Ray Mescallado @raymescallado@mastodon.social

Look what Haruna made me for Father's Day! My favorite Pokémon, Snorlax and Keldeo! Or a very strange self-portrait of the two of us... https://mastodon.social/media/_1xvuKICmTEbhvs4ARA

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 7

As for the murder mystery... it works, it gets the job done, and is twisty enough to keep one guessing. But as Jug points out, what it's there for is to expose the dark side of Riverdale, the hidden histories and betrayals.

I look forward to Season Two, though I'll admit what I most hope for is that Ethel Muggs will finally start chasing after Jughead. And maybe bring in Trula Twyst? I'd love to see her Riverdale-ized!

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 6

That said, I've always been a Jughead fan - Samm Schwartz is my all-time favorite Archie artist - and Cole Sprouse may have given him a lot more angst, but he still feels like the essential Jughead we know and love. An outsider who is comfortable with himself, who has a clearer sense of the truth than others around him, a standup guy to his friends. Making him the narrator of the story was a great frame for the overall series.

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 5

Lili Reinhart as Betty was the standout performer, adding a surprising edge to the sweet girl next door. KJ Apa managed to make Archie's mix of pure heart and malleable will as endearing and frustrating as in the comic. Camila Mendes as Veronica wowed me as she became the most sympathetic and likeable of the bunch, which is very rarely the case in the comics. I even liked Reggie, who was a dick throughout but showed a good heart beneath.

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 4

Its funny how the wholesome parents of the Archie comics are now dysfunctional family heads plagued by secrets and betrayals. It's even funnier that many of the parents are portrayed by actors known for their teen roles a couple decades ago! It's a bracing meta commentary on how much the concept of family and the challenges of growing up in the modern world has changed since Archie debuted 75 years ago. It's become cliche, but made fresh here.

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 3

I think the real genius of this series is that the teen characters are mostly updated but recognizable versions of their traditional comic book selves, but the parents were changed radically to create the dramatic back stories and motives that make this series so dark and intriguingly complex. Adolescence is still a time for innocence - and, new to the Archie-verse, horny discovery. But adulthood and adults threaten that youthful idyll.

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 2

That said, I was immediately won over by the sharp dialogue and how the actors handled their portrayal of the main teen characters.

One thing that annoyed me at first was how thick the pop cultural referents were layered into the dialogue, though I either adjusted or it was ratcheted down a notch as the series continued. The kids may be more emotionally mature than real teens would be, but let's face it, it'd be annoying if they weren't.

THOUGHTS ON RIVERDALE SEASON ONE - PART 1

I know I'm coming real late to the party, but I tend to be that way. Anyway, I was surprised at how much this show impressed me - I didn't expect it to be bad or even mediocre, but I did expect some cognitive dissonance from the traditional vision of Archie to this teen drama Twin Peaks-esque variation. I shouldn't have, since Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa also writes Afterlife With Archie, which I love. But I'll admit, I was skeptical.

I'm enjoying the 500 character limit - it forces pithiness but also gives enough room to think seriously about editing choices.

Fiction: Flood

The stretch of road was flooded, rain hammered down in unrelenting sheets. Others had pulled over, turned on hazards, defeated by the storm and seeking mercy.

He and his wife agreed to push forward. Slowly they drove, water climbing by inches outside, almost reaching the windows...

Then a sudden plummet - the deep blue covering their windshield, free fall in the pit of their stomachs, nosediving into unknown depths. They clutched hands and waited for the wet to break through.

Review: The Killing Season (2016)

This Kindle Single is a gripping account of a 1975 double murder in a Colorado town and the decades it took to finally bring the killer to justice. Alex French brings a formidable clarity, not only in the depths of the personal histories but in the breadth of possible leads explored, including several other local murders and the spectre of Ted Bundy. As a result, the ending feels satisfying and hard earned, but still melancholy for all the pain it encompassed.

Fiction: A Bad Taste

He woke up far from morning, mouth parched and soured, mind spinning from a still-fading nightmare, the fever dream's anger and adrenaline leaving him queasy.

He stumbled to the bathroom and under the harsh fluorescent light spat into the sink, seeing blood mixed with saliva, deep red and splotchy. Clots circled the water. He felt his mouth for a loose tooth, gargled to clear the last of the rot.

Returning to bed, he hit the light and saw: what he spat out wasn't his.

Review: No Pasaran! Volume 1 (2000)

Vittorio Giardino's Max Friedman books were among my favorites during Catalan Communications' heyday, so it's odd I took so long to read this. Still, better late than never...

Giardino's art is always beautiful, a realistic ligne claire that's both grounding and dynamic. As for the story... it's part one of three, and there's a lot of set-up going on, both in history and intrigue. Still, the pace is brisk and volume 2 is poised to deliver fully the goods.

Trying out a new open source social media platform. Oh, the possibilities!