Back to Sunnydale

I'm back at work! YAY! Monday was my first day back. I was getting a little restless with so much free time.

It feels weird working at school now that I have graduated and am not taking any classes there, but soon I will be at Cal Poly on my road towards earning my B.A.

Even though I freelanced for the Weekly this past summer, my photo class ended on Aug.16 so I had about a week and a half of down time.

This is Zero week for the prep football games, so the Tribune is having me cover two games on this upcoming Labor Day weekend. Also, met with the sports editor and he has a part time job a couple of nights a week working in taking scores from coaches and contacting them during the season. The hours are perfect for me (5-10 PM) and the training starts next week, so I will most definately be busy doing that.

That's all the life updates for now, next post I will revert to our regularly scheduled comic book reviews, for those of you who actually care.

Continuing our examination of Buffy comics published by Dark Horse with 1999’s “Buffy: The Origin” mini-series.

I’m taking a break from the regular series to re-acquaint myself with this series. This 3 issue mini was based on Joss’ original screenplay for the 1992 movie and was co-written by Dan Brereton and Christopher Golden who wrote “The Watcher’s Guide” volumes 1 and 2 and most of the good Buffy based prose novels.

Unlike the movie, this series isn’t half bad with Buffy resembling the protagonist in the TV show more than the movie heroine played by Kristy Swanson. Thankfully, a lot of the more campy moments which sunk the film are mercifully left out such as the dopey premise that Buffy’s cramps serve as a vampire detection system.

Once again Joe Bennett provides the artwork but I wish his vampires weren’t the monstrous green creatures and looked more like the vampires in the TV show.

A lot of the dialogue from the movie is unchanged such as Buffy’s meeting with her first Watcher Merrick and the inclusion of the Luke Perry character Pike. The timeline seems to be off. When Merrick shows Buffy a grave of a teen who died “a few days ago” the tombstone reads 1972-1990 but this contradicts the date in which Merrick meets Buffy while she attended Hemery High School in the seminal episode “Becoming Part 1.”

I am also bugged by the way Golden and Brereton handle Buffy in this comic, she comes off as vapid and as shallow as Cordelia but she does go through an interesting transformation after she finds out about her true calling just like in the movie. How much of it was in Whedon’s original script and how much of it is new material is anyone’s guess. For example there's this exchange from issue one where Buffy and friends try to come up with a theme for the school dance

Shallow girl #1: "The Homeless?"

Shallow girl #2: "I know guys, what about the ozone layer?"

Buffy: "Right! We gotta get rid of that!"

However, there is a lot to enjoy about this series including a more fleshed out version of the vampire Lothos who opposes Buffy in both the movie and here. The writers also make good use of Buffy’s prophetic dreams and her dreams about prior Slayers which were a staple in the early seasons but which later writers didn’t employ as much in later seasons of the TV show.

Though some people would like to say that this series should be canon, I think that too much occurs for the events of Welcome to the Hellmouth to seem believable. If Buffy really went through all this prior to being called in Sunnydale, why would she be so resistant to Giles in the first episode? Overall though, I think it’s a good read.

I figured with the success of the new Buffy season 8 comic that I would re-read the original Buffy comics published by Dark Horse and retro review them.

Some people don’t know that prior to this year, Dark Horse published comics based on Buffy at the height of the show’s popularity circa 1998-1999.

In fact, the series featured artwork by Joe Bennett and Cliff Richards and ran for 63 issues. They were approved by both Joss Whedon and Sarah Michelle Gellar prior to publication.

I remember running out to the store every month to purchase each issue with both covers (one was artwork, the other was a photo shot usually of Sarah or of the entire Buffy cast) only to be slightly disappointed by the interior. Not that this was a bad comic, but it never exactly managed to capture the magic and the feel of the show. Maybe that’s why I stopped caring after 20 or 30 issues. Maybe I’ll try to scour for the remaining issues in the back issue bins and review them here. Some were definitely better than others.

One problem with issue #1 for example is that Buffy’s clothes are too form fitting and she was portrayed as the stunning blonde beauty who made jocks drop their basketballs when she walked by. This wasn’t the case in the show, she was cute but not drop dead gorgeous, or completely flashy like Cordelia.

In issue #1, Bennett makes Buffy too much the leggy blonde and even the Bronze is too jazzed up-more like a Hollywood “in place” than the cozy Sunnydale hole in the wall we all knew. The story isn’t too bad, Buffy goes up against an ancient vampire with martial arts skills while Xander takes self defense classes because he is getting tired of being dumped on and being defenseless. Unfortunately, this adversary is dispatched of rather hastily and while he would have made for a decent enough comic book recurring villain, he has none of the inherent charm of the Master or even Spike and Drusilla.

In issue #2, despite the beautiful cover, Bennett makes Willow’s hair too long and gets the color wrong. Watson makes references to the show by alluding to episodes like “I Robot You Jane” but his characterization is still not up to par. It’s as though he’s trying too hard to imitate the dialogue which just comes natural to the show’s writers. Once again, the story is not bad. Mad at her parents for over-reacting to her seeing Oz, Willow goes out on Halloween to meet him and ends up being abducted by a gang of vamps. Buffy has to cut her role as chaperone of kids on Halloween night short to rescue Willow from the vamps’ spooky hideout. Bennett’s artwork is more than adequate, even though his vamps and monsters look nothing like they do on TV. The most interesting part of the comic book for me came at the end where instead of a letters page, editor Scott Allie relates the events at San Diego Comic Con where the entire cast of the show (minus Sarah) appeared for a signing at the Dark Horse booth.

Over the weekend I was faced with an ethical dilemma of sorts involving digital comics. I stumbled upon a blogsite which offered free comic books in a digital format. Of course, downloading copyrighted materials in any form, being sound files or documents is illegal and constitutes piracy. Apparently the downloading of digital comics has been rampant for quite sometime. Do you know what a torrent is? Well if you do then you know that you can download torrents and digital files with ease, but that doesn't make it ethical or lawful.

The debate for the comic book industry to consider converting to digital media is well presented here, but that discussion is taking into consideration the downloading of legal comic books. There are sites which make them perfectly available to fans, unfortunately like web comics, these aren't the more popular titles but made up universes such as the Flashback universe site or Golden age comics which are perfectly legal.

After seeking every justification of dowloading .cbr or .car files (these are formats for digital documents like scanned comics which are read using an image reading application such as CDisplay,) and after reading the pros and cons on the issue, I decided that I would come to a compromise: In order to not cheat the artists and writers and creators of their hard earned profit, I would still buy the titles I normally buy like New Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man but would still attempt to download small publisher comics (known as "indies") and lesser know titles like Vertigo's the "Un-Men" in order to review them and therefore more people would have access to them and hopefullly buy them.

Yet, even this compromise seemed wrong to me and in the end decided that all downloading of digital comics is wrong.

CBR's forum (which has nothing to do with the .cbr extension) makes this explicitly clear on their response to a fan request.

This is only an extension of course of a much larger debate over the piracy and downloading of digital files which takes place everyday on the internet. What do you guys think of this issue? Is downloading copyrighted material wrong, even if my purpose is to expose the work to many fans who would otherwise not be exposed to it?

The first stand-alone “episode” of the season 8 series is a magnificent tale of a “nameless” Slayer whose courageous existence thrusts the narrative along with the same flawless execution and pacing which Whedon has already infused into the comic’s first arc. One would almost feel worried that Joss will be handing the writing reigns to other writers if one didn’t know who was on deck: None other than Brian K.Vaughan, one of the most accomplished and brilliant stars of the comic book industry’s writing pantheon. It must be fun for Whedon to be able to choose among the industry’s elite to write one of Dark Horse’s blue chip comics.

This was also the first issue penciled by another artist, spelling series regular Georges Jeanty and what amazes is how Paul Lee’s artwork stands up beautifully to Jeanty’s work. The transition is almost seamless. Colorist Dave Stewart’s vibrant pallete serves to ensure that this is one of Dark Horse’s most beautiful looking books.

The story? A singular gem; a post season seven adventure dealing with one of Whedon’s favorite themes: The empowerment of everyday common people through the preternatural legacy that is the lineage of Slayers. After all, before Buffy Summers became a name which sent shudders through the demon community, there was the “primitive” first Slayer and all the other chosen ones which have gone after her.

Sandwiched in between another striking Jo Chen cover and another fun letters page overseen by long time Buffy Editor Scott Allie, is the usual magic found in these comic’s pages: A threatening larger than life demon proclaiming the death of Buffy Summers and holding her seemingly lifeless body over his horned head, as if to verify his claims to his clamoring hordes.

Yet, the narrative style which permeates the issue and which alternates between the present conflict in an underground reality and flashbacks to the protagonist’s existence as the chosen one aren’t the only surprises. In a remarkable comic where Buffy herself doesn’t even make an appearance, there are bits of the old trademark Buffy humor (a funny bit parodying recruiting ads on television being the best of the lot) and cameo appearances by offbeat characters known to Buffy fans. In this case, Gnarl the creepy green skinned skin stripping demon from early season seven makes his return.

Also of interest is the description of what it’s like to be chosen. Whedon notes that the experience can be “Like a tickle” and for others it involves pain, “Like Mike Tyson ripping your ear off with his teeth.”

The appearance of a colorful slug-like creature with a skull necklace is the prototypical Buffy adversary, reminiscent of Balthazar from the third season episode “Bad Girls,” a slimy and disgusting test for the combined forces of the Raven clan and the slugs. Another thematic refrain is revisited: The power of many concentrated into an individual will with devastatingly awesome results, transcending even death itself. A reality which can hardly be done justice by a TV budget and CGI special effects comes to life in the pages of this comic. Like I’ve said, a magnificent comic book, and in my opinion, Dark Horse’s best and the best in the series thus far.

NOTE: Abyss will arrive in stores this October and is now available for pre-order.

It seems like a while back now but long before he penned Civil War, Mark Millar worked on a brilliant comic book series called Wanted. That six issue limited series was about a regular hypochondriac named Wesley Gibson leading a screwed up life until he is given a chance to give the middle finger to his boss and his cheating girlfriend when he discovers his father was the Killer, the world’s deadliest assassin.

Soon, Eric stumbles into his dad’s hidden lair which is straight out of a James Bond movie, equipped with a Russian nuclear missile, shark tanks, green rocks resembling Kryptonite, a cure for gamma radiation, giant robot security guards and other humorous items. Then Eric gets wind of his dad’s most recent plot against his archenemy, and he sets out on a mission to stop it.

This comic has a lot going for it: a great cover, great interior artwork, an intelligent premise and a good deal of humorous dialogue. If crafted with great care throughout the next three issues, Rubio can hit one out of the park with this story. I like the fact that a lot of attention to detail is paid to the tongue-in-cheek tone of the story, and I also appreciated the myriad references to previous comics which serve to enhance the reader’s enjoyment of the issue. The narrative comes full circle with Eric taking the guise of the hero, and this is a great way to segue into the next issue.

I’ll reserve final judgment for the conclusion of the series, though I don’t think it is quite up to par with Millar’s Wanted. It’s off to a good beginning, and if the creators can keep up the momentum in the narrative, it could be as memorable as something like Mark Waid’s Empire, another recent limited series with a super villain as its protagonist.

Lately, there's been an expression in sports commentaries and which broadcasters have been throwing around which has been added to the general parlance which I often though was being used incorrectly, and it's been bugging me. Everytime I heard it, it was like fingernails being dragged accross the proverbial chalkboard.

Here's an excerpt from an article by the Tribune's Aram Tolegian. He's writing about a phenomenal HS quarterback in the area:

McDonough entered the season as the marquee player in the area. With the reputation he earned last year came high expectations of more gaudy stats and another successful season for his team.

I learned in school that the adjective gaudy means showy, or flashy or is used to refer to an ugly or garrish piece of clothing. How can statistics be gaudy? They are not ornate, I suppose they can be flashy but that isn't what the word refers to. How can a defensive back's high number of sacks be referred to as "those numbers are just gaudy!" 

I've heard both Dan Dierdorf and Dick Enberg make similar statements. 

After consulting three online dictionaries I found this definition on Merriam Webster's:

Main Entry: ¹gau·dy
Pronunciation: 'go-dE, 'gä-
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): gaud·i·er; -est
1 : ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented
2 : marked by extravagance or sometimes tasteless showiness : OUTLANDISH <gaudy lies> <gaudy claims>; also : EXCEPTIONAL <a gaudy batting average>
- gaud·i·ly /'go-d&-lE, 'gä-/ adverb
- gaud·i·ness /'go-dE-n&s, 'gä-/ noun
synonyms GAUDY, TAWDRY, GARISH, FLASHY, MERETRICIOUS mean vulgarly or cheaply showy. GAUDY implies a tasteless use of overly bright, often clashing colors or excessive ornamentation <circus performers in gaudy costumes>. TAWDRY applies to what is at once gaudy and cheap and sleazy <tawdry saloons>. GARISH describes what is distressingly or offensively bright <garish neon signs>. FLASHY implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar <a flashy nightclub act>. MERETRICIOUS stresses falsity and may describe a tawdry show that beckons with a false allure or promise <a meretricious wasteland of casinos and bars>.

So the dictionary defines it as exceptional, but that's the first I've heard of it and Webster is the only one that I have seen define it so. I wonder if the usage became part of the language or was added to it? Or has gaudy always been a synonym to exceptional? An antonym is modest or sober, so that implies the opposite of a gaudy batting average would be a modest one. 

Can any English majors, teachers or other language authorities help me with this one? I really want to know if the sports hacks have been using the word correctly all along. 

Looking back on everything so far, I think this has been one of the best summers I've enjoyed in quite a while. The hot days haven't really been as hot and even though I haven't travelled as much, it's really been relaxing. Maybe because the spring was so hectic, I didn't get much of a chance to relax. I'm looking forward to spending the entire day in Santa Barbara tomorrow.

However, I need to find a new job because since I am not returning to Mt.SAC for classes, I also don't want to work there anymore. I will only do so if I absolutely can't find anything within the next couple of weeks. I guess I can always sign up to do temp work and continue freelancing for the Walnut Weekly while I find something permanent.

I'm looking forward to my return to the Tribune as a stringer to cover prep football. A number of former Mt.SAC journalism students are interning there or working and prep season begins at the end of the month. I hope I get to write some features, not just game stories this fall. I'm looking forward to football season, I just love football, even though it's going to be weird not sitting in the press box or being on the sidelines at Mt. SAC's games while Raul or Watchara shoot the game. I'm somewhat sad that my summer photo class is almost over, I have learned so much so far, from learning to print better black and white photos, to taking potrait photos and mounting them, to shooting successfully without flash at night.

My birthday is on Sunday and coincidentally enough I am going to drive to Diamond Bar in the morning to do a human interest feature on a lady who frequents a local Coco's and is turning 100 years old! Will I get to be that old? Will any of us? Life is such a great mystery!

Publisher: Ape Entertainment
Writer: Kevin Freeman
Artist: Stan Yan

Comments: Subculture is that rare comic series which attempts to poke fun at an entire culture, mainly that of comic book fandom. While I think artist Stan Yan has a gift for rendering character expressions to reinforce Kevin Freeman’s goofy narratives, it is a shame that the latter’s writing is so dependent on stereotypes and clichés to shape the world his characters inhabit.

While I understand that Freeman is attempting to hold a mirror up to his readers to expose their subculture of RPG gaming, video games, television and comic book reading, I think he relies too much on every hackneyed stereotype: The muscle-bound superhero, the fat slobbering comic book shop owner, the geeky friends who are intimidated by girls, the roommate who needs to “get out more” and is into comics starring girls with huge boobs, and the overweight chick with loose morals.

These are all elements which have been spoofed in other stories and media before, maybe not to the exaggerated degree in which Freeman takes them in Subculture, but it is hardly original material. Freeman also makes some dangerous generalizations. He dubs the comic book geeks “social misfits” and “the bottom feeders of the art world” which only serves to reinforce society’s tendencies to relegate all members of fandom to their parent’s basement. A shame the writer can’t be more creative in that respect.

The book’s redeeming factor is the strong relationship between its protagonist Jason and his hot new girlfriend, Noel. Noel is a fascinating character; she’s the girl who’s got it together and isn’t afraid to give people the middle finger when she thinks it’s warranted. She’s confident and fun, and she isn’t bad too look at either, but not in that fake silicon breasted Pamela Anderson way, but in that sexy blend of gothic and artistic qualities which would make some fanboys drool on themselves.

The second issue picks up with Jason and Noel on a date at the bowling alley and his response to their budding relationship. This part of the book is its best offering, not only because Freeman takes his time in developing the couple’s romantic interests, but because in doing so he relies less on the stereotypes which were such a crutch in the first issue, and more on an honest examination of two people attempting to get to know each other.

Noel and Jason both work in retail, but Jason really hates his job, and Noel takes steps towards making his working conditions more tolerable. There are some funny interactions between the two, but the dialogue seems genuine and never forced. Noel and Jason’s dealings with each other at her art exhibit are also a joy to behold, and the misunderstanding between the two offers a nice twist to the story.

Final Word: There are some funny bits in this comic including a few which had me smiling throughout. I laughed at the reference to Arthur dating a girl on Sims 2 which was “probably a dude.” Though Freeman has said the book’s primary focus is on fans of comics, gaming, anime, science fiction and the like, it fares better when it broadens its scope to an examination of society as a whole, rather than filtering its character studies through a literary prism of trite generalizations.