recommended gigs

Saturday 12-2-23 - the Implosions, Los Nalgonas, Freezing Hands at Red Dwarf

Saturday 12-2-23 - Wild West Access Fund of Nevada Benefit with Tippy Elvis, Love Bombs, art auctions and lots more at the Double Down

Tuesday 12-5-23 - Eddie Spaghetti with The October and Trivial Menace at the Double Down

Wednesday 12-6-23 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with special guest Mondo Vermin at the Double Down

Friday 12-8-23 - the Minges and Fuck Face at the Rusty Spur

Saturday 12-9-23 - the Unwieldies at Boulder Dam Brewery

Saturday 13-9-23 - the Souvenairs at the Underground 

Friday 12-15-23 - the Psyatics, Suburban Resistance, Wayouts at the Double Down 

Thursday 1-18-24 - Dog Party, the Snares, Negative Nancy, VaVoom at Red Dwarf

Saturday 1-20-23 - the Shakewells, tge Implosions and the Boreouts at Red Dwarf

Saturday 2-12-24 - The Unwieldies with Big Like Texas and Frankie Lee and the Infernos at Gold Mine Tavern

Thursday 3-14-24 - The Silhouettes at the Double Down

Friday 3-15-24 - the Silhouettes with Fur Dixon and the Psyatics at Red Dwarf

Saturday 4-16-24 - The Unwieldies with Big Like Texas and Jeff Mix and the Songhearts at Gold Mine Tavern

RIP Shane MacGowan

Shane MacGowan: Pogues singer dies aged 65

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I was never the Pogues fanatic that so many of my friends are, but I absolutely appreciate their work. I know that Shane has had innumerable issues but sad to see him go so young.

RIP Top Ten

Scott Kempner, Founding Member of NYC Bands The Dictators and Del-Lords, Dies

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Jeez, I can't believe that another guitar hero is gone! The Dictators were life-changing. He was a power-house.

What a freakin' year....

The Flesheaters - Ashes of Time

 

I've followed Chris D's career since his time as a punk rock writer through the Flesheaters and Divine Horsemen and seen and played shows with him numerous times over the years. I'm not quite sure what criteria he uses to determine what band name he will be using as both combos have had a revolving cast of characters that rarely seem to stay the same. He always finds quality players though and I suppose he simply likes to mix things up and get different musical viewpoints. This CD is a compilation of recordings done in the mid-to-late 90's with members that I am not overly familiar with, but they do manage to imbue the proceedings with the proper FE feel.

This starts off with powerfully crunchy guitar chords for the rockin' "Salty Black Water" and on this outing, Chris uses no less than 3 women for some excellent backing vocals - Julie Christensen, natch, along with Erika Wear and Juanita Myers. A nicely fuzzy guitar riff (there's 4 people on guitars on this record, so no idea which one is riffin') starts off "Crosseyed Butterfly" (gotta dig Chris' imagery!) and machine gun drum rolls give a great accent to the breaks while the guitars continue to crunch'n'punch, "Kisses Draw Blood" has another interesting guitar lick and vaguely "Teen Spirit"-ish rhythms along with more cool backing vocals, dark, growly, somewhat bluesy guitars highlight the upbeat "Red Spell Spells Red", "Mourning Becomes You" starts with some startling drum rolls and a basic 2-chord progression and plenty of vocal interplay, another 2-chord, riff'n'progression in "Blood Wedding" but then we get a truly interesting, off-kilter lick for "House Amid the Thickets" that is enhanced by some lamenting organ work and a powerful break reminiscent of early FE works, somehow, and also reminds me a little of the Downliner Sect!. Definitely a fave of this record, with some of the best guitar sounds, too!

Can't place it, but they definitely stole a 70' riff for the basis of "Double Snake Bourbon" (again, dig the word play), which certainly isn't a bad thing in my book, and they blatantly steal Ten Years After, of all groups, for the rockin' blues of "Gate of Flesh". Chris was never afraid to wear his influences on his proverbial sleeve, whether it be covering early Fleetwood Mac, stealing from the Sonics, or this one! It's a great tune, regardless of the obvious (to me, anyway) steal! They slow down a little for "Evil Flower" with its hypnotically revolving progressions, then practically boogie for "Cut Down the Setting Sun", although it's a bit meandering. They're slow'n'moody in "Nobody Lives Forever" , mid-tempo for "Black-and-Blue Bird" that has some nice violin work that really enhances the tune as well as a cool drum'n'bass breakdown, then a fast-paced, oft-kilter rhythm for "My Love Has Been Burning" that has some hip fuzz and cool backing vocals, and the finish off with "Crucified Lovers", another fairly mid-tempo rocker.

Sometimes the song structures are so simplistic, and the songs are fairly lengthy in order to make room for the lyrics, that the tunes are not overly memorable and I feel that there could be more hook-y instrumental touches at times. There's certainly some excellent FE work here, but I think it also could have used a little trimming, or, at least, a little extra musical flourishes here'n'there. Nit-pickin', I suppose, but a worthy effort, nonetheless. 

RIP Mike Martt

 

Fuckin' hell - haven't heard any details, but apparently LA guitar hero Mike Martt has left us. Great guitarist and a damn nice guy. Here he is in all his glory with Tex and the Horseheads - to Tex's left. He left some great music behind. Fuck....

Just heard it was liver cancer. Fuck Cancer!

Chris D / Divine Horsemen - Time Stands Still

 

I was just musing as I listened to a new-to-me Flesheaters record that I wasn't sure what prompts Chris D. to use the FE name as opposed to the Divine Horsemen name, as they both are loose amalgamations of friends, musicians and associates of Chris' that both constantly change. But, in this case, the Horsemen's original 1984 outing, Chris was going for an acoustic take on his music, described on Bandcamp as "Gothic-American murder ballads and folked-up rock". Sounds about right!

There are no less than 13 (!) guests on this record, with Chris' then-future (now-ex, I believe, but still a musical partner) wife, Julie Christensen, providing some truly lovely vocals, offsetting Chris' harsh growl, and joined by a who's-who of the LA Scene - Dave Alvin and Bill Batemen (on guitar!) from the Blasters, John Doe of X, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Texacala Jones, Kid Congo, Robin Jameson, Chris Cacavas, Ann Dejarnett, Dan Stuart, Slim Evans and Kerry McBride! Whew!

The proceedings start with a Tex-Mex feel - sounding a little like acoustic X - in "When The Rain Comes Down" with nice piano work and excellent, melodic vocals from Julie. "Lilly White Hands" again is enhanced by Julie's vocals and Ann's excellently haunting violin - the violin really adds a lot to a good portion of the album, maybe a little similar to Dylan's Desire album, albeit a bit darker. Acoustic guitars give a chunky rhythm to "Past All Dishonor" and Julie's counterpoint vocals truly brings this tune to a whole 'nother level and the violin at the ending is superb. There's a moody, melancholy take on "Frankie and Johnny" done as a duet with Julie titled "Frankie Silver", more chunky, chugging acoustic guitars for "Sanctuary", also with piano intertwining around the melody and Texacala joining on the chorus and adding some call'n'answer as it progresses, "Heat From the Sun" is basically some neat, sparse, ambient noise behind Chris' lyrics, "Little Sister" has more expressive, John Cale-esque violin work that builds to a frenzy before returning to it's original pace, "Hell's Belle" has both Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Kid Congo on guitars, for an almost Gun Club experience in its acoustic way and an energetic, hand-clapping ending, and everything concludes with the title track, a simple, repetitive tune that builds nicely in energy and instrumentation and vocals before fading out.

If anything, I think that I generally prefer this to a lot of the Flesheaters, if only that it is a bit more melodically interesting with the various instruments and terrific female vocals. Not to disparage the FE's in any way, just saying how good I believe this is!

Rawhide Kid - The Sensational Seven - Zimmerman/Chaykin

 

Considering that I'm an extreme pacifist, it is rather ironic that I am a huge comic book fan, including super-hero, horror, war and western themes. But, I suppose that it is because there is so much injustice in the real world and in comics generally that the good guys defeat evil, the outcasts and freaks can be heroes and can actually win and, in the case of the western gunslingers, I also appreciate the sharp-shooter angle. (I think in the case of the superheroes, I can appreciate the skill and training, as well.)

This collection of a 2010 remake of the Rawhide Kid, a 60's Marvel Western hero, brings writer Ron Zimmerman together with an 80's fave of mine, Howard Chaykin, to reimagine the Kid as a gay hero, whose macho dad denied Kid the chance to explore his true loves - art and poetry - and caused him to become an expert with his guns as well as hand-to-hand combat.

In this adventure, the Kid sets out to rescue Wyatt Earp, who has been captured with his brother and held at a fort by a villainess crew. So, Kid assembles his own crew of some of Marvel's famous names, along with true-to-life Western icons - with new twists, of course.

Annie Oakley is a sexy siren - because Chaykin liked to draw sexy women - Doc Holliday is Annie's beau and helps keep the troops in line, Billy the Kid is a psychopath, Kid Colt is a sex-crazed maniac, the Native American Red Wolf is actually treated fairly traditionally but the Two-Gun Kid is inept and hopelessly out of his league, but they bring him along anyway so complete the Sensational Seven.  (Funnily, Two-Gun also references an "actual" - in the Marvel universe - time-travel adventure where he meets the Avengers - nice touch!) At the fort, they fight even more outrageous counterparts before winning the day, of course! Oh yeah, even the original (Western) Ghost Rider makes a brief appearance!

It's a fun, silly, over the top tale, and totally enjoyable! Also included in this package is the original 60's team up of Rawhide, Kid Colt and the Two-Gun Kid in an adventure of mistaken identity (heroes were often mistaken for villains in the 60's Marvel Universe), which is fun to revisit, even if the artwork was not top-notch.

A worthy purchase and a nice diversion from some of the overly serious tales of today.

Blue Sky Boys - A Treasury of Rare Song Gems From the Past

 

Bill and Earl Bolick, known professionally as the Blue Sky Boys, were another example of early country music with some bluegrass, folk and Americana influences, in the vein of the likes of the Monroe Brothers and the Louvin Brothers. They performed from the mid-1930's until they retired in 1951 because they didn't care for the burgeoning honky tonk style and refused to record with electric guitars! This is a 16 song collection of some of their most requested songs and is certainly a good starting point for anyone interested in their music, although the packaging is extremely minimal, it does contain the original LP's liner notes - grammatical errors and all! 

Opening with "The Sunny Side of Life" (not the similarly titled Carter Family song), we get the Boys' traditional sound - acoustic guitar, mandolin and tight, genetic harmonies - again, similar to my untrained ears, anyway, to the likes of the Louvins. "As Long As I Live" is a short, sad, love song, "Nine Pound Hammer" is the upbeat trad bluegrass number, "The Longest Train I Ever Saw" seems to be a different name for the old folk tune "In the Pines" and from that melancholy refrain we move into "Golden Slippers", as fast-paced, fiddle-led, square-dance-styled instrumental.

They slow down again for another traditional tune, "Mary of the Wild Moor", they get spiritual in the call'n'answer of "I Have Found the Way", there's other fiddle hoe-down instrumental, "Tugboat", more fast-paced fiddle fun'n'harmonies in "Get Along Home", then switch gears for a sad, sappy, kinda tex-mex ballad in "The Last Letter". Back for another bluegrass-y, fiddle instro in "Black Mountain Blues", the waltz-beat "A Picture From Life's Other Side", the heartbreak of lost love in "There's Been a Change", another sad spiritual in "Row Us Over the Tide" and "Dust on the Bible", with its kinda clumsy phrasing, before the bouncey finale of "Turn Your Radio On".

More really well done early country/bluegrass/Americana/folk before there really was a name for it all. Worth searching out!

recommended gigs

 Friday 11-17-23 - Fuzz Solow, 1/2 Ast, Dana Plato, DJ Atomic at the Double Down

Saturday 11-18-23 - the Unwieldies at Boulder Dam Brewery

Sunday 11-19-23 - Atom Age, the Shakewells, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Griffin

Wednesday 11-22-23 - Basstravaganza at the Double Down

Wednesday 11-22-23 - The Heiz at the San Dollar Downtown

Wednesday 11-22-23 - Thee Hypnotiques at Cornish Pasty

Friday 11-24-23 - Franks'n'Deans at the Double Down

Friday 11-24-23 - Shanda and the Howlers at Mabel's BBQ

Saturday 11-25-23 - The Heiz with the Psyatics at the Double Down

Sunday 11-26-23 - The Heiz with Bear Supply at Red Dwarf 11 am - 3 pm

Saturday 12-2-23 - the Implosions, Los Nalgonas, Freezing Hands at Red Dwarf

Saturday 12-2-23 - Wild West Access Fund of Nevada Benefit with Tippy Elvis, Love Bombs, art auctions and lots more at the Double Down

Wednesday 12-6-23 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with special guest Mondo Vermin at the Double Down

Friday 12-8-23 - the Minges and Fuck Face at the Rusty Spur

Saturday 12-9-23 - the Unwieldies at Boulder Dam Brewery

Thursday 1-18-24 - Dog Party, the Snares, Negative Nancy, VaVoom at Red Dwarf

Saturday 1-20-23 - the Shakewells, tge Implosions and the Boreouts at Red Dwarf

Thursday 3-14-24 - The Silhouettes at the Double Down

Friday 3-15-24 - the Silhouettes with Fur Dixon and the Psyatics at Red Dwarf

Don't Call Me Home - Alexandra Auder

 

I heard a great interview with Alexandra on NPR's Fresh Air a little while ago and thought that this book sounded pretty fascinating so I grabbed it. Auder is Warhol Superstar Viva's first born daughter (she had one more, Gaby, a few years later with a different man) and so she has some wild tales to tell of being born in NYC's Chelsea Hotel (actually Viva went into labor in the lobby but was able to get to a hospital) and traveling the country (and world) with her mother, living a crazy, nomadic life, eventually returning to the Chelsea, being raised in NYC among wild characters, including her drug addict, film-maker father (he worked on Chelsea Girls with Warhol), among lots of others. Of course, the Chelsea is famous for the innumerable r'n'r and film legends who stayed there, and even in the 80's, it was filled with iconic, eccentric characters.

Throughout the book Alexandra moves back'n'forth starting from her earliest times that were captured by her father on video through current days with her mother still acting like a lunatic at times, as the extended family (Alex and her kids, Gaby with hers along with their spouses) try to deal with life with a "Superstar". She describes many encounters with artists of various types, Viva's large clan of sisters, drugs, sex, life on the road and Alex's early experiments'n'fantasies with her close female friends. As I suppose many teens are, she was fairly obsessed with sex - from well before she had her period - and once she finally (in her eyes) "became a woman", she soon found an older boyfriend while going to bars and discos at all hours. 

She goes on and on in great detail on her unhealthy obsession with this man and other, much older men - at least her mom’s age, some of whom her mom dates - while just mentioning in passing seemingly famous movies that she and her sister appear in, with essentially no explanation. As in, I had no idea that either one were actors before she says something about a person that one of them appeared with as she coyly describes what sounds like a blockbuster movie.

I can't imagine growing up with a mother that is as unstable as Viva, who while having untold number of her own breakdowns, vacillates between giving Alex extreme freedom and extreme guilt trips. Alex has to be the grown up quite often - including taking care of Gaby over the years - and has to be the voice of reason, even when she herself is acting out in unsafe ways. 

This is a strange and often vague book - although she will zero in on minute details, she will also leave out huge chunks (like decades) of her life in a seemingly haphazard way, making it a bit of a unsettling read. I guess I expected something different and it wasn't quite what I had expected - whatever that was. Still not 100% sure what I think of this one...

Kick-Ass (movie)

 

Based on the Marvel comic series of the same name, the Kick-Ass movie is a wacky, violent, somewhat demented ride with an 11 year old girl relentlessly slaughtering villains along with her ex-cop dad (Nick Cage does a great job) as revenge for framing and jailing the dad which resulted in the mom's suicide. Before learning of Hit Girl and the Batman-like Big Daddy, a random teenage comic nerd decides to become a real life super hero and dons the guise (and goofy name) of Kick-Ass. His first time out literally almost kills him, but he recovers and learns to do a better job and eventually teams up with Big Daddy and Hit Girl to take out the Mafia team who framed BD.

Of course, there is lots of heartbreak along the way, an insane amount of mayhem, an unlikely love interest for KA (in the comic, there is the more likely scenario of the popular girl still rejecting nerdy him, even as KA, but I guess they wanted to inject some romance in the movie), deaths and revenge from all sides and an open ending which did indeed lead into a sequel.

Even with the idea of a more realistic "super-hero", you need a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief for this, but that's because it is a silly movie based on a comic book! I totally enjoyed it though and recommend it for those who dig this kind of thing.

Kick-Ass 2 - Mark Millar with John Romita Jr

 

I'm, once again, surprised and a bit disappointed that I have not written about Kick-Ass before, as I have read the first compendium and have seen at least one of the movies (I'll have to re-visit those, also). The basic premise is that a teenage comic book geek decides to become a real life hero and dresses up in a scuba diving outfit (or something similar) and tries to fight crime and fails miserably (he ends up in the hospital on his first time out) before meeting Hit Girl, who trains him to the point where he can be reasonably effective. They actually take on the Mafia and win, but not without consequences, of course.

In this compilation, Hit Girl's step-dad, who knows that she is Hit Girl (whose dad trained her to be as effective as she is), begs her to stop for her mom's sake, and she does. Kick-Ass continues his fight though and inspires others to join him in creating a super-team - of course, no one actually has super powers and they just rely on some fighting skills (they actually recruit older, former military into the fold) and weapons. Unfortunately, Kick-Ass' nemesis, Red Mist, a rich kid who has the money to buy some seriously fucked up muscle, returns to the scene causes quite a bit of chaos, violence, death and mayhem before Hit Girl decides enough is enough and returns to the fray to stop Mist and his team of villains (and villainess) once and for all.

Definitely a kind of fucked up and depraved concept in the amount of violence and death that is caused, but also the comic tries to show the difference an individual can make - at least in comic book fantasies! Millar and Romita do a great job though - really good stuff!

Before Watchmen - Nite Owl, Dr. Manhattan, Moloch

 

As I've said before, I've been a fan of Watchmen since it came out and have "watched" for the various spin-offs when I can find them and generally enjoy them. This compendium, written by Michael Straczynski, builds a nice backstory on Nite Owl as well as a naturally confusing back-n-forward story on Dr. Manhattan, and an overview of Moloch's history.

In the Nite Owl section we learn of this NO's childhood obsession with the original NO and how he inspired him and eventually discovered his identity and trained under him until he took over the mantel, with new, improved technology. It also shows some of the partnership with Rorschach and their differences in approach - and a bit more of Rorschach's backstory - as well as Dan Dreiberg's relationship with The Twilight Lady and how that affected him.

Dr. Manhattan's tale is appropriately convoluted with a Schrodinger's Cat reference as he explores different possible timelines, some in which he never becomes Dr. Manhattan and lives a happy life, and some variations of his "superhero" career, along with his relation to Ozymandias, and the variations of Ozy's plans for him. 

We also get some background on villain Moloch's fairly tragic life as a deformed child shunned by family and peers alike until he becomes a magician and learns to use his tricks for criminal gain. We also see Ozy's agenda for a post-incarceration Moloch and his part in Ozy's master plan, as detailed in the original Watchmen series.

Really well written and illustrated (by various artists) throughout, with clever storylines, interesting characterizations, and nice interplay between everyone involved as they are fleshed out a bit more. I truly enjoyed this one!

The Vision - Little Worse Than a Man

 

Another graphic novel that I randomly picked up at our library that seems to be a self-contained story (although not complete), but, again, I have been out of touch with what the Vision has been going through lately, so I'm not sure if I am following everything here.

Basically, it seems that he and the Scarlet Witch have long broken up (I think they were still together the last time I regularly read their escapades) and the Vision has literally created his own "family" - a wife and twin son and daughter, and are trying to live a suburban life with the Vision working for the government.

Of course, there are innumerable problems with basic prejudice as well as the appearance of the Grim Reaper - the brother of Wonder Man, whose brain was used as the basis for the Vision's intellect and understanding of the world - among other issues, including the synthizoid "children" trying to fit in at school.

This book concludes with the ghost (?) of Agatha Harkness informing the other Avengers of what has occurred with the Vision and her warning them that he will put his newly formed family above all else, so who knows what will happen from here on out? Guess I'll have to find the next part somewhere!

Patti Smith - A Book of Days

 

Of course, I have written about Patti innumerable times over the years, as I have been a fan since before her first recorded output, due to her writing for various rock'n'roll zines and her collaborations with the likes of Blue Oyster Cult. Her records with the Patti Smith Group are classics that I still listen to habitually (just this morning, in fact!) and her recent books have been quite enthralling.

This tome is a collection of photos and captions that are mostly, if not all, taken from her highly entertaining and captivating Instagram account. She has quite the eye for photographic composition so her pictures are almost always artistic captures and, of course, her brief prose/captions are always well written and poetic. With 366 entries - one for each day plus leap year - there are lots to peruse and the book itself is a fine publication - my hardbound edition is an interesting 5"x7" size, which gives the photos some room without appearing much larger than they do on her Instagram feed, which is an interesting choice.

The photos range from various tableaus in her NY apartment, to the streets of the city, to her family, to other people's photos of something special for that day (say, Elvis Presley's birthday, and, of course, photos of herself with others) to her travels around the world. As she travels, she always makes it a point to stop and photograph something of importance to her, whether it is a grave, a house, a bed, a patio, architecture and lots more.

A true artist, I'm glad that she is continuing to evolve and grow as well as perform, and continues to explore new media for communication - something that is obviously important to her. Certainly recommended!

recommended gigs

 Friday - Sunday 11-10-23 - 11-12-23 - Tecopa Takeover with The Psyatics, Big Like Texas, Pitchfork, Catfish John and more

Saturday 11-11-23 - Black Joe Lewis at The Wall in Area15

Saturday 11-11-23 - Shanda and the Howlers with with Mozzy Dee and the Blue Ribbon Boys at the Sand Dollar

Saturday 11-11-23 - The Implosions with Frankie Lee and the Infernos at Fat Cat

Wednesday 11-15-23 - The Swank Bastards at the Founders Club

Friday 11-17-23 - Fuzz Solow, 1/2 Ast, Dana Plato, DJ Atomic at the Double Down

Saturday 11-18-23 - the Unwieldies at Boulder Dam Brewery

Sunday 11-19-23 - Atom Age, the Shakewells, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Griffin

Wednesday 11-22-23 - Basstravaganza at the Double Down

Wednesday 11-22-23 - The Heiz at the San Dollar Downtown

Friday 11-24-23 - Franks'n'Deans at the Double Down

Saturday 11-25-23 - The Heiz with the Psyatics at the Double Down

Sunday 11-26-23 - The Heiz with Bear Supply at Red Dwarf

Saturday 12-2-23 - the Implosions, Los Nalgonas, Freezing Hands at Red Dwarf

Friday 12-8-23 - the Minges and Fuck Face at the Rusty Spur

Thursday 1-18-24 - Dog Party, the Snares, Negative Nancy, VaVoom at Red Dwarf

Saturday 1-20-23 - the Shakewells, tge Implosions and the Boreouts at Red Dwarf

Thursday 3-14-24 - The Silhouettes at the Double Down

Friday 3-15-24 - the Silhouettes with Fur Dixon and the Psyatics at Red Dwarf

Batman and Superman - World's Finest - The Silver Age - Volume One and Two

 

Although the original run of the comics compiled here are before the start of my comic-reading days - these are all from the 1950's, not 60's - I still recall some of the stories from reprints, or at least gotten the feel of the time. World's Finest was still quite popular in the 60's (does it still run? I have no idea, although obviously the heroes still run into each other frequently), though, so I was certainly familiar with the concept.

I'm not sure if this was always the story, but here, in a 1950-something tale, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne discover each other's alter egos because they happened to book the same cruise and due to room shortages, they were forced to share a cabin. Seems unlikely that millionaire Bruce Wayne would have to share any room, anywhere for any reason, but apparently his millionaire status is ignored in a number of these stories.

Their partnership started with that cruise but continued as they crossed paths and commuted from Metropolis to Gotham City and back, whether following villains (mostly human-types in these days, but some robots and a few fantastical creatures, as well) or simply performing good deeds. 

Of course, the plots tend to be fairly simplistic and outlandish, with time-travel in unlikely ways (hypnotism, in one case), aliens - lots of aliens with incredible powers, and plenty of scientific gadgets that perform amazing stunts - and the gadgets usually end up being destroyed and unable to be replicated. Kryptonite appears regularly - quite a lot of it came to Earth, apparently, and floats throughout the universe - and, of course, the villains come up with clever ways to use it against Superman, who then requires Batman and Robin's help. Supes also requires the Dynamic Duo's sleuthing skills habitually and sometimes just needs extra hands - or at least appears to in order to not seem quite as almighty and he eventually would. Superman regularly loses his powers - quite often, actually - and Batman and Robin both routinely gain the same super powers as Clark, a trope that must have been popular with the readers as they repeat it so much. Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk make appearances (not their first, but their first together) and, of course, there are innumerable oversized props - something of a staple for Batman, especially - and improbable solutions to wild'n'zany problems.

While certainly nothing spell-binding or anything, these tales are silly fun and nice nostalgia - something that is definitely needed in today's world!

Superman/Wonder Woman - A Savage End Volume 5

 

As with the Power Girl collection I review elsewhere, this is another compendium of random issues related to the romance of Supes and WW, as opposed to a graphic novel with a single, linear storyline. So, once again, for those like me who have not been following along with DC heroes even within the last decade or two, it's a bit haphazard, even with synopsis at the beginning of each chapter.

There's a number of stories going on here, as I said, with the two struggling to make their relationship work despite their differences and mainly with Superman losing his powers (more than once, apparently) and almost dying more than once. Clark is not used to relying on anyone or being saved or even being left behind, which Diana does for his own good, and she even calls on her fellow gods and goddesses to bring him back to life. Her inheriting the mantel of the God of War doesn't sit well with Clark, either, although as heroes they fight for peace every day. And I have no idea what is happening with Lois Lane, who, as best as I can tell, has a family with another version of Superman, which is not explained at all in this compilation. So, lots to sift through, without much real resolutions.

I think that I have been out of the DC loop for way to long for these compendiums - I need a single storyline with a beginning, middle and an end so that I can understand what the heck DC is doing with their various heroes these days. So, certainly not recommended for those like me who have not been in touch with these characters for quite a while.

Wonder Woman by John Bryne

 

I've always thought that Bryne was an exceptionally talented artist and storyteller and have enjoyed his interpretations of various heroes from both Marvel (originally) and DC. Here he starts a "new era" (so the headlines shout) for Wonder Woman, with a new city - Gateway City, another mythical DC burb - new friends, a possible (mortal) love interest, and a wanna-be sidekick.

Of course, there are villains galore, old'n'new, some that she had fought before and others that she had not, as well as mystical help from the likes of the Phantom Stranger and the Demon, and a cameo from Superman, who in this timeline still has his (Earthly) parents, his powers are not what I remember them to be (it took him 5 minutes to get across the country, when he used to be able to travel the solar system in close to that amount of time) and he has long hair, for some reason.

For me, Bryne never gets overly heavy-handed with the changes to the characters though, unlike some other variations that have occurred since, and while he still has a basic good vs. evil storyline, he creates some good characters and situations. I enjoyed this one.

The Black Widow - Beware the Black Widow

 

Of course, I remember the first appearance of Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, in Tales of Suspense, as a Russian spy sent to get secrets from Tony Stark and fight Iron Man, with the help of a strongman named Boris. Natasha first appears in classic 60's fashion, ala Jackie O., with a black veil, fitting for her "widow" moniker. As she evolves, she gets a fishnet'n'swimsuit-styled super-outfit complete with a "widow's sting" and the ability to walk on walls'n'such via innovations built into the suit before she designs her jumpsuit that we are all more familiar with. This collection pulls from these original stories, her romance with Hawkeye, her fights against and alongside the Avengers (as she defects from the "commies", is brainwashed into returning, and defects again), her romance with Daredevil and her many solo exploits.

While I'm not a big fan of artist Don Heck - he was a bit too simplistic in his details, although his overall layouts weren't bad - Stan Lee's stories are fun, as always, and the character continued to grow throughout her appearances and we learn more about her background, including an ex(?) husband who becomes a super-powered villain. The artists vary as well, with John Buscema and Gene Colan also working on different issues.

The format here is a little strange, though, as they include random pages from various issues of different mags that mention the Widow, so you miss the narrative of that issue but - at least sorta/kinda - keep tabs on Natasha's timeline. 

Obviously, Marvel wants to capitalize on Natasha's current popularity due to the Avengers movies and this is a good place to learn her origins and motivations. 

Power Girl - Power Trip

 

Yet another graphic novel that I picked up on our latest trip to the library, just out of curiosity. Power Girl is a character that I believe appeared after I pretty much stopped reading DC comics and this novel digs a bit deeper into her origins. The story up until now was that she was from Earth-2's (the Earth of the earlier heroes - the original Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) Krypton and was related to Kal-El, as Supergirl is on Earth-1. But apparently that origin is now in doubt as her powers come and go and increase and decrease seemingly randomly. Oh, and she is now trapped on Earth-1 due to some celestial/timeline continuum catastrophe that I missed out on. So, I am trying to catch up on a lot with this graphic novel.

Of course, Power Girl is best known for her expansive bosom, even by super-heroine standards, and the fact that she flaunts it, seemingly as a way to distract men (and some women), and it is something that she references regularly and seemingly accepts it, but is a point of contention, as well. She battles monsters, aliens and supervillains while also running a high-end tech company - although where she got the money for this is not brought up - maybe we're just supposed to know that? There's a parody of Sean Connery's Zardoz mixed with Barbarella, which almost takes us back to DC's 60's silliness, but that is followed by horrific physical and psychological terrorism, although even that is tempered with some lightheartedness, in a way. 

Turns out that this is not a graphic novel, per se, but simply a collection of (mostly) unrelated stories, so, although some heroes'n'villains return, it is not one cohesive tale. In any case, it's goofy fun, but not anything exceptional. And, since I am no longer a horny teenager, the concentration on her chest (and the infinite/infantile jokes based on these), does get a little tiring, although it would be expected that someone this endowed would endure these. I dunno, I'm guess I'm going back'n'forth on this one - not bad, and it can be fun, but not great either. Take it as you will. :) 

recommended gigs

Friday 11-3-23 - the Souvenairs at the Underground

Sunday 11-5-23 - Zach Ryan at Saddle and Spurs

 Monday 11-6-23 - Fuzz Solow with Ash and the Endings at Red Dwarf

Friday - Sunday 11-10-23 - 11-12-23 - Tecopa Takeover with The Psyatics, Big Like Texas, Pitchfork, Catfish John and more

Saturday 11-11-23 - Black Joe Lewis at The Wall in Area15

Saturday 11-11-23 - Shanda and the Howlers with with Mozzy Dee and the Blue Ribbon Boys at the Sand Dollar

Saturday 11-11-23 - The Implosions with Frankie Lee and the Infernos at Fat Cat

Friday 11-17-23 - Fuzz Solow, 1/2 Ast, Dana Plato, DJ Atomic at the Double Down

Sunday 11-19-23 - Atom Age, the Shakewells, Cromm Fallon and the P200 at the Griffin

Wednesday 11-22-23 - Basstravaganza at the Double Down

Wednesday 11-22-23 - The Heiz at the San Dollar Downtown

Friday 11-24-23 - Franks'n'Deans at the Double Down

Saturday 11-25-23 - The Heiz with the Psyatics at the Double Down

Sunday 11-26-23 - The Heiz with Bear Supply at Red Dwarf

Saturday 12-2-23 - the Implosions, Los Nalgonas, Freezing Hands at Red Dwarf

Saturday 1-20-23 - the Shakewells, tge Implosions and the Boreouts at Red Dwarf

Thursday 3-14-24 - The Silhouettes at the Double Down

Friday 3-15-24 - the Silhouettes with Fur Dixon and the Psyatics at Red Dwarf

Marvel-Verse Morbius

 

Another library pickup - of course, I read the original Morbius stories in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 and 102 but think I missed the other tales that are compiled here from Marvel Two-In-One #15, Morbius Bond of Blood and Spider-Man Family #5.

Morbius' first appeared with Spider-Man, while Peter Parker was having problems of his own - an highly unlikely situation where a formula that Parker drank endowed him to 4 extra arms, making him even more spider-like! But Morbius, a scientist himself, turned himself into a "living vampire" by his own potion! Damn crazy scientists! Add the Lizard, whose alter Ego Dr. Connors turned himself into the rampaging reptile by HIS concoction, and you're got a wild ride! Artist Gil Kane does an especially good job with these characters, as well.

The Two-in-One with the Thing is not quite as successful, with the return of Giant-Man's (somewhat forgettable) nemesis, the Eraser, who shifts them to another dimension ("erasing" them), Dr. Strange gets involved when Morbius tries to use the black arts to help a terminal friend (definitely a better tale) and he makes a deal with, not the devil himself but pretty close, Mr. Hyde, who, of course, does not honor his side of the bargain, as Morbius tries to help another terminal friend.

A mixed bag, to be sure. Could have been better, I think, and there's a lot of potential for this character that hopefully they will tap into (if the character is even still "alive" in the Marvel Universe).

Avengers VS X-Men

 

Certainly not the first time that these teams have fought, but this 2016 collection shows both sides with huge line-ups, including some characters that I am not familiar with - I guess I have some catching up to do!

Apparently, the basic story is that the Phoenix Force - that once impersonated Jean Grey (I assume that is still the story) - is returning to Earth to claim a child mutant (not sure how everyone knows this, but I guess ya gotta just go with that). The Avengers think that they should defend the child, Hope, while the X-Men, who Hope is living with, thinks they are best to handle the situation. Scott Summers as Cyclops is even more hot-headed than ever and while Captain America did not make the situation any easier, Cyclops basically starts a war.

Things change, of course, as the Phoenix Force appears and, through some scientific interference, takes over several of the X-Men instead of Hope. They use the power for good and start to create a Utopia on Earth but the Avengers don't trust them and their unchecked power and push them to start a war yet again.

Of course, their fears were justified in the end and there are a numbers of unexpected twists'n'turns before there is somewhat of a conclusion - with Marvel, there are usually some open endings and loose threads. A pretty good tale, overall, although, once again, not having kept up with the ever-changing MU, I'm not certain where this sits in with the rest of the timeline or if this is suppose to exist outside of the "regular" stories. Keeps me guessing, I suppose!

Doom Partrol - Grant Morrison

 

I guess back in the 60’s I never really realized quite how fucked up the concept of the Doom Patrol was. I mean, Marvel had misfits like the X-Men, the Thing, the Hulk and others, but the DP was something altogether different. Maybe it was because of how DC generally kept things pretty light hearted in the 60’s - and while I don’t remember details, I bet that included the DP. But man, a human brain trapped in a robot, a “negative man” who had to always be wrapped in bandages, a paraplegic leader (based on the X-Men, natch) and more. Kinda crazy in a way…And now, they are joined by a multiple personality called, quaintly, Crazy Jane, and each personality has their own super power!

All of the stories also seem to have a psychic, psychotic quality and tend to be based in some sort of madness made incarnate, making for some truly surreal stories. Extraordinarily surreal - and surreally depicted - are the Brotherhood of the Dada, "villains" who do not wage a war for power or riches but wage a war on reality itself and, in doing so, manage to eradicate Paris! 

Definitely not the usual superhero fare, as mental illnesses are highlighted throughout and are the basis for the tales, and the strange characters all have numerous issues (including the supposedly "normal" "Chief", who just seems like a jerk most of the time), so we are certainly not revisiting the DC Doom Patrol of the 60's! Weird, fairly nonlinear stuff - if you're into that sort of thing, it's worth checking out!

Hawkman by Geoff Johns - Books One and Two

 

The Hawkman is another old school DC character which I have not been keeping tabs on, but it seems like there has not been all too many changes, although inevitably, there are some. Carter Hall is the Hawkman and is, supposedly anyway, the reincarnation of an Egyptian prince from thousands of years ago who discovered a spacecraft with an antigravity element which allows him to fly. He is joined by Hawkgirl (notice, not "woman" - a holdover from DC's 60's chauvinism, I suppose), the reincarnation of his princess, as Kendra Saunders, who in this incarnation (there has been more than one Hawkgirl in this era - at least one died) does not recognize Carter, unlike the previous incarnations, much to Carter's consternation.

They come to have an understanding (of sorts, anyway) and work as partners and travel the globe fighting human and supernatural threats as they search for clues to the killers of Kendra's parents, among other travails, and discover others whose fates are tied to theirs and who are also reincarnating to fight and kill the Hawks.

Although it can be a bit convoluted, it's actually a pretty good story overall, and told well, with the characters evolving as everything unfolds, including, rather understandable bouts of madness, but they hold it together through their inner powers and the powers of friendships.

Liked this one - job well done! 

Big Bill Broonzy - An Introduction To

 

As one can garner from the title, this is basically a collection of some of Broonzy's better known numbers and so there will be overlap with other albums of his, but it makes for a good, well, introduction.

Here we get his take on "Baby, Please Don't Go" and his finger-pickin' version is pretty different from most others and includes some melodic variations, his "Hey Hey" shows off his dexterity nicely, he gives a short introduction and kudos for Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues", more fine guitar pickin' in "Mindin' My Own Business", his fingers go a'flyin' on "See See Rider", he sings a sorrowful blues in "All I Got Belongs To You", "Ridin' on Down" (aka "Mule Ridin' Blues") is a jokey, talking blues, which don't do much for me, but people must like 'em because a lot of musicians did 'em.

He sang spirituals, as well, such as "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", "I Got Up One Mornin' Blues" is a slow, mournful number, "Treat Everybody Right" is a blues with a positive message, a full band (or at least piano'n'drums) joins him for the bouncey "It Feels So Good" ("I feel like ballin' the jack"), he talks race (a risky prospect at the time) in "Black, Brown and White", we get his classic "Key To The Highway" with some fine harmonica work added to his guitar'n'vocals, he gives his take on Leadbelly's "Midnight Special", "I Get The Blues When It Rains" is, ironically, an upbeat rag, and for the finale, he clears his throat a few times before doing a lovely take on "In the Evening When The Sun Goes Down", which was apparently a Leroy Carr original, although I know it from Lonnie Johnson's excellent version, and Broonzy holds his own on this one.

This is what it claims to be - a nice introduction to the man's talents'n'tunes. Good starting place if you don't have anything of his and even if you do, this may well have some numbers you don't have.