#asleeponabench

[meanoldauthor]

GREAT REVEAL SO MUCH JUST FALLS INTO PLACE GOOD STUFF

hi hey I’ve been waiting to post this because I’ve been opening my inbox to grin at this all week, thank you I was SO WORRIED I was being too transparent, I’m glad it all makes sense now that the cat’s out of the bag

[bedlamsbard]

What are the top 10 sw comics you would recommend to someone (particularly from the dark horse years)? I'm taking advantage of the comixology sale and thought you'd be a good person to ask ^^

Star Wars comics! My favorite thing and in all honesty, I think the best thing Lucasfilm is putting out right now.  And they’re putting out a lot of them.

As with anything in Star Wars, answers will vary based on what era of Star Wars you’re into; for Dark Horse I’m very weak on on the OT era because I don’t particularly care.  I’ve read a lot of them, at least from the 2000s (if not the ‘90s and earlier); they just didn’t stick with me.

(I’ve done some recs in the past that cover both books and comics; you’ll have to search a bit through my book rec tag, and they’re sometimes dated because comics come out all the time, but the Dark Horse ones will be more up to date since they’re not new.)

Dark Horse:

Knights of the Old Republic, John Jackson Miller -- one of my favorite Star Wars titles of all time, by my favorite Star Wars author.  Set during the Old Republic, about a Jedi padawan who’s framed for murder and has to go on the run.  So much fun, and one of the most thoughtful views of the Force that I’ve ever seen.

Legacy, John Ostrander & Jan Duursema -- my other favorite Star Wars Legends comic, by a great author/artist pair (who are probably best known for creating Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura, actually!).  Set a century and change after the OT; probably the most purely epic stories ever told in the Star Wars comics.  It revolves primarily around Cade Skywalker, Luke’s great-grandson, who’s a hot mess of a human being, but has some of the best characters I’ve ever seen in Star Wars, hands down.  And a really interesting take on the post-Sidious Sith.

Legacy II, Corinna Bechko & Gabriel Hardman -- set after Legacy I, but you don’t have to read the former to read this one, though it helps.  Centers on Ania Solo and some misadventures she gets into -- if you like TFA, you’ll probably like Legacy II; there are some superficial resemblances.  This one ends rather abruptly because it was ongoing when Marvel reacquired the Star Wars license from Dark Horse, and had to wrap up much more quickly than planned.

Republic/Clone Wars, various authors -- this is the old Clone Wars continuity and directly contradicts TCW (though I actually still believe it ties AotC and RotS together better than TCW, much as I love TCW).  These are published in trade as “Clone Wars” but ran under the Star Wars: Republic title back in the day.  The quality is a bit variable because of the different authors, and because they came out between AotC and RotS they can sometimes feel a little dated, but the ones that are good are very good.  My favorite is the Last Stand at Jabiim arc by Haden Blackman, which is just...incredible.  It’s about Anakin after everyone thinks Obi-Wan has been killed, and a group of padawans whose masters have all been killed, and a doomed war zone.  The Ostrander/Duursema arc, which follows Quinlan Vos, is also a favorite.

Knight Errant, John Jackson Miller -- another title set during the Old Republic.  This one has a novel tie-in, also called Knight Errant; it’s set after the first arc of the comics (though you can read either the comics or the novel without the others).  Follows a young female Jedi who’s trapped behind Sith lines, Kerra Holt.

Marvel

I can rec all the ongoing titles -- Star Wars, Darth Vader II, Poe Dameron, Doctor Aphra, along with IDW’s Star Wars Adventures -- without hesitation.  They’re all a lot of fun; I don’t really have reservations about any of them.  Same for the Gillen Darth Vader, which wrapped last year (and crossed over with the main title and introduces the title character for Doctor Aphra).  Let me talk a bit about the miniseries

Kanan, Greg Weisman -- I think it’s been well established that this is one of my favorite comics Marvel’s put out, but I can’t do a rec post and not mention it.  It’s gorgeous and funny and heartbreaking, and it’s full of clone feels and Jedi feels and Rebels feels.

Darth Maul, Cullen Bunn -- I loved this, and I really didn’t expect to at all.  It takes place prior to TPM and sees Maul pushing his boundaries with Sidious as he goes after a Jedi padawan on his own.  It’s a great comic for anyone familiar with TCW, since there are some familiar faces there (Cad Bane and Aurra Sing, anyone?), and even a few nods to Rebels.

Han Solo, Marjorie Liu -- THIS COMIC IS SO GOOD. It’s Han and Chewie on a mission for the Rebellion that requires then to enter a race, and then things get interesting.  It’s so delightful and colorful and so much fun. (And really explains, for me, why Han in Bloodline is off being a race star, which in Bloodline came out of the blue for me; you can see here how he realized this was a thing he could do.)

Mace Windu - Jedi of the Republic, Matt Owens -- this one just ended last week, so isn’t available in trade yet.  I’m fascinated by this one, because it takes place very early in the Clone Wars -- very early, and you can really see how the Jedi were operating at that stage and if you’re familiar with TCW, there are a lot of seeds laid here for things that come later (as well as in RotS).

Shattered Empire, Greg Rucka -- this was part of the Journey to The Force Awakens line that came out a few years ago.  It takes up immediately after RotJ and follows Shara Bey, an A-wing pilot who fought at the Battle of Endor -- and who also happens to be Poe Dameron’s mother.  It’s only four issues, but there’s a lot packed in there, from Palpatine’s slash-and-burn contingency plans (which reappear in Battlefront II, I believe) to some deep Force stuff to Naboo!!!! Completely delightful.

I do like the other minis -- Princess Leia, Obi-Wan & Anakin, Chewbacca, Lando, and Captain Phasma -- and I can talk more about them if anyone is interested, but of the minis those four are my favorites.  There’s also Darth Maul - Son of Dathomir, which was originally published by Dark Horse and was recently reprinted by Marvel; it’s based on unused TCW scripts and is the only Dark Horse comic to carry into the new canon.  The quality of the singles and the annuals can be variable, but some of them are really good -- the 2016 Star Wars Annual #2 by Kelly Thompson is incredible, and I’ve recently talked about how much I liked The Storms of Crait.

I’m happy to talk more about any of these if anyone wants!  I’m up to date on all of Marvel’s Star Wars comics except for the film adaptations, because I don’t think those ever transfer well to comics, so I don’t read them.  I’m weaker on the Dark Horse stuff because I haven’t read it all, but I have read a lot of it.

[downtofika]

asleeponabench replied to your post “i’m moving into a new apartment in july and i want to make my room...”

cute string lights

ooooh honestly such a good idea! i think i’ll get those nice multicolored ones cuz nothing says comfy cozy like year round christmas vibes

[anneapocalypse]

kimball - take your pick!

I will happily go right down the list for Kimball because she is a fave and I love her so so so much.

1: sexuality headcanon

Into women and nonbinary people. Not into men. Generally identifies as a lesbian for simplicity’s sake.

2: otp

Kimbalina, oh Kimbalina. Oh, you two strong and beautiful women bloodied but unbowed by your respective wars, heart-battered but not broken by betrayals. Oh your communication issues. Oh the long road to happiness you may find together.

I love Kimbalina. Bury me in Kimbalina.

3: brotp

Kimball & Dr. Grey. I think Emily might be one of the first faces who begins to humanize the Feds to Kimball, who has spent too long sickened by the destruction the government as an entity has wrought upon her home to be able to easily break it down into individuals with just as strong convictions of their rightness as her own. She will never stop believing the rebellion was justified, was necessary, but she will, in time, come to understand why some remained loyal to the government. I think that begins with Emily.

4: notp

(Ship negativity below, obviously.)

Kimball/Doyle wouldn’t entirely be a notp, my own headcanons aside–if not for how often the same people who ship it seem to actively dislike Kimball otherwise (though I recognize that’s not universally true). That sets off a lot of warning bells for me (I have a very negative kneejerk response to a disliked female character being shipped with a beloved male character as if to somehow “redeem” her), and it’s admittedly made it hard for me to look at the ship on its own merits. Regardless, I don’t think it’s one I’d take an interest in.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

She was born and raised Buddhist and has always felt some internal conflict around her spiritual practice and her politics.

6: favorite line from this character

“Tell them what they need to hear. Tell them that they can do this. And that next time, they will be better.”

“You want us to lie to them?”

“No. I don’t.”

This is one of those things that just gets me right in the soul about Vanessa Kimball–her absolute faith in the goodness and the capability of other people. It’s one of the reasons I think it must have taken her a long time to come to the conclusion that there was no choice but to go to war. At every turn she has faith in her people. And once, all of Chorus was “her people.” I don’t believe getting from A to B was fast, easy, or painless.

7: one way in which I relate to this character

I kind of relate to the above a lot–the impulse to always give people the benefit of the doubt. I relate to how badly it hurts when that comes back to bite you–how you blame yourself as much as you blame the person you trusted.

And I relate the layers of deeply entrenched anger that builds up as a result of that and as defense against it–and how that too betrays you, in the end, and you feel defenseless again. I relate to the immense frustration of constantly having your anger dismissed and used to discredit you.

I relate to desperately wanting a better world than the one you have.

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Nothing comes to mind–if anything, I think Kimball is remarkably composed like 95% of the time, and when that composure breaks down, well. I find it pretty relatable.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

I joked about Kimball being a cinnamon roll back in season 12, when she was still a pretty new character and hadn’t had a chance to get seriously frustrated or lose her temper yet. I’m glad we got to see that happen in season 13–and I don’t think that makes her “problematic,” I think it makes her human, and I’d rather have a well-rounded human being than a cinnamon roll. Considering the pressure she’s under, it’s a wonder she holds it together as well as she does. I know some fans come down real hard on her for what she yells at Doyle, and I think it’s worth pointing out that it’s a military environment, not a kindergarten classroom. She’s under no obligation to be sweet, any more than he is.

[anneapocalypse]

8 - maine & connie

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Nothing comes to mind for Maine. I enjoy pretty much all of his characterization (yes, Maine does have characterization) in the Freelancer seasons very much.

For Connie: “You said we would be together!” gives me secondhand embarrassment not for Connie herself, but for the writer who thought shoehorning in an 11th-hour romance to muddle the motivations of the bravest character in all of Freelancer was a good idea.

[vampyros-lesbos-1971]

asleeponabench replied to your post “Listen……… this episode of TNG is gonna end my life”

ooooooo that was the first tng ep i ever saw!! T_T

Damn what a first episode to watch

[crossguild]

gintama (for the fandom meme)

The character I first fell in love with: KAGURA!!!The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: otoseThe character everyone else loves that I don’t: im pretty bored of zura and takasugi tbhThe character I love that everyone else hates: who do people even hate???The character I used to love but don’t any longer: no i only them more with every passing yearThe character I would totally smooch: gintoki :’)The character I’d want to be like: GINTOKIThe character I’d slap: kamui deserves a couple tbhA pairing that I love: UHHH I DONT... HAVE ANY SHIPS FOR THIS GAG MANGA....A pairing that I don’t: i dont pay enough attn to this fandom to have a notp and id like to keep it that way lmao

[goodluckdetective]

☼ for Charlie (I'm curious about her fashion sense)

☼ Appearance: Oh god, it is a disaster. 

I mean, it’s not entirely her fault. She’s a giant alien; human clothing is kind of hard to size for. Like nothing but loose pants and shirts work, and dresses are almost out of the question unless they’re special ordered. And clothes for Sangheli make her feel out of place even more (and are usually too big since she’s a hybrid).  She pretty much wears entirely handed down clothes because shopping is such a pain, and it’s just easier to throw on one of Aunt Kai or Junior’s shirts.

That being said, Aunt Kai and Junior’s shirt are almost always tacky and covered in tacky phrases, so it’s a losing situation. 

Lauren despairs. She’s into flower prints and skirts and lipstick, so seeing Charlie come in with a shirt that says “Tu Madre es una puta” (Lopez likes to annoy Locus by giving her offensive shirts in Spanish) she bangs her head against the nearest wall.