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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 9h

#30 - Treehouse of Horror IX (1998) Segments: Hell Toupee (evil hair) - 2 The Terror of Tiny Toon - (Bart & Lisa go into a cartoon) - 3 Starship Poopers - (Maggie is an alien) - 1 "Poopers" has its moments, but isn't very Halloween-y. #31DaysOfTreehouse #TheSimpsons #Halloween

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 11h

275 - Sabretooth and Mystique #1 - 10/2/1996 Former lovers & reluctant government agents team-up in this not-terribly-good X-Factor spinoff miniseries. Cover by Ariel Olivetti. Interiors by Jorge Gonzales & Olivetti. #XmenADay #XMen #XFactor40 #Sabretooth #Mystique

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

TP6 - Professor X Featuring Xavier's huge noggin'. "Of Earth?" Shouldn't it be "on Earth?" Scans via @tradingcarddb #TradingCardADay #XMen #FUXM1 #XMenTeamPortrait

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Throwback to one of my fav Silver Age X-Men issues, where they fight (alien)(robot) Frankenstein's Monster who is susceptible to cold (a fact they know), yet they wait til the end to have their ice guy fight him. Also, the debut of Jack O'Diamonds! www.therealgentlemenofleisure.com/2010/04/x-am...

therealgentlemenofleisure.com

X-amining X-Men #40

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Right? If I remember it at all, it's in the context of how no one remembers it.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

274 - Alpha Flight #30 - 10/1/1985 Mignola is another artist who, if he's got an eligible cover, is more likely than not to be picked (he beat out two Art Adams covers today!). Cover by Mike Mignola. Interiors by Bill Mantlo & Mignola #XmenADay #XMen #XFactor40 #AlphaFlight #Aurora #Northstar

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Queen of Chaos card's ability is arguably what the first card should have had, at least in terms of being a good representation of the character's comic book abilities. "Making random shit happen" was the character's whole deal for years!

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

With the release of Scarlet Witch: Queen of Chaos this week, Marvel Snap now has *3* different Scarlet Witch cards in it. Meanwhile, the likes of Wonder Man, Longshot, Harry Osborn, Amadeus Cho, Blastarr, Quasar, Speedball, Boom-Boom, etc. have none. comicon.com/2026/09/09/s...

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Also, the funny thing about the Chronicle segment is that, nowadays, if you didn't know exactly when Chronicle came out & you're watching the episode in syndication/Disney+, you'd probably just assume it was more timely than it was (which is true of a lot of Simpsons' "of the time" gags these days).

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's certainly debatable, but I think the Harry Potter parody in 2001's TOH is probably the first one that is based on something that is neither a horror/monster story nor relatively "Halloween-y."

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#31 - Treehouse of Horror XXVI (2015) Segments: Wanted: Dead, Then Alive (Sideshow Bob kills Bart) - 1 Homerzilla (Godzilla riff) - 3 Telepaths of Glory (Chronicles riff) - 2 The 3rd segment leans way too hard on terrible Japanese "accents." #31DaysOfTreehouse #TheSimpsons #Halloween

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

In which the Wild Ride comes to an end, as me and @adamreck.bsky.social discuss the romanticism of trains, the mechanics of holy water, and where we're turning our critical eyes next! #XMen #XSpoilers

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

TP5 - Wolverine Wolverine, of course, gets his own dedicated card in the insert set. Scans via Trading Card DB #TradingCardADay #XMen #FUXM1 #XMenTeamPortrait

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

First three daily variant rewards from Draft. The White Widow one is nice, and Jeff is always cute. #MarvelSnap

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yeah, take out the Dark Beast stuff, and it's pretty great. Young Emma moving on the edges of the Hellfire Club, a fun meetup with Banshee that's easy to reconcile, Harry Leland, all drawn by Bachalo.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

TP4 - Rogue & Archangel One of the fun things about this set is getting rare character pairings - like these two, who go years w/o sharing any on-page dialogue together. Scans via @tradingcarddb #TradingCardADay #XMen #FUXM1 #XMenTeamPortrait

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

With Spooky Season upon us, starting tomorrow, I'll be counting down the top Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes, one per day. With 36 episodes to date, that means 5 don't even place: Treehouse of Horror XII ('01), XIV ('03), XXII ('11), XXVII ('16) & XXX ('19).

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Said no one ever: You know what I want? A story where young Emma Frost strikes up an alliance with the alternate reality Beast from "Age of Apocalypse." Flashback Month: Hold my beer! #XMen #GenerationX #Xaminations www.therealgentlemenofleisure.com/2026/09/x-am...

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

273 - X-Factor (vol. 3) #49 - 9/30/2009 Remember Shatterstar's teleportation powers? Well, this is the first time he used them Cover by David Yardin. Interiors by Peter David & Valentine De Landro #XmenADay #XMen #XFactor40 #XFactorV3 #StrongGuy #Siryn #Madrox #Rictor #Monet #Darwin #LaylaMiller

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In a week rife with interesting X-Men stuff, my pick is Uncanny X-Men #36, the end of the "Wild Ride" story as well as me and @adamreck.bsky.social's coverage of the book (review forthcoming)!

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Either way, it's something with Orcs!

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

And it sure seems like gap-fillage is driven by collected edition releases (ie once the files are made ready for print books, they can be used to update MU). Which explains the MTU and PPSSM gaps, and why MTIO has gotten better.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Oh yeah, I forgot about that angle. Same. I'm also hoping the release of the Further Adventures of Indiana Jones in hardcover will lead to their addition to MU (though with the pace of new additions there lately, I'm not holding my breath...).

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Oh, are they like those old 90s die-cut covers (like Wolverine #50)? I don't think I knew that.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Speaking of Epic, three big ones in these solicits: Fall of the Mutants, another Clone Wars volume (the one w/the best title), and another PAD Hulk (also, Deadpool).

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I am torn on the MCP omnibus; I absolutely want all that stuff collected together (vs. parceled by character or story) but do I wait and roll the dice on the omni leading to an Epic collection run, or just get the omni in the interest of ensuring future volumes?

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The Fall of Kylo Ren #5 marks the end of the latest (limited) phase of Star Wars comics, as the deck gets cleared ahead of whatever they're planning for the 50th anniversary next year (which will hopefully be more than just that Star Wars/Marvel Universe crossover).

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I'm always a sucker for when "War Machine" gets plastered over the Iron Man logo.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I'm intrigued by X-Orcists and, frankly, love the title, but also, seeing the O capitalized (which, to be clear, it absolutely should be) still looks odds (it's better as a logo than written out). I end up reading it like its some kind of X-Men/Tolkien team-up book.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Given how well it went the last time they shoehorned a wider MU character into being a mutant, this doesn't bode well for Black Cat...

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Excited for a Boom-Boom-led X-Force but while I don't need to get into this rant again, I do wish this was just the next arc of the X-Force series instead of its own thing.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's kinda funny how the solicit for Maximum X-Men #1 talks about the absence of the Avengers, and it's listed right below...Avengers #2.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Thoughts on Marvel's December 2026 solicitations! Not sure how I feel about all the Midnight covers apparently always having the "mostly back, one column of comic art" design. It's striking, but also limiting?

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The view outside my window (it's very muggy right now, but also, not warm enough to have the AC on. Feel like that log is gonna have a child any moment now).

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Believe it or not, but I only saw It’s A Wonderful Life for the first time two years ago - and I loved it. So while I’ll buy just about anything @emilystjams.bsky.social writes anyway, this was a must have.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

That one is awesome. I tend to think of it as a tool for big sweeping action scenes but that’s a good example of how even in one small panel it can have an impact.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Out of the Patreon Vault: X-amining X-Men 2099 #7, In which the X-Men of the future get chummy with the group who just permanently disfigured their teammate by partially melting him. www.therealgentlemenofleisure.com/2019/02/x-am...

therealgentlemenofleisure.com

X-amining X-Men 2099 #7

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Did you know: that thing in comics where the same figure is drawn repeatedly with slight changes to create the impression of movement across a page is called the De Luca Effect. What are some of your favorite examples of it? comicsgrinder.com/2025/01/26/t...

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

272 - X-Men (vol. 2) #162 - 9/29/2004 Did this issue featuring Exodus' weird Brotherhood feature in my upcoming Back Issue Juggernaut article? You bet it did! Cover by Salvador Larroca. Interiors by Chuck Austen & Larroca #XmenADay #XMen #XFactor40 #XMenV2 #Sabretooth

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Stan Lee with some thoughts on Cable's guns. www.therealgentlemenofleisure.com/2026/09/x-am...

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Dinner tonight: Penne, peas & pancetta. The cherry tomato harvest will continue until morale improves. #DinnerTonight

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

TP3 - Beast & Jubilee That sure is a way to depict Jubilee's power! Also..."teenage tornado"? Scans via Trading Card DB #TradingCardADay #XMen #FUXM1 #XMenTeamPortrait

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Right? Just packs a ton of characterization into each figure.

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today is the FOC deadline for Back Issue #172 from the good people at TwoMorrows - if you want to *guarantee* a copy, featuring an article on Juggernaut by yours truly, do it now!

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Runners-up from last week's pool of X-Factor 40 covers! Featuring art from Steve Rude, David Yardin, Art Adams & Kaare Andrews. Which one is your favorite? #XMenADay #XFactor40 #XMen #Cyclops #JeanGrey #Angel #Beast #Madrox #Wolfsbane #Warlock #DougRamsey #Longshot

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Austin Gorton @austingorton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Ah, it's that special time of year, a few days before October, when all your favorite freelancers and content creators are scrambling to finish up their Halloween content plans.

static.klipy.com

Halloween Pumpkin

ALT: Halloween Pumpkin

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