Chuck Palahniuk has been one of those writers that has always been able to polarize his audience. Many can't stand him, others think he only attracts elitist sand sickos, and many just find him rather over zealous. His storytelling is a marvel to behold in terms of literature, whether you love him, or despise him, Palahniuk has a factor about his writing that doesn't make him necessarily edgy, but makes him concise in his writing style. It makes hi a clear-headed writer thwt doesn't seem to begrudge the reader for being themselves, but rather shows the world through the lenses of a person who truly feels outside the ebb and flow of society.
As an author, Palahniuk isn't trying to be anything but an ample storyteller, traversing the endless terrain of staunch novels that don't speak to anyone. Whenever we hear the term "voice of a generation", it turns out thwt voice is very crass, almost dull-witted, and speaks only to some upper crust tomfoolery of what is perceived as said generation. When it is said thwt Chuck Palanhnuik is the voice of a generation, thwt means he's standing upon the threshold of the growing populace, and he supersedes party line politics with an incomparable middle finger in the air, and without apology. He puts the fear back in the rebel, although he also adds the over educated charm that comes with the genuine outlook of the "educated fool" slacker generation.
Fight Club is the scaffold of bloody bricks, and belly fat upon which the kingdom of Palanhnuik is built. It is the very thought, the very idea that defines so much, and has become a top-sellers. It's a dirty, filthy, disgusting piece of literature that pales in comparison to so many precursor concepts, and it stands a testament in solitude above so much fodder that tries to claim it's throne. Fight Club 2 is suppose to be the next step, it's suppose to be about life after your point was made, and you've had time to grow up, and face facts. Don't go into thinking that this comic series is a sequel I. The sense of following the same ideology, but rather the follies of such, and the penalties/harshness of the reality we stake by doing whatever we want, unchecked.
Fight Club 2 is more than just a way to grab the attention of some of the fans, but rather an ode to Palahniuk's history, which should reach all the fans, and have them enticed to read more. Is this the story we needed? I think so, because after being given a large dose of Fight Club, it is imperative to see what happens after-the-fact. Open-ended suggestions are great to stoke the imagination, but for something as visually demanding as the Fight Club narrative, an clear end is deserved, if not demanded.
We are constantly looking for answers to big questions in like, and Palahniuk knows how to take those questions,and find the most obscene answers to them, as he is truly one of the world's most absurd satirists. He pushes beyond the breaking of boundaries, and asks us to think more broadly, more liberally about what we take for granted. Sure, some of it is sophomoric, but if you clearly read the words, you find there is nothing sophomoric about anything Palahniuk does. His work is about making connections,and disconnecting from the mainstream, all-the-while redefining what the mainstream could be. His work is both horrid, and wonderful, and why so many people find it hard to judge him on a particular criteria. His work need it's own set of criteria to be judged, the same should be said for the likes of such great satirists like Mark Twain, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Fight Club 2 being a comic may seem misleading to some, but sounds like a refreshing medium, something that will not disappoint the masses, despi not being a full-length novel. Granted, the comic may not even be 80,00 words, it may even be less than 20,000 when completed, but it may have just as impacting,if not a higher range of impact than it's predecessor. When it was first announced, the idea seemed displeasing to some, amazing to others, and too-little-too-late to many. Much of Palahniuk's work in the past several years seems forced, and altruistic, and some dare-say, mainstay in comparison to his older work, like Lullaby and Choke.
Fight Club 2 is either going to be a throwback, albeit, at the risk of being nostalgic, to his older work,mor it will be entirely new,and follow along the lines of newer releases like Tell-All, or Dammned. However,most see this return-to-base move as a stolid one, which will cement the man's work in a glorious, detailed way. It will tie up loose-ends that weren't necessarily loose to begin with, and it will usher in a whole new take on a modern classic. Still, is this the Fight Club we want? Or is it just a way to stretch the idea just a few pennies more? Time, and the market will tell, but Chuck Palahniuk will be, and is still, one of the most polarizing literary forces to come about in history.
Thank you for reading the Malacast Editorial! I hope to read the first issue of Fight a Club 2 eventually, but being that it is a comic, I'd rather review the whole thing at once, so expect it to be a while, if ever,given the circumstances behind so many comic book delays, for a full review of Fight Club 2.
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