The Tesla Legacy
Robert G. Barrett
HarperCollins
420 pages

A non-Les Norton novel from prolific Aussie crime novelist Bob Barrett, The Tesla Legacy reads like a print version of a Hollywood action blockbuster, but with the lead roles taken over by a knockabout blue-singlet type (laconic Newcastle electrician Mick Vincent) and his you-beaut sheila, bookstore owner Jesse Osbourne.

While looking for a part for his restored 1936 Buick, Mick finds a diary belonging to real-life inventive genius Nikola Tesla that suggests Tesla built a hidden doomsday device during a secret expedition to Australia in the 1920s, and he and Jesse set out to find it. While they unravel clues that lead them into regional New South Wales, they are unaware that the Pentagon has caught wind of their investigation and will go to any lengths to ensure that the Tesla Legacy remains undiscovered.

Written in a distinctively ocker voice (which unfortunately sometimes carries over to the American characters) and spiced up with occasional extreme violence, this armchair thriller is a page-turner, even if the ending is a bit of a cop-out.

Owen Heitmann

ā€™77: The Year Of Punk & New Wave
Henrik Bech Poulsen
(Helter Skelter Publishing)
382 pages

There are a plethora of books available about the punk movement, but ā€™77 manages to find a unique perspective on the phenomenon by focusing almost exclusively on the year of 1977. It begins by setting the scene and documenting the musical revolution that occurred when those two sevens clashed, and also features several pages worth of quotes from original 1977 punks about the cause that they were a part of. But the bulk of the book, and its raison dā€™etre, is a comprehensive, heavily illustrated list of every punk or new wave group from the UK and Ireland that released a record during the titular year. (And the meticulous scope is clearly defined ā€“ for example, although Siouxsie And The Banshees were active in 1977, they donā€™t get an entry, because they didnā€™t release a record that year.)

Each artist gets their own entry with a biography (ranging up to several pages for the better known groups) and discography focusing purely on 1977, with potted details about subsequent years/releases. As such, this is a goldmine for record collectors and trainspotters ā€“ but the wealth of background details revealed make it interesting even for those who donā€™t need to know, for instance, that 999ā€™s Nasty Nasty 7ā€¯ was released in three different versions (black vinyl, green vinyl and a gimmick promo spinning at 78rpm, if you were wondering). Admittedly, Poulsenā€™s style is often clumsy (this is his first book) but his obvious enthusiasm for the subject is both endearing and contagious.

Owen Heitmann

The Making Of A Graphic Novel
Prentis Rollins
(Watson-Guptill)
168 pages

This is actually a flipbook ā€“ on one side you get Prentis Rollinsā€™ original 96 page graphic novel(ette) The Resonator, while on the other is a step-by-step guide by the author through the creative process that brought the story into being.

The Resonator itself is an interesting although not essential sci-fi story with an intriguing twist, boasting intricate (while perhaps a little staid) art. The ā€?how-toā€¯ part of the book is detailed and informative, and is just as applicable to standard comic books as it is to the recently trendy graphic novel field. It features a sound run through the tasks of pencilling, inking and lettering, as well as a look at the writing process, which many similar books give short shrift. The ability to relate each step to the finished product is a particularly useful touch.

This is a valuable guide for the beginning comic artist, and its depth means thereā€™s bound to be a few insights even for a professional.

Owen Heitmann

99 Ways To Tell A Story: Exercises In Style
Matt Madden
(Jonathan Cape/Random House)
208 pages

Inspired by Raymond Queneauā€™s 1947 publication Exercises In Style, which told one story in a variety of different text styles (in haiku, as a telegram, etc), Madden here applies a similar process to the comics medium with fascinating results. Beginning with a simple one-page comic detailing a (rather mundane) household incident, Madden proceeds to retell the story using myriad different approaches ā€“ aping specific cartoonists (George Herriman, Jack Kirby) and formats (superhero comic, daily newspaper strip), employing different art styles (minimalist, silhouette), changing the perspective (using isometric projection, having a single horizon), and even telling the story in the form of a map or a page of advertisements. While not engrossing when read from start to finish, as a text illustrating the different possibilities available within even the simplest narrative, 99 Ways To Tell A Story is definitely thought-provoking.

Owen Heitmann

I Have A Bed Made Of Buttermilk Pancakes
Jaclyn Moriarty
(Picador Pan Macmillan Australia)
420 pages

Jaclyn Moriartyā€™s first adult novel after two childrenā€™s books is a delight to read; her effervescent prose is filled with an almost tangible joie de vivre. Description is difficult: a playful approach to the chronology of events renders a linear summary of what happens in the book nearly pointless. Suffice it to say that the story follows the interwoven threads of the lives of several quirky female members of the extended Zing family over the course of a year, as their strange Zing Family Secret slowly unravels (and is equally slowly revealed to the reader). The bookā€™s subtitle calls it ā€?a fairytale for grownupsā€¯, and there is constant confusion between the real and the fantastical - itā€™s set in a Sydney where it snows, and where peopleā€™s lives seem dictated by a small childā€™s spell book. Itā€™s a thoroughly enjoyable and funny novel; light-hearted but not lightweight.

Owen Heitmann

(Moriarty later revised I Have A Bed Made Of Buttermilk Pancakes as a novel for Young Adult readers and it was republished under the title The Spell Book Of Listen Taylor.)

The Dark Horse Book Of Witchcraft
Various writers and artists, Edited by Scott Allie
Dark Horse Publishing
96 pages

This hardback anthology is a collection of seven comics and one illustrated short story exploring various interpretations of the titular subject. The Hellboy piece is, as usual, the highlight ā€“ Mike Mignola continues to refine the storytelling potential of sequential art, and his pacing is a delight to behold. Editor Scott Allieā€™s contribution (with regular collaborators Paul Lee and Brian Horton) is typically open-ended, while Evan Dorkinā€™s story about talking dogs saving the world from a coven of witches ups the cuteness factor, thanks especially to Jill Thompsonā€™s art. The short story is an unexpurgated piece by pulp writer Clark Ashton Smith, with classic-style illustrations by Gary Gianni, and thereā€™s also a lengthy interview with genuine Wiccan High Priestess Phyllis Curott to counter the stereotypes portrayed in the book. Tony Millionaireā€™s excerpted adaptation of Macbeth may be a weak opener, but on the whole itā€™s still a more fulfilling collection than IDWā€™s similar Tales of Terror book.

Owen Heitmann

The Zombie Survival Guide
Max Brooks
(Three Rivers Press)
254 pages

Max Brooksā€™ po-faced book (which complements the recent widespread revival of interest in zombies in movies and popular culture) takes the zombie threat very seriously indeed, beginning by describing the living dead phenonema and pin-pointing the cause as a virus called solanum (rather than voodoo or other supernatural forces), before meticulously examining the best weapons to use against the undead. The book then follows a detailed analysis of various strategies for either fighting or fleeing zombie outbreaks of various levels of severity, with frequent references to ā€?real lifeā€™ examples.

The title may conjure up expectations of hilarity, but Brooks plays it all perfectly straight and joke-free, with the laughs coming from the straight-faced nature of the parody, and to be honest the going gets a bit tedious after a while ā€“ although the earnest style occasionally makes the nightmarish scenarios seem all too convincing.

As with the best zombie material, however, there are some pointed comments on our own modern society.

Owen Heitmann