Barbarossa's comments
(member since Dec 06, 2008)
Barbarossa's comments from the On Reading Graphic Novels group.
(showing 1-20 of 23)
Claire, you could try Alan Moore's Promethea books.
They're like Aleister Crowley's The Book of Thoth A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians mixed with a Wonder Woman stylee story. They may cover in some ways your liking for philosophical stuff.
Fell Volume 1 Feral City, is good if you like dark modern (contemporary?) cop stuff. From Hell if you like dark 19th cent (historical?) cop stuff.
Fantasy wise, try Slaine The Horned God. Celtic myth filtered through the mind of Pat Mills.
And I'd second all the works mentioned in previous posts.
Just re-read The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius 1. Laugh out loud funny. 4 collections as far as I'm aware, all great stuff.
Francis wrote: "King Dinösaur wrote: "The Alan Moore Swamp Thing storyline is amazing. I like Bissette's art, too, but sometimes it seems a little hurried...I've seen what he's capable of and the S.T. comics don..."
I think it was an early Bissette/Moore story that was the 1st DC comic that was put out without the Comic Code stamp. A nasty zombie scene with Abby.
Then the flowering of English language comix in the mid-late '80s happened.
Folks, Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing Vol. 1 Saga of the Swamp Thing is well worth a look, especially the American Gothic tales.
If you want to start Hellblazer anywhere start here where Johnny boy is first introduced.
Just about to start the Tristram book of Le Morte D'Arthur The Winchester Manuscript...and watched the recent Hulk film last night (the one with Ed Norton).
Is the Hulk a knight errant? Is Blonsky/The Abomination a knight from the same mould as Tarquin?
There's the whole damsel in distress thing going on and the battles have the same preludes to them (ie none).
OK maybe I'm reading too much into things or maybe the myths and archetypes have just soaked into Western culture to such an extent that comic heroes are the new knighthood.
But I'm rambling.
The thought this highlighted for me was that the violence/jousts/duels, as formal as they are, have very little introduction. Not like in the sagas and some of the old celtic stuff where lineage and deeds are recited prior the battle, where the fame of the combatants need to be established. If anything Malory's knights don't care who they go up against, they continually attack folk that they don't recognise or purposefully go in disguise. It is the medieval equivalent of the pub fight: "What you looking at?" BANG!
Also the violence in Malory (and most old tales) has that over the top quality that bards tend to add...or appears in the Hulk. You know, the whole fought for 2 hours/blood soaked grass/armour hacked off/killed hundreds with one blow type of thing.
I'm now going to find it difficult to continue Malory without wishing for Jack Kirby stylee woodcuts. Was Malory the Stan Lee of his day?
Nuff said...
Jet said above (post 12): "It would be like if Shakespeare just kept writing plays about Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet and then he wrote a crossover where Puck fights King Lear."
I chuckle at the idea. I'd pay goode olde money (a shilling or two) for a Marlowe/Shakespeare crossover done with woodcuts: Faust vs Prospero. Elizabethan Jack Kirby stylee.
Will this do for Blu Ray what Matrix did for DVD?
Whether you like the book or not Watchmen was obviously one of the most influential comix of the '80s. Probably The Sandman Vol. 1 Preludes and Nocturnes
and Batman The Dark Knight Returns too.
What about other decades?
The Invisibles Vol. 1 Say You Want a Revolution for the '90s?
What about now?
I don't necessarily mean the greatest book of the decade, that's all open too debate, but what do you think were the most influential books of each decade?
(OK, it's an arbitrary division of time, but work with me here).
So 4 for Hitchhikers.
Wasn't there a Constantine game?
That would be:
1) Comic
2) Movie adaption of comic
3) Comic adaption of movie adaption of comic
4) Game of comic of movie of comic
Any more than 4 morphs for anything?
It was books and actual work for me...man, actual real job related work...I almost feel violated.
Also allowed (enabled?) me to finish a book I'd been slowly chipping away at.
Aye, and things are going in all directions as the Resident Evil franchise is showing. Game to movie to book to comic...actually, there might not be a comic of it yet...what next Resi The Musical? Theme park?
I recently saw a novel (didn't buy it) of the movie of the comic of V for Vendetta...what's that all about? So someone adapts a comic to the screen, then someone else adapts the movie to a novel...it's like what happened with The Producers: movie to play to movie...or something like that.
Almost as odd as the novel of the movie of the poem of Beowulf A New Verse Translation.
Or the book of the movie of the game of Dungeons And Dragons.
Are there longer chains?
Will there be a novelisation of Watchmen the movie? Then a game for PS3 or X360?
Aye, like a lot stuff by of Warren Ellis. Just picked up Aetheric Mechanics and will be reading it shortly.
Just watch some Sopranos first, see how Tony and the boys are doing...TV fast broken.
I clutch my dark cloak and laugh as I twist my pantomime villain mustache, "Mwah-ha-ha-ha!"
Then slouch off into the Victorian pea souper to plot the downfall of all things comic like...
It's use as my icon is most assuredly ironic.
Seriously though, I remember the fuss over DC putting out the old Swamp Thing that Alan Moore did without the logo. A happy day.
Jesse, it's the message not the medium that's potentially dumb. Whether it's tv or books or comix or art. There are some (in my opinion) pish books out there, just because someone spends 4 hours reading one of them rather than watching TV doesn't necessarily mean they're being more productive or learning something. Also, sometimes doing something just for fun, wallowing in a guilty pleasure, is just what we need. The intellectual equivalent of junk food.
But all things in moderation folks.
It just happens to be more socially acceptable to overdose on TV or sports than books/comix/movies. I'm sure we all know folk that can quote sports stats at alarming length and folk that know the dimensions and engine size of the starship Enterprise...both uber geeky.
All of these media are escapist to some extent, I think we have to be careful not to leave behind actual reality to go and drown in whatever area of geekdom we prefer...whether TV or something else.
I agree with a few folk on Fell Volume 1 Feral City, enjoyable nasty stuff, but haven't seen anything past issue 9.
Currently discovering and enjoying the Queen & Country, Vol. 1 Operation Broken Ground books by Greg Rucka.
Also while moving house I rediscovered a big pile of
Matt Wagner stuff and am in the process of re-reading some very good old Grendel.
As to new stuff...think I'll search out The Boys and Kick-Ass HC.
Caleb, I haven't read Jonah Hex for ages...time to dig around in the coffer of comics I think.
Preacher Vol. 1: Gone To Texas is a modern cowboy tale (kind of...with a drunk vampire and odd conspiracey stuff...and angels)...the Saint Of Killers is Josey Wales turned up to 11 and sent to Hell. The whole series is fairly over the top, I loved it though.
As to more serious Western books none spring to mind at the minute.
The Complete Maus, holocaust survivors tale. Funny papers stylee art.
From Hell, Jack The Ripper theory mixed with sacred geometry. Scratchy pen and ink art.
Fell Volume 1: Feral City, crime and very bad things. Dirty painted art.
On Reading Graphic Novels
