The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett Abrams Image Boilerplate is a fascinating concept – a mockumentary coffee table book dealing with the heroic exploits of Boilerplate – a Victorian Era mechanical man. He crops up everywhere from his creation in 1893 until his disappearance in 1918; possibly making it to the South Pole way [...]

S.W.O.R.D. issue 1 – breathless outer space Marvel action.

18. November 2009

S.W.O.R.D. issue 1 by Kieron Gillen, art by Steven Sanders (backup strip by Jamie McKelvie) Marvel Comics It’s not that I dislike superheroes, more the fact that I really haven’t got the time to decipher the vast, inter-connected-ness of the modern Marvel or DC Universes. So these days I tend to only dip into the Marvel Universe when [...]

“Some bloody holiday this is” – Harker issue 9

17. November 2009

Harker issue 9 Plot, story, script – Roger Gibson. Plot, art – Vincent Danks Ariel Press. And here we are again, another issue of Harker, another review (for the others try here). By now you can probably write these for yourself. But for those who haven’t been paying attention this is my standard description of Harker: “Harker’s a great [...]

Robot City: Rust Attack!

16. November 2009

Robot City Adventures: Rust Attack by Paul Collicutt Templar Publishing “Welcome to Robot City — the metal metropolis that never rusts! Here, highly developed robots are part of everyday life, living and working in harmony with humankind. The city that never rusts . . . is rusting! The well-loved robotic dance troupe, the Automettes, has been struck down [...]

The New Vampire’s Handbook – now we’re definitely looking at Christmas.

13. November 2009

The New Vampire’s Handbook by Joe Garden, Anita Serwacki, Janet Ginsburg, Chris Pauls, and Scott Sherman Square Peg A sure sign that Christmas is coming – novelty adult stocking filler books begin to dominate the shelves of your local book megastore. Which explains the existence of The New Vampire’s Handbook. It’s one of those books that come just [...]

Cedric 2, more tales of love struck mischief

12. November 2009

Cedric 2: Dad’s Got Class by Cauvin and Laudec Cinebook Cedric is an eight-year-old boy who is desperately in love with Chen but too shy to let her know. Between school, rowdy friends, nosy parents and an insufferable cousin, little Cedric has a lot to deal with. Thankfully, his grandpa is always there to help, no matter [...]

A Day In The Life Of Alfred …. is all about the patterns

11. November 2009

A Day In The Life Of Alfred by Øivind Hovland Tabella Publishing I was tempted into this one by that really striking cover; sparse, minimalist, the simple font, the sudden splash of colour. Lovely. But the minimalism doesn’t really carry on inside, Hovland prefers instead to splash large sweeping black, white and red lines across his pages. It’s [...]

Whatever Happened To The World’s Fastest Man?

10. November 2009

3 Comments

Whatever Happened To The World’s Fastest Man? by Dave West and Marleen Lowe Accent UK Behind a lovely (if slightly confusing to the newcomer perhaps?) cover is the best thing to come out of Accent UK so far that I’ve seen. Whatever Happened To The World’s Fastest Man starts with an intriguing concept and then proceeds to not [...]

Blake & Mortimer S.O.S. Meteors

9. November 2009

Blake & Mortimer: S.O.S. Meteors by Edgar P. Jacobs Cinebook Euro-comics admission time – I’ve never read any Blake & Mortimer before this. <gasp> I know, I know, almost sacrilegious and a massive gap in my comic knowledge, but there really were very few opportunities to get hold of Euro comics translated into English up until now and [...]

Lady S – more exotic euro thrills from Van Hamme

6. November 2009

Lady S Volume 1: Here’s To Suzie by Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Aymond Cinebook In many ways this is merely a female equivalent to Van Hamme’s Largo Winch series, featuring as it does a privileged hero character with a mysterious and somewhat shady past and a nasty habit of getting themselves into all manner of trouble. But [...]

Chimpanzee Complex – Big, Wonderful, Epic Sci-Fi.

5. November 2009

The Chimpanzee Complex – Volume 1: Paradox Written by Richard Marazano, art by Jean-Michel Ponzio Cinebook I love big , epic Sci-Fi. Always have. And there just isn’t enough of it in comics to keep me satisfied. Every so often something comes along though that gets it absolutely right, does everything big Sci-Fi is meant to do – [...]

Dragonology – is it Christmas already?

4. November 2009

Drakes Comprehensive Compendium Of Dragonology Templar Publishing I was sent this book to review after reviewing Shaun Tan’s Tales From Outer Suburbia. It was a bit of a surprise, as it’s hardly comics related. But, if Templar are kind enough to send me the book, the least I can do is have a look. And to be honest, [...]

Harker Volume 1: The Book Of Solomon – One of the best of 2009.

3. November 2009

Harker Volume 1: The Book Of Solomon Plot, story, script – Roger Gibson. Plot, art – Vincent Danks Ariel Press. Anyone reading the blog over the past 9 months or so will have surely picked up on my great love of Harker. I’ve championed it since issue 1 and every month have delivered positive review after positive review. [...]

Largo Winch 2 – the best thriller on an international business deal you’ll ever read….

2. November 2009