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Post by String on Nov 15, 2021 14:04:06 GMT -5
So, I've made it through both Flight and Women, rather quickly but also enjoyed both. Pace was much quicker as events moved towards a possible new ascension. But I really liked the tie-ins back to previous events and items, like the ancient gold coins, the Black Lotus Blossom, the Picts, King K'Cor & Imesh, for me this is why you really should start this epic with Volume 1 instead of with High Society, some really nice pay-offs splashed through these two volumes if you've been in this for the long haul.
The depiction of faith in these volumes is very interesting. On the one hand, faith is transient, whimsical, yes, even an illusion. The masses alternate their devotion (hopes & fears) from Cirin to Astoria to Cerebus and back. Redeemers, prophets, the true Messiah is whoever is up to the plate, it doesn't matter. On the other hand, faith can be sustaining, powerful, an agent of change. The final fate of Bishop Posey may appear to be trivial on the surface but I found it rather moving. He started off as comic relief, perhaps even a parody of blind obedience to church doctrine but he evolved into a man of faith who saw his faith redeemed by the re-appearance of Cerebus the Pope and that faith prompted personal growth which lead to his ultimate fate for which he did not fear.
The sheer look of dumb-foundness on Cerebus' face when he learned of this says it all. Loved it.
Actually, I think reading this saga sans the editorial rants of Sims to be more beneficial to me. I don't have that viewpoint to gauge against the philosophies and opinions printed on the comic page. For they are engaging and thought-provoking, from Po's Illusionism to the Kevillist vs Cirinist debates.
Absolutely loved Swoon and Snuffy, wonderful pastiche of Sandman, moments of which had me laughing out loud. We are the Clueless indeed.
Look! Something actually fell!
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Post by String on Nov 6, 2021 12:22:04 GMT -5
I have loved every MCU movie I had an interest in seeing, and haven't bothered with the ones I wasn't interested in. None have left a bad taste in my mouth.The only one that had me raise my eyebrows at some points (and I still think it's a very good movie) is Age Of Ultron. And that's minor issues, like Ultron's characterization as this quippy business guy (though I know it's meant to represent him being 'fathered" by Tony Stark) and War Machine being the butt of some jokes, among other things. Overall still highly enjoyable. I know they get a bad rep, but I adore IM 2 and 3. ^This. The MCU has expanded to the point where I feel it's no longer necessary to watch Every-Single-Film, leaving me free to pick and choose which ones I'm interested in watching. Granted, it remains the majority of them but there have been a few exceptions. That being said, my choice would be both Ant-Man films. I have little interest in the character (especially if it's Scott Lang) so I didn't feel the need to see either in the theater. In fact, I still have yet to see the first one and the only reason I saw the second one was I wanted to see how it connected to Infinity War and Endgame. The Wasp sequel was decent but I thought the emphasis on more humor seemed a tad too much. The humor throughout the MCU films has generally been good in doses but here, it pulled me more out of the film. Maybe it's also because I'm just not that big of a Paul Rudd fan. As for the other mentions, I have no qualms with the Thor films, I love all 3 Iron Man films. I like Age of Ultron especially on rewatches (thank you TNT) but I think it's enhanced some now by what we learned and saw in Wandavision.
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Post by String on Nov 6, 2021 12:07:43 GMT -5
A proper send-off and finish for Craig's time as Bond. I was quite surprised, he was more verbose here than in his previous films. That's not a complaint, just to me, Craig's dialogue was always succinct, direct, to the point, his Bond rarely minced words. Yet here, he was more open and vocal than ever it seemed to me which really helped the nuances of the drama and emotions especially with Madelaine. Very well done.
Rami Malek had the requisite intensity yet the motivations and background of his villain seemed rather basic. I was little perplexed over how his villain was able to accomplish what he did in terms of organization and goals (especially in regards to Blofeld),it just seemed to me that not enough background or exposition was given to match the deeds with the intensity.
But in the personal moments between characters, Malek more than held his own. Disturbed and scarred, his last final confrontation with Bond was very moving and strong.
As a fitting coda, I will say that Craig's run ranks high for me now alongside Dalton and Connery.
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Post by String on Oct 13, 2021 9:52:35 GMT -5
So many people get hung up on the jackets, as if it were the eras defining trait. I'll have you know the X-Men also sported the same look and no one ever seems to give them flack over it... True, but X-Men was more of a "school" so unifying jackets was more ok in a way. Also NONE of the mutants wear capes or are clad in armor or immortal. It just didn't feel or look proper in Avengers for the team to wear jackets. Just one cranky, grumpy old man's opinion which seems to be the same as many other readers. So Magneto should never wear one because it would interfere with his cape? Colossus should never wear one because it would tarnish his armored form? Technically Cannonball is immortal so he should've ditched his jacket during his time with X-Force?
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Post by String on Oct 13, 2021 9:42:23 GMT -5
Could. Not. Disagree. More. First off, it's bomber jackets and it is an iconic look, it's representative of the 90s. It gave a unifying look to the overall team which was different. I don't think that word means what you think it means. Considering the level of vitriol that this specific look seems to generate,even here, then it can be iconic for a variety of reasons.
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Post by String on Oct 12, 2021 11:59:41 GMT -5
Melmoth was a quick read, far different from what I recall of reading it before years ago. Also, very much straight forward, no hidden or veiled allegories or themes that I could see.
I liked the vignettes/appearances of various cast characters that wander by Dino's Cafe. Dino was fun but how old is his waitress Doris supposed to be? She's looks rather young but acts slightly more mature. Also, I liked how Sims framed the flashback of Bear telling Cerebus of the perils of engaging in combat with Cirinists by having Cerebus look more like his early appearances with an elongated snout and extended ears, nicely done.
The Oscar portions weren't as big of a drag as I recall. I guess my first time reading this, I was perplexed over why this semi-bio of him was included alongside the main story.The footnotes Sims provided in the back section of the trade helped clarify some of his choices and decisions in what to keep/exclude from detailing his death.
Although I'm curious now. If this Oscar is meant to be some parody/caricature of the real Wilde, then should I take it that includes his *ahem* apparent personal preferences? If so, would that mean Oscar possibly fancied Rick previously, at the same time that Pud was fantasizing about Jaka? That would be an unusual but interesting dynamic.
On to Flight then.
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Post by String on Oct 12, 2021 11:43:22 GMT -5
Rogue's first actual cover appearance isn't all that impressive either. That's her second cover appearance - she was with the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants on Avengers Annual #10's cover. Dave Cockrum's X-Men cover was probably better than his interior artwork for that issue, as he inked the cover himself but wasn't even doing full pencils inside. I'm referring to her first appearance where you can actually see her. A vague head shot located in the absolute background of a small panel where it's hard to tell if that character is even male or female does not count in my opinion. I like Rogue's next cover appearance better:
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Post by String on Oct 11, 2021 13:54:35 GMT -5
For such a prominent threat, both in comics and on-screen, he had the simplest of cover intros:
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Post by String on Oct 11, 2021 13:52:13 GMT -5
That's not a rejected cover; it's a commission he did much later. I think the commission was based on one of a number of rejected sketches Golden had proposed for the cover. The editor probably wouldn't have been happy to obscure so much of the logo, and there wouldn't have been any room for that awful bicycle banner. Jim Shooter seems to have signed off Golden's page at the bottom, which is rather strange. Rogue's first actual cover appearance isn't all that impressive either.
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Post by String on Oct 1, 2021 13:20:02 GMT -5
It doesn't matter if its serialized or stand-alone if it is part of an ever-expanding and unfinished bloated shared universe that a reader can never experience a truly complete reading experience in. That's only going to appeal to hardcore fans of the shared universe, not to readers in general. -M But that's just the point. In each of the examples I quoted, if you weren't there for what came before, you could still easily follow the immediate story. Background continuity becomes a nice nod to the loyal reader, as well as an invitation to the casual reader to check out what came before and after, but it was never required reading. As for what the industry is or is not these days, I could care less. The question was what we prefer, not what we expect a major publisher to implement. Comics have moved away from what I loved most about them, and I've made my peace with that. ^ Agreed. Whether serialized or stand-alone, if the stories are well-written, engaging, and entertaining, then hopefully it will entice new readers to check out previous issues to explore more of any shared universe . How else did we become fans ourselves other than being engaged by these remarkable imaginative universes and wanting to read more of it? Yes, it's up to the creators to craft such stories to help possibly draw in and retain a readership but I also think that such theories as this underestimate the intelligence and aptitude of new readers in wanting to learn more of these shared universes.
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Post by String on Sept 28, 2021 15:58:26 GMT -5
chaykinstevens
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Post by String on Sept 22, 2021 14:08:03 GMT -5
The problem I have with streaming services is that I can watch (nearly) anything I want, anytime I want, for however long I want. Instead of being excited about this, I freeze up because I can't decide what I want to watch.
That's because I'm used to the weekly viewing schedule of the networks. Certain shows come on certain days of the week. For example, this upcoming fall, CBS is making Monday nights NCIS night with the majority of those shows. Tuesday night is FBI night with those shows. NBC does something similar with the Law & Order shows and their Wednesday nights is all about the various Chicago shows.
That's what gets me excited, knowing that a certain show is coming on tonight versus being able to stream said new episode the next day along with the entire history of that show whenever I feel like watching it. If that makes me old-fashioned, So Be It.
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Post by String on Sept 22, 2021 13:51:26 GMT -5
Inching through Reads in the brief amounts of free time I get to myself lately. I'm still in the first half, where the focus is on Victor Reid and not Victor Davis. I was trying to explain the volume to Amber today and pretty much said this: Okay, so there are two totally unrelated plots running side by side. In one, the religious leaders of every major warring faction in the region are meeting to determine how to settle their feud. In the other, a writer carelessly spends his advance on a book without reading the fine print. Neither of those sound even remotely interesting, and yet I am absolutely riveted. Sim's style just enchants me. The writing, the art, the pacing...I'm enamored even my second time through, and I'm a little amazed that others aren't sharing that experience. Still waiting for the misogyny to drop (we're already getting hints of it), but (as I explained to Amber) Sim writes some truly captivating and sympathetic women, while nearly all of his men (including Cerebus) are selfish morons up through the end, so how's that going to work? Anyway, now Amber wants to read the series 😂 If you ask me, the misogyny in Cerebus was retroactively engineered by people who were angered by Sim's opinions as expounded in the comics' editorial pages. I never felt that Sim treated women in the comic itself as anything less than full-fledged individuals, with all the virtues, faults, strength and weakness typical of any given human being. So far, I haven't seen any signs of that as well although admittedly, I am not as far along into the saga as some of you so I have to wait and see on this as I progress in my reading. Still, his female characters have been strong and independent (certainly Astoria) and their struggles and failures have been defined and confined by the perceptions of their roles within a male-dominated society. I just finished Jaka's Story. The fate of Pud was indeed sad as was the arrest of the others. Jaka's conversation (interrogation?) with Mrs. Thatcher was quite revealing. I felt that Jaka lacked the proper words to describe how she viewed her performance and attire as necessary to her Art while Mrs. Thatcher only wanted to highlight the negative consequences of such an act by her reading of Pud's dairy which only served to back up the very thoughts and inner dialogue we've been reading by him this whole time. Both appear to have valid points yet what I got from this was the question of when and how does society's need for conformity quell an individual's right for creative expression? Under Cirin's law, Jaka's Art creates an unwanted effect that could possibly lead to further acts of violence. Oscar is shocked to learn that he needs a permit to write at all let alone publish his writing. In essence, Pud's fate was brought about by the very reasoning laid out by Mrs. Thatcher to Jaka which is why she inevitably signed those papers of confession. Is Jaka's dancing, her very Art, now sullied, criminal in it's actions and meaning? Society at the moment would say yes. A very interesting example of this dichotomy of society need vs individual expression. It's been some time since I read this so I had totally forgotten about the ending here. Another shocking revelation of Jaka's actions. I'm not quite sure of her reasoning for doing so, either because of her doubts over Rick or her concerns over Cerebus, maybe both, maybe not. Lastly, the prose narrative portions are the work of Oscar, yes? So, does that mean we the readers are supposed to take these sections at face value, as the 'Truth' or with a grain of salt, embellished as it were by the Art of Oscar? Onward to Melmoth.
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Post by String on Sept 22, 2021 13:14:57 GMT -5
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Post by String on Sept 21, 2021 12:38:45 GMT -5
MDG
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