DC Africana Appreciation Vol. 3: 2021

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

My pitch: Mal Duncan and Karen Beecher as magic/science battle couple. Mal would go by Herald, he is a Homo Magi and his power manifests through musical instruments (no crazier than Zatanna having to speak backwards to make her spells work) but his preference is the horn. He is fully committed to the Herald identity, dresses similarly to his 2003 Teen Titans cartoon version albeit older and his horn is also a gift from an angel which gives him a significant power boost. Mal can open portals with his horn as well as move, assemble and disassemble objects while playing it. He can also hypnotize people with it. He also wears light weight armor underneath his costume, which is made by Karen. Meanwhile, Karen would be a former scientist at STAR Labs and a meta human who gained shrinking powers after an accident involving a Zeta Beam teleporter (or maybe a Motherbox? Just to give her a tertiary connection to Cyborg). Karen uses a glider, sting rays and a host of other gadgets. She is a woman of science while Mal is an artist and magic is an art. Mal thinks of the world in broad, abstract terms, trying to imagine new possibilities while Karen is the realist, she cares about the details and in her mind there is only a limited number of was the pieces can fit ("2+2 can't equal 5 no matter how much you may want it to"). Depending on the situation, sometimes Mal's approach works and sometimes Karen's approach is better. Mal may notice a bigger picture that Karen might not and Karen might notice a detail that Mal oversaw. At the end of the day, it's their combined effort that saves the day.

Their main base of operation would be Gabriel's Horn which I would relocate to Amnesty Bay which would give them a connection to Jackson Hyde and allow other Atlantean characters to appear. I would utilize the GH as a superhero cafe and having a rotating guest star like Jackson Hyde, Dick Grayson, Wally West, Victor Stone, Donna Troy, Aquaman, Zatanna, Shazam, Superman, basically anybody could show up. The threats they face could be either science based or magic based. A little bit of Scooby Doo mixed with X-Files. Villains could include updated versions of villains that the Teen Titans franchise don't bother with these days like the HIVE Five (Psimon, Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo), Brother Blood along with 'off beat' villains like Black Manta, Chemo, Eclipso, Sportsmaster, Icicile, Tigress, Silver Swan and Clayface.

That's a cool pitch.

[lemonpeace]

My pitch: Mal Duncan and Karen Beecher as magic/science battle couple. Mal would go by Herald, he is a Homo Magi and his power manifests through musical instruments (no crazier than Zatanna having to speak backwards to make her spells work) but his preference is the horn. He is fully committed to the Herald identity, dresses similarly to his 2003 Teen Titans cartoon version albeit older and his horn is also a gift from an angel which gives him a significant power boost. Mal can open portals with his horn as well as move, assemble and disassemble objects while playing it. He can also hypnotize people with it. He also wears light weight armor underneath his costume, which is made by Karen. Meanwhile, Karen would be a former scientist at STAR Labs and a meta human who gained shrinking powers after an accident involving a Zeta Beam teleporter (or maybe a Motherbox? Just to give her a tertiary connection to Cyborg). Karen uses a glider, sting rays and a host of other gadgets. She is a woman of science while Mal is an artist and magic is an art. Mal thinks of the world in broad, abstract terms, trying to imagine new possibilities while Karen is the realist, she cares about the details and in her mind there is only a limited number of was the pieces can fit ("2+2 can't equal 5 no matter how much you may want it to"). Depending on the situation, sometimes Mal's approach works and sometimes Karen's approach is better. Mal may notice a bigger picture that Karen might not and Karen might notice a detail that Mal oversaw. At the end of the day, it's their combined effort that saves the day.

Their main base of operation would be Gabriel's Horn which I would relocate to Amnesty Bay which would give them a connection to Jackson Hyde and allow other Atlantean characters to appear. I would utilize the GH as a superhero cafe and having a rotating guest star like Jackson Hyde, Dick Grayson, Wally West, Victor Stone, Donna Troy, Aquaman, Zatanna, Shazam, Superman, basically anybody could show up. The threats they face could be either science based or magic based. A little bit of Scooby Doo mixed with X-Files. Villains could include updated versions of villains that the Teen Titans franchise don't bother with these days like the HIVE Five (Psimon, Jinx, Mammoth, Gizmo), Brother Blood along with 'off beat' villains like Black Manta, Chemo, Eclipso, Sportsmaster, Icicile, Tigress, Silver Swan and Clayface.

I actually like a lot of this! personally I'd prefer they had their own cast orbiting them but a rotating cast could be a great way to build deeper connections throughout the rest of the DC universe. my only real gripe is with situating them in Amnesty Bay. Iunno, I'd rather they not be based out off a location that's SOOO heavily affiliated with a bigger name; ya know, let them have their own space to dictate. other than that, I love this pitch. the duality theme is a dope concept.

[lemonpeace]

last day of the year! what have been your top black led or black centric stories this year?

for me:
Black Manta
Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom
Future State: Outsiders/Urban Legends: Outsiders
Static: Season 1
Icon & Rocket: Season 1
I am Batman
The Other History of The DC Universe: book one
The Other History of The DC Universe: book two

honorable mentions: The Next Batman/Second Son, Hardware (haven't caught up/read it yet), Future State: Aquaman/Aquaman: The Becoming, Nubia & The Amazons, Green Lantern, The Other History of the DC Universe: book five

[9th.]

The following have been my favs;
Static
Icon & Rocket
Anything Jace related
Aquaman: The Becoming
Black Manta

[Robotman]

Icon & Rocket has been great. Definitely my favorite of the new Milestone books.

Black Manta. Just an awesome character and I love how this series has added so much to his background.

The Other History issue 1. The whole series was good but the Black Lightning centered story was the best.