Wednesday 28 March 2012

Events: Islington Comic Forum 2012/04

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

There's also a book of the month (so that at least we can all talk about something we've all read). This month it's: Batman and Robin Vol 1: Batman Reborn. If you get a chance please read it. You can reserve yourself a copy here. (For those of you that don't get the chance - don't worry - you can still come and join in with the discussions).

The next one is: Tuesday the 24st of April / 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the Upstairs Hall at North Library Manor Gardens N7 6JX. Here is a map. Come and join us. All welcome.

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

All comments welcome.

Monday 26 March 2012

Books: The Adventures of Hergé

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The Adventures of Hergé
Written by Jose-Louis Bocquet and Jean-Luc Fromental 
Art by Stanislas Barthélémy





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I don't get the point of this book. I mean - ok - I get that it's a retelling of key moment's in Hergé's life (that's the creator of Tintin for those that don't know and blah blah blah real name: Georges Prosper Remi etc): and I get that at practically every point they make references to scenes and images from his Tintin books. But - like - so what? I mean - I've been a Tintin fan since I was about 8 years old - and yeah damnit - I'd still recommend you reading any other Tintin book over this. If you want to read some Tintin - then read some Tintin - no?

This is - well: it said somewhere (I forget now where I read it - and everything about this book is pretty forgettable) that they choose the artist for this book to recreate the simplicity of Hergé's style. But - man - Stanislas Barthélémy is no Hergé, his style is too jagged and his edges are too sharp: and while Hergé was the master of a style that attained the heights of the universal (I don't care who you are - anyone from 6 to 60+ can enjoy a Tintin): this stuff just looks - childlike (and not in a good way).

One last time - if you're thinking of reading this book - don't - read some Tintin instead (it's better for you).

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Links: Forbidden Planet Blog Review.

Further reading: Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn / Red Rackham's TreasureTintin: Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon.

All comments welcome.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Books: Justice

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Justice
Vol 1 
Written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger
Art by Alex Ross
2006



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
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Justice
Vol 2
Written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger
Art by Alex Ross
2007



Available now from Islington Libraries
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Justice
Vol 3
Written by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger
Art by Alex Ross
2007



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Oh boy. Just look at those covers! They look so cool! And flick through those pages! Oooooh! The way that the light reflects so sweetly - and everything has a warming glow that seems to emanate from somewhere deep inside - I dunno - your memories of superheroes past. Or something.

But: yes. Let's face facts: Alex Ross makes comic fanboys go funny in the head. Did you know that Comics Buyer's Guide discontinued it's Favorite Painter award from their CBG Fan Awards due to the fact that Alex Ross kept winning the damn thing year in year out? Oh - you did know that. Oh. In that case - nevermind. My point still stands that if you looked into the heart of any DC/Marvel geek - chances are - Alex Ross' name is tattooed across it. Because - damn it - he makes superheroes look real and how superheroes have always existed inside your mind - every since you first saw your first ever picture of Superman. All the other artists out there - they're just drawing pictures. Alex Ross - he's taking photographer from inside your comic book soul.

Jim Krueger on the other hand. Well - I've no idea who he is. (checks his wikipedia page) Hmmm. Well. His  wikipedia page is a little sparse and feels a little - depressing. ("He has written his first novel, whose title is thus far unrevealed but has something to do with Christmas.[citation needed]"). He's written other stuff - but it seems like his most well known things are Justice and Earth X - a marvel comic also co-written with Alex Ross.

Now - I don't want to be mean (and looking around it seems like the internet is a mean enough place already...) - so if Jim or any of his fans are reading this - I apologise - but I kind of get the feeling that I get from reading Justice is that Alex Ross - riding atop the plaudits and praise of fans worldwide - thought "hey - writing comics - how hard could that be?": enlisted the help of his friend Jim Krueger (are they friends? I have no idea - sorry) and was like - I want to draw this, this and this (I would include links to images from the book - but dagnamit - I'm too lazy - use your imagination or pick up the book itself or something) and Jim said something like "yes sir boss!" and so now we've got three books to content with - full of (and I think maybe I'm not saying this enough) absolutely astounding art - but not much way in terms of a well told story.

Although - wait - to be fair - I should admit that back when this first came out - I managed to get a copy of volume 1 (back when I worked at a different library) and thought that it was absolutely astounding - and not just because of the artwork - it had a cool set-up, a wicked-cool cliffhanger (*gasp!*) and it all seemed appropriately EPIC (and everyone likes their superhero stories to be epic - that's for damn sure).   

But then when I finally - finally [1] - got to the read the next two parts - it was all of a bit of a muddled let-down - which: frankly - left me with no desire to read it again (full disclosure: so far in writing this I still haven't).

The problem really is that - no matter how fantastic the pictures are - you need to be using them to bring to life a story worth telling (which is ironic - seeing how in the introduction - Jim Krueger mentions Robert McKee (the guy played by Brian Cox in Adaptation) and so really he has no excuse - although (and I realise that this is all getting a little bit much for a book that probably doesn't deserve this level of blah - but whatever): I'm of the opinion that the people that go to those kind of story-writing seminars are probably (making a massive generalization here oh well) the kind of people that probably aren't going to be that great at telling stories. Sure - everyone can do with a helping hand here and there - but if you really struggle that much with the basics and have never realised before that oh hey - maybe bad guys don't actually think of themselves as bad guys! (which is what said in the introduction)- then maybe I shouldn't be wasting my time reading the stuff that you've written).

My main problem with the book tho is something that will mean that some of the rest of you might really take to it and that's the level of fan service that is paid here. If you've been reading DC comics non-stop for the past 30 years - then I reckon you're really going to dig it. There's loads of stuff with different super-people's super-villains popping up and being super-evil (but not obviously - because they're doing stuff that they think makes them good guys. Or something). But yeah - by the end it all just collapsed into a big Grant Morrison-style ending mess. Like there's a feeling that something is probably making sense somewhere - but just not anywhere inside your own head.

And I think it says a lot that trying to track down some reviews or something to put down next to the links so far I'm coming up a little blank. I mean - everyone seems to love the pretty pictures - but no one seems to have much to actually say. (Or then again: maybe it's just because "Justice" is a hard thing to google properly).

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[1] Here's something you might not know: sometimes it can take a while for libraries to a hold of the book you want.

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Links: The M0vie Blog Review.

Further reading: Kingdom Come, The World's Greatest Superheroes, DC: The New Frontier, Final Crisis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Road to Perdition

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Road to Perdition
Written by Max Allan Collins
Art by Richard Piers Rayner
1998




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Of course straight away you're thinking of the Tom Hanks film - right? The one directed by Sam Mendes - that was such a disappointment seeing how it was his follow-up to the universally beloved American Beauty (and just saying the title is enough to get that plinky plonky piano theme stuck in my head). But whatever. You're thinking of the Road to Perdition film and how (if you've seen it) that it was really long, and really boring and you can't even remember anything else about it. Because - let's face it: it was rubbish.

But that's a shame. Because that rubbishy movie was enough to keep me from giving this book a go. And what I should have thought (looking back now) is not that "Oh there's that comic that that lousy film was based on" - but rather: "Hey - they based a film on a comic that doesn't have any superheroes in it? Maybe that means it's worth a look?"

Ok. So. It's not the greatest comic of all time and my mind managed to stay unexpanded for it's duration. But it's clear, to the point and a diverting lunchtime read that (most importantly) is much much better than the film it's based on (and thinking about it now: it sure is a strange thing to base a movie on. I mean - I know that for most people comics look like storyboards which make them seem like half the work is already done: but - compared to other books out there there's nothing about this that feels like it's crying out to be transferred to celluloid - but whatever).

I think I read on the back of the book that it took four years to make - which seems a little excessive - but then I've never tried to make a comic book. The artwork is really nifty and manages to slip between panels that look half finished (and I mean that in the best possible way: it's like the artist just got down the needed energy and the right dynamics and then left the rest to exist in the reader's mind) and highly detailed cross-hatching stuff that all seems very historically accurate.

Moral of the story: don't judge a book by it's - erm - film adaptation.

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Links: Comic Book Resources Interview with Max Collins, Time Review.

Further reading: Violent Cases, Back to Brooklyn, Criminal, Turf.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Books: B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth

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B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth
Vol 1: New World
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Guy Davis
2011



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B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth
Vol 2: Gods and Monsters
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Guy Davis
2012



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B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth
Vol 3: Russia
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Tyler Crook
2012



Available now from Islington Libraries
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B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth
Vol 4: The Devil's Engine & The Long Death
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by James Harren and Tyler Crook
2012



Available now from Islington Libraries
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"This is a changing world."

Used to be stories in comics didn't tend to move much. Your favourite superhero character might have all sorts of crazy and wacky adventures - but by the time it got to the end of the issue - the status quo would be restored and everything would be back in the same place it began. That way you could stop reading for years at a time - but still know exactly what was going on the next time you picked up an issue. In fact: that's not even something that's unique to comics - television shows used to be exactly the same. To take an example of a show whose influence can be felt in B.P.R.D. [1] - whenever you turned into The X-Files - you knew that Mulder was going to be that believing in crazy stuff and Scully was going to be wearing her skeptical face (at least before it all got rubbish and the T-1000 took over from Mulder and everyone stopped watching/caring/paying attention).

Nowadays instead of the same scenarios playing over and over and over again we expect our stories to all be one big thing: constantly changing from week to week mutating themselves new arms and heads in strange places.

All of this is to say that if you've previously read an issue (or volume) of B.P.R.D. here and there: then Hell on Earth is going to be a little bit of a jump. Trotting out an X-Files analogy - it'll be like tuning in only to find that the world was ending  - several major cities had already been destroyed [2] - Scully was a wanted fugitive and Mulder had turned into a white werewolf-monster-thing and was living wild off in some forest somewhere.

Basically - yeah - (to say the least) things are a little weird.

But I liked it. In fact - this all suited me down to the ground. One of the things that I always disliked with the first - I dunno - several volumes of Hellboy (yeah - yadda yadda: B.P.R.D. is a spin-off from Hellboy - although at this point it's like how Fraser is a spin-off from Cheers - it doesn't really make all that much difference if you're reading one and not the other (I mean - hell - you could even read both of them if you really wanted: knock yourself out)) always seemed (to me) to be locking into the same never-ending cycle like old comic books and old TV: Something strange happens somewhere - they send Hellboy in - he has a fight with a monster. End. (Rinse well and Repeat). And what's so beguiling about B.P.R.D is that - well - actually I've quote what Mike Mignola says in the afterword of Vol 1:  "One of the things that separates our little B.P.R.D./Hellboy world from some of the other comic-book worlds out there is that when we break stuff it often stays broken, or, if it's fixed, it's just never quite like it was before." So yeah - that.

I mean I have at one point or another read all the books leading up to these - although it does feel at points that I didn't pay enough attention to all the underlying mythology stuff - places and people are mentioned or glimpsed - and my reaction isn't so much "but of course the Ogrdu Hem!" and more like "oh yeah - that guy!" If you're gonna attempt reading these - I'd say start off with the previous 14 volumes first because that way not only will you be able to understand what's going on - but you'll have more fun with it too (it's better to read stories that you can understand - rather than just sitting there going "huh" all the time - right?).

And once you do start - keep going at least until the second book. I mean - the first book is ok: but all that it really has going for it is the realization that - woo - ok: so they're not going to reverse this whole end-of-the-world thing huh? We're in it for the long haul - well: cool [3]. But apart from that - I dunno - the whole monster thing that it builds up to seems a little - convoluted? (What can I say? I prefer it when the monster concept is simple and easy to get your head around). But then after that hurdle is passed and you get to book two: it's like the comic kinda pauses and catches it's breathe and works out that it doesn't need to be telling stories that are always about trying to up the ante all the time and - instead - it can just get more involved and deeper into who people are and what exactly they're doing: and - yeah - it's all much better as a result (that whole thing in the trailer park? I mean - nothing much really happens - but it's really interesting to read anyhow).

So yeah.

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[1] In fact in my tiny little write-up for the first 14 volumes of B.P.R.D. (which I really should update already) I described it (lazily) as "A satisfying blend between the X-files, Lovecraft and JLA." So - erm - yeah. 

[2] If they ever release a B.P.R.D. official soundtrack then I think the lead track should be 65daysofstatic "The Major Cities Of The World Are Being Destroyed One By One By The Monsters"

[3] Ok - so I know I'm gonna sound like an awful pedant for saying this: but it's always something that's nagged me about long-running science-fictiony stuff (best example I can think at the moment would be Christopher Eccleston's run on Doctor Who - but there's loads of other examples out there if you start to think about it): I mean - if you're making something where all the crazy stuff happens in the shadows and the general public never find out about any of it - then fine - you can do what you want (like - well - the X-files). But if you're telling a story where things like this happen then - well - it doesn't make so much sense that in the next episode you then go back to a world where everyone acts like much as ever happened. I mean - I don't want to sounds too much like a crazy person: but if tomorrow an alien space-craft crashed into Big Ben then (I'm willing to bet) human society would become a very different place (I mean - we'll all read Watchmen at this point - right?) and really you can't have something like that happen and then still act like the world would be the same place (see also: Superman - I mean - come on: if you lived in the same world as Superman: society (at all levels) would be very very different - you can't have an alien being flying around and sticking his nose into everyone's business and still think that everything would stay exactly the same). But - yeah - ok: whatever.  

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Links: 4th Letter Article: Hell on Earth New World 04, Comics Alliance Article, The Comics Journel Review: B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth: Russia, Comics Bulletin B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Devil’s Engine & The Long Death.

Further reading: B.P.R.D., Hellboy, Prophet, Crossed, The UnwrittenNeonomiconX-Men: Astonishing X-MenPlanetary, Locke and Key, Wasteland, Sweet Tooth, The Walking Dead, Chew.

All comments welcome.

Books: Planetary: Crossing Worlds

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Planetary: Crossing Worlds
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by John Cassaday, Jerry Ordway, and Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning
2004




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


Even if you've never actually read one I'm sure you still know what superhero "crossover" books are like. Team X meets Team Y or Superguy 1 meets Superguy 2: it starts with a misunderstanding which leads to them having a fight - there's posing and some destruction before they realise their mistake - make friends - and join up and save the world: Blah blah blah. I mean - yeah - the marketing guys love them: but after they're done no one ever really pays any attention to them [1].

Fortunatly for us Warren Ellis isn't much for sticking to established templates - and so in Planetary: Crossing Worlds (which collects 3 seperate Planetary cross-over stories: one with The Authority, one with the JLA (namely: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) and one just Batman on his lonesome) the stories told are rather different (ok - maybe not so much the first one [2] - but the definitely other two). And - as this is Planetary - (and even more so Warren Ellis) - the parallel universe underpinings of so many other cross-over stories (it's rarely the case that Team X/Y and Superguy 1/2 live in the same universe - most of the time when these people meet up it's because someone's come across a hole/bridge in space and time or whatever) is expanded upon and used to achieve some cool striking effects: less parallel universes as convenient plot point and more: my name is Warren Ellis and I have a subscription to New Scientist [3].

I wanna say tho: that for those of you thinking of giving Planetary: Crossing Worlds a try that haven't already read Planetary (the series that spawned it) then you should - only not all the way to the end (maybe just Vol 1 and Vol 2?) because (damn you Warren Ellis! *shakes fist at sky*) there's stuff that happens in Vol 4 of Planetary that is only going to make sense if you're read this first. Confused yet? (Ha - and we haven't even got to the multi-dimensional Batmans yet... yeah - you heard me: multi-dimensional Batmans).

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[1] I guess the only exception to that (and one that I have on this blog) would be the Batman / Judge Dredd crossover book (link below) and that's only worth checking out because of the yummy-looking fully painted artwork: not the cursory stories it's based around.

[2] Altho H. P. Lovecraft does rock up at the start - so it's not like it's a total write-off.

[3] And I'm not saying that as a bad thing yeah?

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Links: An Existential Nightmare ReviewAcephalous Article: How to Teach the Interrelatedness of Historical Context and Audience via Warren Ellis's Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth, The M0vie Blog Review: Batman/Planetary: Night on Earth.

Further reading: Planetary, The Authority, JLA: Earth 2, Batman: Snow, The Batman/Judge Dredd Files, Marvel 1602The Adventures of Luther Arkwright.

Profiles: Warren Ellis.

All comments welcome.

Books: Supreme

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Supreme
The Story of the Year
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Joe Bennett and Rick Veitch 
2002


Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
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Supreme
The Return
Written by Alan Moore
Art by Chris Sprouse and Rick Veitch
2003



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
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I don't know if this is going too far - but (what the hell) - Alan Moore is the reason I read comics.

D.R. and Quinch are one of my earliest comic memories (not including the Beano): and round the age of 13 I was given Watchmen as a birthday present: and even though it took me a few reads to properly start to "get" it (first time I read Watchmen - it felt like a massive anti-climax - but I think that's probably because I didn't really understand what happened and hadn't really managed to put all the pieces together - who did what thirty five minutes ago? etc). And since then I've followed the beardy Northampton wierdo everywhere. I've never really cared much about Jack the Ripper - but as soon as From Hell came out in a collected edition I was first in line: and so on with every other book with his name across the cover.

And then there is Supreme.

I've never really "got" Supreme.

As opposed to his other books which not only always manage to look gorgeous but also show evidence of serious thought gone into the design (think of the nine grid layout of Watchmen or any page in Promethea): Supreme (frankly) looks shoddy. Open it up on to any random page and your eyes get blasted with either ugly late 90s superhero art as popularisied by the likes of Rob Liefeld - or it's (very well) constructed pastiches of comic styles from the 40s, 50s and 60s (which all tend to give me headaches). Plus - reading the first pages of Supreme: The Story of the Year - it's evident that you're joining the story halfway through - and it seems likely that (in order to make any sense of what's going on) - you need to have some idea of who this Supreme guy actually is. And - well - seeing how I only bothered to pick this book up in the first place because of Alan Moore's name - I had NO idea: he just seemed like some sort of Superman rip-off.

What I wish someone had told me [1]:

1. You don't need to have read any other Supreme stories in order to understand everything that happens in these books.

2. Yes - Supreme is a Superman rip-off: and that's the point. These books are Alan Moore playing around with the Superman archetype - and pushing, pulling and warping it into strange new messed up shapes.

And 3. It's not the best thing Alan Moore ever written by a long shot (and if you didn't know it was him - you might not even be able to guess): and in lots of ways it feels slightly lazy and under-developed - and it's not really "about" anything other than the possiblities that lie within the superhero story (there's no real human characters here - and nothing really that anyone could apply to their own life): and in lots of ways it's a dry-run for the stuff that he was going to do with his America's Best Comics line (Tom Strong in partiular - in fact it even has Chris Sprouse - who's the main artist on Tom Strong). But - damnit - it's a pretty wild and fun sort of ride. With some very cool time travel type madness that only kicks in at the end of each book.

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[1] Although I was kind of told this by two articles on the Comics Without Frontiers website (links below): which is the reason why I decided to give it one last go (despite having tried two or three times already - and never getting any further than about twenty or so pages in) - so thanks Miguel!

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Links: Comics Without Frontiers Article: Alan Moore's Supreme: Identity, Reality & Ideas / Final Thoughts on Alan Moore's Supreme.

Further reading: Tom Strong, Superman: All Star Superman, The Complete Future ShocksDC Universe: The Stories of Alan MooreIrredeemable, Flex Mentallo, Superman: Secret Identity.

Profiles: Alan Moore

All comments welcome.

Books: Chicken with Plums

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Chicken with Plums
By Marjane Satrapi
2009





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


Here's where I admit that I haven't actually read Persepolis all the way through (comic book blasphemy I know). I did try really really hard - but the damn thing just didn't fufil my basic entertainment requirements (or something): I mean - hell - even Maus has Art Spiegelman's dad to keep things (slightly) buoyant.

Then I tried Embroideries - which (maybe because my expecations were low) - left me pleasently surprised. Something maybe about it being divorced from wider political concerns and focusing more on human relationships made it easier for me to enjoy (not that I have anything against books being political - I just think that the writer has to be really good in not making it all feel dry).

So - when I saw Chicken with Plums sitting on the shelf at another library (having been sent there on relief) - I thought - what the hell. Plus (just between you and me) - I always like to feature books like these so that the blog isn't just swamped with superhero stuff.

Anyways. Chicken with Plums - yeah - it was kinda cool. Much lighter and to the point than Persepolis - although not as funny and as cheeky as Embroideries. Telling the story of Nasser Ali Khan and his last few days on Earth - this is a book that's half folk tale / half anecdote. With a mood that's grave and serious - that still somehow manages to avoid being a complete bummer. I still find her artwork a little too extreme for my delicate tastes (all those chunks of black!) but when I finished reading this - I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time. 

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Links: PopMatters Review, Relevant Magazine Review, Collected Editions Review

Further reading: Embroideries, Habibi, The Rabbi's Cat.

All comments welcome.

Monday 19 March 2012

Books: S.H.I.E.L.D.

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S.H.I.E.L.D.
Vol 1: Architects of Forever
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Dustin Weaver
2011



Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
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"This is not how the world ends." (as a cool sounding quote that runs throughout this series - it was pretty hard to resist using as an opening line - sorry).

It's never really a good idea to build up things too much. Especially if part of the reason you enjoyed something so much is because you just kind of picked it up because there was nothing much else lying around. But - what the hell: if Jack Kirby and Grant Morrison somehow got together and had a baby: then that messed up cosmically-inclined baby (who would obviously be prone to shouting out things like: "Give me THE FOREVER BOTTLE with THE MILK OF ULTIMATE POWER so that I may taste it's SECRET INFINITE GOODNESS!"): that baby would be this book.

In the Marvel Universe (for those of you that don't know) S.H.I.E.L.D. is a cross between the the Navy SEALs and the C.I.A.: a clandestine military organisation that tends to get called in when the superheroes get a little out of their depth. Their most famous member is Nick Fury who's a slightly more bad-ass version of James Bond - and who most people on the planet will now know as Samuel L. Jackson wearing an eye-patch. I don't recall the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D. ever much being discussed before - even tho it's managed to turn up in everything from Brian Micheal Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man to Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz's Elektra: Assassin. But Hickman and Weaver 's book aims to change all that - with a peek into the secret history of one of the foundation stones of the world of Marvel.

One of the clues that this isn't going to be a straight-forward tale of the early days of spy organisation finding it's feet and choosing who gets what codes names ("Mr Brown?") can be found in the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo used on the cover (I tried to find an image that gave a proper close-up - but gave up after I couldn't find one in 5 seconds): basically the dots have little orbits that cut thru the rest of the letters - which promises that things aren't going to be restricted to your standard, common-place, terrestrial affairs: tantalising this reader in particular with the hopes of something further afield and intergalactic. And the other clue is there where it says: "Jonathan Hickman."

One of the lucky few who's equally capable with words and pictures Hickman first came to people's attention with his series The Nightly News. A bold, strange comic with a fresh-take on how to combine words and pictures (I'm not even going to go into trying to describe it) The Nightly News felt like a shot of adrenaline popped straight into the reader's heart. His follow-ups since then have felt a little bit more - disappointing... There was stuff like Transhuman that started off well - but then slowly collapsed under the weight of it's set up - and his big mainstream breakthrough as the main writer on the Fantastic Four had him producing comics that had big epic science-fiction concepts that stretched the limits of the mind - before resolving themselves in a way that felt a little - meh.

So when I first saw this book and Hickman's name on the cover - I picked it up feeling that what I was about to read was going to decide (one way or the other) whether or not Hickman was going to be a writer to watch, follow and enjoy - or if he was just going to be the latest in a long, long line of promising young talent that falls into step with everything else until they're nothing more than a worthless hack.

By the first few pages - those kinds of questions evaporated from my mind. And all that was left was: "Wow!", "Oh my god!" and "That's amazing!"

The artwork by Dustin Weaver - who up until now I had never heard of - is like Dave Gibbons with a tiny hint of Chris Weston. All the framing all feels really tight and secure: like a church built on steel foundations that go 5 miles underground: and there's these gorgeous splash pages that hit you once or twice an issue that manage to inspire a righteous sense of awe and majesty. There's one in particular that I'm tempted to give away that takes place in a jungle that has such a great sense of depth and space and immenseness - that there was a part of me that wanted to rip the pages out and hang them on my wall - so that it could be the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning.

If you like science-fiction and superheroes mixed with the epic and historical (and is there really anyone reading this who doesn't?) then S.H.I.E.L.D. is a must read. The best thing that Jonathan Hickman has written so far - it's also one of my favourite new books and left me content in a way that most things nowadays just don't seem to come close to.

Recommended.

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Links: Sean T Collins Review of #1Comics Alliance Article of Vol 1, Forces of Geek Review of Vol 1, Page45 Review of Vol 1, Mindless Ones Review of #1, 4thletter Article, The M0vie Blog Review.

Further reading: The Manhattan ProjectsThe Nightly News, Transhuman, The Red WingMarvel 1602, The Avengers: The New Avengers: Illuminati, Prophet.

All comments welcome.

Books: Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne

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Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Chris Sprouse, Frazer Irving and Yanick Paquette
2012




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


PREVIOUSLY ON BATMAN (see: Final Crisis): Batman had a fight with Darkseid. Batman shot Darkseid with a gun (Killer line: "I made a very solemn vow about firearms. But for you, I'm making a once-in-a lifetime exception"). So Darkseid shot Batman with something called the "Omega Sanction: THE DEATH THAT IS LIFE." And so everyone thought that Batman was dead. Expect he's not - he's actually somewhere in... CAVE MAN TIMES! 

NOW READ ON!!!

When I was younger I used to be a Batman purist. Out of all the superheroes out there - Batman (by far) was my favourite. He was (in the words of Private William Hudson): the ultimate badass. And (in that puritanical way that all teenagers seem to have) I was convinced that all the best Batman stories all took place in a realistic world (no monsters from beyond or extra-dimensional beings for me please) and all had Batman doing things ALONE (Robin The Boy Wonder? urrgh! Please! That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard).

As I've grown up - I've got a little more relaxed in my Batstandards. And a little more open to the idea that - damn you DC Universe! - that Bruce Wayne doesn't exist in a realistic world (no matter what Christopher Nolan may try to tell you): he's best friends with the likes of Superman (who - spoiler alert - turns out is an alien from a distant faraway exploded world), Wonder Woman (who comes from some place called Themyscira and is an actual real life goddess) and - not forgetting Aquaman - (who most bizarrely of all: can talk to fishes). Point being: Batman doesn't live in the same world as us - and while that may mean that it's harder to cling to the belief that maybe one day you could be best friends with him - it does mean that the type of Batstories you can tell are a lot more... open. And as Grant Morrison (who was head-writer for the Batman books for a good few years - The Return of Bruce Wayne sitting snug in-between his other books: Batman R.I.P. on one side and Batman Inc. on the other.).

So - if you're on board with the idea of Batman lost in the mists of time [1] (and - frankly - if such a slightly oddball pulpy concept doesn't appeal to you - then may I suggest that you give up on the whole idea of entertainment and restrict yourself to watching boring dusty art house films that seek only to recreate the tedious and dull experiences of day-to-day life?) - does this book deliver? Well... when it starts off I was hit over the head with a rush of pure joy. Batman with a fresh cool caveman spin? Yes please. The best way I can think to describe it: is that reading it feels like watching the best Saturday morning Batman cartoon you've ever seen: yes it's over the top (I'll say it once more: it's Batman and a bunch of cavemen!) but it also has a semi-mythical quality twinned with a feeling of epic-ness that made me feel that I was reading the most wide-screen Batman story ever: albeit - a wide-screen cartoon (I hope this is making sense).

We don't stick around in cave times for long - as each issue presses Batman forward through time - and takes in (as you can mostly see from the cover): pirates and witch-burning and cowboys - with appearances here and there from a few familiar DC faces (those of you who aren't DC fanboys may want to rely on some of the annotations out of there on the internet). With each historical period bringing out a different attribute of the Dark Knight legend: the scary side, the action side, detective side etc.

And - of course: because it's Grant Morrison - who's seemingly never devised an ending that doesn't attempt to shoot off in a dozen different directions with a go-for-broke energy that will either leave the reader either attaining some sort of divine comic transcendence or just feeling really confused: things get a little bit nonlinear in the final part - and those that haven't read the previous books may find themselves a little confused (and hell - I've read those books and even I had to resort to the wise minds on the internet (and particularly the iFanboy and the Mindless Ones (links below) to help me make sense of what it was that I had just read). But then - it is nice to have a comic that packs in too much - rather than most others out there that get away with putting in too little. And - it's cool to have a Batman book that practically demands that you read it again once it's done.

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[1] A sudden thought: I wonder if Grant Morrison ever heard of Nick Cave's script of Gladitor 2 (yeah - I realise that this sounds like something I made up - but whatever). From this Cracked article: "6 Insane Sequels That Almost Ruined Classic Movies": "After doing Gladiator, Scott and Crowe were eager to do a sequel but had one little problem: As mentioned, the main character (Maximus) is unmistakably dead and buried by the end of the movie. Crowe thought there had to be a way around that pesky little detail and hired the legendary Nick Cave from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to come up with a "creative solution." The fact that the Gladiator 2 script was written by a famous rock star is the most normal thing about it. The story written by Cave opens with Maximus gladiatoring the shit out of some Roman gods in the afterlife until they agree to let him go back to the land of the living. The newly reincarnated Maximus then spends some time in Rome defending early Christians from persecution -- and somehow becoming immortal. During the next two hours, we watch Maximus kick ass throughout history, being present at every important war ever fought from the Crusades to Vietnam, like a more muscular Forrest Gump.The end of the script reveals that Maximus ended up working at the Pentagon, which makes sense because it does sort of look like a gladiator arena. We like to imagine that even at the Pentagon he was still wearing that same miniskirt from the first movie, if only to justify the word "gladiator" in Gladiator 2. Russell Crowe read this script ... and loved it. Seriously. Ridley Scott says they "tried to go with it," but the studio thought it was too over the top, for some reason. Eventually the two moved on to make Robin Hood, which might be more enjoyable if you pretend that Robin is actually an immortal Maximus in the 1100s."

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Links: The M0vie Blog ReviewiFanboy Review of #6, Mindless Ones Return of Bruce Wayne 6 – the batmanotations / Return of Bruce Wayne PLUS barbatos.

Preceded by: Batman: Batman and SonBatman: The Black Glove, Batman: R.I.P., Final Crisis, Batman: Batman and Robin.

Followed by: Batman: Time and the BatmanBatman: Batman Incorporated.

Further reading: Batman: Year One, Mezolith, The Invisibles.

Profiles: Grant Morrison.

All comments welcome.

Monday 5 March 2012

Events: Islington Comic Forum 2012/03

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The Islington Comic Forum is a monthly meeting for anyone interesting in graphic novels and comic books. 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. It's a little bit more chaotic than a book club but with the same sort of relaxed and open friendly atmosphere.

The next Islington Comic Forum is on: Tuesday the 27st of March / 6:00pm to 7:30pm.
Upstairs Hall at North Library Manor Gardens N7 6JX. Here is a map.

The Book of the Month is: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
If you get a chance please read it. You can reserve yourself a copy here. (For those of you that don't get the chance - don't worry - you can still come and join in with the discussions).

You can find us on facebook here. For more information (or if you have any questions) you can email us here . Come and join us. All welcome. We hope to see you there.