Britten and Brulightly’s Effing Weather: Pitch-Perfect Noir
Jeff VanderMeer • April 24th, 2009 @ 9:02 am • Book Reviews
I just posted a short feature on Hannah Berry’s brilliant Britten and Brulightly over at Omnivoracious. Great stuff. As usual, I think Joe Gordon at Forbidden Planet got there first, but am happy to have discovered Berry in this new US edition.
“What every great noir needs is the right atmosphere, and the sepia tones of Berry’s creation set that mood perfectly. The subtle shifts in those tones, from gray to brown to green work well with panels that contain an amazing amount of texture and detail, without ever seeming crowded.”
More images below the cut, although they don’t really do justice to the wealth of shades and nuances in the colors.
April 24, 2009 at 10:26 am
I agree, Jeff. Couldn’t have liked this more.
April 25, 2009 at 4:02 am
Oh wow, gorgeous! Will keep an eye out.
April 26, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did when the UK edition came out last year, mate. I had the pleasure of meeting Hannah in person at last August’s Edinburgh International Book Festival and she was delightful, appearing with Alan Grant and Bryan Talbot, great event (incidentally when I was asking folks for their favourite graphic novels of 2008 Britten was one of Bryan’s choices, which is quite a recommendation). And at the risk of a cheeky plug, for anyone interested there’s a wee Q&A I did with Hannah last summer on the FPI Blog: http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=7798.
April 27, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Hey, Joe–thanks for that!
Sir Tessa–it does give a large role to a tea bag, but it’s a rather negative role in the end. So those who like tea may be taken aback.