In Asterix the Gaul, Goscinny and Uderzo opens up the story with an exposition. One where the provinces and independent tribes literally (and figuratively) laid their arms at Caesar’s feet. In these opening sequences, Uderzo depicts a (nearly) victorious and thoughtful Caesar. During the end pages, Caesar makes another appearence. This time he is angry. … [Read more…]
I got hold of The Arrival back when it was released in 2007. I knew a priori that there were no recognisable words in the book. What I wasn’t prepared for was the sheer awesomeness of the book. Shaun Tan was able to create something that partly pushed the boundaries of the medium itself – … [Read more…]
AnoHana (short for Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai – We still do not know the name of the flower we saw that day) is a very touching drama. Like all other kids, there were six kids who are the central characters to the story. Like all other kids they … [Read more…]
Cigars of the Pharaoh and The Blue Lotus form a larger story arc that is commonly dubbed as Tintin in the Orient. Indeed, it was the first time that Hergé ditched the episodic format in favour of strory arcs. Recently, I managed to get hold of these two albums in their original B&W format (see … [Read more…]
Batman: Gothic is trade paperback (TP) that collects The Legend of the Dark Night issues #6-#10. Written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Klaus Jansen, Gothic tells a very unusual tale of the Dark Knight. That too, of one that directly attributes the supernatural as the cause of many events. The story in a nutshell … [Read more…]
Today I received the delivery of these two books. These are the original black and white editions of Cigars of the Pharaoh (1934 version) and The Blue Lotus (1936 version) by Hergé. As usual I have put my own version of transparent dust jacket to protect the books. At about 25 USD each, these aren’t … [Read more…]
This weekend I managed to watch two French animated features. Both were released in 2010 and are surprisingly good. Une Vie de Chat Une Vie de Chat (lit. One Life of Cat, released in English as A Cat in Paris) is a film directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli. The film follows the life … [Read more…]
In 2004, Yukichi Yamamatsu, a 56 year old, technically challenged, mangaka arrives in India to translate mature mangas to Hindi and sell them. Needless to say, it was a futile attempt. Without sufficient money, without sufficient knowledge of English or Hindi, without sigmoid colon and without any concrete plan whatsoever, he steps foot in India. … [Read more…]
I find Batman R.I.P to be intriguing. So much so, that I have read the trade paperback countless number of times. Yet, it is like bitter medicine to me. I can’t get over the fact that the plot appears to be very jittery and full of unnecessary twists and turns. Maybe I find it too … [Read more…]
