Part 95b of 105.

When I started looking into this, I believed Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 was the first story to suggest Max was a straight-up bad guy, even after his ordeal with the sentient computer. This is not true. His last appearance in JLA, in 1996, is at least ambiguous…



And two John Ostrander stories in 2000 and 2001 also tinkered with Max’s moral alignment, one much more blatantly than the other. ( Maybe Ostrander was angling to get Max onto the next Suicide Squad? )

 

( Scans under the cut... )

 

( Scans under the cut... )

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like.

Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

The intent of these posts is to chat and have some fun and, sure, vent a little as required. Reasoned debate is fine, as always, but if you have to ask if something is going over the line, think carefully before posting please.

Normal board rules about conduct and behaviour still apply, of course.

It's been suggested that, if discussing spoilers for recent media events, it might be advisable to consider using the rot13 method to prevent other members seeing spoilers in passing.

The world situation is the world situation. If you're following the news, you know it as much as I do, if you're not, then there are better sources than scans_daily. But please, no doomscrolling, for your own sake.

Whilst the US deals with... everything going on like the Voting Rights Act being gutted and a possible $60M grift on mobile phones

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the UK Government is dealing with major losses in last weeks local Council Elections (and Scottish and Welsh Assembly elections) by fracturing over whether the Prime Minister (admittedly a thoroughly unpopular one) should react by stepping down. Because that ALWAYS works, just ask the Tories.

On the plus side, the Scottish Assembly had two openly trans Members voted in, including, with delightful irony, one in Edinburgh who represents the constituency JK Rowling lives in.

I caught up with "Madame Web" on Netflix before it disappears at the end of the month. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I honestly found it quite enjoyable, if rather clichéd and a bit camp (not always a negative). Whilst it did have the air of a TV pilot given a movie budget, it's a shame we'll likely never get to see any of these Spider-Women again... :(

Part 95a of 105.



Max Lord, as Giffen and DeMatteis conceived him, was a challenging character to work with. They relished that challenge, but their successors often treated him as a problem to minimize or avoid. “Rich manipulator with a heart of gold but moments of egomania and Machiavellianism” can be a tricky balance to strike. ( It’s worth trying, though. I watched every episode of 2017-2021 DUCKTALES, but noped out on SUCCESSION halfway through the first episode. )

Fest Name: Duality: A Fairy Tale Retelling Fest
Origin: Rainy Days Fest and More (Instagram, Discord)
Links: Tumblr | AO3 | Rules
Type of Challenge: Non-anonymous prompt fest
Description: A HP rare pair fest dedicated to fairy tales. Each prompt is split into two versions: Harry's Version (can have dark elements, but it must have good triumphing over evil and a happily-ever-after or implied HEA ending) and Voldemort's Version (dark themes and dead dove). Excluded pairings include: Dramione, Wolfstar, Drarry, Tomarrymort, or Snarry, as well as canon or next gen (you can include the pairings as side pairings but not the main relationship). The use of AI is not allowed. Claiming is open till August 15.
Ratings Restrictions: All ratings allowed
Length Restrictions:
Fic: Minimum 1000 words; no maximum
Art: None
Timeline:
Claiming: April 30 - August 15
Works Due: August 16
Staggered Reveals from August 21

Fest Name: I'm At The End Of My Trope Fest
Origin: Rainy Days Fest and More (Instagram, Discord)
Links: AO3 & Rules | List of Prompts | Claiming Form | Submission Form
Type of Challenge: Non-anonymous prompt fest
Description: A HP rare pair fic fest featuring popular tropes and tags. Dramione, Drarry, Snarry, and Wolfstar pairings are not allowed. The use of AI is not allowed. Claiming is open till June 21.
Ratings Restrictions: All ratings allowed
Length Restrictions: Minimum 1k; no maximum
Timeline:
Claiming: April 1 - June 21
Works revealed: June 30

Part 94b of 105. Warning for NSFW content that looks wilder than it is.

Last time out, we saw the mid-Nineties WLW affair that wasn’t, in the final, waning days of the title once known as Justice League International. Short version:

🔥 🧊 = ⚢?
🔥 🧊 = 💜⚢💜??!!
🔥 🧊 = ⚢ 👅🌮💦?!?!?!
… ❌!!!
🤪 🤪 🤪 🤪 🤪



( Readers: 😡 )

Only 4 pages, so no room for the Talkie Toaster analogue, but here are the adventures of a robot Abraham Lincoln in a post-human world. Fear of a Bot Planet walked so that this comic could run.



( Read more... )

Part 94a of 105. Warning for cringe, awful relationships, and NSFW content that looks wilder than it is.

With these next two posts, we reach the end of the Justice League’s “international era,” the meteoric, controversial period that began with the loss of the “Detroit League” and ended with Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s JLA #1. That era struggled along for four years and change after Giffen and DeMatteis left, never coming close to its glory days. ( Or even its General Glory days. )

Part 93b of 105. Warning for arguable cultural insensitivity, more savage fascism, and savage slavery. (But no Vandal Savage.)

When we last left our intrepid heroes, a fascist version of the Bronze Age JLA had taken over its reality, which was bleeding into “ours.” And the late-1993 JLA was getting its asses kicked. Hard. It’s all presented in Jurgens’ usual straightforward way, which gives the evil a chilling banality.



The Atom shows back up on the League’s doorstep in JLA #73-74, but before he can once again tell any current Leaguers that they’re a bunch of losers, he collapses. ( So now this team has Ray PALMER and THE Ray in it at the same time. I’m sure THAT won’t get confusing. )