Man... Or Astro-Man???

From Man...or Astro-Man?'s 2022 12" Distant Pulsar, available over on MOAS?'s Bandcamp HERE. Love these guys, and been listening to them more lately than I have in some time. Feels good to reconnect with an old favorite.

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NCBD:

This week's Pull (still haven't stopped in to pick up last week's yet!):

I have to say, I don't really give a toss about this Scarlett series. That said, I'm in for the bigger picture of the Energon Universe, so I'm hanging in there. Maybe I'll be surprised.

This is probably the best series I read on a monthly basis at the moment. I love The Deviant and can't wait to see how this all pans out. Only two issues left after this one...

Going to be sad to see this one go. The Principles of Necromancy has been the sleeper hit of 2024 for me. I knew nothing going in - hell, I know nothing from issue to issue - and maybe partially because of that, I'm staggered by this book every time I pick it up. The premise is nuts and Eamon Winkle's art is out of this world; his concepts are like nothing I've ever seen before.

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Play:

More Puppet Combo for Switch!

 

I'm not certain, but judging by the face designs, I'd say this is possibly another Torture Star game, which means I might have an actual chance in hell of playing it through. The rule of thumb thus far with the games Puppet Combo releases seems to be if Torture Star is involved, it's beatable (for me); otherwise, not really. But this looks AWESOME! A lot of elements from Stay Out of the House, a game I adore but can't get very far in.

Rewind or Die drops next Friday, August 16th and will be available for Xbox and Playstation as well. 
 

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Playlist:

QOTSA - Villains

Black Venus - Eponymous

Man... Or Astro-Man? - Distant Pulsar 12"

Jerry Cantrell - Vilified (pre-release single)

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

Zombi - Direct Inject

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

Simon Waskow - Luz OST

Forhist - Eponymous

Danzig - Danzig III

Deftones - Live @Lollapalooza 2024

Fright Night - Some Are Born to Endless Night

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

David Bowie - Heathen

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE. Also, Grimm's Kickstarter for the Hand of Doom Tarot Art Book is up. Check it out HERE.

• Page of Wands

• Knight of Swords

• Wheel of Fortune

The Physicality of the Will. The Intellect, raw and pure. The tides of time and fate mixed with chance and served up as a cocktail brimming with potential.

See, this is just further proof that the cards work, but the reason they work is all subconscious to us and not traditional mumbo jumbo (although I would submit for review the idea that our subconscious has A LOT to do with traditional mumbo jumbo). Anyway, the point is, no matter what I draw or how poetic I try and make my interpretation, it's all saying the same thing to me - finish the fucking book. One story left to proofread. The last was easy, the one before it a BEAST that I cut a lot out of. Not story-wise, but syntax and grammar. The stories as narrative are long finished, it's finding the best way to say things that's the hard part.

Distant Pulsars

 

Here's a track off the latest Man... Or Astro-Man? EP, Distant Pulsar. You can order the vinyl or digital from Bandcamp HERE.

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NCBD:

This week for NCBD, I have main titles I'm definitely picking up, and a few contingent ones that I'm on the fence about:

Peter Vs. Reilly, the match of the century? Probably not, but should be a good tussle. 

The franchising of SIKTC continues with this new number one. I think this is a one-shot, but not entirely certain. I've still yet to read any House of Slaughter, though I have snatched up a few of those "Body Bag" covers. I'll probably start buying it monthly and just nab that first trade.

I love this Jason Burnham cover. Creepshow is up for reassessment after this issue. A lot like the show on Shudder, the deeper into the run we get, the less I care about it as an ongoing thing. The quality just doesn't seem consistent. We'll see.

More Dark Web X-Men stuff. Good deal. I'm loving the Maddy-Alex vibes that echo out of the original Inferno and into this. 

Holy covers! Wow - I have to be sure to get my hands on this one. Very cool. 

Bringing The Nice House on the Lake to a close. I'm up-to-date with my reading, but will probably re-read the first eleven issues again this weekend before capping the series off with this final issue. Exciting!

One more X-Terminators issue after this one. I'll be honest - the series started great and has fizzled a bit for me, but there's definitely still room for this one to turn around and end as a banger.

Now, on to the contingencies:

I dig the Dead Boy Detectives, and Nightmare Country has gone a long way toward encouraging me to pick up other Sandman Universe titles; however, just like when they launched this line back in 2018 or 19, the more they add to it, the more my interest frays. 

I dug the first issue of this, but I'm just not sure if I will continue, especially if this is just a straight-up retelling of the film.

There was one of these last year at this time, too. Why isn't this issue 2? I love Kang, so I'm probably grabbing this, but I need to look through it first.

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Playlist:

Tubby Hayes Quartet - Down in the Village

Metallica - ... And Justice For All

Deth Crux - Bloody Christmas

Man... or Astroman? - Distant Pulsar

Clint Mansell & Kevin Kiner - Doom Patrol Season One OST

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

Emotions have been a bit high here. Well, one emotion in particular. Having K's Mother live with us in Redondo Beach, things were tight but okay. Since moving to a considerably bigger space in this house, however, my patience wears quite thin and it is becoming difficult to contain the absolute fury she often inspires in me. Now, make no mistake, I have been told on numerous occasions that I have the patience of a saint. It is currently, depleting in record chunks, and honestly, I've found it difficult to adequately replenish from day to day. I'm seeing this card as a reminder that emotional completion - in this case, peace at the situation - comes only through intense Will and a strong foundation. 

Man... Or Astro Man - Disintegrate

Disintegrate also appears on Man... Or Astro Man?'s full length from this year, Defcon 5..4..3..2..1, which is definitely in the running to be in my top ten. The evolution Man... Or Astro Man? have undergone since back in the day is just fantastic. The new album begins with the classic instrumental, surf rock stylings fans of the band are used to, then moves into more vocal oriented material a la 1997's 1000x E.P. Defcon... then moves back and forth with the instrumental/vocal approaches, however as you reach the end of the record I'd say some of the songs break even stronger new ground, eschewing many of the more recognizable aspects of the band's sound for some electronics and even more focus on making the vocals the forefront of the songs. Case in point: there is very little if any 'surf' to the guitar in track 9, Electric Arc and track 10, Defcon 2 is very electronic oriented, with no discernible guitar at all. Since Astro Man's reunion several years ago it seemed very much to me like these guys work regular jobs and tour during vacation time. That said, if they keep making music the way they have been I am anticipating the interesting new avenues they seem to be perpetually exploring with their sound.