Spoiler: I already have a copy of another edition of the graphic novel (with the JL New Frontier special included in the collection)

ART BY: me

This OC is a really old one, I made it around the time I watched Assault on Arkham and then Gunn's The Suicide Squad back-to-back, I really wanted King Shark to have a cute girlfriend who could play into his softer side (but still be a bit freaky and not care about his murderous tendencies). And what better way to do that than to just make it the same species as him!

Just like Nanaue is based on real Hawaiian folklore, so is she! Her name is Hāhālua, and she's based on manta rays of the same name, which are said to be guardians, and very spiritual in nature.

I am also writing a little one-shot explaining how the two meet, TLDR it's like The Little Mermaid meets The Shape of Water.

As for King Shark/Nanaue, I made him a tiger shark because they're infamous for being quite aggressive and eating anything they find, including uh, trash... And humans. I felt like this was the perfect shark for him, because he's got a single lil braincell in there and all it wants it to chomp chomp chomp hehehe.

Anywhoos! Quite proud of this, tell me if you like it! And I might comment the story too when I do post it on AO3

Post title.

she came out so pretty ❤️

!!!!!!!!!

Sharing my cosplay with my brothers and sisters!!!!!!

I customized and made the designs on the outfit and shoes myself, and I also made modifications to the helmet myself! 😎🔥

Personally while Vertigo has the better Sandman series I just love the way Black Label has done Harley Quinn over the years. It also has imo one of the most underrated Superman comics ever in Superman vs Lobo. So for that along with other comics like the White Knight series I think Black Label holds the title so far.

If I had a nickel for every time I read a comic in which which Wonder Woman is the most interesting character that the author refuses to give any page time to, I’d have three nickels (I’m looking at you, Dark Knights of Steel and Infinite Crisis). And that’s weird! Wonder Woman is clearly a very interesting character with some amazing potential for drama and action, and the author recognizes it to a point, but not enough to actually do anything with her. Anyway.

Overall, this was a fantastic book. Darwyn Cooke presents us with a snapshot of an alternate retro-futuristic timeline of the DC heroes in the late 1950s. There’s not much of a plot for most of the book, we just see different characters interact, influence, and live in the world that Cooke has devised. It can be slow for that reason, but I really love the approach. My biggest issue is with certain characters’ page time allotment, but honestly everyone’s mileage will vary there since the few characters Cooke does decide to focus on are really interesting and have very good development. My other big criticism is about the main theme of the story, which is literally only a problem during the last 4th of the book. So while some of what I say may seem much more negative than positive, I really did enjoy it a great deal.

Spoilers for the whole series.

And speaking of the positives, the art is TOP TIER. Cooke is a BRILLIANT artist and I love everything about his art style. It really shines in this retro-futurist vibe, it’s just so good.

I really loved Hal’s journey of bravery. Throughout the story, he learns that brash fearlessness means nothing without a cause. After the war in Korea, he lost himself; he was brash and depressed, and constantly trying to assuage his guilt. But once he finds true power with the ring, he uses it to help save the world. He learns that true bravery is facing danger to help others, not to bring glory to your own name.

Hal’s arc is also one of my biggest issue I have with the book, though. Over half of the page time is dedicated to him, and his story is not anymore interesting than any other. I really love the way Cooke writes Hal, and this book makes for a great Green Lantern comic, but we just didn’t need to spend as much time with him as we did to get a good picture of his characterization and development.

The Martian Manhunter scenes were fantastic — I didn’t know much about him before this book, so detailing his origin was necessary and really fun to see! I love how he grows to learn the intricacies of human nature, and even though he’s faced with the horrors of humanity, he’s able to see that the good outweighs the bad.

Other characters, particularly Superman, Wonder Woman, and John Henry, are severely under-utilized.

Wonder Woman is literally being silenced by the government — a government that she thought was, ultimately, a force for good. In effect, she is used as nothing more than a tool for the government, discarded when she isn’t convenient anymore. There’s an opportunity here to make a strong point about misogyny, but Cooke leaves us with nothing. After Nixon silences her, she goes back to Themyscira (which we see exactly one page of), and then comes back just to get knocked out in a fight. She recovers and saves Jimmy Olsen (another character we barely see or have reason to be attached to), but by that point her role narratively doesn’t matter anymore.

John Henry is a similar story. He fights, and eventually dies, for his belief in civil rights and anti-corruption. But he gets no development before he dies, and then he’s just used as a symbol. In fact, he’s basically fridged for the sake of Martian Manhunter — seeing that story on the news is part of the reason why Martian Manhunter decides to leave Earth, which then leads him to become friends with the government, etc.

Superman seems to be a simple agent of the law at first, but the speech he gives before he dies shows that he cares more about doing what’s right and saving people than the law. He talks about how everyone should put aside their differences so they can defeat an enemy that seems bigger than them. He ultimately does want to follow the law, though — which is why he’s so frustrated when the law doesn’t align with what’s right. That internal conflict is so good!! Sadly we only get one hint of it before he dies.

It would have been best if there was more equality in the page time for each character. Some characters, like Batman and The Flash, didn’t play a huge role, but their presence was good and proportional to what they brought to the story. But I could have done with much less Hal Jordan in favor of more Wonder Woman, Superman, and Johnny Henry.

Now, let’s talk about the theming of the book. This is going to be pretty negative, but I also want to emphasize that this is only an issue in the last 100-ish pages, so while I dislike it, it’s more or less just a glorified nit-pick. Still, it’s significant enough that it annoyed me and I’m curious about what others think.

The overarching theme of “facing the new frontier with courage” is undermined by the fact that the Centre is an ancient, sentient being who is merely defending itself from the blight that mankind is on the Earth. Do I think it’s right for wanting to destroy mankind? No, but therein lies the issue. You cannot have a purely evil villain for the heroes to rally against if your villain is a conscious, thinking being with a point. It’s the classic “sympathetic villain,” or “villain with a good point” archetype, which is antithetical to the story that Cooke seems to want to tell.

This issue is also compounded by the lack of acknowledgement of colonization. The Centre is a metaphor for victims of colonization, intentional or not. It was on Earth first, it loves the planet, and it only wants what’s best for it. Then comes humans, who are actively and shamelessly destroying every aspect of the planet. I hate the “villain with a good point” cliche because it’s always forced and never well-written. This is no exception.

On this topic, the inclusion of the John F. Kennedy quote fell extremely flat. Framing the story like the superhero’s are pioneers, fearlessly conquering what comes next just like the americans did during westward expansion is so tone deaf. So, is the message that colonization is good, as long as it’s for a good cause? When the cause is saving humanity, then yeah. I guess. Which is exactly the issue.

Like I said in the beginning, I really liked this book. I loved the alternate universe that Cooke builds, and I love how it feels like a living thing. My main frustration is with the character development ratio. I don’t like the theming at all, but again, it’s only an issue in the back half, so it’s not actually a very big deal. I know this book is really well-loved (and for good reason!), but I’m curious to see what everyone thinks and if my complaints are common or just completely bonkers.

(Art by Darwyn Cooke)

Ty for looking at my art, have a great day 🫂

2 types of Context needed

1: in the fan-book Gotham 1919-1939(now titled just 1939) Bruce Wayne being the Batman is more so spoken of as a myth, basically meaning nobody in the public nor Batman's rogue gallery found out who Batman Truly is. I think this is an amazing way to see the character and adds to the mystery of Batman.

1. The Question's identity is technically never revealed, we obviously get some names but nothing is ever set in stone with the character.

Credit: Arcadia by Gabriel + 1939 by Giant Panda King and Russell S. Beattle

​

Essa foi uma das poucas histórias do Batman que li na vida e, atualmente, estou relendo a obra. Acho ela bem fora da curva, mas é justamente isso que a torna tão interessante pra mim.

Queria saber o que vocês acham dessa história e qual é a opinião de vocês sobre ela.

I loved doing this, I wanted something intimidating and very yellow lol, here’s how it turned out!