The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume Two: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Aliens! Aliens have invaded England. They came from Mars and decimate the countryside with their heat rays! Only the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and one gentlewoman) stand in their way!

            In this comic, every piece of fiction or myth written about England is true, from The Island of Dr. Moreau to The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde. The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, is in a way, the ultimate mash-up fanfiction. It is glorious. Yes, the League must defeat the aliens from The War Of The Worlds, while dealing with treachery in their ranks. It was rumored that the common cold eliminated the alien menace… it did not.

            This volume includes even more literary references than the last. I only recognized about three fourths of them – I recommend reading The Princess Of Mars and The War Of The Worlds and generally the entirety of Victorian classical literature before picking up The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume Two. Or volume one, for that matter.

It seems that once the creators got the origin story out of the way they could have more fun exploring the world they’d created. Volume Two is glorious and bloody, able to get deeper into character development.

            Volume Two earns four point five gears out of five, just like its predecessor. It is adventurous and dark, though this one has a touch more sick humor. (It is Mr. Hyde that displays this humor, so it is quite twisted indeed.) Again, this is not in the least appropriate for children, but it is a Must Have in your Steampunk library.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Territory 51

Territory 51: A Penny Dreadful Review, by Penny J. Merriweather

            An alien spaceship crashes to Earth right on top of a train about to be robbed by a gang of outlaws in 1873. The aliens emerge, and let’s just say this does not end well for the outlaw gang. I shan’t spoil the story by James Heffron, but I will tell you that the horrifying aliens can shapeshift and require gold to repair their damaged ship.

            The comic is Territory 51, a new series put out by Law Dog Comics.  I acquired the first issue, and enjoyed it immensely. The story seems interesting, and I like the art quite a bit.

            The art by Patrick K. LaHotch and Chad Fidler is fantastic. They can capture a feeling so well. I especially love the way they do eyes – so much expression in so few lines. The play of light and shadow across the panels is exquisite as well. Quite brilliant and a pleasure to view.

            The second issue is set to come out in September 2013, and you will definitely want to read it. I give this title four gears out of five. I look forward to seeing where this story goes.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, But Not The Movie: A Penny Dreadful Review

            This week, I look at a classic comic by Mr. Alan Moore and Mr. Kevin O’Neill. This comic is, of course, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I am fortunate in that it has been collected into volumes. In this review, I shall tell you about Volume One.

            The comic is not at all like the film. Get that droll drama out of your head right now, because it only interferes with your enjoyment of this comic. The comic is rated R, possibly NC17, and quite gritty. The movie is PG13, and rather adorable (I happen to like it quite a bit, it simply has nothing to do with what I discuss here).

            Mina Murray is engaged by the mysterious M to collect an odd assortment of dangerous and unstable individuals in order to provide a sort of super-team. You may have read of Miss Murray’s other exploits and those of her team (Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, that sort of thing). This is a fascinating way to stitch together those characters that you always wanted to hear more about from various Victorian literatures. Once the team is assembled, they must infiltrate the lair of a terrifying and possibly inhuman criminal.

            Mina is much more active in the comic that the writers of the movie allowed her to be, but she gets molested in nearly every chapter. Why must the great minds who have created this resort to sexual assault so often? It isn’t funny or amusing. I find it distasteful. On the other hand, it is Miss Mina Murray who heads this league, Miss Murray whose sharp intellect and even sharper tongue that get them going on their missions. I do love her agency here.

            The story is a dark, fantastic combination of Victorianisms and modernisms. The art is a more modern style set in somber colors – this London is not a happy place. The story is more graphic than widely read literature in the Victorian Era could be, yet it still retains a certain flair like a dime novel adventure story.

            This comic is, of course, excellent. I give it four point five gears out of five. I enjoyed it immensely. You should read it at once.

Berlintoxication

Berlintoxication: A Penny Dreadful Review

            The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. The road to Hell also makes an excellent story. This story is called Berlintoxication and was penned by the talented Stephanie Laimer-Read.

            Bank clerk Walter Busch is an ordinary sort of man. He works hard and loves his fiancé Charlotte. Walter can also read minds and senses the feelings of those around him. Walter does not much care for his unusual ability, so when a well-respected businessman offers to buy it from him and use it for the common good, Walter agrees.

            Gustav Springer is a well-respected businessman. He sees disorder, chaos, and decay in the society around him and wants to create a New Berlin where unpleasant things don’t happen. With this goal in mind, he creates a group called the BWG (the letters stand for long German words which I will not attempt to spell). Mr. Springer intends to use unusual abilities to create order and justice, to help people, and to improve society. This does not go as planned. It seems his borrowed abilities are too powerful for him to control…

One does not see Germany star in Steampunk literature very often, and I must say that the location is fascinating and refreshing. I might call portions of this book revolutionary, or at the very least quite punk. The messages of freedom and critical thought come across quite clearly, but one is not bludgeoned with them.

The characters the reader is introduced to at the start of the book seem real and believable. I adore Walter and his sublime ordinariness. I like the way that the villain does not set out to be bad. Yet in the latter parts of the book, the same care and detail is not paid to the revolutionaries the reader meets. They seem almost like they are meant to be symbols rather than characters. There is nothing wrong with a symbol, but I dislike reading stories about them.
            As for the story, some pieces seem too coincidental, perhaps a bit mad. It isn’t as I would have written it, but it is quite fun to read. I recommend this novel for those who wonder where the “Punk” part of “Steampunk” has gone. Here it is, dancing through the streets with circus performers and a clockwork bear.

I give Berlintoxication four gears out of five. I find it interesting and entertaining. I must thank Let’s Rock Publishing for lending me this excellent work of fiction. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I hope you will, too.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Spring Heeled Jack

Spring Heeled Jack, by Mark Hodder: A Penny Dreadful Review

Sometimes Steampunk is dark and frightening.  Sometimes Steampunk is not set in a pleasant world.  At times, marvelous technologies have horrific consequences. Welcome to Spring Heeled Jack, by Mark Hodder!
Mr. Hodder presents a bleak and toxic alternative London. Sir Richard Francis Burton, noted in our timeline for exploration of the Nile, takes center stage in this novel. He is set by the crown to investigate strange happenings in London: an odd, glowing creature called Spring Heeled Jack, the disappearance of several chimney sweeps, and general unsavoriness.  The poet Swinburne jumps into the plot and helps untangle the mysteries despite Burton’s objections. There can be a bit too much conversation about philosophies or exposition at times. In addition, the revelation of the villain’s motivations strikes me as odd, perhaps contrived.
Nonetheless, Spring Heeled Jack presents a rich, dark, engrossing world to glory in and explore. The pages contain various snippits of information on the world and advertisements. One advertisement is for a broomcat, a darling kitty companion that also sweeps floors, which I would dearly love to have.  I love cats and detest housework.  It is a harsh London that Mr. Hodder gives us.  For every wonder, there are a pair of terrors. For every broomcat, there is a killer fog and a snow of coal dust, every delight created by or framed in horror.
        I give this book three point five out of five gears. It was a great book, but the exposition was oddly clumsy. Read it anyway. It’s worth sticking out the long-winded parts.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Steam Ingenious

Steam Ingenious: A Penny Dreadful Review

Many Steampunks seek out tutorials for the construction of various garments and items. I have located a blog which features many tutorials of a useful nature. The blog is entitled Steam Ingenious.
The writer is a talented female who enjoys bustle skirts on a budget. As a lady crafter, most of her tutorials cover the subject of female dress (though there are a couple of useful how-tos for gentlemen as well). Through plenty of pictures and step-by-step instructions, she explains how to recover a parasol/umbrella, how to create a bustle skirt from thrift store curtains, and how to repair a worn corset. Being sized a bit more realistically than many patterns allow for, she also has a helpful tutorial on how to upsize a pattern. For the especially adventurous, she also has written how-tos on building corsets from scratch. Each project she outlines is something she has done herself, so the reader benefits from her mistakes and learning experiences as she warns crafters about what can go… adventurously.
She also offers helpful tips about Steampunk fashion in general, with plenty of photos to illustrate her points. Recently, since she lives in a warm part of the northern hemisphere, she made a series of posts regarding summer Steampunk suggestions (such as cotton, pith helmets, and open-toed shoes).
I give Steam Ingenious five gears out of five. This is quite a useful blog, especially for folks who are able to sew without stabbing their fingers with every other stitch.


Your Correspondent From The Aethernet,
Penny J. Merriweather

Steamed

Steamed by Katie MacAlister: A Review

         I don’t normally pick up romances, but there were gears on the cover so I felt that I must. The romance I selected is Steamed, by Katie MacAlister.  This has been her only literary foray into Steampunk, and she has a lot of fun with the genre.
Our hero is Jack Fletcher, a computer engineer who enjoys a band called Airship Pirates.  I feel certain this is a nod to the actual band Abney Park.  Jack is also a Quaker whose nickname is Indiana Jones.  All this ceases to matter in about six pages, as his visiting sister touches something she shouldn’t have and zaps them both into an alternate universe.
Our heroine is Captain Octavia Pye, the commander of the airship Tesla and ex-girlfriend of two out of the three major political figures that appear in this book. After some inevitable confusion and resistance, Jack and ‘Tavy’ fall in love and have some deliciously explicit and well-written scenes together.
The dialogue is witty and fun.  Octavia’s airship crew is delightful in their outlandishness, though I wish somebody had explained Mr. Llama and elaborated on Mr. Ho.
The story is so upbeat and cartoony that when actual danger comes up it seems out of place.  An amusing chase scene with Hallie, the sister who exists in order to go missing and touch quantum circuit boards, ends in starving refugees. It’s jarring when the horrors of war appear in your adventurous romp.
           I give this book three out of five gears.  It’s fun but it seems like it doesn’t quite come together.  Steamed is a good book to bring with you the next time you take an airship cruise to Hawaii.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Steam Wars

Steam Wars, by Fred Perry: A Penny Dreadful Review

As I hope you know, Gearhearts is not the only Steampunk title from Antarctic Press. Here are my thoughts on Steam Wars, a delightful title from mastermind Fred Perry: I love this thing!
If you have ever wondered what a TIE fighter would look like as a dirigible, you need this comic. It is a fantastic mash up of Star Wars and Steampunk.  One immediately recognizes the opening scene as the start of A New Hope, yet it takes its own direction almost at once, traveling a peculiar parallel to the story of a particular space opera. It is full of clever references and groan-worthy puns, ie: Captain Hansel Lowe, the rogue who makes a habit of rescuing the princess, er, duchess. His companion and copilot is a large, hairy bear named Smokey. Yes, it is quite silly. Yet in classic Fred Perry style, serious and ridiculous share the same panel. On one hand, there is an engineer who is a bear, and on the other, there is an evil Quantum Dragoon who can make heads explode.  It has more of an edge than a pure parody, and I like that.  Steam Wars is quite well-balanced, and a great deal of fun.
I give Steam Wars five gears out of five.  It strikes a perfect balance of originality and homage to the source material. If you like Star Wars and Steampunk, if you’ve ever seen Steampunk Boba Fett and thought, “How cool,” you need to read this comic. I hope to see someone cosplaying a Quantum Dragoon at the next convention I attend with Antarctic Press.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,
Penny J. Merriweather

Pariah, Missouri

Pariah, Missouri: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Something strange is going on in Pariah, Missouri, a thriving riverboat port. Something is just a little off about the puppeteer duo that just rolled into town. Hiram Buchanan, chameleon, gambler, and spy, is on the case. He assembles a strange collection of outcasts, some of whom have talents that are not entirely natural. Supernatural, one might say.

            This is Pariah, Missouri, a graphic novel by Andres Salazar and Jose Luis Pescador. It’s a good read and the art is terrific. The color palette is simple and gives it an old-timey feel. The art is expressive and tells the story quite well.

As for the story, there seem to be a couple of holes in the explanations, as if a few panels are missing, but nothing that will throw the reader too far off track. I enjoyed the characters, and it was refreshing to see a strong presence of minorities in Pariah and in Hiram’s hand-picked team of… well, I won’t spoil it. I will say that I’m not sure why he hand-picked Nellie. Maybe he needed her local expertise? Her uncanny acquaintances? Maybe it will be explained better in the second volume. I look forward to learning more about just what is behind the normal façade of Pariah.

            I give this four gears out of five. I eagerly await the next volume. I suggest you investigate the goings-on in Pariah for yourself.

            They currently have a kickstarter going for further work. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andresjsalazar/pariah-missouri-directors-cut-hardcover-volume-one

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather