It's the Rick Grimes I've known and love/feared for years - In Defense of Season 3 of Walking Dead mit non-spoil spoiler (for pageviews)

Now that the rancorous presidential election has finally drawn to a close, normalcy has returned, by and large, to social media.  This return to relative normalcy means two things: cat videos and people spoiling/bitching/espousing/making wild claims/etc. about the Walking Dead.  As a stalwart of the comic book and begrudging viewer of the show, I have to say that I actually enjoy the new direction of the show.  Here's why...obviously.

I think we're going to need a new group shot as well most of you are dead now.

1) They say the show was all about character development; most of them were developing into d-bags.

It's true.  Every week I watch Andrea, on the tv show, and I think good god what is your fucking problem lady?  Do you ever say anything that isn't patently retarded?  Wait, now you're siding with Shane?  Just die.  And even now in Season 3 she is still dumb as shit and developing on that trajectory of being a fucking moron.  So, what's the problem?  And hey, you know what?  Now that Merle is back he's more than just a syphilitic white supremacist; he's a syphilitic white supremacist that loves his brother and is part of the group.  Glenn is still very much Glenn, and Darryl continues to develop as the only likable character created for the show; hell, even T-Dog was useful/resonant before he died which is a big step really.  So there you go, the characters are still developing; it's just that things have actually been happening at a speedy click this season, with less wistful staring/hugging and shit.

2) The dialogue is cringe worthy.

Um...it always was.  Seriously, half of the time the show had people trying to spout exposition or make declarations of their feelings.  It's always been that way, and it's always been awkward.  Just think back to the CDC arc, or don't...it's terrible.  I'm really just glad that everyone who died um died.  So that's really it; the show hasn't gotten worse on that front really; you're just aware of it as it's not the show you had been watching, and change is scary.

3) Rick is a huge douchebag now.

That's how I like my Rick Grimes: crazy and willing to do whatever is necessary to help the group.  Sure, his interactions with Lori right before she ate it were a bit terse, but it happens some times in relationships.  Also, she did kinda convince him that murdering people was a-ok and that may have caused some strife.  I mean I've gotten short with women about movie concessions and vice versa.  My petty squabbles aside, that's the Rick Grimes I've love/feared in the comics for years.  He's at heart a good man that does what's necessary, but he's most of all a man.  He's going to react to his wife dying, stupidly, like anyone else-blind rage.  He's going to defend his people with machetes.  He's going to do way more questionable shit than that depending on how long the show runs.  I'd say just sit back and enjoy it; murder crazy Rick is the best and still fairly reasonable.  Just don't test him.  Ever.  He'll fucking kill you and not be all that bothered by it.

4) They just keep killing off characters left and right.

Refer back to 2.  It's the Walking Dead.  It happens in the books and on the show as that's the main thing that would happen in an actual zombpacalypse: people dropping like flies.  And hey, you know what they made me care about T-Dog, a character that I and the internet typically mocked (Rick: Okay, I'm going to need Glenn and Darryl on this one; T-Dog...I don't know go wait with the women or try and find Carl or something.)  But yeah I mean it's going to happen, and they already have a new more bad ass black guy.  I'm also sure there will be a new momish squeezy bun for Darryl.  Hey, maybe he could get with that girl who they keep trying to imply digs Carl but is 27 which makes me feel weird.  Or not.  Anyway, it's the show's m.o to keep the death toll high.

5) The reveals are stupid.

No they're not.  The arena is a pretty integral part of illustrating the ideological differences between survivors.  Pretty much, for television you've got to make it a slightly slower burn with illustrating that yes, the Governor is bat shit crazy.  Granted, we have already seen him straight up murder a group of survivors, but that happens on this show.  We have not seen someone corral his zombie daughter.  I am glad though that on the tv show he does not kiss said zombie daughter on the mouth, like on the comic.  He also doesn't have a bunch of zombie heads in aquariums that he watches in lieu of television.  And frankly, I don't really know if television audiences would be okay with his prolonged and systematic raping of Micchone, like in the comic books (it came out over 5 years ago and I feel spoiler free.)  So yeah, the reveals have less punch, but they're less ham fisted ways of illustrating the core differences between groups of survivors.

And now there be spoilers:

Stop reading

Seriously

Anyway, here we go... It's Lori on the phone.  Rick has gone nanners and talks to his dead wife on the phone for, frankly, way longer than he should. 

Actual Loathing- The Shortlist of Things that are irksome

As this is an apparently annually updated blog with loathing in the title, I feel the need to kvetch about something or other. In fact, that's the other key part of fandom: listen to sports radio, read a message board anywhere, you're on the internet; you know the drill. As this is relating to fanboy-ism, they will mainly related to the topic. They will be ordered arbitrarily, yet all will be filled with overlong invectives that downplay the unabashed triviality of these matters. Commence bitching.

Oh, Jesus, I hope this isn't the start of Gang Bang Theory

1 - Stop asking me if I watch Big Bang Theory



I find the show to be exploitative of "nerd culture" (itself a corporate synergy painted as some sort of warm and fuzzy collectivism). I don't think that many Americans really get the jokes about physics (I've watched maybe 3 episodes in my life, never by choice). More to the point...stop saying Ba-zinga at me when I make a funny. I'm half joking on that one. My main issue with the show is that in those 3 episodes the show, set in a world with only DC exclusive comic book stores, gets things so very wrong about comic books. That's it. It's that the show, and countless other products of its ilk, attempts to look at a sub culture in a way that is presented as warm and humanizing, yet at the same time, is obviously nothing more than a thrown together hodge podge of sub culture tropes. Much like a say Napoleon Dynamite the concept is about embracing the differences and quirks of the characters, while deriving much of the laughs at the character's expense for these same quirks that they are allegedly embracing.


The other main issue that I have is that they get everything so very wrong. Granted, much of my knowledge of these issues comes from my friend who's wife enjoys the show he brought one issue to light that we both took umbrage with: NO SANE COMIC BOOK FAN WOULD EVER ASSUME THAT JASON TODD WOULD BE THE NEW BATMAN. I really just don't know how you could get this so wrong; unless of course you had no prior knowledge of the situation. While I would not demand that anyone slavishly go through the extended Bat Family bible, I would expect someone to take five minutes to do a google search and maybe read a fan poll.

Look awkwardly at the ground if you haven't killed someone...really? Jesus that's messed up

2- Stop telling me about how much you love AMC's The Walking Dead

Yes, the performances are solid and the production values are good. My issues with the show are as follows: The pace is maddening; if you're a new character not played by Norman Reedus, I hate you; they tried to explain where the zombies came from; I preferred a lot of the characters from the book, and the ones on the television seem to make even more questionable decisions.






Mainly though, my issue is that The Walking Dead is a slow burn as a comic book. In the course of its decade long run, certain character arcs and plot lines recycle. Chief amongst these are 1) Hey we're safe here...oh wait we're really not. 2) Maybe we can trust these people..oh wait we really can't. 3) Don't ever fuck with Rick...ever. But the ting about the comic book is that it comes in a shorter dose time wise, as in you can read an entire arc in about the same time as you'd watch an episode. There are also far crazier plot twists, and I shudder to think how The Governor will be "Nerfed" due to standards and practices as his repugnance is integral to his character. At the heart of the issue though is that part of what makes the comic book compelling is watching these characters lose their humanity while also dealing with extremely graphic plot twists (face shootings and bun bun murdering). Frankly, I don't think TV audiences are interested in that, or May-December relationships. Also, I want Shane to just die already.



My work computer is not made for moving around pictures it seems

3 - It's a business... Why is that so hard to fathom?


Nothing irks me more than when people complain about their favorite pirated comic book title. At the same time, I am also bothered when people complain to no end about X book that they buy religiously being crap. Here's the thing: If you want to keep reading say...Captain Britain and MI 13 (still bitter), pony up the three dollars. If you hate everything Bendis, stop buying everything Bendis (unless the message boards have moved on to someone new...it's been a while..in which case don't buy that.) While the Watchmen prequels seem like a terrible idea, it's a smart business move for a summer non-event. The casual fan will see the trademark cover layout and go "ooohhh", and the cynical fanboy is at heart a habitual completionist who literally cannot stop buying comic books. Personally, I'm disinterested in Before Watchmen, but at the same time, it beats a summer event that ties into the New 52 books that I'm reading. It has fantastic creative teams though, so that counts for something. While Watchmen is the sacredest of cape and tight cows, it's not the end of the world. Sure, poeple can lament that they would prefer something new with these teams or possibly an experiment like Watchmen done with different discarded characters. At the same time though, the industry is in decline sales wise and the teeth gnashing and vitriol of fanboys also speak to an inherrent fascination with the product. It leads to trending on social networks and search engines which leads to hightened visibility of the product. The point that I am again belabordly making is this: if you ond't like something, ignore it. If you enjoy something, pay for it. Yes, I just wrote a whiny diabtribe about not going on whiny diatribes, but it's the internet, so I'm right.

4- Enough with the teasers for trailers

Yes, I watched the 10 second Avengers trailer teaser. Just like last year's Captain America trailer, it is the main reason that I'm watching the Super Bowl, as the Ravens are not playing in it (in which case I would be ungodly drunk on Patron by half time). Yes, I encouraged it by clicking, but there is something to be said for surprises.

5 - Having horrible things happen to your characters is not the only way to write a compelling comic book for adults.

Right off the bat, I am a fan of Mark Millar and Garth Ennis. I named one of the characters in my still in progress book The Skull Base Doom Cock for chrissake. I would honestly say that Preacher is my favorite comic book of all time. I also enjoyed The Ultimates and the first Kick Ass (and movie) and the list goes on for quite a while. At the same time though, half of Kick Ass 2 seems like character development through guignol. We've got to see children shot, and gang rapes, and the rest to get across the point. It's not that these things don't have a place in the medium. It is not a call for censorship. It's that can we get some sort of greater meaning frmo it? I understand that The Mother Fucker is evil, and it doesn't really get more evil than gang rape and shooting children. It's just that in a lot of cases it really seems that shock value is taking the place of compelling dialogue or characters. In the case of the Mother Fucker, his father was killed. In the first series, the Mother fucker nee Red Mist was a sycophantic nebbish, to a degree, that was seeking his father's approval. Dastardly, sure. Evil, fucking right. Gang raping child murderer, not so much. It's really that nothing in his initial character arc indicated this turn to, specifically, a child murdering gang rapist. I mean I would be fine with it if the character was occasionally, "This thrust duiring this gang rape is for you dad" or "I shoot these children for the glory of the (Italian Name)". Frankly, if I want to engage in fetishistic sexual violence and general non normative abohrance, I have the internet (and how!).


The same is doubly true of The Boys, due to the length of the series. At first, it was a novel concept: you take analogues for the majority of the "big 2's" and show them as unrepentant deviants. You take your team of chemically empowered regulators and violence ensues. THe only issue I had with it was after 50 something issues it was still the same thing. While the characters themselves that make up the titular group were interesting, it really just seemed that too much of the book was taken up by people getting pissed on. Which is fine, but it just gets old after a while. Pretty much, my issue is that, personally, I pick up the books for character development and snappy writing, which both authors have shown in spades throughout their decades long careers. If I want to see a Mary Marvel analogue get pissed on by the rest of the JSA, I will type that into google and then click on images. That's it. It's a chicken and the egg. For the record though, I thought that Young Liars did the whole constant jaw dropping deviance right, and the first Crossed was at least novel in showing the gimmick. Call me old fashioned, but demonically possessed pregnant 10 year olds get tiresome after a while. Unless they move the story forward.