Friday 27 April 2012

Events: Islington Comic Forum 2012/05

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The Islington Comic Forum is a big table full of comic books with a bunch of people seemingly selected from a United Colours of Benetton advert (there's no such thing as an average member) sitting around and discussing/arguing/sharing their thoughts and ideas about one of the most exciting and diverse mediums on the planet (nowadays if you're talking about something that's just "all about superheroes" my first guess is you're talking about films - but whatever). It's a little bit more chaotic than a book club but with the same sort of relaxed and open friendly atmosphere: all presided over by an excitable librarian who has pretty much read every comic book out there (even the terrible ones) and is willing to tell you where you're going wrong with whatever you're reading (and is most happy when people disagree with him). If you're curious as to what sort of books we discuss - then take a look around this blog - every book here has been included at one point or another. And if you want to know what sort of things we talk about: - well - it's never really that properly thought out but we touch upon everything from the best way to construct a story, to how far genre limits can go all the way to if Frank Miller was right about who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman. Oh (and I think this is the best bit) you can take all books home. 

There's also a book of the month (so that at least we can all talk about something we've all read). This month it's:  Hellboy Vol 3: The Chained Coffin by Mike Mignola. 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).

The next one is: Tuesday the 29th of May / 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the Upstairs Hall at North Library Manor Gardens N7 6JX. Here is a map. Come and join us. All welcome. 

For more information (or if you have any questions and/or would like to be added to our email list: we send out a reminder a week before with a list of the books that are going to be available) you can email us here

All comments welcome.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Books: Wolverine: The Best There Is

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Wolverine: The Best There Is
Vol 1: Contagion
Written by Charlie Huston
Art by Juan Jose Ryp
2011



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

Wolverine: The Best There Is
Vol 2: Broken Quarantine
Written by Charlie Huston
Art by Juan Jose Ryp
2012



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


So - as silly as it might sound - I feel like I owe this series an apology.

Wolverine: The Best There Is? I'm sorry. And I mean that. Really.

The first time we meet I took one look at you and decided that you were a mean, nasty, horrible little thing that was only really there to appeal to the type of person who thought that stuff like Hostel, Wolf Creek and A Serbian Film was fun entertainment [1]. I wrote some stuff back then and said some hurtful things about you [2] that basically kinda got you all wrong. What can I say? I guess I just wasn't feeling that receptive to your charms - and I acted in a knee-jerk kinda way and basically announced to the whole Comic Forum "whatever you do - don't read this book. It's awful. And can only be enjoyed by the worst and most depraved comic fans out there." [4]. There's a line in the first book that goes "here we are in an empty and senseless universe where we can do whatever we want and none of it matters." and I just kinda assumed that  was the philosophy of the whole thing: the kind of nihilism that most of us tend to grow out of by the time we're twenty (or so).

I mean - it starts with blood dripped off a chain-link fence and Wolverine naked and on all fours with a spiked collar around his neck: so it's not exactly setting itself up as anything - well - particularly refined. Instead - there's this kinda dingy, stinky basement atmosphere that reminded me of the club at the start of Gaspar Noé's Irréversible [5] or something: you know what I mean - the type of place where they would play lots of Nine Inch Nails songs really loudly. And then there's a whole crowd of people cheering this stuff on and - well - it's kinda hard to tell if the comic is mocking them or cheering along besides them (I mean - the first time I read it - my best guess was that it was cheering along: but now - well - it's not like I'm totally sure that it's actually the opposite but the water's are a lot more murky - which (you know) is a good thing).

Then there's all the slicing and dicing and lots of gratuitous violence (and that's gratuitous like even for a superhero comic - so - yeah: that's pretty damn gratuitous - you know?) and well - I became convinced that all you wanted was showing messed up nasty things in a messed up nasty way. 

But then: I dunno. Once I finished the first book (back then I didn't know it was a series - just a one-off) I had no intention of ever picking it up again - but then when the second volume landed in our library - well: I thought - it doesn't take that long to read a comic does it...?

And reading it through the second time - there was this moment when I guess I kinda of realised that maybe it was the kinda dunderheaded [6] thing that I thought it was I think that maybe it was actually aspiring to something a little higher like (as silly as this sounds maybe when talking about something as low class as - you know - a Wolverine comic) there's this hint of the same kinda thing that Alan Moore did with the Anatomy Lesson (one of his first Swamp Thing stories for those you that don't know): talking Mr Logan apart and trying to work out exactly what makes him tick and how exactly these powers of his actually work ("Is your healing a mutation? Or is it a spiritual endowment?"). Of course the way it decides to do this isn't as quite as austere and delicate as the Alan Moore method (=lots of pretty talking) instead it goes for ever escalating degrees of "Man - that's so messed up"ness.

And then - by the time that I hit the second book I had completed by arc from naysayer to true believer. So much so - that I think that I can honestly say (hand on heart) - that this might just be one of my favourite superhero comics currently out there. With a succession of bizarre and fantastical images (luminous giant robot spider being one of the many highlights) and a firm hold on that all-important X-Man banter that I'm imagine would leave even Joss Whedon himself nodding his approval at ("Yes. Banter is generally considered one of my main two powers.") - it's all well developed, well thought out and well executed. Like cotton candy wrapped around barbed wire - it's a perfect mix of sweet and dangerous. Yeah - I don't agree with it's approach and where it's coming from - because (like I said) it does have that kinda torture-porn vibe. But - hey - that's not just what it is - as (somehow) it kinda manages to make something that transcends the (I mean - what I imagine to be: maybe they hate all that crazy horror stuff - I dunno) predilections of it's authors...  

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[1] You know: that whole "torture-porn" thing (of those films the only one I've seen is Wolf Creek - and that was enough to put me off the entire genre for life: blah blah blah - I guess I just don't like films that have nothing more on their minds than showing you in graphic detail all the messed up things that humans can do to each other - unless (you know) we're talking about Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows and Crossed - but that's another story...).

[2] Quote: "Juan Jose Ryp I know from the stuff he's done with Warren Ellis - Black Summer and No Hero - both of which were massively violent in a gory-horror-movie-sorta-way with lots of human inside bits being riped out into the outside. But - hey - that was with Warren Ellis and as graphic as lots of it got (and there were bits of it - especially in No Hero - that even gave me cause to balk) it was all done in service to a story that made it seem worthwhile. Yeah it was full of messed up stuff - but it was messed up stuff that was kinda intelligent and was making a point (ok yeah - a point about the nature of heroes and stuff - but still: it was still tangentially connected to what-it-means-to-be-human kinda things). This tho - this is different. This is a Wolverine comic. And - as such - it's more concerned in making Wolverine do cool stuff rather than make any sorts of insights (not that it necessarily has to be that way - but still - this very much is). I read a thing on a website [3] the other day where people were talking about the Spider-Man reboot (see: here) and there was this amazing quote from a producer (that almost feels some sorta parody): “You don’t want people to go and say, ‘Ugh! Saw that already!' ... You have to reinvent and give them a different tone. For example, The Wolverine [directed by Knight and Day's James Mangold] will be an altogether different tone [than 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was directed by Gavin Hood]. And so you’re not going to see Wolverine fight with his claws in any way that you’ve seen him before.” Which sorta sums up the approach of this book: it's Wolverine with a different tone. Namely: something way more graphic and violent and nasty than you've ever seen before and - hey - you're going to see Wolverine fight with his claws in a way you've never seen before (yay). And so what we get is a Wolverine comic that just left me feeling a little sick. And a little bit - I dunno -violated? And I'm sure that's what the people making this set out to do ("dude - wouldn't it be so messed up if...?"): but - and this is from someone that really loves Garth Ennis' Crossed - it all just left me feeling a little bit empty inside.

[3] For those of you that are interested It was a Vulture article called: Spider-Man and the Half-Life of the Movie Reboot (you can read it: here): "This July, The Amazing Spider-Man will set a new land speed record for rebooting: Just five years after Spider-Man 3, with the image of Tobey Maguire still dancing in moviegoers' minds."

[4] Which caused one of our teenage readers to reach out and grab it with both hands. But then - that's teenagers for you. Always ignoring the wise words of their elders...

[5] A film which sits comfortably at the top of the list marked: "Really well made films that once you're seen you never want to see again." If I tell you that the club at the start is called "The Rectum" then you should maybe get a (small) inkling of what I'm talking about...

[6] Dunderhead. Now that's a cool word to say. According to the best guess on the internet it's probably from the Dutch word donder (which means thunder and is akin to the Old High German word: thonar). First Known Use: circa 1625. There you go. And you thought you were just here to hear about Wolverine comics huh?

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Further reading: Black Summer, No Hero, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Crossed, Kick-Ass, Wolverine: Wolverine vs The Marvel Universe, Marvel Zombies.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Authors: Ed Brubaker

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Ed Brubaker
17 November 1966
Bethesda, Maryland










Self confessed Ex-Army Brat Ed Brubaker has been bringing back the noir into comics in a way not seen since the heyday of Frank Miller. With series full of disreputable shady types up to all sorts of no good - his most well-known series is called Criminal which should tell you everything you need to know. The type of writer who's never met an anti-hero that he didn't want to make you fall in love with - the stories he writes luxuriates in the seedy, down-trodden and randomly violent: with lots of chunks of moral ambiguity to make them stick in your teeth. No surprise then that he's the one responsible for killing Captain America (well - at least for a little while).

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Links: AV Club Interview

Selected works: Catwoman, Daredevil, Point BlankGotham Central, Sleeper, Books of Doom, Incognito, Captain America, Criminal, The Marvels Project, Fatale.

All comments welcome.

Monday 23 April 2012

Books: The Bulletproof Coffin

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The Bulletproof Coffin
Written by David Hine
Art by Shaky Kane
2011




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


Yeah - I know of Shaky Kane from way back. 2000AD and The Judge Dredd Megazine. Can't remember exactly which strips he used to do the artwork for - but his style stuck in my head like a knife. That's not to say that I was much of a fan: his style always stuck me as being a little bit too stark and desolate (wikipedia describes him as "psychedelic" - which seems kinda true - except that most psychedelic stuff makes drugs seem like loads of fun - while Shaky Kane's makes them seem like more like a form of GBH)  . I mean - yeah - I get the Jack Kirby thing and all the rest - but my thought was that - hey: what worked back then doesn't necessarily work now (or something?) - but then maybe I'm just prejudiced against the old stuff - I dunno (and yeah I realise that have now put up posts for nearly 300 books and have yet to do anything with Kirby's name on it - so: sorry sorry sorry). Point is: even after a break of 10 years (guy disappeared from the comics industy in 2002 without even bothering to leave a note) my first thought on seeing this book was: "ah. This guy." Except not in a great way. Truth be told - maybe I even flinched a little.

David Hine on the other hand - him I know as being a mid-level writer of kinda substandard superhero dross. Read a book he wrote a few months back called Arkham Reborn that was all sorts of forgettable - striving towards some sort of Arkham Ayslum: A Serious House on Serious Earth level of profundity and instead coming up short. Before I read it I was going to try and write something about it - but when I was done - I just couldn't be arsed. (Although to be fair: I've heard there's a book he's made called Strange Embrace that's supposed to be really good - but Islington doesn't have a copy - so (oh well) for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist for me).

So: having said all that - strange as this may be -  the messed up disappeared artist and the superhero hack guy have (somehow) combined their forces to create the comic book of - erm - 2010 (cough. yeah - sorry about that - it can take libaries a little while to wait for the trades paperbacks and catch up with all the cool kids...)

There has been lots and lots and lots of enthusiastic and positive on-line buzz surrounding The Bulletproof Coffin (hell - if you get the copy in your hand - just look at that back page - it's infested with praise and accolades: or just try some of the links below) so I was keen (and also slightly frightened - hype has a tendency to ruin things for me - and also I tend to find myself disagreeing lots with what other people tend to love) to finally see what all the fuss was about. But - hey yeah - (wipe that sweat from your brow) - when I got to the end and all the pieces fell into place - I liked it. I thought that it was good. Wild and insane in all the best sorts of ways - but also (and I got a little scared by reading a few comments that drew parallels with David Lynch - which made me fear for a whole bunch of craziness-for-craziness'-sake kinda sub-Grant Morrison stuff) - it's not just mindlessly wacky - but rather: it all coheres and hangs together in a brilliant way too (yay!).

But know this: I'd warn any average readers out there that a lot of the pleasure to be found inside (and there is lots of fun and crazy stuff for you interprid thrillseekers: odd-ball superheroes, post apocalyptic wastelands, evil zombies and time-travelling cavegirls - natch)  come linked together with lots of tasty insights into comic books (and - strangely - the comic book industry) that only proper-comic-nerds are going to be able to fully appreciate (not so sure if I would count myself as a fully fledged comic-nerd yet - but I'm certainly much much closer than most).

Nearest best analogy I can come up with to describe what I mean: it's a bit like a Quentin Tarantino film - yes - anyone (if there's predisposed in the right way) can enjoy them - but old school film buffs are going to get a hell of a lot more out of them.

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Links: Death to the Universe Review of #1, Mindless Ones Article, The Comics Journal Interview with Hine and Kane, Death To The Universe Interview with Shaky Kane.

Further reading: The Death Ray, The FilthSeaguyDavid Boring, Hard BoiledBlack HoleHicksville, Flex Mentallo.

All comments welcome.

Thursday 19 April 2012

Books: Batman: Time and the Batman

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Batman: Time and the Batman
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Andy Kubert, Tony Daniel and Frank Quitely et al 
2011




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


The first line of dialogue is "2 Right 3 Left 1 Right": because - yes - it's Grant Morrison and if he isn't making you feel like maybe you're gone slightly crazy and are losing your solid foothold in reality and messing with all your quaint little notions about how a story is supposed to play out [1] then I guess he doesn't feel like he's doing his job properly.

From the outside - yeah: it looks like it's just one complete thing but don't be fooled: there's actually three different sections all with their own special flavour. The first third is Time and the Batman (originally published as Batman 700: so you know - it was a pretty big deal and all that - and is why it feels less like a stand-alone story and more like a greatest hits tribute medley packing in as many highlights from Bat-history as it possibly can - leaping around like a manic wandering minstrel playing hopscotch): there's a whole bunch of time travel stuff and fun ideas that most other people would spread out over whole book (eg 2-face-2) plus it takes the Grant Morrison gimmick [2] of having different artists illustrate the same story and - for once - doesn't make it feel too contrived (hooray!).

The middle section is R.I.P.: The Missing Chapter which bridges a whole bunch of gaps between Batman: R.I.P., Final Crisis and The Return of Bruce Wayne which means that (if you haven't read those books) - well - you're going to feel like you're being pulled through a hedge backwards whilst being dropped from an airplane [3] whilst for those of those who've been foolhardy enough to read everything up until this point (no - I don't know why either) - we get to experience the uniqueness of reading a Grant Morrison comic and (slowly) having things become well - (slightly) clearer answering all the pressing questions like: what exactly happened with that helicopter crash (So - wait - what? He died twice?): even if I could swear I could faintly hear Morrison quietly sighing in the background ("Do I really have to explain everything that happened? Ok - fine: let me connect up all the dots for you.").

And the final bit is: The Great Escape - which: well - is nowhere near as much fun as the first two seeing how it's basically a pretty straight forward Batman story that moves in all the ways you'd expect: almost as if it's the final part in some reverse-psychology gambit [4] with all the Batfans who were complaining that the non-stop onslaught of concepts and ideas of Morrison's livewire Batman run up until this point were all too much for them to take and so he's all like: fine if that's the way you want it - then I'll give you exactly what you want and then you'll realise how milquetoast it all is [5].

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[1] So - you know: if you think that you should be able to understand what exactly is going on at a given time and leave with a definite sense of closure then - well: you've come to the wrong place and maybe you should put the comic down and try your luck elsewhere?

[2] Although "gimmick" is a pretty harsh word to use I realise...

[3] In fact - if you're one of those who haven't read any of the other Grant Morrison Batcomics - I would totally love for you to read this and tell me exactly how much sense you could glean from what was going on (my best guess would be - not much - but then again maybe I'm wrong?).

[4] See also: Adam and Joe on Colin Farrell. "Don't do the washing up" etc.

[5] Except - oops - I just checked the contents page and realised that it was actually written by someone else (Fabian Nicieza) - so: well: oh dear. (Still - I think that's an easy mistake to make seeing how the front cover has "GRANT MORRISON" written across it in big white letters).

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Links: Comics Alliance Roundtable Review: Batman #700, Mindless Ones Article: Criminology, Mindless Ones Article: Batman 700: Zom’s Thoughts / Mindless Ones Article: Batman Says “Yes” To POPCRIME.

Preceded by: Batman: Batman and Son, Batman: The Black Glove, Batman: R.I.P., Final Crisis, Batman: Batman and Robin, Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.

Followed by: Batman: Batman Incorporated.

Further reading: Seaguy, Vimanarama, The Bulletproof Coffin.

Profiles: Grant MorrisonFrank Quitely.

All comments welcome.

Books: Anya's Ghost

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Anya's Ghost
By Vera Brosgol
2011





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


It's feels like maybe I've been a little bit too judgmental of all the books I've reviewed on here recently (not my fault - people should try making better books): so it's nice to be able to say - Yes. Cool. Read this - because you know what? It's really really really good (wow - check me out - I'm like Homer Simpson after reading the Reader's Digest).

Flicking through the reviews online everyone seems to have a pretty blathering mouth and free and loose approach to giving away the entire story ("Let's just say that Darth Vader may not be as unrelated to Luke Skywalker as he first appears to be") so just in case you haven't already figured this little life-lesson out already - avoid reading any reviews before you start reading this. All you need to know is that everyone from Neil Gaiman to Scott McCloud agrees that this is something special: in fact Mr Gaiman even calls it "A masterpiece" - and this is the guy who wrote frigging The Sandman so he knows what he's talking about... [1]

With an expert understanding of friendship, adolescence and the ins-and-outs of high school dynamics as well as all your paranormal ghostly basics: this hits the hitherto unknown sweet spot between John Hughes and Tim Burton. (I guess it also helps for this Scott Pilgrim fanboy that Vera Brosgol draws girls just like Bryan Lee O'Malley). There's very little that beats a great story told just right.

Very much recommended.

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[1] If I was being my more typically cynical self I would wonder aloud if Mr Gaiman's aproval had anything to do with Vera Brosgol having worked as a storyboard artist on the Coraline film.  But - damn it - it's such a great little book that I won't even mention it - so there.

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Further reading: Coraline, Locke and Key, Mercury, American Born Chinese, I Kill Giants, Scott Pilgrim.

All comments welcome.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Books: iZombie

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iZombie
Vol 1: Dead to the World
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Michael Allred
2011



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

iZombie
Vol 2: uVampire
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Michael Allred
2011



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

iZombie
Vol 3: Six Feet Under and Rising
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Michael Allred
2012



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


I've never watched Being Human (a BBC sitcom about a vampire, werewolf and a ghost who share the same flat) but if I was to describe what iZombie is like - I'd say it's a lot like that (or at least how I imagine it) with an added dash of Daria (the Beavis and Butthead spin-off starring Daria Morgendorffe "a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl" - which was quietly awesome in all sorts of ways). But yeah: nowadays all the familar horror monsters have all lost their ability to be scary/taken seriously on their own merits: I mean compare the ammount of films that are just a single bad monster (when was the last time there was a film that was just about Frankestein? Or just vampires? Or just werewolves? In fact the only one I can think of is The Wolfman (2010) with Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins - and that wasn't exactly a major hit - in fact I'm surprised I can even remember) compared to the films and books that rely on monster mash-ups (and just off the top of my head there's: Being Human (yeah I can mention it twice) Harry Potter, Twilight, Hellboy, Chew and Cabin in the Woods: and that's not counting the higher level stuff like: The League of Gentlemen, The Unwritten - and (even if comics had the idea years and years ago) The Avengers movie shows that this smashing together different worlds has become mainstream*). I realise that this isn't a brand new thing - Hellboy first appeared in 1993 - and going back further I'm pretty sure (or am I dreaming this?) that Santa Claus appears somewhere in the The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - but my point is that in that recent times this kinda loosening of genre walls has become a hell of a lot more prevalent.

Of course none of that matters unless you've got a good story to tell: which thankfully iZombie does. Artist Mike Allred (whom some of you may recongise from his Madman series) has an artstyle that makes it look like all his characters have just been freshly released from vacuum-packs. So far I'm only a bit of a way through Vol 1 - but so far it's light and breezy and pretty good fun.

Things you should know: yes - it's called "iZombie" which (come on) is a little much. But if you think of it as more like "I, Claudius" or "I, Juan de Pareja" or "I, Robot" (which is what it feels like they were aiming for) then it's easier to swallow. And (just so you're prepared) it's not really a "proper" zombie thing - so all you George Romero fans will need to set aside your pre-conceptions, like I said with the Daria thing above: it's much more "really?" than that.

*Because - yeah - Harry Potter and Twilight aren't mainstream enough for me. Although they're different because their mash-up was of different types of monsters - as opposed to The Avengers movie (of "Avengers Assemble" if you really insist) which mash-ups characters (or superheroes whatever).

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Further reading: Chew, Hellboy, Xombi, B.P.R.D.Seven Soldiers of VictoryThe Umbrella Academy.

All comments welcome.

Books: Feynman

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Feynman
Written by Jim Ottaviani
Art by Leland Myrick

2011




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


Science. Science. Science. Science. Science.

Richard Phillips Feynman - one of the most famous scientists of the 20th Century. Take it away wikipedia: "known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics (he proposed the parton model)... He assisted in the development of the atomic bomb and was a member of the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In addition to his work in theoretical physics, Feynman has been credited with pioneering the field of quantum computing,and introducing the concept of nanotechnology." Also (and this is important) he was a bit of a character. As opposed to the usual popular image of the stuffy reserved scientist maintaining a serious image and generally keeps himself to himself (or whatever) Feynman was known for doing wild and crazy stuff like playing the bongos (!) tying bowling balls to pieces of string, cracking safes and taking both cream and lemon in his tea (which formed the basis of a popular book: "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character).  

Feynman is a comic book biography that contains all the most dramatic moments of his life: like a greatest hits of anecdotes. There's laughs and jokes, moments of emotional devastation (the letter to his wife hits really hard) and - for those inclinced - some moments of real science as he discusses the poperties of light (I'm going to admit that I kinda skipped over these bits - being more disposed to science-fictions than science-facts).

The artwork is nice and clear and pleasingly loose. But in terms of whether you should commit to reading the whole thing (and it is pretty hefty) I would say that it's very Feynman Feynman Feynman - which is to say: there's not that much crossover appeal to interest anyone that doesn't want a blow by blow account of Richard Feynman's life. 

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Links: BoingBoing Review.

Further reading: The Manhattan ProjectsLogicomix, xkcd, Science Tales: Lies, Hoaxes and Scams, The Beats: A Graphic History, Kiki de Montparnasse.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Books: Justice League: A New Beginning

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Justice League: A New Beginning
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by Kevin Maguire, Al Gordon and Terry Austin
1987




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


Watchmen 2.

I was reading an article (see: here) about Watchmen 2 - sorry - "Before Watchmen" - on the Mindless Ones website when they mentioned this book.

Quote: "Likewise, the Giffen/Dematteis/Maguire Justice League was, in its early issues, a very obvious attempt at incorporating big swathes of Watchmen into mainstream superhero comics (the line-up has a lot of the same basic types as Watchmen, it’s all done on the Ditko nine-panel grid and so on). But it’s very clearly doing something very different from just a straight Watchmen sequel, and it’s one of my very favourite mainstream superhero comics."

I think I reserved it right there and then.

Thing is - I had heard about this book before - and the things people said always made it sound vaguely - I dunno - sit-com-y (that's a word right?). Something about it being the first comic to inject a little humour into it's superhero shenanigans. The whole thing sounded a little - I dunno - cheap. Not that I have anything wrong with people trying something new. But if I wanted to read something funny - then I don't think that I wanna go to stories about guys in capes because - hey come on - this stuff is serious and saving the world isn't the place to make jokes. And so my overall feeling was that this was a book that will have more for long-time superhero comic book fans than the average reader - you need to be fully versed in what it is that's been deconstructed (albeit ever so slightly) before you can really laugh along. And there's bits of it that just felt kinda empty - in that way that most superhero comics tend to. Like - all it is is people fighting each other and dealing with threats that have no bearing on anything in the world (or maybe it just caught me at a bad time?).

But yeah.

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Links: Tearoom of Despair Article.

Further reading: Animal ManDoom Patrol.

All comments welcome.

Books: Wasteland

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Wasteland
Book 1: Cities In Dust
Written by Antony Johnston
Art by Christopher Mitten
2007



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

Wasteland
Book 2: Shades of God
Written by Antony Johnston
Art by Christopher Mitten
2007



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Wasteland
Book 3: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
Written by Antony Johnston
Art by Christopher Mitten
2008



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Sometimes a book just doesn't connect.

I mean - Wasteland sounds like my perfect cup of tea. Post apocalyptic tribes. Crazy shamans. Mystic powers. Political intrigue. Mysterious secrets. I think I heard someone describe it as a cross between Lost, Deadwood and The Walking Dead: sounds wicked - where do I sign up?

Thing is: the more I read it the more I become convinced that in it's ideal form Wasteland would be a TV show and not a comic book. Part of that is that I found the artwork to be massively scrappy: so much so that I couldn't always tell which character was which and who was talking to who and what exactly was supposed to be happening - which - when you have a large cast of characters who are all up to various types of no-good can make understanding what's going on a little difficult: and if it was live-action - well - actors make that sort of thing ok. Also: there's nothing inherently comic booky about the stuff that happens. I understand that studios don't just hand out their money to anyone that asks - so that if you want epic vistas and giant sets then you need to make your thing a comic or a novel or a radio play (hey - it could happen) if you want to bring your vision to life - but once you've chosen your medium - it would be good if you then make the most of it so that it's more than just a convenient money-saving technique or whatever. And while the knives are out (sorry guys - I realise that this may just be because I've seen and read a lot of this type of stuff): but all the characters just felt a little bit done before - Mad Max Reheated - the mysterious loner with a troubled past, the tough yet kind hearted woman who takes a shine to him, the evil dictator guy with a strange handicap: these are thing that I have seen many many times before (and hey - check out Garth Ennis' Just a Pilgrim for a much more refreshing way of just how to deal with that type of set up).

But judging from the mountains of praise that these books are getting (just look at the back covers) - maybe it's just me.

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Links: Bleeding Cool Interview with Antony Johnston.

Further reading: The Walking Dead, ProphetSweet Tooth, Just a Pilgrim, Crossed, The Dark Tower.

All comments welcome.

Books: Goliath

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Goliath
By Tom Gauld
2012





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Tom Gauld does cartoons for the Guardian [1].  He's a funny guy but in a sorta deadpan way - with a wit so dry you could use it to build sandcastles. I mean - I don't even know what he looks like - but I imagine that he's the kind of guy who already has his famous last words all picked out and waiting and that they're probably something along the lines of: "well - this is annoying isn't it?." He's like an upper crust Spike Milligan, a more refined Douglas Adams, Eddie Izzard all buttoned up and with a stiffer upper lip: and just like them - he has a knack for finding a funny bone and giving it a good strong poke (and that's a good thing).

Having seen his cartoons here-and-there (most notable in the Guardian Review section) I guess that when I saw that he had a book out that it would be more of a board comedy. I mean - if not quite Dumb and Dumber - at least something with a bit of vim and vigor to it: like (I dunno) Shaun of the Dead or something similar. Something smart yeah - but still something that had plenty of laughs and chuckles to lovingly lob at the reader. But - no.

Instead it seems (like many a comedian before him [2]) Gauld wants to show that he's not just a joke machine - but that he's also adept at digging a little deeper and sustaining your interest without having to crack a funny every other page. And so we have Goliath - his re-telling of the famous ancient story that features in three of the blockbuster holy books (The Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament (ok - the same thing but so what?) and the Qur'an [3]). Not set in the modern day it keeps all of the historical trappings but inverts a few things in order to show a different side of a story that most of us (all of us?) have known since childhood. Scoring some good points about the nature of war and the nature of appearances at the same time.

Told with a leisurely pace and a wonderful sense for the passing of time - it's a little slight: but in the same sort of way as a poem or - say - a bonsai tree. Elegantly moving - but with a emotional kick and a canny mind too.

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[1] I mean - yes: I realise that this is dreadfully old-fashioned: but you can check out his flickr account for a looksy at some of his cartoons: here - actually scratch that: his tumblr is way better: go to that!

[2] You know: think of Jim Carey in The Truman Show (or - god forbid) That 23 film, Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love, Robin Williams in One Hour Photo, Will Ferrell in Everything Must Go etc etc etc.

[3] Would you think less of me if I admit that I had to google that? Or do I get points for coming clean? No?

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Further reading: The Arrival, The Perry Bible Fellowship, It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken, Meanwhile, xkcd, You Really Don't Look 50 Charlie Brown, The Living and the Dead.

All comments welcome.

Monday 16 April 2012

Book: The Twelve

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The Twelve
Vol 1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Chris Weston
2009



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The Twelve
Vol 2
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Chris Weston
2012



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I don't think I've ever actually been asked who my favorite comic book artist is - but whatever: if anyone did ever ask me - I reckon I'd say Chris "Spaceboy" Weston - with Frank Quitely I guess a very close second - or is that too much of an obvious choice? I dunno I dunno - but (whatever) the point is: if you were to rip my heart out of my chest - Chris Weston's name is what you would find scrawled across it (or well - you know: at least the part of my heart that's given over to comic book artists: so maybe it would only be a very small scrawl that you'd need a micro-scope to see - but whatever - it would still be there is the point).

The first 2000AD I ever remember deliberately buying was prog 987 which featured an utterly spectacular splash page as the hard-bitten anti-hero Priest Patrolman Cannon Fodder ("Cannon Fodder" - get it? No?) meets God and - well - I reckon that that was the moment I first fell in love with the brilliance of what Mr Weston can do with paper and ink[1]. Since then his (hell yes) divine art has appeared in places like The Invisibles and Lucifer, The Ministry of Space, Fantastic Four: First Family as well as one of my favourite books ever - The Filth (have you read it? Then you know what I'm talking about: or you know (if you haven't had the experience yet) - click the link where it says "Further reading" below and I'll try and explain it to you). What is it about him that does it for me so much? Well: I'm not really that hot on describing artwork (but then - who is?): but the something about his work that manages to be both futuristic and retro at the same time that just gives me such a kick. In fact - actually - no that's not quite right: scratch the "futuristic" bit - it's more that his art has that cool 1950s vision of the space-age kinda thing going on: the view of the distant tomorrow all the way back our yesterdays [2].

J. Michael Straczynski (or "JMS" as he's otherwises known as) on the other hand. Well. Him I'm not really so keen on. From the stuff I've read it would seem that in the comic book world he's a bit of a divisive figure. Best known perhaps for Babylon 5 [3] he's spent a lot of the 00s doing comics work including his long stewardship of The Amazing Spider-Man title as well as other such notable series like Superman, Wonder Woman and Thor as well as creating the Supreme Power which did the re-imagining superhero origins in a cool, dark and kinda-interesting way (so Superman beomes Hyperion, Batman becomes Nighthawk etc). However since then he's been the point-man for DC's Watchmen prequels (yes - Watchman prequels) and has been the author most vocal in saying "hey relax guys everything's fine"[4] which has only increased the suspicion that he's a bit of a corporate lackey - with the same level of humanity as Ian Holm slimy Ash from Alien [5].

So what happens when these two guys come together? Well - you get The Twelve - a 12 part mini-series that - due to various scheduling conflicts and shadowy infighting [6] has taken a very very long time to get finished (it began in 2008 and only wrapped up in - oh check the cosmic appropriateness ! - 2012). But - hey - is it any good?

Well - I'm bias - because as far I'm concerned Chris Weston could illustrate a phone book (Wait. Do they still do phone books?) and I'd read the thing from beginning to end. But - hey - in the same kind of way that people tend to overlook that big name actors get to choose the films they make - big shot artistic talent also gets a say in the projects that they choose to devote their time too: I'm pretty sure that it's not just a massive coincidence that Chris Weston also ends up drawing series with lots of druggy strange weirdness with a bittersweet nostalgic edge: he doesn't strike me as someone who just draws what he's told (hell - is any artist really?). And also - because life is never as black and white as we might hope - JMS may come across as a yes man for multinationals - but that doesn't mean that he doesn't know how to craft a story that gets the job done. Ok: he's not going to provide you with something transcendental like your Alan Moores and Grant Morrison's whatever [7]: but he will move you and shake you in all the right ways and won't leave you feeling at all cheated or ripped off (that bit towards the start? "Come The Darkness. I Still Believe." - Wow. Ok. Sorry. I think I've got something in my eye....)

Yes it's about superheroes. But what's nice is how their superheroes plucked from the context where they made the most sense (way back in the 1940s fighting the Ratzis) and then replanted in the modern day and left to pretty much fend for themselves. The characters are all brash and wild and clearly defined [8]: all of them knocking against each other in different ways pushing the plot forward in ways that require very little outside help. In fact - the one book that kept coming to mind as I read this was Watchmen. Not that it does any of the crazy experimental stuff - but rather how it exposes all the grotty undersides of the superhero fantasy: whilst still allowing for some of the pure intentions that have given it such staying power.

Yeah - it's a hell of a lot more earnest than Watchmen [10] ("The Twenty-First Century is a world of grays, of floating ethics. The country has come adrift from it's moorings in hope and optimism. It's become a place where manners are pass and politeness is for saps... where kindness is mistaken for weakness, and patriotism has become a badge to some, a smoke screen to others, and a curse world for all the rest.") but a major part of it's charm comes from the way it plays it all so completely straight: unafraid to shrink away from the genre's inherent naffness ("Dynamic Man? You're kidding. Who thinks of these names?") and playing ridiculous stories completely straight ("I'd been working with the police on a case involving tramps who were being kidnapped by zombies and made into zombies themselves"): yet still somehow managing to find just the right balance - so that you can believe in the goodness of people trying to make the world a better place while still sniggering at how ridiculous their hairy legs look thrusting out from the bottom of their skin-tight costumes. Which - hey - is a good trick to be able to pull off - irony and innocence mixed together into a smooth sweet blend. And then digging deeper to get at the good stuff - I mean ok at first glance maybe it seems like only comic book geeks would appreciate the idea thought that maybe the reason superheroes don't go in for relationships isn't because they're couldn't risk exposing their loved ones to danger and more because - well - they probably just suck at relationships (could you imagine how self-involved a real life superhero would be? Man) but then all that kind of stuff starts to slowly seep into more real world concerns and instead of just paying attention to the colourful clothes - you start to notice the flawed, damaged (and ever-so-slightly sick) folks who are wearing them.

There are a few bits that are a little too on point (that "what makes a hero?" blah) and there's one cheat that short-changes the reader's perspective in the same way as that old Guardian telly-vision advert [11]: in order to make a point about racism - which just made me wonder what it would worked like if we could have seen everything. But oh well.

And yeah - even tho it's a Marvel book (so it opens with a cocksure looking Captain America and there's a reference to the Civil War [12] event near the start) you don't need to know anything about any Marvel characters to get as much of the story as the biggest Marvel fanboy in the world: just as long as you can get your head around the idea that people might like to get dressed up and fight crime then you're golden.

But (having finally finished both books [13]) if I had to narrow it down to the thing that I like best about The Twelve then I guess I'd have to go with how it's got a really good grip on the telling it's story visually - you know? I mean: I know that sounds like a no brainer - all comics are visual right? That's what it's all about after all. Yeah yeah - but - there's a gradient in how good a story can be in communicating it's ideas. For me at least - it's not just enough to show stuff: but to make sure that the stuff you're showing is dynamic and strange and new enough that the reader feels like it's being - I dunno - nourished (or something). The best example I can think of in order to (try and) make sure of what I'm talking about is why The Terminator [14] is a better film than Avatar (bear with me a second). Ok yes: Avatar had a bajillion more dollar spent on it than the The Terminator: but The Terminator just in terms of basic storytellingness (whatever that means) is way more satisfying because it knows that if you want to leave a lasting impression you really have to hit the audience with a lasting, indelible image and there is nothing in Avatar that leaves as much of a mark as a skeletal robot rising slowly out a fire [15]: yeah - ok there's that bit where the big tree falls and there's all the fitting with the ships and dragons and stuff - but none of it comes close - you know? Because not only does it look cool and menacing and scary as hell (I'm guessing that there's a least a few people out there in the world who must have it as a tattoo on their arms or chest - right?): but (as everyone who's seen The Terminator knows [16]) it also gives you a massive hit of story information too (basically: oh yeah - this dude that's been chasing you all this time? Oh yeah - he's completely indestructible and you're never going to be able to stop him): and - well - even tho The Twelve doesn't quite have a skeletal robot rising slowly out a fire - it does manage to pummel the reader in the same sort of climatic way at just the right point - with a properly nightmarish panel. So yeah - that's all to the good. Yes.

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[1]You may behold it's almighty glory for yourself here (yes - you're welcome). 

[2] Or: sorry - does that sound a little bit too wanky? But you know what I mean right? "Rocket packs. This is the future right? Whenever I saw movies about the future, everyone had their own rocket packs and jet cars. So where are they?" etc. 

[3] A show whose mere mention will (like every other Spaced fan) always always always make me think of this.

[4] See here for some of the grisly details. (Urg).

[5] Although in the interests of fair-and-balanced and whatever: I should point out that his (sadly unused) World War Z script sounded absolutely amazing: "JMS is after the human truth underneath the horror, and in a way, that makes it much, much harder to take. The world of the film reminds me of CHILDREN OF MEN on the page. Realistic but set in the near-future, in the aftermath of the zombie wars. We see a flashback to Gerry being given his assignment to write a report about “where the system worked, where it didn’t, how and in what ways the various organizational infrastructures failed.” It’s a politically shitty job because no one wants to know that they were responsible for anything that went wrong. Gerry’s hesitant because it’s going to take at least six months away from his family, just as the world is starting to right itself. He takes the job, and as he travels to his first interview, we see how hard travel has become. I hate going through airport security these days, but at least I don’t have to strip naked and subject myself to a blood test. Yet. JMS does a great job of etching the details of a world that has already faced its darkest moments and is now trying to put things back in order. His first stop is China, and right away, he can see that it’s not going to be an easy job. His first subject, Dr. Tsai, is supposed to be interviewed through a “translator,” despite the fact that he speaks flawless English. Tsai’s account of his first encounter with zombies at New Dachang is awful and horrific, and right away, it’s apparent that a combination of bureaucracy and military strategy is responsible for a sort of passive evil, and Tsai feels enormous guilt about it. He leads Gerry to his next interview, which leads him to his next, and one of the things that the script does so well is depict survivors who are starting to wonder if survival is a victory of any kind. There’s a story about black market organs that is just brutal, an off-the-record conversation with a CIA friend, and an insane beach sequence that I can’t wait to see on film. All in the first 50 pages."

[6] Which - if you're interested in that sort of thing is vaguely eluded to on Chris Weston's blog here ("This series suffered a huge numbers of delays to its publication, firstly because of its writer, Joe Michael Straczynski, who apparently fell out with with Marvel over something or the other.") Gotta say tho Mr Weston - slight minus points for the I think it "would make a damn good film" comment: I would have hoped that you'd realised by now that you're doing stuff that's way better than the lowest common-denominator stuff that Hollywood throws up - have some pride dude: it's a great comic and just having the pictures move and the characters played by actors wouldn't make it any better (although: having said all that - it would make a damn good film so - erm - yeah).

[7] I use those two as examples way way too much all over this blog I know I know. But what the hey: it's easy shorthand. Like a music blogger saying " well - you know: it's not The Beatles or whatever."

[8] I haven't actually done any research (maybe I should do some research? [9]) but I would not be at all surprised to find out that each member of The Twelve was actually a superhero that was published back in the 1940s - I mean - yeah: pretty much each one of them conforms to one archetype or another but there's something - I dunno - so accurate and resonant about each one of them that it seems more likely that they've been cut and pasted from primary sources rather than being freshly made.

[9] "Research" of course being the modern nom de plume for "googling things"

[10] But then hey (not to stereotype or anything) but Watchmen was written by an Englishman and The Twelve by an American: so it makes sense that one would be bitter and cynical whilst the other is slightly more gee-whiz and hopeful.

[11] You know the one I mean right? (We had to watch it a lot in media studies).

[12] Not the American Civil War - the Marvel Summer Comic Event Blah (but if you have idea what that even means - don't worry about it: it won't have any impact on your enjoyment of the story: it's literally just one line).

[13] Like it says above Vol 2 was delayed for like - ever. In fact - I'm pretty sure that I read Vol 1 in 2008 or 2009 (in hardback from another non-Islington library): so finally getting to have the whole story (having read Vol 1 about three or four times) is - well - it's nice. Like finally finishing a meal or a conversation or something (or - ha - like finally finishing a comic a few years after you started it).

[14] Sigh. I don't believe that I need to say this - (but just in case): I'm talking about the first (and best) Terminator film rather than any of the others. (You like T2 better? Whatever: read this and then report back to me after class).

[15] George Noory: "And tell us a little bit about the dream that led to Terminator, what happened?" James Cameron: "Yuh, that wasn't a precognitive dream, that was just a, and I don't get them that I'm aware of, but that was just a nightmare, seriously I was sick, I had the flu and a high fever, and so in that feverish dream state I had a dream about a, you know, a chrome skeleton and fire, emerging from the fire, you know and there was an image in of itself, and have a very strong feeling of dread associated with it in a dream almost unexplained by the image, and you know, we've all felt that, something freighted with a strong sense of dread so, I woke up from that and I felt it was a compelling image, and er I started to draw, started to write the story, to draw variations on that theme and it turned into this chrome skeletal figure, kind of death figure, er, pursuing a girl and I thought, okay, let's build a story around that and then it became a science fiction story and then this chrome death figure came from the future and was trying to kill her for some reason, what's the reason, well, her life will have some meaning that, that er is very significant in years hence and then the story kind of spun from that." (Coast To Coast AM, Monday August 23, 2010)

[16] And - at this point: everyone's seen The Terminator - right?

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Links: Robot 6 Interview with Chris Weston, Page 45 Review.

Further reading: The ShadowFantastic Four: First Family, The Filth, Watchmen, Civil WarNo HeroMarvelsSupergodsTop 10: The Forty-Niners, Superior.

Profiles: Chris Weston

All comments welcome.

Books: Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Stories

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Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Stories
Written by Rudyard Kipling and P. Craig Russell
Art by P. Craig Russell
2003




Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
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Look for... the bare necessities. The simple bare necessities. Forget about your worries and your strife! I mean the bare necessities - Old Mother Nature's recipes -  that brings the bare necessities of life. Wherever I wander, wherever I roam, I couldn't be fonder of my big home: The bees are buzzin' in the tree to make some honey just for me - when you look under the rocks and plants and take a glance at the fancy ants (Then maybe try a few!) The bare necessities of life will come to you (They'll come to you!) Look for the bare necessities - the simple bare necessities - forget about your worries and your strife! I mean the bare necessities - that's why a bear can rest at ease -with just the bare necessities of life. Now when you pick a pawpaw - or a prickly pear - and you prick a raw paw: next time beware! Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw - when you pick a pear - try to use the claw - but you don't need to use the claw when you pick a pear of the big pawpaw. Have I given you a clue ? The bare necessities of life will come to you. (They'll come to you!) So just try and relax, yeah cool it - fall apart in my backyard 'cause let me tell you something little britches: if you act like that bee acts, uh uh you're working too hard: and don't spend your time lookin' around for something you want that can't be found: when you find out you can live without it and go along not thinkin' about it I'll tell you something true: The bare necessities of life will come to you.

Ok. So. Now we're got that out of the way - know this - this book is nothing like Disney's Jungle Book. Ok? Ok.

For those of you that didn't know - this may come something as a shock - but before it was a popular children's cartoon The Jungle Book was a slightly forbidding seeming book (at least to my eyes) written by the heavy-weight British imperialist Rudyard Kipling (basically the grandfather of Britpop). A loose collection of moral folk tales which lay on the life lessons with a heavy and stern hand in that way the Victorians seem to dig so very much The Jungle Book features names you'll probably recognize like Baloo, Kaa and - obviously - Mowgli the boy cub.

P. Craig Russell - a comic book legend who began way back in 1972 - is most recently best known (at least to me) for his Neil Gaiman adaptations Sandman: The Dream Hunters and Coraline - is the man responsible for this lavish and magnificent interpretation of these three stories from The Jungle Book (altho if you want to be clever about it - they're actually from The Second Jungle Book a sequel first published in 1895 - so yeah). No - it doesn't matter if you haven't read the book or seen the film because all the necessary information is included - and really The Jungle Book isn't really about a long over-arching narrative - but rather more a succession of small stories that can each be enjoyed individually - like apples picked from a tree.

For me - it was nice to experience Kipling's language at first-hand and get a sense of how - yeah - dude could really write (and compared to popular modern authors - sorry guys and girls - it's funny how much more weighty people back in the day could make their words seem - maybe there was a problem with Earth's gravity or something?) and it's nice to luxuriate in it's solemn tones. But - hell - the man draw is P. Craig Russell's classical seeming artwork which manages to feel somehow stately and grand - yet is still spry enough to capture fleeting moments like the shape of the tips of a foot as it breaks out of the water - disturbing the reflection of the moon: a panel so nice that I was tempted to cut it out and stick it on my wall (not that I would - because - hey - it's a library book).

At points I've often complained that the art in American comics (and let's face it - it is mostly the American comic) seems sloppy and rushed and half-done. Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Stories is a really good example to hold up in order to say: yes. This is how it's done. Here's how to tell a story and make things look real real nice at the same time.

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Further reading: The Sandman: The Dream HuntersBuddhaCoraline, Don Quixote, City of GlassThe Hobbit.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Books: The Avengers: The Avengers (2011 - 2012)

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The Avengers
Vol 1
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by John Romita Jr.
2011



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The Avengers
Vol 2
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by John Romita Jr. and Bryan Hitch
2011



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The Avengers
Vol 3
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Daniel Acuña, Renato Guedes and Brandon Peterson
2012



Available now from Islington Libraries
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In Vol 2 of Tony Stark gives this speech about how he could create an utopian paradise: "a world without alcohol or drugs."

What I'd really like to know is if Brian Michael Bendis included that line because he really believes that a world without alcohol or drugs would be something great and beautiful or if he's being snide and just playing up to the genre: you know - it's superheroes and stuff - so we need to pander to like: an 8 year old level: and 8 years olds look at the world and think stuff just like how much better things would be if there was no alcohol and no drugs [1]: because well: they're 8 years old and everything when you're that age is simple and black and white and the stuff people tell you is bad is bad and the stuff that people tell you is good is good and never the twain shall meet. Not that I'm saying this to be mean: no sir - I got a kick out of it: it fit so nicely into the mood and tone of the comic that when I read it I just smiled.

But - of course: by the time I finished reading I realised that if you want to talk about destructive influences and the cycle of addiction and compulsive urges and all that kind of stuff then maybe what Tony Stark should have been wishing for was a world without alcohol or drugs or mainstream superhero comics. Because - goddamn it: they're the worst.

Please don't get me wrong here: I am not having a go at the whole medium of comic books and I'm not talking about the genre of superhero comics (they are so many great superhero books out there that I don't even know where I should even start: so maybe just click on that Genre: Superheroes tag on the bottom right hand side and just find some of whatever): I'm talking specifically about the mainstream superhero comics pumped out by Marvel and DC: those ones are the in particular that are: well leaving me with all these feelings of guilt and emptiness and blah.

Let me describe the cycle: you take a mainstream superhero comic - oooh: it looks nice huh? Check out cover. And look: it's Brian Michael Bendis - he's one of the good ones - (top of his field) he did that solo stuff with Goldfish and then got his big break and totally smashed it with his Daredevil run and then became Marvel maestro and it was like: woo! Yeah: you see? Talent is key and the cream rises to the top - this is a guy that knows what he's doing.

So then you find somewhere comfy to sit and you settle down and start to read. And then you're inside: and it's warm and it's comfortable and there's all these great ideas hitting you every which way: loads of bright colours and crazy stuff happening all over the place and John Romita Jr. [2] sure knows how to draw a punch so that you can feel it (and I much prefer to have him drawing the light silly superhero stuff with Bendis rather than the messed up torture-porn-whatever with Mark Millar on Kick-Ass: because - you know - like I said: he's a comics legend - and: well - it's like watching your grandfather dressed up in a leather one-piece or something (you know?) - it's - a bit yucky). And then when we move from Vol 2 to Vol 3 and Daniel Acuña [3] steps in - and - it's like it's a whole different book: but still full of awesomeness. I mean - it's obviously still the same thing because it's still The Avengers, it's still Bendis behind the wheel and it's still (mostly) the same characters - but if you ever wanted an example of just how much an artist can affect the same a comic can feel then I'd say you should compare the way these series shifts between it's first two volumes and it's third: its like going from a Saturday morning cartoon to a late-night serious drama or something: ok - yeah - it's still superheroes - but the sheen that Daniel Acuña brings to things makes everything feel somehow more weighty and realistic - it's like if someone dunked Sean Philips into some gloss paint: and - well yeah: it's great.

And there are the little moments of stuff: I mean - the very first issue is full of these great little moments from beginning to end: Captain America making his big state of the union-style speech ("Our president asked me what the world needs now... I told him the world needs what it always needs." [4]) trying it directly into the 2010 Marvel "Heroic Age" theme [5] which then cuts to the Bendis' trademark of a page full of responding head-shots and then with a small preliminaries with setting The Avengers up and running there's big explosions, a twist nicked straight from the end of Back to the Future (namely: "It's your kids, Marty, something has got to be done about your kids!") and a tantalizing final page ("Those Avengers are going to learn...): it's just - well: it's great - total comic book heaven. And then: scattered throughout: (well) the way Acuña draws Norman Osborn with his hands in his pockets like Richard Nixon's evil kid brother, #11 in Vol 2 is pretty much all done in single page panels: which - you know: is kinda nifty - no? And gives things a different kind of rhythm (makes things feel more giant and momentous and all-caps EPIC somehow) and Bendis (as has been said before and will be said again) is exceptionally good at doing the lazy back-and-forth and general superhero chit-chat (I mean there are dozens of examples I could choose from but my favourites are: (in Vol 1) "What? He wants us to cook him an egg?" "It could be silly putty. Evil silly putty... from the future." (from Vol 2): "So Steve Rogers would be the mother and Tony Stark would be the father" (and from Vol 3 - which I think might be my favourite) the bit where Norman Osborn speaks to Madame Hydra about her head (trust me: you'll know it when you get to it): it's all these little bits that make it feel like it's worth the time it takes to read - like you're getting your money's worth or whatever.

But then there are the niggles. The same niggles that come with all mainstream superhero comics (and from now one I'll just call them MSCs - because typing it all out each time is starting to wear a little thin: ok?): like how every single issue just has to have some form of big superhero crazy battle punching whatever [6] - that I dunno all just feels like it's been done before and before and before and (well) done better and that all this trying to make everything bigger than anything bigger before (like it says at one point (some self-awareness slipping through?): "The power of a God and all he can think to do is fight.") - it's like being dropped into inside the mind of an 8-years old head as they play with their toys [7]: which - you know: is kinda fun and exciting and all - but doesn't really give you much in way of any actual nourishment (you know?): it's just - well - MSC: business as usual (and - yeah - ok: I mean it's easy to set up possibilities and there's always going to be a shortfall between your nebulous hopes and the fact that a story can only ever go one way [8]. Like - seeing how the first issue of this was released in the big build up to Joss Whedon's first Avenger's film I guess I kinda thought that maybe these books were gonna act as a convenient jumping on point for new readers and that maybe - just maybe - this was going to be a comic series that was going to showcase just how much potential there is in superhero comics: and something maybe that used it's position as a market-leader (or whatever the right term is) to try something a little different and further reaching... - but no - everything is as much to thrall to continuity as every other MSC book out there (so before you start on this you might want to read the past Avengers books plus: Civil War, The Illuminati, Red Hulk ("There's a red hulk?") and - erm - Marvel Boy if you want to be understanding exactly what and who are fighting for why [9]).

And (I think is the kicker) it goes through the same cycle again and again and again: bad guy comes along to destroy the world and upset the status quo and usher in some big new crazy world (that always sounds - if you forgive me for saying: somewhat cool and exciting) and you get to the mid-point where everything seems bleak and hopeless for our heroes and somehow (even tho you know it's stupid) you think - this is it! This is gonna be the big one! This is going to be where everything changes and you can almost hear your heart jumping around in your chest and then - and then: just when you think it's going to reach somesort of - well - climax (ahem) as it's building and building to some bigger and bigger point of something: then - well then the forces of good prevail and everything goes back to how it was before and so you've left with that - well: slightly empty feeling: a world where all change is only temporary and as soon as one big bad eveil enemy is defeated - the next is already getting started to take it's place: always and and forever and forever without end.

The feeling that you're left with then isn't one of satisfaction - it's just this kind of unfilled promise: like you thought that you could reach the end of the rainbow only to realise that it's all just a trick of the light. And that - well: that is MSC in a nutshell: a total waste of time: worlds where nothing changes and there's no end to anything - not even in death. Which: well - leads me to think: well - what's the point? When the best of the best can't make something that's going to leave you feel like you've put in some time well spent then why am I even still bothering to read these things? And: I guess - well - it kinda acts like a drug - because there are moments of this almost ecstatic pleasure when you think you're going to get to this amazing high and I guess that's what keeps pulling me back - this hope that maybe the next one is the one that will hit that elusive space inside me: even as (at the exact same time) I think that maybe I would be happier if I just quit them altogether.

I dunno.

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[1] And please note: I'm in no way saying that alcohol and drugs are like good things (unlike some people): but I just think it's a little simplistic (to say the least) to suggest   that the world would suddenly be perfect if someone (somehow) magiced them away.... And surely I'm not alone in this - right?

[2] Who - pointing out the obvious - was an industry legend well before Kick-Ass (he started off doing Iron Man all the way back in 1978) - altho I get the feeling that's where most readers will probably now know him from: like those who think that Orson Welles is just that guy who did the voice for Unicron (wow - check out my dated references).

[3] Ok - yes: Renato Guedes and Brandon Peterson do stuff too (and they're also both pretty good at bringing the realism on): but it's Daniel Acuña who wins my heart - and he's the one I miss when he's gone. So.

[4] Shockingly - the answer to this isn't "love sweet love" (oh well).

[5] Or as they put it on the wikipedia page ""The Heroic Age" is a 2010 comic book branding that ran through a number of books published by Marvel Comics." - but that just makes it sound so unnecessarily ugly - you know? But - well: what can you do? Corporate synergyness hangs over this series like a bad smell. But - hey - that's mainstream superhero comics for you!

[6]  I mean: maybe that's a silly thing to say about a mainstream superhero team comic (which we can all agree are pretty much the lowest of the low - no?) but - well - there's a bit in Vol 1 where a character voices his displeasure at his (supposed) friends by smashing through a window and then punching them in the gut: which just makes me think - like: couldn't they have selected this over a phone-call? Or by going out to lunch? Or something? I mean: yeah - ok they machine needs to be feed etc blah I know: but still... It's kinda hard to put much stock in the characters when they act more as plot devices than as actual - well: people (even if they are dressed all up in purple or whatevers).

[7] Have I already linked to this before? (I mean - not that it matters: sometimes I think I should link to it in every post up here with the message: "I mean - it was good - but not as good as....").

[8] Unless of course you're Jason Shiga: but that's literally - a whole other story.

[9] Of course (then again) you don't really have to: I mean - you can pick up more than enough of the basics as you go along (ok: so that's the good guy and that's the bad guy and - they don't like each other): I guess it's just a matter of perspective - the sneaky trick that they pull is that the more you read the more stuff makes sense and so the more the want to read until - well - I guess until the point that you end up reading every single superhero comic ever. And then you die.

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Further reading: The UltimatesThe Ultimates 2, The New Avengers, Ultimate Comics: The AvengersThe Avengers: The New Avengers: Illuminati, Kick Ass, Civil War, Red Hulk, Marvel Boy, GoldfishDaredevil (2001 - 2006).

Profiles: Brian Michael Bendis.

All comments welcome.