After looking at the titles that MAI itself has to offer in the first part of our Christmas coverage, it's now time to turn our attention to other publishers. There's a huge diversity in titles and publications that are on the bookshelves for the festive season. In an era where multimedia toys, games and products sometimes feel as if they re dominating the market, it's actually quite reassuring to see that there's a massive appetite for the traditional written word - in all its forms. We've put together a nice cross-section of some of the titles available...
There is, as you might expect, a raft of Doctor Who-related books out as the most is made of the Fiftieth Anniversary celebrations and the run up to Matt Smith’s departure.
Summer Falls and Other Stories is a collection of tales starting with one 'written by' Amelia Williams, the successful children's author who sprang to prominence in pre-WWII America. Little is known about Williams' (nee Pond) childhood but she dedicates the collection, in part, to her mysterious friend the 'Raggedy Man' with whom she appears to have had adventures that inspired her writing. The book contains the central 'Summer Falls' contained in the original release, but also ‘The Angel’s Kiss’ and ‘Devil in the Smoke’
Yes, of course, this is actually the supposed tome penned by Amy Pond after she and Rory were trapped back in time, the Doctor unable to retrieve them and brings us a mysterious painting, a ‘Lord of Winter’ and a young girl off on an adventure beyond the world she knows. The Angel’s Kiss is a noir tale featuring Melody Malone, a femme fatale detective investigating a crime involving the talent of a period Hollywood in its prime. Devil in the Smoke takes us back to Victorian times with ‘The Lizard Woman’, 'The Troll’ and ‘The Parlour Maid’ bringing their own investigative style to a deadly adventure involving snowmen. It's a nice collection, very much in the spirit of the different elements within the show and though each is tinged with a knowing melancholy and mature sense of irony, it's stories that can be read to slightly younger fans who will embrace the whimsy as much as the adults who know the backstories. Available to buy HERE...
We covered ‘The Vault’ in a previous review (which you can find HERE), but in our opinion, this is the best of the recent tie-in books dedicated to The Doctor and his travels and actually feels like a quality tome from the moment you pull it off the shelf. A tie-in is a difficult balance to get right: balanced between the casual reader and the fanatical, but while a pricey addition to your collection, it’s clear the expansive detail, care and attention and design have all worked together to produce a definitive article.
Available to buy HERE...
Charlie Adlard is one of the hottest illustrators around at the moment – perhaps not surprisingly given that he is the man bringing the zombies and survivors to life (undeath?) in the monthly The Walking Dead comic from Image. However Charlie has worked on a variety of titles and projects including Judge Dredd and The X-Files and this special-edition ‘Art of Charlie Adlard’ looks back at his career from its enthusiastic amateur beginnings to the full-on professional he is today. Following an introduction from Jonathan Ross, there are many samples of his work, with Charlie explaining some of the craft, decisions and opportunities that led to the finished work. Charlie is one of the nicest guys working in comics today and the pages show both his technical ability with design and the enthusuasm he puts into the entire process.
With further comment from The Walking Dead’s writer, Robert Kirkman, the entire #106 issue of comic, published only a few months ago, is shown here, working up from pencils to finished inking. Anyone looking to get a deeper insight into comic construction or even take some tips for their own efforts, will have a rich and rewarding experience as they turn the pages.
Available to buy HERE...
Though Vic Armstrong’s biography has been out for a couple of years, our recent conversation with the stuntman and director (coming soon to this site!), reminded us of the impact that he’s had on cinema throughout his career.
‘The True Adventures of the World’s Greatest Stuntman’ (previously reviewed HERE) largely lives up to its title, detailing Armstrong’s career through some of the seminal movies of the 20th Century and one that continues to this day. He’s worked with Richard Burton, Harrison Ford, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg – movies that ranged from massive blockbusters to smaller, sometimes un-credited adventures. It’s in the anecdotes on display here that one really gets a feel for the more earthy side to the fantastical, the inherent dangers there are in not just jumping onto horse or propelling off cliffs, but also in the most subtle scenes in which an actor’s double would be needed. Peter Diamond, another mainstay of the industry, once told me that there was an equal amount of danger falling off a wardrobe as there was falling off a building – IF the stunt wasn’t well-prepared. Armstrong is the guy who always made it look easy, but this book makes it all too clear the preparation Armstrong goes through.
With his turn to directing, it will be interesting to see if an updated book makes it to the shelves in a few years. For the moment, it is available in both hardback and paperback… Available to buy HERE...
DK are pretty much the default kings of the reference guides – there’s hardly a genre subject-matter out there that hasn’t got the Dorling-Kindersley treatment at some point. There are several recent releases that we fully expect will make their way into stockings and parcels this coming festive season.
HALO 4 – The Essential Visual Guide is a companion piece to the acclaimed computer game. Behind the sturdy hardcover is a technicolor checklist and guide to the elements within the game itself. The chapters are divided into Characters, Factions, Weapons, Vehicles, Equipment, Armor, Ships and Locations that players will experience while blasting their non-human counterparts into the great beyond.
Presented in an in-universe format (with details presented in factual explanations), the guide is extensive, the words surrounded by cut-outs, screen-grabs and large illustrations for which the glossy paper helps sell the quality. It may be preaching to the converted, but this could well be a worthy read between levels on the games itself. Available to buy HERE...
World of Warcraft has something of a legendary status, its name familiar to most people, even if they don’t know an Orc from a Worgen. In a world where computer games advance every day, there’s still something classic about this grand-daddy of the genre world in which Warcraft operates. Now a full multimedia experience (computer games, comics, book and board-games etc), this Visual Guide celebrates the full history of the game and world it inhabits. It's style is remeniscent of the expansive art books of the 1980s - with respected illustrators showing off their talents.
Definitely leaning to that visual side of that experience, this is a book full of paintings, drawings and boxed-out reference guides to the fictional history of the world of Azeroth. It’s glossy and beautiful to look at, but may ultimately gear towards those who already know and love the Blizzard Entertainment experience but would like to revel in the details. At £25.00, it’s not cheap, but the committed fan may find it a solid treat to supplement their game-time. Available to buy HERE...
While one could suspect that DK’s LEGO – Mini-Figure: Year by Year (A Visual History) is aimed at the smallest of ankle-biters, this is a lovely surprise and actually provides hours of interest for anyone who ever played with the connective blocks and, as the years developed, the little figures that came with the toys.
It’s quite eye-opening to see the sheer quantity of different figures that have been released over the last thirty-five years and the diverse nature of the results. Clearly a great amount of time and thought goes into each figure’s design and as well as a year by year look at the figures, we also get an explanation of how they are made – from page to final packaging. Page after page brings more delightful surprises and smiles as we swap between superheroes, game tie-ins, everyday jobs, iconic heroes, travelling between the streets, Asgard and Middle-Earth to name but a few.
Next year will see a much-anticipated LEGO movie, which from the trailer (HERE) should play well to all ages. Consider this guide your homework, but the kind for which you’ll enjoy every minute. Available to buy HERE...
For those who like something a little more gothic, there’s plenty to choose from out there.
From 'new things to 'old ones', it appears that Cthulhu and his own creator HP Lovecraft have never been more popular with the masses. We like the ‘Young Lovecraft’ comic-strips by Jose Oliver and Bartolo Torres. Originally published in Spain and now published in the UK, the humour still works well, particularly for those who are already of a Lovecraftian bent. The tone is a cross between the cynicism of Garfield, and the left-field oddities of Roman Dirge’s Lenore. But, hey, as horror fans, it ticked our funny-bones without eviscerating us first…so all is good with this world (and the next?)
Available to buy HERE...
Likely to be hitting the big-screen in 2015 (but, frankly, everything is due to be hitting the big-screen in 2015!) is the adaptation of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – a project that screamed ‘Tim Burton’ from the outset The original book was by Ransom Riggs and it told the story of a young boy who follows a serious of bizarre clues that lead him to an equally strange orphanage in Wales.
The novel was originally planned as a picture-book by Riggs before it became a more narrative structure with scattered photos throughout. So perhaps it’s entirely suitable that there is also now a graphic novel treatment. The artist is Cassandra Jean whose style verges on an almost manga-ish interpretation with an equally nice watercolour wash to the imagery. The hardbacked £13.99 book feels like a welcome addition to the Peregrine experience, one which will likely only grow by 2015. Get in at the ground-floor…Available to buy HERE...
IMPACT woud like to thank ForbiddenPlanet.com, Charlie Adlard, BBC Books and DK Publishing for their help with this feature...
