Pretty, Fizzy Paradise

I'm back! And reading! And maybe even blogging! No promises!

Friday, April 18, 2008

So. Uh. Red Sonja.

And once more Mallet saves me from EVER buying a comic I might otherwise have considered buying:

It's annoying, you know? Because I really really LIKED the movie. Okay, the acting was abysmal, but I liked Sonja, and I liked her relationship with what's-his-name. I even wrote a fairly positive review.

I've never been so glad I haven't picked up the comic. Ick.

Maybe in a few months I'll flip through it in the store and give it a try, but it won't be for a fairly long while.

I'm not going to ask "what were they thinking?" because I do understand the use of brutality and horror in comics like this. And, well, I'm not nearly as sensitive about the use of rape or murder in non-superhero comics. It's a genre thing, for me.

At the same time, I don't have any particular interest in seeing that sort of thing quite so explicitly. I'm very much a fan of the cut away, fade to black, suggestive scene change, whatever. My imagination can supply its own details.

So, yeah, I don't know. I kind of wish I didn't see that, but I'm glad for the warning. Much better to know now that something's not likely to my taste than to get into it enthusiastically, innocently turn the page, and come face to face with that all unexpecting.

Mallet describes it as an "imaginary story" so I'm guessing most of the series is not like that. But on the other hand, if the creative team pulls that sort of thing once, they may well do it again. I think I'll pass.

Hmm, I think maybe I'll rent the movie again sometime soon though. Bleach my brain. :-)

11 Comments:

  • At April 18, 2008 11:16 AM, Blogger Dane said…

    I got to Mallet's site eventually, but I think you should re-check that link you put up. It either gave me a 404 or kept re-directing me to wikipedia for some reason.

    But anyway... yeah. That seems unnecessarily harsh. As odd as this sounds, I almost wish writers would show more restraint when doing What If? stories. What If? stories sound great in theory, but as Red Sonja (and a ton of Marvel stories) shows us, it more often than not leads to writers going, "Yeah it's not canon so let's go crazy with violence and off-beat characterization!"

    I'd like to see more intricate scenarios where we see how characters act now that major events in their life are missing or changed. I don't read Red Sonja, so I don't know why, um, NOT being raped and having your parents NOT die would make you evil, but going with that plotline, I'd like to see how much of the original Red Sonja exists. Does she still have a sense of humanity and justice? How does it translate to her building an empire?

    This just seems like a missed opportunity that's been replaced with:

    "Okay, and then Evil Sonja rapes a guy."

    "And then she gives birth to an evil baby and she decapitates it!"

    "That's poetic irony right there, man!"

     
  • At April 18, 2008 11:29 AM, Blogger Ferrous Buller said…

    Eww.

    Just: ewwww.

     
  • At April 18, 2008 12:41 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    Gah, stupid link. Let me see if I can fix it. Bah! I fail the internet. :-)

     
  • At April 18, 2008 1:21 PM, Blogger Dane said…

    This comment has been removed by the author.

     
  • At April 18, 2008 1:22 PM, Blogger Dane said…

    It works now, Kal.

     
  • At April 18, 2008 4:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Dammit. I clicked on the link. Dammit dammit dammmit.

    As a Red Sonja fan from wayyyy back, I think my eyes are bleeding.

    I don't know who the heck that's supposed to be, but it's no more Sonja than it is, say, Wonder Woman. Which is to say, not at all.

     
  • At April 18, 2008 9:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    It's not the normal writer either. They've had a series one shot writers until the regular one comes back. I mean it went, Ron Marz, and then Chris Gage (who also did a what if type).

    Those two were EXCELLENT. Then we get this.

    BTW I'm a big Sonja fan. Thats why I had to post this.

     
  • At April 20, 2008 2:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I have a response. I hope you'll read it.

    http://looking2dastars.livejournal.com/66953.html

    The short version is, this issue wasn't typical and I think you do yourself a disservice to judge all Red Sonja by this one story. Particularly since Mallet's account omits some rather important information.

     
  • At May 02, 2008 7:53 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    The current story arc has Sonja being taken down the river of the dead to her final judgement, while on the trip she is shown events of her life, and events that could have transpired.

    #32 is the first of the what ifs, what if Sonja, rather than being raped and finding the Goddess, actually turned to the huge cult that ran through the first 3 or 4 story arcs at the start of the series, and replaced the sorceress/preistess as the mother of the demongod, whose death hearlded the return of Kulan Gath.

    Most of the events in this issue were portrayed over the course of several earlier issues, though roles obviously changed. To state you are no longer going to even look at Red Sonja over a rather biased, and quite frankly pathetic review is beyond me. Give the book a chance before you close the doors on it.

     
  • At May 02, 2008 12:53 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    No, I don't think so.

    See, my logic is this:

    I'm well aware that the comic is of good quality normally and that there are story reasons for this. Moreover, that this one writer was preceeded by better ones and will be succeeded by better ones.

    And I'm also aware that the next time one of those writers decides to write another story, with perfectly plausible textual justification I'm sure, that has on-panel graphic baby beheading, or something equally as offputting...they probably will. And if I'm into the story and I really really love it, then it'll be that much more upsetting.

    And honestly, I don't care what the reason is in story. It could be the best comic in the world, on panel demonic baby beheading is one of my cut-off points. I'm not judging anyone who doesn't agree, we all have our quirks.

    This is a deal breaker for me. Period.

     
  • At November 11, 2011 11:00 PM, Anonymous hcg said…

    I have been looking for sites like this for a long time. Thank you!

     

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