Twittering Watchmen

Sorry folks...I know it's been a long time...but I've been busy. I know that is no excuse. I'm slapping my bottom right now as punishment and promising to be better in the future.

What have I been doing? Well writing, writing, writing and reading, reading, reading. 

Hellfire continues. I'm getting into my stride now and our characters are all safely in the Gap and having all sorts of adventures. I've been doing reviews for the BFS, but missed this months deadline through my own inability to manage time, and so any new reviews will be in the next issue of Dark Horizons.

Reading Book 2 of Rex Mundi, which continues rather unsurprisingly on from Book 1. Our hero, Doctor Julien Sauniere is following up on the horrific murders that have taken place in Paris. Something rather nasty seems to be haunting the streets and everything is pointing to Lord Lorraine trying to depose of the king by any methods necessary. Tightly written and action packed the books pace is only slowed by the addition of the fake newspaper articles between chapters. Need to read Book 3 now.

Also read (well, not actually read, as there is no words in it) 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan (thank you Madame Vin) which is a wonderful work examining one mans journey across the world to start a new life as an immigrant. It captures via the use of fantasy the alienation one must feel in a land that is completely different, the loneliness and the confusion. Tan's work is illustrated in an aged sepia tint which makes the book feel like an heirloom of some long forgotten family member. Produced by Hodder's children imprint this book is aimed at a very mature market.

Just seen Watchmen, which is good but works so much better in its original format. I think Alan Moore is right when he say's that it should have stayed as is. Not that it's not a good film, it is, it's just that ultimately the source material is so much richer and no amount of techno wizardry can capture that.

I've been Twittering a lot (I worry that I'm slightly addicted). Not sure what it is about this short form update service but I find myself continually drawn to finding out what strangers (famous and not) are up to. If you're interested in joining (and I would love to see you all in Twitterland) you can find me at MiddleManLost.

Other Twitter people I have been following include Danny Choo, who gives me my required update on all things Japanese and keeps the lovely website DannyChoo.com Cory Doctorow updates regularly with links to the ever brilliant BoingBoing and you can also follow Gaiman, Fry and the great Alan Davies and of course the great food and wine matches of MadameVin

Read this week:

Rex Mundi Book Two: The River Underground by Arvid Nelson, Eric J and Jeromy Cox

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Who watches the Watch Men?

I’ve just finished reading ‘Watchmen’. This is one of those comic books that I’ve been meaning to read for some time but I kept getting put off by the fact the industry considers it a mile stone, a totem of the adult comic book world. I was worried that I’d read it and not be able to work out what all the fuss has been about. I don’t like things being built up. The moment someone says this book, film, play is the best they have ever seen I know that I’m now going to be bitterly disappointed. They have taken away the magic of discovery for me, and a piece of work that I might have watched and thought of as good, now becomes simply okay.

The best pieces of work are those that I discover for myself. I can still remember the first time I sat in the cinema as saw a re-run of Cinema Paradiso, the first time I watched Casablanca on a wet Saturday afternoon, unaware that it was considered a masterpiece. The first time I read The Great Gatsby with its magical last lines and the first time I heard Gershwin accompanied by those great black and white scene’s of Woody Allen’s.

However I digress…

‘Watchmen’ is clever. It takes something of the infantile comic book staple ‘the masked hero’, and shows them with all their failings, hang-ups and personal problems. Too many hero’s, both on TV, in films and comics, seem to have few if any problems that would stop them from spending their days fighting crime, but what effect would this have on a person’s mental state. This, coupled with a super power, would turn these do gooders into gods, practically unstoppable and left to make snap decisions about what they considered right or wrong.

Another main issue is how society would cope with these heroes living among us. If we relied on these few heroes and then they fucked up, what would be the response? Would we place them above society’s normal values and concerns or would we ensure that they toed the line - that they conform to ‘normal’ society.

The book is slightly dated, rooted in the idea of the cold war and the east / west issue, but this distance helps to gain a perspective, though it would be interesting to see the book set in today’s celebrity, reality TV, ‘terrorist around ever corner’ obsessions.

Off out tonight to see a couple of authors (one of which is the writer of ‘Scar Night’) in discussion. Will report back soon with details.

Read this week: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The Killing Kind by John Connolly