Andy Jamieson

Sometime Geek Overlord, bi-monthly Dungeon Master, part-time care worker, reigning Husband of the Year, & full-time daddy. Also, proficient proverbial juggler.

What is best in life? The new Conan film?

Aug 262011
 

 

I read the online Guardian review of the new Conan movie yesterday and had a wee smirk to myself. Marcus Nispel’s film did not, as I expected, get a good review. I haven’t seen it yet but I am looking forward to it. Let us be honest, now; it will not be up for Oscars; it will continue to be universally slagged in reviews; it will likely make a stack of money; there will be more Conan movies.

Us fantasy fans are pretty poorly represented at the cinema. Since the Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter movies reignited the public’s appetite for cinematic depictions of fantasy, we have been a bit short on options. The odd Narnia here, a bit of Hellboy there, a welcome swash-buckle of Solomon Kane, for sure has helped, but Conan has been a long time coming. I hope it’s good; all the building blocks are there for the film-makers – although, again, like the Arnie attempts (which I am still fond of, particularly the first), this latest Conan is not directly lifted from Robert E. Howard’s source work. A shame.

And there is the Ron Perlman factor! I like big Ron, and believe he generally enhances any film he’s in. Um, for the most part. We’ll forget about the Mutant Chronicles… This Jason Momoa fella I know next to nowt about, bar knowing what he’s been in (Stargate: Atlantis and Game of Thrones), but he is in keeping with the author’s vision of Conan as being dark and swarthy. He’s a big chap as well so should stride through the combat  and action scenes, of which there will be many.

I’ve been looking forward to this since the second trailer was released; it depicted epic landscapes, brutal warfare, heroism in the face of evil, etc, etc. I don’t ask for much, but I do want the basics done well. I’m hoping to see it this week so will report back with glad tidings or disappointed grumblings…

Andy Jamieson, Editor

ps – that’s the poster for the American release, above. Pretty cool, non?

Tales Of Terror From The Tunnel’s Mouth by Chris Priestley

Aug 262011
 

Tales Of Terror From The Tunnel’s Mouth by Chris Priestley, illustrated by David Roberts

(Bloomsbury, 2010, PB £6.99, out now)

This is the third in this excellent series of spooky yarns. The first was great (Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror), the second was even better (Tales of Terror From The Black Ship) but this latest outdoes them both in terms of sheer horrific thrills and slickness of storytelling. Priestley is at the top of his game here and he is master of the chilling scare. The trick with the Tales of Terror books is that they are not simply a collection of scary tales (but work superbly as that anyway) in that they are linked and interwoven by an overall narrative that, ultimately, is far more frightening – especially as you reach the end. This is horror in the vein of Edgar Allen Poe and as such is thrilling and engrossing. Strictly speaking Priestley’s books are marketed for the ‘Young Adult’ audience but that should not put you off in the slightest. His class of chills transcends market type. And the atmosphere is suitably enhanced by David Roberts’ illustrations. Taking his cue from Edward Gorey, there is a macabre glee in his work here, following on from his exemplary work in the previous two Terror books. Priestley and Roberts combine to winning effect.

There are not many ‘must-read’ books in this world, but you can count the works of Chris Priestley amongst them.

Andy Jamieson, Editor

Local Talent: Ryan Thomason Q & A

Aug 262011
 

Above: Ryan Thomason, aged 396 months, approx.

 

Ryan Thomason is a bookseller by day, a father, and a freelance illustrator. He is the creator of Zombie Kitty and Pizza Ninja (coming soon), two comic strips exclusive to the Edinburgh Geekzine newsletter and the Geekzine website.

How long have you been an illustrator? Being pretty much completely self-taught, I suppose I should date that from when I started my art blog which can be found at tezoarillustration.com, (discreet plug!) which would be three years now.

What inspires you as an artist? Deep sea animals fascinate me. I think it’s the stretching of something you know and recognise, like a fish or a crab, into a slightly disturbing new shape that appeals. That’s probably what I like about the steampunk aesthetic as well – once you get past the people glueing clockwork gears onto their hats it turns into a great game of what-if, where you can take something normal and twist it into something unexpected. Which is what I like doing best.

Which illustrators/artists do you admire? I probably got into illustration because of 2000AD and indie graphic novels, hence my inspirations are people like Jamie Smart, Frazer Irvine, d’Israeli and Nicholas Gurewitch. More recently I can’t get enough of Kate Beaton, who might well be the funniest cartoonist on the internet.

What are your ambitions as an illustrator? I’m intrigued by the possibility of working in comics (hah! one more plug!). I think what keeps me going and fuels my work is a desire to make the world a slightly dafter, slightly weirder place.

What are you reading at the moment? Just now I’m going back through the Game of Thrones series, and I’ve got my eye on Charlie Stross’ Rule 34 to follow – I loved Halting State and the Laundry novels.

Favourite things? I think the books and comics that have really stuck with me would have to be…
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut – I first read this when I was seventeen, and for somebody who had subsisted till then on a diet of Stephen King and the like, Billy Pilgrim kicked my brain on to some genuinely subversive tracks.
Bear by Jamie Smart is wonderfully insane, featuring stories of an incredibly sarcastic stuffed bear and my favourite psychotic cat. Jamie’s done some amazing work since as well, but Bear holds a fuzzy little place in my heart.
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein will take the blood out of you and replace it with bile and rage, this little book is completely terrifying and I’ve been throwing it at everyone in range since I realised that it was written in 2007 but describes completely and without fail everything bad that’s happened to this country since the election.

In film terms, well I had a look at my Lovefilm list just there and I’ve given about a hundred five-star ratings, so it would seem I’m not too hard to please. To keep it brief then, there are two that have really grabbed me in the last few months. The first is RED, from the Warren Ellis comic, and I really loved just everything about it – the script is a crackly excited thing, the cast look like they’re having a brilliant time and it finishes far too quickly for my liking. Very much on the other hand is Inside Job, which takes a good hard rummage through the reasons why the banks lost all our money but none of their own, and inspires unheard-of heights of disgust. I know, it’s a documentary, but trust me, it’s a work of art carved out of bile and anger.

Zombie Kitty and Pizza Ninja are quite unusual ideas but work so well as comic strips. How did the ideas come around for each project? Zombie Kitty came from the wreckage of a completely deranged conversation at work, the details of which are probably best forgotten, and Pizza Ninja… I honestly can’t remember. The character had been bouncing around the back of my head for a while and then one day I was sitting on the bus and the idea for the strip just crawled out of its cave and hit me over
the head. I’ve had some fairly strange characters crawl out of my brain over the years, and a good example of this would be the set of gig posters I did for a friend that chronicled the story of a badger and the giant squid he grew to hate. The stimulus for that was me demanding he name me an animal at about 4am at a festival, and then a few days later when the idea had time to slop about for a bit the whole concept just crawled out into the daylight.

What else are you working on at the moment? My current project is a kid’s picture book, which is a big departure for me as it features neither swearing or entrails. Yet.

Interview with Andy Jamieson, Geekzine Editor

Hellboy Volume 10: The Crooked Man and Others by Mike Mignola

Aug 262011
 

Hellboy Volume 10: The Crooked Man & Others by Mike Mignola & Richard Cohen 

(Dark Horse Comics, PB £14.99, out now) 

This latest collection sees our hero investigating witchcraft in the Appalachian backwoods. He teams up with returning wanderer Tom Ferrell, a native lad whose head was turned at 15 by local witch Effie Kobb; together they head into the woods to track her down. The story draws heavily upon American folklore, and conjures up echoes of Twin Peaks and the strangeness that abounds in the deep woods. Written by Mignola, and drawn by Richard Corben, whose frayed velvety artwork amplifies the otherworldliness of life in the mysterious woods; all grubs, bugs and life- bursting decay. The Mole is a very cool little story from Mignola about Hellboy playing cards with ghosts. It’s beautifully drawn by Duncan Fegredo, who did the artwork on previous collection, The Wild Hunt. The final story in this latest volume is really special. In the Chapel Of Moloch is written & drawn by Mignola. His first in ages, and WOW, what a treat it is to see him back laying down those great shadowy slabs of light and dark. Set in Portugal, and inspired by Goya, the colour palette reeks of clay & decay, with splashes of red bursting in. More. “Soon”, he promises. We should hold him to it.

Keith Cooper, Assistant Manager, Waterstone’s Edinburgh Ocean Terminal

Batman: Under The Cowl by Grant Morrison, Bill Willingham, Geoff Johns, etc

Aug 262011
 

Batman: Under The Cowl by Grant Morrison, Bill Willingham, Geoff Johns etc

(Titan Books, PB £10.99, out now)

This unusual volume is a collection of stories about the different people who’ve taken on the mantle of Batman. It sounds like a good idea but ends up being more miss than hit. Morrison’s story follows Batman’s son, Damian Wayne, who has inherited The Dark Knight’s duties in the future. It’s by far the best story in the book and portrays Batman as a much more violent character, one who is willing to do almost anything to try and protect Gotham city. Willingham’s story is ok, it certainly shows Batman as you’ve never seen him before, but apart from that there’s nothing else really worth mentioning. Would the real Batman please stand up?

Jonathan Taylor, Senior Bookseller, Waterstone’s Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird

Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely & Philip Tan

Aug 262011
 

Batman Reborn by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely & Philip Tan.

(DC, HB £18.99, out now)

Batman & Robin. Together again. For the first time Dick Grayson has taken up the cape & cowl of his former mentor & partner, and together with Damian Wayne, this new Dynamic Duo must overcome their differences to fight a new tide of villainous savagery engulfing Gotham City. Professor Pyg is one of the creepiest psychos to grace comic pages, and Quitely’s amazing artwork really amps up the horror of this demented creature, and his false-faced dollotrons. We’ve seen Grayson as Batman before (post Knightfall in “Prodigal Son”), but he didn’t have to deal with such an uppity little bootboy as Robin. Part 2 of this collection sees a refugee from part 1 adopted by the Red Hood (how many Robins, current & former, can be squeezed into the one story?). Morrison’s writing on Batman has really shaken things up over the last few years, updating the whole Gotham infrastructure, keeping it fresh and scary. The villains here are truly amoral nutjobs, and all the scarier for it.

Keith Cooper, Assistant Manager, Waterstone’s Edinburgh Ocean Terminal

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