Friday, February 20, 2015

Fandom Friday: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson


Wizards and Demigods
Hello there!  Let's switch gears this week from comic book craziness to the wonderful world of books.  When I think about what books I love, the list goes on and on and on and on; but two series stand out above the rest because I am a deeply rooted fangirl to these series.  These two universes include the wonderful wizard-filled world J.K. Rowling created with her Harry Potter series and the godly world Rick Riordan penned with both his Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus series.   Don't think you can weasel a favorite out of me this time, I love both of these fandoms equally and for different reasons, so in my eyes they are on the same level.  I have been in the Percy Jackson fandom longer, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER THAN HARRY POTTER!!! Sorry...feels.

Harry Potter... Always
So I'm going to be honest here, I didn't read the books until my second year of college.  Now don't judge me for my poor reading taste or question whether I had been living under a rock for most of my life, I had seen the movies but I missed my train to Hogwarts when the rest of the world was jumping on board.  I was fine with being only familiar with the movies for a long time.  To be honest, I don't think I could have appreciated the books as much as I did when I first read them if I read them when I was younger.  I understand and really admire all the magical details that went into making this wonderful series and I tore through all seven books in less than two weeks.

Now that I have seriously nerded out, time to talk about what I love about this fandom:
1. It's magical! Pun intended here; but seriously, it is absolutely fascinating to have such a detailed and interesting world for me to love and imagine.  And for those of you who are also Potterheads, yes I have taken the Pottermore quiz, but I have gotten different results from it.  The last time I took it,  I was sorted into Ravenclaw."Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure." J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2. Great Characters! Pretty much every important character was well-rounded and complex = the best characters to read! Even though Harry was the main character and the chosen one, he was not my favorite and that was ok because he was still interesting to read and follow.  I loved so many characters I don't think I could actually pinpoint a favorite, but Hermione was like awesome all the time in my eyes so she is definitely near the top of my list. 
DON'T FORGET MY SHIPS!!! Ron & Hermione and Harry & Ginny - I gotta stick with the source material, I loved how she wrote their relationships!
3. Life Lessons and Amazing Quotes! This is pretty self-explanatory, but one thing I love about the books that didn't really translate as beautifully into the move were the life lessons J.K. Rowling managed to tuck into her books.  She taught her readers the importance of equality, individuality, acceptance, and many more important lessons that people need to remember in order to be a better and well-rounded person.  You can find Harry Potter quotes almost anywhere...seriously...just Google it and hundreds of pages will pop up. 

But the best part of all about being in this fandom is all the inside jokes and fan made projects that have stemmed from this phenomena.  Shout out to all the artists who draw amazing fan art and all the writers who create some wicked fanfiction!  Gotta few hours to kill? Youtube A Very Potter Musical for a hilarious musical satire of the series, book and movie.  Best of all is the Potter Puppet Pals, it will NEVER get old! I love it!
 

Percy Jackson... Oh Gods
Please stay with me people! I'm only half way done, but you should keep reading!  You ready?  Good, let's  do this!  I first picked up The Lightning Thief when I was in 8th grade and I found myself sucked into a world I so desperately wanted to be a part of.  I am a nerd (obviously) and since I was about 10, I have had a weird obsession with Greek mythology.  I loved the Disney movie Hercules (though I know now how terribly inaccurate it is, but the music is awesome!) and I had read a few books that involved the Greek gods in the 21st century.  But this book was different.  It was easy to read, contained my sense of humor of sass, sarcasm, and puns, and portrayed the Greek gods so accurately and seamlessly into our modern world; I was hooked.  And when the original series was over and I was mourning over the loss of reading about my favorite demigods, Rick Riordan came out with a sister series that included Roman mythology.  THANK THE GODS!!  Now my adventures with Percy are done for good (I guess?) and that knowledge makes me feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest!
Percy by Viria

Why Percy Jackson is AWESOME! 
1. AWESOME CHARACTERS! I don't even know where to start with this one, I love all of the characters so much and I think because they just seem so...real.  And I can really relate to them.  Gods, Percy is a kid with ADHD and dyslexia and is branded as the troublemaker in school, but he is also loyal, funny, and smart in his own way and that is what makes him so fun to read! All of the characters, including the gods and the monsters, are written in such a way that makes you empathize with them.  And if you haven't figured it out yet, Percy is my favorite character!!! 
AND NOW FOR MY SHIPS!!!!! I ship all the cute couples: Frazel, Jasper, Caleo, and SOLANGELO...but my OTP and one of my OTP's I put above any other ship in all of my fandoms is...PERCABETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. AWESOME STORYTELLING! Rick Riordan has found a way to incorporate the ancient Greek myths into the 21st century in such a believable and cool way, you are pretty much convinced everything in the books is totally non-fiction!  The gods moving to the most powerful western location as the times change, and Mount Olympus is the 600th floor of the Empire State Building? GENIUS!  Also, since the characters and the age group these books are written for is a bit on the young side (don't judge me) it is a fun and easy reading experience.  There are no stupid love triangles that get in the way of everything, its a lot of monster butt-kicking action with a side of sass!  And by side, I mean A TON of sass!  Seriously,  it's great!!
3. AWESOME GREEK/ROMAN STUFF! Like I said earlier, I have a weird obsession with Greek mythology.  I mean, I know my gods and my myths-this is a fact!  When I found this book series, I was nervous because most modern adaptions of the ancient myths tend to fudge with the details, I really don't like when that happens.  But Rick Riordan does his homework ladies and gentlemen and his mythology is accurate! This really makes the nerdy part of me really happy, and I even learned about myths and monsters I had no previous knowledge on!  So I learned new mythology disguised in the form of a funny, entertaining book...I approve!
Major Characters in Heroes of Olympus series. Art by Viria.

Anyways, this fandom has its own dam jokes (I put an inside joke inside of the sentence explaining the fandom had inside jokes...jokeception!) and is full of mind blowing fan art and fanfiction.  Some of you may have noticed, but I didn't mention the Percy Jackson movies...there were no Percy Jackson movies.  No, really the moves were so horrific and even Rick Riordan hates them, so if you have only seen the movies 1. I'm so sorry and 2. Please read the books, they are 100000000000000 times better!

I promise I'm done ranting now.  I apologize for the long post, but I have a lot of feels when it comes to these two book series and I just love them so much!! So are you in either of these fandoms?  Would you rather be a wizard or a demigod?  Hogwarts or Camp Half Blood/Camp Jupiter?  I mentioned I have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but at Camp Half Blood, I would be in the Apollo cabin because I love poetry and archery.  Comment down below and I will see ya next Friday!

5 comments:

  1. I love that you wrote about both of these book series! I have loved Harry Potter since I read it in junior high, and it will always be one of my all time favorites. I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts letter, and I'm 20 years old. I have yet to be sorted on Pottermore, but I would suspect I would be a Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. I have read the Percy Jackson series, and I enjoyed them, but they didn't have the same impact on me as Harry Potter did.

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  2. I'd have to say that Harry Potter just narrowly edges out Percy Jackson by a hair. I second your recommendation for A Very Potter Musical, it is hilarious! Pottermore sorted me into Hufflepuff and I tend to agree with them. I'm really looking forward to Rick Riordan's next series about Norse gods and can't wait to see where he goes with it. But first I should finish the last two books of the Heroes of Olympus series. I think subconsciously, I don't want to face the end.

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  3. As a Harry Potter "geek" since day one, I can't help but remain loyal to Harry Potter. You know we Gryffindors are loyal to the end.

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  4. These two series have changed the face of fiction forever. Although I see Harry Potter as much more influential in the fantasy world, impacting millions across the world with a story that has simply come to life, Riordan extracts loyalty from his readers. As I was reading both series, I found myself laughing at the pranks of the Weasley twins and the childlike nature of Tyson; I found myself crying at the deaths of Dobby and as I read the last pages of my demigod adventure; I found myself falling in love with the long awaited romance of Ron and Hermione, Percy and Annabelle. Both series contain different themes, both of which have enveloped generations of readers and followers, who readily enter the adventures of both.

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  5. I have actually never read Harry Potter, as I refused to reform as a kid whenever it became so popular and haven't read them yet. I plan to however before I begin teaching.

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