'Rousseau's Transmission' by Dan McCarthy

My third purchase from the DCAAPB poster series is 'Rousseau's Transmission' by Dan McCarthy.
On seeing it for the first time I was immediately struck by the wonderful sense of scale, with the rolling mountains of The Island stretching skyward far above a small group of dazed and confused survivors of Oceanic 815. I also liked the muted beige colour scheme as displayed on the DCAAPB site, which I found visually appealing and which complemented the colours in my living room. Perhaps, thought I slyly, I would be able to sneak this one onto a living room wall without undue objection from the non-Losties in the family! Other first impressions included admiration for the accurate renderings of the perplexed survivors, and an overall feeling that this was one of the most beautiful works of art the series had produced to date. My only negative reaction was a slight distaste for the speech bubble near the bottom of the print which announces a portion of Rousseau's recorded message -- to my mind it just seemed a bit out-of-place.

A few days after the reveal, the first photos of the print started appearing on the Web. I was surprised and slightly disappointed at what I saw. Instead of the lovely muted browns and cappuccinos I had seen on the website, instead I was greeted with greens, greys, and dark yellows. So much for the living room!

Though the colours were not what I had hoped, as I waited for my print to arrive I thought of other aspects of the art that I found particularly appealing. I like the multiple layers of mountains, each rising higher than the last. They remind me of the many layers of mystery and discovery which Lost has presented over its first five seasons. First a simple island, deserted save for a mysterious, unseen "monster". Then a group of Others who also inhabit the island. Then a revelation that the Dharma Initiative arrived at the island many years before, building stations and performing experiments. Later we learn of Charles Widmore, who came to the island in the 1950s but was later banished. Finally we learn of Jacob and his nemesis, the man in black; perhaps they hold the secret of the island's origin.

I also appreciate this print because it includes (albeit as small silhouettes) Shannon, Boone, Sayid, and Charlie; my feeling at the time (which holds true as I write, with only 2 print reveals remaining) was that these characters may not appear again on another print. (Though I was, and am, hoping that Charlie will be featured in "Charlie's Sacrifice". Fingers crossed for print #15.) Also, at 18x30", this is the only "oversized" poster thus far. The extra 6 inches of height certainly enhances the vertiginous effect. Finally, my logical mind noted that this print, which depicts a scene at the very end of the Lost pilot, serves as a wonderful book-end for 'The Crash', an earlier poster which covers a scene at the beginning of the pilot. Symmetry is always appealing.

I kept the frames for my first two posters (Crash and Smokey) very simple -- cheap 18x24 "slide-on" poster frames from Michael's with no mat. To me, those two prints were full of rich colour and detail thus wouldn't be well-served by a fancy frame. Conversely, the simplicity and artistry of Rousseau's Transmisson demanded extra attention. That and the fact that 18x30 frames don't actually seem to exist led me to embark on a quest for a framing solution. I spent several days searching for an answer which would serve the print but not break the bank. I ended up purchasing an on-sale framed print from HomeSense and a custom mat from Michael's, along with a backing board and some acid-free tape. After learning much more than I ever thought I would know about adhesives and matting techniques I set to work one night putting it all together. I'm fairly happy with the result. To the best of my knowledge I only made one major blunder and was able to come up with a workaround that mostly covered up the mistake. Here is the final result:



Once again I had a very early order number but ended up with a highish print number, this time #176. I haven't quite figured out why this always seems to happen to me; perhaps it is related to the sequence in which the prints are readied for shipping? Maybe US orders are grouped first? Don't know for certain. For my fourth poster purchase I have a fairly high order number -- maybe I'll end up with a low print number for that one! I can only hope. Tyson, are you listening?


Finally a few close-ups from this lovely print.



Rousseau's Transmission made me work a little harder than the previous posters I've purchased from DCAAPB. Hopefully I have provided the presentation it deserves.

'The Smoke Monster' by Ken Taylor

The second Lost poster I purchased was 'The Smoke Monster' by Ken Taylor. It depicts a stand-off between Smokey and one of my favourite Oceanic 815 survivors, Mr. Eko. This is my 3rd-favourite print of the series to date.

Whereas 'The Crash' looks fantastic from any distance, from any angle, and via any medium, the power of 'The Smoke Monster' seems substantially greater in-person and up-close. The rich detail of the vegetation, the trees, and Smokey (him/her/it)self really shines, as does the large, full moon (sun?) that casts an eerie glow on the confrontation.

Here is a photo of my print. For the photo I enhanced the moon's glow with a small LED light shone onto the print. (You can see a slight glare from this in the middle left.)


For most of these posters, the first order number receives print #101, the 2nd receives #102, etc. However, although I had the 20th (-ish) order, I received print #207. This was a little disappointing, but made up for by the fact that 'The Smoke Monster' looked even better in person than it had on the DCAAPB website. Here's a shot of my print number and artist signature. It also highlights some of the sparkly gold paint which enhances portions of the print.



One other bonus with this print is that its colour scheme goes very well with the room in which it is now hung. In particular I have a red carpet of almost the same hue, my speakers and desk are both rosenut, and there is deep red trim on the walls (see top of pic below). Here's looking at you, Smokey!

'The Crash' up close

The tenth Lost poster was revealed yesterday. There are only six prints left to be revealed. My favourite to date remains 'The Crash' by Eric Tan. Here are a few close-ups from the print.

'The Crash' by Eric Tan

So Lost's powers that be have rounded up a group of prominent artists to create a set of 16 Lost posters. Each week, starting a few weeks back, a new poster is unveiled. Prior to the unveiling, there are a set of clues provided which hint at the time and place where the URL for the next poster will be revealed. Shortly after the URL reveal, the poster goes on sale. See damoncarltonandapolarbear.com for the set of posters available to date.

Part of the fun is guessing the location at which the next URL will be given. So far the URL has appeared on a Dharma skateboard at a cupcake store, on bookmarks at a university library in Texas, and on a bass guitar played at a Fall Out Boy concert, among others. Also fun is trying to be one of the first to purchase a poster once it goes on sale.

My favourite print so far is 'The Crash' by Eric Tan. Here are a few pics of my copy.



I love pretty much everything about this poster, though at first I wasn't too keen on the colour palette. But in reading the artist's blog, I learned that he used the colours in the Oceanic Airways logo as his palette. Which is pretty cool. The composition and the slightly charicaturized likenesses are great.


I have print #162 of 300. The first 100 were not made available for sale to the general public. I suspect Damon & Carlton and some of the other Lost folks get dibs on the first hundred.



The poster now has a venerable position atop my Lost shrine.

These posters will be great ways to remember Lost once it completes its series run in May 2010.

My Favourite Lost Characters

And, just for the record, here is my personal ranking:

Hurley
Charlie
Ben
Sawyer
Mr. Eko
Desmond
Juliet
Jack
Locke
Daniel
Miles
Kate
Jin
Sayid
Michael
Sun
Libby
Claire
Charlotte
Ana-Lucia
Shannon
Walt
Boone

Our Favourite Lost Characters

My kids and I love Lost. This weekend we each came up with a list of favourite (major) characters on the show. I then averaged the three sets of rankings. And here is the result, starting with our most favourite:

Hurley
Charlie
Sawyer
Desmond
Locke
Kate
Claire
Miles
Ben
Mr. Eko
Libby
Jin
Juliet
Jack
Daniel
Sun
Ana-Lucia
Walt
Shannon
Boone
Sayid
Michael
Charlotte

Book Review: The Frankenstein Murders

The Frankenstein Murders is a fine first novel by Ottawa writer Kathlyn Bradshaw. For those who have read and loved Mary Shelley's Frankenstein it provides a fascinating look back at the events of that novel as well as an interesting continuation of the macabre tale of death and life that first electrified readers nearly two hundred years ago.

The novel is framed as an investigation into the death of Henry Clerval. As described in Shelley's original, Henry was one of Victor Frankenstein's dearest friends. Shortly after the "birth" of the monster, Victor suffered a mental collapse and it was he, Henry, who nursed Victor back to health. Later Henry accompanied Victor on his journeys, only to be strangled on the shores of Ireland by the terrible creature. Now, several years after the murder, the journal of Captain Robert Walton finds itself in the hands of Henry's father, George Clerval. The senior Clerval does not fully believe the fantastic tale captured in Walton's journal and thus decides to hire a private investigator to determine the true identity of his son's killer.

Edward Freame is the investigator hired. Freame has worked several cases that allegedly involved the paranormal and has always managed to discover the rational truth behind the seemingly fantastic. Recently Freame solved a very high-profile London crime which had at first had been explained away as an unfortunate bout of spontaneous combustion. Through a series of deductions Freame exposed the crime and identified the criminal. Think Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Fox Mulder.

Freame reads and re-reads the story of Frankenstein's life as captured in Walton's journal. He decides that in order to uncover the truth he must retrace the path taken by Victor Frankenstein immediately following the creation of the monster years before. This journey takes Freame through Scotland, the Orkney Islands, Ireland, Geneva (home of Castle Frankenstein), Evian (where Frankenstein and his new bride spent their first, and last, evening as man and wife), Ingolstadt (where the creature was brought to life), and the north of Russia. By day Freame interviews various characters who appeared in Shelley's original, and by night he ruminates on the identity of the murderer and tries to decipher the complex character of Victor Frankenstein. Throughout much of the novel Freame expresses mostly frustration at his lack of progress in the investigation due to the lack of information he has gleaned from most of his interview subjects. Are they hiding a dark truth, or is the truth simply buried too deep in the past? Then about two thirds through the book, Freame uncovers a bombshell that may break the case.

The novel proceeds at a deliberate pace. The author wisely employs a variety of techniques to tell the tale -- Freame's interviews and journal entries are interspersed with newspaper clippings and letters from both the present and the past. Chapters are kept short. At 300 pages the novel is not Clavellian by any means, yet it is perhaps a few dozen pages too long. There are a surfeit of passages wherein Freame laments his lack of progress in the investigation, and no doubt one or two of the less interesting interviews could have been excised.

The book is dotted with several mysteries which keep the reader intrigued as Freame's investigation slowly proceeds. From whence came the scars that cover the face and body of Freame's partner, Mutt? Why does Freame so resemble Victor Frankenstein that his appearance startles many who had known Victor in the past? Why have the cottages of villagers who briefly lived near Frankenstein in the Orkneys recently undergone expensive renovations? Who attacked Freame in Ingolstadt? Why have so many of Walton's crew died since their return from the north? Unfortunately although some of these questions are indirectly answered by the end of the book, others are left unaddressed. It is unclear whether these dangling threads were simply intended as red herrings or were part of a plot that was at some point abandoned.

The author writes in an engaging style. Some of the language and structure hearken back to the original novel, although the writing is far less verdant than Shelley's poetically dense prose. The description of a macabre discovery made by Freame in Frankenstein's castle is particularly well handled. The pages detailing Freame's ultimate conclusion regarding the true identity of the murderer are also finely crafted. A brief epilogue provides a fittingly nebulous end to the novel. Less successful are the short preface which provides an unnecessarily oblique and somewhat overwritten beginning, and a couple of passages in which Freame's musings about inconsistencies in Frankenstein's story read more like criticism of Shelley's plotting.

A principle enjoyment of the novel lies in our re-acquaintance with several of the characters that populated Shelley's original. We meet Mrs. Margaret Saville, Captain Walton's concerned sister. We visit again with Magistrate Kirwin, who presided over the trial which initially convicted Frankenstein of Henry Clerval's murder. We hear from Daniel Nugent, who discovered Henry's body. We visit the Frankenstein castle. We meet with Captain Robert Walton and some of his crew. We even speak with Captain Ernest Frankenstein, brother to Victor and poor William. In addition, Freame provides insights into other characters from Shelley's tome, principly Victor, Victor's parents, Henry, Elizabeth, and little William. The reader becomes fully engaged as Freame's analytical mind grapples with the extraordinary events described in Walton's journal. He finally arrives at the only logical explanation -- but is truth necessarily governed by logic?

For fans of the original Frankenstein novel, The Frankenstein Murders is a must-read. It revisits the characters and settings that made the original great, reveals secrets that Victor Frankenstein has long concealed, and introduces new characters who move the Frankenstein story forward in an interesting and original way.