Random Ramblings

10-27-06
I finally got around to reading X-Factor #12. I don’t know, the ending was a little too deus ex machina for my taste. Still, I have to give Peter David points for holding onto Jamie’s dupe like that for twelve issues. My only major gripe with the series so far is that Multiple Man is the only character that feels like he has good screen time. I know he is the main character, but the supporting cast needs more to do.

The Anita Blake comic hasn’t progressed enough for me to make a judgment yet. I hope it turns out to be a good story; I like vampire stories, I just haven’t latched onto any vampire comics.

10-16-06
As I mentioned earlier, I purchased the final book in A Series of Unfortunate Events last Friday. I’ll try not to give too much away, but if you plan to read it, you might want to wait on reading this review. In the spirit of the books, I have to say that I’m writing this with a sense of ambivalence—a word which here means “I’m torn between whether or not this is an adequate conclusion to the Baudelaires’ saga.”

Perhaps The Penultimate Peril was too tough of an act to follow. The first twelve books of the series contained motifs tied to the theme of the story. The End began with the imagery of the layers of an onion. Unfortunately, the story’s message was that one cannot penetrate all of the layers of this complicated world. Considering the tone of the series, I didn’t expect to see all the villains defeated and all the woes simply vanish, however, too many elements of the series were left unresolved.

The story takes place on an island, more-or-less removed from the mysteries and secret organization that has plagued the Baudelaires. Apart from the Baudelaires themselves and the villainous Count Olaf, Kit was the only character who returned in the final book. We don’t know what happened to Captain Widdershins or Phil or why they abandoned the Baudelaires two books ago. We don’t know the fate of the Quagmires, Hector, Fernald, or Fiona. We don’t know the importance of the figurine in Caligari Carnival. And most infuriating to me, we don’t know what was in the sugar bowl, why it was so important to everyone, or the whereabouts of the man who had it at the end of The Penultimate Peril. We do find Captain Widdershin’s wife—as well as yet another third sibling—but she was barely developed as a character. In fact, the biggest reveal—which occurred at the very end of the book—was one I guessed some time ago.

Instead of trying to clear up all the subplots of the first twelve books, The End told the story of the Baudelaires finally arriving at a safe place, which turned out to be a pseudo-Eden, complete with a tree of knowledge and a rather familiar serpent. With the island being a “safe place,” Count Olaf lost most of the wind from his sails. During The Penultimate Peril, Olaf began to develop beyond simply being a greedy, vain, and disgusting villain. In The End, Olaf’s character development did not continue until the end of the book. Here lies the crux for me. While Olaf’s story felt tacked onto the end, there was a sense of poignancy to this subplot. Olaf was still an evil man at the closing of the book, but he proved to be a man rather than a monster.

By the end of the book, I felt like one of the Baudelaires standing silently at a certain grave, reflecting on what it all might mean. While the story may have been better had certain aspects been resolved, the series—despite being a children’s story—is not a simple story. Instead of giving an easy answer, the books provoke thought and emotion.

For those who haven’t read The End—or perhaps none of the books from A Series of Unfortunate Events—my advice is to get your hands on these books as soon as possible. Do it now! I promise I won’t ramble so much next time.

10-13-06
This is it. Book the Thirteen of A Series of Unfortunate Events comes out today. I have my copy reserved. I plan on spending my weekend reading it and hopefully I have a plethora of wonderful things to say about it afterwards. I still have no idea all of the series’ subplots will be resolved in one book, but considering all that he has done in the first twelve books, I have faith in Mr. Handler.

10-9-06
I admit I haven’t kept up with the current Uncanny X-Men storyline. I didn’t care for Brubaker’s retrocon of X-Men Giant Size. I don’t care about Vulcan. And I really don’t like this recent trend of making Xavier downright heartless (yes, the man has made tough decisions concerning his students in the past but now he’s coming off as manipulative). The point is, I’m not reading “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire,” so perhaps there’s a logical explanation why the preview pages for Uncanny X-Men 479 features a bad rip off of Cloud from Final Fantasy VII. His weapon even looks like a Buster Sword. Does no one at Marvel realize that Final Fantasy VII was a very popular videogame?


10-2-06
I made my monthly comic book run this weekend. Wasteland is proving to be a good read and Helios is picking up the pace. However, I’m still confused by aspects of the current X-Factor and Astonishing X-Men storylines.

9-29-06
September is almost over and I still don’t know what to get for my nephew’s birthday next month. I mean, what do you get someone who’s a year old? Kids are usually good about telling you what they want, but that doesn’t really work if they can’t talk.

9-22-06
Someone recommended The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho to me recently. It turned out to be a very good book. It had an ending that gave me one of those “ah” moments.

Speaking of reading, it seems J.R.R. Tolkien is still turning out books. Of course, I haven’t even read The Silmarillion yet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_en_ot/books_new_tolkien_1

9-18-06
Creating a section for my own personal musing is something I’ve avoided for quite some time. I’m honestly afraid I won’t be able to conjure up topics to talk about on a…semi-regular basis. Despite that fear, here I go.

Okay…

I can do this.