City of Blackbridge

Dark Forces Book #8 – The Companion by Scott Siegel

Webmaster — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:04:35 +0000

It is sixteen year old Jeffrey Markham’s first time away from home and for the very first time in his life he is utterly alone. As nervous as he is at this prospect there are things that bother him more in life. One such thing is Kim, a friend only Jeffrey can see.

Kim is a little troll of a creature, mischievous and sinister certainly but Jeffrey has grown attached to him over the ten years Kim has shared his life. Unfortunately Jeffrey has no idea quite how attached to him Kim has become until he tries to break away and create his own life. Separation can be a painful process, especially when an invisible troll has its talon wrapped around your heart.

The Companion was published late October 1983 and it must have been not too long after that I read it for the first time. I lived at the time on a long street that curved around on itself and, at its one far end stood a little cluster of shops. It was in one of these that I bought two of the Dark Forces books: The Companion and Unnatural Talent. I remember that is was summer so I imagine this to be sometime mid-1984 which was a magical year that brought us many of the movie’s that many of my generation remember to this day.

So I would not be too disheartened to find that a second reading of this book so many years (and experiences) later would leave me feeling somewhat underwhelmed – if this had been the case.

Instead I found the opposite to be true.

Jeffreys story unfolds with real simplicity, foregoing all the plot gymnastics that often go along with pulp story telling; especially those aimed at a young audience. There is little attempt to deliver the pyrotechnic flourishes that normally keeps the audience involved. The writer, Scott Siegel, instead constructs a well drawn character driven story that centres around Jeffreys need to build a support structure in lieu of Kim’s absence.

Reading The Companion as a forty-one year old I would never have guessed how vividly The Companion would have remained with me, I did not realise this until I started re-reading the short novel a few nights ago, almost thirty years since I had read it for the first time. The opening dialogue I remembered word for word and as the story unfolded so much of it struck me with a familiarity that took me by genuine surprise.

Jeffreys relationship with the demonic Kim could be seen as a analogy for many things. It could be seen as an addiction of sorts, or a young man’s desire to keep to the straight-and-narrow against the influences of his friends. I did not see it in this way during that summer of ’84 of course, I was only thirteen at the time, but what I did take from the novel was something that felt unique to me. I suppose this is the ultimate accolade an author can ask for, that his audience feels the story was written for them alone.

Second time around I found I saw much more in the book than I’d anticipated. Under its basic plot was a surprisingly sophisticated use of character. This is not to say that Scott Siegel created some under appreciated work of art, but it is to say that the stories central themes of loneliness and need for acceptance are a far cry from what may be expected from such a book. If I were to level some criticism at The Companion it would be that it seems clear that the stories characters and themes feel as though they want to break free of the rather meagre 140 odd pages. In fact the end is rather abrupt and is not a completely fulfilling conclusion to such a story, it almost feels as though the final fifty pages were torn out to keep to the publishers required length.

The Companion was as different a book in quality from The Game (the previous book in the Dark Forces series I reviewed) as could be expected. Author Scott Siegel did an admirable job within obviously rather tight constraints and reading his work these thirty years on left me with an odd mixture of nostalgia and sorrow; nostalgia to that world of youth lost to me and sorrow for the boy who endured it all at the time.

The next book in the Dark Forces series I intend to read is another book I did not read as a youth, The Doll by Rex Sparger. It appears that this next book is one that many remember with great affection and many say it contains some of the creepier examples of the Dark Forces stories, so I look forward to experiencing it.

Until next time…

Dramatis Personae

Primary

Jeffrey Markham
Kim

Secondary

Alex Carrington
Stacy Stratton
Father Peterson

Supplemental

Clare Devon
Richard Cabot
Larry Michaels
Mr Conover
Coach Spisak
Ramsay
Joe Quintavella

Mass Market Paperback, 144 pages
Published October 21st 1983 by Bantam

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/12/28/dark-forces-book-8-the-companion-by-scott-siegel/

Dark Forces Book #1 – The Game by Les Logan

Webmaster — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:10:33 +0000

Terri and Julie are twin sisters who live beside an idyllic lakeside with their mother Karen and father Mike. Over their summer break the sisters and their father are involved in a car accident which leaves Julie in a wheelchair. The accident tears the family apart, turning sister against sister and father against mother. Terri finds solace in her long term boyfriend Scott but Julie, under self imposed exile in her room, has no one except for the voice who speaks to her through her Ouija board.

Published in February 1983 by Bantam, the novel was the first in the Dark Forces series of horror novels that were designed for a young teen audience. Horror was a major force for the teen market at this point in time, even films designed for a younger audience often used much darker imagery and ideas than they would these days. The influence of writers such as Stephen King cannot be over emphasised as instrumental in this but another Steven, Steven Spielberg also did a great deal to treat children with a more sophisticated way. The early 1980′s was a fascinating time in terms of entertainment for younger audiences, magazines were released that examined the paranormal and television had scores of shows that did the same. Even children’s after-school television was over run with creepy entertainment that maintained a surprising strength in atmosphere and tone.

The Dark Forces series of books followed this trend and “The Game” clearly indicated where the series would go in terms of content; though not necessarily in quality.

“The Game” follows a familiar story of young girl possessed from beyond by a force that strives to destroy all that is good in her life. Anyone who has watched The Exorcist will easily see where the story is going and can probably predict the end with some accuracy but originality isn’t really the point with the young adult novels; originality is in fact almost the antithesis of the aim of these novels. The aim of the Dark Forces series was to take already established story ideas and rewrite them into the current trends of its teen audience, and it has to be said that the series often managed this surprisingly well. The amount of people who still collect and read these novels is a testament to this.

Unfortunately “The Game” is not the best example of this of the series, it isn’t even writer Les Logan s best example, but perhaps this can be forgiven as this was the first of the series. Undoubtedly it took some time for the series to find its feet and discover the levels of violence and subversion that was acceptable by its purchasers. It must be bore in mind that the series purchasers and their actual readers were often not the same people as many parents would vet the books before they made their way to their ultimate audience.

This is obviously not an enviable place for an author, balancing their work between the teens who would beg for more while their parents begged for less.

Even taking this into account “The Game” is a far less effective book than some of the later additions to the series. There is a heavy reliance on proper nouns, often bogging down the dialogue in a way that isn’t ungrammatical but is unrealistic. After some thought it becomes obvious that this isn’t because the writer lacks the talent but because, as Logan is writing for a young audience, there is an excessive attempt to make things clear for the reader. Later books in the series makes less of an attempt at this and are better for it, but as I have said “The Game” was the first so perhaps the editors relaxed their requirements later as they realised it wasn’t as necessary as they had thought.

In spite of all the negatives “The Game” is still an enjoyable pulp read, and an interesting snap-shot of the teen psychology of the early 1980′s. Even though the are instances where the female leads ruminate on their relationships it is not off-putting and I found it to be a great deal less irritating than more modern books of a similar type. The emphasis in “The Game” is more on family and sisterly love and the lead characters male peers are treated more as foils than love interests. In fact the characters all develop with far less emphasis on materialism and self-interest than they would in a more modern novel and this reader can’t help but think this is because the teenage mind is so much shallower now than it was back then; or perhaps this is just because that generation, was my generation.

This was my first reading of “The Game”, and I’m sure if I had of read it at the time of its release my opinion of it would be very different. The next book I intend to read and review is the 8th book of the series, “The Companion” written by Scott Siegal, which was one of my favorite boyhood reads; so my opinion on that one should be far more interesting.

Dramatis Personae

Primary

Terri Mitchell
Julie Mitchell
Scott Roberts
Father Shea

Secondary

Mike Mitchell
Karen Mitchell
Jim Peterson

Supplemental

Dr Eilers
Dr Melendez
Mrs Campbell
Joe Campbell
Dr Richard Lawson
Craig Roberts
Brian McDermott
Muffin

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/12/18/dark-forces-book-1-the-game-by-les-logan/

Letterboxd – New site for film fans

Webmaster — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:11:29 +0000

Letterboxd is a new site, currently in its beta phase, that has been designed purely for movie enthusiasts. On it a user can write reviews and catalogue the movies they have seen including thier ratings.

The idea isn’t new, there are many sites that have a similar approach but Letterboxd ease of use makes it like a Facebook for film buffs.

It all sound really good doesn’t it?

And it is, but already I’ve seen problems arising.

Many people use iMDB for similar purposes, chatting on the forums and commenting on the films they have seen, but what puts me (and many people I have spoken to) off using that particular site is the constant trolling that permeates it.

As a fairly serious film fan I spend a lot of time considering my reactions to the films I watch. Even when I dislike something considerably I will always consider the ramifications of my opinions. This means that when I write a review or comment on a film (or anything else for that matter) I find that I offer arguments for my thoughts rather than opinions for my feelings.

There is a difference.

Opinions are subjective and only rely on what your personal feelings are whereas arguments are objective and should strive to act constructively.

Which brings me back to Letterboxd and my thoughts concerning it.

It is always easy to be negative, especially when you are not required to justify it and looking through the “reviews” on Letterboxd I see that the vast majority are in fact comments that offer no objective reasoning. In fact they rarely even offer evidence of an intelligent understanding of what a review is supposed to be.

Many of the “reviews” consist of a single line, and so many of these single lines consist of a single negative statement.

These are simply not reviews and its clear that it is far easier and quicker to produce these faux-reviews than it will be to produce considered ones. From this it is obvious that without some thought and intervention Letterboxd will quickly become just another iMDB littered with the trolling lack of thought all that implies.

So, first things first, what could be done to fix this potential problem?

Firstly there should be a place for these people who just want to comment, and this place should be clearly marked as “comments” and should not be confused with actual reviews. Then perhaps there should be a minimum amount of words to constitute a “review” and then there should be something there to encourage people to write with consideration and quality.

So perhaps a “league table” for the reviwers themselves should be created, something that take into account quantity of work but focuses mainly on some form of objectivequality of the reviews. Perhaps this could be done with a simple rating system or perhaps a team of volunteers could be selected who could trawl through the many reviews to select some of note.

Whatever the process is to be it seems clear to me that in order to keep Letterboxd to a level above that of iMDB and its ilk something should be done and done fast before the site shifts from its beta phase. Unfortunately when asked about this the administrators of the site seemed unconcerned with the trolling that has already appeared on the site.

I write constantly and take some pride in what I do. I also take some effort with my reviews and so I feel that I attempt to have some level of integrity with what I say. The problem with Letterboxd attitude is that If there is no attempt to raise their own integrity by policing what appears on their site then how can I be sure they will have any respect for my own?

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/12/15/letterboxd-new-site-for-film-fans/

Video Streaming and the Death of the Quality Film Viewer

Webmaster — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:20:22 +0000

Over on the WorcsFF site the administrator has been considering the differences between cinema, home and streaming techniques regarding film distribution, and although he makes some very good observations regarding the current state of affairs with this technology I think there is more to be said.

one of the main issues that, for me at least, surround the current move to watch TV and movies online is that it once again it panders to the throwaway nature of modern consumers.

With so many sites offering free alternatives when it come to our viewing tastes it’s clear that there need be no act of contribution and therefore no obligation to make a serious attempt to work with the piece being viewed. Simply put, the very act of searching for, selecting and purchasing a movie is a part of the viewing process itself; and properly done it adds immeasurably to the final experience.

Many of the lesser known greats require considerable effort from their audiences for their greatness to shine. All we have to do to prove this hypothesis is to look at something like Coppola’s Rumble Fish, or Milius’s Big Wednesday to see this. Both movies were much maligned on their initial releases but because those people who did see them had to pay for the privilege there was a great deal more effort put into the understanding of these films, and the eventual realisation of the movies worth.

I can’t help but wonder how many talented film makers are disappearing under the dross of both the films they have to share bandwidth with, and the “viewers” that do not truly watch them. I do believe that the likes of Rumble Fish and Big Wednesday would disappear under this onslaught and would have many others.

His isn’t the end of this problem however, just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

Once again we are allowing the promotion of an “on demand” culture where patience and understanding take a back seat to a persons immediate whims. If something isn’t working then just turn it off and select something else, it’s simple right?

Perhaps this attitude is why single parent families are so rife, and why when the youth feel under appreciated or frustrated (just as I did in my own youth) it seems acceptable to run literal riot over other peoples lives. Of course this would seem acceptable to these people, because there is not much of an attempt to make a society that values anything outside a persons immediate whims.

As a collector of movies and comics I resist the digital age. The reason isn’t simply because I am a Luddite (I am not, I am probably the most technologically minded person I know) but because collecting is supposed to be difficult and it is supposed to compromise the collector.

Part of the reason a collection is a collection is that it takes up space and forces the collector to make literal space for it in their lives. Not only do I have to live with my thousands of movies and comics, but my family also have to. They have to because to accept me they have to accept my collection, they too have to compromise as much as I do. This is part of the reason the collection, and the knowledge I gleam from it, has real value; as all things that cause difficulties have value if only because of the fact.

You could look on the old proverb “out of sight, out of mind” and consider how a thousand films tucked neatly away on a hard drive can truly effect the owner of such a “collection”. Perhaps when they are viewing them (if you don’t consider my comments regarding the acquisition of films to be part of the viewing process), but there is certainly less of a sacrifice made for this “collection” and sacrifice is what gives anything it’s true value… Surely.

Of course this argument could also be used against DVD or Blu-Ray, they are in themselves a technology of convenience when considered against the true place to watch film, the cinema (as the admin of WorcsFF so ritzy says). This is utterly true, but I see DVD and Blu-Ray working in conjunction with cinema; unfortunately I do not see the same act of conjunction with downloading and streaming. In essence I see a pecking order with cinema as King and streaming as the lowly serf who mucks out the pigs.

So if that’s the company you want to keep, stay with the pigs and watch your streamed movies, but if you want to be with the kings then enter the palace of film.

What can I say, I think that line says it all…

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/12/11/video-streaming-and-the-death-of-the-quality-film-viewer/

The Dark Forces Series

Webmaster — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:08:00 +0000

Back in the 1980′s horror was a big thing, not only did we have the boom of horror related movies released on the new video formats (VHS and BETA) but writers such as Stephen King and Dean R Koontz popularized the genre in its written form.

But there is another thing that as a fan from the time I remember, a series of books written specifically for teens called the “Dark Forces” series. Now if you were to do a search on the ever useful Google using the search term “dark forces” you will be presented with a plethora of pages for the Star Wars series of games indicating that perhaps many people have forgotten about this series.

The series consisted of fifteen books written by mostly lesser known names (though at least one, Bruce Coville, is a name people may know) and aiming themselves securely at the “pulp” end of the market.

What can I say though? I am a big fan of “pulp” novels, finding them far more entertaining than the more “respectable” forms of literature and often just as well written.

The fifteen Dark Forces books are as follows…

01 – The Game – Les Logan
02 – Magic Show – Laurie Bridges
03 – The Doll – Rex Sparger
04 – Devil Wind – Laurie Bridges
05 – The Bargain – Rex Sparger
06 – Swamp Witch – Laurie Bridges
07 – Unnatural Talent – Les Logan
08 – The Companion – Scott Siegel
09 – Eyes of the Tarot – Bruce Coville
10 – Beat the Devil – Scott Siegel
11 – Waiting Spirits – Bruce Coville
12 – The Ashton Horror – Laurie Bridges
13 – The Curse – Larry Weinberg
14 – Blood Sport – R. C. Scott
15 – The Charming – Jane Polcovar

Out of these fifteen books I read about eight or nine of them, the ones that still comfortably sit in my memory being Unnatural Talent and The Companion. Broadly the stories revolved around common themes of the day, many of which were used to great effect by Stephen King, such as high school life and the teen angst that comes with it. There was little to differentiate these books from many others apart from their lurid descriptions and a blatant unwholesomeness that may have been inappropriate for books aimed at teens.

Don’t get me wrong here, these are written for kids and so no one should expect life changing subversiveness, but it was very different for a publisher to present tales of possession and murder aimed directly at a teen (or what is known now as the “tween”) audience.

Perhaps it could even be said that series such as “Dark Forces” paved the way for many of the popular tsunami’s that have taken the world by storm of late. Perhaps without Dark Forces (and other similar series such as “Twilight: Where Darkness Begins” and “Private School” written by Charles L. Grant) we would not have Harry Potter or Twilight?

Reminiscing about this series makes me want to revisit it, perhaps read those books of the series I never could find at the time.

If I do I’ll post up my thoughts concerning them… Okay, so I’m off now to do a search over on Amazon… Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a fewlittle gems from the past.

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/12/06/the-dark-forces-series/

DC’s New 52

Webmaster — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:58:00 +0000

If we were to limit ourselves to the New 52 range of DC comics we can get a glimpse of this breadth of character. At first glance they may all seem of the same ilk, but it does not take much further examination to see that this initial opinion is false.

Justice League
Justice League International
Aquaman
Wonder Woman
The Flash
Captain Atom
Firestorm
Green Arrow
The Savage Hawkman
Mister Terrific
DC Universe Presents
Batman
Detective Comics
Batwing
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batman and Robin
Batgirl
Batwoman
Nightwing
Catwoman
Birds of Prey
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Action Comics
Superman
Superboy
Supergirl
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Red Lanterns
Teen Titans
Static Shock
Hawk and Dove
Blue Beetle
Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion Lost
Stormwatch
Grifter
Deathstroke
Suicide Squad
OMAC
Blackhawks
Men of War
Voodoo
All-Star Western
Swamp Thing
Animal Man
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E
I, Vampire
Resurrection Man
Demon Knights

Currently I have the first few issues of 26 titles from the 52 that make up this range, I ‘ll limit my comments to these few. So from the thousands of comics published each month by hundreds of publishers we have limited ourselves to one publisher and a mere 26 titles.

In this handful we have…

Wonder Woman, created in 1941 by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941) and her legacy over the years have both led and echoed the women’s civil rights movement. Together Marston and his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston created a character that retold a classic Greek myth in an attempt to put a feminist twist on the male dominated comics of the day.

Batman, a character that really needs little introduction but regardless of this and hundreds of issues written over the years he remains a fresh and important character. Inspired by The Mask of Zorro (1920) and The Bat Whispers (1930) Bob Kane and Bill Finger quickly developed a modern take on the popularist character of The Phantom. Centring mainly on Batman’s detection skills the “dark knight detective” remains to this day a complex creation that perpetually examines the darker aspects of modern life, often with a realism that can be shocking to the uninitiated.

Catwoman, again created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger is easily one of the most complex supporting characters ever written. From her first appearance (back in the original Batman Issue 1) she was designed as an anti-hero, a character that could be both adversary and love interest to Batman. This in itself is an incredibly difficult achievement, but to manage this while keeping interest over the last seventy years (yes, Catwoman is a pensioner) clearly shows that there is more to Catwoman than meets the eye.

Superman, a year younger than Batman, first appeared in 1938 but he was created by Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster a few years earlier in 1932. Hundreds of articles have been written about this characters impact and sub-texts, a quick search of the internet will no doubt produce many, but one interesting lesser known fact is that Clark Kent was based on one of my own heroes; none other than Harold Lloyd.

Nightwing and Red Hood both began life as incarnations of Batman’s well known side-kick Robin. Dick Grayson was the first Robin (created 1940) who in his adolescence joins the Teen Titans and gains some independence from th3e Dark Knight. Later he dons the costume of Nightwing (named after a legendary Kryptonian costumed hero) and moves to neighbouring Blúdhaven. The Red Hood on the other hand has a far darker history. He was the second Robin, Jason Todd (created 1983) who in 1989 was murdered by The Joker in the infamous Death in the Family story arc. His death was to undergo a DC universe reprieve in 2005 when he returns for the first time under the guise of the Red Hood (one of The Jokers first guises) while he wages a war against both Gotham’s criminals as well as Batman, his old mentor.

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/11/16/dcs-new-52/

Comic’s and the Populist View

Webmaster — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:51:37 +0000

Anyone who has even a passing association with the world of comic books will know of DC’s New 52 range, a reboot of many of the distributors most popular titles as well as a collection of new titles thrown into the mix.

Among these are household names like Superman and Action Comics, Batman and Detective Comics; all four of which are cornerstones to the DC universe and, in the case of Action and Detective the reboot offers a rare chance to pick up an issue 1 at a price we can all afford.

It should go without saying that this has caused some discussion, even controversy amongst the DC collectors but as a comic fan I have to say that this reboot has been a major turning point for me. I read a great many of DC’s titles, but up till now I have always waited until a trade paperback (often refereed to by the uninitiated as “graphic novel”) was released and rarely picked up the monthly issues. Mainly this is because of the lack of “dropping in points” on these long running series and the my need to feel a collection is “complete” (something that is, in all honesty, near impossible with many titles).

Restarting such long running titles as Detective Comics from issue one (albeit issue one of volume two) mean that I can finally feel a part of DC once more on an immediate level, rather than the more casual terms of the trade paperback. Collecting monthly takes far more dedication and adds to the feeling that I am reading these adventures as they happen as opposed to the archival context of the TPB’s. It also allows me to become aware of the wider DC universe by seeing advertisements for other titles and even those for TV and theatrical releases.

Yes, even the adverts add something to the experience for me as odd as that may sound.

I would suppose that much of what I’m talking about could be summed up in a single word: belong, as in “to belong” but there is more to it than that. I ponder the phrase many comic book enthusiasts come to dread, “aren’t you too old for this?” And I think that this is inextricably linked with another aspect of collecting that drives me and perhaps many other fans into the comic medium.

I would argue that comic books are the greatest and most important story telling medium there is. The first written works were undoubtedly primitive comics, paintings on cave walls depict a visual representation of stories. These wall paintings evolved to the pictographs on Egyptian tombs and all across the world what is now called “sequential art” can be seen.

It seems that the only reason modern comic books are not considered art in the same vein as these earlier works is simply because they are considered a medium fit only for children, and it is this single belief that keeps the art form from the acclaim it deserves. But what of this belief, is there merit to it? Obviously I would argue not, but is there more to the idea that comics should be relegated to children’s entertainment than I would allow?

After some considerable thought I have to say that a good argument for this theory does not present itself. Yes, many complaints could be raised against comic books, but no more than could be raised against any medium and a great many less than some.

It seems to me that what we are against is what can only be described as a bigotry against the medium. Asking “aren’t you too old for comics” is no different from asking whether someone is “too young for newspapers” or “too old for watching football!”; the statement makes absolutely no objective sense. In fact the argument could be taken even further to attack those people who do not read the medium by asking why they don’t read them and presenting the replies as the idiocy it often is.

Over all it would seem that the medium of comics is seen merely as the vehicle of the superhero telling stories of juvenile wish fulfilment and it is that that people often bring up when asked why they have never read them. In itself this is no argument at all of course, saying you don’t like superhero tales and you don’t read comic because of this is ridiculous (much like me not watching films because I don’t like dinosaurs), but it is a peek into the mind of the bigotry behind the wholesale disregard of the medium.

To most people comic books are a genre and not a medium.

This of course is completely false, but even if it were true it would make little difference. A war movie does not have to glorify combat to be a war movie, it does not have to adhere to a set of rules or criteria other than to have a subject connected with war. Movie’s that could be considered war films are as diverse as Catch-22 or Salvador, Katyn or even Starship Troopers. Movie’s such as Die Hard and First Blood also follow the same basic premise of the war film, as well as movie’s like Predator and Aliens.

If the genre encompassing war films could be considered diverse then the genre of comic books known as “Costumed Heroes” is no less so. Here we have the household names such as Superman, Batman, Iron Man and Spiderman but looking slightly further afield there’s a whole universe of diversity.

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/11/12/comics-and-the-populist-view/

2000AD Memories – Prog 265

Webmaster — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:10:27 +0000

26 February 1977 was apparently a Saturday and on this particular Saturday I was 6 years, 2 months, 14 days and an indeterminate amount of hours old.

I was also a little boy whose reading skills were poor enough to worry those around me, bad enough in fact for my mother to have been called into a meeting with one of my teachers about the subject. I’m not sure who this particular teacher was and why they decided on the course of action my mother would ultimately take, but their advice was to set me on a course that would significantly alter my life.

The logic went something like this: Alan likes to draw and he likes to look at drawings, Alan doesn’t like to read or look at words. So why not buy Alan comics so he can see the words in a visual context?

So sometime after Saturday 26 February 1977 my mother bought me a comic book, one that was fresh out – an issue 1. It was called 2000AD and recent interviews with Patt Mills (the editor, otherwise known as Tharg The Mighty at the time) clearly state that no one expected it to last into the next decade much less the next century.

Over the next four decades I would not read every issue of this weekly publication, there was a time during the 1990′s when I stopped reading it entirely in favour of the DC/Vertigo line of comics, but it was always there in the back of my mind. Now we much fast forward to a much older Alan, one who had mastered reading and had even mastered something of the art of writing itself.

The year is 2009 and I was working as a civil servant. I was miserable and it was not only the work that is getting me down, there were personal issues too (which I won’t go into here) that had driven me into that place we all go sometimes; the proverbial “rut”. One Wednesday morning I woke with the decision that I would buy a comic that day, there was no logic in my decision; it was merely an attempt to stave off an increasing feeling of panic about life.

So dinnertime I went into a local newsagent and looked through The Spectacular Spider-Man and Uncanny X-Men comics they had on their shelves and amongst them I (re)discovered 2000AD.

It was all I remembered it to be, yes the paper stock had changed considerably as had most of the writers and artists (with some significantly remaining the same); but everything important was still there. Yes it was all I remembered it to be, but… it wasn’t quite the same nevertheless.

So a new quest began.

The first batch I found was from the mid-90′s, and the second were from the early 80′s. Then one day in a local charity shop called Snowdrops I was met at the door by the manager who presented me with issues one through to five and it was then that I realised I what I was intending to do all along.

It should have been obvious of course, but I didn’t think I was re-collecting them. I mean, what idiot would decide to re-collect almost 1,800 issues of a comic they read as a child? Even at 50p a piece we’re still talking a budget here of a thousand pounds, and that’s not including the ones coming out every week.

Even if the money wasn’t the issue there’s the space. There are perhaps two hundred issues to a box, so this would make about ten comic boxes full at least. This would be on top of the hundreds I already have from DC, Marvel and the independents.

This is insanity, I say to myself, Insanity! But heedless to my own good council I continue to buy these things regardless.

So why is this? Is it just because of the enjoyment I get from them?

Why people do what they do is always a complex consideration and there are no simple answers to even the most basic actions. Two years on from the beginning of this re-discovery I find stranger things are resulting from it than I would have thought.

I have always had a rather poor memory. I know that most people profess to have a bad memory but you’ll have to take my word for it that mine is considerably worse than most peoples. More importantly (for this situation at least) is that I have no memories of my childhood and very few of my adolescence and even those I do have a fragmentary and vague.

Since re-reading these old comics from my childhood I’ve noticed fragments of memories I had not been aware of before. Again these are fragments and tell me little of my youth, but they are new and fresh and I have not experienced them before.

I remember a Monday dinnertime, it was sunny outside and the kitchen seemed darker for it. I had eaten beans on toast for lunch and I am leafing through issue 265 of 2000AD (which, if correct, would make me 11 years old and the date 22/05/82). On the cover is a freebie, a pack of cola flavor Bubblicious gum. I take one and eat it on the long trek back to school.

Another day (I used to believe it to be the same day, but this can’t be true because in this memory I’m much younger) I am sat on the grass beside what we called the “tin buildings” at junior school. The grass is off limits but I had sat in a position which was close enough to its limits that I was being overlooked. A hundred yards away a group were playing. They were boys I knew and one or two of them I almost thought of as friends. They were running down out of view and then back again, the place they were going was a clear “out of bounds” area and this is what entertained them.

I remember sitting there and wondering. I didn’t understand what they were doing and why they were doing it. I remember wanting to join in but not knowing how or why. I remember a whistle blown (was this how they signalled the end of break?) and immediately I made my way into the “tin buildings” I had been sitting beside. I remember in the room in which I sat my desk was near the window and about three desks away from the teachers; and I remember being alone in the room even when it was full a few minutes later.

Both these memories were tiggered by leafing through issue(or Prog as it called) 265 of 2000AD. Now why memories from different times should come to the surface is beyond me. Perhaps I was thinking of the earlier memory in 1982 for some reason and I was remembering a memory of a menory?

So far I would suppose that the memories aren’t particularly pleasant ones, but if they are to be considered unpleasant then there are because of a kind of single-minded loneliness that was perhaps self induced. To be completely honest I’m not even sure of how much of these memories actually happened and how much is “imaginative reconstruction”. I remember being quite analytical about things and more self aware than I would give a child credit for: are these interpretations from then or are they just me looking back and “filling in the blanks”?

I do know (at least I feel strongly) that these memories aren’t a fabrication; I believe they happened in some form or another. I also believe that the comic I read in my youth offered more than just entertainment. I think that 2000AD was a friend of sorts and something I used as a child to make some sense of the world around me; perhaps the only thing I used at times.

It is only now as an adult that I can safely analyse these connections and perhaps make sense of the characters I felt most strongly drawn to.

Was I drawn to Strontium Dogs lead character “Johnny Alpha” because he was abandoned by his father but loved by his mother? Did his outward normality and inner strangeness strike a nerve with how I felt inside? Perhaps his strength and clarity lent me some support?

In fact perhaps the person that I am now owes more to these comic book writers and artists than I would ever have thought?

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/09/13/2000ad-menories-prog-265/

Meanwhile in the Real World…

Webmaster — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:55:34 +0000

People who have been paying attention will see things happening over on the Scala-Theatre site.

Paul had waded thought a phenomenal amount of information and I thought I understood this… Until I traveled up to the Historic Centre with him and his partner in crime Lin Fletcher.

The Historic Centre was not what I had expected. I suppose a heavy diet of Indiana Jones movies had created an image of dusty books and darkened corners; but the Centre was nothing like this. It was a tiny room with half a dozen blocks of tables with a smattering of people sat around them. Two attendants sat behind a little island that separated us from a doorway leading further into the recesses of the Centre.

Little cards were filled out and passed over and the attendants disappeared through the door. (I thought of it as a portal of sorts, a “doorway to history”; a little nuts, huh?) Then Paul and Lin started what would be the final part of the first stage of the research.

A book of “minutes” was opened (the dates on them indicating that they were written fifty years before my birth) and I started to read.

Its a strange experience looking back into a past that you find has affected you in some way. The people I was reading about are not relatives of mine, they aren’t people who have created something that have affected me directly, and they weren’t names I’d grown up with in any other way; but the experience affected me anyway.

Mortality weighs heavily on me, it always has. As far back as I can remember I have understood the notion that I will one day not be here; one day I will die. I realize that people know this, obviously, but I don’t think most people really understand it. (For those of you thats read Heinleins “Stranger in a Strange Land”; people just don’t “grok” it.)

Sometimes I have moments of pure panic at the thought if I’m completely honest with you, genuine heart pounding panic. The kind that you imagine people fighting for their lives have (perhaps that analogy is closer than I initially thought).

So reading through these papers written so long before my birth I felt a strange kind of understanding behind it. Here was a kind of physical evidence of immortality. The Scala Theatre is a building I pass every day on my way to the shop and on my way to work. I look up at it and admire its old charm and I wonder what dreams may lurk inside those walls.

The Scala is a living thing to me in a way. I imagine it as a creature sat dormant waiting for people to walk its floors like the blood rushing through its brick walled veins.

So these names written in their archaic script, names that will soon appear over on the Scala-Theatre, began to take on a different meaning for me.

Almost a hundred years ago people started a project that reverberated to affect my life today and the building they built stands as a talisman to their success. It demonstrates the wheels within wheels that makes up all of our lives.

I was unprepared for this, as I was unprepared for some of the practical problems with this research. Reading the archaic script itself was a job in itself, but dealing with the detective work these stories produced is another thing entirely.

Much of what we know about history is what is written, but who writes history down and how much can be trust in what these people say? So the detective work starts trying to rationalize and build a story from these captured moments of subjectivity, and this is what Paul’s been doing all along.

So over the next few months check out Scala-Theatre and begin the story from the beginning. Its a long tale that takes place over half a century and perhaps beyond. Its filled with drama and great characters and is all the more interesting because it not only really happened, but because its effects are still with us to this day.

At least it affected me…

Article source: http://neverwhere.co.uk/2011/09/07/meanwhile-in-the-real-world/

Got a Problem? Ask an Indie Guitarist

Webmaster — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:54:08 +0000

Noel Gallagher blames “brutal TV and videogames” for UK riots.

Thanks for that Noel. I can sleep soundly now in the knowledge that the massively complex issues of crime, punishment, rehabilitation, teenage angst, mob mentality, community, self-respect and education have finally been put into clarity by the man who wrote She’s Electric. Up until now I relied heavily on the peer-reviewed studies of leading experts in their fields who have spent months doing nothing but crunching data in the hope of providing a small clue to the reasons behind these riots but now I can just ask a passing guitarist for an indie band.

Being a parent to two girls I obviously worry about the issues of teen pregnancy but I shall worry no more… as soon as I bump into John Squire of The Stone Roses and ask him the answer.

Indie guitarists… they not only write catchy tunes but they quickly solve complex social issues. What a bunch of guys.

Article source: http://deviousdictum.co.uk/?p=592