Category: Uncategorized

Jessica Jones: Superheroes with soul.

Netflix and Marvel’s Jessica Jones shows how these things should be done. Yes, it’s another superhero series, but this one is every bit as good as Daredevil, and what makes it good is what’s been left out:

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  • No one seems to have any super powers; well, nothing earth-shattering anyway. You won’t find anyone here who can knock down a building by breathing on it. Jessica gets by on modicum of super-strength, and seems to be powered by vodka and very little else. She’s a private detective by day, and like all good gumshoes, she drinks to forget.
  • There are no city-levelling fight scenes.
  • No hi-tech armour, no mystical hammers and no indestructible shields.
  • No Scarlett Johanssen, but I’ll get over it.

What it does have is an easy slow-burning plot and a rather seedy feel that comes across as a sort of film noir shot in a slum. The script is deadpan, not overdone, with a hint of dark humour. They’re not trying to send a message or save the world; none of the heroes and villains here give a hoot about anything or anyone.  It’s surprisingly heavy on the sex scenes, and the director hasn’t pulled any punches in any of the fight sequences – and there aren’t that many of those.

I didn’t make it through the first episode of Supergirl; I’ve watched four episodes of Jessica Jones, back to back, and when I’m done here I’m going back for more. Great stuff.

Eight out of ten.

Interested in self-publishing? Read Ana Spoke.

I don’t often recommend websites, though I think I probably should do it a lot more often. I’ve been following the adventures of Ana Spoke on her path to self-publishing stardom. If you’re deciding between traditional publishing and going it alone then you owe it to yourself to spend some time on Ana’s website. What separates Ana from the vast majority of the self-publishers is that she’s done it properly: she’s spent two and a half years writing the book, has had it professionally edited, reworked it and edited again.

She’s also documenting what’s she doing as a kind of self-publisher’s diary, and it’s a fascinating insight into what  it takes to get your work noticed in a market where thousands of new works are appearing almost every day. Ana has listed the places where she’s tried marketing her book (It’s called Shizzle Inc., by the way) and tells you (with graphs, no less!) what pricing models have worked best for her. There are some lively discussions there too (especially concerning grammar and the use of editors, and if pricing your work to low devalues it in the readers’ eyes).

The biggest takeaway for me? Marketing yourself as a self-publisher takes time, effort and it can’t be done for free.