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jazzfishBob McCabe, Dark Knights and Holy Fools: The Art and Films of Terry Gilliam
Not really a biography, more an examination of all the movies Gilliam's directed, with bits of biography dropped in. The thing that really struck me reading this book was "I've seen all of Terry Gilliam's movies, and they were all pretty good." [Except for Jabberwocky, and I'm willing to give it another go.] Lots of good pictures in here, and reading about how things get made always fascinates me. The Brazil mess is covered in some detail, and the headache that was Munchausen (referred to in Lost in La Mancha) is explicated. There's also mention of the triumphs: Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, even the box-office goodness of Time Bandits. Each chapter is devoted to a specific film, and closes with a brief interview with Gilliam. Worth flipping through for the shots of Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson, and for watching Gilliam age (pretty well, too). A neat book.
Mike Mignola, Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom / Hellboy: Conqueror Worm
Right Hand is another collection of short stories, spanning most of Hellboy's life. The first story is a two-pager called "Pancakes" and is bloody brilliant. The rest are pretty good, too. The whole "beast of the Apocalypse" plot gets [mostly] resolved in the last story, making me much happer. I hate it when the hero is Fated To Do Great Things. Means there's less of a chance to actually, you know, develop his character by focusing on his choices. Also, there's a story where Hellboy fights a dragon, which may be the best Hellboy story I've read.
Conqueror Worm is [so far] the last Hellboy story, and with good reason. I'm not sure where the character can possibly go after this. It ties together bits from all four previous volumes, and does so quite well. Plus it's got more of Abe Sapien, who's just that cool. Hellboy develops more character strength and grows up somewhat, makes some tough choices. I look forward to seeing him again, five or ten years down the line. [And I still think the Ogdru-Jahad is kind of a wacky idea, but Mignola makes it work here.]
Grant Morrison et al, The Invisibles: Say You Want a Revolution
Illuminatus! as a comic book with more Brits and more hermetic magic. Also the ghost of John Lennon and the actual physical presence of de Sade. Guess I'll have to finish reading these, now. Not sure yet if I want to drop actual money on owning them or not; they're really cool, but I don't know if they're the sort of thing I'll ever want to reread.
Not really a biography, more an examination of all the movies Gilliam's directed, with bits of biography dropped in. The thing that really struck me reading this book was "I've seen all of Terry Gilliam's movies, and they were all pretty good." [Except for Jabberwocky, and I'm willing to give it another go.] Lots of good pictures in here, and reading about how things get made always fascinates me. The Brazil mess is covered in some detail, and the headache that was Munchausen (referred to in Lost in La Mancha) is explicated. There's also mention of the triumphs: Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, even the box-office goodness of Time Bandits. Each chapter is devoted to a specific film, and closes with a brief interview with Gilliam. Worth flipping through for the shots of Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson, and for watching Gilliam age (pretty well, too). A neat book.
Mike Mignola, Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom / Hellboy: Conqueror Worm
Right Hand is another collection of short stories, spanning most of Hellboy's life. The first story is a two-pager called "Pancakes" and is bloody brilliant. The rest are pretty good, too. The whole "beast of the Apocalypse" plot gets [mostly] resolved in the last story, making me much happer. I hate it when the hero is Fated To Do Great Things. Means there's less of a chance to actually, you know, develop his character by focusing on his choices. Also, there's a story where Hellboy fights a dragon, which may be the best Hellboy story I've read.
Conqueror Worm is [so far] the last Hellboy story, and with good reason. I'm not sure where the character can possibly go after this. It ties together bits from all four previous volumes, and does so quite well. Plus it's got more of Abe Sapien, who's just that cool. Hellboy develops more character strength and grows up somewhat, makes some tough choices. I look forward to seeing him again, five or ten years down the line. [And I still think the Ogdru-Jahad is kind of a wacky idea, but Mignola makes it work here.]
Grant Morrison et al, The Invisibles: Say You Want a Revolution
Illuminatus! as a comic book with more Brits and more hermetic magic. Also the ghost of John Lennon and the actual physical presence of de Sade. Guess I'll have to finish reading these, now. Not sure yet if I want to drop actual money on owning them or not; they're really cool, but I don't know if they're the sort of thing I'll ever want to reread.