You have to make an effort to escape Harry Potter. Decades after the publication of the first book, the setting is still going strong. And, like many big franchises, it is riddled with steam- and dieselpunk elements. Which is what we are going to talk about today.
Continue reading “A Wizarding World Full of ‘Punk”Hilde Heyvaert
Hilde Heyvaert has been a first-hour contributor to Never Was and its previous incarnations. She primarily writes about fashion and other creative aspects of dieselpunk and steampunk. Hilde also writes for The Rising Suns Gazette, formerly known as BCM.
Space Sweepers
Space Sweepers is an action-packed science-fiction adventure that combines elements from other beloved spacefaring franchises, such as Star Wars, Firefly and Guardians of the Galaxy.
In the not too distant future, Earth is dying, humanity under the influence of an evil mastermind and UTS company CEO (never a good idea to let big tech get too much power!) James Sullivan has moved to Mars. The tiny percentage of people who have been allowed to join him live in a new Eden. The rest are left to rot and live in squalor and permanent debt on Earth or in non-citizen space towns.
Enter the motley crew of the salvage ship Victory, each with their own pasts and reasons to hate UTS, and one special little girl who holds the key to literal salvation.
Continue reading “Space Sweepers”Adventureman
Adventureman is the graphic novel pulp-loving readers were waiting for.
It has grand adventures (obviously), dashing heroes, ghosts, magic, science and interesting villains. It’s a perfect combination of a forgotten past and a remembering present, and never have I ever seen a title “The End and Everything After” that was both so self-explanatory and giving away nothing at the same time.
At least, not until you start reading and the story unfolds.
Continue reading “Adventureman”Lady Mechanika, Volume 6: Sangre
Lady Mechanika‘s sixth volume (chronologically the seventh), Sangre, disappoints and delights.
As always, the storyline is fantastic. The supernatural theme from Volume 5 (review here) is continued, but with a whole other manner of creature on the opposing side. You don’t need to have read the previous volume to understand the events of Sangre, although I recommend reading the chronologically first story of the series, La Dama de La Muerte (review here).
This edition switches between prologue events taking place 500 years before the story of Sangre, drawn by Joe Benitez and Martin Montiel, and the main storyline, drawn by Brian Ching.
Ching is by no means a bad artist. Its just that he’s not in the same league as Benitez and Montiel. And it shows. You see some of the story’s antagonists in the prologue, and they are much cooler; Lady Mechanika is so much more stunning. Their art is just better.
It’s disappointing, after six volumes of a beloved comic starring a much beloved character, to see the world and its inhabitants portrayed in a different manner that isn’t as pleasing as the original. But that is my only gripe.
Continue reading “Lady Mechanika, Volume 6: Sangre”Lady Mechanika, Volume 5: La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Lady Mechanika returns for a search into her mysterious past. This time, she finally has a few resounding clues thanks to the help of her close friends and allies, Archibald Lewis and Inspector Singh. As was to be expected, the search is difficult at best and perilous at worst. To top it all off, Mr Lewis finds himself in a spot of mortal trouble.
The chronological sixth volume in the series does not disappoint. The art, which has always been stunning, gets even more beautiful in this one. The new villains are splendid, as are the recurring characters. The story is magnificent and I personally can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Continue reading “Lady Mechanika, Volume 5: La Belle Dame Sans Merci”The Alienist, Season 2
Dr Lazlo Kreisler and his friends (most of them anyway) return to search for a sinister killer of infants in turn-of-the-century New York.
Much like Season 1 (our review here), sordid affairs hidden by members of the upper class and the — often corrupt and incompetent — police are a big part of the setting and storyline. Unlike Season 1, this does not meet expectations, which, after a strong start, were incredibly high.
Continue reading “The Alienist, Season 2”
Warhol: The American Dream Factory
Andy Warhol, the King of Pop Art, is one of the best-known artists of the twentieth century: an advertisement mogul, creator extraordinaire and mentor to equally famed and fabled artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Even if you’re not familiar with Warhol’s art, you will likely have heard of him and recognize his fabled soup can illustration.
The La Boverie museum in Liège, Belgium has delved deeper than soup cans and portraits of Marilyn Monroe and set up a marvelous expo covering all decades of Warhol’s life and the work he produced in those times. Making Warhol: The American Dream Factory a must-visit (in as far as possible) for fans of modern and midcentury art.
Continue reading “Warhol: The American Dream Factory”Dexter & Sinister: Detecting Agents
This story takes place in Hammersmythe, where the rich are rich and those that aren’t struggle to make their way in life. One of the latter is John Sinister, down on his luck and sleeping on his sister’s couch.
Until he is asked by a wealthy family, whose children he used to be friends with, to look into the death of their eldest son. Determined to get to the truth about his friend’s death, John sets out on a chase involving murder, espionage, mechanical marvels and… a talking cat!
Continue reading “Dexter & Sinister: Detecting Agents”Everyday Fashions of the Fifties
For the final installment in our fashion history catalogue book series, we are examining the pages of the era that is probably best known when people think about retro fashion: the 1950s.
When 50s fashion is mentioned, most will think of pin-up styles, sexy tops and pencil skirts, victory roll hairdos and big circle skirts. And greasers à la James Dean and Mutt Williams.
Or skirts with poodle appliqués and cute little cardigans, in soft pinks and whites and pastels of movies such as Grease.
If that is your view of the 50s, and you were hoping to find page after page of the such styles, you might find this book well, a little disappointing, because it will set you straight in no time.
Continue reading “Everyday Fashions of the Fifties”Everyday Fashions of the 1940s
If you have studied the pages of the volumes of previous decades in this Fashion History series, you will find that this book is the least varied. That is because the 1940s were pretty fashion-stable. There were changes in the silhouette for both men and women during the period, but nothing like the dramatic shifts of 20s and 30s.
Nonetheless, if you are into World War II-era fashion, this is definitely a visual companion worth adding to your collection.
Continue reading “Everyday Fashions of the 1940s”