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Happy-Go-Lucky Film Review
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2008 Dir: Mike Leigh Script: Mike Leigh Cast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Samuel Roukin, Andrea Riseborough In one of Happy-Go-Lucky’s initial scenes the perpetually perky Polly enters a bookstore and begins a one-way conversation with an arrogant clerk. When her exchange reaps no rewards she cheerfully departs, her sunny disposition…
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In Bruges Movie Review
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Director: Martin McDonagh Script: Martin McDonagh Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy When Ratatouille was released last year, the posters bore the faux phonetic transcription (rat-a-too-ee) below the title, both acting as a pun and educating under-tens Americans how to pronounce such a dauntingly foreign – and from the perspective of cautious…
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Avengers: The Initiative: Basic Training TPB Review
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2008, Marvel Writer: Dan Slott Art: Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy Colours: Daniele Rudoni, Steve Uy With the Civil War over, Captain America dead, and World War Hulk swept neatly under a large rug, Stark’s vision of a superheroe in every state is fully underway with Avengers: The Initiative, in which we join a group of…
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The Bank Job Movie Review
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Dir: Roger Donaldson Script: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, George McIndoe, Aaron Shuster Cast: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Alki David, Michael Jibson, Richard Lintern, Don Gallagher, David Suchet When a Baker Street depository was robbed in 1971, London became engrossed in the story of the ‘walkie-talkie bank job’…
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Comic Books and Graphic Novels – What’s the Difference?
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in ColumnThe definition of exactly what a comic book is – or indeed what it takes for a comic to become a graphic novel – has become increasingly murky territory.
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Wanted Graphic Novel Review
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2003, Top cow Story: Mark Millar Art: JG Jones As Batman once put it: “Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot.” Which probably explains why they always lose. That, and no matter how impenetrable Thanos, Darkseid or Victor Von Doom believes his recently renovated fortress to be, no matter how impeccably ingenious his new scheme,…
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Juno Movie Review
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2007 Director: Jason Reitman Script: Diablo Cody Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby When sixteen year old Juno MacGuff finds she is pregnant, she does not cry nor panic. Instead, she breaks into a chain of hip and intelligent quips worthy of a feminist…
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Southland Tales Movie Review
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2007 Dir: Richard Kelly Script: Richard Kelly Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake, Wallace Shawn, Miranda Richardson, Mandy Moore, Kevin Smith, John Larroquette, Jon Lovitz Hollywood’s underside is littered with the bodies of freakish, lifelong dreams that seemed like a good idea at the time, but retrospect should…
Shelf Abuse
Storytelling, comic books and self-publishing
To better focus my efforts, Bothersome Books, my wee publishing imprint and home to my novel and short stories, has merged with Shelf Abuse. Expect several new releases this year.
Shelf Abuse: Sporadically Singing the Unsung Since 2006
Welcome to Shelf Abuse, the blog of British writer, web/graphic designer and occasional illustrator Carl Doherty.
What started out in 2006 as a blog about comics, gradually leaning more towards self-published and creator-owned works, has slowly transitioned into a home for my own self-published efforts, and a place to share my opinions on art, literature, cinema, storytelling, publishing, design, animal rights, depression… and yes, still comics. You’ll also find the occasional guest article amidst my mercifully brief rants.
Current Site Status
Due to an increasingly dense schedule, I’m no longer officially accepting review submissions. Hopefully this will eventually change, but not looking likely any time soon.
However, my love for indie comics hasn’t diminished in the slightest. Please do feel free to follow me on social media, add me to your mailing list or inform me of your new book. I can’t always reply, but I always appreciate hearing about new books.