News

Those of you with really good memories will remember that it was indeed a severed piece of Tox'xel's body that pierced the souls of the Chosen and caused that dimensionally damaging explosion.

Those of you with really good memories will also recall that Karnak fell into Hell a whole and living man.

More on these developments as The Court of Karnak continues!

Next week I'll have additional conventions for 2011 posted as well as news regarding the restocking of THE STORM OF SOULS in the SEER'S CATALOG.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and have a nice weekend!

Here are some more musical recommendations for a "soundtrack" to this storyline, if you're inclined to think in a musical manner like I am.

This does not represent the scope of the classical music I enjoy, but rather just some of the darker, more brooding pieces that are appropriate for a hell-bound story like this one. Below some of the pieces, in italics, are specific movements that I feel are particularly apropos.

Johannes Brahms - "A German Requiem"
- Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - "Requiem"

Carl Orff - "Carmina Burana"
- O Fortuna

Sergei Prokofiev - "Alexander Nevsky Suite"

Gustav Holst - "The Planets Suite"
- Mars, the Bringer of War

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Dimmu Borgir's Abrahadabra is awesome. It's rare that I pick up an album that has songs I thoroughly enjoy from start to finish. The addition of a full symphony orchestra makes this their biggest sounding album to date and I highly recommend this one for metal fans.

Most pre-release reviews I read warned me that this was a very "different" album for Dimmu Borgir and I should keep an open mind. Honestly, I didn't see what the big deal was. Maybe it's because the band is wearing white costumes instead of black ones? Maybe it's because the double-bass drum isn't pounding away maniacally for every second on every song? Maybe it's because they enlisted the help of a (GASP!) female vocalist on one track? Maybe it's the full symphony orchestra? I don't know and I don't care. I love this album. Period.

A friend of mine told me over the summer that she used to think of me as her "jazz and heavy metal" friend. Now she only thinks of me as her "metal" friend. A recent e-mail said that I "seemed to eat and breathe heavy metal." Now while both of those statements are mostly true, metal is not my only musical love. Metal just happens to have the coolest videos to share with you folks.

Jazz and classical music are two genres that I absolutely adore but don't talk about enough here in the news box. I'll be sure to remedy that this week.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and stay metal/jazzy/classical.

Despite what Karnak says in today's comic about "blowing up a soul" and it doesn't die, more than a few souls in the comic's past have been destroyed and, as a result, blew up.

Their conversation, as well as their brawl, isn't over yet.

Now I'm going to spend a moment being a total and shameless fanboy.

Dimmu Borgir's new album Abrahadabra drops today and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Dimmu Borgir often serves as my soundtrack while I'm working on these hellish stories, so the chance to hear some new music from them is very exciting.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and stay metal.

First of all, congratulations to the Slaughterhouse Sweethearts on the great success of their debut performance this past weekend. The show was great, you ladies kicked all kinds of ass, and I'm proud to have been your sponsor.

As for things here, they're about to get punchy. And kicky. And stabby. And some more stabby.

This is going to be a big fight. I hope you folks like it.
You might say... it's ON!

As soon as I hear back from Dave at Shark Robot I ought to have some new t-shirts for your perusal and approval. They're very different from anything I've done before so I hope you folks like them.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Yep. This hell-bound story is gory and dark.
Everything is moving along nicely. Well, hellishly.

This weekend is the debut of the SlaughterHouse Sweethearts burlesque troupe in A Blood-Soaked Beginning. If you're in the Boston area I highly recommend attending this midnight showing of original dance, music and spooky burlesque shenanigans. I personally sponsored the show so I'll be in attendance. Feel free to say "hi" if you're there!

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and have a nice weekend!

One of the best and most imaginative comic books I've been reading hit the shelves yesterday. It was the newest issue of Orc Stain and I couldn't have been more excited to see it... until I realized I was looking at issue five and the last one I got was issue two, months ago.

I was vigilant for those missing issues. Every week I would go to my local comic shop and scan the shelves, only to find nothing. Turns out a combination of the book's popularity and a reasonably small amount of issues being stocked led to this unfortunate lapse in issues.

But I read issue five anyway and it was still an entertaining read. James Stokoe has created a gruesome and bizarre world that I would never in a million years want to live in, but I do enjoy the visits when I read Orc Stain. From its incredible, unique artwork and quick dialogue that expertly showcases this strange land with little to no direct exposition as to how it all works, this is one of the best comics out now and you're seriously missing out if you're not reading Orc Stain.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and geek out.

Yep. That's Bulgak's butt right there. Most souls in the comic are naked anyway, and I was getting tired of finding excuses for him to find scraps of hell-wear and other such objects of modesty. So, there it is. I showed Luna's butt during THE MARCH ACROSS MALTAK and nobody told me I was doing anything wrong, so...

Yesterday I made a long post about the band Immortal and how I thought they took themselves too seriously. I take that back. My perception about them was wrong. Abbath is one funny dude. My apologies to Immortal, if they're reading (which I highly doubt).

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and stay metal.

Today's comic has become one of my favorite Siegfried moments ever.

I've been listening to a lot of metal as background music while I draw this storyline... which isn't much different than any other day of the week or any other storyline. In any case, in the midst of all my metal listening I was reminded of a valuable lesson I learned from a band I don't even like very much.

Immortal. They're a pretty well-known death metal band but I don't like them very much. It's not that I think they're bad. They just aren't for me. Anyway, they take themselves very seriously and it has resulted in unintentionally funny music videos that have made them the subject of (admittedly funny) internet mockery.

Maybe they look funny in their videos. Maybe they take themselves a little too seriously. But in the face of criticism and mockery they haven't changed one thing about themselves, their music, or their attitude. They're doing whatever the hell they want and don't give a crap about what anyone else thinks, and I have to respect that. It's not a new or profound lesson, but one that's worth repeating every now and again.

When it comes to your creativity the only person you really have to answer to is yourself.

It was my respect for Immortal that inspired the final page of B.Y.O.B.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and stay metal.

Did I mention that I love October?

Did I mention that one of the reasons I love it is because it's so spooky? Turns out a good friend of mine, frequent model for my amateur photography and long-time fan of the comic also likes to celebrate the spookiness of October, only she does it with burlesque numbers she's written and choreographed herself.

SlaughterHouse Sweethearts: Blood-Soaked Beginning is the debut performance of Boston's spookiest burlesque troupe. Not only am I behind this project one-hundred percent, I'll also be there to cheer my friend and her sweethearts on. If you're in the Boston area you should come check this out. If you're not in the Boston area, take a road trip for this one. You won't be disappointed.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Cripes. Is it really October already?

Normally when a month sneaks up on me like this I lament the seemingly fast passage of time, but October is my favorite month of the year so today I welcome it with open arms and an enthusiastic spirit.

There are so many wonderful things to love about October.
Halloween!
The continued presence of the autumn beers!
Halloween!
Pleasantly cooler weather (here in New England, anyway)!
Halloween!
Halloween costumes!
Halloween candy!
Did I mention Halloween?

I'll be at ONI-CON again this year for my favorite holiday in my favorite month, so if you're in the area be sure to stop by and share in some Halloween spirit!

Did I mention I love Halloween?

That's all from me for now.
Rock on and have a nice weekend!

As I said regarding Bulgak's teaser flashback, this one will also be going into more detail, but if you want a quick refresher on Karnak and the orcs, just follow the link.

I've been on a real movie and documentary kick lately, so in lieu of other things to talk about here's a quick list of them that I've watched lately, both old and new, that you fine folks might enjoy.

Black Dynamite
Carl Sagan's COSMOS
Ken Burns' JAZZ
Zombieland
The Atheism Tapes
Lord, Save Us From Your Followers
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention: 1960's
The Most Dangerous Man in America
The Buddha
Beer Wars
Starman
The Pluto Files

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

I realized that since Karnak's reappearance in this story he hasn't been eating anyone. The only time he hasn't been chomping down on demon flesh was his brief appearance in THE SHADOW OF SIEGFRIED, but even then I'm pretty sure he was thinking about it.

Yesterday I mentioned a short series I watched thanks to streaming Netflix on my Wii called The Atheism Tapes. Now I want to recommend a documentary that, despite its title, is its polar opposite in purpose and subject called Lord, Save Us From Your Followers. At first I thought it was going to be something along the lines of Religulous (which I disliked), but instead this documentary was made by a devout Christian who not only remains remarkably moderate in his examination of the role of religion in the "culture wars" here in the U.S., but who ultimately calls upon his fellow Christians to be more tolerant, compassionate and loving to everyone, no matter how different they may be. I don't subscribe to any religion myself but I believe calls for empathy and charity are wonderful regardless of their source.

There's not going to be too much empathy, charity and compassion during this current story, though. We'll probably see more of Karnak having gruesome snacks.

Mmm. Soul food.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Just some quick little news tidbits for today.

- I added some new photographs to my deviantArt gallery. More will be coming in the following weeks.

- A good friend of mine has started her own burlesque troupe and I'll be enthusiastically attending their debut performance. If you're not in the Boston area, do yourself a favor and plan a road trip for this one.

- Thanks to instant Netflix on my Wii I've had the opportunity to watch a fascinating program called The Atheism Tapes. Thoughtful stuff. Give it a look if you want to see if you can keep up with very intellectual conversations about God (or the lack thereof).

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.

Melodramatic, isn't it?

Bulgak and Grench were indeed the ones who found Stonewater in Maltak and, like everyone who wears a black robe in a fantasy setting, Bulgak was the one lurking in the background.

Come to think of it there are probably going to be a lot of references to events that transpired during The War In Hell. Good thing it's the latest volume of collected comics available in the SEER'S CATALOG, eh? Am I a marketing genius or what?

The answer is no, I am not.

Anyway, this is the week I should have news regarding new t-shirts. I've been experimenting with incorporating my photography into the designs but it's required more tweaking and fixing on my part than I anticipated. I want to be totally happy with these and it's proving tricky, but fun to do.

That's all from me for now.
Rock on.