I'm unable to recall where I read the comment that "currently, 90% of all urban fantasy on the market right now can be boiled down to several vamps, a werewolf or two, and a chick with a gun." Alternate versions being: chick with sword; chick is asian (or euro-asian mix); chick falls for werewolf instead of vamp; chick is also witch; chick is also half/whole demon.
Hrm. Yes, well, feminism, all good and well (and I say that as a the former Second Evil of the ATPoBtVS) but I think the whole "badass chick" element is missing what made Buffy -- and, curiously, Superman and Batman -- so much of a subversive element. Stroll through the synopses, reviews, back-cover copy, the stories themselves: I can't think of a single one in which the protagonist badass-chick was once a cheerleader, or any other everyday wholesome all-American middle-class kid.
That is, urban fantasy's filled to the brim with a whole lotta Faiths, and they're running around cheerfully proclaiming they're "just like Buffy".
Err, no. They're not.
( What makes Buffy so subversive, in the same subversive way as those two classic superheroes... )
And while you're at it? Vampires are the bad guys: Buffy did two, Anita's done who knows how many, and there ain't no way you can spin that top without us thinking of either. That road's been dug down into two deep ruts, one named Whedon, the other Hamilton. Find a new road. Please.
Hrm. Yes, well, feminism, all good and well (and I say that as a the former Second Evil of the ATPoBtVS) but I think the whole "badass chick" element is missing what made Buffy -- and, curiously, Superman and Batman -- so much of a subversive element. Stroll through the synopses, reviews, back-cover copy, the stories themselves: I can't think of a single one in which the protagonist badass-chick was once a cheerleader, or any other everyday wholesome all-American middle-class kid.
That is, urban fantasy's filled to the brim with a whole lotta Faiths, and they're running around cheerfully proclaiming they're "just like Buffy".
Err, no. They're not.
( What makes Buffy so subversive, in the same subversive way as those two classic superheroes... )
And while you're at it? Vampires are the bad guys: Buffy did two, Anita's done who knows how many, and there ain't no way you can spin that top without us thinking of either. That road's been dug down into two deep ruts, one named Whedon, the other Hamilton. Find a new road. Please.