#shirtless bear-fighter

[asscrasher420]

[asscrasher]

[coolcomicbookcovers]

[texasthrillbilly]

Ha!

Bearth

[coverpanelarchive]

Shirtless Bear Fighter #2 (2022)

[hornedpear]

I love this big hunk so much. 

It’s that mustache man. It’s just a killer for me. 

[obsidianbit]

I know I joked about how there was no reason for Izzy to be shirtless in that scene (and I stand by that) but I think it is really interesting how he is bare-chested. His leathers are a part of his image and reputation. They are part of what marked him as Blackbeard's. But more than that, they represent armor - in taking off his leather armor, he is bearing his vulnerabilities, and more precisely, his heart.

When Izzy is training, he isn't in his room. He is in a communal part of the ship, where, presumably, any one of the crew could enter. When Stede enters, he doesn't become defensive at being found in a vulnerable state. Instead he says "I'm having to relearn the basics with one leg." He openly admits to his weakness. He is the best sword fighter, that is his reputation, how he defines his worth (in his use as an incredibly fighter), but he didn't lie about the struggle of having to adapt to one leg. He didn't even try to down-play it by saying he was adjusting or refining his sword fighting with one leg. He outright says he is relearning.

Then (the showoff) Izzy demonstrates what he has been practicing. Now, he has just said he is relearning it - we can assume that he was better at this before he lost his leg. He shows Stede (who, to be fair, Izzy would know would probably be impressed regardless) something he is still working on. Not something he has perfected.

Then he turns his back to Stede. Without his armor on, having just admitted to a weakness.

Even when he asks 'but what did he say about me specifically,' he is showing vulnerability. His heart (and great tits) are in the middle of the shot when he shows Stede that he cares what Blackbeard has to say about him.

The lack of Izzy's leather armor/vest, and showing his bare chest (is much appreciated) is symbolic of his trust in the crew and in Stede. He shows his vulnerabilities and his shortcomings, when previously he never would, for fear of the crew losing respect for him.

The crew has seen him at his lowest, and came together to support him, showing him that he was a part of the crew and that they cared for him, not just what he was useful for, which is something that Izzy has ever experienced before.

This is not a man who expected kindness at his lowest point.

This, however, is a man who has found purpose because his crew cares about him.

Izzy took off the all-black leather armor which defined him as Blackbeard's, and in doing so, he showed his heart and his trust to the crew.

[peppermintquartz]

Related to this. Maybe I'll find some time to glue it all together into a fic idk

-

Anger is a welcome change from the numbness he's felt since Chris went to Texas, but Eddie finds it uncomfortably familiar, like an old shirt that he thought he'd thrown away.

Pulling up to a familiar bungalow, he contemplates leaning on his horn, then decides to be more civil. He strides up to the front door and presses the doorbell.

Tommy emerges, shirtless and sleepy-eyed, his hair a mess. His pajama bottoms are blue with yellow ducklings.

"Eddie?" Suddenly he's alert. "Is Evan okay?"

That question throws Eddie off his purpose for coming by. "Yeah, yes he is. He's home now" He takes a deep breath, lets the anger fill up inside again. "Also, if you have a problem with me, you talk to me, alright? Leave him alone."

Tommy squints at him and breathes out slowly, shaking his head. "I can't believe this."

"What?"

"What, Evan can't fight his own battles so he sends you instead?"

"What?" Eddie sputters. "First of all, screw you. Second of all, Buck doesn't know I'm here. He'll be so pissed if he finds out."

"So why are you here?" Tommy asks. His broad shoulders, usually relaxed and friendly, fill the doorway. His blue eyes bear into Eddie, even though he's clearly just got up.

Eddie glares at Tommy. "If you were pissed at me taking up his time, why did you blow up at him?"

Folding his arms, Tommy matches the intensity of Eddie's stare. "I'm not going to justify my actions towards Evan to you, Eddie. If he's angry about it, he can talk to me himself. As for you? Well. I wasn't gonna go shout at you. I don't kick someone when they're down for the count."

Fury flashes across Eddie's mind and he steps closer to Tommy. "What do you mean, down for the count? I don't need your pity."

"No, you don't." Tommy stands his ground in the doorway. For the first time since they befriended each other, he seems to loom over Eddie. "You don't need my pity, but for God knows what reason, you seem to need my boyfriend."

"You jealous?" Eddie knows that should not have been said.

"Yes," the other man admits readily. His upper lip curls. "And that's all you're getting from me, Eddie. Nothing - and no one - else." He slams the door in Eddie's face.

Eddie takes a few deep breaths. Option one: go back and stew about this matter. Option two: do something very stupid.

He pounds on the door. "Hey! I'm not done." He doesn't hear Tommy coming back to the front door, so he shouts, "I know where you keep the spare key!"

It takes about ten seconds and the door swings open so fast that Eddie stumbles through. He straightens and meets Tommy's cold gaze.

"You and me, Muay Thai. You're pissed at me? Take it out on me."

Tommy scoffs. "And hurt you badly enough that Evan feels even more sorry for you? No."

"As if you can land a single hit," Eddie jibes. "I'm still the better fighter and you know it. That's why you're all talk, claiming to want to deal with Buck only, when in reality you're just surrendering him to the better- ooof!"

Tommy has Eddie pinned to the wall by his collar. The big guy moved so fast that Eddie didn't see it coming.

"I'm gonna kick your ass so hard," Tommy growls, barely an inch from Eddie's face, "you'll be crawling back to Texas just to get away from me."

[a-third-attempt]

iv,

My grandmother Janet is 96 years old. The last time I visited, while drinking the traditional after-dinner gin and tonics, we got to talking about the treasures lying around her house. Somehow we settled on a particular needlepoint hanging on the wall.

She asked: Who made that one, does it say?

And I said: It says "Deedee".

And she laughed: I didn't remember making that one!

My brain wasn't working as fast as my tongue that night— perhaps on account of the gin— and I said: Wait, who is Deedee?

She laughed again, and explained. It was what her parents called her, and the name that she used until she went to high school. All her best friends, everyone who knew her from back in the day, they still call her Deedee.

And then she said to me: You know, Janet is not my real name either. Nobody calls me by my real name, because nobody alive remembers it. And I'm not telling anyone now. It is just for me.

iii,

I was studying abroad in Budapest when I received a facebook message from Rob. A friend, not quite 21, from college back home, saying: I have a secret to tell you, but I do not want anyone else to know. I don't even want to write it here.

I replied, Here is my address. Write it down and mail it to me. I will read it, and then I will burn it; and he agreed.

I left the house, went all the way to the end of the metro, found a convenience store, bought a pack of matches, and sat down in the nearby park.

The three sentences at the start of the letter were: I am transgender. I am a man. My name is not [what we once called him], it is Rob.

This much is no longer a secret, but the three pages that followed are not my stories to tell.

(Have you ever tried to burn a letter? With a match. It is harder than you’d think.)

It is common now for a trans person to refer to their "old" name, the one assigned to them that they no longer use, as their deadname. Rob did not use this language in the letter, probably only because he did not know it yet.

Some of the debris from the letter made it into a trash can. But most blew away into the Hungarian landscape, white flecks scattered in the wind.

ii,

I set my father into the ground in October. He would have been 71.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, of a week, really. Gatherings every night, friends and family buzzing in the house all day, as if the collective strength of so many silent prayers might summon him, Christ-like, into our midst.

Flying was my dad's first love. I was born near the end of his distinguished career as a fighter pilot in the Air Force. He continued flying, commercially, for as long as I lived under his roof.

A fighter's call sign is what the other fighters call them over the radio when flying together. Pragmatically it is a mask for when enemies intercept communication. But to the squadron, there is nothing secret about this identity; it is more a name than their name is. My dad's call sign is— was— Bear. At the memorial gathering, that was the name that rang long after sundown, that echoed in the still desert air. 

Bear was rowdy, gregarious, and virile. Stories about his after-work antics sprang readily to the lips of the guests. Boozy, shirtless memories of he and his fighter friends, boys who aged but never grew up. And then, after the laughs and a moment's pause, they would add sincere praise about Bear the professional. Thoughtful. Whip-smart. Straightforward. Generous. Passionate.

This man they described was familiar enough, but deeply unrecognizable. He bore little resemblance to the temperamental and stern authority of my childhood memories. Even less to the man I knew on equal footing, after several medical emergencies brought an early and unceremonious end to a lifetime in the cockpit.

I would have liked Bear, I think, but I never met him— I knew him too late.

i,

There are many stories to tell of my father, the man-who-was-not-Bear. I never know which one to start with.

I once asked my mom if I could paint my nails red. I don't remember my mother wearing colored nail polish, it must have been a neighbor who I saw, and the idea enchanted me. And yet somehow, there was the bottle, right underneath the phone. It would have been so easy. But mom said no, dad would be furious. And we both knew that was the end of that.

I liked my hair long. My parents did not. They tolerated it, in the way that one tolerates such inconsequential teenage lashings-out. But the frequency of snide remarks would increase in proportion with its length, and roughly every 6 months I would give in.

(When I was older, I discovered that my hair actually would not get much longer than that. After about 9 months, I shed.)

And if I could see you, I would see these stories fall lighter on your brow than on they lay on my psyche. And I would be suddenly tempted to strike cheap, to scowl forty-five and let sympathy roll in. But it’s too… it’s dehumanizing, and it’s not even narratively right— it doesn’t describe the heft of the uncertainty he left me with, any more than a dumbbell thrown at your face conveys the weight of a blanket.

The household I grew up in was reductivist when not mechanistic, and my childhood gave but scant framework to understand the impact of a thousand unremarkable moments. Still, human, I could not divert myself from the creation of my personal mythology, grasping at any explanation for those forces of parental nature. Nor from this private, shameful conclusion: that this love is, perhaps, conditional. Not necessarily. But the threat was there, and I, conflict-shy, colored inside the lines.

Dharys was 29 when my father died. Or maybe he was 2. (...let's not think too hard about that one.) In any case, my father never met Dharys, and for this alone I still grieve. In the dark I wonder if he ever had these feelings about Bear— this bridgeless chasm between us, etched in time. The quiet, tugging sadness that I would never know him as he was.

Perhaps he never could have, I reason, hopefully. Tieflings learn young, after all, how to hide. Perhaps Dharys can only live because not-Bear has died.

Or perhaps he knew me too early.

* * *

A/N: The picture in this post was drawn by @parziivale; I'll be posting about it separately.

[asscrasher]

Eight Comics to Sooth a Savage Soul

From Primordial Warriors and Jungle Heroes to Woodland Wildmen and Mutant Berserkers, here are eight comics appeasing our animalistic, hunter/predator-fight or flight-lizard brains. Reminders that man is just an animal trapped in his own zoo

Lord of the Jungle (2022)

A compelling tale starring the og jungle hero, Tarzan! I picked this up on a whim and it became one of my most anticipated reads each month. The writing pulled me through each page as effortlessly as the gorgeous art swings Tarzan from tree to tree

Ka-Zar Lord Of The Savage Land (2021)

Ka-Zar is essentially Marvel’s answer to Tarzan. With animal based powers and a family to protect against the invasive technological metaphor for deforestation, fracking and industrial pollution, this is a really cool and gorgeous miniseries

All Against All (2022)

Pushing “Tarzan” even further into the realm of sci-fi than “Ka-Zar”, this story centers parental trauma around an alien war mining Earth’s creatures for biological weaponry. Ultra violent with hyper intense art enhancing the vibes

Sheena Queen of the Jungle: Fatal Exams (2023)

Sheena is back and is now attending prep school? I’m gonna be honest, not having read any previous “Sheena”, I’m not really sure why she’s there or how old she’s supposed to be, but the school drama is fun between her ecoterrorism!

Bloodrik (2023)

A hyborian hunter looking to eat! This is a 3 issue mini, with the finale issue set to drop next month. Minimalist storytelling sets the stage for phenomenal art with heavy metal overtones, while it’s unique page layouts are giving CLAMP on T

Kroma (2022)

This comic is very different from the others on this list, playing a sort of twist on the Giver crossed with elements of the Wickerman. An absolutely stunning story about propaganda, religious indoctrination, and a sacrificial scapegoat ready to bring it all down

Shirtless Bear-Fighter! (2017)

Are you ready to punch some bears!? Shirtless dedicated his life to protecting the forest, until something happened that turned him onto the war against bearrorism! A really cute comedy with a surprising amount of depth. Raunchy but fairly tame tbh

Wolverine (2020)

Of course I’m adding the most iconic wild man of our time to the list! The current run is a great place to start, especially when paired with X-Force (2020), but any entry in his bibliography is gonna be a wild, messy ride from start to finish.

Thanks for reading my list! Hopefully one of them peaked your interest enough to check out. Here are a few savagely honorable mentions that’re also definitely worth looking into:

Animal Man, Berserk, Conan the Barbarian, Red Sonja, Sabretooth, Swamp Thing

What are some of y’all favorite wild man comics?

[spawn-universe]

SPAWN TEAM-UP Variants IMAGE 30th Anniversary Part 4

Night Club #1 Cover D

Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog #11 Cover C

Nocterra: Val Special Cover H by Tony S. Daniel

Plush #2 Cover D by Daniel Hillyard

Radiant Black #20 Cover D

by Jonathan Glapion

Radiant Black #20 Cover E by Marcelo Costa

Radiant Pink #1 Cover D by Emma Kubert

Rogue Sun #9 Cover C by Marco Renna

Shirtless Bear Fighter 2 #5

Cover C by Matteo Scalera

Little Monsters #8 Cover C by Dustin Nguyen

Starhenge #6 Cover F by Liam Sharp

[texasthrillbilly]

Shirtless Bear-Fighter’s rogues gallery.

[theninjazebra]

As someone who has watched too much tv for a long time i thought i should share with the group.

TV recs for the upcoming drought:

Some of these are harder to find, the tone and quality vary wildly, they're in no specific order. I tried for not too obscure, but not too obvious. Some are still airing, some are 20 yrs old. I swear I have a life.

Slings and Arrows. Early 2000s Canadian dramedy about theatre and shakespear. Fun without being shallow, aged ok, lovely performances, great writing. nuclear grade comfort watching.

Halt and Catch Fire. 2014 - 2017, US drama. Follows four characters through the 80s tech industry. First time I got the hype around Lee Pace. S1 is ok, but nothing special, s2 is a lot more interesting but kinda goes round in a circle. S3 and 4 and some of the best tv I've ever seen.

Somebody Somewhere. This is actually a new show, but has 2 seasons out if u want a gentle but never shallow comedy. Fills my sad gay heart with joy. And if want more new tv with middle aged gays Deadloch is streaming on amazon atm.

The Expanse. Finished recently. The sci fi I've always wanted. Big and scary and wonderful and pew pew pew space battles and adventure. Balances the grim with a surprising amount of hope? Has repeated themes of redemption. Also a whole book series should u need more.

This Is England. UK drama. A film and 3 mini series set from 1983 through to 1990. Grim, sad af, also funnyand sweet? And characters that I love. The start of my undying love for Vicky McClure. Big ol CW for violence, sexual violence, and era specific racism (esp the first film). Very good, but very hard tv.

Kingdom. 2014. Can be a pain to find because so many shows are called Kingdom. About MMA fighters having drama. Also families, mental health, addiction, etc. Excellent performances. Both a very dumb and very sweet, painful show.

Animal Kingdom. Legit only watched it because I was searched Kingdom posts and AK was out around the same time. Awful family having drama and heists. Adaptation of an Aussie film into a southern California TV show. Kind of a mess? but very compelling mess.

Obligatory Succession (Kardashians for annoying people, aka me. I am the annoying person. this is my perfect tv show), The Bear, (hospo stress and family grief show) and Severance (people talk about workplace horror, but tbh it also gives big mega church horror vibes too)- new shows that live up to the hype, esp if you like sad people. I don't think they really need recs, but i really liked them.

The Thick of It. 2000s UK political comedy? Tragedy? Though these days it looking fuckin utopian compared to UK politics now. Feels a bit like a partial villain origin story for Succession. I like how sad and broken hearted it is.

Outrageous Fortune. 2000s nz dramedy that is the source of my love of family crime drama. Aged badly in places, but still very good character drama. Also, for The Boys fans, Antony Starr at his absolute best. It's a big nostalgia fest for me now. Cheryl West is a forever fav.

Justified. 2010 - 2016ish. i'm lazy i'm not looking stuff up. Yes a cop show, yes a dad show, but also rock solid tv writing and timothy olyphant in a hat. I've watched it so many times, and every time it rewards. and yes, am watching Justified City Primeval atm.

White Collar. A dumb, total fantasy art crimes and capers show. Shit, but if you need to not think and also have Matt Bomer do a shirtless painting montage for vague plot reasons then oh boy there is no other.

Being Human UK. A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf share a flat. it's sweet and agonising and 10+ years later I still love these characters so much.

Legion. 2017 - 2019. Why make tv comic adaptations that are trying for realistic and boring? When they could all be like this? Why make anything that isn't as visually interesting as this?

Doom Patrol - same for doom patrol - superhero tv that cut out the boring bits and just went for the weird and painful. I read a couple of random doom patrols years ago and was so surprised and delighted and loved them. the tv show has the same effect.

The Boys. new, and still going, as far as I know. but two kiwi leads means under nz law i have to be a fan? also it's awful, pulpy vicious popcorn viewing. appeals to the shithead 12 yr old in me. yes, it's vicious anti corporate thing is deeply ironic for an amazon show, but considering amazon saved the expanse with no sense of irony at all I figure take all their money and keep yelling.

Preacher. Another comics adaption. The Boy's weirder, less obscene, more disturbing cousin. Tulip is another forever fav tv character.

Banshee. Continuing the tradition of heth and i starting dumb Dude TV and then getting overly attached. kinda pulpy trash, but if you can stomach the violence it's surprisingly good.

All Star Treks. I love them so much. They're so weird, and uneven, and dumb, and they're all the best and I love them.

One season wonders -

Trust. about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping. also about italian countryside.

State of Play. UK. the tv show, not the film.

I dunno. I could do a whole separate post for sit coms and brit coms and the weirder, more obscure shows and movies, but ffs this is so long.

[nolongermint]

undefined

New gatefold Shirtless Bear-Fighter cover by @cbrunner_draws & me, look for it on issue 4 🐻

[hartrathaway]

yesterday i tried to explain the context of pantless shirtless bear fighter fighter IN shirtless bear fighter and i felt like i was on crack

[sinisterjhk]

Comics 9/21/22

20TH CENTURY MEN #2 (OF 6)

ABSOLUTION #3

AXE JUDGMENT DAY #5 (OF 6)

BARBARIC AXE TO GRIND #2

BATMAN ONE BAD DAY TWO-FACE #1 (ONE SHOT)

BATMAN SUPERMAN WORLDS FINEST #7

CREEPSHOW #1

DCEASED WAR OF THE UNDEAD GODS #2 (OF 8)

NIGHTWING #96

PUBLIC DOMAIN #4

ROGUES GALLERY #3

SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER 2 #2 (OF 7)