Comics

The Speech

~ Cheryl

Broadcast from the top of the TransAmerica Pyramid

Hear me, my X-Men. This message is reaching every known mutant in the world. Good, bad, friend, foe… whoever you are. We want every mutant left to know this: the X-Men are very much alive. And San Francisco is now a mutant sanctuary. Any of you – and your families or loved ones – are invited to join us here and know safety and protection our kind has never known.

Scott Summers

And it makes perfect sense. There is no city in the world that would fit the role better, I think.

Comic News

~ Cheryl

I had two objectives in going to Isotope Comics yesterday. The first was to pick up Captain Britain #4. Paul appears to still be into the ADD scriptwriting thing, but I’m happy to forgive him because at the end of that issue he does something so utterly awesome that I’m now hoping there will be a wrap-up of the storyline before the end of the year so I can nominate something for the trial Graphic Story Hugo next year.

The other reason for popping in was to check out this X-Men move to San Francisco thing. There are now a gazillion different X-Men titles, so I asked the every-helpful James for advice. I ended up with a copy of Uncanny X-Men #500, which is the main scene-setter for the move, and Astonishing X-Men #26, which also features the main team. The former is written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, and suffers from the same weird scripting disorder that has afflicted Paul. Then again it also has the x-Men duking it out with Magneto in SF MOMA, so I can’t complain too much. The latter is scripted by Warren Ellis and is much more coherent. It also features some very interesting art by Simone Bianchi who I think I rather like.

As to the team, I think I have a lot of catching up to do. It entirely makes sense that Warren could just buy a huge chunk of Marin on which to build a new HQ. As to the whole Scott and Emma Frost thing, I have to admit that my jaw dropped. I had no idea. But the boy does look a lot more relaxed and happy these days, so maybe it is a good development.

And should you happen to be in The City next Saturday, Mark Millar and Tony Harris will be doing a signing and launch party for their rather interesting new series, War Heroes. More details of the event from the Isotope web site.

X-Men in San Francisco

~ Cheryl

Who knew? Not me. I gave up reading them after Chris Claremont did such awful things to Jean. But apparently everyone’s favorite mutants are now based at Starfleet Academy on the Marin headland. It makes a lot of sense. As this Chronicle article explains, San Francisco is the one place in the world where social outcasts can hope for a welcome.

So in coming plot lines we will see furious demonstrations in San Francisco because Barney Frank and the HRC say they might be able to swing enough votes to include transgender people in ENDA but including those weirdo muties would give Congress a fit.

Finncon Shout-Outs

~ Cheryl ~ 3 Comments

While I’m thinking about Finncon stuff, I want to make quick mention of some of the people I met there.

Firstly there are Johanna Koljonen and Nina von Rüdiger. These ladies are, collectively, Ms. Mandu, purveyors of fine Finnish feminist manga. I suspect that you’ll be hearing a lot more about them from me. In the meantime, here’s Nina’s web site.

Secondly there is Tanya Tynjälä who is a Peruvian science fiction writer living in Finland. I’m delighted to find someone who knows the Latin American SF scene very well, and I hope to meet a lot of new people with Tanya’s help. Her web site is in Spanish, French and Finnish.

Update: Language list corrected as per Jukka below.

London

~ Cheryl ~ 1 Comment

I’m here. It is warm and sticky. I have finally snagged copies of Captain Britain #2 and #3. What was I saying about Brian not being dead, Paul?

Side Effects

~ Cheryl

However good or bad the Watchmen movie might turn out to be, there is no doubt that there will be knock-on effects. GalleyCat notes that showing the Watchmen trailer before Dark Knight has resulted in a huge surge in sales for the original graphic novel – so much so that the book got to #3 on the Amazon best seller list. That, I think, is something to be happy about (and that includes you, Lucius).

UK Bathed in Sunshine, Few Casualties

~ Cheryl ~ 3 Comments

It was a remarkably nice day in London today, for a variety of reasons. Unaccountably, given that today was the first day of Wimbledon, the weather was excellent. As a result I spent much of the day sat in the roof garden at the Clutes’ talking about books with the assembled multitudes and actually getting sunburned. And there were multitudes as well, because John and Judith put on a little reception for those attendees at the recent Critics Masterclass who were still in the UK and didn’t have to rush off to work. I met Jonathan McCalmont for the first time, and discovered that he has a fine new idea for a blog – Fruitless Recursion specializes in “discussing works of criticism and non-fiction relating to the SF, Fantasy and Horror genres.” That one has gone straight into my Google Reader account.

I had an interesting conversation with Gary Wolfe and M. John Harrison about fan space at the end of books (as opposed to in the interstices of series) that deserves a much longer post when I have time.

The rest of the day was spent doing touristy things with Gary Wolfe, Karen Burnham and Karen’s husband, Curtis. I managed to go to Camden Market without buying anything. I have, however, picked up issue #1 of Paul Cornell’s new Captain Britain and MI:13 comic, and Sean Williams sequel to Saturn Returns.

Um, Paul. If the comic is called Captain Britain, no one is really going to believe that you’ve killed Brian off in issue #1, are they?

Space Aliens Invade Wales

~ Cheryl

And it is nothing to do with Doctor Who. The BBC reports that a police helicopter hovering near Cardiff airport spotted a UFO. The officers declined to give chase. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson later said:

it is certainly not advisable for police helicopters to go chasing what they think are UFOs

Absolutely not. That would be a job for MI:13.

Pullman Writes Comics

~ Cheryl

Today’s Independent has news of a new UK comic for kids, the first such venture in 25 years. One of the star features will be a strip by Philip Pullman, who seems to like the medium:

Philip Pullman told me that comics had the best bits of films and books.

The Indy’s review is written by 10-year-old Jacob Moreton who has a refreshingly cynical view of the mass media:

I am not really a big fan of comics. They have too many activities and free gifts that are just a way of advertising, and you only get one or two actual strips.

Thankfully Jacob finds that the new comic, called The DFC (which does not stand for Disgustingly Fragrant Cheese, no matter what Mr. Pullman might say) has more strips than average. Here’s hoping it does well and that one day it will have earned a place of honor in Crikey!

Update: Via Paul Cornell I learn that The DFC is available only by subscription. You can sign up here.

Dead Men’s Boots

~ Cheryl

Mike Carey has a nice set-up with the Felix Castor books and could, if he wanted, keep churning them out forever. Except he’s a rather more modern writer, and therefore he has a concept of story arc. Sooner or later we knew we’d fine out why London is suddenly full of the walking dead. With Dead Men’s Boots we know a bit more. Also Carey has upped the ante a little, and the more he does so the more Castor comes to sound like John Constantine. Here. for example, he’s having a chat with a demon:

“So how was your trip?” Moloch asked, in the same tone of metal grinding against bone.

I made a so-so gesture. “Too many Satanists,” I said.

He nodded sympathetically, but his smile showed way too many teeth to be reassuring. “Our little fifth column. Yes. If it’s any consolation, they all get eaten in the end.”

All in all, however, I much prefer Juliet to Etrigan.

Mike is a GoH at the Bristol Comics Expo. I hope I get a chance to meet him.