pornokitsch

Richard Morgan x 90's Fashion

 

Great quote from the man himself, poached from the comments on his own blog:

Yeah, the Croatian [Altered Carbon] is a beauty, isn't it. One of those covers that I not only like but would actively consider hanging on a wall somewhere in my home. It's also the only one to pick up on that early nineties Inuit style jacket I gave Kovacs - and I have a soft spot for that jacket because I used to own one myself. The only other person who ever picked up on that was Steph Swainston, who once asked if it was based on my own wardrobe and then, when I admitted it was, laughed like a drain

Underground Reading: Calculated Risk by Charles Eric Maine

Calculated Risk is a disaster novel written by Charles Eric Maine (David McIlwain), the dominant name in British apocalyptic fiction (well, behind Wyndham. And Wells. And...). 

Maine specialised in a specific sort of science fiction - he'd take a single scientific fact (or premise) and then extrapolate it until it reached the most dismal possible conclusion. As a result, over the course of 25 years, he destroyed the world in a thousand innovative ways.

The protagonist of Calculated Risk is Phil, a scientist from the distant future. He lives in the radioactive squalor of post-Armageddon London with his mistress, Kay. Fortunately, Phil has an escape route. Using quantum chicanery, he transports the minds of Phil and Kay into the past (1960s London). Two mid-century Londoners are brutally ejected from their own bodies, and Phil and Kay take over.

Brilliant - and quantum - so what could possibly go wrong?

Burroughs x Household Utility

   

This is a doorstop signed by William S. Burroughs.

All-PI Team

Duncan Pride, a creation of Andrew Frazer (Stephen Marlowe), was the #1 draft pick of the St. Louis Rams at Quarterback. He played one game (2 TDs thrown, plus one rushing).

Travis McGee (from John D MacDonald) played Tight End for several pro seasons.

I know there are others.

Updated:

Lew Archer (Ross MacDonald): High school football. Position unknown.

 

123

 

Graphic Novel Round-up: 1985 by Mark Millar

The profitable Mr. Millar is one of the biggest horses in the Marvel stable and a prince of the modern British invasion. Still, he hasn't done very well in Pornokitsch reviews. I like to imagine that he's furious about this. However, this little daydream has come to an end: Millar's 1985 is almost - but not quite - a work of brilliance.

Like Wanted or The Ultimates, 1985 takes place at the meta-intersection of comic books and reality. However, whereas the previous two take place in the Marvel, comic book world, 1985 takes place in our own.

Happily, Millar never gives in to the temptation to explain anything. There's a big portally thing (a glowing plothole, essentially) and a bunch of Marvel villains dive through it. Ostensibly there to 'take over', the villains immediately devote themselves to acts of senseless and horrifying destruction. 

Our hero is a kid who, alongside his deadbeat dad, realize that there's something very wrong going on (First hint: Ultron blowing up the mall). Thanks to their geeky knowledge of the Marvel universe (plus some courage + purity of heart stuff), they save the day.

Classic Covers: Commie Sex Trap by Roger Blake

Austen x Zombies

“It quickly became obvious that Jane [Austen] had laid down the blueprint for a zombie novel,” said Grahame-Smith, a television comedy writer. “Why else in the original should a regiment arrive on Lizzie Bennet’s doorstep when they should have been off fighting Napoleon? It was to protect the family from an invasion of brain-eaters, obviously.”

I'm 100% ok with this.

Classic Covers: Masters of Evolution

Happy Birthday, Mr. Darwin.

Classic Covers: The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

This is an odd one as it implies that there are other Ned Beaumont mysteries. 

Sadly, despite The Glass Key being Hammett's favorite of his books (my favorite too), this isn't true.