Iron Man 2.0 (aka War Machine) is one of the axed titles from Marvel’s current budget cuts. Our pal Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Ultimate X-Men) wraps up his Palmer Addley is Dead storyline with issue #12. It’s also a shame we’ll never see him complete his Victor Von Doom origin with Becky Cloonan. The budget cuts are making people scratch their heads because Marvel is now owned by Disney! … Oh, Canada. You get no respect. Another book on the block is Alpha Flight at issue #8. The lead up to the end in issue #7 guest stars Wolverine! … Hot Stove, Cool Comics: Chew #23 unearths the story of a dead baseball player, and Tony Chu serves up an undead spitball! Picks from LeaguePodcast.com.
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The closest we’ll come to a holiday edition is making Fables #112 our marquee pick this week! Snow White’s sister Rose Red glimpses at the Christmas future of Fabletown, where legends try to assimilate with our society. … Geoff Johns finally reels his Aquaman character into the Justice League in issue #4. Fish stick jokes aside, the King of Atlantis is badass in the New 52, and the legend behind his trident has yet to be revealed! … Wolverine and the X-Men #3 is part of X-Men: Regenesis. Logan’s team is forced to rely on Quentin Quire to stand up to the Hellfire Club, but does that mean more trouble in Westchester for the new headmaster Wolvie? Picks this week from the holly jolly LeaguePodcast.com!
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JAMAL IGLE - THE RAYMEMORIAL #1 - CHRIS ROBERSON, IDW
SACRIFICE - SAM HUMPHRIES, DALTON ROSE
COMICS
Jamal Igle (Supergirl, Action Comics #900) is a superstar artist working exclusively for DC. His latest assignment is with Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (Jonah Hex) for a New 52 reimagining of The Ray. Lucien Gates is transformed from surfer dude to glowing hero The Ray to fight Godzilla-sized monsters! Want to hear more about this? We’ve got an exclusive interview with Jamal posted at LeaguePodcast here! … Memorial #1 from Chris Roberson (Superman/iZombie) features the story of Em, a young lady who inherits a disappearing magic shop and talking cat! … What happens when you are ripped from the present, bumping Unknown Pleasures in your earbuds and awaken to find yourself facing the bloodlust of the Aztecs? Sacrifice #1 illustrates just what might happen! Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.
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The Defenders are back, as Architect Matt Fraction endeavors to write Marvel style with artist Terry Dodson (Harley Quinn, Uncanny X-Men). The 2011 lineup of Silver Surfer, Doctor Strange, Namor, Iron Fist, and Red She-Hulk is worth the price of admission any Wednesday! …Blair Butler, G4’s Mixed Martial Arts and Comic Book Correspondent (for real) has broken into the business combining her passions! Heart #2 is the origin of cage fighter Oren ‘Rooster’ Redmond. Preview the blood sport here. …Voltron #1 re-imagines the savage regime of King Zarkon, and the Voltron Force risks exposing a long forgotten secret of the Galaxy Alliance! Alex Ross Cover, For The Win. …Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.
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DC’s New 52 keeps ‘em coming with T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 from Nick Spencer and Wes Craig, packed with superhero team action from rising talent in the biz. … “Riverdale, you wanted the best, you got the best!” Melding a long tradition of incongruous crossovers (see Archie Meets the Punisher) and the vital fluid of KISS marketing, we present Archie #627 - Archie Meets KISS! … For tales of the weird and absurd, look no further than Michael Kupperman’s Tales Designed to Thrizzle #7. That’s right, more tales of Snake N’ Bacon plus this ish features the comic book debut of creepy 70s TV medical examiner, Quincy, M.E. in ‘Quinception’…. Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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Excelsior! Fifty years ago, Fantastic Four debuted as Marvel’s grounded in reality super family, sprouting from the minds of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 50 years on, the selfsame World’s Greatest Comics Magazine celebrates 600 issues, natch! We hope will we finally see the return of the Human Torch! … Families have their share of complicated history in the Marvel Universe, and as you belly up to that Thanksgiving table, be thankful your twin brother isn’t in The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Catch Avengers Origins Quicksilver And Scarlet Witch over some pumpkin pie. … Terry Moore continues his nifty art school series this week with How To Draw #2 - Expressions. Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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An old enemy of the Waynes in Gotham City resurfaces as crime spikes, busying the Dark Knight with bat-famliy domestic disturbances in Batman #3. … British creator Paul Grist delights audiences with his adept cartooning and clever callbacks to comic book history. Welcome Grist’s teenage Mudman #1 from Image Comics into your home, but insist on leaving those boots at the door! … Superior and Kick Ass fans, get the Kapow Guinness World Record Special penned by over 50 creators in just 12 hours to benefit sick kids. … LeaguePodcast.com have reached a comic book milestone today - download or stream episode #100 today! Special shout-out from our nerd MC Frontalot here!
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Manhattan is cured from the #SpiderIsland virus, thank goodness. Spidey gets to focus on his new role as a member of the Avengers in Avenging Spider-Man #1, a modern take on the Marvel Two-In-One stories of the Seventies! Brave? Sure. Bold? Uh-huh. Wise-cracking action? You can bet on it, Tiger! … House Of Night #1 follows chosen young ladies banished to the woods to survive a vampiric turn. Follow the fledgelings monthly from Dark Horse, in an adaptation and expansion on the NYT best-selling YA series! … What’s in your Magic Bag of Tricks? Something that’ll make you laugh, I bet! Catch a magic carpet ride to strange lands with Felix The Cat - Greatest Comic Book Tails softcover from IDW. Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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Rapper MC Frontalot is at the forefront of a hip-hop genre that’s being called “nerdcore.” (Photo courtesy: Adam Merrifield, Flickr/Creative Commons)
MC Frontalot is a 30-something former web designer, graduate of Wesleyan University, and a current resident of Brooklyn. He’ s also at the forefront of the hip-hop genre known as “nerdcore.”
MC Frontalot, also known as Damian Hess, describes himself on Facebook as the world’s 579th-greatest rapper. “This has been scientifically determined by scientists, using science,” he says.
He also tweets, blogs, Tumblr’s, and hosts something called an “open source beat project” on his website, where he also recommends web browser extensions.
MC Frontalot has just released his fifth studio album called “Solved,” and he’ll be performing at the Middle East in Cambridge next Wednesday, November 9th. Ahead of that performance, he spoke with Radio Boston from Jacksonville, Fla.
Invincible (written by Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman) is a likable teenager much like Peter Parker with Superboy level powers. Truth is, Mark Grayson has seen so much destruction since discovering his powers and taking on the baddest of bads that it may be time for him to hang up the mask. Don’t miss Invincible #84. … Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 is co-written and drawn by Gabriel Hardman (Inception, Incredible Hulk). Boom! Studios stays well within the original movie canon pitting General Aleron face to face with Dr. Zaius! … The publisher’s KABOOM! kids line is fortunate enough to welcome Charlie Brown and pals back to monthly all-new original comics with Peanuts #0 for a cool buck! Sounds like a great excuse to visit your local comic book store with the kids this weekend. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
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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.
