Interzone #165 John Christopher interview (2001)

Title – Interzone #165 John Christopher interview
Interviewer – Paul Brazier Publisher - Interzone / David Pringle
Format - Magazine
Year - 2001
Original Cost – £3.00 (Cost me £1 in Oxfam)

I've read a few books by John Christopher and have a few more sitting on the shelf waiting.  He's a great writer and a really important contributor to the British science fiction genre and children's fiction generally.  Despite that I realised I knew very little about the man himself so when thumbing through a box of old Interzone magazines in a charity shop, this was the one that jumped out at me.

Its a long interview conducted at Christopher's home and over a pub lunch.  He's quite candid and honest about his career and what becomes clear through out, is that he's a prolific wordsmith and a grafter.  Of course John Christopher isn't his real name but rather just the most popular of at least 8 pseudonyms employed by Sam Youd during his long career.

At the end of the interview we are presented with a list of all of Christopher's published works and the names under which they were penned.  There's approximately 60 titles featured although its by no means exhaustive. There may be other titles yet to be added and its doubtful even the author could name everything he had written or published.  In his early days he was writing four books a year for every one that got published, apparently.  Given the quality of his work, adding such a dynamic work ethic into the equation only makes him more admirable and worthy of greater respect.

There are a few other related features in the magazine that look interesting; a short story by Christopher being the top of the list.  Its a nice treasury and tribute to the man and his work and although I'm not sure that giving interviews was ever his favorite thing, he's as open and honest as you could hope.

Overall its a good potted history of how publishing worked back in the day as well as what it took to make a living in the industry.  I've got a few new titles to add to my wish list and it even taught me a new word into the bargain.

That word was; Prolix.  upon which note, ill take my leave.

Until next time

Steve

Hellblazer #85 to #88 (1995)

Title – Hellblazer #85 to #88 - Warped Notions
Author – Eddie Campbell / Sean Phillips
Publisher - DC Vertigo
Format - Comic Book (4-part story)
Year - 1995
Original Cost – $1.95

This is a curious story that I initially felt blended into the run quite nicely but on rereading turns out to be something of a curates egg. We start with John invited to perform an exorcism, that not only ends badly but also with the realization that the victim was not actually possessed but was being used as a prophet for the forthcoming apocalypse.

Enter the ghost of Sir Francis Dashwood, the cat demon Murnarr and the blind and "armless" - as in a Venus De Milo kind of way - Bona Dea.  Strange things are afoot in the world; random acts of the bizarre as urban legends begin to play out for real.  Accepted reality is coming undone but with John Constantine's help, Dashwood has a plan to fix it all by circling the globe to stop the unraveling with binding magics.

What follows feels less plotted than stumbled over.  The ghost of Benjamin Franklin pops up for a chat and little else,  The Church of Virtual Reality kidnap John for reasons unknown and we crash land in Australia for a spark of Aboriginal magic and a few drinks in an outback bar... until the true antagonist reveals himself and is swiftly and quite easily dealt with.

A breakneck pace and Sean Phillips artwork are what mainly hold the whole thing to together but it somehow feels light and empty.  Paradoxically I actuality think it would have been better to have told the story over a larger run of comics and used the space to build character and tension. As it is, it has all the trappings of a good Hellblazer story but not the inner workings.

Part 1 - The Delicate Power of Terror

Part 2 - The Everything Virus

Part 3 - The Shout

Part 4 - Mountain of Madness

I'll throw out a quick bonus point for name-checking The Shout, a 1978 film about a man that has learned the Aboriginal Killing shout as mentioned and shown within the pages of part 3.  I didn't know of the film myself back in 95 but its nice to see one influence the other and carry the ideas across into further story telling.

Steve

Hellblazer #84 (1994)

Title – Hellblazer #84 - In Another Part of Hell
Author – Jamie Delano / Sean Phillips
Publisher - DC Vertigo
Format - Comic Book (single issue story)
Year - 1994
Original Cost – $1.95

This issue begins my favorite run of Hellblazer and not only because its where I first jumped on board but because it constantly riffs off so many of my favorite tropes and interests. Its also as funny as it is dark and as surprising as it is familiar. When I first read it in 94 I not only committed to the ongoing series but also picked up all the back issues.  There was a risk rereading it all these years later that it might not stand up or feel as vital as it once did.  If anything I enjoyed it even more and it remains a fantastic stand alone issue that just nails who the character is and the world he moves in.

John Constantine returns from Haiti after some unseen adventure and is collected from the airport by Chas, London Cabbie and his long suffering friend. Chas drops John off round his home while he goes to collect his daughter and her newborn baby from the hospital.  With time on his hands John recalls the first occasion he came to the house, when he lodged with Chas and his mother Queenie, 20 years prior. Which all sound nice and straight forward except this is Hellblazer so everything is a little more dark and twisted than it should be.

Chas' mother is a monstrous domineering old witch, bed-bound and alcoholic with a lusty chimpanzee familiar called Slag who is equally vile.  The ape parades around in a blond wig and red dress, smoking, drinking and torturing Chas at every opportunity and most probably at his own mother's request. And now the pair think to target John for the same treatment.

At this point in his life Constantine has only really dabble in the occult but he decides to intervene and free Chas from the tyranny by seducing the ape in order to get to Queenie.

I'll say no more about what transpires and how it all concludes but you do come away from the story with the certainty that John Constantine is not your traditional comic book hero and he'll do just about whatever it takes to win.

It feels like the right time to work through the whole of this run of stories and to revisit  what now feels like very formative storytelling.  I was drawn to this particular comic and its main character because it resonated with me some 27 years ago and still does today.  It will be interesting to see what still stands up, what's been lost to the decades and if I discover anything this time around that I missed the first.

Next up; a 4 parter written by Eddie Campbell and then after that the powerhouse of Paul Jenkins and Sean Phillips.

Steve