Ongoing Investigations: Case #137

I finished up Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 6, with volume 7-17, over the course of this week. When I got into the meat of the story the chapters just flew by. At first I thought that Jolyne and company would break out of prison fairly quickly but in all actuality they spend a good deal of time inside the big house. Of course with any prison story you must have a big break out and as with any Jojo’s story post part 2 it means there will be a stand battle. Oddly enough Jolyne’s escape is more Memento than The Great Escape. The most surprising part of this arc is who lives and who dies in this part of the series. Jojo’s is pretty good at not flinching when it comes to killing characters. Heroes and villains die with equal ease. After Hirohiko Araki kills the protagonist after part 1 you assume all bets are off but Stone Ocean takes it to a new level. You have to give it to Enrico Pucci for being the most credible villains since Dio (not than anyone has come off as a pushover before then). Foo Fighters has easily become my favorite character in the series so far. Jojo’s is a series with some very strange characters but Foo Fighters is near the top of the list. She is great fun and another awesome supporting character in a line of greats for the series. This is a grand and glorious ending the what can be seen as a complete cycle of the series. After this part the universe is literally different and completely new doors have opened up for story possibilities. I did have some revelations about the series after this part and might just do a Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure survival guide article filled with tips on how to survive in the Jojo’s universe by being genre savvy.

I’ve been enjoying Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth (eps. 2-7) probably for its setting more than anything else. But still it has small enjoyable moments as bits of French culture are revealed through Yune’s experience. I wasn’t expecting a wacky princess character like Alice to show up, but probably more intriguing is her sister Camille. Her connection with Claude has yet to be fully realized but I’m very curious. Doubly so because I expected there would be a romance in the works between Claude and Yune but that may prove false.

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Comic Strips on the Internet! How Novel!

hisuiconWhile I was at work today a thought suddenly dawned on me. Everyday after I clock the first thing I do is read my daily web comics. It is a ritualized activity for me that I do like most people have breakfast or a cup of coffee to start the work day.  But I realized a very important fact I never thought about before. I don’t really know anything about the web comics community nor have I ever really participated in that community despite reading web comics quite religiously.

hisuiconIt is odd because even if I do not immerse myself in a hobby I usually have some idea of the inner politics of a fandom due to nerd osmosis. (Nerd osmosis being the process in which you just passively pick up information about other nerd hobbies without much effort due to nerd interests intersecting on a fairly regular basis). But despite reading Sluggy Freelance for over a decade I don’t really participate in comic forums or even follow any of the artists of comics I read on twitter. I do follow several web comic artists like Kara Dennison, Magical Emi, and Anatole_serial but never because they are web comic artists. What about webcomics let me be so cursory about them when I usually get into the meta details of any fandom I am a part of?

hisuiconUsually when I enter a fandom I go to research the heck out of it. I look at the history of the hobby, what people like and dislike about various titles, who are the king makers and the pariahs, and what trends shape up the medium. But for some reason I log in every day with my web comics, enjoy what I read, and then think no more on it. Is it because web comics are just a diverse medium that I don’t see it as a monolithic fandom, is web comic fandom just a quiet fandom in general, is my daily time with each strip so short that I don’t feel the need to dig deeper, or is it something else? There has to be a difference but I just can’t put my finger on it. If any one has a clue please let me know.

hisuiconBefore anyone asks I will say that the web comics I regularly read are:

hisuiconBy the way if you want to plug your own comic, recommend me something, or just talk about the web comic community then leave me a comment below.

Her Name is Rio and She Dances on The Sand

On the Reverse Thieves blog and the Speakeasy Podcast we try to talk about some of the finest titles that anime and manga have to offer. But occasionally we do guests spots on other podcasts and talk about utter trash. This time I went on the Eeeper’s Choice podcast and recounted my journey through Rio: Rainbow Gate! with Philip and Doctor from the SSAA Podcast. It is everything you expect from an anime base on a pachinko game franchise AND LESS!

Like a Bird of Paradise! Rio: Rainbow Gate roundtable