Quickly, before it goes out again

[cleolinda]

Woo hoo! I now have the 2-disc 300 DVD, and my mother was just now randomly at a bookstore ("Wait... I don't have this Clive Cussler book! How can this be? I MUST COMPLETE THE COLLECTION") and called and asked me if I wanted anything. This is like telling a drug addict that you're at the corner dealer and the next hit's on you, so I racked my brain for a moment and blurted out "Watchmen!" This, of course, meant sending her over into the dangerous, uncharted territory that is the Comics and Graphic Novels section, and the last I heard from her, she was ending the call so she could bring in uniformed backup. You'd think that Watchmen would be pretty easy to find, but maybe not. Oh--wait--she's just called me back, and she's said that the bookstore people have dug up a boxed set of some kind. Also, one of the guys working said, "Whoever you're getting for, he's really going to enjoy this." "Uh, it's a she." Insert the dropping of jaws, etc. I thought people were used to the idea of girls reading comics by now, but I guess not.

(ETA: Omg, it weights five pounds.)

Meanwhile, more writing, less swimming; I reread Stardust yesterday, and I have to say, I like what they did with the movie (see Thursday night) even more now that I can compare it directly. The book is wonderful and bittersweet, but--for example--Gaiman glosses over several adventures Tristan and Yvaine have on the road (and I like that in the book), and a lot of the book is the pleasure of the language as opposed to the pleasure of the things actually happening. With a movie, a lot of the pleasure is in the visuals and the action (and I don't even mean the Stuff Blowed Up Good action; I mean the simple fact of people doing things), and "they did stuff but I'm not going to show you" doesn't really work in a movie. The very things that make books enjoyable often don't work onscreen--much the way that the things that make movies enjoyable often don't work in books, either (have you ever tried reading a blow-by-blow action scene?). So all in all, I'm pretty happy with what they cooked up for the movie.

While we're here: cleojones (who is not me) also saw an early screening. I'd say more, but the thunderstorm has my connection on the fritz.

Comments

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

I didn't like the whole "they did stuff but I'm not going to show you" thing in the book, but I pretty much covered that in my last comment.

Uh . . . I read Calvin&Hobbes collections. That's sort of a comic book, right?

Also, question- the trailers made it look like a Princess Bride-y sort of fantasy, but I've heard the trailers were misleading. How serious was it?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was very funny, and there was probably more of an emphasis on comedy than in the book--I mean, the same things are still funny, but now the ghost princes have a bigger part, the inn is funnier, etc. And some of the grimness/gore has been toned down--it's still got some moments, but it's no longer decapitated unicorns, you know? And I think it's not like PB in that PB was a very snarky deconstruction of fairy tales themselves, whereas this is a much warmer, busier fairy tale. But the comparison is apt.

[cellardoor28.livejournal.com]

I'm very jealous - I don't think it opens here till October. snowking bought me the Vess illustrated version for my birthday this year, and it's beautiful.

ooooh shiny

[platinum-cobra.livejournal.com]

Can you take a pic of the Watchmen set you got. I was considering buying the book and if there's an awesome boxed set (like the 5 pounder you got and which I havent found online yet) I think Id prefer that. So you know, once your internet stops bugging, can you please post more details about it?

Re: ooooh shiny

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Search "Absolute Watchmen" on Amazon--there were some really good user photos of the inside. Turns out it's just a very large book in a very thick slipcover box; all the extras are part of the book itself.

Re: ooooh shiny

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

I am very jealous! I just have the regular old Watchmen graphic novel. I remember, I had to special order it, and after I read it I used to recommend it to customers. The guys were always quite surprised a GIRL read it and enjoyed it. I was always responded, "What? Girls can't like good books?"

Re: ooooh shiny

[platinum-cobra.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I found it. It looks awesome and I want it. lol.

[derangeddarling.livejournal.com]

Oooh! I want 300. =(

Hee. Congrats on the free books. I know exactly what you mean with the addict thing. I'm pretty sure I am addicted not to reading but rather to buying books, though. Because I currently have about twice as many unread books as read ones on my shelf. Although, that's due more to a lack of time for reading than a lack of interest. =/

But, uh, anyway. I made my dad take me to Barnes and Noble today when we were running errands so that I could get that HP issue of EW, and I was browsing a bit and picked up Stardust (since you've been talking about it so much lately.) I wanted to buy it but my wallet was at home, so my dad said I could pay him back later. So he bought the book and my magazine for me, and then on the way out said I didn't need to pay him back. Hehe.

And and and! He renewed my Barnes and Noble membership that's been expired since Feburary!

Wheeee!

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Also, one of the guys working said, "Whoever you're getting for, he's really going to enjoy this." "Uh, it's a she." Insert the dropping of jaws, etc. I thought people were used to the idea of girls reading comics by now, but I guess not.

Uh huh. If you ever go to that store, I predict that dude will hit on you.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Shit, I expressed surprise that he hadn't asked her for my number.

[kiran59.livejournal.com]

That dude will hit on you. Go to a comic book store if you ever wanna feel good about yourself.

I didnt spring for Absolute Sandman but I've heard its worth it. Have you ever read the graphic novel before? Its awesome.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I have Sandman: Endless Nights (it was a gift)--there's so much Sandman out there that I don't know where to start, but I love Neil Gaiman in general, so I've wanted to read it.

[robin-nibor.livejournal.com]

Sandman is actually pretty simple to figure out where to start, the volumes are numbered and they also have titles. So Preludes and Nocturnes is volume one. But if you have the money, go for the Absolute Sandman, volume one, it's the same idea as Absolute Watchmen, and contains the first three volumes of the trade paperbacks.

Please forgive...am nerd

[lissa-quon.livejournal.com]

The first volume Preludes and Nocturnes is a fairly decent place to start the series. Though when Neil Gaiman started writing it he was still trying to figure out what sort of direction to take (he actually tries to include established DC characters into one of the first arcs and then decides not to do that again).

Though Dream Country, the third volume is an anthology of a few different sort of stories that might be a good way to get a taste of the series.

[kiran59.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd agree with starting from Volume 1 and working up.

Have you read Watchmen before? Because it too is awesome, but in a very different way. I know some people dislike it though.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I know enough about it--and the ending too, unfortunately--that I'm pretty sure I'll like it. I tend to like Alan Moore's stuff in general, actually, although I still haven't read V for Vendetta yet.

(Dude! If I'd realized Sandman was all chronological, I'd have started it sooner. For some reason, I thought it was a bit more haphazard than that--Endless Nights was a standalone, wasn't it?)

[kiran59.livejournal.com]

It was yes. It came out like 7 years after the actual series had ended, but the main series is chronological. If you like it, there are also two graphic novels about the death character that take place after, and a miniseries about Thessily, Sandman's ex. If you like those Lucifer had his own series, and Constantine still has one, and they are both characters that were created in and appeared in Sandman, respectively.

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

Cleo, what extras come with the 2 disc DVD of 300? I've been crossing my fingers for a cast commentary. Anything about the costume fitting? :is incredibly shallow:

I just want to make sure before I buy it that we aren't going to get hit up for an even special-er edition in three months.

[calpurnia.livejournal.com]

Here are a couple of reviews:

http://homevideo.about.com/od/capsulerevi3/gr/300DVDReview07a.htm

http://wfdvdreport.com/index.php?action=fullnews&id=128

I'd gladly have paid for a 3-disc, regular-format DVD edition to include all the stuff on the Blu-Ray and HD versions, but alas.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I think calpurnia's already got you covered, but since I have the case right here--additional scenes of the hunchback and "never before seen giant warriors"; "Frank Miller's vision realized on film"; "300 Spartans - Fact or Fiction" ("The shocking life of a Spartan revealed!"); "Who Were the Spartans? How the Actors Built Their Characters Based on Spartan Customs"; Webisodes; commentary by Zack Snyder; "AND MORE!" God knows what "and more" is; probably the theatrical trailers. I'll have to watch the extras before we'll be able to tell what they're actually about; I always get mad when they put some crap History Channel-wannabe doc on there telling you stuff that you, the obsessive fan, already knew, and skimping on stuff about the actual actors. And the gag reels. Must have gag reels.

[agentsculder.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, it seems the commentray track is just with the director, writer, and cinematographer. I was REALLY hoping for something with Gerard Butler and David Wenham, along with a couple of the other cast members. All of them seemed to have had a good time and had a lot of cute stories about making the film. Darn it!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm always disappointed when there aren't actor commentaries, because I like to hear the stories.

[calpurnia.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Watchmen. I can't say that I loved it; but I did like it enough to appreciate the craft that went into it, and to want it to be done as best as possible on film. It's one of those works that I *know* is done very well, and I like it, but my heart doesn't take ownership of it nearly as much as it did the 300 graphic novel. Though there are a few parts in Watchmen that struck chords in me enough that I've reread them a couple of times.

As so many others feel, I think it's going be very difficult translating Watchmen to film and not have it suffer from lost character and story development. With a few exceptions, I was thrilled with Zack Snyder's adaptation of 300 so much that although I've seen it multiple times, it still holds my attention and has me in awe. So, I'm thinking that if anyone can do at least a decent job of bringing Watchmen to film, Snyder can. However, he will probably also have to fight studio brass to keep the story true to its source material and not change the ending, as it's been rumored that the WB folks have wanted him to do.

There were plenty of women at Comic-Con who actually seemed interested in the comics, and they all weren't women who Most Likely Were The Last Kid Picked in Gym Class. I'd say the dude at Barnes & Noble is in for a few surprises. :-D

Aww...

[cleojones.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, cleo!

Re: Aww...

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

No problem! : )

[snapdragon76.livejournal.com]

I hate the general assumption that girls don't read comics. Luckily I don't get that kind of crap when I step into my local comics shop. I can geek out in there to my heart's delight and get geeked right back, so all is good.

[lyn-thorne.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! I just went to Amazon and saw the Five Pound Edition of Watchmen, that is *shiny!* That's still on my list of things I need to read.

Yeah, at my local Barnes & Noble, there's a running joke that I should have an apartment there. Seriously, I think my buying of books has supplied them a bookcase or two, so I fully understand where you are coming from there hehe.

Have you ever read Fables? It might be something you really enjoy. Alot of characters from the old Fairy Tales that we know and love...thrown into modern-day New York, trying to figure out what to do. And lemme tell ya...Snow White and Co. aren't exactly children's bed-time story material anymore.
It took a guy a while to convince me that it wasn't as froofy and weird as it sounded...then when I went to B&N to save money with my membership card, the guy working there one day wound up geeking out and we talked about various Graphic Novels for awhile.

(Start at Vol. 1, Legends In Exile if you do go into it. 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a 'stand-alone prequel', but it's a little spoilery before the rest of the trades, IMO.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I've heard of Fables in passing, yeah--I'll have to look into that.