GottaGetAGrip

I actually acquired a copy of The Dreamthief's Daughter for cheap in the used section of a bookstore a few years ago - I think it's currently lost somewhere in my "To Read" pile, never did get around to it.

Began reading Moorcock's "The Citadel of Forgotten Myths" courtesy of my library - a new* installment of the Elric Saga published in 2022.

Maybe a 1/3rd of the way in - very tried and true Elric stuff so far. Not sure how much of this stuff will stay with me after completion, but nothing egregiously unreadable either.

*well, newish - the last page states that parts of this are revised versions of earlier Elric stories published in 2008 and 2010.

Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell return with a vengeance, and this issue picks up perfectly after Issue 12 of their original run - if you read DIA # 1 right after Sandman U #12 it wouldn't feel like there's a three year publication gap between issues.

Rockstar merely acknowledging black and brown folks live in Florida, not just variations of white trash rednecks, was enough to get some feathers ruffled.

And I think some far right figures suddenly realized these games where you play as criminals often involve shooting cops so that's where another point of grievance briefly arose.

It would be remiss to have a video game thread and not post the trailer for the Big One of 2025:

Apparently some of the scenes in the trailer are based on real life Florida footage.

Jimmy Carter? He's history's greatest monster!

Henry Kissinger has finally kicked the bucket, and Rolling Stone did not feel like mincing words for the headline.

If you thought Sony was crazy for taking advantage of their shared custody of Spider-Man to do a soon-to-be trilogy of Venom without Spider-Man movies, a Kraven movie with a distinct lack of a certain webslinging prey, and a Morbius solo movie of all things... brace yourself for none other than the exciting live-action solo movie of MADAM WEB. Co-starring some of those discount Spider-Women from the comics. And Spider-Totem stuff, because that is something from the comics that clearly needed to be adapted into live action.

(I wonder if the actual movie will be cut as frenetically as this trailer)

Clarice made an appearance in one issue of Spurrier's first run on Sandman U Hellblazer, basically there to dump some info on John. She also appeared in Simon Oliver's DC Rebirth issues, but the less time spent remembering those, the better.

Playing Spider-Man 2... it's fun as ever swinging around the city as two Spider-Men for the price of one... but I do question the developers' interpretation of Kraven the Hunter as leader of a private militia that has APCs, gunships, cloaking technology, and killer robot animals.

Jock is also doing one:

He was one of those guys who felt like they'd be around forever.

RIP.

Hellblazer: Dead in America #1 coming in January 2024.

During DC’s New York Comic-Con 2023 panel “Coming Up in the DC Multiverse” creators Si Spurrier and Aaron Campbell announced their new DC Black Label (readers 17+) Sandman Universe series John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America. The eight-issue comic book series debuts in January 2024 and spins out of the events of writer Si Spurrier and artist Aaron Campbell’s critically acclaimed John Constantine, Hellblazer books, which reintroduced the iconic titular character to a new generation of mystery and horror fans. Spurrier and Campbell reunite with colorist Jordie Bellaire for the second act in their Hellblazer saga, which sees the infamous occult detective headed across the pond to the United States for more supernatural misadventures with gods and monsters from the DC and Sandman Universes, including Dream of the Endless and Alec Holland, the Swamp Thing. Each issue will feature extra content, with 28 story pages and no ads, to pack in as much Hellblazer horror and humor as possible.

“Hellblazer is back. Between 2019 and 2021, Aaron Campbell and I chronicled John Constantine’s sly progress through London,” said writer Si Spurrier. “For 13 issues, the book dripped with heart and hate and rage—rage at the state of the world, rage at the state of our minds and lives. Those 13 issues were our poisonous love letter to the Constantines of the past—[Alan] Moore’s, [Jamie] Delano’s, [Garth] Ennis’s. It was the best work we’ve ever done. And then it stopped. On a note of death and despair, with—like all magic—a heavy price levied. And now it’s back. Because the cost doesn’t count if we don’t get to see it being paid. Because even dead things can make a difference.”

In John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America, John has cheated death once again—but his heart’s not beating, his body is decaying, and he, his friend Nat, and his son Noah are on the run in America, wanted for murder. Naturally, it’s all John’s fault—it always is. But as it turns out, Dream himself needs John’s help. Something terrible has taken root in America, and it’s using the sand from Dream’s pouch to impose its will. If John can put a stop to it, he might be able to parlay that favor into a chance to save all their lives—but he’s going to need help from someone he hasn’t spoken to in years. Someone he wasn’t always…all that kind to. Someone…or some…Thing?

Speaking of Pyat, always did wonder what was up with the covers for these versions of the quartet.

Without comment, the mugshot:

I wonder if Garth Ennis could've anticipated that him sitting down to write the first issue of The Boys would one day lead to a television adaptation that would then lead to Homelander making a guest appearance in Mortal Kombat...

(though doesn't Homelander render Omni-Man in the same batch of DLC completely redundant? Though I suppose it is fitting for a series that features like ten different ninjas who all dress the same but in different colors)

The Border Trilogy are some of McCarthy's books that I haven't actually read myself, I suppose if there was a time to finally track down copies...

RIP Cormac McCarthy

I imagine plenty of people will be buying their first novel of his in the wake of this news - I wonder how they'll react upon first seeing his "usage" of punctuation? I certainly was taken aback when I first read "The Road" many years ago.

Playing the Guardians of the Galaxy game from 2021 via the Playstation Plus subscription service. The gameplay itself is nothing special* - play any game about walking from point a to point b while jumping and shooting things and you'll have a good idea how this plays, but the presentation of the game (like the banter between Guardians while running around**) does a good job of capturing the sense of playing as this version of the Guardians (the kind mostly inspired by the Gunn movies, rather than the DnA iteration - the game even has a sizable licensed playlist of 80s tunes)

*though the game being a linear adventure compared to a lengthy open world epic is pretty refreshing

**I do like how often the other Guardians call Star-Lord an idiot if you take him off the beaten path to look for collectibles/resources

Realized I was in a bar last night but I had neglected to order a gin and tonic in belated commemoration of our boy's big 70th.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/08/rachel-pollack-trans-activist-and-comic-book-writer-dies-aged-77

I guess now that this thread is bumped up, I have a suitable place to post this latest announcement from DC:

It probably won't happen, but given the pitch seems to be The Flash meets Cosmic Horror, it would be really funny if Spurrier inexplicably used The Flash to wrap up the threads from his Hellblazer - similar to how that recent Boba Fett show became another season of Mandalorian halfway through.

(Also announced - Tom King is taking over Wonder Woman...)

Read this one through Hoopla, a digital library service. Let's just say that as far as questionable Constantine reinventions for the kiddies go, this one is no Johnny Constantine: Mystery of the Meanest Teacher!

I think the only comics I read (or can remember reading) that came out in 2022 were the issues of Damned Them All, so it's not like I got much to choose from.

Wonder where this will be popping up.

Completely lost all track of whatever the hell's going on with DC's upcoming solicits...