Hallowe’en Reads – October Book Haul from MCM Comic Con

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Batman, Brian Azzarello, comic books, ComicCon, dc comics, Frank Miller, Infinity War, Joker, Klaus Janson, literature, Marvel Universe, Master Race, nanowrimo, The Dark Knight, The Long Halloween

It seems all the good things are just around the corner: hallowe’en is almost upon us as well as the monthly madness of NaNoWriMo. Yesterday I was also lucky enough to have attended the London MCM ComicCon. I came away with a big book haul that is set to enrich my ever-expanding comic book collection, though my bank balance is considerably depleted!

How to describe comic con? A lot of people ask me if it really is an insane geek-out sesh and I have to say, yes, it most definitely is. Everyone is doing their own thing and it’s the only place where no one will ever give you a second glance if you turn up half-naked covered in green paint screaming ‘HULK SMASH!’ in people’s faces. I personally love it for all the bookish goodness I can take away with me (one guy actually had a bubblegum pick suitcase for his haul. That will probably be me next year…) and it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet the creators, illustrators and some big names in the industry.

This year’s attraction for me was no other than Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello from the DC Universe. I got a very special edition of Dark Knight III Master Race signed by him, Azzarello, Kubert and Janson and I managed to meet and talk to Brian Azzarello himself. He signed the black cover copy of Master Race for me (the complete edition). Klaus Janson was also there and I got a cheeky little signature from him too.

Other highlights of the event was an awesome steampunk stand where I met an absolutely adorable steampunk R2D2 and got my picture taken with no other than Ryuk from Deathnote. A girl’s dream come true!

Here are a few of my favourite snaps from the Con:

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HALLOWE’EN READS

• Batman: The Long Hallowe’en – I’ll be kicking off with this aptly named title! I’m on a bit of a DC bender at the moment, specifically Batman. I’m watching Gotham on Netflix and I would REALLY love it if they could make an origins story for Fish Mooney, even though she was only created for the TV show.
• Batman: The Dark Knight Master Race – I’d almost forgotten how awesome Mr. B actually is. I am a Marvel girl through and through, yet there’s something about him that’s different. He has no special abilities, yet his loss and subsequent darkness is the only thing that fuels him on his journey to making the world a better place. I identify with that. And no matter what anyone says, he’ll always going to be the good guy. I just wish he found someone to make him happy.

What will you be reading for hallowe’en?

 

Summer Reads #2 – The Sandman Saga by Neil Gaiman

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american gods, book review, books, christianity, comic books, coraline, god of dreams, greek mythology, literature, mirrormask, moirai, morpheus, mythology, Neil Gaiman, ramadan, Reading, religion, stardust, the kindly ones, The Sandman, the three fates, Vertigo Jam

According to Neil Gaiman, if the Moirai (the Three Fates) lived among us, they would be harmless old cat ladies with a penchant for yarn-bombing.

 

This year I managed to complete the Sandman Saga, which was a big one for me, because after reading a lot of Neil Gaiman, I was still undecided on how I felt about him and his writing.

He’s one of these authors who is gifted and has a prolific output of work – the man can turn his hand to anything literary and make a success of it. The Sandman comics have also long been touted as his magnum opus, but I just didn’t have the time to get through it due to work commitments.

But 2018 was the year for it, and I’m sooooo glad I got through this, because it was AMAZING! Neil Gaiman is everything they say he is – an absolute genius.

If like me, you weren’t that particularly impressed with Coraline, Mirrormask, Stardust or found American Gods to be too steep and cryptic in terms of plot and character development, then The Sandman Saga is definitely for you.

In my humble opinion, this has to be Gaiman’s biggest achievement. In it he display’s his amazing prowess and knowledge of world mythology; creates a world where all gods, of all races across all times exist in the here and now, some as faint echoes and others as living amongst us, unbeknownst to us. In a way, The Sandman is not just about the adventures of Morpheus the Dream-God (one of the Eternals); it is through his interactions with humans, his losses and gains, his victories and calamities that Gaiman puts together a meta-mythology, a place where all gods are a figment of human imagination and exist as long as we exist.

I love this idea – it’s fresh, new, and something that he goes into in great detail in American Gods where he explores how ancient gods gain new grounds through the diasporas of different peoples’ across the ages, and how genocides are enough to wipe out the existence of others. It is powerful in that it puts the existence of faith into the hands of story-telling. The gods travel and stay tethered to survival through our stories. According to Gaiman, without the tradition of oral story-telling, our gods would come to naught. Being a story-teller, I like this idea, a lot!

Thus I found Sandman to be a bibliophile’s delight, because Morpheus, the god of dreams is the ultimate storyteller. He controls the gateway to the subconscious, he is a merciful god to a certain extent, yet when the world of dreams is in flux (as it is when we are first introduced to him in Preludes and Nocturnes issue #1), it causes chaos in the human world.

The saga begins when a group of Occultists (among them, the infamous Aleister Crowley) gather to summon and entrap Death itself. Their little parlour game goes awry and instead of entrapping Death, they manage to snag Death’s twin brother, Dream. Morpheus, therefore begins his 70 year confinement at the hands of these occultists, which results in terrible consequences for people around the world. Some fall asleep never to wake up again, others die stark raving mad because of their inability to sleep, others are subjected to terrible nightmares that are endless. In short, the world is thrown into flux, but the Lord of Dreams finally finds a way to escape his fate as a ‘genie in the lamp’, and must begin a journey across space and time, and between worlds to claim back the power that was seized in his absence.

This is of course, just the beginning of the saga. So much more happens, and I can’t remember a time when I was so engrossed by mythology as I was with this series. It has made my understanding and appreciation of American Gods much more meaningful as I see now what Gaiman was trying to do.

The Sandman was him playing in the sand pit. He stated himself that the series made him grow as a writer as he became bolder with his world-building, and with those amazing connections he makes between character and the series.

My favourite issues comprise of the stand-alone Ramadan, which has a very 1001 nights flavour to it and the masterful way he put together The Kindly Ones, the penultimate volume to the saga, where he explores the potency of the female in mythology. The Kindly Ones as they are referred to, assume the avatar of the mother, the lover, the female scorned. The way he portrays the Three Fates and the alchemy of feminine ‘madness’ was especially breath-taking.

I’ve made up my mind: Neil Gaiman truly is one of a kind.

I can only hope to meet him in person one day and listen to his pearls of wisdom about writing.

NOTE: Special mention to the illustrator David McKean, whose illustrated the front covers for each volume. His style artfully illustrated the nightmare and the dreamscape of Morpheus’ world. But if you look carefully past the disturbing nature of his images, you will see a balance of symbolism, which like a dowling rod divines the very heart of each volume and issue. A wonderful collaboration.

 

 

 

Book Review | ‘Marvels’ by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross

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alex ross, civil war, comic books, frankenstein, greek mythology, Human Torch, john milton, kurt busiek, mark millar, Marvel, mary shelley, paradise lost, prometheus, science fiction, victor frankenstein, violence

Marvels by Kurt Busiek

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here’s yet another graphic novel with an explosive cast, another ‘alternative’ view on superheroes. But unlike Millar’s ‘Civil War’, the ‘Marvels’ creators Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross get the art AND the storyline spot on. This time the story actually works and I think that may have something to do with the fact that not only are they putting the reader firmly in the place of ‘helpless spectator’, but cementing this angle with a narrator who (by default) is in that situation too.

Meet Phil Sheldon, a rookie photojournalist who recounts first-hand experiences and close encounters with the ‘otherly race’. Sheldon is unique in that he witnessed the initial advent of these synthetic gods and takes us not only through their creation and evolution, but also conveys the hopes and fears their presence triggered among mankind. Initially hailed and feared as gods, they are later reviled, and then supported as heroes only to fall yet again in the eyes of the public. This is a complex story to tell, especially from the perspective of your average American citizen who is struggling with his own inner demons.

As a character Sheldon was extremely likeable. I found that he added credibility from both a professional and private stance. Him being a photojournalist meant we really COULD look at things through a ‘lens’ of sorts, and experience what the average person would feel if a world full of unruly superheroes was our everyday reality. Too many graphic novels glorify superheroes; make them the safe, good guys. At least here there is a questioning of motives and a look at the destruction that they leave in their wake and what this really means for normal people.

Other aspects of the book I applaud is the literary nod in the direction of Mary Shelley, as Busiek cleverly parallels the legendary creation of Frankenstein’s monster with that of ‘The Human Torch’. The panels are artfully done, and the short history of ‘The Human Torch’ really does strike a mixed chord of terror, pity and sympathy.

Using ‘The Human Torch’ was a stroke of genius, as the little known second title of ‘Frankenstein’ is in fact ‘The Modern Prometheus’. For those that don’t know, Prometheus is famous in Greek myth as the man who stole fire from the gods and was duly punished for his transgression. Needless to say, this ties in very nicely with the Busiek’s ‘homage’ to Shelley and also (maybe I’m reading too much into it) Milton’s Paradise Lost, as angel’s are purported to be made of ‘holy fire’, which makes ‘The Human Torch’ the perfect character to use.

I don’t want to give away the story too much, but it is definitely worth a read. I was especially amused by a section at the back of the book that showed how the creators captured poses by using models (usually themselves, family and friends) to make the characters more realistic. The colour scheme suited the 1950’s feel of the story/ setting giving it a retro effect that I thoroughly enjoyed.

One thing: I would dearly like to know what happened to the alien-faced girl. She was a great character and I still feel very sorry for her, but she just disappeared from the story without a trace. Very frustrating. Please, if anybody knows about her, let me know!

View all my reviews

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Book Review | ‘Civil War’ by Mark Millar

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9/11, Avengers, comic books, fantasy, mark millar, Marvel Universe, marvels, Nitro, science fiction, Superhero, United States

Civil War by Mark Millar

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I’m amazed by how Millar keeps coming up with these new slants on the Marvel universe. It must require a lot of creative thinking and collaboration with the ‘right’ kind of people. This time Millar explores what would happen if the superheroes that we all loved and trusted got out of hand and began fighting amongst themselves. The reality of that would be (as the title suggests) complete civil war. The story opens on a quiet American suburb in what looks like a ‘reality tv’ raid on a house full of rogue superheroes on the FBI wanted list for illegal activities. What ensues is a pre-emptive fight that gets out of hand – extremely out of hand. Cornered, confused and enraged, Nitro unleashes an explosive attack near a school which turns into a small-scale atomic blast. The result: an entire neighbourhood burnt to a crisp with a death toll of 900.

In the face of this catastrophe, the American public bay for blood, that results in a merciless witch-hunt for all superheroes. Torn between grief, shame and anger for the careless behaviour of their junior peers, established superheroes like the Avengers begin to suffer the wrath of people. There is soon talk of registering, legalising and uncovering the identities of those with powers to make them more accountable for their actions. This soon divides the superheroes into two camps; those who decide to yield to the public demands and those who resist.

There is more to this story than meets the eye: Nitro’s suicidal attack and its’ devastating effects mirrors the 9/11 attack on America’s twin towers. It is a commentary on fanaticism and the way the Western media have turned the conflict in the East (be it Afghanistan or Iraq) into ‘big brother’ style entertainment.

However having said that, I’m not that happy with the WAY it was told. The graphics were beautiful as always, yet there were some plot-holes that made it a little too unbelievable. There were fights a-plenty, in fact too much violence. I felt the frequency of the brawls eclipsed the storyline too much. Every other page was a fight or a tussle. It was interesting to see who would side with whom and in this version of events Tony Stark (Ironman) takes precedence as he tries to ‘do the right thing’. There are a few shocking events such as some heroes get killed, while others relinquish their well-guarded identities.

As a comic book fan I would like to have seen more of the Punisher and I feel he wasn’t given the credit he deserved. After a brief stint working for the rebelling superheroes, he is quickly cast aside as ‘insane’ and never heard of again. The very thing that makes the story weak is probably the fact that there are too many superheroes. There is an impressive cast, but I felt it truly overwhelmed me. Less could have been more. This felt like Millar was trying to find ways to include as many of his creations as possible.

View all my reviews

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