Rainy day reading.

[nenena]

Blah, hiking got canceled today because of pouring torrential rain. I spent the whole day vegging inside, doing some reading, writing, and internet surfing.

Anyway, via the Girl-Wonder.org forums, where you learn something new or find something useful every day: This is a collection of excellent rants about common themes and cliches in fantasy fiction. And most of said rants are not limited in applicability to speculative fiction, either. (Er, did I just write that sentence? Okay, try again: Most of her rants could apply to any type of fiction, not just fantasy and science-fiction. There. Much better.) Lately I've been on a glut of reading about writing, the likes of which I haven't really done since high school. Well, I'm knee-deep in my own science-fiction/fantasy writing project, so there's that, too. ;)

Meanwhile, I am feeling comic-deprived. Here's what I'm dying to read:

Ramayana 3392 A.D. Should I wait for the trade or snag the individual issues? The problem with both of those options is, hey, I'm living in Japan, and I am having a helluva hard time finding an online retailer that a) stocks Virgin Comics and b) will ship to Japan. If and when the trade does come out, I'm nervous that amazon.co.jp will not stock it. Amazon.co.jp is usually pretty good about stocking American comic book trades from the Big Two, but little else.

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Reborn. OMG OMG OMG OMG I have waited so long for this. This one, though, I will have to wait for the trade. I will make myself wait for the trade. Buying individual issues is generally not a feasable option for someone living overseas, unless the artwork is fantastic enough to justify owning multiple copies (see: Ramayana 3392 A.D., above). But I really am going to have a hard time waiting for this one. Hopefully something will show up on scans_daily soon to whet my appetite.

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil. It's JEFF SMITH and he is made of awesome. I heard that this will only be a four-issue mini-series, so hopefully the trade won't be too long in coming. Already there's some stuff showing up on scans_daily and I am psyched. ^___^ (*fangirls Jeff Smith*)

Comments

[aster-dw.livejournal.com]

Well, I know what I'll be doing for the next...*looks at the list* um...several weeks.

I've looked through some of the rants and they are fascinating. Thanks!

[morchades.livejournal.com]

I've been buying Ramayana 3392 AD and I have to say the art is absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't tell you anything about the story, but I go into artgasm mode when I open the book.

So, take from that what you will.

And this link (http://www.virgincomicsstore.com/") might be very useful.

[nenena.livejournal.com]

OMG thank you! (*whips out credit card*)

They really should have that site linked somewhere prominent on virgincomics.com.

[steelehearts.livejournal.com]

ramayana 3392. i looked at a few pics available on the net. i frankly say i don't want to know what shekhar kapur was thinking of. wannabe LOTR with anime overtones? ehh... what a blue rama. and ravana was a likeable fellow back when i read the ramayana in the original!

[nenena.livejournal.com]

Ravana is like Duryodhana. There will be versions of the story where he's a noble character, versions of the story where he's an evil baby-eating puppy-kicking demon incarnate, and versions of the story that fall inbetween. Personally I prefer a Ramayana where Ravana isn't a cut-and-dried villain. But I think that a lot of people grew up being told that Ravana is EBIL, so I'm not surprised to see that translated into the comic book version.

Wannabe LOTR with anime overtones?

You're saying that like it's a bad thing. ;)~