Never Leave A Wounded Animal To Die!

When I was a kid, the first comic I ever bought was DC's First Issue Special #8, which some of you out there in blogland might recall was the first appearance of the Warlord. Ace pilot Travis Morgan's spy plane crashlanded inside the earth in an ancient world of superstition and super science called Skartaris. It was pretty much Spartacus meets Conan and it blew me away!

Mike Grell, the comic's writer/artist remains one of my all-time biggest influences. Along with Warlord, Grell created a number of other memorable comics characters, key among them is Jon Sable. First published by First Comics decades ago, Jon Sable: Freelance is now published by IDW and is probably Grell's greatest work in both writing and art.

What makes Sable so different from Grell's other characters is his humanity. Sable's wife and kids were killed by poachers in Africa so Sable goes on a vengence trail. Where lesser writers would leave it at that, Grell makes sure the ghosts of Sable's past dictate his every action. Revenge seemed like a good idea at the time, but, in the long run, what does it accomplish?

As I write this, IDW has published four issues and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. I'm always amazed when an indy company can keep an ongoing storyline running, since most companies have extremely short lifespans. But IDW has latched onto many of First's fan favorites, both titles and creators, so I'm hoping the "big guns" behind these relaunches keep them around for a long time to come.

Oh, and before I forget, Grell wrote a Sable novel a few years back and it's awesome!

Cinema Insomnia

There I was, bored one Wednesday night, flipping through the myriad of innane programming on the ol' cathoderay passifier when I came across a show on public access called Cinema Insomnia, hosted by a rather odd-looking individual named Mr. Lobo. He was hosting "Prince of Space," so right away I was mildly cautious, but I gotta say it was pretty entertaining. I grew up watching Son of Svengoolie, so I hold a particular reverence for late-night horror hosts. I give Mr. Lobo credit for carrying on that tradition in entertainment, something I'm sad to say is sorely missing in today's TV programming. How many CSIs do we need anyway?

If you're interested in checking out this television oddity, go to www.cinemainsomnia.com and check for channel listings, dates and times. There's a lot of other interesting stuff on his site as well.

Grand Magus!

Remember the 70s? Remember bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppillen, and Rainbow?
Then for God's sake check out Grand Magus! It's stoner rock at it's best. What passes for metal these days ain't got nothin' on these crazy Swedes! Check 'em out. It's the kinda metal Conan might've listened to.

"Wha?"

It doesn't happen often that the sequal is better than the original. There are rare occasions, though, such as Star Trek II, Kill Bill Vol. II and, of course S.O.S., episode two of the adventures of the Amazing Walter, his semi-demonic sidekick Lucius S.O.S.
Bill "Inkslinger" Wilkison delivers the goods in this one! Loaded with 70s movie references, weird little kids and one freaky guy with an overbite and horns.
If you haven't checked it out yet, you can contact bill via the "friends" section of my website. I hear he sells them out of his trunk. Tell him I sent ya and watch him shrug his shoulders and say, "Paul who?"

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