Some More Horus Heresy, some Hawkmoon & Conan’s Savage Sword...
The first couple of days back have gone ok, can’t ask for a lot more than that really :o) Now I just need to get my Christmas Shopping in order and I think we’re all good (fingers crossed). When your twelve year old daughter has no idea what she wants though, there will be twists and turns to come…
Anyway, this is another of those posts where I round up all the little bits and pieces I’ve read over the last few days. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few more of these to come as I fit blogging round my return to work. Lets see how it goes.
For now then, lets take a quick look at what I mentioned in the title…
‘Honour to the Dead’ – Gav Thorpe (Black Library)
Run Time: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes
As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius - the True Messengers - still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death.
With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline....
I totally forgot that I had an Audible credit to use but when I remembered… The shorter Black Library audiobooks are a ‘go to’ for me with decent storylines accompanied by stunning sound effects. I’d heard good things about ‘Honour to the Dead’ so that’s where my Audible Credit went.
And… It was a free credit well spent :o) The short run time meant that my ability to focus was up to the job and I was rewarded with a gripping tale of heroism, and Titans beating the hell out of each other, with plenty of engaging characters to get behind; whether it’s the mother trying to get her baby son out of the city or Loyalist Titan commanders fighting a desperate rearguard action. The voice acting is as good as ever, apart from the Traitor Princeps that is; his name escapes me but the actor’s insistence on going for ‘full on maniacal cartoon villain’ continues to grate, even now. A good listen all in all though.
‘The Savage Sword of Conan #11’ – Various (Titan Comics, Heroic Signatures)
I still need to read the first two collected volumes, of ‘Savage Sword’ but I’ve been having a lot more luck with the single issues and I’ll be honest, that’s probably how I’ll collect them going forwards. There are only the two stories here but one of them is Liam Sharp’s ‘Tattered Wings’ and is more than worth the price of entry by itself. Absolutely gorgeous artwork and a story that pits Conan against… Himself? Maybe, maybe not… Read it and decide for yourself. I don’t want to spoil anything; lets just say that if I ever see another ‘Conan’ story with Sharp’s name next to it, I’m reading it.
Ron Marz’ ‘Wolves & Witches’ is over in a flash, a little too lightweight to be truly engaging, but I enjoyed the twist at the end.
‘Hawkmoon: The Black Jewel’ – Le Gris, Dellac, Poli (Titan Comics)
Page Count: 64 Pages
Moorcock’s Jewel in the Skull comes to life in this graphic novel adaptation. Hawkmoon: The Black Jewel adapts Moorcock’s novel with stunning artwork that highlights the amazing worldbuilding in this epic series.
Set in a post-apocalyptic age of primitive technology and strange magic, Europe has been conquered by the tyrannical Granbretan empire led by King-Emperor Huon. When the city of Köln falls under the empire’s iron ire and its Duke, Dorian Hawkmoon is captured, it’s up to one of the last strongholds of civilization to rescue him and end the Granbreton’s evil rule.
It has been a long old time since I read any of the ‘Hawkmoon’ books (and I really should do something about that) but from what I can remember of the first one, ‘The Black Jewel’ is a decent adaptation. I’m pretty sure there are probably bits missing here but the story works very well in this format; Jerome Le Gris captures the main points well while Benoit Dellac and Didier Poli combine to deliver some artwork that makes for a brighter, fresher alternative to the more subdued pages of Titan’s ‘Elric’ books (not that ‘subdued’ is a bad thing, I was just after something more dynamic and that’s exactly what I got here). I’d forgotten that ‘Hawkmoon’ was getting the ‘Titan Comics Treatment’, I’m glad I got this little reminder :o)
Anyway, this is another of those posts where I round up all the little bits and pieces I’ve read over the last few days. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few more of these to come as I fit blogging round my return to work. Lets see how it goes.
For now then, lets take a quick look at what I mentioned in the title…
‘Honour to the Dead’ – Gav Thorpe (Black Library)
Run Time: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes
As Calth burns, the Battle Titans of the Fire Masters legion take to the streets of the city of Ithraca, ready to massacre the fleeing civilian population in the name of their new, dark masters. But the remaining loyalist engines of the Legio Praesagius - the True Messengers - still stand ready to defend the Imperium, even in the face of almost certain death.
With the nearby Ultramarines forces scattered and lost, the people of Ithraca must fend for themselves as gigantic war machines unleash apocalyptic weaponry across the ravaged skyline....
I totally forgot that I had an Audible credit to use but when I remembered… The shorter Black Library audiobooks are a ‘go to’ for me with decent storylines accompanied by stunning sound effects. I’d heard good things about ‘Honour to the Dead’ so that’s where my Audible Credit went.
And… It was a free credit well spent :o) The short run time meant that my ability to focus was up to the job and I was rewarded with a gripping tale of heroism, and Titans beating the hell out of each other, with plenty of engaging characters to get behind; whether it’s the mother trying to get her baby son out of the city or Loyalist Titan commanders fighting a desperate rearguard action. The voice acting is as good as ever, apart from the Traitor Princeps that is; his name escapes me but the actor’s insistence on going for ‘full on maniacal cartoon villain’ continues to grate, even now. A good listen all in all though.
‘The Savage Sword of Conan #11’ – Various (Titan Comics, Heroic Signatures)
I still need to read the first two collected volumes, of ‘Savage Sword’ but I’ve been having a lot more luck with the single issues and I’ll be honest, that’s probably how I’ll collect them going forwards. There are only the two stories here but one of them is Liam Sharp’s ‘Tattered Wings’ and is more than worth the price of entry by itself. Absolutely gorgeous artwork and a story that pits Conan against… Himself? Maybe, maybe not… Read it and decide for yourself. I don’t want to spoil anything; lets just say that if I ever see another ‘Conan’ story with Sharp’s name next to it, I’m reading it.
Ron Marz’ ‘Wolves & Witches’ is over in a flash, a little too lightweight to be truly engaging, but I enjoyed the twist at the end.
‘Hawkmoon: The Black Jewel’ – Le Gris, Dellac, Poli (Titan Comics)
Page Count: 64 Pages
Moorcock’s Jewel in the Skull comes to life in this graphic novel adaptation. Hawkmoon: The Black Jewel adapts Moorcock’s novel with stunning artwork that highlights the amazing worldbuilding in this epic series.
Set in a post-apocalyptic age of primitive technology and strange magic, Europe has been conquered by the tyrannical Granbretan empire led by King-Emperor Huon. When the city of Köln falls under the empire’s iron ire and its Duke, Dorian Hawkmoon is captured, it’s up to one of the last strongholds of civilization to rescue him and end the Granbreton’s evil rule.
It has been a long old time since I read any of the ‘Hawkmoon’ books (and I really should do something about that) but from what I can remember of the first one, ‘The Black Jewel’ is a decent adaptation. I’m pretty sure there are probably bits missing here but the story works very well in this format; Jerome Le Gris captures the main points well while Benoit Dellac and Didier Poli combine to deliver some artwork that makes for a brighter, fresher alternative to the more subdued pages of Titan’s ‘Elric’ books (not that ‘subdued’ is a bad thing, I was just after something more dynamic and that’s exactly what I got here). I’d forgotten that ‘Hawkmoon’ was getting the ‘Titan Comics Treatment’, I’m glad I got this little reminder :o)
Always glad to see Moorcock's Eternal Champion get more recognition. I hope the people who read the comics go on to search out the books. They're tiny little things too, which is nice.
ReplyDeleteI really need to re-read Hawkmoon but the graphic novel is a good way to get back into it. The books are tiny so I've got no excuse really ;o)
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