I Am Beginning to Love Comics

It seems strange to be squeeing over fandom stuff when an online acquaintance is going through such a sad time, however...

I have to say that this makes me very happy.  (That drawing of Scorpius is just beyond awesome.)

I came to Farscape late (as in, the show had just been, or was just about to be, cancelled), for the most absurd of reasons.

See, my first real foray into online fandom was Babylon 5, in a quiet, more or less easygoing corner of the web called the John and Delenn mailing list.  As B5 drew to a close, many people on that list began to get into Farscape.  In fact, the person who ran the mailing list added a John-Aeryn section to his original website.

Why Babylon 5?

Well, for one thing, it was more or less my favorite show at the time, though Deep Space Nine was getting really good right at that point, as all the Dominion stuff began to happen.

Also?  My first few tentative searches into Star Trek fandom were...well...scary.  Flame wars upon flame wars upon flame wars upon arguing about tabling a discussion that caused flame wars erupting into more flame wars.

Did I mention the flame wars?

Yeah.

Anyway, I tend to be kind of contrary when it comes to my TV.  I like to discover things on my own.  The more people gushed about Farscape, the less interested in it I became. I made an aborted attempt to watch one episode (which, admittedly, did stick with me until several years later when I caught a re-run on Sci-Fi).

Anyway, the same has happened with several shows over the years -- when a friend mentioned Buffy, I watched an episode (which, sadly, must have been one of the sillier first season ones...because it made no impression whatsoever) and that was about it.

So, I did have the advantage of watching most of Farscape in one fell swoop.  I may have felt differently if the whole John-Aeryn-Talyn!John thing had been strung along over long, endless months, but by and large, I was captivated.

I've been buying the Buffy comics as they come out in multi-comic volumes (trade paperbacks? I think that's the term)...but the Farscape ones...I may have to buy as they come out.

I highly recommend the show, if that's not obvious by now.  You do have to somewhat engage your suspension of disbelief, because of all the muppets, but the ultimate effect once you let go of wondering how the guy running Rygel managed to stay out of sight, is far more immersive than Star Trek.  Aliens are actually aliens, and look like it.

Also, in case you hadn't noticed in my Stargate commentaries, I am a huge fan of Claudia Black's.  In Aeryn's case, she did an excellent job of creating a believable journey as Aeryn struggled to break out of the mold she'd been forced into.  Claudia is a master at hinting at hidden vulnerabilities -- with Aeryn, it takes the form of bluster, bravado, and aggression; with Vala, it mostly takes the form of snark and sarcasm.

But the effect is the same -- it makes for a truly three-dimensional character.

It's later in the series, but one of my absolute favorite moments of hers (as well as Ben Browder's) comes after she has been tortured to the point of breaking (which, in itself, is a character "development," but I don't want to give too much away).  She wakes up in a panic, and the look on her face...speaks volumes.  Encyclopedias.

Anyway, I'm losing track of things, but suffice it to say that anyone looking for a "new" show to tide them over through summer re-runs might want to give Farscape a try.