Age Against The Machine...
Act 2. Scene 1. (in which Rihia2k recants on all rambling he let fly in his second to last post here.)
Our scene begins with Rihia2k admitting he was 'generally anti', and way too tired, to be allowed to type random thoughtless brain leaks onto this blog. He had also recently been to a mall... and he hates those things. He will also now stop writing in a third person narrative. Yes, yes I will.
So anyway, in apology, I'm far too much of a lazy sod to have stuck to any rule of seriously writing about modern mythology in pop culture. I mean, I obviously wasn't going to cover Chinese mythology being very much alive and unchanged on current Chinese TV shows. Wasn't going to cover the Maori adaption of Troilus and Cressida set in New Zealand.
Heck, I was copping out with comic books = mythology in just the western world.
From that, it was all just an excuse to whine about the way Thor is little more than a cardboard bo-hunk with a hammer these days.
But heeey, mythology was always about the endless remodeling and whispered fragments that expand a legend throughout time, right? I gotta' stop being a fuddy-duddy and hand it over to the kids.
In addition I indulged in a gripe, comparing comics to myths - regarding the believability factor. Both the funny books & mythology are a-bloom with symbolism and rich meaningful metaphor. Still, there's a difference, no-one will actively avoid the wrath of Hal Jordan in their daily lives as much as the persuasions of Astaroth.
ie. - The Fantastic Four will remind us the virtues of chumminess and our inner-heroes.
The story between Daphne and Apollo will ever refresh the simple wonder and splendor of dawn, in addition stirring up tales of unrequited desire.
Man, anyone would think I hated comics. Honestly though, maybe you can speak Ferengi, or list all the Dr. Whos, you just can't count the hair follicles on a season's chin (Old Man Winter I'm looking at you.)
Essentially, does it matter whether your devil is a seven foot man in a rubber suit? Non-entity? Any and all of the seven deadly sins? Or a creative combination thereof, affecting the human heart?
Right, that's enough being clever from me, let Jason Aaron and Tang Eng Huat do the rest...
 |
| From Marvel's Ghost Rider, #31. The Last Stand |
In fact, the Ghost Rider, Last Stand story arc is a good example of the comic book as modern vessel for preexisting myth. I was delighted to find (however brief) a reference to Jizo Bosatsu, and the fleshing out of multiple Spirits of Vengeance / Ghost Riders the world over. China, The Middle East, Tibet, Japan, Russia, The Congo, India.
Refreshing.
So if that story worked as modern vessel for old myth, could Alan Moore and Jacen Burrow's Neonomicon be the other way around? Good old comics to tell the still fresh Lovecraft mythos?
NEONOMICON - the name says it all really.
 |
| Leng. Leng. We're all on Leng. - Dr. Seuss' Necronimonicon, anyone? |
Although it needn't be so fantastically supernatural. Don't have to look far past Kick-Ass, Defendor or Scott Pilgrim trend movies to notice that. Still fantasies, yes, but it isn't hard to see the appeal to modern audiences when one considers how these films're staged.
Where? Who? When?
Here. Us. Now.
"To 'not do anything' is much more relaxing & fun than 'to do nothing'" - Rihia2k.
