Desperate For Hope (A Superman and Fantastic Four Review)

  Over the summer we had two superhero movies come out, from competing companies, that felt a bit different than what has come before. They were colorful, bright, and most glaringly, hopeful. Here in the real world, it’s quite the opposite. People are being snatched off the streets, it’s expensive to do anything, whether that’s get a house, eat, or go anywhere to do anything. We are on the precipice of yet another unjust war. The internet itself, once a safe haven for weirdos and a place full of new and exciting things, has now been so enshitified that it’s almost been rendered useless. So is it any wonder we have become so starved for anything that has a glimmer of hope in it? I think these movies are sign that people are desperate for change, for something to look forward to. And a new iPhone or Marvel movie just isn’t cutting it anymore. Everyone is looking for light at the end of this very dark tunnel. Ultimately, these movies try to put our hopes into two different ideas. The question is, are we buying it?

  Let’s start simple by just talking about these movies individually before we get into their shared themes. I’ll start with the latest from the MCU, Fantastic Four. It’s no secret that Marvel has had a bit of a rough patch lately. Between middling movies full of loose ends and behind the scenes drama making them scuttle their big bad, things have been feeling like the whole thing is on the downward trend (which also explains the seemingly desperate move to bring back RDJ and Chris Evans, but that’s for another time). This is also the proper introduction of Marvels first family to the MCU after two versions of these characters from another studio that, let’s face it, were not great. So there was a lot riding on this film working. And for the most part I think they succeeded!

  Fantastic Four is a bright, fun film set in a very hip retro futuristic 60’s like that of The Jetsons. Every building and piece of tech is just eye candy. I would actually chop off my pinky toe to have the Fantasticar sitting in my driveway. I love the design throughout the film as it really drives home that post war era of optimism we had here in America. This is a time when every sci-fi book was like “by the year 2000 we will live on the moon!”. Meanwhile, here in 2025, most people are barely able to live on Earth. In this alternate 1960’s though, they have a reason other than blind faith in the American dream and a strong urge to stick it to the Rooskies, to believe in a brighter future. They have the Fantastic Four. This family of miracle workers inventing magical technologies from seemingly thin air and bringing long lasting peace to a war torn world through diplomacy. How could you not believe in a bright future with them around.

  Against this colorful and bright backdrop, we have our four leads doing a (I’m gonna try and avoid the word “fantastic” as much possible here) brilliant job playing these iconic characters. I admit, I was a little hesitant about Pedro Pascal as Reed Richard’s. I thought he’s too naturally charismatic to be the often cold and obtuse Mr. Fantastic. But he brought his A game and really dialed into how out of place Reed is with the rest of humanity. I probably still would have preferred a bunch of unknowns for the roles, but the whole cast was terrific and brought a palpable chemistry to the screen. Though, to completely contradict that, Robert Innes was perfect casting as Galactus. That guy just sounds like that all the time. Imagine working a drive thru window and that voice comes over the headset. Crazy.

  While overall I liked the movie, with its beautiful setting, stellar cast and stunning FX (especially the black hole baby scene), it was not without its hang ups for me. Let’s start with that Galactus casting. I just would have liked to have seen more of him. I understand it’s a bit of a heady concept to convey, so they likely chose to focus on Silver Surfer instead, which I get. In fact, that’s probably the right choice even. But I just could have used a bit more of Galactus, maybe talking about how much he needs the baby to be free of his curse, or something. 

  The same goes for Ben Grimm. I wanted more. We get just glances of him in his old neighborhood, kind of flirting with who I assume is Alicia Masters. But we never really dive into it and that seems like a shame. Ben seems to be the only member of the family to want to stay connected to everyday people, even though he is the most obviously outwardly changed by the accident. You could have used him as a window into what the man on the street is thinking about all the other there sci-fi nonsense going on in their world. Overall he just feels sidelined. 

  Another character was also sidelined in this movie, straight onto the cutting room floor. It seems crazy to me to cut John Malkovich out of any movie, but I guess the cut out a story line and action sequence with his character and some super apes. God dammit, I wanna see some super apes fight a stretchy man. I guess, now that I’m writing this, it’s a good sign that my main complaint about this movie seems to be that I just wish there was more of it. I wanna go deeper into these characters and with the way Marvel has been introducing and then seemingly abandoning characters lately, it’s not clear if we will get that chance. I guess we will see what Doomsday has in store. Oof.

  But Marvels first family wasn’t the only colorful superhero spectacular to light up the silver screen with an introductory adventure featuring alien visitors this summer. We also had the much anticipated return of Superman to the big screens and to my cold dead heart. I did not like the Snyderverse. I think those movies sucked ass. His version of Superman was especially grating to me because he just hated being Superman. He hated being a human as well. He was just a bummer. All the while there were amazing portrayals of Superman on the small screen, from Tyler Hoechlin to Darren Criss and Jack Quaid in the DCAU and My Adventures with Superman respectively. So it was extra frustrating to see it be fumbled so hard on the big screen. Just do the cartoons with real people. Seemed pretty obvious to me.

  So I went into this movie NEEDING a different kind of Superman. Because I love Superman. He was the first superhero I obsessed over. According to my mother, I had a Superman outfit when I was a toddler that refused to take off. She would have to trick me out of it to wash it. I needed a Superman I could look up to and fall in love with. And not only did I need this new Superman to work, DC did as well, seeing as this movie was the first major entry into the new, James Gunn helmed, DCU. There were a lot of high hopes hung on this flick.

  Luckily for all of us, James Gunn and company knocked it out of the park. Finally a Superman worth emulating. He’s just a good dude trying to do the right thing that just happens to have god like powers. The story takes almost no time explaining itself and instead just drops you into the colorful, saturated world full of heroes. You know who Superman is already, no need to retread it. As for all the other heroes and villains, I love the fresh approach of just letting watch the character be cool instead of having to build them up through a typical origin story. Just let me Mr. Terrific steal the show and then, when people want to see more, explore the character deeper.

  And steal the show he does! Which is a feat with everyone in the cast shining so bright. The only way you can jump straight into a world like this is if every supporting character feels deep and believable, which this cast does with ease. I mean, we got Metamorpho in this thing and due to the brilliant casting of Anthony Carrian, you love him. But all the supporting characters won’t help if your lead is no good. So once again it’s a relief that David Cornsweat inhabits the character so fully. This is exactly why I’m always harping on about casting unknowns for main roles in these movies. It’s just so easy to fall into his portrayal of the character and therefore the world being showcased, and to root for him the whole way though. He is the glue that holds this magical world together.

  Now, this is not to say that this movie is perfect. I definitely have some nit picks here and there, including with the David Cornsweat portrayal I just praised. Mainly that he is just a little too down home, awe shucks, naive for my taste. Maybe it’s because I’m more Louis Lane with my world weariness but you have to be pretty oblivious to not think people might have a problem with an all powerful being stopping Isrea- I mean a country that is totally not Israel from attacking a country that is totally not Occupied Palestine. *wink* But then again, I completely believe his justifications. He sees himself just like everyone else. We all want to do whatever we can to help and stop the obvious injustices we see in the world. Superman just happens to have a lot more power to take direct action than most of us. I mean, Superman is supposed to be aspirational like that. He is meant to inspire us to see past our cynicism that was born from our powerlessness and to take action in spite of the powers stacked against us. Shit. I think I just talked myself out of this nit pick. Regardless, I still think Ma and Pa Kent have the wrong accent. They’re from Kansas, not Alabama. 

  While I’m nit picking character choices, let me run through some that didn’t quite hit for me. For example, I was only lukewarm on this version of Lex Luthor. I’m more a fan of the cold emotionless Lex. Whose only emotion is anger. A crying, petulant, no matter how accurate it might be to real life billionaires, wasn’t really working for me. But then again, I could probably talk myself out of this one too, since this does seem to be early in his criminal career. Maybe he heads to prison and it hardens him up a bit. I also just did not understand the ongoing bit about every woman fawning over Jimmy. In no way am I saying Skyler Gisondo isn’t a good looking guy. After all, look at this mug. I have no room to talk. But it was just strange how badly every woman was trying to jump on Jimmy. So much so that it’s a pivotal plot point. It was just odd. Other than those small things though, I loved the movie and can’t wait for more.

  Both movies have more than a few similarities. They are both colorful, lighthearted takes on the superhero genre filled with a stacked cast acting their asses off. But the main theme I sensed in both movies was the search for a source of hope in the face of a hard world.  Both films offer up a cast of heroes as beacons for or saviors of humanity. That by following their example there is a way out of this whole mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. Where they diverge however is exactly where we should draw that hope from. 

  Fantastic Four would have us think that hope for the future should be found in two places. The advancement of technology and future generations. This is less than satisfying personally and not just because it’s a bit of a trope. First off, technology alone will save no one. We can all see that right now as tech giants shove psychosis inducing, pedo creating, content stealing AI into every nook and cranny and site and device in the god damn world. That helps no one but about six peoples net worth. Depending on technology to save us without first changing the systems of exploitation and profit seeking will only lead to more efficient exploitation and profit seeking. If we don’t create technology solely for the purpose of uplifting all humanity, it will only be created and used by the already too powerful to hasten our demise. 

  Secondly, as for putting our faith in some future generation solving the problems we’ve either created or ignored is fool hardy at best. It’s a tired trope of family over self that I personally have never understood. *Karen LoveJoy Meme* Putting aside the weird pronataist, you-have-no-value-unless-you-can-continue-your-bloodline of it all that people like JessieGender have gone into better than I ever could (link below), it’s just a bad plan. If you just think about it for one minute you realize, the only way to have a future generation around is to take action now. Has kicking the can down to the next generation worked for us so far? Just look at climate change. The problems just get bigger and more entrenched. I’m not saying we can’t find some hope in the kids. I know I feel a little warm and fuzzy every time I see a young person flick off a cop or make up a new derogatory term for anyone standing in the way of justice. But we can’t rest it all on their shoulders. We must foster hope in them as well by leading by example and passing on what we’ve learned. 

  Superman on the other hand finds its hope in a source I firmly believe in, humanity. Humans are a funny thing. We are capable of such atrocities and yet we can put a lot of time, effort and resources into silly stories about a flying alien strongman. I have a long standing disagreement with my roommate in which I believe humanity is inherently good. I think it’s the system that we live under that sour people and dim the light of their true humanity. If people weren’t rewarded for stepping on each other’s neck to get ahead in the world, or more likely just survive in it, very very few people would do it. Superman is much more aligned to how I see things, that you can find hope by living the best you can now and helping those around you. That millions and billions of these small actions will snowball into a better world. Superman recognizes by the end of this movie that all the power a yellow sun can give is nothing without values worthy or upholding. And he gets his values from his human upbringing and the people around him that connect him as just art of the human race. You don’t have to wait and pray for some tech overlord or future generation to come save you. You have the power to do it now as part of humanity. And if that doesn’t inspire hope, I don’t know what will.

  But we don’t have a Superman and Fantastic Four coming to save us. So we must find hope in each other. Community is more impactful than anything else on combatting that which is the opposite of hope, despair. Collective action will open you up to your own power as well as that of your community so, even when you lose, you will find it hard to not have hope when you start feeling that power. Hope is a dangerous thing. We have been sold hope by many a politician and it has turned out to be false. But if you look at history and your neighbors and yes even the kids, you’ll realize that humans don’t put up with bullshit for long. Better days are coming but only if you fight for them. It’s what Superman would do. Until next time, death to the algorithm.

Quick Reviews Late 2025

  Hello and welcome back to Death to the Algorithm. While I try to keep up with all the new stuff coming out, I don't always make a video reviewing it. Sometimes I don't like the thing or I just don't have much to say about it. So, instead of forcing myself to talk about a bunch of things and [ __ ] out mediocre videos every time I watch something, I figure I can periodically do a quick reviews video and lump them all together. So, let's get into it.

MOVIES

  I'm going to break it up by medium. Let's start with movies. 

 

Sinners: A great flick about (among many things) the dangers of commodifying art, especially as black art has been commodified over the last centuries. Plus I’m for any film with a scene that is just SPOILERS a bunch of clansman getting mowed like a lawn.

Legend of Ochi: Very cute movie. Very Nordic. 

Thunderbolts/Batman Ninja 2: Let’s talk superheroes. I’m making a whole video on F4 and Superman so I won’t go into it here. I’ll start with Thunderbolts. 

  Finally, existentialism is in the MCU. Kierkegaard literally gets a name check. As for the movie itself I was surprisingly into it. Very streamlined and The Void was terrifying. Will it lead to anything interesting Doomsday? Eh. My hopes aren’t high but we will see. I also watched Batman Ninja 2, the second to last direct to video DC animation. The first one was one of very few of these animated movies I didn’t like. But after seeing this one, and just accepting how silly it is, might like it a bit more. The animation style is still not for me though. I also saw what I assume is the last of the direct to Blu-ray movies,  

Batman Aztec: I went into this one ready for it to be trash. The trailer did not instill confidence in me. But it was better than I expected. Not great by any means, but not a total train wreck. It just took a really long time to get to the Batman of it all and some it was a bit forced. Plus they seem to be setting up a sequel but I just don’t see that happening under the new regime. Who knows. Either way, I’m gonna miss these Blu-ray’s. 

Vulanizadora: I saw this as a part of a film festival at the theater I clean but the power went out right in the final 15 mins of the film. So I can’t give you a complete verdict but I, enjoyed is not the right word, but it’s effective. As a guy who spent a lot of his late teens and 20s thinking and attempting the big sleep, this shit hit hard. It really nails the desire to make your final act novel and to leave behind a document. It’s pure ego. Good stuff.

Friendship: Male loneliness is a wild thing. Dudes are just desperate for a good hang.

Life of Chuck: Very saccharine. But I’m a guy who thinks constantly about death so it worked on me. It’s very close to being a Hallmark movie though.

Becoming Led Zeppelin: They really wanted to make their version of the Beatles: Get Back doc but they refuse to let themselves be seen in any negative light. For a band notoriously the progenitors of sex, drugs & rock’n’roll, this was real light on the sex and drugs. And if you know anything about their sex lives, you’ll understand why. Ends up mostly being the surviving members reacting to their first two records. 

The Phoenician Scheme: Look, either Wes Anderson is extremely your shit, or he isn’t and well for me he is. A much more straight forward story compared to his last few flicks but just as zany and well shot. The opening titles, funnily enough, I thought were stunning. 

Ballerina: Non stop action. And that is exactly what I want out of a John Wick spinoff. I don’t care why people are fighting. Just give me a grenades only Goldeneye level with real people. Give me a flamethrower fight. Fuck yea.

Lady Snowblood Set: Simple stories of revenge that I guess Tarantino ripped off. Very fun and grimey. 

Roanoke Western Set: These westerns are very much made for Sunday afternoons. They’re something you’d catch on TV and half watch while thinking about whatever floats into your mind. Great stuff.

Jojo Dancer, This Is Your Life: This movie makes me think everyone should make a movie about the worst day of their life and the circumstances that led up to it. Call it Regret Fest. Pryor is just flexing throughout. He’s funny, he can act, he can direct. What can’t he do? Apparently, in this movie, stay sober.

Paper Moon: This movie makes grifting seem fun. Set in a time when con men had a romance to them. Nowadays they just use AI to rip off your grandma or become President. Boring.

Naked Gun: Very silly movie. I loved it. I hope absurd silly humor is coming back in vogue. 

Spinal Tap 2: Has its moments but doesn’t quite lampoon excessive rock culture as well as the first. Elton John is hilarious though. As I’m writing this, Rob Reiner died and that’s depressing. American entertainment has so been shaped by Rob and his father Carl, it’s actually astounding. Imagine making Spinal Tap as your FIRST movie. That’s a legendary talent. RIP.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising/Withnail & I: Between these two films you get to see Richard E Grant become Richard E Grant. How to Get Ahead is the perfect amount of absurd. Like the idea is of a talking boil is so outlandish but they play it so straight that it’s impossible not to get sucked into the word. We all have a toxic boil in us just waiting for a reason to come out. In Withnail & I, the plot is basically two desperate alcoholic take a trip to the countryside and yet, I could watch these two former Doctors for hours. Cynical, dirty and highly entertaining. Nothing strengthens bonds like extreme poverty. 

Shin Godzilla/Godzilla vs. Biogante: I watched two different Godzilla movies that were bland spots in my Godzilla knowledge. First, Godzilla vs. Biogante, the beginning of a new era in Godzilla canon. A move away from the safe children’s fare it had become in the decade prior. It mostly works. The highlight for me was the crazy puppetry on display for Biogante. Something like 100 wires were used and the effort shows. Then I finally got a movie I’d wanted to see for years, Shin Godzilla. The idea of Godzilla quickly evolving is terrifying. Once again, the true enemy is bureaucracy.     

One Battle After Another: There’s a lot to say on this flick and I could probably make a whole video about it. here are clear themes on revolutionary politics and tactics, race and racism, imperialism and how it boomerangs. But others have made videos much better than anything I could make so I’ll just mention I think others missed. This movie really shows the dangers of fetishizing revolutionary violence. There is a clear divide between those who are interested in organizing a revolution and are ready to deal with the State, played brilliantly by Benicio Del Toro, and those who simply want to commit violence for violence sake. I’m not against violence as a tool, but it must be rooted in political ideology to be effective. Otherwise, it’s just an excuse for the State.

Hangman Also Die: Here’s a movie with a lesson in solidarity we can all learn from. Imagine if we on the left were this organized today. They never would have caught Luigi. 

Goodbye & Amen: My first Radiance Blu-ray! Fun little spy thriller/hostage movie with a great soundtrack. There American in this is frankly a rude stereotype but let’s be honest, we deserve it.

Slap The Monster on Page One: Another Radiance release and another thriller from the 70’s. Instead of a hostage situation, we have a story of police on the hunt for a murderer. But really that is just the backdrop to show how the media, in this case a right wing newspaper, use stories to push their politics. Sad how relevant this is today. But between these two films, I’ll definitely be picking up more Radiance releases. Although, I will say the special features on this disc, while the content of them is great, the production value leaves a bit to be desired. Nothing that can’t be fixed with a nicer camera and an ND filter. Call me. 

Frankenstein: You can tell Del Toro has wanted to make this movie his whole life. It’s gorgeous. Oscar Isaac is maybe the best looking dude to ever live? I love the structure of the story. Just on a nut & bolt film making level, it’s near flawless. The story does not disappoint either. We go beyond the surface level story of a mad scientist and get at the heart of the dangers of obsession. How without reflection, even the most noble of goals can turn sour. Just beautiful stuff.

Bugonia: I could not stop thinking about this movie, which happens a lot with Yorgos Lathimos. Sensing a real theme of movies looking grimey this year and this fits that trend. Without spoilers, I’ll say, I was certain of the twist for the whole movie. Then, just before the twist is revealed, there is a scene that changed my mind. Just for the next scene to confirm what I suspected the whole time! Expertly done. And the ending had my mouth on the floor.

Running Man: Fun! Would I watch it again? Probably not. But still fun!

Wake Up Dead Man: Oof this one hit me hard as someone who grew up steeped in religion. Better than the second Knives Out as it’s much more personal. Once again just an astonishing cast acting their asses off. Definitely got me chocked up in the end. Too bad there will never be a Blu-ray.

Robinson Coruso on Mars: I have such a soft spot for old sci-fi. Very funny (in a, depressing, this-is-exactly-how-it-would-go way) to me that the instant the main character finds another being that is obviously enslaved while stranded, the first thing his colonizing ass does is keep him enslaved. This is what Elons wet dreams are made of.

Designed For Living: This film is proof, people have always been horny. Damn Hays code kept us from seeing more gems like this. It’s a little uneven sometimes but fun nonetheless.

Straight, No Chaser: Monk is one of my favorite musicians ever and it’s so strange to just see him being a person and walking the streets. A very calming flick about one of the most important artist of the last 100 years. This Criterion is light on special features though.

Afro Samurai: I rewatched this over my little break for the holidays and uh holds up. Animation is great. A simple idea for a story can take you so far. You have the number one headband and you have the number two headband. The number one headband can only be challenged by the number two and the number two could be challenged by anybody. Off you go. That's all you need.

Nothing But A Man: This is an app title for this movie. This guy just wants to be a human being, but he happens to be black in Jim Crow South and they just won't let him be a dude. I can also relate to being fired for organizing twice now.

Midnight: One of the things I love about old movies is everybody falls in love about 2 seconds after seeing each other. This whole movie could have been solved in like 10 seconds if everybody was just poly. 

Mr. Klein: This movie really goes to show the systemization of hate just because of a name on a piece of paper suddenly he's getting carded off to Auschwitz. If you think you're safe from the boot of fascism, just give it time. 

That does it for movies but if you wanna keep up to date with me, I’m on Letterboxd at SydMonk. Let’s move on to shows!

SHOWS

  I didn’t watch much in the way of TV shows lately. Too busy I guess. But here’s what I did watch.

 

Drew Carey Show: The Drew Carey Show finally, after nearly 30 years in the vault, is seeing the light of day. They released the whole show on DVD and started uploading all the episodes to YouTube. And I’m pleased to report, it holds up! That’s not always the case with a sitcom from the 90’s but for the most part the jokes still hit. Even the risqué stuff is ahead of its time, just maybe not ours. The main characters are ind of lovable losers, so the show never really punches down so much as it punches wildly. And that’s saying something for a show that has Rush Limbaugh (rest in piss) on as a guest star. Where the show shines though is when it gets absurd. The improv episodes, the episodes that hold a contest to find all the things wrong on screen, the wild musical bits, these parts make the show a cut above most of what came out at the time. You can tell it was written by comics because the jokes and bits are razor sharp (or incredibly dumb in the best sense of the word), even if the story lines are repetitive. I’m just finishing up season seven, so I don’t have much to go. I just wish they had released it on Blu-ray instead of DVD.  

Ironheart/Eyes of Wakanda/Marvel Zombies: Ok let’s go over the recent Marvel offerings, starting with Ironheart. I liked the teen Ironman aspect of this and was interested in seeing more from this character who I know little about. The idea of recreating your best friend as an AI is eerie. But it really fell apart for me with the Mephisto stuff. All I remember is being very frustrated with Riri making the same mistake over and over. Lovely visuals though. Then we move on to some animated shows. Eyes of Wakanda was a short series, too short. I wanted at least another four episodes. The premise of following these spies throughout time just leaves open so many opportunities for stories. But I guess you should leave them wanting more, which they very much did. As for Marvel Zombies, it was fine. I think I’m just tired of this animation style. I also can’t believe this is our first taste of Blade and as Konshu’s vessel no less. How is it so hard to have my man go around killing vampires? What is the hold up?

Peacemaker S2: What a letdown. The season started strong but just kind of petered out. The finally was an especially bad jumble of stitched together music videos for mediocre bands. The first misstep from Gunn in the DC universe. Hopefully the ship rights itself with Supergirl.

Star Wars Visions S3: Hell yea. One hundred more seasons. Every story better than the last. And the finale was insane. I’ve probably said it before but, I wish they would take this approach of non-canon, high production stories and apply them to other IP like Marvel. The fact that they want to replace this with AI slop is downright insulting.

 

BOOKS

 

Ok, I’ve been reading a bunch lately so let’s get into it.

 

Best Short Stories 2024: I pick this and the best poetry book up each year just to see that’s out there. There’s usually one or two pieces that stand out to me. Worth getting if you wanna see if the short story is right for you.

Let This Radicalize You: I’ve long been radicalized, so I mostly got this to see what all the good press was about. Turns out that praise is well earned as this book is a great entry into how and why you should get organized. Featuring stories mostly from the COVID era of people organizing mutual aid and protest, it does a really good job of distilling lessons learned from those experiences into simple guiding principles to take into your life. By no means an exhaustive methodology of organizing, but a great starting point to get you thinking about what your community might need from you. It also leaves you with a sense that, to fight despair, you need to take action. Good stuff.

Them: This is my first Joyce Carol Oates book and god damn. This is extremely my shit. I love books that are less a three act, clean narrative, and more just a cross section of someone’s, or this case a family’s, life and experience. This book really is a case study in how poverty destroys everyone it touches. So much of this book is this family trying to get some semblance of a stable life. Almost all of their problems come from seeing what they think is an opportunity to reach the surface and breathe a bit, only to be kicked even deeper underwater. Gut wrenching stuff.

On Bullshit: A short but very dense philosophical work about the phenomenon of bullshit. As a guy who grew up in a place that, if your bullshit detector wasn’t finely tuned, you were gonna get hurt or worse, it was interesting to see someone try to put it all into academic terms. 

Mutual Aid: Like Let This Radicalize You, this is a great starting book if you’re looking to get into organizing. Short, sweet and to the point. 

Mukasonga: I bought this when I was in San Francisco at City Lights, mostly because of how small it is. I wanted to figure out how they bound something so small. But this is memoir from someone who lives in a totally different reality from me. They have lived a way of life that could not be more foreign to me and through torturous events like a genocide and yet, our common humanity shines through. Books are good. 

It Can’t Happen Here: A hundred year old book that theorizes about what it would look like for fascism to come to America. Total fiction and definitely has no analog in the modern day. So sir. *exhale* The most frustrating thing about this book is that the main character is such a lib and if you watched my Star Wars Space Liberals video, you know how I feel about that. The dude will literally be getting arrested by secret police and still be like, we will beat them in the next election though. Or, those Communist go too far. Spent a lot of the book wanting to slap him.

Death of a Salesman: I think I watched a production on this once but had never read it. It’s kind of the atypical story of the lie of the American Dream breaking someone and, yea. Boy does it. The guy just wants what he was promised for doing what he was supposed to do and is instead kicked back into the dustbin of history. Tragic stuff.

Notes on the Cinematograph: This was interesting if you like Bressons films, which you should. Outside of that, it’s not gonna give you much in the way of advice for general filmmaking. 

Manifesto: This book took me a minute to finish. It’s a collection of manifesto mostly from the 20th century from futurism to Castro and beyond. I got it because I recently wrote a manifesto myself for the art collective I’m apart of, The Bread & Roses Art Collective, and needed some inspiration. I think what I really learned is, all of these manifestos are based in some kind of truth. Its purpose is to shape that truth to your own ends, for good or ill. Interesting stuff.

Mood Machine: I’m not quite done with this yet but god damn Spotify has really done a number on the art of music. Just depressing as a guy who likes to make art.

COMICS

 

  Let’s move on to comics. There’s a lot here as I was trying to make my way through a giant pile, so I’ll try to keep it short.

Superman Books: With the release of the new Superman movie (review coming soon), I was in a big Superman mood. So I picked up a bunch of Superman books. First up is a pair of books based on TV cartoon versions of Big Blue. This My Adventures with Superman book takes place between the seasons of the show and, just like the show, is good fun. I can’t get enough of this take on Supes and can’t wait for Season 3. Then we have a book based on what I think most people agree is the gold standard for Superman, the 90’s animated series. Maybe it’s the nostalgia talking, but god damn this book was good. I need the second part of the compendium right away. Next we have two classic tales that were blind spots for me and two books that I seem to recall James Gunn saying were big inspirations for his Superman, Superman For All Seasons and Birthright. Both books are stories set early in Superman’s superheroing life and feature Lex Luthor as their main villain. For All Seasons is by an artist and writer pair that made some of my favorite Batman books, Geoff Loeb and Tim Sale. The art is downright gorgeous. The story itself is kind of a year one and isn’t necessarily breaking new ground, but it is paced so well that you just get sucked in. I was flipping through just now while writing this to refresh myself and ended up reading a whole issue. In Birthright, the art didn’t always hit for me but the story is a great, in depth, version of the Superman origin. You really get to spend a lot of time figuring out who this guy is. Lastly, we have this special Superman Red & Blue one shot. This is one of two books like this I read recently (I’ll take about the other in a bit), where the at is limited to just a few colors. It’s simply gorgeous. Often when making any kind of art, limitation is a source of creativity and that rings true all through this book. Plus the stories are very sweet and made me fall for Superman all over again. 

DC Compact Comics: Along with Superman Birthright, I have these two other books that are part of the DC Compact Comics line. DC is very smartly publishing some of their greatest stories in this very portable and affordable books. What a great way to get people to try stuff they might not otherwise. For like ten bucks, you can take a chance on something that might become your favorite thing. Aside from the Superman book, I have Static: Season One and Catwoman: Trail of The Catwoman. Static: Season One is the newest that I’ve seen in this line. It’s a pretty classic origin for Static Shock just modernized a bit. I liked it a lot and wanna read more of these Milestone characters. I picked up Catwoman: Trail Of The Catwoman solely based on Darwin Cooke’s name on the cover. I love his stuff and this is no different. Great heist book. 

Star Wars: As with Superman, after Andor finished up (please watch my long ass review/essay) I was in a Star Wars mood. So I picked up these two books. And although neither of them really scratched the Andor itch, they were still pretty good. The first, Doctor Aphra, apparently is a fan favorite, is the classic Star Wars scoundrel. It’s got all you could want from a Star Wars. Weird droids, a mcguffin to chase, moral ambiguity, and a Vader storyline. Fun stuff that I would like to continue at some point. Speaking of Vader, I got this book, Darth Vader: Black, White  Red. Just like the Superman book I mentioned before, this book uses a limited color palette to great effect. That effect being making Vader scary. 

Fantastic Four Tie In: While we are in the Marvel world, I also picked up the tie in issue for the Fantastic Four movie (to be reviewed with Superman). It’s cute. Great art. I just want to shout it out cause I feel like every comic book movie should do stuff like this. Get me immersed and hyped in every movie with in-world stories that deepen the world.

The Absolute Universe: This is just an update on what I’ve liked and not liked in the Absolute Universe. These things sold millions of copies, so you really don’t need me to tell you to check them out. But, that said, I have stopped reading Flash and Green Lantern. They just weren’t hooking me the way the others were. But the other three books are killing it. I especially love Martian Manhunter. The art is so out there and surreal. I’ve read nothing else like it. 

Murder Falcon: I picked up this book on the recommendation of Hector Navarro of Heroes Reforged. It’s a very heart warming story wrapped in the iconography of metal. So it’s right up my alley. Reminds me a lot of this book, Black Metal, in tone. It’s over the top and silly but in the coolest way. Pick it up.

Danger Boi & The Antagonist: I backed this on Kickstarter and unlike most things I’ve backed on Kickstarter, it showed up on time and fully fleshed out. This book wears its politics on its sleeve and I like those politics. The artwork uses this great color palette that is almost neon. Strong 90’s TMNT vibes. I hope there’s more because the world has a lot of room for exploration. 

DSTLRY: Let’s end this with a quick update on the latest DSTLRY books, of which there aren’t many since Diamond gong under really fuck their distro. All of these are just based on the first issue as I wait for the trades. Endeavor is kind of a Twilight Zone, Lord of The Flies mashup. It was just interesting enough for me to get hooked. White House Robot Romance is a zany concept with excellent execution. I really can’t wait to see where it goes. Galactic really, really wants to be Star Wars. Maybe a little too much. I can’t remember if I talked about this one, Come Find Me. It’s a collection of small stories all based on Autumn vibes. Some creepy, some cozy. This is where DSTLRY really shines for me. If you only pick up one book from these, get this one. Hopefully now that DSTLRY seems to have their distro back on track, we will see more from them in the next year, including some trades of books I liked the first issue of. Fingers crossed!

MUSIC

 

 Lastly, let’s go through some music I’ve been listening to. There’s not a ton mostly because I played my first show in nine years and spent like a month and a half listening to the songs that made up my set over and over again to try and relearn them. Plus, it’s winter here, which means I’m getting stuck in a Dylan, Waits, Oberst, Smith rut. Lately I’ve been stuck on New Morning by Bob Dylan, specifically The Man In Me. No idea why but here we are. Anyway, let’s dive in.

FACS ‘Still Life in Decay’: A lot of these records I’m gonna talk about, including this one, are random Bandcamp Friday gets. Heavy disgusting bass, simple drums. It’s got a real post punk, goth vibe. You can put this on and dance like the crowd of the Lalapalooza episode of The Simpsons.

Dean Johnson 7” and ‘I Hope We Can Still Be Friends’: Dean Johnson continues to amaze. Every track on these two releases are lovelier than the last. I still prefer the reduction on the first record but all these tracks still make me miss a place I’ve never been.

Jesse Welles: In the same general genre, I picked up all of Jesse Welles records. You’ve probably seen this guy on TikTok, playing some songs in a field. He’s been blowing up recently, playing late night shows and such, and I like him a lot. Some folks have some criticism of his seemingly shallow politics but, hey, people got to start somewhere. If some kid hears Jesse Welles and it leads them to Dylan, or Phil Oches or Utah Phillips or Woody Guthrie, etc. then more power to him. 

Scared to Death ‘II’: Scared to Death were a doom group here in Ann Arbor back in the day and their first record is one of my favorite Arbco Records releases (and that’s saying something as they were my favorite local record label, including my old label). So when I found out there was more to be had from them I jumped on it. It’s heavy and hypnotic and continues the from where the first LP left off. Just transports you to the dirtiest, sweatiest basement Satantic ritual full of metal heads you’ve ever been to. That’s a compliment. 

Hello Mary ‘Emita Ox’: I forget how I found Hello Mary. I seem to vaguely recall listening to a live session of theirs and eventually picked this record up as a result. This is a band that uses contrast well. Heavy, booming riffs will bump right up against some downright pretty melodic playing and it flows beautifully. It’s like if the band Roar got into industrial. 

Shallowater ‘There Is A Well’: If you know me I’m just a sucker for good slowcore. Luckily for me there are a lot of bands out there making great slowcore records. Bands like deathcrash, Flooding, and Shallowater are all bringing the mumbling, clean tone, quiet/loud heat. I’m slightly sus of this band though because I think I saw a video of them playing and the guitarist had an anti communist stick on his guitar. But I’m gonna just stack that up to them being from Texas.

Tunic ‘A Harmony of Loss Has Been Sung’: I’ve really just love me some down and dirty bass. This noisy outfit has made a record that makes you feel the right kind of crazy. Like you could get a little nuts. They never stay on an idea for very long which makes it the right kind of schizophrenic for me. 

Bob Vylan ‘Bob Vylan Presents The Price of Life’: I’m probably late to the game, but there’s a real explosion of cool, experimental hip hop lately. From the big names like clipping., to groups like Infinity Knives (and an artist I’ll talk about next), it seems trip hop/experimental hip hop/whatever you want to call it is popping off and I’m here for it. The 90’s are back baby! I heard about Bob Vylan about a month before their Glastonbury set and mainly listened to them because of the name, which I think is perfect. But while the name brought me in the door, the tunes kept me hooked. This shit rips. Then of course they got on a huge stage, in front of a large crowd and on live television called out the IDF for their war crimes which meant I had to immediately….become a fan for life. Fuck Israel. I love an artist willing to put their money where their mouth is. So go pick this up because they have been attacked by all sorts for calling a genocide what it is. 

Billy Woods ‘Golliwag’: Another great experimental hip hop artist that I am probably late to the game for. I listened to this record and loved its sparse and strange production. Then I immediately went back and started listening to his past works, both solo and with the group Armand Hammer. He has great, surreal and abstract bars without ever losing a tight flow. I can see how he has become your favorite rappers favorite rapper. Can’t wait to keep diving deeper. 

Sleepwalk ‘Splatter’: Picked this up on a Bandcamp Friday as well. Just some real solid shoegaze or grunge-gaze I guess. I think the song Ooze was what hooked me. 

Special Features ‘Che Guevara T-Shirt’: I found the video for this single on Reddit and all I can really say is I wish it wasn’t a single. I want a full record. 

YASS ‘Feel Safe’: First off, great album art. I’ve written several pieces on the site ihavethatonvinyl.com about the importance of good album art and this nails it. As for the music, we have heard a blend of two of my favorite sounds, krautrock and noise. It’s motorik beats but if that motor was a Mac truck. It’s gonna get you pumped.

Krautwerk ‘Neuling’: Speaking of krautrock, this record is exactly what I think of when I hear the term. Sometimes you don’t want a band to break the mold. Sometimes you just want someone to execute the formula perfectly. Probably gonna have to get the rest of these records.

A Blurry Pink ‘Loveland’: This is a tape by a fellow member of the artist collective I am helping get started, the Bread & Roses Art Collective. We have a channel on our Discord for self promotion and he put this up. It’s really hooky, lofi rock in the vein of Elephant 6 bands like The Gerbils. The perfect kind of music to have on cassette. 

Closed Circuit Cassettes ‘Snakeskin Beetleboots’: Another band consisting of friends of mine, Todd and Dalton, or I should say Higgs Boson and Vince Quantum. This band has lore and is hard to describe. Very chaotic, synth driven, oddities. If you’re into bands like Brainiac, Foetus, and, I don’t know, Ween I guess, or any other act that doesn’t fit cleanly into a genre, you might get into CCC. It’s so funny to me though because I’ve known Todd over 20 years now and was in a few bands with him. But our dynamic was always that I was into all the strange experimental music and he was into more of the classics. Now here he is in a band making music way weirder than anything we ever made together. Just goes to show how bad of an influence I am. 

Carbon Decoy ‘Crush The Sun’: Let’s continue with the local to me bands here with the new record from Carbon Decoy. I talked about them a bit in my last Quick Reviews video after I saw them at Blowout but only briefly. This new record and their first record Superstition Plagues The Purity Of All, are chock full of locomotive riffs and an absolutely pounding rhythm section. When this band locks into a grove, you’re gonna be sucked into a head banging trance. Plus, they are one of the best live bands going right now in the Metro Detroit area. See ‘em if you can.

Prostitute ‘Attempted Martyr’: Yet another local band! I can’t help it if the Detroit area just produces the best music in the world. It’s just fact. This Dearborn noise punk band create such a punishing ratchet without sacrificing melody that you almost become overwhelmed by the tidal wave of sound. Great use of horns and sirens. Also, I think this band is using Islamophobia to its major advantage. When you make confrontational music, you sometimes just think of who you want to piss off. You picture in your head the enemy and start writing and creating your image. Prostitute closed their collective eyes and imagined a white, conservative, Fox News viewing, flag waving, MAGA douche and went, got it and came up with this album cover and did the thing that would piss off that caricature the most, be unapologetically themselves. And we are all better for it. 

Sunset Images ‘NADA / CERO 0 / INFINITO’: I love Sunset Images. This band from Mexico City is pushing showgaze and gaze-esque music into such interesting places and this ten inch is just one example of that. I was already in love with their record Traumatismo Nacional, which is a terrific spacey jam record, but this three song EP pushes those boundaries in every direction. It’s both louder and quieter, rougher but more composed. All that in only three songs as well. I don’t know what is happening down there, south of the border but keep it up. Also, it looks like they have a new record coming out in January, so I’m going to put that into the script to remind myself to preorder that. Your welcome past self.

Plovers ‘Fear The Man Who Hides In Light’: I fell for this Australian band after hearing the song Think Again and caught myself dancing around the kitchen, thinking of all the billionaires I’d like to meet in a dark alley. The whole record is equally fun. 

Hauspoints ‘Eel Feeling’: Finally, a British band that is apart of my favorite genre of angry British talking over a beat. Closer to Yard Act than Gilla Band but with a bit more of a traditional instrumentation. I’m just a sucker for this strange scene I’ve somehow found across the pond.

Noisepicker ‘The Earth Will Swallow The Sun’: Here’s a dark and gnarly one to go out on. This is the second record from this UK duo and it’s nasty. It’s a record for whipping a chain around while riding a sick motorcycle. The opening track gives strong Brick Layer Cake vibes. And listen, I’ve never drank and maybe smoked like five packs of cigarettes in my life. But I might be persuaded to change those habits if I could have a voice like this.

  And I think that does it for this round of quick reviews. Let me know if you check any of this out and recommend some stuff in the comments. Until next time, death to the algorithm.