#omg based off that comic panel

[starlooove]

How to explain my fave Robin is Matt McGinnis

[agent371]

This post is talking about the designs (and the designs only, I haven't read anything from the authors and dont even know who they are so this is design based only) released for the new Damian Wayne comic - The Boy Wonder. I will be heavily critical and btching about these, but please tell me your thoughts as well. After Damian, the others are under the cut. Please read because it's important.

Damian's design is actually really good and the best one, which is probably good since this is a comic about him. And I love how he's not whitewashed, which is something that happens way too much in comics.

Now, to Nightwing, his design is okay for a Nightwing design, but he just looks off in this style. I think if they tried to stylise him more, it could look a lot cooler. So I think he's just got wasted potential. Also, he's probably whitewashed as well to make damian more special as the "only" POC in the family (probly why Cass, Duke, Luke, and Luicus aren't here as well).

Babs is next, and this is the main reason I made this post. They abled her. DC authors stop abling disabled characters, please, for the love of me, I can't stand it. She can be disabled and still be relevant in the plot. I swear the only reason authors do this is because they don't know how to write disabled characters. If they need a Batgirl, use Steph or Cass because they are more than capable of doing it. I know they aren't as iconic as Babs, but move on DC. She's so much more interesting as Oracle.

Batman, I'm not a fan of his big blocky design. I just don't like it. He also looks really irrelevant and giving this is a comic about Robin (his son!) I think he should be relevant or look like he isn't a background character who just grunts, like for the design it looks like he doesn't talk. Don't like it.

Jason now, I actually love his Red Hood costume it looks sick, and the R on the chest *chefs kiss*. But his robin outfit is too gritty, and from that, I can tell he's going to be mischaracterised as the "angry Robin," so Hood looks cool, but that's all it is, his looks.

Tim. There is so much to say, omg. Where is his hero outfit! Everyone else got them. Why didn't he? You can actually see RR in the preview, so why wasn't that design put here? Why is it just Tim? And why does kid Tim look homless you know he grew up rich, before and after his adoption sure he has a style but his cloths wouldn't be friad he'd still look sleek and scruff not on the verge of his cloths falling off his back. For this, I can tell he'll also be mischaracterised as just like Jason since this is a Damian comic they are doing to do him so dirty. :( Sad day for a 90's Tim Drake fan (like every day, tbh save my guy). His RR design also has a shitty mask, but other than that, it seems fine, I like the wings/cape for it that looks pretty cool.

Alfred is a stereotypical old man. He's got no individuality what so ever and will proble be in one panel, say something sarcastic, and never show up again.

Ra's is okay. That's all.

Talia doesn't even look like herself . If you showed me her design with no context, I would not know who she is.

Carrie. Why is she here? Like honestly, why? There are better characters to include in a comic like this, like Steph or Cass or Duke or Helana. They would all be better chooses than Carrie. I'm not the biggest Damian fan, but ofter, Damian fans have been wanting him and Huntress as in a comic for a bit. I do like her design, but I just don't get why she's here. (I'm not including her image because of the limit bit is on my previous repost)

[alciedoodles]

hi!! i saw your other post about how you simplify details and it was really helpful - was wondering if you had any tips abt drawing expressions/poses to express a story/emotions. like i saw your recent sumeru char doodles on twt and the way you draw alhaitham and hungover kaveh is so!!! ahh!! all of the lines feel really intentional, from the expressions to the fabric of the clothing and omg i love it so much. anyways sorry for rambling HAHA thank you sm for sharing your art! gl w art school 💪

Hello!

Thank you so much for the lovely words <3 it's really such a honor to hear that so many people consider my art to be very expressive, which I think is an essential skill to have for storytelling in comics!

First of all, I'd like to say this isn't something I can easily answer... you must already know there's no easy step-by-step guide on how to be "good" at art or expressions or whichever aspect you're trying to improve, the answer will always be observation and practice. However, I can tell you some of my methods I use to make sure emotions are conveyed as efficiently as possible(?). Here are the key points I always try to apply (note that these aren't rules, these are just my guiding points):

Understanding the character(s), the context, and how the two work together

Laying down a foundation

Not letting dialogue be the main driving force behind storytelling

Paneling conveys emotion too, actually

The absence of something can also convey emotion

You didn't specifically ask about comics, but since it's my favorite subject and it ties into your question, I'll be using a lot of examples from the comics I made! And it might interest other people who were curious?

VERY long post ahead :)

1. Understanding the character(s), the context, and how the two work together

This is what I think is the most fundamental part of storytelling! I mean, makes sense, right? Obviously you don't need a PhD in The Character to make stories based off them. I literally cannot tell you every detail about my favorite characters despite loving them very much, but I think understanding them and their relationships on a big-picture level is primordial. What drives them, what are their principles, what are their biggest fears, who do they make exceptions for, etc. Also, to me, understanding their relationships is sometimes more important than understanding the character at a molecular level. We can tell so much about someone just from the way they interact with specific people vs how they interact with strangers. The person I am online isn't the same I am with friends nor even with family-- like one of the reasons some characters can feel one-dimensional is because they don't show variation in their character throughout their relationships (and since you mentioned Kaveh and Alhaitham, I don't need to tell you the way both of them interact with each other is far removed from the way they interact with friends, strangers, etc... I think a lot of people forget who they are outside of their relationship, which a huge point of contention behind mischaracterization in fan works). I don't have much to say about this other than this is something I keep in mind every step of the way through.

2. Laying down a foundation

This is what the majority of my comics look like on second draft:

I said second because the first drafts usually look like this, which are barely comprehensible to anyone but myself:

The purpose of these are not only to give me a better guide for posing than whatever i did on the first draft (storyboard), but also have a first pass at motion and emotion. The expressions and gestures are legible enough that you can probably glean the emotions of each character based off the little sketches. Ultimately, some of the things I'll draft will end up adjusted, changed, expanded on or even removed.

This particular panel of Reigen is a favorite of mine, because the first pass already shows his confusion, but the final one is even more distorted because it felt like it needed to be even more accentuated.

This panel where he mansplains is also a good example, because the first pass gave him too much of an arrogant/uninterested look (notable with his upturned face), whereas Reigen is more likely to take pride in explaining something he knows to make himself look like a wise and mature figure (notable with his slight smirk and downturned face, as if nodding to himself; the hand is also slightly more forward as if inviting rather than dismissing). And since I basically made an example of it above: body language is super important! This applies for everyone. It doesn't stop at characters who make grand gestures and exaggerated poses every waking moment of their life, but also characters who are socially awkward, private, reclusive...

The posing here is intentionally stiff but not entirely closed off, giving the sense that he's earnest, tries his best to make connections , but also doesn't want to take too much space, thinking the smallest wrong move could cause trouble. Also, give room for the body to do its thing. Avoid cropping out things that shouldn't be cropped out. Leave enough room between the edges of the panel and the point of focus to emphasize what you want to emphasize. Close-up shots shouldn't be too frequent (in fact, personally I don't like doing close-up shots but it doesn't mean they're bad or shouldn't be done, again, my word isn't gospel!), especially if what you're conveying isn't too emotionally charged. Lastly, I have terrible news for people who hate drawing hands. Hands are possibly the second most expressive part of our body (if we don't count the body as a whole), so especially for your charismatic characters, you will very often want to use hands as a tool of expression.

(Think how much emotion and personality would be lost if the hands weren't there!)

3. Not letting dialogue be the main driving force behind storytelling

With my comics, I play an incredibly dangerous game called "I'll think of dialogue as I make the storyboard and then when I'm done drawing every page I'll write the dialogue over it guided solely by memory and whatever I drew". Don't do this. Have a script in hand or write it at the same time as you draft your storyboard. The reason I do this is because I'm lazy and I don't want to open a simple writing software to type down a script. Genuinely I have no other reasons. Anyway, the only advantage this gives to my comics is that they will generally be able to stand on their own without much dialogue; obviously dialogue is essential, but what I mean is that we don't need it to have a pretty accurate read on the room.

For example, if I remove all the dialogue from this page, you probably can't guess exactly what's being discussed. However, you can identify through their emotions alone that there is disbelief, bargaining, and finally a pretty devastating info was dropped. Alternatively, cutting down dialogue from your page and leaving room to expressions/body language alone can be entirely more beneficial than having any dialogue to begin with.

AKA Readers aren't stupid (some may be, but the majority can extrapolate just fine). You'll realize how much you don't need words and how your stories can be even more funny/impactful by pushing forward visual storytelling.

4. Paneling conveys emotion too, actually

Being a "good" artist isn't enough to make good comics. The way you panel things is extremely important, because it sets the tone, mood, pace, you name it. Some of the best works out there are the ones with the most care put into the flow of the comic. You need to understand how people will read it, and it starts with what order you deliver the information and how. This is paneling 101, but a page with irregularly shaped panels, multiple changing camera angles and such will be exponentially more dynamic than a page where each panel is the same size, have similar compositions and/or repetitions with little to no diagonal or curved lines of action.

The two examples above are WIPs from 2 different stories so unfortunately you'll have to make do with the rough sketches. That being said, you don't need to know the context of either pages to know the kind of emotion that should be felt through the paneling alone. Give time for the important emotions to be processed by the reader (unless it's intentionally fast-paced). Every emotion that needs to be emphasized should have its own panel.

In this example, I could easily have condensed these two panels into one by transferring the dialogue from the second into the first and jumping on to the next action. However, it would undeniably give much less impact to Kaveh's disbelief. On an inverse situation, sometimes you will want to condense two panels you made into one, because whatever those two panels are doing are perhaps not important enough to deserve separate panels! Lastly, you can notice that the space on the page is not always filled. Leaving space between each panel and/or between the edges of the page gives room for the reader to breathe and slows down the flow; and inversely, if you want to make the situation more frantic, make everything look more tight and constricted.

5. Not showing facial expressions sometimes conveys more emotion than doing so

This ties nicely to the point I made about body language. You don't need to see a character's face to know what they're going through, necessarily. Sometimes, their posture or their dialogue is enough. In my opinion, a story is more compelling when this equilibrium of facial expressions / body language / paneling / dialogue is correctly adjusted-- you will not need to have all the elements to convey the message or it could be a little overbearing. I don't have many examples for this one because they tend to be more relevant in dramatic scenarios, which I haven't done that many of.

(The first one is once again from a WIP)

And that's about it for my insane guide on comic-ing. I hope ANY of it made sense.

***

Here's a round up of extra tips, focused entirely on the drawing part which might be more of what you asked to begin with :'D

- That little line/wrinkle that adds so much character

Yall know what I'm talking about. In my opinion, too many artists are afraid of giving laugh lines/wrinkles because it makes their characters look older, except when it's to add those sexy sexy eyebags. I'm encouraging everyone to add them to their art little by little and see how much it can improve the expressiveness! Obviously, I don't use it everywhere, but it's a very effective way to make your expressions feel even more... well. expressive.

- Line of action

You've probably seen this picture going around before, from Preston Blair:

Although it's called line of action which implies action, this line is important even when the character isn't really in action.

You can gain a lot in expressiveness when you think of the body as one whole fluid instead of a sum of multiple disjointed parts. This is why drawing a very rough base comprised of only lines and circles can help figure out if the posing works before you start refining it.

On a different note, animation principles work very much in comics as well! I recommend looking up animation guides especially those that show how to make key poses.

- Shadows and/or color fill

This is one I will use quite often for different situations.

Shadows can immediately set a tone when they're used dramatically. For example, a shadow over a character's face can convey unease and/or evil intent.

On the other hand, I will use color fills for different purposes:

Differentiating ground layers

This can help with readability.

2. Conveying a certain mood

It can separate the character from the color of their background to give a sense of isolation, reflection, realization, being disconnected from their surroundings, etc...

- Don't be scared of using codes / tropes / archetypes

...As long as it benefits the narrative, of course. By codes / tropes / archetypes, I mean posing or expressions or visual effects that are universally understood and used for specific expressions. The semicircle sweatdrops and blush made with slashes are incredibly typical of manga/anime, but it doesn't mean they're bad! Visual effects are there to help remove the ambiguity of an expression considering a single expression without visual codes could convey multiple emotions!

- Find what inspires you and take notes!!!

In my case, what greatly shaped my art style to what it currently is: One Piece, the Ace Attorney series and Mob Psycho 100 (yes, I only watched the latter last year but it still managed to become a source of improvement/inspiration for my art even at my current level, because you'll never stop improving :) )

I hope this wasn't too long or too off-topic, and I hope it can also help other people who might be interested! Thank you for reading!

[galaxy-lilies]

FINISHED THE HOTGUY ZINE AND AAAAAAAAH /POS

okay im going to put my thoughts under the cut cause OUGH this is going to be a long post LMAO

FIRST OFF can i just say how amazing and incredible the folk who organized the whole event are, they deserve absolute kudos

AND ANOTHER FIRST OFF: SHOUTOUT TO ALL THE LOVELY WRITERS, ARTISTS, EDITORS, ETC. WHO CONTRIBUTED YALL ARE INCREDIBLE

okay okay finally into the recap that was an amazing 3 and a half hours of my life

Pages 1-103:

When I first saw the heads up about how the zine was interconnected and skipping any part would potentially lead to some plot i was immediately intrigued then i was immediately hit with the other realization of "410 PAGES???? HELLO????"

the first comic was so fucking cute OMG LIZZIE'S DESIGN WAS SO CUTE AND THE SILLY SLIDESHOW HUMOR BETWEEN JOEL, SCAR, AND LIZZIE

"hold on let me make some edits-" "no let ME make some edits-"

the artstyle changing based on who was editing what, Joel just trying to support his wife, Scar purposely mishearing "cats" as "cash" absolute hilarity how i heart them all so

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AND THEN WE GET HIT WITH THE DOODY ART OOOOH MY DAYS CUTEGUY AND HOTGUY MEETING FOR THE FIRST TIME AAAAAAH

Grian rocking the cloak, Scar just absolutely confuzzled: THEYRE SOOOO *shakes them*

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and the shenanigans between Ren, Scar, and BDubs oh my god AND THE ON GOING BIT ABOUT HOW "if anyone says hotguy it immediately turns into the logo" it never fails to make me laugh

the early days of the mutation, the proposal of the union, PEARL'S LITTLE >:3c as she pressed publish OUGH

and the trail of petals grian left behind as he considered hotguy's proposal just *splat* i literally ate up all the art and the fics and the silly silly edits in this zine THEY WORLD BUILDING IS AMAZING

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speaking of world building: MUMBLR??? HELLOOOOOOO

THE ANON'S HAVING SILLY MUSTACHES BY DEFAULT

THE RANTING IN THE TAGS

THE MEMES

now i need to know, what does old mumblr *checks notes* teal? green? look like

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(at this point it was around 8 PM but after a long day i was already reaching the point of eepyness and i thought "surely i can finish reading the hOTGuY zine in one sitting!" spoiler alert: i did not)

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immediately when i saw the G Team comic i was reminded of the council of Grians LMAO Grian being the absolute chaotic one man band as he tries to collect all this evidence, the readers seeing Scar's means of transportation for the first time, and then *vine boom* SCULK

also ARIANA GRIANDE THE BELOVED HOW I HEART HER SOOOOOOOO i love all of the grians featured here, and the fact that permit office grian managed to make a silly appearance AND his permit shenanigans working in his favor- hE EVEN HAS THE "please hold." MUSIC- iconic i tell you, iconic

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I absolutely exploded into a million pieces seeing tibby's art then exploded again because "i can't see the end of the horizon...CUBFAN135- IS THAT YOU??!!?"

seeing the sculk snail follow behind scar idly, the fact that grian's only lead is cub ordering pizza like of all leads. but to be fair it does fit both of them LMAO

i am eating the sculk texturing btw it's very very tasty uwu

it's the fact that both of them turned to each other to yell "ARSON" like of course theyre at the ready to light things on fire

BUT THEN THIS PANEL

cub just over scar's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, the match already out of grian's hand, the sculk snail also there to witness the chaos that is about to ensue *chefs kiss* poetic cinema

also i would buy this shirt

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oh my gods the emails, the emails were so fucking funny i- KJSDFHDSJK

BDubs immediately trying to screen Cub out and Cub just continuing his shenanigans unperturbed, grian at his wits end trying to contact scar but of course scar is busy and cub just assumes it's some impersonation account until further notice, TGC trying to contact them but once again Mr. Fan135 Does Not Give A Fuck and he lives to cause mild annoyances and chaos, what a guy LMAO

their littol email icons are so cute, when i saw pearl's i was like "WAH PUPPERRRR"

i havent seen many email-format type beat story telling before so this was an absolute joy to explore the story through pearl's detailed emails, grian's panicked typing (how was mans typing and sending so quickly with 365+ lazer eyed chickens chasing him like a mad man + a green gob- i mean goatman), and both bdubs' and cub's concern and nonchalance. not to mention bdubs just nodding along and going "well cub you have proven yourself...and uh- added a totally not a virus to scar's phone- BUT you have proven yourself...." absolute sillies, absolutely iconic

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THE TWITTER BEEF HAD ME CACKLING OH MY GOD THE QUOTE RETWEETS i would pay good money to see that in real time oh my god

mumblr user hermitopia-explained you will always be famous

okay i'll admit it i was distracted by the scitties- BUT the social media handles and names being remade into hermit puns and the fact he's chilling on mending beach I CAN'T

AND OUR ETERNAL QUEEN JELLIE i literally let out a small squeal looking at her she is sO *gently holds her*

birthday gorl getting absolutely spoiled, as she deserves

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scar finding a cloak just to do the sailor moon meme: iconic, showstopping, one of a kind, amazing, talented- i love these two idiots

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and as a heads up i'm going to try and separate these into about 100 pages each! so expect the next reblog soon

[starferret]

omg hiiiiii :3

Ok so first off thank you guys so much for all the love and support on the previous comic, it really does mean a lot. I might try to continue it in some way, either by just drawing some key moments, or sharing the script of it. But anyways!! Here’s some behind-the-scenes and fun facts about the comic!

This was the initial concept sketch from back in May. I wanted to focus on the creepy expressions that Luigi would have with mimicking Dimentio’s, but didn’t go that much into detail in the comic since it was just meant to be sketching out the ideas

These were the sketches for what was the next planned sequence, but I just didn’t like the action poses. SPEAKING OF ACTION POSES-

When trying to visualize the fight scene, I’d boot up Smash Ultimate and observe their attacks. I’d go to training mode and have so it advances by one frame at a time and just stare at it. I just spammed all of their attacks to learn about their fighting style and how they move.

Fun fact! Pretty much every Dimentio that floats behind Luigi were all drawn while I was on a 6 hour plane ride back in August

Writing stories always have you researching the most bizarre and mundane shit. I had to scrub through videos to see how Mimi teleports, and in the end I didn’t even do the one in the video. In Chapter 2 when Mimi is chasing you, she has a unique animation when she enters the room where she basically materializes out of a bunch of squares. There was no way I was going to be able to replicate that effect in 2 panels, so I went with the normal flipping animation- which she does do in her normal form.

Time for fun details :3

While the “dependent” one isn’t based on any specific moments, the other two are each from the previous Paper Mario games (woohoo I love canonical timelines!). “Insecure” is based on Luigi telling Mario about his adventures in TTYD, while his partner Blooey says that he’s lying. “Obsessed” was a bit harder for me to find an example of, but I settled on a line from his diary in the original Paper Mario. In one of his entries he talks about how the Goomba family came to visit and gave him a treat, and he writes “It looked so yummy I ate it without telling my brother! My FP increased by 3. .........You think he'll notice?”. Now this could be interpreted as “do you think he’ll know that I ate it without him” or something like that, but the way I interpreted it was that he’s proud of his FP increasing and wonders if Mario would notice this ‘accomplishment’, as if he’s desperate for his brother’s approval.

Luigi’s hand twitching is him trying to break free :) that punch angered him so much that he overpowered Dimentio’s control on him enough to be able to move his fingers around :)

Also I drew Bowser on Carrie cuz I didn’t know how to draw him running lol

[greeeengoblin]

Aint that Batman comic the one where the writer made the Waynes, a canon Jewish family, work with Nazis in WWII? And used self harm solely for the sake of it being an offensive plot device to boost up Joker's character so he could just white knight for the fake Harley and patch up her wounds and kiss the bandages or something? And that desperately tries to convince the readers that Jokers a good dude actually and it's not his fault he's been abusive, it's just his brain. and Harley's a good person for forgiving him and understanding that it's just not his fault he's violently hurt her before? That has Harley tell their kids "Your daddy was a good man. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." about a dude who's been her abuser since the beginning of her character's history and a pairing that has a repeated pattern with DC (and their shippers) romanticizing their content together and brushing off or completely downplaying the abusive nature of his part in the relationship? Idk, I don't feel like the best Batman comic is the one that goes out of it's way to make Batman's most vile enemy a sad boy white knight and ignores the extensive history he has throughout many many universe of being an abusive, incredibly sexist maniac with one of his most famous comic plots being The Killing Joke, where he paralyzed Barbara, stripped her naked and took photos of her (aka sexual assault)

I apologize first for my bad English (i suck) and thank you for articulating the issue so clearly and extensively. Wow, buddy, you're absolutely right, but you're being too objective. My conclusion wasn't based solely on the content of the story; it was actually based on the quality of the artwork and writing, so it was a result of that rather than the 'best plot.' I didn't say 'best comic plot,' I said 'best comic.' Considering that, there are plenty of other series/movies/comics written with the aim of portraying a sadistic character like Joker in a positive light. Besides, this comic is already designed as an 'Alternate Universe,' so I have nothing to say about it, and I respect the author's perspective. Similarly, I'd like to express my respect for your perspective as well. As I said, there are many Batman comics with quality storytelling and presentation, and while I find them all excellent, White Knight stands out for me because of its charming panels and artwork. ♡

and... I LOVE HARLEY QUINN!!! OMG LOOK AT THIS!!!!

[inamagicalhallucination]

I forgot which post it was but I made you a silly little comic based on it

If tumblr makes the quality suck:

Panel 1: "Huh?! Wheres my shirt?

Panel 2: "Not in here..."

Panel 3: "Do you know where my shirt is?" "Stupid weretiger. Why would I know where your shirt is?"

Panel 4: "Ryūnosuke Akutagawa..."

Panel 5: "Take off the blanket." "....no" "Why not?" "..cause"

Panel 6: "Gimme back My SHIRT!!"

Hope you enjoy

OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH ITS SO CUTE

[violet-coyote]

My thoughts on Edward because idk I’ve got that type of autism ._.

Watching him the first time was actually so amazing. He reminds me of a slasher because how scary and foreboding he is in a lot of those scenes. And don’t even get me STARTED on the lighting! That scene in Arkham where only one eye is illuminated, the way the clear glasses reflect light- it’s all completely amazing. I also really love the home brew look and aspects. It makes him feel so much more real which in turn makes him scarier! And lemme be real for a sec… I kinda… maaaaaayybe agreed with him a little bit. Only a little cause he killed a bunch of civilians (obviously). He really does bring up a relevant, very real issue with a crazy amount of important officials. Also- he basically wins! The Batman didn’t figure things out in time and the plan completely went off. The shooting was a little iffy, but even then his plan WORKED. My dad jokes about this Batman being a terrible detective which I think I may agree with, though that just gives him more space to grow as a character. Maybe Edward didn’t get recognized in the end, but he did essentially win that movie which is such a fresh take for Batman and I love Matt Reeves.

Paul Dano is also just a really amazing actor and I am SO glad he was cast and is now getting bigger roles cause he totally deserves it. And I don’t know how to describe it, but I can’t imagine Edward with anyone else’s face, y’know? It’s like round and unassuming and like soft. But then he’s the main, crazy antagonist. That reveal of him being this weird little guy was actually hilarious and a bit chilling at the same time. Paul also just really deeply understands the characters he plays which is shown in his writing for the comics.

Now, the COMICS! I know people hate on it and I know it’s partially deserved, but Steven Subick was a really good pick for the artist. The muted tones, messy panels- It’s grimy and messy and perfect for the ~vibes~ I imagine Edward has. It’s also really good at reflecting the sort of rot and disease in his mind. Absolutely amazing- though I think Dave Mckean would’ve been even better.

The story and mind that Paul Dano shows is so interesting. It shows his complex motivations and how he got to the point where he’d literally flood an entire city. The issue about his childhood is chilling and sympathetic. I love a sympathetic villain. It also really sets up a lot of themes for his character like drowning the rat and his love of chemistry and puzzles. The 5th issue was a fantastic stylistic choice with so many interesting details and elements. It also has some really funny (if not dark) moments. In that 6th issue, he is SO BADASS WTF? He gets a guy chomped in half by a fucking saltwater crocodile (which it’s so big that must be the species)! Then he fucks with his own boss so hard he hangs himself like OMG?? And he saves that lady! That might be one of the most pivotal moments just because it shows that he does have good in him. And yeah some of those final panels are goofy as hell, but cope ig. I really loved the comic and looked forward to it each month once I discovered it.

Also, although it’s never outright stated, it’s very VERY clearly implied that he’s autistic. He starts talking later, is very smart otherwise, has trouble with social skills, and literally gets called “Rain man” by his coworker. I feel like making the Riddler allistic would be completely stupid. At his base, hes a guy who likes riddles and puzzles (usually to an obsessive degree), and feels the need to prove his intelligence to those around him. That screams neurodivergency! Like bro I get it fr.

I also like the short novel, even though it is simple and made for a younger audience. It’s interesting to see a teenage Edward Nashton (Edweird 😭) delivering food on his ratty old bike. It also mentions that he’s pretty bad in school which I would definitely not have guessed considering his whole thing is being super fuckin smart. And I absolutely LOVE how he burns down the orphanage. It’s a huge character moment and tbh just makes me very happy cause it shows us one of his first crimes which is fun.

For Batman ll, I’m really interested to see where that takes his character. Paul Dano already said he would reprise the role for it so he will be in there- even if only for a short while. They clearly set something up between him and the Joker. Now I’m very curious how that will turn out. On one hand, I can see him being manipulated by the Joker for his own selfish gain and ending up as another rat in the gutter. But that writing also wouldn’t really makes sense for the character. The Riddler’s point in the rogues gallery is to reflect his intelligence. He’s often shown as being even smarter! The only thing that gets him is the obsession with leaving little puzzles and games that inevitably lead to his arrest. Obviously though, Reeves has his own spin on basically everything so this might not be the case with this iteration. Basically, I don’t know where Matt Reeves is gonna take this character. I HOPE and PRAY that with Paul Dano beside him they will do him justice, but only time will tell. I’ll probably be off the grid by the time the movie comes out but I’ll make sure to pop by a theatre just for that lol.

TL;DR- I love my blorbo

-small rant regarding the fandom-

I hate hate HATE how people make him a twink! NO! Have you seen Paul Dano? That man has the DEFINITION of a dad bod. Obviously they can be different, but they literally almost share a BIRTHDAY. That man is NOT A TWINK. He’s not skinny. He is a weird, stinky accountant that sits in his house most of the time. And if you like the character, why would you want to change that? If you change that part of him, he’s a COMPLETELY different character. You can’t make him a twink without destroying his characterization in the process.

Also, I’m a riddlebat hater

-rant over-

[itz-pandora]

Omg...I can't believe I missed so much...AAAAA- WHAT EVEN HAPPENED IN YOUR DOOM SONADOW AU!!

EJ3JEJEJE SO MANY QUESTIONS-

Where is the AU in the game timelines? In SxSH Gens?? Before? After? During?

I think I'm gonna die-

I might combust

We don't have enough for a funeral...

*Shakes you aggressively but affectionately*

*being shaken around violently* IT'S- NOT- FOLLOWING- CANON- CONTI-NUITY- BUT- IT'S- INSPIRED- OFF- SONADOW- GENER-ATIONS- TRAILERS- please- stop- shaking- me- now- 😵‍💫💫

This also doesn't follow any of my pre established AUs! It's something completely new, and it's actually based off the quote in the first batch of panels! Everything in this AU was caused by "Why don't you hate me?" "I could never hate you, and that's the problem." That's it, that's the AU.

This happens the time SA2 should happen! Shadow is deemed as a weapon and is still considered property of GUN, and his circumstances are generally a different, I actually haven't thought about Eggman being involved with him, because tbh GUN and Black Doom can do all the work.

Shadow knows nobody, so I'm still trying to justify Sonic's ungodly level of simping for shadow/hj

This AU is almost all improv. I only have a few plans and everything else is made on the spot.

I'll try to explain more as I make more comics, but idk how I'll explain stuff that doesn't happen after the current events. Flashbacks maybe? Idk how much I'll let be a surprise

[autobot-ratchet]

MTMTE 1-3

MTMTE 1

“You've earned the right to see the universe without a gun in your hand” is still so good, love that Drift is the one who wrote that line. This is immediately turning into the Drift Retrospective lmfAO sorry but he's my favey and he's integral to this story getting started, I'll talk about everyone else in due time

like right now for instance, aaahhgfsghdfjdk seeing Ratchet talk about how he's joining the Lost Light to find a successor so he can retire has got me feeling things lmAO you find so much more, buddy, you find a whole entire husband and a family and aaaaaagfdshahgkadsjk

Cyclonus is making me feel things too, he's all talking about how Rodimus made promises to him out of moral obligation since he helped out during the last ordeal, he doesn't even know he's gonna kiss that guy in the last issue he's gonna end up your friend, your TRUE friend

God, Prowl referring to Rewind as Chromedome's “best friend” is still so fuckin funny. I know it was because James Roberts wasn't sure if he was gonna be allowed to make them canon husbands yet but it still works in retrospect because it makes Prowl seem like he either doesn't know they're married or does know and is being a dick about it, which are both hilarious options

Oh, sweet Tailgate. The reason I started reading this comic in the first place lmAO Straight up I just saw this cute-ass robot all over my dashboard and was like “I need to know your story” and just went for it, like just based off looks alone. Tailgate is literally so cute that he changed the course of my life for the next fuckin decade

What a fuckin way for Whirl and Cyclonus to meet. *turns to the camera and points with my thumb, smirking knowingly* They don't even know they're gonna be besties

None of these fuckin losers know how happy they're gonna make each other ha ha idiots get friendshipped and romanced

fuck I forgot these idiots have an in-universe wiki on themselves lmfAO

Swerve really did just slap his Autobot badge right on the crotch huh

*turns to the camera again, pointing with my thumb and smirking knowingly at Rung* He doesn't know he's God

Chromedome just casually being ableist at his husband for exposition reasons

extremely funny that Tailgate's first interaction with Whirl involves him nearly vaporizing him by complete accident

damn the Lost Light's journey really does start with the ship just fucking exploding huh

awww the message the crew leaves to their past selves god I can't wait to re-read this comic lmAO I'm already sitting here like “ooh that's foreshadowing for this arc, and THAT'S foreshadowing for THIS arc and THAT'S

MTMTE 2

SKIIIIIIIIDS HEY BUDDY omg *turns to the camera, points, smirks etc* he doesn't know most things

God. I'm still so mad about the foreshadowing that Rung is Primus being present from the very beginning. It was his hat, Mr. Krabs, hE WAS NUMBER ONE. AND ALSO HE AUTO HEALS

him saying that Ratchet's hands are as gentle as sunlight on snow is very adorable though, love that Ratchet immediately takes a fucking hammer to said hands right after he says this

giggles and kicks my gay little feet at Ratchet bitching about Drift, you loooove hiiiiiiiim, yOU LOOOOVE HIIIIIMMMM

they really just let Swerve shatter Tailgate's entire world for laughs huh lmAO

“I'm going to kill you,” he says, “don't think you'll see it coming,” he says, fucking LOL *points at the panel of Cyclonus crying on Whirl's shoulder in Lost Light* LMAOOOOOOOO

Tailgate saw the opportunity to write his own backstory and jumped on that shit immediately, honestly I respect it

three people died just from starting the ship lmfAO god just frame one with the tragedies

and then there's a fucking sparkeater lmfAO it truly just is just nonstop

MTMTE 3

Rodimus when the ship explodes: no one's dying on my watch, we're gonna do our best to save everyone and fix them and make sure they're safe Rodimus when he's told there's a sparkeater on the ship: cool

ohoho, it begins, Tailgate has made first contact with Cyclonus

I do like how even though Swerve very much did kind of force friendship upon Skids, Skids is still hanging out with him. He does think “Skids and Swerve” sounds cool, awwwuhgufghgusdj ❤️❤️❤️

Skids pulling Rung up into the ceilingjhdfskdlghd........ THINKS ABOUT CERTAIN PARTS OF LOST LIGHT........

poor Tailgate got told about the war from the one person on the ship who's a decepticon apologist. To be fair he probably should've gotten more than exactly one (1) perspective before choosing a side but still

[reallyhardydraws]

earth-2182 AU

(the home dimension of x-men character nocturne (talia wagner) daughter of kurt wagner and wanda maximoff) but with particular emphasis on the nightcrawler x scarlet witch ship.

what’s actual canon in the marvel earth-2182 that i’m hanging onto:

kurt wagner & wanda maximoff are married and so besotted in love that their (adult!) daughter says ‘they’re like teenagers’. nightcrawler is an x-man, but the scarlet witch is a member of the avengers.

ok so AU time really just an expansion on that b/c there’s little to nothing else we know abt TJs parents in her universe... wanda meets kurt on a joint-team mission just after joining the avengers… she's 23 and he's 25 (so he's been an x-man for 5 years while she’s still v new to hero-ing) their teams get split up mid-crisis and they end up stranded together and it’s like omg crisis! actually we’re a really good team. actually you’re kinda hot??? etc, etc. i remember i read some random comic panels of them meeting and wanda impressing kurt b/c she speaks a bit of german and they’re really on the same wavelength and idk these little panels too give the hint that they’d just hit it off straight away y’know

afterwards kurt finds any reason to send her gifts or call her or show up at avengers tower - very flamboyant and dramatic. but anyway wanda is in a better place than in avengers movie etc. (and pietro is alive. the maximoff siblings are romani jewish and both alive.) anyway so wanda is doing okay and learning to be a hero, and then when that gets stressful there’s a guy who’s doing the absolute most just to see her smile. its all very charming and they get together. also it’s the 1980s.

more under the cut!

they date for about three years before they get engaged and then married very soon after. why wait! they’re in love (ages 27 and 29). scott summers officiates and cries about it, kitty pryde is kurt’s maid of honour, pietro maximoff is wanda’s best man. it’s the party of the year and the biggest x-men/avengers mixer ever lol.

kurt is your classic I LOVE MY WIFE guy, as we know he always chugs his respecting women juice. he’ll admit he’s a little terrified sometimes of the sheer power wanda has, but they’re so dedicated to each other its like katara getting aang out of the avatar state.

they continue to be on separate teams with separate bases as in earth-2182 canon but they do have their own place to spend time at together, luckily for wanda having a husband that can travel anywhere in the blink of an eye is extremely convenient.

kurt loses his eye 3 years later (ages 30 and 32) in a scuffle that i’m writing a fic abt the aftermath b/c i love angst and hurt/comfort lol and it shakes them up enough that they both decide to take time off from hero business.

during this time TJ is conceived!!! she is born (wanda 31, kurt 33) and wanda moves to xavier's so that they can get help with raising her and allowing her to grow up around other mutants, it’s the 1990s, kurt isn’t an active x-man but he is the school’s drama teacher. wanda really gets stuck into motherhood and realises it’s everything she’s ever wanted, literally Best Mother, sings the most beautiful lullabies, gets really into sewing and sews tons of matching outfits for herself and TJ.

later wanda rejoins the avengers and after about a decade kurt takes over leadership of the x-men and things continue from there. TJ trains to be an x-man and also sings in a riot grrl band. she’s a big time music lover b/c she inherited her father’s flair for the dramatic. she’s got main character curse a lil bit tho lol so during a x-mission she gets universally displaced (as in comics canon somwewhere idk i’m not fixated enough on it)

so TJ disappears in about 2015 at age 20, making wanda 51 and kurt 53.

and then there’s my whole mental disney movie about TJ trying to return home lol, probably it DOES put a bit of a strain on kurt & wanda’s unshakeable marriage because it’s understandably traumatic for your child to go missing no matter what age they are, and ofc TJ is having her interdimensional situation but i’m not imagining it playing out like in the comics too much because in my mind it’s all culminating in [this] because we love a happy ending. she deserves to make it home.

(TBH the most AU thing about this whole thing is just that kurt wagner NEEDS to be sexy and canon old man nightcrawler in in canon earth-2182 is like... not sexy, sorry. but the eyepatch is a vibe!!! so much of a vibe i’ve noticed it in the latest x-men gold(?) run, we love pirate vibes kurt)

[danny-chase]

babs and kory for that ask game !

Most annoying thing to me is that there was 1 comic where they interacted for 2 seconds and fandom went omg they're romantic rivals for Dick! It's a love triangle time to pick one to love and trash the other!

Like why do you find the need to tie their narrative value to a man? Like actually it's so frustrating that fanon buys into cheap drama and only judges them based on how good of a girlfriend they'd be to Dick. Like I'm sorry but they're both good pairings with Dick while the writing is good and bad pairings for Dick when the writing is bad, that's pretty much all there is to it. And imo if we're in fandom territory there are more interesting ships than dickkory and dickbabs imo (aka donnakory, dinahbabs, and dickroy/titans polycule/titans in qpr). The most frustrating thing is that Barbara as Oracle and Kory when not written as a sex object are both powerhouse characters that I personally find compelling. They're strong and independent, and have their own personalities and fanon (and some canon) ignores most of that to make them petty towards each others.

Ngl i wish the panel where they met in the Nightwing annual that shall not be named had just ended in a threesome so at the very least i wouldn't have to see the ugly ship wars between the two. I think 90% of the critiques I've seen of either character comes from salty Dick stans who can't seem to see the characters from any other perspective and it's just... tiring. Like i can only read "[x] is an awful terrible person for breaking up with Dick and ruining his life" so many times. Have you considered Dick and Kory's breakup was a very complicated situation (that one meta by bigskydreaming is *cheffskiss*) and that the Dick and Barbara one was only done to give Dick manpain tm, and that Devin wrote Babs ooc to make it happen? Ngl i believed Babs slander for an embarrassingly long time before someone was like have you considered you're wrong, and then i considered that i might be wrong, and then i adjusted accordingly after realizing I'd been fed bs by the fandom. It's annoying how easily it is to be led astray in this fandom, especially because it's hard to tell what people are basing their critiques off of.

Ahem, anyways. Pitting the two against each other is dumb and what DC wants fans to do to distract from their shitty writing.

[bloodstained-ballgowns]

"Holy shit!": 'Hawkeye' trailer thoughts

Not gonna lie, this looks pretty fun. It doesn't seem to be taking itself very seriously, which I appreciate, and Clint seems to have stopped moping. I approve. There's a definite Matt Fraction vibe to it, they're really trying to give edge out that iteration of his character. Successfully?...we'll see.

It's interesting that they went all in on the Christmas theme for this trailer. It makes sense, since the majority of the episodes will be releasing in December, but I probably wouldn't have emphasised that element until the second trailer, closer to the November release date. It kind of threw me off.

'ROGERS: The Musical' looks like a fun show. Trust capitalism, trust America, etc etc (Is this the Hamilton of the MCU? Does Hamilton exist in the MCU? So many questions, so few answers). Steve would hate this, good thing he's not around to see it.

I'm glad that 'omg who's Ronin?!?' isn't the whole plot of the series and that they're revealing it this early on. It's a Choice to put Kate in the costume, but we've already had 'omg whose the Powerbroker?!?' and 'omg who's Taskmaster?!?' so far this year; identity reveals won't hold you forever, guys.

Also...the day Clint Barton faces consequences for his actions will be a sweet, sweet one.

An appreciative list of all things very Hawkeye: 1) I'm guessing that's supposed to be a hearing aid? I can't wait for Marvel to be like 'what do you mean our disability rep is nonexistent, he's had it the whole time' 🥰 If he's not shown to be reading lips or signing at any point , I won't consider it enough. You can't just shove buds in his ears and write him like anyone else, it's who he is. 2) six icepacks on different body parts. 3) Lucky the Pizza dog is wearing a sparkly reindeer headband, and I am content. 4) Brobrobrobrobro, I don't think you're ready for the Bros, bro. Bro, they better be bro-ing all over the place.

There's a lot of Jeremy Renner here. In fact, the whole series is based on his character, can you believe it, it's almost like most of the screen time will be his. But I didn't even recoil when I saw his face! Character development on my part.

The car scene is clearly a recreation of panels from this comic:

Good choice.

Hey, Maya 👋

I can criticise the MCU for many things, but (90% of the time) casting isn't one of them. I'm confident they've hit another bullseye with Hailee Steinfeld. The character is actually pretty similar to her role in Dickinson, so it should be a good fit.

[felassan]

Thoughts on Dark Fortress #2

(This post is under a cut due to spoilers.)

So late with this one! some stuff irl was keeping me really busy and hyper-distracting me lately, but it’s finally over now so I’m back on my bioware bullshit. :D

Overall there were a lot of beautiful or awe-inspiring scenes in this issue, and a lot of great, meaningful / poignant character interactions and moments between characters. It’s pretty impressive actually how much was able to be packed in. I posted some of my favorite panels here. also omg! the action sequences! the big reveal! the ending!! woww

cool scene-setting, panned out shot of Neromenian and behind it, the Dark Fortress, to immediately pull you back into the world and ‘where we left off’. the combination of ruined dead trees, red lights, lightning and fire/smoke is very atmospheric and hints at what’s ahead

“From this... city, if we can call it that” is a sick burn and reminds you that the Qunari are technologically more advanced than most of the rest of Thedas, from their cannons to their aqueducts

more individually distinct Qunari soldiers, sth I again appreciate

! last issue there were big ‘You haven’t seen the last of Tractus!’ vibes, naturally, but I didn’t expect him to escape by stabbing and killing the Qunari using a chair-leg..!!

the last panel on the first page of Karasten is really good. the way it’s colored, the way it’s lit, the light and shadow, the fiery backdrop, cinders floating, the details of his expression.. 👌 it also makes me think to the possible future, to DA4 when mainland Thedas may be continuing to face the entirety of the Antaam

in Vaea’s acrobatics scene on the bridge, I know rationally that she’ll be fine but couldn’t help but worry for her. again I like how they don’t shy away from showcasing Vaea’s specific abilities. also the attention to detail - you’d think some rocks are just some rocks, but it highlights the risk she’s undertaking that if she falls it’s into rough seas which could dash her against the jagged rocks :’S. Vaea, gooooo!

Fenris’ “Enterprising girl” line has big “Clever girl” meme energy :D

my heart can’t take Fran and Autumn leaning over the edge after Vaea in worry ;; or Aaron looking back in concern over his shoulder ;; or Fran’s tender reassurance ;; or Autumn’s Worried expression ;; the care and bonds which have grown between this group of characters ;;

notice Aaron starts drinking when Vaea’s away from them and they’re beginning to grow worried about her safety. the poor man’s nerves and stress levels

Fran touching the vegetation while she’s considering if she could use her magic to open the entrance from the outside is a nice touch

did Marius leap in front of Fenris and Fran there when the entrance opened?? damn, he’s quick. and the three of them look all scary and formidable here ready for combat. notice how the curve of the door and the spikes that go into the ground, and the composition of this panel, make it look like they’re standing in front of an opened dragon’s maw? ‘teeth’, a rumbling ‘roar’.. some nice foreshadowing here.

the reunion panels are so cute. Autumn’s lil tum as she jumps and Fran and Fenris’ lil smiles of relief and at Autumn’s reaction to seeing Vaea, then a rare happy beam from Aaron.. feel.. the love ;__;

red lighting in the tunnel sets a dangerous, dramatic build-up mood

👀 more info on Fenris’ past, on the specifics of the process which gave him his markings. in the panel where he says that it took a long time, his shadow on the wall behind him reminds me of the shadow of his past that has dogged him for so long :(

Fenris and Marius height difference

discussion of the process shows the power difference between blue and red lyrium. blue lyrium took a long time, red lyrium is almost instant

Autumn is such an intrepid little explorer and alert scout, tail and ears up, head forward. good girl!

“I just... worry about you, my girl”  ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚  I’ll be so sad if these are death flags for Aaron and he doesn’t make it out of here. also note Fran in this panel, who recently had to kill her own father and is still dealing with that, watching the strongly paternal moment between Aaron and Vaea :(

love Vaea’s faith in Aaron and her sense of humor. also I don’t know why, maybe it’s because Vaea met Sebastian, but her “Maker, no!”, although in a completely different and light-hearted context, reminds me of Sebastian’s “Maker nooo!” at the end of DA2 hh

the reference again to Hawke, who Fenris saw haunted by what they tried to do - save their mother - and couldn’t :’(. also with the shadow in this panel, here’s another person struggling with the shadow of his past qq. this is later emphasized again in Aaron when he continues to talk about his past and in the panel is a chain and manacle. smart visual metaphors, a must in the comic medium with limited space

mushroom skull 💀🍄

“It isn’t about what I’ve done. It isn’t about my failures. Or my choices. It’s about their impact” - he’s misty-eyed here as he thinks back to Ostagar.. does this line btw seem almost meta to anyone else btw? :D it feels like a meta reference to the experience of DA players and PCs, who are always having to deal with the impacts of their choices

I wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “I’m positive that in panel 2 here, it’s the exact moment when he sees Cailan die” ;;

So Aaron is also a veteran of the Battle of Denerim

reference to the Hero of Ferelden - “Those were someone else’s battles”. I’m being captain obvious here but I can’t help but [heart pitter-patter] at any and all references to the HoF

I like the.. parallel? is that the word? Aaron’s stories were him trying to inspire people to make a change, or him trying to convince himself of that. and now here’s Vaea, inspiring Aaron with her words in these panels. the little guys can make a difference! in the world of Thedas, you don’t need to be a big bombastic hero or a Player Character to have an impact 

lmao Fenris right on cue. the moments of humor/light-heartedness are nice because they break up the tension and are sprinkled throughout without derailing build-up or taking away from dramatic story impact. yknow?

yeah Aaron!! leave it behind. leave it to rot with mr mushroom skull (and hey the mushroom skull was there for a reason). again tho if this is a death flag i 

Fenris straight down to business with the tactics

its cute how close Autumn has been sticking to Fran

Tessa checking in on Fran again, as she did in issue 1

Could Vaea’s “Well, shit” be an homage to Varric? :D they have met

I also wanna point out that I was right on reading issue #1, when I said “My guess is that the thing Tractus shows Marquette and Nenealeus is probably a chained up dragon or similar”

the poor dragon :’( big dragon the Qunari had in Trespasser vibes

the sword has a really cool design, kind of reminds me of something a samurai might be depicted wielding

👀 lore-drop! so ancient elven arcane warriors used lyrium-infused swords. this seems to confirm the sarcophagus is an ancient elven artifact, no? makes sense, wasn’t it said that the sarcophagus’ design was based on the architecture/outfit-design type elements of a specific faction, and that this was done intentionally? it looks kinda ancient elfy in make, right? also about the lyrium-infused swords of the arcane warriors, well well well.. remember that the Evanuris and the ancient elves mined the bodies of Titans for lyrium, for power and to use as a resource. here’s an example of that use

as I read through this portion I became increasingly concerned for my boy Shirallas.. we really are in it now aren’t we 😭

the Qunari are launching STRAIGHT-UP ROCKETS ohhhh

pretty ‘lightshow’ over the wall in the “Let’s hope the fortress is as secure as Danarius boasted” panel hh

protective older brother Fenris, impish younger sister Vaea. love that dynamic, we love to see it. sheepish and exasperated Fenris is so cute

the Bone Pit dragon fight with Hawke and co reference!

I wonder how long the dragon has been captive here, and how Danarius/Tractus was able to capture it

lore-wise what are the implications here? when Fenris’ ritual was being undertaken, the sword and the sarcophagus were bombarded with magic, fire spells. in this one they aim to have the dragon bombard it with fire-breathing. is it just fire that makes it work/powers it, or is there magic in dragonfire, in dragons? it reminds me of “Your heart beats with the old blood, as well. Where do you think it comes from? It sings of a time when dragons ruled the skies. A time before the Veil, before the mysteries were forgotten. Can you hear it?”

purple color for the dragon’s growling sounds/typeset is a great idea

lets.. goooo!!!!

Marquette is such a nerd. later on when he activates the sarcophagus he has mad scientist vibes

the dramatic reunion face-offs begin!! as the prophecy foretold!!!!1

true to form, Marius DOES have nothing to say ahahaha, even at this, his personal climax. maybe Marius dies in the next issue, but Tessa lives and gets to go back to Charter

these Venatori look almost Star Wars

Shirallas my boyy.. nooo... don’t do it 😭

ah ah ah! try casting magic with no ARMS

Francesca a beacon of blue light and goodness

the splash combat page is masterful. everyone playing a part, so much going on, everything happening at once. a thing that sticks out to me about it is Aaron’s outstretched hand and alarm as he watches Fran fall 

Autumn with her lil hackles raised

“The Venatori have returned” dun dun dunn

goodbye Shirallas 😭😭😭

the composition of the second to last page with triangle/diamond-shaped panels and the framing of dragon wings is awesome

the Dread Wolf rises, “the Tevinter Imperium will rise again”.. on-point on-point cohesion

there he is, the red wraith

Super Saiyan Shirallas

what a note to end an issue on

wow wow wow!!

and separate to the above, some speculation based on the cover of Issue 3: the piece of metal looks like a broken collar coming off Shirallas, like the one there was on the cover of Issue 2 coming off the dragon. also he’s all bulky now with draconic talons/claws (reminds me of in-world legends of Reavers who dug too deep of their own power after drinking dragon blood and whose bodies consequently began to manifest subtle reptilian traits actually). I’ll be interested to see what results of this allusion between Shirallas and the dragon!!

[satanfemme]

the nest can be real if we make it king

omg what if the tumblr danger days fandom got together and hosted its own desert commune?????? the different bedrooms could be based off which killjoy crew you stan, we'd have a game room with all the classics of course, and maybe some weekly forums and panels about things like marxism, survival tips, and killjoy comic analysis? and then we could even put a ballpit out back - I'm making the gofundme right now 😳

[dirtydragonthoughts]

Valentine's Day Special (IDW2 Special Issue 1 Review)

Pitch: Bookish Glyph wants a challenge—to do work for xeno-relations, not just data analysis. Athletic Tap-Out needs a challenge—his boxing career isn't working out so well. When one mission presents both of them a chance to meet new challenges head-on, will they be able to lift each other up to the task or will they just get in each other's way?

Review

We take another break from the action of the main line comic to take a little step back in time. The Valentine's Day Special (omg, they actually did a Valentine's Day Special for Transformers! skwee!) consists of two stories, both of which seem like they take place before the first issue of the main comic.

Overall thoughts: I think IDW really played it "safe" with these two stories, and as a result they aren't quite as fun as I feel like a Valentine's Day special issue should have been... If that makes sense. However, I enjoyed both stories for what they were. One of them I enjoyed a lot more than the other, which I'll get into below.

The first story is the "main" one, starring Tap-Out and Glyph. Glyph finally gets her chance to do the xenolinguistics work she's been wanting to do for ages, and Tap-Out comes with her as her bodyguard on the expedition.

I admit these two had some chemistry, for all that I wasn't familiar with either one. However, the story was rather silly and lackluster. The author was obviously trying to shoehorn in a way for both bots to get to do what they enjoy on the planet (Glyph in doing language research, and Tap-Out in punching things) but the conclusion is what really killed it for me. If the author had come up with a succinct way of explaining why violence was how you got through to the planet's natives, this story would have been just fine. I think the story failed in that goal.

That said, I absolutely adored Lawrence's depiction of the furry little aliens.

I enjoyed the second story a lot more. I don't think it ever would have occurred to me to ship Cosmos with Blast Off, but their growing friendship and banter really worked in this story. I think Cosmos being such an awkward little guy helped; the way he keeps berating himself for saying something stupid (only to have Blast Off think it's fine) was a serious case of "feels familiar" to me.

Overall I enjoyed this special issue. However, I am sad that I don't think we'll get to see any further interaction between Cosmos and Blast Off in this continuity.

Favourite Panel

Ok, half a panel, but I really do love these fuzzy little guys.

Culture

Cosmos and Blast Off talk about vacation spots. Monacus and Eurythma are mentioned.

Cosmos asks Blast Off what it's like to carry passengers. Blast Off says it's warm, heavy, and unpleasant.

Planet

It's interesting that Glyph is being permitted to do the first contact for a new species. She'd submitted her proposal ages before it was approved, so Cybertron had known about this planet for a long time. And they basically just sent two people to contact the native species, instead of doing it with any sort of pomp. Seems weird to me, but (shrug) ok.

However, Glyph does try to speak to the natives as soon as they land, so they must know something about the aliens. Hmm.

Physiology

While on the ship travelling to the planet, Tap-Out makes sure to keep up his exercises to stay in top shape. Servo atrophy and piston burn are two problems he mentions he's trying to avoid.

Politics and History

It was mentioned in the main comic, but Tap-Out's career as a gladiator was ended when Sentinel Prime shut down the arenas. So Tap-Out is basically out of a job.

There is a "Space" division for Cybertron Security, of which Cosmos is a chief. His main duty is protecting the inner moon from "threats." (Although based on this comic and earlier ones in the main line, his job seems mostly to be clearing space junk and rescuing Gears... and he could do nothing against the titan that attacked the moon.)

Final Thoughts

Overall, an enjoyable issue. I kind of wish that the main story had been flipped to be the "backup" story and the Cosmos/Blast Off story had been expanded on. But I still enjoyed it a lot, and I wish they'd explore interpersonal relationships between bots more!

👍