Hawkmoon: The Jewel in the Skull issue 1

Hawkmoon: The Jewel in the Skull
First Comics, 1986
Issue 1 (May 1986)
art: Rafael Kayanan and Alfredo Alcala, story: Gerry Conway

In 1986 indie comics publisher First Comics, located in Chicago, obtained the rights to the Michael Moorcock property 'Hawkmoon'.

(My review of the Hawkmoon series is available here).

First Comics devoted four issues to 'The Jewel in the Skull', the inaugural volume in the Hawkmoon series, issuing them bimonthly over the span of May - November 1986.

While Gerry Conway's scripting of the four issues is not particularly effective - chunks of the book's plot are jettisoned, in favor of belaboring tangential plot points - the bimonthly schedule meant that the Filipino artists assigned to the comics could produce some outstanding artwork.

The lead artist was Rafael Kayanan, and Hawkmoon was one of his first major assignments for an American publisher. Kayanan has since gone on to become very successful as an artist for major publishers like DC and Marvel.

Inking Kayanan's art was none other than the great Alfedo Alcala.

The one major drawback to this series is the color printing. While it appears that First Comics did not use the Flexographic process, there is no denying that the color separations in 'The Jewel in the Skull' are less than optimal, with too many pages having a murky appearance that I can only partially rectify in my scans.

If ever an 80s comics series deserved to be reissued in a graphic novel compilation, one taking advantage of modern methods for re-doing color separations, it's these Hawkmoon comics. Until then, I'm going to post scans of each of the four issues in 'The Jewel in the Skull'.

Rebel graphic novel remastered

'Rebel' by Pepe Moreno
Remastered edition
Digital Fusion, August 2009

If you were a reader of Heavy Metal magazine in the 1980s then you no doubt are familiar with the work published in that magazine by the Spanish artist Pepe Moreno (b.1959). 

Rebel and Generation Zero were among the memorable comics by Moreno that were serialized in that magazine in the mid 80s.

Rebel was compiled into a graphic novel in 1986 by Catalan Communications.

However, in 2009, a 'remastered' version of Rebel was published as a trade paperback by Digital Fusion, an imprint of the US comic book publisher IDW. (Digital Fusion appears to have been designed to reissue Moreno's complete line of graphic novels, but unfortunately, it seems like Rebel was the only one of these it ever published).

The remastered version of Rebel uses digitally colored scans, made by Moreno from his original artwork.

Along with the comic, the remastered edition features a section titled 'The Making of Rebel: New York 1982'. This section provides some additional insights into the various artistic and cultural inspirations that Moreno used to create Rebel.

Of particular interest to me are the black-and-white photographs Moreno took of a snowbound Williamsburg (Brooklyn) neighborhood. The vistas of abandoned buildings and junked cars on the streets of the city gave the streets the post-apocalyptic look that was readily adaptable to the ravaged New York City of 2002 depicted in the Rebel comic. 

Seeing Moreno's photos brings back fond (?) memories of just how bad it was in the Big Apple in the era of Escape from New York, The Warriors, Fort Apache: The Bronx, and Wolfen.

The 'Making of Rebel' section also provides a sketch gallery, a gallery of characters, stats and renderings of the various cars and trucks appearing in the comic, and an overview of Moreno's work in comics and video games from the late 70s to the late 2000s.

Summing up, if you're a fan of those old issues of Heavy Metal and Pepe Moreno's contributions, then this remastered version of Rebel is well worthy getting. 

Despite being 30 years old, the comic still stands as a great example of action-driven postapocalyptic adventure, and is markedly superior to contemporary efforts to promote the genre (see my review of the forlorn comic book sequel to Escape from New York here).

New and used copies of the Rebel remastered graphic novel can be obtained for very reasonable prices from your usual online vendors.

Book Review: The Forest of Peldain

Book Review: 'The Forest of Peldain' by Barrington J. Bayley

3 / 5 Stars

‘The Forest of Peldain’ (223 pp) is DAW Book No. 640, published in August, 1985, with cover artwork by Ken W. Kelly.

On the water word of Thelessa, mankind is restricted to living on the Hundred Isles. Although there are rebellious islands whose tribes must periodically be subdued, overall, life under the Monarchy of King Krassos is pleasant, resembling the uncomplicated civilization of Earth’s Polynesian peoples.

But King Krassos of Arelia yearns for some signal achievement to define his reign. When a man named Askon Octrago visits the throne room, claiming to be a prince from the island of Peldain, King Krassos takes notice. For Peldain is the largest of the isles on Thelessa………but also the deadliest. Just meters past its shoreline is an immense forest made up of carnivorous plants…..plants such as the Trip-root…...the Stranglevine…..the Fallpit……the Mangrab Tree…..and the Dartthorn……

Octrago claims that he has traversed the dangers of the Forest of Peldain and survived…….and he wants King Krassos to furnish an expeditionary force, with which Octrago will return to Peldain, reclaim the throne, and pledge fealty to Krassos.

The thought of having the largest island on Thelessa under his realm is too attractive for Krassos to resist. He orders a force of several thousand men to be assembled and transported to Peldain. Leading the force is Lord Vorduthe, the most capable officer in Arelia.

In due course, the Arelian fleet disembarks on the shore of Peldain and its soldiers, wielding shield and sword, make preparations to venture into the Forest. Lord Vorduthe, aware of the stories of the hazardous plants, has prepared by incorporating flamethrower carts into his invasion force.

But Vorduthe has misgivings over the truth of Askon Octgrago’s story…..and as the Arelian force begins its foray, Vorduthe and his men will discover that the Forest of Peldain contains horrors far worse than those described by Octrago…….

I’ve read a number of sf novels by Barrington Bayley, and this one, like those others, has a clean, flowing narrative style. Its first half is really more of a horror novel than sf. The latter half of the narrative does realign itself into sf themes………..I won’t disclose any spoilers, but this section of the novel does seem a bit contrived.

But overall, ‘The Forest of Peldain’ is a very readable novel from a writer who often is absent from lists of the better sf authors of the 70s and 80s, but nonetheless probably deserves to be present and accounted for.

Sci-fi books from the UK

Sci-fi Books from the UK

With the growth of 'e commerce', it's now a lot more feasible to purchase paperbacks from bookstores in the United Kingdom. They will accept online purchases made with a US credit card.

I got this set of eight from awesomebooks.com. 

This vendor / bookstore collective has a large inventory of old Sphere and Panther sci-fi paperback books from the 70s. They charge a flat shipping fee of £ 2.99, which is about $3.79. Including the shipping charge, my eight books averaged $3.75 each, which is quite competitive with US online vendors.

The time between ordering and arrival for this particular shipment was 17 days.

Some of these books, like the Philip K. Dick title, are hard to find in the inventories of US sellers, so investigating UK merchants can be worthwhile. It's also well worth looking at these UK sellers for books in genres other than sci-fi, horror, or fantasy.

Spanish Comic Book Artists

Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art

coming January 2017

Here at the PorPor Books Blog I try to keep an eye out for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror - themed gift books that usually are promoted during the Christmas / Holiday season.

This season's top entry, Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art, is (unfortunately) not going to be released in time to be the ideal under-the-tree gift, but its publication date of 31 January 2017 is still close enough to make it worth mentioning in the 'Holiday Context'.

If, like me, you are a fan of the great artwork (by artists like Sanjulian, Esteban Maroto, and Jose Gonzalez) that appeared in the 70s for comic books, magazines, and paperback covers for American publishers, than this volume certainly deserves contemplation.

The book - which is published by Dynamite - is available for pre-order at online retailers. 

A preview of the contents in available here.

American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s

American Comic Book Chronicles:
The 1980s
by Keith Dallas
TooMorrows Publishing, March 2013

'American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s' (287 pp) is one of a series of books released by TooMorrows Publishing that chronicle the history of American comic books. Other volumes in the series cover the 1950s, the 1960s, and the 1970s.

Like the volume covering the 70s, which I reviewed here, this is a great book. It adheres to the standardized format for the series, one marked by copious color illustrations and tiny, dense font.

The opening chapters of 'American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s' review the rather dire financial state of the comic book industry in the US in the period from 1979 - 1981. Sales were declining for all publishers, as ever fewer newsstand distributors were interested in selling comic books. 

Although Marvel remained the industry's sales leader, the executives of the company's parent corporation, Cadence Industries, were displeased with the low revenue the company was generating from comics. Only by arguing that comics still were a financially viable aspect of magazine publishing, was Marvel president Jim Shooter able to convince the Cadence executives that they should avoid cancelling all but a handful of titles.

As Dallas relates, there was hope that the so-called Direct Market would provide an increasingly viable outlet for comic book sales. But in 1979 there were only 800 comic book stores in the US, and it was not at all clear that the Direct market would grow to the degree necessary to keep comics afloat.

As author Dallas points out, while the publishers struggled to maintain their enterprises, Jim Shooter - having brought a much-needed degree of order to the Marvel editorial offices - began reviving the superhero genre by implementing a reboot of Marvel's X-Men lineup, as well giving greater freedom to new artists and writers, leading to Frank Miller's unique take on Daredevil.

With the gradual growth of dedicated comic book shops throughout the decade, the ranks in independent publishers grew in tandem, and their titles - like Nexus -were able to find shelf space and readership in ways that were simply not feasible in the 70s.

Dallas relates how the 'maturation' of editorial attitudes towards comic book content, and the decisions by both major and minor publishers to no longer ascribe to the Comics Code Authority, brought with it some degree of controversy.

By the middle of the decade, the growth of the Direct Market had begun to compensate for the shrinking newsstand sales market, and comic books had begun to thrive financially. Not only were Marvel and DC benefiting from the Direct Market, but indie titles like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were major hits.

Dallas devotes coverage to the battles between creators and publishers, Jack Kirby's dispute with Marvel being one of the most visible of these conflicts.

For DC, the decade began with the company still suffering from the aftereffects of the so-called 'DC Implosion' of 1978, which saw many titles cancelled, staff fired or laid off, and sales plummet. But during the 80s, the release of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight helped lead the company to a creative and financial revival. With the release of the blockbuster film Batman in 1989, in September of that year DC actually enjoyed a greater market share than Marvel, a major achievement given that Marvel had dominated the markets since the early 70s.

The final chapters of the book reveal how the financial strength of the comic book industry allowed publishers to release innovative titles that represented genres other than the superhero genre, setting the stage for the enormous expansion of the 90s. 

Throughout the book, Dallas's inclusion of callout boxes for topics dealing with the arrival of new approaches to formatting comic books, such as the abolition of thought balloons and third-person narratives, are interesting contributions.

Summing up, like its companion volume for the 70s, 'American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s' is well worth getting for anyone with an interest in comics, graphic art, and popular culture.

Victory (The Jacksons)

Victory
by Michael Whelan
illustration for the cover of the Jacksons' album 
1984

left to right: Marlon, Tito, Randy, Michael, Jermaine, Jackie

The major single off this album was the song 'Torture'.

Book Review: The Runestaff series

Book Review: The 'Runestaff' Series by Michael Moorcock

5 / 5 Stars

All four volumes of what is labeled the 'Runestaff' or 'Hawkmoon' series first were published in 1967 - 1969, sometimes with different titles, by Lancer Books in the USA.

The Lancer books series apparently was not endorsed by Moorcock; accordingly, the 'authorized' version of the Hawkmoon series is considered to be that issued by DAW Books: The Jewel in the Skull (January 1977), The Mad God's Amulet (April 1977), The Sword of the Dawn (July 1977) and The Runestaff (September 1977). 

All feature outstanding cover artwork by Richard Clifton-Dey.

[Sequels to the 'Hawkmoon' titles, known collectively as 'The Castle Brass' series, consist of Count Brass (1973), The Champion of Garathorm (1973), and The Quest for Tanelorn (1975).]

The Hawkmoon novels are set several thousand years in the future, in a Europe ruled by Granbretan, i.e., Great Britain. Interestingly, Moorcock makes this far future Granbretan the villain, intent not only on conquering the rest of Europe, but the Middle East.......and perhaps the entire World. 

Opposing the Granbreton empire are an ever-dwindling collection of European provinces. In one such province, called Koln (i.e., Colonge), the Duke, a man named Dorian Hawkmoon, uses his military prowess to defy the Granbretan forces. As related in The Jewel in the Skull, when Koln finally is defeated by the overwhelming might of the Granbretans, Hawkmoon flees to Kamarg in Southern France, there to ally himself with Count Brass, ruler of Castle Brass.

Succeeding volumes in the series recount the various adventures of Count Brass, Dorian Hawkmoon, his sidekick - the loyal Oladahn - and the cryptic Warrior in Jet and Gold, in their efforts to deter the Granbretans. It becomes increasingly clear with each entry in the series that a mystical artifact known as the Runestaff is directing the actions of Hawkmoon and his compatriots, although Hawkmoon is none too pleased to discover he is a pawn in the schemes of the Runestaff. 

But it is only with aid the of the Runstaff and its accompanying artifacts - the Mad God's Amulet and the Sword of the Dawn - that Hawkmoon can even hope to deter the well-armed hordes of Granbretan soldiery........and their psychotic leader, Baron Meliadus, who has a deep and abiding hatred for Dorian Hawkmoon....... 

The four volumes in the Runestaff series each are under 175 pp in length, meaning that the series can be read relatively quickly. Moorcock's writing is unadorned and direct; there is little if any unnecessary exposition, dialogue is restrained, and the use of short chapters keeps the narrative moving at a quick pace.

It's worth noting that the combined four volumes of the Runestaff series occupies less than 800 pages. The brevity of the series is something I appreciated, given that modern fantasy novels have become extraordinarily bloated and overwritten. For example, the current 'Stormlight Archive' series by Brandon Sanderson has a first volume with 1280 pp, and the second volume,1328 pp. And there are eight more volumes to go........?!

What makes the Runestaff series effective is its villains. The Granbretans are not the reincarnations of past Dark Lords, or a cabal of Evil Mages who use corrupt incantations to direct Dark Forces against their opponents. 

They are in fact a race of aristocrats who are so jaded that only war, and its freedom to carry out all manner of perversions and atrocities, can satisfy them. The Granbretans take delight in raping and pillaging conquered villages, taking in the spectacle of the Sexual Gymnasts (!) at court ceremonies, and casually snuffing out the lives of their slaves and servants. The repellent nature of the Granbretans gives the conflict between them and Hawkmoon a nasty edge that is very much absent from modern-day fantasy series.

Summing up, although Moorcock was in many respects a one-man publishing factory in the 70s (and there are suspicions that some of his works were in fact ghost-written), much of what he wrote in that decade was of good quality, and the Hawkmoon / Runestaff series is the equal of the Elric series. 

While picking up the individual volumes is feasible, there are omnibus volumes that can be purchased for very affordable prices from your usual online vendors.