Deby Fredericks's Blog, page 34

She-Hulk, Part 3

Darn it, I missed a day! After 11 years, I forgot to write my blog. But I should try to be positive, actually, and congratulate myself for not missing a post before this.

Anyway! I’m here to comment on the final episode (so far, anyhow) of She-Hulk.

My husband and I have enjoyed the series. I felt that they having a lot of fun and were building toward something special. No spoilers, of course! Still, this finale… disappointed me. It felt very slapped-together, like the writers thought they would have more episodes to fully explore the characters and then suddenly had to end it.

If more episodes come out, I’m sure I’ll watch them. The poor writing really dampens my enthusiasm, though. If you’ve seen the episode in question, I’m interested in your (spoiler-free) thoughts.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Giant Badger, Oh My!

Work proceeds on The Tale of the Drakanox. Many of my characters have been traveling in various directions through the story, and I’ve managed to get most of them to the point they were aimed at. This week has seen a lot of interruptions, but my last group has finally arrived.

They’re back at the tower in the Hornwood where The Tower in the Mist reached its conclusion. A big emotional scene is coming and I can’t wait to dig into it. I even managed to bring in the giant badger from that same volume. Fun times!

What are you guys working these days?

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Tooth Work

This week I’ve been distracted by some dental work that needed to be done. I’ve had a crown for probably 15 years that broke. The tooth wasn’t hurting, but there was a recess in the center that always got stuff stuck in it, and a sharp edge that occasionally made me bite my cheek. I pulled the funds together to get it replaced.

So yesterday I had to leave work a tad early for the first part of the work. I had to get those dismal injections that numbed my jaw, and sit through the drilling as they took the broken piece off. The technology has changed a lot since I got the old crown. Instead of making molds in the office and sending them to a lab, they scanned my teeth and sent the scans to the lab. A mold will be 3-D printed there. This apparently avoids about three steps in the process where the physical mold can be ruined.

Anyway, I now have a temporary crown that feels really weird and rounded. In two weeks or so, I’ll be back in to get my permanent new crown.

I was feeling quite off during my writing time last night, big surprise. Still, I’ve managed to add about 1,100 words for The Tale of the Drakanox so far this week. I have to keep reminding myself there’s no more time for any new side plots. At just over 100K words, it’s time to start wrapping things up.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Rings of Power

This show, of course, is the Amazon entry among many adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkein’s seminal creation, Middle Earth. Different pieces of the Middle Earth mythos have been licensed by different entities over decades, leading to quite a patchwork of success or failure. Amazon wants to get in on the enduring popularity in a narrow sliver of time that someone else hadn’t already licensed.

As I understand it, this little sliver of time deals with the initial rise of Sauron and how the Rings of Power were created. We see younger versions of several familiar characters, and there’s early development of relationships that will play out later.

The cinematography and music are wonderful. I am finding the writing also excellent. Two main themes that stick out are race relations and political complacency. Both of these are worth exploring in our modern world, where a tide of fascism seems to be rising everywhere.

For the latter, we see Galadriel as a hot-headed young warrior who refuses to believe the evil of Morgoth is truly gone. Her king, Gil-Galad, orders her to return to the mythic West. It’s a well deserved reward, yet also a convenient way to silence Galadriel’s warnings.

For the former, there are many illustrations of racial tension. Humans regard the Elves as an occupying force and are glad to see them leave. At least, until goblins start to turn up. Another Elf and Dwarf, longtime friends, find themselves at odds as the Dwarves are keeping a secret. And the Harfoot people, Hobbit ancestors, seem to be hiding from races bigger than themselves — which is just about everyone. It’s ripe ground for story, and I look forward to seeing what the writers make of it.

If you’ve been watching Rings of Power, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Nice Things

Near the end of last month I got the nice e-mail from Amazon that I had funds coming in. Checking back, I was happy to see that the sale came in during or after my summer book event, Queen Titania’s Court. That’s a nice reward for all the work it is.

I’m also having a great time pushing forward with The Tale of the Drakanox. I cannot of course give spoilers. The whole novel has been exploration and development, but now I tighten the screws. Piyaro has to make a decision, Ar-Lizelle’s great plan blew up in her face, and Duessa may not find what she’s looking for in the Hornwood. Fun times!

I hope you’re all having a fun time, too.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Bad Moon Rising

It’s my turn in the spotlight! I hope you’ll drop by, read my interview, and comment so Teri knows her hard work is being noticed.

Here’s the link to Bad Moon Rising.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Woman At Work, October/2022

What’s Happening? Things are going well at work for once. I feel comfortable the teacher I report to and I’m forming good bonds with the students. It’s a relief after so much tension at my previous school.

What I’m Working On. I’ll bet you can guess. If you said The Tale of the Drakanox, you are right! I’m up to about 98,000 words, which is definitely into novel territory as opposed to novella. I hope for a complete first draft by the end of the year.

What’s Next? October’s going to be busy for me. There’s Bad Moon Rising, a book event run in the month of October by horror author Teri Polen. My feature is The Ice Witch of Fang Marsh and it’s coming up fast. At the end of the month is the SpoCon science fiction convention. It’s nice to be this busy.

Fun and Games. I’m still playing Subnautica, but it’s become a struggle. There are an awful lot of glitches that corrupt my saves so I have to start over. One time I bumped my mini-submarine into a boulder and all the land disappeared! I’m still trying to finish a playthrough, but also looking around for my next game.

We’re coming up to the spooky season around Hallowe’en. Have fun, everybody!

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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She-Hulk, Part 2

We’re talking about She-Hulk, the Marvel Comics heroine whose show is streaming on Disney+. There’s been a lot of fan reaction, but I thought I’d add my own thoughts. To avoid spoilers, I won’t be addressing individual episodes so much as themes I’m picking up on.

One of the first fan reactions I heard was the usual tiresome shouting from angry men who can’t stand it when any female character gets a featured role. They said Jennifer was disloyal to Bruce and she disrespected his experience as the Hulk. I have to say, that was not my read on it at all. I felt that the first episode really deepened Bruce’s character. Instead of the miserable wanderer, we see him having a warm family relationship with his younger cousin. Jennifer is like Bruce’s kid sister. They are competitive in a healthy way. I can also imagine them sharing a bond as both being remarkably intelligent. Bruce the physicist and Jennifer the lawyer must have been the odd ones out among their more ordinary families.

Yes, Bruce gave the best advice he could, and no, Jennifer didn’t take it. Wanting to make your own decisions about your life doesn’t seem all that disrespectful to me.

Related to Bruce’s well-meaning advice, there’s a recurring theme of people telling Jennifer who she should be. She loses her job for revealing herself as She-Hulk. She gets a new job and shows up as Jennifer, only to be told she has to appear as She-Hulk when she’s at work. Later she goes to a friend’s wedding as She-Hulk and the friend tells her to be Jennifer again. But when she’s trying to get dates, nobody is interested in Jennifer, they only want to date She-Hulk.

There are a number of other pointed comments about women’s achievements being undercut in the workplace, but for me this is the most trenchant point in the episodes so far. No matter what Jennifer does, someone will pop up and tell her that she should be someone else.

If I have one dissatisfaction with the show, it’s the amount of drunkenness that gets played for laughs. There’s substance abuse in my family, and this touches a nerve. I just can’t laugh at people whose lives are that out of control. Like Jennifer’s identity constantly being challenged, this is something I hope will be fully addressed as the show plays out.

Is it a good show? Yes. Most women will find things that resonate from our own experiences. Most men will learn something (especially if they aren’t screaming while they watch).

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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She-Hulk

As long as I’m commenting on comic book TV, I might as well talk about She-Hulk. Since buying Marvel, Disney has been steadily adding characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and She-Hulk is just the latest.

She-Hulk is another character I remember from reading many of her original issues. Her first series was in the early ’80s and it was very… meh. In this era, Hulk had regressed to a very simple-minded, violent being whose clothes were always torn and his hair was a mess. The tone of his series was heavy and dramatic. In her initial appearances, She-Hulk was very derivative. Her clothes were torn, her hair was a mess, she could hardly talk, and the tone was heavy.

This series was not successful, and it only lasted a few issues. The thought among fans at the time was that Marvel wasn’t really invested in this character, so much as wanting to prevent any other companies from creating a “female Hulk.” For this purpose, a few “meh” issues were sufficient to establish the copyright.

Other creative teams picked up the character over the next years, but what really saved the character was the author/artist John Byrne. Byrne was a major talent, and Marvel would let him do anything if he stayed with their company. One of the things Byrne did was revamp She-Hulk.

Basically, he flipped everything. Hulk still couldn’t speak a sentence of more than three words. She-Hulk was articulate and attempted to maintain her legal career. Hulk’s clothes and hair were a mess. She-Hulk was sleek and glamorous. His series was even more angsty than before. Hers was funny, light and confident. In keeping with lots of TV at the time, She-Hulk broke the “third wall” and seemed aware of being a comic book character.

Byrne’s approach worked, and She-Hulk became a huge success. She joined the Fantastic Four and the Avengers (not at the same time, though). Even when her own series ended, she remained an enduring fan favorite. It’s a smart move for Disney/Marvel Cinematic Universe to bring her in. It’s even smarter to follow Byrne’s comedic approach, which is what the fans embraced.

That’s the history. Next time, I’ll talk about the series episodes and fan reaction. But first, if anyone has been watching (I know, there are so many streaming services that you have to choose which you get) I’d love to hear what you think of the show.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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Sandman

The Sandman series, on Netflix, has been getting a lot of buzz recently. I’m here to tell you, the buzz is deserved.

I remember my husband picking up the Sandman title back in the ’90s, when DC Comics revived one of its oldest characters, the Sandman. Originally a pulp action hero from 1939, the Sandman used a gun that fired sleep gas, and wore a gas mask to avoid breathing the gas himself. The character had surprising longevity, making the transition from pulp to superhero and even helping found the Justice League, but by the ’90s he had been dormant for a long time.

DC aimed to change that, and the editors enlisted a young and hungry British writer named Neil Gaiman to do it. Gaiman’s approach was to blend the trappings of superhero with the supernatural trappings of pulp fiction, and spice it with the scandal and suspense of the old EC horror titles. The result was a strange and striking invention.

Sandman has often been referred to as a horror title, and it’s true the subject matter sometimes gets very dark. I think, though, that the title fits better as urban fantasy, which was becoming increasingly important in the ’90s. The main character, Dream, has been held prisoner by a cult for 100 years, and has to reclaim his place while re-learning a world that has changed during his absence. Gaiman created a whole cosmology of the Endless, beings who represent core human needs and traits. The Endless intersect with lots of other supernatural realms like Hell and with the standard DC Comics universe. Even in the earliest issues, you can see the great fantasist Gaiman would become and how he would change the landscape for both comics and the YA genre.

Is this a good adaptation of the comic? I think so, and not just because Gaiman has been personally involved. The characters and plots seem much the same to me. What’s been updated most is the inclusion of more diverse characters in the casting. The original comics were basically all white. That no longer works for contemporary audiences, and I was glad to see that some important roles were filled with actors of color.

I’ll say no more for fear of spoilers, but if you’ve been wondering whether Sandman is really as good as all that… Yes. You should watch it.

Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

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