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Batman: Annuals volume 2 – DC Comics Classics Library


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Edmond Hamilton, Jerry Coleman, David Wood, France Herron, Sheldon Moldoff, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Dick Sprang, Curt Swan & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2791-3

There’s a lot of truly splendid 1940s and 1950s comics material around these days in a lot of impressive formats. DC’s Classics Comics Library hardbacks are a remarkably accessible, collectible range of products and one of the best is this wonderful aggregation of four of the most influential and beloved comicbooks of the Silver Age of American comicbooks.

Batman Annual #1 was released in June 1961, a year after the phenomenally successful Superman Annual #1. The big, bold anthology format was hugely popular with readers. The Man of Steel’s second Annual was rushed out before Christmas and the third came out a mere year after the first. That same month the first Secret Origins compilation and the aforementioned Batman Blockbuster all arrived in shops and on newsstands.

It’s probably hard to appreciate now but those huge books – 80 pages instead of 32 and practically no advertising – were a magical resource with a colossal impact for kids who loved comics. I don’t mean the ubiquitous scruffs, oiks and scallywags of school days who read casually then chucked them away (most kids were comics consumers in the days before computer games) but rather those quiet, secretive few of us who treasured and kept them, constantly re-reading, discussing, pondering, even making our own.

Only posh kids with wicked parents read no comics at all: those prissy, starchy types who were beaten up by the scruffs, oiks and scallywags even more than us bookworms. But I digress…

For budding collectors the Annuals were a gateway to a fabulous lost past. Just Imagine!: adventures your heroes had from before you were even born…

Those fantastic innovative aggregations in the early 1960s changed comics publishing. Soon Marvel, Charlton and Archie were also releasing giant books of old stories, then came new ones, crossovers, continued stories…

Annuals proved two things to publishers: that there was a dedicated, long-term appetite for more material – and that punters were willing to pay a little bit more for it…

This hardback compendium gathers Batman Annuals #4-7 from (1963-1966) in their mythic entirety: 33 terrific complete stories, stunning pin-ups and those magnificently iconic compartmentalized covers. Also included are original publication details and credits (the only bad thing about those big books of magic was never knowing “Who” and “Where”…), creator biographies and another reminiscing Introduction from Michael Uslan, putting the entire nostalgic experience into perspective

Way back then the editors sagely packaged Annuals as themed collections, the first here being ‘The Secret Adventures of Batman and Robin’ (released November 8th 1962) which started the ball rolling with ‘The First Batman’ (by Bill Finger & Sheldon Moldoff and originally seen in Detective Comics #235, September 1956): a key story of this period which introduced a strong psychological component to Batman’s origins, disclosing how when Bruce Wayne was still a toddler his father had clashed with gangsters whilst clad in a fancy dress bat costume…

‘Am I Really Batman?’ (Finger, Moldoff & Charles Paris, Batman #112, December 1957) saw bona fide mad scientist Professor Milo poison the hero with a rare plant, forcing Robin and Alfred to put the Masked Manhunter through a baffling psychological ordeal to counteract the toxin…

Today fans are pretty used to a vast battalion of bat-themed champions haunting Gotham City and its troubled environs, but for the longest time it was just Bruce, Dick Grayson and occasionally their borrowed dog Ace keeping crime on the run. However in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956, three months before the debut of the Flash officially ushered in the Silver Age) the editorial powers-that-be introduced bold heiress Kathy Kane, who incessantly suited-up in chiropteran red and yellow for the next eight years.

‘Origin of the Batwoman’ by Edmond Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris premiered with the former circus acrobat bursting into Batman’s life, challenging him to discover her secret identity at the risk of exposing his own…

The Boy Wonder began very publicly working solo after ‘The Vanished Batman’ (Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris or Stan Kaye, from Batman #101, August 1956) saw the Gotham Gangbuster declared dead and presumed gone by the underworld whilst ‘The Phantom of the Bat-Cave’ (Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #99, April 1956) offered a genuine mystery as persons unknown began somehow stealing and replacing items from the heroes’ sacrosanct trophy room…

‘Batman’s College Days’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #96, December 1955) found Bruce Wayne on a sea cruise with three fellow alumni, one of whom planned murder and had deduced his alter ego, after which ‘The Marriage of Batman and Batwoman’ (Finger, Moldoff & Ray Burnley, Batman #122, March 1959) depicted Robin’s nightmares should such a nuptial event occur whereas ‘The Second Boy Wonder’ (France Herron, Moldoff & Burnley, Batman #105, February 1957) was all too real as a stranger apparently infiltrated the Batcave by impersonating the kid crimebuster…

The Annual ended with ‘The Man who Ended Batman’s Career’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris from Detective Comics #247, September 1957) which presented a significantly different-looking Professor Milo using psychological warfare and scientific mind-control to attack the Dark Knight by inducing a fear of bats…

The next Annual, released in summer 1963, highlighted ‘The Strange Lives of Batman and Robin’ and opened with ‘The Power that Doomed Batman’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Detective Comics #268 June 1959) as exposure to a comet gifted the Dark Knight with super-strength. Sadly the effect was also cumulatively fatal and forced the heroes into a desperate hunt for a missing man who possessed a cure…

The same creative team dredged up ‘The Merman Batman’ (Batman #118, September 1958) wherein an lightning strike transformed the Caped crimebuster into a water-breather, aroused ‘Rip Van Batman’ (Batman #119, October 1958) who fell into a plant-induced coma to seemingly awake in the future and corralled ‘The Zebra Batman’ (Detective Comics #275, January 1960) when the hero was turned into an uncontrollable human magnet…

‘The Grown-Up Boy Wonder’ (Finger, Moldoff & Stan Kaye, Batman #107, April 1957) detailed what happens when space gas turned the likely lad into a strapping young man – but only in body, not mind – after which World’s Finest Comics #109, from May 1960, revealed Robin and Superman‘s tense race to save the Gotham Guardian from an ancient curse in ‘The Bewitched Batman’ by Jerry Coleman, Curt Swan & Moldoff.

‘The Phantom Batman’ (Hamilton, Dick Sprang & Paris, Batman #110, September 1957 showed how an electrical mishap reversed the polarity of the Caped Crusader’s atoms, relegating him to helpless intangibility, and the uncanny yarns end with ‘The Giant Batman’ (from Detective Comics #243 May 1957, by the same team and originally entitled “Batman the Giant!”).

Here the hero was exposed to a well-meaning scientist’s “Maximizer” ray and grew too large to catch the thieves who stole it and the antidote…

Six months later saw publication of Batman Annual #6 (Winter 1963-1964) featuring ‘Batman and Robin’s Most Thrilling Mystery Cases’ which kicked off with ‘Murder at Mystery Castle’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Detective Comics #246 August 1957) as visitors – Batman and Robin included – to a reconstructed medieval fortress witnessed a devilish remote control killing and had to deduce who set the fiendish trap…

‘The Gotham City Safari’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris Batman #111, October 1957) saw the Dynamic Duo hunting a hidden killer through a fabulous theme-park of exotic locales whilst ‘The Mystery of the Sky Museum’ (Hamilton, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #94, September 1955) found them at an aviation museum on the trail of sinister smugglers.

‘The Mystery of the Four Batmen’ (Hamilton, Sprang & Paris Batman #88, December 1954) was a seagoing enigma with the Partners in Peril seeking a mysterious smuggler with a tenuous connection to bats in one form or another, after which a movie monster made trouble on location, compelling the crimebusting champions to tackle ‘The Creature from the Green Lagoon’ (David Wood, Moldoff & Paris Detective Comics #252 February 1958)…

A stunning chase to expose a killer searching for a lost golden hoard involved solving ‘The Map of Mystery’ (Hamilton, Sprang & Paris, Batman #91, April 1955), whilst a disgruntled family member seemingly threatened to kill every member of ‘The Danger Club’ (Hamilton, Lew Sayre Schwartz & Paris, Batman #76, April/May 1953).

The astounding sleuthing ceases after uncovering ‘Doom in Dinosaur Hall’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Detective Comics #255 May 1958) where the curator’s murder at the Gotham’s Mechanical Museum of Natural History led to a fantastic chase and a surprise culprit…

Summer 1964 produced Batman Annual #7 and ‘Thrilling Adventures of the Whole Batman Family’ beginning with the introduction of the Gotham Guardian’s most controversial “partner” – a pestiferous, prank-playing extra-dimensional elf – in ‘Batman Meets Bat-Mite’ by Finger, Moldoff & Paris from Detective Comics #267 May 1959) after which the eponymous masked dog Ace narrates ‘The Secret Life of Bat-Hound’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #125, August 1959) and his part in capturing the nefarious Midas Gang…

Finger, Moldoff & Paris enlarged the fictitious family in Batman #139 (April 1961), ‘Introducing Bat-Girl’ as Kathy Kane’s niece Betty began dressing up and acting out as her unwanted assistant, eventually proving adults and boys wrong by taking down the deadly King Cobra and his crew, after which Hamilton wrote the only adventure of ‘The Dynamic Trio’ (Detective Comics #245 July 1957), with a very old friend donning cape and cowl as Mysteryman to help combat a smuggling ring facilitating the escape of Gotham’s fugitives.

Courtesy of Finger, Moldoff & Paris, faithful manservant Alfred personally revealed an early failure and its shocking resolution in ‘The Secret of Batman’s Butler’ (Batman #110, September 1957) before ‘The New Team of Superman and Robin’ (Finger, Swan & Moldoff, World’s Finest Comics # 75, March/April 1955) revealed how a disabled Batman could only fret and fume as his erstwhile assistant seemingly dumped him for a better man…

When Bat-Mite elected himself ‘Batwoman’s Publicity Agent’ (Finger & Moldoff, Batman #133, August 1960) the result was naturally chaos and unbridled craziness but not as much as the “Imaginary Story” devised by Alfred debuting ‘The Second Batman and Robin Team’ (Finger, Moldoff & Paris, Batman #131, April 1960) which would inevitably emerge after Bruce and Kathy wed and Dick assumed the mantle of the bat…

Moldoff’s unforgettable back page pin-up ‘Greetings from the Batman Family’ then wraps this final glimpse at simpler, weirder times.

Strange, addictive and still potently engrossing, these weird wonder tales typify a lost time of gentler danger, more wholesome evil and irresistible fun. They’re also impossibly compelling, incredibly illustrated and undeniably influential. A perfect treat for young and old alike.
© 1962, 1963, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Papyrus volume 6: The Amulet of the Great Pyramid


By Lucien De Geiter, coloured by B. Swysen & translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-240-9

Papyrus is the astoundingly addictive magnum opus of Belgian cartoonist Lucien de Gieter. Launched in 1974 on the pages of legendary weekly Spirou, it has run to more than 35 albums and spawned a wealth of merchandise, a TV cartoon series and video games.

Born in 1932, the author studied at Saint-Luc Art Institute in Brussels before going into industrial design and interior decorating. In 1961 he made the jump into sequential narrative, first via ‘mini-récits’ (half-sized, fold-in booklet inserts) for Spirou, starring his jovial cowboy ‘Pony’, and later by writing for art-star regulars such as Kiko, Jem, Eddy Ryssack and Francis.

He later joined Peyo’s studio as inker on ‘Les Schtroumpfs’ (The Smurfs) and took over the long-running newspaper strip ‘Poussy’ and launched mermaid fantasy ‘Tôôôt et Puit’ when Pony was promoted to Spirou‘s full-sized pages. Deep-sixing the Smurfs, he then expanded his horizons by joining a select band contributing material to both Tintin and Le Journal de Mickey.

From 1972-1974 he worked with cartooning legend Berck on ‘Mischa’ for Germany’s Primo whilst perfecting his newest project: a historical fantasy which would soon occupy his full attention and delight millions of fervent fans for the following four decades.

The annals of Papyrus encompass a huge range of themes and milieux, mixing Boy’s Own adventure with historical fiction, fantastic action and interventionist mythology. The Egyptian epics gradually evolved from standard “Bigfoot” cartoon style and content to a more realistic, dramatic and authentic iteration. Each tale also deftly incorporated the latest historical theories and discoveries into the beguiling yarns.

Papyrus was a fearlessly forthright young fisherman favoured by the gods who rose against all odds to become an infallible hero and friend to Pharaohs. As a youngster the plucky Fellah was singled out and given a magic sword courtesy of the daughter of crocodile-headed Sobek before winning similar boons and blessings from many of the Twin Land’s potent pantheon.

The youthful champion’s first accomplishment was to free supreme deity Horus from imprisonment in the Black Pyramid of Ombos, restoring peace to the Double Kingdom, but it was as nothing compared to current duty: safguarding Pharaoh’s wilful, high-handed and insanely danger-seeking daughter Theti-Cheri – a dynamic princess with an astounding knack for finding trouble …

The Amulet of the Great Pyramid is the sixth Cinebook translation (21st album of the series, originally released in 1998 as Le Talisman de la grande pyramide); an enthralling rollercoaster romp through living mythology and a spooky trial for the plucky chosen one which begins when Papyrus is dragged from the palace – and a rare reward from Theti-Cheri for saving her life and soul again – by phenomenally intelligent donkey Khamelot.

The savvy beast of burden belongs to court jester Puin and whenever it comes running in such a manner it means that the funny little man has found trouble…

An eventful trip to the Giza plateau with its royal necropolis and great pyramids of Kheops, Khefren and Mykerinus results in the daring lad finding not only his diminutive friend but also a desiccated and extremely active mummy unearthed by tomb-robbers.

Puin has been hearing ghastly screams emanating from the pyramids and convinces the boy-hero to stay and listen for them too, but he never expected his bold friend to go looking for what made them…

The sinister sounds lead deep into the nobles’ grave fields, but as they proceed the searchers stumble upon another acquaintance. The unconscious man is one of the three Pepi brothers charged with keeping the recently-restored Sphinx free of desert sands …

Leaving the comatose victim in Puin’s care, Papyrus presses on. Before very long though the eerie events prove too much and the panicked Professional Fool bolts.

His pell-mell rush carries him down a passage far under the Kheops pyramid where he is confronted with the spirit of Seneb the Dwarf, magician and priest of that august and long-deceased pharaoh…

The garrulous ghost is in need of a favour and urges his terrified “guest” to carry his jewelled heart scarab to Papyrus who will know what to do with it…

Scrabbling out of the ancient passageway, Puin is eventually rescued by his donkey and impetuous Theti-Cheri – who has again refused to be left out of the action and secretly followed her bodyguard into peril.

Papyrus meanwhile has plunged deeper into the necropolis and been attacked by a pack of spectral jackals. Even his magic sword is no help and the malign mobbing only ends when Anubis himself calls a halt to it. The God of the Dead is angered by the sudden increase in grave-robbing and has taken two of the caretaking Pepi brothers, thinking them to be desecrators.

Unfortunately, rather than admit a mistake, the jackal-headed judge demands Papyrus retrieve Kheops’ heart amulet in return for their liberty. Anubis needs it to weigh the king’s soul before he can remove all the wandering spirits of the region to a place where the living can no longer disturb them…

And thus begins an astonishing race against time as the young champion has to scour the Great Pyramid from top to bottom (magnificently detailed and scrupulously explained in some of the best action illustration the author has ever produced); defeating deadly traps, defying spectral sabotage and godly interventions and solving the riddles of the dead to accomplish his mission.

However even after more than satisfying the demands of Anubis, there’s still the murderously mundane menace of the grave-robbers holding Theti-Cheri hostage to deal with before the canny champion can rest easy…

Epic, chilling, funny, fast-paced and utterly engaging, this is another amazing adventure to thrill and enthral lovers of wonder from nine to ninety-nine, again proving Papyrus to be a sublime addition to the family-friendly pantheon of Euro Stars who wed heroism and humour with wit and charm.

Any avid reader who has worn out those Tintin and Asterix albums would be wise beyond their years to add these classic chronicles to their cartoon chronicle bookshelves.
© Dupuis, 1998 by De Gieter. All rights reserved. English translation © 2015 Cinebook Ltd.

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X-Men Legacy: Aftermath


By Mike Carey, Paul Davidson, Harvey Tolibao, Jorge Molina, Rafa Sandoval, Sandu Florea, Craig Yeung & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-5636-9

Since its creation in 1963 and triumphant revival in 1975, Marvel’s Mutant franchise has grown into an almighty engine for telling all manner of stories and tackling a host of social issues, so it’s nice to see one that falls back on the basics and simply addresses the prime directive of superhero comics: beat the bad guys, mash the monsters and save the day. Of course with the X-Men nothing is ever that straightforward…

Written throughout by Mike Carey, this particular collection gathers X-Men Legacy #242-244 and 248-249 (released between November 2010 and May 2011), neatly bridging one of those incessantly periodic crossover events to relate small tales of everyday strangeness…

At this point in time, the evolutionary offshoot dubbed Homo Sapiens Superior is at its lowest ebb. As seen in the House of M and Decimation storylines, Scarlet Witch Wanda Maximoff – ravaged by madness and her own reality-warping power – had reduced the world’s multi-million plus mutant population to a couple of hundred individuals with three simple words… “No More Mutants”…

In the wake of this horrific reduction in numbers, Earth’s remaining Children of the Atom relocated to an island off San Francisco, only to be mercilessly targeted by super-Sentinel Bastion who attacked both their enclave of Utopia and the human city surrounding it in response to the birth of the first new mutant, Hope Summers…

It all begins here with the two-part ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’ (illustrated by Paul Davidson) as young psionic Hellion is undergoing therapy. He’s reacting badly to the robotic hands he’s been beta-testing ever since Bastion took his real ones.

They work fine but the young man is barely suppressing a lot of unexpressed anger over his maiming…

With regular remedies not working, leader of the X-nation Cyclops includes him in the squads of mutants assisting in the reconstruction of San Francisco but events spiral hopelessly out of control when the last vestiges of Bastion’s programming turns cyborg ally Karima Shapandar into a marauding Omega Sentinel hell-bent on destroying them all.

With all her friends fighting at less than their best, desperately trying to save the decent human within, only deeply-traumatised Hellion seems capable of acting decisively. But why did he go so far and how did he get so powerful…?

Following those shocking events, ‘None So Blind’ then focuses on telepathic precognitive Ruth “Blindfold” Aldine who is the only one to notice that something is abducting mutants right off Utopia Island. She’s used to being ignored, however, so sets off to find the threat on her own.

Good thing Rogue and mutant machine-smith Madison Jeffries decided to check up on her wacky theory of a transdimensional trapdoor spider…

Chronologically the events of the apocalyptic ‘Age of X’ follow – neatly fitting into their own trade paperback which I’ll get to one day – before the day-to-day dramas resume here with all the psychically-scarred mutant warriors re-evaluating their lives following a week in an alternate world that was the best and worst of all possible worlds…

Back in our reality but all deeply dosed in PTSD, the heroes are all trying to come to grips with revelations of their own dark inner demons in the first part of ‘Aftermath’ (with art by Jorge Molina, Craig Yeung & Pat Davidson) when mutant elder statesman Magneto shares with Rogue a story of his childhood in Nazi concentration camps…

The ferocious self-assessments they and others such as former thief Gambit and reformed villain Frenzy undergo in the concluding chapter – illustrated by Rafa Sandoval – will forever change the way the X-nation is perceived by humanity…

With covers by Leinil Francis Yu, Joy Ang, Mico Suayan and Marte Gracia plus information pages on Blindfold, Hellion and the Omega Sentinel this slim, stirring, compelling Fights ‘n’ Tights tome is a superb example of how, even in comicbooks, might makes right.
© 2010, 2011, 2012 Marvel Characters Inc. All rights reserved.

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Valerian and Laureline book 9: Châtelet Station Destination Cassiopeia


By Méziéres & Christin, with colours by E. Tranlé; translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-244-7

Valérian and Laureline is the most influential science fiction comics series ever created; witty, passionate, wry and jam-packed with stunning and disturbing ideas rendered in a hypnotic, addictive, truer-than-life art style that is impossible to resist.

Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent debuted in Pilote #420 (November 9th 1967) and was an instant hit. It gradually evolved into Valerian and Laureline as his rowdy red-headed female sidekick developed into an equal partner – and eventually scene-stealing star – in an intoxicating succession of light-hearted, fantastically imaginative, visually stunning, time-travelling, space-warping socially aware epics.

The so-sophisticated series always had room to propound a satirical, humanist ideology and agenda, launching telling fusillades of political commentary and social satire to underpin an astounding cascade of visionary space operas.

At first tough, bluff, taciturn, affably capable, unimaginative, by-the-book space cop Valerian just did his job: tasked with protecting official universal chronology (at least as per Terran Empire standards), he countered any paradoxes precipitated by incautious time-travellers.

When he fetched up in 11th century France during debut tale ‘Les Mauvais Rêves (‘Bad Dreams’, and infuriatingly still not translated into English), he was saved from inevitable doom by a capable young woman named Laureline. In gratitude he brought her back to the 28th century super-citadel and administrative capital, Galaxity, where the feisty firebrand took a crash course in spatiotemporal ops before accompanying him on his cases.

The opening shot in the series’ first truly extended saga, Châtelet Station Destination Cassiopeia, was originally serialised in the monthly Pilote (issues #M47 to M50, 21st March to June 27th 1978) before being collected later that year as eighth album Métro Châtelet Direction Cassiopée. The story concluded in follow-up album Brooklyn Line Terminus Cosmos – which I’ll get to, once it’s published at the end of summer…

It all begins with the partners far apart in time and space. Laureline pensively voyages to the fabulous Cassiopeia system, for once enjoying the many wonders of space as she travels at sub-light speed through the phenomenally populous yet cosmically fragile region.

Her journey to Solum is broken up by many stopovers as she gradually gathers snippets of gossip which cohere to reveal an unsettling trend: subtly voiced concerns that some merchants are pushing strange and dangerous technologies on buyers extremely unsuited to possess them…

Although separated by centuries and light-years, Laureline and Valerian are enjoying impossibly intimate contact. Thanks to Terran ingenuity – and recent neurosurgeries – the partners are telepathically linked and sharing information on the mission.

His mission is playing out in Paris in 1980 where he idly observes the variety of human types frequenting the café he impatiently haunts; constantly reminded how little he knows or understands the people and history of his birthworld.

Things aren’t helped by the volubly affable, infuriatingly unrushed and always tardy Mr. Albert. Galaxity’s man in the moment is a sort of human X-Files: investigating, sifting and collating incalculable amounts of data on everything fringe, strange or whacky which occurs in the 20th century he has adopted as a home-away-from-home.

Breaking contact with Laureline, Valerian learns from the verbose nerd that appalling, monstrous manifestations have been terrorising the world and now this city’s subway system. Sensing action at last, the impulsive hero rushes to the site of the latest occurrence, abandoning Albert to follow up on something which has piqued his scholarly curiosity. Both are blithely unaware that a suspect band of not-so-ordinary Parisians with similar interests are mere metres ahead of them.

What Valerian confronts is a horrific thing out of the inferno, but even it is not immune to the futuristic weaponry he’s carrying in kit form. All he has to do is assemble it before being eaten…

In the aftermath Albert acts quickly to extract the wounded hero from hospital before doctors and cops start asking too many of the right questions. Later, over a luxurious dinner, the epicurean investigator shares a sheaf of files and clippings of monster and UFO sightings which only hint at why Valerian is stuck in a temporal backwater whilst his partner is covering the colossal Cassiopeia system alone…

Synching up again later despite constant headaches, Valerian hears her tell of the incredible inhabitants of Solum and her candid interview with the living memory of the race as well as sundry other wonders before contact is explosively ended by a phone call from Albert warning him that he is being watched…

After deftly dodging his tail Valerian receives a most distressing communication from Laureline. Her pleasant chat with the memory of Solum has uncovered news of a planet which long ago endured a similar plague of mysterious manifestations. It doesn’t exist anymore…

Therefore she’s off to incomprehensibly vile universal garbage dump Zomuk in pursuit of another promising lead, but before Val can warn her to stay away from the junk world, mind-contact is lost…

At that 20th century moment he and Mr. Albert are embarking on a bus ride to rural wetland idyll Doëre-la Rivière in search of marsh-monsters and dragons, only to surprisingly discover no accommodation available in the usually dead-in-the-off-season resort.

All rooms have been taken by scientists working for W.A.A.M (World American Advanced Machines): a mega-corporation in contention with the ubiquitous multinational Bellson & Gambler.

Both companies keep cropping up in Albert’s files of the weird and unexplained…

Soon the mismatched spatio-temporal operatives are trudging through acres of misty mire, encountering young Jean-René who offers to lead them to the infamous monster everybody is searching for.

When they find the Brobdingnagian beast, only Valerian’s disintegrator saves their lives. They quickly return to Albert’s paper-&-scrap-packed Paris flat, where the quirky researcher decides it’s time his impatient young colleague meets his secret source: a bizarre modern mystic and seer named Chatelard who cannily points out the affinities between the manifestations met so far and the classical ancient concept of The Four Elements…

He also points out that one could call highly ranked corporate businessmen the “hidden high priests of today’s world”, whilst mentioning that a pretty blonde woman from abroad recently offered him a lot of money for the same insights…

Later, as Albert sifts through the precious papers, reviewing all he has on Bellson & Gambler, frantic Valerian finally re-establishes contact with Laureline, just as she concludes an epic struggle against ghastly odds and enters a hidden shrine to gaze upon fantastic representations of Four Elemental Forces which underpin the universe…

Once again contact is broken and in a petulant rage the astral adventurer storms out into the Parisian night. Utterly oblivious to the fact that he is being followed by enigmatic figures in an expensive automobile, he accepts a lift from a pretty girl in a sports-car…

To Be Concluded…

Bold, mind-boggling and moodily mysterious, this splendid change of pace accentuates the deadly dangers which underscore this astonishingly imaginative series; eschewing the usual concentration on witty japery and politico-philosophical trendiness in favour of mounting suspense, bubbling paranoia and stark suspense with mesmerising effect.

However, no matter how trenchant, barbed, culturally aware or ethically crusading, these tales never allow message to overshadow fun or entertainment and as ever Méziéres & Christin leave their avid readers hungry for more …

© Dargaud Paris, 1980 Christin, Méziéres & Tran-Lệ. All rights reserved. English translation © 2015 Cinebook Ltd.

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Showcase Presents the Unknown Soldier volume 2


By David Michelinie, Bob Haney, Robert Kanigher Gerry Conway, Gerry Talaoc, Dick Ayers, Joe Kubert, Romeo Tanghal & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-4081-3

In America after the demise of EC Comics in the mid-1950’s and prior to the game-changing Blazing Combat, the only certain place to find controversial, challenging and entertaining American war comics was DC.

In fact, even whilst Archie Goodwin’s stunning but tragically mis-marketed quartet of classics were waking up a generation, the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman was a veritable cornucopia of gritty, intriguing and beautifully illustrated battle tales presenting combat on a variety of fronts and from many differing points of view.

Whilst the Vietnam War escalated, 1960s America increasingly endured a homefront death-struggle pitting deeply-ingrained Establishment social attitudes against a youth-oriented generation with a radical new sensibility. In response DC’s (or rather National Periodical Publishing, as it then was) military-themed comicbooks became even more bold and innovative…

That stellar and challenging creative period came to an end as all strip trends do, but a few of the more impressive and popular features (Sgt. Rock, Haunted Tank, The Losers) survived well into the second superhero revival. One of the most engaging wartime wonders was a notional espionage thriller starring a faceless, nameless hero perpetually in the right place at the right time, ready, willing and so very able to turn the tide one battle at a time…

This second moody monochrome compendium collects the lead feature from issues #189-204 (July 1975-March 1977) of the truly venerable Star-Spangled War Stories anthology and thereafter #205-226 (May 1977-April 1979) of the abruptly re-titled Unknown Soldier from when the “Immortal G.I.” finally took over the book in name as well as fact.

One of the very best concepts ever devised for a war comic, The Unknown Soldier was actually a spin-off – having first appeared as a walk-on in a Sgt Rock story from Our Army at War #168 (June 1966, by Robert Kanigher & Joe Kubert).

By 1970 the illustrator had become editor of DC’s war titles and was looking for a new cover/lead character to follow the critically acclaimed Enemy Ace who had been summarily bounced to the back of the book after issue #150.

The series featured a faceless super-spy and master-of-disguise whose forebears had proudly fought and died in every American conflict since the birth of the nation…

The strip grew to be one of DC’s most popular and long-lived: Star-Spangled became Unknown Soldier in 1977 with #205 and the comic only folded in 1982 with issue #268 when sales of traditional comicbooks were in harsh decline.

Since then the character has resurfaced a number of times (12 issue miniseries in 1988-9, a 4-part Vertigo tale in 1997 followed by a rebooted ongoing series in 2009), each iteration moving further and further way from the originating concept.

One intriguing factor of the original tales is that there is very little internal chronology: for most of the run individual adventures take place anytime and anywhere between the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the surrenders of Germany and later Japan. This picaresque approach adds a powerful sense of both timelessness and infallible, unflinching continuity. The Unknown Soldier has always and will always be where he is needed most…

As seen in the previous Showcase volume, his full origin was revealed in Star-Spangled War Stories #154’s ‘I’ll Never Die!’ recounting how two inseparable brothers joined up in the days before America was attacked and were posted together to the Philippines just as the Japanese began their seemingly unstoppable Pacific Campaign.

Overwhelmed by a tidal wave of enemy soldiers one night the brothers held their jungle posts to the last and when relief came only one had survived, his face a tattered mess of raw flesh and bone…

As US forces retreated from the islands the indomitable survivor was evacuated to a state-side hospital. Refusing medals, honours or retirement, the recuperating warrior dedicated his remaining years to his lost brother Harry and determinedly retrained as a one man-army intelligence unit.

His unsalvageable face swathed in bandages, the nameless fighter learned the arts of make-up, disguise and mimicry, perfected a broad arsenal of fighting skills and offered himself to the State Department as an expendable resource who could go anywhere and do anything…

After a long run of spectacular stories by numerous stellar creators, shifting fashions eventually provoked a shift in emphasis. Relative neophytes David Michelinie & Gerry Talaoc came aboard with Star-Spangled War Stories #183, resulting in an evocative change of direction.

The horror boom in comics was at its peak in 1974 and new editor Joe Orlando capitalised on that fascination with a few startling modifications – the most controversial being to reveal the Soldier’s grotesque, scar-ravaged face – presumably to draw in monster-hungry fear fans…

The military/macabre mood resumes here with Michelinie & Talaoc on fine form and well dug-in as the Unknown Soldier is despatched to discover the secret of the ‘The Cadaver Gap Massacres’ (SSWS #189).

What he finds as Nazi officer Major Wollheim is a death camp where prisoners are mere guinea pigs for making monsters and experimental atrocity weapons, and before long he falls foul of a repentant, guilt-riddled scientist whose loyalties ultimately are only to money. The ghastly discoveries of ‘Project: Omega’ lead to a cataclysmic clash with uncontrollable beast-men and the salvation of the only true innocent in the entire death-camp…

Issue #191 offered a ‘Decision at Volstadt’ as the fleeing superspy encounters rabid resistance fighters, merciless Hitler Youth zealots and fanatical Lt. Strada, who has already lost far too much to the Immortal G.I. Captured by his Italian nemesis, the rival soldiers’ ‘Vendetta’ ends the only way it could in SSWS #192…

Gerry Conway scripted ‘Save the Children!’ in #193, detailing how a mission to blow up a train carrying generals directing the war on the Eastern Front goes horribly wrong after the phantom fighter finds his targets’ families have come along for the ride, after which Michelinie returns to explore ‘The Survival Syndrome’ wherein the penetration of a high-tech Nazi communications complex hidden in a French village shows the wary warrior the true cost of a having a quisling in the family…

Star-Spangled War Stories #195 introduced ‘The Deathmasters’ as the Unknown Soldier infiltrates a Nazi assassination school and find himself assigned to murder one of the Allies’ greatest assets in war-torn Odessa in #196’s ‘Target Red’.

Conning everyone into thinking he’s succeeded, he then returns to Germany to scotch a scheme to replace key Allied personnel with Nazi doppelgangers: all it costs to quash the project is the life of an innocent girl and a little bit more of his soul…

The war in North Africa is almost over in #197 but the master of disguise is nevertheless dispatched to destroy German anti-tank airplane prototypes in ‘The Henschel Gambit’. Typically however he is intercepted by Arab raiders led by a US Senator’s maverick daughter and again forced to choose between his mission and innocent lives…

Thereafter, thanks to Nazi counter-intelligence manoeuvrings, the Immortal G.I. is tricked into killing the Allies’ top strategist in ‘Traitor!’ Court Martialled and sentenced to death, he is forced to escape and retrace his steps, seeking a witness to his innocence in #199’s ‘The Crime of Sgt. Schepke’.

En route he encounters Maquis legend Mlle Marie but events spiral completely out of control and he has no choice but to sacrifice her entire resistance unit to destroy a new super-weapon in the concluding ‘Deathride’…

Although Marie honours her promise and clears his name, she also swears to kill him for expending her comrades like pawns…

The scene switches to New York City in SSWS #201 as the Soldier engages in ‘The Back-Alley War’ by infiltrating a gang of German-American anti-war isolationists in search of saboteurs and spies and to Italy in #202 where an outbreak of typhus is holding up the war.

His task is to find a downed US plane carrying an experimental counter serum but his penetration of a Nazi hospital seems to indicate that neither side has found ‘The Cure’…

Issue #203 finds the master-spy reduced to teaching arrogant, unstable English aristocrat (with royal connections) Richard Ebbington all the tricks of his deadly craft, only to be subsequently ordered by the top brass to stop him fulfilling his first murder mission.

Somebody up top forgot to tell somebody in the middle that Ebbington’s target is a German general planning to assassinate Hitler, so the Unknown Soldier is forced to stop his protégé’s ‘Curtain Call’…

After 36 years of varied publication Star-Spangled War Stories ended with #204 as prior scripter Bob Haney and veteran war artist Dick Ayers joined Talaoc for ‘The Unknown Soldier Must Die!’ wherein old ally Chat Noir (an African-American sergeant who got fed up of institutionalised racism and deserted the US Army to join the French Resistance) is captured by the Nazis and brainwashed into becoming their secret weapon to kill the Immortal G.I.…

Cover-dated May 1977 the first Unknown Soldier (#205) places history’s lynchpin at the Battle of the Bulge in winter 1944. Whilst expanding on his origins ‘Legends Never Die!’ also proves once more that the right man in the right place at the right time can change the course of destiny…

‘Glory Gambit!’ begins an extended campaign as Adolf Hitler himself unleashes the Wehrmacht’s answer to the Unknown Soldier. Black Knight is Count Klaus von Stauffen, the chess-obsessed SS officer who captured and conditioned Chat Noir and is now making his way into the heart of England with but one mission…

The hunt for the merciless master of disguise and doom continues throughout London in #207’s ‘Kill the King!’, before the scene again shifts, dumping the Soldier in North Africa in 1942 to rehabilitate a trio of deserters in ‘Coward, Take my Hand!’

US #209 takes us to the Pacific in 1945 and a personal duel with a Japanese prison camp torturer whose attempts to break the scarred superspy result in defeat, death and ‘Tattered Glory!’ on blood-drenched rock called Iwo Jima…

In #210 the Man of Many Faces invades a Nazi fortress impersonating a specialist interrogator to rescue or kill America’s most important agent in ‘Sparrows Can’t Sing!’ after which issue #211 reprints a classic Haney & Kubert tale from Star-Spangled War Stories #159 where George S. Patton became the thinly-veiled basis for ‘Man of War’ with the Unknown Soldier dispatched to investigate a charismatic general who had pushed his own troops to the brink of mutiny…

An experimental surgical operation traps the G.I. behind the wrong face on the wrong side of the German lines in #212, where he encounters Hitler’s fanatical schoolboy “Werewolf” killer-elite and becomes in turn ‘The Traitor in Wolf’s Clothing!’

The shocking theme was further explored in #213 as Unknown Soldier has to extract from the Fatherland the son of a scientist vital to the war effort. Sadly ‘The Ten-Year-Old Secret Weapon!’ has embraced every facet of life in the Hitler Youth and fights his would-be rescuer every step of the way…

Kanigher wrote and Romeo Tanghal inked the Ayers illustrated ‘Deadly Reunion!’ in #214 as of the Soldier – in the guise of an elderly Jew – allows himself to be taken to a death camp to spring Mlle. Marie. She isn’t at all grateful…

Haney, Ayers &Talaoc reunited in #215 as the faceless fury replaced a sailor in the merchant marine to expose a traitor selling out convoy freighters to U-boats haunting ‘The Savage Sea!’ after which ‘Taps at Arlington!’ (art by Ayers & Tanghal) sees Chat Noir confront American racism whilst the Soldier exposes a spy painting a bullseye on the backs of troops in Italy…

In #217 the Man Without a Face becomes Hermann Goering’s chief supplier of stolen paintings in ‘Dictators Never Sleep!’ The plan is to give the infamous art lover a Rembrandt primed to explode when Hitler is in front of it… and it would have worked if Klaus von Stauffen hadn’t been present…

With the Black Knight hot on his heels the frustrated phantom is harried across Europe in ‘The Unknown Soldier Must Die!’, only stopping briefly to destroy a V2 base and have another shot at the Fuehrer before experiencing ‘Slaughter in Hell!’ (inked by Tanghal) when von Stauffen turns the tables by impersonating his arch enemy in a bid to murder Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower.

He would have succeeded if not for the Immortal G.I.’s strategic cunning…

Issue #220 by Haney, Ayers &Talaoc saw the Soldier organise a band of maverick warriors from many Nazi-conquered countries into a daring-but-doomed foreign legion dubbed ‘The Rubber Band Heroes’ after which ‘Sunset for a Samurai!’ finds him on a suicide mission to the heart of Japan to save an undercover agent crucial to the American forces…

Unknown Soldier #222 promised ‘No Exit from Stalag 19!’ when the unsung hero was ordered to rescue a military boffin from the heart of Fortress Europa (in a wry and trenchant riff on the plot of The Bridge on the River Kwai) whilst in #223, ‘Mission: Incredible!’ (Ayers &Tanghal) details the convoluted course of a plan to destroy a Heavy Water plant in the snow-capped mountains of Norway.

The Soldier and Chat Noir reunited in #224 to investigate a dead zone where Allied bombers simply vanish without trace, only to find barbaric military madness running wild in ‘Welcome to Valhalla!’ after which the Immortal G.I. is forced to arrest a charismatic general for treason in ‘Four Stars to Armageddon!’ (Ayers &Talaoc) before uncovering the astounding truth behind his supposed betrayals.

The military madness lurches to a bloody halt with #226 as Chat Noir and his faceless comrade do what entire flotillas of Navy vessels could not: using guile and subterfuge to board the Nazi’s unbeatable dreadnaught and ‘Sink the Kronhorst!’…

Dark, powerful, moving and overwhelmingly ingenious, The Unknown Soldier is a magnificent addition to the ranks of extraordinary mortal warriors in an industry far too heavy with implausible and incredible heroes. These tales will appeal to not just comics readers but all fans of adventure fiction.
© 1975-1979, 2014 DC Comics. All rights reserved.

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Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – the graphic novel


Adapted by Alan Grant & Cam Kennedy (Waverley Books)
ISBN: 978-1-902407-44-9

As part of the celebrations for Edinburgh’s selection in 2004 as the first UNESCO City of Literature, Scottish comics veterans Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy were invited to convert a brace of classic tales by Robert Louis Stevenson to publishing’s hottest medium…

The second appeared in 2008 with a bare minimum of abridgement or adulteration by Grant and galvanically brought to life through the stunning art of the inimitable Kennedy with colours and letters provided by Jamie Grant: all seamlessly collaborating to perfectly picture one of the most famous and groundbreaking tales of terror in the annals of storytelling.

The timeless tale opens as lawyer Mr. Utterson becomes intrigued by the ‘Story of the Door’ as related by walking companion Richard Enfield. That worthy describes how, after remonstrating with a bestial, shrivelled homunculus of a man who was thrashing a street child, he discovered a possible although unlikely and unwelcome connection to a mutual friend of superlative honour and worthiness.

However what connection a depraved creature such as Edward Hyde might have with the benevolent and brilliant Dr. Henry Jekyll was beyond either man’s conception. Blackmail perhaps…?

The multi-layered and convoluted chain of events unfolds at a beguiling pace as the pair begin a systematic ‘Search for Mr. Hyde’, even consulting the scientist’s great mentor Dr. Lanyon before unexpectedly encountering the despicable decadent himself, sneaking into Jekyll’s home through the means of his own key.

Eventually Utterson is compelled to ask the suspected extortion victim himself but ‘Dr. Jekyll was Quite at Ease’ and even extracted a promised that the lawyer would ensure that Hyde got his legal due should untoward circumstances warrant…

Events overtake everyone when details of ‘The Carew Murder Case’ become a public sensation and Hyde is hunted for killing a prominent politician in fit of unprovoked fury. Long-shrouded secrets begin to leak out after the ‘Incident of the Letter’ as Jekyll assures his distraught and apprehensive friends that Hyde will be seen no more, leaving Utterson to conclude that Henry is completely under the thumb of the desperate fugitive…

‘The Remarkable Incident of Dr. Lanyon’ precipitates further speculation as the failing sage gives the inquisitors a letter to be opened upon his (imminent) demise, prompting Enfield and Utterson to reluctant action and intervention on ‘The Last Night’ which reveals the shocking truth of the affair…

With the tragedy complete all that remains is to discover the reasons and causes which are provided by the aforementioned letter containing ‘Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case’…

Chances are high that nobody reading this is unaware of the general events of this much retold tale but the moody, evocative, dynamic and suspenseful reiteration here is a sheer pictorial triumph which adds freshness to familiarity and emerges as not simply a distillation, adjunct or accommodation but actually works as well in comics terms as the original literary ones.
Adapted text © 2008 Alan Grant. Illustrations © 2008 Cam Kennedy. All rights reserved.

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The Adventures of Blake and Mortimer: Atlantis Mystery


By Edgar P. Jacobs, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-107-5

Master storyteller Edgar P. Jacobs pitted his distinguished duo of Scientific Adventurers Professor Philip Mortimer and Captain Francis Blake against a wide variety of perils and menaces in stunning action thrillers which merged science fiction, detective mysteries and supernatural thrillers in the same timeless Ligne claire style which had done so much to make intrepid boy reporter Tintin a global sensation.

The strip debuted in Le Journal de Tintin #1 (26th September 1946): an international anthology comic with editions in Belgium, France and Holland. The magazine was edited by Hergé, with his eponymous star ably supplemented by a host of new heroes and features for the modern age…

L’enigme de l’Atlantide was the fourth electrifying exploit of the peerless pair, originally serialised from March 30th 1955 to May 30th 1956, and subsequently collected in a single chronicle as the seventh drama-drenched adventure album the following year.

The stunning secret history saga became the 12th translated Cinebook release, and opens here with vacationing Intelligence operative Blake arriving in the Azores on idyllic island Sao Miguel where Mortimer is engaged in exploring deep caves in his ceaseless search for new knowledge.

From the moment he lands the British Agent is under constant scrutiny by mysterious gangsters and no sooner does he join his old comrade than petty acts of vandalism and outright sabotage begin to occur…

Unbeknownst to the pair, whilst they are distracted, a mysterious intruder searches the Professor’s palatial lodgings only to be blasted by an even more fantastic figure with a ray-gun.

The delayed detectives only arrive in time to observe an astounding escape before the bellicose boffin explains how he has apparently discovered a new mineral of incredible potential in the vast cave system far below the surface of the island. He suggests it might be the wonder metal Plato describes as “Orichalcum”; the most prized element of the fabled Atlanteans…

Undeterred by the break-in, the bold Brits lay plans to further evaluate Mortimer’s mammoth cavern and before long a small but dedicated team are scrambling through perilous crevices to terrifying depths in search of more of the mystery.

The “mad English” are no longer the main topic of conversation on the island however: everybody else is glued to newspaper reports of flying saucer sightings…

Glad of their return to obscurity and utterly unaware that one of their team has been replaced by a deadly old enemy, the valiant subterranean explorers struggle on against formidable and oppressive odds underground, but when the Professor’s Geiger Counter begins to react wildly and they recover a huge chunk of the mystery mineral, the saboteur makes his move.

As a sudden storm threatens to wash the entire expedition away, the infiltrator incepts warnings from the surface, swipes the samples and, cutting the rope ladders, abandons Blake and Mortimer to their deaths…

His big mistake is pausing to gloat: a well-aimed rock hurled by the Secret Serviceman seemingly seals the scoundrel’s fate too…

Unable to go back, the plucky duo then decide to chance everything on following a subterranean river under the island in the vanishingly small hope of finding an exit. Instead, after an astounding under-earth odyssey, what they discover is mercilessly marauding pterodactyls and a fantastically advanced civilisation of super-scientists…

Soon the pair are recuperating in the vast bastion of Poseidopolis – thriving last outpost of legendary Atlantis – befriended by young noble Prince Icarus. He happily shares the epic true history of Ancient Earth and his still space-faring nation with them, secure in the knowledge that they will never leave the subterranean metropolis for as long as they live…

Unfortunately, with their customary impeccable timing, the British bravos have arrived just as the city’s most trusted civil servant Magon is about to usurp the hereditary rulers’ millennia of unchallenged power. All too soon they become embroiled in a shattering civil war at the earth’s core.

Not only is the entire kingdom of noble Lord Basileus at stake, but the schemer and his allies also have designs upon the Atlanteans’ outer space dominions and the hapless, ignorant surface nations in between…

Packed with astounding action, double-doses of dastardly duplicity and captivatingly depicting the cataclysmic end of a fabulous secret civilisation, this is one of the Distinguished Duo’s most glorious exploits and one no lover of lost world yarns should miss.

Addictive and fantastic in the truest tradition of pulp sci-fi and Boy’s Own Adventures, Blake and Mortimer are the very epitome of dogged heroic determination; the natural successors to such heroic icons as Professor Challenger, Bulldog Drummond and Richard Hannay, always delivering grand, old-fashioned Blood-&-Thunder thrills and spills in timeless fashion and with mesmerising visual punch.

Any kid able to suspend modern mores and cultural disbelief (call it alternate earth history or bakelite-punk if you want) will experience the adventure of their lives… This Cinebook edition also includes excerpts from two forthcoming albums plus a short biographical feature and chronological publication chart of Jacobs’ and his successors’ efforts.

Original edition © Editions Blake & Mortimer/Studio Jacobs (Dargaud-Lombard S. A.) 1988 by E.P. Jacobs. All rights reserved. English translation © 2011 Cinebook Ltd.

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The Evil of Oz


By Ryan Fuller & Sanjana Baijnath (CreateSpace)
ISBN: 978-1-49351-704-6

Depending on your outlook, you’re either going to adore or despise this one…

We all know the story of The Wizard of Oz – or at least the bare bones of it harvested to make the admittedly stunning 1939 film – but the truth is there’s a vast amount from that legendary 1900 novel by jobbing journalist and prolific author Lyman Frank Baum that remained unfilmed and unaddressed.

In recent years a number of books, comics, films and stage productions have taken another look – and many liberties – with the modern myth, but this is one of the most forthright, unrepentant and engaging – especially if you’re a lover of gory horror stories.

It begins at the scene of bloody multiple homicides in ‘Kansas’. A maniac has brutally ended the lives of an old farmer and his wife and their niece Dorothy Gale isn’t making a bit of sense over the crime.

Then again there’s not much sense to be had when the perp steals hearts after crudely removing them with an axe…

Once the cops have gone, however, the survivor undertakes a strange course of action. Activating her silver slippers, she summons a raging storm and, gripping the gory murder weapon, heads back to ‘Munchkinland’ in search of answers and justice…

Her return to the beautiful happy place she once liberated is a nightmare of shattered dreams. The wonderful kingdom is dark and blighted, reeking of decadence, decay and death. Dorothy isn’t surprised when she is mobbed by disgusting diminutive aberrations. She just wields the axe with terrifying dexterity in a deadly dance of destruction…

Grimly retracing her steps on a once-golden path she makes her way to ‘The Emerald Stockade’, encountering en route an old friend brought low and made example of.

He relates the reason for Oz’s decline but does not accompany her as she moves on to ‘The Stumps’ and a shocking confrontation with another beloved former comrade fallen on hard and mercilessly uncompromising times…

Having dealt justice to her guardians’ murderer means nothing after Dorothy learns who has overseen the tainting of the magical land and she struggles onward, enduring a similar heartrending reunion in ‘The Petrified Forest’ before reaching ‘The Bright City’ and a final battle with the avaricious traitor who instigated the corruption…

However, even after winning her last smidgen of scarlet retribution, Dorothy still has one last happy memory to ruin and betrayal to avenge when she meets ‘The Man Behind the Curtain’…

Bleak, nihilistic and superficially feeling like Titus Andronicus meets I Spit on Your Grave, Ryan Fuller’s sparse, spartan and extremely evocative violent chiller is realised with lush and lavish painted artwork by Sanjana Baijnath and carries a subtle but venerable message: be careful what you wish for…

The acquisition of all those so-long-desired and hard-won gifts did nothing but sour and poison the once-noble champions who strived so mightily to attain them and now the heroes are monsters who need to be put down…

Visceral, unflinching, possibly exploitative but with a moral subtext that cannot be denied, this is a terror tale to tantalise fans with adult tastes and post modern sensibilities.

No copyright notice that I could find so I’m assuming Text © 2015 Ryan Fuller and Illustrations © 2015 Sanjana Baijnath.
The Evil of Oz is also available as a Kindle edition.

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Twin Spica Book 8

New, Revised Review

By Kou Yaginuma (Vertical)
ISBN: 978-1-935654-13-1

Kou Yaginuma first captured the hearts and minds of the public with poignant short story 2015 Nen no Uchiage Hanabi (2015: Fireworks, published in Gekkan Comics Flapper, June 2000). Following its unprecedented success, he expanded the subject and themes into a major manga epic combining hard science and humanist fiction with lyrical mysticism and traditional tales of school-days and growing up.

2024 AD: diminutive teenager Asumi Kamogawa has always dreamed of going into space. From her earliest moments the solitary child gazed up at the stars with imaginary friend Mr. Lion, especially gripped by the twinkling glow of Virgo and alluring binary star Spica.

An isolated, serious child, she lived with her father, a common labourer who had once worked for the consortium which built the rockets for Japan’s Space Program.

When Asumi was a year old, the first Japanese launch ended in utter catastrophe after rocket-ship Shishigō (“The Lion”) exploded on its maiden flight: crashing to earth on the coastal city of Yuigahama. Hundreds were killed and many more injured, including Asumi’s mother.

Maimed and comatose, the matron took years to die. The shock crushed her grieving husband and utterly traumatised infant Asumi.

In response to the disaster Japan set up an astronautics and space sciences training facility where, after years of determined struggle, Asumi was accepted by the Tokyo National Space School. Slowly making friends like Shinnosuke Fuchuya (who used to bully her as child in Yuigahama), boisterous Kei Oumi, chilly and distant Marika Ukita and spooky, ultra-cool Shu Suzuki, Asumi daily moved closer to her unshakable dream of going to the stars.

Against all odds – she is small, looks weak and is very poor – Asumi endures and always succeeds. She still talks with Mr. Lion, who seems to be the ghost of an astronaut who died on the Shishigō…

Individual episodes in these compelling monochrome volumes are divided into “Missions”, all methodically forming a vast tapestry explaining the undisclosed interconnectedness of generations of characters, all linked by the call of the heavens.

Volume 8 comprises numbers 39-46, and also includes a brace of enchanting sidebar stories plus another autobiographical vignette from the author’s own teenage years.

Mission: 39 opens as the still guarded and aloof Asumi undertakes a devout daily personal ritual – absorbing the wonder of the Heavens at the local Planetarium. Times are tough, however, and the venerable old edifice is about to close forever, a victim of economic cuts and dwindling public interest…

Later she rejoins classmates Oumi and Ukita on the school roof for more stargazing. Excitement rises when they think they might have discovered a new supernova…

Mission: 40 concentrates on the rapidly approaching end of semester and exams. Oumi is ill and might not pass, whilst enigmatic Shu reveals yet another hidden talent after being given the shocking news that he is confidentially considered for participation in an American Shuttle mission.

Meanwhile, with Christmas near Asumi shares an intimate moment trimming a tree with shy, diffident Kiriu from the local orphanage. Even this is fraught with implications: he’s apparently an anti-space program activist and she can hardly afford any distractions. With her workload and part-time job she barely has time to think as it is…

Mission: 41 only sees Asumi’s concentration-slipping intensify and we learn some tragic truths about golden boy Suzuki’s dysfunctional and abusive home life. Most disturbingly, Miss Kamogawa’s closest girl classmates now think they’re catching odd glimpses – and even finding physical evidence – of Asumi’s ludicrous “imaginary friend”…

When Kiriu unexpectedly reveals he is leaving Japan, she then has to make a choice between her current feelings and her life’s dream. It takes another typically brash and dramatic intervention during a crucial exam by old rival and “frenemy” Fuchuya to set her straight on what she really needs in the heartrending Mission: 42…

The focus switches to orphan Kiriu’s history and his amazing secret is revealed through a poignant letter to Asumi in Mission: 43, whilst 44 concentrates on mounting school pressure with the conflicted Fuchuya recalling the pivotal moment in his childhood when his fireworks-making grandfather sparked his own interest in the stars… and Asumi…

The Americans’ tantalising offer to send a Japanese astronaut up with the US shuttle becomes public knowledge in Mission: 45 and fierce competition for the single placement ensues. The jolly rivalry is counterpointed by more agonising reminiscences from Shu over the mystery malady that took his mother, before the main storyline concludes in Mission: 46 as the students are made to realise the importance of their final years, and solitary Asumi at last realises how her life has changed. With some surprise she grasps that she has actual friends she might lose so very soon…

The going is getting tougher and, now that they are all nearing the end of their preliminary training, it becomes increasingly, painfully clear to the determined star-students that the bonds so painstakingly forged are on the verge of being severed. After only one more year, final selections will be made: most of the class will fail and vanish from each other’s lives. A countdown clock is ticking…

Also included in this volume are two ancillary tales: ‘Giovanni’s Ticket’ returns to Asumi and Fucchy’s formative years in Yuigahama following the Shishigō crash, exploring their tempestuous relationship whilst the poignant ‘Guide to Cherry Blossoms’ reveals the power of making art and following the path to love whilst examining roads not taken by pensive teacher Kasumi Suzuki during the highly symbolic spring festival.

The book ends with a wistfully autobiographical ‘Another Spica’ vignette culled from author Yaginuma’s lovelorn days as a part-time server on a soft-drink stand in a theme park; one more charming insight into creative minds, art in the raw and unrequited passions…

These deeply moving marvels originally appeared in 2005 as Futatsu no Supika 8 and 9 in the Seinen manga magazine Gekkan Comics Flapper, targeted at male readers aged 18-30, but this ongoing, unfolding beguiling saga is perfect for any older kid with stars in their eyes…

Twin Spica ran from September 2001-August 2009: sixteen volumes tracing the trajectories of Asumi and friends from callow students to trained astronauts and the series has spawned both anime and live action TV series.

This delightful saga has everything: plenty of hard science to back up the informed extrapolation, an engaging cast, mystery and frustrated passion, alienation, angst and true friendships; all welded seamlessly into a joyous coming-of-age drama with supernatural overtones, raucous humour and masses of sheer sentiment.

Rekindling the irresistible allure of the Final Frontier for the next generation (and the last ones too) Twin Spica is quite simply the best…

These books are printed in the Japanese right to left, back to front format.
© 2011 by Kou Yaginuma/MEDIA FACTORY Inc. Translation © 2011 Vertical, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Yakari and the Grizzly


By Derib & Job, translated by Erica Jeffrey (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-905460-16-8

In 1964, journalist André Jobin founded children’s magazine Le Crapaud à lunettes and began writing stories for it under the pseudonym Job. Three years later he hired fellow French-Swiss artist Claude de Ribaupierre, who had begun his career as an assistant at Studio Peyo (home of Les Schtroumpfs), working on Smurfs strips for venerable weekly Spirou.

Together they created the well-received Adventures of the Owl Pythagore and two years later struck pure gold with their next collaboration.

Launching in 1969, Yakari detailed the life of a young Sioux boy on the Great Plains; sometime after the introduction of horses by the Conquistadores and before the coming of the modern WhiteMan.

Filled with gentle whimsy, the strip celebrates a generally bucolic existence in tune with nature and free of strife, punctuated with the odd crisis generally resolved without fame or fanfare by a little lad who is smart, compassionate, brave… and can converse with all animals…

As “Derib”, de Ribaupierre – equally fluent and brilliant in both the enticing, comically dynamic “Marcinelle” cartoon style and a devastatingly compelling meta-realistic action illustration form – went on to become one of the Continent’s most prolific, celebrated and beloved creators through such groundbreaking strips as Celui-qui-est-né-deux-fois, Jo (the first comic on AIDS ever published), Pour toi, Sandra and La Grande Saga Indienne).

A large and significant proportion of his stunning works over the decades reverberate with his beloved Western themes, magnificent geographical backdrops and epic landscapes, and Yakari is considered by many to be the feature which catapulted him to mega-stardom.

First published in 1979 as the strip cemented its prominence and popularity, Yakari et le grizzly was the fifth collected European album. The previous year the feature had begun running in Tintin, and would go on to spawn two animated TV series (1983 and 2005), a wide range of merchandising and spin-offs and achieve monumental global sales of the 38 albums (in 17 languages) to date.

Released in English translation in 2006, Yakari and the Grizzly opens one late autumn night as aged beaver Wooden Dam and young raccoon Black Mask sneak into the Sioux encampment in search of Yakari. The worried pair have an odd story to tell: healthy adult animal are disappearing and the younglings need the wonderful human problem-solver to find them…

Riding out on faithful pony and confidante Little Thunder, the brave boy encounters a nervous vixen and her cubs and a female otter whose mate has also vanished. The day passes in fruitless searching and that night, after hearing a terrifyingly loud roar, a kind old owl offers some friendly advice to the searchers: stay out of the hills, something strange is happening there…

Next morning, grateful, worried but determined, Yakari and Little Thunder nevertheless turn towards the gentle rise and soon find missing pal Thousand-Mouths frantically gathering berries. The beaver is desperately scared and warns the pair to flee before it’s too late…

Resolved to help whatever the risk, our heroes press onwards and upwards and discover many missing animals – even bears – all working as petrified slaves for a huge and bellicose grizzly. Afraid of nothing Yakari scolds the greedy beast and almost dies as the big bully swipes at him with huge claws…

Barely escaping the gloating monster, Yakari and his pony are again warned off by Thousand-Mouths who reveals that no one will resist or run away because the big bear has threatened their families. Temporarily stumped, the little brave is relieved when his wise totem animal Great Eagle arrives and councils that a little patience will provide an answer to their problem…

Seeing the startling truth of the statement, Yakari advises his furry chums on a long term plan which consists of actually working even harder, providing the unreasonable brute with all the food he can eat. All too soon the snows start and the fattened grizzly feels the call of his den and long months of welcome hibernation. Now the second part of Yakari’s plan can begin…

The visually spectacular, seductively smart and splendidly subtle solution to the bully bear’s disgraceful behaviour is a masterpiece of diplomacy and highlights the charming, compassionate and redemptive nature of this superb all-ages series…

The exploits of the valiant little voyager who speaks to animals and enjoys a unique place in an exotic world is a decades-long celebration of joyously gentle, marvellously moving and enticingly entertaining adventure, honouring and eulogising an iconic culture with grace, wit, wonder and especially humour.

These gentle sagas are true landmarks of comics literature and Yakari is a strip no fan of graphic entertainment should ignore.
Original edition © 1978 Le Lombard/Dargaud by Derib & Job. English translation 2006 © Cinebook Ltd.