The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2013 03:12 AM PDT Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon I HAVE never been a big fan of Hawkeye. It just never made sense that a guy with a bow and arrow could stand his own alongside superheroes like Captain American, Iron Man, Wolverine, Thor and Hulk. However, thanks to the latest ongoing Hawkeye series, Clint Barton has now been elevated to my favourite Avenger currently. Hawkeye is probably one of the most perplexing Avengers ever. I mean, come on, the rest of the Avengers have (in Barton's own words): "armour, magic, super-powers, super-strength, shrink dust, grow rays, magic, healing factors..." Hawkeye? "I'm an orphan raised by carnies, fighting with a stick and a string from the Palaeolithic era," he muses, as he falls out of a highrise and onto a car, breaking his pelvis, ribs, and a dozen other bones in his body. The first story in this new graphic novel, My Life As A Weapon (which collects issues #1-#5 of the series) begins with Barton spending six weeks in hospital recovering from those injuries, which perfectly sets up the notion that this is not an immortal, indestructible superhero we're reading about – he's just a normal guy who happens to be pretty good at using a bow and arrow. What writer Matt Fraction has done with this book is put the emphasis on this more ordinary and mortal side of the character, thus making Clint Barton (not Hawkeye) the central focus of the story. Have you ever wondered what the Avengers do during their spare time, when they're not out er... avenging and saving the world? Thor would probably be back at Asgard drinking mead, super genius Bruce Banner would be back in the lab, and Wolverine has got a mutant school to run. But what does ordinary mortal Clint Barton do when he's not Hawkeye? Well, that is pretty much the premise of this entire series. It's the story of what Barton does when he is not being an Avenger. They might as well have called it Clint Barton instead of Hawkeye. However, if they had done that, they would have had to leave out the other pivotal cog in this great series. After all, Barton is not the only character to bear the name "Hawkeye" – the series also features Kate Bishop (of the Young Avengers) as his regular partner-in-crime during his off-duty activities, and the interaction between these two Hawkeyes is one of the best parts of this series. Fraction's writing here is more down to earth and creative than his other Marvel titles (he currently pens Marvel Now Fantastic Four and FF), giving Hawkeye a more human face and a warmer, more likeable and accessible character as well. Regular artist David Aja's (as well as Javier Pulido, who drew the two-issue The Tape story) artwork gives the series a very earthy and playfully cartoonish feel, which – combined with Fraction's smart dialogue and brilliantly structured plots – makes it one of the most fun and enjoyable series among Marvel's current roster of titles right now. Also, trust me when I say that it is one of the most re-readable books in the Marvel lineup. The pages are filled with some innovative storylines (a whole issue about Barton trying to sort out his trick arrows stands out in particular) and smart, amusing dialogue (an entire page is dedicated to a conversation in which Clint tries to explain to a neighbour of his that his superhero code name is Hawkeye, not HawkGUY); and even the occasional superhero cameo is given this light touch – later on in the series (in issue #06), Wolverine and Spider-Man discuss TV soap operas after a battle with AIM; and in the same book, Barton calls tech wiz Tony Stark in to help him hook up his ancient home cinema system and untangle the wires. Hawkeye doesn't feel like a superhero comic, because it's not. Sure, its main character is an Avenger, but unlike the heroic, invincible Hawkeye you see in the Avengers books, this version of Hawkeye is vulnerable, insecure, and a classic screw-up who has turned out to be my favorite Avenger yet. Get it, and read it. You won't regret it. |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2013 03:10 AM PDT THE graphic novels featured here are available at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC, and are also part of the bookstore's 12th anniversary "Meet a Good Book" promotion throughout April, in which walk-in customers will get a 20% discount on all featured titles (25% for Kinokuniya Privilege Card members), with purchase of another item. Other graphic novels included in this promotion include Costa Award-winning Dotter Of Her Father's Eyes; volume one of Marvel's All-New X-Men; Vertigo's apocalyptic period masterpiece The New Deadwardians; the massive Judge Dredd: The Complete Brian Bolland; Mark Millar's hard-hitting Superior; and Midnight Fisherman, by award-winning manga artist Yoshojiro Tatsumi. |
| Posted: 19 Apr 2013 03:09 AM PDT It's back to the future this week with a collection of sci-fi strips by some of the biggest names in today's comics scene. All-Star Future Shocks I MAY not be the best person to review this fourth graphic novel collection of some 50 Tharg's Future Shocks comic strips. I landed the gig thanks to an over-enthusiastic message to the coordinator of Worlds Of Wonder, which said, "PUH-LEEESE lend me this book when/if you get it!", when I first heard about it. Now, this was on account of the fact that I am a bit of a Gaimaniac – I'm not quite sure if that's an actual term, but for those currently scratching their heads, it means I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman, author of the groundbreaking Sandman series. There are only four of his stories here, but for comic fans – in particular those who follow Judge Dredd – the other names should be equal incentive to pick up this book. Among the writers featured in this collection are noted names like Grant Morrison, Alan Grant, Mark Millar, Peter Milligan and John Wagner. The artists, meanwhile, include people like Steve Dillon, Mike McMahon, Brian Bolland, Alan Davis, Will Simpson and John Hicklenton – all of whom have drawn or lettered titles that even a neophyte like myself has heard of. For those unfamiliar with the sci-fi comics scene, Tharg's Future Shocks is actually the graphic version of sci-fi short stories. Limited to around three to five pages on average, each strip tells its own self-contained story, all with some sort of interesting twist at the end. The stories themselves are mostly variations on standard sci-fi tropes, like first-time alien encounters, apocalyptic scenarios, artificial intelligences, mutant powers, genetic engineering and futuristic superheroes, among others. But don't worry if this sounds boring; unless you are a seriously jaded sci-fi reader, the visuals and text of these strips combine to elevate these short stories into interesting, and often darkly humorous, vignettes. The twists at the end of the stories – usually quite literally presented in the last couple of panels – were, for me, the best parts of the strips. And how can you not laugh when a futuristic Captain Ahab tries to lure in his hated space whale nemesis with what turns out to be a very powerful space whale mating call (Old Red)? The final panel where our futuristic Moby Dick tries to mount the Melville spaceship (a little tip of the hat there to original author Herman Melville) is priceless! Visual gags or easter eggs such as the Melville reference can be found in more than one of the strips. Look out for pages of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy in one of Gaiman's strips, and take note of the credits there as well. While some of the story ideas may seem a bit dated – the mind-control technology in Alec Trench – Zombie! comes to mind here – readers should note that these strips were produced across a range of years from 1977 to 2012. Published in the British weekly sci-fi comic 2000AD, these short strips actually served as a kind of testing ground for new artists and writers, many of whom have gone on to become big names in the comics world. Therefore, much of the work seen here is actually the earlier efforts of the famous names in the credits (the book's alien host Tharg would have you believe that they are actually just robots doing his bidding). This is actually the fourth collection of Tharg's Future Shocks strips; the first two being a collection of Alan Moore's work – Alan Moore's Shocking Futures (1986) and Alan Moore's Twisted Times (!987), and the third, The Best of Tharg's Future Shocks (2008). Those who have previously read the 2008 collection should note that there is some overlap with this one, as that book featured all the strips from Gaiman, Milligan and John Smith, as well as about half of Morrison's. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan