Books and Henry Northmore

Dan Slott & Humberto Ramos - Spider-Man: Spider Island

New Spidey adventure too frivolous to be genuinely engaging

24 Apr 2012

(Marvel) Spider-Man has always been one of the comics world’s more light-hearted superheroes. While there have been moments of introspection and heartache, he’s always more than ready with a corny quip as he swings into battle. Spider Island continues…

Mark Millar & Leinil Francis Yu - Superior

The Kick-Ass creator's latest ponders what superpowers would mean to those who needed them most

16 Mar 2012

(Titan) Glasgow writer Mark Millar has really picked up the pace on his creator-owned series over the last few years, but what’s more remarkable is how high the quality has remained. Wanted, Kick-Ass and Nemesis were action blockbusters but Superior…

David Kushner - Jacked

An entertaining, if hyperbolic, 'unauthorised' history of Grand Theft Auto

16 Mar 2012

(Collins) After a similar book on Doom, journalist David Kushner returns to familiar ground with Jacked. This ‘unauthorised’ history of Grand Theft Auto traces the game’s development from its early beginnings in Dundee to become one of the highest…

GFF 2012 - Mark Millar interview

The comic book creator of Kick-Ass and Wanted tells us about his role at the Glasgow Film Festival

13 Feb 2012

Mark Millar has written some of the biggest comics of the last 20 years. He’s tackled the X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman and Fantastic Four alongside...

Courtney Taylor-Taylor & Jim Rugg - One Model Nation

Unsuccessful comic book crossover attempt from the Dandy Warhols frontman

27 Jan 2012

(Titan Books) It’s always interesting when someone turns their hand from one artform to another. However, One Model Nation is proof that the results aren’t always as interesting as the concept. The idea of a comic from Dandy Warhols’ frontman…

The Hot 100 2011: 100-50

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

100: Gordon Ferris. Kilmarnock crime author makes good. The already packed Scottish crime writing field has finally found a bit of elbow room for another burgeoning talent. Joining the likes of Rankin, Brookmyre, McDermid and co is this Ayrshire-born…

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

Rick Remender & Tony Moore - Venom / Zeb Wells & Clayton Crain - Carnage

Spiderman villains comics deliver great action

15 Nov 2011

(Marvel UK) A double dose of villains this month, reintroducing two of Spider-Man’s arch enemies to the Marvel Universe. Venom and Carnage are both symbiotes, a parasitic species that bonds with a human host bestowing them with immense power at a…

Daniel Clowes - The Death-Ray

Amusing and poignant deconstruction of the super-hero genre

18 Oct 2011

(Jonathan Cape) More gorgeousness from writer/artist Daniel Clowes with this oversized hardback reprinting of 2004’s The Death-Ray. A slacker superhero story about 17-year-old orphan Andy discovering that smoking cigarettes charges him with…

Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards - Turf

Slightly clunky comic debut from the TV personality

16 Sep 2011

(Titan) Yes that Jonathon Ross. The chat show host has long been an acknowledged geek with a superhero fixation, so perhaps it’s high time he stepped up to take the reigns on his own comic title. And he certainly goes for it, all guns blazing, with a…

Jay Cantoe & James Romberger - Aaron and Ahmed: A Love Story

17 Aug 2011

(Vertigo/Titan) Novelist, scriptwriter and essayist Jay Cantor’s foray into comics starts as a simple examination of the relationship between an army doctor/torturer and a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, then heads off on a wild tangent concerning the…

Mark Waid & Jorge Molina - Captain America: Man Out of Time

Marvel's classic character needs to concentrate on plot over patriotism

21 Jul 2011

(Marvel UK) Another month and yet another big-screen movie adaptation. Captain America is a peculiarly old-fashioned character, the US embodied in a patriotic soldier who risked his life taking the ‘Super Soldier Serum’ to become the ultimate…

Daniel Clowes - Mister Wonderful: A Love Story

New York Times Magazine column story into bittersweet romcom

14 Jun 2011

(Jonathan Cape) Famed for titles like Ghost World and Art School Confidential (both adapted into films by director Terry Zwigoff), writer and artist Daniel Clowes’ real strength is the emotional realism he imbues his characters with. Mister Wonderful…

Geoff Johns - Green Lantern: Secret Origin (review)

Modern twist on an old-school sci-fi hero

17 May 2011

(Titan) The Green Lantern might not seem the most likely candidate for a big-budget blockbuster. He’s certainly not your typical superhero, being based more in the world of retro sci-fi, his powers derived from a ‘power ring’ bestowed by the…

Nemesis

Mark Millar and Steve McNiven collaborate on supervillain story

9 Mar 2011

Mark Millar took the top spot in The List’s Hot 100 at the end of 2010 and with the release of Nemesis in hardback you can see why. It’s a full-throttle thrill ride boasting some of Millar’s most audacious action set pieces to date and with a title…

The Essential Superman Encyclopaedia - Robert Greenberger & Martin Pasko

Meticulously researched guide is nicely balanced

16 Feb 2011

(Titan Books) Perhaps the perfect last minute gift for the geek in your life, The Essential Superman Encyclopaedia is a massive cornucopia of Caped Crusader facts. If you desperately want to know more about Mr Mxyzptlk or The Purple Pile-Driver you…

Jamie McMorrow & Garry McLaughlin - Year of Fear: Yellow

19 Jan 2011

(Laser Age Comics) The second instalment of Year of Fear is another gruesome black and white affair as a faceless killer stalks the streets. Taking obvious inspiration from the Italian giallo film movement, we get the black gloves, savage violence and…

Pat Mills and Oliver Ledroit - Requiem Vampire Knight: Volumes 3 & 4

A genuinely funny, smart and action-packed romp

12 Jan 2011

(Panini Books/Nickel) Originally published in French, we finally get the English translations of the third and fourth collected volumes of the Pat Mills horror tale set in the depths of hell. It’s a world where our codes and morals are inverted…

John Hicklenton - 100 Months

Uncensored and unrelenting tribute to Judge Dredd artist and MS-sufferer who lived on the edge

12 Jan 2011

(Cutting Edge) To truly appreciate 100 Months, you need to understand the circumstances under which it was written. John Hicklenton was a controversial but much-loved British artist whose exaggerated and brutal art brought to vivid life the likes of…

The Hot 100 2010 - Mark Millar, Kevin Bridges and Alasdair Gray take top 3 spots

Our annual chart of the people from Scotland being interesting, successful and creative

16 Dec 2010

The Hot 100 is a list of Scots who’ve made a sizeable creative splash in 2010. It includes musicians, artists, writers, actors, fashion designers, technological innovators, shop owners, festival directors, record label heads and one mad cyclist.

Denise Mina & Antonio Fuso - A Sickness in the Family

Scottish crime novelist creates concise and claustrophobic take on the graphic novel genre

30 Nov 2010

(Vertigo Crime) After a successful run on Hellblazer in 2006, Scottish crime novelist Denise Mina returns to the ninth art, with this her first graphic novel. While there are hints of the supernatural here, A Sickness in the Family is essentially a…

Dan Abnett, John Tomlinson & Gary Erskine - The Knights of Pendragon

3 Nov 2010

(Marvel UK) The success of Captain Britain meant Marvel UK wanted more characters it could call its own and so in 1990, the Knights of Pendragon were born. Steeped in the legends of King Arthur and ancient pagan folklore, it centres around cynical…

Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis - Blackest Night

27 Oct 2010

(DC/Titan) The first Green Lantern (aka Alan Scott) was created by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell in 1940. But it was the introduction of Hal Jordan in 1952 that was the birth of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force who wield a power…

Eddie Campbell & Daren White - The Playwright

1 Sep 2010

(Knockabout) The Playwright is perhaps unusual compared to so many comics, being simply a gentle character study of a middle-aged writer. There’s no grand story arch, just a dip into someone’s life, examining their foibles and opening up their psyche.

Real Lives by Peter Bagge

12 Aug 2010

Since rising to fame with Hate, his comic book chronicling the slacker generation, Peter Bagge has specialised in capturing realistic characters trapped by the frustrations of real life. Here, he casts his eye on the false personalities people project…