Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
Knivesout no more
Re: Graphic Novels
Look what I just got:
First published in 1997 by DC/Vertigo.
The art is simply stunning, the styles of the three artists are amazingly varied, complementary and memorable. The main story line is handled by Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion) with his blend of Kirbyesque golden-age heroics and psychedelia-influenced intricacies. A secondary storyline, set in the 1930s, is handled by Mark Reeve, whose more distorted, cartoonish but retro-looking style is reminiscent of Kevin O'Neill's work on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, while John Ridgway (Judge Dredd, 2000 AD) follows the adventures of Elric in the year 1,000 AD with a style that I think of as epitomising the hard-boiled Brit adventure comic look.
The writing and story, of course, cannot fail to be mind-bending, complex and fun, coming from sf/f legend Michael Moorcock. The storyline is incredibly involved, and just may prove terminally baffling to a Moorcock newbie, as it references many of his wildly disparate tales of the Eternal Champion. Also, there are times when it seems his prose is just dying to run free, but cannot quite do so in the visually driven comics medium. Nevertheless, a great comic, one of the finest I've seen in a while. Of course I love comics and I love Moorcock so I may be biased!
Look what I just got:
First published in 1997 by DC/Vertigo.
The art is simply stunning, the styles of the three artists are amazingly varied, complementary and memorable. The main story line is handled by Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion) with his blend of Kirbyesque golden-age heroics and psychedelia-influenced intricacies. A secondary storyline, set in the 1930s, is handled by Mark Reeve, whose more distorted, cartoonish but retro-looking style is reminiscent of Kevin O'Neill's work on The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, while John Ridgway (Judge Dredd, 2000 AD) follows the adventures of Elric in the year 1,000 AD with a style that I think of as epitomising the hard-boiled Brit adventure comic look.
The writing and story, of course, cannot fail to be mind-bending, complex and fun, coming from sf/f legend Michael Moorcock. The storyline is incredibly involved, and just may prove terminally baffling to a Moorcock newbie, as it references many of his wildly disparate tales of the Eternal Champion. Also, there are times when it seems his prose is just dying to run free, but cannot quite do so in the visually driven comics medium. Nevertheless, a great comic, one of the finest I've seen in a while. Of course I love comics and I love Moorcock so I may be biased!
