Me and writer Ian Rankin have a funny little relationship, well not really but one of the reasons I've steered clear of him is a rather disturbing experience I had when I was younger when I was doing work experience for a man under the same name, only to walk into a bookshop to find that a writer of the same name had been using a pseudonym the same as MY NAME!?
This and having court a few episodes of Rebus are my only experiences of the man, until now.
Dark Entries as a product could be blasted for a lot of reasons, namely because its headlining the vertigo crime range and isn't even a crime story in any shape of the word. It could also be blasted because at the end of the day its a bog standard Hellblazer story that could have easily been inserted into the standard run, but instead the publishers jumped on a big name to get them to look like they're doing something different. And then theres the format where its made to look like a novel, with IAN RANKIN in big letters like its any other piece of 'serious' literature and not a comic book.
It could be blasted for these reasons, it could be, but I'm going to applaud it instead, because for all Dark Entries sneaky marketing tactics it might actually bring some new readers to the world of comic books, ones that are out to spend they're money on mature interesting storylines instead of the next big crisis crossover thats not worth tuppence but everyone swarms for.
So yeah, if at least one person mistakes it for an Ian Rankin novel, buys it for they're uncle who likes Rebus, who reads it, wants to read more John Constantine stories, reads some Sandman, then decides to see where all the DC universe references come from and then actually starts getting into comics, thats good enough for me.
Oh right, the book itself? Well as I said its a bog standard Hellblazer story, Dell'edera's art is nice and Rankin writes as only a British fella can. His interpretation of hell is disturbingly brilliant, and despite a few niggles here and there its an original premise well done. But the best part of Dark Entries has to come with a spoiler warning before I praise it, so stop reading now if you're planning on getting it.
Spoilers.
One of the recurring problems of poor old John Constantine's life is that we know he's pretty much destined for hell. Even with all his schemes and scams he's probably never going to get to the great pub in the sky, but Rankin gives us a silver lining to this cloud in the form of a love interest for John who gets trapped in hell, at the end, John notes that at least she'll be waiting for him. By Hellblazers standards, thats good enough.
Spoilers end.
If you like Hellblazer buy it, If you like Ian Rankin I can't really comment because the guy stole my name.
Showing posts with label British Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British Comics. Show all posts
Monday, 4 January 2010
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Canon Fodder Dark Matter Review
Since Dark Matter was bagged with this months Judge Dredd Megazine and Canon Fodder is one of those characters I love that you can't find anything of anywhere, lets do a quick review of this tale of gun toting holy men shall we.
Dark Matter is the second and sadly final Canon Fodder tale, lovely art drawn by Chris Weston who was also one of the artists on Indigo Prime below. Weston's is great at even just drawing mediocre stuff which is why he's often he's included on tales with fantastical monsters and landscapes, which is put to good use in Dark Matter.
The premise is a bonkers one, Judgment Day comes and God's a no show so its left to the Priest Patrol to enforce the law on the 'sinners', Fodder may be close to a two dimensional character, rather like a holy Duke Nukem, but its rare to see a protagonist who's not only religious, but militantly so. In many other sci-fi and fantasy worlds Fodder would be portrayed as a villain, but here we are rooting him on, kicking “heathen butt”. Also Fodder bizarrely mirrors Philip Glenster's portrayal as Gene Hunt from Life on Mars, despite being published nearly a decade before.
All in all the story takes to its settings strengths and weaves a rather unorthodox tale that doesn't outstay its welcome, even Fodders 'love interest' goes against what we usually have for stock characters in comic books.
The worst part about the book? Its the fact that due to the ownership issue between Mark Millar and 2000ad, we probably won't be seeing any more from the character. Rest in Peace Canon Fodder. Amen.
Dark Matter is the second and sadly final Canon Fodder tale, lovely art drawn by Chris Weston who was also one of the artists on Indigo Prime below. Weston's is great at even just drawing mediocre stuff which is why he's often he's included on tales with fantastical monsters and landscapes, which is put to good use in Dark Matter.
The premise is a bonkers one, Judgment Day comes and God's a no show so its left to the Priest Patrol to enforce the law on the 'sinners', Fodder may be close to a two dimensional character, rather like a holy Duke Nukem, but its rare to see a protagonist who's not only religious, but militantly so. In many other sci-fi and fantasy worlds Fodder would be portrayed as a villain, but here we are rooting him on, kicking “heathen butt”. Also Fodder bizarrely mirrors Philip Glenster's portrayal as Gene Hunt from Life on Mars, despite being published nearly a decade before.
All in all the story takes to its settings strengths and weaves a rather unorthodox tale that doesn't outstay its welcome, even Fodders 'love interest' goes against what we usually have for stock characters in comic books.
The worst part about the book? Its the fact that due to the ownership issue between Mark Millar and 2000ad, we probably won't be seeing any more from the character. Rest in Peace Canon Fodder. Amen.
Saturday, 22 August 2009
The Complete Indigo Prime Review
I'd known about Indigo Prime for quite a while after the trade was first released, and characters Winwood and Cord made an appearance at the end of John Smiths so-so recent 2000ad strip Dead Eyes, but despite being about one of my favorite subjects, parallel universes, I'd not had the chance to pick it up. Until now.
The title 'The Complete Indigo Prime' is a bit of a misnomer, its still missing the text stories and the Future Shock strip that it first appeared in, but we still get the crux of the series, starting with Freelance agents Fervent and Lobe. Be advised, Indigo Prime isn't about parallel universes in the traditional sense that things like Luthor Arkwrite were, Its less about Alternative Realities and more about different planes of existence. In this sense its quite similar to Planescape. The book contains several stories, so we'll look at them one at a time, to examine the whole.
Fervent & Lobe kicks us off, and immediately is a bit difficult to follow to begin with, being mixed with a post adventure stage play taking place in flash forward. While a bit over the place, F&L has an interesting trip to hell and is a humorous story that doesn't outstay its welcome.
Next up we have a one off intro to Indigo Prime proper, not much to say about this story really, other than it helps us understand the characters world a bit better.
The we have Winwood and Cords first outing., another small one with not much to talk about. It is a nice surreal time travel yarn, with Chris Heston's art bringing out the strangeness of the characters.
Following on we have Ferdigo & Brecht's one and only outing. The story is too short to get a feel of the characters, so I can't honestly say weather or not I'd like to see more of them. It is a nice little fable about commercialism however.
Spinning off from F&L we have Almaranda's solo strip. Again, not much to say about this one, the arts nice but it merely feels like an extended Future Shock.
Holiday on Ice brings us Fervent & Lobe's second outing, which is really when the book starts to kick in. The story is a nice grisly and surreal tail, with humour and mystery abound. Quite a few British cultural references pop up, with a deformed and mutilated Alan Bennett being the most disturbing one.
Last but not least is Killing Time, the story that makes the whole book worth it. Killing Time is a nice supernatural time travel mystery thriller. Winwood and Cord get put to good use and we really get a feel for the characters. The story is paced well enough so we get some brooding menace throughout, and wraps it up in a thrilling finale. While the ending might be a bit confusing, everything else in the story is top dollar. The best part is the art, with the Indigo agents being colored differently to everything else as a subtle reminder that they are not quite a normal part of they're environment.
So there you go, while some of the stories are lacking the books worth buying just for Holiday on Ice and Killing Time, and I hope Indigo Prime's recent cameo in 2000ad means we'll be getting more in the future.
The title 'The Complete Indigo Prime' is a bit of a misnomer, its still missing the text stories and the Future Shock strip that it first appeared in, but we still get the crux of the series, starting with Freelance agents Fervent and Lobe. Be advised, Indigo Prime isn't about parallel universes in the traditional sense that things like Luthor Arkwrite were, Its less about Alternative Realities and more about different planes of existence. In this sense its quite similar to Planescape. The book contains several stories, so we'll look at them one at a time, to examine the whole.
Fervent & Lobe kicks us off, and immediately is a bit difficult to follow to begin with, being mixed with a post adventure stage play taking place in flash forward. While a bit over the place, F&L has an interesting trip to hell and is a humorous story that doesn't outstay its welcome.
Next up we have a one off intro to Indigo Prime proper, not much to say about this story really, other than it helps us understand the characters world a bit better.
The we have Winwood and Cords first outing., another small one with not much to talk about. It is a nice surreal time travel yarn, with Chris Heston's art bringing out the strangeness of the characters.
Following on we have Ferdigo & Brecht's one and only outing. The story is too short to get a feel of the characters, so I can't honestly say weather or not I'd like to see more of them. It is a nice little fable about commercialism however.
Spinning off from F&L we have Almaranda's solo strip. Again, not much to say about this one, the arts nice but it merely feels like an extended Future Shock.
Holiday on Ice brings us Fervent & Lobe's second outing, which is really when the book starts to kick in. The story is a nice grisly and surreal tail, with humour and mystery abound. Quite a few British cultural references pop up, with a deformed and mutilated Alan Bennett being the most disturbing one.
Last but not least is Killing Time, the story that makes the whole book worth it. Killing Time is a nice supernatural time travel mystery thriller. Winwood and Cord get put to good use and we really get a feel for the characters. The story is paced well enough so we get some brooding menace throughout, and wraps it up in a thrilling finale. While the ending might be a bit confusing, everything else in the story is top dollar. The best part is the art, with the Indigo agents being colored differently to everything else as a subtle reminder that they are not quite a normal part of they're environment.
So there you go, while some of the stories are lacking the books worth buying just for Holiday on Ice and Killing Time, and I hope Indigo Prime's recent cameo in 2000ad means we'll be getting more in the future.
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Quick Fire Recap: August 08 - April 09
Ok, So its been a while, I ain't done anything since summer, so to make up for it, here's quick fire reviews of all the comics I've read since Summer, which I was supposed to give you a rundown of back then, also stick around at the end for some special stuff.
Heart of Empire:
Sequel to The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, its a far more mainstream affair this time round, but the artwork is fantastic as usual, especially in vivid colour this time. Read it on an airplane making me feel slightly awkward when reading to sex scenes when there's a kid in the aisle next to you.
Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness:
Pretty good all round crossover, funny and frightening, Ash is far more likable than half the Marvel characters in the story, serves as a nice apocalyptic prequel to the first Marvel Zombies.
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 1 – 7:
Probably the best manga I've ever read, still ongoing. All the characters a likable, stand out and drive the plot, each of which is usually a clever unconventional murder mystery. The Jokes are actually funny, the art is great and not irritating or unsuited. Only one criticism and thats that the character development is rather slow, everything else is fantastic.
Batman: The Killing Joke:
Good but Short stuff from Alan Moore, nice little extra mini story by Brian Bolland in the back, worth every penny.
Marvel Zombies 2:
Far more sympathetic and whimsical than the first, still a great and interesting take on Marvel heroes, a worthy sequel.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier:
More of a “Fun Fax” than anything. Alan Moore has a great time messing around with literary characters, making it a little self indulgent. Storyline gets a bit derailed but its worth it for the 3D section at the end. Read it on an airplane making me feel slightly awkward when reading to sex scenes when there's a kid in the aisle next to you.
X-Men: Die by the Sword:
Quick story tying up all the loose ends from New Excalibur and Exiles, feels premature, characters aren't given enough room to breath, feels like your cheated out of a proper ending. Would have been greatly improved by just having the characters sitting in a pub talking about stuff. Not a great ending to Cap and Co's recent outings.
Alice in Sunderland:
Absolutely fantastic twist on the genre by Bryan Talbot. The graphic novel goes through Lewis Carol, British History and Comics in general. To say any more would be to do the work an injustice. Just get a copy and read it right away.
Hellblazer: The Laughing Magician:
Usual high standard of storytelling of Hellblazer, nice hark back to days like The Books of Magic and setting up of things to come.
Hellboy Vol 1 – 6:
Finally got round to picking up the much revered comic. Interesting, Unconventional and not what I thought it would be. Very, very clever and appeals to the part of me that likes learning things. Mignola always gives you as little more than what you usually do too.
XIII vol 1:
Finally tracked down the European comic after so long. Great old skool storytelling, a damn shame there's no plans to translate any further installments, I want to know what happens dammit!!
The Boys: Good For the Soul:
More great stuff from Ennis' Superhero satire. Keeps the high standard of dirty laughs from the previous volumes wile moving the story along nicely. More please.
Jenny Everywhere:
Open source comic book character, really fascinating idea, and real dedication from the community keeps her rolling along. Naturally some strips are lacking more than others, but its standout strips like “When Casting Calls” that really give the character a story worth telling. Contributed a story myself to the cannon, details below.
Nextwave:
Crazy awesome stuff from Warren Ellis, similar in vein to Transmetropolitan. A brilliant take on Marvels less known characters, I hope in the future there will be more to come.
Invincible: Ultimate Collection vol 1:
Fantastic postmodern take on the superhero genre. The twist on the superman origin is particularly brutal and it certainly leaves you wanting more. Nice cameos from a few characters, Ultimate Collection has a good load of extras in it too.
The Invisibles:
Grant Morrison's bizarre follow up to his surrealist take on Doom Patrol doesn't disappoint, and it certainly takes you to places no other comic series does. Brilliant characters, imaginative storytelling, mindfuck ending.
Warhammer 40'000: Fire and Honor:
Finally Boom Studios come out with an Imperial Guard story, and apart from being a little on the short side, It doesn't disappoint. The characters all act like its another day on the job, and theres some nice visual references to the 40k universe. The Tau are portrayed as being a tad unsympathetic however.
Captain Britain and MI:13: Secret Invasion:
Paul Cornell makes up for all of Clairmont's letdowns from Die By the Sword. MI:13 is a great follow up to Cornell's earlier Wisdom series and really stands out from the crowd and takes advantage of the British setting. Nice ensemble cast, has the potential to be really special in the future.
Hellsing vol 1:
Still on the fence with this English set manga, while its not stereotypically British like I expected, its certainly missing that British humor of things like Dog Soldiers and The Boys to make it stand out as convincing. Willing to give it time to breath however, Vol 1 was a little too action orientated, we'll see how it pans out in future volumes.
Sinister Dexter: Eurocrash:
Great collection of SinDex stories, Eurocrash is a fantastic crime tragedy story, a rare feat given that it originally ran in five page chapters. Mission to Mangapore lacks some of the drama but is certainly a fun ride.
Other Stuff.
Saw the Watchmen film, really enjoyed it yet can understand how its not for everyone. Half looking forward to the Wolverine film but not sure on the direction they're taking Deadpool. Been doing a lot of artwork myself, which can be found here: http://elpresedente.deviantart.com/ and contributed a Jenny Everywhere story which can be found at the bottom of the stories section here: http://theshifterarchive.com/ . Series I plan to read in the future are: Fables, Sandman, Strangers in Paradise, Strangehaven, Cable and Deadpool and Metabarons if I could find it anywhere, also exited about the new Phonogram series, which I am eagerly awaiting a collected edition of.
And I'm out, hopefully the gap between the next entry will not be as long. Cheerio!
Heart of Empire:
Sequel to The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, its a far more mainstream affair this time round, but the artwork is fantastic as usual, especially in vivid colour this time. Read it on an airplane making me feel slightly awkward when reading to sex scenes when there's a kid in the aisle next to you.
Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness:
Pretty good all round crossover, funny and frightening, Ash is far more likable than half the Marvel characters in the story, serves as a nice apocalyptic prequel to the first Marvel Zombies.
The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 1 – 7:
Probably the best manga I've ever read, still ongoing. All the characters a likable, stand out and drive the plot, each of which is usually a clever unconventional murder mystery. The Jokes are actually funny, the art is great and not irritating or unsuited. Only one criticism and thats that the character development is rather slow, everything else is fantastic.
Batman: The Killing Joke:
Good but Short stuff from Alan Moore, nice little extra mini story by Brian Bolland in the back, worth every penny.
Marvel Zombies 2:
Far more sympathetic and whimsical than the first, still a great and interesting take on Marvel heroes, a worthy sequel.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier:
More of a “Fun Fax” than anything. Alan Moore has a great time messing around with literary characters, making it a little self indulgent. Storyline gets a bit derailed but its worth it for the 3D section at the end. Read it on an airplane making me feel slightly awkward when reading to sex scenes when there's a kid in the aisle next to you.
X-Men: Die by the Sword:
Quick story tying up all the loose ends from New Excalibur and Exiles, feels premature, characters aren't given enough room to breath, feels like your cheated out of a proper ending. Would have been greatly improved by just having the characters sitting in a pub talking about stuff. Not a great ending to Cap and Co's recent outings.
Alice in Sunderland:
Absolutely fantastic twist on the genre by Bryan Talbot. The graphic novel goes through Lewis Carol, British History and Comics in general. To say any more would be to do the work an injustice. Just get a copy and read it right away.
Hellblazer: The Laughing Magician:
Usual high standard of storytelling of Hellblazer, nice hark back to days like The Books of Magic and setting up of things to come.
Hellboy Vol 1 – 6:
Finally got round to picking up the much revered comic. Interesting, Unconventional and not what I thought it would be. Very, very clever and appeals to the part of me that likes learning things. Mignola always gives you as little more than what you usually do too.
XIII vol 1:
Finally tracked down the European comic after so long. Great old skool storytelling, a damn shame there's no plans to translate any further installments, I want to know what happens dammit!!
The Boys: Good For the Soul:
More great stuff from Ennis' Superhero satire. Keeps the high standard of dirty laughs from the previous volumes wile moving the story along nicely. More please.
Jenny Everywhere:
Open source comic book character, really fascinating idea, and real dedication from the community keeps her rolling along. Naturally some strips are lacking more than others, but its standout strips like “When Casting Calls” that really give the character a story worth telling. Contributed a story myself to the cannon, details below.
Nextwave:
Crazy awesome stuff from Warren Ellis, similar in vein to Transmetropolitan. A brilliant take on Marvels less known characters, I hope in the future there will be more to come.
Invincible: Ultimate Collection vol 1:
Fantastic postmodern take on the superhero genre. The twist on the superman origin is particularly brutal and it certainly leaves you wanting more. Nice cameos from a few characters, Ultimate Collection has a good load of extras in it too.
The Invisibles:
Grant Morrison's bizarre follow up to his surrealist take on Doom Patrol doesn't disappoint, and it certainly takes you to places no other comic series does. Brilliant characters, imaginative storytelling, mindfuck ending.
Warhammer 40'000: Fire and Honor:
Finally Boom Studios come out with an Imperial Guard story, and apart from being a little on the short side, It doesn't disappoint. The characters all act like its another day on the job, and theres some nice visual references to the 40k universe. The Tau are portrayed as being a tad unsympathetic however.
Captain Britain and MI:13: Secret Invasion:
Paul Cornell makes up for all of Clairmont's letdowns from Die By the Sword. MI:13 is a great follow up to Cornell's earlier Wisdom series and really stands out from the crowd and takes advantage of the British setting. Nice ensemble cast, has the potential to be really special in the future.
Hellsing vol 1:
Still on the fence with this English set manga, while its not stereotypically British like I expected, its certainly missing that British humor of things like Dog Soldiers and The Boys to make it stand out as convincing. Willing to give it time to breath however, Vol 1 was a little too action orientated, we'll see how it pans out in future volumes.
Sinister Dexter: Eurocrash:
Great collection of SinDex stories, Eurocrash is a fantastic crime tragedy story, a rare feat given that it originally ran in five page chapters. Mission to Mangapore lacks some of the drama but is certainly a fun ride.
Other Stuff.
Saw the Watchmen film, really enjoyed it yet can understand how its not for everyone. Half looking forward to the Wolverine film but not sure on the direction they're taking Deadpool. Been doing a lot of artwork myself, which can be found here: http://elpresedente.deviantart.com/ and contributed a Jenny Everywhere story which can be found at the bottom of the stories section here: http://theshifterarchive.com/ . Series I plan to read in the future are: Fables, Sandman, Strangers in Paradise, Strangehaven, Cable and Deadpool and Metabarons if I could find it anywhere, also exited about the new Phonogram series, which I am eagerly awaiting a collected edition of.
And I'm out, hopefully the gap between the next entry will not be as long. Cheerio!
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Review: The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
Before I get to the main review, may I just say that the binding of the collected edition of Luther Arkwright is absolutely fantastic. You know how you often get graphic novel covers printed on a special kind of textured card (actually its probably some form of lamination) that feels nice and smooth and looks good, but after a while it gets scratched really easily and creases really badly? Well Luther Arkwright's backing has a similar texture, but is a lot more resilient, doesn't get scratched at all and you cant get mucky fingerprints all over it either. Why more Trade Paperbacks arn't printed like this, I don't know.
Anyway, onto the actual story. I'd been trying to get hold of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright by Bryan Talbot for some time now, not least because I'm a completest when it comes to British comics, but also because it includes one of my favorite subject matters, Parallel Universes. As far as this subject goes, the set up is superbly explained on the opening page, and we don't get too bogged down in a load of different universes. Most of the action takes place in a world where Oliver Cromwell's family line kept hold of the throne after his death, and hold control of the British Isles well into the 1980's.
The story switches narrative between flashbacks, and at times, at the start at least, it becomes a little hard to follow, also, Luther ends up on some kind of Doctor Manhattan type trans-humanist trip, and we get a lot of psychedelic scenes. Bear in mind this is not for the casual reader, You'll probably have to have some foreknowledge on myths and legends and a bit of history to be able to follow the meandering parts, but the good side is that Bryan Talbot rewards the well studied reader, not dumbing down anything for the idiots. The story is a bit of a slow burner, but we are eventually rewarded with some brilliantly drawn battle scenes and a genuinely heart pounding climax. Most importantly of all, Luther remains a likable protagonist, despite his whole 'chosen one' epiphany.
All in all, Talbot's done his research, apart from being a bit too wordy at times, his only real flaw comes from the fact that he is genuinely harsh on the Puritan regime and the Parliamentarians. Obviously the whole story is an analogue for the state of Thatcher's Britain at the time, but there seems to be some schizophrenia in popular culture over weather Cromwell was a good guy or a bad guy (Making his way into the top ten of 'Greatest Britons' to being represented as a villain in everything else), regardless, you'll get some people genuinely miffed to see Puritan England represented as a dictatorship.
Of course the big question I'm asking myself is 'is The Adventures of Luther Arkwright better than Watchmen?'. Because yes it is that good, and its climax manages to out-tense that of Watchmen. Its a difficult question to answer, both stories reward the keen eye and feature millions of clues and hidden extras. Both are well researched and enjoyable. Hell, the back of the book has a quote from Alan Moore himself, so it must be good! It is an unanswerable question, but I can say that if Talbot and Moore were both chefs, Watchmen would be a well prepared succulent Steak cooked to perfection with just the right amount of sides and vegetables, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright would be something more adventurous, like Lamb or something, with Quail eggs and all sorts of other things going on, It would not only be delicious but also keep you interested, but you wouldn't quite know what to think of it.
Best Panel: Tanks! Explosions! Holy War! Awesome!
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/el_presedente_nr/lutherscan.jpg
Anyway, onto the actual story. I'd been trying to get hold of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright by Bryan Talbot for some time now, not least because I'm a completest when it comes to British comics, but also because it includes one of my favorite subject matters, Parallel Universes. As far as this subject goes, the set up is superbly explained on the opening page, and we don't get too bogged down in a load of different universes. Most of the action takes place in a world where Oliver Cromwell's family line kept hold of the throne after his death, and hold control of the British Isles well into the 1980's.
The story switches narrative between flashbacks, and at times, at the start at least, it becomes a little hard to follow, also, Luther ends up on some kind of Doctor Manhattan type trans-humanist trip, and we get a lot of psychedelic scenes. Bear in mind this is not for the casual reader, You'll probably have to have some foreknowledge on myths and legends and a bit of history to be able to follow the meandering parts, but the good side is that Bryan Talbot rewards the well studied reader, not dumbing down anything for the idiots. The story is a bit of a slow burner, but we are eventually rewarded with some brilliantly drawn battle scenes and a genuinely heart pounding climax. Most importantly of all, Luther remains a likable protagonist, despite his whole 'chosen one' epiphany.
All in all, Talbot's done his research, apart from being a bit too wordy at times, his only real flaw comes from the fact that he is genuinely harsh on the Puritan regime and the Parliamentarians. Obviously the whole story is an analogue for the state of Thatcher's Britain at the time, but there seems to be some schizophrenia in popular culture over weather Cromwell was a good guy or a bad guy (Making his way into the top ten of 'Greatest Britons' to being represented as a villain in everything else), regardless, you'll get some people genuinely miffed to see Puritan England represented as a dictatorship.
Of course the big question I'm asking myself is 'is The Adventures of Luther Arkwright better than Watchmen?'. Because yes it is that good, and its climax manages to out-tense that of Watchmen. Its a difficult question to answer, both stories reward the keen eye and feature millions of clues and hidden extras. Both are well researched and enjoyable. Hell, the back of the book has a quote from Alan Moore himself, so it must be good! It is an unanswerable question, but I can say that if Talbot and Moore were both chefs, Watchmen would be a well prepared succulent Steak cooked to perfection with just the right amount of sides and vegetables, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright would be something more adventurous, like Lamb or something, with Quail eggs and all sorts of other things going on, It would not only be delicious but also keep you interested, but you wouldn't quite know what to think of it.
Best Panel: Tanks! Explosions! Holy War! Awesome!
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/el_presedente_nr/lutherscan.jpg
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Review: Virgin Comics Dan Dare
And So for my first review, my blog's namesake, Garth Ennis' new Dan Dare series.
For any Briton who reads comics, Dan Dare's name should resonate, Its a sad fact that in most cases he probably doesn't, but he should because Dan Dare was Britain's Superman, in fact Ennis says as much in his introduction which shows that he understands the weight of his writing responsibilities on this one (I say this 'one' because Ennis had been working on so many series I've lost count, but more on that later).
I must confess that I myself haven't had that much experience of Dan Dare, connaisseur of all things comic that I am. Apart for a brief tango with the 2000ad era Dan from my Annual collection, and an on off dislike for the CGI tv series, I can honestly say that I've logged in more times with 'Supes' than I have with poor old Dan. Ennis' writing compensates for all this however, and as soon as we meet Dan he is instantly recognisable and easy to connect with, he's the mild mannered heroic Englishman we all secretly wish we were. Dan Dare is Blake, Ace Rimmer, James Bond, Doctor Who and even deep down John Constantine.
So, What of the story then? Dan's settling into his retirement when old enemy The Mekon steps out of the shadows and Dan has to return to action once more. So far, nothing we haven't seen before (Cough *Die Hard 4* Cough *Indiana Jones 4*), but Ennis handles the set up so well that we're left constantly on the edges of our seats, never quite sure under what conditions Dan will return to the action. Ennis spin on Dans world is subtly satirical with post apocalyptic undertones and the type of backlash against the image of 'Harmless old Britain' that was so common in post colonial literature. The exiled Mekon's situation also draws parallels to Osama Bin Laden and 'On the Run' Saddam and the like, and the contemporary design of the 'future' soldiers fighting is a desert environment is a nod current affairs I have admiration for.
And having said that, the stories a great nostalgic action packed romp, with far and away great artwork from Gary Erskine, who seems to nail Dan Dare without the exaggerated grin, but keeping those iconic eyebrows (Just how does he get them like that, I want lightning bolt brows). Considering the collection is only three issues long I extracted a lot of enjoyment from it without feeling as though I've seen it all before (Hello Heros!).
And now onto the criticisms, because no review is complete without small quantities of hate being excreted. Dan Dare seems to be aimed at a broad audience, with Ennis' characteristic language and violence absent but not conspicuously absent, however there is rather a lot of talk and while I appreciate and enjoy the scene setting and construction of the stories background I know I would have hated Issue #1 if I was 14, wanting more action of the kind found in issue #3. Also, despite how much I like the slightly political undertones of the series, some of them fall into being a little bit too overt, the Prime Minister in the story is clearly supposed to be an analogue of Tony Blair and a badly represented one at that, and therefore its criticisms on old Tony's policies are rendered null and void anyway when the plot twist comes along.
The Mekon also seems to have a lot in common with the Daleks in the new series of Doctor Who in the sense that everyone is brown pants scared of even the name being mentioned despite the fact that their plots and schemes were foiled on a weekly basis.
But really I'm just knit picking now, Ennis' Dan Dare was great fun and I'd recommend it to anyone, even the international market, and despite it only being three issues long it is well worth the entry price, and I look forward to the continuation of the plot, Keep rocking Dan.
Best Panel: Dan makes sure you all know your history
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/el_presedente_nr/danscan.jpg
For any Briton who reads comics, Dan Dare's name should resonate, Its a sad fact that in most cases he probably doesn't, but he should because Dan Dare was Britain's Superman, in fact Ennis says as much in his introduction which shows that he understands the weight of his writing responsibilities on this one (I say this 'one' because Ennis had been working on so many series I've lost count, but more on that later).
I must confess that I myself haven't had that much experience of Dan Dare, connaisseur of all things comic that I am. Apart for a brief tango with the 2000ad era Dan from my Annual collection, and an on off dislike for the CGI tv series, I can honestly say that I've logged in more times with 'Supes' than I have with poor old Dan. Ennis' writing compensates for all this however, and as soon as we meet Dan he is instantly recognisable and easy to connect with, he's the mild mannered heroic Englishman we all secretly wish we were. Dan Dare is Blake, Ace Rimmer, James Bond, Doctor Who and even deep down John Constantine.
So, What of the story then? Dan's settling into his retirement when old enemy The Mekon steps out of the shadows and Dan has to return to action once more. So far, nothing we haven't seen before (Cough *Die Hard 4* Cough *Indiana Jones 4*), but Ennis handles the set up so well that we're left constantly on the edges of our seats, never quite sure under what conditions Dan will return to the action. Ennis spin on Dans world is subtly satirical with post apocalyptic undertones and the type of backlash against the image of 'Harmless old Britain' that was so common in post colonial literature. The exiled Mekon's situation also draws parallels to Osama Bin Laden and 'On the Run' Saddam and the like, and the contemporary design of the 'future' soldiers fighting is a desert environment is a nod current affairs I have admiration for.
And having said that, the stories a great nostalgic action packed romp, with far and away great artwork from Gary Erskine, who seems to nail Dan Dare without the exaggerated grin, but keeping those iconic eyebrows (Just how does he get them like that, I want lightning bolt brows). Considering the collection is only three issues long I extracted a lot of enjoyment from it without feeling as though I've seen it all before (Hello Heros!).
And now onto the criticisms, because no review is complete without small quantities of hate being excreted. Dan Dare seems to be aimed at a broad audience, with Ennis' characteristic language and violence absent but not conspicuously absent, however there is rather a lot of talk and while I appreciate and enjoy the scene setting and construction of the stories background I know I would have hated Issue #1 if I was 14, wanting more action of the kind found in issue #3. Also, despite how much I like the slightly political undertones of the series, some of them fall into being a little bit too overt, the Prime Minister in the story is clearly supposed to be an analogue of Tony Blair and a badly represented one at that, and therefore its criticisms on old Tony's policies are rendered null and void anyway when the plot twist comes along.
The Mekon also seems to have a lot in common with the Daleks in the new series of Doctor Who in the sense that everyone is brown pants scared of even the name being mentioned despite the fact that their plots and schemes were foiled on a weekly basis.
But really I'm just knit picking now, Ennis' Dan Dare was great fun and I'd recommend it to anyone, even the international market, and despite it only being three issues long it is well worth the entry price, and I look forward to the continuation of the plot, Keep rocking Dan.
Best Panel: Dan makes sure you all know your history
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/el_presedente_nr/danscan.jpg
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