The Straw Dogs Consultancy Agency: Days 371 to 384

Aka 5 Feb to 18 Feb

This fortnight I:

1. Brought some music, Skull’s Black Static EP (by Trevor Jackson) and the first two DJ Format albums - 'Music For The Mature B-Boy' and 'If You Can't Join 'Em... Beat 'Em', Morrison Kincannon’s 'Beneath The Redwoods' album (which is on the Spacetalk Records label, run by Danny McLewin from Psychemagik, Simon Purnell from Leng and Paul N. Murphy from Claremont 56), Handsome Boy Modelling School’s ‘So…How’s Your Girl?’ album and Scott 4’s 'Works Project' album.

And listened to some music, the New Order boxset ‘Retro’ (a great retrospective of New Order’s career, covering everything from the hits, the b-sides, remixes and live tracks), Session Victim’s ‘Listen To Your Heart’ album (a great house album), the bootleg ‘The Thing OST’ (there are some great ambienty tracks on here and some great creepy tracks, which sound a bit odd when they’re not connect to scenes from the film), DJ Format’s ‘Music For The Mature B-Boy’ album (perfect head nodding, body popping music), Handsome Boy Modelling School’s ‘So…How’s Your Girl?’ album (a bit hit and miss, but has some great tracks, like The Truth and Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)) and Scott 4’s ‘Works Project’ album (not a bad album, but, aside from Lefturno, nothing immediately grabbed me).

2. Brought some DVDs, Cool Hand Luke, Batman - Gotham By Gaslight, Wrath of God, Clerks X, Dogma, Clerks II, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Shin Godzilla, Dead of Night, The Taking of Pelham 123 (original and remake), State of Play, 52 Pick-Up, Five Dolls For An Autumn Moon, Gambit, Smoking Aces I & II and Mildred Pierce.

Of which I’ve watched Batman - Gotham By Gaslight (a great adaption of the graphic novel), Wrath of God (is a weird, but fun film), Clerks X, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II and Red State (I’d forgotten how much fun Kevin Smith films are, so I’d binged watched the original five films and Red State and they’re as good as I remember – equally measures funny, heart-felt, silly and serious. Even Red State which seems like a horror thriller film has laughs and silly moments), Dead of Night (an excellent anthology horror film from the ‘50s, the setting story quietly builds and builds, while the individual stories range from funny to horrific and ground backing, this is the film that cemented ventriloquists dummies as evil!), the original and remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 (the remake is a great action thriller and the original is a weird, almost day-in-the-life film, where everyone seems to be grumpy and sarcastic and don’t really seem to take the hijackers seriously!).

3. Brought Bear Island (the novel), I love the film version and want to read the original story, which, from the reviews, has enough differences from the film to suggest that it’ll be a different experience.

4. Brought some comics on the two New Comic Book Day’s:

Including Doomsday Clock #3, but only because it has Stewart Lee in it, which has been cut out and now lives separately on my shelf. Doomsday Clock did look intriguing, my inner fanboy wants to know how the Watchmen and DC universes interact, but given the rights issues and what it says about how DC feels about the issue, I wouldn’t feel right in buying the series and feel a little bad in buy this one issue (although given how the direct market works DC has already got the money from the comic shop for all the issues of Doomsday Clock they brought, so my money is going to the comic shop and not DC) (yeah, I know it’s a little hand wavy!).

and read some comics:

The Damned #8 – concludes the current storyline, giving us a bit more background on Eddie, suggesting that it was no mistake that he sold his soul and that he (and his brother) are caught in a plan between his parents and the demons.

Rock Candy Mountain #8 – the second conclusion this fortnight and it packs a real emotional punch as some people’s journeys end and new journeys begin. I can’t say more without spoiling the story, but Rock Candy Mountain has been one of the best stories I’ve read in the past year. I wish I was a better writer so that I could properly explain why Rock Candy Mountain is so good.

Wicked & Divine 1923AD – Is a look at the Gods of ‘20s and mirrors the current storyline (which finished just before 1923AD was published) in the main book, so I can’t really tell you what happens in it without spoil the main series. But it is beautifully illustrated (it’s a mixture of comic pages and text pages) and written (capturing that county house/Christie murder mystery perfectly).

Kill Or Be Killed #16 – Perfect as usual and ends on a great cliff hanger which could completely change how the story develops and how we see the past 15 issues. Part of this issue focus on mental health treatment and perfectly (at least for me) captures that internal discussion when you are wondering if the treatment is working or not, are the meds changing you and sedating you or are they bringing you back to normal?

Lazarus X+66 #6 – another concluding issue, as the series showing us the wider world of Lazarus ends. We see how a Family we stop at nothing to get what it wants (a Lazarus, perhaps the deadliest Lazarus) and how, in some ways, the Lazarus are as much victims of the Families as the people the Lazarus attack/kill.

Giant Days #35 – probably the best comic being published now, it’s a true all-ages classic, with something for everyone – laughs, spills, thrills, feel(ing)s and fully rounded, relatable characters. It’s weird to think that originally this was meant to be a six-issue mini-series but is now about to enter it’s fourth year!!!

5. There’s a fancy-dress shop near the comic book shop that has a Super Mario custom that looks like it’s being modeled by Jimmy Carr:

6. Started my online counseling course. It was a bit like the online training courses from work, so far, it has been watching videos giving an overview of what anxiety is, what causes it and panic attacks, how it can be tackled. And I got homework, to keep a Panic Diary where I note when, where and how I feel anxious/anxiety and how I deal with it. The worse thing about this is that I had been thinking that my anxiety was unique and uncommon, but the counsellors on the videos made it clear that what I’m experiencing is pretty common and not unusual!

7. Got my second Wicked Critter order arrived and this time there was no need to go to the post office and pay extra! I got a USPF badge (the USPF is the United States Police Force from Escape From New York) and a valentine special of the Batman and Joy Division mash-up:

8. Went to the cinema to see Marvel’s Black Panther, which I really liked, think it’s in my top five Marvel Universe movies. It starts off being kinda like a spy/Bond film, with T’Challa tracking down Klaue, who has a stolen Wakandan artefact containing vibranium, but then develops into a film about history, families and what Wakanda’s role is in the larger world (i.e. can they continue to ignore the outside world and stay hidden???). Before I saw the film, I had wondered if they would deal with how Wakanda hides itself and its super technology from the rest of the world and what that says about Wakanda, e.g. did Wakanda ignore the Ethiopian famine, apartheid, colonisation by Britain, France and other European countries, etc.? While the historic past isn’t dealt with in much detail, the T’Challa (and others) decide that this can’t continue and Wakanda has to interact with the wider world.