Multimedia Adventures

[jedibuttercup]

I've been to see two movies in the last week: Paul Blart: Mall Cop, to which I was invited by TS (WW buddy) and family on Sunday, and Push, which I watched last night on my lonesome.

Mall Cop? Typical twelve-year-old boy humor, but if you skip over the bar scene, the rest of it was entertaining. Not something I'd ever fic, or buy, but funny.

Push, on the other hand? Wow, a big sparkly wrapper full of nothing. Might be fun to fill in some of the gaps with fic, but I'd have to do it as a crossover, because there's just no there there under the sparse skeleton of worldbuilding required to hold the "plot" together. Still: sparkly, and I don't regret going to see it.

Pop quiz, by the way: should I track down a copy of Watchmen before going to see the movie in two weeks? My experience with graphic novels is very limited, and mostly from tie-ins available at Borders, since neither my parents nor my brother nor my closest college friends were ever into them that I knew of. I don't even know where to buy them around here aside from book stores. But I've been told Hellblazer is superior enough to the Constantine movie that I should get my hands on some, and I've heard good things about Watchmen, so....
~

Comments

[bastardsnow.livejournal.com]

Yes, in my opinion you should absolutely read Watchmen before going to see the movie. It's basically *the* defining graphic novel of the last 30 years or so, possibly longer.

Hellblazer is about as much better than Constantine as... I can't really think of anything comparable right now, but it's a whole hell of a lot different, and in my opinion, quite a bit better as well.

As for where to get them: http://www.comicshoplocator.com/

[jedibuttercup]

Hey, neat; there's a few within a couple of miles of my work, and I know exactly where one of them is. I forgot I used to tag after my brother when he went to Borderlands to buy Magic cards.

Thanks for the link, and the advice!

I did spot an "Original Sins" volume of Hellblazer when I was at Borders the other day, and picked it up; looks like the first nine issues? I'll give it a read this weekend, and see if I can track down Watchmen. The more I hear about it, the more interested I get.

[avamclean.livejournal.com]

The Watchmen graphic is amazing, but you might want see the movie before reading the graphic so that you're not dissappointed by the plot differences. I know I was when I read I am Legend before seeing it. Though I will say that 30 Days of Night stayed pretty true to its origins.

[jedibuttercup]

I'm always six-of-one, half-a-dozen-of-the-other regarding novel vs. movie differences. I'd read the LotR series probably six or seven times through before seeing the big screen adaptions, and wow, I could talk all day about what PJ changed both subtly and on a larger scale, but I still ♥♥♥ both versions as AUs of each other.

I expect I'll end up feeling the same way about Constantine vs. Hellblazer, and about the Star Trek XI movie this spring, so-- hm. Well, I'll just have to see whether I can get my hands on it, and how much time I have, and let that decide which order I partake of Watchmen in. =)

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

I had the same thoughts about Push. It was a two-hour music video, and I loved it. Like cotton candy :)

[jedibuttercup]

I just wish they'd left the ending a little clearer, because you know they must have been expecting to make a sequel, and the box office receipts are going to make that as impossible as a second Chronicles of Riddick flick. Ah, well; there's always fanfic. =)

[pronker]

Hellblazer is a longtime favorite; can't speak for Watchmen, except to repeat the notion that it's a seminal work.

[jedibuttercup]

Question for you, then: is Hellblazer one of those really long series where everything ties together, or can it be appreciated in smaller disjointed chunks? I'm curious what order (besides obviously picking up the first issues first) I should attempt to absorb the series in, and how important completeness is to full appreciation.

[pronker]

I read Hellblazer from its beginning as it was a spinoff from Swamp Thing, which I liked. And then all the darkness was intriguing, plus I enjoyed the humor, offbeat as it was. From the beginning (1988?) to when I was priced out of comics buying, about 1997, was when I read it. It had few standalone stories, as I recall. I think if it were read in small chunks (I'm assuming there is an issue guide someplace?), that would work for anyone. You already know the basic premise if you've read/seen Constantine. Dark, quirky, uh running out of adjectives here. I must say that my tastes have changed and I did not enjoy Constantine.

[empressvesica.livejournal.com]

Watchmen has some awesome themes and, in my opinion, holds up much better to the test of time than V for Vendetta.

I vote yes - read.

[jedibuttercup]

Cool, thanks.

I feel a little odd picking up graphic novels for the first time at my age; like I missed out on a major rite of passage in the high school/college era. =)

[learnedhand-dj.livejournal.com]

I would say hold off on reading it until after you see the movie. That will allow you to view the movie on its own merits, instead of constantly picking up on the differences. I find that I tend to pick apart the differences when I do it book/movie, which I don't do when I do it movie/book. If you know what I mean.

[jedibuttercup]

I do know what you mean; and there've been a few adaptions that didn't even try to respect the original material that I just couldn't appreciate.

In general, though, like I told Ava, I'm usually six-of-one, half-a-dozen-of-the-other regarding novel vs. movie differences. I'd read the LotR series probably six or seven times through before seeing the big screen adaptions, and wow, I could talk all day about what PJ changed both subtly and on a larger scale, but I still ♥ both versions as AUs of each other.

So I'll just have to see whether I can get my hands on it, and how much time I have, and let that decide which order I partake of Watchmen in. =)