jcw3 (John)
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jcw3.bsky.social
jcw3 (John)
@jcw3.bsky.social
70 followers 49 following 530 posts
Leftist. Comic geek. Superhero movies should all be animated. 26. He/Him.
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jcw3.bsky.social
Having an absolute blast with Kamen Rider Gaim. You can tell this is a Gen Urobuchi show, because the protagonist is shellshocked and traumatized by his encounter in the Fruit Dimension by the middle of episode 4
a woman smiling evilly as she blends a smoothie, with the caption reading 'see you in hell you stupid fruit'
November 11, 2025 at 4:27 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
A hundred pages into Armor by John Steakley. This book is so insanely good.
A dude in sick black power armor badassly punches big bug alien things in a very manly way, presumably while dissociating and losing touch with his humanity, trapped in an endless war not of his own design, but that careless and inept powers-that-be forced onto him and his cohorts through their own incompetence.
October 30, 2025 at 9:49 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Read The Power Fantasy #12 today. So good
A man cries tears of joy while saying "The Power Fantasy is crazy good this week."
October 9, 2025 at 12:58 AM
jcw3.bsky.social
Starting Local Man tomorrow - as someone with a deep love for 90s antiheroes, I am so stoked for this.
Cover for the comic Local Man, featuring a tired looking man in a ski mask and civilian clothes, quiver and bow on back, sitting in front of a billboard labeled 'Wlecome to Farmington! Home of the famous superhero, Crossjack!'. Pastiches of 90s-style superheroes appear on the billboard.
October 1, 2025 at 10:35 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Some personal news.

(comic TPBs/manga volumes count as books, shut up)
Goodreads reading challenge for 2025, showing 125/125 books completed
September 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Think this Batman Elseworlds comic I picked up at HPB yesterday might have an unconventional interpretation of the character.
A cover for the comic Batman: Scar of the Bat, showing a 30s-stylized version of Batman firing a contemporary tommy gun.
July 23, 2025 at 6:35 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Insanely petty (complimentary) moment for Lex Luthor in It's Superman! (2005). Can hear this in Clancy Brown's voice.
Mrs. O'Shea's husband, Denholm, is languishing in state prison at Sing-Sing, has been for the past three years, and will be for the next forty-seven. Denny O'Shea killed a union organizer on the West Side docks-deliberately went after the guy, chased him for a block, then chopped off his head with a shed cutter ordinarily used to trim cabbage. He went down for depraved homicide. Afterward Mrs. O'Shea found employment at the Straubenmuller Textile High School on West Eighteenth Street. She supervised the kitchen, maintained the on-premises fabrics museum, and devised a streamlined accounting system that saved the arithmetically challenged principal hundreds of hours of headaches. Just about a year ago, however, an audit of the high school's finances revealed that Mrs. O'Shea had embezzled Straubenmuller out of nearly twenty thousand dollars, which she'd used to buy a summer home in Deal, New Jersey. Lex Luthor heard about the crime during idle chitchat with an old-time ward-heeler in the district. The following afternoon Lex visited Mrs. O'Shea in the House of Detention for Women in Greenwich Village and made her a proposition: in return for his covering her debt to the city and ensuring that all criminal charges against her would be dropped, she would come to work for him. She started to answer yes immediately, but he raised his hand and stopped her. "No, listen to me first," he said. "If you come to work for me, you have to know something." "That you're a criminal. Yes," she said, "I guessed as much. I understand what that means, Alderman, and I accept your offer." Lex never forgave her for that, for having "guessed as much." And how had she guessed? Of course, he asked her. "It takes one to know one," she said. Then she said, "Do you remember the first time we met?" "The first time we've met, madam, is today. Right now." "Perhaps I shouldn't have said met. The first time you saw me." He was waiting with one eyebrow lifted. "You saw me at the high school's Christmas Bazaar last December. You were there shaking hands. I was manning the silent-auction table." She took out a cigarette but he told her to put it away. She laughed. But did as she was told. "I saw you ask the principal who I was." Lex suddenly grinned. "You're right. I did. I said, 'My God, that woman over there just gave me a start. She looks exactly the way my mother looked at fifty." " Mrs. O'Shea's face drained. She never would or ever did-quite forgive him for that...
July 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Really liked this passage in It's Superman! by Tom de Haven. Plenty of neat stuff like this in this book. Compelling and immersive period piece.

"Rhubarb pies! That woman made the sun come up."
She cherished her family, and baked the world's most delicious rhubarb pie. And her apple pie, too - the way she coated the crust with sugar, that you couldn't beat. Simply could not. And she was always there in your time of trouble, with a kind word, a smile, a sincere offer of assistance. She was humble. She was gracious. She wrote the loveliest, the most thoughtful Christmas letters. She had moral fiber, real pioneer strength of character. And did everyone recall that wienie roast just before the war, the summer Mary Agel was afflicted by shingles, and Martha, always the friend in need, always the selfless one, stepped right up and volunteered to- Mr. Kent doesn't think he can stand too much more. Martha was all that everyone said, but she was also his wife of thirty-one years, his best friend, his soul mate, his complement, and she is five feet away from him now, confined forever in the plain wooden coffin she requested, and his heart is broken. Rhubarb pies! That woman made the sun come up. And he wants this ordeal to end, to go home, to be home, back in the house where her spirit is still present, will always be present, in the iron stove, the knotty pine wardrobe, the spoons, the hand-woven draperies and pillow covers, the stair treads, the floorboards, their bed. In everything. He wants to go home with his son and grieve.
July 19, 2025 at 2:44 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
silver age dc had real banger designs
A panel from Metal Men #6 showing gaseous forms encased in robot bodies - all themed related to their relevant gases - Oxygen, Helium, Chloroform, Carbon Monoxide, and Carbon Dioxide.
July 12, 2025 at 5:36 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Keith Thompson's art makes the Leviathan books work. The starving bears art took my breath away when I first saw it. I wish there was more hi-res Thompson art for these books.
A pack of starving mammals, eyes gleaming with hunger and hatred, stare at the viewer. They stand in a ruined forest environment, the ribcage of a whale prominent in the background, the skulls and bones of smaller creatures (relative to the surviving mammals) littering their open-air den.
July 11, 2025 at 1:48 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Kamen Rider W expecting me to sympathize with this whiny, abusive, selfish incel asshole and also the mother whose best idea for helping her grieving daughter was lying to her had me so annoyed bro
Itami Dango (sp?) from Kamen Rider W - abusive incel selfish asshole
July 3, 2025 at 5:27 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I'm sorry, but the citizens in Kamen Rider Kuuga turning on Kuuga is completely understandable given the absurd secrecy Ichijo has him under. Kuuga should have been introduced to the police and public by episode 15. A 3 km explosion in the middle of Tokyo - yeah, I'd panic too!
A screengrab from Kamen Rider Kuuga - a 2000-2001 live action tokusatsu show - showing a (CGI) explosion three kilometers in radius in a metropolitan area
June 7, 2025 at 5:20 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I watched Men in Black 3. If the last half of this movie was less predictable and more engaging, it would be near-perfect. 9/10. Jokes landed better, Smith, Brolin and Jones were at the top of their game, and Boris was a great new villain.
Three men stand side by side, all in black suits & tie, with dark sunglasses. The two men on the far left and right hold chrome pistols, with sci-fi aesthetics. The letters MIB, repeated, float in the background behind the men, who stare into the camera.
May 25, 2025 at 4:00 AM
jcw3.bsky.social
I watched Men in Black II. 7.5/10. Lifeless, dull movie, but the charisma and chemistry of Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones prevents it from being a complete disaster. Nothing about it is good other than their performances, do not recommend. Nice to have a competent J after thirteen days of MIBTS.
Two men in suits, one man black and the other white, look back at the camera. Left is portrayed by Will Smith, right by Tommy Lee Jones. Both are dressed in black suits, wearing sunglasses, and holding chrome pistols. A stylized II is visible in the backdrop, with a dark sun in the top between their heads. The names of the actors and the title & logo of the movie, Men in Black II, are visible in center of the frame.
May 23, 2025 at 6:34 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Was so mad by Men in Black: The Series towards the end. 6/10. Insulting character assassination of Agent J, dumbing him down to galvanize Agent K & the rest of MIB, increasingly dumb writing (esp. S4), repetitive plots, secret history gags that didn't land, overreliance on bad comic relief.
Two men stand by each other, both drawn in an animated style with a nondescript interior background. On the left is a stolid older white man in a black suit & tie, to his right is a befuddled and confused younger black man likewise in a black suit & tie, looking at the older man.
May 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I finished Danger Club. 7/10. What had the potential to be a good but not great gorey superhero action comic in a collapsing world turned into a tedious, detached cavalcade of cosmic bullshit. I don't recommend - the solid enough fights in the first don't do enough to justify the second volume.
A comic cover, showing a teenage boy in a superhero costume with a cape holds a sword in a rocky environment, towers in the backdrop. Spectral hands emerge to grasp at him. The title of the comic, Danger Club, is at the top right, with the creative team's names above it. On the top left is the company logo for Image Comics, and the number 6 and the price of the issue ($2.99) beneath it.
May 20, 2025 at 11:00 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Finished rereading Fear Agent. 9.5/10. A character study of a deeply broken man clinging to the last scraps of decency he has, in this gonzo 50s sci fi style universe. Never feels ashamed of what it is, always earnestly tells Heath's story to the best of its ability. Easy rec. Amazing comic.
A stubbled man in a tattered spacesuit holds a raygun, staring disorientedly out over a rocky desert landscape. A 50s-style spaceship is shown crashed into a rock behind him, smoking.
May 18, 2025 at 11:54 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I don't know how the Coffee Worms have become my favorite Men in Black side characters, but they have. Love them.
A man in a suit hands four small humanoid creatures with antennae, appendages protruding from their nipples, big bulging eyes, and protruding lips a thermos. The image is a still from a cartoon.
May 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I watched Sinners (2025). 10/10. Probably the best movie I'll see all year. One of the rare movies worth going out to theaters to support. Went in knowing nothing but Michael B. Jordan and vampires, glad I did. Some jawdroppingly good scenes. Highly recommend.
Promotional poster for Sinners (2025), dir. Ryan Coogler - a man portrayed by Michael B. Jordan looks down at the ground, eyes closed, dressed in a tank top and pants, holding a revolver. A crowd of silhouettes stands behind him, all tinted by an enormous sun.
May 11, 2025 at 2:31 AM
jcw3.bsky.social
I rewatched Men in Black (1997). 9/10. The secret history comedy isn't for me, but Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and really the entire cast give great performances and sell it wholeheartedly. Loads of fun. Starting the cartoon tomorrow.
Two men, portrayed by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones left to right, hold up chrome sci-fi guns at a threat off camera. They stand in a location covered in rubble and greenery.
May 9, 2025 at 5:29 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I watched Chappie. 8.5/10. Fun sci-fi movie - human characters could stand to be a bit more improved - Hugh Jackman's the only great performance in this. Chappie's great - but I wish we'd gotten to see him do more stuff, ridiculous as that sounds.
A cobbled together robot, put together with mismatched parts and with garish jewelry and graffiti painted on him, points a gun off camera.
May 9, 2025 at 5:27 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Raven Stratagem gets a 9/10. Slight step down from the first book due to inconsistency in POV quality, but still the same strengths of Ninefox Gambit. The Jedao 'mystery' and the fact that *everyone* agrees the Hexarchate is a problem but no one agrees on what to do about it - great stuff.
Three spaceships, shaped like wings of a moth, fly towards a uniquely shaped fortress in space made of glowing rings. An explosion is visible on the fortress. The title, Raven Stratagem, is visible at the top of the page. At the bottom is Yoon Ha Lee's name, followed by a blurb from Alastair Reynolds promoting the book.
May 7, 2025 at 7:37 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I watched Prospect (2018). 8/10. Classic sci-fi story, a lot of practical effects (buttons and knobs, not CGI holograms), tense, terse negotiations and conversations - but due to really bad audio choices, you can only understand 70-80% of it. Lot of wheezing, mumbling, slurring. Mixed bag.
A teenage girl in a spacesuit with a clear helmet points a futuristic weapon at sometihng off camera. She is standing in a forest, with daylight filtering through the canopy.
May 7, 2025 at 4:58 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow pissed me off. 6/10. Potentially interesting dieselpunk pastiche ruined by spending the whole movie with a misogynistic caricature of a naggy ex-girlfriend and unscrupulous, unethical, incompetent journalist. Bafflingly bad choice - overshadows everything else.
A still from the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004). Polly Perkins, portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow, as a woman with long, curling hair, wearing a trenchcoat. Next to her, Joe Sullivan / Sky Captain, portrayed by Jude Law, wearing a leather jacket. Both are in a utilitarian industrial-esque environment, giving a concerned look at the camera.
May 6, 2025 at 4:58 PM
jcw3.bsky.social
I finished The Case Study of Vanitas. 7.5/10. Largely not for me - far too many bishounen sparkles & chibi comic relief gags, and the whole 'vampire' thing almost feels like an afterthought - the vampires are fine in the sun and normally don't even need to drink blood? What's the point then?
A promotional poster for The Case Study of Vanitas, depicting a tan man dressed dapperly with pale hair and fangs looking down at the viewer, mouth open languidly. Beneath him is a smugly grinning man with hair over his eye, in a dapper outfit with a glowing bowtie, with a floating cloak covered in constellations, holding open a book. The bottom of the image reads 'Les Memoires de Vanitas'.
May 5, 2025 at 9:20 PM