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John Jakala

@jjakala.bsky.social

1.3K followers 760 following 12K posts

Reader and enjoyer of comics. You may remember me from such blogs as Grotesque Anatomy and Sporadic Sequential. (Profile sketch by the great Gene Ha.)

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 9h

Hawkman already runs around basically topless but he somehow appears twice as exposed when he strips off his wing harness.

It's probably Katar's sensual bare back that's usually covered by giant fathers finally naked and exposed that heightens the eroticism.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 9h

Hawkman, master of all ancient Earth weaponry, including -- the skillet!!

Katar is also a master of all forms of Earth combat, including -- rolling around on the ground!!

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 9h

"Pardon my French."

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 12h

Added them to my anime figurine shelf.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 12h

Here are a couple of random purchases I completely forgot. I bought these Bleach action figures on clearance at Walgreens for $5 each.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 12h

Me too! This is my homework before those issues hit.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 14h

Rainy afternoon library pickup.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 15h

The good news is that both versions have the same back cover so I can cut the order form off one and leave the other in mint condition.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 15h

Sitting down for lunch with some lunchtime digest comics.

Two versions of the Madman Lunchtime Digest, one with a cover by Dan Parent, the other with a cover by Michael Allred.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 1d

Me reading the news every day.

"DON'T GIVE UP, YOU HOWLERS! WE'LL STILL LIVE TO HEAR THESE GOOSE STEPPIN' GOONS HOLLAR "UNCLE'!"

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 1d

Marvel house ad for Sgt. Fury #2.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 1d

Gil Kane's pencil roughs vs. printed page for Captain Marvel #17 (1969).

FIGURE STUDIES

(Above) Pencil rough, Captain Marvel No. 17; Gil Kane; October 1969.

This page —19 in the final story —offers an example of Kane's work method: He roughs in the figure and musculature of the character, leaving the details for the pencil stage. Notice how he draws outside the line in panel two in order to get the feel of the figure. Throughout his career Kane's figures had weight and solidity, giving them a lifelike quality.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 1d

Was excited to see that a local restaurant has opened a new café serving coffee and pastries in the morning. But disappointed that they seem to be using a.i. in their marketing.

a.i. even has trouble getting fingers right on simple cartoonish hands.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 2d

I had no idea! Those earlier painted covers were pretty cool. And it looks like #60 was the last issue in the series.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 2d

Just got back from a weekend up at the cabin where my relatives surprised me with a gift comic from a garage sale. I'd never read any Grimm's Ghost Stories before so I had low expectations. Was happy to find the first story was illustrated by Win Mortimer!

Cover to Grimm's Ghost Stories #60.

A Viking Warrior Claims His Bride!
Grimm's Ghost Stories / cover / 1 page
Pencils: Frank Bolle ?
Inks: Mike Roy ?

Valhalla
comic story / 8 pages
Script: Roger McKenzie
Art: Win Mortimer

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

Plastic Man™: It's what well-dressed women are wearing.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

Yeah, I could see it being useful as a search tool as long as the sources are exposed. I still find the generated summaries useless.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

That time Li'l Abner became a Hulk.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

"Ah literally have the vapors!"

Starwoman in a dramatic pose coughing and saying "Can't breathe any more ---" while gas vapors are visible in the air around her.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

I also don't know why James Robinson added the retcon that accounts of a female Atom and Doctor Mid-Nite were "fictions." They're clearly shown in the original story! Was it because the male heroes weren't known for having girlfriends back then? (I thought they both did but maybe I'm wrong.)

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

Interesting that the costumes in All-Star Comics #15 (1943) were gender-neutral (basically just fitted versions of the male costumes) but 57 years later in Starman #69 (2000) they were more explicitly female-coded (Inza's skirt & shorter sleeves, Spectre's bustier, etc.)

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

You know the JSA, now meet the GSA (Gender-Swapped Association)

The female counterparts of the male members of the JSA dress up in their costumes:
• Starwoman
• Dr. Fate
• Hawkwoman
• She-Spectre (Spect-Her?)

The female counterparts of the male members of the JSA dress up in their costumes:
• She-Spectre (Spectra?)
• Atoma
• Sandwoman
• Hawkwoman

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

I say I'd be fine using the tool that way if we could set it to just list its sources but currently it only displays the model's generated answer, which is often so long & poorly written it's painful to parse. It reminds me of trying to find a recipe online & having to scroll through all the filler.

John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

Another day, another meeting where fellow employees are pushing each other to use a.i. because it's "inevitable." When I ask what they're using it for it's basically to search across multiple systems, which is fair, but they either ignore or are oblivious to the poor quality of generated summaries.

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John Jakala @jjakala.bsky.social · 5d

Watched A Letter to Momo and really enjoyed it. The animation is beautiful — the figures and expressions are so well-done. I also loved the explorations of the life events of dealing with the death of a parent, moving to a new (smaller) town, making new friends, and the mother/daughter relationship.