Completely Self-absorbed Top 100 Comic Runs You Need to Read

[Colin YNWA]

I've got a number banked. Try to keep at least 10 ahead. Haven't written much at all over the holidays - other stuff keeping me busy - BUT had planned for this so still have a 10 entry (excluding the not on's) - though may do some this week as I miss writing them.

[Colin YNWA]

So as its a little quiet on the board I've decided to do just the one this week while we rev up into the New Year. To 'make up' - ahem cos folks will miss these so much! - I've also got a 'Not on the list' tomorrow as well. But enough with the preamble to business...



Number 115 - Spider-man: Kraven's Last Hunt

Keywords: Superheroes, super villains, death of Spider-man, black costume

Creators:
Writer - J.M. DeMatteis
Art - Mike Zeck pencils, Bob McLeod inks
Colours - Bob Sharen, Janet Jackson (not that one silly), Mike Zeck

Publisher: Marvel Comics

No. issues: 6
Date of Publication: 1987

Last read: 2009

Spider-man doesn't have too many truly great stories. Sure he has loads that folks love, from Lee and Ditko (see me tomorrow about that...), Stern and Romita Jr... errr others but these are good, fondly remembered stories. To me he only has one and that's great.


Copyright - Marvel Comics

And it's funny cos it could be argued this isn't even really a Spider-man comic, it's really a Kraven mini-series with Spidey in it... well kinda of. Rather it highlights the differences between the Kraven of this story and Spider-man. Kraven here is a broken, depressed man. Tormented by years of failure, in his mind, self medicating using drugs, in the form of spider venom here, and seeking a sad misplaced final victory, celebrated in the most terrible way.

Contrasted against this is Spider-man the hero who consistently finds hope and need to uphold what he loves and believes in. The hero who overcomes his challenges in the most positive ways - well in the context of superhero comics when overcoming challenges is so often simplified to hitting things. Who though tormented by his failing turns them into positive drivers to seek a better life and impact on his world. While his outward facing wise cracking nature maybe a facade it's symbolic of his positive nature.


Copyright - Marvel Comics

Kraven 'kills' and literally puts Spider-man in a grave so he can replace him. Turning Spider-man into a vicious beast as he only sees the violence in the character, the violence in himself he projects onto Spider-man. In his depression, and by this stage it is riddled with mania as well, he is entirely incapable of understanding the love that means Spider-man is so much more. We the reader are given contrast very clearly, it's shown without doubt in very stark terms.

At the same time we are shown Spider-man's ability to escape even the most extreme situation, to escape even his death, driven by the love he has for life and his world. In this instance it's explicitly his love for Mary Jane - who he had recently married in the comics. Now at this point I can almost feel people cringing with another story akin to so many Doctor Whos or other pieces of genre melodrama of love saving the day. And it is that. It is however shaped and crafted so well, shown in contrast with so much darkness, so it doesn't feel like a trite truism. It's reflected so strongly in who and what Peter Parker is as a character and the specific events in his life in the comics at the time it feels personal and real in a story context well earnt. This is Spider-man finding inner strength as he does in the famous issue 33. It's rooted in his love and sense of responsibility but it's actuated for personal reasons by someone who we engage with and so we trust it. We feel his pain and struggle and rather than give a groan or cynical sigh as he triumphs, I punch the air with delight fueled by sympathy. He's the best of us, but he's us. The very thing that Kraven sadly fails to see.


Copyright - Marvel Comics

Vermin, a human rat type villain, a literal human animal, created by DeMatteis and Zeck during the Captain America run together, is placed in the middle of these two. When Kraven takes over Spider-man's name he hunts and defeats Vermin, something Spider-man was only able to do with the help of Captain America. So in his mind proving that he is a better Spider-man. The defeat of Vermin marks his apparent triumph. Kraven though cages Vermin in his victory, traps him, locks him inside. Later in the story - and there will be spoilers in this one, Spider-man rather than physically beat Vermin leads him into the light above the world of the sewers Vermin inhabits, this overwhelms and subdues him. Spider-man finds a more humane way to defeat the human animal. Always great when a superhero finds victory by not punching people, I mean don't get me wrong he does try some punching but realising showing Vermin hope in the form of the light of the world is what ultimately gives him victory.

There are many stories that centre on a villain trying to prove they can replace a hero, be a better version of that character. In fact in one of the runs we'll get to much later in these posts there's a story that does just that, but arguably better, we'll see when we get there. In fact the origins of this story show just how flexible the central conceit of the tale is. It was originally proposed as a Wonder Man story with Grim Reaper in the Kraven role (don't worry if you don't know these folks, all you need to know is they are a sibling Marvel hero and villain pairing). This was not taken up and so DeMatteis took the central idea to DC using Batman and the Joker, but it was seen as too similar to The Killing Joke, then in production. It finally found a home in the story here. This is a tried and true story idea in superhero comics.


Copyright - Marvel Comics

What raises this above so many of this type of story, that stops it feeling cliche is the craft and passion that shines through. The long gestation of the tale seeing print seems to have given it the time to develop into something special. It has literally illusions. The William Blake poem 'Tyger' (hello Zenith!), changed to Spyder runs through the tale. It underlines the ideas of duality, fear of darkness, the unknown, the beauty and love that can co-exist in animals of violence and fear. There's likely more as well that I'm not getting. It has plenty of recurring motifs and themes. It's really well written and is layered with meaning, covered better than I will in the links below. It really stands out in the Spider-man stories that surround it at this time. It's incredibly dark, but not in the way that comics of this time will start to move towards, the violent, sexy idea of maturity that will dominate comics soon. This takes its themes and itself seriously and deserves to be read as such.

It has more in common with the Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen of this time. Using superheroes to really deal intelligently with grand ideas. Done less well, and this has so often been the case, in mainstream US comics this can become pretentious and expose the creators and superheroes limitations. Limitations that the best can break beyond and this story does. Is it as smart as the two series mentioned above? Well no it's probably not, do I enjoy it more, well very possibly (we'll come to those two later in this list!). In its context, this ran for two months across all three regular Spider-man comics, its strengths stand out all the more for this and it really is an astonishing piece of work.


Copyright - Marvel Comics

It's funny, almost all the series on this list that I've not read in the last 6 or 7 years I will say they need a re-read. For Kraven's Last Hunt that isn't the case, which isn't to say I don't want to read it, this write up, like most has made we want to do just that. Rather these comics are largely burnt into my memory. I picked these comics up when they first came out - and if you look back at my posts this was when I was loving The Avengers. So as you might imagine these blow my mind and I've read them over and over, even if at first I didn't get all the nuances and themes. Those comics are long gone, but I've always had a copy in some form or other, currently a lovely hardcover and I've read it time and again.

A big part of that is Mike Zeck and Bob McLoeds' frankly brilliant art. I love Mike Zeck, his clean, smooth art is so comfortable and easy on the eye. There's nothing immediately obvious as to why it's so good but it's like it gives your comic reading eyes a great big hug. Here though it has that quality and yet it carries the dark, foreboding tone of the story perfectly. His page layouts are also exemplary, it carries the pacing and the story beats with a precision that is hard to beat. All of this in no way compromises his ability to convey the fluidity of movement, the brutality of violence and the powerful emotions the story needs. It's an absolute masterclass, the care and passion for the project just shines through the immaculate art.

The colouring also smashes home the tone and atmosphere of the piece. It's been digitally recoloured in the modern versions I own now, but I think this carries over the deep blues and purples, stark reds and the rich browns of the grave. I think it's Bob Sharen, Janet Jackson and Mike Zeck that deserve the credit for that from their original colouring job, however well it's been redone. Even though there's three folks working on across the three different titles this originally appears in it remains consistent, though that might be done to the recolouring job when this has been treated as a single graphic novel, I'm not sure. Whatever the case in all aspects this is an artistic triumph.


Copyright - Marvel Comics

I could go on, I really could, as there is a lot to break down in these comics. Best bet is to check out some of the links below as there are much better takes and alternatives there which will give you really good insights into the story and its themes. Also worth mentioning that it deals with severe mental health issues in a very 80s action comic way. It's better than most in this context but the ending should have trigger warnings these days.

Where to find it

Not a hard one to get hold of this one and is available in all the usual places, both physically and digitally. I have a hardcopy of the deluxe edition but if those aftermarket prices for that are to be believed I've made my fortune!

The original floppies are always pretty easy to get hold in the aftermarket but are starting to get a little pricey, though not extreme yet if that's you bag.

Learn more

Obligatory Wikipedia page

Matt Draper has a brilliant breakdown of the themes in the story.

YouTube has a few analysis of the story, I've not watched these (aside form the one above) so can't speak to their quality but bet they all offer something of interest.

Interesting take from Shelfdust

To be honest there is a host of reviews and analysis of this one, it's that sort of story so a quick Google (other search engines are available) will return a LOT of things to dig into so fill ya boots!

[Barrington Boots]

Another cool article Colin! I read this in my teens and was blown away by it at the time. Obviously Marvel retconned a certain someone's death some years later, because Marvel sucks.

Mentally I'd sort of mushed this story in with all the 90s slurry era of Superhero stuff where they got all grim and not at all fun, so it was a nice reminder that this pre-dated all that stuff and was actually something of an outlier as a serious, exploratory tale.

[Colin YNWA]

Not on the list - Lee / Kirby / Ditko Marvel Comics

This feels like a good time to drop another of these examinations of why some really important comics, that so often make this sort of thing, aren't on my list. And this one is a biggie that sweeps away a LOT of very important and loved comics from the North American mainstream in one easy go.

I said in my last post about Kraven's Last Hunt that that story is the one great Spider-man story I've read and on that basis I need to talk about why you'll not be getting any of Stan Lee's co-created 60s Marvel Comics. So no



Nor any



Fantastic Four, Spider-man, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men etc etc all those incredible comics from the start of modern Marvel are of course astonishingly important in terms of how they shaped the modern US comic market. They've indelibly stamped superheroes on the medium, I could argue to the detriment of the art form as a whole in North America and by association the UK. This is slowly changing and the new mainstream of genuine graphic novels found on the shelves of Waterstones and other bookshops are becoming increasingly the dominant form, as superhero comics seem to be starving themselves to death in the self made cage of the Direct Market. The superheroes themselves are running free to film and television to finally find their mass market away from the art form that birthed them...

...or something like that... ANYWAY I say all that as a fan of superhero comics. They have formed a massive part of my comics reading over many, many years and I have an incredible fondness for them still as this list will testify. They are a lot less important to my current reading but still a very significant chunk. So these comics are important to me. I've read a heck of a lot of them via the Essential editions of chunky black and white reprints that Marvel released.

I read them gleefully and then put them up for sale as I realised I probably didn't need to read them again. Or indeed when I have tried to return to them I've not particularly enjoyed them. The simple fact of the matter is they have dated badly, very badly.

That is hardly a surprise. These were mass produced products, churned out at great speed to feed a market of kids hungry for more. Again I need to acknowledge their importance, it's a market for superhero comics that Stan Lee and his co-creators largely built by their seemingly unending imaginations. That however does take away from the factory system that produced them with a rapidity that limited their quality... I think that might annoy fans of the stories, but it's true.

That's not to say they have no quality, Jack Kirby is rightly remembered as the King of comics, he really changed the way art was presented in the mass market. He provided an energy and punch that was so far ahead of its time that it shaped the superhero genre for years to follow and still leaves a massive mark. Steve Dikto wasn't far behind. In their astonishing art the weakness of that mass production is still seen however. Often their vibrant, thrilling pencils were pulled back by inking that simply needed to get the comics out. Inkers like Chic Stone, Vince Colletta and dare I say it Joe Sinnott (look I've just never got on with his inks okay!) churned out these comics to hit deadlines. Frankly this can often show. There will be Jack Kirby comics on my list but they are from a later time when I feel his unequalled creative engine wasn't hampered as much. Where his imagination was allowed to be realised with the liberation it needed to be truly appreciated.

So that leaves us with two other things that hamper these works. Firstly and possibly most controversially for me, that's Stan Lee. Let's put aside the unending debate about who did what. Where credit should be given, I think it's undeniable that Stan Lee played a massive part here. The one element of their creation that doesn't seem to be up for debate is that he scripted the stories that Kirby and Ditko produced from his story outlines. And that scripting isn't great. I really don't enjoy Lee's dialogue. It's hackneyed and laboured. Over wordy and ponderous. Verbose and pulls the energy inherent in the art... yes I do get the irony of me saying that! Honestly it makes the comics a chore to read at times.

The second thing to hamper these comics is the reason for all that. The market these comics are aimed at and clearly hit with singular accuracy. These are aimed at young boys and maybe early teens in the 60s. They worked perfectly for that market and have left an impression that lingers to this day. The fact that these are so readily available still is testament to that. It can't be ignored though that this was the target audience and it shows through so clearly. I'm not that market and so more often than not these stories bounce off me and feel the full weight of their simplicity and naivety. Even the greats, Fantastic Four 51 'This man this monster', Spider-man 33, when he struggles magnificently to throw massive machinery from his shoulders, amazing though they were at the time do not have the power of the stories they will inspire.

Now that is not to say I won't be including comics that have similarly dated. One's that to a modern audience just doesn't hold up. They will however hold a place in my comic reading, indeed in how I engage with fiction in all art forms. These will be the formative stories of my childhood that shape how I understand good story and the great works of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko are not those comics for me. I read these much later in life as an adult reader. So on that basis I can appreciate these for what they did, for the impact they have had. I can enjoy these for what they are but I see them through a 'modern' lens for what they are and as such there are much better comics out there I enjoy much, much more.

If these comics hold a place for someone as they read them as they were growing up. If they are part of someone's foundations as a reader I can fully understand why they love them. If someone is a superhero fan and is able to see the craft in these where I see limitations, again that makes perfect sense. Heck if these are just the type of comics some folks love regardless of how they have come to them that makes perfect sense and I get that entirely. They are massively well regarded still after all.

For me however, while I'm glad I've read them and indeed really enjoyed doing so to see and understand how they influenced things I have learnt to love. They are comics I can't see myself returning to anytime soon as they aren't my foundations and don't hold up to the comics reader I have become. 

[IndigoPrime]

I imagine for many people this is a matter of nostalgia. I've always found the earliest Marvel stuff not great to read. It often looks good, but it's very of its time, which means bucketloads of sexism and racism. (Mind you, I'm surprised how much this continues to more modern runs – I'm working my way through boxes of Panini Marvel reprints of 2000s-era Marvel, and the number of times 'females' comes up for women or the word 'retard' is used as an insult is astonishing.)

It's also slightly odd to see the humblebrag thing with Spidey. Poor Pete. So put upon. Such a nerd. And yet having to constantly juggle a gaggle of supermodel girlfriends. (It reminds me a lot of Robert Webb's autobiography, which I at the time thought would be a good read, but did this all the way through.) That's also something that seems to have stuck around into more modern takes on the character.

For me, a lot of the above is similarly true of very early 2000 AD. I wasn't there at the time, and so it holds relatively little appeal. I'm no more likely to reread Invasion than the earliest Spidey. Perhaps that's the way with any media – more often than not, your history begins with what you experienced as a kid.

[Barrington Boots]

Another eloquent writeup there Colin!

I also think there's definitely a nostalgia factor in the appreciation of books of this age. I occasionally pick up old Marvel comics that I used to have a boy if I see them secondhand, and they still give me a real thrill to read, even though as an adult reader I can see that they're flawed in many ways. Reading old comics that I'm not familiar with however, and these flaws become almost too much to bear: dated dialogue and attitudes, and I'm glad Colin mentions Stan Lee's overworked verbiage because oh my goodness. In fairness it's not just him: I'm reading some old Roy Thomas Marvel Conan stuff on and off, and sometimes it's a serious slog to get through and essentially the polar opposite to Howards original stuff.

I think it's interesting that I retain much more affection for comics of that era of my life though over stuff I read later (to circle back to the Preacher debate, that's a good example of one where the issues now outweigh the delight in reading whereas I can't get enough of Secret Wars). I'm positive the nostalgia is tied into the whole experience: a carefree childhood, reading the same six comics again and again until you could almost quote them word for word, the feel of the pages and the memory of where I'd tried to colour in Boomerang's costume and stay within the lines. It's the same reason I still love stuff like Whizzer and Chips, or away from comics, Starfleet or Masters of the Universe.

Anyway - my early experience of this era is mainly odd, unconnected issues of Spidey, because it was rare I was bought a comic in those days, and even through the haze of nostalgia I don't think they're essential reading for anyone. I do remember Peter and being a put-upon little nerd though who couldn't get a date with Betty Brant and everyone hated him. I'm sure I read a few issues years later where he was married to a supermodel and yeah, that kind of takes the pathos out of the character, doesn't it?

[13school]

I've been a Ditko fan for a long while (yes, I'm the one who likes those demented rant comics he put out later in his career) but it took me until relatively recently - maybe a decade ago - to get around to his Spider-Man and Dr Strange comics. Sure, they're dated in loads of ways, but I found them to be surprisingly strong and still very readable. Strange especially, which took a while to get going but really took off - Spider-Man I could understand why he survived the loss of Ditko and went in different directions but I can't really figure out* why anyone thought they could do better with Doctor Strange, if for no other reason than he's such a Ditko character it's difficult to see anyone else making him more than just a regular mystical supporting character brought in whenever the Avengers or whoever want to fight a magic monster.

*well, okay, I can: he's a character owned by Marvel, they're always going to want to bring him back

[IndigoPrime]

I'm sure I read a few issues years later where he was married to a supermodel and yeah, that kind of takes the pathos out of the character, doesn't it?

It felt like he became a projection of writer wish-lists sometimes. "Oh, woe is me. I have such a complicated love life, having to choose between 17 gorgeous women. Pity me!" The marriage thing is also quite something. I re-read that recently in the Panini comics (which at the time ran a 'classic' strip), and Parker is awful. MJ should have told him to shove it, but, well, 1980s comics.

It's also interesting to note that I quite enjoyed chunks of the run I recalled from Spider-Man and Zoids, despite its various problems. But the bits around the wedding put me off. I carried on for a bit, but then the comic started running a lot of Todd McFarlane strips and that was my off ramp. I'm not keen on the art and the writing was trash.

[Colin YNWA]

...Spider-Man I could understand why he survived the loss of Ditko and went in different directions but I can't really figure out* why anyone thought they could do better with Doctor Strange, if for no other reason than he's such a Ditko character it's difficult to see anyone else making him more than just a regular mystical supporting character brought in whenever the Avengers or whoever want to fight a magic monster.

Oh that's interesting I'd have gone the other way. Much as I like any number of Spidey stories and think he's a great character has anything really changed, in the very top level sense, since thr Ditko stories? They are fun stories of a fun character but functionally run the same ground? Where as in my mind Doc Strange, who I don't like as much as Spidey as it goes, has much more scope for other creators to explore in truly different ways? Interesting to hear the opposite point made. Mind fair to say I'm nowhere near as well versed in Doc Strange as I am in Spidey so could be miles off.

[13school]

...Spider-Man I could understand why he survived the loss of Ditko and went in different directions but I can't really figure out* why anyone thought they could do better with Doctor Strange, if for no other reason than he's such a Ditko character it's difficult to see anyone else making him more than just a regular mystical supporting character brought in whenever the Avengers or whoever want to fight a magic monster.

Oh that's interesting I'd have gone the other way. Much as I like any number of Spidey stories and think he's a great character has anything really changed, in the very top level sense, since thr Ditko stories? They are fun stories of a fun character but functionally run the same ground? Where as in my mind Doc Strange, who I don't like as much as Spidey as it goes, has much more scope for other creators to explore in truly different ways? Interesting to hear the opposite point made. Mind fair to say I'm nowhere near as well versed in Doc Strange as I am in Spidey so could be miles off.

I guess I'm thinking more that Spidey as a character had more scope to develop and grow naturally. Peter Parker could get older, meet new people, face new villains, etc, all while still retaining his core "Spider-man", whereas Strange is much more set in stone as a concept, with less room to develop beyond his initial set-up without massively changing the character.

Put another way, Spider-Man is a much more modern character, where his personality is the focus and soap-opera style hijinx are part of his appeal (and changes developing out of that side of things can seem organic and natural). But Strange is a pulp character, where his basic set-up and character are set in stone (like James Bond or The Shadow) and the stories come from him having new adventures rather than ongoing personal dramas.

With Strange those weird Dikto settings for the various mystic realms (plus his brilliant visuals for the bad guys) are the big thing that sets the character apart for mine - without them he's just another comic book mystic, for good or ill.

[Colin YNWA]

Number 114 -  Worlds of Aldebaran

Keywords: Sci-Fi, Bande dessinee, Cinebook, epic

Creators:
Writer - Leo
Art - Leo
Colours - Leo

Publisher: Dargaud in the original French, Cinebook in english

No. issues: 27 albums in French, 26 of which have been translated.
Date of Publication:

Last read: 2012, though I have more on the list to catch up with soon

Originally published for the French (and Continental European market) The Worlds of Aldebaran centres around the adventures of Kim Keller and their exploration of alien worlds and the life forms that inhabit them. Its epic nature expands things well beyond that. The stories are in cycles, each focusing on a different planet. To date we have Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Antares, Survivors (which explores the past in story terms), Return to Aldebaran and Neptune. With Bellatrix having hit the French market as well.


Copyright - them what created it...

Worldbuilding can become incredibly dry when not done correctly. When done correctly however it can make for astonishing rich stories that balance that worldbuilding with great storytelling and that's what Leo (who I should note is Brazilian though he works in the French market.) does in Worlds of Aldebaran. The stories travel between world's, typically, exploring the flora and fauna of each, not only in great detail, but also in a way that makes the astonishing life forms shown believable and dare I say it scientifically plausible, well as much as any fiction of this type is able too.

This is however centred in a very human story. Earth's population is looking for worlds it can colonise and so it sends teams to various possible planets to see if they are fit for human habitation. Hence we naturally get introduced to the lifeforms on these planets as the exploratory teams learn more to assess how viable human colonisation is. The story centres on the very human reactions to these worlds as they are explored. Those reactions are very varied as you might imagine. The reasons behind all this also provide a bigger scale to things and the political motivations for this exploration have a big impact on the stories and there are plenty of other mysteries that slowly unfold.

Ecology, human impacts on nature and the greed, fears and desperation that can underpin those impacts are all explored as well as the alien biomes.


Copyright - them what created it...

So if the exploration of human characters is so important to that world building who are they? Well our point of view character is Kim Keller and I'm going to commit heresy in these parts by saying she's a character that really reminds me of Halo Jones. She starts the saga as a young teen and while she feels a little lost and out of her depth at first she is tenacious and smart, resourceful and compassionate. She is orphaned by an apparent natural disaster at the start of the series and so liberated from a home life that binds her she grows before our eyes. Across the series of books she becomes a trained biologist, falls in love, has a mysterious, exceptional baby with an equally exceptional father, finds fame and finds wisdom and significance that transcends her humble origins. Just like Halo she becomes something so much as she goes 'Out' and explores the world to find her place in a universe. She shines with a similar light as inimitable Ms Jones.

As to be expected in a saga that explores the galaxy there are so many more fantastic characters. The cast is rich and diverse. As with so many bande dessinee the characters don't fall into simple archetypes. They do populate a sci-fi action adventure but within the confines of that they don't fall into simple tropes and all feel fleshed out and real. Their relationships feel complex and you can love and hate them in equal measure. They are as well explored and detailed as the alien lifeforms they example. The delicate balancing act of the world building and character driven story is perfectly maintained.


Copyright - them what created it...

The scope of the series extends beyond all this as well. The reasons for the exploration of the stars are underlined. There are also regulations put in place by the UN to ensure that should a planet be inhabited by 'evolved' lifeforms, those who use tools, then that planet can't be colonised. The definition of evolved and use of tools of course relates to far more human thinking and definitions. So the determination of whether a planet is fit for habitation is open to interruption and manipulation. This leads to political undercurrents throughout the series. The financial investment and greed inherent in modern human society aren't ignored and there are consequences to the actions of those investigating planets should they not meet the capitalised drivers to achieve.

The alien specifics encountered are also vast and a number of them have 'powers' and ability far beyond what the earth has seen. To the extent that to our limited perspective they have almost mystical powers, or at least capacity beyond human comprehension. These are played off really well against the more 'typical' species with commonality in structure and life cycle that have evolved on earth. The Mantris are foremost of these in the series mysterious, massive intelligent aquatic shapeshifters that have a very significant impact on the planets they inhabit and seemingly human colonisation as well. Another alien species from the homeworld of the Mantris are more humanoid and one of them, Sven, has a very profound impact on Kim and her story.

The whole series feels both massive and epic in scale while providing an intimate character driven story and can't say too often how well it balances these elements.


Copyright - them what created it...

Leo's art is at its strongest when he's realising the worlds he creates and their inhabitants. Alien species, both alien and planet look entirely real and plausible. Even the most goofy looking seems to make perfect sense. You feel you understand and comprehend the way they move, inhabit their biomes and would interact with other creatures on their planets. It feels as if Leo must have reams of notes about how the species live, feed, their life cycles and structures far beyond that which we see in the series. It's not just the alien lifeforms, the environments and landscapes seem entirely solid and present the possibility of things far beyond what we see on the page. Forests are lush and beautiful while foreboding and creepy. Sweeping savannah, dusty canyons, isolated shoreline all feel familiar and recognisable while being broken with the alien and wonderful. The art for the worlds he crafts is astonishing.

To be honest though his work on human characters isn't as strong. They can feel rigid and a little stilted. While he is able to convey emotions and reactions really well the figure work isn't the best. Nothing is so bad as to pull you out of the story, but it doesn't enhance it. The best comparison I can give is that he's a more grounded Massimo Belardinelli, though important to note that the fact he is more grounded takes nothing away from the visual imagination on display.

The art is also slightly hampered by some clumsy edits to remove nudity, but this does make them more accessible to younger readers.

Overall though these stories are an absolute triumph of world building (how often have I used that term here!) and human storytelling. Each cycle - they are detailed in the Wikipedia link below - is a well crafted stand alone tale. Pulled together they are an epic saga that is greater than the sum of its parts. Whether there is an end in sight I don't know, but don't be put off by that, this one is about exploration and long may it continue as we discover more and more.

From thinking about this series I realise how much I enjoy world building, when crafted well and revealed through real relatable story and characters. The wonderous elements appeal to me here and in so many stories. They allow the tales that do this at its best to expand horizons into the realms of imagination while at the same time giving me insights into myself and human nature using the exaggerations inherent in sci-fi.


Copyright - them what created it...

Error log 1.01

I'm going to make a quick note at the end here as I've made a mistake on the list, this won't be the last such note. This is the last entry from Cinebook and that just shouldn't be the case. As I've typed this one up I've realised this should be a LOT higher and there are other Cinebook that should have been included. My bad but I'm trying to keep the list as it is but this one feels like an error that needs pointing out. The Scorpion, Chimpanzee Complex, SAM, Long John Silver should all be included. It's not even that I didn't think about them when making the list. Rather I just didn't feel the impact from them at that time. Writing this one up has made me aware what an error that was!


Copyright - them what created it...

Where to find it

Cinebook keep most of their titles in print. They don't alas have a comprehensive single page for all the World of Aldebaran series so bear with me.

Aldebaran and Betelgeuse

Antares

The Survivors - set 100 years before the main series but well worth reading.

Return to Aldebaran

Neptune

There are digital versions available via Amazon Kindle. Just check the language before purchasing as I couldn't find a filter!

Learn more

Obligatory Wikipedia page

Creatures of Aldebaran are detailed in this 'documentary' video that's cutely put together. If some of the creature graphics are a little naive.

Same same for the Creatures of Betelgeuse

Grovel has a nice life page collecting reviews from a number of the albums in the series.

If your French (or other languages in fact) are better than mine you'll find a lot more worth looking at I'd imagine.

What is all this?

Conscious that this is becoming a long thread and if you're wondering what the heck you've just read and can't be arsed (quite sensibly) to search back to find out I'll link to my opening posts that try to explain all this.

What this all came from

And of course a nerd won't do a list like this without setting 'Rules' / guidelines

Some thoughts on what will not be on the list.

[Blue Cactus]

Intriguing one there Colin. I've looked at this series once or twice but never read any. The name always puts me in mind of All-Bran unfortunately and I think that's subliminally put me off by flavouring the series like a bland breakfast cereal in my mind.

[Barrington Boots]

I also think this looks really good and worth a look.

Cinebooks sheer volume of titles can often be a bit overwhelming if you don't know anything about them, so a recommendation is always welcome. The ones I've read have been generally excellent, although it's annoying (if understandable) when the art is edited.

Anyway, the first part of this series is definitely going on my future purchase list.

[Colin YNWA]

Intriguing one there Colin. I've looked at this series once or twice but never read any. The name always puts me in mind of All-Bran unfortunately and I think that's subliminally put me off by flavouring the series like a bland breakfast cereal in my mind.

I also always call Betelgeuse, Beetlejuice and have never been able to do otherwise regardless of what Tharg says!

I also think this looks really good and worth a look.

Cinebooks sheer volume of titles can often be a bit overwhelming if you don't know anything about them, so a recommendation is always welcome. The ones I've read have been generally excellent, although it's annoying (if understandable) when the art is edited.

Anyway, the first part of this series is definitely going on my future purchase list.

There's a thread with various recommendation if you can face wading through it. Generally just go for it as I've rarely been disappointed and the truism 'You can't judge a book by its cover.' is often wrong when it comes to Cinebook!

[Barrington Boots]

Cheers Colin! Not sure how I've missed that thread in the past.

Big Cinebook order coming up...