The Amory Wars

Introduction
The wired world offers multiple advantages to writers and readers in terms of publishing, experiencing, and interpreting texts. Authors can use the resources and availability of Web 2.0 in order to both create and promote their works. Aspects of new technologies also allow readers and fans to enjoy media or form online communities centered around texts. The Amory Wars has benefited from the following concepts.

Web 2.0
The advent of Web 2.0 expanded the possibilities and capabilities of the internet. Web 1.0 was focused primarily on utilization of different and disjointed media and is described by some as an embryo of possibilities. It served as a platform for applications rather than a medium in and of itself. Web 2.0 serves more as a gateway to not only experience, but to connect and interact with many forms of media at once. This gives the user the ability to participate in multiple communities or social media while actively experiencing texts that are uniquely crafted for Web 2.0.

Knowledge Communities
Knowledge communities have cropped up around multiple media and are facilitated by Web 2.0. These communities take many different forms, including interpretation, appreciation, or deprecation. Sometimes the goal is to simply compile as much centralized information on a topic as possible. Sometimes they encompass all types of media and often remediate the text that they were originally formed around. Communities can sometimes have internal disputes or disputes with another community that can take many different forms and often lead to stronger devotion to one community or another. An example of an online Knowledge Community is Wikipedia. Another example of a Knowledge Community is the large base that has cropped up around Star Wars, including specialized communities like the Wookiepedia. The documentary The People Vs. George Lucas documents one such Star Wars community.

Remediation
Remediation occurs when a text is transposed from one medium to another. This often results in different themes of the text coming to the forefront or being accentuated. It can lead to a new life or appreciation of the text but also misunderstandings. It can also mark the transition of a concept from old media to new media, a topic which Daniel Rushkoff covers the pros and cons of. An example of a text that has been remediated countless times is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Through movies, video games, Halloween costumes and more, Frankenstein has become a cultural icon. The theme of humanity being juxtaposed to the monster tends to be lost in the transition. A common misunderstanding that stems from the remediation of Frankenstein is that the monster is often mistakenly thought to be Frankenstein.



The Amory Wars
The Amory Wars (originally titled The Bag.On.Line Adventures) is a comic book and science fiction concept by Claudio Sanchez  . Published primarily by Evil Ink Comics  , it was first published in 2004 with the release of The Second Stage Turbine Blade , but it has been a concept for much longer. Since its publication, it has been expanded into two volumes and a graphic novel. It has also been expanded into multiple other media outside of comics. The main story revolves around a character named Claudio Killgannon and his coming of age and coming to terms with his god-like powers. Other stories that fall under the concept, but have not yet made their way to the pages of Sanchez's comics, are embodied in other ways, most notably through the music of Coheed and Cambria, an Amory Wars concept band.

Coheed and Cambria
Coheed and Cambria, named after characters in the story, is the main outlet for Sanchez as far as the Amory Wars concept goes. The majority of the Band's songs represent the concept in some way. Many of the fan communities for The Amory Wars develop around Coheed and Cambria. The band has released seven studio albums, each applying to a chapter of the story. Even with so many albums, though, the concept continues to grow and is not completely represented by the music. Nevertheless, Coheed and Cambria is, for the most part, the face of The Amory Wars, though Sanchez has stated multiple times that fans need not be fans of both to enjoy either.

Fans
Because the Amory Wars has yet to manifest itself comprehensively through any one medium, instead being represented in many different forms of media, it lends itself well to a diverse fanbase. Such diverse fanbases manifest themselves online in multiple ways, including communities based around the comics and the music. Other appreciation for the Amory wars extends into the online art or video game communities. Fans of the Amory Wars are often fans of multiple aspects of it, though in some cases fans appreciate one aspect but not the others. For instance, here, fans discuss the comics and music on a site devoted to video games, and also express preferences for one interpretation of The Amory Wars over another.

Authorial Intent
Much of Sanchez's work on The Amory Wars has taken place outside of the comic book. In a way, it is the concept that most thoroughly represents what The Amory Wars is. Sanchez, believing that the story holds universal concepts and can be extended into multiple media and reach more than just the audiences of the comics or the music, extends and expands it. He often talks about how comic books and graphic novels were a way for him to relate his story, but he attempts to explain his concepts in ways that fans will be able to understand even if they are not interested in the comics. In order to do that, he often uses new media such as internet updates and social media. He often posts videos explaining his concepts and experiences for fans.

Sanchez's vidoes appear on the band's website periodically and fans are able to respond with their own appreciation and interpretation of his work. The band's twitter feed is linked to their page in order to show the many different ways that fans try to capture the concept or pay tribute to it. One twitter/instagram response is called Tattoo Tuesdays, where the band posts pictures of Amory Wars inspired tattoos. This shows Sanchez's appreciation of fans taking the concept outside of the comics and the music.

Fans can also interact with Sanchez at comic conventions, where he often does interviews and Q&As in order to promote his works. Fan responses to his outreach often vary. Here fans engage in speculation about a tweet the band sent out (remarking notably on its cryptic nature and how they have gotten hopes up before and been disappointed), and here Sanchez does a playful interview for fans. Both of these come from one of his largest fan communities, Cobalt and Calcium, a group that he has interacted with multiple times in order to show appreciation. While he never truly gives over the concept for fans to make their own, he often attempts to make it more accessible and reward fans for their support.

Remediation in Fan Art
Possibly the most interesting aspect of The Amory Wars' presence online is its remediation by fans. It began as a comic book concept, but has since expanded into music/music videos, a video game, a novel, and a graphic novel. It is currently in development for a feature film. With all of the different ways to experience the Amory Wars, it is no wonder that it has been the subject of many different fan responses.



Fan Fictionfor the work often mixes concepts from the music and the comics, or even reinterprets the comics based on lyrics from the music. Fan art generally focuses around key concepts or symbolism of The Amory Wars, most notably the dragonfly or the symbol known as the  Keywork. Another large concept in fan art deals with Sanchez naming one of the series' main characters after himself. Fans often place his likeness into the comics or in cartoon form in general, even though the Claudio in the story does not resemble Sanchez (Coheed Killgannon has a passing resemblance to Sanchez as far as his hair and beard).

The most notable fan remediation of The Amory Wars can be found in the form of fans recreating songs from the band. Fans post covers to YouTube as well as lyrics and guitar tabs to other websites and band communities. Fans also make music videos to accompany the songs that Coheed and Cambria has not released videos for. Sanchez, along with Coheed and Cambria, seems to have some awareness of these videos, as he will sometimes post them on the group's twitter page. The group even hosted a video contest for one of their songs, offering a Coheed and Cambria themed Ipad to the winner. Fan responses to these videos are often positive.

Interpretive Disputes
The Progressive Rock community has a large dispute with Coheed and Cambria and, by extension, The Amory Wars. Progressive Rock, or Prog Rock as it is often colloquially known, is characterized by its mixture of different music styles to produce unique works. While Progressive Rock sometimes delves into concept albums like Coheed and Cambria does with its focus on The Amory Wars, the Prog Rock community is split as to whether or not Coheed and Cambria should fall under their banner. It is a topic of discussion in multiple threads on many progressive websites with common critiques being of the lyrics, musical style and relationship to the concept. Others come to the defense of the music, often citing the deep relationship to the concept as a strength rather than a weakness of the works.

As far as the comic book community goes, there is some debate as to whether or The Amory Wars comes as a series that is primarily for the enjoyment of Coheed and Cambria fans or if it is able to stand on its own merits. Almost all critics point out the connection to the band, but only few note that the concept began as a vision for a comic book. It is met with generally good reviews by the goodreads community, but many people, most of them fans of both the music and the comics, agree that Coheed and Cambria outshines The Amory Wars which it is based on.