeah. Ugh.

[unreversedumbrella]

Dan didio being fired from DC isn't enough I need him to die. I need to kill him

[laufire]

may reading meme!

BOOKS

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle. This one introduces Mary. I wish she'd gotten the treasure and become a rich heiress 😢

Inheritance by Devin Grayson. Loved it. I'm definitely gonna track down her other prose novels. I made a good guess on who [redacted] from very early in the book, practically from the first, and it was still quite gripping. The funniest thing, however, is how unequal each of the former sidekicks' sections are lol. Was she just going through the motions with Garth? Although, by virtue of being the one I know the least about, it did make me want to read his comics. Roy's and Dick's were more even, both with incredibly poignant, poetic flashbacks I adored, but you can tell DickAndBruce is where her heart is and their dynamic was showcased beautifully imo. Her characterization of Ollie is... surely controversial, and doesn't quite match how I see the guy, but it didn't bother me.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This one is a reread, though it's been a decade since I read it for the first time. I've read it even more slowly than the first time around, pondering over practically every passage. Nabokov's prose is simply sublime, and Dolores's character is one of those that stays with you for how much you read into her.

COMICS

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. The first issue enchanted me, and the last one was a very apt ending for the story. The journey to get there let me down.

FCBD 2024: Barda Special Edition. This is a preview for an upcoming story. A young Barda is charged to break the prisoner Scott Free, as the beginning of their romance. Theirs is a ship I've been curious about for a while, and I really dig the premise, so I can't wait to read it.

Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper. A short, gritty origin story that builds on the Selina we see in Batman: Year One, written by the same author as Lois Lane (1986). I really wish her sister was more present in Catwoman's story in general, tbh. She was featured in Selina's Knight Terror mini, which I might end up rereading.

The Bat-Man: First Knight. Three-part run set in the 40s, the original Batman setting. A tale of monsters, human experimentation, and the effects of the second world war. I enjoyed it, though not wildly, but it confirms I'd enjoy more historical settings in my comics.

War Games. Oh boy. OH BOY. My kill list grew with each page I read. The missed shot at a proper story with robin!Steph, the incredibly uncharitable way she's written... all to end in the grossest example of character assassination I've ever seen with Dr Leslie Thompkins, all to relieve Bruce of his guilt for his part in Steph's demise. I wanted to read the arc because I thought it was important for some Steph-focused storylines I want to write that build up on it (mostly by subverting or contradict him), but with few exceptions (SOME of Steph's Robin arc, the school plot, Tarantula's appearances, and the parts touching on Dick's downward spiral, for example) it was all so hateful and mean-spirited. Even the prelude to the proper arc, starting with Bruce and Cass's visit to Jason grave to use him as a cautionary tale against Steph, or that storyline about the teen mothers... death. Death to Dan DiDio for one thousand years.

Outsiders (2003). I'm including the Teen Titans crossover arcs (including both Secret Files and Origins issues, both GREAT), and the Outsiders: Five of a Kind arc where Batman is a shit xD (it also did make me wanna read the continuation in the next Batman and the Outsiders run). The art was... Mixed, by which I mean that sometimes it was fuck-ugly lol, but I loved the run. Winick gets me. I have a special place in my heart for Jason's little arc, OBVIOUSLY, but my favourite parts are, second, Dick's arc, and first, ANISSA AND GRACE. I as a lesbian owe Winick much for that one. They're the main attraction for the continuation, ngl. I also loved Shift and Indigo, btw. So damn tragic 🥲

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Thanks for letting me spam, now I also have a Gen x father so I was already into geek culture

But fuck the Civil War event that character assassinated Tony so hard it took the 2008 movie to heal him

And FUUUUUUUUCK One More Day

Sorry after I got into comics, 70% I go “Where are the adults?!” with the handling of characters

And Dan Didio

Oh that guy had a mid life crisis

And for anime yeah there a lot of people who are tourists like MCU fans

But something I notice with a lot of MCU fans or new fans of geek culture

Is that they REFUSE to engage with stuff like pre 2008. Despite it being so easy now with the options we have

Actually can I do another anon about the anime discourse? Because it makes me raised a eyebrow a lot

Uggggggggggggggh FUCK Civil War. That event is what stopped me reading Marvel comics all together. Such trash. Ruined so many good characters. The only saving grace is that it got me to stop reading Spider-Man before One More Day came out, so I never had to experience that abortion. I hate editors who get a hold of a popular comic and immediately ruin it because they don't like one of the main aspects of that character.

"PeTeR pArKeR cAn'T bE iN a ReLaTiOnShIp ThAt'S bOrInG aNd UnReLaTaBlE"

Sorry you're bitter and alone and hate fun and happiness, buddy, but Peter and MJ are the Superman and Lois of Marvel. If you don't like that relationship, then don't be in charge of the book.

Anyway, feel free to send me as many anons as you want about the anime discourse, or any other subject.

[augustheart]

i miss the good old days when dc would give anybody a solo. dawn of dc has some promising newly-relaunched faces, sure, but that's not good enough. we're never going to go back to the 80s and 90s when there was shit like the ray and hourman and guy gardner: warrior and amethyst and time masters and wild dog everywhere you looked. sure everything got canceled immediately but at least you got some miniseries out of it! at least people were trying something! nowadays if you aren't tied to batman you're getting shot in the foot after twelve issues anyway. they're making beautiful and stupid and often probably bad little books fight each other in round robin tournaments because they're afraid of losing a cent while ahem other branches of the company hemorrhage it. back in my day they would just put any bullshit out there. all the dark knights: metal: new age of heroes stuff was mediocre but i'll take a dozen silencers and sidewayses (without dan didio at the reins) over one more fucking batbook.

[is-jan-jan-is]

Dawn of Dc fucking slaps my dudes.

I've been meaning to make a post about the Dawn of Dc for quite a while but haven't due to depression and 80 hour work weeks.

My pull box used to be one third marvel, one third dc and one third indie. Nowadays, with marvel focusing on more of those godawful movies it's producing more and more garbage. Meanwhile, dc-who has been struggling since the 90s-seems to have found its stride. My box is honestly two thirds dc and one third indie.

I've maybe three or four marvel titles. Captain marvel, mckay's avengers run and ewing's thor. I did also pick up Sentry but havent read it yet. I was about to deep dive into the fall of the house of x stuff but the whole 'Genocide' storyline is in bad taste to say the fucking least. With last year's Symbol of Truth sam wilson run over i dont have much more marvel stuff catching my eye.

Meanwhile I'm collecting most of dc's catalog. The Dawn of Dc rebrand has been phenomenal through and through. Part of it is due to color coding which my autism especially likes. Mostly, it's great storytelling.

Here is how I would rate the Dawn of Dc titles I've been collecting so far on a scale of 'bruh' to 'BRUH'(all of the ratings are made up terms):

*******Spoilers*********

Jon Kent Adventures of Superman: absolute banger...if not a tad formulaic. If seems poetic to have Jon kent-a product of Joshua Williamson- fight injustice superman-a product of Dan Didio. Dan famously hated legacy characters and loved the idea of fascist superman so-get fucked Dan. 11/10 because he beats him with a hug

Action Comics: fuck yeah dawg. It's been great. The wholesome super family shenanigans, the inclusion of Kenan (finally) on top of just damn good story telling. 10/10 would super again.

Superman: BRUH. So, after years of piss poor 'superman' books we get the warworld saga (certified banger) followed up with this delightful story from Josh Williamson. All of the classic villains get the correct treatment. Lex, parasite, banshee-with the current 'Chained' reveal. Im so glad somebody understands how to write superman. This has genuinely become a title i look forward to every week. 10.5/10

Superboy Man of Tomorrow: Certified Banger. Listen, Connor Kent was the first love of my life. 90 percent of my personality is Teen titans and Young Justice was always my favorite flavor of teen titans. Either way I was always going to love a boom about Connor Kent. That said: this book is pretty good. It clearly skews young as far as its obvious intended audience but it was still fun.

Steel: CERT-FIED BANG-ER! God I love Worf. I'm glad that my boy Steel is getting the proper treatment. Michael Dorn does a damn good job. It was a good run, just read the last one (6 out of 6) today.

Powergirl: fuck yeah dawg. I love powergirl, and this series is not as annoyingly thirsty as previous stories. She's presented as a complex yet baddass character. Her motives are complex and her actions are badass. I also like that she's part of the super family officially.

Blue Beetle: Certified Banger. Pretty damn good. Once again it's a tad formulaic but still a fun read. 8/10

Green Arrow: Certified Banger! Pretty damn good, tbh. I love the fact that my boii Roy Harper is back. Pretty strong familial vibes all around. 9.5/10

Green lantern: bruh. Listen, I only picked up this title originally because it held the preview to John Stewart's 'War Journal'. Its well done, don't get me wrong. Jeremy Adam's is an asset to D.C. at this point. Quality wise, it's a knockout. Unfortunately, it's also Hal Jordan. He's as much of an unbearable p.o.s. as he's ever been. 6/10.

Green Lantern War Journal: BRUH!!! Fucking Slaps. John Stewart is back at it in an incredibly endearing story. I was really interested to see where they would take it after Gregory Thorne basically made my boii a demigod. The ultraviolet corps are super interesting and the b plot with his mother is heart wrenching. 100/10

Green Latern Alan Scott: fuck yeah dawg. Pretty good. Love the gay representation. Been meaning to get back into JSA stuff. Haven't read the huntress or sandman stuff yet but might after this.

Hawkgirl: absolute banger. Ngl, they kinda phoned in the antagonist but that's ok. Its a fun read about a cool character we've always wanted more content on anyways. Also Jadzia is god tier. 8/10

Wonder Woman: BRUH!!! I've never been a huge fan of Diana honestly but this story had me hooked from the beginning. It's a complex, heartfelt political intrigue. Tom King can do NO wrong. 20/10

Birds of Prey: absolute banger. Super fun to read. I definitely look forward to it every month. I love cass and I love barda so- 11/10

Batman and Robin: bruh. Listen, I love Joshua Williamson but all the love in the world won't make me tolerate Bruce fucking Wayne. After the catastrophic mess that was the Gotham War event we get this run by Joshy boii and Simone DiMeo. It's a decent little story which I follow only to ensure that Robin is OK. The breakout star of this title for me was DiMeo's art. It's so kinetic! Honestly, the art is the only reason this isn't a 0/10. That said...6.5/10

Outsiders: Fuck yeah dawg! The this series only has two issues out so far but it's been fun. I love Kate abd Luke respectively and together they are lots of fun. Also this title seems to lean in to the whole 'superhero fatigue' thing. So fuck yeah! 8/10

Nightwing: BRUH!! Tom Taylor has been in charge of what is honestly the best Superhero title on the market for the past couple years-and its Nightwing. His Grayson is charming, endearing and resilient: All of the good qualities of his deadbeat dad without any of the bullshit brooding and class warfare. This Dawn of Dc title feels different because it's less a relaunch and more a continuation. It's a super interesting deep dive into the BludHaven lore that Taylor began teasing years ago. Also pirate Dick Grayson-90/10

Titans: BRUH. 10/10 MY BOIIS (boiis is gender neutral) ARE ALL GROWN UP!! THEY'RE IN CHARGE. THEY RUNNING SHIT NOW. Seriously it's very good.

Titans/Beast World: heartbreaking but ill allow it. Crossover events are always iffy, we'll see where this goes. So far-7/10

Cyborg: fuck yeah dawg! I love cyborg and I love to see him getting his own title. It's been a good one and I can't wait for the finale next month. 9/10

Flash: BRUH! So far it's a very good Wally story but we're only a few issues deep. I like the Linda subplot. 9.5/10

Speed force: fuck yeah dawg. MAS AND MINOS ARE BACK!!!!! listen I was almost ready to write this series off as another story pandering to the youth. There is a Panel wherein someone describes the scene as 'bad vibes' and is told-'bet'-in response. That said, Joshy boii is clearly happy to be writing Wallace and Avery again AND MAS AND MINOS ARE FINALLY CANNON LETTSSSSS GOOOO!!!! 7/10

Jay Garrick Flash: fuck yeah dawg! Pretty good so far. I love Jay. Love the addition to his family. 7/10

Spirit World: BRUH! Crazy fucking good. I ADORE the way this title handles deadnames. Cassie, Envoy and John make a pretty good team and this depiction of the afterlife is really neat and engaging. 15/10

City Boy: BRUH! A+ for originality dudes. I love this character's motivation, powers and personality. This title genuinely makes a positive impact on the overall dc universe. 10/10

*note* I tried to color code the titles with the corresponding comic colors but tumblr mobile didn't have yellow so