Wednesday, July 27, 2011

#044 - Accuracy and Truth (The Finally Final Destination)


Episode #044 arrives and is chock full of information from San Diego Comic Con. We weren't there, exactly. Chatter at us on Twitter. Shoot us an email through hideousenergy@gmail.com. Facebook really wants you to click the "Like" button. Fanoff is a great place to chill! Tumblr is gorgeous and pretty. Comic Booked is totally awesome, so hop over there and show some love. What you can do is download us on iTunes. It will be so much fun.

Episode 44:
• Intro - The magic and art that is the "Final Destination" films. Thank you, Devon Sawa.
• Topic Thunder - A huge list of stuff from Comic Con International in San Diego gets us talking for a long time. Catch up on what caught our eyes!
• The Listen Bitches - Austin picks "That Time" by Regina Spektor, and David Picks "In the Waiting Line" by Zero 7. Also, we talk about friendship pacts.

David Hopkins and Austin Wilson are constantly making friendship pacts, you just don't hear most of them. This show runs 1:36:41, and has some hints about what's in store for you. Get the show from Fan Off here, or Listen to us on iTunes and then smile and talk about it.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

#043 - The Supernaturals: Ghost Crotches and Explosions


Another step closer to #050, and a huge leap into the weird world of dick jokes. Go forth and tweet at us on Twitter. Please email us through hideousenergy@gmail.com. Facebook needs your numbers, as do we. Fanoff lets us hang out, so show them you care! Tumblr is magnificent. Comic Booked is another place we hang out, and it's cool there. Now and always, iTunes is there for us. Go be there for them, by downloading us.

Episode 43:
• Intro - Ghost dicks. Surely there was more talked about, but this sticks out so easily. Ugh. Boner puns.
• Topic Thunder - IDW is maybe gaining fans while they maybe alienate some; "Avengers" and "Amazing Spider-Man" teasers make David speak gibberish; Superman dresses like a weird-ass, and hates marriage; DC will publish 1,216 pages in December, after they do it in September too; and finally, reboot? Oh no, relaunch.
• Top 5 - Things That Look Cooler With Explosions In the Background
• The Listen Bitches - David picks "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit; Caleb picks "I Don't Mind It" by Screaming Females; and Austin picks "Fire It Up" by Modest Mouse.

David Hopkins and Austin Wilson could give you a thesis about ghost dicks. Caleb Schmreen probably could too, but we'd most likely make fun of his for a bit, then discuss it with him seriously. This show runs 2:03:21, and took our grossness into the supernatural realm. Listen to us on iTunes and wonder what that weird feeling is.


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

#042 - I'm So Glad I Read Wikipedia (With Robert Venditti)


Episode 42 sees writer Robert Venditti join us to chat about the books he's written, and will write! Talk to us about it through Twitter. Or email us through hideousenergy@gmail.com. Facebook desperately wants you to click "Like." Fanoff hosts our show, and has a forum we use, and is totally awesome! Tumblr is where we go to appreciate beauty. Comic Booked posts our shows, and other shows too. Somehow iTunes loves us just as much as we love them, so go over there and download us!

Episode 42:
• Intro - David and Wikipedia have conjugal visits; and David and books are together for life, but only if they aren't "bendy."
• Read 'Em and Weep - We discuss "Red Skull: Incarnate" #1 by Greg Pak and Mirko Colak; "Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance" #2 by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso; and "Flashpoint #3" by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert.
• Interview - Writer Robert Venditti stops by for a chat! He's the writer behind "The Surrogates," "The Surrogates: Flesh and Bone," the graphic novel adaptation of "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," as well as the brand new graphic novel, "The Homeland Directive." Check his work out, because it's great!
• Outro - We always say goodbye, but we always return!

David Hopkins and Austin Wilson both are pretty obsessed with their books. This show runs 2:00:40, and most likely got us flagged by the government for one reason or another. Listen to us on iTunes to show us that you care!


Monday, July 11, 2011

Paying Too Much Attention: The Shelves! Think of the Shelves!


Books are constantly coming out. You can't stop it, and you'd be insane to try. When books come out it means there is fresh art to be consumed, and maybe another little wrinkle will form on your brain. This is an exciting possibility. Aside from the internal changes, the release of a new book leads to a much more pragmatic, and external change. Where the hell are you going to put this new book? Where to store them is something you have to deal with on your own. It's a lonely fight, but one you cannot imagine giving up. Right? Yeah, us either.

What we all can battle together is the emotional war zone that is dealing with aesthetics, and the mind splinters they cause.

If there's anything that's enticing about the digital revolution, and the slow, painful death of print media, it is undoubtedly the idea of an increasingly easier mode of storage, and thus not having to worry about whether the color schemes of all 20 of your "Ultimate-Spider-Man" collections match each other. You will have to worry about whether the covers match on whatever digital device you're storing them, but that is much easier to remedy than changing an actual physical copy. Trust me. I've seen David meticulously eye and measure - never with an actual ruler, but with the equally accurate comparison method, wherein a fingertip is used - his "Locke and Key" hardcovers, and I've seen him lament how his collection of "Powers" trades are partially published by Image, and Icon. This is a unique burn, a mental (and first world) ache somewhat akin to the familiar pain of realizing you accidentally have two different socks on. It's fixable, but not without going somewhere and doing something, with the latter of those two actions most likely involving money being spent.

We're not alone though. Not only do we have each other to use as crutches, but we now have publishers with a keen eye toward uniformity, and the warm, gentle blanket of satisfaction it can create.



Craig Thompson, the author and illustrator of "Goodbye Chunky Rice," "Carnet De Voyage," "Blankets," and the forthcoming "Habibi" recently posted these pictures of his new book, along with a new edition of his old book, and got us thinking about how much mental and emotional anguish he'll be saving us.

"The new editions of 'Blankets' are here in time for San Diego Comic Con (in stores in August). The hardcover is the exact same dimensions as 'Habibi' so they’ll mesh nicely on bookshelves. Check the stamped gold foil and spotgloss. They both have fancy smyth-sewn bindings to sprawl open in the sunny backyard."

More importantly they will be the exact same height next to each other, with a design sense that allows them to be their own, while still existing with a sense of togetherness. David and I will both have to sell our softcover version of "Blankets" in order to get this hardcover, but it'll be worth it for the years and years of zen-like peace we feel from not having one spine stick up higher than another. Every inch on that shelf is precious. Much less precious than our egg shell minds, which crack when one shade of yellow doesn't match another.

-Austin

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Paying Too Much Attention: Locke and Key Clues and Theories



If you pay any attention to Hideous Energy - or are here because of Alter Ego Comic Cast - you know that "Locke and Key" is my favorite book that is currently on the shelf. I read it with a fervor that harkens back to my earliest days of comic reading, but now the addiction and obsession is spiced with age and an intense love of story, structure, and character development. In comic books those three things are deployed on multiple levels, and Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have given us a wonderful look into how comics can be any number of things: fun, terrifying, poignant, and all manner of adjectives. It also has to be mentioned that this book is given a tremendous boost thanks to the colors of Jay Fotos. I've somewhat recently become a keen observer of colors thanks to "Stumptown" by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth, with colors by Lee Loughridge, and also "100 Bullets" by Brian Azzarrello, Eduardo Risso, and Patricia Mulvihill, who took over colorist duties at issue #15. Within "Locke and Key," Fotos adds gorgeous colors that set off the emotions and locations Hill and Rodriguez give us, and make this book all the more effective and noteworthy.

If you're not reading "Locke and Key" go and do so right now. Not only will this article mean very little to you, but it will contain plenty of spoilers for the series.

[SPOILERS] [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS] [SPOILERS]

"Locke and Key: Keys To the Kingdom" was recently released in hardcover, which means I gave the six issues contained therein another read through. I've read every issue of every "Locke and Key" series multiple times, and for multiple reasons. First, for fun. The enjoyment I get out of these issues - even when I'm witnessing the sadness and destruction the Locke family are going through - is immense. Second, I reread these books for clues. I'm not entirely sure that Hill and Rodriguez are peppering the issues with as many hidden references and clues as I imagine, but maybe that's part of the fun as well. I could most definitely (will?) do an issue-by-issue breakdown of the clues I've seen, and my guesses as to what they mean. Right now I want to focus on the supplemental material contained within the back of the fourth hardcover. The second hardcover, "Head Games" saw the first printing of the supplemental material that has been in each hardcover since then, and is only available (as of this writing) in the hardcovers. There are other supplemental materials in the hardcovers, but I'm focusing on "The Known Keys."

The first are "Presented as journal entries of Benjamin Pierce Locke (1757 - 1799)," these journal entries contain a picture of the key described in the writing, and a picture of the key either in use, or recently used. The entries by Benjamin Pierce Locke have pictures which look like woodcuts, with the initials "BL" in the corner. All of the information presented is interesting, and certainly gives hints as to where the story could potentially be going, as well as where it has been in the past. There are certain similarities between the journals and the story being presented in "Locke and Key," and that is why I'm transcribing some, but not all, of the journal entries here. They are transcribed in modern English, but most of them are written in an affected, old English style. I have altered spelling where necessary, but will keep the formatting of capitalized words. Occasionally I will interject details relating to what is written. Now, let's go pay too much attention to "Locke and Key!"

- • -

"From the journals of Benjamin Pierce Locke (1757 - 1799)"

The Anywhere Key - "Used the key to anyplace again, to return to Boston and gather intelligence for Crais." Here the journal shows the first reference to a man who shows up in "Crown of Shadows" as a statue, Colonel Adam Crais (May 18 1736 ~ June 4, 1780; also of note, the intro to the "Welcome to Lovecraft" hardcover was written by author Robert Crais, but that's just a neat shout-out by Hill, and most likely not a clue to the story...most likely) Also, I'm pretty sure Crais is photo-bombing the cover to "Clockworks" #1, the forthcoming series.


Key description continued..."Tis an act of terrible witchcraft, but better I do it than my sister, who is obsessed with REVENGING herself upon the RED-COATS for their violence against our father and brother and beloved mother: Aye, my dread of being called to account someday by SATAN HIMSELF is a trifling concern when matched with my desire to rid the world of the devils who take the King's coin to do rape and murder..." Note the number of family members mentioned: a father, mother, and brother. The journals are written by Benjamin Pierce Locke, who also mentions his sister Miranda in later journals; which would put their family at the exact same number as Rendell and Nina Locke, as well as having the exact same number of boys and girls. Also, the "RED-COATS" obviously refer to British soldiers, but here a comparison/connection can be drawn with "Welcome To Lovecraft" the first "Locke and Key" series. When Sam Lesser and Al Grubb show up at the Locke's summer home, Sam Lesser is wearing a red hooded-sweatshirt. Later, when Zack Wells shows up, he's wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt as well. Maybe unintentional, but probably not, although this is likely thematic in nature.

The Head Key - "Of all the keys I have forged from the WHISPERING IRON..." This is one of many mentions of the "whispering iron." "...it's the key that opens the human mind I most regret. Miranda has a perverse fascination with the key and has used it to fill her head with all there is to know about WAR and the SLAYING of MEN, and she carries an arsenal with her wherever she goes. Yet I am less in dread of what she has put in than what she has removed. Sometimes it is as if she is now without FEAR and indeed s herself more man than I!" Here we get another comparison for the story we're reading and what has happened in the past. Benjamin Pierce Locke mentions his fear over what his sister has "removed" from her head, which is something Kinsey Locke does in the "Head Games" series.

The Shadow Key - "Oh wicked night! Damned be Crais and damned be the Redcoats and damned be my own fool self. Miranda is grievously hurt and lingers on the threshold of death! The Redcoats pursued her and the tattered remnants of Crais's company into the caves..." The caves featured in "Crown of Shadows" I assume. "...but I drove them back with the aid of the living shadows. If she dies I wouldst rather be a shadow myself than remain in this diabolical world, knowing she would never have been at risk if not for me!"

The Mending Key - "The Iron whispered to me last night and I worked in a fever all day, making a cabinet and forging a new key out of that dreadful metal that is not metal." Here is another mention of the "whispering iron," and the first mention of the "metal that is not metal." I assume Benjamin Pierce Locke is referring to the material he used to forge the Omega Key, which has a journal entry of its own, sort of. Also, there is a door within the caves, mentioned earlier, in the shape of the Omega symbol, which is adorned with a 1; this door shows up in "Crown of Shadows." "Yet if the devil may pervert Holy Scripture to serve his purposes, so may the righteous at times turn the DEVIL'S TOOLS..." Which I'm guessing is a reference to how he feels about the "metal that is not metal," and what its purpose may be. "... to do the work of SWEET JESU! For the key and cabinet I fashioned could be used to mend fractured objects - shattered plates, cracked eggs and broken sisters. Blessed be THE LORD, Miranda has recovered! I only wish she would remember her place and become the demure and modest girl she once was, but fear her love for Crais will imperil her again soon enough." Could there be some sort of cyclical timeline at work here? The relationship between Crais and Miranda sounds reminiscent of that between Kinsey and Zack Wells, which is itself most likely a slightly altered version of the relationship between Ellie Whedon and Lucas "Dodge" Caravaggio. 

"Excerpts from the journal of Harland Locke, 1851"

These keys first show up in "Crown of Shadows," and their supplemental journal entries first show up in the hardcover of that collection. They are written in a different style than the 8 and 1/2 keys listed previously. I present one journal entry, as it addresses a theory I've had since "Welcome to Lovecraft" and "Headgames."

The Animal Key - "...Ulysses said he would fly all the way to Hell if he had to, to find Delacorte for me. Clint said he would probably only be required to fly to Georgia, but that the two places were much alike, except Georgia is a bit hotter. We have fought a thousand times, my brothers and I, but this morning I felt I could not love any living souls more. Ulysses stepped through the door and emerged on the other side, a golden eagle. He gave me a short, lordly look, and took to the skies..." 

It took me 12 issues to develop this theory, but as soon as I grabbed hold of it I haven't let go, and Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have continued to support my theory, accidentally or otherwise. On the very first page of the very first issue of "Locke and Key" ("Welcome to Lovecraft #1") we see a Death's Head Moth. It also reappears on page 11 of that issue. Later, it shows up in issue two, when Bode enters the Death/Ghost Door, and it is easy to see this moth as a thematic touch, as it showed up when death was near to a character or characters. 

I think Hill and Rodriguez are using it not only as a thematic mechanism, but also as a very important component to the overarching storyline of the keys, the characters they have affected, and the entire plot. The moth reappears in "Headgames" practically as the centerpiece of the two-page spread showing Bode's headscape, and also in the last issue of "Keys To the Kingdom" as Detective Mutuku is contemplating the murder of Joe Ridgeway; in the background a child is flying a Death's Head Moth kite. The kite is more obviously a thematic detail, and Bode's memory of the moth is most likely shown simply to have the pieces of the puzzle be present from the beginning. 

In "Crown of Shadows" Kinsey and her friends go down into the caves near Keyhouse. While they are down there an accident occurs, and Kinsey and two of her friends (Jamal and Kavanaugh) are thrown into the water and trapped. A rat jumped onto Jamal, scaring him. His fear translated into him screaming and hopping around, breaking the staircase which lead to and from the water, and stranding his friends in the freezing water. I think it was more than a simple accident, but an occurrence that was hoped for and organized by...the rat! 

On page 35 of the "Crown of Shadows" hardcover (page seven of the second issue, I think) you see the first glimpse of the rat in the upper right corner of the second panel. It has the strange appearance of a rat who is actively watching the kids enter the caves, specifically right as they pass near the Omega door. Later it crawls from a pipe, leaps onto Jamal, and boom, the kids are trapped; this happens five pages from the rat's first appearance. Also, the rat has red eyes, which isn't necessarily too odd, as some white rats have red eyes. This is a brown rat, however, so its red eyes are somewhat unsettling. This would be a minor detail if the Death's Head Moth didn't also have red eyes visible at the end of issue two in "Welcome To Lovecraft." 

My theory is that the rat and moth are following/associating with the Locke children, perhaps trying to protect them. I believe two of Rendell Locke's friends - specifcally Kim Topher and Mark Cho, who are mentioned by Joe Ridgeway as having "disappeared" in the first issue of "Head Games" - were changed into a Death's Head Moth and rat, respectively, by Lucas Caravaggio. At some point we will discover they have been living as these animals for some time, most likely because they are trapped.

"Excerpts from the diary of Hannes Riffel and correspondence of Jean Locke 1942"

These next keys were first shown in "Keys To the Kingdom," and mentioned in the supplemental material in the corresponding hardcover. They don't contain any great hints or clues, but were written in German, and sparked my curiosity. Since I don't speak German I consulted Hideous Energy friend Andi Preller, and he was gracious enough to translate the passages for us. Here are the English translations!

The Angel Key - "Oh my God. Oh my God! At dawn I was outside looking for little Joe. There was a storm and it was pouring rain. Everything seemed sick and unreal to me – like in a nightmare. I ran and ran, totally desperate, and I didn't give a fuck what he was telling Jean about me. If he was dead I wanted to die as well. And then I saw something unbelievable – something that could not actually be in existence, and my knees went soft from surprise and wonderment. I saw Jean fly upwards through the rain, her brother's shattered body in her arms. She carried the harness with her wings, and in the back was the key. I swear she was flying! And she looked as beautiful as a mourning dove."

The Hercules Key - Half of the 8th army and a seemingly endless bunch of SS-Men were waiting there for me! I hurled Eric against the wall and heard his ribs break, as if someone had jumped on a bundle of twigs. I have to admit it sounded like music to my ears! With the other hand I hit the soldiers and they flew through the air like matchsticks. The Hercules-Key released all the power in me that I had not possessed as a goddamn cripple. But the Sturmbannführer (a military title in the 3rd Reich army - Andi Preller) knew how to wear me down/ finish me off!"

- • -

Gabriel Rodriguez presents some of the journal entries on his personal blog, so hop over there and check them out, along with all the other gorgeous art.

Thanks for paying too much attention to "Locke and Key" with me. Hopefully you have as much fun reading these books as I do, and hopefully my theories have sparked the desire to go back and read these issues again. They are without a doubt some of the best comics around.

-Austin Wilson

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

#041 - We Never Don't Hold Hands (with Andy Kirby)



Being 41 means we extend our circle of friends, and that means Andy Kirby joins us this week! Tweet at us through Twitter. Or email us through hideousenergy@gmail.com. Facebook shows all the Listen Bitches songs we've picked. Fanoff hosts our show, and has a forum we use, and is totally awesome! Tumblr is our pretty place. Comic Booked posts our shows, and is where Andy Kirby hangs out and chills. Go chill on iTunes. We love it there.

Episode 41:
• Intro - Indiana Jones and the Hypoallergenic Pillow Fight; and Indiana Jones and the Relentless Jokes.
• Topic Thunder -Warren Ellis's new graphic novel gives you a job to do; Twitter shows us more news, this time about how DC might be dicks; and speaking of DC, they talked about Barbara Gordon again. Featuring Andy Kirby!
• Top 5 - Things Indiana Jones Did/Does That We Didn't Know About...Until Now.
• The Listen Bitches - More music to chill to. Andy Kirby picks "The Predatory Wasps of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!" by Sufjan Stevens; Austin picks "Ride Ride Ride" by Vetiver; and David picks "Something Good Can Work" by Two Door Cinema Club. Now go. Dance!

David Hopkins and Austin Wilson never don't hold hands. They occasionally hold hands with other people, like Andy Kirby, who guested on this show! Thanks to Andy, who is our pal and confidant. This show runs 1:22:16, and is filled with Dance in all forms. Download us on iTunes to start your own slumber/dance party!