Richard Sharpe Shaver: Some Stones Are Ancient Books

 

Richard Sharpe Shaver: Some Stones Are Ancient Books

"The Mysterious Underground Men" by Osamu Tezuka, edited by Ryan Holmberg (PictureBox)

ISBN: 978-1-939799-09-8 PictureBox

"The Mysterious Underground Men" by Osamu Tezuka, edited by Ryan Holmberg (PictureBox)

Osamu Tezuka is not only a manga comic god, but more important, a genius with ties to the Western tradition of comics as well.    "The Mysterious Underground Men" is a youth's tale of adventure, science and criminals.  The beauty of this story is that it is almost like a feverish mixture of criminals and sci-fi villains - all in one story.   Tezuka wrote and drew this manga in the late 1940s and what is fascinating to me is his positive attitude towards the wonder of science and what it can bring to mankind.  On the other hand, and only a few years when he wrote this manga, the atomic bomb killed thousands.  Yet, somewhere in his psyche, he looks up to science and the good that is human.  Yet, death lurks within the narrative, and he was perhaps one of the first manga writers for kids (later he wrote for adults) who introduce characters that will tragically die in the narrative. 

This beautifully designed book (like all titles published by PictureBox) is faithful to the tradition of the Japanese manga, but also brings in the retro look of that era into the packaging and design.  On top of that, the editor Ryan Holberg, in his introduction, brings in the influence of the 1930s serial Flash Gordon as well as comics like Blondie and various Walt Disney cartoons/comics as well.  Tezuka took all of this in, and in an essence, made a giant pot of soup, which is basically this manga.  "The Mysterious Underground Men" is a silly plot, yet what adventure is not basically silly. It's the imagination at work, and Tezuka like the professor or engineer in this story, can cook up the ultimate adventure yarn.  Excellent book. 

"The Final Programme" by Michael Moorcock

Published by Allison & Busby, 1965

"The Final Programme"  by Michael Moorcock (Allison & Busby)

A Jerry Cornelius novel!   The first in the series.  Perhaps even a British comic strip as well as a film.  No, I never heard of the series, or of Jerry Cornelius, till very recently.  Written by the noted science fiction author Michael Moorcock, this novel reminds me very much of the works by Terry Southern.  They both share an anti-everything approach to life, as well as being very much part of the 1960s culture.   In fact, "The Final Programme" could have 'only' have been written in the 60s.   This 1965 novel is very much a snapshot of its time and has a strong sense of placement, which is London.  

Cornelius is an assassin, that resembles a secret agent, and if he lived in a real life or of course in a fantasy world, he would have known about Barbarella.   He lives in Notting Hill London, and has various transportation machines - boats, cars, etc. In this novel, he battles his brother Frank, and eventually, and of course, things happen.  The main villain is a certain Miss Brunner, and ....  Well, you have to read the novel. 

The book is very dated. Yet that is part of the charm of reading it in 2016.   Here, you get a perspective of Swinging London circa 1965, as well as perhaps an early image of a David Bowie - a character that perhaps Moorcock had a hand in.   For those who love Emma Peel, John Steed, The Prisoner, and the Man from U.N.C.L.E. - this is the novel for you.  

A Real Copy of RED GRASS by Boris Vian (translated by Paul Knobloch) and designed by Mark Holley

As a publisher I'm so thrilled to be putting out Boris Vian's Science Fiction noir "Red Grass."  Translated by Paul Knobloch.  Introduction by Marc Lepprand.  Book Design by Mark Holley.

I just received an advanced copy from the printers and it is on route to D.A.P./Art Books warehouse and soon to your hands.   More information shortly!

- Tosh Berman, TamTam Books.