COMPLETED! Byarlant Training Type

Albert Schindehütte (b. 1939) - from Edgar Allan Poe’s Poetry Album, 1982

I feel exhausted when it comes to many human beings as of late.

Today while I was on public transit, the usual happened- every seat on the train was taken and the seat beside me was the only one that was free, but no one chose to sit there, and instead everyone stood. Nothing out of the ordinary for a turbaned and bearded guy in North America.

However, one woman put the icing on the cake. She was having difficulty standing on the moving train, so I offered the seat beside me. She looked at me, shook her head, then looked the other way. Her friend also asked her to sit down, but she refused again. As they were leaving, he asked her why she wouldn’t sit down. Her answer: “I don’t feel safe sitting next to someone that looks like that.”

As the door closed behind them, I looked on- shocked at what I just heard. Other people had clearly heard what she said, but didn’t really react or say anything. I decided to get up and stand as I didn’t want to face the same BS again.

A Punjabi Uncle Ji had seen what had happened and he came over to talk to me. I thought he would say words of encouragement, but instead he told me that I should “change my look,” tie up my beard to make it look smaller, wear a shorter gatra so my kirpan isn’t seen, and tie a more “appropriate” turban (aka the patiala shahi, not my dumalla).

Angered, I left the car at the next station and boarded the next one. The Paris attacks may be over, but the attacks on brown bodies have just begun. In the UK, someone tried to push a hijabi woman onto the tracks of an incoming train. In Ontario, a woman was attacked in public, and a Hindu mandir was vandalized.

I am tired of microaggressions. I am tired of racism. I am tired of the fact that we try to hide the fact that racism is a HUGE issue in Canada. I am tired of people in our community that cannot stand for their own people. I am tired of respectability politics.

I refuse to watch brown people continue to be demeaned, harmed, hurt, and insulted in such a manner. I refuse to tolerate this BS where something like this happens and onlookers do nothing. I refuse to change who I am, leaving behind the practices and traditions of my people to make myself more palatable for racist and xenophobic bigots.

I refuse to be a pawn for your idiotic hate.

During its Next Big Thing Panel at 2023's New York Comic Con, Marvel announced the creative teams for its all-new Ultimate Universe line that will be launching out of the success of the miniseries Ultimate Invasion.

The basic status quo for the new Ultimate Universe will first be set up in November 2023's Ultimate Universe one-shot by Jonthan Hickman and Stefano Caselli, before heading into an initial launch of three Ultimate titles in 2024: - Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto - Ultimate Black Panther by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caselli - Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko

Here are solicitations:

Ultimate Universe one-shot

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY! After the worlds-shaking conclusion of ULTIMATE INVASION, a new team of heroes bands together to save the future! From mastermind Jonathan Hickman and superstar artist Stefano Caselli, don’t miss out on this foundational issue for the new line of Ultimate Comics!

"What made the Ultimate Universe originally really interesting was that it was a reflection of the world outside your window, in the moment that you were living in. What does it look like in the world we’re living in now?" Hickman said. "It’s kind of shocking how much the world has changed in that period of time. The idea of what it would be like to see the genesis of Super Heroes in a brand new world is a really fascinating exercise."

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (2024)

Revolutionary writer Jonathan Hickman and acclaimed artist Marco Checchetto (DAREDEVIL) bring you a bold new take on Spider-Man, with the debut title of the new line of Ultimate Comics! After the events of ULTIMATE INVASION, the world needs a hero… who will rise up to take on that responsibility? Prepare to be entangled in a web of mystery and excitement as the all-new ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN comic redefines the wall-crawler for the 21st Century!

Teasing the series, Hickman said, "ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is a book I never thought I'd be writing. It's a bit of a Peter B. Parker [from Spider-Verse film] situation…"

Ultimate Black Panther #1

In the wake of ULTIMATE INVASION, Khonshu and Ra—the force known together as Moon Knight—are seeking to expand their brutal control of the continent of Africa. In response, the lone bulwark against them, the isolated nation of Wakanda, will send forth its champion…its king…the Black Panther! From the creative minds of Bryan Hill (BLADE, KILLMONGER) and Stefano Caselli (X-MEN RED, AVENGERS) comes a bold new take on the world of Black Panther and Wakanda!

"I was invigorated by this opportunity because in addition to my immense respect for Jonathan Hickman’s detailed storytelling, the idea of shepherding this bold new take on Black Panther in this event gives me a platform to do the kind of broad, epic, storytelling I’ve always wanted to do in comics," Hill said.

“My influences range from the history of BLACK PANTHER comics to Ryan Coogler’s incredible work with the recent films, to Frank Herbert’s worldbuilding capacity of Dune," he added. "This is something people won’t expect, in the best of ways, and full credit to Marvel and editors Wil Moss and Michelle Marchese for bringing this creative possibility to me."

Ultimate X-Men #1 (2024)

Visionary creator Peach Momoko reinvents mutantkind for the Ultimate age! In Japan, when a young student named Hisako Ichiki develops armor powers, she discovers she’s a mutant—and she’s not the only one! Meet a new generation of mutants, filled with original and familiar X-Men characters. Together, they’ll learn what it means to be mutant in the Ultimate Universe as they explore their emerging powers and the startling ways they connect to folklore, legend, and magic!

“I am very honored to be a part of the new Ultimate Universe,” Momoko said. “I am very careful in delivering the unique X-Men mutant elements while still being true to my vision and voice."

"I am also very proud (and surprised) that I was given enough freedom from C.B. Cebulski and Jonathan Hickman to create a brand-new X-Men character," she shared. "It might not be the normal portrayal of a super hero…but I am excited to introduce everyone to a new chapter to my Momoko-verse.”

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 is due out on January 10, 2024, Ultimate Black Panther on February 7, 2024, and Ultimate X-Men is due out on March 6, 2024.

Untitled

by: Jannik Obenhoff

Source: Alexander White

Great Unclean One 

by Helge Balzer