Nemo: The Roses of Berlin
May10

Nemo: The Roses of Berlin

Nemo: The Roses of Berlin     As with Heart of Ice, the first of writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill’s Janni Dakkar/Nemo outings, the slim (52 pages) volume at hand is enjoyable enough, even though it feels lightweight next to its big brothers in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen universe. Nemo: The Roses of Berlin moves forward thirty-five years to find Captain Janni nearing fifty, still plowing murderously away at...

Read More
The Legend of Batman Volume 3 Born to Kill
Feb14

The Legend of Batman Volume 3 Born to Kill

The Legend of Batman Volume 3 Born to Kill     Admittedly, with a title like that one, I should have known better than to expect something uplifting or life-affirming.  OK, that I could live without, but how about entertaining?  A bit of that, maybe? Not a chance.  Born to Kill is simply unremitting ugliness.  It is a near-enough unredeemed black and sickening vision of life that makes you want to scrub yourself clean after...

Read More
Batman : Zero Year
Feb02

Batman : Zero Year

  Batman: Zero Year     Legend of Batman is another set of collections from Eaglemoss, the quality of which I raved about last year when the company launched its series of Star Trek graphic novels.  And this looks to be every single bit as good, if the initial two volumes here are anything to go by.  Mind you, it is probably necessary to be a complete bat- fanatic if the intention is to collect all of the dozens of volumes.  I’m...

Read More
The Anti-Irish Sentiments of H. P. Lovecraft
Nov25

The Anti-Irish Sentiments of H. P. Lovecraft

‘Criminals and Mongrel Wretches’: The Anti-Irish Sentiments of H. P. Lovecraft   From the Chicago ‘Irish American News’, November 2017     Well now, I’m not the better for that!  In fact, I’m almost sorry that I came across this correspondence from 1918/20. You see, I’ve been a lifelong devotee of the writings of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890 – 1937) of New England.  When I was a schoolboy in the 60s and 70s he was pretty much...

Read More
Nemo: Heart of Ice
Jul10

Nemo: Heart of Ice

Nemo: Heart of Ice     “Sailed from Lincoln [Island] with the morning tide, and a heavy heart.  I am discouraged by the fact that my young wife has lately given birth not to a son and heir, as I had been convinced the gods would surely grant me, but a daughter that she has named Janni, for her mother.  Though she often brings the child to me and tries to make me love her, I cannot, so great has been my disappointment.  Thus I...

Read More
Providence Act 2
Jul10

Providence Act 2

Providence Act 2   “There’s no gettin’ out.  Where I’m from, everything’s like me.” — Brown Jenkin     Seamus, down at Galway’s excellent Sub-City Comics doesn’t overly care for Alan Moore.  And the main reason appears to be Moore’s many depictions of rape in his work.  The writer has explained his reasons for that, but Seamus isn’t buying it. So when I was finished reading Providence Act 1 I was happy to let him know...

Read More