I
only just spotted this! A '2012 review in Panels' on the Comics
Bulletin site - and they included a Spandex panel, which is cool!
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/columns/5288/2012-the-year-in-panels/
I also just spotted on there a review of Spandex 7! I've been
badgering the reviewer Kelvin to let me know when the review went up -
and didn't realise it was already there, a bit buried away! It's here
(down a bit):
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/5605/tiny-pages-made-of-ashes-4122013-trolls-and-wine/
I've known the reviewer for a long time now! He's reviewed my O Men
comics pretty much from the start, and I can pretty much always
guaranteed getting a fairly positive review from him when I send him
comic.
The review confused me a bit, as the majority of it seems fairly negative, but the issue still gets a 4 out of 5!
I can see where Kelvin is coming from in some ways, and I was very aware
that issue 7 would not go in a direction that people were expecting.
Instead of going down a 'dark Phoenix' route, I went in a more
character-based route. I felt like Spandex 6 was the climax and issue 7
was the fall-out - almost the epilogue/wrap-up.
I think when you go in the direction that I went in with Diva, you have
to ask yourself 'where do I take this from here?' and of course, there
aren't many places you can take it! Which is partly why I decided to end
the series.
But I do think Spandex is a series where you pick up a lot from reading between the lines. There are some little side comments which hint at what Diva's up to when she's not centre-stage.
I also say quite a few things about Diva and what she's become. You
see, really, she's no different.
Personally, I do feel that even though
it's a 'quiet' issue, it has some very powerful moments - Alicia v Ms
Fantastic, the discussion about homosexuality & religion at the HQ,
Isabelle's appearance, and maybe most powerful of all (in my mind), the
scene between the priest and God.
I wanted Spandex 7 to be an under-stated issue, and I wanted to subvert
people's expecatations, but I do hope people still find it powerful in
its own way. Hopefully, Spandex is a series you can re-read and pick up
different things with.
And don't forget, there's still one issue left, and the story of Diva (and Isabelle) is far from over...
2 comments:
Spandex #7 is a very good comic; I hope I made that clear in my review, but if not, the score is accurate!
I suppose my criticism of the issue is a bit unfair because the problem I have with it is that the story didn't go in the way I wanted, and that's not really a flaw.
I didn't realise the review had been published myself. They don't tend to tell me when they go up any more, and I didn't know about this "tiny pages made of ashes" thing; I don't know how long it's been around or if that's a new thing.
Hi Kelvin! Yeah I was just trying to articulate my ideas behind the issue (mostly to myself - I always assume no one reads this blog!).
Yeah I've been looking every day for the review, and finally today I did a search and found it! It's a shame all the reviews aren't shown on the thumbnail - but the Comics Bulletin website is looking good!
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