Thoughts on “Basketful of Heads”

I’ve been a little behind on my reading, so I managed to accrue the first three issues of Joe Hill’s latest comic. How could any self-respecting horror fan pass up on something affectionately titled “Basketful of Heads.” Anyway, I finished reading the first three issues, and it’s a big “meh” in my humble opinion.

The premise is that a young woman takes possession of a mysterious axe to defend herself, yet the men whose heads get separated from their bodies remain alive and conscious. Reminds one of “The Reanimator.” And like “The Reanimator,” there is no shortage of cheesy humor tossed in. But this is essentially where the comic falls short for me. The writing and attempts at humor are weak, and no amount of four-letter words can salvage this one.

I’ve read other works from Joe Hill in the past, and I liked them, so I had high hopes for this one. But for me, it’s not doing it. I’ll have to nix this one from my pull list. Others might like this, but I suppose I am a bit of a horror snob. Oh well. Thanks for stopping by.

“American Gods: The Moment of the Storm” by Neil Gaiman: Issue #07

People believe. It’s what people do. They conjure things, and then do not trust the conjurations. They populate the darkness with ghosts, with gods, with electrons. People imagine and people believe. And it is that belief that makes things happen.

There is a lot of truth here. Our thoughts play a tremendous part in the manifestation of our realities. When we step back and consider the fear, mistrust, anger, and cynicism of the past couple decades, should it be all that surprising that we find ourselves in the current socio-political climate?

But I for one am seeing things that give me hope and inspiration, and I am making a conscious effort to believe in the better possibilities. Because let’s face it—all possibilities exist. But the possibilities which receive the most energy are the ones most likely to actualize.

Thanks for believing.

Lady Mechanika Vol. 3: The Lost Boys of West Abbey

I was introduced to Lady Mechanika when I picked up an issue from a Free Comic Day event. I really loved the writing and the steampunk artwork, so I made a mental note that I would read a little deeper. Anyway, I was recently at the Silicon Valley Comic Con, and there was a table there with M.M. Chen, one of the writers of Lady Mechanika. I talked with her for a bit and was ready to buy a volume and have her sign it (notice her signature on the picture). I had every intention of buying the first volume, but she suggested getting Volume 3, since she said it provides some back story and is actually a great place to start, so I took her suggestion. Hey, the writer should know, right?

The books is short, but beautifully illustrated and the story is really engaging. Lady Mechanika collaborates with a police detective, Inspector Singh, to track down a person who is kidnapping and killing homeless children. It is discovered that the killings are related to some twisted experiments that are based upon concepts from Jewish mysticism, so they consult with a Rebbe to solve the case. I have to admit, the blending of steampunk and Jewish mysticism really works well.

The investigators, with the help of the Rebbe, discover that the killer is combining blood magic with Hebrew mysticism in an attempt to create a golem. The Rebbe explains to them what a golem is.

A soulless creature, made from clay and given life by magic. The golem has no free will or intelligence. It is a mindless servant of its creator and must obey his commands. In our legends, they were created to perform laborious tasks, or to protect and defend the community. They can work tirelessly, and cannot be destroyed except by the magic with which they were created.

I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed with this book. I will definitely be getting Volume 1 in the near future.

Thanks for stopping by, and keep reading cool stuff.

“American Gods: The Moment of the Storm” by Neil Gaiman: Issue #5

Look, this is not a good country for gods. My people figured that out early on. There are creator spirits who made the earth and so we say thank you. But we never built churches. The land was our church. It gave us salmon and corn and buffalo, and wild rice. You follow that river for a way, you’ll get to the lakes where the wild rice grows. You go far enough south, there are orange trees, lemon trees, and those squishy green things… avocados. What I’m saying is that America is like that. It’s not good growing country for gods. They’re like avocados trying to grow in wild rice country.

It’s a strange paradox that a country with a strong fundamentalist movement would not be fertile ground for gods. To me it seems more like we choose to collectively idolize the wrong things, or choose our gods for the wrong reasons. We love our distractions, we love our teams, we want to be a part of a community, we want to be freed from our guilt and shame, and so on. America is a country of “God, Guns, and Guts.” Personally, I have a difficult time reconciling those three things in my life.

There is a palpable feeling that we are on the cusp of a major global shift, that this is the “moment of the storm.” It will be curious to see how things play out in the next few years.

Hellboy Omnibus Volume 2: Strange Places

The more Hellboy I read, the more I appreciate the quality and depth of these graphic novels. This volume is brimming with literary and occult references: H.P. Blavatsky, the kabbalah, the tetragrammaton, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Conqueror Worm,” and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” just to name a few. So while the books can be enjoyed solely for the entertainment value and the artwork, there are also layers of references and symbolism that deeper readers will find engaging.

In the book, the conqueror worm becomes a symbol for the cyclical decline of the human race, out of which a new race of humans will ultimately evolve.

… and we are all to be nothing but food for a conquering worm. It’s true. The worm is ringing down the curtain on the human race. For a while now all will be gravel and smoke. But look back to the beginning. Mankind was born out of that kind of smoke. The first race of man, the pre-human Hyperboreans… and that was mankind’s golden age… And when the polar ice crushed that world, a new race of man raised itself up from the beasts. The second race. Human… Atlantis. Lemuria. Sumeria. Babylon. Human civilizations come and go, but the human race has endured. Down long, hard centuries…

(pp. 196 – 197)

A symbol that I find very fascinating is the crossroads, and Mignola uses it nicely in this text.

You are now standing at the very crossroads of your life. And all your roads lead to strange places.

(p. 237)

This speaks to me on a personal and global level. From a personal perspective, I feel like I am at one of those points in my life where things are changing, and my life, stable for many years, is now filled with uncertainty and disruption. Not that this is bad, in fact it is good, but it is strange. And on the global level, I sense that the world is at a crossroads, that our entire reality is about to change, and we will all be thrust into a “strange place,” regardless of which road we collectively traverse. These are strange days, indeed.

Stranger Things: Six

So like a lot of you out there, I love “Stranger Things.” The Netflix series is incredible, so of course, when I saw they were publishing comics based upon the series, I had to read them. Thankfully, so far, they have not been a rehash of the show, but have explored missing components in the storyline.

This recent arc is a four-issue series that is basically a prequel to the Netflix show. Since I knew there would only be four issues, I waited until I had them all so I could binge-read them in a single sitting (which is what I did). The four installments follow the story of another young person in the Hawkins Laboratory, referred to as Six. Six’s power is that she gets glimpses of the future, and it works nicely since some of her visions include things about Eleven and the events that transpire in the show. The artwork is good, and the story moves along nicely.

There is nothing mind-bending or earth-shattering about these comics, but they are a fun and quick read, and if you are a fan of the Netflix series, you’ll enjoy reading them. My guess is that they will likely publish them all together as a single trade book, but me, I figured I might as well get the installments and read them now.

That’s it. Thanks for stopping by, and keep reading.

Monstress: Issue 24

There are few things as satisfying as reading and coming across a quote that resonates with simple truth. I found a great one while reading the latest issue of Monstress:

“We don’t have to be friends. We just have to remember that if this world dies, we all die.”

There is nothing I need to say about this. The wisdom here is self-evident.

There will not be another issue of Monstress until after the New Year. I suppose I’ll have to be patient.

Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction

So over the years, I have read numerous off-shoot and stand-alone issues of Hellboy, but had not read the primary arcs, which was why I was excited when I heard they were publishing an omnibus series containing the complete saga. This first volume contains five stories, as well as some artist sketches and a little bit of history about the development of the characters and story. The stories are brimming with material that interests me: paranormal investigation, the occult, conspiracy theories, mythology, social criticism, and so forth. And the great storytelling is augmented with artwork that fits well with the overall theme. Also, what is so cool about this book is that Mike Mignola is both writer and artist, an impressive accomplishment.

While all the stories in this volume are great, I want to focus on the last one, “Almost Colossus,” which explores concepts of God, science, the relationship between creator and creation. It’s kind of like a reworking of the Frankenstein story.

Anyway, couple quotes that are worth sharing.

“Brother, you think these humans are our betters. Not so, believe me. We two are the triumph of science over nature. Mankind to us should be like cattle, ours to use for whatever purpose we decide. We are not monsters, but the future and the light of the world!”

(p. 304)

Here we have a classic expression of hubris. The created, or creature, begins to feel superior to the creator, and employs scientific logic to back up the claim. I see this as symbolic of the human impetus to feel godlike through the acquisition of knowledge and power. And not just equal to God, but greater than God.

“Today the light of the world will be born again, and from this day forward mankind will bow and scrape before the God of Science.”

(p. 318)

This is a definite reference to the Prometheus myth, as well as the myth of Lucifer as the light bearer. Science has replaced God for many people in this age. And although I consider myself a spiritual person, and have faith in a divine consciousness, I confess that I find myself irritated at people who disregard scientific evidence because it conflicts with their established religious beliefs. As much as I hate to admit it, I too often bow before the God of Science.

While this book has challenging ideas woven in, it is still a fun and entertaining read. If you are a fan of the graphic novel genre and have not read Hellboy, I highly recommend checking it out.

Thanks for stopping by, and have an incredible day.

“American Gods: The Moment of the Storm” by Neil Gaiman: Issue #4

I didn’t write about the last couple issues, not because they weren’t great (they were!), but because they didn’t include any quotes that I thought were worth looking at more closely. But this one certainly did.

Early in this issue, Shadow is entering the realm of the dead, after being sacrificed on the World Tree. He meets a cat woman, who seems to be some sort of spirit guide in the underworld. When Shadow inquires about her nature, her response is very intriguing.

Shadow: What are you? Who are you people?

Cat-woman: Think of us as symbols — we’re the dream humanity creates to make sense of the shadows on the cave wall.

This immediately made me think of Plato’s allegory of the cave from The Republic. Everything we perceive in this reality is but a shadow of a form that exists in another plane of existence. And we cannot comprehend the forms in their true essence, so we must approach them through the use of symbolism, which allows our subconscious mind fleeting glimpses of understanding, impressions of what thrives beyond our limited scope of awareness.

I know this is heavy stuff, and Gaiman’s work is very complex. But that said, he is a master storyteller, so he presents heady material within the structure of fun and imaginative tales.

That’s all I have to share for today. Thanks for stopping by.

“American Gods: The Moment of the Storm” by Neil Gaiman: Issue #1

Starting to catch up on my backlog of reading. This arc is already on issue #4, so I’m a little behind, but that’s OK.

This new arc in the American Gods saga continues where “My Ainsel” left off, and is classic Gaiman, steeped in mythology. I only need one example to sum up the gist of this issue.

In the god business, it’s not death that matters, it’s the opportunity for resurrection.

The death of a god is required for the renewal of the cycle. Osiris, Jesus, Mithras, the list goes on. One need only refer back to Frazer to understand that this is a dominant trope in mythology.

Not much else to share on this. Thanks for stopping by, and keep reading cool stuff.