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Whats everyone reading?

Started by Paul faplad Finch, 30 March, 2009, 10:04:36 PM

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sheridan

Quote from: TordelBack on 05 January, 2017, 04:15:51 PM
It places you not only in Gull's head, but in (the character) Abberline's, and in Moore's, and makes you utterly sick of the prurience and sensationalism that made these pathetic tragedies into an industry.

Unfortunately that sensationalism is still with us.  A museum purporting to be celebrating the women of the East End of London in the past, present and future turned out to be a Jack the Ripper cash-in when it opened in 2015.

Mardroid

Quote from: sheridan on 05 January, 2017, 09:19:57 PM
Unfortunately that sensationalism is still with us.  A museum purporting to be celebrating the women of the East End of London in the past, present and future turned out to be a Jack the Ripper cash-in when it opened in 2015.

I remember going on a London Ghost Walk a couple of years back.* The guy taking us around also informed us there was a Ripper tour. While I will admit a part of me was curious, it suddenly hit me that at the end of the day this is a notorious serial killer who destroyed and ruined lots of lives. Would we be doing these tours around more recent murderers? (Actually, some might if they could. Mores the pity.) I guess people see time as a buffer, but those people were no less real. But I'd be lying if I said part of me wasn't still a bit curious to check out those places around Whitechapel, etc.

Concerning the notes- I read From Hell a few years back. I do remember checking the notes quite often, but I can't remember if I did it for everything in that section. While I do find checking notes, etc, interesting I think if I had to do it constantly, that might have put me off.

*It was interesting enough, but it would have been more interesting if we could have gone into the haunted properties, I think. But as they probably had people living there (or unliving there woooOOOooo) I guess it's understandable why they didn't do that. It was mainly an excuse to tell ghost stories outside various houses, which to be fai,r is not a bad thing.

Bolt-01

I know I'm horrendously behind the zeitgeist here, but I'm just starting 'The girl with the Dragon tatoo' on kindle...

Darren Stephens

Talking of being behind, just read 'Bounty on Bar-Kooda', by John Wagner and Cam Kennedy. Stunning art and a cool story that could well have replaced Boba Fett with Judge Dredd. 😁
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Mardroid

This could go on the comics Megathread, but as these are graphic novels, I'll include them here:

Grandville and Grandville Mon Amour

I think I read the first over a year ago. I picked the second up ath the LSCC for a great price*, but I only got round to reading it in the early hours of this morning when I couldn't sleep. I recently reread the first collection over the past couple of days to prepare (my mind is a sieve) and it was good as ever.

Both collections are lovely stuff. Lovely art. Great detective story/thriller tales** and a very interesting sort of alternate history steam-punk world with anthropomorphic characters.

There's some very amusing gags on the page too, although I'm sure some passed me by. [spoiler]The suggestion that the Tin-tin adventures might be the opium fueled dreams of an minor character (an anthropomorphic dog called Snowy no less) made me chuckle in the first book. [/spoiler] And on reading the sequel I was amused to note [spoiler]that the young humanoid cat lady who got murdered at the start had a pet regular cat. And then there was the Hansel and Gretel gag with Detective Ratzi and the ... rats. Heh.[/spoiler]  I hadn't noticed before that the anthropomorphic animals and regular animals lived side by side in this world.

I highly recommend these, although I'm sure many of you have read them already, and are probably further ahead than I am. I noted that there are apparently paperback versions online too, which surprised me. I'm usually quite happy to get a paperback as a cost saving alternative, but I think I'll stick with the hardbacks in this case. That pseudo-Victorian binding just fits these volumes to my mind.

I highly recommend these, if you haven't read them already.

* I actually have two versions of Grandville Mon Amour. I ordered one from a charity site months earlier which was originally surplus library stock. On arrival, I discovered it was the German translation. I requested an English language replacement if they had it, but they never replied. As they presumably sold the book to raise money for their charity, I didn't push it. If I ever learn German, it might be an interesting exercise going through the book. Heh.

**And they are each self contained stories, graphic novels in the true sense of the word rather than logically grouped collections. (Not a criticism of the latter, they're both great.)

Mardroid

I was a little surprised to see a living breathing Emperor Napoleon in the first book. I understood that this was a world where the French defeated the British, so I guess Napoleon lived a more healthy life with better medical care, or just never got stomach cancer, in this world. That's assuming he wasn't poisoned as some have suggested. I still figured he would have preceded the Victorian (well technically not Victorian, as there is no Queen Victoria in this world as Britain is a republic, but it's that era) by some margin.

On checking the dates, I see how wrong I was. If Napoleon had not died at the time he did in our world, he would have been around 68 at the time Queen Victoria took the throne. So it's quite reasonable that he would be an old lion in this tale.

BPP

This afternoon I polished off Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter by Rennie / Beeby / Trevallion / Campbell and what a sumpteous treat it was. Minus a point for the reproduction being very dark in colouration (something I think the first Monsterology suffered from too) which really hid too much of Trevallion's lines but the story and storytelling from all was top notch and very 2000AD (if the creators don't mind me saying). 10/10 and I'd even buy it again if the colour levels were given a re-examination.
If I'd known it was harmless I would have killed it myself.

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Bad City Blue

Enjoying the new Hawkeye comic with the lady Hawkeye and also the Hawkeye centric Occupy Avengers. I'm not a mad Hawkeye fan but these are very good, especially the kate Bishop one.

Also liking Jessica Jones, Old Man Logan and Red Team(Ennis)
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Mikey

Quote from: Mardroid on 05 January, 2017, 02:46:53 PM
I like the majority of Alan Moore stuff I've read, but I found From Hell a real trudge.

I liked the art, and the main plot/story itself was interesting, but there were long dialogue sequences [spoiler](particularly when the two fellas are driving that hanson or coach, through London taking the sites)[/spoiler] which really bored me.

From Hell is, in my humble opinion, one of The Best Things Ever Written. I first read it a chapter a day without reference to the notes and the carriage sequence you mention was truly one of the stand out, goosebump inducing sequences for me. Still makes me shudder when I think about it. The quiet righteousness and apparent calm with which Gull explains essentially the divine inevitability of what's about to unfold is truly chilling for me.

On a not unrelated note, I'm unsurprisingly still working through Jerusalem by the hairy one. It's definitely moved up into the Gormenghast end of my internal league table of books and shares some similar themes. It was the Gormenghast books got me interested in the influence of place and social status and expectation as being a key part of what it means to be human, then I read Voice of the Fire and realised Alan Moore was probably living somewhere in my head.

Anyhoo, Jerusalem is utterly fantastic.
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CalHab

Quote from: Bad City Blue on 09 January, 2017, 09:50:21 AM
Enjoying the new Hawkeye comic with the lady Hawkeye and also the Hawkeye centric Occupy Avengers. I'm not a mad Hawkeye fan but these are very good, especially the kate Bishop one.

I'm quite tempted by Occupy Avengers. David F. Walker's "Shaft" was excellent and I'm keen to try his other stuff.

The Adventurer

Finished Neal Stephenson's SeveNeves. Kind of a fascinating tale of apocalypse with all the science and physics jargon I love in hard sci-fi. It's structure is kinda odd with first two 'books' acting as background/prologue to a much lighter  novella 'book 3'. It was good overall.

Next up, Legends of the Galactic Heroes Book 2 for my military sci-fi fix.

THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Hawkmumbler

Quote from: The Adventurer on 09 January, 2017, 03:44:03 PM
Next up, Legends of the Galactic Heroes Book 2 for my military sci-fi fix.
Aaawww man I'be still got to get around to these.

jacob g

Just read another two Black Mask Studios paperbacks. Toa Tag Riot and The Disciples.

Toe Tag Riot was everthing you can expect from miniseries about punk rock band cursed to become zombies on stage. Zombies who decide that only human meat they can eat comes from dead bodies of nazis and homophobes. This is just little silly miniseries from a guy who gave us Liberator. It was ok.

But other series was a little problem for me - The Disciples. Space horror who works better as a adventure miniseries than horror. The pacing is problem, serious one. This story works fine when it's about exploring the unknown, when story shifts for horror everything falls apart. It's too fast, jumpscares just don't work on page. Sad because art's nice and I hope to see more Chris Mitten sci-fi artwork in future.
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Mardroid

V for Vendetta

I got it from the library years ago and enjoyed it a lot. Last year I bought it. (I think at LSCC but I'm not sure.)

It reads just as well now as it did then. Possibly better. Some of Moore's finest work, I think. I think I might prefer* it to Watchmen, although to be fair, they're very different stories.

*Originally I said 'rate' instead of 'prefer' but I don't think that's right. I rate them both highly as they each have their merits in different ways. Enjoyment isn't quite the same thing, though. From Hell for example, is justifiably rated highly, but I didn't enjoy it very much. At least when I first read it. Whether my reaction would be the same now, is another thing.

Tony Angelino

I haven't read V for Vendetta in years.

I originally read the first few strips in Warrior but I didn't get reading the whole thing until DC released it as a 10 issue series in the late 80's early 90s. My general recollection of it is that it started brilliantly but gradually faded and that I was disappointed with the ending. I also have the same feeling regarding Marvelman/Miraceman which Moore began at the same time.

I could also say the same about Watchmen which I thought had a weak ending and I can see why they changed it for the film.