Wednesday 30 March 2011

Books: Superman: Red Son

________________________________________________________________________________

Superman: Red Son
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett

2004




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/


It's all about limitations.

Back in 2004 Mark Millar wasn't really that much of a known quantity. Nowadays if a book comes out that he's written then it's his name plastered across the top of the cover in big letters [1]: as the evil genius behind such comic blockbusters as The Ultimates, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Nemesis, Wanted and (of course) the pretty much infamous Kick-Ass (like him, love him or hate him [2]) he's in the comic book writer big leagues - up there in the pantheon with the big boys [3] like Alan Moore and Grant Morrison: so much so that he can appear on Cultural Television shows on the BBC, run his own Comic Book Convention (Kapow!), his own magazine (CLiNT) and (this is the big one) - even my literary flatmate knows who he is ("The Scottish one with the ginger hair right?").

But - like I said: in 2004 he wasn't really much of a thing: (which is why his name is barely noticeable in the top left hand corner of the cover up there) and so - when he was given the chance to write this DC Elseworlds title ("where heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places...") his normal exuberant self - responsible for some of the most stomach-churning comics of the past decade (and not always in a good way) - was on pretty limited display. It's like when you're invited other to your boyfriend's / girlfriend's house for dinner for the first time: you're not going to tell them all your great dead baby jokes or show them how many matchsticks you can fit up your nose - no: you're going to wear something smart, make sure your hair is as neat as can be and put on a voice so that you sound just a little bit more posher than what you actually are (what's up with that?).

Like I said below - a lot of people (rightly or wrongly) - really can't stand Mark Millar: so much so that they don't say "Oh I don't like the stuff he writes" they said "Oh I don't like him.": so you know - it's a dislike that creeps under the skin and becomes actually personal somehow. They say that he's obnoxious and that he panders to all the worst excesses of geek culture: he's too violent, too mean and way too unappetizing. You know how pretty much the whole culture of comic books nowadays is about trying to raise the medium into the place of "serious art-form" so that people won't laugh in your face when you bring it up at a dinner party? Well (so say the haters): Mark Millar is (seemingly) one a one-man crusade to reverse all the good will built up by your Mauses [4] and Fun Homes and drag comic books back under the rock of pubescent kicks and thrills.

Which I guess is why (for a hell of a lot of people I've spoken to) Superman: Red Son is their favourite Mark Millar story by a long long way (sample quote: "Oh god - I can't frigging stand Mark Millar but yeah: Red Son is like one of my favourite comics ever.") because it's pretty much the sweet spot just between when he first started to gain his superpowers and yet (crucially) hadn't reached the point where all the restrictions were removed. Let me put it this way: nowadays I get the feeling that he laughs at the idea of editorial control ("Who are you to tell me - the fabulous Mark Millar - what to do?") but back then - with Red Son being his first shot at the big time - I'm guessing he was a lot more compliant. And - after all: when you're messing with a property like Superman (even if it is in an Elseworld's tale) you can't ever really go too crazy (no putting Superman in a gimp mask or anything like that - thank you sir).

The funny thing is - if you accept the thought that Mark Millar works best (or produces the work that everyone likes best at least) when he's boxed in and controlled and ever-so-slightly censored (you know: given some limitations) - the opposite is true of Kal-El: the last son of Krypton (or at least how I see it: but I guess I should try and explain).

So: at this point everyone knows who Superman is right? He can fly, he's super-strong and his spit curl is always immaculate: basically the dude is the pinnacle of all power fantasies ever made [5]: which is both a good thing (it's one of the reasons he's managed to be such a towering cultural icon for so long) and - yet - also a bad (that being: why there are so few good Superman comics out there [6]): because - you see - while it's loads of fun to tuck in a red sheet at the back of your neck and pretend you're an invincible alien from another planet etc etc it's actually pretty tough to take that character and put him in a story that's interesting. Mostly (and this is the obvious one) because it's hard to think of things to stop someone that's pretty much unstoppable (apart from those pesky glowing green rocks): I mean - most stories are about overcoming adversity right? So if you have someone who doesn't really experience much in the way of adversity - then there's not much for him to overcome (oh well).

But the second problem (which is less obvious) - and this is where we start to get to that idea of limitations again - is that it's really difficult to construct a world where you have an all-powerful god-like being floating around and doing things and yet not have that world change in any real significant way. I mean: come on - if tomorrow we found out that we lived in a world where not only there was a man who could fly: but that man was going around fighting crime and evil wherever he found it then within just a few years I'm thinking that society would probably be warped in quite a significant (and I'm imagining very cool) way: I mean - would people even think about committing major crime if they thought there was a chance that a flying man might drop from the sky and stop them? Would celebrities still seem some glamorous and cool playing pretending games (sorry - films) compared to someone with actual real magical powers? Would we all end up wearing our underpants on the outside of our trousers? And how would the major religions react to the fact that we had proof that we were no longer the only intelligent beings in the universe? And you know: all the stuff like that [7].

I didn't mention this before - but the major counter argument to the idea that there aren't really any good Superman stories would be the commercial success of the Smallville TV series: I mean -that went on for ten seasons or something right? And everyone thought it was great [8]. Of course what's interesting about that is that it's a show about Superman - where Superman isn't really Superman yet. Instead: it's all prologue with the idea of Superman slowly forming (hey - ten seasons right?) and coming together bit-by-bit and I'd say that the reason for that is because - once Superman is formed: well - it's hard to make a long-running story work without having to deal with the fallout of how his presence is going to change the world [9]. Which I guess is why the large majority of the best Superman stories are origin stories [10]: you know?

Because really (and this is where I get to my point finally): if you want to tell a really good Superman story: one that actually manages to press some buttons and not just feel rote and played out before it even begins - then what you need to do is take away the limitations. So instead of just running a Superman story where he goes up against the bad guy and manages to beat him and everyone cheers - you need to kind of address (in some way) in what ways he's affecting the world: not because it's realistic and you always need to be realistic and oh-god-give-me-some-more-realism or whatever: but because otherwises it just starts to get a little incongruous and stilted - you know.

Which is a very roundabout why I'd say that Superman: Red Son is in the running for the title of best Superman story ever. Because - by re-jigging the (now legendary) origin story of the Man of Steel and landing his little space-craft in the Soviet Union instead of the USA and slapping an Elseworlds sticker on the front - you basically have an excuse to (finally) write a Superman story where you no longer have to worry about his limitations and there's no real reason to rein things in. Instead: you can finally let things take flight in the way they've always promised and step out from shadow of that origin story and let the chips fall in a way that's a lot more interesting and fun than they ever have before.

If you haven't read it before you should know that's it a lot more clever and canny than just a series of "what if Superman was Russian" style escapades ("In Soviet Russia etc") [11] instead Millar takes the opportunity to remake the legend of the Man of Tomorrow in a way that is constantly surprising and exciting. The first time I tried to write something about this book on this blog I said that it had "interesting political undercurrents for anyone paying attention" but I think I was just saying that in order to try and sound smart: if you're looking for an analysis of Communism versus Capitalism then I'd say that you should look elsewhere: apart from the factoid that Stalin was also known as "The Man of Steel" there's not really that much in the way of depth here [12]: I mean - I guess people are welcome to look at how things end up and say "ah - that would have never happened in America" but if you take it apart the moral of the story is more that Superman should always have a Clark Kent style secret identity to keep him balanced (but whatever).

With big bold colourful artwork from Dave Johnson (the guy responsible for all those striking 100 Bullets covers) and Kilian Plunkett (fan-favourite Star Wars cover artist apparently) Red Son lovingly takes all the familiar age-old battered and worn Superman characters and clichés and smashes them into thrilling and exciting new shapes and sizes. To say too much would be to give the game away: but rest assured your brain will fizz, your loyalties will be torn and all your preconceptions will be smashed. Featuring cameo appearances from everyone from Batman to JFK to Pete Ross (as "Pyotr Roslov") [13] this is up there are one of the greatest stories ever told about comic's original superhero that will keep you on your toes all the way until it's final page.

And until the day that someone decides to make Mark Millar's "Godfather-Like" Superman Epic trilogy (which sounds like the most amazing thing ever: ""I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers." [14]) then - well - like I said: this is one of (if not the) most compulsively readable and flat-out astounding tales of Superman ever told: just the way it should be: without limitations (hell yes).

..................................................................................................................................................
[1] If this book had been written today then I'm thinking that the cover would say: "Mark Millar's Red Son" (featuring Superman).

[2] And to be fair - most people opt for choice number three.

[3] I realise that sounds sexist. But it's apt seeing how there aren't really any female comic book writers who are household names. The closest one I could think of would be Alison Bechdel and even then if you did mention her name in a household people would be much more likely to know her from the Bechdel Test than from anything she'd actually written (and please note: there is a (big) difference between being well known and being good at something: and I'm not saying that there aren't any good female comic book writers out there: I'm just saying that there aren't many that are that famous: yes? Good).

[4] Or whatever the right plural of Maus is supposed to be: I don't know.

[5] With the exception of - I guess - God. So yeah ok: being God is power fantasy number one. And being Superman is (a very close) second.

[6] Especially when you compare him to his best friend forever Batman who has amazing comic book stories coming out his big long bat-ears (and better movies too).

[7] And just in case you were about to think it: Batman doesn't have this problem because his whole shtick is hiding out in the shadows and disappearing in smoke bombs and basically being all urban-legendy (Is he real? Isn't he? Who knows?): plus he's pretty much a one-city guy - so he doesn't have to worry about radically altering the social structure of the world so much

[8] Didn't they? I must confess that I never actually watched it: it seemed a little bit too cheesy for my tastes.

[9] See: the other major exception would be that Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman TV that used to run back in the 90s. But I'd say the reason a show like that was possible was because it was made before the advent of the new generation of TV (as exemplified by the likes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The West Wing and (of course) The Sopranos) which re-jigged audiences expectations from expecting each episode to be it's own separate thing to making them demand that things took place in a world where actions had consequences (no one more reset buttons basically). And - you know: the special effects were so poor back then that Superman was less a god and more a demi-god: diet coke as opposed to the real thing - which made the idea that he would affect the world in any real major way much easier to accept. No?

[10] The one big exception to this would be Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All Star Superman: but that's like it's own special beautiful unique thing - so whatever.

[11] If you're looking for that sort of thing then I very much recommend the completely dismal Superman: True Brit as written by (no joke) John Cleese. "Kal-El, instead of landing in Kansas, was intentionally sent to England. He is found by the Clarks, who, viewing a headset video found with Kal-El, learn of his origins, but mistake 'Kal-El' for 'Colin' and name him Colin Clark. Being raised stereotypically British doesn't help Colin's self-esteem, being raised to believe in the philosophy of "What would the neighbours think."

[12] And the fact that Stalin was also known as "The Man of Steel" isn't really depth either - but I just really wanted to mention it.

[13] I have to admit that I didn't even notice that until afterwards and it was only reading something that someone else had wrote that I noticed it. Oh well.

[14] Taken from here.

..................................................................................................................................................

Further reading: SuperiorSuperman: Secret Identity, Superman: All Star SupermanSuperman: BirthrightKingdom Come, Irredeemable, JLA: Earth 2, The Ultimates, Kick-Ass, The Twelve, The OneWatchmen.

Profiles: Mark Millar.

All comments welcome.

Events: Islington Comic Forum 2011/04

_________________________________________________________________________________
























The next Islington Comic Forum is on Tuesday the 26th of April. From 6:00pm all the way to 7:30pm.
Upstairs Hall at North Library Manor Gardens N7 6JX
Here is a map.

Meet and talk with other members. Hear recommendations. Tell us what you think. And a selection of over 100 hand-picked titles for you to borrow and take home.

The Book of the Month is:
Wolverine: Old Man Logan
by Mark Miller and Steve McNiven.

If you get a chance please read it. You can reserve yourself a copy here. (For those of you that don't get the chance - don't worry - you can still come and join in with the discussions).

You can find us on facebook here. And join in with the discussions here.

Come and join us. All welcome.
Hope to see you there.

Books: Locke & Key

________________________________________________________________________________

Locke & Key
Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez

2009



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Locke & Key
Vol 2: Head Games
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Locke & Key
Vol 3: Crown of Shadows
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Locke & Key
Vol 4: Keys to the Kingdom
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Locke & Key
Vol 5: Clockworks
Written by Joe Hill
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez

2012



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/


Stephen King.

First time I fell into the clammy-handed world of Locke & Key I kept thinking of Stephen King. I kept thinking that somehow this "Joe Hill" had managed to somehow take all the best Stephen King tropes around [1] and mash them into the uber-Stephen King story. One that - unexpectedly - turned out to be a comic book (I mean who would have guessed?).

I haven't actually read that much Stephen King stuff [2] - but he's been adapted so much and his dirty blood-stained fingerprints are all over the place - that he feels like something close to an uncle (albeit a crazy one: but the crazy ones always have the best stories). And - well - Locke and Key (which is good in all sorts of ways) feels like it was written by King (or at the very least Executively Produced by) - it's got the same preoccupations (good versus evil battles in the heart of middle America with the evil slowly poking it's way out of the seams - amongst other things) and the same horrific and deranged unholy imagination (wait until you see what whose keys can do) and the same expert watchmaker-like know-how on how to construct and grow a narrative (something like a venus fly-trap: sticky sweet and delicious on the outside but spring-loaded to snap and crunch all the juicy parts of your brain). I was shocked but also unsurprised when someone told me that Joe Hill is actually the pen name for Joseph Hillstrom King who - turns out - is the son of the writers Tabitha and (yep) Stephen King (perhaps there's something in the water up in Maine?): not that parentage matters one way or the other - especially when the writing is as fine as it is here [3] (but my best guess is that while Stephen's been asleep Joe has been coming into his bedroom with a knife and fork: slicing open his daddy's scalp and then nibbling on bits of his brain).

You want to know what it's about? Fine. It begins with a door (because of course) with a Death's-head Hawkmoth fluttering by [4]. Bad things happen and three children - Tyler, Kinsey and Bode Locke [5] - end up moving to their old creepy-looking family estate of Keyhouse [6] in the town of Lovecraft (the name of which should give you a good idea of what to expect). And then more bad things happen. There is: Suspense. Horror. Thrills. Chills. Spooks. Scares. Danger. Death. (and at one point a reference to The Wolves in the Walls: excellent [7]!) I mean - I know that I'm just a big baby: but there are certain panels in these books that make my heart stop dead in my chest ("Mom says ten more minutes outside and then bed!"). In fact: the tension's cranks itself up to such extreme levels that you're probably going to need a brown-paper bag to breathe into once you're done (reading them in order I could feel my chest getting tighter and tighter and tighter with each successive book). Plus it has some of the best inventive strangeness since... well: in the introduction to volume Warren Ellis complains about how he wishes he had managed to think up the ideas that push forward the madness that goes on inside ("these comics are really remarkably good, among the best-written comics I've seen in the last two years, which I guess is because Joe Hill's cleverer than I am and that's why he had to die.") and he's Warren freaking Ellis - who (let's face it) knows a thing or three about comics that get inside your head. (Hell - even if you hate everything Warren Ellis has ever written I'm hoping that mentioning him is senough to get you curious to try these books out...)

Also (just in case it all sounds like a major horrible drag - which it very much is not) it also knows when to leaven things with a little sprinkling of humour: "- one teebs? You mean tablespoon?" "I don't know." And - towards the end of the third book increasingly adventurous in terms of the places it goes (hell I'll go ahead and say it: Alan Moore would be proud).

I've always been a big stickler for structure and have whinged and whined many a time on here about comics that read like they've just been cobbled together on the hoof: one of the many things that had me falling in love with these books is how meticulously planned they seem: I get off in a big way on books that tease out the small details, drop tiny nuggets of information on you that leave you begging for more, get it right with the foreshadowing ("I wish I could forget how to cry") and gift you seemingly inconsequential little moments that then end up paying off in a big way later on. One of my favourite lines from the first book is: "You can't understand. Because you're reading the last chapter of something, without having read the first chapters. You're a little guy, Bode. Kids always think they're coming into a story at the beginning, when usually, they're coming in at the end." Because - hey - it's true and also: it's a such so nice reading something where half the time you're trying to put the pieces together and the other half the time you're reading aghast as more crazy stuff happens [8]. Plus: kudos for the way that every volume feels like a mini television series that ends with a "OMG" cliffhanger that leaves you with no choice but to keep reading.

Oh: And I shouldn't neglect to mention the artist Gabriel Rodriguez (whose drawings always look so nice and chunky) he's versatile enough to handle all the crazy strangeness the plot throws up (and I like it how the story is written so that it's always ready with a big bold image to further the plot: "Don't do that with your head, Bode. I don't like it.") partial to throwing in a few dutch angles now and again (which I count as a big bonus) while at the same time is always clear enough so you can tell exactly what's going on (oh: and make sure you're watching out for people lurking in doors and all those other little sorta background details [9]). Damn him: he only gets better and better as things move on (wish that more books kept the same artist all the way through - it's just makes things so fantastically consistent) by the time you get to the fifth book he's practically unstoppable. I wouldn't say it's about anything more than providing a fantastic reading experience: but when it's this spot on you don't need anything else [10]. A lot of the important stuff - especially in the first volume when the kids are still just moping around - takes place inside the character's heads so there's a lot of first-person narration: but the artwork keeps things so interesting with all the character's expressions captured just right (plus all the jumping around that the story does) that things never feel like they're dragging (in fact if anyone ever described Locke and Key as being boring I would just assume that they were lying: this is one series that is never ever dull).

Even the clothes and cups are just - perfect (check out who has a Pac-Man obsession: and then enjoy the unstated reasons why). And while most people out there give bad guys backstories in order to make some point about how they were just misunderstood as a child or mummy didn't love them or whatever (yawn): these guys understand that - sometimes - the more you get to know about a character: the more creepy they can get [12]. And even if it doesn't attempt to scale the freaky heights of your Alan Moore and Grant Morrison type things: they know exactly how what makes a comic book work and the best things and the best ways to convey all sorts of important character and plot informational things (check the panel which draws you to the back of Bode's neck: I just love the way it's right at the bottom of the right hand corner so it's the last thing your eye hits before you hop onto the next page).

Highly recommended. Even if you somehow think that this isn't the sort of thing you'd enjoy: you really need to give these books a try, even tho they're full of evil and horror and traumatising happening: they're an absolute delight to read.

......................................................................................................................................................
[1] You want a list? Ok - I'll give you a list: Creepy Locations With Dark Evil Lurking Within, Disappeared Dad Syndrome, Long Buried Secrets That Start To Start To Come To Light In Terrible Ways, Haunted Paintings, Vengeful Spirits, Evil In a Friendly Guise, Small Kids With Access to Magic Powers, Groups of Kids Doing Things They Shouldn't, People With Crutches, Redneck Psychopaths, Kids With Learning Difficulties, Adults With Drinking Problems, Teens As Monsters, Children Knowing Things That Adults Can't Understand etc. etc. etc.

[2] Altho since I first wrote that I have taken on his epic Dark Tower series - so I guess I'm making up for lost time...

[3] So you know: he's also written two proper (no pictures) novels: Heart-Shaped Box and Horns plus a collection of Short Stories published under the title 20th Century Ghosts. I guessing he must get the work ethic from his Dad who is famously no slouch when it comes to getting things done. (Oh - and also it turns out that the two have them have also worked on a novella together called: Throttle ("Inspired by Richard Matheson's classic "Duel," "Throttle," by Joe Hill and Stephen King, is a duel of a different kind, pitting a faceless trucker against a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in the simmering Nevada desert. Their battle is fought out on twenty miles of the most lonely road in the country, a place where the only thing worse than not knowing what you're up against, is slowing down...")

[4] Who you'd probably recognise from the poster for The Silence of the Lambs altho there it was actually a reproduction of Salvador Dali photograph of 7 naked women in the shape of a skull.

[5] Unfortunately - as far as I can tell - the family name isn't a reference to my favourite character from Lost: but more a thematically linked choice that helps to provides the snappy title (oh: I guess you can't have everything).

[6] That looks like a splice between Norman Bate's home and the Maitland's house from Beetlejuice only with a few added floors and an extra dollop of gothic horror stylings (and hey if you wanna get some idea of what Locke & Key is like you could do a lot worse than "Psycho mixed with Beetlejuice.")

[7] It's a children's book written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by Dave McKean. I read it to some of the more grown-up classes of children that come to visit the library and it is excellent for scaring the holy bejebus out them. Plus: it's very much fun to make wolf noises with a whole class-full of kids.

[8] And just in case [5] didn't make it clear: yeah I used to be a major Lost fan. And - hand on heart: even tho they have lots of differences - these books pressed my buttons in much the same way. So if you're looking for the same sorta rush that you used to get from the Mystery Island Show: well - maybe try reading the first volume and let us know what you think...

[9] I mean - there's hundreds of things that I could use as an example here but one of the best bits early on is where Tyler is sitting on a bench and it shifts the time with just a few understated little touches (the umberalls in the umbrella bin, the flowers on the table). In 2011 they were going to make a TV show and it's easy to see why: the story is excellent and it's bult in such a way that unfolds cinematically in your mind as you read it: but if you attempted to make the same sorta switch in time on film it would be really showy and even a little mawkish (the older version of a character looking back at his childhood self) but on the comics' page it comes across as genuine in a beautiful sort of understated way. And yeah I'll say this here: it's just so nice to read a comic that's confident enough and smart enough make the whole "fixed-camera" panel construction thing work. It's something a little bit steady that keeps things visually grounded while (later on) it's doing all sorts of strange weirdness...

[10] I also very much dug the old school Alan Moore style panel transitions: "I'd kill to get back to San Francisco" - cut to: funeral. "It's funny when every time you look into a mirror, there's a face there you don't expect to see" - cut to: someone else holding a mirror. Someone aiming a gun at someone else  - - cut to someone else saying "bang." Like the Alan Moore says in his Writing for Comics book (advice which Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez must have obviously taken to heart): "Transitions, the movement between one scene and another, are one of the most tricky and intriguing elements of the whole writing process. The problem is to move from one place or one time to another without doing anything violent or clumsy that would disturb the reader’s delicate thread of involvement in the story. If a transition is handled incorrectly, what it does is to bring the reader up short against the fact that he or she is reading a story. If you've spend the first scene building up the reader's involvement in the storyline and the characters you don't want to do anything to remind him of their basic unreality. Since changes in location often require a sort of split-second pause between finishing one scene and beginning another, the transition gap is one of the places where you are most likely to lose your reader's interest if you don't handle it properly. As I see it, a successful story of any kind should be almost like hypnosis: You fascinate with your first sentence, draw them in with your second and have them in mild trance by the third. Then be careful not to wake them, you carry them away up the back alleys of your narrative and when they are hopelessly loss within the story, having surrender themselves to it, you do them terrible violence with a softball bat and then lead them whimpering to the exit on the last page. Believe me, they’ll thank you for it. The important thing is that the reader should not wake up until you want them to, and the transitions between scenes are the weak points in the spell that you are attempting to cast over them. One way or another, as a writer, you'll have to come up with your own repertoire of tricks and devices with which to bridge the credibility gap that a change in scene represents, borrowing some devices from other writers and hopefully coming up with a few of your own. The one which I've used to excess, judging from a few of the comments I pick up in reviews or letter columns now and then, is the use of overlapping or coincidental dialogue. That said, it's a better trick to fall back on than the lame use of "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." or some such similar utilitarian device...” [11]

[11] Altho that's all stuff that he repudiates in the afterword (written 15 years later): "All that stuff I said a few chapters back about changing scenes with clever panel-to-panel linkages? Forget it. It was becoming a cliche even as I was writing those words, a technique that I pretty much abandoned straight after Watchmen."

[12] Sam Lesser = Brrrrrrr. Not someone you'd ever want to be stuck in a room with: I mean even after he's forced to give a trucker a blow-job (which you'd think would make anyone seem more sympathetic) and all the stuff that comes after that: he still comes across as an evil creep with a disturbingly flat speaking voice: "Must be someone worrying about you somewhere. Your mom... Your dad... Folks at school..." "No... Not really. I was really close to my mum. My dad, too. But they both passed away. A couple months ago. And I'm done with school. Lost my taste for it."

......................................................................................................................................................
Links: Comic Book Resources Article, Nerd Bastards Review of Vol 1, Schizopolitan Review of Vol 1 / Vol 4iFanboy Review Vol 2 / Vol 3, Comics Without Frontiers Article: In Appreciation of Locke & Key.

Further reading: Neonomicon, The Unwritten, Swamp ThingDeath Note, Alan Moore's The Courtyard, Aetheric Mechanics, CradlegraveCoralineStephen King's N, Anya's Ghost, B.P.R.D.: Hell on EarthThe Walking Dead, The Stand.

All comments welcome.

Books: Mercury

________________________________________________________________________________

Mercury
By Hope Larson

2010





Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Following the lives of two teenage girls - one living in the 19th Century the other in the 21st - Mercury is a delicate intertwining of the real and the unreal and an examination of the subtle ties that reach out to us from across the years. The artwork is clear and simple black and white, uncomplicated, unshowy and direct while the story deals with the plight of growing up and falling in love: with the two stories gaining deeper resonance from their interplay with each other. For those looking for a tender blend of history, romance, and magical realism this is a comic that will enchant you. It's takes it's own time and isn't afraid to pause on the details.

......................................................................................................................................................
Links: Sean T Collins ReviewComic Book Resources Hope Larson Interview.

Further reading: Anya's Ghost, The War at Ellsmere, Fun Home, Blankets, The New York Four.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Books: City of Glass

_________________________________________________________________________________

City of Glass
By Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli

1994





Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

City of Glass started life as a novel (non-graphic) by author Paul Auster before it was chosen as a candidate for an interesting experiment. Basically - in an attempt to show the world that comics can do "high art" Art Spiegelman (creator of Maus) - wanted to create a comic adaptation of a "proper" highbrow book - City of Glass: The Graphic Novel is the result. With duties split equally between two artists - Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli - this is a book that wants to probe big, meaningful questions like language, representation and authorship. I should admit now that I haven't read the novel that it is based on - and after reading the comic I'm in no hurry to start. No doubt both books compliment each other in nice ways - (there's a long speech in the comic that taken by itself seems to be strange just for the sake of it - that I guess is probably referring to things in the novel) - but taken by itself the comic is a little well... dry. There's lots of referring to existential questions that always seem to blight the lives of everyday new yorkers but not much in the way of human interest, humour, entertainment or excitement (maybe I'm just not in the target demographic). If you want to try something that is super-serious and highly refined then this will be what you're looking for - it was apparently selected as one of the Top 100 English-Language Comics of the Century - but for anyone else then I would point you in the direction of Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp which is more inventive, more human and more fun.

......................................................................................................................................................
Further reading: Asterios Polyp, It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken, Couch FictionRudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Stories.

All comments welcome.

Books: Northlanders

________________________________________________________________________________

Northlanders
Vol 1: Sven the Returned
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Davide Gianfelice

2008



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Northlanders
Vol 2: The Cross + the Hammer
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Ryan Kelly

2009



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Northlanders
Vol 3: Blood in the Snow
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Davide Gianfelice, Vasilis Lolos, Dean Ormston and Danijel Zezelj

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Northlanders
Vol 4: The Plague Widow
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Leandro Fernández

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Northlanders
Vol 5: Metal
Written by Brian Wood
Art by Riccardo Burchielli, Becky Cloonan and Fiona Staples

2011



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Hands up who likes Vikings (what's not to love?): pretty much the original bad-asses of the world they've got axes, swords and don't mess around when it comes to getting what they want. In Northlanders writer Brian Woods takes it back to the old school with a succession of stories set in the early dawn of civilization when things were like the wild west only darker, colder and with more mud. With a rotating cast of artists Northlanders has a welcome sense of realism (no horns on helmets here) with lots of twisting up of alliances and honour and like the landscapes the characters inhabit it's tough, uncompromising and brutal.

......................................................................................................................................................
Links: Comics Bulletin Interview with Brian Wood, Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader? Review of Northlanders #17, Comics You Should Own Review of Vol 2.

Further reading: 300, DMZ, Scalped, Sláine: The Horned GodMezolith.

All comments welcome.

Monday 28 March 2011

Books: Wilson

_________________________________________________________________________________

Wilson
By Daniel Clowes

2010





Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

I know that you might not believe me but one of the best things about working in a public library is the public. I mean - I know that they don't have the best reputation (and that Sid Vicious quote about the man on the street comes to mind) but mostly they're fun, smart and kind. Mostly [1]. Because sometimes sometimes you get people who make you give up all hope for humanity, the blowhards who only ask you a question so that they can give themselves a chance to speak. The people who aren't smart enough to realise that they're so very stupid and who - despite having absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever - still act as if they god's gift to the world. These are the men (and for whatever reason it's mostly men) who if you were given a choice between spending any small amount of time with them or clawing out your own eyes with a rusty spoon would have you immediately reaching for the cutlery drawer.

The funny thing tho - is however hellish it is to meet these people in real life - when they're trapped within the confines of a book [2] and you're siting comfortably locked away on the outside looking on: they're totally hilarious.

Which brings us to Wilson.

With pretty much every page broken into a six panel strip format this is a book that outwardly resembles (if you were just ideally flicking through it) an old-fashioned Sunday morning humorous strip where everything is always the same, nothing ever gets too deep and there's always a joke in the last panel: most of the drawings are pretty simple (just a few lines and nothing much more) and the colour palette is pretty bleak - all muted pinks and faded yellows. Unsurprisingly tho it's nothing of the sort.

If you've encountered any Daniel Clowes before then you probably know what to expect: staring a disgruntled, middle-aged sourfaced misery guts called Wilson who likes nothing better than complaining, whinging and whining. Sometimes you'll laugh with him, sometimes at him and sometimes not at all - and in fact maybe you'll just end up crying. With artwork that shifts style every page keeping you off balance and unsure - if you've ever found yourself raging impotently against a cruel and unjust world or cracked a joke that's everyone hated you for: then this is a comic that understands your pain and knows what it's like to hurt even worse.

Yes - it's bleak and unremitting (and there's lots of sharp turns that you won't see coming until it's too late - plus a delighful running joke about poo): but somehow strangely - it's also one of the lightest Daniel Clowes books I've read. Maybe it's the six panel format that keeps everything constantly moving forwards which means (unlike Wilson himself) you never get a chance to mope or perhaps it's the rat-a-tat-tat of the punchlines (however miserable) that keep firing and gives the whole experience a pulsing rhythm - but whatever it is - it's something that I would recommend without hesitation.

.....................................................................................................................................
[1] Yes that's an Aliens reference. Woo.

[2] See also: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole which may just be one of the funniest books ever written.

.....................................................................................................................................
Links: The Savage Critics: Round-Table Discussion, Guardian Daniel Clowes Interview, Comics Comics Article, Comics For Serious Article, Tearoom of Despair Article, Sean T Collins Review.

Further reading: The Death Ray, Ghost World, American Splendor: Best of American Splendor, Literary Life, Breakdowns, Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth.

Profiles: Daniel Clowes.

All comments welcome

Books: 300

________________________________________________________________________________

300
By Frank Miller

1998








Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

This is not a subtle book. But then again: shut up. A comic that's big, brash and oversized and doesn't care what you think. A over the top retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae that reads like Spartan propaganda (and hey don't believe those people that a little bit of propaganda can't be fun now and again) it's history with all the cool bits left in - and then with extra added cool bits. Full of the gnarly art style that Miler has made his own - full of outlines and stark contrasts - this is a book that will hit you in the solar plexus and then laugh while you try to remember how to breathe. With actual lines from the historical record carefully woven in (fun fact: Miller wasn't the one who coined the line: "Then we will fight in the shade") this is one for the crazed muscle-bound warrior inside us all. Just remember to wipe that spittle from your face once you're done.

.....................................................................................................................................
Links: Blog Critics Review.

Further reading: The Dark Knight Returns, Ronin, Mezolith, The Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot, Northlanders, Sláine: The Horned God, Holy Terror.

Profiles: Frank Miller.

All comments welcome.

Friday 25 March 2011

Books: Incognito

________________________________________________________________________________

Incognito
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

2009




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Incognito: Bad Influences
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Sean Phillips

2011




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Met Zack: he used to spend his life beating up the good guys - but now he's stuck on the sidelines, in the Witness Protection Program and working the nine to five. Just don't expect him to like it. From the creative team behind Sleeper comes a comic book with more mashing up of hard boiled noir and classic superhero serials. With lots of over-the-top characters (Professor Zeppelin anyone?), morals that are so loose they've slipped off completely and the delectable art that only Sean Phillips can provide this is a story for anyone that has ever found themselves rooting for the bad guys.

.....................................................................................................................................
Further Reading: Sleeper, Wanted, Criminal, Irredeemable, Gotham Central, Hitman.

Profiles: Ed Brubaker.

All comments welcome.

Thursday 24 March 2011

Books: Irredeemable

________________________________________________________________________________

Irredeemable
Vol 1
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2009



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Irredeemable
Vol 2
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Irredeemable
Vol 3
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Irredeemable
Vol 4
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Irredeemable
Vol 5
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2011



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

Irredeemable
Vol 6
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2011



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Irredeemable
Vol 7
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2011



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Irredeemable
Vol 8
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Peter Krause

2012



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/


There's an old saying that the English like to claim for their own but seems to be worldwide - there's a few different ways to put it but the basic gist of it is: "We like to build them up and then we like to knock them down." Because - I guess - for whatever ingrained reasons - that's the story we like best (and the one that's easiest to understand): Icarus. The Roman Empire. Jesus Christ. Michael Jackson. It's all about the rise - and then when they've got as high as they possibly can - hell - bring on the backlash - and let's see how far we can make them fall. Here's another way to say it: "What goes up must come down." 

The one person/character/icon that's always been exempt from that is Superman. Grant Morrison when he was talking up his All Star Superman liked to say that Superman represented the best in all of us: the purest expression of our highest and most noble nature and all that stuff [1]. But what happens if you apply some pressure to the idea of the sci-fi Jesus [2]? What happens if - one day -   Superman snapped? What if decided one day that instead of saving people he wanted to kill them? And what if there was no one who could stop him? And even if you whisper on the other side of the world - he can still hear you. That's the scary premise behind Mark Waid's Irredeemable - which for all intents and purposes does to the idea of the Man of Steel what Breaking Bad does for mild-mannered chemistry teachers. Starring The Plutonian - an almost god-like superhero who one day for reasons unknown becomes psychotic. Dealing with the events leading up to his mental breakdown and the ramifications that follow this is an end of the world story full of shocking twists. The artwork isn't stunning but functional enough to tell the story and the writing in top notch as we slowly explore and come to understand what happened and why. With lots of cool spins on the usual superhero clichés (and even tho I don't write superhero comics I've gotta say there's lots and lots of "Man! I wish I thought of that! moments) and a gripping mood of pervasive dread that hangs on throughout this is a smart superhero comic with lots on it's mind about what it means to be a hero.

.................................................................................................................................................
[1] "Superman is just this perfect human pop-culture distillation of a really basic idea. He's a good guy. He loves us. He will not stop in defending us. How beautiful is that? He's like a sci-fi Jesus. He'll never let you down. And only in fiction can that guy actually exist, because real guys will always let you down one way or another. We actually made up an idea that beautiful. That's just cool to me. We made a little paper universe where all of the above is true.”

[2] Or as Mark Waid put it in his introduction: ""In superhero comics, pretty much everyone who's called upon to put on a cape is, at heart, emotionally equipped for the job. I reject that premise." (Ha - I love it!)

.................................................................................................................................................
Links: Graphic Novel Reporter Interview with Mark Waid.

Further reading: Supergod, Supreme, Astro City, Powers, Kingdom Come, CrossedSuperman: Birthright, Invincible, The OneThe Boys, Marvel Boy, Superman: All Star Superman, Superman: Secret Identity.

All comments welcome.

Books: Breakdowns

_________________________________________________________________________________

Breakdowns
By Art Spiegelman

2008





Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/


I mean - yeah - ok - it's Art Spiegelman - so respect is due. One of the few people who basically single-handedly dragged comics up from disposable kiddie entertainment into - well - a medium that now (mostly) has a lot more self-respect. He had the guts, the vision - or hell - just the plain old stubbornness to make comics into something that could communicate more than just superheroes fighting each other and having adventures.

But - hey - just because you were the first, and just because you blazed the trail: that don't necessarily mean (well - at least for me) that what you do is going to stand the test of time. Or - to put it another way: just because you invented the wheel - that doesn't mean that I'm going to have fun riding it.

So yeah - ok - he's the guy who made Maus. But this isn't Maus. This is Breakdowns (subtitled:Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!): a strange oversize [1] book that chronicles the author's experience with his mother's suicide and time spent in a mental hospital (hence the title). Written in the 1970s before he 'went mainstream' with mice and nazis this is comic books played like jazz music: harsh, experimental and discordant and totally unafraid to push the boundaries of what a comic book is, what kind of things it can represent and what it can do. Yes that does mean that at time it can be a little like a russian animation [2] but if you're looking for something out of the comfort zone then this is the one for you.

Starting off with a freshly made introduction [3] that lifts the lid on Spiegelman's early life (where - amongst other things he discovered a special affinity with the works of Kafka: "Jeez! He turns into a giant bug! This is cooler than the Twilight Zone!"). With a level of neuroses that would make even Woody Allen baulk (and of course he's abundantly self-aware of this which is why we get moments when he looks at himself through a tough-talking private detective proxy who says things like: "The fetid smell of his self-absorption made me gag, but I got closer and snarled: Stop whining ya crybaby!") there's a level of navel-gazing seemingly accomplished with a electron microscope even if it does skim across advice for budding artists ("You have to use what little space you have to pack inside everything what you can!") and the aborted ideas that finally lead to Maus ("My strip for Funny Animals - Race in America! Cats with burning crosses! Lynched mice! Ku Klux Kats!") before leaping headfirst into art theory and Susan Sontag quotes - which is where it all gets a little - well - messy.

Then - after the introduction comes the book proper: "Breakdowns. From Maus to Now. An anthology of strips by Art Spiegelman" which is were the book goes off into the deep end of experimental strangeness (But you can't be that surprised - especially when you get little nuggets like: "A narrative is defined as "a story." Most definitions of story leave me cold."). There's the one panel "Auto-Destructo Suicide Device" which depicts a Rube Goldberg machine designed to make the user depressed by the futility of all existence [4], an early version of Maus (which is much less claustrophobic and feels significantly more cartoony: so much so in fact that it's much harder to take seriously), Skinless Perkins doing a Somersault (which was totally lost on me) and Prisoner on the Hell Planet ("In 1968 my mother killed herself... she left no note!"). Prisoner on the Hell Planet most people will recognise from Maus: where it appeared as a brief flashback. Heavily influenced by that whole Cabinet of Dr. Caligari German Expressionist style it's all jutting angles smashing into each other and heavy chunks of black gripping each figure rigid: 4 pages of total despair and misery and pain. But then I doubt that anyone ever called Art Spiegelman "Chuckles." [5]

How much you get from all of this will depend on what gets you off. Like I said: it's a lot like jazz - and whether you think it's heavenly manna or atonal squeaking and squawking will depend entirely on your personality. If the idea of someone putting down their dreams in comic form sounds like fun reading [6] then this is gonna be just your cup of tea. But - if like me - you mainly prefer stories that don't have instructions like "to be read to the accompaniment of a dripping faucet, slowly." then you should seek elsewhere for your reading pleasure.

There's an afterword that's more of the same: "These pages seemed to be dredged directly from my subconscious, but couldn't be labelled surreal. They were all-too-read, urgent, existential, scary and hilarious, though often without anything as conventional as a punch line." Like the rest of the book reading it all seemed like too much like hard work.

.......................................................................................................................................................
[1] Trust me: I've seen paintings hung in galleries that were smaller than this - and well yeah: the whole book is an exercise in taking his comics from the 70s which at the time were - well - treated like comic books: disposable trash wrapping young minds and reframing them as works of Proper Art ("Ken drags me to a museum in 1970. Loudly and embarrassingly he says: "Look! Picasso masturbates in his studio, just like you!")

[2] "So here's Eastern Europe's favourite cat and mouse team: Worker and Parasite!" (and if you like that then I very much recommend the excellent work of Russian animator Pavel Scrazenicz: "So all animation starts with the alcohol and the ladies, and from the alcohol you're drinking and then the ladies who you meet from drinking, there is shouting, darkness, suffering, fear and pain, blood etc coming out of your mouth and your nose, and then of course at the end comes death. Happiness - er - comes after death."

[3] Which I'm guessing was made sometime in the mid 2000s and which the back cover accurately notes is "almost as long as the book."

[4] So: yeah - Ok Go it's not (unless you of course you wanna be mean: in which case (here you go): it's sounds exactly like Ok Go).

[5] In fact there's a strip later on when he takes apart the concept of cracking jokes and makes such gloomy pronouncements as: "Most humor is a refined form of aggression and hatred." So: yeah.

[6] This doesn't happen once - but several times (becoming the only reoccurring series in the whole book). I mean - really? Talking at length about your dreams? If there's a higher level of self-indulgence then I don't know what it is.

.......................................................................................................................................................
Links: Sean T Collins ReviewNY Mag Interview with Art Spiegelman.

Further reading: Maus, What It Is, Wilson, City of Glass, Years Of The Elephant, Make Me A Woman, Quimby the Mouse, The Beats: A Graphic History#$@&!: The Official Lloyd Llewellyn CollectionAmerican Splendor presents: Bob and Harv's Comics, Tintin: Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Omnibus.

All comments welcome.

Books: 100 Bullets

________________________________________________________________________________

100 Bullets
Vol 1: First Shot Last Call
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2001



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 2: Split Second Chance
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2001



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 3: Hang Up On The Hang Low
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2001



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 4: A Foregone Tomorrow
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2002



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 5: The Counterfifth Detective
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2003



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 6: Six Feet Under The Gun
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2003



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 7: Samurai
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2004



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 8: The Hard Way
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2005



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 9: Strychnine Lives
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2006



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 10: Decayed
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2006



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 11: Once Upon A Crime
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2007



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 12: Dirty
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2008



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/

100 Bullets
Vol 13: Wilt
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Eduardo Risso

2009



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/


Your life isn't turning out the way that you hoped (you're stuck driving an ice cream truck say) when you're approached by a man who calls himself Agent Graves. He hands you a suitcase which contains a gun, 100 untraceable bullets and irrefutable proof that there is someone you can blame for everything. What would you do? Revenge? Or something else? 100 Bullets is a sprawling, immersive masterwork that stretches across the entire America underworld from New York to New Orleans. Mafia bosses. Bums. Street gangsters. Hustlers. Dirty cops. Femme Fatales. Two-bit punks. Convicts. Rugged anti-heroes. Assassins. They're all here.

With chipped dialogue that twists and turns along with the unremitting labyrinthian plot and stark multi-angled artwork full of pouty lips and jutting chins (Risso makes everything look so cool) 100 Bullets is a joy to experience and will keep a knife till your throat all the way to the bitter end. But be prepared: on first glance it may look like an empty headed tough guy with nothing but the same old typical on it's mind but it's ambitions are big and wide and there is a lot just beneath the surface if you're willing to commit the time and patience. With panel construction that packs in a lot and sweet small incidental details that take their own time to pay off (keep on an eye on those background characters, credit cards and ping pong bats) this is very smart and sophisticated comic book obsessed with all the classic hard-boiled keepsakes: murder, bad luck and power. Imagine Sin City in the hands of Chris Ware or The Wire crossed with Lost and you're almost there: Azzarello and Risso spin so many wheels that sometimes it can be hard to keep up with sometimes as much happening off the page as on it (and if you want my advice: if you can make sure you have all the copies to hand when you're reading it - you may think you can just remember everything you need to know but I sure found it helpful to be able to skip back and check all the small details and who exactly said what and did what to who).

But yeah: If you're looking for payback and bloody satisfaction - then these are the books for you.

.......................................................................................................................................................
Links: 4th Letter 100 Bullets week, This Ship is Totally Sinking Article100 Bullets website, Comics Journal Review, The Consortium Review.

Further reading: Scalped, Criminal, Batman: Broken City, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, Joker, Sleeper, Powers, Sin City, The Punisher MAX , Scott Pilgrim, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Goldfish, Hector Umbra.

All comments welcome.