2015-03-06 - BD Nostalgia 04 by sylvio martins

Nยบ4 March 6th 2015

e n i z a g a ekly m

- All-New X-Men 38 - G. I. Joe: Snake Eyes Agent of Cobra 1 - Star Wars: Princess Leia 1 - Death Note Finale - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Content Volume 3 | NUMBER 4

A lot of hullabaloo has been made about Spider-Man’s recent return to the Marvel fold via a recent deal between Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios. Pretty soon we’ll be seeing a version of the wall-crawler slinging his way through the New York City skyline alongside the likes of Iron Man, likely beginning in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.” But Spider-Man isn’t the only prodigal hero that has returned home.

March 6th 2015

Comics section SPOTLIGHT 04- 5 Ways To Introduce Punisher Into the Marvel Cinematic Universe COMIC NEWS 10- All-New X-Men 38 12- Thor Annual 1 14- Darth Vader 2 16- Aquaman 39 18- Justice League 39 20- Batman Eternal 47 22- Mister X: Razed 1 24- Prometheus: Fire and Stone 1 26- GI Joe: Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra 1 28- Edward Scissorhands 1 30- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 1

INTRODUCTION 32- Spawn COMICS PREVIEWS 52- Angela Asgards Assassin 4

BD Nostalgia is published weekly by SM DESIGN. Editor/ Publisher: Sylvio Martins, Editorial Office: 5330 Desmarteau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H1K 2N9 | 514-299-1593. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2015 BD NOSTALGIA. DIGITAL PRINTING IN CANADA.

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56- Star Wars: Princess Leia 1 Comic Books This Week 60- comic Book listings of the week ANIME/MANGA NEWS 72- Resident Evil: Volume 3 73- “Kamisama Kiss 74- Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan 75- Maid Sama! A to Z to Anime/Manga 76- Introducing Osamu Tezuka GUNDAM ENCYCLOPEDIA 80-After War Gundam X in-depth manga review 93-Death Note MANGA PREVIEW 114- Avatar - The Last Airbender Editor/Publisher Sylvio Martins Assistent Editor Hugo Sardinha Contributers Marie Moreira

Editorial Here we are, the month of March has begun,... Here is a simple quote,... «If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome». With these words, we have again stepped closer to what I want to make of this magazine, a new way to inform everyone without spending thousands of dollars to know what is going on in the industry. Thank you again for your support. Don’t forget to read the upcoming BD Nostalgia FanFic Edition #8. Thank you and see ya next time

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5 Ways To Introduce Punisher Into the Marvel Cinematic Universe 4

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places his new journey could begin.

Ghost Rider and Punisher -- have since seen their live-action adaptation rights revert back to Marvel Studios. While Marvel wasted no time greenlighting a “Daredevil” series following that character’s return almost two years ago, the Punisher still remains in limbo despite being reacquired by the studio way back in 2010. Unlike Ghost Rider and Blade, Punisher has around thirty years of constant ongoing series under his pouch-covered belt and one of the most iconic -- if not the most iconic -- logo of any Marvel character. Frank Castle has to come into play in the MCU and here are the five

deal out his own brand of justice. If “Daredevil” is going to explore what it means to be a vigilante in the MCU, then there’s no better character to compare the Man Without Fear against than Frank Castle. As well intentioned and merciful as Matt Murdock will most likely be, the Punisher strives to punish. This could make him the perfect foil for Daredevil. Punisher’s involvement in the series would have to be a big secret, though, as the majority of the cast has been announced already. That is, the heroic half of the cast has been announced; so far the only antagonists announced are Kingpin

Daredevil Marvel’s first Netflix series will also be the first time that a true vigilante will leap into action in the MCU. All of the other heroes are either government agents (Iron Patriot), S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain America) or worked with the spy organization (Hulk, Iron Man). In “Daredevil,” we will se what happens when a person without billions of dollars, A quartet of characters previously owned a super science brain or the aid of a mighty by other film studios -- Daredevil, Blade, law enforcement organization decides to

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(Vincent D’Onofrio), Kingpin’s second in command Wesley (Toby Leonard Moore) and the Owl (Bob Gunton). Some other bad guys have to fill out those 13 episodes...

of Easter eggs for future Marvel projects; we could see Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter in a quick scene as their Netflix heroes Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Additionally, we could get a glimpse of a gun-toting skull-shirt-wearing vigilante resisting Iron Man’s pro-registration forces. Remember how “Captain America: Winter Soldier” slipped Stephen Strange in a long list of other names? “Civil War” could easily include at least the equivalent of that for Frank.

Captain America: Civil War With Iron Man, Black Widow, Falcon, Spider-Man, Winter Soldier and probably a lot more other characters already slated to appear, “Civil War” is looking pretty crowded. That makes sense, though, if the series is going to tackle its namesake’s superhero registration storyline. If unmaskAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ing and enlisting is going to drive a wedge Punisher’s super power is basically just between Cap and Tony Stark, then we will guns. “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s” TV budhave to actually see heroes unmasking and get allows for plenty of guns. This seems

enlisting -- or resisting -- in order to convey like a perfect match, right? The notion of the scope and ramifications of the law. This seeing a big deal Marvel character like the could be the perfect place to drop in plenty Punisher on “S.H.I.E.L.D.” would have 8

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been laughable just a year ago when it seemed like the ABC show was going out of its way to avoid including any Marvel character. Halfway through Season Two, though, the show seems to finally be embracing its comic book roots. Mockingbird and Quake are regular cast members, Hydra has emerged as one of their primary threats and Inhumans are about to show up. With the show’s attention firmly on Marvel Comics canon, seeing the Punisher in an episode doesn’t seem so far-fetched now, does it? Plus if Coulson’s crew gets tired of dealing with all of the crazy Inhuman stuff heading their way, an episode focusing on the Punisher’s street-level antics could provide for a nice breather.

War Zone” was such a box office disaster it made “Elektra” look like a blockbuster. Forget movies, It’s Punisher’s time to kill it on Netflix. Frank Castle is a darkly complex and morally off-center character, which is exactly the type of lead that has been excelling on TV with shows like “Breaking Bad” and “House of Cards.” There’s also a precedent in “Daredevil.” While DD’s 2003 feature film earned nearly three times the combined gross of all three “Punishers,” it was a flop with critics and earned a notorious reputation amongst comic book fans. If Marvel can turn out a good “Daredevil” series that succeeds with critics and audiences, that could be the boost the Spider-Man studio needs to get up the energy tackle The Punisher should work on film, an even bigger problem -- Punisher. And shouldn’t he? He’s got a high profile, a sol- if Marvel’s Netflix series are a hit, odds id origin and an iconic look -- but he just are they’ll keep them all going. Hopefully doesn’t work solo. Marvel should be wary “Punisher” will be part of Netflix’s wave of unleashing Punisher on moviegoers again two. after three box office disappointments, but maybe they could get him back on the big screen as a foe for Spider-Man. Punisher first appeared in an issue of “Amazing Spider-Man,” so the connection is right there. Spider-Man’s going to be another vigilante in the MCU and, as mentioned before, Punisher is the exact kind of character to use if you want to address what it means to take the law into your own hands. Of course Punisher shouldn’t be the main bad guy of “Spider-Man,” but he could be included in the first act as a way to demonstrate Spidey’s abilities in battle. Punisher 1989’s “Punisher” went straight to video in the U.S., 2004’s “Punisher” barely made back its budget and 2008’s “Punisher: BD Nostalgia

Marvel Reviews

All-New X-Men 38 As the fourth chapter of “Black Vortex,” “All-New X-Men” #38 has one primary duty to the event: to keep the momentum going. In this regard, it’s a success. The issue is swift-paced, with sweeping fight scenes from Andrea Sorrentino and an efficient script from Brian Michael Bendis, but it can’t overcome 10 BD Nostalgia

the trivial premise of “Black Vortex.” The story isn’t set up for success: the mechanics and stakes of its MacGuffin are too vague for the event to feel cosmically important, and the cast is too large to accommodate longer, emotionally satisfying character arcs. Weighed down by all this, “All-New X-Men” #38 is satisfying

but not memorable. With a strong eye for the cosmic and epic, the artistic team of Andrea Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo is generally a huge asset to the book. They even make the carrying of the Black Vortex, sometimes comically toy-like in previous issues, feel plausible. In particular, the two-page arrival of Ronan the Accuser is a vigorous, atmospheric achievement. Sorrentino’s figures are full of force, both when Ronan raises the Universal Weapon and when he brings it down. These two larger-than-life moments are overlaid with three long, narrow panels that zero in on precise details, spaced over the pages like an Italian triptych. The sequence tells a clear story in an unconventional way with powerful visuals -- that’s basically the Platonic ideal of sequential art. Maiolo matches the power of Sorrentino’s figure work with supernova skyscapes, blinding halos and some pretty gorgeous space porn. However, there’s a more experimental element of the artwork that doesn’t always land. Sorrentino and Maiolo create call-out panels around particular details, and both the coloring and selection of these boxes can be confusing. It isn’t always clear why certain elements are highlighted over others, and the modified color scheme doesn’t seem related to anything in the content. Sometimes, the boxes call attention to the most pertinent details; at other times, they’re intentionally insignificant. When it works, it creates a cool effect, but when it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. Bendis, to his credit, seems to recognize the problem of “Black Vortex” and does his best to establish a sense of stakes. Angel and Beast’s creepy, condescending dialogue certainly sounds foreboding. Lines like “change terrifies the weak” and “Do

it… change these primitive creatures into something more advanced” speak to the dangerous arrogance and colonial contempt for others brought on by the Vortex. Aside from these three, though, none of the characters get any real emotional beats. It’s all crisis management and, though Bendis handles his huge cast well enough, there isn’t anything particularly satisfying here --

until the ending. I’m at least excited to see Cyclops and Corsair join the group. Corsair’s gesture in the background is a great detail. “All-New X-Men” #38 does what needs doing, and that’s as much as I can ask from a middle issue in an event with a massive cast. It includes enough surprises and tension to keep the reader interested, even if it can’t overcome the limitations of “Black Vortex.” BD Nostalgia

Marvel Reviews

Thor Annual 1 Though it may seem premature to release an Annual for a series that’s only five issues deep, “Thor Annual” #1 is a stellar, utterly enjoyable effort. Collecting three stories from various points in “Thor” continuity -- King Thor, present Thor and young Thor -- this Annual takes full advantage of Asgardian mythology and the character’s transitions in the past year. It’s by no means required reading, particularly with this price tag, but readers who love the Asgardian corner of the Marvel Universe will be delighted. None of the stories is a clunker, despite some overly neat or amateur elements, and all of them are 12 BD Nostalgia

splendidly celebratory. Jason Aaron, Timothy Truman and Frank Martin start the issue on a more serious note with their King Thor story. In the far future, King Thor’s beloved Midgard has been reduced to a lifeless “garden” through which he wanders in grief. Seeing his sadness, the king’s granddaughters -- Frigg, Atli and Ellisiv -- set out to give him a powerful birthday present. Artist Timothy Truman matches the tone of Aaron’s script with detailed armor and dramatic settings that give this story a sense of decayed grandeur. He is less adept with facial expressions, however, and the girls often look

wooden or strange. Strangest of all, though, is the girls’ wardrobe. It’s difficult to imagine a climate where King Thor is as comfortable in his full plate armor as the women are in bikinis and crop tops, and I’d have appreciated seeing them in real clothes. Still, it’s utterly enjoyable to watch them huddled “Macbeth”-style around a broiling cauldron, cooking up flying sharks and butterfly-winged zebras. Their trouble-making and creativity are a joy. In the second story, Noelle Stevenson and Marguerite Sauvage show present-day (Lady) Thor turning the Warrior Three’s challenge back on them. They create a gorgeous feminist fairy tale, all pastels and pranks, and Sauvage’s art alone is worth the price admission. Her inking shifts to match the colors, so that the whole

this day is all about them and their agenda, but Thor is actually doing it all for herself. It’s an understated, necessary look at how the hero of a story gets defined and how to take control of a narrative. The last story in the issue, CM Punk and Rob Guillory’s take on young Thor, is one big debauched Saturday morning cartoon. Boorish and vain, young Thor sets out to prove his worthiness in a series of epic drinking contests, and Loki can’t resist adding mischief to the mix. CM Punk’s script is rough around the edges and a little obvious, but it moves well enough. When combined with Guillory’s artwork, it’s actually a lot of fun. Guillory’s characters are all jutting chins and exaggerated faces, drooling and barfing and wailing

affair has a subtle storybook magic about it, and her elegant, imaginative character designs bring everything from hydras to elf queens to life. She’s a phenomenal choice of artist, and I hope we get to see her version of the Nine Realms again. Stevenson’s script is characteristically comic and clever, turning a delightful romp through the Nine Realms into a sly feminist statement. The Warriors Three think

long “whyyyyy”s. The whole story is very over-the-top but, when parodying the already hyperbolic Thor, one probably should be. I find Annuals to be very hit-or-miss, and “Thor Annual” is a definite hit. It’s not related to continuity, so unless you’re already a fan of this corner of the MU, it isn’t a must-read, but it’s a blast. BD Nostalgia

Marvel Reviews

Darth Vader 2 The Sith Lord has been put under the command of Imperial officers that he could eliminate with a literal wave of his hand, but that doesn’t stop him from using both the Force and his own scheming to further his own ends as much as the Empire’s in “Darth Vader” #2. Writer Kieron Gillen “gets” Vader, as does artist Salvador Larroca, who draws not only an imposing and threatening Dark Lord but a beautifully detailed array of ships, droids and familiar alien species. This second issue of “Darth Vader” delivers that old-school, classic vibe of the 14 BD Nostalgia

“A New Hope” era, and the back-to-basics approach makes it plenty accessible to old and new fans alike. It also delivers a deeper dive into the trappings of the “Star Wars” universe, introducing a new officer -- who has some motives of his own -- given the unenviable task of observing Vader on his latest mission. A more familiar face from the Imperial ranks, General Tagge, apparently wasn’t blown to bits along with the original Death Star like many believe, and Gillen uses this reprieve to further the dynamic between Tagge and Vader. The upper hand granted

to Tagge by the Emperor is an interesting turn, sure, but Tagge’s arrogance and gloating run a little thin, both with Vader and readers. The biggest surprise might be that Tagge is still around when the issue ends. Gillen characterizes Vader pretty well, though; while Vader states at one point that his “patience is not without limits,” Gillen’s portrayal of Vader as a fallen servant of the Empire is actually one that clearly shows he is more than patient and willing to bide his time while using his cunning to advance his own position. Vader makes an astute observation about droids at the end of the

Larroca turns in a no less lavish and faithful rendering of Vader, Tagge, Imperial Star Destroyers and just about all of the characters and technology that comprise this issue’s content. It’s just as faithfully colored by Edgar Delgado, who -- between Vader and the blackness of space -- doesn’t have a lot of room to add his touch but nonetheless does as he keeps the issue from looking overly dark and muddy, helped greatly by Larroca’s incredibly crisp and precise inks. Larroca’s layouts are a little confusing early on; Vader appears to presumably play the unlikely role of rescuer as the issue begins, although whether or not he succeeds isn’t

story, one that not only further establishes his devious nature but is also a possible acknowledgement of a far more innocent time in his life. Adi Granov’s lavishly attractive cover captures the tension between a grandstanding Tagge and a dismissive Vader.

readily clear from the art. Despite that artistic ambiguity and some characterization that borders on shallow, “Darth Vader” #2 is a very attractive and compelling chapter in Marvel’s new “Star Wars” line. BD Nostalgia

DC Comics Reviews

Aquaman 39 Part five of the “Maelstrom” epic from writer Jeff Parker and artist Paul Pelletier takes readers to Pacifica as Aquaman and Mera finally track down Aquaman’s mother, Queen Atlanna. Mera lightheartedly jokes that “she looks great” as Aquaman leaps into action to converse with his long-lost, once-believed-deceased mother. With that single scene, as Aquaman leaps between past and present, writer Jeff Parker summarizes his run on “Aquaman” quite effectively with a blend of action, mystery, suspense, humor and humanity. The story 16 BD Nostalgia

is widescreen, but the personal moments are well-timed and smartly executed. Parker doesn’t belabor the issue or the moment with any sort of recap or retelling, instead putting the readers onshore with the denizens of Pacifica, who wonder just who this orange- and green-clad stranger is and what he wants with their queen. Readers who have been in for the long haul are given a satisfying payoff. While Hope and Faucher are solid in their inking, Sean Parsons’ absence is noticeable, especially on some of the larger scenes where textures and shading are simplified or applied solely through Pete Panta-

zis’ colors. Paul Pelletier’s work is as solid as it has been since the start of his run on this book, and his interpretations of Atlanna and her subjects are quite grand. In addition to drawing Atlanna, Pelletier introduces readers to Gontu, Queen Atlanna’s hulking, brutish goon and Lenu, Atlanna’s advisor. The latter is a slender young lady that Pelletier meticulously differentiates from Mera, Atlanna, Tula or any other female character he has drawn. The same can be said for the former, as Pelletier continues to offer a clinic on varying body types, builds, physiques and posture. Pantazis’ colors are brilliant and vast, coloring everything from the pale-skinned Atlanna to the water forms under Mera’s command and giving every bit of “Aquaman” #39 understated energy,

texture and depth. Solid and consistent but considerably more brisk than recent issues, the pace of “Aquaman” #39 is adjusted to accommodate some big-screen shots that give Paul Pelletier plenty of room to put the action in the readers’ faces. The journey has led to this point, and the conflict is unexpected and exciting. With only one issue left before the “Convergence” crossover and the creative team change-up, Parker, Pelletier and company are doing a bang-up job of packing “Aquaman” full of everything a comic tied to Atlantis should have: regal majesty, stunning creatures, a fantasy thread and lots of water and energy splashing all over the place as “Maelstrom” preps for its final chapter.

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DC Comics Reviews

Justice League 39 Artist Jason Fabok’s work is the anchor to “Justice League” #39, the final chapter of “The Amazo Virus” as written by Geoff Johns. Joining an artistic pantheon that once included George Pérez, Ivan Reis and Howard Porter, Fabok closes his first arc as a League artist in dynamic fashion with lots of spectacular panels featuring Wonder Woman, Superman and even Lex Luthor. Fabok’s drawings are dynamic and dazzling, emotionally powerful and jampacked with detail. Like Pérez, he can deliver jaw-dropping splash-pages, but the real amazing work comes when he packs more into smaller panels, like speed shadows from the Flash hitting Lex Luthor no fewer than half a dozen times in one panel or the motion blur imagery of Wonder Woman leaping into action. When it comes 18 BD Nostalgia

to expressions, Fabok demonstrates a noteworthy difference between Captain Cold delivering a backhanded compliment and Wonder Woman receiving it, as smirks curl on both of their mouths in a different, completely individual manner. The story is a dark, brooding adventure as the Amazo Virus has the League -- and potentially the world -- on the ropes. Fabok carves appropriately deep shadows into the characters’ faces and settings and even tells a few panels in silhouette, underscoring his capable command of storytelling. All of Fabok’s work is brilliantly colored by Brad Anderson. The colorist balances the bold, vibrant uniforms of the League with the subtle, sickly tones of the infected and anchors it all in the same cityscape. He brings energetic effects to Cold’s weapon, which makes a world of visual difference in the

crackling lightning that surrounds Flash and Shazam. Mangual’s letters join in, step-forstep, offering heroism, fearfulness and dark mystery. He uses a wide array of balloon styles, giving Patient Zero, Neutron and Luthor’s transmitted voices different tones and frequencies. This trio makes a strong showing in “Justice League” #39, giving readers a lot to enjoy and even more to look forward to. The story itself finds its natural conclusion, given all of the pieces Geoff Johns has brought to the adventure. “The Amazo Virus” has run long enough that it hasn’t dragged out but is significant in duration, giving Johns plenty of time to shove Luthor and Cold into the spotlight as the apparently reformed pair seeks to earn their stripes alongside Earth’s greatest heroes. Johns keeps a pretty tight spotlight on Luthor especially, giving the egomaniacal archenemy of Superman ample opportunity to espouse his vast knowledge and superior intellect. Johns also gives readers a powerful, commanding Wonder Woman who holds her own in battle without ever questioning her abilities, despite the lot-

tery-level odds stacked against her. “Justice League” #39 leaves the DC Universe and the League different than it was when “The Amazo Virus” outbreak occurred. Johns, Fabok, Anderson and Mangual have returned the scope of Justice League adventures to a grand scale and, with this issue, they bring the story to a strong finish reminiscent of classic Justice League tales.

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DC Comics Reviews

Batman Eternal 47 “Batman Eternal” is about to wrap up (before eventually coming back in some format later this year) and, as such, it’s important to wrap up dangling plot threads. “Batman Eternal” #47 does just that, as Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Tim Seeley, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins and Juan Ferreyra give us some check-ins with the various escapees from 20 BD Nostalgia

Arkham Asylum still at large even as the overall plot inches forward. On the down side, until the last couple of pages, nothing really happens in “Batman Eternal” #47. There’s a lot of Batman’s allies preparing to take down the different bad guys throughout the city overall. On the up side, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the moments, like Clayface prepar-

ing for his big break, are actually rather funny. However, with the conclusion just a few weeks away for “Batman Eternal,” it’s hard to not be a little bit frustrated that we’re not getting a lot of forward action for the series itself. The one part of “Batman Eternal” #47 that does stand out, though, is Ferreyra’s art. I love the two-page spreads that he uses to show Julia and Catwoman interacting. The first one looks great in the way that the pair of buildings house sets of panels, and the shadow of Julia leaping from one to the next links the pair and makes it a single, cohesive spread, which is some smart storytelling. The second one is a tiny bit more mundane, with the spread being set up with two long horizontal panels broken up into little moments of time, but they’re just as effective. The physical and verbal sparring comes across sharply, and the actual figure work for the characters is smooth and attractive. Honestly, these four pages could be used as instructions for new artists on how to use a different page layout that is still easy to follow and inventive at the same time.

“Batman Eternal” #47 is the beginning of the end and, at this point, if you’ve stuck around this long, you’ll know that it’s been a good ride. I’d have rather seen the conclusion already kicking into high gear at the start of this issue instead of the end, but there’s still enough here that you won’t feel like you’ve wasted your money.

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Dark Horse News

Mister X: Razed 1 It’s Christmastime in Radiant City, aka Somnopolis, as Dean Motter begins a new four-issue miniseries featuring his neo-classic architect-turned-private eye in “Mister X: Razed” #1. Motter handles all of the creative duties himself and the two approachable standalone tales in this issue are each strong examples of a oneman show that demonstrate a Will Eisner-esque level of storytelling quality. Although Motter’s character and retro-futuristic metropolis have been around for three decades, readers don’t need to know anything more than the standard historical recap of the psychologically corrupt city provided on the inside front cover before Motter starts things off in typically somber fashion. Mister X plays a less visible but nonetheless crucial role in the first tale, “Eaves of Destruction,” which actually features re22 BD Nostalgia

porter Rosetta Stone investigating a string of apparent murders during Hanukkah, where all of the victims are Jewish and found dead near their temple of worship. Eisner’s influence on Motter is pleasingly obvious on the story’s opening page with the seasonally-themed passage and lettering style leading off the story, combined with “The Spirit”-era fashions. The 1940s clothing styles contrast the futuristic cars flying above the scene, which typifies the kind of timeless quality almost always seen in Motter’s work. In between the murder victim on the snowy sidewalk and the advanced technology, Motter sandwiches in a subtle and very pedestrian clue to the murder, the relevance of which might even remain unnoticed after the unveiling of this eleven-page tale’s title. Motter is the model of storytelling efficiency, establishing the scene of the crime,

the nature of the murders and a conflicting dynamic between Stone, who has distanced herself from her faith, and her orthodox Jewish father. All of this is done with the aid of Stone’s compelling gumshoe-style narrative, which is punctuated artistically with the use of only a single color -- red -throughout the otherwise grey-toned story. Mister X’s financially struggling ex-girlfriend, Mercedes, takes the lead role in the comic’s other entry, “Dead Giveaway,” while Mister X himself again stays largely in the background. Mercedes takes a holiday job as one of Santa’s helpers but finds herself in the middle of two ironically related murder plots, unwittingly making herself a near victim. In twelve pages this time,

Motter shows off similar storytelling brevity here and achieves the same kind of look with red-on-grey tones. Told largely from Mercedes’ point of view, this story takes on a more upbeat tone than the noir-ish feel of the previous one, giving readers a different flavor while still being faithful to the overall intended mood of the issue. The holidays might be over, but the outstanding and accessible yarns presented in the seasonally-themed “Mister X: Razed” #1 override the off-kilter timing. After thirty years, Motter’s franchise hasn’t lost any of its edge and his storytelling excellence from past generations is worthy of being recognized by the current one.

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Dark Horse News

Prometheus: Fire and Stone -- Omega 1 Dark Horse’s multi-title, shared-universe reimagining of “Aliens,” “Alien Vs. Predator” and “Prometheus” all comes together in “Prometheus: Fire and Stone -Omega.” This 44-page conclusion doesn’t 24 BD Nostalgia

so much wrap up the various storylines as tie them all together, and its openness and humanist optimism place a beautiful thematic cap on the event. Kelly Sue DeConnick’s to-the-point script somehow keeps

discussions about souls and creation from plodding, and Agustin Alessio’s painterly style creates a surprisingly peaceful genetic-lab wasteland. “Omega” is a very strong ending for an event that sometimes struggled, and it’s thoroughly reinforced my suspicion that this event will read best when collected together. “Omega” benefits most from its position in the chronology. As I’ve mentioned in my reviews of some of the other titles, Dark Horse’s somewhat bizarre publication schedule often got in the way of those stories being told effectively.

but of greater compassion and a philosophy that steps outside oneself and one’s quest for meaning. That said, since all the spelunking, fighting aliens and scrambling for survival ultimately comes to naught, the 44 pages do feel overlong. It’s frustrating to come through that adrenaline without any payoff or greater understanding, but I suppose that’s also the point. Still, it won’t be for every reader. For the first few pages, I was worried by Alessio’s art, because Angela looks undeniably like a Lara Croft rip-off. However, aside from that phoned-in character design, Alessio crafts a sumptuous, cinematic world. The aliens are grotesque and Giger-esque, from the bloated corpse in the Onanger to the pig-bug monsters that Galgo and Angela hunt for meat. Elden is less menacing and more alien than his first incarnation, the leering, tendons-and-eyeholes look in his face giving way to more closed, carapace-like strangeness.

“Omega” isn’t missing any pieces or appearing out of order, so the plot coasts smoothly. DeConnick takes full advantage of the situation, wasting little time re-explaining or summarizing -- a nice meeting of authorial skill and editorial opportunity. DeConnick also has the opportunity to wrap things up neatly, but -- spoilers coming, so skip a paragraph ahead to avoid -- she inWhile Alessio’s humans could sometimes stead opts for an open ending. use a bit more expression, his aliens and alien worlds are wonderful to look at. While Elden’s journey comes to a tradiAlessio’s painterly colors also give the tional conclusion, the reader can’t be sure landscapes and establishing shots a filmwhat will happen to the remaining charac- like feel. The issue closes with a sweeping ters. There isn’t even much to suggest that look across LV-223 that’s surprisingly reasthat they’ve changed. Galgo is certainly suring; DeConnick’s ending wouldn’t have much the same man, and Angela may have worked if Alessio hadn’t gotten those colors come to a new understanding but not a new right, and he presents a world that’s stark but way of living. Still, DeConnick and Alessio not hopeless. suggest that this is, in some ways, the beauty of the story. “Omega” has seriously reignited my de“Omega” steps back from the pseudo-re- sire to re-read this universe when it’s all ligious mire of the “Prometheus” film and collected. When a conclusion can make gets closer to the humanism of the original me reassess the weaker issues because of “Alien.” In this world, evolution is not the how they might fit into the overall picture, development of new species or technologies it’s done some great work. BD Nostalgia 25

IDW Reviews

G. I. Joe: Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra 1 Writer Mike Costa and artist Paolo Villanelli try to make “G. I. Joe: Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra” #1 a compelling read from the opening page. The creative team succeeds in imbuing this comic book with high-octane action suitable for the big screen or a summer drive-in theater but is almost certain to leave the readers wanting more of Snake Eyes. The issue is surprisingly Destro-centric, 26 BD Nostalgia

which works in this case since Costa needs a foil to keep readers out of Snake Eyes’ head, as the silent, deadly former Joe is best left with more than a bit of mystery about him. By choosing to merge the paths of Snake Eyes and Destro, Costa invites readers to judge actions and attitudes through Destro’s filter. After all, Snake Eyes can’t have totally turned bad, right? Here is the brilliance in Costa’s story, as Destro brings

along his own set of Samsonite, overloaded and fit to burst. Part of that baggage is shared with readers as Costa opens the wayback machine and peeks into Destro’s childhood but, at this point, that sequence looks like a detour no matter how significant it turns out to be later in this series. We know Destro is morally gray at best and downright evil at worst. Also, his name isn’t the one on the cover. In the moments where Snake Eyes does appear, he steals every scene. Cool and collected, silent and deadly, he pulls no punches and earns Destro’s reserved trust. Villanelli keeps Snake Eyes cloaked in shadow throughout, which amplifies the ambient mystery of the character. The story’s characters who aren’t Snake Eyes or Destro are fine but, whenever either of those two appear, they absolutely steal the scenes. Villanelli makes some bold design decisions in this comic but never at the sacrifice of story. Every panel is clean and transitions from scene to scene are seamless. In addition to the heavy use of shadows, the artist adds some flair to Snake Eyes’ appearance, such as two oddly placed ribbons that really want to belong to a teenage turtle. I’m not sure what to make of the ribbons dancing behind Snake Eyes in many of the panels and, while it is a cool visual, it also becomes a ridiculously impractical tail for a ninja warrior. Working with the clean art, Joana Lafuente’s colors are on target throughout, occasionally setting the mood in a cine-

matic manner akin to using a color gel on a spotlight, but she never overdoes any of the hues. “G. I. Joe: Snake Eyes: Agent of Cobra” #1 is a fun, action-packed tale with a mystery jammed inside an adventure. Costa and crew give readers just enough of a tease to keep them captivated and promises plenty more in the issues to come. I’m a little fuzzy on the “how” and the “why” of Snake Eyes’ current post, but I’m definitely interested in reading more.

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IDW Reviews

Edward Scissorhands 1 Nearly a quarter-century after Tim Burton’s dark-yet-delightful fable opened in theaters, “Edward Scissorhands” returns in comic book form from writer Kate Leth and artist Drew Rausch. Set a half-century after the film, the artificial construct Edward remains secluded in the old mansion on the top of the hill and his existence has largely been forgotten by the town below, save for Megan, the granddaughter of the woman he once loved, who is enamored with the stories of Edward told to her by her grandmother before her passing. Of course, Megan’s mother remembers Kim’s stories too, and is quick to dismiss these stories, and Kim herself, as crazy. In establishing this mindset, Leth effectively picks up on the heart wrenching and somber mood that dominated the ending of the film created by the townsfolk’s collective misun28 BD Nostalgia

derstanding of Edward’s past actions. Just as Kim’s feelings for Edward belied her town’s increasing distrust in him, Leth evokes a similar kind of sad dichotomy here with Megan’s thirst for more knowledge of him amidst a new generation of folks who have forgotten all about Edward Scissorhands, if they ever remembered him at all. Before readers even meet Megan, though, they first get to get reacquainted with Edward, who stays connected with the outside world by means of newspaper delivery and is therefore aware of Kim’s passing. It’s a clever trick by Leth and Rausch that gives the story a sense of timelessness; even though fifty years have passed, little seems to have changed, neither at the mansion nor in the town; there are no flying cars or jetpacks or social media to be found. It’s an appropriate trick for a story that has such a fairytale-like

setting. Rausch even ensures that the old newspaper clippings tacked to the walls look pristine and white, highlighting both the timeless feel and subtly conveying that, for Edward, the events that drove him back into isolation might as well have been yesterday. Rausch brings a very oblique and distorted look to the entirety of the issue that provides a delightfully fitting interpretation of Edward and his dark and isolating surroundings. Edward and everything around him looks like it came straight out of Tim Burton’s mind; Edward’s hair is impossibly yet appropriately skewed and exaggerated, the stairs and win-

dows of the mansion are all bent and twisted, and the shrubbery hand-crafted by Edward looks like it could come to life at any moment. The issue almost seems to come across as a truer and unfiltered adaptation of Burton’s concepts that simply aren’t possible in a live action movie. Those looking for a more faithful rendering of the character need look no further than the issue’s standard cover as beautifully drawn by Gabriel Rodriguez, which pays tribute to one of the movie’s most beautiful and memorable scenes.

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IDW Reviews

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 1 Publishing finally catches up with the crossover that’s been happening in toy boxes since the 1980s in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters” #1. It’s a good place-setting issue that gets everything in order for the chaos that is sure to come in the remaining issues of the miniseries. We don’t get the payoff of the title until the final panel, which makes the rest of the issue feel a little slow, but there’s enough character moments to enjoy during that journey that won’t leave the reader feeling put out. Centuries ago, an ancient evil was trapped 30 BD Nostalgia

in between dimensions when Krang, using his dimensional portal, visited feudal Japan to further his own machinations. As one is wont to do in limbo the evil man became a powerful demon ghost. Meanwhile, in modern New York, the turtles and their friends are putting the finishing touches on their own matter transporter that goes awry and accidentally shifts them across dimensions to the New York of Drs. Stantz, Venkman, Spangler and Winston Zeddmore. They check on a report of a massive spike in paranormal activity at a wedding where our ancient evil has been freed by the turtles’ breach of dimensional

protocol. Fortunately, even though a ghost shows up no one in the wedding party says “I boo.” This is an enjoyable take on both franchises as everyone’s personalities and voices are given an opportunity to come front and center via Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz’s script. There are a lot of characters to juggle in this book - we have two pages of cast intro head shots before the story even begins. That’s no small feat to be this economic and still let the reader get to know the people involved in the story. The balance of comedy and drama works for both dimensions. The only place it really suffers as far as characters is our villain - we know so little about him that other than being told he’s a major threat and seeing one act of villainy we don’t really know what he’s about. It’s also a bummer to not have the confrontation until the end of the issue, which means that the reader only gets to read about what it took to put all these characters in the

same room, which boils down to reading an illustrated pitch. Given the handling of the characters here though I am willing to bet the next issue hits the ground running and provides the action everyone is looking for in this tale. The art is split between three teams to showcase the three different settings in which the story takes place. Charles Paul Wilson III provides dark, moody art filled with heavy lines and shadow that give a rougher feel to the proceedings than the rest of the book. This crossover isn’t necessary, but it’s fun. The creators’ energy feels like it’s jumping off the page and once everyone starts butting heads it will be fun to see how these characters play off of one another. Donatello/Egon, Michaelangelo/Peter, Leonardo/Ray, and Raphael/Winston are the pairings I’m particularly interested in seeing. Issue one gets everything set up that it needs to so that everyone can sit back and watch the ectoplasm fly.

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Origin Spawn was once a man named Al Simmons, a highly trained assassin and was considered the best. He was a well known soldier who was at his most successful point when he saved the President from an attempted assassination. He was promoted to a higher level of the C.I.A. that dealt with the things the Government had kept secret from the general public. However, Al soon realized that the Government wasn’t always right and started questioning if they were truly correct in their actions. This caught the attention of people in high power. Jason Wynn who had long since been his superior found out about this and knew that Al knew too much. So he hired Chap-

el who was Al’s friend and partner to kill him. In a blazing inferno Al Simmons was murdered and his soul was sent to Hell because he had knowingly killed innocents in his C.I.A. days. Al made a deal to sell his soul to a Demonic Being known as “ Malebolgia” to get to see his wife Wanda Fitzgerald once again. He was allowed to come back however he came back five years later as some kind of strange Hellspawn with no memory of what he had done. After remembering what he had done, he sought out his wife only to find she had moved on and married his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald and had even had a child named Cyan. It was after this event that his demonic BD Nostalgia 35

guide the Violator whom appeared as a clown showed up. He revealed to Spawn

Now realizing his purpose he must fight to survive against both the forces of Heaven and Hell.

Major Story Arcs A New Life Spawn’s early battles were very anti-hero like as he went up against street thugs and gangs. He later brutally killed a pedophile and child murderer named Billy Kincaid. It was this act that brought the detective duo of Sam Burke and Twitch Williams into Spawn’s life. Later he was hunted by the Angel Angela who hunted Spawns for sport. It is around this time that Spawn becomes “king” of “Rat City”, a gathering of alleys where bums and the homeless live. There he meets the bum Cogliostro who to Spawn’s surprise knows much about him. Spawn would soon battle the cyborg mob enforcer Overtkill who almost killed Spawn, but he was able to emerge victorious. He was again hunted by Angela and the purpose of his life and fought him but would fight the angelic warrior called the had his battle interrupted by Malebolgia. Anti-Spawn a.k.a the Redeemer who was 36 BD Nostalgia

in fact Jason Wynn. The First Metamorphosis After an almost dangerous confrontation with a Redeemer, Spawns suit mutated and became more advanced. The unusual cape became slightly ripped, and the red glow that had come from the costume was gone, and had evolved to what is now black

creature appearing to have the original appearance of Spawn, fights other beings and creatures, and knocks out Spawn. When Spawn woke up the creature tells Spawn that ever since the metamorphosis the suit will feed off souls. After being informed this Spawn later finds himself in New York City. He would fight with the The Curse, meet Harry Houdini who taught him about magic and also meet

and white. Spawn used to have boots and gloves but he found out that those had also changed, becoming replaced with spikes. Spawn’s suit was more powerful than the original and had also found out that he had a new cape and chains, which were able to shape shift into different things to confuse his opponents. After finding this out, Spawn used his blades to slash off a redeemer’s hand. After defeating the redeemer Spawn thought that the battle was over until he meets someone more powerful than the redeemer known as the Freak. Spawn fought with The Freak but was unaware of The Freak’s power, the ability to create nightmares which he did to torture Spawn with his past. During the battle a

Batman. After this Tony Twist sends a reprogrammed Overtkill after Terry, blaming him for the recent attacks on the mob and Spawn was forced to reveal his identity while saving his friend. However it was a well-placed shot from Twitch Williams that brought Overtkill down this time. He would later bring back his friend Bobby after he was killed in another fight with Chapel. Spawn would be a part of Angela’s trial and later traveled to the South and had an encounter with the KKK and an abusive father of two boys. When he returned to New York he was attacked by a new Redeemer. This caused his costume to evolve and defeated the Redeemer with BD Nostalgia 37

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it’s new found power. After another encounter with the Curse the suit began to go wild and after saving Terry from cancer sent him to Hell, but Malebolgia sent him back with full control of the suit.

ing from both Heaven and Hell. Spawn found himself losing the battle at first due to the Salvation that had arrived in a new form, The Heap, a creature from the green world which is one of Spawns

Greenworld and Urizen Due to increasing attacks from Heaven and Hell Spawn began to lose himself to evil, however thanks to the arrival of The Heap he was able to regain his goal. The Heap was an emissary of the Greenworld, a dimension whose power was equal to both Heaven and Hell’s and did not care for their war, but wanted to stop the destruction caused by it. They gave new powers to Spawn so he could better understand the world and it’s people. It was around this time that Spawn battled the powerful god Urizen. Spawn once stopped a cult from summoning Urizen, but this time he had been summoned by two gate opener demons named Ab and Zab. Urizen was causing massive destruction to the world and after losing a battle to him, Spawn came back and used his new abilities to use the Earth itself to swallow Urizen and imprison him. The New King of Hell After his battle Spawn learns that Malebolgia caused Urizen’s release in an attempt to start Armageddon and conquer the forces of Hell due to his army being larger at the time. Spawn and Angela decided to journey to Hell and kill him to stop his plans. During the battle Angela mortally wounds Malebolgia, but he kills her with his remaining strength and in anger Spawn takes off his head.

weaknesses. Heap’s power was equal to Heaven and Hell which Spawn had never faced before, as it gave him new abilities which allowed him to overcome the worst from both Heaven and Hell. Though these powers were not really known they seem to give control of all the elements around the world. It was explained that the Greenworld had no interest in the war of Heaven and Hell, but was getting frusHeaven and Hell trated with the destruction that it brought. As Spawn struggled to find a way to They caused the pain of the earth and latget rid of hell’s control and regain con- er Spawn became aware of it. Spawn did trol, he noticed that the attacks were com- not change his powers though rather than BD Nostalgia 39

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Wandering After returning he meets a young Wiccan named Nyx. With her help he regains his suit, but has lost his much of his power due to still being human without the suit. However Mammon tricks and betrays Nyx and takes her control over Spawns union After killing him he finds that the throne with his suit and removes all of his memoof Hell is rightfully his and it is offered to him by the demon Mammon however he refuses the offer, but after deliberating with his teacher Cog he decided to turn Hell into a new paradise, but Cog reveals that he is Cain the man who killed his brother in envy and the first murder and listening to earth, until being attacked by Urizen. After recovering, Spawn learns that the Greenworld had imbued him with a gift which he uses to contain Urizen by splitting the ground and imprisoning him inside the earth.

ries of the past. With no memory he wanders the Earth and during his wandering releases a group of angels who are called the Forgotten and take no sides in the war between Heaven and Hell. He discovers that Mammon is a member of the Fallen who was sent to Hell and his power is man to go to Hell. His true goal has been much greater than Malebolgiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. to take over Hell and uses Hellspawn to do Armageddon it. He betrayed Spawn and took the throne Spawn regains his memories thanks to for himself, but gave Spawn the gift of his the power of the Greenworld. His suit also human form back. evolves once more and now it seems one BD Nostalgia

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with his body but as time progresses, he begins to hate himself. Both Heaven and hell have rejected him and now he sits in the back alleys, the city streets, sitting upon a stage prop in an abandoned warehouse as maggots and other horrible insects crawl inside his body. Nesting inside the empty shell that he has become... where is he to go? His first thought is to return to the dead zone however that land is heavens territory ... and a Hellspawn is not welcomed in such lands. Immediately, upon entering Spawn is confronted by the Disciple who promptly greets Spawn by tearing his brain out and throwing his heart into the Greenworld whilst Spawn’s body is thrown to hell. Spawn is then captured and tortured by Mammon so he can understand the secrets inside him. Meanwhile when Spawn’s heart fell to the Green World, a soul was freed, as all the souls that died within the hour Al died went into the Spawn suit (thus why Malebolgia could not control Spawn). Chris meets with his mother once more as the Man of Miracles instructed him and then he travels to hell along with Sam Burke and Twitch Williams to rescue Spawn from Mammon. Spawn escapes and when he returns to earth, Signs of Armageddon begin to appear and Spawn begins looking for a way to stop it. Spawn discovers that Wanda’s twin children are responsible and he stops them from killing their entire family, but is unable to destroy them. Zera reveals that Jake is God and Katie is Satan. Spawn finds out that the Mother removed them of their powers and positions and sent them to Earth due to their hatred of each other and constant fighting. She tells him he cannot stop Armageddon, but he has the potential to be elevated to the power of a God and preserve the human race. He has to eat a piece of Forbidden Fruit

from the Garden of Eden to gain such power. She tells Spawn he must prove himself first and has to fight against the The Disciple. It is revealed that there are twelve disciples, each one representing Jesus’ disciples. His power is also weakened as

a demon is never to enter the Garden and it has taken the form of a counter starting at 9:9:9:9. However with guidance from Cyan he defeats all the Disciples except for the last Judas who Cyan tells him not to kill. He then stabs him in the heart, but the Mother gives Spawn a piece of the fruit and resurrect him. He gains a more angelic form and greater power. He returns to Earth finding it destroyed by the four Horsemen and all the humans dead and Angels and Demons in their place waiting to fight in the final battle. After defeating Zera he finds dead warriors of Heaven and one of them is GranBD Nostalgia 43

ny Blake having been betrayed by her faith. Spawn then battles the forces of Satan and God. He uses all the power given to him by the Mother to destroy the forces of Heaven and Hell and even all humanity. He has stopped Armageddon by taking away their armies; he is then killed by the two who then fight alone on Earth.

sessing the body of man named Barney Saunders. It was revealed that Saunders was having an affair with a woman named Wilma Barbara and got trapped in a garbage chute when he was trying to hide from her husband. He was there for sometime until Spawn destroyed and remade the world. He was rescued by Clown so he could use his body for himself. He then New World brought out the dark urges inside the tenHowever, Spawn comes back and by ants of an apartment building and used opening himself to the power of the Moth- this to form a doorway to Hell to bring er, resurrects everyone with the knowl- back his brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. However before he edge of what happened. He left God and could form a portal Wilma showed up and Satan to fight in their own little world his love for her allowed Saunders to take and closed the doors to Heaven, Hell and back control. He then intended to close Earth. He asked to be turned into a human the portal by going through it, but he took again by the mother, but later asked to Wilma with him due to being angry over once again become a Hellspawn. her leaving him in the chute. Zera reappeared only her head survived The New Clown and she was suspended in a jar. Spawn was After a series of odd murders Spawn summoned by a Voodoo priestess named finds that the Clown has come back pos- Mambo Suzanne. Zera was attempting to 44 BD Nostalgia

take over Nyx’s body and fight Spawn, but she was killed when Suzanne used their fighting as a distraction and threw her head into the streets where it was eaten by demon dogs. Nyx was freed and her and Spawn became friends again. Spawn later found that Ab and Zab had started a hell house where demons called sin eaters would create illusions of people’s greatest sins and feed off their guilt. After killing most of the sin eaters he found that a minister being fed on was his brother Richard and he allowed him to hallucinate to learn about his past. It was revealed that Mammon knew Al when he was younger under the name Mr. Malefick. He taught Al to kill small animals in hopes of turning him into a killer and his servant and got Richard to do drugs. Only their brother Marc wasn’t influenced by Mammon. Later Richard stabbed his drug dealer named Weasel while high and

under a spell placed by Mammon keeping them there for years. His mother is not shocked by his form, but his father is. It was revealed his mother planned with Mammon to create a hellspawn stronger than the others, but his father was grief stricken that he couldn’t stop her. He is then given a journal by his father that his mother prevented him from seeing. It revealed that his ancestor came across a hellspawn in the past known as the Gunslinger Spawn.

called his brothers for help, but Al finishes him off instead of being implicated in crime and Mammon hides the body. Nyx and Spawn then kill the last sin eater and Spawn discovers that Richard cannot remember his parents due to a spell placed by Mammon and Spawn goes to find out about them. He finds their home

eaters. They fed on the guilt giving them more power when Spawn confronted Ab and Zab he was faced with his own sin against Wanda and his unborn child. Spawn was unable to break free from the guilt and was slowly fed on by a sin eater. When Nyx interfered he was able to break a sin eater illusion. Nyx real-

The Tale of Two Brothers Ab and Zab create a hell where visitors are forced to view their deepest fears due to demons called sin eaters they feed on guilt from the visitors then making them face the evil that they had ever done. A woman who was in the house both had delusions of their fear caused by the sin

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ized that he was getting more powerful. Spawn breaks all the others illusions then he comes across one who learned is Albert Simmons brother, Richard who was going through his worst sin Spawn who was still not yet recovering from all those memories as Albert Simmons.

and tutored Albert Simmons to torture and murder small animals seemingly allowing him to become his servant who would feel no pity in taking a beings life Malefick had also influenced Richard Simmons to take drugs and introduced him to the drug dealer Weasel. It was only Marc Simmons who was able to save himSpawn decides to allow Richard to feel self from mammon but was unable to help his sins. It is realized that it was Mammon the others. Richard Simmons delusion of that put a influence on Albert Simmons his past climaxed with him stabbing and 46 BD Nostalgia

injuring Weasel with a knife that was given by Mammon while intoxicated with drugs Richard calls his brothers to help him save the drug dealers life and Albert Simmons not wanting his brothers getting in the crime decides instead of calling an ambulance and pulls the knife from Weasel’s body and kills him with it Mammon appears sending the brothers home while he hides the drug dealers body. The Monster in the Bubble The comic series during the continuation from the last issue Spawn was left helpless and at a little weakened against his enemy Erskine’s psychic powers,and although Spawn had psychic powers of his own he was in trouble due to Erskine’s creation of a tentacle creature that had the the ability of impaling his enemies. This creature also showed the features of Mammon that was coaxing. Nyx had come out of nowhere to stab the creature with a sword, but not killing the creature

mons, asking him to shoot Erskine. Erskine retaliates and ceases Marc’s attack and accidentally grabbed the trigger of Marc’s special gun causing the creature to disappear, while Spawn and Nyx go to the hospital where Erskine is. Spawn is given a opportunity of whether or not whether he should cause Erskine’s death. Which threatens Spawn to enter the bubble dome, a dimension if Erskine does not reveal the location of Mammon, who Spawn believed was causing the attacks. Mammon then appears only to complicate the situation and make things worse by allowing Erskine to complete his last murder, by using a devastating psychic projection of a strange woman to attack the last victim. After all that had happened Mammon confesses that it was him who taught Erskine how to use his powers. Which been shown in his recent killing. Erskine tries to commit suicide leaving behind his possessions of the doctor who he was taken care by after he was brought to the hospital. Spawn continues to at-

just stunning it to get it’s attention, but it was a mistake by Nyx only making herself the creatures target. Next she uses her telepathic powers to contact Marc Sim-

tacked Mammon, and ask what Mammon wanted from him. Mammon tells him that he was a special being with great divine powers. BD Nostalgia 47

Later a man wakes in a mortuary with no memory of who he is. Soon some doctors working on him discover he is alive and panic only to be killed by someone in a robe. The person was previously seen with Mammon and is revealed to be Morana. Severin is the man’s name and he finds that he is one of the first species of vampires called the Vrykolakas. However he wants to die and Morana promises him death in return for his help. While Marc, Nyx and Spawn talk Severin appears defeats Marc and Nyx and bites Spawn to transfer his vampirism. He retreats back to Morana hoping for death, but is cursed to have to go over his last few moments repeatedly for all time. It is revealed Cyan has been experiencing horrid visions mostly of her mother covered in blood and even Spawn’s current torment. Severin’s attack has caused Spawn to battle the suit in his mind. It tells him it was always in control not Al. It tells him of it’s anger of relinquishing his godlike powers and that Wanda had been having affairs before his death. The two fight in Spawn’s mind him in his human form as the suit tells him Wanda never wanted his child soon Al gives in and gets up. 48 BD Nostalgia

Meanwhile Mammon with Morana and his adopted mother and father Lucian and Daciana as they prepare for the next step in their plans. Cyan is having more visions that cause her to be scared of Spawn and after seeing her door in blood she opens it to find Spawn asking if he’s going to kill her mom. Luckily Granny had warned Cyan and she used a knife with the old shoe lace she got from Spawn to send Spawn into an illusionary world to talk to Wanda non-violently. There he speaks with Wanda while they ride on a boat in a lake. He says he wanted to move on but can’t. Wanda wonders if he could go if she forgave him but she says she cannot forgive for the death of the child but still loves the man inside him. Spawn tries to take out Cyan’s knife but only pulls out his wedding ring and some how suppresses the suit. Soon Cyan and Nyx show up and they get to the shore only for K7-Leetha to appear and take over Nyx. It says it has been working with Mammon from the start to build Spawn and in return would get to live on earth free. Now controlled by the K7 Nyx tries to kill Cyan and Wanda but is halted by Mammon who promises even more

power if it still does his wishes. The entire group goes to a castle and Mammon says his plan to make a perfect Hellspawn. He wanted the rapture so that Satan, God and Malebolgia would be gone and revealed his perfect Hellspawn was Al and Wandaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s miscarried child now Morana. He chose those two due to the fact both the families have been filled with Spawnsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; from previous times.

and the others return home save Al who jumped into a hell-dimension to be reborn as a weapon against both heaven and hell. Spawn Endgame He passes through the reality and is soon ready to enter the human dimension. He makes his way to a certain point in the alleys (probably the spot he first returned from hell) and then blows off his head. Meanwhile a man under the named Jim Downing who is without his memories and is healing (unusually fast) at a hospital. He seems to know Spawn as he was thinking about him. A janitor tries to make money off Jimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story and calls a lawyer. The lawyer then calls someone else and tells the janitor not to go to the papers and then the lawyer commits suicide. Soon a thug is payed to capture Jim. While he is talking to a nurse who prayed for his recovery the thug attacks with a flaming skull. Jim flees and they cause a massive amount of damage, but soon he catches up to Jim, but soon Jim transforms into

After washing herself in virgins blood she is now fully mature and bonds with the uniform and gets ready to consume her parents souls. With none of the most powerful being useful Cyan taps into her powers and goes to the future. She talks with an old women who gives her a message for Al. Returning she has Spawn summon the last twelve (but most powerful) members of the Legion. However they are beaten by Morana one by one. Mammon insults Al and in turn he disowns Morana enraging her and given Cyan the chance to tell Nyx a spell to trap Mammon and Morana. It works and both demons are sealed BD Nostalgia 49

Spawn and kills his attacker and then es- alizes he is a Spawn like Al. capes the burning hospital back in human On her advice he travels to Rat city and form and is taken in by the firefighters. finds Spawns throne where he ruled and is met by an angel. He ends up fighting He is later transported to another hos- the angel and calls him a traitor during pital with other patients. He later leaves the fight. Fearing the angel has done and reunites with his nurse Sara and after something to Sara he beats the angel and remembering his first transformation he leaves. Jim finds a man was asking quesbegins to turn again. He calls to Sara but tions about him and questions him to disleaves before she can see him. Meanwhile cover he works for someone named Gila reporter begins to ask questions about bert Sanchez. what happened at the hospital. Wandering The angel Spawn beat is later attacked the city he is attacked and effortlessly kills by Clown who removes her wings. When his would be killers. This draws the atten- Spawn returns heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sees the angel both tion of Sam and Twitch who recognize the powerless and insane and is surprised to chaos as something Spawn may do. find Freak and later Violator himself. Despite Freakâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s warnings Clown begins to After again reuniting with Sara and tell- deceive Jim and informs him that his suit ing him about his transformation he then is a living being but then vanishes. Clown wanders again only to run into Wanda later allows himself to be arrested by Sam Blake Al Simmons ex-wife. She recog- and Twitch to meet the leader of a vamnizes Jim as the form Al took when he pire group to attempt to form a unity beoriginally came back to earth and she re- tween the leader, Clown and Spawn. 50 BD Nostalgia

Gilbert Sanchez is later killed by other mob members for his information on the new Spawn. Spawn attempts to learn more about him but after being assaulted uses his powers on his attacker. Jim later finds the man who had been asking Sara questions. He tracks to his families home which is suddenly bombed killing everyone inside but Spawn. He is later able to find more mob members and questions them further and then finishing them when he’s done.

end the world, and he asks Jim to help him. Jim refuses and engages Omega Spawn in a battle, where Al easily gains the upper hand. Omega Spawn makes it very clear that he is superior, and informs Jim that he will never truly know what he was a part of, and he’ll never have the answers his sought, as he attempts to deliver a final blow Jim teleports himself to a hospital. He attempts to warn them of the coming threat, but is too weak. He is taken into

Return Al Simmons makes his return in the Image Universe crossover Image United. In the series he appears as the main villain. Spawn makes his appearance this time possessing a new suit with a counter reading that he has an unlimited amount of power and now calls himself “Omega Spawn”. He has showed up while many villains are attacking various heroes all over the world and meets his new replacement Jim. Al Simmons makes all his plans clear to

care by Ann Stevens. It is slowly revealed that Spawn is the one behind the sudden flow of violence all over America. Spawn Resurrection In the #250 anniversary issue of Spawn, Al Simmons will be making his return as the main Spawn once again. Wiser, smarter, and with a plan, Simmons is now in full control of his suit and his powers, as he plans on making his enemies feel what it’s like to be hunted. BD Nostalgia

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comic books this wee This work, a list of the comic books, graphic novels, and other products that should be available in your local or online comic book shop this week, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and is © 1995-2015 Charles S. LePage. PLEASE NOTE- Not all of these titles will arrive in all stores. Let me know if any of the names or numbers are wrong. Items with release dates not been verified by Diamond Distribution are individually noted. PUBLISHER TITLE, ISSUE NUMBER, PRICE IN U.S. DOLLARS (“AR” means “ask your retailer for the price”) ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT Herald Lovecraft And Tesla #3 (Of 3), $3.99 Hero Cats #4, $3.99 Planet Gigantic New World Home TP, $14.99 Stray #2 (Cover A Sean Izaakse), $3.99 Stray #2 (Cover B Shawn McGuan), $4.99 ANTARCTIC PRESS Gold Digger #219, $3.99 Littlest Zombie Summer Dead Special #1 (One Shot), $3.99 AVATAR PRESS Crossed Badlands #73 (Christian Zanier Torture Cover), $3.99 Crossed Badlands #73 (Fernando Heinz Red Crossed Incentive Cover), AR Crossed Badlands #73 (Fernando Heinz Regular Cover), $3.99 Crossed Badlands #73 (Fernando Heinz Wraparound Cover), $3.99 Crossed Badlands #73 (Michael DiPascale Fatal Fantasy Cover), $3.99 Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade American History X Wraparound Cover), $3.99 Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade Crossed Culture Cover), $3.99 Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade Design Sketch Incentive Cover), AR Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade Future Tense Cover), $3.99 Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade New World Order Wraparound Bagged Cover), $5.99 Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade Red Crossed Incentive Cover), AR Crossed Plus 100 #3 (Gabriel Andrade Regular Cover), $3.99 God Is Dead #30 (Facundo Percio Enchanting Cover), $3.99 God Is Dead #30 (German Nobile Carnage Wraparound Cover), $3.99 God Is Dead #30 (Jacen Burrows End Of Days Cover), $3.99 God Is Dead #30 (Jacen Burrows Gilded Incentive Cover), AR 60 BD Nostalgia

week God Is Dead #30 (Jacen Burrows Iconic Cover), $3.99 God Is Dead #30 (Jacen Burrows Regular Cover), $3.99 Uber #23 (Caanan White War Crimes Cover), $3.99 Uber #23 (Daniel Gete Blitzkrieg Incentive Cover), AR Uber #23 (Daniel Gete Regular Cover), $3.99 Uber #23 (Daniel Gete Wraparound Cover), $3.99 Uber #23 (Michael DiPascale Propaganda Poster Cover), $3.99 BBC BOOKS Doctor Who Time Trips The Collection HC, $29.99 BEARMANOR MEDIA Bright Lights Lonely Nights The Memories Of Serena Porn Star Pioneer Of The 1970s SC, $32.95 Superhero Confidential Volume 1 SC, $19.95 BLACK WATCH COMICS Credence Volume 1 GN (not verified by Diamond), $19.99 BLISS ON TAP I Play The Bad Guy #3 (Of 6), $3.99 BOOM! STUDIOS Adventure Time Volume 6 TP, $14.99 Amazing World Of Gumball #8 (Cover A Missy Pena), $3.99 Amazing World Of Gumball #8 (Cover B Zackary Giallongo), $3.99 Amazing World Of Gumball #8 (Cover C Ashley Davis), AR Burning Fields #1 (Colin Lorimer 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.99 Cluster #2 (Cover A Damian Couceiro), $3.99 Cluster #2 (Cover B Declan Shalvey), AR Day Men #6 (Cover A Brian Stelfreeze), $3.99 Feathers #3 (Of 6)(Cover A Jorge Corona), $3.99 Fiction Squad #6 (Of 6)(Cover A Ramon Backs), $3.99 Garfield #35 (Cover A Andy Hirsch), $3.99 Garfield #35 (Cover B Andy Hirsch), AR HaloGen #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Afu Chan), $3.99 HaloGen #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Ramon K. Perez), AR HaloGen #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Giannis Milonogiannis), AR Palmiotti And Brady’s The Big Con Job #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Amanda Conner), $3.99 Palmiotti And Brady’s The Big Con Job #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Jay Shaw), $3.99 Palmiotti And Brady’s The Big Con Job #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Trevor Hairsine), AR Palmiotti And Brady’s The Big Con Job #1 (Of 4)(Cover D Dan McDaid), AR Robocop #9 (Cover A Carlos Magno), $3.99 Steven Universe #8 (Cover A Amber Rogers), $3.99 BD Nostalgia

comic books this wee Steven Universe #8 (Cover B Melanie Herring), $3.99 Steven Universe #8 (Cover C Helen Yoon), AR Woods #11 (Cover A Michael Dialynas), $3.99 BOUNDLESS COMICS Lady Death #24 (Juan Jose Ryp VIP Ultra Premium Cover), $29.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Baseball Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Basketball Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Boxing Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Football Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Hockey Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Soccer Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Tennis Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Track Cover), $9.99 Lady Death #25 (Juan Jose Ryp Sexy Sport Volleyball Cover), $9.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #1 (Juan Jose Ryp Leather Cover), $19.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #1 Deluxe Collector Box Set, $79.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Juan Jose Ryp Alternate History Cover), $3.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Juan Jose Ryp Auxiliary Cover), $3.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Michael DiPascale Art Deco Incentive Cover), AR Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Pow Rodrix Wraparound Cover), $3.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Renato Camilo Premium Pure Art Cover), $9.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Renato Camilo Regular Cover), $3.99 Lady Death Apocalypse #2 (Renato Camilo Sultry Cover), $3.99 Lady Death Dark Horizons #1 Deluxe Collecter Box Set, $99.99 Lady Death Origins Annual #1 Deluxe Collectors Box Set, $99.99 CAPSTONE PUBLISHING How To Draw Batman Superman And Other DC Heroes And Villains SC, $14.95 CARTOON BOOKS Bone Color Edition Volume 1 Out From Boneville HC (Tribute Edition), $14.99 COMIC SHOP NEWS Comic Shop News #1446, AR DANGER ZONE Dry Spell TP, $14.99 Itty Bitty Bunnies Cavalcade Contraband TP, $11.99 DARK HORSE COMICS Angel And Faith Season 10 #12 (Cover A Scott Fischer), $3.50 Angel And Faith Season 10 #12 (Cover B Will Conrad), $3.50 62 BD Nostalgia

week Conan Volume 17 Shadows Over Kush HC, $24.99 Dead Rider TP, $14.99 Emily And The Strangers Volume 2 Breaking The Record HC, $12.99 Hellboy And The B.P.R.D. 1952 #4 (Of 5), $3.50 Lady Killer #2 (Of 5)(Joelle Jones 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $3.50 Lady Killer #3 (Of 5), $3.50 Neverboy #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Conor Nolan), $3.99 Neverboy #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Gerard Way), AR New Lone Wolf And Cub Volume 4 TP, $13.99 Rat God #2 (Of 5), $3.99 Shaolin Cowboy Shemp Buffet HC, $19.99 Terminator Enemy Of My Enemy TP, $19.99 DC COMICS Aquaman And The Others #11, $2.99 Batman And Robin #38 (Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99 Batman Eternal #48, $2.99 Dead Boy Detectives Volume 2 Ghost Snow TP, $14.99 Deathstroke #2 (Tony S. Daniel 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99 Detective Comics #40 (Brian Stelfreeze Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Detective Comics #40 (Francis Manapul Combo Pack Cover), $4.99 Detective Comics #40 (Francis Manapul Regular Cover), $3.99 Detective Comics #40 (Jenny Frison Variant Cover), AR Earth 2 #32, $2.99 Earth 2 Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s End #22, $2.99 Flash Season Zero #6, $2.99 Grayson #8 (Bill Sienkiewicz Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Grayson #8 (Mikel Janin Regular Cover), $2.99 Green Arrow #40, $2.99 Green Lantern #40 (Billy Tan Combo Pack Cover), $3.99 Green Lantern #40 (Billy Tan Regular Cover), $2.99 Green Lantern #40 (Tony Harris Movie Poster Variant Cover), AR Harley Quinn #15 (Amanda Conner Harley Quinn Variant Cover), AR Harley Quinn #15 (Amanda Conner Regular Cover), $2.99 Harley Quinn #15 (Amanda Conner Variant Cover), AR Hinterkind #16, $2.99 Infinity Man And The Forever People #8, $2.99 Justice League 3000 #15, $2.99 Justice League United Volume 1 Justice League Canada HC, $24.99 Lobo #6, $2.99 Names #7 (Of 9), $2.99 New 52 Futures End #44, $2.99 Scooby-Doo Team-Up #9, $2.99 BD Nostalgia 63

comic books this wee Swamp Thing #40, $3.99 Teen Titans Go Volume 1 Party Party TP, $12.99 Wolf Moon #4 (Of 6), $3.99 Wonder Woman #38 (David Finch & Richard Friend 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99 Y The Last Man Volume 2 TP, $19.99 DENNIS DRUKTENIS PUBLISHING Scary Monsters Magazine #96, $9.95 DESIGN STUDIO PRESS Inkworks Darren Quach Sketchbook Volume 1 SC, $19.95 DIAMOND PUBLICATIONS Game Trade Magazine #181, $3.99 DK PUBLISHING DK Adventures Marvel’s The Avengers Battle Against Ultron SC, $5.99 Marvel’s The Avengers The Ultimate Character Guide Updated And Expanded HC, $16.99 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT Altered States Vampirella #1 (One Shot)(Billy Tan Black & White Variant Cover), AR Altered States Vampirella #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Billy Tan), $3.99 Army Of Darkness Volume 4 #4 (Cover A Gabriel Hardman), $3.99 Army Of Darkness Volume 4 #4 (Cover B Tim Seeley), $3.99 Army Of Darkness Volume 4 #4 (Cover C Nacho Tenorio), $3.99 Army Of Darkness Volume 4 #4 (Gabriel Hardman Black & White Variant Cover), AR Army Of Darkness Volume 4 #4 (Nacho Tenorio Black & White Variant Cover), AR Army Of Darkness Volume 4 #4 (Tim Seeley Black & White Variant Cover), AR Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Ardian Syaf Black & White Variant Cover), AR Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Cover A Mike Mayhew), $3.99 Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Cover B Dietrich Smith), $3.99 Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Cover C Livio Ramondelli), $3.99 Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Cover D Ardian Syaf), $3.99 Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Dietrich Smith Black & White Variant Cover), AR Battlestar Galactica Death Of Apollo #4 (Of 6)(Dietrich Smith Red Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Blank Authentix Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Colton Worley Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Jae Lee), $3.99 Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Tula Lotay), $3.99 Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Cover C Declan Shalvey), $3.99 Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Cover D Jason Howard), $3.99 Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Declan Shalvey Black & White Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Declan Shalvey Virgin Variant Cover), AR 64 BD Nostalgia

week Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Gabriel Hardman Black & White Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Gabriel Hardman Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Jae Lee Black & White Variant Cover), AR Blackcross #1 (Of 6)(Jae Lee Virgin Variant Cover), AR Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Ardian Syaf Black & White Variant Cover), AR Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Jay Anacleto), $3.99 Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Fabiano Neves), $3.99 Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Ardian Syaf), $3.99 Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Cover D Lucio Parillo), $3.99 Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Fabiano Neves Black & White Variant Cover), AR Blood Queen Vs Dracula #1 (Of 4)(Jay Anacleto Black & White Variant Cover), AR Dawn Vampirella #3 (Of 6)(Joseph Michael Linsner Virgin Variant Cover), AR Frank Thorneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Red Sonja Art Edition Volume 2 HC (Frank Thorne Signed Edition), $300.00 King Mandrake The Magician #1 (Of 4)(Darwyn Cooke Virgin Variant Cover), AR Legenderry Green Hornet #1 (Of 5)(Joe Benitez Virgin Variant Cover), AR Pathfinder Origins #1 (Of 6)(Stjepan Sejic Virgin Variant Cover), AR E-COMIX Pussycats #0 (Of 4), $3.99 EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS Marvel Chess Figurine Collection Magazine #24 (Ant-Man White Pawn), $16.00 Marvel Chess Figurine Collection Magazine #25 (Black Widow White Pawn), $16.00 FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS Inner City Romance TP, $24.99 FUTURE DUDE Parallel Man #6 (Of 7)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99 HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE Heavy Metal #273, $7.95 IDW PUBLISHING Cartoon Network Super Secret Crisis War Volume 2 TP, $19.99 Diamond Island TP, $29.99 G.I. JOE #6 (Cover A Jeffrey Veregge), $3.99 G.I. JOE #6 (Cover SUB Dheeraj Verma), $3.99 Godzilla Rulers Of Earth #21 (Cover A Jeff Zornow), $3.99 Godzilla Rulers Of Earth #21 (Cover SUB Matt Frank), $3.99 Monster Motors The Curse Of Minivan Helsing #1 (Of 2)(Cover A Nick Roche), $3.99 My Little Pony Friends Forever #14 (Cover A Amy Mebberson), $3.99 My Little Pony Friends Forever #14 (Cover SUB Agnes Garbowska), $3.99 BD Nostalgia 65

comic books this wee Powerpuff Girls Super Smash-Up #2 (Of 6)(Cover A Derek Charm), $3.99 Powerpuff Girls Super Smash-Up #2 (Of 6)(Cover SUB Brooke A. Allen), $3.99 Robert Heinlein’s Citizen Of The Galaxy #1 (Of 3)(Cover A Eric Gignac), $3.99 Shadow Show #4 (Of 5)(Cover A Chris Wildgoose), $3.99 Shadow Show #4 (Of 5)(Cover SUB Shane Pierce), $3.99 Silent Hill Downpour Anne’s Story TP, $17.99 Star Trek New Visions Volume 5 A Scent Of Ghosts (Cover A John Byrne), $7.99 Star Trek Planet Of The Apes #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Rachael Stott), $3.99 Star Trek Planet Of The Apes #3 (Of 5)(Cover RI Photo), AR Star Trek Planet Of The Apes #3 (Of 5)(Cover SUB Kevin Wada), $3.99 Transformers #38 (Cover A Andrew Griffith), $3.99 Transformers #38 (Cover RI Jeffrey Veregge), AR Transformers #38 (Cover SUB Casey W. Coller), $3.99 Transformers Animated The Complete Allspark Almanac TP, $39.99 Transformers More Than Meets The Eye #38 (Cover A Alex Milne), $3.99 Transformers More Than Meets The Eye #38 (Cover RI Jeffrey Veregge), AR Transformers More Than Meets The Eye #38 (Cover SUB Nick Roche), $3.99 Transformers Primacy TP, $17.99 Winterworld #0 (Cover A Tommy Lee Edwards), $3.99 Winterworld #0 (Cover SUB Butch Guice), $3.99 X-Files Year Zero TP, $19.99 IMAGE COMICS 68 Jungle Jim Guts N Glory #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Nat Jones & Jay Fotos), $3.99 68 Jungle Jim Guts N Glory #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Nate Van Dyke & Jay Fotos), $3.99 Alex + Ada Volume 2 TP, $12.99 Big Man Plans #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Eric Powell), $3.50 Big Man Plans #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Lee Bermejo), AR Big Man Plans #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Eric Powell), AR Birthright Volume 1 Homecoming TP, $9.99 Black Science #12 (Cover A Matteo Scalera & Moreno Dinisio), $3.50 Black Science #12 (Cover B Sean Gordon Murphy), $3.50 Dark Engine #5, $3.50 Descender #1 (Cover A Dustin Nguyen), $2.99 Descender #1 (Cover B Jeff Lemire), $2.99 Dying And The Dead #1 (Ryan Bodenheim 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $4.50 Egos #6, $2.99 God Hates Astronauts #6 (Cover A Ryan Browne), $3.50 God Hates Astronauts #6 (Cover B Tradd Moore), $3.50 Nailbiter Hack Slash Hack Slash Nailbiter #1 (One Shot), $4.99 Nailbiter Volume 2 Bloody Hands TP, $14.99 Nameless #1 (Chris Burnham 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $2.99 Nameless #2 (Cover A Chris Burnham), $2.99 66 BD Nostalgia

week Nameless #2 (Cover B James Flames Ghost Variant), AR Rat Queens #9, $3.50 Revival #28, $3.99 Saga #26, $2.99 Supreme Blue Rose #7, $2.99 Walking Dead #115 (Charlie Adlard NYCC Variant Cover)(Stefano Gaudiano Signed Edition)(Dynamic Forces), AR INSIGHT EDITIONS Game Of Thrones The Poster Collection Volume 2 SC, $24.99 KODANSHA COMICS xxxHOLIC Omnibus Volume 5 TP, $19.99 LERNER PUBLISHING GROUP Other Side Of The Wall GN, $9.99 LUCASBOOKS Star Wars Heir To The Jedi HC, $28.00 MANUSCRIPT PRESS Comics Revue Presents February 2015, $19.95 MARVEL COMICS All-New Hawkeye #1 (Blank Variant Cover), AR All-New Hawkeye #1 (Jeff Lemire Variant Cover), AR All-New Hawkeye #1 (Ramon K. Perez Regular Cover), $3.99 All-New Hawkeye #1 (Sho Murase Women Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR All-New Hawkeye #1 (Skottie Young Variant Cover), AR Angela Asgardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Assassin #4, $3.99 Avengers #42 (Elena Casagrande Woman Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR Avengers #42 (Scott Kolins Regular Cover), $3.99 Avengers Volume 5 Adapt Or Die TP, $19.99 Avengers World #18, $3.99 Death Of Wolverine The Weapon X Program TP, $19.99 Guardians Team-Up #1 (Arthur Adams Regular Cover), $3.99 Guardians Team-Up #1 (Jose Ladronn Inhumans 50th Anniversary Variant Cover), AR Guardians Team-Up #1 (Pasqual Ferry Variant Cover), AR Guardians Team-Up #1 (Skottie Young Variant Cover), AR Hawkeye Vs Deadpool TP, $16.99 Hulk #12, $3.99 Iron Fist The Living Weapon #10, $3.99 Marvel Masterworks Captain America Volume 1 HC (New Printing), $49.99 BD Nostalgia 67

comic books this wee Marvel Masterworks Daredevil Volume 1 HC (New Printing), $49.99 Marvelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ant-Man Prelude #2 (Of 2), $2.99 Marvelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avengers Age Of Ultron Prelude TP, $16.99 Miracleman #16 (Esteban Maroto Variant Cover), AR Miracleman #16 (Garry Leach Variant Cover), AR Miracleman #16 (John Totleben Regular Cover), $5.99 Operation S.I.N. #3 (Of 5), $3.99 Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Alex Ross Sketch Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Alex Ross Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Blank Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Butch Guice Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(J. Scott Campbell Connecting Variant Cover C), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(John Cassaday Teaser Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(John Tyler Christopher Action Figure Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Mark Brooks Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Movie Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Skottie Young Variant Cover), AR Princess Leia #1 (Of 5)(Terry Dodson Regular Cover), $3.99 Return Of The Living Deadpool #2 (Of 4), $3.99 Rocket Raccoon #9 (Janet Lee Women Of Marvel Variant Cover), AR Rocket Raccoon #9 (Skottie Young Regular Cover), $3.99 Spider-Woman #5 (Javier Rodriguez Regular Cover), AR Spider-Woman #5 (Kris Anka Design Variant Cover), AR Spider-Woman #5 (Kris Anka Variant Cover), AR Spider-Woman #5 (Siya Oum Variant Cover), AR Star Wars #2 (Sergio Aragones Variant Cover), AR Super-Villains Unite The Complete Super-Villain Team Up TP, $34.99 Wolverines #9, $3.99 X-Men #25 (Jim Cheung Variant Cover), AR X-Men #25 (Jorge Molina Regular Cover), $3.99 MCFARLAND Ages Of The Avengers SC, $40.00 ONE PEACE BOOKS Whispered Words Volume 3 GN, $16.95 PERFECT SQUARE LBX The Super LBX Volume 4 GN, $9.99 Pokemon Adventures Volume 27 GN, $9.99 Pokemon The Movie Diancie And The Cocoon Of Destruction GN, $9.99 Pokemon XY Volume 2 GN, $4.99 68 BD Nostalgia

week REDAN PUBLISHING Ultimate Spider-Man Magazine #2, $4.99 RENEGADE ARTS ENTERTAINMENT Shame Volume 3 Redemption GN, $9.99 SQPINC Guilty Pleasures Pin-Ups By Keith Garvey SC, $14.95 STONE ARCH BOOKS Dino-Mike And T. Rex Attack Volume 1 MMPB, $5.95 SUPER GENIUS WWE Superstars Volume 3 Legends TP, $12.99 THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS Walking Dead Volume 4 The Fall Of The Governor Part 2 MMPB, $7.99 TINTO PRESS Short And Merciless Stories GN (not verified by Diamond), $12.99 TITAN COMICS Doctor Who The Tenth Doctor #8 (Mariano Laclaustra Regular Cover), $3.99 Doctor Who The Tenth Doctor #8 (Subscription Photo Cover), $3.99 Doctor Who The Eleventh Doctor #9 (Brian Williamson Regular Cover), $3.99 Doctor Who The Eleventh Doctor #9 (Subscription Photo Cover), $3.99 Dragons The Riders Of Berk Volume 4 The Stowaway GN, $6.99 Penguins Of Madagascar #4 (Of 4)(not verified by Diamond), $3.99 TOMART PUBLICATIONS, Tomarts Action Figure Digest #206, $6.00 UDON ENTERTAINMENT Super Street Fighter Volume 2 Hyper Fighting HC, $34.95 VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT Imperium #2 (Cover A Raul Allen), $3.99 Imperium #2 (Cover B Doug Braithwaite), $3.99 Imperium #2 (Cover C Butch Guice), $3.99 Imperium #2 (Cover D Lewis Larosa), AR Imperium #2 (Cover E Doug Braithwaite), AR Unity Volume 4 The United TP, $14.99 X-O Manowar #34 (Cover A Lewis Larosa), $3.99 BD Nostalgia 69

comic books this wee X-O Manowar #34 (Cover B Jorge Molina), $3.99 X-O Manowar #34 (Cover C Das Pastoras), AR X-O Manowar #34 (Cover D Jorge Molina), AR X-O Manowar #34 (Cover E Butch Guice), AR VIZ MEDIA 07-Ghost Volume 15 GN, $9.99 Arata The Legend Volume 21 GN, $9.99 Claymore Volume 26 GN, $9.99 D.Gray-Man 3-In-1 Edition Volume 6 TP, $14.99 Dragon Ball 3-In-1 Edition Volume 8 TP, $14.99 Eyeshield 21 Volume 1 GN (New Printing), $9.99 Kamisama Kiss Volume 17 GN, $9.99 Kiss Of The Rose Princess Volume 3 GN, $9.99 Naruto Volume 69 GN, $9.99 Nisekoi False Love Volume 8 GN, $9.99 Oresama Teacher Volume 18 GN, $9.99 Ranma 1/2 2-In-1 Edition Volume 7 TP, $14.99 Requiem Of The Rose King Volume 1 GN, $9.99 Resident Evil Marhawa Desire Volume 3 GN, $12.99 Rin-Ne Volume 17 GN, $9.99 Seraph Of The End Vampire Reighn Volume 4 GN, $9.99 Skip Beat 3-In-1 Edition Volume 10 TP, $14.99 Terra Formars Volume 5 GN, $12.99 Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s Volume 7 GN, $9.99 ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Warlord Of Oz HC, $24.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents White Queen #2 (Cover A Paolo Pantalena), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents White Queen #2 (Cover B Sabine Rich), $3.99 Grimm Fairy Tales Presents White Queen #2 (Cover C Billy Tucci), $3.99 Zombies Vs Cheerleaders 2015 St Patty’s Day Edition (Cover A DW Miller), $3.99 Zombies Vs Cheerleaders 2015 St Patty’s Day Edition (Cover B Andrea Errico), $3.99 Zombies Vs Cheerleaders 2015 St Patty’s Day Edition (Cover C Pasquale Qualano), $3.99 Zombies Vs Cheerleaders 2015 St Patty’s Day Edition (Cover D Jason Metcalf), $3.99

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Anime/Manga - News Resident Evil Volume 3 Missing and presumed dead in an accident three months ago, Marhawa Academy student Nanan Yoshihara has returned but is now horribly transformed! Ricky, shocked by the grotesque creature she has become, has no choice but to defend himself. The mysterious hooded woman overwatching everything makes her report—“Test subject C-16, engaged.” The truth is revealed and Ricky fights for his life, but the monsters the students have become may overwhelm him…

covers of the month

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“Kamisama Kiss By Charles Solomon Based on a manga by Julietta Suzuki, Kamisama Kiss (2012) offers a skewed take on the “magical girl” genre. Like most anime heroines, Nanami thinks of herself as an ordinary high school girl, although she has some unusual problems. Her classmates make fun of her because her father abandoned her after racking up staggering gambling debts. She ends up evicted and homeless. As she sits alone with her belongings in a nearby park, she helps a bespectacled stranger named Mikage, who’s terrified by a stray dog. In return for her aid, Mikage kisses her paternally on the forehead and casually offers her the use of his unoccupied home. Having nowhere else to go, Nanami walks to what she assumed would be a house, but is actually a run-down shrine. She’s greeted as the mistress of the shrine by the exuberant, diminutive keepers, Onikiri and Kotetsu. Mikage’s kiss transformed Nanami into a “Land God,” but her powers are undeveloped and weak. It’s her duty to learn how to use them to help the people who offer prayers at the shrine. But first she has to contend with Tomoe, an icily effete fox-spirit who served as Mikage’s famliar. Fussy and snobbish, he sniffs at Nanami’s weakness. But when she manages to kiss him as they fall from a tree, he becomes her familiar, bound to aid and obey her in every way he can. Between her work at the shrine and misad-

ventures at school, Nanami keeps Tomoe busy. Pop idol Shinjiro Kurama thrills all the girls when he starts attending high school. But his interactions with Nanami reveal he’s actually a powerful crow tengu. (Tengu, forest goblins in Japanese folklore, often have avian characteristics.) But he’s no match for Tomoe, who turns him into an ostrich. Nanami has to restrain him from roasting and serving the hapless singer. When an odd white snake appears at school, Nanami carries it out of the building to safety in the surrounding garden. He turns out to be Mizuki, the familiar of a drowned shrine. Touched by Nanami’s kindess, he decides to marry her and keep her forever in an alternate world. Once again, it’s Tomoe to the rescue. Before long, Nanami and Tomoe start falling in love in spite themselves, a classic anime pattern. But love between humans and supernatural spirits is strictly forbidden, so there are complications. At times, Kamisama Kiss may remind viewers of Rumiko Takahashi’s popular “feudal fairy tale” Inuyasha (2000). But Kamisama is a broad comedy that lacks the depth of feeling Takahashi gave her characters. Nanami is flighty to the point of near-hysteria and lacks Kagome’s solid, sensible core. The orchidaceous Tomoe is devoid of Inuyasha’s rough-and-tumble charm. The misadventures of Nannami and Tomoe are often funny, but they’re so frantic, it’s wearying to watch more than one or two at a time. BD Nostalgia 73

Anime/Manga - News Fudatsuki no Kyoko-chan

Summary: Fudatsuki Kenji is known in school for two things: for being a delinquent and for having a sister complex. He constantly follows his sister Kyoko around, fixing her giant ribbon and chasing off any boys who

might be interested in her. However, the truth is much stranger than people believe. He actually doesn’t have a crush on his sister-- in fact, he likes Hibino, the only girl in class who isn’t afraid of him. The problem is that his sister is literally a monster. She’s a jiangshi (vampire), who is much stronger than an ordinary person and who needs a certain amount of blood from 74 BD Nostalgia

Kenji each day. Her ribbon keeps her in check, but if it comes off, she instinctively attacks the nearest person. Her ribbon also has a huge affect on her personality. With the ribbon, she’s irritable and sharp-tempered, but without it, she’s extremely sweet and apologetic (while she attacks). Will Kenji be able to keep his sister from hurting anyone, and maybe find some way to overcome his sister-complex reputation enough to have a chance with Hibino?

My summary Basically this manga has no real goal other than the face that Kenji loves Hibino (class president) and will try his best to show off to her. However the way this manga the situation seems to never change or progresses really slowly kinda like, Nisekoi (great manga btw read it). Everyone in his school claims or assumes through the many actions of Kenji that he is a siscon (siscone = brother loves sister). But he doesn’t really have these feelings, the reason being so, is that the sister has gotta keep her ribben on at all times. By now you must be like WHAAT?, what does that mean? in a small nutshell, she is a vampire that looses control and sucks blood of humans, however she is somehow given this ribbon (the history is not shown in the manga) that keeps her undercontrol to not suck other peoples blood. However if she does not suck blood she will be paralysed and eventually will die. Back to the manga, this has a sort of feel where there will be sequences of events that will be entertaining to read. So overall I’ll give it 8.5. Give this manga a try there are only a few chapters so it won’t burn your time

Maid Sama!

Misaki X Takumi forever!!!! I loved this sooooooooooooooooo much I just love them and I so terribly hated it ending with just a kiss after fireworks in the anime. This made me sooo happy to read completely and it to have a happy ending!! Its so sad to know its over now and i really want to just purchase the anga so i can

keep it forever. Its my number one favoirte anime/manga literally! Its so funny, and dramatic times and just lovely. It fit my personal tastes to a T and I just love the plot design and characters. The ending was weird to see them having grown up but it was worth reading and seeing them married and still themselves no matter the age... ahhhh! A MUST READ! BD Nostalgia 75

Anime/Manga - News

An Introduction to Osamu Tezuka February 9, 2015 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Osamu Tezuka’s death. His career in the manga industry spanned five decades, from the early days of the akahon market to the industry’s zenith, when comics accounted for nearly 40% of all books sold in Japan. Over the course of his life, Tezuka produced more than 150,000 pages of manga; created such iconic characters as Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Black Jack; launched a manga magazine and an animation studio; and mentored such artists as Hiroshi Fujimoto and Shotaro Ishimonori. The extent of Tezuka’s influence on Japanese visual culture is hard to understate; few modern creators have had such a profound impact on the medium 76 BD Nostalgia

in which they worked. In Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga (1996), Frederik L. Schodt argues that Tezuka’s most important legacy was the story comic, “an intricate novelistic format” that anticipated the long-running stories in Weekly Shonen Jump, Morning, and Nakayoshi (234). Tezuka’s first story comics — New Treasure Island (1947), Jungle Emperor (1950-54), Astro Boy (1952-68), Princess Knight (1953-56) — were aimed at children, but his later work demonstrated that the format was well-suited to exploring adult themes, too. Tezuka also pioneered a new way of drawing stories. As Schodt explains, Te-

zuka borrowed techniques from Walt Disney films “to create a sense of motion with his page layouts” — in essence, to bring the movie-going experience to the printed

sequences, and Freudian sex scenes. I also love his ambition: many of his stories — especially from the later stages of his career — have the sweep and social conscience of a Tolstoy novel, but the lurid, trashy soul of a Brian DePalma thriller. Whenever I read one of Tezuka’s books, however, I’m reminded of the social, cultural, and temporal distance between his world and mine, even when I’m engrossed in the story and invested in the characters. Reading Swallowing the Earth (1968), for example, I was confronted by images that upset me. As a feminist, I winced at Te-

page (235). Tezuka’s example proved exceptionally powerful; the dynamic, visually-driven storytelling of Astro Boy and New Treasure Island continue to influence contemporary artists, especially in the world of shonen manga. Tezuka would have been pleased, I think, to see how widely his stories are being read today, both in Japan and throughout Asia, the Americas, and Europe. In the United States alone, eighteen of Tezuka’s manga have been adapted for English-speaking audiences, Astro Boy, Black Jack (1973-83), and Phoenix (1956-89) among them. Through these translations, I’ve developed a complicated relationship with Tezuka’s work. I love his art: his fluid layouts, his brilliant caricatures, his tripped-out dream

zuka’s depiction of Polynesian women as Hottentot Venuses, libidinous monsters with enormous lips and grotesquely rounded bodies. As an American, I struggled through Earth‘s racial warfare subplot with BD Nostalgia 77

Anime/Manga - News

a mixture of dismay and horror: how could Even when it infuriates me — as passages someone as fundamentally humane as Te- in Apollo’s Song (1970), Ayako (1972-73), and The Book of Human Insects (1970) have done — I’m still irresistibly drawn to his work. I admire Tezuka’s willingness to wrestle with the dark side of human nature, to create heroes and villains of genuine moral complexity. I also admire Tezuka’s playful side: his tendency to break the fourth wall, write himself into stories, bestow Dickensian names on his characters, and draw elaborate crowd scenes that would have made Busby Berkeley green with envy. In the last ten years, there’s been an explosion of English-language articles and books aimed at readers like me, fans who recognize Tezuka’s important role in shaping the modern anime and manga industries, but want to learn more about his life, career, and artistic process. Helen McCarthy’s The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga (2009) is an excellent example of this trend; though she meticulously explains Tezuka’s star system and elucidates recurring themes in his work, zuka unwittingly tap into white supremacist she argues that Tezuka was “first and forefantasy when dramatizing the injustice of most a maker of popular entertainment,” and should be understood as such. segregation? 78 BD Nostalgia

The complexity and size of Tezuka’s oeuvre has inspired American scholars to write about him as well. Flip through a vo-

lume of Mechademia, or browse the Asian Studies aisle at your local bookstore, and you’ll find scholars writing about Tezuka’s artistic legacy from a variety of perspectives. Some of these works — such as Natsu Onoda Power’s God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-WWII Manga (2009) — make a conscious effort to bridge the gap between Ivory Tower and fandom, while others are clearly intended for academic audiences. The goal of this month’s Manga Movable Feast is to create a space where all of Tezuka’s admirers — fans, critics, and scholars — can interact, sharing their reactions to his work, assessing his artistic legacy, reviewing titles new and old, and engaging with the messier, more problematic aspects of his work.

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Encyclopedia:

gundam part 6

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After War Gundam X 82 BD Nostalgia

The seventh Gundam TV series, After War Gundam X (Kidou Shinseiki Gundam X, lit. “Mobile New Century Gundam X”), remains the shortest full series to date. An apocalyptic war saw every space colony drop to Earth and kill off 99% of the planet’s human population. Fifteen years later (AW 0015), the Earth has begun to recover from this tragic war. A group of wasteland scavengers, known as “Vultures”, finds itself on a hunt to protect Newtypes, but after group member Garrod Ran saves a young female Newtype, they stumble upon a “fifteen-year-old nightmare”: the Gundam X. This discovery sets off a chain of events that threatens humanity with extinction once again... While scheduled for forty-nine episodes, Gundam X ended up with only thirty-nine due to executive meddling. Even though the show’s final arc played out over a compressed three episodes (instead of the planned twelve episodes), it still wrapped up with a coherent (albeit rushed) ending. The show also maintained an optimistic

tone despite the subject matter. The manga sequel, Under the Moonlight, became quite popular and ran for several years; appearances by the show’s Gundams and cast in the Super Robot Wars games also helped it gain more popularity in (ironically) the new century, and it’s been a particular mainstay of SRW Z. Abandon Ship: The Freeden’s crew escapes on jeeps after ramming an enemy battleship to clear Garrod’s way into space so that he can rescue Tiffa. A Day In The Lime Light: Episode 15 focuses on Roybea and Witz and their background, with no other members of the main cast appearing. After the End: Referenced in the title itself. A massive Colony Drop (almost every Colony dropped to Earth) almost wiped out humanity before the series even began. Welcome to a Planetary scope and Species Extinction scale Apocalypse How. Alternate Continuity/Alternate Universe: In addition to its status as an alternate Gundam timeline, the series’ backstory strongly resembles a worst-case scenario version of the original series. BD Nostalgia 83

Ambiguous Disorder: Tiffa fixates on her creepy drawings, and her loose-fitting wardrobe looks like something a girl with sensory integration issues would wear. Par for the course with Newtype kids, really, though. Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: The dolphins that Tiffa befriends have this attitude and dislike humans because of the constant wars they’ve waged with each other. (Science Marches On regarding this. Since the anime aired in 1996, it’s been well-observed that dolphins are not so noble.) Arc Words: The Moon. Either “the moon is still there” or “you will die without seeing the moon” or something else cryptic. Of course, the Moon is the power source for the Gundam X’s Wave Motion Gun, but there’s more to it than mere weapory. Like the fact that the “first” Newtype is there. Attack Drone: More like Mobile-Suitsized Attack Drones: the G-Bits. Too bad Jamil shoots them down after they help him fend off a horde of grunts. Badass: The Captain Jamil Neate - what can you say about someone who is as jaded 84 BD Nostalgia

as an older Amuro Ray, wears Quattro Bajeena’s sunglasses and knocks some sense into those who need it a la Bright Noah, all the while sporting Hotblooded Sideburns? Beta Test Baddie: The Frost brothers are category F Newtypes and were rejected by the Federation because their Psychic Powers weren’t strong enough. But What About the Astronauts?: For the majority of the series, all the action takes place on Earth and the rising New Earth Federation is focused on just that, Earth. It’s clear that there’s something going on with the Moon, but it’s not until quite late in the show that we learn there are space colonies that survived the apocolypse as well. Armies Are Evil: The heroes of the show are part of a group that is roughly analogous to pirates. Most of the official and major armed factions are either misled (like Fort Severn’s militia under Nomoa Long) or plain awful (like the New Earth Federation, which stirs up an ethnic conflict to get their way). Roybea outright refuses to work with a standing national army in the

Estard arc, even though Estard’s is one of the least malevolent. Artistic License – Nuclear Physics: Defunct nuclear reactors behave the same way as nuclear bombs. Apparently if you breathe on something too hard in there, they’ll cause a second sunrise (and two of them do). Badass Normal: Garrod, who has no Newtype powers and frequently fights Cyber-Newtypes. Witz and Roybea are in the same situation.

Bait-and-Switch Credits: Unlike what the opening would lead you to believe, only a handful of episodes in the final stretch take place in space. The Frieden is also a land vehicle and is destroyed just prior to Garrod reaching space. Beach Episode: Episode 16, because Tiffa sense a Newtype at the shore. Naturally, it’s a good reason for everyone else to get into swimsuits. Beware the Superman: An midway example of this trope in that the existence of Newtypes has made the world worse off, but this is primarily because of opportunistic politicians and militaries exploiting the concept of Newtypes to advance their own agendas rather than anything the Newtypes

themselves want. BFG: The GX’s Satellite Cannon, the X Divider’s Harmonica Cannon, Double X’s Twin Satellite Cannon, and the Satellite Launcher, which requires both Ashtaron Hermit Crab (the launcher itself) and Virsago Chest Break (the Microwave absorbing apparatus) to connect with each other before it can be used. The Hermit Crab’s Satellite Cannon can be used by itself in the G-Generation series of games, however it packs a much weaker punch than if used in tandem with the Virsago Chest Break. Big Brother Instinct: Subverted because the younger brother is the one who fiercely adores and protects the other. Blade Run: Variation, the Correl does this to the Double X’s beam rifle. Book End: The series begins and ends with two Federation soldiers boasting about being Newtypes who fought in the previous war. Variant: The title of the first episode is the question ‘Is There a Moon?’, and the title of the final episode is the reassurance that ‘The Moon Will Always Be There’. Broken Bird: Ennil El. Jamil is a rare male version of this. Brought Down to Normal: Jamil suffered brain damage & lost his Newtype powers during the war. We later learn that the same thing happened to his rival, Lancerow Dowell. Canon Immigrant: SD Gundam G Generation introduced the Gundam Belphagor, a brother unit to the GX, Airmaster, and Leopard, and the basis of the Frosts’ Gundams. It later joined X canon thanks to sequel manga Under the Moonlight. The Captain: Jamil is this for the majority of the show, until he regains his piloting ability and is upgraded to near-Sixth Ranger status. The Cavalry: Garrod, and occasionally the entire Frieden crew, are routinely saved by everything from Newtype dolphins to Pala’s G-Falcon to Carris Nautilus. Char Clone: Jamil Neate was designed as this, although he also shows a little BD Nostalgia 85

Bright Noa. Lancerow was to Jamil during the 7th Space War what Char was to Amuro during the One Year War. The Frost Brothers are Dragons With An Agenda and are the foil to the protagonist, and Shagia is the pilot of a red mobile suit. Chivalrous Pervert: Roybea Roy, hits on many girls and cares for all of them... but never seems to enter a serious relationship with anyone. He does, however, finally get lucky at series’s end. Colony Drop: This is Gundam, after all, and X has the biggest one in the franchise; the backstory is that numerous colonies were successfully dropped, to the point that humanity itself is an endangered species. Cool Big Sis: Lucille Lilliant. Before her Girl in a Box years. Cool Shades: Jamil wears them. He ditches them at the start of the last episode, though. Cozy Catastrophe: Sure, the world’s been thoroughly trashed by the last war. But for a post-apocalyptic wasteland, things are looking up. 86 BD Nostalgia

Dark-Skinned Blond: Toniya. Death of a Thousand Cuts: The Correl (see Fragile Speedster below) is armed with nothing but a weak beam dagger, meaning this is the only way it can destroy an enemy MS (they even say the trope name). Die or Fly: The Frost brothers sic potential Newtypes on the Double X in the Estard arc on the principle that it takes a lifeor-death battle for the abilities to emerge. It only works for the final pilot. And since the Frosts want to kill all Newtypes, they shoot him on his return. Disaster Scavengers: Most people on Earth. Hence the term “Vultures”, although there are plenty of individuals (like Garrod, at the start of the series) working on their own. Disk One Final Boss: The battle in episode 4 and 5. The way Episode 5 ends makes you think the show ended here... until the black screen with white letters saying PREVIEW comes up. And if you didn’t know there are 39 episodes. Downer Beginning: The 7th Space War destroyed most of the world and its popu-

lation, leaving mostly Shell Shocked Veterans and children to pick up the pieces. Banditry and piracy are rampant, and most people are living by the skin of their teeth. The End of the World as We Know It: See Colony Drop, which was so extensive that it exterminated over 99% of humanity. Everyone Can See It: Between Garrod and Tiffa, so much so that several episodes feature Shipper on Deck moments revolving around the two. Evolving Credits: In the first opening, Dreams, Gundam X’s appearance changes to that of the X-Divider after being rebuilt in the aftermath of the fight against Carris. It also promotes the Frost brothers to the opening as well. The opening changes again, showing the silhouette of Gundam Double X once they start mentioning it. The second opening, Resolution, changes once, replacing Leopard with Leopard Destroy as well as briefly showing the G-Falcon. Expy: Lancerow Dowell is the requisite Char Clone, but Jamil is the series’ first ever Amuro Clone (with Quattro’s shades, a less crippling version of Kamille’s brain injury and Bright’s pimp hand). Ennil El even has a few trappings of Ramba Ral in her, down to using blue robots and bonding with Toniya over some drinks with neither one realizing who the other is. Ennil also shares Ramba’s affinity for grenades. Fortunately, it ends much better for her. In the realm of mecha there’s the Leopard, which is an as-close-to-blatant-butnot-really Expy to Heavyarms. Down to the knife. This is even lampshaded in Super Robot Wars. Lancerow may be A CHAR, but physically he looks like a redheaded Trieze Khushrenada. Ironically, one of Treize’s aides late in Gundam Wing looks like Olba, though this may have been intentional (as with G Gundam’s final episodes). The G-Falcon unit is similar in form and functionality to that of the G-Armor, only the G-Falcon was built to support three Gundam Class Mobile Suits instead of a prototype.

Garrod Ran has also been described as what Judau Ashta from Gundam ZZ would be like as a Badass Normal. Fake-Out Make-Out: Ennil and Dr. Tex Farzenberg do this to escape from the Feds. Fantastic Racism: The Space Revolutionary Army is big on the “spacenoid master race” philosophy. They even intend to wipe out humans on Earth. Fictional Country: Due to the distant future and post-apocalyptic setting, like San Angelino in California, then Estard and its neighbors (somewhere in Southeast Asia). Final Solution: Two attempted ones. The Frost brothers wish to wipe out all Newtypes out of a personal vendetta, having been rejected for not being Newytpe enough themselves. Seidal Rasso wants to wipe out all humans on Earth. Garrod and Pala put a stop to it. Foreign Language Theme: The first ending theme (“Human Touch”), sung in English (by Warren Wiebe). Forgotten Superweapon: The titular Gundam. Gundams themselves, while rare, are not the singular quantity that they are in most series—however, the X’s Satellite Cannon is, and it’s capable of melting huge chunks of the landscape into glass. Comes Great Responsibility most definitely applies. Fragile Speedster: The Correl, a Mobile Suit stripped of all excess weight, giving it insane running speed. After doing a fine job nearly totaling the Double X, it gets blown to bits. By VULCANS. Frontier Doctor: Tex Farzenberg. Also a Warrior Therapist. Funbag Airbag: Happens twice with Garrod and Pala. Genki Girl: Toniya and Pala. Get a Hold of Yourself Man: Jamil (and Dr. Farzenberg) does this to Garrod more than once in the series when the kid goes out of line. Mind you, Jamil even passes on this epic manly philosophy into Garrod before Garrod faces Carris once more in a manner most awesome: “When a man strays BD Nostalgia 87

from the right path, a kind man needs the courage to raise his fist and correct him.” Garrod doesn’t actually punch people to get them into shape, but his actions after Jamil’s advice prove that those words really did have a positive effect on him. Ghibli Hills: Occasionally, in parts of the world that weren’t so devastated. Witz’s agrarian hometown is one example. Girl in a Box: Poor Lucille. Global Currency: Averted. In episode 20, when the Frieden arrives at a prosperous port city, the crew is shown exchanging their currency at a booth. Grand Theft Me: Since she’s kept inside a capsule, Lucille uses her powers to possess Tiffa’s body and use her as a medium so she can reach for her “little brother” Jamil. Green Aesop: The two episodes where the Freeden takes on a quest to save a Newtype dolphin and her pod from having their brains harvested for pirates’ navicomputers. Grenade Hot Potato: During the escape from the Feddies, one of them lobs a grenade at the crew. They simply yell “You threw it too early!” and kick it back, where it detonates. Gundam Jack: This is Garrod’s day job. Hell, his Establishing Character Moment is jacking a Jenice with just a flashbang, grappling hook, and a pistol! He tops himself at the end by jacking the Double X. Gundam Vs Series: The GX (can turn into Divider) and Virsago are in Gundam vs Gundam NEXT, with the Double X recently revealed as a Bonus Boss. Extreme Vs has both the Virsago and Double X, with the Ashtaron and G-Bits as assist units. Full Boost will add the X Divider. Guns Akimbo: Gundam Leopard is just loaded with almost all kinds of gunnery a la Heavyarms. Airmaster is Dual Wielding two guns. Happy Ending: A rare one for Gundam. Olba and Shagia are defeated, the Satellite System is destroyed, the NUNE and the Colonies make peace, and the various cou88 BD Nostalgia

ples live on happily in a recovering world... oh, and did we mention all the main characters live? Kill ‘em All Tomino wouldn’t ever have let that happen. Note that Olba and Shagia are simply defeated but don’t die. Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden, Super Robot Wars Reversal and Another Century’s Episode 3: The Final, OTOH, has them fighting the heroes to the bitter end. Hard Work Hardly Works: Averted. Garrod realizes after losing to Carris that unless he trains furiously in simulators to get used to fighting against Bits, he’s never going to win against a Newtype. Also partially subverted when he sees the solution to those pesky Bits in action; by Jamil, no less. Heroic Sacrifice: Katokk Heroic BSOD: Garrod, after Tiffa is kidnapped and sent into space. Doesn’t last very long though. Hit So Hard the Calendar Felt It: The calendar ended after the Colony Drop. Now, it’s After War 0015. Holding Back the Phlebotinum: The Satellite Cannons have a laundry list of conditions in order to be useable—the Gundam’s, for instance, can only be used when the Moon is visible and the charging station has a clear line-of-sight to the Gundam’s receivers. Hot-Blooded: Garrod Ran and Witz Sou Humongous Mobile Armor: The Newtype-driven Patulia. At 617 meters, it’s over half as as big as the [[Macross SDF1]]. Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every single episode title is a line spoken in that episode. I Lied: A rare heroic instance pulled off by Garrod and Pala late in the series. They hold a Kill Sat hostage in exchange for Tiffa—when the colonists give her up, he and Pala destroy the Kill Sat anyway because the colonists were going to fire it on Earth. He mocks them for falling for it, too. Innocent Fanservice Girl: Tiffa, but just once. When she went skinny-dipping with Newtype dolphins.

It Runs in the Family: The Frost Brothers. I Uh You Too: Garrod and Tiffa. Garrod’s taken with her from the start, but he’s really awkward about expressing it. Tiffa reciprocates, but she’s even worse at communicating than a normal teenager. Kid Hero: Garrod Ran. Kill Sat: The Space Revolutionary Army’s Twin Satellite Cannon. They destroy breakaway colony Satelicon and plan to wipe out human life on Earth with it, but Garrod destroys it before they can make the shot. Karma Houdini: Neatly subverted. The Frost brothers survive the final battle, Olba without a scratch and Shagia only bound to a wheelchair. However, this is arguably the cruelest punishment for a Gundam villain ever. They get to survive, to see all their plans and efforts to bring about a war that would destroy civilization fail, with both Spacenoids and Earthnoids restoring peace with each other and the Newtypes that they hate so very much able to live happily and not be abused as tools for war. Knowledge Broker: Many of these are around, making a good living selling information to Vultures. Information on the Gundam X soon becomes quite valuable. La Résistance: Two examples.

The National Liberation Front in the Estard region, which Roybea is briefly involved in when his girfriend Yurina turns out to be an agent. They are wiped out after the New Earth Federation takes over. The space colony Satelicon broke away from the Space Revolutionary Army and Cloud Nine. Garrod meets one of their pilots, Paula Cis. They, too, are destroyed, but by the SRA. Lighter and Softer: As noted, in spite of its post-apocalyptic setting, X is one of the most upbeat and optimistic series in the entire Gundam franchise. All the main characters in it get to live, make the world a better place then it once was and receive happy endings. MacGuffin Girl: To a degree, Tiffa and Lucille. Mecha Expansion Pack: The Divider set for the GX, which removes its (now broken) Satellite Cannon and original Beam Rifle, opting out for a stronger beam assault rifle, an extra Beam Saber, and a shield which mounts flight-capable thrusters, as well as the “Beam Harmonica” Divider Cannon. The G-Falcon counts as one too, able to attach to a Gundam Airmaster to boost its mobility, a Gundam X/DX to increase its total available firepower, or a Gundam LeopBD Nostalgia 89

ard to give it a means of flight. The original Gundam Leopard got one too - the S-1 armament option that gave it underwater functionality. Mid-Season Upgrade: Garrod ditches the GX for the Double X once he steals it from the New Federation. The Divider simultaneously plays this straight and averts this. Compared to its original form, the X Divider is more mobile, has more conventional firepower, and is overall a better option for straightup battles. However, its Harmonica Cannon is downright pathetic compared to the raw firepower of the Satellite Cannon and would in theory be useless against Colony Drops. Fortunately (sort of), there aren’t many colonies left to drop by that point, so it’s not an issue. Witz and Roybea upgrade their Airmaster and Leopard to Airmaster Burst and Leopard Destroy. Had the series gotten its originally planned 52 episodes, Ennil would’ve also gotten to upgrade to a Gundam-like “Esperansa II”. Arguably, the lack of this upgrade makes her more badass, since the finale instead has her kicking assnote in her severely outdated Jenice Kai. The Frost brothers realize partway through the series that they’re getting outpaced in terms of technology, so they also make sure to upgrade their Gundams for the final battle, into the Virsago “Chest Break” and the Ashtaron “Hermit Crab”. More Dakka: The Gundam Leopard. It fills the fire support role (even more so as the Leopard Destroy) but is in fact the most versatile model. Mythology Gag: It wouldn’t be a Gundam series without several of these to the original series. During the Estardo arc, the Frost Brothers promise potential Newtypes a two-rank promotion if they defeat Garrod. Ramba Ral was similarly offered one. In episode 31, when faced with mobile suits equipped with beam rifles while trying to destroy a space shuttle to prevent Garrod from making it into space to chase 90 BD Nostalgia

after Tiffa, Shagia Frost, in his red Virsago, takes down one of the mobile suits and declares, “It doesn’t matter how powerful your weapon is if you can’t hit me!” Remind you of what a red-mobile-suit-piloting Commander said in the second episode of a previous series? Episode 32, Lancerow Dowell’s flashback of the previous war is entirely this: at the end of the last war, the experienced lead ace of the space colonies fights the teenage Newtype ace of the Federation, piloting a mobile suit carrying finger-mounted beam weapons, and escapes death due to the head-mounted cockpit, while the Federation’s Gundam ends up losing its left arm and head in the fight. Shades of RX-78-2 vs. Zeong indeed... Mr Fix It: Kid Salsamille. Mysterious Waif: Tiffa, for her powers and her shyness. Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Fixx Bloodman comes to mind. Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: By turning their Satellite Launcher on Bloodman and Zidel, the only two who really wanted to go to war, the Frost Brothers did more to pave the way for peace than any other single action in the series. One World Order: The New Earth Federation ruthlessly pursues this goal and achieve it quite quickly in Europe, Asia, and Africa, though they’re still having trouble in the Americas by the end of the show. The Space Revolutionary Army is trying to achieve One Space Order, on top of wiping out the Federation. Patrick Stewart Speech: Garrod usually replies to an enemy with either this or Shut Up, Hannibal!. People Jars: Lucille Lilliant, Jamil’s Cool Big Sis and first love, was put in a coma and placed in a capsule in suspended animation. Poor Communication Kills: Drives the plot of episodes 6-8. It’s initially largely Garrod’s fault, but it turns out to be rather endemic to the setting. Outside of the Frieden crew, none of the characters have any real loyalty to each other at this

point. When Nicola decides that Tiffa would be better off in space, he ignores the fact that he’s having to physically drag her and that she’s screaming for help. It’s not until much later that he gets she was happy and safer with Jamil’s crew, and by then it’s too late. Psychic Powers: Newtypes, of course, and they’re big targets because of it. But in the end, DOME (the original Newtype) discounts the idea that Newtypes or anybody else are “more evolved” than other humans. Psychic powers are no different from something like above-average intelligence; it’s a personal talent, not a sign of the next step in evolution. Psycho for Hire: In a twist, the Estard arc (eps. 25-28) sees the Frosts sending psychotic Newtype candidates against the Frieden; while they already work for the New UNE, they’re promised a two-rank promotion if they destroy the Double X. Also somewhat crosses into Monster of the Week. Puppet King: Prince Willis of Estard is ruled by his advisers and pulled between them, something which he’s not happy about but not confident enough to force a change in. Razor Floss: Weapon of Choice of Dweyt Langraf in episode 27. The Gundam Belphagor from Under the Moonlight also uses this weapon. It was apparently developed as a countermeasure to Bits. The Remnant: The Federation, now known as the New UNE is still around, albeit in a much weaker state. As it turns out, so too are the Spacenoids themselves. And there are factions within both sides who are still seeking to finish the war. Ruthless Modern Pirates: Though plenty of Vultures are just buy-and-sell scavengers, some of them act entirely as bandits, terrorizing recovering communities. And there’s a seagoing subset of Vultures that are the worst, nicknamed “Orcs” for how vicious they are. Sapient Cetaceans: The arc where Tiffa

befriends a pod of dolphins with her Psychic Powers, the pod being led by a white dolphin that’s basically a cetacean Newtype. They’re intelligent enough to communicate their distaste for humanity and use good tactics against underwater pirates. Scavenger World: There’s so much scavenging going on, there’s a name for doing so. Vultures. It’s more or less the entire economy for the first part of the series. Screw Destiny: Every time a Newtype gets worried about a terrible future or event coming, Garrod leads the charge to avert the crisis. DOME eventually states in the final episode that those views of the future will not become true unless people actively takes steps to achieve that future. Shipper on Deck: It doesn’t take long for most of the Freeden to start shipping Garrod and Tiffa and give them love advice. Shout-Out: It’s Gundam, so there are a few. One notable is the Psycho for Hire Mobile Suit, Gable, probably named after the psychotic Ace Pilot Yazan Gable from Z Gundam. Gundam Leopard is a Gundam HeavyArms Custom in function, but given how versatile it’s shown to be in-show (and the ground rollers), it’s functionally a scaledup AT. Gundam Airmaster is a Re-GZ remake in its Mobile Armor mode (a focus on heavier firepower), while a Zeta remake in its Mobile Suit mode (focus on agility and precision) - essentially the Re-GZ Custom. Gundam Virsago is nearly a Palette Swap of the Shenlong Gundam from Gundam W. The G-Bits resemble GM’s, whose Mecha-Mook status is taken up by the Daughtress line, and they face off against the not-Zaku Jeniss line. There is an operation before the colony drop where the Colonies send out 5 prototype mobile suits to attack the Earth. Turns out they were all destroyed when they entered the atmosphere (a la Gundam Sentinel, which also features a friggin’ huge Mobile Armor designed to blow away... well, everything). BD Nostalgia

a large rocket launcher. Shrinking Violet: Tiffa Adill, after spending years as a lab rat because of her powers, develops almost crippling shyness and fear of people. Can’t really blame her. Shut Up, Hannibal!: Garrod’s go to response for a Breaking Speech, “The Reason You Suck” Speech or MotiveRant. Spoiler Opening: The second opening has Tiffa holding a ball of light in her hands. It’s DOME, one of the major players in the finale and answerer to many questions about Newtypes. Spell My Name with an “S”: Inevitable because the series hasn’t been brought stateside. The Starscream: The Frost Brothers, sorta. It becomes very clear that they’re not looking to lead so much as eradicate. The Stoic: Jamil Neate. Quite a contrast with his Cheerful Child former self... Stripperiffic: Ennil El is one of the few pilots in Gundam history who strips down when piloting her robot. In fact, she may have jump-started the enthe year 0079 of the Universal Century, tire Gainaxing trend in Super Robot Wars only with slightly updated graphics and via her appearance in Alpha Gaiden. different Mobile Suits... And more Gun- Suicide by Cop: One episode’s title is: dams. And a more catastrophic Operation “I’m a Fool; Shoot Me”. Super Robot Wars: Debuted in Alpha British. Carris’s Mobile Suit when we first meet Gaiden, also shows up in Reversal and him is pretty much a Dom or Dowadge in the Z series. Qubelay colors. Only with Bits instead of Tag Team Twins: The Frost Brothers. In the beginning of the first episode, we see hundreds of Mobile Suits that look like Zaku IIs and Gelgoogs. Jamil Neate. Amuro, if he dressed like Quattro and got slapped around mentally by Sirrocco, taking over for Bright and ultimately getting right back into a Mobile Suit like Char while still leading. The entire backstory is the beginning of

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Taking the Bullet: Shagia takes an energy blast for Olba. Who does NOT respond well. Teens Are Short: Garrod and Tiffa are much shorter than everyone else aboard— even Witz and Roybea, who are only two and three years older. The same applies to Carris. There Is a God!: Used semi-seriously in Gundam X episode 1. Garrod finds an abandoned Gundam, but when he tries to use it to fight off some pursuers, he finds it doesn’t have a control stick. He pulls out a disconnected control stick he found earlier and mutters: Garrod: (thinking to himself) If this works, I’ll believe in God! ... “Tiffa! I believe in God!” This Is Reality: In episode 10, Garrod duels his first Newtype opponent, Carris, and declares that even a Newtype won’t beat him. Cue a brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that utterly wrecks the Gundam X before Carris combines this kind of speech with a “The Reason You Suck” Speech. Those Two Guys: Kid’s two assistants, who have Undying Loyalty to their much-younger boss and little mention of their own names. Title Drop: Curiously for Gundam, every single episode title is part of a dialogue within their respective episodes. Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tiffa (girly) and Pala (tomboy). Also, Toniya is the Genki Girl Hard-Drinking Party Girl to Ennil’s Broken Bird. Triang Relations: A few, although they don’t devolve into a massive Love Dodecahedron. Ennil and Tiffa both display an interest in Garrod, although Garrod only has eyes for Tiffa. Deputy Captain Sala also has one between The Captain Jamil and Chivalrous Pervert Roybea. Thankfully, everyone behaves like adults and nobody tries to Murder the Hypotenuse. And everything in this regard gets settled by series’s end. True Companions: Eventually, the Frieden’s crew. Initially they’re all amiable

with each other but with the understanding that they’re there to get paid, but by the end they’re together like glue. Twin Telepathy: The Frost Brothers again. (And given how effectively they use it, you have to wonder what the hell the Federation was thinking when they rejected them. Not being able to find a use for long-range, unblockable and uncrackable telepathy isn’t holding onto the Idiot Ball, it’s playing full-on Idiot Billiards.) Used Future: The Federation and the Colonies are both trying to get out of it, but not entirely successfully... Victoria’s Secret Compartment: Ennil and her trusty flashbang grenade. Villainous Breakdown: Shagia Frost, in spite of defeats and setbacks throughout the story, never loses his Smug Snake status until the very end, when Garrod is able to override his manual control of Satellite System microwave emitter and thereby interfere with him setting the new war into motion. Even his usually loyal little brother is stunned by him. Shagia: Im-impossible! We’re supposed to be in control of the Satellite System! Olba: Brother! Shagia: SHOOT THE DOUBLE X! Olba: But it hasn’t charged yet! Shagia: I DON’T CARE!!!!!!!! Walk on Water: Subverted when someone is shown not to be standing on water, but on the top of their submerged submarine. Wave Motion Gun: See BFG above. A World Half Full: The series is unapologetically optimistic despite being a Gundam show in a post-apocalyptic setting. Yandere: Olba Frost may count as one of the rare male examples. Ennil El goes through a phase of this early on as well... although people don’t seem to remember that as well (because the episode where she makes friends with Toniya overshadows all that).

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Volume 10: Deletion Chapter 80: Clean-up The supporters of Kira are rushing the SPK’s headquarters. Light tells Near that he must escape. Near answers, “Look who’s talking, Kira.” Near reveals that he has concluded that the new L is Kira. He points out that it’s funny how the mob shows up shortly after Mogi arrives. In addition, no one could have known that Mogi was coming here except for the NPA members. With the rest of the investigation team listening, Near proclaims that Kira is among them. After he is finished killing Near and Mogi, he will turn around and kill the rest of the investigation team. Upon hearing Near’s speech, Aizawa now starts to believe that maybe what Near is saying is true, especially since the former L, also, suspected Light. As the mob closes in on the building, Near notices that most of the mob is made up of people who are just looking for a good time destroying things and killing people. He decides to take advantage of that. The SPK decides to throw money off the building in order to divert the attention of the mob as they make their escape with Mogi. Just then, the riot police tries to quell the mob. All of the SPK members along with Mogi then disguise themselves in riot police uniform in order to escape from the building. After the riot, the investigation team could not track Mogi down. Light is confident that Mogi will not give Near any information. Meanwhile, Aizawa thinks to himself that if the “13 day” rule is indeed fake then Light and Misa’s confinement did not prove their innocence. Aizawa decides to investigate Light by himself, fearing that if Light was Kira, he would be killed. After many days of questioning, Mogi is still not talking to Near. He decides to try and recruit another member of the Japanese police force who may feel doubts about Light’s true identity.

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Chapter 81: Warning Light is pondering on what exactly to do next. In case of an emergency, Light begins to look for people that he could give the Death Note to in order to curtail suspicion of him. He finds a 27-year old prosecuting attorney named Teru Mikami who believes Kira is god. He’s perfect. Meanwhile, Aizawa is still having second thoughts about the Light Yagami after what Near said. Finally, Near gets into contact with Light. He tells Light that Mogi has died of a heart attack. However, he is lying because Mogi is in the building with his mouth taped shut. Now, Light is panicking because the other members now have grounds to newly suspect him as Kira. He has to get Misa to give up the notebook, and let go of the memories of her being Kira. However, the killings must not stop. Near ends the phone call by inviting anyone who suspects that a member of the Japanese task force is Kira to call him with their suspicions. Aizawa decides that he will call Near. Immediately, Light orders Misa to give up ownership of the Death Note and send it to the address he specified. Then, he lets Near and any member of the investigation team know that if they want to contact Near, they are free to do so. Aizawa calls Near and asks him to come to where he is under the condition that he tells no one about his actions. When Aizawa agrees, Near admits to him that Mogi is really alive and asks if he wants to talk to him. Meanwhile, Teru Mikami has received the Death Note from Misa and strict instructions from Kira. He is thrilled to be working for his god. Chapter 82: Himself Light knows that Aizawa has accepted the offer, but he has made Misa give up the notebook and got rid of all of the evidence. Besides, stopping Aizawa would seem suspicious. Aizawa arrives at the new SPK headquarters with a blindfold on. Before taking off the blindfold, Near asks if he had cameras and wires during the day of the riot, and Aizawa answers that he did. Near assumes that the camera was brought along so that Kira could try to see Mello’s face because Kira had not made the deal with the shinigami to get the eyes. Near orders that Aizawa’s blindfold be taken off. Aizawa tells Near that he still doesn’t completely trust him, but he admits that his theory does make sense, especially if the “13 day” rule is fake. Near confesses that his and Mello’s methods may seem severe, but it’s all out of a desire to catch Kira who killed L, their idol who they respected and longed to be like. Aizawa tells Mello that the former L placed the present L and a second person under confinement for more than 50 days in order to verify their innocence. They weren’t completely exonerated until they discovered about the “13 day” rule. He tells them that after the 50 days, L was still reluctant to let them go free. Therefore, L devised a plan to make Soichiro Yagami pretend to execute the suspected Kira and second Kira saying, “I’m going to kill Kira, and then kill myself.” When Soichiro was not killed, they concluded that the suspects could not be Kira, and L released them. Near concludes that Kira predicted his confinement, wrote the fake rules within the real rules, gave the notebook to someone else, waited until L caught the person and read the fake rule. Aizawa believes that this theory makes sense. However, it is all based on assumptions. Then, Near asks Aizawa for the names of the two people, but he refuses to tell them. Near thanks Aizawa for his cooperation and predicts that the new L has probably already found a replacement second Kira to do the killings for him. This is why it will be hard for him to investigate. However, Near points to the fact that Soichiro Yagami said, “I’m going to kill Kira, and then kill myself,” which leads him to believe that SoiBD Nostalgia 97

chiro and the Kira suspect were related. He concludes that the present L and possible Kira is Light Yagami. Volume 10: Deletion Near orders Hal Linder to tell Mello everything that Mogi and Aizawa revealed except the fact that L/Kira is Light Yagami. He feels like they will have a better chance of knowing L’s whereabouts if they’re both looking. The freed Aizawa and Mogi decide to start investigating Misa. They plan to search her house and keep an eye on her. Meanwhile, Mello and another young man named Matt, upon receiving a tip from Linder, begin to tail Aizawa and Mogi. They go to Misa’s house, under the pretense that there’s a bomb threat. When a notebook is nowhere to be found, Mogi stays with Misa in order to spy on her. Mello orders Matt to keep an eye on Mogi and Misa while he follows Aizawa. Aizawa comes back to headquarters and admits that he has been to see Near. He tells Light that he suspects him again, and he will be keeping an eye on him now. Mogi is already spying on Misa. Light does not denounce the actions, or else he’ll look suspicious. However, he wonders just how exactly he’s going to give Mikami specific instructions when he is under such intense scrutiny. The director of Sakura TV, Demegawa, has begun to ask the viewers of “Kira’s Kingdom” to send in money to build extravagant chapels. Light fears that without Misa around to give him instructions, Demegawa has become blinded by money and has turned away from Kira’s cause. Mikami is watching the same program and is disgusted by Demegawa as well. He decides to take matters under his own hands and kill Demegawa with his shinigami eyes. He feels that this would be Kira’s will. Light watches Demegawa die on T.V. and is impressed that Mikami understands Kira’s thoughts and ideals so well. However, he’s disturbed that Mikami was able to act without receiving orders. Chapter 84: Coincidence This chapter details the biography of Teru Mikami. Teru grew up an intelligent child with a strong sense of justice. He divided the people of the world into two categories: good and evil. He would often protect the younger kids from bullies, believing that he was fighting the good fight against evil. However, as he got older, it became harder for him to prevail against the bullies. A despondent Teru asked his beloved mother for comfort, but all she told him was, “You can’t expect everything in this world to follow your rules.” Teru began to deny his mother’s existence, and the very next day, the four bullies who were harassing him died in a car crash and hit an innocent bystander—his mother. Even though he was at first intimidated by these thoughts, he was thrilled that the classroom 98 BD Nostalgia

was now peaceful after the bullies’ deaths. He decided that for the good of the world, he should deny the existence of people who are evil. He believed he was bringing the people justice. Then, he discovered Kira, and he knew he found his god. He joined “Kira’s Kingdom”, hoping that his god will take notice of him. Then, he was sent the Death Note by Kira, and he knew he was chosen one to dispense justice in the name of Kira. He was now a god. While Mikami busily writes the name of criminals in the Death Note and mutters “delete” after every name, Ryuk tells him that he is going back to Kira’s. Chapter 85: Election Mello has been spying on Mogi and Misa for quite a long time. He can’t believe that a girl so stupid as Misa is the second Kira. However, if she has the shinigami eyes, then Kira might be using her. Meanwhile, Matt is spying on the Japanese police headquarters, and there has been no significant movement. The SPK has been uncovering information about Light Yagami. The most interesting bit is the fact that he was often seen with another guy named Ryuga Hideki. One day, Ryuga, Light Yagame, and Misa Amane were all seen at the To-Oh University campus, and then they were never seen again. Near is now convinced that Light Yagami’s fiancée is the second Kira. However, Near is convinced that person doing the killings now is someone other than Misa. He believes that Light is controlling this person. After Demegawa’s death, Sakura TV is in search of a new Kira spokesperson. Some corporations have now started putting in their commercials that they support Kira. Aizawa is still keeping an eye on Light, and he feels pressured not to make any obvious moves in contacting Mikami. Meanwhile, Mikami is feeling increasingly frustrated that Kira has not given him any instructions. He decides to try to talk to Kira directly. He goes on “Kira’s Kingdom” and looking at the camera, asks that he would like to hear Kira’s voice and that he will earnestly follow any of his wishes. If he doesn’t receive orders, he promises to put Kira’s goals into actions. Light understands that this is Mikami’s way of reaching out to Kira. Mikami decides to wait three days for Kira’s answers. If no answer comes, he will personally choose Kira’s next spokesperson. Four days later, Matsuda tells the team that NHN anchorwoman Kiyomi Takada, Light’s ex-girlfriend from To-Oh, has been spoken to spread the message of Kira. Chapter 86: Japan Mikami had met Takada before and discussed Kira with her. She secretly admires Kira so the choice is perfect. Light is surprised at the coincidence that Mikami would choose someone that has a connection to him as Kira’s spokesperson. However, Light BD Nostalgia 99

sees this as advantage because he can now use Takada to give instructions to Mikami. Mogi remembers that Takada was Light’s ex-girlfriend and decides to step outside with Aizawa. After watching Misa extensively, Mello has concluded that, even though Misa might have been the second Kira once, that is no longer the case. From the conversation she had with Mogi, Mello heard the name Light Yagami a lot. He knows that Soichiro had a son named Light and that Mogi, and Aizawa are being cautious around a man named Light. He concludes that the present L is Light Yagami. As Matt watches from a far, Mogi tells Aizawa that he remembers that when he was tailing Light under L’s orders, he saw Takada with Light. He believes that she is his ex-girlfriend. Light tells the team that he feels that they should now move the investigation to Japan because he believes that Kira is there and that they can get to Kira through Takada. Light thinks she’s a Kira worshipper who will be flattered if Light asks her about her connection to Kira. Meanwhile, Near figures that Light is now unable to get close to the current owner of the Death Note because the other members of the investigation team are keeping an eye on. Near commands Rester to find as much as he can on Takada in order to get close to her. From the airport, Light calls Takada. Chapter 87: Tomorrow Light decides to seduce his ex-girlfriend in order to get her to trust him. Then, he’ll be free to use her however he wants. He plans to book a hotel room and invite her over. Meanwhile, Mello notices that Mogi and Misa are at LAX waiting to catch an airplane to Japan. He calls Matt and tells him that they will follow them to Japan. Aizawa reminds Light that he will be planting cameras and wires in the hotel room in order to keep an eye on him. As they all watch Takada on the news, Light worries that Mikami may be taking things a bit too far when he kills people who commit crimes without evil intent and those who are lazy. However, this motivates him to start manipulating Takada now so that she can relay messages to Mikami. Takada arrives at the hotel room after the nine o’clock news. Light starts off by telling her that he has missed her terribly. However, he gets down to business by pretending to admit that Kira was right in his goals, but that Takada should, as a journalist, question Kira’s ideals as well as spread them. After that, they sit quietly for a long time, and then Takada tells him that he has to go. Before she leaves, Light tells her that he wants to see her again. 100 BD Nostalgia

Chapter 88: Conversation When he hears on the news that Kira is now beginning to punish those with criminal records, Light feels like Mikami is going to far since Kira exists to prevent future crimes, not to punish people who have already atoned. Mikami is watching the news. Takada is starting to express her own opinions just like Light told her too. Mikami thinks this is out of character for Takada and wonders if Kira has given her order to do so. Near is also surprised that Takada is acting strangely. According to Rester’s report, Takada had a secret meeting with someone at a hotel room. When Near asks Rester to find out who was it that Takada met, Nester responds by saying that Takada is surrounded by bodyguards, and it’s almost impossible to get near her. Takada meets Light once again at a hotel room. Suddenly, Takada gets a call from someone calling himself Kira. It is Mikami. He orders her to turn on the television. He proves that he is really Kira by killing the commentator on T.V. The investigation team looks on in horror. Mikami asks her where she is, and she responds that she is in a hotel room with a friend. Mikami then asks her if this is the same friend that made her express her own opinions on television, and Takada says yes. Mikami demands that he puts him on the phone. When Light speaks on the phone, Mikami asks if he’s god. Light reassure Mikami that he’s the real Kira by off-handedly mentioning subtle clues. Mikami figures out that Kira is being watched and can’t speak freely. Meanwhile, Light writes a note for Takada and the whole investigation team to see that says that Kira is nearby and is asking Takada’s bodyguards to remove all of the cameras and wires from the rooms. Light writes that he must take them out before he is caught. When he has taken out all of the wires and cameras, he tells Takada that he is Kira. He explains to them that he is being watched and can’t deliver messages directly to Mikami. His plan is to meet Takada, give her instructions through notes, and have her send them to Mikami. Light then promises Takada that after he promises to make her a goddess in his new utopian world. He calls the investigation team to tell them that he has decided to pretend to have a relationship with Takada in order to gain more information on Kira.

Volume 11: Kindred Spirits Chapter 89: Concentricity Near decides to continue his investigation in Japan since that is where Takada and possibly Kira are. Meanwhile, Light tells the team that he’s determined to continue his relationship with Takada to find out how she’s receiving messages from Kira. Now, Light can’t have any cameras in the hotel room after being “threatened” by Kira. Aizawa worries that he might be able to sneak secret notes to her to give to the new Kira. Light suspects that Near may be trying to get close to Takada. This is confirmed when he receives a call from Near, telling him that he is Japan in order to investigate Takada and that he already has an SPK member trying to get close. Light responds by telling Near that he has already begun investigating Takada and that he has gotten very close to her. He instructs Light to tell Takada to announce on the news that a group of four SPK, including Near, have left New York and come to Japan in order to catch Kira. He even tells Light their names. This will serve as bait for Kira. However, he warns Light not BD Nostalgia 101

to release their photographs because Kira would definitely kill him—“a potential avenger.” Light senses that, through this tactic, Near is trying to lure him out. Light silently accepts the challenge. Near knows that Light has figured it all out. The gloves are off! Near suggests that they should meet. Light agrees. Chapter 90: Warning The rest of the investigation team thinks that Near wants to meet Light in order to cooperate and defeat Kira. However, Aizawa knows that’s not the case. Light is determined to outwit and outsmart Near, and this meeting will prove who is the victor. Near explains to his investigation team that, in order to catch Kira, they have no choice but to meet him face-to-face. Based on assumptions and the fact that L is in touch with Takada, it’s a definite conclusion that L is Light Yagami. However, they need to find definite proof that Light Yagami is Kira. It will be hard because he has stopped judging as Kira since his own investigation team has started spying on him and Misa Amane. This is why he gave the notebook to another person, an “X-Kira”, who seems to have the shinigami eyes. This person is now doing all the killings. However, because he’s being watched, Kira has to be careful about relaying messages between him and X-Kira. So, he must use Takada as an intermediary that will send the messages to X-Kira. Near has thought of one possible solutions being to kill both Kira and X-Kira should be killed. However, he has decided not to do this because, even though the killings would stop, it would be a “dumb-luck” approach, and he would not have all of the evidence he needs. He adds that it is not the way L would have done it, and as his heir, it will not be the way that Near will do it. He will find 100% proof that Light is Kira just like L would have done. His goal is to catch Light Yagami writing a name in the notebook. However, he doesn’t have a definite plan. Before all of that, though, Near thinks it’s best if they find out who X-Kira is and start investigating Ms. Takada of NHN news. At the hotel room, Takada and Light are talking about superfluous things. The investigation team is listening through wires, but they do not have cameras in the room after the “threat” from Kira. However, Light is writing specific instructions for Takada to carry out in a notepad. He tells her that, from now on, he should suspect everyone who approaches her to be a possible SPK member. He must relay the messages to Mikami (or “T”) without seeing his face, or else it will anger him. Light writes down that he will tell “T” to send a fanletter which include five blank sheets of paper from the Death Note, and “T” will write on fake ones, acting like he is judging with them, but still announce on the NHN who he is going to judge. Light writes to Takada that should write down the names of criminals on the blank sheets of paper in order to kill them. Chapter 91: Cessation A new program on Sakura TV announces that anchorwoman Kiyomi Takada has chosen four women to be her top bodyguards, among them ex-CIA agent Hal Linder. Light realizes that Linder is probably one of Near’s SPK members. However, Light is not worried, and if anything should happen, Linder will face the judgment of Kira. 102 BD Nostalgia

As he is watching several news channels in Japan, Near poses the question to Rester that if he was Kira who should he have chosen as his next spokesperson. Both Rester and Gevanni cannot answer that, but they agree that they would not have chosen a rookie anchorwoman like Takada. Near theorizes that Kira may have picked her because he knew that she was secretly a Kira admirer. However, he comments that Takada was chosen as Kira’s spokeswoman several days after Light’s first meeting with her. If Kira wanted her to be the spokeswoman, then why did he wait several days to tell her to speak her opinions as a Kira supporter? If Kira had really picked her, then he would have told her to speak her opinions on the first day that it was announced she was Kira’s spokeswoman. Near believes that it must have been X-Kira who picked Takada. Near continues scouring through videotapes of past Japanese shows in order to find a clue. Then, Near watches Teru Mikami’s appearance on “Kira’s Kingdom” asking Kira to give him instructions in three more days, or he will carry out Kira’s will himself. Four days later, Takada is chosen as a spokeswoman. It all makes sense. X-Kira is Teru Mikami. Chapter 92: Night Near calls and directly asks Aizawa if there are any video cameras that record L and Takada’s meetings. He says that there are only listening devices. When Near hangs up, he tells the SPK members that there goal now is to keep L/Kira focused on Linder and Takada so that they can move in on Mikami. Meanwhile, SPK member Gevanni has begun tailing Mikami, but he has not done anything suspicious. Takada invites Misa Amane over to dinner. During the dinner, with Hal Linder watching, Misa proclaims that Light truly loves her and that she will announce their engagement during the NHN New Year’s special.The chilly dinner conversation ends with Takada leaving the table and warning Linder not to tell anyone about these events. Gevanni is on the same subway train as Mikami. Suddenly, a man starts harassing a young girl. With his cell phone, Mikami takes a picture of the man’s face. He writes a name on the notebook, and the man dies. Gevanni tells Near and Rester about what he witnessed. Chapter 93: Decision Near is now certain that Mikami is X-Kira. However, they need more evidence, and Near believes that they will have it if they catch Mikami talking to a shinigami. In the hotel room, Takada and Light talk about their “relationship.” Takada reveals she had dinner with Misa, and she told her that they were engaged. In the notepad, though, Takada writes to Light, “What is Misa to you?” Light, annoyed at Misa for not keeping her mouth shut, writes back that she was nothing but the second Kira to him, and she forced herself on him. Takada, however, was chosen by Light. Takada looks pleased, but she nevertheless writes back to Light asking if Misa knows too much. Light writes back answering that it would look suspicious if he killed Misa. Light passes her one more note, and upon reading it, Takada proclaims that they could be together if it wasn’t for Kira. She exclaims that she will help in the capturing of Kira. As the investigation team listens in, he gives her instructions to make more aggressive calls to Kira so that Kira can communicate with her more directly. The investigation team, with the exception of Aizawa, believes that Light is a genius for turning Takada into an ally. Meanwhile, Gevanni has been following Mikami around, but has not witnessed him talking to a shinigami. Near concludes that if there is a shinigami, then it should only be visible to Kira and Mikami. If this was the case, then how come Light doesn’t use BD Nostalgia 103

the shinigami at headquarters to relay messages to Mikami? Could it be that the other members of the investigation can also see the shinigami? Just then, Gevanni sends videotape footage of Mikami muttering to himself. Rester reads his lips and concludes that he says, “That shinigami hasn’t appeared since he gave me the notebook.” Chapter 94: Outside In order to make sure that Mikami has no shinigami following him, Near instructs Gevanni to touch Mikami’s notebook. Once again, Aizawa is suspicious of these so-called investigative “meetings” with Takada. He is setting up the audio devices. However, he is still bothered by the fact that they cannot install surveillance cameras because of fear of what Kira will do to Light if he ever found out. However, if Light really was Kira, then wouldn’t it be the perfect opportunity to secretly communicate with Takada by writing notes? Aizawa decides to test this out by making a slight nail mark at the second to last page on each of the four notepads. After the hotel meeting, Light leaves, and Aizawa sneaks into the hotel room in order to uninstall the audio devices. He checks the notepads and notices that in two out of four of the notepads, the nail marks he had made were completely gone. He is now convinced that Light threw away two of the notepads and replaced them with two new notepads because he was using them to write messages to Takada. Promptly, Aizawa calls Near and tells him of his discovery. However, Near tells him that he already knew all of that. Aizawa offers to try and collect the notes as evidence, but Near tells him not to do any “needless meddling” that will put him and the investigation team in danger. Near comments that even if Light was revealed as Kira, the world has now changed and many will proclaim him as hero. Near reveals that he has a plan to defeat Kira and that he shouldn’t interfere. Chapter 95: Acceptance The investigation team and Light are watching the NHN live New Year’s special where Misa is supposed to be making an appearance. The commentators note that Misa Amane has not arrived yet and wonder what’s keeping her up. Worried, Light calls Mogi and Misa and finds out that both are not answering their cell phones. They decide that they need to find out where they are. Meanwhile, Aizawa suspects if this is Light’s doing after Aizawa told Mogi about the notes. Light, however, is wondering if Takada did something to Misa. He concludes that she couldn’t have been that stupid. In reality, Linder and Rester pulled a gun on Mogi, who didn’t resist because of what Aizawa told him about the notes and kidnapped both him and Misa. Aizawa tells Light that he suspects Near was behind this. He agrees. Light calls Near and tells him that Misa and Mogi have been abducted. Near admits that he had his team kidnap them…. for insurance. Light suspects that Near wants to get rid of Misa because of her shinigami eyes, even though she doesn’t have them anymore. However, Near tells him that they did not resist the kidnapping and offers him to talk to them. Light, as L, asks Mogi if he agreed to this, and he answers yes. Light says that he will let them stay with Near. However, Near tells Light that he wants to collect as much evidence as he can on Kira. For this, he needs Misa out of the way before Kira begins to manipulate her again. Chapter 96: Meanwhile Flashback: Sunday, December 27th—Gevanni reports that Mikami follows a very strict time schedule where he goes to the gym every Thursday and Sunday from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. He takes the notebook every time. Gevanni believes that he will probably be at the gym 104 BD Nostalgia

next Thursday, the 31st. Near instructs Gevanni to touch the notebook then while he prepares a special diversion… for insurance. Thursday, December 31st—While Mikami is working out, Gevanni goes into the locker room where there are no surveillance cameras and opens the lock to his locker. He touches the notebook in the locker. He does not see a shinigami, at least up until this point. He follows Mikami home, and he still does not see a shinigami. He reports this to Near. Near then asks Mogi if he remembers some of the rules of the Death Note. He particularly asks if he can confirm the rule that states that you can control a person up to 23 days before their death. Mogi says yes. Near decides that he will face Kira in 24 days, just in case Kira is controlling Gevanni before death. January 3rd—Takada and Light are having a casual conversation for the investigation team to listen to. Meanwhile, Light writes to her that Misa has been kidnapped by the SPK, but assures her not to do anything because nothing will leak out of Misa’s mouth. Light is confident because he has made preparations for his final showdown with Near. He writes to Takada to tell Mikami to “confirm.” Once he has done that, he instructs Takada to phone or message him immediately with, “I want to see you quickly.” January 6th—Gevanni has been following Mikami for a week after he touched the notebook. He has still not seen a shinigami. Near instructs him to go to the gym with Mikami, and snap a picture of every page in the notebook. He wants to see if there is any habit in Mikami’s writing down of names. He tells him to also take a picture of the cover, back cover, spine, and every outside detail. Near receives the pictures of the pages in the notebook and notices that Mikami has a habit of writing enough names to fill a page once a day. Near now feels confident that they can catch Kira this way. Chapter 97: Diversiform While inspecting the Death Note, Near discovers no traces of the existence of a shinigami. Gevanni’s name has not been written down on the notebook, which means neither Mikami nor a shinigami found out about Gevanni’s snooping. If after 23 days, Gevanni is still alive, they will finally face Kira and defeat him. However, they need Gevanni to provide the final touch. After everything he has done everything according to plan, Near tells Gevanni that there is nothing he can do, but wait until the 24th. Mikami calls Takada and gives her “confirmation”. Takada sends Light the message, “I want to see you ASAP.” Light is confident that he has figured out Near’s plan, and he has made preparations to stop it. BD Nostalgia 105

On January 24th, Gevanni reports that Mikami has been acting normally these last two weeks. They can proceed with the plan. On January 25th, Near calls Light and asks to see him because he has something concerning the Kira case that he will like to show him. However, Near asks for a few conditions… Out of everyone on the investigation team, only Aizawa realizes that the time has come for the final showdown between Light and Near.

Volume Twelve: Finis Chapter 98: All Members Near wants all members from the SPK and all members from the Kira investigation to meet face-to-face. He says because he is going to need witnesses to report on what goes on in the meeting. He will bring Mogi along but release Misa before making their way over there. The second condition is to meet in a place where they could be completely isolated. Near suggests an abandoned warehouse called “YB Warehouse” where there is only one entrance. Both sides can go check for any spying devices. They are also not allowed to bring any electronic devices, like cell phones that can take pictures. The third condition is to have a member, other than L, bring the Death Note to the meeting. Near explains that it’s for precaution, in case it gets stolen at their headquarters. He promises not to steal it or touch it, as long as Aizawa confirms that it is indeed the notebook. They decided on a date for the meeting—January 28th at 1:00 p.m. After Light hangs up, he goes over to the hotel to meet with Takada. Aizawa is sure that he is going to tell Takada the time and location of his meeting with Near. He wonders why didn’t Near list as one of his conditions that Light must not meet Takada before the meeting. He figures it must be part of Near’s plan. Sure enough, Light writes to Takada the date, time, and location of the meeting. The next day, Takada is getting out of her car, surrounded by her bodyguards. Out of nowhere, Matt drives up in a car and shoots at Takada. He misses and then drives away, prompting Takada’s bodyguards to follow him. Among the chaos, a man in a motorcycle offers Hal Linder to take Ms. Takada to safety. Linder realizes that this man is Mello. Takada gets on Mello’s motorcycle, and they speed away. However, Mello makes a little detour and takes Ms. Takada somewhere her bodyguards can’t reach her. He handcuffs himself to her. Chapter 99: Two People Takada’s bodyguards finally catch up to Matt and have him surrounded. As he gets out his car, thinking that they will spare his life, the bodyguards open fire and riddle his body with bullets. Takada recognizes Mello’s face, and she remembers his name. Mello drives his motorcycle into a delivery truck. He orders that Takada strips naked so that he can get rid of any tracking devices she might have. He gives her a towel to wear. However, she asks if she can put the towel around her first before she took off her underclothes. Mello agrees. Takada is then free to get out the piece of Death Note that she has stuck underneath her bra. Linder tells Near that Mello has kidnapped Takada. Near orders her to stop Mello and 106 BD Nostalgia

get Takada back, or the plan will be ruined. Mello finds out about Matt’s death on T.V. and feels remorse. Meanwhile, Takada is ready to use the piece of Death Note. Upon hearing about Takada’s kidnapping, the investigation team wonders if Near was behind all of this. Light thinks that it would not make sense, and it sounds like something Mello would do. Indeed, Near calls Light and tells him that he was not behind the kidnapping. He believes that Mello is using Takada to try to get to Kira. Near suggests that they work together to find Takada at any cost. Suddenly, Takada calls Light. She describes her surrounding to him, and Light assures her that help is coming. Light orders her to do that thing that he instructed her to do in case of an “emergency.” When Takada hangs up, she calls Mikami telling him to keep judging as Kira as much as he can. Mikami understands that Takada had killed her kidnapper, and she is unable move for the next few days. He needs to prepare the death list for the next few days before the 28th. As the police force goes to rescue Takada, Light is worried that Near might find the piece of Death Note with Mello’s name. He figures that Takada is now useless to him because his plans have already been set into motion. On the emergency piece of Death Note he has in his watch, he writes, “Kiyomi Takada, suicide, burns all of her belongings, her notes and herself to death.” Chapter 100: Face-to-Face As they watch the news of Takada’s death, Light wonders what Near thinks of Mello and Takada’s deaths. Aizawa, meanwhile, ponders as to how Mello could have been killed because of the fact that his face has never been seen by the public. In addition, he knows the Death Note cannot kill another person in the process. Near gives Gevanni the orders to follow Mikami until the meeting. Hal Linder then calls Near and apologizes for leading Takada to Mello. However, Near says that it’s fine because the problem is solved. Unless Light changes the date of the meeting because of Mello, everything is going as planned. Light is now convinced that Mello’s actions were separate from Near’s plans. He doubts that Near will change the date now. Indeed, Near calls Light and confirms the schedule of the meeting. January 28th, 2010—The day has arrived! Misa Amane is released, and Gevanni calls Near to tell him that Mikami has continued with his normal routine. Near tells him to make his way to the warehouse. As the investigation team is getting ready, Near calls and confirms that Misa has been BD Nostalgia 107

freed. Upon Light’s approval, Aizawa decides to take the Death Note to the warehouse. On the way to the warehouse, Light thinks that he is one step closer to the beginning of the era of Kira. After today, everyone involved in the case will die: Near, the SPK members, and his own investigation team. Only Mikami will be left alive with his shinigami eyes. He is seen carrying his suitcase, presumably on his way to take action. The investigation team arrives and enters the warehouse. They find that the SPK members have already arrived. Near is crouching in front of them… wearing a mask of L! Chapter 101: Guidance Light comments to himself that Near is inferior to L and not fit to where his mask. Matsuda wonders out loud as to why everyone else is here with their faces uncovered except Near. Light is convinced that Near will take off his mask, though. Near explains that the mask is just a precaution. He says that it’s possible that X-Kira might have already written everyone’s name in the notebook, and if he takes off the mask, there will be no one to oppose Kira. Light agrees and comments that he can’t contain his laughter because Near is acting exactly as he predicted. After thirty minutes, Near takes off the mask. However, he tells everyone to wait for the appearance of X-Kira. He asks Aizawa if he saw Light make contact with Takada after they had settled on the time and location of the meeting. The fact that Takada was killed by Kira meant that he had no more use for her, which means that X-Kira was already instructed to come to the meeting. Near says that he is sure that X-Kira will see Near’s face and attempt to kill him and everyone in the room. It would be a victory for Kira. He instructs everyone to stand still and watch Kira’s plan unfold. If they do that, Near guarantees that they will not die. Suddenly, they see Mikami peep through the door. With his shinigami eyes, he can see the real names and lifespan of everyone in the room, except Light. (Near’s real name, by the way, is Nate River) Mikami writes down all of the names, except for Light’s, in the Death Note. Chapter 102: Patience Matsuda panics and tries to open fire on Mikami. However, the SPK members point a gun at Matsuda while Near tells him to calm down because they won’t die. Near explains that he modified the Death Note. After finding out Mikami’s writing patterns of one page a day, they replaced the pages that Mikami was using to write today with fake ones. When Mikami finishes writing in the notebook, they will then seize it, read all of the names and whosever name is not on the notebook is Kira. Light thinks to himself that this is exactly as he planned! He believes that Near is a fool because he was so insistent of having 100% proof that he is Kira. Because Light would never admit to being Kira, Near decides to catch him in the act. However, Light comments to himself that it would have been easier for Near to just shoot him. But, Near’s pride is his downfall. Light already knew about the modification of the Death Note. However, the Death Note that they modified was a fake, and the notebook that Mikami is now using is the real Death Note! Mikami created a fake Death Note while he sent five pages every day of the real Death Note to Takada. Then, Takada would write the names of the criminals. When Gevanni 108 BD Nostalgia

was tailing Mikami on the subway train, he had taken a photograph of the man’s face to send to Takada who judged and killed him. Light figured that Near would replace the pages while Mikami was in the gym. He also figured that he would take advantage of Mikami’s “one page a day” habit, in order to replace the page that he would use on the 28th. When Mikami inspected the notebook and found the modification, he called Takada who paged him with the message, “I want to see you ASAP.” That’s when he knew the victory was his. He thinks to himself Near is far inferior to L. The former L would have tested for the possibility of a fake notebook by sacrificing human lives. Near is too soft, and it will prove to be his defeat. Light tells Teru Mikami to come in to the room. Mikami calls him, “God!” Light is annoyed, thinking that it is too early to say that. It is the longest 40 seconds of Light’s life. But there are now three seconds left… Chapter 103: Declaration At the last second, Light declares, “Near, Victory is mine!” Everyone else braces themselves. It’s been 40 seconds! And no one dies… -- which is exactly what Near had predicted all along Mikami starts to panic and cry out about why they didn’t die. Light just wants him to shut up. He cannot believe what’s going on! The SPK members detain Mikami and grab the notebook. Near opens the notebook and shows them the names that are written. The SPK members… The Japanese NPA members… Near… but no Light Yagami! Light cries out that this is a trap that Near had set up to frame him! Aizawa touches his shoulder and tells him that it’s too late. Light said, “Victory is mine!” It was the same as a confession. Matsuda gets down on his knees, shocked in disbelief. He tries to escape being cuffed by Aizawa, but he runs into a wall. Near explains that they altered the fake notebook just as Light had predicted. However, Near also altered the real notebook and replaced all of its pages with fake ones. Then, Near pulls out the real notebook and tells him that he’s had it all along. Gevanni constructed an exact replica of the real Death Note and made a fake one. He then replaced the fake one with the real one. Near acknowledges that because he touched the real notebook, he had been able to see Ryuk all along. He greets Ryuk who is watching besides the investigators. Near asks him if someone is able to kill a person by ripping off a piece of the Death Note and writing the name down. Ryuk answers yes, and Near concludes that that’s the way Light could keep so many people fooled. However, Light is confused as to how they could get their hands on the real notebook when Mikami always had the fake one, and he didn’t get the “real” one out until today. Near answers that it was because of Mello. Chapter 104: Answer Near shows Light an interesting name written on the real Death Note: “Kiyomi Takada, commits suicide, January 26, 2: 22 p.m.” When Mello had kidnapped Takada, Mikami went to retrieve the real Death Note and write Takada’s name. According to his investigations, Gevanni noticed that Mikami would always go to the bank on the 25th. However, when Takada was kidnapped, he again went to the bank on BD Nostalgia 109

the 26th. This was unusual behavior for Mikami. It was then Near finally realized about the fake notebook. Near states that the moment Takada was kidnapped by Mello, Light lost contact with Mikami. As an obligation to Kira, Mikami went to the bank to get the real notebook and write down Takada’s name. It was his loyalty that proved to be his undoing. Gevanni then made copies of Mikami’s key card and soon had access to the vault where he was hiding the real Death Note. Near continues to explain that if what Ryuk said was true, and one could really kill with just pieces of the Death Note, Light must have had a piece available. He wrote down Takada’s name, but never thought that Mikami would also do this. He admits that if things had gone exactly as planned, Light would have won because Near would have never discovered about the fake Death Note. However, thanks to Mello, they discovered the truth. Then, Linder states that she realizes now that Mello may have known that this would have happened. She recalls her calling him and telling him of Near’s plans, and Mello’s only answers was “Looks, like I’m the only one that can do it.” Near admits that both he and Mello could never surpass L… individually. But if they worked together… “Together we are as able as L. Together we can surpass L.” And now they have finally avenged L! What is Light to do? Light screams and puts his head down. Then, after some deranged laughter, answers, “That’s right. I am Kira.” Chapter 105: Impossible After his confession, Near grins, and the rest are shocked. Light asks them if they’re going to kill them right here—if they’re going to kill the god of the new world. He tells them that the world has changed, and Kira is not considered a mass murderer anymore. In fact, they will be the ones who will suffer if they kill him. He points out that thanks to him the crime rate has dropped 70% worldwide. However, the world is still filled with rotten people who stand in his way of creating a peaceful utopia. Those people who have strayed away from the path of righteousness do not deserve to live. Evil begets more evil and spreads around until it influences the weak of will. If evil is stopped, then the people of the world will begin to change and live in the peace and kindness that they deserve. When Light first came to possession of the notebook, he knew that he was the only one that can stop the evil in the world. Of course, he knew that killing people is a crime in itself, but it was the only way to do it. If he killed all the rotten, despicable people in the world, the good people of the world would see that punishment that came to those who did evil. Then, the good people would never be come corrupt, thus he would establish a utopia without crime and without evil. So what is wrong with killing harmful people? His intentions were unselfish! Not once did he think about his own personal gain! He asks everyone if they want to go back to a world where evil can run rampant. Would arresting Kira really be in the best interest of the world? Is it really all just for the sake of Near’s ego? 110 BD Nostalgia

Near answers, “No, you are just a murderer. And this notebook is the worst killing device ever in history. Near continues by saying that he has no right to judge what is right and what is wrong, who is good and who is evil… because in the end, he is not truly a god. He is a human, just like Near. Realizing that his speech had no effect on the others, Light remembers the piece of Death Note that he always has hidden in his watch. Chapter 106: Killing Intent Light asks Near if he thinks that the notebook Aizawa has is real. Light brings up the possibility that he himself could have switched out that notebook with a fake one and buried the real one somewhere else. Light suggests that Near would test out the Death Note by writing both Light Yagami’s and Teru Mikami’s names. However, Near answers by saying that he had no intention of killing Kira; only catching him. He will also not announce that Kira was caught, and instead, Light will be confined in a place where he will be completely isolated. As Light tries to convince everyone that Aizawa’s notebook is a fake, he suddenly opens his watch and attempts to write Near’s name in the piece of Death Note hidden there. Near notices, and Rester screams that he has a hidden piece. Matsuda, though, shoots Light in the hand in order to stop him from writing down a name. Light is surprised that Matsuda, who was always so loyal to him, would dare shoot him. He tells him to shoot Near and the SPK members. Matsuda answers that Light drove Soichiro Yagami to his death, and he cannot forgive him. Secretly, Light picks up the piece of Death Note and starts to write Near’s name with his blood. This time, Matsuda shoots him in the body and is successful in stopping him before he finishes writing the name. Matsuda once again points the gun to him and says that he will definitely kill him. The others, though, stop him from doing so. The injured Light looks at Mikami and orders him to write everyone’s names in the Death Note. However, Mikami screams that Light is no god and is the lowest of scum. When he is approached by the other members of the investigation team, he writhes in desperation and calls out for Misa. Near calmly answers that she is in a hotel. He then calls out for Takada, but Near responds that she is dead. Light continues to writhe frantically. Chapter 107: Curtains Finally, Light notices Ryuk standing there. He asks to write everyone’s names in his Death Note. Everyone is shocked, but Near tells them that if Ryuk could do that, then Light wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble in the first place. Near is confident that Ryuk won’t help. Light begs for Ryuk to write the names down in the notebook. Ryuk takes out his Death Note and answers, “Yeah… I’ll write.” They all start to shoot Ryuk, but it’s all in vain. Light laughs evilly and tells them that they’re all going to die. However, Ryuk says that it is Light who is going to die. He writes Light’s name down. Ryuk tells him that it’s been fun, but there’s no way that Light’s going to get out of this one. He doesn’t want to wait until Light’s out of jail or until he dies a natural death in order to get the Death Note back. He warned him that he was the one that was going BD Nostalgia 111

to write Light’s name in the Death Note. That was the deal they made when he received ownership of the Death Note. Light is going to die in forty seconds from a heart attack. Light flails anxiously in disbelief and screams, “I don’t want to die!” repeatedly. A flashback sequence: Light remembers when Ryuk told him about where Death Note owners go after they die. According to Ryuk, they go the same place that everyone goes to because there is no such thing as heaven or hell. “All humans are equal in death.” Light collapses and dies. A total black page is now seen with the following quote: “Humans will surely die one day. Nothingness (mu) awaits them after death.” Chapter 108: Fin It’s been one year since the events from the last chapter. The world has gone back to the way it was before the appearance of Kira. Matsuda and Ide are walking down the street and debating whether what they did was the right thing. The new Watari, who is the caretaker from Chapter 59, calls up Aizawa who is now the detective superintendent of the NPA. He connects him to Near who is playing with his toys as always but is now eating a chocolate bar as a tribute to Mello. He asks Aizawa to aid him in busting a drug deal that will take place in Japan three days from now. Aizawa calls up Ide and Matsuda and tells him about the drug deal bust in the YB warehouse and that they are to meet at 21:00 hours. They ponder at the coincidence that they’re meeting at the exact same place on the same day that they did a year ago. Matsuda then proposes a theory that Near killed Mikami because Near always in possession of the real notebook, and he could have written down his name. Mikami went crazy ten days after Light’s death and killed himself. It seems a little too convenient. However, Ide says that there’s no proof anymore since all existing notebooks were burned by Near. Matsuda then theorizes that Near may have already suspected about the fake notebook, and he simply let Linder leak the information to Mello so that he can take action. He manipulated Mello into taking action, and if he learned nothing from it, he was going to change the date. Ide, then, tells Matsuda that this is all just wishful thinking because Light was Kira, and he genuinely like Light. Matsuda then asks why he thinks he did the right thing. Ide answers because if Near had lost and Kira had won, they would all be dead. At the NPA headquarters, all of the investigation team gathers around a TV set that shows an “L”. They receive instructions from Near. In a place with high mountains, we see thousands of hooded people of all ages walking with candlelights in their hands. The group parts and a hooded maiden dressed in white walks to the edge of a mountain and clasps her hands in prayer. She says, “Lord Kira.” 112 BD Nostalgia

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