iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Feels like a lot of multi-card combo decks fall under this idea, but Unchained comes to mind The deck’s lines are so dependent on the desired endboard that a careless misplay could be the diff between a multi-layered endboard with 7+ disruptions and a weak field that loses to a single board breaker

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

OH, AND YOU KNOW GREEN LANTERN JOHN STEWART ISN’T GOING TO SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS!!

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

I will NEVER get tired of Green Arrow calling out Green Lantern Hal Jordan for being a bootlicker 😌 -The New Gods (2025) #7

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

I remember watching the film in theaters and as the opening credits played, there were scenes of a mesoamerican-inspired glyph of the scarab as it would have been interpreted by indigenous cultures in Central America, and there was just something about its portrayal that struck a chord with me…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

I don’t know if I would say that it’s a book “for everyone” But I can say that if you’re one of the people it’s written for, then I hope it means the WORLD to you… as it did to me.

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

The book is certainly serious and heavy in subject matter, but the tone is often so light-hearted or even irreverent at times, and it just makes for such a cozy read for people going through their own stuff. Like I said, I cried A LOT while reading it…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Illustrating (no pun intended) the healing power of creating art, Thorogood shows how her work has not only provided escapism, but also a means to reclaim and recover from some the things that have harmed her in the past. It’s not exactly a panacea… but it definitely helps

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Along her journey, Zoe reminds us that we too are on our own rides along with her — whether we may realize it or not. Through all her struggles, Thorogood is still kind enough to carve out a special space for us and our roads towards healing & discovery within her book.

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Layering personal experiences with mental health, the honesty of imposter syndrome, and the 24-7 cringe-core torture of having to be an autonomous adult who interacts with other people… I never wanted the book to end I loved every little “caricature version” of Zoe’s psyche, and I miss them already

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Rather than recounting the formative years of her life in retrospect like most auto-biographies, author Zoe Thorogood keeps a record of the next 6 months of her life with the hope of better understanding herself. It’s the oddest parasocial relationship I’ve had with an book… and the most meaningful

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

7. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hooked on a book and soaked up every panel & page as I have with Its Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (I know, I have terrible taste in books) It’s honest and heavy, but also cozy at the same time… and I can’t recall the last time a book’s made me cry so much.

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

This thread was a series of ramblings with metaphors on top of metaphors and symbols within symbols, but if you had the patience to read through it and somehow get a comprehensible takeaway from it all, then thanks 🤷🏽‍♂️

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

I’ve heard from others that the “Baby, Hold Your Hand” chapters felt the most out of place out of everything from the TYBW arc They were certainly engaging and great to read! But they were by far the most “involved” chapters compared to the other fights in the arc prior to the climax.

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Kubo ends up writing-away a way for Mayuri to kill the Left Hand shortly after Nemu’s death… but not before letting the reader really feel the weight and dread of the thought that the Left Hand and everything it represents truly COULD bring ruin to everything he’s worked for up to this point…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

…but this interpretation of the text makes the next scene hit even harder when the Left Hand’s nerves go on to kill Nemu regardless of her attempts to defeat the monster. Kubo draws his own body’s sickness as the thing that kills his greatest work…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

So it’s cathartic to see Nemu step in to save Mayuri from the Left Hand because, in a way, it’s exactly what Kubo has done with his sickness — he’s drawn the pain that’s killing him onto the page and having his characters fight it for him because he knows it’s what they would do…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

The revelation that Mayuri sees Nemu as his greatest accomplishment and the fulfillment of his personal dream likely parallels Kubo’s own feelings towards the series of Bleach up to this point. Having created such a critical success of a manga, I don’t doubt Kubo saw Bleach as his own masterpiece…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

This vision of Mayuri as a stand-in for Kubo is most resonant when Mayuri undergoes his most sentimental moment of character development of the whole series: he recognition of his artificial assistant Nemu as his most treasured dream

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Fighting desperately to defeat the Left Hand’s damaging-nerves and even going so far as to perform arm surgery in the middle of battle, Mayuri’s actions come across as a heroic rendition of what Kubo possibly WISHED he could do — making his torn tendon into just another monster to slay and conquer…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Through this interpretation of the Left Hand as an antagonized totem of Kubo’s declining health… Mayuri serves as a contrasting foil to the Left Hand by arguably acting as a stand-in for Kubo in this fight against his illness…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Seeing as how the Left Hand inflicts harm upon the characters of Bleach by attacking “nerve endings” specifically, it strikes as me as a purposeful representation of how Kubo’s health was getting in the way of him giving the characters of Bleach the climactic final arc he had envisioned…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

I wonder if the Left Hand wound up serving as a “boogie-man” for Kubo to help work through his anxieties about his arm It can be a traumatic experience to have one’s body betray them by breaking down during a time where it’s needed the most… but art is often a means to work through such trauma

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

It’s not until Mayuri steps in that we learn some oddly “anatomical” series of traits concerning the enemy… -The ability to damage nerves within the body -The left-handed origin as the arm of the Soul King -A force so awful that it threatens the world of Bleach …was this how Kubo saw his health?

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Like I’ve said, I worry about coming across as “fan-theorizing,” but I can’t help but read this scene differently now, knowing Kubo’s health during these chapters of the series Suffering from a tear in his own left shoulder, I wonder if the Left Hand relates to Kubo’s own feelings and fears here…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

The first notable encounter with the Left Hand sees him facing off with Zaraki — a man best described as “a force of nature in battle” Against this beast-of-a-warrior, I think it’s telling that Kubo has the Left Hand ruin Zaraki’s arm and force him to tear it off to save himself…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Yesterday I wrote at length about my thoughts on the Right Hand’s relationship to Ukitake as a metaphor for Kubo’s own sentimental bond to Bleach as his body was suffering from the labor of the work But today I want to dissect the Left Hand and try to make sense of why it’s so WEIRD in comparison…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

I mentioned that Kubo has cited his declining health as the core reason for the series’ ending So this makes me retrospectively wonder about oddities that Kubo purposefully chose to spotlight in TYBW while trying to bring the series to a close: particularly the Left & Right Hand of the Soul King

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Given Kubo’s own deteriorating health throughout this final arc of the manga… I can’t say for sure that the parallel between himself and Ukitake as both “possessing the Right Hand that can save Bleach at the cost of their health” is intentional… But it’s there(?!)

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Not to glorify the martyrdom of “suffering for your art,” but knowing what we know now, it makes sense to me that the Right Arm would have chosen Captain Ukitake as its vessel — a sacrificing character long known for suffering from an anomalous health condition over the course of the series…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Explicitly described as a fallen artifact from heaven, the Right Arm strikes me as a metaphor for Kubo’s own right hand used for art and writing: A piece of him that has created everything in the world of Bleach, and wants to preserve it for as long as it can… even in the face of the main villain

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

The Right Arm of the Soul King felt like it came as an absolute Deus Ex Machina (but I don’t mean this in a bad way): It was a last-ditch attempt to hold on to what Kubo has built for years by this point. Following the death of the Soul King, the literal “Right Hand of God” steps in to help…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

DISCLAIMER: I wasn’t reading Bleach as it was coming out, so a lot of what I have to share is retrospective Please take it with a grain of salt if I misunderstand the timeline of events or things like that 🤷🏽‍♂️ — I wonder how the Right and Left Arms of the Soul King relate to Kubo on a metaphoric level

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

In the time since the series’ conclusion, Kubo has been open about how the production of Bleach affected his physical as well as mental health during the final arc of the manga Notably, he’s shared that his declining health at the time was the core reason for finishing the manga the way that he did

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

5. I like Bleach. I like it a lot. And in anticipation for the next new episode of TYBW, I want to write about some elements of the manga’s final story arc and how they make me wonder about their relationship to creator Tite Kubo as well as his experiences as he was finishing the manga… [Spoilers]

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

And as I’m writing all of this years after MitUSA, I’m reminded of how important is is for readers of ALL backgrounds to have an element of an image of themselves and their history in the heroes they look up to… I still want to do my video on America, and this book helps me hold on to that 🌟

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

When I finished reading this issue in 2021, I couldn’t help but think back to the character of Hernan Guerra — the Superman of Justice League: Gods & Monsters

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Her new family FEARS for her safety as a young and vulnerable POC child in 21st century U.S. society. “Should we report her as a missing child?” “Would they even really HELP her find her real home?” “Will she just become another statistic?”

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

The first chapter of MitUSA opens with a young America being found off the coast of NY by a nearby family Holding this issue in my hand and reading it for the first time, I could feel my heart swell with so much love and pride for the character as I thought to myself: “Omg… she’s OUR Superman…””

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

4. America Chavez 🌟 as a character holds a really special place in my heart I’ve done a video on her solo series before, and I really want to make another to say a lot more stuff about her… But today I want to write about a small moment from her 2021 mini-series — America Chavez: Made in the USA

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

It’s the best show I’ll never see, The realest dystopia I hope to never live through, The coziest tragedy that tugs on my heartstrings, Mary Tyler Moorehawk is a book overflowing with layers upon layers of cool, creative, weird STUFF that leaves me going “wtf???” in the best way

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

3. Mary Tyler Moorehawk is a great comic. That’s the post.

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

My final bit of praise isn’t on the book itself and more on the experience it gave me… I got to enjoy this comic with my partner by casting it to our TV and reading scenes aloud with her during our peaceful afternoons I don’t think we would have had moments like these without such a great comic ✨

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Weaving poetic irony with cultural poetry, I love how most chapters gives us a glimpse into the lives of animals/objects whose stories we may never consider… A crow, a cigarette, a temple… Only Death is given the chance to learn from these beings for the higher purpose of understanding life ✨

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

2. I ✨LOVE✨ The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V & Felipe Andrade It’s a book FLOODED with gorgeous color palettes, curious little characters, and scenes brimming with life on every page… And it all wraps a beautiful bow around the book’s plot: how Death is forced into reincarnation on Earth…

Cover art of “The Many Deaths of Laila Starr”

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Last night my friend and I finally got to get into NHotL We went on and on about HOW the characters responded to the betrayal Closest I’ll get to spoilers: We felt it in our guts when Rick breaks down over how through all the hurt, he wishes his “Judas” was still there to be his shoulder to cry on

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

But this first layer of emotional depth becomes compounded by the story’s core conflict of interpersonal betrayal. People lose trust. People break bonds. People are reminded of what they’ve done. These strangers on a page no longer feel like strangers because of what they have to say about it all…

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

NHotL’s plot, character interactions, and paneling all effectively leverage the awkward social reconnection that comes with… well, a lot of things that hit home to me right now. -Reuniting old HS pals -Seeing successful folks from Uni -Meeting friends-of-a-friend -Collecting in-person post-Pandemic

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Mel (Nu Comics) @nucomics.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

1. About a week ago, my best friend gave me The Nice House on the Lake by @jamesthefourth.bsky.social as a gift for my birthday. It was something he read about a year ago now, but as his friend who loves consuming/making content about comics, he knew I would like it. (Spoiler-free ramblings ahead)

Cover of “The Nice House on the Lake” Volume 1

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