Month: December 2015 (Page 5 of 5)

The Deadly Scarab (Crime Cats Volume 3)
by Wolfgang Parker
ISBN-13: 978-0692562277
$9.50

Last year we recommended the first two volumes of Wolfgang Parker’s young readers series, and now, just in time for the holidays, volume three has arrived. This volume is a bit of a departure for the series about a kid and his crime-solving cats. In this book, the connection that the Columbus neighborhood of Clintonville has to the discover of King Tut’s tomb is explored.

We pick up the description from the publisher, “Being a superhero is hard! It’s not as easy as Jonas Shurmann thought it would be. Instead of being the coolest guy in school, his teacher accuses him of lying about his adventures. And the new girl in his class makes up a superhero that everyone likes way more than the Chicken-Boy of Clintonville and the Crime Cats. But everything changes when Jonas finds a mysterious ring. That’s when he finally gets to experience what it’s like to wield real power. The only problem is that he risks losing his friends, his family…and his very soul! Get ready to explore ancient history and deadly mysteries in the most epic “Crime Cats” adventure yet!”

This is a terrific book for young readers and cat lovers of all ages. This volume is longer than the previous two, but kids will be able to handle it because of the engrossing story.

The Deadly Scarab (Crime Cats Volume 3) can be ordered from Amazon.

Walt Kelly’s Fairy Tales
by Walt Kelly
IDW Publishing/Yoe Books
ISBN-13: 978-1631403651

In previous years I’ve recommended Fantagraphic’s terrific collections of Walt Kelly’s Pogo, but this year we have a very special treat from Yoe Books.

Walt Kelly, Disney animator on Dumbo, Fantasia, Snow White, and Pinocchio and the creator of the Pogo comic strip, created beautiful, action-packed fairy tale comic book stories, some from his own incredible imagination and some based on The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson classics.

Comic fans of all ages will thrill to stories of witches, princesses, giants, dragons, fairy queens, elves, and goblins. Enjoy fairy tale classics like “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Gingerbread Man,” “The Wise Men of Gotham,” “The Lost Prince,” and “Cinderella” (published eight years before the Disney Classic) in this gorgeous collection. Introduction by Kelly-fan animator and beloved illustrator Dean Yeagle.

This is a book for all ages. Parents may find themselves turning to Kelly’s takes on famous fairy tales rather than the original versions. Walt Kelly’s Fairy Tales is a gorgeous book that any true fan of great comic book art will want to own, but it also has a timeless appeal that could make it a family heirloom.

Available from any bookseller. The list price for this beautiful hardcover is $39.99, and it’d be worth every penny, but you can also find it discounted, if you shop around.

Gilliamesque: A Pre-posthumous Memoir
by Terry Gilliam
ISBN-13: 978-0062380746

The screenwriter, innovative animator, highly acclaimed visionary film director, and only non-British member of Monty Python offers an intimate glimpse into his world in this fascinating memoir illustrated with hand-drawn sketches, notes, and memorabilia from his personal archive.

From his no-frills childhood in the icy wastes of Minnesota, to some of the hottest water Hollywood had to offer, via the cutting edge of 1960s and ’70s counter-culture in New York, L.A. and London, Terry Gilliam’s life has been as vivid, entertaining and unorthodox as one of his films.

Telling his story for the first time, the director of Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys, and Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas—not to mention co-founder of Monty Python’s Flying Circus—recalls his life so far. Packed with never-before-seen artwork, photographs and commentary, Gilliamesque blends the visual and the verbal with scabrous wit and fascinating insight.

Gilliam’s “pre-posthumous memoir” also features a cast of amazing supporting characters—George Harrison, Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger and all of the fellow Pythons—as well as cameo appearances from some of the heaviest cultural hitters of modern times, from Woody Allen to Frank Zappa, Gloria Steinem to Robert Crumb, Richard Nixon to Hunter S. Thompson. Gilliam’s encounters with the great and the not-so-good are revealing, funny, and hugely entertaining.

This is a long-awaited treat for Python fans, who haven’t heard Gilliam’s side of the Monty Python saga until now. The deluxe hardcover has a list price of forty bucks, but can be found heavily-discounted by many booksellers if you hunt around for it. It’s a must-have for any Monty Python fan.

Appalachian Winter Hauntings
Edited by Michael Knost and Mark Justice
ISBN: 978-0-9824939-5-3
$14.95

PERFECT FOR THE FALL and WINTER SEASON: Appalachian Winter Hauntings: Weird Tales from the Mountains includes eleven bone-chilling accounts, penned by many of the preeminent storytellers in the business. These stories are appropriate to the Appalachian region and relative to the heart of the winter season. This anthology is dark and cold and is designed for cozying up close to a blazing fireplace on the coldest of winter nights.

When organizing the theme and the writers for this venture, Woodland Press, along with editors Michael Knost and Mark Justice, wanted to seek unusual stories with a wintry and ghostly theme. Able contributors and powerful storytellers include: Ronald Kelly, Brian J. Hatcher, Patricia Hughes, Steve Vernon, S. Clayton Rhodes, Steve Rasnic Tem, Sara J. Larson, Scott Nicholson, J.G. Faherty. EmmaLee Pallai, and Elizabeth Massie. Perhaps the texture is gritty and the stories are moving and, yes, c-h-i-l-l-i-n-g. Think Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” turned up a notch with a spooky mountain country backdrop.

So, pour yourself a mug of hot cocoa, wrap your favorite blanket around you tight, and brace yourself for ghostly stories and weird encounters that take place in the shadows of snowy hilltops or along icy mountain trails.

Reccomended for fans of eerie fiction set in the Mountain State. Available at local bookstores, or directly from Woodland Press, the publisher.This is a fun collection and it supports our local writers.

Our next PopCult Gift Guide pick is our first video installment. It’s for a game called Stinky Pig, and helping us out in the video above is Wayward BurlyQ, who, coincidentally, you can see this Friday at The Blue Parrot.

Stinky Pig is appropriate for anyone who enjoys porcine flatulance as an entertaining diversion. It’ll run you about twelve bucks, and we’ve seen it locally at Books A Million. This is a variation of Hot Potato, only with the added enhancement of replacing the potato with a pig, and the music with humming and a fart. Also included are a die and tokens to help you start gameplay and keep score, but honestly, when you’re tossing around a plastic farting pig, everyone’s a winner!

Wayward BurlyQ will put on their annual Holiday Show this Friday at The Blue Parrot in Charleston and in the coming weeks in Clarksburg and Huntington. Check out their Facebook page for more details.

Todd Burge is a legend of the West Virginia music scene. From his days in a Morgantown punk band to his current status as Americana ambassador for The Mountain State, Todd has made his mark with intelligent songwriting and heartfelt singing and playing.

Let swipe his online bio here: “WV Troubadour, Played everything from Alternative Rock to Bluegrass, but is mainly known for the sharp wit, soaring vocal & guitar prowess found in many of his songs while performing his hybrid brand of Contemporary Americana-Folk. He has performed venues as diverse as NPR’s Mountain Stage, CBGB’s, The Country Music Hall of Fame and the Kennedy Center. He is about to perform near you”

Now Todd is raising awareness for the Food Allergy Network (FARE) (http://www.foodallergy.org/).  Todd’s 9 year old, Sophia, has severe food allergies, and Todd and his wife have experienced firsthand how severe food allergies can be-life threatening and for many who have them, some foods that are everywhere, and in almost every restaurant and household, are literally poisonous.

So Todd has set up an IndieGoGo campaign to sell his music, with fifteen percent of the proceeds going to FARE. Donation levels start at a mere ten dollars, which will get you your choice of a download of Todd’s brand-new, first-ever live album, “Live in Orlando,” or his latest studio effort, “Imitation of Life.”

At higher levels you get signed CDs, songwriter workshops, jewelry made from guitar and mandolin strings and at the top levels, Todd will cover a song of your choice, write a song for you, or perform a concert at your house.

Aside from the terrific value of Todd’s music, you will also be helping out a very important cause. I have a little experience with this myself, which might explain my aversion to mushrooms to some of you. This is your chance to do something good and still get some great music in return. Follow the widget below or this link to learn more.

Hot on the heels of our most expensive gift idea is our cheapest suggestion. It’s so cheap that you have to buy ten of them just to make it worthwhile to mail out to you.

I’m talking about Sidekick Labs Glow In The Dark Skeleton Army. It’s a thick piece of paper with six glow in the dark Harryhausenesque skeletons, armed with swords and shields printed on it. It’s already die-cut and the skeletons are printed, front and back, on both sides with glow in the dark ink.

You just pop them out and fold the side tabs to make them stand, and voila…instant Skeleton Army!

Each sheet has six skeletons, and costs a buck. That’s one dollar for six four-inch-tall reanimated skeleton warriors. You have to buy ten sheets, but the postage is free anywhere in the US, and they make great stocking stuffers. Just follow this link and hit the “Buy Them Now” button.

Our most expensive gift suggestion clocks in at nearly four hundred bucks, but you get what you pay for. In this case it’s the complete studio output of the band, Queen, newly remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original master tapes, pressed on heavyweight 180 gram colored vinyl with a 108-page book. The LPs were pressed using half-speed lacquers cut at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

All fifteen studio albums recorded by Queen are included on eighteen discs. The final two albums, ‘Innuendo’ and ‘Made In Heaven,’ are formatted as two-disc sets, released unedited for the first time on vinyl.

The box-set offers many special features. Most noticeable is the colored vinyl: designed for collectors, each album has been given a different color, in keeping with its original artwork, giving a unique record-deck experience. The color discs have been custom-produced especially for this set, using new material technology which ensures the sound quality is uncompromised.

There are more surprises in the box set; ‘Queen II’ originally never had a designated ‘A side’ or ‘B side’ – but ‘Side White’ and ‘Side Black’. For this new edition, the album has been cut on two separate discs, black and white, each with a custom etching on the reverse side, a nice bonus for collectors.

This collection was five years in the making. Throughout this time Queen’s production team worked extensively on all stages of this painstaking mastering process. The first step was the tape research; locating and confirming the correct versions and best sources for all tracks. Most notably, Under Pressure, plus five tracks on the ‘Innuendo’ album, were improved hugely after the discovery of better sources during this period. Particular attention was paid to the original releases to ensure that nothing was lost or changed for the worse by reverting to earlier sources.

The 18 vinyl LP box set comes with a lavishly illustrated 12 x 12 inch 108-page hardback book which features introductions to each album, quotes from Queen themselves, hand-written lyrics, rare photographs, memorabilia, and information on singles and videos – all made possible with unlimited access to Queen’s own archive plus the personal archives of Brian May, Roger Taylor and some generous fans.

Included in The Queen Complete Studio Box:

Queen
Queen II *
Sheer Heart Attack
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
News of the World
Jazz
The Game
Flash Gordon
Hot Space
The Works
A Kind of Magic
The Miracle
Innuendo
Made in Heaven

* 2 disc special edition exclusive to the box set. 1 disc standard edition available separately.

If you have a die-hard, “gotta own it all” Queen completist on your gift-giving list, then you probably have already been told about this impressive set. It would be an incredible gift. You can find this hefty set at Amazon and possibly through local record shops.