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anotherkindofmindpod · 11 months

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Hello lovelies! I wanted to go back to another episode, Strange Bedfellows: Hiroshima Sky, and address a point raised in that episode. You all discussed Paul "bothering his dying wife" with the song credits switch issue, but I had the exact opposite impression. Here's Paul's quote to Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone in 2001: "But this is why we don't have a great relationship. That, and the fact that Linda rang her during the height of her chemo shit and asked her, and Yoko said, 'That's never going to happen.'"

I do agree with your conclusion that Yoko was not obligated just because Linda was sick and I was pleased you both eventually allowed that Linda may have been offended on Paul's behalf, because that's what I think happened. Let me backup.

Earlier in that same Rolling Stone interview, Paul said, "So when the [Beatles] Anthology came out, after thirty years of always having John’s name in front, I thought it should say, ” ‘Yesterday,’ by Paul McCartney and John Lennon.' So I rang up and asked Yoko. This is when Linda and I were going through our real horror times. I rang Yoko up and said, 'Couldn’t I, on the Anthology, just on this one song, put my name in front? Could we put, ‘Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon’? It would be a great favor to me.' Linda actually rang her and said, 'Do this as a favor.'"

"Yesterday" appears on Anthology 2, which was released on March 18 1996. According to Keith Badman, Anthology 2 was originally slated for release on February 26, 1996, supposedly due to a track re-ordering (moving "I'm Down") and thus making the original CD booklets obsolete and needing to be reprinted (Paul supposedly footed the bill for that). I have wondered if that delay for Anthology 2 was actually due to Paul wanting to change the song credits on "Yesterday," as he later described (or maybe the booklets had the credits switched on "Yesterday"and Paul had to pay to put them back!).

Paul told DeCurtis that he and Linda made the request "during our real horror times." Linda allegedly started an intensive chemotherapy regime in January 1996 (diagnosed with breast cancer in December 1995), just a month before Anthology 2 was originally due to be released, before being pushed back to March at the last minute. Due to that timeline, it's almost certain that the "Yesterday" credits request from Linda took place in January 1996.

Per Badman's Beatles Diary, Paul essentially stopped working during the year 1996 to care for Linda. He only made two public appearances, both in support of LIPA, and three brief recording sessions for Flaming Pie (separated by months-long gaps) in the entire year. He also did the final Anthology edit approvals and promotional interviews working from home, which was unusual for him at that time, and cancelled a few other work obligations that year.

Now we have the context that Paul and Linda made the "Yesterday" credits request at a terrible time in their lives. Paul seems to have taken offense less at Yoko's refusal and more at the way she did it, which he perceived as insulting to Linda when she was going through an awful time. Whether Linda asked Yoko independently of Paul because she was loyal or protective of him, or whether he knew beforehand and/or urged her to do it? We'll never know.

Yet if you go back to the statement Yoko made on Linda's death, Yoko wrote without elaboration, "The last conversation I had with her was in January this year [1998]." Now why would Linda and Yoko have spoken that January? Did Linda call Yoko, or vice versa? What else happened that month? Well, it so happens that Yoko's "Paul was Salieri/Paul made the phone calls" interview was broadcast in a BBC documentary on.....January 6, 1998.

Putting the speculative pieces together, here's my wild guess as to what happened. While working on the Anthology, Paul realized he wanted to have his name first on "Yesterday." What if Paul brought up the issue in the run up to the Anthology launch, not when Anthology 2 was to be released? Then right after Anthology 1 and the miniseries premiered to much success, Linda was diagnosed with cancer. Right after she started intensive chemo in January 1996, Linda asked Yoko to allow the credit switch as a personal favor to her. Maybe she knew it would give Paul a life preserver during that time, or she thought Paul was right, or some combination thereof, or whatever. Anyway, Yoko said no. Maybe Paul learned about that, was incensed, and tried to switch the credits on the Anthology 2 CD booklets anyway, causing the delay of the album's release.

Then, in January 1998, Yoko gave the Salieri interview with the hurtful comments which cut Paul deeply and Linda, who was always fiercely protective of Paul, became angry. According to friends, Linda was deeply concerned about Paul's emotional state during her illness, and I could see another perceived insult from Yoko sending her over the edge. So she called Yoko to confront her. Paul learned of that conversation (at the time? at some point later?) and, knowing how sick Linda was, became incredibly angry at Yoko in turn.

I think that everything during this time has to be looked at through the lens of Linda's illness. The credits issue, the flaming pie kerfuffle and finally the Salieri comments must have been seen by the McCartneys as Yoko throwing blows when they were at their lowest.

Thanks for all this, very thorough! We're delighted you enjoyed Strange Bedfellows. :) Thanks for listening and writing in.

#AKOM #Strange Bedfellows #credit reversal #Salieri-Mozart gate #Linda's illness #Anthology #Yesterday #Yoko Ono #Hiroshima Sky

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thereasonsimbroke · 7 months

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IDW Publishing is marking the 40th anniversary of #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles with a lineup including #TMNT: Sourcebook and TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution.

A new anthology, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White and Green, debuts on May 8, and two oversized one-shot issues are set for June. In August, TMNT: Nightwatcher launches, tackling mutant discrimination, followed by TMNT: Mutant Nation in September.

#IDW aims to cater to diverse preferences in storytelling and encourages pre-orders at local comic shops for these releases.

#TMNT #Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #comics #comic books #Green #Shop local #Nickelodeon

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duckprintspress · 11 months

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Progress on Fulfillment for Duck Prints Press Crowdfunding Campaigns

We’ve got three crowdfunding campaigns currently in the midst of fulfillment, and we wanted to take a moment to post about our progress on each of them!

Aim For The Heart: Queer Fanworks Inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers

Our most recent campaign on Kickstarter, to fund Aim For The Heart, ended on July 15th, 2023. After some print challenges revealed in the proof copy of the book, we had to make some fairly extensive tweaks to the manuscript, and getting that completely set has taken a fair amount of time. But we’re there now – the book is done and printed, and we’re just doing some final preparation on the e-book and backer data in anticipation of packing and shipping everyone’s orders this weekend, November 18th and 19th!

Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley

We were 100% on track to fulfill Many Drops Make a Stream orders within the next week or so…and then the enamel pins arrived, after 6 or so weeks in production, with an error that makes them undistributable (the poor tiger part of Droplet has no stripes on her back and hind legs!). Everything else for this campaign is ready to go, and the pin manufacturer has been very receptive to our issue and is rushing replacements for us, but we’re still at least a few weeks from having them even if they’re expedited – manufacturing enamel-ware takes time, and they have to ship from China.

That said, because we have everything else, we will be doing some distribution shortly: namely, for people who also backed Aim For The Heart, if we can save them shipping money by combining their orders, we will do so and refund the difference in shipping cost – combining the book shipping for these individuals, and then forwarding them their pins separately, will be a big savings for them.

For everyone else, we will prepare everything we can, and as soon as we have the pins we will distribute everything. If it looks like we will not have the pins before the December holidays start, we will send out everything BUT the pins, and send out pin orders alone subsequently. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we make sure that y’all get items of the quality and accuracy that you deserve!

To Drive the Hundred Miles by Alec J. Marsh

All of the merchandise for To Drive the Hundred Miles has arrived, and it looks great. We’re almost done repackaging it and preparing it for distribution. The proof of the book arrived last week, and we’ve reviewed it and made a few necessary tweaks; we re-submitted those files to the printer yesterday, and are awaiting their confirmation so we can sign off on production of the full print run. Once it’s in the print queue, our best guess is that it’ll be roughly two weeks before it arrives at our door. At that time, we’ll be able to get everyone’s pre-orders turned around pretty quickly.

Thank you everyone for your orders with us! We’re excited to bring all three of these large projects to a close, and get amazing books into all of your hands!

And keep your eyes open, because there’s more to come – the re-release of A. L. Heard’s Hockey Bois, revised and reprinted, will open for pre-orders on December 1st, and our next Kickstarter campaign for the anthology Aether Beyond the Binary will be launching on December 26th. We also expect to run a Kickstarter campaign in February for Tris Lawrence’s Twinned trilogy, and we’ve got more in the pipeline after that! So make sure you follow us on social media, subscribe to our newsletters, back us on Patreon for sneak peeks and backer-exclusive extras, and leave us reviews on Goodreads or Storygraph!

Want one or more of these books, and/or the merchandise that goes with them, but missed out on the campaigns? Don’t despair – the books and leftover merch will become available during this coming winter! So be on the look out!

#duck prints press #aim for the heart #many drops make a stream #adrian harley #to drive the hundred miles #alec j. marsh

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theprodigypenguin · 10 months

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Man we really did pick THE most perfect time to re-launch the Rev Zine project. If anyone is getting hyped over the latest chapters and are interested in joining an awesome new anthology years in the making, go take a look at @thebaltigomanifesto 😖😖😖❤️ the interest check will be open for the rest of December, the mod team has been working so damn hard and are so excited. Come talk with us about Dragon, Kuma, Sabo, and all the other revs we love so much 🥺

#is it any wonder my simp ass has been daydreaming of a revolutionary army zine since 2020 when i got back into op during quarantine???#i mean honestly #we tried to launch it a year ago but life be a bitch sometimes #this time around we have more members in our mod team to help with graphics and social media 🥹🥹❤️❤️ i love them all so much #theyre so kind to offer their time and skills to this project and i have no idea how to properly thank them ❤️❤️#one piece #revolutionary army

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artoftcbaldwin · 9 months

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This is art for a Trans themed anthology I submitted a pitch to. Found out yesterday that they turned it down. I was pretty proud of this pitch too.

I'm getting confident enough in my abilities that every time a publisher says no to my work I'm like Your loss babe 😔.

This year I'll be focusing almost exclusively on my own creator owned conic book project, which I'll be showcasing on my soon to be re-launched patreon.

Onwards and upwards!

#my art #comic book art #trans artist

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lady-of-the-upside-down · 6 months

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Local indie publishing scene drama is crazy this week

A rough rundown (May not be super accurate but it gives you the idea) Also please bear with my grammar, it’s past 1am here as of writing.

Person A publishes under Company X in like 2014 or so, this was PA’s first novel. It doesn’t sell well.

Take note that part of the contract you sign under Company X states that you are responsible for your marketing (which is fair for an indie) and that you as the author have the final say on what version will be published even after their editors have done their own editing.

Eventually Person A offshoots and starts their own company, Company Y. It’s technically an imprint of the publishing company their parents run (why didn’t PA publish under there in the first place???)

During that time, Company X grew, getting more authors that succeed under them, and going as far as participating in international events like book fairs in Germany and the UK.

In the last week, Person A had been going on a tirade on Facebook over an alleged “scam publisher” that “doesn’t edit their books.” Meanwhile, many in the scene seeing the posts thought it was about an unrelated Company Z, who was outed for using AI art covers.

Just last weekend, Company X had an activity at a local chain bookstore that focused on a specific genre. It was a mini-convention with talks and signings and also the launch of an anthology of short stories of that genre.

The event wasn’t even bad, the only real complaint is that the venue was cramped for the unexpectedly sizable number of attendees.

Now back to Person A, they continues with their tirades online, all while bragging about an expensive deal they got with some TV network. Whatever, congrats I guess. (They were mentioning amounts of money that even a 4th grader would know not to post on social media as something you have, so it’s clear PA has piss poor social media skills)

The tirades continued in the past days and got more and more specific until she all but said the name. They still referred to Company X as a “scam”

Her claim seemed plausible as several other authors (Call them A1, A2) then began to come up with their own complaints about their works under Company X.

Turns out, upon the informal investigation done by some authors in our group chat, the commonality between the complainants was that their books didn’t sell well.

But remember, marketing was part of their obligations as Company X’s business model is less traditional and more collaborative between author and publisher.

Related to the last point, that was where A1’s complaint falls flat. It was his obligation to re-check the edited manuscript to check for any mis-corrections (such as editors removing intentional “mistakes”, amongst other things)

Person B, who started and runs Company X, had to address the private Facebook group of their authors and fans about the situation, giving us a clearer picture of what was going on and the likely reason how it began. (That’s where it was confirmed that Person A’s book really just didn’t sell well) It was a well-written statement and really helped ease our anxieties about the tensions, and also reminding us about how publishing under Company X was meant to be collaborative, which is something we willingly agreed to.

Person B also revealed that A2’s parent was stressing PB out in the middle of a busy book fair while they were nursing a mild fever all because A2’s mom was accusing PB of being connected to random politicians from the province PB came from, which PB denies vehemently in a professional manner.

A2 was also insistent on publishing once a month with different genres, which is, frankly, a stupid idea to begin with. So they shouldn’t have been surprised that many of those works undersold.

During that fair (and all fairs Company X participated in) there were authors who were present to promote their works, and even helping promote the works of those who weren’t there.

Bottom line: A1 and A2 didn’t due their due diligence in editing and marketing, respectively, and now Person A is using their “complaints” as part of a smear campaign against Company X.

It’s certainly been a wild few days of drama and honestly it takes a toll as someone with stake on the game. I am posting this here just to get it out of my system because frankly I’m still pissed about how Person A acted. I am saying this as someone who has met Person B in real life and even has mutual friends with her (one who knew PB long before she started Company X)

While we are generally happy about PA’s success with their company, it just leaves a sour taste in our mouths to see our feeds filled with their needless vitriol that could’ve easily been clarified with PB via email, rather than resorting to what is essentially slander(?) Also this situation really just caused a lot of anxiety to us, especially those of us who have works in progress under Company X.

Now, as a result of this, several authors who submitted stuff for Company Y’s calls for submissions are now rethinking the thoughts of signing a contract if they’re accepted.

Tried to be as vague as possible with the details to avoid further expansion of the issue.

Anyways here’s the dose of local hobby drama that I needed to get out of my system tonight before I go to sleep.

#hobby drama #hobby #books #book #publishing #publishing industry #writer #writers #writing #writeblr #indie publishing #literature #philippines #irl #vent

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queermtl · 1 year

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QUEER MTL THINGS TO DO: June 2023 / PRIDE MONTH 🏳️‍🌈

Summer’s here and the time is right for queering in the streets! This month, Montréal is stuffed to the brim with events, parties and unique experiences painted in all the colours of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. From drag to community, circuit to underground, here’s some of our picks for the best LGBTQ+ things to do in the city. For further announcements, follow QueerMTL on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr! Got an event coming up? DM it our way!

EVENT OF THE MONTH:

🎶 Montréal’s Chœur Queer brings their “co-constructed show that queers a choir” (Re)faire chœur queer to the St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival at Studio Jean-Valcourt du Conservatoire, with performances from June 10-18, 2023. Developed during workshop sessions with facilitator Jade Préfontaine, (Re)faire chœur queer utilizes vocal and spacial explorations to queer the room with sound. In their own words, “Our approach to the choir is transdisciplinary, as it is neither clearly musical, nor completely narrative, nor perfectly choreographic, but all at once.” Find tickets here.

EVENTS

📚Metatron Press presents Capsule, a night of readings from new releases by LGBTQ+ authors at Ursa on Thursday, June 1, 2023, featuring Lee Suksi, Eli Tareq El Bechelany Lynch, Trynne Delaney and Jayson Keery.

✊ The Chemstory podcast launches with a gathering of storytelling and discussion with gay, bisexual and queer men and non-binary people sharing their experiences with chemsex on Thursday, June 1, 2023 at SAT. Free tickets available here.

👠 On Friday, June 2, 2023, Lust Cove celebrates Kaya Koko’s 25th birthday with Kokonuts: A Sexy Birthday Bash at Café Cléopatra, featuring performances from Lia Jasmin, Mina Minou, Sugah the Vixen and others. Tickets here.

📚The Violet Hour Book Club meets to discuss Guapa by Saleema Haddad on Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Archives gaies du Québec. All are welcome, so get reading!

✡️ A Queer Mitzvah at Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles on Saturday, June 3, 2023 promises a Jewish-centered cabaret and dance party open to all.

🏠 Looking for a QTBIPOC housemate, or searching for a suitable spot to live? Check out QTBIPOC Co-Living’s "Speed Dating" event on Saturday, June 3, 2023 and meet some cool potential roomies!

🔥 Now this is exciting. June 7-11, 2023, P!NK BLOC Montréal presents the first edition of their new queer radical festival BRÛLANCES at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier. “We want to unite 2SLGBTQI+ communities towards our liberation, in revolutionary, resolutely feminist, anti-capitalist, decolonial, anti-racist and anti-fascist perspectives.” Who can argue with that? Check out their full lineup of events here.

✍️ HommeHomo brings Drink & Draw back to Bar Le Cocktail on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, featuring live models and drink specials.

💃 The long-running annual Hot Mess waacking competition brings a full-on battle to the stage of Cabaret Mado on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Tickets here.

✊ AGIR and P!NK BLOC Montréal present From the margins to the center: Trans+ and non binary migrants & refugees knowledge on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier.

🎭 Queer ghost story Red Paper hits the St Ambroise Fringe Festival Montréal with showings June 8-18. Find more details and ticket information here.

✊ P!NK BLOC Montréal and the Comité autonome du travail du sexe presents Sex workers Unite! a film screening and discussion at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier on Thursday, June 8, 2023. After a showing of the 2000 film Live Nude Girls Unite!, the workshop will take a closer look at the issues facing sex workers in Montréal.

📚 Librairie Résonance hosts a book launch for Black Metal Rainbows, a 400-page, full-color anthology of radical, queer, and leftist writings and artworks that explore black metal as a genre of openness and inclusivity on Friday, June 9, 2023.

🎶 YATAI MTL 2023 and Sticky Rice Magazine present Soirée City Pop Japon 80s, a celebration of the popular Japanese genre of the same name at Bassin Peel on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

👠 Join Foxy Lexxi Brown, Kyky Delavega, Jolie Lolita and others at the Motown Burlesque on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at Café Cléopatra, paying tribute to all your favourite Motor City hits.

🎶 The Monday Night Choir presents Émergence, their first concert since pandemic lockdown under the direction of François Lukawecki at Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Old Montréal on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Tickets at the door.

✊The Archives gaies du Québec hosts The Aesthetic Activism of ACT UP Montréal: a history in photos and posters from June 13-August 13, 2023, spotlighting an important piece of both HIV/AIDS and Montréal’s activist history.

🎥 REEL GAY hosts a screening of The Devil Wears Prada at the Diving Bell Social Club on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, featuring live commentary and a performance by drag artist DENIM.

🍍The Festival Jouissif Montréal takes over Bain Mathieu on June 17-18, 2023 with a full programme of performers, a market, workshops and showings of erotic art. Join Sasha Baga, DJ Sam, Miami Minx, Cherry Top and others for an 18+ party you won’t soon forget.

👠 Twice a month on every second Tuesday, Bring It! hosts an OTA night of ballroom and vogue with commentator and DJ. Follow their Instagram for dates and details.

🎾 Throughout the month, Tennis Lambda hosts LIGUE DE DIMANCHE outdoor tennis on the courts at Parc Louis-Riel. Check Eventbrite for full dates and details.

🚲 Montréal Queer Bike Polo meets on Thursdays! Find details and directions on their Instagram.

🏐 Les Ratons-Chasseurs (Montréal’s LGBTA dodgeball group) holds regular events. Keep an eye on their Facebook for upcoming opportunities to join in and play.

🤠 The long-running Club Bolo offers open country music dance classes every Friday evening at the Association sportive et communautaire du Centre-Sud. Find more details at their website.

🕹Montréal Gaymers hosts regular gatherings including board game nights and gaming gatherings. Check their Facebook for what’s next!

🎤 Most Tuesdays, check out Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic at Impro Montréal, focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians.

🏃🏾Join the Out-Run run and workout club for people relating to the queer / sapphic experience. Details on their Instagram!

💃 Tango/Salsa Queer’s continue, with Salsa Queer on Monday nights from 20:30-21:30 and Tango (beginners/intermediate) on Tuesdays at 19:00-20:30. Contact [email protected] for prices and location.

🐦 Bird lovers should keep their eye on Queer Birders' regularly scheduled birdwatching events and excursions. Join the Facebook group and get those binoculars at the ready.

PARTIES

🥳 Sponsored by Fierté Montréal Pride, PIMAN 2 is a free-entrance queer Caribbean party at Club Sagacité on Friday, June 2, 2023.

🥳 Sure to be one of the season’s most memorable events, Ellelui presents KICK OFF, a lesbian, queer and trans party with DJs Lucibabyy, DJ Nalee, Buhbuh Lø and Mansa at Newspeak on Friday, June 9, 2023.

🥳 MPU returns with the MPU Malibu Beach Party on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at Le Belmont, featuring performances from Miss Dupré, Rainbow, Sami Landri and Charli Deville, alongside music from DJ Jeffany and Frantastik.

🥳 Light up the dance floor with other lovers of flow art at Club Cosmic—Jam Party Lumineux #PicnicStyle on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at the Village au Pied-du-Courant.

🥳 Quickly becoming one of Montréal’s hottest queer gatherings, Queen & Queer returns with their Dance Party Vol. 11 at Ausgang Plaza on Friday, June 16, 2023 with DJ Poptrt, DJ Sam and DJ Syz.

🥳 Psychedelic trance lovers will float away at Cosmic Resonance: A Psychedelic Journey in the Old Port on Friday, June 23, 2023. Details and tickets on Facebook.

🐻 Bears and their admirers won’t want to miss Bear Nation’s TerreDesBears23: la soirée Bear la plus chaude de l’été à Montréal with DJ Marc Paquet and DJ Duchesne at Theatre Sainte Catherine Café-Bar on Friday, June 30, 2023.

DRAG

👑 Cabaret Mado hosts ZazoO chante Piaf! on Thursday, June 1, 2023. Accompanied by guitarist Laflèche Gosselin, ZazoO hits all the high notes of “the little sparrow” Edith Piaf in a show which has toured France, Switzerland and now returns to Montréal. Tickets here.

👑 Uma Gahd is remounting her one-woman show Are You There Margaret? It’s me, Gahd at Bar Le Cocktail on Saturday, June 3, 2023, before taking it overseas to the Edinburgh Fringe. Our queen is going international!

👑 Pop chameleon Jimmy Moore presents Jimmy Moore personnifie Taylor Swift to Cabaret Mado on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

👑 They’ll give you what you want, what you really really want at Cabaret Mado on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, when Spice Drags brings all your favourite girl power hits to the stage in full drag.

👑 You’d better walk that f****** duck when Ru Paul’s Drag Race Season 15 queen Anetra takes the stage at Cabaret Mado on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

👑 Jimmy Moore Material Girl is spot on, you’ll think you’re watching the real thing at Jimmy Moore personnifie Madonna on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at Cabaret Mado.

👑 Rock en Espagnol Draglesque, featuring Velma CandyAss, Salty Margarita, Black Mamba and others, is at Bar Le Cocktail on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

👑 Expanding the boundaries of drag, the new Myknova, hosted by Aizysse Baga, Miko and Game Genie Sokolov launches on Monday, June 12, 2023 at Cabaret Mado, featuring Sisi Superstar and Awwful. Tickets here.

👑 Celebrating EmmÖtional Damage’s 30th birthday, Bonne fête EmmÖtional Damage takes over Cabaret Mado on Monday, June 12, 2023, hosted by Marla Deer and featuring surprise drag artists throughout the night.

👑 Lulu Shade and Sarah Winters present Garden of Shade 4 at Bar Le Cocktail on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, featuring appearances from Mimi Fatale and Deborah Kadabra. Tickets here.

👑 Go back in time at Couronne et corset at Cabaret Mado on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, when queens Daisy Wood, Blueberry Moore, Betty Bistouri, Ava Godiva, Akikoï, Miss Behave, Mistress Vladimir and Robin Brutal transform the stage into a medieval fantasy.

👑 Uma Gahd hosts Les Folies Draglesque with featured star Miami Minx and guests Alice Wildflower, Casquivano, Ophelia Rass and Will Charmer on Thursday, June 14, 2023 at Cabaret Mado.

👑 Montréal’s drag kings take over the Maison de la culture Maisonneuve on Thursday, June 15, 2023 with Les Kings Comiques featuring Slim Furry, Lesley Wilde, Jaqq Strap and others.

👑 O.G. RuPaul’s Drag Race and All Stars contestant galore Manila Luzon brings her Gangsta Paradise show to Le National on June 16, 2023. General admission tickets and VIP meet and greet packages are available here.

👑 Proving that drag isn’t just into pop, Drag Aux Foufs brings an exciting drag show dedicated to punk, metal, ska and emo at Les Foufounes Électriques on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Featuring Salt, Zyra Dymond, Eden Ashes, Miss Behave and others.

👑 Marking 35 years in drag, legendary Montréal queen Michel Dorion presents Dalida pour toujours at Bar Le Cocktail on Saturday, June 17, 2023. Expect dancers, choreography and a loving tribute to the Italian-French diva.

👑 An all-star line-up of Montréal queens including Tracy Trash, Bambi Dextrous, Sasha Baga and more gathers for Les grands concerts: Un Hommage la comédie musicale québécoise on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at Cabaret Mado. Sing along to some of your favourite Québec musical hits!

👑 Ad’Horrible, Mike Oxlong and Niko Lubie present their open alternative drag night Under Kingstruction: Family Issues at Bar Le Cocktail on Saturday, June 24, 2023.

👑 On Friday and Saturday nights, the legendary Mado Lamotte hosts Mado Reçoit at her namesake club, Cabaret Mado. Each week, she shares the stage with a hand-picked roster of queens. Tickets and lineup info here.

👑 Uma Gahd hosts weekly screenings of Drag Race All Stars Season 8 at Bar Le Cocktail on Friday nights. Come early for a good seat and laugh along all season!

👑 Rosa Golde hosts weekly Drag Race All Stars Season 8 viewings with special guest hosts including Marilyn Manhole and August Wind every Friday at Champs Bar, starting at 98:00 PM. Find more information here.

👑 Every Tuesday, Canada’s Drag Race season 3 winner Gisèle Lullaby hosts Full Gisèle at Cabaret Mado. Tickets and schedule at Cabaret Mado’s website.

👑 Bar Le Cocktail’s regular weekly events include Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly every Thursday, Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion on Fridays, Drôles de Drags with a rotating cast of queens on Saturdays and Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion on Sundays. Check listings for specific details, and pick up tickets here.

👑 Every Monday at the Diving Bell Social Club, Bambi Dextrous hosts Trivia Night! Be sure to book your team table in advance.

👑 Every Thursday at Complexe Sky, check out the Jimmy Moore Drag Show at 10 PM, sure to feature eye-popping costume changes and dance moves that don’t quit. Free with club admission.

👑 Sunday nights brings the amazingly hilarious Tracy Trash’s Le Tracy Show to Cabaret Mado. Grab tickets here.

#montreal #queermtl #thingstodo #events #drag #parties #nightlife #community #activism #2slgbtq #lgbttravel #mtlmoments

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downthetubes · 2 years

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Available from comic shops from 16th October from the Arts in Health charity Re-Live - cover by Ian Kennedy - his final work.

A powerful comic raising awareness about forces veteran’s mental health stories https://downthetubes.net/re-live-charity-unites-military-veterans-and-comic-creators-for-new-coming-home-anthology-launch/ strips drawn by Keith Page, Mike Donaldson, Casey Raymond, Emma Vieceli and Clark Bint.

The Re-Live team will be at Thought Bubble next weekend

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themovieblogonline · 2 months

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Fallout Season 2: Updates and Anticipation

Get ready to dive back into the post-apocalyptic world of "Fallout"! Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of the beloved video game series is gearing up for its second season! With the first season earning rave reviews and a whopping 17 Emmy nominations, the pressure is on for Season 2 to deliver. We're now getting a Fallout Season 2 update a lot earlier than expected. Season 2 Updates Amazon Studios chiefs Jennifer Salke and Vernon Sanders recently shared some exciting updates about "Fallout Season 2". The show continues with its beloved characters and promises to take the story to new heights. They revealed that scripts are already in hand! While there's no exact launch date yet, the production is ahead of schedule. Salke and Sanders praised the producers and the creative team for their unique and irreverent vision that has resonated well with fans. According to Salke, “We are fully committed to our journey with our beloved characters. Such a great Season 2 coming.” Sanders added, “We’re ahead of schedule, in terms of being able to get Season 2 back. We don’t have an exact launch date yet, but we’ve already gotten scripts in hand, and I think the fans of Season 1 will really love where we’re going for Season 2.” Season 1 of "Fallout" set a high bar, blending the game's dark humor and dystopian setting with fresh, original storytelling. The show’s success is attributed to the vision of producers Jonathan Nolan, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner, and Todd Howard. They managed to create a series that felt like a love letter to fans of the video game, staying true to its roots while appealing to a broader audience. What to Expect in Season 2 Fans can expect Season 2 to continue exploring the rich, chaotic world of "Fallout". With its vast, open-world setting, there are endless possibilities for new storylines and character development. The showrunners have hinted at new adventures, challenges, and, of course, plenty of that signature "Fallout" dark humor. Salke hinted at the potential for exploring different setups within the "Fallout" universe, saying, “I saw some of the talk of, is this an anthology? And it does have a lot of doors we can go through, which is the beauty of the IP. But we are fully committed, and we’re all on this journey with the characters that we’ve met and loved in Season 1.” The show's Emmy nominations are a testament to its quality and the hard work of its creators. It's also a strong indicator that Amazon is keen on exploring more video game adaptations in the future. Sanders noted, “We’ve already announced ‘Tomb Raider,’ which we’re incredibly excited about. And there are some other things definitely percolating, I think soon rather than later, you might hear about some new things.” A Brief History of the "Fallout" Franchise The "Fallout" franchise began in 1997 with the release of its first game by Interplay Productions. Set in a retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, the series quickly gained a cult following for its unique blend of dark humor. Bethesda Software took over the series in 2004, releasing highly acclaimed titles like "Fallout 3," "Fallout: New Vegas," and "Fallout 4." The franchise's rich lore and complex characters have made it a favorite among gamers, leading to its successful adaptation into a TV series. As we eagerly await another Fallout Season 2 update, the anticipation is building. With a strong foundation set by the first season, fans can expect more thrilling adventures and intriguing character arcs. Keep an eye out for updates and get ready to re-enter the wasteland! https://youtu.be/YCHVjWAlLC4 Read the full article

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snaptrappresscomics · 5 months

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FCBD 2024 Haul Review

It's Free Comic Book Day yet again! I was actually pretty excited for this one, as for the first time in a good couple of years I was able to go out to a few stores with my partner and one of my best friends. I've been wanting to use this space as an actual blog a lot more, so I figured this might be fun to do. I'm gonna go through my stack of free stuff and give some thoughts on each of these! I'll also be giving totally arbitrary ratings, basically to indicate whether or not I would be interested in picking up more of these series.

UNICO AWAKENING (Scholastic) 7/10 Samuel Sattin and Gurihiru, based on the original manga by Osamu Tezuka

So, I've always wanted to get into Tezuka's work as a big Astro Boy fan, but I find it kind of hard to engage with a lot of the time in the same way that golden age American comics are. The dialogue feels kind of clunky when translated to english, and there are a lot of moments of... unsavory themes and ideas, to say the least. I'd never read or even heard of Unico, but you can tell just from the cover that it's a Tezuka creation. That all said, I thought this preview of the upcoming graphic novel was really charming! The story is really simple but engaging, and Gurihiru's art is just absolutely adorable. If I see it at a bookstore or my LCS, I just might pick this one up. If you've got a young kid who's into fantasy or things like My Little Pony, give this one a try.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (IDW Publishing) 9/10 Various, anthology

I'm a pretty big fan of the IDW TMNT series, but I kind of fell off of it a ways before #100, so I'm about 65 issues behind. I was interested to see what the series would do with its post-issue 150 relaunch, which is apparently set in the same continuity but begins a new story to get new readers interested and re-engage old readers. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was really excited when I saw Nightwatcher on the cover! I love the 2007 TMNT movie, and I think Raphael being a lone vigilante with a superhero name and armor is a cool concept in itself, so I was pumped to see the character return in a new piece of media. The first story in this one-shot, which is a short preview of the upcoming Nightwatcher solo book, was really really good. I really enjoyed the art, which felt painterly and solid in a way that not a lot of TMNT stuff is (to the point that the colors reminded me a lot of Mouse Guard) and the writing was really cool. I love the narration about the concept of the "other," and the tone and themes felt really compelling in the current political atmosphere. The second story, Splinter's Day Off, was not quite as engaging but still really enjoyable. The story was really cute, and I've been a fan of Andy Kuhn's art since he first worked on the IDW Turtles books. Overall, a pretty good pickup! Got me very interested in seeing what the next chapter of IDW Turtles will look like. ENERGON UNIVERSE 2024 SPECIAL (Image Comics/Skybound) 7/10 Daniel Warren Johnson, Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman, Lorenzo De Felici, Joshua Williamson, and Jason Howard

I've been keeping up with the Energon Universe Transformers comic since its launch, and as someone who could not care less about G1 Transformers, I absolutely adore it. Daniel Warren Johnson is a modern master of comics action, and each issue is more engaging than the last. That said, I haven't read any of the other stuff set in this new universe. Void Rivals doesn't look all that interesting (although I read two issues because I heard Jetfire appears in it), and I'm under the age of 45 so I'm completely incapable of caring about GI Joe in any capacity. Now that the intro is out of the way, I really liked the Transformers part of this. Ryan Ottley is one of my favorite artists in the industry, and his work is great here as always, but I can't help but feel he's trying to imitate Johnson's style and it's kind of holding him back. The way he draws the mouths of the Cybertronian characters is really weird, and sometimes the lines feel a bit too stiff and scratchy. The story was engaging, though, and beyond those critiques, this is truly fantastic Transformers art. The cover is also absolutely spectacular. The art in the other two stories is great too, but seeing as I don't know anything about the ongoing story of either series, this really didn't hook me in beyond an appearance by Hot Rod in the Void Rivals section. Remember, folks: If you have strongly-held opinions about G1 Transformers or GI Joe, it's about time you got your regular colonoscopy.

ABSOLUTE POWER SPECIAL EDITION (DC Comics) 3/10 Mark Waid and Mikel Janin

I gotta be honest, my eyes completely glazed over trying to read this. I just absolutely cannot give a shit about DC's big event comics anymore. This was basically white noise in printed form. The character of Failsafe is kinda neat, I like the Zur-En-Arrh Batman stuff, but all of this bullshit technobabble was just completely indecipherable to me. That said, the art was very, very good in both of the little preview stories here. I'm sure the comic itself will be written well, but I cannot bring myself to care about the fate of the DC universe. The advertisement for season 2 of My Adventures with Superman on the back cover was more exciting.

ASTERIX (Papercutz) 6/10 R. Goscinny and A. Uderzo

Asterix is just one of those things that, as an American, I have never been exposed to in any capacity, and to be honest, it never really interested me like other European comics like Valerian or Tintin did. It kind of just struck me as newspaper comics-style fun, and I can now confirm that I was right! The cartooning here is really great, the illustrations are super lively and engaging and the character designs themselves are instantly iconic. Like I said, I've never read Asterix before, but that design is so distinct that I already knew WHO Asterix is. The writing here is not really for me. It's probably just a matter of humor written originally in French not really crossing language and cultural borders seamlessly, and this also seems to be aimed at a younger crowd, which is totally fine! It's just not really for me. I did think the detail of the Greeks speaking in that Greek diner menu font was very cute. I'm always a sucker for a good lettering gag.

ARCHIE HORROR PRESENTS: THE CURSED LIBRARY PRELUDE (Archie Comics) 6/10 Various

I was a huge reader of Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics, to the point that I'd say they were more formative to my tastes as both a reader and creator of comics than almost anything else, but I've never really been interested enough in the world and characters of Archie proper to follow along with the comics consistently, though I've always had it in my periphery. I'd get the digests at the grocery store as a kid, I've got some old issues that my parents gave me, and I remember my sister being really into the Archie Marries Betty/Veronica comics when those were ongoing. After the reboot of all the Archie universe comics in the mid-2010s, I fell off completely. Riverdale didn't interest me at all, that Sabrina show on Netflix wasn't my bag, and the comics (besides Archie vs. Predator) were a complete blindspot to me for the years following that reboot. Archie's weird scramble for an identity as both a slice-of-life series and an unrelated horror series has been interesting to watch, though, especially knowing the history of the brand as the most squeaky-clean comics in America. Honestly though, the horror stuff just does absolutely nothing for me. Afterlife with Archie was kinda fun very briefly, but nothing else has really worked for me. This one-shot preview was interesting conceptually, but I feel like I'm missing too much setup to really get engaged by this, and it doesn't make me want to find out what I'm missing. The art is all very good though, and the writing is totally fine for what it is.

BARDA (DC Comics) 8/10 Ngozi Ukazu

Big Barda and Mister Miracle (Scott Free) are two of my absolute favorite DC characters, and Jack Kirby's Fourth World saga is among my favorite stories and concepts in comics ever. I love everything that Fourth World is, and almost everything that came out in the wake of it. I feel like if you want to make a new, good Fourth World story, you need to have either a really solid grasp on Kirby's ideas and aesthetics, or something totally new and unique to call your own while using the world and ideas as a springboard. This preview of the upcoming YA Barda Graphic Novel strikes me as the second of those two things more than the first. It's not trying to look exactly like Kirby's original designs, but it evokes the spirit of the thing well enough that I wasn't confused who anyone was. The art is adorably charming, and the story looks neat: A look at the meeting of Scott Free and Barda and the relationship that blooms out of that. I think this could turn out really fun and cute! I look forward to the graphic novel itself, which releases this summer.

BLOOD HUNT (Marvel Comics) 4/10 Jed McKay, Sara Pichelli, Federico Blee

Much like Absolute Power, this one left me feeling almost nothing. I think maybe I'm just too old for big superhero event comics, because they all kind of feel the same. They always end up being clones of older things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Clone Saga, Infinity Gauntlet, etc. This feels like your generic Secret Invasion type of deal, where an army of evil something or others (in this case, vampires) comes to earth to wipe out mankind and yadda yadda etc. etc. Admittedly, this one seems the slightest bit interesting as it pulls in both street-level heroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man and cosmic characters like the Fantastic Four to deal with the same threat on different scales. The appearance by literal, actual Dracula was kind of neat, and it's mostly just nice to see Marvel using Blade stuff for something again besides a video game or a reboot movie that's never coming out. The X-Men backup story was honestly so bland I forgot about it as soon as I set the issue down to write this. I liked the art, though, and Jubilee is one of my favorite X-Men so that was neat at least.

CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE (Titan Comics) 9/10 Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf

Now THIS is how you do a FCBD book! I've been on a huge Conan/sword and sorcery kick for like a year now, and this preview of an upcoming Conan story scratched that itch hardcore. I haven't been keeping up with Conan's comic exploits for quite a while; I read some of the later-era Dark Horse stuff, but once he went back to Marvel for a month and a half or whatever I lost interest. I may have to go back and pick up Titan's other Conan comics though, because this totally rocks. Jim Zub strikes the exact kind of action-fantasy tone a good Conan story requires, and Scharf's art is absolutely pitch-perfect. It's dark and gritty without getting muddy, high-contrast shadows and scratchy textures abound. The time-spanning nature of this story seems neat, and I look forward to the mystery unfolding in the series proper.

FLASH GORDON #0 (Mad Cave) 7/10 Jeremy Adams, Will Conrad

I liked this one! I have a passing knowledge of Flash Gordon thanks to my mom's love of the 80s movie and my love of Queen, but I've never been really familiar with the world and characters. This got me interested to see where Mad Cave is going to take the mythology, even if I was a little lost while reading it. I liked the art quite a bit, and I really love how they've gone about updating Flash Gordon's design to be a bit more modern, while retaining that pulpy look to everything that makes the series so charming.

GATCHAMAN #0 (Mad Cave) 6/10 Bunn, Orlando, Edwards, Batista, Hansen, Lobo

Gatchaman is another one of those things that just never really reached my sphere of comic book influence, but I've always really liked the costumes of the Science Ninja Team. I was pretty interested to see if this preview issue would get me hooked enough to want to follow up and read the ongoing series, but I'm not super sure that it did. I liked the science fiction stuff, the second short story in this anthology worked well, and the art was good in all three stories, but overall I just wasn't really hooked by it. I feel like if I had read this around age 15 I probably would have loved it, but it just wasn't for me right now. Also, Chris Samnee's art on the cover is absolutely fantastic and I'm slightly disappointed that he wasn't doing the interiors.

HELLBOY and STRANGER THINGS (Dark Horse Comics) 8/10 Mignola, Laszlo, Stewart/ Fridolfs and Case

Another two-series anthology here, and for once I actually really liked both parts! The first part, a Hellboy story involving a storyteller, is sort of just a visual retelling of Hellboy's story from start to finish, with each important chapter of the story in a beautiful panel drawn by Mark Laszlo. It's not really anything I haven't read before, but it was really charming and nice to look at. The second half, a Stranger Things story titled "Deliver Me From Evil," is a short centering on Jonathan and Argyle. Argyle was my least favorite part of the fourth season of ST, but he's grown on me over time and my love of this series made this a fun read. I kinda want to go back and read some of Dark Horse's other Stranger Things stories, because I just really love this world.

JOHNNY QUEST, THUNDERCATS AND SPACE GHOST (Dynamite Comics) 8/10 Casey, Piriz, Shalvey, Moss, Pepose, Lau

All of these series are based on cartoons from before my time, but I've always had a fondness for the old Hanna-Barbera superhero and action stuff, and I've always felt that Thundercats was far superior to He-Man in terms of aesthetics and lore. I really liked all three of these stories, and I feel like Johnny Quest in particular fills a "Challengers of the Unknown" shaped-void in the comics world, with a story about a group of normal people on a sci-fi adventure. Thundercats looks like a fun, semi-gritty reimagining of the original cartoon's origin stories, and the Space Ghost story seems like it'll be a good time, with the story following Jace before he becomes one of SG's sidekicks. I had no expectations for any of these, but they all look like a good bit of fun.

THE OVERSTREET GUIDE TO COLLECTING COMICS 6/10 Vaughn, Huesman and Gonzalez

If there's one thing I hate in this world, it's people who collect comics or toys or video games or whatever solely as an investment. It ruins the hobby for other people and turns what should be fun escapism into purely a matter of business. That said, I found this little publication from the famous Overstreet Price Guide company to be charming and a sweet look into the nature of collecting comics and supporting your LCS. I've never been someone who collects for the purpose of reselling, and I've never been insanely concerned with buying secondhand comics in mint condition, so a lot of this fell flat to me, but it was charming and it can give an outsider a fun look into the world of comics buying and collecting. The art is really good, and the writing is serviceable considering this is essentially intended to be an educational pamphlet.

MAD MAGAZINE 8/10 Various, reprints

I've been a MAD magazine fan for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, my grandma got me a subscription for my birthday 5 years in a row, and I truly enjoyed every issue, even in the modern age where a lot of the humor can be defined as "Isn't it WACKY what celebrities are willing to say on Twitter???" But this was a refreshing look back at MAD's parodies of DC superheroes specifically, and it was extremely charming. It's all reprints of old material, and it's funny to see the specific things getting parodied at any given time, and the costumes in use for each parody. Not all of it lands, but it gave me enough laughs to justify the reading experience.

SPIDER-MAN and ULTIMATE UNIVERSE (Marvel Comics) 5/10 Wells, Stegman, Camp and Frigeri

Lastly, we have another Marvel job. I was, sadly, also not really enthused by this one at all. Everyone involved has done better work elsewhere, and this just feels like something to fill time in everyone's work schedules. The Spider-Man story is basically "What if Spider-Man was in Five Nights at Freddy's," and the Ultimates story was a little more engaging, if only because there are fun concepts at play. I actually do really like what Marvel is doing with this new Ultimate Universe, and I'm pretty interested to see where it goes. Sadly though, this was another pretty forgettable issue.

And that's it! I picked up a few more things, but I don't have strong enough opinions about pretty much any of it to warrant writing much more. I always recommend going to your LCS even if it's after Free Comic Book Day, because they usually have leftovers for months following the event, and they still give it away for free.

#marvel #comics #dc #dark horse #indie #free comic book day #FCBD #2024

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gargarismo-blog1 · 7 months

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INFESTDEAD - Satanic Serenades 2xCD

Legendary Swedish vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Dan Swanö is perhaps best known for his work with EDGE OF SANITY, NIGHTINGALE, BLOODBATH, and recently WITHERSCAPE. Active since the early '90s, his career runs much deeper than this revered quartet, having produced seemingly countless bands from across the metal spectrum (OPETH, DISSECTION, KATATONIA, ASPHYX to name just a few) as well as launching or taking part in side projects including MOONTOWER, ODYSSEY, PAN.THY.MONIUM or INFESTDEAD.

The latter formed in 1993 and released two albums – Hellfuck (1997) and Jesusatan (1999) – plus EP/split releases. From the debut EP Killing Christ, vocalist Dread (TORMENTED, ex-MARDUK) and Dan had only one goal in mind: to create classic US inspired death metal like DEICIDE and MORBID ANGEL. The result was astonishing and in its remastered fashion sounds even more convincing and is blessed by Swanö’s incredible songwriting talent. Even if it’s just plain and violent death metal, Mr Swanö turns everything he touches into amazing music, be it prog or unholy extreme metal!

Satanic Serenades is an official 40+ track anthology release of the entire INFESTDEAD catalog that now shall haunt the holy again!

FOR FANS OF: DEICIDE, MORBID ANGEL, VADER, BLOODBATH, EDGE OF SANITY

POINTS OF INTEREST: • Satanic Serenades unites all recordings by this Swedish death metal act led by Dan Swanö (WITHERSCAPE, ex-EDGE OF SANITY, ex-BLOODBATH) • Includes the long deleted late 90’s albums expanded with EP and demo material • Remastered by Dan Swanö and featuring liner notes, all lyrics and updated artwork by Hjules (DESTRUCTION, ANNIHILATOR) • Receiving positive press the world over • Limited edition of 1000 units • All material has been out of print and fetching high dollar collector prices • Licensed from Century Media Records

TRACK LIST: Disc 1 1. Re-Resurrection 2. Christinsanity 3. Born To Burn 4. JesuSatan 5. Undead Screaming Sins 6. The Burning Of The Son 7. Sinister 8. Evil² 9. Antichristian Song #37 10. Black Night [Deep Purple cover] 11. Burn Me (Without The Grace Of God) 12. Dead Earth

Tracks 1-10: "JesuSatan" album (1999) Tracks 11-12: "Demo 1993"

Disc 2 1. Rebirth 2. The Desecration Of Christ 3. Infest The Dead 4. The New Empire 5. Mercenary, Merciless 6. Born. Nailed. 7. The Plot To Kill Jesus 8. Blaspheme The Abbess 9. Polterchrist 10. Sacrifice The Saviour 11. Hellfuck 12. Darkness Complete 13. Haunting The Holy 14. Heaven Denied 15. Salvation Incomplete 16. Bewitch The Virgin 17. Angeldemon 18. World Inverted 19. Son Of The Darkside 20. Hellborn 21. Satanic 22. Amen 23. Bestial Genocide 24. The Rising 25. I'll Be Black 26. In The Spell Of Satan 27. Save Me From The Hands Of Christ 28. Fucked By Satan 29. Burn Me (Without The Grace Of God) 1994 remix

Tracks 1-23: "Hellfuck" album (1997) Tracks 24-29: "Killing Christ" MCD (1996)

BUY : https://divebombrecords.bigcartel.com/product/infestdead-satanic-serenades

#INFESTDEAD #death metal #divebomb records

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karen-carlisle-off-the-artboard · 9 months

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Obligatory 2023 Round Up.

https://karenjcarlisle.com/2023/12/29/obligatory-2023-round-up/

It’s that time of the year. Time for year round ups and formulating new year’s resolutions. I thought I’d share a quick look back at 2023.

Books

This year was busy with writing, revisiting works-in-progress, releasing three more books, and all the events that go with them.

The following is the number of book-related things for 2023:

local events attended: 5

This year I attended Oz Comic Con, Comic & Toy Fair, Supanova, and two new events: Mayhem Collectors Fair and Author Night Market. I trialled new tables displays and book merch at the last two events.

interstate events attended: 1

author talks: 1

This was the first year for the Wimmera Steampunk Festival (to be held bi-annually). I was fortunate to be invited to do an author talk (and steampunk 101 for those new to steampunk). The talk co-incided with my character – Viola Stewart’s – birthday and the 30th anniverary of (the coining of the name:) steampunk, so bonus!

books published: 3 paperbacks (includes republished Department of Curiosities) and 3 eBooks

online book launches: 3

This year, I re-published The Department of Curiosities with a new cover and new internal art. Two new books included the steampunk short story collection Cogs and Conspiracies and Blood Ties, the first book in the mini adventure series the James Findlay Journals.

Both new books had an online launch party with giveaways, and there was another (delayed) launch for the re-release of The Adventures of Viola Stewart eBooks, combining the previous stories, with new covers, to match the paperbacks. You can rewatch them here:

Blood Ties – book launch

Cogs and Conspiracies – Online Launch

eBook Series Launch – The Adventures of Viola Stewart

words written on current WIP: 45,824 / total November NaNoWriMo: 17,227

I’ve made headway on book 2 (The Department of Curiosities series) during the two dedicated NaNoWriMo events this year. Not as many as I’d have liked, but it is moving forward. Real life has been an issue.

new story ideas added to my list: 8

I can’t elaborate too much on this, as… well, spoilers. (Patrons get early sneak peeks… just saying)

number of book covers created:5

Two were: Cogs and Conspiracies and Blood Ties. One was for a fellow author (and I can’t show it until she’s ready to publish), and two are related to the new story ideas. (See above comment re spoilers). I tend to create the cover while the story is bubbling away in my head.

number of writing/research courses attended: 5 (online)… actually six!

These included research for future book projects, an ASA (Australian Society of Authors) course on public speaking (in hope it may help some pre-event panics), one on using a writing resource, and writing courses dedicated to specific genres.

Shorter Stories

short stories written for Patreon supporters: 10 (+2 excerpts from WIP)

short stories submitted to anthologies: 1

Top tier supportes get a short story reward each month. Many are exclusive. Some have been printed in the recent Cogs and Conspiracies or other short story collections. This year, I also added two excerpts from the first chapter of my current work-in-progress (book 2 of The Department of Curiosities series)

Art, Design & Book Merch

bees crocheted: 49

I started crocheting bees as book-related merch for The Aunt Enid Mysteries (the bees communicate between the many worlds in my stories), with AU$1 from each bee sale going towards helping bees on Kangaroo Island. I’ve sold 31 so far. I love bees. They are crucial to our lives and pollate various foods, especially stone fruits. They also provide us with honey. Though I’m allergic, we plant bee-friendly plants at home, and don’t use sprays.

new t-shirt designs: 8

new mug designs: 2

When I can’t write, I crochet. When I’m not crocheting, I draw. I NEED to create. This year I did (half) of Inktober. Some of the images were digitalised, coloured, and uploaded to my RedBubble store as t-shirts (and mugs)

new badge designs: 5

I loved the cat and books design (from my original art in Aunt Enid: Protector Extraordinaire), so I made a new badge… then I designed and made some more. The new badges debuted at the Author Night Market this month. I’ll have to load them onto my webshop some time…

On a more personal note:

tiktok posts: over 365

This is both book-related and personal. Someone told me I was too old for Tiktok. Ha! There are many on #over40tiktok and #over50tiktok, especially authors and readers. Books do well on Tiktok. While I’m not in the popular genres of romance, romance fantasy, or spicey romance fantasy, there are many who read my genres. I talk about my books, as well as tea, D&D, and mental health. I’ve found creating short posts has helped with desensitising myself to appearing in public… (even if it takes several ‘takes’ to get in the right headspace.)

number of mid-night hospital trips: 1 (only one is a record!)

I’m still working on minimising my panic attacks before events. I continued to talk about mental health (and my experience with anxiety and PTSD). Talking about mental health is important.

I usually end up at hospital (via ambulance) 3-5 times a year (my extreme panic attacks mimic heart attacks). So far, I’ve only had one this year! I’m extremely happy about that.

Health Scares and dodging bullets: 1

2023 started in the worst possible way. I faced January 1st with a diagnosis of breast cancer, prepping myself, then surgery and my family for ongoing treatment. One week after surgery, I returned to the oncologist. I was confused. Why was he grinning like a Cheshire cat? Turns out I had a very, very rare (<0.1% in women 25-45 years had this option, and I was over that age group) fibromatosis – a benign tumour that mimicks breast cancer in every way. The only way to differentiate is with extensive pathological testing once the tumour was removed.

So, a worst-case scenario became one of relief. Weirdly, I found a sense of calm from the whole situation. It’s helped my mental health, and I’ve actually had more moments of bliss than I’ve experienced in over a decade.

Please don’t forget to do your checks!

And that’s the short version…. (I know)

Thank you all for following my adventures this year, and I hope you have peaceful and safe holidays. See you next year!

#2023 round up #Aunt Enid Mysteries #book events #books #conventions #Events #fun #launches #memories #new year #steampunk #The Adventures of Viola Stewart #The Department of Curiosities #writing

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jamesludwig · 2 years

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MICHAEL JACKSON - A Tale of POP King 2022 Year Review

After several quiet years, it seems we were back in action, thanks to the release of Thriller 40 which has kept the conversation flowing and our earbuds rejoicing, especially in the final months of the year. While there has been a few missed opportunities, the general consensus was that Thriller 40 was a success, especially with regards to the release of the 4K short films and hearing unreleased music.

But Thriller 40 wasn’t the only event which dominated our interests. Here’s our top picks for Michael Jackson – 2022 Year In Review.

Janet Jackson releases her official documentary ‘Janet’. Four years in the making, the documentary arrives in two parts and features never before seen footage of Michael and Janet writing Scream. Parts of the documentary explore Janet’s career in parallel to situations in Michael’s life. Janet categorically states she 100% knows her brother and supports his innocence.

MJVibe, (that’s us!) reached three million views in January 2022! From the moment we began in 2006 as ‘Mijac’ to today, we’ve been delighted to share information with Michael’s fans around the world. We only began tracking views several years ago, so to achieve 3 million in such a short time is incredible. Thank you to all of you!

The results of MJVibe’s Ultimate Anthology Poll 2021 are announced. The yearly poll allows fans to vote for their favourite Michael Jackson songs, albums and tours. This year, fans voted Man In The Mirror as their Number 1 song, This Is It as their favourite posthumous song, Dangerous as their favourite album and Bad as their favourite solo tour.

MJ The Musical officially opens on Broadway after previews complete. The launch event is attended by all three of Michael’s children, Spike Lee, Kenny Ortega.

An artist and illustrator named ‘Nate’ paints a brand new mural in Los Angeles, celebrating Off The Wall. The location is the same alley where Michael shot the original album cover for Off The Wall. The mural was revealed on March 12 and is located at 7771 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, California 90036

The copyright to Michael Jackson’s first ever song with the Jackson 5, Big Boy was purchased by media giant Ayozat as part of a deal which included songs by the Bee Gees, Snoop Dogg and Sex Pistols.

Sony Music and The Estate announce new project Thriller 40, which will be released on November 18, 2022 and will include a double disc CD with never-released tracks. Various versions of the album will be released including a limited edition vinyl, 40,000 copies of a Mobile Fidelity vinyl release and an SACD of the original album.

As a result of ongoing legal action regarding the authenticity of the Cascio tracks on the Michael album, the songs are finally removed from streaming platforms, and further production of the physical album is discontinued. After 12 years of fans enduring three fake songs tainting Michael’s catalogue, the Estate finally gave in to the pressure ahead of a judgement and removed the songs – jumping before pushed perhaps?!

A seven-track version of the physical album was made available shortly after, while existing inventory still appears to be clearing out.

On July 15th the Broadway Cast Recording of MJ: The Musical was made available. Featuring the stage cover versions of Michael’s classic hits by Myles Frost and the current cast.

To mark Michael’s birthday, RIAA recertified four songs from Thriller. Thriller and Billie Jean were re-certified Diamond, with over 10 million sales each, while Beat It and PYT were certified Platinum.

In addition, The Girl is Mine was re-certified Platinum and The Lady In My Life was certified Gold.

Former Michael Jackson backing singer Marva Hicks passes away at the age of 66. Hicks performed with Michael during his special show in Brunei and on the HIStory World Tour. In 2009 while on tour, Hicks recalled how as soon as Michael learned her mother was ill he thanked her for performing and promised to get her to her mother as soon as possible. He ensured Hicks travelled home the following day and when she reached the hospital to see her mother, flowers arrived at the ward from Michael.

To promote both MJ The Musical and Thriller 40, the Estate organised a flashmob in Times Square New York to Michael’s classic ‘Thriller’. This was preceded by MJ The Musical ringing the Nasdaq bell.

Unreleased songs ‘Dream Away’ and ‘Chicago 1945’ appear online after being played at an event by Steve Porcaro. The songs were illegally recorded by a fan attending the event and put online in poor quality. This renewed conversations within the fan community about copyright and ownership.

Footage from a lost Michael Jackson Sega Game surfaces online as gaming fan Ben Bizley discovers the tape at a UK flea market and pays £300 for it.

The footage came from the game “Scramble Training” – Sega Simulator Advanced System-1

Having only had short, bad-quality clips online, Bizley found a way to transfer the full footage and share it online with fans.

That’s your full rundown of key moments in the world of Michael Jackson in 2022. Many celebrations focused on Thriller’s 40 anniversary and the subsequent album release. It felt great to have Michael’s music and artistry return to the forefront of discussions, and with Thriller’s continued success, his artistic merits cannot be ignored.

So what’s to come in 2023? We know the Thriller Documentary will see its official release once completed and there’s also the rumours that the biopic will arrive at the end of the year, though casting and principal photography have yet to begin. Whatever happens, Michael’s fans will keep the torch alive as they do every year.

Sources : https://www.mjvibe.com

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pageandpanel · 1 year

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(originally posted @ Page and Panel on wordpress)

For my first post on my new attempt to ~have a blog~ I am reposting an old entry into my failed wordpress blog. My attempt to read Marvel Comics start to finish is something I am hoping to get back to in the near future. I have edited this and reformatted it for tumblr so hopefully it's not too much of a nightmare to look at but it is WAY too long.

Why in the world would anyone attempt to read more than half a century of comics? I’m fascinated by the concept of an ongoing continuity and how different writers and artists interpret characters. And the fact that so many hands have touched this project with so many different interests and priorities and yet it continues on as a cohesive (a term we’ll use loosely) and linear story is actually really cool.

There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on here so I’m going to try to write about it at regular intervals that are sometimes strategic and sometimes completely arbitrary. The first chapter of Page Main Lines Sixty Years of Marvel Comics (more clever name tbd, probably) covers the first three years of the Marvel Comics Universe designated 616. This is the main universe that has been ongoing from 1961 to every Wednesday until the world ends, probably.

Just to establish some parameters for what this project is, I’m reading Marvel Comics chronologically starting with the Silver Age, launched by Fantastic Four #1 in 1961 written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. There are some ongoing anthology titles carrying over from the pre-616 era that I’ll be picking up here as well because they introduce key players in the Marvel Universe (specifically Spider-Man, Ant-Man, and Thor). The Golden Age doesn’t really interest me all that much beyond its history and the characters that get carried over to the new continuity (Captain America and Namor the Submariner, most famously). And while I’m trying to read everything, I did make a decision early on to skip out on Strange Tales because I don’t really care about Johnny Storm’s solo adventures.

The format of these posts, like everything else I throw up on this blog is subject to change forever and ever. But for now, I think book by book and then covering some broad themes/connections at the end is the easiest way to tackle this.

We begin, like most stories begin, with a family of four on a trip to outer space...

Fantastic Four

Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, as all Marvel Books were at the time, Fantastic Four #1 starts off in media res and we are introduced to our heroes as they drop whatever mundane activities they are doing as civilians and respond to the impending thread of Mole Man.

As each member makes their way to the scene, Stan Lee takes a step back to give us a classic origin story that is BEYOND bonkers: Reed Richards is the most brilliant scientist in the world and he absolutely must break into a government facility to fly a rocket into space. He is accompanied by his college roommate, Ben Grimm, his childhood sweetheart, Sue Storm, and her little brother, Johnny Storm. Ben, like anyone hearing this plan obviously thinks it’s stupid and crazy. But Sue Storm is quick to remind him that they, four regular civilians with no real training, absolutely have to do this because if they don’t then the Commies will win the Space Race. Because it truly wouldn’t the 60’s without some good, good anti-communist propaganda. So much more on that to come later.

They make it, miraculously. But cosmic space rays have given each of them incredible powers. Reed is stretchy, Sue is invisible (oh the metaphor), Johnny is on fire, and Ben…

Thanks for that little nugget of a plot line. Ben actually resents Reed because he has a thing for Sue. That will go in a lot of different directions and definitely has more teeth than the time that Professor X had a thought bubble about being in love with Jean Grey, his student, that never gets mentioned again (until it does, unfortunately). But let’s put a pin in that and red string it later.

With the flashback over, our heroes arrive on Monster Isle to find Mole Man who is responsible for several cave-ins across the world. His plan is to unleash his monsters on the world to get revenge on women who weren’t interested in him. Mole Man: confirmed Incel. The Fantastic Four easily defeat Mole Man by sealing him inside a mountain and straight up killing him. I guess. Reed eulogizes their first on page enemy by saying “It’s best that way! There was no place for him in our world…” right in front of his rock monster best friend. Tough look Reed…

Fantastic Four #2 introduces a foe that made their on screen debut in the Captain Marvel movie: The Skrulls! I love Skrulls and truly didn’t realize that they showed up this early in continuity. In part 1, our heroes are engaging in some distinctly unheroic behavior. The Thing attacks an oil rig, Invisible Girl does a jewel heist, Mister Fantastic messes up an energy plant, and The Human Torch melts a statue made of marble. And I know I’m expecting too much from a comic in which four people take a family trip to space and come back with super powers, but it’s important to me that everyone knows that marble is heat resistant and doesn’t melt. The world, who apparently all know that the Fantastic Four exist and are totally cool with them, freak out. Are New York’s favorite heroes breaking bad!? Nah. It’s just shapeshifting aliens attempting to ruin the reputation of the only people on Earth who can stop their invasion.

The US Army, ignorant to a large scale alien invasion, is called in to deal with the threat the Fantastic Four pose. Our heroes hide out in an isolated cabin to regroup and figure out what to do. But the military surrounds them and takes them in.

Each member is put in a cell specifically designed to withstand their powers. Which seems silly because if you put an invisible woman in a regular cell, she’s still there even if she’s invisible. But whatever. This also the first appearance of Asbestos in the Marvel Universe. And if you think that’s a dumb thing to notice, you clearly didn’t grow up in the 90s, seeing commercials for Asbestos lawsuits on every single tv show. I know this stuff was in regular use in the 60s but I seriously hope Johnny was able to get in on some of those pay outs because it’s really his biggest foe in the early FF comics.

Once they break out, the team regroup to plot against the unknown foes turning the world against them. They send Johnny to sabotage a rocket launch in order to draw them out. When Skrulls disguised as Sue and Reed pick up the real Johnny instead of a Skrull, the jig is up. The Fantastic Four take the Skrulls prisoner and Reed, expert level spaceship driver, steals their rocket to travel up into space where the invading Skrull army is waiting. Reed, pretending to be a Skrull, passes off images from Marvel Comics horror/monster books Strange Tales and Journey into Mystery as real photos from Earth. He convinces the Skrull leader that Earth is simply too dangerous to invade and volunteers to stay behind.

As the rocket re-enters earths Atmosphere, they pass through more cosmic waves. This turns The Thing back into regular old Ben Grimm. But, because Ben will never catch a W, he’s a rock monster again before the spaceship lands. It’s not easy being Grimm.

Back on earth, the question remains as to what to do with the remaining three Skrulls that Reed has taken prisoner. In another “though look my guy, Reed” moment, he decides that the only option they have to deal with aliens who can literally turn into anyone or anything is to force them to turn themselves into cows. Reed then hypnotizes the Skrull Cows into thinking they are real cows. Which is pretty fucked up and Reed should probably be considered a war criminal at this point, literally two comics in. But don’t worry. I’m sure there will absolutely never be any consequences for his actions. (Just kidding, this will be one of the catalysts for Secret Invasion in 2005. One of these Skrulls is the Emperor Skrull’s son.)

While FF #2 gave us one of Marvel’s most prominent Alien Invaders, Fantastic Four #3 is a much slower issue that doesn’t bring in much of anything. We open with our team taking in a stage show. They’re here to see the Miracle Man who promptly recognizes them and begins heckling them from stage. At this point, the Fantastic Four are basically celebrities. Though, we’re going to back track on that in a few issues, I think. He challenges The Thing to a test of their strength, which the Thing promptly loses. On their way home from the show, Reed talks about how lucky they are that Miracle Man is not a super villain. Which… you know…

Really, there isn’t a lot that happens in the A-Plot of this issue. Miracle Man brings the monster to life, they rob a jewelry store, and then the team defeats him and everything is fine. What is way more interesting happens between the Miracle Man problem. The B-Plot of this issue is rife with conflict between the members of the Fantastic Four.

This issue isn’t the first time we see the role Sue gets shunted into as the caretaker of the boys on the team. But it is the first time she names it herself. While later interpretations of Sue will have her displaying a lot more power, right now she’s written as the mom of the team. She is the one who sews the team’s infamous costumes that, even today, have barely changed. Though, given that she made them with a material that Reed has coined “unstable molecules,” it seems she’s a perfectly capable scientist as well. Though, we’ll rarely see this aspect of her. There’s only room enough on the team for one Smartest Man in the World.

We also see tensions rise between Ben Grimm and the rest of the team. He has been a volatile figure since day one, prone to outbursts of anger and violence. It’s still unclear as to whether or not this is his pre-rock monster personality. It may also be a side effect of his powers or, justifiably, anger at being the only member of the team to get turned into a rock monster.

But anyway, Fantastic Four #4 is a much more interesting issue with one major and very precious addition to continuity:

Kidding. But this is a bit that I find absolutely hilarious. Actually, the issue opens with Johnny quitting the team after an argument. The three remaining members split up to search for him. Ben is the one who finds him working on hot rods with his friends at a garage. And, because Ben doesn’t have a gentle touch when it comes to Johnny, property damage ensues.

Thankfully before he can actually hurt Johnny, Ben suddenly changes back to his human form. It only lasts like two seconds because Stan Lee loves to torture Ben apparently.

So he’s back to his rocky self in no time. It’s actually pretty in the tragedy of getting to see him constantly being given these moments of hope, only to have them snatched away seconds later. No wonder he’s so angry all the time. But this does give Johnny a chance to escape.

Because he can’t go home, he seeks a bed for the night at what looks like a halfway house or a youth hostel in the Bowrey. Once he has secured a bed for the night, he settles in to read an old comic about the iconic 1940’s Timely Comics hero, The Sub-Mariner. When another patron notices what he’s reading, he points to a disheveled man who claims to be as strong as The Sub-Mariner. And this enters one of the absolute greatest characters in all of Marvel Canon. Just as soon as Johnny gives him a haircut with fire.

The King of Abs-Lantis has arrived and I already love him. But also, the burnt hair smell in that hostel right now… 🤢 Even though Johnny recognizes him, The Sub-Mariner himself does not seem to remember who he is. So, Johnny takes him to the ocean and basically tosses him in. Once in the water, the Sub-Mariner remembers who he is and returns to his home of Atlantis only to find it in ruins. It has been destroyed by atomic weapons testing.

When The Sub-Mariner returns to land, he informs Johnny that he will avenge his home by destroying the human race. Now, Johnny is smart enough to know that this is obviously a problem worthy of getting the team back together. He sends up a flare for the others to find him and while they’re en route, The Mariner summons the “largest living creature in the world” using the Horn of Proteus. Oh, and the monster’s name is Giganto, which is objectively hilarious.

While New York is evacuated and the army attempts to take down the monster, Ben comes up with a fool proof and probably technically impossible plan. With a nuclear bomb strapped to his back, he launches himself into the mouth of the beast. Never mind that nuclear weapons are what got us into this mess in the first place, but okay.

Ben does, miraculously, manage to escape very certain death. With his monster defeated, The Mariner threatens to summon more creatures with the Horn of Proteus, but an invisible Sue Storm sneaks up behind him and steals it. The Mariner tackles her and tells her if she will become his bride he won’t destroy humanity. Sue agrees, reluctantly-ish. But Johnny saves the day with a fire tornado that plunges the Mariner back to the bottom of the ocean. Leaving everyone who is in love with Sue a little confused about where they stand with her, and Sue a little Hot of Mariner. Understandable, Sue. I get it. The Mariner vows to return and he definitely will.

Tales to Astonish

Tales to Astonish #27 is the first appearance and origin story of Henry Pym AKA Ant-Man. The issue opens with Henry making an incredible discovery. He shrinks a chair with a miniaturizing serum and grows it back to normal size with an enlarging serum. Unfortunately, the rest of the scientific community is less impressed with Henry’s experiments.

Fueled by his need to stick it to his haters, Henry tests his serum on himself. Thankfully, it works instead of eating through his skin like acid or something and Henry shrinks himself down to the size of a… you guessed it! An ant! What he doesn’t plan for is leaving the enlarging serum out of reach. The rest of the issue becomes a quest to turn himself back into normal size. As he tries to get to the serum, he is chased by ants into an ant hill where he gets stuck in honey. Which… makes sense. Sure.

He is fortunate enough to befriend one ant willing to help him. Henry is surprised when it works to pull him free from the honey and let him go. But he also torches the ant hill so I guess fuck that ant.

When Henry finally manages to get to his enlarging serum he is so shaken by the experience that he decides that his creation is too dangerous for man kind. He then pours it down the drain. Just because it’s too dangerous for man kind doesn’t mean it’s too dangerous to dispose of properly. And now the Marvel universe is overrun by enlarged bacteria from Henry’s kitchen sink. But as long as he lives, he will never forget the ant who saved his life. Even though he totally burned down that ant’s house. Which especially sucks because I doubt ants have homeowners insurance or anything to cover fire damage.

The Incredible Hulk

And the last issue I want to hit in this first installment is Incredible Hulk #1 because I think it establishes an interesting pattern with our first three protagonists of early marvel comics.

This had been advertised in the previous FF book with “Who is the Hulk?” Printed in the margins of the story, which I think is a pretty cool way to drum up interest for the book. The first run of The Incredible Hulk only lasts 6 issues. But it’s some of Jack Kirby’s best work.

This one, like Tales to Astonish, is a straight up origin story for Bruce Banner and the Hulk. If you’re familiar with Hulk through the movies, this is going to be a story that is familiar in all but one key difference.

On a military base, Bruce Banner is getting ready to test his invention, the Gamma bomb. Bruce fits in along side Reed Richards and Henry Pym in the Smartest Man In The World category. He is also kind of an asshole with little regard to what others in his community have to say about his work. In fact, he has refused to share his work with his colleagues and doesn’t want them to check his work. Seems like a dick move to me.

There’s actually a lot going on here in terms of toxic masculinity. We also have Thunderbolt Ross who doesn’t understand science or anyone who isn’t punching things 24/7 and all he really ever does is yell and tell his daughter to stay out of “man talk!”

Once everyone is done yelling, it’s time to test the bomb. Bruce takes one last look at it just in time to see a wayward teen, Rick Jones, driving through the test field. Bruce chases after him, because it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that he will not only catch a Jeep on foot, but he’ll also be able to do so before the bomb detonates. At least the last part wouldn’t have been a problem if he hadn’t pissed Igor off. Before running after the boy, Bruce tells him to shut down the countdown and Igor casually decides not to. And while Bruce does manage to save the kid, he gets caught in the Gamma explosion.

Hours later, Bruce wakes up at the base where he stays, being monitored for any symptoms caused by the explosion. That night, while Rick watches Bruce, he transforms into a giant Grey monster and breaks out of the base. This is where the origin deviates from what is mostly considered canon at this point. The Hulk isn’t triggered by rage or heightened emotion. Instead, he just comes out at night. Essentially, Bruce Banner is a nuclear powered werewolf.

The monster sneaks (which seems unlikely since he’s a big monster, but who knows) through the base, followed by Rick Jones. He makes his way to Bruce Banner’s cabin, where they find Igor rummaging through Bruce’s stuff. Igor shoots at The Hulk with no effect except to piss him off even more. Finally, Bruce picks up Igor and slams him down into the table where all of his research is scattered. The absolute best part of this is we learn where Bruce hides all of his research and proprietary secrets. Pages labeled “Top Secret Report on Gamma Ray Bomb” are tapped to the bottom of a beaker. Come on my guy. Buy a safe.

When the Hulk finds a picture of Bruce in the cabin, he is appalled to see such a weak creature until Rick reminds him that he is that weak creature. I don’t think triggering an existential crisis is the best way to defeat a radioactive werewolf, but I’ve also never had to calm one down after a rampage, so who am I to judge?

Eventually, the sun comes up and The Hulk is returned his normal Bruce Banner shape just in time for soldiers to storm his cabin, demand to know where the Hulk is and take Igor and the Top Secret Gamma report away. Betty hangs back to apologize, once again, on behalf of her father and suggest that he see a doctor. To which Bruce replies, “Baby, I am a doctor.” Okay, no he doesn’t. But we do get a fun snide commentary from Rick who has no time for Betty’s crush. Bruce tells Betty he’ll call her but also tells Rick that he’s afraid that the will never escape becoming The Hulk.

Meanwhile, Igor has been taken into custody. In his cell, he uses a transmitter embedded in his fingernail to contact the Soviet scientist known as The Gargoyle. Not a great look for the Soviets to have given him that name based on his facial deformities, but what do we really expect? The Gargoyle makes his way to the states via submarine.

Back over in the A-Plot, Bruce and Rick are experimenting with ways to manage the Hulk for the time being. They drive the Jeep out into the desert before nightfall to get him away from the base before he changes again. After a run in with Betty that causes her to faint, the Gargoyle shows up. He shoots The Hulk and Ross with bullets filled with drugs that basically allow The Gargoyle to control their actions. They follow him onto a sub and head back to the USSR but on the rip, sun comes up and Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner.

When The Gargoyle finds him, he begins to sob, saying he wants to be a man and not a monster too. Bruce treats him with radiation which makes him look normal but also takes away his super intelligence. I guess that’s a trade off. Once he’s “cured” Gargoyle reveals that he has hella daddy issues and with the new realization that he has been used by the USSR, he basically renounces the Soviet efforts. Finally, he puts Bruce and Rick on a rocket headed for the US and blows his base up in a final act of defiance.

There's a lot to unpack here...

It’s actually kind of impressive to revisit comics I read as a teenager and thought very little of at the time and come away from them with a lot to chew on. There are a lot of interesting themes here with regard to how the comics interact with real world ideas and politics.

Communism, The Cold War, The Atomic Age, Vietnam

So, these comics are coming out in 61 and 62. The Cold War is in full swing, America is a few years out from entering Vietnam, and a few months prior to the release of Fantastic Four #1, the first man went to space. So much of what what we see happening on the page are consequences of that political climate just as so much of what our characters go through relate back to that central unease. Science was advancing at a more rapid pace than ever before and citizens were being warned of the constant threat that communism posed on their way of life.

There is also A LOT of anti-communist propaganda in the first decade of Marvel comics. Here, we’ve only seen it so far with the Fantastic Four needing to go to space to beat the “commies” and the Igor’s attempts to be the worlds worst double agent. We’ll see a lot more of that once we get to Journey into Mystery, because somehow the book about Norse Gods got turned into the most deliberate and most obvious anti-commie book for a while.

Science and Intelligence as it relates to Toxic Ego and Fragile Masculinity

It’s not a mistake that our three “main characters” so far are Reed Richards, Henry Pym, and Bruce Banner. All brilliant men of science who are exploring new technology in their own ways. The contrast between how Reed is treated, versus Henry and Bruce is fascinating. Reed and his contributions to science, as well as his powers have made him a celebrity. He is celebrated by his fans and his family and is all around viewed as a good guy (despite the fact that he turned three autonomous beings into cows). On the other hand, Pym and Banner are belittled. Pym is belittled by his colleagues who think his theories and his studies are outlandish and impossible. Banner is surrounded by military men who value brute strength over science. Thunderbolt Ross will constantly diminish Bruce as less of a man because he’s smart rather than strong.

The most fascinating part of this, to me, is knowing what becomes of Hank Pym in the future. Jumping ahead a little bit, his reputation in the universe and among fans will be forever tarnished by how he treats his future wife, Janet Van Dyne. In a sequence of events in a 1980s issue of the Avengers, Hank appears to strike Janet across the face. This has been, rightfully, called out as an act of domestic abuse by fans and has utterly ruined Hank’s reputation as a character. At the time, and in future incidents, the creators of that moment have discussed how they had never intended it to be viewed that way. But, even now in his first appearance, you can see the groundwork of a volatile man with a fragile ego and it’s not that much of a leap to see this man committing domestic assault.

Women as Caretakers and House Mothers

Right now, the only woman we see with any regularity is Susan storm. And we see her slotted into that mother role with the rest of the team. She is their caretaker, their costume maker, and the object of two members’ affection. This does not really improve until much later. For now, we have a woman doing woman’s work and not much else.

The only other woman we have to compare her to is Betty Ross. For the first six issues of Hulk, she is less a character and more of a background object. A full table lamp of a person, much like the earliest version of Jane Foster, who we’ll soon meet in Journey into Mystery.

‘Nuff Said!

And that wraps up the first six issues of Marvel continuity. It literally took me two months to write this post so who knows when I’ll cover the next few issues? But if you’re interested in something I update more frequently check out this twitter account I made to clean all the screencapped panels out of my camera roll: @616caps.

I’ll leave you with this incredible cutaway of the Fantastic Four’s HQ because who doesn’t love a cutaway!

#marvel comics #the marvel method

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