ixajaw

Because of all the snow, like half of our staff couldn't show up to work yesterday, and we spent hours going back and forth with our boss's boss to let us all go home. There's no point in being open when nobody can/will show up. Its a complete waste to even be there; its not like we were able to get anything done. The only reason I was able to get there was because my father's car can actually manage the snow, and I had to ask him to take me and pick me up. We eventually got out early, but it was a complete waste of several hours.

And then today, the snow plows still have not cleared the road in front of my house. They did the road next to ours, but not this one! They started on this road, and just... didn't finish it! So I'm debating whether or not I can even make it to work today. My car is definitely going to get stuck if I try. Winter sucks. This comes after several days of technical problems setting us back as well... not a good week. I'd rather be home and writing fanfiction.

Just signed up for the League of Comics Geeks to maybe keep track of my collection better. Up to this point, I've used an excel spreadsheet/google sheets document, but updating it is a pain, especially with a rotating creative team, and this is a convenient way to see what's upcoming as well... we'll see how it works out.

Nonetheless, this week! Ghost Pepper, Godzilla, X-O Manowar! And a new issue of Absolute Flash! All things I've been quite excited for.

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On the eve of the next comic book day, she actually talks about them... Mostly positive thoughts today!

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Just the highlights of the week for me! Mostly DC, some indie stuff.

DC:

Aquaman 8: Another banger issue. Felt a little fast, but the framing of a poem helps the pace of the ending work. Timms' art continues to really elevate these chaotic, disparate panels and make it flow in a way a lesser artist would struggle under. Its a very direct, very fast story that doesn't really leave a whole lot of room for me to discuss--a bit heavy on character cameos, but I assume that's to prep for the arc after this one, as Arthur presumably rebuilds? Relocates? Atlantis. Solid superhero stuff.

Green Lantern Corps 7: I enjoyed this issue. Aya and Jadestone not being affected the emotional wave because they're robots is one of my favorite obscure robot tropes EVER, so it's appealing to me specifically, but it also works with the cosmology of the Emotional Spectrum, too. They're quick to get things moving once they have a direction, which prevents the story from being bogged down by the newly-lethargic characters. I do think this part suffers a bit from the large cast, as they have to go out of their way to collect the affected characters to get them all on board together, but it also reinforces how much this removal of emotions has affected the universe--even the strongest.

While I knew of the weird mom-in-the-ring thing John has going on, it feels like this specific series (or the GL main book) didn't establish it very well, which makes the suddenly independent, talking ring feel like a very out of left field element. Also, she helped gather up the rest of the crew, but evidently left John himself behind? He's not on Aya's ship. Why? I'm sure he'll be back later, but... how?

With the GL having multiple books, it does sort of assume that you're reading both this and the main GL book, where the part 1 of this issue was, but that might throw off some people. I'm always skeptical of books that require more than 1 book to follow the story, as its, on one hand, a blatant marketing thing, which is why its usually streamlined in trade... but GL has a massive cast, and trying to pack it all into 1 book would also be a task that would affect the quality of story. Let's leave it as I'm glad this story is limited to GL stuff and not like a giant crossover event. I am enjoying the story, seeing as I am one of those people who was reading both.

Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman 3: I know a lot of people don't like this character or this series. And I totally understand why. There's a lot of things I don't like about it either. But, and this might be blasphemous, I kind of like Trinity? Maybe because this comic actually shows her to be vulnerable, and I generally kind of like bratty characters, but I think if they transitioned her less from being Tom King's pet OC to actually being a WW character, she'd actually be a good addition.

One of the biggest 'problems' with Wonder Woman as a character is that, to a lot of modern readers, her lore feels exceptionally impenetrable, and she and her younger counterparts (which are usually the throughlines for newer audiences to connect to these characters, their growing pains existing alongside the things the audience needs to learn with them) usually aren't given a whole lot of reason to interact with her. They're usually relegated to team books, which is fun, but doesn't connect them to the hero they're supposedly tied to. Like, Robin works WITH Batman directly, and even the Superboys/Supergirl lived with or adjacent to Superman at some point in their lives. Maybe I'm missing something, as I'm not a WW aficionado, but it never seemed that her 'sidekicks' really worked alongside her in any significant capacity, which meant they never really felt tied to her. That's part of the reason by Absolute Wonder Woman has been killing it--it boiled the character down to her bare essentials and doesn't try to over-complicate too early, as well as making sure everything is tied together in a clear, if mythological, way. That may change as the series continues and they try to add more WW OG elements, but I'm hoping that when they do get time to start fleshing out side characters, they actually make them feel like they belong alongside her. But this is supposed to be about the Trinity issue, so...

Steve Trevor was kinda cringe but I kinda like him that way, too. It gives him some distinct character, but it also keeps his core trait of just being a nice dude. Being a nice dude can sometimes make a male love interest come off as bland--as Steve has often been accused of--but honestly, who actually dislikes nice dudes? He sees a girl crying and tries to comfort her, not by telling her platitudes, but by meeting her on her level and maybe leaning a little too hard into the being a goof. But that just makes him feel human.

I never love King's dialogue, so it still suffers from that, but honestly...? I liked this issue more than I thought I would. If someone told me they hated it, I would understand, but despite its flaws, there really is the spark of something here. And while the series is titled 'Daughter of Wonder Woman', I also like the fact they are, in fact, factoring in Steve as being important to their daughter, too. It makes the relationship that spawned her feel meaningful, and that in turn makes her interaction with her father feel meaningful, too.

Other:

So I ended up picking up issue 1 of the new Bloodshot series. I'm not usually into vampire stories, but this one is actually shaping up to be fun. Very irreverent, but not overdone to the point of annoyance. I've already committed to trying out some of the new, upcoming Valiant stuff anyway, so I might as well tack this one on as well. I'm looking for something to replace a lot of my Marvel stuff anyway. Is it time for me to actually become a Valiant fan?

Transformers 23: Is it weak to say that I teared up a little? We're nearing the climax of this arc (and of Johnson's time on the series, period! No!!!) so all I can really think about is how its gonna end. Any direct confrontation between Optimus and Megatron is going to be hype. Aagh! Can't wait!

I can't believe it! This is something I've always wanted, as a person who is both a comic book fan and a Mega Man X fan. According to Rockman Corner, an ongoing Mega Man X comic books series is coming out LATER THIS YEAR??? I cannot wait. You bet it's going on my pull list immediately. My poor LCS is gonna hear nothing except this outta me between now and then. I really hope its set in its own continuity or is a soft reboot kind of thing, as I really don't want it to just retread the existing games, but with so few details thus far, its hard to say.

I made the ugliest noise when I read the news. I can't wait!!!

Really late, but I've just been busy.

Aquaman 5: I think its very interesting how this arc has been pulling characters from existing stories. From the folklore of Jenny Greenteeth to the appearance of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus of 10k Leagues Under the Sea, it makes me wonder if those are part of the wider point of the arc or just easy-to-add characters for this soft relaunch of Aquaman for the average person to get into? I mean, Arthur is, himself, already a pastiche of King Author of Camelot but make it underwater.

Green Lantern Corp 4: Dunno if this is a retcon or what, as I am fairly new to GL stuff, but Keli just turned 12? Dang. Also, the parallel of Simon taking two kids to a shady 'underground' for her birthday vs Guy taking a meek trainee to the same underground... lmao. But yeah, they are definitely retconning Keli's origin, or at least the origin of her glove. Not sure how I feel about it. On one hand, I have no attachment to her specifically as a character, as I'm largely unfamiliar with her, but she definitely felt a little... overtuned? Like, the child super genius who builds stuff WAY better than any hyper-advanced alien society kind of cheapens the special-ness of the Lantern Rings, and I understand wanting her to 'fit in' more with the other Lanterns. On the other, since the Lanterns have a unifying power origin, its somewhat harder to make them feel unique in terms of ability, and so by doing so they run the risk of removing what made her unique. It's a tough position to be in.

Fire & Ice: Hell Freezes Over 2: I do like having Superman's mom been involved and savvy. What I don't like is how Tora and Bea are fighting. It feels rather juvenile and petty, for lack of a better word. This story can't decide if it wants to be a goofy slice of life thing or a superhero story that's tied into the larger, current happenings (what with Grodd's sister being a character and him looking for her). I'm normally down for bodyswap stuff, and the whole cast getting involved is a fun idea, but most of these characters are not well known enough for the flipping around to land. Though I am sort of enjoying Zachary Zatana. I think the other characters bounce off him well. If only they bounced off each other half as well...

Supergirl 1: Ended up trying the first issue of this series. It was okay. The art has the vibe of a more low-key story, which I don't mind but the story is trying to emphasize Kara's more heroic traits. It feels very Saturday morning cartoon, particularly with the hokey page where she saves that redhead girl from falling debris. The "I got you" panel is clearly supposed to be a shoujo-type "look at how hot/impressive she is" thing, but it feels... flat. Despite these gripes with the opening, the impostor taking over not just her Supergirl life, but her Linda Danvers life is a good enough mystery to make me consider picking up the second one. The second half of the issue is definitely the superior one.

However, I feel like Fake!Supergirl is somehow the redhead girl Kara saved earlier. Or, at minimum, related somehow, given that redhead was going on about how Supergirl was better than Superman.

Don't Run With Scissors 1: Trippy. Seems to have some sort of supernatural angle, but the issue was so short that it felt more like a teaser for the series rather than the first issue. You know how people will pull out select panels when reviewing something in video format to illustrate the story? It felt like that, a selection of story elements instead of the whole thing. Its unpolished in terms of both story and art but it does have character. Honestly, it sort of gives JTHM vibes if the story was trying to take itself seriously instead. There's literally nothing to say about the characters, though, beyond the sheriff kind of being a dick.

Absolute Batman 8: The parts with Freeze are good. And I understand what they're going for with the conversation with Bruce's friends being in shadow, but the disconnect between the visuals and the genuinely heartfelt words that Bruce needed to hear make it not land as intended, I think. The strongest parts are the bit where they're talking about how Malone felt guilty for being the 'reason' Bruce's dad died, as the last kid through the door, but you could actually SEE Malone. Of course, it coalesces into the end of the conversation, where Waylon (?) strikes a match and illuminates Bruce and his feelings along with the literal surroundings, like, I GET it. But I just think it could have been portrayed better. The light of his friends' words illuminating a snowy night juxtaposed with Bruce using fire against Freeze is obvious but it WORKS. It's not bad, I just wanted more to work with on the lead up, I suppose.

I do like the fact Waylon is the one who verbally gets through to him, and is the one he calls to rely on at the end... and then ends up getting kidnapped and taken to Ark M. Always a good cliffhanger. Despite my entire paragraph of gripes, I did enjoy this issue. Absolute Batman is not my favorite of the Absolute books, but it is solid and I am engaged.

A fairly low-key week.

Finally, the new Mega Man Timelines Free Comic Book Day preview is out! I've been waiting for this. My poor LCS has had to listen to me ask about it over and over again, since I almost always work on Saturdays and therefore typically miss these, at least AT release, and I absolutely did not want to miss it.



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Archive/Crosspost from my Ao3. While this fic has 3 chapters, each one could theoretically be read as a standalone. They're tied together more thematically than by plot. As such, I'll tag the characters in the chapters they appear in.

Fandom: One Piece
Characters: Luffy, Straw Hat Pirates (pre-Jimbe)
Story Summary: Seashell Resonance: The sound of the 'ocean' that you hear when you hold a seashell up to your ear. The Voice of All Things isn't an ability Luffy just woke up with one day.

Chapter Summary: To Home: (of an animal) to return by instinct to its territory after leaving it.

“How the heck are you not hurt, bro?”

“I scattered like bones in the wind! Yohohohoho!”

Laughter was infectious, so Luffy couldn’t help but chuckle. Robin smiled along as she pushed wet hair out of her face.

“Even so,” she said, gathering everyone’s attention, “how do we intend to get out of here?”

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Author's note: A big thanks to everyone who read this until the end. I would like to give a special shoutout to Harmonica_Smile, without whom this almost certainly would have taken even longer.

If you missed Chapter 1, click here.


Archive/Crosspost from my Ao3. While this fic has 3 chapters, each one could theoretically be read as a standalone. They're tied together more thematically than by plot. As such, I'll tag the characters in the chapters they appear in.

Fandom: One Piece
Characters: Luffy, Shanks
Story Summary: Seashell Resonance: The sound of the 'ocean' that you hear when you hold a seashell up to your ear. The Voice of All Things isn't an ability Luffy just woke up with one day.

Chapter Summary: Resonance: the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating.

Shanks has been around the world, alright? He’s seen everything in this world worth seeing. Ninety percent of things worth seeing were also worth drinking, in his opinion, but Benn sighed extra hard when he said stuff like that. It was always a bit funny; sometimes Shanks would make him do it on purpose.

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Author's note: By "sharker-tree board" Luffy was trying to say charcuterie board. Delicious, if expensive.

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This is an archive/crosspost of a Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fanfic I posted back in 2018. Fic was actually written before then.

Series: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable
Characters: Nijimura Keichou & Nijimura Okuyasu
Summary: Shortly after Keicho got his Stand, he tried to use it. It worked beautifully.

When In Bad Company

Keicho Nijimura sat on his bed, staring down at the ordered lines of toy soldiers.

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