bees and flowers; squids and bugs; foxes and bears; oh my!
Jam.Packed.Issue. Especially when it comes to music. Honestly, at this point, I'm basically rolling some dice to choose the release of the week. So much fun stuff from familiar bands and new bands. When there is so much music, it makes it quite difficult to get this out on time, hence my tardiness...
We also get two of the biggest shows of the year returning this Sunday along with Jason Aaron's return to creator-owned comics, a killer music doc, and the newest Marvel movie...
📺 New Shows
🐝 Yellowjackets S3 (Showtime) — 16 Feb
Yellowjackets is back! And hopefully better! Season two suffered a lot as it focused on the present day too much with the main characters separated from each other. It didn't drive the plot forward much either—at least nothing that feels important enough for me to remember (besides Frodo showing up). Since it ended with them coming together, I'm hopeful season three will keep that going so we can see the characters actually interact with each other. Not to mention, the best part of the show is when we get to see them stranded in the woods as kids. More of that please.
🏨 The White Lotus S3 (HBO) — 16 Feb
Reviews are already coming out and are pretty positive. A lot of them are focused on the performances, and how could they not be with this cast? Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs, and Michelle Monaghan. I don't need to see a trailer or read a single thing about it to know the performances will be great.
📝 What Else?
- Last Week Tonight S12 (HBO)
- Have I Got News For You S2 (CNN)
Tuesday
- Paradise (Hulu) 1:5
Wednesday
- Mythic Quest (Apple) 4:4
Thursday
- The Pitt (HBO) 1:7
- Harley Quinn (HBO) 5:5
- Invincible (Amazon) 3:4
Friday
- Severance (Apple) 2:5
Sunday
- Dexter: Original Sins (Paramount) 1:10
- Common Side Effects (Adult Swim) 1:4
- Yellowjackets (Paramount) 3:1-2
- The White Lotus (HBO) 3:1
- Last Week Tonight (HBO) 12:1
💽 Release of the Week
🦑 Cowards by Squid
I think we can finally say Squid is back on track! Their second album wasn't terrible, but it felt like they were actively trying to repeat the success of the first album, staying in a single lane without taking any chances. That's not the case here. They obviously bring their normal sound of English "crank wave," but they do so much more on this album with subtle hints of keys, stark instrumentation breaks, and moments of soft subtlety.
Current Favorite Track: Building 650
🏃 Runner-ups
🛶 Michigander by Michigander
I feel like I always forget what Michigander sounds like and then am pleasantly surprised with every new release. He hasn't quite broken through for me, but this might be the one that sticks around a little longer. It's like easy listening alternative rock, but this he seems to have really found a driving rhythm to make the album as a whole pretty compelling despite the light and airy feel.
CFT: Peace of Mind
🦴 Mentalized by Skeleten
This was almost the release of the week, but as a solo producer, it all comes across to clean to me. I want some rawness in the instrumentation and if he is using real instruments, it's hard to tell from over-polishing everything. But with the detractors out of the way, it's a blast of an album. Just listen to that opening track. A catchy hook, a driving bass line, and some bongos!
CFT: These People
📝 What Else?
- Wish Defense by FACS
- Like A Damn Dog by Sarah and the Sundays
- Clover by Sleeper's Bell
- Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory by Sharon Van Etten
- Listen to the whale by Kriill
- Dreaming In Stereo by The Jellybricks
- Curioso by Wilder Woods
🦸 No. 1's
🐛 Bug Wars (Image)
Jason Aaron returns to creator owned after wrapping up Once Upon a Time at the End of the World at Boom last year, and his first book at Image since Sea of Stars in 2021. For Bug Wars, Aaron brings along his frequent collaborator on Thor, Mahmud Asrar to tell a story about a kid from Alabama who gets lost in a vicious world where he has to battle all sorts of creatures and mythical/fantastical beings.
💆♀️ Bring Me the Head of Susan Lomond (Silver Sprocket)
I don't know anything about this, but I'm trying to support smaller, weirder publishers and Silver Sprocket obviously fits the mold. This is the debut graphic novel fro Connor B. and it looks like a lot of fun.
🪦 Mine Is a Long, Lonesome Grave (Oni)
Justin Jordan is such an underrated comics writer. He probably is known my much of the mainstream because of his limited big two work, but Spread, Harrower, Luther Strode, Breaklands, Dead Body Road, I could go on... All standd out books. Chris Shehan (House of Slaughter) joins Jordan as artist on this book as they dive into an ex-con who gets a curse put on them.
🧟 Into the Unbeing: Part Two (Dark Horse)
Being this is a part two, you are either already aboard this or not. I have Part One, but haven't read it yet...
🌎 One World Under Doom (Marvel)
And finally, a new event over at Marvel kicks off with Ryan North and R.B. Silva leading this event that stems from Fantastic Four and will crossover into X and Avenger books.
📝 What Else?
- The Moon is Following Us (Image) #6
- The Lucky Devils (Image) #2
- Where Monsters Lie: Cull-De-Sac (Dark Horse) #4
- Absolute Batman (DC) #5
- Death of Copra (Image) #2
- I Hate Fairyland (Image) #20
- Transformers (Skybound) #17
- Welcome to Maynard (Dark Horse) #3
🎥 New Movies
🎤 Sly Lives! (Hulu)
New documentary from Questlove that follows the rise of Sly & The Family Stone and examines the burden that came with success for Black artists.
🇺🇸 Captain America: Brave New World
... I don't know that I have much to say about this... I'm not that excited, but I also already bought tickets to go on Valentine's Day... Don't tell my wife, she can't say no if she doesn't know until we get there...
⛰️ The Gorge (Apple)
I feel like I should be excited for this based on the talent: Scott Derrickson directing, Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy starring, but I get this feeling it's going to be incredibly campy/hokey as it tries to do too many things, blending adventure, horror, romance, and sci-fi all into one. Plus, since it's coming from Apple, it's just getting dropped into streaming...
📝 What Else?
🙈 Missed From Last Week
🛍️ Available to Buy/Rent
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