The Professor Of Comics

History Major. Avid comic book reader & reviewer. Anime & STAR WARS fan. Social Justice Advocate. Actually Autistic Nerd. Black Lives Matter. Trans Rights are Human Rights. Free Palestine. Comicsgate & the Fandom Menace are Hate Groups. (He/Him)

[samasmith23]

Introduction/About Me

Hello everyone! I'm @samasmith23, "The Professor Of Comics!” You might remember me as "Dr. Rorschach Hound" from Twitter. My pronouns are he/him, and I am a history major with a Master's Degree in "History of Ideas" (think of it as a combination of history & philosophy). I am also a massive nerd when it comes to comic books, particularly superhero comics, and have a particular fondness for characters like Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Batman (Bruce Wayne), and the X-Men! I am also a diehard fan of the manga/anime Naruto (Naruto Uzumaki is my favorite character in all of media) and am a massive Star Wars nerd (I will NOT tolerate bigoted Comicsgaters & FandomMenace chuds though)!

Additionally, I am on the Autism spectrum and have obsessive-compulsive disorder. I permanently left Twitter back in October 2022 when I realized that it was harming my mental health and OCD, perpetuating my anxiety. However, if I hadn't already abandoned Twitter back then, I most certainly would have when Elon Musk took over the hell-site a month later in November!

I mostly just post my thoughts on the nerdy stuff I like, whether it be in short posts or longer blog-form essays! Please feel free to ask me anything!

[reckless-glitch]

[ramblingandpie]

[Video description: Gritty is turning the crank on a flagpole to raise the Progress Pride Flag. He gesticulates angrily that the flag is not blowing in the wind, then gestures offscreen. The flag begins blowing. As Gritty begins raising the flag more, the camera pans out to show a man in a suit and sunglasses, looking like a stern Secret Service agent, is holding a leafblower that points at the flag. End description.]

[samasmith23]

Gritty says trans rights!

[samasmith23]

Joker, aka Ren Amamiya, from Persona 5 Royal is both bisexual and in a polyamorous relationship with Makoto Niijima & Goro Akechi, and NOBODY can convince me otherwise!

Specifically, regarding the game's official romance options I've personally always chosen to have Joker date Makoto due to the two's adorable chemistry together. At the same time however, Joker's rivalry with Akechi is so unambiguously queer-coded and filled with so much homoerotic tension that the two's hangouts during Akechi's overhauled confidant line in the Royal edition feel like honest-to-goodness dates!

Essentially, I can't help but headcannon Joker as dating BOTH Makoto & Akechi during my playthroughs of P5R!

I mean... if Wolverine, Cyclops & Jean Grey could pull a similar dynamic during the Krakoa era of X-Men, why can't Joker, Makoto & Akechi?

[samasmith23]

NOBODY can still convince me otherwise that Joker (aka, Ren Amamiya) from Persona 5 Royal is not bisexual and polyamorous! I mean, he’s clearly dating Makoto Niijima whilst also heavily in love with Goro Akechi!

[samasmith23]

Kamala just said that she thinks the girl Zoe’s currently crushing on is “pretty cute.”

There is ZERO heterosexual way to interpret this! Kamala Khan is either bi or pansexual!

From Magnificent Ms. Marvel (2019) #9 by Saladin Ahmed & Minkyu Jung!

[samasmith23]

Marvel, please make Ms. Marvel (aka, Kamala Khan) either bi or pan!

Do it cowards!

[samasmith23]

The scene which forever redefined Zoe Zimmer from Ms. Marvel

In addition to further expanding upon the Civil War II tie-ins contemporary themes about unjust profiling, Ms. Marvel (2015) #9 is an especially important issue in G. Willow Wilson’s run overall as it’s here that supporting cast member Zoe Zimmer officially come out as a lesbian.

When I first read this scene back in college I initially didn't see it coming, but the revelation of Zoe being gay and having crush on Kamala's best friend Nakia still heavily resonated with me from both narrative and character perspective!

And that still holds true today! Not only did Wilson effectively plant the seeds for this revelation as a natural development for Zoe's character throughout the previous arcs of Ms. Marvel…

…but Zoe’s overall evolution from a stereotypical mean-girl bully into a kindhearted quirky lesbian cemented her as one of the most well-rounded supporting characters I've encountered in all of comics! It’s why I actually named my German Shepherd after her!

Thank you very much G. Willow Wilson & Sana Amanat for creating and fleshing out the character that inspired my dog Zoe’s namesake!

[samasmith23]

Happy Pride Month y’all! Here’s a queer character in comics who is so awesome that I literally named my pet dog after her!

[samasmith23]

New comics added to my collection!

Absolute Batman (Vol. 1): The Zoo

Absolute Wonder Woman (Vol. 1): The Last Amazon

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War

Batman: No Man’s Land Omnibus (Volume One)

Justice League: Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Watchtower

The Multiversity — The Deluxe Edition

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum

X-Men: Road to Onslaught Omnibus (Vol. 2)

[samasmith23]

Happy Pride Month y’all! Here’s Commander Shepherd & Liara T'Soni being the most adorable couple ever!

[samasmith23]

The ending of the Tuchanka arc from Mass Effect 3 was easily one of the most satisfying and uplifting moments of the entire trilogy! Watching Commander Shepherd honor her friendship with Wrex & Eve by helping both them and the rest of the Krogan cure the genophage, as well as Mordin sacrificing himself to atone for his past sins by dispersing the cure into the planet’s atmosphere, made me feel unbelievably ecstatic!

[tempotronica]

My brother and I were talking about trans masc issues about half an hour ago. He was venting to me about SA, and how it's common for trans men to face misogyny.

Plenty of trans femmes tend to downplay and deny the misogyny that trans men face in our society. Some of us will deny that trans men face it because they're men. "You can't be misogynistic towards a man."

I think this stems from two places.

1) Trans women think it's affirming to trans men. After all, we are playing up their masculinity. This doesn't really work, though. You're not really affirming them, you're denying their lived reality. The deeply transphobic society we live in sees trans men as women. People feel more comfortable putting trans men through misogynistic abuse than they do with trans women. Because of the fact that trans men are still seen as women, they are also seen as weaker, and easier targets for abuse. This isn't to deny that trans women face misogynistic abuse, we most definitely do. Especially after we are more able to blend. But to deny that trans men face it too, is transphobic.

2) Trans women often fail to deconstruct their toxic masculinity. Whether we like it or not, trans women are capable of misogyny. A great many of us were raised as boys, because that's how our parents saw us. We're raised in masculinity, molded by it. And we have a responsibility to deconstruct that as part of our gender journey.

[samasmith23]

Internalized misogyny is unfortunately a societal problem…

[samasmith23]

Happy Pride Month y’all!

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, transgender, and non-binary rights are all human rights! And queerphobic fascist Republicans & TERFs are NOT welcome here!

[samasmith23]

Lol! I love how the cyborg bounty-hunter from East of West, Psalm 137, is literally just a Geth from Mass Effect aesthetics-wise! Like, all I could hear was Legion’s voice while reading Psalm 137’s dialogue!

In all seriousness though, Psalm 137’s backstory is a legitimately unsettling portrayal of indoctrination by religious cults, but through the lens of body horror!

From East of West #29 by Jonathan Hickman & Nick Dragotta.

[samasmith23]

I’ve gotta say, the plot twist in “Year Three” of East of West of Death’s former companion, Wolf, becoming the new prophet of the living message for the end times after devouring the previous prophet, Ezra Orion, was an excellent subversion of my expectations! Especially since Wolf ultimately serves as a unique contrast to Ezra’s role as fanatical & nihilistic doomsday preacher, with Wolf instead leading his own technologically advanced Native American Endless Nation to not only conquer the white majority nations (i.e. the Union, Confederacy, and Republic of Texas), but to also help forge a new & prosperous beginning for both his and the other majority minority nations (i.e. African American Kingdom and the Chinese People’s Republic of America).

In other words Wolf’s role as the new prophet of the end times during East of West’s third act helps reinforce the series optimistic & hopeful resolution of reinterpreting the apocalypse not as the end of all things, but the end the old corrupt status quo and the beginning of a brighter future! A brighter future in which the ethnic groups that have been historically oppressed by American systems of white supremacy now control systems of governance built on trust & love, rather than fear & greed.

From East of West #27, 30, 36, 39 & 45 by Jonathan Hickman & Nick Dragotta.

[samasmith23]

I really love this Mystique fan art from “mutie_lover” over on instagram that’s directly inspired by Ron Garney’s super sexy portrayal of the shape-shifting villainess from the phenomenal Wolverine: Get Mystique storyline!

View this post on Instagram

Kudos to @sneakymystique for pointing me in the direction of this fan artwork (especially since I personally do not have an instagram account)!

[samasmith23]

While Jonathan Hickman portrays the horseman Death as a gruff-&-tough nihilistic bastard throughout most of East of West, I love how Hickman simultaneously portrays Death as capable of evolving beyond both his traditional macho cowboy archetype roots and status as a literal horseman of the apocalypse. Case in point, the scene in Issue #29 featuring the long-awaited reunion between Death and his son Babylon is legitimately sweet and heartwarming (especially since a lot of Death’s gruff brutality and violent actions in previous issues were motivated by the desire to find his son, the single piece life that he created rather than destroyed that was stolen from him by outside forces)!

It was a contrast that took me by surprise, but felt very natural and moving when I first read it!

From East of West #29 by Jonathan Hickman & Nick Dragotta.

[redtemperance]

had fun doing this one, inked traditionally and coloured digitally!

[samasmith23]

I love it!

[tempotronica]

It gets even worse.

[samasmith23]

UUUGGGHHH!!!!!! I am so sick & tired of the whole anti-trans bathroom narrative! It’s literally the oldest trick in the transphobic handbook!

Personally speaking, I honestly do not give a crap (pun intended, lol!) about which bathroom people use just as long as they flush the toilet and wash their hands!

[revretch]

So I was curious as to where the term "boobs" ever came from and apparently this is one of the first known uses of it:

Thank you, Henry Miller, author of Sexus (1949)

[bogleech]

reblog if you DON'T mind vegetable appendages disturbing you with their sloshy joggling

[samasmith23]