Bought a couple of graphic novels/comic books recently with the spoils from services rendered at the Gifted Programme's Literature Seminar - along with a pile of poetry books, which seemed morally appropriate in the circumstances. Still haven't really started on the poetry, but have now finished the Century 1969 book in Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series and Jeff Lemire's The Underwater Welder. Enjoyed both, but wouldn't recommend Century 1969 other than to confirmed addicts of the series. I can't imagine the casual reader making anything of Mr Moore's current fictive universe, especially now it's chock full of deeply obscure references to pop culture of the period in question. There just can't be that many folks remember Edward Woodward's brilliant Callan, but there he is making a guest appearance, with Lonely to accompany. And if that sentence leaves you baffled, I'm afraid 1969 is not for you.
But The Underwater Welder is, surely, for everyone. It's wonderfully accessible in such a page-turning manner that I had to consciously slow down and deliberately take two sittings to complete the story. The introduction tells us that it's like an episode of The Twilight Zone, and that's absolutely right - The Twilight Zone at its memorable best - clever, but with a heart. And the wonderful thing is that the story could only really work to its full effect in this medium. Just one small thing: Lemire has a genius for drawing eyes. The two that peer out from the cover provide all the evidence needed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment