Melancholy

: I Insider doesn't want to give the

! impression of being a comic

book nerd but is nevertheless

genuinely thrilled that Chris

Ware's graphic novel Jimmy

l Corrigan won The Guardian '5

First Book Award. Never was the

descriptive term ‘graphic novel'

more appropriate than when

applied to Ware's book, the

i design draughtsmanship of which is matched only by the depth of

! feeling Jimmy Corrigan evokes in

its reader. But don't stop here, go

to your local comic retailer and

start spending on Ware‘s ongoing

quarterly publication, The Acme

Novelty Library, from whence

Jimmy originated.

l I The autumn gig frenzy started in earnest last week with 02's pair of shows at the SECC. The band's only Scottish dates sold out in an hour and tickets on the night were reputedly changing hands for over 2150. Those with i money to burn in the coming ! months should get their wodge out the bank, re-mortgage their

homes. etc in time for Oasis‘ double shift at the Barras in October. Tickets are fetching up to £450 a pair on the Internet already. Some would argue that‘s somewhat overpriced.

I In a move that's a) wildly radical. b) bloody obvious or c) completely patronising. Chicago's community leaders are asking every adult and every adolescent within the city's limits to read the same thing at the same time: To Kill A Mockingbird. The idea is to draw people away from the evils of television, film and. above all, video games and promote that old-world anform literature. Lest you cynics shout. ‘That's just a marketing ploy to drum up book sales'. take note that Chicago libraries are stocking their shelves with over 4,000 copies of Harper Lee's novel about race prejudice in the Deep South. Of course. Lee's theme is why that particular book has been chosen. promoting as it does civil rights and social justice.

I So. Insider wonders. would Scotland benefit from such a scheme? Bearing in mind and insider is here going out on a limb with some guesswork Scotland's city dwellers probably read more per capita than those in America's mid-West, should we all need to read a single book together, what might that be? In consideration of the asylum seeker tragedy which blighted Glasgow last month, Insider suggests rather than the city population the

THE INSIDER Who’s getting UP to What

UK government. with its hopeless immigration policies. ought to be force fed To Kill A Mockingbird.

For Edinburgh any number of self-help books and especially those with mirrOred covers

(because they are about YOU) l should be group read to help alleviate post-Festival blues.

I In a related story, insider wonders whether any readers. either party goers stumbling home after an all-night session or those respectable types trudging towards work, had their senses assaulted last Monday morning by the aural onslaught of every phone box in Scotland ringing at once. In an effort to

f ', Irritating

revive use of ‘street kiosks' BT had 95.000 of the red buggers ring across the UK in a wave of calls starting at 8.30am in London and finishing at 10am in Scotland. Insider, furthermore wonders whether the mass ringing was followed by the mass destruction of mobile phones as city dwellers revisited their telecommunicatory roots. Probably not. Daft. BT, daft.

I Remaining on the subject of pounds sterling. Britain's Film Council has blamed income decline in the UK film industry on the threat of the actor's strike in America earlier this year. The figure for spending on films in the UK last year was £220 million as compared with this year's figure of just $75 million. Though the strike was averted, its threat caused a slump in filmmaking similar to a stockmarket crash. Confidence levels. however, are on the rise with a number of big movies going into production in the UK including Harry Potter ii, the next James Bond film and a new project to be directed by Yorkshire lad Rid/8y Scott.

The laser surgery only cost $1800 which is much

THE ouoTES ' l cheaper than over

here. Mind you,

the first class plane ticket cost £7000.’

Cilia Black lets us know that she was putting every penny away to buy herself a new pair of eyes.

‘It was a bit like having my soul sucked through my eyebaflsf

The Boosh's Julian Barratt reflects on those Metz ads.

‘For the past two years, I’ve sat and thought: every single piece of music that’s come out is a piece of shit.’

The Prodigy ’s Liam Howiett aims to put that right, presumably.

‘l’m pretty girly. I like make- up and dresses and shoes and accessories and vintage jewellery.’

Hilary Swank gives a few reasons why she won't fall into the Boys Don ’t Cry typecasting trap.

‘Let’s face it, if they call it The Dog’s Breakfast we’re all going to go.’

Mark Hamill responds to Ewan McGregor's criticism of the new Star Wars tit/e, name/y The Attack Of The Clones.

‘God is not mocked, nor his existence questioned. In many ways, family members are both defined and circumscribed by religion.’ Mark Pinsky, the author of The Gospel According To The Simpsons, sees a different show from the rest of us.

God Squadd ‘rs?