He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name
John 1: 10-12
Dickens, Lloyd Alexander, and Terry Pratchett have spoiled me. They all take the time to make their comic relief likable. Now whenever I come across a grating `comic relief' I grit my teeth and wonder why the heroes don't find a way to get rid of the jerk -maybe put a sleeping potion in his venison and sneak away during the night.
Gail Carson Levine mentions here that one way to make your audience enjoy a character is to show that other characters like them. I love it when an author gives me some solid reasons why the heroes want to hang around with the comic relief. In Dicken's The Pickwick Papers, Sam Weller is sarcastic and far too mouthy to be a conventional servant, but he's also clever and fiercely loyal to his friends. At one point he deliberately get himself arrested so he can follow Mr. Pickwick into debtor's prison. You gotta love a guy like that.
The best comic characters have a wider emotional range than just cracking a joke -then cracking another one- repeat into infinity. Moist Von Lipwig from Terry Pratchett's Going Postal may not admit that he feels anything beyond enjoyment at outwitting the next mark, but with his slowly growing desire not to let his friends down, and the discovery that he has something to fight for, he becomes a very endearing -and well rounded- character.
I guess what I object to is people who don't treat their comic relief like real characters. But then, I've never appreciated slapstick humor, either. To me, pies in the face are just mean, and if they're always thrown at the same person, that's bullying.
Maybe I should start a Comic Relief Union?
I've been watching a lot of the nineties TV show Andromeda. My favorite character is Seamus Zelanzy Harper, the ship's engineer and designated comic relief. I've known plenty of people who handle stress with jokes, snark, or sarcasm. I don't know anyone who deals by vowing to right all wrongs, or becoming a cynical mercenary for hire.
Harper's not a coward, but he's not a fighter either. He's very much a talker. Whenever he's in a rough situation he tries to get out of it by cutting a deal. He's a contrast to the shows hero, Dylan Hunt, who is skilled with weapons and doesn't really do compromise.
It seems there are two different types of heroes. If the villain gives your hero the sadistic choice between saving his beloved Aunt Em or keeping an inhabited planet from being blown to smithereens, the one type of hero says `it's not like I knew anyone on that planet' and picks Aunt Em, while the other type says `Sorry Aunt Em. Been nice knowing you.' and saves the planet.
It's the difference between leading with the head and leading with the heart. Someone who leads with their head is going to take a `needs of the many outweigh the need of one' approach. Sometimes they'll be right, but other times they'll be too practical. They might be unintentionally cruel if it fits their agenda. They might sacrifice people who are loyal to them if they feel it's for the greater good.
The people who lead with their heart have just as many strengths -and just as many problems. They may betray their country to save their friend, or make compromises they shouldn't make. They're less likely to have well laid plans -or any plan at all.
Of course, in a perfect world you'd have both types of hero working together, one who leads with the heart to rush in and save the day, and one who leads with his head to pick up the scattered pieces and groan `why me?'
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I've just done a marathon housecleaning job, and tomorrow it's cooking, so while I've fallen down on any kind of on-line presence, at least I've got something to show for it. I hope you all have a terrific holiday.
I stopped at the mall a few days ago and noticed something peculiar. The retailers have gone strait from Halloween decoration to Christmas lights. They've skipped Thanksgiving! The grocery stores are still marking down turkeys and frozen cranberries are on sale, but that's pretty much it. No paper napkins decorated with fall leaves, no wicker cornucopias, no wreaths made of broom. We've misplaced a holiday. Perhaps I should check lost and found.
Thanksgiving reminds people to give to those who need it. With jobs scarce and so many people just scraping by we need that reminder -and a celebration of the blessings we do have. Life gets depressing if you don't stop and think about the good bits once in awhile.
People will (fortunately) continue to celebrate Thanksgiving, whether or not the stores put out the trappings, but I'm not sure what it says about our country that Thanksgiving is the holiday our retailers are willing to shove in a forgotten corner like the poor Velveteen Rabbit.
It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures here. I thought it would be fun to show a before/after of shading. Here's a sketch of a masked mouse that I made to get an idea down. (What can I say? Sometimes drawing is quicker than outlining.)
And here is the same picture after I decided that shading was a great way to pass the time while I waited for my computer to load a bunch of updates.
Yeah, not quite what I was supposed to be doing this morning, but at least I got my nice drawing finished. So how about you guys? Any favorite distractions you indulge in?
Anyone who knows me well knows my tendency toward obsessions. When I find an author or TV show I like I'll read or watch everything I can get my hands by that person- at least until I figure out exactly what it is I'm trying to figure out.
When I was maybe fourteen or so, I was crazy about the Redwall series. I had whole sections of Mossflower practically memorized. The Redwall books taught me that just because your characters are fuzzy little rodents doesn't mean you have to play down things like death or injury.
With Dickens I learned two things. One: if you try to strike up a conversation about Dickens you'll get weird, panicky looks followed by some mumbling about A Christmas Carol. Two: when you mix comedy with suspense, you get some really powerful writing.
I've never had an obsession that I haven't learned from. Some of my obsessions (like Dickens and Shakespeare) turned out to be pretty handy when I started college. I've also never had an obsession that didn't get me some weird looks, and `can we change the subject please?' Maybe you can't win them all. Or maybe my next obsession should be learning to be a better conversationalist.
