THE CORNER LAUGHERS - Rainbow Cardigan
Monday, August 24, 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
Music of 2026, #18: SPENCER CULLUM
Video: RIDE OR DIE
RIDE OR DIE series on Amazon Prime: So much fun, like the best action movies. Just when you think it's all light-hearted entertainment, the storyline gets more serious and dramatic. Great performances from the two lead characters. Worth a watch, and definitely deserving of another season. FOUR STARS.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE . . . . . . . . RIDE OR DIE
Video: THE VAMPIRE LESTAT
THE VAMPIRE LESTAT on AMC: Actually, the third and final series in the INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE trilogy that AMC has been running the last several years. So much better than the movie treatment, and more faithful to the novels.
A wild take in the final version. Entertaining as always, with some truly remarkable performances. The final two episodes are crazy good, and not to be missed. Still, the second season of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is the best of the three. FOUR STARS.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE . . . . . THE VAMPIRE LESTAT
Sunday, August 16, 2026
Book Review: HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Tor Books, April 2016) Hardcover, 384 pages. English translation and revisions (First published April 2013) ISBN #9780765378804
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.
Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters your homes at will. She stands next to your bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened.
The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in so doing send the town spiraling into the dark, medieval practices of the past.
MY FIVE-STAR REVIEW on the Goodreads website . . . . .
An outstanding read with a unique premise: a small town under quarantine, with strict monitoring and penalties in order to conceal from the rest of the world what the problem/conflict is: a centuries-old witch who cursed the town and despite being shackled and her eyes shown shut, can appear anywhere within the town, including residential bedrooms.
The descriptions and settings are excellent, as well as the characterization - including a bunch of interesting secondary characters. You may not like many (or none) of them, but they feel realistic and easy to understand and empathize with. The story is as much about the town of Black Springs as it is about the presence of Katherine the witch.
I"m reminded of the writing style of Stephen King in the way that Heuvelt is able to convey exactly what characters are experiencing and feeling inside. I'm especially reminded of SALEM'S LOT. Both are stories of small towns that are taken over and transformed - - King's story by vampires, and Heuvelt's story by a curse.
Because the witch has been appearing in the town for centuries, there is a comfort level among the residents who tend to ignore or work around her manifestations. However, once that fragile truce is disrupted by some teens (bored of their confinement and restrictions on their lifestyle) things escalate to a fever head and the storyline becomes truly scary and disturbing.
The ending was inevitable and blunt, but still left me surprised. I did not expect that.
This novel is even more remarkable in that Dutch author Heuvelt re-wrote it for an American audience in the English translation and even changed the final chapters of the book and the ending. It reads like an American author wrote it with many local references. Definitely an author to check out more.
MY WEEKS IN COMICS - - - August 16, 2026
MY WEEKS IN COMICS - - - for the three weeks ending AUGUST 16, 2026
297+ = DEAD ACRE: BLACK BADGE #1 story by creators Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle with script by Cullen Bunn and art by Riley Brown (Vault Comics, July 2026) Who doesn’t welcome a good western comic with supernatural themes? - - Always a favorite of mine. The visuals in this debut issue are well-thought out and very expressive.
In a flashback sequence, a gunslinger (James Crowley) with a big heart/conscience lets that get the better of him and dies in a six-versus-one shootout. Now, he’s alive once more and wandering the Western desert, mission/purpose unknown. He arrives at the small town of Dead Acre.
At the local saloon he learns that Rosa/Mrs. Massey’s husband hasn’t come home in a couple of days and offers to help her find him. Other bar patrons don’t appreciate his interference and a brawl breaks out, ending when the bartender pulls out his rifle and fires a warning shot.
Crowley’s thought captions after he secures a room for the night: “I found myself thinking about all the dirty saloons I’d called home for a night . . . The way some troubles plague every town - - big or small. . . . The way memories blur together ever since the White Throne brought me back . . .”
There’s the supernatural connection, and the issue ends when the ghostly image of Shargrafein, an angel of the first order, appears in the full-size mirror in his rented room as the issue ends.
An interesting beginning. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#298 = THE RING: THE MAN WHO BEAT THE MAN #1 by Gail Simone and Elisa Romboli (Dark Horse Comics, June 2016) The promotional pitch . . . . . .
“Influential writer Gail Simone (Uncanny X-Men) launches a new series that mixes boxing lore and strategy with a fictional, merciless landscape where everyone wants to beat—and be—The Champ!
The Ring: The Man Who Beat the Man is an exciting action series that takes a look at both the rich history of boxing and the mindsets of those who step in the ring! Produced with the editorial leadership at the historic boxing magazine The Ring—Dark Horse pairs Simone with the creative team of artist Elisa Romboli (You Never Heard of Me) and colorist/letterer Iolanda Zanfardino (The Least We Can Do) to deliver a boxing tale like no other!”
This was much better than I anticipated. The storyline feels authentic and the characterizations are very good. In addition to a couple boxers with heart and determination there is an interesting side story about a veteran journalist paired up with a social media upstart who does a bit of upsetting traditions. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#299 = DISPATCHED #1 by B. Clay Moore and Daniel Gete (Ignition Press, June 2026) One of the pleasures of visiting your local comic shop every week is the fun of discovery. Impulse buyers know what I’m talking about: the cover art, the title, or just the fact that it’s a debut issue makes you pick it up, scan the pages (mostly for the art), then decide if you buy it.
Sometimes that’s enough to determine what the story is about and if it appeals to you - - sometimes it’s not enough. What I really appreciate about Ignition Press is that they include a short synopsis on the back cover of all their titles. For example, here’s the back cover text of DISPATCHED #1:
“Ex-black ops agent Morgan Powers is living under a government-issues alias, working as a delivery driver for a major global courier company. It’s a 180 from his action-packed classified work abroad, until a routine shift puts him in the crosshairs of a domestic terrorist takedown.
Trapped in a besieged corporate office park, Powers must go back to basics with nothing but his survival skills and a van full of unopened packages - - and endless possibilities - - to fight his way from floor to floor and free the hostages.
Some boxes hold more trash than treasure, and Powers will also have to contend with his intensifying PTSD as the situation escalates and time runs out.”
That is what persuaded me to pick this up, and then order the remaining issues.
The story by Moore delivers on that promise and the dynamic art by Gete manages to mirror the story moods from group counseling to quiet reflection to violent action. The art style will remind you (as other reviews have mentioned) of both Frank Quitely and Geoff Darrow. The story reminded me a little of the first DIE HARD movie. Good stuff. FOUR STARS.
#300 = THE ACCESSORIES #1 of 4 by David Dastmalchian & Leah Kilpatrick with art by Patrick Piazzalunga (Rocketship Entertainment / PanicK Entertainment, August 2026)
If you’re a fan of those old classic monster movies (Frankenstein, Dracula, etc) then you’lll want to check this out. It’s a homage not to the monsters, or their creators, but to the sidekicks of the creators and monsters. Plus, the art evokes those classic film settings and reminds me of Eric Powell’s best stuff.
Synopsis from the credits page: “After lifetimes in the background, three of history’s greatest horror sidekicks finally say what they’ve never dared to before: Enough is ENOUGH!”
The main focus this issue is on Igor, Victor Frankenstein’s assistant, who was promised a cerebral transplant for decades. Victor continues to make excuses so Igor decides to walk out, trashes the place, and plays a cruel prank on Dr. Frankenstein’s grand experiment. He seeks out the mortician who has a side gig supplying the Doctor and others with bodies/supplies.
There he meets Renfield, also a disgruntled sidekick of Dracula and they begin to bond immediately. Future issues promise to include other sidekicks, including Mrs. Hyde. Fun. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Book Review: THE UNHELD by Luke Larkin
THE UNHELD: A NOVEL by Luke Larkin (Hyperion Avenue, expected date of publication August 26, 2026) Hardcover, 336 pages. ISBN #978136817210
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
Startling monsters and occult oddities abound in this chilling horror Western as a girl journeys across the haunted Montana Territory to rescue her father from an otherworldly creature.
Charlie’s life is a lonely one. While other twelve-year-olds are in school, she spends her days skinning the animals her mercurial father hunts in the woods just outside their cabin. And the woods and its twisted creatures—an owl with four wings, a boar with two heads, a fox with gills—are becoming stranger by the day.
One night, a nightmarish beast appears and drags Charlie’s father into the wilderness. To find him, she enlists the aid of two unlikely allies also in search of the beast: an Englishman with a connection to a mysterious occult society and a Northern Cheyenne policeman exiled for a crime he didn’t commit. Yet as the trio prepare for the confrontation with the beast, Charlie must decide if her father, a brusque man who has always withheld his affection, is ultimately worth saving.
With its blend of Western grit and supernatural menace, The Unheld is an unsettling and atmospheric horror novel about loneliness, human connection, and how we find each other in a world that seems designed to alienate. With this assured debut, Luke Larkin marks his arrival in the genre and proves the American frontier still harbors untapped stories in its shadows.
My FIVE-STAR review on the Goodreads website . . . . .
I received a digital advanced review copy from NetGalley without obligation to write a review
THE UNHELD is a deft blend of historical American West, supernatural themes, magical realism, secret societies, and the weird western genres. As a debut novel, it is exceptional, and near perfect. Luke Larkin is a writer to watch. The characterization is rich and intriguing, and the storyline is not without well-detailed emotional moments.
The story is told from three different points-of-view from main character Charlie (a 12-year old girl living with an introverted and selfish father), and secondary characters Theodore (a member of a society dedicated to exploring and containing weird occurrences) and Patton (a Cheyenne police officer exiled from his family). They come together as all three are searching for a lost family member or lover - - all who were allegedly spirited away by a monstrous threat that manifests with severely mutated wildlife in the Montana wilderness of the 1800's. Larkin has the ability to vividly capture the emotions and mindset of these characters and memorably conveys that to the reader.
The story contains one of the most unique and disturbing monsters in horror fiction, and very symbolic. I can't say more without spoiling things.
At its core THE UNHELD is a rich depiction of loneliness and the importance of family and friends connections throughout life.
If there is any limitation to the novel, it's that Larkin offers no explanation as to the origins of the monster and why it picked this particular area of the American West to manifest. It also surprised me that none of the characters even speculated or discussed this. However, it did not ruin my reading enjoyment or appreciation for this excellent work of fiction.
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