Personal Picks Episode Sixteen - New Year's Resolutions

 

Welcome to this edition of Personal Picks. 2020 has been something so let's give it the middle finger and focus on 2021. This week's Personal Picks offer some resolutions via song. See if you figure out what each song is telling you to do. Some are far more obvious than other.

1. Take This Job And Shove It - Johnny Paycheck 

2. She Never Spoke Spanish To Me - Texas Tornados

3. Ode To My Family - The Cranberries

4. Peaches - The Presidents Of The United States

5. Summer Wine - Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood

6. Learning To Fly - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

7. Parachute - Something Happens

8. On The Road Again - Bob Dylan

9. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

10. Change The World - Eric Clapton

Recommended viewing: Office Space

Here's the Office Space version of the first song:

Personal Picks Episode Fifteen - Night

 

Shadows are falling.

Beware of darkness.

Look to the night sky.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this edition of Personal Picks. As it is Christmas Eve, it is all about the man in red tonight so I decided to go with the theme of "Night". I'm pretty happy with the selection and I think I'll have it on rotation for a while. One Direction's song in particular has become an ear worm but in a good way. Lots of my favourites made the list too. First up are my favourite super group singing about last night.

(You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1. Last Night - Traveling Wilburys

2. Not Dark Yet - Bob Dylan

3. Beware Of Darkness - George Harrison

4. Here Comes the Night Time - Arcade Fire

5. Dancing In The Dark - Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, Von Smith

6. Nightswimming - R.E.M.

7. Because the Night - Bruce Springsteen

8. Night Fever - Bee Gees

9. Night Changes - One Direction

10. All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie

Recommended reading: 30 Days Of Night

Recommended viewing: Night Watch

Personal Picks Episode Fourteen - Irish Acts Through The Years

 

Oh me oh my!

I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

I don't have to let it linger though.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this edition of Personal Picks. We are in that nostalgic time of year so I decided to pick some Irish songs from throughout the years. It was nice to rediscover some of these songs and I'll probably revisit the Irish in a later round of picks. Anyway, enjoy the nostalgia. 

(You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1. You're A Good Looking Woman - Joe Dolan

2. Wednesday Week - The Undertones

3. Banana Republic - The Boomtown Rats

4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2

5. This Is - Aslan

6. Orinoco Flow - Enya

7. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinéad O'Connor

8. Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello (Petrol) - Something Happens

9. Linger - The Cranberries

10. Me And My Love - David Kitt

Recommended reading: At Swim Two Birds

Recommended viewing: Breakfast On Pluto, Handsome Devil

Personal Picks Episode Thirteen - Home

 

I've traveled that well worn track

I'm tired of the road.

I guess I'm going home.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this edition of Personal Picks. This time of year, a lot of us get nostalgic for home so that's where we are headed this week. I could have very easily found ten songs called "Home" but I wanted a little variety. I always try to find stuff by artists I enjoy and some songs I like. Luckily a lot of my favourites have songs that fit the bill so this one is a mix of favourites and songs I discovered when searching Spotify and doing some googling. I never thought that I'd have a One Direction song on one of my list but I enjoyed their particular Home. A happy rediscovery was the Dusty Springfield song, Goin' Back, that Irish people may remember was used in an advert around this time of the year. 

(You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

2. Home - David Byrne

3. Home - One Direction

4. Home - Westlife

5. Our House - Madness

6. My Hometown - Bruce Springsteen

7. Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel

8. Goin' Back - Dusty Springfield

9. Goin' Home - TOTO

10. N17 - The Saw Doctors

Recommended reading: We3

Recommended viewing: Homeward Bound 

Personal Picks Episode Twelve - Must Be Christmas

 

(Art by Ruairí Coleman) 

The nights are getting longer.

The Toy Show has been and gone.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to our festive edition of Personal Picks. I decided to do it this week to give people a chance to try the songs out. I think it is a nice mix of famous artists and novelty picks. I discovered that a lot of artists I enjoy have Christmas songs / albums. There's also some that feel quite random. Here's ten Christmas albums you may or may not know exist:

• Elvis' Christmas Album - Elvis Presley (1957)
• Christmas Album - Jackson 5 (1970)
• Once Upon A Christmas - Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers (1984)
• Happy Christmas - Boney M. (1991)
• Snowed In - Hanson (1997)
• Songs For Christmas - Sufjan Stevens (2006)
• Christmas In The Heart - Bob Dylan (2009)
• Imagene Peise - Atlas Eets Christmas - Flaming Lips (2014)
• Kylie Christmas - Kylie Minogue (2015)
• Happy Xmas - Eric Clapton (2018)

Dylan's album has been on my list for years but I have now have new favourite songs that include performances from Angela Lansbury, Dolly Parton and Cyndi Lauper. Well here's the songs I picked:

(You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1. Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time! - Sufjan Stevens

2. White Christmas - Eric Clapton

3. We Need A Little Christmas - Angela Lansbury, Donald Pippin, Frankie Michaels, Jane Connell, Sab Shimono

4. Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton

5. Little Drummer - The Jackson 5

6. A Christmas Duel - The Hives, Cyndi Lauper

7. Christmas In Heaven - Monty Python

8. Christmas Tree - Dustin

9. Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen, The E Street Band

10. Must Be Santa - Bob Dylan

I'm off to eat something healthy ahead of my annual feast. Here's some festive flicks to watch.

Recommended reading: Hmmm dig out a comic book annual

Recommended viewing: Home Alone, Miracle On 34th Street, Santa Claus: The Move

 

Personal Picks: By The Numbers

 

When I started doing the personal picks, I wondered how much my favourites would enter into the equation. Well I kept a count and I decided to share after last week's first leftovers episode. I think I'll probably do one of those every 10 shows or so for songs that don't quite fit or I just plain forgot. You know how these things pop into your head after you post these things.

Here's the top musical acts by appearance:

Bob is by no way a surprise considering I did a Bob centric show but he'd still be tying with the others without that one. I've seen him live 6 times. Arcade Fire, Gorillaz and R.E.M. are all favourites that I've seen in concert. Only once in their cases. a-ha fits the cheesey pop portion of my brain. Seu Jorge is there just for his Bowie covers. The only surprise is Richard O'Brien. He's there for 3 songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I've had 5 songs from that show in the picks and only 2 of those appeared in the musical episodes (the other two were performed by Tim Curry). 

Of course, several people appear in bands or acts so I kept track of that also. It is only for vocalists as keeping track of some band members would be a bigger task(<cough> Gorillaz <cough>). Here's their list with solo in the first column and group / duo in the secomd:

Bob gets another point as he was in The Traveling Wilburys, who have had one appearance. Damon Albarn is there for Gorillaz (I've included him as he's the lead vocalist and has done solo work and had Blur so he may appear for those). Paul Simon gets 2 points for Simon & Garfunkel and with his one solo appearance brings him to 3 (his partner logically is just below this on 2).

I am working away on future episodes. It is actually fun working on the playlists. Here's some upcoming playlists for the rest of 2020:

• Must Be Christmas - Obvious what this is about. It turns out a few of my favourites have Christmas albums. Find out who next week!
• Home - Songs about home and going home. (I thought people would be thinking about it).
• Irish Acts Through The Years - This is a nostalgic time so I thought I'd pick some Irish mainstream songs. Couple of Eurovision tunes of course.
• Night - Songs about the night
• New Year's Resolutions - Songs about different New Year's Resolutions people have

If you look up Personal Picks on spotify, you may find some upcoming playlists that I'm still working on.

Personal Picks Episode Eleven - Thanksgiving Leftovers

Starting the holidays in November.

Eating Turkey.

Those crazy Americans.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to a very special edition of Personal Picks where we look at the songs that didn't quite make it on the first ten shows. It's time for some leftovers.

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) Ghost Town - The Specials ("Halloween")

2) Dare - Stan Bush ("Super People And People")

3) Moonage Daydream - David Bowie ("Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)")

4) Music To Watch Space Girls By - Leonard Nimoy ("Science Fiction & Fantasy Features")

5) The Only Living Boy in New York - Simon & Garfunkel ("All Across America")

6) Can You Please Call Out Your Window? (BBC Sessions) - Jimi Hendrix ("Under The Covers")

7) Baby, Stop Crying - Bob Dylan ("Caring Not Scaring")

8) The Sun Always Shines on T.V. - a-ha ("Some Translation Required")

9) Under Attack - Lisa Stokke, Nightmare Chorus ("A Musical Interlude")

10) The Times They Are Changin' (Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February/March 1978) - Bob Dylan ("Bob Dylan Rare & Remade (1960s)")

Ok. I'm heading off to work on another festive playlist. There's only on suggestion for today...

Personal Picks Episode Ten - Bob Dylan Rare & Remade (1960s)

 

 A performer blows his tambourine.

To clear out the halls.

There's a battle outside raging.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to a very special edition of Personal Picks where I let my Bob Dylan fandom fly. All today's picks were originally recorded in the 1960s. Half are songs that were left off studio albums or live versions, performed by the man himself. The other half are covers of his 1960s catalogue. To give you an idea of what I had to work with, here are his studio albums from that decade with some songs that appeared on them:

• Bob Dylan (1962) - House Of The Risin' Sun
• The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) - Blowin' In The Wind, Masters Of War, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
• The Times They Are a-Changin' (1964) - The Times They Are a-Changin'
• Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) - Chimes Of Freedom
• Bringing It All Back Home (1965) - Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm, Mr. Tambourine Man, Gates Of Eden, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
• Highway 61 Revisited (1965) - Like A Rolling Stone, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, Desolation Row
• Blonde on Blonde (1966) - Visions Of Johanna, Just Like A Woman
• John Wesley Harding (1967) - All Along The Watchtower, I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
• Nashville Skyline (1969) - Girl From The North Country (with Johnny Cash), Lay Lady Lay, Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You

You might notice that I took a lot of Bob's performances from the album Side Tracks. This is one of my favourite albums and might not be known to non fans. I've also included a song from my favourite Dylan live album, Live At Budoken. For covers, it is mostly the soundtrack from I'm Not There. A strange movie with some great performances. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's public personas: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger (his final film to be released during his lifetime), and Ben Whishaw.

Anyway, enjoy the picks

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) Lay Down Your Weary Tune (Studio Outtake, 1963) - Bob Dylan

2) Moonshiner - Bob Forrest

3) Percy's Song (Studio Outtake, 1963) - Bob Dylan

4) Silver Dagger (Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York, October 1964) - Joan Baez, Bob Dylan 

5) Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Live at Town Hall, New York, April 1963) - Bob Dylan

6) When the Ship Comes In - Marcus Carl Franklin

7) If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got to Stay All Night) (Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York, October 1964) - Bob Dylan

8) Fourth Time Round - Yo La Tengo

9) Blowin' in the Wind (Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February/March 1978) - Bob Dylan

10) The Times They Are a-Changin' (Live at Madison Square Garden, New York, October 1992) - Tracy Chapman

I'm gonna delve some more into Dylan's catalogue. While I'm busy, check out these rollin' reads and all the watches.

Recommended reading: Tarantula, Chronicles

Recommended viewing: Masked and Anonymous, No Direction Home, I'm Not There

Five Weird Manga Series I'd Recommend

For this post, I decided I wanted to share five Manga series I have enjoyed. I think I first discovered Manga in the 1990s. I had seen a lot of Anime as a kid but the first Manga I read was Guyver or Bio Booster Armour Guyver to give it the full title. My best friend had picked it up somewhere. We had seen the over the top violent Anime and had really enjoyed it. It was pretty good but I can't say it made me a huge fan of Manga as a genre. Later on, the same friend got Priest as a gift (his friend thought it was Preacher). It fuses the Western with horror and dark fantasy. It also had a unique unusually angular art style that set it apart from other Manga (and possibly made it easier for me to get into). The film of the same name bears little resemblance to the book and is pretty bad. It was Karl Urban's last movie before Dredd. 

Coming to my list... I think my next foray into Manga was Assassination Classroom, which was recommended by another friend. It was years after Priest and kind of opened my mind to how good (and weird) Manga could be. Monster was next, recommended by my husband, and it opened my mind even more. Devilman came from watching the Anime on Netflix. Way Of The Househusband I picked up based on the name and the cover. Dorohedoro was another I want based on an Anime on Netflix (I can NEVER remember the name). These five series are very different but they are all the weird kind of thing I enjoy. The list is ordered based on release date.

DEVILMAN

• Creator: Go Nagai (pen name of Kiyoshi Nagai)
• Original run: June 1972 - June 1973
• Volumes: 5 (I collected it in two beautiful hardcovers)
• Demographic: Shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (July 1972 - April 1973, Netflix version January 2018), Novels (4 from May 1999 to August 1999), Live action film (2004)
• Premise: Akira Fudo's life is turned upside down by his friend Ryo Asuka when he reveals to him that the Earth is about to be invaded by demons, monstrous beings hibernating for centuries in the ice and are about to return to the surface. According to Ryo demons would have lived on Earth before the appearance of man, and now they would claim possession. The only way to defeat them is to take control of the powers of the demons themselves to fight them on equal terms. 
• Opinion: I actually saw the Netflix show (which for some reason was called Devilman: Crybaby) first and, when I spotted the two hardbacks in a shop, I felt compelled to get the manga. Definitely consider this a horror book. The creator, Go Nagai, is credited with creating the super robot genre and for designing the first mecha robots piloted by a user from within a cockpit with Mazinger Z. No mechas in this but there was a 1973 film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman.  

DOROHEDORO

• Creator: Q Hayashida
• Original run: November 2000 - September 2018
• Volumes: 23
• Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men), shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (January 2020 - March 2020)
• Premise: The plot centers on a man named Caiman and his search for his real identity after a transformation by a sorcerer left him with a reptile's head and no memory of his former life. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, split in two separate dimensions; the Hole, a dismal cityscape where humans reside; and the Sorcerers' world, home of sorcerers. Sorcerers are capable of traveling to and from the Hole by summoning magical doors.
• Opinion: To be honest, I have only seen the first series on Netflix but is the kind of weird concept that I tend to enjoy. I will be getting the manga. The art style is a little different with a rougher look to it.

MONSTER

• Creator: Naoki Urasawa
• Original run: December 1994 - December 2001
• Volumes: 18 (I collected it in a 9 volume "Perfect Edtions")
• Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (April 2004 - September 2005)
• Premise: The story revolves around Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese surgeon living in Germany whose life enters turmoil after getting himself involved with Johan Liebert, one of his former patients, who is revealed to be a dangerous serial killer. 
• Opinion: A brilliant psychological thriller that really amazed me when I first starting reading it. I really enjoy how it slowly reveals the layers and how the story is told. Probably the one I'd recommend highest. It is crying out for a live action television version.

ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM

• Creator: Yūsei Matsui
• Original run: July 2012 - March 2016
• Volumes: 21
• Demographic: Shōnen (marketed towards teen males from 12 to 18)
• Adaptation(s): Anime (January 2015 - June 2016), Anime film (2016), live action films (2015 and 2016)
• Premise: The series follows the daily lives of an extremely powerful octopus-like being working as a junior high homeroom teacher, and his students dedicated to the task of assassinating him to prevent Earth from being destroyed. (He has already destroyed 70% of the moon) The students are considered “misfits” in their school and are taught in a separate building; the class he teaches is called 3-E. 
• Opinion: This one is quite bizarre (in a fun way). It just jumps into the story with teacher already in place and explains all the events pretty quickly. It is a comedy / action / sci-fi and the story covers the lives of the individual students and reveals more and more about their teacher. I love that is both out there and grounded too.

WAY OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND

• Creator: Kousuke Oono
• Original run: February 2018 - 
• Volumes: 6 (Not all released yet)
• Demographic: Seinen (marketed to young men)
• Adaptation: Television series (October 2020 - ), Anime (2021)
• Premise: An infamous and feared yakuza boss nicknamed "the Immortal Dragon", retires from crime to become a househusband so that he can support his wife. 
• Opinion: Definitely a comedy. The humour comes from his intimidating personality versus his performing domestic chores. Also, how seriously he takes his performance of these chores. It is the one manga that makes me laugh the most. The cover kind of sums it up.

Personal Picks Episode Nine - A Musical Interlude

 

The dancers begin to tap their feet.

The spotlight hits.

Someone breaks into song.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this week's edition of Personal Picks. We're celebrating theatrical types from the stars of stage to the stars of screen and back again. They've all got a song in their hearts and a chorus in their souls. First up, we are looking to find the meaning of it all. Just for a change.

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) The Meaning Of Life - Monty Python (The Meaning Of Life)

2) Sweet Transvestite - Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

3) Springtime For Hitler - Mel Brooks, Various Artists, Patrick S. Brady (The Producers)

4) You're The One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta (Grease)

5) Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eddie Schwartz (Rock Of Ages)

6) Angel Of Music - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Phantom Of The Opera Original Cast (The Phantom Of The Opera)

7) Chim Chim Cher-ee - Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber (Mary Poppins)

8) The Day Before You Came - Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!)

9) You Give A Little Love - Paul Williams (Bugsy Malone)

10) I'm Going Home - Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Well I'm all tapped out. While I'm putting my feet up, check out these West End worthy watches.

Recommended viewing: Hairspray, Bugsy Malone, The Rock Horror Picture Show

Personal Picks Episode Eight - Some Translation Required

 

 A singer sings with a foreign accent.

The lyrics have a cheesy feel.

This almost a Eurovision show.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this week's edition of Personal Picks. This week we are looking at artists for whom English is a second language. There is something about English sung by certain nationalities and songs written in English by them. Most of these songs are in English but there is some translation needed. We start off with an Estonian duo who represented their country in the Eurovision with this song...

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

1) Goodbye To Yesterday - Elina Born, Stig Rästa

2) Slipping Through My Fingers - ABBA

3) La vie en rose (English Version) - Edith Piaf

4) I Drink - Charles Aznavour

5) Sounds Like A Melody - Alphaville

6) Lovefool - The Cardigans

7) Dynamite - BTS

8) Fairytale - Alexander Rybak

9) Changes - Seu Jorge

10) Take On Me - aha

Well I think it is time I brushed up on some foreign languages. Meanwhile, check out this overseas reads and foreign flicks.

Recommended reading: Crime And Punishment, Monster, Assassination Classroom

Recommended viewing: La Vie En Rose, Parasite

Punisher: Other Than Garth Ennis

I had fun compiling last week's post so I thought I'd do something similar this week. I've chosen a character I got into due to my best friend: The Punisher. Punisher was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr and Ross Andru as a Spider-man villain, who was going to be a hero later on. Conway also helped design the character's distinctive costume. Conway, who had developed the habit of sketching out costumes ideas for artists, had drawn a character with a small death's head skull on one breast. Marvel art director John Romita, Sr. took the basic design and blew the skull up to huge size, taking up most of the character's chest. Amazing Spider-Man penciller Ross Andru was the first artist to draw the character for publication. Gerry Conway had come up with the name the Assassin but Stan Lee felt the name would not work for a character that would become later on. He suggested a name he had used for a relatively unimportant character (one of Galactus' robots): The Punisher.

Now most people would agree that the best Punisher stories comes from Garth Ennis. I'd agree. I thought, to be different, I'd give you some non Garth Ennis story selections. I'm gonna through in a synopsis of each too. However, if you want to try Garth Ennis, I'd suggest the MAX series. I particularly enjoyed In The Beginning and Kitchen Irish. These are collected in Punisher Max: The Complete Collection Vol. 1, which also includes Punisher: Born #1-4. I also enjoyed the From First To Last trade which collects Punisher: The Tyger, Punisher: The Cell and Punisher: The End.  These stories are also collected in Punisher Max: The Complete Collection Vol. 4, which also includes The Punisher, vol. 7,#50-60 (Long Cold Dark and Valley Forge, Valley Forge) and Punisher Presents: Barracuda #1–4. I guess I'd recommend those complete collections. 

Here's a list of Punisher's main titles:

The Punisher, vol. 1, #1-5 limited series (January to May 1986). Steven Grant, with art by Mike Zeck and Mike Vosburg.

The Punisher, vol. 2, #1-104, Annual 1-7 (July 1987 – July 1995)

The Punisher War Journal, vol. 1, #1-80 (November 1988 – July 1995). Features early art by Jim Lee.

The Punisher War Zone, vol. 1, #1-41, Annual 1-2 (March 1992 – July 1995). Starts out with some John Romita Jr art.

The Punisher, vol. 3, #1-18 (November 1995 – April 1997). Marvel Edge. All issues were written by John Ostrander.

The Punisher, vol. 4, #1-4 (November 1998 – February 1999). Marvel Knights. Also known as The Punisher: Purgatory, it was written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski, with art by Bernie Wrightson. 

The Punisher, vol. 5, #1-12 limited series (April 2000 – March 2001). Marvel Knights. It was written by Garth Ennis, with art by Steve Dillon. 

The Punisher, vol. 6, #1-37 (August 2001 – February 2004). Marvel Knights. Garth Ennis wrote all but six issues.

The Punisher, vol. 7, #1-75, Annual 1  (March 2004 – October 2009). Though often referred to as The Punisher MAX, it was initially published as The Punisher, and changed to The Punisher: Frank Castle MAX with issue #66. Written by Garth Ennis up to issue 60.

Punisher War Journal, vol. 2, #1-26, Annual 1 (January 2007 – January 2009). Written by Matt Fraction.

The Punisher War Zone, vol. 2, #1-6 limited series (February to March 2009). Marvel Knights. It was written by Garth Ennis, with art by Steve Dillon.

The Punisher, vol. 8, #1-21, Annual 1 (March 2009 – November 2010). The series was retitled Franken-Castle with issue #17. Written by Rick Remender.

PunisherMAX, #1-22 (January 2010 – February 2012). MAX Imprint. It was written by Jason Aaron, with art by Steve Dillon.

The Punisher, vol. 9, #1-16 (August 2011 – September 2012). It was written by Greg Rucka, with art by Marco Checchetto.

The Punisher: War Zone, vol. 3, #1-5 limited series (October 2012 - February 2013). It was written by Greg Rucka, with art by Carmine di Giandomenico.

The Punisher, vol. 10, #1-20 (February 2014 – July 2015). It was written by Nathan Edmondson, with art by Mitch Gerads.

The Punisher, vol. 11, #1 -17, Annual 1 (May 2016 – October 2017). It was written by Becky Cloonan, with art by Steve Dillon and Matt Horak.

The Punisher, vol. 12, #1-11 (November 2017 – July 2018). It was written by Matthew Rosenberg, with art by Guiu Vilanova.

The Punisher, vol. 13, #1-16, Annual 1 (August 2018 – October 2019) with one annual (2019). It was written by Matthew Rosenberg, with art by Szymon Kundranski.

After all that, I'm wondering which character has the record for most volumes. Maybe an investigation for another time. Anyway, I said I was going to give you guys some story recommendations of a non Garth Ennis nature. I think there is some nice variety. I particularly like Punisher: Noir.

• The Punisher: Assassin's Guild (1988) Frank Castle joins forces with a bunch of assassins to take on a mobster who fixes things for a price. This one was a recent discovery. I found the ideas fun. Weird to say for Punisher. Beautiful looking art particularly the colours by Julie Michel. Notable to me as an early Punisher story written by a woman. I looked writer Jo Duffy up and she had quite the Marvel bibliography in the late 80s and early 90s including short runs on Star Wars and Wolverine. Artist Jorge Zaffino later worked on Punisher: Kingdom Gone. 
• Punisher: The Prize (1990) While on a stakeout, Frank Castle learns that a volatile weapon will be up for grabs on the Black Market. Punisher teams with an American journalist to blow the lid on this story, but they’re inadvertently pulled into a criminal underbelly of thieves, cutthroats and stone cold killers. Recently recommended by a friend. Good build up and a fun pay-off. Written by Chris Henderson. Art by Mike Harris.
• Punisher: Noir #1-4 (August–November 2009) It's the Roaring Twenties and mobster Dutch Schultz's iron-fisted reign is about to meet its greatest challenge in the form of a man sporting a familiar skull symbol and a gun in his hand. Because once the Punisher hits the scene, the mean streets are about to get a whole lot meaner. The art really captures the noir feel and there is some clever character ideas in the 1930s versions. Easily my favourite Punisher story. Still waiting for a sequel. Written by Frank Tieri with art by Paul Azaceta.
• Space: Punisher #1-4 (July–October 2012). Punishment is a dish best served-in Space! Exactly what it says on the tin. The Punisher is after a space mob. Whacky space versions of various characters. I love how out there the story is. Frank Tieri at his insane best. The villain reveal was brilliant. Beautifully painted by Mark Texeira. 
• Punisher Max: The Complete Collection Vol. 6 (2017) Collects Punisher MAX X-Mas Special, Punisher: Naked Kill, Punisher: Get Castle, Punisher: Butterfly, Punisher: Happy Ending, Punisher: Hot Rods of Death, Punisher: Tiny Ugly World, Untold Tales of Punisher MAX #1-5. Frank Castle's relentless war on crime continues! It's Christmas, and the Punisher is checking off his naughty list! Frank gets creative to take down snuff filmmakers! In the United Kingdom, he takes on some of Earth's hardest soldiers, the SAS, and unleashes his war wagon against a biker gang! But when a hit woman releases her lurid tell-all book, will the Punisher be her salvation, temptation...or damnation? Plus: stories from the murky world that exists in the Punisher's shadow, starring an opportunistic psycho, a frantic father, a mild-mannered accountant and the young son of one of Frank's victims. An interesting and diverse collection of stories. Written by Rob Williams, Jonathan Maberry, Jason Aaron and Valerie D'Orazio. Art by Esad Ribić, Shawn Martinbrough, Juan José Ryp, Laurence Campbell and Roland Boschi.

Personal Picks Episode Seven - Caring Not Scaring

A clown hands a child a balloon.

Twin girls play on their tricycles.

A little boy wears his Sunday best.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this episode of Personal Picks. It is Halloween time but, instead of giving you a scare, we are going to show some care by sharing some uplifting tracks.

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

First up we have a track that always gets me in a dancing mood. Hail (hail). Come and get your love...

1) Come and Get Your Love - Redbone

2) DARE - Gorillaz

3) Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

4) I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty

5) Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles

6) Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House

7) The Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

8) Good As Gold (Stupid As Mud) - The Beautiful South

9) Take On Me - a-ha

10) Wake Up - Arcade Fire

Well I think it's time to for me to make some comfort food. While I'm busy making an omlette, check out these reviving reads and lightening looks.

Legion (I'm) Lost, Where The Devil Am I?

So as am want to do at times, I was trawling through Twitter late the other night and I spotted a link to an article discussing the "TMK" Legion run. Now, not being familiar with Legion continuity, I had no idea what TMK meant. It turns out it relates to the run written by Tom Bierbaum, Mary Bierbaum, and Keith Giffen (Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #1–29), which started Five Years Later. The Legion has disbanded in a darker run which is said to be influenced by Watchmen. I'd never gotten into the Legion. I think it was fact that they had enough characters to fit one of George Perez's patented character packed pieces that put me off. That and I knew that there was at least three reboots. The Five Years Later concept intrigued me though. However, my brain was never going to allow me to start at volume 4 so I ended up on ComiXology investigating the other volumes. I looked at the tail end of volume 3 and saw writer Paul Levitz had a run on it. Okay brain, we will start with his run. Okay? This is where my Legion naïveté really kicked in. Paul Levitz, as far as I can see, wrote all of volume 3 (63 comics and 4 annuals) and a good chunk of volume 2. This particular run (I know he had a previous one but I have gone down that rabbit hole) goes all the way back to volume 2 issue 284 in fact. They named his run "The Paul Levitz era" on Wikipedia so I should've known better. His run does begin with a notable storyline, The Great Darkness Saga (issues 287; 290–294; and Annual 3) so maybe I will start there if I ever dive in.

What is the point of all this you say? Well it kind of highlighted for me one of the barriers to entry for new readers: continuity or just the volume of back material. Even a comic book veteran like me is put off by the amount of stuff that has gone before and after that volume 4. To highlight this, I completed a list of books for you where the Legion were the leads or co-leads. It is not an exhaustive list but I think I got the main run. The Legion got their first real cover billing when Superboy became Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes in 1973 (issue 197), a book that dropped the "Superboy" part in 1980 when Superboy went back to his own time. Volume 5 had a run as "Supergirl and the", perhaps a nod to this era. I haven't read volume 7 but I believe the current Superboy is involved with that. Anyway, heres the list:

• Legion of Super-Heroes #1–4 (reprints from Adventure Comics) (1973)
• Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #197–258 (1973 - 1980)
• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #259–313, Annual #1–3, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #314–325 (#326–354 are reprints of Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3)  (1980 -1989)
• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #1–63, Annual #1–4 (Baxter series) (1984 - 1989)
• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4, #1–61, Annual #1–5 (1989 - 2000)
• Legionnaires #1–81, Annual #1 - 3 (1993 - 2000)
• Legion Lost #1–12 (2000 - 2001)
• The Legion #1–38 (2001 - 2004)
• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 5, #1–15, Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #16–36,  Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 5, #37–50 (2005 - 2009)
• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 6, #1–16 (2010 - 2011)
• Legion Lost vol. 2, #1–16, 0 (2011 - 2013)
• Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 7, #1–23, 0 (2019 - )

So if you ask me to recommend something, I'd be at a loss. I'd have to go on reputation or my experience with a creator. Maybe I'd say The Great Darkness Saga or Five Years Later. I'm more likely to recommend a writer. Dan Abnett had a run (there's two trades available and it has Legion Lost with art by Olivier Coipel). Mark Waid started volume 5 (with Barry Kitson) so that's probably worth a look. I think a friend checked out the run at the time it came out and I may have read it. Paul Levitz returns for volume 6. The current run (volume 7) is Brian Michael Bendis (with Ryan Sook and Jordie Bellaire). I have taken a break from Bendis (I sometimes tire of a particular writing style) but it has been a while and I love Ryan Sook so I might check that out at some point.

I thought I might complete the above analysis with a character I am familiar with (or at least I used to be): Daredevil. Here's the list for the main series:

• Daredevil Vol. 1, #1–380 (April 1964 – Oct. 1998)
• Daredevil Vol. 2, #1–119 [#381–499] (Nov. 1998 – Aug. 2009) Note: With issue #22, began official dual-numbering with original series, as #22 / 402, etc
• Daredevil #500–512 (Oct. 2009 – Dec. 2010) Original numbering resumes.
• Daredevil Vol. 3, #1–36, #10.1 [#513-548] (July 2011 – Feb. 2014)
• Daredevil Vol. 4 #1-18, #1.50, #15.1 [#549-566] (March 2014 - Sept. 2015)
• Daredevil Vol. 5 #1-28 [#567-594] (February 2016 - December 2017)
• Daredevil #595-612 (2017 - 2018) Original numbering resumes.
• Daredevil Vol. 6 (2019 -)

A bit more straight forward except for, probably to the annoyance of collectors, Marvel's constant need to go back to volume 1 numbering. No reboots make it easier too. I got on board the Daredevil train in 1999. A friend discovered that Dublin had comic shops and got me a copy of issue 1 of volume 2. (I have a letter in issue 13 of that volume, which was during a David Mack run. I'm a huge fan of that guy). With the help of trades and back issues, I was able to pick up some of the classic storylines. Growing weary of superhero books and big events, I checked out somewhere near the beginning of Mark Waid's run in volume 4. However, I can give you a lot of recommendations from the stuff I've read.

• Frank Miller's first run Vol. 1 #158-161, #163-191
• Daredevil: Born Again Vol. 1 #227–233 (Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli)
• Ann Noccenti's run Vol. 1 #238 to #291 (John Romita Jr pencils and Al Williamson inks #250 to #282)
• Fall From Grace Vol. 1 #319 - 325 (D.G. Chichester and Scott McDaniel)
• Parts of a Hole Vol. 2 #9–15 (David Mack)
• Daredevil: Yellow #1–6 (Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale)
• Wake Up Vol. 2, #16–19 (Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack)
• Brian Michael Bendis' run Vol. 2 #26–50, #56–81 (With Alex Maleev)
• Daredevil : Dark Nights #1-8 (Lee Weeks (1-3), David Lapham and Klaus Jansen (4-5), Jimmy Palmiotti and Thony Silas (6-8)

One of these days I'll get back on that train and continue my run. I also have to go back and check out Last Rites (volume #297–300) as it is critically acclaimed. It is written by D.G. Chichester (Fall From Grace) and has art by Lee Weeks. Actually, I think I might check out D.G. Chichester's entire run (#292–309, #312–332, #338–342, #380). Just looking at his issues, I have read 380. I picked it up as it was the last issue of volume 1. I have another reading recommendation outside of the Daredevil comics: The Devil Is In The Details. It is a collection of essays on various aspects of Daredevil. You can check out an interview with editor Ryan K. Lindsay on the highly recommended Man Without Fear website. I hope this was fun and / or helpful. I had fun putting it together. I might return to it for other series I am familiar with. 

Personal Picks Episode Six - Under The Covers

 

Autumn is getting a winter chill.   

A woman sings a Bob Dylan song.

A child hides under their blanket.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this edition of Personal Picks where we are going to hide from the winter chill by listening to some hot covers. 

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

First up we have the most covered artist of all time covering a song. From Self Portrait comes Blue Moon...

1) Blue Moon - Bob Dylan

2) Fare The Well (Dink's Song) - Oscar Isaac & Marcus Mumford

3) I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - The White Stripes

4) Lake Of Fire - Nirvana

5) Life On Mars? - Seu Jorge

6) Mind Games - Arcade Fire

7) Mad Word - Gary Jules (Feat. Micheal Andrews) 

8) Brothers in Arms - Joan Baez

9) Come una pietra scalciata (Like A Rolling Stone) - Articolo 31

10) Stand By Me - John Lennon

Well I think it's time to get up and maybe make a hot chocolate. While I'm busy, check out these riveting re-writes and rocking remakes.

Recommended reading: Batman: Year One, Marvels

Recommended viewing: Little Shop Of Horrors, The Birdcage 

Dare to Speak Their Name: Including the Queer in Worldbuilding, Fierce & Proud

I was once again involved with Octocon this year. I had the daunting task of moderating the Dare to Speak Their Name: Including the Queer in Worldbuilding. Daunting as I didn't really feel qualified to be a part of it. However, as a reviewer of, and sometimes writer of, stories, I suppose I do have some experience with worldbuilding. The panel ended up being a lot of fun and by the end of it I think we all felt that we could have talked for a good while longer about the topic. 

Here are the details:

Dare to Speak Their Name: Including the Queer in Worldbuilding

"Speculative fiction can give us many opportunities to step outside familiar constructs of gender and sexuality. Whether the world is one without obvious prejudice where all genders are treated as equally as possible and queerness is unremarkable, or one in which gender isn't assigned at birth or just doesn't matter at all, how does SFF queer its worlds? What can these secondary worlds show readers and viewers who had previously only been exposed to straight culture?"

Panelists: David Ferguson (moderator), GOH Philippa Ryder, Helen Corcoran, Quinn Clancy, Robert JE Simpson.

If you missed it, you can check it out on Twitch until the end of October. 

One of the panelists was Quinn Clancy who is involved with the Cupán Fae group. Established in 2015, the group meets weekly to discuss their current projects, collaborate on new ideas and basically provide support to each other. They were selling books as part of the con so I picked up a couple of them on Kindle (I'm sorry. I have to be selective with physical books due to space constraints). I decided on their science fiction anthology, Fierce New World, and their latest anthology, an LGBTQ one, Fierce & Proud. I love a bit of science fiction and have recently decided to make a conscious decision to look at LGBTQ creators and works. I ended up starting that journey with EM Forrester's Maurice, a wonderful gay romance book that spawned an equally wonderful movie starring a young Hugh Grant. However, the Octocon panel made me notice that I haven't really delved much into LGBTQ science fiction. Well outside comic books. Coincidentally, I have recently backed a science fiction comic book Kickstarter called Fanny Galactic, which stars a drag queen and other queer characters. I could go on but maybe another time and another place. Anyway, I started reading Fierce & Proud not even thinking of a science fiction angle but it turns out the writers largely went in that direction (the book doesn't stick to single genre and I must note that I haven't finished all the stories yet). I'm gonna call out two stories in particular as I thought they had clever ideas and the writers managed to pull them off well: Paul Carroll's Man in the Mirror and Kat Dodd's Marked. They are interesting looks into the perception of sexuality and gender. Though I have enjoyed all the stories so far so maybe support the group by checking out one of their books? I may cover Fierce New World when I get to it.

Cupán Fae on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CupanFae

Cupán Fae's website: http://cupanfae.com/

Personal Picks Episode Five - All Across America

 

A Cadillac sits in front of the diner.  

A waitress pours another cup of coffee.

A man fumbles with a road map.

It is time for my personal picks.

Welcome to this edition of Personal Picks where we are going to leave the top down and let the air hit our faces as we drive across America. Close your eyes and imagine the journey.

 (You can check out this playlist on Spotify).

Before we get on the road, we'll need a hearty breakfast. I'm not really a fan of kippers myself.

1) Breakfast In America - Supertramp

2) America - Simon & Garfunkel

3) Leaving New York - R.E.M.

4) Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen

5) Graceland - Paul Simon

6) The Kansas City Song - Buck Owens

7) Chicago - Sufjan Stevens

8) San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie 

9) California Dreamin' - The Mamas And The Papas

10) Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & The Pips

BONUS (NOT ON SPOTIFY)

11) Amarillo - Gorillaz 

Well the train is rolling into the station and I need to figure out how to get back to where I started. While I'm busy hitching a ride, check out these rambling reads and wandering watches.

Recommended reading: Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72, Green Lantern and Green Arrow (1970s run beginning in Green Lantern #76)

Recommended viewing: Trains, Planes & Automobiles, Little Miss Sunshine, Logan