Friday, 7 June 2013
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
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Sunday, 2 June 2013
The wonderful Edogawa Rampo novel turned into a brilliant manga comic by Suehiro Maruo. I reviewed the Rampo book in detail, so I am just going to concentrate on Maruo's interpretation of that novel. First, he follows the narrative very closely, and strange enough, the Rampo novel is more erotic, but saying that the original source is like a full-watt battery for Maruo. He takes "The Strange Tale of Panorama Island" to another level.
Reading this I am not disappointed with what he has done with "Panorama Island." Usually with a visual book like this or even "Foam of the Daze" one can be disappointed by the artist who is re-interpretating the original source, because it fails the reader's vision of that work. But I think Maruo not only respects the work, but I suspect it is a very important text for him and his work. He follows the Rampo vision, and added his touches, but in many ways Maruo (with respect to his work) is very much the son of Rampo. They share the same sensuality mixed with a taste for violence and the bizarre. Maruo's heart is very much with the early 20th Century and his work with Rampo's book is the perfect marriage or relationship.
What one hopes is that there will be more works translated into English for both Rampo and Maruo - and that must happen now!
Saturday, 1 June 2013
I found this title and five other books by H. Allen Smith at Powell's Bookstore in Portland, OR. I never heard of the man, and I just found it by chance - just one of the many great things about visiting a bookstore. The chance element is very important with respect to book and record shopping. Nevertheless H. Allen Smith is hysterical. He is very much the NYC Manhattan writer of the 1940s. Gin drinking, wise crackin' gentleman of the typewriting world.
This is not his first book, but I believe it is second volume of humorous essays. Many gems here like this one regarding the writer Ring Lardner:
"Hey, Ring. Let's get drunk tonight."
"What day is it?" Lardner asked.
"Wednesday."
"Can't Got an appointment next Tuesday."
Now I find that hysterical. Also he mentions one of my favorite obscure writers, Thorne Smith, quite often in these pages. Mentions him as a friend and someone who appreciates his work. So one gets at least four stars for that fact. Other then that there is a really great essay on Bing Crosby and trying to do an interview with him - that's funny and quite profound at the same time. Smith is sadly out of print, but his wit hits the mark and his writing style is superb.
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| Published by Picturebox ISBN 978-0-9851595-1-1 $22.95 |
An odd graphic novel that is more reflective than narrative with respect to the tradition of cinema watching. "So Long, Silver Screen" has a sense of sadness that the artist/cartoonist Blutch attaches to the nature of films. Here he reflects on the image of Burt Landcaster and the great French actor Michel Piccoli (among others) through out their various roles. For the causal reader, they may need a footnote or two, but part of the fun is to go on the journey with Blutch regarding the subject of film history and the aesthetic of movie-watching.
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