Now Read This!

June 25, 2013June 24, 2013

Asterix and the Great Divide, Asterix and the Black Gold, Asterix and Son

By Uderzo, translated by Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge (Orion Books and others)
ISBNs: 978-0-75284-773-3, 978-0-75284-774-0 and 978-0-75284-775-7

Alberto Aleandro Uderzo was born on April 25^th 1927, in Fismes, on the Marne, son of Italian immigrants. As a child reading Mickey Mouse in Le PÃ©tit Parisien he dreamed of becoming an aircraft mechanic and showed artistic flair from an early age. Albert became a French citizen when he was seven and found employment at 13, apprenticed to the Paris Publishing Society, where he learned design, typography, calligraphy and photo retouching.

When WWII broke out he spent time with farming relatives in Brittany and joined his father’s furniture-making business. Brittany beguiled and fascinated Uderzo: when a location for Asterix’s idyllic village was being mooted the region was the only choice.

In the post-war rebuilding of France Uderzo returned to Paris and became a successful artist in the country’s burgeoning comics industry. His first published work, a pastiche of Aesop’s Fables, appeared in Junior, and in 1945 he was introduced to industry giant Edmond-FranÃ§ois Calvo (whose own masterpiece The Beast is Dead is long overdue for a new editionâ€¦).

The tireless Uderzo’s subsequent creations included the indomitable eccentric Clopinard, Belloy, l’InvulnÃ©rable, Prince Rollin and Arys Buck. He illustrated Em-RÃ©-Vil’s novel Flamberge, worked in animation, as a journalist and illustrator for France Dimanche, and created the vertical comicstrip ‘Le Crime ne Paie pas’ for France-Soir. In 1950 he illustrated a few episodes of the franchised European version of Fawcett’s Captain Marvel Jr. for Bravo!

An inveterate traveller, the prodigy met Rene Goscinny in 1951. Soon fast friends, they decided to work together at the new Paris office of Belgian Publishing giant World Press. Their first collaboration was in November of that year; a feature piece on savoir vivre (how to live right or gracious living) for women’s weekly Bonnes SoirÃ©e, after which an avalanche of splendid strips and serials poured forth.

Jehan Pistolet and Luc Junior were created for La Libre Junior and they produced a western starring a Red Indian who eventually evolved into the delightfully infamous Oumpah-Pah. In 1955 with the formation of Ã‰difrance/Ã‰dipresse, Uderzo drew Bill Blanchart for La Libre Junior, replaced Christian Godard on Benjamin et Benjamine and in 1957 added Charlier’s Clairette to his portfolio.

The following year later, he made his debut in Tintin, as Oumpah-Pah finally found a home and a rapturous audience. Uderzo also drew Poussin et Poussif, La Famille Moutonet and La Famille Cokalane.

When Pilote launched in 1959 Uderzo was a major creative force for the new magazine collaborating with Charlier on Tanguy et Laverdure and launching with Goscinny a little something called Asterixâ€¦

Although Asterix was a massive hit from the start, Uderzo continued working on Les Aventures de Tanguy et Laverdure, but soon after the first adventure was collected as AstÃ©rix le gaulois in 1961 it became clear that the series would demand most of his time – especially as the incredible Goscinny never seemed to require rest or run out of ideas.

By 1967 the strip occupied all Uderzo’s time and attention, so in 1974 the partners formed IdÃ©fix Studios to fully exploit their inimitable creation. When Goscinny passed away three years later, Uderzo had to be convinced to continue the adventures as writer and artist, producing a further ten volumes until 2010 when he retired.

After nearly 15 years as a weekly comic strip subsequently collected into compilations, in 1974 the 21st tale (Asterix and Caesar’s Gift) was the first to be published as a complete original album before being serialised. Thereafter each new release was a long anticipated, eagerly awaited treat for the strip’s millions of fansâ€¦

According to UNESCO’s Index Translationum, Uderzo is the tenth most-often translated French-language author in the world and the third most-translated French language comics author – right after his old mate RenÃ© Goscinny and the grand master HergÃ©.

More than 325 million copies of 34 Asterix books have sold worldwide, making his joint creators France’s best-selling international authors. There is even the tantalising yet frightening promise of a new volume sometime this October by replacement creative team Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conradâ€¦

One of the most popular comics features on Earth, the collected chronicles of Asterix the Gaul have been translated into more than 100 languages since his debut, with twelve animated and live-action movies, TV series, assorted games, toys, merchandise and even a theme park outside Paris (Parc AstÃ©rix, naturellement)â€¦

So what’s it all about?

Like all the best stories the premise works on more than one level: read it as an action-packed comedic romp of sneaky and bullying baddies coming a cropper if you want or as a punfully sly and witty satire for older, wiser heads. We Brits are further blessed by the brilliantly light touch of master translators Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge who played no small part in making the indomitable little Gaul so very palatable to English tongues.

More than half of the canon occurs on Uderzo’s beloved Brittany coast, where, circa 50 B.C., a small village of cantankerous, proudly defiant warriors and their families resisted every effort of the mighty Roman Empire to complete the conquest of Gaul. The land had been divided by the conquerors into the provinces of Celtica, Aquitania and Amorica, but the very tip of the latter just refused to be pacifiedâ€¦

The remaining epics occur in various locales throughout the Ancient World, where the Garrulous Gallic Gentlemen visited every fantastic land and corner of the civilisations that proliferated in that fabled eraâ€¦

When the heroes were playing at home, the Romans, unable to defeat the last bastion of Gallic insouciance, futilely resorted to a policy of absolute containment. Thus the little seaside hamlet was permanently hemmed in by the heavily fortified garrisons of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium.

The Gauls couldn’t care less: daily defying the world’s greatest military machine simply by going about their everyday affairs, protected by the magic potion of resident druid Getafix and the shrewd wits of the diminutive dynamo and his simplistic, supercharged best friend Obelixâ€¦

Firmly established as a global brand and premium French export by the mid-1960s, Asterix the Gaul continued to grow in quality as Goscinny & Uderzo toiled ever onward, crafting further fabulous sagas; building a stunning legacy of graphic excellence and storytelling gold. Moreover, following the civil unrest and nigh-revolution in French society following the Paris riots of 1968, the tales took on an increasingly acerbic tang of trenchant satire and pithy socio-political commentaryâ€¦

By the time this edition was released Goscinny had been gone for three years and Uderzo soldiered on aloneâ€¦

Asterix and the Great Divide was the 25^th volume, released in 1980 as Le Grand FossÃ©, which was in many ways something of departure and a stylistic compromise.

In another Gaulish village internecine strife is brewing. Political rivals Cleverdix and Majestix have split the sleepy hamlet down the middle with an election for chief which ended in a dead tie. They then made the figurative literal by having a huge trench dug through the centre of town, cutting the place in two, with the population resolved into uncompromising Leftists and stubborn Rightistsâ€¦

It’s a tragedy in many ways, with friends and families split into feuding camps, but the most heartrending separation concerns dashing Histrionix, son of Leftist Cleverdix and his one true love Melodrama, daughter of Majestix. Their warring sires refuse to concede or compromise and that simmering Cold War has frustrated their children’s happiness foreverâ€¦

The lover’s pleas cannot move either deadlocked party leader and the intolerable situation is further exacerbated by the insidious, coldly calculating advisor to Majestix who secretly eggs on the old warrior for his own purposes.

Wily toady Codfix‘s latest idea is to get their Roman overlords to intervene, installing Majestix as sole ruler by force. In return Codfix would be given Melodrama in marriage. Of course that would make him next in line for the ruler’s position. Codfix is both patient and ambitiously far-sightedâ€¦

When Melodrama learns of the plan she immediately informs Histrionix and the prince tells Cleverdix – who knows full well he cannot resist the overwhelming might of the Romans. The former soldier then remembers an old war-buddy who still successfully resists the conquerors. His name is Vitalstatistixâ€¦

As Histrionix heroically dashes to the village of Indomitable Gauls – he does everything heroically – Codfix has gone to the local garrison with his request. Centurion Umbrageous Cumulonimbus however, has his own problems: discipline is lax and the soldiers are grumbling because of the menial chores they are forced to perform. Codfix has the perfect solution. If the Romans put Rightist Majestix in charge they could take the pacified Leftists as slavesâ€¦

In the meantime Histronix has returned with Vitalstatistix’ best men. Asterix, Obelix and Getafix the Druid are discussing the matter with Cleverdix when Roman soldiers arrive. Codfix however has overstepped himself and underestimated the nobility of Majestixâ€¦

The doughty Rightist refuses to let any Gaul be enslaved – even political opponents – so the uncaring Romans grab him and his followers instead. Impressed with his rival’s integrity, Cleverdix accepts Asterix’ offer of assistance and our heroes infiltrate the garrison as volunteer slaves using an elixir that revitalises the body but causes a touch of amnesiaâ€¦

Having fun by exploiting these new Romans’ ignorance of their true identities, the heroes feed the imprisoned Gauls soup fortified with the Druid’s strength potion before Asterix and Obelix lead a mass breakout which soon finds the prisoners back in their divided hamlet but no closer to an amicable resolution.

And both sides know that the Romans will soon come, eager for revengeâ€¦

Codfix has wisely stayed with the garrison and found the last of Getafix’ elixir, left behind during the liberation. When he sneaks back into the village he also discovers a fresh batch of power-potion whipped up in advance of the impending attack and steals it.

The next day the Gauls wake to find the invaders marching upon them, fortified by the elixir which has erased the punishing memory of their recent defeat, and super-charged by the power potion.

Left with nothing but Obelix and Gaulish courage, the villagers unite to fight and fall with honour but are astonished when a bizarre series of transformations wrack the potion-powered Romans. It takes a long time to become a Druid and apparently the first thing you learn is to never mix potionsâ€¦

Codfix has used the distraction to kidnap Melodrama. Demanding ransom and safe passage he has not reckoned on Histrionix’ determination, Asterix’ ingenuity or Obelix’ strength and – after a climactic confrontation involving our luckless Pirates – gets what’s coming to himâ€¦

With the Romans routed and Codfix suitably punished, Cleverdix and Majestix settle their differences with a traditional Gaulish duel after which someone else becomes chief of the reunified village. The former divide is transformed into an appropriate symbol of their unity and life goes on happilyâ€¦

Asterix and the Great Divide was devised by Uderzo as a critique on current affairs and metaphorical attack on the Berlin Wall which had, since 1961, split the city physically, Europe symbolically and the world ideologically. His earnest tale was more dramatic and action-oriented than previous Asterix fare, with the regulars frequently reduced to subordinate roles, but for all that there are still cunning laughs and wry buffoonery in welcome amounts.

Asterix and the Black Gold (L’OdyssÃ©e d’AstÃ©rix) debuted in 1981 and again saw Asterix and Obelix undertake a long voyage into the unknown, rife with bold adventure and underpinned by topical lampooning and timeless swingeing satire.

The 26^th saga begins with a brace of wild boar demonstrating that they were canny opponents for the voracious Obelix. Whenever the gigantic Gaul spotted these particular pigs in his daily hunts they would evade him by leading him to the nearest Roman patrol. The only thing Obelix loved more than eating pork was bashing Romansâ€¦

Back in RomeJulius Caesar is livid. He’s just received news that the insufferable, indomitable Gauls have been training wild boars to lead Roman patrols into Gaulish ambushesâ€¦

The raging ruler’s continued attempts to end the aggravating resistance always fail and in a fit of fury he charges his chief of the Roman Secret Service M.I.VI (geddit?) with ending his galling Gallic grief – or elseâ€¦

M. Devius Surreptitius has just the man for the job. Dubbelosix is of Gaulish-Roman extraction and has, by persistence and deviousness, qualified as a Druid. He is charming, wily, debonair and comes with a host of cunning hidden gadgets – and he’s also the spitting image of Sean Conneryâ€¦

Dispatched on a mission to stop the French resisting, Dubbelosix is secretly working with his boss M to supplant Caesar, but also harbours ambitions to rule Rome alone â€¦but first he has to destroy the infernal Gauls. His chance comes almost as soon as he arrives in that little villageâ€¦

Getafix is in a near-panic. The Druid has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Phoenician merchant Ekonomikrisis who is bringing a vital ingredient for the magic potion which keeps the Romans at bay. When the ship at last arrives and the peddler apologises for forgetting the fabled rock oil, the highly strung Getafix has a fit and passes out.

Luckily a young Druid dubbed Dubbelosix is passing and, after a minor skirmish with a Roman patrol, accompanies Asterix and Obelix back to their comatose friendâ€¦

The spy might be a double agent but he knows his stuff and soon cures the ailing Getafix, who explains that the generally useless black ooze from the Middle East is vital to the potion: without a fresh supply they are all doomed.

When Asterix and Obelix – and faithful hound Dogmatix, of course – volunteer to obtain some of the crucial rock oil, Dubbelosix insists on going with them. But as they commandeer the Phoenician’s ship for the emergency mission, Getafix clandestinely warns Asterix to watch the too-good-to-be-true young Druidâ€¦

Expediting matters by selling off Ekonomikrisis’ wares at prices nobody – even Pirates – dares refuse, our heroes make their way to Mesopotamia, unaware that Dubbelosix, using his unique messaging service, has briefed Caesar and M to stop the ship at all costs.

After a succession of military vessels are sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean by the joyfully belligerent Gauls, the Ruler of the World is forced to change tactics and blockade all ports to prevent Asterix and Obelix from disembarking.

With time running out, Ekonomikrisis eventually sneaks the Gauls and Dubbelosix ashore in distant Judea and the trio travel overland to Jerusalem where they are befriended by the locals who have no love for the Romans. The oppressors are always just one step behind the voyagers, though. It is as if someone is telling them every time they alter their plansâ€¦

After a memorable night in a village called Bethlehem, the Hebrews’ attempt to smuggle the Gauls into Jerusalem is sabotaged by Dubbelosix. However the Middle Eastern garrisons have never seen fighters like Asterix and Obelix and the doughty heroes escape, leaving the scurrilous double agent behind.

With time running out at home and no word of the fate of their friends the Gauls are hidden by friendly merchants, and learn that the Romans have seized and burned all the rock oil in the city – and probably the entire region. Their only chance to secure some of the previously worthless black goo is to get it from the source – in Babylon, where it just seeps out of the groundâ€¦

Assisted by brave, helpful guide Saul ben Ephishul (a loving visual tribute to Uderzo’s deeply-missed partner RenÃ© Goscinny, who was Jewish) Asterix and Obelix undertake another perilous journey into the deep desert, frolicking in the Dead Sea and encountering a procession on fanatical tribes all warring on each other for long-forgotten reasons in a savage lampoon of modern Middle East strifeâ€¦

Eventually though, the Gauls are completely lost; waterless and without hope under the scorching sun. However when little Dogmatix starts digging in the sand, the resultant oil gusher provides more than enough to buoy up their hopes and they battle on to rendezvous with Ekonomikrisis for a frantic return to Gaul.

Unfortunately, Dubbelosix has tracked them down again and has one last trick to playâ€¦

This return to the style and format of classic collaborations features hilarious comedy set-pieces, thrilling drama and a bitingly gentle assault on the madness of keeping ancient feuds alive, the intransigence of religious tensions and the madness of recurring oil crises; lampooning ideologies and dogmas whilst showing how great it is when people can just get along.

Fast, furious and funny-with-a-moral, this is one of the artist/author’s very best efforts and even manages a double-shock ending…

Asterix and Son was released in 1983, the 27^th saga and another unconventional step off the well-worn path as it touched on a rather touchy subjectâ€¦

One particularly fine morning in the Village of Indomitable Gauls Asterix and Obelix awake to discover someone has left a baby in a basket on their doorstep. Nonplussed and bewildered they try to care for the infant – much to the horror of the local cows who would be delighted to provide sustenance if milked in a normal manner – but human tongues in the village are beginning to wagâ€¦

Things only get worse after the feisty tyke develops a taste for magic potion and somehow keeps finding new supplies of itâ€¦

Determined to clear his name and find the boy’s real parents, Asterix begins his investigations at the four Roman Garrisons, even as Crismus Cactus, Prefect of Gaul begins a suspiciously sudden emergency census of the local villagesâ€¦

Hyper-charged on potion, the baby keeps getting out and following Asterix and Obelix, who discover that the Romans seem to be looking for one child in particularâ€¦

After a painful encounter with our heroes, Crismus Cactus retires to his villa where a VIP from Rome is waiting. Marcus Junius Brutus is Caesar’s adopted son and is most insistent that the mystery baby is found and turned over to him – even if he has to raze all Gaul to achieve his aimâ€¦

The infant in question is still causing trouble for the villagers and Brutus marshals an army near the isolated hamlet, successfully confirming the child’s location with a rather inept spy. The kid’s treatment of the intruder prompts Asterix to seek out a nanny, but as the village women are still suspicious and condemnatory, he hires a rather unsavoury stranger named Aspidistra for the taskâ€¦

This causes even more vicious tongue-wagging amongst the Gaulish women, who assume the worst of both her and Asterix. Inexplicably nobody notices the ferocious childminder’s astonishing resemblance to the Prefect of Gaulâ€¦

Unfortunately once Crismus has successfully infiltrated the village he can’t get out again, and spends a punishing time amusing the infant horror until his nerve breaks. Out of patience, Brutus then attacks with the full might of Rome, torching the village and bombarding it with catapults.

As the men tank up on potion and counterattack, the village women head for the beach, but Brutus, willing to sacrifice his entire army, is waiting and grabs the babyâ€¦

As soon as the Roman Legions are crushed Asterix and Obelix return and discover what has occurred. Filled with rage they set off in deadly pursuit and save the child just in time for his real mother and father to arrive. Two of the most powerful people in the world, they are extremely angry with somebodyâ€¦

Laced with a dark and savage core, this rollicking rollercoaster ride combines tragedy with outrageous slapstick, transforming historical facts into a compelling comedy-drama that is both delightful and genuinely scary in placesâ€¦

Stuffed with sly pokes and good-natured joshing, featuring famous caricatures to tease older readers whilst the raucous, bombastic, bellicose hi-jinks and fast-paced action astounds and bemuses the younger set, these tales all celebrate the spectacular illustrative ability of Uderzo and prove that the potion-powered paragon of Gallic Pride was in safe and steady hands.

If you still haven’t experienced this sublime slice of French polish and graphic Ã©lan there’s no better time than nowâ€¦
Â© 1980-1983 Goscinny/Uderzo. Revised English translation Â© 2002 Hachette. All rights reserved.

June 24, 2013June 23, 2013

World War Z – the Art of the Film

By various (Titan Books)
ISBN: 978-178116-885-1

Regular readers will know that I’ve never been the biggest fan of zombie fiction but occasionally something comes along that compels me to re-evaluate my position. Such was Max Brooks’ 2009 companion to his excellent novel World War Z released as The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks â€“ a truly mind-boggling piece of graphic indulgence.

Now in the interests of completeness – and because those fine people at Titan Books sent me a review copy – I’m putting you wise to the official film-book which accompanies the blockbuster movie adaptation that resulted from the aforementioned paeans to the unliving and unlovedâ€¦

This should be interesting for all of us as I haven’t seen the movie yetâ€¦

Max Brooks is a successful actor and screenwriter (most notably as part of the team scripting Saturday Night Live, and animation aficionados might recognize his name from the voice credits of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Batman Beyond and Justice League. You’ve probably laughed at a lot of his dad’s movies such as High Anxiety, Young Frankenstein and the first version of the Producers.

Brooks the Younger’s wry, satirical re-imagining of those hoary shambling horror icons has captivated readers since the book’s release in 2003 and the long-awaited, much-delayed cinema release has been eagerly anticipatedâ€¦

The basic premise of this specific Rise of the Living Dead posits that a virus is responsible for the fall of civilisation. The infection can be found in every corner of the Earth, and it sure looks like Apocalypse Nowâ€¦

This epic – 160 pages and 272 x 214mm – paperback volume reprints the shooting script (complete and correct at time of going to press) liberally illustrated and intercut with photographic stills, production art, storyboard sequences, computer modelling pieces and concept illustrations by Seth EngstrÃ¶m, Kim Frederickson, Robbie Consing and others, peppered with quotes from cast, production crew, scripters and director Marc Forster.

The global setting and the journey of nominal protagonist Gerry Lane is visually divided into a ‘Prologue’ and key locations from the picture as the hero experiences and explores the Z-zone of ‘Philadelphia’ – paying particular attention to the fact that our own war zone of Glasgow substituted for the â€œCity of Brotherly Loveâ€ – plus critical clashes in an ‘EZ Save’ supermarket and the ‘Newark Projects’, all ably augmented by Consign’s designs and storyboards.

Other key scenes encompass a ragtag naval ‘Flotilla’ that might be humanity’s last refuge, glimpses of lost ‘Korea’, the battle for ‘Jerusalem’ and the last retreat to ‘Wales’ before a final illuminative section hands over commentary to Special Effects wizards Andrew R. Jones, Alex Reynolds, Simon Crane, Simon Atherton and Scott Farrar who reveal the secrets of making ‘Zombies’ real, building the ‘Tools’ to kill them again and the magic of ‘Shooting Greenscreen’â€¦

For the technically minded there’s also a full list of Acknowledgements to round off your brush with deathâ€¦

Always the most engaging publishing add-ons to motion picture releases, such â€œArt ofâ€¦â€ compendia are as much a part of the fun these days as popcorn and gum under your seats.Â This book is both intriguing and pretty: enticing and genuinely informative enough to keep any fan happy. It might even convince me to watch the filmâ€¦.
World War Z â„¢ and Â© 2013 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

June 23, 2013June 21, 2013

Man of Steel – Inside the Legendary World of Superman

By Daniel Wallace with photographs by Clay Enos (Insight Studios/Titan Books)
ISBN: 978-178116-817-2

Always foremost amongst the fascinating publishing add-ons to accompany major fantasy motion picture releases are the â€œArt ofâ€¦â€ compendiums, and the terrific oversized (286 x 240 x 22mm) hardcover tome which supports the new Man of Steel film is both gloriously enticing and genuinely informative.

Author Daniel Wallace has compiled an eye-popping mix of production art, panoramic stills, pre-production designs and concept paintings gleaned from the various art departments and combined them with behind-the-scenes interviews, commentary and colour to produce a celebratory coffee-table art-book that is absolutely breathtaking.

After a Foreword by producer Christopher Nolan and Introduction from director Zack Snyder, ‘Modern Day Mythmaking’ reveals how the project came about with ‘Making it Happen’ and ‘Making it Real’, further disclosing the secrets of ‘The Suit’ before closing with the film’s philosophical mission statement in ‘Superman VÃ©ritÃ©’.

The all-important ‘Casting Man of Steel’ explores and examines the actors, roles and thinking of the vast and stellar cast over nearly thirty electrifying pages, paying great attention to the costumes and designs of a scenario and society such as Superman fans have never seen before.

That imagination overload continues into ‘Welcome to Krypton’, highlighting ‘Kandor’ and ‘The Kryptonian Chamber’ before digressing onto a page dedicated to ‘Speaking Kryptonian’ (in my day it was â€œKryptoneseâ€ but that’s my own personal digression-lite), after which the visual secrets of ‘The Ruling Council’, ‘Crafted Technology’ and ‘Automated Helpmates’ bring the planet’s robotic excesses to astounding life.

Now a ravaged, worn-torn world, Krypton’s martial advances are spotlighted in ‘Armed for Battle’ whilst ‘The House of El’, ‘Flora and Fauna’ and ‘The Genesis Chamber’ readily inform and expand on the unworldly realities of the lost planet and Superman’s history.

Further visualisations and revelations depict ‘Last Hope’, the awesomely appalling ‘Black Zero’, ‘The Dead Colonies’ long-abandoned by Krypton, and explain how the film designers attempted ‘Communicating with Contours’ before concluding with views of the pivotal ‘Scout Ship’ that changed Clark Kent’s life foreverâ€¦

Locations and sets star in ‘Welcome to Earth’, with specific attention paid to the hero-in-waiting’s ‘Northern Journeys’, ‘Smallville’, Earth’s military bastion ‘U.S. Northcom’ and of course, ‘Metropolis’ before the epic exploration ends with a heartfelt appreciation of ‘The Heart of the Legend’â€¦

Admittedly Inside the Legendary World of Superman was released to cash-in on the long-awaited movie, but this utterly engrossing picture-treat is such a superb slice of sheer imaginative indulgence no fan of film or funnybooks will want to miss out on such a marvellously magical experience.
Â© 2013 DC Comics. MAN OF STEEL, SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements â„¢ and Â© DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

June 22, 2013June 22, 2013

Man of Steel – the Official Movie Novelization

By Greg Cox (Titan Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78116-599-7 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â E-book edition ISBN: 978-1-78116-600-0

As you might have noticed, there’s another Superman movie hitting big screens at the moment and, as is the norm, the movie blockbuster comes with all the usual attendant extras.

Released a week after the premiere of Man of Steel, the Official Movie Novelization recapitulates that tale in an absorbing 320 page paperback – sadly sans any illustrations – for fans of a literary bent, duly expanding the breathtaking visual experience in the adroit, incisive way specialist author Greg Cox has made his own.

Don’t take my word for it: check his adaptations of films such as the Underworld trilogy, Daredevil, Ghost Rider or The Dark Knight Rises, comics series such as Infinite Crisis, Countdown, Final Crisis amongst others, as well as his legion of cult media tie-ins and comics-related booksâ€¦

Spoiler Alert: since almost everybody alive knows the mythos of Superman by now and the whole point of this latest movie is to reinterpret, reinvigorate and reinstate that legend, I’m going to manfully restrain myself from outlining the plot of this engaging prose package in anything but the vaguest detail, in case you haven’t seen the stunning visual tour de force yet.

Krypton dies and scientific rebels Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van send their newborn son to another world to escape its destruction. However a goodly portion of film and book concentrate on the fabulous, uncanny and war-torn planet where Jor-El struggles with former friend and desperate terrorist General Zod as each strives to preserve Krypton in their diametrically opposed ways, so you won’t be reading about the child of two worlds until chapter sevenâ€¦

A ship lands in Kansas, years pass and strange, anonymous miracles occurâ€¦

A young reporter begins to chart these odd occurrences.

Another star-craft is found, buried millennia-deep in polar iceâ€¦

And one day a ghastly extraterrestrial war-craft comes to Earth, full of deadly super-beings hunting someone called Kal-Elâ€¦

Full of sly in-joke nods to previous comics, film and TV iterations and littered with those arcane snippets of lore beloved by seasoned fans, this engaging yarn, based on the original screenplay by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, adds some depth to the frantic on-screen spectacle and will delight every Superman that loves to curl up with a good book.

June 21, 2013June 20, 2013

Superman: Transformed!

By Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Louise Simonson, Jon Bogdanove, Scott Eaton, Ron Frenz, Tom Grummett, Ron Lim, Paul Ryan, Dennis Janke, JosÃ© MarzÃ¡n Jr, Denis Rodier & Josef Rubinstein (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-406-0

The Man of Steel has proven to be all things to most fans during his 75-year existence so, with the character currently undertaking his latest radical shake-up, what better time to spotlight one of the strangest and most controversial refits of Superman ever conceived?Â Although largely out of favour these days as all the myriad decades of accrued mythology are inexorably re-assimilated into an overarching all-inclusive multi-media film-favoured continuity, the stripped-down, gritty post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Man of Tomorrow as re-imagined by John Byrne, and marvellously built upon by a succession of immensely talented comics craftsmen, resulted in some stunning highs and lows.

The fan in me loathed this â€œstuntâ€ at the time, but the seemingly desperate attempt to keep reader attention high at all costs now reads rather well and offers genuine moments of sheer Fight’s ‘n’ Tights magic – especially in the stunning combat sequencesâ€¦.

Almost as soon as the Byrne restart had stripped away much of the mythology and iconography which had grown up around the Strange Visitor from Another World over fifty glorious years, successive creative teams spent a great deal of time and ingenuity putting much of it back, albeit in terms more accessible to a cynical and well-informed audience far more sophisticated than their grandparents ever were.

Thus as a notional tip of the hat to the legendary imaginary story ‘The Amazing Story of Superman–Red and Superman–Blue’! from Superman volume 1, #162, July 1963 this strange transformation occurredâ€¦

Collecting Superman volume 2, #119, 122-123, Adventures of Superman #542, 545, Action Comics #729, 732 and Superman: Man of Steel # 64 and 67 (from January and April 1997) this hyper-charged thriller reads best if taken in conjunction with a working knowledge of the characters, but newcomers can soon get up to speed by paying attention to the carefully administered snatches of expository dialogue and the handy â€œPreviouslyâ€ prose pageâ€¦

When an inter-cosmic Sun Eater devoured our life-giving star, Earth was plunged into a sudden and catastrophic Big Freeze. The ultimate sacrifice by a hero-turned-villain ended the â€œFinal Nightâ€ by reigniting Sol, but not before Superman, unceasingly battling to the limits of his strength, utterly exhausted his body’s solar-charged power and became no more than merely mortalâ€¦

Now as ‘Sunburned!’ (Superman #119 by Dan Jurgens, Ron Frenz & Joe Rubenstein) opens, the all-too human Clark Kent at last admits that his abilities are not returning, even as a squad of time-displaced teenagers from a millennium away also struggle to find their proper placeâ€¦

Man of Tomorrow and Legion of Super-Heroes stumble over each other whilst breaking into Lex Luthor‘s citadel of science and, with the cautious consequence-drenched assistance of the Wickedest Man in the World, borrow a spaceship to take Superman to the Sun and â€“ hopefully – a massive solar booster shot.

The attempt fails and the Metropolis Marvel, forced to fight crime as a powerless mortal, is compelled to take even more drastic measures in Adventures of Superman #542. ‘Power Trip!’ (Karl Kesel, Paul Ryan & JosÃ© MarzÃ¡n Jr.) has him turn his secret problem over to the scientists of clandestine Genetic Research Project Cadmus. Unfortunately their facility is in trouble too as spoiled, fun-loving, bratty metahuman genius Misa has infiltrated the factory of wonders with her incredible gadgets, looking to make a little mean-spirited mischiefâ€¦

After the Project barely survives her devastating pranks, all Security supremo Guardian can do is offer Superman transport to the Antarctic Fortress of Solitude where the former Man of Steel has stored many super-scientific devices from shattered Kryptonâ€¦

Action Comics #729 follows that voyage to its disastrous conclusion as a massive electrical disturbance brings Superman crashing into the polar vastness far short of his goal. ‘Generator X!’ by David Michelinie, Tom Grummett & Denis Rodier, sees him rescued by research scientists who expected help with their own dilemma – a real job for Supermanâ€¦

Whilst probing the Earth’s mantle they had unleashed a semi-sentient energy force which was periodically ravaging their base, and even though powerless, Kal-El valiantly led the battle to get rid of it. Tragically the only thing that could hold the ephemeral entity was Superman’s depleted Kryptonian body…

After eventually expelling the energy-beast into space, Superman arrived at his Fortress and rendezvoused with friend and technical advisor Professor Emil Hamilton, but even alien science was unable to fix his power-problems. Moreover, odd electrical anomalies kept occurring. Appliances short-circuited and even the trans-dimensional barrier around the Bottle City of Kandor flickered in un-Superman’s presenceâ€¦

Suddenly the despondent defender was urgently summoned by New Gods Mister Miracle and Big Barda with a crisis of cosmic proportions that only Superman could handleâ€¦

‘Into the Fire!’ (by Louise Simonson, Ron Lim & Dennis Janke from Superman: Man of Steel #64) saw Kal-El help to investigate an uncanny mystery which had smashed the antithetical worlds of Apokolips and New Genesis together and stolen the memories of Metron, God of Knowledge. The incredible solution involved a deadly trip into the heart of our sun which inexplicably restored Superman’s full powers.

Those odd electrical events kept happening thoughâ€¦

The second section of this collection features tales from a few months later – most of the intervening events having been separately collected in Superman vs. The Revenge Squad! – as the annoying sparks and short circuits around the Man of Steel slowly intensifyâ€¦

Superman #122 revealed ‘The Kandor Connection’ (Jurgens, Frenz & Rubenstein) wherein hyper-powered rebel Ceritak agonises and acts out against his imprisonment. This version of Kandor was an enclave of thousands of alien captives, enslaved by a marauding tyrant named Tolos and penned in a pocket-dimension. Although Superman had liberated Kandor from the intergalactic body-snatcher, he was unable to restore the inhabitants and, after establishing the container in his Fortress, left them alone to forge their own multi-species society in enforced isolationâ€¦

Now however as Ceritak’s petulant rages become a menace to everybody, in the outer universe Superman and Lois have come to the Fortress to assess the Man of Steel’s latest symptoms. During a fight against thugs in Metropolis, Superman became intangible and a bystander was wounded by a bullet that passed through, rather than bounced off himâ€¦

When it happens again in the Fortress, Superman phases through the impenetrable dimensional walls of Kandor, and Ceritak – seizing a chance in billion – latches on to his energy wake as the hero struggles back to Earthâ€¦

Oblivious to the fact, Lois and Clark return to America only to discover something is terribly wrong: Superman is turning into an explosive, out of control generator of deadly lightningâ€¦

The calamity continues in ‘Power Crisis!’ (Adventures of Superman #545 by Kesel, Scot Eaton & MarzÃ¡n Jr.) with the horrified hero blinking in and about of existence, emitting shattering blasts of radiation, materialising all over Earth and agonisingly bombarded by new senses, perceptions and sensations.

Barely able to move without causing disasters, Clark is helpless when delusional maniac Atomic Skull kidnaps Lois. The embattled hero then suffers another terrifying transfiguration – into a blazing being of blue white energy.

Battling the nuclear madman in this state, Superman loses and is apparently dispersed into nothingnessâ€¦

He recondenses in Antarctica in Action Comics #732, gaining enough control to teleport back to Metropolis in time to team-up with his former adversary and prevent a radioactive catastrophe in ‘The Saving Skull’ (Michelinie, Grummett & Rodier).

Meanwhile the blockbusting Ceritak slowly makes his way towards the city and an inevitable showdownâ€¦

The clash came in Superman: Man of Steel #67 and ‘Say Goodbye to That Costumeâ€¦’ (Simonson, Jon Bogdanove & Janke) as the ferocious fight pits Ceritak – dubbed Scorn by the uncomprehending journalists on the scene – against a blazing energy avatar that used to be Superman.

The monster’s immense strength and speed are easily the equal of the bizarre battery of new abilities exhibited by the mutated Man of Power – electrical blasts, intangibility, magnetic bursts and much more. The pointless, futile fight ultimately leaves Scorn crushed and the Metropolis Marvel on the edge of a final, fatal dispersalâ€¦

In Superman #123, with her husband on the verge of extinction, Lois rallies friends and foes alike for a last-ditch attempt to save the valiant voltaic hero. In a desperate race against time and with only Clark’s indomitable willpower holding him together, Hamilton and S.T.A.R. Labs’ chief Kitty Faulkner – suspiciously assisted by Lex Luthor – build a suit to contain and channel those volatile forces.

This allows a ‘Supermanâ€¦ Reborn!’ Jurgens, Frenz & Rubenstein) to begin a new phase in his â€œNever-ending Struggleâ€ and begin a year of astounding adventures the likes of which fans had never seen.

Clever drama, spectacular action and rollercoaster pace, coupled with the usual high standard of character interplay, all underscore this much-maligned but hugely enjoyable diversion in the amazing life of Superman and this saga is truly deserving of a second look and honest reappraisal.

A British Titan Books edition is also readily available from on-line sellers.
Â© 1997, 1998 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

June 20, 2013June 22, 2013

Barnaby volume 1: 1942-1943

By Crockett Johnson (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-522-8

This is one of those books that’s worthy of two reviews, so if you’re in a hurryâ€¦

Buy Barnaby now â€“ it’s one of the most wonderful strips of all time and this superb hardcover compilation has lots of fascinating extras. If you harbour any yearnings for the lost joys of childish glee you would be crazy to miss this bookâ€¦

However, if you’re still here and need a little more time to decideâ€¦

As long ago as August 2007 I whined that one of the greatest comic strips of all time was criminally out of print and in desperate need of a major deluxe re-issue. So, as if by the magic of a fine Panatellaâ€¦ Cushlamocree! Here it isâ€¦

Today’s newspapers have precious few continuity drama or adventure strips. Indeed, if a paper has any strips – as opposed to single panel editorial cartoons – at all, chances are they will be of the episodic variety typified by Jim Davis’ Garfield or Scott Adams’ Dilbert.

You might describe these as single-idea pieces with a set-up, delivery and punch-line, all rendered in a sparse, pared-down-to-basics drawing style. In that they’re nothing new.

Narrative impetus comes from the unchanging characters themselves, and a building of gag-upon-gag in extended themes. The advantage to the newspaper is obvious. If you like a strip it encourages you to buy the paper. If you miss a day or two, you can return fresh at any time having, in real terms, missed nothing.

Such was not always the case, especially in America. Once upon a time the Daily â€œfunnyâ€ – comedic or otherwise – was a crucial circulation builder and preserver, with lush, lavish and magnificently rendered fantasies or romances rubbing shoulders with thrilling, moody masterpieces of crime, war, sci-fi and everyday melodrama. Even the legion of humour strips actively strived to maintain an avid, devoted following.

And eventually there was Barnaby which in so many ways bridged the gap between then and now.

On April 20th 1942, with America at war for the second in 25 years, the liberal New York tabloid PM began running a new, sweet little kid’s strip which was also the most whimsically addicting, socially seditious and ferociously smart satire since the creation of Al Capp’s Li’l Abner – another complete innocent left to the mercy of scurrilous worldly influencesâ€¦

The outlandish 4-panel Daily, by Crockett Johnson, was the product of a man who didn’t particularly care for comics, but who – according to celebrated strip historian Ron Goulart – just wanted steady employmentâ€¦

David Johnson Leisk (October 20^th 1906-July 11^th 1975) was an ardent socialist, passionate anti-fascist, gifted artisan and brilliant designer who had spent much of his working life as a commercial artist, Editor and Art Director.

Born in New York City and raised in the outer borough of Queens when it was still semi-rural – very near the slag heaps which would eventually house two New York World’s Fairs in Flushing Meadows – Leisk studied art at Cooper Union (for the Advancement of Science and Art) and New York University before leaving early to support his widowed mother. This entailed embarking upon a hand-to-mouth career drawing and constructing department-store advertising.

He supplemented his income with occasional cartoons to magazines such as Collier’s before becoming an Art Editor at magazine publisher McGraw-Hill. He also began producing a moderately successful, â€œsilentâ€ strip called The Little Man with the Eyes.

Johnson had divorced his first wife in 1939 and moved out of the city to Connecticut, sharing an ocean-side home with student (and eventual bride) Ruth Krauss, always looking to create that steady something when, almost by accident, he devised a masterpiece of comics narrativeâ€¦

However, if his friend Charles Martin hadn’t seen a prototype Barnaby half-page lying around the house, the series might never have existed. Happily Martin hijacked the sample and parlayed it into a regular feature in prestigious highbrow leftist tabloid PM simply by showing the scrap to the paper’s Comics Editor Hannah Baker.

Among her other finds was a strip by a cartoonist dubbed Dr. Seuss which would run contiguously in the same publication. Despite Johnson’s initial reticence, within a year Barnaby had become the new darling of the intelligentsiaâ€¦

Soon there were hard-back book collections, talk of a Radio show (in 1946 it was adapted as a stage play), rave reviews in Time, Newsweek and Life. The small but rabid fan-base ranged from politicians and the smart set such as President and First Lady Roosevelt, Vice-President Henry Wallace, Rockwell Kent, William Rose Benet and Lois Untermeyer to cool celebrities such as Duke Ellington, Dorothy Parker, W. C. Fields and even legendary New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia.

Of course the last two might only have checking the paper because the undisputed, unsavoury star of the show was a scurrilous if fanciful amalgam of themâ€¦

Not since George Herriman’s Krazy Kat had a piece of popular culture so infiltrated the halls of the mighty, whilst largely passing way over the heads of the masses and without troubling the Funnies sections of big circulation papers.

Over its 10-year run from April 1942 to February 1952, Barnaby was only syndicated to 64 papers nationally, with a combined circulation of just over five and a half million, but it kept Crockett (a childhood nickname) and Ruth in relative comfort whilst America’s Great and Good constantly agitated on the kid’s behalf.

This splendid collection opens with a hearty appreciation from Chris Ware in the Foreword before cartoonist and historian Jeet Heer provides a critical appraisal in ‘Barnaby and American Clear Line Cartooning’ after which the captivating yarn-spinning takes us from April 20^th 1942 to December 31^st 1943.

There’s even more elucidatory content after that, though, as education scholar and Professor of English Philip Nel provides a fact-filled, picture-packed ‘Afterword: Crockett Johnson and the Invention of Barnaby’, Dorothy Parker’s original ‘Mash Note to Crockett Johnson’ is reprinted in full, and Nel also supplies strip-by-strip commentary and background in ‘The Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men’s Chowder & Marching Society: a Handy Pocket Guide’â€¦

The real meat begins with ‘Mr. O’Malley Arrives’ which ran from 20^th-29^th April 1942, setting the ball rolling as a little boy wished one night for a Fairy Godmother and something strange and disreputable fell in through his windowâ€¦

Barnaby Baxter is a smart, ingenuous and scrupulously honest pre-schooler (four years old to you) and his ardent wish was to be an Air Raid Warden like his dad. Instead he was â€œadoptedâ€ by a short, portly, pompous, mildly unsavoury and wholly discreditable windbag with pink wings.

Jackeen J. O’Malley, card carrying-member of the Elves, Gnomes, Leprechauns and Little Men’s Chowder and Marching Society – although he hadn’t paid his dues in years – installed himself as the lad’s Fairy Godfather. A lazier, more self-aggrandizing, mooching old glutton and probable soak (he certainly frequented taverns but only ever raided the Baxter’s icebox, pantry and humidor, never their drinks cabinetâ€¦) could not be found anywhere.

Due more to intransigence than evidence – there’s always plenty of physical proof whenever O’Malley has been around – Barnaby’s father and mother adamantly refused to believe in the ungainly, insalubrious sprite, whose continued presence hopelessly complicated the sweet boy’s life.

The poor parents’ greatest abiding fear was that Barnaby was cursed with Too Much Imaginationâ€¦

In fact this entire glorious confection is about our relationship to imagination. This is not a strip about childhood fantasy. The theme here, beloved by both parents and children alike, is that grown-ups don’t listen to kids enough, and that they certainly don’t know everything.

Despite looking like a fraud – he never uses his magic and always has one of Dad’s stolen cigars as a substitute wand – O’Malley is the real deal: he’s just incredibly lazy, greedy, arrogant and inept. He does sort of grant Barnaby’s wish though, as his midnight travels in the sky trigger a full air raid alert in ‘Mr. O’Malley Takes Flight’ (30^th April-14^th May)â€¦

‘Mr. O’Malley’s Mishaps’ (15^th-28^th May) offer further insights into the obese elf’s character – or lack of same – as Barnaby continually failed to convince his folks of his newfound companion’s existence, and the bestiary expanded into a topical full-length adventure when the little guys stumbled onto a genuine Nazi plot with supernatural overtones in the hilariously outrageous ‘O’Malley vs. Ogre’ which ran from 29^th May to 31^st August.

‘Mr. O’Malley’s Malady’, 1^st-11^th September, dealt with the airborne oaf’s brief bout of amnesia, but as Mum and Dad thought their boy was acting up they took him to a child psychologist. However ‘The Doctor’s Analysis’ (12^th-24^th September) didn’t helpâ€¦

The war’s effect on the Home Front was an integral part of the strip and ‘Pop vs. Mr. O’Malley’ (25^th September-6^th October) and ‘The Test Blackout’ (7^th-16^th October) saw Mr. Baxter become chief Civil Defense Coordinator despite – not because – of the winged interloper, and suffer the usual personal humiliation.

There was plenty to go around and, when ‘The Invisible McSnoyd’ (17^th-31^st October) turned up, O’Malley got it all.

The Brooklyn Leprechaun, although unseen, was O’Malley’s personal gadfly, always offering harsh, ribald counterpoints and home truths to the Godfather’s self-laudatory pronouncements, and ‘The Pot of Gold’ (2^nd-20^th November) with which he perpetually taunted and tempted JJ provided a wealth of laughsâ€¦

When Barnaby won a scrap metal finding competition and was feted on radio, O’Malley co-opted ‘The Big Broadcast’ (21^st-28^th November) and brought chaos to the airwaves, but once again Mr. Baxter wouldn’t believe his senses. Dad’s situation only worsened after ‘The New Neighbors’ (30^th November-16^th December) moved in and little Jane Shultz also started candidly reporting Mr. O’Malley’s deeds and misadventuresâ€¦

Barnaby’s faith was only near-shaken when the Fairy Fool’s constant prevarications and procrastination meant Dad Baxter’s Christmas present arrived late. The Godfather did accidentally destroy an animal shelter though, so ‘Pop is Given a Dog’ (17^th-30^th December) concluded with a happy resolution of sortsâ€¦

A perfect indication of the wry humour that peppered the feature can be seen in ‘The Dog Can Talk’ which ran from 31^st December 1942 to 17^th January 1943. New pooch Gorgon could indeed converse – but never when the parents where around, and only then with such overwhelming dullness that everybody listening wished him as mute as all other muttsâ€¦

Playing in an old abandoned house (don’t you miss those days when kids could wander off for hours unsupervised by eagle-eyed, anxious parents – or even able to walk further than the length of a garden?) served to introduce Barnaby and Jane to ‘Gus, the Ghost’ (18^th January-4^th February) which in turn involved the entire ensemble with ration-busting thieves when they uncovered ‘The Hot Coffee Ring’ (5^th-27^th February). Barnaby was again hailed a public hero and credit to his neighbourhood, even as poor Dad stood back and stared, nonplussed and incredulous.

As Johnson continually expanded his gently bizarre cast of Gremlins, Ogres, Ghosts, Policemen, Spies, Black Marketeers, Talking Dogs and even Little Girls, all of whom could see O’Malley, the unyieldingly faithful little lad’s parents were always too busy and too certain that the Fairy Godfather and all his ilk were unhealthy, unwanted, juvenile fabrications.

With such a simple yet flexible formula Johnson made pure cartoon magic.

‘The Ghostwriter Moves In’ (1^st-11^th March) found Gus reluctantly relocate to the Baxter dwelling, where he was even less happy to be cajoled into typing out O’Malley’s odious memoirs and organising ‘The Testimonial Dinner’ (12^th March-2^nd April) for the swell-headed sprite at the Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men’s Chowder & Marching Society clubhouse and pool hallâ€¦

With the nation urged to plant food crops, ‘Barnaby’s Garden’ (3^rd-16^th April) debuted as a another fine example of the things O’Malley was (not) expert in, whilst ‘O’Malley and the Lion’ (17^th April-17^th May) found the kid offering sanctuary to a hirsute circus star even as the conniving cheroot-chewing cherub contemplated his â€œreturnâ€ to showbiz, after which ‘Atlas, the Giant’ (18^th May-3^rd June) wandered into the serial. At only 2 feet tall the pint sized colossus was not that impressiveâ€¦ until he got out his slide-rule and demonstrated that he was, in essence, a mental giantâ€¦

‘Gorgon’s Father’ (4^th June-10^th July) turned up to cause contretemps and consternation before disappearing again, after which Barnaby and Jane were packed off to ‘Mrs. Krump’s Kiddie Kamp’ (12^th July-13^th September) for vacation rest and the company of normal children.

Sadly, although the wise matron and her assistant never glimpsed O’Malley and Gus, all the other tykes and inmates were more than happy to see themâ€¦

Once the kids arrived back in Queens – Johnson had set the series in the streets where he’d grown up – the Fairy Fool was showing off his â€œmechanical aptitudeâ€ on a parked car with its engine wastefully running and broke the idling getaway car just in time to foil a robbery.

Implausibly overnight, he became an unseen and reclusive ‘Man of the Hour’ (14^th-18^th September) and preposterously translated that into a political career by accidentally becoming a patsy for a corrupt political machine in ‘O’Malley for Congress!’ (20^th September-8^th October).

This strand gave staunchly socialist cynic Johnson ample opportunity to ferociously lampoon the electoral system, the pundits and even the public. Without spending money, campaigning – or even being seen – the pompous pixie won ‘The Election’ (9^th October-12^th November) and actually became ‘Congressman O’Malley’ (13^th-23^rd November) with Barnaby’s parents perpetually assuring their boy that this guy was not â€œhisâ€ Fairy Godfather’â€¦

The outrageous satire only intensified once ‘The O’Malley Committee’ (24^th November-27^th December 1943) began its work, by investigating Santa Claus, despite the newest, shortest Congressman in the House never actually turning up to do a day’s workâ€¦

Raucous, riotous sublimely surreal and adorably absurd, the untrammelled, razor-sharp whimsy of the strip is always instantly captivating, and the laconic charm of the writing is well-nigh irresistible, but the lasting legacy of this ground-breaking strip is the clean sparse line-work that reduces images to almost technical drawings, unwavering line-weights and solid swathes of black that define space and depth by practically eliminating it, without ever obscuring the fluid warmth and humanity of the characters.

Almost every modern strip cartoon follows the principles laid down here by a man who purportedly disliked the medium…

The major difference between then and now should also be noted, however.

Johnson despised doing shoddy work, or short-changing his audience. On average each of his daily encounters, always self-contained, built on the previous episode without needing to re-reference it, and contained three to four times as much text as its contemporaries. It’s a sign of the author’s ability that the extra wordage was never unnecessary, and often uniquely readable, blending storybook clarity, the snappy pace of â€œScrewballâ€ comedy films and the contemporary rhythms and idiom of authors such as Damon Runyan.

He managed this miracle by type-setting the dialogue and pasting up the strips himself – primarily in Futura Medium Italic but with effective forays into other fonts for dramatic and comedic effect.

No sticky-beaked educational vigilante could claim Barnaby harmed children’s reading abilities by confusing the tykes with non-standard letter-forms (a charge levelled at comics as late as the turn of this century), and the device also allowed him to maintain an easy, elegant, effective balance of black and white which makes the deliciously diagrammatic art light, airy and implausibly fresh and accessible.

During 1946-1947, Johnson surrendered the strip to friends as he pursued a career illustrating children’s book such as Constance J. Foster’s This Rich World: The Story of Money, but eventually he returned, crafting more magic until he retired Barnaby in 1952 to concentrate on books.

When Ruth graduated she became a successful children’s writer and they collaborated on four tomes, The Carrot Seed (1945), How to Make an Earthquake, Is This You? and The Happy Egg, but these days Crockett Johnson is best known for his seven â€œHaroldâ€ books which began in 1955 with the captivating Harold and the Purple Crayon.

During a global war with heroes and villains aplenty, where no comic page could top the daily headlines for thrills, drama and heartbreak, Barnaby was an absolute panacea to the horrors without ever ignoring or escaping them.

For far too long Barnaby was a lost masterpiece. It is influential, ground-breaking and a shining classic of the form. You are all poorer for not knowing it, and should move mountains to change that situation. I’m not kidding.

Liberally illustrated throughout with sketches, roughs, photos and advertising materials as well as Credits, Thank You and a brief biography of Johnson, this big book of joy is a long-overdue and very welcome addition to 21^st century bookshelves – especially yoursâ€¦

June 19, 2013June 18, 2013

Superman Spectacular No. 2

By Cary Bates, Alex Saviuk & Vince Colletta (DC/London Editions)
ISBN: 0-86173-042-9

The Superman album clearly made some impact in Britain (or at least the editors thought it would) and a second volume – also sporting a lushly airbrushed Alan Craddock cover – was produced. Also celebrating the sharp, plot-driven costumed dramas which predominated in the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC universe, this cosmic mystery revenge saga ideally shows how old stories could and should be reinvigorated rather than overwrittenâ€¦

‘Superman Meets the Zod Squad’ was created by cobbling together Action Comics #548-549 (October and November 1983) into one improbable saga of cosmic vengeance as a race of primordial reivers discovered the remains of Argo City and realised that there was at least one Kryptonian left in the cosmosâ€¦

Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El had been born on a city-sized fragment of Krypton, hurled intact into space when the planet exploded. Eventually Argo City turned to Kryptonite like the rest of the detonated world’s debris, and her dying parents, observing Earth through their scopes, sent their daughter to safety as they perished. Landing on Earth, she met the Man of Steel who created for her the identities of Linda Lee and Supergirl, hiding her from the world whilst she learned about her new home and to use astounding abilities in secrecy and safety.

The aliens were Vrangs – savage slavers who had conquered Krypton in ages past: brutally using the primitive populace to mine minerals too toxic for the aliens to handle. The planet’s greatest hero was Val-Lor who died instigating the rebellion which drove the Vrang from Krypton and prompted the birth and rise of the super-scientific civilisation.

All Kryptonians developed an inbred hatred of the Vrang, and when Phantom Zone prisoners Jax-Ur, Professor Va-Kox, Faora Hu-Ul and General Dru-Zod observed their ancestral oppressors from the stark and silent realm of nullity that had been their drearily, unchanging, timeless jail since before Krypton perished, they swore to destroy them.

If their ‘Escape from the Phantom Zone!’ also allowed the Kryptonian outcasts to kill the hated son of the discoverer of the eerie dimension of stultifying intangibility so much the betterâ€¦

Using the psycho-active properties of Jewel Kryptonite – a post-cataclysm isotope of the very element so poisonous to Vrangs – a quartet of Zoners perpetrate a mass break-out and head to Earth for vengeanceâ€¦ but who is their primary target?

Not long after, Clark Kent, still blithely unaware of his peril, is investigating a new citizens’ defence group that has sprung up in Metropolis in response to a city-wide rash of petty crimes. Even as Zod, Faora, Tyb-Ol and Murkk infiltrate human society and bide their time, the Man of Steel and Lois are most concerned with how the grassroots White Wildcats can afford to police their neighbourhoods with jet-packs and martial arts skills unknown on Earthâ€¦

Uncovering militarist order-freak Zod behind the scheme, Superman is astounded when the Kryptonian criminals surrender, offering a truce until their ancient common foes are defeated.

â€¦And that’s when the Vrang teleport the Man of Steel into their ship, exultant that they now possess the mightiest slave in existence. Moreover, there are four more potentially priceless victims hurtling up to attack them, utterly unaware in their blind rage and hatred that the Vrangs have weapon even Kryptonians cannot surviveâ€¦

This clever, compulsive thriller of cross, double and even triple-cross is a fabulously intoxicating, tension-drenched treat from scripter Cary Bates and illustrated by Alex Saviuk & Colletta that still blends human foible with notions of honour, and shows that even the most reprehensible villains understand the value of sacrifice and the principle of something worth dying forâ€¦

Superman has proven to be all things to all fans over his decades of existence, and with the character again undergoing another radical overhaul, these timeless tales of charm and joy and wholesome wit are more necessary than ever: not just as a reminder of great tales of the past but as an all-ages primer of the wonders still to comeâ€¦
Â© 1982 DC Comics Inc. This edition Â© 1982 London Editions Magazines (formerly Egmont Publishing). All Rights Reserved.

June 19, 2013June 18, 2013

DC Superheroes Presents Superman Spectacular No. 1

By Bob Rozakis, Paul Kupperberg, Adrian Gonzales & Vince Colletta (DC/London Editions)
ISBN: 0-86173-041-0

These days, when maintaining a faux-historical cloak of rational integrity for the made-up worlds comicbooks inhabit is paramount, the saddest casualty of those periodic sweeping changes, upgrades, rationalisations and reboots is the great stories that suddenly â€œnever happenedâ€.

The most painful example of this – for me at least – was the wholesale loss of the entire bizarre and charm-drenched mythology that had evolved around Superman’s birthworld in the wonder years between 1948 and 1985.

Here then, in response to the new Superman film is something not every Kryptonian Kompletist may be treasuring in his vault: a canonical pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Man of Steel yarn which didn’t appear in the regular runs of Superman or Action Comics, packed with all the gloriously convoluted lore, wry wit and all-ages thrills which for decades made the Man of Tomorrow indisputably the most recognisable comics character on Earth.

This extra-sized tale was actually devised by American creators for the European market as Superman Album series #1 (cover-dated Januar 1982 und pronounzed mit ein deutsche achzent, iff you pliss), printed in what was then West Germany by Ehapa Verlag.

It subsequently appeared in the USA as an English-language edition in a large (212 x 397mm) one-off paperback album in American convenience chains like 7-11 later that year. In Britain, where London Editions then held a DC reprint license, producing a wonderfully eclectic black-&-white anthology The Superheroes Monthly (with painted covers by the likes of Alan Craddock, David Jackson, Bryan Talbot and Brian Bolland), the tale was released as a similarly sized, full-colour edition to rack beside such beloved European imports as Asterix and Tintin.

In case you’re wondering: it was printed in Germany, presumably by simply replacing the black plate of the four-colour print process with one that had the lettering in English.

The ‘Startling Saga of Superman-Red & Superman-Blue!’ was scripted by Paul Kupperberg from a Bob Rozakis plot and illustrated by Adrian Gonzales & Vince Colletta, with the legendary Julius Schwartz in editorial command as always.

The bombastic battle royale was based on a much-beloved imaginary story by Leo Dorfman, Curt Swan & George Klein from Superman #162, July 1963, adroitly co-opted into the mainstream continuity to beef up the ominous if ill-starred alliance of arch nemesis Lex Luthor with space owlhoot Terra-Man.

(This last was conceived during the period when costumed heroes were in decline during the early 1970s. The Deep Space Desperado resembled a space-age Clint Eastwood in Spaghetti Western mode. He was a Wild West bandit’s son shanghaied into space. After eventually killing his kidnapper, the young man returned to Earth only to discover a century had passed. The furious outcast of infinity had already adapted his purloined extraterrestrial technology to accommodate his childhood antecedents and decided to drive aliens such as Superman off â€œhisâ€ planet foreverâ€¦)

This intergalactic grudge match opens as Luthor invades a Daily Planet story conference to challenge Superman to another fight. The resulting clash goes badly for the criminal genius, however, even though he has devised an entirely new form of energy weapon to destroy his alien antithesisâ€¦

Meanwhile in space, solitary star rider Terra-Man has finally found a chunk of Kryptonite. He had long heard stories that the rare radioactive remnant was fatal to Superman, and now believes the end of his vendetta against the extraterrestrial squatter on his home range is near.

He should have listened more closely to the stories, though, as the shard he holds is red, not greenâ€¦

Wary of being beaten again, Terra-Man contacts Luthor and proposes a combined attack, but doesn’t trust his new partner enough to hand over the radioactive space rockâ€¦

On Earth Superman is renewing his oft-postponed romance with Lois Lane when Terra-Man attacks, and after deflecting the initial assault is lured into orbit where the menacing mineral is secreted.

From his hiding place Luthor can only watch in horror as the Red K (which produced not radiation poisoning and death but temporary mutagenic effects on Kryptonians) divided the Man of Steel into twins in primarily blue or red uniformsâ€¦

It wasn’t a complete disaster, however, as each of the pair seemed to be missing some of Superman’s vast array of powersâ€¦

Frantically regrouping, Luthor and Terra-Man deduced what had happened, and as Clark Kent endured confusion at work with a brace of himself tripping over each other, the vile villains plotted to use their conventional resources and Lex’s new discovery to destroy their foe(s).

With double the super manpower, â€œRedâ€ and â€œBlueâ€ begin cleaning all the trouble spots on Earth and discover a new crisis: an inter-dimensional rift threatening to consume the world. The mystery of Luthor’s new energy source is revealed – the madman has tapped magical forces from another plane of existence and weaponised it to kill his arch foe, regardless of the potential for universal cataclysmâ€¦

As Supermans Red and Blue move to quell the threat, they find one more quandary confronting them: each is only half as powerful as the whole hero. When the divided defenders split up to battle Terra-Man and Luthor, this tragic deficiency causes the Crimson Crusader’s â€œdeathâ€ with the collateral catastrophe of Lois felled by Luthor’s lethal magic weaponâ€¦

And at that very moment the Red K effect faded and the one true Man of Tomorrow was rebornâ€¦

Once upon a time smart, affecting absorbing drama and wild-eyed adventure such as this was the bread-and-butter of comics. For decades, new exploits and dangers were created – sometime three of four times a month – with characters operating seamlessly in a shared milieu that wasn’t obsessed with incessantly mining and refining the hero’s origin or shockingly revealing lost or evil relatives like some spandex-bedecked cheap soap opera. And they frequently began and ended in one issueâ€¦

This tale is a delicious example from the dying days of that era and perfectly shows us what we’re missing todayâ€¦
Â© 1982 DC Comics Inc. This edition Â© 1982 London Editions Magazines (formerly Egmont Publishing). All Rights Reserved.

June 18, 2013June 22, 2013

Wake Up, Percy Gloom

By Cathy Malkasian (Fantagraphics Books)
ISBN: 978-1-60699-638-6

There are a lot of graphic novels out there these days, and even the most in-tune fan or dedicated aficionado just can’t read everything new being published – and that’s not even counting the historical wealth of already published material that’s been released since the dawn of trade paperbacks and comics albums at the end of the 1970s.

A perfect case in point is Percy Gloom by Cathy Malkasian which was released in 2007 and which I completely missed. However, as soon as I read my review copy of the sequel Wake Up, Percy Gloom – the subject of today’s rave review – I realised what an utter joy I had missed and determined to track a copy down.

Whilst that’s happening however, let’s look at one of the best comics fantasy books I’ve read in all my many yearsâ€¦

Someplace, sometime far stranger than here or now, an innocuous little man who loved helping people lost his wife and left his ordered, simple life.

Actually it wasn’t that simple: although Percy is meek and gentle and desperately keen to help everybody, his lazy-eye and enormous head – which lights up when he’s happy – often creates false impressions amongst people who are at best rude and often just plain mean.

He’s also had some rather distressing news recently.

His Mum revealed to him that he is, like her, immortal but prone to naps which can take anything from months to decades. It’s why everything always seems so different every time he wakes up in the â€œmorningâ€â€¦

After his last kip he found true affection with Margaret, whom he met at his new job in a failing companyâ€¦

Now we find them enjoying a sailboat ride as she searches for her long-lost twin. Percy has never been happier. As they reach a new land however Margaret realises her search is nearly over and, as she realises her growing affection for Percy, her extremely contented companion begins to feel very sleepyâ€¦

Percy’s mum is even more unique than her son. She has been alive for millennia and spends her maternal days shepherding humanity; devising devices and inventing awesome, clever things, such as the barrel which always collected her slumbering son wherever he’s dropped off and safely storing him until he awakes again.

Unfortunately one of her previous diversions – a joke-book – has become, over the last five centuries, the World’s Holy Book: an unshakable, adamant and infallible guide to living and the eternal Rewards Beyond, utterly believed as gospel by the short-lived, unquestioning and remarkably po-faced people.

Sadly the gag most misunderstood by the ardent the worshippers was the 29^th Prophecy which said that after 182,515 days – just after tea-time – Voatzle would drop from the sky and land on The Good and The Lucky. By every cleric’s calculations that’s tomorrow afternoonâ€¦

Appalled at the people’s literal-mindedness, Mum has been busily building the Paradise the self-deluded worshippers are expecting and – now that she’s almost finished – is delighted to learn that Percy is waking up. Dispatching his barrel to a location that will appear familiar to her drowsy boy, Mum then pops off to meet her current beau Horace – a quiet and contemplative grandfather and extremely ingenious gardener/topiarist who knows her as dear old Claraâ€¦

Whilst ensuring Percy’s safe awakening, Clara reveals her true nature to Horace and discloses the cheese-based disguise secrets which have enabled her to maintain the imposture of aging, blithely unaware that there has been a little hitchâ€¦

When Percy succumbed to slumber he was with his adored Margaret but now, as he languorously comes to on a lovely moonlit night, he has no idea that only a year has passed. The counting device in his barrel has malfunctioned and one year has become 200â€¦

Still groggy and heartbroken that his Margaret has long gone, Percy sets off across this odd land to find his mum; once again an innocuous, naively innocent wanderer in a very bizarre place and time. He has no idea that it’s only this odd because the all those true believers are excited that Voatzle is finally coming and are absorbed in performing their final rites and ritualsâ€¦

As he progresses Percy meets and takes charge of the brusquely tragic Mr. Tetzel who accidentally locked himself out of his very small country and now must travel right around the world in a straight line to get back to the front door again. Not far away the morose Margaret has been deeply heartened by finally rendezvousing with sister Lily, who in turn will introduce her to Percy’s extended family tooâ€¦

You meet a lot of people and make many friends if you live forever – including, it would seem, other immortals – and as Mum introduces Horace to her own affably eternal inner circle – and the talking goats – Percy’s peregrinations have also resulted in a few shocks.

Although a native, the closeted Mr. Tetzel is an even stranger Stranger in a StrangeLand and his shocking manners require all Percy’s tact and forbearance to keep them from harm. Despite his selfish and cavalier attitude, the brusque banished martinet is all too human and secretly endures his own tragically lost love. However that small glimpse of common humanity is quickly quashed when a committee of Voatzle priests and prelates mistake the obnoxious official for the Dimpled Ambassador – Last Prophet of Voatzle. Moreover the deluded Tetzel believes it tooâ€¦

Happily though, that clash with the inevitably outraged Holy zealots gives Percy his first clue of exactly how little time has actually passed and puts him on the path to a gloriously reunion with his much-missed Margaretâ€¦

Cathy Malkasian is another brilliant (and multi-award winning) animator who has seamlessly segued into graphic narrative and turned the medium on its head. You’ll have seen her screen work as designer, storyboarder and/or director on such features as Curious George, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, As Told by Ginger, Psyko Ferret, Stressed Eric, Rugrats, Jumanji, Duckman and elsewhere. Perhaps you’ve seen her aforementioned Percy Gloom debut or Temperance graphic novels. She is currently occupied creating the animatic series Hiding in Happytown on YouTube.

Her latest surreal and intoxicatingly-rendered fable manages the almost impossible trick of being simultaneously sad and eerie, funny and thrilling, astonishingly mature and ingenuously innocent and childlike, resulting in a brilliant, enthralling, evocative and wryly uplifting fable of loss and reunion in a fantastical realm as overwhelmingly convincing and real as Oz, Narnia or Alice’s Looking Glass Land.

If you crave the acme of comics storytelling, you must read this fabulous yarn.

June 17, 2013June 22, 2013

Ultimate Comics Wolverine: Legacies

By Cullen Bunn, David Messina, Gary Erskine & Gaetano Carlucci (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-546-8

The Marvel Ultimates project started in 2000 with a thoroughly contemporary remodelling of major characters and concepts to bring them into line with a generation of potential readers separated by more than three decades from the starry-eyed, idealistic kids who were the primary buyers of â€œthe House that Stan & Jack (and Steve) Builtâ€.

Eventually even this streamlined new universe became as crowded and continuity-constricted as its predecessor, and in 2008 the publishing event â€œUltimatumâ€ culminated in a reign of terror which wiped out loads of heroes and villains as well as millions of ordinary mortals in a vast Tsunami triggered by mutant terrorist Magneto.

After dramatically rebuilding this darker, grimmer continuum, Armageddon happened again in 2012 as a perilously destabilised world sank into international metahuman anarchy. America succumbed to a mass-secession of states resulting in a second Civil War before the remaining heroes, surviving mutants and a new Spider-Man brought a measure of peace and stability to the planetâ€¦

From this latest aftermath comes a canny thriller (collecting the 4-issue miniseries Ultimate Comics Wolverine from March to May 2013, deftly written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by David Messina, Gary Erskine & Gaetano Carlucci) which simultaneously explores the past and outlines the future of Jimmy Hudson: troubled offspring of the mutant legend who gave his life to end Magnetoâ€¦

But first, a little more background: sixteen year-old Hudson only discovered who his real father was when fugitive Kitty Pride turned up bearing a hologram message from the fabled mutant-hero Wolverine. The device also explained the boy’s incredible healing ability and the claws which keep inconveniently popping out of his knuckles whenever he got stressedâ€¦

Civilisation had been shakily stumbling from crisis to catastrophe since the Deluge. That progress ended when the world learned that the super-powered mutants proliferating around the globe were not a product of inexorable evolution but rather the result of a 50-year old American program of genetic manipulation. Unfortunately, the experiment had slipped from their control when their initial test subject escaped.

Now, as the news spread, humanity went crazy. A wave of prejudice sparked violent protests around the globe and, as atrocities mounted, the attacks threatened the very existence of the feared and despised human lab-rats. In the political furore following the disclosure, the bloodshed grew into planetary panic and a genetic arms-race in Asia (see Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye and The Ultimates: The Republic is Burning), resulted in the near-eradication of the homo Superior strain and consequent creation of new superhuman subspecies.

In response the US President unexpectedly sidelined S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury in favour of co-operation with Magneto’s son Pietro Lensherr – who had inherited control of the mutant-terrorist group the Brotherhood of Mutants. The super-swift manipulator dubbed Quicksilver struck a Faustian Bargain with the Leader of the Free World, but their plans were subverted by fundamentalist preacher Reverend William Stryker who seized control of the government’s Sentinel technology and used it to attack mutants all over America as part of his genocidal crusade to purify humanityâ€¦

Pietro had intended to co-opt America’s Nimrod Sentinels to his own purposes but Stryker struck first, taking personal control of the program and unleashing every killer robot in the USA’s arsenal to hunt down mutants wherever they might be hiding.

The pogrom turned a large part of the southwest into a killing zone where the unholy freaks were held in camps, just waiting to dieâ€¦

In Mutant Internment Camp Angel, the guards and Sentinels were overthrown by former X-Men Colossus and Storm, and once the younger prisoners discovered what atrocities the humans had been secretly perpetrating against the captives the entire facility erupted into open rebellion.

When WashingtonDC, the President and his Cabinet were wiped out in a nuclear attack, Texas seceded from the Union, provoking a series of similar rebellions by right-wing militias and libertarian hate-groups throughout the nation. Hopelessly out of his depth, Acting President Howard declared martial law and the second American Civil War beganâ€¦

In New York former X-Man Karen Grant (nee Jean Grey) had been secretly furthering Charles Xavier‘s dream of fostering Human/Mutant co-existence, gathering young mutants and hiding them together for safety. When she vanished during the burgeoning Asian conflict her mission had been taken up by Kitty Prydeâ€¦

Jimmy Hudson – whose father Wolverine had been the Military’s â€œMutant Zeroâ€ and reviled or celebrated as progenitor of mutantkind – was one of Pryde’s flock of refugees hiding beneath New York when the war began.

With news seeping in of wholesale mutant-cleansing in the west, Pryde, Jimmy and a number of others travelled across their hostile homeland to Camp Angel to join the Last Stand of their race.

When they arrived the long-undercover Nick Fury resurfaced, training mutants and working with them to establish a separate, safe homeland. As war wracked America the tiny outcast force faced its greatest martial threat to emerge as an independent Mutant Nationâ€¦

Set in the days following that incredible victory, Legacies actually begins with a flashback to earlier times long before The Deluge when S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Wolverine and his support team closed in on an assassin targeting Senator Gregory Lee.

Intel was scarce. All they knew was that something or someone called â€œMothervineâ€ wanted the crusading politician deadâ€¦

When a bystander apparently turned a little girl into a mutant to slaughter the Senator and his Secret Service detail, Wolverine’s frustrated team gave chase only to find the instigator’s freshly killed corpseâ€¦

Back in the present, Jimmy is again watching the recorded messages on his father’s hologram disc when mutant technopath Black Box bursts in. The kid’s uncanny affinity with machines has detected a hidden message underneath the transmission. Soon Hudson and Black Box have left the Mutant Nation far behind and gone in search of Wolverine’s final bequest – a coded message concerning something called Project: Mothervineâ€¦

Meanwhile, across the continent, human agents tasked with monitoring the long-dormant Mothervine are suddenly, sadistically despatched by mutant Machiavelli Quicksilverâ€¦

Years ago Wolverine and his crew had relentlessly tracked the elusive enigma, uncovering a conspiracy to create a means of mass-producing and weaponising mutants. But when they raided the Human Engineering Life Laboratories and ostensibly ended the threat, Wolverine again encountered an old adversary also hunting for the secret: Magda, ex-wife of Magneto and under her codename â€œThe Witchâ€ one of the deadliest freelance secret agents on Earthâ€¦

In the now, before following the old trail of Wolverine and Mothervine, Jimmy and Black Box waste precious time checking on Hudson’s foster parents. Unfortunately this sentimental side trip also brings them to the attention of psychotic freelancer Wildchild â€“ another special services killer hired by an unknown party to clean up all traces of and links to Mothervineâ€¦

As Box’s gifts track down and interrogate old computer records, Wildchild’s gang attack and – despite Jimmy’s best efforts – the mutant kids are overpowered. They would have died if Quicksilver hadn’t turned up to revoltingly end the lives of the filthy humansâ€¦

As another flashback reveals the origins of Jimmy and the reasons his mother and father abandoned him, Pietro admits that he is Hudson’s half-brother, before disclosing the horrific truth about Mothervine and his plans for Jimmy.

Apparently his newly found sibling’s blood is apparently the only surviving source of the mutant-making concoctionâ€¦

The family reunion isn’t a happy one however and, as Quicksilver explains his vision, Jimmy realises exactly what kind of monster his brother is. Pietro wants to build a mutant army to eradicate mankind and he’s perfectly willing to bleed the appalled Hudson dry to accomplish his goalsâ€¦

It is only after their fast, furious final battle to decide the fate of humanity that Jimmy at last accepts his destiny is to be the new Wolverineâ€¦

There is a delicious covers-&-variants gallery by Arthur Adams & Axel Torvenius and no high-tech Marvel Augmented Reality App inclusions here; but frankly you won’t need them for this superbly sinister drama of spooks and monsters which perfectly sets up the replacement Feral Fury as defender of mutants and mankind alike. Moreover, as with all great spy stories, Legacies ends with portentous foreshadowing and the promise of more mayhem to comeâ€¦

This is a craftily wry, cynical yet revelatory shocker and one more breathtakingly effective yarn only possible outside the Marvel Universe: and one which will resonate with readers who love the darkest side of science fiction and superheroes as well as casual readers more au fait with the company’s movies than the comics lore.

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