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Apollo // The Beatles: Yellow SubmarineW W W.SCI FI N OW.CO.U K Get in touch @SciFiNow /SciFiNowGet in touch @SciFiNow /SciFiNowGet in touch @SciFiNow /SciFiNow |^093
APOLLO THE BEATLES:
YELLOW SUBMARINEBack to
the starsAnd our friends
are all aboard★★★★★Out Of Nothing
Daniel Locke &
David Blandy
A heady exploration of the development of human thought.IF YOU LIKE THIS TRY...
★★★★★Baby's In Black: The Story Of Astrid Kirchherr &
Stuart Sutcliffe
Arne Belstorf
A Beatles-related biography.IF YOU LIKE THIS TRY...the stars THE BEATLES:
YELLOW SUBMARINEsuited for the project. His
fl exible style confi dently moves
from detailed photorealistic
drawings of the Apollo
spacecraft and crew to looser,
poetic sequences, such as when
Michael Collins, left adrift in
space as Armstrong and Aldrin
explore the lunar surface,
comes face to face with the
Spirit Of America.
Apollo is an ambitious
attempt to present its subject
in a way that is tangible, yet
mythic – resulting in a book
that feels studiously researched
and deeply considered.
Michael Leaderdenizens, including Jeremy
Hillary Boob, the Dreadful Flying
Glove, the Apple Bonkers, the
Blue Meanies and, of course,
John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Conversely, the shift from
fi lm to comics exposes the limits
of Yellow Submarine’s four-
screenwriter, one-poet screenplay- a hodge-podge of Lewis
Carroll fantasy, Summer Of Love
politics and Fab Four in-jokes
that no doubt felt dated soon
after release. Taken as a whole,
the Yellow Submarine fi lm is an
enduring classic worth revisiting,
but Morrison’s beautiful, yet
compromised tribute is strictly for
Beatlemaniacs only.
Michael Leader
‘Once upon a time, we
soared into the solar system.
For a few years. Then we
hurried back. Why?’ Apollo,
a graphic retelling of the
moon landing, opens with
Carl Sagan’s ambivalent quote
on the passing of the Apollo
programme. This book lands
on shelves just a year shy of
the 50th anniversary of Apollo
11’s voyage in July 1969, and
chronicles not just the eight
days that saw Neil Armstrong,
Buzz Aldrin and Michael
Collins go on their inspiring
journey from launch to lunar
landing to splashdown, but
much of the personal, political
and social circumstances
surrounding the mission.
This is hardly a nostalgic
retelling. Grand statements
predicting a new era of
international peace ring hollow
when they reach Vietnam,
where confl ict would continue
for several more years.
Writers Matt Fitch and Chris
Baker carefully balance this
clear-eyed context with an
exploration of the astronauts’
interior lives – the fears
and nightmares, existential
confl icts and emotional
baggage that they take with
them into outer space.
Veteran artist Mike Collins
(Doctor Who) is perfectlyBongo Comics co-
founder, MAD Magazine
editor and avid Beatles fan Bill
Morrison has been talking about
his full-length adaptation of the
Yellow Submarine animated
feature for years.
First commissioned in the late-
Nineties to tie-in with the fi lm’s
release on DVD, the project was
scuppered after only 26 pages
had been completed – reportedly
because George Harrison was
uncomfortable with the choice of
publisher, Dark Horse Comics,
which shared its name with
his own company, Dark Horse
Records. Now, the project has
been fi nished and published by
Titan Comics, to fi t alongside
the Yellow Submarine fi l m ’ s 5 0 t h
anniversary re-release.
Frankly, you have to wonder
why it would strike anyone as
a good idea to adapt Yellow
Submarine in a medium that
robs the animated musical of
both music and animation, but
while Morrison’s book lacks
the Beatles soundtrack, it works
best as a 100-page tribute to
the work of graphic designer
Heinz Edelmann. Morrison, with
eye-popping colours provided
by Nathan Kane, faithfully
recreates the surreal landscapes
of Pepperland and its variousDetails Writer: Chris Baker and Matt Fitch Artist: Mike Collins
Publisher: SelfMadeHero Price: £15.99 Released: Out nowDetails Writer: Bill Morrison Artists: Bill Morrison
Publisher: Titan Comics Price: £20.99 Released: 28 August