Page 45's Reviews For May 2004

By Stephen Holland
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"For with great belly, comes great responsibility." - Ghouly Boys #1 by Christopher.


n e w a r r i v a l s - b o o k

It's a Bird... h/c (£16-99 DC Vertigo) by Steven T. Seagle & Teddy Kristiansen.

Brilliant.

I have notes for this longer than the average letters column. And if you find that concept daunting, imagine what I'm going through. So where do I begin? The plot:

Steven's writing career has been firmly Vertiginous in nature. Not for him the aspiration to write brightly-coloured spandex. Now he's just landed SUPERMAN - many comic book creators' wet-dream job - but has absolutely nothing to say. He simply cannot relate. He's moved away from his mother, grown apart from his father and brother, and has a beautiful, understanding girlfriend called Lisa. But every time he experiences an inadvertent twitch, an innocent, involuntary spasm, he's haunted by a family secret which emerged during a childhood hospital visit, and is about to erupt once more. Now Steven's father's gone missing, his mother's beside herself, his editor demands to know if he'll take the gig and he can't bring himself to let his girlfriend in on what's troubling him. What exactly is troubling him?
My first thoughts whilst breaking into the beautifully painted graphic novel, were: Eddie Campbell. This reads so much like Eddie Campbell, and - believe it or not - it's just as good. It's a (semi-) autobiography full of wit, charm, excursions and calm considerations of ideas that might never occur to you. It's also absolutely devastating.

Moreover, if you've ever held an interest in Superman as an American icon or just as a character, this will give you much pause for thought. And if you're interested in writing, you'll both empathise and perhaps even learn, especially if your objective is comics. Whereas many works fall straight through the cracks of appeal, this bridges so many interests, and as Grant Morrison wrote, "It defies genre categories and poses questions about the relationship between man and superman which are hard to answer but important to consider here at the dawn of the 21st century. It's also about as mordantly accurate a description of what it feels like to write superhero comics for a living as anything I've ever read."

As Seagle searches for his father he delves through his memories, and begins to ponder Superman. He thinks about secrets and vulnerability, about solitude, symbolism through colour, our history of power, about being an outsider (the ultimate immigrant), and who the real outsiders are; he considers his school days, his own personal demons, and - most uncomfortably of all - how some genes don't give powers, they take them away. They can wreck a healthy body, often irreversibly.

Apart from a superb supporting cast in the form of Lisa ("It's your boyfriend." "Which one?" "Funny. Buzz me in before I drop your lunch." "Then it would be your lunch."), his editor Jeremy (I find it difficult to believe all editors are so kind, cool and intelligent) and his Puerto Rican fanboy taxi mechanic (who aids, abets and interrogates during in his search), Seagle also lucked into the perfect partner here: Teddy Kristiansen. You might know Teddy from the BACCHUS COLOUR SPECIAL, or the SANDMAN MIDNIGHT THEATRE, but you have never seen him in this fine a form. Twenty-one distinct styles are on show here: one from the central narrative, another for the flashbacks, and the rest to compliment the individual diversions. Page 114 was the one Teddy sent us so long ago, all Kent Williams in its sombre silhouette while Seagle contemplates the Death Of Superman; the school episode sees him erasing individual identities by withdrawing facial features, leaving the cape to make its statement of standing out from the crowd (as one kid, habitually ignored, finds a day full of attention whilst dressing up as Superman during a Halloween schoolday, then, after reverting to invisibility in regular clothing, makes the mistake of repeating the performance next week); and one of the most powerful pieces, "The Outsider" sees a complete change of pace both in the script and visuals which I can only describe to you as utterly Seth.

Anyway, it's £16-99 for a lovingly reproduced hardcover, and my copy's coming right back home with me tonight. I'd proclaim this my book of the year, but there's two from Eddie Campbell due later, so we'll have to wait and see. You'll definitely find it in my Top Ten, though.


24 Hour Comics (£7-99, About Comics) edited by Scott McCloud

Scott, as well as being a damn fine storyteller, is also an inventor. {Um.. decided not to go on for a while about how invention is a form of storytelling, or, more obviously, storytelling is a form of invention. You've been spared.} One of his finest inventions, and one of the longest-lasting, is the 24 Hour Comic challenge. The idea is, without notes or preparation apart from supplies and food, you sit down and create a twenty-four page comic in twenty-four hours. That's plotting, pencilling, inking, paste-up, the lot. Actually, you don't have to pencil and ink, you can (as someone has) use photographs of lego blocks if you want, just tell a story in 24 pages. The first two were produced by Scott and Steve Bissette, then Dave Sim and Neil Gaiman followed suit. Steve's and Neil's are reprinted here, Scott's is online here.


Never Ending Summer (£7-99, Alternative Comics) by Allison Cole

A contributor to KRAMERS ERGOT FOUR and this might contain that strip. Hopefully we'll have some more copies of that stand-out anthology soon so I can look these things up. This is about the end of a relationship and the possible start of another, friends, drinks, mix-tapes (yay!) and parties. Allison has drawn herself and her friends as yeti-like creatures and you have to keep your concentration dials pretty high to make sure that you keep one yeti-like figure separate from another. That said, it's going to be a perfect book for the upcoming summer.


Temptation (£5-99, Active Images) by Glenn Dakin

As with the wonderful ABE - RIGHT FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS you get an introduction by Dakin's biggest fan, Eddie Campbell. This collects all the Temptation strips that have been produced throughout the ages and in dozens of different publications. The idea is simple, like Cook & Moore's Bedazzled, the devil wants another soul and will try anything to get hold of it. Instead of Stanley Moon, we have the hermit, stuck out in the desert being given false promises by what is either the devil or a devil. The invention is top-notch, up there, as Eddie says, with Herriman's Krazy Kat.

A strip at random - The devil offers the hermit everlasting life for his soul. The hermit is sorta interested so the devil says - "here, try it out for a couple of days".

Perfect.


Krazy & Ignatz 1931-1932: "A Kat a'Lilt with Song" (£9-99, Fantagraphics) by Geo Herriman, edited by Bill Blackbeard & Derya Ataker, designed by Chris Ware

What more is there to be said?



Julius (£9-99 Oni Press) by Antony Johnston & Brett Weldele

"He came, they saw green, it got messy."

Julius is the undisputed king of the East End crime lords, returning for a tour of triumph after a long and bloody turf war. He is a man of vision and a man of much honour; thoughtful, charismatic and loved by the locals. But he is a man of even greater intransigence. When the district crime lords offer to give up their role in decision making to Julius, one amongst them, Cassidy, grows resentful. Even though Julius refuses the offer, Cassidy sees an opportunity, and begins to manipulate his younger brother Brett into a conflict which will bring everything crumbling down around them. It's a classic tale of conspiracy and murder, treachery and revenge. In fact it's literally a classic, a vibrant rejuvenation of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" which confounded all my expectations through wit, focus and the perfect choice in artists. Weldele has a lovely, loose touch you rarely see outside of Sean Phillips and Eddie Campbell, with a command of shadows which maintains an edgy, ominous tone, vital to the sense of impending danger. Johnston has updated the cast convincingly (Julius is now black, with a magnetic personality, inscrutable behind gangster shades), and transformed the potentially archaic into the contemporary, at times providing a degree of comedy entirely absent from the original. All the prime ingredients from any Shakespeare tragedy are retained, from strange dreams, unnatural portents ("Well, the Thames had waves like fucking Brighton"), ghosts and even a soothsayer (now tarot reader), each given a new twist (you can't help but laugh when they use an e-mail/mobile text scam to fool Brett/Brutus into believing he has more support than he does). Perhaps most cleverly of all, Johnston keeps both Julius and Brett, the two central characters, larger than life with the use of Shakespearian eloquence, whilst the rest of them "keep it real" with modern slang and expletives. Again, there's a side-serving of comedy in the combination ("Friends, Londoners, Guv'nors..."), even if its primary intent is to make it accessible. And it is accessible. It's a very, very long time since I wanted to pick up a copy of anything by Bill, except for the sake of reference, but I'm seriously considering cracking open the original just to see what Antony's changed. I don't really care what adjustments he has or hasn't made since the whole is so successful, but I'm bloody curious to know, and you can't say fairer than that.


Typewriter 6 (£6-50, Popzero Publications) edited by David Youngblood

Small, thick anthology where the last line of each story is the first of the next one. This can occasionally cramp the style of the artist or feel like a line is shoe-horned in there but sometimes it brings out the invention in a creator. Some names - Sammy Harkham, Southerrn Salazar, Neil Fitzpatrick, Josh Simmons, Paul Hornschemeier, Nicholas Robel, Nock Bertozzi, Farel Dalrymple.



Tell Me Something (£5-99, Fantagraphics) by Jason

Two conventions, one from comics, one from film, both from the same ear. All the faces here have blank eyes, no pupils (think Harold Gray) . This tempers the expressions and makes each face (whether bird-like or dog-like) a mask. This is added to the use of (silent) film titles and the characters actions (hard) boiled down to archetypes. You've got the femme fatale* with the two rival suitors, one from the wrong side of the tracks, a disappearing father and hired goons. The back blurb trumpets a 'psychologically complex' story but I wouldn't go that far. Jason did well with HEY, WAIT..., over-stretched the formula with SHHH!, lost me completely with THE IRON WAGON but begins to redeem himself here.

*Very refreshing to see Jason keep the 'beauty' drawn in the same style as the rest of the cast. Too many times I see an artist abandon a (for instance) gritty style to up the cheesecake on the dame. Just a pet peeve.


A Gregory Treasury (£6-50, DC) by Marc Hempel, Childhood..., Love..., Work..., School... ...Is Hell (£4-99 each, Harper Collins) by Matt Groening

Nostalgia, eh? All the rage. And it's so easy now. At home we can spend a week watching programs and films from no earlier than 20 years ago. Steve arrived at the shop with a foot-worth of cd re-issues the other day and now we can go back to the golden age of the eighties with these books. Okay half of the Gregory book is from '92 but I'm not going back and editing at this stage of the game.

Gregory is a little boy in an asylum. His vocabulary stretches to "ub, "waaah", his name, and his best friend is Herman, a rat that keeps getting reincarnated as himself. Excellent karma. So, the lighter side of mental health? Well, sorta. If Calvin had been dropped on his head at birth this is what we would have been left with. Heart-warming even though you think that you shouldn't really be laughing. Or is that just my 80s 'right-on' nostalgia? Hmmm.

LIFE IN HELL is what bought Matt Groening on the road to success and several shitty years of the Simpsons. But when it was good (and that's for quite a while) there was always a good serving of Life In Hell in there. Bart is basically Bongo with more of an attitude. Mrs Crabapple pops up in the hopeless dating sections. All the kids in all the classrooms who never got lines pop up here. And Homer's line 'it's funny because it's true' could have been put on the cover with seven shades of irony.

Some titles to set the scene
"How to be a slippery 7-year old"
"The 16 types of moms"
"The 57 varieties of love"
"The 22 stages of heartbreak"
"9 secret love techniques that could possibly turn men into putty in your hands"
"Lies I told my younger sisters"
"Is school hell?"
"The 9 types of bosses"
"So you got yourself fired"
AND you get Akbar and Jeff! Brothers? Lovers? Fez fetishists? You decide.


Jane's World vol 2 (£10-50 Girl Twirl) by Paige Braddock

Once more poor Jane is besieged by friends and relatives who may mean well... but probably don't. ("Why me? I mean, when you had to go in for the biopsy, what made you call me?" "It was a speed-dial malfunction.") In this volume Jane goes skiing, endures the withering disdain of teenage niece Alexa, frets over breast sizes, breaks up with girlfriend Chelle, argues over who broke up with whom, adopts a dog, sees a shrink and buys a jeep in Texas. Oh, and gets served a notice by her hamster's lawyer. It's not really Jane's world at all, is it? This collection represents a huge leap in storytelling and wit from volume one. The written links I found so awkward have been completely excised, and this flows along at a cracking pace, leaving a constant warm-hearted smile in its wake. This isn't a gay issue thang, it's a thoroughly accessible, all-ages comedy strip. We have a splendid mother who buys it
for her equally splendid daughter. No wonder Terry Moore's such a fan. Try it online at www.JanesWorldComics.com

You don't have to read volume one to enjoy this one.


Love Fights vol 1 (£9-99, Oni Press) by Andi Watson

In a city full of superheroes, Jack has a little problem with confidence. How could any girl go on a date with him when there are all these glowing specimens zipping around, the spandex they wear showing up every perfection, every muscle? He draws them for a living so he knows exactly how he looks next to them. Nora, on the other hand, works for a muck-raking tabloid dedicated to exposing all the failings of the superhumans. Maybe she understands the attraction of a, relatively, regular guy. Even if his cat has started to don a mask and take to the sky at night. King of the comic rom-com takes a surprising turn into the world of the superheroes for his first ongoing series since SKELETON KEY.


The Maxx vol 2 (£11-99, Cliffhanger/DC) by Sam Kieth & Bill Messner-Loebs

Origins are always an important part of super-hero comics. Every Bat-story, we get to see that string of pearls falling to the ground. Wolverine's origin was a huge seller a couple of years back but we're still not given all the pieces of the puzzle. Sometimes the writers (or, let's face it, the editors) know that you've got to keep a little mystery to keep them coming back. In The Maxx, the origin of the Maxx is a major puzzle, a major part of the story even though the Maxx isn't the main part of the story. For now it's about Julie and her past and, in among the fights, strange creatures, other lands, you can see a mind coping with her abused childhood.


Mighty Mite, The Ear Mite h/c (£4-50) by Tony Millionaire

What you might call a MAAKIES mini (3" square), in which two stories, one on the left-hand pages in black and white, one on the right-hand pages in colour, converge. In an ear. It's so pointless it made me laugh out loud, then left me wondering why.


Blacksad vol 2: Arctic Nation (£8-50 ibooks) by Juan Diaz Canales & Guardino

That was a lot of orders for volume one, cheers. Reviewing it last month, I heaped lavish praise on the art and storytelling, whilst conceding that the story itself was somewhat pedestrian: a simple A to B to C detective piece with little for the reader to go on. I'm pleased to report that things aren't half so black and white here, except thematically. For not only is the mystery far more complicated, with clues scattered throughout (though, nope, it fooled me completely, which is always a bonus), but the book has something to say, and a very clever way of saying it. I even learned a new word: endogamy. Blacksad finds himself in a town struggling with unemployment, rife with gossip, and overshadowed with overt racism verging on apartheid. The town square plays host to Oswald Mosley-like rallies and public lynchings, both serving to enforce the oppression. Within this community a young girl has disappeared, yet her mother, evidently upset, makes little attempt to find her, claiming the white police force would do nothing to help a black family. It sounds simple enough, but I promise you that's the tip of the dirty iceberg. Once more the anthropomorphism is of the highest quality, but whereas each animal was chosen to represent certain human attributes in the first book, the process is taken one step further in ARCTIC NATION, because it revolves around colour as well. So you get white tigers, polar bears, black stallions and bulls, crows, goats, working and living in a highly segregated manner. And to make matters even more interesting Blacksad is a black cat built like a panther... with a white snout. Nor is he the only mixed-race creature in town. Once again, please don't be deceived by the sleek art and potential "ahhh" factor of having animals involved. The book involves racism, paedophilia (tangentially), incest and brutality, and is strictly for the over 16s.


Dark Days (£12-99 IDW) by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith

Sequel to 30 DAYS OF NIGHT, and its appeal lies, I think, in a similar vein to that of the zombie-splattering console games like Resident Evil: big buckets of gore. Templesmith doesn't really bother drawing, he just sluices the pages with blood and black ink, and leaves you to sink your teeth into Niles' attitude. Vampires, basically. New series of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT has just started. £2-99 for #1.


Criminal Macabre (£14-99 Dark Horse/Titan) by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith

See above, but with private investigator Cal McDonald, guns and comedy, reproduced in matt rather than gloss.


Hellblazer: Son Of Man (£8-50 DC Vertigo) by Garth Ennis & John Higgins

15 years ago a desperate John Constantine pulled another of his reckless stunts by "resurrecting" the 5-year-old son of a crime boss. Or appearing to, because not even Constantine can bring the dead back to life. Instead he persuaded something else into little Ronnie's body, something he could control to begin with by carving a sigil into its hide. Now Ronnie's all grown up, the scar healed years ago, and he's a right little devil. This wasn't part of Garth's main run on the title, more of a reprise, but as ever with Ennis, the cunning of Constantine is to the fore. And it's a good read, with a particularly nasty little sadist who'll completely change the way you look at nail scissors. It's also a grotesque read in at least three senses (take that as you will), marred by several very awkward "to camera" pieces which you'll find yourself forced to re-read simply because Higgins fails to make it clear that the pieces are to camera.


Fables volume 3: Storybook Love (£9-99 DC Vertigo) by Bill Willingham & Bryan Talbot, Mark Buckingham, Linda Medley

Collects #11-18. "Refugees from the land of make-believe...forced to blend in with our gritty, mundane world." Linda Medley - inspired choice.


Red / Tokyo Storm Warning (£9-99 DC Wildstorm) by Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner, James Raiz

Two three-issue mini-series, the first being more impressive than the second. RED is a classic tale of letting sleeping dogs lie. For American international policy to be enacted, the CIA need to do some very nasty things. They just do. So they train people to be able to carry them out, or they don't get done. They trained Paul Moses to be the very best which means he's done the very worst, but now he's retired no one need worry. Unfortunately for all concerned, when a new political appointee joins the CIA and finds he can't stomach the truth, he makes a very, very bad decision. TOKYO STORM WARNING, on the other hand, is a condensed version of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, without all the soul searching, manipulation, or spunk shots. (If you missed that it was on both films, and takes place in a hospital ward next to a young, fallen comrade. "I'm so fucked up," whispers Shinji under his breath - quietly delivering the understatement of the year.)


Human Target: Strike Zones (£6-50 DC Vertigo) by Peter Milligan & Javier Pulido

It says volume one, but it's volume three, and I have now done over a dozen HUMAN TARGET reviews, none of them anything less than exuberant. This includes one for the next book already, so jazzed up was I by the most recent issue. For now, I give you a rest. Collects #1-5.


X-Statix vol 3: Back From The Dead (£12-99 Marvel) by Peter Milligan & Mike Allred

Another helping of media satire, half-heartedly disguised as spandex, which has kept me chortling throughout. Collects the "not really Lady Di at all" series in which a pop singer who isn't Lady Di comes back from the dead only to face the wrath of the English aristocratic old guard. Like they'd be wrath-ridden at the return of a pop star! My favourite sequence this time round was the spurious list of potential mutant assassins: "Check out this bad girl first. Name of "Miz Tree"... Grew up and mutated in a forest of tax-efficient conifers very popular with Irish and British TV personalities... Behold "Oxford Blue"! Kinda a cross between The Thing and Hugh Grant. Ferocious violence with a boyish stammer and a predilection for black hookers." I'm not going to quote you the piece about "Surrender Monkey." I happen to love the French and it's such an easy, cheap shot. Very funny, though, just like the one in ULTIMATES #12.


Marvels 10th Anniversary h/c (£32-99 Marvel) by Kurt Busiek & Alex Ross

This was one of the very first comics Marvel released with an ounce of literacy (other than projects released on its Epic label), where painter Alex Ross first made his name. It's a good book, freely available in softcover, which manages to recapture the awe one felt as a four-year-old on first beholding a superhero, and wondering what on earth they were. For that's what the inhabitants of Manhattan are experiencing. A photo journalist begins his career as the first metahumans and alien beings emerge onto the streets and into the sky. Through his eyes Kurt manages to set in amber the first decade of light and bright modern Marvel history, right up to moment a young blonde girl falls off a bridge to her death, her neck snapping as a webline catches her ankles. This anniversary edition doesn't betray original readers' support: there's very little that's new here, even the Ross sketches have been printed before. Extras are limited to the original scripts and three embryonic proposals, with a little commentary from Alex and Kurt.


Spider-Man: The Death Of Captain Stacy (£8-50 Marvel) by Stan Lee & Gil Kane, John Romita Sr

With Bendis now filling the fight scenes over in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN with as many quips as thwips, it's easy to forget that Marvel's prime joker never used to be funny (I don't mean Bendis, he's always been funny; I mean the guy in the webbed leotard). To look at the panels here (late 1960s), he simply didn't have time; he was too busy explaining to readers what he was doing: "My arms! I -- have to get them -- free! Have to be able to -- push the button! Everything -- depends on it! Can't let him hold me -- this way! I can't! I can't! I CAN'T!" And that's just with Harry Osbourne behind the bike sheds on campus. Once he starts battling Dr. Octopus (a mop-topped minger referred to by all - including 60-year-old museum lecturers - with inappropriate joviality as "Doc Ock"), every move is chronicled: "Oh no, you don't again catch me with your webbing again! I moved too fast for you!" gloats Dr. Octopus after moving too fast for Spider-Man to catch him with his webbing. "That's what you think! All I wanted to do was to catch you off-guard! -- Just long enough for you to lose control of your metal arms! -- Giving ol' Spidey a chance -- to strike back!" counters Spider-Man as he catches Dr. Octopus off guard, just long enough for him to lose control of his metal arms and giving ol' Spidey a chance -- to strike back. This goes on for several issues before Captain Stacy snuffs it, buried under five hundred tons of mindless exposition and a slightly wayward chimney. In fact he throws himself under the latter in order to escape the former, and I can't say as I blame him. Nor does his daughter, Gwen, who happens to be Peter's girlfriend, and lays it all at Spider-Man's feet. Oh, the irony! Never mind, Peter, she'll be throwing herself off a bridge some time soon, just to enjoy the silence.


Hulk vol 6: Split Decisions (£8-50 Marvel) by Bruce Jones & Mike Deodato Jr

Although I'm sure Mr. Jones hasn't, I for one have now officially lost the plot. There's a new Betty Ross, a duplicate Bruce Banner, a lot of fierce creatures with very sharp teeth, and everyone appears to be having sex with the wrong partner. Gorgeous art, great shadows, fine colouring. I'd probably feel more involved if I were reading these all in one sitting.


Dogwitch vol 1 (£9-99 Sirius) by Daniel Schaffer

Never has a title filled a gap so adequately. Sirius publish POISON ELVES whenever Drew delivers a copy, but they've lost DAWN to Image. Fortunately they've bred the two and here's the mutant offspring: supernatural gothchick comedy, by someone who can draw. Bring your own jokes, and you may be cruising.


Nightmares & Fairy Tales (£9-99 Slave Labor Graphics) by Serena Valentino & FSc

Variously described as "grisly retellings of classic fairytales" (SLG on the back cover) and "vapid regurgitations of fey and treacly clichés" (me, myself, right here), this collection sees FSc at the very pinnacle of her powers to obliterate all sense of clarity (FSc, you will in no time discover, is a contraction of "obfuscation") - which is just as well, because there's naff all underneath. As evidence I present thisslither of script addressed to the artiste, and if you can string together a list of adjectives triter than these, I'd be very much impressed: "Gwen and her parents (I will leave it up to you how the parents look - in my mind they look like normal parents, but they are mean) are standing out front of a large, spooky-looking house. The house is dark and foreboding - something about it looks frightening. It's a two-storey house with an attic. There is a dim light in the attic window... The house is painted dark, sombre colors." The Empress has no clothes! And as to leaving anything up to Ms. Fsc - are you insane, Serena? That's like leaving an all-boys dinner menu up to Dennis bloody Nielsen.


Spookhouse book one (£12-99 IDW) by Scott Hampton

More traditional horror here, lushly illustration in watercolours by the artist responsible for the first LUCIFER mini-series.


Neal Adams: Monsters s/c (£8-50 Vanguard) by Neal Adams

Artistically and politically, Neal Adams is one of the most important figures in American comicbook history, and when I first discovered his pencils on AVENGERS and X-MEN on the back of my rising obsession with late Italian Renaissance and Baroque, it seemed that visually he was doing for comics exactly what the neo-Classicists were striving for in their oils, recreating the Greek love of form and realism, after centuries of cack-handed, representational ugliness ["Woah!" bellows every Giotto fan in the known, flat world ;) ] Aaaanyway. That was then. Leaving aside his role in creator rights, which was considerable, honourable and deeply moving, this is now. And for the last fifteen years, I cannot say that I've encountered any of his art that hasn't made me wince with a sense of waste. I can't even remember the name of that comicbook company he began as I entered this industry, but its output of cyborg superheroic tosh was unreadable, and worse still, an eyesore due to the colouring. Reprinted from ECHO OF FUTURE PAST, this book has been painstakingly recoloured "in a process personally overseen by Adams," which disheartened me further until I opened the cover and realised he's had a timely change of aesthetics. Much better. This is exactly what it says it is: a sort of Frankenstein's Monster vs. Werewolf vs. Manbat, or maybe it's all of them versus a vampire in posh clothing. I don't know, I've got to do the accounts instead.


100 Paintings (£9-99, Dark Horse) by Tim Biskup

Exactly what it says on the tin, 100 paintings by Tim Biskup. A 5"x5" book reprinting the paintings at original size. "Tim's "100 PAINTINGS" project encompasses his bizarre world of oozing monsters, delicate birds and abstract flourishes into compact portions. Acting as a kind of workshop for new ideas, these tiny paintings are spontaneous compositions that contain the buds of many of his reoccurring characters, themes and color theories. This book contains the complete series, reproduced at actual size. A fine document of process and inspiration."


Comic: The Underground Revolution h/c (£24-95 Quality Communications) by Dez Skinn

Dez Skinn is my editor-in-chief at COMICS INTERNATIONAL. What do you think I'm going to write? Fortunately I don't have to fabricated praise, as anyone who read last weekend's Guardian Guide will tell you: they loved it. No surprise, either, for the illustrations are lavish, the reproduction gorgeous, and what I've read so far is informed, eloquent and easily digested. Who would have thought this was the same man who writes such rubbish in his Sez Dez editorials? ;)

"Sometimes cultural phenomena appear with relative spontaneity. A youth movement, political tumult, rapidly changing sexual politics and mores, open drug use and an incipient art form all converged in America in the late '60s. Underground comix was the bastard child of a wayward generation. As someone who was there near the very beginning I can say with certainty that there was no grand conspiracy, no secret cell activity and no intellectual summit."

One of the main strengths of the work is the emphasis on context. This isn't just an author by author critique, though the spread is both impressive and well chosen. It's as much a piece of social history as art history, dealing with everything from artistic politics to community antagonism. It bears reminding oneself every now and then that less than ten years ago things were very different indeed (and remain difficult in the US), with UK Customs banning books and even burning them (yes, burning them), something Page 45 experienced first hand when importing Roberta Gregory's NAUGHTY BITS. Anyway, you're going to find this reviewed all over the place, and quite right too. Every library needs two copies minimum. See to it.



m a n g a

Hino Horror #1: The Red Snake, Hino Horror #2: Bug Boy (£6-50 each, Cocoro Books) by Hideshi Hino

One of Japan's true masters of horror with a back catalogue estimated as being at least 150 books. His history, detailed in PANORAMA OF HELL, of growing up in the aftermath of the Hiroshima attack has informed his diseased outlook and twisted stories. THE RED SNAKE is from 1985 and is a Grand Guignol par excellence (excuse my French). It starts of as a pretty grim tale of a boy regarding his already strange family. The father keeps chickens to lay eggs which must be broken on the grandfathers cyst so his daughter-in-law can massage the disgusting goo out of it with her feet. Want more? The grandmother thinks she's a chicken and lives in a nest she's made in her room. And then there's the mirror. Think of it like a RING portal into another world (the setting definitely reminds me of that film). The mirror brings forth a curse to worsen the family situation and the
horror builds and builds until you're swimming in a pool of blood and gore. A quick search on Yahoo has now told me that Hino was asked to produce a film around the same time that this book came out and the result appears to be very disturbing. It was banned in Japan but has recently been released on dvd. I don't know if my stomach's strong enough. One striking aspect of Hino's work is the lack of moralising, not just regarding the actions of the main characters but also the general message of the story. In BUG BOY there's no attempt to make everything right or give some reason for events. An animal lover, hated at school, transforms into a giant grub, is thrown out by his parents (well, they try to kill him) and ends up living in the sewers. While wriggling around he comes across his hide-away but the animals that he'd kept, fed and loved attack him. Shouldn't they have realised who it was and repaid the debt? Possibly, with another writer, but this is Hino and situations that start bad tend to go downhill from there.


Sandland (£6-99) by Akira Toriyama

This is what the Dragon Ball creator has to say about his latest work - "This was supposed to be a short, simple manga about an old man and a tank which I made for my own enjoyment. But the tank was harder to draw than I expected, and I stubbornly insisted on drawing it all myself, so I came to regret ever getting involved with it. But the story was already plotted out to the end, so I couldn't change anything, and I went through hell drawing the whole thing." - The old man is Sheriff Rao (who looks like John Cleese in cricket gear and a safari hat) and he's on a mission save the people of post-apocalyptic Earth from the King's extortionate water. Which is only available in plastic bottles, and probably tastes as bad as Evian. Enlisting the help of Beelzebub, by bribing him with the last Playstation in existents, they steal a tank and go in search of the mystery lake in order to once again bring peace to the world.


Hellsing (£6-99) by Kohta Hirano

Not to be confused with any adaptations of the Van Helsing movie, this has nothing to do with it, which my gut tells me is a good thing. Set in modern day, the Hellsing organisation - run by Integra, an ancestor of the original Mr. Van - is in charge of protecting England and the Protestant Church against "outside forces". Their main weapon in the fight is pure blood vampire Alucard, who has been conditioned for generations to become super vamp. Ad can therefore dispose of all manner of Hammer horror beasties with minimal fuss. Easy. Ok. Sorted...you think. Until an outbreak near the border dividing Northern Ireland with the (Catholic protected) Republic occurs and the Vatican order their trump card, Father Alexander Anderson, to the scene. Father's no ordinary priest (well he is wielding swords) and he wants Alucard's head. Alright I realise how hammy the above sounds and if you're like me and you run a mile when someone says the V-word, well I don't blame you. Vampires (or Vampyres, if you're sad) have never been very appealing in this, or any other media, but I beg you do not scan over me yet. The plot is straight out of hammer studios, via Japan, via America. Meaning this could have been unreadable if it was made over here, but it wasn't. It's Japanese so there's more jokes, violence, fan service and gore then you would ever get in a Hollywood movie. The Americans have added, in translation, what must pass as British slang (they say "blooming"....no really) and the Irish accents could just as easily be Scottish or Welsh maybe even Polish, but not Irish. I should be offended. Should be...but it's just so blooming funny.


also arrived:
Fairy Tales Of Oscar Wilde (£10-50 NBM) by Oscar Wilde & P. Craig Russell
Megatokyo vol 1 (£6-50 Dark Horse) by Gallagher, Caston & Gallagher. Reprint.
Marvel Age: Sentinel vol 1 (£5-50 Marvel) by Sean McKeever & UDON Studios.
Marvel Age: Runaways vol 1 (£5-50 Marvel) by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona
Marvel Age: Spider-Man vol 1 (£4-50 Marvel) by Daniel Quantz & Mark Brooks, Jonboy Meyers
Marvel Age: Spider-Girl vol 1 (£5-50 MArvel) by Tom DeFalco & Olliffe, Frenz
Wolverine vol 2: Coyote Crossing (£7-99 Marvel) by Rucka & Fernandez
Spider-Man: Blue s/c (£9-99 Marvel) by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale
What's Michael? (£5-99 Dark Horse) by Makoto Kobayashi




n e w a r r i v a l s - c o m i c s


Blood Orange #1 (£4-50, Fantagraphics) ed by Chris Polkki

A great anthology that's going to help to drag the summer here a little earlier. Look at all this stuff! Marc Bell announces a new format, as decided by All New Format with his thinking cap on. I love his use of space, the perfect combination of nice, crisp white spaces and mental, obsessive detailing. He's an absolute machine when it comes to creating new, iconic characters that look as if they've been around forever. Joy! This is followed, very smoothly by John Hankiewicz, whose TEPID book I'm going to have to give another one-over. And, wait for this, you get Kevin Huizenga next! He's on a more QUIMBY THE MOUSE trip than before but it's still excellent to see more of his work. You also get a page from Ron Regé jr (ah, I remembered how to get the 'é'. it's ctrl and alt for those wondering), a new DOOFUS strip, marvellous tales from David Collier's grandfather, sketchbook pages by Gary
Baseman, some Allison Cole, Maiike Hartje's heart-warming doodles and a whole lot more. A new anthology! Yay!


Lost Again (£2-99, Lost) by Leon Sadler

For those who missed out on the second book from our local day-dreamer/doodler, he's reprinted it with a new cover. We've still got BIRDES (£3-99, Lost) in stock and he's planning a new one as we speak. If he's got time out from contributing to exhibitions, making toys and designing t-shirts.


Petstatic #3 (£1-80) by Zeke S Clough
Local self-published stuff! Sorta pointing to the old undergrounds in both the psychedelic leaning and the rabid cross-hatching but there's evidence of the Fort Thunder crowd, Kaz and it reminds me of SUB ROSA from ages ago. It makes little sense but that wasn't what I was looking for. Good use of felt tips on the cover!


Sleeping Beauty (£1-99) by John Cei Douglas
Jeffrey Brown is a fan of this one from Leicester and I can see why. Makes me thing of ten inch records on the old Sarah label. Very sweet. The inside cover should have been on the front tho'.


Chosen #2 of 3 (£2-25 Dark Horse) by Mark Millar & Peter Gross

You know how unusual it is for me to review a second issue? There are a lot of fine ideas out there, but few fulfil their potential as well as this appears to be doing. Let's recap: Jodie's a normal kid who's been living the normal life a normal kid does - comics, salvaged porn, average grades at school... Then one day a big motherfucking truck careers off a bridge and lands right on top of his noggin. Jodie walks away without a scratch - just a fresh fluency in any known language, an intuitive understanding of all forms of science and a complete encyclopaedia of history on tap in his head. But he's still a normal kid, so when his mother tells him she's never had sex... The story's narrated by Jodie himself; we now know he's currently thirty-three even though we haven't a clue what the situation is, he's still relating the early ramifications of exploring the possibility that he is indeed Jesus Christ, reincarnated as a kid in Peoria. Where Millar is currently doing so well, is in maintaining the suspense: you really have no idea what to expect, because he shuns the straightforward and really thinks things through. I loved the extended comparison Jodie comes up with between the Bible Testaments and the Star Wars Trilogy. Not only does it work, it's just what a kid might do. If they were suddenly that bright. We still have copies of #1, but if you shop elsewhere and it's sold out, there's a second printing on its way, so ask for that. My only sorrow is that this is just a three-parter. There'll be no padding, that's for sure.


Nightjar #1 (£2-60 Avatar) by Antony Johnston & Max Fiumara

Now this is something you don't see much of in comics any more: a thoroughly British horror comic, rank with atmosphere. It smacks overwhelmingly of Delano's HELLBLAZER tenure (the first forty issues or so), not least because it's set in much the same period (Reagan is about to be elected), has a firmly anti-establishment bent, and currently offers a supporting cast of occult-obsessed social outsiders who, if I read this correctly, are about to encounter more shades of mystical shit than they ever dreamed possible. There's an element of STRANGEHAVEN to this as well. Based on the original idea by Alan Moore and Bryan Talbot, this new series finds Mirrigan Demdyke on the road to revenge following the murder of her father, after a pit-stop visit to her sincerely fucked-up mother, decaying away in a nursing home. Meanwhile there's a very ill wind blowing Mirrigan's way, for the hunter is also the prey: there are several parties on her raven-haired case including an aristocrat with a penchant for naked meditation, a worryingly misogynistic, heat-seeking steelworker, and a taduki-puffing glutton for ancient artefacts. Then there's the bird... "You okay, Mirri? You're very quiet." "Yeah, I'm fine. Just felt like someone flew over my grave for a second." "'Flew over'? Don't you mean walked?" "No... No, it definitely had wings."


Bite Club #1 (£2-20 DC Vertigo) by Howard Chaykin, David Tischman & David Hahn

And let's not forget the Frank Quitely cover: it will shift units. There's good news and bad news for readers and the creators alike. The good news is that Chaykin &Tischman have, against all overcrowded odds, come up with a fresh premise for a vampire comic: it's modern day America, and everyone knows that vampires exist. In Miami alone there are over 300,000 of the suckers - you can see them sunning themselves on the beech with the aid of Factor 150. They came from South America, swarming to places which reminded them of home, and have more or less integrated themselves into all strata of the social landscape. There's even a police division dealing specifically in vampire crimes. One particular family, the Del Toros, have it better than others. They're crime lords, and, following the death of Eduardo Sr., they're about to undergo a massive upheaval. There's nymphomaniac
Risa, who enjoys her Father's keen business sense; Eduardo Jr. whose son Danny is a spoilt and vicious little prick; Leto, a priest, now estranged from his family; and the widowed mother seeking sexual solace with their older cousin Victor. One of them is going to inherit the Business. I tell you all this because it will help you absorb quite a lot of scene-setting (including, of course, the parameters of this particular breed of vampires), but I liked the scene it set. I also liked the interior art, which comes from the Pulido school of simplicity (only without the textures), and therein lies the bad news for this fine team of creators, because I'm afraid vampire fans are notoriously specific about what they want from their visuals. Quitely would have been welcomed, Bolton they love, Muth would have them wetting themselves with his Romantic sensibilities, but Hahn, perfect for the crime aspect, will disappoint all but the least one-track-minded of goths (there is one living somewhere in England, but I fear she's settled in Surrey). Never mind, you can read it instead, though I give you fair warning it's all very explicit, including the use of the "c" word. The first issue's called "Suck Off And Die."


Kinetic #1 (£1-80 DC Focus) by Kelley Plunkett & Warren Pleece

Coloured in bleached blue, grey, crimson and white (by Brian Haberlin), this is the first artwork by Pleece I've ever been able to endure, and I absolutely adored it. Thank god for that because the writing's on top form too. Life is challenging enough for Tom inside and outside of school, and it's not surprising he's become so shy and self-contained. His body has revolted at a very early age, leaving him vulnerable to a number of potentially fatal conditions including haemophilia, diabetes and, most noticeably, amyotrophy. But perhaps the most debilitating effects of all stem from the smothering of his mother, who, in her obsessive concern for his health, constantly disempowers the boy, humiliating, belittling and - in one instance involving a girl - effectively emasculating him. There's a fine script, a carefully controlled dramatic tension, and I hope it will survive the arrival of
super-powers, because this would have made a beautiful story without them. The last few pages look at first sight like a dream sequence as Tom casually strolls into the midnight waters of a local lake, before making it clear that it's just something he's considering. Given what happens to him next, it might have been the better option.


Touch #1 (£1-80 DC Focus) by John Francis Moore & Wes Craig

And here's the third in the focus line, once more with muted colouring. If you need a reminder, the concept behind DC's Focus is "super-powers not superheroes". I think that's a quote. So here's the deal with TOUCH. Rory is strong, very strong, and resistant to harm. He's managed by a man called Cooper, and although they've a fairly lucrative business on the go whereby Rory handles accidents in a way no-one else can, for a fee levied on the basis of an individual's or company's ability to pay, Cooper's after a windfall in the form of a sportswear sponsorship contract. In order to acquire that they have to raise Cooper's profile by courting the media. And it's going quite well. But there's a chink in Cooper's emotional armour, for he was recently in a car crash. His invulnerability saved him. His wife wasn't invulnerable. Any celebrity will tell you that the media and members of the public can be as cruel as they can be kind, and that's what happens. I was far more engaged by this than I'd either expected or intended, and there's a genuine twist at the end I didn't see coming. I should have, though; it's there in the title.


Astro City/Arrowsmith (£2-20) by Kurt Busiek & Anderson, Broome

The ASTRO CITY half is a prologue to The Dark Age, when Kurt will finally reveal why everyone's been feeling so ashamed when they see the Silver Agent statue. It's 1959 and a new age is dawning, bringing with it hope for racial equality. Unfortunately one family may not survive long enough to enjoy it. As for The ARROWSMITH section takes place in Paris during September 1914. If you've never tried the series, it's World War I in an alternate world where the weapons include sorcery as much as gunpowder. I liked the gargoyles. No one will receive this automatically, so do please order if you're down for either title.


Adventures Of Superman #627 (£1-80 DC) by Greg Rucka & Matthew Clark

"My mommy got lost." "They do that sometimes." Since everyone's going to be busy bird/plane/Superman spotting this month over on the Jim Lee title, I thought I'd take a look what Greg's doing with this one. He's laying some groundwork: Lois is heading into a war zone unprotected by the military ("You embed us, the government controls the story, Perry! Maybe not directly, but they'll restrict access, they'll sanitize everything I file."), and while Clark's out on helicopter patrol they come across a supervillain with the combined might of the Justice League. He's just the bait. Bold interiors, scummy cover.


Superman #204 (£1-80 DC) by Brian Azzarello & Jim Lee

Just in today (we don't write these in the order they appear - it's Thursday 29th April), and I'm hoping to have this rushed to your in-tray in the next couple of hours, so it's first impressions only. I was expecting more from this than BATMAN: HUSH because it's written Brian 100 BULLETS Azzarello, not one's obvious choice for primary-coloured capes and bodystockings, certainly not on such a "clean" title. I wasn't disappointed. Nor by Lee, as it happens, for the first issue takes place almost exclusively within the chancel and nave of a vast Metropolis cathedral, during a crisis of faith for two individuals. Immediately striking are the much rougher textures Lee's using on the masonry - its colossal columns and expansive vaults heavy with shadow - and the palpable sense of scale. As yet it's unclear whether the prologue is epilogue, or a moment in between. Given what's happened it has to be the
latter, but Azzarello throws in just enough to ensnare the fanbase, whilst leaving the twin disasters vague enough to chill. The first disaster struck a year ago whilst Superman was off-planet. One million people disappeared, and if the inverse silhouettes stencilled onto the city walls are anything to go by, it looks as if they were vaporised. The second disaster appears to have been his reaction, because one of those missing million was his wife.


Wolverine/Punisher #1 (£2-25 Marvel) by Peter Milligan & Lee Weeks

Every month now, someone starts crossing over with someone else, and it's a miracle there aren't more traffic accidents. It's not just in Marvel land, either: Aliens vs. Predator, Batman vs. Predator, Superman vs. Aliens, and in the pipeline, I hear, Aliens vs. Batman vs. Superman vs. Predator. Personally I'm waiting for Aliens vs. Predator vs. Terminator vs. Bambi. And after what happened to Bambi's mother, I hope the little deer really sticks it to 'em. In the mean time here's one that was bound to be better than the rest, on account of Mr. Milligan who brought us GIRL (oh, for a reprint), SHADE, ENIGMA, VERTIGO POP: LONDON, and who continues to hit bullseye every month on HUMAN TARGET as well as providing a little light merriment in X-STATIX. And the early manoeuvring is excellent. The Punisher working his way through crime cell by crime cell in order to reach the top. The top does a
runner, into a remote so-called paradise reserved for retired criminals - very, very rich, retired criminals - in the heart of a jungle somewhere in the southern hemisphere. From there he plots his revenge, and that's where it becomes rather clever. Lee Weeks is a fine, reliable artist in the tradition of John Buscema. I'm not recommending it to SHADE or HUMAN TARGET fans, but it's as good as Ennis on PUNISHER, and a lot better than you'll find in any regular WOLVERINE issue.


Punisher: The End (£3-25 Marvel) by Garth Ennis & Richard Corben

Perhaps I wasn't in the mood to read it properly but Peter David's HULK: THE END did nothing for me, and Paul Jenkins' WOLVERINE: THE END is limping slowly through stuff I couldn't care less about. Garth Ennis, however, has set his sights on having something to talk about - war in the world, who's been instigating it, why they've been doing it and how far other nations can be bombed into submission before they retaliate with apocalyptic consequences for all but those self-same perpetrators - and fitting the Punisher into the story in a manner which makes perfect sense. Frank Castle is incarcerated when the one-shot opens, and that's how he survives the nuclear strike, in a purpose-built bunker deep under the penitentiary. Only a few manage to join him, but it's interesting company, which sends Frank back to the surface with one last mission in mind. It's not a rescue mission. Corben's vision of a post-nuclear-holocaust America is the stuff of science fiction nightmares, the very clouds on fire like massive, molten cinders. If you don't know Richard, he's most recently pencilled the CAGE mini and HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND. He is the definition of gritty, in its truest sense, whilst Ennis provides the grim.


Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1 of 12 (£2-25 Marvel) by Mark Millar & Terry Dodson

I've been hearing you moaning minnies: "Someone learns that Peter Parker is Spider-Man and tries to destroy his life. Big deal, it's been done before!" Yes, it has been done before. But it wasn't done by a writer, was it? It was done by whatever Marvel used to employ between 1961 and 2001: artless, middle-aged beards. "So this is Millar at the top of his game?" Well it's not CHOSEN, it's not ULTIMATES, it's not even WANTED - if it was WANTED, Marvel would be having a coronary - but it is good SPIDER-MAN with a sparkly Aunt May, and it's still way too early to see where Mark's going to take this. The pencils are quite zappy.


Ghouly Boys #1 (£2-20 Amaze Ink) by Christopher

Sweet and warm-hearted goth froth (you could never call Vasquez of Drige sweet or warm-hearted) about some young outsiders. First up is Ghouly Boy himself, a poor orphan lad with his soul stitched up inside his mouth, which makes eating somewhat arduous. It doesn't help that he's stuck in the orphanage from hell, and forced to suck up the other boys' left-overs through a straw. (Oh. You don't want that sandwich now?) The second half explains why the fat bat burst through Ghouly's window, and goes back to its childhood for a little narrative fun with superhero origins: "But while he lacked the ability to fly, he learned that he had gained a enhanced sense of smell and a kind of sonic hearing... which he called his... radar sense. "Umm... actually bats all have --" "Just... just let him have his moment.") And so he honed his mind and body to its utmost potential, and he vowed to use his gifts to help the
helpless. For with great belly, comes great responsibility." Ossian....


Holed Up #1 (£2-60 Avatar) by Rich Johnston & Gonzalo Martinez

I like Rich Johnston (of Lying In The Gutters fame) enormously - he's a naughty man with a natural quick wit - but I think he's just volleyed his plums. (This is a "family sitcom with semiautomatic weaponry" set in the separatist community of Idaho, and what a lot of weaponry there is. In fact, there's a little too much too soon to keep the jokes from piling up on top of each other like so many sawn-off shotguns during a firearms amnesty. So it came as a relief to enjoy the sight of their ex-nazi grandma busily knitting away, completely surround by wool. "It started off as a jumper for Ronnie, but I couldn't remember how to finish it off. So now, it's a nuclear bunker... I vant to get an indoor swimming pool started by lunchtime." Their rebellious daughter throws a black boyfriend in their face, then it's off down to Guns'R'Us to tool up their twelve-year-olds. It's a bold stab at a redneck Addams Family, where everything you take for granted about family relationships is thrown on its head, except that the lovely thing about Morticia and co. is that despite their eccentricities (or because of), they embraced strangers - and the stranger the better - whereas the Holeds are bigots and no exception to their neighbours. I'm not saying it's necessary to find sympathy for the stars (just look at BBC1's deliciously grotesque Nighty Night, bereft of characters in possession of a single redeeming feature), but it probably limits how much you can stomach. It's also a brave man who attempts to make comedy out of sensitive subjects like racism, and although amongst the heavy-handedness there are moments of very fine timing, one should be aware that Rising Damp's Rigsby will always be more fondly remembered by Alf Garnett because Rigsby was constantly outwitted. At the moment the boyfriend is just a victim and it makes me uncomfortable. Hated the art.




The Comics Journal #259 (£4-50, Fantagraphics) edited by Dirk Deppey

It's Year In Review time coupled with the bright hopes for the future with full page reviews for the best of '03 and chunky interviews for the new blood. Kevin Huizenga, Sammy Harkham, John Pham & Dan Zettwoch are some of the interviewees along with Drew Weing who's work I'm going to have to have a search for. His online strips look lush and inviting. Books of the year include ACME NOVELTY DATEBOOK, TEZUKA'S BUDDHA, KRAMERS ERGOT FOUR, THE FRANK BOOK, LOUIS RIEL, PALOMAR and RIPPLE. And some of the small press stuff will have to be hunted down. Dontcha just love magazines that agree with everything you say? Nice article about the current manga boom detailing Toren Smith's reason for getting out while the getting's good.




n e w a r r i v a l s - m e r c h a n d i s e

Ruby Gloom zip-up wallet (£18-99)
Two Heads Are Better Than One t-shirt (£19-99) - Pink and blue bunny heads stitched to one body, on black. Why does everyone have it in for bunnies?
Junko Mizuno t-shirt (£19-99) - Actually, forget it. We've had over a dozen new designs this month, from Hello Kitty to the Punisher (or Hello Coffin as you might as well call him), and over four different Punisher designs at that. No one has ever, ever ordered a t-shirt from us on mail order. Instead:
Ghost World Enid Doll (£39-99) - Completely new version of Enid, gigantic in brightly coloured, clammy-looking plastic, and one of the most revolting objects I have ever seen. Comes with the teen bondage mask in a fully illustrated box complete with a couple of Dan Clowes strips: "Enid 1,000,000 BC" and "Enid In The Year 2525AD".
Simone Lia framed print (£39-99) - Nope, sorry, all gone.
Roman Dirge's Y'arrgh! Stationary Set - Pirates! And they're all dead.




UK Postage (overseas at cost):

£1-00 for the first comic (unless there's a book included in the package in which case it's just 25 pence), and 25 pence thereafter.
£1-00 each for Tokyopop or Lone Wolf books, £1-50 each for other books or t-shirts.
'Behind The Panels', 'Cages', 'Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels', 'The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Absolute Edition' and 'Love & Rockets: The Complete Palomar' will cost a flat £5-00 postage, but anything ordered on top of them will of course be postage free, because.....
Maximum postage for all this lot is £5-00.
Posters and prints are sent separately @ £1-50.


Standing Orders:

To ensure that you never miss a single issue of a title you read, Page 45 provides a free standing order service either for personal collection or sending by post. All you have to do is tell us which titles you want, and we'll save them for you as they come out. You can visit or phone as often as you want, but we must hear from you at least once every three months, please. Single orders and reservations just as gratefully received as any others.

More information can be found in Comics International (£1-50), the Previews catalogue (£3-25), at www.ninthart.com and www.sequentialtart.com or indeed by e-mailing us at page45@page45.com
Want tips on producing your own comic?- Download the .pdf - http://www.reddingk.com/
Our web-site address is www.page45.com. Construction, design and management by Dominique Kidd.
Removal instructions: there is no way out. Oh, okay, just type 'remove' in the subject heading, and feel our desolation.

Page 45 is a comic shop.
We are:
Mark Simpson
Stephen L. Holland
with Tom Rosin

Page 45
9 Market Street
NottinghamNG1 6HY
Tel: (0115) 9508045
Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm.

Queens English butchered by Stephen and Mark. Tom arrives lost in translation on HELLSING and SANDLAND.


l e t t e r


Yo.

ULTIMATES vol 2 will undoubtedly thump through our doors the day we send this away [it just has @ £11-99 along with SUPERMAN #204 by Azzarello & Lee and DAREDEVIL: FATHER #1 by Quesada, and GOTHAM CENTRAL tpb - ed.].

Too late for a review, but why wait till next month? It's awesome. Absolutely awesome.

In the meantime, Geoff Savory read its concluding issue with considerable attention to detail:
Hi Guys

A small piece of gossip for you all.
The REAL reason that Ultimates Season Two won't be out for such a long time is so that Brian Hitch can attend a basic Hairdressing course.
The Wasp is seen having a Hair Cut in the last issue of the Ultimates and the fingers that the Hair dresser is using to hold the Scissors is frightening to say the least, I dread to think what Brian Hitch's hair cut is like if he is copying the technique of his Barber !!!
So a quick message for Brian. Thumb and third, Thumb and Third.
I have wrote to Marvel to offer my services as Technical Hair advisor I'm expecting a reply any day now.......

Geoff, that's... extraordinary.

Geoff used to be a soldier, which explains the hawk-like eyesight. He's now training to become a hairdresser, which explains why he cares. Nothing on God's good earth can explain why he felt compelled to tell me.

Still, careers swerves aside, I've never considered it canny to make fun of the armed forces, ex or otherwise, so I'm going to leave it right there.

(See, I do have a head on my shoulders - and I'd rather keep it there.)

Always a joy to hear from Rick and/or Linda Fuller:

Hi all

Just a quick note to say good to see Tom holding the fort on Easter Saturday, and indeed to be recognised by him once Rick got out that nice little plastic card he pays with. Tom's words were "aah I recognise you now". I guess its always nice to put a face to the plastic!!!
That sounds quite bad, doesn't it? Recognising someone by their credit card...
Needless to say that Rick is still topping £300 plus each time we visit.
Rick's in some sort of competition with himself to spend more each time, isn't he? Maybe you should make the visits more often. You know, like weekly. That'd up the stakes considerably.
Linda made her first purchase of a red Ruby Gloom T-shirt...
Are you guys working this e-mail like a relay race? Or has one of you gone all 3rd person singular on us? Stephen's not sure.
... which got some strange looks in King's Lynn last Saturday. You never know she might start buying Graphic Novels ... yeah right maybe not. Although she was intrigued by Ruby Gloom and at least will be looking out for another t-shirt if not the Graphic Novel itself. So watch this space.
Unfortunately there is no Ruby Gloom graphic novel. I wish there was. I wish there was more than one issue of SCARY MISS MARY. I'll show you the Vaquez/Dirge/Emily The Strange shelves next time you're in.

Rick is in the process of building another two 6ft bookcases to house his hobby, soon the second bedroom will be three walls of books and one wall for the window and sofa bed, so he can read in comfort, he's not daft. The computer now living in the box room with 3 wardrobes and a chest of draws oh and two bookcases which has all Linda's books crammed on to them, no room in the library for Linda's books.
And your tv and stereo are now sitting in the garden, right?
Anyhow, I'm sure you're bored stiff now so bye for now.

Take care.

Rick and Linda

I'm just glad I have a study and spare bedroom. I used to be able to pack everything up at the end of each term and shift my entire worldly possessions back home in a single trunk.

I know several customers who've built entire rooms or even moved house just to accommodate their comics.

In fact I know several customers whose girlfriends/wives/boyfriends aren't half as understanding as the lovely Linda. One leaves his comics outside a window, strolls innocently through the front door, and waits for the all-clear before opening the window to retrieve his stash. Another used to come in the day before he'd be due in town with his wife, spend £150, then walk in the next day and shamelessly ask if there was anything in his file. "Oh, just a couple, eh? I thought there'd be more," and his wife would be so impressed with his restraint. Sorry, ex-wife.

While I'm here, anyone awaiting the next issues and/or collections of KABUKI and POWERS, there are reasons for the delay. Both titles have ditched Image for Marvel. You'll find them resolicited in the current previews, and we'll remind you again in the next mailshot. Which I'd better start writing.

Get your weekly fix at the Earthly Encounters forum.

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