Elephant Uplifts: Transcending the Genre! (Plus Zootopia Watch)

   You'd probably love to hear about the Comic Book Workshop tonight, wouldn't you?

   Well, I'd probably love to go to bed. But... sometimes you get what you need.

  BARSK came in the mail for me today, forwarded and finally I can stick the bookplate into the book, which is going to be awesome and I'll be sure to get a picture of its consumption... conception? Cons...titution, Concession, Convection... Consummation, that's it, consummation.

   Looking back over my initial review, I thought I was going to have to backpedal on things I said, making claims of genre transcendence or anything really snooty like that (to say, "this work transcends the genre" is code for "I've transcended my snobbery," though it should be code for, "hey guys you should really transcend your own snobberies, and maybe saying bad things about the genre this work actually does belong to wholly will get you to somehow like the thing I guess.") I put that review better than I'd be able to had I written it now.

   My second review, the one with the view from the second sight of a breather, is, from second sight of a breather, not as dead center as the first, to put it nicely... Maybe Chapter 31 does make sense, though it doesn't really contribute to the plot in any meaningful way... neither does Chapter 14. It's still beautiful stuff to have.

   Anyway. Wednesday, bleeding day (wow bro you find any way to make it more creepy?), a few things due, and also I went grocery shopping...

   You see, you know how I said I'd miss Mom's ombudsmanship? Turns out that there are technologies nowadays for communication over vast distances. I called home to confirm that my cell phone was working when I first activated it, and, long distance ombudsing: turns out, my parents wouldn't actually let me starve? That's... comforting.

   It's nice to be a starving artist, but it's even nicer to have money.

ZOOTOPIA WATCH
   And it's a doozie.

Source: Random House / Disney, via Amazon

   Alright, so, for those of you not already in the know, the official Zootopia tie-in books started rolling out yesterday. I say "started" rolling out because we still have to wait for March 1st for the official Art of Zootopia book, grumble grumble... It's gonna be awesome, though.

   March 1st is also of course the same day the Disney Infinity 3.0 Zootopia stuff comes out, but you can totally preorder them now.

   Nick

   Judy

   Anyway. New books, yesterday, came out. Since then I've been trying to collect them like Pokemon trading cards, but, there are a lot of them, and seriously man crack would be a cheaper hobby. (See the starving artist grocery thing up there? I do need to eat people food, you know...) Not that I mind...

   Alright, so, we learned a lot from, the few books that we could afford. Including who the mastermind is and everything; seriously what the heck I thought they tried to keep at least some spoilers out of the junior novelizations. It doesn't look like humans have to do with anything, so, so far my theory from the Zootopia Watch, covered in the second of the above BARSK links, isn't looking too accurate, but...: the tie-ins for The LEGO Movie, even when they had the existence of Finn, still kept his exact role smoothed over, so there's still a chance that things go beyond the [PLOT SPOILER BITS CENSORED.]

   But, at least now we know what Nick was doing randomly in the background of the line of Popsicle-eating lemming businessmen at 1:40 in the trailer. Though make that, Pawpsicle. Amazing. And we also know character names!

   Alright, I wasn't expecting this actually, but my favorite so far would have to be Super Animals!, breaking down essentially the animals' wild animal talents: "Mr. Manchas is a jaguar. Jaguars have very sharp teeth... for smiling."

   Yes, in case you couldn't believe it for yourself, let me confirm for you: that is exactly as amazing as it sounds.