ReBoot: Code of Hero: Paradigms Lost
May. 30th, 2008 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
leeshajoyOkay. So. ReBoot.com has just relaunched, with the first installment of the much-anticipated ReBoot webcomic. Congratulations, you managed to get my attention enough that I'm actually dusting off my personal LJ account to post my first impressions.
Overall, I have to say I was disappointed. The pacing was abrupt and crowded, what with trying to introduce about fifteen different plot points in the space of 22 pages. It felt like Season 4 all over again, where they attempted to squeeze a season's worth of plot and exposition into a ninety-minute movie. The results sucked then, and they continue to suck now. I realize that this is largely due to the limitations of the mainstream comic-book format, but come on, guys, this is the WEB. You don't have to stick to the conventions of mainstream print comics, or of print comics at all. Stretch things out. Let us dwell on how things have changed in the time gap since the end of the TV show. Let us see exactly what contributed to Bob's change of heart from 'it's not his fault' to 'kill the bastard'. Let the story determine the length and formatting, rather than vice-versa.
Okay, now that I'm done channeling Scott McCloud, I want to talk about my major issue with the comic's storyline so far. It started when I read the synopsis:
"Many hours have passed since Megabyte unleashed his terrible Hunt. Now, Mainframe is a wasteland roamed by packs of Zombinomes intent on devouring the frames of any citizen they find. With nearly every sector destroyed Bob has little choice but to effect a full evacuation."
BOB is effecting an evacuation? Excuse me?? Last time I checked, Dot Matrix was the COMMAND.COM of the system. If anyone's giving orders to the populace in general, it should be her. But no, Dot's already off in a refugee camp in the Supercomputer, and there's no indication she's actually doing anything except waiting for Bob to show up. Then, later on, we see Bob giving the order to test Gnosis on Mainframe, without even consulting Dot. Everyone basically treats Bob like the de facto leader of the system, and Dot seems to go right along with it. The only active thing she does in the whole issue is to drag Bob off to get married! What the hell, people? The Dot I know would be laying into Bob for deciding the fate of her system without even consulting her.
This may seem like a minor quibble, but it feels like a reiteration of the worst aspects of the fourth season of ReBoot. Dot Matrix was basically my feminine ideal as I was growing up: a strong, smart, capable woman in a position of authority who still managed to be feminine and dead sexy to boot. I largely credit her with my strong conviction that that being feminine and being an effective leader are not mutually exclusive--something that the mainstream media seems to have trouble grasping. (coughcoughHillarycough) But ever since the end of Season III, Mainframe Entertainment has endeavored to shit all over that by turning Dot into a wingeing, clingy, codependent little bitch who is more focused on the fate of the men in her life than on the business of actually running the system. If this trend continues in the comic and the upcoming feature film, I will be Very Put Out.
Overall, I have to say I was disappointed. The pacing was abrupt and crowded, what with trying to introduce about fifteen different plot points in the space of 22 pages. It felt like Season 4 all over again, where they attempted to squeeze a season's worth of plot and exposition into a ninety-minute movie. The results sucked then, and they continue to suck now. I realize that this is largely due to the limitations of the mainstream comic-book format, but come on, guys, this is the WEB. You don't have to stick to the conventions of mainstream print comics, or of print comics at all. Stretch things out. Let us dwell on how things have changed in the time gap since the end of the TV show. Let us see exactly what contributed to Bob's change of heart from 'it's not his fault' to 'kill the bastard'. Let the story determine the length and formatting, rather than vice-versa.
Okay, now that I'm done channeling Scott McCloud, I want to talk about my major issue with the comic's storyline so far. It started when I read the synopsis:
"Many hours have passed since Megabyte unleashed his terrible Hunt. Now, Mainframe is a wasteland roamed by packs of Zombinomes intent on devouring the frames of any citizen they find. With nearly every sector destroyed Bob has little choice but to effect a full evacuation."
BOB is effecting an evacuation? Excuse me?? Last time I checked, Dot Matrix was the COMMAND.COM of the system. If anyone's giving orders to the populace in general, it should be her. But no, Dot's already off in a refugee camp in the Supercomputer, and there's no indication she's actually doing anything except waiting for Bob to show up. Then, later on, we see Bob giving the order to test Gnosis on Mainframe, without even consulting Dot. Everyone basically treats Bob like the de facto leader of the system, and Dot seems to go right along with it. The only active thing she does in the whole issue is to drag Bob off to get married! What the hell, people? The Dot I know would be laying into Bob for deciding the fate of her system without even consulting her.
This may seem like a minor quibble, but it feels like a reiteration of the worst aspects of the fourth season of ReBoot. Dot Matrix was basically my feminine ideal as I was growing up: a strong, smart, capable woman in a position of authority who still managed to be feminine and dead sexy to boot. I largely credit her with my strong conviction that that being feminine and being an effective leader are not mutually exclusive--something that the mainstream media seems to have trouble grasping. (coughcoughHillarycough) But ever since the end of Season III, Mainframe Entertainment has endeavored to shit all over that by turning Dot into a wingeing, clingy, codependent little bitch who is more focused on the fate of the men in her life than on the business of actually running the system. If this trend continues in the comic and the upcoming feature film, I will be Very Put Out.
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(no subject)
Date: May. 30th, 2008 10:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: May. 30th, 2008 10:39 pm (UTC)Honestly? I'm not sure I am glad that something's being done with the franchise. I've seen too many stories I liked suffer a slow death by retooling. That's why I stopped watching the Simpsons.
(no subject)
Date: May. 30th, 2008 10:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: May. 30th, 2008 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: May. 30th, 2008 10:53 pm (UTC)And to go along with that other guy's comment, ....so what if they're bringing back the franchise? It doesn't mean they're making something worthwhile.