#no need to become a digital version of batman

[wolflover33100aj]

CHOKE

No thank you, I'm good

[bluelotuswrites]

i love ask games!!! is three asks excessive? three might be excessive… pick and choose if you don’t want to answer all of them!

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you l

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairing

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

hope you’re having a good day and your wips aren’t giving you trouble <3

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

I'm gonna link a couple because I have lots.

butcherbird, fly away home One of Jason's instructors kidnaps Bruce fucking Wayne. This changes nothing, or at least that's what Jason keeps telling himself.

Six Degrees of Separation by @oliocelottafanfics Catatonic Jason is picked up by Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds. It changes many things. Very good and fun

Melodyverse by @rainymeadows If you like Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, then this is a fun continuation fic.

The Wayward Boy Instead of Jason going after his mother in Ethiopia, he instead enlists in the military.

Ed Elric/Marvel Fem!Ed gets transported to the MCU during Capitain America First Avenger movie. It's actually really good and I hope the author is doing well since it's been a few years since they updated.

The Volatile Verse Comics Jason crosses dimensions to YJ season 1 and becomes a big brother figure to Dick. It's locked so you'll need an AO3 account to see it.

Batman: Arkham Compendium Listen to me. When I tell you this is the best Arkhamverse fic, I mean it. It follows Jason's life in Arkhamverse from before and after Arkham Knight. The author left the fandom a long time ago, but I will forever love the worldbuilding that was put into it.

Not that big a distance really Bucky and Jason meet after Bucky goes to Jason's apartment address in NJ instead of NY. Bucky and Steve becomes kinda like a pseudo-dad figure to Jason.

Remnant Michael Afton is on the YJ Season 1 team and has super powers after the incident at Sister Location. He's 15-16 in this, and William Afton is one fucked up dude. It sounds like a concept that is so out there but it's actually really fucking good.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairing

Okayyyy so. I'm not really an active fandom shipper? I guess the only one I really am open about is Laywright. For them, I headcanon that during the 7 years that Phoenix was disbarred, he had met up with Hershel and was the person he knew in London. Also, Hershel helped him back on his feet and was a soundboard for Phoenix's idea for revamping the justice system in America.

For platonic pairing, I headcanon that Tim and Jason tend to have regular bitch sessions about the idiots in Gotham/family. Tim is a sassy little shit in canon and Jason is Jason. When their paths cross or Bruce has pissed them off again, they go to one of Jason's safehouses where Jason cooks and they bitch about whatever is on their minds. Dick is not allowed and regularly gets kicked out if he tries to butt in.

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

Oh god, my favorite piece??? You're evil. I can't have just one! Okay, okay.

So this is actually a painting the lovely @gremlinscogs did for their art class based off RitCoS. It's glorious, and it was sent to me in DMs but they gave me permission to post. It's really a beautiful piece that captured the vibes of the first fic in Red is the Color of Sinners perfectly.

(digital concept art version they did)

Also, this bad boy by @speaching back when we first started talking and I teased a small chapter bit I had written but hadn't posted yet. I went to bed and woke up to that, and thus started a chaotic friendship that has lasted for quite some time.

Speach also drew this one that never fails to make me laugh. Just the image of Matt aggressively shoveling snow sends me.

[thevindicativevordan]

My Adventures with Superman trailer?

Took you guys long enough to ask!

Sure it's just a 16 second teaser, but this is still exciting! Confirmation that yes this is actually real, and has not been cancelled, is welcome news. Quick round of thoughts:

Quaid's Superman sounds much more nerdy than the DCAU incarnation which I like. For all their talk of drawing on the Byrne/Jurgens era, I don't believe that will be a huge influence on Clark himself. Lois looks good, I kinda wish they had given her the purple eyes but otherwise I like her look. Jimmy looks fine but I need to see and hear more from him soon.

People losing their minds over Clark and Lois being in their 20s is hilarious. Where did this belief that Clark and Lois must be in their 30s when they first meet come from? The DCEU with it's idiotic decision to have Clark be 33 when he becomes Superman, as a stupid Jesus reference? The DCAU incarnations looking much older? Between MAWS and rumors that Gunn is casting young for Legacy, I'm glad we're seeing a trend to have Superman begin in his 20s, and actually look like he's in his 20s.

S-shield design is fine. Not my favorite approach but every Superman should have their own version of the S-shield. Pure speculation, but I wonder if the Jack Kirby S-shield redesign was an influence on their S-shield? We know there's a lot of Kirby in the show judging by Intergang and the Newskid Legion in the concept art. And he's got the trunks! Might have been a last minute decision going off of the leaked concept art, I would've just gone with a belt, but I don't mind the trunks at all.

Metropolis here isn't quite as high concept sci-fi as the Tomorrowverse or DCAU Metropolis, but it still looks cool and non-generic.

Quite a few people were comparing the style to Invincible, as well as the choppiness of some of the animation. If the choppiness comes because they're saving the budget for the fights then I think it should be fine, otherwise I hope Gunn tosses more funding at the show.

Did not expect it to be debuting in the summer, but that should be a great time for a new Superman cartoon to air at night since kids will be up later.

With [adult swim] extending itself to 7 pm, I hope that's when MAWS airs on Cartoon Network. Should still be early enough for kids to watch if they want to, although I expect most kids are going to stream the show since digital savviness has only gone up.

Look I am rooting hard for this show to be a hit, with the more "lore" heavy cartoons all coming to an end (haven't been watching but I guess The Owl House ended and that was the last of the previous wave), the landscape is wide open for a new action cartoon to take over. Batman: The Caped Crusader isn't ready, Spider-Man: Freshman Year and X-Men '97 apparently have been delayed to next year, Invincible seems to be coming out in the Fall at the earliest. Superman has the room to himself for once. Don't blow this chance DC!

If it's coming this summer then we will 100% be getting a proper trailer at SDCC which I fully expect to be one of Superman's best showings in years. God it's nice to feel excited for Superman's future for once!

[denimbex1986]

'Cillian Murphy is one of the best actors working today, and his work has consistently been underrated by movie fans that aren’t familiar with his extensive track record. While many viewers have seen him thanks to his collaborations with Christopher Nolan on Batman Begins, Inception, Dunkirk, and now Oppenheimer, there’s also a large segment of fans who love him as Thomas Shelby on Peaky Blinders; the British crime series that is essentially a period version of The Sopranos gained even more popularity when it debuted on BBC and then went international on Netflix.

Murphy has been in many underrated gems, including his Golden Globe nominated performance in the coming-of-age LGBTQ+ dramedy Breakfast on Pluto, the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner The Wind That Shakes The Barley, and the delightful film geek romantic comedy Watching the Detectives. The buzz surrounding his performance in Oppenheimer suggests that perhaps Murphy could gain his first nomination at the Academy Awards; he shockingly has never received an Oscar nomination. However, Murphy certainly deserved one for his role in 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle’s zombie movie masterpiece that effectively changed the genre forever. Here’s why 28 Days Later is Cillian Murphy’s best performance.

Emotional Authenticity

George Romero had effectively created the zombie movie with his masterpiece Night of the Living Dead, and had updated the genre with the 1978 satire Dawn of the Dead and the 1985 military drama Day of the Dead. However, zombie movies released by filmmakers other than Romero in the years that followed simply tried to emulate his formula that had been so successful. It wasn’t until Boyle took a new spin on the undead in 28 Days Later that the zombie movie felt fresh again; Boyle used digital filmmaking techniques to make the film feel grounded in reality with a real sense of time and space. The realism made the film more authentic, and Murphy reflected that in his performance.

Murphy’s character, Jim, wakes up to a version of London that he no longer recognizes. The familiarity of the streets that he grew up on is gone, and he’s shocked to see that the cities are completely empty, and he cannot see any other living being in sight. Murphy’s reaction is one of confusion and fear that is rarely seen in zombie films, or horror films in general. It’s always obnoxious when the audience feels like they are smarter than the characters, but Murphy appears to be just as perplexed as to what’s going on as the viewer would be if they didn’t know that 28 Days Later was a zombie movie going in. The decisions that Jim makes from then on all seem logical, and Murphy’s inherent intelligence makes him perfect at capturing that side of the character.

A Father-Like Figure

Jim ultimately meets the woman Selena (Naomi Harris), the father Frank (Brendan Gleeson), and Frank’s daughter Hannah (Megan Burns). While Jim’s initial interactions with Selena are based on their mutual desire to survive, they slowly begin to trust each other as they both reach the realization that they must let each other know if they are infected so that the threat can be properly dealt with. Murphy and Harris do a great job at showing that Jim and Selena are becoming close because they need each other, not because they are falling in love. While it’s suggested that they may be forming a more romantic relationship than had previously been seen, the film is subtle in showing their platonic attachment.

What is quite powerful is seeing Jim become a paternal figure for Megan after Frank is infected, and the ground is forced to kill him. Murphy shows tenderness as Megan mourns, and helps guide her to make safe decisions once the group starts trekking into more dangerous territory where they could be exposed to a potential infection.

It’s nice to see Murphy in a softer role, as he is often typecast as villains in films like In Time and Batman Begins. Even his more heroic characters like Tommy on Peaky Blinders tend to be very cold and reserved, so 28 Days Later stands or even in comparison to those. Even though the Academy Awards rarely nominate horror films, and a zombie film has never received any major nominations, Murphy truly deserved to be placed in consideration for a Best Actor trophy.

A Complete Character Arc Jim’s character arc concludes beautifully, and there’s a real sense of closure to seeing him escape with Megan and Selena after they ward off the threats of a ruthless military group that wants to sexually take advantage of the women in order to celebrate in a vile ceremony. The 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later did not have Murphy, and though it was a solid follow up, the lack of a character like Jim made it clear that Murphy had added something special.

Murphy has hinted that it’s a role he might be open to returning to. He referred to Boyle’s script for 28 Months Later as “very appealing,” and recent reports indicate that a version of the final draft is now complete. It would be great to see Murphy return to his best role.'

[ikroah]

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ — Volume 2

Make It Big in Vegas

Variant Cover Guest Art by @tarberrymentats Variant Cover Concept and Design by @theyoungbuck

Archive Links

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Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Original Pencils:

There were a few different designs considered for my cover, and by a few I mean these:

It was a VERY close call between the first and third options, but I ultimately went with the third because I already have “big vertical object as point of interest” planned for a different cover down the line and I didn’t want to be too redundant. The second option was deemed too difficult to execute well, and the fourth was just so perfect that I didn’t want to make the whole rest of the comic seem less good by comparison.

The third design is actually an homage to the cover of the Batman comic Three Jokers, a comic that isn’t particularly good or notable in my opinion but is so absurd in concept that it’s sort of become an inside joke that I have with myself. Here’s the original:

Anyway, after deciding on the third design, I had to make a full-size version based on my original half-size thumbnail:

As you can see, I drew the background and foreground separately, and Victor was made bigger in the digitized version of the art than he is here. I also wound up switching the side that Agnes is holding the chip in! I had already drawn the hands, like that, but I wanted her scarred side to be in the reflection of the chip. I’m glad I drew them separately because it was very easy to just mirror that layer when it came to the final cover (and the charming doodle at the top was just filling empty space while watching a music video).

As for the variant cover, please give a huge glamorous round of applause to my guest artists! When I needed  a pair of glamorous Vegas-ready outfits for Agnes, I turned to @theyoungbuck​ immediately for consultation and costume design, an absolute expert in this field.. He was also the artist who designed the composition for the variant cover, and you can see the original costume design and drafts of the cover here:

All of this was designed in early January when I was largely between issues of the comic. We ultimately decided against the second draft, because if we went through the trouble of designing these outfits for Agnes and Cass then by god we were going to show them off.

With the recent finale to Volume 1, over the last few days me and @tarberrymentats​ teamed up to bring that original draft to life, and viola! You’re looking at the glamorous results!

It’s always a tremendous pleasure to collaborate with guests artists on issues of the comic, but I’m especially hoping to have a variant cover for each volume going forward because it’s just so much fun to do the artistic equivalent of taking a photo of somebody, then excitedly saying “alright, now let’s do a silly one.”

See you all again with issue #15!

[thedreadvampy]

a non-exhaustive list of Friend Gossip about the Mechanisms performers that I will never expand on or attach names to because I love Chaos but don’t want to impinge too much on people’s privacy

once swam across the river Isis naked to sneak into a college party they were not invited to

has offered as an explanation for why they are Like That ‘my dad did a lot of LSD in the 70s and married his moleskin trousers’

notoriously sexy

has a crush on Jean-Luc Picard, but specifically and exclusively when he’s been assimilated by the Borg

fantasised about turning DTTM into a wrestling promo culminating in the band turning heel in character and suplexing Jonny through a sound desk

punched a duck (you know who this was but I will not be elaborating)

nearly killed themself coming off a tyre swing over the river and landing on a sharp sheet of metal buried in the river bed. limped home bleeding buckets, was frolicking in a field two hours later as if nothing had happened

habitually frolics in fields

terrifyingly buff. can change clothes while doing a one-handed handstand.

trained in sword, axe, bow and kickboxing

nearly threw up and actually did pass out before DTTM and then went on and performed without showing a glimmer of how much pain they were in

used to sleep on a bare mattress in an empty room surrounded by nothing but broken mirrors. thought this was unremarkable.

used to sleep on the floor next to their bed. claims their ultimate goal is a room where the floor is one big mattress.

scared of cats

claims to be the king of cats

generally accepted to be a literal changeling (not Jonny)

refuses to use digital equipment. uses a 1950s vintage landline and a mechanical typewriter. collects vintage cameras.

considered becoming an Anglican priest (2 people)

once got so furiously angry at author David Mitchell that they threw a book across the room and ranted for two hours about his pointlessness

met while playing dwarfs in an intensely edgy and artsy (and allegedly extremely bad) retelling of Snow White, when both of them had auditioned and failed to get roles in the far more successful and fun Batman: The Pantomime

greatest theatrical triumph was playing a character called Ratman in a yr 6 school play

once got lost in the highlands and encountered a large bearded man who put them up for the night and later turned up at their door at 3am brandishing a sword and claiming to be hunting pine martens. Jonny later referenced this experience in an episode of TMA for an audience of the about 10 people who would actually get the reference

said they wouldn’t try cocaine because it would be too expensive to develop an addiction and they wouldn’t be able to afford Warhammer figures

owns at least one fully functioning sword (to my knowledge, at least three people)

once received a gift of a replica battleaxe, opened it while saying ‘I have been trained in weapons safety it’s fine’ and then cut their hand open on the packaging

Banned from London Zoo for arguing with the animals

went on a rollercoaster while suffering sunstroke. got so disorientated that upon getting off they walked directly into a wall and screamed in panic.

walked out of their own soundcheck because they saw a pokemon they wanted on pokemon go

got free food at the cafe near their recording studio because the proprieter thought they looked like a strungout rock star who needed to eat more

invented a version of scrabble where the key rules are that you can’t play words in English and you can’t play the same language over two consecutive turns.

burst into tears more than once because they loved their partner too much

evangelically listens to Brian Blessed ASMR and can quote verbatim every Brian Blessed YouTube video

has a scar on their hand from overenthusiastic sandcastle building

once had dinner with Richard Dawkins. said it was exactly as bad as you’d expect.

said that when they died they wanted their hand bones removed and attached to their grave, wired together and posed so that they were eternally flipping everyone off. later clarified that they were not joking and that this was an actual request. also said they wanted their ashes put in random pepperpots in cafes around the country. did not clarify whether or not this was a joke.

spent three days on a wild bender of champagne, poptarts and debauchery during a heatwave. almost passed out from dehydration. still only stopped when the poptarts ran out and they had to get dressed and go get pizza.

taught themself French at age 7 because they got bored of English

when they had a cold during the Fringe, kept flushing their nose out with warm water and then leaving bottles of nose water sitting around the flat until their bandmates were ready to murder them

went through a whole Deadlands game playing as a dog (not a talking dog)

cut the tip of their thumb off while making scrambled eggs. finished making scrambled eggs. still does not have full sensitivity in their thumb after 5 years.

chased by an angry horse. survived. ultimate power.

[elareine]

What do you think of Jason being the youngest?

So I thought ‘Does that mean that he’s Damian’s age and Damian is his age?’ and this happened. Thanks for the question <3

This Jason has different expectations about being Robin. It’s difficult to think that Robin is magic when the second Robin once stabbed a man in front of your door.

All the kids in Gotham know the Robins. The adults might talk about Batman and Superman; the kids, they gather all the intel they can about the bright birds and share it like precious marbles.

The first Robin—he made everything look easy and fun. Robin II died and he came back, how amazing is that? Robin III always gets up again and makes a joke while he’s at it. Also, long pants, a good choice. And Robin IV... Well, she’s Jason’s favorite. Do not tell his brothers that.

In hindsight, trying to steal the tire caps off the batmobile wasn’t Jason’s greatest idea. At the moment, however, all he can think of is: Whoever Batman is, he clearly has money. Bruce Wayne backs him. He can afford some fucking tires, and Jason just wants to sleep in a shelter for one night, maybe get some food. He needs to start thinking of the winter months. Fall’s short and Gotham’s winters are cruel.  

There’s a polite cough behind him. “Excuse me?”

When Jason whirls around, two men are standing there. Jason vaguely recognizes the older one—maybe from a magazine cover? He’s ridiculously handsome. The other one is about the same height and built, but younger, darker-skinned, and dressed in infinitely more taste.

At least they look amused. Jason doesn’t think he’s gonna be beaten up today, especially when the first man just asks: “What—What were you thinking, stealing tires off that car?”

“Why are you so interested in what I’m doing?” Jason asks back. “Doesn’t have anything to do with you, does it?”

The older man chuckles. “Every citizen must interfere if they witness a crime.”

“Can tell you’re not from around here, then.”

“Still.”

Jason drops the tire cap with some reluctance. There goes his dinner. “Fine. Here you go.”

The younger bends over and pics up the cap, screwing it back in with surprising ease. The older man is still looking at Jason, though. “You know, we could bring you to a good home for kids like you.”

“Been there, done that. The last one tried to turn us into criminals.”

The younger man tilts his head to the side and glances at the crowbar in Jason’s hands.

“That’s to eat! I’m not going to run drugs for anyone.” Jason juts out his chin. “I’m not going back there again.”

“Oh, boy,” the older man sighs, and then he says: “Okay, you know what? Get in.”

And then he pulls out the keys to the Batmobile.

“Richard—” the younger man says. There’s a look of resignation on his face, though.

“It’s what B would’ve done,” Richard replies and looks at Jason. “How about you come with us, then?”

And look. Jason knows that you shouldn’t get into a car with strangers. He knows. But it’s the Batmobile, what the fuck is he supposed to say? ’No?’

Apparently, though, Batman is dead? Except that Dick Grayson, aka Robin I, and Damian Wayne, Robin II, took over in his stead. And now Jason gets to be Robin! Robin!

Tim… he doesn’t take it well. Jason gets that, honestly. He probably wouldn’t react well to being replaced, either. Dick insists that’s not it, but, you know. Seems to Jason like Tim has his own issues to deal with, honestly.

(It’s okay. Once Tim is done with his whole eat-pray-beat people up-spiel and brings Bruce back, they become friends. Jason finds out that Tim took over as Robin when he saw Bruce fall apart after Damian’s death and has worried about his place ever since. It’s been bad enough ever since Damian came back, especially since those two do not get along. Seeing Jason arrive was just the last straw.)

Robin is blood and sweat and pain, and Jason loves it. No matter who’s wearing the cowl, Jason is there, a bright distraction, a valuable ally, a spark of color in Gotham’s darkness.

He would never tell Dick, but he prefers working with Bruce. They just click. Jason likes making the older man laugh; he has too many worry lines already.

And yeah, okay, as he gets older, he chafes under Bruce’s rules sometimes. Bruce doesn’t get that some people need to stay down. Despite everything, he’s always been able to go back to his manor and live there. He doesn’t understand what it’s like to live right where all the crime happens.

When that happens, though, Dick is there to tell him anecdotes about the time Bruce and he screamed at each other so much Alfred actually quit. Damian lets him debate the ethics of killing serial offenders with him—his perspective is fascinating, even if Jason doesn’t always agree, and he never treats Jason like a child. Cass joins them occasionally.

And if it still gets too much, Jason can hide at Steph’s place. She always tells Bruce to fuck off when he asks if Jason’s there.

When his mother (his mother) contacts him, he doesn’t go alone. Well, not for lack of trying. But Tim, the fucking stalker that he is, found out, and then he and O went ballistics on Sheila’s digital footprint until they found all the dirt.

They tell Jason that it’s a trap. He refuses to cancel the meeting. Damian actually agrees with that decision (he knows about mothers), but it also means that everyone in the family ‘subtly’ follows him to Ethiopia. Jason books a commercial flight and then has to watch everyone else sit in first class.

Meeting his mother… it is what it is. The Joker tries to divide them, sure—he’s done it before, he’ll do it again. But O’s voice is in their heads, telling them to under no circumstances let Jason go anywhere alone, and Damian sticks to him like a shadow.

“I refuse to let anyone else die in that hideous costume,” is all he says.

“It’s better than your emo version.”

When Sheila calls for their help, they come. Of course. It’s what Robins do.

It gets ugly. Even Flamebird and Robin have difficulties dealing with the Joker when he’s had time to prepare. There’s a crowbar, and a bomb, and too much blood, and Jason passes out.

When Jason comes to just minutes later, he’s next to the burning warehouse. Damian is holding him up, bleeding. Jason is pretty sure that half his own side is burned. He probably has a concussion from the way his head’s feeling like taffy. Whatever. He’ll live.

“Hey,” he asks Damian as they stare at the fire, “do you think Bruce would let me get away with ditching the cape? Cause I’m thinking I might invest in a helmet.”

[thecomicsnexus]

BATMAN: SECRET FILES #3 / BATMAN #95-100 AUGUST - DECEMBER 2020 BY JAMES TYNION IV, JORGE JIMENEZ, TOMEU MOREY, CARLO PAGULAYAN, DANNY MIKI AND GUILLEM MARCH

Batman has lost everything, and now the Joker is ready to put an end to this endless battle. Presumably.

SCORE: 7

It looks like continuity means something again at DC Comics, as this book, while telling its own story, has been sending its plots to other books (that I haven’t been reading). So, if you want to get the full picture, you need to at least read Detective, Nightwing, Catwoman and I would assume, Batgirl. I am also not sure what happened to Damian Wayne. He shows up in the cover of  #100 but he is not in the book. Odd choice, so I probably missed something going on in other book right now.

Is this a recommended read? Well... it ii certainly better than Batman #1-85. But it is kind of forgettable. And the main reason why I cannot recommend it is that Batman is not the real hero of this story. The real acts of heroism are done by his allies, off panel. And in its climax, by somebody else. After this story, nothing has really changed. Not only for Batman, but for DC, who is still trying to figure out how Batman works.

A new character is introduces in this story, Clownhunter, who at first I thought was Damian, but then realized he was a new (Vietnamese) character. I am interested in the character. I mean, Gotham doesn’t need more vigilantes, but if you do what I did... it kind of gives the story a full-circle. What did I do, you ask? I read Secret Files #3. A special you could easily skip. But in the first story, we see how Batman tries to convince Chesire to drop crime. He doesn’t succeed... in fact, he fails miserably, but he is still trying the same thing by the end of this story.

And the story doesn’t seem like it is over either... Punchline and the Joker will return with the second part of their plan I assume.

The one thing I loved about this story was the art. Not only Jorge Jimenez, but also Tomeu Morey’s colors. Wow... the digital version of this comic lights up in colors.

Spoilers after the break...

There is also a special with stories happening during this story. I checked if it was important... didn’t seem like you need to read it along with it.

My concern with how Batman is becoming a witness of his stories, is that in the climax, Harley Quinn ends up facilitating everything for him. Catwoman (I assume) steals his fortune back, and his soldiers take down the clowns. So Batman pretty much gave a few orders and then tried very hard not to make a decision, assuming the Joker would save himself. It could have been an epic story, but it’s just the same old story with better art.

Good thing we have Nightwing back, though.

[davidmann95]

Got a handful of DC-solicit asks, so I’ll just write up my thoughts on the whole batch again.

Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1: The BALLS to not only do the next Mister Miracle thing after King and Gerads, but to do it with Shilo Norman and therefore invite Seven Soldiers comparisons as well. I wouldn’t be that interested, but the preview art that came with the announcement looked fun so this is a maybe for me.

Wonder Girl #1: I got a Yara Flor ask so I’ll go more into detail with that, but this sounds...not good.

Future State: Gotham #1: Hahaha, thanks, call me in six months if the next team does something there’s a reason to give a shit about. Except...wait, Dennis Culver cowrote that E Is For Extinction Secret Wars mini, dammit this might be good. Either way though, god willing we get a Future State: Metropolis book by Dan Watters too.

Legends of the Dark Knight #1: Hopefully this going with Sensational Wonder Woman means there’s a similar Superman anthology in the cards too, but I won’t hold my breath. Darick Robertson doing Batman is enticing, but I’m not familiar with his work as a writer and the premise doesn’t sound that gripping so I’ll wait and see. That Francavilla variant though? DC, blow that up to poster size and you’d make a mint.

Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0: Hmm. I got love for Static, but I might wait for further announcements and/or buzz before taking the plunge on this one.

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1: This is a SERIOUSLY stacked lineup, definite buy.

Stargirl Spring Break Special #1: Impeccable timing, DC. It feels like it must be some kind of statement that there are no Morrison members of the Seven Soldiers in the mix (even swapping out Ystin for the original version of Shining Knight no one cares bout) - we focus on the Moore fixation, but there’s enough tidbits that I really do feel like Johns probably flat-out hates Morrison. And what’s this ‘secret eighth soldier’ nonsense? There’ve always been eight soldiers, people have been joking about it forever!

Justice League: Last Ride #1: Discussed that announcement here.

Batman: Earth One Vol. 3: *blinks*

*blinks again*

*squints at the cover art*

...Geoff Johns are you seriously trying to step to Morrison and use the Miagani tribe? YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN PEOPLE

I Am Not Starfire: Interesting concept that seems like it pushes into indie-flavored territory as much as DC’s superhero output just about ever has, if word-of-mouth is good there’s a decent chance I’ll get this.

Action Comics #1031: Wonder if this is serious about the potential of Kryptonian refugees, given PKJ suggested the idea in Worlds of War and that could play a significant part in the New Krypton stuff from Bendis’s Legion (with Johnson being clear he’s following up on a lot of Bendis’s ideas with his own Superman run).

Superman #31: This sounds big-time like Johnson hammering Superman into a swords-and-sorcery shape for an arc since that’s his bag, but Superman’s malleable enough for that to work so I’m not complaining.

American Vampire 1976 #8: Still not getting, so.

Batman #108: Tynion’s well and truly figured out how to game the direct market’s dopiest instincts, hasn’t he? Well, as long as that’s in service of him getting to continue doing weird Batman stuff with Jorge Jimenez like introducing whatever the ‘Unsanity Collective’ is, that’s fine with me. And more Ghostmaker!

Batman: Black & White #6: Not as packed for the finale as some previous issues, but still looking good. And there’s really never gonna be a ‘last’ Scott Snyder Batman story, is there? Sure it’ll be good but that’s kind of a shame, his Detective #1027 feature really felt like a nice full circle.

Batman: The Detective #2: Guess I wasn’t the only one wondering if it was a stealth DKR prequel and they wanted to cut that notion out at the knees.

Batman/Catwoman #6: Still very down for it, but BOY that Batwoman costume Mann debuted on Twitter.

The Batman & Scooby Doo Mysteries #2: I recently finally started reading Sholly Fisch and companies’ Scooby-Doo Team-Up! recently after getting the whole run for free on ComiXology earlier this year and have fallen in love with it, so I’m totally grabbing this digitally.

Batman/Superman #18: “The Dark Knight and the Man of Steel are on a mission to stop the godlike Auteur.io from destroying the pocket worlds he’s created...but where on Earth did Auteur.io even come from? The answer starts not on Earth at all, but with an ancient cult of World Forger worshippers on a planet far away—and if our heroes are to have a prayer of stopping this mythic behemoth, they’ll need to get to the bottom of his power source, and quick! It’s a race against time as the parallel lives of entire worlds hang in the balance!”

Anonymous said: Haha is Yang really doing Superman & Batman vs. Zack Snyder and the Snyder Cult (look up “auter” if you don’t know what I mean)? That’s fucking hilarious, especially since he apparently comes from the World Forge which is where all the shitty Earths full of bad ideas are made. Pretty pointed criticism there if I’m reading it right.

I’ve seen two or three people other than this anon independently conclude this arc is about the Supermen and Batmen of the Multiverse teaming up to stop Zack Snyder from destroying them all and at this point I’m ready to ask my LCS owner if I’m allowed to pay more than cover price for this run.

Batman: Urban Legends #3: Much more into this after the Grifter and Outsiders stories in Future State.

Catwoman #31: No reason not to assume this’ll continue to be great.

Challenge of the Super Sons #2: Good for the folks who want this, and that Nick Bradshaw variant is fun.

Crime Syndicate #3: I wanna be convinced to get this book, but the interviews are not persuading me.

Detective Comics #1036: How long is Mora sticking around?!

The Dreaming: Waking Hours #10: Another one I’ve got nothing to say about because I’ve never been getting it.

The Flash #770: Actually really excited to hear about how bad this run will suck now that I know it’s by the mind behind that “Geoff Johns’ OC - do not steal - beats up the Grant Morrison DC future” catastrophe from Future State.

Green Lantern #2: Really couldn’t wait a month for Far Sector to wrap up, huh?

Harley Quinn #3: Still not interested, but that *is* a nice cover.

The Joker #3: There’s a very real possibility I’ll have dropped the book by this point if it turns out to be the illustrated editorial mandate I get the feeling it could be, but fingers crossed.

Justice League #61: Not complaining, but wow, this really is Naomi 2 since Campbell’s busy in order to provide the necessary material for the CW show.

Looney Toons #260/Mad #20: Were these grouped with the rest of the solicits before?

Man-Bat #4: Very curious how this’ll be received, given nobody much cares about Man-Bat but Wielgosz seems to be quickly becoming a favorite.

The Next Batman: Second Son #2: Hadn’t realized this was only 4 issues - guess for at least one of them it’ll be the Luke Fox book everyone expected in the first place.

Nightwing #80: Dick Grayson vs. Heartless, not how I expected the DC/Kingdom Hearts crossover to happen but I’ll take it. That variant though? ALL TIMER:

The Other History of the DC Universe #4: I was trying to figure out who the focus of #4 would be since we know #5 is about Thunder and Lightning, forgot Montoya was confirmed.

Robin #2: Wanna care, so don’t care.

Rorschach #8: I will get it and probably like it.

RWBY/Justice League #2: My thoughts here will be their own post because there’s something particularly notable, but:

Anonymous said: Have you seen the BATtleaxe from the new art for RWBY/Justice League?

Yes, anon. Yes I have.

Sensational Wonder Woman #3: Eh, premise doesn’t grab me but maybe.

Strange Adventures #10: God I love the book about how Adam Strange sucks.

Suicide Squad #3/Teen Titans Academy #3: Hahahahaha

Superman: Red and Blue #3: Fiffe and Stokoe doing Superman stories!!! And...Nick Spencer. With Christian Ward art?! Sigh, fine, hopefully it’ll be Nick Spencer doing a nice little comedy, and not having Grant Morrison Superman throwing his t-shirt away because he grew up and realized changing things is too hard. A horrible shame Pope is doing the main cover though, the allegations against him I guess never really got any attention. At least there’s this JPL variant:

The Swamp Thing #3: Swampy will never be my guy but very happy for those who dig him, because I imagine this’ll be terrific.

Truth & Justice #4: Normally I wouldn’t care at all, but what I’m hearing on Twitter about this is a crying shame - that Jeff Trammell is really talented and Red Hood is a favorite of his and this is likely to be one of Jason Todd’s few Actually Good comics, but that artist Rob Guillory is a bullying transphobic piece of shit. Sucks all around.

Wonder Woman #772: I was so excited for this run, and then Immortal Wonder Woman had to go and suck.

[theurbansquared]

Guide To Avoiding A Loser Brokerage

by James Hill | theurbansquared

Brokers can be bastards and some even get better at it while other brokers are legitimate life-changing business Sherpas

A broker is supposed to guide you through a career in real estate much like a coach or pimp - offering protection and how to understand a complicated system better and direct it to revenue  without getting your neck broke while playing the game. I created and ran the most well-reviewed, largest full-service brokerage in the fastest-growing city in America.  This gave me access to nearly ever broker and their broker's pay structure and innovations. I also got the agent's version of my same broker buddies brokerages when they eventually joined my brokerage; hovering anywhere from 20–60 agents. Trending insider chatter has blame going to real estate brokers of decades past (and current) and how they’ve managed their agents - - letting unsupervised  agents with no experience run wild on the streets practicing on the public wearing out Realtor love and making a need for all the Mountain Dew-made Zillow-y options that currently exist.

Brokers are out of touch more than ever with today’s current media load, having to understand and use social media platforms for their advertising (since the private Town & Country affair that real estate once was is forever over and the landscape is a bit more like a half Juggalo, half programmer flea market).

Let’s dive into some situations and tenets that most agents don’t consider when choosing a brokerage.

Sales Volume

This is a bit of negotiating psychology and due diligence. Simply ask how much sales they (the brokerage) did last year and how much they’re currently at. If they don’t know these numbers they’re goons. If they don’t give it, you guessed it - they’re hiding something; their lack of revenue. I’ve hired and fired hundreds of agents and in interviews so few ask this question but it’s one of the most important questions you can ask as an agent and you need the information. An agent that doesn’t ask this has already given a tell that they’re not a top producer since they’re not interested in the production capacity of the team they may join. No bueno. Creep the brokerage as well obvi -- reviews, FB & IG engagement and current running ads, and make sure the company Christmas Party isn’t catered by Chic-fil-a at a Burnet Road dive bar.

Office

40% of your learning and 350% of your work will be done at the office. Those numbers will make sense 90% of the time after a few years in real estate. The rest should be on the streets - your car, properties, driving 75 mph talking and sending out docs, gorging on breath mints. Office, home, tiny homes, motorhomes have all blended into one larger conversation where work/live ethos are all in re-definition.

But, when you do need a more savvy moment in any market when people talk about borrowing or selling something that’s over $100K they don’t want to hear some bullshit too loud pedantic conversation seated right next to them at Starbucks or the local kooky coffee shop. In real estate Murphy’s Law is always in effect. The super important listing sign off that has to go well and they want to hear you pitch again before deciding? There will be someone (at this super ‘caj’ coffee house meeting) there projectile vomiting, or throwing cats, or something else tiresome or bad that takes more calls.

Speech and body language are massive parts of sales so when the entire set is thrown because a barista is running through a whole Sublime album. You want the most inviting cool office you can ever pull off at any given moment in real estate . Was that ever a question? There's a balance  -- you can't afford that year one or three, but it’s called real estate for a reason. Sexy, exciting buildings is what the brochure said when I joined. Also, it’s about style not size.

If you haven’t lost business to coffee house back pressure you really haven’t failed at agency properly.

Social IQ

Social reach is the only conversation now. Many brokerages won’t make it as the lead generating aspects of the industry aren't powered by a private MLS anyone and the publicly-hated ‘Realtor’ designation have both brokers and agents guessing about tomorrow. Calendars, best practices and free shitty tips & templates are the du jour of the day for anyone trying to get an agent's eyes. You can Google and get all the ‘basic’ social media dance steps, but with everyone at the same happy hunting spot, you’re being covered up, which leaves all your new artistic efforts fruitless and also squandering winning time.

Traffic, leads and engagement are all separate areas that have to be fulfilled properly and even this is in flux with historic corporations and current start ups all on the same advertising playing field. Social reach and engagement is about going to the consumer direct and becoming their friend with soft bribes -- free food, gifts, prizes (trips, events tickets) or industry work tools. The great news is, real estate has always been mostly consumer direct - start up a convoy at the grocery store (bar, church, meetup) and you’re in the car that weekend looking for houses with a new client. While you, your brokerage and the world are figuring out their exact social media mix, you need to make sure a brokerage isn’t lost on social media since many won’t be able to stay in business in the next few short years. Your brokerage needs to have a plan and and at best some presence on social media. Plus, they should be running low-cost performative marketing ad campaigns to get a feel for what and if set user groups are responding to ads. Anyone can post on IG but people engage on IG when they become inspired. A brokerage should have some sort of inspiration and relationship tied in with the local allure of their city --  or heading that direction.

Mentoring

Much like a neurotic buyer chasing an interest rate for their home mortgage (and then never buying a house) agents too focused on commission may miss the essential career need for mentoring -- for their clients and career. I had a 5 deal minimum for my new agents before they were ever unsupervised and received more commission. I've had new agents with celeb clients in hand and celeb agents with no clients in hand. No one wants to do business with someone with absolutely has no, experience but they do it because they like you as a friend or fam. Your mentor is the person riding shotgun with you at the beginning of your career. On many levels you want to be this person since they embody the position and role. You're literally and figuratively are borrowing experience from them and they deserve to be paid for it. You always have to strengthen your brand outside of your brokerage but if you don’t have any experience your brand doesn’t have ‘strength’ you simply have a logo and a drag & drop website where you're possibly talking about yourself and love of unicorns or football shit but the big boat deals you dream about in bed aren’t gotten this way. Remember, no unicorn could ever throw a football good without a lot of practice and a good mentor.

Support

Support in a brokerage is really communication and solutions for small problems, and systems for managing bigger ones with people. Most of the annoying things in real estate happen outside of the deal - contracts, calls, emails, docs, signatures, more docs. You typically want a super admin, broker, or agent manager that you can call and they pick up the phone. It’s pretty simple. With a mentor, admin, or broker you’re going to have a n 8:30 PM question or deal that’s going down. You’ll need printer help. Real estate always happens now (this was one of the main mantras in my office). Printing, prequal, weekend support and constant post dinner shenanigans.

Training

Meet Frank Miller, David Mamet, the Sex Pistols, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Hendrix, Tom Hopkins, The World’s Greatest Detective and Conan The Barbarian. We had a lot of different inspirations for the style and ethos of our urban brokerage. The World’s Greatest Detective is Batman. It was a moniker that became popular in the seventies. We used this example about how important due diligence and proper Fact Finding techniques are for serving and closing deals for clients. (It’s almost essential to be inquisitive in real estate esp about property/development to have success). Training is largely your sales meeting(s). Although I don’t come from a car background I’ve mentored many car guys transferring to real estate (they typically are out of the industry within 2 years and are there only for boom markets). Car guys have meetings every morning 6 days a week and they’re not at 9 or 10 am. They’re already working.

free module: The Burger King Phenomena: Why Agents Do Less Working For Themselves Than If They Were Working At Burger King

Many brokerages have no training/meeting schedule (monthly doesn’t count -- that’s a meet and greet company pump and catch up meeting). If a brokerage doesn’t have training on a schedule then there is no training. You’ll possibly be thrown a 3-ring binder, or given some PDF’s, or links to old bizarre training videos or a soup sandwich of all three and sometimes even a bill for the training. An agent’s training/meetings and their attendance to them are the difference between an agent making it or not when you’re 24 months or less in the role as an agent especially in the fast turbulent waters of the current 2021 market where brokerage and agent purpose and pay are under attack. From my experience, new agents that hide die.

Media

Having a background as a creative director I’m aware with great detail of agency and brokerage media needs, the cost and time they extract, and the corresponding revenue they’re projected to bring back. Brokerages are looking for their purpose now as simply having a brokerage doesn’t bring in leads like it used to. This is fitting, since the digital dumbass brokers that that didn’t understand the importance of ‘the web’ rickshawed our MLS data and sold the agent/broker centric real estate system for their benefit while current agents are left with an empty greasy enough to-go box to curl up with. Brokerages were never media houses or ad agencies but now that consumer level graphic programs and website builders are ubiquitous and any agent after being licensed for 10 days can drag & drop a website up in 4 hours and make it look like a brokerage that’s been around for years. I know I’m going wide on the subject here but stay with me because this is the crux of where the industry and consumer are renegotiating roles.

A brokerage’s value proposition has changed drastically with the telecommute revolution that was only sped and strengthened by Covid. Also, generational knowledge base gaps in technology are more apparent than ever with technology as younger agents can often be more media savvy than their broker. The market is flooded with self appointed companies or gurus that are taking on the role of the classic ad agency (Mad Men) or media production house. Also beware of real estate coaches with little or no real estate experience offering to guide you in social media. Okay media can’t be used in apex situations (such as the luxury listings you’re after) and doesn’t draw apex listings. Beware of tapioca room temperature tips and general lists from companies that can appear informative but are really boilerplate low grade data to get your attention to ultimately upsell you on a paid service.

As an agent or a brokerage, consumer level graphic and website building programs can be a death ticket to your business as your competitors have the same tools and are cranking out the same type of style of messaging you are now. Now agents, principals, admins and in art class creating flyers. This has been done since the nineties as the valleys of dead agent careers is full of 2-day Microsoft Word (or any of their shitty office offerings) seshes to produce nasty flyers and presentations. These programs are fun and making bad flyers absolutely work related - the kind of work you don’t want’ related to your business because it’s adult crayon coloring. Activity does not equal production. Staying busy doing the wrong things doesn’t make money in real estate. Rather than spending agent winning time staying in the wrong lanes for way too long, get with a team or brokerage that are providing the most exceptional visual media you can find in your market. It used to be cool 2 years ago, now it’s the only thing that matters. Visual content.

free module: Better Agent Media, Less Agent Money (media tips and hacks).

Access

This is access to your broker. Brokers with families are typically less available. Your best bet as an agent is looking for a grinder broker who sleeps on the couch at their office. This person doesn’t have kids to build into so they’ll build into your career and you’ll get the most out of these brokers. Beware of cheesedick, apathetic, rich boy, bored brokers not around and more concerned with projects like a shitty vanity wine brand that their wife’s forced them to launch since she’s not living her best life anymore as an agent.

Style

What kind of style is your brokerage? Is there an opportunity to bring more style sophistication to the market -- standout in a smaller market? Or, are you in an ultra stylish market currently and butt hurt because you already have a little story about how you’re going to keep it real and be a Dockers wearing slob for eternity? The thing about style in agency is you always need to look like you can list a million dollar house. Oh, is it really that simple? Yes it is. You complicated it. Clients always care about their housing a little bit more than they care about your real estate career. They don’t have time to figure out why you’re wearing shoe styles from 7 years ago. Don’t make it hard for people to do business with you. If you’re ugly, even better. It can be a massive advantage. Everyone on the planet loves when someone who doesn’t fall into our general current ‘attractive’ spectrum doesn’t give af, looks great and puts themselves together in a stylish way that the viewer can understand (can I get away with Teen Wolf?). A great side benefit from this step in the right direction is it’s a great way to make someone who is conventionally attractive insecure.

You want to be in the same style as the people in your area but the secret is you need to lead that style pack if you can -- you always lead and dress apex. Years ago this was anecdotal but after over 100K hours in real estate a good suite (tailored) saved my ass and literally got me business. I listed the largest house in east Austin because of a suit (and got a front page story on the newspaper real estate section for free because the owner saw me walking into the next door neighbor’s house).

Offices, dress, logo, email signature are all elements of you and your brokerage’s style. Style in and of itself isn’t enough to be a top producer in real estate. I’ve had stylish and even celebrity agents that didn't do zilch, but style often is a fingerprint to something more.

Picking the right elements for your agent style is an art because you have to offer something from yourself that’s unique enough as well as something familiar (a bridge to your uniqueness). I have a background as a musician and also as a merchant sailor. Fortunately those are easy convo starters. You could be a philatelist and have some challenges, but regardless it absolutely will take a year or three to develop your own angle and style towards the market as you learn it and the agent role more.

Things that look attractive and familiar puts client’s psychologies at ease. So, if skinny jeans are in you better get in them (that’s like five years old now). You’re on stage. You don’t wear what the worker people behind the camera wear. If you want to wear boring shit get on the other side of the camera. If you want less leads saddle up to a forgettable brokerage. People have hard days. They want you to put an effort into your real estate agency role. Currently it’s a fried role so you’re dealing with that too. People love to be smiled at and sold and especially from someone who smells good. It doesn't ever get old. Don’t make them beg for your charm. Be a nice charming person with a shirt that fits good, it’s a powerful combo.

Get My Damn Paper

If you’ve never seen a werewolf in daylight mess with an agent’s commission after the deal’s done and funded. Admin? Who is the damn person who does the admin? (accounts payable is the icey pro word if you like). That person that you contact to get your commission check cut? If that person is a weirdo, or there’s an unfriendly or sketchy quality to the office or admin staff, do not go forward (don’t confuse this with new people or industry jitters). Grab some free coffee, leave the smarm and jet to the next brokerage blind date.

Software

CRM is an annoying conversation. Here’s the things with CRM’s - for all the work CRMs curtail, because of their complexity and existence and the work(time) they take to interact with you need to consider how much work you’re putting into operating the CRM software verses how much time it’s saving. Many times brokerages have expensive yearly subscriptions with per agent fees for their CRM which can make the brokerage have a zealot meth thing for the ‘team’ software and promise you can’t have a career without taking a bump too. To understand CRM better before it was a name, Client Relationship Management is what analog Proximity became. Let me explain -  being close to people in Church, bar, school, same building -- all give proximity. This becomes familiarity, then ease, then trust. People do business with people they trust & like. Once people disconnected physically and started using other means more contact attempts have to be made to work for or ‘prove’ worth.

Follow Up is a large component of most CRM’s and there are gobs of money for agents who follow up meticulously. Simply ask the broker what CRM they use and research it. Something to remember - unless you’re extremely busy with your career you don’t need a CRM. You can manage & database your clients & leads ‘by hand’ and strap it to the cloud with G-Suite/Google Sheets.

Brokerage Name

A small but important aside, if a brokerage have named themselves after a precious metal or a gem, or if it says elite in the name then it’s not elite. If it has the words prestige or worldwide or international it may not be any of those either. I know a handful of exceptions to this rule but this is a great dirty primer to use when choosing a brokerage that’s going to propel your career and have shrimp options at the Christmas Party.

[sparrowsabre7]

Thoughts on the Snyder Cut Chapter 3 of 6

So the famous Barry Allen saving Iris West scene is added back in, but also features the kind of slightly awkward comedy you’d expect of a Whedon script. Also, the dude driving the truck due to crash into Iris seriously got a burger from “burger shop” like fucking try a little bit, guys. 

God he looks so weird doing his little half-run out of the shop to save her and unnecessarily spends 5 hours brushing her hair aside. I did appreciate the very unique take on super-speed though compared to say, Quicksilver from X-men. There’s an incredible delicateness about how he manoeuvres himself and Iris which is interesting to see, however, the sequence adds little besides that “Barry is a doer of good” which we already knew from the CCTV footage in BVS*. 

We then have ‘wolf gathering some Atlanteans for interrogation, after the stock “we will never betray Atlantis!” statement, he uses a weird spider robot to scan the guy’s brain or something and show him the location. The film would have been better without this scene, it - again - adds little and even beginning to think about how the fuck the mind projector spider would even work will distract the audience for at least the next five minutes.

Another scene of Lois Lane grieving. We had one added earlier in the film but I forgot to mention it because of just how inconsequential it was. God bless Amy Adams because she is clearly giving it her all but I’m not sure “Lois Lane grieving widow” is a much better look than “Lois Lane world’s thirstiest woman”, both undermine and neglect her as a character in her own right and I just hope the Snyder cut doesn’t have her just be a prop to satiate Superman’s rage like Josstice League. 

Back to Bruce and Diana, the latter now seems more proactive in helping Bruce search for the other supers, which is good. It also gives nod to Diana knowing the history of Amazons and Atlanteans. There is some sarcastic banter exchanged and some awkward accidental hand touching (are we sure this isn’t Josstice League?) *The aforementioned footage now plays out in full again here in case anyone watching this hadn’t seen BvS... this feels like an odd move. I could sort of understand it for cinemagoers who hadn’t seen BvS, but the Snyder Cut is so slavishly made for fans of Snyder’s work in the DCEU that it seems odd to repeat it here with colour commentary from Bruce and Diana. 

Cut to Victor Stone sadly watching kids play football and then flashback to his own football career which, credit where it’s due, is beautifully shot, looking straight out of 300 if it weren’t for the football gear. It also tips the hat to Victor having some hacking know-how prior to his Cyborg transformation, using it to help his friend’s grades - a move that is not merely standard high school hijinks, but done out of a sense of social justice and points to inequality within the school system. Much as this is another diversion that adds little, it is worthwhile and introduces some much needed nuance into the character of Victor and the world of Justice League as a whole. Snyder has a tendency to be heavy handed, but he does occasionally touch on issues which have weight and whether purposefully or not, his small-scale interaction with them makes them feel that much more real and ingrained in the world. Things like the Gotham PD largely ignoring their jobs to watch the game, the disabled Wayne Enterprises employee struggling to make ends meet, angry at the world, how different social classes view Batman’s actions. 

I digress, the sequence also puts Victor’s mother back into the picture and helps embed the kind of relationship Vic has with his father. Said mother is then unceremoniously killed in a car crash, diverging slightly from the otherwise somewhat faithful recreation of “Justice League: Origins” from the new 52 relaunch. This recontextualises Silas’ decision to apply the motherbox to his son as a rather more selfish act than in the comic, where it was ostensibly to undo a mistake he had made (or rather, undo the fallout of something he was working on). Clearly Victor agrees with this reading, as in the following montage we see Silas explain the extent of his powers as he uses them to fly, test his cyber control and finally grant a single mother a boon of $100,000 to keep her from becoming homeless. After this, Silas states “all this has been as a scientist, I would now like to talk to you as your father” upon which Victor simply crushes the recorder the message was playing on. Curiously the tape recorder was a literal tape recorder rather than digital and while it’s entirely possible that’s just an accident, it could also be that Silas knew any digital recorder would immediately be within Victor’s purview and thereby he would have no choice but to hear the message. In giving him an analogue tape recorder that choice was put back in his hands. This has been perhaps the most worthwhile addition so far, fleshing out Victor and his dynamic with his father, as well as a better explanation of his powers, perhaps making him one of the strongest members of the League. 

Bruce visits Barry, an exchange largely unchanged save for the thankful excision of the “brunch” dialogue which, while I never had a huge problem with it, was awkward to watch.

There’s a rather fun exchange between Alfred and Diana (generally a lot more Alfred in the Snyder cut in general actually) where he lectures her on how best to make tea and she sassily implies that Bruce is basically building her gauntlets only bat-themed. A throwaway scene but there’s fun chemistry here with Alfred ultimately bringing her tea when distracted, despite her assertion she’d make it herself. It segues into Victor and Diana’s first meeting, Diana’s dialogue seems unchanged but Cyborg’s dialogue is a little angrier; he also flies in in full Cyborg mode rather than stepping out in a hoodie. I’m not sure I like the alteration, it’s less subtle and doesn’t really change the tone of the scene. We then see Vic bury the motherbox in his own grave followed by a useless scene with Silas and Ryan Choi looking at a hunk of metal being super hot, with Choi then making another Whedonesque joke about that being what he said to his prom date. To be fair though, I keep saying Whedonesque at any bad jokes, but I have to remember Man of Steel had “I just think he’s kinda hot” scene which gave me immense secondhand embarrassment. 

We are now back to your regularly scheduled programming with the film mostly returning to playing out how Josstice League did: Jim Gordon is introduced, the bat signal shines, the Atlantean motherbox is stolen (albeit with added violence and additional Amber Heard). The extension does make the scene flow better for sure, though I question if the blood and bissecting is necessary.

It is now the halfway point and basically the full length of Josstice League has passed. I have to say, while there are certainly some improvements, I would by no means call this a definitive version, it absolutely needs significant editing to be a watchable movie, I feel like we’ve barely gotten anywhere and the small scraps of nuance gleaned from this version are not worth doubling the runtime. So far it does seem to have excised the weird Russian family cutaway scenes which is only a good thing, but little added has provided enough value to warrant this undertaking so far. Hopefully there’s enough in the latter half to assuage this feeling but so far it just feels like an exercise in directorial onanism. 

[teentitanimals]

Carrie Kelley in the Batfam

I freaking love Carrie Kelley, she’s so awesome. I desperately wish to see more content of her (I say, never even having read the comics she’s in- so sue me, I’ll get to it eventually). So, I’m taking it upon myself to write how I think she’d function with the rest of the Batfam! In ‘my’ version/understanding of the Batfam, she becomes Robin when Damian is AWOL. She quickly assumes the identity of Catgirl after Damian returns (angry, of course), and then eventually becomes Batgirl when no one else takes that mantle.

I personally view Carrie as someone who’s really, really eager to have a true family, and if she gets to kick criminals’ asses to have that family, then that’s just a big bonus. In basic, I see her as someone who’s very outwardly bubbly, energetic, eager to please, full of determination, enthusiastic, and somewhat stubborn, but has layers of doubt and anxiety expertly pushed down (as is the Bats’ way). In more depth, I see her as someone who knows what she has to do, and will do it no matter what. When she’s given an order, she will go through with it. When she needs to lead, she will. When she needs to follow, she will. Still though, she is inexperienced and untrained compared to the others, both on the physical side and emotional side. While she can put on that facade of coldness, strictness, when she no longer needs that mask, she can break down. For example, when she unhesitatingly punished that Batboy (Mutant guy) for killing some one, but later cried about it. She does what she believes needs to be done in the moment, but can often doubt or regret afterwards, when it’s safer to do so.

Anyway, here’s how I view her relationships with the Batfam! I might do this with some of the other Batfam as well, like Duke :)

Bruce - Carrie instantly views Batman as a parental figure. Her parental figures barely even remember she exists, so when Batman finally accepted her temporarily as Robin, she immediately started to view him as a positive adult role model in her life. She’s always very eager to impress him and relishes in every moment she’s near him, but she can get super anxious when he’s silent, often interrupting it as him ignoring her, just like her real parents do.

Alfred - Carrie loves Alfred, no surprise there. Who doesn’t, after all? She’s only seen her grandparents a few times, so it’s much like what she did with Bruce, instantly viewing him as a grandfather figure. She loves getting him little gifts and enjoys helping him with the work he does around the manor. She would spend every moment telling him how much she appreciates him, if she could.

Selina - She’s a bit hesitant with Selina, because she doesn’t really know much about the woman past her sort of being Batman’s “lover” and also a criminal dressed in a catsuit sometimes. She wants to view Selina as a mother figure, but she gets nervous and shy around her. The two do bond over a love of cats and dogs, though. (I actually have an idea/AU where Carrie becomes Catgirl but as Catwoman’s ‘sidekick’.)

Commissioner Gordon - She has a good amount of respect towards the Commissioner, along with a certain amount of pity. Sometimes, when she’s able to, she’ll prompt him to tell stories to her, and just sit down and listen. She wants to know him better, maybe become like uncle and niece, but she doesn’t really know how to do that.

Kate - Carrie takes well to Batwoman, admiring and respecting her a great deed. She adapts easily to viewing Kate as an aunt. She isn’t as eager to impress Kate like she is with Bruce, but she does value her opinion a lot. Carrie really enjoys hanging out with Kate outside of their masks too, and finds her to be really fun and cool, especially compared to Bruce- although, she would never tell Bruce that to his face.

Dick - Carrie was really, really anxious for Dick’s approval. No, not for being Robin, but rather for being accepted into the family. He was the eldest sibling. The first sibling. Needless to say, getting his immediate acceptance was so relieving it was almost addicting. And, not to mention, Dick was the first person to really hug her in a long while. A full on, arms wrapped around, tight squeeze, warm, loving kind of hug. She about cried on the spot. An unfortunate side effect is that having Dick hug her and seeing him hug everyone else made her Dick’s rival as the most touchy-feely of the Batfam. At least the fam has better luck escaping Carrie’s hugs than they do Dick’s.

Barbara - Carrie also was really anxious for Babs’s approval as well, this time more focused on being a Batgirl than with being accepted into the family. The two aren’t super close, or super chatty, but Carrie always appreciates Babs’s easy and quiet acceptance of her. Even when Carrie feels ignored and forgotten by the rest of the family, she can always count on having Babs simply just greeting her, or sending her out on a mission, just a casual acknowledgement of her existence. In return, Carrie also enjoys giving her small gifts from time to time like she does with Alfred.

Jason - She was a bit nervous initially meeting the infamous Red Hood, but she covered it well with guts and confidence. After she overcame her wariness of him, she definitely tried a bit harder to impress him, viewing him as the ‘cool older brother’. Jason isn’t all that touchy-feely with her like Dick, but every pat on the head, shoulder or back feels like ‘He Accepts Me as His Little Sister’ heaven to her. The two don’t always mesh well together, but they don’t have any animosity or history between them, so it’s easy for them to get along well.

Cass - Cass both fills Carrie with anxiety and love. On one hand, Cass is often very silent, and that really activates Carrie’s ‘She’s Ignoring Me, She Doesn’t Care About Me’, but on the other hand, Cass is very warm and comforting, even without words. Carrie would compare her to a ‘blanket’- warm, soft, comforting, always there for you, even without saying anything, but sometimes when it gets too hot (too silent), you need to get rid of the blanket until its colder (too loud) again. It’s an odd simile, but Cass finds it amusing. Cass more than makes up with her silence with many friendly pats and hugs to her new little sister (which Carrie was ecstatic to find out Cass viewed her as such almost as immediately as Carrie viewed her as an older sister).

Luke - Carrie doesn’t see Luke or Batwing all that much, but she kind of enjoys that. It’s like having a distant cousin you see on holidays that you get along well with. It really solidifies the whole ‘family’ thing for her. She likes hanging out with his siblings, too.

Harper - Harper, too, is more like a cousin, but one Carrie is just in awe of. She definitely wants to get to know Harper better, but they haven’t found the time too.

Tim - She often finds it hard to get along with Tim. Not that they clash heads or anything, it’s more like an awkward silence (and you know by now how much she hates silence). Carrie is loud and energetic even without coffee, yet Tim sometimes can barely stay awake even with coffee. She also isn’t as good with tech as the other, having less experience and access to even the more simpler digital devices due to her parents neglect of her and her childhood. She admires his intelligence and skill greatly, and often feels inferior to him because of it. It’s weird, because she also knows and acknowledges that the rest of the Batfam is greater than her in most skills simply due to more experience and training, but for some reason Tim’s skills make her feel worthless and unimportant to the family. Still though, the two find ways to get along, even if it is just something as minor as Carrie offering to get him some coffee and watching him work. Tim has offered to teach her more on tech too, which she’s pretty eager about, even if a lot of it flies over her head.

Steph - Once again, Steph is one of those people Carrie highly admires. Steph was, after all, both a Robin and Batgirl like Carrie too. Plus, Carrie just really loves Steph’s personality, humor, and wit. She’s the older sister Carrie wants to impress the most. The two got along immediately, personalities bouncing well off each other, like an echo chamber but better. Steph greatly enjoys having a little sister to teach ‘girl stuff’ too, and is happy to pull Carrie along on any trips to the mail, or to paint nails with her and Cass. Inviting Carrie to watch reality TV and musicals with her and Damian. Their text messages between each other consist solely of memes and random ramblings done at 2am. Bruce often has to separate them on patrols or missions, because Steph brings out Carrie’s ‘lack of brain cells’ side, making her more eager to just jump head-on into danger without a proper plan or instructions to do so.

Duke - She and Duke are both the ‘new kids’, but Duke knows just a little bit more about the Batfamily than her. He enjoys showing her ‘the ropes’ when getting used to the family’s insanity. She’s more rambunctious and eager to join in on the chaos than he was, but they can still bond over giving each other those little glances of ‘Are you seeing this too? I’m not crazy right?’ and ‘They can’t be serious.’ Carrie enjoys the more calmed down energy she can have with him. Everyone else in the family’s high energy brings out hers, but Duke has that perfect balance that she appreciates. Even someone as eager for familial attention can be overwhelmed at times. Sometimes they just enjoy calmly, casually talking about whatever, relaxing as they eat, or read, or watch TV.

Damian - Damian is by far the one Carrie admires the most. She’s the one she craves the most acceptance from, and Damian being Damian, it’s very hard to get it, especially since she was a ‘copycat’, a ‘temporary replacement’, a ‘little girl scout looking at the big leagues’ to him. Despite Damian’s many, many insults and jabs and overall disrespect to her, she took it as best she could in stride, not wanting to upset him further. Much like Jason was Tim’s Robin, Damian was Carrie’s Robin, the one she looked up to. It’s why she so easily gave up being Robin and became Catgirl when Damian came back. It was his role, and Carrie didn’t mean to ‘steal it’ from him, or to ‘replace him’, just to help Batman when he didn’t have anyone else. It takes awhile, a long while, but Damian begins to warm up to her, slowly, slowly, accepting her as his sister. Eventually, he actually becomes pretty protective of her, after all, Robin and Batgirl are just as iconic a pair as Robin and Batman. Despite Damian being younger than Carrie (in my eyes), Carrie views him as a protective older brother. They enjoy taking care of all their pets and animals together, and complaining about school to one another, and crashing on the couch after a long day, watching random shows until they fall asleep and one of their older siblings has to carry them to their respective beds.

[nerdybirdboy]

New Verse: Metahuman

This verse has three different “origin stories”, although one of them will be the main one. Besides when and why his meta-genes were activated, things are the same in the different “origin stories”. Same powers, same struggles etc. Then there’s also a second version of it all (still same powers though). Anyway, onto the fun part.

The Powers

Metahuman Powers: Electronic Communication aka Technopathy/Cyberpathy

What Does It Mean: Tim can perceive, understand, control and generate electronic, radio and digital transmissions. Wireless works easiest, but if he can touch a wired machine, for example a old landline phone, he can use his powers in the same way as with wireless.

What Does It Do: There’s a lot Tim can do with his meta power. From deactivating alarms to reading anyone’s text messages to hacking any computer system he want to, manipulating GPS, video manipulation, scan for electronic devices and so on.

Downside: There’s no off button leading to intercepting things he shouldn’t read/hear even when he doesn’t want to. No place is calm and quiet. Frequent bad headaches and it is of course taxing to use his powers for certain things, like changing or erasing a surveillance video.

How It Happened

Origin 1: The Clench (secondary) Of all things Tim expected as possible side effects of The Clench, activating the meta-gene he had unknowingly been carrying wasn’t one of them. Though, it wasn’t that weird when you thought about it, it had been an extremely straining experience, physically and mentally, and The Clench was a mutating virus. (Age: 13-14)

Origin 2: War Beneath the Streets (No Man’s Land arc) While helping Bruce trying to get Gotham under order, Tim finds himself fighting an underground war by himself. After a few rat bites and a dip in sewage water, he unsurprisingly becomes very sick. Despite this, he has a job to do and push on. The sickness mixed with the physical strain of the fighting is what activates his meta-gene. It’s not the best of times for this to happen. (Age: 14)

Origin 3: Anarky’s Explosion (Search for a Hero) (Main) After Bruce’s apparent death, Tim is one of those left to look after Gotham. It’s a heavy burden and working himself pretty thin, Anarky manage to trap him inside a warehouse before blowing it up. Miraculously, Tim survives, but not without changes. Not just his severe injuries, but also an activated meta-gene. No he needs to look after Gotham while trying to handle his new power. (Search for a Hero takes place after Final Crisis but before Battle for the Cowl.) (Age: 16-17)

Version 2: Tim’s meta-genes activated in his pre-teen years, but since both his parents and the general population don’t react well to metas, he tries to keep it all hidden. Obviously his parents know about his power, but they mostly act like they don’t. Tim himself just wish he could be accepted and also use his power for something good. Maybe one of the many vigilantes would like his help? Preferably Batman, of course..

[thedeaditeslayer]

INTERVIEW: The creative team behind DEATH TO THE ARMY OF DARKNESS chats about making multiple Ashes.

Ash Williams is a larger-than-life character, but is the world ready for more than one of him? Readers are going to find out in Death to the Army of Darkness #1 from Dynamite Comics. Taking place just after the Army of Darkness movie, a bad translation of the Necronomicon is at the heart of the problem, leading to versions of Ash such as the female Ashley Williams, the erratic Lil’ Ash, Dash aka Doggie Ash, Skeleton Ash, and Chainy, Ash’s now sentient chainsaw.

At the helm are writer Ryan Parrott (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Batman: Gates of Gotham) and artist Jacob Edgar (Savage Tales: Red Sonja), with colorist Kike J. Diaz (Sherlock Frankenstein, Ether) and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Red Sonja, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) completing the creative team.

The Beat chatted with Parrott and Edgar about the upcoming comedy-horror book.

Deanna Destito: What inspired the premise of this new series?

Ryan Parrott: My editor, Nathan Cosby, actually called me up one day. He’d read some of my work on Power Rangers and was tossing around the idea of doing a “Team Ash” book. Ash is such an iconic character and I loved the idea of trying to surround him with his own team of misfits. At first, we talked about it being Ashes from other realities, but we realized there was already a precedent set for clones and dopplegangers with “Evil Ash” from “Army of Darkness.” And character-wise, we started to really gravitate toward forcing Ash to come face-to-face with different parts of his own personality and it slowly started turning into a story about responsibility and what it means to be “The Chosen One.”

Destito: How big of an Army of Darkness fan are you?

Parrott: Have I read Bruce Campbell’s autobiography If Chins Could Kill? Yes, I have. Have I been playing exclusively with “Ash” for over a year on the horror game, Dead By Daylight? Yes, I have. I actually saw the trilogy backwards in college because of a friend and, I will argue that to this day, there is no better horror hero than “Ash.” Being able to put words in his mouth and add a brick to the legacy wall of a character I love is an insane pleasure.

Jacob Edgar: I came to it late. Right when I took on this project, if I’m being honest. I’ve been familiar with the franchise for a long time, I had seen a lot of Bruce Campbell’s other work (can we do a Brisco County Jr comic next??) but not Evil Dead and Army of Darkness. So immediately after signing on I got to dive in and binge the movies, the Starz show…it’s been a blast. I don’t have the history with it that Ryan does, but I loved it immediately.

Destito: Where does this fall in the mythology and can new fans jump in easily?

Parrott: My approach to nearly every comic series is to try and make it accessible to both hardcore and casual fans alike. And since you can’t guarantee everyone has seen every movie or read every comic series beforehand, I built this story so a person could pick up the first issue only knowing that Ash was the hero of Army of Darkness. Now, since I’m also a fan, there are definitely elements and Easter Eggs for people who are paying attention… but this one is its own story that simply takes place in the world of Army of Darkness.

Destito: Do you find it easier or harder to illustrate something so well known and played by such a distinct, animated actor like Bruce Campbell?

Edgar: I think it’s easier in a lot of ways. Ash as a character is already built for me, that work is done. I know what he wears, I know what he drives, I know what kind of guy he is which informs set design and character acting. I love Bruce Campbell, and I love how expressive Ash is. That’s definitely something I’m trying to translate into our book.

Destito: What was your process for designing each Ash?

Edgar: For Ash himself, I wasn’t ever interested in trying to make a realistic depiction of Bruce Campbell. I don’t think my style lends to that, but also…you really have to nail that EVERY panel, or the panels that are off are going to take the reader out of it. The other thing I wanted to be conscious of was not exaggerating his chin too much, or his build. I think that’s a pitfall sometimes. Ash is fairly fit, but he’s not Batman.

When it came to Ashley, I really wanted her to have a unique look of her own. Reminiscent of Ash, but with some twists. And those twists were never going to be cleavage and booty shorts, which is another pitfall for something like this. Ashley is probably the most tactical and dangerous of the bunch, that’s what needed to come across.

The others are pretty straightforward. Dash is a Boxer dog and we gave him a blue bandana to echo Ash’s shirts. Bones is based on that famous Evil Dead 2 poster, the skeleton with eyes. But I’m getting to add costuming to him in issue #2, which is making him much more fun (and easier to draw!). Then we’ve got Lil Ash who is an exaggerated and extra crazy version of the Ash gremlins from Army of Darkness. I hope readers will love all these weirdos as much as we do.

Destito: How has it been working with the creative team to bring the series to life?

Edgar: This has been especially fun for me because it’s my first time doing multiple issues of something. Ryan’s scripts are a blast to draw and Kike is going to be a superstar colorist, I love the energy he’s bringing. Hassan is one of the best letterers around and I just hope I don’t make his job harder than it has to be. Nate’s been my editor since 2017 and he always gets the best out of everyone, we’re in great hands.

Destito: Of the Ashes, which clone is your favorite?

Parrott: Oh man. I have to tell you which one of my kids is the favorite? This won’t come back to bite me. Oddly enough, it has kinda depended on which issue I’m writing. In the second issue, it was Ashley, Ash’s feminine side because I loved that she wasn’t afraid to call Ash on his tricks. In the third issue, it was Dash, the dog version of Ash, because he started to become the leader, but in the fourth, it became Bones, the walking Skeleton version of Ash, because I started to realize just how in over his head he felt, and that was fun to write. Maybe that’s me dodging your question… but I like the voices of all the characters, it feels almost unfair to choose.

Edgar: At first I was telling everyone Dash, the dog. Because dogs are always best. But I’m really starting to love Bones, the cowardly skeleton. His character is so different from everyone and everything else, he’s really fun to play with.

Destito: What can fans expect in future issues?

Parrott: I think if you love Army of Darkness as much as I do, well… I tried to put in all the hallmarks of the series: Action, adventure, horror and humor. We’ll have Deadite possessions and chainsaw decapitations, and it wouldn’t be complete without a little time travel. For hardcore fans, we’ll get into some of the reasons behind the creation of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis and even the philosophy behind the Deadites themselves. Hopefully, if people like it… this will be the first step into some epic mythological Army of Darkness storytelling, because… we have plans… but if not, I hope people will be happy with a lot of blood, guts and boomsticks.

Death to the Army of Darkness #1 can be preordered at your local comic shop this month. The issue hits shelves in February. For digital, head over to Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more.

[gippywhite]

Marvel, Captain America, comic books, and the downfall of society.

This... oh my god. This is infuriating. As a WOMAN who loves COMIC BOOKS and COMICS BOOK CHARACTERS, this pisses me off to no end. And I’m sure you’re thinking, “It’s only a comic book. What’s the big deal?” The big deal is that this is insulting to comic book creators, character creators, comic book readers, and women!!! This has the bullshit stained fingerprints of the SJW, nazi cult all over it. It’s LAZY, it’s INSULTING to ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE, and it’s DISGUSTING!!! And they keep doing this shit over and over and over again. Instead of CREATING new, “strong”, unique characters for women, all they do is STEAL already WELL established male characters’ NAME, POWERS, UNIFORM, and STORYLINES and then carry on in THE most condescending and belittling way possible. As an example that is NOT in this article, the tv show Batwoman. An utterly stupid concept to begin with. A woman who is first and foremost a lesbian, yes, that is her #1 “character trait, who was a failure in the military, a criminal, and a slacker supreme of the highest order of the IDGAF regime, barges her way into the Bat cave without permission, aka B&E, sees the Bat equipment and outfit, STEALS THE NAME, TECHNOLOGY, EQUIPMENT, and PERSONA to become Batwoman to fight “crime”, or rather the half assed, watered down, female versions of Batman villains. But the girl that played Batwoman quit the show after the first season. So the woke executives decided to go totz mcgoats woke and win with a diversity Yahtzee. A female, BLACK, HOMELESS, LIVES IN A VAN, DRUG ADDICT, CRIMINAL!!! THAT is our hero?!? I can promise you one thing for sure. This demographic they are desperately trying to “represent” does NOT read comic books!!! But if I were black, I would be furious that this garbage character is what they think would represent me well. This is not only stereotypical in the worst way possible, but it’s 1000000% racist!!!!!! Now SHE will steal from the OTHER Batwoman, who stole everything from Batman, to become the NEW Batwoman.

But I digress. This article is about replacing Steve Rogers’ Captain America with 5, yes FIVE, different female versions of Captain America. NOT ONLY THAT, but they are ALSO replacing the Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes versions of Captain America with wahman as well. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

THIS is why the comic book industry is FAILING!!!!!!!! LAZY, INCOMPETENT, UNORIGINAL, SEXIST, BIGOTED, AND RACIST BULLSHIT LIKE THIS FROM THE RETARDS IN THE WOKE COMMUNITY THAT OOOOOOOONLYYYYYYYYYYY RUIN EEEEEEEEEEVERYING THEY TOUCH!!!!!!!!!! Marvel, you had 11 years of PHENOMENAL advertising from 22 AMAZING movies (purposefully leaving out Captain Marvel) and this is the shit you do with it. THIS!!! SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? The entirety of Marvel Comics need to be fired, black listed, and rebuilt from the ground up. Stan Lee is rolling in his grave because you people won’t stop pissing on it!!!! May he rest in peace.

GOD DAMMIT!!!!!!!! This is everything that is wrong in the world right now on the smallest scale possible. Marvel, you are shit.

[storms-dnd-archive]

My Top Fav Starkid Shows

Since I just watched Black Friday’s digital release now seems as good a time as any to rank my favorite musicals from Starkid.  I in no way think you should find these to be your favorites, they're just mine.  I’m gonna rank them in ascending order and explain a little why I chose that spot.  Please share with me your top lists as well!  Also, please be my friend and talk to me about musicals. 

12. Ani: A parody - I am sorry if I offend anyone, but I did not enjoy Ani very much. I did like how it seemed like a sports movie, and I didnt hate it. There were some funny moments. But on the whole, was just not a huge fan of this one. 

11. A Very Potter Senior Year - I know the quality is lower because they didnt have the same sort of time or resources to make it as nice as the other shows, but I think that warrants to be lower on the list. Also, the songs were not as memorable and the plot felt like it was forced a little. Still enjoyable, just to many issues to be higher on the list. 

10. Holy Musical, B@tman! - First, Lego Batman totally took inspiration from HMB, I can feel it in my bones.  So, I liked this musical, but there are not as many really strong songs that I catch myself remembering or wanting to sing along to. It's a cute story and I really like this one, it's just a little lower in quality for me.  Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight

9. Black Friday - This could possibly go up once I’ve seen it a few more times. I liked it, but the songs were not my favorite and as a story, it seems like it would have worked better as a play than a musical. But, maybe once the YouTube version drops I’ll feel differently.  I have spoiler opinions as well for the show, about what I super liked. But that will have to go on its own post.  Also, this has got to be the saddest show in the bunch. Like oof-a-rooni. I has the sad.  - cant name fav song, but Dylan Saunders ya’ll - 

8. Me and My Dick - Like A Very Potter Musical, this one is a classic for me. I watched it a lot when I was younger. I think it is incredibly funny and the plot is so off the wall surreal that a musical was literally the best choice medium it could have gone.  This spot is mostly nostalgic for me.  Ready to Go!

Bonus Tin Can Brothers: Spies Are Forever - Not the same group so technically should not be on the list at all, but it has enough of the same actors and people working on it that I think there is value in adding to the list.  I really liked this show at all. The songs were ok, but like Black Friday I think it would have worked better without being a musical. Still keep the opening song but perhaps it be a play the rest of the time.  The plot and story for this show are really great, the plot twist is amazing, and Curt Mega being a gay spy during a time during the Purple Scare is really something. (Check out Silvana LTD. on Youtube for a more comprehensive look on how brilliant this is.) Overall great show and I hope the Tin Can Brothers make more shows. 

7. Trail to Oregon - With some really great songs and one of the funniest shows in the lineup, there is so much to lobe about Trail to Oregon. It may not be the most dramatic plot or best songs, but because of how funny and enjoyable it is, it deserves a high spot. Basically, just a lot of fun. You Gotta Go - or - Pays to be an Animal

6. Firebringer - LESBIANS! -cough- So, this musical is great. It has a really nice polished feel that I think shows how far Starkid has come from its humble origins. It's also an original story and not a parody of anything, and that in its own right I think deserves a high spot on the list. Because it shows Starkid are not one-hit parody wonders. I think there is a lot to love about this one, with the lovable characters, political commentary, and really awesome visual effects.  Also, “I don't want to do the work today!” Into the Night!

5. A Very Potter Sequel - A really solid sequel. In its own right has a great plot while still tying to the first show's plot really nicely. Characterization is still great and all the new characters are very enjoyable. There are some great songs. Overall, it really pairs nicely with the original.  Harry Freakin Potter - or - Guy’s Like Potter

4. A Very Potter Musical - The OG, a Classic. Forever timeless. Where it all began and without we would have none of the other shows on this list. I wish more people or studios would put musicals online. Original, parody, or otherwise. There is such a strong need for creativity and fun musical entertainment. More people should take a chance. But anyways, such good music. Almost every song is a bop. The characters are hilarious and the plot is amazing.  I could go on but anyone bothering to read this post knows how good AVPM is. Granger Danger!

3. Twisted - I cried! This show is so well done. The blending of Wicked and Aladdin is so well done that you wish more villans would get this treatment. I would love to explore more stories in this manner. Not being a villain apologist but changing the story a bit and seeing a story from the perspective of someone everyone sees as a villain. Gosh, I love that concept.  This musical is great and I have very little critiques for it. Also, Dylan Saunders. If I believed in Wishes!

2. Starship - This originally would have been my absolute favorite and has been for a long time. But TGWDLM is just so catchy and the quality is so nice. Starship has better quality songs if comparing the two. The songs are really what make this, where almost every number is perfect and lends to the plot in the most cohesive way of all the Starkid shows. Also, a parody of Starship Trooper and the Littel Mermaid, sign me the fuck up. That is so original!  I love all the characters immensely and think that the character arcs are perhaps the best here than in any of the other shows. Overall, one of the best Starkid has done and I am always surprised it does not get more love from the community.  Also, the puppets are so great ya’ll! The puppets! Ok so my favorite song is Kick it Up a Notch, and it's my favorite villain song and possibly musical song, period. It is so jazzy and cool and catchy, I sing it all the time. Dylan Saunders has an amazing voice and this song highlights it in all the best ways. Also, Pincer looks amazing.  God, I love Starship. 

1. The Guy Who Didnt Like Musicals - Number 1! So, I gushed so much about Starship, how could any musical top it? Well, that's what I thought too until I watched TGWDLM a few times. While being a parody, on musicals as a whole and old SciFi, it is a fairly original plot. The acting here is some of the more natural feeling and better acted acting in all of the shows. It could practically be a movie (and I've seen so many requests that it become a movie, like please please become a movie!) The songs are perfect and have an emotional punch with each placement. None of them feel out of place and the ones that do feel that way with purpose since the Apotheosis is unnatural. The plot is just amazing, with perfect timing on emotional impact and moving purpose. The characters feel real and have good arcs. And although it ends rather bleakly, the twist ending actually lends to how unique and awesome of a musical it is. (Giving me strong Little Shop of Horrors vibes.) Overall, this is a musical I have watched several several times and recommended to a lot of people. It is really great and I will be the first person backing any Kickstarter or call to action that a movie would need to be made.  Best Song, besides all of them? La De Da De Day - or - Join Us (and Die)