TLIAPOD: No Conclusion

Good chapter, Antony Horowitz works rather well. Maybe because he does similar jumping between genre, styles and tone constantly throughout his career.

Quick Question would there anything similar to Patlabor in this universe? It has similar mix of comedy and light drama that many British TV shows and books have. I could see it working as a bunch of bumbling British cops go about there day and fight inside a mecha. Since the show came out in the 80s I could see it analogue using the show as an opportunity to saterise about Thatcherism, the troubles etc.


Oh boy do I feel lucky.

He did have plenty of stories to choose from, so it was a bit hard to go for one particular one. A mesh between them seemed best.

Hard to say as I don't think Mecha, as such, would really exist in fantastink as we know it. The medium was rooted in Fantasy, not Sci-Fi and further extends to a more realistic tone thanks to the authors of the 50's and 60's. There would certainly be plenty of fatastink taking a dig at Thatcher and the political scene of the 80's, but it matching stuff like Patlabor would be tricky.
 
Ben Aaronovitch

Horror For a New Generation



latest



"This is your brain on magic."



The rise of fantastink to a cultural institution was cemented long before Ben Aaronvitch put pen to paper. Many genres had been created, explored, deconstructed and then rebuilt once more. There was one genre that had gone overlooked by many though, controversy surrounding it due to a rash of cheap, violent publications in the 1960's had made it hard to sell. The horror story catered towards the adult market.



Stories for adults in fantastink had seen many different genres being tried. The moral panic over new, violent stories being published in the 1960's had led to some self-censorship from an industry that was then still establishing itself as a cornerstone of British culture. The rise of Douglas Adams' work in the 1970's brought in humour to other genres and most horror was of a satirical bent. Straight up horror, beyond adaptations of works such as Dracula were rather few and far between. Adult fantastink was more concerned with romance or mature fantasy for much of the medium's creation and earlier decades.



Enter Ben Aaronvitch. He had grown up reading many of the more famous and obscure fantastink works out there before getting his first job in animation, working for Studio Mausam in the late 80's. It was here that Aaronvitch gained experience in the industry, working on numerous movies and TV shows as he built up a respectable CV. It would be until the late 2000's that he would look into his own fatastink, finally publishing it in 2011 in the adult orientated Greater Tales.



Rivers of London followed Peter Grant, an officer of the Metropolitan Police assigned to a part of the Special Task Force that deals with magic and the undead, in particular, the threat known as Ghouls. Beings that fed on human flesh while being able to maintain a human facade, Ghouls were among many other threats that Grant had to deal with while also dealing with the regular, hum-drum life as a black police officer in London.



While tinted with humour throughout, Rivers of London had horror front and centre as Peter Grant investigated crimes involving the Ghouls and other creatures of the night. Each case was nightmarish, disturbing and featured gruesome crimes. The attacks by the Ghouls especially were often treated to double page splash art, featuring the aftermath of their feeding frenzies. As sensationalist as these scenes were, they were helped by the core of the fantastink having a well told story with gripping plots to bring in the readers.



Aaronovitch's art played into the general feel of the fantastink, emphasising the dark and the use of facial expressions to add to the unsettling nature of numerous scenes. The expressions in particular gained their own level of infamy due to their horrified looks looking as scary as some of the more violent scenes, in some people's eyes. Added to the situations of the crimes, many found it difficult to get through some chapters.



Grim, gritty and violent, Rivers of London never really went into sheer apathy mode due to the humour and warmth of the characters. Added to that was the fact that the cases tended to get a satisfying ending, giving a pay off to the horror that might not have been happy, but at least enough to give way to hopelessness. Even some of the cases Grant took allowed for some satire on modern day policing and how they're viewed with even the Ghouls offering the off comment about Grant's profession that could get readers to smile.



Bringing horror back to the fore for the first time in a many years caused a sensation when Rivers of London was first published. Although controversial, society had changed enough not to shut down the genre as it had fifty years previously. Instead, the fantastink became a hit among the adult population and some teens as well. Its fame and infamy was well known throughout the nation as it became the most popular fantastink for adults in years.



This soon opened the door for other horror stories to be brought into fantastink. Many followed the cue set by Aaronovitch with violence and bloody horror, managing to miss the intelligence and human element that had made Rivers of London so popular. Others did a good job to capture those elements, giving horror a welcome return to the mainstream. The popularity of the genre absent of satire or outright humour exploded over the years with Aaronovitch leading the fray, Rivers of London staying as a mainstream hit for years to come.



Fantastink had grown and changed greatly over the years. From its beginnings as an experiment by Tolkien, to leading to the animation of Pratchett, it had sent British popular culture to new popularity overseas and formed an artistic output for thousands or British people. It still goes from strength to strength as it continues to the future, authors and artists alike exploring what might yet be done with the medium.
 
Very nice set of updates.

I wonder if in this world we still get Harry Potter? Would take much to butterfly Rowling, and her boy Wizard, not least of which is the strong youth-young adult Fantastink market of Horowitz and co.

Would Ben Aaronovitch adapt Rivers for animation too?

Hoping there is the possibility for more!
 
Very nice set of updates.

I wonder if in this world we still get Harry Potter? Would take much to butterfly Rowling, and her boy Wizard, not least of which is the strong youth-young adult Fantastink market of Horowitz and co.

Would Ben Aaronovitch adapt Rivers for animation too?

Hoping there is the possibility for more!

Glad you liked. Certainly possible there'd be something with Potter, but if Rowling's poverty is still in effect, they'd most likely still be books as they're cheaper to write.

I could see Aaronovitch doing that, especially with his Studio Mausam contacts.

Hard to say really. Could expand more on the author's most famous works in some ways and a few other thoughts here and there.
 
Nice update, Ben Aaronovitch is a good fit for horror, fantasy etc. And the River of London series work really well (fun fact I actually met him at a book signing,nice guy)

I like the remark about horror censorship. I can see people like Pat Mills, Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman trying to revive it in the 80s (similar to what happened in real life).

Also I have a few ideas knocking about (particularly one that essentially Patlabor but with Labors replaced by Magic).
 
Nice update, Ben Aaronovitch is a good fit for horror, fantasy etc. And the River of London series work really well (fun fact I actually met him at a book signing,nice guy)

I like the remark about horror censorship. I can see people like Pat Mills, Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman trying to revive it in the 80s (similar to what happened in real life).

Also I have a few ideas knocking about (particularly one that essentially Patlabor but with Labors replaced by Magic).

Yeah, it's a good, grounded series and easy to tie in with Tokyo Ghoul. Was originally going to have Robin Jarvis, but Aaronovitch worked better.

... Bugger, could have had Clive Barker as a Junji Ito equivalent there. Forgot he was English. Most likely would have been an attempt to revive horro during that time period as you say, but it would have been an underground sensation sort of thing that didn't quite break into the mainstream.

Oh? Do tell.
 
Oh? Do tell.
So Patlabor takes a element of Japanese Anime/Manga culture (the mecha to be exact) and making it mundane as both the various construction companies use it to construct various buildings and a wall to stop Tokyo flooding and the Police use it to essentially use the mecha to police other mecha (alongside the usual army based ones). So replace the mecha with a fantasy trope in this case Magic and make it as mundane as possible (so magic is basic to do and requires you to practice and gain a licence like being a fork lift operator, most magic is more like physic powers conjured through arcane words and hand movements and wands are at most magical batteries like Rivers of London).

It would be set in the near future after global warming has caused sections of London to flood and has caused the return of magic (no one really knows how but some believe it may be related to King Arthur) which various companies have decided to use as a way to speed up construction of London and Britain in general. But people are using magic for nefarious reasons ranging from Gangsters, Corrupt companies, radicals (pagans, environmentalists, nationalists) and the IRA forcing the Metropolitan Police to create it's unit of Magic users to combat it leading to PolMages (because I couldn't think of any other name for them). It would follow a young police officer Noelle whose obsessed with magic (inspired by reading fantasink books) as she joins the 2nd Unit of them PolMage's which is full of a eccentric characters as they fight crime... occasionally as most of the time they spend sorting out there base, dealing with boredom and generally acting a collection of British sitcom characters.

The fantastink books and TV show would combine elements of British cop shows (Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars,The Bill, Juliet Bravo, The Gentle Touch etc.) and British Sitcoms (Dad's Army, Yes Minister, Only Fools and Horses, Young Ones etc.). If there were films they would probably be darker taking inspiration from British Conspiracies thrillers (A Very British Coup, Edge of Darkness, GBH) and being more action packed and artistic. Would be made in the late 1980s and the early 1990s and would be rather critical of Thatcher & Major Governments and the various policies of the time (although Labour and the Alliance wouldn't be portrayed any better). I have few ideas for writers/directors of it (Alan Bleasdale, Alan Clarke, Danny Boyle, Neil Gaiman) but nothing concrete, the main problem is finding a Mamoru Oshii parallel (so one that could different Terry Pratchett animation wise but still be friends with them). Is that alright?
 
So Patlabor takes a element of Japanese Anime/Manga culture (the mecha to be exact) and making it mundane as both the various construction companies use it to construct various buildings and a wall to stop Tokyo flooding and the Police use it to essentially use the mecha to police other mecha (alongside the usual army based ones). So replace the mecha with a fantasy trope in this case Magic and make it as mundane as possible (so magic is basic to do and requires you to practice and gain a licence like being a fork lift operator, most magic is more like physic powers conjured through arcane words and hand movements and wands are at most magical batteries like Rivers of London).

It would be set in the near future after global warming has caused sections of London to flood and has caused the return of magic (no one really knows how but some believe it may be related to King Arthur) which various companies have decided to use as a way to speed up construction of London and Britain in general. But people are using magic for nefarious reasons ranging from Gangsters, Corrupt companies, radicals (pagans, environmentalists, nationalists) and the IRA forcing the Metropolitan Police to create it's unit of Magic users to combat it leading to PolMages (because I couldn't think of any other name for them). It would follow a young police officer Noelle whose obsessed with magic (inspired by reading fantasink books) as she joins the 2nd Unit of them PolMage's which is full of a eccentric characters as they fight crime... occasionally as most of the time they spend sorting out there base, dealing with boredom and generally acting a collection of British sitcom characters.

The fantastink books and TV show would combine elements of British cop shows (Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars,The Bill, Juliet Bravo, The Gentle Touch etc.) and British Sitcoms (Dad's Army, Yes Minister, Only Fools and Horses, Young Ones etc.). If there were films they would probably be darker taking inspiration from British Conspiracies thrillers (A Very British Coup, Edge of Darkness, GBH) and being more action packed and artistic. Would be made in the late 1980s and the early 1990s and would be rather critical of Thatcher & Major Governments and the various policies of the time (although Labour and the Alliance wouldn't be portrayed any better). I have few ideas for writers/directors of it (Alan Bleasdale, Alan Clarke, Danny Boyle, Neil Gaiman) but nothing concrete, the main problem is finding a Mamoru Oshii parallel (so one that could different Terry Pratchett animation wise but still be friends with them). Is that alright?

That's a really good concept indeed and would fit in well with this British take on manga. Some really good sources to use for inspiration to it all and takes the original concept and meshes it with its British setting very well. Certainly rife for satire with its premise as you say and could work really well.

In truth, I suppose there is more that could be done to flesh out this timeline, but it was only meant for the updates shown. Getting more ideas behind the concept could be a fun exercise.
 
That's a really good concept indeed and would fit in well with this British take on manga. Some really good sources to use for inspiration to it all and takes the original concept and meshes it with its British setting very well. Certainly rife for satire with its premise as you say and could work really well.

In truth, I suppose there is more that could be done to flesh out this timeline, but it was only meant for the updates shown. Getting more ideas behind the concept could be a fun exercise.
Thanks for the feedback (I was worried you wouldn't like it), I'm surprised by how well the Patlabor series could be modified to fit British culture without sacrificing what makes it Patlabor. Also do whatever you want it's your timeline I just thought I could add this here because I thought it was interesting.
 
Thanks for the feedback (I was worried you wouldn't like it), I'm surprised by how well the Patlabor series could be modified to fit British culture without sacrificing what makes it Patlabor. Also do whatever you want it's your timeline I just thought I could add this here because I thought it was interesting.

It was interesting to look at and how other manga could be looked at through a British lens. Not sure if I'll do anything else with this, but could thin about it at some point.
 
@DAv, can you tell me an example of any fantastink-esque work made in USA? In OTL, we had RWBY by Monty Oum, which was anime-based.

Aelfred, Legend of The North was a very successful mid-2000's cartoon based off the Magical Child genre and incorporated Saxon mythology. It told the story of Aelfred, a young boy who was the last of his tribe, and his friends as they struggled to unite the petty kingdoms against the threat of the Northern Empire. Along the way, Aelfred had to learn how to master the skills linked to his sword and deal with the wavering Prince Guthrum as he struggles to find his destiny as King.
 
Aelfred, Legend of The North was a very successful mid-2000's cartoon based off the Magical Child genre and incorporated Saxon mythology. It told the story of Aelfred, a young boy who was the last of his tribe, and his friends as they struggled to unite the petty kingdoms against the threat of the Northern Empire. Along the way, Aelfred had to learn how to master the skills linked to his sword and deal with the wavering Prince Guthrum as he struggles to find his destiny as King.
Thanks. Btw.. I wonder ITTL's RWBY will look like..
 
Aelfred, Legend of The North was a very successful mid-2000's cartoon based off the Magical Child genre and incorporated Saxon mythology. It told the story of Aelfred, a young boy who was the last of his tribe, and his friends as they struggled to unite the petty kingdoms against the threat of the Northern Empire. Along the way, Aelfred had to learn how to master the skills linked to his sword and deal with the wavering Prince Guthrum as he struggles to find his destiny as King.

Was there a followup about his granddaughter Cwenthryth?
 
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