You wouldn’t be able to tell it by my lack of book reviews, but the majority of my fiction reading this summer has been in the spy/mystery/pulp vein, a trend that started out with the soon-to-be-reviewed The Manual of Detection and built from there.
Continue reading Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7 ~Kevin Dart, Ada Cole
(The Saddest Lullaby, click on image for larger version)
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”
~Alice, from Alice in Wonderland
While I certainly wouldn’t characterize the work of artist Brandi Milne (pronounced ‘mill-nee’) as ‘nonsense’, it is safe to say that her unique visual expressions have a degree of ‘nothing [being] what it is’ and ‘everything [being] what it isn’t’. In other words, rich symbolism is combined with visually delightful imagery that is more than what it first appears to be.
Brandi Milne has graciously allowed me the opportunity to feature her work here today and for that I am very grateful, for her work is exactly the kind of art that makes my heart skip a beat and it compels me to share it with as many people as I can.
Kabuki: The Alchemy ~David Mack
2009, Marvel Publishing, Inc
320 pages
5/5 stars
“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
~Mahatma Gandhi
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it now. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.”
~Goethe
I have stepped away from the “new and improved” review format for a very important reason. This review is as much a statement on creativity and change as it is a review of David Mack’s latest graphic novel. Why? Because Kabuki: The Alchemy, is as much a treatise on the creative process and an encouragement to “move your ass and make it happen” as it is the next chapter in the life of Mack’s seminal creation.
One of the many points David Mack makes in this semi-autobiographical work is that we often wait for some form of external validation before we will overcome the many and varied barriers that we erect to keep us from exploring our talents, from reaching our creative potential, and from being an agent of change in our own lives. Many forms of literature and art have layers of meaning. I am not sure that I have seen anything quite as obviously multi-layered that works so well from start to finish. The execution of this story is incredible.
Though the seventh volume in the graphic novel series chronicling the life of this female Japanese assassin, it is meant to function as a starting off point for new readers as well as a rewarding new direction in the storyline for those who have faithfully followed the series. Mack expertly weaves threads from the previous graphic novels into this tale and does so in a way that propels the story forward instead of it feeling like a series of flashbacks. I promise you this, The Alchemy is like nothing you have ever read before.
Robert McGinnis: Painting the Last Rose of Summer
–a film by Paul Jilbert
–2008
–5/5 stars 
*
I have long been a fan of the illustration work of artist Robert McGinnis. I did a very gushing, image-laden Friday Favorite post on him back in May of 2006 that can be found here. This is one of the posts that bears frequent revisiting–not because of anything that has to do with me but because of the handful of examples of Robert McGinnis’ phenomenal talent.
Needless to say I was excited when rumors of a Robert McGinnis DVD surfaced well over a year ago. And it has finally been released!
Today’s Friday Favorite may seem a bit off the beaten path from my more recent artist features and yet it hearkens to one of my great loves, the comic book. In the mid to late 90’s when I was introduced to the world of ‘funny books for adults’ it wasn’t long before the work of Michael Turner began to catch my eye. Over the years I haven’t collected much of his work and yet I have always appreciated the unique look of his characters, particularly his female characters.
Michael Turner died on June 27th of this year from complications resulting from treatment for bone cancer. He was only 37 years old.
Though a bit late, I decided that it was the right thing to do to honor his memory with a Friday Favorite post.
Continue reading Friday Favorite: A belated goodbye to Michael Turner