Comic Review: Fables, vol 1

Link.

The basic rundown: every fairy story you've ever heard is actually true, and they've been run out of their homeland by a Sauron-esque adversary simply called... The Adversary. Catchy, no? They've now moved underground in New York and are attempting to live in such a way that the mundane citizens (or 'mundies') don't notice their existence, piddling away eternity, longing for their homeland. Along the way, there's murder.

In this volume, divorcee and bureaucratic leader of Fable, Snow White, is horrified to learn from detective Bigby Wolf that her sister, Rose Red, has been murdered. I won't tell you how the plot unravels, except to say that along the way we encounter a trickster Jack (the beanstalk one), a Bluebeard whose money sense borders on Robber Baron, a sword-wielding Cinderella, and a womanizing Prince Charming, all culminating in a rooftop 'parlor scene' wherein the mystery unfolds to a disbelieving audience.

This first volume was good, but I like a little more grit in my murder mysteries. It was well-written, the characters were likable and overall believable, but I couldn't get behind the story. Just a bit too PG-13 for my tastes. I like blood, gore, chases, forensics, and a healthy body count. However, this is just a personal grievance, and doesn't really reflect on the work. For those of you who like murder mysteries that pan out more like Clue and less like the latest episode of CSI, this is perfect for you.

Once HeavyInk gets the first volume of this series on their site, I'll drop my review there. It would be unfair of me to judge the series as a whole based on this first volume.

TV Review: Dexter

Behind the times? Perhaps. I don't have an antenna.

Quick summary of the show: it's about a serial killer who kills serial killers.

Grander summary (and this is about all I can give you without spoiling major plot points): Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami PD, and in his spare time he hunts down those who have managed to escape justice, but not because he wishes to balance the books. At a young age he was witness to something horrific, something that changed him. His foster father, Harry Morgan, tells him, "They cut into you too early. They cut too deep." Dexter is completely devoid of emotion and is consumed by the need to kill. Harry trains him in how to quiet his urges without getting caught.

To give you more would ruin things. All of this is revealed in the first episode, but how he became what he is today unfolds throughout the story, weaved together with the tale of the Ice Truck Killer, the most horrific serial killer in Florida's history. The supporting cast is rich, each character distinctly human, both likable and unlikable in their own ways, and exceedingly human.

What got me was that this man, Dexter, is a serial killer. They don't pull punches. He's brutal, vicious, and takes a trophy of each kill. He is unable to relate to anybody and fakes every human interaction. Yet I connect with him. How often do we in our own lives fake social niceties? Smile at that coworker you despise, or show up to family functions when you'd rather just be running yourself headlong into hard things? Put up a false front to preserve what's going on behind the scenes? It's a very existential theme, this constantly feeling on the outside of society, and it's a feeling we can relate to.

That's what made me love the show. Other than how well scripted it is and the perfectly coordinated visuals. But when I stepped back and realized, "The writers just made me cheer on a serial killer," I was hooked.

I can't recommend this any more. There's no way for me to communicate how incredible this show is. It's on DVD. Go buy it.

Book Review: The Dresden Files

As you can potentially see by my sidebar, depending on when this is read, you'd see that I'm currently on book three of The Dresden Files series. It's taken me a long time to hop on board with these books, for a few reasons. I am very wary of the bulk of urban fantasy, even though I love the genre, because it's frequently crap. I like science fiction too, and shy away from it for the same reason. I'm actually least often disappointed by YA lit, which says something, though I'm not sure what. Also, about the same time I heard about the series, I also heard the words "Sci-Fi Series" and that immediately shot it down. The Sci-Fi channel does one good thing, which is playing episodes of Firefly.

Actually, that's unfair for me to say. I don't have TV.

But, a friend told me no, they're actually good, I should really give them a chance. I did. I'm glad I did. I'm not going to tout these as being incredible literature. They're not. They're fun fantastic escapism, and were just what the doctor ordered after finishing some Nietzsche.

There are a few things categorically wrong with the writing, if you ask me. For one, every chick is hot. Now, don't get me wrong here. I realize this is fantasy, pandering and shameless. But really, not every chick is going to be smoking hot. It gets to a distracting point, and you can't appreciate every individual smoking-hot-chick when she's just one in a number. Moreover, the whole shabby-guy-gets-hot-chicks thing? I've seen it before. Come up with a new shtick.

Also, I feel a bit abused with the constant cliffhanger writing. Every chapter ends with some sort of 'holy shit you just might die' moment, and forces you to keep going. Yes, great, it's a literary trick, I know, it's what you do to keep people coming back for more. But the thing about tricks is that you don't keep showing the same one over and over. It's like the Chekhov's gun in Harry Potter and the Generic Fantasy Reference - or perhaps I should say Chekhov's arsenal? You just start to feel a little knocked around.

I dig the campy noir thing it has going on, the dark settings with touches of dry detective humor. I worry a bit over what this says about me as a human, but well. Them's facts. This does get a bit over-the-top as well, but in general, it's just an over-the-top series. It makes no apologies about it, and it really doesn't need to.

Overall, good escapist writing. If you're getting tired of reading too much heady literature, dive in for a little while. Although I think after book three (of seven) I'm going to have to go read something intellectually redeeming, lest my brain muscles start to atrophy. I can already feel them shrinking, crying out, "Camus, Kierkegaard, save us!" It's annoying when you're trying to get some work done. Although they have a point: I never finished Sickness Unto Death.

Next I have to say something about Wicked. That book was just incredible.