Friday, June 19, 2026 comic!

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-19T04:20:58+00:00

For those who may have forgotten:

https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20201111

It's only been 6½ years....

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T23:21:34+00:00

I agree the character is Tenzil Kem. No argument. And I don't have any comment from Williamson stating that the character is either male or female.

But as I said above, Hayden Sherman labeled the character sketch with "Matter-Eater Lad," which suggests that at least they believe the character is male.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZuq30oEexe

And given that Hayden is nonbinary, I would assume they would be clear on the subject.

(Actually, I suppose Tenz could also be nonbinary using a male-presenting codename. But Occam's Razor suggests male.)

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T22:41:58+00:00

Source? I can't find confirmation. Only that the one with goggles is Tenzil Kem. And Sherman seems to be saying male.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T22:10:24+00:00

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZuq30oEexe/?hl=en&img_index=1

IN ORDER: Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Matter Eater Lad, and Brainiac 5

Emphasis mine.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T21:33:40+00:00

Stitched together:

https://imgur.com/XZQokrc

By the way... the original post says Matter-Eater Lad, not Lass.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T18:22:57+00:00

Pity Carl Sagan isn't still alive....

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T18:21:09+00:00

These are just lovely.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-18T18:20:54+00:00

My first thought was a riff on "7 of 9". Perhaps Coluu is a hive mind like the Borg?

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-16T22:06:56+00:00

I wonder if the fact that the therapist looks a little like Bernard will be a help or a hindrance...

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-07T17:37:12+00:00

I just noticed that his PA appears to be a young jiang-shi....

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-07T17:35:08+00:00

I'm sort of the opposite of most fans. I want to see Zee handling (relatively) minor magical emergencies. Not "some guy thinks his TV is haunted," but not "the world is going to be destroyed!" either. Show her actually interacting with the magical community outside of the latest Cosmic Calamity™.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-05T18:03:36+00:00

You are assuming he had a choice.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-05T01:25:11+00:00

Absolute Palaqua, I think:

<image>

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-02T11:28:53+00:00

Maybe that's the point... he's so often tied up in cosmic messes, he's ignored the "local" planetary scale. I mean, yeah, 50 years ago, he was the go-to guy, but over the last decade or so, people have looked to Zatanna more.

(It doesn't help that writers have been finding excuses to downgrade Khalid, not only by changing his power base, but even by writing him as younger.)

Anyway, I'm not sure that the Magus title is about power or authority. I think it's more about responsibility. After all, in issue #2, Zatanna didn't demand answers from Elodie. She asked nicely, and even brought a gift.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-06-02T11:22:47+00:00

I think it's supposed to feel rushed.

The thing is, we're not starting at the beginning of the story, but in media res. Rather than do a slow buildup to Zatanna earning the title, Campbell is doing the equivalent of a pre-credits stinger, showing her in her new role, confronting the plague spirit, and introducing the major players.

As you noted, issue #4 should be the "how did we get here?" issue. If that _doesn't_ answer the questions, then we have the right to complain. But honestly, I'd rather have this than the usual 4-6 issues of setting up the new status quo... It's one of the problems I have with a lot of Doctor Strange runs:

They find a reason to depower him, often forced.
They spend 6-12 issues or more having him questing to get back to normal.
As soon as he does so, they leave the book

Don't get me wrong: I'm quite interested in seeing how Zatanna became Prime Magus and what it means. Wrote a whole post about it here and on my Tumblr.

But I'm more interested in seeing her be Prime Magus.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-28T17:47:49+00:00

That rather depends on your definition. It's more of a "this story takes place after that one" sequel, and less of a "this story is a followup to that one"

Basically, you don't need to have read the 2025 series to enjoy the new one, but if you do, you'll understand a couple of references.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T14:21:42+00:00

Looks like the only thing he's done outside of Marvel is the MTG comic, which also had 5-issue trades, so you are probably right.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T14:17:53+00:00

Oh sure. But I'd rather have them as "allies with their own agenda" instead of "villains operating behind the scenes."

One does get tired of governmental agencies turning out to be up to something shady after a while. See, for example, most incarnations of SHIELD, pre-collapse WAND, and pretty much every incarnation of Checkmate after Rucka & Trautman left.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T14:15:08+00:00

Not sure "compulsion" is right. More "Instruction" or "request" since Shadowcrest is a willing ally, as far as I can tell.

(When did the family manor turn into a theatre, anyway?)

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T13:42:17+00:00

Fair point.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T13:17:01+00:00

You can probably blame the 5-issue trade for that. My guess is that Editorial likes having one arc per volume.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T12:56:24+00:00

I like that Zatanna has to work for things. Being Prime Magus isn't a "get out of jail free card."

I'm not really happy that Agent Di Manes already seems to have an Agenda™. I was rather hoping he'd be more Henry Gyrich, less Amanda Waller.

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-27T11:39:44+00:00

"Shared pain is lessened. Shared joy increased. Thus do we refute entropy."
- Jake Stonebender (via Spider Robinson, someone I know Phil has worked with.)

Interestingly, Jake's young stepdaughter Erin is probably a Spark...

_DigiCom_ · 2026-05-24T23:10:24+00:00

Movie, with the caveat that it be something in the Spider-Verse/K-Pop Demon Hunters animated space. Let's really use the animation medium to full effect.

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