Looking for some last-minute costume inspiration? Vampires Marvel Undead #1 hits the shelf this week! This is your Official Handbook of the Undead Marvel Universe featuring Dracula, Blade, and even the recently bitten bloodsucker Jubilee of the X-Men. … Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Punisher, The Boys) debuted his horror film of a downed American helicopter in Taliban country at San Diego this year. Ennis continues the story with Stitched #1 from Avatar. Ancient supernatural powers make matters impossible for the wounded soldiers stuck behind enemy lines. … Usagi Yojimbo from Dark Horse celebrates a milestone of 200 total issues with a self-contained story of the rabbit ronin in “200 Buddhas” (issue 141). Congratulations to comic master Stan Sakai! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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The original mastermind of Nerdcore Hip-Hop and still its Final Boss, MC Frontalot (nee Damian Hess) takes great pleasure in identifying himself as a professional rapper in polite conversation.
Front was born in San Francisco and grew up in Berkeley. He was tall and gangling, scrawny, had trouble breathing, and could not see well. A special teacher was called in to help him attain basic competence on the monkey bars, another to privately administer standardized tests (his were three grade levels advanced from his classmates). Thusly, he was the most popular kid in his elementary school. Just kidding! He got pushed down a lot and called “nerd.” Did he maybe even deserve it? I mean, really – who strikes out at kickball?
He spent the next twenty years or so trying to get over it. And kind of succeeded! Flash forward to 1999: the dotcom bubble is maximally inflated; nerds everywhere imagine themselves to be popular and/or hip. Damian is getting overpaid to code web pages, which leaves him free in the evenings to play with audio software. A longtime idolizer of rappers, he has been committing his own esoteric hip-hop compositions to four-track tape since high school, revealing them to nobody. Suddenly! Multi-track desktop studios, cheap pro-grade recording hardware, skyrocketing bandwidth, semi-anonymous web publishing – these factors converge on Damian’s rap hobby like a flock of winged monkeys. He posts an MC Frontalot web page, dubbing his output “Nerdcore Hip-Hop” since his audience is composed of several Star Wars figurines who live on his desk (and also random internet people who click on his MP3s by mistake).
Now it is 2010. Nerdcore has metastasized into an internet phenomenon and underground touring powerhouse, with dozens of live acts and more than a hundred home-studio rhymers self-identifying within the subgenre. MC Frontalot, called alternately the movement’s godfather or grandfather (thanks, kids), leads the charge, performing for thousands around the country and at prominent geek gatherings such as the Penny Arcade Expo and BlizzCon. He’s been featured in Newsweek, CNN, The New York Times, Spin, Wired, Blender, XXL, XLR8R, The London Daily Telegraph, NPR, G4TV, Esquire, The Guardian (UK), The Wall Street Journal, and scores of city papers nationally and internationally. He has released four studio albums, Nerdcore Rising (Sept 2005), Secrets From The Future (Apr 2007), Final Boss (Nov 2008), and Zero Day (Apr 2010). The documentary feature, Nerdcore Rising: The Movie, which focuses on Front’s live band and the Nerdcore phenomenon general, debuted at the South By Southwest Film Festival, March 2008, and is currently distributed by Virgil films / B-Side.
*Nerdcore Rising* follows MC Frontalot — the “Godfather of Nerdcore” — on his first national tour to reveal both the roots of Nerdcore Hip Hop and the dorky complexities of its artists.
Brandon Patton’s newest album, “How I Allegedly Bit a Man in Gloucestershire,” features 13 mostly comical songs that capture hilarity of his live shows opening for MC Frontalot. On the album, he exposes dark family secrets (Mixed-Up Modern Family,) sings anthems about sex acts (Munching the Coch and Kethcup and Mayo,) recalls his time temping and looking for love on an alien planet (My Girlfriend Was Kidnapped by Aliens,) contemplates the limits of friendship (Would You Take a Bullet For Me?) and relates stories about traveling the world and getting into mischief (Big in Japan, Private Jet, How I Allegedly Bit a Man in Gloucestershire.)
Patton posts stories once a month on his webpage, along with a free download of each accompanying song.
About the artist
Brandon Patton, songwriter and instrumentalist, currently resides in New Haven, CT.
Patton also plays bass under the pseudonym BL4k Lotus for MC Frontalot, progenitor of “nerdcore hiphop.” MC Frontalot’s band and its first national tour was the subject of the documentary Nerdcore Rising. The Wikipedia entry on MC Frontalot can be found here.
Patton also performs with playwright Prince Gomolvilas in the underground theater duo Jukebox Stories, called one of the 10 best plays of 2008 by the East Bay Express.
He composed the songs for Love Sucks: the Musical, a Shakespearean take on the punk rock of the 1970s, which won honorable mention at the 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival.
Patton’s previous album, “Should Confusion,” was nominated for Album of the Year by the 2004 Independent Music Awards.
He also sometimes plays bass for Futureboy and Jonathan Coulton.
About his past
He was born in Grand Forks, N.D., grew up in St. Paul, Minn., and also lived in Trinidad and Tobago for two years when he was young.
Patton has been writing music since he was pre-pubescent. When he was 11 years old, the composer/ethnomusicologist Miriam Gerberg rented a spare room in his mother’s house in St. Paul, MN, and Patton enlisted her help to write his first song, entitled “I’m Not Your Slave,” a protest about household chores. In junior high, when he started listening to punk rock, he and his friends set out to be offensive and brash, penning the songs “Fuck the Nun,” and “Fetus Burger.” With slim pickings in the record collections of his parents (Neil Diamond, Judy Collins) Patton found inspiration in a vibrant DIY counter-culture of zine writers and indie bands who would brandish the word “sellout” and discuss politics in independent coffeehouses and alternative art galleries. Minneapolis was exporting some incredible music at the time, not just the ultra famous Prince, but acts such as the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, the Jayhawks, and Walt Mink.
He attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where the music department was ruled by experimental composers and ethnomusicologists. “It was incredible what I was exposed to there,” says Patton, “but there was also this Midwestern voice in my head whispering ‘College is not the real world.’ I didn’t want to become a disciple. And I couldn’t play any of this amazing world music I loved and still have any authenticity.” So in his own writing, he ended up turning toward the rock and pop of his youth. “I got obsessed with trying to figure out who I was in the midst of all of these new influences,” says Patton. “I was searching for an authentic expression of myself.”
After college, his first experience playing music professionally rammed this point home. He spent a summer playing Caribbean music (which he loves) for drunken tourists (not so much) next to a beach volleyball court inside a giant country western bar on Cape Cod (hated it).
His first solo album, “Nocturnal,” was recorded after hours (because there was no soundproofing) in the basement of an office building in Easthampton, Mass. Patton frequently let a homeless friend sleep in the studio, and one night said friend locked himself out of the room wearing nothing but underwear and had to hide under the staircase for an entire work day until Patton happened by.
Patton used to play in the band three against four with Jay Skowronek (Maxeen) and fellow schoolmate Anand Nayak (Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem). Nayak and Patton were wandering down a dirt road one day and stumbled upon a decrepit slaughterhouse that turned out to be a recording studio. Inside was audio engineer Mark Alan Miller, who had worked with nearly every rock group in Western Massachusetts, including area royalty J.Mascis. Miller would later mix many of the tracks for their albums, as well as many of the tracks on Patton’s later solo work.
Patton signed a deal with music publisher ACMRecords which has lead to music getting placed onto the soundtracks of several TV shows, including Monster Garage, That 70s Show, and The Real World.
Patton was one of five songwriters to win an internet contest earning an invitation to perform at the Newport Folk Festival in 2004.
The Temecula Film and Music Festival named Brandon Patton Top Music Artist in 2005, but failed to make good on a promise of a free hot air balloon ride.
Math the Band is a electro-punk spazz duo from Providence, RI. They use a combination of old video game systems, analog synthesizers and energy drinks to make the fastest, loudest, most party-est music they can imagine. They’ve only cracked their head open on stage ONCE
We’ll gladly pay you Wednesday for a comic book today! Bela Lugosi’s Tales From The Grave #2 compilation features the story of a pop-eyed sailor released from a sunken ship after 70 years. This one is strong to the finish because he sucks out your soul! … Do you have a problem with the saucers? Addicted to abductions? Can’t make it through the day without an evasive space probe? Join the 12-step program in Xenoholics #1. Families and friends do not understand the truth about aliens, so XA offers support. Check out the hilarious preview here. … Who needs another Deadpool book, right? We do. Especially if the writers get to put Wade under the Marvel MAX 16+ explicit banner! Deadpool and his sidekick Bob, Agent of Hydra are accused of killing a quarter of a million people. Uh-Oh. Better call Saul! It’s Deadpool Max 2 #1! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com!
Censorship is just plain rude and ugly. We’ve The First Amendment to protect us from the beast, and real-life heroes locking arms in city parks against the thing. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization protecting those rights in the comics art community of creators and retailers. The CBLDF Annual 2011 features too many creators to list, and John Cassaday’s muted Uncle Sam cover is awesome, check it out here. … Dwayne McDuffie (Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited) passed away unexpectedly this year. DC collects his Batman: Blink this week from Legends of the Dark Knight. … Just in time for Halloween, Marvel drops a Legion of Monsters mini! Make mine Morbius the Living Vampire! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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Credit: Matt Yohe“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs
I went to MassArt to learn, live, and breathe everything. Our computer labs were packed with Amigas and Mac Clones. I was jealous of an upperclassman who could design flyers with QuarkXPress. I asked him how he learned, and he said “I just started using it”. He showed me the two basics, making a text box and importing a picture in a box. That got me going. I was a graphic designer now (if only in my own mind). You should have seen all of the triple border tricks and Helvetica that Duncan Wilder Johnson and I used for Spoken World Poetry promotional materials. I have nostalgia of the extended time I had to spend on those projects. All of that was at a time with little to no internet and Pine mail! All on a Mac. It was easy to understand and fun to do. Classmates of mine were layering Photoshop files and borking the MassArt network because files were approaching nearly 1GB!
Post-graduation, I got into publishing by archiving a publisher database onto CDs on a Mac. While burning discs, I was reading Journey to the End of Night. While scanning Bruce Lee’s personal photographs, I made art on the color copier. I loved going downtown, meeting new people, being a professional, eating sushi on Bruce’s birthday, and most of all…watching the extensions load on ‘my’ computer. I was good. They hired me from the temp agency. Within months, I was laying out cover mechanicals and revising text for the designers. I was left alone to get my work done. I made lifelong connections. I started my ever-changing and ever-evolving career. Life was good. I understood the Mac because I felt it understood me. Truth was, Steve Jobs understood me, or the type of person I am. We creatives don’t need to build our own PC. We creatives just want the thing to work, and it is worth the risk of crashing the computer when we really push it with too many Photoshop filters and layers. Keep the coffee coming, we have a press check this week and the manuscript just got turned in!
I suggest patience as a virtue to my students because my career did not go from point A to point B. Steve Jobs invented the Apple computer with Woz, invented Lisa and the Mac, left Apple, was at Pixar, returned to Apple, unleashed the iPod, and revolutionized all creative work with his vision. Getting that job in publishing was my Apple I. I’m not dropping the iPad on the world, but it took me a while to get to this happy & sober 36th birthday. I bounced to and from temp jobs, hourly wage jobs, courier jobs, shift manager jobs, to other publishing opportunities. Ironically I’ve never wanted to work particularly hard, something just drives me.
I’ve let myself be crushed by setbacks, losses of friends and family, drained bank accounts, heartbreak, therapy, treatments, moving apartments, and negative people. I never stopped. I did put down the drink and things started to get better. I bought this website. I’ve got this very real place to display my art and my writing. I’m surrounding myself with positive people. I can call on real friends. I came close tonite to making some phone calls because I was crying at the gym and the grocery store. Steve Jobs has influenced my life, and I’m sad that his family and the world have lost him. Where will I be 20 years from now at exactly 56 years of age? Hopefully influencing my family and friends and my place in a world in a positive way.
Two months ago, my therapist directed me to the Steve Jobs speech at Stanford. I was having trouble dealing with the loss of my friend Adam. She said the best thing to do was to live my life like Steve suggested here…as if every day was my last. To me, that’s the best way to give to Adam. That’s the best way to give to my family. And as I write my second memorial post of the year, this is how I can give to Steve Jobs. Give by doing. Do by giving. Live by living. Transform by transforming. Work by working hard at what I love and for who people I love working with.
I’m fully going to let myself be sad in bed now. Thursday, October 6, 2011 will be a great day. Birthday lunch with Mom and Dad. Work. Gallery show and pizza and movie night with a great friend.
From Paul Simon’s Paul Simon in Concert, a quote. “Say a few words? Well, let’s hope that we continue to live.” He then starts into the tune ‘America‘…
“Let us be lovers we’ll marry our fortunes together” “I’ve got some real estate here in my bag” So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies And we walked off to look for America
“Kathy,” I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh “Michigan seems like a dream to me now” It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw I’ve gone to look for America Laughing on the bus Playing games with the faces She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy I said “Be careful his bowtie is really a camera”
It’s October now. There is a sharpness in the appetite for the flesh as the cold snaps the air! Vertigo is reprinting its 1995 epic The Eaters, a story of your average American family, The Quills, who happen to find human meat delectable. … Penguin: Pain And Predjudice, written by bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz, delves deep into the past of Gotham’s deformed rogue gang leader from swaddle to waddle. … Avengers: 1959 by American Flagg’s Howard Chaykin is a period tale of Nick Fury’s Avengers with the flavor of Mad Men or this summer’s X-Men First Class. Fury leads his team of Sabretooth, Kraven and Namora to track down a secret Nazi cloning gang! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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As a followup to my previous post, I received Holy Terror in the mail this morning. Here is my review.
Frank Miller’s most recent, and somewhat anticipated Holy Terror surprised me with its form factor immediately. Landscape comics are decidedly uncommon, but a clever way to have books stick out on the shelf. Miller has been working on this conceptually since 9/11. Partly a tribute to the Cap punching Hitler days, this work pits a superhero against a real world terrorist threat. Unfortunately, the master cartoonist, storyteller, and artist has missed the target.
Storytelling was awkward, abstractions were obtuse, and politically the story was tough to swallow. Also, make no mistake, this is a Batman story. Co-starring Catwoman. And Jim Gordon. Originally slated for a pre-relaunch “Dark Knight Returns” continuity DC Comics release entitled “Holy Terror, Batman”, we miss out on all of the good stuff in this release from Legendary Comics.
A WORD ABOUT LEGENDARY COMICS
Legendary Comics is a subsidiary of Legendary Pictures. The studio dropping such great comic book movies from directors Nolan, Snyder, & Singer drops Holy Terror as its inaugural title. Safe bet there, with Miller being a true master of the genre. We look forward to books from other Batman creators Paul Pope (Batman Year 100), Matt Wagner and Simon Bisley. Editor-in-Chief Bob Schreck was installed in late 2010. The personable Schreck is perfect for the job with over 30 years in comics. As a writer and editor he’s worked at Dark Horse, Oni Press, DC, and most recently at IDW. Will Legendary be the new ‘boutique’ publisher for high-end graphic novels and creator owned work? That answer has yet to reveal itself, with only three titles announced.
HOLY TERROR
All the pretending and dancing around that this is not a Batman book is most certainly a copyright and intellectual property issue, and not the truth. DC Comics would never back this up. Seventy years of establishing this important Bat-brand, only to be sullied by an attention grabbing pro-American graphic novel would not be good business. I estimate The Fixer to be sitting comfortably in the timeline of Bruce after his retirement, and roughly five years before putting the cowl back on in Dark Night Returns.
THE ART
There’s minimal dialogue, and no lettering credit. It’s safe to assume Miller lettered the book himself. Cool lettering and sound effects, too. His voice and his penstrokes are definitive. I’d love to watch him ink a page of rain coming down on a character! Ever since Sin City I’ve been in awe of his black and white Sumi-e brush strokes, the balance of the page, his chunky flat spotted blacks, wide eyes, and dynamic action. Dave Stewart provides masterful, well-directed, minimalist coloring (with a palette of no more than three colors).
I’ll drool over Frank Miller’s art any time, but this was more late-period Sin City than it was of earlier works of personal favorite cross hatch inkgasm, Ronin.
AS A COMIC BOOK / GRAPHIC NOVEL
The biggest failure here is that the work is painfully aware of itself. This is a comic book. There are comic book tropes such as callbacks to other Miller comics, and a rather awesome play on the nine panel grid structure. Is this book for comic book fans or the general public? I had trouble figuring that out, and still have no answer.
The Fixer is murderously acting out a revenge fantasy that most Americans dreamed of post our nation’s greatest tragedy (and many still do). Is there much of an audience for that, even ten years on? Or have we all grown from those feelings, focused on our families, regretted our wars, and decided to live our lives? I have buyer’s remorse after reading this. I feel like this was a cash grab from both fans of Frank Miller and from über-Patriots who would read abour this book in USA Today and relive a hatred never to be forgotten.
The story was compelling, but not surprising. I had known the plot from the original title, and internet rumors. The location change to Al-Queda’s Subterranea parallel was interesting, but by that point I was just wanting the whole thing to be over. I kept struggling to imagine that this was a young independent creator, speaking volumes on our social troubles. But this book was not the product of that. I was reading the work of an elder statesman of comicdoms’ elite who had nothing to say that wasn’t hateful, short-sighted, and frankly a bit empty.
MAYBE I JUST DON’T GET IT
Is Miller’s intention of this book being “bound to offend just about everybody” justified? By that, am I to be offended and just walk away feeling offended and say he did his job? That would be irresponsible and dishonest. Since when are critics to listen to an artist’s intention? The public is to digest and make their own opinions on ‘the work’. My strong relationship with Ronin and Dark Knight Returns are based on my formative years as a comic book fan wanting to read more of Miller’s work, and emulate it. Now I’ve got sour grapes because he’s telling me how to react to it. No way dude. You put out Dark Knight and I heard about it in 1987 because it was an amazing story. Not because you said it was. I’m not detecting an homage to old comics or irony at all in Holy Terror. Why is that, Frank? Hey, I stuck with you through that Spirit movie…is this how you’re going to leave us?
I’ll remain a Frank Miller fan, and I’ll be cuious as to what he comes up with for a next move. I’d love to see an apology, an explaination, or for Miller to go back to making great films and comics. I stand by Sin City as being as close to perfect a translation of comic book page to film as you can get. Hate speech, hate actions, hate anything will keep me away for good. If we continue to get more of this, you can be sure I’ll stay far from it.
The Bombpops have proven to be one of Southern California’s hardest working bands, drawing influences from ’90s skate punk and Fat Wreck Chords bands like NOFX, Lagwagon, Descendents, and No Use For A Name.
Fronted by two girls ripping on guitars and vocals, and backed by dudes holding down a strong rhythm section, The Bombpops offer a fresh, honest, in your face, delivery of catchy melodic pop punk songs.
Formed in early 2008, with members fresh out of (and others still in) High School, The Bombpops quickly established a name for themselves in the So-Cal punk scene opening up for punk rock giants such as Bad Religion, GBH, TSOL, The Adolescents, Strung Out and The Queers.
With their first official EP “Like I Care” released on Red Scare Industries in November 2010, their second EP “Stole the TV” on the way and relentless touring under their belts, The Bombpops have no plans of slowing down.
“Perfect for blasting through some pool corners or for keeping the good attitude going” - EuropeSkate.com
“The Bombpops are a female fronted quartet and a force to be reckoned with… Like I Care delivers some of the quickest and most melodic punk tracks of the year! “- Scene Point Blank
Hailing from the Hallowed grounds of the garage at 123 Centre Street (former home of the “Dropkick Murphy’s” and “Everybody Out”) comes Rick Barton’s latest and greatest incarnation “Continental.”
Continental will never be defined by a particular genre. They blend a unique style of rock, folk,country and blues to as closely follow Gram Parsons mission of “Cosmic American Music.” Some of the initial comparisons have been to Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and The Velvet Underground. Continental will be a touring, starving, and hard working band coming to your town.
Remember when punk rock bands played in basements? Tall boys, best friends, bad lighting, and bands without make-up or hair that impaired their depth perception? This is Hands Like Bricks.
A Los Angeles foursome with an idea that punk rock is about best friends having awesome times together, Hands Like Bricks write unpretentious, sing-along anthems that speak to your soul, and voice things we can all relate to. With an impressive punk rock pedigree that stretches from New Jersey to Los Angeles, Hands Like Bricks is bringing punk rock back to the kids that couldn’t find a family anywhere else, whether they are 13 or 37.
Craving a high energy musical fix full of soulful melodies, innate harmonies, and carefully crafted songwriting? SEXCoffee is an alternative rock quintet best served live, loud, or recorded. Sean McCarthy from Standard Times praises SEXCoffee as “a high-energy rock band with a solid reputation”, while The Noise Magazine says “They sound like a band that knows how to carve their own musical path and does so with aplomb.”
Through the in-your-face vocal presence of front-woman Ruth Charbonneau, the dueling guitar riffs of Joey Magnanti (guitar/vocals) & Josh Baptista (guitar), and the thunderous low end rhythm section of Sharlene DeNardo (bass/vocals) and Paul Campbell (drums/vocals), SEXCoffee’s eclectic musical brew is a genre-breaking force in both their recorded and live sound.
Sharing the stage with such high profile acts as Candlebox, Halestorm, Siobhan Magnus (from American Idol) Company of Thieves and Me Talk Pretty, this multi-award winning band maintains and values a competent work ethic along with attention to melodious detail. Once you’ve had a taste of SEXCoffee’s infectious blend, you’ll be feeling satisfied to the last drop!
Come early - Chip’s set opens the night at 8:30! Chip is saddled with the burden of being one of Clay’s closest friends. This Middle East Upstairs debut of the CHIP AND THE CROSSTOWN EXPRESS is going to be epic.
“Just in case you weren’t aware: Jimmy Fallon is my best friend. We opened an old phone museum. Fell in love with a Korean. Soup friends for life. Oh yes, soup friends for life.”- Soup Pals
Boston / New York singer songwriter. Tributes to old phone museums (Old Phone), The Turkey’s Nest in Brooklyn (Soup Pals), Jacket Magazine (Jimmy I Lost My Jacket), Jimmy Fallon , Brooklyn’s G-Train (G Train), Soon Lee from M*A*S*H (Soon Lee), and many more. The Chip and The Crosstown Express EP was produced by Randy Miller and Iyad Kheirbek (Wild Zero, C.O.N.D.O.R.).
Here’s Chip and the Crosstown Express at the Miss G-Train Pageant, 2009.
“Parker!” J. Jonah Jameson’s smitten by the same blasted affliction of his rival, The Amazing Spider-Man in this chapter of #SpiderIsland! Who’s the menace, now? The erstwhile editor of The Daily Bugle swings in to action as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Mayor in ish #670! ‘Nuff Said! …Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? When we yelled “Parker!”, did your mind’s eye picture Ray Parker, Jr.? I think you better tap your bluetooth and call on Ghostbusters #1 from IDW! All new, ongoing, and slimey! Alright, who brought the dog? …Eric Shanower and illustrious illustrator illuminati Skottie Young bring you back to the land of OZ after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake swallows Dorothy and her kitten Eureka in our all ages pick of the week, Dorothy And Wizard In Oz #1! Picks from LeaguePodcast.
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Pencils & inks from my hand. Typeset and colors on the computer. My first coloring with a Wacom. Almost getting the hang of it, but I ised the mouse and trackpad for a lot of it.
Did you know there are still people out there in the world who don’t read comic books? That’s weird. I asked my main comic nerd Clay N Ferno, who does a weekly comics podcast, to share some ideas of jumping off points for people who are sick of reading books without pictures.
Luke and I are taking turns buying and ‘trading’ trade paperbacks of The Walking DeadAMC hit, Season 2 premieres October 16). That swap came to a halt as Luke prepares for legal battles with The Daily Show because of his current obsession with A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin (aka HBO’s Game of Thrones). He asked me to suggest some comics to this jaded blog audience and he promised I didn’t have to be funny about it or talk about masturbatory shame related to our girl Kreayshawn. “Bonus points for that, though,” he said.
First, a bit about our podcast. Not everyone in town has a comic book podcast, and believe me, our egos can take the blows of any criticism you might drop on us for that. Three of us have known each other from high school. ‘Awesome’ John Hunt was the older brother and Executive Producer of the VHS masterpiece ‘Dursin the Firestarter’ films circa 1990s Abington, MA. Like minds meld together. Jaush Lingel bonded with Dursin about comics over some beers at an ‘adult’ party, or so the legend was told to me, at the 2009 New York Comic Con. We’re not too old, too young, too nerdy, too humble, or too ridiculous for putting out a weekly podcast about comic books. John, for example, is a comic book colorist and letterer who’s worked on Star Trek books, One Piece and most recently at Marvel Comics.
For everyone that skipped to this bulleted list, here’s some comic book suggestions for you. Go visit a comic book store. They usually have candy this time of year. It’s a good time because DC Comics did a marketing stunt in September…and it worked. How they pulled it off was pretty awesome.
Catwoman #1 - There’s more bra and panty fetish drawings in this book than all get out.
Captain America by Jack Kirby, Vol. 1: Madbomb - Jack Kirby is the guy that made Stan Lee famous. To say anything bad about King Kirby damns you to an eternal damnation of Bronies dressing you up for pretty costume contest that you always lose. He invented Marvel Comics and got like 1% of the money and credit.
Tiny Titans Vol. 01: Welcome to the Treehouse [Paperback] (or just any old issue of Tiny Titans) - This is cute, younger versions of the World’s Finest Comic Heroes. Robin heads the team, but Alfred makes them take baths! I always ‘buy this one for my niece’ when I go to the store. Always some meta comic book in-jokes about continuity and costumes in here. Darkseid is the substitute principal! Aww Yeah, Titans!
Phonogram Vols. 1 & 2 - Kieron Gillen (now on X-Men!) and artist Jamie McKelvie (Cable, X-Men & More!) wrote this unbelievable tribute to new wave, magic, The Pill (Causeway Above the Penalty Box years), The Ting Tings, girl singers, love, betrayal, murder, and record collections. Set in 2006 London and referencing ‘bands I never cared about’ like The Auteurs, The Libertines, and Ocean Colour Scene, this well indexed tome is better than a Saturday night at The Common Ground (RIP). Just remember the rules - no boy singers, you must dance, and NO MAGIC on the dance floor.
OK, that’s it. Don’t be such a pussy when you go into the store, either. Just pick up some books, ask for one of these, and be a (wo)man about it. There’s no secret sauce, but the artists, writers, and John need you to spend a couple bucks at the store. I write the comic picks of the week for DigBoston’s Wednesday email. Check that out or see them on our page, LeaguePodcast.com where we make fun of girls, talk about working out, what’s wrong with Hollywood, and the REAL losers we went to high school with. Maybe you don’t like comics, but you DO like wasting time at work, so listen to our Odd-io Comics. These are audiobooks for comics. Here’s my favorites: SUPERMAN in POWERSTONE, and yours truly as SPIDER-MAN in BETRAYED.
—Clay N. Ferno, Assistant Manager, LeaguePodcast.com
Wow! The Bicentennial run of Jack ‘King’ Kirby on Captain America (with Falcon): MADBOMB has some completely off-the wall bonkers patriotism and comic book fun!
Great extras from Marvel in this book. A/B Kirby’s pencils with fully produced art for most of the covers! John Romita inks the cover of ish #193.
Jim (my good pal lending me all of this bat-koo-koo Kirby stuff) left me a note, “Here is Vol. 1 of Kirby Cap from the 70s - it is insane”.
Hmmm..let me count the ways…
A powdered wig aristocrat plotting to bring back nobility to power (what?), small machines with mind control capability, a BIG-ASS version of those machines, Falcon using the word ‘dude’ every other panel…and a 200 year old ancestral grudge over a pistol duel!
To say I enjoyed this book after trying to make sense of the Fourth World stuff is an understatement. I can connect with Kirby’s Marvel work a bit easier, and this was one story arc with two main heroes.
The production of the coloring in this book and the two Kirby Black Panther books are really nice ‘remasters’ of the original plates and the Kirby crackle pops on the glossy pages.
10/13-10/15 LIVE! ON STAGE Jonathan Richman featuring TOMMY LARKINS on the drums! @MidEastClub
Originally a ‘Google Buzz’ reply
Right when I first started working here at the Middle East, Kieran and I split the door duties for Jonathan’s shows (another 3 night stint) @mideastclub Upstairs.
Jonathan is very private and hates computers and cell phones! God bless him for that, it must be how he maintains his cool!
Before the show, Jonathan hands me a hand written guest list and says “Here’s my list…and if someone thinks they are on the list, (but aren’t) please don’t make them feel uncomfortable…just let them in!”
Show starts, I rip 194 tickets and (all of his shows sell out in advance, he prefers the intimacy and the history of the room at the Middle East Upstairs). By the way, I was also told that The Saters would take care of Jonathan after the shows were over “Next Week”. No large checks or cash was being transacted this evening. This is the kind of honest family business that I work for. Very romantic and cool and old school show biz.
The Marquee reads, according to contract: “LIVE! ON STAGE Jonathan Richman featuring TOMMY LARKINS on the drums!” The show happens, as it has a thousand times before on stages across the world. 200 people are transported to a vineyard in the south of France for an hour and a half as Jonathan soothes everyone’s souls.
After the show, I count and recount the till. I count and recount the door money. I fill out my paperwork (as I will come to do a thousand more times!). I imagine my office a smokey room, like a noir detective novel. There was probably no smoke, but Jonathan had turned on only one light in the room for mood. Here it is happening, as I write this I still cannot believe this to be true! This is a distant dream. A foggy memory, yet I can taste the air. I feel not excitement, in fact, I feel a calm warm spiritual experience as Jonathan Richman was LIVE! in the office playing his guitar and singing. He is playing for himself I am sure, but I was his only audience. I can honestly say this was one of my fondest memories of my life, my job, of music, and of the experiencing something greater than myself.
Yesterday, as I was typing this out (attempt #2!) I got distracted. I had a DJ gig at another bar. Here I was at another desk, 6 years later, putting my required mp3 set list on my iPod. This time in the office, it’s before Jonathan’s set, and I found myself with my eyes closed, my hands across my stomach, fingertips touching (thumb to thumb, index to index, ect.), breathing, eyes closed. It’s just the two of us and it’s happening again. The feeling was familiar, welcome, Zen, spiritual, and relaxing.
Then, as I had a thousand times before, I closed my laptop, disconnected my iPod, and slithered out the door. I felt like I was intruding on his warm up time, I had basked in his moment for exactly how long I needed to. I did not say goodbye but my smile is lasting through to this moment. — Clay S. Fernald, February 20, 2010 1:21 AM
J.J. Abrams has finally committed to directing the Star Trek sequel, and IDW is counting down the stardates with a new Star Trek #1! First up, a retelling of the classic debut episode, ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’ with the sexy new cast! … Tastemaker celebrities like John Hodgman, Ted Leo and our own Luke O’Neil got a smack of A Song of Ice and Fire when the show debuted on HBO in April. Dynamite brings you the adventures the Starks and Tyrion in A Game Of Thrones #1, with cover by Alex Ross! … A new Supergirl crashes to Earth as the Last Daughter of Krypton. She has the same powers as her cousin but does not have sympathy for humankind in Supergirl #1. It is a million times harder than moving to a new high school! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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Frank Miller (Dark Knight Returns, 300) takes a break from directing and drives it home with the long awaited controversial graphic novel, Holy Terror. Originally slated for DC Comics as “Holy Terror, Batman”, Miller replaces Bruce with a character called The Fixer in this 9/11 anniversary tome that’s “bound to offend just about everybody”. … Fan favorite artist Skottie Young drafts the Edgar Rice Borroughs’ hero John Carter in John Carter - A Princess Of Mars #1. Our resident ape specialist anticipates a drag out fight against the great white apes of Barsoom! … Buffy Season 9 #1 debuts this week, and even the solicit is full of spoilers. Buffy’s no stranger to a fresh start. It’s just like starting over as she relocates to San Francisco - comic book hero capital of the modern world, apparently. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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Whoa, cowboys and girls! Last week we introduced you to the 52 DC Comics relaunch titles. We only slot three books a week, how can we possibly squish in those and Spider Island? Batgirl #1 from Gail Simone gets the marquee spot this week, beating out the big guys! The Barbara Gordon you remember from TV is out of the wheelchair and out on the streets! …Super sexy spy masterpiece Casanova: Avaritia #1 ports to our dimension Wednesday, written by Marvel’s Matt Fraction (Iron Man, Fear Itself)! …Sookie’s getting into vampiric trouble on Bourbon St. with IDW’s True Blood: French Quarter #1 - the sequel to the NYT best-selling miniseries. Picks by LeaguePodcast.com.
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OK, the big comic book news gets broken in USA Today, nowadays. Not that we’re complaining. Today marks the re-launch and fanboy-cringing renumbering of the DC Comics universe. The ‘New 52’ starts out with Justice League #1 from Geoff Johns (Flash, Green Lantern) and Jim Lee (X-Men, All Star Batman and Robin, DC Co-Publisher). Come and get it! … The Godfather of the graphic novel format, Will Eisner believed in the teaching power of comics. In WWII, the U.S. Army commissioned him to draw maintenance drawings, step-by-step instructions, and pin-ups for G.I.s abroad. The Best of PS Magazine - Preventive Maintence Monthly comes out today. … Aww Yeah, monkeys! Why let the Justice League and the grunts have all the fun? Beppo the Super Monkey faces Gorilla Grodd in Super-pets Midway Monkey Madness. Don’t slip on any banana peels! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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The Ultimate Universe was meant to set the mightiest heroes in a more realistic setting (and was supposed to be a limited series!). It’s 10 years on and Marvel has used these as the basis for astonishing summer movies. Pick up Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1 if you want to see the Iron Man, Thor, and Cap that you love from the blockbusters. Written by superstar architect Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four, Ultimate Thor). …Original creator Kevin Eastman returns to his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a new #1 from IDW! …Servant of the Bones was an historical horror and murder novel penned by Anne Rice in 1996. IDW stikes again with a stunning adaptation drawn by New York Times Best-selling team of Renae DeLiz and Ray Dillon. Anne Rice Servant Of The Bones #1 (of 6) drops today, see exquisite preview pages here. …Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.
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Clay and Dursin cover family vacations as a single adult, the DC re-boot, the digital realm and the future longest-running super-hero book. Which one is it? Listen and learn. Or read the title up there. But still listen.
Hint: It’s not this guy:
Discussed in this episode: (No, seriously…) King Ralph
