🩸 i was gouged and i was gored
s3e18—as a matter of fact we are cutting through the season of orbs and dice with grave anticipation and some monkey business
s3e18
- 📺: as a matter of fact
- 💽: cutting through the seasons
- 🕹️: orbs and dice
- 🦸: grave anticipation
- 🎥: some monkey business
Oh boy! We have quite the killer issue today! I can sense it.
A lot of cool and interesting things coming out, from the big budget Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Apple's Dark Matter to the much smaller Gasoline Rainbow, new Roar album, and some killer comics from Image, Boom, and more!
I'm back to once again feeling energized after my long spell of being sick and a short stint of travel. A lot of exciting things in the world of fiction coming together for foofaraw that really keeps me going.
To make this week even better, we have the second issue of James York's Sandbox Victory! Make sure to check it out below.
📺 New Shows
🧑🔬 Dark Matter S1 (Apple) — 7 May
I listened to this novel on audiobook and didn't love it. There are some fun elements to it, but ultimately it fell flat. It might be one of those things, like Fleishman, where the show ends up actually being better than the book. Jennifer Connelly is perfect casting though.
🎙️ Bodkin S1 (Netflix) — 9 May
Will Forte stars in this show about some podcasters who go to Ireland to solve a missing persons case. While there is some comedy, Forte is actually playing it pretty straight and there looks like there's going to be some wild shit happening as the mystery unfolds.
🥼 Doctor Who S1 (Disney/BBC) — 10 May
I'm going to be honest—I've never seen a single second of Doctor Who. But a new era is kicking off with a new Doctor so maybe I'll check this one out.
🧛 Interview with a Vampire S2 (AMC) — 12 May
I never got around to S1, but it's something I'd like to watch one day when there's a lull... But for those of you who did, it's back for S2.
Wednesday
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney) 3:16
- Palm Royale (Apple) 1:10 [Season finale]
- X-Men '97 (Disney) 1:9
- Loot (Apple) 2:7
- The Big Door Prize (Apple) 2:5
- Dark Matter (Apple) 1:1-2
Thursday
- The Girls on the Bus (HBO) 1:10 [Season finale]
- Conan O'Brien Must Go (HBO) 1:4
- Hacks (HBO) 3:3-4
- Bodkin (Netflix) S1 [Full season]
Friday
- Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (HBO) 1:7
- Sugar (Apple) 1:7
- Franklin (Apple) 1:7
- A Gentleman in Moscow (Showtime) 1:7
- Welcome to Wrexham (Hulu) 3:3
- Doctor Who (Disney/BBC) 1:1-2
Sunday
- Last Week Tonight (HBO) 11:11
- The Sympathizer (HBO) 1:5
💽 Release of the Week
♈ Knives for Aries by Roar
Roar are new to me, but this is the fourth album from the NOLA Indie Pop outfit from Owen Evans.
Anyways, this kind of feels like if a Beach Boy went solo as a weird indie Gen Zer. Or maybe it's Alex G's God Save the Animals meets The Beach Boys Pet Sounds? It's not that good, but I think that comparison should give you a sense for the sounds and vibes that had me push this out as the Release of the Week.
🏃 Runner-ups
🦁 Fearless Movement by Kamasi Washington
Kamasi is one of the kings of modern jazz. Everything he touches turns to gold. I don't really have much else to say other than if you've ever been interested in listening to jazz there are few people better to start listening to.
💌 With Love, by Snarls
Upbeat female-led indie rock. That's exactly my alley so of course I loved this one.
🦠 empathogen by WILLOW
Willow has had one of the most fascinating beginnings to their career. Obviously, they've been extremely lucky to follow in the footsteps of their parents, but she has really come into her own over these last three albums. Going from a young pop star to poppy (and sometimes heavy) punk rock to this soulful, easy flowing jazzy pop record.
🔥 Find Your Flame by Nubiyan Twist
More jazz to help you get through your week.
🗒️ Other Notables
- Super Magik by Better Than Ezra
- Radical Optimism by Dua Lipa
- Funeral for Justice by Mdou Moctar
- A Dream is All We Know by The Lemon Twigs
- BUG by Kacy Hill
James is back with the second edition of Sandbox Victory. A ton of awesome and fun looking stuff this month. Be sure to check it all out!
👾 PICO-verse
🔮 Orb of Aeternum
More people need to know about the PICO-8, and so I'll be introducing a game from this platform each month. If you didn't know what it was already:
PICO-8 is a fantasy console for making, sharing and playing tiny games and other computer programs. It feels like a regular console, but runs on Windows / Mac / Linux. When you turn it on, the machine greets you with a commandline, a suite of cartridge creation tools, and an online cartridge browser called SPLORE.
- From the official site: https://www.lexaloffle.com/pico-8.php
This month we have a premium game (in that this one is a purchasable game compared to the many free, open-source games that exist on the PICO-8 forums) from one of the best and most experienced PICO-8ers in the business: Johan Peitz. Johan has created a bunch of free games from shooters to roguelikes, which you can find on his Itch.io page: https://johanpeitz.itch.io/, so take a look!
Onto Orb though: Orb is one of the rare(?) games that uses the mouse input abilities of PICO-8 as the main control. Think "Command and Conquer," "Cannon Fodder," or "Starcraft" as you select units and put them to work in building/expanding your base.
The game reminds me of Dwarf Fortress in that you have minions mining and exploring in a dark cave, but clearly not the same level of depth (or steep learning curve that Dwarf Fortress has!)
From the itch.io page:
Short and action packed sessions requiring new strategies every time
Mine your way through the randomly generated mountain
Build specialised rooms to upgrade your units and dungeon
Fight the never ending intruders
Crisp pixel art and sweet chiptune music
Kevin Humdrum
🦸 No. 1's
🪦 Ain't No Grave (Image) #1
Skottie Young and Jorge Corona are back with their third collaboration following the beautiful The Me You Love in the Dark. It's an artistic team made in heaven. So much so that I have no idea what this is about, but it's an instant buy for me.
🐤 The Boy Wonder (DC) #1
Juni Ba, one of my favorite new cartoonists is getting a solo Robin book. Stoked to see what he does with it.
🐊 Crocodile Black (Boom) #1
Phillip Kennedy Johnson is a writer I've never really had any affection for until he took over Hulk. So I'm excited to see what he does with his first creator-owned book. He is joined by new-to-me artist Som, in this dark, pandemic-era thriller.
🥋 Karate Prom (First Second) #1
Everything Kyle Starks does is wonderful. This is a new YA graphic novel from him, but don't let the YA turn you off. He's great at making books for all ages with humor, heart, and creativity.
🔋 Energon Universe Special (Skybound) #1
I need to catch-up on my Energon books, but I'm curious to see if they start really trying to tie GI Joe, Void Rivals, and Transformers together with this.
⚰️ Blood Hunters (Marvel) #1
If you are following the Marvel event, this is probably worth picking up.
🦹 New Releases
🌳 Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees (Image) #6
This absolutely terrific mini-series from Patrick Horvath comes to an end here. I know it'll be great and can't wait to see what he does next.
🐦 The Sacrificers (Image) #8
Rick Remender and Max Fiumara continue to knock this epic story of Pigeon out of the park.
🎅 The Deviant (Image) #5
This is probably the first Tynion book I've had trouble really clicking with, but it's still good enough to keep buying. Especially with that Hixson art.
✋ The One Hand (Image) #4
The penultimate issue of this miniseries from Ram V that ties into Dan Watters' The Six Fingers.
☢️ Geiger (Image) #2
The second issue of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's new ongoing as part of Ghost Machine and the Unnamed.
🎥 New Movies
🐒 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
After the last Apes trilogy and especially the last flick, War, directed by Matt Reeves (The Batman), which was a masterpiece, I'm a bit worried this one might fall short.
Wes Ball, who directed the Maze Runner trilogy (which I haven't seen) has taken over directorial duties here and Hollywood seems to have faith in him because his next two films lined up are Mouse Guard and The Legend of Zelda.
🏊 Poolman
I can't in good conscious recommend this one because it is getting absolutely eviscerated from early reviews, but it's Chris Pine making his directorial debut and he has the whole shaggy dog look going here that makes me want to glue my eyes to this train wreck.
🌈 Gasoline Rainbow
A wild coming-of-age roadtrip movie from The Ross Brothers, who, after watching this trailer, I feel like I need to familiarize myself with more. This also hits Mubi at the end of the month.
🤠 The Last Stop in Yuma County
This looks pretty fun actually. A (mostly) single location Western vibe Mexican stand-off film. Feels like a mix of The Hateful Eight, Free Fire, and Bad Times at the El Royale.
I told you this week was pretty great didn't I?!?
More exciting stuff coming as [+] subscribers get a look at Q1's best entertainment and then Friday's Weekend Edition is a doozy. Don't miss it.
Stay sane and be kind,
—humdrum
