Review of Red Sonja & What Happened After

Last week, September 10 to be exact, my review of Gail Simone's Red Sonja comic went live. I reviewed the first 6 issues for Blue Skirt Productions and it can be found here. Much positve feedback was recieved from friends and on Sunday, I decided to see what would happen if I Tweeted it to Gail Simone herself. 

Much to my delighted surprise, this happened:

It was a near-silent "SQUEE!!" of fangirl delight, as my husband was sleeping in the other room. I then contented myself with a ridiculously excited, all-caps Facebook status update followed by the screenshot above. Then a friend called & we geeked out over the phone about this experience, during which she discussed a recent Twitter interaction with artist JH Williams III. It was a good time. 

Afterwards, I got a new follower in the form of an indie comic publisher I hadn't heard of before, and when I looked the review's been shared to FB 21 times & 5 to Twitter. Pretty cool. Now I'm deciding what to do for October. It will definitely be fun to see where this goes!

Well, Isn't That Awesome?

Back on August 10, I wrote a thing. A review of the new Serenity comics from Dark Horse. A few people read it, gave me some neato Facebook comments & that was that. Then something remarkable happened.

Two or three weeks ago, I got a note from a friend. Blue Skirt Productions was wondering - would I like to become a monthly contributor, reviewing comics/graphic novels for them? After roughly a minute or so of going "squee!" and reading the message aloud to my husband, I enthusiastically agreed. (Prior to this, I'd also submitted a microfiction story that is published here. August was good to me!)

I posted my first submission last night for their review & let me tell you, for me, writing when you know with absolute certainty that someone with an editor's eye is going to read your work is weird. Usually, on the occassion I would update this blog, I'd just kind of bang out an entry in a couple of hours. That review took several days. Then more time. Then finally I said, "fuck it" and submitted. So far so good. :)

I'll post at least a link here, or perhaps I'll be able to post the text itself as long as I link back. I'll have to check. Anyway, next week will bring the review of the first 6 issues of Red Sonja by Gail Simone.

Talk to you soon!

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind

Over the years, we've been given glimpses of the Serenity crew through the medium of comics. (Most have been set post-Firefly/pre-Serenity.) Ever since a one shot released on Free Comic Book Day in 2012 set post-Serenity that showed a pregnant Zoe, I've been dying for more tales. Earlier this year, Dark Horse Comics granted my wish with the publication of the first issue of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind.

The story picks up a short time after the events of the film and opens with Zoe about to give birth as they're trying to stay under the radar and hide from the Alliance. River is in the pilot's seat now, and as a nice nod, Wash's dinosaurs still adorn the console. Things go wrong and Zoe needs care that Simon is not equipped to handle, so they travel to an outpost with better med facilities, only to have the Alliance show up. Zoe insists that they leave her, so that her child will be safe, telling him "I can take care of myself." The plot turns then to figuring out how to rescue Zoe and along the way, see some familiar faces. We also get a taste of the program that River was part of before Simon rescued her, and it ain't pretty. 

Along the way, we also learn that a movement has sprung up that calls itself the New Resistance. (When we first see Jayne in the story, he's been tracked down by one of their members in hopes of finding Mal.) They've co-opted the Independent's flag as part of their symbol and rally around Malcolm Reynolds as their hero. 

Each of the characters gets time to shine, in some small way, and certain 'shippers will find some great stuff in these pages. 

The story is by Zack Whedon, with art by Georges Jeanty, a name familiar to some from his work on Buffy Season 8. Cover art is by Dan Dos Santos, and Joss Whedon is listed as an executive producer. Zack really captured the voice & tone of the characters, obviously he is a fan of his brother's work and paid attention. He gives Jayne a bit of dialogue that cracked me up, because it's a line that only Jayne could deliver! Jeanty's style may not be for everyone, but I enjoy it. (I also might be a teeny bit biased because 4 years ago I saw him at Phoenix Comicon and he geeked out with me about the Buffyverse for about half an hour. And he signed my stuff...and was super cool.) One of my favorite images is near the end of issue 6. It has no characters, just Serenity in flight, with clouds at her back, and a single green leaf in the foreground, drifting. 

So, fellow Browncoats, if you've had a yearnin' for the story of what happened after Serenity, do yourself a favor and pick up this series. It's all done now, so you can read it all in one go. I picked them up as they were released, but after seeing that issues 1 and 2 both ended on cliffhangers, decided to save myself some heartache by waiting until the run was finished. Sadly, there don't seem to be plans for more right now, but that could always change...and it was left wide open to continue. I'll leave you with an image of my favorite cover, issue 6. Stay shiny and keep flyin'...

Granny Sana, She Shall be Missed (game)

http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com
Banished Update:

  Granny Sana passed away today at the age of 82. She was one of the original settlers of her village and was a pillar of the community. Her fishing helped provide some of the food necessary for them to keep going and was something she enjoyed into her later years. Sana was never one to let old age slow her down, having re-married 3 times after the age of 63. She is survived by her children and her (fourth) husband Ambrosendo.


  Jason started playing the game, Banished, yesterday and has built a village. Through the course of the game, you can follow your villagers, see what they're up to, and general information about them. At some point today, he noticed that Sana was pretty old compared to everyone else...and wasn't dying. We became pretty attached to her, noticing how she moved with almost unseemly haste following the death of each husband. (In one case, she moved house & left all her belongings behind, including quite a lot of food!) Just when we began to believe she was immortal, the unthinkable happened. She died of old age in the early summer and I almost cried. So long, Sana, you will be missed. Now we'll track someone else & see if anyone can beat your record.

"This man is not our enemy."

Today, we finally watched "Man of Steel," the latest incarnation on film of Superman. I want to begin by saying, I'm not really a Superman fan. I'm usually careful who I say that around & how I say it, as, he's become such a part of American culture (though he's an alien) that it almost feels... un-American to admit my feelings. I mean, I already dislike baseball....good thing I like apple pie & hot dogs though, right? I've never read a Superman comic, but I've read & watched things were he was involved. (Kingdom Come, some of the Justice League animated movies) I did really like Smallville though! For awhile. Until it was overwhelmed by teen-age girl angst.

To me, Superman is Christopher Reeve. Aside from a superhero cartoon I watched in the mornings, he was my big introduction to Superman and I loved that movie. I still do! I recently watched a fantastic comics documentary, "Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle," and in the segment where they began to discuss the move to the big screen, they played old interview footage and I cried. I was and still am shocked by my emotional reaction, didn't think I cared that much about the old film.

I read & heard many varying reviews and opinions on Man of Steel shortly after its release earlier this year. Most that were negative began by praising the first 2/3 or so of the film but hated what happened towards the end. For that reason, I was very curious to see it for myself. I went in fully prepared to dislike the movie, but I just didn't! I loved the introduction on Krypton, seeing his birth, Jor-El, Laura... all that was wonderful. I also truly enjoyed Russell Crowe's extended role through the movie. He did such a great job as Jor-El! The way we saw pieces of Kal-El/Clark's life was very well done and the bits with the Kents were so well done. Unexpectedly, there were times I started to cry a little, the first time was when he was young and realized he could see through his teacher and classmates, that he could hear everything, and became so overwhelmed he hid in a closet. That was also the first time I caught something I'd hoped for. In one of those scenes, if you listen carefully, you can hear pieces of the original John Williams Superman theme woven into the score. Just a few notes, here and there, with pauses that are longer than originally written, but it's in there.

We see the evolution of Clark throughout the movie. The scared kid who just wants to fit in, the pre-teen who doesn't understand why saving the school bus could have been the wrong thing to do, the angsty teen who proclaims in anger "you're not even my parents," and finally the man, the drifter who goes from job to job, but is always helping people. He's practically an urban legend and the fact that they had Lois Lane chasing those leads to find him was fantastic. I loved this Lois, honestly.

When we hit the point where Zod goes to the Kent farm...well, that's when I started to understand the negativity. I thought Clark's reaction to hurling himself at Zod was the raw, emotional reaction of a boy who's just seen his mother harmed & he just didn't think about what he was doing and where they were going to end up. Yes, it would have been waaay better if they'd managed to keep their big-ass fight confined to the fields, but, it just didn't happen. It kind of reminded me of just about every alien disaster movie. Then...Metropolis. Good lord, that was insane. I liked Laurence Fishburne as Perry. I thought the bit with him & the other two from the Daily Planet was great when they're trying to just survive what's happening. I get why some people used the phrase "disaster porn" to describe what happens in the last 1/3 of the film, but, the same thing has happened to New York, Los Angeles, and in Transformers 3, Chicago. Every film involving aliens and super-powered things usually involves a city being destroyed. The point of contention that a number of folks had was the killing of Zod. I think that even had I not known what was coming, I would have figured it out when Zod told him that there were only two ways their fight would end - his death or Clark's. I get why Clark killed him, it was the only solution he could see and to have him be so remorseful was the right and responsible way to handle it.

Is Henry Caville Superman? Perhaps. Though he does have an awfully big cape to fill.

For Love of Geeky Things

In the aftermath of "Rains of Castamere," ("Game of Thrones" episode 9, aired 6/2/13) a friend of mine posted these thoughts on Facebook:

"How many years are taken off of one's life with each fandom he/she enters? Geeks stress out over ever little thing that happens in their fictions. Characters die, break up with each other, betray friends, etc., and geeks internalize these tragedies and lose sleep.

I guess the same question applies to sports fans, especially to Football fans, since this country seems to have an almost unhealthy attachment to that game."

I replied on Facebook, but wanted to expand a little on what I said, though aside from saying that I agree with the assessment of sports fans, I'm not going to address the sports angle. Speaking from my own experience, I wouldn't say I stress over *every* little thing, it's mostly big things. Character deaths are huge for me when I like a book/show/movie. Or in Doctor Who, companions leaving, the Doctor regenerating. The many times when bad things happen to one of the Winchesters in Supernatural (even though they usually find a way out/back, things are never quite the same). The heartbreaking moments when choices were made in Torchwood that doom some & save many. Then there's the Stargate series' rocky relationship with doctors... When Sherlock swan-dived off the building, at the end of series 2, it was like a punch in the gut, and there have been many, many instances when Joss Whedon squeezed my heart til it was fit to break... and that's just TV shows & movies.

The first time I really remember "fandom heartbreak" was reading book 3 of the original Shannara trilogy. A main character who had been a guiding force throughout...died. I couldn't believe it - the world is full of magic, what the hell? Bring him back! But it was not to be. For years, my best friend at the time would only call it "THAT book," not it's proper title.

To me, it's the emotional involvement that makes it more enjoyable, more real. Especially when I have friends who are just as nuts for it as I am, then it's like therapy when we get together & talk about the plot points. I will admit that while reading George R.R. Martin's books, if somone's chapter doesn't end in a good spot, I'll page ahead just until I see they have another one. (I do have a good friend who, for at least one of the books, would read one character at a time because she couldn't stand being left hanging at the end of each POV chapter.) The better the storytelling, the more involved I become.

I think it's really a testament to the ability of writers and actors to tell & portray good stories that they can evoke such powerful reactions from fans. On Monday, one outlet mentioned this, specifically saying that they felt it was a good indication of storytelling ability that the first reactions on social media to Sunday's "Game of Thrones" were practically incoherent.

George R.R. Martin had a very good quote concerning character deaths following what will be known, I'm sure amongst some "Game of Thrones" fans as "THAT episode:"

"I try to make the readers feel they’ve lived the events of the book. Just as you grieve if a friend is killed, you should grieve if a fictional character is killed. You should care. If somebody dies and you just go get more popcorn, it’s a superficial experience isn’t it?"

(He went on to discuss how deeply writing the Red Wedding in the book affected him, so take that everyone who says he doesn't care.)

As far as losing years, well, I'm not sure about that; people keep telling me I don't look my age & I've been a massive geek for many years. So, either I'm losing years by getting younger or the stress just doesn't show. Alternately, if somehow I'm losing years from the end of my life because of my emotional involvement in fiction, well, I would rather have a shorter life full of all this wonderfulness, especially the shared experiences with friends, than a longer one bereft of these things.

****

Interview with George R.R. Martin: (SPOILER ALERT for the episode. Don't read if you don't want to know and don't already know)

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/06/02/game-of-thrones-author-george-r-r-martin-why-he-wrote-the-red-wedding/

Wishing They Could Speak English

Last week, we took our old man, Fox, to the vet. He'd been kind of "off" for awhile, but we were attributing much of it to old age & the cold weather. We were mostly wrong...

The vet wanted to take some blood & do a work up on him, since we were discussing doing a dental cleaning in the not-too-distant (when we got our tax return) future. Lab results discovered a very elevated white blood cell count, so high it warranted a pathologist looking at it to see if there was cancer present. Thankfully, no cancer. He instead has pancreatitis. In dogs, this is brought on by too much rich food, raiding the trash, and in the case of our dog's memorable bout, eating a whole bunch of cat food. You give 'em meds, it goes away until the next time they do something stupid. In cats, it's a bit different - it's chronic and must be managed with diet. So, he's on meds "until gone" and now is eating a special food. He's been improving every day since his visit on Wednesday. Appetite has picked up, he's back to some of his old habits. I started to really wonder yesterday, how long has he been sick?

If you're reading this and you have a pet, you know that animals are often experts at hiding how they feel. But it's times like this I really wish that he could speak English. Obviously it would be nice if this happened: "Excuse me, she-who-feeds-me, I've been feeling a bit off for several days. Perhaps a doctor visit would be in order?" But, realistically, it would probably just be complaining about how they feel like shit since almost every pet I've had hates going to the doctor as much as I do.

It's one of those situations where, when I look back over the last few months, I see that he had been off and was probably sick then, but we didn't realize it. I trusted my gut, as a friend was advising me to do, and made that appointment. So happy I did, even though I feel like kind of an asshole for not doing it sooner. It will take some adjusting, as he can no longer have the usual treats we feed the other cats or their usual food, or in fact, some of the human nibbles we like to slip him from time to time, we have our Fox and he's getting well. That's what's most important.

Even if, twice a day, he probably wants to murder us for shooting medicine down his throat.