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Anywhere but here?
Jan. 5th, 2008 06:58 pmI've been struggling with the books I've been reading lately, specifically the last two - both fantasy novels - one that dealt with angels and demons, the other with fairies and humans.
They start off brilliantly, I'm swept away by the characters, eager to rip into the next page, want more time to read, then whammo, somewhere around the 100th page or thereabouts, it starts dragging. Gets stale. I start to feel as if the characters are having the same old conversations, and not moving anywhere. In short, I begin to get bored and annoyed with the writer for leading me on. This has happened with tv shows and comics as well. They are great for the first five episodes, then you think, damn, what happened? It's also annoying, because being me, I have a tendency to jump the gun and announce how brilliant the show, book, etc is - only to have to change my tune halfway through or towards the end and say, ugh, I should never have recommended this pile of crap and kept my mouth shut. (I'm told tv shows, comics and books are often picked up based on the first script, first fifty pages, or first issue - which explains a lot.) It's not unlike love at first sight or romantic love if I think about it. You know you meet this person they appear to be your dream come true then six months later, you wonder what you ever saw in them?
Then, there's writers like Joss Whedon. His stories start off sort of sluggish, jagged, then when you least expect it, pick up steam and hit you right between the eyes with unexpected brilliance. Unexpected, because it didn't quite start out that way, he apparently had to work up to it. Here you were reading along or watching along, enjoying it perhaps, but not really paying all that much attention, then whammo - you think wow, okay, this guy actually has something new to say here. Let me go back and re-read or re-watch all of this, I think I missed something. And you begin to fall gradually in love with what he is doing. The long-lasting kind that causes you to obsessively collect DVD's and read all the writers work. In a way it's more rewarding than the first type of writer - because you feel you've gained something as opposed to having something taken away from you.
I tend to remember the second type of writers, while I forget and disregard the first type. This reminds me that sometimes its the people and things we discount at first that end up meaning the most to us.
This brings me to my review of the most recent issue of Buffy S8, "Anywhere but Here", which may have the best art of any of the Buffy/Angel books so far issued. I've never seen Cliff Richards work before now and was quite impressed. A shame he's just a guest artist.
( cut for length, mild spoilers, and personal stuff )
If you've given up on the Buffy S8 comics - you might want to pick this one up and give a shot. Then see if you can't grab the last nine, check them out again. The comics much like the series itself grows on you. It is not love at first sight. It requires committment. It is more of a novel in progress much like Dickens who submitted his works bit by bit in serial format ages ago, then it is a short story or a film, quick to engage.
If you've never watched Buffy (and you are reading this entry), for whatever reason, you might also want to give it shot. It doesn't get really interesting in my opinion until the latter seasons - but to truly appreciate the layers in those seasons, you have to see all of it from the beginning. In my view and I know others will disagree as is their perogative, it is still the best tv series that has aired in its entirety, even with all its flaws.
They start off brilliantly, I'm swept away by the characters, eager to rip into the next page, want more time to read, then whammo, somewhere around the 100th page or thereabouts, it starts dragging. Gets stale. I start to feel as if the characters are having the same old conversations, and not moving anywhere. In short, I begin to get bored and annoyed with the writer for leading me on. This has happened with tv shows and comics as well. They are great for the first five episodes, then you think, damn, what happened? It's also annoying, because being me, I have a tendency to jump the gun and announce how brilliant the show, book, etc is - only to have to change my tune halfway through or towards the end and say, ugh, I should never have recommended this pile of crap and kept my mouth shut. (I'm told tv shows, comics and books are often picked up based on the first script, first fifty pages, or first issue - which explains a lot.) It's not unlike love at first sight or romantic love if I think about it. You know you meet this person they appear to be your dream come true then six months later, you wonder what you ever saw in them?
Then, there's writers like Joss Whedon. His stories start off sort of sluggish, jagged, then when you least expect it, pick up steam and hit you right between the eyes with unexpected brilliance. Unexpected, because it didn't quite start out that way, he apparently had to work up to it. Here you were reading along or watching along, enjoying it perhaps, but not really paying all that much attention, then whammo - you think wow, okay, this guy actually has something new to say here. Let me go back and re-read or re-watch all of this, I think I missed something. And you begin to fall gradually in love with what he is doing. The long-lasting kind that causes you to obsessively collect DVD's and read all the writers work. In a way it's more rewarding than the first type of writer - because you feel you've gained something as opposed to having something taken away from you.
I tend to remember the second type of writers, while I forget and disregard the first type. This reminds me that sometimes its the people and things we discount at first that end up meaning the most to us.
This brings me to my review of the most recent issue of Buffy S8, "Anywhere but Here", which may have the best art of any of the Buffy/Angel books so far issued. I've never seen Cliff Richards work before now and was quite impressed. A shame he's just a guest artist.
( cut for length, mild spoilers, and personal stuff )
If you've given up on the Buffy S8 comics - you might want to pick this one up and give a shot. Then see if you can't grab the last nine, check them out again. The comics much like the series itself grows on you. It is not love at first sight. It requires committment. It is more of a novel in progress much like Dickens who submitted his works bit by bit in serial format ages ago, then it is a short story or a film, quick to engage.
If you've never watched Buffy (and you are reading this entry), for whatever reason, you might also want to give it shot. It doesn't get really interesting in my opinion until the latter seasons - but to truly appreciate the layers in those seasons, you have to see all of it from the beginning. In my view and I know others will disagree as is their perogative, it is still the best tv series that has aired in its entirety, even with all its flaws.
