The Sword of Surtur by C.L. Werner - Book Review

 

'Envy drives the God of War into a realm of fire to reclaim his glory, in this epic fantasy novel of Odin’s greatest heroes, in Marvel’s Legends of Asgard

'Tyr, God of War, elder brother of Thor, embarks on a quest to regain his honor and place at Odin’s side. Spurred on by loyal young Bjorn Wolfbane and the bewitching Lorelai, the trio set out to steal a sliver of Twilight, sword of the fire giant Surtur, who will one day bring about Ragnarok and destroy Asgard. But the fiery realm of Muspelheim is fraught with volcanic trolls, lava kraken, and Surtur’s brood of murderous warriors. Tyr must overcome his own feelings of inadequacy and the motives of his allies or risk triggering the apocalypse and cursing his name forever.'

The Marvel Legends of Asgard range is one of the more interesting series that Aconyte Books is producing, due in large part to the fact that I have to keep reminding myself when reading them that these stories are actually taking place in the Marvel Universe. The Sword of Surtur, and the previous book in the series the Head of Mimir, feel like more than simple super hero stories, stories about larger than life costumed heroes fighting criminals; these books are huge, sweeping fantasy epics that stand out from the rest of the Marvel novels the company are producing, and are ideal for anyone unsure if they'd get on with a comic novel.

The Sword of Surtur follows one of the less features sons of Odin, one of the brothers that never gets as much time in the spotlight as the heroic Thor, or the duplicitous Loki; this book centres of Tyr, the God of War. I'd only seen Tyr in the Marvel comics once of twice, and then not for very long, and whilst the character did feature in one of the Marvel movies it's not made clear exactly who he is, as such, I honestly didn't know that he was one of Odin's sons before I started to read this book, believing him to just be another one of the gods.

This familial connection, and the fact that Tyr is often overlooked and forgotten in the place of Thor is one of the main themes of the book, and is a major driving force for everything that happens here. Thor is being celebrated for his brave feats, even though what he did was foolish and reckless, whilst Tyr is left feeling forgotten. He was the god who bravely gave up his hand to bound Fenrir, the giant wolf who would play a part in Ragnarok, who allowed the great beast to bite off his hand in order to secure Asgard's safety; yet here is Thor being called a hero for needlessly putting his life at risk for glory.

It's a situation that I think we can all identify with, though I hope none of us have had to let a wolf eat our hand. It's the kind of scenario we've all been a part of before. We've done something because it was the right thing to do, or because it helped people and we've had to watch others who have done a whole lot less get heaped with praise. It's the kind of jealousy that we've all experienced, and that apparently even gods are susceptible to.

Rather than wallow in his jealousy Tyr decides that he needs to do something that will eclipse Thor's deeds, something that is not only brave and daring, but will benefit people. As such, he sets out to travel to the fiery land of Muspelheim in order to steal the sword of the fire giant Surtur. Not only is this a task that will put Tyr against almost insurmountable odds and foes worthy of song, but if he succeeds he will be able to steal the weapon meant to play a part in Ragnarok, therefore ensuring the end of times can't come to pass. It's a mission he'll need help with, however, so he's joined by the brave warrior Bjorn Wolfsbane, and the enchantress Lorelai.

The trio proves to be an interesting team, especially thanks to Lorelai's abilities to bewitch men and make them fall in love with her, which creates some tense moments when the two men begin to fall victim to her enchantments and their friendship is put to the test. Despite having seen Lorelai played as a villain in the past, thanks to an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I enjoyed seeing her played as something of a hero, though one you never trust one hundred percent. She gives the team a different kind of energy, especially as she brings magic and spells to a group that would otherwise rely on brute force to achieve their goals.

I also really enjoyed how The Sword of Surtur felt in relation to the other Marvel Legends of Asgard book that Aconyte have released, and how the two novels work well together. At first glance they're both pretty similar, following a small group of heroes travelling to another realm to get their hands on a mystical artefact and bring it to Asgard. However, they're quite different, and can act as mirrors of each other. The Head of Mimir follows a couple of people of who aren't lauded heroes, who no one will listen to, as they travel to a realm of ice and snow to retrieve something stolen from Asgard that's being used to put the kingdom in peril; meanwhile The Sword of Surtur sees characters who are well know, celebrated heroes in Asgard travelling to a realm of fire in order to steal something that doesn't belong to them to prevent a future attack on Asgard. The two books seem to be flipped scenarios of each other, but instead of feeling similar they're both so different, and show different sides to the world of Asgard, and the heroes that live their.

The Sword of Surtur is, at its heart, a fantasy novel. It's a book about brave heroes clashing with forces of evil, fighting against monsters and devils, with swords and sorcery being used as weapons. It's the kind of fantasy you don't see get the limelight much anymore, where things don't have to feel too grounded, where the fantastical isn't hidden away or explained as something else, but is embraced. This is a story that doesn't just take inspiration from the myths and legends that inspired the Marvel books, but celebrates it. If you've never picked up a comic before, if you're not sure you'd like heroes fighting costumed villains with over the top plots, this is the kind of book that can show you that there's more to comics than that, and that those universes can easily make the jump to prose without losing any of their magic.

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Dryad Volume One by Kurtis Wiebe - Book Review

 

'Best-selling writer Kurtis Wiebe (Rat Queens) and newcomer artist Justin Osterling launch a new fantasy saga!

'The Glass family has spent thirteen years hiding peacefully in the sleepy forest settlement of Frostbrook where Morgan and Yale planted roots and raised their twins, Griffon and Rana. But secrets never stay hidden, and the entire Glass family find themselves the target of an unearthly attack on Frostbrook.

'Now on the run from Muse Corp., they must flee to the massive city of Silver’s Bay to hide in plain sight. Rana and Griffon find themselves uprooted and answering for their parents' mistakes. But, they’ll soon find that the past has a way of finding you, no matter where you run. '

I'd had some experience with Kurtis Weibe's work before, having read the comic series Rat Queens, so was looking forward to another fantasy series helmed by him, but got so much more than what I was expecting in this first volume of what I hope goes on to be a long running series.

The story follows Morgan and Yale Glass, a young couple who begin the book travelling through a forrested wilderness with their twin infant children. We don't get a huge amount of information here, other than they're trying to get away from 'the city', and that they've been through fights to protect their children, with Morgan having lost part of an ear in the process. Eventually, after discovering some ancient ruins, the two of them find the small village of Frostbrook, and believe that this could be the safe haven they've been looking for.

Jumping forward fifteen years and we find that the Glass family have become well respected members of this small society, with Yale taking on the position of a teacher for the children of the village, whilst his wife Morgan acts as something of a protector, fighting of monsters that cause the inhabitants harm. Despite having a good home Morgan seems somewhat restless, and this seems to be echoed a little in their children, who have now grown into teens.

Griffon and Rana are now much older, and don't always enjoy the confines of the village, so when their friends decide to sneak away one night to explore the ruins on the outskirts of the town they jump at the chance, wanting to do something exciting for once. However, when a mysterious door is opened inside these ruins a group a hostiles are able to enter Frostbrook, and it changes the lives of the Glass family forever.

I have to admit, I loved the first issue, and thought that it was a great, entertaining fantasy setting with some interesting mythology and characters that immediately grabbed my attention. In some ways the fist few pages, with the clearly battle hardened parents trying to find a new home for their young children reminded me of Saga, and this got me excited for the series. Whilst this search for a home didn't really last, the jump forwards in time wasn't disappointing, and I enjoyed seeing how the family fitted into this village.

Despite enjoying this fantasy setting, I was given something of a surprising change when the book suddenly started introducing sci-fi elements to the story. Yep, it turns out that whilst there elves, orcs, magic, and monsters, this isn't your typical fantasy setting, and that Frostbrook is nothing more than an isolationist village that shuns the technology of the outside world. Yep, the book pulled out the twist from M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, but did it so much better.

After a couple of issues the book takes a sharp turn and starts introducing science fiction elements, essentially making a surprise chance to the books genre as the Glass family are plucked from their quiet life and thrown into a huge city filled with flying vehicles, holograms, and augmented people. Turns out fantasy and cyberpunk mix really well together.

Not only does the reader learn that the world the twins grew up in was a lie (and that through only being shown certain things the audience has been lied too as well), but that there are much deeper conspiracies at work too. This volume doesn't answer every question, but it does reveal to the readers that Morgan and Yale were involved with some dangerous people, and that escaping with the twins made them some dangerous enemies.

The book is a great introduction to this new world, and the sudden shift in expectations was both unexpected and brilliantly done. Whilst I'm a little sad that this isn't a more conventional fantasy world I'm extremely interested in the one that Wiebe has created, and can't wait to find out more in the next volume. I was also hugely impressed by the artwork by Justin Osterling, who's a new, uo-and-coming artist. Not only was every panel just superbly drawn, but the designs for the characters and environments were unique and interesting. This is definitely an artist worth watching.

Dryad is one of the more impressive first volumes in a graphic novel series that I've read in a while, and I think its one that deserves both attention and note as an exciting series that's doing some great new things.

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The Ghost Garden by Emma Carroll - Book Review

 

'SUMMER 1914. When Fran unearths a bone in the garden of Longbarrow House on the same afternoon that Leo breaks his leg, it must surely be just a coincidence. But Fran can't shake the uneasy feeling that the events are somehow connected, and there is a shift in the atmosphere that leaves her troubled and anxious. Roped into keeping wheelchair-bound Leo company, Fran is forced to listen to his foolish theories about the looming threat of war in Europe. But as the pair start to uncover more secrets buried beneath the garden, they dredge up threatening shadows of the future, and Fran begins to fear that Leo's dire predictions might be coming true ...'

There are a good few books that take place during the first world war, even if they don't necessarily deal with people involved in the war it's still not hard to find stories of people getting by with loved ones off fighting, trying to keep their lives together as the conflict rages on. But I'm not sure if I'd read a book that deals with the build-up to the war, especially one designed for children.

The Ghost Garden is set in the summer of 1914, as tensions build in Europe and Britain faces the prospect of having to send its men off to fight and die. It's during this period that we meet Fran, a young girl who's the daughter of the groundskeeper and gardener of Longbarrow House, a large stately home. She spends her days following her father around the grounds, helping him with his jobs.

This all changes when the grandchildren of the owner, Mrs Walker, come to spend their summer holidays at the house. Fran doesn't really like the Walker children much, and is used to being alone much of the time. However, the same day that Fran discovers a strange bone in the potato patch, accidentally breaking it with her gardening fork, Leo Walker is injured by his younger sister, breaking his leg.

At first Fran thinks this is a strange coincidence and thinks nothing more of it, until she finds something else buried in the garden, something else that seems to predict the future. Now Fran begins to think that there might be something strange about Longbarrow. When she gets roped into helping Leo around, who is now stuck in a wheelchair whilst his leg heals, she discovers that Leo believes their might be an ancient burial mound on the property. Does this connect to the strange things that Fran has been experiencing, and what could happen if the two of them actually find it?

The Ghost Garden is a short but sweet novella, and uses its limited page count well, and every scene feels like it serves a purpose, with their the story being driven forwards, or readers being given the chance to spend some time with Fran and really getting to know her. Fran is a very likeable protagonist, and I came away with a good sense of who she is and what motivates her over the course of the book, and quickly came to like her.

Leo, on the other hand, definitely feels a bit more mysterious to begin with, and it takes you a while to understand him and come to like him, but very quickly you see that not only is he much more likeable that you first expect, but he proves to be a great counterpart to Fran. The two of them work really well together, and I'd love to see more stories with the two of them solving more mysteries, and discovering more secrets.

The book deals with the looming threat of the war well, and very slowly reveals to the reader the events that are happening in Europe, using Leo's interest in global politics to let the reader in on these things without it feeling overwhelming, or like an info dump. It also does a good job of exploring the very real fears that people would have had at the time, particularly the worries children would have had about loved ones going off to fight. They're quite grim moments, with the weight of those emotions having great effect on the characters, yet Emma Carol never allows these dour moments to overwhelm the scenes, and the book ultimately has a feeling of hope and grim determination for the younger characters.

I think that this is a book that younger readers will definitely enjoy, there's a good mystery going on, some spooky happenings that will have readers on their guard for much of the book, and it gives some great insight to how people felt during this frightening period. Plus, the book has some wonderful illustrations by Kaja Kajfez, who really manages to bring the characters to life. 

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Robocop 2 – Throwback

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

One of the things I find most astounding about the Robocop franchise is that each progressive entry in the series seems to get worse than the others; after all, this is a premise that should be easy to do well if you’re able to grasp the intentions of the original film.

Another thing that really boggles my mind is that Robocop 2, probably the best thing after the first film but still not great, was the last film directed by Irvin Kershner, who directed The Empire Strikes Back.

The film follows Robocop (Peter Weller) less in this film than in the first, and instead seems to focus on the city of Detroit as a whole. In this film Omni Consumer Products (OCP) is in the midst of a scheme to bankrupt the city so that they can take over and implement a radical urban development plan.

In order to do this they’ve underfunded the already thinly stretched police force, causing mass strikes, and plan to replace police with new Robocop 2 units. Whilst this is a decent continuation of the plans the company began in the first movie, and really hammers home the corrupt nature of giant capitalist organisations with too much power, where the film begins to fail is with the depiction of Robocop himself.

At the end of the first film Robocop was once again Alex Murphy, having fought to regain his humanity. He spoke and acted more human, and the last moments of the film saw him declaring that his name is ‘Murphy’. So when we see him and his partner Lewis (Nancy Allen) on the streets taking on the drug gangs that are taking over the city, it’s disappointing to see that writers Frank Miller and Walon Green seem to have hit a reset button on him, reverting him to the monotone cyborg from the first movie.

The two screenwriters clearly have a good sense of where to take the story of Detroit and OCP in this film, yet don’t really know what to do with Murphy. This is further compounded when they have him stalking his former wife, something that shows that Murphy is still alive inside the machine; yet they don’t allow this to show through anywhere else. I could understand if he reverted to the older Robocop after OCP mess with his systems later in the movie, but they seem to have brought this into play too soon.

Sadly, it would seem that these weren’t the only issues with the film, with stars Peter Weller and Nancy Allen both speaking out years later about problems they had with the production. Allen reported that much of the heart and dark humour that the first film was liked for was taken out of the sequel’s script by Kershner, who she also claimed didn’t like her, and tried to make her working conditions difficult. Weller also reportedly felt that the film lacked a satisfying third act, and that simply having Robocop fight a giant robot at the end didn’t lead to satisfying conclusion; something many viewers would agree with.

Robocop 2 seems to be the beginning of a downward slope for the series, with no other part of the franchise managing to reach the heights of the original, despite another sequel, a reboot, two television series, and two animated shows.

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Titan A.E. - Film Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Don Bluth is a big name in the animation world, and I can almost guarantee you’ll have seen something that he created, whether you’re aware of it or not. Bluth was responsible for the video game Dragon’s Lair, as well as a number of films that went up against Disney back in the 80s and 90s, including The Land Before Time, An American Tail, and Anastasia. Titan A.E. marked Bluth’s first foray into science-fiction.

The film is set in 3043, and follows Cale (Matt Damon), one of the few survivors of the human race following the destruction of Earth fifteen years before, when the planet was blown to pieces by the evil Drej. Cale is approached by Korso (Bill Pullman), an old friend of his father, and an outlaw captain. It turns out that Cale holds the key to the location of The Titan, one of the most advanced ships in the galaxy, created by his father. Working with Korso and his crew, Cale must track down the location of The Titan before the Drej find it and destroy the future of mankind.

The story is pretty good, and manages to move at a very brisk pace. The characters go to a fair few unique locations, like worlds filled with giant gas balls, slave auctions on space stations, and the interior of giant spaceships. The plot is one big chase movie, with two groups after the same mcguffin, but manages to throw a lot of wrenches in the works to make it interesting and fun throughout.

Whilst the film was pretty well received, and has received more praise and notice in the years since, it was a financial failure and barely made half of its budget back. This was in part due to Fox not really knowing how to market the film, but also the expensive and difficult production. Titan A.E. mixed together traditional hand drawn animation with CGI, and whilst there are some points in the film that things don’t look particularly great, it’s actually aged pretty well.

Some of the its effects are still very impressive, and the chase through the ice rings is not only a stand out moment in the story, but one of the cooler sci-fi film sequences around. The combination of hand drawn animation and CGI come together perfectly here, and the sound design is spot on. But this is far from the only impressive scene in the film, and there’s a lot here to be impressed by or find interesting.

One of the biggest downsides of the film being a financial failure is the fact that we’ll not be getting more work based in this universe. There are so many hints at big ideas and interesting concepts here, like humanity being on the back foot and scattered across the galaxy, or how a species that’s living energy like the Drej would operate, yet we never get a huge amount of depth to any of it. This isn’t a big fault of the film though, as they pack a lot into the relatively short run-time.

There’s a lot of world building and character moments crammed in, so we’ve never got the time to slow down and go into the smaller details. There was some attempt at this in the comic and novel prequels that were produced at the time, but even here there’s still a lot about this universe that I’d love to see more of. Unfortunately, Titan A.E. is something that has – for the present time at least – to stand on its own.

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Tales of Mist by Laura Suárez - Book Review

 

'Two fisher-woman cousins, a grief-stricken woman, a young fortune-teller and a spineless man live in a town in the deep north of Spain during the 30’s. Together, they belong to a fantastic world where the paranormal clashes with prewar realism. Darkness and death are the links that make and unmake the short stories in this book, each inspired by the experiences of the author’s family. These tales ring true enough to be the legends and beliefs of any European coastal town: they speak of a difficult land in a time before electricity or roads, when people entertained each other with tales of mist and ghosts. This is the first work of a young designer, halfway between a collection of Grimm fairy tales and the magical terror of Pan’s Labyrinth.'

Tales of Mist is a new graphic novel written and drawn by Laura Suárez, filled with short stories handed down to her from her grandmother. The book takes the old folk tales that her grandmother grew up with and presents them as short horror stories, and it works so, so well. 

The book has a few short stories in them, each of which seems to deal with various themes of Spanish folktales, tying into fears of the time they came from, and a lot of them connected strongly to the religious nature of the country.

'The Santa Compana' tells the story of a fisher-woman and her cousin, a young woman who was one of the most beautiful women in their village. One day the two of them are walking through the woods together when they see a strange procession of shadowy figures. The narrator runs away, leaving her cousin to face these figures alone. When her cousin returns changed, she has to face the prospect that the ghostly Santa Compana are real.

'The Devil' sees a young man travelling with a local priest to assist a priest with two young women who has been accused of being possessed. This dark story has some really unsettling visuals, particularly when the young women begin whispering things to the man from inside their locked boxes, their words snaking and dripping across the pages.

'The Vidoiro' follows a young man when he begins seeing strange visions and ghostly figures after his grandmother dies. The story unfolds slowly over a number of years, and it keeps you on your toes as you try to figure out what's going on and just what is haunting him.

Thanks to the dark black and white artwork from Suárez the book instantly feels creepy, and she's able to convey a lot of atmosphere in its relatively short number of pages. The stories on their own would certainly be creepy, but with this style of artwork they work in concert to really amp up the feeling of oppression and tension, making the stories shine.

If I have on criticism of the book, however, it's that its too short. We get several stories in this collection, and they're all great, but I found myself reading through the whole thing quite quickly, and was just left feeling like I'd not had enough. This is a good criticism to have of something though, as it's always better to end up wanting more of something than feeling like a books overstayed its welcome.

Fans of horror will really enjoy this book, and its unique look and stories that aren't as well known will definitely make it stand out from other horror graphic novels vying for your attention.

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Belle: Oath of Thorns by Dave Franchini - Book Review

 

'After her life was recently turned upside down, things have finally begun to settle for Anabelle "Belle" DiMarco. Now, working with the organisation known as C.H.I.P. she has more allies than she has ever had in her war against the beasts who threaten mankind. But, with her new allies comes a new mission, and the price she will be asked to pay may not be worth the cost. Get ready to be pulled back into Belle's world as she learns more secrets of her family and is put to the

test in this new limited series, Belle: Oath of Thorns!'

It's been at least a decade since I've seen a Xenoscope book, so I'd kind of forgotten that the company does a lot of re-imagined fairy tales, and it took me a moment to realise that of course the Belle here refers to Belle from Beauty and the Beast. That being said, even with the knowledge I didn't expect this book to go the way it did.

Belle: Oath of Thorns follows Anabelle 'Belle' DiMarco as she continues to work with the paramilitary group C.H.I.P., helping with their mission to track down and neutralise monsters across the globe. In exchange for her assistance the group has agreed to try to help cure Belle's brother of the curse that has transformed him into a monstrous beast.

Despite being a later volume of the series the book fills you in quite quickly on the things that I'd missed, and important information that I needed to understand who everyone was, and their relationships with each other were explained in plenty time enough that I never felt like I was a set behind, or that the book wasn't accessible because I hadn't read any of the series prior. This was a good thing for myself, but as I'd never read it before I can't say if these segments would drag for anyone who's familiar with the series, or whether these recaps provide any more information that they'd usually have. But as a new reader they proved indispensable.

The central plot of the book, of Belle being set up by Otts to be killed off whilst she is able to steal the curse that is afflicting Alex so that she could weaponise it doesn't always make sense, and there are a lot of moments that don't quite hold together once you start to really look at it. For example, why is Belle sent to fight Medusa and her daughters in the hopes that it will lead to her death rather than Otts just simply killing Belle whilst she had her in her secret base. There's a moment where Belle is drugged unconscious, and would have provided the perfect opportunity to kill her or keep her locked up.

There also seems to be a lot of coincidences that become quite vital to solving the plot too, such as Belle's father just happening to turn up right at the perfect moment to save her life, and to help her get back into C.H.I.P. to save her friends. And there's the fact that Candlestick was given a distress signal to use decades before that's not only still useful, but manages to get picked up without any issue. These might not be huge things, but when the plot hinges on them they seem a bit incredulous at times, and leaves you wondering just how Belle would have saved the day without this outside help turning up right when she needed it the most.

There's some stuff to like in this book though, the action is entertaining, and the plot does have some interesting moments, despite the weird coincidences and the almost shoehorning in of names and themes from Beauty and the Beast. Fans of the series will definitely enjoy the book, new readers will probably find stuff to like, even if it doesn't set your world on fire.

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The Stars of History: Marilyn Monroe by Bernard Swysen - Book Review

 

'Marilyn Monroe, a name known to every generation! Whether sublime, touching, or pathetic, she personified the fantasies of the secret world of Hollywood. But behind the glittering myth was a woman whose life was anything but charmed. It is this singular life, from her turbulent childhood, via her tumultuous love life and her proximity to the highest spheres of society, to her tragic final days, that the authors have retraced here in vivid detail. Full of humour, the “Stars of History” collection offers a fresh new look at the legends of cinema.'

Marilyn Monroe is a name that pretty much everyone will recognise; even if you couldn't name a single film she'd ever been in you know who she is. But one thing that I realised when I came to reading this book was that really, I knew nothing about her. Her life was nothing like I was expecting, especially her early years, and Stars of History: Marilyn Monroe manages to condense her story down in a manageable way.

I've read another of this series before, Stars of History: Charlie Chaplin, and found that that book covered the career of Chaplin more than it did his personal life, but in this book that seems to be flipped somewhat. A large section of the book is given over to Marilyn as a young woman, when she was still just Norma Jean, trying to make her way through a difficult childhood. We start to get inside her head a little, and focus on the emotional difficulties that she faced.

Even when the book moves forward through time and she becomes a famous movie star we focus less on her career and the roads she made as a star, and instead focus on what effect that had on her as a person. We see hoe frustrated she was at not getting the roles she wanted, and how that went on to effect her mental health and her behaviour.

The book doesn't sugar coat the difficulties that Marilyn faced, and makes sure that we see how these issues impacted her. We don;t just get a hand-wave saying 'this thing made her job on the set difficult', but instead we see her at home, suffering and saddened because of what's happening. This book really hammered home that despite her wealth and fame she was still just a regular person, one who can suffer just like you and me.

However, there are a few issues that I had with the book, though this mainly comes down to my not feeling it was long enough. I wanted more pages, in part so that some of the gorgeous artwork from Christian Paty could have more room and been showcased more, but also so that we could have slowed down a bit and spent more time with these people, rather than rushing from one major event to another. These books are great for giving you a broad overview of a person's life, but can sometimes feel like they're moving at breakneck speed, and that was certainly the case here at times.

This book won't completely satisfy your craving to learn more about Marilyn Monroe, and I think if you're anything like myself you'll come away wanting to read a bigger book all about her to be able to spend more time on the little details this book sometimes has to move past quickly; however, it will give you a really good overview of her life, and leave you knowing a good deal about her. This is probably the perfect gateway book if you want to know more about this figure from history, but aren't sure if you want to pick up a huge book about her.

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Aviator by Jean-Charles Kraehn - Book Review

'1917, East Africa. A German pastor—also a doctor, and married to a Frenchwoman—teaches his son Josef to fly the Albatros biplane he uses to visit his rural patients. But the war raging in Europe has spread to Africa, where the Allies are fighting the Germans in their various colonies. Against this backdrop—and strictly against his father’s wishes—Josef dreams of flying the nest, and makes a decision that will have terrible consequences…'

Aviator is the latest graphic novel that spins out of the pages of Tramp, this time focusing on the character of 'Hard-Knock' Tanguy, a grizzled pilot who was taking part in the First Indiochina War. In this book we go back to his teenage years, to when he was growing up in East Africa during the First World War.

When Tanguy is asked about his past by a young navy commander, but seems to dodge the question, however, a few days later when the commander is getting ready to ship out he receives a package, a journal from Tanguy, filled with the answers to the that question, as well as photographs from his past.

The diary takes us back to 1917 East Africa, which would later become Tanzania, where Tanguy was then simply Josef Schafer, son of doctor and preacher Lothar Schafer. Over the course of the book we discover that Josef had grown up in a rather strict, religious home, yet was afforded some freedoms, such as learning how to fly his fathers plane. A great pilot from a young age, Josef fell in love with flying, and would accompany his father in his work just so that he could get the chance to fly.

One of these tasks was taking his father to the Becker farm, where he would meet Silke Beckert, the young wife of the much older Klaus. Silke is obviously taken with the young Josef, and openly flirts with the young man, trying to encourage him to stay and help fix their tractor, thanks to his knowledge of engines. Both Klaus and Lothar notice this situation brewing, and Joesf receives a stern talking to, whilst Silke receives a black eye. Despite this, the two of them still try to steal some time together, and when Josef is sent to the farm for a few days to fix the tractor the two of them are caught sleeping together.

Josef is whipped by his father, and locked away in a small room for days to think about what he's done; but when he learns that Silke is dead something inside of him snaps. He decides to steal his fathers plane and take revenge on Klaus, before setting out to go and find his uncle, who's a part of the army so that he can lend his flying expertise to the war effort.

This event is clearly a major turning point for the character, and it's really the moment when he matures into a man. Not because he's finally slept with a woman, but because he's chosen to break away from his father and pursue his own life. Sadly, things are rarely that simple, and this is just the beginning of a series of events that would lead to a number of deaths, and a change to Josef's relationship with his father than can't be undone.

Aviator proved to be more interesting than I was expecting, and I quickly came to like Josef as a character. He's a passionate young man, one who feels a strong sense of right and wrong, and believes it's his duty to stick by those principals, even if that means that he comes into conflict with his father; who he sees as being stubborn and behind the times.

The book also has a more interesting location for a story that involves World War One than a lot of stories have, focusing on the conflict in Africa, rather than the one in France and Europe that tends to be more common. Not only does this give readers a more of an interesting setting, but it really showcases the artwork by Erik Arnoux and Chrys Millen, who have managed to create so truly beautiful scenes, especially when you have the characters flying above the African countryside and can see so much wonderful beauty and detail in panels.

This is a book that's going to appeal to fans of Kraehn's other work, particularly those that like Tanguy's character in his appearance in Tramp. But I think that this is a book that anyone can pick up and read. It's got drama and action, it takes readers to a time and place that they might not be familiar with, and it tells an interesting story with engaging characters. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what happens in later volumes, as Josef has a very interesting story.

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MusicalSplaining – 12 Days of Podmas

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

2020 has been something of a mixed year for musicals. On the one hand, Hamilton coming to Disney+ means that millions of people were able to experience one of the most popular musicals of the last decade, and there are so many more fans of it, but Covid has resulted in theatres having to close, and there are many shows that have been hit hard, some of which may struggle to return to the big stage. This makes 2020 a particularly brave year to start a podcast about musical theatre, but adversity can breed creativity, and so in the face of no theatres MusicalSplaining was born.

Billed as a podcast for ‘people who love musicals (and also for people who hate musicals)’, the two hosts come at the subject from very different angles. One of the hosts, YouTuber and New York Times best selling author Lindsay Ellis, is a big fan of theatre, and has been to many shows; on the other hand, her co-host, author and illustrator Kaveh Taherian, really doesn’t like them.

Together the two of them will go through some of the biggest names in musical theatre, and Lindsay will attempt to find a show that Kaveh will actually enjoy. Thanks to the aforementioned closure of theatres there are only a handful of times where Lindsay and Kaveh were able to see a live show before lockdowns came into effect, but thanks to some theatre recordings they’ve been able to carry on the podcast even in these trying times.

They cover the ‘original stage musical’ Cats (as well as the abhorrent 2019 film), The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, and The King And I, as well as some newer shows that have been spawned by popular films and bands, like Beetlejuice, Frozen, and Spongebob. Not only do they go through what they loved and loathed about each of these musicals, but will give you some interesting insight into how the shows came into being, awards they’ve won, and what the public generally thought about them.

MusicalSplaining might not be the show for everyone, just as musical theatre isn’t for everyone, but – as listeners discover over the course of the podcast – even someone who absolutely hates musical theatre can have a good time with some shows. That the sheer diversity and variety of the medium means that there’s something out there that anyone will like means that maybe this podcast might just be worth a listen. It might not make you fall in love with musical theatre, but it could help you discover something that you end up really enjoying.

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