It might sound like a tenuous reach, but watching this
episode made me think of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Definitely not in the way you’d
think, though…
See, when I was first getting into comics, I read a ton of
reprint back issues collecting Jim Starlin’s legendary WARLOCK SAGA. That run was
one of many important threads that was woven into the movie’s tapestry (Starlin created Thanos, Gamora, Drax and the
Infinity Gems), but the key difference was that it was far weirder than what ended up on screen. If you think a
machinegun-packing raccoon is strange, try to wrap your head around a grim, new
age-y and extremely philosophical space opera about a failed clone messiah who
battles his evil future self and ultimately defeats him by entering an abstract
crossroads and literally wiping out all the possibilities of his life.
I totally understand why the studio went for a much simpler and
more fanciful approach in the movie (that’s how you open to $95 million). However, I
couldn’t help but wonder if there could be a successful middle ground, and I
think JOJO’s really embodies that at a lot of points.
No, it's not a space opera but, especially in this episode, where most of the action hinges
on Kakyoin and Polnareff’s (far more
interesting looking) Stands, there are definitely some parallels of strangeness. Jojo #2 holding a television séance to watch
these demon creatures rote a shape-shifting, seemingly-omniscient crab out of
his brain is certainly as much of a ‘literal abstraction’ as Warlock’s
crossroads. However, there’s definitely a similar tongue-in-cheek feel to it,
and it does its own ongoing homage to pop music, too (much like GotG’s ‘Awesome Mix’).
I guess I’m just always trying to get a sense of how much
weirdness and headiness certain audiences are able to handle. And I get a
charge out of how JOJO’s is able to not only get away with all that, but also
have so much fun with it.
Watch "Lovers
Part 2" and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous
episode.
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