"Glory: the Complete Saga" - Is is a ripoff of BTVS?

Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers

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So I saw this review this morning:

This Week in Comics: 'Glory: the Complete Saga' review
By Patricia Streeter

Author Rating: 3.0 Stars - It's Good

Thule was a divided realm united by Lord Silverfall and Lady Demeter. Lady Demeter gave birth to Gloriana Demeter. For 5oo years, Gloriana trained to rule and prevent another war. Gloriana defiantly leaves Thule to help the Earth, but there is a catch. Similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5, Gloriana had to share waitress Gloria West's body. At least she didn't reside in a man's body. Gloria learned to accept their fusion and thrived in the goddesses form. Eventually, Glory stops taking control. Gloria is not sure why and starts searching for Glory. Gloria is not the only one looking for her.

At the age of seven, Riley Barnes dreams of a heroine named Glory. When she becomes a young adult, the new dreams stop and a cycle of old adventure play in her mind. To deal with the confusion, she decides to find out what happened to the superhero for a journalism project. Riley's investigation brings her to Mount St. Micheal. Here she meets Gloria and her battered hero Glory. A war is coming and Riley recruits into Glory's army. Who is the hero, who is the villain? These lines are blurring. Riley has a difficult time separating her devastating future from the present. She can see how her present choices brought her future. She knows how this war will end. Can she really stop fate?

Glory: The Complete Saga was written by Joseph Keatinge, illustrated by Ross Campbell, and published by Image Comics. It was released July 1, 2014. Similar to Marvel's Thor, the comic book takes place in different realms. Glory is not immortal, but dying of old age seems unlikely. Glory also plays a significant role in world history. Similar to Superboy, She is capable of going from hero to Weapon of Destruction. Glory's monstrous form contradicts the symbol of peace. Everyone is her foe. To her, no one is on her side. She can't control herself.

Overall, the saga kept me on my toes. Up to the last chapter, I was surprised and confused. Part of this comes from Glory's timeline. There is a difference between reading a saga one issue at a time and reading the entire collection in a hardcover book. You'll notice inconsistencies in the plot. At times, events and people are scattered. The transition from past, present and future is harsh and comes without warning. If you look at the saga logically, you will wonder how Glory could take control of Gloria West body. She came to earth in the 1910s. Gloria West doesn't look that old. Based on the illustration, she would probably be in her late 20s. Also, Glory's appearance changes drastically. She can be massive like a body builder, as well as, frail and thin. She still has her imposing height, but her face and hair change dramatically too. In addition, most of the heroes in this saga remind me of Marvel's X-Men and DC Comic's Justice League. It is probably an unfair comparison, but the resemblance is there. In the end, I enjoyed the saga. It is 352 pages. So, it is not a quick read. If you get consumed by the books you read, you should make sure you do not have anything important to do. You'll have a hard time pulling yourself away from it.

Source: The Celebrity Cafe

Now, even the reviewer can see the similarities here...

1.) Is it a ripoff?

2.) Is anything wrong with that?

3.) Has anyone read this comic and can tell us if it's good or not?

🙂
 
As I understand it, the character Glory was created in 1993 and was a ripoff of Wonder Woman. But she has since been taken over by more competent writers and turned into a popular character.

I haven't read it. Can't really tell whether the idea of "a character named Glory who shares somebody else's body" was a deliberate Buffy reference, but the character herself pre-dates Clare Kramer's Glory.
 
Judging by the brief summary (which is not much to go on), seems more like they are drawing inspiration or referencing BtVS, but are not plagiarizing it either. I would have to read it to really be able to tell, but honestly I don't have much of an interest in this comic. Seems a bit odd though that they would choose the names Riley and Glory and have Glory share a body, but again that might be where the similarities stop.

It's like many people say that Hunger Games is a rip off of Battle Royal, when in fact they are very different even if they share some similar ideas.
 
AnthonyCordova
AnthonyCordova
the Hunger Games/Battle Royal analogy is a good one.
AndrewCrossett said:
As I understand it, the character Glory was created in 1993 and was a ripoff of Wonder Woman. But she has since been taken over by more competent writers and turned into a popular character.

I haven't read it. Can't really tell whether the idea of "a character named Glory who shares somebody else's body" was a deliberate Buffy reference, but the character herself pre-dates Clare Kramer's Glory.
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Thanks for the info 🙂 That solves that then 🙂

So, let's turn it around: did Joss rip this off? lol
 
Buffy Summers said:
Thanks for the info 🙂 That solves that then 🙂

So, let's turn it around: did Joss rip this off? lol
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The body-sharing idea seems to have originated in 1999 when Alan Moore took over the character. So I guess it's possible... though it would really be only that narrow idea that Joss "borrowed" (if he did). This Glory doesn't seem to have any resemblance to our friend Glorificus. She is a hero, not a villain, and you wouldn't catch her strutting around in $1,000 shoes.
 
AndrewCrossett said:
The body-sharing idea seems to have originated in 1999 when Alan Moore took over the character. So I guess it's possible... though it would really be only that narrow idea that Joss "borrowed" (if he did). This Glory doesn't seem to have any resemblance to our friend Glorificus. She is a hero, not a villain, and you wouldn't catch her strutting around in $1,000 shoes.
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The body sharing idea was around a long time before Marvel ever decided to use it. Remember "Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde?" And Robert Louis Stevenson almost certainly got the idea from something that he had read or heard about before, pretty much the same as all of the other elements of the story.

The idea of gods, or other supernatural beings passing themselves off as humans exists in just about every culture, present and past, on the planet, as does the idea of prophetic dreams or some sort of "soul guide" who guides young children to study and develop in certain specific ways in order to fulfill some future prophecy or become someone's champion.

Certainly, it's possible that Ms Streeter totally or in part ripped off Joss Whedon's story line and character, but it's also quite possible that both writers simply got their inspiration, separately, from similar sources.
 
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