Anthony Dean's avatar

Anthony Dean

@diversetechgeek.bsky.social

296 followers 167 following 5546 posts

I run Diverse Tech Geek (a tech blog) and Diverse Media Notes (a media blog). Into comics and animation. Pronouns: he/him. 🏳️‍🌈

Diverse Tech Geek: www.diversetechgeek.com/tech/

Diverse Media Notes: www.diversetechgeek.com/media/

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Kurt Busiek's avatar Kurt Busiek @kurtbusiek.bsky.social
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"Oh, no! The ship is sinking! Batman, see if you can reach the Coast Guard! Superman, it'd be great if one of us could just pick up the whole @#$%& thing and fly back to Gotham Harbor with it!" "I'll close this door, Robin!"

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Heat wave has started. Currently 86F (30C), highs in the upper 80s and 90s F (30s C) through Tuesday.

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Iron Spike's avatar Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social
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Not to go all Doomer, but I don't know! I genuinely don't know. If you WANT to stay independent, and Webtoon isn't an option? I just have no idea. I guess you could pray to get lucky? Follow the mold left by Heartstopper and Check Please! and try to get popular on tumblr?

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Iron Spike's avatar Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social
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Hey, so. I understand that this is anecdotal and not research, but. It is WILD how useless social media has become for promo. It's a fucking disgrace, really.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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A) there was going to be an Arkham TV show? B) the article image amusingly is from Batman:TAS and credited to "Fox Kids"...

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Jeff Harris's avatar Jeff Harris @nemalki.bsky.social
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Craig of the Creek had LGBT+ elements as well (not to mention being unapologetically Black to boot), and they straight up canceled that series even though it was one of the highest-rated series on the entire channel.

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Jeff Harris's avatar Jeff Harris @nemalki.bsky.social
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Call me nuts, but I legitimately think that My Adventures with Superman moved from the Cartoon Network brand to Adult Swim brand because of LGBT+ elements. Last week's episode actually contained a romantic kiss between two ladies. CN has been trying to shy away from those elements globally too.

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The Signal Watch's avatar The Signal Watch @signalwatch.bsky.social
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I'll be honest, I'm so off of Star Wars at the moment (I confess, I find Jedis kind of boring) and SNW has been so solid, I'm teamstarfleet all the way at the moment, and I generally had a foot in both camps since 4th grade.

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The Signal Watch's avatar The Signal Watch @signalwatch.bsky.social
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I do think 40 years of STNG in syndication has really helped get rid of the stigma of Trek, paired with the early 00's embracing of "nerd culture". I'm enjoying the new stuff, and that they do quality over quantity. But they do need to get it in front of more eyes on CBS.

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The Signal Watch's avatar The Signal Watch @signalwatch.bsky.social
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yeah. It's weird. Paramount seems like they were happy to distribute stuff (see: Indiana Jones) but failed to *own* it. I think there's likely narrative reasons it's not as big as other franchises, and if Paramount had anything else, I would hope there would be less pressure on Star Trek.

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Eric Jones's avatar Eric Jones @deacon05oc.bsky.social
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New buy from the used bookstore. I already have the first two sets. I need to get my daughter acclimated to Looney Tunes.

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Johanna Draper Carlson's avatar Johanna Draper Carlson @johannadc.bsky.social
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Comics has a long history of finding it easier to get more milk out of the current herd than attracting new customers.

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Johanna Draper Carlson's avatar Johanna Draper Carlson @johannadc.bsky.social
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I still say a Legion anthology would be the way to go. Adventure stories with the teen versions, science fiction with the young adults, more character pieces with the adults, all with soap opera.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Good point... businesswise, a bunch of Legion fans that didn't care one bit about the main DCU (and thus only buying one or two books) isn't as appealing?

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Johanna Draper Carlson's avatar Johanna Draper Carlson @johannadc.bsky.social
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That people could read Legion and only Legion without having to pay attention to the rest of the DCU was seen as a plus by fans, a big negative by the company.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Plus GL is set in the present and can cross over with other heroes (including DC's main moneymaker/flagship, Batman).

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Another thought re: what hurts the Legion: if DC wants "space opera"/space-set superhero stories, they have the Green Lantern Corps for that? Also see: how hard the GL mythos has been pushed over the last few decades.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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By not using generative AI, since it's also ecologically wasteful and scraping writers/artists wotk without compensation, all for garbage results? Even ignoring the tech industry's diversity problems...

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Sleestak's avatar Sleestak @sleestak.bsky.social
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this morning the *entire* news page was 4 pieces of the UK PM, An entertainment block, but the rest was all about how Biden should leave race and donors withholding money. NOT ONE word about Trump being unfit due to age and crimes.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Again, one reason why Paramount+ as a streaming service seems to emphasize "Star Trek" (even back when the service was "CBS All Access") and "SpongeBob"/Nickelodeon, plus CBS sports/cop shows?

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Byrne insisted on that?! But that's where the Legion's HQ is located (and 30th century Metropolis is also huge)...

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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...even if "Trek" is one of Paramount's few major franchises. And that's because Paramount as a company isn't as big as Disney or Warner Bros.---they just don't own as much stuff. (Granted, all three should probably still be broken up per media concentration concerns, but that's another rant. 🙂 )

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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I know. I like both, but "Star Wars" isn't seen as "cerebral" as "Trek," and has more emphasis on action. Throw in a more dystopian setting (vs "Trek"'s Earth-as-utopia), and endless jokes for decades of "Trek" = "nerds", and I can see why "Wars" is more popular...

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The Signal Watch's avatar The Signal Watch @signalwatch.bsky.social
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I don't know how old you are, but in the 1980s, Star Wars was gigantic. Absolutely massive. Everyone saw the movies. Star Trek was niche and was considered for nerds when no one was proud to be a nerd

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Wondering what the US will do for its 250th anniversary in two years from now, which there's been no buzz/word about (vs the bicentennial back in 1976). Maybe DC can publish an updated version of this story...

(Art by Bob Oksner.)

#IndependenceDay #Superman #comics

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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That said, "Star Trek" is heavily promoted on Paramount+, to the point it and "SpongeBob"/Nickelodeon make up the main selling points of the service (besides CBS cop shows/sports). 🙂 As for Paramount itself, no idea what'll happen if/when it's sold. Hopefully not stripped for parts like Warner.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Unlike the Legion, "Star Trek" is one of Paramount's biggest franchises, not a spin-off in the future corner of a larger universe whose top-seller is "down to Earth" and more cynical in tone (i.e. Batman). Still, even "Trek" feels like it's been eclipsed by "Star Wars" in prominence...

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Diane Darcy's avatar Diane Darcy @dianedarcy.bsky.social
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Discovery had a rough start with Season 1, but it has since been better. It's thanks to that series that we have Strange New Worlds, which has been an absolute gem of a series. I'm finding myself liking Pike more than Kirk as the Enterprise captain. Also, Lower Decks is an absolute joy.

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Diane Darcy's avatar Diane Darcy @dianedarcy.bsky.social
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Star Trek isn't suffering from the same problem. Outside of the Kelvinverse reboot, the original franchise has been thriving on streaming since Star Trek: Discovery revitalised the brand, effectively kickstarting its third wave. It's actually enjoying a boom for the first time since the second wave.

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Diane Darcy's avatar Diane Darcy @dianedarcy.bsky.social
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I think the bigger problem that hurt the Legion was the Crisis reboot because John Byrne erased Clark Kent's time as Superboy. Without the latter to inspire the Legion, DC kept reworking them, akin to throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what stuck. Constant rebooting/retconning hurt them.

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The Mela Experience 🟣⚪️⚫️'s avatar The Mela Experience 🟣⚪️⚫️ @kakapotrainer.bsky.social
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Imagine the complexity of the X-books, but add onto it the space settings/cultures/politics of Star Trek, and that's pretty much the Legion. And then have allllll of that reset for whatever reason every decade or so.

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The Mela Experience 🟣⚪️⚫️'s avatar The Mela Experience 🟣⚪️⚫️ @kakapotrainer.bsky.social
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When I was in college, one of my friends was dating a guy into comics. I told him that the Legion was one of my favorites, and he made a grimace like I'd said that kittens are my favorite snack. They kinda have a reputation as "overly complicated", between the setting & the retcons/reboots.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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IMO the Legion's best hope is probably spin-off media: kids' graphic novels, animation, etc. Less baggage/preconceptions, can appeal to a crowd besides Wednesday warriors, etc.?

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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While they seem to take stabs at giving them visibility, they're clearly not much of a priority. Why bother when DC can make yet another book set in or tied to Batman/Gotham City?

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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So overall, the Legion's a team of superheroes in an optimistic future distanced from the modern-day DCU (and can't easily crossover), is a spinoff of a character/concept DC's largely ditched, and has had enough reboots to make them less-than-newbie-friendly.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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The comic "Kyle's Bed & Breakfast" (about a gay B&B) noted the above: several B&B residents are comic fans, but one (who's a Marvel fan) gripes about the Legion A) not relevant (vs the Avengers) and B) too many reboots = too hard to understand and gave up. (The strip's creator's a big Legion fan.)

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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E) The multiple reboots not helping make the Legion new-reader-friendly, and seems to have given them the perception of "too hard to understand" a la Hawkman/Donna Troy.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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As such, Superboy as a concept seems like it only exists to maintain the trademark, judging from how modern successors Kon-El and Jon Kent are treated, plus Clark-as-Superboy something DC's shied away from like the plague (despite 40 years of books/a decade of "Smallville").

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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D) technically, the Legion's a spinoff of a spinoff: specifically, they're a spinoff of Superboy. Byrne's reboot removing Superboy doesn't seem to have helped them much (despite repeated reboots). Superboy was also meant to be a kid-appeal character, something DC cares zero about re: canonical DCU.

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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C) they're a spin-off of Superman, who (in the Legion's heyday) was DC's top franchise. While Supes is still popular, DC's made clear Batman is their top franchise, and seems to drive DC's general tone. And modern comics' Batman is definitely more "grim"/"cynical"/"nihilistic" than "optimistic."

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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My guesses: A) they're set in the future, so can't easily participate in the crossover happy norm of modern superhero comics. B) they're set in an *optimistic* future, which doesn't seem as popular as dystopic futures these days. (Even "Star Trek" doesn't seem as big as it once was?)

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Anthony Dean's avatar Anthony Dean @diversetechgeek.bsky.social
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Thinking of yesterday's Legion of Super-Heroes Bluesky discussion/guesses why they aren't as popular these days. (Though they did get an animated series in the aughts/a direct-to-video film a short time ago.)

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