Corto Maltese: Beyond the Windy Isles (IDW)

Creator: Hugo Pratt

There is a huge problem when trying to write about a comic strip that is almost legendary within the industry. How do you approach something that is so highly regarded? How do you find something new to say about it? I don't have an answer to any of those questions so my solution is to just jump right in and offer my opinions, for what they are worth, on the second of the IDW Corto Maltese collections, Beyond the Windy Isles.

A little background on this first. Beyond the Windy Isles is actually the fourth in the series but IDW decided to start these collections with the third volume, Under the Sign of Capricorn. In an interview with the editor Dean Mulaney on the Comic Book Resources website here, he reveals that the reason for this is that it is with the third book that he developed the themes and characters that recur throughout. Having never read this series before I cannot speculate on whether this is a good decision or not. We'll only know when all twelve have been published, but I certainly didn't feel like I was missing anything when I read the Capricorn volume. Indeed it has been a strength of both the books released so far that you could pick either up and enjoy the stories inside.

So what of the book itself? Well physically it is a lovely object. The cover is a nice heavy card with a nice little picture of Corto Maltese against a map of the Caribbean. Inside the front cover is an informative introduction to book with actual period photographs of one of the locations featured in the stories. Opening this out displays a beautifully reproduced old map of the Caribbean. Solid to hold, printed on high quality paper and with a shot biography of Hugo Pratt in the inside back cover, initial impressions when you first pick this up and leaf through it are high. This feels like a quality book.

The packaging is all very well but what really matters is the quality of the stories. It's not much use a book feeling high quality only to feature strips that don't live up to the presentation. Fortunately each of the five tales are wonderful and an improvement on Under the Sign of Capricorn. The strips in that earlier volume where not poor by any stretch of the imagination, but these just seem a step up. Maybe it's just that I'm now more familiar with the Corto Maltese world but I was completely engrossed in these from page one.

There is a strong theme of betrayal that seems to run through the first four chapters here. The first story, Mushroom Head, deals with Corto Maltese regaining his lost memory but also manages to include betrayal and racial identity confusion. The second chapter, Banana Conga, opens with an incredibly effective page showing mainly two gun barrels with the wielders only present in their dialogue. We're then into the politics of a small island with double-crosses galore, all over a suitcase that everybody wants. In Voodoo for the President we are again embroiled in the corrupt politics of an island state, and are treated to the welcome return of two characters we first met in Capricorn. Sweet Dream Lagoon once more deals with the subject of betrayal as we are introduced to the disease induced hallucinations and dreams of a World War 1 desserter, in probably the most touching story in the collection, although that is possibly rivalled by the final story, A Tale of Two Grandfathers. In this we see the journey to recover a European boy from an island tribe where he has grown up, and asks the question of whether European “civilisation” is the best fit for everybody and what we should have been imposing on the world.

Words cannot really convey just what a job Hugo Pratt does in telling these stories. There is an elegance to his storytelling that is almost the polar opposite of the Jack Kirby over the top, in your face action style. Not that one is superior to the other – they are just different approaches which fit the different stories. In cinematic terms it's a bit like the difference between a Luc Besson directed adventure film and a Stephen Spielberg directed one. The influence of Milton Caniff shines through, as does a strong feeling of his contemporary Alex Toth in the work. Each page feels well balanced, and the action is captured clearly. There's no ambiguity here, no wondering what is going on, or who is shooting at whom. There is no elaborate page design on display either, with all sorts of different shaped panels laid out in dramatic arrangements. This is a strict grid structure. Nevertheless Pratt manages to convey the drama in each scene by what the objects he chooses and the angles he draws them from. The aforementioned opening to chapter two is a case in point.

Corto Maltese is a strip that lives up to its status, and IDW are doing a fine job in their packaging of this very special material. Roll on the release of the next volume, Celtic Tales.

Tim Ginger (Top Shelf Productions)

A Page 45 Comic Book of the Month
Creator: Julian Hanshaw

“Live the life you love...Choose a god you trust. And don't take it all so seriously.”

Ostensibly this comic is about a former test pilot who thinks he saw something on one of his flights and who lost his wife to an early death. However it is really a book that has a deep and profound theme applicable to almost every adult in the western world over the age of thirty. We must let go of the past to allow progress to a happier future. We don't forget the past and the people and places we knew, but they cease to act as a chain tethering us to something we can never return to.

In between the main tale are excerpts from a comic written by an old female colleague and object of mild flirtation, Anna. These all deal with people who decided not to have children, their reasons why and reactions to sometimes passive-aggressive queries as to why they have made this choice. These parts of the comic, whilst entertaining, don't really seem to add anything to it. I'd have liked them to act as a sort of comment on the main narrative, the classic example being the pirate comic excerpts in Watchmen, but they don't seem to function in this way, or if they do I'm missing it. In and of themselves however they are well designed, with a change to black and white and a page design that makes it appear you have just left the current comic and opened Anna's book yourself.

Overall this is a lovely book with a touching story. There is a hint of Kevin Huizenga about the art, especially in the opening aspect-to-aspect panel transitions, the occasional focus on wildlife, which to my mind acts as metaphor for the internal struggles of our protagonist, and in the line. Colour is s strong point too, with a very tight palette used effectively to indicate both time and place.

One final comment on the lettering. I like those subtle details which work on a subconscious level whilst you're reading, and there are a couple of these. The first is what appears to be a slight change to a more formal style when Tim and Anna first say hello when getting reacquainted over a cup of coffee after they have met again at a convention. Following the intial greetings, where they must have been nervous and slightly apprehensive, the lettering quickly returns to the more informal style which looks almost like handwriting and contributes to the feeling of intimacy we have with the tale. The second is where Tim's agent tries to start chatting Anna up, to which her exasperated “REALLY?” is all in upper-case. Small details but they help communicate the feelings of the characters in a very efficient and effective way.

There is a message that comes through strongly. We are all made of the stars, and a glimpse of the universe lets him know we are all connected, and out in the desert under in the almost total darkness you can see so much more of the universe than under the urban light-polluted sky. Don't be scared of the dark times. Once accepted they will help you to see the light that much better, and it can be quite majestic.

Bacchus Volume One (Top Shelf Productions)

Creators: Eddie Campbell (with Ed Hillyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Wes Kublick)

There was an old fanzine in the eighties called Arkensword, and on a trip back to Liverpool I entered a comic shop and picked up a copy. I was 15 and it had an Alan Moore interview inside, as well as a Brian Bolland Judge Dredd on the cover flanked by two ladies in suspenders. How could I resist? To be fair it turned out to be the most significant purchase I have ever made when it comes to comics. Not only did it have a very in depth and fascinating interview with the aforementioned Mr. Moore, it also had an interview with Howard Chaykin about something called American Flagg, an article on V for Vendetta (which also started with a Joy Division quote and thus sparked another passion) and interviews with Phil Elliot and Glen Dakin, and some stuff about an associated artist called Eddie Campbell. All of this served to open up the wide world of comics beyond the traditional British kids' stuff and the American super-hero stuff. After reading I later returned to that shop to grab a copy of Swamp Thing (issue 50 – the penultimate American Gothic story) and American Flagg. The Fast Fiction guys were nowhere to be seen though. In fact it would be another seven years before I managed to get hold of anything by them, when Dark Horse released their collection of The Eyeball Kid, which is featured in this collection.

The Eyeball Kid! This excited me, intrigued me and confused me. At once familiar in its tropes but strangely different I didn't fully understand it, but it was enough to make me fall want to seek out more. Coming back to it now, in the context of the stories that came before and with a greater appreciation of the comic tropes it parodies, it comes alive as the gem of work it truly is. We'll come back to The Kid, but the book this collection really pivots on, the point at which the artist seems to take a leap forward, is Book 3, “Doing the Islands with Bacchus”.

“Doing the Islands with Bacchus” is Eddie Campbell presenting the Greek myths in a modern vernacular, making the classics accessible to a more general audience. The fact that he seems to get to the core of the myths and communicate them so effectively is a testament to his understanding of them. There's a passion behind Doing the Islands… that speaks to the artist's enthusiasm for the subject, which if Alec is accurate he read whilst employed as a sheet metal worker. It seems wonderfully applicable that whilst smashing the stereotype of the typical manual worker he is also smashing the stereotypes of how the Greek myths are normally presented. As Bacchus says, “It makes me laugh the way you people picture the god Hermes...racing across the sky on his winged tippy-toes with a great poncey buncha flowers in his mitt.” all the while in a pose that would make Morrissey green with envy.

Doing the Islands… seems to be the point where this book really comes alive. Throughout the volume Campbell's art is strong, but from hereon in, where it is Eddie Campbell providing the art rather than Ed Hillyer (also good but slightly different) it seems to take on a more confidence. Layouts are clearer and the whole comic transforms into a superior experience. Not that the first two books are poor. Far from it, both Immortality Isn't Forever and The Gods of Business are better than the normal comic books, but they do take a leap forward. In Eddie Campbell though, we have an artist who clearly loves drawing, and not just comic book drawing. I would call his drawing style robust and it is that of somebody who loves art outside of the comic world. There is no copying of the way Jack Kirby or Jon Buscema drew, and I can't imagine he ever owned a copy of “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way”. Where the Kirby influence is used it's normally an obvious parody, something to subvert the whole action comics form.

“I wanted to mock the improbability of a big sprawling adventure while still having one.” - Eddie Campbell (introduction to Immortality Isn't Forever).

With The Eyeball Kid we get back to the action comics parody. However this time, as we are told in the introduction, Campbell allowed Ed Hillyer to do his own layouts, and this freedom produces some magnificent work. From the first splash page showing a close up of the Kid, through Hermes spotting the Kid from the air (upside down in a pose anybody who has read super-hero comics would recognise) and Hermes Big Glove, it's a magnificent parody cum tribute. Of course a huge factor in this, and one not to be understated, is the contribution Woodrow Phoenix makes with his lettering. The letters really captures the feel of those old super-hero comics, with enough of a contemporary spin (witness the titles for “Seeing Straight” and “High Noon”).

The volume finishes with “Earth, Water, Air, Fire” with Eddie Campbell back doing the art, and it's a fantastically solid showing. The action comics storyline comes to its end with all the lose ends wrapped up. There's the seamless mixture of photographs and line art to enjoy, and a suitable Greek tragedy for Joe Theseus. It provides a sense of closure to finish this first volume.

All in all, this is not a book you read quickly, waiting for the next thrill. The best approach is to open a bottle of wine, pour yourself a glass and completely immerse yourself in it over a period of time. Maybe follow the suggested wine pairings for each book. It's a wonderful world in which to journey for a while, and Mr. Campbell (along with Messrs Hillyer and Phoenix) make it easy to escape to. Hopefully the next collection will not be too far off.

New Comics

Where the blogger writes about his newly received monthly package of comics from the nice people at Page 45 before he's even read them, although God knows why he thinks anybody would be interested. Anyway, let the inane babbling commence.

Bacchus Colour Special (Dark Horse)

Creators: Eddie Campbell, Teddy Kristiansen

Everyone who has been collecting comics for any length of time will recognise this. There is mention of a comic by a favourite creator on a favourite series and your brain thinks, “I don't remember that. Better grab me a copy”. You grab yourself a copy and eagerly open it up, whereupon there is a dawning realisation that you already own it, in fact bought it when it first came out twenty years before. Cracking open the comic anyway for a quick look, all the while cursing the gods for only giving you a small house and thus forcing your beloved comic collection into the loft, when the Comic Book Gods smile down and grant a blessing. The past twenty years may have made you forget you had the comic, but they also made you forget how wonderful it was. Truth to tell I'd not have retrieved this from the loft anyway, so it's with some pleasure that I anticipate reading through it properly once the collected Bacchus Volume 1 has been consumed. After that it's off to anyone I know that I think will appreciate it.

Loki Agent of Asgard #16 (Marvel)

Creators: Al Ewing, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela, Clayton Cowles

If you've read the review below then you know that I'm a fan of this book. It feels like this is heading for some sort of climax. This all ties in with the latest crossover event from Marvel which they constantly churn out, each one promising things will never be the same ag….<yawn!>. I've no idea if this will continue beyond the tie-ins, but the cynic in me thinks that if it is selling well then it will carry on. Let's hope so.

Zero Volume 4: Who By Fire (Image)

Creators: Ales Kot, Ian Bertram, Stathis Tsemberlidis, Robert Sammelin, Tula Lotay, Jordie Bellaire, Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, Jeff Lemire

The final collected volume in this series which has served as my introduction to Ales Kot. This has been a magnificent tale, and one I genuinely do not know how it will end. It is very much that rare comic in which different artists are used throughout without detracting from the tale (in fact in this case the different styles used seem to add to it). I'm excited by this but incredibly disappointed, as ever, with the cover. I'm not sure what effect they are aiming for but none of the covers, consistent  as they are in design, have ever really worked for me. If ever there was a case for not judging a book by its cover it is this.

Tim Ginger (Top Shelf Productions)

Creator: Julian Hanshaw

The Page 45 Comic Book of the Month Club is a fantastic innovation from my favourite independent retailer. Each month they select a comic, which could be a full graphic novel, individual issue, or trade paperback collection, and offer them to member of the club with a 20% discount. There's no tie down period, and joining is as easy as emailing and asking to. It is a wonderful way to expand one's tastes, trying comics that you may have completely ignored or been unaware of. I like to think of myself as being completely open when it comes to my tastes in comics, but this has turned me on to creators and books I would never have thought of (e.g. the Japanese creators Inio Asano (Solanin, Nijigahara Holograph), Naoki Urasawa (Pluto)  and Taiyo Matsumoto (Sunny), the above mentioned Ales Kot, Matz and Luc Jacamon (The Killer), Jason Shiga (Meanwhile, Empire State), Andi Watson (Little Star)). However this is one I was immediately attracted to from the reviews I've read of it, and it's heading to the top of the pile for reading next.

The Complete Peanuts 1995 to 1996 (Fantagraphics)

Creator: Charles M Schultz

I've been getting these since they first started, which was when my wife and I first got together. That's eleven years now and the strips are closing in on the end when Schultz retired the strip in 2000 shortly before he died. It will be one of those bittersweet things when we finally reach the last volume. Fantagraphics have done a fine job with their packaging of these wonderful, and sometimes eye wateringly funny, strips. I can't think of anybody better than Seth to put in charge of the presentation.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #15 (Marvel)

Title: The Old Army Game
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colour Artist: Antonio Fabela
Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
A while ago when I read 2000AD, Al Ewing started to appear to great praise from many of the readers. There was a sense of humour at the heart of his work that made him stand out, and this has happily transitioned over to his work on Loki.

The Ewing/Garbett Loki: Agent of Asgard is fifteen issues old and, despite a slight wobble during the tie in with the last big Marvel crossover event (the curse of modern day super-hero comics), it has shone brightly as a beacon of entertainment that doesn't take itself too seriously. This issue has two main narratives that could be titled “The Origin of Verity Willis” and “The Battle of Asgard”. Both are tales are told completely differently.

Verity's tale is told mainly as a flashback, with muted hues delineating it from the more vibrant colours used in the Asgardian battle narrative, which takes place at the present time. This is nicely executed by Antonio Fabela on colours, and the almost pastel shades seem tom suit Verity's personality. This is a more understated story than the battle, more grounded in reality and the regular panel layout adds to this, only breaking out into a full page splash for the climax showing the result of the actions of the female Orlando type Loki.

On the other hand the battle between the forces of Asgard and old Loki is completely over-the-top and ridiculous in the best possible way. It recalls Walt Simonson's acclaimed run on the title, and has big, energetic panel layouts which really bring out the atmosphere of Odin with a huge machine gun, Loki riding a dragon creature Freyja facing down Loki and Odin blowing some impossibly gigantic horn, the Gjallahorn. Everything leaps off the page  into the readers mind, really bringing the whole spectacle thrillingly alive. The lettering also helps here as the Asgardians have suitably over the top text bursting out of the speech bubbles, and the sound effects are big and bold. It's all completely ludicrous but enormous fun.

I don't know how long this team will stay on this title, but that's a worry for the future. For now we just need to sit back and enjoy the most fun super-hero comics can be.

Providence #2 (Avatar

Story: Alan Moore
Art: Jacen Burrows
Colour: Juan Rodriguez
Letters: Kurt Hathaway

Issue two of Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows' Providence continues the high level of design presentation that the first issue established. The cover depicts the church-cum-nightclub in the Red Hook area of New York where the protagonist spends the issue. Although it is only mentioned in brief in this comic, it's prominence on the cover and in the Lovecraft story “The Horror at Red Rock” indicates that this could have a larger role tom play as the narrative progresses. Inside we get the gorgeous street map of Providence itself which acts as a sort of inner wraparound. I've not been able to see any credits for this, whether it was pre-existing or whether Jacen Burrows has drawn it himself, but it adds wonderfully to the atmosphere of the whole package, even if Providence itself has not really featured thus far.
This issue the creators start to slowly escalate the feeling of slight unease that has been building, although the narrative consists mainly of exposition. We first have Robert Black meeting Detective Tom Malone opposite the church in Red Hook, and their scene together gives a chance for a lot of the history of the area to be delivered to the reader. This is then followed by Black's scene with Suydam, which essentially allows for yet more exposition, this time on the occult history of a particular book. This is punctuated dramatically by Black's descent and investigation of Suydam's mysterious basement during which our hero loses consciousness, followed by his resuscitation. All-in-all it does not sound like a formula for a successful or satisfying comic, and yet is works well, although there are some issues. How does it achieve this?

Very simply, this is a comic in which all the elements, story, art, lettering and colours, all come together and integrate into a whole that is unique to comics. The lettering is subtle and lends a gentle and genuine unease to the proceedings. Virtually all of the dialogue uses a clean and clear, standard comic upper-case style, until we encounter the demon in the basement. Even here it stays understated, never becoming larger than the letters spoken by the human characters, and indeed such a style would not fit with the rather cramped, claustrophobic panels. The noise of the demon is simply presented in bold with slightly distorted letters. Very subtle and very effective as the only change in font for the whole comic.

Colours have been cleverly used. Again subtlety is the word here as we start with mainly brown, green and blue hues when with Black and Malone at the start of the story, with flashbacks shown in greys as a sort of black and white movie. Once we progress into Suydam's home the hues change to mainly green with some brown. As Black descends into the basement the hues change to mainly just green and black, to sinister effect.

The presentation of this comic is all about clarity. This is no impressionistic art style being utilised, but a very clear, clean line. This clarity is enhanced by the page design, which in the main consists of horizontal panels in a regular four panel stacked layout. This consistency remain throughout, until we get to the scene in the basement, where it changes to the vertical panel design, laid out as three regular panels to a page, which as mentioned above, enhances the feeling of dread and claustrophobia as the reader's view to what is happening is restricted and constrained by the narrow panels. There is now peripheral vision allowed.

The only real problem with this issue is the verbiage. There is a lot of exposition and one can't help wondering if the occult history presented by Suydam, would have been better shown visually. However this may have hampered the slow build that made the basement scenes so effective. One last thing to be briefly mentioned is the concept of the outsider. This was mentioned by Alan Moore in an interview before the first issue came out. It's too early to start teasing out all the themes but it is noticeable that every main character in this issue could be regarded as an outsider, and indeed the location of Red Hook itself is a haven for outsiders.

A fantastic comic, well worth checking out by Lovecraft fans and those wandering about the fuss.

Curia Regis

Creator: Robin Hoelzmann

So last weekend my love of the comics medium was reinvigorated after attending the International Comic Festival in Kendal. There were some great events to attend. Hearing Bryan Talbot talking about the history of anthropomorphism was a joy, and Peter Doherty talking to Sean Phillips about his journey through comics was incredible, especially as there was an exhibition of Sean Phillips' work in the centre (as well as numerous exhibitions throughout Kendal). Equally as thrilling was the Comics Clock Tower, full of creators to whom you could chat and buy their work.

It is here in the tower that you get a real sense of how vibrant the comic scene is in Britain. It is here that you can come across some unexpected gems. It is here that you find something like Curia Regis for sale.

At the point at which I picked up this comic, I was really wandering whether I could justify the expense of a completely different book. I'd spent more than I wanted (actually that's a lie – I'd spent less than I'd wanted but more than I knew my (non comics reading) wife would tolerate) when two books caught my eye. The first was Widdershins by Kate Ashwin, which looks amazing and is definitely on my list of things to buy post pay day. The Widdershins artist was not at the table, but the Robin Hoelzemann, the brains behind Curia Regis, was and she showed me Widdershins and then drew attention to her own comic. A little description of what it contained, and a look at the interior art and I was sold. Three issues on special offer for the festival were quickly snapped up.

Now as I've already mentioned, I'd bought quite a few comics already (reviews of which will be appearing here) but the first comics I read on returning home that night were the Curia Regis issues. It's been five days since I bought them, and I've read them three times already. Needless to say, I like this comic.

The storyline takes place in an analogue of eighteenth century France. In 1724, with the mob at the gates, the Duke of Astair kills himself. Twenty six years later in January 1740, the King Regent's nephew and the King Regent's spymaster kill each other in a duel, manipulated by the Marquise Maren Reinette D'Astair. We then learn more about Maren, her family, friends and motives, or some of them.

The story is very much in its infancy, but is intriguing in and of itself. The comic itself is quite a dense, rewarding reading experience. Nothing is spoon fed to the reader. As an example, the years between the prologue when the duke commits suicide, and chapter one when the duel takes place, can only be deduced when, at the start of issue 2 there is a notice of an auction taking place on 3^rd April 1740, and a caption reveals we are three months from the duel. Following the death of the spymaster, Maren finds a note with a list of rebels. This list contains the names of several of Marin's friends and associates, some of whom are revealed as we read more about our main protagonist. This is the sort of stuff that makes rereading the issues such a pleasure, and it provides a certain amount of intellectual satisfaction when you start to piece things together. A little work gives a great deal of pleasure, as any reader of literary novels will acclaim.

Aesthetically this books looks beautiful. A great deal of thought seems to have gone into the presentation. Opening each issue shows the inside cover to be a maroon which for some reason strikes me as very regal, especially with the simple but elegant dark stripe down the outside edge. My description doesn't really do it justice, but it is something that really adds to the overall look.

Interior art is very pleasing to the eye, all clean lines and clear page design lead the eye nicely across the panels. There is a great deal of attention to body language. In the prologue we see the duke's servant Timothy suspiciously nervous. There isn't a panel he in which we see him when he isn't doing fiddling, or rubbing his hands together, or twitching. It's subtly, but effectively done. In Curia Regis we never see static figures in the background either. Everybody seems to be doing something that evokes the feel of a world populated by real people, of which we are only able to focus on one particular story. From the second issue the art switches from black and white to colour. I'm not sure why there was a shift, but it works well, adding an extra dimension to the art, with the colours seemingly carefully chosen to enhance the work, resisting the danger to suddenly make it all kaleidoscopic.

All in all this is a wonderful book to find. The comic is online here so you can click and see what you think (and that's also the reason I've not posted any interior art here - go to the website and see it in context of the story). I strongly advise you to buy the physical comics themselves, for ease of rereading and cross referencing, and simply because they are beautiful and deserve a wider audience. From what I've read, Robin has quite a busy job so I suspect issue four is going to take a while, but it is definitely something worth waiting for.