#I think there are ways in which this whole thing plays into urban hellscape narratives about cities in the 90s

[artbyblastweave]

Got a Worm meta question for you. I'm starting on the early parts of Taylor's warlord era - I'm about to leap into Arc 13 - and the general concept of a ravaged American city being divided up by various supervillain groups is reminding me a lot of that Batman story arc No Man's Land from the late 1990s. Unfortunately my comics knowledge is rudimentary at best, and I haven't been able to any discussion comparing the two stories, so I was wondering if I could pick your brain on the subject. Was it just convergent evolution, or was Wildbow engaging with the Batman story in some way?

I myself have only read about half of No Man's Land- and several years ago to boot- so I've got limited ability to do a direct compare and contrast. No Man's Land is absolutely the sort of status-quo-shattering, history-book-making upset that, within Marvel and DC, nonetheless always inexplicably heals and loses salience until you can barely tell that it's still in continuity. Worm is heavily informed by Wildbow's irritation with that sort of thing, so I think it's totally reasonable to view the warlord era through the lens of "What if No Mans Land had no editorial escape hatch." Alternatively, I think it kind of makes sense to view it through the lens that it's working backwards from the premise of No Man's Land- In what kind of setting would it be plausible for the Federal Government to write off a sufficiently-damaged American City? In what context would the legal infrastructure have been established for that, in what context would that even fall within the Overton Window? What muddies my opinion on this is that the general concept of a ravaged, atmospherically-apocalyptic American city torn up by superpowered gang warfare is something that's kind of just been in the water in superhero comics since the mid-eighties at least, and it was a relatively common thing to see during the Dark Age- they were choice prey for all those overpouched musclemen with their poorly rendered firearms. I'd be surprised if Wildbow wasn't at least aware of No Man's Land, but it's definitely not the only cape book from the late 90s or early oughts where you could pick up that idea from. Ultimately this leaves me unsure if No Man's Land is the specific referent or if it's just part-and-parcel with trying to do an involved, thoughtful take on what cape comics were like at the time.

[galadrieljones]

11 questions

tagged by @thevikingwoman. thank you!!

1. The most beautiful place you have been 

Ah, a tough one. To me, there is nothing more sublime than the big, wide open empty of the American West. Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Utah, and the weird hellscapes of northern Nevada. BUT, on our honeymoon, we went to France: flew into Bergerac and slowly drove north to Paris over the course of several days. The sunflower fields were in full bloom and it was really something else. I also have to say that, while I don’t always love where I live in Orange County, the sunsets in Laguna Beach really are the prettiest sunsets in the whole world.

2. Pick a super power. Why that one? 

Not no sleep, but just less sleep. I’d love it if I could subsist on just like four hours a night. I’d get so much more done that way!! Lol.

3. Do you have a comfort movie or show? What is it? 

Yes, I have several comfort shows. My most frequented are probably Gilmore Girls, Buffy, and Dawson’s Creek. Right now, on maternity leave, I’m also taking a GREAT deal of comfort in Beat Bobby Flay lol. Idk, I just really like him!!

4. A creation you’re really proud of?

All of my fanfic I’m very proud of. I feel it keeps getting better with every work. I’m very proud of having finished The Dead Season, but I feel like, in terms of writing and storytelling skill, A Funeral feels like my most honed creation so far. 

5. Something you are looking forward to in the next year or two?

Well, I just had a baby eight days ago, so I’m looking forward to getting back to normal!!

6. Top 5 video games?

The order here can tend to fluctuate based on where my emotional attachment lies on any given day, but I’ll be as “objective” as possible. Also I have six because the first two I consider to be a tie:

The Last of Us - This is one of my favorite games because it’s so tightly woven, as a story. The characters and their relationships, in combination with the setting and high stakes horrific atmosphere makes it feel both terrifying and desperate in almost EVERY moment. There is ALWAYS something to lose, and Joel’s longterm character development is both very unique and also extremely realistic, nuanced, and heartbreaking.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - This game, for me, succeeds on the strength of its protagonist. The game itself is beautiful, meandering, dynamic, and the story, while sprawling, is multi-faceted and really advanced in its usage of POV, symbolism, and ambiguity. It’s impossible for me to choose between RDR2 and TLoU because they’re such different games. There really is nothing like RDR2, and there is no protagonist like Arthur Morgan, but the narrative of TLoU is just so...perfect. Overall, I think protagonists like Joel and Arthur are sort of paving the way for games that are much more “adult” in scope. These are the first two games I’ve ever really played that feel exclusively BY adults and FOR adults. 

Skyrim - I can’t even really qualify my love for this game at this point in my life. It’s like comfort food. It’s like coming home.

Dragon Age: Inquisition - It’s an imperfect game, but it’s big and the characters are wonderful. I get lost in the banter, the background dynamics, the politics, and the wealth of opportunity for OC creation and fan works.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - Aloy is such a unique female protagonist, in that she is almost a Byronic Hero. Female Byronic heroes are really rare, and I think I love her for her secret romance, masked with a hefty layer of sarcasm, bitterness, and self-preservation. I love Aloy’s journey, because it begins with one quest (find the men who attacked the Proving and killed Rost) and then becomes a much more existential quest (Aloy’s discovery of her own origin story). The game itself is good, but I think if a sequel is made, it’s going to be fucking REALLY GOOD.

Bloodbourne - I’ve never actually played Bloodbourne lol but I’ve watched my husband play it twice. It is by far the weirdest game, aesthetically, I’ve ever encountered. The bizarre menstrual symbolism and hidden zones are entirely gnarly and beautiful. And I love the storytelling style of Hidetaka Miyazaki, how it’s all shown, or implied. There are no quest markers, no obvious objectives. Entire worlds can be missed through happenstance, or failing to fully investigate one small mystery to its painstaking conclusion. 

7. A recent favorite anything (food/entertainment/clothing/??)

As previously stated, I’m very into Beat Bobby Flay lately lol. Dude, Bobby Flay is entirely 100% the man. He is both calmly confident and entirely accomplished as a chef, but also extremely gracious toward his challengers and always willing to concede the loss (though he usually wins lol). That kind of humble confidence is...rare. He reminds me of that thing Solas says in DAI: “No real god need prove himself.”

8. Favorite board game?

I know it’s old school, but I really love Risk. I like playing with my husband, because he’s VERY good, but I learn a lot from him, and though I have only beat him maybe one time ever lol I usually take him by surprise a few times during the game, and that’s very fun lol.

9. Stealing this one: I know that lots of people have “dinosaur” or “ancient Egypt” interests as a child; what was something that you were super interested in as a child? I’d love to learn a new fact about that subject if you’re willing!

When I was a CHILD, I had a definite elves and fairies phase, as well as a metaphysical time travel/scifi phase. My favorite books, which I would read constantly over and over again were Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle (which has no *actual* elves in it--the elves are like metaphors, honestly explains a lot about my tendency toward fabulism rather than actual fantasy) and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. Looking back, I still see these books and how they manifest in my preferences today. They really blur genre boundaries--between fantasy, science, and domestic realism. They’re about kids having regular kid problems and often experiencing catharsis via “fantasy” worlds. 

10. A strange thing you googled recently, if you’re willing to share. 

Well, I’ve googled a lot of strange things lately. When you have a new baby, you’re always googling strange things lol. But I’d say, in the past few months, the strangest thing I’ve had to google was basically male and female underwear from the late 1800s. What the fuck does Arthur wear under his pants?? What the fuck is Mary Beth hiding under that skirt?? The most alarming thing I discovered was that women typically wore crotchless drawers around this time. This way they could pee without having to completely remove their myriad of skirts lol 

11. You only put ten questions, so I’ll steal a simple one from the previous batch, ie: Five favorite books! I’ve been thinking about some of them lately, so I wanna share:

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

Airships: Stories by Barry Hannah

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

I’ll tag @buttsonthebeach @morgan-arthur @ladylike-foxes @bearly-tolerable @wrenbee @lyrium-lovesong @ma-sulevin @a-shakespearean-in-paris @hidinginthehinterlands and @idrelle-miocovani

Questions:

Five favorite books?

Five favorite video games?

Favorite visual artist(s) (fan artists and/or traditional)?

Favorite video game protagonist (non-OC) and why?

What’s the best meal you’ve ever eaten?

What’s your dream road trip? Or, if you don’t like road trips, what’s your dream vacation?

Do you like old movies? I’m talking OLD movies, like golden era, from the 1930s-1950s. Why or why not? Do you have a favorite?

What’s something unique and interesting about the place where you live and/or grew up?

If you were going to be transported into the setting of any video game, which would it be and why?

Regardless of where you actually live, would you prefer urban, suburban, small town, or rural living?

What is the most emotional you’ve ever gotten over a video game?

[youngonescast]

A Giant-Sized Journey

Giants is a lovingly crafted Hero’s Journey set in a beautifully textured world of giant monsters that roam the snow-blighted hellscape. Carlos and Miguel Valderraama, acting as Artist, Writer, Colorist, and Letterer in joint capacity, have absolutely blown me away with their well constructed tale of brotherhood run afoul of forces far, far larger than themselves. From art with breathtaking scale to the delightful characterization of the main characters, Gogi and Zedo, every aspect of this mini-series exceeds my personal expectations for freshman creators with a story that is not new and a plot that is utterly and completely without surprises. Despite there being absolutely nothing revolutionary in this volume, it’s a world that I want to return to as quickly as possible to see The Brothers Valderraama mastery of comics as medium.

We don’t generally have a choice about whether or not we end up empathizing with the protagonist, we are primed by storytelling to do so. The Brothers Valderraama writing adroitly demonstrates their control over the narrative form. They set forth to create a believable mythos and nail the landing. Humanity has been forced into underground cities that are failing. We don’t get to see very much of it, which is fine because the reader doesn’t need to. We believe that it’s there, that there is a fully fleshed out underground society. This story isn’t about all that so they don’t bother. Instead the focus is given entirely to our heroes. Heroes move us. In them we see that scrappy part of ourselves that seeks to answer the call to adventure. In their tales we are reminded to persevere against impossible odds.

Beat for beat the tale follows the Archetype of a Hero’s Journey. Nothing superfluous is allowed to enter the story-line. The mythology is set for the audience with the first few opening panels. We see a modern city wreathed in ice and a behemoth that stalks it, stories tall. The reader doesn’t need more information than this to know what has happened. The opening monologue is almost unnecessary save that it mentions a meteor falling. Gogi is ejected from underground to the yawning icy wasteland as the result of his call to adventure. He is ushered over the threshold by the screaming monstrosity that rules the surface by the end of the first issue. It is a perfectly timed Departure, every ‘I’ is dotted and every ‘t’ is crossed.

Fundamentally the giant monsters are just window dressing on a stripped down post-apocalyptic story we’ve all read before. The core of what makes this comic worth reading lies in the expert execution of its interpersonal dynamics and scripting. Even though you may be able to guess what comes next in this by-the-book comic the writing still gives you the sense of investment in these characters. By not explaining every detail of the world or major point to the supporting characters’ backstories there is still a whole lot of mystery left to explore in any potential subsequent outing. We’ve only seen two giant monsters and we’re led to believe that a new one shows up every year. I am very curious to see what comes next.

As far as art goes, The Brothers Valderraama are very up-front about their influences. Their designs are rock solid, and their grasp of color is evident. The underground roils with reds and yellows, dark shadows and urban grit abound. Above ground the chilly blues and cool greys give way to a stark and icy white in expanse. The restrained palette used in each scene allows them to direct the flow of action and the line of your eye deftly across pages that are reasonably paneled. The borderless white guttering isn’t revolutionary by any stretch but the pages never seem too crowded nor too bare. Use of sound fx are sparing as dialogue, which is about standard in today’s comics. It’s nice to be in a show-not-tell era. The pencils are rather smartly done, visual parallels between the colossal creatures and the petty people blend seamlessly together with the whole. The characters are endlessly expressive, surprisingly diverse, and the monsters feel appropriately alien and unknowable.

One of the special things about Giants is the level of production. Carlos Valderrama has put together a behind the scene look at some of the making of the comic on Twitter and has a playlist for each issue of Giants up on Spotify. I rocked out to the mostly instrumental and incidental movie music as I watched forces both titanic and deeply personal clash upon the page, an idea I’d love to see more of from major titles. It’s clear that The Brothers Valderraama are passionate about their project and are willing to go that extra mile to provide a great experience to the few thousand people who picked up this book. As their first major outing I cannot wait to see how they grow as artists. It feels like they have barely begun to scratch the surface of their prodigious talents.

That is the promise of Giants and why I would suggest looking out for the trade come August if you’re not into picking up back-issues. I don’t think The Brothers Valderraama are going to be away for long and I bet they are holding onto their aces for a more senior outing. Do you think that construction is reason enough to read a comic? Are giant monsters and post-apocalyptic wasteland overdone? Let me know in the comments.

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Written by Everett Christensen, Young One’s Lead Editor

Images: Giants W/A/C/L: The Brothers Valderraama