I was a fan of "Hellboy" ever since the movie came out three or so years ago. And after watching the trailer for "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" for the millionth time, I was in something of a Hellboy rush, if you will. So, I decided to download the comics, to see if they were any good.
Took me a bit to get around to them, thanks to both work and finals rearing their ugly head, but I read the first two volumes: Seed of Destruction and Wake The Devil.
First let me say this: I love Mignola's artwork. Maybe its the way that some colors of the characters fade in with the solid color background, or perhaps its just the '70's style way of it being drawn. Maybe it's just the fact that it's just different? Whatever the reason, I simply love it.
A small pet peeve, because Broom was significantly more developed in the film than he was in the graphic novel. But in retrospect, Rasputin is a far more interesting character in the graphic novel, so it all balances out.
The graphic novel is more of a mystery-adventure story, rather than the action-adventure tone Del Toro went with the film. Now, both story types suits the tone Hellboy goes with, so it's not a bother to me. However, I have to say that Mignola did a better job with the way he did things than how Del Toro did. The focus here is on Hellboy, not Hellboy, Abe Sapien and Liz, and that's an advantage in my book.
However, one qualm I have to say is that there is not enough development overall. It seems like, plotwise, not much really changed. It didn't seem like the overall way of things haven't changed...at all. The characters as a whole never truly progressed, the villains didn't really seem like they did a whole lot... It still tells a good story - I just wish more stuff happened within it!
I hate how I have to get a new e-mail just because my old GMail account won't recognize my password. Now I have to remember all of the newsletters that I subscribed to. Oh, frustration!
I have been forwarded to what could only be described as an "interesting" opinion editorial, in which the author's opinions on anime can summed up in these few words: 'Anime is stupid. Thus, it is making kids stupid. We are doomed.'
Now, when I read the title, "Japanese anime destroying American society", I was already a little distraught. Anime is a subject that is of importance to the article, and thus, the title itself. It goes without saying that it should be capitalized. When Mr. Glucklich did not do so, I only assumed he just did not have enough care to proofread his own article.
Already he was off to a bad start.
The University of Oregon junior goes on to say things that are described as being truly foolish, ignorant, and shows he did not even do his research on the subject matter. He grouped shows like "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" in the same group. True, they share similarities, but they are not of the same genre. He says that Pokemon was the cause of widespread seizures.
The thing is, that case happened almost ten years ago, to only 100 children, in Japan. The way he had written it, it was very recent, was widespread, and the cases occurred in America. If I am not mistaken, that is on a very similar level as propaganda - over exaggerating the facts to meet your goals.
The article goes on to show how anime is a worthless medium, but the only anime titles listed are the big, mainstream ones. He dosen't state those that have an actual storyline, or even better, those with a storyline that has some relevance in today's day. "Gundam 00" comes to mind. The story has a very post-9/11 feel to it, and you can relate to most of the political conflicts that are occurring in the world.
In the end, the article just reeked of foolishness and short sightedness. I am sure Mr. Glucklich is a very intelligent individual, who knows a good deal of foreign cultures or other matters of interest. But in this regard, he has acted very foolish.
You can find the actual article here.
By the date of my last post, it is self evident that I have taken far too long to post an update on anything that may be of interest to me, or you, or anyone else in particular who wandered onto this quaint little blogging space. To do so, I am prepared to rectify that with all due course.
Since my birthday, January 11th (which coincidentally enough, was when I last written here), little in my life has changed. I have made few friends, but those who I have befriended I am most fortunate to have met. Unfortunately, I have been far too busy with, I suppose personal projects is the correct term, to actually talk with them...or do much of anything for that matter. I would like to rectify that, but having a part time job consumes more time than people would presume and desire.
On the good side of things, I have gotten on better grounds with Peter. We are currently scheming on forming a weekly roleplaying game group. The awkwardness of such a move is painfully clear - playing with people I have little knowledge of, as well as the negative viewpoints of the pastime at least my parents posses on the matter. Regardless, the forming of such a group is very likely - whenever I intend on pursuing a new form of story telling, chances are I will give it a shot at least once.
My last novel, Kazoku, has been abandoned. The reasons for such is far too numerous to count, so let me summarize it as such: I just lose interest in it. I lost the love, the passion, for it. When that happens, its best to just move on. It is a hard thing to do - I spent a year of my life working on it. But it had to be done - other wise, I would of spent several more years working on something that would be a below quality product.
More to come soon. I hope to keep a much more up to date recording of my life and interests as they occur. Goodbye for now.
