Sign in

Dave Thomer

@davethomer.bsky.social
398 followers 426 following 3.1K posts

I teach kids about history and I hang out with my family. Still brainstorming on the profile pic and header. He/him

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Adam Mallinger @bitterscriptreader.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I read this at least five times before I ever read the comics. It's an incredible and candid look behind the scenes of one of the biggest comics debacles of the 90s. If you want to REALLY see all the pressures that affect creative works, read this. You'll come away with new respect for the process
296
Reposted by Dave Thomer
BACK ISSUE! Magazine @backissuemagazine.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Sadly, Russ Heath had to rely on doing art commissions and on donations from @heroinitiative.bsky.social to survive in his later years. Roy Lichtenstein got four million dollars for blatantly stealing/swiping Heath's work -- Russ Heath got nothing. ...not even enough for a glass of wine.
Comic strip written and drawn by Russ Heath detailing his financial and medical problems late experienced late in life and how the Hero Initiative helped him in his time of need.

The strip was colored and lettered by Darwyn Cooke.
01818
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. One thing that makes me less optimistic about the human ability to learn is that more of our decision makers apparently haven’t learned Goodhart’s law yet. I’m probably gonna need to read John Dewey’s Democracy and Education again.
010
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
@musicologyduck.bsky.social - my high school students are still singing Hamilton songs and Philly just did a screening on Independence Mall. I do teach kids at an arts-based school and it is Philadelphia, so calibrate your evaluation of the evidence accordingly.
000
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The feeling of understanding something that I didn’t understand, of taking that new insight and seeing how it ricochets off the ideas I already have, can be satisfying. It can make me happy. Other times, it’s just something I need to know to get on with my life and I just need to do the work.
000
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Jerry Ordway @jerryordway.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Here’s an in-progress shot of inks on a portion of a page by Dan Jurgens for the Superman 30th Anniversary Wedding special, out in a month from DC Comics! Fun to do finishes over Dan again!
510818
Reposted by Dave Thomer
They Might Be Giants @tmbg.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
People ask “Do you still play Don’t Let’s Start?” And the answer is YES.
23680119
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Jerry Ordway @jerryordway.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Happy Batman Day to all who celebrate! Here’s a retro Dynamic Duo on a facsimile cover!
527157
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Got mine last weekend.
020
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Adam Mallinger @bitterscriptreader.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
40 YEARS AGO TODAY - It's a new Issue 1 for SUPERMAN as he has his first encounter with Kryptonite and learns someone has been looking into his origins. And the new, more dangerous Metallo debuts! superfanxl.com/2026/09/18/s...
2176
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I watched this show enough to have a few very specific memories, especially since I am now a HS teacher. There is an expectation that teachers write the objective on the board for each class. At least once a year ai think of the ep where a former girlfriend was assigned to observe Mr. Moore.
110
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I played this noise for my 12th grade students this week and they were quite taken aback by it. I was trying to explain to them what "broadband" is and what it replaced.
000
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I love this album, and I love that I've been able to take it along for the ride for the last 30 years. A few words of appreciation: www.notnews.org/culture/old-...
notnews.org
Old Adventures in Hi-Fi – This Is Not News
000
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
See, this is why people outside of philosophy shouldn’t comment on it. I didn’t go all in on John Dewey and early US pragmatism until right after my *24th* birthday.
120
Reposted by Dave Thomer
George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Sixty years ago today, the starship Enterprise launched and with it, a vision of the future where humanity had moved beyond its divisions. I was there at the beginning, and I can tell you...
687266014799
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Mike Maihack @mikemaihack.com · 07/09/2026
💣 Harley vs Kara ❤️
Watercolor drawing of Harley Quinn, giant bomb in hands, about to drop off the ledge of a building mid-pursuit of a floating Supergirl; finding herself in a very looney Coyote vs Roadrunner situation.
4468611306
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I really like this analysis b/c I loved Coyote v Acme and felt it wasn't really a legal drama/satire - the case was mainly a way to show who the characters were. But as David Allen Green points out, that actually makes the movie more realistic about the law and litigation than many legal dramas.
1345
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I still have the copy of SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WIZARD I got from the Science Fiction Book Club back when I was in high school. It was good reading, and apparently there’s a lot more where that came from!
The cover of SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WIZARD by Diane Duane. The cover features two young wizards practicing and studying their craft. They still have some work to do, based on their concerned facial expressions. Meanwhile, spooky red eyes lurk outside the window.
030
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I've been reading through DC Comics' 1984 books on their app to try to better understand what they were like before CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS changed so much. I've made it through the first quarter. Here are my thoughts on DC in March 1984. #comicsky #comicbooks www.notnews.org/comics/dc-co...
notnews.org
DC Comics in 1984: March – This Is Not News
100
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Brian Jay Jones @brianjayjones.com · 04/09/2026
A nice article in @smithsonianmag.bsky.social on the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show, marking its premier UK episode in 1976. I may be quoted in here once, twice, or thrice.
smithsonianmag.com
Kermit the Frog Was Just Trying to Put on a Variety Show. Fifty Years Later, the Muppets Are Some of the Biggest Stars in Television History
The first episode of Jim Henson's "The Muppet Show" premiered in the United Kingdom on September 5, 1976. Enthusiasm for the eclectic ensemble has endured ever since
3347
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Phil Szostak @philszostak.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Easy Being Green, It Is Not by Peter de Sève is one of my very favorite Star Wars illustrations, so much so that I have a signed and framed print in my home. The piece was commissioned by George Lucas for his 2010 book Star Wars Art: Visions and he owns the original. peterdeseve.com/print-shop/e...
peterdeseve.com
"Easy Being Green It Is Not" — Printshop
Open Edition Printed on acid-free Canson Infinity / Arches Aquarelle Rag Fine Art Paper Approximate size 13” x 15” Shipped in an archival print protector Signed by the artist ...
1479
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
September is coming soon. My favorite song. My favorite album. My favorite band. Thank you @millsish.bsky.social Thank you @michaelstipe.bsky.social Thank you @remhq.bsky.social
youtu.be
Nightswimming (Official Lyric Video)
YouTube video by remhq
000
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Chris Eliopoulos @chriseliopoulos.com · 28/08/2026
I’m liking Lanterns. I like how they portray Hal flying. Something cool about it.
0285
Reposted by Dave Thomer
hilzoy @hilzoy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
In addition, most leaders of most countries since the invention of national borders would fall to their knees in gratitude if they had the kind of relationship with a neighbor that we had with Canada. They would be singing glad hosannas and slaughtering fatted calves in thanks.
7747112
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Ibrahim Moustafa @ibrahimmoustafa.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Been on a Superman The Animated Series kick recently, so I did some 6x9 illustrations based on different episodes I enjoy. First up is probably my favorite episode of the whole series: THE LATE MR. KENT
Stylized after Bruce Timm's aesthetic. Montage feat. close up of Clark looking skeptical touching his glasses, in the f/g his car on a highway exploding, and in the b/g the Daily Planet building with Superman flying nearby
21413131
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Got a question for some of the comics-history-knowers around these parts. Anyone know what the Comics Code Authority had to say about racist slurs back in the 1980s? @backissuemagazine.bsky.social @brokenfrontier.bsky.social @comixace.bsky.social @kurtbusiek.bsky.social @davidharper.bsky.social
400
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This post should be preserved as a Strategic Irony Reserve to ensure that the world always has a ready supply.
000
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Back when I taught students US history, I used a reverse chronological approach, starting with examining the US in the present and then gradually moving further back in time. I talk about some of the reasons I tried this on my blog. #sschat
notnews.org
Starting Where You End Up in US History – This Is Not News
031
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I’ve read a number of threads and posts recently that convince me that the charge that the comic plagiarized the academic text is unjustified. I do continue to wish more publishers would treat the citations as being an essential part of a work.
000
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I suppose it's inevitable to feel like some wrongdoers are asked to do far too much to make up for their wrongs, and others are asked to do far too little. But I sure feel like our society could do a much better job of deciding who belongs in each category.
000
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
On Monday, I made a case for proportional representation as the necessary step after the Voting Rights Act.
alabamareflector.com
The Voting Rights Act is down for the count. It's time to think about what comes next. | Alabama Reflector
It's not enough to go back to the law as it once existed. For American democracy to survive, we have to rethink our voting system.
091
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
“Universities denounced themselves as complicit in systemic racism.” Well yes, my university for example held the charred bones of Black children killed by Philadelphia police and at least one faculty member was using them to teach forensics so yes, gosh, there was some necessary self-denouncing
423050560
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Dr. Emily Friedman @ecfriedman.com · 11/08/2026
In case you’re wondering why I said “RIP” to Polygon on @dimension20.dropout.tv Adventuring Academy, this is part of why…
424848
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
The caveats to this sensible message include: 1) think about what you'll do if your degree takes longer than your funding and 2) think about what you'll do if your life takes you down a path more expensive than your funding. My answer to both was "loans," and that probably wasn't a great answer.
2111
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Unfortunately there is now no way for me to be 20 years old and living on a college campus with most of my friends 5 minutes away from me. Fortunately I am married to the woman I started dating while living on that campus so the very best part of my life in the 90s is very much present in 2026.
000
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Josephine beckbook.com Riesman @josie.zone · 07/08/2026
Fake album cover i made with a generator

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL 4'33" OF TOTAL SILENCE
16965274
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
1) Thus did DC help @jamesgunn.bsky.social with a plot point for SUPERMAN (2025). 2) Despite being "not terribly handsome" Clark still snagged an important TV job back in the 70s. 3) The Kryptonian lenses were a major plot point of the issue of ACTION COMICS I just read in my survey of DC in 1984.
000
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Seanan McGuire @seananmcguire.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
I am a girl. I like reptiles and horror movies and science fiction and comics and TTRPGs, and for my entire life, every time I have entered a space, I have had to prove that I didn't "steal" it from the person* it rightfully belonged to. (*Boy, then man.)
443240595
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Traveling to 1984 and back with the DC Universe Infinite app. Was amused to see covers from essentially the same series 40+ years apart.
Covers of four comics I recently read on DC’s app: issues of Detective Comics and World’s Finest from 1984, and issues of their successor series from 2024 and 2025. Batman is on all four covers, Superman is on the two World’s Finest covers.
010
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Adam is killing it on the hype lines here. And the whole post is good, too!
010
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Honestly at this point I think anything that contributes to ongoing interaction between people is orders of magnitude better for society than advertising that will be omnipresent to the point of annoyance for two months and then forgotten.
141
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Adam Mallinger @bitterscriptreader.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
40 years ago today, DC decided to follow up CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS with a crossover called LEGENDS. Back then, I knew its Big Bad, Darkseid, from the SUPER FRIENDS cartoon, which meant I was confused this evil plan wasn't about making Wonder Woman his queen superfanxl.com/2026/08/07/l...
292
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I had a lot of fun playing Rock Band with my daughter over a decade ago. I've kept the instruments since then because I keep hoping I'll have the time and energy and space to play it again. (And this will somehow make me 10 years younger.) This might have convinced me it's time to give them up.
100
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Dante Atkins @danteatkins.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
This is super crucial and important reading on the DNC and Ken Martin. It is the story you are not being told in essence because political media has zero interest in telling it. timwegener.substack.com/p/i-sit-on-t...
timwegener.substack.com
I Sit on the DNC Finance Committee. Rufus Gifford Has the Job Description Wrong.
The greatest political malpractice of my lifetime happened in 2024. Those that were part of it have not earned the presumption that they know what the party needs.
3109
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
My Trending list currently has the top two items: 1: Hellman's launches ketchup slices 2: SpaceX rocket crashes into moon And now I think someone needs to launch a giant ketchup bottle at the moon.
000
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
40 years ago, it was so common for men to have a beautiful house with a beautiful wife that he would frequently confuse them for another’s. Sometimes they wouldn’t even know how they had arrived at said location in a large automobile. Now the days have gone by and men struggle to achieve either.
341773219
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I think everything said here is true. I also think that whichever party knocks it out is going to get a first mover advantage because they'll be the ones who can pass stuff they've wanted to but couldn't, and the other party will have to react to that before they have the chance to do their stuff.
100
Reposted by Dave Thomer
Dante Atkins @danteatkins.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
When it comes to the DNC, so many people cannot conceive of an issue that does not break down along centrist/progressive lines. But the DNC's issues do not break down along those lines. They break down on structural issues: what should the DNC's job be and where should the money go? That's the key.
45214
Reposted by Dave Thomer
vote.pa @votedotpa.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The Voting Rights Act eventually gave every Pennsylvania citizen the right to vote, no matter who you were. This is where it stands today. Use your right and register to vote at vote.pa/register.
055
Dave Thomer @davethomer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
And then once you find people who are 1) willing to campaign and 2) able to do it, well you have to find the ones who are 3) also able to do the job that they are running for.
000