Graphic Novels – Page 229

December 26, 2007December 26, 2007

Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book

By Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
ISBN13: 978-0-83621-852-7

Calvin is the child in us all; Hobbes is the Tiger of our Aspirations; no, waitâ€¦ Calvin is this little boy, an only child with a big imagination and a stuffed Tiger that is his common sense and moral sounding boardâ€¦ No; Calvin is a little Boy and Hobbes talks only to him. That’s all you need or want.

A best selling strip and critical hit for ten years, Calvin and Hobbes came and went like a comet and we’re poorer for its passing. It redefined the â€œEyes of Wonderâ€ which children all possess, and made all us adults laugh, and often cry too. We all wanted a childhood like that kid’s, bullies and obnoxious little girls and all. At least we could visitâ€¦

This slim tome collects some of the earliest full-colour Sunday pages from the strip, and includes a new 10 page adventure painted in staggeringly lovely watercolours. Imaginative, dazzling, unforgettably captivating, these are some of the best of Watterson’s work. You should have them in your house.

Calvin and Hobbes is also now available as a complete boxed set – and not before time – so there’s no reason for you not to make this brilliant example of our art form a permanent part of your life. And you’ll thank me for it, tooâ€¦

December 23, 2007December 23, 2007

Silver Age Teen Titans

DC ARCHIVE EDITION VOLUME 1

Silver Age Teen Titans

By Bob Haney, Nick Cardy & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-4012-0071-0

The concept of kid hero teams was not a new one when the 1960s Batman TV show finally prompted DC to trust their big heroes’ assorted sidekicks with their own regular comic in a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as they were to stamping out insidious evil. The biggest difference between such wartime groups as The Young Allies, Boy Commandos and Newsboy Legion or such 1950s holdovers as The Little Wise Guys or Boys Ranch and the creation of the Titans was quite simply the burgeoning phenomena of â€œThe Teenagerâ€ as a discrete social and commercial force. These were kids who could be allowed to do things themselves without constant adult help or supervision.

As early as the June-July 1964 issue of The Brave and the Bold (#54), the powers that be had tested the waters with a gripping tale by writer Bob Haney superbly illustrated by unsung genius Bruno Premiani. ‘The Thousand-and-One Dooms of Mr. Twister’ united Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin, the Boy Wonder in a desperate battle against a modern wizard-cum-Pied Piper who had stolen the teen-agers of Hatton Corners. The young heroes had met in the town by chance when students invited them to mediate in a long-running dispute with the town adults.

This element of a teen â€œcourt-of-appealâ€ was often the motivating factor in many of the group’s cases. One year later the team reformed for a second adventure (The Brave and the Bold #60, and by the same creative team) and introduced two new elements. ‘The Astounding Separated Man’ featured more misunderstood kids – this time in the coastal hamlet of Midville – threatened by an outlandish monster whose giant body parts could move independently. The young heroes added Wonder Girl (not actually a sidekick, or even a person, but rather an incarnation of Wonder Woman as a child – a fact the writers of the series seemed blissfully unaware of) and they finally had a team name: ‘Teen Titans’.

Their final try-out appearance was in Showcase (issue #59, November-December 1965), birthplace of so many hit comic concepts, and was the first to be drawn by the brilliant Nick Cardy (who became synonymous with the series). ‘The Return of the Teen Titans’ pitted the team against teen pop trio ‘The Flips’ who were apparently also a gang of super-crooks, but as was so often the case the grown-ups had got it all wrongâ€¦

The very next month their own comic debuted (#1 was dated January-February 1966 – released mere weeks before the Batman TV show aired on January 12th) with Robin the point of focus on the cover – and most succeeding ones. Haney and Cardy produced an exotic thriller entitled ‘The Beast-God of Xochatan!’ which saw the team act as Peace Corps representatives involved in a South American drama of sabotage, giant robots and magical monsters. The next issue held a fantastic mystery of revenge and young love involving ‘The Million-Year-Old Teen-Ager’.

‘The Revolt at Harrison High’ cashed in on the teen craze for drag-racing in a tale of bizarre criminality. Produced during a historically iconic era, many readers now can’t help but cringe when reminded of such daft foes as ‘Ding-Dong Daddy’ and his evil biker gang, and of course the hip, trendy dialogue (it wasn’t even that accurate then, let alone now) is pitifully dated, but the plot is a strong one and the art magnificent.

‘The Secret Olympic Heroes’ guest-starred the Green Arrow’s teen partner Speedy in a very human tale of parental pressure at the Olympics, although there’s also skulduggery aplenty from a terrorist organisation intent on disrupting the games.

This volume concludes with ‘The Perilous Capers of the Terrible Teen’ as the Titans face the dual task of helping a troubled young man and capturing a super-villain called the Ant, despite all the evidence indicating that they’re the same personâ€¦

Although perhaps dated in delivery, these tales were a liberating experience for kids when first released. They truly betokened a new empathy with independent youth and tried to address problems that were more relevant to that specific audience. That they are so captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful.

December 22, 2007December 22, 2007

The Sleeze Brothers File

By John Carnell & Andy Lanning (Marvel UK)
ISBN: 1-85400-242-2

I first reviewed this as a mini-series for the excellent Slings & Arrows Comic Guide a few years back and I didn’t have a awful lot of good things to say about it then, but it came up in conversation recently and someone whose opinion I respect (not a full-on comics fan) reckoned it a â€œnot bad readâ€ so I thought I’d give it another look in the context of a broader audience.

In the future, El Ape and Deadbeat Sleeze are doing their very best – which is very bad – to make a living as private detectives. But this useless pair of futuristic gumshoes are in trouble with Police Sergeant Pigheadski as often as from such scurrilous rogues as The Reverend Smiler While, Orsum Wurlds, J. Edgar Hairdryer, Marilyn Blondeclone and the truly repugnant Bwokenpotee and Andrexia of the subterranean Aarsouls faith.

Aimed at a mature audience (and I’m saying a big nothing here) this pastiche blends sci-fi sagas and the seminal movie The Blues Brothers to capture the very worst of British humour but at least manages to recycle many of the universe’s oldest jokes one last time – hopefully.

Originally released as six issue miniseries from Marvel’s Epic imprint this volume contains extra story material although I can’t imagine why, since my now reconsidered opinion is that it’s ‘Still Rubbish â€“ But Some People Might Like It’.

It takes all sorts I supposeâ€¦

December 22, 2007December 22, 2007

Oh, Wicked Wanda!

By Frederic Mulally & Ron Embleton (Penthouse)
No ISBN

Not all comics are for kids nor ever were they. The men’s magazine trade has often featured graphic narratives, usually sexual in nature, often highly satirical, invariably of a much higher quality than their mainstream contemporaries and always much better regarded and financially rewarded. Where Playboy had Little Annie Fanny (created by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, it ran intermittently from 1962 until 1988, and revived in 1998, illustrated by Ray Lago and Bill Schorr), publishing rival Bob Guccione wanted the same but better for his publication Penthouse.

He hired journalist, editor (of left-wing magazine Tribune), columnist, novelist and political writer Frederic Mulally to script the exotic, erotic adventures of Wanda Von Kreesus, the richest woman in the world, Candyfloss, her insatiable jailbait paramour and an outrageous coterie of faithful employees including an all-girl army, a mad scientist and a brutal looking thug with the soul of a poet. To illustrate he secured the talents of oil painter and comic strip veteran Ron Embleton (who had astounded comic readers with his lush and vibrant strip Wulf the Briton in Express Weekly and his illustrations in Look and Learn).

Oh, Wicked Wanda! was originally a prose serial illustrated by Bryan Forbes, beginning in 1969 before becoming, in 1973, the unbelievably lavish and torrid strip reprinted here, continuing until 1980 when it was replaced by Sweet Chastity, also painted by Embleton, and scripted by Penthouse proprietor Guccione.

The bored and mischievous hellion is a sexually adventurous woman from a time when sexual politics and liberation were huge issues, and therefore prime targets for low comedy and high satire. Mulally peppered his scripts with topical references (many, sadly which would escape today’s casual reader, I’m sure) and the phenomenal Embleton would depict them with hyper-realistic accuracy. Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, Ted Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Fidel Castro, Lyndon Johnson, Spiro Agnew, Mao Tse-tung, showbiz icons such as John Wayne or Bob Hope and even comic strip greats like Pogo, Mutt and Jeff or Krazy Kat, all meandered through the glossy pages, a cross between a Greek Chorus and pictorial ad-libs.

Many celebrities were actively parodied participants. Henry Kissandrun, mafia Don Marlon Blondo/Burpo, Jane Fondle and demented California Governor Ronald Reekin’ all found themselves victims of the wilful minx and her team. Also classical and contemporary erotic allusions abound ranging from a little nymphette lounging about reading William Burroughs’s Naked Lunch to visual and verbal references to Shelley’s Leda and the Swan.

This slim album reprints the earliest adventures as Wanda collects the rich and the famous for a museum of deviancy, takes on the Mafia, the CIA and the Cubans and does her bit to solve the Oil Crisis. Later adventures saw her romp through the ages in a time machine but to my knowledge these tales have never been reprinted – although they really should be.

Perhaps a little dated, definitely for easy-going adults only, Oh, Wicked Wanda! is nonetheless still a funny read and inarguably one of the most beautiful British strips ever made. It is a tragedy that such work is unavailable to aficionados of comic art.

December 21, 2007December 21, 2007

Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone

Michael Moorcock's <i>Elric of Melnibone</i>

By Roy Thomas, P. Craig Russell & Michael T. Gilbert
ISBN: 0-915419-05-X (First Comics) ISBN: 0-936211-01-6 (Graphitti Designs)

Although chronologically the first tale of the doomed king, this adventure was one of the last written by Moorcock (in the initial cycle of stories at least – he returned to the character years later). Adaptors Roy Thomas and P. Craig Russell had also worked on other tales of the last Emperor of MelnibonÃ©, specifically The Dreaming City as a Marvel Graphic Novel in 1982 and ‘While the Gods Laugh’ which featured in the fantasy anthology magazine Epic Illustrated #14 (1984).

Elric is an absolute classic of the Sword and Sorcery genre: Ruler of the pre-human civilisation of the MelnibonÃ©ans, a race of cruel, arrogant Sorcerers: Dissolute creatures in a slow, decadent decline after millennia of dominance over the Earth. An albino, he is physically weak and of a brooding philosophical temperament, caring for nothing save his beautiful cousin Cymoril, even though her brother Prince Yrrkoon openly lusts for his throne. He doesn’t even really want to rule, but it is his duty, and he is the only one of his race to see the newly evolved race of Man as a threat to the Empire.

When these Young Kingdoms attack the Dreaming City of Imrryr, capital of Empire for ten thousand years, the Fleet, bolstered by dragons and magic easily dispatches them, but wily Yrrkoon seizes his chance and throws the enfeebled Emperor overboard to drown. The deeply conflicted hero believes himself happy to die but some part of his mind calls to the sea-elementals who are bound allies of the Empire to save him. When he returns to confront the usurper, Yrrkoon unleashes a demonic doomsday weapon and flees with Cymoril as his hostage.

All Elric’s magic cannot find them, and in obsessive desperation he pledges allegiance to Arioch, a Lord of Chaos in opposition to the Lords of Order. The eternal see-saw war of these supernal forces is the fundamental principle of the universe or â€œMultiverseâ€. For providing the etiolated Elric with the means to find and defeat his cousin, Arioch will demand his devils due, but the Albino does not careâ€¦ yet in his dark and foredoomed future lurks the black blade ‘Stormbringer’, the Rune-sword, the malevolent Stealer of Souls, and so very soon, he willâ€¦

The novel is an iconic and groundbreaking landmark of fantasy fiction and a must-read-item for any fan. This spectacular, baroque adaptation is an elegant and savagely beautiful masterpiece (collected from comics originally published by Pacific and First Comics) of the genre and effortlessly blends blistering action and gleaming adventure with the deep, darkly melancholic tone of the cynical, nihilistic, Cold-War mentality and era that spawned the original stories. You must read the book and you should own this graphic novel.

December 20, 2007December 20, 2007

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes

Wondering, “WHAT SHALL I GET HIM FOR CHRISTMAS?”

The Essential Calvin and Hobbes Â

By Bill Watterson
ISBN13: 978-0751512748 Paperback (Time Warner) ISBN: 0-8362-1809-4 Hardback (Andrews and McMeel)

Christmas is best experienced through the eyes of a child — and better yet if he’s a fictional child controlled by the whimsical sensibilities of a comic strip genius like Bill Watterson. Unlike most of his fellows, Watterson shunned the spotlight and the merchandising Babylon that follows a comic strip mega-hit and dedicated all his spirit and energies into producing one of the greatest treatments on childhood and the twin and inevitably converging worlds of fantasy and reality anywhere in fiction.

Calvin is a hyper-active little boy growing up in suburban middle-American Everytown. There’s a city nearby, with Museums and such, and a little bit of wooded wilderness at the bottom of the garden. The kid’s smart, academically uninspired and happy in his own world. He’s you and me. His best friend and companion is a stuffed tiger named Hobbes, who may or may not be aliveâ€¦

And that’s all the help you’re getting. If you know the strip you already love it, and if you don’t you won’t appreciate my destroying the joys of discovery for you. This is beautiful, charming, clever, intoxicating and addictive tale-telling, blending wonder and laughter, socially responsible and wildly funny. After ten years, at the top of his game Watterson retired the strip and himself, and though I bitterly resent it, and miss it still, I suppose it’s best to go out on a peak rather than fade way by degrees.

This sumptuous volume is a compendium of the first two collections, Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under the Bed Is Drooling, and shows the magic of the strip in tales that will make you laugh and isn’t afraid to make you cry. Truly this is a masterpiece and landmark of American cartooning. This year why not get yourself a present that will keep on giving?

December 19, 2007December 19, 2007

Calculus Cat

By Hunt Emerson (Knockabout)
ISBN: 0-86166-050-1

Calculus Cat is a bitter creature trapped in a loveless relationship with no way out. All day he goes out, slaving at his dire job of scooting about with a broad and painful smile whilst people throw stuff at him, and when he gets home instead of Tender Loving Care he gets more grief; relentless grief.

For in the Cat’s world the television set loves him, needs him and exploits him.

Cryptic, surreal, weirdly symbolic and brilliantly funny in a uniquely British way these collected strips detail the war of nerves and will between a TV set that is compelled and driven to bombard the cat with advertising, offering teasing little snippets of seductive entertainment like Supercar or westerns every time the hapless feline musters enough self-respect to attempt a break-up. As an allegory of marriage it is wonderful, as a description of our relationship with the Media it’s actually a little scaryâ€¦ but I did mention that it was very funny, right?

Produced occasionally, and with the unspecified help of the enigmatic â€œPokkettzâ€, this is an art-lover’s delight – as always – but has hidden depths and echoes. Yet another prime candidate for the clarion battle-cry, â€œBack in Print, Now!â€ â€œBack in Print, Now!â€

December 19, 2007December 19, 2007

The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 5

The Adventures of Tintin Volume 5

By HergÃ©, translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper & Michael Turner (Egmont UK)
ISBN 13: 978-1-4052-2898-5

Produced in the conquered nation of Belgium and running in daily instalments in Le Soir, Brussels’ most prominent newspaper, appropriated and controlled by the Nazis, Red Rackham’s Treasure (which ran from 1943-1944) follows directly on from The Secret of the Unicorn (see The Adventures of Tintin Volume 4, ISBN13: 978-1-4052-2897-8) and topped that thrilling chase to secure three parts of a pirate map with a glorious all-out romp in search of the loot itself.

When a loose-lipped sailor is overheard by an enterprising reporter, the treasure hunt becomes a cause celebrÃ© and a horde of opportunists claiming descent from Red Rackham, as well as a deaf and daffy Professor named Cuthbert Calculus who wants to use the expedition to test his new invention, accost Tintin and Haddock. Although his offer is rejected the Professor is not a man to be easily dissuaded. With the detectives Thompson and Thomson aboard (in case of criminal activity) the small team sets sail on their grand adventureâ€¦

This is a rich and absorbing yarn in the classic manner, full of exotic islands, nautical drama, mystery and travail, brilliantly timed comedy pieces and even a surprise ending. The restrictions of Belgium’s occupation necessitated HergÃ©’s curtailment of political commentary and satire in his work, but it apparently freed his Sense of Wonder to explore classic adventure themes with spectacular and memorable results. Although not the greatest of stand-alone Tintin tales, in conjunction with The Secret of the Unicorn this story becomes one of the best action sagas in the entire HergÃ© canon.

In 1943 the artist met Edgar P. Jacobs, who became his assistant on the daily strip. They began with another extended adventure-tale which is now divided into the eerie thriller The Seven Crystal Balls (which ran from 1944-1948) and the grandiose epic Prisoners of the Sun (1946-1949). These dates might seem odd but once again the Nazi conquest holds the answers.

For Belgium Liberation day was September 3rd 1944. When the occupiers fled, workers on Le Soir were arrested as potential collaborators or Nazi sympathizers and the newspaper was closed down. For two years HergÃ©, Jacobs and Alice Devos were under suspicion, and spent the time adapting old Tintin adventures for release as colour albums. The Seven Crystal Balls remained unfinished and unpublished until Belgian war-hero Raymond Leblanc personally vouched for the artists. Leblanc even set up a new anthology comic called Tintin in which the tale was continued before going on to finish the epic with Prisoners of the Sun. During this period Jacobs left HergÃ© when the artist refused him a byline for his work. Jacobs then produced his own science-adventure strip Blake and Mortimer which also featured in the weekly Tintin.

The Seven Crystal Balls sees Captain Haddock returned to Marlinspike Hall where he is adjusting poorly to his new-found wealth, with the exasperating Professor Calculus as his house-guest. When Tintin and Snowy visit, a trip to the theatre embroils them all in a baffling enigma wherein the survivors of the South American Sanders-Hardiman expedition all fall into comas due to an Incan curse. Tintin soon determines someone more solid than ethereal is causing the tragedies but even he can’t stop the attacks, and soon he and his friends are also on the mysterious malefactors â€œto-doâ€ list!

When Calculus is abducted from under their very noses, Haddock gives up his life of luxury and takes up adventuring once more, determined to help Tintin rescue their friend and solve the mystery. Giving chase they narrowly miss the villains at a seaport but they still have a chance to beat the ship carrying Calculus. They board a sea plane for Peruâ€¦

This is classic hairsbreadth storytelling. The pace is spellbinding and the ever-present slapstick actually serves to heighten the tension of the chase. The tale ends on a cliff-hanger, which is still painful even in this glorious collected edition when the action continues on the very next page. Imagine how you’d have felt all those decades ago when the conclusion was months away in the next albumâ€¦

In the Port of Callao Tintin and Captain Haddock anxiously await the arrival of the freighter ‘Pachacamac’ but when it arrives, suspected of carrying their kidnapped friend Cuthbert Calculus, it flies a plague-pennant. There is Yellow Fever aboard and nobody can approach her! Thus begins Prisoners of the Sun, the epic conclusion of the maddening mystery of Inca curses and the doomed Sanders-Hardiman Expedition to South America.

Suspecting a trick Tintin sneaks aboard and finds the Professor, only to be driven away by gunfire. Telephoning Haddock he chases the abductors, leaving the Captain and the detectives Thompson and Thomson to catch up if they can. The journey takes them deep into the beautiful, rugged country where they reunite only to become the target of many murder attempts, and other methods of dissuasion.

Undaunted, Tintin and Haddock continue towards the mountains, and are befriended by Zorrino, a young boy who risks his own life to help them cross valleys, mountains and jungles, dodging death from both beasts and men, until they are all finally captured by the last remnants of a lost and wondrous civilisationâ€¦

This is an epic staggering in scope and breathtaking in execution. Whether drawing a battle, choreographing a pratfall or delineating a golden temple the clean precise line of the art and the simplified colour palette makes every panel â€œrealer-than realâ€ whilst the captivating imagination of the storytelling makes this a truly graphic narrative. These are among the best comic adventures of all time and they demand a place on every fan’s bookshelves.

December 18, 2007December 18, 2007

Starchild: Awakenings

By James A. Owen (Coppervale Press)
No ISBN: ASIN: B0006QCPRO

This fantasy epic collects (although with such drastic reworking it might best be considered a â€œDirector’s Cutâ€) the self-published tales by graphic artisan and novelist James A. Owen who began his opus with 13 issues from Taliesin Press. He eventually retrenched as Coppervale Press with the miniseries Crossroads, Mythopolis and Tales from the TwoPenny Inn.

Starchild is an expansive, if sometimes ponderous, generational saga that explores the nature of the creative act using a rustic and classical fairytale as the narrative engine. Rather than prÃ©cis the collection, it’s in the interests of potential readers to take away a flavour and experience the tales (some of which might be considered rather slight and derivative) in context rather than with my blather creating too many preconceptions.

Ezekiel Higgins was once a momentary dalliance of Titania, the Queen of Faerie, and the text follows the lives of the children and grandchildren of that union. At first the tales are over-complex and uncomfortably familiar but as the author grows into his craft and exhibits some narrative discipline the development of his characters and world eventually consolidates into a strong and solid base to build myths on and in.

Dark, atmospheric artwork and a strong design flair add to the traditional fantasy flavour, and in a time when the core conceits are considered Big Box Office, this is a book that might find favour with a broader audience if revived.

December 18, 2007December 18, 2007

SHAZAM! The Monster Society of Evil

Wondering, “WHAT SHALL I GET HIM FOR CHRISTMAS?”

SHAZAM! The Monster Society of Evil

By Jeff Smith, coloured by Steve Hamaker (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-389-3

This is a wonderful book.

No soft-soap, no easing you in. Jeff Smith has come the closest yet to recapturing the naive yet knowing charm that made the World’s Mightiest Innocent far and away the most successful super-character of the Golden Age in this reworking of one of his greatest adventures.

Billy Batson is a little homeless kid with a murky past and a glorious destiny. One night he follows a mysterious figure into an abandoned subway station and meets the wizard Shazam, who gives him the ability to turn into a full-grown superhero called Captain Marvel. Gifted with the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury, the lad is sent into the world to do good.

Accompanied by the talking tiger-spirit Mr. Tawky Tawny, Billy sets out to find the little sister he didn’t know he had, fighting evils big and small, but impetuously causes a ripple in the world’s magical fabric that endangers the universe. He also encounters evil genius Dr. Sivanna, US Attorney General and would-be ruler of the universe, and the deadly and hideous minions of the mysterious Mr. Mind, whose Monster Society of Evil is dedicated to wiping out humanity! Can he make amends and save the dayâ€¦?

The original saga ran in Captain Marvel Adventures #22-46, from 1943 to 1946, an ambitious and captivating chapter-play in the manner of the popular movie serials of the day, and is still regarded as one of the most memorable achievements of Golden-Age comic books. It’s fairly safe to say that this reworking is going to stay in people’s hearts and minds for a good long time, too.

Jeff Smith has accomplished the impossible here. He has created a superhero tale for all ages and hopefully returned some part of the genre to the children for whom it was originally intended. Monster Society of Evil is exciting, spectacular, moving and unselfconscious; revelling in the power of its own roots and the audience’s unbridled capacity for joy.

This volume is also stuffed with added features. The dust-jacket opens into a truly magical double-sided poster, there are sketch and script pages for the reader with industry aspirations, biographies and historical sections, a lavishly illustrated production journal, puzzles and even a modern version of the secret code used as a circulation builder in the 1940s. Most important though is the mesmerising quality of the story and artwork. This volume (originally published as a four issue prestige format miniseries) is a true gem.

Words are cheap and I’ve used enough: now go get this is a wonderful, marvellous book.

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