Books: Orc Stain

_________________________________________________________________________________

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.  

.......................................................................................................................................................
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: Prophet, Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Saga, The Umbrella Academy, Chew, Elephantmen, I Kill Giants, The Manhattan Projects, Hard Boiled, Just a Pilgrim, Smax, Tank Girl: Tank Girl One, Scott Pilgrim, The Hobbit.

All comments welcome.

Books: Kick-Ass

_________________________________________________________________________________

Kick-Ass
Written by Mark Millar
Art by John Romita, Jr.
2010




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


Of course if you mention Kick-Ass to someone they're all like: "oh yeah - isn't that the comic that's all about how what would happen if someone dressed up as a superhero for real?" [1] And when I don't really think about it I guess that's my impression of it too. Except - well - what would happen if someone dressed up as a superhero for real has been a comic book staple for years and years and years (waves hello at Watchmen, Kinetic, The Boys and Black Summer) all the way back to Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli who did Batman: Year One all the way back in late 1980s (and in fact they're an acknowledged influence (in more ways than one [2])).

But then I guess no one else had done this kind of thing so - well - teenagely (that's a word - right?). I mean: there's Peter Parker who's been an adolescent for over 50 years now but he doesn't count because he's always been happy to keep things a bit less than completely real with one foot in a crazy fantasy world of green goblins and spider-senses: there's a line early on in Kick-Ass where Dave Lizewski laments "Why do people want to be Paris Hilton but nobody wants to be Spider-Man?" but that's not quite right (or rather just ignores the pertinent details): every boy-child in the world (young and old) wishes that they could be Spider-Man - it's just not that easy to get yourself bit with a radioactive spider (and I mean - we've all tried - right?). The beauty of Kick-Ass is that - for the first part at least - it removes all the fictional scaffolding standing between you (the reader) and the superhero and yells: hey - check this out! You don't need to be super-rich, you don't need magic powers, you don't need special radiation - you can just get yourself a one-piece costume and a mask and you too can take on the bad guys and make the world a safer place to be! You can be a hero. You too can: kick ass!

With a title like "Kick-Ass" (and with a tagline like - "Sickening Violence: Just The Way You Like It! [3]") - I really don't really know what else to say to help enlighten you as to what exactly you should hope to expect... Just don't start whining when people start getting electrodes attached to their testicles (which happens way sooner than you might think). In other words: this is Mark Miller writing like he's still going through puberty (again) and ideal for people who like to laugh like this: "hur hur hur." As for the rest of you - if you're planning on going in you should probably hold your nose. It's not big and it's not clever - but it is immensely crude and cruel.

It almost seems like a waste of time to try and critique it. I mean: it is what it is and I'm sure that for any boys under the age of 20 it's up there as one of the greatest works of art of the modern age. And speaking as someone who's kinda always been willing to give Mark Millar the benefit of the doubt I must admit that the first time I read it I was willing to try and look past the totally excess violence and brutal deceptions of people getting the top of their heads sliced open and all the other crazy stuff like that. But - well - reading it through the second time I was struck by all the classist/racist stuff that stuck out at me: I mean for most of his time Kick-Ass is up against black guys or Puerto Ricans and they're all pretty much depicted as being dirt poor (at one point Hit-Girl even mocks one of them by laughing: "Hoping someone cares about your underprivileged childhood?" which - I dunno - struck me as being a little harsh). I mean obviously the reason for this is that the book is not much more than a power fantasy for white middle-class kids: except except it also does it's very best to undermine it's main character as much as possible: Hit-Girl runs rings around him and makes him look - well - like an ameuter (which is what he is) and he's continually unlucky in affairs of the heart (and that's putting it gently). So: in conclusion - I guess it's a power fantasy for masochistics maybe? I dunno. Let's just say that reading it left me feeling kinda dirty and soiled: I guess because of it's lack of any real humanity. It just kinda hates everyone and only ever really seems to enjoy itself when it's showing people being hurt: be it emotionally or - you know - being decapitated by axes and swords. Of course that's complicated by the fact that underneath all that - Mark Millar still knows how to spin a good story and John Romita Jr knows how to draw things so you always knows exactly what's going on but - yeah - well - put it this way: I don't think that this is a book that I'm ever really gonna feel a need to read again.

..............................................................................................................................................
[1] Or rather: "oh yeah - isn't that the film that's all about how what would happen if someone dressed up as a superhero for real?" Because - as much as mostly I like to ignore the film adaptations of comic books on here: let's face it - it's kinda hard to do that when the front cover for this book isn't a John Romita Jr picture - but a photo of Aaron Johnson in his Kick-Ass kit.

[2] From this article: CraveOnline: "How much was Kick-Ass influenced by real life?" Mark Millar: "Oh, it was very autobiographical. When I was 15, my best friends and I were reading Frank Miller comics, like Batman: Year One. I don't know how wee you guys are but do you read comics? We were so into it, we should have been studying for exams at the time. We wanted to become superheroes like Batman. It was pathetic. We were five years too old really to be doing this. The story was really about what would have happened if we hadn’t come to our senses and actually gone out and done this. Most funny is the character I created was called Mr. Danger. I thought it was quite cool. My friend’s idea was Batman. It was Batman’s exact costume. “I see you’ve put a lot of effort into this. If DC get wind of this, you’re f***ed.” He was like, “They’ll never know who’s under the mask.”"

[3] Woo! Yay!

..............................................................................................................................................
Links: Sean T Collins Review, The M0vie Blog Review.

Further reading: Kick-Ass 2, Wanted, The Avengers, Wolverine: Enemy of the State, The Boys, Preacher, Transmetropolitan, Wolverine: The Best There Is, The Death Ray.

Profiles: Mark Millar.

All comments welcome.

Books: Chew

______________________________________________________________________________

Chew
Vol 1: Taster's Choice
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
2009



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

Chew
Vol 2: International Flavor
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
2010



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

Chew
Vol 3: Just Desserts
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
2010



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

Chew
Vol 4: Flambé
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
2011



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

Chew
Vol 5: Major League Chew
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
2012



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

Chew
Vol 6: Space Cakes
Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory
2013



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


I mean - maybe I'm remembering this wrong: but I'm pretty sure that it's only thanks to the Islington Comic Forum that we have this in stock.

It was one of the very first meetings we had and I was asking people what they were reading that was good and someone at the back piped up [1] and said (with a fat grin across her face): "Chew." I was like: "What? Chew? What kind of name is that for a comic?" And then well: she was like - "Oh it's amazing! It's so funny! And the drawings are so great! And just all so weird and twisted but it's really well done and you need to read it: oh you just have to read it and you'll understand: it's so good - it really is: you just need to read it."

And: so - what the hell - I put through a request to see if we could have it ordered in (or maybe it was I went to put in a request and realised we already had it in stock? Hmmmm. I dunno - whatever). And that's how I fell into a comic where The United States Food and Drug Administration is the most powerful Law Enforcement Agency on the planet and the most illegal substance around isn't heroin or coke or meth but - poultry. Which would be the reason why you get lines like: "Hand over the chicken and nobody gets hurt." delivered completely straight.

So: if you want to know what I knew before I started - then this is it: Tony Chu is a police detective who can detect psychic impressions from whatever he eats. Which is nowhere near as much fun as it sounds (do you really want to know everything about the food you eat?) - although it does have a habit of coming in useful with solving crimes (even if it does entail taking bites out of cadavers). And that's not the only strange thing that's been happening...

With a culinary obsession that twists through on every page Chew (food! food! food!) is a comic that is sick, offbeat, gross, warped and disturbing (reportedly inspired from everything from Lost to Commando) with a sensibility that somehow manages to splice the conspiracy-obsessed stylings of The X-Files [2] with the absurd shenanigans The Mighty Boosh - creating a strange, spicy and exotic flavor all of it's very own. These are people who play a naked fat guy falling out the side of a building and "Skrasshing" on the pavement for laughs: so those of a delicate construction might want to get their sickbags at the ready before they step inside.

With art that manages to be off-kilter, cartoony and bendy with a non-stop energy that keeps you racing through (even for comics - these really don't take that long to read) - although why does every women have such an - erm - ample cleavage? (Surely I can't be the only person to notice it?). Skilfully balancing an off-the-cuff mannerism (it's almost like the whole series - and I mean this in a good way - is just a collection of doodles and sketches: with none of it really feeling like it's been over-thought or particularly strained over [3]) with a sure-footed long term game-plan [4]: the analogy that springs to mind is like the set of a really good comedian [5] who acts as if they're just saying the first thing that comes into their head and it's only a hour later that you realise that everything that they've said all connects together in the most delightful way possible [6].  

If it was a food - I'd say it was a light bouncy cake full of sugar and plenty of icing that's going to leave you hungry for more after only one small delicious mouthful.

Bon Appetit.

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

[1] And I really wish I could remember who it was who said it so I could give them the credit: but I can't quite recall (I'm even totally sure it was a girl): but - hell - if whoever it is writes back and tells me then I'll put your name in and give you a shout out or whatever.

[2] Although I think that Guillory and Layman are more into Fringe than The X-Files - judging from the little easter eggs hidden in the artwork (keep your eyes peeled).

[3] Please note: I'm just saying that's the way it feels. I'm pretty sure that the reality is actually they've both poured their blood, sweat and tears into every tiny page - but it's like (I dunno) Revolver by The Beatles (to pick an example off the top of my head): although you know there's a fine level of craftsmanship happening beneath the surface - the effect is like they're just singing the first thing that comes into their heads: yeah?

[4] Kind of like (and this is the book it most reminds me of) The Umbrella Academy: only with half the breakneck speed and manic energy - which I guess makes it easier for people to keep up.

[5] I almost said "really good comic" there - but then realised that could just get confusing (true story: speaking to a random once I mentioned that I ran something called the Islington Comic Forum and they said: "Oh cool - tell us a joke then." 

[6] Because everyone loves a callback - right?

..............................................................................................................................................
Links: Chew Website, The Beat Interview with John Layman, Good Ok Bad Review Vol 1, Graphic Novel Reporter Review, Comic Book Resources Interview with John Layman.

Further reading: Powers, Orc Stain, I Kill Giants, iZombie, B.P.R.D., The Goon, The Umbrella Academy, D.R. and Quinch, Tank Girl: Tank Girl One, The Boys, Hewligan's Haircut, Top 10, Xombi.

All comments welcome.

Books: Hitman

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hitman
Vol 1: A Rage In Arkham
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
1997



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

Hitman
Vol 2: 10,000 Bullets
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
1998



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

Hitman
Vol 3: Local Heroes
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
1999



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

Hitman
Vol 4: Ace of Killers
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea
2000



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

Garth Ennis doesn't normally dip his toes into the DC/Marvel Mainstream: even if his most devoted fans tend to be those who are still teenage boys at heart - Ennis himself kinda tends to shy away from brightly coloured men dressed in spandex focusing more on stories of camaraderie, big guns and anything to do with Clint Eastwood. Normally preferring to sit outside tossing stones in (yeah Preacher was published by DC but it under the Vertigo imprint which meant it sat outside it's long-running superhero continuity) when he does do even do superheroes (as most notably in The Boys) it's with a sneer affixed across his face and scowl written across his heart. Which brings us to Hitman.

First appearing in The Demon (a comic series starring a yellow-skinned rhyming monster that some of you may recognise from Swamp Thing) Hitman is known to his buddies as Tommy Monaghan (and as one character notes he kinda looks like an "Irish Terminator.") Blessed/cursed/whatever with some low-grade superpowers after an unfortunate run-in with a parasite demon alien vampire thing Tommy is one of the hardy few who decides not to use his powers to fight for truth and justice etc etc but rather to better himself in his chosen line of work: killing people for money. But: because this is all happening within the confines of the DC Universe (namely Gotham City) things aren't going to be that easy...

With loads of Ennis' trademark low down and dirty humour ("We the undersigned respectfully request that Superman get a proper haircut like he used to have.") and a sense of purpose that makes things - well if not quite realistic - at least grounded in small scale human feelings (mainly friendship related) even if they're fighting for space between demons from hell, freakish gangster types and a zombie octopus.

The art by John McCrea (who has done stuff with Ennis including the Preacher Special Tall in the Saddle and The Boys: Herogasm) is a bit messy and cheap-looking (sorry John): but it's bendy, fleshy nature suits the ever-so-slightly ramshackle plots.

With a novel approach to 1996's big cross-over event "The Final Night" - where just has Tommy holed up in his favourite bar drinking with his mates and always ready to pop the pomposity of any nearby big-shot - Hitman is as relaxed and careful as it's title character and always ready with a winning line or ingenious characters (Sixpack - take a bow). It's an early work - so it's not as ground-breaking (or as sweary) as Preacher - although there are plenty of places where you can see the early traces of Jesse Custer and Cassidy winning blend of bromance and Ennis' film fandom. All in all then: the ideal read for anyone wanting to get away from superheroes - but still looking for a healthy shot of tough tough boys: Bueno Excellente!

..............................................................................................................................................
Links: Alternate Cover Review of Vol 1, Page 45 Review of Vol 1, The Tearoom of Despair: Hitman Good.

Further reading: Preacher, The Boys, Gotham Central, Incognito, Hellblazer, The Punisher MAX, Swamp Thing.

Profile: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Perry Bible Fellowship

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Perry Bible Fellowship
By Nicholas Gurewitch
2009








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

I'm just gonna come out and say it: I totally love the Perry Bible Felllowship. It's both amazing and awesome and blessed all over (well almost all over - see below) with a strange intoxicating form of crazy and malevolent genius. Or to put it another way: little comic riddles with poop jokes wrapped on the inside.

Most of the comics featured on this blog are of the big sequential type: all telling one big story from page one to page end. But that's not the Perry Bible Fellowship: on one hand you could say it's a newspaper strip (and it's been published in plenty of newspapers including The Guardian where maybe some of you will recognise it from), but one the other hand - it's also been massively successful web-comic winning loads of prizes and such (altho up until now I must admit that I'd never heard of the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards). If you want to read the whole thing online - then you can (right here) but - well - as always with these things - I've always much preferred the luxury and comfort of books and pages: and this particular volume is super chunky and thick - in a particularly fetching shade of red.

What's also cool about the book is that it means you can appreciate apart from it's newspaper and website birthing grounds - and wallow in the comic in what I like to think of as it's purist form (I guess I'm just a sucker for things printed on proper paper).

But - yes - what is this proper form? And what's this Perry Fellowship like? And why the total amounts of love?

Here's the thing: It's jokes in comic form - usually spread out in three or four panels. But unlike say - xkcd - (it's closest cousin) - the artwork is really, really, really good. Most of them are in this kind of high definition brightness with Stay-Puft-Marshmallow-Men type people bouncing around (committing all sorts of unspeakable acts on each other): but then it also veers into all sorts of other different styles taking on people like (off the top of my head) Edward Gorey and Gary Larson and Robert Crumb and aping everything from 8-bit style computer graphics all the way to beautiful watercolour stuff. But then that's not the main selling point that's the added bonus. The main selling point is the way that - after it gets through the first few cartoons - which aren't anything that special and all seem to be a bit penis-fixatated and have sort of a bit of yukky teenage whiff to them - (so persevere!) - is how massively precise Nicholas Gurewitch manages to get with the huge amount of information it's possible to pack into three (or four) little panels. Most comics don't tend to bother with anything too dense when it comes to panel construction (or whats inside them): most of the time - it's just a person speaking - and you can quickly sweep your eyes over them and get all you need in way of the gist. But the Perry Bible Fellowship - wow. I have never had to read any comic so many times in order to understand what's going on (and work out the joke). Sometimes it's like trying to unpick a zen koan (expect it's a Zen Koan about willies. Or suicide. Or sex). The only example of anything that really comes close is Watchmen - which also packed every panel with hidden little Easter Eggs (hiroshima shadows and that guy with The End Is Nigh sign): but then you didn't need to pick up on everything in order to understand what's going on. With this - if you've missed something then you're probably wondering what's so funny.

I really want to set out and link to an example. But - hell - I'll let you read them all yourself. You'll soon see what I'm talking about.

So. If your sense of humour isn't twisted in dark directions and/or if you don't have the time or the patience to unwrap each panel - then this won't be your cup of tea. But if you like an evil giggle or two and want to swim in darker waters - crafted by an accomplished stylist and mischievous trickster - then this is a book that you can totally fall in love with.

.............................................................................................................................................
Links: Mindless Ones Article, 10 Zen Monkeys Interview with Nicholas Gurewitch, Guardian Interview, Guardian Review, Sean T Collins Review.

Further reading: xkcd, You Really Don't Look 50 Charlie Brown, Scott Pligrim, Goliath, Watchmen, Understanding Comics, The Dilbert Principle.

All comments welcome.

Books: #$@&!: The Official Lloyd Llewellyn Collection

________________________________________________________________________________

#$@&!: The Official Lloyd Llewellyn Collection
By Daniel Clowes
1995





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

"The world is filled with witness creeps who wouldn't recognise an instrinsically dynamic narrative artform if it smacked 'em in the face." Thirteen shaggy-dog stories starting a hapless hare-brained hipster named Lloyd Llewellyn who's a wannabe detective/ladies man/tough guy: there's laughs but you're gonna have to squint to be able to see them and plots don't so much as end rather than slowly deflate and then lie on the floor. From the warped pen of Daniel Clowes and dripping with sexual neurosis and nostalgic fantasties gone rotten this is a comic that is acts all noir but doesn't mind taking the sleazy route. Full of lines like "a man who could count his blessings on a hand that had been maimed in an industrial accident" that ping like bullets bouncing off the side of thunderbird racing down Highway Thirteen - you might want to duck in case one of them hits you in the face. This is what comics were like when people didn't have to act like they cared.

.............................................................................................................................................
Further reading: David Boring, Why I Hate Saturn, The Beats: A Graphic History, The Death Ray.

Profiles: Daniel Clowes.

All comments welcome.

Books: Marvel Zombies

_________________________________________________________________________________

Marvel Zombies
Written by Robert Kirkman
Art by Sean Phillips
2006




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

A two word pitch: "zombie superheroes." (Big fat guy puffing a cigar - "That's great - the kid's will love it.") But before you make your mind up you should know: it actually manages to overcomes it's gimmicky origins and lives up to it's promise - turning in lots of fantastical joys (and horrors): as it presents a compelling and nasty vision of the end of the superhero world. Helmed by the author of The Walking Dead (who obviously knows a thing or two about the undead) and with art-duties handled by the lean and mean Sean Philips whose sharp lines and buff bodies are a perfect match for crazy zombie carnage: this is equal parts bloody horror to jet-black comedy and it's nice - seeing how the term "Marvel Zombie" was originally coined way back when to describe die-hard devoted Marvel fans - that there are plenty of treats and sly winks for them to enjoy. The wheel is not reinvented: but it's got gore, despair and a bad-ass attitude. Just don't bother with the sequels - (they're rubbish).

..............................................................................................................................................
Links: Comics Journal Article, 4thletter Article.

Further reading: Ultimate Fantastic Four, The Walking Dead, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Marvel 1602, The Punisher: Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher, Marvel 1985, Zomnibus.

All comments welcome.

Books: Joker

________________________________________________________________________________

Joker
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Lee Bermejo
2008




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

Beware the lavishness of the artwork within and plastered all over the cover (mmmmm rancid Joker teeth): they're an empty promise that the writing can't match. Told from the point-of-view of the Joker's latest henchman - Jonny Frost - a two-bit hoodlum with dreams of making of it big - this is an underwhelming story that putters around aimlessly before sinking to the depths (shouldn't a story have a point somewhere?). On the plus side: The design is amazing (the depiction of the Joker comes from the same place as Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight film) and the alternative versions of famous Batman baddies (Riddler, Killer Croc, Penguin) feel grounded but still radiate menace. But - well - I couldn't escape the feeling that it all could have been more scary, more dangerous and more thoughtful. Oh well. A disappointment - albeit a pretty one.

...............................................................................................................................................
Links: Death To The Universe Article: Good One, IGN Interview, The M0vie Blog Review, Newsarama Interview with Brian Azzarello.

Further reading: Lex Luthor: Man of Steel, Batman: Broken City, 100 Bullets, The Batman/Judge Dredd Files, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore.

All comments welcome.

Books: Nemesis

________________________________________________________________________________

Nemesis
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven
2011




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

One of the things about working in a library that nobody tells you about is the long 11-hour days. And the thing it really taxes isn't your body (shock horror: you don't have to be that fit to work in a library) but your brain. Doing those last few hours and it feels like your brain has been swirled round a bag of fuzz.

I was in the middle of re-reading Stray Toasters: but sitting down with a cup of tea and a sandwich and I realised that the abstract wierdness was going to be too much for my poor battered mind to handle: and so - I picked up this instead. Something all you really want is stuff exploding, people spitting out snide one-liners and lots and lots of gratuitous violence. And if that's all you need: then Nemesis knows how to deliver all of that stuff straight into the lizard-part at the back of your brain. But (most importantly) never actually insults your intelligence. It's dumb-smart but not dumb-dumb.

In terms of describing this book - I don't know if I can do much better than the teaser tagline: "What if Batman was the Joker?" It's pretty obvious (from this and his other works) that Mark Millar loves writing bad guys and Nemesis may be his best yet: super-rich, hyper-intelligent and totally insane: committed outrageous acts of evil and chaos seemingly just for the hell of it. Feeling like it was written with pure adrenaline: this is a comic that will shock, thrill and entertain you throughly - all the way to the bitter end.

Mindless - yes - but what's your point? Sometimes that's all you need. 

..................................................................................................................................................
Links: Comics Alliance Review, Comic Book Resources Review of #1 / #2 / #3, Primary Ignition Review, Tearoom of Despair Article: Vulgar Distractions.

Further reading: Superior, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Preacher, Wanted, The Ultimates, Ultimate Comics: Avengers.

Profiles: Mark Millar.

All comments welcome.

Books: Wilson

_________________________________________________________________________________

Wilson
By Daniel Clowes
2010





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

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

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

Which brings us to Wilson.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Profiles: Daniel Clowes.

All comments welcome

Books: Transmetropolitan

________________________________________________________________________________

Transmetropolitan
Vol 1: Back on the Street
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2000



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 2: Lust for Life
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2001



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 3: Year of the Bastard
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2001



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 4: The New Scum
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2001



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 5: Lonely City
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2001



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 6: Gouge Away
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2002



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 7: Spider's Thrash
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2002



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 8: Dirge
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2003



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 9: The Cure
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2003



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 10: One More Time
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2004



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

Transmetropolitan
Vol 0: Tales of Human Waste
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Darick Robertson
2004



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


Spider Jerusalem ("I'm a journalist, damnit.") is maybe one of the finest comic book characters ever created. A foul-mouthed, highly intelligent, permanently pissed-off journalist of the far future permently opposed to all forms of authority and power and forever dedicated to the high ideals of truth: he's mean, quick witted and armed with a bowel disruptor - and afraid of nothing. Forced by terms of his book contract to return to The City - where the air stinks of perfume and deodorant and everything from our world (advertising to religion, television to politics) has been turned up and made more obscene and full on - Spider and his "filthy assistants" are out to take it down and write it up.

Multifaceted and strange with wicked contortions on all your favourite science-fiction tropes (aliens, technology, robots, clones etc) with finely tuned mundane details and unexpected emotional horrors Transmetropolitan is by turns outrageous, moving and will make your laugh out of your nose. From the lineage that stretches from Hunter S Thompson to Howard Beale from Bill Hicks through Charlie Brooker and Doug Stanhope: There is filthy language, ravenous satire and unholy rants. There is righteous anger that seethes out through every panel. There are so many great ideas and choice lines contained within that I am tempted to do nothing but quote them all - but I wouldn't want to spoil your fun [1].

Of course: it's not all just swearing and mindless violence (as much fun as that would be) and like pretty much all of the iconoclasts mentioned above: there's a heart of gold beating underneath all the threats and bad-tempered shouting not to mention a world that's as well thought as (say) Halo Jones and an ever-increasing raising of the stakes that means that (unless you have them all lined up at once) you'll be jonesing hard for the next installment (must. find. out. what. happens). In many ways its the perfect comic experience:  if anyone mention it at a Comic Forum and someone says they haven't tried it then everyone else will turn around and go in a shocked-tone-of-voice: "Oh my god: how have you not read Transmetropolitan?"

.............................................................................................................................................
[1] Unless you want to ruin it for yourself in which case - hell: knock yourself out.

.............................................................................................................................................
Links: Cyberpunk Review Review, Thinking Fluidly Review, Comics Alliance Article, Pop-Culture-Corn Interview with Warren Ellis.

Further reading: Planetary, The Invisibles, Global Frequency, The Filth, Doktor Sleepless, Preacher, X-Men: New X-Men, The Boys, The Ballad of Halo Jones, No Hero, DMZ, Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson.

Profiles: Warren Ellis.

All comments welcome.

Books: D.R. and Quinch

_______________________________________________________________________________

D.R. and Quinch
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Alan Davies
2001




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


"Err - does this word look like "submarine" or "sandwich" to you?"

"Sandwich."

"Right. So the movie is set on a submarine, and not, as you may have previously imagined, a sandwich."

Basically: Beavis and Butthead with thermonuclear capacity. Appearing in 2000AD and with nice clear crisp black and white artwork by Alan Davies the two alien teenage delinquents - D.R. (it stands for "Diminished Responsibility") and Ernest Errol Quinch (catchphrase: "S'right!") - were only supposed to appear once in a "Future Shock" short story. But the audience (mainly compromised it must be said of teenage boys) fell in love with their evil ways and so D.R. and Quinch got brought back again and again. Unlike later Alan Moore none of this was in any way 'deep' or 'clever' - but with both title characters likely to describe just about anything as, "totally," "incredibly," "unbelievably," or "extremely" it was pretty funny albeit in a silly juvenile kinda way. Includes: Love, Hollywood and The Meaning of Life.

........................................................................................................................................
Links: The Comics Journal Review, Time Review, Satisfactory Comics Review.

Further reading: Skizz, The Complete Future Shocks, Chew, Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich, Smax. Marvel Boy.

Profiles: Alan Moore.

All comments welcome.

Books: Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich

_______________________________________________________________________________

Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich
Written by Keith Griffen and Alan Grant
Art by Simon Bisley
2008




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

An interstellar mercenary and bounty hunter who enjoys nothing better than mindless violence and intoxication. and whose name translates as "he who devours your entrails and thoroughly enjoys it" Lobo is one of the DC Universe's most popular characters. Quote: "I have no idea why Lobo took off I came up with him as an indictment of the Punisher, Wolverine, hero prototype and somehow he caught on as the high violence poster boy. Go figure." This book contains two stories that are long out of print: The Last Czarnian and Lobo's Back. Of the two the first is the best - the second a little bit too meandering for my tastes... But both feature plently of hijinks, fragging and evil little jokes to tickle the fancy of jaded readers. With lots and lots of juicy Simon Bisley artwork. Like it says on the back: "WARNING: This book is not recommended for Geeks, Wimps, Dweebs, Weenies and those with a delicate constitution!"

...................................................................................................................................
Links: The Tearoom of Despair Article: Why I love Lobo (and you probably shouldn't) by Max Zero.

Further reading: Kick-Ass, D.R. and Quinch

All comments welcome.

Books: The Boys

________________________________________________________________________________

The Boys
Vol 1: The Name of the Game
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2007



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


The Boys
Vol 2: Get Some
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2008



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

The Boys
Vol 3: Good for the Soul
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2008



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

The Boys
Vol 4: We Gotta Go Now
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2009



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

The Boys
Vol 5: Herogasm
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2009



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

The Boys
Vol 6: The Self-Preservation Society
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2010



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

The Boys
Vol 7: The Innocents
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2010



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

The Boys
Vol 8: Highland Laddie
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea and Darick Robertson
2011



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

The Boys
Vol 9: The Big Ride
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John McCrea, Russ Braun and Darick Robertson
2011



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

The Boys
Vol 10: Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2012



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

The Boys
Vol 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson
2012



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


I have an unwritten rule about swearing on this blog: namely - I don't do it - and try to keep things as clean and wholesome and cussword-free as possible (like Kurt Vonnegut says in Hocus Pocus: “profanity and obscenity entitle people who don't want unpleasant information to close their ears and eyes to you.”). But I feel that I've just gotta quote the following line (from Vol 9 of The Boys) in order to help explain what these books are about - and the way I figure it - it's ok seeing how I'm not the one doing the swearing: I'm just quoting (but - nonetheless: brace yourself): (ready?): ok then:

"As the old saying goes. "With great power comes the total fuckin' certainty that you're gonna turn into a cunt."[1]

One. Yes - ok: haha. That's like the famous Spider-Man line - hell - you could even call it the Spider-Man philosophy if you wanted - or even maybe "founding tenet"? [2] - except he's swapped the bit where it goes "...great responsibility" and replaced it with some naughty words: and isn't that funny? Because it's like a reference isn't it? And yeah - for those of you that haven't read it maybe you're hoping that the whole series will be like that - and yes - don't worry - it's got loads of little comic book references for you to enjoy (yay!) [3] and plenty and plenty of swearings and bloody gory violence (because - hell - that's what comics books are for - right?).

But (and this is much more important): Two: it's also the hidden philosophy (hell yeah: "founding tenet" even) of the motivation/driving force behind everything that happens in The Boys. There's this Nine Inch Nails song Capital G (off Year Zero [4]) and a lyric that kept swimming around my head as I tried to get this down: "Don't try to tell me that some power can corrupt a person / You haven't had enough to know what it's like." Because - what these books are all about - beyond the jokes and the references and the fights - it's all about power. What it does. How it works. And how it's always messing people up in strange, ugly and nasty ways.

There's this xkcd cartoon (if you can't be bothered to click the link (but - oh my god - how lazy are you?) then: it's a roadsign that says: "you're in a box on wheels hurtling along several times faster than evolution could possibly have prepared you to go.": because - yeah - cars: they're kinda crazy and designed to travel at speeds that our bodies haven't really been built for [5]) and one of the - well - "morals" (however quaint that word sounds when talking about books that include gross-out scenes featuring - well - I've leave that for you to find out) of The Boys is that human beings just aren't really equipped to deal with too much power: that once you give them the keys to a car and the ability to go faster than they've ever been before - well - they're going to crash.

And seeing how there are superheroes spilling off every page: this means that for those willing to venture inside it's pages - we have depictions of super-powered heroes who (for a variety of reason) just aren't able to cope with their superpowers [6]. But instead of feeling sorry for them - well - see that quote up at the top again.

What I really wanted here was an extract from an Garth Ennis interview - because - having been an avid reader of his ever since - well - Preacher I guess (yeah - it's not exactly the most sophisticated comic ever written: but - hey - there was a point in time when I just a teenager ok?) - I feel like I have an understanding of some of the motivations behind why The Boys (no doubt totally wrong - but hey - whatever): of course not wanting to trawl my way through the internet in order to find the quotes I wanted I decided just to make the whole thing up [7]:

INTERVIEWER: Hi Garth. Thanks for joining us today.

GARTH ENNIS: Hi. No worries. Thanks for having me.

INTERVIEWER: So - I just wanted to talk to you about The Boys and some of the - well - motivations behind it.

GARTH ENNIS: Ok - let's do this.

INTERVIEWER: For all of us who've followed you from your auspicious beginnings writing Judge Dredd at 2000AD on to your big mainstream comics breakthrough with Preacher (well - you know - mainstream for comics) and up and beyond and into the big leagues - you've never really been one to disguise your contempt...

GARTH ENNIS: Burning hatred.

INTERVIEWER: Right. Sorry - burning hatred - for superheros: comics' genre of choice. As far as I'm aware you've never really written a Superman story or a Batman story. And in fact - the only time you've included Batman in one of your books was in Hitman which is - well - a series about a guy who...

GARTH ENNIS: Goes around killing superheroes.

INTERVIEWER: Well - yes (I'm detecting a theme here). So - I guess my first question - is what gives? Every other major mainstream comic book writer - from Alan Moore to Warren Ellis from Frank Miller to Grant Morrison - has seeming been more than happy to take on the men in tights: but the closet you ever get is with Hitman or with The Authority and your A Man Called Kev books - that only ever show superheroes through the viewpoint of a "typical bloke" - why is that?

GARTH ENNIS: Well - I don't like superheroes.

INTERVIEWER: Yeah - I get that. But where does that come from?

GARTH ENNIS: Well - thinking it over - I guess - as a comic book writer I've always really loved the comic book - well - medium and all the things that it can do - and all the different types of stories it can tell and all the genres it can tackle - and there's just something about it's narrow focus on superheroes that's always struck me as being a little - well - regressive almost. Like - it's as if comic books has been stuck in a condition of arrested development - and it's not really something that I've wanted to contribute to. I feel like - nowadays - we have enough stories about Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman and the rest of them - and I felt like - let's have some new stories and so mainly that's what I've been concentrating on - writing stories about things that interest me. Things like war and the military and men and just guys sitting in a pub and just talking about things that have some sort of relevance to my own life - not a bunch a make-believe heroes flying around in capes and stuff - I mean - that sort of stuff doesn't have any sort of meaning for my own life - and it just doesn't interest me.

INTERVIEWER: Ok - so then - what changed?

GARTH ENNIS: Well - one reason is that after all these years of being in the business - it's becoming harder and harder for me to avoid them. I mean - I haven't sought it out - but it's not like I haven't had offers to revamp this title or do this thing or whatever - but the thought of writing some kind of space epic with Madame Whatsherface and The Amazing Super-Crew - I mean - that's just not me. And the second reason is that - well - after all this time - superheroes have become more than just something that I didn't want to be part of - and more like - I dunno - a sort of totem of all the things that I just can't really stomach: they're like a really potent mix of all the worst excesses of celebrity, the military-industrial complex, American Exceptionalism and every jerk everywhere who does what they want because they're bigger than everyone else on the beach - do you know what I mean? And it sorta got to the point where all these ideas started to come together in my head and I realised that - actually - here was a story that I wanted to write about - here was a bunch of really powerful - I dunno - it was like: I had this chance to exorcise these thoughts inside me and get them down on to the page - where hopefully - you know: they wouldn't bother me anymore. You know?

The Boys then: An ever-so-slightly deranged gang of individuals who go around - basically - beating up superheroes and having the time of their life while they do it - while each trying to ignore their own dark and troubled pasts. They're the A-Team of costumed-hero take-downs. The Bash Street Kids of vigilante justice aimed exclusively at masked vigilantes. A bunch of lads - mucking around - inflicting grievous bodily harm on those who they judge to deserve it. The kind of people who attract and revel in all the wrong sorts of attention.

For all of you who've followed Garth Ennis from his auspicious beginnings writing Judge Dredd at 2000AD on to his big breakthrough with Preacher and up and beyond and into the big leagues - you'll know that he's never really disguised his contempt (hell - burning hatred) for the dominant genre of men (and let's face it - it's mainly men) in tights. (Best example before this: Hitman). And for those of us that never really understood the reasons why - The Boys is here to lay out all of the reasons why. Namely what they stand for. (And here they're a potent mixture of all the worst excesses of celebrity, the military-industrial complex, American Exceptionalism and every jerk everywhere).

With a promise from the author to "out-Preacher Preacher" presumably referring to the extreme violence and sexuality that were that series' hallmark and The Boy's constant fixation on bodily functions and bodily fluids (I defy you to read the series without once going "ewwww gross.") certain bear that out. But beneath the juvenile gross-out humour (that felt to me a little like pandering to gallery) and extended gags about sex with hamsters you'll find an intelligent (albeit pretty brutal) take-down on the idea of "the superhero" that's as thoughtful as anything else out there. See especially: the depiction of how superhumans would have dealt with the events of September the 11th (that left me feeling chilled all the way down to my bones). For a while it seems like it's just one book a mission and every mission skewers a different superhero/superhero team and then (around Vol 7) everything feels like it's coming undone and losing it's focus before - appropriately enough with Vol 9 (The Big Ride) everything starts to fall into place with tangible sense of awfulness and all the unexploded ordinance carefully left scattered around the place - well - it all starts to go off.

...........................................................................................................................................
[1] My original opening was slightly more ostentatious and went: "Who watches the Watchmen? Answer: The Boys." But - yeah - let's try and move past that.

[2] I'm pretty sure someone somewhere has written an in-depth analysis of what that means and stuff (this is the internet after all) - but - hell: it's all pretty simple isn't it? It's just comics and all that)

[3] I mean - I'll admit that I got a kick laughing along (oh look! It's like Batman!) but if that's all it was doing it would only all be worth reading once through and then throwing away. But having made my way through them all The Boys feels anything but disposable.

[4] No - that's not a Frank Miller Batman prequel. 

[5] Normally I would try and find some links to back this up - and a bunch of statistics to show how many car crashes there are in the world each day or something: but come on - I'm guessing by now this is just something we all know? And let's try and stay on topic (for once?).

[6] See also: Mark Waid's Irredeemable.

[7] Hey - that's allowed right? And - you know - I'm sure it helps me make my point about absolute power corrupting absolutely (making stuff up on a blog? Heavens - whatever next?).

...........................................................................................................................................
Links: Sean Maher's Quality Control Review, The Beat Garth Ennis Interview, Comic Book Grrl Article: The Boys: A Comic About Bad-Ass Men, Slutty Women, And *Very* Slutty Women, Tearoom of Despair Article, Playtime Magazine Article: Sex and Superheroes in “The Boys” (NSFW).

Further reading: The Authority, Preacher, Wanted, Hitman, Supergod, Transmetropolitan, Animal Man, Watchmen, Irredeemable.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.