Quick Comic Reviews

I haven’t even had a chance to pick up my comics for this week but here’s a few opinions on last week's stack.

Cthulhu Tales 5
This was an entertaining issue basically for the second story about Dr. Nyarlathotep. This tale is an obvious nod to a dream that H.P. Lovecraft had about a creepy sideshow magician named Nyarlathotep. This dream is the origin of the name Nyarlathotep by the way. I thought Boom’s interpretation of this wizard of Magnetism was horrifically fun and recalled a more whimsical time in horror stories.

Fall of Cthulhu: GodWar #2
Various characters from the previous Fall of Cthulhu series fall-in together as the war Between Nyarlathotep and Nodens begins to tear into the real world with devastating consequences. The more the story threads are gathered, the more the horror grows. The main characters are in way over their heads and they don’t’ even know it yet. This title is putting me on edge like a good horror flick or classic game session of Call of Cthulhu.

Northlanders #10
What we have here is essentially the second part of a story about a traitor, a boy who sells out his family and town to the Vikings in trade for a life as a warrior. It’s kinda hard to take but then life and death in the middle ages was very brutal. It’s strangely compelling to read a traitor’s story where the traitor succeeds.

She-Hulk #33
I remember when the Skrulls were short ugly aliens. Jazinda, She-Hulk’s Skull-friend, is just too hot. Basically she looks like a sexy 20 something with a ripple chin and green skin. Ahhh no. We already have one green skinned chick sticking her juicy ass out of the panels and we don’t need another. Sometimes aliens should just be the classic evil threat and not sympathetic. The art in this issue is great but She-Hulk seemed like a supporting character in her own title. Super Skrull is always good for a spectacular bashing though.

Hulk #6
This Hulk title has been a good series so far. I’ve enjoyed not knowing who the Red Hulk is and the appearances by the supporting cast are well done. Also, I think She-Hulk’s characterization is better here then in her own comic. Issue six really comes together in showing Hulk as not so bad when compared to the monsters that are always created to fight him. That’s classic hulk and that works. This isn’t a bunch psychological mumbo jumbo, it’s just straight up Hulk Smash. I’m not real familiar with what’s been going on with the Hulk stories so I’ve got no guesses on who the Red Hulk might be, but it is fun not having all the answers… as long as he doesn’t turn out to be a Skrull that is.



-Swinebread

The 2008 H.P. Lovecraft Film Fest Starts Today!

And I'm going to miss it. I was a bonehead and scheduled a trip to the beach with the wife and baby right in the middle of this year's Film Fest, but we really do need to get outta town for awhile. Still, I'm sad I'm not gonna be there. This event has grown by leaps and bounds every year; it's truly an incredible thing. The H.P. Lovecraft Film Fest is one of those strange celebrations that keeps Portland wild, weird and fun.

here's the link (which was not working earlier today)

another link if the main link isn't working


-Swinebread

Quick Comic Reviews

I thought I’d make some quickie reviews of last week’s comics

H.P. Lovecraft’s Vault of Horror #3
Horror and Sci-fi favorite Richard Corbin finishes out his mini-series which adapts some of the gentleman from Providence's smaller works including poems. The adaptations here are well done and the Heavy Metal art style suits these mythos tales quite well, although I wasn’t completely behind the black &white drawings until this issue. I’d consider the Arthur Jermyn adaptation in this issue quite stellar by making one of Lovecraft’s more obvious stories into something much more enjoyable to read. The last two tales in this issue are freely adapted from H.P’s horror poems The Well and The Window. Both are short but engaging.

She-Hulk #32
Secret Invasion invades She-Hulk with mixed results. I’m not interested in this lame crossover that is infecting the Marvel universe but I do like the Super-Skrull who figures as the main villain, so that’s something. The coloring is bowling me over as it remindes me of Heavy Metal (again). It’s such a dramatic visual look and unlike how comics colors used to appear that Shulkie seems like she’s in a sci-fi, anime movie.

Star Trek Year Four: The Enterprise Experiment #5
This is one of the best if not thee best Star Trek comic series that I’ve read, but what else could you expect from D.C. Fontana. The voice of the characters is correct and their actions are in line with the TOS. Fontana ties in concepts like the Preservers and the Organians, and she brings back popular characters such as the Kor, Koloth and the hottie Romulan commander from the Enterprise incident. Plus, she makes the Edosians important to the future of the Star Trek Universe, which is much appreciated. More ST if it is written by Fontana.

Necronomicon #1
A wonderful new Cthulhu Horror miniseries from Boom Studios centered around the most famous sanity-blasting tome off all time. Set in the 1920s, the narrative is told through a letter from an Arab student that comes to study at Miskatonic University and who ends up joining forces with academic occultists because of his language skills. The story, so far, is top notch and the Vertigo art style by Andrew Ritchie suits the Lovecraftian Horror theme.

Northlanders #9
You can’t tell realistic Viking tales without taking about Lidisfarne. This issue is part one of two-part standalone story on the sacking of a Monastery on the Northern coast of England in 793 A.D. A boy feels crushed under the yoke of medieval Christianity and calls upon the old gods for help and the Vikings seem to be the answer to his prayers. With adequate art and a solid narrative, this two-parter is kinda a placeholder until the next longer story arc commences.

Ambush Bug: Year None #2
Mitsu Bishi, Amber Butane, Blue Beetle, and Jann Jones are present and accounted for. What else do you need to know? Might not be as fun for folks that aren’t as familiar with all the crazy crap that’s been going on in DC comics that last few years but the OMAC Cheeks takes the cake! Did I mention Angryish Bear? Oh Well I just did.


Life Sucks Graphic Novel
I recently finished up the graphic novel Life Sucks written by Jessica Abel and Gabe Soria. This isn’t my usual sort of fair, but I just had to give this vampire slacker story a look-see. If I had to give you a shorthand description for this it might be Love and Rockets crossed with the Lost Boys plus a dash of Clerks.

Life Sucks isn’t your typical vampire story. When the luckless vegetarian Dave is transformed into a vampire, none of his problems are solved, he still has to pay the rent and the Jocks still seem to get the girls. It’s supposedly Young Adult but I wouldn’t let that stop you if you’re looking for something different.


-Swinebread

My New Comics

This week's best cover is Ambush Bug: Year None #2.


Northlanders #9 DC Comics/Vertigo.

Necronomicon #1, Boom Studios.

Ambush Bug: Year None #2, DC Comics. It's good to see Amber Butane again… Hell, it's good to see World Balloons on a cover again.

Star Trek: Year Four: Enterprise Experiment #5, IDW.

H.P. Lovecraft's Haunt of Horror #3, Marvel Comics.

She-Hulk #32, Marvel Comics.

Skarr Son of Hulk #3, Marvel Comics.



-Swinebread

My New Comics

This week’s best cover is Comic Book Comics #2.


H. P. Lovecraft’s Haunt of Horror #2, Marvel Comics.

Star Trek: Year Four: Enterprise Experiment #4, IDW.

Star Trek: Mirror Images #2, IDW.

Narcopolis #4, Avatar.

Comic Book Comics #2, Evil Twin Comics. Our Artists at War! Read an excerpt here

The Man With No Name #3, Dynamite Entertainment.

Reign in Hell #1, DC Comics.

Skaar Son of Hulk #2, Marvel Comics.

Northlanders #8, DC Comics.

Project SuperPowers #5, Dynamite Entertainment.


-Swinebread

Cthulhu Caroling

Carol of the Old Ones
the first and the best!


It's beginning to look a lot like fish-men


The Cultist Song
Their latest



-Swinebread

Call of Cthulhu the Silent Movie

Two years ago at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival there was a lot of buzz in the air about a new independent film titled The Call of Cthulhu based on the original 1926 Lovecraft story. This weird horror tale has often been called unfilmable. Usually, the alien god’s name, Cthulhu, gets sprinkled into crappy to mediocre films for flavor but any serious depiction of him or the story he exists in was notably absent. Fans of Lovecraft’s style of horror have lamented the lack of good adaptations of his work and have had settle for merely Lovecraft inspired shows. Well, with the release of The Call of Cthulhu Film in 2005 a tipping point was reached and a threshold passed. The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (HPLHS), a media company dedicated adapting his works, presented their two-year effort. I found the project both entertaining and faithful.


What made the unfilmable story filmable was the HPLHS’s conceit of making a silent picture. Here the cast and crew would recreate The Call of Cthulhu as if it had been produced when the original story came out in the 1920s. This was a masterstroke of inspiration in my opinion. The black and white film approach solved many technical problems while evoking the time and space of the short story. Also, Lovecraft’s words didn’t become underwhelming with the delivery by actors but are enhanced with the use of text on the screen. Many places and effects needed in The Call of Cthulhu are created using models and film trickery of the silent era which makes the viewing much more authentic. A few folks have expressed disappointment with the monster Cthulhu in the film but I rather liked his depiction. To me, he looked like a representation of what makes him so awful, plus some bloated CG effect wouldn’t have worked either. In this case representational is better than realistic… how could somebody make Cthulhu, look realistic anyway.

At that film fest in October 2005, I vowed to pick up a copy of the film someday. Well, at the Emerald City Comic Con I did. I watched it again with much joy (and fright). If you are a Lovecraft fan this is the real deal. The Call of Chtulhu finally achieves the desire for a good movie adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s work.

Here’s the Trailer:


-Swinebread

Tori Spelling... Fish Face

I was thinking about that Shadow over Innsmouth movie, titled Cthulhu mentioned in a post by snabulus a while ago, well I finally put 2 and 2 together. You see, I have always thought that Tori Spelling had a fish face, not that there is anything wrong with that. I’m huge fan of sushi mind you. But remember the jolly Dagon worshipers of Innsmouth have been boinking the original creatures of the black lagoon for generations. These horrific unions produce inbred children that look human at first, but slowly transform into grotesque fish folk over time. Brings new meaning to fish lover doesn’t it.


Now I wouldn’t want to cast aspersions on Tori’s genetic background or family traditions, she’s as rich as a Marsh so she’ll get over it. But I realized that having her in this film is a masterstroke. Her large unblinking eyes, her extended soggy lips, call you to worship great Cthulhu and his little buddy Dagon without saying a word at all. Sends shivers down your spine, doesn’t it? Although, I’m sure Tori is the nicest deepone hybrid you’ll ever meet. Now, if I could just locate that debauched spot off the coast of California where these Hollywood elites are copulating with humanoids from the deep that fancy TV royalty.

I probably won’t get around to seeing this film as I have better things to do like pull out my chest hair with clamshells but if you want to see the trailer her it is:


Hail Dagon... Hail Tori

-Swinebread

thanks to chaosium, the superficial and flynet