Monday, June 5, 2017

70s French Sci-fi comics and Valerian

70s French Sci-Fi comics and Valerian


This July will see the release of the sci-fi film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, produced and directed by Luc Besson and starring Dane DeHaan as the titular character, and Cara Delevingne as Valerian's sidekick Laureline.

Valerian was created by the writer Pierre Christin and the artist Jean-Claude Mézières in the French comic book magazine Pilote in 1967. The character became very popular and went on to regularly appear in albums de bandes dessinees (Franco-Belgian comic books) until 2010.


One of the Valerian comics was translated into English and published in Heavy Metal magazine in 1981 as "Valerian: Time-Space Agent: The Ambassador Of The Shadows", which is where and when I first became familiar with the franchise.


A very good essay on Valerian and other French sci-fi comics published during the 70s as albums desbandes dessinees, or as serials in comic book magazines such as Pilote and Pif, is available at this website. The essay, by Avi Abrams, indicates just how groundbreaking the artwork was, and its influence on sci-fi worldwide. For for example, Abrams points out how Mézières' artwork was a major source of inspiration for the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

Judging by the trailer, it looks like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets will stay true to the 'Gallic' sensibilities of the comics, and avoid being reworked into an American-style sci-fi film. 

However, given that the Valerian comics relied more on satiric humor, political commentary, and a large cast of cutesy aliens, rather than the frenetic, violent action that defines American sci-fi movies, it remains to be seen how U.S. audiences will respond to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.......... 

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Saucer Attack !

Saucer Attack !
by Eric Nesheim and Leif Nesheim
Kitchen Sink Press, 1997



Saucer Attack ! (128 pp) was published by Kitchen Sink Press in 1997.

The book was inspired by the large collection of 1950s toys and memorabilia collected over the years by the lead author and Madison, Wisconsin resident Eric Nesheim. With his son Leif recruited as a co-author, Nesheim wrote Saucer Attack as a homage to a memorable era in 50s pop culture in the U.S.
At 7 1/2 x 10 inches, this is not a coffee table book, nor even an 'art' book per se; but it is a quality book, with glossy paper and very good reproductions. Kitchen Sink Press always took care with quality of their books.

'Saucer Attack! has ten chapters, organized in rough chronological order, starting with the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast by Orson Wells, and the increasing prominence of aliens and their spaceships in the Pulp Era of sf. 

A subsequent chapter covers the signal event of the Flying Saucer Craze, businessman Kenneth Arnold's observation of flying saucers near Mt Rainier, Washington, in June 1947, which led to the explosion of interest in flying saucers that was a hallmark of the 50s and early 60s. 
Remaining chapters deal with Flying Saucer culture in movies, television, print media, toys, and comics.

The Nesheims and their collaborators in the pop culture collector community have an impressive display of memorabilia within the pages of 'Saucer Attack !' Baby Boomers are sure to remember at least some of these items from their childhood days.


For me, it's seeing media from the classic TV show The Invaders that revives long-dormant memories.........I was only a kid at the time I watched it in the mid-60s, and I only have vague impressions of those few episodes I saw, but they made a lasting impression on me.
Interestingly, the flying saucer design used in The Invaders originated not with the show's production team, but in the memoirs of pioneering UFOlogist George Adamski (1891 - 1965), who in December 1952 released what he claimed was a photograph he had taken of an actual UFO (below). 

Detractors scoffed that Adamski had simply repurposed some light bulbs and a surgical lamp......but True Believers in Flying Saucers held firm to the legitimacy of Adamski's claims. Needless to say, 'Saucer Attack' covers Adamski and other individuals who, in the 50s and 60s, paved the way for the 'contactee' and 'abductee' narratives that have become an integral part of pop culture.


Scanning the books and comics and magazines showcased in the pages of "Saucer Attacks' will surely trigger some degree of acquisitiveness on the part of the reader. However, many of the pop culture artifacts on display are rare, and getting rarer, with each passing year, and thus getting quite expensive as a result. 

All I can advise is that if, in your trips to used bookstores, or your examination of the boxes of older comics stored under the shelves in your local comics shop, you come upon some back issues of Western / Gold Key's UFO Flying Saucers, or Dell's The Outer Limits, or Eando Binder's Menace of the Saucers, you may want to grab them.......... 


Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Ramthar

Ramthar
by Mike Deodato Sr. (story) and Mike Deodato Jr. (art)
Caliber Comics, 1996


The Brazilian comics father-son team of the Deodatos, Mike Sr and Mike Jr, first produced this post-apocalyptic sci-fi tale in the 80s. US publisher Caliber Comics released it in English in 1996.

As with Mike Deodato's other sci-fi comic from the 80s, Fallout 3000, with 'Ramthar', he takes the graphic art techniques used in the black-and-white comic magazines of the 70s and adds his own unique style.



Sunday, May 28, 2017

The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad

The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad
by Alan Grant and John Wagner (story) and Ian Gibson (art)
Marvel Graphic Novel, 1990


'The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad' (49 pp) was published by Marvel in 1990.

Alan Grant and John Wagner were veteran comics writers, having done memorable work for 2000 AD and a number of U.S. publishers, when they teamed up to write this humor-centered parody of the 'Dungeons and Dragons' storyline.


I won't disclose any spoilers, save to say that the plot involves your usual fantasy world (Shadow-Earth) and your usual fantasy kingdom (Haven) under assault by the hordes of an evil wizard (Toadthrax).


It transpires that Eric, the Prince of Haven, is obliged to flee for his life across most of the World. His goal is the land of Torbeck, where he will be given sanctuary. Accompanying Eric in his flight are his supermodel mother, Queen Jade; the barbarian warrior Quanah; knight of the ream Sir Hakkem; and apprentice sorcerer Genghis Grimtoad. A worthy company of heroes, but also a target for the malevolent sorcery of Toadthrax................


I'm not a big fan of fantasy humor and parody, but Grant and Wagner's story is content to insert the gags and jokes in a mild way that doesn't strain the reader's patience.

Where 'The Chronicles of Genghis Grimtoad' shines is with Ian Gibson's artwork. Gibson, another 2000 AD alumnus, uses a quasi-psychedelic range of colors in his painted artwork for this graphic novel. The color separations are outstanding for a comic of this era. 

The verdict ? While I can't say that 'Grimtoad' is a title you need to rush out and buy, if you happen to see it for sale for $10 or less at your used bookstore or comics shop, it's worth picking up.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Book Review: Quest for Lost Heroes

Book Review: 'Quest for Lost Heroes' by David Gemmell

4 / 5 Stars

‘Quest for Lost Heroes’ first was published in 1990; this Ballantine / Del Rey mass market paperback (291 pp) was published in July, 1995, and features cover artwork by Luis Royo.

QFLH is the fourth book of the so-called ‘Drenai Saga’. The books are loosely linked, so it’s not necessary to have read the preceding volumes to understand the backstory to this entry:

Nadir raiders attack an isolated settlement in the country of Gothir, slaughtering most of its people and carrying off its young women to be sold into slavery at a forthcoming auction. Among the abductees is Ravenna, the beloved of Kiall, a young man who survives the raid.

Refusing to consign Ravenna to a wretched and miserable life as the concubine of a Nadir nobleman, Kiall travels to the capital of Gothir, there to ask the Earl of Talgithir to send a force of armed men to recover the captives.

Rebuffed by the Earl, a desperate Kiall turns to the eponymous band of Heroes for aid. 


These are Chareous, reserved and contemplative, a master swordsman….. Beltzer the Axeman, a hulking, foul-tempered man with very bad personal hygiene……..and Finn and Maggrig, accomplished archers and boon companions (wink wink) who have retired from society to live together in a cabin (wink wink) in the remote wilderness.

All four of the Heroes earned their laurels 15 years previously, at the siege of the fortress of Bel-Azar, where they alone survived a pitched battle with the Nadir hoards. However, the passing of the years, and the fading of their fame, have been unkind to the Heroes, who are struggling to find purpose in a time of uneasy peace……. a time in which heroes are no longer needed.

More out of a sense of bored frustration than a dedication to the ways of chivalry, the Heroes agree to accompany Kiall and rescue his beloved. This, however, is no small feat, for their journeys will take them through the realms of darkness, where all manner of otherworldly evils assemble…..and even if they should survive those trials, the company will be forced to venture into the heartland of the Nadir kingdom……and a confrontation with Jungir Khan, its psychopathic ruler…….

‘Quest’ follows the standard approach David Gemmell took to crafting his fantasy novels: injecting a note of sober-minded realism into the narrative. In this case, the heroes of myth are shown to be vulnerable to decidedly un-heroic fears and depressions; their status as heroes derives not from their fame, but from their willingness to confront, and rise above, their human foibles.

The 2010s are an era in which fantasy novels are getting more and more bloated; so much so, that they are stretching the limits of paperback printing and binding technologies. For example, the latest novels from Brian Sanderson (of ‘Mistborn’ fame) are The Way of Kings (1280 pp) and Words of Radiance (1328 pp), the first two volumes in a projected 10 - volume series called 'The Stormlight Archive'. 


In comparison, ‘Quest’ is an example of a straightforward and entertaining heroic fantasy read. This one is worth getting.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Gotterdammerung Part Two

Gotterdammerung
Part II
Script by Budd Lewis, art by Isidro Mones
from Eerie No. 101, June 1979


Part one is available here.

This rockin' sockin' space adventure kicks into high gear with some intense battles, and the introduction of 'General Daniel Nightshadow'....?!  Only in the 70s..........

Despite the rather decrepit state of the copy of Eerie from which I made these scans, Mones's art remains eye-catching, almost forty years after it first appeared.