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The Forecast for December 8th 2004
Welcome to The Forecast. Every Monday, Ninth Art's core team of comment writers, the Ninth Eight, will be your guides to the best, worst, weirdest and most noteworthy books on the shelves of your local comic shop. BOOK OF THE WEEK: ADVENTURES IN THE RIFLE BRIGADE John Kincaid's wonderful memoirs of his time fighting in the Napoleonic Wars - an unnofficial influence on the pre-LORD OF THE RINGS Sean Bean-starring British TV series SHARPE - is finally rereleased in a facsimile edition of the original 1835 document with a new introduction. Evoking one of the greatest periods in World History - when Britain still ruled the World - through one of the most well-regarded fighting forces of the era, Kincaid's prose effortlessly... Sorry, hang on, that's not right, is it? I open a book expecting romping old-school war action with lots of tough-as-boots old Imperial types being gentlemanly, and I get some four-colour filth about lost bollocks written by some dirty Irishman! What a disappointment. Well, what's this 'comic' book all about then? It seems the infamous scoundrel Garth 'Shillelagh Warrior' Ennis has knocked out a couple of three-issue series for those bounders at DC Vertigo about a bunch of ne'er-do-well soldiers making a complete mockery of all who died for Mighty Blighty! Why, they're not taking the whole shebang at all seriously! I mean, those covers by Brian Bolland are positively lurid! And as to the pencilry inside, who does this Carlos Ezquerra chap think he is? Sounds like a filthy foreigner to me. And not one of our foreigners, either! Why, the utter depravity he's demonstrating here would never have gone on in any kind of gentleman's war, and I highly doubt the claims contained herein. I mean what kind of military operation goes under the nomenclature, OPERATION BOLLOCK? And this ringleader, chap, Ennis... I've heard he's been known to pop out a couple of interesting little funny books in his time, but this looks, well, positively French! If I were you, I'd hunt out the aforementioned memoirs and steer well clear of this sequential muck. [John Fellows] TAKING OVER THE ASYLUM Fifteen years ago, if you had told me that Grant Morrison was going to be the saviour of modern comics, I'd have said that you were a candidate for the funny farm. Only a fruit-loop could've suggested that the man who wrote a slightly pretentious graphic novel called ARKHAM ASYLUM (DC) would go on to become one of the most popular and versatile writers in the business. And yet there he is, catering to the fanboy fraternity with titles like JLA and NEW X-MEN without a hint of irony, while simultaneously tending to his own artistic sensibilities with stuff like THE INVISIBLES and THE FILTH. We live in strange times. Here, then, is a chance to go back to where it all began, where Grant Morrison and (lest we forget) Dave McKean had a huge success in the American market with this gothic tale of supernatural horror. If I were a cynic I might suggest that the only reason it sold a quarter of a million copies in 1989 was because it was released shortly after Tim Burton's BATMAN had caused a big flap at the box office. But in actual fact there's something quite radical about this story and its underlying themes, something that does not appear to have diminished over time. The premise is that the lunatics have taken over Arkham Asylum, Gotham City's home for the criminally insane. When Batman marches in to restore order, however, it soon becomes clear that Bruce Wayne is just as, well, batty as the people he claims to oppose. His emotional state and that of the rogue's gallery is vividly painted in the inimitable style of McKean, and it's hard to imagine that this story could have been properly told in any format other than sequential art. The editorial mandarins at DC might not have been entirely comfortable with such an interpretation of their most popular and well-known character, but as history shows, it was a gamble that paid off in spades. Extras included with this anniversary hardcover edition include the original script, complete with annotations by Morrison and Karen Berger, the original editor, and thumbnail sketches of the breakdowns for each page. Even if you weren't a fan of Arkham Asylum when it was first released, this bonus material should provide a fascinating glimpse into the creative process. Excuse the pun, but you'd be mad to miss out. [Bulent Yusuf] THE SHIPPING LIST FOR DECEMBER 8th 2004: Shipping details come courtesy of Diamond. Visit the Diamond website for the latest information, as the list is subject to change. DARK HORSE OCT040043 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #96 (MR) $2.99
DC COMICS OCT040348 100 BULLETS #56 (MR) $2.50
IMAGE OCT041559 MIDNIGHT NATION TP NEW PRTG $24.99 MARVEL OCT041808 AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED IRON MAN TP $14.99
OTHER PUBLISHERS SEP042322 15 MINUTES #2 $3.95
The Ninth Eight are Matthew Craig, John Fellows, Kieron Gillen, Alistair Kennedy, Zack Smith, Andrew Wheeler, Ben Wooller and Bulent Yusuf. Ninth Art endorses the principle of Ideological Freeware. The author permits distribution of this article by private individuals, on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice. Back. |