Ahh... the Spike and Faith Comics...
Oct. 6th, 2007 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat[As an aside, I find it highly amusing that I stopped buying/obsessing over X-men comics and lost all interest in them back in 2001, when I got obsessed with Buffy, Spike and the Angel series. Then, in 2007, I'm back to buying comics every month (albeit Buffy not X-men) - because - the Buffy character's stories are being continued by their creators in comic form. This amuses me greatly. The morale? You never can quite break yourself of a weird time/space and money consuming habit/addiction/obsession - you just end up replacing it with another similar one. I can blame Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch for this, but I know full well they are merely the drug pushers, I'm the buyer.]
Bought issue 4, the finale of the Spike: Shadow Puppets mini-series, and issue 7, part II of the four part, Faith story, in Buffy Season Eight comic this afternoon. Took me about an hour and a half to read both.
I loved Spike:Shadow Puppets. It provided me with everything that I wanted from the mini-series. Character exploration, humor, great art, good dialogue, and a sense of the character actually growing and advancing on his journey. Changing. It is admittedly one of my kinks - I need characters to evolve and change in stories, to learn from their mistakes and progress. This gives me hope for the human race and makes me feel better about myself. Stories in which this does not happen, just upset me and who wants that? Life is tough enough without having those things we use to comfort ourselves upset us instead.
Now, I admittedly have an odd sense of humor. Which Brian Lynch apparently shares. It is snarky and a bit self-deprecating in nature. What am I talking about? Ah, here is a bit of dialogue from the latest issue of Spike:Shadow Puppets that made me laugh out loud.
"Official canon is so complicated. So many people with so many opinions!"
LOL!
And -
"Seriously, I'm still feeling puppety. I can't go canon as a puppet. The internet is complaining about me as it is."
"I'm so sure the internet is complaining about something. Get real for a second."
Hee Hee.
And... "Demons love murdering but hate research."
I want icons of those!! Particularly the first one.
The story also worked for me - it explored Spike's envy of Angel, his struggle to define himself (he keeps seeing himself as a lone wolf who doesn't get on with people when it is clear that he is the opposite and does need people), and how others perceive him.
As for the art? I continue to be impressed by Frank Urru - who manages to create characters that do not look alike or dress alike, who have different facial expressions, and are older.
Unlike the Buffy comics - the women in Urru's drawings aren't all one age - we see children, adolescents, elderly women, and their faces are very different. When I read a comic, I look at the art first - it's first and foremost in my mind, then the writing, then the thing as a whole. Lynch and Urru's styles blend beautifully together. The work to me feels almost three dimensional and continues to be in my opinion amongst the best graphic novels I've read and I've read quite a few and a wide variety, including Magna and underground. I draw or have drawn and taken numerous art classes in my lifetime and am picky about art. If I can do it?
I don't think it's that great. If I can't? I'm in awe. Jeanty's? I've drawn stuff like that.
Urru? I couldn't begin to draw like that even in my dreams. Of course it's all very subjective isn't it? What floats my boat more than likely won't float yours. Arguing over it seems to be a waste of time. Yet, being human, we do it anyway. Go figure.
Which brings me to the Buffy Comic. Read this baby first. And....
Well. It was lukewarm.
The good? I am enjoying the exploration of the Faith character and her unresolved feelings towards Giles, Buffy and the gang, which were not explored to my satisfaction in S7 due to the fact that they were busy doing five storylines at once in the space of four or five hours with thirty characters. Also enjoying the exploration of how Faith is not exactly the killer that everyone likes to believe she is. So on the character exploration? It's working for me.
The bad? I don't like the set-up, too cliche for words. I've seen this done in one too many romance novels (not to mention bad fanfics) and to be honest, it is amongst the many reasons I stopped reading romance novels. (By set-up - I mean, the poor girl infliterating the rich English estate, pretending to be a spoiled brat, bonding with the person she is supposed to be decieving (who for reasons that defy logic has not figured out she's a fake), and the only one remotely suspicious is the nasty servant/tutor. If you've read any Harlequin novels - you've read this set-up before. OR at least I have and I know what is going to happen next. Bored already. Come on, you couldn't have come up with a better plot than this? Please.
In short it is not a romance trope that I particularly like at the moment and wish they'd picked another one.
The really bad? The Dawn subplot offends me or rather the humor of it is. I suppose I should be a little clearer about this, shouldn't I? It's not the plot itself, it's the dialogue.
Here - examples:
"And speaking of clothes, have you been wearing the same outfit since you blossomed?"
(Sigh. BLOSSOMED??? Gimme a break. Growing bigger means you blossomed? What about grew?)
"What, did my proportionate stench tip you off? Cause unless Lane Bryant redefines "plus-sixed' in a huffy, it's only gonna get worse."
(Lane Bryant? Ugh. I just watched Without A Trace last night with it's bit about an overweight woman who committed suicide because of how a bunch of boys treated her. This comic is getting on my nerves. All the woman are drawn to be exactly the same size and weight. No one is bigger or smaller in the bust. While the men are different sizes, weights, etc. Then we make cracks about stores catering to women who aren't thin? And think it is funny? Granted I realize that may not have been the intent, but it irked me a bit all the same.)
"You don't understand he was the only guy on campus who treated me like a friend and not a..a walking pair of boobs."
(Uhm, she doesn't seem to have any. I seriously doubt that.)
"Oh sweetie. Don't talk like that. Boys are into you because of your legs. Not those itty-bitty things."
(Honestly, Willow, considering they are exactly the same size as yours, Buffy's, and everyone else not wearing a bustier, how can say you say that? And yet, some idiot letter writer on the letter page seems to think real women look like this? Granted it's better than the super-heroes in most comic books who are stick figures with extended busts and perfect legs and look like Barbie. But...on the other hand, that isn't all comic books. That's just super-hero comics. Pick up Strangers in Paradise? Or say Spike:Shadow Puppets. Or how about a couple of the Marvel ones - some artists do a good job. It varies.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting tired of the lame thricewise sex jokes. Granted they did go over a few people's heads - the one's obsessed with researching mythology.
But, a thricewise was a penis joke. In case you didn't get it - they repeated it here.
See:
"I swear I'll un-embiggen you the second you tell me what incantation your significant other used while you two were being significant together..."
"You're worse than my sister, Willow! Why is everyone so sure this is Kenny's fault?"
"Um, because he's a thricewise?"
Get it? He made her bigger so when his penis expanded to three times its size it wouldn't break her. The big penis, tiny virgin vagina joke...it never goes out of fashion. Am I the only person who collected lame sex jokes in college? Apparently so.
Ugh. This book doesn't make me laugh. It makes me wince. Brian K. Vaughn? Do us all a favor, leave the humor to experts like Brian Lynch. You aren't any good at it.)
I suppose I should analyze the book, but I don't really care that much, nor have the time to be honest. Plus I'm analyzing contracts all week long, bloody tired of analyzing things - want a break from it. The comic was fun. It wasn't that deep. And I'll probably get the next one. Because you know, I like the character exploration and want to see where they go with that bit.
Overall ratings?
Spike:Shadow Puppets: A+
Buffy Season Eight - Faith Issue 7, Part II: C
Bought issue 4, the finale of the Spike: Shadow Puppets mini-series, and issue 7, part II of the four part, Faith story, in Buffy Season Eight comic this afternoon. Took me about an hour and a half to read both.
I loved Spike:Shadow Puppets. It provided me with everything that I wanted from the mini-series. Character exploration, humor, great art, good dialogue, and a sense of the character actually growing and advancing on his journey. Changing. It is admittedly one of my kinks - I need characters to evolve and change in stories, to learn from their mistakes and progress. This gives me hope for the human race and makes me feel better about myself. Stories in which this does not happen, just upset me and who wants that? Life is tough enough without having those things we use to comfort ourselves upset us instead.
Now, I admittedly have an odd sense of humor. Which Brian Lynch apparently shares. It is snarky and a bit self-deprecating in nature. What am I talking about? Ah, here is a bit of dialogue from the latest issue of Spike:Shadow Puppets that made me laugh out loud.
"Official canon is so complicated. So many people with so many opinions!"
LOL!
And -
"Seriously, I'm still feeling puppety. I can't go canon as a puppet. The internet is complaining about me as it is."
"I'm so sure the internet is complaining about something. Get real for a second."
Hee Hee.
And... "Demons love murdering but hate research."
I want icons of those!! Particularly the first one.
The story also worked for me - it explored Spike's envy of Angel, his struggle to define himself (he keeps seeing himself as a lone wolf who doesn't get on with people when it is clear that he is the opposite and does need people), and how others perceive him.
As for the art? I continue to be impressed by Frank Urru - who manages to create characters that do not look alike or dress alike, who have different facial expressions, and are older.
Unlike the Buffy comics - the women in Urru's drawings aren't all one age - we see children, adolescents, elderly women, and their faces are very different. When I read a comic, I look at the art first - it's first and foremost in my mind, then the writing, then the thing as a whole. Lynch and Urru's styles blend beautifully together. The work to me feels almost three dimensional and continues to be in my opinion amongst the best graphic novels I've read and I've read quite a few and a wide variety, including Magna and underground. I draw or have drawn and taken numerous art classes in my lifetime and am picky about art. If I can do it?
I don't think it's that great. If I can't? I'm in awe. Jeanty's? I've drawn stuff like that.
Urru? I couldn't begin to draw like that even in my dreams. Of course it's all very subjective isn't it? What floats my boat more than likely won't float yours. Arguing over it seems to be a waste of time. Yet, being human, we do it anyway. Go figure.
Which brings me to the Buffy Comic. Read this baby first. And....
Well. It was lukewarm.
The good? I am enjoying the exploration of the Faith character and her unresolved feelings towards Giles, Buffy and the gang, which were not explored to my satisfaction in S7 due to the fact that they were busy doing five storylines at once in the space of four or five hours with thirty characters. Also enjoying the exploration of how Faith is not exactly the killer that everyone likes to believe she is. So on the character exploration? It's working for me.
The bad? I don't like the set-up, too cliche for words. I've seen this done in one too many romance novels (not to mention bad fanfics) and to be honest, it is amongst the many reasons I stopped reading romance novels. (By set-up - I mean, the poor girl infliterating the rich English estate, pretending to be a spoiled brat, bonding with the person she is supposed to be decieving (who for reasons that defy logic has not figured out she's a fake), and the only one remotely suspicious is the nasty servant/tutor. If you've read any Harlequin novels - you've read this set-up before. OR at least I have and I know what is going to happen next. Bored already. Come on, you couldn't have come up with a better plot than this? Please.
In short it is not a romance trope that I particularly like at the moment and wish they'd picked another one.
The really bad? The Dawn subplot offends me or rather the humor of it is. I suppose I should be a little clearer about this, shouldn't I? It's not the plot itself, it's the dialogue.
Here - examples:
"And speaking of clothes, have you been wearing the same outfit since you blossomed?"
(Sigh. BLOSSOMED??? Gimme a break. Growing bigger means you blossomed? What about grew?)
"What, did my proportionate stench tip you off? Cause unless Lane Bryant redefines "plus-sixed' in a huffy, it's only gonna get worse."
(Lane Bryant? Ugh. I just watched Without A Trace last night with it's bit about an overweight woman who committed suicide because of how a bunch of boys treated her. This comic is getting on my nerves. All the woman are drawn to be exactly the same size and weight. No one is bigger or smaller in the bust. While the men are different sizes, weights, etc. Then we make cracks about stores catering to women who aren't thin? And think it is funny? Granted I realize that may not have been the intent, but it irked me a bit all the same.)
"You don't understand he was the only guy on campus who treated me like a friend and not a..a walking pair of boobs."
(Uhm, she doesn't seem to have any. I seriously doubt that.)
"Oh sweetie. Don't talk like that. Boys are into you because of your legs. Not those itty-bitty things."
(Honestly, Willow, considering they are exactly the same size as yours, Buffy's, and everyone else not wearing a bustier, how can say you say that? And yet, some idiot letter writer on the letter page seems to think real women look like this? Granted it's better than the super-heroes in most comic books who are stick figures with extended busts and perfect legs and look like Barbie. But...on the other hand, that isn't all comic books. That's just super-hero comics. Pick up Strangers in Paradise? Or say Spike:Shadow Puppets. Or how about a couple of the Marvel ones - some artists do a good job. It varies.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting tired of the lame thricewise sex jokes. Granted they did go over a few people's heads - the one's obsessed with researching mythology.
But, a thricewise was a penis joke. In case you didn't get it - they repeated it here.
See:
"I swear I'll un-embiggen you the second you tell me what incantation your significant other used while you two were being significant together..."
"You're worse than my sister, Willow! Why is everyone so sure this is Kenny's fault?"
"Um, because he's a thricewise?"
Get it? He made her bigger so when his penis expanded to three times its size it wouldn't break her. The big penis, tiny virgin vagina joke...it never goes out of fashion. Am I the only person who collected lame sex jokes in college? Apparently so.
Ugh. This book doesn't make me laugh. It makes me wince. Brian K. Vaughn? Do us all a favor, leave the humor to experts like Brian Lynch. You aren't any good at it.)
I suppose I should analyze the book, but I don't really care that much, nor have the time to be honest. Plus I'm analyzing contracts all week long, bloody tired of analyzing things - want a break from it. The comic was fun. It wasn't that deep. And I'll probably get the next one. Because you know, I like the character exploration and want to see where they go with that bit.
Overall ratings?
Spike:Shadow Puppets: A+
Buffy Season Eight - Faith Issue 7, Part II: C
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-07 07:25 pm (UTC)Yep, how we read things is very different. To such an extent, I sometimes wonder if we are reading or watching or hearing the same things. It fascinates and frustrates me. But what it comes down to? People just don't think, feel, interpret or sense things in the same way, shape, form or style. Heck we don't even seem to agree on the definition of certain words half the time. Look at the disagreements over which version of 'English' is correct. And regarding "offensive" topics? Sigh. People are walking landmines. What offends one person, turns on another. What's that saying? Your button is my kink?
We can't agree on this stuff. But we all think our way, our language, our country, our religion, our morality, our politics, our way of life is the best or only or right way! We judge people who think, feel, act, sense, or do things differently then we do, or offend our sensibilities. Tolerating and understanding another view is REALLY hard, particularly when it is the opposite of our own. I suck at it and fight with myself on it all the time. In this response for example, where I was really tempted to take you to task for what you saw which I frankly don't see. I honestly don't see what made you uncomfortable regarding Urru's art any more than you see what made me uncomfortable in the Buffy comics. We both are looking at each other as if we're nuts. How can you see that?Show me? And we both don't see it.
I sometimes wonder why I bother to argue over it. I know I'm right. I'm convinced of it. But I also know the other person thinks and knows they are right too. So much of life is compromise, isn't it? Compromising a part of ourselves in order to understand another, and hoping they will do the same. Or, in some cases, like a comic book or tv show, the less important stuff? Agreeing to disagree and leaving it at that. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-08 08:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-10-08 01:04 pm (UTC)I'm a single working woman living in NYC far from my family except by phone, and can't imagine having children or anything close to the life Buffy and her friends have. Her world is outside my frame of reference.
Spike on the other hand? That character resonates. I get that character.
From what I've read of your journal - it sounds like Buffy resonates more for you. You get her story. It works for you. For many of the reasons that it can't work for me.
This is DEEPLY personal. And how we reacte to things is deeply personal.
I think we all criticize things we don't like - it's natural. You certainly have in both your response and your own post - you may try not to, but I think it is close to impossible to avoid. Part of the reason, I do it, is to understand why I didn't like something. To figure it out for myself while I'm explaining it to someone else.