(no subject)

[learnedax]

Finished Guys and Rick's Story, bringing me to Cerebus #231, where I think I will take alexx_kay's advice and stop.

Both of these contained heavy doses of Dave's paranoid ranting, and even heavier doses of stagnation. I realize that to a certain degree that stagnation was a key point of the story, but sometimes he succeeded in commenting interestingly on it and other times it was just tedious. I think Guys in particular had few redeeming features; it had potential, but, again, didn't really go anywhere. Rick's Story had some pointless parts, but the overall craftsmanship and the art techniques were actually quite interesting, with a kind of flowing humanism that, perhaps unsurprisingly, reminded me of Jaka's Story, though this being the B side of the series it still cast things as a paranoid war of the sexes.

The ending of this section is startlingly conclusive and upbeat... and not very satisfying. The slow percolation through the previous 30 issues of stagnation justifies the ending as not entirely implausible, but it still drops in as an unabashed deus ex machina.

Oh well, that was interesting. Time for something else.

Comments

[rickthefightguy.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe I am just a thug, but I rate Cerebus stories by their body counts. Low body counts, prolly not the good stuff. Jaka's Story did have the best bit of lettering anywhere in comics that I have seen...but it was after that that the body count picked up again!

Yeah, compare the stuff you just read to Book 1. Or 2. Or anything that featured Lord Julius...

(He's Dead and Cerebus is Alive...what could be more fair than that?)

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

I actually didn't usually find Lord Julius terribly funny, whereas TMCM's appearance in Guys was entertaining.

There is definitely something to the body count, but Dave consciously tries to get away from that style, which makes it more problematic. I did like Jaka's Story much more than Melmoth, despite a (I think) 0 to 1 ratio of deaths. (Er, I suppose that's actually higher since I think Cerebus starts in on his killing spree right at the end of Melmoth, but that's conceptually more a part of Flight...)

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

There were two on-screen deaths at the end of Book Two of Jaka's Story, plus the strong implication that Nurse dies off-screen in Book Three. Well over 0.

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Well, _Latter Days_ has some truly impressive body counts -- but that doesn't actually improve it.

[jducoeur]

To be fair, I think I enjoyed Latter Days more than you did -- aside from the annoying and bizarre retelling of Genesis (what is it about Dave and creation myths?), I thought it was mildly interesting and fairly amusing. It's just not quite interesting enough to contradict the recommendation of "don't bother" -- there are certainly *far* more worthwhile ways to spend one's time, and the ending fails to be satisfying enough for a story of this scope...

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

(what is it about Dave and creation myths?)

He was struggling towards an account of creation that he felt accurately described the real, physical universe we live in. And he believes that the one he lays out at the beginning of The Last Day is it. He has said publicly, on more than one occasion, that it represents (from memory, so perhaps not an exact quote): "The Unified Field Theory that Einstein was never able to find."

It leaves me nearly at a loss for words. Perhaps I should borrow some. What was it that physicist once said about a student paper? [Alexx googles...] Ah yes, Pauli, "This isn't right. This isn't even wrong."

[cat9.livejournal.com]

On an entirely different note, I have the best picture of you with my brother. In fact, it's so good it might make next year's invite. Hee.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

It's not by any chance digital, is it? I expected us both to look impressively goofy in that picture, and I'm curious how it came out.

[cat9.livejournal.com]

It is, it is. (Both digital, and impressively goofy.) I'd be happy to send it on - shall I use the address on your info page? If not, send the correct one to the address on mine...

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

The ending of this section is startlingly conclusive and upbeat... and not very satisfying.

Unsatisfying, in large part, because the author knows full well that, despite appearances, this is *not* a happy ending. Everything he's set up will be torn down in due time.