Tuesday 31 January 2012

Books: Orc Stain

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Orc Stain
By James Stokoe
2010





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


I never thought that a comic book could give me a head rush. I was wrong:

Orc Stain is a delirious, lip-smacking, chocolate cake of a comic that manages to make being fun, funny, exciting and wildly inventive look somehow easy. Even tho it says that one guy (James Stokoe: who is from right now a mini-legend in my eyes) is responsible for all the art and all the writing: it feels more like the work of a entire film crew - every character is so well formed, the background detail so deep: with every small element imbued with it's own unique personality and the whole world: not only feeling so well thought out and considered (which can sometimes be kinda boring) but it's also manages to feel fresh and spontaneous (which is what makes it such a great head rush to read).  

Even tho it reportedly has it's roots in heated conversation about The Lord of The Rings and the morality of Orcs (erm - ok then) Orc Stain doesn't actually require any previous knowledge of the works of Tolkien to enjoy. In fact - and I might be sticking my neck out a little here - apart from use of the word "Orc" I don't actually think there's any real connection between the two (see: the article below on Getting Past The "O" Word). Instead of being set somewhere in Middle Earth - everything takes place in the far distant future and instead of a story that follows around a group of lovable, well-behaved hobbits - this is a world where all the characters everywhere are dastardly and traitorous and utterly amoral (which for me: is a big selling point).

Yeah: I give bonus points to books which have characters who shout out "Oh tits!" Because - damn it - that's good writing.  

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Links: Comics Should Be Good Review of Vol 1, iFanboy Review of Vol 1, Comics Alliance Orc Stain Preview, Too Busy Thinking About My Comics Article: On James Stokoe's "Orc Stain": Getting Past The "O" Word.

Further reading: ProphetJudge Dredd: The Cursed Earth SagaThe Umbrella Academy, Chew, Elephantmen, I Kill GiantsThe Manhattan ProjectsHard Boiled, Just a Pilgrim, Smax, Tank Girl: Tank Girl One, Scott PilgrimThe Hobbit.

All comments welcome.

Monday 30 January 2012

Books: Smax

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Smax
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Zander Cannon and Andrew Currie
2005




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


Something that gets a little lost what with his whole image as a spooky, shaman-like, magic-man with a long beard and intellectual pronouncements about how our culture is going to turn to steam (see here) and the like: not to mention all of his serious examinations of the nature of superheroes and how to deconstruct swamp monsters etc is that - Alan Moore is actually a pretty funny guy. And that's funny as in: "on-purpose funny" (which is - obviously - the best kind)

Back when he used to write for 2000AD he used to bring his droll wit to the short 4 - 6 pages Future Shocks stories - one of which ended up becoming it's own spin off series as D.R. and Quinch (which you should read if you haven't already). Since that point tho his public persona got steadily more serious as he went from V for Vendetta to Swamp Thing to Watchmen to From Hell.

It was nice to see then - in last days of the 20th Century - Alan Moore return to basics with his America's Best Comics - a comic's brand that included Tom Strong, Promethea, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Top 10. A line of titles that (in their early days at least) promised a return to the simple, slightly-goofy era of comics as pure fantastical escapism rather than say - the "grim and gritty" violence cess-pool they had become.

Smax is a spin-off from Top 10: a police series set in a city where literally everyone has super-powers. Jeff Smax - one of the cops in Top 10 and the star of Smax (obviously) - is the Top 10 embodiment of the moody, hard-bitten, trenchcoat-wearing no-nonsense-taking supercop who likes to keep himself to himself. In Top 10 you don't really learn too much about him other than how bad-ass he is - but in Smax: we've given the chance to look beneath his tough blue exterior and find out what lies beneath.

At this point I'll say that if you're intending to read Smax then please please pick up Top 10 first and read those before you start on this. It's not only that things will make more sense but also a lot of the jokes will be much funnier (and we all like funny jokes - right?). Plus also: Top 10 is totally amazing (and everyone likes stuff that is totally amazing - right?). Now know that Smax isn't really like Top 10: even tho it continues the story with a few of the same characters one of the thing's that kinda delightful about it is how it jumps from being a crime/super-hero/science-fiction thing into a comedy/fantasty/epic quest-type thing (or as it's more commonly known: "Terry Pratchett").

So - like I said at the start: this is Alan Moore in comedy-form and all the jokes are dead good. The character interactions are spot on. And it does the same thing as Top 10 with all it's easter egg goodness references to other stuff. I'd don't know what sort of fiend would not enjoy reading this book: but I guess it would be someone with a heart of stone, who hates to giggle and doesn't enjoy any type of sword and sorcery fun whatsoever (but that's their loss). For everyone else: this is the comics version of peaches and cream: sweet and delicious. 

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Links: Tor Article: The Great Alan Moore Reread: SmaxBurning Leaves Review, Jess Nevins Annotations on #1 / #2.

Further reading: Top 10Top 10: The Forty-NinersD.R and Quinch, The Complete Future Shocks, Tom Strong, Orc Stain, Joe The Barbarian, The Hobbit.

Profiles: Alan Moore.

All comments welcome.

Thursday 26 January 2012

Books: The Manara Library

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The Manara library
Volume 1
Written by Hugo Pratt and Milo Manara
Art by Milo Manara
2011



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


Milo Manara is - apparently - a comics legend.

I hope that it doesn't count too much against me that I haven't heard of him before (expect in that he did the artwork for the Biffy Clyro album: the Vertigo of Bliss - which (as those of you who have seen it will know) is quietly filthy... filth being a recurring theme in his work as it says on his wikipedia page: "an Italian comic book writer and artist, best known for his erotic approach to the medium." oh-er!)

When I first saw this big handsome book (if it came up to me in a bar - I would be more than happy to let it buy me a drink) I was really excited to give it a try. Causally flicking through before I read it (which is an awful habit I know - like fast forwarding through a film before sitting down to watch it) the lush, pretty, beautifully drawn all sung to me: promising high adventures and sweeping romantical excitement.

Strangely on the cover it says: "Indian Summer and other stories" when more accurately it should say: "Indian Summer and The Paper Man." Of the two I much preferred The Paper Man: but (full disclosure) - and I feel like a failure admitting this - I just couldn't get onboard this comic: but there's just something with the stories  that just didn't give me enough to properly care: and instead of reading them - it was more like I was just watching myself read them (does that make sense?). Maybe this isn't the sort of book that you can just pick up at a lunch-break and easily slip into - maybe it needs proper care and attention and a certain level of respect and time. I'd be up for trying out anything else he's done (because yeah: the art is utterly fantastic): but the stuff here just didn't hit the mark. 

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Links: Comic Booked Article, Graphic Eye Review, Good Ok Bad Review.

Further reading: Corto Maltese, The Chimpanzee Complex, Blacksad: Somewhere Between the Shadows.

All comments welcome.

Monday 23 January 2012

Books: Joe The Barbarian

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Joe The Barbarian
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Sean Murphy
2011




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


Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

I've always had a theory that Grant Morrison doesn't really care about the art in comic books. Unlike say (plucking an example from the top of my head) Alan Moore whose books (whether you like them or not) are nearly always lavishly designed and constructed almost to be enjoyed even without reading the words in those little text ballons - Morrison seems more like he so enjoys the rush and joy and pulsating energy of the stuff he writes that it almost doesn't matter what the artist does when they bring them to life. And as much as I can appreciate Doom Patrol, Animal Man and - yeah I'm gonna say it: The Invisibles: a lot of the artwork in most of those books looks pretty - tossed off. I mean: I'd be happy to hang a print from Watchmen on my wall - and not because it's Watchmen or anything: but because it'd look nice - what with that 9 box grid and everything locking everything into place and stuff. But: most Morrison stuff: well. Not so much.

Which is what makes it super-fantastic when he does decide to team up with an artist that can actually keep up with his prodigious imaginations: Chris Weston in The Filth and The Invisibles, J. H. Williams in Seven Soldiers and Batman, and - hell - Frank Quitely in Everything.

Which brings us to the mighty Joe The Barbarian and the beautiful Sean Murphy.

I first heard of Sean Murphy when Jan - one of the Islington Comic Forum regulars - first started yelling  at me (in a nice way): "How have you not heard of Sean Murphy man? He's bloody amazing! How have you not heard of him? He's like the best artist since forever! He does all these amazing intricate drawing and they all look so beautiful and lovely man and he's just the greatest! How have you not heard of him already?!" He then googled images of his art and shoved them in front of my face: and - well - yeah. I had to admit: even tho I looking at it on a teeny tiny screen - guy's art did look pretty rad. "He's done a Hellblazer already and at the moment he's doing this thing with Grant Morrison: it's only 2 issues in - but it's really really amazing."

I'll wait for the library to get a copy I said.  

And so here we are:

Grant Morrison has described it as "It's like Home Alone meets Lord of the Rings." Which is pretty accurate - altho I'd throw in The NeverEnding Story in too - just to be sure.

So I hope that all the above makes very clear that I'd been waiting to read this book for a bit of a long while. I'm not the most steadfast Grant Morrison fan: I'm the guy that balks when he gets too much into his wild and lofty excesses: but I do love it when he's restricted to things that take up the space of just one book (see above). Also I think the fact that I starting reading this just after giving up on Jonathan Ross' comic Turf which is filled to the brim with words and words and more words made the clean, sparse opening of Joe The Barbarian feel like jumping into a clear lake: so very very refreshing.

My only issue was the one that I get with all good comic books which is trying to decide between the desire to wanting to read things it all very slow and pore over each and every panel - taking in all the small touches and details (which for this kind of thing is probably a pretty good idea) or doing the opposite - just running through it as fast as I possibility can in order to get to the end and find out what happens and how and why and when.

Unlike past Morrison stories which have always tended to go places more cerebral than soppy: Joe isn't afraid to hit a few fairly basic emotional beats and pluck some conventional tunes out on the old heart-strings: but to those who would grumble that it's a little low-brow I'd argue that sometimes it's cool to replay a story that you may have heard before ("Traditional Rules Apply!") retold with a new lick of paint and brand new engine. With Sean Murphy not being afraid to take his time and set things out or blow a page or two on some of the most epic vistas I've ever seen (I believe that at one point I may have even whistled to myself: "wow - that castle looks cool.")

There were some bits towards the end (even reading it the second time) that it did seem that some things got into a bit of a muddle (but maybe that's the point somehow?): but all-in-all I'd say that it gave me one of the most pleasurable reading experiences I'd had in a while: and even if it's not an out-and-out masterpiece - it is the perfect entertainment for a rainy Sunday afternoon. 

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Links: Comic Book Resources Grant Morrison Interview, The Comics Journal Review #1 / The Comics Journal Review #1-6,  Comic Book Resources Review #1 / #2 / #5 /  #6 / #7, Pink Kryptonite Review of #8Comics Alliance Article: Joe the Barbarian: Reality vs Fiction in Grant Morrison's Comics / Comics Alliance Article: 2 Davids, 1 Book: Grant Morrison & Sean Murphy's Joe the BarbarianTearoom of Despair Article: Joe the Barbarian – Growing Up Is For Wimps, Mindless Ones Article: Joe The Barbarian – Fun Buy Apollo Geist, Comics Should Be Good Review #1A Lay of the Land ReviewMultiversity Casting Couch, IGN Interview with Grant Morrison.

Further reading: I Kill Giants, All Star Superman, We3PrometheaSolanin, The HobbitVimanarama, Smax, The Unwritten, The Filth, Hellblazer: City of DemonsSagaMazeworld.

Profiles: Grant Morrison.

All comments welcome.

Books: Blackest Night

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Blackest Night
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert 
2011





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

I tried. Really. I tried. As hard as I possibly could.

But there was just no way that I could get myself to read this book all the way through.

It was all too much - and as soon as I managed to get a few pages in my brain would go all fuzzy and I just wasn't able to read any further into it: and it all just becomes mush - brightly coloured, outer space, super-heroic, with added zombies mush.

I tried with the others too (Green Lantern: Blackest Night, Green Lantern Corps: Blackest Night, Black Lantern Corps: Blackest Night: Volume One, Black Lantern Corps: Blackest Night: Volume Two etc etc): but same result.

And - hey: to be clear - I love all those things: colours, space, super-heroes and zombies (how could I not?). But Blackest Night - I dunno. I think that unless you've been following things from the start it's pretty hopeless to just jump on board and hope to enjoy things. Geoff Johns is not Grant Morrison (whose Final Crisis is the nearest thing that I've read that comes close to this - and that at least was fun even in it's no-sense-making-ness).

Being nice: I just don't think that my brain is tuned the right way to be able to enjoy this type of stuff. Being nasty: this kind of stuff is just rubbishy, over-saturated, all-too-much-all-time-all-over nonsense.

What is good are the articles underneath which you should read even if you haven't read and don't want  to ever want to read the book itself.

That's all you get. Sorry.

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Links: Tearoom of Despair Review, Death To The Universe Article: Geoff Johns The Best On Offer Part 1 / Part 2.

Further reading: Green Lantern: Secret Origin, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Final Crisis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Don Quixote

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Don Quixote
Vol 1
Written by Miguel de Cervantes
Art by Rob Davis
2011



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


Martin Amis in his essay Broken Lance (collected in The War Against ClichĂ©) says that: "While clearly an impregnable masterpiece, Don Quixote suffers from one fairly serious flaw – that of outright unreadability."

Now: I'm not the biggest Amis fan in the world (and I much prefer his non-fiction to his fiction): but I've always used that review as a good excuse to not attempt to read Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's (what a cool name) long since acknowledged masterpiece which - depending who you believe is either the first ever 'true' novel (whatever that means), the "best literary work ever written," the beginnings of post-modernism, the most influential work of literature in the entire Spanish literary canon, the greatest of all books ever, and so on and so on. Or to put it in a way that maybe a comic fan might better understand: Don Quixote is the Watchmen of non-graphic novels in that: it's big, important and massively influentual (but - sadly: no naked blue supermen).

Saying this to my much more esteemed and well-read flat-mate ("well-read" as in: proper books) says that back in Ye Olden Days novels were much more likely to be read out loud so that the whole family could enjoy the same story at the same time (which answers the question - what did people do before television/the internet?). And so: novels weren't really constructed to be read all the way through in one go - but were constructed more like old fashioned sitcoms: you'd meet and fall in love with some collection of characters and then each chapter would be like a new episode and chance to catch up with what was going on. And so: while it'd be pretty tough to watch every episode of Happy Days / Cheers / Friends / whatever one after another after another after another after another (which sounds kinda hellish). Which (along with Amis comment) just gives me more much reason to want to avoid reading the original text - and did I mention that most editions tend to come to around a thousand pages (eek!).

So - yeah - while normally I tend to steer very clear of comic book adaptations of classic texts (especially Shakespeare: I mean - I don't really know much - but I always thought that the point of Shakespeare was the poetic use of language and the best way to experience it (maybe after you've familiarized yourself with the text a bit) was to hear it spoken aloud by actual people: reading it in comic book form then it like trying to take in a painting across a massive canvas by only looking through a pin-hole: it's restrictive, slightly-annoyed and - well - you're not getting the full picture. And to my mind the only thing worse is stuff like Shakespeare's Stories for Young Readers which don't even keep the language - but just tell the outline of the stories! But - whatever - I digress....). The point is: there are so many great comics out there that who the hell wants to read those that are pale imitations of books from canon? Especially when: the point with most of those kind of books isn't the story that you can fit into a comic but rather the cool novel-like things that only the novel can do (which is why adaptation is always a dodgy thing - but whatever whatever): when I saw that there was a Don Quixote comic - all the stuff that usually bothers didn't really seem to apply. For all the reasons I've already said: I don't really think that I would ever sit down and properly read the book - and seeing how it doesn't seem like there's going to be a film of it anytime soon (there's "The Curse of Quixote" - Orson Wells spent 25 trying his best to make a film version and Terry Gilliam had such bad luck that there's a documentary 'Lost in La Mancha' which is a "making of"of a film that didn't actually get made) - I thought that I would give the comic book a go...

And you know what? It's pretty good.

Some of the colouring I found a little off (a good example: take a look at that cover - all pink and blue: I mean it doesn't really make the Don Quixote stand out does it?) and everything has this clumpy, rough touch that I thought was a little - undignified (I wouldn't be too surprised to find out that the whole thing had been drawn in crayon). But then I wasn't really reading it for the art (which does have a few nice points - one highlight was the simple panel where Don Quixote's mind first snaps): all I really wanted was a small taste of this comedy classic that I had heard so much about. And - hey - for a book that's over four hundred years old - it's surprising but also pretty good to report that - you know what? - it's actually still pretty funny, there's lots and lots of really good very sitcom-esque lines ("Nothing cheers a fellow up like the knowledge that his agony will end in death.") and an outlook that as strange as it may be to say - manages to feel somehow - modern.

For anyone else looking for a York Notes style taster of a book that they have no intention of ever trying to read - Don Quixote is very much worth a look.

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Links: Forbidden Planet Blog ReviewGuardian Review, Self Made Hero: Guest blogger, Rob Davis: Don Quixote: The Self-Made Hero.

Further reading: Habibi, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman, Alice in Sunderland. LogicomixRudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Stories, Pride and Prejudice.

All comments welcome.  

Books: Turf

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Turf
Written by Jonathan Ross
Art by Tommy Lee Edwards
2011




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


Yes. This is a comic book written by Jonathan Ross.

Just to get this out of the way: I don't have any problems with Jonathan Ross. My earliest distinct memory of him is this - (and re-watching it now I've gotta admit that it did make me smile just ever so slightly) - and obviously since then he's done the talk show and the film show and that documentary about Steve Ditko and the naughty phone call with Russell Brand and etc etc etc. But yeah: whatever. If that guy from My Chemical Romance can pen the mighty Umbrella Academy (which you should read if you haven't already) then all bets are off: I don't care who you are or where you come from - but if I'm gonna give you my time then damnit I want to entertained, educated or informed: or all three (altho maybe educated and informed are the same thing? But no matter, no matter).

And yeah - I thought that Turf was going to show me a good time, the early reports were all good, Tommy Lee Edwards did lots of nice stuff in Marvel 1985 and seeing how Ross is married to Jane Goldman (who helped write the Kick-Ass film): I assumed that would mean that he would have a little help getting all the storytelling basics down. And even before reading the Mark Miller introduction I'm sure I knew that Ross had good geek credentials from his comic book documentaries and stuff he said back when he was going the whole Film critic thing.

So why am I writing this without even having finished the book? (And never intending to either)

I dunno. I got one third of the way through and realised how much I was struggling to not flip ahead (always a bad sign). The art is real pretty and everything looks realistic and nicely lit. And I've got nothing against the concept - which feels like it's sprung freshly formed from the mind of a five-year old boy - because as should be obvious by now: I tend to love outlandish concepts smashed and smeared over different types of chocolate cakes of awesomeness (If there's anyone in Hollywood reading this - then please know that I would pay good money to see this movie).

But Turf was just kinda - boring. None of the characters grabbed me. None of the dialogue fizzled in anyway (and is it just me or did lots of those full stops look a lot like comma's? and: did some of the sentences seem just a few more drafts away from being complete? "You got some set of balls, sonny. You better enjoy them while you can... Because I'm gonna cut 'em off and send 'em back to your brother this evening! And the rest of you will follow in little pieces for the next few weeks.": seems a little mealy mouthed to me). There was no special juxtapositions of the words and the pictures. Everything was just - meh. A bunch of cliche's all pressed together in the hope that somekind of magic is going to happen. And in parts felt more like reading a storyboard for a movie/tv show than something that existed in it's own right. There was nothing out-and-out terrible about any of it. But if the best thing you can say about something is that it was "functional" - then something's wrong. And yeah - well - I'm sorry Ross - but being a fan doesn't mean that you get to qualify for the main stage.

Like I said: all I wanted was some kind of good time. But Turf just left me feeling like I had better things to do. And the whole time I just couldn't shift that feeling that the whole thing was because just a big dressed up vanity project (and for some reason I don't quite understand - I feel really bad for sounding so mean!)

Better luck next time maybe (?)

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Links: Comic Book Grrrl Review, Guardian Review, Comics Alliance Interview with Jonathan Ross.

Further reading: Road to PerditionMarvel 1985, Hellboy, The Umbrella Academy.

All comments welcome.

Books: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere

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Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Glenn Fabry
2007




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


Glenn Fabry I know and love from Garth Ennis' Preacher. He didn't do the inside art (that's Steve Dillon) but he did do the lovely lovely covers (I'm gonna admit now that I actually own a copy of Preacher: Dead or Alive a collected edition of the covers for every issue - with commentary! woop). He's a member of the British 2000AD Old School (see also: Simon Bisley) who does lavish fully painted stuff that's big on small little details not to mention lots of gnarly attitude. Back in the day he used to illustrate Sláine (see also: Simon Bisley) which was a real good match for his over-the-top wild meaty figures: but since then he's been kinda quiet. I'm guessing that a big part of that is due to the fact that seeing how in-depth he tends to go and how much care and attention to detail he lavishes on every small part of every panel and so my face lit all the way up the first time I laid eyes on this book and saw his name on the bottom right hand corner. I guess I must  have assumed that he had quit doing comics work on the inside and had migrated to just working on covers: but obviously something must have happened to lure him back.

That something is Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

First presented to the world as 6-part BBC television series way back in 1996 Neverwhere was a orginally a joint venture between Neil Gaiman (who was just coming off the tail-end of The Sandman) and Lenny Henry (!?). I was one of the lucky few who watched it when it first aired and my blurred memories of slightly shoddy looking wobbley sets and lots of RADA-type over-acting (this was all back before when television was something that you had to watch because you didn't have any other choice - rather than stuff that was actually - you know - good). I've never really been that tempted to rewatch it (altho I'm a bit more tempted now I've just realised that The Marquis de Carabas was played by Alan Johnson (!) from Peep Show). The only bit that managed to stick in my head all these years is where a pigeon gets the Ozzy Osbourne treatment: Crunchy! [1]

Since that relativily inconspicuous first foray Neverwhere has mutated and reached out into several other forms. It's better known in it's novelised form where Neil Gaiman took the opporunity to expand on things that didn't quite fit into the narrow confines of the smaller screen and (gotta love the irony) move The Floating Market from Battersea Power Station to Harrods. Also: there's a stage verison and talk of the always inevitable big-budget Hollywood-type film - but the reason we're here now is to talk about the comic book adapation so here goes:

With Neil Gaiman's comic booky roots this book isn't as unexpected or as strange as perhaps it would be if it came from someone else (altho my mind goes blank when I try to think of other "urban fantasy" television shows made into successful novels). Plus - with this, Coraline and The Sandman: The Dream-Hunters it seems that there's now a whole mini-sub-genre of comic books of Neil Gaiman stories not actually written by Neil Gaiman. And it's very fitting that it's Mike Carey who's in charge of things - as he's the one responsible for Lucifer which was a spin-off from The Sandman - so he's already had a pretty strong handle on how Gaiman's universe tends to work.  

I've always liked Neverwhere and I'm pretty sure that at some point I've even read the novel version (I remember it as the sort of thing that's perfect for a little light lunch time reading). For those of you that haven't yet fallen down the gaps into London Below: this comic has lots going for it. Obviously it doesn't suffer from the budget limitations of the television show. And like I said up there: it's got Glenn Fabry on the artwork who is - frankly - amazing (altho - sad face - it's not fully painted: but I guess you can't have everything: and also: without the paints his stuff really reminds me of Chris Weston - which if you don't know: is a very good thing).

For those who want to know what it's like: well. It's a modern fairy-tale with trace-elements of The Wizard of Oz and Alice In Wonderland. There's lots of cool plot mechanics-things that swing and cut in lots of fun ways with every small part contributing to the whole (in the introduction Mike Carey talks about how adapting the book for the comic gave him a chance to 'look under the hood' of how a Neil Gaiman story works and I think it's something that stayed in my mind as I worked my way through and gave me reason to notice and appreciate the way seeming off the cuff comments managed to contain both a character's motivation and their hidden secrets: which is kinda cool).

Also - gotta say: Bonus points for "The Fop With No Name." (and the new fore-runner for the prize marked: random on panel character who deserves their own series).

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[1] Think I'd be remiss at this point if I didn't mention that Islington has a copy on DVD for the brave and the curious.

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Links: Blog Critics ReviewTearoom of Despair Article: Neverwhen.

Further reading: The Unwritten, The Sandman, The Sandman: Death: The High Cost of Living, The Sandman: The Dream-Hunters, Sláine: The Horned God, The Batman/Judge Dredd Files, LuciferNeil Gaiman's Midnight Days, Coraline, Stardust.   

Profiles: Neil Gaiman.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Books: Thor: The Mighty Avenger

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Thor: The Mighty Avenger
Vol 1
Written by Roger Langridge
Art by Chris Samnee
2010



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/ 
Thor: The Mighty Avenger
Vol 2
Written by Roger Langridge
Art by Chris Samnee
2011



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


About a week ago I saw this here article on the AVclub (title: What Makes a Good All-Ages Comic?). Briefly skimming through it I saw that it mentioned a series called Thor: The Mighty Avenger which the author claimed featured "one of the best courtships in comic-book history." That praise - coupled with the example of the artwork underneath (four understated panels of a couple (the blonde one's Thor right?) sharing an intimate glass of wine) made me curious enough to want to try it out. It was only once I'd reserved it and had to sent over to North Library that I realised that it was a book that we already had in stock and one which I had seen over and over on our shelves. Thing was: I'd never been tempted to read it: it came in a mini-format which made it seem that it was more for eight year olds: and I assumed that it was just somekind of rushed cash-in for the Thor movie that was released around the same time it first appeared. And: anyway - back then I just assumed that Thor was never really a character for me. It just didn't seem like there was anymore to him then just a big strong Aryan-type with a massive hammer (*cough.*)

But - hey - I may as well give it go right? And you know what? I'm glad I did. As it turns out that Thor: The Mighty Avenger is one of the most - pleasant (!) - superhero comics that I've read in quite a while. There's something about the light tone of it and the way that things slowly develop in a way that never feels hurried or rushed: if most tales about men in tights having fights tend to feel like speeding at 100 miles per hour down a motorway, Thor: The Mighty Avenger is a happy saunter through the park. Yes - there's action and fantastic events and punches thrown in every issue: but it all feels so friendly and relaxed that the lasting impression is just how damn nice it was reading it. And Chris Samnee's artwork has a Steve Yeowelly simplicty that means that everything rolls quickly and easily off the page and into your eyes...

All-in-all: as sad as it was that it was cancelled after only 8 issues (which is almost criminal) and be warned: then when it does end it is rather abrupt and does leave quite a few loose threads up in the air (oh well)  - this is the only Thor comic that you'll ever need. Or - looking at it another way: yet another reminder that there's no such thing as a bad character - only great writers and artists. 

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Links: Graphic Novel Reporter Review of Vol 1, Comic Related Review of Vol 1, Popdose Review of Vol 1, Geekvolution Review

Further reading: The Ultimates, Nikolai Dante: The Romanov Dynasty

All comments welcome.

Books: Batman: Snow

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Batman: Snow
Written by Dan Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III
Art by Seth Fisher

2007




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Reading through the stuff out there - it feels a little like all the different possible combinations of Batman stories have already been told. I mean - unless it's Grant Morrison of course (probably one of the few people out there able to push and pull the Dark Knight into strange new shapes). But - everyone else prefers to follow the same old established template: there's somekind of crime with new supervillian/old established favourite up to somekind of mischief - Batman does some detecting - big fight at the the end - roll credits.

The thing that makes Batman: Snow so nice is the way that it goes off the beaten path and finds a new type of Batman story to tell: and does it with a Batman that's less Tim Burtony dark and brooding and sticking to the shadows and more Adam West: slightly goofy looking and with lots of exuberant sound effects.

I'm going to admit that part of the reason I picked this up was because it had J. H. Williams III's name on the cover: and if you've ever seen his artwork in Promethea, Desolation Jones or Batwoman then you'll know why I'd be hungry for more. Thing is (and it took me a few pages to figure this out) is that here he's actually doing the writing and not the artwork: not that I minded too much - Seth Fisher (who did the trippy and delighful Green Lantern: Willworld) does a beautiful job with lots of bouncy intricate artwork that has lots of spaces for your eyes to get lost in.  

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Links: Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader Article: Snow Days: Batman versus Mr. Freeze in Batman: SnowSupervillain Article on Seth Fisher.

Further reading: Green Lantern: Willworld, Batman: The Black Glove, Batman: Year One, Planetary: Crossing Worlds.

Profiles: J. H. Williams III.

All comments welcome.

Monday 16 January 2012

Books: Superman: All Star Superman

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Superman: All Star Superman
Vol 1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quitely

2007



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Superman: All Star Superman
Vol 2
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Frank Quitely

2007



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Grant Morrison: "It was 1 a.m., in an airless hotel room, overlooking the naval yards of San Diego Harbor. I found myself chewing over the interesting problem of re-creating Superman for the 21st century, with my editor Dan Raspler. To clear our heads, we went downstairs and crossed the street to a Dr. Seuss-ish park between the rail tracks and the city. We were deep in discussion, debating earnestly the merits and demerits of a married Superman, when we spotted a couple of men crossing the tracks into town.One was an ordinary-looking bearded dude, at first sight like any of a hundred thousand comics fans. But the other was Superman. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored red, blue and yellow costume; his hair was slicked back with a kiss curl; and unlike the often weedy or paunchy Supermen who paraded through the convention halls, he was the most convincing Superman I’ve ever seen, looking like a cross between Christopher Reeve and the actor Billy Zane. I knew a visitation when I saw one.Racing to intercept the pair, Dan and I explained who we were, what we were doing and asked “Superman” if he wouldn’t mind answering a few questions. He didn’t, and sat on a concrete bollard with one knee to his chest shield, completely relaxed. It occurred to me that this was exactly how Superman would sit. A man who was invulnerable to all harm would be always relaxed and at ease. He’d have no need for the kind of physically aggressive postures superheroes specialized in. I began to understand Superman in a new way. We asked questions, “How do you feel about Lois?,” “What about Batman?,” and received answers in the voice and persona of Superman — “I don’t think Lois will ever really understand me or why I do what I do …” or “Batman sees only the darkness in people’s hearts. I wish he could see the best …” — that seemed utterly convincing.The whole encounter lasted an hour and a half, then he left, graciously, and on foot, I’m sad to say. Dan and I stared at one another in the fuzzy sodium glare of the street lamps, then quietly returned to our rooms. Inflamed, I stayed awake the whole night, writing about Superman until the fuming August sun rose above the warships, the hangars and the Pacific. The end result was my 12-part “All-Star Superman” series with artist Frank Quitely so it was definitely worth it."

("You're much stronger than you think you are.")

No question: This is the best Superman story of all time. One blogger [1] has even gone so far as to list 167 Reasons why it's his favourite superhero comic of the last decade and not only do I agree with every reason he listed (favourite examples include: "The way Lois kicks up a tiny cloud of lunar dust as she embraces Superman on the moon", "Clark's unreadable expression while he holds the punching bag for Luthor", "Superman is shooting tiny versions of himself out of his fingertips, and they can cure cancer, and it all makes perfect sense") - but it feels like there's 167 reasons more that he didn't include.

("Only nothing is impossible.")

Because - yeah - undoubtedly Superman is the best superhero of all time. He was the first. He has all the main superpowers that any self-respecting superhero needs (namely I guess: super-strength and flying [2]) and he's got all the cool iconography: that spit-curl, the cape and - of course: that chest-mounted "S"[3]. But for those of us who actually - you know - read comics: the problem with Superman has always been that although there are seemingly hundreds and hundreds of Superman books out there there are very few that are actually worth reading [4]. Yeah - there's Red Son and Secret Identity: but it's not a great sign that those are both non-canon "Elseworlds" style titles that - technically speaking [5] aren't really about Superman at all (more like Superman-counterparts or Supermen of other dimensions): and - oh yeah - there's Alan Moore's Whatever Happened to The Man of Tomorrow? [6]: but that was just 2 issues so it's a bit slight - and seeing how it's supposed to be the last Superman story ever told - it's more like a capstone than an actual story in-and-of-itself: something that only makes sense in relation to all the Superman stories that came before it.

("And he showed me by example how to be tough, and how to be kind and how to dream of a better world.")

And then - well: up in the sky! Is it a bird? It is a plane? No - it's the just best Superman story of all time. It's All Star Superman. Or (even better) as the name of the last chapter has it: Superman in Excelsis! (Which I think would have made a pretty good alternative title).

("No time to lose.")

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely distill all the awesome aspects of the Man of Steel into his most timeless, essential and iconic elements - like they say it's "an honest attempt to synthesize the best of all previous eras." With things like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns and all the millions of inferior books they spawned there's been a decades-long industry standard of making superhero books grim n' gritty and dark and mean with very few books around to indicate any sort of way out. Lots of people kinda hunkered for a sorta return to the Silver Age of Comic books [7] before all these unwelcome ("welcome to the real world" [8] aspects started to creep in). But unlike say - Alan Moore's Supreme - which was happy enough to just recreate the happy-go-lucky plots of prime Silver Age superhero stories (not that there's anything wrong with that): All Star Superman synthesises all the elements into something brand-new and modern: a book that builds on everything that came before but doesn't do so with a sense of nostalgia - but rather takes everything that's been done up until this point and then uses it to go even further: into the future. With pretty much ever cool and uncool Superman cliche present and correct - from Jimmy Olson's signal watch to Bizarro from Krypto the Superdog to the Fortress of Solitude [9] - it's a delight for fans: but with no back story knowledge required (although who doesn't know Superman?) - non-fans are just as welcome [10]. On the surface - the story is simple and elegant - cutting to the chase on the very first page: "Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple." and then from there it's an almost non-stop barrage of outlandish concepts (nanonauts, genetically modified suicide bombs in human form, voyager titans, armies of flesh-eating dinosaur men, tungsten gas life forms with brittle glass exoskeltons and highly dangerous experimental stem-cell accelerators!) and everything pushed up to 330,000: "Imagine one hundred billion H bombs exploding in your face, Miss Lane... per second."

("And I only have moments to save the world.")

But there's lots and lots of hidden delights and intricate brain-twisters for the careful reader to discover, unpick and enjoy (check the links below [12]) as well as a show-stealing performance from Lex Luthor who's better here than he's ever been anywhere else (and that includes Gene Hackman's devilish performance in the 1978 Superman film just so you know that I'm not kidding around...): he's consistently entertaining, smart, funny and always scrupulously underhand ("Robot 7... must atone... Solaris invaded neural net... Solaris stole formula... stole for Luthor..." / "Thanks to a serum only I could have invented." made me giggle quite a lot).  

("...This is going to change everything.")

With juicy dazzling colouring and rock solid artwork it's a beautiful pinnacle of what superhero comics can do. Not only does Quitely capture all that important body language and facial expression stuff of all the main characters - but even the minor characters seem fully fleshed out and realised with their own interior lives - plus he manages to make everything from volcanos spewing lava in distant lands to the moon cracking into two seem like like places you could visit and touch. And special mention for the under-stated three-dimensional meta-comic effects like: when the edges of the panel fall in when Clark Kent causes an earthquake and how the splatters of blood (?) slide down the invisible fourth wall in the Sun-eaters cell and that double page of Lex Luthor and Clark walking down the prison steps is a mind-blowing masterpiece of construction (the way it zooms in and out and then opens up at the bottom makes my jaw drop every time I read it [13])

("The gold in us, will survive in you!")

And oh my god wonders will never cease (and this is how you know just how good it is) for once Grant Morrison manages not to fluff the ending but actually manages to create a moment that not only makes sense - but also goes further and becomes something that actually manages to feel strangely transcendent ("And we're all we've got.") [14] Showing us that the "Super" part of "Superman" comes not from the fact that he's got all those super-strength, flying powers etc and it's not because if he meets a threat he can just smash it into submission: but more from his ability to see the best in everything - and - well - the fact that being able to multi-task like a madman (I love it when it all starts coming together in the second volume: the massive rush of information and plot points hitting like a big fat beautiful wave of "omg!" moments).

("There's always a way.")

Basically: Even if you hate Superman, even if you hate superheroes, even if you hate comic books: there is something in here for everyone to fall in love with and make you gasp with wonder and joy. Superman the way you remembered him in all your best dreams - and the way you always wished he could be again. That cover for Vol 2 above? With Superman with the world suspended between his hands - with that beatific look on his face? That's the way you'll feel reading it: safe and secure in the arms of a higher power.

Hell yeah or - (should I say it?): Super. Man.

("I love you Superman.")

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[1] Bob Temuka at the Tearoom of Despair see: here: (but have also put him down in the links below - you know - just to be sure).

[2] Altho - as I found out through reading Men Of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book - at the start Superman was just really good at jumping (thus: "able to leap tall buildings with a single bound") and the writers stole the flying idea from another character (Yonk!).

[3] One of the librarians I work with at North (who's great and super-fun to work with) has a T-Shirt with a Superman "S" on it - even tho he never reads comic books and still seems bemused by the monthly Comic Forum meeting ("I thought it would just be children...").

[4] Especially when you compare him to Batman who has wicked epoch-defining Batbooks coming out his spiky little Batears (just check that right hand column and look for how many books there are tagged with "Batman").

[5] You know - if you wanna get super-geeky about it. And this is a frigging blog about comic books so...

[6] Which - if you wanna read it - is collected in: DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore: and is the birthplace of the immortal comic book line: "This is an imaginary story...aren't they all?" (That collection also contains another classic Superman story: For the Man Who Has Everything (with art by his Watchmen co-conspirator Dave Gibbons) As well as Batman's The Killing Joke and a whole bunch of other good stuff: so - hey - what are you waiting for?)

[7] Silver Age of Comics = a period spanning between the 1950s and the 1970s when everything was innocent and bright and sorta-Pop-Arty. For a good example try Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier. (A good definition: The Silver Age is founded on the belief that "everything comes out all right in the end.")

[8] Which mainly consisted of people (well - actually - it was mainly women) either being raped or murdered. Or - if you were lucky: both. In fact if you want to see how bleak things got then check this list out: "Not every woman in comics has been killed, raped, depowered, crippled, turned evil, maimed, tortured, contracted a disease or had other life-derailing tragedies befall her, but given the following list, it's hard to think up exceptions."

[9] And it's very special key - Fun Superman fact: back when the Fortress of Solitude was first introduced back in the 50s it had a giant gold-coloured door with a giant keyhole: that could only be opened by - well - a giant gold key (see: here). The reasoning being that well - no duh - only a super-being like Superman would ever be strong enough to lift it. Stuff like that's good to know before you start reading this so you can enjoy how the book twists and streamlines things...

[10] In fact - if you wanna go there: the best way to describe All Star Superman is that it's like a Superman hyper-story (that's a thing right? That sounds like something Grant Morrison would say...). It begins with lots of backstory already built in off-page - all the stuff that we all already know: Lois Lane has been trying to prove that Clark Kent is Superman for years and years and years and Lex Luthor has been trying to destroy Superman (and constantly thwarted) for the same amount of time. So far - so much like the Superman that everyone already knows: but then there's all this stuff that kinda refers to all the big Superman stories but does so in such a way that you can't really be sure what exactly happened: did they have Doomsday kill Superman in this world (They have the same eagle-on-his-hand tombstone at the very least)? Has Superman meet Bizarro before (there's a bit where he says that "Bizarros have never been organised or as hostile as this before" which seems to suggest that he has - but then the Underverse seems like a new discovery - so I dunno [11])? Plus there's also Solaris "The Tyrant Sun" who was created by (yep) Mr Grant Morrison in a series called DC One Million that was published in 1998 ("It featured a vision of the DC Universe in the 853rd century (chosen because that is the century in which, if the company had maintained a regular publishing schedule, DC Comics would first publish an issue numbered one million (specifically, Action Comics, their longest running title)") - which makes him part of "official continuity" and who then acts in exactly the same way: that bit where Superman says "By the 24th Century, I'm told, you'll have been rehabilitated to work with humanity instead of against them."? I think that's a DC One Million reference (but it's hard to be sure because it all sounds pretty complicated: something about Pancosmic Justice Jihads and time loops and stuff like that... But hey I guess: it's an imaginary story - aren't they all? (So just shut up and enjoy it already).

[11] In fact it kinda reminds me of that bit in Aliens ("Is this gonna be a standup fight, sir, or another bughunt?" "All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony, and that a xenomorph may be involved." "Excuse me sir, a-a what?" "A xenomorph." "It's a bughunt.") Doesn't that mean that if they've already got all that terminology in place ("xenomorph" "bughunt") and Hudson says is this gonna be "another bughunt" then doesn't that mean that they've already dealt with those aliens before somewhere else? In which case - why are they so surprised?

[12] My favourite crazy theory (that's probably true) is the one that says that Leo Quintum is a future version of Lex Luthor. Check the Mountain of Judgement artile: "All-Star Luthor: Xs and Os" and Guilty Displeasures' (much less ambiguously named): "Leo Quintum is Lex Luthor" below: (Quote: "After Superman leaves to reignite the sun, Luthor has a year to think about it--a year in which, according to the epilogue, even he is moved by Superman's memorial service, and, as Quintum himself says, the villain diminishes in the absence of his rival. So, let's say you're Luthor. Superman's finally gone, the world looks different to you now, and his final statement is ringing in your ears. Maybe you give up and let yourself be executed, as the overt text seems to suggest.Or maybe you disappear, travel back in time, don a pair of glasses as a foolproof disguise, (plus some hair plugs, switching the X in your name to an O, and adding some colors to your old coat) and you become the man Superman always knew you could be."). Hell just check out page 24 and page 30 in the first Vol and you can see it staring you in the face.

[13] And this is a book that I have read and reread about five or six times already and it feels like I'm only just getting started...

[14] Altho: if you do wanna nitpick (and hey - why the hell not - right?) Then I would question the mixed messages sent out by that panel of Superman declaring "Brain beats brawn every time!" at the exact same instant as he punches Luthor in the face.

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Links: Newsarama Grant Morrison Interview, I Am Not The Beastmaster Review All-Star Superman #1 / #3 / #5 / #10 / #12 / Vol 2, Death to the Universe Review, Mindless Ones Article, The M0vie Blog ReviewSci-Ence! Justice Leak! Article: Eschatology & Escapology 2: Desperate Scientists, Last HopeMountain of Judgement: All-Star Luthor: Xs and Os, Guilty Displeasures: Leo Quintum is Lex Luthor, Tearoom of Despair: 167 Reasons Why All Star Superman Was My Favourite Superhero Comic of The Last Decade, Matt Seneca Comix Article: Life on Earth Q: Love, Childhood, and All Star Superman (Part 1) / (Part 2) / (Part 3).

Further reading: We3, Flex MentalloThe Filth, Superman: Red Son, Batman: All Star Batman and Robin, Ultimate Spider-Man, JLA: Earth 2, Kingdom Come, Supreme, Joe The Barbarian, DC: The New Frontier, Superman: Secret IdentitySuperman: Birthright.

Profiles: Grant MorrisonFrank Quitely.

All comments welcome.

Books: Strangers in Paradise

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Strangers in Paradise
Pocket Book 1
By Terry Moore

2004




Available now from Islington Libraries
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Strangers in Paradise
Pocket Book 2
By Terry Moore

2004




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Strangers in Paradise
Pocket Book 3
By Terry Moore

2004




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Strangers in Paradise
Pocket Book 4
By Terry Moore

2005




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Strangers in Paradise
Pocket Book 5
By Terry Moore

2005




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Strangers in Paradise
Pocket Book 6
By Terry Moore

2007




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Before I started reading Strangers in Paradise I had it mixed up in my head with Love & Rockets. I knew that both were comics that were for people who "didn't normally read (urg) comic books" (and that would be the point when they said something about: "it's all just superheroes flying around isn't it?" and I would just silently nod and go "yeah - yeah" and then try and bring them on side by saying: "Oh - have you read Watchmen?" Because - everyone loves Watchmen) and just thought that it was all boring seriousness and serious boringness ("Strangers in Paradise"? I mean that titles makes it sounds like a poem. Urg!) But having taken the plunge I now realised how wrong I was. Because (unlike Love & Rockets - which is more like a Pedro AlmodĂłvar film or something) Strangers in Paradise is pure fantastic awesomeness.

A long-running, mostly self-published black-and-white comic book notable for its large female fanbase starring Katina "Katchoo" Choovanski (a temperamental artist with a violent and mysterious past) and her kind-hearted best friend: Francine Peters-Silver (relationship status? well... it's complicated) this is a series that's less "graphic novel" and more full-blown soap opera. We've got histrionics, unrequited love and massively outlandish plots all held together with expertly built characters whose subtle emotions and thoughts are captured with precise detail by the lovingly drawn artwork. Seriously: if they were actors they would win Oscars and stuff. The whole series has been collected in 6 handy "pocket-book" (which basically means that they're small in page sizeness - but still kinda hefty in page countness) series. And like Mr Neil Gaiman says: "What most people don’t know about love, sex and relations with other human beings would fill a book. Strangers in Paradise is that book.”

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Links: Comic Book Resources Interview.

Further reading: Echo, The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For, Gemma Bovery, Fun Home, Love & Rockets: Heartbreak Soup, The Ballad of Halo Jones

All comments welcome.

Books: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

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The Dark Knight Returns
Written by Frank Miller
Art by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley

1986




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My mum isn't really a comic's person. I mean - I can't be certain - but I'm guessing that if you said "Watchmen" to her she'd probably think you were talking about those things you strap to your wrist.

But still: I fairly sure that the first time I read The Dark Knight Returns (and there have been many many times since) was because of her. According to my memory - it's a rainy day - I'm stuck indoors (I have no idea how old I am - 8? 12? 16?) and I'm rooting around her bookcase looking for something to distract me: and I'm flicking through - no, no, nothing, rubbish, no, no, no - and I get to the bottom shelf and I see it: a Batman comic? What the...? I take it out and look at the front cover. It's a very cool cover - not the one above [1] - but much starker and much blacker (hell - it is called The Dark Knight): with Batman abstracted to the point where he looks less like a man and more like a giant gothic ornament - standing behind a building with the Bat-signal projected on to it - so that it sits pretty much where his chest-plate should be. It's a very cool cover [2]. And at first I can't get over the fact that my mum has a Batman comic on her shelf - and then I start reading it - "I've got the home stretch all to myself when the readings stop making sense" - and oh my god - Bruce Wayne dies on the first page? What is this? This is like no Batman comic I have ever read.

I mean - of course - at that point it's likely that I'd never even read a Batman comic. But like any child everywhere on the planet - of course I knew who Batman was, what he did, what he stood for (for those of you who don't know thats: Bruce Wayne, dressing up as a giant Bat and fighting crime, and truth, justice and being a total badass): but this - The Dark Knight Returns - it just felt - well - I guess the word I would have used would have been wrong: it was all wrong. In every other Batman story I'd come across (I'm guessing the two main sources at this point would have been the Adam West version and the pure awesomeness of the Batman: Animated Series) there was always a sense that everything was going to be alright - yeah: the Joker or whoever would cause some limited amount of mayhem and a little bit of wanton destruction - but Batman would soon figure out what they were up to and work out a way to stop them: and then everything would be alright. But in this book it felt like all the normal certainties had been taken away. First of all: Batman was old. And even back then I knew that Batman was never supposed to get old - he was supposed to stay in prime, peak-physical fitness for all time so that he was always there to take out the bad-guys: Batman being old? That was as crazy and stupid and as wrong as God getting old [3]. The second thing that was wrong was that - in the Dark Knight Returns - Gotham wasn't right. I mean - yeah - I knew that the city had it's fair share of troubles - all those super-criminals and all - but apart from that normally it was just like any other fictional city: you know - clean and litter-free: like a better version of real life (with the only small hiccup coming from the Animated Series where it seemed to have a strange affliction of only ever existing at night time [4]). But in Frank Miller's hands - Gotham was a decaying shambles falling apart from the seams - with the streets lined up with trash - dead nuns and dead cats - stapled to church doors - and the thought of going out by yourself after dark was practically suicidal. Yeah. Kinda like real life a bit I guess - only ten times worse. And: well - things start off bad and then - instead of Batman swooping in to make things better and doing all his restoring the status-quo-stuff ("And then everything went back to normal") - for the average Gothamite - things just get worse and keep on getting worse [5]: at the start things are just kinda rubbish - but towards the end it's all practically apocalyptic (hell - there's no "practically" about it).

(How have you not read this already? Literally - even my mum has read it). 

Of course - all this "wrongness" is what makes everything about this book so goddamn right [6]. And even reading it as a kid and taking in the transgressiveness of the story - I didn't want to stop reading - hell: it just made me want to read it more: in fact it's what makes it so totally compulsive (again: maybe this is just me sugar-coating the memory - but I'm pretty sure that I once I picked it up and peeked inside - I didn't put it down until I'd read all the way to the end). All the other Batman stories until that point (hell: nearly all the other stories period) are always about playing things safe and acting as reassurance: a safe place where everything is going to be ok and everyone always lives happily ever after [7]. The Dark Knight Returns doesn't care about doing any of that sort of stuff. Bruce Wayne has a death wish right from the get-go and altho it does have a choice selection of Batman bad-guys for him to fight - by the end he's not going up against any one freak in a funny outfit - he's seemingly taking on the whole world in a fight he can't possibly win (can he?): but then - when the narrative safeties are off and the possibility of victory seems impossible (and #1 in Pixar's 22 rules of storytelling [8] is: "You admire a character for trying more than for their successes") there are few things in the world better or more exciting. Insurmountable odds and the very really possibility of failure and death lurking at each step? Bring it on [9]: Has there ever been a Batman more primal than this ("While in my gut the creature writhes and snarls and tells me what I need")? It's less like a comic book like we normally know it (with bright multi-coloured heroes and villains in fabulous-looking costumes) and more like an opera [11]: Extravagantly theatrical, overly dramatic and twice as big as you can possibly imagine. 

When art-forms start out (training wheels firmly attached) they muck around in the shallows for a while and don't try too much - until someone comes along, rolls their sleeves up, pushes it as far as it will go and then blows the whole thing up. That's The Dark Knight Returns. The Big Daddy of all the "dark, grim and gritty" / "serious" / "for mature readers" graphic novels out there - and (along with the aforementioned Watchmen) the prime mover in showing the rest of the world that - Boom! Pow! Bang! - comics weren't just for kids anymore! and could even be - just maybe: quote unquote "Art": It's also one of the most assured, inspired, and - well - hands down best mainstream comic books of all time. Yeah - ok - hyperbole (maybe) but this is a comic full of sophistication, poise and an emotionally damaged billionaire dressing up like a giant bat and going out and kicking ass.

You want to know the story? Well ok: Gotham City (and the world) has gone to hell and "the Batman" is just a legend [12]. Until one day: he's back and - well - everything goes insane - building up towards several end-of-the-world-style showdowns and - hell yeah - the best fight scene in a comic book ever ever ever. Quietly innovative (as strange as it sounds to refer to anything in this book as "quiet" [13]) and totally masterful in it's use of (amongst other things) colour, panel construction and text-boxes - with so so many lovely little touches (amongst which: "Arkham Home for the Emotionally Troubled" is one of my favourites) plus drawn with patience that at points slows down so much that it's like reading individual frames from a roll of film ("You remember that night"). Basically - yeah: it's Frank Miller's magnum opus and a shining exemplar of just how magnificent a comic book can be. It might not be exactly your cup of tea: but there's so much skill/craft/workmanship built into every small facet of it's towering being - that kudos must be given. Or to put it another way (as someone else from the Comic Forum so excellently put it): it's made of awesome.

In fact I'll say it again: How have you not read it already? It's The Dark Knight Returns. It changed the way the world thinks of not just Batman - but the whole medium of comic books (what they are and what they can do): so much so that - damn - like I said: even my mum has a copy. And if you haven't yet had the experience: well... 

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[1] Designed by Chip Kidd who also did the starey Batman eye cover for the Dark Knight Strikes Back (which I must admit I do quite like) - and who wrote the The Cheese Monkeys (which is quite good and is how I know who he is): plus - he's the guy who's (pretty much) responsible for the Jurassic Park logo - so: yeah (and this too). 

[2] It must be well out of print by now because if you google "dark knight returns cover" it doesn't even show up until the second page (if you're curious you can see it: here).  

[3] There's a quote somewhere from Frank Miller who talked about part of the inspiration for the Dark Knight Returns came when he realised that he was gonne be older than Batman - ah! Here we go: "In Miller's strip Bruce Wayne was a fiftysomething alcoholic, forced out of retirement to clean up a Gotham City abandoned by its government. With the Cold War at full boil and Reagan still president, it was a searing indictment of the times. "Suddenly I realised I was about to turn 30, and Batman was permanently 29," Miller says. "And I was going to be damned if I was older than Batman." No. Wait. Actually (I guess it's a story he's told a few different times) he tells it best in his introduction to the Tenth Anniversary Edition: “1985. My apartment in New York City. A sudden realization, and not a pleasant one. My thirtieth birthday is right around the corner. I’m poised to turn one year older than Batman. I’ve come to accept, in recent years, that Spider-Man is younger than my little brother, but Batman? My favorite childhood hero? That lantern-jawed, ever-wise father figure? I’m actually gonna be older than Batman? This was intolerable. Something had to be done. Later that same year. On board an airplane headed for Texas. Dick Giordano and I sip white wine and talk. Enthusiastically, if clumsily, I lay out to him the collection of ideas I've got for this Batman thing he's wanted me to do. The central notion is simply to move Batman through time, and chronicle his last case. Move him through time, and, just by happenstance, make him once again much older than I am."   

[4] But then - as we all surely know: Batman sure looks stupid when he's around standing around during the daytime. 

[5] Hell yes Godspeed You Black Emperor! = ideal Dark Knight Returns soundtrack. Failing that: the the best thing about the Nolan Batfilms: Hans Zimmer (that's not counting Heath Ledger obviously).

[6] Although - not everything is changed: there are a still few solid dependables - top of the list being Alfred Pennyworth who's never been in better form than he is here ("Hmf ...he'll just have to wear it wet...")

[7] I think that's why all the good horror films tend to mess you up as kid: because not only are they full of crazy monsters and whatever - but nine times out of ten - they don't end with everything being ok (That episode of South Park with the 5 year old with cancer? "No hope. No hope.").

[8] See: here. (also available in Lego form). 

[9] Having an email conversation with my friends about everything that was wrong with The Dark Knight Rises I stumbled upon Die Hard as maybe one of the best and most well-known examples of this: I mean you always know that Die Hard [10] isn't going to die - but the way it's made and the way the story unfolds - you still always feel like (no matter how many times you've seen it) there's the possibility that he just might.  That's called good storytelling. Another thing that Die Hard and The Dark Knight Returns have in common (and that The Dark Knight Rises doesn't do): is that they always have the main character going around and doing actual life-threatening stuff rather than say - just sitting around and flying about in a stupid Batcopter (if all your main action stuff is someone just sitting around pressing buttons - especially if that someone is Batman -then there is something very wrong going on). 

[10] Yes - his name is Die Hard - why? What do you call him? (It's like they say in Peep Show: 'Of course he's called Jaws. "Here comes Jaws, Jaws the shark, mind he doesn't bite you with his enormous jaws.")

[11] Frank Miller in that Tenth Anniversary Edition introduction again: "And there was Batman himself. He was the real boss. As he was quick to assert, Batman has a personality and a purpose all his own, a definable core. He's no whiner ; there's not a trace of self-pity in his soul. He's smart. He's noble. His passions are grand. Even his unhappiness is not depressing, but a brooding, Wagnerian torment. And his triumphs are Olympian."

[12] I don't know if anyone has pointed this out (and probably this is just boring geeky comic talk) - but there's a strange little sliver of precognition embedded within The Dark Knight Returns namely: the reason why Bruce Wayne retired as Batman being that Jason Todd died: "I gave my word. For Jason. Never. Never Again." There's even a little memorial cabinet in the Batcave for his Robin costume that Bruce stands in front of and does his brooding. Of course (yeah) Jason Todd being dead is (at this point) common knowledge amongst all semi-serious Batman fans (let's ignore his subsequent resurrection): he was blown up by the Joker and DC had a telephone poll letting the readers choose if Jason Todd should live or die and he was killed off by a vote of 5343 to 5271 (ouch - harsh) but what of lot of people may not realise nowadays is that The Dark Knight Returns was first published in 1986 while Jason Todd wasn't done away with until 1988. Which means that the gravitational pull of the Dark Knight Returns is so strong that the mainstream DC continuity has been somehow warped into falling in line with it. (Or maybe it's just because Jason Todd was so annoying that Frank Miller realised that it was a no-brainer that at some point they were just gonna have to kill off the little squirt?). [Edit: Oh wait - yeah they mention it in one of those Big Other article below - but - yeah - they make less of a meal out of it].

[13] And if you're looking for a full breakdown of the all the marvelous things it does - then check out the Big Other Articles linked below - they're very good.

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Links: The M0vie Blog Review, Mindless Ones Analysis, Big Other Analysis of The Dark Knight Returns: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8, Comics Alliance Article: Away From Human Memory: Editing And Composition In Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns'.

Further reading: Watchmen, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Batman: Year One, Batman: All Star Batman and Robin, Ronin, Batman: Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, 300, Kingdom Come, Batman: Year 100, SupergodsBatman: Knightfall

Profiles: Frank Miller.

All comments welcome.