darchildre | Entries tagged with comics: fourth world

Since the beginning of the pandemic, my family has done a weekly Zoom call on Friday nights. It's not always my favorite thing, but it's nice to be able to see my sisters and sibling-in-law and mostly they're pretty fun. But we've noticed that they can turn pretty depressing if we don't have a structured thing to talk about and the conversation devolves into how things are honestly kinda terrible.

A few weeks ago, one of my sisters (who creates and runs Zoom programming for an organization that helps dementia patients) had put together an art appreciation powerpoint for a work program and wanted to show it to us. We had a blast discussing the art together and having a focused topic made the call a lot more fun. So, because we are definitely the coolest people, we decided that we would each try making a presentation on anything we wanted and present them to the group, one each week.

It's my turn this week, and my presentation is "An Intro to Jack Kirby's Fourth World*" because, again, we are extremely cool people and I am the coolest of all. Which has meant going through various Fourth World comics to extract panels that everyone definitely needs to see and rereading bits I particularly love and thinking about how to sum up what Fourth World is without running out of time or going off on weird tangents that would require a lot of explanation**. And, like, I haven't thought about Fourth World in at least a year but I still love it so much, you guys.

So now I'm going to have to read all my comics again.

*Not to be confused with Jack Kirby's Fourth World which is a different much later comic book that was not actually written by Jack Kirby. Comics!

**Look, no one needs to hear me pontificate about how Scott is the ultimate apotheosis of the gods of the Fourth World, due to Mister Miracle vol 2 wherein he settled down in the suburbs to live a quotidian human existence, because he thereby both transcended and renounced the eternal conflict between the forces of New Genesis and Apokolips and therefore he is the only possible wielder of the Life Equation because he's the only one of the New Gods that actually understands the nature of freedom. I'm right, but no one needs to hear it.

I have a lot of digital comics in various formats and I mostly read them on my tablet. Today, I have been swapping some out to add new stuff (my mom and I have been watching The Mandalorian so now I'm reading Lone Wolf and Cub, apparently?) because probably I don't need to keep comics I've already read on there, or series that I'm not currently interested in.

I think that it really tells you everything you need to know about me that the comics that stay on my tablet all the time no matter what are: 1) the original run of Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, 2) all of New Gods vol 1 and Walt Simonson's Orion, and 3) wherever it was I last left off reading Warlord.

Is it time to reread New Gods again? The answer is almost certainly "yes". (The answer is always "yes", lbr.)

So. I am nearly done with the Dark Tower and also it is summer. Summer has historically been a time when I have been drawn inexorably into reading a lot of comics. Often, specifically, Fourth World comics. Which are beginning to feel like a good idea again.

However! I have now reached the point where I have read all the comics focused on Orion (which is my main area of interest). Which probably means starting over from the beginning. And also maybe liveblogging, by which I mean posting thoughts and also particularly ridiculous panels as I read. (Fourth World is always the most ridiculous.)

Maybe I'll throw in Mister Miracle and Forever People. Maybe this will actually persuade me to read Forever People. Who knows?

Current Mood: awake

A few months ago, it was announced that DC was going to be putting out a 6-issue Female Furies miniseries. The quickest way to get me to read/buy any comic book is to tell me that the New Gods are going to be in it so I, of course, immediately subscribed. I got the first issue today.

( In which I have a lot of stupid feelings about a comic book )

Current Mood: disappointed

I am catching up on my comics backlog.

Me: Buys Justice League Odyssey because Darkseid is in it and I am an idiot.

Darkseid: Has a line wherein he mentions his father ruling Apokolips.

Me: Okay, it was officially worth buying this comic for this if for nothing else.

(No, you guys, there was this whole stupid thing during the Nu52 where it was suddenly canon that Darkseid and Hjghfather were the first rulers of their respective worlds after the Old Gods died and it wiped out of a lot of canon about Apokolips that I really love and introduced a lot of stupid plot holes* and now I have something I can officially point to so I can declare that stupid stupid development null and void.)

Being a comics fan is so dumb, you guys.

*Look, if Heggra (Darkseid's mom) isn't around and ruler of Apokolips, there's no one to order the death of Darkseid's first wife and force him to marry someone more suitable, which means that he never gets with Orion's mom, which means there's no Orion, and Orion is, y'know, one of the two main heroes of the general Fourth World mythos. Which seems like kind of a problem, at least for me.

Current Mood: nerdy

And then, I guess I fell off the internet. I mean, I've been reading my flist and all, but haven't really wanted to post anything. But here are some things:

- This is the Week of Birthdays for my family - Dad's is today and Katie's is tomorrow. So we celebrated Dad's last weekend (concurrent with Father's Day) and we'll do Katie's this weekend. Dad's was fun - we went to Port Townsend and hung out in a park and threw frisbees. We even had a bunch of little boys come and ask if they could play, so we taught them how to throw frisbees too. We are none of us any good at it, so our teaching may not have been productive, but we had a good time.

- I have been reading some Marvel comics. Mostly Daredevil, which I am thoroughly enjoying, but I'm also rereading Alias. Which was the first Marvel comic I ever read, probably around 10 years ago. I enjoyed it then but I think I'm getting more out of it now since, y'know, I know who some of the other character are. (My exposure to Marvel comics prior to the MCU consisted of a few cartoons, Alias, a friends continuing to try to get me interested in the X-Men. Protip: this has never worked.)

- In other, more ridiculous comics news, I'm gonna talk about Fourth World things. So, as you may know, one of the fannish things I do is make fanmixes. Mostly just for me, as they are always mildly ridiculous. I have an Apokolips fanmix, because of course I do, have you met me? It's pretty good (though there's at least one song on there that's tonally wrong but I keep it because it makes me giggle.) I keep thinking I should try to make a New Genesis fanmix and then I realize that all the songs I want to put on the New Genesis fanmix are absurd. Seriously, among the songs that would definitely be on the mix are In Time from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, We Don't Need Another Hero from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Donovan's Universal Soldier. I'm not even kidding.

( - No, man, We Don't Need Another Hero is actually a wonderful Mister Miracle song, you don't even understand, it is perfect. I have this whole big incoherent explanation for this, which includes tangents into how Scott is the ultimate embodiment of the Life Equation because of his absurd domestic sitcom life, comparing Scott and Orion's respective destinies, and also ranting about how everything involving the New Gods post-Flashpoint is wrong and terrible*, but I will spare you. No one actually needs to listen to me talk about Fourth World. There's a lot of flailing involved. Scott just wants to get beyond Thunderdome, you guys!)

- These are all pretty happy things, but I am actually currently kinda depressed. I mean, I will still absolutely do the animated flailing about Thunderdome thing, but there's kind of a grey flatness underneath it, which sucks. I mean, I'm pretty sure it will eventually go away but, y'know. There we are. Oh well.

- I think I will now go read more comics.

*It continues to be wrong and terrible and yet I keep reading it, what is wrong with me?

Current Mood: moody
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/2030851.html

Y'know how, sometimes, you'll be thinking about a particular fictional setting for a while and you get stuck on some completely irrelevant question about world building that there's no real canon evidence for one way or another, and you have no actual need to know but you kinda really want to anyway?

Yeah. That has been my brain today. The completely irrelevant question of the day is: "Do people on Apokolips have paper?"

Because I am ridiculous.

Current Mood: dorky
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/2016252.html

And today I discovered that Green Lantern: Godhead has been completed. So I am in the process of downloading all of it, whereupon I will put it in order and transfer it all to my phone.

I mean, I'm pretty sure it's going to make me slightly angry, as I remember being a little angry when I read the first special issue and I'm generally displeased with the way the New Gods have been treated in the DCnU, but I'm going to read it anyway.

Because Metron and Orion and Lightray are in it and I will read things that hurt me for characters I love. (See also the fact that I continue to read Earth 2, despite the fact that it has fucked up the JSA, ruined Apokolips, and doesn't really know what to do with Scott, Barda, Desaad, or any of the Furies. I am suitably ashamed of myself, but I don't stop.) Also, I don't think I know how to read comics without being slightly disappointed.

Well, except while reading, say, Starman or Doom Patrol.

Being a DC comics fan is frustrating.

Current Mood: cynical
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/2011169.html

Things:

- A while ago, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the native flora and fauna of my home. Because that seems like an interesting thing to know and useful in the case of an apocalypse*. Also, I find it very satisfying to know the names of things. And then, last week, while on a walk at the Poulsbo waterfront, I discovered that Liberty Bay is part of the Great Washington State Birding Trail. Which led to me decided that I'll start by learning to identify all the commonly-seen birds in Kitsap County. And that, friends, is how I accidentally started birding.

- Birding is pretty exciting, though, in that it involves several things I like: birds, outdoor activities that don't require a lot of athletic prowess, making lists, knowing the names of things, and, more especially, knowing about things with silly names. By which I mean that today I saw an American wigeon. I really like saying "wigeon". (I also saw a bald eagle and a belted kingfisher, but those names aren't funny.) Apparently, Point No Point beach (aka Sara's favorite place) is really good for winter birding, so I'll have to check that out soon.

- In other, non bird-related news! I have spent the last couple of days thinking about New Gods. Do you ever have that one fandom that you have a lot of thoughts about but you're aware that your fannish obsession is so ridiculous that it's hard to talk to people about and also they probably don't care? That is what my love for New Gods is like. I mean, I love Fourth World a lot and I think a lot of the things Jack Kirby was trying to do with it are really interesting, but after a while I realize that I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about something that has a guy on skis as the god of death and contains places names like the Armaghetto. I'm not kidding - that is an actual thing.

- It is also one of those fandoms where I have a lot of fanfic stories that I deeply desire but that after I think about them for a few minutes, I realize are just a desire for more and better worldbuilding. I have a lot of worldbuilding questions about New Gods and no one who has ever written comics about those characters cares about those questions at all. (Farscape is another one of those fandoms for me. Some of the stories I want for Farscape are actual stories but a lot of them are things like "What is the actual experience of using translator microbes like, especially as regards reading?" and "What is a typical day aboard a command carrier?" and "Tell me more about what Peacekeepers eat" and "Why don't Sebacean names sound like they would derive from the spoken Sebacean we hear on the show?")

- Basically, I want someone to write a version of Always Coming Home for every fictional world I've ever loved.

*Whenever I start a new hobby, I tend to think about how useful it will be in the event of an apocalypse. This probably says something about me. Still, when civilization collapses, I will be able to make new socks and (hopefully soon) find edible plants, so there.

Current Mood: good
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/2011100.html

Here is a completely ridiculous complaint about current DC comics*:

So, it may not be entirely evident because I don't talk about it as much as I do the Flash, but I have sort of a New Gods thing. I don't know how that happened, one day I found myself reading Jack Kirby comics from the 70's and now you can basically get me to read just about anything by telling me that Metron or Orion or Desaad** is in it. (It's a little bit of a problem because do you know how much ridiculous stuff Darkseid is in? So frelling much. Usually, when I try to read everything a character's been in, it ends up being someone like the second Captain Boomerang, where that's actually doable.) The New Gods are absurd in all possible ways, but they are also amazing and I love them. (Part of this is because 70's Jack Kirby is so stupidly quotable. Like you don't want to yell things like, "I am the tiger-force at the core of all things!" at people.)

And now, okay, the nu52. Darkseid is all over the place, Orion and Highfather and Metron are around, we've seen Scott and Barda and Kalibak, Desaad is over on Earth 2. Hell, we brought back Glorious Godfrey.*** But as far as I can tell - and the internet confirms my impressions - we have yet to see any sign of Granny Goodness. Which is just a crime. I mean, all of the New Gods stuff in the nu52 is a mess, absolutely - I feel like no one quite knows what to do with them - but the lack of Granny Goodness and her terrifying orphanages just makes me sad.

DC comics, don't you love your Granny?

*Okay, there are a lot of things to complain about regarding current DC comics, all of which are much more serious than this, I admit that. I also admit that, for the most part, I am currently really enjoying all of the comics I read, which are 90% DC. Also, the first issue of the new Secret Six came out this week and I haven't stopped being happy about it yet.

**He is a squirrelly evil toady guy in a purple robe who is literally the god of torture. Of course he is my favorite. Yes, I feel suitably ashamed.

***This is not a complaint. I love Glorious Godfrey.

Current Mood: silly
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/2005846.html

Things:

- The thing about spending a couple months reading essentially nothing but comic books is that people at the library have a tendency to say things to library staff like, "So, what have you been reading that's good lately?" and I have to pause for a moment and then tell them that I've been reading a lot of superhero comics from the 70's and 80's. At which point, they ask my coworkers because no one actually wants to hear all of Sara's Thoughts on the New Gods.

( - I have a lot of Thoughts on the New Gods. I don't know how that happened - it is not something I asked for. Also, did you know that in the 80's there was a comic where the Teen Titans teamed up with the X-Men to fight Darkseid and the Phoenix? Apparently in this comic, they all live in New York in the same universe and just...never run into each other. Huh.)

- As part of the Summer of Learning, many of the kids at the Bainbridge library have been learning about yarnbombing this week. So the library has been increasingly more and more covered in yarn and random bits of knitting and crochet. It's pretty great. I'm a little sad that the project is over now and there won't be new things to discover every time I go to work. I'm hoping they leave the yarnbombing up for a good long time.

- Tomorrow, Katie and I are going to attend this years final performance of Star Trek in the Park. They are doing Mirror, Mirror this year and I am super excited. Hurrah, free nerdy entertainment!

Current Mood: happy
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/1986325.html

Things:

- I seem to have gotten out of the habit of regular blogging. I should correct that.

- We are now officially over two weeks into Summer Reading. (Excuse me - I believe we are calling it "The Summer of Learning" this year.) I have mixed feelings about Summer Reading. On the one hand - reading is awesome! Everyone should do that and it should be celebrated! On the other hand, I kinda hate dealing with it. However, there is a pretty cool robots/mad science theme this year, so that's nifty.

- I have started knitting a sampler afghan and am really enjoying it. I recently did a little lap blanket knitalong with my mom and, y'know, as much as I enjoy making garments, there is something really satisfying about blankets. So now I am making an afghan big enough to be a bedspread because why not? A sampler afghan is nice, because it's all made in separate bits and each bit is a different pattern, so I don't have enough time to get really bored with any one particular bit. Which is good because I get bored easily.

- When I bought the yarn for the afghan, the cashier told me that the colors were too autumnal to be buying this time of year. Which irked me a little, I will admit, because I think it is a bit rude to comment on someone's purchases in a negative way. (Or at all, really, but I think that may just be a me-thing rather than a normal person-thing.) Also, have you ever tried to find yarn colors that are bright enough to be summer-appropriate and aren't on the much less pleasing side of the acrylic spectrum? Because it is hard, let me tell you. Also also, autumnal colors are the best colors.

- Because I am ridiculous, I may have started reading old Fourth World comics from the 70s. I feel like New Gods should be completely ridiculous and it really kinda is, but I also find it weirdly compelling. Even if everybody does have ridiculous names. (I am reading 70s Mr Miracle at the same because why not and also because Barda is the best ever. Yes.)

- Due to a couple of articles I read on The Toast this morning, I now really want to have some sort of vintage film fest, but I'm pretty sure that none of my family members would wish to join me, which is a little disappointing. Maybe I will ask the sisters anyway.

Current Mood: good
Crossposts: http://darchildre.livejournal.com/1978966.html

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Entries tagged with comics: fourth world

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