#hey DC when are you gonna make good comics again

[thelionandtheeagle]

Do you guys wanna see something so immensely Tim Drake it kills the man? (In a good way. Affectionately. I love him so much)

There's so much that could be said here, it's great

[redaliveviolation]

SPOILERS FOR BATMAN 148!!

Am I a bad person for laughing when I heard that Jason got killed off again? No, here’s why and how I think he should die instead:

This is gonna be a long one so strap in folks. I have sort of been cherry picking this whole run just because the writing has been so wishy washy, so much so that it’s genuinely made me lose an interest in DC. Comics lately have been pulling the weirdest things just for shock value, because they can’t write a half decent story line or character anymore. Their characters will have some growth and then it immediately gets destroyed a couple of issues later.

I’m sure you’ve heard it before (because we all agree) but there’s no real consequences in comics anymore. Characters get killed off at the end of an issue just for them to be revived within a few issues or if we’re going with Batman 148, literally the next one. There’s no legitimate stakes because everything that happens gets “fixed.” Tim gets shot through the throat? Eh he’ll be fine, he can walk it off and be up and running within an issue or two. Bruce starts acting erratic/insane (again)? Oh don’t worry it’s not actually Bruce it’s his alternate personality Zur-En-Arrh. Which, side note, is the stupidest fucking name/concept I’ve seen in a while, truly baffling.

Honestly, the only part of the run that I’ve seen so far that’s even a little bit interesting is Bruce literally changing Jason’s brain chemistry so that whenever adrenaline hits he has a fear response so bad it shuts him down. Let’s start off with, hey Bruce what the fuck? If he’s had a machine that can legitimately rewire a person’s brain in that way to make him incapable of killing, why in the world would you not use it on the rogues? And yes, I understand that some of them either don’t react to fear, embrace it, don’t care etc etc but if you have the technology to change their brain whos to say you can’t make that machine do whatever you want? It doesn’t have to be specifically fear. Maybe force their motor neurons to not respond whenever they experience an adrenaline rush so they physically cannot move and kill their prey. Moralistically, it’s not the most correct, obviously, but that’s just an example of an extreme. There’s a lot more acceptable things it could be used for and Batman never does. Having that as a plot point makes no sense logically when applying it to Bruce in any way. Even though he’s been written as straight up brain dead these last few years based on his decisions, Bruce is a very smart man and could absolutely find both a morally correct and smart/safe option using the machine. It doesn’t even make sense for him to have it seeing as he would have used it already and cut down on about half of his Gotham related problems. “Oh, but red! That would mean that we’d have to get rid of the Joker because the machine would have taken care of him.” GOOD, I’m sick of his ass, there are so many better rogues to pick from as a new arch enemy. The Joker is bland, predictable, and I could not give less of a fuck about him, he’s not compelling in any way.

Secondly, as fucked up as it is it could actually (unfortunately, I don’t like giving them any credit nowadays) be an insanely good way to kill off Jason and make it stick. Or, at least I think they should make it stick because again, actions have consequences and comics need to go back to that. Anyways, to sum it up it would most likely send Jason into cardiac arrest. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) controls both the adrenaline and fear responses the machine would be “regulating.” The SNS triggers the fight/flight response and sends epinephrine (adrenaline) throughout the body, elevating heart rate and blood pressure. As soon as higher levels of epinephrine are produced the machine will kick on the fear response to “suppress” this, but instead of shutting off the flow of epinephrine and/or producing acetylcholine to lower heart rate, when the fear response is kicked into motion even more epinephrine will flood the system. It becomes a never ending cycle fueling itself, never ending fear. Your heart working that hard and fast for such an extended period of time would absolutely give out on you.

Personally, I think that would be an insane wake up call to everyone but for this he would need to stay dead and to stay dead for a while. As in several years at least. As stated earlier, long term consequences do not exist in DC (or at least Batman) comics anymore, everything gets turned around with not great writing or retconned or generally not accepted as canon. But a death like this would mean something. It wouldn’t just be death for shock value, it would be Jason Todd, one of Batman’s alleged greatest mistakes being put down like a dog and Bruce having to live with it. How would Bruce’s morals shift and change because of his death? Would he reconsider how he deals with rogues, would he retire, would he leave? How would his children react and retaliate? How would the rogues react seeing Batman inadvertently cause the death of his child in his pursuit of Justice?

The effect of Jason’s death was extremely significant on many characters and their development the first time it occurred, would it be more or less so this time? So many routes to pursue, it’s a horrifying concept when you think about how it would actually affect Jason which is why they’re never going to do anything about it. If you’re going to use a character death as a plot point it has to actually mean something, not a mindless death that’ll be cured quickly and with an incredibly inane line of “I’ve had practice dying.” Wow, you’re so original. I’m pretty sure I read that in some b-rated fic by a 14 year old two years ago. Also, maybe stop acting like Jason is the only one who has died and that he’s the most special because of it? Outside of Tim (because he’s never legit died in canon, only offshoots) practically everyone else in the family has died at one point. His personality is not just his death. It’s irritating and it’s poor writing.

TLDR: I’m right, DC’s wrong and their writing is shit. If Jason dies it needs to have an actual literary purpose and it needs to stick for it to mean anything.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Bruised Figure

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Jason aspires to become a figure skater despite obstacles in his personal life.

Chapters: 6/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Catherine Todd, Willis Todd, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain

Additional Tags: Figure Skater AU, Chronically Ill Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort

Chapter Six: Promises

After the doctor ran several more tests, Jason lay curled up in his hospital bed, too tired to speak. It wasn't until late afternoon that a new doctor came to explain something to Bruce in private. Dick tried to keep Jason preoccupied, asking him questions about figure skating. "Do you like the costumes?" Dick questioned.

"Dick?" Jason mumbled.

"What's up?" Dick asked.

"I know you're trying to be nice, but my head hurts... And I don't wanna talk right now," Jason explained before pressing his face into the pillow. Dick bit his lip before speaking. He would've taken offense, but Jason was terribly sick. Dick rubbed Jason's back.

Dick glanced at the monitors and saw that Jason's fever had peaked, but everything else seemed normal. Jason hadn't been this ill in a while. It felt like all his symptoms were so much worse, and it was mortifying to experience his illness while trying to seem okay in front of Bruce. The room stayed silent until Bruce returned, and he asked to speak to Jason alone. Jason turned on his side and opened his eyes. "Hey, how's it going, Champ?" Bruce asked. Jason gave Bruce a weak thumb's up. "Yeah, it's been a tough two days, but you're still hanging in there."

"No more small talk... I can't skate anymore, can I?" Jason questioned.

"I've got good news and bad news. What do you want first?" Bruce questioned. Jason gave Bruce a thumb's down. "Well, you've got a hereditary autoinflammatory disorder called familial Mediterranean fever, which requires you to take medication for life."

"Was there really any good news?" Jason questioned.

"Once this flare-up is over, the medication will prevent flare-ups in the future. They say it's extremely effective... And they said we caught it in time before it could cause damage to your organs," Bruce explained as he rubbed circles in Jason's forehead with his thumb.

Jason didn't react. He couldn't until Bruce told him everything. "You can skate as soon as you're better," Bruce whispered, "I know that's what—." Jason embraced Bruce and burst into tears. "Easy... We've still gotta focus on getting you well again." Bruce patted his back before tucking him into bed. "They'll start you on the medicine today."

Jason smiled and shut his eyes despite the pain he felt in his legs and stomach. "I'm gonna make you proud, Bruce. I promise," Jason whispered. Bruce frowned.

"I'm already proud," Bruce whispered, "You've been so patient with everyone. I don't know if I could've done the same in your shoes." Jason giggled. "What?"

"My feet are too swollen for my own shoes," Jason joked. Bruce smiled.

"Dick's making a run to get smoothies, so you'll have something on your stomach... Think you can stomach a smoothie?" Bruce asked. Jason nodded. "No pressure..."

"Hey, Coach?" Jason asked.

"Yes?" Bruce asked.

"I'm gonna place. I know. You said it doesn't matter, but I'll be great. Wait and see," Jason replied. Bruce grinned.

"You know what? I believe you," Bruce smiled.

Dick returned with four smoothies, and he offered Jason the first pick. Jason took small sips and looked up at Dick. "Are you gonna—?" Jason took a breath and shook his head.

He finally managed to keep his smoothie down. Bruce nearly sighed with relief when he took the empty cup from a fast-asleep Jason. Jason started visibly sweating. Bruce pulled the blankets back and patted Jason's forehead dry with a napkin. "I wasn't a good parent to you," Bruce whispered to Dick.

"You still had some growing up to do... And it's nice to see that you grew up in time to be part of Jason's life," Dick whispered. Bruce frowned.

"I wish I could make it up to you—."

"Be good to him... That's how you can make it up to me," Dick interrupted, "And I'm holding you to it. Our relationship is contingent on how you treat this kid."

Jason covered his face with his hand, still asleep, and Bruce rubbed his back. Dick went to sleep shortly after, but Bruce stayed awake well into the night.

Jason woke up in tears, trying to get out of bed in the dark hospital room. Bruce caught him and tucked him back into bed. "Hey, hey... I've got you. It's okay," Bruce whispered.

"I don't wanna stay here—."

"Jason, I know you're scared, but it's almost over. Once your fever breaks, we can go home," Bruce reassured.

"Can you sleep up here?" Jason mumbled. "Just for tonight, Bruce?" Bruce nodded and lay beside Jason in the hospital bed.

"You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you, right?" Bruce questioned. Jason pushed his face into Bruce's side.

"What if you can't help it?" Jason whimpered.

"Then I'll do whatever I can to fix it," Bruce replied. Jason settled into sleep, and Bruce allowed Jason to stay burrowed into his side until morning. Bruce slept soon afterward.

Jason woke up drenched in sweat, and Dick offered to get him something to drink. Jason sat up. "Feeling sick again?" Dick questioned.

Jason shook his head as the nurse entered the room. "Good morning, Sleepyhead. Feel up to taking your medicine?" she asked. Jason nodded as he took a pill and washed it down with juice. "Thank you... Breakfast should be on its way any minute now."

"Thank you," Jason mumbled. The nurse checked his vitals and left him with Dick and Bruce. "How come you stayed?"

"Don't know... Maybe I was curious to see if Bruce was lying," Dick replied, "And then I saw you... And I felt horrible."

Jason finished his juice. "Are you gonna stay to watch me compete?" Jason questioned. Dick nodded.

"I'll come back for your competition... And if you place, I'll get you a cake," Dick replied.

Jason grinned, and Bruce stirred. "Jason?" Bruce whispered. Jason looked over at Bruce. "Still too hot?"

"No," Jason replied, "But I'm still thirsty."

"On it," Dick volunteered.

The room grew silent. Jason yawned. "Do you know why I wanted to coach you?" Bruce asked. Jason shook his head. "You love figure skating. I could tell by the way you skate. You seem like you were born on the ice... That's why I don't care if you place or not. No one can take this away from you." Bruce tapped Jason's chest.

"I love figure skating... But I love you more," Jason whispered. Bruce smiled.

"I love you too, Jason... So much," Bruce replied.

"Thanks for keeping your promise," Jason smiled. Bruce nodded.

"Always... Jason, you can count on me, okay?" Bruce whispered as he dabbed the sweat from Jason's forehead. "Okay?"

"Yes, Coach," Jason answered.

Bruce climbed out of the hospital bed and stretched before tapping the bed. "Can I check to see if the swelling's gone down?" Bruce questioned. Jason nodded and allowed Bruce to roll up the blankets to look at his ankles. Bruce lifted Jason's leg by the ankle. Jason winced. "I'm sorry. How badly does it hurt?"

"Not as bad," Jason answered.

"They're not as red and puffy, so I believe you. When the swelling goes down enough, we can go home," Bruce whispered. Jason lay on his side. "Thank you for being so good about this... And thank you for letting me take you to the hospital."

"Thank you for keeping your promises," Jason replied.

[radiofreederry]

I'm trying to get into comics, any recommendations?

I'm a DC girl so this list is gonna be very DC heavy, sorry.

DC

All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely: The book that made me a Superman fan. Beautiful, joyful, self-contained story.

The Flash by Mark Waid: Will make you a Flash fan. Some of the first comics I ever read come from this run. The original run is collected in omnibus format but Mark had a second, shorter run from around 98-2000 that wrapped up a lot of loose ends, and another one around 2008. Those are good too.

The New Teen Titans by Marv Wolfman and George Perez: This book probably saved DC, and it's a wonderful read.

Batman by Scott Snyder: One of the best modern Batman runs, although it suffers from the stink of the New 52 at times.

52 by Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, and Keith Giffen: Might need some onboarding for this one but it's a great read focusing on some of the second-string characters in the DCU and a triumph of collaborative storytelling. Its spinoff Booster Gold series is great too.

Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross: A surprisingly-accessible refutation of the 1990s trend towards darker and edgier superheroes, it's a must-read for the beautiful painted artwork alone.

Mister Miracle and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, both by Tom King: Tom King's had some big misses, especially Heroes in Crisis, for which as a Wally West fan I should want his blood. He makes up for it when he hits, though. These two titles are his best work.

Secret Six by Gail Simone: A great off-beat title revolving around a small group of supervillains trying to do good. Wish they'd bring this concept back tbh.

DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke: A love letter to the Silver Age of Comics with gorgeous artwork. Was later adapted into an animated film, which is also very good.

Dwayne McDuffie's original Milestone Comics (incl. Icon, Hardware, and Static), are all very good titles focusing specifically on Black heroes. McDuffie also had a great run on Justice League of America from 2007 to 2009.

Justice League International by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire: A great and hilarious book that offers a much more lighthearted take on the DC Universe. There's a lot of focus on more obscure and minor characters which I always enjoy.

Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison and Rachel Pollock: If you've seen the TV show, it cribs heavily from this. A lovely series featuring a group of misfits trying to find their way in the world.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World: Brilliant, esoteric, at times close to incomprehensible. A must-read.

The Question by Dennis O'Neil: A wonderfully cerebral and philosophical series. Denny left reading recs in every issue! See also his run on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, which is a bit outdated but still electrifyingly political for its time, and his seminal run on the Batman titles.

Marvel

Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont: One of the greatest comic book runs of all time. Largely defined the X-Men for several generations basically until the Krakoa era. Most X-Men stories on the "greatest of all time" list come from this run.

Vision by Tom King: Hey, it's Tom King again! He wrote for Marvel too. This one's a really good character piece featuring a character who often doesn't get to stand on his own.

Daredevil by Mark Waid: The best Daredevil run, hands down.

The Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko: The original Spider-Man run is still my favorite. Some great Silver Age nonsense combined with great character drama is what put Marvel on the map, and it's on full display here.

Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona: A really good series that's mostly self-contained about a bunch of kids who run away from home after discovering that their parents are supervillains.

Fantastic Four by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo: I sing Waid's praises a lot, but damn can he write. The best run for Marvel's First Family.

Others

Bone by Jeff Smith: An epic fantasy adventure starring three cartoon funny animal characters. My favorite comic of all time.

Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai: Another epic starring funny animals, this time set in the Edo period of Japan. Mostly episodic, so it's really easy to jump into.

Astro City by Kurt Buseik: Another love letter to the Silver Age, and to superheroes in general. Essential reading.

[dailycass-cain]

Balancing real-life stuff so I couldn't do this over the weekend. So tonight here are my thoughts on Detective Comics #1087 (all of it, main story and side).

Cass's appearance in the main story is brief but still has a great weight around it. There's just something I love of Ram V where every small moment still has overtones to everything that's gone on in his run.

Every side character on this quest Batman has been through gets to shine. It hits me with utter 😄seeing the payoffs occurring in this run that have been built here or throughout other stories. These payoffs are just SOOO good and these aren't even the "end" ones.

For Cass, it's being her and just not giving up. STILL fighting, still honoring the bat symbol, and the legacy of the Batman. Aka reasons why we love this character 101.

ust the way she's introduced in the issue? chef's kiss

That extra added, "Oh they boned and know it." just by the added panel of Cass's eyes narrowing. SOOOOOO good I was little squeeing in gittiness at it. Something that's consistently happening since 2020. 😊

Likewise, you can feel that "ending" coming as Batman readies his schemes, the Orghams entering their's, Gotham too, and of course the twist we all saw coming given last issue with one other party throwing their hand too.

I'm really curious to where this all goes from here on out, and honestly I feel like a broken record but I cannot wait to see the payoffs. Like I know and feel these are all gonna be earned.

Oh sure, we might get a reset on some (Two-Face and Mr. Freeze), but man; Ram V's characterizations of both are leaving an impression on me. Something for me to continue spouting top of my lungs, "This is kino and enjoy the ride." to anyone who hasn't picked it up.

The art by Christian Duce and Stefano Raffaele is just 🔥 with the coloring by Luis Guerrero just stunning too. DC since 2020 has been killing it with the colorists they've got sprinkled throughout their books. Just makes everything the artists draw pop more.

What else can I say of the main story? Other than it just keeps delivering every month. But hey we're getting more kino with Ram V with the New Gods. That's gonna be great and curious to see where he goes with that.

The secondary story is something I've been hoping to see since the character showed up in this run, and that was some Jean-Paul Valley goodness, and not only do we get this here.

We get Dan Watters back on writing him. Oh sure, he couldn't get Nikola back, but hey Francesco Francavilla on it? Oooooh sign me up! Seeing his Cass was a delight at long last.

The story itself is just rooted in SOOO much back lore with Dick and Jean-Paul. You can take it as the perfect case to their history with one another (and it isn't pretty). I'm kind of glad we got this in the story to show this wasn't forgotten.

That this isn't just a united heirs to Bruce working together. There's still some stuff there from past that causes spite and mistrust (aka KnightsEnd).

In that regard, Dick is right to be this way. He's given Jean-Paul multiple passes and well every time Jean-Paul fell back to the conditioning he went through.

But again, Cass being Cass. Her coda is stone. "You can change. You can." Even when she was at the brunt of it too, she still that beacon holding for that hope this is the time Jean-Paul defeats his inner demons for good.

Again, it's a nice balance between the three characters. An actual reason Dick would be no trusting, and Cass being, "TRUST HIM." Given all she's been with Jean-Paul due to No Man's Land. I wasn't expecting this to be remembered on my 2024 comic bingo card.

That's something I wish someone would dig further into. That Cass could be that rock for Jean-Paul, kind of like how Steph is for Jason currently. Or Oynx was for Cass (kind of hoping that this is revisited on when she arrives in BoP) or currently Cass bonding hard with Barda.

Again, layers upon layers here. Why I enjoy this run currently for all of this.

Detective Comics #1087 continues the ride and makes me appreciate this run even more. Like, again this feels different to me. To have Cass entwined to a modern Batman epic?

Oh sure she has sprinkles in Batman runs or past Tec runs. But here? Not just the fan service appearance but characterization and history.

All the reasons why people love this character are all here. Leaving me ☺️🥺every single time I read an issue of this run. I can't wait to have the whole thing collected and just read it all.

Gonna be great.

[5-7-9]

Personally, i think Duke has the best relationship with Damian (i’d say it’s funny because they pissed each other off but Damian hating people is fairly common?). Jason managed to have a slightly fleshed out dynamic with Duke, and somehow Tim even got a single panel sort of interesting point that could be expanded on. And yet, it’s Cass who’s already Duke’s “sis” before they even met.

Cass and Duke’s dynamic is not fleshed out at all, and.. well… I thought about it… Perhaps Bryan Hill just thought… since Pierce and Katana were a duo…………….. that had to work with the batfam…… maybe……….. the only black and eastern asian batfam members should also be a duo.

HEY HEY HEY YOU DIDN’T HEAR IT FROM ME OKAY!!!

I think it’s simple really, just have Duke and Cass become friends during the Outsiders arc. 👏🎬

Cass knows Duke because he works for Batman, he gets hurt, Cass sees chance to whip some butt, then both Cass and Duke have to deal with Shiva and Karma and Ishmael, resulting into their bonding!!!

With Duke’s life involving social media and being seen, Cass helping him hide in the shadows literally is a good training arc. Too bad DC doesn’t care 😄 skipped right past all that.

Plus, we needed a rain check on Duke’s loss of autonomy when Ishmael forced him to get shadow powers anyhow.

Forget about Karma having wacky view points for a second, Cass should’ve help Duke come to terms with the emotional aspect of becoming something more dangerous without ever asking for it. The comic seemed like it was gonna do that, but it fell short of actually achieving it.

Until Shiva ruined it again by just making him do stuff. Honestly, I dislike the way they wrote Shiva treating Duke, it really pissed me off.

Granted, Shiva’s retcon into caring about motherhood was weird, so just pretend Shiva is less involved in the plot. She wasn’t expecting Cass, or she was but decided to “Round 2/3 FIGHT!!!” Cass. I mean, Shiva was just doing business with Ras Al Ghul anyway, or whatever, i think, hm.

There’s also a contradiction that happens for Duke.

For some reason Duke claims here in chapter #9 that he’s fine and actually better after… he was kidnaped. But in the last chapter #17, he claims he wasn’t fine, actually, that was pretty traumatizing.

(Shiva was only correct in that first sentence, but her smugness in the next line was annoying so i edited it out). Seriously, CASS should’ve been the one to teach Duke his shadow powers were a gift.

So whyyyyyyyy is Shiva ”teaching” Duke omfg.

Light and Darkness has a lot to work withhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh TOO BAD DC DOESN’T CARE TO SHOW IT 😃

[stackthedeck]

I fully recognize that being sad about losing my blorbos is not like a Real Problem, but I've decided that given the whole Sabra situation I can't in good conscience ever support Marvel again, and every day I remember another character that I'm never gonna get to see again and I get so sad. How are you dealing with it?

Okay fun answer that is like so deeply unserious but like i do think it is practical if you're like me and fandom has been your main hobby and identity for years. and then i'm putting the more political and upsetting answer under the cut because frankly they should be separate posts but I only got the one ask

I've been dealing with it but like forcing another hyper fixation lmao which you know doesn't work for everyone but like hey join me in booster gold and blue beetle brain rot!! It's super easy to not talk about marvel if all i want to talk about is other characters from dc and indie comics. I'm not buying marvel comics anymore because I've gotta save my money to buy the current blue beetle run. I can't post marvel fics right now, I'm working on boostle fics and I'm hoping that if I scream loud enough about them I'll have convinced enough people to read their comics and they'll have 1000 fics on ao3 by the end of the year

To some extent I still think about the characters in marvel that I hold dear, I'm still doing fandom for them through discord and continuing fics and i still reblog art on here. I do this because the cultural capital of those actions are negligible that the marvel brand and disney company really gaining nothing for it and i truly believe that all art needs to be discussed and thought about especially when the creator is problematic and like deeply involved in politics. I'm still thinking and talking about marvel because the space i gave it in my heart and brain never goes away and like quitting cold turkey this thing that's been in my life since i was 8 isn't super attainable. but I'm not doing these fandom behaviors on tiktok because it's a larger platform with no nuance, a younger demographic, and it's designed to sell you things. If I talk about marvel on that platform, aside from making people aware of the boycotts it is giving disney cultural capital and frankly it'll probably convince people to buy from the disney company. Still think deeply about these works because when we stop looking, we give ourselves permission to miss the actual messaging. when we say art has no value, we can't see it's values it portrays and we let too much shit slide.

I've found that the way i've distanced myself most from all my positive fandom feelings for marvel is through becoming more aware of the politics around comics. Getting really deep into the history of comics and the film making process of the mcu movies scratched a fandom itch in my brain, but most importantly I became so deeply and terribly aware of how the modern superhero genre has so deeply lost the plot. I gave a tedx speech about this on my campus and written a few papers about it but like Jack Kirby and Joe Simon made the character of Captain America to plead with their government to stop the oppression and genocide of their people in europe, they received death threats from nazis because they did that, despite the way people view the character as propaganda for the us military, steve rogers was first and foremost two men using fiction to beg for change and for their government to get involved to save lives. And now marvel studios is using the company they started to platform a character that represents the legitimacy of a settler state, marvel studios who is funded in part by the pentagon, who with every new movie results in increased enlistment in the military, is platforming a character that declares the right of israel to exist as it does now with the same tactics and symbols kirby and simon used to create a character that was made to stop genocide. It just makes me sick. It is a complete and total pervasion of who kirby and simon were and what they stood for. I respect their work too much to continue buying from marvel studios in any form and i can't stomach any of the new storylines the comics are telling because this isn't what comics are supposed to be

I think about this spider-man costume that was found in the rumble of a home in Gaza (link to original post) and i think about how these stories connect us, how there was a little boy who need to feel strong and powerful who wanted to be a hero and he was killed for the crime of being born Palestinian but he's no different than any other child i've loved in my life. and this multibillion dollar company funded his death, sanctioned the idea of it through the art they create, and my tax dollars fund every step of it. When I look at Spider-Man, a character who i grew up with, I can feel only grief and rage.

[whatyourusherthinks]

Deadpool & Wolverine Review

Is there a reason I should review this movie? Everyone already saw it and formed their opinion on it. Maybe I should just skip this one...

Don't even think about it thunder thighs! You think you can give this movie the same treatment as Babes? ...Who the fuck are you? Where's Buggnutz? I gave him the week off, I'm just making sure the BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR gets the proper respect it deserves. Now hold on a sec- Just tell us your history with the franchise Betsy.

Uh... Well I saw Logan Good and only the first Deadpool Unacceptable, should've watched every movie the character has been in before watching this one. Even X-Men Origins: Wolverine? YES! But I don't want to! I know what happens in that movie and Deadpool 2, and I didn't have any trouble understanding the movie! Yeah but if you watched those the trailer would've made you moist, wouldn't've? I doubt it. I like Logan a lot and Deadpool was great when it came out, y'know, when I was sixteen. But I haven't seen either in like 7 years and have no desire to revisit any X-Men movie. I'm just more of an Avenger comic reader, y'know? Fucking liar, you've only got DC comics on your shelf. We fucking caught ya bitch I bet you don't even like the MCU. Hey thanks for that segway!

This is gonna be the first and only chance I get to talk about the MCU this year, unless Venom forgets to take it's medication again, but I like the MCU a lot. More than most reviewers seems to, anyway. I have some differing opinions that some of the other fans too (The first Avengers movie is the best one, eat my entire asshole.) but I liked most of the movies in Phase 4 or 5 or whatever well enough. Hell, I'm one of the like sixteen people who watched The Marvels, and that movie was a lot of fun. If you are tired of the MCU, that's fine. I feel like you can stop talking about it if you want to. Amen and praise Stan Lee, now get to the sticking your dick in the movie! In a good way or a bad way? Up to you *audible wink*.

What's The Movie About?

CAMEOS. CAMEOS CAMEOS CAMEOS. WHAT PLOT IT'S JUST FUCKING CAMEOS. It's more than just cameos dicksquirt. Yeah barely. It's something about Deadpool's timeline being erased and he needs Wolverine for some reason to fix it. And Wolverine's sad because he let his X-Men die. But it's also a Deadpool movie so you don't fucking care. They're lying watch the movie eight times to catch the subtle storytelling they clearly missed. DON'T DO THAT.

What I Like.

The music is good. Hoo boy are we off to a screaming start. Chill. I was just saying that I like that the Deadpool movies use unconventional songs for action scenes, and the Madonna song they use over the final battle was cool. I really liked the cameos that made up the resistance team against the villain. Spoilers artfully dodged, wonderful dismount! And they were pretty much the only cameos I liked. Never mind, tripped at the goal line. The action is also really good. As befits the character, it is brutal and hilarious, but I wasn't expecting the how well they showcase some characters' powers. Weeooo Weeoo backhanded compliment alert! Highlight for me was the fight scene over the opening credits. I really liked the fight and how creatively sacrilegious it was. Plus, some of the humor made me laugh. The send off the Fox Studios over the credits was sweet, and I can see fans of pre-MCU Marvel movies not only getting a kick out of the movie, but really appreciating the fact this movie exists. So that's very nice. Beautifully prosed. Now, everyone stop reading here mmmkay? Just rest easy that some unknown and sexually frustrated fumble-cunt agrees with your pretty little opinion. You don't need to see the rest. Stop driving away my readers! I ain't got much of them to begin with.

What I Didn't Like.

Almost everything good this movie does has some parts that were dumb or annoying. Like half the comedy is obnoxious. God, tell me something new! Kinda like your interruptions, fuckhead! The character of Deadpool is as faithful as ever, which means he can be super fucking annoying. At least the other characters think so too, but it doesn't help that Wolverine saying fuck every other word was getting on my nerves. Pot calling the kettle blaaaaaaack. Well it sounds weird! Also, not only am I trying to cut back on my swearing a bit, but also I change it up every once in a while. Shitheel. Hehehe sweet talker. Now tell me the villain's lame even though you've never read about this character and don't know how faithful she is to the source material. Um, yeah, that's true. But even if she is faithful it doesn't change that she's bland. You thought the finger-mindreading effect was cool, admit it! Uh, yeah also true. But it makes no sense! Who are you, the fucking mind police, fingerbanging edition? Who cares what if it makes sense? It extends to the whole plot though! The time travel stuff (Spoilers) IT'S IN THE TRAILER! Is not cohesive with the MCU explanation as a whole. It would help if the plot wasn't clearly an afterthought, but clearly I'm the only viewer who fucking cares. What? The movie can't make up it's own thing? Not if it's gonna pillage the MCU crumbs for cheap fanservice and jokes! AND SPEAKING OF CHEAP JOKES, why is it funny that Deadpool is gay? Because getting fucked in the ass is funny. Why?! Seriously, sit down and tell me why is Deadpool being gay or bisexual or whatever funny. I'm not saying LGBTQIA+ people are above being made fun of, Soundslikethat'swhatyou'redoing but I just don't get it. And not only is this a well that the movie comes to time and time again, but it's all over the marketing! At least it's better gay man representation than Mean Girls. ...Fuck you. Gladly. Can you at least admit that this movie is too long. What?! Are you on all the cocaine Feige confiscated from the cast/prop department? No, but during for the entire final act I was waiting for the movie to wrap up! And my god! Can a Marvel movie have stakes again? MCU movies have never been great for having plots with lasting consequences, but at least they were good at faking it. THERE WERE TWO MOVIES BETWEEN INFINITY WAR AND END GAME. Wait wait wait, you wanted the movie to kill Wolverine and Deadpool? YES. This is definitely gonna be the last movie where Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine and definitely should be the last Deadpool movie, so why not? Hell, isn't the whole point of the final fight scene to tell us that there is a million versions of Deadpool in the multiverse? So you could totally kill him off and still keep Ryan Reynolds on the hook for whatever cameos you want. Christ Buggy was right, you are a sociopath! WELL MAYBE IF MOVIES STOPPED FAKING CHARACTER DEATHS I WOULDN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT IT SO MUCH. Stakes are only effective if you sometimes follow through with the threats the story gives. Bathos be damned, my balls are the shade of blueberries.

Final Summation.

The movie's fine. After all that? You're not even gonna give us the good shit you whingeing coconut? Well the movie ain't worst movie I've seen in any aspect. It's not the worst superhero, Fox, or Marvel movie I've watched, hell, not even the worst of any of those movies I've seen this year! But it's also not the best thing since self-lubricating dildos. I'm giving it a begrudging recommendation, not that it matters because if you want to see this movie even slightly you already did.

We're just gonna end of self-lubricating dildos? YEP AND YOU CAN LICK MY CINNAMON RING BITCH.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

if you're up for it out of the ones you know how would the other non-comics Edwards rank? (Unburied, HQ Show and whichever else you've seen?)

this is going to be considerably more hinged because I just straight up haven't seen a lot of the cartoons that Riddleboy has popped up on and generally have less feelings about them; the comics are where I really get crazy get stupid about him. but let's talk about a couple highlights! no ratings, they're all good little bastards.

John Glover (Batman: The Animated Series)

he's not my FAVORITE favorite but like. come on. he's a good little Riddler! he riddles like crazy! and I like BTAS rogues on principle, I love that they can definitely murder people but stay classy about it.

I usually prefer Riddlers who are driven to riddle by a desire to fuck (with) Batman, but I actually REALLY respect that this guy originally just wanted to murder his shitty former boss. that guy sucked and he did deserve to get disemboweled by a mechanical minotaur in an enormous labyrinth that Eddie apparently spent a year building on his own dime!

I'm also kind of indebted to his existence because Eddie in BTAS spinoff comics is just. my favorite little guy. him!

Dave Franco (Young Justice)

I'm gonna keep this quick because there isn't a lot to say: this Riddler kind of sucks but is also pretty much spot-on. like he's irritating but the whole narrative knows he's irritating; sweet baby Dick Grayson seems fucking exhausted the second he shows up and all the other villains at Belle Reve bully him like a bunch of cunty middle schoolers. I'm a simple man; I love when even the other villains want to kill this man on sight. his design also kind of sucks; like there are so many elements here that sort of work but just aren't that remarkable altogether? he looks like he does other bad guys' taxes.

having said all of that I do genuinely adore that in his first episode he's the only guy who manages to break out of Belle Reve during what was planned to be a mass breakout, especially given that the aforementioned bullying would strongly suggest nobody even told him that was going to happen. I love when he's the slippiest boy! escaping things is sort of a riddle; let him have that.

also, hey, I have to say this: it's just. so weird that he's Dave Franco. he's not bad in the role at all but. why.

Jim Rash (Harley Quinn: The Animated Series)

speaking of animated shows that know he's annoying and just roll with it!!

I like the Harley Quinn series quite a lot for a lot of reasons, mainly because it's not precious about the DC mythos and will frequently just do some buckwild shit with very established characters with absolutely zero hesitations. the Riddler is the opposite of that; this show knows exactly why and in what ways he's supposed to be an insufferable little freak and they go for it full throttle. don't love the bald + question mark tattoo look but he's gay so it balances out.

Hasan Minhaj (Batman Unburied)

yeah there's no normal way to explain this one, this version of the Riddler crawled deep inside one of my brain wrinkles and is still sitting there chirping like a cricket. I can't even explain why but if I think about him too long I begin frothing at the mouth. I think about him a profoundly abnormal amount and I feel great about it. he's only in four episodes and managed to rot a hole in my psyche in significantly less than that. I just think he's neat. he's awful. he's pathetic. he's my little meow meow. I don't want anyone to fix him. I'll cry if he gets worse. I want to see him implode. I've said it before and I'll say it again, whatever happens in season 2 of Unburied is going to make me truly unbearable as a human being.

[positivelybeastly]

hi! I'm the anon who sent the icebeast playlist ask. It was actually nice to get some actual context on what's been going on with Bobby and Hank to get them to this point- I'm reading chronologically right now and I'm still in the 60s, (though I have read some more scattered modern runs here and there) so my knowledge is limited. I love both characters quite a lot but i can definitely see why you're upset on Hank's behalf in those interactions :( . I'm not gonna defend Bobby here, because while even with my limited knowledge I can piece together some reasons for why Bobby responded the way he did and fucked that conversation up, there's no justification and he definitely needs to make it up to Hank. Thanks again for the context, I really and truly love seeing nuanced takes on character dynamics and sometimes that nuance gets messy when it comes to looking at what actually happened in the text as opposed to what one might have preferred to happen.

Oh, hey, hello there!

First off, I want to say - if anyone has a meme prompt that they want to send in, like this playlist meme, but they don't have an RP blog, you're still good to send things in on Anon! That's what Anon is for, precisely because you, my Anonymous friend, sent in the playlist ask, and now it's opened up a whole conversation and people are learning more about comic book characters who, let's face it, have SO MUCH history. SO MUCH.

Being able to just get the highlights or even an attempt at a throughline makes such a difference, honestly - it gives you a coherent story where you can go, okay, I want to see more of THAT, and that's when you can just go, hey, where can I read more of this storyline or this writing style or this character. Comics are so much more legible and easy to break into when you can pick a character or a dynamic or a storyline, and just go from there. It's still a massive problem, all these years on, and Marvel and DC don't make it easy with their confusing numbering systems and constant retcons.

With that said . . . hoo, you're starting off in the 60s? I am. Kinda sorry, friend, that is a rough time, I can only do so much Lee/Kirby X-Men before I just start breaking out into hives. When you get into the early 70s, and especially when Claremont takes over, though, man, you're in for a treat!

And it's also - I feel like it's really important for me to state my biases, because I am biased. I love Hank. I write him a lot. I've read . . . probably the lion's share of his comics. He's kind of a personal inspiration, in some ways, and he was really influential to me when I was a kid due to various body related issues.

So I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I maybe tend to side with him by default, but that's usually why I include the panels when I talk about these things, so that you can see them and have your own take on it, so you can see why I came to that interpretation. There's nothing I hate more than comic book fans who will tell you how a storyline or a character goes, and their back-up for it is, that's the way I remember it, and then you go and read it and it's completely fuckin' different. Fucking annoys the piss out of me.

And I want people to feel like they can argue with me! I love talking about messy character dynamics, and character who fuck up and make bad choices, because that's how life is and how people are, that's how I am and how you are. Especially since I know what and why Hank was feeling in a particular moment, why he needed Bobby so much and Bobby let him down, but I don't know where that sits in Bobby's story. Maybe I'm being harsher on him than I should be, and I welcome that discussion, that's a conversation worth having!

If I wasn't open to interpretation of these characters by other people, I would solely write fanfic - and, to be fair, I do - but I mostly roleplay, because I love the windows into the soul. I love the moments when characters click or don't, because it reveals essential truths, it hits you in the gut, it's fucking satisfying, man.

And honestly, there's so much about Hank's story that I wish had gone differently. So many character dynamics that have fallen by the wayside, that made them better - remember when Hank and Emma used to be best friends? Yeah! That used to be a thing! So getting to play that out here, with friends and talented roleplayers and talented roleplayer friends (lbr, these three things are the same thing) is just a joy.

Thank you for the asks, friend!

[rogueshadeaux]

| ➳ Ao3 here | ➳ Quotev here |

InFAMOUS: Erosion Table of Contents

Hey guys! RogueShadeaux here, though that's an absolute mouthful, isn't it? Call me Rogue! She/Her, BIPOC, Mid-20's. I was a fanfiction writer for most of my youth (a cringe one, we aren't talking about it), and I've only just wanted to return after a long stint as a caretaker for my ill grandmother.

➳ What do you write?

This is my blog where I will be posting any art, drabbles or the like related to the inFAMOUS franchise from Sucker Punch Productions. It is also where I will post chapters (along with on my ao3) of my fanfiction inFAMOUS: Erosion, the first of a two book series taking place almost 18 years after the events of inFAMOUS: Second Son.

➳ When do you update?

What are you, a narc? All jokes aside, there will not be a surefire, regular posting schedule that I will promise, though I will aim to post a new chapter every other...Monday. Yeah, Monday, more than likely in the morning on Tumblr, as I’ll queue it, and evening for ao3. Something good to start off the week with, and hopefully, will be consistent.

I'm a weak minded fool with procrastination and perfectionist issues, though, so we'll see.

The first chapter will be dropped December 17th, 2022 — the day that inFAMOUS: Erosion in-story begins (although, another 14 years in the future). Until then, I will post little bits of the story, art, and general inFAMOUS content. Chapter 2 will start the (hopefully) regular Monday postings.

➳ What is inFamous: Erosion about?

I don't have a solid summary yet as I'm typing this, so here, have a blurb from the story so far, which has already accrued 68k words:

She hummed again. That’s all she seemed to do was hum, like it was how she processed words. “I became Delsin’s foster mother when he was your age. A little bit younger, actually — he had just turned 17.” She looked off to the horizon, cool steam lifting from the Sound and threatening to settle on it, freeze it over. “His mother and father were on the east coast when the — when Empire City happened. They caught the Ray Field Plague and…” she sighed. No need to elaborate on what happened to people who had that radiation poisoning. “He became mine when the state came for him. Tribe gets first choice when an Indian goes into foster care, after all. 

“Then those Conduits broke out, and…your father had smoke coming out of his hands.” She shook her head, somehow finding enough humor in the situation to laugh. “And you know what? He didn’t get time to play around with his powers, either. But you know what the difference is between his situation, and yours?” 

 “What?” 

 “You have him.”

Yeah I'm gonna be mean, that's literally all you get until I have a proper summary, which will be posted accordingly. Story was inspired by the Good Karma stencil art "When Toddlers Attack" (which can be found here under 1.8: Lantern District) while I was replaying Second Son with my 5 year old.

It'll follow Good Karmatic events of inFAMOUS and inFAMOUS 2, mostly Good Karmatic events of inFAMOUS: Second Son, lore from inFAMOUS: First Light, Paper Trails and Cole's Legacy, as well as incorporate the little bits of that extra stuff we got from the inFAMOUS DC comic run. This story will not deal with anything regarding inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood. I might make maybe one reference. But no vampires here.

NO SEXUAL THEMES appear in this story. There will be hard and possibly distressing topics mentioned and discussed, which I advise the reader to heed via trigger warnings I will place. Curation is your responsibility.

➳ Any content warnings?

Canon-typical violence, death, mild body horror, murder, racism but in a Conduit sense, racism in a racism sense, terrorism/mass shootings (typical American stuff :) we’re fine), possible ooc. Other triggers will be added with the specific chapter, as I'm still writing and will probably do some more dastardly things to these poor characters.

➳ Any related tags?

You can find all regarding this fanfiction under the #inFAMOUS Erosion tag.

That's it for now! I'm honestly suuuuuper excited to get back to writing fanfiction — it's been so goddamn long — and this story, I guarantee, will never be abandoned. Literally unless I die. I use this story as a warm-up while I write my own novel to get the brain moving, and since my other tale is a longer series of its own, I definitely won't find a reason to abandon it. So you get the surefire guarantee of a complete story! That's always fun. So sit back, relax, and get ready for a good dose of Sucker Punch's best.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Any thoughts on what's been announced for upcoming DC movies? Especially about the fact that they're adapting Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow apparently

RE: The DC announcements as a whole:

It's just so early, and DC/Warner Bros has such a bad track record when it comes to their films. Pretty much every DCEU post I've ever made has aged like milk. XD

But, hmmm. Some rapid fire reactions:

Glad it's basically one big reboot. Toss the entirety of the DCEU, there is nothing worth saving. XD

Superman starting off the new films? YES. YES. MY BOY.

Damian as their first live action Robin is an interesting choice!

I don't have HBO Max, so I will continue to miss all of those projects entirely. XD

Nooooot really a fan of the way they're handling the casting? Apparently it's gonna be like. One actor that will portray the character across all mediums and...mmmm.

Screen acting and voice acting are two very different things.

(Like listen I enjoyed What If...? but HOO BOY it has some bad voice acting from the MCU folks.)

Uhhhh...what else, what else. Hmmm.

Seems like a good blend of A-listers and deep cuts, but again, it's SO early, there's nothing of substance that's been announced for the various projects, really all I can personally say is, like, 'Cool!' XD

Oh, hey, credit where credit is due: It isn't just, 'Oops! All Batman!' thank goodness.

RE: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film adaptations SPECIFCALLY

In general:

BUT ALSO:

This announcement was at the bottom of DC's press release and the way my level of investment went from 0 to 60, I tell ya. XD

SO, SO COOL that Gunn has decided to go with this story SPECIFICALLY to adapt. Like. Congrats to King, Evely, Lopes, etc.

...Less cool, the way he decided to describe it in the press release? XD

His little sound bite is honestly what folks assume this book is. EDGEY, HARDCORE KARA.

And like. It is a dark book, but it is so tempered with hope!!!

But eh. It makes for a punchy headline on clickbait sites, so. I get it. XD

And again: like any of these announcements, way, waaaaaaaay to early to have strong feelings one way or the other, but. BUT.

I will say...this book is Evely and Lopes. Like. King writes a beautiful story here, but the art.

THE ART.

The art makes it sing.

And I personally don't have a ton of faith in a live action take on the material, in that regard.

Also this comic is nothing but wall to wall narration so that'll be...interesting?

Honestly now that I'm thinking on it this book is gonna be a pretty tricky tightrope act--there are a myriad of ways it could go...wrong. XD

But hey! WHO KNOWS.

....

...

OH HEY WAIT maybe DC will promote this book now and give it a hardcover release because WHAT THE HECK, DC. WHAT THE HECK.

HUman TARGET gets not one, but TWO hardcover volumes--HUMAN TARGET. But you cannot be bothered to collect an Eisner Nominated, CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED book in a FANCIER FORMAT THAN A TPB!??!?!?!!!?!??!?!?!

(For the record I like Human Target but I promise you, this man is NOT a high profile character, why does DC think they can move more books starring CHRSTOPHER CHASE than SUPERGIRL?!??!?!)

(I'd blame sexism but Action Comics only has TPB releases as well. *shakes fist* Detective Comic Comics!!!!! AARRRGHHH!!!!)

TL;DR - Some very compelling announcements, but until I am sitting in the theaters, watching these movies with my own two eyeballs, I won't believe any of them will *actually* exist. XD

[taiblogcomics]

The Brief Reign of Monarch

Hey there, furnace giants. Let's just get into Countdown for today, and then I'll give you something nice afterward. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but look forward to something~

Anyways, here's the cover:

Ah yes, Monarch. That's Monarch! He sure is on the cover! Since there's not much to this cover (cool lighting, though), let's do a backstory rundown for this guy instead. So, back in the day, there was a minor event story called Armageddon 2001, which was about a tyrant named Monarch who took over the world and killed all the superheroes. Another guy, Matthew Ryder AKA Waverider, went back in time to figure out which hero was destined to become Monarch. Kind of a cool story premise, but here's where the interesting part happens: the story leaked. In 1991, before the modern form of the internet and content leaks were common, the planned ending became widely known.

And DC did the dumb thing you should never do when your twist gets out: they decided the twist was more important than the story leading up to the twist. Originally, the evidence was supposed to point to a reveal that Captain Atom was Monarch. So DC decided to make another guy Monarch to preserve the twist, even though the story didn't line up that way. (It was Hawk of Hawk & Dove, but that's not important to today's story. He later becomes Extant, to free up the identity.) And the worst part about that? They've been trying to course-correct and still make Captain Atom into Monarch ever since.

This is a follow-up to one such time. Yeah, this isn't even the first time they've tried this particular course-correction. This one, though, comes from the monumentally bad Battle for Bludhaven miniseries that spun out of Infinite Crisis' aftermath. The long and short of it is, Captain Atom once again had a leak in his containment suit. And they chose to solve this problem by putting him in the Monarch armour. That's where we are today! I hope all that has prepared you for today's review, which we should really get into about now~

Before that, another recap: Duela Dent got killed by a Monitor, so another Monitor is teaming up with Jason Todd and Donna Troy. Jimmy Olsen almost got killed by Killer Croc, so now he has superpowers. Holly Robinson got framed for killing a cop, so now she's in Metropolis. Pied Piper and Trickster got bored with not-killing, so they're joining the Rogues for a heist. Mary Marvel got bored with no powers, so she got some from Black Adam instead of being killed. And Karate Kid got into the future, so the JLA is holding him to make sure there's no killing.

So we open with Mary Marvel getting teleported to …I'm not sure if it's the Rock of Eternity. I know that got destroyed, but I didn't follow any Captain Marvel stories after that, so I don't know if it was put back together. It's the new base, though, the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man are here. Basic Captain Marvel stuff. Anyways, speaking of the good captain, he's here in his new role as the new Wizard. As opposed to Mary's black latex outfit, Billy's glow-up has him in pure white with long hair. He's magic Jesus! If you ignore that regular Jesus was also magic.

A mild bit of praise (don't expect that often), the comic does answer my question. This is the Rock of Eternity, and it's an extension of Billy's power as the wizard. This is also about the point where they stopped calling anybody "Captain Marvel" and started using "Shazam" as the character's name, since they had just killed off the wizard Shazam. I'm just gonna call Billy Batson "Billy" and Freddy Freeman "Freddy", just to keep it simple. Anyway, Billy the Wizard tells Mary that while he's the new wizard and Freddy is training to be the new Captain Marvel, there's a problem with her.

We cut over to Washington DC, where Forerunner is wandering the back alleys after the Monitors abandoned her. She's approached by a silhouette who reminds her of this very abandonment and she immediately attacks. And this silhouette? It's our cover boy, Monarch. The two have a fight, while Monarch exposits his offer to her. Like I said, this is leading into Countdown: Arena, an unimportant tie-in. The short version is, he thinks she's cool, and he can help show her how cool she is if she comes and joins him in his fight pit. She agrees, and the two walk out of the story.

Okay, now we go over to Jimmy Olsen. Last time, he had the brilliant breakthrough that his powers only activate when he's actually in peril. They're literally reactive. He'll never get on one of those stupid proactive teams at this rate. So what's his plan to test this? Hang out in Metropolis' roughest neighbourhood and deliberately pick fights. Fortunately, the gangs in Metropolis are terrible enough that they will pick a fight over just sports teams. And he's found the only ones that prefer the Yankees over the local Metropolis team. What do the sports leagues look like in DC, where they have a good 30 major cities that we don't?

Anyways, a fight breaks out, and Jimmy gets punched pretty hard without his powers activating. Shocked by this and rather brutally injured, he shakily tries to apologise and offer the thugs money for popcorn at the game later. They're not interested, and one of them reaches out to grab Jimmy. And that's when his powers activate, with quills sprouting from his body and spraying the thugs painfully. They run off, terrified that Jimmy is a "freak". Wow, no wonder they preferred the Yankees, I think they came from Marvel Comics instead. Jimmy's just confused why his powers worked when he got grabbed but not punched.

We get a brief two pages (well, one page and a splash) for Holly Robinson, who is recruited to a women's shelter by a suspicious woman in Greek robes with an owl on her shoulder. Gee, I wonder who this could be. Holly decides to stop by, figuring it couldn't hurt to at least case the joint, not registering it as suspicious when the woman says "Welcome home, Holly" and Holly has not introduced herself by name. And that splash page? Despite being a Metropolis high-rise, the interior is all polished white marble, Greek statues, and more women in gold-white chitons.

We also get a two-page appearance by Trickster and Pied Piper, and it's an actual two pages this time. They've ducked into an alley, panicking because they killed the Flash. Oh yeah. If you weren't following the Flash series at the time, you have no idea this happens! So, first of all, the Flash in question is Bart Allen (PKA Kid Flash and Impulse), who got aged up after Infinite Crisis and had his own 13-issue series, which ended with him being murdered by the Rogues. Real nice. Trickster and Piper didn't actually participate in his death, but they were there and didn't stop it, and now they're wanted by the police. That's the basic gist of their scene.

Back over to Mary and Billy, she asks what he means by "problem". He was using magic to watch her fight with The Worst Demon Of All Time, and he was concerned. Sadly, not with how gross the demon was, but how brutally Mary dispatched him. Dude, A) it was a demon, and 2) it was a sick-nasty gross-ass demon who ate dead babies and was what he ate. But it's concerning to him, because Mary would normally never do that. "Even your costume has changed," he says, while wearing a new all-white costume that he didn't wear when he was Captain Marvel.

She explains that her new powers came from Black Adam, and he's shocked and horrified. He's like, "You have no idea what that'd do to you!" Um, give her powers? Kind of like it did for Teth-Adam? These aren't drug supplements or anything, Billy, they're literal magic powers. She's like, "What was I supposed to do? I woke up from a coma and couldn't find you guys." And his response is that maybe she was supposed to lose her powers and get a fresh start. She retorts that maybe she was "supposed" to get new powers from Black Adam, then, and if he can't support her in that, she'll keep doing things by herself. The comic ends with her punching her way out of the Rock of Eternity and flying off. Girl, we just repaired that thing, what the hell.

Well, this was a dumb issue. Like, my explanation of Monarch's backstory was longer than his appearance in this comic. Everyone else is also taking stupid pills today: picking fights with street thugs, arguing with their siblings, taking shelter from suspicious Greek women... But I think the worst part of this book is the Trickster/Piper stuff. Not killing Bart Allen--that's stupid in its own way, but it didn't happen in this book. Which is the problem. We suddenly dump this on you, in media res, expecting you to have followed Bart's Flash series. Last, what, eight issues we've had the Rogues going "we're cooking something big", and then they don't even pull off said scheme in this story.

Like, this is this issue's whole problem. Think about how many stories you're expected to have read to understand this issue. Like, in addition to just the previous issues of this series itself, you also need to have read Infinite Crisis and 52 just for the state of the multiverse. You need to have read Battle for Bludhaven to know why Monarch is walking around, which leads into his own miniseries, Countdown: Arena. Holly's story comes off of Batman: Officer Down, and ties into Amazons Attack!. Billy's stuff is all in Trials of Shazam, which is itself spun out of Day of Vengeance so you know how Mary lost her powers and the Rock of Eternity was destroyed. And Bart's death happened in The Flash: Full Throttle. It's exhausting. No wonder the average person can't get into comics~

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Lost Boys

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Superfam

Summary: After Jonathan Lane Kent wipes himself from existence by canceling his own timeline, he finds himself stuck in the afterlife where he meets Jason Todd. He still wonders about the life un-lived on Earth, and how his parents would've felt about him.

Jason Todd, who is making the most of being dead, struggles with the reality of what he's left behind. He has one wish and one wish only: to send his family one final message.

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent (Laney), Jason Todd, Catherine Todd, Boston Brand, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, John Constantine, Raven, Talia al Ghul, Ra's al Ghul, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake

Relationships: Platonic JayLaney

Additional Tags: Angst, Platonic Relationships, Magical Jason Todd, Resurrected Jason Todd, Queerplatonic Relationships, Canon Divergent AU, POV Multiple

Chapter One: I'm Just A Kid (Laney's POV)

He belonged in heaven. I don't mean that in a he-was-too-soft-for-this-world way or a he-was-the-most-beautiful-thing-I'd-ever-seen way. Jason never looked more at home than when he was in heaven being my best friend... Hell, he was my only friend.

I remember when I met him. I'd just come out of the fog of wiping myself from existence, and I was all alone. I spent who knows how long by myself before the day at the lake changed everything. I dipped my feet in the water and watched as the fish swam past. Freshwater fish had such engaging colors. I often spent my days there watching them swim around. It was always the same group of fish.

That day, in particular, I was overcome by loneliness, and I found myself crying. I just wanted it to end. I wanted to end the loneliness, and I thought if I could die somehow for good that the pain would be over.

I wanted to throw myself into the lake and sink to the bottom, and just before I could muster up the courage to do anything, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Mind if I join you?" the voice asked. I turned to face the source with tears in my eyes, and when I saw how Jason was dressed, I laughed.

"Hey! It's not that funny," he replied, "I'm Jason... Can I join you?"

"I was gonna drown myself, and it'd be awkward if—."

"I was around to watch?" Jason interrupted. "I don't think it works like that up here." He took off his pixie boots and dipped his foot in the water. "I don't suppose you took it into consideration that we're already dead."

"I don't know," I mumbled, "I was just thinking maybe I could—. Wait, how have I been alone so long, and why'd you just show up today?"

"I've never wandered out this way. If that's why you're doing this, I'm here now, I know where all the other people are," Jason whispered, "You still haven't told me your name."

"I don't exist anymore," I replied.

He walked around on his hands and plopped down right next to me. "Doesn't matter if you exist anymore or not. I'm sure you had a name before. What was your name when you existed?" Jason asked. He didn't look directly at me. Instead, he stared at the horizon.

"Jonathan Lane Kent," I answered.

"Laney?" he suggested.

"Sure... I guess," I replied. I hated it, but I didn't really feel like being Jonathan anymore.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked.

After sitting with him for what felt like hours, he got up to leave, and I grabbed his hand. "Please," I begged. I couldn't bear to be alone again. He squeezed my hand, and he took me to a cottage.

Jason stopped at the door. "This is my favorite part of being here," Jason whispered with a big smile on his face. "Ma! I'm home!"

She opened the door and embraced him, and he introduced me to her. "This is my Ma, Catherine," Jason replied as he went into the kitchen and set the table.

Something in me felt sorry for him. I almost forgot how badly I felt before I met him. He made my plate, and I stood there wondering why he felt the need to make dinner for dead people. I stood in the doorway and watched as he worked, and I pushed a hand through my hair. "Laney, you eat beef?" Jason asked. I nodded.

We all sat at the table and started to eat. Catherine doted on him and fixed his collar, and they talked about the food and their life. I was too busy stuffing my face to include myself in the conversation. The food was good. I hadn't tasted anything in so long. Their cottage was so warm and inviting that I almost forgot I wasn't alive. "Have any family you might want to see here?" Catherine asked. I shook my head. "Well, you can stay with us."

I smiled at her. I could see where Jason got his warmth. He poured me a glass of juice, and something in his eyes seemed sad. "So, who are you?" Jason asked. "Who are your parents?"

"My parents?" I asked. Jason nodded. "Clark and Lois Kent... Superman and Lois Lane? I dunno if they're even—."

"I figured, I just wanted to make sure," Jason whispered, "But you don't seem like—."

"I wasn't raised by them. It's a long story," I interrupted. Jason nodded. "But I don't exist anymore, so I don't really belong to anyone."

"Belong to?" Jason and Catherine questioned me at the same time, and I went back to eating. I didn't know what to say. I just didn't want to speak anymore.

The dinner seemed neverending. Part of me didn't want it to end. When the day as we knew it was over, we lay out among the stars, and I stared up at the sky. I wanted the night to stretch on forever. I thought that if the night ended that everything would be over. I thought I'd be alone again. "I was sad at first, but I think it's okay that I'm dead," Jason stated. I turned to look at him as tears streamed down the side of his face. "I um—. I miss him, though." He sniffed, and I turned on my side and reached for his shoulder before stopping myself.

"Who?" I asked. He turned his head away from me.

"Bruce... I mean, I know I'm better off here, but I—. No. I know... I just want to say it... I never said it when I was alive," Jason cried. "He was more of a dad to me than my own—. He was my dad. I just want to talk to him one more time."

I brushed his hand with my pinkie and looked back up at the sky. "I killed a lot of people, Jason... I don't know. I um—. I had to erase myself from existence to keep from messing up the entire—. I don't think my dad would want to talk to me even if I—."

He took a sharp inhale of air, and I sat up. Before I could try to say anything else, Jason wrapped his arms around me, and he held me. "We're never gonna grow up, Laney," he mumbled into my shoulder, and I burst into tears. It was the first time in my life that anyone ever just held me, and the first time I realized that I was just a kid too. We stayed there underneath the stars until the sun came out.

[dearest-sapphics]

Mmm yeah screw it

Jeff the killer rewrite chapter(?) 1

It doesn't make much sense on it's own but this section takes place a few years after the whole incident

My phone's alarm goes off, my obnoxiously loud signal to wake up. I silence the noise, but the damage is done. I'm awake and so is Keith. "You're gonna start sleeping somewhere else if you don't turn that shit off," he says.

"What do you want me to do, be late to class?" I ask. He kicks me under the covers, and I'm starting to remember how much of a bitch he is in the mornings.

I force myself up, grab a random shirt and pair of jeans out of the basket and go into the bathroom. I do all the morning jazz, hair, teeth, making sure I smell decent enough. I probably should've showered last night, I reek of weed and cigarettes. Not that I usually don't smell like weed and cigarettes, but I think Travis Gramble is starting to regret sitting by me in math or whatever they wanna call it. Colleges give everything weird ass names. I change and coat myself in cologne, which will hopefully mask my odor.

I walk to the very small kitchen and start a pot of coffee. I hate that I thought morning classes were a good idea. Oh I've done it since I was little, it won't be any different. Turns out it's a lot easier to sell drugs and stay up all night in high school than in college. More customers, though, so more money. Which means I get to rub it in Keith's parents' faces that I can provide for myself.

The coffee finishes and I fix it how I like (which is apparently to bitter if you ask Troy.) I need breakfast, but soggy cereal and a cold sandwich isn't to appetizing. Maybe we still have some leftovers. I open the fridge and it's the emptiness fridge I've ever seen. We need to go grocery shopping, I guess I can do that after classes. Guess I'll just starve myself until then. I shut the fridge and go over to the door, grabbing a pair of socks out of the sock basket. It's time saving to keep your socks and shoes by the front door. Troy hates it because ever time he comes over he knocks the basket over but who gives a shit about what Troy thinks?

I try drinking my coffee, but I burn my tongue. "Fuck!" I yell. "Shut the hell up!" Keith yells back from the bedroom. I'm regretting our bunking decisions.

I probably don't even have time to finish this coffee, I'll just put it in the fridge until I get back. "I'm leaving, I love you!" I call. I get no response. "Dick," I mumble to myself. I put my coffee up and leave, making sure I have my key on me so my lovely boyfriend doesn't lock me out again. There's some hipster couple in the courtyard making out, and some kid running with half a sandwich in their mouth. I kinda hope they trip. Is that to mean? I've been working on that, been trying to be nicer. It sucks ass. Why is being kind preached to us? I haven't gotten a single thing out of it so far, though I guess karma from high school is due. It's a shit tone of karma.

"Randy!" I turn my head and almost fall when Troy knocks into me. "Dude, watch it," I say. "Sorry, thought I was gonna stop sooner," he says, "But hey, now we can walk to English together." "It's to early for me to have a conversation," I say starting my way to class. "That's fine, since I wanted to talk about this cute girl I met a few days ago" Troy says. "Another lesbian?" I joke. "Shut up, this one isn't going to be a lesbian," he says. "You said that about the last one," I tell him. "Yes, but I have a good feeling about this. I got her number!" Troy says. "What's her name?" I ask. "It's Ivy, and she's super cool! She's a huge sports fan, but she also reads a lot of comics. Mostly DC, which I don't get because I like Marvel more but whatever. Oh! and she has the cutest dog I've ever seen! His name is Brutus, and I think he's a bulldog mixed with a pitbull. And she recently started her own business, she help people decorate their homes," Troy explains.

"Mhm, how old is she?" I ask. "She's 28," Troy says. "She's nine years older than you," I say. "Yeah, but it's not like she's old," he says. "28 is pretty old," I say. "Sure it is," Troy says. He holds the door open for me and I walk to the classroom. "I hope Mr. Grays' hungover so he won't make us do anything," I say. "We already don't do anything," Troy says. "Yeah, but I'm tired of asking Madeline for notes," I say. "Then write your own," Troy says. "To lazy," I say. I take my seat, Troy settling beside me. Mr. Grays is holding his head at his desk, so I'm leaning to no work today.

After a few minutes, everyone else is in the class. Half of them have coffee from the cafe, lucky bastards. I take my phone and text Keith.

R: tell me what you want from the store

R: I'm going some time today

He surprisingly answers fairly quickly.

K: A new boyfriend

Asshole.

R: they don't sells those

R: dick

He sends a picture of him giving me the bird, but I could care less. He's just upset because my alarm woke him up and he can't fall back asleep. He'll go back to normal soon.

"You guys can do whatever, just do it quietly," Mr. Grays says. "Guess you got your wish," Troy says. "Mhm, do you think he'd care if we left?" I ask. "I mean, Carlos usually does and he doesn't say anything," Troy says, "Why?" I put my phone up before standing up and grabbing my bag. "I've got somewhere I need to go," I say. "Where? Back to your dorm?" Troy asks. "Nope, somewhere else," I say. "Can I know?" Troy asks. He sounds genuinely curious, but I'm to stubborn and proud to tell him. "Maybe later," I say.

I leave out of the classroom and head to Ms. Winifred's room, the campus counselor. I knock the door, just encase she has someone else in there. Look at me, being considerate and shit.

"Come in!" she calls. I open the door and walk in, and Ms. Winifred looks pleasantly surprised to see me. "Randy, you're back. I'm glad, got worried you wouldn't," she says. "Yeah, well I guess I have more I want to get out," I say. I sit down, setting my bag beside me. "How have you been?" Ms. Winifred asks. "Uh, okay. Nothing really big has happened. Well, Keith's parents want us to come visit for Thanksgiving," I say. "Ah, the parents who don't like you?" she says in a way that's a mix of a question and statement. "Yeah, those ones,"I say, "I'm not looking forward to it." "Mm, well there's no real doubt they'll be rude, but there's ways around it. You could give very short hand answers to anything they say that's weird or wrong," Ms. Winifred tells me. "Yeah, I guess so," I say, "but I actually wanted to talk about something else."

She swirls in her chair a little and grabs her coffee cup, "What is it?" "Well..." I'm fidgeting with my hands, and flashes of all of it are coming back to me. I tried to help, I did, I just... didn't.

"There was an incident when I was in high school, me and my friends were involved in it. A kid got hurt, really hurt. There wasn't anything anyone could do, I guess, but I wanted to help. I couldn't, or I-I didn't. I really did try to, though," I say, "It just didn't work."

Ms. Winifred looks sympathetic, which I guess it's her job to be. "Can I know what the incident was?" she asks. If I tell about the house fire, I'll have to say I caused it, which would tie me to him getting burned and someone loosing their home. And sure, legally she can't tell anyone, and it's been years but still. Someone else would know what I did, someone else would know what I caused. "No, I can't say it," I tell her. "Randy, this is a safe place to talk. No one else will know what you say except me-" "I just can't tell you, not now," I say. She sighs softly but nods, "Okay, well can you tell me why you think it was your fault?" This was a bad idea, there's no way to talk about it without her knowing. I'll have to tell her if I want help for this. "I hurt him, the boy, and it caused him to get hurt more. I tried helping him before he got hurt again but I couldn't." "And you blame yourself for him getting hurt?" she asks. "Yes."

"You tired helping him, though," Ms. Winifred says, "just because you weren't able to doesn't mean it's your fault. You can't blame yourself for something you couldn't have controlled." That'd be more comforting if it was true, but it's not. I'm sure when I said I hurt him she thought like a punch or two, which is far off. I beat the shit out of that kid, probably didn't help that he couldn't fight back. Always get your friends to hold back your victim, life lesson kids.

"I still could've done more," I say. "You *tried*," Ms. Winifred says, "You can't beat yourself up over the past, especially if you tried changing it. You can only heal, only learn from it." If I told her the truth, the full truth, she wouldn't be saying that. She'd be calling the cops on the boy who caused another to go crazy and... I'd be thrown in prison, that's the important bit. And as tough as I'd like to give myself credit for, I wouldn't survive in jail. I'd end up dead on the shower floor. Plus I leave Keith alone in the real world, he can't handle himself without me. Or maybe I'm just telling myself that so I don't think about him finding someone his parents like and doesn't have a troubled past. Those assholes probably wouldn't approve of anyone, though. Whatever, parents shouldn't be so expecting of their children. Keith is great person, his parents need to realize that. Maybe they have and just still hate me.

I spend the rest of English in Ms. Winifred's, the rest of my classes for the day I actually work in. Not to fear, though, I still have plenty of grocery shopping to do. I walk to the small store down the block from the college. It's owned by this very sweet old lady who I can never remember the name of. I grab one of the green baskets and go to the milk. Keith's weird ass doesn't drink actual milk, so I have to get almond milk. He's actually lactose intolerant, so it's not his fault but it's still a dollar-fifty extra. Damn him and his health conditions.

"I believe it, I mean he went mad."

I look over my shoulder to see a girl talking to another. "The cops are saying it's just a copycat, and I'm gonna take their word first," the other one says, her hair's in bun. "Well, do that, but the cases were basically the same," the first one says.

What the hell are they on about? Cases of what? Who the fuck watches the news to find this out? Why do I even care? I don't, curious but not enough to research or ask. I grab the expensive, fake milk and put it in the basket before moving on to the eggs and grabbing a carton. I grab some mixed vegetables in a bundle since it's cheaper than buying them all separate. So what if it's a small pack and will only last two nights, I'd argue that's better. I get some 99 cent noodle packs for us to barely live off of and some cereal. I grab some other small things for us and then check out, making my boring way back to the dorms. I walk in, almost hitting Keith with the door. "Welcome back, dick," he greets me. "No way to talk to the man who just bought your groceries," I say setting the bags on the counter. "It is a way to talk to the man that woke me up, though," he says. "God, Keith that was hours ago," I say, "It doesn't even matter." "It matters to my beauty rest," he says. I put the cold stuff away in our barren refrigerator. "That beauty rest ain't doing much in the beauty department," I say.

I feel a shoe get thrown at my back, it doesn't hurt but it does startle me. "You're being an asshole," Keith says. "I was messing, baby, you know you're the prettiest person I know," I say. "I better be," he says. He kisses my cheek, "I'll see you later. Don't forget we're going to my parents tomorrow for Thanksgiving." I groan, "Do I gotta? I mean Thanksgiving isn't until next Thursday and your parents don't like me. I could just spend it with Troy and his moms, I mean I have every other year." "Randy, I didn't argue with my parents for you to drop out last minute. C'mon, we're always talking about proving them wrong," Keith says. "And your siblings?" I ask. "Fuck 'em. *Ignore* them, they won't bother us," he says. I sigh, "Fine."

Keith grabs my hand, rubbing his thumb over it. "If it gets bad we'll leave. I promise," he says. I kiss him and I feel his hand move to my face to cup it. I pull back from the kiss, "Okay." Keith smiles at me before leaving for his classes.

[dailycass-cain]

DC Vs. Vampires #1-12 Final Thoughts

DC vs. Vampires concluded this week. It barely had Cass in it (a shadowy cameo). 

 So I guess she lived? 

Regardless I'm gonna talk about the series as a whole. What I liked about it and what I didn't.

First off I'm not gonna be posting pics of the issue or the main series for this finale.

  Why?

Well, the main artist of the series turned out to have done some questionable things when #7 hit (and hasn't addressed them or apologized for it).

I'll fully confess I highly enjoyed #1-6 (even with the art), along with DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War #1-6 (a few of the secondary stories too) for the sheer absurdity factor. Not to mention hey Mary Marvel had a really good subplot going throughout this series.

But then the fill-ins (Hunter and forgot about the Harley one lol) occurred. Damian's wasn't too bad but it felt like a really missed opportunity to showcase how he was able to fight the vampirism while everyone else succumbed to it. Also I hated the shock deaths in it (and J’onn being turned into a vampire off panel).

We see it teased in #4 with John Constantine interrogating the vampire Zee. Like we get hints that the memories are there. But the drive to "thirst" is what breaks most (save apparently Kate/Damian). Heck, it was interesting to see that being a vampire brings a bit of clarity (Jean-Paul Valley) hence the urge to be one again.

I think that's when the "ball" was dropped on this comic for me. The ideas around it are more interesting than the actual main plot. Characters you want to follow are barely followed up on, for me the biggest crime for the main series would be Jayna.

It just feels wrong that the character barely gets any closure and she's reduced to a background character in #12. With all the build-up from #1-6, this is what we get? I think the only thing more disappointing...

Is Babs as a lead character.

I get it though, ever since #2 Dick was targeting her. But the payoff this issue felt so meh.

Dick tries to "reason" with Babs. Why he did do what he did when he turned. But really he wanted to send her lewd dreams of banging Starfire?! 🙃🙃🙃

Look I get it. Vampirism has this whole thing subtextual angle on sexuality.  That Dick/Babs relationship is the bridge to that.

Dick explains himself and Babs' "crumbles".

Her entire plan was to become the Vampire Queen? Then use Harley to kill Dick? Seriously?!

However, my issue is again the "payoff". Why didn't we get a panel of Dick biting Babs? We get the tease and next panel she's on the floor. Why are we that tame nowadays?

Literally, this is what the series has been leading up to and we don't even get that? Just her being turned? COME ON! We literally got in #6

Jason (and Damian) being turned. But not Babs?

And we the reader know humanity is far from "done" but I guess that's the point. Babs is "lying" to her vampire minions.

Speaking of which... yeah this second act was pretty bland in the main series. Even with the retreaded "evil" Superman trope in All-Out War, at least there was a villain to watch and act around.

Dick was barely in the main series after #6. We didn't get a full appearance of him until THIS ISSUE. That's kind of why everyone enjoyed vampire Hal. He was a force in #1-6. He was active in making people vampires.

  Here, we get the minions doing that but it just feels so-- hollow. Likewise, the "final" line protecting Dick is easily taken out (R.I.P. Duke) and honestly, that's another mess too.

Literally, we have Duke being jumped about to be bitten. The panel where he's jumped establishes Damian there. Along with Frankenstein (who exited with Cass last issue). But zero Steph?

Then Duke goes boom and for a moment I thought he accidentally killed Damian (until he showed up later on in the series). This whole issue was a clustered mess.

It doesn't help either that the series doesn't have an ending. Instead, a tease for more.  I HATE IT when the media does that. Never giving us a concrete ending instead teasing for another story.🤬🤬

It just goes to show me why I love DCeased and why this is leagues better than that.  Besides of course doing a better job with Cass. 😋

DCeased, DCeased: Unkillables, DCeased: Hope at World's End, and the current all feel like stories you can pick up and read in one sitting.  There are teases for sequels but never once does it override the main story.

Not to mention balances the cast perfectly throughout.

If you read all of them? It makes the experience all the better.  

DC vs. Vampires? It barely feels like that. We got sidequest stories of Steph, Ivy, and Black Lightning that sort of filled in some gaps but otherwise had little story beats.

DC vs Vampires: All-Out War? The end tied into #12 (and technically #11 too). But it feels like one massive reading. Not something like DCeased where you can pick any and just enjoy it for what it is.

Which brings me to Cass.  She appears in #2-6, and we get cameos everywhere else. The fact that we get confirmation Frankenstein and Vampire Grodd survived with a silhouette of Cass.

Is some straight garbage.

Show clearer Cass survived the attack last issue. Literally, you have Frankenstein there. Why not Cass?! Again, she literally was in issues before. Where's the presence of mind for her?

Yeah DC vs. Vampires #6-12 was a MASSIVE disappointment. The dropoff in a targeted ending for this was bad. Maybe it did? But I guess there's some blood to drain in the series.

I just feel utterly disappointed in the series as a whole. Anything #1-6 gave us and whatever side stories. The end result feels so lacking. So ironically without any actual bite.

I do think there's a way to save this "universe". The best way? Ironically? No sequel main series. Instead?

Focus on Cass or Mera. 

The stuff behind the scenes. of the main. Give us that filler that's needed. Add stuff from the previous series. That's it. Either character can do that. Cass showcase how utterly dreary Gotham became (or her mood set after Dick killing most of the family in #6. Maybe even showcase her and vampire Damian/Kate interacting). 

For Mera? Show how she became the new Black Manta and we find out if she survived her fight with Arthur?! 

Maybe this series as a whole could be saved. If not. Yeah, put a stake in it.