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Reading meme and buffy
Apr. 24th, 2018 09:54 pmWell, I flipped from Romance Novels (finally got burned out and sort of fed up to be honest), to comics -- this round the Buffy Comics. Last round it was the X-men comics. Thinking of reading "The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman" at night, because I'm not supposed to looking at blue screens prior to bed. I'm reading the comics on my spanking brand new Amazon HD Fire. It's perfect for reading them, although I get annoyed at times with the guided method -- have to do it, the print is too small for the regular. And really annoyed by all the frigging ads. Amazon - really? You're motivating me to buy another ipad, and I don't want to.
1. What I just finished reading?
Buffy S9 Freefall Vol #1 and Buffy S9 - Apart of Me".
Apart of Me is better than Freefall, which has a lot of meandering about and expository stuff.
Both focus on Buffy struggling with the events of S8, and the end of magic. Also, once again she's trying for a normal life -- you'd think she'd realize by now that having a witch, a vampire, a magical sister, as friends and family would sort of contradict that possibility. But no.
My difficulty with this bit of storyline is it feels repetitive like Whedon is treading over old ground. A problem I've had with Whedon's writing of late -- he keeps going over the same territory.
The first issue of Freefall is written by Whedon, and the second one is co-written by him. Jeanty's art, to be fair, has improved, or they've hired a better inker and colorist? I'm thinking the later.
Comics is a collaborative art form for the most part (unless you are Frank Miller or Kate Bechdel and do both the art and the writing yourself, and don't color anything in). I like the more collaborative works to be honest.
I could tell when the artist changed, and I liked the new artist a bit better. What can I say? I have my preferences.
"Freefall" is the set up of "Apart of Me". And the story syncs rather well with the Spike series that immediately follows it. Buffy and Spike much like Angel and Faith, their counterparts, are struggling with the same things. Spike wants a home and family, connection. Now that he has a soul -- he desires it more than ever. I can't help but think he yearned for it without one. Buffy also wants this in her own way. Buffy also is struggling with what she did -- she feels ending magic was the right thing to do, but it hasn't made the world better, exactly, just different. The problems are different ones. This is a nifty commentary on the theme -- that no matter what you do or where you go there you are..or rather, you can't fix the world or save it, you can only fix a few issues at time. No one can play god. And when you use power -- in this manner, it will blow up in your face, because you can't see the bigger picture. All you see is this one spot or one thread in the tapestry -- so how will you know that pulling a strand may unravel it or change it into a way you never intended. People who think there is no pattern to the universe are rather arrogant in a way, believing that what they see or perceive is all there is. It's not. There's more. I think the writers here are intuitive ones, in that they write to figure things out, not because they know it. They try this and they try that..and think whoa...didn't know that., alrighty then. Which may be why I find there stories appealing?
Anyhow from a plot standpoint? ( spoilers )
2. What I'm reading now?
Spike - Into the Dark -- Season 9 miniseries. (I have a feeling the spin-offs and miniseries didn't do as well as expected, so they brought everyone back to home base and gave up on it? You don't see as much of it in the later two seasons.)
This isn't bad. It's about Spike finding out about the shards of the seed that everyone is hunting, and returning to the Hellmouth in Sunnydale again. Also realizing he needs to be connected to someone.
3. What I'm reading next?
Probably Buffy S9 - Core. Then S10 again, because I'm not crazy about S9. There's more volumes in 10. Nine was a shorter season and struggled apparently.
Whedon is apparently coming back along with Jeanty (oh joy - not) to write S12, which I may skip. Since he wants to hook it up with Fray. I don't know why. I disliked Fray. Keep the two separate please and let Buffy have her happy ending.
1. What I just finished reading?
Buffy S9 Freefall Vol #1 and Buffy S9 - Apart of Me".
Apart of Me is better than Freefall, which has a lot of meandering about and expository stuff.
Both focus on Buffy struggling with the events of S8, and the end of magic. Also, once again she's trying for a normal life -- you'd think she'd realize by now that having a witch, a vampire, a magical sister, as friends and family would sort of contradict that possibility. But no.
My difficulty with this bit of storyline is it feels repetitive like Whedon is treading over old ground. A problem I've had with Whedon's writing of late -- he keeps going over the same territory.
The first issue of Freefall is written by Whedon, and the second one is co-written by him. Jeanty's art, to be fair, has improved, or they've hired a better inker and colorist? I'm thinking the later.
Comics is a collaborative art form for the most part (unless you are Frank Miller or Kate Bechdel and do both the art and the writing yourself, and don't color anything in). I like the more collaborative works to be honest.
I could tell when the artist changed, and I liked the new artist a bit better. What can I say? I have my preferences.
"Freefall" is the set up of "Apart of Me". And the story syncs rather well with the Spike series that immediately follows it. Buffy and Spike much like Angel and Faith, their counterparts, are struggling with the same things. Spike wants a home and family, connection. Now that he has a soul -- he desires it more than ever. I can't help but think he yearned for it without one. Buffy also wants this in her own way. Buffy also is struggling with what she did -- she feels ending magic was the right thing to do, but it hasn't made the world better, exactly, just different. The problems are different ones. This is a nifty commentary on the theme -- that no matter what you do or where you go there you are..or rather, you can't fix the world or save it, you can only fix a few issues at time. No one can play god. And when you use power -- in this manner, it will blow up in your face, because you can't see the bigger picture. All you see is this one spot or one thread in the tapestry -- so how will you know that pulling a strand may unravel it or change it into a way you never intended. People who think there is no pattern to the universe are rather arrogant in a way, believing that what they see or perceive is all there is. It's not. There's more. I think the writers here are intuitive ones, in that they write to figure things out, not because they know it. They try this and they try that..and think whoa...didn't know that., alrighty then. Which may be why I find there stories appealing?
Anyhow from a plot standpoint? ( spoilers )
2. What I'm reading now?
Spike - Into the Dark -- Season 9 miniseries. (I have a feeling the spin-offs and miniseries didn't do as well as expected, so they brought everyone back to home base and gave up on it? You don't see as much of it in the later two seasons.)
This isn't bad. It's about Spike finding out about the shards of the seed that everyone is hunting, and returning to the Hellmouth in Sunnydale again. Also realizing he needs to be connected to someone.
3. What I'm reading next?
Probably Buffy S9 - Core. Then S10 again, because I'm not crazy about S9. There's more volumes in 10. Nine was a shorter season and struggled apparently.
Whedon is apparently coming back along with Jeanty (oh joy - not) to write S12, which I may skip. Since he wants to hook it up with Fray. I don't know why. I disliked Fray. Keep the two separate please and let Buffy have her happy ending.