Long Ago Far Away

Dear readers,

I have been delighted to find a few clips on youtube (here is one below) of a television series I grew up with, Long Ago Far Away. This series of animated fairytales (using every medium from line drawing to stop animation) was often introduced or narrated by James Earl Jones of Darth Vader fame.



This wonderful series of fairy tales was a delight of my childhood. Definitely take a look at this clip of "Janko Raven" - you will be enchanted!

Does anyone know, by any chance, where recordings of "Long Ago Far Away" can be located/purchased? My machete-hunting through the wild ferns of Ebay has not turned up much....

Daniel
Editor, Dante's Heart

The Other Side of the Mirror

Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor with Liz Cavalier and art by Ben Templesmith is a graphic novel based on a series of books with the same name. It is a reversal of the standard Alice in Wonderland. This Alice is a Wonderland princess lost in our mundane world. The characterization of the titular Hatter is spectacular as a royal guard of Wonderland appearing to be the definition of mad in our linear world. However, with his narration as a guide, he is easy to relate to. Additionally, the use of the art style and color in Templesmith's illustrations adds a new depth to the story, particularly to the characters. Beddor takes a familiar story and creates an intriguing and witty reversal.

The role of the hatter is much expanded from the original story. Instead of running a mad tea party this Hatter is Princess Alice's personal guard, trying to find her in a world that is far from the fantastic world he is used to. He replaces Alice as the focus and proves to be a brilliant character. His remarks at times are completely non-sequitur but appropriate in tone. Even his hat is more than a decoration; but instead is a bladed weapon he is well trained in using. It is a thrill to take the adventure with him.

The comic takes care to show visually the difference between those characters with ties to Wonderland and those who are terribly mundane. The hatter is draped in blue tones, colorful, but melancholy. Children who still imagine Wonderland are wrapped in bright colors and fanciful shapes. Adults not trapped by the lackluster of the normal world are colored while the rest are blue-gray, dull and lifeless. Very rarely are hard lines drawn; fuzzy curves dominate the art. Crisp definite boundaries are avoided; making the world feel dreamlike, as if the Hatter cannot accept our world as reality.

Hatter M: The Looking Glass War is a refreshing take on the classical tale. The artistic choices are brilliant and reversing Alice's role makes an interesting variation. Finally, the use of the Hatter as the protagonist caps this lovely comic. I give it a 4 out of 5.

On the wrong side of the Rabbit Hole,
J.R. West the Raccoon

Congratulations to our Art Editor and Editor-in-Chief

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate two of the staff members on the addition to their family. I wish them all the happiness in the world and send all my love to their new little girl, River.

With Love,
J.R. West

Anita Blake: Excelling in multiple forms

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter's Guilty Pleasures and Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton convert cleanly from book to graphic novel. This is due to the conversational nature of the story which matches the common comic book style. Additionally, the comic illustrator Brett Booth took care to match Hamilton's colorful description. The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series is possibly the most accurate translation from comic to novel.

In both novels, Guilty Pleasures and Laughing Corpse Anita Blake narrates, her voice is a casual inner monologue which doesn't edit for the reader. This style almost exactly matches the style in the square narration boxes of comics. Her interior thought are highly reminiscent of Spiderman and Deadpool. They cleanly translate into the narration of a comic. It was almost as if Hamilton knew her novel was going to become a comic. In addition, to the voice of the narrator, Hamilton gives ample description of her world. Her illustrative description is almost enough for a sketch artist. The exact skin tone, hair type and color, body shape and size, and over all body language is covered in high detail. The illustrator is given a clear guide for each character. Booth takes the description and flawless converts it into images.

It was a thrill to both read the comic and novel version of the two stories, Guilty Pleasures and Laughing Corpse. I would recommend reading one version if you like the other.

Always looking for good comics
JR West the Raccoon

Petsalad: The art of coin cutting

Time flies.... For weeks I have wanted to share with you all my latest discoveries in the wonderful world of art, but work has kept me up lately as we all prepare ourselves for the Christmas period. I still just have a little time but I had to share with you this shop named: Petsalad.
I must admit it was, at first, not the work which caught my eye, but a small description of the shop showing at the top of the page. It said: "What Rob does when he's not playing banjo". Well, you can understand this made me very curious.

When I took a better look at Rob's shop I realized that the pendants I saw were actually coins. It was the first time in my life I came in contact with the art of cutting coins and I was absolutley blown away by the detail and beauty of these little pieces of art.
Though all these coins are beauties, the coin featuring St. George is the most stunning of all. It is hard to belief that these pendants are made with nothing more then a jewelers saw. No electricity or whatsoever is used during the process.

So, now you know what Rob does when he is not playing banjo....

Images of Beowulf Part 2: Animation Creation

The 2007 Beowulf movie directed by Robert Zemeckis is a computer generated animation film. The film endeavored to be different in both story and animation style. It takes liberty with the plot of the original Beowulf legend under the guise of portraying the "truth" behind the epic; assuming that the old English version is an oral tale that was distorted with time. The film is built on the idea that no man is perfect and the "real" Beowulf was flawed. This premise proves interesting, since literary the Beowulf was nearly perfect. I think that this assumption improves the story greatly, since the traditional tales of how Kings are remembered are rarely synonymous with not how they truly were. Furthermore, many of the side characters give the movie an unexpected depth, especially the Queen, who survived three corrupt rulers. She was one of the only genuinely good characters and a true pleasure to watch.

However, even though the story was enjoyable, the animation was not. In an attempt at realism, the 3D computer animation mimics real people, using actors as models and then animating over. This tactic failed. The main characters felt fake, with the stress on realism becoming a distraction. Instead of falling into the world of the film, every flaw in the recreation of the actors kept the view at arm's length. Moreover, the side characters are caricatures of people that barely fit in the world created. While the animation failed in its portrayal of people, the monsters were fantastic. Both Grendel's and the dragon's forms were a blend of the expected and the creative. Grendel is a humanoid with a unique physical feature that clearly explains his hatred for humans, in contrast with Grendel's mother who is a modern portrait of the perfect feminine form. She is curvaceous with gentle and delicate hands. Her monstrous feet and tail are reminiscent of a Judeo-Christian demon. She is clearly a Lilith type creature, as referenced in the original tale, beautiful and deadly. If only the majority of the film could have focused on the monsters, it might have been spectacular.

Since it did not, I give the animation a 2 out of 5 and the story a 3.5 out of 5.

Still waiting to be impressed by Beowulf,
J.R. West the Raccoon

The Best Holiday Ever!

With Halloween just past, I thought now would be perfect time to hit on a common figure currently saturating our culture: The Vampire. Therefore, I took a moment on this lovely holiday to assess the vampire overload in my own life.

Example 1:
Midnight Opera by Hans Steinbach is a OEL (original English language) manga. The main character is a guitar playing vampire with a nemesis for an older brother. The first manga in the series was decent enough, but I have not gone through the trouble of finding the next.

Example 2:
Vampire Wars is a facebook application which doubles as a game. You create a gothic vampire avatar who then completes missions for his or her clan. You can fight other vampires in an old world based gaming style. It is a basic game, but I do love collecting pieces for my avatar.

Example 3:
Foxtrot had a brilliant comment on Twilight's destruction of the traditional vampire last Sunday. And as much as I love Twilight, I agree with Jason. Nothing beats the traditional Nosferatu.


Example 4:
The Vampire Diaries is a CW television show for teenagers. It is a cliché story of girl lover’s vampire, but he thinks he is wrong for her. There is even a nemesis brother; it really is just another Twilight. The only saving grace is that the vampire looks far more vampire-like than the guy that plays Edward in the Twilight movies.

This is just a quick guide to my recent encounters with vampires. It does not include the wide number of book, movie, and comics surrounding vampires, or even the White Wolf role-playing game. Take a moment and count the number of vampire inspired things in your life, you will be amazed.

Loved the Recent Holiday,
J.R. West the Raccoon