Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned. Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Before writing Dracula, Stoker spent several years researching European folklore and mythological stories of vampires. Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as a collection of realistic, but completely fictional, diary entries, telegrams, letters, ship's logs, and newspaper clippings, all of which added a level of detailed realism to his story, a skill he developed as a newspaper writer. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, he defined its modern form, and the novel has spawned numerous theatrical, film and television interpretations.The original 541-page manuscript of Dracula, believed to have been lost, was found in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. It included the typed manuscript with many corrections, and handwritten on the title page was "THE UN-DEAD."  Stoker's Notes for Dracula show that the name of the count was originally "Count Wampyr", but while doing research, Stoker became intrigued by the name "Dracula", after reading William Wilkinson's book Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia with Political Observations Relative to Them (London 1820), which he found in the Whitby Library, and consulted a number of times during visits to Whitby in the 1890s. The name Dracula was the patronym (Drăculea) of the descendants of Vlad II of Wallachia, who took the name "Dracul" after being invested in the Order of the Dragon in 1431. In the Romanian language, the word dracul can mean either "the dragon" or, especially in the present day, "the devil". Vlad III would later partly inspire the vampire in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula”. Stoker's inspirations for the story, in addition to Whitby, may have included a visit to Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, a visit to the crypts of St. Michan's Church in Dublin and the novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Although Dracula is a work of fiction, it does contain some historical references. The historical connections with the novel and how much Stoker knew about the history are a matter of conjecture and debate. Dracula has enjoyed enormous popularity since its publication and has spawned an extraordinary vampire subculture in the second half of the 20th century. At the center of this subculture is the legend of Transylvania, which has become almost synonymous with vampires.The story of Dracula has been the basis for numerous films and plays. Stoker himself wrote the first theatrical adaptation, which was presented at the Lyceum Theatre under the title Dracula, or The Undead shortly before the novel's publication and performed only once. The first film adaptation of Dracula was released in 1922 and was named Nosferatu. It was directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock. The 1931 film version of Dracula was based on the 1927 stage play dramatized,  starred Bela Lugosi, directed by Tod Browning, is one of the most famous versions of the story and is commonly considered a horror classic. In 1958, Hammer Films produced Dracula, a newer, more Gothic version of the story, starring Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. It is widely considered to be one of the best versions of the story to be adapted to film. This was followed by a long series of Dracula films, usually featuring Lee as Dracula. Bram Stoker's Dracula (also released as Dracula), the1992 American Gothic horror vampire romance film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola remains the most popular modern adaptation of the book to date, a box office hit, won several Academy Awards and other recognition. It stars Gary Oldman as Count Dracula, Winona Ryder as Mina Harker, Anthony Hopkins as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, and Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker. As of 2009, an estimated 217 films feature Dracula in a major role, a number second only to Sherlock Holmes (223 films).

Jean "Moebius" Giraud.

8 May 1938 – 10 March 2012

Jean Henri Gaston Giraud was a French comics artist, working in the French tradition of bandes dessinées. Giraud earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Mœbius, and to a lesser extent Gir (used for the "Blueberry" series), the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings. Esteemed by Federico Fellini, Stan Lee and French politician Jack Lang among other notables, he was one of the few francophone comic strip artists to receive international acclaim.

Among his most famous works are the Western comic series "Blueberry" he co-created with writer Jean-Michel Charlier, one of the first Western anti-heroes to appear in comics. Under the pseudonym Moebius he created a wide range of science fiction and and fantasy comics in a highly imaginative and surreal almost abstract style, the most famous of which are Arzach and the Airtight Garage of Jerry Cornelius, and the The Incal. Blueberry was adapted for the screen in 2004, and in 1997 Moebius and cocreator Alejandro Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson for using the Incal as inspiration for his movie The Fifth Element, a lawsuit which they lost.

Moebius contributed storyboards and concept designs to numerous science fiction and fantasy films, including Alien, Willow, and Tron. Giraud's artwork for the Dan O'Bannon short story comic "The Long Tomorrow" was a key visual reference for Blade Runner. George Lucas used one of Giraud's designs for the Imperial Probe Droid in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Lucas's later Star Wars films also share many visual characteristics with Giraud's work, particularly the depiction of the city-planet Coruscant.

source : wiki.
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Perhaps one of the, if not the only, most influential comics artist of all time. First got aquainted with his works in the fantasy/sci-fi/erotica Heavy Metal magazine of which is the US version of Métal Hurlant, the French comics anthology of science fiction and horror comics stories, co-created in December 1974 by Jean Giraud.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

They shrugged at each other. Fook composed himself. "O Deep Thought computer," he said, "the task we have designed you to perform is this. We want you to tell us...." he paused, "The Answer."
"The Answer?" said Deep Thought. "The Answer to what?"
"Life!" urged Fook.
"The Universe!" said Lunkwill.
"Everything!" they said in chorus.
Deep Thought paused for a moment's reflection.
"Tricky," he said finally.
"But can you do it?"
Again, a significant pause.
"Yes," said Deep Thought, "I can do it."
"There is an answer?" said Fook with breathless excitement.
"Yes," said Deep Thought. "Life, the Universe, and Everything. There is an answer. But, I'll have to think about it."
Ford glanced impatiently at his watch.
"How long?" he said.
"Seven and a half million years."
Lunkwill and Fook blinked at each other.
"Seven and a half million years!" they cried in chorus.
"Yes." said Deep Thought.
(Seven and a half million years later.... Fook and Lunkwill are long gone, but their ancestors continue what they started)
"We are the ones who will hear," said Phouchg, "the answer to the great question of Life....!"
"The Universe...!" said Loonquawl.
"And Everything...!"
"Shhh," said Loonquawl with a slight gesture. "I think Deep Thought is preparing to speak!"
There was a moment's expectant pause while panels slowly came to life on the front of the console. Lights flashed on and off experimentally and settled down into a businesslike pattern. A soft low hum came from the communication channel.
"Good Morning," said Deep Thought at last.
"Er..good morning, O Deep Thought" said Loonquawl nervously, "do you have...er, that is..."
"An Answer for you?" interrupted Deep Thought majestically. "Yes, I have."
The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain.
"There really is one?" breathed Phouchg.
"There really is one," confirmed Deep Thought.
"To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and everything?"
"Yes."
Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children.
"And you're ready to give it to us?" urged Loonsuawl.
"I am."
"Now?"
"Now," said Deep Thought.
They both licked their dry lips.
"Though I don't think," added Deep Thought. "that you're going to like it."
"Doesn't matter!" said Phouchg. "We must know it! Now!"
"Now?" inquired Deep Thought.
"Yes! Now..."
"All right," said the computer, and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable.
"You're really not going to like it," observed Deep Thought.
"Tell us!"
"All right," said Deep Thought. "The Answer to the Great Question..."
"Yes..!"
"Of Life, the Universe and Everything..." said Deep Thought.
"Yes...!"
"Is..." said Deep Thought, and paused.
"Yes...!"
"Is..."
"Yes...!!!...?"
"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm."

~ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

"Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.
The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist,'" says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," says Man, "The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."
"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.
"Oh, that was easy," says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing."
~ The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things."
~ The Salmon of Doubt : Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time.

Milo Manara, Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri

...they are simply two of the best, most prolific illustrators and storytellers in the field of erotica. "Memorable (and complete with very naughty ideas)" titles from Manara include "Butterscotch" and the "Click" series, whereas Serpieri gives us one of the most erotic female form on pen and paper through Drunna, the highly sexual protagonist in the Morbus Gravis series. Definitely not for the "faint hearted".

Three Kingdoms : A Historical Novel.

The world under heaven, after a long period of division, will be united; after a long period of union, will be divided. (話說天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分。)

Having read through the entire three volumes of the Outlaws of the Marsh ( 水浒传), I decided to move on to the next Four Great Classical Novels of the Chinese Literature ( 四大名著), the hugely prolific and immensely popular epic, Three Kingdoms (三國演義) authored by Luo Guanzhong (罗贯中), the stylised name of Luo Ben (罗本)(c.1330 - 1400) and translated into English by Moss Roberts. Also known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, this part historical mixed with part legends and myths is based on events and occurrence during the tumultuous Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). It depicts the various warlords battling amongst themselves to establish their own power over the nation during and after the fall of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 AD). Eventually, three warlords - Cao Cao (曹操) , Liu Bei (刘备) and Sun Quan (孙权) - established the states of Cao Wei (曹魏), Shu Han (蜀汉) and Eastern Wu (东吴) respectively, and continue trying to outmaneuver each others in several battles although without much significant outcome, leading to a temporary stalemate. The beginning of the end of the three kingdoms came about shortly after the death of Guan Yu (关羽) and Zhang Fei (张飞)'s assassination. Shu Han, after the deaths of Liu Bei and his loyal chancellor, Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮) , was conquered by Cao Wei in 263AD due to the incompetency of its ruler, Liu Shan. By then, the Sima family clan led by Sima Yi (司马懿) had established strong authority and influence on Cao Wei after the death of Cao Cao. Sima Yi's grandson, Sima Yan (司馬炎) later usurped the throne from then ruler of Cao Wei, Cao Huan (曹奐) and subsequently established the Jin Dynasty (265 - 420AD). Eastern Wu was finally conquered by Cao Wei in 280 AD, no less due to another tyrannical ruler, Sun Hao (孙皓). With several hundreds of characters contain within the story, and lasting three generations, this explain why I keep back paddling after a few pages ahead in order to keep track of the intricate plots.

Frank Frazetta : Feb 9th, 1928 ~ May 10th, 2010.

Fantasy art illustrator extraordinaire, Frank Frazetta died yesterday due to stroke at the age of 82. Frazetta is most well known for his fantastic depiction of muscle bound Hyborian warriors rescuing scantily clad women from the clutches of monsters and wizards. He had previously illustrated for comics like Li'Abner, Flash Gordon, various EC Comics titles as well as covers for Buck Rogers in the 50s. By the 60s, Frazetta begun to contribute his talent to several adult theme comic strips and Mad Magazine, and most notably, for the movie cover of the 1965 comedy, What's New Pussycat?. But perhaps amongst his numerous paintings, the one which arguebly propelled Frazetta into the limelight would be his output for various sword and sorcery/heroic fantasy genre paperback covers, most notably for Robert E. Howard's Conan series and Edgar Rice Burroughs books, including Tarzan and John Carter of Mars. Later, Frazetta also begun to contribute to album covers for late 70s hard rock/metal bands like Molly Hatchet (which incidentally features The Death Dealer, another popularly identifiable work of Frazetta) and Nazareth. I did not know who Frazetta was until the age of 15, back during the Penang days, the art teacher (whose name escaped me, nice fella who has a knack for dozing off while leaving it to me to complete whatever art assignment I was having that day. I remembered him driving an old hatchback Civic though) was going through this book which featured scantily clad women with leopards, monstrous apes and barbarians. I was hooked from that moment on (though it escaped me how I managed to ask the art teacher to loan me his book as it featured lots of nudity with playful bawdyness to it! The Giantess sketch and Cat Girl painting are particularly memorable). I searched in vain for one (then at the long gone Times bookstore at the intersection somewhere along Macalister Road/ Dato Keramat Road...not sure). Years and years later, Amazon came by and off I purchase his art books online. Frazetta's art, I am not sure how to describe it but it somehow possess some sort of omph to it, and that's what makes it special to me.

Absolute Justice DC ~ Alex Ross & Jim Krueger

Finally got me grubby hands on this. Originally published as a 12 issues limited series back in 2005..but alas, the excitement waned as I progressed through the entire all in one collection under the Absolute hardcover slipcase edition series. Ross' photo realism artwork still rocks but the storyline felt kinda...flat. No, this is definitely not another Marvel or Kingdom Come (as much as I want it to be...). Ross had mentioned that after Kingdom Come, he wanted to take a break from those type of storyline i.e. superhuman wars and instead focus on stories which are akin to The World's Greatest Super-Heroes oversize collection of one-shot individual stories about the main core members of JLA. Overall it is about JLA vs Legion Of Doom, a super group comprising a number of supervillians headed by Lex Luthor, with Brainiac working behind the scene. The plot is simple, bring down the existing superheroes (and super heroines) one by one quietly, whilst promoting in the eyes of the public about the new changes the bad guys (and girls) are bring to the world - helping and resolving the world's problems, like giving out prosthetic limbs, creating lakes and foods in famine struck countries etc. Luthor announces to the world that JLA has failed in their role for not using their mighty abilities and gifts to resolve issues which has been besetting the world. Using "black globes" which are given to him by Brainiac, Luthor intends to create new utopias for the human race. However, Brainiac, being a living computer/AI, has a more sinister plan than this and it does not take two shakes of a lamb's tail to figure out what he intends to do eventually. Of course the good guys emerge unscathed and victorious in the end, but the portrayal of certain characters, particularly Superman, somehow irks me...Supes kinda come across as a whiny big blue boy scout. Bright moments include some humourous exchanges between some of the characters, a particular scene involving Green Arrow and Black Canary when they are ambushed by Clayface, and where Aquaman has part of his brain removed by Brainiac. Overall, still alright, just that it kinda fall a tad short of my expectation of what it should be.

Yoshihisa Tagami's Grey And Horobi.

Around 1989, I was introduced to the world of Japanese manga through Viz Comics. Manga had been around locally for years (particularly in the book sections of the no longer around Yaohan supermarket store) but available only in their original Japanese or translated version in Chinese imported from Hong Kong. Viz Comics, I think, was the first American company which translated selected manga in English from those days. Amongst the first manga of which I owned were Yoshihisa Tagami's Grey and Horobi, from 1989 to 1991. Other titles include the infamous Crying Freeman, as well as acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Back then, these comics were published and printed on an 80 pages format, usually with a cardboard like cover, and ran for about eight to ten issues per series. As of 2002, Viz has adapted the right to left reading sequence, just like the Japanese version and available only in trade paper back format (without the dust jackets) locally. They are now more easily accessible, off the shelves directly, thanks largely to Kinokuniya, unlike back then, whereby it would only be available via specialised, indie comic store like The Mind Shop, The Final Frontier and Subang's own DCM (where the owner had no qualms in procuring and selling me Milo Manara's works :)). I got Grey and Horobi through a comic shop set up in a living room of this uncle back in Penang's Island Glades. He was a mustachioed, stern looking uncle, who drove a beaten up Volvo. To enter his "shop", I had to negotiate my way through his fierce, perpetually barking hound as well. This uncle, by the way, sort of influenced me to collect those limited hardcovers, mostly by Graphitti Design. I remembered asking him if I could have a glance at The Dark Knight and The Killing Joke, of which he turned me down, in a manner which I perceived as "Idiota. No way I am gonna let a bespectacled, sweaty palmed school kid have a look at the (then) best Batman stories ever written in MINT condition."

Yoshihisa Tagami wrote and illustrated both titles. His illustration is minimalistic and different from standard, run of the mill manga. His characters are drawn with what I called "Pinocchio" nose, as well as skinny pants and boots. Grey was adapted into English by Gerard Jones and Horobi by Len Wein and Part Two by Matt Thorn. As I don't read Japanese, I am not sure about the translated works but nevertheless, I thought it was natural and smooth, including those "sound effects". Both stories somehow talk about fate and destiny, whether it could be changed if one was to be assertive and determined enough.

Grey is a post apocalyptic story which took place 500 years into the future, circa 26th Century. The world is but a barren wasteland whereas the oceans are heavily polluted. Grey is the protagonist of the entire series and we followed his journey as a "trooper" as he battled to survive each war theatres he was assigned to fight in. The background to the story is that the world is controlled by a supercomputer called "Big Mama" (original name "Toy"). As the story progressed, it is revealed that "Big Mama" has came to a conclusion that mankind ultimate goal is to be extinct. As such, the A.I. devised and set off a war which destroyed the entire world. Survivors were used as "maintenance crew" known as "citizens" at the "City", the mainframe of "Big Mama". "Big Mama" also created the numerically assigned "towns" to have more "citizens". But as the towns grew in numbers, "Big Mama" devised a new, twisted plan to manage these new populations. It introduced a class system whereby the populations are segregated into two classes, the non-combatant "people" and "troopers", who engage themselves in daily warfare in pre-designated battle theatres. The "troopers" fight to supposedly protect their own "town" against others as well as earn "credits" to live a comparatively better lives than "people", whom stays at slum like dwellings with little foods and gets abused daily. Each "town" is managed by "Little Mama", a terminal of "Big Mama". Not all "towns" weapons and equipments are equal. New "towns" usually get WW2 type battle tanks and guns, whereas, double or single digit ones are armed with sophisticated, mecha like armour suits as well as massive battle fortresses. Within the "troopers" hierarchy, there is another class system. With each credits collected and success in surviving each battle, an individual gets to be promoted to the next class (starting from Class F). The chances of surviving each class gets more remote as one progress. If a "trooper" survives Class A, then he or she would be eligible for "citizenship", and gets to stay in the "City", supposedly a paradise like place. Grey comes from "town 303" and is a punk like character, with last name "Death". Every character that comes into contact with him indeed ended up dead. A former "people", he opted to become a "trooper" with a personal reason after the death of his girlfriend, Lips during her first battle. Grey eventually learnt the truth behind it all and proceeded to engage "Big Mama" in the final showdown. With introduction by Harlan Ellison, the story somehow reminded me of his work, I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream but less darker in tone.

In the 1990 to 1991 Horobi, there are three protagonists in the story, Shuichi Aiga, Zen Amako and Shoko Yobuno. All three are related to one another via the same mother but this is not revealed until part two. Their late mother was related the secret societies called Satori and Yamato, whose members were descendants from the "demons", human labelled as such in the ancient times due to their E.S.P. powers. Satori represented the males and Yamato, females. They fought each other in order to control or kill the next coming of a messiah who is supposedly the most powerful Esper of all, and in control of an ancient device called Sacred Animal Mirror i.e. Ragnarok, to save mankind from Horobi, the God of Destruction. It turns out Ragnarok choose Aiga as the messiah (known in the past as Idari) whereas Amako, due to his inferiority complex which attracted millions of malicious consciousness, is selected to be manifested as Horobi. The most interesting thing about this series is that it touches on subjects ranging from environmental demise, battle of the sexes, heroes worshipping to personal relationships and human behaviour at every opportune possible by its characters, which is quite engaging.

From The Dark Knight To Kingdom Come.

For an old generation of comic books fan like me, I couldn't remember precisely when but beginning with The Dark Knight Returns (DC) by Frank Miller in 1986 and Watchmen (DC) by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in 1987, mainstream comics lost its "innocence" and aren't exclusive to kids anymore. Stories became more hard hitting, edgy and grim. Reality kicks in. Superheroes are "deconstructed" and become flawed individuals. Most aren't pure moral guardians anymore. Instead, they are mired with personal problems and issues, some even tethering on the edge of insanity. They gets old and fat. The villainy they faced are not just individuals, but also the ever changing public opinions and the battles often took place on a more macro level as well as getting increasingly intangible. Some becomes totally irrelevant in times of change. Some gets killed. Comic books began to cross the line over to being considered as "serious" literature. One famous event I first encountered was when DC decided to allow the fans to vote whether Jason Todd, the third Robin would survive in Batman : A Death In The Family (DC-1989). He didn't (he was deemed not popular) which I think gutted DC quite abit during that time. Other titles include Batman : Year One (DC -1987) also by Frank Miller and beautifully illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, The Sandman (Vertigo - 1989) by Neil Gaiman, a storyline of epic proportion which centered around Dream, a The Cure's Robert Smith lookalike entity, The Swamp Thing story arc by Alan Moore and The Killing Joke (DC - 1987), also by Alan Moore. The success of the such "serious" themed storyline launched countless other titles and influenced other publishers to make over their existing superheroes' origin. Superman (who grew an irritating looking pony tail, of all things) and his origin got re-vamped (first of many to come I suppose) by John Byrne in the seminal Man Of Steel (DC - 1986) mini series, Spider Man (arguably amongst the first to adopt serious personal issues and best during when Todd McFarlane was pencilling the series), Hulk (child abuse, psychological issues), X-Men (dysfunctional, superheroes version of a family drama), Daredevil etc.

By the 90s, it gotten too much. Story with realistic theme is nice but where are all the fun and entertainment? Some were written just for the sake of being grim and gritty. One of the personal favourite "not so serious" comics which I like from around this period is World's Finest (DC- 1990) by Dave Gibbons and Steve Rude. The three "prestige" format books miniseries features Superman and Batman against Lex Luthor and Joker as well as supporting characters from both superheroes background (except Robin who remained RIP). A balance is required sometimes. Looking back, most serious stories are written by Alan Moore, the manic looking English man, story writer extraordinaire (who went on overdrive in From Hell (with Eddie Campbell, Top Shelf - 1991 to 1996), another epic storytelling of Jack The Ripper and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen series, amongst others) I stopped following some comic titles altogether by early 90s (too many story arcs, superheroes origin gets redone, gets killed and brought back over and over again. Worse are new titles being launched and only to gets axed after a short period. Then there are problems of coherent continuity i.e. writers got change, plots got change). And looking back at Watchmen, I finds it too nihilistic and disturbing. And there is no one single character whom I can root for. The Comedian is cruel and vicious, Dr. Manhattan is too far removed from humanity even though he is "omnipotent", Rorschach is a morally absolute sociopath, Ozymandiaz is suffering from visions of grandeur and looks at the rest of the humanity as inferior, The Nite Owl is an average suburbia lonely man, The Spectre is manipulative and complains too much. And the ambiguous, open ended conclusion! Will Ozymandiaz gets what he deserves for planning the genocide with the man made squid? I guessed Moore did get his story across to me. And I guessed that's why Watchmen remains an important masterpiece of story telling to me personally. It totally dismantled the superheroes "invincibility".

Currently, I concentrate only on selective mini-series which have a beginning and ending story arcs. Thus can spare me from "chasing" the stories indefinitely. If it were beautifully drawn and colored, then that would be bonus to me. Two titles which caught my eyes back then were Marvels (Marvel Comics - 1994) and Kingdom Come (DC - 1996), nicely written by Kurt Busiek and Mark Waid respectively, both beautifully illustrated by Alex Ross, who applied the fantastic looking gouache technique, a watercolor like rendering for all its contents. And Superman. Darn, Ross surely captured all the majesty for the Man Of Steel. His rendition captures what I think the Son Of Krypton should look like. It's like the vintage version (just like Steve Rude's version in World's Finest), a squared jaw Superman, with a commanding patriarch like authority. I never see Supes as a young man, even though he might age slowly (he's an alien after all). In Marvels, the story is told from the eyes of a photographer, an average man. We gets to see the supers doing all sort of stunts from the perspective of a human. Which is refreshing. In Kingdom Come, ex-Justice League members get to face off with the new batch/ new generation of amoral supers (which I felt like a veiled commentary on the current "serious" superheroes) who have killed off all villains and are now battling themselves for lack of enemies. What is great is that the JLA are portrayed still sticking to their old principles and values. And of course, if opportunity arises, I will continue to read and collect comic books, just the ones that has a stand alone story or miniseries, with a balance theme of realism and fantasy. Now, where can I get a copy of the Absolute Justice by Alex Ross?

Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira.

Perhaps the most popular anime movie of all time to reach a global audience is Akira (アキラ) (1988) by Katsuhiro Otomo. It also continues to generate discussion about the themes use in it as well as the ground breaking, labour intensive hand drawn super fluid cell animation use for the movie. However to truly understand Akira in its entirety, it would be the epic manga of which the movie is based on. First published back in 1982, it completed its serialised run in 1990 and then published as a six volume trade paperbacks the same year. Marvel Comics imprint Epic Comics once published a computer colourised version from 1988 to 1995 under a 38 issues prestige format, then collected into a six volume trade paper backs. These are hard to find nowadays and tend to command premium prices. Thus when Dark Horse Comics re-issue Akira in original Kodansha six volume trade paperback format between 2000 to 2002, translated and in black and white with original layout, I jump with joy.
Akira is an epic running well over 2000 pages in total. Said to be partly inspired by Star Wars and Tetsujin 28 (aka Gigantor), it contains extreme violence, drama, cyberpunk cultural reference as well as humour. Apart from main protagonist Shotaro Kaneda (金田 正太郎 Kaneda Shōtarō) and main antagonist Tetsuo Shima (島 鉄雄 Shima Tetsuo), as well as its main theme of psychokinesis, it also contains many other characters and plenty of sub-plots which are intricately weaved together until the very end. Akira has its beginning in Fireball a short story which Otomo intended to expand upon before abandoning the idea, then briefly revisited in Domu. Like all his work, it is a societal commentary on the urban youth culture, corruption and political machination and manipulation. It took place in Neo-Tokyo, year 2020, which is built over Tokyo Bay after the destruction of the original Tokyo City by a mysterious bomb back in 1992, which sparks off World War Three. The mysterious bomb turn out to be Akira, also known as No. 28, who is part of a group of 40 specially gifted children selected to be part of a secret government project on tapping into the immense and boundless power of psychokinesis. However, Akira went out of control and detonated a psychic energy which wipe out part of the city. Since then, Akira went into a comatose like state and stored within a specially designed cryogenic, deep beneath the newly constructed Neo Tokyo Olympic Stadium. Around the outskirts of Neo Tokyo, on an abandoned expressway, a group of juvenile delinquents led by 15 year old Kaneda is having a fun time riding their bikes along the area when Tetsuo, a brash but suffering from immense inferior complex member and a close friend of Kaneda, crashed and met an accident after overtaking Kaneda to lead the pack. Upon closer inspection, Tetsuo did not just crash, his bike literally exploded on the spot. Kaneda then saw a mysterious kid with No. 26 on his palm. The kid, who turns out to be Takashi (タカシ) one of the three government controlled Espers kept in perpetual childhood state, then eeriely faded away. The police arrived at the scene and took an injured Tetsuo away.

From then on, it would be a roller coaster ride throughout this entire complex epic, from Tetsuo's burgeoning psychokinesis which he uses to massacre The Capsules except for Kaneda and Kai (甲斐), the awakening of Akira by Tetsuo, how his arm was sliced off by the SOL laser satellite due to the intervention of Kaneda and then replaced with inorganic materials via psychokinesis to a disastrous consequence, the participation of terrorist group funded and mastermind by an opposition parliamentary member into the attempt kidnapping of Akira, the second psychic explosion over Neo Tokyo resulting in the emergence of The Great Tokyo Empire led by Tetsuo, his demonstration of his power by destroying half of the moon surface, the reconciliation of all the parties considered protagonists in the storyline, including Joker of the Clown Gang, a former rival of Kaneda, the intervention of American military and its subsequent destruction at the hands of Tetsuo, and finally, the showdown between Kei (ケイ) and a grossly mutated Tetsuo after the final stand of Lady Miyako at the temple ground. Over 2000 pages of intense action, drama and storytelling. Otomo's unique style is very cinematic like and incredibly detailed. Otomo also has enough time to more than flesh out the characters, including supporting roles..thus everyone is as unique as it can be.

Another interesting development is that certain characters may appear bad or good at the introduction but as the story progress, would become vice versa when their motives are revealed. This include Colonel Shikishima (敷島大佐), Nezu (根津), Lady Miyako, Joker, George Yamada and even Tetsuo himself who eventually become sort of anti-hero instead of totally villainous.

Katsuhiro Otomo's Domu : A Child's Dream.

Domu : A Child's Dream (童夢,Dōmu) is first serialised in Japan from 1980 to 1982. Translated into English by Studio Proteus and published by Dark Horse Comics back in 1995, it comes in three 80 pages issue format in black & white and later collected into a single volume tradepaper back format. Domu is a semi horror story which took place in an apartment complex. The place reminds me of the thousands of flats/apartments complex found in this country like Penang's Rifle Range or even now demolished Pekeliling Flats in KL for instance. I have had an opportunity to stay for a short period at Uncle Peng's then apartment in Penang when I first graduated back in late 90s. Density is high, noisy and everywhere you turn are walls and corridors. It somehow gives off the feeling of being like a bird in a cage.

The story is about a string of mysterious suicides which occurred at the Tsutsumi Housing Complex. What baffles the investigators are that these suicides occur at an extremely adnormal rate (thirty two cases within three years) and there are no known motives nor logical explainations behind these. It turns out that an elderly residence by the name of Chojiro Uchida is responsible behind all these apparent suicides. Old Man Cho, as he is also known as in the story, posseses powerful psychokinesis power, which he uses to horrific effect on his victims. He suffers from an advance stage of senility. Having abandon by his daughter and her family one fine day many years ago (which I speculated as maybe they saw what he can do or they could see him as a burden and no longer wants to take care of him), he now spend his time on his own and "identify" potential victim via his/her objects in possesion which might fancy him, be it a ring or even trivial ones like a pen cap. He has a mind of an immature child now and like a spoilt child, he would take whatever he wants by causing the victims to kill themselves by jumping off the building. His murderous spree is disrupted one day with the arrival of Etsuko, a young girl with immensely powerful psychokinesis ability of her own. She immediately stops Cho from throwing a baby from the balcony. Angered by Etsuko for interrupting him "playing", Cho then plotted a series of revenge against Etsuko, partly to "punish" her and partly to get her attention, just like a child throwing tantrum. Thus began a battle between them which causes numerous horrific deaths and eventual destruction of an entire block of the housing complex. It is interesting to note that Etsuko, throughout majority of the story, has more sense of responsibility although she is just a kid, whilst Cho is behaving like a irresponsible brat. In fact, to Cho, all the destruction and murders are just part of "playing" and perhaps even to make up for the lost of affections and loneliness. At one point, Etsuko gave in to her tantrum after failing to stop Cho from turning on the housing complex gas mains, simply lash out at everything and everyone, including one unfortunate fireman who is blown into half. She is pacified only when she saw her mother and immediately ran out to her.

Maybe Otomo is trying to convey through this story about responsibility and neglect. From a parent, a kid and even society as a whole. Adults who acted irresponsibly by abandoning their elders, not spending time with their kids and so forth. It maybe also about power in the hands of those who does not know how to use it responsibly, which will only invite destruction and death.

In terms of illustration, Otomo's work, of which he would explore to even greater heights in Akira, contain top notch technical details, and a cinematic sense of composition, and with background in architecture, he illustrated the buildings to great effect to convey the feeling of eerieness throughout the story. He also manage to flesh out enough characterisation, although it is only three issue long.

Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories.

Somewhere around 1996, in Perth, I came across this book in one of the local bookstore which name slip my mind. The name Memories and Katsuhiro Otomo (大友克洋, Ōtomo Katsuhiro) caught my eyes. Published by Mandarin Paperbacks in 1994, which I have not heard of, it contains about 12 short stories collected within one volume, created way earlier than his more popular works. Each story range from 4 to 15 pages long. It contains Fireball, an early prequel whose theme would eventually serve as the basic groundwork and idea to Domu and Akira. It also contains Memories, which I first seen on anime format collection of 3 short stories of the same name, under the title Magnetic Rose. Some are horror stories, like the one about living sands that devour explorers and another about the survivor of a ship wreck in a heavily polluted sea and its consequences. Some are bone tickling funny take on fables and famous stories, like Aladdin and The Magic Lamp or even the Old Man and the Sea (very twisted). Prior to the beginning of each chapter, Otomo wrote the origin and the ideas behind the story.

The Dark Knight Returns Limited Edition Hardcover.

After searching for this book since 1986, I finally obtained a copy from eBay online last January 2009. Honestly I am not too happy about the condition as it is definitely not near mint as claimed . Reckoned that due to the wear and tear, it may be somewhere between fine and good (if I am not mistaken about the "standard" comic traders/collectors use for grading). The dust jacket has fingerprint marks, worn and scuffs. There is also brown staining on the first few pages. The ex owner got it second hand way back then. I believe the original owner doesn't realise the value of this book! Nevertheless, I reckon the price I paid is still way below the market demand, even with all the above "defects". Also, I buy to keep, not for trade. With this version, my personal "classic" series of Bats late 80s comic/graphic novel releases are now complete. Here's a list of what I reckon to be the best of Bats by DC (not chronologically or preference).

a) The Killing Jokes.
b) Arkham Asylum : A Serious House On A Serious Earth.

c) Batman : Year One.

d) The Dark Knight Returns.

Outlaws Of The Marsh.

Finally, I completed reading the entire three volumes of Outlaws of the Marsh aka Water Margin (水滸傳) (14th Century) by Shi Nai'an (施耐庵) (ca. 1296—1372) and Luo Guanzhong (羅貫中) (ca. 1330-1400). Translated by Sidney Shapiro (沙博理) (1915 ~) and published by the Beijing Foreign Language Press back in 1980, I have been "hunting" for this edition for quite a while until I manage to get it by chance at KLCC's Kinokuniya bookstore last year. Bound in hardcover with dust jacket, nevertheless the pages are quite fragile and the binding is not the best of quality. A page came off, much to my dismay for the price I forked out for it. The volumes also contain some illustrations. The epic is said to be loosely base on a series of different stories told verbally and then "knitted" together. It is also said that some characters like outlaw leader Song Jiang is a real historical persona. Considered one of the Four Great Classical Novel of Chinese Literature (四大名著) which includes Romance Of The Three Kingdoms (三國演義) (14th Century), The Journey To The West (西遊記) (16th Century) and Dream Of The Red Chamber (紅樓夢) (18th Century), which replaces the infamous The Plum In The Golden Vase aka The Golden Lotus (金瓶梅) (15th Century) upon its publication.

Containing 100 chapters, it deals with the trials and tribulations of each members of the 108 outlaws of the Liangshan Marsh, how they come together, as well as their meteoric rise and eventual tragic downfall, around the mid Song Dynasty. Majority of the chapters began with introduction of each of the key characters and their background, as to how and why they becomes an outlaw, usually due to a certain level of social injustice they suffered. These individuals are depicted as full of honour, loyalty and chivralous, with the collective objective of setting any injustice right and rebel against the highly corrupted ministers and officials occupying the government during that time. Curiously the outlaws held a high level of loyalty to the Emperor and hope that he will forgive them and get rid of the unscrupulous officials surrounding him. However, there are occasional scenes of excessive violence, described in graphic details, which left me uncomfortable at times. These include massacre of an entire family, including childrens and those not responsible, as well as the brutal killings/multilations of adulterous wives.

There has been ongoing debate as to who is the original author of this epic. Some say Shi Nai'an is a psyeudonym of Luo Guanzhong, some argued that he is a student of Shi Nai'an, whilst others say that Shi Nai'an wrote the books and Luo Guanzhong edits it. Nothing can be confirmed. There is a saying that when one is young, avoid reading Outlaws of the Marsh and when one is old, avoid reading The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Batman & Joker : Eternal Conflict.

After watching The Dark Knight (2008) the Batman sequel by Chris Nolan, I retrieved some old comics and graphic novels, which have been stashed away for quite some time. The best Batman vs. Joker story, in my own humble opinion, which also, I think bear similarity in theme with the above movie, are as follows :

a) The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller, Lynn Varley, Klaus Jansen ~ DC, 1986). Originally published as "prestige format" series of 4 books, this is my first "proper" introduction to the world of Batman, albeit taken place 50 years into the future. Bruce, now past his prime and in his 50s, has retired his Batman alter ego, possibly forced or co-erced by the US govt and the numerous legislatures in place. Most of the Justice League members had also retired, briefly mentioned in the storyline as Diana (The Wonder Woman) went back to her people, Hal (The Green Lantern) gone to the stars. The most interesting arc of this series is the one whereby Joker, also old and hadn't spoken for several decades, in a near vegetative state of behaviour, is "revived" by the re-appearance of Batman. He has been in Arkham Asylum for years now, but after catching the news on telly that Batman has returned to Gotham City, his mental state of mind and old sociopathic behaviour are sparked off once more. He escaped after cunningly deceived a psychologist to allow him to appear in a certain talkshow, whereby he slaugthered hundreds of the audience with his trademark "laughing gas". He further fatally poisoned a dozen of so boy scouts on top of several dozens more during the climatic fight between him and Batman. As Batman always abide by his code of "not taking lives", Joker, severely injured, used his last ounce of strength to twist his own neck, a suicidal last "gift" to his eternal foe, but ultimately to ensure that Batman would be hunted by the law in proper, now that he has taken the life of the Joker. It would eventually caused Batman to showdown with Superman, now a US govt agent and President lackey. Excellent reading. I like the illustrations too (before Frank Miller changes his style in Sin City : The Dame To Kill For). I got the out of print tradepaper back version with book one cover. I hope that I would eventually be able to afford a copy of the 1st printing series in its entirety, and also if I could locate it...

b) The Killing Joke (Alan Moore, Brian Bolland ~ DC, 1987). A "one-shot prestige format" graphic book, about the origin (which has since been "revised") of Joker. The storyline took place in present, but alternatively flow back and intertwined with how Joker came to be. Taken place during one of "numerous" escape from Arkham Asylum, he took Commisioner Gordon hostage, and crippled his daughter (Batgirl) Barbara in the process. His motive? To prove that the "average man" when confronted with the horror of the real world, would take refuge in the realm of insanity. He subjected Gordon through a number of pyschological torture before confrontation with Batman. After being defeated by Bats, whilst waiting for the police to arrive, Joker and Bats had an interesting conversation whereby it strongly hinted that both of them may be doomed to be eternally locked in enmity. I am lucky to obtain a 1st printing copy in mint condish from a senior at UWA, Perth for AUS30.

c) Arkham Asylum : A Serious House On A Serious Earth (Grant Morrison, Dave McKean ~ DC, 1988). A hardcover graphic novel in its original format, this book hold a serious sentimental value as it was a birthday gift from my dad who happpened to visit KL during a business trip and dropped by the now defunct The Mind Shop in Damansara to get it. We were staying in Penang during that period and there was virtually no comic shop there. About the origin of Arkham Asylum and its founder, again, the storyline go back and forth in the present and past and how it all fit in the climatic end pages of the book. Dave McKean visually "revised" nearly the entire Bats' Rogue Gallery in this one. The Joker is visually scary, as well as other infamous inmates such as Clayface, Killer Kroc, Dr. Destiny, Maxi Zeus...not so much about The Joker, but more about Bats and his own fear as well as Armadeus Arkham, the founder. Yet, it is worth mentioning as this is the scariest Joker on book I had seen thus far.