rhodrymavelyne

Tight, intimate detail draws me into a series, especially involving character interaction. I loved it in Hannibal and American Gods.

I’m seeing it in some of Marvel’s mini-series; Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and especially Daredevil.

World of Darkness sourcebooks encouraged players to storytelling with such detail, bringing the setting, along with the characters to life.

The New York City Marvel has created for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Matt Murdock, Danny Rand, and the people whom interact with them feels like a city in the World of Darkness; in its shadows, violence, and intimate detail.

It’s a self-contained little world in this city; where Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen, and the various corners are explored by the characters.

I know these corners will overlap. I haven’t seen The Defenders yet, although I want to. I’m wanting to get to know each of the superheroes on their own terms first.

Charlie Cox brings a compelling energy to the character of Matt Murdock. Jessica Jones manages to be tough and damaged in a way I cannot look away from. Luke Cage created a shell for himself, which is nowhere as damage proof as he is. Danny Rand explodes into moments of rage, which reveal just how much damage he’s endured.

I’m looking forward to seeing how they interact. They’ve already gathered a host of interesting characters around them; Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, Elektra, Trish/Patsy, Malcolm, and Jeri Hogarth. Their foes are fascinating as well; Kilgrave, Wilson Fisk, Cottonmouth, and Madam Gao.

When Daredevil began; Matt, Foggy, and Karen in their little Hell’s Kitchen offices reminded me of Angel, Doyle, and Cordelia Chase at the very beginning of Angel, when they worked out of their small L.A. office. There was energy, which felt similar, despite distinctive differences.

Luke and Danny just lost their place and are searching for it. Jessica’s office and apartment give Bo and Kenzi’s flat in Lost Girl a run for its money in being run-down. Jess gets to know everyone in that apartment, just as Luke seemed to know everyone at Pop’s barber shop. Danny wandered through places which were no longer his.

It was truly scary, seeing David Tennant play Kilgrave after seeing him as the Doctor. Crowley on Good Omens seemed warm and fuzzy by comparison, but that’s another story.

Cottonmouth promises to be even more complex than Wilson Fisk. I marvel at how Fisk managed to be a monster and man, in his relationships with Vanessa and Wesley. Seeing him gave me Francis Dolarhyde and Hannibal Lecter flashbacks. The Adagio in D playing in the restaurant helped with that, plus it made me smile.

The City of Darkness takes its heroes on an interesting journey, different from the one of explosions and earth-shaking battles that the other Marvel heroes fight.

We’re on a more intimate level for this struggle. I’m curious where it will lead.

I've been doing Flights of Fanciful Fandom here. I'm starting a new topic, Misplaced Reviews.

This is where I post reviews for books which aren't listed in the Goodreads database.

I just finished reading Werewolf the Apocalypse again, trying to achieve my goal of reading 100 books by the end of this year. Alas, the edition I have, the first edition isn't available on Goodreads. I don't feel quite right posting my review there since there will be changes in the version they've got.

It may not make much of a difference considering what I talk about in my review. I still don't feel comfortable posting there, looking at a book cover years old and very different than the volume I read.

Hence the new topic. Here it goes...

I was going to post this on Goodreads. This particular edition isn’t listed in their database, so I’m putting it here instead.

A richly developed roleplaying sourcebook for the World of Darkness, offering up its own paranormal landscape where all sorts of supernatural creatures walk the earth, including werewolves. This is your opportunity to play one of them.

Here is laid out how to play a Garou, a werewolf character in the World of Darkness, fighting an ineveitable Apocalpyse in the form of an environment corrupted by a malign influence known as the Wyrm. Here are the basics to become a Storyteller, a Game Master of a World of Darkness roleplying game where your players are werewolves, engaged in this never ending battle to defend the planet and the Wyld.

Readers learn of the triad which dominates a a thriving Garou spirit world, also known as the Umbra, the unbalanced balance of the Weaver, Wyrm, and Wyld spun out of control. They also learn what sort of werewolves they can expect to play, the various Garou tribes which exist, along with the many foes they’ll find themselves facing, such as vampires, fomori, and other werewolves driven mad by the power of the Wyrm.

A simple system similar to the World of Darkness’s other roleplaying games is offered, which includes a character sheet, character samples, the beginning of a possible story, requiring ten side dice and ample creativity.

This particular World of Darkness game comes with immediate, clear conflict as well as a foe the players need to fight, the Wyrm and its agents, yet like all World of Darkness games, it emphasizes in depth stories and the roleplaying aspect of this form of entertainment as opposed to combat. Combat is there, though, if you wish to have it.

This book stimulated my own creativity, inspiring many a character within this universe when I first read it. The terminology stayed with me. To this day, I find myself calling particularly foul coffee Wyrm juice. :) For all of these things, I give this book four stars.