The Independent on Sunday: Review of Gun Machine by Warren Ellis
First piece of the New Year to be published, a wee review of the fantastic Gun Machine for The Independent on Sunday.
Gun Machine is out now and I heartily recommend it, even to non-crime fans.
Full review here: IoS book review: Gun Machine, By Warren Ellis
Stay tuned for some upcoming big pieces! (Far too many, pass the caffeine...)
The Independent on Sunday: Review of Century 2009 by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill
My review of the just published League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 2009, by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill, is published in today's Independent on Sunday in the lead slot. I've had the (only) review copy for nearly a month now and have resisted looking too smug about that rather well.
The Independent on Sunday has also run a news article about the comic, and one of its more controversial aspects, in the news section. It contains a quote by me, and I've included my full quote below for those interested, written for a mainstream audience.
Our new adventure begins with Orlando fighting once more in an unending war, this time in the Middle East's Q'umar. Our trio has failed to stop the birth of the Antichrist and their union has fractured. A televised news report ponders whether we are returning to an era of spin, resulting in a furiously foul-mouthed tirade from one Malcolm Tucker. As with the opera of 1910 and the cinematic references of 1969, the world of the League is open to all fiction, not only literature, and mentions of Hollywood stars and famous footballers can be found with a keen eye. References to previous instalments show the grand scale of Moore's meticulous planning.
Weaving together Britain's mythic dreamtime into one glorious creative tapestry, this latest percipient adventure is a thrilling ride.
Full review here: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 2009, By Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill - Reviews - Books - The Independent
The news story can be found here: Revealed: Harry Potter is the Antichrist!
And my full quote:
Alan Moore is perhaps the greatest comic writer of our time, changing superheroes forever with his genre-breaking Watchmen, altering the face of protests the world over with V for Vendetta, and famous too for his rare stance on film adaptations of his many works: a polite distancing based on personal disinterest. Having turned his back on the US comic publishers and their often questionable approach to creators rights, Moore found a happier home with Knockabout Comics and Top Shelf, where he has cheerfully produced a series of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novels that have outsold almost every other comic on the market.
From the late 19th century, the series has shown us a parallel world to our own, one in which our fictions are reality, where Captain Nemo and Professor Moriarty shape England's history. Moving events now to 2009, that fiction expands to encompass The West Wing, 24, and of course a certain boy wizard. Moore is always keen to point out that the League books are satire and that he has respect for all characters that he uses and hints at, expressing hope that people will look beyond the Harry Potter connection to appreciate the whole. He and artist Kevin O'Neill have layered several other fictions on top of the character who may (or may not!) be JK Rowling's creation, with nods towards Platform 13, Groosham Grange, and The Dark is Rising, predecessors all to the Boy Who Lived.
Make no mistake, the wily Moore is in no way making a statement on one character by his crafting of the ultimate bad guy in his series to date, rather his chosen Antichrist is a commentary on a perceived degradation of society, both in our world and the fictional. As the publishing industry takes less risks, originality is visibly dwindling, while major franchises and celebrity biographies are relentlessly pushed upon us. When the Antichrist comes face to face with the one character who can terminate his domination, it's difficult not to feel a swell of love for the old books that we all hold dear. People will perhaps be keen to paint this as a curmudgeonly assault on the popular Harry Potter, painting him as an evil abomination that has corrupted our children and heralded the death knell of children's fiction, but that is a shallow reading of a complex series that delights in layering meanings and references in the playground of our imagination.
The Independent on Sunday: Interview with Stan Lee
You may have been wondering where I've disappeared to so far this year, but rest assured that I simply had a very busy January writing things that are only just starting to trickle out, along with some work for uni that will be appearing in some form on this site in the near future too. For now though, the first of two interviews I completed last month with the legendary Stan Lee!
It's a little more edited than my previous work as it appeared in the News section of The Independent on Sunday, but I hope you enjoy it. The focus was his upcoming visit to London for the new London Super Comic Con.
Read here: Stan Lee on his upcoming visit to the UK for the London Super Comic Con...
(NB - referred to as co-creator throughout)
As ever, the full version will be up here at a later date. You can check out my earlier interviews for the paper here:
Full and Uncut Interview with Alan Moore
Last month I had the fantastic experience of interviewing Alan Moore for the Independent on Sunday. Restricted in print to 1000 words and with Alan chatting for an hour on the phone, there was a whole heap of material left over.
My full and uncut interview with Grant Morrison was received so warmly, I have once more slaved over a full transcript for my fellow comic geeks. You can read the printed article here, and the full interview after the jump!
Sadly I could have done with another hour at least to expand more fully on some of my questions, but Moore is of course tremendously busy writing his novel, Jerusalem, and a good interview for the Indie was my priority. Still, I managed some of the women in comics angle!
The Independent on Sunday: Interview with Grant Morrison
A few weeks ago I interviewed the very lovely Grant Morrison for the second time, this time for a big press newspaper in the UK, The Independent on Sunday. Today was the day when it all got published, and I was very chuffed to see my interview as the lead feature on the books section - a whole page! Brilliant.
If you missed it, or if you aren't in the UK, you can read the whole feature here:
Meanwhile, back on planet Earth...
Where we talk about Supergods, Superman, chaos magic, and I talk about how lovely he is.
My boyfriend is a photographer and I woke up this morning to find that he'd already nipped out to buy three copies for the photo he wanted to take!
After submitting my interview I was later told that it would be built into a comics special feature, and was asked to suggest and contribute some reviews. You can also read my two reviews in full here:
Turf by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Fabio Celoni, and Mirka Andolfo
If you've been following my work and like what you see, do feel free to comment on the articles, recommend and retweet them and so on. It's hugely exciting to see comics getting such a big piece of the mainstream press action and I hope it's the beginning of more to come!
You can read my earlier interview with Grant here, and I'll be updating later this week with the rest of the interview (because the printed stuff is about 5% of what I have!) featuring the missing pages of Supergods, nihilistic mass media, lunch with Neil Gaiman, online fans and critics, different artists on Action Comics, DC opening their doors to women, and a whole lot about magic, John Lennon and socialist Superman.
Want a little teaser?
On Superman...
Grant: "I kind of think of course he would be a vegetarian, I mean he would find it hard not to be. He's a super kid who grew up with animals and I'm sure he'd empathise with them pretty early on and just not be. I don't know, I might just put it in again to annoy people. "
(Followed, I might add, by a rather cheeky laugh!)
About a Grrrl
Freelance writer. Comic geek, film addict, metal head, book worm, gamer. I sell books and write. I'd prefer to write books and sell.
This is a collection of my writing, thoughts and interesting links about my geeky interests.
Oh, and I'm not a guy. A woman reading comics still surprises some people...
Recent Tweets
-
@GeekSyndicate ooh, cheers - this looks good :D
-
Typically, I discovered a new fabourite webcomic after I finished all my submissions! So as an extra, Nimona: http://t.co/qx7HIRtDy3 Go!
-
RT? And the wonderful @gunnerkrigg RT 24 Hours of Webcomics: Gunnerkrigg Court http://t.co/Zie5TX9itx via @comicsbeat