The Cast of Les Miserables (Musical Edition!)

Yeah, it's not a comic, and consequently, is not funny. :(
Oh well. These versions of the characters are based on my original mental images of the characters, which were in turn based on the 10th Anniversary. So if they appear in comics, it's probably for jokes that only make sense in the context of the musical.
There. Over-explained. :D

Jean Valjean: Looks like Off-Duty Santa Claus! :D
Javert: With his giant sideburns, top hat, and threatening club thing.
Fantine: I kind of like how her clothes came out. More specifically, the sleeves. I try to go as accurate as possible with the costumes, and last time I checked, Fantine usually has sleeves kind of like that. Huzzah!
Little Cosette: Her hat looks a bit too much like a mushroom cap. Sort of like one of the Mushroom Heartless from Kingdom Hearts. Hey, I should draw some of those! ^_^
Thenardier: I don't particularly like the character, but I'm very pleased with this chibi. You probably can't tell from the picture, but I think I got the apron and the jacket right.
Thenardiess: Oi... what do you think of the hair mountain? XD
Cosette: For some reason, I decided to cop out of being 'accurate' for this chibi. I know her outfit is black and white, but for some reason, I thought that purple really popped.
Marius: He's got a rockin' pile 'o hair.
Eponine: In her little barricade disguise. Except that her hair's down. So maybe this is from On My Own?
Gavroche: "PACKERS!!! WHOOOOOOO!!!"
Enjolras: Wearing that... interesting vest. Did he lose a bet or something? Anyways... Wonder what's got him so fried.

Well then, there we have it. I should put up the Book Cast soon.
Cheers!
-Xochitl

Guest Post by My Sister

Hi! Welcome to my monthly guest post! [This angry red font, by the way, is Xochitl. My sister wanted to do a guest post on here, so I figured I'd let her. XD So long as she doesn't do anything reputation-wrecking... She's just a kid, so be forgiving if her observations are less than professional.] I'm doing a Dream Cast for Les Miserables, because there aren't any recordings that are 'perfect'. It'll probably make at least one of you mad, but I sure hope it doesn't! :)
[Tactful, Sis... Very, very, tactful...]
Let's begin!

Jean Valjean

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean

I think he made a really good Jean Valjean. He was really sweet with Cosette, and his acting was good. Sometimes his voice got shrimpy, but besides that I thought he was really good.

[Can I just say how much this picture cracks me up? I mean, I bet Marius is off-camera all like "Ahhh! I didn't mean to fall in love with your daughter, don't shoot!"]

 

Javert

Philip Quast as Javert

His voice is really snarly, and in the confrontation he sounds really disgusted with Jean Valjean. His singing voice is really awesome, and Stars was really good! [That's all? I could rant about this guy for ages!]

 

The Bishop of Digne

Colm Wilkinson as Bishop Myriel

Aw, he was so awesome! And he made a really good Bishop. I like how they brought him back in the end, too!

 

Fantine

Ruthie Henshall as Fantine

 Ahhh, she sounded really awesome. He character was really good, and she was really pitiful in lots of parts. I really liked how she did Fantine's Death, too.

 

Cosette

Amanda Seyfried as Cosette [She's the one on the left :D]

Her voice was what Cosette's voice should sound like, her high notes were really pretty! A Heart Full of Love sounded the best, out of all the Cosette songs. She was sweet, and she was actually sad when Jean Valjean left at the end!

 

Marius

Michael Ball as Marius

Allright. He's the best Marius I could find. His voice is pretty good, and his acting is adorable! I really liked him in A Heart Full of Love, the way he was straightening out his clothes to impress Cosette!

 

Thenardier

[We could not find a picture of this slimy guy. But she picked the fellow from the Complete Symphonic Recording.]

Well, he's funny in Master of the House, and he's creepy in Dog Eat Dog, like it's supposed to be. And he sounds really... grunge-y.

 

Madame Thenardier

Jenny Galloway as Madame Thenardier

She's really funny. The Thenardiers are gross, so let's get off them quickly!

 

Eponine

Samantha Barks as Eponine [Hey, what is that down in the corner? A giant prune?!]

She really looked like Eponine, and her acting was pretty good! I liked her best in A Little Fall of Rain. The acting was really sad. She was actually acting like she was shot, but it wasn't disturbing or hammy.

 

Gavroche

Daniel Huttlestone as Gavroche

He makes a really good Gavroche, even if I can't understand what he's saying sometimes. [Subtitles would come in handy, to translate his cockney accent.] It was funny how he kept singing Little People while they were beating up Javert.

 

Enjolras

Harpo Marx Aaron Tveit as Enjolras

He sounded best in The Final Battle. His acting was really good, it gave Enjolras a personality besides "RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!". And his voice sounds like a muffin! :D [I... don't know how to explain it, she thinks that if his singing voice were a food, it would be a muffin. I cannot explain why. -_-"]

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Dream Cast! See you next month!

[And I'll see you... Sometime this week. XD]

Brother Odd (by Dean Koontz) [2006]

Not like you’d be able to tell as of yet, but I’m a titanic Dean Koontz fan. I haven’t read all his books (Because the vast majority of them are- ahem- inappropriate.), but I’ve read all the Odd Thomas books, the ones with Christopher Snow, and The Taking. My favorite one that I’ve read so far though, is Brother Odd.

Mr. Koontz is Catholic, and this is the book where it’s probably the most obvious. The titular character, Odd Thomas, has a great respect for priests and religious, and has a very conservative life philosophy.

Aside from being very intelligently written, the books are terrifically fun to read. I’m writing this review now because I just finished reading it to my Dad and younger siblings, who loved it.

Now, let me slow down and explain what this book is actually about.

Odd Thomas is a young man with the power to see ghosts of the dead- and spirits that foretell coming disaster and dead, called Bodachs. His complicated life has led him to seek solace as a guest in an abbey- St. Bartholomew’s. However, his days of peace are interrupted when he sees Bodachs lurking the grounds.

All the Odd books have terrific supporting characters, and this one is no exception. It’s got the former mafia goon, Brother Knuckles, the scowling Russian, Rodion Romanovich, and Elvis is still hanging around, too!

The plot is quite interesting, and is very fast paced. Though to be honest, there is a definite pattern of action, then slowing down to talk. For the most part though, I think that the book balanced the two really well. I love the part where Odd goes to the kitchen for a snack after a quick brush with death (Literally!). He and Romanovich have a really humorous conversation.

Now. The scares in this book aren’t as bad as they sometimes are (Odd Apocalypse had me a little spooked, that’s for sure!). But they’re still really suspenseful. The most frightening part is relative, since we all have different phobias. The part that freaked me out the most was when Odd was down in the Kit Kat Katacombs and discovered- well, that’d be a spoiler now, wouldn’t it!

Aside from the suspenseful atmosphere, there’s a lot of emotional stuff that goes on in this book. Some real tearjerkers, too (I don’t really cry at movies or books or anything, but this got me to my equivalent of crying at a book or movie.).

All in all, Brother Odd is a great read. I think that if you’re a fan of mystery and suspense, you’ll really enjoy it!

The Verdict: A+
Notes:
I said before that I read this to my Dad and siblings, but I should mention that I censored some of the mature content. There isn't too much, but there's also a little swearing. Nothing too profane though.

Cheers!
-Xochitl

Lame Joke







Enjolras tries a new joke on Combeferre.



Poor guy, he looked so happy delivering that punchline, too.
By the way, in case you couldn't see, the book Combeferre was reading is Emma by Jane Austen. :)
Cheers!
-Xochitl

The Vest (Dun dun dunnn)

Nicholas was being this guy for Halloween...

This man has anger management issues.

So I made him a vest that looks nothing like that is somewhat based that thing up there.
Well... based on it, in that it's red, and is decorated with gold Mickey Mouse buttons. XD



 I sewed this without a pattern, by hand, so that's why it's a little... wonky. But you can't see the messy stitching the way I shot the pictures. ;D

 Here is without the pin.

So! There it is. Trust me, it fits on humans. I had a ton of fun making it (Took about six hours, not counting the prototype that was a dismal failure.), so I'm just looking for something else I can sew next!
Huzzah!

Peanut Butter

There's a sweet little scene Lost that involves Charlie trying to find Claire some Peanut Butter. Well, he fails. He comes back to Claire with an empty jar, and acts like it's full of peanut butter. Claire of course, is charmed and thinks it's really sweet. But for comedic purposes- what if Claire hadn't been so touched? ;D

I fail at drawing hats. :P

Les Miserables Costumes

So, my siblings and I went as Les Miserables characters for this Halloween. My Sister was Cosette, my Brother was Enjolras, and I was (predictably enough) Eponine.
I thought it'd be nice to put up some pictures, since we had a lot of fun putting together our costumes.
Well, my Brother didn't want to do a photo shoot, so pictures of him coming... later.
Here's my little sister.

Really amused by something off-camera. Maybe a stray Marius walked by.

Ignore the bizarre cat statue in the background. XD

 So there was her costume... You might have noticed that the pattern on her dress changed in the last one. That's because she says that the first two are 'Every Day', and the last picture was 'In My Life'.
What we had were two of my old dresses that Mom made from Jane Austen patterns. I outgrew them, so my little sister likes to play with them. We found a shawl and a belt... and voila! Cosette. Sort of. Still needs a gigantic hat. :)
Here's me... The first two pictures are supposed to be Eponine from the book. Even though I look nothing like Eponine. It was pretty easy to assemble that costume, actually. I found a ratty old while shirt, and a tan skirt, and some rope for a belt. XD

Again, amused by something off-camera!

Poker face... Huh.

Aaaaand my attempt at looking kind of sad ended up looking pouty. :P



There they are. You've got your quite young Cosette, and Eponine who is really pouty and dark haired. XD


Have to say, I'm pretty proud of those costumes. If I can't convince little brother to be in a picture, I'd at least like to get a shot of the vest. It's not exactly accurate to the stage, but I sewed it without a pattern, and it actually turned out quite well. Huzzah.
Cheers!
-Xochitl