Official Website For Clay N. Ferno, Clay S. Fernald, Boston MA, USA
Website for writer Clay N. Ferno / Clay S, Fernald
COMICS
Archie is following his dream to become a rock star in Archies One Shot! … Venom #150 reaches a milestone for the fan favorite character! Eddie and his symbiotic are back swinging around New York again! … Yo Joe! G.I. Joe #240 introduces a young mystery ninja! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
COMICS
Jubilee leads the team in Generation X #1. … James Robinson reintroduces Nick Fury to outer space in Nick Fury #2 … Frank Castle heads to the Arctic chill in Punisher #12. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
DO617: Did you contribute to writing on this new record (Head Carrier) as well as performing on it?
Paz Lenchantin: Head Carrier was a collaborative effort. We had six weeks or so pre-production on the songs. The songs mainly came from a skeleton that Charles (Black Francis) had come up with. Some of the songs didn’t make the cut at RAK Studios in London.
We were inspired there, we had a little apartment, Charles and I, we were adjacent, attached to he studio. We were like a family. We made dinner, we made coffee in the morning, talk about music, listen to music while we weren’t in the studio.
While we were there, some other songs came up. These last minute gems. One of them didn’t make the record. However, this song was very important to me because this song inspired another song that I wrote that DID make the record, which is called, ‘All I Think About Now’.
This song features me singing lead on vocals. The lyrics were written by Black Francis. He asked me what I wanted to sing about. I thought, this is an exciting moment…I’m being asked what I want to sing about…
In the gripping new graphic novel Hostage (D+Q), award-winning French cartoonist Guy Delisle retells the story of the kidnapping and abduction of Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe André, who was held hostage in Chechnya in 1997. Over 400-plus black and blue pages, Delisle uses the unique quirks of the comics medium to tell a harrowing tale of hope and survival. The artist is coming to Harvard Book Store on Monday, May 15, and I had an opportunity to ask him about this amazing new project and the incredible amount of work that went into it …
How did Christophe’s story first come your way?
I read his story first in the newspaper, then I had the chance to meet him because I was visiting a friend at the NGO where he was working. I was very curious to ask him questions but I thought he doesn’t want to talk about that. Being kidnapped is certainly a traumatic experience …
I started to ask him a few questions and he was really open about it. At the end I thought it was so incredible that it would be nice to do a book about that, and he agreed.
It’s amazing he was able to remember every detail and count the days. He was trying to keep his mind so active but also his mind off of his family and his loved ones.
For him every morning it was important that he was keeping track of time, he didn’t know where he was and there was no reason why he was there. The only certain thing was the time, so he was keeping track.
As far as memory goes, I recorded him in 2003 and I worked on the final version of the book in 2015, so I was glad to have the previous recording because his memory was fresh. I also had a document from the NGO right after this happened. I worked with the recordings and that document.
COMICS
He’s not a rodent, he’s a one of a kind experiment! Rocket #1 puts the Guardian squarely into a heist comic. …Luke Skywalker reluctantly works with Doctor Aprha in Star Wars: Screaming Citadel #1 one shot. … An All-New Secret Warriors #1 puts S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson aka Quake underground with Ms. Marvel and Devil Dinosaur! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written and Directed by James Gunn
Based on Guardians of the Galaxy
by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista,
Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker,
Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki,
Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone,
and Kurt Russell
The lovable bunch of a-holes are back in Vol. 2, the much anticipated sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) leads and ends up expanding the team who have garnered a galactic reputation as true Guardians in the months since the last film.
So much so, that Peter’s father, a comic book favorite Ego (The Living Planet) played by Kurt Russell sprouts up to reunite with his son.
SONGWRITING IS A GOOD PIECE SHARPER AS IT’S MY THIRD GO AROUND, SECOND ON FAT WRECK. I WORKED WITH PRODUCER/ENGINEER PAUL MINER THIS TIME SO THE SOUND OF THE RECORD IS BIG! GUITARS A BIT CRUNCHIER AND THE VOCALS MORE UP FRONT WITH A GOOD DOSE OF STEVE SOTO’S BEATLESQUE HARMONIZING. IT ALSO INCLUDES SOME GREAT PERCUSSION BY PETE SOSA AND DAN ROOT’S GUITAR WORK THAT CAN’T BE BEAT. WE’VE EVEN GOT THE BOYS FROM MARIACHI EL BRONX PLAYING TRUMPETS ON A TRACK!
How is it playing with other punk royalty Steve Soto (Adolescents), Dan Root (Adolescents), and Pete Sosa (Street Dogs) and will these guys be joining you on the road?
COULDN’T ASK FOR BETTER. THERE’S A CONFIDENCE YOU FEEL STEPPING ON STAGE WITH VETS LIKE THOSE GUYS. PETE IS THE BABY BOY OF THE GROUP, BUT HAS AS MUCH ROAD TIME AS SOME OF THE OLD TIMERS IN THE BUSINESS.
THE ONE HANG UP IS THOSE BOYS ALL GET BUSY SOMETIMES AND I’VE GOT TO KEEP IT ROLLING. MY SECOND LINE UP IS CHRIS ELLER AND JOSH BLACKWAY FROM THE HUNTINGTONS AND MY GOOD BUDDY NATE SANDER.
How is it working with the fine folks at FAT WRECK CHORDS?
YEAH FAT IS A GOOD HOME FOR ME. NEVER HAVE A PROBLEM GETTING SOMEONE ON THE PHONE AT HEADQUARTERS AND THEY’RE QUICK AT GETTING THINGS DONE. ALSO DOES NOT HURT THAT THEY’VE GOT A BOAT LOAD OF GREAT BANDS WHICH MEANS LEAVING WITH LOTS OF VINYL ANYTIME WE STOP IN ON A WEST COAST RUN!!
Care to tell us about your charitable work with Autism Speaks or any other organization?
I. HAVE SUPPORTED AUTISM SPEAKS FOR A LONG TIME NOW. I DO THE LONG ISLAND WALK WITH TEAM CJ RAMONE EVERY YEAR. MY WIFE DENISE ORGANIZES MOST OF MY INVOLVEMENT AND WE ARE PLANNING A CJ RAMONE BIRTHDAY BASH TO RAISE SOME FUNDS ALSO. AUTISM SPEAKS FUNDS INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF RESEARCH AND WITH THE NUMBER OF KIDS BEING DIAGNOSED EVERYDAY, IF THIS WAS A FATAL DISEASE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED AN EPIDEMIC LONG AGO AND THE FEDS WOULD HAVE POURED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO IT. . SO TO MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE AUTISTIC COMMUNITY, STAY TOUGH!!!
Do you have a favorite ACID EATERS track? It doesn’t have to be one you played on!
COMICS
Lips as sweet as candy, we are ready for GOTG Vol. 2 with Guardians of The Galaxy Mission Breakout #1 versus The Collector! …You asked for it (“Did we?”) - Youngblood #1 from Image: Youngblood Reborn! … Jessica Jones #8 starts to reveal some deep secrets of the Marvel Universe! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
No, good luck to them… if them walls could speak what stories they’d tell. Whereas with us the carnage over the years is well known. I can only guess at the money it cost us to replace wrecked equipment and pay fines. Of course, we had no idea it was us paying it all… managers don’t tell you that stuff. Until you ask them why you’re still stoney broke - despite playing all those shows.
The Rat Club.. we had some fun there over the years. Not so much the first time though, when between songs the audience chatted among themselves, accompanied by the sound of cutlery on plates. We dragged a table up onstage and ordered pizza… if you can’t beat em join em!
While there’s discerning music fans out there who want to see us, and we’re fit enough to do it we’ll keep going. Those old frauds the Stones are still out there, can’t let those old swines outlive us.
When our guitarist and leader Brian James quit the band in ‘78 we were considered to be washed up… especially with no history of songwriting between the remaining 3 members. But I wasn’t going back to cleaning toilets if I could possibly help it so started composing like anyone’s business, and with the help of our chum Lemmy on bass we did some gigs that procured a new record deal, and a new musical adventure began - that went thru garage, psych and goth phases… with us eventually becoming the evangelists for live music you see now. We live for that manic hour and a half onstage when there’s an element of danger and chaos… and anything could happen.
Things are very different now… but we caught the tail end of a golden period for bands. When a label would book a live in studio for a few weeks and trust you to deliver something they can sell. They often ended up with drastically different records to that they were expecting… and you simply can’t imagine that ever happening today. We used to enjoy seeing the slightly shocked record company faces when we played our new finished albums the first time.
Our mates the Buzzcocks told us about this Pledge Music thing which I’d no idea about - but when told it allowed us to make the album that WE wanted to make… without a record label bloke watching over your shoulder I was there. So we can pretty much do what we like - which in the 80s would’ve meant getting comprehensively sloshed and wrecking the studio - probably getting thrown out of a few along the way for those sort of capers. Not this time though, being considerably older… and hopefully wiser.
Pinch, Stu and a Monty are such great players… they’re going to get a chance to flex their muscles musically. This is a band that can break out of a song structure and really jam it up.
Each album we’ve made sounds different from the last one - and this one will continue that trend. It’s fun to experiment, to be creative… take a few risks. The only shame is not releasing before the world tour, but to have boshed out a half finished album would be wrong. I have Sgt Pepper and Pet Sounds in my vinyl collection, played em to death over the years, and unlikely as it sounds always aspire to achieve those elevated standards.
Do you have a favorite (or least favorite) THE DAMNED song to play live?
Fave - Neat Neat Neat for the jamming scope the riff allows… we never play it the same twice.
Cheers - CS
Superheroes Decoded is a two-part documentary about the history of superheroes and comic books. Piggybacking on Brad Meltzer’s Decoded series title, this is in-depth look in to how American comic books and heroes have developed into a major money-maker for studios but also a reflection of over seventy-five years of pop culture.
Capped on each end by the creation of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and the invention of a Pakistani Ms. Marvel in 2013 the just under three hour documentary has a lot packed in.
Interviews with creators Stan Lee, Iron Man director Jon Favreau, creators Brad Meltzer, Joe Quesada, Mark Waid, Dan DiDio, Nicola Scott, G. Willow Wilson, Sana Amanat are poised against non-comics people and celebrities George R.R. Martin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Clark Gregg, Anthony Mackie, T.J. Miller and many more to paint a historical perspective on comics and heroes.
COMICS
The Shadow knows who lies behind the cowl! Batman/The Shadow #1 from Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando puts two pulp heroes together for the first time! … Yo, Joe! Cobra unleashes sinister plans in G.I.Joe #239! … Boop Bip, Boop, Bip! 24 Legacy #1 celebrating the new series is drawn by G.I.Joe Cobra’s Antonio Fuso. Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
Comics writer J.T. Krul is best known for his work recently on Green Arrow and Teen Titans, but cut his chops at Aspen with Fathom and Soulfire. His latest book, Sand + Bone, from Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray’s Adaptive Books, J.T. and artist Andrea Mutti tackle PTSD and an unexplained supernatural phenomenon.
Sean Hitcher has just returned from war. He didn’t die in Iraq, but part of him wishes that he did. He’s home now, back in the small Midwestern town he grew up in. But he is haunted by nightmarish visions of killing and carnage that seem to be the result of severe PTSD. But are they? Is there something he’s missing. …
As mysterious acts of violence spread throughout the town, Sean begins to wonder if there’s more going on than he originally thought. What terror did he experience on the battlefield, and what horrifying secret did he bring back with him?
J.T. took some time to discuss Sand + Bone, PTSD and working with Adaptive Books.
* * * * *
FOG!: Thanks for joining us to discuss Sand + Bone! First off, we can’t ignore the art on this book. How did you hook up with Andrea Mutti?
J.T. Krul: That was actually thanks to Jimmy and Justin. They’ve been working with Adaptive to develop their graphic novels, and as we started putting the project together, they recommended Andrea. His style works great with the tone and vibe of the story we are telling. It’s dark and brooding, with a lot of the mystery and the drama hidden in the shadows. And, Vladimir Popov really complements Andrea’s art perfectly, adding a sense of texture and grit in his colors.
The classic Wolfman/Perez Teen Titans story, The Judas Contract has been updated and fit into the current DCAU by director Sam Liu. While there are some key elements to the story and an overall respect for the source material throughout, this is very much a 2017 DC Comics Animated movie.
The team differs from the original Titans, an additional time frame and a sinister vibe and double-cross from the movie’s villains Brother Blood (Gregg Henry) and Deathstroke (played by the late, great Miguel Ferrer) add another layer to the dense story of betrayal from inside the team. Our animated Titans are led by Starfire (Kari Wahlgren) and the red-Bat New 52 Nightwing (Sean Maher).Beast Boy (Brandon Soo Hoo) returns as a major star in this one as he faces off against his crush and newly initiated team member Terra / Tara Markov (Christina Ricci).
Noticeably absent, likely for Justice League reasons is Cyborg, but Raven (Taissa Farmiga) and Blue Beetle / Jamie Reyes (Jake T. Austin) round out the roster.
The music business has changed so much in the past few years that there is a huge gap between what was thought of as the studio album being replaced by lyric videos and viral sensations. What happens when you’re a former programmer that wants to create music instead of being a cubical code monkey in this environment?
You get the uncanny Jonathan Coulton, a man who’s career was quite literally forged by riding the crest of the internet wave like oh-so-many primates on the cover of the original T&C Surf Designs NES cartridge.
JoCo infamously indulged in a year long quest to make a “Thing a Week” in 2005, creating memorable geek singalong numbers “Shop Vac”, “Chiron Beta Prime”, “Tom Cruise Crazy” and of course “Mr. Fancy Pants”. Alright, you might not know these songs yet, but you can listen to them for free on his site along with the unofficial “Ikea” theme song (‘plywood, brushed steel; meatballs, tasty’).
COMICS
If you are getting ready for this summer’s Wonder Woman movie, the Wonder Woman: Earth One trade from Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette is the best way to twirl into a new Wonder Woman age! … Jazmine St. Cocaine returns in Sex Criminals #18! … Trouble in Rockwood in a brand new story arc for Black Hammer #8 from Jeff Lemire. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
COMICS
Weapon X is the program that created Logan, and now they’ve loaded up on Adamantium for bear in Weapon X #1 from Greg Pak and Greg Land! …The original X-team is back in X-Men Blue #1 from Cullen Bunn! … Black Panther, Storm and Luke Cage star in Black Panther and the Crew #1 debuting this week drawn by the legendary Butch Guice! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
COMICS
Jyn Erso hits the comic pages for the first time in Star Wars Rogue One Adaptation #1. Join the Rebellion! … Aw Yeah, IDW! Famous Cartoonist Art Baltazar pits G.I. Joe against The Transformers and Micronauts and Rom in Revolution Aw Yeah #1! … Batman and Robin discover secrets of the Son of Batman in Superman #20! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.
Jeff Lemire’s vision of a superhero universe, rooted deep in his indie roots comes to fruition today in the release of the first volume of Black Hammer (Dark Horse Comics).
Drawn with a Mignola-esque sensibility, the art by Dean Ormston (2000 AD, Sandman Mystery Theatre) drops you into this new universe that is as much Kirby as it is Lemire’s own Sweet Tooth.
Let us back up a couple of steps. Why should you read this book about a superhero team from another dimension trapped within a 10 mile radius of a simple farm house?
The answer is simple: This book is very good.
COMICS
X-Men Prime #1 starts RESURRXION with a new #1 with a team led by Kitty Pride. … This ain’t Riverdale, it’s Little Archie one shot from famous cartoonist and Aw Yeah Podcast’s Art Baltazar! … In Batgirl Annual #1, Supergirl and Batgirl take on Arkham Asylum! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.