Ian Rankin's Constantine: Surely this CAN'T be good...

[Emperor]

What comics did Nick Cave write?

Am I the only one who is actively turned off by writers from other media suddenly trying their hand at comics?

I suppose it depends on how well they do. As long as they've got a great story to tell and make sure they right for the medium then I can't really see a problem. I am unsure why this is a big thing at the moment - it might be a general feeling that fans writing for fans gets insular and continuity heavy (when writing for existing properties). However, they often don't have a very solid grounding and want to return to some storyline they loved when they were reading it as kids (as opposed to following the developments up to the current day) and I know Whedon got some heat for that in his early comics.

What really concerns me are "celebrities" writing comics as they are such big fans but they'd not get near a comic on talent alone. Of course, those Virgin Comics were a celebrity would come up with an idea a writer would have to thrash into shape was a little wince-worthy. However, I'm really thinking of people like Jesse Snider or Nick Simmons whose fame seems to be via their Dad's and the reality TV shows they signed up for. The samples for the latter's Incarnate are depressing (and embarrassing - you kind of want to pretend they didn't exist), partly because they are clearly the kind of early work a lot of people come up with (over-written and derivative art) that they never ever show to anyone ever.

I see Jonathan Ross is also writing a comic and that could be interesting, as he is no fly-by-night fan and he is creating his own story all by himself. I expect the missus will also get a film option sorted for it around the time it appears but you know he is doing it because he wants to write a comic.

[Mike Gloady]

Johnathan shouldn't have any trouble running it past all his talented showbiz/author/comic book/geekdom chums for a bit of help - isn't Mrs Johnathan a writer?  He's also a long-term comic reader so he SHOULD have a reasonable grasp of what works and what doesn't.  That might not actually be as dreadful as it ought to be.

[O Lucky Stevie!]

Fair enough, each to their own on Nick Cave.

Am I the only one who is actively turned off by writers from other media suddenly trying their hand at comics? /quote]

Stevie guesses that physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philospher, theologian, alchemist, Chancellor of the Exchequer & lyncanthrope trouncer extraordinaire Sir Isaac Newton must royally get your gander up then, huh?

I'm with Emperor on this point.

[Sefton Disney]

In fairness, Ian Rankin might not be the greatest comics writer of all time - although his affection for John Constantine is quite genuine - but Alan Moore and Grant Morrison aren't exactly the greatest prose writer's I've ever read, either.

[Mike Gloady]

Alan Moore and Grant Morrison aren't exactly the greatest prose writer's I've ever read, either.

Too true.  Voice in the Fire was full of cracking ideas but read painfully.  Maybe there's a reason he's a (very good for the most part) comics writer?

[Adrian Bamforth]

I read the Superman story apparently co-scripted by John Cleese: Dreadful rubbish - I sincerely hope Cleese's contribution comprised of merely coming up with the premise of having Superman be British. Not only does it taint John's otherwise good name but wastes an otherwise good premise. There are no good insights whatsoever on Britishness...and John Byrne's artwork is crap too.

True Brit: True S**t.



http://www.amazon.com/Superman-True-Brit-Graphic-Novels/dp/1401200230/ref=sr_1_2/179-1959052-1898539?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251843486&sr=8-2

[Eric Plumrose]

Not only does it taint John's otherwise good name . . .

"Otherwise"?

[Mike Gloady]

Well, it's John Byrne.  And I've long felt he was vastly over-rated (that's even BEFORE I found out he was a plum of the highest order).

[Eric Plumrose]

Rankin will be cosying up with Suzanna and Charlie on BBC Breakfast, tomorrow (Friday, 4th September).

[Richmond Clements]

He walked passed us in Edinburgh on Monday morning. Didn't ask him about the book though.

[Alski]

As a fan of Constantine and Rankin, this was a bit of a no brainer. It's a pretty good read, with Rankin getting a good grip of the character, if nothing spectacular. The art by Werther Dell'Edera is not all that great, leaving you guessing what some characters actually look like, with others seeming to similar to tell apart. It's a nice experiment which is still very readable, but I was hoping for better.

[Mike Gloady]

Looking forward to this hugely.

[Mike Gloady]

Right, this arrived today and i needed cheering up so naturally John Constantine is the man for the job. </irony>  My dear mum, being almost blind, was a fan of the Rebus audiobooks (and oddly the Strontium Dog audio plays) as she loved a bit of murder (in fiction). Having seen Ken Stott's fine turn i didn't feel the need to break my lifelong aversion to crime fiction. This, however, was excellent and i'll be checking out his "proper" books. So the experiment worked in ONE direction (on me at least). I wonder how many Rankin devotees will be checking out Constantine's books? The art was a little hard to follow but mostly good. Shame Leonardo Manco or Sean Phillips weren't asked, it'd be amazing then.

[Mattofthespurs]

Read this yesterday.
Pretty standard Constantine story to be honest and the 'twist' that I read about was hardly that and it comes in the middle of the book.

Still irks me slightly that Constantine is a Liverpudlian and yet nearly every writer out there has him coming over all cockney with the ryhming slang or am I missing something.

The book is ok, no great shakes. I thought the art was poor and the storyline average especially for those that have been buying Helblazer for sometime.

[Jim_Campbell]

Still irks me slightly that Constantine is a Liverpudlian and yet nearly every writer out there has him coming over all cockney with the ryhming slang or am I missing something.

He was definitely a London wideboy when he appeared in Swamp Thing. Delano added the Liverpool thing when he expanded the character in the early issues of Hellblazer, and I'm sure it was mentioned more than once that you could only hear the Scouse in his accent if you listened carefully ...

Cheers!

Jim