Jim Taylor

A ponderer with delusions of grandeur...

COMIC REVIEW: ‘Seconds’ by Bryan Lee O’Malley

Sep 272014
 

After four years in the wilderness, Canadian comics hero Bryan Lee O’Malley has returned with fantastical graphic novel Seconds, a more-than-worthy successor to the cult phenomenon that was his Scott Pilgrim series.

While Pilgrim was lauded for its inventiveness in bringing the pace and aesthetic of video games to the comic book format, Seconds takes its inspiration from a much older source, namely European folklore.  Its heroine, Katie, is a chef who dreams of opening a new restaurant, despite the catalogue of romantic, financial and culinary woes already besetting her daily existence.  Desperate to wipe out some of her past mistakes, she accepts a (literal) magic mushroom from a mysterious white-haired girl who appears in her room one night, and discovers that it gives her a “do-over” of the things in her past she’d like to change.  As Katie begins to abuse this new-found power in pursuit of creating the perfect life for herself, something dark and terrible starts to grow under the floorboards in her pantry, an ancient force which will threaten everything she still holds dear.

With its cautionary tale of the fantastical intruding upon the everyday, Seconds at times feels reminiscent of the work of Neil Gaiman, a very different vibe from the kung-fu sugar rush of Scott Pilgrim.  But O’Malley has never been one to emphasise style over substance; one of his greatest strengths is a depth of characterisation which ensures that even the quirkiest of his creations display a profound humanity.  This is certainly the case with Seconds, where the relationships between a group of flawed but likeable characters provide the poignant backdrop to a story ostensibly about magic powers and vengeful spirits.  Katie in particular makes for a great central character; opinionated, talented and passionate but occasionally given to deceit and selfishness, she’s the heart of a story which never gets lost in its own mythology.  Fans of Scott Pilgrim will find plenty to enjoy, but Seconds is clearly the work of a writer who has matured considerably over the last few years.

Perhaps the only thing on display more impressive than O’Malley’s writing is his artwork.  Cute but expressive, cartoonish but emotive, his manga-influenced designs leap from the page in a rich array of colours, creating an atmosphere of haunting beauty throughout the book.  There are a couple of splash page cross-sections which stand out as particularly breathtaking, and it’s nice to see O’Malley experiment with more fantastical subject matter, too; the latter part of the book sees him display a hitherto unknown talent for conveying eerie menace, which feels all the more jarring when set alongside his usual warm and fuzzy stylings.  Seconds is proof that O’Malley has grown as both an artist and a writer, whilst retaining the stylistic quirks which make him unique.  We can, it seems, continue to expect great things from him.

Stimulating Creative Disobedience: Paul Gravett and John Dunning at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Sep 042014
 

It’s impossible not to feel passionate about comic books after spending an hour in the presence of Paul Gravett and John Dunning.  Their infectious devotion to the artform shone through during their appearance on the penultimate day of the 2014 Edinburgh Book Festival, where they spoke at length about the British Library exhibition they co-curated over the summer, Comics Unmasked: Anarchy in the UK, and the tie-in book that’s been released to accompany it.  Gravett and Dunning said that the idea behind the exhibition was to celebrate the outstanding history of great British comics through examining their often seditious nature, looking specifically at how they have tackled themes of sex, violence, race, politics, mental illness and the occult since the Victorian era.  It was, said Dunning, a deeply personal show, whose objective had been to “stimulate creative disobedience” in all those who saw it.

There are literally tonnes of comic book history sitting in the underground archives at the British Library (much of which is stored alongside the pornography), but most of it never sees the light of day.  Limiting the exhibition to just 200 items was, said Gravett, an extremely difficult undertaking, but they managed to work within the confines of the set-up to create a comic timeline stretching from 15th century religious works to 21st century postmodern creations, via sensationalist Victoriana, propaganda strips, subversive political satire and the controversial horror comics of the 1950s.  Comics have often been able to tackle subversive material. he said, because censors have never paid much attention to them (with a couple of notable exceptions – the work of the puritanical Comics Code Authority being one); Dunning recalled that, although all anti-apartheid material was officially banned in the South Africa of his youth. stinging critiques of the regime could be found in the pages of Nemesis the Warlock, because government censors never thought to look for them there!

Both curators said that the exhibition owes its success to the hard work of a great many people, including legendary artist Dave McKean, who served as their artistic director.  It had been, they said, a huge endeavour, through which they had aimed to demystify the process of creating comics, bringing this oft-maligned medium to a wider audience so that its many triumphs could be appreciated on a far larger scale.  What they have also achieved is an informative celebration of comics’ venerable heritage and their powerful ability to showcase subversive themes and minority viewpoints.  If the Comics Unmasked project doesn’t significantly raise the profile and prestige of comics of the UK, then surely nothing will.

“We were three perfectionists who never disagreed!” – Kate Charlesworth, Mary & Bryan Talbot at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Aug 302014
 

Comics as a medium aren’t usually associated with the biography genre, despite having a proud heritage in that vein with the work of such celebrated creators as Alison Bechdel, Harvey Pekar and Art Spiegelman.  It came as something of a surprise, then, when Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, a graphic novel by husband-and-wife team Bryan and Mary Talbot, won the Costa biography award in 2012.  The duo have since joined forces with cartoonist Kate Charlesworth to create another graphic biography, this time telling the story of a prominent member of the suffragette movement in early-20th century Britain.  Sally Heathcote: Suffragette was published back in May, and the three creators were talking about it last week at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The event began with a theatrical flourish, as LGBT choir Loud and Proud staged a re-enactment of a suffragette march within the confines of the festival’s Garden Theatre.  The history of the women’s suffrage movement and the creation of Sally Heathcote remained the focus throughout, which was refreshing because, with a comics titan like Bryan Talbot present, the event could easily have turned into a celebration of past glories.  It did not, in fact, pass without comment that despite having spent 40 years in the business and producing such classics as The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, Alice in Sunderland and Grandville, Talbot did not start winning literary awards until he began working with his wife!  The idea to tell Sally’s story was actually Mary’s, and she had it in 2010 almost as soon as they’d finished work on Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes.  Following Sally’s life was a way to examine a movement that Mary believes most of us in the UK still don’t know enough about, and her personal triumphs and tragedies map the rocky progress of the suffragette cause as the book progresses.  Due to time constraints, Bryan was unable to provide full artwork for the book, so they brought in Kate Charlesworth to work from his layouts.  Despite all being self-proclaimed perfectionists, the three creators said their collaboration had gone very smoothly, possible because the whole thing was done via email!

So why tell the story of Sally Heathcote in a graphic medium?  Bryan said that they were able to play to “the strengths of comics” on many occasions, rendering unflinching depictions of the brutal treatment endured by many suffragettes at the hands of the police and members of the public, and using colour and juxtaposed images to create a dense work which remained easy to follow.  Additionally, the format allowed them to do justice to the ‘visual’ element of the movement, which saw women throughout the UK use crafts and merchandising to spread their message far and wide.  Mary said that she’d intended the book to be a teaching tool, and the pages of notes and annotations at the end of Sally Heathcote: Suffragette attest to that.  It remains, she said, very important to remember that women’s right to vote was secured only through hard-fought battle, a history which is all too easily forgotten by people who live in a more democratic age.

“I drew my first issue of ‘The Walking Dead’ in two weeks!” – Charlie Adlard at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Aug 262014
 

Artist Charlie Adlard, best known for his epic ten-year (and counting) run on The Walking Dead comics, was in Edinburgh last week to discuss his work and inspirations at the International Book Festival.  Interviewed by David Bishop, his former editor at Judge Dredd Megazine, Adlard spoke about collaborating with Walking Dead scribe Robert Kirkman, the thrill of seeing his creations brought to life on the TV screen, and the meandering career path he took to reach the world of comics.

Although he remembers loving drawing at a young age, and being blown away by his first taste of comics with The Mighty World of Marvel #1, Adlard said that it was only after a detour to film school that he decided to embrace the medium and try to establish himself as a comics artist.  A gruelling couple of years on the convention circuit followed, before he got his first big break drawing a 1992 Judge Dredd story written by Alan Grant.  Quickly developing a reputation for being “the fastest artist in British comics”, Adlard became a journeyman, working on a whole range of different titles including the official X-Files comic.  This, it turned out, was something of a licensing nightmare for which his artwork required approval from several different production companies – an experience, he said, that he’s never been keen to repeat.  The story of his coming to work on The Walking Dead in 2004 is, he admits, rather boring – “Robert just asked me; I said ‘yeah, alright'” – but he’s proud of the fact that he and Kirkman are now officially the longest-running continuous partnership in comics history, and of how his work’s been adapted by the hugely successful AMC television series.  There’s a strict delineation on the comic, he said, between the role of artist and writer, but although Kirkman has occasionally had to talk him into illustrating some of the series’ more gruesome sequences, it’s a job that he still very much enjoys.

So what’s the average working day like for the artist of one of the world’s most popular comics?  Adlard said that he treats it like a normal 9-5, trying to keep regular working hours, but that he’s actually at his happiest when toiling away in his studio.  He is, he said, very aware of how privileged he is to be doing what he loves for a living.  The huge success of the TV adaptation has ensured that The Walking Dead remains a tremendously popular comic, and Adlard wants to keep drawing it for many years to come, but at the same time he’s recently given up doing inks on the series so that he has time to pursue some other projects.  What these might be he didn’t say, but an artist of Adlard’s calibre will always be worth looking out for in future.

“The monsters are mirrors for us” – M. R. Carey and Ken MacLeod at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Aug 182014
 

Have apocalyptic tropes like conspiracy theories and the living dead run their course in literature?  At an Edinburgh Book Festival event titled Breathing Life into Zombies, Mike Carey and Ken MacLeod answered this question with a resounding “no” as they discussed their new books and the ideas behind them.  Perhaps best known for his work in comics (having written series like Hellblazer, Lucifer and Unwritten), Carey’s newest book is The Girl With All the Gifts, a “non-zombie” zombie novel which tells the unsettling story of a little girl who doesn’t know she’s a monster.  Ken MacLeod’s protagonists are rather mundane in comparison, unlike the labyrinthine conspiracies at work in his latest book, Descent, which he describes as “science fiction bloke-lit”; sort of like Nick Hornby with alien abductions.

Both authors spoke about the gestation of their works, as well as their thoughts on ‘genre’ writing in general.  Carey’s book, he said, began as a short story which became a novel “by accident”, and represents his attempt to subvert the tropes of the zombie subgenre; the only way to avoid “peak zombie”, in his opinion, is to get meta-textual about it.  He’s already written a screenplay, so The Girl With All the Gifts may yet repeat its initial success onscreen, although the fungal similarity between his ‘zombies’ and the monsters from popular game The Last of Us could prove awkward!  MacLeod said that Descent was born out of his desire to see “alien abductions done right”, as well as his ideas about one possible (if extreme) consequence of the economic crisis.  He enjoyed writing it, he said, because although most conspiracy theories are nonsense, we still need theories about conspiracies.  He was inspired by Mark Pilkington’s book Mirage Men, and also the opportunities for voyeurism afforded by our new age of drones and smartphones, a topical slant which goes some way to cementing his reputation as one of the world’s foremost writers of political science fiction.

MacLeod argued that robots were the original embodiments of slave labour in fiction, a recurrent simulacrum for the travails of the working class in the 19th and 20th centuries, but have since been superseded in this role by zombies, hence the latter’s virtual omnipresence in modern popular culture.  Carey suggested that their prevalence is also due a resurgence in popular thinking about the end of the world, and the various horrible forms it might take.  Uncertainty, said MacLeod is the new normal, and it’s this uncertainty that both these authors will continue to exploit as they write further works of startling speculative fiction.

“All history is bloody” – George R R Martin at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Aug 182014
 

The landmark fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire is – in part – a response to the Tolkien imitators of the ’70s and ’80s, said author George R R Martin during his appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.  A jovial presence at two warmly-received events during the festival’s first week, Martin said that, as a long-term fan of mixing genres, he wanted to blend the world-building grandeur of Lord of the Rings with the gritty realism of the best historical fiction.  And although the success of HBO’s TV adaptation has brought him more recognition than he ever hoped to achieve, he still wishes that people would go back and discover the 20 years’ worth of work which came before Game of Thrones; he is, he said, “an overnight success that took 40 years.”

Martin spoke at length about the influence of British and French history on his writing, as well as some particularly infamous events from Scotland’s past, including the Glencoe massacre and the ‘Black Dinner‘ of 1440.  All history, he said, is bloody, which is why his stories call for a measure of gore and horror, but he remains astonished and slightly perturbed that the sexual content of his books is still considered more controversial than their violent elements.  Asked by one fan about his thoughts on moral absolutism, Martin replied that he writes his characters to illustrate that people can never be morally black-and-white, but only different shades of grey, and that this is just one of the issues with which he wants to challenge his readers.  Of all these morally grey characters he admitted that Tyrion was his favourite, but that he enjoys writing all of them, as they are all ultimately shaped by his own personality and experience; “all characters needs motivations,” he said, “especially the bad ones!”

Armed with an incredible imagination which helped him escape his humdrum New Jersey childhood, Martin’s career started early with the writing of stories which he would sell to his school friends.  His first published words were in the letters column of Marvel’s Fantastic Four in the early 1960s, and despite the success he enjoyed in the 1970s with his Hugo and Nebula-nominated short stories and early novels, the commercial failure of his fourth novel – 1983’s The Armageddon Rag – led him to a make a move into screenwriting.  The experience was, on the whole, a positive one, and helped him develop his approach to dialogue and structure, but he soon felt a desire to return to writing prose fiction, and in 1991 began work on the book that would become Game of Thrones.  The rest, as they say, is history, and despite the overwhelming popularity of the TV adaptation of his work, Martin insists that it has no effect on how he writes characters he’s been living with for over 20 years.  He has some involvement in the show, and indeed recognised early on that television, rather than movies, was the best way to adapt his novels, but the books, as he put it, “are my baby.”  With two books still to be published in the Song of Ice and Fire series, does he know how it’s all going to end?  He’s known all the main story points, he said, pretty much since day one, but there are a lot of smaller strands that he’s yet to properly work out.  Asked if he found writing the series an enjoyable experience, Martin smiled and said, “I’ll enjoy it when it’s done.”

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