View allAll Photos Tagged Published
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
.
.
I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 40.066+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on May 24th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1319051923 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 5,231st frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
.
.
Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty five metres at 07:04am on Wednesday 19th August 2020, of a Large red slug (Arion rufus) off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
Also known as the Red slug, Chocolate arion and European red slug, these are land slugs or roundback slugs in the family Arionidae. The opening on the right side is a pneumostome or respiratory pore whih feeds air to the lung. They have a striped foot fringe and pale sole, and can reach 150mm fully extended.
Also known as the Red slug, Chocolate arion and European red slug, these are land slugs or roundback slugs in the family Arionidae. They are widespread across Western Europe, with a variant species found in Northern Britain and Scandinavia. They have a compact bell shape and stretch out in motion to a length of up to 180mm. They were first noted in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus and areclassed as Mollusca, gastropoda class and subclass Heterobranchia.
Their life cycle is typically just one year and they are hermaphrodites. The opening on the right side is a pneumostome or respiratory pore which feeds air to the lung. They have a striped foot fringe and pale sole, and can reach 150mm fully extended. They have 27,000 teeth!
.
.
Nikon D850 Hand held with Sigma OS OPtical Stabilization enabled on normal setting. Focal length 340mm Shutter speed: 1/50s Aperture f/6.0 iso250 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points.AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode: Shutter Priority mode. Matrix metering. Auto ISO sensitivity control on (Max iso 800/ Minimum shutter speed 125). White balance on: Auto1. Colour space: RGB. Active D-lighting: Normal. Vignette control: Normal. Nikon Distortion control: Enabled. Picture control: Auto (Sharpening A +1/Clarity A+1)
Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
.
.
LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.55s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.05s
ALTITUDE: 55.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 93.3MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 44.10MB
.
.
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
Publish Janu,18/01/ 2017 BD LIVE HITS is a YouTube Chanel that presents all Hit Model, , Videos, News, , Live Performance, Juicy jokes etc ! ** Sonam's going to Hollywood!** Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, after traveling to Hollywood. Huma kuresirao international film debut. Britain, however, the film is not Hollywood. Sonam's father Anil Kapoor has already recovered Hollywood debut. Mission impossible: Ghost Protocol, and he acted in Slumdog Millionaire. Now Hollywood is Sonam. Ease of coffee with Sonam has acknowledged. Huma Qureshi international film debut. He is working with the director, Gurinder cadda his name. Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder's film. Huma Qureshi is going to release the film in the UK on March 3 this year. Subscribe our channel : goo.gl/FD2h1b Share the video youtu.be/5D2hCeYZPOI Facebook fun page : ift.tt/2gF3THr Twitter : twitter.com/anis01713734673 *****KEYWORD****** ** Sonam's going to Hollywood**
I just published my first ebook on Smashwords and Amazon. Each company sells it for different kinds of e-readers. If you're curious you can download a small sample on either site.
Anyway, it was a bit of a challenge to get it done but I'm super happy it's done now. I've had an earlier version of this book and another one with all animal photographs for sale as printed mini-books for years now (I sell them at craft fairs), but always wanted to get them online too.
Happy Earth Day!
Oor Wullie (English: Our Willie) is a Scottish comic strip published in the D.C. Thomson newspaper The Sunday Post.
It features a character called Wullie Russell .
Wullie is the familiar Scots nickname for boys named William.
His trademarks are spiky hair, dungarees and an upturned bucket, which he uses as a seat - most strips since early 1ii937 begin and end with a single panel of Wullie sitting on his bucket.
The earliest strips, with little dialogue, ended with Wullie complaining ("I nivver get ony fun roond here!").
The artistic style settled down by 1940 and has changed little since. A frequent tagline reads, "Oor Wullie! Your Wullie! A'body's Wullie!" (Our Willie! Your Willie! Everybody's Willie!).
Created by Thomson editor R. D. Low and drawn by cartoonist Dudley D. Watkins, the strip first appeared on 8 March 1936.
Watkins continued to draw Oor Wullie until his death in 1969, after which the Post recycled his work into the 1970s.
New strips were eventually commissioned from Tom Lavery, followed by Peter Davidson and Robert Nixon. Ken H. Harrison drew the strip from 1989 until 1997, when Davidson resumed duties.
Between January 2005 and 2006 storylines were written by broadcaster Tom Morton from his home in Shetland, and subsequently they were written by Dave Donaldson, managing director of Thomson's comics division.
The current writer is former Dandy editor Morris Heggie.
The Oor Wullie bucket Trail begins on the 17th June 2019 and is even bigger than the last one 3 years ago.
In 2016 Dundee held a bucket trail with over 50 sculptures all painted with different designs to celebrate 80 years of Oor Wullie.
This was a huge success with the sculptures raising over ÂŁ800,000 at auction for the local childrens charity.
They have decided to bring it back this year but on a far bigger scale with 150 sculptures and this time you will be able to find them not only in Dundee, but Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness and a few dotted in other towns and cities across the country.
At the end of the summer these will once again be auctioned off and the money will be split between 3 childrens charities.
Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail runs for 11 weeks from 17th June 2019 – 30th August 2019, culminating in a series of Farewell Events and nationwide auctions in each of the five host cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Scotland’s first ever national public art trail aims to unite the country as it raises awareness and vital funds for Scotland’s children’s hospital charities.
Funds raised through the trail will support Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity,Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity,and the ARCHIE Foundation, helping children in hospital across the country.
Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail is a Wild in Art event, and would not be possible without the support of DC Thomson Media.
I have taken a keen interest in this event and intend to capture all of the sculptures across the city, posting some of my favourite shots here on Flickr.
Note: this photo was published in a Jul 13, 2011 blog titled " Adopting through Foster Care."
Moving into 2012, it was also published in an undated (late May 2012) blog titled "Adoption Through Foster Care." And it was published in a Dec 7, 2012 blog titled "Here's How Parents And Kids Interact On Facebook."
Moving into 2013, the photo was published in a Jan 2, 2013 blog titled "10 Financial Resolutions That Should Top Every Parent's List This Year." It was also published in a Jan 14, 2013 blog titled "13 Common Mistakes That Can Blow Your Finances." It was also published in a Feb 28, 2013 blog titled "Gender: Sheryl Sandberg Presents: Deeply Troubling Stats About Women," as well as a Mar 1, 2013 blog titled "9 Reasons You Should Care About The Sequester." And it was published in an Apr 8, 2013 blog titled "Men Get Depressed About Not Having Kids." It was also published in a Jul 25, 2013 blog titled "Teach Us To Pray."
Moving into 2014, the photo was published in a Feb 25, 2014 blog titled "Resolve to Plan Your Estate in 2014." It was also published in a Jul 24, 2014 blog titled "Tips to Help You Invest in Your Kids."
***************************************
On my third visit to Rome this year, I decided that I had seen enough of Piazza del Popolo, Castel Sant'Angelo, Piazza san Pietro, and the Spanish Steps. Of course, there are lots of other magnificent sights in Rome, but I wanted something that would also have a lot of people around; after all, you can only take one or two pictures of a church or a statue, but there are endless variations of "people shots."
So I ended up in Piazza Navona, which was decorated for Christmas and full of sights and sounds that were apparently intended to attract families with children, as well as tourists and local visitors. There were clowns and balloons, costumed mimes, a man and a woman at opposite ends of the piazza blowing utterly enormous soap-bubbles, as well as vendors hawking toys and balloons and pastries and panini sandwiches. There is an enormous statue in the middle of the piazza, with gargoyles and mythic creatures, plus a merry-go-round, and a few other amusements.
But it was the people that I focused my attention on. Lots of kids, eyes filled with wonder at the sights and sounds around them; plenty of tourists from all over the place; romantic couples strolling hand-in-hand as they sampled the snacks and drinks on sale. I was delighted to see that there were lots of local people in the piazza too; it seems to be a popular place for families to bring their children.
Anyway, I took some 500+ photos, winnowed the collection down to 50 "keepers," tweaked and edited the keepers as best I could, and uploaded them here to Flickr for your enjoyment...
Published articles about the project:
petapixel.com/2022/08/24/photographer-spends-four-years-d...
Published articles about the project:
petapixel.com/2022/08/24/photographer-spends-four-years-d...
Jan Theuninck published in "Rimbaud et moi", Editions du Pont de l’Europe (sept.2020)
ISBN 978-2-36851-520-4
editionsdupontdeleurope.eproshopping.fr/1199832-rimbaud-e...
Rimbaud est toujours d'actualité, maintenant que nous vivons une saison en enfer dans une civilisation qui s’oriente vers un nouvel ordre mondial: ce communautarisme est déjà à la base de centaines de nouvelles règles et réglementations mondiales qui éliminent les droits individuels car cette politique considère que les droits et libertés individuels constituent une menace réelle pour la sécurité de la communauté; la propagande messianique utilisée nous rappelle les heures sombres du nazisme ou du communisme. L'histoire ne nous a rien appris: on peut voir les commémorations de l'holocauste presque quotidiennement alors qu'aujourd'hui il y a une prolifération d'armes chimiques(technologie de la chambre à gaz) et énergétiques à l'échelle individuelle: c’est de la torture contemporaine pour ceux qui sont suspects de ne pas penser correctement. La technologie de la “ville sûre” surveille chaque personne à partir du moment où elle quitte sa porte jusqu'au moment où elle y retourne et ils entrent chez vous pour y placer des micros et micro caméras sous prétexte que vous êtes en contact avec un “suspect” de terrorisme. Selon Hannah Arendt, la préparation au totalitarisme a réussi lorsque les gens ont perdu le contact avec leurs semblables ainsi que la réalité qui les entoure: pensez-y !
Jan Theuninck
Rimbaud is still relevant now that we are living a season in hell in a civilization that is moving towards a new world order: this communitarianism is already the basis of hundreds of new global rules and regulations that eliminate individual rights because this policy considers that individual rights and freedoms constitute a real threat to the security of the community; the messianic propaganda used reminds us of the dark days of Nazism or Communism. History has taught us nothing: we can see the commemorations of the Holocaust almost daily while today there is a proliferation of chemical (gas chamber technology) and energy weapons on an individual scale : it is contemporary torture for those who are suspected of not thinking correctly. “Safe City” technology monitors everyone from the moment they leave their door until the moment they return, and they enter your home to place microphones and micro cameras there under the pretext that you are in contact with a person “suspect” of terrorism. According to Hannah Arendt, preparation for totalitarianism has been successful when people have lost touch with their fellow human beings as well as the reality around them: think about it!
Jan Theuninck
Rimbaud is nog steeds relevant nu we een seizoen in de hel leven in een beschaving die op weg is naar een nieuwe wereldorde: dit communitarisme is al de basis van honderden nieuwe wereldwijde regels en voorschriften die individuele rechten elimineren, omdat dit beleid van mening is dat individuele rechten en vrijheden een reële bedreiging vormen voor de veiligheid van de gemeenschap; de messiaanse propaganda die wordt gebruikt, herinnert ons aan de donkere dagen van het nazisme of communisme. De geschiedenis heeft ons niets geleerd: we kunnen de herdenkingen van de Holocaust bijna dagelijks zien, terwijl er vandaag een proliferatie is van chemische (gaskamertechnologie) en energiewapens op individuele schaal : het is een hedendaagse marteling voor degenen die ervan worden verdacht niet correct te denken. “Safe City” -technologie houdt iedereen in de gaten vanaf het moment dat je de deur verlaat tot het moment dat je terugkeert, en ze komen je huis binnen om daar microfoons en microcamera's te plaatsen onder het voorwendsel dat je in contact bent met een persoon die "verdacht" wordt van terrorisme. Volgens Hannah Arendt is de voorbereiding op het totalitarisme geslaagd als mensen het contact met hun medemensen en de realiteit om hen heen zijn kwijtgeraakt: denk er eens over na!
Jan Theuninck
Prof MD Karl Hecht (armes énergétiques)
cdn.lbryplayer.xyz/api/v4/streams/free/2021-03-13_LesPens...
Dr Russell Blaylock (armes chimiques - english/français)
twitter.com/i/status/1405536195241668611
German psychologist explains it clearly, the corona measures are torture methods that are also used in China and North Korea
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdUNkPERLbg
twitter.com/i/status/1387893178267848706
MASS PSYCHOSIS - How an Entire Population Becomes MENTALLY ILL (cfr Carl Jung)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=09maaUaRT4M&t=1s
"Totalitarianism is the modern phenomenon of total centralized state power, coupled with the obliteration of individual human rights: in the totalized state, there are those in power and there are objectified masses, the victims" (Arthur Versluys)
Miss O'Neill dressed for bed or for a ball as Percy French would have it is the final image for this week. It appears that Beachcomber Australia is about to be disappointed because she married a Knight of the realm! The donor was Robert Jasper Joly who might be an interesting character to research himself?
Collection: Prints and Drawings
Date: Published 29 May 1815
NLI Ref: EP WRIX-EL (7) II
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
(further information and pictures you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
MariahilferstraĂźe
Mariahilferstraße, 6th, 7th, 14th and 15th, since 1897 (in the 6th and 7th district originally Kremser Sraße, then Bavarian highway, Laimgrubner main road, Mariahilfer main street, Fünfhauserstraße, Schönbrunnerstraße and Penzinger Poststraße, then Schönbrunner Straße), in memory of the old suburb name; Mariahilf was an independent municipality from 1660 to 1850, since then with Gumpendorf, Magdalenengrund, Windmühle and Laimgrube 6th District.
From
aeiou - the cultural information system of the bm: bwk
14,000 key words and 2000 pictures from history, geography, politics and business in Austria
MariahilferstraĂźe, 1908 - Wien Museum
MariahilferstraĂźe, 1908
Picture taken from "August Stauda - A documentarian of old Vienna"
published by Christian Brandstätter - to Book Description
History
Pottery and wine
The first ones who demonstrably populated the area of ​​today's Mariahilferstraße (after the mammoth) were the Illyrians. They took advantage of the rich clay deposits for making simple vessels. The Celts planted on the sunny hills the first grape vines and understood the wine-making process very well. When the Romans occupied at the beginning of our Era Vienna for several centuries, they left behind many traces. The wine culture of the Celts they refined. On the hill of today's Mariahilferstraße run a Roman ridge trail, whose origins lay in the camp of Vindobona. After the rule of the Romans, the migration of peoples temporarily led many cultures here until after the expulsion of the Avars Bavarian colonists came from the West.
The peasant Middle Ages - From the vineyard to the village
Thanks to the loamy soil formed the winery, which has been pushed back only until the development of the suburbs, until the mid-17th Century the livelihood of the rural population. "Im Schöff" but also "Schöpf - scoop" and "Schiff - ship" (from "draw of") the area at the time was called. The erroneous use of a ship in the seal of the district is reminiscent of the old name, which was then replaced by the picture of grace "Mariahilf". The Weinberg (vineyard) law imposed at that time that the ground rent in the form of mash on the spot had to be paid. This was referred to as a "draw".
1495 the Mariahilfer wine was added to the wine disciplinary regulations for Herrenweine (racy, hearty, fruity, pithy wine with pleasant acidity) because of its special quality and achieved high prices.
1529 The first Turkish siege
MariahilferstraĂźe, already than an important route to the West, was repeatedly the scene of historical encounters. When the Turks besieged Vienna for the first time, was at the lower end of today Mariahilferstrasse, just outside the city walls of Vienna, a small settlement of houses and cottages, gardens and fields. Even the St. Theobald Monastery was there. This so-called "gap" was burned at the approach of the Turks, for them not to offer hiding places at the siege. Despite a prohibition, the area was rebuilt after departure of the Turks.
1558, a provision was adopted so that the glacis, a broad, unobstructed strip between the city wall and the outer settlements, should be left free. The Glacis existed until the demolition of the city walls in 1858. Here the ring road was later built.
1663 The new Post Road
With the new purpose of the Mariahilferstrasse as post road the first three roadside inn houses were built. At the same time the travel increased, since the carriages were finally more comfortable and the roads safer. Two well-known expressions date from this period. The "tip" and "kickbacks". In the old travel handbooks of that time we encounter them as guards beside the route, the travel and baggage tariff. The tip should the driver at the rest stop pay for the drink, while the bribe was calculated in proportion to the axle grease. Who was in a hurry, just paid a higher lubricant (Schmiergeld) or tip to motivate the coachman.
1683 The second Turkish siege
The second Turkish siege brought MariahilferstraĂźe the same fate. Meanwhile, a considerable settlement was formed, a real suburb, which, however, still had a lot of fields and brick pits. Again, the suburb along the MariahilferstraĂźe was razed to the ground, the population sought refuge behind the walls or in the Vienna Woods. The reconstruction progressed slowly since there was a lack of funds and manpower. Only at the beginning of the 18th Century took place a targeted reconstruction.
1686 Palais Esterhazy
On several "Brandstetten", by the second Turkish siege destroyed houses, the Hungarian aristocratic family Esterhazy had built herself a simple palace, which also had a passage on the Mariahilferstrasse. 1764 bought the innkeeper Paul Winkelmayr from Spittelberg the building, demolished it and built two new buildings that have been named in accordance with the Esterhazy "to the Hungarian crown."
17th Century to 19th Century. Fom the village to suburb
With the development of the settlements on the MariahilferstraĂźe from village to suburbs, changed not only the appearance but also the population. More and more agricultural land fell victim to the development, craftsmen and tradesmen settled there. There was an incredible variety of professions and trades, most of which were organized into guilds or crafts. Those cared for vocational training, quality and price of the goods, and in cases of unemployment, sickness and death.
The farms were replaced by churches and palaces, houses and shops. Mariahilf changed into a major industrial district, Mariahilferstrasse was an important trading center. Countless street traders sold the goods, which they carried either with them, or put in a street stall on display. The dealers made themselves noticeable by a significant Kaufruf (purchase call). So there was the ink man who went about with his bottles, the Wasserbauer (hydraulic engineering) who sold Danube water on his horse-drawn vehicle as industrial water, or the lavender woman. This lovely Viennese figures disappeared with the emergence of fixed premises and the improvement of urban transport.
Private carriages, horse-drawn carriages and buggies populated the streets, who used this route also for trips. At Mariahilferplatz Linientor (gate) was the main stand of the cheapest and most popular means of transport, the Zeiselwagen, which the Wiener used for their excursions into nature, which gradually became fashionable. In the 19th Century then yet arrived the Stellwagen (carriage) and bus traffic which had to accomplish the connection between Vienna and the suburbs. As a Viennese joke has it, suggests the Stellwagen that it has been so called because it did not come from the spot.
1719 - 1723 Royal and Imperial Court Stables
Emperor Charles VI. gave the order for the construction of the stables to Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. 1772 the building was extended by two houses on the Mariahilferstrasse. The size of the stables still shows, as it serves as the Museum Quarter - its former importance. The Mariahilferstraße since the building of Schönbrunn Palace by the Imperial court very strongly was frequented. Today in the historic buildings the Museum Quarter is housed.
The church and monastery of Maria HĂĽlff
Coloured engraving by J. Ziegler, 1783
1730 Mariahilferkirche
1711 began the renovation works at the Mariahilferkirche, giving the church building today's appearance and importance as a baroque monument. The plans stem from Franziskus Jänkl, the foreman of Lukas von Hildebrandt. Originally stood on the site of the Mariahilferkirche in the medieval vineyard "In Schoeff" a cemetery with wooden chapel built by the Barnabites. Already in those days, the miraculous image Mariahilf was located therein. During the Ottoman siege the chapel was destroyed, the miraculous image could be saved behind the protective walls. After the provisional reconstruction the miraculous image in a triumphal procession was returned, accompanied by 30,000 Viennese.
1790 - 1836 Ferdinand Raimund
Although in the district Mariahilf many artists and historical figures of Vienna lived , it is noticeable that as a residence they rather shunned the MariahilferstraĂźe, because as early as in the 18th Century there was a very lively and loud bustle on the street. The most famous person who was born on the Mariahilferstrasse is the folk actor and dramatist Ferdinand Raimund. He came in the house No. 45, "To the Golden deer (Zum Goldenen Hirschen)", which still exists today, as son of a turner into the world. As confectioners apprentice, he also had to visit the theaters, where he was a so-called "Numero", who sold his wares to the visitors. This encounter with the theater was fateful. He took flight from his training masters and joined a traveling troupe as an actor. After his return to Vienna, he soon became the most popular comedian. In his plays all those figures appeared then bustling the streets of Vienna. His most famous role was that of the "ash man" in "Farmer as Millionaire", a genuine Viennese guy who brings the wood ash in Butte from the houses, and from the proceeds leading a modest existence.
1805 - 1809 French occupation
The two-time occupation of Vienna by the French hit the suburbs hard. But the buildings were not destroyed fortunately.
19th century Industrialization
Here, where a higher concentration of artisans had developed as in other districts, you could feel the competition of the factories particularly hard. A craftsman after another became factory worker, women and child labor was part of the day-to-day business. With the sharp rise of the population grew apartment misery and flourished bed lodgers and roomers business.
1826
The MariahilferstraĂźe is paved up to the present belt (GĂĽrtel).
1848 years of the revolution
The Mariahilferstraße this year was in turmoil. At the outbreak of the revolution, the hatred of the people was directed against the Verzehrungssteuerämter (some kind of tax authority) at the lines that have been blamed for the rise of food prices, and against the machines in the factories that had made the small craftsmen out of work or dependent workers. In October, students, workers and citizens tore up paving stones and barricaded themselves in the Mariahilfer Linientor (the so-called Linienwall was the tax frontier) in the area of ​​today's belt.
1858 The Ring Road
The city walls fell and on the glacis arose the ring-road, the now 6th District more closely linking to the city center.
1862 Official naming
The Mariahilferstraße received its to the present day valid name, after it previously was bearing the following unofficial names: "Bavarian country road", "Mariahilfer Grund Straße", "Penzinger Street", "Laimgrube main street" and "Schönbrunner Linienstraße".
The turn of the century: development to commercial street
After the revolution of 1848, the industry displaced the dominant small business rapidly. At the same time the MariahilferstraĂźe developed into the first major shopping street of Vienna. The rising supply had to be passed on to the customer, and so more and more new shops sprang up. Around the turn of the century broke out a real building boom. The low suburban houses with Baroque and Biedermeier facade gave way to multi-storey houses with flashy and ostentatious facades in that historic style mixture, which was so characteristic of the late Ringstrasse period. From the former historic buildings almost nothing remained. The business portals were bigger and more pompous, the first department stores in the modern style were Gerngross and Herzmansky. Especially the clothing industry took root here.
1863 Herzmansky opened
On 3 March opened August Herzmansky a small general store in the Church Lane (Kirchengasse) 4. 1897 the great establishment in the pin alley (Stiftgasse) was opened, the largest textile company of the monarchy. August Herzmansky died a year before the opening, two nephews take over the business. In 1928, Mariahilferstraße 28 is additionally acquired. 1938, the then owner Max Delfiner had to flee, the company Rhonberg and Hämmerle took over the house. The building in Mariahilferstrasse 30 additionally was purchased. In the last days of the war in 1945 it fell victim to the flames, however. 1948, the company was returned to Max Delfiner, whose son sold in 1957 to the German Hertie group, a new building in Mariahilferstrasse 26 - 30 constructing. Other ownership changes followed.
1869 The Pferdetramway
The Pferdetramway made it first trip through the MariahilferstraĂźe to Neubaugasse.
Opened in 1879 GerngroĂź
MariahilferstraĂźe about 1905
Alfred Gerngross, a merchant from Bavaria and co-worker August
Herzmanskys, founded on Mariahilferstrasse 48/corner Church alley (Kirchengasse) an own fabric store. He became the fiercest competitor of his former boss.
1901 The k.k. Imperial Furniture Collection
The k.k. Hofmobilien and material depot is established in Mariahilferstrasse 88. The collection quickly grew because each new ruler got new furniture. Today, it serves as a museum. Among other things, there is the office of Emperor Franz Joseph, the equipment of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico from Miramare Castle, the splendid table of Charles VI. and the furniture from the Oriental Cabinet of Crown Prince Rudolf.
1911 The House Stafa
On 18 August 1911, on the birthday of Emperor Franz Joseph, corner MariahilferstraĂźe/imperial road (KaiserstraĂźe) the "central palace" was opened. The construction by its architecture created a sensation. Nine large double figure-relief panels of Anton Hanak decorated it. In this building the "1st Vienna Commercial sample collective department store (Warenmuster-Kollektivkaufhaus)", a eight-storey circular building was located, which was to serve primarily the craft. The greatest adversity in the construction were underground springs. Two dug wells had to be built to pump out the water. 970 liters per minute, however, must be pumped out until today.
1945 bombing of Vienna
On 21 February 1945 bombs fell on the Mariahilferstrasse, many buildings were badly damaged. On 10th April Wiener looted the store Herzmansky. Ella Fasser, the owner of the café "Goethe" in Mariahilferstrasse, preserved the Monastery barracks (Stiftskaserne) from destruction, with the help other resistance fighters cutting the fire-conducting cords that had laid the retreating German troops. Meanwhile, she invited the officers to the cafe, and befuddled them with plenty of alcohol.
Three thousand head on a hillside is a lot of sheep but it is only when they were compressed into a great flowing river between houses and parked cars of old Zaragoza that it was possible to appreciate what such a mass really means.
Image from the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published in Russia,1890-1907.
Most images best viewed in the original (largest) size.
The book copyright has expired, so these images are in the public domain.
Published in January 1894 by The Historical Publishing Company, author J. W. Buel, this book contains 300 photographs of every aspect of the fair.
The World's Fair: Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492. At the core of the fair was an area that quickly became known as the White City for its buildings with white stucco siding and its streets illuminated by electric lights.
Publication History
The Puppet Master (Philip Masters) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The Puppet Master uses radioactive clay to make puppets in the likenesses of real people, whom he can then control by attaching the clay puppets to strings and moving them about. Presumably he has some sort of psionic ability that enables him to do this. He has a deep hatred of the Thing, who is romantically interested in his stepdaughter, Alicia Masters. He once tried to take over the world but was thwarted in this effort by the Fantastic Four.
The Puppet Master's first appearance was in Fantastic Four #8 (November 1962), and he was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. His last name, Masters, was revealed in the letters page of Fantastic Four #42 (Sept. 1965), as suggested by a reader, who was given a No-Prize for her service to Marvel. The Puppet Master's origin is told in Marvel Team-Up #6 (January 1973).
Character Biography
Phillip Masters was born in Transia, nearby Wundagore Mountain. He began his molding when his Uncle Andrew gave him a whittling knife and he became excellent at carving, which became his hobby as he was not a popular child. His mother died while he was very young and his father put him in an orphanage.
Flashbacks to his childhood have revealed neighbor girl Jessica Drew (later Spider-Woman) as a childhood friend. They played with the clay of Wundagore which Philip would use for his experiments in adult life. The clay became the only thing that gave him happiness.
Phillip moved to the US from the Balkan country of Transia at a young age. He found it hard to form relationships in America because of his reclusive personality and cultural differences. He became a brilliant biologist and became partners with Jacob Reiss, his only true friend. Masters soon became jealous of Reiss' success and ended up killing him when he tried robbing their lab.
During this robbery, he caused an explosion at the lab that caused Reiss' daughter, Alicia, to lose her sight. Masters soon married Reiss' widow, Marcia, and became Alicia's stepfather. Eventually Marcia died from the after effects of the explosion that blinded Alicia. Puppet Master swore to find a way to restore Alicia's sight, but has had no success.
The Puppet Master
Masters one day discovered some radioactive clay. With the clay, he could create sculptures and control other people. This was when the Puppet Master was born. In the beginning he used the innocent Alicia to help him try to defeat the Fantastic Four, the only ones who could stop him and his evil plans.
He captured Susan Storm quite easily by flooding the room with ether and with the help of the Thing. Under the Puppet Master's control, the Thing refused to help the blonde girl. He then dressed Alicia Masters up to look like the Invisible Girl and sent her, along with the Thing, to go back to the Fantastic Four headquarters, meanwhile keeping Susan Storm as his hostage.
When the Fantastic Four came to try and rescue their captive partner, the Puppet Master placed the bound girl on his winged horse and flew off with her. Fortunately for the Invisible Girl, Mr. Fantastic was able to stretch far enough and save her. Controlling them with his clay, Alicia eventually assisted the Four in defeating her stepfather.
Months later, the Puppet Master was released from a rest home where he had been biding his time and immediately began planning his revenge on the Fantastic Four.
Using his clay, he decided to use one of the Four's greatest foes - Namor the Sub-Mariner. He uses Namor to lure the Invisible Woman to him. Namor captures her and forces the remainder of the team to try to rescue her from Namor's undersea lair.
The Puppet Master decides to only control Namor, planning to use him to defeat his enemies and gain further satisfaction from it. But the mind controlled Namor is defeated. In his submarine, the Puppet Master is attacked by a giant octopus and his ship taken in it's tentacles.
Even with Alicia knowing that he is a terrible person and distancing herself from him, the Puppet Master is still shocked of her love for the Thing. Eventually, Masters was able to see that the feelings Alicia and the Thing shared were genuine.
Decent Into Insanity
The radioactive clay seemed to affect Phillip in the same way he used it on others. It eventually drove him mad, making him even speak with the clay. It was all that mattered to him and, in a way, made him the puppet.
Masters slipped deeper into to insanity when he kidnapped Alicia and had Dr. Saunders, a surgical ophthalmologist, perform a series of eye transplants. Each surgery gave Alicia sight for a number of hours of vision. Masters was able to procure these eyes by kidnapping and murdering a series of young woman.
Eventually, Masters decided that the superhuman nature of Invisible Woman could make for a more permanent eye transplant solution. He was stopped by his daughter who used a puppet she molded of him to break his hands, but not before Alicia provided some extremely suspenseful scenes by standing over an unconscious Susan Storm with a knife and thinking that Susan's eyes might actually give her permanent sight. He was committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Creations for Good
When he was released, he gave up his criminal ways. He was the Puppet Master no longer. He was able to stay away from the radioactive clay and make small figurines which he sold at craft fairs and through the mail. He was visited one day by Alicia and the Silver Surfer.
The Surfer requested that he make him a copy of himself with the psychogenic clay. Phillip refused, but when the Surfer suggested Alicia sculpt it for him, he agreed so that Alicia would not become affected by it. Being around the clay instantly brought him back to his love for the clay. He created the Clay Surfer and the Silver Surfer made a exact copy of himself with his Power Cosmic in order to get through an emotional barrier.
The Clay Surfer went rogue. When it exploded and took the real Surfer and Alicia through time, Phillip was left alone. It was then that he was attacked and kidnapped by Sorrentino and the Gangers, along with the inanimate body of the Clay Surfer.
They took him to the Satori and told him that he would help lure their 'Cosmic Messiah', the Silver Surfer. His old friend and colleague Alexei Ganger was the one behind the operation and he planned to make Earth a utopia. When the Silver Surfer arrived, he refused to take part in their worship and destroyed the Clay Surfer. But Phillip was obsessed and tried to save his creation. He was dying and the Silver Surfer helped to revive him. Phillip had to make a choice and he chose life.
Atonement
He wished to atone for his past sins. But, at the moment, Alicia was not interested in reconciling with him. He remained behind with Ganger at the Satori, Ganger planning for him to make another Cosmic Messiah from clay since the Surfer refused them. Phillip succeeded in his task and a new Cosmic Messiah was born.
Powers
Puppet Master has the ability to create sculptures of people out of radioactive clay and control their thoughts and actions. He attaches strings to his creations and controls them like marionettes.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Philip Masters
Publisher: Marvel
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #8 (Nov. 1962)
Created by: Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
A boy in the slum at Gulbai Tekra who had just bought this kite. The Uttarayan Kite Festival is a great day that cuts across divisions of wealth and caste. I spent the morning of Uttarayan in this slum as it is especially vibrant on any festival, especially one as colourful as this.
Published in Serendib magazine (Sri Lankan Airlines) in January, 2008.
Character Creation
The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell "Johnny" Storm) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four.
He is writer Stan Lee's and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a similar, previous character, the android Human Torch of the same name and powers who was created in 1939 by writer-artist Carl Burgos for Marvel Comics' predecessor company, Timely Comics.
Like the rest of the Fantastic Four, Johnny gained his powers on a spacecraft bombarded by cosmic rays. He can engulf his entire body in flames, fly, absorb fire harmlessly into his own body, and control any nearby fire by sheer force of will. "Flame on!", which the Torch customarily shouts when activating his full-body flame effect, has become his catchphrase.
The youngest of the group, he is brash and impetuous in comparison to his reticent, overprotective and compassionate older sister, Susan Storm, his sensible brother-in-law, Reed Richards, and the grumbling Ben Grimm. In the early 1960s, he starred in a series of solo adventures, published in Strange Tales. The Human Torch is also a friend and frequent ally of the superhero Spider-Man, who is approximately the same age.
In film, the Human Torch has been portrayed by Jay Underwood in the unreleased 1994 film The Fantastic Four; Chris Evans in the 2005 film Fantastic Four, its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024); Michael B. Jordan in the 2015 film Fantastic Four; and Joseph Quinn in the MCU films The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
Publication history
Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, Johnny Storm is a renovation of Carl Burgos's original character, the android Human Torch, created for Timely Comics in 1939. Storm first appeared in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover-dated Nov. 1961), establishing him as a member of the titular superhero team.
In his plot summary for this first issue, Lee passed on to Kirby that the recently formed Comics Code Authority had told him that the Human Torch was only permitted to burn objects, never people.
Over the course of the series, Johnny being the little brother of teammate Susan Storm a.k.a. the Invisible Girl was one of several sources of tension within the group.
Additionally, he starred in a solo feature in Strange Tales #101-134 (Oct. 1962 – July 1965). An eight-issue series, The Human Torch (Sept. 1974 – Nov. 1975), reprinted stories from that solo feature, along with stories featuring the original android Human Torch.
Later years also saw a 12-issue series, Human Torch (June 2003 - June 2004) by writer Karl Kesel and penciler Skottie Young, and the five-issue team-up miniseries Spider-Man / Human Torch (March–July 2005) by writer Dan Slott and penciler Ty Templeton.
The Human Torch was the permanent co-star of Marvel Team-Up, but was dropped after three issues because the creators found this format too restrictive.
He co-starred in two one-shot comics, Spider-Man & the Human Torch in... Bahia De Los Muertos! #1 (May 2009), by writer Tom Beland and artist Juan Doe, and Incredible Hulk & the Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault #1, a previously unpublished story from 1984, intended for Marvel Team-Up by plotter Jack C. Harris, scriptwriter and artist Kesel, and breakdown artist Steve Ditko.
Character Evolution
Although he was in the Fantastic Four, Johnny still had time to have his own adventures, fighting villains such as the Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete, who would later go on to have grudges against both Johnny and the Fantastic Four. (These adventures were chronicled in Strange Tales). The Human Torch also started dating a fellow student named Dorrie Evans. During the time that the Torch was dating Dorrie, Peter Parker ironically met her one night, and impressed her with his quiet, studying manner as opposed to Johnny's hotheadedness and eagerness.
Deciding that it would be funny to see how she reacted around Spider-Man, Peter changed to Spider-Man, only to end up fighting the Beetle, another of the Human Torch's foes, who was planning to capture Dorrie for revenge on the Torch. Eventually the Torch arrived, and together he and Spider-Man defeated the Beetle and saved Dorrie, one of their earliest team-ups.
After an adventure with the Mole Man, the Sue Storm found a newspaper article which had a small section about her and Johnny's father. The two went to visit him in prison, but unknown to them, the Super-Skrull had kidnapped Franklin Storm and shape shifted to replace him. The Super-Skrull then went on a rampage as the Invincible Man, correctly guessing that the Torch and Invisible Woman wouldn't attack someone who they thought was their father, until Mr. Fantastic discovered the deception.
The Super-Skrull agreed to return Johnny and Sue's father, but moments after they saw him, he yelled at them to escape, before a bomb which had been implanted in him exploded. Thankfully, no one was hurt except for Franklin, but he was gone from Johnny and Sue's life once more.
Major Story Arcs
The Frightful Four
By now, Reed and Sue had agreed to marry, but shortly before they could, the Fantastic Four's counterpart, the Frightful Four (consisting mostly of old enemies of the Human Torch) attacked the group. One of Johnny Storm's best moments was during the first battle with the Frightful Four, FF #36. The evil FF had captured the Invisible Girl, the Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Alicia Masters while Torch was absent from the Baxter Building. Wizard brilliantly attached anti-gravity discs to all four and sent them up into the atmosphere to meet certain death. However, Alicia Masters was able to signal Torch with the FF flare signal before being captured. Hence, Johnny was able to come and capture the Wizard and force him to fly a plane and rescue the missing three FF members and Alicia.
If not for the Human Torch saving the day, his three partners and Alicia Masters most certainly would have suffocated high in the atmosphere! The next battle with the evil FF came in issue #38, "Defeated by the Frightful Four". As part of the Frightful Four's plans, they managed to trap the Fantastic Four on a deserted island with an atomic bomb. This took place following Medusa's capture of the Invisible Girl. Although Sue was able to protect the group with a force field, the radiation still somehow affected them and took away the Fantastic Four's powers.
The team was then attacked by Doctor Doom, who wanted revenge for having been tricked into thinking that he had defeated the team the last time they clashed. The team managed to regain their powers with a special gun of Reed's, but the Thing left the quartet after being forced to have his powers back. Following him the Thing, both he and the Human Torch were brainwashed by the Frightful Four into joining the group. After a lengthy fight between the Frightful Four and Fantastic Four, Johnny and the Thing were cured, but a member of the Frightful Four, Medusa, managed to escape.
Inhumans
Johnny would encounter Medusa shortly after Reed and Sue's wedding, when she was being chased by a mysterious man named Gorgon. Medusa revealed to the Torch that she and Gorgon were both from a mysterious race, who had superpowers. Before she could reveal any more, Gorgon managed to capture her. Johnny shortly ran into another member of the race, (which Reed dubbed the Inhumans), Crystal, whom he fell in love with at first sight. Johnny managed to convince Crystal and the rest of the Inhumans that humans were not their enemies, but shortly afterwards, Black Bolt (the King of the Inhumans) brother Maximus trapped all of the Inhumans inside a "negative energy" dome, which the Fantastic Four only just managed to escape.
Following this, the Fantastic Four had their first encounter with Galactus and the Silver Surfer. (It should be noted before moving on to Galactus that some FF fans were disappointed that Stan Lee did not allow Johnny Storm and Crystal to marry and to bring Crystal on to the FF team as a permanent member. Crystal did go on to do a superb job as a temporary replacement for Sue during Sue's maternity leave.
Unfortunately, due to health reasons, Crystal was forced to leave Johnny and go back to live with the Inhumans. She and Johnny never did get back together and she ended up marrying Quicksilver. It would seem likely that the reason that Stan Lee did not make Crystal a permanent member of the team is because he did not wish to change the name of the group from Fantastic Four to Fantastic Five.)
To battle Galactus, Johnny was selected specifically by the Watcher to retrieve a great weapon he had in a safe place. Johnny was able to retrieve the weapon, known as the Ultimate Nullifier, and they threatened Galactus with it, who left the planet alone.
Galactus
While in a in a singles bar Johnny met Frankie Ray and later met up to go on a date. On their first date, Frankie learned that Johnny was the Human Torch when he had to save a man's life. Frankie was repressed of her memory about the accident that gave her super-powers, until one day it came to light. Reed helped her learn the truth of her past. Frankie and Johnny soon became a couple and Frankie even became a member in-training.
When Galactus needed to consume the Earth to survive, Frankie volunteered to become his next herald to explore space and have adventures as long as he spared the Earth. Galactus accepted, endowing Frankie with the Power Cosmic and called herself Nova. Johnny lost his second love that day.
Secret Wars
During the Secret Wars, when the Beyonder transported a group of heroes and villains to Battleworld, the Thing decided to leave the Fantastic Four and live among monsters at Monster Island. Johnny and Alicia Masters would soon start a relationship during the Thing’s absence.
Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters are about to get married, but the Mad Thinker and Wizard plan to take advantage of the event. The Thing and the Puppet Master have different plans and manage to stop the two evil geniuses. Reed and Sue decide to take some time away from the Fantastic Four and leave the Thing in charge. And his first duty is to find replacements for the two. Thing finds Crystal and Ms. Marvel as the replacements. Johnny is torn between his first love Crystal and his now wife Alicia.
Skrull Homeworld
Just when Reed and Sue return to the team, it is revealed that Alicia is really a Skrull named Lyja. The Fantastic Four take off to the Skrull Homeworld to save the real Alicia Masters from their clutches. Upon finding this out Johnny would have nothing to do with Lyja, despite the fact that she was branded traitor for helping the Fantastic Four save the real Alicia. Lyja then disappears.
Lyja eventually returns and teams-up with Devos, the Devastator, and Paibok, the Power Skrull and are out for Johnny’s blood. During the battle Johnny accidentally goes Super-Nova and starts the Empire University on fire.
Johnny then becomes a wanted man by people who he once called friends and ally. After being hunted by Silver Sable’s Wild Pack, Daredevil, Spider-Man, and the Secret Defenders. Johnny eventually has his day in court, but the Huntara, Paibok, Klaw and Devos chose this opportunity to strike. Unfortunately Johnny has some super-powered allies to lend a hand. Lyja returns, but now both Johnny and his Ben are fighting for her affections. Not wanting to cause problems between the two she again disappears.
Infinity War
Johnny's double of himself and some of Earth’s other heroes at the beginning of the Infinity War attacked Johnny, creating mixed emotions from having to battle his friends. Creating doppelgangers of Earth’s heroes, the evil Magus planned to remake the universe in his image. Johnny joined all of Earth’s heroes in battle with their evil counterparts before the final defeat of the Magus.
Infinity Crusade
The Magus’ opposite, the Goddess, started the next major event that would be known as the Infinity Crusade. Preying on the religious beliefs of others to manipulate them into joining her cause, Sue was coerced into allying with the Goddess. This cause Johnny to question his faith since he believed he and his sister were equally strong in their beliefs.
Onslaught
The next major threat was a being known as Onslaught, a psionic creature created out of the minds of Professor X and Magneto. It took all of Earth’s heroes to combat this threat. In the end the all non-mutant heroes sacrificed themselves to defeat him and it seemed that the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and many other heroes were gone forever.
Counter Earth
Franklin used his abilities to create a pocket universe for all the heroes to remain living on. On this Counter Earth, Johnny and the other Four lived out their lives anew, not knowing the events of the past. With the help of Roma, this Earth was brought back to Johnny’s original dimension and all the heroes returned to life, although confused over the previous events.
After the death of Galactus, the evil embodiment of destruction known as Abraxas was unleashed on the universe. Abraxas planned to destroy all life in the multiverse. A plan was developed to find the Ultimate Nullifier since Johnny was the only one aware of it’s location, although subconsciously. The other members of the team traveled to other universes to gain pieces of the Nullifiers location from alternate Johnny’s. In the meantime, Johnny and an alternate reality Frankie Raye began the search for it. Once they found the Nullifier, Nova revealed she was really the Herald of Abraxas and took the Nullifier to give to her master. Franklin and Valeria were able to revive Galactus, who was able to easily defeat Abraxas.
Civil War
During the Superhuman Civil War, Johnny is severely beaten in a night club by people outraged by the events in Stamford and super heroes in general. When he awoke, the team had split in many separate ways. Johnny joined Sue on Captain America’s anti-registration Secret Avengers team. At the end of the war, the team reunited. Reed and Sue took a short leave for a honeymoon to rekindle, leaving the Black Panther and Storm in their place.
Team Turmoil
Over time, the stability of the Fantastic Four began to diminish. Johnny began to start searching for a career as an actor. Johnny actually won a major role in a summer blockbuster but soon realized he wasn’t up to the task. Johnny began working in television instead before finally becoming a New York City firefighter. He returned to be the Chief Financial Officer of the Fantastic Four and even averted disaster with his leadership abilities.
After another battle with the teams greatest foe Doctor Doom, Reed attempted to take over Latveria. This caused a major misunderstanding, turning the United States government and the team against him. With the resulting death of the Thing, the team split up once again. Johnny took to his old love, automobile repair. He was plagued by hallucinations that Ben was not dead, which in fact he was not and was returned to his normal state.
The team next had to deal with an alien scientist named Zius. He had developed a cloak to hide planets from the world devourer Galactus, but the Invisible Woman’s powers threatened his plans. He demanded she sacrifice herself to save billions of lives. To protect Sue, Reed used a specially designed machine to switch her powers with Johnny. This fooled Zius and he left the planet. This did not fool Galactus who destroyed Zius and claimed Johnny (with Sue’s invisibility powers) as his new herald. Galactus bestowed a portion of his Power Cosmic to Johnny and forced him to see through the cloaks and find him planets to feed on. Johnny was not mentally altered by Galactus and hid many planets from him for as long as he could. As Galactus’ patience dwindled the remainder of the team and Quasar came and rescued him.
Death
A second Annihilation Wave under the command of Annihilus' Anti-Priest, the head of the Cult of Annihilus, fought The Universal Inhumans and later, under "Kid Annihilus'" personal command, they initially breached The Negative Zone portal in The Baxter Building in an attempt to ignite the Second Great Annihilation War. The Human Torch managed to hold them off until the gateway could be completely sealed and was cut down shortly afterward by the vast wave of Arthrian cultists and their child lord, much to the dismay and horror of a powerless Ben Grimm and his godchildren, Franklin and Valeria Richards. It is noteworthy that two different polls of fans could be found across the internet prior to the "death issue". The polls for who fans wanted to die consistently showed Mr. Fantastic to be #1 by a wide margin. However, comic fans got it right regarding who they predicted would be killed. The Human Torch won those polls by a significant margin.
Return
During an attempt by Annihilus to open the portal in the Baxter Building, Johnny manages to escape from his prison cell in the Negative Zone. With help from new friends, the Light Brigade, he defeats Annihilus, taking the Cosmic Rod and control of the Annihilation Wave with it. As the portal opens, Johnny is reunited with Spider-Man, who was attempting to stop the Anti-Priest from opening the portal on the Earth side.
Johnny flies into the sky, creating a flaming number four and unites the other members of the FF atop the remains of the Baxter Building. With the Kree attempting to destroy New York, Johnny immediately joins the fight by unleashing his Annihilation Wave through the portal. Leading from the flagship, Pestilence, Johnny takes the wave into space to battle the Kree armada. Galactus suddenly appears between the two fleets and Johnny mobilizes the wave to attack, however is quickly stood down by Reed who tells the team that he summoned the World Eater.
The Kree retreat and the Mad Celestials appear, combining there bodies to attack Galactus and send him hurtling toward Earth. Johnny and the Future Foundation head back to the surface in an attempt to activate a machine the Council of Reed's built to take down the Celestials. The machine doesn't fully work however, only separating the Celestials. Johnny takes flight and attempts to attack one of them, using his Nova ability, but the Celestial regenerates and knocks Johnny back to the ground.
As Johnny looks on with his family, a future version of his niece and nephew appear and future-Franklin destroys the Celestials, saving Reed from their judgement.
Team Player
With Reed, Sue and their kids thought dead after the events of Secret Wars, and Ben off in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Fantastic Four disbands, and the Baxter Building is sold to Parker Industries. Wanting to the honor tJohnny becomes a member of the Avengers Unity Squad, and dons a new uniform to signify this. Around this same time, he also enters into a romantic relationship with Medusa, Crystal's older sister. When Crystal finds out about this, things become strained between the three, and the relationship eventually ends.
Johnny eventually discovers that as Sue's sole living heir, he is entitled to the profits gained from Reed's patents, which turns out to be well over five billion dollars. With his newfound wealth, he purchases Avengers Mansion for the team. During the contest between the Grandmaster and the Challenger, the Avengers seek to protect the planet from these two destructive forces. Learning that both sides are after several small pyramids of incredible power, Johnny manages to grab one of the artifacts, but seemingly perishes in the process. However, he is later revealed to be alive, but held in stasis.
Johnny later discovers that he is beginning to lose his powers, with his flames gradually becoming weaker. This, coupled with the loss of his family, puts him into a depressive state. However, his spirits are raised when Ben returns and tells him that the others may still be alive, and the two set off to locate them. The two later learn that they are both losing their powers due to being cut off from Reed and Sue, as their abilities all share a common source. Although, they never find their family, their family finds their own way home and moves in with Ben and Alicia, now engaged.
Soul-Mate
Reed was obsessed with trying to accomplish the journey that the Fantastic Four were originally meant to take when they got their powers. They packed up the family spaceship and finally successfully made it to Spyre. With the same cosmic storm energy that mutated the F4, the Spyricans used it on volunteers so that they would have the Unparalleled, a superhero team to defend them.
They also had a tradition of “soul-mates.” Similar to marriage, couples are outfitted with special arm bands that connect them. Reed and Sue got their own, having shown up to the planet as a dedicated couple, but Johnny got linked to Unparalleled member, Sky. Eventually, the diplomacy between the F4 and the Unparalleled broke down and the F4 were allowed to leave peacefully. A reluctant Sky, who had faith in the soul-mate tradition, stood by Johnny and returned with them to Earth.
Johnny underestimated how much the arm bands connected Sky to him. For instance, during Knull's invasion, when Johnny was bonded to a symbiote, the symbiote was able to reach through the arm band and bond with Sky as well.
Too Hot
After Johnny’s one night stand with Victorious, he hid under the bed while she took a video call from Dr. Doom. He proposed a marriage of political convenience that she accepted. With few friends, Doom requested Reed be his best man, earning the entire team an invitation to the wedding. During the proceedings, Victorious felt compelled to share that she had been intimate with Johnny, publicly embarrassing Doom, who lashed out at Johnny.
After calling in multiple drones to fight the F4, Doom bombarded Johnny with cosmic rays. This caused his powers to turn extreme, leaving him unable to turn off his fiery form. He was too hot for his family to even get close to him. Reed referred to him more as a Human Star than a Human Torch, powered completely by cosmic rays and no longer required oxygen to create flames. He was forced to move into the deep sub basement of the Baxter Building. He even burns too hot for Reed’s best containment suit, limiting his time outside of the basement.
Thanks to his arm band, Sky also had her animal powers enhanced, turning her feral. She lashed out at Johnny until finally giving up on her people’s soul-mate tradition. Johnny removed the band from her arm, and Sky used Reed’s Forever Gate to return to her home planet.
Reckoning War
The Fantastic Four jump into action when the Badoon destroy The Moon and invade Earth with brand new weaponry. The weaponry reminds Reed of Watcher tech, so he leads his team to find Uatu for answers. They find Nick Fury instead, who had been investigating for the Watcher a group calling themselves The Reckoning. They were supplying upgraded tech to war-like alien races. Uatu knew about them and downloaded his knowledge to a data sphere before the Moon was destroyed. Reed helped himself to the sphere, downloading all The Watcher knowledge to his vulnerable human mind. He saw that The Reckoning was the first race The Watcher’s tried to help, which went so bad they took a vow only to watch from then on. Now, The Reckoning were back.
Reed used his new hyper intelligence to orchestrate a new battle plan. He determines that they are most needed in Shi’ar space defending the M’kraan crystal, but Johnny, angry Reed refused to cure him with his new intelligence, flew off into space to assemble his own army to take on The Reckoning. His recruits included The Starjammers, The Guardians of the Galaxy, The new Kree/Skrull Alliance, and The Unparalleled.
He leads his new cavalry to the home planet of the Watchers. He instructs his team to take on the body of Galactus that had been transformed into an Asgardian Destroyer by Galactus' former heralds to buy his family time to defeat Wrath of the Reckoning without killing anyone. Johnny proves to be almost hot enough to defeat him, but Reed still prepares to use the Ultimate Nullifier, which would also kill him.
Thankfully, Reed was not killed by the Ultimate Nullifier, as it was designed to be used by a Watcher, which he had been turning into. Instead, it burned out the Watcher transformation. Uatu, who had absorbed all of the Watcher knowledge and power for himself, used the power to set everything right. He restored Galactus but with a hunger for knowledge, pulled the barrier down on the edge of space, increasing the universe by 90%, and returned the heroes to their homes.
Johnny was briefly upset that Reed had forgotten how to fix his mutation without the Watcher knowledge. Instead of returning to Earth, he accepted an invitation to Spyre, where The Overseer combined his research with Reed's and found a cure to cosmic mutations. Johnny was happy to be the first test subject, making sure it was safe for the rest of the Monster Mob.
Powers & Abilities
The cosmic radiation that changed Johnny into the Human Torch gave him a vast array of fire and plasma based powers. Members of the Fantastic Four's bodies are constantly absorbing Cosmic Radiation from the atmosphere, growing stronger.
Pyrogenesis: The Human Torch possessed the mental ability to control ambient heat energy and the physical ability to transform his entire body, or portions of his body into a fiery, plasma-like state of will.
Heat Absorption: Johnny’s body is covered by flaming plasma that protects him from flames and heat. He can easily absorb fire and explosions.
Heat Detection: Johnny can detect heat and energy out of living being and machines. Also scale his perceptions up to the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Energy Output: The plasma field around Johnny’s body produces intense flame which can be raised and lowered in temperature. The heat can easily dissipate most projectiles.
Blast Power: The Human Torch can create streams or balls of flame and use them as projectiles. Special attacks include the Nova Flame, a multi-directional attack capable of over 1,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit and the Nova Heat, an offensive beam of heat rivaling the heat of a normal star. Even without using his Nova Blast, Human Torch has been able to reach temperatures hot enough to hurt the likes of Hulk, Namor, the Thing and Silver Surfer, among others.
Fire Control: With his flames, Johnny can create shapes and objects out of flame. He can also control any fire within his range of vision no matter how it formed. Johnny can also control which parts of his body he has in flame in order to touch someone or something that he doesn’t want to burn.
Wind Manipulation: Can alter air currents by changing temperatures.
Flight: As the density of his body changes, Johnny’s body becomes lighter than air, giving him the capabilities of flight. He is also extremely maneuverable. The faster he goes, the shorter his limit becomes. At normal speed (about fifty air miles per hour) he should be able to fly for a half-hour, a distance of twenty-five miles.
Super Speed: The Human Torch can easily break the sound barrier while in flight.
Durability: The Human Torch is surprisingly, and extremely durable. He was able to shake off punches from Gladiator, Namor, and Annihilus.
Immunity to Fire & Heat: The Human Torch is unaffected by heat and flames, including his own, even when part of him is aflame and the rest of him is not. His flesh cannot be scalded or burned by any heat source whose level is below that of his maximum output.
Cold Resistance: Human Torch have a degree of resistance to cold temperatures.
Weaknesses
The Human Torch requires oxygen to use his flame powers. Without it, he would not be able to flame on or would be soon extinguished.
The Human Torch burns through energy rather quickly depending on his energy expenditure. Special attacks such as the Nova Flame could easily deplete his energy reserves.
It takes incredible focus to control his heat powers and must be a constant thought. Johnny has learned well over the years to control this power.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Johnny Storm
Publisher: Marvel
First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961)
Created by: Stan Lee (writer)
Jack Kirby (artist)
The Human Torch has been seen:
Chowing down with the FF at the Greasy Freeze in BP 2020 Day 216!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50185600671/
Fighting Doctor Doom in BP 2021 Day 46!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50947974421/
The rest of the Fantastic Four can be seen here:
Mr. Fantastic, BP 2022 Day 280!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52411514451/
Invisible Woman, BP 2022 Day 287!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/52426425322/
The Thing, BP 2022 Day 308!
American postcard by Disney Enterprises / Pixar Animation Studios, 2005. Image: Pixar Animation Studios. Concept art by Tia Kratter and Nat McLaughlin for A Bug's Life (John Lasseter, 1998). From 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards', published by Chronicle Books.
A Bug's Life (John Lasseter, 1998) is an American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Buena Vista Distribution. It was the second film by Disney and Pixar. Written by Andrew Stanton, the film involves a misfit ant, Flik, who is looking for 'tough warriors' to save his colony from a protection racket run by Hopper's gang of grasshoppers. Unfortunately, the 'warriors' he brings back turn out to be an inept troupe of Circus Bugs.
An ant colony on an island is suppressed by a group of locusts, led by Hopper. Each year, they claim a part of the food supply. One of the ants is Flip, an outsider who prefers to work alone and is constantly trying to come up with new inventions. He is seen as an eccentric. On the day the locusts come again, Flip causes all the food he has collected to literally fall into the water. The locusts think that, because of the lack of food, the ants are trying to revolt. Hopper demands that the ants deliver a double supply of food before the end of autumn. Then he and his gang leave. While Flip is on trial for what he has done, he suggests going to town to find larger insects that can drive the locusts away. The ant council agrees as they would like to get rid of Flip. Flip reaches the insect city, a metropolis built of old boxes and other rubbish. In the same city, there is a circus. The artists of this circus are fired by their boss, P.T. Vlo, after a performance degenerated into chaos. Flip finds the fired insects and thinks they are the warriors he needs. The Bugs, in turn, think that Flip wants to hire them for their act. He takes them to the colony. On the island, the performers soon make themselves popular when they rescue the young ant Dot from a bird. The attack gives Flip the idea of chasing off the grasshoppers with a fake bird. On his instructions, the ants build this bird.
A Bug's Life was initially inspired by Aesop's fable 'The Ant and the Grasshopper'. The storyline originated from a lunchtime conversation between John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft, the studio's head story team; other films such as Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and WALL-E were also conceived at this lunch. Lasseter and his story team had already been drawn to the idea of insects serving as characters. Like toys, insects were within the reach of computer animation back then, due to their relatively simple surfaces. Production began shortly after the release of Toy Story (1995). The screenplay was penned by Stanton and comedy writers Donald McEnery and Bob Shaw from a story by Lasseter, Stanton, and Ranft. The ants in the film were redesigned to be more appealing, and Pixar's animation unit employed technical innovations in computer animation. Randy Newman composed the music for the film. During the production of A Bug's Life, a public feud erupted between DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Pixar's Steve Jobs and John Lasseter. Katzenberg, former chairman of Disney's film division, had left the company in a bitter feud with CEO Michael Eisner. In response, he formed DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen and planned to rival Disney in animation. After DreamWorks' acquisition of Pacific Data Images (PDI)—long Pixar's contemporary in computer animation—Lasseter and others at Pixar were dismayed to learn from the trade papers that PDI's first project at DreamWorks would be another ant film, to be called Antz. By this time, Pixar's project was well known within the animation community. Both Antz and A Bug's Life center on a young male ant, a drone with oddball tendencies that struggles to win a princess's hand by saving their society. Whereas A Bug's Life relied chiefly on visual gags, Antz was more verbal and revolved more around satire. The script of Antz was also heavy with adult references, whereas Pixar's film was more accessible to children. It was clear that Lasseter and Jobs believed that the idea was stolen by Katzenberg. Katzenberg had stayed in touch with Lasseter after the acrimonious Disney split, often calling to check up. In October 1995, when Katzenberg asked what they were doing next, Lasseter described what would become A Bug's Life in detail. When the trades indicated production on Antz, Lasseter, feeling betrayed, called Katzenberg and asked him bluntly if it were true, who in turn asked him where he had heard the rumor. Lasseter asked again, and Katzenberg admitted it was true. Lasseter raised his voice and would not believe Katzenberg's story that a development director had pitched him the idea long ago. Katzenberg claimed Antz came from a 1991 story pitch by Tim Johnson that was related to Katzenberg in October 1994. Lasseter grimly relayed the news to Pixar employees but kept morale high. Katzenberg moved the opening of Antz from spring 1999 to October 1998 to compete with Pixar's release. The film grossed $363.3 million worldwide, surpassing DreamWorks' Antz. Despite the successful box office performance of both Antz and A Bug's Life, tensions would remain high between Jobs and Katzenberg for many years.
A Bug's Life won in 1999 the Academy Award for Best Music and received positive reviews. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Lasseter and Pixar broke new technical and aesthetic ground in the animation field with Toy Story, and here they surpass it in both scope and complexity of movement while telling a story that overlaps Antz in numerous ways." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "I enjoyed too the use of animation to visualize a world that could not be seen in live-action and could not be created with special effects. Animation contains enormous promise for a new kind of storytelling, freed from reality and gravity, but although the Japanese have exploited that freedom, too many American feature cartoons follow the Disney formula of plucky young heroes and heroines and comic sidekicks. It's a formula that has produced wonderful movies. But the Pixar computer animation studio, a Disney co-producer, broke new ground with "Toy Story" in 1995, and now with "A Bug's Life," it runs free. The story, about an ant colony that frees itself from slavery to grasshoppers, is similar in some ways to the autumn's other big animated release, "Antz," but it's aimed at a broader audience and lacks the in-jokes." And at AllMovie, Matthew Doberman wrote: "A Bug's Life is a high point in animated family fare. It's the kind of film adults enjoy as much as, if not more than, their preschool offspring. Even the fake "outtakes" following the film are hilarious: like much of the film's humor, they aim for a surprising level of sophistication. The creators use animation not just to put a child-friendly face on some normally creepy critters, but to go where live-action can't, creating a world of shapes, colors, and sounds that couldn't be accomplished otherwise."
Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Matthew Doberman (AllMovie), Wikipedia (Dutch and English), and IMDb.
December is Pixar month at EFSP!