Rai #5 Discussion

[hunter_peterson]

as for the murders in the first issue it says no murder for 1000 years. right? could be wrong but i think that's the number. i can see rai's war not counting as murder… but this cyborg is killing people… but retired 1000 yrs ago. homeboy is HUNGRY!

This is a highly controlled society - propaganda is one of the main ways that Father asserts his control over the people. This is shown throughout the series so far but the plus edition in this issue illustrates that point pretty clearly.

It's also a dictatorship that is controlled through this idea that Father (and Rai) protects you.

Anything that doesn't fit into the narrative that New Japan is a safe and wonderful place (where monsters don't exist)... Is something that doesn't get reported on.

Raddies are probably too abundant to not acknowledge ... But most things that go wrong I suspect get covered up.

My guess is that there have been plenty of murders in the last 1000 years - some I'm sure would be dismissed as justified killings ... Other deaths/murders are covered up to not cause panic and dissension amongst the people.

that's a great idea and if true should have come from the comic. it's sloppy and it bothers me.

I always thought that was implied in the book. Because, you know... Father is a bit scummy.

[bygranddesign]

I think it would have been smart if Kindt could have shown this through the Raddies manifesto ... How there have been plenty of murders, that Father is a propaganda machine, that things aren't as perfect and safe as Father leads on ... Instead it was more of anti-technology tirade ...which is fine but I think shedding more of a light on the manipulation of Father would have been more effective in getting people to join up.

[ilzuccone]

as for the murders in the first issue it says no murder for 1000 years. right? could be wrong but i think that's the number. i can see rai's war not counting as murder… but this cyborg is killing people… but retired 1000 yrs ago. homeboy is HUNGRY!

This is a highly controlled society - propaganda is one of the main ways that Father asserts his control over the people. This is shown throughout the series so far but the plus edition in this issue illustrates that point pretty clearly.

It's also a dictatorship that is controlled through this idea that Father (and Rai) protects you.

Anything that doesn't fit into the narrative that New Japan is a safe and wonderful place (where monsters don't exist)... Is something that doesn't get reported on.

Raddies are probably too abundant to not acknowledge ... But most things that go wrong I suspect get covered up.

My guess is that there have been plenty of murders in the last 1000 years - some I'm sure would be dismissed as justified killings ... Other deaths/murders are covered up to not cause panic and dissension amongst the people.

that's a great idea and if true should have come from the comic. it's sloppy and it bothers me.

I always thought that was implied in the book. Because, you know... Father is a bit scummy.

could be. i tend to gloss over implied meanings.

[leonmallett]

as for the murders in the first issue it says no murder for 1000 years. right? could be wrong but i think that's the number. i can see rai's war not counting as murder… but this cyborg is killing people… but retired 1000 yrs ago. homeboy is HUNGRY!

This is a highly controlled society - propaganda is one of the main ways that Father asserts his control over the people. This is shown throughout the series so far but the plus edition in this issue illustrates that point pretty clearly.

It's also a dictatorship that is controlled through this idea that Father (and Rai) protects you.

Anything that doesn't fit into the narrative that New Japan is a safe and wonderful place (where monsters don't exist)... Is something that doesn't get reported on.

Raddies are probably too abundant to not acknowledge ... But most things that go wrong I suspect get covered up.

My guess is that there have been plenty of murders in the last 1000 years - some I'm sure would be dismissed as justified killings ... Other deaths/murders are covered up to not cause panic and dissension amongst the people.

that's a great idea and if true should have come from the comic. it's sloppy and it bothers me.

I always thought that was implied in the book. Because, you know... Father is a bit scummy.

could be. i tend to gloss over implied meanings.

I often miss stuff too; you are not alone ilzuccone!

[Shadowman99]

as for the murders in the first issue it says no murder for 1000 years. right? could be wrong but i think that's the number. i can see rai's war not counting as murder… but this cyborg is killing people… but retired 1000 yrs ago. homeboy is HUNGRY!

This is a highly controlled society - propaganda is one of the main ways that Father asserts his control over the people. This is shown throughout the series so far but the plus edition in this issue illustrates that point pretty clearly.

It's also a dictatorship that is controlled through this idea that Father (and Rai) protects you.

Anything that doesn't fit into the narrative that New Japan is a safe and wonderful place (where monsters don't exist)... Is something that doesn't get reported on.

Raddies are probably too abundant to not acknowledge ... But most things that go wrong I suspect get covered up.

My guess is that there have been plenty of murders in the last 1000 years - some I'm sure would be dismissed as justified killings ... Other deaths/murders are covered up to not cause panic and dissension amongst the people.

that's a great idea and if true should have come from the comic. it's sloppy and it bothers me.

I always thought that was implied in the book. Because, you know... Father is a bit scummy.

could be. i tend to gloss over implied meanings.

I often miss stuff too; you are not alone ilzuccone!

Me too. That's why the boards are interesting to read

I don't know if this is just me, but I got the impression whilst reading the comic that the raddie/positronic war was an ongoing thing? Wouldn't that mean that there are murders all the time that are just getting covered up, or aren't known about on the whole?

Really liked the look of Izak. Come to mention it, if he's constantly soaking up blood, where's it all coming from? Dead people that aren't getting acknowledged by the media?

I don't really mind that there are unanswered questions at the moment. I think it all adds to the intrigue of the book, and pragmatically thinking; I think Kindt does well to cram as much content into each issue as it is, I can cut him some slack on some of the finer mechanical intricacies

And if these 'loose ends' do end up taking 50 issues to tie up, well, that's 45 issues of Rai for me to enjoy between now and then!

Thought it was odd that Lulu's positron was female. I kinda thought that half the idea of having a positron was to... y'know... 'occupy yourself with' in order to counteract population control for those that aren't licensed to reproduce? I'm sure Lulu even hints at that in the sequence where she's given her positron.

[bygranddesign]

Thought it was odd that Lulu's positron was female. I kinda thought that half the idea of having a positron was to... y'know... 'occupy yourself with' in order to counteract population control for those that aren't licensed to reproduce? I'm sure Lulu even hints at that in the sequence where she's given her positron.

I think the possible implication is that Father determined that she would prefer a female life partner.

There are female's who ... y'know .. like to occupy themselves with other females....

[ilzuccone]

Thought it was odd that Lulu's positron was female. I kinda thought that half the idea of having a positron was to... y'know... 'occupy yourself with' in order to counteract population control for those that aren't licensed to reproduce? I'm sure Lulu even hints at that in the sequence where she's given her positron.

I think the possible implication is that Father determined that she would prefer a female life partner.

There are female's who ... y'know .. like to occupy themselves with other females....

I don't get it. Please expand on these thoughts.

[bygranddesign]

Thought it was odd that Lulu's positron was female. I kinda thought that half the idea of having a positron was to... y'know... 'occupy yourself with' in order to counteract population control for those that aren't licensed to reproduce? I'm sure Lulu even hints at that in the sequence where she's given her positron.

I think the possible implication is that Father determined that she would prefer a female life partner.

There are female's who ... y'know .. like to occupy themselves with other females....

I don't get it. Please expand on these thoughts.

i'll send you some educational videos ...

[ilzuccone]

Thought it was odd that Lulu's positron was female. I kinda thought that half the idea of having a positron was to... y'know... 'occupy yourself with' in order to counteract population control for those that aren't licensed to reproduce? I'm sure Lulu even hints at that in the sequence where she's given her positron.

I think the possible implication is that Father determined that she would prefer a female life partner.

There are female's who ... y'know .. like to occupy themselves with other females....

I don't get it. Please expand on these thoughts.

i'll send you some educational videos ...

[bygranddesign]

[Shadowman99]

Hahahaha!

[cray_ws]

Just read Rai #1-5 and I am just blown away. There doesn't have to be said too much about Crain's style. It's pure eye candy and a total pleasure to see in a Valiant title. However as much as I loved his artwork, I think he needs abit help in the transition scenes. I've already read commentary from other threads that talk about how the book jumps around a lot. I don't think that's scripting problem, but rather poor layouts for particular action scenes. So unless Kindt is doing thumbnail scripts to how he wants the scenes laid out, I think it's all Crain's doing. I really hate to criticize his work, because it's gorgeous.

I have never read any of previous incarnations of Rai, so I don't know how much is the same. Regardless, I have to say this has been awe-inspiring take because the leap we as readers are forced to take with the world of Japan in 4001. To the person who suggested that Lula Lee is a Geomancer...ding ding ding! Yeah I got that same feeling the minute she started explaining Rai about the secret gaps and her maps. I suspect the gender of Lula's PT is deliberate by Father, as I suspect he wants to her as a spy. Spylocke is a visually awesome designed character, I love the mix of mandarin jumpsuit with the colonial flintlock pistols.

I am little unsure about how quickly the alliance of Silk, Spylocke and this Toshiro came about. It happen all too quickly and with little to no resistance by any of the players. I can't imagine a mob-like character (Toshiro) meeting up with a mercenary (Spylocke), madman (Silk), and the hellbent symbol of Japan (Rai) without any protection. I don't think there was enough skepticism shown despite the conversation that Silk and Toshiro had about Rai. But my complaint is minor as the book seems to be moving along fairly quickly and we are forced to make up our minds quickly before the next subplot.

I don't know what to expect from Momo, but I do like the way she and Lula are developing. I would like to see a page focus on both Toshiro and Spylocke respectively. I'm secretly hoping that Momo is a love interest for Rai, as I think it would help humanize him and create a greater rift between himself and Father's agenda.

This Izak character sounds great, but I think Kindt is really piling it on and needs to be careful of not forcing too many different scenes as I think that's where Crain's artwork is having the most problems. Too much transitions in so little space to tell a story.