How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee by Bart D. Ehrman I’ve been reading Bart Ehrman ever since my journey away from Christianity first started. And although I’ve found some of his writings more compelling than others, I’m still glad there’s someone like him out there doing God’s work. Or not-God’s work, which is actually more important. How Jesus Became God mainly deals with the questions and issues church figures were dealing with when they...
Thee Oh Sees A Weird Exits Wow, where to even start with Thee Oh Sees? OK, did you know they release an average of 1.5 albums a year? Yeah, that should get your attention. Honestly, with such a massive output of stellar material, it’s hard for me to admit that this band and frontman John Dwyer are still a mystery to me. Maybe it’s because I’m too busy listening to Thee Oh Sees to worry about what goes on behind...
The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff Books like this one are what it’s all about, people. I am a comedy nerd and the current comedy boom is the sweet stuff that dreams are made of. My dreams, anyway. Yes, with any boom comes an excess of participants. Most will fade away when said boom goes bust, forever forgotten. Unless of course some avid fan (read: nerd) writes a book about them. Enter...
Twin Peaks: The Original Series, Fire Walk With Me & The Missing Pieces blu-ray How does describe or even explain a show like Twin Peaks? It’s reputation definitely precedes it, and for good reason. Twenty five years and countless questions later we’re no closer to getting to the bottom of this show. But one thing is certain, unless you get on board early on and accept that Twin Peaks follows its own bizarre rules, you’re in for a rough ride....
Big Star – Radio City I’m not one of those jaded music fans that think the best decade for music has passed. The truth is that we are living in the best time ever for music in this very moment. As such, I still get a spring in my step when I put a new batch of music on my iPod to consume like the nerdy fool I am. However, as a music fan, I also understand the importance of...
The Goon, Volume 15: Once Upon a Hard Time by Eric Powell I’ve got nothing but love for the Goon. Ever since I was a wee lad in my late 20s, I have had the pleasure to see this underdog of a comic book mature and flourish into a juggernaut. The Goon’s universe operated by very basic and simple rules. A mysterious man defends his town from the powers of evil and the undead. Of course, the fact that...
The Goon Volume 14: Occasion of Revenge by Eric Powell There is no doubt that Eric Powell’s Goon series stands as one of the most unique comic works out there. Especially when you look at the earlier issues, Powell had managed somehow to mix horror, fantasy and comedy with a compelling story and a – what I’m going to call gangster/depression era motif. Now, more than 15 years later Occasion of Revenge finds us at a bit of a...
Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness Vol. 3 Hardcover by Bryan Lee O’Malley Welcome back to more Scott Pilgrim, folks. Yes, volume 2 had parts largely adapted for the movie, but here is where things start to take off. Volume 3: The Infinite Sadness (I wonder what that’s a reference to) looks deeply in what is arguably Scott’s most complex fight. Unlike Ramona’s other evil exes, to Scott Todd is his current flame’s ex AND his ex’s current flame...
WHO: Mikey Erg WHAT: Tentative Decisions WHY: It’s about time you found out that Mikey Erg is probably playing drums for your favorite band, or he has in the past, or he probably will be in the future. Step aside, Josh Freese, there’s a new go-to punk rock drummer in town. The Man (yes, we’re going to capitalize that for Mr. Erg), has been a punk rock institution for years. He’s fronted the wonderful Ergs!, he drums for the LLC...
Empowered Unchained Volume 1 by Adam Warren You want to learn a thing or two about comics, go ahead and read Adam Warren. The man gets punk rock DIY with his “mainstream” comics. Or about as mainstream as one can get without getting jumbled up in the messy tripe that the “big two” are involved with. I say punk rock, because Adam Warren has figured out how to make it in comics on his own terms, and completely in control...