Art: Kuniyoshi Exhibition

Because I'm, like, incredibly sophisticated and stuff, I go to art galleries to see actual works of art. I'm not saying this to impress you (although that is an unfortunate side-effect), it's just a reason to post about my trip and put up some images.

The Royal Academy of Art is hosting an exhibition of 19th-century coloured woodprints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Featuring over 150 pieces from the Arthur R Miller collection (which is over 2000-strong), it presents a great selection from this prolific and extremely talented artist (he was discovered at the age of 12). There are examples of his landscapes (which have an European influence with the use of low perspective), his humorous work (which includes a squid that looks like it was copied for a level in Super Mario Sunshine) and his prints of beautiful women that were part of an inspirational series, it is his 'Warriors' that really catch the eye.

There were two main themes for a lot of the warrior work – the heroes of The Water Margin and the story of the forty-seven ronin (although he did work with other heroes and stories). He did single prints but his diptychs and triptychs are particularly impressive, showing his skill imagination – the amount of detail, the dynamism, the power all come together to produce great pieces of work. The capturing of rain on the picture is incredible, and the arrows flying through different levels of graded darkness are astonishing.

I don't know if there is an influence on manga but it's not difficult to see some inspiration in the powerful images and the colourful and elaborate detail. I'm also curious to see if Stan Sakai has seen Kuniyoshi's work because I get a recognisable vibe from the attack on the rooftop scene that made me think immediately of Usagi Yojimbo. You can find out more about Kuniyoshi at Wikipedia, obviously, and there is a huge collection of images at the Kuniyoshi Project. The exhibition is wonderful and I would urge anyone who can to visit it – I just wish they had used a better print to advertise the collection: the fat red man fighting the giant carp doesn't really do him justice.

Film Review: Knowing

I like the one-line sign-off from the Kim Newman-written Empire review for Knowing the best: 'You're better off not knowing'. I hadn't read any reviews of Knowing before I saw it – this is quite unusual for me, as I like to keep aware of what is going on in the world of film – so it was quite a rarity for me: I was going in cold and basing my decision to see the film based on the director, Alex Proyas, and the vaguely interesting concept.

Knowing begins 50 years from today, when a school buries a time capsule at the front of the school (not locked or protected – I find it hard to believe that no pranksters didn't try to break in); in it, there is a list of numbers written by the spooky young girl who says she is being whispered to all the time, although she didn't get to finish the list in the time provided. In the present, the capsule is opened and the contents given to the children (which is quite irresponsible if you ask me, but we have a plot to move along). The numbers of the spooky girl end up in the hands of the son of Nicolas Cage, who is apparently an astrophysicist at MIT – no matter what happens from now on, the limits of implausibility have been stretched beyond breaking point with that piece of casting. While drunk one night (he is drowning his sorrows after his wife was killed in a hotel fire a year previously), he notices some of the numbers and somehow discerns a pattern that tells of September 11 and the number of people who died that day (after looking it up on the internet). Because he is a little drunk, he decides this isn't a fluke and looks for more numbers and, because he is drunk, he doesn't give up but keeps at it all night. What he finds are dates and casualty numbers for events for the past 50 years (including the accident that took his wife), and three more that will, fortunately for the sake of ticking clock in a movie, happen in the next three days. When he happens to witness the first of these events close up (by accident), he somehow convinces himself that it is connected to him and that he must do something about it personally (rather than get professional people who are not cloistered academics to help).

The strange thing about the film is not that it feels like an M Night Shyamalan film – specifically, the echo of Signs, where the end of the world is witnessed from the everyman position rather than the normal location of being the team who are dealing with the problem (such as The Core or Armageddon), and the protagonist is a man with connection to religion but who lost it with the death of his wife – but that it has this silly plot made gruesomely serious by the violent reality of the accidents. Cage is present when a plane crashes in front of him – we see the plane crash and Cage run into the wreckage as people on fire come running out and bits are still blowing up – and he is there at a subway derailment – we see people being mown down in front of it before cutting to the POV of the driver, seeing people smacking into the windscreen, which cracks in response and has blood splatter over it. Why is this necessary? It's like watching the beginning accident at the start of Casualty episodes, but with bigger budgets and more bloodlust. It feels completely out of balance and very jarring.

I don't usually talk about the end of films in what I optimistically call my reviews but I have to include SPOILER WARNINGS because I want to mention the silliness of the end of the film to discuss the oddness of it. So, his son has been hearing the same whispering as the spooky girl from the beginning and seeing silent albino types, hanging around who gave him a dream of the future. It also turns out that the the last set of numbers refer to the end of the world – the film has mentioned the unseasonal heat but, completely out of nowhere, Cage mentions that he made a prediction of a solar flare in the Pleiades, which is now what is going to happen to the Earth, killing everyone. However, in what is supposed to be a happy ending, his son is taken by the silent albinos to another planet – they are aliens but they have a wing-like effect on their backs, so the angel implication is blatant, and they take a lot of people who heard their message (the whispering) to another planet to start again. Now, I don't know about you, but that basically sounds like a science fiction interpretation of the rapture – the chosen ones are taken up at the end of the world and brought to heaven (more or less; I'm paraphrasing). Which is just incredibly silly – what are those kids to do on this heavenly new planet? The thing is that you watch the film thinking: surely those creepy people aren't going to be aliens? They must be misdirecting, surely?

Knowing is very silly, although done very well, from Cage's silly hair to the seriousness with which it takes itself, to the religious theme that haunts the ending (Cage goes back to his father to die in the solar flare; his father says, 'This isn't the end', in a horribly corny moment) to depressing fact that you've just watched a film about the end of the world with no positive outcome. It has taught me a lesson – don't see a film based on just the trailers.

Rating: DA

Film Review: The International

Despite the current economic climate, I have decided to make a concerted attempt to watch a new film in the cinema every week (I've bought a Cineworld Unlimited pass, so I can see any film, any time, any where). The idea was to review them regularly on the blog as well,but I haven't been quite as diligent. So there will be some catching up. Starting now.

It's appropriate that I mentioned the issue of money when starting this post because The International is a film about an evil bank (isn't that a tautology?). Clive Owen is an Interpol agent and Naomi Watts is a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney who together are investigating the International Bank of Business and Credit (IBBC – I initially thought this was quite funny, the name playing on that of Auntie Beeb; however, it turns out that the film had some basis in fact, with the real bank being called the Bank of Credit and Commerce International) for money laundering, arms dealing and destabilising governments.

The film plays as a throwback to 1970s conspiracy thrillers, with lots of talking and scenes where powerful companies reveal their ability to falsify evidence and eliminate threats. Owen's partner is killed in front of him, but he has a hard job persuading authorities that he was poisoned; a police report is casually changed to support the version of events that suit the bank; elaborate plans are constructed for an assassination. It is tense and feels real, representing a story based in reality. The director, Tom Tykwer (famous for Run, Lola, Run), keeps the film grounded visually and shows the various different cities visited (Berlin, Lyon, New York, Istanbul, Milan) in a realistic light rather than a pretty travelogue.

The tense and paranoid atmosphere is exploded with a shoot-out scene in the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan – the architecture is used perfectly for this visceral and exciting scene, which really jolts the nerves and the story in the middle of the scenes of investigation and financial discussions. However, even though it is excellent, it feels out of place in the movie (the rest of the film is low key, until you get a team of professional killers running around the Guggenheim with machine guns in the middle of the day) and it means there's nothing for the rest of the film to build towards – a film that placed emphasis on reality and a serious tone can't continue when you have a big action scene in the middle of it.

Owen looks suitably rumpled throughout, although I still don't get why he is such a big star – I suppose he's handsome but I can't get over his flat Coventry accent. Watts is fine but her accent sounds a little forced and I was distracted by the shape of her mouth – it looks like she is constantly unhappy. The script is well constructed but the dialogue didn't sparkle, although it did have an interesting point about the banks: they don't just want all your money, it's about controlling debt, it's about everyone from the individual to governments being slaves to debt. The film has an appealing allure of intrigue for the first hour, up until the museum shoot-out, and then the film keeps on going to a downbeat ending that you know doesn't resolve the story or reveal the duplicity of the bank to the world.

Rating: DA

Television Comedy: Free Agents

What is hard in comedy is to be very funny AND to have emotional depth; the default is to be have some jokes and lurch to an awkward sentimental moment, with neither section working very well. However, Free Agents manages this feat,made even more impressive by the fact that it was written by a former talent agent himself.

Unlike Entourage, where Ari Goldman is the scene-stealer, Free Agents is about talent agents themselves – Stephen Mangan plays Alex, going through a terrible divorce after he had a nervous breakdown and left his wife and two kids, and Sharon Horgan plays Helen, whose fiancée died a few months before their wedding – who work at the same agency (for their sex-obsessed boss, played in great form by Anthony Head). There are scenes to do with the business, such as poaching talent from a famous agent's funeral, but it's more to do with the almost-relationship between Alex and Helen – they had a one-night stand but Helen obviously can't do a relationship after the recent death of her fiancée; however, it is clear that there is something between them, even if admitting it is difficult.

But it's not all about this potential relationship – it is also hilariously and viciously funny. There is a lot of dark humour but also big belly laughs, something that is helped by the great cast. Mangan and Horgan are absolutely perfect for the roles: Mangan shows humanity in the anguish and pity, while Horgan has the perfect balance of anger and comedy. Head is wonderfully over the top as the perverse boss, and there's a great supporting role from Matthew Holness (from Garth Marenghi's Darkplace) as another talent agent in the company.

The writer, Chris Niel (who wrote a good article about being an agent and turning to writing [LINK]), has created some real magic here: it was a pilot last year that was rightfully commissioned for a full series of six episodes, and he obviously knows the world in which the series unfolds. But it is the real emotion that is surprising, especially after all the smutty sex jokes, the wonderfully filthy language and the exquisite moments of cringe-worthy humour – there is a scene in the last episode of the (hopefully) first series where Helen opens up to Alex after an accidental session with a therapist that is pitch-perfect in its darkness and honesty but with humanity and humour (as they kiss, Alex's son shouts out – at a wedding party – 'Get away from my dad, you slag!'). This has been a great series and I can't wait for another series. Now, all they have to do is get rid of the naff opening credits sequence ...

Comic Book Artist: Tony Harris

If there was ever a case where an artist was so strongly associated with one project, and my appreciation of the artist, then it is Tony Harris and his work on Starman. There were over 80 issues of the mid-1990s series about Jack Knight, the youngest son of Ted Knight (the original Starman), but Harris didn't even draw half of them (although he did stay on as cover artist for most of the series). But, when I think of the Jack Knight Starman, I only see the version drawn by Harris.

Harris had been working in the business since 1989 but it was Starman that made him a pencilling celebrity, and it's easy to see why – his beautiful and beautifully designed art was a refreshing style in the midst of the Image-influenced guns-and-shoulder-pads that was the norm at the time. He had a very heavy inking line, with little flicks coming off the lines that delineated the jaw that just looked cool. His Opal City was an art deco delight, and his drawings of tattoos on Jack made me want to get tattoos (although I never did).

Harris decided to spread his wings after the success of Starman. He was one of the original members of Gaijin Studio, but left to form his own studio – Jolly Roger Studio – which is still going strong today. He co-wrote (with Dan Jolley and Ray Snyder) various mini-series: Doctor Strange: The Flight of Bones, a 4-issue mini-series at Marvel Knights (with art on the first two issues by Harris); Obergeist (a 7-issue horror series at Top Cow); Lazarus 5, a 5-issue series at Vertigo, with art by Dusty Abell; and JSA: The Liberty Files (Harris on art duties), all around the turn of the millennium.

I feel a little bad for not having seen any of these books after admitting to how much I enjoyed his art but I've made up with it since 2004, when Ex Machina burst onto the scenes. Harris' art has evolved since his Starman days – the stylistic tics of the thick lines and flourishes have been replaced by a cleaner line, with a slightly larger approach to character features, but still maintaining the excellent sense of design in both the interior pages and on the excellent covers.

He has drawn all the issues of the ongoing Ex Machina series (there have been several specials drawn by other artists), and he's found time to work on other books: he provided art for Spider-Man: With Great Power for David Lapham at Marvel in 2008. There is also War Heroes by Mark Millar at Image, although there have only been two issues so far, the last in September of last year – I laud creator-owned projects, but it would nice to have them come out on some sort of regular schedule. Still, his art will be appreciated when it comes out, as can be seen by the many covers he has provided for various different books.

Tony Harris art on the Comic Art Community [LINK]

For more art, the full listing of Tony Harris work at the Comic Book Database [LINK] and some more art at the Comic Book Vine [LINK].

From A Library – Tangent volumes 1–3

Collection of the first Tangent comics, based on concepts created by Dan Jurgens.

Volume 1
Dan Jurgens – The Atom
Ron Marz & Mike McKone – Metal Men
James Robinson & JH Williams III – Green Lantern
Todd Dezago & Gary Frank – Flash
Kurt Busiek & Paul Ryan – Sea Devils

I haven't read any comics from Dan Jurgens before – no particular reason, just that he tends to the more traditional superhero comic book in the DC universe, something I've never been into. The reason for interest in these books is the idea: Jurgens wanted to do to the characters of the DC universe what the creators under Julius Schwartz started in Showcase #4 in 1956 – reimagining them.

It's more than an Elseworld but not quite another universe. So The Atom is this Earth's most powerful being, with Superman levels of power (and no shrinking); the Metal Men are a group of elite American soldiers rather than metallic element-based robots; Green Lantern is a woman who resurrects the dead so they can undo a wrong, rather than the wielder of a power ring that obeys the owner's will; the Flash is a young woman made of light, not the world's fastest man; the Sea Devils are the results of a nuclear catastrophe, instead of a team of non-powered adventurers (and I have to admit I had to look that up).

Everything about the imprint has been considered – the books have a unique design, with a great visual branding on the cover (which they bizarrely omitted from the trade paperbacks), from the Tangent logo to the font to the mini-logos for each of the new characters. It looks very good and sets these books apart from other comics, giving them an identity.

Jurgens starts things off with a very old-fashioned tale, both in content and style, harking back to a traditional storytelling. It feels dated, even if the universe it initiates is new and potentially interesting. Here, he basically lays the groundwork for the new universe, with the first Atom being the centrepoint for the world-altering events that affect everything that comes afterwards, and the latest Atom discovering the truth while we are introduced to this world. However, it feels too Silver Age in its approach and in its art style. There are lots of recognisable DC names changed to this new world (such as Impusle cola), which I think misses the point – if you're going to change things, do it gradually, rather than cram your book with lots of in-joke references.

Metal Men is just a war tale, told with some style by McKone, again using recognisable names in this new setting (Black Lightning, Hawkman, Raven), with some history building to bulk up this universe, but it doesn't do anything special.

I own the Green Lantern comic because it was during my phase of buying all comics by creators I liked – James Robinson wrote this, so I had to get it. It also stands out among these other stories, using Captain Comet, King Faraday and Arthur Curry in anthology-style 8-page stories and doing it well: telling three different tales with beginning, middle and end and linking them with the Green Lantern concept (being a women who brings someone back from the dead to avenge their death). With the great artistic styling of JH Williams III creating a marvellous tableau and you've got the standout issue.

Flash is annoying: a super goofy tone, a stupid villain and a really aggravating first-person narration from the central character ('I am like, so busted ...') all the way through. It's a silly tale of fluff told in the admittedly enjoyable cartoony art of Gary Frank but it was tough to get through. This is more than can be said for Sea Devils, which has some very ugly Paul Ryan art, nasty and almost illegible lettering for the narrative captions, and a boring story of a boy facing up to responsibility. How did this come from the mind of Kurt Busiek?

Volume Two
Karl Kesel & Matt Haley – Joker
John Ostrander & Jan Duursema – Nightwing
Chuck Dixon & Tom Grummett – Secret Six
Dan Jurgens & Sean Chen – Doom Patrol
Dan Jurgens & Klaus Janson

The Joker is a do-gooder with a conscience, no respect for authority but a playful sense of humour and three secret identities. She develops an interest in a particular police officer of New Atlantis due to the connection to the nuclear strikes that caused the creation of New Atlantis. There is heart to the story but it is slightly on the annoying side of over the top; at least Haley's art is pleasing to the eye.

Nightwing is not pleasing to the eye, either in art or writing; it's a mess that is hard to believe. Durrsema's art is 1990s bad: women have too much hair and the faces are really strange and there are big guns and big breasts. The idea of mixing secret organisations with magic does seem a good idea, but Ostrander doesn't make it come together, which is a surprise considering his wonderful work on Suicide Squad. There is the embarrassing tantric sex operative, and that's without the outrageous accent. It also suffers from the overdoing of names of other DC concepts (Hex, Gravedigger, Wildcat, Creeper, Black Orchid), making your eyes bleed.

Secret Six is a fairly flimsy 'getting the team that isn't a team' together story, uniting Flash, Atom, Manhunter, Spectre, Plastic Man and Joker into a group that doesn't work as a group at all. The villain, who calls himself Aquaman, has henchpeople who dress in 1990s style costumes (Warlord has a face helmet that looks like it would squash his nose flat if it was actually real). Grummet's art looks like it is still evolving, light of touch but not as confident as his later work.

Doom Patrol involves a time travel story where the people from the future come back in time to stop the disaster that changes time but they are actually responsible for these very disasters. I hate those types of stories – they are so clichéd, and it is also filled with really bad dialogue from Jurgens, especially the attempt at Future Speak. The only interesting thing about this story is seeing early Chen art – it is the best in the book but it is still raw in places, suffering too much from 1990s problems, and with a strange inconsistency in the faces and facial expressions.

But the worst is left until last – The Batman is truly awful. The flat art, the terrible narration in a faux Olde English style, the inherent silliness of the idea: Batman is in a ridiculous modern knight armour, in London (with a flashback to how he was a knight of the Round Table who nearly ruins things on the word of his wife, who turns out to be a creature from Hell – no subtext there – which causes Merlin to curse him to live in Castle Bat [I wish I had made that up, but I didn't] forever to atone for his sins as 'the loneliest man the world has ever known'. Utter, utter rubbish that should not have been allowed to be committed to paper.

Volume Three
Mark Millar & Jackson Guice – Superman
Peter David & Angel Unzueta – Wonder Woman
John Ostrander & Jan Duursema – Nightwing Night Force
Karl Kesel & Tom Simmons and Joe Phillips – The Joker's Wild
Todd Dezago & Paul Pelletier – The Trials of the Flash
Ron Marz & Dusty Abell – Powergirl
Dan Jurgens & Darryl Banks – JLA

Even though Jurgens, in his introduction to the first trade, talked about not reimagining the big names – something he went back on by doing Batman (appallingly, it turns out) and finishes the job with Superman and Wonder Woman in this trade.

To counteract the Batman abomination, Superman is actually interesting and rather good – Guice provides a nice charcoaly art style and Millar's writing, as bombastic as usual, works well on a nice idea with some nice touches (such as the Dick Van Hero Show on television). In it, Harvey Dent develops all manner of super powers after falling from a skyscraper – it turns out he was the result of experiments on a small Southern town of mostly African Americans with Miraclo solution to accelerate the natural evolutionary process; it went badly wrong, with the exception of Harvey, only his powers didn't activate until the accident. The story looks at how he develops beyond just mere super powers and how it would affect the person and the people close to them. It's a very effective little tale, all the better for not really being part of the Tangent universe.

Wonder Woman is essentially a story about the pun on 'wonder' – the heroine of the story is Wanda, a laboratory-created product of a planet called Gotham, who are split into the war-like males (Beast Boys) and the cerebral females (Element Girls), in order to unite them; unfortunately, neither likes Wanda and she had to escape. She can now think people out of existence but also a tendency to philosophising, hence the pun. At least it has some nice art.

Ostrander and Duursema are unbelievably given another shot with Nightwing – this is a mess of a story in both writing and art that sees the Doom Patrol rescued by agents of Meridian, the European opposite number to Nightwing, who take them to the head of the Soviet state: the vampire Josef Stalin. That should be a fun idea, but it really isn't, and it's not really a story – it's just a build up for creating the Ultra Humanite for the last book in the series.

The Joker's Wild, another story about the Joker, is not as funny as it thinks it, but has a nice art style and is light and breezy, but it's hard to believe the character warranted another bite at the apple. The only interesting aspect of this story is the discovery that Joker is actually three separate people – the three people who we had been led to believe three identities for the same person.

The Trials of the Flash has the nice comedy stylings of Pelletier's pencils, but this is another character who doesn't require another story. There's a nice switch-and-bait when Plastic Man and the Flash are captured by the Firestorm Troopers, but this is insubstantial, much like the Flash herself.

The only character that warranted a return from the earlier trade was the Green Lantern; however, only the framing sequences by Robinson and Williams (which are the only good parts). The stories they surround are laboured alternative origins for the Green Lantern herself. The only thing of note is some early art by Georges Jeanty and Ryan Sook in his Mike Mignola days).

Powergirl (all one word) is rather awful all around – it's a silly concept about a super heroine created by the Chinese government, with transitional art from Abell that doesn't quite work as well as it would like. It's not even about Powergirl – it's about the other characters – and then she has 'do anything she wants' powers, including bringing people back from the dead, which is just silly even in a comic book.

The final book of this rather large trade paperback feels so 1990s, it's not even funny. It includes everyone from the Tangent universe in a 'big' story but doesn't match the different tones set up by the various different authors, even though Jurgens created all of them to begin with, which doesn't make sense. It's a feeble excuse to get Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman to form the new JLA without having an ending, leaving everything open for a hoped-for future.

There's little to suggest continued existence beyond this collection of books, which is bemusing to see that DC have allowed Jurgens to continue producing comic books in this line. There is a nice idea in here but, with the constant and overwhelming referencing to DC names for no reason other than to say 'This is a variation on the DC universe' in big flashing letters, it didn't have the courage to stand on its own two feet and believe in itself. DC must have owed Jurgens really big for The Death of Superman story ...

Comics I Bought 19 March 2009

Well, that week just flew by – work just sucked the energy right out of me there, so no blogging for three days. Shocking. However, no surprise to any regular readers (regular readers – I'm such a kidder). Anyway, time to talk about the comic books that came out this week and that I now own.

Watchmensch
Last week, I displayed my ignorance by revealing that I didn't know when Watchmensch was actually in the shop (I was corrected by Rich Johnston himself, thankfully), so it's rather nice to finally have it in my possession. It's an ambitious idea, to do a Watchmen parody in the space of one comic book, but Johnston pulls it off – he has written a funny and smart story that actually has a point, which is quite a feat to accomplish.

Watchmensch is a story about comic book creators and the way they were screwed over by comic book companies, Alan Moore in particular. Using Watchmen the comic as a basis (the first page is lovely play on the first page of the first issue – Simon Rohrmuller does a great job of channelling Dave Gibbons while still bringing his own style to the nine-panel grid artwork), it involves comic book lawyers investigating the death of one of their own and their link to the firewall set up between DC and Wildstorm/ABC Comics. There is even a text piece by one of the characters, much like the back matter from Watchmen, which explains the details of the way Moore has been treated by DC and, seemingly, Paul Levitz in particular (although Johnston could have done with a better editor on this page – copywriters always think they know best; trust me, I edit them for a living).

This is a very enjoyable comic book – it replicates some of the surface details of Watchmen to create an indictment of the treatment Moore has received, but with jokes. There are nice little media gags (the policemen talking about The Wire), in-jokes (I liked the 'Glycondamnit'), nice use of The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy as a stand-in for the news vendor, silly jokes (Nite Nurse, Ozyosbourne) – special mention for the 'Choking, of course' gag – and the replacement for the squid is deliriously and hilariously silly. This is what I want from a comic book: a good story, good art, good humour, and a point worth making.

X-Factor #41
Peter David wants to triple the sales on X-Factor – which, I'm sorry to say, isn't going to happen – but he would help if he could get a single artist to stay on the book for the length of the issue and for a sustained run. Not that De Landro or Santucci do a bad job here, but a book needs consistency for the basis of quality.

David is using all his plotting tricks to keep the story in a state of flux – the reveal at the end of last issue is not quite what we expected, and takes Madrox to a different location, while leaving his reverend dupe to be shot at by a complete stranger. Meanwhile, some of X-Factor agree to a case, while the other half are on a job for Val Cooper's people. This certainly packs a lot in, with some nice David dialogue to help things along, and it's nice to feel as if you don't know where the story is heading – David is enjoying ploughing his own furrow in his corner of the X-books, and I'm enjoying the ride.

Books: From A Library – Chasing Dragons

Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film by David West

I don't recall the day or date I first saw Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon, but it was one of those pivotal moments in my life, where something changed and future decisions about entertainment and exercise were made. It is a film I have seen many times, can quote stupid lines of dialogue from it ('Tea, Mr Braithwaite?', 'The art of fighting without fighting', 'A tournament of tru-ly ep-ic pro-portions') and even have a Hong Kong Phooey t-shirt with a phrase from the film on it ('Don't think, feel'). I think this explains a lot.

This enjoyment of the martial arts film was helped by the advent of VHS. When we got a VCR in the mid-1980s, we also joined a local video rental shops. It was only a small place, upstairs from another shop, but it had a very extensive range of releases. The strange thing about was that when you rented a recent release, which had a green sticker on it, you could rent any video with a red sticker on it for free. For some reason, the majority of the red sticker videos were martial arts films, so I spent a lot of my youth watching badly dubbed and sound mixed kung fu films, much to our parents' dismay (my father still loathes any martial art film, no matter the quality, based solely on his experiences of being forced to watch so many terrible videos).

Although I may have watched many martial arts films, I'm not an expert (or even an enthusiast), but I was interested to read a book introducing the subject to an outsider. David West provides an interesting overview to the genre, starting by splitting it into three sections: Japan, Hong Kong, and Hollywood/USA. He then provides a short historical perspective to the area (putting the Japanese and Hong Kong films into context), before tackling the films in a roughly chronological order, but with a focus on filmmakers/stars/themes which made a significant contribution in the field. So, in the Japan section, we start with Kurosawa Akira, the films about Miyamoto Musashi (inspiration for Usagi Yojimbo), the chambara (swordplay film) and the lone dog hero, the films about Zatoichi, the films about Oichi the blind swordsman, the decline of the chambara, and the modern films that use the genre.

The Hong Kong section talks about China and the monks of Shaolin, the films about Wong Fey Hung, the films of Lau Gar Leung, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, John Woo, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, Chow Sing Chi (aka Stephen Chow), as well as the 'classic' kung fu movie. The Hollywood section, the smallest section of the book, talks about the introduction of martial arts to American films, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Cannon films, films about ninjas, The Matrix and the use of martial arts in the modern action movie. There is a lot to cover, so West has to be selective, but he does a good job of covering everything and providing interesting background information about each area (such as Hung Kuen being the predominant style in early Hong Kong martial arts films because it came straight from students of Wong Fey Hung and the teachings of the Shaolin style and the Ten Tigers of Canton, known for its deep horse stance).

Half the fun for someone reading the book who is a fan is playing the 'I've seen that' game and agreeing/disagreeing with the author; the other half is making note of films to rent based on his opinions and descriptions. When he describes the glut of awful exploitation videos of the 1980s made in America, my cheeks burned with shame when I recognised some of the dross I had seen, such as truly awful Gymkata, which sees an American gymnast knocking out villains only when conveniently located gymnastic equipment is present.

The only disconcerting factor when reading the book is rigid definition of types of martial arts films West believes in – sword films must only be 'stray dog' films; films with kung fu must be about teachers/students and bettering their martial arts by bettering themselves. Anything else isn't a 'proper' film and is just appropriating the martial art for its own nefarious purposes. The venom he unleashes on Kill Bill is hilarious – he seems to miss the point on Tarantino's homage/love letter to martial art movies completely and spends a lot of time just having a go and pointing out what he sees as the problems with it. I know that having a strong point of view can aid and influence the author's work, but it overpowers his interpretation and appreciation of films because they stray outside his strict parameters.

This niggle aside, however, the book is entertaining, informative and a nice reference book for the fan of martial arts film and a good introduction to the genre as a whole. Never boring or academic, and with a serious love of martial arts and the films themselves, I've been convinced to watch a list of films that I wouldn't have been aware of if I hadn't read this book.

Comics I Bought 13 March 2009

Friday the 13th was unlucky for me but lucky for Rich Johnston in that I couldn't find a copy of Watchmensch in Gosh! or Forbidden Planet (I didn't get down to Orbital). I hadn't preordered it, so it's my fault, but I was feeling in a Watchmen vibe and Johnston has recently become a statistic in the recession, so I hoped to pick it up. C'est la vie, as our cheese-eating surrender monkeys would say.

Captain Britain and MI:13 #11
It is a great cover by Stuart Immonen, one of the best so far; so it's a shame that Mike Collins' artwork for a few fill-in pages isn't as strong as Leonard Kirk's art. It's a little jarring, especially when you need to discern characters who are different from the team we know. The story is very strong, as the team reacts with British reserve to the attack on them by Dracula and they have to get on with the job in hand. There is a very striking page where Faiza and the Black Knight are falling to their deaths – Paul Cornell, coming from a more literary background, uses a lot of prose to detail the thought process of Faiza preparing herself to heal the pair of them at the instant they hit the ground, and it's strangely powerful. This book is going well, so it's a shame that the monthly sales figures are very worrying; I'll be there until the inevitable economics have the final say.

Ex Machina Special #4
Brian Vaughan uses this special to tell one of those 'done-in-one' tales that look like they could fit quite easily into the regular series but get their own special because they would only take two issues. It also provides the opportunity for someone else to illustrate the world of The Machine – as usual, the tale told in the now involves a flashback to the superhero days of the mayor – with John Paul Leon providing his atmospheric and moody pencils. I like his style, even if I'm not sure he's the perfect choice for the book; perhaps it's to do with Tony Harris' brighter and more face-orientated version, but Leon's artwork looks slightly out of place when Mayor Hundred is giving a speech out in the countryside on a sunny day. This issue also sees Vaughan talking politics, as he has Mayor Hundred tackling newspapers not using recycled paper and having a go at the practice of comic books ('Comics are virgin paper going into virgin hands that tuck them away into poisonous plastic. Forever.').

Fables #82
I still find it odd to see somebody pencilling Fables apart from Mark Buckingham (even though he does provide a hauntingly touching cover), but David Hahn does a good job of drawing the diverse characters, doing a particularly good Badger, with his strong-lined, clear delineations with a cartoony edge. This issue also deals with the pertinent question: how soon before Blue comes back? Because the important Fables always do ... don't they? There is also some very touching conversation between Flycatcher and Pinocchio about Blue, some animal discussion about what will happen to them on the Farm now all the Fables are here, and Beast confronts Bigby about an original rule of the Farm. Bill Willingham continues to do a great job with Fables – with all of fiction to work from, he has a limitless back catalogue to help him – but that doesn't stop me from being nervous about the crossover with Jack of Fables and the three-issue mini-series The Literals. Wow, I'm hard to please, aren't I?

Film Review: Franklyn

According to IMDb, Franklyn was originally set to star Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany and John Hurt, along with still-starring Eva Green, until McGregor broke his leg in a motorcycling accident and schedules were disrupted. I think that the resulting film would have changed response to it from ‘Hmm, interesting’ to ‘What were they doing in this oddity?’

The posters for the film do it a disservice – the film is not about alternate/sci-fi/strange future cities: it is only one strand in four main stories that ultimately connect (for which one should be grateful – it would have been very annoying if there had been no link to the four characters). The majority of the film is set in a modern day and very recognisable London (especially to me; I had to stop myself from shouting, ‘I’ve been there’ at the scene set on Hanway Street in central London), as it follows Emelia (Green), a budding artist working on strange projects; Milo (Sam Riley), a man who has been jilted at the rehearsal dinner; and Peter (Bernard Hill), a church warden looking for his missing son. The other story is of Jonathan Preest (Ryan Phillipe) in Meanwhile City, a futuristic city where it is the law for citizens to profess a faith of some sort, but Preest is an atheist who performs acts of vigilantism while masked.

For the first half of the film, we are introduced to these characters and drip-fed small pieces of information about them – there is no explanation or attempt to expand on their lives beyond their part in the narrative. The storytelling is precise and unfussy, with the visual flourishes being kept for Meanwhile City, which is a bleak yet fantastical vision of a nightmarish city run by religious bureaucracy. Emilia, an artist with issues (obviously), creates art with her camcorder, recording her planned and elaborate suicide attempts (which she knows won’t kill her because she phones the ambulance before the act). Milo moons about, talking with his best man about what’s gone wrong, until he starts seeing someone he thinks is an old flame from his youth. Peter visits places his son used to visit to talk to people who knew him and may be able to find him. Preest is captured by the Ministry but is released to go on a mission for them, to kill The Individual, the man responsible for the death of the little girl who was his last client. It is not until the second half that we see clues as to how these separate strands are interlinked and what they mean.

The film is written and directed by Gerald McMorrow in his feature-length debut, and he has a very strong idea of what he wants and how to relate that cinematically. However, the narrative isn’t sufficiently gripping to enthral the viewer, especially when it deliberately obfuscates to create an atmosphere. The actors all do a good job, playing it very straight, but the characters do not evoke much sympathy, a factor that blocks engaging with the story. When it all comes together at the end, the denouement doesn’t resonate or make the build up worthwhile (nor explain the significance of ‘Franklyn’, unless I’m being very dense). The audience I saw the film with left the cinema quietly and quickly, not showing any indication of a connection to the previous 90 minutes.

If there is a theme to the film that might help to prescribe a reason for it to exist, it would be the perceptions of realities and how we create/interact with them, although this doesn’t really apply to the Peter section of the film. However, the reality of the situation is that the film never rises above the level of ‘hmm, interesting’, and the potential of what McMorrow might do in the future.

Rating: DA

Visiting the BBC Television Centre

As mentioned recently, it was my birthday, so I did something to celebrate. Not being a drinker, I don’t gather a group of friends in a pub to poison ourselves to the point of vomiting and spending the next day in bed; instead, I try to something a little different. This year, it was the tour of BBC Television Centre in the White City area of west London.

I’ve considered doing this tour before but, because the maximum number on a tour group is small (22), Saturday would be booked up several weeks in advance, and I’m really not that organised (as is evident on this blog). However, to circumvent this difficulty, we went during the week – genius! – and the early-morning slot (10 am), which meant that I was able to book with ease and there were far fewer people on the tour than later in the day; there were only seven of us in total, which is a very cosy number.

It was a lovely sunny day when we arrived in plenty of time at the reception building of the Television Centre, a smaller building closer to White City tube station. Even though it seems obvious thinking about it now, it was really busy – there was a constant stream of people queuing at the reception desk to get their day passes to enter. Of course it was busy – it’s the BBC, for goodness sake. We didn’t have to do this – the tour guides came to meet us in the seating area and had our passes ready for us.

We were taken down the road to the audience gate for the Television Centre itself – we had to go through security to ensure we weren’t from ITV. This area is in front of the visual that is associated in my mind’s eye (and I would think most other British people) when considering the BBC, seen in many a broadcast and opening credits for various programmes (such as one season of A Bit of Fry & Laurie). Rather than start with the original building, we were taken into BBC News, which is housed in a new extension completed in 1998. Of the 8,000 people who work at Television Centre, 2,000 work in BBC News – the BBC is the largest provider of news in the world, providing the most accurate news (if not necessarily most immediate – accuracy is the watch word) for everyone who isn’t Sky or CNN. We were taken into a small meeting room behind the open-plan offices of the people who do the behind-the-scenes work: the fact checkers, the travel agents (to directly book a news team onto flights), the people who work on the online news site, the people manning the phones. Not exactly sexy but they couldn’t take us into the studios, could they? It was also here that was the only place I saw somebody from the visible side of the BBC – Nicky Campbell, presenter of Watchdog. We were told at the start to play it cool if we saw someone we recognised, whether we liked them or hated them, which was a nice touch.

The next stop on the tour was the original reception area, where nowadays the famous people who are going to be on television arrive so they can be taken to the dressing rooms. Because it was so early in the day, we didn’t see any of this, although I assume the later tours might catch glimpses. There is a beautiful mosaic behind the desks, and it was here that we also learnt about the design of the building – the land to be used was a triangle in this area of west London and, after much thought into how to make use of the space, the designer came up with the question mark (which you can see if you look up ‘BBC Television Centre’ on Google maps and use the Satellite version).

Just outside of the old reception area is the middle of the circle of the question mark – in there was a working fountain but they had to turn it off because it was so noisy due to the acoustics (and, as our tour guide joked, because the people in the offices constantly needed the toilet). There is a statue of Helios on top, representing the electromagnetic waves of television broadcasting, with two statues of women at the bottom with masks and a lyre, representing sound and vision, the two basics of television. You might have seen these in the background of outside location segments of studio shows, but maybe not.

After this outside interlude, we were back indoors for a look inside a studio – a large, tall square room with 500 lights, a dark floor with grid markings and a black curtain around the outside to dupe the cameras into thinking that the studio has no ending. It was strange to be inside these empty rooms that have provided so much entertainment, because the reality is so different from the illusion created by television. It was also strange to discover that it’s not just the BBC who make programmes there – they rent them out at £50,000 a day (12 hours) to companies that make programmes for other channels (The Paul O’Grady Show on Channel 4 used to film here). They also rent them out to the likes of Tina Turner, who had her 60th birthday party there.

After the deceptive ordinariness of the studio, our next stop was outside the weather studios – these are small rooms where everything is automated and only the forecaster can fit. These only cost £65 to make a 2-minute slot, so it balances out, but they do a lot of them. I learnt that all forecasters on the BBC are trained meteorologists who work for the Met Office, i.e. they are not employees of the BBC, although they get training and a dress allowance, and are therefore effectively civil servants. We were given our own demonstration of the blue screen presenting, as we stood against a wall and could see the projection opposite (and learned that blue and green screens are because nobody has blue or green skin, and why presenters don’t wear blue or green on television); it was a cute little touch that probably works well with a younger group than our slightly older group.

An observation booth for a different studio – prepping to make The Alan Titchmarsh Show – was the next stop on our tour. The younger of our two guides was happy that nobody had watched the programme because it is on ITV; we had to DVR an episode just to see how the studio looked on screen. Unless the sets are being used for a daily programme, they are trashed (or recycled) – it is more expensive to store than to build anew, something the Beeb discovered when Fawlty Towers became popular after the repeat viewing of the first series and they were commissioned another series and had to build the sets again. Another interesting fact related to this was that, even though they may look like carpets on set, they are hard floors that are painted to resemble carpet (so the cameras can move around easily) – if you listen to Prunella Scales walking on carpet, you can hear the acoustics of heels on hard floor.

We had seen where they make the programme, so we were allowed to see where people prepare for them – a dressing room. The one we saw had eight mirror/seats, with a small lounge area and sink (toilets and showers are communal, apart from the dressing rooms for the stars). The elder tour guide regaled us with an anecdote of Madonna wanting a life-size photo of the Pope in her dressing room (and ending up with the substitute waxwork model from Madame Tussauds, much to her surprise) and how Jennifer Lopez’s record company paid for the extra dressing rooms for her enormous entourage (the BBC only provide one free per special guest) and to redecorate a conference room to be her dressing room because the others were too small, which she only used for 45 minutes.

The final stop was an interactive studio specially kitted out for the tour – there was a control room for one of our group to operate the controls with one guide, while the other guide had one of us read the news and then three of our number play a quiz game – I was one of the three, and we were shown a Little Britain sketch (Lou and Andy at the swimming pool) before answering questions on it. My over-competitive streak surprised me by emerging in full flight – of the seven questions asked, I was the first to buzz and answer correctly five of them. I am such an attention whore … Still, I won a BBC Breakfast mug for my display of short-term memory recall, so I’m not too embarrassed. It was also the end of our tour – for just under a tenner each, 90 minutes of wandering around an historic building that has provided years of formative entertainment and which may be sold off in the near future. I’m very glad we saw it.

Comic Book Artist: Ryan Sook

Ryan Sook is one of those artists who creates lovely covers and great art but who has yet to work on an extended run on a great book to elevate him to the next level. I first remember seeing his work on part of the Tangent Comics: Tales of the Green Lantern, back in 1998, although his first published work was on Challengers of the Unknown #15 in the same year.

His art style was very influenced by Mike Mignola, something he readily admits to (Mignola personally selected him to be the first artist other than Mignola to draw Hellboy universe work – a BPRD series), and he used this style on Buffy the Vampire Slayer books and a run on The Spectre by JM DeMatteis. Also at DC, he did an Arkham Asylum mini-series and then some interior pencils on Hawkman.

His art had evolved from the Mignola influence towards Adam Hughes, although still distinct. This gorgeous art style can be seen in the Seven Soldiers: Zatanna mini-series and the revival of X-Factor by Peter David; unfortunately, he only remained on interior duties of this for four issues (although he stayed on covers for another eight issues), which was a great loss.

He hasn't done nearly enough interior work since but he has become something of a stellar cover artist of late, providing eye-grabbing designs drawn in a sumptuous style, all soft anatomy and beautiful faces. I look forward to him getting to grips with something big and defining so that he can have a greater presence in the pantheon of current comic book artists.

The Ryan Sook Official site [LINK] (which has a lot of Sook's interior and cover art from his entire career)

Ryan Sook gallery on Comic Art Community[LINK]

Ryan Sook on Comic Book Database [LINK]

Film Review: Watchmen

This won't be a review free from bias: I first bought Watchmen in trade paperback form 20 years ago and have read it on average once a year since then. It was the story that made me realise the power of comic books, made me become a fan of Alan Moore for life, and would probably be the answer to the question 'What is your favourite book?' if I was ever famous enough for anybody to care about the answer. I thought I needed a disclaimer before talking about the film.

I'm happy that film exists (I sometimes can't believe that it exists, is the most hyped film of the year, and has been adapted so faithfully), despite the negative feeling rightly felt by its creator: it is a shame that relations turned sour and Moore feels such enmity (the trade was published at a time when they didn't sell, and everybody expected the rights to revert back to Moore and Dave Gibbons soon after it went out of print – it was the unforeseen success of the book, due to the quality, which is partially responsible for the troubles). But, here's the thing: beloved words-only books have been adapted by films for the history of Hollywood, even if they are not cinematic, and it's not going to stop any time soon. Watchmen is very much a comic book, using comic book-specific techniques to tell a comic book story (with a comic book ending), but that's not going to stop it ending up on the silver screen. I don't think that a mini-series on television could do the book justice, but that's not something we have to worry about for the now because this film adaptation is something to be proud of and enjoy.

Zack Snyder has made an extremely faithful adaptation – the clout he earned with 300 allowed him to stay true to the book. The film starts with setting the scene of the story – an alternate history of the US in 1985; the credits sequence is a nice montage of the Minutemen to prepare the groundwork for the main story, which is the book on film, albeit with minor tweaks here and there to streamline it, and with an ending with no squid but in an equally plausible version to achieve the same ends. There are shots in the film that are just panels from the book and they are beautiful. As with 300, Snyder has not strayed unduly from the visual telling from the book, just transferred it to moving images; this can be seen immediately with the murder of the Comedian – it is a fast, brutal, professional fight scene (although Snyder does employ too much sound for the contacts, as if from a bad 1970s kung fu film) that shows that the Comedian doesn't go down without a fight (even if he does it in a silly dressing gown). From there, we have the familiar voiceover of Rorshach's journal and the panning out from the blood-splattered badge to the penthouse, the first page of the book. And so it continues ...

For the most part, the actors are perfect for their roles (and it was a good idea to have lesser known character actors to keep the focus on the story): Patrick Wilson is great as Dan Drieberg, a man past his prime but with something still there; Jackie Earle Haley is perfect as Rorshach, getting the voice right; Billy Crudup is good as Jon Osterman, underneath the CGI of a hyper-muscled naked man (respect is due for keeping the nudity) and the effect works well, as he looks otherworldly; Jeffrey Dean Morgan is perfect as the Comedian, charming while being a terrible human being; Carla Cugino makes a good Sally Jupiter, in both young and old forms; Matthew Goode plays Adrian Veidt well, although I thought he played it too dark throughout (my girlfriend, who hasn't read the book, didn't see it so perhaps it was well judged). The only weak link is Malin Akerman as Laurie Jupiter – the character is a strong one but you never feel that when she is on screen, which is a shame among the others.

Is it perfect? Well, no but that's probably my proximity to the source material. The 'Doomsday Clock' idea is silly, and there was no need to call the team 'Watchmen'. There is new dialogue to branch the streamlining of the script that is sometimes at odds with the rest that sometimes seems wrong (this is perhaps because the dialogue in the book is for a book, whereas the film necessitates a different approach, such as the line about 'a pity fuck'), although the lines that remain work well, as does Rorshach's journal. I thought the music choices were a little on the nose, and the use of Hallelujah for the sex scene was just wrong. The presence of Richard Nixon as a character doesn't quite work, and the emphasis on the nuclear war/fossil fuels shows the time in which the film was made. However, in all this, the touches that demonstrate the love for the book shine through: Gunga Diner, the electrical car at the end, Bubastis (after all, there is no real need for her), the Outer Limits on the television at the end, the inclusion of all things in the book (even the sex scene between Dan and Laurie) – these details mean something and I'm glad they put them in there.

The film is not the book, and never could be. Zack Snyder is not a 'visionary' director but he has brought the book to life and used his power for good by getting it to the screen so faithfully. Reading reviews by respected comic book bloggers, it seems that they mostly didn't enjoy it for whatever was left out of the book (and you could play that game for ever) – it almost made me feel guilty for enjoying the film as much as I did. However, I was entertained and dazzled by the spectacle of a long film that doesn't feel like two hours and forty minutes. For the first time in memory, I want to see the film again (and in IMAX) soon after watching it for the first time, and I look forward to watching it on DVD. Sorry, proper comic book fans (for apparently I am not based on this) – I really enjoyed Watchmen the film.

Rating: DAVE

From A Library – Graphic Novels: Stories To Change Your Life

By Paul Gravett

With Watchmen hype flowing over the world and DC trying to capture the zeitgeist and get people to try comic books with their 'After Watchmen, What Next?' promotion (which isn't going to work but points for effort), the answer to the question of what sorts of comic books would people try can be found in other places. One such book is Graphic Novels: Stories To Change Your Life, a coffee-book table offering advice on the great variety of genres the medium has to offer and examples of the quality.

Gravett has been involved in various different capacities in the comic book world for over 20 years, including Escape Magazine (which he co-started and published), being director of the Cartoon Trust, director of Comica, and writing and consulting on comic book works in a variety of media. This gives him a good perspective of the medium in general and a good candidate for introducing people to the literary end of the field.

The book is divided into themed chapters, which start with an introduction to the concept before examining one or two books in detail, with several pages of artwork to illustrate his points, plus smaller images of other books which are further examples. These chapters are:

Undiscovered Country (with the likes of Jimmy Corrigan, Blankets, Ghost World)
The Other Side of the Tracks (with the likes of A Contract With God, Love and Rockets, Why I Hate Saturn, Hicksville)
The Long Shadow (with the likes of Maus, Barefoot Gen, Troubled Souls, Persepolis)
The Superhuman Condition (with the likes of The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, Powers, Watchmen, Astro City, Marshal Law, Promethea, Planetary)
Of Futures and Fables (with the likes of Finder, Luther Arkwright, Akira, American Flagg!, Y: The Last Man, The Sandman, Bone, Hellboy)
In The Mind's Eye (with the likes of Preacher, Hellblazer, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Strangehaven)
Murder, Smoke and Shadow (with the likes of Scene of the Crime, Kane, Torso, Sin City, Stray Bullets, V for Vendetta, 100 Bullets)
Behind The Smile (with the likes of Cerebus, The Freak Brothers, American Splendour, Buddy Does Seattle, Skin, Birth of a Nation)
Travels in Time (with the likes of Corto Maltese, Blueberry, From Hell, Age of Bronze, Berlin, Pedro and Me)
Passion Beyond Reason (with the likes of My Troubles With Women, Gemma Bovery, Lost Girls, Butterscotch)

The book covers a huge scope, mentioning over 150 books, and finds a balance between being too academic and being engaging and informative. Gravett does a good job of explaining the attributes of his choices, which are an interesting selection. Sometimes, the choices of individual pages doesn't do justice to the book he is effectively pimping, but this could be to do with my tastes in art – some of the choices I find rather unattractive. He understands what the value of each book and conveys that with perceptive prose. He covers a lot of types of comics – autobiography, historical, crime, futuristic, erotic and superhero – and he provides a thorough grounding in what is available (even if perhaps he does tend towards the literary end of the market – he is trying to convert the sophisticates).

As someone who reads comics (although not the full depth listed here), I'm not sure if this book does the best job of highlighting what it is about graphic novels have to offer – the reviews he lists on the page about the book suggest that novices to the field feel it does a good job; however, it is the best I've seen so far, and comics can do with all the help it can get. Whether or not it will work on people after Watchmen is another matter ...

Comics Bought 5 March 2009

My impulses got the better of me in the shop – I decided to buy a comic book that I hadn't planned on buying. It's a combination of things: the recent weeks of only having one book in my weekly haul, the reaction against Marvel increasing the price of their books, and the desire to try new and different things. It was quite an exhilarating feeling – I hope to be able to do more of it.

The Boys #28
Things take a turn when Hughie decides to attend the funeral of former G-Men, against orders from Butcher, and Mother's Milk wants answers for the questions about where the G-Men come from. Ennis writes a taut book, balancing the ludicrous nature of the G-Men with character moments and viciousness in that way he has; however, the art by John Higgins is a little weak this issue – he doesn't have the skill of Darick Robertson to cope with both the violent realism with the colourful absurdity of superhero costumes. Still, Darick is back next issue, and things will really kick off.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23
This issue is written by Drew Greenberg, a stalwart from the Buffy television series, which means that he has the banter and characters down pat – the geek talk is very funny, as Andrew babbles on at Buffy on their road trip to Italy. However, the story doesn't elevate above okay, mainly because you don't really care about the villainous character of the rogue slayer. It doesn't help that I don't find Andrew an engaging character, and Georges Jeanty doesn't have a good handle on the likeness to the original actor. The series has lost a lot of momentum since it first started with such fire and energy – this is a charge that could be laid at the television series, with some episodes not being as strong as the good ones in the season. I don't know if this is to do with the variety of different writers over the past few issues or the turn of events that have somehow made vampires the victims and the slayers the oppressors, but I hope it returns to form soon.

No Hero #4
No Hero has been taking its time in coming out, which only slows the pace even more – a mini-series about somebody becoming a superhero should be fast and punchy and immediate. This issue doesn't help by being an in-between issue – Josh is in the middle of his transformation under the FX7 drug, which has caused his skin to slough and organs to drop off, and the level of the plot against Carrick Masterson and Front Line appears to thicken (with lots of talking). Also, the story doesn't have many of the Ellis flashes of novelty and humour that make it worth reading. Jose Juan Ryp's art is still as madly detailed as ever, especially the violence, but it doesn't help – perhaps this will read better in one sitting, but Ellis is usually so good at providing with value for money.

Killer of Demons #1
And so to my impulse buy. I was intrigued by this book when I first saw it back in December, enough to post the cover on my Tumblog of images, because of the great art and the intriguing premise: junior account executive Dave Sloan has been cursed with the ability to see demons – who are disguised as normal humans – and tasked with killing them by a foul-mouthed, cigar-smoking cherub. Now that's a high concept for you. But it is the execution that turns a good idea into a good comic book, and Christopher Yost and Scott Wegener have done that. Yost has created a world that is both serious and funny – the demons are humans that cause evil, such as smoking advertisements they get approved, but the script is peppered with jokes and humorous touches that help to alleviate the blood-letting. This is helped by Wegener's art – it is a cartoony yet dynamic style that balances the extreme violence with a deft and funny touch (such as the cherub or the sign on the toilet at the beginning). It's a good combination and it was the book I enjoyed reading the most in this week's haul. Have a look for yourself at the preview at Newsarama [LINK].

Comic Book-Related Birthday Gifts

It was my birthday the other day – I don't advertise it because it's not something I do – I had a lovely time, enjoying an extended weekend to fully celebrate the anniversary of my parturition. I'm also very lucky in that my girlfriend, Kim, is comic book friendly and creative, and she made me some lovely gifts (in addition to the other presents she bought), as you can see here:


Aren't they amazing? On the left is a notebook which she has decorated with a covering of a selection of comic book covers – she picked a random selection from the many I have downloaded. On the right is a specially made Watchmen birthday card: if you enlarge it, you should be able to see that the blood splatter is actually a separate layer on top of the smiley face cover. It really is quite something – and, I should mention if any lawyers from Warner/DC notice, it is a one-off, hand-crafted original that was not made for profit and will never be used to make money.

I know that I have hit the jackpot finding somebody who not only gets me but also enjoys comic books herself – she knows how much Watchmen means to me, even if she hasn't read it herself. She is the more creative half, as you can see for yourself on her own blog, Crafty Makes [LINK], where she catalogues her many different cards and other hand-made artistic accomplishments. Even though I have been on Blogger for many years now, she has only been blogging her craft creations for less than a year and already has over 150 followers and over 200 subscribers, numbers I can only dream of – I don't know what I created when I introduced her to blogging, but I'm very happy and proud of what she has accomplished, and I'm very grateful for the creations she makes especially for me. I just hope she enjoys Watchmen when I drag her to see it on Saturday :)

From A Library – Batman: The Black Glove

Batman #667–669, 672–675 by Grant Morrison, JH Williams III, Tony S Daniel

In the parlance of football commentary, this book is a game of two halves – one of quality and wit and imagination, the other is overblown and silly and lacking in art. While all comes from the imagination of Morrison, the first half is drawn by Williams whereas the second half is mostly drawn by Daniels.

The Williams-drawn story is a reunion of The International Club of Heroes, a society formed by heroes who were inspired by Batman – the Native American Man-of-Bats and his sidekick Little Raven, El Gaucho (Argentina), the Knight and his sidekick the Squire (UK), the Musketeer (France), the Legionary (Italy), the Dark Ranger and his sidekick the Scout (Australia), and Wingman (Sweden) – as well as Batman himself, on a private island in the Caribbean. And then somebody starts hunting ersatz Batmans ...

Morrison takes a story from an old Detective Comics from way back and plays it completely straight – the absurdity and Silver Age quality is absorbed into the story and told in the context of the Morrison Batman of today, who prepares for everything and is totally dedicated, and it completely works. It's exciting, dramatic, engaging, with twists and turns and classic deductive reasoning.

Williams is fantastic – not only does he do his usual stellar job, he employs different art styles for the separate Batmen-alikes, which is amazing. Also, there is fantastic panel design, such as Batman entering the meeting room, with the other Batmen in headshot form within his body; or the glove image imposed over the exploding planes; or the batwing logo-style double-page spread when the sidekicks are captured – it's a sheer delight to see such artistry that also tells the story.

The second tale also involves an old Batman story – about the Gotham City Police Department and military training replacement Batmen in case anything happened to the original – but it is bombastic and loud and unnecessary. Batman is given a cardiac arrest – one issue is his fevered recovery dreams involving Joe Chill – before he gets out of the death trap by dislocating his arm and removing it from his glove while leaving it completely intact: THIS IS VERY STUPID (even Grant has to over-explain this escape by having Batman say he runs through thousands of different scenarios and potential deathtraps to plot his escapes). If there is a point to this second story, it is about Batman deducing the idea of the Black Glove and the mastermind-out-to-get-him plot.

The story is not helped by Daniel's art – it is not awful by any means but it is quite ordinary: muscular but too fast and flashy, all grimacing faces and not enough attention to detail. The only way it looks good is when compared with Ryan Benjamin's art in the final chapter, which is even more Image-y (with a story hampered by the rather silly girlfriend of Bruce Wayne recognising him as Batman), but that's not much of a compliment. When you have Williams' dazzling art followed by Daniel's ordinary work only enhances the gap between the two artists. But it does cause me to ask the important question: would the second half of this trade have been good if Williams had drawn it as well? I'm not so sure: this current Batman by Morrison doesn't seem as absorbing as some of his older work – much like I felt about this first instalment of the storyline, Batman and Son.

And now, an alternative review of the same book, in the form of a football commentator discussing the match on the sofa in the studio afterwards:
The Morrison lad has done well, moving around the pitch, providing opportunities and opening up the opposition. He sets up the Williams boy for some marvellous strikes – inventive, hard working, dazzling footwork, some true scorchers. But Morrison loses some energy when Williams was substituted for the new signing, Daniels – the move hasn't been a good one for the recent arrival to the Gotham pitch: he works hard around the field, getting into the open spaces and dribbling with the ball well, but his finishing is weak in the last third of the pitch. He gets plenty of chances to put them away, but he squanders them all by trying to be too flash on the ball. It's such a disappointment and the fans weren't too happy with his performance; Morrison couldn't control him and it overpowered his game strategy, which began to look weakened. A great first half and turned into a damp squib for the fans out in the stands, who started leaving early to miss the traffic. A shame, Gary.

From A Library: The Final Solution

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

When I was an impressionable youngster, BBC2 showed the Basil Rathbone-starring Sherlock Holmes films on Friday at 6pm – thus began my attachment to one of the five most well-known fictional characters. My favourite personification of Holmes was Jeremy Brett, which meant I had to watch ITV for once, but it was worth it – he not only looks how I imagine Holmes does but he acted like Holmes: detached, odd, inspired, aloof, bored when not working, electric when on the scent.

Of course, I don't just enjoy the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the audiovisual medium: I read the books, which people tend to forget are really well written and entertaining, something which Chabon mentions in the Q&A at the back of this novella. Because, even though the main character in this book is only called 'the old man', it is plain that this is Sherlock Holmes in his twilight years.

In retirement in a small house in the country in 1944, the old man lives alone, not interacting with the world and interested only in his bees, until a young German boy with an African grey parrot on his shoulder enters his world, resulting in his return to the use of his deductive powers of old – not because of a murder involved (which is why the police ask for his help) but the desire to reunite the boy with his parrot ...

Chabon writes an absorbing and charming story – the language is precise yet beautiful, a homage to Conan Doyle but still modern and timeless. Chabon gets what Sherlock the man is about and how he was as a human being: 'A delicate, inexorable lattice of inferences began to assemble themselves, like a crystal, in the old man's mind, shivering, catching the light in glints and surmises. It was the deepest pleasure life could afford, this deductive crystallization, this paroxysm of guesswork.'

Chabon's non-specific references to Holmes' previous adventures, the state of the old man's living quarters and the way he interacts with other people captures perfectly the character of Holmes and also demonstrates how much Chabon loved the original stories (he talks about how the first story he wrote, as a ten year old, was a Sherlock Holmes story that was the pointer for him to become a writer).

Like the original stories in The Strand, these stories are also accompanied illustrations – full-page images of an image from the story in a clean, cartoony, sketchy style that is also modern and containing a line of prose encompassed into the art. Even though The Final Solution is an extended short story (much like the original Holmes stories), it is perfectly formed and a lovely tribute to the excellent heritage of Conan Doyle.