Clive Barker's Nightbreed: Volume 1 (2015)

Authors: Clive Barker / Marc Andreyko  |  Illustrator: Piotr Kowalski  |  Page Count: 112

"Midian calls to all of her children. No matter where we are..."

Given the choice, I’d rather have had a sequel novel than a prequel comic book, but a comic version of Nightbreed that's canon is better than nothing at all, I guess.

It’s a story set in the present, broken periodically with flashbacks to years before. To confuse matters, the 'present' is the year the film is set, so, yes, you'll need to have viewed the film prior to reading, and the flashbacks are from a number of different perspectives, each one telling the story of how a particular member of the collective lived prior to finding the safety of Midian.

I had a secret hope that the series would do what the film failed to do: flesh out the inner-workings of Midian and deepen the concerns of the creatures, warts and all beyond just: we may be ugly on the outside but humans are morally uglier on the inside. With that in mind, it begins badly. Presenting Peloquin as a kind of monstrous version of Wolverine was worrying. Thankfully, his story is just one of many spread out over the years with each era given its own visual look.

The histories continue in a similarly bland fashion until the end of issue three. Without going into detail, an unexpected element is introduced that may (fingers firmly crossed) turn out to be a pivotal happening further down the line. There are a number of different routes it could take and I'm guessing that most—if not all—of them end in bloodshed. The only question is whose blood; Natural or Nightbreed?

The cover art by Riley Rossmo is excellent but misleading. Only about half of those shown actually feature in the first volume. I didn't feel cheated because squeezing any more in would've made the story seem even more piecemeal than it already is, but it's worth mentioning, nonetheless, in case one of those pictured is your favourite and you were really hoping to find them inside.

The book collects together Clive Barker's Nightbreed issues 1-4 (of 12).

2½ learned behaviours out of 5

Dredd: Urban Warfare (2015)

Authors: Arthur Wyatt / Matt Smith  |  Illustrators: Henry Flint / Paul Davidson  |  Page Count: 96

'From the gleaming tower, he watches the sector burn.'

I rated Underbelly (2014) less than average on a comic book Dredd scale, but I was still planning on buying the second tie-in, a two-parter titled Uprise (2014), simply to show support for the franchise and keep hope alive for a second film. However, by the time I was ready to pony up the cash, details of Urban Warfare had already appeared online. Seeing as how it collects both the previously mentioned works and adds a third story, telling of Ma-Ma’s origins, it seemed the more logical choice to go for. Plus, it’s a hardcover. The three stories are:

01. Top of the World, Ma-Ma (2012)
A violent prologue to the Dredd movie (2012) that shows us a little of Ma-Ma's past, most of which was mentioned briefly in the film's script. It foreshadows certain events, too, which was a nice touch. It really is just a prologue, so don't expect anything more than that and it'll deliver the goods.

02. Underbelly (2014)
I read it again, but even with adjusted expectations my feelings towards it are unchanged. You can read the previous post HERE. The page size is returned to what it should've been, not the US comic size, and for that I'm grateful.

03. Uprise (2014)
Yes!  The best of the bunch. The story is less of a rehash of the film and more like something that would fit snugly into the comic. I realise they're two different aspects and should remain as such, but there's nothing wrong with attempting to meet the Megazine's standards.
There's a declaration of ownership from a sector within the Big Meg, a direct defiance of the system that Dredd represents. It's a threat that needs put to rest fast, lest it spread virus-like to other areas, so Dredd rolls in and busts heads.
It uses the 'riot happening alongside clue-uncovering' scenario, but it's done well and it doesn't wimp out. It also places itself firmly after the film by referencing something from it. It feels like an ongoing story, not just an adapted one.

I'm disappointed they chose to reuse the cover art of Underbelly. There’s no shortage of artists waiting in line, willing to draw Dredd. They could've at least used one of the lesser-known variant covers that were featured on the Uprise single issues. Grud knows variants aren't of use for anything else.

3 pacification units out of 5

The Garden of Words (2014)

Author: Makoto Shinkai  |  Illustrator: Midori Motohashi  |  Page Count: 194

"It's not like we had a promise or anything.  But still..."

Every one of Shinkai’s anime works to date is an emotional tour de force that connects to something malleable inside of me.  Each part is carefully orchestrated to elicit that kind of response in a mass audience, but he somehow makes it feel deeply personal.  In the case of TGoW, when presented as a manga it loses not just the fluidity and the precise, measured silences, but something more significant, something soul-stirring that’s almost indefinable.  It’s still an enjoyable read but to really appreciate the subtleties throughout I’d recommend viewing the anime too, before or after, depending on your preference.

It's the story of Takao, a Kyushu high school student with a dream and the drive to realise it.  On rainy mornings he shelters in a wooden gazebo, and works on his skills.  It’s there that he has a chance encounter with an individual who changes his life forever.  (It makes me wonder what lengths the universe goes to to make the simplicity of a ‘chance’ encounter happen.)  Over time their self-confidence grows and they begin to flourish like flowers after a sun-shower.

There’s a Tanka poem deeply embedded in the narrative.  If you can spare the time, some research into the form and history of the style will enrich the work.

There's a danger I'll unwittingly turn this review into a series of wispy musings on self-indulgent concerns, so I'll end it after saying one thing more: with regards the Tanka device, I believe there’s a poem for everyone but not everyone has found theirs yet, or is brave enough to attempt to write it themselves.

3 cautious steps out of 5

Note: You can find spoiler-free, mini-reviews of some of Makoto Shinkai’s films, including The Garden of Words, at our sister site, In a Nutshell.

Star Trek: The Return (1996)

Authors: William Shatner / Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens  | Page Count: 371

‘For a silent moment after, even the rain stopped.

When it began again, it felt gentle.  Warm.  Slow as tears.’

Like The Ashes of Eden (1995) did before it, The Return opens on Veridian III and continues the story of the Star Trek: Generations (1994) film.  It’s not a flashback narrative this time; it’s the real deal, an actual continuation of events.

It engineers a ridiculous scenario that brings together aspects and crew of TOS, TNG and DS9 for a ret-conning adventure that’s thick with melodrama and action movie clichés.  Some of the connections made are mind-blowing and will either have fans happy-clapping or furiously fighting.  Either way, some of the reveals in the last quarter are extremely memorable.  It’s unfortunate that a large portion of the remainder of the book is such a chore to get through.

If you're drawn to the novel because it claims that Shatner is the author, you ought to know that he admitted in a filmed interview years later that he’d not watched even a single episode of TNG.  That makes me wonder how much input he had in the writing of a story that’s primarily about the Enterprise D crew.  I'm guessing we have Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens to thank for the majority of it.  But who’s to blame for repeatedly misquoting a famous speech from ST II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)?  And it'll sound finicky but Data casually using contractions in everyday speech irks me, even when acknowledging events in 'The Offspring' episode.

It's a brave attempt at creating a novel for Trek fans who have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the franchise, but the application of that same knowledge to the behaviour of certain characters will leave many a discerning reader unhappy.

The next book in the Shatnerverse series is a direct sequel titled Avenger (1997), but I don't think I can take any more of the pulp-hero, bravado bullshit.

2½ forgotten skills out of 5

Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden (1995)

Authors: William Shatner / Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens  |  Page Count: 309

‘He gulped a mouthful of Scotch.  Felt it burn his throat—ice cold and fire hot at the same time.  That was his poetry.  Sensation.  Being alive.’

TAoE begins just a few hours after the ending of the Star Trek: Generations (1994) movie, so you’ll need to have seen it first.  But to really get the most from the book, you’ll need to have seen all the TOS movies too, because the story is one of reflection on what’s passed as well as a look to the future.  Even though it’s technically set post-Generations, ninety-nine percent of it is a flashback to an era before Kirk stepped aboard the Enterprise-B, shortly after the political upheaval that occurred at Camp Khitimer (ST VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)).

Didn't you wonder what happened to the Enterprise-A?  Without a ship to command, Kirk is a little lost—it’s as if his very reason for living has been suspended—and daily Starfleet duties do little to assuage the feelings.  He’s secretly hungering for adventure, and more often than not someone with that goal will either find what he’s looking for or set it in motion himself.

It was co-written by Shatner, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to learn that Kirk is not just a man’s man within its pages, he’s the hero’s hero.  He's the lover, fighter, tactical thinker, master of combat, etc.  Parts of it do feel like an exercise in ego-stroking, but some of the conclusions made by the character parallel Shatner’s own public life, so at least he’s writing about what he knows.

Beyond that, how do you make a great man even more amazing?  Have him be humble in the presence of simplicity and beauty, but just enough to make him relatable to the common man, lest it detract from the active role he played in his own accomplishments.  Alternatively, don’t make an issue of his legendary status, and by so doing you’ll reaffirm his legendary status.  It’s win-win for Kirk, and an occasionally sickening, self-indulgent bore for the reader.

The book is the first part of what’s become known as the ‘Shatnerverse’ series of novels.  There were nine books in all, three trilogies, by the same authors.  The events in each draw from the rich Trek history but are a separate continuity as the ongoing Pocket Books series.  The next entry was called The Return (1996).

2½ game-changing rules out of 5

Dredd: The Illustrated Movie Script and Visuals (2014)

Author: Alex Garland | Illustrator: Jock | Page Count: 240

“You were shit out of luck when you ran into the Ma-Ma clan.”

If there’d been a poll asking what people would like to see in a book titled 'Illustrated Movie Script and Visuals,' everything that’s already included would be on my list.  As someone who enjoys Dredd comics, screenplays and can happily waste an hour studying concept art, it seems almost tailor-made.

On the left hand pages is Garland’s script, laid out in the usual format.  It’s also where you’ll find trivia, concept art depicting various stages of evolution and full colour production stills, not all of which were used in the final version (unused hall of justice, judge badges, etc), with brief passages of text describing what each one is and how it fits into the overall structure.  It’s the ‘Visuals’ half of the book.

The right hand pages display the ‘Illustrated Movie Script’ half.  Jock’s sketches give life to the scene as written on the left.  The monochrome art is somewhere between traditional storyboards (minus the giant arrows) and a regular panelled comic.  It's filled in places with black and white screen tones (repeating dot patterns often seen in manga).  Dialogue is included.  It’s the best of both worlds.

Had it been created after the film I’d have said there’s a vibrancy and urgency to the lines that capture and communicate the gritty, uncompromising and violent aspect well.  But it was made first, so it’s fair to say that the film captured those aspects of Jock’s sketches.  Had a non-comic artist been responsible, someone without a history of Dredd, the film might not have felt so authentic.

I found it more enjoyable to read the comic part in one sitting, and go back afterwards to concentrate on the left hand pages.  Doing that spilt the book into two distinct halves but the alternative was disruptive to the flow of the story.

People who bought Dredd: The Screenplay (2012) as an ebook might be a little sore double-dipping but if any of the additional content mentioned above is to your liking, there’s likely enough to warrant a repurchase.

5 Munce Box Meals out of 5

The Matrix Comics: Volume One (2003)

Authors: Various | Illustrators: Various | Page Count: 160

"The answer. It's right there. I can touch it. It's beautiful. Simple. And it scares the hell out of me."

Beyond the infinite possibilities offered by a virtual world, part of what keeps the Matrix universe so appealing is that it hasn't been milked to death by a greedy studio. Exploitation and oversaturation would've killed it as easily as it does any other commodity. I assume the Wachowski's had some hand in regulating that, so kudos to them and everyone else who stuck to their guns - although I'd really love another anime collection like The Animatrix (2003).

Anyhow, most of the twelve stories (eleven comics and one short prose work)* contained in the collection were originally available on the Matrix website from 1999 to 2003. They're gone from there now, so your only option if you want to read them is to buy the book. As with all the other tie-ins, they expand upon and attempt to enrich the core concerns explored in the film trilogy. They were created over a period of time, so aren't tied to, or designed to reflect, any one specific film. Some were written before the first movie even came out.

I'm delighted to have them archived in some manner, and I did enjoy them for what they were, but the truth is that the majority of them just aren't very interesting. As web comics they'd have been a fun way to keep a viewer/reader connected to the ongoing story, but they don't hold up when brought together into a medium they weren't originally designed for.

The short creator profiles that accompany each entry are a nice touch; every anthology should have those.

2½ zeroes and ones out of 5

NOTE: See the comments section of this post for a full list of contributors.

Dredd: Underbelly (2014)

Author: Arthur Wyatt | Illustrator: Henry Flint | Page Count: 36

‘…Mega-City One eats hope alive…’

Underbelly is 2000 AD’s first publication designed specifically for an American audience. That means it’s the size of a typical American comic, which is smaller than either 2000 AD or the Judge Dredd Megazine.  Reducing Dredd in size doesn't mean he need also be reduced in stature, but the one-shot story, a sequel set in Mega-City One a year after the Dredd (2012) film that I absolutely adored, fails to capture the power or the authority that the future lawman commands.  It resembles a typical 2000 AD single-issue Dredd story; the kind that acts as filler between the more exciting multipart epics.  If Rebellion had hoped to use it as a means to encourage more support for a proper film sequel they ought to have commissioned something really special, something unforgettable.

Aesthetically it attempts to capture the look of the film.  The Tower of Justice is the same version and Anderson looks a little like Olivia Thirlby if you squint with one eye and wedge a fork in the other.  Dredd, however, looks nothing like Karl Urban.  All we get to see of the man beneath the suit is the lower half of his face, so it wouldn't have been hard to achieve.  I can only assume that the shift towards a style closer to Carlos Ezquerra's Dredd of old was a conscious decision.  Perhaps it was to make the transition easier for readers of Underbelly to the existing Judge Dredd books that Rebellion repackaged for the American market?

I'm not going to go into a synopsis of the story, because it’s very short and knowing even the smallest detail before reading will rob it of what little depth it has.  I will say, however, that if you missed out on picking it up, either on first print run or as reprint (with different cover art), then don’t feel too disappointed, you can still get it from the official site as a digital DL if you really want it.

2 dead muties out of 5

2000 AD have made an official petition for a film sequel (link below).  History has shown that such petitions DO occasionally work, so if you want it to happen you know what to do, creep!

OFFICIAL 2000 AD PETITION FOR A DREDD SEQUEL.

The Wicker Man (1978)

Authors: Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer | Page Count: 285

‘From inside the asylum of his own skin, he looked around a world that he peopled suddenly, in his imagination, with strangers...’

A wise person once said ‘Never judge a book by its movie.’  It’s generally applied one way, to defend a good book from the damage done to its reputation by a bad movie, but sometimes the opposite perspective is needed.  Judging by how good The Wicker Man (1973) film is, I imagined the book to be at least equal in terms of impact given that it’s written by the film’s director, Robin Hardy, and uses much of the dialogue from Anthony Shaffer’s excellent screenplay verbatim.  I've only myself to blame for that assumption not panning out as hoped.

The protagonist is Police Sergeant Neil Howie.  On the surface he’s an honest, steadfast Episcopalian Christian respectful of the laws of man and God.  Beneath that, he’s forceful and secretly judgemental of others.  It’s possible to view him as a haughty zealot quick to strike down those who challenge his beliefs but that’s only half the story; he’s more complex than he first appears.  Deeper still, hidden from the world, he’s inexperienced and fearful of his own desires.

Howie is summoned to a remote Western Isle off the coast of Scotland.  It’s an isle filled with villagers that worship a different pantheon.  For Howie, the Christian God created everything in nature, so in theory even the heretical worship of false gods could be, by extension, reverence for his god.  That’s the depth of his arrogance and is in part responsible for his actions once there.

There’s a mystery to be unravelled.  It’s an unusual missing person case that may even be a murder.  Sergeant Howie's belief that his superior deity will guide and aid him in ensuring justice is done is only the beginning of his problems.

As the mystery deepens, the novel begins to unravel.  The quality of the prose drops and doesn't recover.  By the end it feels like fan fiction.

I’ll do us all a service by cutting the review short here and instead return to how I began.  Maybe it'll help someone else avoid the same level of disappointment that I had.  Never judge a book by its movie—even when the movie's good.

2½ circles to the nail out of 5

5 Centimeters per Second (2012)

Author: Makoto Shinkai | Artist: Yukiko Seike | Page Count: 566

'I bet you must have changed a lot too.  And bit by bit, you’ll keep on changing.'

The manga adaptation of Makoto Shinkai’s anime of the same name is the story of Takaki Tohno and his love for Akari Shinohara.  The book is faithful to the themes and characters of the source, and in its own way is equally as heartbreaking, but there are also a number of differences.  There’s more dialogue between the couple and a lot of new scenes have been added.  Most of the additions don’t lead anywhere new but each in some way expands or accentuates both the closeness and the distance between the two individuals.

It’s split into three parts, each focussing on a specific period of Tohno’s life.  The first and third eras are the most successful and satisfying.  The middle section was the weakest in the anime.  It was necessary to the story but it felt unfinished.  It gets a lengthy epilogue at the book's end that attempts to redress that but overall it remains the weakest aspect.

I love how Shinkai can elicit opposing feelings simultaneously.  There’s a scene that functions as a rekindling after a period of separation that also highlights differences and connotes the inevitable.  That kind of subtlety is the foundation of the work and unless you pick up on it early on, you may get bored or even depressed with the inaction.  Ultimately, its effectiveness will vary drastically from reader to reader; the idealistic young dreamer will interpret it differently than the hopeless romantic or the aged and injured recluse.  The title is all important to the way that love can be perceived; it’ll make sense in context.

At its most basic level, the book is summed up on two pages, but those pages don’t come at the end because realisation is never an end; it’s another beginning.

3 dividing lines out of 5

Note: You can find spoiler-free, mini-reviews of some of Makoto Shinkai’s films, including 5 Centimeters per Second, at our sister site, In a Nutshell.

Shaun of the Dead (2010)

Author: Chris Ryall (based on a script by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright) | Illustrator: Zach Howard / Sean Murphy | Page Count: 96

“You've got red on you.”

If you've not already watched the FILM (2004), put your Hog Lumps down and go do that before you read the official adaptation because it’ll help you fill in the gaps, of which there are many.  That’s the consequence of editing a packed story down to just 96 pages, which is what Chris Ryall had the unenviable task of doing to Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's original script.

There are of course things about the film that can’t be recreated in a comic medium, such as the long tracking shot as Shaun goes to buy the newspaper, and Queen on the Jukebox, both of which are highlights, but the sharp wit of the dialogue translates well and it’s that part of it that Ryall captures almost perfectly.  I say ‘almost’ because obviously the inflections are absent, but if you’re familiar with how Pegg and Frost speak then you can add them yourself.

The biggest casualty is that the absence of some of the quieter moments results in Shaun seeming more of an anxious depressive than the lovable loser he ought to be, and the bromance between he and Ed is compromised.

The artwork is excellent.  The resemblances are there but it’s also uniquely stylised.  There’s great use of free form lines, meaning it’s not overly rigid in its depiction.  It exaggerates some of the action scenes but hey, it’s a comic, it’s allowed to do that and it works in its favour.

A small number of panels are added showing events that aren't seen in the film but they’re nothing to get excited about.  The main difference from a story point of view is that some of the action is presented from a different character’s perspective.  That was a welcome change.

I consider it more of a fan-pleasing companion piece than a standalone work.  That way I can overlook the fact that locations change suddenly, characterisation of secondary characters is almost nil and the ending is even more abrupt than this.

3 dangerous vinyls out of 5

Æon Flux (2006)

Author: Mike Kennedy | Illustrator: Timothy Green II | Page Count: 96

"They found my body, but they never found me."

The backstory of Æon Flux is a lot more complicated than it first appears, but for the purposes of this review I'll sum it up (badly) in one paragraph: Æon is a Monican assassin fighting against a Bregnan government that wants to control the personal freedoms of every citizen within its walls. The walls provide protection but are also a kind of prison. In the eyes of the Bregnans, she's a terrorist. She fits the textbook description of that but in reality she's fighting to free slaves who don't know they're slaves, so that makes her something else, too.

There's an ecological message to the fore but it's less important than Æon's own story and of her role within the mysterious organisation. You'll get small glimpses of both those things, but to understand her true motivations and the deeper workings of the world in which she operates you'll need to watch the anime TV series. Doing so will enrich the story of the book. However, having watched it you'll then be in a position to compare the two and you'll see that the book is weak in comparison. That leaves you with a problem: watch the anime to more fully appreciate the book's setting and in so doing enjoy the book's actual story less. Like they say, the more you know…

It can be viewed as a prequel of sorts to the Hollywood movie starring Charlize Theron, but the character designs are more specifically designed to reflect Peter Chung's originals from the TV series. If you're not familiar with his style you'll maybe think that Timothy II's illustrations are bad. Some of the perspectives are arguably a little wonky, but the elongated limbs and odd facial expressions are purposeful. The costumes and the architecture are as they ought to be. So too is the odd sexual nature of the lithe Æon. There'll be people who dislike or outright hate the style, but that's true of every stylistic choice.

The book collects together the entire Æon Flux comic, issues 1-4.

2½ dionaea muscipulae out of 5

Labyrinth (1986)

Author: A.C.H. Smith (based on a story by Jim Henson and Dennis Lee, and a screenplay by Terry Jones) | Page Count: 128

'If she weighed the implications of every alternative, would she ever get to make a choice at all?  When one door opens, so does another.'

I adore the film upon which Labyrinth is based.  Over the years I've watched it more than any other children’s movie in existence.  It’s a story in which a young woman, Sarah, must summon the courage to overcome her own inhibiting, teenage perceptions.  The trials she faces are symbolic.  The concessions offered her and the help given by her companions are similarly meaningful in an easily understood and simplistic way.  There’s nothing challenging about the story but that’s not a failing; it's more of a strength, making the work universal and timeless.

I'm not saying it’s without fault, because it definitely isn't.  The episodic structure drags it down.  Viewed with adult eyes it becomes a string of random events tied loosely together by the journey from A to B.  Throw in a new event or remove an existing one and the outcome would be the same, provided the characters needed at the end still get their introduction somehow.

The text begins by expanding upon Sarah’s relationship with her stepmother.  It takes what was hinted in the film and gives it much needed back-story.  It’s safe and formulaic but at least it doesn't run contrary to what we already knew.

The further I got into the story the less extrapolation there was.  It’s as if the author simply wrote down what was happening onscreen.  Those moments offer nothing that a viewing of the film won’t give.  They arguably offer less because the visual element is gone and the music is impossible to recreate on the page.

Mostly the language is simplistic, which is fine considering it’s aimed at a young audience, but there’s an occasional jarring archaic word thrown in; words that had dropped out of usage before even Bowie was born.

The saving grace is that, ironically, the prose works best when filler is required, when Smith needs something to fill the gaps the songs would normally occupy.  It either forced him to invent something new or it freed him up to do so.  In those moments he gives the story extra depth and makes me believe that had the novel not been such a slave to the film, it would certainly have been better written.

2½ stars moved out of 5

Blade Runner Sketchbook (1982)

Editor: David Scroggy | Illustrators: Syd Mead / Charles Knode / Michael Kaplan / Mentor Huebner / Ridley Scott | Page Count: 99

‘Many of the objects in this book, while fascinating, were either modified or eliminated for the final version of the film.’

I acknowledge that B+W ink and watercolour concept sketches aren’t the most exciting thing for most people but I usually find them interesting.  I say usually because this one manages to present the work in the dullest way possible.
‘Visual futurist’ (a fancy-schmancy name for industrial designer) Syd Mead’s work is rich in detail and his creations are so well researched that it’s easy to believe they could be functional if made in the real world.  The problem lies not with his work, but with the book itself because it offers very little insight into the creative process.  Mead’s lines are clear to see but there’s no information on his working method or the problems he’d have faced with the futuristic tech.

There are also a number of pages with costume designs from Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan that I didn't spend much time on, but someone with an interest in fashion design may may feel differently about them.

Like it says in the quote above, there are things which didn't make it into the film at all; they’re the most interesting aspect for that reason alone.
If you absolutely must own everything Blade Runner then check it out, but keep your expectations to the absolute minimum to lessen the disappointment.

1½ Ridleygrams out of 5

HR Giger's Film Design (1996)

Author: H.R. Giger | Illustrator: H.R. Giger | Page Count: 138

'[H]oles of all description, holes in the ground, holes in the head, ass-holes, etc. I'm still not sure what they were for but they're great nonetheless.'

William Malone

H. R. Giger's Film Design is a large format book that offers an insight into the artist's film projects. Much of it will already be well known to fans, his work on Dune, Poltergeist II, etc, but knowing about a thing and exploring the genesis of a thing are very different experiences.

It covers a wide range of work, from short films, lengthy personal projects to music videos and even furniture building. But the real treasure is when it goes into detail about the films that didn't make it past the design stage. There's one in particular that has the potential to equal David Cronenberg at his most bizarre; it's both repulsive and tantalising in equal measure. The only problem is the budget required to do it justice could buy a small country. In truth, I'd rather it never get made than get it half-assed.

There's a lot of space devoted to his involvement with the Alien franchise. Seeing him working on models and sculpts, getting a sense of scale, and seeing the evolution from sketch to 1:1 model is fascinating. The film was his most commercially successful from a production design point of view and is the one that stuck most faithfully to his designs. You'd think that thick-as-shit Hollywood producers would have made that connection by now. Instead they pay him for sketches and then continually change them to better suit their own weak ideals.

Which brings me nicely to the only negative aspect of the book. There's some duplication with the similarly sized Species Design volume that came out the same year. If you already own it, then you'll be able to skip that chapter.

5 good intentions out of 5

La Jetée: Ciné-roman (2008)

Author: Chris Marker | Designer: Bruce Mau | Page Count: 258

"Moments to remember are just like other moments.

They are only made memorable by the scars they leave."

Chris Marker's La Jetée (1962) was a short experimental film that was composed almost entirely of still images, with a V/O narration telling the story from a very specific POV. The stills used in the film's composition are reproduced here, with the relevant text accompanying each image. The text is in both French and English, as the original short film was a French production.

If you're familiar with the film, it's an odd experience having the voice of the narrator replaced by your own inner-narrator. The inflections are different. The pacing is different. The edit is different. Nevertheless, if you can immerse yourself fully in the experience, then it's equally as profound and equally as unsettling.

If you haven't viewed the film, I can't imagine how you'll feel about the book or even if it would have the same kind of emotional impact. I recommend a viewing before a reading, simply because you'd be assimilating the works in the order which they were revealed, but there may well be advantages in reversing the process that I'm not aware of and am now incapable of experiencing.

One thing I'm sure of is that once viewed the images become inseparable from the words, regardless if they're spoken or written.

5 photos from the future out of 5

Phallic Frenzy: Ken Russell and His Films (2008)

Author: Joseph Lanza | Page Count: 384

“When every second counts, it is often necessary to say two things at once; which is why I frequently introduce symbolism into scenes of reality.” –Russell.

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the lover of kitsch and vaudeville imagery Ken Russell but were unable to ask.  It functions as a biography of his early years (although hurries quickly over one of the most traumatic events in his early life, I put this down to a show of respect for Russell) which helps shed light on the reasons for some of his adulthood fixations.  Later, it dissects and gives some juicy behind the scenes info on all his films.  Film fans will find this latter part of most interest.  Personally, I loved both parts.  Although, I had to selectively skip some paragraphs because I've not had the pleasure of viewing certain films yet.  Take note: spoilers aplenty in this book.

The biography part charts Ken’s (slow) rise from his days quietly challenging the uptight poker-in-the-ass BBC TV system, through his enfant terrible days, and finally to his New Forest films.  The book is arranged mostly chronologically which helps understand the progression and reasons for his changing beliefs, and how he integrated them into his filmic works.  Whether you find him offensive or seductive is unimportant, you can't deny his auteur status.

Author Lanza rightly identifies that one of Russell’s “…strongest metaphors is nature, both its majestic and hidden sides.”  Watch any of his films and you’ll come to the same conclusion.  That affinity for nature defines Russell just as much as the religious / sexual imagery that he flaunts.  Together, they form something both glorious and vulgar.  Like the man himself.

Sadly, Ken Russell died in November 2011 (aged 84).

4 masturbating nuns and a dog named poopass out of 5

Species Design (1996)

Author: H.R. Giger | Illustrator: H.R. Giger | Page Count: 86

"I cast worms in silicon …Instead, in the film, reddish brown computer-generated sausages burst out (but very quickly, to hide the computerised embarrassment)."

Large format coffee table book, about the size of an LP, that doesn't fit on any of my shitty Argos flat-pack shelving.  It’s full of HR Giger illustrations, primarily the early stage concept sketches that rarely get released to the public, most of which are black ink on paper.  Giger’s sketches have an almost obsessively hurried appearance.  Seeing what he had envisioned for the creature, that didn't make it into the film, is the only reason to purchase this.  If you’ve seen the film you may remember Sil's dream, with the train?  Probably not, it was brief.  Giger put a huge amount of work into the train, even building a working scale model from animal bones, PVC, wood and metal at his own expense.  The studio gave it a mere 8 seconds of footage in the final product.  Had it remained as he envisioned it could've been spectacular, perhaps even the highlight of the whole damn thing.

His association with Hollywood hasn’t been a pleasant one over the years so it’s nice to get something from his POV.  However, at times he uses the book as a platform for his grievances about the Hollywood machine.  It's either a man having a bitch-fit, or an artist whose vision was cruelly compromised getting a cathartic release.  Either way, it borders on the depressive.  I felt so very sorry for him, and wondered why he took such treatment from the money-whores.  I have my suspicions but you’ll maybe discover that for yourself upon reading.

Alongside the aforementioned sketches are colour photographs of the animatronic puppets used in the production, and lots of stills from the film which are either there contractually or as filler.  If you have an unfilled need for a deeper insight into the creation of the best part of the film, the book will give it.  I just hope you have some oversized shelves to house it on.  Don't go to Argos for them.

3 all aboard the penis train to a Swiss pervert’s dreamland out of 5