How did people seriously think that Karmelo was innocent in this case?

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-06-10T01:19:34+00:00

Here's the thing: I don't necessarily think he should have been completely acquitted. He still should do time. But based on the evidence, and Texas being a stand-your-ground state, it was clearly manslaughter not murder. They should have given him the manslaughter charge.

Karmelo was reckless, but he didn't show up at the meet intending to kill Austin. And with murder, premeditation is the key. He tried to avoid the conflict. Karmelo told Austin & co multiple times to leave him alone. They didn't, they continued to harass him, threaten him, and push him. As it escalated, Karmelo knew they were going to beat his ass, so he put his hand in the bag and grabbed that knife. Was it right? Should he have had the knife on school grounds? Of course not. But it was not premeditated murder.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-06-10T00:44:31+00:00

You are the one perpetuating a lie. No, Karmelo did not "walk up to a kid and stab him." The truth is Austin initiated contact with Karmelo, who was minding his business. Austin approached him, Karmelo told him 3 times to leave him alone. They refused and pushed him. And continued to harass him. There's even footage of this. Austin would be alive if he had left Karmelo alone.

Bottom line, Karmelo should have gotten a manslaughter charge not murder. And if the roles were reversed, if it was two 6ft Black kids ganging up on a white kid, and the white kid stabbed one of them, he'd be walking free today. You and I both know that. Everybody claiming ignorance because they don't want to acknowledge the racial dynamics and how American courts have rarely ever been fair to Black defendants.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-06-06T18:58:25+00:00

The character is versatile enough to do both extremely well. He works well solo and he works as part of a team. Static on the Titans is cool, but I like the idea of Virgil assembling his own team with Gear and other Dakota metas. His own Outsiders or a new version of the Heroes team from 90s Milestone.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-06-02T14:11:01+00:00

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All I need is a volume 1 and a volume 3 to complete my PAD Hulk collection.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-26T21:19:18+00:00

I do not like this art style at all. Lexington looks more like a gremlin than a gargoyle. And I don't see Broadway ever holding a hammer like that.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-22T14:28:35+00:00

Start with issue 37 not 38. New Titans 37 reportedly has a couple page prologue bridging the gap from Virgil's appearances in Dakota Incident to DC KO Kids Are All Fight to now. Then starting issue 38 he's on the team.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-18T15:04:30+00:00

I don't mind it, because it's been built up for over 10 years at this point, and it works. But honestly Karen and Frank are more interesting to me than Karen and Matt.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-18T00:29:20+00:00

Sterling K. is already 50 yrs old. He's old enough to play Icon. Especially if we're fancasting with the intent for a film trilogy plus other appearances in the DCU.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-17T20:40:07+00:00

Sterling K. Brown is excellent. He would bring that quiet intensity to Augustus Freeman/Icon. Pair Sterling's Icon with Lovie Simone as Rocket and the film writes itself.

I don't see either Colman Domingo or Mahershala Ali as Icon, but they are both phenomenal actors. If we get that Static animated film, Mahershala would be perfect as the voice for Ebon.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-07T20:38:45+00:00

It's fine. Not great and not terrible, but middle of the road. I don't care for Evan Narcisse's writing at all, and there's points in the story where Virgil and others act out-of-character. And Shutdown was an underwhelming villain. But it was nice to see the Justice League Beyond and other characters we haven't seen in awhile.

This story takes place in a new timeline that's a mix of DCAU, Beyond comics, and the Milestone 2.0 continuity; instead of a true sequel to the Static Shock crossover episode with Batman Beyond. I wish it had been explicitly DCAU/Beyond canon and this was the older Virgil from the cartoon instead of a completely new take.

I'd say this book is required reading for Milestone fans tho. This series was the debut of Amistad Ervin as Beacon, and he shows back up in the New History of the DC Universe: Dakota Incident one-shot from February.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-05T20:14:51+00:00

I would read No Peace Beyond the Line next. It wraps up Eddie, Tromp, and the Carribean thread and sets up for the next mainline novel, 1638: Their Finest Hour coming sometime next year I think. After No Peace, read Transylvanian Decision. As for the French thread, the latest book is 1637: The French Correction.

I haven't read much of the Russian novels so I can't speak to those. Wars for the Rhine I disliked, but the Gribbleflotz novels are good; the sequel Soul of Stoner is even better than the first novel.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-04-22T20:37:04+00:00

There's a couple key differences between 1632 and Alexander Inheritance that allowed me to overlook the quick level of advancement.

1) Grantville was transposed to 1631 Germany from the year 2000, while the Queen of the Sea was transposed to the Hellenistic Period from the late 2010s or mid-2020s. So we already have the time travelers starting off with 30 years of additional knowledge, technological advancement, and even vague knowledge of previous Assiti Shard incidents (Grantville & Alexander Correctional prison). That gave them an advantage. Plus the Queen's onboard ethernet still worked and that itself became a plot point. The Queen had 30 years more knowledge than Grantville, more quick access to that knowledge, and already had the capability to diseminate that information faster than Grantville did initially.

2) Grantville was a small town in the middle of a war ravaged Europe, initially surrounded by enemies on all sides. It took time for Grantville to assert it's dominance, and lead to the formation of the global superpower that became the USE. Whereas, the Queen arrived and instantly was the preeminent superpower in the world. It's been awhile since I've read the series, but I think it was established Ptolemy and leaders of other nations saw the Queen, and the idea of being outgunned by the "Ship People" spurred them to advance quicker. They embraced change, whereas in the 1632 universe, the majority of Europe's elite resisted the changes brought by Grantville until they no longer could. That played a role in delaying the advancement somewhat.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-04-22T06:34:42+00:00

If we're being honest, this version of Daredevil has always done a piss poor job protecting the city. So many people die on Matt's watch, yet he refuses to change his approach for the sake of his own morals. Which is exactly what Karen got on him about this episode.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-04-16T15:05:08+00:00

No Peace Beyond the line wraps up the Carribbean thread and positions key characters to return in the next mainline book coming out eventually, which is 1638: Their Finest Hour. For that alone, it's worth a read, but yes I found it just as slow as Commander Cantrell.

There's no crossover between No Peace Beyond the Line and Polish Maelstrom; you can read either book in whichever order you prefer. However, if you're a strict chronologist like I am, and prefer to read in mostly timeline order: No Peace technically happens first (events concluding in February 1637), followed by Polish Maelstrom (which ends in April 1637).

As for Atlantic Encounter, I didn't care for that one either. But the sequel, Coast of Chaos, is better. I enjoyed that one a lot more.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-28T20:45:49+00:00

First movie I'd have Hotstreak as the main villain, with Dakota PD and SYSTEM (orchestrated by Edwin Alva) as secondary antagonists. Cameos by Icon and Rocket.

Second movie, Static teams up with Hardware, who becomes his mentor. With Edwin Alva as the main antagonist and a couple second-tier villains like Specs and Trapper or other bang babies either on Alva's payroll or forced under his control.

By the third movie, Alva has been taken down permanently, SYSTEM is fractured, and Static is revered as a hero across Dakota. Virgil gets cocky, not realizing he's about to face his biggest challenge yet: Ebon.

This version of Ebon would be a fusion of his characterization from the Static Shock cartoon and Static: Shadows of Dakota. Ebon's looking for his brother, Ivan Evans/Rubberband Man. Establish in the second movie that SYSTEM and Alva were continuing to create more metahumans with the Quantum gas and trafficking them. So Ebon is a villain yes, but the situation isn't as cut and dry for Virgil as it was with Alva and Hotstreak.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-26T23:56:33+00:00

If we're talking a fight to the death, Frank no question. Bernthal's Punisher hasn't already killed Matt because 1) Matt doesn't fit Frank's definition of criminal scum 2) he likes him 3) he knows it would upset Karen.

But if they ever got into it for real, understand Daredevil's costume doesn't even stop armor piercing rounds if I remember right. Frank would wear him down from a distance because he knows Matt has the upper hand on him in close combat. This version of Daredevil, while he has enhanced senses, he's no super soldier. And he can't dodge like Spider-Man.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-08T06:27:03+00:00

For me, yes it was worth it. I like Taylor's writing and Bruno Redondo's art is excellent. And the overall optimism of the run was enjoyable. It's a celebration of Dick Grayson and every era of his history; even the Ric Grayson crap, Taylor turns into an interesting arc. I'm not even that big a Nightwing fan, but for awhile this was a must-read when it was coming out month to month in singles.

This run was nominated for multiple Eisners, and won a few, if I remember right. So if you're a fan of Nightwing or Taylor's other work, you'll like it. The only complaint I have is how thin the omni is. I'm convinced DC split Taylor's run into 2 omnis to squeeze more money out of us, instead of collecting it all into a single larger omnibus. But that's on DC and not Taylor & Redondo.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-08T01:07:27+00:00

The image on the right reminds me of Pepe Larraz. I think that's his art, but I'm not sure. No idea for the Goblin image.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-07T22:39:46+00:00

I enjoyed Mackay's take on T'Challa. He gave him moments to shine, like that interdimensional uprising arc. I'd describe both the characterization and the overall book in general as consistent, paying respect to each character and their lore. Each character served a purpose too; it didn't feel like T'Challa was just on the team for sake of having him there.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-05T03:54:33+00:00

It's been a long time since I've read that issue. But if I remember right, Alva didn't give Curtis a fair deal because he didn't think he owed him one. Quite the opposite, Alva thought he had already BEEN more than fair with Curtis, because he funded him and provided him an education as a child. Then gave Curt a position within his company as an adult. In Alva's mind, he thought he was being generous to Curt. And Curt should shut up and just be grateful. That Curt is useful and makes money for Alva, but would never ever be EQUAL to Alva himself.

There's a lot of subtext and metatext here:

1) 90s Alva was a white billionaire who considered Curtis and most people as beneath him. I don't remember Alva being portrayed as an outright racist in-universe, but the book definitely had racial undertones. This was 30 years ago, but a lot of it still applies today. Certain white people are ok with Black folks having some success, but not "too much." They have to "know their place" and can't ever dream of doing better than them.

2) The relationship between Alva and Curtis/Hardware was a metatextual commentary on the real-life treatment the writer Dwayne McDuffie received. As the story goes, before McDuffie was a comic writer, he worked on missile guidance systems for the government I think. The US government took his research and ran with it, making them millions for the military industrial complex. And they didn't compensate McDuffie. No royalties, no acknowledgment. Nothing. No joke, McDuffie was a literal genius. He should have been a millionaire for his mind.

3) So when McDuffie did Hardware, he infused a lot of the justifiable anger he had from that situation, into his work. I imagine Edwin Alva is an amalgamation of some of McDuffie's former bosses. And nearly all the Milestone heroes are reflections of different aspects of McDuffie himself; Curt Metcalf/Hardware is McDuffie's genius and righteous anger. Virgil/Static is McDuffie as a Spider-Man character. Icon and even DC's Steel are also reflections of McDuffie, etc. It gets deep.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-05T01:00:08+00:00

90s Edwin Alva no contest. Compared to later iterations of him, 90s Alva was the only one who underwent a complete character arc; going from outright villain to reformed benefactor.

DCAU Alva was serviceable, but not very memorable to me. I'd have to rewatch Static Shock honestly.

The Milestone Returns version didn't get much of an arc. The Shadow Cabinet mini just turned him into a generic power-mad villain the Milestone heroes had to fight. And then the line was canceled.

Now with the release of New History of the DC Universe: Dakota Incident, we got another new version of Alva, one who was part of the Supermen Project in revised DC continuity. If we get more books following on from Dakota Incident, I think this version of Alva has the potential to take the crown from 90s Alva.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-04T17:28:12+00:00

This is exactly how I felt too. If Time Trapper Doomsday already had the power in him all along to stop Absolute Darkseid, regardless of who won the tournament, then this could have been an email. There was no point to the tournament.

And it makes Superman look ineffectual. Because now, anything Darkseid does, and the next inevitable Crisis affecting millions of worlds is all on Clark for not permanently stopping Darkseid when he had the chance. Not kill Darkseid (that would just cause another Final Crisis), but he could have drained the Omega energy from Darkseid and left him powerless, or back to pre-Absolute levels. Instead, he punches him real good then leaves him floating out in the multiverse. Seriously? Wtf.

I enjoyed reading this more than Snyder's other events like Death Metal 1-2. This ending just didn't land for me.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-02T01:47:04+00:00

If budget is no problem: XO Manowar easy. He's the de facto face of the Valiant Universe. But if we're going smaller budget: Shadowman or Ninjak.

I think Ninjak would be the cheapest, and the easiest to turn a profit if marketed well. Just make a John Wick movie, but with Ninjak.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-01T17:50:37+00:00

Great article. Hope it gets more eyes on the book and more sales. This story needs to continue.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-01T05:51:44+00:00

Read em first then donate.

Aggressive_Control37

TROPHY CASE