The common thread...

Because even after years, it is still unbearable!

While we're on it: "SAD GIRL" (Beto, New Stories vol. 2)

Well while I was talking about Beto (Gilbert Hernandez) and his contributions to the second volume of "New Stories", I thought I should also mention his "other" mini story in that book: "Sad Girl". Contrary to his "Hypnotwist" story, this one seems much more firmly grounded in a form of reality, which character interactions and exchanges. It feels a bit like what Beto did after his had finished writing about his Palomar characters, where they were now planted in the USA (or some such area), and are living the everyday modern existance. This little story centers around a female character the guys refer to as "Killer", or "Sad Girl", since she seems very preoccupied by her ex-boyfriend and his new love interest (although we never see them in this segment). She talks about having a role in a Hollywood film, a remake of an old art-house film which took 10 years to complete, but thsi modern remake seems to have been put on hold due to a lack of budget. She complains about just running in front of a green screen, while everyone else around her think she did nudity, or even an adult feature! "Killer" works as a belly dancer in a restorant, goes to school, and seems to know everyone in her immediate surroundings. The story is interesting in the sense that Nothing really happens; it is as though we are exposed to a mere snapshot of a random part of someone's life, with no beginning and no end, and Nothing really of any consequence happening. As usual it is drawn in the now popular post Y2K Beto style which is less detailed and less lush / dense than his 80s or 90s work, but again is far better than some of his really "lazy" works (such as the disapointing "The Garden Of Flesh" which I had so much high hopes for...)

P.S. Come to think about it, and I did think about this prior to writing up this little post but I sort of forgot as I was writing it (good thing I save them as drafts before sending them out into the interweb world!), "Killer" might very well be Fritz's daughter (or one of her daughters), for she shares numerous physical characteristics as her pale skinned counterpart. She is also a belly dancer, and Fritz was known to have these incredibly strong pelvis muscles, able to crack walnuts with her belly muscles, and "Killer" also has aspirations as a film performer, much like Fritz became a B-movie actress. I'll need to look deeper into this!

Beto's Hypnotwist story (Love & Rockets, New Stories vol. 2)

I decided I was to bring with me smaller-sized Hernandez brothers books at work for when I take my breaks (i.e. go to the toilet!) and not kill my phone's battery playing games or rummaging around the internet. I decided to bring a smaller-sized paperback book collecting four stories from the Brothers Hernandez (Jamie and Gilbert), and Beto,s second story in the book is a Strange wordless one called "Hypnotwist". It is nicely drawn, although it does border on the post Y2K Beto art of seemingly being a bit more "minimal" and "simplistic", almost "lazy" in a way (not meant to offend anyone at all, of course!) - although this brand of "minimalism" is nothing near the poor quality levels of his "Garden Of The Flesh" stand-alone mini-book (what a disapointment that one was!). Anyway, "Hypnotwist" feels very abstract but plays out like a nightmare of sorts, but one simply can not stop "reading" it. While there are a few hints here and there of reality for our main protaginist, what she goes through and encounters seem straight out of something akin to a madman's hallucinations. Anyway, I thought it was quite a Strange and strong offering from Beto, and even though I finished the story as confused and dumbfounded as when I entered, I found it quite pleasing and worth a quickie mention here on my blog.

Lego Killing Joke - Requiem

OK so you seriously have to give whoever did this one major props, for not only did he/she do a Lego music video, but it is also on a Killing Joke song! Need I say anything more, seriously?

Yet another Hollywood crush: Kathleen Robertson

Here's another one of my infamous Hollywood crushes.... In fact she is of anadian origin, which makes it much better, and she is also in my age range (although many online internet tongues are saying she has had plastic surgery as to not show her mid-40s (as of 2019) age on screen. But who can blame the performers living deep in the american Hollywood machine, who now has, as of the Y2K internet age of course, glorified and worship-ied (!!??!?!) Young to the point that 30-40 year olds are now considered old! Heck, when you see a film or a TV show and the doctor or lawyer is barely 20 years old, you know Hollywood's agenda is to youth-a-lize the public image of what is hot and cool and hip and now and... Ah, you get it, right? Anyway, we are deviating from the nature of this post which is simply to pay homage to this lovely canadian actress and producer who has managed to turn heads left and right and land quite a few choice roles over the years. Make sure you give her a thumbs up on my behalf when you see her!

Great album covers: Manufacture "Terror Vision"

Another one from the famed Stephen R. Gilmore artist who made a boat load of excellent and unforgettable album covers for the Netwerk label back in the 80s, including another one which I consider as iconic as others I have shared here on this blog: Manufacture's debut full length album "Terrorvision"

Not only is this cover signature Gilmore material but each track has it's own little image lifted from various screens of a TV set, long before the days of the internet, long before the days of screenshots and vidcaps (does anyone still use those terms?). I think it was that aspect that grabbed me - the fact that each song seemed to have a mini movie captured in one image, 5 on the front and 5 on the back (to signify side A and B, obviously!). Anyway, it's another great album design and one which I myself still own today!