I really love Hellboy and all it's spinoffs.

I love the underground stuff other have mentioned too.

For mainstreem superhero stuff, Marvel's Immortal Iron Fist has been fantastic.

The Goon is great.

I read a couple issues of Invincible and I did like it, so you're right it's worth checking out even if you're not a fan of tights, capes and masks.

I worked in a comic shop for about five years, so I picked up a bunch of shit. I did the whole superhero thing when I was a kid but grew out of that by late teens. I did get into the underground comix, with Crumb, Los Bros Hernandez. Maus by art speigleman is amazing. The stuff by Harvey Pekar is really good too. The guy who played Pekar in American Splendor really nailed it. I also really like stuff by Evan Dorkin. He did Milk & Cheese, Dork, and a few other things.
There is some neo-noir stuff by Brian Michael Bendis that is fucking awesome. Goldfish, Jinx, and Torso have amazing writing. His master of American dialog is breath-taking. There are some Vertigo noir titles, like 100 Bullets, Preacher, and Transmetropolitan that are also worth checking out.
Towards the end of my career in comics retailing, I was very interested in Golden Age creators like Will Eisner, Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta and Windsor McCay. Just really studying the history of comics and it's impact and reflection of American culture. I also started getting into some Japanese comics. Mostly samurai epics like Lone Wolf and Cub and sci-fi epics like Akira.
I had a bad falling out with the owner of the store I wroked at. He turned out to be a huge liar and a cheat, and fucked me over good. Since then I haven't really paid too much attention to the scene anymore.

Black Hole is fucking great as well as Walking Dead.... I know you said you weren't that into superheroes, but Invincible, also by Kirkman is amazing and I could easily see someone who wasn't into superheroes being into Invincible. I'm also really into Charles Burn's earlier stuff that's recently been realeased in some very large trade paperbacks (Skin Deep, Big Baby and El Borbah are all worth cheching out especially if you like Black Hole and garage punk).

Gilbert Hernandez has three issues of a little series out called Speak of the Devil, which so far has been my favorite thing I've read by any of the Hernandez brothers.

A review of Hard Boiled I read said about the same thing Dave and I have to agree with you a compelling story is vital. Part of the reason I was disappointed with the above mention "After The Cape" was mainly because there wasn't enough development in the story. Even though it was a mini series, Wong just kinda threw everything at the reader pretty quickly, then expected them to care about the characters. That always drives me nuts.

I'll add J.R. Williams and Julie Doucet to my growing list artists to check out.

Read the first 2 ishes of 'Hard Boiled' some years ago, great graphics, but there wasn't enough of a story to keep me interested....it has to have a good story to keep me interested.
A couple other artists that i like are J.R. Williams (his art is like the Oblivians to music) and Julie Doucet who does Dirty Plotte (as well as stuff in French, her native language, again primitive but very captivating)...there's SO much out there that's good, but like music, 98% of it is garbage...

I think all the EC catalog is out in large format hard cover reprints. I just check them out of the library myself as they are a little rich for my pocketbook. In fact that how I read most of the newer stuff, wait til it comes out as a trade paperback and find it in the " graphic novel" section. I only want to read them, I don't collect anymore.

I have to admit superheros don't really do it for me. "After the Cape" was a mini-series by Marco Rudy & Howard Wong that I heard really good things about. A retired superhero turns to a life of crime to provide for his family... he also has a drinking problem. I believe their in a second part of the series now, the first is available as trade paperback (which I bought and wasn't blown away by). You can read the first few pages of their first issue here Thanks for your other suggestions, I think I've seen EC Archive books that compile "Weird Science" and "Shock Suspense Stories" respectively, but I don't own any YET. Has anyone read Miller's "Hard Boiled"?

Thanks Dave. I'll have to check out some of Burns' other work that you've mentioned. There might not be any Crumb I don't like, everything I've read I enjoyed thoroughly. Maybe it helps that he's a record collector and music nut. "Draw's The Blues" has taken far too long to take it's place on my bookshelf, but I spend most of my money on music, so there are alot of books I that I've been meaning to get for a while. A "complete" Love & Rockets is among them.

Neil Gaiman ,Alan Moore, and Frank Millar ar all doing intersting stuff within the "comic book" format. Read Watchmen, the best look to date, at what a world with superheroes would be like

i love the stuff marvel put out in their heydays: classic storylines, killer artwork and action all the way - at least when you´re into the superhero mainstream. ´nuff said! but probably the best comic books ever came from e.c. in the 1950s. get your hands on everything you can find, like "tales from the crypt", "weird science", "shock suspensestories" or "two-fisted tales". all the titles were reprinted by gemstone publishing in the nineties, i don´t know if they are still available or maybe re-reprinted or something. i guess you have to search for them a while but every single book is worth it!

I started getting into comix in the late 70's, Robert Crumb (still a fave), Robert Armstrong (Mickey Rat), Freak Brothers and all of the other drug inspired artwork from the late 60's. Then in the 80's another wave of underground comix came around with artists like Peter Bagge, John Holmstrom, Daniel Clowes, Hernandez Brothers and Charles Burns, all of which i would highly recommend. Peter Bagge did Hate, Neat Stuff and many other things as well as cover art for some very cool records like the Trogg Tribute LP an A Bone single and many others that i can't think of at the moment.... John Holmstrom did comix for Punk zine and many others. Daniel Clowes has done Eightball, Lloyd Llewellyn, Ghost World (it became a movie) as well as lots of record covers like Supersuckers The Smoke Of Hell. Hernandez Brothers did the highly influential Love and Rockets comix which raised the bar for underground comix when it came out in the early 80's. It lasted for 50 issues, lots of references to the early west coast punk scene and the stories are VERY well written. Charles Burns has done Black Hole (which you mentioned), Dogboy (which has appeared in many comic compilations) El Borbah (again appeared in compilations) as well as many record covers.... Of the above artists, Peter Bagge is a really good place to start. Hate was a serial about a loser named Buddy Bradley (we can all see some of ourselves in this character) who goes through lifes trials and tribulations, trying to avoid the mainstream and at one point even owns a used book and record store. The stories are extremely realistic and very well written and a joy to read over and over again. I used to be heavily into underground comix when i had more spare cash, but now it all goes into records and CD's , so i don't know a lot about the current crop of comix. But most of the stuff i've mentioned is available in better comic stores....if you want more info, give me a shout, i've gone on way too long...

Thanks to a friend who recently put me onto some great books, my interest in comics has been revived. "The Walking Dead", "Girls", "Y The Last Man", "Blues Man", and "Balck Hole" I just can't get enough of. There are comic book forums on the web, sure, but I though it'd be interesting to ask here since we all already have a common interest in music.

What are some of your favorite comics/graphic novels, mainstream or independent?
What would you recommend to someone who wasn't already a fan?

Well, it appears that Bob Noxious has no more interest in producing his excellent old podcast for us, Snake Alley. Unfortunately, he seems to have just stopped doing it (without even telling anyone). I haven’t even heard from him in over three months (which includes no responses to several emails). I guess the guy fell off the side of the earth or something… No fucking idea. ANYWAY, so I’m now taking applications for a new show for the GaragePunk Podcast network that's in the same vein (music & B-movie reviews/commentary). If you or someone you know would be interested in doing one (and are quite knowledgeable in the field of psychotronic movies and are able to PROVE it), then get in touch! It wouldn't even have to be that often... maybe one show every month or two, which would give you plenty of time to produce it. Note: Snake Alley was always one of my favorite podcasts to not only showcase on this site, but to listen to as well. I think the dual-host thing worked really well for it, too (esp. when they'd disagree about a certain movie and kinda poke shit at each other), so keep that in mind because I'll be looking for something very similar to that.

Yeah, i have a Rock-Ola 440 ((1969)) and a Wurlitzer 3800 ((1974)), i bought the Wurlitzer knowing it didn't work, but the guy didn't have keys, so i was hoping that when i got it open, it was something real simple...it was actually three different things ((belts are bad, amp is apparently shot, and, worse yet, the selector-gizmo is fucked up)), i'm never gonna be able to fix that! I also had a AMI-Rowe R-74 ((1975)) that worked perfectly, but i sold it because it was ugly. Jukeboxes are very interesting because they have all these moving mechanical parts, they're kinda fascinating ((as opposed to pinball machines, which are just a shitload of wires and coils)). "Fascinating" gets old when they don't work, though!

Also, jukeboxes weigh around 360 lbs...they are MURDER to move up stairs.

Always wanted a jukebox. For a while there I was real serious about buying one but like you, I can't fix anything. I couldn't really justify spending that much money on something that probably will need part and work. My boss found this guy in Arkansas that has this huge warehouse just full of jukeboxes and boxes full of records. Apparently he used to have a business that distributed 45's to bars with jukeboxes in the south. I had a chance to buy one for $500 but the guy didn't have electricity in his warehouse so it was kind of a crap shoot. My boss was going to pick one up for me but for that kind of money I would have liked to see them for myself.

Yes, I agree. The wife and I saw it this weekend. Daniel Day-Lewis was outstanding as the "oil man" asshole. Great flick!

This movie is so great. It's three hours of blunt objects falling on people's heads.

Yeah "28 Days Later" is one of my faves (along with Sean of the Dead) but it sequel "28 Weeks Later" was just rehash of the first film (or as Chuck Heston said about Beneath Planet of the Apes, "More adeventures in Monkeyland") and Danny Boyle's English post appocalyptic was comprimised.

From what I have read and seen of this (3rd retelling) of this story, is that there in not much new to it. Will Smith's character still does what he does at the end of the story and becomes a Ledgend. If you have seen, "The World The Felsh and the Devil" from 1959 it has some pretty eerie views of s desserted New York City (and in black & white) too. Also "The Quiet Earth" explores that scenario (downunder) too (but without the zombies) Even Stephen King's "The Stand" (both book and TV mini series) give a haunting view of a desolate NYC.

BUT my point is that is is all just more of the same. At least Danny Boyle came up with an original twist to the Zombie Genre with "28 Days Later" (like Georger Romero did in his "Dead series). The trick is not to "re-envision" but come up with something that is both believable, new and interesting to the the viewer and compells them to pay to see the story (and maybe pay to see it again) and currently Hollywierd is not gettting that.

The original with Vincent Price still stands as the best for me.

Atlanta GA has a drive-in called the Starlight Six... mostly they play the current hogwash, but, when I lived in that part of the country they did a "Mondo Movie" night the last Fridays of every month - where they played a B-Movie triple feature.. good stuff too.. saw Spiderbaby for the first time there... This was 4 years ago - don't know if they still do that.. however, on Labor Day weekend every year (around Sept 3rd or so for non USers) they do the Drive-Invasion... 2 days of bands, hot rods, BBQ, and B-Movies.. people freakin camp there for the whole weekend... I recommend checking it out if yr in that part of the world end of summer. http://www.starlightdrivein.com/

Yes, the Twin Drive-in is in Independence, MO! I'm planning a cross state bicycle trip this summer that will culminate in an evening at this theatre. Some pics at this site: http://www.cinematour.com/tour/us/1049.html There are no drive-ins left in St. Louis (I believe the last to close was the North Twin around 1997) but there is one in the metro area over the river in Belleville, IL. I saw Grindhouse there over the summer after stopping in lovely East St. Louis for Vess Cola, Whiskey, and Rapsnacks. There are a handful of drive-ins within 90 minutes of St. Louis. My first drive-in experience was when my Mom took me to see Return of the Living Dead at the 66 Park-in on old Route 66 in St. Louis County. I don't know what she was thinking. We got there when the punk girl was stripping in the graveyard, followed by copious amounts of braineating. I was ten. Now it's a Best Buy parking lot. You just have to wait for the tolerable mainstream movies to play. I think recent big movies like Grindhouse, 30 days of Night, I Am Legend, or Cloverfield lend themselves quite well to the drive-in experience. I saw the Simpsons Movie at the HWY19 Drive-in in Cuba, MO. Here's a list of active drive-ins in the U.S., Canada, and, uh, India: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_drive-in_theaters And here's a list for you Aussies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_active_drive-in_theaters

i thought planet terror was much better than death proof but come on! the ending made the whole thing entirely worth it! tarantino got totally shown up in this "double feature", but nonetheless made a good movie overall.

just posted new songs today

I'm totally going to use this opportunity to plug my blog.

http://goretro.typepad.com

Go retro! With Edna Million

Go through the archives to find the good stuff, I've been feeling girly lately and my posts go in bursts of rockingness to girliness.

I red this book when I was 15, it didn t impress me back then, wouldn t describe Holden as cool either.... Maybe I should read it again now...