Monstrous Creatures review

As I am sure you know, Jeff Vandermeer is the author of the Amberigris series of novels, as well as being writer of countless short stories and editing a number of fiction collections by way of winning a load of awards.

This book, however, is a bit different. What we have here is a collection of Vandermeer’s reviews, articles, interviews and introductions to various collections.

It is a wonderful read. There are a few occasions where information is repeated, although this is understandable as it happens in pieces that have been written for different publications.

I’m trying to think of one or two examples where things didn’t work, but I honestly cannot. But on the other hand, there are many highlights.

The interview with author China Melville is very interesting. Both Melville and Vandermeer are fearfully intelligent and widely read and make for some awesome conversation. I’d like to get the two of them on a stage at a convention sometime, and I suspect that if we got them on the first panel of the day, we wouldn’t need to schedule any more…

While the interview with Melville is great, there are a couple more in there that are even better. The one with Joseph Nigg is heart warming and rather beautiful. And then, right out of left field, there is an interview with Melanie Typaldos. Who is she?, you may rightly ask. Well, she is the owner of a capybara. For no other reason than being interested in the animals, Vandermeer has interviewed her, and the result is a fascinating article.

The book ends with a couple more wonderful pieces. Vandermeer writes love letter to the novella that makes me feel guilty for net reading enough of them. And then there is a nice article on hiking- this, I think, hit home more because I read it at the perfect time, having just returned from a holiday where we had hiked up a mountain (and, I should add, down again). Because of this I was able to identify with a lot of what Vandermeer describes- not quite as many alligators where I was though.

And that’s just five of the many articles in this book!

There is too much in here for me to mention it all. I’ll settle for saying that Vandermer is a very good writer. He writes with an amazing intelligence and breathtaking breadth of knowledge. His reviews are insightful and sometimes toe-curlingly honest. And why had I never thought of the through-line between Lovecraft and Nigel Kneale before?

Each review or article is, as you can imagine, short enough to read in a few minutes, making this an ideal book to dip in and out of.

Crusade Vol2 review

Not having read the first volume of this series, I approached this one with some trepidation. I should not have worried though. Being only the second volume in the series, it does not have the vast backstory that the Largo Winch book did. And things are explained very well in a couple of introductory pages that fill the reader in on both the story so far and some of the inspiration behind the book from author Jean Dufaux.

The story is not what I expected, which is of course a Good Thing. I was assuming that this was going to be a straight forward adventure tale set in and around the Crusades- I suppose I had Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven in mind. So when the supernatural elements of the tale were introduced, I was a bit taken aback at first. This was my own preconception, of course.

Really, I should have learned by now not to approach any Cinebook release with any sort of preconceived notion about what I was about to read!

And what did I read here?

Well, it is a densely plotted book. There is a hell of a lot going on in this volume. There is a large cast of characters, most of which are in some sort of conflict with another set of characters- and this could easily become confusing. Thankfully though, it is not, and characters are explained and motivations made clear without it ever sounding like exposition or info dumping.

The art is, no surprise here, astounding. Highlights include a jaw dropping double page spread which stops the reader in their tracks and some glorious character design. Chief among them is The Master of Machines, who I am assuming is a character introduced in this volume. He’s like something that’s walked out of a Mad Max movie by way of the inside of Clive Barker’s head.

The plot builds nicely and ends… well, it ends on a great moment. But- and you know what’s coming- not the moment I expected it to.

When will I ever learn? Cinebook do not play by the rules of your everyday comic. In fact, the more of these I read, the more I begin to wonder why people read mainstream superhero books at all…

 

Gods of Manhattan review

Al Ewing…

His mind doesn’t work like your or mine. The man seems to be a never-ending mine of ideas. If you read his comic work- Zombo for example- there are enough ideas there that he uses as throwaway gags for another writer to make a career of. It’s damn annoying. So it wasn’t a surprise when he wrote his first novel for Abaddon, El Sombra, and even less of a surprise to discover it was brilliant.

And so he returns with a sequel to El Sombra in the form of Gods of Manhattan.

I think, given that this is a sequel, I'm safe in revealing that the titular insane Mexican ‘hero’ escapes at the end of El Sombra, and we last see him heading North, on his way to Nazi Germany…

Well, so far, he’s gotten as far as New York. And this being the steampunk world of Pax Britannia, it’s not quite the New York that you or I know.

For a start, in this New York, you’ve got your real life superheroes. And boy, does Ewing have some fun with them.

Not only is Ewing a good writer, but his obvious love for the superhero genre comes across loud and clear. But not just a love… he understands them- how and why they work – in a way that most writers, even some actually writing for the Big Two, do not. And it’s this understanding that adds another level of, for want of a better word, realism to the narrative.

While we can recognise elements of existing heroes in Ewing’s characters- there are parts of Superman, Reed Richards, Batman, Spider-man, Black Panther, The Beast and so on- they are all so well drawn that these elements don’t swamp the originality of the characters. Indeed, the heroes here go to places that the ones in the comics would not dream of… at least not outside our darkest fantasies…

Chief amongst the superheroes in this New York is Doc Thunder. And what a creation he is. I can’t talk about him, or indeed the plot, without giving too much away, but he is a genuinely interesting character in a why that the aforementioned Reed Richards can only dream about.

And El Sombra himself is as lunatic and hilarious and out and out fun as you remember him from the first book. It feels like Ewing has a blast writing him, and if I had a complaint it would be that this book is really about Doc Thunder, and El Sombra isn’t in it enough for my liking.

But that is a trifling complaint- there is more than enough going on here to keep any reader amused and on the edge of their seat.

The plot is intricate and clever, action scenes are exciting and dialogue is great, and he even managed to include one of my favourite lines from one of my favourite films. 

And when you think about it, if the only thing I’m complaining about was that there wasn’t enough of one particular character in it, then the book must be doing something right, yeah?

 

 

Tyneside Zombies, Superheroes and monsters

The Paperjam Comics Collective are a group of small press comic creators in Newcastle, and they’ve just released a collection entitled ‘Food for the Dead’, which is, as the name suggests, a zombie book.

It is a series of tales about individual people in and around Tyneside, and telling of their experiences in the aftermath of whatever caused the zombie invasion.

As with all anthologies, there are some tales and artists that are better than others. But the most important thing with comic art is storytelling, and that is of a pretty good standard throughout. The stories themselves are surprisingly good. I say surprising because, you know, it’s zombies, and there is an argument to be made that they are a bit overexposed at the moment. But the tales here range from the darkly humorous, to the just plain dark by way of some genuinely touching moments. There are also hints throughout of an overarching back story, and I wouldn’t say no to seeing some more of this.
If I had to pick one name from the book- I don’t of course, but I’m going to- it would be Faye Stacey, the artists on the tale ‘Miss Turner’. I really love her art style.

Paul Thompson, one of the contributors to Food for the Dead, also produces his own comic, Tales of the Hollow Earth, and issue 2 has just been published.

I feel I can’t talk too much about this story for fear of spoilering it for those who haven’t read it yet (or have yet to read the first issue). But I will say this, Thompson, who both writes and draws this, has plotted out a hell of a captivating and intriguing mystery story. He's working with some pretty big ideas and deep concepts in here, and it's a credit to his skill as a writer that he not only manages to pull them off, but to communicate them to the reader. His art may not be the greatest, but it is good (better than mine!) and his layouts are always well thought out and inventive. You should buy this.

Finally, from Food of the Dead contributors Gary Bainbridge and Daniel Clifford is Sugar Glider. In a step away from the zombie plague of FotD and the otherworldly, Cycolpean plots of Tales of the Hollow Earth, this is a superhero tale. Bored teenager Susie Sullivan crime fights in the city of Newcastle in the guise of the titular heroine. 

This is the first issue, so some of it is concerned with setting up the premise, although they are clever enough to hold back answers to the big questions until the promised second issue.
Again, I really enjoyed reading this. It reminded me of those old classics Billy the Cat and The Leopard from Lime Street. There are some storytelling issues with the art in places, and some instances where the script would have benefited from another pass, but overall, it’s a strong debut.

Click on the links above and buy these books!
This is what comics are all about- not the latest spin-off issue of Batman or X-men, but the true creativity that you find in the Small Press.

Doctor Who: The Book of Kells review

While the previous Big Finish adventure, Nevermore, was a literary one, this is that other Who classic- the historical.

And, being Irish, it is one that had me worrying a bit beforehand. I was prepared for a load of ‘Begorrah’ ‘Top of the mornin’ to ye’ ginger leprechauns- but thankfully this is not American TV.

The story has a good historical feel to it, which is, I suspect, not easy to do in audio alone.

So, as the title suggests, this story revolves around the Book of Kells and (is it a spoiler to mention something that is of historical record [I know people, for example, who got annoyed when told the end of 300… do you ever read a book?]) its mysterious disappearance and the equally mysterious circumstances it was found again in…

Reviewing this one is difficult, because while the first half of the adventure is pretty so-so and made be think I was getting my first duffer of the season, the second half lifts things considerably and in ways that make it impossible to say anything at all for fear of spoilering.

So I’ll limit myself to saying that I fell hook line and sinker for a rather spectacular red herring in there.

And I’ll mention the cast. Nick Brimble and the national treasure that is Graeme Garden are as brilliant as you would expect. But the one and only Jim Carter steals the show with his amazing presence and distinctive vocals.

And… gahh! There I go again, trying to talk about the plot… I can’t, but it’s brilliant and stick around until after the end theme.

Doctor Who: A Town Called Fortune review

This is one of the series of Companion Chronicles as opposed to a full cast drama, where a companion (obviously) recounts an adventure with the Doctor.

In this, it is actor Maggie Stables, as the Sixth Doctor’s companion Evelyn Smythe who takes the spotlight, ably assisted by Richard Cordery as Sam.

As the Doctor himself is missing from the cast, and the domineering presence of the respective actors who play him is not there to carry things along if and when they start to flag, everything stands or falls on the ability of the actor playing the narrator. And in this respect, Stables is very good. She provides a distinctive voice for each character, and while her Doctor doesn’t sound like Colin Baker (and if it did it would be too weird), she captures his bluster and arrogance perfectly, but on more than one occasion I found myself wishing I’d heard him deliver a particular line or withering put-down.

As for the story itself- I love westerns, so they had a head start already in that respect. The story itself is good fun, although one of the twists is rather obvious from the outset.

As with the best Big Finish releases though, they have managed to capture the atmosphere of the old west very well and the tale rollicks along at a tidy pace- and the distinctly ‘normal’ threat that our protagonists face here is a welcome change from intergalactic terrors. In fact, I’d like to see more Who adventures that deal with ‘simple’ (for want of a better word) threats to real people

While this doesn’t have the epic feel of a full cast audio, and it’s hard to adjust to this change of pace to begin with, it is a well crafted tale and well told.

Grandville Mon Amour review

Bryan Talbot really should need no introduction.

He has been a massive part of the comics scene, both in Britain and worldwide for decades, and has managed to straddle the line between mainstream comics and underground publications with consummate ease for all that time.

Grandville Mon Amour is his latest offering.

It takes place just a few weeks after the events in the previous Grandville book, and we meet Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock lost in a self destructive spiral, which he snaps out of when informed of the escape of the crazed serial killer 'Mad Dog' Mastock.

What follows is an exciting and fast paced adventure that takes us from London to Paris and back again, as LeBrock pursues Mad Dog, and in doing so unpicks a mystery as old as the British Republic…

Before you even open the book, you know it’s a thing of quality, with a lovely debossed (eh? Check me with my technical talk!) cover. The printing is glorious, making the colours stand out perfectly, and the paper so thick that I had to repeatedly check I wasn’t turning two pages at once.

You know, it would have been enough if the story was merely passable. This is because the art is somewhere on the other side of exquisite. There are panels here that are totally crammed with detail. Apartments and shops where the reader can explore the background, taking in everything on the shelves and walls, all of which is brilliantly realised. There is a panel early on in LeBrock’s messy apartment where a chess set spilled across the floor. I was sorely tempted to count the pices to make sure Talbot hadn’t missed any… I bet he hasn’t though.

The real life buildings are drawn to perfection, and I love the anthropomorphic twist on Westminster.

Yes, the art alone would have been enough to carry this volume. But Talbot, it seems, had other plans. He has also succeeded in crafting a wonderful whodunit. There are some delightful twists and turns in the plot, and he manages to pull the rug from below the reader’s feet on more than one occasion. There are also a load of great puns that walk that fine line between a laugh and a groan- and a catchphrase from the PM that will not fail to raise a smile.

Talbot’s Grandville is, I think, a genuine phenomena- or at least it deserves to be. Why this, and the previous book, has not been snapped up by a film company and turned into a full length animation is a mystery to me.

The only trouble with this book is that it is too short. Hurry up with the next one, Bryan!

Doctor Who: Nevermore review

One of the things Who has always done well is play about in other worlds and tropes. The Brain of Morbius was Shelly’s Frankenstein, Weng Chiang the Phantom of the Opera etc.

Who has flirted with Gothic Horror many times before, so it was surprising to realise, while listening to this, that Who had never played in the world of Edgar Allen Poe before.

On the face of it, this is a trip through a number of Poe’s most famous creations. So we get a Black Cat, a Big Gothic House.

And Ravens. The Ravens here are wonderful creations- massive mechanical prison guards in a very peculiar prison.

Again we get the classic Who stuff- the aforementioned big robot creatures, mistaken identity, escapes into danger and the Doctor doing some furious name-dropping.

But beneath all this familiar stuff, there runs a darker theme that seems to be informing this whole series, and it’s something I’ll mention further in later reviews.

In the meantime though, Nevermore is great fun, and probably more so if you’re a Poe fan. It is always a treat to hear his wonderful prose being read aloud (he’s one of those writers that you can only really appreciate when it’s recited, I think), particularly when it’s a voice as distinctive as Paul McGann’s doing so.

John Hicklenton's 100 Months review

I've been trying to get a review of this book written for about a month or so now, and the fates have variously conspired against me.

I did have a few hundred words written, but have somehow failed to save them, and it has since disappeared. But the main reason it has been difficult to review this book is because it is a very difficult book to review.

As most of you I’m sure will know, John Hicklenton was (I just wrote 'is' and had to delete it... see, already it’s getting hard to write this!) a comic book artist, probably best know for his work on Judge Dredd and Nemesis the Warlock. Indeed, it is one particular panel in the story The Two Torquemadas that, for me, sums up everything that is dark and lunatic and scary and disturbing and blackly funny about John’s work.

This one:

In 2000, John was diagnosed with MS, and he took his own life in Dignitas in Switzerland on 19^th March 2010, proving to be as uncompromising in death as he was in his life and in his art.

And so it is with this weight of knowledge that the reader must approach 100 Months, John’s final work. Written, as it was, with the full knowledge that it was to be his swan song, his final testament. Indeed, John took his life only days after completing this book. Now you perhaps understand the reviews dilemma here!

This book cannot be viewed, in my opinion, as simply a book. No, it has to be taken, as I have said (and again, in my opinion), as Hicklenton’s final statement to, and on, the world.

And what has he to say about it/us?

On the whole, this is a bloody bleak read. It tells the tale of Mara, an Earth Godess, who’s face we hardly see, thus making her both everyone and no-one.

She is seeking out a creature called the Longpig. Longpig is a true grotesque. A repulsive and ugly beast who represents all that is worst in humanity, and eventually Mara and Longpig must meet and battle, a brutal and visceral battle, for the soul of the world.

As with all great Art, there is great ambiguity here. Hicklenton seems to have a low opinion of us as a race, ‘Shaven apes tearing up the image of god,’ and of the mess we are making of this planet, and who could blame him? But the book, which (at the risk of repeating myself) is not an easy read, ends on a note that may just be hopeful. Perhaps, if we are given another chance, we might not be so wasteful and arrogant..?

It is amazing to me that I’ve written this far and not yet mentioned the art. It is, as you’d expect, breathtaking. If you’re a fan of Hicklenton’s work, you’ll maybe have an idea of what to expect, but he manages to surpass any expectations. There are images where Mara travels across a landscape of bones and twisted bodies that stop the reader in their tracks, demanding that they dwell on the image and tease out each and every last detail. And there are also deeply disturbing illustrations too- blood and flayed skin are high on the agenda. It is not  comfortable reading. It’s not supposed to be.

As I said at the beginning, this is a difficult book to review, and even now, I’m not sure I’ve managed to.

This book truly is the comic as sequential Art. It is disturbing, as I have already said repeatedly, but only because what Hicklenton is saying about us true. We are greedy and selfish and hateful, but as he points out, we ‘were meant to be more than this, warm with potential.’

I do think though, that Hicklenton has confidence in us as a race, and in our ability to perhaps one day overcome our shortcomings.

I hope he’s right.

Meanwhile- should you buy this book?

Absolutely you should.

Art from the book is featured in the exhibition ‘That’s Novel’ at the London Print Studio, 425 Harrow Road, London until 18^th December 2010.

(Thanks to Phil for the Nemesis scan!)

Doctor Who: Situation Vacant review

If there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s an 'hilarious' send up of a popular television series. I’ve read a number of Master Chef send up comic strips in the past few weeks, and the idea- for what it is- is tired and, in my opinion, more or less done to death.

I say more or less, because sometimes you encounter a send up, and for one reason or another, don’t click that’s what it is. Which is what happened with Situation Vacant. It was only when listening to the extras that I realised (well, I didn't realise- I was flat out told) that this had an Apprentice riff running through it. Perhaps I don’t watch enough television?

So, what we have here is an idea I’m surprised hasn’t been thought of before. The Doctor advertises for a new assistant, and sets the four applicants a series of tasks to perform, eliminating failures along the way…

See, now I’ve written that description, I feel a bit stupid at not spotting the reference!

Of course, the Doctor holds the interview/test in a hotel where there happens to be a convention of big brained scientists also meeting, so you know things will get serious soon. And they do.

What I really liked were the characters of the four prospective candidates. Each genuinely has something that an assistant needs- courage, intelligence, common sense etc, so any one would, in an ideal world, have made a great companion. And the fact that the one we get in the end is so unexpected speaks volumes for both the quality of writing and acting throughout.

But seriously... part of me is hoping that one of these will eventually end up to be a dud. Nothing yet though, I am, as I have said before, genuinely surprised by the consistent high standard of the Big Finish Who’s I have listened to so far.

Doctor Who: Death in Blackpool review

Now in a Lost style flashback, we’re going back a few episodes for the previously reviewed Deimos to the start of this particular season of Eighth Doctor adventures…

So, just imagine that sshhhooom! noise they do in Lost and read on!

Like it our hate it, but one of the most remarkable things that RTD Who has introduced to things is the Christmas special. It’s hard to believe that a series that was merely a fondly remembered childhood show for most people (and by that, I mean your normal man or woman on the street, not sci-fi fans!) is now a mainstay of Christmas Day television, up there with Eastenders and The Queen’s Speech.

And so it came to pass that the tradition has leaked over into the Big Finish range, with this Christmas set tale.

And a heart warming one it is too- full of festive cheer that will warm the cockles of your cold, miserly heart.

Well, actually, that is a lie. This is very much in the great tradition of the British TV Christmas special. You need to think Eastenders or Holby City (which gets name checked in the story) to get where this is coming from.

It’s pretty grim, to tell you the truth. But this grimness brings out the best in the actors, as we see one or two of the Doctor’s many chickens coming home to roost, along with a splendid red herring or two thrown in for good measure.

Doctor Who: A Death in the Family review

Up until the advent of Matt Smith, Pat Troughton had been my favourite Doctor, but I have always had a soft spot for McCoy’s regeneration. I think he is underestimated (among non-Who fans at least). His Doctor became a much darker and manipulative figure than pervious incarnations, and with it became a much more interesting one.

I've dipped in and out of the previous Big Finish McCoy Whos, so only have a limited knowledge of the back story leading up to A Death In the Family. I’ve met the companion Hex on one other occasion, but the villain of the story was a new one on me. This was not a problem though, as he is introduced and explained perfectly as things unfold.
So, we begin in the usual Who fashion, with much running about and impending threat. But this is not your normal Who tale.
Episode one contains everything you’d normally expect from a four part adventure and really is plotted to the hilt by Steven Hall. It also ends on a pretty surprising cliff-hanger, which leads into the real story.
Now, obviously I can’t go into details without spoiling the plot, so I’ll try to limit my comments to things I can mention.
The writing for example. As I said of Deimos, this really is crammed full of plot.
I love my Who as much as the next man, but sometimes on TV, it can be plotted a bit… thinly. Not so here, where the producers cannot rely on visual spectacle to distract you from storytelling shortcomings. Here, if each scene doesn’t hit the mark, then things will quickly fall apart. But honestly, as a writer, I am very impressed by the standard of writing on this.
Acting next. McCoy knows his Doctor inside out and is as excellent as you would expect. Philip Oliver as Hex is also superb and gets some splendidly meaty scenes to sink his teeth into. I could go through them all and say all the cast are pretty much pitch perfect.
But I really want to single out Sophie Aldred. One of the episodes focuses on Ace and her part of the story. The performance she gives is incredible and really, it’s worth getting this story for this episode alone.
And yes, reading back on this it does sound like hyperbole, but it’s not. I really enjoyed this tale- and there have been some of the Big Finish range that have not impressed me at all- so I don’t feel bad about my rather positive review!

Walking Dead gets a second season!

We didn't get around to reviewing the first episode, so here's a brief one (with spoilers!):
It was brilliant. The opening scene- a long silent section that ending with the hero shooting a child (albeit a dead one) in the face- certainly set the scene for the grimness that was to follow.
There were many highlights- Morgan's terrible heartbreak as he watches his dead wife through the sights of a gun and the astonishingly tense sequence where Rick was caught below a tank and feeling pity for half a corpse as it dragged itself across the grass to name but a few. It's great to see scenes from a comic come to life in such a perfect fashion, and equally as pleasurable to see scenes changed- but for the better.
Roll on the rest of the season.

And more good news follows, as The Hollywood Reporter, er, reports that it has been given a second season!

Doctor Who Deimos Review

I have to make a confession before continuing with this review. When Big Finish started their series of original Who adventures starring Paul McGann, I followed them for the first season or so and then, for various reasons, tuned out- apart from the occasional dip of the toes back into them, so it was interesting to return for this to see how things were progressing.
I’m glad to report that they are progressing quite well!
When I read the title of this adventure, the know-it-all nerd in me got excited, as it could only mean one Who villain, and that same know-it-all nerd was delighted to be proved correct.
The Seeds of Death is one of my all time favourite Who adventures, so I was delighted to see the return of the Ice Warriors in this story.
It sees the Doctor and his companion, Tamsin, arrive just in time (as they always seem to do) to see the Ice Warriors unleash a nefarious plan to regain control of their home planet of Mars.
First things first- the acting. It is terrific throughout, and it’s wonderful to see names like David Warner in there. There are also a well realised pair of tourists, who are caught up in it all, and they could only be improved if they were played by Terry Scott and June Whitfield (which is not to say that the actors do not make a sterling job of things!).
The other that struck me was the pacing, particularly of the first episode. There is a hell of a lot of plot crammed in there. We’ve got double crossing and action and two or three cliff-hangers in there, and there’s even time to do some running down corridors!
But… Only two episodes!?
In my day, there were four episodes in an adventure- but I see that this one leads directly on into the next in the series… it’s almost like Big Finish planned it that way or something!
Overall, this is great stuff, I really don’t know why all the Who fans out there don’t listen to these, as they provide an ideal fix until he’s back on the TV again, but it was over far too quickly. I want the next one!

The reviews are coming...

Yes, the first few Doctor Who shaped items for review have popped into the HiEx mail box, so expect something witty and urbane to be written about them very soon.

There are also a couple of outstanding (in that they were never used- although they are rather splendid) reviews that Richmond did for the now sadly defunct 2000ADreview site that we'll be putting up shortly too- so be prepared for a bit more Judge Dredd in your life!