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Jem comics!
Jul. 24th, 2016 06:18 amA few thoughts on the Jem comics.
Jem and the Holograms #1 by Kelly Thompson and Ross Campbell
Pros:
- Overall I think the author made good decisions on which characters to include. She uses the original 4 members of Jem & the Holograms (when they got up to 5 on the show, it was a bit unwieldy), but instead of using only the three original Misfits, she includes Jetta, who I was glad to see. I’m also cool with her decision to change Jetta’s race to Black (Jem’s creator Christy Marx said she had wanted to do the same, but was told that Jetta had to be Australian or British and white – no Black bad guys), and Stormer I think is drawn to look Latina. (Even though her name remains Mary Phillips, so maybe not?)
- Not everyone woman is skinny! In the original show, all the girls had the same body type: tall and very thin. The author gives us a diversity of body shapes – skinny, medium, plus-sized.
- It’s overall a good reboot – the writer did good job bringing Jem into the current decade. I liked the writer’s notes at the beginning. She points out that Jem is 30 years old, and her goal is to retain the excitement of the original while bringing it into current times. She also makes an interesting point at the end – many fandoms that are this old have multiple source material, but with Jem we never got more than the original show and the dolls. (I assume no one has even watched the crappy movie – I haven’t). I hadn’t thoughts of that. (I watched GI Joe at the same time as Jem, and it had lots of comics plus several reboots over the years and some decent movies. Ditto Transformers). The author also found a way to get the needed backstory in (like introducing Synergy) without making it boring for those who already know the scoop.
- A same-sex relationship is one of the biggest storylines! Yes!
- I like the little nods to the original (Limp Lizards making a cameo!)
Cons:
- I didn’t love the artwork. Kimber often looks like she’s either wearing a mask or is part colt or something. I really didn’t like the way any of the characters looked.
- I’m not getting any feeling of sisterhood among the Misfits. There are two sides to this debate, but in my opinion when they’re at their best, the Misfits did display loyalty and camaraderie. I don’t see a trace of that; Pizzazz’s character is given no depth and so far she’s just a one-note bad guy. Maybe the comic will do what the TV show did and gradually give each Misfit a bit more of a personality, instead of just being a cardboard cut-out of a bad guy. (Other than Stormer, who does have depth here too as per usual).
- I wish the reboot had booted Rio out the door, but what can you do? At least there’s no Eric Raymond. (Yet?)
Jem and the Holograms Viral by Kelly Thompson –
Basically the same as above, with these additions:
Pros:
- Better, more in-depth Misfits characterizations
- Tech-Rat. Christy Marx has said that she had wanted to make Tech-Rat a totally androgynous character, but a 1980’s animated show wouldn’t have allowed that. Although masculine pronouns are used here for Tech-Rat, we finally get to see him in his androgynous (or even genderqueer?) glory
- It's nice to see Craig Phillips. He's only in 2 episodes of the show but was a great, under-used character.
Cons:
- I don’t understand the reviews on Good Reads praising the art in this series. I still think it’s dreadful. And it’s so inconsistent too, like it’s hard to recognize characters from one panel to the next if not for their hair. Also, do I remember that Aja was fat in the first book and now not so much? (It’s possible she lost weight, just wondering).
- Plot-wise, this second volume really started off slow and kinda weird with over-long dream sequences from each Hologram. To me it was a very meh way to start off your book.
- Small point: I love that they always refer to the Holograms as sisters. Will we ever get an origins story? Safe to assume the comic writers are going with Aja and Shana being foster-sisters to the Benton girls? I wonder why the Bentons never adopted them (assuming they didn't because of Aja's and Shana's different last names). Maybe other relatives had custody that they never relinquished.
Jem and the Holograms #1 by Kelly Thompson and Ross Campbell
Pros:
- Overall I think the author made good decisions on which characters to include. She uses the original 4 members of Jem & the Holograms (when they got up to 5 on the show, it was a bit unwieldy), but instead of using only the three original Misfits, she includes Jetta, who I was glad to see. I’m also cool with her decision to change Jetta’s race to Black (Jem’s creator Christy Marx said she had wanted to do the same, but was told that Jetta had to be Australian or British and white – no Black bad guys), and Stormer I think is drawn to look Latina. (Even though her name remains Mary Phillips, so maybe not?)
- Not everyone woman is skinny! In the original show, all the girls had the same body type: tall and very thin. The author gives us a diversity of body shapes – skinny, medium, plus-sized.
- It’s overall a good reboot – the writer did good job bringing Jem into the current decade. I liked the writer’s notes at the beginning. She points out that Jem is 30 years old, and her goal is to retain the excitement of the original while bringing it into current times. She also makes an interesting point at the end – many fandoms that are this old have multiple source material, but with Jem we never got more than the original show and the dolls. (I assume no one has even watched the crappy movie – I haven’t). I hadn’t thoughts of that. (I watched GI Joe at the same time as Jem, and it had lots of comics plus several reboots over the years and some decent movies. Ditto Transformers). The author also found a way to get the needed backstory in (like introducing Synergy) without making it boring for those who already know the scoop.
- A same-sex relationship is one of the biggest storylines! Yes!
- I like the little nods to the original (Limp Lizards making a cameo!)
Cons:
- I didn’t love the artwork. Kimber often looks like she’s either wearing a mask or is part colt or something. I really didn’t like the way any of the characters looked.
- I’m not getting any feeling of sisterhood among the Misfits. There are two sides to this debate, but in my opinion when they’re at their best, the Misfits did display loyalty and camaraderie. I don’t see a trace of that; Pizzazz’s character is given no depth and so far she’s just a one-note bad guy. Maybe the comic will do what the TV show did and gradually give each Misfit a bit more of a personality, instead of just being a cardboard cut-out of a bad guy. (Other than Stormer, who does have depth here too as per usual).
- I wish the reboot had booted Rio out the door, but what can you do? At least there’s no Eric Raymond. (Yet?)
Jem and the Holograms Viral by Kelly Thompson –
Basically the same as above, with these additions:
Pros:
- Better, more in-depth Misfits characterizations
- Tech-Rat. Christy Marx has said that she had wanted to make Tech-Rat a totally androgynous character, but a 1980’s animated show wouldn’t have allowed that. Although masculine pronouns are used here for Tech-Rat, we finally get to see him in his androgynous (or even genderqueer?) glory
- It's nice to see Craig Phillips. He's only in 2 episodes of the show but was a great, under-used character.
Cons:
- I don’t understand the reviews on Good Reads praising the art in this series. I still think it’s dreadful. And it’s so inconsistent too, like it’s hard to recognize characters from one panel to the next if not for their hair. Also, do I remember that Aja was fat in the first book and now not so much? (It’s possible she lost weight, just wondering).
- Plot-wise, this second volume really started off slow and kinda weird with over-long dream sequences from each Hologram. To me it was a very meh way to start off your book.
- Small point: I love that they always refer to the Holograms as sisters. Will we ever get an origins story? Safe to assume the comic writers are going with Aja and Shana being foster-sisters to the Benton girls? I wonder why the Bentons never adopted them (assuming they didn't because of Aja's and Shana's different last names). Maybe other relatives had custody that they never relinquished.
