A Blast From The Past

Batmanuel · A Blast From The Past

Here we will hopefully find some interesting stuff from the past, things you may have heard about but have never read, and things you may never have heard of but would like to read.
I am keen on this subject as it promotes comics, and at the end of the day thats what we are "a comics shop/site" there are some very fine works that have been done in the past that have too some extent been all but forgotten, and thats a crying shame.
Its being kicked off with a look at Nemisis the Warlock by our very own Catfang, yes i know its not here yet, its going to be moved here soon, and just as soon as its been moved the next blast is ready to go. is there anything from the past that you are particularly fond of? anything that you would like to blast about? then Blast it HERE. Smile

Batmanuel

Catwoman
By Mindy Newell, J.J. Birch & Michael Bair.

Published in 1989 this four issue Catwoman Mini series is labelled a suggested for mature readers book, it was during the mid eighties that we were to witness nothing short of a revolution in comic books, most of which was coming from DC Comics and the Independents, this is one of those titles that helped pave the way to a more adult style of story telling.
We all talk of how hip it is to mention the Watchmen, how absolutely dark and diabolical the genius of V for Vendetta was and is, and how the Dark Knight Returns paved the way for the 1989 Tim Burton Batman Movie. But there were other books out during this period which also need recognition, and this is one such book.

It could be said that this is the Catwoman story that D.C. would like to erase from history, but like all good stories it resurfaces now and again, the story is directly linked to the Frank Miller’s Batman Year One as to the notoriety of the work, we see a certain Selina Kyle portrayed as a prostitute and sexual-dominatrix, with child-prostitution and abuse covered in the character of Holly. on top of that her sister is a Catholic nun, so this is religions twist, furthermore, this tale revives the sexual attraction between Batman and Catwoman with a classic kiss shared by the two on the roof top, a scene used by Tim Burton in the "Batman Returns". Movie.

The powers that be decree that this story is no longer part of the DCU continuity, Zero Hour saw to that. I say that it’s a must for anyone who likes a good read, it also stands as a good historic point on the road between Batman and Catwoman then, And the Catwoman and Batman now. A most excellent piece of work.

9/10

CatFang

The Complete Nemesis The Warlock Books 1-3

Writer: Pat Mills
Artists: Ken O’Neill, Bryan Talbot, John Hinkleton, Henry Flint, Jesus Redondo, Clint Langley, David Roach, Carl Critchlow, Tony Luke (I think that’s everyone)

“10/10 –Credo!”

Darkness has a new Champion.

Ripped lashing and screaming from the pages of 2000AD is Nemesis the Warlock, an ambiguous alien anarchist, leader of the rebellion against the imperial tyranny of Torquemada, Lord of Termight.

From a “one-shot” beginning inspired by a punk song (Going Underground by The Jam) Nemesis The Warlock grew into a complex, dark, funny, moving, grotesque satire on power and control in Thatcher’s Britain. Like most of 2000AD it is unmistakably British.

Pat Mills has never been shy about his politics, and many of his stories are explorations of those beliefs. Nowhere has this worked as well as in Nemesis where his brilliant, bristling hatred for all forms of intolerance and repression drives the narrative onwards at an amazing pace through a timeline twistier than the Terrortubes themselves. It’s a dimension-spanning, head-spinning shoot around terrorism, freedom, divine right, religion, racism, freewill and predestination – and believe me you won’t feel any better once the ride has stopped.

The over-arching story covers the running battle between the “arch-deviant” demon Nemesis, often aided by his human side-kick Purity Brown, and Torquemada, one of the best (and pointiest) villains in comics history.

The motivations of all the major players are complicated, sometimes confusing and often conflicted. We are given as much insight into the character development and workings of the villain as the hero, with Torquemada often taking centre stage for long periods. This means that, given the alien nature of Nemesis, readers are actually forced to a better, if uncomfortable, understanding of the villain, in all his awful humanity, than the hero. A neat trick and very well accomplished. The concerns of the story are beyond good and evil and as time passes the idea of any kind of simple line between “right” and “wrong” is erased in the kind of swirling chaos at which Pat Mills excels.

The art (whichever artist is drawing) is really a thing of beauty. A vicious, disturbing beauty, it’s true, but there is nothing like it. From the original sleek design of Kev O’Neill, through the more sensuous, softer lines of the classic Bryan Talbot era, to the scratchy, almost depraved, visceral contortions of John Hinkleton (which many people did not like, but I think are fantastic) this is comics art really pushing right to experimental edges of the form. There is a dizzying sense of vertigo, and, well, sheer “alien-ness” about it. You know how a roller coaster can make you queasy, but in a good, excited way..? Some of the artwork in Nemesis is closest you will get to “punk on a page”.

From left to right: Kev O'Neill, Bryan Talbot, John Hinckleton

“I am the Nemesis, I am the Warlock, the Shape Of Things To Come, the Lord of the Flies, Holder Of The Sword Sinister… The Death-Bringer… I am the one who waits on the edge of your dreams… I am all these things and many more…"

Most of the material is black and white, although book three goes into colour towards the end. As well as the core story there is also “extra material” included, collecting stories from annuals, specials and so on. There is even a mystifying photostory of Nemesis meeting Torquemada in the original Forbidden Planet which really defies any explanation. In addition there are also some little essays by Mills, Talbot, and O’Neill.

If you like the political discussions in more modern comics like Civil War, Black Summer , or The Authority, or going back a bit further V for Vendetta and Watchmen, and feel like a few hours gazing into the abyss, put on some proper 70s punk, and give this a try.

Above all though remember, “Be Pure, Be Vigilant, Behave!”

Volume one collects books 1 -4 with intro by Pat Mills and afterword by Kev O’Neill, a covers gallery and pin-up art

Volume two collects books 5 -7 with intro by Pat Mills, afterword by Bryan Talbot and over 40 pages of extra materials including 2 “choose your own adventure” style games where you play as either Nemesis or Torquemada.

Volume three collects books 8-10 with a foreword by Pat Mills and is partly in colour.

Also, be sure to check out The Meknificent Seven and The Black Hole collections of ABC Warriors as they are crossovers and you really need them to make sense of the plot in book 2.

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

CatFang · Warlock: The Magus Sage

Art and Script: Jim Starlin

This review covers the Magus Saga (begun in Strange Tales 178-181) and continued into Warlock, (revived for issues 9-15).

I don’t know that I have the words to try and express the mad immensity of this book, which could be a bad start for a review!

Top line is that this is one of the most stunningly audacious comics I have ever read. They must have had some very good drugs in the 1970s. This is mind-bendingly groovy, baby, it’s drawn in liquid LSD and licking the pages will probably get you tripping.

The epic story begins by following Adam Warlock in his war against The Universal Church Of Truth a corrupt, religious space empire. Deep breath. As if this wasn’t bad enough he is also fighting his own destiny as he tries to avoid becoming his tyrannical future incarnation, The Magus (sporting a fetching purple afro), who is himself working backwards through time to affect Warlock’s transformation to evil so as to assure his own existence as a god (arrgh paradoxes!!!). Oh and he’s also got to defeat the super villain Titan, Thanos , as well taking time to battle the Star Thief in a creepy little episode involving a comatose human whose mind is able to roam free in time and space and is trying to unmake reality. Along the way he is joined by Pip, the filthy troll “this is more fun than brown-eyeing”!? and Gamora, “the deadliest woman in the universe” a beautiful, green skinned, alien assassin. Phew!

As in other works by Jim Starlin there are recurrent themes about the purpose of existence, reality, identity, freedom, the nature of time, the horrors of madness and powerlessness and musings on destiny, futility and ambition.

There is enough metaphysics here to get you through the first year of most philosophy degrees – although it is much more interesting, being mostly expressed by means of cosmically powered creatures punching each other and brooding.

Boldly displaying its “code approved” badge, I expected something pretty tame and flat and maybe with some sort of mealy mouthed moral message. However, hardly has the cover been turned before the story is happy splashing about in murder, necromancy, suicide, madness, obsession, injustice and violation (of several kinds). Seduction of The Innocent, indeed.

This is not to mention the powers of the sinister Soul Gem or the multi-dimensional, fractured timelines and alternate futures that would give Stephen Hawking a headache.

The writing is certainly of the “MIGHTY” style – don’t ever mutter “nothing” when there is the opportunity to bellow “naught” for example – but that has a charm of its own when done well, and it is done very well here. The language is very high-blown and theatrical but it all adds to the sense of drama and magnificence – and strangely enough it works – but that is partly a function of how the art style so perfectly complements the text and expresses the world.

So, to the art. Jim Starlin is probably top of the top three most inventive artists I have seen (the others being P Craig Russell and Frank Miller) in terms of being in complete command and control of the narrative space - from the level of the individual panel, up through the metapanel of the page right into the visual grammar and conceptual maps of the worlds he is drawing his readers inside. An example – how would you go about visually expressing the real-time fracturing of a consciousness into tiny fragments, or how about a multi-dimensional decision crossroads intersecting alternate versions of time and space? Although it was in another book (Captain Marvel) I have seen this man draw a 35 panel page – and none of it looks crowded!

The visual design of the characters and the world is bold and strong, with each character (even minor minions and henchmen) having a distinctive, detailed look – The InBetweener is my personal favourite. This is important as, due to the concepts discussed, the characters, while having their own personalities, are also something like archetypes in an older, deeper story. Every gesture is exaggerated and expansive because everything expresses something of timeless galactic importance. The “statuesque” nature of the design and the poses lends a mythic quality that sweeps you along in a dance at once alien and familiar.

I was a bit doubtful when the idea of reading Warlock was suggested to me. I didn’t think 70s code approved superheroes would be my kind of thing. It just goes to show the benefit of experience over belief – I wish I had discovered them long ago.

Highly recommended- but they come with a health warning – opening the cover is like drinking the Kool Aid, you will be drawn into the cult, and the brain washing is set to spin cycle.

Put on the Lava Lamp, light up the patchouli sticks and get ready to alter your consciousness and expand your mind.

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

Robin The Boy Wonder

Excellent review, CatFang.

You've made me interested in reading this... and Warlock is something I've never considered before (perhaps because I tend to avoid anthing remotely cosmic in nature).

As for the Comic Code, I woud be willing to bet that this came after the fabled Amazing Spider-Man 96-98, a famed three-issue run that saw print without Comic Code approval because the primary sub-plot dealt with drug abuse.

The result saw the Comic Code appear rather foolish and, following this, comic companies challenged the Code at every twist and turn by presenting ever more detailed, daring and realistic stories (not to mention with a far greater level of violence than seen during the sixties). This clearly appears to be one of them.

CatFang

Thanks. Definitely you should read it. I have just bought a run from Manny, so I don't know if there is another one in the shop.

If you start with this you may as well just hand your wallet. Remember that the words "I think you might enjoy this...just take a look when you get chance" are really just a polite form of mugging Laughing

Another interesting thing about the Code is that my understanding is that it was supposed to have been necessary because "comics are for kids" but about 90% of the adverts in the comics are definitely targetted at late teenagers or adults. Politics, I guess.

Also meant to say that the Cat Woman looks very interesting too. I'll probably be wanting that next time I come down.

CatFang

The Complete Ballad of Halo Jones: Books 1 -3

Script: Alan Moore
Art: Ian Gibson

“Where did she go? OUT.
What did she do? EVERYTHING…”

The Ballad of Halo Jones began in 2000AD in the mid-eighties. At first it tries to have you believe it is just another lighthearted, semi-satirical future romp of the kind 2000AD excelled at. There are the usual trappings, stylish punky clothes, future-speak, invasive media (well that was still a fiction, back then), in-jokes about mass unemployment and other British eighties concerns …don’t believe it…it is a trick!! I mean, if someone had asked you if wanted to read the “first feminist space opera” what would you have said?

But, like with all good misdirection, by the time you realise you’ve been had it’s far too late. There is no way to back out now, but you’ll find, in fact, that you don’t want to leave. We should have looked at the title. How many run of the mill comics can you think of that have “ballad” in the name? Even though this is quite early work for him Alan Moore already has a very large bag of tricks. He gets to use most of them.

Once past the first 50 pages or so of, albeit well written, standard “sci-fi chick goes future shopping with a grenade launcher, ha ha” Moore launches into a sweeping story of an ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and in doing so slyly offers a treatise on rebellion, promises, friendship, loyalty, war, experience and innocence, humanity, love and morality that is a fantastic and beautiful read.

“Halo Jones left earth with a robot dog for company…and never came back. That’s the whole story.”

We follow Halo from her existence as a bored teenager living in “the hoop” with her flatmates, out across the stars and in to the depths of her soul. When we leave her, or should that really be when she leaves us, it is as a damaged, desensitised and yet strangely hopeful woman in her thirties. Actually she may be much older than that, technically, as there are odd things done with space, time and gravity, but we’ll get to them in a minute.
The whole thing has a haunting, bittersweet note, and I would be tempted to call it a tragedy, but that’s not quite right. Things can, and do, go catastrophically wrong, there can be unendurable pain and loss, but there is no sense of predestination, no hurtling towards an unavoidable doom. The very terrifying randomness of the world is what allows for the possibility of miracles, and often it makes it worse that there can always be hope.

That sounds so sad though, and it’s not the whole picture. The story is so multi-layered, and the layering so subtle, and the story and character development so clever, that it’s difficult to really give the right impression. This is, after all, a story that ran in an action comic for boys. There are gangs, heavy weaponry, robot dogs, Rat Kings, speaking dolphins, invisible women, amazons, murder, warfare – it’s an exciting ride. There is no shortage of Tharg’s Thrill Power here.

Speaking of the warfare there is a combat in this book that is one of the most innovative things I have seen in any fiction, in any medium. I won’t describe it as it needs to be read, and is quite a major spoiler, but it has to do with time passing differently on a high gravity battlefield to the “standard” gravity base and what this means for the officers planning the war and the soldiers fighting it.

There is often criticism of how women are portrayed in comics, particularly when they are written by men. In fact there is lovely flash forward to the future when Halo has become a legend and her story is being discussed in a college class studying “The Halo Jones myth in modern Concordian folklore”. The students learn “that at one time it was even claimed she was a man”. Halo is no gun-toting sex-object of any stripe. She is not a Barbarella or a Vasquez. You will fall in love with her though. She is adventurous and fascinating. Sometimes she is brave, sometimes she is kind, sometimes she is selfish or gullible or weak. Mostly though, she is real. One of my favourite lines is her explanation of why she fell for a murderous alien general: “Because you scare me…because you have nice hands…because I knew you were going to bad news and I wanted to be with you anyway. You think that means I've got an unhealthy attitude?…” But then she wasn’t written by a man so much as created a comics god!

Ian Gibson is one of my favourite artists. His work is simultaneously very stylised and very realistic. That is, the accentuated nature of his character design allows him to express a “realism” in their attitudes and poses. It is very “pouty” art, everyone has killer cheekbones and beautiful eyelashes and strikes just the right poses with their jutting hips and aggressive shoulders to throw the perfect stark shadows. There is a strutting confidence that gets across a lot about the hardness of the world and the characters that live there.

Halo Jones is a masterpiece. Writing a character of his own invention Moore’s work is vivid, witty, daring and heart-breakingly brilliant. The way that plot threads come together books later than when the seeds were first sown is nothing short of amazing. The structure is intricate, but not confusing. I can’t really think why this is not listed alongside V for Vendetta and Watchmen as some of his best work - probably only because it was never picked up by a big American publisher. It deserves to be as widely read.

Halo is not a hero in the traditional sense. She didn’t try to change the world, she left it behind. Instead she changes herself, and this is the message of the book as I read it – the most important revolutions are on the inside

“She wasn’t anyone special. She wasn’t brave or clever or strong. She was just somebody who felt crammed by the confines of her life. She was just somebody who had to get out. And she did it. She went out past Vega, and past Moulquet and Lambard. She saw places that aren’t even there anymore. And do you know what she said? Her most famous quotation? “Anybody could have done it.”.”

The only downside is that we don’t get to the end. This may be called the “complete” Ballad of Halo Jones, but it is only 3 volumes out a planned 10. The idea was that the books would follow Halo right up to old age but “differences of opinion” between Alan Moore and the 2000AD editorial staff over copyright ownership mean that it was never finished. That is not to say the story does not come to a satisfying conclusion. Moore is too great a craftsman for that. It is open enough that more could be written. Hoping against hope, keeping my fingers crossed.

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

Reaper

Damn, you guys read stuff I've never even heard of!

CatFang

That's why we post it here - just for you.

You may have a job now, young man, but your education is not over

Very Happy

Mine neither , actually as Manny is sending me back to the 70s with his recommendations for me - back to before I was even born!!

Reaper

I wouldn't mind but it's depressing, I don't have the money for all this stuff and I barely have the time for my current monthlys.

CatFang

Expensive habit, comics.

Reaper

Yeah so Sarah keeps reminding me.

CatFang

You see what Cy did with me, shortly after we got together, was bring me to Whatever Comics...

I was uncertain...comics are not for teenage girls, surely? They were crafy in what they showed me - great stories, great art....

15 years and probably thousands of pounds later, here we are...

I don't know how old Sarah is. Maybe I was younger and more impressionable Laughing

Batmanuel

Reaper:

CatFang

Xeall

OMD was not a waste of money, OMD was not a waste of money, OMD WAS NOT A WASTE OF MONEY!!!!! Shocked

Reaper

*slaps* GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF MAN!

And yes it was

CatFang

The next blast (start saving your money, Reaper!) is:

The Adventures of Luther Arkwright

Script and Art: Bryan Talbot

Let’s get one thing out of the way up front: Bryan Talbot is a god among comics creators. In complete control of both script and art his visionary work has a pure an uncompromising brilliance. He is also a really nice guy. He drew me a Nemesis, you know Laughing

So what can I say about Luther Arkwright that has not already been said? Superstars of the comics world have already lined up to pay tribute to this astonishing work. I’ll show you what they said first:

“Luther Arkwright is probably the single most influential graphic novel to have come out of Britain to date”
and
“It's probably Anglophone comics' single most important experimental work.”
Warren Ellis

"A work ambitious in scope and complexity that still stands unique upon the comics landscape ... stunning"
Alan Moore

“"From riveting action scenes to beautiful silent sequences, from studies in hateful obsession to humour both ribald and gentle ... surely one of the all-time great epics of the medium.”
Garth Ennis

"I love the illustrative style. Talent is profoundly international and Luther Arkwright should sell on a universal scale. I get a great joy out of it."
Jack Kirby

"The stunning amount of work and commitment that goes into "The Adventures of Luther Arkwright" makes me weak at the knees. It's phenomenal.”
Pat Mills

You see what I mean? These are important people. Why don’t you just go away and read it? Alright then, I’ll tell you what I think about it as well, and some more about the story.

The book is set in a “multiverse”, similar in some ways to that in Michael Moorcock’s Jerry Cornelius stories. There are many parallel universes with parallel Earths, inhabited by parallel versions of the same characters. Well, that is apart from Luther Arkwright. There is only one Luther Arkwright.

Luther exists in the one parallel that is aware of the existence of the others. He can travel between the parallels and this, coupled with extensive psychic powers, makes him a key player in the battle against The Disruptors – a shadowy organisation looking to destabilize the realities and cause the ends of the worlds.

While Luther is unique, though, he is not alone in his struggle. He is assisted by "agents" who can communicate with their parallel selves, telepathically, and an intriguing supporting cast, including Rose Wylde an agent whose relationship with Luther is constant across all parallels. The (main) villain of the piece is Nathaniel Cromwell, leader of the Puritan British Government.

Most of the action is set on a parallel where the English civil war is happening in what most closely approximates the 1930s. The original series takes place over 9 complex, sprawling issues (now collected as a TPB). The action is epic in scope and hops effortlessly between multi-dimensional battles happening in simultaneous timelines, philosophical speculations, sly humour , sex, political satire, and fart jokes – a rich tapestry of all that is human from the highest to the lowest, the angelic to the apish.

The book starts out as pretty much an adventure story, but that is only “what happens”, it’s not “what it’s about”. The real heart of the story is a discussion about change, development and evolution. It is about perspective and truth, history and time. It is a story of transformation, following the progress of Luther as he accepts the truth behind his own insanity and embraces a different conceptual framework and emerges as a new kind of superbeing.

As you might expect with this kind of story, it is not told sequentially. There are multiple story-lines running at different speeds and told in different styles that only all pull together, in a feat of superhuman plotting genius, towards the end. Amazingly, though, this does not make the story hard to follow, the flashbacks and forwards are handled so artfully that they add to the flickering instability of the world perfectly. To have told this as linear plot would not have worked nearly so well.

The art is black and white, dense and beautiful. There is an obsessional glee about the detail that shines out of the page. There can be no doubt that this is a very personal story and a labour of love. Once you have seen the “page with the skull” and the “transformation of Luther” you will realise that Bryan Talbot probably does have otherworldly powers himself.

There is a delicate, ephemeral unreality that seems to shimmer as you look at it. You know that behind every panel you look at there are multiple panels from different comics in different worlds stretching off to infinity. The influences displayed in the visuals are extremely rich. For those who enjoy the “spot the reference” game in Alan Moore’s work Luther Arkwright is a wildly indulgent treat. The beauty of Bryan Talbot’s work (here and elsewhere) though is that he doesn’t just reproduce a multitude of styles but uses them to create a perfect fusion that would not work anywhere else but a comic book. It is an example of the form and the content in perfect alignment.

This is the cover to issue 5 (Dark Horse edition) I own the original art of this.

Buy this and you’ll be reading it over and over again for many years to come, though, so don’t worry if it seems a lot to take in.

There is also a sequel “Heart of Empire” that came out in the late 90s and follows the adventures of Luther’s daughter, Victoria in an alternate restoration court. As well as a collected paperback edition, Heart of Empire is available on CD containing scans of the pencil roughs, black-and-white inks, final colour pages and high resolution versions and a great deal of annotation and supplementary material from Bryan Talbot. It also includes scans of the whole of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, from the recently created digital remastered version at the best resolution that it has ever been seen in. The CD is in some ways the "Directors cut" of the comic and was created to answer the perennial "where do you get your ideas from?" question asked by fans. The first chapter of it has been put online for free viewing due to the inherent difficulty in explaining what it contains. I want this!

You will like this if you like: anything good at all (!), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Authority, Indigo Prime, Michael Moorcock, Jet Li’s The One, counterfactual histories.

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

Batmanuel

Oh WoW... I had almost forgotten about Luther Arkwright, really really really very cool stuff, a true masterpiece.

CatFang

It certainly is.

I've only just realised that Heart of Empire is being featured on the main site homepage. That's what must have put it in my mind to do this before the one I was going to do next.

Easy for everyone to buy it then Laughing

CatFang

Slaine The Horned God

Writer: Pat Mills
Artist: Simon Bisley

Slaine had his debut in 2000AD in 1983, and is still going as I write. 25 years under his belt now and he did not think it too many!

This review deals with the arc “Slaine the Horned God” from 1989, but I will include a bit of background first for those who haven’t encountered the character before.

Sláine charts the adventures of eponymous Slaine Mac Roth in an alternate European past based primarily around Celtic / Gaelic myths and legends with a sprinkling of Lovecraftian time bending elder gods and British historical figures . It also has discernable influences from Robert Graves and modern paganism, Moorcock, Robert E Howard and, being by Pat Mills, has one or two political points to make along the way.

As a great warrior Slaine wields the mighty weapon, Brainbiter, “kiss my axe!”, rides to battle on his dragon, The Knucker, and is subject to the Warpspasm. Based on the “riastrad” or “battle frenzy” of legendary heroes such as Cu Chulainn (Slaine’s closest literary cousin, I would say) and King Arthur (oh yes, if you read the older legends rather than the sanitized Victorian ones) where a warrior channels the energy of battle itself and warps into a terrifying unstoppable monster. In many adventures he is accompanied by Ukko the dwarf, a filthy, lewd, degenerate, snivelling, untrustworthy creature who provides the framing device for The Horned God as he records the adventures of Slaine many years later.

The story is set in the land of Tir-Nan-Og (the land of the young) where many Irish myths take place. Pat Mills has described it himself as “the land of Celtic Twilight”. In several arcs Slaine also travels through time (2000AD is a sci-fi comic, after all, to fight alongside key figures from British History and Legend such as Boudicca and King Arthur) but at the time of The Horned God all that is yet to come.

The Horned God is, I think, the first “(almost) grown up” comic I read, several years before I “got into” comics, as they say. With the thrill power turned up to eleven and eye-wateringly beautiful painted art by Simon Bisley it is a perfect way to encounter the medium, and the character, for the first time.

The Horned God cycle follows the story of Slaine fighting various battles - political, religious, spiritual and physical – as he struggles to find the lost treasures of Ireland and unite the clans while suffering a personal apotheosis, the will see him transformed into the latest incarnation of Carnun (the horned god of the title) and being crowned the first High King of Ireland.

The violence threshold is high and there is plenty of hewing and hurting and hacking and harming. No place for the squeamish here. The Nature Worship on show, and its Goddess, is as much about red in tooth and claw brutality as it is about love and laughter and romping in the meadows. Expect glistening gore and flying gibs a-plenty.

The Lord Weird Slough Feg. first encountered in earlier Slaine stories, returns to oppose Slaine in a brilliant take on growth and stagnation (good and evil being far too simplistic a stance for Pat Mills) and its personal and political implications. Being a Mills villain there is enough of the hero in him to problematise the relationship between Slough Feg and Slaine – in fact they are even more closely bound than Nemesis and Torquemada - but to go into that would be a huge spoiler so I will leave it there. Slough Feg is no mere foil to, or reflection of, Slaine – he is following his own dark dreams and desires and the story occurs because the paths of the hero and villain cross.

It is extremely hard to review the Horned God without giving away any of the story. As it builds on mythic patterns a lot of the “what happens” is already familiar, “how it happens” is what gives this story its much place in the Hall of Fame of British Comics.

As a product of its time there is a strong ecological message, threaded with mysticism, underlying the hacking and slashing. While it seems that Mills greatly enjoys writing Slaine it is as much for the opportunity to slyly subvert the tropes of heroic fantasy as it is to celebrate it and use its best aspects to tell a heart-thumpingly good yarn. It is this playful and chaotic approach to his art that makes me such a big Mills fan.

The dance between freedom and control, society and individualism which informs much of Mills’ work raises its head once again. In this case the discussion really centres on “religion” vs “spirituality” and some sharp satire about church and state. There are more questions than answers though and the reader is really left to make up his own mind as to whether the choices made by the characters are the ones they would have chosen and whether things could have turned out better.

There is rhythmic quality to the writing and the story construction that echoes the poetry of the ancient sagas. This builds to a great crescendo as the story thunders along, sweeping you up as it passes like the wild hunt itself. It will leave you hag ridden, gasping and dishevelled in the morning – but you will be back for more.

The art is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Simon Bisley effortlessly captures the strutting, exultant, heroic arrogance of the world of the tribes in all its glory. His woman are strong and sexy and beautiful – easily the equals of the men in lust, laughter, loyalty and slaughter. The men themselves are iron thewed fighting machines, glorious and magnificent, striding masterfully about the land. Lord Weird Slough Feg, inspired by “the sorcerer” from the Lascaux cave paintings is one of my favourite character designs in all of comics, sinister yet strangely sympathetic, compelling and revolting all at once conveyed in all his ragged, shadowy sublimity. And as for monsters, well no one draws a monster like Bisley.

Try this if you like Conan, The Incredible Hulk, Promethea, Nemesis the Warlock, Heavy Metal, Elric, British Mythology, Beowulf (in any form)

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

norsefire1

all in all a very good blast form the past from catfang there. i think it is the objective of pat Mills to not only to create a replacement celtic mythic cycle but also to make a statement on why we need one "now" (the 80s) more then ever.(thus the book haveing a strong ecological message)

just a note one the characterization within the saga as for Ukko to me he is the very personification of what a Dwarf should be, devoid of any "human" belevolence. to take what catfang said a little further i think what Pat Mills has done with Lord Weird Slough and Slaine is very charcteristic of lots of the ideas from the Celtic myth cycle and Nietzche, i dont think that this book or slaine in general brokers in idears of good and evil at all, (that is to say it does not suffer from the taint of christain morality) and i think 'slough' and slaine are emblamatic of this.

i think that the Horned God doesnt go as far as to be "subversive" in what Millis has to say About the heroic and the sword and sorcery genre i think he plays with its conventions and is as anti tolkien as possible but even then i think Mills is just doing this to the end that slaine is an alternative to the terry brooks of this world.

again this blast from the past is a very good and should transmute some of the clear passion that Catfang has for the book to those who have yet to read this masterwork of fantasy, that try's to bring back the gods and Monsters of a long lost britain.

CatFang

Terry Brooks - wow, that's a name I haven't heard in a long long time. For good reason I think Very Happy

Batmanuel

Wow, great piece Cat, and some interesting feedback from Norse too, but say what you like Slaine the Horned God is a true Blast from the past, and certinately worth revisiting.

CatFang

Ronin

Art and script: Frank Miller

“If you find yourself on a cliffside, trapped, with a hungry tiger waiting above and a hungry tiger waiting below, and, by chance, you spy a single strawberry growing from the cliffside. Pluck the strawberry. And bite into it. And taste it.

Our lives are as fragile and as brief as cherry blossoms. And as fragrant.”

So you’ve seen Sin City and 300. You’ve gone back and read Year One, Daredevil and the Homeric triumph of heroism and sacrifice that is The Dark Knight Returns. But before all of that came Ronin. If you haven’t read that then it’s still not time sit back to catch your breath!

It is surprising that Miller got away with this at all. Back in 1987 he was not yet the superstar writer that he would become as a result of Dark Knight. The comics industry was in decline. Creativity was not that much in evidence and the big publishers seemed afraid to take risks. Unless you could get your hands on Asian comics you would never have seen anything like this.

Ronin is wildly (and not always completely successfully) experimental. It is haunting and troublesome. The plot twists and screams, wrenching readers and characters from ancient Japan to near future America, swords and demons to organic computers and artificial intelligence. It’s certainly unique. It’s definitely intense. It’s maybe a bit confused, or at least confusing, and sometimes you think you might just be able to hearing something giving way under the strain. Ignore it, no pain no gain, right?

So, it’s sci-fi with Japanese demons is it? Well, yes, and even just taken on that level it’s a pretty spectacular story. But what Ronin is actually about is betrayal. As a consequence it’s also about loyalty, nobility, humanity and control.

The apocalyptic tone and thundering rhythms that have come to be a hallmark of Miller’s work are already building to a rumble. Never afraid to place tremendous demands on his characters Miller does not flinch as he tortures them, informed here by the great samurai traditions of the conflicts arising between duty and desire. There are also less abstract matters thrown in for discussion, uncomfortable questions about race, homelessness, corporate power and scientific responsibility

The story follows the titular Ronin as he hunts down the demon that assassinated his master, in order to exact vengeance, gain redemption and ultimately fulfil his destiny. It’s not that simple of course, for a start it involves a magic sword. Unable to defeat the demon in his own time he is reincarnated hundreds of years in the future into a New York disintegrating under some unspecified economic or social collapse, torn by violence and populated by mutants, monsters and madmen. Oh yes, and cannibals.

The supporting cast includes Mr Taggart, the founder of Aquarius Corporation, Casey McKenna, his head of security and her husband, Peter, the inventor of “biocircuitry” the invention that could save the world. Also, Billy Challas, a ward of the corporation who is being used to test cutting edge prosthetic limbs as he was born with none of his own. Billy seems to have telekinetic powers and has been having vivid dreams about a samurai and demon in ancient Japan. Alongside these humans, with concerns of its own, is Virgo the artificial intelligence at the heart of the Aquarius complex.

Yes, you may well think, "wow"!

This excitable fusion of genres extends to the artwork. A mad combination of styles stitches the graceful pen and ink of Goseki Kojima to the insanely compulsive detail of Geoff Darrow to produce something that is unmistakably Miller. In the space of a handful of pages he bounds through widescreen peaceful panoramic city-scapes, explosive violence covered in speed lines and full of abstracted manga-like ferocity, countless tiny tension inducing panels consisting of little more than captions and beautiful emotional close-ups. The angles and perspectives veer and lurch adding to the unsettling sensations of alienation and instability that are central to the story.

Every time you gasp at the art in his later work remember you saw it here first. More importantly, without this there probably would never have been a Dark Knight Returns.

You will like this if you like: Akira, Lone Wolf and Cub, Samurai Jack, Wild Zero (and that really is a "must see" film!) anything else by Frank Miller,

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

Batmanuel

This really was such a cutting edge comic series in its time, an concur that this really laid the foundations for books like DKR.

A most exellent Blast form the past, nice one Norsefire Smile

CatFang

Ummm....

It was me....CatFang...

But Norsefire did promise me a Conan one Very Happy

norsefire1

i see that your ghost writeing for me now catfang Very Happy

just sorry that the pay is so poor Exclamation

i did indeed promise a conan blast from the past but i seem to be testing high in procratination Exclamation

i will get on to it shortly.

but indeed another blast from the past of quality from catfang, although i dont think it is Mr Miller's best work.

CatFang

Batmanuel

whoops,
mustnotpostwhiledrunk,mustnotpostwhiledrunk,mustnotpostwhiledrunk,mustnotpostwhiledrunk, Smile

Maybe it was because me and Norse were talking about this very book in the shop the other day, or was it Conan?... i think i may be losing it Confused

Maybe i just assumed without acually reading the name,
could be that, or maybe its because I'm overworked,
or it could be because i was drunk.

mustnotpostwhiledrunk,mustnotpostwhiledrunk,mustnotpostwhiledrunk,

come to think of it, it could just be that i am stupid Sad

CatFang

Batmanuel

"I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk" Smile

"I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk""I must not post while drunk" Wink

CatFang

I hope you wrote all that out and did not just copy and paste it young man!

Batmanuel

"I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk""I Must not copy and paste, I must not post while drunk"

Honest Guv i didn't do it, it was not me, did you see me? no, well then.
Wha???? cctv....Doh!

CatFang

KillRaven – Warrior of the Worlds

Written by: Don McGregor, Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Bill Mantlo, Marv Wolfman

Art by: P. Craig Russell, Neal Adams, Howard Chaykin, Herb Trimpe, Gene Colan, Rich Buckler, Sal Buscema

Published by: Marvel (beginning 1973)

Yes – all those people really did have a hand in it, even though this incarnation of the title was just 39 issues long. Most of these creators were involved for only one or two issues and the “golden age” of Killraven began when Don McGregor took over writing duties from issue 21 and P Craig Russell signed on as penciller a few issues later.
The initial idea was co-plotted and designed by Roy Thomas and Neal Adams (not, in fact, Freddie Mercury’s mum as far as I know, but I could be mistaken…)

The story follows Jonathan Raven (or KillRaven as he was dubbed in the arena), an escaped gladiator and now leader of a band of rebels who fight for freedom against the tyrannical Martian overlords as they cross a ruined America in search of KillRaven’s missing brother.

The subtitle “Warrior of the Worlds” refers to this being a kind of sequel to H G Wells “War of The Worlds” set on an alternate future earth (Marvel’s Earth -691). So far, so generic science-fantasy (Killraven is a gladiator with a sword in a world of cyborgs) update of classic literature. It is also, as with lots of 70s sci-fi across different media, incredibly, heavily “over-written” by today’s standards.

The story begins as a kind of all action, fast talking, pulp adventure along the lines of “Conan versus the Martians”, but after Mcgregor and Russell took over the comic developed a brooding, melancholy air and becomes something more introspective. Interestingly the character of Killraven does not really change, rather it is his supporting cast and the adventures they find themselves in that have altered, leaving the hero almost at odds with his own story. This is even directly addressed a couple of times by the characters, so leads me to believe it is deliberate commentary on the form. It sometimes works well, and is sometimes forced and awkward, but it is a brave and innovative thing to have attempted. This tension between creative fearlessness and successful storytelling is an issue that will raise its head again and again with this title.

The first issue shows us a world where the Martians have returned, successfully this time, and now occupy earth. We learn that the humans initially attempted resistance, unleashing biological weapons against the invaders but the strategy backfired spectacularly as the lethal pathogens turned on their creators wiping out a significant portion of the population. Secure in their victory the Martians subjugate the remaining inhabitants of Earth, apart from a handful of collaborators, breeding them either for food and sacrifice or for entertainment in the arena if they are strong specimens.

Humans are a hardy breed though and not about to stand for this kind of thing. There is always a band of rag-tag rebels, you know how this works, right? Killraven’s band of Freemen includes M’Shulla Scott (KillRaven’s black lieutenant – yes, the colour of his skin is very important to the message, this was the 70s, remember), the “scientist with a secret” Carmilla Frost, the cynical, bitter native American Hawk, the faithful but slow-witted strongman Old Skull, and Grok a sub-human creature fanatically devoted to Carmilla.

At various points their paths are crossed by an exotic variety of dangerous females such as Volcana Ash (whose origin sequence has to be seen to be believed!), the human/plant hybrid Mint Julep and the sense defying Mourning Prey who help them in various ways. I’m not sure if this was intentional and was trying to communicate any specific message, if so it is never really developed and I didn’t really notice it at first reading but it struck me just now, thinking back over the story.

The main antagonists are, of course, the Martians, but they do not often appear “on page.”, which actually works well as a means of amplifying their alien menace. The band is primarily pursued by a Martian agent, the cyborg assassin Skar, leading to some beautiful fight scenes. Of course just having to defeat or escape from Skar would be far too easy and the heroes run into conflict with other mutants, monsters, human collaborators and transhuman creatures amongst them the wonderfully named Pstun-Rage, the Death-Breeders, Atalon the Fear Master, the Sacrificer and Abraxas.

Probably as a result of having such a “revolving door for creators”, the whole thing is really a messy grab-bag of scraps and half finished ideas that really shouldn’t work at all. You get the impression of “kids in a sweetshop”, and so what we get is a mad, dizzy sugar-rush of a comic where every individual concept probably “seemed like a good idea at the time”. It is clearly one of the most ambitious comics ever put out, but to realise that ambition it would have needed an Alan Moore on the script. It is keen and excited, but not always quite up to the job. Strangely though, it rises above all of this and manages to make something quite astonishingly ground-breaking.

Part of the mystery can be explained, I think, by the fact that this was a low selling book, constantly in danger of cancellation, and so was “beneath of the attention” of many people who would have been much stricter about what was allowed to be included in a higher profile title. This gave the creators a massive amount of freedom (in the end it gave them enough rope to hang themselves and it was cancelled and wrapped up quickly, as can be seen from the ending) and they used it to explore madness, love, violence, philosophy, justice, political satire, psychological trauma and the nature of “true freedom”.

The fact that the creators were open to experimentation and breaking boundaries means that Killraven is where we see the first inter-racial kiss in comics. The fact that you wouldn’t notice this as anything unusual when reading it now shows just what a different world this book was created in and you need to keep that in mind when reading it to understand just how dangerous it was to explore some of the concepts it did.

McGregor looked to bring much more social commentary and psychological / emotional realism to the story than previous writers. This was accomplished mainly by means of a shift that puts the actual landscape much more at the centre of the story, rather than it just being “backgrounds” that fill in the white space of the panel. Much of the satire, though, relies on readers recognising the settings / locations in relation to what is happening in them. I will admit that much of this was lost on me, apart from the very obvious ones such as a slave market on the statue of Abraham Lincoln (nowhere did I say the script was subtle!), as I just didn’t know the places or their associations with American popular culture in the 1970s.

P Craig Russell’s art is beautiful, even on 30-odd year old cheap paper with the shocking colour repro available to printers then. In places he approaches fine art with technical skills and a design sense that is nothing short of incredible.

The best way to think of his art is “visual music” and it adds a lightness and subtlety to a script that can swing alarmingly from “sound and fury” to somewhat pretentious exposition and otherwise might have been heavy going. It is a very rare artist who has the ability to take a story so stuffed with concepts, dialogue and explanatory captions it is bursting the 32 pages allotted to it and deliver such graceful, seamless pages.

When it came to the idea of “location as character” McGregor was very lucky that in P Craig Russell he had an artist skilled enough to pull off recognisable “future ruined” real locations without them being intrusive. Similarly his “trippier” locations, such as the adventure that takes place inside a holographic dream world where we enter projected visualisations of the Freemen’s hopes and fears are in safe and capable hands.

The sheer imagination on display in the creature and concept design is some of the best I have seen in comics. I really want a purple serpent horse!

Whatever its flaws, though, it was trying to do something new and meaningful and adult with a medium that was elsewhere stuck in “monster of the week territory”, and it should be applauded for that. There are definite flashes of inspiration, but no-one had walked this way before, and so there is the impression that the creators were not always sure how to set about what they wanted to accomplish. To be honest, it does show its age a bit now, but this lends it a kind a eerie “retro-future” quality that has probably improved it.

All in all it is a flawed masterpiece, but it is a masterpiece none the less.

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

norsefire1

another awesome blast from the past there Catfang, very compressive. killraven sounds well up my street. a title i had only a small understanding of what it was about, untill now. has this ever been collected Question

CatFang

From what I know I would say it would be right up your street.

It might also give us clues on how to go about our plot to capture P Craig Russell Twisted Evil

It has never been collected - I don't know if there are plans to collect it future. Manny got me an original run, he may have another or be able to get one.

norsefire1

thanks for the info on if the title had been collected yet or not. i think i may have a word with Batmanuel at some point about this. i am getting a huge " john carter warlord of mars" vibe from killraven. very cool.

Batmanuel

CatFang:

CatFang

norsefire1

awesome news on there being an eassential of killraven Very Happy

. if you could be so kind as to put one away/order one on my standing order i would be most greatful Batmanuel.

tis a bit of a issue that the eassentials are in black and white Catfang but i have had no real issue with the other eassentials i own, and the completist in me wants it all in nice volumes.

CatFang

Norsefire1, I am shocked - 3 words..."P...Craig...Russell...".

You say you will be happy with it in black and white - what heresy is this?

Buy the essential for the shelf and the run for the colour...and the really cool 70s adverts. My favourite is the one for the record that will make you a "kung-fu master" if you listen to it for a few hours in your sleep.

Laughing

Batmanuel

CatFang:

norsefire1

what can i say, when it comes to this heretic, given the choice of most effective way or the fast way of getting hold of the good ol pulp media, i will always take the fast way. Smile

yeah the ads for 70s/80s comics rule. its the ones about "issues" and "positive rolemodels in comics" that make me chuckle.

wish i was a Kung-fu master Sad

norsefire1

Conan

By Marvel comics
collected by Dark horse
Conan created by Robert E. Howard
Roy Thomas, barry windsor smith, Gil Kane, John Mayerik and others.

this blast from the past is more of a overview of the conan comics by marvel then a retrospective on any one book/issue/story.

in the late 60s Marvel where receiving a large number of letters from there fan base urging them to adapt fantasy from the printed media, something at the time marvel was not really known for. it seemed that the most populer title that the readership wanted in there letters was the lord of the rings but the Tolkien estate did not want to know, so after a while it was Lin Carter's Thonger that had been chosen to fill the demand of readers wanting a slice of "sword and sorcery" in there comics. although due a financial disagreement Marvel could not obtain the licence of carters character, so after negotiations with L. sprague de Camp (Howards estate, literary agent) Roy Thomas got the rights for Marvel to print Conan storys, on the foundation that it would give Conan a whole new audience thus being worthwhile to the Howards estate.

from looking at issues 1 - 3 it is clear to see that Marvel did not have the greatist faith in there new comic, the art is at best slapdash and the writeing feels like a poor mans Edgar rice Burroughs then the savage writing of Howard. the clear issue with these early tales is that marvel only had the rights to write original stories about conan they could not retell any tales from the pulps untill issue 4.

issue 4 is a real turning point in the comic for not only does it adapt the Howard story "the tower of the elephant" but there is a huge improvement in Windsor - Smiths art but also in Thomas writeing. it was from this that the way to deal with conan was in some kind of chronological order, something that much conan media has done since. issue 4 also was nominated for best comic book of 1971 by the ACBA.

this then lead to tthe comic then adapting Howards "the God in the Bowl" in issue 7 although the adaption does make changes to the tale. in turn fans did not seem to like such change and sales decreased since issue 1.

after issue 7 stan lee moved on to the title makeing some moves in the area of style. for me such change took something away form the title, makeing it far less animalistic and the comic started becoming less about Conans struggle against nature. although sales did indeed rise.

then in issues 14 and 15 the comic horizons started to broaden, there is a Elric and Conan crossover, Plotting for the crossover was done by Michael Moorcock himself. the art of this crossover is very good save for elrics look which pertains to the American paperbacks of the time. also within this crossover also was important due to return of the wizard Zukala from issue 5 which cemented the chonological continuity of the comic.

after a few issues with sales not at there best and the comic was put out bimonthly, creatively the title had stared to retell Howard tales that where not from conans world and then place them with conan as the protagonist
inspiration was also found in Fritz Leibers work's, this can be seen most blatantly in some of the comics foe's.

after issue 16 sales again where on the rise and the comic went back to a monthly for the rest of the titles run.

it seemed tobecome the ethos of the title that this was very much Marvels comic and made some departer away from Howards tales. although the comic became far more about prose then dialogue and captions.

the art in issue 21 really took a turn in the stlye of the comic due to a coming togeather, a synthesis which captured the grandeur of the prose. at this point P. Craig Russel started to do fill in on art work duty due to deadlines.

in later issues after issue 60 the poor mans Burroughs would rear its ugly head once more, and conan would have a great deal in common Tazan in characterization and would adventure with Tarzan homage Amra although this was somewhat tempered by the introduction of Howards Belit. also at this point, strange crossovers with quasi howard red sonja and a time traveling Kull.

it is clear however that the comic was indeed a great vehicle for keeping conan alive. infact one could say that these Marvel comics did indeed keep conan going, this comic not only lead to a few spin off's by marvel of other works by the same writer, including the more adult savage sword of conan but also had a huge impact on all conan media after right up till now.

Batmanuel

These Dark Horse collections are just so top notch, they haven't just been reprinted any old how, they have been lovingly restored, and beautifully recolored, absolutely superb.

an exellent choice Norsefire Very Happy

CatFang

Hooay - I have been waiting for this Blast from this past since Norsefire1 mentioned doing it a while back.

I am going to have to get these now! Well, I thought I probably was, anyway, but now I am going to get them the next time I come in the shop.

I am curious about the Elric / Conan crossover - does that work while staying true to both characters?

I just read a (fairly, I think) new adaptation of "The Frost Giant's Daughter" by Busiak, but I did not think it worked all that well at conveying the feel of the original story.

When I see "Burroughs" as an author, my first thought is always William, not Edgar Rice. A Conan story by William Burroughs would be great. There is a Tarzan story done like that called "Jungle Rot Kid on The Nod" as a what would happen would if the Burroughses were exchanged Cool

norsefire1

the Elric/conan crossover works very well and it works cos moorcock did work on it.

when i read the "new" adaptation of the "the frost Giants Daughter" i thought that Busiak did a real nice job on it. thought the giants where awesome and that it did ok at conveying the feel of the tales original tale. its quite close.

yeah i must admit that i have to reprogram my self when i think of the name Burroughs as an author as well. will so have to hunt down that Tarzan tale. Smile

CatFang

The Frost Giant's daughter adaptation is one of my favourite Conan stories - and when I read it I had such a strong visual impression of it that probably no one was going to get it "right" for me!

With the Busiak version I didn't think it captured the "fire and ice" elements of desperation and longing and determination of the prose version. It was a bit too literally illustrative I think and so did not get across the eerie /uncanny/otherworldly haunted quality that I really liked in the book. Also I think it tones down the slightly uncomfortable bits where Conan is driven so mad with lust and frustration by the Frost Giant's Daughter that he can't tell if he wants to kill her or rape her or both. It is further complicated by the idea that she kind of seems to want him to do one or the other to prove that he can. Once this is all tied up with feasting and sacrifice and her father and brothers it makes for a beautiful and nasty little tale.

The whole thing in the book has a keen sense of loss - and I think that is absent from the comic.

Just aesthetic preferences, of course, but I thought I would explain to you a bit why I didn't think it worked.

We have the Tarzan story in a sci-fi anthology called Alien Sex it seems to be out of print now but you can buy it second hand from amazon. It is by Philip Jose Farmer. The book also includes the brilliant "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" about the realities of Superman and Lois Lane ever have any kind of physical relationship.

norsefire1

oh yeah i think the frost Giants daughter is one of my fave conan yarns as well, by contrast it was Robert E. Howards least fave conan tale.

with the Busiak version, i think your right it does seem to fail to capture the "fire and ice" of it all. as you so rightly put it. and yes it does somewhat tone down the lusting that goes to make it such a savage tale. although i think why this is and why it is very litrally illustrative is due to that i think when first put out in single issue it was early on ( issue 2) in its run and was trying to win over the Howard faithful and i think it was trying not to relive the sales decline of those early marvel issues. although i do think your completely valid in saying that the comic is indeed abesent of a sense of loss and the end of the comic is kind of turned into a joke.

thankyou very much for giveing me the title and link to that anthology, will look into it.

CatFang

Do you know what Howards favourite story was? And what about yours - prose or comics?

Some of my other favourite prose ones were the one where Conan joins the pirate queen and the one where he has to reclaim his crown - but I don't have my book here and can't remember the titles. Are either of these adapted into comic form?

norsefire1

off the top of my head i am not sure which of Howards favourite story was, or if he had a favourite. as for my favourite it has to come down to "queen of the black coast" or "the God in the Bowl" and indeed "the frost giants daughter in prose, in comics i would say that that the dark horse "born on the battlefield" was quite cool.

yeah Belit the pirate queen is an awesome femme fatale. this story has indeed been adapted and Belit expanded on by roy thomas in the marvel run.

Batmanuel

The current rendition of "born on the battlefield" has been for me, nothing short of superb, and is one of the best , and most beautifully illustrated of stories.

CatFang

I'm going to need some sort of list of all these to start picking them off.

norsefire1

Maus

By : penguin books
Art Spiegelman

with the talk of the 'pride of baghdad' on the forum, inspired by a comment by Batmanuel, coupled with my experience in holocaust studies i thought my next blast from the past would be Maus.

maus recounts the events of Spiegelman's father (a jew) as a holocaust survivor, thus the main theme of the book lies in the troubled relashionship spieglman has with his dad and the effects that world war 2 and the genocide reverberate though generations of a family.

the first strikeing thing about this book is that all the characters are presented as animal's. this is i the first sign for the reader that there about to undertake a rich and complex work. what the result is a tragic quest beyond knowlege where spiegelman by confronting his complex relashionship with his dad he confronts his complex relashionship with the holocaust.

the style of the book is very much that of a kind of meta biography, with a vibe that is like the diary of anne frank or twilight by elie weisel. infact the theme of trying to express that which seems inexpressible and by a 2nd genaration surivior who did not suffer the holocaust first hand looms large in the book.

the impact of this book is huge and there are plenty of websites and books that make comment for those who wish to find out more so i dont feel the need to to say how much of an essential read this is. but what is important about this book is that it trailblazed for a whole trend of books which open up the verying world views to us and bleed the importance of history.

CatFang

Great choice for a blast from the past, Norsefire1.

Yes, Pride of Baghdad is good, but it is nowhere near the level of Maus.

To echo what Norsefire1 says -

It is a really complex, brave, honest and above all extremly, exasperatingly, human story and certainly one that deserves to be more widely known.

The cartoon style just makes the horror, guilt, terror, relief all the more immediate.

It is extremly well written and even if you know lots about the history of the ww2 and the holocaust this will still move and shock you.

Batmanuel

Absolutely.
It rarely gets better than this, i remember when i first ever read this book, it blew me away,

Another book from that period was Barefoot Gen, thats also worth its admission fee.

CatFang

From Hell

Writer: Alan Moore
Artist: Eddie Campbell

Ok then. Here’s the big one. I’ve been thinking that From Hell needed a blast for a while but where to start?

So before we get into the blast itself a couple of key points:

1) If you’ve seen the film – forget everything about it
2) This is not a book about Jack The Ripper

Well, of course it IS about Jack The Ripper, but as Alan Moore himself says it is less a “who dunnit” than a “why dunnit”.

I am sure this is going to be a long piece (we are talking about a nearly 600 page book here, and that is not counting the accompanying script book) and I haven’t even started yet so I will attempt to “topline it” as I see it:

From Hell is a visceral, brilliant, convoluted, hysterical vision of the birth of the 20th century. Jack The Ripper is the midwife who delivers the next 100 screaming years of war, holocaust, rape, genocide and serial killing, as he painstakingly extracts his victims’ innards and tenderly embraces the final empty corpse . The fevered portrayal of the infamous Whitechapel Murders here has them more as an inevitable symbol of the human condition than a specific event that occurred in historical time.

Alan Moore’s research is, as usual meticulous to the point of obsession and be warned that looking at Eddie Campbell’s scratchy, dirty expression of Victorian London will cause a rotten, mouldy stain on your soul.

This is a work as glorious and as squalid and London itself. You can’t claim to love comics and not read this. You see, From Hell fulfils another very important, very Victorian function – sitting in attic of the comic world it grows ever nastier and more horrifying, allowing the mainstream to grow shinier and prettier, apparently unsullied by its sins.

Here we go then.

"I shall tell you where we are. We're in the most extreme and utter region of the human mind. A dim, subconscious underworld. A radiant abyss where men meet themselves. Hell, Netley. We're in Hell."

The British are fascinated by the enigma of the Ripper murders. Perhaps it is the shuddering image of incredible brutality at the heart of the supposed gentility of the British Empire, perhaps it is the tantalising draw of the knowledge that the crime can never be solved, whatever it might be it seems way out of proportion to the murder of 4 prostitutes in the east end of London. This seems to be the starting point of the book.

The theory, or rather conspiracy, that Moore goes with is probably well known (in fact it has been parodied as often as it has been proposed, I think), involving as it does the Royal Family, Freemasons and magic, but I will try not spoiler it in case anyone reading the review has not come across it before. However great thing about this book is not whether it is “true” in a mundane “X was the killer” sense, but the mythic weight that Moore brings to bear on questions of society, class, violence, fear, sex, and history. As befits the greatest of comics writers Moore knows well that the mask is more important than the man underneath.

Alan Moore, of course, knows his Victoriana. As you might expect the book is peppered with references, in-jokes, sly nods, shy smiles, and tips of the hat. If you have never before seen a person flirt with a period of history this is the place to do it. The hypocritical Victorian line between sensationalism and a stiff upper lip is walked to perfection. You get the idea that the creators are having the time of their lives.

Historical people have been persuaded into cameo roles. Look out for appearances from Queen Victoria, Aleister Crowley, and Oscar Wilde among others. Most notable of all though is the role played in the story by the Elephant Man, John Merrick. The main characters have a vivid realism and are all portrayed with striking compassion and understanding, even The Ripper himself. This just serves to make the unfolding events even more awful. Doom hangs in the air from the very first page. The world evoked is one of emptiness, desolation and bitter frustration. There is a fatalism, an inevitability, to the complex interplay of people and events in time.

In his introduction to the series, Moore wrote "It's my belief that if you cut into a thing deeply enough, if your incisions are precise and persistent and conducted methodically, then you may reveal not only that thing's inner workings, but also the meaning behind those workings.” I feel there is a lot of Alan Moore in his detective characters – Inspector Abberline as appears here, for example, and Finch from V for Vendetta. The ability to get under the skin and see with the eyes of another is what makes both characters and creator great. Of course, he takes you with him. You may feel in need of a good scrub when you get out.

Eddie Campbell is one of my favourite artists. His artwork is magnificent here, probably his best work that I have seen, but it is not for the unwary. Capturing the tone of the tone of writing perfectly it has a madness about it, and yet for all its wildness a detailed, suffocating intensity. It looks like it was etched in the soot and the stains of the city itself. It will catch in your throat and sting your eyes raw.

The architectural drawing especially is phenomenal. The brooding sense of menace and shadow gives the city a threatening character all of its own. This bleak, gloomy, evocation of a dilapidated city built from occult symbols amounts to a psycho-geography of the dark corners of the human mind - something made explicit in a wonderful chapter in which we go on a sight-seeing tour of places of magical significance.

I get a strong sense that Jack himself may just be the dreams of the place embodied. The human characters seem almost inconsequential among the looming buildings, an impression enforced by the sketchy, uncertain lines that define them. This hesitance lends a peculiar, uncomfortable intimacy at times – almost as if there is something hovering there too afraid to express itself in the open, craving an understanding the reader does not want to admit to, lyrical and repellent all at once.

Alan Moore's stated aim was “to solve in fiction, that which could not be answered by conventional analysis or enquiry”. I am not sure he ended up with a solution, in the end, but the journey was well worth it, and the questions raised deserve further discussion. In many ways it has similarities to Oliver Stone’s explorations of JFK or Norman Mailer’s dances with Hitler (The Castle In The Forest) and Lee Harvey Oswald (Oswald’s Tale) with their air of plausible unreality.

This is not an “easy” comic. It is not comfortable reading. The subject matter is horrific and the focus is unflinching. Perhaps that is why it does not enjoy the widespread prominence of Alan Moore’s other works. It is the easily the equal of Watchman though, both in scope and craftsmanship. I found that it gave me bad dreams.

If you can, treat yourself to the hardback collected edition which includes all the appendices and notes. There is also a script book which is worth a look, if only to marvel at what went into making this monster.

Highly recommended. Not for the faint-hearted.

Visit the Whatever Comics main website and online shop to buy in person, by phone or online

norsefire1

that was one hell of a blast from the past there catfang, i think you hit the nail on the head there, i must admit i was thinking of doing "from hell" my self but you did a steller job there.golden. i have often thought about the importance of Moore's detective's?. well worth the read for those who have yet to or those who have seen the movie and want to find out that this historical fiction is far more then "psychic detective vs. jack the ripper". again a great blast from the past there.

CatFang

Why, thank you, norsefire1 Very Happy

You should post your blast on From Hell as well, it's always good to get different perspectives on the same book. Unless you completely with every single thing I said, of course Very Happy

BTW - off topic I did you get the reply email I sent you about my thoughts about your comments on the Beowulf design? If you tried to reply we have had incredible problems with our emails for over a week now and have lost lots of things sent since 16th June and still not properly back. The email address on the front of Cy's website works though.

norsefire1

i very well may post a from hell blast from the past as well, would give me the chance to read it again.

off topic- sorry to here that you are haveing email problems, i did indeed send you a replay, i think i still have a draft of my reply and will endeavor to send you another copy though Cys email via his website if thats cool and the gang?

CatFang

Batmanuel

I would very much like (with permission) to make a theme out of this for the main site, and if Norse posts a secondary blast, i think that it would make for a very interesting side by side view on the same piece of work.

of course all credits will be given to those who wrote Smile

But thank you CatFang for taking the time to post this well thought out and inspiring post.... Nuff Said

CatFang

Of course - feel free to do with it as you will.

norsefire1

i think thats a great idea batmanuel, i am a little busy over the next week or so but will be more then happy to "blast" from hell. i will post my overview over the next couple of weeks, give me a chance to re read the book.

Batmanuel

And as promised
Visit it Here

CatFang

Epileptic

Writer / Artist: David B

Even though this book is fairly new in the UK it was written over a decade ago so I have put the review here. There will be a lot of art in this review as the art is SO important, even among other comics - reasons why revealed as we go.

Epileptic was originally published as L'Ascension du Haut Mal by the French artist David B around 10 years ago. It was collected and translated into English fairly recently and I can’t believe it took so long.

It's an incredibly dark but moving memoir of David B.'s becoming a comics artist as a result of his need to escape into the violent fantasy worlds in his imagination in order to cope with the madness that surrounds him and his family in the real world.

His older brother is an unstable epileptic and the comic takes a painful look at the struggle his family go through in their desperation to find a cure. As his condition worsens they turn from doctors, to psychiatrists, to alternative medicine, esotericism and religion and every step they take extinguishes one more glimmer of hope.

To be honest I have never encountered a comic like this before. It seems to get pigeon-holed in the “indy auto biography” section, and while it is both from an independent publisher, and autobiographical, that isn’t really the right place for it at all. The main difference seems to me to be that while most books use a particular style of art as a deliberate choice to express a story, this book is by contrast a story to explain a style of art, the creation of an artist’s identity and how he reinvented his world as a way to “forge the weapons that will allow me to be more than a sick man’s brother.”

David B’s use of the comic medium as a tool for emotional manipulation is masterful. You find yourself not just “reading about” his life, but living it . This makes for a scary book, not least because it is intensely personal, uncomfortably so at times and you want to squirm away and not look at it anymore. This only makes you feel guilty, though, as one of the problems it discusses is precisely this kind of reaction from other people to the problems faced by the author and his family, and the directions in which that drives them.

In fact, overall making you feel guilty is what the book excels at – and what brings you into closer identification with the author. Sometimes you feel guilty for your anger, or your compassion, or your fascination – the book provokes an unease that whatever feeling you are having is “inappropriate” in some way. Much of the story is about what this means to a family, and in particular to David, and how he comes to terms with this and claims his life for himself.

The art is frightening and expressionistic, and very very powerful. It has a immediacy and psychological depth that is disconcerting, especially as it seems quite “childish” at first, and by the time you have noticed the darkness has gathered in from the edges it is too late to escape. I think this point came for me in a haunting panel a couple of chapters in, shot from way up high, where the family are tiny white figures against a black background, ringed by a procession of cavorting doctors that looks like they have paraded right out of a mediaeval “Danse Macabre”.

His brother’s condition is expressed as a long, sinuous dragon-like monster that winds everything in its coils, it is suffocating and oppressive and really gives the impression of there being no escape. The sheer “blackness” of some sections is slightly overwhelming, but I think that is the point.

The chaos of hope and despair in the life of the family bleeds into David’s mind as he retreats more and more into the world of his art – a place where he believes he is in control. Symbolism and reality merge into heart-breaking sequences of stylized, powerless rage – sometimes expresses as a desire to protect, sometimes to destroy and kill. The boundaries between the real and the imaginary start to blur at some points, and you get a very real sense of this being an actual danger lurking ominously at the edges of the story itself. David retreats into himself and comes to think of his drawing as a suit of armour that can seal him off and protect him from the pain he sees around him.

It is a rare comic where the author has manages to convey so much emotion and meaning through just the images, especially as they are so deceptively simple. As time goes the realisation of what he is losing, and what he never really had is stunning. It is a coming of age tale, but unlike other such stories there will probably be little to relate to, and no feelings of nostalgic recognition.

That is not to say the book is a “downer” - in fact there is something satisfyingly defiant and stubborn and life affirming about it in some ways. As David B can put fear and frustration directly onto a page he can do the same with triumph and glee – he was still a child, after all. But the fact remains that the message at the heart of the story seems to be that if you are have to have your own life you almost have to steal it for yourself, and in doing that it is impossible to avoid betrayal of one kind or another. It plays with and contrasts many different kinds of selfishness and possession and power dynamics expertly. Although this story is focussed through the lens of a particular family with a particular problem it will almost certainly throw a new light on your own past experiences and relationships.

I am very pleased to have discovered this book and highly recommend it.

However, you should not look to the book for greater understanding of the condition epilepsy – either medically or in terms of treatment/management etc.

norsefire1

congrats on another engaging and concise blast from the past there catfang, from your overview it seems and the impact that it has had on you the book seems to have a lot in common with the writing style of albert Camus and seems to express a lot of the concepts of absurdism with the subject matter and the art. if this is the case then this sounds like the kind of book i would like to read Question

although as i think as i have said before i am a little unsure about media that covers medical conditions Question

CatFang

Yes - good spot there - Camus is not far away from this at all. I think you would find it interesting. If you do read it let me know what you think.

It is not really about the medical condition, though, rather the medical condition itself is kind of the catalyst for the events of the story having taken place.

I also spotted that there is a new book out by David B that I have asked Manny to get for me - about his dreams and visions. If you look in the thread called Epileptic there are some more details about it.

norsefire1

thanks for giveing the heads up on that other book by david b, i think i could get quite a lot out of this book, i think i will give it a read.

A Blast From The Past

Warlock: The Magus Sage