GRAPHIC NOVELS: RECENT DC REVIEWS FROM AMAZON

4.0 out of 5 stars Four stars only because I'm feeling generous, 24 July 2011

This review is from: Secret Six: The Reptile Brain (Paperback)

This is usually one of my favourite titles but this time it takes a little dip in quality which isn't really writer Gail Simone's fault. There are two separate stories in here and the first and longest is the best.

Bane's Secret Six is hired by a branch of the US government run by Spycatcher to go to Skartaris (the world at the Earth's core) and conquer it in the name of the USA. Scandal's Secret Six is hired by Amanda Waller to stop them. New to the team(s) are Dwarfstar a psychotic rapist and murderer with Atom-type powers, the jovial King Shark who just loves to eat people, Giganta who doesn't know that Dwarfstar killed her boyfriend Ryan Choi (aka Atom v.3), the assassin Lady Vic who Deadshot has a grudge against, and Tremor who works for Waller. Throw in primitive violent people, dinosaurs plus assorted monsters and fans of bloody carnage won't be disappointed.

Unfortunately the two-parter at the end is a no previous knowledge necessary (well, almost) tie-in by Paul Cornell with his (and I like Cornell's writing as a rule) over-rated Luthor series.

I nearly gave this volume 3 stars. Somewhat disappointing. 

4.0 out of 5 stars Consistently good series, 24 July 2011

This review is from: Batgirl: The Flood (Paperback)

Batgirl,aka Stephanie Brown formerly the Spoiler, is currently one of the most likeable super-heroines around thanks to Bryan Q. Miller's deft scripting. In this second collection we arrive at the mid-point in Stephanie's tenure. Things are shortly to change when the DC Universe has its reboot in September and Barbara Gordon is once again Batgirl.

Talking of Barbara Gordon, as Oracle she has a four-part team-up with Stephanie as they face the menace of the Calculator who's in the process of turning most of Gotham (including several heroes) into techno-zombies under his control and he really doesn't like either Batgirl or Oracle. Rounding off the package is Batgirl vs Clayface with the help of the attractive new cop she rather likes and concludes with Stephanie having a girl's night out with friend Kara (aka Supergirl) which needless to say doesn't go plan.

This is a lightweight fun package with good character work and it's a shame that it's going to end fairly soon,though I'm sure Stephanie will be back as, my guess and I could be wrong, the Spoiler again. Meanwhile, enjoy this, one of DC's consistently better titles. 

4.0 out of 5 stars Gail's back!, 24 July 2011

This review is from: Birds of Prey: Endrun (Hardcover)

Gail Simone returns to the series which really made her name as one of DC's top writers. It's got the Brightest Day banner on the top but if you haven't been following that, don't worry as all it means is that Dove and the recently deceased Hawk (a man! on the team!) have been added to the roster. Otherwise it's all action as something from Black Canary's past turns up to bite her in the form of White Canary whose martial arts skills just might match that of Shiva and not even Hawk, Dove, Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk can help her. Oracle can't help either as she's being betrayed by two people she trusted.

So, yes, it's business as usual and fans of Simone's run on this title won't be disappointed. Fans of Oracle should also be checking out the current Batgirl series. 

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's something new: a charming super-hero book, 23 July 2011

This review is from: Batman: Knight and Squire (Paperback)

'Charming' isn't an adjective usually applied to super-heroes. 'Good-natured' is another one. Yet both are applicable to this slightly rose-tinted look at British super-heroes who exemplify the better aspects of the British character -moderation, tolerance, self-mockery. Now despite being Britain's answer to Batman and Robin, Knight and Squire are very much their own people and their partnership one of equals. The Squire, or Beryl as she's usually known, is a likable intelligent teenage girl with a subtle super-power. There's a lovely scene where we see her in her 'secret identity' for the first time. An Asian shopkeeper is berating a super-villain who's come to the small town where K&S are supposed to live with a view of have a throwdown with them. The shopkeeper insists that they don't live here and he should go to London. After the villain's gone he gives Beryl her order and says, with a wink, if they only they knew who K&S really were they could thank them. In fact, everybody where they live knows who they are.

My favourite character is probably the rather sad and ultimately tragic figure of Jarvis Poker the British Joker who admires the real Joker's style but just can't find it in himself to actually commit crimes. It's Jarvis Poker who is indirectly responsible for the abrupt change of tone of the series from knowing humour to one of tragedy.

My rating is probably a bit high as I'm not overly keen on artist Jimmy Broxton's style (one character is supposed to be modelled on Patrick Moore but you could have fooled me, though Jonathan Ross is recognisable). The writing by Paul Cornell, however, is terrific though I don't think this would support an ongoing title but a miniseries like this one every couple of years would be a treat to anticipate. Rather like an ice cream at the seaside on a warm British summer's day.

MEDIA: THE DAILY MAIL HAS A STORY WORTH READING

Please cut and paste the following link into your browser.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2020396/Wont-somebody-love-Britains-cats-abandoned-record-numbers-inspiring-volunteers-struggling-homes.html

It's a good story about the problems animal rescues like our face all the time. Yesterday I had to tell three people we couldn't help them because we were full.

KITTEN PHOTO

Sorry, but I just had to share this one here. If this picture doesn't warm your heart, you don't have one.

BOOKS: GARY SPENCER MILLIDGE: ALAN MOORE, STORYTELLER

An Amazon review. 4 stars.

Title: "I come not to bury Caesar, but to praise him."

In other words, don't expect anything in the way of criticism or of critical analysis of Moore's works except for those expressed by Moore himself. You won't find a bad word said against the Great Man except, of course, for those uttered by himself. This is a clear work of hagiography a word which is defined as "a biography of saints or venerated persons" and "idealising or idolising biography" and I certainly think Alan Moore fits into both categories. Once you accept that, Millidge (a long-standing friend of Moore's) has done a pretty good job.

(Incidentally, don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of Alan Moore's work and have been since the days of Warrior. I have many of the original comics [such as Swamp Thing and Watchmen] and also have them in absurdly expensive editions as well. Hell, on the wall just above my head I have an original page of Watchmen artwork! I do think he's something of a genius who revolutionised the comics industry. But I don't think the sun shines out of his fundament and am of the opinion that he may be somewhat curmudgeonly when he feels he's been slighted.)

That said, for what this book is which is a survey of Moore's work, its origins, how it came to be created, and his battles with publishers, it's hard to beat. It's certainly authoritative as Millidge was pretty much able to consult with Moore on anything and everything to do it. Visually, it's a feast with massive amounts of rare or unpublished material, including family photographs. It's also highly readable. For anyone wanting to know about Moore's writing and work in other media this is terrific.

Where it does skimp, however, is about Moore the man, the father, the husband, the friend. We never see any real glimpse of the private face of Alan Moore. Then again, I suppose, the title is Alan Moore Storyteller not Alan Moore the Private Life. I mention this because I feel that this unseen aspect is also a part of the artist, a more subtle perhaps even undefinable part but a part nonetheless and that's why I'm only giving it four stars.

But for what it sets out to do it does superbly and is (despite my minor reservations) unreservedly recommended to anyone interested in Northampton's greatest son.

DVD: RETROSPECTIVE -AMAZON DVD REVIEWS- HORROR

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, you'veneverseenanythinglikeitinyourlife!, 25 Aug 2007

This review is from: Street Trash [DVD] [1987] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

You really haven't. However, let's get one thing straight right away.

This is not a horror movie.

That's right, this isn't a horror movie. Oh sure, there is horror in it, but the body-melting of the Tenafly Viper drink is just the macguffin. Apart from introducing it early on in the movie it doesn't play that much of a part until near the end.

What this really is is a movie about society's invisibles, the street people on the fringes that we pretend we don't see -the winos, the derelicts, the brain-damaged, the lost, all struggling to survive one day at a time. Without the horror element I doubt if this film could have been made. And if it hadn't been made as a black comedy (often more often black than comic) it would have been completely unbearable.

Technically, it's more than accomplished. The camera-work is fluid, the image is crisp, the editing sharp, and the ensemble acting is mostly of a high standard. You are in the hands of people who know exactly what they are doing which is to create a genuinely enjoyable and original film. At least for those who can take the brutality and squalor along with the humour and the gore.

I think it's an amazing piece of work that should be far better known than it is. In its own ugly way, this is Art. 

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars art deco horror, 9 Sep 2007

This review is from: Abominable Dr Phibes & Dr Phibes Rises Again [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

Stylishly directed by Robert Fuest, these are two delightfully camp horror comedies from the early 70's. Vincent Price is wonderful as the hideously scarred Phibes (usually wearing a Vincent Price mask) who can only talk when attaching a tube, itself attached to a record player, to his throat.

Set in the 1920's, in the first film he wreaks a Biblical revenge on the doctors who killed his wife and in the second does the same on those who would stop him resurrecting her.

The supporting cast is excellent, as are the stylish sets, in particular Phibes' art deco lair, the period music, costume, photography, and witty script. This budget price, widescreen with subtitles, diptych of movies is impossible to beat for three hours of fun.

Oh yes, and it features my favourite horror movie device - sweet faced fruit-eating bats pretending to be scary vicious blood-drinkers. Grr! 

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 50's monster fun, 9 Sep 2007

This review is from: Monster That Challenged World & It Terror Beyond [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

There are some terrific titles in the budget MGM Midnite Movies series and this is a good one.

Monster, set in and around the Salton Sea (an accidentally-created man-made salt water lake in California -thank you Wikipaedia), is (for the time) a well-made giant snails movie, is quite convincing and actually made me jump when a monster appeared from a direction I wasn't expecting.

Does 'It' sound familiar to you? An unstoppable monster hides on board a spaceship in the air ducts and sets about killing the crew. No, I didn't think so either. So this alien... Anyway, at 69 minutes it does an efficient entertaining job.

Just one other thing though. Set fifteen years in the future (1973) from when it was filmed (1958), everyone on board the space ship smokes, and the women cook and serve the men their meals, make sandwiches, and pour the coffee, but are allowed to do an autopsy, fix wounds and scream a lot. There is also keep an ample supply of guns on board though I couldn't figure out why unless they were expecting a monster to get on board. And they have artificial gravity which we all know is really to keep the movie's budget down.

No matter, these two black and white movies are good old-fashioned monster fun. 

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little creaky, 6 Oct 2007

This review is from: Aztec Mummy Collection [DVD] [2006] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

To be honest, the first film looks as if someone has smeared grease over the screen it's such a bad transfer, but you have to watch it. The two sequels, with the same cast, are thankfully rather better.

As for the content, I feel this collection is more of interest from an historical perspective than for actual entertainment value, though if you like creaky black and white horror movies... The plot mixes reincarnation (the heroine is the mummy's once and only love), master-criminals (our villain is caped, masked and hat-wearing The Bat! alias smug egomaniac, and the best thing in it, Dr Krupp), the Aztec Mummy of the title who holds the key to treasure coveted by The Bat!, and sadly , in the second movie only as he livens up the proceedings no end, a masked wrestler/superhero.

It's not quite as much fun as it sounds. 

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AKA: Night of the Bloody Apes & Curse of the Doll People, 6 Oct 2007

This review is from: Night of Bloody Apes & Curse of the Doll People [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

This is a good value package of two very different Mexican horror movies. Not only do you get the originals with English subtitles, but also the dubbed American versions. With Doll People (b/w,1960) there is virtually no difference, the badly titled American version of Bloody Apes (colour, 1968) is a combination of the export 'sexo y horror' version with added horror and dubbing.

In Apes, a surgeon transplants the heart from an orang utan (in the zoo, transformed into a man in a gorilla suit in the laboratory and always referred to as a gorilla) into his son. Son then transforms into a caveman and goes on a rampage of murder and rape. Not even swapping the heart for that of a comatose lady wrestler stops the transformations. There is gore aplenty -eye gouging, head ripping off, scalping, close up surgery (though this won't bother anyone who watches Holby City or Casualty), and more. There is nudity -some of it casual (camera in the shower, etc), and some of it more distastefully during sexual assault. The end is a bit feeble, but overall, rape apart, this is quite an entertaining movie.

Curse of the Doll People is a neat little chiller which was certainly pretty spooky for the time. In return for stealing an idol, the villain sets creepy small-child size dolls on those who stole it. The main character is a strong-willed woman doctor who (inevitably for the time) reverts into feeble screaming woman in distress at the sight of a menacing doll. There's no real gore but this is a generally well-crafted piece of work even if it is jarring seeing people, including doctors, smoke like chimneys inside hospitals. 

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another terrific Midnite Movies twofer, 6 Oct 2007

This review is from: Theater of Blood & Madhouse [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

Vincent Price was on a roll in the early 1970s making a string of good British horror movies (see the Dr Phibes diptych).

In Theatre of Blood he's a ham Shakespearian actor back from the dead to wreak revenge Shakespearian style on a bunch of critics who snubbed him by giving a coveted award to someone else. Aided by a bunch of winos and his daughter, the young Diana Rigg, Price delights in sending up pompous Shakespearian actors by delivering speeches from various plays while murdering his critics (including his real-life wife to be Coral Browne). The supporting cast of top-notch British character actors could do with better lines and are very much overshadowed by Price clearly relishing his role in this deeply black horror comedy.

Madhouse isn't as good, though it isn't bad at all either, and Price plays the victim this time as a mentally fragile actor being framed for gory murders committed by his screen alter ego Dr Death. Extracts from his Roger Corman movies, among others, are edited into 'clips' from his supposed Dr Death movies. The villain is obvious but there's a nice conclusion. 

4.0 out of 5 stars Mexican delight., 29 Oct 2007

This review is from: Cemetery of Terror & Grave Robbers [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)

Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but these two subtitled Mexican horror movies from the 80's on one budget priced disc are excellent value for money.

Neither of them are great by any standards but both offer fast-moving gory undemanding entertainment. The transfer is a little iffy at times but usually acceptable and the subtitles read as if the translator knew what they were doing. On their own, I'd rate each movie three stars, but the package makes it worth four.

Cemetery of Terror seems as if it's going to be a teen slasher variant but moves into something quite different. Standout scene is a bunch of mostly young children running through a graveyard while mouldering zombies erupt from the graves around them. There's also a twist that wasn't quite the one I expected.

Grave Robbers has a bunch of grave robbing teens hunted by a super-strong homicidal Satanist zombie with a big axe whom they accidentally resurrected. Cue decapitations, limb severing, slashing, hand through chest, and masses of blood and other sundry mayhem. No twist ending in this one which makes a change.

Get the gang round, get out the beer and crisps, or wine and canapes if you prefer, and have fun. 

RETROSPECTIVE: AMAZON DVD REVIEWS -A MISCELLANY

 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great targetting, 14 Oct 2006

This review is from: Contamination [1980] [DVD] (DVD)

I love it when then writers of the DVD cases know exactly who their target audience is. Check this-

"Who is harvesting these alien hell-spores? What is their connection to a doomed mission to Mars? And most important of all, how many actors will die screaming in massive explosions of blood, guts and gore?"

Having read that, you're either heading for the checkout or rapidly moving on elsewhere.

Moving on myself, as one of a few extras (including a DVD-ROM accessible graphic novel version, but don't -and I mean don't, it's awful- waste your time with it) is a good interview with writer/director Cozzi who explains why it suddenly turns into a James Bond style thriller for the middle section, and casually insults his leading lady. The film itself was, almost unbelievably, once banned in the UK as a video nasty. I mean, what's a few exploding strap-on torsos filled with animal blood and offal between horror fans?

Other than that it's a passable time-waster but don't expect anything more that. 

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "BIGGER! BADDER! TURTLIER", 13 Oct 2006

This review is from: Gamera 2 - Attack Of Legion [DVD] (DVD)

Which giant Japanese monster fan could resist a come-on like that, especially when they emanate from Gamera's mouth on the back of the dvd case? Not me, for sure.
Actually, it isn't turtlier because Gamera isn't in it as much as you expect. On the other hand the puny humans, who usually seem to be there just to cut down on the more expensive scenes of monster mayhem, aren't too bad in this one and the bad monsters are quite cool.
So, definitely recommended to fans of the genre.
Surprisingly there's also a good batch of extras. Outtakes isn't what it seems, rather it's a collection of scenes redubbed with risque dialogue. Lake Texarcana Gamera is a mini version of the film as dubbed by rednecks and is very very funny. Add an unofficial extra star for these unexpected but welcome bonuses. 

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I really don't know, 31 Aug 2006

This review is from: V for Vendetta [DVD] [2006] (DVD)

I've given it four stars because, for a major Hollywood movie, it has tried to be different, and, because for the early part of the film, it was surprisingly faithful to the graphic novel. Even when it diverged drastically it kept touches of the original. Some of the changes worked well such as the nature of Evie's character and dropping the elements of anarchism, which would simply have been too intellectually demanding for a mass movie audience (though, as has been proved, not to a comics audience and I did miss them) as well as alienating Middle-America in droves. The film also wouldn't have worked, as the novel did, as a now-dated polemic against Thatcherism. It's the ending I'm really not sure about.

The look of the movie is good, certainly well photographed and composed. The casting varies from generally adequate to perfect (and here I'm thinking in particular of the little girl with glasses, though you'll have to be familiar with both the movie and the book to know why) and Natalie Portman does the business.

It's just the ending which differs so wildly from the novel. In its favour it is consistent with something V quotes early on, "The government should be afraid of its people..." And when the masks come off and you see some of the faces underneath... Well, it's a poignant moment. (Can you tell, I'm trying not to give too much away?)

But I suppose I just miss Alan Moore's chaos.

So, if I really don't know, at least the movie has me thinking seriously about it which is something most of them don't. All I can say in conclusion is, give it a try and make your own mind up because, whatever its faults, it is worth watching. 

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the smile, 30 Aug 2006

This review is from: Sugar Rush Series 2 [DVD] [2005] (DVD)

of Sarah Jane Potts, though there are other good reasons such as the sharp funny dialogue and the acting. The plot centres round an emotional menage between Sugar, Kim and Saint (the wonderful Potts) Kim's new older girlfriend. All three characters are screwed up in their own way and at times you want to give them a (metaphorical) slap. Sugar remains totally unreliable and selfish, Kim is just as self-centred and short-sighted in her own way, and Saint is... well, I don't want to spoil that for you.
Kim's family don't play the central role in her life as they did in the first series. Her parents try being swingers in an attempt to resolve their marital problems and you can imagine how that turns out. The subplot concerning Matt her younger brother and his voyage of self-discovery from Marilyn Manson into something even more outrageous is sadly given short shrift and deserved more emphasis -the young actor does a lot with so little.
Never dull, always engaging, often funny, sweetly tastefully sexy, Olivia Hallinan is terrific, and if that isn't enough, buy it to watch Sarah Jane Potts smile, it's a smile to fall in love with.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't like martial arts movies, try this., 18 Sep 2005

This review is from: Wing Chun [DVD] (DVD)

Why? Apart from the fact that it stars Michelle Yeoh, it's an absolute delight from start to finish.

Wing Chun, played by Yeoh, is the somewhat androgynous protector of a village from a gang of thugs and bullies. She runs a tofu shop with her vivacious and avaricious aunt and befriends and protects a young widow whom its seems every male in the village lusts after uncontrollably. The aunt lusts after the rich, greedy local scholar. A visiting martial artist appears in search of his childhood sweetheart, mistaking Yeoh for a man and the widow for his sweetheart. At one point Yeoh's own interest in the widow appears somewhat ambiguous.

Cue a romantic comedy of errors plus lots of fighting. It's really a rather sweet film with Yeoh displaying a shy humour and an emotional vulnerability which contrasts with her bravura displays of fighting skills. (The rest of the cast are all fine too.) Despite the fact that at one point Yeoh deliberately roasts a bady guy's genitals, it isn't a violent film, although it doesn't stint on the action either -the methodical demolition of a chauvinist thug while maintaining the integrity of a large plate of tofu is a particular highlight.

Wing Chun (the movie) will leave you with a smile on your face, laughter in your throat, and, if you aren't already, a big fan of Michelle Yeoh.

You'll have to excuse me now, it's fourteen hours since I first watched this movie and I want to see it again.

RETROSPECTIVE: OLDER AMAZON REVIEWS

I started reviewing for Amazon long before I started blogging and even when I did start I didn't immediately reprint Amazon reviews here. (I should note that I still don't reprint all of them, just those I consider of relevance to the blog.) Anyway, a short while ago I was looking through my reviews with a view to deleting my most heavily negged in order to improve my ranking -a common practise among regular Amazon reviewers- when I thought that quite a few of these older reviews would fit quite well here. Now I'm not going to start to reprint all of them from scratch -some of the items aren't of interest and my reviews reflect this i.e. they are as dull as the subject matter.

As a starter, try this one from December 2007.

This review is from: I Am a Woman (Lesbian Pulp Fiction) (Paperback)

5* A pulp masterpiece. 

I started reading this book and only reluctantly put it down -to go to work, etc- picked it up again, racing towards the ending and when I got there I logged on to the Internet and ordered the rest of Bannon's available novels. Apart from the quality of the writing (evocative, to an extent naive, almost transparent), the story (a young lesbian fleeing to the big city from both heartbreak and an abusive father and falling in love with a straight woman), the characters (flawed, involving, tragic), there was something more, much more.

This is a book which works effectively and simultaneously on more than one level. Written in the late 50's it was aimed at (largely) closeted lesbians. So, why does it strike such a chord in a straight middle-aged man? That's me in case you were wondering.

For a start it's an interesting counterpoint to the tv series The L Word (of which, surprise surprise, I'm a big fan) in the sense that it's almost an historical document which reflects certain changes in Western society. It depicts a time of repression when gays of both sexes hid in the shadows whereas today,(ideally and at least in liberal circles) to admit to being a lesbian (or gay) has little more impact than stating that one is left-handed -yeah, so? And perhaps that might be a more idealistic statement than an accurate one. No matter, it is a fascinating, albeit depressing, portrayal of an earlier repressive period.

But what particularly spoke to me about it was to be able to interpret it as a metaphor for the Outsider figure. Now almost certainly this is not what Bannon was intending; she was writing (she hoped) to reach lesbians hidden in the shadows of 1950's American society. What it did was to remind of myself about the same age as Laura in the novel but over a decade later. Reading Colin Wilson's treatise 'The Outsider' in my late teens helped me understand alienation and realise why I didn't quite fit in (indeed only recently a friend called me 'the cat who walks by himself'). It was only discovering science fiction fandom at a convention in 1970 (long before Star Wars made SF reasonably hip) when I felt like I'd come home, meeting people who shared similar idiosyncratic attitudes to myself. Reading this novel reminded me of those days.

By the end of the novel, Laura hasn't quite reached that stage (of finding a subculture she can embrace) but she is getting there. What I feel is that Bannon has created an extended metaphor where people who, for whatever reasons, are alienated from conventional society (though I suspect this is less these days than when she was writing), can identify with. Whatever her intentions she reaches beyond her target audience to speak to anyone who ever felt themselves different from the norm and this is the mark of a powerful writer. 

I'm rather fond of this review as I think it's a good one. Amazingly it was passed on to Ann Bannon by someone who knows me. This was Earl Kemp a long-time SF fan who was active in the porn novel publishing field back in the 60's. I'd reprinted it in my online and infrequent SF fanzine Siddhartha (see the link to efanzines in the sidebar where Earl regularly publishes his own zine which includes some fascinating material about his porn years and encounters with government agencies.) Earl sometimes sees Ms Bannon at pulp paperback conventions. Small world.

GRAPHIC NOVELS: LEO: ALDEBARAN/ BETELGEUSE

Aldebaran and Betelgeuse by the Brazilian and now France-based writer-artist Leo are two linked graphic novels, each of five parts. I referred to them in my piece on their UK publishers Cinebook (which, if you haven't read that post, I suggest you do before continuing). Since then I've read the complete series and I confess to having mixed feelings about them. There is a lot to like and a number of things which niggle or annoy me.  First off, some pictures. Some of these are from foreign language sources.

 

In the English language edition, and despite the 15+ rating, her top is covered up.

Before going into the story, I'll briefly discuss the art. I like the clarity of it. People look like people, unlike the superheroes of American comics. The young woman in the image immediately above is Kim who is the protagonist of the series, aging during the course of it from 13 to her mid-twenties. There's no difficulty in following the story, no attempts at 'clever' or 'arty' layouts.

Leo is also very good at picturing convincing Earth-like but still alien environments and populates with them with some wonderful creatures. I wish more images from the these books were available via Google so I could show you more examples.

There are very few narrative captions and those that are are from a character's point of view. Otherwise, all information is conveyed either through the visuals or through dialogue. And, dear lord, there is so much dialogue that sometimes I was wishing for more narrative to simplify things. With up to nine panels a page on a standard American comic size rather than the larger format of Orbital (see earlier post), the dialogue often squeezes the image, but then that's just two people talking anyway.

The planet Aldebaran is a water world, 90% to 10%. Humans have colonised it for over a century and haven't from Earth in all that time. As a result we have a predominantly rural but also patriarchal and authoritarian society. Our two protagonists, 13 year old Kim and 17 year old Alex, live on a coastal fishing village which is destroyed by some strange creature which may be highly intelligent but impossible to communicate with. They soon find themselves hunted by the authorities because of their contact with a man who had been investigating said creature. They meet a variety of people, grow up considerably and, though the mystery of the creature isn't solved, contact with Earth is restored and at the end their future looks bright.

In Betelgeuse set several years later, they find themselves on another lost colony. This time it's a desert world with another patriarchal authoritarian society living along the banks of a vast fertile and deep river valley while a few dissenters cling to life around the tops of the cliffs. Kim discovers that another of the strange creatures of the same species as the one on her homeworld also lives here. Again the problem is how to communicate with it.

This is almost a very good series and as I've said there's much to like about it. There is, however, too much repetitiveness. The patriarchal authoritarian government is a cliche as it is and to have two of them in succession smacks to me of laziness, lack of imagination, or just preaching and I find that they are more of an irritation in that they get in the way of the story. Kim herself is a good character but, from the time of her first period (and that was not a joke) absolutely every young male she meets (with the initial exception of Alex) falls in love with her, wants to fuck her, or more usually both. Alex doesn't have many problems that way either. Also, as I noted above, in nude scenes in the English editions the nipples are hidden usually by the clumsy addition of a bra or other top. Clearly we aren't as sophisticated as the French or Belgians.

Finally, the way the two series have been published is a bit odd. The first three volumes contain the five parts of the Aldebaran, the first series, with two in each book. Yes, I know that makes six parts. That's because the second series, Betelgeuse, actually begins in vol.3 of Aldebaran. Parts 2 and 3 of Betelgeuse are in vol.1 of the series, with 4 and 5 published as separate vols rather than together as you'd expect. Why didn't Cinebook publish the first 4 parts of the two series in 2 vols each with the part 5 as a separate volume? You'd still have the same number of volumes.

I know that there is another series in the pipeline called Antares and I'll certainly by it. I just hope there's a little more variation than in these books which, despite their flaws, I do recommend.

BOOKS: GRANT MORRISON SUPERGODS

The author in his younger days and as he is now-

Doesn't he look so cool?

And here's the crap cover of the English edition of his book.

 

Morrison is generally considered to be one of the great British writers of American comics who is either on, or just slightly below, the same pantheon which includes Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman and his other peers are Warren Ellis and Mark Millar. If none of those names mean anything to you, then this isn't the blog for you. I'm inclined to rank them in the order I've listed with Morrison at No.3.

This book is basically his love affair with super-hero comics, their effect on his life, and his effect (as a writer) on them. I've read a couple of British press reviews of the book and both reviewers miss the point. They like it fine when he's doing a history (albeit a narrow and stylish history) but feel it goes off the rails when it becomes a personal story. They have, of course, got it wrong. The historical account is simply the context for Morrison's personal exploration of the super-hero genre and when it gets personal, it gets going. This isn't a history of super-heroes, though his account of the genre and his response to developments in it is vital to understand how Morrison sees how it should be transformed.

Of particular interest are his reactions to Moore and Gibbons transformative Watchmen. Morrison admires the technique, skill and intelligence which goes into it but finds it a hollow exercise -I'm simplifying here, read the book for his full argument- and made this clear at the time. Several years later Moore described Morrison's Arkham Asylum (with artist Dave McKean) as 'a gilded turd'; 'gilded' referring to the art, 'turd' to the writing. Morrison's opinions on the work of his peers are elegantly expressed and endlessly interesting.

Where the book becomes truly fascinating is when Morrison delves into his experiences with drugs and mysticism which alters his entire perception of the world.

Or:

Where the book goes completely off the rails and Morrison is exposed as a self-obsessed nut-job is when he delves into his experiences with drugs and mysticism which alters his entire perception of the world.

Depending on your own inclination. My own view of the world, as a libertarian-leftie atheist who has faith only in hard science and a deep distrust of any form of mysticism, is to take the second view. And yet the more you read of these experiences, the more strangely convincing they become. Morrison sees an analogy between inserting himself into two dimensional fiction space -as he does when he confronts the protagonist of the comic he's been writing (Animal Man)- and dimensions higher than ours which we, like Animal Man himself, are unable to perceive. (To get the next reference you need to read the book for its context) Flash Fact: five year old children cannot see perspective but seven year olds can.

I find this whole personal journey quite fascinating for how it informs the super-hero comics he's written and into which he goes into considerable detail which is all interesting as he's written some of the best mainstream superhero comics ever as well as some of the best oddball comics.

And here are some of them-

Starting with The Invisibles. Spot the Morrison look-alike.

 

This actually needs a little explanation. Batman here is Dick Grayson (formerly Robin, formerly Nightwing), and Robin is Damian al-Gul (son of Talia -herself the daughter of Batman villain R'as al-Gul- and Bruce Wayne) and he's a bit of a psycho.

And this is the panel from Animal Man where our hero looks beyond the borders of the panel (breaking what is known in trade a 'breaking the fourth wall') and sees the people looking at him. If you can believe Grant Morrison, he can see you too.

RECENT AMAZON REVIEWS: BOOKS, CD, EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

Books

Good Holiday Reading. 4*

Steampunk Victorian Britain in the late 1990's and all is not well. Despite advanced technology which has taken Britain to other worlds and the very bottom of the oceans and pretty much dominate all places in between, polluting them as they go, the country is just as socially stratified as it was a century earlier and there's been no Labour Party to introduce an NHS. However, we have our hero to protect the status quo as he fights against villains and monsters and poor proof-reading (see another reviewer). My favourite is the chapter title "Artifical Intelligence" -chapter title indeed, not a word hidden in a long paragraph!

Still, this is all good fun even if I did want the upper crust hero to join the proletariat and start a socialist revolution. Heck, I'd settle for industrial reform and a national health service. Competently written with plenty going on and several young ladies aiming their low cut decolletage in the direction of our irresistible manly hero when the action briefly flags. Ideal for reading abroad when sitting in the shade of a beach umbrella with a chilled beer or an espresso (depending on taste) and pretending you're not watching attractive young women or men (depending on taste).

I'll stop this now before my fantasies carry me too far. 

Perfectly competent, nothing special. 3*

And really, that says it all.

I read it quickly and, most of the time, it kept me hooked. The vampires are more science fictional (aren't bothered by garlic or religious icons) than supernatural (can't turn into bats, etc). The prose flows but isn't remotely inspired or evocative. The characters are moderately interesting. And there's nothing remotely original about it. It's just another competent supernatural (except it's more sf) thriller. If this is the sort of thing you like, you'll like it, though you'll probably forget all about it in minutes. 

External hard drive

Intenso 6002560 1TB 2.5" HDD Black

Unimpressed. 1*

Basically Windows7 on my PC wouldn't recognise this device so the drivers wouldn't download and it wouldn't work. I returned it to Amazon who sent me a second one which didn't work either. I emailed the manufacturers who haven't replied. This time I've asked for a refund and will buy the most popular similar device. 

CD

4*. Alela would rule the world if-

-her songwriting was of the same calibre as her voice. I'm not saying she's a bad song writer, far from it, she's more than competent. Her voice, however, is simply magnificent. I could and would listen to her singing almost anything except opera and rap. The CD on which she was work for hire -Headless Heroes- is brilliant, as is her interpretation of other people's songs. As far as this CD is concerned, it might be her weakest so far because, while pleasant enough, the songs aren't anywhere near earth-shaking.

As for those reviewers who have criticised this album for daring to include the odd bit of electric guitar, I can only conclude that their taste in music is so narrow that they are in danger of vanishing up their own fundament. There's nothing wrong at all with this album except that it underachieves and doesn't come close to being the best that this truly remarkable singer is capable of. That said, I'm still playing it an awful lot. 

Bonus picture (because there's a cat in it).

GRAPHIC NOVELS/ PUBLISHING: CINEBOOK, THE 9th ART

The 9th Art

From the website of Cinebook:

The comic book and its close relative, the graphic novel, are a highly respected art form in France, Belgium and the rest of Western Europe—so well regarded that Cinebook takes our tagline (“The 9th Art Publisher”) from the classification of comic books as No. 9 on the list of plastic arts in Europe (Plastic Art list: 1st-Architecture; 2nd-Painting; 3rd-Sculpture; 4th-Engraving; 5th-Drawing; 6th-Photo; 7th-Cinema; 8th-Television; 9th-Comic books), In fact, one of every eight books sold in France is a comic book.

Cinebook 

Set up by Olivier Cadic in 2005, Cinebook publishes a wide range of English translations of some of the best graphic novels from France and Belgium. The format is different from American comics being larger and with, traditionally, a length of 48-56 pages printed on good quality paper. The Asterix books are the best known examples of this kind of format. 

They tend to come in series following a character and serials, with a distinct end, rather than one-off stories. Unlike Japanese manga, however, the serials usually tend not to be very long, perhaps 2-3 volumes. The series Orbital has had four volumes published to date with an individual story spread over two books. Lucky Luke, the all-ages comedy western series by Morris and Goscinny, is currently up to 31 volumes of reprints to date.

The books are age-linked, split into Children's, 7-77 (i.e. all ages), 12+, and 15+ which is convenient for libraries who often put graphic novels in inappropriate sections which I, as a retired librarian, know all about.

As regards subject matter, they range all over the place -thrillers, SF, fantasy, westerns, humour, historical, crime, etc- but the one place they don't go to is super-hero ville which is probably why this publisher isn't all that well-known. Also the very name connotes something different from graphic novels. I was aware of Cinebook but only on the periphery of my vision.

Cinebook: Science Fiction
About now you might be wondering why I'm suddenly writing about this publisher, though the above sub-heading provides a pretty big hint. I'm a regular reader of SFX's spinoff magazine about comics called (and how's this for imagination) Comic Heroes. In the latest issue they reviewed some of Cinebook's latest releases, giving a 5* rating and rave review to the latest volume of Orbital (see above). It intrigued me enough to order the first in the series and about ten minutes after reading it I ordered the next two from Amazon. After reading samples on the Cinebook website, I also ordered the first volumes of Aldebaran and The Chimpanzee Complex and, after reading them, I ordered the rest of their series.

To put it crudely, this is seriously fucking good Science Fiction in graphic novel form.


The artwork (which I'll go into later on) of the three, and while each is very different from the other, lacks the often flashy layouts and full page images of American, especially super-hero, comics -the Batwoman graphic novel looks great is sometimes hard to follow. Here the art is in all cases designed to serve the story, not get in the way.


(Incidentally, in the previous issue of Comic Heroes, they included a full but digest-sized copy of the first volume of the thriller/action series X111 -that's 13, not X a hundred and eleven. I quite liked it but not enough to invest in a series which spans over 20-volumes.)


Orbital

Despite the rating of 12+ -which really only indicates that there's no sex or bad language- there's nothing remotely childish about this series which is dark and complex. Set a couple of hundred years hence, there is a community of alien races which Earth is about to join. Humanity is somewhat split on the matter and there are many violent alien-haters and a conference to confirm the union is blown up. A couple of decades later and humans are at the bottom of the totem pole, despised (and often with good reason) by many of the races for their violence. Indeed they nearly exterminated the humanoid Sandjarr. Now two new members of a diplomatic peace-keeping group are paired together -Caleb, whose parents died at the conference, and Mezoke a Sandjarr.


In the first two volumes they have to resolve conflict between humans and Javlods on a bleak  planet with rich mineral resources. Needless to say this isn't easy. The main problem is that there are pathological bastards on all sides and there's no easy answer. Our two heroes are betrayed and subverted by almost everyone, human and alien.


You can see the style of the art above but note the colouring. Almost the entire volume is like that, dark and grey. This not only reflects the environment but also the tone of the story. The second story, which begins in vol.3 Nomads, is much lighter and more colourful and is set on the Malaysian peninsula. This time a nomadic alien race are the gatecrashers.

This is really all very well worked out with a detailed background and a realistic if perhaps pessimistic view of human nature. That said, it's a very refreshing change from mainstream American comics.


The Chimpanzee Complex vol.1 Paradox

 

If the next two volumes of the trilogy are up to the first, they'll be amazing.

In 2035 the planned Mars mission has been cancelled much to the disgust of leading astronaut and single mother Helen Freeman, though her feeling aren't shared by her 12 year old daughter who constantly complains of being abandoned by her mother. When space capsule of unknown origin crash lands off the coast of Mozambique, Helen is summoned to interrogate the occupants -Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

On the off-chance you actually might want to read this series, I won't say more than that about the story, except that it had me totally hooked and I can't wait for the rest of the series to arrive. Twist follows twist and I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next. I just hope the rationale matches up to the imaginative SF plot which is also backed up by strong characterisation and a very human story.

The art is appropriately realistic, almost as if it's been copied from photographs, and looks great, ironically being a little more American-realism in style. It's as different from Orbital as it is from the next series I'm going to look at.

Aldebaran

Ironically, the series with the oldest age rating (15+) of the three has the most clear art. Realistic in a comic-book way, it's the most accessible of the three series. 

Set on an earth-like alien world which has had no contact with Earth for over a hundred years, the story begins in a quiet fishing village where we meet our two protagonists -13 year old Kim (who becomes the main character in later volumes) and 17 year old Mark who has an unrequited crush on Kim's older sister. When disaster strikes, Mark and Kim embark on a journey which reveals their world to be environmentally stranger and politically darker than they were aware of. 

Unlike the previous titles I've looked at, this is the size of an American comic and contains the first two books in the series, as do successive volumes. While not as immediately striking as those others, Leo (the single-named Brazilian writer-artist) draws you into the story with its gradual development and your engagement with the fallible but likeable protagonists.

I did note that on the back of the title page was the following: With the author's permission, and in order not to upset our more sensitive readers, certain illustrations of this edition of Aldebaran have been modified. To which my reaction is: flooming huck! (with the author's permission certain words have been modified so as not to upset arsehole prudes). Presumably some nudity which still surprises me given that Mark (admittedly with the blinds drawn) shags an older woman and 13 year old Kim seems to be being heavily petted by a youngish bloke. Strange.

End bit

I'm not rushing out to buy anything and everything from Cinebook and I'd be stupid to try. Only a small minority of titles appeal to me and even fewer of those appeal to me enough to want to get out my credit card. I am, however, completely knocked out by these three series so far and can't recommend them highly enough to fans of SF and graphic novels.