Opinion Piece- Should Fight Club 2 exist?
I don't usually talk about books on my blog but being basically the definitive Fight Club worship spot and I had a lot I wanted to talk about after reading it. So this will seem obvious but spoiler alert for Fight Club 2, the graphic novel, and prepare to talk about a really weird book and whether it should exist.
The first thing to consider when asking if Fight Club 2 should exist is the story and what it adds to the existing Fight Club story. To clarify, it carries on from the novel which ends differently to the film although at the end of the novel, it rewrites the ending in a way that makes sense. The novel Fight Club ends similarly with the narrator shooting himself but the new ending explains that this bit was a battle in the narrator's head, not actually real. It sounds like a cop out but is actually quite powerful on paper and explains why a bullet to the head didn't actually kill the main character, a huge problem many have with the ending.
The main story of the graphic novel is obviously very important here. Many felt we really didn't need to follow up on the story of the main character from Fight Club (I will call him Jack for ease here), myself included but I was pleasantly surprised. It starts a bit cliched with the narrator's son basically repeating some of the most famous lines from the film in slightly new ways and Marla returning to support groups but with the return of Tyler Durden, the narrative ramps up. It follows a couple of similar beats in that Tyler is trying to destroy civilization and Jack needs to take him down although Jack knows exactly who Tyler is this time and so do most of the characters. It creates an entirely different dynamic and it has been changed as well because of the events of the first novel. It plays around with narrative but in a way that is so Palahnuik (author of the original and this one) that it feels very Fight Club. Personally, it's kind of a more interesting story than the original, if perhaps not as airtight and it kind of makes me wish we could get another film based on this novel.
That isn't going to happen though as Fight Club 2 really makes use of being a graphic novel, it's not just a cheap cash in trying to attract people with a daring new method. The method is new, the method is daring but they try and do some very interesting stuff with the format. First off, the actual art in this novel is stunning. The characters obviously had to change from how they look in the film for copyright reasons but Tyler Durden as a long haired, Jesus-esque dude figure really fit. You can also see from the covers on this page that the novel really distinguished itself visually and basically looks terrific all the time. Palahnuik has a very distinctive way of describing scenes in his regular novels and this artwork actually manages to capture the bizarre world that he creates. As a final point here, there are occasionally pills and other items "spilled" over the page and leaving much of the art and dialogue up to interpretation.
Probably the biggest reason that this graphic novel deserves to exist is how damn ballsy it is. This is a really weird novel and I think it peaks with the entry of Chuck Palahnuik into the narrative. It jumps back to him occasionally as he tries to work out how to end the novel. At one point, he gives Jack a sort of narrative get out of jail free card to use so he can call Chuck up when he's in a tricky situation and he'll just write him out of it. It sounds pretentious but it actually works. Plus, it doesn't get much ballsier than dedicating the final chapter of the novel to having your audience complain about the ending and change it themselves and then have Tyler Durden murder you, representing the impact of Fight Club on Palahnuik's life and actually making us question whether Fight Club succeeding was the best thing for him. It's a very meta moment as we go into the novel wondering how he'll go on from Fight Club and he doesn't know either so we get a very literal representation of Tyler being the death of Chuck. I know it's pretentious and very wanky but it just works, even without over analysis.
Fight Club 2 is weird when it comes to recommendations. I want to recommend it but not as many people read the original book as saw the film, not many people get Palahnuik's writing and not everyone sees the potential of graphic novels as a serious art form. If this was a venn diagram, you're looking at a very small crossover. This said, Fight Club 2 defintiely deserves to exist. It pushes both Palahnuik and the graphic novel format in new and exciting ways and develops a narrative that many didn't feel needed addition into another gripping story that is well worth the price of admission. If nothing else, it's a very pretty novel to own, especially in hardback and that's why it's great.
The first thing to consider when asking if Fight Club 2 should exist is the story and what it adds to the existing Fight Club story. To clarify, it carries on from the novel which ends differently to the film although at the end of the novel, it rewrites the ending in a way that makes sense. The novel Fight Club ends similarly with the narrator shooting himself but the new ending explains that this bit was a battle in the narrator's head, not actually real. It sounds like a cop out but is actually quite powerful on paper and explains why a bullet to the head didn't actually kill the main character, a huge problem many have with the ending.
The main story of the graphic novel is obviously very important here. Many felt we really didn't need to follow up on the story of the main character from Fight Club (I will call him Jack for ease here), myself included but I was pleasantly surprised. It starts a bit cliched with the narrator's son basically repeating some of the most famous lines from the film in slightly new ways and Marla returning to support groups but with the return of Tyler Durden, the narrative ramps up. It follows a couple of similar beats in that Tyler is trying to destroy civilization and Jack needs to take him down although Jack knows exactly who Tyler is this time and so do most of the characters. It creates an entirely different dynamic and it has been changed as well because of the events of the first novel. It plays around with narrative but in a way that is so Palahnuik (author of the original and this one) that it feels very Fight Club. Personally, it's kind of a more interesting story than the original, if perhaps not as airtight and it kind of makes me wish we could get another film based on this novel.
That isn't going to happen though as Fight Club 2 really makes use of being a graphic novel, it's not just a cheap cash in trying to attract people with a daring new method. The method is new, the method is daring but they try and do some very interesting stuff with the format. First off, the actual art in this novel is stunning. The characters obviously had to change from how they look in the film for copyright reasons but Tyler Durden as a long haired, Jesus-esque dude figure really fit. You can also see from the covers on this page that the novel really distinguished itself visually and basically looks terrific all the time. Palahnuik has a very distinctive way of describing scenes in his regular novels and this artwork actually manages to capture the bizarre world that he creates. As a final point here, there are occasionally pills and other items "spilled" over the page and leaving much of the art and dialogue up to interpretation.
Probably the biggest reason that this graphic novel deserves to exist is how damn ballsy it is. This is a really weird novel and I think it peaks with the entry of Chuck Palahnuik into the narrative. It jumps back to him occasionally as he tries to work out how to end the novel. At one point, he gives Jack a sort of narrative get out of jail free card to use so he can call Chuck up when he's in a tricky situation and he'll just write him out of it. It sounds pretentious but it actually works. Plus, it doesn't get much ballsier than dedicating the final chapter of the novel to having your audience complain about the ending and change it themselves and then have Tyler Durden murder you, representing the impact of Fight Club on Palahnuik's life and actually making us question whether Fight Club succeeding was the best thing for him. It's a very meta moment as we go into the novel wondering how he'll go on from Fight Club and he doesn't know either so we get a very literal representation of Tyler being the death of Chuck. I know it's pretentious and very wanky but it just works, even without over analysis.
Fight Club 2 is weird when it comes to recommendations. I want to recommend it but not as many people read the original book as saw the film, not many people get Palahnuik's writing and not everyone sees the potential of graphic novels as a serious art form. If this was a venn diagram, you're looking at a very small crossover. This said, Fight Club 2 defintiely deserves to exist. It pushes both Palahnuik and the graphic novel format in new and exciting ways and develops a narrative that many didn't feel needed addition into another gripping story that is well worth the price of admission. If nothing else, it's a very pretty novel to own, especially in hardback and that's why it's great.
Comments
Post a Comment