by Gregory Maguire
Thing is I've read Wicked earlier this year, this summer in fact, but have only gotten the chance now to put up a review. Perhaps as a testament to it's strength, I'm still determined after all this time to still put the book into writing and so here it is.
I'll be the first to tell you honestly, it was the broadway that made me read the book. No I haven't watched it, though I wish I have, but the songs were interesting enough to be curious as to what's in the book. And when I did open the book, I saw a world built upon the wonderful imagination of L. Frank Baum and I saw it twisted into a new light, a light filled with deception, political tension, psychological complex characters and most importantly a world that dimmed the boundaries of good versus evil. In other words, morally speaking this is a very gray- or should I say- green book.
Gregory Maguire's protagonist is dear Elphaba, and the book chronicles her life by skipping between important timelines. It begins with her conception, jumps to her childhood, then to her school days and so on and so forth. At 406 pages this is a hefty length novel, and by the end it seems satisfying enough that these moments were chosen. Though I have to say that the skips between chapters sometimes becomes a bit dodgy, as the previous characteristics of Elphaba are mostly wiped clean. There is an excuse, of course. Take for example the leap from teenager to adult. I was thoroughly engrossed in the teenage Elphaba. She was misunderstood but was also a rebel, kind-hearted at the center but had the sharpest of wits and a kind of cold disposition that made you smile. Her interactions, her development brought more complexity of characters from a Magical School than anything else I've read (I'm looking at you, Potter). But come the section of adulthood, she seems partly broken, her words are not as sharp and her demeanor significantly changed. I understand that throughout the years in between a lot happened, but in a way I felt that it was throwing out great character framework from the previous chapter without much of a build-up at the very least.
But while I may have some problems with the framework and the pacing at some of the parts (some chapters were easily better than others) there is no denying the ingenuity of the book. While many magical worlds, including the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz relied on magical story-telling, whimsical characters and imaginative worlds, Wicked discards this importance like a tabby-cat choking on your used toilet paper. Not that there's any magic, or whimsical characters, but they are kept close only the most satisfactory of levels. No, the true magic comes in the story itself, and how Maguire captured perfectly the characters and the theme that surrounded them. Part political satire, part psychological analysis and a fully emotional tale, this book spins a yarn filled with so much stuffing you're brain will be amazed on how much it picks up and how much it has to work to fully appreciate this wonderful book.
I don't see the upbeat musical numbers or the catchy tunes within the pages of the Broadway's source material like I thought I would. Instead I found a world much more sobered up, a new light unto a great villain (or hero depending on your views) and a great book to look back to whenever one needs the inspiration for something of real value.
And yes, Elphaba kick's dumb ole Dorothy's ass anyday... and Toto too!
8.5 out of 10
WORLD WAR HULK
Story by Greg Pak
Art by John Romita Jr.
A friend of mine told me he loved the World War Hulk storyline because of how it turns the tables. I mean, here was the big green dude and he's smashing up just about every beloved Marvel hero without much of a fuss. And that brings us to the first, and most likely only good thing about this over-hyped mega event.
It's filled with lots and lots of Green-blooded, heart-pounding, building-smashing and face-punching action. If I can count the number of times someone gets punched in the face in this series alone I'd still be counting by the end of this review.
Don't get me wrong, everyone loves some good action in the comics. And this series does not fail to disappoint in that area, in fact it contains some of the best action sequences I've seen in comics for quite some time.
But the main reason I had been interested in this series in the first place was how it looked at a different side of Hulk. This wasn't just Hulk smashing out in anger, this was him in vengeance and that played a whole new ball game for the Marvel Universe. This line of vengeance and tragedy that haunts our protagonist is what kept his whole crusade interesting, not just how he bloodily humiliates The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The U.S. ARMY, The X-Men and The Illuminati. But as each victim fell under the Hulk's wrath, there seemed to be nothing much portrayed but the continuing insistence that Hulk wants revenge and that this time he's really REALLY angry. That's two "really"s right there! Look, I understand he's really angry and all, but I want the story to develop on that. Instead I got a series that shows a definitive pattern.
1- Hulk defeats an Earth hero/Earth line of defense.
2- Book insists that Hulk did this because this time he's VERY angry.
3- Hulk whines about dead wife and kid.
4- Repeat step 1.
By the time the storyline was half way done, I had lost every sympathy or care for Hulk and his motives. By the last issue, the only one where actual story progression seemed to take place, the story tries to salvage some of its dignity by adding some inert twist or emotional epiphany withing the Geen Giant. It's a nice change, but four issues too late.
One would think that if Greg Pak faltered in this book, at least John Romita Jr. could give us a reason to stay with his art. But I don't know. Truth be told I wasn't always the biggest fan off his art but this time around, it seemed way off from the potential of this world-breaking tale. Many of the pages actually undergo lower, much more rshed quality than the others and I can't help but think that cover artist David Finch would fare better. Look at that cover I put up here, now that's a World-Breaker.
Overall, another disappointing and over hyped mega-event from the House of Ideas.
4 out of 10
THE KINGDOM
Directed by Peter Berg
Starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper
I enjoyed the movie, that much can be said outright before we say anything else I might regret. I'm neither American nor am I Arab so at the very least I can be as neutral as I can about the portrayal. And while I do commend the fact that this movie surprisingly strived to bring forth some of the Arab good guys to a better light, it is inevitable that this American film seems at times to be paying homage to American brilliance and ingenuity in the face of the generic Middle-Eastern terrorists.
But political sublime messages aside, this film is actually filled with more brain work as it is action. In fact, aside from the initial terrorist attack and the adrenaline-induced finale, this movie revolves around two things - the cultural interaction between the American investigators and the Arabian government; and a C.S.I. like investigation set against the Arabian city background.
None of the portayals were anything significant and each character seemed to fill out their role just good enough to serve a purpose in the film's over all plot. The only character that displayed any intrigue was Col. Al-Ghazi, the officer charged with the American's safety. And even that only got it so far.
The movie pacing however was convulsed and a bit of a mess. A lot could be fixed by a smoother story-telling.
Everything else aside, there is nothing horribly wrong with this movie. Some Arabians may find it distasteful and for valid reasons, I for one think that it does good in at least attempting not to make the movie's heroes all about the Americans, although it still does manage to partially do that. There is little, however, brilliant in this film as well. I enjoyed the high octane action in the end, and the terrorist attack at the beginning was chilling. But with the slight exception of the film's final lines, this movie was nothing memorable.
6 out of 10
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