Category: Adaptations

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Batman Beyond


By Hilary J. Bader, Rich Burchett, Joe Staton & Terry Beatty (DC comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-604-0

The Batman Animated TV series masterminded by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini in the 1990s revolutionised the Dark Knight and also led to some of the absolute best comicbook adventures in his seventy-year publishing history with the tie-in monthly printed series. With the Dark Knight’s small screen credentials firmly re-established, follow-up series began (and are still coming), even recently feeding back into the overarching DCU continuity.

Following those award-winning cartoons in 1999 came a new incarnation set a generation into the future, featuring Bruce Wayne in the twilight of his life and a new teenaged hero picking up the eerily-scalloped mantle. In Britain the series was inspirationally re-titled Batman of the Future but for most of the impressed cognoscenti and awe-struck kids everywhere it was Batman Beyond!

Once again the show was augmented by a cool kid’s comicbook and this collection re-presents the first 6-issue miniseries in a hip and trendy, immensely entertaining package suitable for fans and aficionados of all ages. Although not necessary to the reader’s enjoyment, a passing familiarity with the TV episodes will enhance the overall experience…

All stories are written by Hilary J. Bader and the book opens with a two part adaptation of the pilot episode, illustrated by Rick Burchett & Terry Beatty. ‘Not On My Watch!’ offers brief glimpses of the last days of Batman’s crusade against crime before age, infirmity and injury slow him down to the point of compromising his principles and endangering the citizens he’s sworn to protect.

Years later Gotham City in the mid-21st century (notionally accepted as 2039AD – 100 years after the comic book debut of Batman in Detective Comics #27) is a dystopian urban jungle where angry, rebellious school-kid Terry McGinnis strikes a blow against pernicious street-punks The Jokerz and is chased out of the metropolis to the gates of a ramshackle mansion.

Meanwhile his research-scientist father has discovered too much about the company he works for…

Wayne-Powers used to be a decent place to work before old man Wayne became a recluse. Now Derek Powers runs the show and is ruthless enough to do anything to increase his profits… Outside town Terry is saved from a potentially fatal encounter with the Jokerz by a burly old man who then collapses. Helping the aged Bruce Wayne inside the mansion Terry discovers the long neglected Batcave before being chased away by the surly Wayne but doesn’t really care until he gets home to find his father has been murdered…

A storm of mixed emotions, he returns to Wayne Manor…

The concluding chapter ‘I Am Batman’ sees McGinnis attempt to force Wayne to act before giving up in frustration and stealing the hero’s greatest weapon; a cybernetic bat-suit that enhances strength, speed, durability and perception. Alone, untrained and unaided the new Batman sets to exact justice and revenge…

In the ensuing clash with Powers the unscrupulous entrepreneur is mutated into a radioactive monster named Blight before Wayne and Terry reach a tenuous truce and understanding. For the moment Terry will continue to clean up the Dark Knight’s city as a probationary, apprentice hero…

With issue #3 Bader, Burchett & Beatty began to tell original stories in the newly established future Gotham, commencing with ‘Never Mix, Never Worry’ wherein Blight returns to steal a selection of man-made radioactive elements which can only be used to cause harm… or can they?

Joe Staton took over the pencilling with #4 as a schoolboy nerd freed a devil from limbo and old man Wayne introduced the cocksure Terry to parapsychologist Jason Blood and his eldritch alter ego Etrigan the Demon in the spooky shocker ‘Magic Is Everywhere’, a sentiment repeated when a school-trip to the museum unleashed ancient lovers who fed on the life energy in the delightfully comical tragedy of ‘Mummy, Oh! and Juliet’

This captivating compendium of action and adventure ends in another compelling and edgy thriller as Terry stumbles into a return bout with a shape-shifting super-thief in ‘Permanent Inque Stains’, only to find that there are far worse crimes and far more evil villains haunting his city…

Fun, thrilling and surprisingly moving, these tales are magnificent examples of comics that appeal to young and old alike and are well overdue for re-issue. And once that’s done, there’s still another 24 issues from the 1999-2001 run plus a Return of the Joker one-shot to collect in spiffy graphic novel compilations…

In 2000 Titan Books released a British edition re-titled Batman of the Future (to comply with the renamed UK TV series) and this version is a little easier to locate by those eager to enjoy the stories rather than own an artefact.
© 1999 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Agent 13: Acolytes of Death – A TSR Graphic Novel


By Flint Dille, Buzz Dixon & Dan Spiegle (TSR)
ISBN: 0-88038-800-5

Tactical Studies Rules was a backroom venture started in 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye which they grew into the monolithic role-playing and recreational fantasy empire TSR, Inc. revolutionising home entertainment in the days before cheap home computers and on-line video games.

Beginning with formally published scenarios and rules for Dungeons and Dragons, Cavaliers and Roundheads and others including gaming versions of Marvel Comics characters, Movies, TV shows and cartoon classics like Rocky and Bullwinkle, they swiftly branched out into figures and miniatures, magazines, models, table-top war games, fantasy fiction, collector card-sets and inevitably comics – firstly licensing their properties to companies like DC (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and many more before inevitably creating their own line of comicbook and graphic novel “Modules” in the 1990s, based on their own game product, licensed properties such as Indiana Jones, Buck Rogers and even their critically acclaimed fantasy novels.

One of my very favourites is an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink period pulp action romp based on their kids novel series Agent 13: the Midnight Avenger (by Flint Dille and David Marconi) which shamelessly blended elements of the Shadow, Indiana Jones and Mandrake the Magician with classic horror and conspiracy thrillers to produce frantic fast-paced adventures of international intrigue and supernatural suspense set in the days before World War II.

Acolytes of Death is actually the second graphic novel volume (its predecessor Agent 13: the Midnight Avenger adapted to comics form the two novels The Invisible Empire and The Serpentine Assassin) but works as stand-alone saga which finds the indomitable super-spy, trained in the mysteries of ancient Lemuria, engaging his world-wide band of undercover operatives in a deadly quest.

It’s 1939 and at stake is humanity itself as immortal villain and would-be global dictator Itsu nears the end of his undying life. Preparing to enact an arcane ritual to renew his sinister eldritch energies, he convenes all the forces of darkness subject to his will: secret societies, witches, zombies and the world’s first vampire, to seek out the ideal venue for his unholy rebirth…

He has to be stopped: after all, just one of his wicked schemes is manipulating the nations of the Earth into another World War. He has other plans he hasn’t even started yet…

Agent 13’s uncanny powers are a result of his having been trained by the Brotherhood; Itsu’s cult of wizards and ninja-like Jinda Warriors, but the heroic tough guy rebelled and has been destroying these instigators of terror and chaos ever since…

Now in a rollercoaster race from Soviet Russia to Spain to New Orleans, 13, his dedicated associates and the sultry, morally ambivalent mercenary China White struggle to prevent the Dark Savant’s ultimate triumph, but can 13 trust his allies and the omens when so much is at stake…?

Fast-paced, far-fetched, joyous and frenetic, this is pure non-stop, action-packed nonsense of the sort beloved by fans of summer blockbuster movies, stirring and silly but utterly engrossing. The script rattles along and the incredible art by unsung genius Dan Spiegle (ably augmented by letterer Carrie Spiegle and colourist Les Dorscheid) is mesmerising in its expansive majesty.

Published in the extravagant, sleekly luxurious over-sized 285mm x 220mm European album format, this tantalising tome, as a graphic “module” also contains a fold-out map, counters, gaming data and background as well as a rule-set, just in case you and some judiciously selected friends feel like having a go at changing the spectacular ending…
© 1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Agent 13 is a trademark owned by Flint Dille and David Marconi.

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Conan of the Isles (Marvel Graphic Novel #42)


By Roy Thomas & John Buscema, with Danny Bulanadi, Ricardo Villamonte, Armando Gil and Dave Simons (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-87135-483-9

During the 1970′s the American comic book industry opened up after more than fifteen years of cautious and calcified publishing practices that had come about as a reaction to the scrupulously-censorious oversight of the self-inflicted Comics Code Authority: A body created by the publishers to police their product and keep it palatable and wholesome after the industry suffered their very own McCarthy-inspired Witch-hunt during the 1950s. One of the first genres to be revisited was Horror/Mystery comics and from that came the pulp masterpiece Conan the Cimmerian.

Simultaneously, Sword & Sorcery stories had undergone a global prose revival in the paperback marketplace since the release of soft-cover editions of Lord of the Rings (first published in 1954), and the 1960s saw the resurgence of the two-fisted fantasies of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis Adelbert Kline, Fritz Lieber, whilst many modern writers such as Michael Moorcock and Lin Carter kick-started their careers with contemporary versions of man, monster and mage. Indisputably the grand master of the genre was Robert E. Howard.

Marvel Comics tested the waters in early 1970 with a little tale called ‘The Sword and the Sorcerers’ (from the horror anthology Chamber of Darkness #4) whose hero Starr the Slayer bore no small resemblance to the Barbarian. It was written by Roy Thomas and drawn by young Englishman Barry Smith, a recent Marvel find, and one who was just breaking out of the company’s Kirby house-style.

Despite some early teething problems, including being cancelled and reinstated in the same month, the comic-strip adventures of Robert E. Howard’s characters were as big a success as the prose yarns. Conan became a huge success: a mega-brand that saw new prose tales, movies, a TV series and cartoon show, a newspaper strip and all the other paraphernalia of success. And it all largely stemmed from the vast range of comics initiated by Thomas, Windsor-Smith (as he became) and the excellent succession of comics creators that followed.

Thomas was a huge fan of the prose material and took great pains to adapt the novels and short stories into the graphic canon. From the latter days when the barbarian was an established Marvel mainstay comes this utterly enchanting adaptation of the hero’s last recorded adventure, written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, first released in 1968.

The Cimmerian’s wanderings had eventually led him to the throne of a vast kingdom, the founding of a dynasty and after twenty years, terminal boredom. He had outlived his comrades and beloved wife Zenobia and chafed under the yoke of responsibility. When seven hundred citizens of Tarantia were terrifyingly consumed by blazing bloody lights King Conan was furious and bewildered until a ghostly vision bade him to hunt down and destroy these marauding Red Shadows.

Secretly abdicating in favour of his son Conn, the aging warrior vanished from Court, returning to the life of a pirate, and as “Amra the Lion” gathered a crew of valiant brigands to covertly hunt down the master of the crimson shades – who have subsequently spread their depredations throughout the known world.

Still formidable and burdened with fearsome responsibilities, Amra and old comrades Sigurd of Vanaheim and Yasunga the Black Corsair rove the scattered islands of the Western Ocean, seeking their hidden foe and battling monsters, rogues and maddening mechanical dooms.

Even though nearly seventy years old Conan drove himself hard and soon the ship of rogues found their hidden foe in the form of the priest-cult of Xotli and their uncanny Black Kraken warriors of lost Atlantis. When the pirates were all captured Conan alone infiltrated the hidden citadel to solve the mystery of the Red Shadows, rescue his crew and save the whole Hyperborean world…

Divided into three chapters, ‘Red Shadows and Black Kraken!’ (inked by Danny Bulanadi, Ricardo Villamonte & Armando Gil), ‘Dragons from an Unknown Sea!’ and ‘Gods of Light and Darkness!’ (both inked by Dave Simons), I rather suspect this tale was originally intended for the comicbook spin-off King Conan before being bumped into this sleek and glossy oversized format

Once upon a time Marvel led the publishing pack in the development of high quality original graphic novels: mixing creator-owned properties, licensed assets like Conan, Marvel Universe tales and even new series launches in extravagant over-sized packages (a standard 285mm x 220mm rather than the now customary 258 x 168mm) that felt and looked like far more than an average comicbook no matter how good, bad or incomprehensible (a polite way of saying outside the average Marvel Zombie’s comfort zone) the contents might have been.

Fast-paced, action packed and stuffed with the red-handed wonderment beloved by his fans, Conan of the Isles is rip-roaring pulp fare, brimming with supernatural horrors, scantily-clad damsels in distress and spectacular derring-do, cannily recounted by veteran creators at the top of their form. Still readily available this is a classy tale that will delight any fan of the genre and could easily convert a few die-hards too.
© 1982, 1988 Conan Properties Inc All Rights Reserved.

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Nightwings (DC Science Fiction Graphic Novel #2)


By Robert Silverberg, adapted by Cary Bates, Gene Colan & Neal McPheeters (DC Comics)
ISBN: 0-930289-06-04

During the 1980s DC, on a creative roll like many publishers large and small, attempted to free comics narrative from its previous constraints of size and format as well as content. To this end, legendary editor Julie Schwartz called upon contacts from his early days as a Literary Agent to convince major names from the prose fantasy genre to allow their early classics to be adapted into a line of Science Fiction Graphic Novels.

In the far future Earth has aged into a somnolent, semi-feudalistic place of fantastic creatures and shabby glories. An old man from the Guild of Watchers is making his way to the fabled city of Roum, accompanied by an innocent gamin and a sardonic lizard-man outcast.

Watchers scan the heavens using portable technology and inherent psychic sensitivity, seeking the earliest inklings of a predicted alien invasion: this one has wandered the entire world and used up his life doing so. Impoverished and frail he makes his way to the greatest city on Earth with the beautiful Avluela, a creature who can fly like a butterfly – but only in darkness when the fierce solar winds have subsided. The old fool loves and yearns for the alluring nymph as does Gormon, their other companion. This reptilian goliath from the shunned guild of sub-humans carries with him a dark secret…

Each has their own reasons for going to the Eternal City, but as they make their way to the palace of the Prince, greatest ruler of this diminished globe they see evidence that all glory has faded and Roum is just as corrupted, decadent and increasingly bestial as everywhere else. Denied accommodation and food even from their own Guilds, appalled by the poverty and cruelty around them, the trio find tainted shelter within the Prince’s Palace but only because the arrogant, radiant ruler desires the fragile, gossamer Avluela and what he wants, he takes…

Disillusioned and at his lowest ebb the Watcher wonders if this world might actually benefit from the invasion he has wasted his life searching for. When heartbroken and vengeful Gormon reveals his own secret the Watcher’s equipment finally sounds the alarms he has waited all his life to hear…

Silverberg’s deeply moving, Hugo Award winning story of faded glories and mistimed love was first published in Galaxy Magazine in 1968 and was followed by two sequel novellas, Perris Way and To Jorslem which were promptly edited together to form the novel Nightwings.

Adaptors Cary Bates and Gene Colan, ably assisted by lettering legend Gaspar Saldino and painter/colourist Neal McPheeters, perfectly capture the debilitating aura of inescapable, inexorable loss and dissolution, but as always, any adaptation – no matter how well executed – is absolutely no substitute for experiencing a creator’s work the way it was originally intended, so Go Read The Story too.

However, as this is a place to review graphic novels, please be assured that this is one that works excessively well; moody, portentous and beautifully realised.

This refined, stoic interpretation is welcomingly traditional in its delivery, allowing the tale to creep into your hearts and is a perfect companion to DC’s other adaptations in this series. It’s an inexpressible pity they’re all currently out of print and this is an experiment the company should seriously consider resuming. Moreover as I’ve said before: these DC Science Fiction Graphic Novels would make an irresistible “Absolute” compilation…
© 1968, 1969 Robert Siverberg. Adapted with permission of the author and Agberg Ltd. All text and illustrations © 1985 DC Comics Inc. All rights reserved.

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Master of Rampling Gate


By Anne Rice, adapted by Colleen Doran (Innovation)
ISBN: 978-1-56521-009-7

Usually I’m a big advocate of the purity of original material over adaptations – never ask my opinions on movies made from comics, for example – but every so often a piece of reworked work transcends not only its origins but even the source material itself.

Such a gem is the Colleen Doran interpretation of a short Anne Rice vampire tale which was first published in Redbook in 1982 tenuously attached to the author’s ponderous Vampire Lestat universe but set in England in the 14th and 19th centuries.

1888: Richard and Julie Rampling are travelling to the country seat they have jointly inherited on the passing of their father. The journey is tainted with trepidation and apprehension as their sire made them swear on his deathbed to have the estate razed to the ground.

As the train brings them closer they reminisce on odd events that have occurred over the years, and on arriving at the beautiful manse their hesitation in executing the last wish increases. The mere thought of obliterating such a serene and beautiful setting is appalling whilst getting rid of the many generations of retainers who still service Rampling Gate is too painful to countenance. Yet their father was adamant: the house is a place of hidden horror and must be eradicated.

As their fact-finding mission proceeds the seductive lure of the house works its magic on Julie and even Richard feels the ancient call and struggles to comprehend why his obligation must result in loss of such a wondrous and compelling inheritance. A sensitive girl with aspirations to be a writer, Julie is inspired by the majestic environment but when her brother uncovers some old journals she becomes consciously aware of an ancient presence that has permeated and protected the estate for half a millennium.

Moreover the undying master has made his desires and intentions appallingly clear…

Slow and moody, this somewhat shallow tale is elevated to glittering heights by the chromatic dazzle of Doran’s artwork which treats the pages as brilliant, impossibly perfect concoctions reminiscent of stained glass window designs. All trace of terror is subdued by the inevitable culmination of Julie’s fascination with the hidden creature and the upbeat (at least for a vampire romance story) conclusion makes this slim book more dream than nightmare.

Impressive, understated and effectively brief, Master of Rampling Gate is a lost delight for those dark winter nights and one no fantasy fan will care to miss.
â„¢ & © 1991 Anne O’Brien Rice. Cover art © 1991 John Bolton. Adaptation and interior art 1991 Innovation Corp. All rights reserved.

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Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere


Adapted by Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry (Vertigo)
ISBN 1-84576-353-X

Just as he was reaching the narrative heights with his comics works Neil Gaiman wrote a six part television series for the BBC which met with mixed responses from the not-necessarily overlapping audiences of print and TV. Neverwhere had plenty of literary antecedents but its contemporary setting and post-punk attitude clearly caused a few confusions, whilst the legendary BBC budget “make-do-and-mend” policy and financial restrictions left the show looking far less impressive than the writing and acting warranted (a superficial viewer prejudice which still deprives far too many potential fans from taking the pre-1989 Dr. Who series as seriously as they should…)

Concocted by Gaiman and comedian Lenny Henry – long-time comics fan – the show was broadcast on BBC 2 in 1996 and was soon forgotten, but they eventually returned to the concept and it was adapted, restored and expanded as a novel which became a substantial hit (most recently re-published in 2006 in an “Author’s Preferred Text” edition). The core concepts have also been referenced in some of Gaiman’s subsequent fiction.

In 2005 the story was adapted to comics form by Mike Carey and Glenn Fabry as a 9-part miniseries from Vertigo and this compilation graphic novel seems to be the ultimate and most comfortable arena for this engaging urban quest into the dark and hidden side of cities and civilisation.

Abridged and distilled rather than adapted from the novel, Neverwhere recounts the journey and fate of harassed would-be yuppie Richard Mayhew who, against his fiancée’s wishes, stops to help a young homeless girl they find collapsed on the streets of London.

The frail, Goth-like waif calls herself Door and reveals that she is running for her life. Unfortunately that life is a mystical, metaphysical, subterranean analogue of reality notionally located under the sewers beneath our feet. Populated by the lost and forgotten, indigents, outcasts and creatures of legend and fevered fantasy this world is both seductive and dangerous. Moreover, once on those hidden paths mere mortals almost never return…

Door is the last of House Portico, a dynasty once powerful in “London Below” but all dead now. Her family’s relentless enemies have followed her to the world above and when Mayhew is threatened by thugs-for-hire Messrs Croup and Vandemar, pressing him for her location, he inadvertently crosses over, becoming forgotten and eventually invisible to his old friends and acquaintances.

As Door assembles allies to combat the plot against her, Mayhew is dragged along; a well-meaning innocent determined to win back his old life by completing a quest to cross Night’s Bridge, defeat Croup, Valdemar and their hidden master, overcome the fearsome Beast of London and win the support of the supreme power of this underworld: the Angel called Islington.

The path is long and hard however and Mayhew isn’t sure if he and the orphan Door can trust such unique, uncompromising companions as the derelict Iliaster, the Marquis de Carabas, Lord Rat-Speaker, Old Bailey and Hunter. Most importantly, should he win his heart’s desire, is Mayhew even aware of what it might truly be…?

Clever and engaging this dark romance is packed with tension, drama and the lure of the arcane and exotic, skilfully wrangled by Carey and Fabry into a pretty, enthralling package. This is a solid comics treat for full-on fans and tantalised dabblers alike.

© 2005, 2006 Neil Gaiman. All Rights Reserved.

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Heroes volume 1


By various (WildStorm/Titan Books)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-706-8

Some people are never satisfied. When I was a kid constantly defending or even hiding my reading preferences, I and so many others, used to dream of a day when “normal” people – especially grown-ups and girls – would appreciate and love the superheroes, pulp fiction and space-opera that we devoured in comics. One day, I muttered, they’ll get it too…

These days not only are the concepts and traditions of my childhood inamoratas common currency, but actual favourite characters have been shared with the general populace to such a broad extent and with such ruthless commercial interpretation that often I can’t recognise the cheery costumed champions I once longed for others to partake of…

The world’s Batman isn’t mine, the celluloid (do we even use celluloid anymore?) Spider-Man is a complete stranger and I won’t have Daredevil or the X-Men in my house… Moreover I cringe inside when “the comicbook plot” appears in any cop or fantasy show: Nobody in the industry actually considers themselves “graphic novelists” – nobody I know would be that poncey…

So I was understandably a little nervous when a prime-time TV series debuted steeped in the fictive concepts of meta-humanity and attempted to bring the fringe experience and continuity shenanigans of the empowered outsider to the wider audience of soap fans and armchair sportsmen…

Tim Kring’s pedigree is admittedly quite good. He has worked extensively with fantasy concepts and clever adventure heroes on TV: Knight Rider, Strange World, Crossing Jordan, Teen Wolf Too (which he co-wrote with long-time collaborator Jeph Loeb) and the spectacularly under-appreciated Misfits of Science, an earlier and wittily cool attempt at a silver screen super-team.

Heroes ran for four controversial seasons, beginning in 2006, initially garnering huge audience figures and critical acclaim but gradually tapering off in popularity and direction before being finally euthanised by NBC in February 2010.

Recounting the secret history and evolution of a broad and disparate offshoot of superhumans amongst us the series attempted to transfer comicbook sensibilities to the television audience, following up to dozen separate metahumans as they came to terms with their abilities in a dangerously out of kilter world.

An overarching narrative thread was provided by Indian scientist Mohinder Suresh who had inherited his dead biologist father’s secret research into and fascination with these hidden but rapidly evolving beings, whilst constant menace was provided by a covert organisation hunting the paranormals and a rogue superhuman dubbed Sylar, who also stalked them – but only to kill them and steal their powers.

The concept’s lowly pop culture origins were coyly and constantly referenced in the show by including a meta-fictional comic, Ninth Wonder, written and drawn by a future-gazing character, into the ongoing plots. There was also a weekly webcomic produced to supplement the series and those webisodes are compiled in this book, comprising a stream of sidebar stories to enhance the overall experience, crafted by some of our industry’s leading talents.

Obviously if you never saw or didn’t like the show this would be the time to stop reading this review, but as I’m going to carry on regardless feel free to accompany me as I attempt to weigh the merits of the comics strips collection on its own terms…

Numbered as Ninth Wonder #1-34 these short stories – averaging 4-6 pages and a cover per instalment – begin with ‘Monsters’ by Aron Eli Coleite and artists Michael Turner & Koi Turnbull, wherein Mohinder moves to America, reintroducing the core concepts to us whilst investigating his father’s death, after which time-bending Japanese salaryman Hiro offers a peek into his own past with ‘The Crane’ by Coleite, Micah Gunnell & Mark Roslan.

Flying politician Nathan Petrelli experiences an eye-opening ‘Trial by Fire’ (Chuck Kim, Marcus To & Roslan)’ whilst invulnerable cheerleader Claire realises how much her life has changed after teaching a date-rapist a brutal lesson in ‘Aftermath’ (Joe Pokaski, Gunnell & Roslan). In ‘Snapshot’ by Pokaski, To & Peter Steigerwald, intangible convict DL Sanders breaks out of jail, unaware that his wife Niki is also abhuman and currently beginning a part-time career as a violent criminal in ‘Stolen Time’ (Pokaski, To & Roslan)…

Telepathic cop Matt Parkman feels his orderly life slipping away in ‘Control’ (Oliver Grigsby, Gunnell & Roslan) and that aforementioned precog artist discovers his powers in Coleite, Gunnell & Roslan’s ‘Isaac’s First Time’. Then Pierluigi Cothran, To & Roslan introduce a very special, irresistible little girl in ‘Life Before Eden’.

The tenth episode featured the sinister Sylar in ‘Turning Point’ (Christopher Zatta, Gunnell & Roslan), we got a look into the life of the chief agent hunting paranormals in ‘Fathers and Daughters’ (Andrew Chambliss, Travis Kotzebue, Gunnell & Steigerwald), power-magnet Peter Petrelli dreamed of ‘Super-Heroics’ (Harrison Wilcox, Gunnell & Steigerwald) before the format got an overdue upgrade with a continued story and an all new character.

‘Wireless’ (Coleite, Pokaski, Gunnell, Phil Jimenez & Roslan) introduced Israeli soldier Hana Gitelman who had the ability to interact with computers and electronic data-streams and recounted how she was recruited by the agency that hunts Heroes, a four-part tale of frustrated vengeance, fraud and disillusionment, followed in #17-18 with ‘How Do You Stop an Exploding Man?’ (Jesse Alexander, Coleite, Travis & Jordan Kotzebue & Roslan) as Hana tracks down the tragic Ted Sprague, fugitive paranormal cursed with the ability to explode like a nuke…

DL and Niki have a son and little Micah also has an ability – controlling machinery, but that’s not a great deal of help in ‘Bully’ (Kim, Gunnell & Roslan), whilst Sylar experiences a setback of his own in ‘Road Kill’ (Pokaski & Jason Badower). Hana returns in ‘The Path of the Righteous’ (Coleite & Staz Johnson), protecting the innocent from internet predators whilst cheerleader Claire’s unorthodox adoption is examined in Jesse Alexander & Michael Gaydos’ ‘Hell’s Angel’.

Episode #23 ‘Family Man’ (Alexander & Staz Johnson) deals with the aftermath of Claire’s exposure as a metahuman as her adoptive father, chief agent for the organisation that hunts her kind, makes a life changing decision, before another extended saga opens with ‘War Buddies: The Lonestar File’ (Mark Warshaw & Steven Lejeune).

Deep undercover Hana discovers the story of a previous generation of superhumans in ‘Unknown Soldiers’ (Chambliss, Cothran, DJ Doyle, Wilcox, Adam Archer, Roslan & Badower) detailing the story of a special ops mission in the Mekong Delta in 1968.

After incalculable horror the two survivors of the US team realise they are both more than mortal and lay plans that will eventually shake the world: a scheme that comes closer to fruition in ‘War Buddies: Call to Arms’ (Warshaw & Johnson)…

Time traveler Hiro Nakamura meets himself in the portentous ‘String Theory’ (Pokaski & Johnson) and events spiral to a climax – or more accurately Season Finale – with the 2 parter ‘Walls’ from Pokaski, Tom Grummett & Gaydos, as the heroes of a possible future strive to change their past. This volume then closes with a final 2-part thriller ‘The Death of Hana Gitelman’ by Coleite & Badower. It’s not what you think…

The book also contains a number of extra text features, the webisode covers and TV show art by Tim Sale and others such as Jim Lee and Alex Ross and despite my initial misgivings does actually present a fairly cohesive picture that most readers should enjoy and appreciate even with no prior experience of the primary material. And of course with Boxed set DVDs make ideal presents – almost as good as graphic novels, in fact…

© 2007 Universal Studios. Heroes is ™ & © NBC Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones Omnibus volume 1


By various (Dark Horse)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-808-9

Dark Horse Comics have held the comics producing section of the Indiana Jones franchise since 1993, generating thousands of pages of material, much of it excellent and some not quite. But, and it might be construed as heretical to say it, dedicated fans aren’t all that quality conscious when it comes to their particular fascination, whether it’s games about finding Atlantis or the latest watered-down kids interpretation or whatever.

So the company’s Omnibus line is a wonderfully economical way to keep the older material in print for such fans by bundling old publications into classy, full-colour digests (they’re slightly smaller than US comic-books but larger than the standard manga volume, running about 400 pages per book). This initial volume (of three) chronologically re-presents the first dozen Marvel interpretations which followed the film Raiders of the Lost Ark as well as including the three-issue miniseries adaptation that preceded the landmark film. I’m being this specific because the comic version was also released as a single glossy, enhanced-colour magazine in their Marvel Super Special series (#18: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark if you’re curious).

And just in case you haven’t seen the film: set in the days before World War II, Hitler’s paranormal investigation division was gathering occult artifacts from around the planet and soon crossed swords with a rough and ready archaeology professor from a New York university, when the unconventional Doctor Indiana Jones was maneuvered by the American government into tracking down his old tutor who might have a knowledge of the biblical Ark of the Covenant.

Although Abner Ravenwood had since died his daughter Marion possessed the clues the rough and ready Jones needed – unfortunately she’s also an old flame Indy had abandoned and would rather burn in hell than help him…

However when the Nazis turn up and try to torch her in the Nepalese bar she was dumped in, Marion joins Jones in a breakneck chase across the globe from Cairo to the lost city of Tanis to a secret Nazi submarine base on a tropical island, fighting natives and Nazis every step of the way until the ancient artifact separates the just from the wicked in a spectacular and terrifying display of Old Testament style Wrath…

The movie’s format – baffling search for a legendary object, utterly irredeemable antagonists, exotic locales, non-stop chase action, outrageous fights and just a hint of eldritch overtones – became the staple for the comic book series that followed, opening in impressive manner with ‘The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones’ a two-part yarn from Jack-of-all-genres John Byrne, assisted by Terry Austin and with veteran scripter Denny O’Neil pitching in for the concluding ’22-Karat Doom!’

When an old student is murdered before his eyes Indy swears to complete the lad’s research, subsequently trekking through Africa in search of a tribe who could turn men to gold, never more than one step ahead of a maniac millionaire with no love of mysteries or antiquities but a possessed of a deep and abiding love of profit…

That adventure ended with our hero plunging out of a doomed plane and into issue #3’s American set adventure ‘The Devil’s Cradle’ (O’Neil, Gene Day, Richard Howell, Mel Candido & Danny Bulanadi) wherein he fell into a hillbilly wilderness where a rogue US Army Colonel and a band of witch-burning yokels are separately hunting a 400 year-old alchemist with all the secrets of the ages at his fingertips…

‘Gateway to Infinity!’ by David Michelinie, Ron Frenz & Bulanadi saw the archeological adventurer en route to Stonehenge, courtesy of the US government, when a ring of Nazi spies once again failed to kill him. Hitler’s spies and parapsychologists were still hunting preternatural artifacts and the crystal cylinder uncovered at the ancient monument definitely qualified. English professor Karen Mays dated it to the Triassic period, millions of years before Man evolved and the murderous Aryans would stop at nothing to make it theirs…

Luckily for Jones and Mays – but not the Third Reich – the spies were eventually successful. However to their eternal regret their vile machinations unleashed ‘The Harbingers’ and only Indy’s swift reactions prevented a horror beyond time from escaping into our world.

Jazz Age mastermind Howard Chaykin joined Austin to illustrate the wonderfully classy ‘Club Nightmare’ (plotted by Archie Goodwin and scripted by Michelinie) as Marion opened a swanky Manhattan night-spot only to run afoul of mobsters and worse even before it opened. With Indy on hand to save the day the situation swiftly went from calamitous to disastrous…

Michelinie, Gammill & Sam de La Rosa soon had the hero globe-trotting again in ‘Africa Screams’ as a tussle in Tuscany with tomb-robber Ian McIver led to a solid clue to an even deeper mystery. Following an old map Indy and Marion are soon on their way to the Dark Continent in search of the legendary Shintay – a tribe of pale giants outcast from and last survivors of fabled Atlantis…

Unfortunately McIver and those ever-eager Nazi hunters were also on the trail and in ‘Crystal Death’ the vast power of the Shintay nearly wiped out half of Africa…

Issues #9 and 10 found the artifact hunter the target of a sinister plot by German spies and Aztec wannabees in ‘The Gold Goddess: Xomec’s Raiders’ (Goodwin, Michelinie, Dan Reed & Bulanadi), leading to a series of death-defying battles in the lofty heights of the Big Apple and the depths of the Brazilian jungle

This first volume concludes in fine style with a breathtaking global duel and a brand new villain as Indy is seduced by nefarious antiquities collector Ben Ali Ayoob into hunting down a persistent Biblical myth: ‘The Fourth Nail’. In ‘Blood and Sand’ Dr. Jones travels from the Australian Outback to Barcelona trying to find the unused final spike that should have ended Christ’s suffering on the Cross, but his quest is dogged by bad luck, Arabic ninjas, guardian gypsies, immense insane bandits and irascible bulls looking for a handy matador to mangle… The perilous pilgrimage reaches an inevitable conclusion in ‘Swords and Spikes’ (with additional art from Luke McDonnell and Mel Candido), a cavalcade of carnage, helter-skelter action and supernatural retribution.

With a covers gallery from such able and diverse hands as James T. Sherman, Walt Simonson, Terry Austin, John Byrne, Rich Howell & Armando Gil, Ron Frenz, Mike Gustovich, Howard Chaykin, Kerry Gammill, Bob Wiacek and Bob McLeod this is a splendid chunk of simple escapist fun: the type of buried treasure any fan of any age would be delighted to unearth.

™ &© 1981, 1983, 2009 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

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The X Files


By Frank Spotnitz, Marv Wolfman, Doug Moench & Brian Denham (WildStorm)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2527-8

The X Files took the world by storm when it launched in 1993, running for nine seasons, a total of 202 episodes, before ending in 2002. In addition it spawned two television spin-offs Millennium and The Lone Gunmen as well as two big screen movies in 1998 and 2008. Its blend of drama, cynicism, paranoia and open-eyed wonder struck a deep cultural chord, echoing popular disquiet about government double-dealing, the rise of conspiracy theories and a search for spirituality, mysticism and non-human intelligence. Many of the show’s key features became pervasive pop culture slogans. Moreover, it was usually utterly engrossing adventure storytelling.

Of course there was a slew of associated merchandise including a superb run of comics from trading card and sometime publisher Topps (41 issues plus a number #0 from January 1995 to September 1998, two annuals, three digest reprint editions and the 1997-1998 miniseries ‘Ground Zero’).

Fox Mulder is a burned out FBI whiz-kid who had himself assigned to the organizational sin-bin of the X Files division: unsolved cases involving unexplained and irrational aspects (themes returned to in recent years with the TV series’ Fringe and FlashForward). A brilliant scientist, he is obsessed with all aspects of the paranormal and particularly evidence of extraterrestrial life, but was dragged out into the real(ish) world by rationalist and cynic Dana Scully. Over the years they formed a co-dependent relationship and found trustworthy allies as they continued to prove that “the truth is out there.”

WildStorm picked up the comics franchise with this intriguing, engaging volume, collecting another #0 and a six issue run reprising the classic format of the feature when Mulder and Scully roamed America, solving mysteries and piecing together an incomprehensible puzzle.

Illustrated by Brian Denham with colour art by Kelsey Shannon & Carlos Badilla, the first cases unfold courtesy of screen writer Frank Spotnitz, who has the dynamic duo seeking a violent killer in the wilds of Indiana. Unfortunately this murderer seems to be a phantom force that can jump into bodies and make monsters out of the most innocent of citizens…

A different kind of possession phenomena then leads the investigators to Virginia, where government military contractors have developed the most sinister and cost-effective anti-personnel weapon imaginable…

Comics veteran and horror specialist Marv Wolfman scripts the next two-part saga as Mulder and Scully tackle a baffling case involving Chinese Tongs and an assassin who can apparently teleport. Elderly Chinese-Americans are being murdered, some almost simultaneously, by the same person. Forensics and DNA can’t be fooled, but if matter transportation is ruled out what else could possibly account for the rising death-toll?

Doug Moench, another comic creator with a long track record and impeccable pedigree contributes the final conundrum as the FBI’s least wanted are dispatched to the Badlands of South Dakota to track down a number of missing girls. Further investigation uncovers a likely serial killer, but deeper digging reveals that victims have actually been disappearing for hundreds of years. Can the Indian legends of subterranean predators “the Pale People” hold more truth than fancy…?

Moody, atmospheric and unrelentingly clever these stories blend mystery and imagination with tense drama and blistering action. Moreover, stripped of the over-arching, big-story continuity of the television series, these tales afford newcomers a perfect opportunity to revel in the magic of great, baggage-free entertainment.

If you want to believe in great comics, the proof is in here…

© 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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Angel: Not Fade Away


By Jeffrey Bell & Joss Whedon, adapted by Scott Tipton, Stephen Mooney & Ciaran Lucas (IDW)
ISBN: 978-1-60010-529-6

When Buffy the Vampire Slayer stormed onto television screens and into the dark hearts of the world’s fantasy fans the show quickly began turning vampiric lore and traditions on their collective head. One of the most far-reaching storylines involved the feisty heroine falling in love with the enigmatic Angel, who was eventually revealed as the ultimate bad-boy in search of redemption. Once the most sadistic and brutal predator on Earth Angel was cursed by gypsy magic and subsequently regained his soul. Plagued by memory of his horrendous past deeds and driven by insatiable remorse he became a warrior on the side of righteousness – and promptly gained his own spin-off show.

For five seasons and 110 episodes Angel and his crew of assistants, which eventually included his arch-enemy, the other cool bad-boy poacher-turned-gamekeeper Spike (see Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike and Dru) battled a all-pervasive demonic coalition intent on dimensional domination in the grim, dark environs of Los Angeles.

Masquerading as big-shot lawyers, Wolfram and Hart constantly worked their horrendous schemes until after years of battle they seemingly corrupted and co-opted Angel and his team, but it was of course a cunning plan to destroy the organisation from within and one which concluded in a an unforgettable final episode that was possibly television’s ultimate “Butch and Sundance” moment. This impressive oddity adapts that final small screen classic into a rather impressive sequential narrative, albeit one that must be utterly impenetrable to non-fans and newcomers…

‘Not Fade Away’ was originally scripted by Jeffrey Bell & Joss Whedon and is adapted here by writer Scott Tipton, illustrated by Stephen Mooney and colourist Ciaran Lucas, first seeing comic life as a three issue miniseries in 2009. It opens as Angel, Spike, defrocked watcher and neophyte wizard Wesley, benevolent demon Lorne and human vampire hunter Gunn seal a pact to murder Wolfram and Hart’s inner circle of demons, the Black Thorn, before the cabal can initiate the apocalypse and end humanity.

Untrusted and watched at all times the doomed band accept assassination assignments and spend the last day of their lives securing what allies they can (such as Angel’s son Conner, morally-ambivalent vampire PA Harmony, elder Goddess Illyria and the turncoat W&H lawyer Lindsey) paying off debts and making their varied peaces with the universe.

A cross between pure Greek tragedy and Scandinavian foreshadowed Ragnarok-in-waiting, this spectacular tale is moody, poignant, brutally action-packed and stuffed with dark humour. It’s no surprise that the heroes succeed in their mission but the saga ends as the supreme masters of supernal evil in the universe unleash all the hordes of hell to take vengeance on the monster hunters who have killed their agents and thwarted their millennial scheme…

As an added bonus for devoted fans and aspiring writer/directors this volume also includes the original shooting script for TV episode, beautifully illustrated by the extremely talented Jeff Johnson.

Somewhat diluted by recent comicbook sagas set after that glorious denouement, Angel and the surviving heroes are still actively holding back the final night…

Although visually impressive and engaging if you’re familiar with the vast backstory, this is still a chronicle best enjoyed by the already converted, although the shows are available on TV and DVD; so if you aren’t a follower yet you soon could – and should – be…

Angel © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved. © 2009 Idea and Design Works, LCC.