BOOKS | Events
COMIC
SUPERHERO GORDON MCLEAN No More Heroes (nomoreheroescomic.wordpress.com) ●●●●● One night, as he sits around drinking with some friends, Sid Millar receives a text message. It reads: ‘Should I kill myself?’ Egged on by his mates he texts back: ‘Yes’. The next day legendary superhero Dark Justice is found dead with the phone that sent Sid the message on the floor next to him. This is the beginning of a merciless and violent descent into the crime underworld for the guilt-ridden and decidedly average Sid. He’s kidnapped by Dark Justice’s sidekick
Black Fury and brought face to face with the vilest of all super villains: Jack Slaughter. Gordon McLean’s derivative but darkly diverting comic is a genuine
page turner. Taking his narrative lead from the likes of Garth Ennis and Frank Miller, McLean certainly understands pace and build and the enduring power of flashback. The humour and violence of his sick tale is matched by Caio Oliveira’s excellent, simple but highly effective artwork. Oliveira draws out the elemental darkness at the heart of McLean’s tale of revenge, retribution and superhero meltdown. With friends and heroes like this lot you certainly don’t need enemies. No More Heroes was a worthy winner of the Best Comic category at the 2012 Scottish Independent Comic Books Awards, proving that McLean really is a talent to watch. Find out more about where to find or download this comic by visiting nomoreheroescomic.wordpress.com or on Facebook. (Paul Dale)
ALSO PUBLISHED
MUSIC BOOKS
If music be the food of love, then play on, they say. Or, in this case, read on, as a flood of books about various areas of the music industry are upon us in the run-up to festive time. For fans of the dour and droll songwriting legend Leonard Cohen, Sylvie Simmons’ I’m Your Man (Jonathan Cape) will be a treat as it discusses all facets of his output (including poetry and prose) as well as looking at the influential figures who made him the guy he is today.
Phil Hardy’s Download: How Digital Destroyed the Record Business (Omnibus) might sound as though it’s stating the bleeding obvious, but this will still be a must for those keen on tracking the transformation of the music biz from the high watermark of the 80s CD revolution to the sight of giant record companies struggling to survive today.
Some stars are recession and revolution-proof once they have successfully created their ‘brand’, and a certain Aussie pop pixie is surely in that category. Kylie Minogue teams up here with her longtime fashion designer pal William Baker to produce, unbelievably, Kylie / Fashion (Thames & Hudson), a glossy affair detailing her ever-changing look down the years which, thankfully, has little do with her ‘music’.
Can you imagine a fashion bible with Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen (pictured)? It would be a struggle to fit all the gasoline-stained jeans/checked shirt combinations he’s come up with down the years into one book. For some reason, Peter Ames Carlin’s Bruce (Simon & Schuster) focuses on the man and his music with the author gaining what they like to call ‘unprecedented access’ for this ‘definitive’ biog. (Brian Donaldson)
46 THE LIST 15 Nov–13 Dec 2012
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to books@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Charlotte Runcie. ✽ Indicates Hitlist entry
Thursday 15
Glasgow FREE Book Launch: The Killer Cookbook Waterstones, 153–157 Sauchiehall Street, 332 9105. 6.30–8pm. Launch of a book of recipes dreamed up by Scotland’s favourite crime writers. Booking essential. Edinburgh FREE Thomas Carlyle and the University of Edinburgh David Hume Tower, George Square, ed.ac.uk 5.15pm. Lecture to mark a new volume of Carlyle’s letters. FREE Wordy Thursdays Presents Soapbox The Pleasance, 60 Pleasance, 650 4673. 8pm. Spoken word open mic.
Friday 16 Edinburgh Rally & Broad Counting House, West Nicolson Street, 07989 508436. 7.30pm. £5. Literary cabaret night with Hailey Beavis, William Letford, Harry Giles & Paula Varjack.
Saturday 17 Edinburgh Nothing But the Poem Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 11am–12.30pm. £5 (£3). See Thu 15 Nov. FREE Open Weekend at the Writers’ Museum Writers’ Museum, Lady Stair’s Close, Lawnmarket, 529 4901. 1pm, 2pm & 3pm. The museum is filled with lively readings and debate to celebrate Robert Louis Stevenson Day. Mr Clart and Mr McBrain from the Edinburgh Literary Pub Crawl debate the influence of Edinburgh life on Stevenson’s work. Part of Robert Louis Stevenson Day.
Sunday 18 Edinburgh FREE Open Weekend at the Writers’ Museum Writers’ Museum, Lady Stair’s Close, Lawnmarket, 529 4901. 1pm, 3pm & 4pm. See Sat 17. With readings exploring the theme of duality in Stevenson’s writing. Part of Robert Louis Stevenson Day. FREE Spoken Word for Pussy Riot The Parlour Bar, 142 Duke Street, 555 3848. 7pm. Satire, spoken word, punk poetry and comedy in aid of the Pussy Riot Defense Fund, with Kevin Williamson, Rachel McCrum, Tommy Reckless McKay and Liz Cronin. See Realist pick 10, page 5.
Scotland’s History Festival. Elise McKay & Joyce Caplan Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6.30pm. £7 (£5). Poetry reading. FREE Sara Sheridan – History and Fiction Blackhall Library, 56 Hillhouse Road, 529 5595. 6.30–7.45pm. See Tue 20.
✽ Neil Oliver George Square Theatre, University of Edinburgh George Square, 622 8218. 7.30pm. £6. The man with the jet black hair from Coast talks about his new book about Vikings. Tickets available from Blackwells.
Thursday 22 Glasgow Neu! Reekie! at The Poetry Club The Poetry Club, 100 Eastvale Place, facebook.com/neureekie 7–10pm. £9 (£7). Spoken word from Liz Lochhead and Tam Dean Burn and music from Remember Remember.
✽ Scottish Writers’ Centre Presents In Process: Des
Dillon on Poetry in Playwriting Scottish Writers’ Centre, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 7pm. £6 (£3). Coatbridge writer Des Dillon gives a masterclass on poetry’s place onstage.
Edinburgh FREE Mark Forsyth: The Horologicon Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6.30pm. Mark Forsyth discusses his new book.
✽ My Life in Poetry with Candia McWilliam Scottish Poetry Library,
5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. 6.30pm. £7 (£5). The novelist discusses her life through the lens of her favourite poems.
Friday 23
Edinburgh ✽ West Port Book Festival Various venues, westportbookfestival.org
Times vary, until Mon 26 Nov. Prices vary. Four-day celebration of Edinburgh’s quirky biblophile zone, with a diverse selection of author events, open mics, workshops and drama. History Write Enough: The First Blast of the Trumpet John Knox House, High Street, 556 2647. 2–3.30pm. £5 (includes a tour of the John Knox house). Marie MacPherson discusses her new novel influenced by the life of John Knox. Part of Previously . . . Scotland’s History Festival.
Saturday 24 Edinburgh FREE GiftED: The Edinburgh Book Sculptures on Tour 2012 Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. Times vary, until Sat 8 Dec. The beautiful and mysterious Edinburgh Book Sculptures have been touring the country, but now they’re on display back home.
Tuesday 20 Sunday 25
Edinburgh Guid Crack: St Andrew’s Sangs an’ Stories Waverley Bar, 1 St Mary’s Street, 557 1050. 7.30pm. £3 suggested donation. Storytelling night celebrating Andrew’s Day. Glasgow FREE Chloe Sims Waterstones, 174 Argyle Street, 248 4814. 2pm. The TOWIE star signs copies of her glitzy new autobiography, which she definitely wrote herself.
Wednesday 21 Glasgow The Writer’s Life Scottish Writers’ Centre, CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. 2pm. £6 (£3). Sara Sheridan discusses marketing for writers.
Edinburgh FREE Writing History Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. 6–8pm. Shirley McKay and Margaret Skea discuss the popularity of historical fiction. Booking essential. Part of Previously . . .
Edinburgh Portrait Gallery Insights: Scott- land: The Man Who Invented a Nation by Stuart Kelly Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street, 624 6200. 2–4.30pm. £12 (£10). Stuart Kelly discusses the legacy of our great writer. Part of Previously . . . Scotland’s History Festival. Shore Poets Henderson’s @ St John’s, St John’s Terrace, 3 Lothian Road, 229 0212. 7.45–10pm. £5 (£3). Poetry from Graham Fulton, Peter MacKay and Claire Askew.