A New Day

Posted on April 24, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

Sorry for not making an update yesterday, revision and my pokemon game took up a lot of my time. But that’s over now. The exams are gone and I’ve nearly got another gym badge. The second year of uni is over. After I’ve handed in my dissertation proposal (sometime this week) I’ll be going into overdrive with editing and proof reading. I also plan on getting back on track with my 1000 words a day. My plan is to have the second book’s first draft done by the time I release the first one, in late June.

Last weekend I went to a comic/Sci-fi fair/market/thing in Birmingham. it was worth going. I got quite a few comics that I’ve been looking for. Near enough finished my Brubaker Captain America collection and started reading it as well. I just started the Red Menace arc, which is pretty good. Also got a few Darkness comics, which I’ve been collecting for a while. Tabby found  a two part series which is a crossover with The Darkness, Witchblade and Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. I thought it would be a good fun read. I was wrong. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever started reading. Corey Taylor (The singer from Slipknot and Stone Sour) released a comic last week as a tie in to Stone Sour’s recent two part album. It wasn’t a bad read but a little childish. Easy and enjoyable but nothing that is going to turn heads. Surprisingly it’s a better read than Stephen King’s contribution to the first five American Vampire issues. I don’t know if it’s because he is paired with Scott Snyder (One of my favourite writers) or because he can’t write comics but I’ve tried a couple of times and can’t get into his parts of the issues.

I went into HMV recently and picked up a few £2 books to read over the summer. Tender is the Night, by Fitzgerald (I love The Great Gatsby so this should be worth reading) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury because Stephen King mentioned it as a good book in a talk I watched on youtube. I’ve also got a book by Anthony Horrowitz, Raven’s Gate. The Postman Always Rings Twice is in the pile as well. I’m hoping I’m going to enjoy these books and then make a start on next years reading list. Apart from the 1500 page Romanticism poetry anthology it’s looking good next year. Alice in Wonderland more William Morris. It should be good.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

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Superman – The Birth of the Superhero

Posted on April 18, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

75 years ago today (18/04/1937) Action Comics issue one hit the stands in America, containing Superman’s first appearance. With it Action Comics #1 brought a new genre of comic book. The super-heroes. Without Superman there would have been no Batman, which was released because Superman sold so well. There would be no need for Jack Kirby and Joe Simon to create Captain America, creating Timely Comics, DC’s main competitor. There would have been no pressure on Stan Lee to make sure that Timely Comics outsold DC (Which led to it’s name change to Marvel) There would be no multi-billion dollar movie franchises based on these now widely popular characters. 

The actual inclusion of Superman was an accident. The publisher, Jack Liebowitz, wanted something to stand out on the cover of his new comic. Detective Comics, which would later serve as the home of Batman, had been in print for almost a year and sold reasonably well, but Liebowitz needed something new and exciting. It was due to time constraints that he bought a story by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. They were payed $10 a page, resulting in $130 each for their 13 page story, simply title ‘Superman’. Not only did this accident launch one of the most popular American icons of the 20th century, it also launched the super-hero comic, which would become the most dominating genre of comic up to this day. 

It’s easy to see why this comic is widely considered one of the most significant comic ever. It sold out it’s initial printing of 200,000 and Action Comics soon started selling 1 million + copies a month, leading to Superman’s own spin-of title and the creation of Batman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern to help create the super-hero genre. Today Action Comics #1 is the single most valuable issue of all time. It’s recently sold for over $2 million in auction. Very few copies are known to still exist and even fewer are in good condition. Without it my childhood wouldn’t have included these heroes that have inspired and entertained generation after generation. 

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Action Comics #1 Comic Book Resources counted down the 75 best Superman stories ever written. Surprisingly Alan Moore took the top 2 spots with “For The Man Who Has Everything” and “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.” While I’m shocked that they are considered the best Superman stories ever written it is nice to see that Alan Moore’s stories beat Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman among overs. 

Comics have inspired me in my writing more than any other form. It’s visual, constantly changing and expanding and not afraid to enter new grounds which others wouldn’t approach. Without Superman it’s unclear whether the medium would have survived to this day, but it definitely wouldn’t have been as significant. 

 

Thanks for reading, 

 

Ashley

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Exams

Posted on April 16, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

In the next week I have 2 exams and 2 essays to hand in. That’s it. It’s all over, for this year. I’m 800 words through my 2500 word essay on the double within Gothic literature. It’s going alright. I’m aiming to have another 500 words done tomorrow and then the last of it on thursday. I’ve also got my Fiction piece due in on Friday, and have only 400 words. That should be fine though. Friday is completely dedicated to Fiction.

My first exam is on Thursday and is on Modernism within Britain. We were given a list of topics and told it would be best to choose one, and include The Waste Land. It seemed stupid not to choose the poetry one so I’m focusing on The Waste Land and Ezra Pound’s Imagist poetry. I’m going to try and talk about Elliot’s Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock as well. I’m feeling alright about this one. It’s only 1 and a half hours long. I’ve proved to myself that I can write about these poems and am just going to get on with it. My big problem with the exam at the moment is that it was originally scheduled to be at 3pm. Then it was moved to 9am because of a room change. I’m happy with this change as it allows me to spend the rest of the day doing the Gothic essay. Then I get an email last week saying there could be a clash so it might be changed. That’s the last I’ve heard. I’m guessing I’m going to get another email tomorrow confirming where and when it is actually going to take place. So other than not knowing where, or when, the exam is I’m feeling pretty good about it.

Next week is going to be the biggest test of the year. Eighteenth Century 2 hour exam. Can’t wait for that to be over. 

Not really much else to say this week. Most of my time is taken up with revision and essay writing.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley.

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The Great Gatsby

Posted on April 10, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

88 years ago today, 10th April, The Great Gatsby was first published. It took Fitzgerald nearly 3 years to write and finish the novel. He was never happy with the title asked many times for it to be changed. His title changes were rejected because they were too obscure, and later because the printing process had already started.

One of the titles he suggested was Gold Hatted Gatsby. I like this title but I prefer The Great Gatsby. I’d wanted to read this book for quite a while and thought it was about a magician. (In some ways I was right, but when I tell people that, most disagree.) I first read it in my first year at A-Level. We were told to read the first chapter and no more for the first session because the teacher wanted us to discuss our thoughts on Gatsby without any of his back story or a real introduction.

It’s one of the only books that I picked up and really couldn’t put it down. I finished the first chapter and phoned a friend. They hadn’t even started it. I wanted to talk to someone about it, but couldn’t so I carried on reading. I can’t remember exactly but I think I was on about chapter 4 out of 9 by the next morning. The green light, the mystery of Gatsby, the image of the valley of ashes. Little bits of genius on near enough every page.

When it was first published, despite critical acclaim, the novel didn’t sell well. 15 years later when Fitzgerald died the New York Times described Gatsby as a novel that showed potential. A lot of the early prints remained unsold and in 1945 they were sent to troops in WW2. It took nearly 20 years for Gatsby’s reputation to grow and he finally gained recognition. 

I’ve read the book a few times now and it stands out as on of my favourites, along with Dracula, The Bell Jar and The Hobbit. I’m looking for a 5th book to add to the list, I feel like there should be a 5th one. Each of these books truly captivated me, and are the only ones that I can honestly say kept me reading until I’d finished. Some have come close, but none quite like these. The Great Gatsby is as relevant now as ever. A criticism of capitalism, the upper classes neglect of the poor and the search for a return to the past. Ultimately the book is about the desire of hope, love and happiness.  

Fitzgerald truly created a book that will continue to inspire and captivate audiences for a long time.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

 

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

 

Thanks for reading,

Ashley

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2013 – The Year of Music

Posted on April 9, 2013 by ashleymanningwriter

My new short novella is nearly finished. A couple more days to go on it. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. It’s not just way too long to put on here it’s also rather violent. I didn’t mean it to be when I started. It just fit. It’s always been about the breakdown of a teenager who has an absent parent, an alcoholic one, is lonely and bullied at school. But I didn’t plan for it to be as violent as it is. I’m happy with how it’s turning out, but I’m not sure what to do with it. I’ll decide at some point.

I came home from town today with Paramore’s new album. I’ve been waiting for this for quite a while. The first two singles are great, and I have really high hopes for the album. The problem was that I went online when I got home and found out Fall Out Boy are streaming their new album (Their first in 5 years and is due out next week) for free on their website. I’ve listened to that twice now, and Paramore is sitting their waiting. I’ll listen to it tomorrow.  If I’m not still  listening to Fall Out Boy. Their new album is great. The only bad song on it is Rat A Tat. It features Courtney Love who shouldn’t be allowed to make music anymore. She’s a very irritating individual who only makes the news when she has something bad to say about Dace Grohl. I can only think of one song that she’s made that isn’t rubbish. Even Save Rock and Roll (The last track on FOB’s new album featuring Elton John) is better than her one.

Stone Sour’s new album came out yesterday, but I’ll get that at a later point. I really want it because it folds out into a house when combined with the last album. A stupid gimmick but it works. I’m sure the album will be good, Corey Taylor rarely disappoints.

This year there are way to many new albums coming out. David Bowie, Bullet for my Valentine, (Even My Chemical Romance released 10 tracks before splitting), Palma Violets, Dave Grohl’s Sound City, Paramore and Stone Sour have already released albums.

HIM, Limp Bizkit, Queens of the Stone Age, Miles Kane, Paul McCartney, Linkin Park, Smashing Pumpkins, 30 Seconds to Mars, Obsessive Compulsive and Fall Out Boy have ones due out in the upcoming months.

There are even more rumoured ones. These are also only ones I’m interested in. I think Slash is the only one, who is still going and I like, without a new album out this year. He did have one out last year.

I told someone that I had trouble finding something to talk about this week and they told me to be topical. There is plenty to talk about. Blake’s 7 is being remade by SyFy as a 13 part series. I’ve never seen the original, and have been told not too by several people, but I’ll be interested in this one. Also I read that the recent Doctor Who has been criticised for its “element of sexuality” by the original director from 50 years ago. Maybe I’m desensitised, but I’ve not really noticed any of that in the recent series. I’ll be interested to see what others think.

Thanks for reading,

Ashley.

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