Still intrigued, still amazed...

Hey guys,

I can't get away from listening to/researching/watching/ blogging about Matthew Good...

I found this interview tonight on YouTube that I'd never seen before. I found it really informative and interesting. It tells of Matt's childhood, his getting into the music biz, he and his band opening for the Who, and some other things... Here it is...



Part 1





Part 2





Part 3





I really enjoyed that one and I really admire this guy for his music and what he's all about. There are a plethora of other videos on YouTube that feature interviews, music, rants and such from Mr. Good... You can check those out or go to www.matthewgood.org and read his daily blog entries which feature commetaries on world politics, human rights, his music and sometimes we're even treated to little bits of prose (which are genius) that Matt has written (Look for the ones that begin "Dear San Diego")...

I'll probably be writing more about Matthew Good in the near future... For now, I'm hooked...

Peace...

Off to see the Wizard

Hey guys,

Still flipping through Wizard #207 Gold. The latest article I've read is about the 50 greatest comic movies of all time... I'm gonna go ahead and list those for you and maybe insert some opinions like I did in the last post...

AND HEY!!! Even if you're not into the whole comic book thing, you might wanna take a look through these if you like movies. I can't count how many times someone was talking about a movie and I said, "Yeah, the comic that that film was based on was excellent." And they'd say, "WHAT?! Really? I didn't know that came from a comic book!!!"

Anyway, you might be surprised about how many of today's movies DO come from the medium of comic books. Take a peek...

Here goes:

50. Constantine (2005) -Saw it in the theaters. It was okay...
49. Timecop (1994)
48. Fantastic Four (2005)
47. Swamp Thing (1982)
46. Shogun Assassin (1980)
45. Superman Returns (2006)
44. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
43. Ghost in the Shell (1995) -I've got the DVD... It's so-so...
42. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
41. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) -An animated feature...
40. Mystery Men (1999)
39. Danger: Diabolik (1968)
38. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) -Some of the casting is great. The film's just okay for me...
37. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
36. Batman Returns (1992)
35. TMNT (2007)
34. Riki-Oh: The Story of Riki (1991)
33. 30 Days of Night (2007) -This one's okay... It comes close to doing the comic justice...
32. The Mask (1994) -Jim Carrey's always great... Never read the comic...
31. Blade II (2002)
30. Death Note (2008) -Read some of the manga... Wasn't aware until now that there was a movie...
29. Heavy Metal (1981)
28. Oldboy (2003)
27. Akira (1988)
26. Men in Black (1997) -Okay, if you're in the mood for it, but kinda goofy...
25. V for Vendetta (2005) -A decent film... The comic's WAY better...
24. American Splendor (2003) -Comic movie or no, this one's great...
23. The Crow (1994) -A classic...
22. The Rocketeer (1991)
21. Blade (1998)
20. Road to Perdition (2002)
19. Wanted (2008) -Saw it in the theater and it's great, but the comic's WAY better again...
18. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
17. Hellboy (2004)
16. Superman: The Movie (1978)
15. Batman (1989)
14. X-Men (2000) -I waited 10 years for this when I saw it... Some good parts if you're in the mood for the mutants...
13. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
12. A History of Violence (2005) -One of the worst movies I've ever seen...
11. Spider-Man (2002)
10. Persepolis (2007)
9. Superman II (1981)
8. Sin City (2005) -Now THIS is a film in a league of its own. Almost verbatim to the comic that spawned it...
7. Ghost World (2001)
6. 300 (2007) -Again, in a league all its own... If you haven't, see this.
5. Batman Begins (2005) -I didn't really care for this one...
4. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
3. X2: X-Men United (2003)
2. The Dark Knight (2008) -You know what I'm gonna say... Heath Ledger as the Joker is legendary... Go see this if you haven't...
1. Iron Man (2008) -I'm surprised that this beat out "The Dark Knight". Then again, I haven't seen it, so...



Well, gang, there they are...

I want to thank Wizard Magazine again and give them props for doing things like this... I really dig this type of thing.

If you want to comment on any of this or get my in-depth opinions, hit me with a comment.

Until next time, guys...

Peace...

The Best of the Best

Hey guys,

It's been a while since I've blogged about anything comic book related and while reading through Wizard #207 Gold, I noticed that they'd done a kind of year in review on all things comic books...

I'm gonna share what was in there and maybe insert some of my own opinions.

So here goes:

BEST BOOK
Action Comics
-I've read it for a while now. It IS good...

BEST EVENT
Secret Invasion
-I've not read it. I want to...

BEST SATIRE
Screamland

BEST WRITER 2008
Jason Aaron
-I've only read some Wolverine that he did and some Scalped... Enjoyable.

BEST SINGLE ISSUE
Y: The Last Man #60

BEST ARTIST
Leinil Yu

INDIE OF THE YEAR
Kramers Ergot 7

'08'S INDIE GREATS
Best Debut: Mesmo Delivery
Best Ongoing Series: RASL (I've not read this. I'd really like to...)
Best All-Ages Indie: Chiggers
Best Webcomic: BodyWorld
Best Self-Published: Pixu

BEST HERO
Captain America
-I'd really like to pick up some of the trades on this one, too...

GAME OF THE YEAR
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

BEST REVAMP
Incredible Herc

BEST ALL-AGES
Tiny Titans

BEST VILLAIN
Norman Osborn

BEST R-RATED BOOK
The Boys
-I recently just stopped reading this one... Some good stories, though...

BEST HORROR WRITER
Joe Hill

BEST COVER ARTIST
Marko Djurdevic

BEST NEW SERIES OF 2008
-Invincible Iron Man
-Stephen King's The Stand
-Secret Six
-X-Force
-Guardians of the Galaxy
-House of Mystery
-Captain Britain & MI 13
-Deadpool
-Young Liars
-Zorro
-Echo
-Conan the Cimmerian
(I've not read ANY of these, but I'd really like to try Young Liars...)

IN MEMORIAM...
-Steve Gerber
-Steve Whitaker
-Dave Stevens
-Jim Mooney
-Will Elder
-James Perham
-Creig Flessel
-Jack Kamen
-Carlos Meglia
-Michael Turner
(I'm not really familiar with anyone's work here except for Michael Turner... Rest In Peace, fellows... Truly sad losses all around, here...)



There were some other things in the article like Best Moments of 2008 and stuff but they'd require too much explanation... You can go to wizarduniverse.com to see some more on these, if you'd like...

Thanks to Wizard Magazine who published the article in reference and always keeps us in the know on all things comic book...

Until next time, guys...

Peace...

Christmas Avalanche

Hey guys,

Having recently completed my Matthew Good collection (ahhh, Christmas money) and having not been able to stop listening to him, I thought I'd take this opportunity (now that all of my holiday hubbub has died down) to post about the first solo album by Matthew Good.

The album is called Avalanche and it is truly another great one by Matthew Good. As I've said, this is the first of his solo efforts, realeased in 2003. The album spawned three singles and two music videos, which I'll now post below. As always, the titles of the songs will be above the tunes.



Weapon





In a World Called Catastrophe





Well, there they are... I'm kind of fighting with myself on whether I should go as in depth on this one as I have the others. If any of you wanted to buy the album, I might spoil it by putting too much stuff up on here. Then again, I just wanna pay tribute to it by posting all I can...

I'll leave this one the way it is for now... There are tons of videos on YouTube of Matthew Good's stuff if you want to go looking. Hope you're enjoying this stuff as much as I am.

Give me a little while and I'll probably give you the scoop on his next album chronologically: White Light Rock & Roll Review... Hopefully these clips and the ones you'd find on YouTube or THE ALBUMS THAT YOU SHOULD GO AND BUY will tide you over until then...

Peace...

A new look and more Lloyd-ism

Hey guys,

You've probably already noticed that The Llog looks a little different.

This is basically the white version (with black print) of the template that I had used before... I figured, you know, it'd be really cool if someone ever wanted to print up one of my entries from on here...

This template will make it easier if anyone ever wants to do that...

Also, I've been using some other sites recently... I've been trying to get to MySpace more. A lot of my dear friends and family are on there. So hopefully you guys will be seeing a little more of me there...

I've also been using Twitter a lot more (as you'll notice in my Twitter updates down the right side of the page) and I've been using a site called Delicious. I've got links to all of those posted on here (also on the right side of the page).

So anyway... There it is, guys... A little news...

I wanna be trying to blog more (and write more, for that matter), so hopefully you Llog readers will hear more from me soon.

Peace.

Bush league...

Hey guys,

I was poking around the web this afternoon and saw an article on the man who has managed to be our president for the past few years...

President Bush is now (as he is about to leave office shortly) quoted as saying, "I didn't compromise my soul to be a popular guy."

Hmmm... Didn't compromise his soul, huh? Is that some last ditch effort to make us sympathatic? Is he trying to tout his integrity? That's what it comes off like to me...

Am I supposed to just sit back now and say, "Goddamn... You know... A lot of lives have been lost in Iraq, gas prices are just now starting to come down from ridiculously astronomical prices, and they tell us that the economy's a fucking mess, but you know what? Mr. Bush never compromised his soul... and that makes him a real neat-o guy with me..."

Yeah, don't look for that (at least from me) anytime soon...

The Audio of Excellence

Hey guys,

What can I say?

I'm tired, I don't wanna go to sleep, I'm bored, I'm back on the blog, I feel like doing more and right now, I'm obsessed with listening to Matthew Good...

Here we go...

First, let me say that if you haven't read some of my prior posts on Matthew Good, you might do well to go back and read them... I've got interview footage, reviews of prior albums (chronologically), live stuff and all kinds of goodies... One thing I regret not doing is going really in-depth with the first couple of Matthew Good Band albums as I have with Beautiful Midnight in the prior two posts and as I'm about to do with the Audio of Being...

This album, as albums by my favorite artists tend to do (or not do) did not grab me right away... This was the final album from the Matthew Good Band and was said to be very stressful on all of them... Matt himself is said to have been ill through the recording of it and Dave Genn (one of the guitarists in the band) compared the making of the album to "taking a long, painful shit"...

Despite that, going back and listening to this one a few times, I've really grown to love it as with all the other Matthew Good stuff I've listened to...

The album only produced two music videos (for the songs "Carmelina" and "Anti-Pop") and I'm going to include those below... Those will be the only two "official" music videos from this bunch...

After doing all the work on posting about Beautiful Midnight, I decided to try and locate some YouTube clips for other songs on this disc, as well... I wanted to more represent the whole album to you readers of the Llog and highlight some of the songs that I actually like better than the ones which had music videos made for them...

So anyway, here they are... Titles of the songs are posted ABOVE the videos... (Are you frequent readers tired of hearing that yet? Ah well, I just wanna make sure you know the correct names of the damn songs... Live with it... Haha!)



Man of Action





Carmelina





Tripoli





Advertising on Police Cars





I, the Throw Away





The Fall of Man





Under the Influence





The Rat Who Would Be King





Anti-Pop





Sort of a Protest Song





Well, again... There they are... That's not every song on the album, but it's a pretty good taste (I'm only missing two tunes from the disc)...

I really love the videos that they've done for some of these tunes, from this and other albums... The video for "Anti-Pop" looks like a chaotic, juvenile romp of a Travelocity ad... Even if you're not digging all of this Matthew Good stuff, you should still be able to find that enjoyable... The same goes for the video for "The Future is X-Rated" from Beautiful Midnight. In that one, Matt's ranting on like Sally Struthers in a kind of spoof ad for helping vain people... Awesome...

And as far as liking the songs... Well, some of these tunes really speak to me... The clip of "Tripoli" ripped my heart out when I saw it. It's just a great, sad, brooding song... And the clip's so personal... Right up there with Matt as he pours out his soul in the song... Ah well, here's your cue to make fun of me...

Well, I think that's all the Matt Good stuff I'd like to rant on for now... I am listening to his first solo album right now, though, so I'll probably give you the lowdown on that one at some point...

As I said, too, I'm really regretting not going as in-depth with the first two albums... I'm thinking of putting posts up on those that are more like these recent ones with more songs and stuff... If you're digging the Matt Good stuff (or already do), that'll be a treat for you... If you're not, just wait a couple of weeks and I'll be obsessed with something else...

Peace...

Beautiful Midnight - The Second Chime

Hey guys,

FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ MY LAST POST (My "Beautiful" Discovery), GO DO THAT NOW!!! I'll wait...

Ready?

OK...

I figured I'd get right back on the second post for the praise for the Matthew Good Band album Beautiful Midnight... I wanted to show you guys a little more of why it's one of my favorites...

Now the following YouTube clips are going to be "unofficial" videos for the other songs from the album... Again, I wanted you guys to get more of a feel for why I'm praising it so much... The clips may include TV footage that has nothing to do with the songs or Matthew Good, a still picture with a song played behind it or homemade videos, but some of them will be pretty cool acoustic or live (or both) renditions of the tunes... As I've said, some of the songs have music videos that are from the album Underdogs... If you're curious, go check out a prior post on the Llog entitled Rooting for the Underdogs...

If you're an OCD geek like me or you wanna put the time in and listen to the album in the order of the tracks on the CD, they go like this:

1. Giant
2. Hello Time Bomb
3. Strange Days
4. Deep 6ix
5. Load Me Up
6. Failing the Rorschach Test
7. Suburbia
8. Apparitions
9. Jenni's Song
10. A Boy and His Machine Gun
11. The Future is X-Rated
12. Everything is Automatic
13. Born to Kill
14. Running for Home



If you bounce back and forth through this post and all the ones I've mentioned above, (it is my hope that) you'll be able to hear a semblance of the album in its entirety...

Now then, the songs (with the titles of the songs posted ABOVE them, which is my usual format on here...)



Giant





Deep 6ix





Surburbia





Apparitions





Jenni's Song





A Boy and his Machine Gun





Born to Kill





Running for Home





And there they are...

Sorry guys, but I couldn't find anything for the song "Failng the Rorschach Test"... If you're interested, you can download this album (and a lot of Matthew Good's other stuff) from iTunes and hear that tune, as well... I definitely recommend it...

Well, there's the two-post, in-depth, Llog-ified look into the album
Beautiful Midnight by the Matthew Good Band... I'll be posting soon on the next (and final) Matthew Good Band album chronologically, entitled The Audio of Being... And then we'll start getting into his solo stuff, which includes another of my favorite albums of all time...

Hope I've given you guys enough to chew on for a while...

Until next time and as always...

Peace...

My "Beautiful" Discovery...

Hey guys,

Yeah, I'm still alive... I know it's been quite a while since I've posted...

I was thinking about the blog a little bit the other day... I was also thinking about Matthew Good, which is what I've been listening to lately (again)... I just always return to listening to good ol' Matt here and there... I guess he's become one of my favorites...

Anyway, I was think about the blog and wondering which Matthew Good (Band) album that it was that I last commented on... Well, it turns out that in accordance with the albums of his that I've now listened to in depth, I'm a little behind on posting about them... So... I may hit you with a couple of posts in a row about this magnificent musical genius I've grown to love...

Where I left off last time with Matt Good was posting about the Matthew Good Band album Underdogs. The next one in chronological order is the one that got me into him... I remember hearing a tune called "Hello Time Bomb" on the radio and going out and getting the CD Beautiful Midnight (which I'm about to comment on)... I didn't take the thing out of my CD case that I carried back then for about a year... It's that, um, good and that special to me... Probably one of my favorite albums of all-time... It's the body of work that got me hooked on Matthew Good and it'll always have a special place in my heart... I remember listening to it when I was sad (several times, some fairly recently), rocking out to it when I was happy, the nighttime drives that my brother and I used to crank it on, and just enjoying the hell out of the record in general...

Keeping with the traditions of the Llog, I'm now going to post all of the videos that this album spawned below with the titles of the songs ABOVE the videos... Please check them out...



Hello Time Bomb





Load Me Up





Strange Days





The Future is X-Rated





There we go... Those are the videos from Beautiful Midnight... If you're familiar with this album and only this one and you're wondering where the videos for songs like Everything is Automatic and Apparitions are, those songs were actually originally from the album Underdogs, which I've already done a post on... Go back in the Llog and you'll find the videos there...

Since I love this album so much, I may do a second post about it and try to find some acoustic or live versions of some other tunes from it here in the near future and post them in the second part for all guys...

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK on this and all other things on the Llog or in the universe... Here's hoping I don't stay away as long between this post and the next one...

I hope you're all doing well...

Love and peace...

"See! Now! Our sentence is up."

Hey guys,

I finally got to finish reading Grant Morrison's comic book epic The Invisibles this past week.

The series was very rewarding and while wanting to get to the end, it was a powerful enough saga to make me sad when I got to the end. There very likely will not be any more adventures for our favorite cell of freedom fighters. The sadness I felt when getting to the end and realizing that was almost like what I felt when I got to the end of Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil. (You see, I thought there'd be no more adventures for Lestat and I actually cried because of it... Go ahead, laugh all you want. It's a great story and Rice actually tricks you into thinking Lestat is real in some parts...)

Anyway, that's off the subject at hand...

I realize that most of you who read this probably don't have the Invisbles on your bookshelves to go and pull off, so I'll use my trusty blog friend YouTube to post some vids of some artwork and such from the series to give you just a taste (that doesn't even scratch the surface) of the masterpiece that is the Invisibles...




A short, movie trailer-esque thingy





Miscellaneous art set to trippy dance/Eastern music





Cover art gallery





Ah well...

As I said guys, that's not even scratching the surface... Grant Morrison bascially took everything that he thought was cool and sunk it into this comic... In doing so, he churned out a magical masterpiece worthy of study, praise and repeat reads... Go check it out (with an open mind) if you're so inclined...

Until next time...

Peace...

MOB/ROBIN 2008

With all the hubbub about the election I thought I'd better "cast my vote"...



Art by Brian Bolland, The Invisibles (King Mob, Ragged Robin) created by Grant Morrison, published under DC's Vertigo imprint

Things du jour

Hey guys,

I typed that last post to let you know about the writing but then I got to thinking... "Man, there's been some cool stuff I've been taking in lately... I oughtta let 'em know..."

So, as before, a quick rundown of those things...

MUSIC

-THE BEATLES!!!

TV/DVD

-Heroes (Watching my DVDs of Season One after someone very special to me recommended the show... Pretty cool stuff...)

THINGS I'M READING

-The Invisibles (Yes, again!!! I just got the final volume for my birthday... I'm now about halfway through Kissing Mister Quimper... Wow, that sounded bad...)
-The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson (A crazy book that touches on every conspiracy theory you've ever heard of...)



That's pretty much it, guys... If any of you want to rap about any of these things or anything else... HIT ME!!!

See ya next time... Peace...

Back in BLACK (Another little celebration...)

Hey Llog lovers...

My God... Did I just use the title of an AC/DC song to start a post about what I'm writing? My writing career is probably jinxed forever...

Anyway...

I've just finished the first draft of the script of issue #2 of the comic that I'm working on. It's called BLACK... (Yes, it has to be in all caps...)

I'll be sending it off to my resident readers that I've asked to take a look at it after I write the second draft. Don't worry all you guys that I've asked to read the thing, you've got some time...

Bascially, this post is just the Lloydster lettin' ya know what's goin' on with him right now... (Talking about myself in the third person, too... Man, I'm a rube!!!)

But anyway... Some of you guys are really behind me on this thing and it means the world to me. I just thought I'd check in with ya...

As always, feel free to comment (on anything) or let me know what's goin' on with you guys, as well..

Love and peace to all-a-y'all...

Damn, it feels good to be a writer (or a gangsta... However you roll, man, however you roll...)

Peace...

The Ballsening

Hey guys,

I'm about to wax a little British on you...

You see, I saw a movie tonight that everyone who's seen and hated came up with their own name to make fun of it...

I've seen "The Suckening", I've heard the "The Crappening"... I'll now go the British route, come up with my own name and call it...

"The Ballsening!!!"

As in, you know, they really ballsed this one up...

The film was The Happening and as much as I'd hoped I'd come out on my own here and like the film, I really just can't...

It could have been really well done and just wasn't... Unrewarding plot, bad acting, you name it, it just didn't have it...

So, go see The Happening (or don't and say you did) and let us know back with your name for it...

My alternate titles would be "The Marky Mark can't act-ening" or "The why should I gave a fuck-ening?"

Don't say we didn't warn you...

The "Write" Stuff...

Hey guys (especially those close to me),

Just wanted to share a little mini-celebration with you all...

When I write tonight (Lord Willing), it'll be my fourth night in a row...

Little victories, little victories...

I think I'm finally getting serious about trying to break down the door of the comics world and set my foot in there and draw my marks on the wall...

Some of you will know that I was working on a story about an alien abduction. I abandoned it the last time I stopped writing and now I'm back on it again...

The working title is "Black"... Those of you who I'm going to ask to read the script for the first issue soon will begin to see why... I had to change the name of the story because the ones that I was thinking about (Taken, The Taking, all things relating to the word "take") were, um, taken...

So anyways, if you guys care, jus' lettin' ya in on what the Lloydster's into with this and other posts...

Peace...

An Album in Goliath

Hey guys,

Taking a little break from Bjork lately (so as not to burn myself out on her), I started spinning the latest disc from The Mars Volta again. It's called The Bedlam in Goliath...

This is really a good album. It's the first album with their new drummer Thomas Pridgen, who (despite me really loving and missing old drummer, Jon Theodore) absolutely smokes those traps on this one... They also released a lot of "webisodes" (videos) through their website for this disc... I'm going to try and find clips of these that can be embedded (tricky) and post them below for you with (as usual) the names of the songs ABOVE the vids...



Aberinkula





Ilyena





Wax Simulacra





Goliath (from Nissan Live Sets)





Askepios





Ouroboros (from Nissan Live Sets)





*NOTES*

-A couple of these are from something called "Nissan Live Sets" that I found on YouTube. They are labelled appropriately...

-The sound quality on "Askepios" is really bad, but at least you've got something...

-There are more videos from The Mars Volta around (on YouTube and their website and such) that are not able to be embedded. Take a look around, if you're interested...

-How many times have I put "Wax Simulacra" on this blog? Was that three? Anyway, LOVE THAT SONG!!! How 'bout that drum intro?!?!

-Dig those irresistible grooves on "Ilyena" and "Goliath"!!! Damn!!!



Well, there they are... Some videos from one of the only ones of my old favorites that I can bear to listen to nowadays... Hope you enjoyed... Hit me back on these or anything else...

Until next post...

Peace...

Take a look... (Beware! My views included!)

Anybody got any thoughts on that?

I do...

This woman is the kind of nut that makes all Christians look bad... I mean, I've always been a believe what you want kind of guy. If this woman has these views, I guess they're hers...

But...

I pose some questions:

-Why is it bad if our President's name is "Obama"? I still didn't catch the real reason for that being bad...

-A mother that's atheist? Why should that bother her? Is Obama's mother on the cabinet? What if she is?

-A father that's Muslim? That should bother everybody? Why? Extremist groups of ALL faiths take it too far... Does anyone argue that? Can anyone really argue that?

-What is "the kind of Christianity that's in the bible"? Did you know that Christian means "little Christ"? Would our beloved Jesus condemn a Muslim? An atheist? Anyone? If you think he would, go read some more...



Yeah, I'm afraid that my view is that people like this woman is what causes us Christians to be looked down upon in certain intellectual circles...

My point (and why this has gotten me so riled up) is this: Am I a Christian? Yes, yes, YES!!! Am I some kind of closed-minded, xenophobic, racist, totalitarian asshole? I'd really like to think not... Are my friends of strong Christian faith, my relatives of strong Christian faith, the people who taught me to love no matter what like this woman? NO! Are we sometimes viewed this way as soon as the word is uttered that we're Christians (before we EVEN SAY OR DO ANYTHING ELSE)? YES!

Ultimate point: Not all Christians are this way... Some of us (most of us, I'd like to think) are loving, compassionate, worldly people who don't tolerate this woman's kind of propaganda...

And signing off, I want to say two things:

-Feel free to hit me with ANY kind of reply to this post

-And listen, really listen to the word I often sign off with... Ready?

PEACE!


Thanks to Warren Ellis' site for giving me something to rant on...

P.S. To give props to where I found this bit of info, Warren Ellis (a British writer of pure brilliance) said that his American fans need to vote this time around because you either want the kind of country that this woman does, or you don't... I don't vote (for other reasons that I don't care to get into), but if you do: There ya go...

A Post on Post (Bjork Pt. 2)

Hey guys,

I've been into another Bjork album and while on the cusp of getting into a third, I figured I'd give you guys a taste of what Bjork's second offering Post is all about...

As usual I'll post all the videos from the singles from the album below with the titles to the songs above the vids...



Army of Me





Isobel





It's Oh So Quiet





Hyper-Ballad





Possibly Maybe





I Miss You





*-COMMENTS-*

-Well, first off... Despite loving this album and all these tunes, I'd have to say that "Hyper-Ballad" is probably my favorite. I also really like "Army of Me" with its infectious trip-hop groove and beautifully sung chorus...

-If any of you who are not really into Bjork's music know any one of these, it's probably "It's Oh So Quiet", which is really a tune that has some jazz flavor without being as annoying as most vocal jazz... I also get a kind of big band feel from "I Miss You"... Really more songs with a jazz feel on this record than on Bjork's previous, Debut...

-"Possibly Maybe" is also a beautifully hypnotic tune... I think MTV or VH1 used some of the tones from it when they used to have late night video shows... I seem to remember that... Was the segment called "Insomnia" or "Insomniac"??? Anyone know what I'm talking about???

-"Isobel" is supposedly tied in some way to "Human Behaviour" from Debut as some kind of conceptual piece, although I'm really not sure of all the specifics...



Well guys, those are my thoughts on Post... I've just downloaded Bjork's third offering Homogenic and should be commenting on it soon... Feel free to hit me up and let me know what you think about Bjork, any other music, or ANYTHING ELSE!!!

As always...

Peace...

Takin' it for "Grant"-ed

Hey guys,

I can't help but to keep going back to works by a fellow named Grant Morrison...

Some of you will remember me raving on about what might be my favorite work of his, The Invisibles, in a prior post... Well, I've finally done it... I've done one of the things that I wasn't smart enough to jump onto in the first place. I've read Mr. Morrison's first trade's worth of Batman issues that he did.

Pretty good...

This post might lead the way back to an old series of postings on this blog entitled "Studies of the Clown Prince"... In Grant's first book of Batman stories, there's an amazing Joker-themed piece that has some of the weirdest artwork I've ever seen and the story behind that magnificence is written in all prose... It was truly an experience and one that I won't forget soon...

I've also read the whole All-Star Superman series, which just finished up, by Morrison recently... This is a timeless gem bringing us right up close to the hero we all love... His humanity, his weakness, and his magnificence are all in the spotlight in this one and it, too, is a great story...

Perhaps the easiest "one-read" story by Morrison that I've gone back and read recently was the JLA trade New World Order... It is only the brilliance of a writer like Morrison that can keep us up nights pondering the multiverse with some of his work and then wow us just as much (even if entirely on a different level) with a superhero book... The reason I call the JLA book a one-read book is because usually there are layers to the stories that Grant writes. These tales, I think, are meant to be read over, pondered, dissected and then read all over again... JLA had a straight-forward cohesiveness that hit us with another facet of genius from Morrison, proving his deftness at crafting all kinds of story...

Below (as I am proned to do) I'm going to include some video of the man himself... Watch and be perplexed... Don't forget to enjoy...



*-Notice in this first video (at around 2:20) where someone asks a question of Grant and the answer he gives, talking about heroes being real and a part of their own dimension... This blew me away and started some thought processes in my head that I hope will lead to great writing on my part...





*-Wanna see some stuff on Grant talking about a new web-based animation story that he's doing plus plans for the future? See below!





*-Curious about this guy's influences? The WE3 movie? See below...



Sorry about the slow load on the above vid... If you didn't wanna wait he cites influences of:
-Peter Shaffer
-David Sherwin
-Alan Garner
-J.R.R. Tolkien
-Robert Anton Wilson
-Timothy Leary
-Aleister Crowley
-The Beatles
-The Buzzcocks
-The Sex Pistols



Well, that's my rave for now... My advice, check out some of Grant Morrison's work soon. A piece of your life is missing until you do...

Peace...

A roundup...

Hey guys,

I'm not going to do an in depth post on anything this time, just a quick one to tell you what I've been taking in...

Here goes:

COMICS
-I'm currently re-reading the latest Green Lantern series. Partly because there's a huge story coming up and partly because everyone's been raving about it and it's won tons of fan awards...

MUSIC
-Coldplay - "Parachutes"
-Bjork - The first couple of albums
-Slipknot - "All Hope is Gone"

MOVIES
-"Run, Fatboy, Run"
-"Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark"
-"The Assassination of Richard Nixon"



That's what I've been doing... If any of you wanna know what I think of these things, I've discussed some of them in prior posts... OR, you can always hit me up with a comment and ask...

Just checkin' in with ya, fellow bloggers and readers...

'Til next time...

Peace...

Quote of the Day

Hey guys,

Any of you who know me personally know that I read a lot... Whether it be prose, comic books, magazines... I come across some pretty profound stuff...

I had the idea to just start throwing out some quotes that really strike me from time to time. This will be the first of those. It comes from a newly resurrected Hal Jordan, (the current, the best, the legendary) the Green Lantern who is really at the forefront of all of them... (For those of you who don't know, there are a whole corps of them, one for every sector of space...)

Anyway, this quote is from Hal's thoughts at the end of a big battle at the end of issue #3 of Green Lantern (Sept. 2005, DC Comics)...

I look around today, at the way we live...

...We're arming security systems, putting metal detectors in schools and looking over our shoulders on airplanes.

The news shouts -- "Tonight at eleven, find out which major drug company could make you sick."

Is this the life I'm coming back to?

Is this the strongest emotion in the universe?

Is fear what controls everyone and everything?



*-Thanks to Geoff Johns for great writing and for bringing back Hal for us to spend time with again...



'Til next time...

Peace...

The Iceland cometh...

Hey guys,

Let me tell you a story...

Out driving around, trying to decide what to go to get to eat about a month-and-a-half ago, I'm flipping around on my Sirius radio... You see I'm tired of the same old thing and I'd been listening to my stranger favorites... So I stop on the channel: Left of Center, which as you can tell by the title, doesn't play your run-of-the-mill stuff...

I stop because I hear this strange but intriguing electronic sound and a stellar female voice soaring above it all... The song was called "Earth Intruders" by someone who I'd been wanting to get into for a long time, the Icelandic songstress: Bjork...

Well, I had been listening to the Mars Volta for about the week leading up to that Saturday night, so I come home and (as I obsessively do) get onto YouTube and find about every Mars Volta clip I can and watch them... Who does the singer of the Mars Volta, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, give first as his vocal influence as I'm watching a clip... That's right... None other than Bjork herself... He'd seen her with performing with the Sugarcubes back in the day when he had been a roadie or something, helping to set up equipment... Turns out Bjork's latest album is called Volta, as well...

Well, I took this all as a sign and downloaded Bjork's aptly-titled solo album Debut... Man... Wow...

I'm glad I did... I wasn't blogging very much at the time, so I've taken this opportunity to let you guys know about Bjork, since I've recently been spinning Debut again...

AND... (You knew it was coming...) I'm going to post some video clips below...

First, the song that I heard that fateful evening, off Bjork's most recent offering Volta, called "Earth Intruders", and then all the music videos off of Debut... As usual the titles of the songs will appear ABOVE the tunes...



Earth Intruders (from "Volta" - 2007)





Human Behaviour





Venus as a Boy





Play Dead (UK/Japan bonus track, not on US version of "Debut")





Big Time Sensuality





Violently Happy





Some thoughts:

-This whole album is a bit pop oriented and in things that I've read, listeners have said that it's her most pop oriented album which means from here, things should just get better as I listen to more Bjork... Not to slight this album, which is GREAT, but I just think I'll dig her weirder stuff more...

-Above comment being said, though... I think "Human Behaviour" is a timeless classic and I've had it bouncing back and forth through my head since I heard it in the early nineties... My brother and I used to make a joke and say she was saying, "If you ever get close to a bluebird..." instead of "human"... Anyway, love the song...



So anyway guys, there it is: some of what I've been listening to for ya... I may follow up when I get some more dough and thence more Bjork...

Until next time... Peace...

Open Water

Hey guys,
Think you could spend only $130,000 and make a great film?

Someone did. It's called Open Water.

This film follows the mishaps of a young unmarried couple who are left behind after going out on a diving trip. After they are left, most of the shots are just of the two divers floating in the water... Sounds boring, right?

WRONG!

This is one of the most visceral films I've seen in a while. The shock factor had me clutching the sides of my head and actually saying, "Oh, NO!" in some parts... This matches the sense of panic that I felt while watching some of my favorite films like Saw or Requiem for a Dream...

So, needless to say, I've found this film to be a gem... With the low budget used to make it, the acting jobs of the cast, the mystery surrounding the true life couple that it's based on, and just the sense of panic that the whole film assaults you with, this is a film that I can tell is just going to stick with me...

Thanks to my brother for pointing me in the right direction on this one...

To sum up, GO CHECK OUT OPEN WATER!!! I've found it to be excellent...

'Til next time... Peace...

Sweet justice

Hey guys,

I REALLY haven't been blogging enough...

Just wanted to hit you with a quick one about the book I'm currently reading. It's called The Tenth Justice and it's by a fellow named Brad Meltzer. Some of you reading may recognize the name as the one-time writer of comics series Identity Crisis and Justice League of America. That's where I discovered him...

This book is kind of a far cry from those works, though...

I haven't read much in the vein of the legal thriller, but this book just doesn't let up... I read over 150 pages of it just today and I still want more!!!

When young Supreme Court clerk Ben Addison spills the beans on a major upcoming decision before it's actually rendered, his world turns upside down... It's a story of a career on the line, blackmail, trust (or the lack thereof), suspense, and betrayal... There's treats in there for the comic fan, as well... All of the Supreme Court Justices are named after characters in Watchmen... There are casual comic book references... But deep down, there's just an amazing story that makes you struggle to put it down...

If you're so inclined, check out Brad Meltzer and any of his works: comics or prose... You'll be rewarded...

'Til next time... Peace...

Cinematic adventures

Hey guys,

I've been trying for a long time to come up with a list of my top 50 movies...

I'm using a kind of database to do so. This is a website called DVD Aficianado. Kind of as a tool for myself and to let you guys know how that's coming, I'm going list the movies that I've watched and reviewed on DVD Aficianado that will be strongly considered for my Top 50...

Don't get excited. My list is probably another 5 years in the making at least, but here goes:

-28 Days Later
-Amercian Beauty
-The Big Lebowski
-The Elephant Man
-The Fountain
-Saw
-Shaun of the Dead
-Sideways



And maybe more towards the bottom of the list, but maybe still making my top 50:

-300
-About Schmidt
-American History X
-Crash
-Hard Candy
-The Illusionist
-Pi
-Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me



I know that those of you who know me will notice that I've excluded some of my obvious favorites, but I haven't watched those recently enough to include them in the ranking on the database... Nonetheless, those might include:

-The Matrix
-Fight Club
-Pulp Fiction
-Clerks
-The Shawshank Redemption
-Buffalo '66
-Interview with the Vampire
-Mulholland Dr.
-Memento
-Night of the Living Dead (Maybe both the original and the 1990 version)
-Reservoir Dogs
-What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
-Se7en
-Requiem for a Dream
-MANY OTHER FILMS I'VE YET TO SEE OR REWATCH



Anyway... Any of you can let me know your thoughts on this or suggent any movie that you like and I may check that out... Your feedback will be greatly considered and appreciated!!!

Peace...

My time of the month...

Hey guys...

No I haven't recently acquired a menstrual cycle, but it got your attention, didn't it?!

The time of the month that I was referring to was the time when the comics come out that I've really been enjoying lately... I'm now going to offer up the titles and a couple of quick synopses on each... (Is synopses a word?)

Wolverine

The title Wolverine has been running a story arc called Old Man Logan as of late. It's a story that takes place fifty years in the future and Wolverine (though he insists on NOT being called that) hasn't popped his claws or done battle in that missing span of time. The villains have taken over. Nothing is as it was. THE STORY IS AWESOME!!!

This great story by Mark Millar (Wanted, The Authority, etc.) with art by Steve McNiven (Civil War) and Morry Hollowell is definitely one worth checking out...

Hulk

So there's a red Hulk now?

Yeah, there is... And he's killing and beating the crap out of a lot of people... Even the real green Hulk... Perplexing...

The Sword

This series about a young parapalegic girl who finds a mystical sword and vows to exact revenge on the god-like beings who killed her family just isn't letting up... I've raved to a lot of people about this one...

This one is true excellence by the Luna Brothers (Ultra, Girls)... Check it out...

The Walking Dead

Someone summed it up recently in a letters column somewhere or something by saying that waiting for another issue of The Walking Dead was like waiting for another episode of LOST... I couldn't agree more...

Again, this is a series that, after 51 issues, just hasn't let up... A true "zombie movie that never ends", yet so much more than that... A masterpiece written by Robert Kirkman (Invincible, Brit, Marvel Zombies, etc.)...



Until next time...

Spaced out

Hey guys,

I saw a bit about Simon Pegg tonight and that led me to want to watch Shaun of the Dead again... I did. What a great film... Not just a zombie flick... It has really something much more. I mean the humor, the writing, the pop culture references... Really, just go check it out...

Anyway...

A U.K. television series that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (two of the fellows who had a hand in Shaun of the Dead) did called Spaced has recently been released in the U.S. Not having the dough to run out and buy it on DVD, I searched the web to see if I might take a peek at it... I found several episodes on YouTube and I watched the first one... Not quite as funny as Shaun of the Dead (yet), but still pretty good and the same brand of humor... Either Simon Pegg or Edgar Wright, in an interview I was reading a while back, say that Shaun of the Dead could basically be seen as a spin-off from Spaced...

SO...

I'm gonna put the videos up of the first episode below...

Hope you guys enjoy it... I did...



Spaced, Episode 1 (Part 1)





Spaced, Episode 1 (Part 2)





Spaced, Episode 1 (Part 3)





I'm off to watch another one!!!

Peace...

SHAKE YOUR KULA!!!

Hey guys,
I was sitting around reading comics last night and I started thinking about Grant Morrison. Thinking about Grant Morrison led me to think about The Invisibles and thinking about the Invisibles led me to remember a charcacter in that marvelous series (was it Jack or King Mob?) talking about listening to a band called Kula Shaker...

Now even when I was reading that series, when I saw the name Kula Shaker, one of the band's singles, entitled "Tattva", rolled through my head for days...

SO...

I was looking at Kula Shaker stuff on the internet last night and I've decided to put up as close as I can get to a full videography for the band... You'll notice a big gap in the dates on the vids as the band broke up a while back, but are now back at it and even (I think) working on a new album...

This is definitely a band I'd really like to get into now. The music's cool, some of it even reminds me of earlier Radiohead (but much happier!) and it was REFERENCED IN THE INVISIBLES!!! What more could a geek like me need?!

Some notes on the tunes...

*-"Tattva" was the song that I remembered from this band and is still rolling in my head. This song (like many of the band's songs) was perfect for reference in The Invisibles. It has a kind of Brit-pop sound sprinkled with all kinds of sounds that sound like they're from some sort of mystic's prayer... The Invisibles has that Euro-British type feel to it, but is laden with all sorts of references to the occult... It's like someone should set The Invisibles to music with Kula Shaker providing the soundtrack... (The drummer's even wearing a t-shirt with Che Guevara on it in the video!!!)

*-"Govinda" may even be a better song for an imaginary soundtrack to the Invisibles...

*-Most of you will recognize the song "Hush". It's a cover of an old country song written by Joe South, but I'm sure you've heard the Deep Purple version if you've ever turned on classic rock radio for any length of time... Kula Shaker's is more like the Deep Purple rendition... And hey, did you know that the little vocal part with no lyrics (the "na na-na-na na-na-na na-na-na" part) was inspired by the Beatles tune "A Day in the Life"... Take a listen...

ANYWAY, here are the videos in chronological order...
As always, the titles of the songs are posted above the videos...
Enjoy...



Grateful When You're Dead (Feb. 1996)





Tattva (Mar. 1996)





Hey Dude (Aug. 1996)





Govinda (Nov. 1996)





Hush (Jan. 1997)





Sound of Drums (Apr. 1998)





Mystical Machine Gun (Jan. 1999)





Shower Your Love (May 1999)





Second Sight (Aug. 2007)





So there they are, guys... The video that I posted for "Govinda" is obviously NOT the official one. All the official ones are "embedding disabled by request"... If you wanna see that official video, go to YouTube and search it. There are plenty there...

Hope you enjoyed...

Acintya bheda bheda tattva...

...and peace...

Manga, MANGA!!!

Hey guys,
I've not blogged in a while...

Just wanted to drop in to say that I've been reading some Manga... Those are backwards-ly written (to the American) Japanese comics, if you didn't know...

You might say, "Lloyd... Why have you gotten into another form of media (geekdom)?"

I say, "Well guys, it's just another place to get more stories, which is what I'm all about..."

The name of the book that I've been reading is Deathnote. It's about a teenage boy who finds a notebook that belongs to a Shinigami (a Japanese death-god). If he writes someone's name in the notebook, they will die...

He's decided to rid the world of crime using this Death Note and there are certain people who think these actions abominable and are trying to stop him...

The story goes from there and it's really quite smart and intriguing...

Just lettin' ya know one of the things I've been spending my time on...

More may follow soon...

As always: Peace...

Act I

Hey guys,

Did you listen to the tracks below leading up to the actual stuff by The Dear Hunter? Do you want to? Go ahead, I'll wait...

Anyway... Even if you didn't, I don't know if it matters... I'm about to post some videos from YouTube featuring stuff from the first release by the band, titled The Lake South, The River North... Most of the stuff that I found really doesn't do the album justice, so you may want to go somewhere and hear the actual tracks if you're interested. BUT... The Dear Hunter didn't shoot any videos from this EP, so this is what I've got. Most of the stuff is poor sound quality, but some of it is a nice live take on what they do...

Enjoy below...

As usual, I'll put the titles to the songs ABOVE the videos...



Battesimo del Fuoco





City Escape





The Inquiry of Ms. Terri





The Pimp and the Priest





His Hands Matched His Tongue





Battesimo del Fuoco and His Hands Matched His Tongue are probably my favorites of these clips. Battesimo del Fuoco sounds pretty much like it does on the CD and I've always been a sucker for that a cappella stuff... The video of His Hands Matched His Tongue is a nice acoustic rendition of the tune and it's one of my favorites from the actual album...

Hope you guys enjoyed all these. If you're interested in these guys, they're playing at Diesel in Pittsburgh on August 19th... Those of you who are my close, personal friends and family, let me know if you wanna come to the show... I'm probably gonna try and make it...

I need to listen to the second Dear Hunter release a little more and then I'll probably post a little something about it, too...

Keep readin' the Llog and feel free to let me know what you think about all these things and whatever's on your mind...

Peace...

Hunting the Dear...

Hey guys,

No, I haven't forgotten how to spell...

I'm just going to take a look at a band called The Dear Hunter, (that's D-E-A-R) for a little bit...

I really like the first two albums put out by this "band" and I've grown excited at the prospect of going to see them since they're coming to Pittsburgh soon.

I say "band" because the group is really mostly comprised of one person named Casey Crescenzo. He's got a little help from his friends on the first two efforts of his project, but it's mostly him doing the performing...

It didn't all begin there for Mr. Crescenzo, though...

He was in a band called The Receiving End of Sirens for a while. They put out a pretty decent album on which I think you can hear the roots of The Dear Hunter coming to light. Casey did some guitar, vocals and a lot of other things on this disc.

In this first post examining The Dear Hunter, I'm going to post all the music videos that The Receiving End of Sirens made for the above mentioned album: Between the Heart and the Synapse which involved Casey...

Enjoy below and stay tuned for more stuff involving The Dear Hunter...

Titles for the songs will appear ABOVE the videos...



Planning A Prison Break



*- In the above song "Planning a Prison Break", That's Casey that begins singing in the "Like a felon..." part. Also, notice that the song starts sounding significantly more like something from The Dear Hunter at that point...



This Armistice





The Evidence





Despite liking this album, there are more than a few moments on it that are, for me, a little too modern-pop/punk-esque... Sometime after this album, Casey left The Receiving End of Sirens to begin working on what is a significantly better project (IMHO): The Dear Hunter... Casey's new project is evolving into to one of my favorites and its entire catalog hasn't left my iPod since I discovered it. Keep checking back and reading the Llog for more things on The Dear Hunter and other stuff that I deem awesome...

Peace...

C'MON!!! All aboard Flight 815!!!

Hey guys,

As I've posted earlier, I'm getting into watching LOST again and I'm pretty still pretty early in Season 1.

I know I've ranted a lot about the show and a lot of you have heard me and said you might be interested in watching...

Now's your chance...

What's that? You don't have the DVDs? NO PROBLEM! You can still watch the entire series on www.abc.com.

If any of you are interested, please let me know. We could just all plan to watch some episodes alone and blog about them here or we could set up a sort of party or something (those of you who are within distance of me) and kind of start the whole series together or at least watch some episodes together... OR BOTH!!!

This is something I'd really be interested in doing. I'm gonna be watching them anyway in preparation for the LOST podcast The Transmission reviewing some episodes from Season 2. (HEY, Ryan and Jen!!!)

Again, if anyone wants to take me up on this, I'll give it a week and see who responds and then we'll make plans as a big group if anyone's into it...

Het me back, people...

Namaste... and peace...

Raised by Another in Solitary

Hey guys,

I've gone and done it again...

That's right I'm getting into watching LOST again...

I just watched two episodes tonight: "Solitary" and "Raised by Another" from Season 1...

So...

BEWARE: IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SHOW YET AND PLAN TO, THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILERS FROM THE SHOW BELOW... THAT'S LOST I'M REFERRING TO... LOST...









With that being said, I guess I'm not gonna go too deep into spoiling anything... I love the whole golf game thing in "Solitary". Especially the part where Michael and Jack are face to face and you think there's going to be some kind of big problem and they're just deciding what club to use... Classic...

I also like the part where Sawyer makes his little effort to be accepted by betting against Jack's shot... Pretty touching when you're as attached to these characters as some of us are...

The burning question in my mind and this isn't the first time I've typed this today: With what we know now (that's by the end of Season 4) why isn't it still important that Claire raises Aaron... Surely there couldn't be that big of a plot hole... I mean in "Raised by Another", it's life and death that Claire raises Aaron and NO ONE ELSE... Now we know that he's with Kate and Claire may be dead!!! Is it destiny that Aaron becomes wicked or that danger befalls the little tyke or is this just that big of a plot hole??? Can someone tell me? Any theories?

This is my rant on LOST for now...

Anyone may reply and I hope that a lot of you do...

Peace...

The move that wouldn't die...

Hey guys,
As most of you who are actually reading this know, I've been moving...

I've gotta say... I'M SICK OF IT...

I'll be glad to settle into my new place once all the shit gets put away, but for right now, it's a mess. There's stuff EVERYWHERE... I've not even been able to reap the benefits of one of the main reasons why I moved up here yet: SAVING ON GAS! I've been making so many trips back and forth that I've been burning as much gas as I would have (and the extra weight doesn't help the gas mileage...).

Ah well, I'll be settled soon enough...

Just ranting on how much it sucks to move, but there should come a reward at the end of it...

'Til next time and as always: Peace...

Studies of the Clown Prince, Part Eight

Hey guys,

This is a pivotal study in the history of the Joker. The feel that the viewing of The Dark Knight has probably made it that way, whether I wanted it to or not. Also, the study up until this point has been pretty much in chronological order. That's really another thing that's made this pivotal... Having viewed the film that is basically the latest piece of Joker mythos, anything that I would read or view now will be a step back in the Joker's timeline... That being said, let's take a look a what I've taken in so far...

-The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told (Graphic Novel, 1988; Collecting stories from 1939-1983)

-Batman: The Animated Series (Cartoon, 1992-1995)

-Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Comics, 1986)

-Batman: The Killing Joke (Comic, 1988)

-Batman: A Death in the Family (Comics, 1988-1989)

-The Dark Knight (Film, 2008)



Now then, let's move on...

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS A FEW SPOILERS FROM THE COMICS SERIES "BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM".

Finally, another Joker story that I've really been looking forward to. Any of you who've read prior posts of this blog, looked at my MySpace, or been around me long enough to hear me start rambling about comics know that I love Grant Morrison's work. Batman: Arkham Asylum is a story that is crafted by the one and only Grant Morrison with the unmistakable abstract genius Dave McKean doing the artwork.

Some of you may have read some Grant Morrison, but I'd be willing to bet that all of you have seen Dave McKean's artwork... He's done various comics (all of the covers to DC/Vertigo's landmark series The Sandman), over 150 CD covers, ad campaigns for Kodak, Nike, BMW, and Smirnoff, and has contributed to the production design on some of the Harry Potter films. His style is very abstract and has a presence that you won't soon forget... Just wait 'til you see some of the pics of the Joker I'm about to post from this book.

If you thought Heath Ledger's Joker was disturbing or frightening and you didn't think it could get any worse, check this book out... This Joker is completely insane.

The story centers around the building of Arkham Asylum, a facility that houses the Joker and all of Batman's other foes when he catches them time after time. With the Joker leading the charge, the inmates take over the facility, beckoning Batman's presence inside... What Batman arrives to is something of a grand haunted house with a gallery of vicious madmen supplying the bumps in the night...

The Joker first lures the Batman inside by saying that he has a nineteen-year-old girl hostage (among others). He talks on the phone to Batman. "She just drew me a beautiful house," he says. "She drew it with this pencil. The one I've just sharpened. OPEN YOUR EYES WIDE, PEARL! Beautiful... Blue... Oh..." The scene ends with a blood-curdling scream and Batman exclaiming, "Jesus, NO!" (Could the Joker's "magic trick" in his opening scene in The Dark Knight be a reference to this?)

If the Joker's sexuality in The Dark Knight Returns was questionable, it's markedly more ambiguous in this tale. At one point he actually grabs Batman's ass saying, "Loosen up, TIGHT ASS!" He also calls Batman "honey" and "honey-pie" on different occasions... Is this just a grand jest or is the Joker in love with the thrill that Batman gives him? Or in love with the man himself? Hmmmm...

Though not really the "Joker story" that Batman: The Killing Joke or The Dark Knight are, this tale definitely has its Joker moments... It's a tale that I'd include on my short list simply because I've really never seen the Joker this way before thematically or visually...

FINAL VERDICT: This is a Joker story you should read. As I've said, it's the Joker as I've never seen him before and that's thanks to Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. C'mon! With two geniuses such as these at the helm, the story's gotta be good!

I'll now include the cover the to the 15th Anniversary Edition of this book and an interior shot of the Joker below by Dave McKean.







If you guys know anything else that pertains to the Joker that I should check out, let me know. My plans for future studies include but are not limited to:

-Batman (Film, 1989)

-Batman: The Man Who Laughs (Comic)

-Mad Love (Comic)

-Slayride (Detectice Comics #826)

-Robin II: Joker's Wild (Comic)

-Going Sane (Legends of the Dark Knight #65-68)




Let me know if there's something I should read/watch that I missed...

Until next time...