I just finished reading William Tsutsui's "Godzilla on my Mind," a pretty terrific fan book about the (then) 50-year-old monster franchise. The main thrust is an attempt to decipher what exactly it is about Godzilla that makes him so appealing and long-lasting (the oldest franchise in cinema history!). It discusses the rather fascinating business history of the franchise, themes running through it, the fandom behind it, and various knockoffs and influences. Granted, those last two sections aren't up to the snuff of the first two, but overall it's a very enjoyable read, and I would recommend checking the ol' library.
This guy's enthusiasm really bleeds through; when he tells you he has loved the films with every fiber of his being since childhood, you believe him. It made me want to do two things:
The first is to watch the original Godzilla. For all of its influence, I've never actually watched the original Godzilla. Have you? Luckily, the library system has a DVD featuring the original, subtitled "Gojira" and the U.S. cut "Godzilla." It also has "King Kong," which I decided to throw in my cart because hey, classic giant monster movies. Library system's firing on all cylinders these last few days for me, with the brief letdown that they don't have a copy of "King Kong vs. Godzilla." Judging from the author's deep level of research into Godzilla fandom, almost all of them are converts at an early age and find Godzilla to be deeply nostalgic. I don't have that perspective (unless I get "nostalgic for an era in which I never lived," which in this case would be post-WW2 Japan), so I'm interested to see how I like it.
The second thought that came to mind was, do I love anything enough to write a book like this about it? I don't think I do! I have a lot of favored franchises, but none of them are all-consuming. Closest thing I can think of is "The Simpsons," but even then I think its been pretty much crap after the 9th season (where are the now? 22?). Maybe the game industry circa 1998-2002 (and I know that's not a franchise), but that's IT. It's kind of... humbling to see this level of love for a character and franchise. Not bad, mind you. Kinda nice, actually.
Also, it didn't give me enough information to decide if the Power Rangers could beat Godzilla. I'm thinking the Megazord by itself might not be up to the task, but once the Dragonzord gets in there Godzilla's getting a serious drill-tailing. Come to think of it, I guess as a child I WAS watching and loving Japanese rubber suit giant wrestling, so maybe I'll be a big fan after all. I'll letcha know.
(Oh, hey, funny story. "Gojira" is actually a combination of "whale" and "gorilla" for some reason. "Godzilla" is not any kind of literal translation, nor is it a clever title invented by a shrewd translator. As crazy as it may sound, "Godzilla" was actually just a phonetic mangling of the original name "Gojira," without anyone putting any thought into the "god of the lizards" poetry of that wonderful name. Is this why the Cloverfield monster looked kind of like a giant gorilla whale?)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Comic Reviews!
Hey, I read some comics recently.
First off, "Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds." I'd read an issue or two of the series while it was coming out and it was pretty good, Perez drawing big armies of detailed characters beating each other and Johns at his most fun and least obnoxious. I'd decided to grab the new softcover as a little present to myself after finals, and I could not read it at all.
Because the paper smelled.
This has never happened to me before. Something about the paper, or the ink, or something gave the trade this acrid, near piss-like smell, and I could literally not sit down with that thing in my lap for any extended period of time. I know! I had to return it, and somehow the comic store employees didn't give me any weird looks. I took a sniff of the other copy they had, and it was the same deal, so it probably wasn't just my copy. In short, if you're thinking of buying the trade, the story's great, but read it for ten minutes and see if the smell is too distracting.
Second book I read was "Superman: Earth One." The back cover calls it "A Man of Steel for a new generation," and if that's not just marketing hyperbole then the value system of this new generation is very depressing to me. I mean, I don't HATE it per se, unlike some people, but it's nothing more than mediocre, with a lot of dialogue that sounds good on first read but doesn't really make much sense (if THAT makes any sense).
But the worst part of the book is that Clark Kent DOESN'T WANT TO BE SUPERMAN. He only does it because he's guilt-tripped by the memory of his dead father. I'm serious, it's not his idea, he's pushed into the role by his overbearing parents.
He begins the story interviewing with football teams, scientific institutions, and whatnot and getting tons of offers because he's, y'know, Superman, and I'd assume he'd be interested in getting those jobs because he already knows he can be a championship quarterback without having to wreck a defensive line's shit to prove it to himself. Being Superman means he gives up those career opportunities, unless he wants to only save people on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He's also seen moping around on the streets and in flashbacks, staring at all the happy people in cafe windows and whatnot, because his powers make him feel soooo alienated (though he talks to several people who are, y'know, general human being nice to him, so I'm not seeing this as anything but a big head trip for him). It's not like being Superman helps him with that problem either, because at best he has to do the mild-mannered act and gets ditched when the rest of the gang goes to the bar anyway.
Later, a bunch of alien invaders show up looking for the last surviving kryptonian, and state on the air that their plan is to kill a few million people to drive him out of hiding. Even then, with thousands of people dying and Metropolis a warzone, even THEN it takes Clark Kent like 30 pages before he finally goes and fights the aliens. Even when he's the only person that can possibly do it, he just DOESN'T WANT TO DO IT.
Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. If I had kryptonian powers I'd at best be selfish and at worst be the new sovereign lord of the earth, but that's not what Superman does. I know there are a variety of approaches to Superman's motivation, but most of them center around the fact that he's an altruistic person who wants to use his abilities to help people while still maintaining some semblance of a private life. In this case, Clark Kent himself doesn't personally care that much. It's all his parents pushing him into it.
And even then, they're not doing it well. While they're planning his future for him in a flashback, Clark asks why he just can't wear a mask. They tell him no, people won't trust you, you'll have to wear your mask all the rest of the time. Know what? FUCK THAT. Wear your mask while you're saving those villages from the landslide Clark, who gives a FUCK, and in the meantime go get your dream job and be yourself. There is NO good goddamn reason they're making Clark do what he does, and Clark has no good goddamned reason for not doing what he wants to do.
Oh, and the best thing? After he saves the Earth in his trusted, mask-free glory, the people of Metropolis STILL DON'T TRUST HIM. Because a guy with god-powers flying around punching aliens is scary, mask or not! There's even this hilarious scene: Clark's caught under a red sun ray, and all these people are standing around on the outside saying "eh, I'm not gonna get him out." This is in the aforementioned war zone, with F-14s crashing in the streets and alien robots stomping on cars. One guy's even standing there with a coffee. A coffee. Did he run out and grab that between bombing runs? All so he could look EXTRA nonchalant and uncaring as he watched Superman get his ass TORTURED TO SAVE HIS WORTHLESS-ASS LIFE? Man, fuck this story.
On a final note: Hey, Konami! Where's 'The Simpons?' When are you going to port 'The Simpsons?' Why aren't you porting 'The Simpons' now? And so on. So please: port 'The Simpsons.'
First off, "Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds." I'd read an issue or two of the series while it was coming out and it was pretty good, Perez drawing big armies of detailed characters beating each other and Johns at his most fun and least obnoxious. I'd decided to grab the new softcover as a little present to myself after finals, and I could not read it at all.
Because the paper smelled.
This has never happened to me before. Something about the paper, or the ink, or something gave the trade this acrid, near piss-like smell, and I could literally not sit down with that thing in my lap for any extended period of time. I know! I had to return it, and somehow the comic store employees didn't give me any weird looks. I took a sniff of the other copy they had, and it was the same deal, so it probably wasn't just my copy. In short, if you're thinking of buying the trade, the story's great, but read it for ten minutes and see if the smell is too distracting.
Second book I read was "Superman: Earth One." The back cover calls it "A Man of Steel for a new generation," and if that's not just marketing hyperbole then the value system of this new generation is very depressing to me. I mean, I don't HATE it per se, unlike some people, but it's nothing more than mediocre, with a lot of dialogue that sounds good on first read but doesn't really make much sense (if THAT makes any sense).
But the worst part of the book is that Clark Kent DOESN'T WANT TO BE SUPERMAN. He only does it because he's guilt-tripped by the memory of his dead father. I'm serious, it's not his idea, he's pushed into the role by his overbearing parents.
He begins the story interviewing with football teams, scientific institutions, and whatnot and getting tons of offers because he's, y'know, Superman, and I'd assume he'd be interested in getting those jobs because he already knows he can be a championship quarterback without having to wreck a defensive line's shit to prove it to himself. Being Superman means he gives up those career opportunities, unless he wants to only save people on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He's also seen moping around on the streets and in flashbacks, staring at all the happy people in cafe windows and whatnot, because his powers make him feel soooo alienated (though he talks to several people who are, y'know, general human being nice to him, so I'm not seeing this as anything but a big head trip for him). It's not like being Superman helps him with that problem either, because at best he has to do the mild-mannered act and gets ditched when the rest of the gang goes to the bar anyway.
Later, a bunch of alien invaders show up looking for the last surviving kryptonian, and state on the air that their plan is to kill a few million people to drive him out of hiding. Even then, with thousands of people dying and Metropolis a warzone, even THEN it takes Clark Kent like 30 pages before he finally goes and fights the aliens. Even when he's the only person that can possibly do it, he just DOESN'T WANT TO DO IT.
Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. If I had kryptonian powers I'd at best be selfish and at worst be the new sovereign lord of the earth, but that's not what Superman does. I know there are a variety of approaches to Superman's motivation, but most of them center around the fact that he's an altruistic person who wants to use his abilities to help people while still maintaining some semblance of a private life. In this case, Clark Kent himself doesn't personally care that much. It's all his parents pushing him into it.
And even then, they're not doing it well. While they're planning his future for him in a flashback, Clark asks why he just can't wear a mask. They tell him no, people won't trust you, you'll have to wear your mask all the rest of the time. Know what? FUCK THAT. Wear your mask while you're saving those villages from the landslide Clark, who gives a FUCK, and in the meantime go get your dream job and be yourself. There is NO good goddamn reason they're making Clark do what he does, and Clark has no good goddamned reason for not doing what he wants to do.
Oh, and the best thing? After he saves the Earth in his trusted, mask-free glory, the people of Metropolis STILL DON'T TRUST HIM. Because a guy with god-powers flying around punching aliens is scary, mask or not! There's even this hilarious scene: Clark's caught under a red sun ray, and all these people are standing around on the outside saying "eh, I'm not gonna get him out." This is in the aforementioned war zone, with F-14s crashing in the streets and alien robots stomping on cars. One guy's even standing there with a coffee. A coffee. Did he run out and grab that between bombing runs? All so he could look EXTRA nonchalant and uncaring as he watched Superman get his ass TORTURED TO SAVE HIS WORTHLESS-ASS LIFE? Man, fuck this story.
On a final note: Hey, Konami! Where's 'The Simpons?' When are you going to port 'The Simpsons?' Why aren't you porting 'The Simpons' now? And so on. So please: port 'The Simpsons.'
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