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Events
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least ten days before publication to suzanne.black@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black.
Edinburgh
FREE Local Heroes: The Art of the Graphic Novel National Library of Scotland. (ieorge IV Bridge. 62.3 3845. l'ntil Sun I Jun. Mon-Fri 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-5pm: Sun 2 5pm. Alan Moore. An Spiegelman. l‘rank Miller. Alan (irant. (‘am Kennedy and (irant Morrison are all represented in this exhibition. which explores the development of the graphic novel over the last 40 years.
FRI! In a Different Light Scottish Poetry Library. 5 (‘richton’s (‘lose. (‘anongatc. 557 2876. L'ntil Sat 1‘) Jill. Mon Fri llam 6pm; Sat lr 5pm. An exhibition of new works exploring short phrases. comprising hand-bound books. cards and screen-prints from Julie Johnstone‘s lissence Press imprint. Poetry from Poland Scottish Poetry Library. 5 (‘richton’s ('lose. (‘anongate. 557 2876. 7.30pm. £5 (£3). Jcr/y Jarniewicz and lillbieta Wojcik-Leese read their work from a special issue of Poetry ll'ules dedicated to Polish poetry. with the editor. Robert .‘vlinhinnick in attendance. Booking required.
Edinbur h Karen Campbell and Alex Gray Waterstone's. 134-1 Princes Street. 556 303-1. 6 8pm. Ticketcd. Two crime writers who set their dastardly deeds and persistent police in (ilasgow talk about their work.
Saturday 26
Glas ow
Andrew Murray Scott Borders Books. ()8 Buchanan Street. 222 7700. Nmn-me. Local author Andrew Murray Scott talks about his work and signs copies of his latest novel. The Big J.
Edinburgh Reading Poetry Aloud Scottish Poetry Library. 5 (‘richton's (‘lose. (‘anongate. 557 2876. l0.30ain~ 12.30pm. £8 (£5). Lorna Irvine and poet performer lilspeth Murray talk you through the scary prospect of reading aloud. Booking required. "II Maggie O’Farrell National Museum of Scotland. (‘hambers Street. 225 7534. l ~2pm. Ticketed. A conversation with the author of After You '(1 Gone. The Distance Between 1 .s‘ and The litnishing Art (if/{snie Lemmy.
Sunday 27
Edinbur h
"II Kate Atkinson National Museum of Scotland. (‘hambers Street. 225 753-1. l~2pm. Ticketed. Meet the author of Behind the Scenes ut the Museum. ( 'use Histories and ()ne (imul Turn.
Shore Poets Mai Thai. The Tun. Jackson's lintry. l l l llolyrood Road. 3l3 2797. 7.45pm. £3 (£2). This month the special guests are ('olin Will. Julie Sheridan and Andrew Philip.
Monday 28
Edinburgh
IRII Reading Group: Round Table Scottish Poetry Library. 5 (‘richton‘s Close. ('anongate. 557 2876. 6 8pm. Tickeled. An informal poetry reading group where members pick the poems. For details phone or email reception (a‘spl.org.uk
Tuesday 29
Glasgow Vital Syn: Sloan‘s. 62 Argyle Arcade. l()8 Argyle Street. 22] 89l7. 7.30pm. £10
©|
(£5). (ilasgow’s poetry association presents Andrew (ireig. Tickets available on the door.
Edinburgh
FREE From Electric Soup to Superman National Library of Scotland. George W Bridge. 623 4675. 7pm. Scottish graphic artist Vincent Deighan (aka l-‘rank Quitely) talks about his underground titles. Iz'leetrie Soup and The Greens. as well as high-profile illustration work.
Wednesday 30
Glasgow
Willy Vlautin Waterstone‘s.
153-157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 9|05. 8pm. £3 redeemable against book. The singer-songwriter who has been compared to Bukowski brings along guitarist Paul Brainard to introduce his new novel. .-\'orthline.
Edinburgh Dave Goman The Pleasance. 60 Pleasance. 657 4041. 7pm. £3. The lamb-chopped comedian drops by to discuss his new book. America (Tnehuined.
Gla‘sigow FR Crime Fiction Reading Group Waterstone‘s. I53 7157 Sauchiehall Street. 332 ()l05. 6.309 7.30pm. The group will discuss Simon Brett's Death (Tnder the I)rver. FREE Dave Gorman Borders Books. ()8 Buchanan Street. 222 7700. 7pm. See Wed 30.
Edinburgh
VoxBox The Mercat. 28 West Maitland Street. 225 3861. 8pm. £3. A spoken word and music night from performance poets Anita (iovan and Kevin (‘adwallender
Glasgow
Jodi Picoult Royal (‘oncert Hall. 2 Sauchiehall Street. 353 8000. lpm. £5 (£4 in advance). The popular author who has recently dabbled with comics by penning issues of ll'oruler ll'mnun launches the spring 2008 series of (‘onversation Pieces.
Edinburgh
"II Alan Campbell Waterstone's. I28 Princes Street. 226 2666. 6 -7.30pm. ()ne for sci-ft btiffs as the Edinburgh-based writer signs copies of Iron Angel.
"III Quintin Jardine \‘l'aterstone‘s. 83 (ieorge Street. 225 3436. 6.30v-8.30pm. Ticketed. Jardine launches. reads from and signs his latest novel. .rl/lt’t'shm‘k.
Tuesday 6
Edinburgh
"II Gary Erskine National Library of Scotland. (ieorge IV Bridge. 623 4675. 7pm. The freelance comic anist shows off bits of his illustrious career (2000.41). lle/lhlrtzer) and allows a sneak peak of his new work on Dan Dare.
Wednesday 7
Glasgow
Quintin Jardine Royal (‘oncert Hall. 2 Sauchiehall Street. 353 8000. lpm. £5 (£4 in advance). The Scottish crime writer talks about his live consecutive weeks at the top of the Scottish bestseller list.
"III Michael Hofmann: Selected Works and Rilke Discussion (ioethe lnstitut. 3 Park ('ircus. 332 2555. 7pm. Robyn Marsack joins translator Michael llofmann for a discussion on (ierman poetry.
Edinburgh
Michael Hotmann: Just a Look at Rilke Scottish Poetry Library. 5 ('richton’s ('Iose. ('anongate. 557 2876. 6.30pm. £8 (£5). A special reading group discussion of Rilke. Booking required.
Thursday 8 ‘
Comics
SUPERHERO
DAVID MIGHELINIE BOB LAVTofi SunJOHN nomu
Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle (Marvel) coco
In the world of comics Iron Man is one of the main players in the Marvel Universe. As provisional leader of the Avengers for many, many years. he's helped shape the fictional world more than most.
However Iron Man hasn't crossed into the public consciousness in the same way as Spider- Man, The Hulk Or Batman. He may not be as iconic as these heroes but that doesn't mean he hasn't had some fantastic fictional exploits. And with the release of the new Iron Man blockbuster it's a great opportunity to look back at some of his comic book adventures since his first appearance in Tales of Suspense No 39 back in 1963 (Created by the immortal team of Stan Lee. Larry Lieber. Don Heck and Jack Kirby).
£221 mum 2
Iron Man's alter-ego Tony Stark is a mega- rich industrialist; he has no superhuman powers but a high tech battle suit that gives him superhuman strength. the power of flight. repulsor rays and various other gadgets. But it's a double edged sword: due to an accident during the Vietnam War the suit also keeps him alive. Arrogant at times he revels in his playboy lifestyle. but as this stOry proves. that can also be his downfall.
Demon in a Bott/e (1979) is the quintessential Iron Man stOry. showcasing Marvels strengths in flawed heroes with real
world problems. Here the foe is far more deadly than any supervillian, being Tony Stark’s battle with alcoholism. The tale chronicles the events that led to Tony Stark turning to drink for comfort. then ending with his climatic struggle with alcohol. It reeks of the 703 (but that's half its charm); it's a brave move in comics that invests the character with real humanity. a stOry that still has implications for Tony Stark to this day.
(Henry Nonhmore)
SUPERHERO WARREN ELLIS & ADI GRAHOV
Iron Man: Extremis (Marvel) 0000.
This is perhaps the classic modern Iron Man tale. Warren Ellis gets his grubby hands on Tony Stark and changes him forever. Here the Golden Avenger takes on bio- chemically altered terrorists. who possess more power than even his advanced armour can handle. leading Tony Stark to make a decision that will reinvent him for the Ztst century.
Ellis again explores one of his favourite themes. the evolution of the human form via technology. and of course Iron Man is the perfect character for such a premise.
Admittedly it starts slowly
but soon explodes into heart pounding action with terrifying implications. Adi Granov draws the whole stOry with a dark hue and excels in the gritty wide- scale action scenes. A
surprisingly powerful take
on man's limits and how far he is willing to go to overcome the odds. (Henry Northmore)
DVD
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
(12) 80 mins (Lionsgate) 00
The new big budget
feature isn't the first Iron Man movie as this 2007 animated feature from Marvel proves. The film revisits Iron Man's first showdown with the Mandarin.
The animation is fine but overall the film badly misses the light and shade of the original. The origin story is rejigged so much it loses its weight and is quickly glossed over, so it doesn't even work as a quick primer for the uninitiated. Disappointing.
(Henry Northmore)
SUPERHERO VARIOUS Civil War: Iron Man (Marvel) coo
He's an Avenger; he's been Secretary of Defence; he's a member of the shadowy Illuminati. But nothing exemplifies Iron Man's key position in the world of comics more than his role in Marvel '5 huge crossover event of 2006. Civil War. Mark Millar's epic proposed a government crackdown on unlicensed superheroes with a registration act enforced, making heroes accountable for their actions. Iron Man led the pro-registration movement going up against old team mate Captain America leading the anti-registration faction. Here we get one of the many tie-in titles. this time focusing on Iron Man. It's a bit overly wordy but it helps flesh out his motivations and makes an interesting companion piece to the main event. (Henry Northmore)
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24 Apr—8 May 2008 THE LIST 35