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The Drunken Odyssey

~ A Podcast About the Writing Life

The Drunken Odyssey

Monthly Archives: June 2020

Episode 426: Scott Hoffman!

27 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Episode, politics

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Scott Hoffman

Episode 426 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

Scott Hoffman

In this week’s show, I talk to my friend, the historian Scott Hoffman, about the evolution of Purdue’s Outfest, Chicago Pride, Austin Pride, Queerbomb, Orlando pride, respectability politics, and other matters of interest.

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Learn more about Queerbomb over at its Facebook page.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.


Episode 426 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

The Curator of Schlock #325: The Evil

26 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Horror, The Curator of Schlock

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The Curator of Schlock #325 by Jeff Shuster

The Evil

This is a bad place. 

I decided to go snooping around the mansion, see if there are any old family treasures that won’t be missed. I plan on adding a roller rink to the Museum of Schlock when I get back and those don’t come cheap. Jervis’s deceased master must have been really into Porcelain dolls. I’ve found three rooms filled with the damn things, but I’ll be posting them on Ebay soon enough. Funny thing is I could swear the damn things move around once my back is turned. Must be my imagination.

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Tonight’s movie is 1978’s The Evil from director Gus Trikonis. It’s about a spooky old mansion that has a reputation for being haunted. A Civil War general named Emilio Vargas built the mansion over sulfur pits in a place the natives referred to as “Valley of the Devils.” Of course, there’s no such thing as ghosts. So thinks Sam, the caretaker, as investigates a noise he hears coming from the basement. He opens up an old furnace to see nothing out of the ordinary just before the furnace spews out a torrent of flames and turns Sam into a great ball of fire.

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Later that afternoon, C.J. Arnold (Richard Crenna), a psychiatrist wanting to turn the property into a drug rehab center, arrives with his wife, Caroline (Joanna Pettet), a doctor who is sensitive to the supernatural. Later on, he’s joined by Raymond (Andrew Prine), a college professor, and Laurie (Marie Louise Weller), his TA/girlfriend. Other helpers/future victims include Felicia (Lynne Moody), Marie (Cassie Yates), Pete (George O”Hanlon Jr.), and Dwight (George Viharo). Oh, and there’s a dog too, but his name escapes me. For the sake of the review, we’ll call him Precious.

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So Precious decides to furiously dig a hole down in the basement, like he’s after a tasty bone. That bone turns out to be a sacred cross locking a latch to a trap door. C.J. discovers the trap door soon after and yanks at that cross until it comes loose. As soon as he does this, the whole house shakes, the doors and windows lock shut, and poor Dwight is electrocuted to death when he accidentally grabs hold of a stray electrical cord. Felicia is, naturally, taunted by a strange spirit that tears her clothes off and tosses her about.

Raymond and C.J. try using a buzzsaw to cut through the front door, but it might as well be made of solid steel. C.J. goes up to the second floor to see if they can climb down with a cord tied to the railing. Pete insists on going first and is promptly struck by lightning before combusting into flames and falling to the ground, Each of them gets picked off one by one by the evil fotrce. Raymond seems to purposely saw into his own hand, but manages to get outside through one of the windows. Then Raymond is swallowed up by the earth right as he’s proclaiming freedom.

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Eventually, C.J. and his wife communicate with the ghost of Emilio Vargas (which side did he fight on, I wonder) and decide to check out the basement and go through the trap door. They need to find the scared cross in order to seal the evil underneath the house and wouldn’t you know it, the evil is the Devil himself (Victor Buono). He’s been taunting C.J. and his friends just for kicks. Funny how the Devil wears a white suit and speaks with an English accent. Will C.J. and his wife find the cross and seal the Devil in or will the Devil escape and torment the world by creating the five dollar footlong? You’ll have to check it out for yourself.


Jeffrey Shuster 3

Photo by Leslie Salas.

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, and episode 284) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #76: Visual Remix

24 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comic Books, Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart, Shakespeare

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Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #76 by Drew Barth

Visual Remix

Reframing and recontextualizing has been a staple of art since there have been more than two things to mash together. Remixes and found poetry exist as prime examples of how different works can come together to create something inherently different. And this is what Ronald Wimberly has accomplished with his work, Prince of Cats. Partly a reframing of Romeo and Juliet around Tybalt, Prince of Cats is a wild reinterpretation of a classic story.

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Prince of Cats is a recontextualization and reimagining of Romeo and Juliet through the lens of what John Jennings in his introduction to this new edition refers to as a “see-jay.” Storywise, it is less concerned with teenage romance and more with the expectation of violence associated with gangs. Visually, Wimberly is able to blend elements from films like The Warriors and many of Kurosawa’s best, Afrika Bambaataa afrofuturist aesthetics, and graffiti culture from the early 80s to create a new world in which sword-dueling blossomed on the streets right next to hip-hop. He’s able to take these influences and not simply mash them together, but seamlessly incorporate iconic visuals into a new form—much in the same way a DJ would remix sounds to create a new song. It’s taking familiarity and providing a new context for our eyes.

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Why does another reinterpretation of a Shakespeare story matter? We’ve already had Romeo and Juliet in modern times with gang violence and a distinct visual style, as much as we want to forget about it, so what does Prince of Cats give us? Tybalt is a doomed character in a world of underground sword dueling. Even when the page shows how he could have won against Romeo, the next page shows his fall. And his story is no longer that of the recipient of revenge; he becomes another aspect of a cycle of perpetuated violence. He is a swordsman of acclaim and hubris and dies due to that acclaim and hubris.

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A reinterpretation of traditionally white stories by one of the best creators in comics is the kind of thing comics need right now. Wimberly and many other voices cannot go unheard or be diminished. We use our platforms to raise their stories as much as possible. It’s why now is the time to get active—with time, money, energy—to the organizations that need our attention the most.

Get angry. Get active. Get involved. Get reading.


drew-barth-mbfiDrew Barth (Episode 331) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.

Episode 425: Mixtape #13: Tender Ballads for Subhuman Lovers (2005)

20 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Disney, Episode, Mixtape

≈ Leave a comment

Episode 425 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

Tender Ballads for Subhuman Lovers

NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.


Episode 425 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

The Curator of Schlock #324: Devil Dog

19 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Horror, The Curator of Schlock

≈ 3 Comments

The Curator of Schlock #324 by Jeff Shuster

Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

It’s like The Omen, but with a puppy in it.

I try not to be a pain, but I merely requested that maybe Jervis could make some twice baked potatoes instead of scalloped potatoes the next time he prepares some fillet mignon for me. I am the guest at this stately mansion under the request of his deceased master that all strangers be treated with kindness. And if that stranger wants a twice baked potato, it is you, the servant, that had better make it happen. Don’t give me a hard stare. I’m not impressed.

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This week’s movie is 1978’s Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell from director Curtis Harrington. The movie begins with a group of devil worshippers hoping to procure a female German Shepard for breeding purposes. After purchasing a breeder named Lady for $5,000, they don the robes and pray to “Barghest.” I guess the evil spirit of the devil dog impregnates Lady. Her spawn will bring an end to Truth, Justice, and the American Way.

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We then get introduced to Mike (Richard Crenna) and Betty Barry (Yvette Mimieux) and their 2.5 kids: Bonnie (Kim Richards of Escape from Witch Mountain fame), Charlie (Ike Eisenman also of Escape from Witch Mountain fame), and their dog, Skipper. They’re just a typical all-American suburban family. They come home one day to find Skipper dead in the street. Their nosy neighbor, George (Lou Frizzell), tells them he saw a black limousine hit Skipper and drive off. The next day a kindly old farmer shows up to their house selling apples out of his truck. He offers Bonnie and Charlie a free apple, but little do they know that he’s one of the Satanists we saw in the beginning of the film.

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Also, in the back of the truck are Lady and her litter of puppies. The old farmer offers the kids the pick of the litter and they choose a male German Shepherd and name him Lucky. Everyone seems to love the new dog except the Barry’s housekeeper, Maria, a God fearing woman who think the puppy is evil! While Maria is all alone in the house praying the Rosary, Lucky’s eyes glow green and Maria’s arm spontaneously combusts. Lucky then uses his demonic powers to lock her in her bedroom and when the Barry family come home, they find a well done housekeeper.

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A year goes by and Lucky is now a full grown German Shepherd. The dog manages to demonically influence the kids into being bad kids that lie, cheat, and steal. Even Betty starts to act strange, inviting her husband, Mike,  for a late night skinny dip in their neighbor George’s pool. George’s dog ends up dead and he blames it on Lucky. Then George is found drowned in his pool. Very strange indeed. Then Mike wakes up late one night to hear his family chanting and painting pictures of demonic entities.

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Funny thing about this movie is that is was a CBS Movie of the Week. Even funnier is that that this movie features an Italian language track. Did they ship this movie overseas as a theatrical feature? For shame, CBS! For shame! And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to ring the bell and have Jervis pick me up a certain confectionary treat by the Drake’s Cakes company. I’m sure he won’t mind. It’s only one in the morning.


Jeffrey Shuster 3

Photo by Leslie Salas.

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, and episode 284) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #75: A Different Kind of Horror

17 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart

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Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #75 by Drew Barth

A Different Kind of Horror

Some old buildings emit a sense of what happened in that building decades prior, echoes of the people who called that building home. What was familiar and known morphs into something sinister. A work like BTTM FDRS by Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore is a slow, creeping work that drips with the horror of gentrification and how a building can become something otherworldly.

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BTTM FDRS centers on two friends, Darla and Cynthia, as the former begins her move to a cheap studio apartment in the South Chicago neighborhood where she grew up, the Bottomyards. At the beginning of the story, the building itself, an old manufacturing complex, attempting to eat an electrician looking at some of its outside wiring. From here, everything else unfolds. We have Gene, the creepy landlord who’s converted the building into apartments; Katherine, the woman whose home the building had been since the 70s; Charles, Katherine’s shy son who explored every tunnel and vent when he was younger; and Julio, the rapper known as Plymouth Rock. Even though some characters only get a few panels, the small bits they interact with Darla and Cynthia cement how well rendered they all become through the story.

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Daniels and Passmore weave the nightmare of gentrification throughout the story in small ways—from Katherine being priced out of the home she’s been in since the 70s to Cynthia taking advantage of the credibility Darla’s new apartment gives her despite Cynthia not living there. When the apartment complex’s secret organism bursts through the walls and destroys the building, where can the tenants go now? What is left for them?

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Much like last week, BTTM FDRS is the kind of story that we need right now and Daniels and Passmore are the creators we need to tell that story. Gentrification looks benign to a white audience. Comics have the power to show us the ills of our world much more viscerally than other mediums and Daniels and Passmore show us to the point where we can no longer look away. It’s why now is the time to get active—with time, money, energy—to the organizations that need our attention the most.

Get angry. Get active. Get involved. Get reading.


drew-barth-mbfi

Drew Barth (Episode 331) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.

The Diaries of a Sozzled Scribbler #11

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Sozzled Scribbler

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The Diaries of a Sozzled Scribbler #11

Transcribed by DMETRI KAKMI

15 June 2020

Further to my highly influential interviews with world leaders (which have become the talk of the planet), this month I peek into the mind of Jacinta Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand and all round goody two shoes. We met at the base of the White Island volcano where she lives in a luxury cave, overseen by four burly Maori bodyguards.

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S.S: Jazlyn, did you you just throw a baby in the volcano?

J.A: It’s Jacinta. And no, I did not throw a baby in the volcano.

S.S: That’s a shame. We might need to toss in a couple of toddlers to appease Ruamoko. Or just for fun.

J.A: I think we’re okay.

S.S: Are you a witch from Mordor? Is that why earthquakes follow you around?

J.A: I am not a witch and I do not cause earthquakes.

S.S: What about the devastating earthquake that happened a few weeks ago while you sat smiling in a radio studio?

J.A: A geological fault line runs almost through the entire length of New Zealand.  Earthquakes happen all the time.

S.S: Ruamoko is punishing you.

J.A: I don’t think so.

S.S: It’s a well known fact that New Zealand belonged to hobbits before white people arrived from England. How many hobbits did the imperialist colonialists kill during the genocide?

J.A: There is not such thing as a hobbit. Aotearoa was occupied by the proud Maori peoples, and they are still here.

brown and orange house

Photo by Bence Kondor on Pexels.com

S.S: What about Hobbiton? It’s deserted, forlorn, after the mass slaughter of its entire population of teeny weeny little men with big hairy feet. You can’t hide behind your white privilege, madam.

J.A: Hobbiton was a movie set created by Peter Jackson for his film. It’s now a tourist attraction. No one lives there.

S.S: I think we can add cultural appropriation to accusations of genocide. Your track record is not looking good. You might be the Aung San Suu Kyi of the southern hemisphere.

J.A: I’m a decent human being who cares about other people, no matter who they are and where they come from.

S.S: Oh, please, stop. I’m going to vomit. Quick bring a bucket. Everyone knows you’re tough as nails. You were trained by Xena, warrior princess.

J.A: Another fiction.

S.S: Tell that to Lucy Lawless. She lives down the road. Are you a lesbian?

J.A: What? No. Lucy Lawless is an actress who played Xena. She is not a lesbian. And neither am I.

S.S: A closeted homophobe as well as a genocidal maniac who appropriates cultures. Oh, dear, your halo is beginning to slip Janelle. I’m sure the world will be shocked when they find out who you really are under that nice mask.

J.A: Listen, I’m better than the arseholes that run Australia any day.

S.S: Need I remind you that New Zealand is an Australian state. We let you think you’re an independent country for our amusement.

J.A: In that case you can take the refugees that are coming to New Zealand from your concentration camps.

S.S: Don’t get angry, Jonquil. You may need anger management classes. Now, back to my hard-hitting questions. You are this country’s 40th prime minister and the first woman to occupy the position—

J.A: Who does your research? Helen Clark was prime minister in 1999. And before her there was Jenny—

S.S: Yes, but Helen Clark was rather mannish. I think she may have been one of those transgender person things, whatever they’re called. So we can safely ignore them. Jenny Shipley had very short hair, you will recall, and you know what they say about women with short hair. Xena types, if you know what I mean. You’re at least somewhat attractive, except for your teeth, which could do with a bit of work, by the way. Do something with your hair too, while you’re at it. It’s a bit limp and lifeless…

J.A: Are you a beautician or a journalist? I’m busy, you know.

S.S: Doing what exactly? Vacuuming the house, cooking for your children, annihilating Bilbo Baggins…?

J.A: Has anyone ever told you you are sexist?

S.S: Sexy? Me? Yes, I hear it all the time. Why just the other day a big movie producer said to me—

J.A: Sexist. As in sexist pig.

S.S: I heard you the first time, dear girl. I was indeed blessed with looks far beyond those of mere mortals. But I should tell you flattery does not work on me. I remain always dedicated to a higher truth!

J.A: What, truth for sexist pigs?

S.S: Now, now, Jamila, you can’t eat pig when you’re a Muslim.

J. A: It’s Jacinta!!!!

S.S: Oh, dear, she used multiple exclamation marks. It’s tres tres vulgaire.

J.A: And I’m not Muslim.

S.S: Why, what’s wrong with Muslims?

J.A: Nothing’s wrong with Muslims. I’m just saying I’m not one.

S.S: Then why did you cover your head and hug a Muslim woman in a mosque?

J.A: Because a dickhead from Australia shot ‘em up, that’s why, you mad man.

S.S: Oh, dear, she’s having a hissy fit. I hate to tell you this, Jodrele, but the newspaper headlines aren’t looking good for you. ‘NZ PM Blows Top and Causes Yet Another Massive Earthquake.’

J.A: [Stomps off.] Bodyguards, throw this idiot in the volcano.

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S.S: [Running from guards.] Help, I’m innocent. I was just doing my job. Thank you for your time, Jaylah. See, I’m being nice to your boss. Leave me alone.

‘Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!’ he screamed as he plummeted into the volcano. But at least he used only one exclamation mark.

Until next we meet. Cheerio!


people-2570596_1920 Sozzled

The Sozzled Scribbler was born in the shadow of the Erechtheion in Athens, Greece, to an Egyptian street walker (his father) and a Greek bear wrestler (his mother). He has lived in Istanbul, Rome, London, New Orleans and is currently stateless. He partakes of four bottles of Bombay gin and nine packets of Gauloises cigarettes a day.

Dmetri Kakmi, is a writer and editor. His first book Mother Land was shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards in Australia, and his new book The Door will be released in September 2020.

Episode 424: Ronan Ryan!

13 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Blog Post, Episode, Irish Literature, James Joyce

≈ 1 Comment

Episode 424 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

RRAuthorPhoto

Photo by David Whitaker.

In this week’s show, I talk to novelist Ronan Ryan about the dramatic uses of gallows humor, how loss teaches us about our priorities, how elusive reality is, and how to match style to story.

TEXTS DISCUSSED

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NOTES

This episode is sponsored by the excellent people at Scribophile.

Scribophile

TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Consider donating to City Lights Books to sustain it and/or buying a book online from Powells.

Check out my literary adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame Cover


Episode 424 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

 

The Curator of Schlock #323: Antrum

12 Friday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Film, Horror, The Curator of Schlock

≈ Leave a comment

The Curator of Schlock #323 by Jeff Shuster

Antrum

The Deadliest Film Ever Made?

My car broke down on my way back to Orlando from the Florida Everglades. I guess leaving it parked in the middle of the woods and not driving it for a couple of months wasn’t the best idea. Famished, hungry, and lost, I came upon on old Antebellum mansion. I was greeted by a gaunt butler named Jervis who offered me a fine meal and a room for the night. He says the former master of the estate had a rule about always showing kindness to strangers. I did a toast to my charitable host and Jervis informed me that I could stay as long as I wish. The Wi-Fi is great here, but these old portraits of southern ladies and gentlemen creep me out. I feel like their eyes are following me.

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Tonight’s movie is 2018’s Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made from directors David Amito and Michael Laicini. Why is it called the deadliest movie ever made? Because everyone who saw Antrum died a horrible death soon after watching it. The documentary passes out some fascinating tidbits about this Bulgarian production from 1979, how when it was screened at a theater in Budapest, the whole place caught fire and the audience was burned alive. Other stories involved a man getting stung by a poisonous fish one day after viewing Antrum and dying on the spot.

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Another one involves a rare screening of Antrum in San Francisco that caused the audience to storm the exits only to find them locked. The crowd then begins viciously attacking each other due to the LSD laced popcorn they were given before the start of the movie. That concessions clerk is now serving time on multiple counts of manslaughter. What a sick degenerate! The documentary reveals that Antrum also featured weird audio cues and still shots of vile scenes cut into the movie so your subconscious would register the image. Around this point, I’m kind of glad that movie was lost to the ages, but then the documentary reveals that a print of Antrum in its entirety has been discovered and purchased at an estate auction in Connecticut. The movie will begin in ten-seconds. Yikes! I now get to watch this cursed movie!

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Antrum centers on a boy named Nathan (Rowan Smith) and his older sister, Oralee (Nicole Tompkins). We begin with Nathan’s mother, Amber, putting his dog, Maxine, to sleep. That’s an odd name for a dog, but Oralee is an odd name for a human, so whatever. During a car ride, Nathan asks his mother if Maxine is in heaven like other dogs and she tells him, “No, Maxine isn’t in heaven because she was bad.” I would have taken a different approach to this question. I would have told Nathan, “It’s a stupid dog! Woof! Woof! A dog!”

I’m good with kids.

We cut to Nathan and Oralee in a tent at night. They’ve gone camping. Oralee has an elaborate scheme that she got out of some kind of forbidden tome to redeem Maxine’s soul. They travel to the forest where the devil landed after God cast him out of heaven. It is there that they will find the antrum, the gateway to hell. Oralee and Nathan uncover some brambles that cover the place they’re supposed to start digging. Oralee draws a pentagram on the ground and puts the star and crescent, the menorah, a statue of Jesus Christ, a statue of Vishnu, and a blood red statue of Buddha smiling menacingly. I guess that’s covering all the bases. The two begin to chant, “One by one we pray to thee, protect us from all we see. From all we’ll hear and touch and smell. From all the unknown dark in hell.”

Weird stuff starts happening after they dig through the first layer. A apoplectic squirrel appears that Oralee insists is a demon. She tells Nathan to use a magic stick to drive it away. They come across a Japanese man undressing down to his boxers about to commit seppuku, but Nathan screams. The guy mutters in Japanese and walks away, presumedly to another part of the forest where he can get some privacy. Oralee and Nathan continue to dig. Nathan discovers a loaded handgun buried in the pit. Nathan keeps seeing black figures staring at them through the woods.

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Before bed, Nathan comments on how Oralee’s feet stink and she orders him to brush his teeth because his breath is rank. Oralee tells him that the Cerberus will get him if he stinks too much. Nathan takes her warning to heart and brushes his teeth by the lake under the full moon. He sees what looks like a ferryman rowing a boat with a naked, deformed person in it. This movie is just plain freaky and I’m not liking it. Plus, I keep getting flash frames of devils, occult symbols, and photos from somebody’s sick torture porn fantasy. I haven’t even gotten to the part with the two Bulgarian rednecks and the fact that one of them is committing what I’ll describe as “animal husbandry” to a dead animal! This is a sick, sick movie, but movies don’t kill people.

I got to go.

Jervis is knocking on my door asking if I’d like a hot water bottle.


Jeffrey Shuster 2

Photo by Leslie Salas.

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, and episode 284) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #74: Return to the City Enduring

10 Wednesday Jun 2020

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Comic Books, Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart, politics

≈ Leave a comment

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #74 by Drew Barth

Return to the City Enduring

Things are getting back to normal—for comic publishing. Series are coming out once again and the month’s schedules are filling out with series returns and delayed beginnings.

But things aren’t normal, not anymore. Every day we have to contend with who we are as a nation and who we are as readers. We make a choice with how we speak and how we act and whose voices we can uplift with whatever platform we have available. It’s one of the main reasons I wanted to return to N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector. I wrote about the first issue seven months, or twenty years, ago and I didn’t know what kind of impact the story would have now.

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Jemisin herself is already one of the most important writers of the 21stcentury. Other works, like the recently released The City We Became, deal with the survival of a massive city in much in the same way Far Sector does. But here in the comics things are slightly different. The recently appointed Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein must investigate the City Enduring and its first murder in five hundred years. This city has maintained its facade of peace for so long due to a genetic modification that has suppressed the emotions of every citizen—at least until the drug Switchoff allows them to turn that modification off completely. And this leads to the murder. And this murder leads to a protest. And this protest leads to an egregious display of murderous police force against the protesters.

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The issue the above page come from released in late February and feels prophetic. Jemisin is able to recognize what has happened in the past and how it will inevitably come to our future. As a moment in the story, it’s devastating, but not surprising—much like the militarized police we see on the news nearly every evening and their own show of force. But in Far Sector, we have a mediator—we have someone with the power to stand up and the power ring up back them up. These moments are what good comics do best—they’re a mirror to the world’s horrors with a tangible, individual light of hope that we believe can save the day.

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Far Sector is the kind of comic that we need right now and Jemisin and Campbell are the creators we need on that comic. Comics have always been political, but mainstream monthly comics have a problem with inclusivity. More than ever, we need BIPOC voices and BIPOC stories, we need BIPOC editors and publishers to bring these stories and creators into our comic shops and our lives. Comics as a medium have the potential to reach a massive audience and so it must have voices that reflect that audience. And comics need to reflect the world they exist in, they’re not in a vacuum and neither is this column. It’s why now is the time to donate—time, money, energy—to the organizations that need it the most. Comics are a community that needs to remember that Black Lives Matter and that we must do our part.

Get angry. Get involved. Get active. Get reading.


drew-barth-mbfi

Drew Barth (Episode 331) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.

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