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FANTASY CHRONICLES OF OONAN NOS 1-3 Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord
(Dark Horsei 000
This new Conan series. not to be confused wrth the classic Roy Thomas- scripied/Barry Windsor» Smith-pencilled strips currently being reprinted by Dark Horse under the title Chronic/es of Conan. aims for fidelity to the original Robert E Howard sword and sorcery tales. Additions to the mythology of the all- conguering Cimmerian. by Howard’s fellow fantasists. are here being ignored in favour of the stories penned by the kid from rural Texas, first published in the pulp pages of Weird Ta/es in the 1930s.
That said. writer Kurt BUSle has charged himself with establishing a chronology and continuity absent from Howard's stories (in the very first, for example. 1932's ‘The Phoenix on the Sword'. Conan is already a king). BUSle begins wrth Conan's early years when, struck by wanderlust. the 16-year- old warrior leaves his hometands to journey to the fabled lands of Hyperborea. The second issue incorporates into this narrative the memorable Howard stOry. ‘The Frost Giant's Daughter', prevrously pen
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and we”: at'1'.'."ii’:sc'~Srr‘f" He'e. Ca", No": takes mer the pen/wing ’2 Axes The (“TIN/K?) tiéif"1.‘3'i't“: enough. ‘Nltt‘ a predictable increased saturation of rift/.1} ar‘ut gcre. but Norris st";kes aren't nearl, as (i,iiariii’; as \“J'fiftSf)f~S'ltltf"f}. And while typewriter-font caryticns hint at the stories puip origii‘.s. Busiek‘s writing is too busy and somewhat po— facerl to capture that essence, Fidelity or no. the Thomas Windsor— Smith strips remain the best. iMiles Fielderi
TANTASY BANNOCK BEANS a. dam TEA
Seth/John Gallant Drawn and Quarterly 0...
Seth's third melancholy-~ tinged paean to the past is a typically starkly beautiful effort. yet this is clearly a personal labour of love as the ‘Memories of a Prince Edward Island Childhood in the Great Depression' belong to his father. co- author John Gallant. The acclaimed cartoonist provrdes tone-perfect (and unobtrusive) illustrative back-up to Gallant's pointedly conCise yet brutally honest tales of shocking poverty and personal alienation amidst life on an isolated rural farming community. imparted
104 THE LIST 9—23 Sep 200‘:
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THE STUFF OF DREAMS #2 Kim Deitch iFaiitagraiifi.i:si O...
Kim Deitch may not have achieved the mainstream recognition of fellow comix alumni Crumb and Spiegelman. but amongst those in the know he is revered as a master of the comic form. Dreams 32 focuses on a chance e- bay purchase which leads Deitch into a world of 1910s movre serials and newspaper strips. blurring the line between fantasy and reality. His trademark character Waldo makes an obligaIOry appearance. and while this may be a second issue it is more than capable of standing alone. An obligue love story. mundane and majestic. which begins With impossny dense panels and develops into a prose tale With illustrations. this is an impresswe addition to the Deitch oeuvre. (Dave Martini
JE/NGI “595 5 AN ANION??? WME- - -
Conan gets the calling
recordsOIist.co.uk
ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS
The Delivery Man
Mt” O...
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seen iiiri‘ ifar'tmt: shark like t)(3t\.‘.’(}r?f‘r a n‘i.ltit;itfe of protects: son‘s: iii iiitftieti collaborations an:l ethers nicnientf‘, of inspired genitis. This album is iiiost certainly closer to the latter than the former and he has former Attractions Steve Nl(}‘.’(? and Pete fhoiiias in the linposter's line up for this varied collection,
There are angular rollickeis like ferocious opener "Button My Lip‘ and the truculent skank of ‘Needle Time' contrasting with the country sway of 'Heart Shaped Bruise which he wrote for the Co/d Mountain filin soundtrack, with Ernrnylou Harris sharing vocal duties.
It would seem that when Costello's focus is on writing great songs rather than collaborative adventures he's most likely to succeed.
(Mark Robertsonl
INDlt THE THRILLS
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If you've heard their hazy west coast-inspired debut So Much for the City. you’re not in for much of a shock from the Thrills' second effort. The quintet have sidestepped the Opportunity to explore new sides to their n‘uSic and instead gone for the easy Option: to produce a record that sounds pretty much the same as the first. With added ‘ooh's. strings and the
MAR MAR SUPERSTAR The Handler 'Hz‘i"i"t ‘l: :i- It '1
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The nasti, iiitiuse' has gone but tfie (illitttfiltitl‘; leasi. to reiixii.ei l)tittlt‘. and the pretences to being the new Stevie Wonder reii‘ain. After .i slight but entertaining collection of siiititt‘. one liners for a debut. l-lar Mar returns with a siiiiifaily slight. siiiiilarlj, entertaining f‘()f|(:(ltl()fl of siiiutty oneliners. Drafting iii 7. it; Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Holly Valance iii adds sori‘e spunk to his alreart, mucky cocktail. but he still comes up half cocked.
like the Darkness and Goldie t ookiri Chain. you get the feeling the moment llar Mar demands to be taken serious as an artist is the moment it all goes tits up. But for now he's hanging on in there. Just, iMark Robertsoni
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JAMES YORKSTON AND THE ATHLETES Just Beyond the River (DOH‘JHO) O...
This is the follow up to Fife folkster James Yorkston's brilliant debut. MOL/irig Ur)
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Winnemucca iEl Cortex. 0000
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