Moon Over Manifest (2010)

Author: Clare Vanderpool  |  Page Count: 351

"Who would dare think the outcast and abandoned can find a home? Who would dream that one can love without being crushed under the weight of it? A miracle cure to heal the sick? Pah. What makes us think any of this could be true? And yet all of us, we participate in this myth, we create it, perpetuate it."

Staged in the desolate years of America’s Great Depression, Clare Vanderpool’s first novel sets out to be a work of historical fiction but flies past such categorization almost instantaneously, instead choosing to consistently dwell pleasingly deep in a pool of careful and subtle characterization. As it opens, Abilene Tucker is on her way to Manifest, Kansas, a town her father Gideon has always colorfully spoken of during their life on the road.

Though the color palette and physical reality of the town may initially seem far more drab than she had envisioned, the intrigue and mystery that almost instantly manifests itself draws her and the reader into a vibrant, intricate, and sometimes foreboding yarn.

The rub is that as an adult reader the twists and turns are almost always easy to see coming. However, this is in actuality a non-issue as 1.) it’s children’s literature, 2.) a focus of the narrative is the power of seeing a story unfold even if you know the ending, and 3.) it had me so focused on what I assumed was the biggest reveal that I didn't see the ending coming at all.

It’s really quite an exquisite work in that it can show young readers how effectively plot threads, events, and objects can be woven together into a dense, satisfying reading experience. It does this with great delicate care much more akin to Watchmen (1987) than John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines (2006), which I personally feel was unreadable because of its hammer-fisted attempts to guide readers into understanding the use and value of metaphors.

I randomly chose this from the shelf when I found myself in a library in need of mental stimulation and it pleases me to think that those in its intended audience can do much the same and be equally as surprised and fulfilled.

4½ Tracks to Here and Back out of 5

Nutted by NEG

The Tragedy of Macbeth (c.1599-1606)

Author: William Shakespeare  |  Page Count: 128

"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." 

The Tragedy of Macbeth (aka simply as Macbeth) is one of the easiest of Shakespeare's Tragedies to get to grips with for a newcomer, and of the ones I've read is my personal favourite, but not for the same reason. It's because despite its short length it packs in a ton of good stuff, including the supernatural, prophecy, blood, murder, gender, guilt, conflict, reversals, paranoia, insanity and metaphor.

Though given less time than her husband, the real star is arguably Lady Macbeth, a woman for whom ambition is so all-consuming that she willingly steps into a world of terrible consequence while fully aware that what she does is deserving of retribution. For Lady Macbeth, failure is a greater sin than murder; 'bitch is crazy' in modern parlance. Her famous soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5 highlights it.

The "fair is foul, and foul is fair" comment made by the witches is an instruction on how best to approach the events that follow, and exploring whether or not the prophecy was self-fulfilling is an easy way to get marks on a term paper, but if you wish to go deeper into the narrative you could compare how the lifeblood of man relates to the lifeblood of Scotland; the death of a leader with the death of moral values; and even what role Christendom plays in the resolution, if any.

There'll always be arguments among scholars about the intended meaning of the many subtexts that Shakespeare added, but one thing everyone who reads the work can agree upon is that visitors always call at the worst possible time.

4 brainsickly thoughts out of 5

A Midsummer Night's Dream (c.1595-96)

Author: William Shakespeare  |  Page Count: 120

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."

AMND is a confusing first read for a lot of people; it certainly was for me many years ago. It seems as if there are too many characters to keep track of, but there really isn't. A common hurdle is that a large portion of the play focuses on two men and two women. The two men are both in love with the same woman, a woman who loves just one of the men. There's a second woman in love with one of the men that loves the first woman. You follow?

That, believe it or not, isn't the confusing part. The real head-fuck comes when the King of Faerie, Oberon, or more precisely his loyal aide, the pernicious fairy Puck, gets involved. There's a mix-up with a love potion and then everything goes tits-up. If you can see it performed on stage do so, because it really helps.

Leaving that aside, it's a comedy, so there's laughs, right? Oh, yes; most of which spring from the staging of a play within the play. Things are getting puzzling again. Sorry. The short version: there's a level of unnecessary self-censorship and second-guessing that reaches absurdist levels, many unlucky coincidences, a clingy lover or two, much innuendo, and a butt-load of ass jokes.

It's set in Athens but it's believed that Shakespeare wasn't particularly well-travelled, so his exotic locations can feel more like they're just down the road from Stratford-upon-Avon. But that, I guess, just adds to the comedic value.

4 love-shafts out of 5

Mrs Fry's Diary (2010)

Author: Mrs Stephen Fry  | Page Count: 346

‘We told the kids a homicidal clown lives in their wardrobe today.  It wasn't an April Fool, we just thought they should know.’

Mrs Fry’s Diary is a diary by Mrs Fry, the fictional wife of the recipient of the reincarnated wit of Oscar Wilde, Stephen Fry.  Edna, as she’s also known, is oblivious to her husband's career as a television and radio personality.  She believes him to be an occasional window cleaner, taxi driver, avid collector of Razzle magazine and part-time father to her six kids.  (Or is it seven?  She’s not entirely sure.)  Her struggles and flashes of insight are recorded on a daily basis, and when read chronologically they become a kind of story.

I've read a small number of books written in a diary format, and out of curiosity have even used it myself on one occasion, but I'm definitely not a fan of it.  It's difficult to engage with the start / stop nature of the narrative.  It’s like reading twitter.  Apparently Mrs Fry is a popular tweeter.  That was news to me.  Unlike Stephen, I have nothing nice to say about Twitter at all but it doesn't look like it’s going to go away any time soon, more's the pity.

Anyhow, back to the book.  There are dozens of subtle references to Stephen’s career both past and present buried in the wordplay that long-time fans will get extra chuckles from, knowledge of which isn't a prerequisite but will definitely make a reading more enjoyable.  It’ll also help if you’re able to spot references to other famous literary works, and know what tinned Spam tastes like.

3 pitchers of Dorian Gray tea 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.

Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics (2012)

Author: Jarvis Cocker | Page Count: 192

"If nobody's listening you can say whatever you want."

A selection of lyrics (sixty-six in all) penned by Meister Cocker over the span of three decades. They're mostly from his time in Pulp, but his solo work is well-represented, too. Each one is accompanied by notes that act as illumination and commentary on the themes and allusions made in the songs themselves; which will be helpful to people outside the UK or those who were born too late.

Before you get to the main event, there's an introduction from Jarvis that's so beautifully constructed and insightful that it's worth the asking price alone. He speaks of the profound things that occur in everyday life, the things that don't stand out until later, and he speaks of them in common language for (ahem) common people. It's from a point in time that enables experience to lay tender hands on and memory to whittle away anything superfluous. Without meaning to demean anything that comes after, the intro is the highlight of the work.

With regards the lyrics, despite Jarvis' insistence to the contrary, they're intrinsically poetic, and therefore I'm labelling the book as poetry. (He's never going to read this, so I think I'll get away with it.)

They're narrative-based, so work just as well when written on the page as they did when put to music. I could go into depth about why I think that is but I'd need twice the word count I have, and you'd probably not care anyhow. I will say, though, that the lyrics of songs I've not heard sung were more enjoyable to read than the ones I know well. I found myself breaking up the words of the familiar ones into their metre structure, attributing qualitative and quantitative, and because I was hearing the music in my head I was putting pauses in places that a pause would be better left out. It was a very odd experience.

I'm not appraising with blind bias. I'm a Pulp fan, yes, but that fact doesn't influence the score. I only own two Pulp albums and one Jarvis solo album. I'm interested in the others but just haven't got around to purchasing them yet.

4 less obvious places out of 5

The Martian Chronicles: The Authorized Adaptation (2011)

Author: Ray Bradbury | Illustrators: Dennis Calero / Joe St. Pierre / Josh Adams / James Smith | Page Count: 160

"All the things which had uses. All the mountains which had names. We'll give them new names, but the old names are there, somewhere in time..."

A comic book adaptation of one of Bradbury's most famous works. I'm not going to give a synopsis of story or outline specific themes. I'll leave that for when I revisit the novel. This is about the comic version only, and it'll be brief because I wouldn't recommend a reading to anyone who isn't a huge Bradbury fan.

For those that haven't read the source text, an introduction from the author details the genesis of the original novel, which is vital information if you're to understand the passage of time and the contradictions in some of the stories.

What it neglects to mention, however, is that the adaptation is incomplete. It wouldn't have been possible to fit every story into the limited page count, but some of the exclusions are essential and defining parts of the overall work and their removal weakens it. For those that care, the omissions are: The Taxpayer / The Locusts / The Shore / The Fire Balloons / The Wilderness / Way up in the Middle of the Air / The Naming of Names / Usher II / The Old Ones / The Luggage Store / The Silent Towns / The Long Years / There Will Come Soft Rains

Note: Red text denotes stories that are either absent from some editions of the original novel or have been replaced by one of the others for various reasons.

The artwork pendulums from merely adequate to mildly awful. The limited colours, the deep Martian reds and browns, were expected but the lifelessness of the characters, the lack of singular identity in many of the protagonists was definitely not. Pilots, explorers, settlers and home-makers should be starkly different in their approach to the new World, but, with a few well-rounded exceptions, those qualities were lost somewhere along the way.

The highlight of the book is the final chapter/story. It retains some of the weight, the poignancy and the poetic tragedy that’s missing from all the others.

Fans of the novel, beware - it's a pale imitation. It's a shadow cast on a hollow wall. Its intentions are good but it delivers bitter disappointment. Although, thankfully, it uses the original timeline, not the ridiculous revised '97 version.

2 Hammer Horror stars out of 5

This wasn't the only attempt at adapting TMC. A TV Miniseries surfaced in 1980, with similar results. You can read about it HERE on one of our sister sites, Nut Box.

Max Payne 3: The Complete Series (2013)

Author: Dan Houser / Sam Lake | Illustrator: Fernando Blanco | Page Count: 39

"My name’s Max… Max Payne."

"Jesus.  You poor bastard.  Your parents must have really hated you."

If playing through Max Payne 3 (2012) wasn't enough punishment for your senses, there’s a prequel comic book for you to enjoy that delves deeper into the barfly's troubled past.  It aims to help you better understand why he’s such a miserable asshole by giving reasons for his descent into alcoholism and drug use.

It takes place over a number of years, and shows how different events took their toll on the anti-hero, from his academy days up to the era the game is set.
If you’ve played the game you’ll already have seen and participated in some of the events depicted.  Logic says that being an active participant in a story should be a more engaging experience but not in this case.  The comic is much more enjoyable.  It uses the same kind of noir dialogue as the game but it works better as the written word than it did as the spoken word.  The inner monologue and fatalistic running commentary that Max provides about his own condition lost a lot of believability when spoken aloud.

Fernando Blanco’s art is the best part.  It uses a muted colour palate reflective of Max’s outlook on life, and offers up some really interesting panel layouts.  It helps raise the quality of what would otherwise be a standard noir comic.

Max Payne 3: The Complete Series is available as a FREE download from the Rockstar website or, if you’re more inclined, you can purchase an actual print edition for your shelf that has some bonus content.

The book collects together all 3 issues of the Max Payne comic.

2½ bottles of Kong out of 5

The Manhattan Projects: Volume 3: Building. (2013)

Author: Jonathan Hickman | Artists: Nick Pitarra / Ryan Browne | Page Count: 152

“This whole thing has just come completely off the rails."

I like to try and distil a book down to just one word, which is a crazy thing to do, I admit, but it helps me plot the journey that a serialised work takes from one point on a map to the next point in the most fundamental way. The word for this book is SECRETS. TMP is a secret organisation and each member of the group has their own. Within that framework a small number of new projects are undertaken that split the group into little pockets of filler. One of them is an undisclosed undertaking by one specific member and is the only part of the story that goes anywhere interesting. There's a probability the others will get their time to shine in the next volume, but I'm not prepared to bet any money on it.

Which brings me to the quote above; it was chosen for two reasons. It's spoken by one of the group but they echo my own sentiments and quite possibly the author's own. It's like a commentary or an admission that's pertinent not just to what's happening on the page but to the creative process and the story's construction as a whole.  The characters are there but they don't really do anything, except for Oppenheimer and he gets pushed aside for too long. When he does come back it becomes clear that his story is the only one still firmly on track, which in Oppenheimer's case means he's very much "off the rails," but in a good way; good for us, at least. He's the man with the most secrets and they're fighting inside his head for dominance.

The series started strong and then hit a rocky patch, but the slide in quality in this volume was even steeper than I'd predicted. Throwing in a great ending each time won't be enough to sustain reader interest if the overall strength and focus doesn't pick up a little in the next book. I really hope it does because TMP is unusual and I love to see the unusual be successful.

Nick Pitarra's art is as good as ever, or as bad as ever if you're not a fan of his style. Ryan Browne fills in for one chapter but you'll likely hardly notice the difference because his style mimics Pitarra's well and Bellaire's colouring keeps everything beautifully unified.

The book collects together The Manhattan Projects issues 11–15.

2½ space perverts out of 5

The Manhattan Projects: Volume 2: They Rule. (2013)

Author: Jonathan Hickman | Artists: Nick Pitarra / Ryan Browne

Page Count: 152

'All men are pawns to a master with vision.'

Volume 2 of TMP is just as insane as Volume 1 (2012) but it's more explosive, which is another way of saying it’s less focused. I had to take some time prior to reading to reacquaint myself with the characters because there are a lot of them. It didn't help that even more new ones were introduced.

The superpowers are done playing it safe, so the Cold War heats up. The alternate history shit hits the chaos fan and sprays all over the place.

The dramatic change of pace was unexpected and I wasn't completely enamoured with it, but part of me knows it had to happen and I suspect it'll happen again on a larger scale sometime in the future. That particular storyline takes up the bulk of the book but it feels rushed. I heard that it was falling behind schedule, so maybe the hurry was to compensate for that? Let's hope the pacing is better next time.

The second part of the book is much more satisfying despite being shorter. It's a continuation of J. Robert Oppenheimer's story that paradoxically feels like a new beginning, and as such would've been better suited as an opening to Volume 3. If you remember the mess Oppenheimer was in at the end of Volume 1, then you'll know that his fractured state of mind would demand consequences for one or other of his personalities. Hickman doesn't disappoint. His intricate plotting and attention to detail shine through. I can't wait to see where he takes it.

Nick Pitarra is still on art duties, except on episode 10 where Ryan Browne fills in; the wonderfully stylised colouring scheme is the same regardless. Rarely do art and text gel so beautifully.

The book collects together The Manhattan Projects issues 6–10.

3 familiar landscapes out of 5

Marvel Zombies (2006)

Author: Robert Kirkman | Illustrator: Sean Phillips | Page Count: 136

"Whoever makes the kill gets double rations."

A post-apoc, alternate world spin-off from a story that appeared in Ultimate Fantastic Four (issues 21-23). I don't believe that putting zombies into something automatically makes it better; more often than not it makes it worse. The zombie metaphor has been done to death (no pun intended) and outside of the early Romero films it’s mostly been done badly. MZ sets a new low, even for Marvel.

It was written by Robert Kirkman, the guy that writes The Walking Dead. I've not read TWD, but it’s been selling well, so I'm assuming it’s a lot better than MZ.

The plot is as thin as something I'd write. The heroes/villains are hungry. There’s some gore. They eat. They get hungry. There's gore... eat... hungry, etc. Yawn.

The book collects together Marvel Zombies, issues 1 - 5.

1 severed limb out of 5

Marvels (1994)

Author: Kurt Busiek | Illustrator: Alex Ross | Page Count: 248

"I was learning a great deal about the world, and even more about the pain of a forced solitude.  I was aware of everything... understanding nothing."

The individual stories that Marvels was originally envisioned to tell would've been interesting but the unified, multi-layered work that it became is something very, very special.  Writer Kurt Busiek cites Tom DeFalco as the man that provided inspiration for turning many ideas into one idea, so kudos to him.

It revisits iconic comic moments that span 35 years (1939 to 1974) by exploring those events from the perspective of the regular people that were directly affected by them.  It's the Everyman story entwined with the story of a world unprepared for the threats that face it.

The eyes and voice of the work belong to Phil Sheldon, a freelance photo journalist.  Phil can’t climb walls or shoot fire from his fingertips, he can’t even protect himself from being swept up by a changing public opinion, but when the superheroes begin to bleed into society he’s there to capture it with his camera.
Sheldon embodies the fear, awe and confusion that grips a person as they watch two ‘Marvels’ fighting for dominance, tearing up a city like it was paper.

Flipping the perspective from the heroes and villains to the common man replaced the usual metaphor device with a more overtly relatable truth.  It emphasised the choices and consequences forced upon the ordinary citizens thrust into a world they'd no control over.

I wasn't familiar with all of the storylines that played out on the city like a canvas but it didn't matter too much, the book is written in such a way that a lack of knowledge doesn't exclude you from Phil Sheldon’s story.  Even if this is the first comic book you've ever read, it still astounds.
It’s a love song to an age of comics that can never be repeated, and a genre breaking advancement in narrative that works on many levels.

It was Alex Ross’ comic début.  His fully painted art is unmistakable.  Using people as models helped capture a sense of realism.  His heroes are truth exaggerated but never twisted into impossible forms.

5 rolls of film out of 5

The Manhattan Projects: Volume 1: Science. Bad. (2012)

Author: Jonathan Hickman | Artist: Nick Pitarra | Page Count: 144

'Circles within circles. Worlds within worlds.
He saw the door for what it was, and he threw it open.'

Don't judge a book by its cover. Everyone knows the idiom but there's no doubt that a good cover is the thing that first attracts the eye. The covers of TMP caught my attention instantly. The monthlies, not the one above. They were simple but striking, enigmatic and alluring symbols on a spacious background that held the promise of something different, something deep. What lay beneath the cover delivered on those assumptions... mostly.

TMP is a wild fiction built around the real life creation of the first WWII atomic bomb. The build is simply a front for what the militant project leader identifies as "...more important concerns." He enlists the troubled scientist Oppenheimer and a team of equally disturbed real life geniuses to fulfil a very different agenda. More than once I was reminded of Mike Mignola; they're a kind of reverse B.P.R.D. 

It's an engaging and far-reaching story that draws the reader in with hermetic secrets, drip-feeding future possibilities alongside some cryptic past histories.

However, holding back like it does made me question whether it'll come together in a satisfyingly cohesive manner. By the end of the book that question was still ringing in my mind. One thing is clear, though: it’s a bubbling pot with two lids, neither of which is able to contain the inevitable—there will be spillage.

Nick Pitarra provides art so successfully that it's hard to imagine the work being presented in any other style. He's not completely original, his influences are clear to see, but his vision gels with Hickman's wild sciences perfectly.

The colouring is as important as the art in getting the message across. It uses a palette of contrasting primary and tertiary colours that support the dualities present in the written word. It was so well presented that for a change I didn't mind the digital colouring methods.

The book collects together The Manhattan Projects issues 1–5.

3½ flirtations with reckless abandon out of 5

MBQ Volume 3 (2007)

Author: Felipe Smith | Page Count: 232

"Gat Damn! You reek of dog anus!"

The third and last of the volumes brings Omario's story to a close of sorts. Omario's brash attitude is endangering his friendships and a chance encounter with a fellow artist combined with a costly repair job forces him to rethink his priorities. Also Officer Aiden may be reaching his psychological breaking point as the violence in the seedy underworld of the city ramps up.

All stories not featuring Omario have now severed all connection and are now a completely separate story. This makes the underworld violence shocking, but ultimately inconsequential as it doesn't affect Omario in the slightest. The now separate stories are nice even if they now seem to be page filler or I'm looking at it the wrong way and Aiden was always a 2nd main character. If that's the case, he didn't get near enough face-time to convincingly wrap up his plot. Bad form there, but Smith is more artist than writer so I let it slide since his humor and action scenes are in top form and there is a nice message at the end there in Omario's epiphany that all volumes have been working toward.

3½ Showing up a douchebag in front of his ladies with a rose made of $100 bills out of 5

MBQ Volume 2 (2006)

Author: Felipe Smith | Page Count: 200

"You're gonna have to fight for it if you want it. It's always a fight."

Volume 2 picks up where volume 1 left off with Omario looking to get his pages published, but this volume focuses more on the other characters of the series. They get some much needed development that was missing in the first volume. We learn that roommate Jeff is aspiring to more than his fast food job and Omario's brash attitude may finally be straining on him. We also get a little more info on Dee, Omario's drug dealing, gun running, thieving friend, and why they are friends at all. Dee is certainly a thug, but even he plays a role in Omario's journey that we are following. Also we get a small look at the 2 cops R.J. and Aiden.

The black humor is intact and the action is even ratcheted up as is some sexy interludes, but it is pretty disconnected from the story at times and while it is clearly setting up a resolution, it doesn't come in this volume. There is also a pretty weird bit with an ironic jab at lame and uninspired comics that while funny seems a bit over-the-top. That was the point, but it could have been handled differently. It even had an actual author insertion as opposed to the metaphorical one Omario represents. Nice action and comedy, but it could have focused on Omario's story more instead of just the one bit at the end.

3 intercontinental ballistic missiles fired from a demon midget's ass out of 5

The Metamorphosis (1915)

Original title: Die Verwandlung

Author: Franz Kafka | Page Count: 61

"In the hall, he stretched his right hand out towards the stairway as if out there, there were some supernatural force waiting to save him."

Gregor Samsa goes to bed as normal. He has a routine and he sticks to it. He wakes transformed into a hideous insect. Life gets complicated. Firstly, he can’t get to work looking like a Naked Lunch extra, and that pisses him off. Gregor tries to live his life as normal, but even the smallest change in his behaviour or his environment has a domino effect in the world around him and he’s forced to adapt or suffer. He soon realises that to be a burden is a terrible thing, which is worse than having tiny legs and an inability to get to work on time.

I'm trivialising it, but why not? There have been more than enough overly complex critical appraisals elsewhere. Marxist? Jungian? Post-wankerism? It’s not necessary. (Your English tutor would have a hernia.) I'm trying to show that despite being arty-farty literature it can be enjoyed by all.

However, unless you can read German your only option is to read the text in translation like I did and that means relying to a large degree on the translator for the flow of the narrative. The translation I read seemed very simplistic at times, almost childlike, which had the effect of making the revelatory moments seem all the more powerful. German has the participle at the end of the sentence, so there was some necessary shuffling of words in English and consequently subtle meaning may have been similarly shuffled.

I doubt even the arty-farty critics can contextualise every part of this work; its surface simplicity means it’s open to numerous interpretations, all of which are valid as far as I'm concerned. Take from it what YOU want and to hell with everyone else (including this review). One thing I noticed that I thought was important to a reading: It's not just Gregor's story. With that in mind, subsequent readings may raise my score. Until then:

4 days off work due to a bad case of the bug out of 5

Note: Due to its age, The Metamorphosis is in the public domain and can be found online at Project Gutenberg, or similar sites.

Monday's Troll (1996)

Author: jack Prelutsky | Illustrator: Peter Sis | Page Count: 40

“Monday’s troll is mean and rotten, Tuesday’s troll is misbegotten”

A collection of 17 short poems Monday’s Troll is a wonderful anthology of rhymes detailing the everyday goings on of trolls, wizards, giants, and other magical beasts and ghoulies. The poems themselves are short and sweet, easy enough for the children to read and comprehend but they are all well put together and incite a chuckle out of the grown up reader. Peter Sis’s drawings are fanciful and lively in their depiction of the little story being told but also have some nice little details here and there that don’t have any real importance to the poem’s main narrative. All of the poems are solid but I do wish they would have chosen a different one to end the book with.

I defiantly would get this for any child who likes poetry, fantasy monsters, or just books in general. 

4 snotty kids talking smack to wizards and getting what was coming to ‘em out of 5

MBQ Volume 1 (2005)

Author: Felipe Smith | Page Count: 220

"Something personal is original. Doing what everyone else is doing is not... Instead of trying to create the next original hit, they merely imitate past hits. The result is a lame, uniform, unvarying, unchanging industry. I'm not gonna do that. That's why I don't have a job."

Omario is a struggling artist trying to make ends meet in the City of Angels. While he is passionate about his chosen profession, that passion hasn't translated into success. He is encouraged on by his gentle giant roommate Jeff, an employee at McBurger Queen. While trying to make his share of the rent Omario runs afoul of some of the worst Los Angeles has to offer including drug dealers, cops and violence.

Given Felipe Smith's experience as a starving artist, this is probably at least semi-autobiographical. It explains why Omario's character and motivations are so clear since he is at least partially an insertion of Smith himself. The other characters don't get nearly as much development, but it is still a good story with a bit of action mixed with tragic comedy. This mixture is a strange one, but it is inline with the above quote where Omario vents his frustration at the state of modern comics and manga. Not perfect, but good and entertaining. I don't regret buying it just for the coupon for a free In-N-Out Double Double that came with it.

4 Ball Chomping Chihuahuas out of 5

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793)

Author: William Blake | Page Count: approx 48

"As the air to a bird or the sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible."

Marriage… is William Blake’s romantic (in the poetic sense) and satiric attack on orthodox religious beliefs presented as a kind of biblical passage, with a socio-political and historical binding holding it together. It describes the poet’s visit to hell and the knowledge and assumptions he receives whilst there. It's a short book but one of the most complex pieces of literature I've ever read. I've read it three or four times a year for about five years now and I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface of its esoteric, complex and iconoclastic mysteries.

Blake reverses the traditional standings of good and evil and the beauty and hideousness of heaven and hell, blurring the line between what is perceived good and proper and what is believed to be controlling and bad for the individual. It’s the poet-prophet ideal in its most scathing and reverential form, told from a number of perspectives and in more than one voice. He references Dante and even playfully(?) mocks Milton.

The Proverbs of Hell passage is perhaps the most visceral and misunderstood element of the work and is the part that vexes and intrigues me the most.

A number of beautifully crafted full colour illustrations complement the prose; they were etched in relief directly onto plates by Blake himself and initially printed at his own expense.

The work is freely available online to read for free, both from the William Blake Archive and other places if you prefer not to install the required plug-in, but I would urge you to seek out a site that also reproduces the illustrations, because not all of them do.

5 apple trees and tarot totems out of 5

EDIT: The University of Adelaide has an attractive ebook edition that contains the original illustrations followed by an easier to read text. You can see it HERE.