tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5549146008450400202023-11-16T09:22:29.505-08:00The Cassandra Cain NetworkNoctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-66840006793733902172011-02-16T21:02:00.000-08:002011-02-16T21:02:52.994-08:00The Pain of Being A Fan of Cassandra CainIn one of my recent posts on a message board that I frequently visit (<a href="http://spidermancrawlspace.com/wwwboard/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5727">the BtO thread on the Spider-Man Crawl Space message board</a>) I mentioned that I had a lengthy rant in the works. Well, I decided to split that lengthy rant and I'm now trying to edit it into a series of mini articles. I just finished "Part 1", which I'd like to call:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The Pain of Being A Fan of Cassandra Cain</span></b></div>[<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*I'm not very good at naming things. Let me know if you think of a better one!]</span><br />
This has been a long time coming. In recent years, it seems like there are certain professionals working in the comic book industry who think that by instituting massive and sometimes controversial changes to a character, fans would happily dive into the idea and empty their wallets; that after years of great stories and deep character developments, bringing about new dramatic changes will equal to increased revenue. One of the characters that changed dramatically was Cassandra Cain.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I’m a pretty big, loyal fan of Cassandra Cain. I’ve been one for over 10 years now. I’m not ashamed to say that although she is a fictional character in a comic book, I’ve grown attached to Cass. Over the years, I’ve developed a relationship with the character and feel passionate about what happens to her. And before you think, “This guy is an obsessed freak for thinking he has a relationship with a comic book character!” Well, I think Bryan Q. Miller, the current writer of “Batgirl”, provided an excellent answer to this in a response letter he wrote to a fan:<br />
<blockquote>It’s funny - when I was down at the Long Beach Con last weekend at the DC Nation panel, I mentioned something about stepping on board with Steph, and how it takes a little getting used to, writing a character that some readers have had a relationship with for quite a long time. A guy in the audience snickered when I said “relationship.” I think he just didn’t get it. You do. So do tons of other fans of Steph, Cassandra, Babs, etc. We spend a lot of time and money and time and time and time with these characters. And as a result, people can get very passionate about things.</blockquote>Miller is absolutely right. Fans can dedicate a lot of time and money and can and will get very passionate about what happens to their favorite characters. So seeing their favorite character do a sudden 360* flip in personality can be extremely shocking and even painful to see. Fans of Cassandra Cain are especially familiar with this feeling.<br />
<br />
I remember the first time I read about Cass in Greg Rucka’s “Batman: No Man’s Land” novel. I was very intrigued with this functionally mute and illiterate girl who was considered by Barbara Gordon to be her best runner on the earthquake-ravaged streets of Gotham City and later became the new Batgirl. After I was done with the novel, I needed more. You can’t imagine how ecstatic I felt when I started reading the “No Man’s Land” comic books and then later the on-going “Batgirl” series and saw Cass in action. I was hooked!<br />
<br />
Everything about Cassandra Cain fascinated me: her history, her unparalleled fighting ability, her reasons for fighting, her uncanny ability to read body language and predict her opponents’ next moves or see if they’re lying, her constant need to train hard and get better and better, her willingness to sacrifice anything and everything, including her mind, body, and even her own life, to save a total stranger, her headstrong dedication and undying devotion to Batman’s never-ending mission against crime—all this plus the fact that she was one of the very few ethnic minorities that was a main character in the history of comic books. My attachment only grew as I watched Cass grow and mature as a character; think of it like an over-protective older brother watching over his younger teenaged sister or a proud muse watching over an artist or writer.<br />
<br />
Then in the summer of 2006, DC unleashed their brand new crossover pet-project called ‘One Year Later’. And everything went to hell! All of a sudden, the girl fans has been reading and watching for nearly a decade was changed so much that she was unrecognizable. She was no longer Batgirl. She was a bloodthirsty villain who led the League of Assassins. She was everything she fought against for so many years. Many fans were outraged! According to Wizard Magazine #182, the storyline was "one of the most controversial changes to come out of DC's 'One Year Later' event", and "fans rose up in arms, organizing websites and letter-writing campaigns to protest the change." Fans everywhere protested and angrily demanded answers for this despicable change in Cassandra Cain’s character. The DC Comics editorial leadership knew that many fans were extremely dissatisfied.<br />
<br />
In an interview, Dan Didio commented "I'm glad to see there was a reaction created, it shows that people care about the character and want to see something happen with her". Later, in many other interviews and press conferences Dan DiDio and others also stated that Cass will "be going back to basics," like in her early adventures before she was able to talk. Months passed by and still no change, no solid answer to why she was changed in the first place. Instead, things just kept getting worse and worse. Fans didn’t who to blame. Upon being asked if Cassandra's characterization was editorially mandated, writer Adam Beechen stated that<br />
"When I came to the book, I was told that the first arc would deal with presenting Cassandra as a major new enemy for Robin. From there, I worked out the details of just how that would come about with our initial editor, Eddie Berganza, and then his successor, Peter Tomasi." In a follow-up interview, he clarified further, stating "They didn't present me with a rationale as to why Cassandra was going to change, or a motivating factor. That was left for me to come up with and them to approve. And we did that. But as far as to why the editors and writers and whoever else made the decision decided that was a good direction, I honestly couldn't answer." Later, Geoff Johns was quoted saying "We will be addressing in Teen Titans exactly what the deal is with her. Is she a bad guy? How? Why? She was a completely different character before “One Year Later,” so let’s find out what happened."<br />
<br />
So in the last Teen Titans arc written by Johns, we got an answer: Cass changed because she was being mind-controlled and acted against her will. It was a ridiculous explanation and royally sucked. Then in October 2007, DC announced that Cassandra would be taking up the Batgirl identity as a member of the Outsiders in the upcoming Batman and the Outsiders ongoing series to be written by Chuck Dixon, which was hoped to begin resolving the controversy. Soon, fans began to reluctantly accept that no matter how much they protested what happened happened and just wanted to move on to better days. But this bitter reprieve would be very short-lived.<br />
<br />
In February 2008, Dan DiDio revealed during a convention panel that writer Adam Beechen would be writing a new Batgirl mini-series. Beechen himself stated that the story would answer all the questions from the past years, and would address all of the questions of why Batgirl has been acting the way she's been acting, and set the stage for new Batgirl adventures to come. Though there were a few “less than noteworthy but not horrible” moments, many fans, including myself, finished reading Beechen’s miniseries feeling even more dissatisfied and disappointed than before. In late September at the DC Nation Panel at the 2008 Baltimore Comic Con, DiDio, showing a slide with a cover from the current Batgirl miniseries, remarked that at many conventions since the cancellation of her own series, fans had asked for the character’s return. Hinting that the miniseries’ sales were not very high at all, DiDio pointed that the requests for the character’s return at conventions combined with the low sales of said return are something that they have to struggle with, and makes them look with requests for a character’s return with more skepticism.<br />
<br />
Ester Inglis-Arkell from <a href="http://4thletter.net/">4thLetter.net</a> wrote a short blog post that reflected how I, and many other fans, felt at the time:<br />
<blockquote><b>How Long Do You Keep Hope Alive?</b><br />
October 17th, 2008 by Esther Inglis-Arkell </blockquote><blockquote>I can’t stand Cassandra Cain. </blockquote><blockquote>This is especially painful for me, because I adore Batgirl in general, and enjoyed Cass in particular for quite some time. I loved her incredible skills, her competence, her strong morality and her unquestioning look at life. In a world full of characters who dissect every part of their lives her devotion, body and soul, to the mission of saving lives was refreshing and touching. I also liked her for her weaknesses. Unable to read, hardly able to speak, Cass was constantly trying to make others understand her situation, but was unable to communicate it. Because of this, it was surprisingly easy to identify with her. Don’t we all get tongue-tied at the most inappropriate times? Don’t we all find ourselves frustrated when we try to convey the entirety of an experience to someone who doesn’t understand our enthusiasm? </blockquote><blockquote>The current Cassandra Cain speaks fluent English, as well as at least one other language. She can read, she can write. Unfortunately, her ability to read body language has been lost, as well as a great deal of competence. Her morality has completely changed. This was a girl who walked away from everything she knew the night she understood that she was being trained to kill. Now she wants to kill her own father, as well as a few ex-accomplices. It feels, to me, as if this is an entirely new character, who happens to have the same name. </blockquote><blockquote>This kind of change is not rare for comic book characters. Different story arcs, different creators and, in the case of long-running stories, different eras, all change a character’s personality. I understand this. Still, nothing quite soothes the sting of having one of your favorite characters turn unrecognizable. Ah, how fans suffer. </blockquote><blockquote>My question is – when do you give up? At what point do you accept that the character you loved is no more, will never return, and it’s time to curl up with a stack of your favorite back issues and never glance at continuity again? Share your stories of the characters you loved and lost, and when you knew it was time to throw in the towel.<br />
I’ll be in the corner, waiting for the end of the Crisis and hoping for a retcon.</blockquote><br />
In the following couple months, Cass made several guest appearances in “Batman and the Outsiders” and in other Batman and DC titles. And then, Cassandra Cain suddenly disappeared from the DC Universe and went into editorial limbo. This went on for more than a year. Fans were lost, confused—utterly fed up and tired of the constant disappointments and letdowns.<br />
<br />
In late 2010, Cass began to emerge out of the ashes again. In the first issue of the new ongoing “Batgirl” series by writer Bryan Q. Miller, Cass was shown giving up the Batgirl mantle to her best friend, Stephanie Brown, who was masquerading as the vigilante Spoiler at the time. It was later revealed that Bruce had ordered Cass to relinquish the mantle in the event of his disappearance or death. She was later shown in Red Robin #17 to be crime-fighting in the streets of Hong Kong as an unnamed, costumed vigilante. Red Robin writer Fabian Nicieza stated that Cass will be making another appearance in his book again as a guest in an upcoming arc. In addition, Gail Simone, the writer of the “Birds of Prey” series, has also hinted that she has plans of using Cass in a future storyline.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, DC is still aware of the frustration and pain that I as well as many Cassandra Cain fans have been suffering for these past years. All I want is for DC to give Cass the fairer treatment, dedication, and respect that she deserves. Doing so will show that DC actually acknowledges and cares their fans. We’ve held on this long, so please don’t let us down again.Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-71586921529442443772011-02-09T00:32:00.000-08:002011-02-09T00:32:12.294-08:00Cassandra Cain News UpdateHere's something from Gail Simone's tumblr account regarding Cassandra Cain:<br />
<blockquote>mmm. I’m going to say something that will not be popular, but it’s true. A lot of the comments about these kinds of topics are addressed so insultingly and in such an accusatory fashion, that I imagine it actually pushes editors away from certain characters. If Character Z’s most loyal fans are represented by people who only scream and insult, I think that probably ensures that no one wants to work on Character Z, really. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I imagine it’s true, and I’ve seen that before. </blockquote><blockquote>So, I would say, make your case, write letters, make tweets, whatever, but try to be polite. You don’t have to kiss anyone’s ass…but don’t leave the editor with the feeling that you’re just going to be screaming no matter what they do. </blockquote><blockquote>Also, yes, it is still reality. Putting your real name on your message, where possible, ups its credibility rating immeasurably. People who deny this, are, I’m sorry, kind of kidding themselves. </blockquote><blockquote>That’s the general thing. More specifically, I think, particularly in a case like Cass, I think it’s perfectly fair game to explain WHY this character means so much to you. Editors are people, just like us, and most of them are fans. Let them know WHY this character connected with you. And let them know that you will support the character, and urge others to do so, as well. That stuff carries weight. </blockquote><blockquote>I wish I could say more about Cass…I know she’s scheduled for a couple things, and I personally am waiting to hear back about a VERY cool thing with her, but even if I COULD say what it was, it’s not yet a sure thing. </blockquote><blockquote>But I love her, I’m hearing your voice, and a lot of other people at DC, are, as well. Keep it up, and it will happen!</blockquote><br />
<a name='more'></a>I really don't know how I should react to this. Personally, I guess you can include me in the list of kicking and screaming fans BUT I do try hard to give reasons to my rants. For example, I've said many times before that I never, NEVER want first time readers to pick up the current Batgirl or Birds of Prey books and think that Cass never existed! Because quite frankly, on both of these titles Cass has been pretty much snubbed out. That's a fact! And what loyal fan wouldn't piss and moan after seeing their beloved character who gave them more than six straight years of epic reading pleasure get blown waaay the hell out of character, then get months of on-and-off writing (a few, short good runs with many, MANY head-scratching, aggravating falls and crashes), and then finally fall off the face of the Earth for more than a year. Still, I am very glad that there are plans in the works for Cass in Fabian Nicieza's Red Robin and Gail Simone's Birds of Prey. Now if only someone else *cough* Miller *cough* could see the light. . . .<br />
<br />
BUT I absolutely agree that regardless of how fans feel, it's plain stupid to resort to incessant vulgar insults and constantly being a rude @$$hole especially when we have expert witnesses like Gail who say that actions like this are doing much more harm than good and will only end bad for all of us.<br />
<br />
On a lighter note, I swear that I will send a letter of appreciation to Bryan Q. Miller (or any other writer) if I ever see something like this happen:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/319/7/e/batchick_by_colours07-d32waqb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/319/7/e/batchick_by_colours07-d32waqb.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
In fact, I'm tweeting this pic to BQM right...now!Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-58797318754083789822011-01-30T13:11:00.000-08:002011-01-30T13:11:35.974-08:00Personal UpdateHello CCN readers! I'm very sorry for the lack of updates as of late. Unfortunately, I accidentally slipped and sprained my right wrist at work a few days ago. Although the sprain isn't too bad, it is quite difficult to type, use my scanner, and edit properly with just my left hand. Hopefully I'll be back to posting updates and whatnot here sooner than later. I still have to finish with my CC Birthday Bash celebratory posts and others so please stay tuned!<br />
<br />
Again, I'm very sorry for the lack of activity and I hope you will please bear with me.<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
<br />
NoctisNoctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-39075989751724790172011-01-26T16:18:00.000-08:002011-01-26T16:18:20.071-08:00"To Cassandra Cain with Love" Part 1 - Daddy's Gift<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Now, live from the CCN News Desk it's Lily O'Doro!</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hello everyone and welcome to a very special edition of the CCN News Desk Report, </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>"To Cassandra Cain with Love!"</i></b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b></b>To celebrate Cassandra Cain's wonderful birthday today, I'll be bringing you highlights of the times when our beloved birthday girl received gifts from the special (and not so special) people in her life.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And being the daddy that he is, David Cain is our first highlighted gift-giver!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">[*Click to enlarge]</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/b600a3f2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/b600a3f2.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/9ebb4472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/9ebb4472.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/15d18084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/15d18084.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Awww</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Cain broke out of Blackgate (again) just so he can give his daughter a birthday present. Well, that's all I have for n. . .</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">-</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hold on, Ms. O'Doro.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">-</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh! Joining me now is the owner and president of the Cassandra Cain Network, Noctis. Hello again, good sir! You sure are out and about today!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">-</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Haha, yes. I'm just trying to do my part for today's celebration. But I digress. Before we end this special episode of the CCN News Desk, I have one more little tidbit to add about David Cain's gift to Cassandra. Although Cass didn't recognize the knife at first, she soon remembered its significance and sentimentality . Roll the footage please!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[*Click to enlarge]</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/33081ebf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/33081ebf.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/d89ffb51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/d89ffb51.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Oh, I just </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>love</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> seeing Cassandra when she was a little girl. She's so cute! And look at that big smile on Cain's face! They both looked so happy!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">-</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was indeed quite a touching and heartwarming moment. And remember, all scenes used today are from:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Batgirl #37 (Apr 03) - "Thicker Than Water"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Writer: Kelley Puckett</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Penciller: Damion Scott</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inker: Robert Campanella</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Colorists: Jason Wright</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And with that, I need to see how things are going at the <i>Carpe Diem</i> Club Room.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'll be seeing you! And that's all for now. Remember to check back again soon for more <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cassandra Cain Birthday Bash</span></b> news, updates, highlights, and more found only here at</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>THE CASSANDRA CAIN NETWORK</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is Lily O'Doro and remember,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Fight on, Cass lovers! Fight on!</b></span></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-26420956392230718452011-01-26T00:50:00.000-08:002011-01-26T02:25:34.426-08:00The CCN Pre-Party Report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://westfieldcomics.com/wow/art/large/2003_05-dc06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://westfieldcomics.com/wow/art/large/2003_05-dc06.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hello and welcome to the Cassandra Cain Network! My name is Lily O'Doro, director of the CCN Public Relations Division, and I'm reporting to you live from the fabulous <i>Carpe Diem</i> club room at the CCN Headquarters. Preparation and work is well underway for one of CCN's biggest celebrations,</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Cassandra Cain's Birthday Bash!!!</span></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With me now is the owner and president of the Cassandra Cain Network, Noctis! How are you, sir?</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hello Lily. I'm doing very well, thank you.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, are you excited for the big celebration later tonight?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Very</i> excited!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I most certainly am excited as well! For those who don't already know, not only is Noctis our CCN Owner and President, he is also our leading Cassandra Cain historian! In fact, Noctis will be putting on his historian hat and give a brief presentation about our beloved Cassandra Cain and how she discovered her birthday.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you, Lily. Cassandra first discovered her true birthday in Batgirl #33 (Dec 02): "Father's Day".</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/casscain/images/6/6e/Batgirl_33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images.wikia.com/casscain/images/6/6e/Batgirl_33.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Writer: Kelley Puckett</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Penciller: Damion Scott</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inker: Robert Campanella</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Colorists: Jason Wright, Digital Chameleon</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Synop<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 22px;">sis: In an effort to discover the identity of an entity known as 'Alpha', Cassandra volunteers to ask her father, David Cain, for information. However, things doesn't go exactly as planned.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; line-height: 22px;">[*Click to enlarge]</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/735475cb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/735475cb.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/66dff2ea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/66dff2ea.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/e892d718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/e892d718.jpg" width="403" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/10e34568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/10e34568.jpg" width="422" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/75318780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/75318780.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/551951eb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/551951eb.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/ed2f0123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/ed2f0123.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/7c8b0676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/islandstylinpride/7c8b0676.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: limegreen; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; color: yellow; line-height: normal;">Wow. I'm sure that wasn't exactly the "Father-Daughter" reunion that David Cain wanted. Unfortunately, my history isn't as up-to-date as I wish it to be, and I have a question. Was Cassandra angry at her father because of how he raised her?</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can say that part of her anger came from Cain's childrearing practices; however, there was another reason that attributed to her unleashed anger. In the previous issues, Cain framed Bruce for the senseless murder of a young woman named Vesper Fairchild. It was a very stressful and trying time for the Batfamily. In fact, some even began to suspect that Bruce did actually commit the heinous act. It was Cass who began piecing together the clues that lead to Bruce's proven innocence. Then with the help of Nightwing and Alfred the real killer of Vesper Fairchild was found out to be none other than David Cain. And the rest, my dear Lily, is history.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Indeed. Well, thank you so much for stopping by and giving us that very interesting talk on Cassandra Cain's birthday history.</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was my pleasure, Lily. Thank you for having me. See you at the party tonight!</span></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I wouldn't miss it for the world! And that's all the time we have for now, folk. Stay tuned throughout the day for more <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cassadra Cain Birthday Bash</span></b> updates, reports, and more found only here at</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>THE CASSANDRA CAIN NETWORK.</b></span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is Lily O'Doro and remember,</span></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Fight on, Cass lovers! Fight on!</b></span></span></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-35864043111459844782011-01-24T20:28:00.000-08:002011-01-24T20:28:25.219-08:00CCN Update<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hey there, Cassandra Cain fans! Sorry for the lack of updates as of late. I've been quite busy these past couple of days and haven't had the time or energy to do much of anything, but I digress.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First of all, I'm happy to announce a new feature that I will be showcasing every month here at the Cassandra Cain Network called</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>"The CCN Fight Highlight of the Month"</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The premise is pretty self-explanatory; every month I will choose one of Cassandra's top fights and post scans of the major fight scenes. I'll have the first fight up before the end of this week.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Second, the entire CCN staff is busy gearing up for one of the biggest celebrations of the year,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Cassandra Cain's birthday!!!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That's right, Cass fans! And I don't mean "birthday" as in her comic book debut; Cassandra's actual birthday (verified by her father, David Cain) is January 26. So, what does CCN have in store for that special day? Well, for starters, we're going to try and find out the age of our dear birthday girl. Then we're take you back to Cassandra's first party ever. Then <i>we're</i> going to party! And who knows, maybe we'll even see a guest appearance from the cape crusader of the night!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So remember to mark your calanders, folks! </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>The Cassandra Cain Network proudly presents</u>:</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">CASSANDRA CAIN's BIRTHDAY BASH</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Wednesday, January 26, 2011</span></span></b></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-45818139025315292112011-01-10T15:28:00.000-08:002011-01-19T21:47:28.122-08:00Weekly Dosage of Trivia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBU5N3b-nKfyP34jwPC1KmbAZo8Sr2HAWE6cm6dh16p1WYgChh2IzYpWcFzQd78VXSFiCErLRVO0ksn9doN02mCLFgvPUHzCWIZBn1860RVU0di75PzmoPQnHDCshcAEfeNu-JadF8vlg/s1600/Cas%2527_Screen_copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBU5N3b-nKfyP34jwPC1KmbAZo8Sr2HAWE6cm6dh16p1WYgChh2IzYpWcFzQd78VXSFiCErLRVO0ksn9doN02mCLFgvPUHzCWIZBn1860RVU0di75PzmoPQnHDCshcAEfeNu-JadF8vlg/s320/Cas%2527_Screen_copy.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ah! <i>Guten tag, meine Freunde</i>! My name is Dr. Nacht, resident physician and head bio-mechanical engineer here at Cassandra Cain Network. <i>Herr</i> Noctis is. . .how you say. . . "unavailable at the moment". So today it is <b style="font-style: italic;">I </b>who will be administering your injection of <i>nichtigkeiten</i>. Hmmm, according to <i>Herr</i> Noctis's records, you shall be receiving 30CCs of CCN Trivia serum IV; Main programming component:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>"Cassandra Cain's Batgirl Costume"</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, <i>meine Freunde</i>, let's begin, shall we?</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~Cassandra's Batgirl costume is a modified version of the Version 2 Batgirl costume made </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and worn by Helena Bertinelli (aka Huntress) during the Gotham City <i>No Man's Land</i> days. It was given to Cass after <s>Batgirl</s> <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BATMAN</u> ordered Bertinelli to step down as Batgirl and hand over her costume to him (*<i>Legends of the Dark Knight: #120)</i>.</span></li>
<li><a href="http://images.wikia.com/casscain/images/c/c9/BatgirlHelena3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images.wikia.com/casscain/images/c/c9/BatgirlHelena3.jpg" width="331" /></a></li>
</ul><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~The cape on Cass' Batgirl costume is the largest amongst all of Batman's sidekicks' costumes. Due to its large size, Cass would occasionally use her cape as a sort of cloak. She also has a habit of holding onto the lower corners of the cape when she is up on rooftops allowing air to blow into it.</span></li>
<li><a href="http://images.wikia.com/casscain/images/6/63/PanderCos1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images.wikia.com/casscain/images/6/63/PanderCos1.jpg" width="419" /></a></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~There were several others who shortly donned Cassandra's Batgirl costume. These included:</span></li>
<li><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100825085126/casscain/images/4/44/RoseBatgirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100825085126/casscain/images/4/44/RoseBatgirl.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rose Wilson aka Ravenger</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></li>
<li><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100930043041/casscain/images/6/68/BatgirlLing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100930043041/casscain/images/6/68/BatgirlLing.jpg" width="421" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Ling aka the original Lynx</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></li>
<li><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100611031108/casscain/images/f/f5/BatgirlStephanie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100611031108/casscain/images/f/f5/BatgirlStephanie.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Stephanie Brown aka the current Batgirl</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></li>
</ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, that wasn't too bad was it? Because you were <i><u>such</u></i> a good patient, I will leave you with this happy image. <i>Auf Wiedersehen!</i> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6LndUBrwVC3Y5z50wcVmW-7asH-Ej1uQlzlMULXO1Lma8Kn07_Tg84PXeDYtrtP0whx-Ew87vDfJujq-hM0oSYMnsDlLoE1-HOz6385YNTIyZLKGT-GFCdnkHiL7epe8CrBpYyrdhtA/s1600/CarielloCos1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6LndUBrwVC3Y5z50wcVmW-7asH-Ej1uQlzlMULXO1Lma8Kn07_Tg84PXeDYtrtP0whx-Ew87vDfJujq-hM0oSYMnsDlLoE1-HOz6385YNTIyZLKGT-GFCdnkHiL7epe8CrBpYyrdhtA/s640/CarielloCos1.jpg" width="376" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-25474413350231794232011-01-07T16:27:00.000-08:002011-01-07T16:27:52.741-08:00Moment of the Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Another new year, another new week, which means another installment of the CCN </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"<u>MOMENT OF THE WEEK</u>"</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Continuing with the Cass/Steph Friendship motiff, here's another memorable time shared between two lovable characters.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/stephaniebrown/images/e/e9/Batgirl_021_(04).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images.wikia.com/stephaniebrown/images/e/e9/Batgirl_021_(04).jpg" width="416" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I can't think of any specific quote to pull from here (because the whole page is just <i>AWESOME), </i>I'll just leave a few comments about it. Prior to this, Cass had been training non-stop for ten hours down in her Batcave. As I've also had the unpleasant experience of training until you tossed your cookies and watching someone toss theirs as well, I found this moment in time quite endearing--as gross as that may sound. Anyway, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I fondly remember laughing my head off when I saw this page.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The reason being Cass chucking out a mouthful of puke the moment after Steph said the word "Friend".</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>BACKGROUND</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Issue: Batgirl V1: #21</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Release Date: December 2001</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Price: $2.50</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Writer: Kelley Puckett</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Penciller: Damion Scott</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Inker: Robert Campanella</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Colorists: Digital Chameleon, Gregory Wright</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>TRIVIA TIDBIT</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was the first and only time Cassandra vomited in a comic book issue.</span>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-22092998883409744822011-01-04T20:34:00.000-08:002011-01-04T20:34:57.397-08:00Guess who's not welcome?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before I head to the gym to let out some pent up stress and frustration, I want to quickly tell everyone about Barbara Gordon's Welcome List for her current base of operations, Kord Tower. But first, for those who aren't familiar with Kord Tower, here's a brief description from <a href="http://www.comicvine.com/kord-tower/34-57139/">ComicVine.com</a>:</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/6/66037/1585218-screen_capture.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/6/66037/1585218-screen_capture.png" width="335" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">With the Birds of Prey fully operational again, Barbara Gordon deemed it necessary to set up a new base of operations within Gotham City. Figuring the best way to hide in Gotham City is to hide in plain sight, Barbara decides to set up base at the top of Kord Tower, a newly opened giant skyscraper dedicated to her deceased friend and ally, Ted Kord, the former Blue Beetle. Barbara was able to obtain an entire floor to herself that is only accessible by access code. She also as able to hide secret entry ways through out Gotham City, utilizing the underground tunnels Jean-Paul Valley used during his time as Azrael. Inside her floor, Creote, one of Barbara's henchmen, works as security only allowing a select few of Barbara's closest friends and allies into the base.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pretty cool, huh? The blue paint is also a neat homage to the late Ted Kord. Anyway, so in the recent Birds of Prey #7, Babs gave Batman (Bruce Wayne) a list of the individuals with interior access to the tower.</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilae1C9AFTkbHh7Xidgbr6usmTswQVNnS16-stNVaV-j0Mp7_mkfcNLCIsrnIEBYZhijk8aPAXKMsTEEG3iDGciF1FGgXzgkA_xS55Pig_Ot7wHYzhirAplw_jqNGfcdc8DV5bNEUJUtI/s1600/KTWL.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilae1C9AFTkbHh7Xidgbr6usmTswQVNnS16-stNVaV-j0Mp7_mkfcNLCIsrnIEBYZhijk8aPAXKMsTEEG3iDGciF1FGgXzgkA_xS55Pig_Ot7wHYzhirAplw_jqNGfcdc8DV5bNEUJUtI/s400/KTWL.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Click for a closer look.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So her ex-flame, Dick, is welcome. Her old wannabe Batgirl/do-gooder-in-training, Charlie aka Misfit, is welcome. Oh look, Bruce's son, Damian, isn't welcome. I guess he has to wait outside whenever Dick goes over to visit. Eh, Damian's a Grade-A dick so it's no big deal. But guess who else isn't on the Welcome List?</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>CASSANDRA CAIN!!!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So everyone--well, <i>almost </i>everyone--in the Batfamily and the Birds, plus her two new lackeys and Daddy dearest, are welcome but not the girl who she happily and willingly endorsed to take on her Batgirl mantle? Not the girl who saved her father twice from getting his brains blasted out? Not the girl who looked up to her like a mother? No offense to Misfit, but <i style="font-weight: bold;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Misfit</span></u> </i><span style="font-weight: bold;">is welcome </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">but not <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Cass?!?!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> Freakin Misfit?!?! COMMON!!!</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All I can say right now is <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">WTF! </span>Seriously, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>WHAT THE F***</u>!</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Did Cass do something to piss Babs off while she (Babs) was gallivanting around with her Birds trying to help the poor, troubled meta-powered teens of the world? You may ask, "But what about the <i>evil </i>things she did during <i>One Year Later</i>?" Well, seeing as Babs, along with most of the Batfamily asshats besides Tim, didn't do jack-sh*t to help her, I highly doubt she can hold <i>that</i> against her. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What the hell is going on, DC?! This is like leaving a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the fastest production car on the planet holding the Guinness World of Records-certified top speed of 431km/h (268mph) and is also 2010's most expensive car in world according to <a href="http://www.studenthere.com/redirect.php?url=http://www.gtspirit.com/2011/01/04/forbes-lists-worlds-most-expensive-cars/">Forbes</a>, inside an old, dusty garage to rust and rot. Why?! Just . . . <b>WHY?!</b></span></span></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-75607867536466421052010-12-29T01:11:00.000-08:002010-12-29T01:11:11.584-08:00Weekly Dosage of Trivia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBU5N3b-nKfyP34jwPC1KmbAZo8Sr2HAWE6cm6dh16p1WYgChh2IzYpWcFzQd78VXSFiCErLRVO0ksn9doN02mCLFgvPUHzCWIZBn1860RVU0di75PzmoPQnHDCshcAEfeNu-JadF8vlg/s1600/Cas%2527_Screen_copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBU5N3b-nKfyP34jwPC1KmbAZo8Sr2HAWE6cm6dh16p1WYgChh2IzYpWcFzQd78VXSFiCErLRVO0ksn9doN02mCLFgvPUHzCWIZBn1860RVU0di75PzmoPQnHDCshcAEfeNu-JadF8vlg/s320/Cas%2527_Screen_copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Hello friends. Dr. Noctis here bringing you another healthy dosage of Cassandra Cain trivia. I'm still in the holiday spirit (either that or the suspicious tasting glass of eggnog I just drank truly was spoiled) so this week's theme is <b>"Merry Christmas, Batgirl!"</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b></b>Cassandra celebrated her first Christmas in "Azrael: Agent of the Bat #61" (Dec. 1999).<br />
<br />
Cassandra's first ever X-Mas gift came from Oracle.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://antididio.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/azarel_61p11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="http://antididio.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/azarel_61p11.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batgirl: Huh?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div>Cassandra's second X-Mas gift came from Azrael.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://continuityblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/azarel_61p22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://continuityblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/azarel_61p22.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Azrael was caught in the blast of a Christmas tree bomb. <br />
Batgirl's reaction is truly priceless!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>Cassandra gave her first ever X-Mas gift to Azrael.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://antididio.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/azarel_61p14_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://antididio.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/azarel_61p14_thumb.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful dance indeed!<br />
I seriously can't help but smile at how deeply heartwarming and touching this moment was!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>That's it for this week! I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and is having a safe winter holiday season! Until next time,<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Fight on, Cass lovers! Fight on!</b></span></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-79462487778449618632010-12-28T02:58:00.000-08:002010-12-28T21:00:59.378-08:00Moment of the Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/stephaniebrown/images/1/1c/Batgirl_020_(06).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images.wikia.com/stephaniebrown/images/1/1c/Batgirl_020_(06).jpg" width="406" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"So, how about a <b>trade</b>, B.G.?"</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">"Trade?"</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>"You teach </i><b>me</b> <i>that trick with the batarang and I teach </i><b>you</b> <i>to read."</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>BACKGROUND</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Issue: Batgirl V1 : #20</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Cover Date: November 2001</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Writer: Chuck Dixon</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Penciller: Damion Scott</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Inker: Robert Campanella</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Colorists: Digital Chameleon, Jason Wright</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>TRIVIA TIDBIT</u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First team-up between Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and Spoiler (Stephanie Brown).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is never revealed if Stephanie ever gave Cassandra reading lessons.</div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-84346242116563253002010-12-22T16:07:00.000-08:002010-12-22T16:07:03.989-08:00MISSING: Cassandra Cain<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">DC Solicit for March</span></u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldr13a5Y0e1qbujox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ldr13a5Y0e1qbujox.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><br />
Birds of Prey #10<br />
Written by GAIL SIMONE<br />
Art by INAKI MIRANDA<br />
Cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU<br />
This is it! The astonishing conclusion to “The Death of Oracle,” featuring nearly everyone whose life has been touched by Oracle – villain and hero! How will the DCU operate without its premier infojock, and how will this event affect the Birds of Prey? All this, plus a fan-favorite operative works with the Birds for the first time ever!<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Cover</b>.</span> <b>Cassandra Cain.</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Not There</b></i>.</span> <u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">BLEEPING</span></b> </u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>F.A.I.L.</u></b>!</span><br />
<br />
Another nail hammered into the coffin! ["Coffin" being my wallet being opened to buy another BoP issue].<br />
<br />
*scoff* "<b><i>Family is not always home.</i></b>" How true this statement is!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
"<i>a fan-favorite operative works with the Birds for the first time ever!</i>"<br />
Whether this statement refers to Cass is...very questionable. She's worked with Babs, of course, and Dinah, and has been together with the whole BoP crew before minus Dove and Hawk (plus, she's been in over 5 BoP issues AND has a character profile in the BoP Secret Files & Origins issue).<br />
<br />
My point is that if Cassandra Cain isn't in this issue this title will be dropped indefinitely from my pull list and I will ignore its existence. I won't support a book and author that would blatantly ignore one of the most important characters in Barbara Gordon's life. Cass was her best operative during her NML days. Cass saved her dad's life <u><b>TWICE</b></u>. Cass was the first ward she's ever taken under her wing. Not including her in this issue will be more than a slap to the faces of Cassandra Cain fans. It will be downright insulting! Hell, not including her on the cover is already teetering on the line of insult. We will see.<br />
<br />
Until then, all I can say is:<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">FIGHT ON, CASS LOVERS! FIGHT ON!</span></b>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-71496340971055746062010-12-20T12:18:00.000-08:002010-12-20T12:18:12.269-08:00Cass & Steph: Soul Sisters<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was (and still am, actually) pondering about my last post (over at the <a href="http://spidermancrawlspace.com/wwwboard/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5727&start=465#wrap">Spider-Man Crawl Space: Message Board</a>) where I said that I'm unsure whether Steph can still say that Cass is her best friend. In my honest opinion, it should be undeniable that Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown had one of, if not the very best friendship in all of DC. Theirs was <span style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">special</span></span>. It had an embracing warmth that I couldn't find in other DC or Marvel titles. Their friendship has even transcended the physical level and entered each other's subconscious and unconscious mind (appearing as mental apparitions). </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Out of everyone in the Batfamily, Steph was the <span style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ONLY</span></span> one that Cass really opened up to. If Batman served as her father-figure and Babs as her mother-figure, then Stephanie Brown was the closest thing that Cassandra had for a sister. Her soul sister. And vice-versa. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">Whenever Steph needed help, Cass was always, <span style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ALWAYS</span></span></span> there for her. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;">When Steph needed training, Cass was there. Even when Batman forbade Cass to train Steph, when Steph showed up at her door, she ignored Batman's orders and continued training her. When Steph needed someone to talk to (even when she didn't to), Cass was there. When Steph was given the Robin mantle, she celebrated by teaming up and fighting crime with Cass. When Batman fired Steph from the Robin mantle, Cass was there for her. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Cass truly cherished her friendship with Steph. When Steph went missing, Cass would NEVER stop asking Oracle if she knew where she was. When Cass found out that her only real friend was "dead" (staged death, but Cass didn't know), she was devastated. At Steph's funeral, Cass cried and said that she couldn't even remember the last time she cried. Steph's "death" affected Cass more than anyone else (even more so than Tim). When Tim visited Cass in Hong Kong and offered her her old Batgirl costume, the first thing that she said was that Steph had and needed the Batgirl mantle. Direct orders from Batman and even her beloved mantle didn't matter. Cassandra <span style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ALWAYS</span></span> put Stephanie first.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Among the things he's said about Cass, BQM already said that she doesn't fit anywhere in his book for this year. So I can only keep my fingers crossed and make a wish whenever I see an airplane in the sky at night in hopes of one day seeing Cass and Steph back together again.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />I'll end my rant with a [link to a] fan-made music video I found that faithfully encompasses what I think, how I feel, and how much I truly miss seeing my favorite character friendship in all of comics.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rgDab_plYI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rgDab_plYI</a></span></span>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-19729193038909820412010-12-19T19:08:00.000-08:002010-12-19T19:08:47.932-08:00Weekly Dosage of Trivia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBU5N3b-nKfyP34jwPC1KmbAZo8Sr2HAWE6cm6dh16p1WYgChh2IzYpWcFzQd78VXSFiCErLRVO0ksn9doN02mCLFgvPUHzCWIZBn1860RVU0di75PzmoPQnHDCshcAEfeNu-JadF8vlg/s1600/Cas%2527_Screen_copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBU5N3b-nKfyP34jwPC1KmbAZo8Sr2HAWE6cm6dh16p1WYgChh2IzYpWcFzQd78VXSFiCErLRVO0ksn9doN02mCLFgvPUHzCWIZBn1860RVU0di75PzmoPQnHDCshcAEfeNu-JadF8vlg/s320/Cas%2527_Screen_copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Hey Cass fans. Another week has arrived and that means everyone gets another fresh dosage of Cass Cain trivia!<br />
<br />
<ul><li>According to the "Batman: No Man's Land" novel by Greg Rucka, Cassandra's name was given to her by Barbara "Babs" Gordon aka Oracle. Her actual name is unknown, though it is most likely her father, David Cain, never gave her a name in the first place.</li>
<li>For most of her early comic book run up until Batgirl Vol 1 : #12, Cassandra's name was not used. Instead, Cass would respond only to "Batgirl" as her name. Moreover, in the early issues of Batgirl Vol 1, Cass would become visibly annoyed when someone, for example Babs, called her Cassandra rather than Batgirl. However, in Batgirl #17, Cass softened up and allowed Babs and the rest of the Bat-family to address her as Cassandra or Cass.</li>
<li>The real name of Lady Shiva, Cassandra's mother, is Sandra Wu-San.</li>
</ul>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-31820784823532300912010-12-18T13:40:00.000-08:002010-12-18T13:40:17.215-08:00Moment of the WeekHey there Cass Cain fans! Noctis proudly presents to you a brand new on-going feature of this blog: <b>Moment of the Week</b>. Because it's already been explained in my <a href="http://casscainnetwork.blogspot.com/2010/12/site-updates.html">first Site Update post</a>, I won't say too much about it. So without further ado,<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.wikia.com/stephaniebrown/images/d/d5/Robin_88_(02).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://images.wikia.com/stephaniebrown/images/d/d5/Robin_88_(02).jpg" width="404" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>"Any advice for me?"</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>"Become faster."</i></span></div><b><u>BACKGROUND</u></b><br />
Issue: Robin #88 : "Secrets & Lies"<br />
Cover Date: May 2001<br />
Writers: Scott Beatty, Chuck Dixon<br />
Penciller: Pete Woods<br />
Inker: Andrew Pepoy<br />
Colorist: Noelle Giddings<br />
<br />
<b><u>TRIVIA TIDBIT</u></b><br />
First meet up between Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain.Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-32388456826039507362010-12-09T21:12:00.000-08:002010-12-18T13:40:07.072-08:00SITE UPDATESHey Cass lovers!<br />
<br />
So I was sitting and sipping tea on my apartment balcony a couple minutes ago admiring the abnormally quiet night and wondering why they call Assam Black Tea "<i><u><b>black</b></u> tea</i>" when its color is clearly <i><b>brown</b> </i>and not <i><b>black</b></i>. Oh and as a little Cass Cain trivia tidbit, that drink is Cass' favorite. :)<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Anyway, I thought to myself that since this site is dedicated to Cassandra Cain, using my usual online handle for its URL address is quite inappropriate. So I decided to use the site's name as its URL instead. Therefore, I will be changing it to: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://noctis7493.blogspot.com/">casscainnetwork.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<br />
The URL change won't be taking effect right away though--I want to figure out if I can forward people from the original URL (noctis7493.blogspot.com) to that new one. But I'll be posting another update right when I do make the change.<br />
<br />
Another update that I'd like to announce is a new weekly feature that I'm planning to do called "<b><s>Quote</s> Moment of the Week</b>". It's pretty self-explanatory; each week I'll be posting a random Cass Cain moment from different books. I still haven't decided if I'll just type down the quotes (Easy/Lazy Route) or post a scan of the page where the quote came from (Work Route). I will probably post the first "MotW" some time next week.<br />
<br />
That's it for now! Until next time,<br />
<br />
<b>Fight on Cass lovers! Fight on!</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">[EDIT: I took Stella's comment below into consideration and will change this on-going weekly segment to "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Moment of the Week"</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. I apologize for any confusion. Your understanding will be greatly appreciated!]</span></b>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-36408539642809008602010-12-05T13:07:00.000-08:002010-12-19T19:10:01.053-08:00Weekly Dosage of TriviaHey there Cass fans! Noctis here bringing you your first ever weekly dosage of Cassandra Cain trivia!<br />
<ul><li>Cassandra Cain made her comic book debut in <i>Batman #567 </i>: <i>Mark of Cain Part I </i>as a courier in Barbara "Babs" Gordon's NML street-info network, <i>Oracle's Eyes</i>.</li>
<li>Cassandra Cain's father, David Cain, also made his comic book debut in <i>Batman #567 </i>: <i>Mark of Cain Part I </i>as the would-be assassin of Babs's father, Commissioner Jim Gordon.</li>
<li>Cassandra spoke for the first time in her life in <i>Batman #567 </i>: <i>Mark of Cain Part I </i>when she blocked her father from achieving his assassination attempt on Jim Gordon and told him "<b>Stop</b>".</li>
</ul>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-554914600845040020.post-66353355743589188552010-12-05T12:47:00.001-08:002010-12-08T23:07:06.937-08:00Greetings and Welcome!<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Hi there and welcome to the Cassandra Cain Network! Thanks to my wonderful friend, Stella, host of the famous <a href="http://batgirltooracle.blogspot.com/">Batgirl to Oracle: The Barbara Gordon Podcast</a>, I have been inspired and have ultimately decided to start my very own blog on <i>my</i> favorite Batgirl and top DCU character of all time, the one and only Cassandra Cain! So what can you expect from this blog?</div><a name='more'></a><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">First and foremost, I will be bringing you reviews of all major Cassandra Cain-related comics. This will include any and all issues that I deem essential to Cassandra's history, as well as the entire Batgirl Volume 1, the Batgirl mini-series and even the highly controversial "One Year Later" issues. *gasp* Plus, every so often/when I find the time, I will be posting short essays exploring my thoughts on topics such as why Cassandra deserved the Batgirl mantle, what real life martial art matches Cassandra's usual fighting style, and what does the future hold for Cass? I will also try to keep you informed on any current Cass Cain news, announcements, appearances and cameos. Oh, and keep an eye out for your <s>daily</s> weekly dosage of Cass Cain trivia! All this and more!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Once again, welcome to</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The Cassandra Cain Netw</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">ork!!!</span></b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px;">Until next time,</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif;"><b>Fight on, Cass lovers! Fight on!</b></span></div>Noctishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12621559087428588594noreply@blogger.com3