The Sleepless Ones. James Marrison. Penguin Books (2016)

A grim, engaging and very enjoyable crime story. Two murdered men are found in a remote farmhouse in the Cotswold's in England. One of the men was violently tortured, DCI Guillermo Downes leads the investigation which starts to gain traction with the discovery of some mysterious photographs. Of themselves the photographs are not sinister, they are still disturbing. The investigation moves forward and starts to uncover a very brutal history that a great deal of powerful people have a strong interest in keeping hidden. The investigation is pursued with thoughtful intelligence, DCI Downes and Seargent Graves are competent professionals. They find that the threads of the investigation lead to a unexpected story of revenge and lives damaged beyond repair or redemption. The reveals are cunningly staged and the move the story in unexpected directions and go further and further in darkness. The final sour conclusion is fitting and satisfying.
The plot mechanics are excellent, the roots of the story are revealed steadily and they provide a strong context for the violent action in the present. The scale of what is at stake is slowly revealed and the impact is powerful.James Marrison moves the narrative around in a very effective way, the first person narration by DCI Downes brings the reader into the story and the investigation. The story directly follows other cast members which creates the opportunity for greater scope in the story and provides a deeper context fopr the investigation. The cast are engaging and individual, they act with determination and energy, none are just walk on parts, the shifting narritive structure gives everyone the time and space to establish themselves in their own right.
James Marrison follows a reasonably well worn path in the story, the heart of the story is a well used idea. It is not the plot itself that counts, it is the execution and that is wonderful. The construction of the story draws in the reader further and further into the secret lives of the cast and the terrible actions they take. They layers of brutality and exploitation that are revealed are gripping, as the hidden springs of the events that lead to the horror in the farmhouse are revealed. The investigation is never helped by miracles or has to rely on coincidence, working with the evidence hard work and competent professionalism the secret history behind the photographs is pulled into the light.
James Marrison's confident writing captures the reader, allows the changes of narritive vioewpoint to work seanlessly with other without ever losing control of the thrust and force of the story.
Great crime fiction.

Knocked Out Loaded. Michael Jantze (Writer & Art). Jantze Studios Publishing (2018)

A very enjoyable, engaging and very funny Comic Art Novelty. Norman Miller is very stressed and frustrated with his life, his wife has had a miscarriage, his best friend is going out with Norm's ex girlfriend after a bitter divorce. Trying to evade his problems Norm goes skiing and has a collision with a tree. Coming to he finds that he has gained a new perspective on his life and starts to re-consider his life.Michael Jantze takes the idea of a man stepping freshly into his life and sidesteps reader expectations with deft skill to allow his wonderful cast speak for themselves.
The plot mechanics are deceptively simple, Norm and Reine are getting an opportunity to recover from the miscarriage and make decisions about their life together without the fear and frustration that was crowding them out. Ford, Norm's best friend and boss at work takes an opportunity to satisfy an urge to settle a old score. they way these two story lines wrap around each other and draw in the rest of the cast as they respond and react to the events is deeply engaging. Norm's parents-in-law respond unexpectedly, complicating Reine's relationship with them even further. Ford's actions have consequence at work for himself and Norm and draw in Norm's ex girlfriend. The action is driven by the natural and credible responses of the cast as they all try to find an equilibrium in rapidly evolving circumstances.
The cast are full of energy and life, they all demand attention from the reader and have developed personalities that shape their responses and actions. Everyone is a credible mix and mess of hopes, fears and intentions. They bring their history with them and cannot evade it. Norm causes confusion because he has stepped away from his history and others respond to this is funny and unpredictable.
The art is a joy. Michael Jantze takes full advantage of the formal framework of a comic strip and the possibilities that it has to play with the conventions. The relationship between the cast and the panels that they inhabit are managed cunningly to shift the story and the cast in very smart ways. The fact that it never feels arc or pointedly meta is a tribute to Michael Jantze's skill, Norm can break the fourth wall and still be wholly immersed in the context.
The visual jokes and set ups are executed with understated skill and superb timing, they give a depth and force to the story by delivering ideas that capture ideas in clever ways. The action is the small change of living and working, vital to those engaged it it, irrelevant to everyone else. Michael Jantze makes the detaiuls of living feel as important to the reader as they are to the cast, the emotional weight is delivered with a light touch that makes it all the more effectiove.
Knocked Out Loaded is a great comic, clever, superbly drawn and thought out, vey funny and with something to say about the importance of the ordinary.

The Emperor. Ryszard Kapuściński (Writer), William R. Brand, Katarzyna Mrczkowska-Brand (Translation). Penguin Classics (2006)

A remarkable, engaging and astounding book about the way the Emperor of Ethiopia ruled and fell from power. After the revolution that removed Halie Selassie from power, Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński sought out the surviving staff from the imperial place to hear their stories about imperial life and its decline and fall.
Their description of a closed world is vivid, detailed and full of insight into the mechanics that sustained and finally doomed it. Halie Selassie never leaned to read or write and that was probably a strategic decision, it created degree of ambiguity which he exploited to the full to control and govern. The whole system of government was a series of interlocking pieces that all depended on him and kept those around him in a perpetual state of enmity and faction which prevented anyone combining against him.
The survivors understood deeply the mechanics of the Palace and how power was maintained, they agreed with the process and actively participated in it. They had to, their own position on the ice flow of the Imperial household depended on how successfully they engaged with and supported the process.
The description of the start of a regular day as the Emperor strolled about while being briefed by the three people who were responsible to finding out what everyone else was up to is a classic of managing power by ensuring that everyone was wondering what the other had said to the Emperor. By remaining the only one who knew everything, Halie Selassie kept all off balance and clinging to his favour.
The most extraordinary job in the household was held by the man who had to place the pillow beneath the feet of the Emperor when he sat on a throne. There were a multitude of thrones all over the country, one in every place the Emperor might visit, all were slightly different and so required a different pillow to ensure the imperial dignity was correctly maintained. This man knew the exact height of each throne and had a pillow ready for each one and the skill to put it in place at exactly the right moment. This was not done with any sarcastic intent or recollection, the absolute necessity of the pillow and the timing are explained and the joy in his expertise is evident.
The description of the effect on the neck of anyone honoured by the Emperor is a gem capturing the absurdity of seniors with humour and sharp detail, the impact of being thrown out of favour is equally caught with sharp wit.
The slow disintegration of the regime is detailed by those who knew it was happening and found themselves cling ever more desperately to the Emperor as they saw no future outside of the palace. They understood that the fatal problem was that the rule of the Emperor had to be absolute, it could not manage compromise or accommodation, the first crack was the last one. It would just be a matter of time and the details of the slow demolition are full of rueful hindsight and reflection.
There is very little nostalgia in the accounts, they miss the work and structure of their work, work they understood and took pride in. 
Ryszard Kapuściński places the interviews in the context of post revolutionary Ethiopia with deft skill and telling detail.The translation from Polish by William R. Brand,Katarzyna Mrczkowska-Brand is transparent, the voices of the survivors are individual and clear.
Simply put, a brilliant book.

Afterglow. Pat Shand (Writer), K.Lynn Smith (Art), Jim Campbell (Letters). Space Between Entertainment (2018)

An enjoyable and engaging comic. An event called The Glowing devastated the human population of the earth and fundamentally altered the animals. The world now glows with dangerous beautiful colours. The survivors have gathered together in settlements to try reestablish themselves in the changed world. Lacey, a young woman, lives in a settlement, Lacey's mother had seen the beauty in the Glowing and the new world and Lacey does the same. This puts her at odds with the rest of the settlement who see danger not beauty. When Lacey sees the sign of an impending new event she finds the conflict with the settlers grows more intense. Lacey leaves the settlement with her enormous cat, Afterglow and heads into the woods outside  the settlement. Her adventures develop nicely and come to a satisfactory conclusion.
The story has a big awkward problem that Pat Shand resolves as much as possible, he is severely limited by the story framework he has chosen. The problem is that being right is not enough in fiction or real life. Afterglow takes a position that being right is enough and that seriously undermines the dramatic tension and force of the story. Lacey is right about the impending problem and she is very quick to tell everyone both, she is also an almighty pain in the head. Whiny and deeply self righteous she has no time or space for anyone else, they have no room or right to have a different opinion from hers because she is right. The rest of the people in the settlement are dowdy , ungrateful  foils to her colourful righteousness. If being right is enough it is a justification for being as selfish as Lacey is, as unwilling to make any effort to understand a different point of view and as willing to flout the rules and norms of the settlement with a vocal disapproval and angry resentment. Unfortunately this reduces the potential for drama as there is only one character and a bunch of props.
When Lacey leaves the settlement the problem follows along beside her as she arrives at the anti-settlement full of wisdom and colour where she is recognised as being right which is as problematic in dramatic terms as the situation she left behind.
It is the writing that takes place away from the core problem of being right and unwilling to recognise the fact that yelling is a very poor way to convince anyone that Pat Shand's talent shines and the story quietly and deeply engages the reader. Lacey's relationship with Afterglow is warm, loving and heartfelt. Off her soapbox Lacey is an engaging character who has space for someone else. Her crush on one of the girls in the settlement is understated and a nicely done. The rest of the cast are pretty functional, they serve a purpose without ever being someone. The plot mechanics gives everyone enough action to justify their place in the story.
K.Lynn Smiths gorgeous art brings the reader into the story and smooths over the rough edges of the plot nudges to allow the more engaging aspects to the story shine. Lacey is given a tremendous energy and life that do a lot to counterbalance her selfishness. The new colourful world is realised with subtle skill, the colouring creates emotional tones that lifts the story, capturing and bringing out the details of the location and the cast.
Jim Campbell's letters are understated and fit so naturally into the flow of the story they never call attention to themselves.
Afterglow has a beating heart, it is a bit hidden but well worth reading to feel it.