Monday 31 January 2011

Books: The Ultimates 2

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The Ultimates 2
Vol 1: Gods and Monsters
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch

2005



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The Ultimates 2
Vol 2: Grand Theft America
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Bryan Hitch

2007



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For me at least The Ultimates (for what it is) is one of the best superhero comics out there. The perfect combination of the smart and the funny: sprinkled with lashings of big wide-screen action: all the excesses of a Michael Bay film but somehow leavened with the intelligence of - say - Steven Spielberg at his Raiders of the Lost Ark peak [1]. I've lost count of the number of times a fresh-faced innocent after wandering into a meeting of the Comic Forum and asking around for "something good" has been handed a copy of the first Ultimate book (by me or someone else) and told to "get on that." [2]

Of course the problem with creating something that everyone everywhere ends up climbing up to the rooftops to sing the praises for (not to mention defining the shape of all the other superhero comics that appeared in it's wake and - oh - setting the agenda for all those big Marvel films (and thus mainstream cinema) as well for the next decade or so... So - erm - yeah: not too shabby guys) is - what the hell do you do for the follow-up?

Well - it's easy right? You just keep moving forward with a story that explores all the situations you've already set up with the kinda of feline grace and sexiness that makes it seem like you had this all planned right from the start [3]. Using the ugly fallout of relationships and situations to create bigger and worse problems for your heroes to combat and - gently - expand the horizons of the original concept so that (to use the most obvious example) Vol 1 opens with the image of Captain America being dropped into Northern Iraq (and god bless Mark Millar for not shying away from the more - let's say problematic - consequences of what the world would be like if America had access to it's own team of superheroes).

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[1] Although my favourite Indy film is The Temple of Doom - but that's a discussion for another day...

[2] "That aint grass, it's oregano." "How do you know?"  "I'm a catering student."

[3] In fact: maybe this should be the point where I admit that - actually - I have no idea whether Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch conceived of The Ultimates and The Ultimates 2 at the same time (which is why the flow into each other so nicely) or if the produced the sequel because the first one did so well (or - who knows - maybe it was a little bit of both?): but yeah - I haven't done enough background reading to know either way. So all this is just (for me anyway) enjoyable supposition.

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Links: The Hurting ArticleBryan Hitch Comics Bulletin Interview, The M0vie Blog Review.

Preceded by: The Ultimates.

Followed by: Ultimate Comics: AvengersUltimate Comics: Avengers vs New Ultimates: Death of Spider-ManUltimate Comics: The Ultimates.

Further reading: The AuthorityUltimate X-Men, Ultimate Galactus TrilogyUltimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, X-Men: Astonishing X-MenKick-AssFantastic Four: World's Greatest / The Masters of DoomSpider-Man: Down Among The Dead Men / Venomous / The Last Stand.

Profiles: Mark Millar.

All comments welcome.

Events: Islington Comic Forum 2011/02

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The next Islington Comic Forum is on Tuesday the 22th of February. From 6:00pm all the way to 7:30pm.
Upstairs Hall at North Library Manor Gardens N7 6JX
Here is a map.

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

The Books of the Month are: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and The Arrival by Shaun Tan.
If you get a chance please read them. You can reserve yourself a copy here. (For those of you that don't get the chance - don't worry - you can still come and join in with the discussions).

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

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

Monday 24 January 2011

Books: Elektra: Assassin

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Elektra: Assassin
Written by Frank Miller
Art by Bill Sienkiewicz
2000





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Elektra Natchios: first introduced (and killed off) by Frank Miller in his run on Marvel's Daredevil: a lethal ninja assassin forever wielding twin sai (which you - like me - most probably will recognise as Raphael's weapon of choice) and always elegantly dressed in skin-tight red. But really you don't need to know anything previous about her or her history in order to read this book (which exists as a prequel in case you're wondering about her whole 'coming-back-from-the-dead-thing') - this is a stand alone story that - while it uses a few Marvel characters and touchstones (including the secret spy organisation S.H.I.E.L.D.) it wraps and mutates them in such a way as to make them unrecognisable.

First thing to say: the artwork in this book by comics legend Bill Sienkiewicz is absolutely jaw-droppingly delicious. I want to eat it up with a spoon and touch it against my face licking the pages. And the way he draws everything from cars rushing towards the reader, to the angle of his characters arms, to the electric leads strewn across the floor, to the way his ninja/accountants hold their briefcases - it's all so fantastically seductive and alive that makes the hairs on the back of my everything tingle.

Next thing to say is that: be prepared for disorientation. This isn't exactly (especially at the start) easy reading and it will take you a little while to find your feet and things start to make sense. If it all seems a little much - and if you're thinking of giving up: my advice would be to stick with it at least until you're about halfway in.

Hard to believe that the story lives up to it too and - ok - I admit - it might not seem that sophisticated (Ninja assassin goes up against a demon trying to destroy the world) but the techniques and flashy tricks it uses to tell that story are just as polished and finely worked over as the art. Plus: it's gripping, exciting and at many points massively laugh out loud funny. Because - well it's Frank Miller - and despite (or because of?) his teenage mind-set - dude really knows how to write to comic that will entertain the hell of anyone. Yeah the thrills are cheap - but they're all pulled off in the most luxurious and expensive-feeling ways possible: like driving 100miles an hour in a leather chair sipping a superior whiskey and smoking a big, fat cuban cigar. "Presidents don't cry. I don't cry. That's why I'm the president." A brilliant and crazy masterpiece: pretty much as good as comics can get.

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Links: Death To The Universe Analysis, Comic Book Resources: Comics You Should Own Article, The Comics Reporter Article.

Further reading: Stray Toasters, Daredevil: Born AgainThe Big Guy and Rusty The Boy Robot, The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century, Cages, Black Summer, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Hard Boiled.

Profiles: Frank Miller.

All comments welcome.

Books: Button Man

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Button Man
Vol 1: The Killing Game
Written by John Wagner
Art by Arthur Ranson

2003



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Button Man
Vol 2: The Confession of Harry Exton
Written by John Wagner
Art by Arthur Ranson

2008



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Button Man
Vol 3: Killer Killer
Written by John Wagner
Art by Arthur Ranson

2009



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Button Man
Vol 4: The Hitman's Daughter
Written by John Wagner
Art by Frazer Irving

2010



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"Have you ever head of... The Game? A game of murder... going on right now - right at this moment - under your nose. There are the players - Button Men... And the voices - the fixers. They control the game."

Coming on like a classic 60s British thriller Button Man is the story of Harry Exton - ex-solider - who gets dragged into a dark and dangerous world of a secret society where killers go up against each other in high stakes games to the death. Unpleasant, brutal and violent this is a comic book series steeped with regional dialects and plenty of "Wotcher, 'arry." and "gauny blow her heid aff, that's how we're gauny handle it" that gives it a nice (if that's the right word) feeling of authenticity and gritty realness. With highly detailed and beautifully pencilled (is it pencils?) artwork from Arthur Ranson (that is oh-so-very English in a way I can't quite articulate) that evokes a classy blend of James Bond, Micheal Caine and the Avengers: this is the E Type Jaguar of crime/thriller comic books. And even though Vol 4 replaces Arthur Ranson with Frazer Irving (whose slightly more cartoony style had me worried) - Wagner's tight scripting that minces no words and cuts to the point with every image keeps the whole thing intact.

Lovely jubbly.

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Links: Ninth Art Review, PopImage Review.

Further reading: MazeworldQueen & Country, Red, Richard Stark's Parker, Human Target: Chance Meetings, Back to Brooklyn, The Punisher: The Punisher MAX.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Arrival

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The Arrival
By Shaun Tan

2007





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This book reminds me more of silent movies than other comic books. Completely wordless and with gorgeous musty artwork that takes place in a dreamlike netherland between the early 20th century and an far-off surrealist alien world The Arrival is a paean to the journey of the immigrant that manages to never be preachy or condensing but is instead - and this is the best word for it - enchanting. With detailed sepia drawings that bring to life images that range from the charming to the utterly nightmarish (there's one part that gives me chills just thinking about it) and sweep from small boxes to full-page spreads you can feel the careful love and attention imprinted on every page. It's been labelled as a children's book - but really it's one of the few books that can be read and appreciated by anyone who takes the time to read it and has been deservedly lauded by everyone from Art Spiegelman to Marjane Satrapi, from The Guardian to The Times. Choice quotes: "Every home should have one" "Few will remain unaffected by this timeless stunner." "Endlessly detailed and wonderfully strange."

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Links: Sean T Collins ReviewNew York Times Review, Book Slut Review.

Further reading: GoliathHabibiMezolith, Stitches, A Taste of Chlorine, You Really Don't Look 50 Charlie Brown.

All comments welcome.

Books: Aetheric Mechanics

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Aetheric Mechanics
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Gianluca Pagliarani

2008




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So I kinda wanna describe this book as feeling like a roller-coaster ride. But then - that's a pretty over-used clichĂ© isn't it? So instead I'll settle for saying that reading it feels like plunging down a water-slide or (no - wait): a water flume (a really good tall and long one). As soon as it starts it's non-stop drops and turns and twists - with fantastical images, succinct dialogue and a free-wheeling sense of imagination bouncing to ever-increasing heights. I don't want to go overboard (perish the thought) - but every time I read it there's this great sense of boundlessness and possibility that makes other comics (in comparison) feel limited and somehow fenced in (I guess that's helped by the fact that it's only 48 pages long so doesn't ever get the chance to outstay it's welcome - but still...)

For people who like their Sherlock Holmes mixed with a little bit of steam-punk Aetheric Mechanics [1] is a self-enclosed delightful mystery with a barrel-full of cool ideas and detailed black and white artwork (albeit much more white than black - so much so in fact - at the start it kinda looks like a colouring in book). Much of the fun of the book is watching how Ellis sets up his world with choice bits of exposition (working in a few nice references here and there to classic Victorian literature - most of which I guess I missed: but I think I managed to get a few [2]) and how much information is packed inside the slender pages with a story that (somehow) never feels rushed. The rest of the fun is found in following the super sleuth Sax Raker and his trusty assistant Dr. Robert Watcham as they probe the bizarre case of "The Man Who Wasn't There" and the shocking conclusion that awaits them [3]: part pastiche and part fresh new-minting - it takes elements from all the best sources around and then mixes them into a cocktail that feels familiar and yet freshly squeezed (and it packs quite a kick too).

To say anything more risks spoiling all the fun - but suffice to say: that whole thing about good things coming in small packages and who are you to resist? Ok - it's not going to change your world - but for the 15 minutes it'll take you to read it - well - you won't be disappointed.

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[1] If - like me - you've never heard of "aether" - well: it's an element that (according to the ancient Greeks) fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. Plato described it as "that which God used in the delineation of the universe." And Aristotle  included aether in the system of the classical elements of Ionian philosophy as the "fifth element" (the quintessence), on the principle that the four terrestrial elements were subject to change and moved naturally in straight lines while no change had been observed in the celestial regions and the heavenly bodies moved in circles. (And now you know).

[2] And don't worry: it's not exactly The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - so don't fret if you don't know your H.G. Wells from your Jules Verne or whatever.

[3] And if you enjoy Aetheric Mechanics then may I point you towards a nice little short story in the same vein: it's by Neil Gaiman, it's called "A Study in Emerald" - sorry no: it doesn't have any pictures - but it is very good and expertly-mashes up Sherlock Holmes with some Howard Phillips Lovecraft (you knew it had to happen sooner or later huh?) It's collected in the book 'Fragile Things' - available now from your local Islington library etc. Go discover.

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Profiles: Warren Ellis.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

Books: The Punisher: The Punisher MAX

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The Punisher MAX
Born
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Darick Robertson and Tom Palmer





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 1: In The Beginning
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Lewis Larosa and Tom Palmer





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 2: Kitchen Irish
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 3: Mother Russia
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Dougie Braithwaite





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 4: Up is Down and Black is White
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 5: The Slavers
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 6: Barracuda
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 7: Man of Stone
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Leandro Fernandez





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 8: Widowmaker
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Lan Medina





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 9: Long Cold Dark
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov and Howard Chaykin





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The Punisher MAX
Vol 10: Valley Forge, Valley Forge
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Goran Parlov





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The Punisher MAX
From First To Last
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by John Severin Lewis Larosa and Richard Corben





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Poetry.

It's there in The Tyger (collected in From First To Last) which as you can probably guess gets it's title from William Blake and his "fearful symmetry" [1] and shows you that the dark heart of Frank Castle goes deeper than you may have first suspected ("They'll blame it all on Vietnam. And they'll be right. And they'll be wrong."). And it's there at the brutal closing of Valley Forge, Valley Forge - which may just be the best finale of any "superhero" [2] comic out there - and shows you that you don't need your ending to go big and overblown in order to make an impact: rather you can just zero into the characters until there isn't enough room to breathe.

But - really - what I mean to say - is that it's there throughout - (and I'm sorry if this sounds a little overwrought) but what Ennis has done with these books is take a character that's always been one-note and one-dimensional and made him into goddamn poetry. Dark? Yes. Bloody? Yes. Ultra-violent, ugly and nasty? Yes. Yes. Yes. But there's a finesse and agility to the writing here (buried underneath all the killing) that makes this a beautiful read.

Originally created in 1974 as a Spider-Man bad guy Frank Castle (aka 'The Punisher') is not someone that you wanna mess with... A Vietnam veteran whose wife and kids were killed in front of him (collateral damage from a gangland hit) the guy is a border-line psychopath who has dedicated his life to "punishing" crime. Once paired with his sidekick 'Microchip' (who served as a Q/Alfred Pennyworth character) but since then gone solo Frank has no special powers and no fancy weapons - just a bad attitude, high pain threshold and a T-Shirt with a skull drawn across it. Garth Ennis began his Punisher run with Steve Dillon in 2000 with a 12 issue miniseries that came across as a little brother to their Preacher series - full of schoolboyish humour and slightly cartoony situations. Then in 2004 he returned with the seminal Punisher 'MAX' series ('MAX = 2001 Marvel imprint for adult readers - "free to feature explicit content") that took a serve towards something went more realistic, serious and bleak with Frank Castle himself refashioned into Clint Eastwoody kinda mould, less a character - more a walking/talking force of nature - his Saint of All Killers character from Preacher poured into a twentieth century mould. Taking on everything from corporate fraud to sexual slavery and The War on Terror with supporting characters from the CIA, KGB, Secret Intelligence Service, SAS, the IRA, militaries and militias from the Balkans and Middle East, all with agendas rooted in past conflicts like the Cold War or the Yugoslav wars Punisher MAX brings the reader into parts of the world that you normally not best think about. So - yeah - it's not exactly what you could call a "light" read - but over the 10 volumes (not including the prequel "Born" and the collection of one-shots "From First to Last") you get a very nicely written, thoughtful, interwoven thriller that will grip, shock and enthrall with each successive volume topping the last in terms of how far Frank (and Ennis) are prepared to go. Yes it is (very) violent but it's never mindless (it's even closes with a poem - woo). And it's probably the best thing Ennis has ever written - and makes all other Punisher stories redundant. So what you waiting for?

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[1] Which I'm guessing most of you only know from Watchmen. Right?

[2] But let's face it - even tho he's got the name [3] and the costume and zest for killing band guys - The Punisher isn't really much of a typical superhero. He's more like an elemental force of nature - dark urges made flesh - like something Jack Kibry would have dreamed up if he spent a weekend hanging out with James Ellroy. 

[3] Fun fact: I can't find exact source on the internet (damn you google): but I'm pretty sure that The Punisher got his name - not from his creators - but from Stan "Excelsior!" Lee. The story goes that the writer - Gerry Conway - was stuck on to call him (his best idea was: "The Assassin") and so approached Lee - who was the chief editor of Marvel at the time (or something) and said something like: "We've got this guy, he's this guy who's lost his mind and goes out there to punish criminals..." and Stan will interrupt and go "Call him .. The Punisher!" And that would be that.

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Links: Savage Critic Article: A History of Punishment for Adults: Jog reaches the last, black page on 8/13, 4th Letter Review, Read/RANT Review of Vol 1 / Vol 2 / Vol 3 / Vol 4, Comic Book Resources Review of Vol 9 and Vol 10, GraphiContent Article: The Cycle of Violence in Punisher: Widowmaker, Tearoom of Despair: The Punisher Made Me Cry, The M0vie Blog Review Punisher: Born / Vol 1 and 2 / Vol 3 and 4 / Vol 5 and 6 / Vol 7 and 8 / Vol 9 and 10 / From First To Last.

Further reading: 100 Bullets, PreacherDaredevil (2001 - 2006)Criminal, Hitman, Gotham Central, 303, Button Man.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich

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

2008




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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!"

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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 Adventures of Luther Arkwright

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The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
By Bryan Talbot

1999





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With the power to move between parallel relaties by sheer force of will - Luther Arkwright is a hero that doesn't mess around. First seen in 1978 in an underground British comic called 'Near Myths' and then moving forward from there to 'pssst! magazine' and then into his own book in 1987 this is a powerful comic acclaimed from everyone from Michael Moorcock ("something far more original and idiosyncratic than anyone has attempted before") to Alan Moore ("A work ambitious in both scope and complexity that still stands unique upon the comics landscape") to Garth Ennis ("surely one of the all-time great epics of the medium"). Throwing new readers into the deep end right from the very first page with a story that operates in several worlds at once and is already unravelling before you've even begun. I got halfway to the middle before I decided to stop and start again - which helped a lot. If all of this is making it sound like somekind of evil tease that cares only about being dense and confusing - it's not. At it's heart the story is a simple tale of good versus evil and a brave hero taking on the forces of destruction - in fact in some senses - it's every story ever told about good versus evil combined into one ultra-story that stands above and beyond them all (that might make more sense once you've read it). With detailed black and white artwork with that uniquely British feel and a willingness to do whatever crazy shit springs into it's mind - Bryan Talbot knows how to entertain and push the sides of what a comic book can be and what it can do, he knows how to tell a story that will pull you in and refuse to let you go - and the guy sure knows how to draw too. Which is nice. So yeah: worth checking out. Plus: it has a sequel: Heart of Empire or the Legacy of Luther Arkwright which is every bit as good.

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Links: Warren Ellis Review on Art Bomb, I Am Not The Beastmaster Review, Brilliant Depravities: A personal view of the Adventures of Luther Arkwright by Harry Payne, A Trout in the Milk Article.

Further reading: Heart of Empire or the Legacy of Luther Arkwright, The Tale of One Bad Rat, The Filth, Grandville, From Hell, Aetheric MechanicsThe OneAlice In Sunderland, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier, A.B.C. Warriors: The Black Hole, Sebastian O.

Profiles: Bryan Talbot.

All comments welcome.

Books: Swamp Thing

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Swamp Thing
Book 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing
Written By Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben

1998



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Swamp Thing
Book 2: Love and Death
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette, John Totleben and Shawn McManus

1999



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Swamp Thing
Book 3: The Curse
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben

2000



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Swamp Thing
Book 4: A Murder of Crows
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben

2001



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Swamp Thing
Book 5: Earth to Earth
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Rick Veitch, and Alfredo Alcala

2002



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Swamp Thing
Book 6: Reunion
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben

2003



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Swamp Thing was Moore's first big break into American comics. Taking over the reins of a character orginally created by DC in 1971 and only re-releaseled in 1982 because of a (lousy) Wes Craven film - Swamp Thing was a nothing character going nowhere (blah Alec Holland blah scientist working in the Louisina swamps blah secret bio-restorative formula blah killed by a bomb blah reborn as a humanoid plant thing blah). Apparently it was only given to Alan Moore because - seeing how nobody really read it - even if he screwed it up it won't really do any harm. Instead he transformed the character and the series into a breakthrough hit. Taking the reins in 1983 Moore starting off by touching on typical environmental themes (cutting down trees = bad) and trying to tell a dark horror-style comic (there are werewolves and underwater vampires for those that want them) but then it soon grew to become something that stretched the limits to what kind of story you could tell in a 'superhero' comic book before those limits snapped and it mutated and flowered into a new thing entirely - (things get kinda strange but also kinda totally amazing). Just so you know: it's a DC Comic there are lots of guest appearances by other characters (Batman, the Spectre, the Demon, Deadman, Adam Strange and the Phantom Stranger to name a few) but all of them so nicely interwoven into the main story that things never feels that aburpt. But yeah. Worth reading. Still one of the best sagas in comics.

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Links: The Hooded Utilitarian:Muck Encrusted Mockery of a Roundtable, IGN Article on Swamp Thing, The M0vie Blog Review, Tearoom of Despair Review of Swamp Thing #60.

Further reading: The Sandman, Hellblazer, Neil Gaiman's Midnight DaysV for Vendetta, Locke & KeyGravel, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore, The OneAnimal Man, PlanetaryDaredevil (2001 - 2006)Hitman, PrometheaNeonomicon.

Profiles: Alan Moore.

All comments welcome.

Books: Hicksville

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Hicksville
By Dylan Horrocks

1999





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So. This is a comic book "about" comic books. What different kinds of comic books mean to different kinds of people - and how that all (sometimes? every time?) gets swallowed up by big business: editors and publishers etc. (oh no!) The narrative tying this altogether: There's Leonard Batts who's trying to reach a place called 'Hicksville' and get to the truth of the story behind Dick Burger (great name) and Grace and her garden or - "the one landmark she still felt behind her" or something - and Sam who wants to explore the BIG questions ("Life! Death! Truth! Epistemology!" - yawn) - but all their ideas and experiences and relationships are fed back to the reader in a comic inside a comic and then another comic and then another one - all drawn in (slightly) different styles... because - erm - life is comic books or comic books are life - or something? To tell you the truth: it's all a little bit pretentious. Basically - if I was going to be mean I'd say that this a comic book for people who hate comic books (gripe: if you're going to present something that has captured the hearts of millions of people (Captain Tomorrow - the world's most successful comic book) - then - shouldn't it look and sound like something that at least someone would like? [1]). Just because something's popular that doesn't mean it's not good and vice versa. No? Oh well. Then again: I like The Ultimates (and maybe that makes me a bad person?). And the artwork is rubbish too - that scratchy look that makes it seem like they can't really be bothered. If you like slow moving, reflective books that ponders weighty subjects like mass commercialisation and how artists struggle within that (although that makes it sound like something good) - then perhaps you will enjoy this book more than me. Someone has to.

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[1] See: The Bulletproof Coffin for a way of making this type of work way way way better.

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Further reading: It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken, Clumsy, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, The Bulletproof Coffin, The Ultimates.

All comments welcome.

Events: Islington Comic Forum 2011/01

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The next Islington Comic Forum is on Tuesday the 25th of January. From 6:00pm all the way to 7:30pm.
Upstairs Hall at North Library Manor Gardens N7 6JX
Here is a map: (click me)

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

The Book of the Month that will we be discussing is Blankets by Craig Thompson.
You can read about it here: (click me) and reserve a copy here: (click me)
If you get a chance please read it. You can reserve yourself a copy (click me). (For those of you that don't get the chance - don't worry - you can still come and join in with the discussions).

You can find us on facebook (click me). And join in with the discussions (click me).

Friday 14 January 2011

Books: Maus: A Survivor's Tale

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Maus: A Survivor's Tale
By Art Spiegelman

1991





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There's a bit in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's Extras when Kate Winslet makes a crack about how if you want to win some awards you need to make something about the Holocaust. Judging from the accolades heaped upon Maus (the only comic to win a Pulitzer no less) I have a feeling she may be right... Not that it doesn't deserve it. This is one of the most powerful and moving comic books out there: a warts and all account of the wartime life of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman ("Ach!"), a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Yes - it's got lots of interesting details: the Jews depicted as mice and the Germans as cats. etc. But re-reading it I was struck by how the core of the book doesn't lie in the accounts of life in the concentration camps (as harrowing and well written as they are) - but in the character of the writer's father and his relationship with his son. The way his dad's large personality radiates from every page - with his disjointed English ("I don't want you should write this in your book."), frugal ways with his finances and offhand way with dealing with all those close to him - shaped no doubt by the experiences he relates is for me the main reason to read this book. It's not just a history lesson - it also gives a unique and beautiful insight into the dynamics between a father and son and the way that each human is a world unto themselves. Oh - and just to warn you: the whole thing is pretty depressing. So keep the tissues handy.

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Links: Philip Pullman Guardian Review, The Inside Story Review, Things Mean A Lot Review, The Hooded Utilitarian Article: Gluey Tart: Takes on Maus, New York Review of Books Interview Part 1 / Part 2.

Further reading: Persepolis, Breakdowns, The Photographer, Blankets, Palestine, Alan's War, The Tale of One Bad Rat, Habibi, City of Glass, Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on EarthAsterios Polyp.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Unwritten

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The Unwritten
Vol 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross

2010



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The Unwritten
Vol 2: Inside Man
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross

2010



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The Unwritten
Vol 3: Dead Man's Knock
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross

2011



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The Unwritten
Vol 4: Leviathan
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross

2011



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The Unwritten
Vol 5: On to Genesis
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross

2012



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The Unwritten
Vol 6: Tommy Taylor and the War of Words
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Peter Gross

2012



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Where does the real world end and the imaginary one begin?  No. Wait. Scratch that. That's a little bit too airy-fairy for me. (Sounds like the trailer voice-over for a Disney film).

Instead: let's talk about the Oscars.

I don't think I've ever actually sat down and watched the whole Oscar ceremony from beginning to end (basically because - well - come on: it's like five hours long or something isn't it?) but I still know what's it like (call it: cultural osmosis or whatever) - and I'm guessing you do too - right?

Now: I don't know where it exactly it came from - but you know those videos that they sometimes show in-between the awards? Where it's a white backdrop and then there's a celebrity who walks in and says something like "Hi. My name is Steve Speilberg." [1]: well - me and some of my friends kinda came up with an imaginary ĂĽber-version of that kind of thing that encapsulates the (well) silliness / self-seriousness of it all: "The Power of Story." Can you picture it? A bunch of talking heads all staring out at the camera and intoning semi-blah-platitudes like: "Stories define us." (Cut to Martin Scorsese): "Stories make us what we are." (Cut to Tom Hanks): "We all love to tell stories." (Cut to Whoopi Goldberg) "...and we love to listen to them." (Cut to Julia Roberts) "We live to share them." (Cut to George Clooney) "and we live to make them."

In a nutshell (and hopefully not giving too much away) the "Power of Story" is what The Unwritten is all about. And it's utterly fantastic.

This is going to sound slightly harsh - but up until The Unwritten I never really cared that much for Mike Carey. His Hellblazer stuff was alright. Lucifer had some strong points - but overall (and especially towards the end) it felt like it's reach outdid it's grasp and his stuff on Ultimate Fantastic Four just wasn't as good as the books by Bendis, Millar and Ellis (yeah - tough crowd).

I guess I should have realised that he needed his own book and the chance to lay down his own set of rules - away from other people's pre-existing properties - to show the world just the sort of amazing things that he could do. Because - damn it - this book is good, good, good.

As you should know by now - I'm of the belief that stories are always best when you know next to nothing before you venture in. So - without giving too much away: The Unwritten is a fast paced supernatural horror story that encompasses all the ways that stories can affect people and the world and the very thin line between things that are real and things that are not. Previous Mike Carey work has always left me feeling underwhelmed - but this is a top notch read that is totally worth getting lost in... And top of the pile of all the recent meta-fictional books out there [2].

And the Mr Bun The Rabbit story at the end of Vol 2 (it's basically Winnie The Pooh with a nasty attitude and lots and lots of gratuitous swearing - and if that doesn't give you the itch to want to try this series out then  - well - I don't think I know what will) is one of the funniest and smartest issues of any comic that I've read for a long, long time. (Special mention also goes to the Lizzie Hexam Issue in Vol 3 for mixing the fun in with just the right amount of the experimental). Yes - the further you get down the rabbit hole the more crazy things get: but I wouldn't want things any other way. I mean: ok - yeah: the artwork can be a little bit flat sometimes (and really - that's one of the few things holding me back from proclaiming this as an absolute stone-cold classic) - but then again: hey The Sandman had some pretty ropey artwork too at some points - so what the hey right? And the way it manages to make it's sly points about everything from messiahs to superheroes (same thing) and how (if you look at things at the right angle) all we are are the stories we tell about ourselves (gah: they put it a lot better in the book - so maybe ignore the way I'm making it sound trite).  One of the long running arguments I have with my literary flatmate is that the problem with some much "intelligent" Booker Prize literature is that it has absolutely no interest in telling a good story: rather it just uses the outlines of (boring) stories in order to hang on pretty sentences and intricate set-pieces [3]: what I enjoyed so much about The Unwritten is that it's very obviously made by people who've spent a long time thinking about what a story is, what it does and how exactly it works best: which means that it hits a sweet spot in my brain that leaves me constantly carving for more.

Perfect reading for fans of Rowling, Gaiman and Wynne Jones or - well - just about anyone who enjoys a good story, well told and curious about what exactly that means. More like this please.

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[1] You know: something like this

[2] Meta-fiction (or whatever you want to call it: stories about stories? I dunno) is definitely the new genre of choice for 21st Century writers. It's not quite post-modernism (which is a fraught term I know): where the emphasis was more (it seems) on pulling things apart and going: "Look how stupid all this is!" - meta-fiction is more about putting as many different storytelling elements as possible to show how brilliant they all are. Or (let me try and put this another way): it's the difference between characters who are constantly saying "this is just like a film or something" and creating an ironic distance between the reader and the text (yeah - this is all just make-believe: isn't it silly?) and characters who have their lives taken over by fictions (or their lives are fictions: or whatever) which (I would say) helps to shrink the space between the story and the audience (yeah this is all just make-believe: isn't it amazing?).

[3] My favourite example of this would be Martin Amis' London Fields: but please feel free to choose your own.

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Links: Hooded Utilitarian Review #5, Relevant Magazine ReviewForbidden Planet Blog Review of Vol 1, Comics Alliance Article: The Unwritten: The Power of Stories, From Harry Potter to FrankensteinComics Alliance Review #17: Choose Your Own Adventure Wisely, Multiversity Interview with Mike Carey and Peter Gross.

Further reading: Planetary, Locke and Key, Death: The High Cost of LivingNeil Gaiman's NeverwherePromethea, Swamp Thing, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century, Chosen, Joe The Barbarian, The Sandman, LuciferAetheric Mechanics, Stardust.

All comments welcome.

Books: The Boys

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

2007



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

2008



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

2008



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

2009



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

2009



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

2010



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

2010



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

2011



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



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



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



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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.

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[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?).

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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, SupergodTransmetropolitan, Animal Man, WatchmenIrredeemable.

Profiles: Garth Ennis.

All comments welcome.