Reviews

Peter Cannon; Thunderbolt

The Dynamite formula has, this time, produced something a bit better than their average.

Stuck with each other the whole summer, Joff Winterhart’s moving and subtle portrait of a single mother and her teenage son is a very human, subtle debut from someone who should develop into an even stronger cartoonist in the future.

Dredd

The film’s an odd beast, often feeling like an exploitation thriller given a multi-million-dollar 3D treatment. Individual scenes are often strong in themselves, but they don’t necessarily add up to much.

New Crusaders 1

New Crusaders is both an undemanding pleasure and a cunningly-crafted “entry-point” for a new generation of comics readers.

Sex Pistols: The Graphic Novel

This is a great book. Slightly skimpy on the details, but certainly a great place to start if you’re one of those worryingly young people who’s only aware of Johnny Rotten because of those butter adverts.

Neverland: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson

Neverland is obviously a sincere effort, but not really much better than the wave of cash-in rubbish that Bluewater have knocked out in more recent years.

The Dark Knight Rises (another view)

Against the standards Nolan has set himself, Dark Knight Rises doesn’t rise far enough, and must be considered the least of the trilogy, and the worst of all of Nolan’s movies.

The Dark Knight Rises

For those who favour soundbite explanations, this final part of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy comes across as a mash-up of David Fincher’s Fight Club and Brecht’s anti-Nazi allegory The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. (Contains spoilers.)

Before Watchmen

Unless something goes terribly wrong, this is going to end up being the best comic eventy thing since Seven Soldiers of Victory that either Marvel or DC have produced. But I don’t want to encourage you to buy them new, because I don’t want this to be a success.

Brian Boru – Ireland’s Warrior King

Brian Boru is an enjoyable read, written with a narrative skill that carries the reader forward and brings some sense to the chaotically shifting alliances of the period. You never forget that this is a story set in a brutal time, nor is the backwardness of society ever glossed over for modern readers.

FA - The Comiczine