And, well, I mean, I love Moon Knight, and Sequart are doing a decent job of bringing criticism to bear oA Sequart book on Moon Knight? Sold!
And read.
And, well, I mean, I love Moon Knight, and Sequart are doing a decent job of bringing criticism to bear on the comic world, so I was always going to check this one out.
The essays? They range in quality from good to meh. And there really needs to have been more editorial look-see and proof-reading at particlularly the last third of the volume, as mistakes were creeping in in numbers.
Let's face it, the selling point was the Bill Sienkiewicz interview at the back. Which could have gone on longer, in my opinion. The Chuckie Dixon interview was, as prefaced in the interview itself, a good look at a less popular run on Moon Knight.
If we're going to look at, for example, Moon Knight as a metaphor for the workplace, that's all fine and well, but I'm sure much more mileage could have been opbtained from looking at, say Ditko's Spider-Man with the same approach.
For the record, (old time Moon Knight reader here), I was probably more comfortable with the idea of Moon Knight's alter egos as disguises, rather than alters in a DID system. The essay on Moon Knight and his DID was informative, and eye-opening to this world for all that, and it's pretty much accepted now that Moon Knight does have essentially high functioning DID, so no real bones to pick there.
If nothing else, this book has got me keen to do a solid re-read of the Lemire run, which is an under-rated story arc and needs some more acclaim.
It should be obvious for anyone still labouring under the mis-apprehension that Moon Knight was a Batman clone after reading this that Moon Knight is very much his (their) own man (men). Although, not as versed with Batman lore as perhaps I should be, it was interesting to have pointed out, that the Moon Knight disguises/alter egos became a thing not so long after Batman adopted the Matches Malone disguise to better work information from the underworld, and that Moon Knight's alter egos are a nod, and a development on, this idea.
A few essays fell a bit short on quality, but overall a decent read for Moon Knight fans, with some insight into the character. I thought overall the volume fell a bit short of being a solid addition, which may also reflect the sporadic nature of the Moon Knight series as well.
A quick little read I'd been given as a birthday present. Child ruminates over the expression and cultural space for the term hero, with a few interesA quick little read I'd been given as a birthday present. Child ruminates over the expression and cultural space for the term hero, with a few interesting takes on its cultural evolution. I'm not sure that I agree that hero stories are what separated us from the Neanderthal and gave us better impetus to survive an ice age, but it's nice to speculate. And it gives this brief book a lovely breathtaking sweep of vision.
For my money, however, regarding works on the Hero, Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' should be the first port of call.
I'm personally disappointed that super-heroes didn't rate a mention, but not overly surprised. What would Child's take on this evolution on the Hero myth be, I wonder? Or Joseph Campbell's, for that matter? Campbell died in 1987 (Wikipedia to the rescue) so he would have seen the rise of the super-hero genre. Time for a dig....more
I was attracted by the high production value and the premise of this book. After several flick-throughs, mentions of Jack Kirby, Syd Mead, Jodorowsky'I was attracted by the high production value and the premise of this book. After several flick-throughs, mentions of Jack Kirby, Syd Mead, Jodorowsky's Dune and Robert Chambers stuck out for me, and I decided to grab a copy. The Secret History of Sci Fi and Fantasy, told from the point of view of less famous 'transmissions' lost in the general noise, is a great idea. The book focuses on Literature, Film & TV, Architecture, Art & Design, Music, Fashion and Fandom & Pop Culture. I was perhaps hoping for predominantly a focus on Literature, so some of the other chapters were a peek into a take on sci-fi & fantasy that I would normally not concentrate on so much, or at all (fashion). As with any publication of this type, there are bound to be questions raised as to exclusions and inclusions (acknowledged, naturally in the intro). And while the premise is more or less adhered to throughout, I felt that toward the end, it was being stretched. Leaving out Blake's 7 from TV is pretty much a criminal offence and worthy of an on the spot fine. The whole fashion chapter could frankly have been dropped. And, as a personal preference, a chapter could have been devoted to sci-fi comics rather than a nod to Jack Kirby, acknowledgment of Valerian and a mention in the film & TV section of Moebius, as most comic sci fi flies under the radar in any event. The Incal, from Jodorowsky and Moebius (both mentioned in other contexts in the book already) is quite simply the best sci-fi comic ever told. I know of many comic geeks that have never heard of it, let alone the general public. And the chapter of music highlights just how subjective musical taste is anyway. While an objective approach to literature can more or less be agreed upon, this chapter on music just shows that essays can be written about music that make the music in question sound intriguing...until you actually listen to the music in question. It's entirely a matter of personal taste, and while I won't go so far as to say that what is written about the music in this book (or genrally) is actually wrong, because it most certainly isn't, it does highlight the subjectivity of music. And, speaking of omissions and inclusions, I don't think David Bowie flew under the radar, or counts as a 'lost transmission', whereas the Blue Oyster Cult album 'Imaginos' in its original conception most certainly does. Again, inclusions and omissions. I will thank the book for pointing me towards George MacDonald, M John Harrison's Viuriconium, further reinforcing my desire to get stuck into Angela Carter's stories, piquing my interest about 'Space Island One' and 'Blame', and generally reinforcing my other under-the-radar interests about this weird and wonderful world of sci-fi and fantasy. Also, the lovely illustrations and photos throughout make this, as mentioned earlier, a book of great production value and appealing to the eye. Volume 2 next?...more
Umberto Eco has a rare talent of being able to communicate fiction at the highest level, and being able to write lucid and conversational essays on a Umberto Eco has a rare talent of being able to communicate fiction at the highest level, and being able to write lucid and conversational essays on a wide variety of topics with incisiveness and clarity. His ability to engage on topics that one would not regularly appeal, and to spark an interest in said topic bespeaks a passion and an ability to communicate said passion while never losing sight of the audience, aside from perhaps the odd quote in languages other than English or Italian that remains untranslated. Not so much of an issue for this collection, but it has popped up in other works of his.
Case in point, his essay on Victor Hugo and the poetics of excessive is marvellous literary criticism, engaging and illuminating, even for people with little interest in Victor Hugo in the first place.
Of particular interest to me were his essays on 'Treasure Hunting', 'No Embryos in Paradise', 'Imaginary Astronomies' and 'Fermented Delights'. If any essay in this collection fell short for me, it was 'I Am Edmond Dantes'. While instructive, it did rather labour the point, which was kind of the point, but it didn't shine the way the other essays in this collection did.
I di have a small pile of other books of Eco's essays in the queue to read, and look forward to diving into them when I get the chance. ...more
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