[Digital drawings made with Paint!]
Howdy kids! Today we’re (finally) getting around to talking about all the stuff I’ve been reading lately. Most of these pieces were read on my Kindle (at night when I should have been sleeping,) but not all of them… Let’s jump right in:
Batman Black & White – Perpetual Mourning (2010)
Written and drawn by Ted McKeever. This was another free book from Comixology and also very short (fewer than 10 pages of actual story.) It’s not anywhere near as funny or entertaining as the Neil Gaiman / Simon Bisley issue of Batman B & W that I mentioned in my previous “recent reads” post, but it was still pretty good. Somber. (Certainly worth the price---if you’re not feeling too down…)
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The Bloody Cardinal (2017)
Written and drawn by Richard Sala. Sala is one of my favorite artists, and this book does not disappoint. In fact, the first chapter of the book is all single image panels, perfectly drawn, full of weird animal headed people, violence, and grotesquery. The book does develop into a full-fledged comic, though, and it’s great! I’m not going to say it’s as good as some of Sala’s other work, like The Chuckling Whatsit or Mad Night, but it’s still pretty fun. Just under a hundred pages of cartoony mystery and noir nastiness.
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Cuphead – Comic Capers & Curios (2020)
Written by Zack Keller. Drawn by Shawn Dickinson with colors by Kristina Luu. The game, Cuphead, was one of the most striking that I’d ever seen, with faux-1930’s animation and brilliant cartoony stylistics. When I spotted that there was a comic, I jumped at it---and it’s pretty good. About 70 pages long, and I read it in one sitting. It reads quickly. It’s an anthology book, and the visuals are as good as the video game, but the individual stories are pretty quick, gag style tales that kind of reminded me of old Harvey Comics (like Hot Stuff The Little Devil or Casper or maybe Felix the Cat.) Not too bad. Visuals are great, even if the stories are a bit soft on memorability.
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Draw Out the Story (2013)
Written and illustrated by Brian McLachlan. This is one of the books that I picked up that I’ve eventually planning to give to my granddaughter, when she’s ready for it. (We are artists already---but she’s not quite two yet…) The illustration style is excellent, and McLachlan has some solid advice to give to folks who are thinking about making comics or just telling stories in general. There are “exercises” that people can work on to improve their skills and the tone is upbeat and fun throughout. This is a good one, even if it’s meant for younger readers. (He does name-check Scott McCloud and Will Eisner on the title page, though, so the guy has done his research!)
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An Authenticated History of the Famous Bell Witch (1894)
Written by M. V. Ingram. I read the 2013 edition for Kindle. You may have heard of the Bell Witch, whose legend has crept into horror movies, video games, and paranormal literature…and this is where that legend comes from. It’s an interesting read, a bit antiquated---and SEVERELY and DISTGUSTINGLY racist (definite warning for those sensitive to slavery as a topic), but this is ground zero for the folklore, so it's worth the read if you are a scholar of or interested in the “spooky” side of the universe. (I'm a reformed academic.) After reading this book, I recommend listening to the skeptical takedown of the text from the folks at Monster Talk:
https://monstertalk.skeptic.com/the-bell-witch-of-tennessee
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One-Punch Man – Volume 2 (2012)
Written by One (I believe that would be pronounce “Oh-Nay,” but I might be wrong.) Drawn by Yusuke Murata. Translated into English by John Werry. I reread Volume 1 before reading this, and it was still fantastic, even though I’d already read the first book a couple of time. This volume continues the tale of Saitama, the “hero for fun,” who has grown so powerful that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch. The book is strange, silly, and violent, and also a loving homage and vicious takedown of hero and fighting and monster comics of all stripes. I’m sure I’ll buy the next volume as soon as I’m rich again…
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The X-Men – Marvel Masterworks Volume 1 (Begun in 1963)
Written by Stan Lee. Drawn by Jack Kirby. Back in the 1980s, I was a huge fan of the Chris Claremont X-Men comics, but even in those days, the original 1960’s comics were WAY out of my price range, so I’d never read those first, seminal issues---until now! It turns out, Professor X was a total asshole. Like, 100 percent shit-head. The stories are okay, and the art is Kirby, so it’s good---but I’m not sure that this book was as entertaining as the first few Fantastic Four or Avengers issues…
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X-Force: New Beginnings (Original serialized beginning in 2001)
Written by Peter Milligan. Drawn by Mike Allred with colors by Laura Allred. This was a reread for me. I finally bought the next collection in this series, and I wanted to refamiliarize myself with the book. It’s still fantastic. I’ll look at anything with Michael Allred’s name on it, but in this case the storytelling is also incredibly good. This book, while technically a superhero story, skewers the genre and the entire social media driven hype machine, while also being shockingly violent, moody, hilarious, and weird all at the same time. What else do you need???
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I’m sure I’ll read more books soon. There are a few “real world” physical books that I’ve been working on, plus a ton of stuff that I’m reading at night on THE MACHINE, so keep an eye out for more mini-reviews sometime in the near future…
Meanwhile, yesterday, while I was reading student papers, I also had a delightful little playlist of tunes rolling on TurnTable.FM!
Here’s what I played and where I played it!!! (If you want to follow the link, the “password” to enter is “speakeasy” !!! You’re welcome!)
https://turntable.fm/if_pigs_could_fly_anything
---Elton John vs Pnau - "Black Icy Stare"
---Information Society - "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (Inertia vs. The Crusher Remix)"
---1000 Clowns - "Kitty Kat Max"
---Tame Impala - "Reality in Motion (GUM Remix)"
---Kraftwerk - "Electric Cafe"
---Leatherface - "In the Ghetto"
---Chelsea - "I'm on Fire"
---Black Flamingos - "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
---Buzzcocks - "I Believe"
---Wolfsheim - "Once in a Lifetime"
---Clan of Xymox - "Heroes (Pop Version)"
---Rennie Pilgrem & Arthur Baker - "Dancing in My Head"
---God Live Underwater - "Fly on the Windscreen"
---Kissing the Pink - "Radio On"
---Goldfinger - "Rio"
---Tin Electric with Alexandra Nicole - "Run Like Hell"
---Scream Club feat. Pho Natic - "Keep It on the Dance Floor (Bacalao Mix)"
---Sigue Sigue Sputnik - "Success (Balaeracidic 12" Mix)"
---Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force - "Planet Rock"
---Yellow Magic Orchestra - "Day Tripper"
---Dismantled - "Get It Through"
---Simple Minds - "Being Boiled"
---Candy Flip - "Strawberry Fields Forever"
---Portishead - "Wandering Star"
---The Damned - "Eloise (Single Version)"
---Kings of Convenience - "Little Kids (Remixed by Ladytron)"
---The Only Ones - "Another Girl Another Planet"
---Buttersprites - "Yellow Peril"
---Moderator - "Walking Slow"
---Meco - "Theme from Close Encounters"
---Black Machine - "How Gee (Sax Mix)"
Any of these tunes can be listened to in the room, even if nobody else is there, by clicking on the “Room” button, then clicking the “Recently Played Songs” button. Easy as cheese cake!
Okay folks! That’s it for today! Hopefully, this kind of stuff is fun for you. If not??? I don’t know. You could probably let me know, but I’m going to keep doing this stuff anyway. I’ve ALWAYS done these things...and I always will.
---Richard F. Yates
(Primitive Thoughtician and Holy Fool)
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