Vampires, priests and gunslingers
I should admit that I have been a bit distracted by reading lately. I finished the fifth and sixth books in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, and now I'm just one volume away from finishing the gargantuan story I started reading when I was about 12 or 13. (Well, there's also this fucking bonus story I just learned about on Wikipedia.) I used to be a huge King fan, and I had read all his shit until about a decade ago, when my damn college-educated brain had come to be annoyed by his style and bored by his subject matter. I threw in the towel at "Bag of Bones" - a 1,000 page ghost romance? No, thank you, Steve. But if I was like Bruce Willis in "The Kid" and met my 31-year old self when I was a pre-teen, and I learned that all the "Dark Tower" books had been out for several years but I hadn't read them yet, I would give my aged self a swift punch in the aged genitals. I need to finish the tale of Roland of Gilead. I owe it to the King-devouring dweeb I was in junior high.
"V: Wolves of the Calla" took a while, as it's the most languid volume of the story - the main characters stop in one place and stay there for about 600 pages, whereas the previous books were action-packed. By the end, I was hooked. If there's one thing King does well, it's give you a mental image, and the book built to a quick yet powerful climax. The damn cliffhanger ending left me no choice but to pick up the cataclysmic "VI: Song of Susannah" immediately, and as a faster-paced (and shorter) installment, it was done quickly. I have naturally been thinking in the patois of the fictional Midworld realm since I finished a couple of weeks ago. I'll try not geek out for you here.
Why didn't I start "VII: The Dark Tower" right away? For one thing, it's 800+ pages long, and I need a breather before I dive back in. For another, the "Song of Susannah" cliffhanger is not as gripping as that in "Wolves." Finally, my buddy Jorge loaned me the entire run of Garth Ennis' "Preacher" a while ago, and I thought this was a good point to read those. "Preacher" was one of those epochal '90s comics for grown-ups that came in the wake of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman," and from what I can tell has a few things in common with that title besides a publisher, mainly in its overall structure and its mix of fantasy and reality. I also have a feeling it was a big inspiration for Kevin Smith's last great movie, "Dogma." Smith wrote an intro for one of the "Preacher" graphic novel compilations, and both manage to be completely genuine about staying true to Christian ethics (responsibility, forgiveness, faith) while remaining extremely violent, profane and pointed in their criticisms of the systems erected around those ethics. Coming off the "Dark Tower" books, I slipped into Ennis' world of religion, gunfights and flashbacks with ease.
"Preacher" is the story of a stand-up Texan named Jesse Custer who gets zapped by the illicit offspring of angel and demon, and when the being melds with him he gains the "Word," the ability to make anyone do as he says - a power equal to or greater than God's. God gets scared and abandons Heaven, and when Jesse learns this, he begins a quest to find the Almighty and make Him answer to His people for doing so. He reunites with his true love, confronts his painful past and tangles with serial killers and racist industrialists and a powerful network which aims to bring about Armageddon with an inbred messiah from the bloodline of Jesus Christ. His allies include a loose cannon Irish vampire, the ghost of John Wayne and a horribly disfigured kid who tried to blow his own head off after Kurt Cobain did the same and who eventually becomes a William Hung-type pop celebrity freakshow. Just about every taboo or perversion known to humanity comes up at some point in the saga. The gore is frequent and detailed - artist Steve Dillon is a master of depicting chunks getting blown off of people. It's funny, sad, romantic, disturbing, and, ultimately, thought-provoking. It's such an engrossing story that after I got through a few of the books, it was torture to tear myself away for silly things like work or social engagements. By the time I finished "Preacher" yesterday, I was sad to see it end, but I was surprised by the satisfying resolution.
For a break from gun-toting heroes' quests, I just started reading the novelization of "The Toxic Avenger," which my MySpace friend Lloyd Kaufman himself reminded me to buy. When I'm done, bring on the finale of "The Dark Tower"... and "The Deathly Hallows" for that matter. It's all coming to an end!
You know what I haven't written about in a while? Movies. I watch 'em. Expect opinionated run-downs of recent viewings in the next post. Until I get on my keister to write those, please enjoy this review of the recent CD by local horror punks The Gravetones, and have a pleasant day.
"V: Wolves of the Calla" took a while, as it's the most languid volume of the story - the main characters stop in one place and stay there for about 600 pages, whereas the previous books were action-packed. By the end, I was hooked. If there's one thing King does well, it's give you a mental image, and the book built to a quick yet powerful climax. The damn cliffhanger ending left me no choice but to pick up the cataclysmic "VI: Song of Susannah" immediately, and as a faster-paced (and shorter) installment, it was done quickly. I have naturally been thinking in the patois of the fictional Midworld realm since I finished a couple of weeks ago. I'll try not geek out for you here.
Why didn't I start "VII: The Dark Tower" right away? For one thing, it's 800+ pages long, and I need a breather before I dive back in. For another, the "Song of Susannah" cliffhanger is not as gripping as that in "Wolves." Finally, my buddy Jorge loaned me the entire run of Garth Ennis' "Preacher" a while ago, and I thought this was a good point to read those. "Preacher" was one of those epochal '90s comics for grown-ups that came in the wake of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman," and from what I can tell has a few things in common with that title besides a publisher, mainly in its overall structure and its mix of fantasy and reality. I also have a feeling it was a big inspiration for Kevin Smith's last great movie, "Dogma." Smith wrote an intro for one of the "Preacher" graphic novel compilations, and both manage to be completely genuine about staying true to Christian ethics (responsibility, forgiveness, faith) while remaining extremely violent, profane and pointed in their criticisms of the systems erected around those ethics. Coming off the "Dark Tower" books, I slipped into Ennis' world of religion, gunfights and flashbacks with ease.
"Preacher" is the story of a stand-up Texan named Jesse Custer who gets zapped by the illicit offspring of angel and demon, and when the being melds with him he gains the "Word," the ability to make anyone do as he says - a power equal to or greater than God's. God gets scared and abandons Heaven, and when Jesse learns this, he begins a quest to find the Almighty and make Him answer to His people for doing so. He reunites with his true love, confronts his painful past and tangles with serial killers and racist industrialists and a powerful network which aims to bring about Armageddon with an inbred messiah from the bloodline of Jesus Christ. His allies include a loose cannon Irish vampire, the ghost of John Wayne and a horribly disfigured kid who tried to blow his own head off after Kurt Cobain did the same and who eventually becomes a William Hung-type pop celebrity freakshow. Just about every taboo or perversion known to humanity comes up at some point in the saga. The gore is frequent and detailed - artist Steve Dillon is a master of depicting chunks getting blown off of people. It's funny, sad, romantic, disturbing, and, ultimately, thought-provoking. It's such an engrossing story that after I got through a few of the books, it was torture to tear myself away for silly things like work or social engagements. By the time I finished "Preacher" yesterday, I was sad to see it end, but I was surprised by the satisfying resolution.
For a break from gun-toting heroes' quests, I just started reading the novelization of "The Toxic Avenger," which my MySpace friend Lloyd Kaufman himself reminded me to buy. When I'm done, bring on the finale of "The Dark Tower"... and "The Deathly Hallows" for that matter. It's all coming to an end!
You know what I haven't written about in a while? Movies. I watch 'em. Expect opinionated run-downs of recent viewings in the next post. Until I get on my keister to write those, please enjoy this review of the recent CD by local horror punks The Gravetones, and have a pleasant day.
posted by SoulReaper at 9:48 AM
1 Comments:
The Gravetones, Dig It! (Criminal I.Q.) **1/2
Imagine a bunch of skeletons busting out of their crypt to don leather jackets, race hot rods and crank rock n' roll. If that image warms your black little heart, Chicago punkabilly ghouls The Gravetones are saving a seat for you.
The most obvious points of reference for Dig It! would be the Misfits' horror-themed metallic punk and The Cramps' horny drive-in trash rock. Guitarist Joey Gravetone's fuzzy tone and catchy riffing sets the stage, but the band's spooky momentum comes from Brad Keil's tendon-thick bass and solid skin-beating by Jimmy the Butcher.
Vocalist Scary Larry's got to be a big Glenn Danzig fan, as his "evil Elvis" tone sounds a lot like the onetime Misfits singer's. But how else should a guy sound when he's singing about a girl from outer space with "laser-proof panty shields" ("Big Bad Whammy")? Apart from "Ron Jeremy," an odd ode to the beastly porn star, the lyrics are pretty much concerned with death, blood, dangerous women and the like. Nothing profound, yet Larry's booming croon sells it.
"Burn Baby Burn," "Who's Your Daddy?" and "There'll Come a Day" boogie and shimmy with a metallic edge. Meanwhile, Joey's guitar gives moodier tunes like "Seven Days" and "Lovely Sinner" a touch of classic goth punk - if you remember 45 Grave, you'll probably love these. The closing tribute to B-horror favorite "The Devil's Rain" is pure Misfits down to its "whoa-oh" refrains. Even a slower number like "In Cold Blood" thumps with nocturnal energy, although five minutes of "Creepy Girls" is a bit too much.
The grinning skull on the cover (great art by Larry) should tell you whether The Gravetones' equal dose of EC Comics gore and Link Wray cool is your sort of monster mash. If so, know that their music is made to be bashed out live on a sweaty, smoky stage, but Dig It! is a bloody good souvenir.
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