Never heard of these guys until the other day when I saw this. Instantly intrigued, so I ran through their 2025 album Tyrants of Wrath and dug it. Their Bandcamp is HERE.
NCBD:
It's funny how the wheel turns. Not too long ago, I was lamenting that almost everything I read each month is based on a pre-existing IP from my childhood. While I am still seeing that some weeks, there is a whole crop of new creator-owned books I love, and three of the biggest ones have number two issues this week!
Chris Condon and Charlie Adlard. 'Nuff said. The Earth's started with some serious Blood Simple vibes - I talked a bit about that when we reviewed issue one on Drinking with Comics last month (HERE), so I was immediately infatuated.
Interestingly enough, on the same episode of Drinking with Comics I linked above, I also talked about how James Tynion IV and Marguerite Bennett's Odin has two things I love: 1) Elements that pay homage to Donna Tartt's The Secret History, and 2) dead nazis. Can't go wrong, especially when I have a hunch there are more dead nazis on the horizon. Watch Mike and I talk about that first issue HERE.
Rounding out the new stuff, Andy MacDonald, Matthew and Mark Elijah Rosenberg's If Destruction Be Our Lot might have actually been my favorite of the three. I guess I'm a sucker for Rosenberg's style, and this definitely feels adjacent to What's the Furthest Place From Here storytelling-wise.
I'm starting to wonder if it was that big of a thing for Aaron to die so early on in this series, if we were bound to spend this much time in the past where he's still alive. Either way, the road to issue 50 winnows, and I'm hoping for some big stuff to coalesce out of what's building in The Fall of the House of Slaughter.
And we close the week with one of the aforementioned childhood IPs, although expertly adapted to the present day (and a middle-aged reading base) in the pages of the Energon Universe.
Watch:
At some point in the last year or so, I caught wind of Russell Bates and Matt McDowell's 16mm Sheila and the Brainstem, then quickly forgot about it again. That's okay, because I randomly came across Severin's announcement for the upcoming release. Here's the trailer:
Part Repo Man, part... I'm not quite sure, but I'm curious as all hell to see this one. No date yet, but it's a'coming.
Playlist:
Boards of Canada - Inferno
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Vol. II: Philosophy of Beyond
This one here... this had to wait until the weekend (technically, I'm posting this on Monday, but I penned the post itself between Saturday and Sunday). This is a hard-drinking song right here. I LOVE this track - easily in my top 3 from these guys.
Watch:
I rewatched Jennifer Reeder's Knives and Skin this past Saturday night. Man, one of the most insanely original films I've seen in years.
I may have mentioned this here before, but I feel like Reeder and Jane Schoenbrun are kind of helping fill in the gaping maw that David Lynch's death left in my life. These two Directors are so original, their work so breathtaking and of the twenty-first century, they help me contextualize the last twenty years in ways Lynch helped me contextualize the first thirty of my time here. Also, Knives and Skin was filmed not far from where I grew up, so that's pretty awesome to see here as well.
Read:
Although I picked up and started reading Absolute Wonder Woman Volume 2 back when it hit stands in... November? I shelved it until I knew we were going to cover it
Possibly even better than the first volume, this pretty much cements Hayden Sherman as my favorite working comic book artist.
Possibly even better than the first volume, this pretty much cements Hayden Sherman as my favorite working comic book artist. The story evolves in a very natural way from the events in the first volume, with a recording of the Teratryde's death sound falling into the wrong hands, and Diana seeking out information that another Amazon is being held in a government Black Site called Area 41. Said site is built atop an ancient maze, and we get all manner of wonderfully odd and horrific maze denizens from Thompson and Sherman.
Also, an interesting take on Zatana, a character the Absolute Universe introduces in a decidedly more horrific manner than the regular DCU does.
Playlist:
Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Vol. II: Philosophy of Beyond
John Carpenter w/ Alan Howarth - Prince of Darkness OST
Perturbator - Dangerous Days
Melvins/Helms Alee - Controlling Data for a Better Feeling Future
Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments
Ruin of Romantics - Velvet Dawn
Marilyn Manson - Exit Wounds (pre-release single)
Mastodon - Your Ghost Again (single)
Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited
Mascara - Hla-11Tf (single)
Double Life - Indifferent Stars (single)
King Woman - Doubt EP
Flying Lotus - 1983
Massive Attack - 100th Window
Phantom G.D.L. - Tyrants of Wrath
Deftones - private music
Beak> - Eponymous
Belbury Poly - From an Ancient Star
The Smiths - Eponymous
Card:
Back to my tried-and-true Thoth Deck for today's spread:
• Knight of Swords
• XIII: Death
• Prince of Wands
Use intelligence to guide changes ahead into fuel creativity.
I rewatched Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny last night, and I'll be damned - I actually liked it even more upon this second watch! This is one of the most beautiful films I've seen in a while, and it's allll Bryan Fuller. Very much reminds me of Pushing Daisies from back in the day (at some point, I would really like to rewatch and finish the paltry two seasons of that show, which I absolutely underestimated upon first watch but slowly grew to love back when those first DVD collections were released circa 2006/2007).
Anyway, I'm not one for ABBA. In fact, back in the early 00s, before I left Chicago, I used to hang out at a bar called The Roadhouse (no, Jeff Healy did not have a residency there) on Monday nights, and a joke that went around the place was, if someone would put "Dancing Queen" on the jukebox, I would finish my beer and leave. That said, ABBA's "I Am the Tiger" plays over the final credits to Dust Bunny, and it's perfect!
Watch:
A trailer dropped for Victorian Psycho, the film adaptation of Virginia Feito's novel of the same name that has been on my radar since it came out only last year.
As one of the comments on the video's page points out, this is a proper 'teaser,' as it doesn't really show any coherent details about the story, which is always a plus. Add in Maika Monroe, and I'm hoping this sees a theatrical release.
Playlist:
Émilie Leviensaise-Farrouch - Censor OST
Tim Hecker - Infinity Pool OST
The Sword - Age of Winters
Mascara - Hla-11Tf EP
Massive Attack and Tom Waits - Boots on the Ground (single)
Massive Attack - 100th Window
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Anthrax - Spreading the Disease
The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir
Landroid - Imperial Dunes
The Reverend Horton Heat - It's Martini Time
The Reverend Horton Heat - Liquor in the Front
Foxy Shazam - Dark Blue Night
The Cure - Seventeen Seconds
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
Card:
Drawing from the Thoth again today.
Direct reference to something creative I should have done today and did not. I'll pick up that slack tomorrow.
Another fabulous new track from The Veils. I still haven't seen an announcement pertaining to a new album, but my eyes are open.
Watch:
Eli Roth is really hit-or-miss with me. When I first heard about his new film, Ice Cream Man, the person who told me about it described it as an adaptation of W. Maxwell Prince's Horror Anthology comic of the same name, published by Image Comics. Turns out that's not the case; this is a new, original film from Roth. And where, a few years ago, I would have approached a new Roth movie with more trepidation. After Thanksgiving, though, I'm willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I can't say I've cared for anything else he's done movie-wise, but I love to listen to Roth talk, and his short-lived Las Vegas Goreatorium was one of my favorite things when I experienced it circa 2012.
This trailer does a good job of not oversharing or selling, but one thing really got me here - the blood snow angel. So yeah, I'll take two scoops of f*cked up sh*t on a waffle cone, please. I just hope it tastes as good as that turkey from a few years ago.
Playlist:
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
sunn O))) - Loser
Flying Lotus - You're Dead
Boy Harsher - Careful
Émilie Leviensaise-Farrouch - Censor OST
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
The Veils - Little White Bird (Fragile World) Single
Card:
One card from my trusty Thoth deck for tonight, 'cuz I'm tired.
I'm on the fence on this one. While I love Loathe's 2020, I Let It in, and It Took Everything, the album cuts its Nü Metal elements with enough atmospherics and melody that I don't really notice them. This on the other hand, while being insanely heavy, feels a little more outside my Nü tolerance.
We'll see. As usual, it's never a good idea to make a decision about a single without the context of the full album informing that decision.
That said, I just realized that this is actually the second track released from the upcoming album, A Stranger to You, out July 17th. You can pre-order the album HERE, and the previously released track, "Gifted Every Strength," is actually a lot more promising in my opinion. So the verdict is still out.
Watch:
You know, there are more and more shark movies every year, and although they terrify me, I guess I'm the guy who just has trouble taking any shark movie seriously other than Jaws. That's not entirely true, but it's not entirely untrue either. Giant squid, though?
Holy f*cking nightmare fuel!!!
I really hope this hits a theatre near me. I think seeing this great big honkin' Kraken (CG, yes, but that's fine in this case, as I'd hate to think of the animal wranglers or, for that matter, actors having to deal with an actual giant squid.
Playlist:
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
Low Cut Connie - Livin in the USA (pre-release singles)
Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl
Various - The New (playlist from Jacob)
Nun Gun - Mondo Decay
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞
Bryce Miller - City Depths
Living Nudes - My World Exploded
Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Wasteland
Drug Church - Prude
Amigo the Devil - Born Against
Them Are Us Too - Part Time Punks Session
MadLove - White With Foam
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
Card:
One card from my Thoth deck:
A reminder that the only good reason to do most things has a root cause analysis of Love.
Not gonna lie, I'm missing the weird Veils I fell in love with on Total Depravity. These last few releases have been so... heavy. And yet... damn. These guys have so much emotional gravitas in each song... it's always breathtaking. The comparisons to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are unavoidable, but also, those comparisons most definitely sell The Veils short.
Watch:
I don't know very much about Resident Evil, so I am uninvested. I saw a handful of the previous cinematic adaptations and liked them as popcorn Action/Horror flicks. This is Zach Cregger's take, and, although the trailer starts with a deja vu moment to Barbarian, it has me.
I appreciate that those invested in the games and their lore might not appreciate his self-professed 'different' take on the material. I'm just hoping for a good flick. I was originally bummed that he made two outstanding original films and then got quickly co-opted to do a pre-existing IP. This trailer is making me feel better about that.
Read:
I took a brief detour from my Dark Tower reread to burn through an advance copy of Jessica Lacy's (i.e., the author formerly known as Ivy Tholen) newest novel, Fatally Yours, this week. This is the new version of Mother Dear, and I can say, while Jessica didn't change much, she definitely tightened this one, and I cruised through in just a couple of days, laughing and wincing all the way.
The thing I find so interesting about what Jessica does is, she takes 'chick lit' or 'chick flicks' and subverts the genre by splicing in Slasher DNA. And, as Stephen Graham Jones famously said about Tastes Like Candy, she doesn't go light on the gore."
There are images in Jessica's books that stand a head above anything I've seen in a Slasher flick in 20 years. Sure, there's also a lot of wedding stuff and fashion stuff in Fatally Yours that I either had to shrug off or look up (I kind of wish I could wear Louboutin combat boots), but that's also part of the fun.
I'll recommend this one to anyone who loves a great slasher, or anyone who loves a great laugh, or anyone who wants to see what Father of the Bride* would look like if it were remade by Damien Leone.
* I've never seen Father of the Bride, but I'd definitely watch a remake of it if helmed by Mr. Leone. Just saying.
Playlist:
Steve Moore - Christmas Bloody Christmas OST
Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon
Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth
Flying Lotus - Yasuke
Dreamkid - Daggers
Electric Youth and Pilot Priest - Come True OST
Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
Beach House - Bloom
The Soft Moon - Exister
Card:
I felt a pull to my Thoth again, but remember, you can grab Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot HERE.
• I: The Magus
• 7 of Disks: Debauch
• 6 of Disks: Success
This new idea might seem like it falters, but stick with it and something will come of it. Words of encouragement as I continue a fairly productive stint of days working on Shadow Play Book 2.
From the forthcoming album Signal Fire, out June 12th on Relapse Records. Pre-order HERE.
NCBD:
Here's my NCBD pull for Wednesday, 4/15/26:
Thus far, I love this adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep.
I'm not really sure why we're side-stepping the next issue of Ordained to do a zero-issue one-off for the hitman called in to take out Father Roy, but I dug the first two issues of the regular Ordained series, so by all means, toss in a few one-shots. This feels like it might have been inspired by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher series, the way many of the characters had one-shots or mini-series; it just seems like, after only two issues, this is a bit premature. Either way, I paid to see a Priest kick Mob arse, and I've no complaints so far, so let's deep dive the man that I'm assuming is a total badass.
Another Bad Idea book. There was a preview of this one in Ordained #2, and honestly, seeing David Lapham and Bill Sienkiewicz's names attached, this could be a Rainbow Bright series, and I'd probably pick it up.
A silent Zartan issue? That worked really well back in G.I.Joe ARAH #85, so I can't wait to see what Hama and team do with it here.
Pivoting back to Scarlett and Storm Shadow? This reminds me how much I'm digging this book and don't really need the reliance on "Ninjas" that the original ARAH book did. Still, I feel like, although this book started off lukewarm, it's kind of hit a stride, so I'm cautiously optimistic here.
After reading last month's Batwoman #1 by Greg Rucka and Dani, I picked up the DC Compact edition of the run this new book continues, named Elegy. I didn't love it the way I love some of Rucka's stuff, so I'm hanging onto my sub for this new chapter for a month or two more, hoping it really grabs me
Playlist:
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Mountain Realm - Shadowlorn
Blackbraid - Nocturnal Womb EP
Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
sunn O))) - Domkirke
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Type O Negative - World Coming Down
Plague Bringer - As the Ghosts Collect the Corpses Rest
Mercy Girl - Closer EP
Card:
First spread since returning home from my trip, I thought since I've been using my mini-Thoth while away, I'd come home and plug back into the legacy deck.
• 4 of Disks: Power
• Prince of Swords
• 10 of Wands: Oppression
Establishing a power base is great, but once done, something has to navigate how you use that power. Will without intellect can go awry, as it is as raw a force as nature offers, only on a human scale. Things go wrong when Will is ruled by Earthly desires. Read: There has to be something bigger.
Mr. Brown, our friend Hellman and I hit the Forever Deaf Fest this past Saturday, thus rounding out my Chicago stint. We bought tickets for Plague Bringer - their first show in ten years and the first time any of us had seen the legendary Chicago Industrial-Death band live.
Worth every f*cking penny!
Also on tap, we caught Year of the Knife, who were fantastic as well.
Watch:
There's not a helluva lot Marvel does anymore that I care about, but the 'street level' stuff still hits me in the old-school sweet spot. While I've only seen the first episode of Daredevil Born Again season two, that's a priority now that I'm back from my Chicago jaunt. There's confirmation that DD season three is filming now, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has me cautiously optimistic, giving me the kind of anticipation tingles that the MCU used to give me during its first couple of years. And now... Frank gets an R-rated one-shot!
Bernthal IS Frank Castle to me, and I'm super excited about this. Also, there are apparently some easter eggs in here I would never have caught, one in particular that pertains to the possible eventual relaunch of the X-Men. I know, that's getting into the weeds of stuff I'll probably only avoid and/or be disappointed by. Still, as a now forty-year comic reader, this shit is hard-wired into my blood.
Read:
Huge haul this past Friday while I was hanging out at Amazing Fantasy Books & Comics. I'm not going to post everything, but here are some highlights:
Here's something I don't think I knew existed, but I had to have the moment I saw it. Props on Amazing Fantasy for always carrying not only the best selection of comics, but an awesome selection of non-comic stuff.
Oni Press ruled 2025, but I don't think I've read anything from them so far this year. That changes now that I have the first issue of Time Daniel, David Andry and Maan House's Estuary: A Ghost Story. I know nothing about this, but it's another three-issue Oni Press Horror mini-series, so that's all I really need to know. Also, with a quick glance, House's art - which I am unfamiliar with - is as moody and atmospheric as the cover art promises, so this was an easy 'yes.'
I have wanted this for quite some time now, and I was happy to grab it at my favorite shop! Stokoe's art is beyond almost anything else, and when applied to Godzilla, well, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Now here's the only one I had time to read while I was still in Chicago: Matt Kindt and David Lapham's Hero Trade: Project Chimera. I've been keeping an eye on Bad Idea's second-wave releases (I think that's what it's called; basically everything after Planet Death rolled out last year). Despite that, I don't remember hearing about this one. The cover caught my eye, and seeing Lapham's name made me open it and upon doing so, the B&W presentation made me think I was looking at Stray Bullets for a second.
So yeah, it came home with me.
This was originally published last year, two issues, and by the time you hit the end of the second issue, you know it's just going to be two issues. Further research shows that there are multiple series within the overall Hero Trade umbrella, starting back in 2020, all two-issue or one-shot length. I liked this enough that I'll probably keep my eyes peeled for future issues or any back issues I can find out in the wild.
Playlist:
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Jim Williams - Alpha OST
Black Sabbath - Eponymous
Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March
Gorillas - The Mountain
Radiohead - Kid A
Radiohead - Amnesiac
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - Eponymous
Neurosis - An Undying Love for a Burning World
Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
King Gizard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats' Nest
Writing this Tuesday at 11L12 AM CST. Starting my first morning on the Southside with Black Sabbath's Paranoid. This is a regular ritual when I return to the soil from whence I came - Sabbath helps me reconnect to this area; I literally feel the harmonization singing in my blood.
Watch:
Yesterday, my Horror Vision cohost Missi and I hit a local big-box to see Julia Ducournau's new film, Alpha. I walked in knowing NOTHING and, as usual, that was the best way to go in.
Alpha is an arduous journey that had me squirming and contorting in my seat for its entire run time. The subject matter was a surprise to me, as was the unrelenting twist of the mundane into horrific body horror beyond almost what I could stand. It's not a gory film or a disturbing film in any capacity I could have expected. My elevator pitch would be, "Requiem for a Dream done by David Cronenberg if he were French." That's a bit of a cop out, but most elevator pitches are. Suffice it to say, this will easily be one of the 'best' films I see this year.
NCBD:
I am out of town, and so I won't be bringing any of my books home to read this week. I will be swinging into Amazing Fanasy sometime this week, so there may be an addendum post, but here's all the great stuff I will have waiting for me upon my return to Clarksville:
I said this on a recent episode of Drinking with Comics, but it kind of blows my mind that for as long as I've been a devoted, weekly comic reader (since July of 1986), forty years on, most of my pull list are titles based on 80s childhood IPs that I love. There have certainly been titles for all of these characters running most of those forty years, but it wasn't until Robert Kirkman (of course) acquired them that I actually started reading them.
Continuing the longest-running continuity the Turtles have ever had! I know they zeroed out the count back in 2024, but I still look at this by the 'Legacy' number, which would be issue 177. And while there's definitely a modicum of status quo creeping back in (Splinter's alive (I think), the four brothers are back together as a team (I think!), all the Jenika and mutanttown characters have been moved to their own books (which I don't read), I'm still pretty pleased with how this is going.
On our way to issue 50! No lie - I'm going to have to reread a lot of these "history" issues, but that's fine. SIKTC remains a modern, non-childhood favorite. In fact, my childhood might not have made it out of this book's world alive!
Tim Seely, Ryan O'Nan, Paolo Armitano and crew's Pretty Hate Machine will be my first comic from Mad Cave Studios, and how could I not buy this? Look at that cover - gnarly! And then, what was the other eye catcher... oh yeah. The title! Naming comics of movies/novels off of popular music titles is a tricky gambit, but I will give this one a fair shake because... finger knives!
Speaking of needing a reread to reorient myself, year. That's this one, too. Regardless, can't wait to jump back in and reexperience all the steeping paranoia and terror that is The House At... series.
Last week's Baroness one-shot that kicked off the month-long Silent Missions "Event" exceeded my expectations by a mile. I've always loved the Crimson Guards - especially Larry Hama's CGs with their plastic surgery, swappable domestic identities - so I'm fully expecting this to be on par.
And we close this week with the latest issue of Larry Hama's long-running ARAH. Last issue was probably my favorite Joe comic in a long time, and that makes sense. I dig the more fantastical elements of the Energon Universe Joe book, but nothing beats that time-tested Hama realism. While I haven't read this book since circa 1991, coming back to it with issue 300 showed me that some more SciFi elements had snuck in here, too, and it's always great to get something that reminds me of why I loved this book as a kid.
Playlist:
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy
Blood Mother - The Night Fires (single)
Gylt - I Will Commit A Holy Crime: Tandem
Young Widows - Power Sucker
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Tender Prey
Jozef Van Wissem - Praise Shall Sound From Shore To Shore... (single)
Afghan Whigs - House of I (single)
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• VII: The Chariot
• Pince of Wands
• Princess of Wands
Fast action results in swift and positive results.
I am LOVING this new sunn O))) record! Something about the big, thick sonic slabs that these guys' music on vinyl produces as it leaks like scorched engine oil from my speakers and spreads out over everything around it! I had to leave my record player behind for a few days to drive up to Chicago, but that's not killing the absolute joy this release has left me with.
Watch:
What a F*cking Weekend!
Beyondfest's Beyond Chicago turned out to be a blast from start to finish! Here's what I saw and what I thought:
Friday, 4/03:
I knew nothing about Writer Derek Kolstad's Normal going in other than Bob Odenkirk was in it. I can vouch for the trailer above - it does not ruin any of the surprises. Still better to avoid trailers, but I post them here for posterity anyway, so if you need a little bit of a whetting, this should do it. Especially when I confirm that this flick is every bit as action-packed, clever and funny as it looks. I'm a moderate fan of both Kolstad's John Wick flicks and his other Odenkirk-collaborations Nobody, but this? This I fucking LOVE!
Saturday, 4/04:
Not sure I am qualified to make this statement, because I'm definitely not the most versed person in the history of Martial Arts flicks, but still, I feel okay speculating that Kenji Tanigaki's The Furious might have the most ambitious fight choreography ever filmed. This flick is a FIREBALL; The Furious sets up quick and then takes off and never gives the audience a breath. No exhales, just a straight line of amazingly choreographed (and oddly mostly non-lethal) violence for most of the movie's runtime.
Absolutely GLORIOUS!!!
Sunday, 4/05:
A double feature of David Kittredge's new documentary, Boorman and the Devil, and the film it discusses, the oft-maligned Exorcist II: The Heretic.
I'd never seen The Heretic before. I'd always heard it was "awful," but honestly, that wouldn't stop me. Really, this one has always kind of been in short supply, and also, as one of the few films that actually scares me, I just never thought The Exorcist needed a sequel. Combine that with my vitriol for part 3, and I've spent my life avoiding this one. But how, oh how dear reader, could I pass up seeing this on Easter Sunday?
Seeing Kittredge's documentary gave me so much context for finally seeing The Exorcist II; not just how Sir John Boorman ended up directing it, or why the studio went in such a unique direction with the sequel to one of the most successful films ever up to that point, but also, Boorman's often ignored place in "New Hollywood" and how this film fit into that era.
Excellent documentary that I would recommend to everyone, regardless of how you feel about the sequel. And I can say that because I did not love The Heretic. Again, Kittredge's film gave me the context to appreciate a lot about Boorman's film, but my major hang-up was Richard Burton, and he was a major hang-up. I won't be disrespectful, but I can tell you that, as much as I loathe George C. Scott's performance in part 3, I dislike Burton's more.
Didn't think that would be possible.
As a whole, however, I'll take The Heretic any day over Legion. Any day. With The Exorcist II, John Boorman created a truly unique film, and I respect the hell out of his vision, even if the end result doesn't turn out to be super palatable.
Read:
I finished Stephen King's original The Gunslinger in just three days. An unbelievably wonderful experience, re-reading this for the first time in over twenty years, opening the exact copy I acquired circa 1990, the large grain of the paper it's printed on in and of itself a beautiful, evocative memory.
Before moving on to The Drawing of the Three, I realized that I have had Bev Vincent's The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus on my shelf since it was published in the early 00s, and I've never read it!
So, after finishing The Gunslinger, I opened Vincent's book for the first time with the idea that after every one of King's installments in the Dark Tower series, I would read the corresponding chapter in Vincent's book.
Playlist:
Bakermat - The Ringmaster
Mascara - Going Postal
Blut Aus Nord - 777 Cosmosophy
Jozef Van Wissem - Praise Shall Sound From Shore to Sea
Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves
Nabihah Iqbal - Weighing of the Heart
Idles - Crawler
Dire Straits - Money For Nothing
Boston - Eponymous
Dead Maus - Random Album Title
Firewater - Gett Off the Cross... We Need The Wood For The Fire
Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Cop Shoot Cop - Release
Corrosion of Conformity - Good God/Baad Man
Flying Lotus - Yasuke
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• 8 of Discs - Prudence
• XVIII: The Moon
• 2 of Disks - Change
Lots of Earthly concerns and the neurosis they conceal. Diligence, balance and a keen eye so as not to be caught unaware by my own shortcomings. Already sussed this out a few days back, so I'll take this spread as confirmation.
New music from Monolord. I've always been a bit on the fence with these guys. Nothing on them, I think they came into my awareness at the same time a bunch of other similar bands did, back around twelve years ago. This track is pretty cool, though. New album, Neverending, is out May 29th on Relapse. Pre-order HERE.
Watch:
I cannot believe that James Gunn has made me care so much about characters I loathe in all previous iterations, and just aesthetically in general. But that's where we are.
I get the kind of chills watching this, I used to get from Marvel's trailers waaaaay back before they sank the ship with Civil War. And while Gunn is the "showrunner" here, no small debt to Director Craig Gillespie, whose I, Tonya and 2011 Fright Night remake both rule (yeah, I like the remake. Deal with it!).
Playlist:
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
sunn O))) - Loser
High On Fire - Cometh the Storm
Zeal & Ardor - Eponymous
The Mountain Goats - Bleed Out
Barry Adamson - Scala! OST
White Hex - Gold Nights
Saigon Blue Rain - Oko
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Live God
Double Life - Indifferent Stars
Mascara - Going Postal
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
The Replacements - Tim
Spoon - The Want My Soul
Card:
Quick pull before I headed out on my trip:
• 5 of Swords: Defeat
• VI: The Lovers
• XV: The Devil
I drove up to Chicago today. This trip started out as a "holy shit, we made it to 50!" celebration for Mr. Brown and me, and that's still essentially what it is, but it's also become a "Holy shit, Beyondfest is now in Chicago, too!" trip. I'm staying with my sister and her husband through Monday morning, at which time I will drive down to the South side and set up camp at Mr. Brown's until we see Plague Bringer on Saturday. First show in 10 years, and first show for either of us. Can't wait.
In the interim, I'm just soaking in not going to work for seven days (!) and Chicago! This pull tells me two things: I'm lessened without K with me (she didn't want to take this many days off work), and I'm open to squashing pre-conceived notions and receiving new, possibly 'heretical' ideas.
Doves have a greatest hits coming out, and that's great. I'm not really a greatest hits guy (there are a few), but this... what the hell is this track? I mean, recording session at St. Benedict's Abby? This is GLORIOUS!
You can order the best of HERE. Or, my advice, seek out their albums and get to know their music that way.
NCBD:
Light week, which is fine with me.
The past two issues of this book have been incredible, especially when you consider it costs only $2 more than most books from the big 2.
I skipped most of the GIJOE team-focused silent issues from a few months back - I think I only picked up the Beachhead one - but the upcoming Cobra-centric issues are a must! First up - that sexy, leather-clad terrorist herself, Anastasia DeCobray, AKA, the Baroness!
There appears to be a reciprocal relationship between how much I don't like the cover of an issue of this series and how good that issue is. Issue four was a book I nearly passed on, and it ended up being the best single issue of a series I've read so far this year. If that's any indication, this should be a fantastic issue!
Watch:
Here's one of the flicks I'm going to be attempting to get tickets to for Friday's Beyondfest line-up.
I know nothing about this (didn't watch the trailer), but I'm intrigued by the little I've heard.
Playlist:
Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST
Steve Moore - VFW OST
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
sunn O))) - Domkirke
sunn O))) & Boris - Altar
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
Anthrax - Persistence of Time
sunn O))) - Loser
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• 9 of Disks: Gain
• 7 of Disks: Worry
• XIV: The Sun
The ebb and flow of Earthly assets disappear in the blinding light of understanding.
I was unfamiliar with Nova Twins until I saw Kirill Sokolov's They Will Kill You last Thursday and then again yesterday afternoon. This song is in that movie, and just like Sokolov's film, the track makes an impression.
Watch:
Rewatched Night of the Comet the other night. Here's one of the original tv spots from 1984:
I didn't see this film until somewhere around 2009 or 2010. In fact, I didn't remember ever even hearing of it before then. It's not my favorite of these kind of flicks from the 80s, but it's nostalgic and pretty fun, so while it's not a film I will revisit often, I did add it to the collection just to have it in the library.
Read:
It has begun! Yesterday I read the first section in the 1990 edition of Stephen King's The Gunslinger, which I've had since '91. I LOVE this series, this book and this edition. The paintings by Michael Whelon are, like most of his paintings, phenomenal.
I don't think I've read this particular King novel since before the fifth Dark Tower book, The Wolves of Calla, came out in 2003. Twenty-three years!!! Up until this point, I made it a habit to reread every book in the series as new ones came out, and after 1997's Wizard and the Glass, there was the interminable gap during which time King convalesced after being hit by a van in 1999. I remember those days - scary times, fearing for both King's life and the idea that we might never get more Dark Tower books. After his recovery and eventual return to the series, the final three came fairly quickly, with Wolves in 2003, Song of Susannah hitting shelves in June 2004, and The Dark Tower following hot on its heels in September 2004. So this reread is a big deal for me, something I've wanted to do for years.
Playlist:
Windhand - Epoymous
Witchfinder - Hazy Rites
MadLove - White With Foam
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
Big Business - Here Come the Waterworks
Daydream Twins - Solstice For Embodiment
The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses
Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow
Crystal Castles - II
Jozef Can Wissem & Jim Jarmusch - An Attempt to Draw Aside the Veil
Dead Man's Bones - Eponymous
sunn O))) - Metta, Benevolence BBC6 Live: On the Invitatin of Mary Anne Hobbs
Slow Crush - Thirst
Nova Twins - Supernova
Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
Card:
I'm tired, so I'm setting aside Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot (which you can buy HERE) and pulling a single card from the Thoth deck.
Turning the intangible into a consumable form. I guess that's pretty much what I do as a writer, and I've had four good days of writing in a row. Also though, I've been on a mission to write down my dreams for the last two weeks, so there's another example.
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Was in the mood for some old school, mid-career Slayer, and this is what I landed on. From their 1990 album Seasons in the Abyss, the last good Slayer album, in my opinion. But what an album it is!
NCBD:
Here are all the titles in my box this NCBD, 3/25/26:
I'll admit that, thus far, Quintesson War feels a little underwhelming; however, that may just be a product of a slow start and the 30-day spacers between issues. We've certainly had hordes of Sharkticons, Quintesson Baliffs (they should refer to these as "Bulls") and some pretty massive battles, so I'm not sure what I'm whining about. This is issue 4 of 6, so we'll see how I feel when this is all said and done and I can re-read in a burst. Regardless, it's still pretty awesome in general, even if it doesn't live up to my expectations.
Still the biggest surprise of the year - I'm actually reading and enjoying a Spawn book. That's 100% because it's a Liam Sharp project, and it's brutal and beautiful and crazy.
Prohibition-era, Outer Dark/Weird Fiction Gumshoe Detective serial? I'm here for it. Loved the first issue as a set-up, so let's see where Condon and Phillips take us!
Speaking of Weird Fiction, Jeff Lemire's Minor Arcana continues to build up a whole lot of strange infrastructure with excellent characters, a fantastic setting, and plenty of mystery! I love a good "slipping into another world hidden alongside our own" kind of story, and this is that through ang through. I think. That's another thing - I'm not sure I can pin down what exactly is happening in this book, and that only adds to the intrigue! Keep 'em coming, Mr. Lemire!!!
The facsimile edition of one of the 80s GIJOE: ARAH books I never caught in the wild! This bridges a series gap in my collection, without beating my wallet to death. Win-win!
The first issue of Death Fight Forever was fucking CRAZY! We talk about it on Drinking with Comics HERE. I'm pretty psyched for issue 2! Let's see more of that coke-snorting snake man!
Watch:
For my 50th birthday yesterday, K and I went and saw Project Hail Mary. As I mentioned last week, I just finished reading the book, and as an introduction to Andy Weir's writing, this was a blast. How'd the movie hold up as an adaptation?
Well, this might be K's favorite movie of all time now, she says. A really solid adaptation script by Drew Goddard, who really distills things into a cinematic format from a book that really hinges on prose, so no easy feat this one. Something special for sure. Overall, the story works better as a novel, but the film is solid, and I'd encourage anyone interested to see it on the big screen. There's some "Wow" factor, and the heightened presentation really makes the emotions go big.
Playlist:
James Brown - Hell
Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey
Jackie Wilson - Radio Station (Apple Music)
Low Cut Connie - Private Lives
Drug Church - Prude
Gwar - Scumdogs of the Universe
Mr. Bungle - Eponymous
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Card:
Sticking with one card from the Thoth for today's Pull:
• Knight of Wands - Bringing light and new vision into the world. Translation: Stop celebrating and get back to writing!
