What We Did On Our (Easter) Holidays part 1

Last weekend, I went down to Glasgow to see the family and to inspect my flat and meet my new tenant. I was struck by how acclimatised I'd become to the slower pace of life in the rural North-East. As ever, I was surprised to see city landmarks being refurbished: this time, the Art School Assembly Building. We used to try to get signed  in there for after-hours drinking in the days when I was mixing with RSAMD students! This time, I did some socialising in the Tron Theatre Bar (where I found an Elgin parent was earwigging, to my unease!), the light and spacious new Stravaigin in Gibson Street and Lebowski's in Finnieston, the new student quarter of the West End.


I saw a lunchtime play at Oran Mor called Cold Turkey at Nana's. It was a retread of an Eastenders/Dot Cotton storyline but mildly amusing. The resolution felt rushed and unsatisfactory, however, as if a scene were missing. I also mooched around a comic mart in the QMU last Saturday and in this post, I'll talk about DC comics I picked up on this trip.

With the final issue of six ,Paul Levitz has done very little to enliven Legion: Secret Origin, his revamp of one of comics' most boring stories. This thin modern retelling  was pretty dull and could -should- have been contained in one issue. I don't know what was supposed to be "secret" about it. On the plus side, I did like Batista's cartoony art and his skinny, attenuated Legionnaires.

 Gim still has the little stars on his gauntlets!

The final part of the six-six, again!- issue arc introducing the Jim Lee Justice League is on a suitably broad canvas but it's all so 90s. Totally rad Unshaven Aquaman and Silicone-Breasted Wonder Woman, like, totally attempt to gouge out Darkseid's eyes! Dude!(That was sarcasm). I continue to be underwhelmed by the presence of Marv Wolfman's Blaxploitation Ben Grimm, Cyborg.

 Silence will fall when the question is asked...

I was pleased, however, to see the Phantom Stranger confront new character, Pandora. Maybe this is the new version of Eisner's Lady Luck, with a pair of enchanted pistols. I'm guessing she's the Daughter of Darkseid alluded to in the main feature.They have a duel and declaim about "The Circle of Eternity", "The Third Sinner" and "The Strange". Claremont and Cockrum used to do this kind of scene in a page, however.

After a long, long period of disappointment, I like LSH a little better this time. This 2-parter was set in a Blade Runner vision of China and the villains were Tong members. New Legionnaires Dragonwing and Chemical Kid continue to be the audience identification characters beside a couple of classic members, Sun Boy and Element Lad. Also, the culture of the Dominators received further development. My main complaint is the enigmatic, ageless and annoying Harmonia. She's been around since July 2010 and only now are we seeing her elemental control powers? Who is she? Who IS she?! Why was she not an Arabic/Muslim character?


Demon Knights: I managed to buy the same issue twice thanks to the forgettable covers of modern comics. I am enjoying Paul Cornell's Game of Thrones take on The Magnificent Seven but am more interested in his own creations, rather than the established DC characters. Anyway, Madame Xanadu had a fight with the Questing Queen that was straight out of The Sword and the Stone. I also liked Etrigan's sinister hints about the truth of Xan's story about their relationship. I suspect that Cornell's read Scorpio Rose, though.


Action 8 was the last part of the Man of Steel's clash with the new Metallo and the centipede-like new Braniac. Morrison has cherry-picked elements from the 40s and the 80s for his vision: I was tickled to see Clark Kent working for George Taylor at the Daily Star and setting up in the new Fortress of Solitude- Brainiac's vessel.The issue ended with a riff on The Most Dangerous Game/Hounds of Zaroff. I wish the hunter had been Paul Kirk.

Batwoman: I had heard a lot about the quality of this title and I had been increasingly interested in the visuals of this pallid, lesbian Bat-person. I was fortunate enough to get the 8-month-old first issue in Plan 9 in Aberdeen this week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The art is intricate and moody and the tone noir-ish; I will definitely come back to Kate Kane's story.

The soundtrack for my bus journey through the Cairngorms was the audiobook of The Krillitane Storm, a 2009  Dr. Who novel. At the time, I thought it was an undemanding read: a psuedo-historical with a would-be bounty hunter from space improbably named Emily (after the author's kid.) The medieval setting was meagre and unconvincing but there were interesting layers of intrigue in the plot. The monsters, rather generic gargoyles from School Reunion where they were (necessarily) overshadowed by Sarah Jane Smith, got a chance for development.
The reader for this audio is Will Thorp-Corrie's builder with a brain tumour- and he is excellent. He brings pace and energy to the reading and also does an uncanny impression of David Tennant. Gatherer Hade suggests 8/10 Talmars. 

Next time, I'll review the Marvel comics purchased over the holidays.

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