bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Jan 25, 2019 15:45:20 GMT -5
Not exactly modern, not exactly classic but here is one great manga:
The 1st volume is nearly perfect, I guess that was the original story arc/pitch. Then when Tenma becomes an 'outlaw' there are several side-stories about his life in exile, can be slightly boring. When the arc with detective and his therapist starts it gets back on track.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Jan 23, 2019 17:48:19 GMT -5
Conan 2 is like half prequel/pastiche to 'Beyond the Black River', and half free-adaptation. Studios these days just love words like 'soft-reboot' and 'safe-remake'. Can't say I'm a fan of if it but perhaps that's the way to introduce Conan to young readers. So if they like it - they can go ahead and get that mighty nice box-set. Why 'Beyond the Black River' works so well it's that atmosphere of claustrophobia (thick so you can cut it with the knife) and slow pacing that builds towards crescendo of immanent attack. No one can stop it, not even Conan - he can save some settlers along the way and provide reconnaissance info, at best. In order for story to work - Picts have to be the absolute dread.
If you assume humans are intrinsically good, and then under that assumption 'humanize' Picts, God bless your heart you are enlightened peacemaker, but you have no story. As they say in Saga - You can be a peacemaker or a writer - you can not be both. Would love to see Garth Ennis take on the Conan. One sweet little mini-series... :-)
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Jan 23, 2019 15:50:11 GMT -5
Conan the Barbarian #1.
So for anyone interested there is in Savage Sword #8, Roy Thomas's rendering of Conan's death. It's called 'Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian' and it's pretty great.
No actual events - instead there is Lin Carter song (of the same name, it's adaptation of the song) accompanied with art (no balloons). Basically Conan charges towards death with eyes wide open, fully aware that's the end, and with no regrets whatsoever. That's a bad*ss way to go. Now how it technically went down, it's left to our imagination. SSC covers were not always great, but this one is (Brunner): Now here in contrast it's the opposite - stabbed in the back (after he conveniently takes off his armor, and the chain-mail, in the middle of a battlefield full of mortally wounded enemy soldiers, due to back problems...) I don't think these children killed him, it looks more like typical Marvel gimmick. If they did, meh whatever. Yeah, I don't think the kids killed him either but I wasn't bothered by the armor thing as it felt suitably barbarian to me.
Nah that's not the point, Conan has to be stabbed in the back so the plot is concocted to reach 'the event', these things shouldn't be so obvious.
These "event-driven" plots (so character's actions are constructed to justify 'the end event') is exactly what's wrong with last 2-3 seasons of Game of Thrones (after they ran out of the original material) - they are just moving characters like pieces on the chest-board. I think it bothers people because the first 3 seasons were the _exact_ opposite, you have no idea what comes next. Also main character becomes 'precious' to other characters as if they are supporting cast in his story. (Of course they should consider themselves as main characters in their lives.)
Now here in Conan 2 we have kids again who monitor Conan throughout his life or something (..since he is the main character).
So yeah, not great but I'll remain optimistic, Marvel is there for a long haul, release-frequency is phenomenal, it's nice that they recognized Thomas's seminal run, art is good, so we'll see.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Jan 6, 2019 5:33:07 GMT -5
Conan the Barbarian #1.
So for anyone interested there is in Savage Sword #8, Roy Thomas's rendering of Conan's death. It's called 'Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian' and it's pretty great.
No actual events - instead there is Lin Carter song (of the same name, it's adaptation of the song) accompanied with art (no balloons). Basically Conan charges towards death with eyes wide open, fully aware that's the end, and with no regrets whatsoever. That's a bad*ss way to go. Now how it technically went down, it's left to our imagination. SSC covers were not always great, but this one is (Brunner): Now here in contrast it's the opposite - stabbed in the back (after he conveniently takes off his armor, and the chain-mail, in the middle of a battlefield full of mortally wounded enemy soldiers, due to back problems...) I don't think these children killed him, it looks more like typical Marvel gimmick. If they did, meh whatever.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Jan 5, 2019 12:21:15 GMT -5
Some odd 20 years ago Alien 3 was an old movie (I remember I caught it on one of those thematic re-run marathons), and it wasn't the bad movie in it's own right but it seamed as if they skipped #3 and went straight to #4 (and labeled it #3). Something was missing, most notably the android, Bishop, had to have some recordings of events (plus they could have him rebuilt and have the same actor play the role). The kid and the soldier died off screen and that was it. Sigourney Weaver stranded on a prion-planet.
Fast forward few years, a friend of mine telling me - yeah the original script was re-written record number of times, they somehow pulled it of etc. He even bought one of the 'middle' drafts. There it was not a prison, rather a remote planet-monastery.
December 2018 - William Gibson's Alien 3
I'll be waiting for the trade, but this could be interesting. And it ain't the monks, nor the prisoners - this is the original synopsis:
After the deadly events of the film Aliens, the spaceship Sulaco carrying the sleeping bodies of Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop is intercepted by the Union of Progressive Peoples. What the UPP forces don't expect is another deadly passenger that is about to unleash chaos between two governmental titans intent on developing the ultimate Cold War weapon of mass destruction.
So by chance encounter UPP scouts find the ship-wrack, go aboard and barely escape vicious alien-attack. They manage to snatch Bishop (or what's left of it) on their way back.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Jan 3, 2019 4:39:35 GMT -5
The 1st issue is there and it is what it is. The art is pretty good. As far as code nonsense goes - slight progress - We can see blood (in the battle, would you believe it) and there is even a miniature sex scene (content-wise not too original, we've seen it in the 1st movie).
However story is weak so far, and it doesn't look promising. I was hoping to see more complicated plot with number of nuanced (non-black and white) supporting characters, (for crying out loud the shows like Vikings, Game of Thrones or The Last Kingdom are pretty much the mainstream these days), Conan does not have to appear in almost every frame (having entire chapters without Conan would have much better impact, especially for this 1st 'comeback' issue) and finally why is Conan so upset to see children dragging corpses off the battlefield? "Such atrocities are not allowed in my Kingdom", that's what he says right after slaying countless enemy combatants. Sure it's unusual since they are picking up corpses from both sides but "atrocity"? Comes of as hypocritical. Those children will in few years participate is similar savage battles, cleaning up after the battle is like a natural preparation. Aaron - These are not modern suburban kinds (just dressed up in costumes) whose eyes should never ever ever see blood or any atrocity (God forbid). Just the opposite - kids in savage parts of Hyborian world can't wait to man-up and slay the enemy. They are familiar with blood - Conan himself _was born_ on the battle field. The funny thing is - it's right there on the first page!
Robert E Howard's work is riddled with "meta-data" and meaning, copying and pasting Conan-like action is mildly entertaining but there is so much more that can be derived from the original novels (and many many comic books).
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Dec 13, 2018 13:07:58 GMT -5
It's looking good. At this point I am pretty much buying all Garth Ennis books automatically. I just finished Troubled Souls, was expecting another hilarious prequel to 'The Shite Before Christmas' (which is ~16th book in Dicks series; a Winter Special :-)) but it ain't comedy at all - it's a full fledged tragedy. It's sad and sorrowful Irish story, and it effortlessly deconstructs terrorism (people that study terrorism should read it) and of course by the end all main characters are dead or in exile/prison so series continues with side characters (from the 1st issue) who take over as main characters. [One of them is an idiot who tried to be a terrorist but shot himself in the foot, even before all the other guys were involved.]
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Dec 11, 2018 0:11:10 GMT -5
Consider this: A little princess was saved in the nick of time, by the last few loyalists, while her parents were slayed in bloody power struggle. She was smuggled across the seas to the savage lands. There she was raised by local customs and local people are now her people. She rises in ranks and dreams to regain what was 'taken from her'. She idealizes her father (who for all we know could have been a tyrant) and his kingdom. That's a story of Daenerys Targaryen right, but also Bêlit. I would love to see saga-like story arc, not too episodic and not completely open-ended, say 50-70 issues, with bunch of events that not necessarily involve Conan and that do involve some world building (larger supporting cast, power struggle, intrigue, secret mission/traveling under disguise, etc) and no filler (completely unrelated short episodes). In their respective runs Thomas (Marvel) and Truman (DH) broke 'one-issue - one adventure' template, consider Conan's political rise in ranks (all the way to the highest office), or Queen of the Black Coast arc. (Hell Disney could have their own GoT alike mini series, down the line. Westeros was inspired not only by Middle-Earth, but by Hyborian-Age as well.)
[added - reprints!] In reprint-department, if I were Disney/Marvel I would go with:
Roy Thomas Chronicles
Conan Saga
A collection of thematic trades (with great new covers, per trade, done in the same vain as interior work; no reprinted expositions/summaries, no generic intros, no original covers for individual issues inside), which collects the entire Thomas run (in Hyborian chronology). Roy is still around so perhaps new tie-ins and some additional splash pages (a la Coming of Conan splash), and for the love of God replace 'Know o Prince' intros with some other atmospheric text (one instance is enough). A single splash page can do miracles when it comes to continuity and also serve as chapter-demarcation page, and.. it has that epic flare to it.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Dec 10, 2018 15:08:06 GMT -5
They are not doing anyone any favors - Kids who are looking for super-heroes will be disappointed, and most likely won't even be tricked into buying fake super-hero comic, while the others who are looking for genuine Conan story won't buy it because Hyborian World and Marvel Universe are not connected in any way shape or form, so they can dismiss it as yet another cross-over/affirmation for some super-hero property (at the expense of Conan). Come think of it super-heroes/villains (creatures who are using super-natural abilities and/or advanced technology) actually exist in Hyborian World - they are called wizards (and witches). Conan, who derives his abilities from regular old fashioned strength and skills, slayed tremendous amount of wizards. That's kind of a point actually, it mirrors ancient giants vs gods death match. Actually, when Conan was at Marvel before, the Hyborian Age was part of Marvel's past, with things like Shuma Gorath and Kulan Gath being featured in both and even having the idea that Mary Jane Watson was descended from Red Sonja. And with Conan appearing in the latest Marvel event, it looks like they are going to try to tie him into the MU again. -M
if they do that we'll still have Paris, 'French Conan'...
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Dec 10, 2018 5:26:54 GMT -5
Variant cover by McKone for this issue, due out in late Jan. Whether this is just cool variant art to sell more copies or ties into that Avengers event or perhaps Aaron somehow bringing Conan into the main book as well, don't know. Marvel is doing a month of themed cover variants of Conan vs. Marvel villains, but the covers have nothing to do with the stories inside the titles. -M
They are not doing anyone any favors - Kids who are looking for super-heroes will be disappointed, and most likely won't even be tricked into buying fake super-hero comic, while the others who are looking for genuine Conan story won't buy it because Hyborian World and Marvel Universe are not connected in any way shape or form, so they can dismiss it as yet another cross-over/affirmation for some super-hero property (at the expense of Conan).
Come think of it super-heroes/villains (creatures who are using super-natural abilities and/or advanced technology) actually exist in Hyborian World - they are called wizards (and witches). Conan, who derives his abilities from regular old fashioned strength and skills, slayed tremendous amount of wizards. That's kind of a point actually, it mirrors ancient giants vs gods death match.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Nov 29, 2018 9:52:47 GMT -5
What is Norman Osborn scheming?Will Gwen and Peter hook up? - Peter no longer has any real interest in MJ. Gwen seems to be manipulating him. Is Peter's spider sense failing?Will Peter meet Mary Jane?Where is Betty?Who is the Green Goblin?
Now that was a stroke of genius, those small threads that are developing along the way. They give a sense of continuity and also serve as a substitute for missing long story-arcs. Now-days authors have a luxury of planning (so they can dedicate say 6 issues for a singular longer story) but they often forget (or need to lose their nerd-card) to leave some things unresolved, to just plant and develop (not everything has to be explained and resolved immediately 100%). And as that is not enough, I guess Stan figured you don't have to have a single big Mystery (with capital M like that) to keep readers interested, even better - have several smaller threads instead, it adds up. My favorite one is - will he choose Gwen or MJ (or maybe both, hold on 70s were not that far away... imagine the outrage). If you turn Tv right now, in any given country, find any telenovela - it has exactly the same thing going, whilst usually with main female protagonist (there are 2 suitors, one is say reach and pretty and boring beyond belief, and other one is poor and attractive; which one will she choose?). It's the oldest trick in the book, but it worked, almost always does. The only secure way to kill that thread was to have one of them killed, and to have Peter marry the other one, wait...
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Nov 22, 2018 8:43:18 GMT -5
Resident Alien is a superb series. It's only fault is - it's too short (totals 5 tpb), but it still goes on.
As for Saga connections, Peter Hogan is Brian K. Vaughan before Brian K. Vaughan (similar in style), and there are aliens involved.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Nov 22, 2018 5:05:47 GMT -5
Surely you can not overlook Elephantmen anyway you look at it.
It's a space-opera, like Saga, featuring genetically modified humans, humans-humans and more..
Artists involved showcase their skills with tons of homages (Gaiman, Moebius, HR Giger, Kirby etc) and one of them is José Ladrönn (Hip-Flask series).
I've read # 00 - 51 and liked them but wasn't wowed by them, despite some really nice art like you say.
Certainly a decent series though.
Story and plots ain't spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, and it's occasionally moralistic (not too much) but overall decent yes. I like the structure, how bunch of short-stories are assembled into a greater saga.
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Nov 21, 2018 5:41:48 GMT -5
Surely you can not overlook Elephantmen anyway you look at it.
It's a space-opera, like Saga, featuring genetically modified humans, humans-humans and more..
Artists involved showcase their skills with tons of homages (Gaiman, Moebius, HR Giger, Kirby etc) and one of them is José Ladrönn (Hip-Flask series).
|
|
bran
Full Member
Posts: 223
|
Post by bran on Nov 15, 2018 15:15:11 GMT -5
Good, good. That would be great waste of effort and talent for him to lock himself in assembly-line contracts.
I started the other day Gideon Falls, it's intriguing and atmospheric book. It has forked story and we follow crazy hoarder who is making some sense out of the junk that he collects...
|
|