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thenightling · 3 years

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Enough with the anti-kingdom crap in regard to fantasy fiction

Maleficent (2010) starts with “Once Upon a time there were two kingdoms” and then (In regard to one kingdom) “had no King or queen for they relied on each other.” Then that’s a land, not a kingdom. A kingdom literally requires a monarch to rule for it to count as a kingdom. That’s why “King” is in the word. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil had Aurora give up her rights to her father’s kingdom and “left it to the people.” Yeah, that won’t lead to chaos and civil wars in a medieval European-style setting... (sarcasm intended.) Disney’s Descents films turned the fairy tale world into a pseudo-United States where they “elect” a king. (That’s not how monarchies work..)

Once Upon a Time ended with all the Lands of Story united and Regina “elected” as the ruler. No more kingdoms... So much for fairy tale worlds, eh?

Game of Thrones ended with a council electing Bran as the new king. A fantasy setting modeled after Medieval War of the Roses suddenly understands democratic elections?!

Just a few months ago I saw a post on Tumblr where someone saw Nightmare before Christmas for the first time. The person decided that the film was “over rated” and suggested how they would “Fix” the “dumpster fire.” Their suggestion was that Jack “needed to be punished” for what he did because (according to their reasoning) you cannot learn you are truly wrong without punishment. Their suggestion was that the mayor should strip Jack of his Pumpkin King title. I guess they missed the “Jack, please! I’m only an elected official here. I can’t make decisions by myself.” Jack is their king. He out-ranks the mayor. Even as a child I understood this. The mayor does not have the power to strip him of his title. Also what kind of person thinks everyone needs to be punished in order to be forgiven?

There’s this weird anti-monarchy trend in fiction. In the real world, yes, democracies are great, but most of these fantasies are not set in the real world. They’re setin fantasy settings. Some of these settings are specifically modeled after medieval Europe. These characters would have no concept of a democratic government.

You can’t go from a settling that looks like 10th century Scotland (Disney’s Gargoyles example here), and then suddenly “F--k yeah! ‘Murica. We’ve got a president now and everyone has equal right to vote!”

Even in a fantasy setting that’s very, very jarring.

I know that in real life kingdoms aren’t necessarily that great. Many monarchies are thinly disguised dictatorships. And fantasy settings don’t necessarily glorify or romanticize them but they were the norm when a lot of fairy tales were written or where a lot of fantasy stories are set. They just make for fun writing and drama. But if you start with a kingdom and a culture that has never had anything else, you can’t abruptly switch gears to twenty first century sensibilities even in a fantasy. There has to be cohesion in the fantasy setting. A consistency.

Even in settings that are fantastical and have things like dragons and elves you have to consider that within that setting changing an established culture so drastically and suddenly might not make sense. Fantasy or no, there needs to be an internal logic and consistency. Imagine if Lord of the Rings ended with Frodo inventing TV and Legolas inventing wifi and having a skype call with Gandolf simply because it’s what is familiar to us in the real world. It would be very jarring and out of place even for fantasy. A well written fantasy can be tainted by this sort of hamfisted cultural commentary.

I was discussing Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman with someone who is very anti-Monarchy and this person tried saying that The Dreaming should have free elections. Free elections ...for Nightmares? Do you know what The Corinthian’s platform would be? “Human eye balls in every pot!” They also suggested that Morpheus might be taxing the dream-folk without representation. What taxes? They’re dreams! He doesn’t even have a currency system! All the inhabitants are either technically his own imaginary friends (since he created them) or spirits of deceased humans who decided they wanted to stay in the realm of dreams (often transformed into dream-folk, themselves). He pays his servants with favors and giving them things they like. Lucien loves books, Lucien gets to be the librarian of every story never-told. That’s how it works.

So help me, if Netflix decides The Sandman needs to end with Daniel making The United States of The Dreaming I might have a stroke.

As I said, it’s reasonable to be anti-kingdom in the real world but certain fantasy settings democracy just doesn’t make sense.

#Kingdom #Kingdoms #Fantasy #Nightmare before Christmas #Descedants #Once Upon a Time #The Sandman #Game of Thrones #Song of Fire and Ice #Fairy tales #Maleficent

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books · 5 years

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Writer Spotlight: Daniel Kibblesmith

Daniel Kibblesmith is an Emmy-nominated writer for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and has written comics for Marvel and D.C., including Marvel’s Loki (2019) and Black Panther Vs. Deadpool (2018). He co-wrote the humorous How To Win At Everything (2013), and is also the author of the picture books Santa’s Husband (2017) and Princess Dinosaur (2020). He was one of the founding editors of ClickHole.com, and his comedic writing can be seen in places like The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and APM’s Marketplace. He works and lives in New York with his favorite author, Jennifer Wright.

What are your inspirations for Loki?

Loki is ever inspired by himself (or herself, or themselves), and that was how it worked for me, too. I was a big fan of Loki as a villain in the MCU, but I hadn’t read a ton of Thor-related comics until I got the gig. The exception was the Journey Into Mystery series by Kieron Gillen and a whole roster of great artists who—alongside Tom Hiddleston's MCU appearances—really set the mold for the modern take on the character. So I re-read that, and from there I expanded outward into past and future, and read the tremendous Agent Of Asgard comics written by Al Ewing, Lee Garbett (and other artists), as well as going back to early 60's Loki appearances orchestrated by his own creator gods: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber.

Aside from comic-related research, one of my editors, Wil Moss, recommended Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology, which was incredibly fun, concise, and helpful in giving me a more rounded view of Loki’s history and personality. I’m a big Sandman fan as well, so it was inspiring to stand at the nexus of Kirby’s influence on Gaiman, and mythology’s impact on both of them, and to see their impact on me, first as a reader, and then as a writer, as I set out to place these mythological figures in an approximation of our actual world.

What aspects of yourself do you see or put into the characters you write?

Loki’s defining trait, especially in the original myths, is that he is both the creator and the solver of the problem. Because no one else is clever enough to get him out of the mess he started, he’s barely ever fully exiled from their society. As a former “problem” student, whatever that means, the aspect of Loki I relate to the most—and I think a lot of people do—is the idea that you can mean well, try your best, and still get punished for it.

Authority figures love to reward cleverness if it comes with obedience. I tell a story in the introduction letter to Loki #1 about getting detention for pointing out, during an assembly, that two teachers were inexplicably wearing the same clothing. I obviously didn't break any rules but the people who make the rules found me to be inconvenient and disruptive, so I got punished.

When I hear the phrase, “too smart for your own good,” I think of kids like that who don’t even know they’re about to be labelled as “bad”, which can alter their entire future and identity—for something that, in any adult circumstance, would be seen as attentiveness, or creativity, or intelligence, or just relatively harmless humor. Loki is a kid who got treated this way for a thousand years, so, of course, he became a villain.

The story we’re telling now is about coming back from that—healing, forgiveness, and the responsibility that comes with an ever-racing, ever-curious brain, the default setting of which is casual mayhem. Loki’s superpower is one that real people actually have to live with and manage: “I just noticed a vulnerability in our world. What would happen if I acted on it?”

You’ve written for television, the internet, for magazines, and have authored books and comic books — how does the writing process vary for these different forms? Is there one you prefer?

I often compare it to playing different video games because the needs and reflexes are different. Writing satire about the news is faster-paced, and comes with its own formulas, just like character-based narrative. Writing a monologue script based on a news event is very reactive, like Mario Kart: foot on the gas, hit the important stuff, miss the stuff that will slow you down. Writing fiction can be a lot more exploratory, like Zelda: I walked around for two hours today but I found a really important acorn, that I really needed for the stuff I'll do next. Writing comics can be very nose-to-the-grindstone, but for me, breaking story is often incidental and happens at the gym, or before sleep, or in the shower. The major architecture of my narrative writing exists as fragments on my phone and in pocket notebooks, born out of little sparks of inspiration. The heavy lifting happens in fleshing them out and editing them together into something cohesive.

If you could live in the universe of any book or comic book, which one would you pick and why?

I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan—I've read five of them, I think. But I would choose to live in the Harry Potter universe because as near as I can tell, it’s just our current universe but with far superior candy.

If you could have a conversation with anyone, real or fictional, who would it be and what would you talk about?

Probably Gumby. He seems chill.

What advice would you offer to your fourteen-year-old self?

Fourteen is honestly too young for most actionable advice from successful adults, and you’re not really in charge of what you’re going to do that day, anyhow. I usually tell college-aged writers to finish entire writing samples, that ideas and potential are far less attractive to people who can hire you than finished scripts or stories are. But I can’t imagine my career taking off based on the screenplay I would've finished at fourteen. So my advice would be to start drinking coffee and working out because both of those things are going to make you feel better in a world of things that are trying to make you feel terrible—including, in some cases, young adults roughly your age and twice your size with whom you are trapped, by the hundreds, in a massive brick building, in which they are often inexplicably literally trying to maim you. In case anyone was wondering where comic and comedy writers—and trickster gods—come from.

Thanks so much, Daniel! Follow @kibblesmith! If you’re lucky enough to be attending New York Comic Con in October, Daniel will be signing in Artist Alley at Booth A-28.

Photo: Nick (IG: @goldenparachutephotography) for Midtown Comics.

#writer spotlight #spotlight #daniel kibblesmith #tumblrnycc #booklr

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justamonkeyonautopilot · 5 years

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Tag Game

Tag 10 people you’d like to get to know better! (I LOVE THESE THINGS!! :D)

Tagged by @nikkupsticks

Put your playlist on shuffle and name the first four songs

1. (You’re) Timeless To Me - Hairspray 2. Golden Skans - Klaxons 3. Spartan High School Musical - Horrible Histories 4. Assassin - Muse

[Literally sums up my music taste here....mad random mixture]

Grab the nearest book. Turn to page 23, Line 27

I have three books next to me and I really can’t choose so you can have all three.

First Book - Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman *Saint Beryl Articulatus of Cracow, reputed to have been martyred in the middle of the fifth century.

Second Book - Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin I don’t tell him it’s a rental, or that we’ll be dumping it.

Third Book - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness I stopped picking at the buttons around my neck.

Ever had a song or poem written about you?

Not that I know of.

When was the last time you played air guitar?

Many many years ago....

Celebrity crushes

Suranne Jones, Gillian Anderson, Heather Peace, Jemma Redgrave, Lucy Lawless, Jorja Fox, Lara Pulver, Lana Parrilla, Jaime Murray, Jennifer Morrison, Martin Freeman, Angie Harmon, Amanda Abbington, Danielle Cormack, Neve McIntosh, Joanne Kelly, Marg Helgenberger, Aiden Turner, Tabrett Bethell, Eve Myles, John Barrowman, Catrin Stewart, Allison Scagliotti, Bridget Regan, Alex Kingston, Anna Skellern, Idina Menzel, Kirstie Steele, Katie McGlynn, Natasha O’Keeffe, Renee O’Connor, Sasha Alexander, Daniela Denby-Ashe, Marc Warron, Alycia Eyo, Tommy Lee Knight, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nicole da Silva, Robert Carlyle, Michelle Gomez, Laura Prepon, Jason Done, Shane O’Meara...There is loads more but lets face it I need to stop here *face palm*

Sounds you hate/love?

I hate the sounds of crunching gears, when you don’t put the clutch in properly. New one for me since passing my test. The sound of nails on a chalk board. The sound of metal scraping on metal (thanks Granddad for that one - he ignored us when we said he was too close to the wall on a multistory car park *shudder*, sound has stayed with me over ten years). White noise.

I love the sound of jazz music, my clarinet when I play low notes, guitar riffs. Scottish accent. The sound of my phone alarm pinging to tell me that my food has finished in the oven (I have ADHD and dyspraxia so I can’t concentrate long enough and usually forget I have food in the oven if I cook without it). The sea, and wind on a summers day. Birds singing, and a cats purr.

Do you drive, and have you ever crashed?

Yes I drive, no thankfully I have never crashed while driving. Nearly a few times but never actually crashed thank God. I have however been in a couple of slight collisions when someone else was driving though.

Last book you read?

The last book I’ve actually finished reading was, jeez I can’t actually remember the last one I remember is A Picture of Dorian Grey but I know I’ve read two since that. I’m actually in the middle of four books right now, Gentleman Jack - Anne Choma, A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness, Paper Ghosts - Julia Heaberlin and a Rizzoli & Isles book that I can’t remember the name of.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes

Do you believe in aliens?

Yes, the universe is massive. We can’t be ignorant enough to believe we’re the only intelligent life form.

Do you like the smell of gasoline?

Tbh, some days especially when I’ve got a migraine I hate it. But when I’m not so bad, I don’t really notice it.

Last movie you saw?

Secret Life of Pets 2

Do you have an obsession right now?

Yup, Gentleman Jack. My old obsession with Waterloo Road is back, I’ve been binge watching it on YouTube. Also I’m always obsessed with dancing. (Also obsessed with trying to get out of the hell hole I live in).

Do you tend to hold grudges?

Yes. Some people I’ll forgive, others I won’t. I think it depends on the situation.

I tag -

@longlive-myevilqueen @annelistersthermometer @allmykindsofthings @ex-ception @blue-village @handsomanne @swanqueenisendgameyo @miss-ann-walker @sassybatcreatorlight and last but not least, I tag whoever else wants to have a go at this.

#Personal #I love these games #<3 #nikkupsticks #tag #tagged #tag game

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thenightling · 6 years

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Umm... Uh... Umm... uh... (The Dreaming related...)

I’m a little disappointed right now. I’m trying to embrace the parts I like but I’m a nerd and I am compelled to whine about the parts that annoy me. ‘Tis the nature of Nerdom.

Warning, here there be ranting and it might be hyperbolic.

Can someone else take over writing this thing, please?

I don’t know which is worse. The poor characterization of the old Dreaming comics of the late 90s and early 2000s or the hamhanded allegories in the new The Dreaming. Poor Merv is now literally a Straw Man about bigotry. And the Lucien narrations aren’t... good...

I know everyone wants to bring their own flavor to The Sandman Universe and only Neil Gaiman can and will sound like Neil Gaiman but this doesn’t even feel like the characters. This feels like a self-righteous Marvel comic from a year and a half ago... And yes, I know that Vertigo is a division of DC, I’m just making the comparison.

And why the Hell has poor Merv been turned into a thinly disguised Trump Supporter stereotype? He was always an ass but he was an equal opportunity ass. WHY would you even WANT to use the blue collar, pumpkin headed scarecrow as your bigot metaphor? You just made a LITERAL strawman. This is almost as bad (if not worse) than using Cain to represent misogyny.

Much like a certain late 90s / early 2000s version of The Dreaming I sense no love for these characters. It feels like resentment or a belief that they can be used to represent anything at all and to Hell with consistent characterization.

The Dora-needs-sex scene in issue 1 of The Dreaming felt so pointless other than “Look at us! We have adult content! Wheee!” It’s like counting all the F bombs in Spartacus: Blood and Sand and realizing most of them were used as filler and or just to remind you that you were watching Starz.

Some dialogue is just unpleasant to read. (“Get thee behind me, Creeper.”) First, Dora, you were created in the 90s. Creeper wasn’t the usual term in mid-90s. It was usually just creep. I guess she could have picked up on the word from a dreamer so it’s not that bad but she still dresses and wears her hair like the 1990s.

Also, Dora, you just slept with this demon and now you’re threatening to crush this being’s testicles for suggesting a bear (which is literally an extension of himself) take part and how dare he still be horny! As gross as that is, you’re not dealing with a normal bear or normal place and this scene doesn’t “empower” me as a woman. Anyone else feeling “empowered” by this?!? Threatening a horny demon immediately after sex with him doesn’t give me a “girl power” feel. Actually I was never a fan of that slogan because I remember when it was just a marketing gimmick for the Spice Girls. I wish we had a better woman’s strength slogan.

Another line that stands out was “Malignant penetration”.

That was was such an inorganic and forced line, I groaned as soon as it appeared, knowing it was just there for innuendo. What the Hell!? This is lazy! I expect better from The Sandman Universe.

Way to phone-in witty suggestive dialogue...

At least they know Brimstone smells like a fart...

Why is it every “empowered” female character has to be edgy, angry at authority, and with a chip on her shoulder now? It’s turning into a tired cliche. Do we need to be angry and resentful to be “empowered”? I’m starting to hate that world, “Empowered.” It feels contrived and when you sit and think about it, it has a pandering quality that suggests we had no power to begin with. But that’s a tangent for another day.

I’m also starting to get annoyed with being smacked in the face with constant reminders that Dora is “Different” and “Dora is special” and “Dreams aren’t supposed to be able to do that” ect... How many times are you going to tell us how unique she is?

Also this is getting so blatant. Lookie, they’re still forming. They need to be educated. They’re innocent and still taking shape. And they’re not really blank after all. But they can barely speak the language. And they’re being rounded up by someone who doesn’t care or understand them and kept in pens. These are children in detention centers. For God’s sake!

Merv is creating detention centers for children...

And they are refugees that need sanctuary. This isn’t symbolic. This is blatant. And I feel like I’m being treated like an idiot that is having every little metaphor (and it’s more allegory than metaphor) explained to me. I don’t mind when writing can make me feel like an idiot (Like discovering the cat in Sandman: Overture was Desire all along) but I don’t like being treated like an idiot who needs everything explained to them.

And I am dreading what they are going to do to our favorite Jack-o-Lantern and his personality for the October / Halloween issue.

This is not Merv. “Make The Dreaming great again” should NOT be a thing. You have taken the blue collar construction worker type and turned him into an obnoxious allegory. As I said, Merv was always an ass but he was OUR ass and he never acted quite like this. This is one of those obnoxious over-the-top political statements that made me wander from Marvel and be embarrassed that I’m a liberal.

This is also teetering on classism that the only character that can be classified as blue collar worker is the one being used as an ignorant bigot. Merv had his likable moments in the original Sandman. This is bordering on offensive.

Also, could someone kindly tell the new writer that unless Daniel manipulated the Griffon’s memory to make him think he was a gift from The Greeks, the Griffon is not of The Dreaming and there for should NOT be changed by the weirdness going on. He was a gift from the Greeks.

At first I thought The Griffon looking like that was a result of the weirdness going on in The Dreaming and then I was like “Wait a second. Either Daniel tricked the re-created Griffon into thinking he wasn’t of The Dreaming or he is, as The Wake told us, a gift from the Greek Gods.)

And now Daniel is being messed with and he’s not even in this! Here, I’ll show you how...

Lucien, disguised as Daniel (and The Dream entities somehow fall for this...) tells Merv to teach The beings and to care for them. And somehow this is supposed to be out-of-character for Daniel. Uhh... Why?

Why do people keep thinking Daniel is supposed to be cold?! Daniel is supposed to be the warmer, kinder aspect of Dream.

And yet, here’s Morpheus during his douchiest phase.

Why is it whenever someone other than Neil Gaiman writes Daniel he comes off colder and meaner than Morpheus at his darkest? I wrote a post a while back explaining my theory as to why this happens but it still baffles me...

https://thenightling.tumblr.com/post/175624611158/theories-about-why-dc-writers-have-not-handled

WHY is the “Care for them” something he wouldn’t say, exactly?!

And poor Lucien. The constant monologue is weird and yet people are acting like he’s always done this. Uh... Since when? It was Morpheus who did most of the narration in the early Sandman and in Sandman: Overture. Granted there was the weird talk bubble in Dark Night’s metal that made Lucien’s text look like Morpheus’. It’s enough to conceive a new and weird conspiracy theory.

I’m not really comfortable with poor Lucien’s forgetfulness. I’m afraid that like the illegal immigration / refugee allegory in that this will be a poorly handled alzheimer's metaphor.

Okay, I’ve bitched enough. Now for things I actually like to try to make this post a little less angry and aggressive.

I like that there’s something mysterious building but I’m afraid it’ll be a let down and something as mundane as Starro again...

I like that now there’s actually a reason Daniel isn’t intervening.

I love the artwork.

I haven’t entirely given up on Dora’s potential. I’m still curious enough to want to know what’s going to happen.

There are parts actually written well and interestingly, almost like Neil Gaiman, himself.

And I am still glad that there is new Sandman content but this wasn’t a great first taste of The Dreaming. I had liked The Sandman Universe 1 well enough but this (The Dreaming 1) ... not so much...

Anyway, that’s my review of the new Dreaming comic. Ultimately it wasn’t as good as I hoped and I’m not thrilled with the preachy feel of parts of it. And Doria’s interesting quality from The Sandman Universe is starting to wane in favor of a cliche chip-on-her-shoulder “empowered” trope and that bugs me because I want to like her.

Anyway...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O1hM-k3aUY

youtube

@deathlyendless @zalemoonshadow @sorry-for-the-chocolate @endlessemptynight @minxymojo @vagaryhexxx @thejediviking @fortmarmorus @winterbirdybuddy @treebrooke79

#The Dreaming #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Universe

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