Amano: Beyond the Fantasy- Book Review

I first became aware of Yoshitaka Amano through his character design on Vampire Hunter D. It was one of the first manga I watched back in the early 90s and the gothic horror stylings really stood out for me. Later on, I knew his work from the Final Fantasy games and the Neil Gaiman Sandman special Endless Dreams. His androgynous, pale faced figures with slight bodies makes his art style visually distinctive whilst his brushstrokes art in a painterly style touch upon the Japanese heritage.

This visual biography, Amano: Beyond the Fantasy, celebrates the life and art of the artist though 400 illustrations and in-depth interviews about his childhood, his rise at Tatsunoko and his move away to become an independent artist. The writing in the book is engaging without being too overwhelming with details. What you get is a good look at his childhood, growth as an artist, his process and his current practice including his quest to create his magnum opus.

The book is printed on quality thick paper stock and the images printed in excellent detail with no artefacting at all. The interviews by Florent Gorges are excellent as they offer flavour to Amano's life and help contextualise the artworks. For anyone interested in this singular artist, this book is a real boon!

The Sandman Vol. 1- Audible Review

The Sandman by Neil Gaiman is a critically acclaimed original comic series which ran for 75 issues from 1989 to 1996. Over the years the DC Vertigo won 26 Eisner Awards, topped various ‘Best Comic Series’ lists and has been called the 'Shakespeare of comics,' due to its lyric wordplay, sophisticated storytelling arcs and dramatic characterizations (including, funnily enough Shakespeare himself)-not due to its love of iambic pentameter. Guess who studied Shakespeare in Secondary... this guy.

There have been many spin-offs, side projects and divergent series since the original run but rumours of a Sandman movie or TV series have been swirling since time immemorial without success. That is, until now. Audible have released The Sandman series as audio books, however this is not a simple retelling of the comics but a more complex affair with full orchestration, a complete cast and narration by Gaiman himself. 

The first part of the audio book released mid-July 2020 and over the course of a few days I have been listening to it intently. The audio drama covers the first three volumes of the graphic novel collections- Preludes and Nocturnes, The Dolls House and Dream Country and is very faithful to this source material, with just a few tweaks and additions to help the flow in the audio format. 

The epic saga begins with Morpheus, Lord of Dreams, captured by occultists and kept imprisoned for many years. When he breaks free he realises that his objects of power have been taken and he journeys across different realms to reclaim them. Along the way he meets various characters from the DC universe including Batman, The Martian Manhunter, John Constantine and more niche characters. 

The next story arc concerns the Dream Vortex and a young lady called Rose Walker, who threatens the very existence of the Dreaming, the 'land' where Morpheus' kingdom exists.

The Audible ends with the anthology tales from Dream Country. There are 4 different stories including a really uncomfortable tale about the muse Calliope being imprisoned by a writer. This is followed by the award winning single comic story of Shakespeare creating a play for an extraordinary audience, unlike any he has met before. I remember reading this about 20 years ago and thinking how this graphic novel was peculiar as there wasn't a single story arc but rather, characters and themes that would pervade the rest of the series. 

The whole Audible experience is expertly crafted as the cast, including including James McAvoy (playing as Morpheus), Michael Sheen (Lucifer) , Taron Egerton (a haunted John Constantine here but also excellent as Moomin Troll in the brilliant Moominvalley), Kat Dennings (Death) and Riz Ahmed (The Corinthian) all bring their A-game to lend proceedings an air of authenticity and gravitas. The music is suitably brooding but there are moments of crescendo, where the organs go full throttle, the choirs voice rises and the trumpets blare, it's moody and unsettling stuff which adds weight to the whole affair. 

The Sandman stories themselves are intriguing and soulful, with a particular favorite of mine being chapter 8 when Dream travels with Death as she does her work. It is very philosophical yet also deeply sad. I also loved chapter 10, in which Dream meets at the same inn every 100 years with Hob Gadling, who Death has granted an extention to his life, to see how he fares through the centuries. The music and sounds of the times brings the centuries to life. 

I disliked '24 hours' in which Dream tracks down rogue dreams and horrific nightmares created by John Dee, a psychopath who has escaped from Arkham Asylum. The story is an interesting one of depravity and uncontrolled desire let loose but it all made for uncomfortable listening and the grotesque sounds made me uneasy, and I'm no shrinking violet. 

Overall, when I read these stories in comic form years ago, I was taken with them but hearing them performed aloud added further depth. The Sandman is a masterclass in audio storytelling and is well worth the 10 + hours of engagement required. It isn't always easy listening with some vividly voice-acted scenes of horror and terror but then, that's what The Sandman does best... haunt your dreams. 

LINK- Dead of Night: Cult TV Review

LINK- The Stone Tapes: Cult TV Review

LINK- Tom’s Midnight Garden: Cult TV Review

LINK- Children of the Dogstar: Cult TV Series Review

LINK- Comics in the Classroom

MirrorMask- Cult Film Review

The fairytale-like story of an adolescent girl living a life as a circus performer and railing against her family does not seem like a film a 38 year old man would typically like, but if I said that the film was written by frequent collaborators Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean? It might make more sense and even pique your interest. This team worked on the seminal 'The Sandman' series together and Gaiman has also written American Gods, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Stardust and much more. This is quite a pedigree and so, as expected, MirrorMask does not disappoint, coming across like a modern version of Labyrinth, even down to the Jim Henson Company producing the puppets that frequently the film.

The film is about young Helena, very ably played by Stephanie Leonidas, who is an aspiring artist with an active imagination. Her family run the family circus and are part of a carny community but this is transient and lacks the consistency that Helena thinks she wants. When she rebels it sends her mother into a coma and Helena enters a mirror world where the Dark Queen, an evil version of her mother, keeps the White Queen, her coma'd mother, in a deep sleeps. Can Helena find a way to rescue her mother and discover some personal truths? Of course she can but the journey is intriguing and on accession, Dr. Who-esque scary.

The actors are all very good and the special effects suit the dreamy style of the film well. I know some people have criticised the over-reliance on green screen but with an obviously limited budget, the film does a commendable job of bringing McKean's art and drawings to life. The story is intriguing enough and the singular art style make this film a worthwhile watch but it does feel like an incoherent journey, actions happen and you have no idea of it is good or bad and the bloom effect starts to grate after a while. Don't get me wrong I liked the film just fine but didn't love it. It's no Labyrinth, but then... what is?