New Music from The Veils!!!

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. 

New Music From Genghis Tron!!!

 

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. 

Wide Eyes Towards The Sky

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

Anthrax - Anthems EP

Anthrax - Best of Both Worlds

Gylt - I Will Commit a Holy Crime: Tandem

Gylt - In 1,000 Agonies I Exist

Baroness - Red

Baroness - Chicago Music Exchange

Year of the Knife - No Love Lost

Plague Bringer - As the Ghosts Collect, the Corpses Rest

Corrosion of Conformity - Good God Baad Man

Anthrax - Spreading the Disease

Deftones - private music 

---

---

---

Card:

Loud and clear.

Julia Ducournea's Alpha!!!

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.

Beyond Chicago!!!

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

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.

Bring it on!!!

Doves Vs. Yeti

 

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. 

Cleopatra's Comet

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. 

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!

50

I thought I'd post a song and a card for the next year of my life, or perhaps to sum up the half-century that's served as prelude to the remainder of my time on this plane.

For the song, I chose Mr. Bungle's "Dead Goon." Not just because it's probably my favorite non-Volante Bungle track, but because it was referenced in my dream last night, when a long-deceased friend handed me a 16 oz. can of Dead Good Ale, the label for which was decorated with art reminiscent of Dan Sweetman's art from A Cotton Candy Autopsy, the source of the album art for Bungle's first album.

---

---

---

For a card, I used my old-school Thoth deck and drew the 6 of Cups:

I'm not going to attempt to contextualize this now, just logging it here for contemplation over the next 365 days.
 

---

---

---

New Music from Gnarls Barkley

Calling it now - there's almost no way anyone will release an album I love more than the new and totally unexpected Gnarls Barkley record that landed out of nowhere (from my perspective, at least) on March 6th. I caught wind of this last week, and have been unable to stop listening to it multiple times a day. Talk about coming from out of nowhere for a win!

You can order a copy from the group's webstore HERE.

---

---

---

NCBD:

New Comic Book Day pulls for Wednesday, March 18, 2026:

I enjoyed the adaptation of Lovecraft's seminal short story in issue one of this mini-series, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the story progresses toward its inevitable ending. Or rather, how exactly we reach that ending. 

I LOVE that this cover was created sensitive to the HUGE change that occurred in Transformers 30, a book that literally floored me. Is this the beginning of an Autobot/Joe team-up? If Duke can get over himself, we might just get that.

We've winnowed away most of the killers and have a few spunky civilian survivors. Deals and agendas abound with the power elite behind the massacre and things are heating up for a final confrontation most will not walk away from. Need context? Check this book out! One of my favorites of 2025, we're poised to hit ground zero in two issues, so heads should really start to roll now...

And last but not least, Greg Rucka is writing a new Batwoman series and I am here for it. I don't really know anything about this character other than I've always dug this design. I did read some of the JH Williams III series from back in... I don't know, 2012, maybe? That was 100% about the art - I couldn't tell you anything about the story. With this new series, I'm here for Rucka. After recently reading his Lois Lane miniseries in TPB form and loving it, I'll follow this man to hell and back. 

---

---

---

Watch:

Since we did our annual St. Paddy's celebration/State of Grace viewing this past Saturday, this evening we rewatched John Wright's Grabbers. 

"Residents of an island off the coast of Ireland learn that the only way to survive an invasion of blood-sucking aliens is to stay drunk." 

I originally saw this back circa 2019 for an episode of The Horror Vision. I really dug it that time, and did so again. The FX are mostly CG, but that's forgivable when you consider the size of this production and how much goddamn heart it has. Here's a trailer.

I can't stress enough what a good time I had with this one again. Wright's later film, Unwelcome, made my best-of list for 2023, and that's a very different kind of film, thus showing that Jon Wright is a filmmaker to keep an eye on. He doesn't currently have anything listed as "upcoming" on IMDb, but tonight was a good reminder to check in more often. 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta

James Pants - Welcome

Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came

Atticus Derrickson - Black Phone 2 OST

High on Fire - Luminiferous

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST

Godflesh - Purge

---

---

---

Card:

Setting aside Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot (which you can buy HERE.) for another Thoth pull:

• XV: The Devil

•  Two of Wands: Dominion

• Queen of Wands

Two Queen of Wands in a row? What's she trying to tell me? I read this simply as don't believe what they tell you, avoid the patriarchy and focus on love. Feels like this is a spread for america, not me. Either way, two Wands and ol' Scratch tell me to trust myself, not what others say. Definite work-related spread. 

New Blackbraid!!!

New Blackbraid EP is out today! You can order a copy right here on their Bandcamp for Bandcamp Friday! 

Blackbraid III has become one of my all-time favorite records, and hearing this EP, I can tell that my fervor is only going to continue to mount with each subsequent release.

---

---

---

Watch:

After falling in love with James Gunn's Peacemaker series recently, I've actually started a "Shawn Was Wrong" segment on Drinking with Comics. DC finally has its head out of its arse. Need more proof? 

 

I cannot believe they've made Green Lantern something I am interested in! Now that's f**king magick, baby!

---

---

---

Watch:

Beyondfest Chicago announced the lineup and hopefully, about ten hours after this posts, I'll have tickets for a handful of screenings. 

None of the films I have my eye on are ones I know nothing about. Always the best way to see any movie. 

That said, the film Normal has one familiar variable: Bob Odenkirk. Here's a trailer:

I've been a fan of Odenkirk's since Mr. Brown made me a lifelong disciple of Mr. Show back in the 90s. It's been a joy to see his film career evolve the way it has. 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Tool - Undertow

Foxy Shazam - Dark Blue Night

sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

Matte Black - I'm Waving, Not Drowning

Blackbraid - III

Blut Aus Nord - Ethereal Horizons

Blackbraid - Nocturnal Womb (pre-release single)

Jucifer - Lambs EP

Pixies - The Night the Zombies Came

Melvins - Houdini Live '05

Barry Adamson - Scala! OST

Fever Ray - The Lake/Wrong Flower EP

---

---

---

Card:

Back on the Thoth (But you can still order Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot HERE.)

• Ace of Wands

• Ace of Disks

• I: The Magus

Notice how the numbers read 911? Weird, right? 

The two Aces are breakthroughs, so watch for gains and new creative ground (my Will tends to center on creation). The Magus is the flex that makes it happen. Magick.

So we're at this crossroads again, eh? 

Hit Play, For Today

 

This past Monday morning, it was raining when I woke up. It wasn't just raining - it was raining in that not-quite-winter, not-quite-spring way, where the sky was grey but still bright, the air was nippy but not cold, and the world outside seemed both decayed and renewed. In other words, a perfect morning to throw on some music by The Cure. My go-tos in this situation are 1982's Pornography or 1986's Disintegration. There's always an offhand chance Seventeen Seconds might beat one of those two out, and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me is a rarity, but one that lives in my heart. I hardly ever go to the singles compilation Standing on a Beach, primarily for two reasons:

• 1) I don't generally love compilation albums - I'd rather get to know the entire albums the songs originally appeared on.
• 2) Early Cure - as in the first few years - is not my go-to with the band. I prefer the dark A.F. Pornography and the evolutionary climb that occurs between that and Disintegration, the former being what I would describe as Proto-Industrial, the latter being perfect downbeat Pop. 

Monday, however, it was indeed Beach that I pulled from my CD shelves and listened to from start to finish. I don't think I could accurately express how this listening affected me. Not nostalgia - an outlier or not, I have history with this record - but a new appreciation for the first singles by the band. This lead me down a brief rabbit hole with 1979's Three Imaginary Boys, the band's debut record and one that, while I've listened to it, I have never owned it. 

---

---

---

NCBD:

Every issue of Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez's Batman title turns out to be pure joy, and that's something we could all use a little more of in our life. 

The end of issue #1 proved to be a total WTF? so I can't wait to get into this one. Jason Aaron was definitely the dude to go to for this relaunch of such a classic 80s property.

Finally - the finale to Zander Cannon's Sleep! If you're reading this, you know the last few months were not easy to wait for this conclusion, but we're finally here, and, as much as I want to see how this wraps up, I am sorry to see this one go. This was my #1 comic of 2025!

I still haven't done that re-read on The Nice House on the Lake since it came back for the second half. I'll have to get on that soon. 

---

---

---

Playlist:

The Cure - Standing on a Beach

Faith No More - Angel Dust

Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Jello Biafra and Melvins - Sieg Howdy!

Melvins - Houdini

John Zorn - The Big Gundown: John Zorn Plays the Music of Ennio Morricone

Melvins - The Crybaby

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Rob Zombie - The Great Satan

Melvins & Napalm Death - Tossing Coins Into The Fountain Of Fuck (single)

Foxy Shazam - Eponymous

---

---

---

Card:

One card from the Thoth deck because it's late and I'm tired.

Fight to impose your Will on the world around you.

This is interesting. I've been thinking about Magick a lot again. It's been some time since I actively practiced, but I'm feeling a pull. Is this an acknowledgement?