Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Yn Ol I Annwn, Tablet of Destinies, Safari Honeymoon, Vision, Mapping the Interior

Things that brought me delight in April, 2019.


Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, Yn Ol I Annwn
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard specialize in ethereal doom, but with Yn Ol I Annwyn they rocket straight into the deepest corners of the cosmos. (Bandcamp link)


Chen, Benitez, Montiel, Garcia,
Lady Mechanika, vol. 2: The Tablet of Destinies
Don't write this title off as steampunk nonsense or a Bad Girl book. This is pure pulp action that has everything you could want: Rocketeer-style jetpacks, evil Germans, a lost tomb with ancient nukes in it, secret societies, warrior women tribes, snake people, etc.


Jesse Jacobs, Safari Honeymoon
Man's separation from the natural world and how societal power means nothing in a state of nature.


Julia Gfrorer, Vision (part one)
Disturbing as always. In a Julia Gfrorer comic you can never really be sure if the protagonist is addressing a demonic entity or some part of themselves they dare not name or both. I can't wait for part two. (Etsy link)



Stephen Graham Jones, Mapping the Interior
When a Native American boy encounters the spirit of his father in full regalia he's forced to confront what it means to number among those cast-off in a land that was once his birthright.


Art by Tenebrous Kate
Tenebrous Kate, my podcast partner and the artist responsible for bringing Umberwell to life, is closing her merch store down so everything is currently priced to move. I got a couple original pieces of art, a shirt, and the above hand-painted coffin box. You should get in on this sale before it's too late; her storefront is here.


Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Series 3
Payoff on the will-they-won't-they plotline and the usual murder-solving skulduggery. I remain convinced that Phynie is one of the most satanic characters on television.


 Ungfell, Mythen, Maren, Pestilenz
This was one of Tenebrous Kate's favorites from last year, and she was right--tremendous album. (Bandcamp link)


High on Fire, The Art of Self Defense
The vocals and guitar solos occasionally rise to the surface, only to be consumed again by the roiling molten slag.

Kentaro Miura, Berserk vol. 31-36
The saga continues! Guts 'n' the gang finally get their boat and the Demon Womb bears fruit. (Yes, this is how I would write the description for Netflix's episode guide.) Volume 34 is an especial trat if you're into the gribbly monster bits in Berserk; it also features a pretty dark psychedelic wrap-up, if that's your thing.


Messa, Belfry and Feast for Water
Eerie stoner-doom; a wind blows out of the desert carrying the lonesome cries of a demon. (Bandcamp link)


Hellboy
There is a certain kind of movie that is heavy on the cgi and focused on monsters getting punched that always gets bad reviews but I end up enjoying anyway. Hellboy joins the hallowed ranks of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.


Jex Thoth, Totem and Witness
Revisiting some witchy realness in ep form.


Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky, Droneflower
There must be an x-gaze moniker that fits this collaboration, but I struggle to grasp at it. Less drone than you might imagine, but the flower is decidedly dusty rose. (Bandcamp link)


John Langan, House of Windows
In the intro to House of Windows, John Langan notes that the book had a hard time finding a publisher because it's a combination of ghost story and academic fiction. That combination is precisely why I'm enjoyed reading it. 


Sharp Objects
When I started watching Sharp Objects I suspected I was in for some trash that I would quickly bow out of, but what I got was a nice, thick, grotesque slice of the Southern Gothic. I guess I'm an Amy Adams fan now.


 The Complete Gladiator's Handbook
Worth it for the arena floor plans alone, but like the adventure below there's a lot to steal from here. Also, it adds a "massage" proficiency, which is an oddly endearing touch.

Sam Witt, Black Flames
I probably wouldn't use this adventures wholesale or without some tweaks, but there's a lot of content I can re-purpose in Cinderheim.