The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
- Monstrously exciting read
- Thrilling time in The Reluctant Assassin
- Grant Morrison's Happy! saved by flying blue horse
| Posted: 03 May 2013 08:49 AM PDT City In The Desert: The Monster Problem WHAT does a monster fighter do when there are no more monsters to fight? That's the unique dilemma that courageous bounty hunter Irro finds himself in. He and his assistant Hari (who looks like a female version of the Monkey King from Journey To The West) have made a good living doing what they love – hunting monsters and selling them for cash. However, things change after a mysterious religious sect called The Way of the Sacred Peace introduces a way to get rid of the monsters forever, putting the two out of a job. Irro and Hari soon discover, however, that no more monsters does not necessarily mean no more problems. The two are called back to action after a strange disorder afflicts their city of Kevala, transforming its citizens and even turning Irro and Hari against each other. City In The Desert: The Monster Problem is a solid graphic novel, an entertaining tale of adventure and friendship containing both humour and drama. Published by Archaia Entertainment, the novel is lettered by Deron Bennett, and written and illustrated by first-time creator Moro Rogers. The California-based Rogers' debut work is impressive, managing to be well-paced, compelling and simple all at the same time. Her characters are memorable: Irro is a charismatic, courageous monster hunter who is occasionally too confident for his own good – a hat and whip away from Indiana Jones. Hari, on the other hand, is passionate yet brooding, her identity issues forming the emotional heart of the story. The dynamic between the two is well played, and I look forward to learning more about Hari's mysterious heritage in later volumes. The supporting characters are also fun, particularly Vanik, a cantankerous monster-oil merchant, as well as the sinister Darga, the leader of the Way. My favourite character, however, has to be Bok, Irro and Hari's mount – a bison-like creature with a detachable head! While Rogers' story can be read as a fun, monster-killing romp, The Monster Problem also explores themes of humanity and morality. To reveal more would spoil the story, but the graphic novel invites its readers to ask themselves: "If acting on negative emotions is part of being human, would failing to do so stop you from being human?" As The Monster Problem is the first volume in a series, its story is not resolved; indeed, it seems to serve mostly as an appetiser and an introduction to Rogers' world and her characters. Indeed, the world of Kevala seems to be an exciting place to visit, packed with sinister religious cults, thrill-seeking monster hunters, and weird spirit fountains. Readers may only get a glimpse of the land in this initial book, but Rogers drops many tantalising hints about Kevala's rich and interesting history throughout the story. Irro, for example, makes references to a previous rebellion where terrible acts were committed, to his monster-hunting parents as well. Hopefully, future volumes will expand on Kevala's fascinating background and resolve the monster problem in a more satisfying way. The Monster Problem's art, however, was slightly harder for me to appreciate. I am a fan of lush, detailed panels, and so it took me a while to warm to the book's simple, rough style. Rogers is fond of using bold, curved lines, resulting in many of her characters looking slightly cartoonish. At times, I felt as though I was flipping through a sketchbook rather than a finished graphic novel. Because of this, I think her novel could be particularly enjoyed by a younger audience. This does not mean, however, that the art is bad. Rogers seems to be a master of minimalism, managing to make her characters extremely expressive despite their simple appearances. I also liked the design of her monsters, with a particular highlight being a drooling, slack-eyed hyena monster Irro and Hari encounter in the middle of the novel. Rogers' novel is mostly coloured in grounded tones such as brown and grey, which perfectly capture the harsh, dry setting. All in all, the City In The Desert series promises to deliver a cracking good story, and while I am not that fond of the art, I look forward to its next volume, The Serpent Crown, which is due out soon. The previews show Irro fighting some sort of praying mantis-scorpion monster – doesn't that sound cool? City In The Desert: The Monster Problem is available at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC. |
| Thrilling time in The Reluctant Assassin Posted: 03 May 2013 08:48 AM PDT A master at writing for young adults begins a delicious new series. W.A.R.P. Book 1 – The Reluctant Assassin TIME travel stories are notoriously tricky to write because the author has to balance the plausibility of the concept with the momentum of the plot. Too much exposition on how the time travelling is done and the book risks getting boring; too little, and it starts feeling like an ill-thought-out plot device. Which is why Eoin Colfer's latest book, The Reluctant Assassin, is so fantastic: time travel is the device around which the plot hinges, but the concept is woven in so perfectly that you don't think twice about it. Famous for the Artemis Fowl series as well as books like The Wish List and The Supernaturalist, Colfer has proven himself time and again a master at writing for young adults, blending fantasy, adventure and humour in just the right amounts. The Reluctant Assassin is no exception. The novel is the first in a series called W.A.R.P., which stands for Witness Anonymous Relocation Programme, a top-secret witness protection programme by the FBI that hides people in the one place they can't be found – the past. Sounds foolproof, right? Far from it. The story begins in Victorian London, where an illusionist-turned-assassin named Albert Garrick and his young orphaned apprentice Riley are about to commit a murder. An unexpected series of events, however, get them tangled up with WARP, and Riley is transported through a neatly explained time-travelling device to the present day. Meanwhile, in our time, a precocious 19-year-old FBI agent named Chevron (Chevie) Savano is on a dead-end detail in London, as punishment for her impulsive behaviour on a previous mission in Los Angeles. Little does she realise that her boring posting is soon about to become a frantic chase not just around London, but through time – because it isn't just Riley who made it to the present, but the brilliant and bloodthirsty Garrick too, who intends to use his newly-acquired knowledge in all sorts of diabolical ways. Forced to partner up, Chevie and Riley must try their best to stay on Garrick's tail while keeping out of his way, as they zip back and forth from present day to 19th century London. Colfer's descriptive abilities are in top form, particularly his realisation of Riley's London. By the time he is done taking us through a sleazy criminals' den and a filthy slum, you can practically smell the sewage of the Dickensian city. Equally absorbing is Riley's awed reactions upon his introduction to the city in modern times. The Reluctant Assassin does not have the laugh-out-loud humour of the Artemis Fowl novels, though Colfer's wit still shines through in the dialogue and plot. Instead, the series seems to be adopting a darker tone, with vivid descriptions of grisly murders and the squalor of Victorian London. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the characterisation of Garrick. This master of disguise and sleight-of-hand is no bumbling bad guy, but rather, a chilling villain who is genuinely disturbing. Chevie and Riley, meanwhile, are both instantly likeable and share great rapport. Chevie's bravado and sarcasm, coupled with Riley's street smarts and old-school charm make them a delightful pair, with some of the best parts being when each is forced to adapt to a London from a different time. Part sci-fi, part cat-and-mouse adventure and part mystery, the story keeps you breathlessly engaged till the very end, and when you get there, you immediately wish there was more. Colfer leaves us with tantalising hints of the series' future. Here's hoping that we get to read it sooner rather than later. Win the bookHERE'S your chance to get your hands on The Reluctant Assassin, the first book in Eoin Colfer's thrilling new time-travel series called W.A.R.P. Penguin Books Malaysia has three copies of the book to give away – if you can prove yourself to be a true fan! To win, answer the following questions: 1. What does W.A.R.P. stand for? 2. Who are the two protagonists in The Reluctant Assassin? 3. If you had to hide in the past, which bygone era would you pick and why? (Answer in 50 words or less.) E-mail your answers to contest@penguinbooks.com.my, with "W.A.R.P. CONTEST" in the subject line. Remember to include your full name, age, phone number, address and e-mail address. This contest closes at midnight on May 19, 2013. |
| Grant Morrison's Happy! saved by flying blue horse Posted: 03 May 2013 08:46 AM PDT Grant Morrison's latest creator-owned project is a violent, almost sordid affair, saved by a flying blue horse. Happy! WHAT a weird book this is. It starts out as a violently hardcore, foul-mouthed crime story, and just when you think it is getting drearily predictable ... POOF! Say hello to Happy, the flying blue cartoon horse! Grant Morrison is a brilliant writer, there is no doubt about that. All-Star Superman remains one of the best Superman stories ever written. Ditto Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth for Batman. The Invisibles reads like a fascinating drug-addled trip through a psychedelic version of the 1980s, while his run on Animal Man is one of the most groundbreaking superhero comics ever written. However, Morrison is also the guy who came up with the sordid mess that is DC's Final Crisis, which ended in the so-called "death" of Bruce Wayne, and led into the awful Batman: The Return Of Bruce Wayne ... so yeah, he's not perfect. With Happy!, it's rather hard to pinpoint which side of Morrison is writing this. It's got hints of Joe The Barbarian's childlike innocence mixed up with some Invisibles trippiness, with a heavy dose of Mark Millar-esque hardcore gore and violence. There are times in this book when the only way you can describe what you've read is to use the phrase his protagonist uses when he sees Happy for the first time: "The f***?". Morrison's main man this time is a former dirty cop turned hitman called Nick Sax, "adrift in a stinking twilight world of casual murder, soulless sex, eczema and betrayal", according to the book's synopsis. After a hit goes wrong, Sax finds himself in a hospital with a bullet in his side, wanted by both the cops and the mob. At this point, the book was getting really, really dreary and depressing to read. Nothing seemed to be happening (besides a lot of swearing and people getting killed, of course), and Sax is so unlikable a character that it was becoming a chore just getting through the first few pages. Sure, he gets shot and ends up in the hospital, but I felt no sympathy whatsoever for him. In fact, I was hoping he'd die, just to make things interesting. Then, just when I was about to give up on the book, along came Happy the talking blue flying unicorn. It's hard not to like a comic book that has a flying blue unicorn called Happy, it really is. Not even when it's in a book where heads get blown off every other panel and the swear words seem to outnumber the polite ones. Happy turns out to be the bright blue ray of sunshine that helps turn this book around. To paraphrase him, Happy represents hope – all-singing, all-dancing hope – and is merely doing his best to "brighten up the old graveyard" while the rest of the characters continue on in their dreary, violent and extremely foul-mouthed way. The rest of the story seems almost incidental, as Sax goes on the run while struggling to deal with the fact that there is a flying blue horse talking to him, trying to convince him to save a little girl from a perverted Santa Claus. Having drawn the stellar Transmetropolitan, as well as the extremely violent Garth Ennis-penned The Boys, Darick Robertson is no stranger to comic book violence. His artwork here is everything you'd expect it to be – gory and graphically explicit, but strangely clean and expressive at the same time. However, it's the contrast between the gritty "real world" panels and the bright blue ball of Happy fluff that flits around within those panels that stood out the most for me. Sax could be blowing someone's head off in one panel, but when Happy shows up in the next, you just can't help but grin at the absurdity of it all. Perhaps that's what Morrison wants us to get out of this book. After all, with so much sex, violence and gore prevalent in graphic novels these days, sometimes all you need to help cheer you up is a talking blue flying horse named Happy. Happy! is available at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC. |
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