RIP Peter Cullen

 

I had something completely different set for today, but for obvious reasons, this won out. Damn. What a fucking week. The really eerie thing was, I received the news of Cullen's death about an hour after I finally bought tickets for the 40th anniversary screening of Transformers: The Movie on September 17th. Something tells me that screening is going to take on a whole new meaning after this news. 

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Watch:

I FINALLY got to see Jane Schoenbrun's new film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma! This was a long, hard road folks.

After waiting weeks to see if any theaters around me would get this, my Clarksville Regal picked it up last Thursday. I grabbed a ticket and sat my ass in the seat at 9:20 PM, only to have a sudden, horrible realization as the trailers played and I found I could not understand nor barely hear the dialogue.

Do you remember me talking about the crappy sound on that 20th Anniversary remaster release of Neil Marshall's The Descent two weeks ago? Well, it wasn't the film. Both of that and my first attempt a seeing Miasma were on screen 10 at my Regal. When I walked out to talk to an employee about this, I was told this was a "known issue."

A known issue, and they kept using that theatre for screenings? Total bullshit. 

I ended up walking out without seeing the film. I filed a complaint with Regal, and perhaps because of that, Tuesday night I noticed they had moved the film to a different screen for one time slot on one night - 10:45 PM last night. So, despite the fact that I've been asleep by 11:00 a couple times already this week, I trudged out at 10:35 PM last night, drove ten minutes to my theatre and put my arse in yet another seat.

Speechless. I would not have guessed in a million years that the fact that the fictitious slasher's name "Little Death" is actually a reference to one of the underlying concepts of the Illuminates of Thanateros; "Little Death" or "La Petite Mort" as a euphemism for the orgasm, which is kind of the hub of the entire film.

I'd have to say I still like I Saw the TV Glow the best of Schoenbrun's work, but goddamn are they on a roll. I am onboard for anything they do. Which includes their first novel, which I pre-ordered earlier today.

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Read:

After just discussing it on Drinking with Comics this week, I received my copy of Humanoids Press' English language translation for the classic Metal Hurlant. 

This is volume 5 - I only just became aware of this. 

I have been wanting to read this magazine for years! There was a time when I would just google the covers and artwork and state at it. So many of the Sci Fi flicks I grew up with were inspired by this - chief among them Blade Runner and Alien - so I think it's great Humanoids is translating and re-releasing these. 

Hurlant was a magazine back in the 70s/80s, but here they're collecting them in pretty nice soft or hardcover editions that must compile stories from multiple issues, though I'm not sure yet what the grouping strategy is. Apparently there are new stories mixed in as well, but for someone reading these the first time through, I can't tell what's what (or at least not yet).

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Playlist:

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

The Ocean - Fluxion

Final - 3

The Ocean - Aeolian

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

Holy Fawn - Death Spells

Spotlights - Love & Decay

Mountain Realm - Beastbane

Chelsea Wolfe - The Dark

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight (pre-release singles)

Judas Priest - Firepower

Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance 

The Afghan Whigs - Soft Control

The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

Chris Isaac - Forever Blue

The Damned - Darkedelic

Canadian Rifle - Peaceful Death

Russian Circles - Gnosis

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Card:

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

• Eight of Pentacles

• Nine of Swords

• King of Pentacles

• Two of Swords

I had it in my head to try a new layout. Not sure if there is a pre-existing name for this one or not, it just presented itself to me. Let's dig into it!

The work I'm putting into 'work' has gotten a bit uneven. It follows me into my weekends and off hours, and I need to back the fuck up or I'm going to end up stuck in a creative stalemate. The Two of Swords as the final card indicates resolution is on its way, but the King of Pentacles suggests it may take a while...

RIP Dolly

Wow. Dolly Parton. I can't claim to be the biggest fan of Dolly's music, not because I don't like it; I'm just not familiar, but as a human being? Among the greatest of our era. RIP.

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NCBD:

Lots of stuff I am looking forward to this week, including some new titles. 

We begin with a new Stuff of Nightmares one-shot! I have loved every issue published under the Stuff of Nightmares banner, and I expect nothing different from this.

A new Rick Remender book! I've picked up a few first issues from some of his other recent series and nothing really moved me - still quality work, just not my thing. Hammerfist looks like it might change that. Gorgeous Steve Epting art to boot. Very excited for this one!

The final issue of Fall of the House of Slaughter should pave the way for whatever shake-up is about to happen in SIKTC issue 50, out October 7th.

This book looks and sounds very old-school Vertigo. That's calculated, of course, but I'm here to give it a shot. Here's the solicitation blurb from League of Comic Book Geeks:

"OCCULT WARFARE IS A FANTASY... OR IS THAT WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK? Twenty-three-year-old Darren Burroughs out of Audubon, PA, is a gifted rookie sent under the guise of a diplomatic aide to train with Division Nine — an obscure, outdated, and easily dismissed arm of British intelligence that specializes in dealing with paranormal incidents. In the right sort of spy circles, they're known by a different, more feared name... Black Tower. 

It's 2026, and in the age of cyber warfare and drone strikes, someone is plotting to steal the head of a giant-king to break a centuries-old ward that has kept invading forces out of Britain. Magic and espionage collide as the Black Tower's band of misfits, led by the enigmatic Alistair Romeo, delves into a maelstrom of spells and silencers, working against time and in the shadows to fight the esoteric battles bubbling under the surface of our visible wars."

Finally, ROM arrives in the Energon Universe in a proper way this month with these two books:

With ROM and now Micornauts, you have to ask yourself what's next. 

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Watch:

I first caught wind of Emily Bennett & Justin Brooks' Blood Shine last month when the most recent issue of Fangoria landed at my door. There's a great article about the film that immediately put it on my radar. Now we get our first trailer:

Dark Sky Films has become a force for good in the Horror genre, and when you add in Larry Fessenden as the cult leader, oh boy! I cannot wait. This is currently a $6.99 rental on Prime, so odds are we'll be watching this one over the weekend. 

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Roughly Enforcing Nostalgia - Front Door Doxologies

Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited

The Ocean - Aeolian

The Ocean - Solaris (pre-release singles)

The Ocean - Holocene

Cliff Martinez - Only God Forgives OST

The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

The Besnard Lakes - Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO

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Card:

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

• Ace of Swords

• Six of Cups

• Eight of Swords

Revitalized by recent developments, I definitely have a clearer perspective on things. Still haven't passed the stone - or at least I'm pretty sure of that - but I feel better these last few days, and I think a lot of that comes from, as the cards say, information. 

UPDATE: Thinking about the cards again. As is my custom, I left the spread on my desk all day so I could contemplate it off and on. That usually doesn't really amount to much - the day's tasks and responsibilities accumulate and I just kind of stop seeing the cards, let alone end up with any time to think or read about interpreting them further. Today, though, I'm thinking about the Ace of Swords, a card I habitually associate with "Breakthrough" when looking at the Thoth version. 

This card represents the bridge to the unconscious mind. It also has to do with perception, i.e. awakened perception. Seeing what was missed. In this case, the Eight of Swords suggests an inner problem. I'm having a hard time tying the Six of Cups in here, but I think it goes without saying there's something I'm struggling with that will soon crack wide open in a way that I will gain a new understanding. One that, hopefully, will alleviate the issue. This may very well still tie into my health, but now I'm thinking there's something more. 

Gravest Gravy, Baby

Out today - The Cramps, Gravest Gravy - lost tracks recently found and rescued with help from Henry Rollins and Ian Mackaye!

The only track available to stream on YouTube is the opener - '77's version of TV Set (now my preferred version of that particular track. Holy smokes - those Ivy Rorschach guitar 'solos!'), which I previously posted HERE upon announcement of the record. Instead of repeating myself, I went ahead and posted the "Weekend on Mars" version that originally served as the B-side to 1983's "I Ain't Nuthin' But A Gorehound" 7". I think I dig the version on Gravest Gravy better, but with a track like this - with any Cramps track- the more versions, the better.

Grab Gravest Gravy directly from Vengeance Records webstore HERE or their Bandcamp HERE.

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History:

Let's listen to Mr. Henry Rollins talk about how Gravest Gravy was rediscovered:

The rebirth of Vengeance Records is a beautiful thing. I can't wait to see what else comes down the pipes. In the meantime, HERE's the direct link to the site and their store, a great place to fill in gaps in the collection or finally acquire some of those records I only have as burned discs (thank you, Mr. Brown!) or old tapes.

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Watch:

If you haven't seen this trailer for Writer/Director Scott B. Hansen Devour yet, it's a doozy. It probably shows too much, but after watching it, I don't know that too much can taint this flick, because it looks nuts! Unhinged, in the best possible way. 

I know I usually avoid trailers, especially ones with a runtime of three minutes, but this is an indie, and it's fighting for its audience. This trailer will most likely earn it one. Good. Can't wait to check this out on October 29th!

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Playlist:

Dungen - Ta det lugnt (disc 1; thanks Tommy!!!)

The Cramps - Flamejob

The Cramps - Gravest Gravy

LARD - Pure Chewing Satisfaction

Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple

Perturbator - Age of Aquarius

The Cramps - Psychedelic Jungle

Godflesh - Streetcleaner

Dungen - Ta det lugnt (disc 2)

Dungen - Tio Bitar

Dungen - Stadsvandringar

Butthole Surfers - Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac

The Jesus Lizard - Mouth Breather/Sunday You Need Love 45

The Jesus Lizard - Puss 45

The Jesus Lizard - Wheelchair Epidemic/Dancing Naked Ladies 45

Butthole Surfers - Rembrandt Pussyhorse

The Jesus Lizard - Down

Pailhead - Trait

Ministry - Rio Grande Blood

Ministry - The Last Sucker

Ennio Morricone - Greatest Western Themes of All Time

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Card:

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

• Two of Cups

• I: The Magician

• Ace of Cups

Resolved trouble and recuperation. There's a note for Two of Cups in my grimoire that adds, "Find the high ground to gain perspective (especially when paired with Cups), and here's the Ace of Cups, which can indicate major transformation. This fits with the resolution/recuperation motif. The Magician suggests I will pull myself through the issues and arrive at this new high ground. I read this to be a reference to my health and my current writing project, which I made major strides on this past Wednesday (despite being exhausted as all hell after waking up at 3:40 AM).

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Primary Colours

From the 2009 album Primary Colours, which I pulled out yesterday and instantly regretted not having listened to in... a very long time. Fantastic record.

I don't know any other records by The Horrors, but this one is fantastic start to finish. These guys obviously got a big push marketing-wise in the wake of Interpol's success, but they are their own band. 

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NCBD:

So what did Wheeljack find in issue 33? My guess: Dinobots!

Every issue of any Shaolin Cowboy series is a gift. Loving Staying A.I. Live.

I've literally been thinking about Of the Earth more days than not since reading issues 2 and 3 last month. I adore this book! Condon's "The Thing meets Blood Simple" is so spot on, and being that those are two of my all-time favorite films, this feels made for me.

One more after this and I'll need to re-read everything that came before. It has been a minute since The Nice House on the Lake was on my radar; looking back on the last few release dates shown on League of Comic Book Geeks, it appears this went bi-monthly after returning from its "mid-season" hiatus. That's fine; not giving anyone sh*t, just saying, October's final issue will be a good prompt to re-read both The Nice House By the Lake and this second act. A quick search tells me Tynion has not announced a third act, but I guess that will depend on how this current arc ends.

So, while I'm still digging this current chapter of ARAH, I have space constraints that are weighing on me a bit. I recently bought a new long box (I phased out all but two long boxes before my move from LA; took a tip from my friend Chris Saunders and switched everything to short boxes. Way more manageable. The two I did keep were out of necessity: TMNT and X-Men. There's easily a long box of both. Coming to the end of my TMNT box has a lot to do with why I just canceled the series from my pull. Now, I'm closing in on the end of my ARAH box (which admittedly also includes the IDW run; the Energon stuff is all in a short box) and I have to consider if I'm going to stop. 

Talk about first world problems.

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Watch:

A few months back, Vinegar Syndrome ran a sale on Kim Stim's Blu-Ray edition of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2016 film Creepy, which I had never even heard of, let alone seen. I'm fairly new to Kurosawa's work, but what I've seen thus far - Cure, Chime and Cloud - have all blown me away, so I figured, what the hell? Let's give it a blind buy.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am that I did. This one really messed with me, in the best possible way. There is something so alien and yet relatable about Kurosawa's work that has really steeped into me over the viewing of these last four films, and I feel now as though I have to set out on a mission to see everything. There's a level of banality to Creepy that manages to create an unease that is slow, methodical and unexpected at times. The lighting in the Nishino house borders on what I think of as Cyber-Industrial-Gothic, with Tetsuo and Eraserhead immediately coming to mind. 

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Playlist:

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies - Cathedral

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Various - The (S)hit Factory Disc 2

Various - The (S)hit Factory Disc 3

Trust Obey - Fear and Bullets

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

Mary Anne Hobbs Final BBC Broadcast: Burial and Kode 9 (Sept. 8, 2010)

The Horrors - Primary Colours

Pigface - Fook

Carpenter Brut - Leather Temple

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight (pre-release singles)

Lisa Bella Donna - Reach for the Light (single)

Mascara - Hla-11Tf (single)

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Card:

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

• Eight of Swords

• XVI: The Tower

• Ace of Swords

A lot of strife, which can be a struggle, especially when paired with The Tower, a paradigm either in flux or ruling. This leads me to believe something I adhere to - probably a plot point in Shadow Play 2, or something I hold as an absolute with the characters- will change drastically. I'll resist it at first, then realize the change is needed.

New Music from The Ocean!

From The Ocean's forthcoming record Solaris, out September 25 on Pelagic Records. Pre-order HERE in the States or HERE elsewhere. 

I knew there had been a bit of an exodus from the band within the last year or two, but hadn't seen the new line-up until this weekend when I stumbled on the pre-release singles. Nothing against those who left, but this is the most excitement I've felt for an Ocean release since 2013's Pelagial.

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Watch:

I say this as someone who checked out on Marvel's MCU pretty much with Civil War, which I wasn’t a very big fan of. I’ve liked some things about a few subsequent films (of which I’ve only seen a few), but overall have been saddened to watch a carefully planned, confident approach to a blockbuster universe become tiresome, meek and rudderless. 

I LOVED Brand New Day and consider it the first Marvel movie I’ve actually liked - one that gave me repeated chills - since Age of Ultron (I really dug Raimi’s Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness, but not as a Marvel movie, as a Sam Raimi movie. Regardless, even that didn’t come close). 

I’d go so far as to say Brand New Day is the second best MCU movie thus far, coming in right behind the original Avengers film. Was it long and prone to indulgences? You betcha. But I was here for all of it. Best of all, almost none of the cameos were fan service - they all (mostly) played a role in the overall story. Which, after the exhausting (but not un-fun) Deadpool Loves Wolverine, was nice. I'm still all about street-level Marvel, which basically, at this point, means DD, Frank Castle and Spidey. Would be nice to see something else added to that list eventually, but for now, I'm happy keeping up with this little corner of things.

There are a couple huge ideas/plot points this film intentionally leaves hanging, and I'm a bit bummed that I'll have to wait until all the Avengers: Apocalypse Now Buddy B.S. is over before we likely get another proper Spidey flick. I find myself begrudgingly curious about Dr. Doom and Battleworld, so maybe I'll eat my words and watch that simply to stay in with Spidey's adventures in the "big potatoe" tier of the still hobbling overall MCU. I'd love it if they just left Peter alone and firmly entrenched at street level, but I guess that was never going to happen, so...

All right, Doom. Thrill me.

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Playlist:

Quicksand - Bring on the Psychics

Face to Face - Don't Turn Away

Firewater - Ponzi Scheme

Justin Hamline - This Machine Kills Music

Show Me the Body - Alone Together

Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine X

Pigface - Gub

Pigface - Welcome to Mexico Asshole

SOD - Speak English or Die

Anthrax - Cursum Perficio (pre-release singles)

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies - Cathedral

The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir

The Ocean - Precambrian

Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album

Various - The (S)hit Factory: Disc 1

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.
Sepultura - The Cloud of Unknowning EP

The Ocean - Pelagial (Instrumental)

The Ocean - Solaris (pre-release singles)

Bohren and the Club der Gore - Sunset Mission

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Card:

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

• Four of Wands

• Six of Pentacles

• Knight of Cups

Completion and success, but at a cost. 

Ween

It's been quite some time since I've really gotten into Ween, which breaks my heart because at one time, and in some perpetually occluded way, they are and were one of my favorite bands ever. 

It started with Aaron Freeman (Gene Ween)'s Freeman album and hearing his side of the rift that had torn the band apart a few years prior. I wouldn't say I ever took Gene's side over anyone else's, but there was just something so disturbing about hearing the behind-the-scenes shit on this band known for reveling in intoxication that broke something in me. I wouldn't say anyone was at fault but Freeman himself - we all take responsibility for our choices - but it just left me cold. Then, when the band eventually reunited, I don't know, it just felt like the old, 'Ya can't go home again' rang true. 

Yesterday, a message from Mr. Brown about the new three-disc anniversary edition of 12 Gold Country Greats set something in motion, and I started listening to Ween and found I couldn't stop. I feel like I reconnected, but what's more, I realized something important.

Ween takes me to a place - a state of mind that I believe I share with my two best friends in the world - Mr. Brown and Sonny Vee. We all live in different places and can't see one another nearly as much as we would like (I could definitely make more of an effort), and so listening to Ween makes me reflect on missing our friendship in the day-to-day, as something I could experience in the flesh, and that leaves me sad. So, while I may be over whatever bullshit I had due to Ween's breakup (finally), I don't think it's likely I'll be doing more than what I did yesterday - the occasional freefall back into a state of mind that just doesn't gel with the world of 2026. Or, at least for the moment it doesn't.

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NCBD:

Another light week, thankfully...

Glad to have Jeff Lemire's Minor Arcana back. Love this book, and I've been in the mood for Seaside Horror, even if this book is really more Horror adjacent. 

Unless something huge happens - and I mean HUGE - this is probably the last regular issue of MASK I'm picking up. I just don't really care about this end of the EU. I know at some point I'll at least partially regret this decision; these titles are all so tied together, after all, that we've seen Scrap Iron working for Miles Mayhem and Matt Trakker build his vehicles from Cybertronian technology. So logic dictates that 'crossing of the streams' will continue. That said, I did not have any MASK toys as a kid; I never saw the cartoon (that I remember) or read the comics. So I think I can let this one go.

Event Horizon: Inferno is the Event Horizon story I've wanted for thirty years. Destined to be in my top of the year. 

With all the crossover stuff happening around this book, I am very happy that Fraction and Jimenez appear to be keeping that from infecting the regular book. Because I really dig everything happening in this one. Issue 5 is still probably my favorite comic so far this year. So I'm invested. I just don't care about Commissioner Vandal Savage, Mayor Poison Ivy and the whole police angle. It feels too beholden to what Marvel just did in Daredevil: Born Again. I know this always happens with the big two: they share concepts like this. It's fine. I haven't minded what we've gotten of this so far in the book, and actually quite liked the idea of the police hunting the Bat-Family. Now that this plot point is turning into a full-on "Event," I just want it to stay the hell out of the book so it can focus on other things.

Like Minotaur, who my cohost Mike Shin pointed out is almost definitely an AI crime boss. Now that's not something I've seen anywhere else. You?

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Watch:

Monday night, K and I hit the Regal Mystery Movie: Horror Edition and were thrilled with an early screening of Eli Roth's Ice Cream Man.

This movie is f*cking bonkers!

Weapons meets Terrifier is my elevator pitch. Weapons, because there are children running around constantly causing mayhem; Terrifier because their mayhem consists of brutally murdering every adult they encounter in some of the most graphic ways I've seen on a big screen since Terrifier 3. This is not for everyone - I can't tell you how many people walked out of the theatre Monday night - but if you have a sick sense of humor like I guess K and I do, I think this will really make for a fabulous night at the theatre!

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Christmas, Bloody Christmas

Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - La Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomimi

The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop OST

Ween - 12 Golden Country Greats

Ween - Featuring the Shit Creek Boys: Live in Toronto Canada

Ween - Live at Stubbs (Disc 2)

The Black Keys - Magic Potion

Alice in Chains - Sap

Alice in Chains - Dirt

Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

Gatta Merta - Black Hall (single)

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Card:

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

• Four of Pentacles

• King of Swords

• XVI: The Tower

Holy Fawn - Drag Me Into the Woods

I knew nothing about Holy Fawn before last week when I stumbled across them on Apple Music. Listening to their 2018 album Death Spells, I was pretty blown away. The band's Wikipedia page lists them as Black Gaze, which I won't exactly contest, but there is a lot more than that going on here. This entire record is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to digging into their follow-up, 2022's Dimensional Bleed. 

Fantastic album names that completely fit their sound, too. 

Check out Holy Fawn's Bandcamp HERE.

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NCBD:

Shortest haul in a while. Enjoy, wallet - you've earned this!

Loving this series, thus far. Not sure how long a trip we're in for on Red Roots - the solicitations on League of Comic Book Geeks stop next month with #5. Hope that's just a "seasonal hiatus."

DeMatteis back to do a What If...? Based on the greatest Spider-Man story ever written? And it's a one-shot? Sign me up!

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Watch:

I haven't seen I Sell the Dead since it first hit DVD, back in 2008/2009. Probably watched on a through-the-mail DVD rental from Netflix. So I was super excited when I saw Vinegar Syndrome (or one of their partner labels) had it.

 

My copy arrived yesterday, so by the time you read this, I've already revisited this one. In a weird coincidence, Writer/Director Glen McQuaid had just ended up on my radar again via one of the more recent issues of Fangoria, where they did a piece about his new film, The Restoration of Grayson Manor, which is making the festival rounds now.

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Playlist:

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust

Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST

Ministry - Animositsomina

Ministry - Amerikkant

Spotlights - Love & Decay

Boards of Canada - Inferno

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Oz

Carlos Rafael Rivera - They Will Kill You OST

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Card:

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

• Ten of Cups

• VII: The Chariot

• XIX: The Sun

Only thing I'm interested in knowing right now is if I'll end up in the ER again - the stone I thought passed apparently did not, because yesterday was ROUGH. The cards don't really work that way, but I'll take these three as a nod to happiness, determination and success as a nod that I will be able to weather the storm on my own.

Ozzy Osbourne!

One year ago today.

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NCBD:

My comics pull for Wednesday,, 7/22/26:

Despite not caring for the "Quintesson War" storyline very much, I'm liking where everyone landed in the fallout from those events. I think Darak and Solila off the Great Ring and in cahoots with Pythona.

My final issue! All the way to 300 with these guys. Hats off - still the best reboot of anything I've ever experienced. 

I finally caught up on this earlier in the month and spoke about it HERE. As I ready myself for this final issue, I'll just say this is also a contender for best of the year. So nice to travel back to the Vertigo 80s with ol' tall, green and swampy.

The penultimate issue before whatever #50 is going to do to change the series. Loving these "young Erika" stories, but ready to get back to the here and now.

The final of Chris Condon and Jacob Philips' first Ezra Cain mystery. Hoping there will be more down the road, although these will undoubtedly read better as trades, so I may refrain from buying any more of this particular series monthly.

 

I dug the atmosphere and overall storyline for Brutal Dark, and I've said it before and will continue to preach - we need more stories to remind the world that nazis and nationalism are bad. Especially now, when there's a growing number of people in our culture afraid to talk about the unpleasantness of the past. 

Another that will easily ride out the year in my top five. 

The finale of this wonderful aquatic horror mini-series! Oni still going strong.

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Watch:

I'll admit I watched this trailer not expecting to care one way or the other about this flick. It feels a bit like that strain of Horror that includes titles like Afaid and Megan 2.0. That said, there's a jump scare here, though, that made me laugh out loud. In a good way!

Also, what I did not notice at first - this is directed by Rob Savage, and I quite enjoyed both Host and The Boogeyman, so I'm in.

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Playlist:

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight (pre-release singles)

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Nell' ora blu

Melvins - (A) Senile Animal

Carlos Rafael Rivera - They Will Kill You OST

Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - La Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomimi

Pilot Priest & Electric Youth - Come True OST

Zombie - Shape Shift

Boris/Merzbow - 2R0I2P0

Mastodon - Marrow Deep (pre-release singles)

Spotlights - Alchemy for the Dead

Holy Fawn - Death Spells

Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

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Card:

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

• Seven of Swords

• Knight of Pentacles

• XIII: Death

Big change brought about by successful ambition. No idea where to apply that in my life, unless it's telling me my ambitious trek to abstain from beer until at the very earliest November 5th to help my liver recover will pay off. And by pay off, I mean grant me the rest of my lifetime happily drinking pints (maybe not every night anymore, though...).

M83 - Beauties Can Die

From their 2003 second album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, which I'm not sure I had ever listened to before, despite my obsession with this band starting with Saturdays = Youth and culminating on the follow-up Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. Great record, but it takes a little getting used to. You can steam the entire thing "Officially" on their YouTube page HERE (or just any of the streamers).

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Read:

Last week I picked back up on the re-read of Terry Moore's Rachel Rising that I started on New Year's Eve, 2025. I don't know how I got away from it for so long, because although I'd left off on issue 15, I re-read the entire rest of the forty-two-issue series in about a day and a half. 

I read this monthly, so while I have all the floppies, there are seven trade volumes collecting the full series and a recently released omnibus. This one is so worth your time. I mean, I think this is, in my humble opinion, the greatest Horror comic of all time. It's that good, and it's all down to Terry Moore's insanely relatable style and, the flip side to that coin, his absolutely nefarious approach to Horror. There are some insanely dark and disturbing themes, images and ideas in this book, but they never feel like they've gone too far. The overall story starts small and becomes brilliantly biblical, and those are two "B" words that usually do not go together in Shawn's world. 

The characters are fantastic and, again, so likable and relatable. Anyone who's read Moore's seminal Strangers in Paradise knows how great his characters are and make no mistake, Rachel, Jet, Zoe, Aunt Johnnie and Earl all feel like one fucked up branch of my interior family now, and I'm having a hard time letting them go. 

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Playlist:

Bauhaus - Gotham (Live)

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Bauhaus - Go Away White

The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer

3Teeth - Eponymous

M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Russian Circles - Gnosis

Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4 (single)

Melvins/Helms Alee - Controlling Data for a Better Feeling Future

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

Pinebender - Working Nine to Wolf

Plague Bringer - As the Ghosts Collect, the Corpses Rest

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Card:

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

• Queen of Pentacles

• Six of Cups

• Ten of Pentacles

Emotion makes it difficult to rule the Earthly matters. A direct reference to spending money frivilously, of which, I have recently been guilty of. On a good path now, but have some make up work to do. 

Mastodon - Jaguar God

 

Thinking about this guy a lot lately.

 

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Watch:

Rewatched Richard Bates, Jr's Excision last night:

Still hits just as hard as it did the first time.

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Read:

Last week, I mentioned I'd begun a reread of Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers series for upcoming episodes of Drinking with Comics. I spoke of the pleasure I've found in realizing this doesn't just hold up, but surpasses my initial response upon reading it monthly upon release circa 2005. I also mentioned my surprise that, unlike last time when my favorite titles in the series would have skewed toward the more Occult-based characters (Zatanna, Klarion), this time, I found the two books I'd "tolerated" before now at the top of my favorites list. One of those is Manhattan Guardian; the other is Shining Knight. Shining Knight, in particular, has blown me away this time through, and nowhere is that more evident than in the third issue:

The issue begins with an FBI agent leading a specialist into the lock-up where the LAPD are holding Justin, the titular Knight, last of Arthur's Round Table, flung forward in time after a melee in Castle Revolving. They talk a bit about the Knight's Sword, which the expert classifies as coming from Deep Time, essentially confirming the Arthurian aspect, and then this happens:

I'm only really remembering some of the finer points in the series as I go, so this whole Civilization Iteration angle surprised me. I've always been fascinated by the idea that human civilization has come and gone in great swathes over the history of this planet, and to see Morrison so eloquently tie this idea into this series really made everything about it resonate even more than it already has. 

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Playlist:

The Caretaker - Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta

Sisters of Black Mountain - Amdusias (single)

Sisters of Black Mountain - Spirits of the Dead (single)

Mastodon - Your Ghost Again (single)

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir

Johnny Jewel - Ageless E.P.

Silencio - End of the Glass (single)

Chryta Bell - Sycamore Trees (single)

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Mastodon - Leviathan 

Metallica - Garage Days

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars

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Card:

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

• VI: The Lovers

• Seven of Swords

• 17: The Star

Collaboration opens up new vistas that lead to enlightenment. 

The Caretaker - Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia

I spent a lot of time with The Caretaker yesterday. From reading an old interview in an issue of The Wire from 2009, to listening to the entire Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia boxset, which is waaaay OOP but available on Bandcamp HERE. 

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NCBD:

Wow - seems like every week's pull has been a doozy, and I've been cutting back. So many great creator-owned titles hitting the market lately. Here we go...

I did not love the six-part Quintesson War storyline, though I liked it more rereading it the other day than I did as it came out. Big shake-ups, HUGE really, so I don't know why I was left feeling... underwhelmed. 

I really should have waited for this one to hit trade, but I guess after DC holding it on for so long, I wanted to make sure I actually got my hands on it as soon as I could. 

The first issue of Red Roots had me. I mean, had me. Second issue was great, but also introduced an element of what miiiight be high fantasy? Let's see how #3 shakes out. I'm hoping for more of a Seven to Eternity than Tolkien vibe. 

The twists and turns in the new Condon/Phillips Weird Fiction/Mystery are great. Can't wait to see how this all comes out. 

And so the epic battle concludes! This book has been just the right kind of crazy, schlocky, video game fist-fight punch-em-up I'd hoped for when I signed on. Sad to see it go. 

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Trailer Punk Podcast - Torture Gallery Interview

John Carpenter - Lost Themes Vol. 1

Leather Strip - The Pleasure of Penetration

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

Boards of Canada - Geogaddi

The Caretaker - Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta

Algiers - The Underside of Power

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Card:

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

• Two of Wands

• 05: The Hierophant

• Five of Wands

My point of view is my dogma. Break it in half and learn something new.

New Music From Sleep!

 

Big Sleep news. Matt Pike is out, replaced by Bubba Dupree of Void. Also, Dale Crover from Melvins on drums? This new track is interesting, but there's a lethargy here that feels a bit ominous. I'll have to wait for the full album. In the meantime, this is being released as a flexi disc along with a Sleep comic book, put out by Third Man Records. You can pre-order the comic HERE. The link to the bundle that includes the music comes up 404, so it's probably sold out.

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Watch:

From Writer Robert Bolesto and Director Agnieszka Smoczyńska, the team that gave us the delightfully messed up film The Lure (which The Horror Vision and Projexploitation crossed over to cover in great depth HERE):

I can only hope this hits theatres by me, even if it means driving to The Nuart in Nashville. I love that this feels a bit like The Lure, but also strikes me as having similar DNA to Ryan Kruger's Street Trash! There's so much energy on screen, and again, we have someone at work making a trailer who knows how to show us enough to whip us into a frenzy of expectation, but give nothing away.

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Read:

I finished the third book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, The Wastelands. Still one of my favorites of the series, but it took me longer to read than I anticipated. Next up: Wizard and Glass, the last of the books in the series that I've previously read more than once. 

Once we get past this one, it's all first-time re-reads and not since Wolves of Calla, Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower each released. This endeavor has been a long time coming, and I've still got a pretty good head of steam. 

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Playlist:

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports

John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir

Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

Tomahawk - Oddfellows

Melvins/Helms Alee

The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir

Boards of Canada - Inferno 

Perturbator - Age of Aquarius

Final Light - Eponymous

Greg Puciato - Mirrorcell

Lard - The Last Temptation of Reid

All Them Witches - House of Mirrors

Converge - Hum of Hurt

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Card:

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

* Seven of Wands

• Page of Cups

* Eight of Wands

Positive results are the result of good communication. That said, it can be difficult to say what needs to be said to achieve those positive results.

As is often the case, I'm not picking up what the cards are putting down at the moment, so this one will sit on my desk until morning, just as a reminder.