Aetheric Mechanics

While I know the posts I've done on comic books haven't been overly popular, I am hoping to slide this one under the wire for today before I have my three day weekend during which I hope to get to submissions and dig up something interesting for everyone. Aetheric Mechanics is a graphic novella, fancy term for a double-sized one-shot if you wanna get down to it, written by Warren Ellis. You might recall that I posted Ellis's Ignition City miniseries a while back, thus my willingness to delve into reading this story. This tale is a quick read, I read after getting off work this week. I found it pleasing despite its brevity, almost in the way watching those old Twilight Zone episodes are enjoyable. It bears more similarity to a Twilight Zone than length though, it is an endeavor to blend steampunk and meta-fiction in a compact form that leaves the reader more or less surprised by the twist ending. I'll admit I didn't figure out how it'd before I got there. I don't wanna spoil the tale by offering up details on characters and plot, as those are intimate to meta-fiction by nature, but if you like Ellis's other work or would just a short but fine comic book to read I recommend Aetheric Mechanics.

To be had here:
Aetheric Mechanics

Northlanders

The third edition of my integration of comic book recommendations into the blog features Northlanders. This is a series from DC's "adult" imprint, Vertigo, and is about Vikings. Firstly, who the hell doesn't like a good tale involving Vikings, seafaring and battle? The spectacle of medieval combat is exceptionally suitable for comic books in my opinion. I'm surprised there aren't more series set in the Middle Ages. As to this particular story, like all good comics it is the writing that makes or breaks the value of the series. The writer is Brain Wood, who is also notable for his work with another Vertigo series, DMZ. Wood does a wonderful job at addressing the existentialist dilemma of humans in the story line of Northlanders. Through the narration and actions of the main character Sven the story explores the nature of identity, modernity, warfare and death in the brutal warrior culture of medieval Europe, especially in her northern lands. Sven, a former member of the Varangian Guard employed by the Byzantine emperors, returns to his homeland in the Orkney Islands to confront his past and experience some good old Bildungsroman. That is, he comes to realize how much of an ass he is, but not before being a bloody lunatic. I find all that jazz is quite appealing, but that is coming from a guy that just finish an anthropology degree. And as such a fellow, I'll say the use of ideas like identity and sentiments of nationhood seems somewhat anachronistic for a man in the 10th century but examination of the self is universal and timeless. Accordingly, I've decided to share the first story arc of Northlanders, called "Sven the Returned" and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have and forgive that the scans seem to be of varying quality if you may.

To be had here:
Northlanders - Sven the Returned

Ignition City

Time for another comic book as the last seemed to go over moderately well. This time a more recent series, or mini-series to be correct. Ignition City is a five issue mini-series written by the notable author Warren Ellis, known for previous work such as Hellblazer and Transmetropolitan. The characters are based loosely on those from the old Flash Gordon serials, as well as other sci-fi classics like Commander Cody and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. However, in this world the former heroes of space exploration are disavowed and banished to the semi-recognized community of Ignition City. The mood of Ignition City is dystopic, with a mixture of classic sci-fi elements like aliens and space travel with steampunk style imagery from penciller, Gianluca Pagliarani. The art makes the characters and setting alike seem all the more grimy and forlorn, with figures like Yuri the ex-cosmonaut who shambles about drinking vodka and proclaiming his erstwhile fame while still wearing a spacesuit. The main plot itself isn't that unique; basically a daughter out to seek closure and revenge for a recently departed father, but the trappings around the main character more than make up for the formulaic nature of her motivations. Unlike the previous comic I posted, which was more for novelty, I am sharing the whole thing, but as you can imagine owning a physical copy of a comic is superior just as owning a vinyl record is always better than a digital version.

To be had here:
Ignition City #1-5

Magnus, Robot Fighter

I know that this is a music blog, however after an alcohol-fueled night at the local bathhouse with my brother I have gotten the idea of making Spacerockmountain a bit more "multi-media," as he put it. To be honest, I haven't been able to keep up with my pace of posting of albums, I was a bit built up and spent most everything I had plus all I was currently listening to in November. So I thought perhaps Spacerockmountain pilgrims might enjoy one of the several series of comics I read while I listen to all the music I post on here. Magnus, Robot Fighter is the series I've been reading lately, although it is from the mid-sixties. It is rather strange to read coming from a modern point of view, but accepting the different expectations and experiences of previous eras the series isn't that outlandish. The basic premise is that Magnus is a human trained by a really nice robot in how to seek out and eliminate robots that commit evil. Where it gets juicy is that in this future, the year 4000 to be exact, humans have surrendered nearly everything to robots, including all sorts of labor, policing and maintenance of society. If you're the sort to look at stories in a socio-political context, Magnus is a stereotypical conservative/libertarian hero that stands up to the corrupt and dishonest system. Though this libertarian conceit is irrefutably at the heart of the comic, it makes for a romantic tale and unlike the socialistic ideal I am more inclined to side with politically libertarianism has a very storybook quality to it. On a less intellectual level, it is awesome just because it is has a man karate chopping robots apart, who actually declare "DESTROY ALL HUMANS," while wearing what seems to be a dress.

First issue to had here:
Magnus, Robot Fighter #1 (Feb, 1963)

P.S. a good program I use to read .cbr and .cbz files that works for mac, PC and linux computers is Comic Book Reader Pro. It is full screen all the time, but doesn't interfere with music listening, plus best of all is works completely for free, though the creator might have inserted something that begs so for a donation. This is easily ignored if you are the type to not paid for shit however.