The Adventures of Tintin Series: Before Nathan Drake, Lara Croft, and Even Indian Jones, There Was Tintin!

A Review By: Amelia

One of many comic covers

Tintin is a huge part of comic history so it’s always a shock to me when people have no idea who he is! I mean, it’s Tintin! He’s got red hair and a little white dog named Snowy. He’s had comics, and radio shows, and a cartoon, and a Steven Spielberg movie! He’s iconic and highly entertaining. Recently I read every single Tintin comic there is so I’m here to review it today and convince the rest of you to go and read every single Tintin comic there is!

Now, I’ve known about Tintin since I was a kid as I watched the cartoon series that YTV aired during the day in the 1990s, but if you’re not privy to the knowledge of who the little red-headed, dot-eyed guy is, allow me to fill you in.

Tintin is the ultimate adventurer. The character is an ambitious, young, globetrotting reporter who is always ends up as part of the story he’s attempting to cover. He’s surrounded by a cast of flamboyant, colorful characters—most notably his faithful dog Snowy—who join him on his many adventures as he tears across the globe fighting corrupt gangsters to smugglers to kidnappers to even ending up on the Moon in a couple of issues!

Georges Prosper Remi, known more commonly by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian cartoonist best known for The Adventures of Tintin series, which are considered one of the most popular European comics of the 20^th century! He also wrote Quick & Flupke and Jo, Zette and Jocko. His works have been widely acclaimed but have also been criticised for instances of anti-Semitism and racism (Tintin’s creation dates back to 1929). Despite this though, Hergé remains a strong influence on the comic medium, particularly in Europe.

Aside from Tintin, there’s five other main characters. There’s the bumbling Thompson and Thomson detectives that rush in and end up hurt in ever ridiculous slapstick comedy kind of ways. There’s Professor Calculus who invents things and is mostly deaf and gets into trouble for both those reasons. There’s Captain Haddock who’s a crusty old sailor full of ridiculous insults and the finest whiskey (provided he hasn’t gotten hurt and dropped it); and, of course, my favourite character: Snowy the dog. He’s a small, white dog that loyally follows Tintin everywhere the adventure takes him and occasionally has a few hilarious inner monologue moments! Honestly, the funniest bits throughout the whole series were when Snowy got drunk because Haddock sloshed his booze on the ground!

The art style all through Tintin (excluding the very first one) is the distinct and consistently adorable style that Hergé created: the ligne claire style. It’s colourful, it’s simple, everyone has dot eyes and they see stars when they get hit! What’s not to love about all that? Hergé was also a master of making his comics emulate movie scenes by implying camera movement. He also went big or went home (so to speak) by making each panel a full body shot of the characters and showing action as it played out. As a whole, the art style is simplistic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not also amazingly thought out! The ligne claire style is emulated by artists all over the world because of Hergé!

My one criticism with the series is that some of the drawings are offensive. Tintin is the product of a gone-by era and it’s obvious in Tintin in the Congo and Tintin in America. There might be others but those two immediately come to mind as the most racist as far as the portrayal of people of colour goes. But, taken in stride, it’s still highly enjoyable. I think, much like reading Gone With the Wind, you have to realize it was written in a different time and adjust your mind set to that. Of course if you’d prefer to skip right over those issues there’s still a tonne to choose from.

My final thoughts on The Adventures of Tintin are that they are a very entertaining reads and I highly suggest them! It’s colourful and fun to look at, the characters are as flamboyant and colourful as the art, and each comic’s frantic pace is sure to please those looking for a thrilling story that’s also filled to the brim with slapstick comedy.

By far my favourite moment!

The Company Man: Steampunk-y, Sci-Fi-y, Crime Noir-y, Goodness!

A Review By: Amelia

I love steampunk. I just love it. It’s a great world/style to muck about in! It takes the best parts of Victorian society and adds technological advances that might have happened and that’s super fascinating for me because I love alternate histories! The Company Man isn’t quite steampunk, but it is just enough for me to have jumped on his book without a second thought.

The McNaughton Corporation is a corporation so large, so groundbreaking, so extraordinary, it is the apex of American industry. They supplied weapons for the great war, built massive airships, created a shining metropolis from the fishing wharfs where the Union skulks all the way to the sky high buildings where CEOs play their business games. But something is wrong in the city. One day a subway car pulls into a station with eleven dead bodies inside. It had left the last station four minutes ago and each person lay butchered like they never saw it coming. Worst of all, all eleven were Union. Cyril Hayes, a semi-washed up, mostly addicted detective must fix it. There is a dark secret behind the inventions of McNaughton and with a war brewing between the executives and the workers. Caught between the union and the company, between the police and the victims, Hayes must uncover the mystery before the whole city burns.

This isn’t the first Robert Jackson Bennett book I’ve reviewed. Devotees of my reviews will remember my American Elsewhere one (which was so super hard for me to write because it was such a complex book and I was trying not to give anything away). The Company Man is his second full length novel and was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award as well as an Edgar Award. I said it in the last review and I’ll say it again here: Bennett is a master of speculative fiction!

The main character of The Company Man is Cyril Hayes and boy is he messed up! He suffers from a pseudo-physic condition that leaves him more or less crippled when it comes on and has left him addicted to any pain killers he can get his hands on. He works for McNaughton as a kind of internal affairs officer and when he’s put in charge of the mass murder in the subways his life only gets harder and more messed up. He’s not really a hero or an anti-hero, just a guy trying to do his job because he has too. That changes a little near the end of the book (but I’ll stop myself there to keep from spoiling anything) but mostly it’s just a guy trying to get through his life.

The shining light of this story is definitely the locations in this steampunk story. The huge shining city of Evesden is so spectacularly detailed: there’s not a scene that doesn’t go in the story where all the intricacies are described or noted upon. There’s giant airships, underground trolleys, dirty slums, and a shining downtown. There’s underground machines that only a sixth sense can feel and secrets hidden just below the gleaming facade. All in all, it’s a setting that isn’t seen every often and won’t soon be forgotten!

The Company Man is such an interesting mash-up of genres. It’s steampunk, sci-fi with crime noir and mystery thriller all rolled up into one! The characters progress the story nicely and the location is unique and original. It’s truly a joy to read.

My final thoughts on The Company Man are that it’s a great read! It was a little slow to get going but the finale more than enough makes up for that because Bennett is amazing at ending his books with unexpected twists and serious action. Honestly, the last hundred pages of this book had be wishing there were a thousand more I could read about this universe!

The Flute Player: Apache Legend Lives Again

A Review By: Amelia

I’ve recently deleved into Apache culture for a story I’m writing and I must say the folklore is fascinating (although I’m a fan of almost all worldly folklore). And because I’m such a softie underneath it all I was especially drawn to a particular love story called The Flute Player. Luckily, a beautifully illustrated children’s book was there to help me appreciate it to the fullest.

Put very simply, The Flute Player tells a tale of love and lose that the author, Lacapa Michael, remembers from his childhood.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Michael and his family moved to Whiteriver, Arizona, on the White Mountain Apache Reservation at the age of one. Michael became well known for writing and illustrating many children's books, including: The Mouse Couple, the award winning The Flute Player, and Antelope Woman. Years ago, Michael was instrumental in organizing the first Native American Arts and Crafts Festival in Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona, which continues today as an annual tradition. He was sought after nationally and internationally by storyteller's conventions to tell his wonderful native stories, many of which were based on his own experiences. He sadly passed away in 2005. Of her late husband's artistic vision, Kathy Lacapa says..."His philosophy was...'Always write about what you know, be true to your culture or region and never let go of your imagination'. "

In an effort to keep Michael's legacy alive, AAWM has established a scholarship fund in his name to benefit any resident within the greater White Mountains area wishing to pursue a higher education in the arts.

The story of The Flute Player is one heard through every civilization that’s ever existed: a love that couldn’t be. It’s essentially boy and girl meet, boy and girl share a special secret, boy and girl lose each other, but boy and girl live on into eternity. The Flute Player goes a little deeper though. Since it’s a folktale from the Apache culture it’s used as a way to explain a certain element of nature. This story uses the lovers to explain the sound that the wind makes while whistling through canyons.   

The art style is aesthetically so wonderful. The colours are vivid and the lines so perfectly straight. The art is also full of geometric patterns that draw the eye across the page. It’s just all quite lovely and definitely not something you see every day. It might not be something that’s immediately going to appeal to children but I’m a twenty-four year old, so what do I know about children right?

My final thoughts on The Flute Player are that it is such a great book. The artwork is beautiful and unique, the story comes from actual Apache mythology (and I loves me some mythology), and it really is such a simple and respectful way to teach others about a different culture. Definitely a child’s book worth looking into!

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: One Person Is All It Takes To Change The World

A Review By: Amelia

Humans have been conditioned to root for the underdog since birth. We hiss at the big evil holding the little person down and cheer wildly when that little person succeeds. It’s because we see that underdog in ourselves that we do it: that little person is us and every step towards improving life that that underdog takes is a step we too could be making! It’s all very inspiring and that’s why I was drawn to The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the true story of a boy in Africa that refused to do nothing even though the world was giving him nothing.

When fourteen-year-old William Kamkwamba’s Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone’s crops began to fail. Without enough money for food, let alone school, William spent his days in the library and, because of his perseverance, figured out how to bring electricity to his village. Adamant to succeed against the odds, William built a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps, and became a hero to his village.

William Kamkwamba grew up without any real luxury besides an education. But when he stopped being able to attend his school what little luxury he had seemed to be gone forever. That is until he took every available moment to studying on his own at a local library. He used his love of machinery to build a windmill capable of bringing power to his village. Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump for fresh water, has attended university in the United States, been interviewed on The Daily Show, had a children’s picture book written about his journey to better and world, and been named on the list of ’30 People Under 30 Changing the World’.

Malawi is a country where magic is viewed as the norm and modern science is, at best, a mystery, and at worst, something to be shunned and ignored. It’s a country where life hangs on whether the rains come and where drought and hunger can last half a life time. William Kamkwamba believed he could change this. His neighbours claimed he was crazy but William refused to believe it and with a pile of long forgotten science textbooks, some scrap metal, human curiosity, and determination he crafted a miracle that would forever change lives. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an extraordinary true story about one boy’s desire for knowledge and how his human inventiveness and just a basic education helped change his community and better the lives of those around him.

My final thoughts on The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind are that it is a truly inspiring tale and not just for those living under crippling adversity. William Kamkwamba is just one man and yet with a little human ingenuity he changed the lives of so many. This book is a testament to the human spirit and our need for community. It will inspire anyone who doubts the power of a single person’s ability to change the world for the better. One person is all it takes.

Flashpoint: Definitive Flash

A Review By: Amelia

I never thought much of The Flash until I read The Blackest Night comics and now I can’t get enough of him! I obsessively watch the new television series and grab any comic book I can that I know Flash is in. Flashpoint is one of the first Flash centred comic books I ever read and it did not disappoint.

Barry Allen suddenly wakes up at his desk to discover that the world has changed. His mother is alive, he’s without any powers, and half the world is destroyed from an Amazonian revelry with the underwater city of Atlantis. Batman is a twisted soul not opposed to murder, The Justice League is nonexistent, and the Reverse Flash has his hands in it all. It’s a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war and The Flash has to figure out who altered the time line before time runs out!

The author of Flashpoint is the venerable Geoff Johns. Johns’ first comic assignments quickly led him to a critically acclaimed five-year run on The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, and Infinite Crisis. He’s received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The illustrator of Flashpoint is Andrew “Andy” Kubert is an American comic book artist, son of Joe Kubert, and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists. He is a graduate of and an instructor of second-year classes at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, founded by his father (who also teaches there). He mostly works with DC but he’s had a few branching outs over his career.

The main character of the piece is the Flash. Kinda obvious given it’s titled Flashpoint. I’m going to be the first to admit that before last summer, I didn’t really care/know that much about the Flash: Batman and Wonder Woman were my two tops. But then I read the Blackest Night comics and fell in love with Flash. He’s just so happy and optimistic no matter what happens to him in his life; and he’s no different in Flashpoint. Flash is a hero who never lets the darkness overtake him and it’s honestly very refreshing considering how DC has taken its characters in recent years. Batman, Cyborg, Shazam, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman also take fairly large roles with some very large personality twists: Wonder Woman and Aquaman are fighting against each other in a war that was killed hundreds of millions of civilians. Cyborg is the self appointed head of a haphazard Justice League. Shazam is a collection of mostly apathetic teenagers. And Batman has thrown the whole ‘don’t ever kill’ rule out the window. Honestly, it’s all quite an interesting take on an alternate path that the DC superheroes could have fallen into really quite easily!

Now, the main competent of the graphic novel: the art style. Honestly, there’s not much to say about the art style of Flashpoint. It’s a realistic style with vivid colouring but also vivid shadowing. The facial expressions were very well done and the landscapes and backgrounds are detailed and just overall it’s good. I mean, it’s a style that’s been prevalent in mostly all superhero comics but it’s a style that works for the genre. It adds nothing new but it also doesn’t take anything away; and it’s pretty to look at, so why second guess it?

My final thoughts on Flashpoint are that it’s a very interesting graphic novel. I’m a nerd for alternate histories so it was immediately appealing to me. Add in the excellent art, the kickass Amazons and Atlanteans war, and the fact that The Flash is just such an amazing character and you’ve got a DC comic that everyone should pick up and read!

The Wars: A Bloody Great Read

A Review By: Amelia

World War One is one of my favourite research stomping grounds and I can never get enough of reading about it. I mean, it was The Great War–the war to end all wars–what’s not to enjoy there? Well... except all the death and violence and misery. In the sense of literature though, it’s a marvelous subject and it’s why I love Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars.

The Wars is about Robert Ross, a sensitive, strange nineteen-year-old Canadian boy from a well off family living in Toronto. In 1915 he joins the army and is yanked from his suburban surroundings and thrust into the nightmares of trench warfare.

Timothy Findley is a Canadian author who first invented the term/style of Southern Ontario Gothic, was an author heavily influenced by Jungian psychology. There are recurring themes of mental illness, gender, and sexuality in frequent rotation throughout his works and his characters often carry dark personal secrets, and were often conflicted (sometimes to the point of psychosis) by these burdens.

Robert Ross, the main character, is an exceptional character. He’s sensitive but his sensitivity comes out in bursts of temper. He’s strange but strange in a way that manifests as caring and empathetic. Ross doesn’t think much of himself but the people around him do: he changes lives, for better and worse and he’s an amazing character to observe through the course of the novel.

Aside from Robert, the locations of the novel are my favourite bit. The book starts off in Toronto and then moves to Europe to the trenches of France and the country sides of England. It’s always interesting to read about a place where you’ve been in a novel (I currently live in Toronto) and see the author’s take on it. And of course my morbid fascination with war– especially World War One–made the locations all the more fascinating. I love the bleakness of war torn Europe: the trenches, no man’s land, even the soggy British countryside when the officers are on leave. War is a forever interesting topic and Findley’s take on it will leave you wanting more.  

The Wars is by no means a light read. It has a grim plot, grim characters, and grim themes from start to finish–not that that makes it any less enjoyable, just enjoyable in a grim way! There’s just something about what Robert goes through that’s so compelling to follow as a reader. He joins the army after the death of his sister hoping to replace that nightmare for the nightmare of war. He gets his wish and his life becomes nothing short of horrifying whether he’s killing enemy soldiers or having an affair with a rich English heiress. It’s bleak and heartbreaking but also enthralling and beautiful. Findley weaves his characters and themes impeccably together to create a unique story that you’d be hard pressed to find an equal to.

My final thoughts on The Wars are that it’s incredible. It shows a side of war that you don’t usually see: it’s not about politics, it’s not about stopping the war or winning it for the side of good, it’s about one man’s journey through it all and what that does to his mental state and the mental states of those around him. Read it. Read it now!

Adrift: A Horror Story That Won’t Leave You Adrift

A Review By: Amelia

I love horror stories. I love Japanese horror stories the most. There’s just something about the subtlety of J-horror that surpasses any other country’s horror. I suppose that’s why the short horror story collection Dark Water drew me right to it like a moth to a flame!

Dark Water is a collection of short horror stories all centred around water in one way or another. The story I’ll be reviewing (my favourite story in the book) is Adrift and it’s is about the crew of a fishing trawler, the Wakashio VII, that happen across an abandoned yacht which has suffered events similar to those that happened to the Mary Celeste. For anyone who doesn’t know, the Mary Celeste was an American merchant brigantine that was found completely abandoned in 1872. No one ever discovered what happened to the crew and it remains an unsolvable mystery. Very spooky inspiration if you ask me!

The author of Dark Water is Koji Suzuki. He’s a Japanese writer who wrote the Ring series, a few books about his hobbies (traveling and motorcycling), and many short stories. He is currently on the selection committee for the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Even though he’s dabbled in other genres, horror is where he shines.

Dark Water, as mentioned above, is about a fishing boat that comes upon an abandoned yacht. They attach a line to the yacht intending to tow it but a man needs to be on it to. Kazuo Shiraishi volunteers believing that it will be a nice little vacation away from his job on the fishing boat, but when the other members of the crew speak of curses and bad luck, an inkling of fear is born in Kazuo. That fear only grows as he spends time on the yacht and begins to suffer from mood swings and horrific dreams. He struggles to solve the mystery of what happened on the yacht before it takes him too.

By far, the best part of Adrift was the location. The ocean is terrifying without adding abandoned yachts and ghosts on top of it! It’s vast, it’s unforgiving, and if you get lost on it, there’s a slim chance you’re coming back. Plus there’s the yacht. The atmosphere of hopelessness that Suzuki creates on the abandoned yacht is astounding. Kazuo’s mental state begins to deteriorate quickly and he has nowhere to escape too: his life is the yacht. He’s trapped, and you as the reader, are trapped with him.

Dark Water as a whole is sort of hit or miss. A lot of other people really like the story Water Colours but found Adrift not to their liking. Me, I love Adrift and didn’t really care for Water Colours. That’s the great thing about short story collections, you can pick and choose. Personally, I say if you get your hands on this book and can read only one story, read Adrift!

My final thoughts on Adrift are that it’s a damn spooky read! It’s got creepy dreams, a ghost ship, the solitude and inescapable hugeness of the ocean. The writing is smooth, graphic, and suspenseful. Read it at night, alone, and in silence–you won’t be disappointed!