How's that for scary?
Sonntag, 31. Oktober 2010
True Horror, Part 3
How's that for scary?
PREVIEW: "BKLN BAD"
the Nazi's keep on making it; Brooklyn keep on taking it... or something like that. Yeah, so I've been swelling up my wishlist on IndyPlanet with comics I wanna buy when I grow up... The latest addition in the Bad Potato Studios debut IP offering BKLN BAD, about a 90's era superhero, turned anti-hero, turned inmate... second-generation product of successful Nazi experiments to create super-powered beings, the professional tough guy known as Devilman was so bad that when the government couldn't control him they had to put him in the toughest prison they could find: Brooklyn.
holla!
-samax.
the Perfect Halloween costume?
I Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween! Figured I'd drop this jewel on you from my dude Marcel Vann. check out more Marcel Comics on Facebook.holla!
-samax.
Samstag, 30. Oktober 2010
3 the HARD Way...
I feel it's my patriotic duty to share a heads up about good reads lately that you can pick up in the comic shop. Allow me a brief moment & I'll direct you to a few books worth checking out.
This title has been spotty at best for much of its modern run. I had no intention of picking up the current run either, but as he does with many a innocent, Doom sucked me in. At the comic shop I saw a copy of 583 and flipped through the first few pages. It kinda went like this: Valeria, daughter of Reed and Sue (on track to be as smart as her genius pops) is sneaking through Reed's security system to find out what Dad's been working on. She learns a deadly secret Reed is hiding. So who does she go to about it?"Uncle" Victor.
I picked up the following issue 584 and am pleased to say it's good too. I'm not calling this earth shattering or anything, but I'm sounding the "hey FF is looking pretty good" alarm. The scope of the writing, by Johnathan Hickman, is BIG imaginary stuff, as Fantastic Four should be. He takes our four characters across the Marvel U with lots of familiar faces (I'll let them be surprises). And the art's solid throughout.
But yeah, worth picking up.
-ML
//Micheal is one-fifth of the mighty GhostWerks crew, as well as being the driving force behind the pleasantly notorious art activist massive called ArtLoveMagic, dedicated to overcoming Evil with good art.//
-ghettoManga.com
comics.hipHop.news.art.culture
CWR interviews Joell Ortiz, Ill Bill, Chuck D and more!
[Part 1]
I guess I should mention that they also have TWISTA, SUCIO SMASH, DIABOLIC and GORETEX on too. And since this is the Halloween Special, why not interview a real live (?) Vampire! I'm sorry, WHAT?!? anyways, beyond that they play a nice smattering of the realest hip hop, for those into such!
[Part 2]
holla!
-samax.
Freitag, 29. Oktober 2010
Kadokawa Horror Collection Pt. 2
I should mention that these weren't Kadokawa pictures. Three were released through Toho and the other through Toei. Kadokawa just bought the rights once it was clear the J-horror thing was on the wane. Having seen all four now, I think it also important to note that, as J-horror goes, these films weren't in the forefront of what you'd call frightening. They'd more properly be tagged "J-atmos" or "J-pop" than anything approaching horror. However the overall quality of the productions runs from decent to outstanding, so as long as you don't come with expectations of getting the shit scared out of you, you're still likely to get something from each of them.
Inugami (2001)
Inugami is a beautifully rendered film based on what I would guess is an unfilmable novel by Masako Bando. Therefore, there's something of the WTF to the proceedings, requiring an open mind and a willingness to just let things happen. The film was shot in lush locations of dazzling natural beauty in the mountainous regions of Shikoku, the smallest of the four major islands of Japan. Shikoku is commonly known as a rural backwater with towns full of superstitious, xenophobic hicks (a pivotal factor in the film). But that's always the way, isn't it? You get to some beautiful, remote corner of the world only to be repulsed by the locals. In this case they're the Shinto version of Puritan witch-burners and they've got their sites set on Miki (lovely Yuki Amami), a member of the mysterious and wealthy Bonomiya family who, for generations, have been associated with deadly supernatural dog spirits known as inugami (inu = dog, gami = gods). Curses, ghosts, incest, suicide, lovely scenery, there's something for everyone (even if you're not quite sure what's going on). Castwise, it's great to see Shiho Fujimura and Keiko Awaji, two veteran actresses of classic samurai cinema, appearing here in their twilight years; time hasn't done a thing but wrinkle them. Then there's Atsuro Watabe who more recently appeared as the priest dad in Love Exposure. The Verdict: Not a horror film, but not a bad escape either.
Shikoku (1999)
Guess where this film is set? Yep, we're back on the island, but this time out the villagers aren't quite so hostile, the tone is more low-key, the focus softer (literally -- either they blew it up from 16 mm or they smeared vaseline on the lens). That said, it's far more creepy and, in my opinion, the most J-horror of the four films on offer. Three childhood friends are separated (one moves to Tokyo, one dies), only to be reunited as adults (well, the boy and girl who lived are adults -- the dead girl never made it past 16). So it's a supernatural love triangle with, once again, a Shinto-inflected back story. This is the one film of the four that I'd seen previously; I was drawn not only by the J-horror but the presence of Chiaki Kuriyama (here playing the ghost girl Sayori). There's something captivating about Kuriyama; she's not the greatest beauty -- got something of a honker to be frank. But she conveys an intriguing, cat-like essence I found striking upon first encountering her as the knife-wielding Chigusa in Battle Royale: "Come at me. Every inch of me will resist you!" Her unique blend of schoolgirl prim and feline menace work perfectly in Shikoku. Elsewhere there's the great Makoto Sato in a small role as Sendo the yamabushi (mountain priest) who's determined to close the portal through which Sayori has returned. If you don't know who Makoto Sato is, look him up in the index of Warring Clans, Flashing Blades. You've got some great performances to look forward to!
So that's it. Not much of a Halloween offering, I'm afraid. But no worries, there's always Kwaidan (1964), Jigoku (1960), Organ (1996), Pulse (2001), Illusion of Blood (1965), Ringu (1998), Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), Kuroneko (1968), Matango (1963) and, of course, Evil Dead Trap (1998).
Inugami (2001)
Inugami is a beautifully rendered film based on what I would guess is an unfilmable novel by Masako Bando. Therefore, there's something of the WTF to the proceedings, requiring an open mind and a willingness to just let things happen. The film was shot in lush locations of dazzling natural beauty in the mountainous regions of Shikoku, the smallest of the four major islands of Japan. Shikoku is commonly known as a rural backwater with towns full of superstitious, xenophobic hicks (a pivotal factor in the film). But that's always the way, isn't it? You get to some beautiful, remote corner of the world only to be repulsed by the locals. In this case they're the Shinto version of Puritan witch-burners and they've got their sites set on Miki (lovely Yuki Amami), a member of the mysterious and wealthy Bonomiya family who, for generations, have been associated with deadly supernatural dog spirits known as inugami (inu = dog, gami = gods). Curses, ghosts, incest, suicide, lovely scenery, there's something for everyone (even if you're not quite sure what's going on). Castwise, it's great to see Shiho Fujimura and Keiko Awaji, two veteran actresses of classic samurai cinema, appearing here in their twilight years; time hasn't done a thing but wrinkle them. Then there's Atsuro Watabe who more recently appeared as the priest dad in Love Exposure. The Verdict: Not a horror film, but not a bad escape either.Shikoku (1999)
Guess where this film is set? Yep, we're back on the island, but this time out the villagers aren't quite so hostile, the tone is more low-key, the focus softer (literally -- either they blew it up from 16 mm or they smeared vaseline on the lens). That said, it's far more creepy and, in my opinion, the most J-horror of the four films on offer. Three childhood friends are separated (one moves to Tokyo, one dies), only to be reunited as adults (well, the boy and girl who lived are adults -- the dead girl never made it past 16). So it's a supernatural love triangle with, once again, a Shinto-inflected back story. This is the one film of the four that I'd seen previously; I was drawn not only by the J-horror but the presence of Chiaki Kuriyama (here playing the ghost girl Sayori). There's something captivating about Kuriyama; she's not the greatest beauty -- got something of a honker to be frank. But she conveys an intriguing, cat-like essence I found striking upon first encountering her as the knife-wielding Chigusa in Battle Royale: "Come at me. Every inch of me will resist you!" Her unique blend of schoolgirl prim and feline menace work perfectly in Shikoku. Elsewhere there's the great Makoto Sato in a small role as Sendo the yamabushi (mountain priest) who's determined to close the portal through which Sayori has returned. If you don't know who Makoto Sato is, look him up in the index of Warring Clans, Flashing Blades. You've got some great performances to look forward to!So that's it. Not much of a Halloween offering, I'm afraid. But no worries, there's always Kwaidan (1964), Jigoku (1960), Organ (1996), Pulse (2001), Illusion of Blood (1965), Ringu (1998), Ju-on: The Grudge (2002), Kuroneko (1968), Matango (1963) and, of course, Evil Dead Trap (1998).
Start the day off Right w/ J-Live and Boog Brown
This is the video for J-Live's single The Way That I Rhyme f/ Boog Brown, from his new 6 song EP Undivided Attention due out Nov 2nd digitally and on vinyl.
enjoy your friday!
-samax.
Donnerstag, 28. Oktober 2010
Added to the Wishlist: "Scribbles" by Giannis Milonogiannis
Here's the Sales Pitch:
"SCRIBBLES #1" collects work from 2009 and the first half of 2010. Contains nine short stories and comics experiments, including "The Collector", "Large Mobile Gun Force", "Enuk" and "Oceania-2". 41 pages of comics and 37 pages of illustrations, drawings and sketches of girls, cars, robots and Old City Blues.
holla!
-samax.
GMQ Fall issue available on IndyPlanet!
IN THIS ISSUE:
*MANCHILD by Samax Amen
- In this corner we have a pissed off three-year-old with a thirty eight revolver. In the other corner, we have a cybernetically enhanced retrieval team hellbent on bringing the kid back to... whatever... *IF I WAS DICK by Joshua Boulet
- Let me just say this: Dick Chaney is SO gangster... you don't even KNOW!!! *PYROTECHNIC PORNO BABIES: YETI SPERM by Brock Rizy
- no, that's not a typo. There really is a comic in this issue starring the super-short geniuses that the mayor calls to tackle problems too OFFENSIVE for the regular authorities handle! We also have a review and an eight page preview of FELIPE SMITH'S groundbreaking culture clash manga PEEPO CHOO
in our Right-to-Left section, courtesy of Verticle. All that PLUS Corance's Top 5, BegBorrowSteal, Movies That Should Be Comics, and more!
We don't have any shows planned for the rest of the year, so this is pro'lly the best way to cop this issue, unless You can wait until 2011. Or I guess you can have your comic shop email me at whatever@ghettoManga.com to order one for you. If any more shows are added to the schedule, I'll be sure to let you know!
holla!
samax.
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