#night without end

[weirdlookindog]

Night Without End - Gredown, Australia 1984.

Cover art by Sebastia Boadá.

[contentabnormal]

This week on Content Abnormal we present William Johnstone in the title role of The Shadow adventure "Night Without End"! Bret Morrison also made his way in there! We'll explain.

Order We Belong Dead magazine #40 with cover art by Content Abnormal contributor Josh Ryals HERE

[hinamie]

binding vow

[collophora]

"Let's fix this drawing" *redraw the whole thing*

[toki-toro]

Ennard feels sigma today

[ohitslen]

Sharing a blanket

Request by @volaenii ✨

Accidentally incorporated this to my uni au oopsieeees

[cainware]

I've reached a point where I just physically sigh when a new batman media/property has the Joker in it. Like yall know there's other villains right? Other, better villains? Leave the rotting turnip of a clown out of the picture for a while, it's getting exhausting.

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Coach Beard has a secret Traitors Club. It consists of himself, Nate and Jamie, ie people who have (at least in the opinion of one Willis Beard) betrayed Ted Lasso – but who have also learned the error of their ways through the goodness of Ted’s gentle heart.

(Yes, yes, you might argue that Jamie’s insulting remarks about Ted in 1x10 is a reasonable reaction to what, from Jamie’s POV, looks like Ted unreasonably dumping him, but a, I’m not sure that Beard knows that, and b, I’m not sure that Beard cares about that. You might also argue that Nate and Jamie have both learned a lot of stuff from people other than Ted, but: see the a and b of the previous sentence. And anyway, this is Beard’s club and you don’t get a say in his absurd selection criteria.)

Beard doesn’t inform anyone of the club’s existence. That includes the other members, Nate and Jamie, who just suddenly finds themselves regularly invited out for drinks with the most mysterious man either of them have ever met.

There are a lot of weird but oddly good talks about feelings. There are silences neither Jamie nor Nate know what to do with. And then there’s the football strategy chatter, which unites them all in a wild and eager frenzy, and an unexpected but pleasant sense of shared understanding.

Nate think it’s nice that Beard wants to hang and he’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth anyway, so he doesn’t question the set-up. Jamie generally assumes that given the choice anyone would always choose to hang with him always, so. He’ll indulge his coach. They have a shared love of trivia.

Eventually Beard learns of Rebecca’s early transgressions, and (secretely) inducts her into the secret club. Club meetings get a whole lot more interesting from there on out.

[groven4]

"I don't ship securitywaiter" I say as I continue to fall deeper and deeper down the "crackship" rabbit hole.

[dawntainbobbynash]

2x01 // 7x03

[hotwaterandmilk]

2024 English language manga releases I'm enjoying

Here are a couple of titles I've picked up in English so far this year that I've enjoyed. Most of these I read digitally in Japanese for one or two volumes a couple of years back, but opted to wait and purchase the English print versions for my collection.

I feel like all of these books are worth the purchase price, but don't have the energy to do individual posts for each of them. So here's a very smooshed together post covering a few 2024 reads.

GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! from Yen Press

Akechi Ushiro is a heavily flawed, hard-working woman whose disregard for her own wellbeing results in her coming face-to-face with her equally flawed guardian spirit, Masako. The pair decide to combine their forces and begin tackling the obstacles in Ushiro's life using curses.

Hiruzuka Miyako's darkly funny tale of a woman taking control of her life alongside her queer sister spirit is such a delight . Featuring a rough-and-ready art style that helps underscore the macabre elements at play, the entire first volume is scathing in its humour and unashamed in its portrayal of Ushiro's flaws. I was surprised when this one got picked up by Yen Press a while back, but so happy to see it enjoying a stateside release. If you're after something that doesn't always play nice, GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! might well be for you.

Edit: If you haven't read it before, this Japanese interview with Hiruzuka is worth reading for a bit more on her background and the creation of the series.

Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! (Akujiki Reijou to Kyouketsu Koushaku) from Kodansha USA

A sweet little fantasy romance between two individuals who find solace in one another despite being reviled by the general public for their interest in monsters. One loves defeating monsters in battle while the other loves cooking them!

Melphiera is a smart, capable heroine while Aristide Rogier du Galbraith is a dashing and supportive hero. The manga art is a bit low in detail, but the characters and story are absolutely worth your time. I'd love to see the LNs that the manga adapts in English someday too. I mentioned in tags before this whole series gives me the types of vibes I enjoy in historical fantasy romance novels, so if you like that kind of content this might be a good title to check out (or recommend to friends who appreciate romantasy but haven't tried manga before).

In The Name of The Mermaid Princess (Mio no Na no Moto ni) from VIZ Media

In a country where being "unhuman" or in some way supernaturally inclined is seen as a curse rather than a blessing, Princess Mio takes medications to suppress her mermaid-esque traits and please her father. Her perspective changes when Yuri, a tutor from her fiance's home kingdom, encourages her to be herself and embrace the things that make her different.

I've seen people say this is a bit too obvious in its parallels between fantasy oppression and IRL issues, but this is a Ribon manga for young girls so yeah it's on the nose but I think it works for the audience it has in mind. Tashiro Miya's artwork here is gorgeous and both leads are quite endearing (Mio is SO freakin adorable I can'ttttt). Overall a solid little series with nicely packaged volumes for those after something for a younger audience.

The Moon on a Rainy Night (Amayo no Tsuki) from Kodansha USA

A romantic slice-of-life tale featuring two high school girls, one of whom is a budding pianist (Saki) and the other a loner who is hard of hearing (Kanon).

I don't normally go much on high school romance but the way this series blends classic GL melodrama tropes with genuine issues in an earnest manner works for me. While we see things more from Saki's viewpoint as she eagerly tries to learn more about Kanon and tries to figure out her own sexuality, we do also come to understand Kanon's thwarted ambitions and the difficulties she has with letting people in.

Kuzushiro's art is quite whispy and cute, with all the characters tending to look quite well-realised on the page. While I prefer romances that feature a character with disability to centre their perspective, I do feel this does a decent job of portraying both girls as they try to navigate their deepening relationship. YMMV on this though, particularly if you are d/Deaf or hard of hearing.

Sketchy from Kodansha USA

Ako is living an unfulfilling life with a dull job and even duller boyfriend, but she suddenly finds herself thrust into a whole new world upon encountering a mysterious young skateboarder.

Sketchy, while ostensibly about women taking up skateboarding is more a snapshot of their individual lives and the role having a hobby plays once you're no longer a child. Ako's story particularly resonates with me (I literally worked her job at a similar age) but all the characters prove interesting in their own way.

Makihirochi's art is a bit more experimental than others on this list and may not be to everyone's taste, but I do think Sketchy is still worth checking out even if you're not entirely sold on the art (which I think has improved since I first became familiar with her work through Itsuka Tiffany de Choushoku o in Comic Bunch). Titles like this, which, let's face it, have low level of mainstream appeal, don't often get English language releases so I highly recommend supporting this one if you have the opportunity to do so.

[mo0nagedaydr3am]

LMAO WILL AND NICO HAVING A SLEEPOVER EXCEPT WHEN ITS ACTUALLY TIME TO SLEEP WILL IS LIKE YOU DONT HAVE A NIGHT LIGHT?!?! AND NICO IS LIKE NO??? AND WILL RUNS ALL THE WAY TO THE APOLLO CABIN JUST TO GET HIS NIGHT LIGHT BECAUSE HES SO USED TO HAVING IT AND NOW HE CANT SLEEP WITH OUT IT AHJHGJHGSI 😭😭

[pineappical]

in light of tedtrent becoming so real, im also jumping on the tedtrent epilogue 😊

there's just no way ted wouldn't keep in touch with the others (and have weekly zoom meetings just like in the christmas special) and I just love the thought of the whole team having reunions once in a while.

and going back to trent's arc in s3, the sunflowers conversation, "And your daughter?" "She's never been happier." I think it could go the same for ted.. we've never really properly saw how henry felt about his dad being in london, it's always other people that told ted his son misses him, who's to say henry would rather see his dad happy because that in turn would make him happy too? he was there to win the whole thing, right? I just know ted’s story isn’t done yet when he still hasn’t learned to let others take care of him in return and who else to pair him with than the man who blew up his career because a man was nice to him (and also because they were so. so cruel for the fakeout tedbecca scenes for that finale) 🥺

I'm no writer so just pretend these are snapshots of a slow burn fic where ted visits london for their team reunion and slowly realizes that trent has a crush on him and they kiss about it 💛

[crunchchute]

Mr. Raglan

[milfygerard]

going through @likeadevils incredible timeline for RED and this quote keeps bouncing around my brain. Since the release of the 1989 TV tracks ive been thinking about how taylors writing style changed so sharply between red and 1989 and I really think this is the moment that that artistic shift really started. In some of the cut tracks for 1989 (especially suburban legends) taylor has her sort of country songwriter habit of creating those sort of unweildy lyrics that can veer off with rogue syllables and rhythms, barely contained in their strict pop structures, bursting at the seams. now I live this, but a perfect cohesive pop song that does not make, and 1989s core goal was just that. The perfect, cohesive pop songs, expressing her feelings through these succinct stabs built within a pop song structure with a steady consistent beat. Heartbreak you can dance to.

I think thats why some swifties feel less "emotion" in the lyrics of 1989 or tend to underrate them a bit. Its almost a complete change in writing ethos, its so not country. its not loose and not wordy, its still sharply written and filled with grand melodrama and intimate details, but in a completely different form from before.

This led to 1989 which is in many ways a Perfect album, specifically songs like blank space and style that I dont think could have existed without her experience writing trouble and the advice given by Max Martin. Adding this to her arsenal is what pushed her from a genre mix country-pop-rock type artist to a true blue pop star.

I have more thoughts on this, and I do think this style has held her back in some ways, but theyre kind of rambly and unformed so I'll stop here but like. Im just so obsessed with how her writing methods have changed over the years. I could write paragraphs on how much shes changed just from her relatively small amount of work done with aaron dessner. Taylor is such a collaborative artist, and makes her best work when shes working with someone new who can throw an entirely new challege her way and really force her out of her comfort zone.

[sasukeless]

crazy how the “i will kill for you / i will die for you” it’s classic dynamic when it comes to duos similar to naruto and sasuke, but what kishimoto makes to set them apart is which one of them he gives those roles. like typically you would think the < i would kill for you > would be sasuke’s and sure, sasuke would kill for naruto given the chance, but this is not something he would do JUST for naruto as we see him being ready to kill also for his family/loved ones. it’s not a naruto only thing. meanwhile the < i will die for you > is a naruto only thing!! because sasuke is a goals driven character that thanks to itachi, he views himself as a tool that has to put his goals above everything else and yet. he would die for naruto and this is the ultimate proof of how much he loves him. meanwhile on the other hand you would also think that naruto would be the < i would die for you > and again! he would! but this isn’t really a specific sasuke thing. naruto sacrificing for a friend is something you can see him do for anyone, that’s who he is. however kishimoto making him the other side of the coin with naruto being ready to kill for sasuke is naruto’s own ultimate proof of love that he would go against his own morals for sasuke. and it’s just ughhh