Review - Saga of the Swamp Thing

Reviews, graphic novels 2 Responses »
Nov 052009

I have been, for long, a huge fan of Alan Moore -the British Comic writer – who has shaped the form that comics have taken since the 1980′s.

The 1960′s and 1970′s were the time when comics in general, and super hero comics in particular were bright and cheesy – and mostly for teenage boys. People like Alan Moore and Frank Miller changed that around – making characters created at a different point in time & invariably single dimensioned – into layered characters that you and I will want to read week on week, month on month. In a way what they did to comics in that period of time is pretty much what studios in the US are doing to old shows like Battlestar Galactica or Mission Impossible or Star Trek … reimagining them for a whole new audience and a whole new world.

In its original avtaar, the Swamp Thing was a scientist – Alec Holland – who fuses with bio stuff from a swamp – after a murder attempt – and becomes the Swamp Thing. He had his own set of villains – and it was more or less set in the horror space.

Alan Moore took over the comics and turned it on its head. In his version the Swamp Thing is not a creature out of horror, but a soldier of earth, who protects nature from those who pollute it. It’s a creature that has fused with intelligence and can call upon a million memories.

This year, JD got me the Saga of the Swamp Thing for my birthday. It blew my brain. Gone was the swampy Hulk types that took deadly revenge on those who messed around with it, with muddy origins, and in came Nature’s soldier .

The first issue of the first arc, has a dead Swamp Thing – and the introduction of Jason Woodrue – (him of the poison ivy fame) by the ‘wicked’ General Sutherland to figure how Alec Holland was tranformed into the Swamp Thing. The answer changes the ‘mythology’ of the Swamp Thing – rendering it timeless. 300 years from now – if we haven’t anihilated ourselves – the new improved origin of the Swamp Thing will still stand, and allow for contemporary stories to be written. The rest of the stories are equally gripping.

Art by Stephen Bissette – is moody and atmospheric – and i am glad that they have gone in for the slight matt finish to the books – giving it that character of arcaneness

If you like the works of Alan Moore or indeed the comic book form – this is a book to check out.

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Posted by gargi at 8:16 am Tagged with: ,

Tezuka - Ode to Kirihito

Books, Reviews, graphic novels 1 Response »
Oct 032008

Ode to Kirihito – Osamu Tezuka is one of my favourite graphic novelists. I found his Buddha series incredible, and his Apollo’s Song heartbreakingly beautiful. JD gifted me ‘An Ode to Kirihito a few months ago, but i simply didn’t have the time to start it. A few weekends ago, I took it to Lonavala and finished it at one go. The book, like all his books, is unputdownable (if such a word exists!).

As always, Tezuka looks at the dilema arises when there is a conflict between what you desire and what you believe to be ‘right’. He has explored this in Buddha, Apollo’s song and in in this. He blends Christian motifs and philosophy with very Eastern concepts of honour, family, obidience, and desire for status quo.


ode to kirihito

Ode to Kirihito is about a young ambitious doctor Osanai Kirihito, who is ordered to a remote village, where there is an outbreak of people turning into dog like creatures. His boss believes that this is a result of virus, he believes that there is something else, possibly a different scientific explanation. Kirihito himself contacts the illness. His medical prowess prevents him from degenerating as much as the rest – he is still in control of his mental faculties. However, what happens is that he becomes a shunned, reviled freak. Ode to Kirihito is about the dog/man’s journey to regain his own humanity and stand up for right to his dignity.

Tezuka weaves in the strands of love and lust, sacrifice and avarice, falling from grace & redemption, dignity and vileness – in an engrossing and involving manner. there were parts where the sheer humanity and the compassion of the author made my eyes moist. If you are a fan of the medium, this is definitely a book to check out.

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Posted by gargi at 9:02 am Tagged with: ,

Review - 52 vol. 2

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Sep 232007

52, Vol. 2 Often I don’t go to Infinity Mall, – the purpose is simple … to avoid going into Landmark and spending a fortune. Often I fail. 52 vol.2 – like 52, vol.1 – makes for compelling reading. Primarily because the characters are so incredibly strong. The story is broken into multiple journeys of heroes. The one that i found the most compelling is the story of Black Adam and his redemption. The four best writers in the comic business get together to pack another fabulous tale. Renee Montoya & the Question get to Kandhaq , Black Adam & Isis get married, The adventurers in space meet Lobo, and Ralph Dinby meets the Helmet of Fate, and Booster Gold meets his maker……. A year ago, i didn’t even know about these characters …. now i care what happens to them (Even Lobo)…I guess that is the power of good story telling.. Definitely worth buying.

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Review - Apollo’s Song

graphic novels No Responses »
Sep 202007

Apollo's Song Two evenings ago, I spent a mini fortune at Landmark. Again. Apollo’s Song was one of the purchases. Ever since I read Osama Tezuka‘s 8 – part graphic novel – Buddha, I was captivated by his writing, art and his take on humanity. The central theme of Apollo’s Song is love. The central character Shogo Chikaishi – a young man who has been brought into a mental asylum for killing animals. When the doctors’ decide to ‘cure’ him using electric shock therapy – he has a vision. The vision is that of a Goddess who wants to know why Shogo Chikaishi has been killing animals. We realize, at that point in time, that Shogo Chikaishi is the son of a woman who is possibly a prostitute and an unknown father. And as a young boy he chanced upon his mother with one of her numerous male friends. The sight repulsed him so much that he decided to kill any creature that shows any sign of intimacy. The Goddess curses him — that he will be reborn time and again to fall in love with his one true love. The moment that it is time for Shogo & his beloved to be together, one of them will die, and the curse will continue into the next life. From the Nazi concentration camps, to future world ruled by robots… from a lush garden on Eden to a marathon training session … Shogo travels through space and time living and reliving the curse. A fabulous narrative, wonderful art…. and a way of thinking that is truly enlightening.

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Posted by gargi at 9:51 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

The Best Read of Last Year

graphic novels No Responses »
May 092007

There were soap operas – there still are — and then there were space operas, and now to top it all– we have the comic book opera. DC’s 52 week long extravaganza – aptly named 52 – combined incredible writing talents to deliver one of the strongest episodic performances of last year. Better than most television or films that I consumed in the same period.And each issue had a cover that was sex on toast. Iconographic poster art ! 52 52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman…but not a year without heroes. With the universe as its canvas, you saw the journey of men and women who become heroes, and those who fall from grace. I didn’t know too many of these characters – at best you can describe them as bit players in regular comics. Yet, i got enticed by them and engrossed in their journey. I felt joy at their victories and despair at their failings. And, it has been a long, long time since fictional characters involved me to that level. Great concepts, wonderful writing, strong characters, involving storylines, wonderful art — and a scope and scale that is truly operatic. I liked the sense of old fashioned ‘heroism’. In the world where the Jack Bauer and James Bond kind of amorality rules — it was nice to see the journey of a hero in the truly old fashioned sense of the world. My copies of the trade paperbacks are booked, I wonder whether there would be a collection of just the covers — here is a covers gallery to drool at.

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Posted by gargi at 8:26 am Tagged with: , , ,

This year’s Best Graphic Novel reads

Media, graphic novels 9 Responses »
Dec 272006

This year, primarily due to the joys of high speed internet, a swanky new Landmark near the office, and KD coming home to India for a holiday – i was able to indulge in a rather expensive hobby. The first lets me download and sift, the second I buy in rupees undiscounted material, and the third enabled me to buy on line at different points in time – sales – and allowed KD to bring back a treasure trove. Essentially this was the year that I indulged my hobby of collecting tag]Graphic Novels & TPB’s. My top buys and reads this year: [tag]Watchmen – a long time favourite. I read it an awfully long time ago and at an age when Indiana Jones, Batman, James Bond & Han Solo were more attractive than an unpleasent vigilante called Rorschach. A few months ago I saw it at Landmark and purchased it. Its the kind of graphic novel that you read once in a few years, get depressed at the sheer prescience of the narrative. A fabulous story of heroes in the real world and the moral and ethical compromises that they make. This is not about Superman or Batman and their unerring ability to do the ‘right’ or heroic thing. It is about a flawed humanity and its flawed choices. A fabulous story, a great narrative style , a scary creation of an alternative (yet plausible) reality and a kick in the guts ending. Definitely worth a look. Watchmen Pride of Baghdad – Can freedom be granted through invasion or is there more to it? This is the essential theme of the Pride of Baghdad that looks at a pride of lions ‘liberated’ during the American bombing of Baghdad, and their different perspectives about allies, liberators, freedom and captivity. Based on a true story of escaped lions shot dead by invading American Troops, the Pride of Baghdad is an allegory on many levels. Brian Vaughn the author of the amazingly witty, wry, and fantastic "Y – the Last Man" gives us another great story. Not so much Animal Farm, as Chandini (the little story about the goat, that was a part of 4th standard English, written by former president Zakir Hussain). The artwork by Nico Henrichon is worth killing for – great earths and ochres create the impression of a city under seige. Again worth buying. Pride of Baghdad Infinite Crisis – DC’s magnum opus that sought to reset the continuity of the last 2 decades. A great concept – when continuity gets unwieldy reset the universe. An epic tale of honour, loyalty, bravery, sacrifice and the unerring ability to do the right thing. This is a tale about heroes at their heroic best. Superman, Batman, Wonderwoman and possibly the entire DC cast join hands to battle evil and save the universe. A rip roaring read – the graphic novel equivalent of an old fashioned Eroll Flynn Film. Infinite Crisis (DC Comics) Batman – Hush – . Write Jeph Loeb ( Long Haloween & Dark Victory ) teams up with Artist Jim Lee to create a visual extravaganza. Batman has never looked better. Catwoman looks like she has been poured into her costume, and you have probably never seen better looking art (as opposed to better art) in a Batman book. And like all other Loeb books, every major villain in the book turns up, and there is a new one. The plot has holes that you can drive a truck through – but it is a jolly good romp. The Dhoom of comic books. Looks good, great pace, and you will probably come back to it at some time for a quick, non brain straining read. Batman: Hush, Vol. 1 Captain America the new series by Ed Brubaker (writer of the Sleeper, sometime writer of Batman, and currently on Daredevil). A super soldier in a time he doesn’t understand, working within a legal and moral framework that he can’t comprehend, and with a tormentor who knows just a bit too much about him. Out of synch, out of phase out of time, and yet very human. For the first time it seems that Captain America is more than a symbol – it is a person, a hero – flawed, yet a hero. Somehow this entire run works very well as a lead up to the current Marvel magnum opus Civil War Captain America: Winter Soldier, Vol. 1 Next year, the plan is to get the entire Preacher series, and the Y – the last man series – but, that depends on picking up a lot of new work. btw – wordpress tells me that this is post number 666 !

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Posted by gargi at 1:40 pm Tagged with: , , , , , ,

V for Vendetta - Graphic Novel

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Nov 122006

V for Vendetta

Definitely worth a read. Alan Moore‘s graphic novel of a bleak, dystopic, Fascist Britain in the aftermath of a nuclear war. In this Britain the rule of law is maintained by the 3 arms of the state – the eyes, the ears and the voice. The voice tells you what to think,and the eyes and the ears ensure that the ‘law’ gets behind you if you don’t. It’s a society that is bereft of non white, non hetrosexual, and non christians, and non conformists.

The story starts on the 5th of November with a masked hero – V – dressed as Guy Fawkes – rescuing the heroine Evey from a gang of cops who want to rape and kill her. He stops the offence, kills the policemen and blows up the Houses of Parliament. As the story progresses V manages to take out many of the symbols of the state. And in doing so challenges the authority of the Leader.
A lot of the story is from Evey’s point of view. Her hero worship of V, her abandonment by him, her time in captivity, and her realisation of her own part to play in the world. The story is as much about Evey’s transformation from an aspiring hooker to a person who self actualizes and escapes her own innate fears as it is about the brilliance with which V achieves his goals.

Alan Moore’s narrative is gripping I personally find him to be one of the best story stellers of the last century, in any medium – just check out Watchmen or Batman Killing Joke or the Swamp Thing to know what I mean. And David Lloyd’s artwork is brilliant – it creates a possible grey future where the world has gone mad. The colouring is in almost washed out colours – enchancing the feel of a horrific future.

In a world gone bananas, and where fascist tendencies are on the rise again … V for Vendetta makes for a very scary read.

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