Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Tradition dictates that at age thirteen a young witch should leave her home behind, in order to continue her training elsewhere.

For Kiki, it's an adventure that ends up being equal parts hard work; but she's headstrong when necessary, and with the help of her friend Jiji (a cat), she strives to make her mark.

With delicate pacing and timely underpinning it teaches us that each person has a purpose, even if they aren't aware of it or don't consider what they do to be anything special. 

If you dare to rise to a challenge, do your best for yourself and for others, like Kiki, then the rewards can more than equal the effort put in.

It's not action-packed and doesn't need a dramatic setting to be appreciated (you can watch it on a sunny day), but it's refreshingly sincere, and the attention to detail in environments is noteworthy, making the houses feel lived-in, which gives them a beauty all of their own.

There's a scene during the closing credits, so don't turn off too soon, if you want to see it.

The Sandman Presents: Petrefax (2000)

Petrefax (2000)

Author: Mike Carey | Illustrator: Steve Leialoha | Page Count: 88 (22 x 4)

"I had fallen in love with a dead woman. I asked myself if this was irony or merely an occupational hazard..."

A four-issue limited series that follows the titular Petrefax, an apprentice undertaker from the necropolis Litharge, who first appeared in The Sandman: Volume VIII: Worlds' End (1994). He's now a journeyman, seeking life experience in the wider, weirder world.

His travels take him to the bustling Malegrise, a place that brings to mind England of centuries gone by; the biggest difference being that 18th Century England wasn't home to sorcerers and demons (as far as I know).

I'm glad it was Mike Carey that was given the job of writing the miniseries. It suits his talents perfectly.

He was sole author of the ongoing Lucifer series at the time Petrefax was being published, but there's no evidence that he was stretching himself too thin. In fact, the reverse seems to be the case. He must've been on a creative high - both works are excellent.

Stephen King's The Tommyknockers (1993)

The Tommyknockers (1993)

Dir. John Power | 2 episodes, approx 90 mins each

(There's also a heavily cut 120 mins edition)

A TV miniseries based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. It's a little unusual for the author because it's science fiction, not horror.

More accurately it's a throwback to the kind of stories that were plentiful in the 1950s, with some additional ideas from the 1970s, both of which were eras when science fiction had something important to say. The main difference is that this version of King's story has very little to say about anything, as far as I could tell. If there was some deep, hidden message, then I missed it.

The set-up is why I continually return to these cheap TV adaptations, even though they rarely ever work out. The potential that exists as the story opens and the ways in which King builds drama, by drip-feeding the viewer just enough interesting content to keep them in their seat, is always the best part. In The Tommyknockers' case, when it focuses on the effects more than the cause, it's enjoyable. That enjoyment is both heightened and tainted by the most prevalent unknown factor: when exactly is it all going to turn to shit?

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast: Volume 1 (2018)

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast: Volume 1 (2018)

Authors: Llexi Leon (story) / Ian Edginton (script) | Artist: Kevin J West | Page Count: 128

'Eddie is an embodiment of free will, a chaotic spirit, the unseen catalyst during crucial turning points in history. The spark that lights the flame.'

LotB's story is based on a 'free to play' mobile phone game that I've not played. The structure of the first collected volume feels very much like a series of game levels stitched together, with little care put into smoothing over the level changes. It also lacks a decent introduction, as if we're missing a crucial cut-scene.

In the story, Eddie is freed from bondage by a floating lady in a flowing dress, the Clairvoyant, a self-proclaimed 'sightless seer in the realm of the senses'. It seems that sometime before that, however, Eddie's soul was ripped from his body by The Beast, looking like he did on Iron Maiden's classic Number of the Beast (1982) album.

The mascot's stolen soul somehow became a glowing red crystalline substance that was shattered into shards and distributed to a group of nefarious individuals. Eddie's quest, therefore, is to retrieve his lost soul by defeating the holders of the fragments.