Ghostland Observatory

 

It'd been a while since I'd seen a clip of Ghostland Observatory playing in the drums/guitar combination; thought I'd share, seeing as their music has slipped back into my rotation.

 

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NCBD:

Let's talk about yesterday's pull. Started out, I thought this would be a light week. As often occurs, though, I came home with more than I bargained for:

GIJOE: ARAH has the oddest publication schedule! Every so many months, it takes an extra month off between issues. Not really a complaint so much as an observation; I still haven't actually put this on my pull list, so my interest buoys at best. Still, with Larry Hama at the helm, despite the 200 issues I missed, I'm enjoying reconnecting with this one, especially in the midst of this "Battle for Springfield" total clusterfuck storyline. Allegiances shift, enemies become allies, and this issue set us up for a Destro vs. Serpentor Khan mano y mano next issue - bring it on!

 

First issue picking Oni Press's EC Comics Epitaphs From the Abyss up monthly. Loved the series so far, figured I'd stay on for a while. Another I haven't actually added to my Pull, so I might have to do that tonight.

Loved the first issue of this. Notice how Batman on the cover looks an awful lot like Keaton's Batman from 1989. Interesting. I've talked about this one a bit on Drinking with Comics and The Horror Vision - maybe my cohost is just rubbing off on me, but it's so nice to have short, left-of-center Batman stories to read here and there. Also, I'm sure at some point Bruce has squared off with some kind of Lycanthrope before, but this is the first time I've seen it and so far, kinda fantastic. 

Speaking of the Dark Knight...

I finally got my hands on a copy of Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins and Mike Spicer's The Bat-Man in First Knight issue #2. I had grabbed the first off the shelf back in March and dug it, however, this one slid right off my radar after that and it wasn't until last month when I visited my Chicago shop that I located issue three. But what the hell can you do with the first and last of a three-issue series? So it was with great excitement I saw issue 2 on the shelf at Rick's yesterday. Can't wait to read this entire series. Batman in the 30s, no tech, pure detective. Very cool. 

Next, and I had no idea this was a thing until I saw it on the stands...

Rebekah and David Ian McKendry have a comic from Dark Horse? I grabbed this after seeing their names and I can tell you, this might be my favorite first issue of the year. Really cool story that has all the markings of a great cult film but in comic form. Here's the solicitation blurb from League of Comic Geeks:

"At the center of the Mojave Desert, at the crossroads between hell and gone, lies Barstow. Agent Miranda Diaz is in this godforsaken land on the trail of a missing agent. He's a man she's never met, and yet her name was the only clue he left behind. Something dark... something demonic... lurks beneath this oddball town, but can Miranda unravel the mystery before all hell breaks loose?"

As good as that sounds, I don't think it quite does the book justice. This reminds me a bit of David Lapham's Lodger and a bit of Alex Cox's Repo Man construction-wise. Really interesting, and I'm dying to see where it goes. 

Finally, I'd forgotten about Mark Spear's Monsters entirely until I saw issue two on the shelf last night:

I haven't had a chance to read this one yet, and honestly, the first issue came out back in September, so I should probably one-two them, however, the art continues to baffle and astound me. 

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Watch:

Not sure how I neglected to post this one here yet, but I am really looking forward to Ryan Kruger's Street Trash!

This is up as a rental on Prime for $4.99, and I'm aiming to sit down with it before the week's out. One of my most eagerly anticipated films this year.

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Playlist:

Ghostland Observatory - Paparazzi Lightning

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Drug Church - Prude

Frank Black - Teenager of the Year

Kings of Leon - Because of the Times

Sepultura - Lookaway (single)

60 Songs That Explain the 90s - "What's Up" 4 Non Blondes

4 Non Blondes - Bigger, Better, Faster, More!

Zombi - Shape Shift

Deafheaven - 10 Years Gone

Opeth - My Arms Your Hearse

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir

Arcade Fire - Everything Now

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

Amigo the Devil - Yours Until the War is Over

Francois-Eudes Chanfrault - Computer Assisted Sunset

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Six of Cups

• Two of Pentacles

• Page of Cups

Seek guidance in something bigger than yourself. I nod to slip outside of the id and ego and look for a deeper connection.

2018: September 8th

Ghostland Observatory released a new album today. This is a band I very much dig, but who fell off my radar quite a few years ago. Good to see them back in action.

I've been thinking quite a bit about the bands that kept me afloat in the 00s. These guys were definitely one of them, along with a lot of more electronic-based artists. My general musical inclination has shifted over the last seven or eight years, so that I generally listen to heavier music these days (although Sunn 0))), The Ocean and High on Fire were staples for much of the 00s). That has a lot to do with writing - I just find it easier to write to heavier stuff. Most of the time. Also, it tends to fit my tone.

Oh! Mr. Brown sent me a link to the new film by Harmony Korine. Looks great, and I love the fact that Korine has kind of - for the time at least - reinvented himself with this Neon Beach Noir look.



Playlist from yesterday:
The Ocean - Permian: The Great Dying (Pre-release Single)
White Lung - Eponymous
Dead Rabbits - The Ticket That Exploded
Soundgarden - Super Unknown
The Cramps - Flame Job
John Carpenter - Big Trouble in Little China OST
Black Sabbath - Volume 4
Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Card of the day:

Dogma. Well, what am I dogmatic about? I don't draw this card often, and when I do I don't always attribute it the respect and fascination it deserves. In my general temperament, I'm used to thinking of this card as being followed by or juxtaposed with XVI The Tower, as in law or dogma in a state of upheaval. Alone, I have to wonder if I am supposed to look deeper into my belief systems, which are ersatz for sure, as I decided long ago the word belief is much akin to the word prison. Maybe that doesn't have to be the case? Most people would read this - I think - as beware your belief structures. I'm wondering if I need to fine-tune my own, as lack of belief is still, ironically, belief.