(no subject)
Dec. 7th, 2019 11:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. His Dark Materials is rather good. I've made through three episodes now, and the second and third episode are gripping. Also, Ruth Wilson and Dafne Keen in the lead roles are excellent. As too are the rest of the very diverse cast. Unlike Game of Thrones, this cast is quite diverse. Also, I'd have to say that I like it a lot better than Game of Thrones. (Hardly surprising, considering I liked the books better.) But that's not neither here nor there -- the series holds up, it's well produced, and innovative.
In the last two episodes quite a bit is revealed and rather quickly. Also we get more interesting characters -- such as Egyptians, who are quite wonderful. And more of the world -- a new wrinkle is that characters or certain characters have find the means of crossing between worlds. And that there is more than one world. Our world exists parallel to the Lyra's world -- it's a trick that Pullman deliberately borrowed from Chronicles of Narnia, which also discusses the idea of parallel worlds. Except Pullman doesn't romanticize childhood or deem children as innocents.
Nor does he have the take that children are more pure than adults -- His Dark Materials is a critique of Narnia, and a rather good one at that. Narnia unfortunately doesn't hold up well with age. Lord of the Rings does far better, but then Tolkien was a tad more forward thinking then his friend and contemporary.
I seriously doubt most viewers will pick up on the critique of Narnia though. It's by no means obvious. I did, because I read something by the writer regarding it, and my super-power is the ability to compare and see patterns in things. But most people don't. And it's rather enjoyable regardless.
My favorite thing about the books and the series continues to be the metaphorical use of the daemon animals to reveal who the characters are inside. Lord Asrail's daemon is a snow leopard, Mrs. Coulter's is a Monkey (who doesn't talk) while Asrail's does. Lyra's shifts shape between a cat, a weasel, a moongoose, and a butterfly. They also show how connected they are to the humans -- if attacked, the human is attacked. And vice versa. If the human dies, the daemon dissolves into dust.
If you can get -- highly recommend. It's a dual effort by BBC and HBO, and it's already been renewed for a second season. Each season is an adaptation of a different book in the series. Also, they are grabbing material from the prequels and other stories in the series. Pullman has a fully detailed and realized world in his novels -- so the world-building and character development is already there. Also unlike Game of Thrones, Pullman's story is complete. It's not unfinished.
2. So, I tried the Boom!Studios reboot of the Buffy comics as written by the comic colorist Jordie Bellaire "who is an American comic book colorist who currently lives in Ireland and works for DC, Marvel, Valiant, and Image comic book publishers. She has colored Pretty Deadly, The Manhattan Projects, Moon Knight, The Vision, Magneto, Nowhere Men, Hawkeye, Batman, among other titles.
Bellaire is credited with starting the "Comics are for everybody" initiative to make the comic book community more inclusive and compassionate."
Yeah, that's wonderful, more power to her, yadda yadda, yadda, except she's not a good writer. I was disappointed. The writer should go back to being a colorist, leave writing to the people who can write.
That said the artists are good. Or at least the first one was. Dan Mora -- who only does about five issues of the series. After that things sort of go rapidly down hill in a jiffy in the art department. The problem with these comics is the artist is really good, he leaves, and we become aware of how bad the writing is, with mediocre art supporting it.
Comics are pretty much about the art anyhow. Coloring matters, but the drawings are very important. More important than the words -- because it's a visual medium.
You can ignore the words and just focus on the art.
Anyhow, the problem with the comics is the changes made don't quite work and are jarring to anyone who is at all familiar with the original series. If you are going to change or reboot the series -- either go full throttle and really change it up, or don't. What she does is sort of update it in small ways, while still keeping some of the annoying bits, and undoing a lot of the more interesting ones and changing them in ways that well don't improve it.
Among the jarring changes?
* Willow is gay early on, and completely secure in her sexuality and it's no problem. Also, she can do witchcraft and is practicing.
* Buffy is working at a fast-food restaurant as a waitress, in her spare time -- when she's not at school or slaying...okay. And at the ripe old age of 15. Also at night.
* Joyce has a live-in boyfriend.
* Anya is in a teen's body running a magic shop.
* Spike is a somewhat pathetic, and whiny romantic who gets beaten up by Dru and takes a liking to Xander and Cordelia.
* Dru sounds more like the Master from S1 Buffy...and has the same agenda. With Spike playing the Darla/Angel role.
* Angel is a private detective in LA with a team and comes to Sunnydale after he loses his team. So it's basically S3 Angel (except he never met Cordy or Buffy).
* Xander is so hung up on Buffy that Dru is able to lure him and turn him into a vampire, although she doesn't really because he's too pathetic, so she leaves him for dead and Spike sires him instead, because Spike took pity on him?
* A teenage Robin Wood is dating Buffy
I gave up after Xander was turned into a vampire, Willow decided to a do a spell to locate his soul and give it back to him making him half vampire/half human (okay), and Spike became Dru's whiny whipping boy.
The addition of Robin Wood to the gang as another teen, that Buffy is dating, works and doesn't work at the same time. Also she makes Willow far more secure in herself that I think Willow would be at that stage. It's nice, but -- I don't think it's realistic and it takes away a lot of Willow's character arc, making her less interesting and less relatable. And while Willow is dating a girl, the girl is never part of the group -- unlike OZ was. So it feels like the writer is well...tokenism comes to mind. So too is Robin, sort of tokenism. Granted, I think she gives him a bigger role later -- but he feels too much like a marty stu creation of the writer's. Spike doesn't work at all -- the writer has, well... read for yourself.
I found the writer's take on Spike jarring and unrecognizable. The artist did a good job, but the writing was not Spike.
She does handle Angel and Buffy well for the most part -- but they are rather easy. So no points there. Also, the copyright holders have strict guidelines on Angel and Buffy. They apparently don't care about the others?
If she wanted to be truly subversive or interesting -- she could have flipped genders on the vampires. Or made Spike and Angel lovers, with Dru their sire.
Something fun. But no. It's all rather blah and sort of juvenile, nor that imaginative or innovative. There's fanfic writers out there who have done a far better job. (Actually fanfic writers always do a better job than the hired guns, mainly because they aren't hampered by the idiotic rights holders.)
I know there are people out there enjoying this...but I dropped them after the fifth issue. Not worth my money or time. These comics were so bad, they made the S8 comics seem rather good by comparison. I've given up on Boom!Studios.
3. In a reading slump. Trying to get out of it. Not getting very far.
Did however get stuff done today. I did laundry and made up my bed clean. Even washed the mattress pad. (Due to an accident this morning that really makes me wish I was in menupause -- but alas, no, damn it.) Laundry took a long time, but I had the basement to myself for the most part -- so not as long as it could have. Started at 12:15 and got done by 2:30. In between made almond milk, cleaned apartment, and made up bed. Also wrote a bit.
It's cold here. In the 30s. Brrr. Pretty though, with blue sky. Could be worse.
So not really complaining. It's -20 something in Canada. One of the reasons I don't live in Canada or Michigan or Chicago for that matter.
The thing of it is -- it's still fall. Dang it. Oh well, it's supposed to get to 58 on Tuesday, it'll be raining and I'll be at work, but still.
In the last two episodes quite a bit is revealed and rather quickly. Also we get more interesting characters -- such as Egyptians, who are quite wonderful. And more of the world -- a new wrinkle is that characters or certain characters have find the means of crossing between worlds. And that there is more than one world. Our world exists parallel to the Lyra's world -- it's a trick that Pullman deliberately borrowed from Chronicles of Narnia, which also discusses the idea of parallel worlds. Except Pullman doesn't romanticize childhood or deem children as innocents.
Nor does he have the take that children are more pure than adults -- His Dark Materials is a critique of Narnia, and a rather good one at that. Narnia unfortunately doesn't hold up well with age. Lord of the Rings does far better, but then Tolkien was a tad more forward thinking then his friend and contemporary.
I seriously doubt most viewers will pick up on the critique of Narnia though. It's by no means obvious. I did, because I read something by the writer regarding it, and my super-power is the ability to compare and see patterns in things. But most people don't. And it's rather enjoyable regardless.
My favorite thing about the books and the series continues to be the metaphorical use of the daemon animals to reveal who the characters are inside. Lord Asrail's daemon is a snow leopard, Mrs. Coulter's is a Monkey (who doesn't talk) while Asrail's does. Lyra's shifts shape between a cat, a weasel, a moongoose, and a butterfly. They also show how connected they are to the humans -- if attacked, the human is attacked. And vice versa. If the human dies, the daemon dissolves into dust.
If you can get -- highly recommend. It's a dual effort by BBC and HBO, and it's already been renewed for a second season. Each season is an adaptation of a different book in the series. Also, they are grabbing material from the prequels and other stories in the series. Pullman has a fully detailed and realized world in his novels -- so the world-building and character development is already there. Also unlike Game of Thrones, Pullman's story is complete. It's not unfinished.
2. So, I tried the Boom!Studios reboot of the Buffy comics as written by the comic colorist Jordie Bellaire "who is an American comic book colorist who currently lives in Ireland and works for DC, Marvel, Valiant, and Image comic book publishers. She has colored Pretty Deadly, The Manhattan Projects, Moon Knight, The Vision, Magneto, Nowhere Men, Hawkeye, Batman, among other titles.
Bellaire is credited with starting the "Comics are for everybody" initiative to make the comic book community more inclusive and compassionate."
Yeah, that's wonderful, more power to her, yadda yadda, yadda, except she's not a good writer. I was disappointed. The writer should go back to being a colorist, leave writing to the people who can write.
That said the artists are good. Or at least the first one was. Dan Mora -- who only does about five issues of the series. After that things sort of go rapidly down hill in a jiffy in the art department. The problem with these comics is the artist is really good, he leaves, and we become aware of how bad the writing is, with mediocre art supporting it.
Comics are pretty much about the art anyhow. Coloring matters, but the drawings are very important. More important than the words -- because it's a visual medium.
You can ignore the words and just focus on the art.
Anyhow, the problem with the comics is the changes made don't quite work and are jarring to anyone who is at all familiar with the original series. If you are going to change or reboot the series -- either go full throttle and really change it up, or don't. What she does is sort of update it in small ways, while still keeping some of the annoying bits, and undoing a lot of the more interesting ones and changing them in ways that well don't improve it.
Among the jarring changes?
* Willow is gay early on, and completely secure in her sexuality and it's no problem. Also, she can do witchcraft and is practicing.
* Buffy is working at a fast-food restaurant as a waitress, in her spare time -- when she's not at school or slaying...okay. And at the ripe old age of 15. Also at night.
* Joyce has a live-in boyfriend.
* Anya is in a teen's body running a magic shop.
* Spike is a somewhat pathetic, and whiny romantic who gets beaten up by Dru and takes a liking to Xander and Cordelia.
* Dru sounds more like the Master from S1 Buffy...and has the same agenda. With Spike playing the Darla/Angel role.
* Angel is a private detective in LA with a team and comes to Sunnydale after he loses his team. So it's basically S3 Angel (except he never met Cordy or Buffy).
* Xander is so hung up on Buffy that Dru is able to lure him and turn him into a vampire, although she doesn't really because he's too pathetic, so she leaves him for dead and Spike sires him instead, because Spike took pity on him?
* A teenage Robin Wood is dating Buffy
I gave up after Xander was turned into a vampire, Willow decided to a do a spell to locate his soul and give it back to him making him half vampire/half human (okay), and Spike became Dru's whiny whipping boy.
The addition of Robin Wood to the gang as another teen, that Buffy is dating, works and doesn't work at the same time. Also she makes Willow far more secure in herself that I think Willow would be at that stage. It's nice, but -- I don't think it's realistic and it takes away a lot of Willow's character arc, making her less interesting and less relatable. And while Willow is dating a girl, the girl is never part of the group -- unlike OZ was. So it feels like the writer is well...tokenism comes to mind. So too is Robin, sort of tokenism. Granted, I think she gives him a bigger role later -- but he feels too much like a marty stu creation of the writer's. Spike doesn't work at all -- the writer has, well... read for yourself.
I found the writer's take on Spike jarring and unrecognizable. The artist did a good job, but the writing was not Spike.
She does handle Angel and Buffy well for the most part -- but they are rather easy. So no points there. Also, the copyright holders have strict guidelines on Angel and Buffy. They apparently don't care about the others?
If she wanted to be truly subversive or interesting -- she could have flipped genders on the vampires. Or made Spike and Angel lovers, with Dru their sire.
Something fun. But no. It's all rather blah and sort of juvenile, nor that imaginative or innovative. There's fanfic writers out there who have done a far better job. (Actually fanfic writers always do a better job than the hired guns, mainly because they aren't hampered by the idiotic rights holders.)
I know there are people out there enjoying this...but I dropped them after the fifth issue. Not worth my money or time. These comics were so bad, they made the S8 comics seem rather good by comparison. I've given up on Boom!Studios.
3. In a reading slump. Trying to get out of it. Not getting very far.
Did however get stuff done today. I did laundry and made up my bed clean. Even washed the mattress pad. (Due to an accident this morning that really makes me wish I was in menupause -- but alas, no, damn it.) Laundry took a long time, but I had the basement to myself for the most part -- so not as long as it could have. Started at 12:15 and got done by 2:30. In between made almond milk, cleaned apartment, and made up bed. Also wrote a bit.
It's cold here. In the 30s. Brrr. Pretty though, with blue sky. Could be worse.
So not really complaining. It's -20 something in Canada. One of the reasons I don't live in Canada or Michigan or Chicago for that matter.
The thing of it is -- it's still fall. Dang it. Oh well, it's supposed to get to 58 on Tuesday, it'll be raining and I'll be at work, but still.
no subject
Date: 2019-12-08 09:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-12-08 02:04 pm (UTC)I'm on the third episode and I'm enjoying more than the books -- faster paced. I remember the books not being as quick paced, and heavily descriptive (which they sort of had to be).
Also, I adore Lyra. She's tough, and quite relatable.