Vampirella #4

[laughing_tree]

I hope people get where I was coming from with ‘the annoying’. Conservatism, ultimately fascism, is about, in the end, complacency, of harking back and not seeing the need for change. To want to change things is annoying. And we of the annoying tend to find each other a bit annoying, too. -- Paul Cornell

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Usagi Yojimbo vol 2 #15 (1995)

[riddler13]

Although continuity plays a big part in Usagi Yojimbo's world, with recurring characters, arcs that span 4 or more issues, and situations that take years to pay off, there are also a lot of stand-alone stories, in which the long-eared ronin stumbles into a situation and becomes inevitably wrapped into.

The good thing about those kind of stories is that they allow Stan to write pretty much any genre he chooses without having to worry about future repercussions. So he can choose to tell a funny story, or a horror tale, or to tug at the reader's heartstrings (read "A Mother's Love" and cry yourself a river) - all of them a testament to his multi writing skills.

Another good thing about UY is its educational value. According to the introductory notes to the story, "Grasscutter pt. I" was used as a textbook in Japanese history classes at the University of Portland. Others teach you about making swords, soy sauce, transporting ice and so on.

So, this is a short self-contained story in which Usagi is involved in a dispute between seaweed farmers and helps them settle their problem. It was done during the 16-issue Mirage run and, therefore, it's in colour.

6 and 2/3 of a page below.

( Everybody was seaweed farming... )

You can find this story in black and white in Usagi Yojimbo Saga #1, as well as online.

Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

[icon_uk]

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 amongst yourselves.

Hurricane Harvey has brought flooding and chaos to Texas on a scale they've never seen before (and which has led the US Weather Service to have to break out a new colour for it's charts. Our thoughts are with those affected and with all those doing sterling work in helping their neighbours.

The actor Ed Skrein, cast as Major Ben Daimio in the forthcoming Hellboy movie, has dropped out, after discovering the part was written as part Asian, which he most definitely is not. The studio has said something even more unusual; "It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material."

Here's hoping that's the start of a trend.

In what might politely be described as a contentious move, the Tangerine Nightmare of Pennsylvania Avenue Tweeted a Presidential pardon to former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a man convicted of breaking a court order to stop illegally racially profiling Latinx people. Both Democrats and Republicans are unhappy with this.

Trump was criticised also, for releasing the information on a Friday night with the distraction of Hurricane Harvey going on, but has now said he did it deliberately because he though his ratings would be higher. Words fail at this point...

Not exactly NEW news as it's from April, but some more info about the new ReBoot series still leaves me a bit cautious as to what it wants to be. Let's just say I have strong feelings about ReBoot and do not wish to see it messed up.

And in completely-unrelated-to-anything-at-all-but-we-need-the-silly news, some photos from the Comedy Wildlife Photography competition

The Divided States of Hysteria #2 and #3

[history79]

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JLA: Tower of Babel - Part 2

[history79]

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