R.I.P. JOE LARA...

Your departure came unexpectedly (as did that of your dear wife, Gwen), but your legacy stays strong and sturdy beyond the tragedy.

You made your cinematic mark first in Tarzan in Manhattan and soon thereafter in Tarzan: the Epic Adventures, a series that strove to bring a faithful view of Edgar Rice Burroughs to the world. 

Your additional work is just as invigorating, which includes American Cyborg: Steel Warrior; Steel Fortress; Warhead; Armstrong; Hologram Man; the Operation Delta Force movies; Lima: Breaking the Silence; Dead Man's Run; Doomsdayer; Final Equinox; Live Wire 2: Human Timebomb; Sunset Heat; Night Wars; Death Game; Gunsmoke: the Last Apache; Strike Zone; Starfire Mutiny; and Very Mean Men. 

Your guest appearances on Conan the Adventurer; Danger Island; Bay Watch; Tropical Heat; and the Magnificent Seven were also delightful; and your country-western stint, nothing short of divine. 

You were an underrated star, Mr. Lara, of vast talent and integrity. I've always respected you and always will. May you now swing among the clouds, a titan in Heaven as much as you were on Earth.

R.I.P. SHANE BRIANT...

You were always one of my unique favorites: a pretty boy who engaged in love and danger.

So many examples prove it: Frankenstein and The Monster from Hell; Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter; Demons of the Mind; Straight on till Morning; The Picture of Dorian Gray '73; Gallipoli '15; Lady Chatterly's Lover '81; Out of the Body; Subterano; Hawk the Slayer; Von Richthoven and Brown; the Lighthorseman; The Mackintosh Man; Straight on Till Morning; The Children of Huang Shi; Liquid Bridge; Comrades; Run Chrissie Run!; Singularity; Serangoon Road; the Naked Civil Servant; and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes vs Frankenstein (can't wait to see that one). You also hold a dandy role in the steampunked "Under Pressure" episode of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World (beyond a doubt, a true gem among all mole-men admirers.) 

You were also a prolific writer and painter: a creative genius on many eclectic levels.

In this regard, you justly hold the titles of legend, artist and gracious soul, Mr. Briant. Your fans will miss you to the max, and because of it, keep you alive and exalted in their ever appreciative hearts.

IN GRATITUDE AND RESPECT: MEMORIAL DAY 2021

HAPPY WORLD DRACULA DAY 2021

 

I saw Army of the Dead...

Writer/director Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead (now streaming on Netflix and playing in those few theaters still operating) is a companion piece to his 2003 Dawn of the Dead remake. Its release comes at a lingering, pandemic period when freedoms continue to be restricted (with all the debatable pros and cons attached to all the vague hows and whys); only here we're not dealing with a reality-variant Andromeda Strain, but rather an exploit of fast-moving, flesh-eating (and often organized) living dead in a heist context. 

The set-up is simple, where an Area 51, military caravan gets into a crash outside Las Vegas. A zombie is unleashed from a trailer the soldiers are carting, and once they're bitten and transformed, the group heads to Sin City to wreck havoc. (The opening-credit sequence does a swell, sardonic job of condensing the raging takeover.)

To instill star value, Dave Bautista plays Scott Ward, a former mercenary who now flips burgers in Vegas for a buck, even as a countdown begins in Washington to nuke his realm on July 4th: a controversial plan that some insist won't purge the infestation. 

As fate would have it, Ward is approached by casino honcho Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) who enlists the big man to lead a team to crack a safe to attain millions in cash before the big blow-up. 

Along the line, others get involved due to one cause or another (Ella Purnell; Omari Hardwick; Huma Qureshi; Theo Rossi; Tig Notaro; Ana de la Reguera; Garret Dillahunt; Nora Arnezeder; Lyon Beckwith; and scene-stealing Mathias Schweighofer), establishing a Romero-esque ensemble of harsh but identifiable characters who are set to risk it all for a share of the moolah. 

Some humor cuts in, though Army of the Dead is a far cry from Zombieland or Return of the Living Dead, even if it does use more levity (in a Guy Ritchie sorta way) than let's say the Walking Dead or for that matter, Snyder's Dawn retelling. There are also moments of kill-a-loved-one poignancy to pad the variance, though that doesn't make the movie Maggie, either. (To boot, cool, reinterpreted tunes haunt the atmosphere: a lovely touch.)  

The balance is pretty successful, with the intermittent, contrasting spurts bouncing off copious, CGI carnage and general weirdness. My favorite interlude comes early, when these hot, undead showgirls attack a guy in his hotel room. (The gals are topless. That's an aesthetic plus.)  And oh, the zombie tiger is amazing, as is the zombie king (Rich Cetris) and his sexy zombie queen (Athena Perample). Yeah, infect me, baby!

Even with its unique attributes, Army of the Dead is nothing novel. Some folks may dismiss it as just another link in an ongoing flesh-eating-flick chain. Maybe they're right to do so, but I found the film a dandy diversion, even when it referenced those too-close-to-home temperature checks. In other words, the movie is good, gruesome fun, even if it does have one foot planted in restrictive reality. 

FAREWELL, DAVID ANTHONY KRAFT (DAK)...

You were a star-caliber writer who gave much to the greatest print sources, including Atlas, DC and Marvel.

And the characters and titles you worked on would make one's heads spin: Demon Hunter; the Hulk; the She-Hulk, Spider-man, Captain America; Dracula; Morbius; Thor; the Defenders; Logan's Run; the Zombie; Man-Wolf; G.I. Joe; Blackhawk; Richard Dragon; Swamp Thing; Tarzan; Kamandi; World's Finest; Heathcliff and more.

To boot, your comic-book novelization of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and your accompanying Marvel Super Special on the Beatles still stand as coveted collector items and all for good, expressive reason.  

Words are important in bringing fantasy to life (whether in literature, analysis or as a springboard for illustrative panels), and you more than fulfilled your goal there, Mr. Kraft. May you now write among the angels, while those of us on Earth will continue to enjoy the wonders you left behind.

HAPPY WORLD GOTH DAY 2021

 

IANQU'S OR DARK

 

Adarcah Ianqu's or dark leaves the listener no choice but to move from the gray and into the crunching brightness of industrial gears. It calls upon transformation and not turning back: its compositions derived from coercion, cleansing, hope and fear. 

For this review, I find it suitable to separate Ianqu's  selections into three clusters, based on their moods and subtexts, even though their arranged assessments will be juxtaposed: sometimes light or depending on one's audio view, dark. 

In the case of "chlorine", "cu", "red-blooded" and "laboratory", the tracks reference the stirring sticks of forbidden formulas, whether fabricated or organic. They also reference lightning rods, bubbling beakers and energized electrodes: Frankenstein/Jekyll-Hyde/Invisible Man stuff. However, as much as their analytical industrialization repels, they stay identifiable, like Churchill's paraphrased blood, sweat and tears.  

"Saw you", "bullying area", the clustered "002 - 2021 mix a 001" and "002 - 2021 mix a 001 b" are as factory-bizarre, but more refined as they spiral from their whirlwind centers. They're a lot like spotlights beamed on exposed, dirty deeds: embarrassments wracked with recognition, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but in the end, all essential. 

For the final set, "begird" and "the bell sound of south", we gain the chance to shave the aforementioned's edges, though these examples still deliver great sting. On this basis, they are high-flying, even if blanketed in sandpaper grit, invoking flight while anchored, cruel yet kind for their subtle, steely intent.

The mechanisms of or dark are intricate but free-flowing enough to make this one of Ianqu's most expressive productions, presenting a theme that's theme-less and so full of meaningfulness that it becomes a blessing and a curse within the same aesthetic cycle. 

Listen to Ianqu's contrasting darkness at

https://adarcahiancu.bandcamp.com/album/or-dark

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FRED; FROM BROTHER MIKE

 

AIRSHIP 27 PODCAST (MAY '21): READY FOR LIFTOFF

May's cheerful splendors continue in a new Airship 27 Podcast, led by those affable gents, Ron Fortier and Rob Davis.

In this episode, our hosts cover Pulp Mythology, Vol 2 and Nancy Hanson's science-fantasy melodrama, the Silver Pentacle (both available for purchase through Amazon and Barnes & Noble). 

The guys also dip into such developing productions as Q.O. Jones, Vol 4; Marshal Gideon Horn, Vol 1; the Adventures of Doc Atlas, Vol 1 and the Phantom Detective, Vol 2. 

And as a bonus treat, Ron and Rob reveal the captivating origins of ravishing Radio Rita! Hot dog!

Relish the New Pulp wonderment at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvpWyqrzpnk

PIN-UP TIME: BRIGITTE (OOH LA LA) BARDOT

 

ADIOS, CHARLES GRODIN...

You weren't relegated to imagi-movies alone, but when you visited them, the results were most enjoyable.

Case in point: King Kong '76; Heaven Can Wait; Hearts and Souls; the Great Muppet Caper; the Incredible Shrinking Woman; the Lonely Guy; and Clifford (yes, the latter two are darn surreal enough to be called fantasy). 

In addition, you really stacked 'em up with the Heartbreak Kid; Beethoven; Beethoven's 2nd; Sunburn; Last Resort; Midnight Run; Same Time, Next Year; Seems Like Old Times; the Couch Trip; Thieves; Ishtar; 11 Harrowhouse; Madoff; the Woman in Red; Just You and Me; Fresno; and the Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank.  

You were an affable, dry-witted gent (especially on the talk-show circuit), proving yourself one of those few genuine gems to view. I'll miss you, Mr. Grodin, and so will a ton of other people. May we all have the extra-special pleasure of meeting you when we finally gain entrance to that wondrous Beyond.