More Awesome and Obscure Comic Book Characters (Every Other Tuesday)

Hello fellow Comic Book Fans! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time for us to look at some more characters. Now, let’s begin!

• Herald (Vox) Real Name: Malcolm Duncan Status: Hero Ht: 6’1” Wt: 210 lbs First Appeared: Teen Titans #26 (April 1st, 1970) Creator: DC Powers/Abilities: Expert pugilist, horn opens portals which are used for teleportation. 

Malcolm was an ordinary teenager who lived in New York with his sister, Cindy. One day, Cindy was harassed by a racist gang, and was saved by her brother and the Teen Titans. After the scuffle, the teenage team recruited Malcom and he soon gained a magic horn. The horn allowed the teen to create portals to get out of danger. He had many adventures with the team until a freak accident severed his vocal chords. Later, upon getting his vocal chords replaced by circuitry, he joined the Doom Patrol where he continues to reside today.

 

• Ray Real Name: Lucien Gates Status: Hero Ht: 5’9” Wt: 165 lbs First Appeared: The Ray #1 (February 1st, 2012) Creator: DC Powers/Abilities: Absorption of multiple forms of energy, projects light beams from his hands, flies faster than the speed of light, alter light reflection, can produce light constructs, enhances powers when exposed to lots of light.

Lucien was a lifeguard that worked in San Diego, until his life was changed forever. During one day on the job, he was hit with an experimental particle beam from Arizona. This imbued him with amazing powers, such as; super speed, light projection, and other light based abilities. Unfortunately, the powers burned his clothes off, causing him to wear special illusionary gear. His wonderful adoptive parents helped keep the powers in check through meditation and yoga.  He now fights crime with the Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, and the Doll Man.

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Asher’s Jukebox Part 186

Hurt by Oliver Tree from the upcoming album “Ugly is Beautiful” Music Video Released: December 6th, 2018 Genres: Alternative Rock, Electronic, Indie Pop

Oliver Tree is a rising musician with many funny and catchy songs. He has also become somewhat of an internet meme due to his signature bowl haircut, tacky glasses, extravagant wardrobe, and love of popular culture. This song is supposedly, according to Tree, about a brutal scooter accident that happened last March. It also seems to be about a broken relationship with an unknown party. His vocals on the piece flow together quite well, and you can definitely tell that he loves making music. Tree is like a combination of Filthy Frank and the Beastie Boys, and I love every second of it!  He performed the song live on the Late Late Show on stilts with a bald cap to shock and delight of audience. The music video for the song became extremely popular, and now sits at over 16 million views. I just recently found his music, and now I can’t wait to see what insanity he will bring to the internet. His latest video, “Fuck”, is even more insane than “Hurt”, and I will be covering the entire album when it gets released later this year.

Keep in mind, the music video is age restricted, but it really doesn’t offend anybody.

Cinema Obscura Part 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to a brand new topic! Strange cinema has always intrigued me, and I have finally decided to give it the significance it deserves. Every two weeks, I will be discussing some new strange films. Now, let’s go on a strangely epic adventure!

• Freaks (1932) Unrated Directed by: Tod Browning Written by: Clarence Aaron Robbins, Leon Gordon, and Willis Goldbeck. Starring: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, and Olga Baclanova. Genres: Horror, Drama 64 mins Black and White

This highly controversial film ended Tod Browning’s career. The movie starred actual freakshow performers, and people thought it was extremely hard to watch because of it.  It’s the story of a beautiful trapeze artist named Cleopatra. She falls in love with a little person, but is really just after his inheritance. During a dinner party, she becomes intoxicated and verbally attacks the freaks. They respond by horrifically mutilating her body. She becomes a freak, and her new appearance is terrifying. If I ever watch this film, I will review it in its entirety.

 

• Street Trash (1987) Unrated (Probably R) for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Offensive Humor, Gross-out Humor, Sex, Alcohol Consumption, and Disturbing Scenes Directed by:  James M. Muro Written by: Roy Frumkes Starring: Mike Lackey, Vic Noto, and Bill Chepil Genres: Comedy, Horror Run Time: 91 minutes Color 

This ultra-bizarre film, along with The Stuff, The Fly, Terrordome, and The Incredible Melting Man started the sub genre of Body Horror known as Melting Movies. The story is about a liquor store owner that finds a strange case of alcohol known as Viper. He ends up selling the booze to hobos for $1, and calamity ensues! The hobos begin to melt quite graphically with tons of CGI gore and sound effects. Seems like a stupidly fun film that I definitely want to watch someday.

 

Asher’s Art Gallery (Every Other Monday)

Hello fellow art lovers! It’s Monday, and my Art Gallery is open once again! I hope you guys are ready for some awesome art pieces. Now, have fun exploring my Gallery!

• The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins 1875 Oil on canvas 

This is a very visceral, yet intriguing piece by Philadelphia-born artist, Eakins. It reminds me of Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp in that it displays an operation taking place in a surgery theatre. The painting can be hard to look at if you are squeamish around blood, but I find it to be very fascinating. Eakins amazing attention to detail makes the audience feel like they are there. It also displays raw human emotion with some of the students paying close attention to Dr. Gross’ techniques, and others moving away in disgust. The work was rejected at first for being too brutal, but now stands as one of the best American art pieces ever made.

 

• Homage to Bleriot by Robert Delaunay 1914 Oil on canvas

This is an awesome Orphic Cubist work by French Artist, Delaunay. Not only did he start a new brand of Cubism, but also incorporated tons of abstraction in his works. This particular piece is absolutely gorgeous and is a tribute to Louis Bleriot, the first man to fly across the English Channel. The work is a brilliant blend of vibrant colors and hidden man-made objects. The leftmost part of the painting reminds more of a pain palette with various colored dots cascading down. We also get the image of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, as well as Bleriot’s plane. Tell me what you think of this piece in the comments’ section below.

 

Strange Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards

Hello fellow Duelists! It’s time for another card post! This time, we’ll be covering some of the strangest cards in Yu-Gi-Oh. Now, let’s Duel!

• Boar Solider Type: Beast-Warrior/Effect 4 Stars Attribute: Earth Appearance: A boar warrior with a giant hammer. ATK/ 2000 DEF/ 500 Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned, destroy this card. If your opponent controls 1 or more monsters, decrease the ATK of this card by 1000 points. 

At first glance, minus the effect, this looks like a pretty formidable monster. Unfortunately, its effect makes it nearly unplayable. It does have synergies with Skill Drain, but you’re just wasting resources to keep this pathetic creature alive. 

 

• Savage Colosseum Type: Field Spell Appearance: An ominous arena with skull-shaped sky. Effect: If a monster attacks, at the end of the Damage Step: Its controller gains 300 LP. All monsters must attack, if able. During each End Phase: Destroy all face-up Attack Position monsters the turn player controls, that did not declare an attack.

This is a super fun and strange Field Spell that makes both players play very aggressively. The small LP gain is not where this card shines. The forced attacking of monsters is quite insane, and both players have many opportunities to trap their opponents. 

 

 

Asher’s Art Gallery (Every Other Monday)

Hello fellow Art Lovers! It’s Monday, and my Gallery is open once again! I hope you guys are ready for some incredible works. Now, have fun exploring my Gallery!

• Memory of a Journey by Rene Magritte 1952 Gouche on Paper 

This is a very unique piece by “Belgian Surrealist” Magritte. It’s a humorous take on the standard “Fruit Still Life Piece”. The fruit are made out of stone, and there’s a bottle to the left side of it. The rigidness of the work lets you fill in the details with motion. Tell me what you think of this piece in the comments’ section below.

 

• Reconnaissance without End by Rene Magritte 1946 Gouache on paper

This is a beautiful work by “Belgian Painter” Magritte. It’s an outdoor scene with a gorgeous blue sky, and creamy colored grass. There’s also a big tree in the center that houses 2 blue figures. Tell me what you think of this piece in the comments’ section below.

Some of My Favorite Cult Films Part 1

Hello fellow Movie Lovers! It’s time for a very special post! I have a very soft spot for the bizarre side of cinema, and think people can make some pretty impressive films with a low budget. The following is a multipart post about some of my favorite Cult Films, and a short spoiler-free summary of each. Be warned though, some of these films contain some pretty controversial content.  Let me know some of your favorites in the comments’ section below, and I may feature them in an upcoming post. Now, grab so popcorn, and let’s begin!

• The Room Type: Black Comedy, “Romance”, Tragedy,  Directed, Produced, and Written by Tommy Wiseau Rated: R (Language, Violence, and Sexuality) Date Released: June 27th, 2003 Starring: Greg Sestero, Juliet Danielle, Tommy Wiseau, Carolyn Minnott, and Philip Haldiman Runtime: 1 hr. 39 min 

No Cult Film list is complete without this “Painfully Funny” entry. The Room is a massive train wreck created by the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau. It has horrible acting, a shallow plot, and is ironically funny as hell. The story is about a wealthy banker named Johnny (Wiseau) who has a backstabbing fiancée, Lisa (Danielle) that cheats on him with his best friend, Mark (Sestero). What follows is a horribly made love story, that’ll will leave you in stitches.  The film is known as the Citizen Kane of Bad Movies, and has a huge cult following. The story of the film’s production is also quite fascinating, and Greg has released a book on it called The Disaster Artist. 

• Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead Directed by: Lloyd Kauffman Written by: Gabriel Friedman Produced by: Andrew Deemer Not Rated (But Probably R for Gore, Blood, Sex, Strong Violence, Politically Incorrect Humor, Gross Scenes, Strong Language, Nudity, and Alcohol) Starring: Jason Yachanin, Kate Graham, and Allyson Sereboff Release Date: July 6th, 2012 Genres: Comedy, Musical, and Horror Runtime: 1hr 43 min

If you like incredibly comedic Body Horror films, you’ll fall in love with this film. Be warned though, it’s a Troma film, so expect gratuitous violence, sex, and other gross bodily functions. The plot tells the story of a military fast food restaurant called the American Chicken Bunker. It just so happens to built on ancient Indian burial grounds, so all sorts of chaos ensues. All of the main characters are named after fast food restaurants, and this really adds to the film’s charm. It’s also part musical, and the songs will have you dying of laughter all the way through.