Month: December 2016 (Page 9 of 9)

Regular readers of PopCult should be well aware by now of your PopCulteer’s admiration and enjoyment of the Charlton Neo movement. We included a special Charlton Neo day last year in the Gift Guide, and there’s plenty of new stuff to tell you about in 2016.

Charlton Comics was sort of the “shadow comic book company” that operated on the fringe of the industry as a self-contained unit that handled their own editorial, printing, and distribution. Their comics had a certain funkiness to them because of the weird printing and the fact that they didn’t pay anywhere near the comic industry’s top rates.

While Charlton Comics is no longer with us, the spiritual heirs of the denizens of Derby, Connecticut are fighting the good fight, trying to make comic books fun again. These items are the perfect gifts for the comic book lover on your holiday shopping list.

Charlton Arrow

The flagship of the Charlton Neo movement is the Charlton Arrow, an anthology series that combines work by original Charlton creators with that of like minded newcomers. These books are a tremendous amount of fun and include some top notch storytelling. The latest issue, number five, is available for order now.

In addition to the Charlton Arrow, there have been new books featuring Romance and Western stories, plus an anthology collecting some of the Pix-C webcomics which had only been available to contributors to the Charlton Neo Patreon campaign.

All of these comics can be ordered directly from Mort Todd at his website and there you will also find reprints of Charlton’s Hot Rod comics, as well as other really cool graphic novelties.

Many of these books can also be ordered at Amazon. And remember, Charlton Neo comics make great stocking stuffers. Mort has also used Kickstarter to fund a Charlton cover gallery project. That campaign recently closed, and if any of the cover gallery books are produced for people who missed the campaign, I’ll tell you about it here.

Charlton Spotlight

Charlton Spotlight is a magazine devoted to the history of the original Charlton Comics and presents interviews with the original creators, as well as the occasional previously-unpublished Charlton comic book stories.

Argo Press is currently running a 25% off sale, so it’s a great time to snap up some classic issues that include interviews with Charlton creators, many of whom are no longer with us. Supplies are getting low on some issues so you might want to get over there quick.

All back issues of Charlton Spotlight, can be ordered directly from the publisher. These are terrific reads for any lover of vintage comic books.

The Charlton Movie

Currently in production is a documentary film about the humorous, tragic & simply amazing story of Charlton Comics; Derby, CT’s infamous comic book company that launched legends.

Produced By Jackie Zbuska, Keith Larsen, & Dennis Peters, The Charlton Movie promises to be a captivating look at the grand underdog of the comic book world.

You can help support the production The Charlton Movie by shopping at their Cafepress store, and following them on Facebook.

Kate Bush Before The Dawn

This pick for the 2016 PopCult Gift Guide won’t be officially released until Friday, December 2, but as a huge fan of Kate Bush, I couldn’t wait to tell you about it. This is the official audio artifact of Kate Bush’s month-long residency at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in the summer of 2014. Those were her first live concerts since 1979, and her fans who were not able to attend have been clamoring for these recordings.

Presented as an audacious, multi-media theatrical performance entitled Before The Dawn, the month-long, sold-out, 22-date residency at London’s Hammersmith Apollo was an unqualified triumph.

Now, to the delight of Kate Bush fans around the world, comes the audio document of those mesmerizing, historic shows. Before The Dawn will be available as a 3-CD set, a 4-disc vinyl box set or a 29 track digital album. The sound quality is almost unparalleled; nothing has been re-recorded or overdubbed. The three act show, containing many well known Kate Bush songs, also included two song suites: ‘The Ninth Wave’ from Hounds of Love and ‘A Sky of Honey,’ from Aerial. Included in the show are an abundance of well loved songs from her extraordinary career including ‘Running Up That Hill,’ ‘Hounds of Love,’ ‘And Dream of Sheep,’ ‘Waking The Witch’ and ‘Cloudbusting.’

Despite the enormous anticipation and expectations, Before The Dawn drew resounding praise from fans and critics all over the world. The New York Times called the performance ‘Dense, cathartic and physical.’ NME concluded: ‘It is no ordinary artist that can tackle life, death, synchronicity, identity, spiritual transformation, empathy and the chaos of relationships with idiosyncratic ease in the space of a few hours,’ and the U.K.’s Independent gushed, ‘Undoubtedly the most ambitious, and genuinely moving piece of theatrical pop ever seen on a British stage.’

If you have a Kate Bush fan on your holiday shopping list, this is THE item that you want to get them. Available from Amazon, or anywhere that new music is sold.

This pick for the PopCult Gift Guide is for kids who have a love of fantasy, combined with an interest in cultivating a green thumb. My Fairy Garden allows kids (or fanciful-minded adults) to indulge in playset play and grow real plants at the same time.

Children love kits that allow them to grow plants at home; it gives them a connection to nature and a sense of satisfaction at having nurtured a living thing. My Fairy Garden takes it to a new, exciting level by allowing children to interact with it as part of an enchanting play set. You get fairy figures, accessories and playset environments that allow you to grow real plants.

Children (or adults who are into this sort of thing) plant the quick-germinating seeds, and care for their garden, all while setting up and playing with adorable fairies, woodland friends and accessories. It’s a great collectible line and a fun addition to the ever-growing STEM category of toys.

Suitable for ages four and up, the line has a variety of sets that have suggested retail prices ranging from $12.99 to $15.99. The playsets can be found at Toys “R” Us, Target and Amazon.

One of the more elaborate sets is Freya’s Magical Cottage — An adorable flower pot that’s a welcoming fairy home where Freya entertains friends and tends to her garden. The set includes the flowerpot cottage with opening doors and terrace, tray, cottage furniture, toadstool, Freya the fairy, her friend, and gardening accessories and tools.  This one of the higher-end sets, selling for a very reasonable $24.99.

While intended for kids, I can see this toy crossing over into the adult collector fanbase. The fairy figures are nicely-designed and this would be a fun and off-the-wall way to have plants in your home or office.

VISCERAL: The art of Jason Edmiston
by Jason Edmiston
Cernunnos
ISBN-13: 978-2374950020
$50.00

This pick is for the discriminating fan of lowbrow art, executed with highbrow skill, on your holiday shopping list. Praised as much by Hollywood as by his fan base, Jason Edmiston is THE greatest painter of Geek culture of our time. Adopting a classic style, he creates incredible oil paintings of Batman, Daenerys Targaryen and Dracula, to name a few. I first became aware of Jason’s work when writing an article about Mars Attacks trading cards, but after interviewing him, I realized that without knowing his name, I’d been a fan of his work for years.

Featured in various American and Canadian conventions (he lives in Toronto), he is followed by a huge, loyal fan base who are desperate to procure all of his posters and limited editions. Curated by another celebrity on the Geek art scene, Jay Shaw, this book brings together all of Edmiston’s most famous works, including many new drawings, as well as several pages of technical advice and an extensive, 17 page interview with designer and Mondo co-founder, Rob Jones.

This is a stunning collection of Edimston’s works. Fans of fantasy and horror will enjoy poring through this hefty tome for hours, studying the detail and sheer beauty of the art.  Also included in VISCERAL is a foreword by Mondo creative director and Mondo co-founder Mitch Putnam and an introduction by Special F/X legend and Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero.

Your best bet is to order VISCERAL from Amazon, where it can be had for a considerable discount, but local booksellers should be able to track it down for you using the ISBN code.