www.|ist.co.uk/books
Events
Events are listed by date, then city. Submit listings at least ten days before publication to suzanne.blaclt@llst.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Suzanne Black.
Thursday 1 7
Glas ow
FRI Ray Evans and Wendy Miller Borders Books. 98 Buchanan Street. 222 7700. 7pm. Readings and book signings by these two poets.
Edinburgh
FREE In a Different Light Scottish Poetry Library. 5 Crichton's Close. Canongate. 557 2876. Until Sat l9 Jul. Mon—Fri l lam—6pm; Sat 1—5pm: cl Sun. A last chance to see this exhibition of new works exploring short phrases. comprising hand-bound books. cards and screen-prints from Julie .lohnstone‘s Essence Press imprint.
FREE New Zealand Calling Word Power Bookshop. 43 West Nicolson Street. 662 9] 12. 7pm. Pat Rosier. lesbian feminist. author and editor of New Zealand's feminist broadsheet reads and discusses her work.
Saturday 1 9
Edinburgh
FREE Printers’ Devils Wanted! National Library of Scotland. George [V Bridge. 623 4675. 10.30am 8; 1.30pm. A drop-in letterpress printing workshop led by Robert Smail's Printing Works. Don't worry — a ‘printer’s devil' is a printer's gpsrentice and nothing occult.
IE Super Saturday Story Time with Vivian French Waterstone's. 128 Princes Street. 226 2666. 4pm. Vivian French reads from some of her books. including Singing In the Sun: (1 Fairy Tale. followed by a signing.
Edinburgh
FREE Book Crossing Meet-up National Library of Scotland. George IV Bridge. 623 3845. l—2pm. Turn on. tune in and trade up! Bring along works of fiction by Scottish authors to swap them for another. after a lively debate.
FREE The Genesis Rock National Library of Scotland. George [V Bridge. 623 4675. 7pm. NLS writer in residence Peter Amott reads a rudely comic tale of religious conversion as an American astronaut discovers God after a trip to the
Wednesday 23
Edinburgh
Storytelling Cafe Scottish Storytelling Centre. 43—45 High Street. 556 9579. 7pm. £3. Storytelling. music and song in a relaxed cafe atmosphere.
Edinburgh
FREE Samuel Smiles and Self- help Books National Library of Scotland. George [V Bridge. 623 4675. 6—8pm. Take a look at some historical words of wisdom with nick-e melville then try your hand at writing your own self-help tome.
Edinburgh
Guid Crack Club Waverley Bar. 1 St Mary‘s Street. 556 9579. 7.30pm. £3 donation. Edinburgh‘s monthly storytelling club welcomes all to listen or contribute to the spinning of yarns. A delightful evening of words and song.
Saturday 26
Edinbur h FR Jeffrey Deaver Waterstone's. 128 Princes Street. 226
32 THE LIST 17—31 Jul 2008
2666. l2.30pm. 'I‘he bestselling American author who wrote The Bone (til/error launches his latest book. The Broken ll'r'mloii'. a crime thriller about identity theft and quadriplegic forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme.
Readers Day Scottish Book 'I‘rtist. Sandeman House. 'l‘nrnks (lose. 55 High Street. 556 9579. 2~6pm. £8 (1.5). An afternoon of workshops. advice and bookswapping with an appearance from Anne Donovan (author of Build/iii Du). Booking advised.
Edinburgh
FREE Book Group \Vatet‘stoitc‘s. ('ameron 'I’oll Shopping ('entre. 6 Lady Road. 666 l866. 5 6pm. A regular book group meeting on the last Sunday of every month. There are two books to get through this month: (‘arolly lirickson's The Last ll'i/i' (if-[It’lll't' VIII and Xiaoltt (iuo‘s (‘uneis‘e ('lriltes'e-ling/[sh I)i'cri'oiiuijvfiir [,(rt'el's. (‘ontact the branch for more information.
Tuesday 29
Glas ow
F'E Abi Titmuss Borders Books. 98 Buchanan Street. 222 7700. 12.30pm. the glamour girl who rose from the ashes of John Leslie's career-ending criminal charges reveals her titilating autobiography. The Secret Diaries of Abigail 'Iitniuss.
Edinburgh
FREE Fanzines: Popular Culture and Creativity National library of Scotland. George W Bridge. 623 4675. 7pm. ('hris Atton takes a look at music oriented fan/.incs and thier place within the field of cultural writings. Booking required.
Wednesday 30
Edinburgh
FREE The Songs of Robert Tannahill National Library of Scotland. George W Bridge. 623 4675. 7pm. The 18th century Paisley weaver Robert 'l‘annahill wrote over 100 songs. l)r l-‘rcd Freeman takes a look at this lesser-know it hard and gives mtisical examples from his own forthcoming ('l). Booking is required.
Glas ow
* EE Laura Mamey \Vatcrstonc's. l53 l57 Sauchichall Street. 332 9l05. 6.30 8pm. The Scottish
best-selling author of the brilliantly-titlcd i'VuINn/y Lures (1 (finger Baby (and alumnus of Glasgow t'niversity's .\ll.itt in (‘reative Writing) drops in to talk about her newest work of fiction. .l'lv lies! Friend Hus Issues.
Comics
SUPER VILLAIN
ALAN MOORE & BRIAN BOLLAND Batman: The Killing Joke
(DC) ooooo
New blockbuster Dark Knight is all about the Joker. At first glance he's almost a comedy character. but in the right hands he can be genuiner terrifying. As a character. The Joker represents insanity at its worst; a gibbering maniac who only finds humour in terror. violence and death. A twisted intellect who can't help but give into his inner urges.
in perhaps the definitive Joker story Alan Moore gives us one of the most compelling character studies in comics that perfectly demonstrates the yin and yang of Batman and the Joker's relationship. Essentially two sides of the same coin. they manifest their psychoses in extreme polar opposition. a concept that deftly explores how light or dark can only must in relation to one another.
The art from Brian Bolland is the very definition of crisp and clean, in fact. he hasn't drawn a comic written by any other writer since. saying in his afterword here 'when you've worked wrth the best. anything else would seem like a step backward'. givmg us the perfect encapsulation of the clown prince of crime.
However. the new colour scheme from Bolland (supplanting John Higgins' original colouring) does lack some of the \/lV|(i lurid edge present in Higgins'. Imagine a director's cut where new. superfluous material is added. slowing down the pace
and robbing it of its visceral punch. But this is easily tip there in the top ten comics ever written. so an essential read in any format. (Henry Northmore)
SUPER VILLAIN MICHAEL GREEN & DENYS COWAN
Batman: Lovers and Madmen
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The main problem with lovers and Madmen is that in many ways it is contradictory to the events iii The Killing Joke (which have become accepted as the origin story to the Joker over the years).
It depicts the Joker as far more callous and evrl. but let's be honest. comic characters are always getting rewrites (how many versions of Batman's origin have you read over the years. with each writer adding their own spin to the mythology/2). This is a hard bitten crime iioir With sharp angular art. however, the changes make the Joker more of a one-note Villain and rob him of the subtle nuances of his fractured psyche that have been introduced since the landmark Ki/li/ig Joke. (Henry Northmore)
SUPfH Vll lAIN VARIOUS Superman: Emperor Joker
(DC) O
Despite an impressive writing team including Jeph Loeb. .JM Delvlatteis and Hi lvchuinness lf'nroeror Joker is a mess. lhis time. Superman takes on the harlequin of hate in a realitywarping tale as the Joker takes: on God like powers. At; With all these tales of extreme magical manipulation. it's hard to find any narrative to cling to. Events blink in and out of eXistence —
one minute Superman is turned into a dog. two panels later he's fine again. When anything can happen it's hard to care about anything that does happen.
Also. calling this collection Emperor Joker ruins a big reveal at the end of chapter four (the original stories were published as ‘Superman Arkham' until chapter five). Slapdash humour and merely perfunctory art just add up to a thoroughly unsatisfying read.
(Henry Northmore)
DVD
BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS
(12) 75 mins (\i'Varner Home Video) .0.
1...... _
Intended to fill the gaps between Batman Begins and [Dark Knight. Got/7g iii Knights offers us six animated shorts. much in the same way as lhe Anirnatrix did for lhe i‘vfarrix. Each story is self-contained and created by a different writer (including Greg Hucka. Jonah Nolan and Brian A//arello) and animation team, but collected. they add up to create one unified \.'.'ho|e.
they capture the mood of both the comics and the recent films. and while some are better than others they are all entertaining, With appearances from the likes; of Killer Croc. Dead Shot and the Scarecrow. (Henry Northmore)