SW2 Graphic Novel Readers

SW2 Readers: Ode to Kirihito

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:55:07 GMT

We are reading Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka yet again. This is the original schedule reading for the group of this classic manga. You might remember we were reading it and offering copies for people to check the work of Osamu Tezuka before they turned up for Helen McCarthy's talk on Osamu Tezuka life and work last 15 September at Streatham Library.

So all you out there(in London anyway:/) have another chance to read this classic and check out one of the biggest influences on manga and therby modern comics .

Check links to this community's post on the Helen MCarthy's talk:
Before & After

If you were one of the people that were lucky enough to catch Helen McCarthy at Streatham Library on the 15 September and your interest in manga is piqued then please join us. We will be meeting at 19:30 on the 20 October to discuss Ode to Kirihito so do please turn up for the meeting.

If you do not have a copy of Ode to Kirihito and cannot reserve a copy from Streatham Library then contact us here at lambeth_comics.

Streatham Library Graphic Novels Readers Group meeting on the reading of Ode to Kirihito. (If you turn up late you can Probably find us in the pub; The Holland & Tringham, just down the road, 2nd pub past the police station).

Venue :
Streatham Library
68 Streatham High Road
Lambeth
London
SW16 1PL

Printable map

Films from games, from comics, from books and vise versa, etc, etc...

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:29:58 GMT

The Sci_Fi Festival in Regents Street London has rolled around once again.

If you missed the anime all nighter last year? Yes! There is an anime all nighter this year you can still book tickets for, Yay!

And if you're wondering why I've got a pic of an 'Image' comic up on a page about anime films it's because it is a comic of the EA game 'Deadspace' as the first film on the anime all nighter is an anime of the same EA game: 'Dead Space'.

The anme in the Sci-Fi festival anime all nighter are, in order: 'Dead Space', 'Hellsing Ultimate' based on the manga: Hellsing; "Straight Jacket'; based on a sf/fantasy novel, Straight Jacket. and 'Sword of the Stranger' stands on it's own as an anime with no best selling games, manga or books to to give it weght. But from what little I've seen it's a credit to the dark Ronin genre that inspired so many manga, anime, films including the The Magnificant Seven. So if you think there is nothing in this anime bill to interest you, you could be pleasantly suprised

And for those of you that were enthralled by The Walking Dead books we've been reading you could check out the zombie all nighter. Which can be pretty much summed up by the image below which is a fine example of that high brow genre: zombie movies!

Mine's bigger than yours

The bill for the zombie all nighter includes, in order, 'Tokyo Zombie', 'Zombies Zombies Zombies', 'colin' and 'Chanbara Beauty'.

Re Charlie Adlard coming to reading group

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:48:34 GMT

Wow, I should have checked this comment earlier. He is a nice guy.
Let me know when he is coming so I don't do something silly like bring my sketch book along. Because he is rather good at drawing things.

Oh, I finally made it to pen club yesterday. It rocked. This has reminded me that I emailed Roger Langridge ages ago about the reading group and he seemed pretty keen as well. His comic is called Fred the clown, he has done a new one as well, called Mugwap the great which is cracking.
http://hotelfred.blogspot.com/

The heroes comment is fairly relevant as the new series started on BBC 2 last night. Hope it lives up to the previous two. Ok see you guys soon!

HEROES Volume One

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:46:25 GMT

HEROES Volume One
By
Aron Eli Coleite, Joe Pokaski, Jesse Alexander, Christopher Zatta, Harrison Wilcox, DJ Doyle, Mark Warshaw, Andrew Chambliss, Pierluigi Cothran, Timm Keppler, Oliver Grigsby and various artists

When I started reading HEROES Volume One I was a bit disappointed.
Even though this is definitely a treat for the fans (and I'm one of them) of the series – for it offered all the snippets of information that hadn’t/couldn’t been shown in the TV series - there wasn’t much there for a newcomer
If you haven’t seen the TV series I would say it’s more or less pointless to read this comic.

All the stories contained herein last, for the most part, only 5 or 6 pages long. They’ve been released on a weekly basis on the internet and they serve a means to round up the main TV series.

The fact that they’re short shouldn’t be a problem. After all, 2000AD has been going on for decades publishing stories in this way and, as we all know, some really great stuff has managed to see the light of day in this way.
Nevertheless, the fact that they’re counting on us seeing the series to make the characters believable ends up making them completely flat in a story 5 or 6 pages long. If, that is, we don’t have them fresh from last week’s or this week’s episode…

Most of the scripts didn’t seem to add that much to the TV series anyway. Even though they’re well condensed, they’re more about tying up loose plot strands than driving the story forwards or really making the characters more vivid and human.

Exception to this are the two or three characters that show up for more than a half a dozen pages.
I’m thinking of Wireless and the story of “Dallas” and “Austin”. It’s not a coincidence that the stories that lasted for several chapters worked so much better. Rare is the short story that actually packs some punch and that would work as a stand alone. My own viewpoint here is that these stories should have been thought of as if no one knew the character. Assume that as a starting point and drive the idea through that.

Fathers and daughters is one such case. Even though the story of Wireless is pretty lame for the most part, when she’s finally established as a character the stories that use her work much better. Path of the Righteous, for instance.

War Buddies is one of the best even though the change in artists kind of twists its balance and mood and pace quite a bit. And it’s perhaps the story that adds most to the HEROES universe.
Death of Hana Gitelman is also a good option to wrap up this volume. Carrying some emotional weight and answering a few questions. Jason Badower’s art is, to my mind, the best in this whole volume. Even his stint on War Buddies is good - though the colours aren’t as expressive as in The Death of Hana Gitelman - the art really sets itself very well.

Much of the art here doesn’t really inspire. I liked Tim Sale’s covers. Always intense but with a not-really finished feel to them. They felt a bit rushed, as if Tim didn’t have enough time to bring them to their fullest expression. But, in a way, that serves the series well, giving it a pulp feel.

So, the idea is, if you’re a fan, keep following the TV series and diving every so often in the comic to fill in the gaps. But there isn’t much to lose if you don’t.

Reviewing The Walking Dead Book 3

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:27:43 GMT

Robert Kirkman comes up with the goods again and Charlie Adlard's ink-heavy artwork is suitabally noirish as suits any story out of the The Walking Dead. In this book the new home for the wandering survivors; the prison, is pretty secure. There are no carnivorous zombies as long as people don’t go outside the prison.

However the ‘Prison’ survivors community have only their second encounter with another survivor's community which is moreestablished and there is an immediate conflict. Both have their ways of doing things. Both are used to a violent struggle to survive so that when they meet it’s not surprising that there are sparks and those that in a weaker position suffer. This is a violent book. Don’t read it if you find violence offensive.

Upon recovering a car from the motor pool a smoking helicopter is seen descending rapidly in the distance. Rick, Glen and Michonne drive out to rescue the helicopter passengers from the wandering zombies. They find a crashed helicopter and only tracks leaving the crash site. The group decide to follow the tracks.

But things are getting even weirder back home at the prison. Robert Kirkman continues with the theme on the mating game and how it mutates under pressure. The old values have gone completely out the window for some people who are prepared to get a mate at any cost. Which is increasing the friction between the survivor women. This tension has almost gone completely unnoticed by the male members of the survivor community except when things break down into an argument.

Rick, Glen and Michonne follow the tracks to the fortified city of Woodbury. The city’s community is not what our protagonists expect of a survivor’s enclave neither is their welcome. Robert Kirkman really pushes the idea of society falling to the lowest common denominator. The town is run by one man: the ‘Governor’ aided by his henchmen. The town’s community supports the ‘governor’ because he provides ‘bread and circuses’. And our protagonists find this roman patrician attitude extends to treating all outsiders as enemies or prey. Rick is mutilated by the 'Governor’ after failing to give up the location of the prison and Michonne vainly tries to rescue Rich and Glen attacking the ‘Governor’ who, in turn, abuses her horribly for the next few days. We also get a peek into his private life; the ‘governor is not a nice person.

Back home, at the prison, things are getting even antsier between the ladies, specifically Lori and Carol. Tyreese has been out searching for Rick and the others but has only found the car.

The ‘Governor’s hold on Woodbury is slipping as his henchmen, and gladiators, fall out amongst themselves. He has a dearth of players for the ‘games’. After her torture the ‘Governor’ assumes Michonne is pliant and tries to place her in the games. Despite her suffering and injuries Michonne manages disrupt the proceedings and outrages the audience. At this point the reader gets the idea that the Woodbury community doesn’t have complete knowledge of their ‘Governor’s crimes and prefer it that way. It is an ironic commentary on government and popular support. Michonne is quickly restrained.

Rick and Glen escapes with the help of Woodbury defectors who wants to join his community. During the escape they come across Michonne and release her. Michonne goes back for revenge. Capturing the 'Governor' and returning his harsh treatment with interest. This is an extremely disturbing part of the book and the violence nearly eclipses every horror and depredation we have witnessed from the zombies. Violent times produce violent people and not necessarily sane ones.

Michonne catches up with the Rick and the others at the crashed helicopter. The journey back home is eventful and not without ‘zombie attacks’! Yay! However this doesn’t distract the Rick and the others from the fact Michonne is behaving oddly. The guys get back to the prison only to find the gates open and the place seemingly overrun with zombies. The zombies are killed. And the survivors are discovered to be in one piece bar Otis who is dead and Hershel who claims to have been injured by friendly fire.

A Woodbury defector disappears. Rick realises he’s a plant and is going back to Woodbury to reveal the location of the prison and sets after him, catches him and kills him horribly.

Rick calls a meeting revealing what happened at Woodbury and that one of the Woodbury defectors was a plant and strongly suggests that they take up arms to the expected invasion from Woodbury.

A bit of moral dilemma here since the original purpose of the group was to help each other and reach out to other survivors. Now it seems to have been decided that the citizens of Woodbury are beyond the pale and may treated with the same attitude the survivors reserve for zombies; extreme prejudice

SW2 Readers: 'Love & Rockets' 'Hearbreak Soup' 6 Oct

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:19:37 GMT

We are reading 'Love & Rockets' 'Hearbreak Soup'. Although Love & Rocets was considered required rerading material for many punks into comics we will be reading about Palomar, an impoverished community but rich in humanity. Based in a geographically nebulous location somewhere in South America. This is the first graphic novel collection of the Hernandez Brothers masterpiece depicting thier creation: Palomar

We will be meeting to discuss it on the 6 October 2008 at Streatham Library at 19:30 on.

If you have any interest in alternative US underground comics during the Reagan era please contact Streatham Library and reserve a copy of 'Love & Rockets' 'Hearbreak Soup' to read and do please turn up for the meeting to discuss the book.

Streaham Library , 68 Streatham High Road, Lambeth, London, SW16 1PL. Printable map

Helen McCarthy on Osamu Tezuka!

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:53:52 GMT

I don't know what I was expecting but I am very glad I went long to see Helen McCarthy at Streatham Library just this last Monday, the 15 September.

Japanese Stamps celebrating Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga!

Helen McCarthy came to see us, the SW2 Graphic Novels Reading Group but, very graciously, agreed to give a public talk at Streatham Public Library on manga, anime, Japanase culture and art and specifically on Osamu Tezuka. We saw some early short animations by Tezuka. I was particularly interested in Helen McCarthy's case for Osamu Tezuka introducing the cinematic 'tretament' to comic art. In Japan Osamu Tezuka is known as 'God of Manga' to anyone interested in manga. He is credited with making manga an artistic and commercial success.

If you missed Helen McCarthy's talk you can still catch her at the Barbican where she is curating a season of the films of Osamu Tezuka.

Alex Fitch was the M.C. and you should be able to catch a recording of Helen McCarthy's talk at Streatham Library on Resonsce FM, Elecrtic Sheep's site and Alex Ftich's comic site Panel Borders in the near future.

Also we will be reading Ode To Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka, later in the year. So if you didn't catch Helen McCarthy's talk at Streatham and are interested in manga but also the history of manga and anime and would like to read something by the founding father of the modern artform please go to Streatham Library and dec;lare "I am an Otaku and I claim a loan of Ode To Kirihito!"...
Or you could just join the library and ask for one of the copies of Ode To Kirihito we have put aside for the reading group.

Reviewing Lone Wolf & Cub

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:58:08 GMT

The SW2 Readers read The Assassins Road a few weeks back. It's the first collection of short stories of Lone Wolf and Cub. I never got round to reviewing then. I hope you find the comments here of some interest.

Sam Hiti's artwork of Lone Wolf & Cub

Lone Wolf & Cub is a more serious samurai manga than many people would atribute to this graphic narrative format. It is a giekiga. This is the first book of a very long serialised graphic narrative. And as such it is important for it introduces the reader to a clime hundred of years if not miles away. The details of culture, manners and artifacts presented by writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima allows us, the readers, to immerse ourselves in the milieu.

Depicted is a place which is likely to have flora & fauna that do not exist in our world. It is certainly a place whose manners and customs no longer exist. Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima conjure up a completely believable diorama of fuedal/shogunate Japan . There are no chimney stacks, no chrome plants, and no oil refineries. It will be 100s of years before man sees anything flying with the clouds other than birds. Man is a gravid creature in this milieu. He cannot outrun the consequences of his actions, he must face them. And this is a theme Kazuo Koike uses over and over. The powerful can be brought to task for their abuses, albeit at the edge of a sword(katana). Which is another theme Kazuo Koike visits - one may adventure for gain or high adventure by any means available - this is a time for adventurers but if they are prepared to face the consequences of their actions which is often swift and terrible.

Lone Wolf and Cub are afather and son, Ogami Ittō and Daigoro, who travel Shogunate/Feudal Japan as Lone Wolf and Cub; Son for Hire, Sword for Hire. An assassin and his son.

The artwork has a scratchy look to it. But this also gives it a loose feel, full of movement and pregnant poses. Goseki Kojima is a very precise draughtsman often using a few scratched lines where other artists might have laid down cross-hatching. Also there are few solid blacks in Lone Wolf & Cub. Goseki Kojima rarely inks that lavishly and treats us to layers of darkness. Texture, cold, warmth and movement exist in every shadow, suggesting that an entire ecosphere of bandits, plotters and assassins might exist in each successively dark shadow or corner.

Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima have no reticence in displaying violence and gore. The fight scenes invariably have the losers covered in their own blood or are missing limbs. Rape dismemberment, murder, fields of corpses, rivers of blood; Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima depict a period history where when violence did occur it was sudden and ferocious. Not to say that this was a simpler age. Many of the characters tread a labyrinth, machiavellian, paths to achieve the objective of their greed and passions.

In order to plot his path in this social and political labyrinth and survive Lone Wolf, Ogami Ittō becomes ronin and pariah. The title 'Lone Wolf & Cub' is apt. He and his 1-3 year old son Daigoro, are hunted by his enemies, the Yagyu clan, who made false accusations and disgraced him as the Shōgun's executioner. Also Ogami Ittō new chosen role as assassin for hire and his extreme professionalism finds him few friends even amongst the underworld.

But Ogami Ittō does find a resonance in his new, extreme, choice of life. In any stratified class or caste social norms are expected to be adhered to. It is easy to fall out of favour with so many expectations of one. Kazuo Koike continues in this theme throughout the series giving the title more depth and nuance than a simple hack & bash story. This is one of main things that kept bringing me back to Lone Wolf & Cub. The story is of alienation and how (albeit Shogunate) people and society dealt with such issues.

Son for Hire, Sword for Hire is the first story in The Assassins Road where Ogami Ittō puts his son also that the 1-3(?) year old is a willing and complicit partner. However the theme does not get in the way of a cracking good yarn which includes proper villains, tragedy and vengeance striking from beyond the grave. Throughout the story tricks are countered by stratagems, move by counter-move but the inks that seemed to fairly leap from the Shogunate period make the story that much more immediate and exciting. Also this story implies that the 1-3(?) year old also that the 1-3(?) year old is a willing and complicit partner.

A Father Knows His Son's Heart as Only a Child Can Know His Father's
It does what it says on the title. Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima reiterate the previous story's theme that both father and son are partners in the family business of contracted assassinations. But not only are father and son implicit in their trade but as upholding family values this truncated nuclear family prevail over opposition who do not possess said family values. However the theme does not get in the way of a cracking good yarn which includes proper villains, tragedy and vengeance striking from beyond the grave.

From North to South, From West to East
Professionalism and dedication to ones tarde and craft one can cut through all machvellian plots- even with a secratary with paper knife? But this story does make the point that only someone who is not distracted by politics is able to do a proper job. It's a fairly simple message that allows Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima to give us a story full of intrigue and gore with some depth to it. Ogami Ittō uses his understanding of the relationship between father & son and family to cuts through intrigue and successfully completes his mission. The theme of family is presented as worth sacrificing for as.

Baby Cart on the River Styx
There are as many twists in Lone wolf and Cub as any murder mystery. Goseki Kojima writing seems to support respect of proper authority but he also plots a story here of corruption in high places. And for Ogami Ittō honour has no class distinction. Ogami Ittō uses not only the sword but a strategy of manipulating people to cut through a tangled skien of duplicity to avoid disaster and punish the wicked. It's a fairly simple message that allows Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima to give us a story full of intrigue and gore with some depth to it.

Suio School Zanbato
A lot about this story doesn't translate for me. I still find it interesting and exciting. The only theme I can see here that one may use a plethora of smaller strategies in order to provoke one's opponent to bring out their best tactic for which one has already prepared for so that one may defeat them. Sorry if it sounds a little vague but this story seems to say 'never outnumbered, never outgunned' with proper preparation.

Waiting for the Rains
Martial virtues and patience are emphasised in this story. One of the more spiritual values of Bushido(?) is presented for the readers here. Insofar as there may be a ‘Zen’ moment for any action and rushing forward to commit an act is crass, inelegant and need not guarantee the success of the deed. Rather one may wait for the moment to one and the deed will fit the moment as a glove to a hand.

Eight Gates of Deceit
Military values that may be mirrored in social and personal values as a virtue is repeated as a theme here. But strategy through subterfuge with nothing to back it up is not a successful strategy. There may be more to this story than that and the great action scenes; lots of sword cuts and gore but if so, it doesn’t translate for me.

Wings to the Bird Fangs o the Beast
‘If one walks the hidden road as predator one should be aware that so may the predator that sees you as prey’

A hellish, apocalyptic, graphic narrative opens a scene where the reader is immediately confronted with the ancient Japanese perspective of Ronin’s, of lawless, blood-thirsty, trained killers with the modern mythology of Ronin’s admittedly fuelled by the popular folk hero and sword saint Miyamoto Musashi life and example but presented here in the form of Ogami Ittō and Daigoro as Lone Wolf & Cub – sworn to none but disciplined and restrained just the same.

The Assassin’s Road
This story one might expect at the begging of this book. It explains how Ogami Itto & Daigro become Lone Wolf & Cub. It suggests that one can successfully oppose corrupt authority. Especially if one is ‘pure in heart’ and of course no one is purer in heart than a young child. Daigoro’s purity is suggested to blind Ogami Itto's adversaries at the end of the story. So that Lone Wolf & Cub may walk free to travel ‘the Assassin’s Road’.

Helen McCarthy talks about Osamu Tezuka and Manga

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:29:03 GMT

Sometimes we are very fortunate.

And sometimes we are really lucky.

And sometimes we have Helen McCarthy to come and pay us a visit at the Graphic Novels Reading Group. And coming to chat with us about Manga and Tezuka's work, nonetheless!

So you can't really miss it can you?
15th of September, 7.30pm, Streatham Library - Teen Room.

MANGA!!!

Osamu Tezuka is probably the biggest name in manga of all time. He was arguably the main contributor to making manga what it is today. He also did animation and was a doctor for many years.

In the reading group we were planning to do Ode To Kirihito, one of Tezuka's masterpieces, later in the year but since Helen has been kind enough to come and join us, the book will be available to all those that are interested in reading it.

Tezuka also did an amazing manga relating the story of the buddha. It was the first thing i read from him and, suffice to say, I was the happiest when all the eight volumes had bought their way into my comics shelves...

So, please come and join us at Streatham Library and dive deeper into the wonderful world of comics!

Here's Helen McCarthy's wikipedia page if you want to know more about a british manga titan!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_McCarthy

Fear[s] of the Dark / Peur[s] de Noir

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:26:14 GMT

Screams Off Screen

Warning- the Fear[s] of the Dark link takes you to a site you may not be able to use the back button or Esc key to get out of. You may have to type the address of whatever site you require to visit in your browser window. But for amore trouble-free site I can reccomend Screenrush for a few images and basic information.

The people at Electric Sheep put my name on the list to see Peur[s] du Noir or Fear[s] of the Dark as it was advertised 10:30, Saturday, 21 August at the Odeon West End in Leicester Square as part of the Film4 Frightfest film festival. Apparently they I won the competition for free tickets that none of you bothered to enter. Thank you:P

The only drawback was that it was on at 10:30. I didn’t even have time to have my customary Saturday morning fry-up before I dashed out of the house. But the chance of seeing an anthology of short animation films in the horror genre, and with one of the animators(?) artists/creators being Charles Burns was worth giving up one of my cholesterol busters.

The minute I arrived I saw hordes of black T-shirts on the south side of Leicester Square and thought ‘this must be the place’. No, not a cult gathering to some dark & unspeakable god but horror fans. Nethertheless we made no sudden movements and took care to avoid eye-contact. I approached the ticket office and uttered the words that put me beyond the pale of the dedicated horror fan: “I believe my name is on the list” and entered.

All the animations were black & white except for Marie Caillou’s two-part short which had a spattering of red near the end. The anthology success was largely due to the animations being weaved together through some assiduous editing.

Blutch (Christian Hincker)
The opening short is by Blutch (Might be known to you as Christian Hincker). His pencil art is so much more effective than one would of thought. It does have a scratchy and jerky appearance at first but Blutch uses this to convey a malleability and translucence that one would expect of a much more contemporary medium such as computer art software. Blutch sets the scene in 17/18 Century Europe but he could just as easily set the scene in the third world but then we might have become jaded, inured by such atrocities constantly beamed into our homes by news services. We, the audience, might not then stared with horrid fascination as one of the Monsieur’s Mastiffs is loosed. Is it an accident or did the sour looking Messieur do it on purpose? The mastiff chases a helpless victim to what end we only guess by the off-screen screams. It’s not just a story but a tale about evil, human evil. The Messieur is a monster but Blutch shows him as a human monster with perverted drives and emotions so that he can only react to others through sadism and evil. A monster that any of us, presumably being all human, could turn into.

Blutch’s short is broken up throughout the anthology so that one anticipates savage assaults to be visited upon yet another undeserving victim as the Messieur appears on screen with his mastiffs

Pierre di Sciullo
Pierre di Sciullo’s work follows the first scene of Blutch's animation. Pierre di Sciullo addresses the subject of insularity and how spending too much time and energy on one’s paranoias and anxieties may lead to a skewed perspective and. If one may no longer be able to differentiate between relevant social concerns and entirely bizarre matters it could even lead to insanity. Imagine such a person plagued with internal dissension may serve up an uncooked, unslaughtered, chicken to dinner guests because it would be organic. Or make sure the water was boiling hot because a good host always makes sure the guests are comfortable and everyone likes a hot shower.

Pierre di Sciullo’s animation subjects us to constantly moving patterns of black and white with a woman’s narration(?) airing her fears. These fears range from the ridiculous, like getting fat to the bourgeois’s correct protocol at dinner parties to being afraid of being racist or oppressive. Pierre di Sciullo’s work continued through the anthology, linking the shorts together, ensuring the rest of the anthology of some continuity.

Charles Burns

Charles Burns short followed. It is a story of teen romance and I haven’t gone into too much detail to avoid spoilers but, and don’t misunderstand me, but you may not want to take a date to this film:) I sank into my seat with queasy anticipation to await Burns's worst. And mr Burns doesn’t disappoint in that he returns to the theme that we are willing to violate the integrity of our body should there exist some emotional connection to do so. Charles Burns story is one of relationships from a young man’s perspective. A young man’s first relationship with a woman is an exploration because, by and large, young men know nothing about women. Women are a mystery, Women are unknown and the unknown is scary.Mr Burns twists all the little fears and insecurities that people share in their first relationships until he creates a horror. Of how one gives up a bit of oneself when entering a relationship. Of how in any relationship one may change for that relationship and often not in way one expects. Of how one may come to accept that change. But this is all done in the Charles Burns style. Mr Burns themes of malleability and mutations of the human body makes these concepts truly eeirie and disturbing. I have read much more disquieting stuff from Charles Burns but not much. Charles Burns successfully uses a story telling technique where he builds up a very simple story, taking it’s roots from the Eerie comics cosmology. Which gives one an uneerie feeling of deja vu. Like you may have heard or seen or read this story before. As if it might be some sort of urban legend with just a grain of truth in it.

A faint rattle as the convention-style ticket holders hanging from the neck of the faithful seemed to clap together in applause of Burns work as Pierre di Sciullo’s animation continues linking Burns animation to the next short and throughout the anthology, ensuring continuity.

Marie Caillou
Marie Caillou’s animation short follows Pierre di Sciullo’s weird patterns and narrative. Its cutsey, it should be in pastels, it’s school girls in uniform coping with bullies and ghosts and madness and gore. Is insanity caused by natural external causes like bullies and hardship or by ghosts and the immaterial forces in our minds. Or do people go mad because they can’t tell the difference? The audience witnesses a case of bullying that would have us cringing, if filmed with live actors. The central character(yes, I’ve forgotten her name- Emily I think) in the story also seems strangely unaffected by her hardships. But the state of her slum home would refute that statement. I could not make my mind up as to wether the girl was possessed by a ghost or her own rage and if it was the school bullies that prompted her into flipping out or her life at home. Marie Caillou’s wonderful art did distracted me from the direction of the story. It really has a contemporary feel and I can’t see any criticisms putting off fans of Caillou’s art especially the younger ones. Marie Caillou's work looks like manga inspired animation. So I suppose it’s pseudo-anime? This is a criticism but not negatively so. There is lots of great pseudo-manga out there. One of my classic faves is the work of Adam Warren . The “Dirty Pair” and “Bubblegum Crisis” for instance are masterpieces. This is Marie Caillou’s translation of Japanese art & culture but… that’s no small thing. I don’t feel that Marie Caillou’s animation works as well as a piece of entertainment as does as a work of art. That said I really enjoyed her animation and would like to see more.

Marie Caillou’s animation is presented in two pieces. The second piece comes after other animators work and Pierre di Sciullo’s disturbing evolving patterns accompanied by rambling narratives on the nature of fear continue to link the shorts. I cannot remember the exact order all the animations were shown in after the first half of Marie Caillou’s animation. But between Blutch’s 17th/18th Century visions of savagery and Pierre di Sciullo’s work I remember an animation of what looked like charcoal rendering…

Lorenzo Mattotti

The art of Lorenzo Mattotti has a timeless quality in that it uses what appears to be an ancient medium: charcoals and pastels? I very much liked Lorenzo Mattotti animation. Written by partner in crime; Jerry Kramsky, it was a very simple horror story. But this animation is no weak-link in this anthology. If you were considering buying this anthology Mattotti and Kramsky’s work would definitely be a factor in deciding to buy Peur(s) du noir. The story is rooted in the story telling traditions of Lovecraft care of Clark Aston Smith and Lumley rather than Argento. Kramasky’s story is as involving as a tale told over pint in a lock-in. Kramasky and Mattotti’s builds up the story to a solid believable tale accruing more credibility for the lack of the fantastic, at least until the end. Mattotti paints the backdrop and the players to effect convincing scenes. One can believe in a backwoods marshland where the locals have little interest in the modern world and dark myths eke out their remaining years. Tension builds slowly and the monster’s appearance is an anti-climax to which the villagers develop a surprising relationship with it. But this story has one more surprise ending.

Pierre di Sciullo’s black & white work continued to a gentle rant on fear and, I think, the second half of Marie Caillou’s animation appeared followed by Richard McGuire’s animation. And during di Sciullo’s segue I am struck by the silence of the audience. Horror fans are so polite.

Richard Maguire
Richard McGuire’s animation is a great piece of work if only as a tutorial on how to tell a ghost story in animation or any other medium. It is a really simple ghost story. No, a really simple brilliant ghost story. McGuire takes an old standard and breathes life onto it. The pacing is spot on. The art is used to tell the story, no narration or dialogue. A stranger stumbles out of blizzard onto a locked house in the night. He breaks in, there is no light and later he finds no life. The candle he finds lights only his face and whatever he’s holding the candle out to, everything else is black. It is very hard to describe how meanly Richard McGuire dispenses light and the resulting swathes of white and detail. One is fascinated by a small circle of light moving over patterned wallpaper as the stranger stumbles through the house. The house feels haunted; it is haunted or is it the stranger’s imagination? The end of the story may well be off screen McGuire leaves the audience in doubt and this seems be a theme in this anthology. Nothing is certain, there is no solid ground, the story’s end is never in sight and you may never know when it ends.

As we stepped out of the cinema we easily evaded the other members of the audience blinking uncertainally in the bright light of day.

Criticisms? I found the animations exciting, fascination, dark, inspiring, disturbing, intriguing but scary? No, I don’t find animation scary. Maybe I’m alone in this? However I wouldn’t recommend it for children, unless they’d been very naughty (last time Uncle Kruku gets asked to babysit:D).

Charles Burns command of the animation software was a teeny bit stilted. But it’s not as if he or the rest of the animators here have Dreamworks at their beck & call.

Marie Callou’s animation soundtrack is obviously an effort to provoke our perspectives of this medium. It’s a shame that it wasn’t entirely successful. The soundtrack, at times, went too far and became discordant, distracting one from the images instead of complimenting and/or reinforcing any implied messages within the medium.

Pierre di Sciullo’s animation had a voiceover in French(?) and since I had to concentrate on the subtitles to keep up with the narration I think the intended effect was lost on me and many other members of the audience.

If you collect horror, comics, animation or just like your art in digested pieces this is definitely worthwhile buying. But do try and keep an art house cinema alive and see before you buy. Check link below for to Screenings dates and venues...

Screenrush

WALKING DEAD Book 3 Meeting

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:58:42 GMT

Hi everybody!
Because we did have some rest during the summer we're back feeling invigorated and with an appetite for sequential art.
And speaking of appetite, we're checking out Kirkman's and Adlard's latest instalment on the rough undead crowd of flesh eaters.
The Walking Dead Book 3 takes Rick Grimes and some of his companions to some dangerous places. Perhaps the living are the ones they should be afraid the most...

Next meeting will be held (as always) at:
Streatham Library
7pm onwards
8th September 2008
some refreshments will also be provided.
(and we'll probably head to the pub afterwards to chat some more...)

Hope you are all well!

If you want a copy please ring me at 0207 926 8070 and ask for Pedro.

SW2 Readers Meeting 1, Sept: 'Lone Wolf & Cub'

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:48:11 GMT

We did not meet to discuss 'Lone Wolf & Cub' on the 25 August 2008 at Streatham Library at 19:30 on because that date fells on a Bank Holiday Monday. However...

Pedro, Pat & I had a drink and a chat and agreed to meet up at Steatham Library to discuss 'Lone Wolf & Cub' on the 1 September 2008. Which is only next Monday. But you guys have plenty of time to check this marvelous classic.

Despite all the previous posts about this reading we will be reading the Lone Wolf and Cub first book: The Assassin's Road on the 1 September 2008. So you guys have now had plenty of time to read this classic.

However If haven't read or even heard of this book and would like to expand you reading interests or are just curious about manga or gekigaor have enjoyed the flims based on this character or were merely intrigued by them please contact Streatham Library and reserve a copy of Lone Wolf and Cub or post here or post direct to Pedro's email at nimurdreams@googlemail.com and we'll do our best to make sure you get a copy.

It should be an intresting meeting as Lone Wolf and Cub is a classic samurai/ronin gekiga that has set the standard for all samurai/ronin gekiga and
manga since.

If you wish to reserve a copy or have any inquiries about the meeting phone Streatham Library on Tel: 020 7926 6768 or post here or post direct to Pedro's email at nimurdreams@googlemail.com.

Streatham Library , 68 Streatham High Road, Lambeth, London, SW16 1PL.
Printable map

Gebbie & Moore signing 'Lost Girls' 13 September

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:19:35 GMT

Alan Moore & Melinda Gebbie will be signing copies of 'Lost Girls' 13 Sept between 14:00 and 16:00 at the Orbital Comics store, 148 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0LB. Map

Probably more well known by most for the movies based on his works; From Hell, The League of Extrodinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta and soon to be made Watchmen, Alan Moore has been credited with revitalisng if not recreating the comic medium in the late 1980s. However he will be decending to earth on the 13 September with his wife Melinda Gibbie at Orbital Comcs to sign copies of the notorious (even before published) Lost Girls

Melinda Gibbie is the co-creator of Lost Girls and of the Cobew character (and one supects narrative) in the Tommorrow Stories comics and famed as an active feminist comics writer (by HM customs anyway).

Cross posted to londinium

Tekkon Kinkreet

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:24:01 GMT

Those johnny-come-latelys at BoingBoing have just discovered what an excellent book Tekkon Kinkrete is and have given it a small review. Check thier LJ page.

Edited:
I've just fixed the link. Please post if you find it broken.

THE NEW AVENGERS VOL. 1

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:29:53 GMT

THE NEW AVENGERS VOL. 1
By Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch, Steve McNiven, etc

I am sorry to say but The New Avengers was a disappointment. The art is good but cold, the plot is well woven but lacking any real content, the well established characters missing their personalities somehow.
It’s a shame when a good (and often great) writer becomes a gun for hire in the comics business and, as the volume of production increases so does the quality of the writing easily go out the window...

SYNOPSIS
The baddies escape from the super-human prison. Because a lot of super-heroes happen to be in the vicinity they end up banding together to fight the evil doers. After this Captain America and Tony Stark decide to bring the Avengers back together (duh…). After bashing some more heads they learn that the key to it all is one of The Sentry’s ancient enemies (still at large) and that the Sentry’s unconscious is the very thing that’s been distorting reality all this time (double duh…)

This last bit was the only interesting thing about the plot. Yet it reminded me a lot of Grant Morrison (and a ton of trying-to-be-original-but-actually-becoming-a-regurgitation of classic epic SF), tough without any of his playful wit and genuine enthusiasm for strange, mind expanding possibilities.

In any case there are some nice visual sequences. Bendis’ scripts may be shallow but his visual dynamics are usually very good. Some of the page layouts are really a beauty to look at. Bendis seems to easily break pacing conventions with the way he maps his stories.

In terms of characterization I felt the characters underplayed and stuck to their own caricature, having no real life and energy. Even Matt Murdock/Daredevil, that Brian wrote for years (a truly brilliant run, giving so much to the character, I might add) seemed shallow and insignificant. That’s what happens when you focus more on muscle than on what lies beneath I suppose.

This is perhaps a great run for a younger audience, still fresh into comics and more concerned about the visuals and a sense of power and of the fantastic than a deeper content, some sort of heart and soul to stories.

The perfect example is the last story of the book – Special Guests – without David Finch’s or Steve McNiven’s pencils the whole thing is just an outdated super-hero story trying to be smart.
So check it out if you want to see plenty of action and some amazing drawings. This one is a no-brainer.
For better or for worse…

THE FOUNTAIN

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:02:53 GMT

THE FOUNTAIN
By
Darren Aronofsky, Kent Williams and Jared K. Fletcher

For those of you that don’t know (and for those that do) Darren Aronofsky is the film director behind π (Pi), Requiem for a Dream and THE FOUNTAIN.
So what the heck is he doing in comics?
(well he happens to enjoy comics quite a bit so, there)
It so happened that the plug had been pulled of THE FOUNTAIN film project a few years ago and after a bit of depression and trying to get away from it all, Darren realized that this story “simply wasn’t going to go away” and he needed to get it out of his system. To do it in some sort of visual medium.
Hence, comics.
Hence Mr. Kent Williams.
(and, for those of you that are still undecided (ye unbelievers…), Kent Williams painted art has shown up in such books as Blood: A Tale (with JM DeMatteis – my favourite book of his to date and one of my all time favourite comics); Tell Me, Dark (with Karl Wagner) and Havok/Wolverine: Meltdown (with Walter and Louise Simonson).

THE FOUNTAIN is a beautifully rendered story about the power of love. It’s not your straightforward love story though. It links three distinct eras: the Spanish conquest of South America, present day Europe and a futuristic exploration of a distant dying star.
Through these three eras, Tomas, the main character, tries to save the love of his life from death. The battle for love also becomes a battle for life.

This story is as much a voyage through space and time as it is through consciousness. In Thomas and in his beloved, we can feel a resonant primeval force with the male and female forces and principles that, ultimately, merely want to be fully acknowledged, fused and transcended.

In the first part of the story we have Captain Tomas Verde going to South America to do the bidding of his Queen in trying to find a mysterious tree, source of eternal life. In vanquishing all obstacles but one, his life is put on the balance by a Mayan priest.

In the second part, Tomas is a geneticist desperately trying to find a cure for cancer in order to save the woman he loves, divided between spending the few remaining days with her or completing the research that might hold a cure for her.

In the third part, Tomas is an explorer, travelling to a distant dying star, again trying to obtain eternal life.

The three stories show up separately at first but then start to interweave in a crescendo of emotion and inner clarity.
This is truly one of the most moving books that I have read for a while. It’s deep and poignant.
Useful, I would say. Useful in the same way I found the Promethea series useful (Alan Moore, JH Williams III and various others). Useful in the sense that it reminding us of something ancestral inhabiting in all of us. Something deeper than technology or life styles or all the historical and yet superficial changes we have seen. I cannot really express what I felt about this book because it’s one of those where words are truly merely a vehicle for something more profound than their innate content.

The story is far from linear but extremely moving in the way it deals with love, life and death. It doesn’t get simpler and more real than this.
(even though it’s a work of fantasy, go figure…)

Through it all we have the struggle of one man trying to dodge each and every blow of fate so that his love and ultimately his life may truly be eternal. In each of the three incarnations he is an explorer but perhaps blinded by his very quest. What he needs to find is possibly quite different from what he initially set out to. This is what Isabel tries to reveal to him, in all her loving incarnations.
She is his heart and, in more ways than one, the very source of life.

THE FOUNTAIN is thus a story of a much needed return to our essence. Of crossing through the veils that encumber and distract our existence and reaching our core, stripped, naked of any misconceptions. Of crossing our hearts desolation and find the solace of our soul. The Source of Life.
May you find your way into THE FOUNTAIN as well.

Tuesday night events

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:06:02 GMT

There's a free screening of the new director's cut of the brilliant Dark City (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118929/) at 7.30pm at the Roxy bar and screen at 128-132 Borough High Street (www.roxybarandscreen.com)...

Dark City presents a 1940s style murder mystery in an eerie city where it is perennially night and mysterious strangers dressed all in black control the lives of the inhabitants. Starring Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connolly, Kiefer Sutherland, Richard O'Brien, William Hurt and Ian Richardson, from the director of The Crow. The film will be introduced and followed by a Q & A with Electric Sheep film critics... (Probably me and the editor, Virginie)

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Or... if you'd like to do something more creative, this week's meeting of Tom Humberstone's Pen Club (http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=7652) escapes the shackles of insalubrious Deptford / New Cross and relocates to the Phoenix arts club off Charing Cross Road:

The Arts Club is nice and quiet, with big round tables for drawing, good lighting, and a nice atmosphere condusive to sketching.

It is open to the public but non-members have to arrive before 8pm so be sure to get there early if you fancy coming...

The address: 1 Phoenix Street, Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0DT

Nearest Tubes: Leicester Sqaure or Tottenham Court Road

Update: SW2 Readers Meeting - 'Lone Wolf & Cub'

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:04:59 GMT

We will not be meeting to discuss it on the 25 August 2008 at Streatham Library at 19:30 on because that date falls on a Bank Holiday Monday.

Pedro has said he is available on that date so if anyone would like to meet up on that date we could meet down the pub ( link with map ) that we often do to continue our discussions. We could even meet during the day as it is a Bank Holiday.

For those of you that did not check out the previous post on this reading we will be reading the Lone Wolf and Cub first book: The Assassin's Road.

It is a manga or more correctly a gekiga: a term denoting a slightly more serious medium than manga. So if you ever thought you might like to expand you reading interests or are just curious about manga or gekiga please contact Streatham Library and reserve a copy of Lone Wolf and Cub to read.

Streatham Library , 68 Streatham High Road, Lambeth, London, SW16 1PL.
Printable map

Anyone wishing to meet on the 25 August; Bank Holiday Monday or another date should post here or directly to Pedro at nimurdreams@googlemail.com . In his own words:

"I'm really looking forward to hear your views of one of manga's greatest samurai's classics! One man's struggle to regain the honour of his clan starts here!
Swords, deceit, honour, politics, assassins, diapers."