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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Vol 2: Flashpoint

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Vol 2: Flashpoint 

By John Jackson Miller, Brian Ching & Travel Foreman (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84576-524-9

Framed for the murder of his fellow student Jedis by his own teachers, Zayne Carrick is on the run with a motley crew of criminals and reprobates. It’s hard enough just staying alive without the added pressure of knowing that his renegade masters are endangering the entire galaxy with their hidden agenda.

The fugitives’ flight takes them to the border of civilised space where the Republic is warring with the super-aggressive Mandalorians just in time to discover a hidden prison lab where captured Jedi Knights are being dissected for the genetic secrets of their powers.

After that there’s a flashback interlude that provides motive and insight into the actions of the Jedi splinter group that framed Carrick and the volume concludes as the renegade gang return to Republic Space only to fall into a trap that exploits the outlaw Padawan’s family.

Fast-paced, frenetic and fun, these romps recapture the swashbuckling dash of the original film, with young heroes and dissolute rogues running full-tilt from overwhelming odds. A great read for fans of the franchise and adventure lovers everywhere.

© 2007 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

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Sword’s Edge

Sword's Edge 

By Sanho Kim (Iron Horse Publishing Co.)

Jumble sales are wonderful things. When I was a kid I got as many comics and books from inside church halls as I ever did from market stalls or newsagents. I still shamble around them occasionally but the pickings are pretty slim for print-freaks these days.

One thing I did pick up a few years ago was this fascinating precursor to today’s graphic novels.

Charlton Comics was always a minor player in the comics leagues, paying less, selling less, and generally caring less about cultivating a fan base than the major players. But they managed to find more big names in the 1960s than either Marvel or DC, and create a pantheon of memorable characters and concepts than any other.

Dick Giordano, Roy Thomas, Denny O’Neil, Joe Gill, Steve Skeates, Steve Ditko, Jim Aparo, Pat Boyette, Don Newton, Joe Staton, John Byrne, Mike Zeck, Sanho Kim – the list is endless.

But wait, what was that last one?

Sanho Kim started drawing for the company in 1968, a Korean professional of ten years standing who decided to try his luck in the home of the comic book. Drawing westerns, war stories and mysteries – which is code for horror and supernatural stories in the days before the Comics Code Authority relaxed its stranglehold on publishers creativity – he brought an eerie elegance and exoticism to funny-books that had never been seen before. Bizarre and compelling, I had never seen anything like it before.

I can’t find that much about him or by him these days, but this digest, landscape format book, which he apparently self-published in 1973 is a phenomenal piece of work that needs reviving and a saga that needs completing.

Set in Korea, it tells the tale of an uncouth and itinerant young swordsman who has a sexual dalliance with a beautiful maiden by a deserted stream. He then discovers that she is the Emperor’s fourth wife, desperate to get pregnant before her imperial husband removes her in same way he removed her three “barren” predecessors. Now that he has performed his function, the besotted young warrior finds himself a target for assassins, an unwelcome piece of evidence and perpetrator of a capital offence.

Combining, frenetic martial arts action with philosophy, earthy cynical humour with old world romance and presaging the road movie/buddy stories of a decade later this stunning blend of line art and grey wash tone paintings is a thing of beauty, and I fervently hope you have a chance to see it yourself one day.

© 1973 Iron Horse Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Star Wars Clone Wars, Vol 1: The Defense of Kamino

Star Wars Clone Wars, Vol 1: The Defense of Kamino 

By Various (Dark Horse Books)
ISBN 1-84023-646-9

The initial outing for the sub-franchise based on the events of the new Star Wars movies – in this specific case Attack of the Clones – reprints issues #49 and 50 of the monthly comic Star Wars: Republic, plus the one-shot Star Wars Jedi: Mace Windu.

Veteran collaborators John Ostrander and Jan Duursema create a tense and gritty slice of space opera in ‘Sacrifice’, as undercover Jedi Quinlan Vos finds himself drawing further and further from the path of Force to protect his imposture as a renegade and disciple of the Separatist leader Count Dooku. The plot concerns the retrieval of some plans that could threaten both sides of the conflict, but is there another agenda? One that would benefit simply by prolonging the war?

Dark and foreboding, this tense thriller serves as an excellent appetiser for the three short tales that follow. ‘Brothers in Arms’ is a rip-roaring war story as Master Ben Kenobi and Anakin lead a spirited rear-guard action that is actually a cunning feint to destroy the forces threatening the strategic world of Kamino. Of course nothing ever really goes to plan in combat, as ably demonstrated by Ostrander and Duursema, assisted by Dan Parsons on inks.

‘Jango’s Legacy’ by writer Haden Blackman and Stephen Thompson and Ray Kryssing is another combat tale as the separatist forces storm the citadel where the Republic’s clone warriors are grown. All hope depends on the untested special batch of clones designated ARC Troopers. Will they live up to expectations or will the undisciplined streak that couldn’t be eradicated from the Jango gene template bring disaster upon them all?

The final short, ‘No End in Sight’, is by Scott Allie, Tomás Giorello and Kryssing; a monumental space battle seen from the side of the Mon Calimari attackers attempting to take Kamino for Count Dooku, which demonstrates that heroism and self-sacrifice are never the exclusive preserve of one side in a war. And all the time the shadowy manipulations of the soon-to-be Emperor Palpatine progress just beyond the notice of the desperately worried Jedi Masters…

The book concludes with Mace Windu on a mission to the planet Lianna to prevent the assassination of an old friend and Jedi Sabre Master, Sora Bulq. En route he rendezvous with Quinlan Vos and among the intelligences shared is the revelation that many Jedi are losing focus, their spirituality increasingly clashing with their new role as soldiers. Brooding and introspective, this drama from Ostrander, Duursema and Parsons is not short on spectacular action even if some of the plot twists aren’t that surprising.

Space Opera buffs and franchise fans alike should be encouraged by the consistent high quality of these comic adventures. These read well with the minimum need for back-story and that’s always a good start for an entertaining time.

© 2003 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

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Scrapped Princess, Vol 1

Scrapped Princess, Vol 1

By Ichiro Sakaki & Go Yabuki character plan by Yukinobu Azumi (Tokyopop)
ISBN: 1-5953-2981-1

A traditional manga blending of fantasy and science fiction elements, this is the story of Princess Pacifica and her two protectors, refugees from the rulers of the futuristically feudal kingdom of Linevan.

When the Princess and her twin brother were born fifteen years previously a prophecy declared that she would bring about the end of humanity when she turned sixteen. Although she was condemned to be done away with, she still lives, but as the deadline nears the attempts to destroy her grow more determined and more frenzied. Hunted by Knight and bounty hunter alike, Pacifica, Shannon and Raquel search for a solution to their desperate plight.

Told from the point of view of young knight Recita, who befriends the oddly gentle and fun-loving fugitives, this is a charming and beautifully rendered quest-tale that will delight older kids and adults alike. This first volume shows great promise but be warned that this volume does end on something of a cliffhanger.

This book is printed in the ‘read-from-back-to-front’ manga format, and the comic adventures are based on a series of novels and an anime TV show.

© 2002 Ichiro Sakaki. © 2002 Go Yabuki. © 2002 Yukinobu Azumi.
English text © 2005 TOKYOPOP INC. All Rights Reserved.

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Loveless, Vol 1: A Kin of Homecoming

Loveless, Vol 1: A Kin of Homecoming

By Brian Azzarello & Marcelo Frusin (Vertigo)
ISBN 1-84576-337-8

The dark eyes of Brian Azzarello and Marcelo Frusin, which did so much to revive the crime comic genre with 100 Bullets and returned a hard edge to horror in Hellblazer, take a good hard look at the Western in this series from Vertigo, the first five issues of which are collected here.

Blackwater was a nasty little town even before the Civil War. Now occupied by victorious Union soldiers it is rapidly becoming a cesspool and an open sore, with hate and resentment bubbling everywhere. And then Wes Cutter rides back into town.

A Confederate soldier, outlaw and very dangerous man, he quickly sets about making all-new enemies to complement those he’s always had in his home town. Is it a coincidence that his arrival coincides with a wave of murder and destruction? And just what did happen to the wife he left behind?

Black, violent and moody, with a large cast of broken and intriguing characters, this very adult tale of revenge is reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s films High Plains Drifter and Unforgiven, but this story has many more shades and crannies than either, and the overwhelming mystery of Wes Cutter and his equally deadly companion is as engrossing as the violence is compelling. Here is a very modern Western which will enthral readers whether they like cowboys or not.

© 2005, 2006 Brian Brian Azzarello & Marcelo Frusin. All Rights Reserved.

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Imago

Imago

By Jim Burns (Titan Books)
ISBN: 1-84576-133-2

Yet another non graphic novel item here, but I’ll stretch a point for a fairly obvious reason. Jim Burns is a big name in science fiction circles, and if you buy a lot of books, chances are you’ll have a few of his covers on your bookshelf. Oddly enough, I’m not a great fan of his paintings, which are a little stiff and over-worked for my tastes. Still, that does seem to be the fashion for most book-covers these days.

Imago, however is a bit of a departure, as it features his working drawings and delves into his creative processes, which reveals something about the guy that I’d never noticed. Jim Burns can really draw.

It’s easy to forget in an age of such accessible drafting technology that all the things we love about our medium truly begin with a line on paper. There’s a world of seductive possibilities that stem from that initial creative kiss and they are all there to see in the pencil thoughts of a master draughtsman. Look at the sketches of Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Hergé, Adam Hughes, Brian Bolland, Moebius, or any of the other peak purveyors of our craft and you see pieces of pure creative excellence.

Burns has this mastery too, and in this book you’re treated not only to wonderful slices of that process, but also to that other shared mainstay of both SF and comic books, beautiful women in exotic, outlandish costumes and various stages of undress. Go get it, and then start agitating to get him drawing some comic books too!

© 2005 Jim Burns. All Rights Reserved.

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The Road of Courage

The Road to Courage 

By Frank Hampson with Marcus Morris (Dragon’s Dream)
ISBN: 90-6332-801-X

The treatment of writers and artists in our business has historically been pretty appalling. That’s why the Comics Creators Guild exists (www.comicscreatorsguild.co.uk) under whose auspices you’re reading this page. This isn’t the place to discuss the situation that lead to Frank Hampson leaving the industry at the height of his powers, nor the shabby way he was dealt with. This is about the last work he produced for the magazine he will always be revered for.

Succinctly then: by creating Dan Dare Hampson revolutionised British comics. By the end of the 1950s he was a national treasure and hot property, leading to a highly seductive offer to leave Eagle and begin a new comic, Bulldog, for a rival company. Eagle founder Marcus Morris brokered a deal that kept Hampson with Eagle, allowing the publisher Edward Hulton to sell up to Odhams Press. Although promptly reneging on much of the deal, the new owners did allow Hampson to drop Dan Dare – a venture that was crippling the artist through overwork – to work on a proposed single page per week serial.

That strip was the lavish and beautiful ‘The Road of Courage – The Story of Jesus of Nazareth’. It was an obvious labour of love, scripted by fellow publishing pioneer Marcus Morris, the clergyman who had first come up with the concept of a high-quality, uplifting boy’s comics. Their swan song was to prove a magnificent, if troublesome, masterpiece of graphic narrative.

Designed to run for approximately one year and conclude in the Easter 1961 edition of the Eagle, the strip ran fifty-six instalments. From the announcement of a Census in Judaea to the evening of the first Easter Sunday when Jesus reappears to his disciples and sets them on their mission, readers marvelled at the brilliant depiction of battles and miracles. Although uplifting was the goal, neither creator forgot that boys want action and adventure in their comics. It highlighted events from the life of the Messiah in captivating colour and detail, although from a strongly traditional English perspective, so a little latitude might be necessary when reading with twenty-first century eyes. This slim large album is a vibrant testament to the dedication, power, and sheer artistry of Frank Hampson.

I can only assume that the religious content has held it back in contemporary artistic re-evaluations, because in terms of staging, drama and graphic-realism, only Don Lawrence’s Trigan Empire (and perhaps Storm) come anywhere near it for pictorial and narrative quality.

Meanwhile, over that turbulent year, Odhams became Longacre and by March 1961 had been bought by the Mirror Group to become I.P.C., and with each change came more indignity, chicanery and abuse. Hampson, a dedicated, hard-working professional, had completed his work in plenty of time and as the take-over knives were flashing, he took a two month vacation with his accumulated leave time. When he returned it was to blatant hostility and a legal action as the Mirror Group sued him for breach of contract and his next seven strip ideas. His hard-fought contract was terminated a full year early. (If you wish to know more about the story behind the story, look up The Lost Characters of Frank Hampson on your favourite search engine).

Most of the players in the drama are gone now, but the work remains, and I believe that the ultimate victory always belongs to the talented people who produce such memorable classics. So the sooner this glorious tale is back in print the better.

© I.P.C. Magazines Ltd 1981. All Rights Reserved.

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Out of This World

Out of This World

By Steve Ditko and various
No ISBN

Steve Ditko is one of the most unique stylists in an artform literally brimming with diversity and innovation. By using a set of stylisations that reduce the universe to cartoon simplicity he has made the most fantastic premises realer than real, and thus created a hyper-reality that can denote good or evil, happy or sad hopeful or damned with the merest flick of a brush.

In his earliest days he worked for shoe-string publisher Charlton Comics, who throughout his career gave him the editorial latitude he craved but never the remuneration he deserved. No company has ever given him the acclaim he is due.

Between 1957 and 1959 he produced an unbelievable number of short mystery and science-fiction stories for Charlton’s genre anthology comics – by far the backbone of the industry in the days before super-heroes re-emerged as the dominant form – and this book collects a sampling from one of those titles. Culled from Out of This World issues #3-12, and decently printed on good quality paper rather than the appalling pulp stock Charlton utilised, the glorious chiaroscuric black and white is undiluted by poor colouring hastily applied.

This little volume has episodes that terrify, amaze, amuse and enthral. They are an utter delight, with lean, stripped down plots and simple dialogue that let the art set the tone, tug the heartstrings and tell the tale, of times when a story could end sadly as well as happily and only wonderment was on the agenda, hidden or otherwise.

Isn’t it time this marvellous creator’s work was rediscovered and put into the kind of permanent graphic packages that all our giants deserve?

© 1989 Robyn Snyder. All Rights Reserved.

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Desert Streams or Miriam’s Search for Devine Bliss

Desert Streams or Miriam's Search for Devine Bliss

By Alison Marek (Piranha Press — an imprint of DC Comics)
No ISBN:

This is a lyrical and moving fable about loss and acceptance told in a faux niavist style. Or if you wanted to be less poncey, Alison Marek constructs a simple tale that has the feel of augmented semi-autobiography.

Miriam is the beautiful child of a world famous if emotionally troubled model. Her earliest memories are of being a model herself, or at the very least, a fashion accessory. When her mother marries an ugly but wealthy publishing tycoon she is packed off to boarding school but actually prefers it to her previous life.

When her mother dies and her step-father remarries, rather than discard or ignore her, the newlyweds want keep Miriam with them, but still she is unhappy. All her life something has been missing, and the little girl can’t even define what it is.

Drawn in a child-like series of black and white images, this reductionist quest for fulfilment is a stark yet sentimental tale tinged with bittersweet longing and a little regret. When comics are nearly all about big action, belly-laughs or shock and awe, it’s gratifying to see something of subtlety and reverie captured in a medium that can so effectively depict it.

Not a weepie, nor surreal, this is contemplative and rewarding work.

© 1989 Alison Marek. All Rights Reserved.

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Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes, Vol 2

Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes, Vol 2

By Camilla d’Errico & Joshua Dysart (Titan Books)
ISBN: 1-84576- 684-9

The concluding volume of the tale of Hana, a young girl who accepts five wishes from a demon to improve her life, picks up with the lonely child still waiting to become popular at school. The boy she likes now talks to her but the situation with her parents hasn’t really improved, and what happened to Mr Weston was horrible.

Her life isn’t really any better and now only one wish remains. And Avril Lavigne – or at least her imaginary analogue – still won’t talk to her. But then the demon’s machinations finally bear fruit, and as every instinct warned she gets what she wants only to eternally regret it.

Despite a seeming predictability this story still has surprises in store for the reader, and a terrific payoff for the comic aficionado prepared to give it a chance. And hopefully the celebrity connection will create a few new fans for the medium, especially when the work is as well produced as that of Camilla d’Errico and Joshua Dysart in this lovely little tome.

© 2006, 2007 House of Parlance Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.