George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards #1

[superboyprime]

"I had been reading comic books all my life, and loved them dearly, but even as a kid, I realized that certain comic book conventions were downright silly. All those skin-tight costumes, for instance. The way that people in comic books always decided to use their superpowers to fight crime. And the origins of those powers, that was a huge problem. [...] X was hit by a lightning bolt, Y stumbled on a crashed alien spaceship, Z whipped up something in his lab, Q was bitten by a radioactive wombat, M unearthed the belt buckle of a forgotten deity. Any one of these would be a wondrous occurrence all by itself, and when you pile wonder upon wonder upon wonder you strain the willing suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. To make these characters work in a legitimate SF context, we needed a single plausible cause for all these superpowers." - George R.R. Martin

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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 among yourselves.

In the US, the Government shutdown has been averted for a few weeks, with POTUS 45 the self proclaimed "great deal-maker", facing the humiliation of not getting a single cent towards his wall and no one looking like they're going to be shifting. Join us again in February for the next exciting installment. (But here are some infographics about the first half of his Presidency, if you're interested.)

In the UK... we have puppies, and adorable chubby babies, and music. I have to focus on those things because if I start to drift into real-world things like politics I start screaming and clawing at my eyes.

In truth this is a slow motion nightmare, with the rabid right-wing exemplified by the success last night of the post-Brexit "Immigration Bill" which will officially end the freedom of movement across Europe that British people have enjoyed and benefitted from for over 40 years.

Elsewhere, John Malkovich has confirmed he will be appearing in a David Mamet play, "Bitter Wheat", a black farce based around a Harvey Weinstein like (VERY Harvey Weinstein like, the Characters name is "Barney Fine") movie producer facing his downfall. I can only imagine "black comedy" here means "beyond Vantablack" level of grimness.

My plan on doling out the newest episodes of Young Justice until June lasted less than an hour and a half, because boy this is a remarkable series. Between Cyborg getting an origin (and Halo getting an explanation), a truly bizarre headtrip inside Garfield Logan's brain (Seriously, I can't say what they are because I would hate to be the one to spoil some if it, but WOW!) to the usual array of characters appearing (Harper Row? HARPER ROW?) and a perhaps obvious, but definitely intriguing set up for the second half of the season, it has a LOT going for it.

I'm sure there are a number of major events I'm overlooking, but alas, real world obligations intrude, so away you go my pretties!

Avengers #12

[lordultimus]

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Heroes in Crisis #4-5

[superboyprime]

"If we did a story about the universe ending or worlds colliding, everyone would see right through that. That’s every Thursday. So we counter programmed. What makes it a ‘crisis,’ Earth-shattering as Marv Wolfman and George Pérez did, is that if you care about it, if you’re emotionally invested in it, if you feel it’s real in your heart. That’s what I’m going for, the emotional connection. Not just repeating those same beats." - Tom King

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Blue Beetle #8

[history79]

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The Hooded One faced Peter Cannon.

[thanekos]

(Princess Evila'd had her turn.)

The man who hated the savior of the world faced him.

Elsewhere, there were two others who hated the savior.

" You wanted something to destroy the dragon, General.. "

( They were somewhere dark. )