🙀 the cowards in you and me

Last Media Guide of the year before we go on our three week winter break! I tried to look ahead a bit and provide a look at some of the stuff that might be worth checking out while we go into hibernation.

Just a couple things I want to touch on before we get into what's new this week.

First up, Robert Van Vliet, who we featured here with his poem ISLAND earlier this month, has a new book coming out from Unsolicited Press tomorrow! You can snag yourself a copy though our Bookshop affiliate link here.

And if you are looking to spend even more money, you can snag a copy of the second printing of our S3 collection. You can get it digitally or pre-order a copy in Color or B&W to receive at the end of January.

📺 New Shows

🫦 Laid S1 (Peacock) — 19 Dec

New rom-com comedy starring Stephanie Hsu (Joy Ride) and Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant). I don't think this is going to set the world on fire, but it looks like a nice and easy comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's the perfect type of show to start the evening with before you get into the serious stuff.

Whole season drops on Thursday.

🏟️ The Dragon Prince S7 (Netflix) — 19 Dec

I mean, it's season seven. You either watch this or you don't.

🏡 What If...? S3 (Disney) — 22 Dec

Another animated one. I haven't watched the What If...? series at all, but I love the anthology aspect and am happy they are playing in that Elseworld-like sandbox.

📝 What Else?

• Aaron Rodgers: Enigma (Netflix) — 17 Dec
• Beast Games (Amazon) — 19 Dec

💨 While on Hiatus

• Squid Game S2 (Netflix) — 25 Dec
• WWE Raw (Netflix) — 6 Jan
• The Pitt S1 (HBO) — 9 Jan
• American Primeval S1 (Netflix) — 9 Jan

Monday

• What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu) 6:11
• Get Millie Back (HBO) 1:4
• Skeleton Crew (Disney) 1:4
• Secret Level (Amazon) 1:9-15

Wednesday

• Shrinking (Apple) 2:11
• Bad Sisters (Apple) 2:7

Thursday

• Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount) 5:10
• Creature Commandos (HBO) 1:4
• Bookie (HBO) 2:2
• Laid (Peacock) S1
• The Dragon Prince (Netflix) S7

Friday

• Silo (Apple) 2:6
• The Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO) 3:5

Sunday

• Invincible Fight Girl (Adult Swim) 1:9
• Landman (Peacock) 1:7
• Dune: Prophecy (HBO) 1:6
• The Agency (Paramount) 1:5
• Dexter: Original Sins (Paramount) 1:2
• What If...? (Disney) 3:1

💽 Release of the Week

☄️ Comets by Mild Monk

I was a little worried there wouldn't be much music to talk about at all this week, but we got lucky with a couple records here. Comets is a very chill and ethereal indie rock record. I could see this playing in a coffee shop where you start looking long and hard at the barista to figure out if they might be dropping acid or in the background of 500 Days of Summer.

🏃 Runner-ups

🏃 Why We Run by Menno Versteeg

Debut record from Versteeg and I'm pretty impressed. It's got a folksy sound to the alt-indie acoustic vibe that's nice and pleasing. It's pretty chill, but not as boring as someone like Mac DeMarco (no offense 😜).

🫦 Missionary by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre

When this started off, I was thinking this might be one of the best things either of these guys has done in over a decade. However, it ended up getting a little long in the tooth. Between feeling a bit repetitive and the over-sampling, I got bored with it. Don't get me wrong, I love some good sampling in rap and hip-hop, but just taking a chorus from an old song and using it, copy+paste, is just plain lazy.

🦸 No. 1's

🧰 Freddie the Fix (Image)

Garth Ennis has been putting out quite a few books in recent years with smaller publishers, so it feels like a pretty big deal he's finally doing something with Image here.

This is also the first book from the new horror focused imprint, Ninth Circle, that is co-founded by Ennis along with Ram V, Marguerite Bennett, Joe Pruett, and Adam Glass. The whole imprint thing might be getting close to jumping the shark as this is definitely a play at making some noise in Hollywood, but anything that has Ennis, V, and Bennett involved will inevitably produce some pretty killer comics.

👼 The New Gods (DC)

As much as I love and prefer talking about indie and Image books, it's hard to ignore the fact Ram V is doing a New Gods book with Evan Cagle. I don't even feel like I need to say much more about this.

👹 Motherfuckin' Monsters [Horizon Experiment] (Image)

The second to last Horizon Experiment one-shot pilot—this one comes from TV writer Jason Holthan and artist Michael Lee Harris as they tackle horror comedy in a very fun cartoony style.

🦡 Hellverine (Marvel)

Benjamin Percy continues his epic run surrounding Wolverine.

⚰️ Damned (Fantagraphics)

New one-shot from Eric Haven that just looks weird, fun, and even a little demented.

📝 What Else?

• The Moon Is Following Us (Image) #4
• The Power Fantasy (Image) #5
• The Sacrificers (Image) #13
• Nullhunter (Image) #3
• Paklis (Image) #9
• Absolute Batman (DC) #3
• Batman and Robin: Year One (DC) #3
• Black Hammer: SPiral City (Dark Horse) #2
• Fantastic Four (Marvel) #27
• Barfly [Modern Threats] (Dark Horse) #4
• G.I. Joe (Skybound) #2
• House of Slaughter (Boom) #28
• Nightwing (DC) #121
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #5
• Thundercats (Dynamite) #11
• Ultimate Spider-Man (Marvel) #12

💨 While on Hiatus

• Metamorpho: The Element Man (DC) — 26 Dec
• Dust to Dust (Image) — 26 Dec
• When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee (Boom) — 1 Jan
• The Lucky Devils (Image) — 8 Jan
• Death of Copra (Image) — 8 Jan
• Cruel Kingdom (Oni) — 8 Jan
• Those Not Afraid (Dark Horse) — 8 Jan

🎥 New Movies

🏗️ The Brutalist

Adrien Brody is joined by Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce in this Brady Corbet movie from A24 about an architect who flees post-war Europe for America as he builds his legacy in the modern world. I have 20 films on my list of most important movies of the year and this is one of them.

🕋 The Room Next Door

After making his English-language debut with A Strange Way of Life starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, Pedro Almodóva is back with his first feature-length film in English. The Room Next Door also stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton along with John Turturro so you know the acting is going to be superb.

📝 What Else?

• Mufasa
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3

💨 While on Hiatus

• A Complete Unknown — 25 Dec
• Nosferatu — 25 Dec
• Babygirl — 25 Dec
• Better Man — 25 Dec
• Rounding — 3 Jan

Be kind and stay sane,