You know what I remembered earlier today? I unabashedly love this song. Sure, there's severe nostalgia - my second concert was Operation: Rock n Roll and featured a duel headlining bill of Cooper and Painkiller-era Judas Priest, along with openers Metal Church, Dangerous Toys and Motörhead. Trash was the album Cooper was supporting at the time, and although I'm not super partial to the rest of the album, this song has got to be one of the greatest 80s rock anthems ever. It's just so good, from the guitar to the vocal melodies on the chorus.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
22) The Innkeepers
Playlist:
Ozzy Osbourne - Ordinary Man
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
Alice Cooper - Trash
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
Dr. John - Gris-Gris
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Belong - October Language
Beth Gibbons, The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra & Krzysztof Penderecki - Henryk Górecki: Symphony N. 3
Card:
This is definitely a reminder that I will no doubt need to tap my reserves of patience tomorrow when we journey back to San Pedro to being going through K's Mother's storage space.
Mr. Brown recently mentioned how much he liked the latest album from Rock Icon Ozzy Osbourne, and it piqued my interest. I haven't really engaged with Ozzy's music in decades, or at least not the music made during those decades. I've always championed No More Tears, and over the last few years, I've grown to have a renewed love of Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman, as well as a new appreciation for two albums I had previously no interest in, 1986's The Ultimate Sin (I've always loved "Shot in the Dark", but the rest of the album fell flat for me in comparison until just a year or two ago) and 1983's Bark at the Moon, even if, yes Sonny, it definitely looks like someone shaved a poodle and then glued the fur to him for the cover shoot. This is the ridiculousness of Cocaine-fueled Hard Rock, and while many of us that grew up loving it as kids reached a point where we simply had to turn a blind eye to the escalating foolishness, there is comfort for some of us in going home again later in life.
My aversion to Ozzy probably also comes from the fact that my high school girlfriend and her two older sisters were SO into the man that one of them had a boyfriend who literally thought he was Ozzy. I mean, he knew he wasn't Ozzy, but he also put it out that he was him, going so far as to have the license plate "I'm Ozzy 1" on his mustang. Perfect for the time, yes, but he was a good guy and I hope he's done well.
Anyway, I guess enough time and distance has come to pass, because in firing up 2020's Ordinary Man, I found I quite liked it. Definitely not going to be a daily jam, but for this morning it's found a place with me, and no song made me smile more than Scary Little Green Men, which seems to encapsulate so much about Ozzy defying ALL expectations - even his own - and making it into his 70s.
Rock on, Mr. Osbourne! I'm glad you're still with us.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (9, 10, Never watch again)
21) Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (same. Awful)
Playlist:
Ritual Howls - Into the Water
Electric Youth and Pilot Priest - Come True OST
Mastodon - Emperor of Sand
Hank III - Straight to Hell
Vreid - Wild North West
Mastodon - Sickle and Peace (pre-release single)
X - Under the Big Black Sun
Card:
Because this weekend begins the work of preparing to move across the country. Fuck, this is going to take a long time, because we have to help K's Mom prune her belongings, an entire cache of which resides in a storage facility in San Pedro. So guess where I'm spending my Saturday. Considering how fucking exhausted I am from work of late, this is going to Hurt. As good friend Missi would advise - remember to breathe. So simple, but something that we always forget. Or at least I do.
Another new Zeal and Ardor track dropped last week. From the forth-coming, self-titled new album out February 11, 2022, I've successfully avoided listening to this one so far. Too many singles off an upcoming album can be like watching an extra-long movie trailer that tells you too much. I don't like hearing the songs without the context of the larger work of which they are a part. That said, I'm about to break down and jam this one, because, well, because Zeal and Ardor, you know?
Pre-order the album from the band's store HERE.
NCBD:
UPDATE: I originally posted the books hitting shelves on 10/27 here for 10/20. This is the corrected list.
Last month, I grabbed the first issue of this series on a lark. Really dug it, and I couldn't pass up this cover on issue 2!
Super into where this book is going again after issue 121. How can they sustain such a fantastic title for this long? I guess with the momentum of nearly four decades behind the characters, it makes sense. Or does it? No other book lasts this long and is good the entire way through. Maybe Claremont's Uncanny X-Men or Peter David's Incredible Hulk. This iteration of the Turtles began in 2012, so that's nearly ten years! Wow.
And lastly, the new Brubaker Phillips Reckless GN! Rejoice! These have become among my favorite things in life.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
19) Titane
20) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
Playlist:
The Final Cut - Consumed
Dennis Michael Tenney - The Beast Inside (single)
Various - Apple 80s Hard Rock Essentials
Skid Row - Eponymous
Slayer - Decade of Aggression
Pretty Maids - Red, Hot and Heavy (terrible album title)
My friend Dave recently hit me up with a link to his group Spizm's new track, B4uDie. Wow. Dave's a pretty incredible drummer - weird that I know two guys named Dave in Chicago that are both incredibly talented on the skins - and a lot of what I've heard him do before was instrumental, often a super unique fusion of jazz and jungle. Those styles are present on this new track, but Dave has taken to adding vocals and they just blew me right the fuck away. Check out Spizm's Bandcamp HERE, and if you ever get the chance to see them live, take it. Just the way Dave plays the hi-hat is enough to make me gawk in wonder.
Watch:
I have tickets to see Julia Ducournau's Titane tonight at a theatre near my work. Wheew - thought I'd missed this one. Can't wait. I know I've posted this trailer here a few times, however, I'm posting it again. I get such a strong Cronenberg Crash vibe from this, but amped up, like Crash on Methamphetamine. Really looking forward to this one.
Also, anyone interested in hearing what I thought of Lamb, hold tight. Ray and I are hooking back up with Seattle University Professor of Film Studies John Trafton to do an episode that discusses both of these this coming Wednesday, so it'll be available to stream the following Tuesday.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street '84
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
17) There's Someone in the House
18) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Playlist:
White Zombie - La Sexorcisto
White Zombie - Astro Creep 2000
The Soft Moon - Criminal
Electric Youth and Pilot Priest - Come True OST
Waxwork Records - House of Waxwork Issue #1
Vreid - Wild North West
Card:
Slowly starting to work out a new system for writing, as I've been out of the loop and pretty non-productive since my trip.
I rewatched Kevin Tenney's 1988 classic Night of the Demons the other night, and ever since, Dennis Michael Tenney's closing credits anthem "The Beast Inside" has been stuck in my head. What was it about late 80s Horror flicks practically requiring a rock anthem? Did it begin the year before with Dokken's Dream Warriors, from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors? Probably. I'd be curious to make or find a list of other flicks from this era that adhere to that trope. I'll bet there are many.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) A Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
15) Lamb
16) The Company of Wolves
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Read:
I've been pretty behind on my reading of late, partially because I've struggled with books I haven't really liked. Here's a breakdown of what I read and liked and what I've decided to give up on.
I was not expecting to dig this as much as I did. Not since Grant Morrison's 3 years on New X-Men has anyone made the X-Books relevant to me again. Hickman's approach is a genius way of rebooting a major franchise without actually rebooting it, i.e. this new version doesn't eschew the long and varied history of the X-Men, but instead, strikes a vein of gold at that classic continuity's heart that we never knew was there but works perfectly to re-create these characters.
The first past of this two-part (oh why aren't there more?!?) Sandman/Locke and Key crossover came out back in March or April, so I almost missed this second part. I went back and re-read the whole thing in a sitting and was completely blown away. Can we get an ongoing Sandman title written by Joe Hill and illustrated/colored by Gabriel Rodriguez and Jay Fotos? Please? Preferably one that goes back to the days of Morpheus, although, with that line-up, I'd read a Brute and Glob book.
I didn't get a chance to grab these variants, however, I had to post them here just to share their beauty.
Now, onto a HUGE disappointment. Granted, when we're talking Clive Barker, I have to wonder if it's my own baggage that I'm bringing to the table that is preventing me from connecting with this one, however, The Scarlett Gospels just feels... like Barker paid someone else to write this in an approximation of his tone that gets the Horror and Gross shit, but totally misses the nuance.
Lastly, I don't know John Palisano very well, but I consider him one of my favorite people I met while hanging out with the L.A. chapter of the Horror Writer's Association, and his latest novella Glass House proved an interesting experience.
This is, I think, a deeply personal piece of experimental fiction that, through its first-person narrative, really digs into the uncertainty of modern life lived in L.A. I can't say everything about this book worked for me, however, it's a damn interesting trip, with some lovely prose throughout.
Playlist:
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
Thanks to my good friend Jacob for turning me onto Unto Others, even though he did so with a degree of hesitation. And I totally understand that. There's something about this band - and from what I've heard especially this new album - that while I like it, leaves a question of authenticity lingering behind it. Maybe that will dissipate, maybe not. It reminds me a lot of Fear Factory, whose records never quite made the impression on me that a live performance at the beginning of their career did (opening support for Sepultura's Chaos A.D. tour). Either way, for the moment, while I'm getting to know Unto Others, I'm digging it, and especially their new album Strength, which was released a few weeks ago on Roadrunner Records and can be purchased HERE.
Watch:
Hoping to catch this one at some point this weekend:
I've begun to get a bit suspicious of A24, and I'm not really sure that's fair. It started with Saint Maud's original trailer, which felt as though it was screaming the proclamation, "THIS IS THE NEXT HEREDITARY!!!" Because of that, I skipped seeing it at the 2020 Drive-in edition of Beyondfest, only to watch it earlier this year when it hit streaming and, turns out, I really liked it. So I don't know what my problem is. Hopefully, Lamb will prove me 100% wrong.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
12) Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
13) Satan Hates You
14) Night of the Demons
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Playlist:
Type O Negative - October Rust
Unto Others - Mana
Unto Others - Strength
Allegaeon - Apoptosis
Card:
A quiet moment of union amidst an ever-expanding storm of chaos.
New music from Emma Ruth Rundle, off the fourth-coming album Engine of Hell. Pre-order HERE.
31 Days of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
8) Antlers
9) No One Gets Out Alive
10) Nightmare on Elm Street 84*
11) Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
* Followed by The Movies That Made Us: Nightmare on Elm Street; not a Horror flick, but worth noting
Playlist:
The Ritual Howls - Into the Water
Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers + Queers
Trouble - Snake Eyes (single)
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Ghost - Prequelle
Dr. John - Remedies
King Woman - Celestial Blues
Steve Morse - VFW OST
Type O Negative - Origin of the Feces
Type O Negative - World Coming Down
Type O Negative - October Rust
Specimen - Azoic
The Final Cut - Consumed
The Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Fields of the Nephilim - The Nephilim
The Wake (US) - Nine Ways
Anthrax - Spreading The Disease
Unto Others - Mana
Card:
Always a welcome image, although I really have no idea how to interpret this at the moment. Things have been slow AF since I returned from Nashville/Chicago. As I write this, it's the first time I've been able to sit down and work on writing. The day job has been difficult, to say the least, and it's draining my creative juices on a pretty much continuous fashion. Ad to that almost a week straight of Beyonfest - NOT complaining - and I just haven't had time to set anything up for success.
Some more Type O is appropriate for this Autumn-ish LaLaLand weather we've had since K and I returned from Chicago.
NCBD:
This book gets crazier with each freakin' issue. Ghost-powered military weapons, weapons of destruction made from haunted houses, spectral Monopoly dogs. WTF
Kang. 'Nuff said.
I almost skipped the first issue of Maze Book. Then, after subscribing to Jeff Lemire's substack newsletter and getting a "process" entry that detailed how he came up with and executed the look of the book, I ran back out and picked it up. Turns out, I loved that first issue, so I am in!
The penultimate chapter of this cool little throw-back Spidey title. I loved seeing the Puffball Collective in this story, and the last issue sent me running to dig out my copy of Incredible Hulk #377. How cool is that?
The end of this War of the Bounty Hunters series. Pretty cool, but I'll not be continuing on with any more Star Wars books for now.
After reading House of X/Powers of X on the plane last week, I am SO into this new, Jonathan Hickman-revamped X continuity. I won't be picking up most of the ongoing titles, so this is the book for me.
Watch:
Monday night was closing night for Beyondfest 2021, and they went out big with the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro and Scott Cooper's long-awaited nightmare Antlers.
A couple of years ago, Mr. Brown turned me onto Gris-Gris, one of the darker Dr. John albums, and it's become a staple of my annual Halloween listening. Check out the album closer, "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" creates a creepy A.F. atmosphere.
Watch:
Last night was my second night at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre for Beyondfest 2021, where we saw Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's new film The Black Phone.
Based on a Joe Hill short story from his debut anthology 20th Century Ghosts, Derrickson and Cargill's adaptation is fantastic. It lengths the fairly concise short story without weakening it. In fact, the flick is so strong that, re-reading the story this morning, I'd have to say it's the perfect kind of adaptation that takes nothing away from the story, but stands strong on its own.
In typical Beyondfest fashion, after the credits rolled and the lights came up, we were treated to an hour+ discussion where Mike Flanagan came out and spoke to Cargill and Derrickson about their creative approached to the film, what Joe Hill and his family thought of the adaptation of his story, ("Joe called us and said, ""Yeah, dad liked it.""), and all kinds of other great stuff.
31 Films of Halloween:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
6) The Black Phone
7) Slumber Party Massacre
Playlist:
Mastodon - Teardrinker (pre-release single)
Sam Hain - November Coming Fire
The High Confessions - Turning Lead Into Gold with the High Confessions
16 - Dream Squasher
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Confessions of a Knife
John Carpenter - Lost Themes III: Alive After Death
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Card:
The cards are re-iterating what they told me yesterday because the event in question is later today. Just keep telling myself, "One and done. One and done."
My trip has pushed my October waaay back; I'm only just now starting on any semblance of an attempt to do 31 Days of Halloween. My good friend Missi suggested doing 31 Movies instead of days, that way, I can make up for the days I miss by watching extra on the days I have time. Sounds like a pretty good plan, but before I get into my list, here's an often-overlooked track from Sisters of Mercy's seminal Floodland album, always an October staple in our house.
Watch:
Last night was my first night of Beyondfest 2021 at Santa Monica's Aero Theatre (The Egyptian is, sadly, still under construction). This will most likely be my last Beyondfest, since we're aiming at completing Operation: Escape From L.A. by April of next year. That said, if I get to keep working for the same company I do now by reconfiguring my position to be solely work-from-home, I might be able to persuade my boss to fly me out next year. One can hope. Anyway, last night we saw Gaspar Noé's new film Vortex. Starring Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun and Alex Lutz, Vortex is an insanely profound piece of Cinema that painstakingly chronicles the daily lives of an elderly couple in Paris who are slowly succumbing to the Horrors of age. Not a Horror film proper by any imagination, I still think it will easily be the scariest film I've seen in years. I say this because, of course, I may love Horror flicks, but adulthood and life experience make it pretty hard for a movie to scare me (not impossible, though). What does scare me? Losing my memory, my mind, my youth, and my health. And of course, putting topics like this on display is Noé's bread and butter.
Next up was the West Coast Premiere of the new 4K restoration of
Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 classic Possession. I hadn't seen this film until earlier this year - not for lack of trying, mind you - but last night was my third viewing in six months. Seeing Possession with a crowd put an entirely new spin on it for me - while there are obvious absurdities in the film that evoke mild laughter, a lot of the more serious aspects of the failing relationship between Sam Neil's Mark and Isabelle Adjani's Anna came coaxed pretty big laughs from the crowd, and of course, that can be infectious. During my previous two viewings I had interpreted many of these same scenes as dire to the point of anxiety, so it was interesting for a different interpretative lens. That's not to say the entire film had that effect. Quite the contrary. This is a harrowing film, and that sentiment was never very far away,
So, here's the list thus far:
1) VHS 94 (don't waste your time)
2) The Mutilator
3) Demons
4) Vortex
5) Possession
Playlist:
The Chameleons UK - Strange Times
Crowded House - Eponymous
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Trust Obey - Fear and Bullets
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Blood Lust
The Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Rebirth Brass Band - Why You Worried 'bout Me?
Rebirth Brass Band - Rebirth of New Orleans
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Motley Crüe - Theatre of Pain
Card:
The Wheel, in my current mindframe, tells me what I already know: I'm repeating myself. I need to politely step away from a pretty nice opportunity that may come up tomorrow. Tempting, but it's not the road I currently plan on walking. No need to go around and around again, expecting different results.
I know nothing about the band Cherubs, but the Apple Music algorithm threw this track at me yesterday and I really got into it. From the 2015 album 2 Ynfynyty off Brutal Panda Records.
NCBD:
I really dug the first issue of Marvel's Alt-Timeline story Dark Ages, so I'm picking up number two!
Funny, there's clearly a 'Dark' aesthetic at work for October over at the House of Ideas. Here's the beginning of this Darkhold storyline which is supposed to feature Dr. Doom pretty front and center. It's been a while since I've read a story with Doom, so this should hit the spot!
The story in this book is pretty bizarre. I don't know that I think the scripts are 100% doing it justice IMO, however, the art reminds me so much of JH Williams III's work on his and Alan Moore's Promethea that I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Look at that cover!
Love this book, so far. You can hear Chris Saunders and I talk about it more in-depth on one of the most recent episodes of A Most Horrible Library Podcast HERE or wherever you listen to Podcasts.
This book gets increasingly addictive with each issue. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
Playlist:
Tunic - Quitter
Cherubs - 2 Ynfynyty
Windhand - Soma
Cash Audio - The Orange Sessions
Immortal Lee County Killers - These Bones Will Rise To Love You Again
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Card:
Operation: Escape From L.A. is formerly underway at our house, and I feel as though this is a reminder that although the next five months will be hectic as we begin to shed possession and streamline our lives for the move, we need to apply focus and aim for accuracy. If not, I'll end up getting rid of a lot of stuff that might bite me in the ass down the road. Plus, chaotic energy can damage a plan as surely as not having a plan can unravel what should otherwise have structure.
This very well might be my favorite Mastodon song ever. I'm sure some folks will say the band is mellowing I can't wait for Hushed and Grim to drop on October 29th (pre-order HERE).
Watch:
I was just getting back into town when VHS '94 premiered at Beyondfest yesterday. This one was kind of off my radar for a while - I have mixed feelings about the original VHS series - overall I do very much enjoy them, but there's no arguing that as the series progresses, the results become an average of diminishing returns. Still, now that this new, 90s-set entry has arrived, I find myself excited to see it.
VHS '94 hits Shudder tomorrow.
Playlist:
The Allman Brothers - Idlewild South
Windhand - Eponymous
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave
Small Black - Cheap Dreams
Ghost - Hunter's Moon (single)
Mastodon - Teardrinker (single)
Converge and Chelsea Wolfe - Blood Moon
Various - The Devil's Rejects OST
The Black Queen - Infinite Games
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Card:
The last two weeks I have been given over to eating and drinking to excess. Now, who does that sound like to you? Putting things back into a regular routine and moving forward on multiple projects I just haven't had a chance to get to. Still, the temptation is always there, no?
I've been away traveling so I haven't really been keeping up on ANYTHING I normally post about here. So, in the interest of playing a bit of catch-up, here are the two big tracks that dropped this week - that I know of. The Ghost track is good, but it continues to move them further from the sound they achieved on Infestissumam and Meliora. That said, I'm still super excited for whatever eventual album will be released to accompany the tour they recently announced.
Next and more excitingly, here's a track from a forthcoming collaboration album that sees Chelsea Wolfe working with Converge. I had no idea this was coming, but after listening, I can not wait for this album. Thanks to Heaven is an Incubator for posting this a couple of days ago, otherwise, I would have completely missed it.
Pre-Order Bloodmoon: IHERE, it drops on November 19th, which is really not all that far away.
NCBD:
I wasn't home to get the books in my pull, however, my second all-time favorite comic shop is the one I spent my 20s going to on the South Side of Chicago. Amazing Fantasy in Frankfort and my good friend Mike Shin set me up with a few things to read while I was in town.
Definitely the end of my interest in this title. The conclusion of Nick Spencer's run and the Kindred Saga was satisfying, but it also showcases the insanely convoluted continuity that weighs heavy on Spidey's main book. Perfect jumping-off point.
A surprise last-minute pick-up. Going forward, I might be trading Spidey for X-Men. The plotting in this new Inferno series - which, why couldn't they just come up with a new name, instead of rehashing the title of my all-time favorite X-Book storyline - is fantastic. I LOVE what Hickman's doing with Moria McTaggert, and what it means to the backstory of these characters. Very cool so far.
Almost missed this one. Look at that JHWIII cover! Hot damn!
Playlist:
Lots of Billy Joel and lots of Bob Segar, though I've sought none of either out. Both artists appear to be following me.
I have been known to make fun of Bob Segar. But I have NEVER made fun of this song. Goddamn does this KICK.
Watch:
Jesus fucking Christ. How do you follow this? Well, I guess with this:
Thanks to Mr. Brown - these both slipped right by me.
Playlist:
The Byrds - Full Throttle
Gram Parsons - Archives Vol. 1: Live at the Avalon 1969
Flying Burrito Brothers - Gilded Palace of Sin
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Blanket - Modern Escapism (pre-release singles)
Reflections - The Color Clear
Cindy Lauper - She's So Unusual
X- Under the Big Black Sun
Miss Piss - Self Surgery
Emma Ruth Rundle - Marked For Death
Chris Isaak - Heart Shaped World
The Replacements - Tim
King Woman - Doubt EP
16 Horsepower - Brimstone Rock
Various - The Devil's Rejects
The Allman Brothers Band - Idlewild South
Palms - Eponymous
Card:
Direct commentary on all the disparate people I met today in the outskirts of Nashville that 100% convinced me I will most definitely be living here in less than a year.
As of today, we are officially into my favorite time of the year (even though you'd never know it in LaLaLand)! Here's some live Type O Negative to start the season right.
NCBD:
Once again, here we are - New Comic Book Day. Here's what I'll be picking up/probably picking up:
Not sure I'm picking this one up - I'm looking to shed some of the books I'm reading, and especially after reading this, seems like a good time to jump off. Not that I necessarily believe the veracity of this report, but with Disney running the Xenomorph show now, I don't necessarily think this is out of the question, either. Reading that the other night, I couldn't help picture a "Baby Xenomorph" phenomenon a few years from now. Ugh. I love me some Grogu, but wouldn't want to see anything like that - or any type of 'good guy' Xeno - in any capacity.
Loving this series.
I've really been enjoying reading a Peter David-penned comic again. Between his epic, years-long run on The Incredible Hulk through the 80s and early 90s, and his creator-owned Fallen Angel series over at DC and then IDW in the 00s - I'll really have to talk about that here again soon because it's criminally unknown - David informed a large aspect of my comic taste, and reading his familiar style feels a bit like a snuggly blanket.
This second arc of That Texas Blood has been a great mash-up of Texas Noir and spooky occultism, a combination that yields excellent results.
One issue left of The Last Ronin after this one. Such a great take on the kind of anti-utopian, out-of-retirement series first popularized by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns back in the 80s. A lot of the books since that have applied similar approaches to mainstay characters have merely felt like they were checking the Dark Knight Returns boxes, following Miller's formula. And that works just fine, sometimes. But it's nice to get a book like The Last Ronin, which does not feel like that at all, and yet it still takes me back to what comics felt like when I was reading them 30+ years ago, back when all those dark approaches were first hitting characters that had formerly occupied a decidedly more upbeat or 'positive' approach.
Still not 100% sold on how long I will follow this new X-Men series, but I'm staying due to that one throw-away shot of the High Evolutionary in issue #1. Here's to hoping he pops up soon, in a more involved capacity. The Evolutionary War remains one of my all-time favorite crossovers - probably because, besides that and the original Inferno, I don't much care for crossovers. Anyway, it isn't that I'm not enjoying this series. As my first window into the new, Jonathan Hickman-designed X-Verse, I'm curious and enjoy 'looking around,' trying to ascertain the new status quo and how it's changed the characters I've known for most of my life. That said, re-reading Grant Morrison's New X-Men a few months back, everything post-Chris Claremont about Mutant Books that isn't penned by Morrison feels a bit... anticlimactic? Is that the way I'd say it? Maybe.
Playlist:
Type O Negative - October Rust
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Digipak Version)
Plague Bringer (Chicago) - As the Ghosts Collect, The Corpses Rest
Danzig - Eponymous
Boris - No
Card:
Many voices, all of which combine to create a world. This is what I do.
