The Return of Jack Smith
"Democracy may die in darkness, but in the shadows... a Dark Knight"
In early 2019 I published a satirical post featuring Donald Trump as The Penguin, the DC Comics Batman villain. At the time, the comparison may have seemed obscure to many. I suspect it is less so now. My posts in April 2019, January 2020, and December 2022, did not generate high numbers of readers, but they were fun to compose.
When AI graphics appeared, I up’d my game as I experimented with the new tools. Using free platforms like Dzine, I recreated the look of the DC Comics I used to collect in the 1960s. Expanding the Batman series in 2025, on February 18, February 25, March 4, March 18, March 25, April 1 and April 8, I serialized here on the blog an AI-generated 25-page graphic novel.
After a hiatus over the summer months, I’ve decided to bring it back, even though I know many Great Change subscribers may tune out. For those who prefer long-form investigation and commentary, you’ll get your turn, don’t worry. Here is the start of the next Batman series.
As in nearly all of the early Batman stories, it begins with a jail break (in this case general pardons) for the arch villains and a new grift. This week’s opening sequence sets the stage.
This week there is an additional feature that the original series did not include. For those who truly must hide in the shadows or read this from a smuggled phone or the computer in a prison library, here is the Spanish version.
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Meanwhile, let’s end these wars. We support peace in the West Bank and Gaza and the efforts to cease the war in Ukraine immediately. Global Village Institute’s Peace Thru Permaculture initiative has sponsored the Green Kibbutz network in Israel and the Marda Permaculture Farm in the West Bank for over 30 years. It will continue to do so with your assistance. We aid Ukrainian families seeking refuge in ecovillages and permaculture farms along the Green Road and work to heal collective trauma everywhere through the Pocket Project. You can read about it on the Global Village Institute website (GVIx.org). I appreciate your support.
And speaking of resettling refugees, did you know? A study by Poland’s National Development Bank found that the influx of Ukrainians added between 0.5% and 2.5% to GDP growth and paid more in taxes than they received in benefits.
Could you help me get my blog posted every week? All Patreon donations and Blogger, Substack and Medium subscriptions are needed and welcomed. You are how we make this happen. Your contributions can be made to Global Village Institute, a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) charity. PowerUp! Donors on Patreon get an autographed book off each first press run. Please help if you can.
#RestorationGeneration.
When humans are locked in a cage, the Earth continues to be beautiful. Therefore, the lesson for us is that human beings are not necessary. The air, soil, sky and water are still beautiful without you. So, when you step out of the cage, please remember that you are guests of the Earth, not its hosts.
We have a complete solution. We can restore whales to the ocean and bison to the plains. We can recover all the tremendous old-growth forests. We possess the knowledge and tools to rebuild savannah and wetland ecosystems. Coral reefs rebuilt with biorock build beaches faster than the seas are rising. It is not too late. All of these great works of nature are recoverable. We can have a human population sized to harmonize, not destabilize. We can have an atmosphere that heats and cools just the right amount, is easy on our lungs and sweet to our nostrils with the scent of ten thousand flowers. All of that beckons. All of that is within reach.
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