Author: Tony M.

Smallville: The Complete Series 20th Anniversary Edition

I was lucky to see the groundbreaking series Smallville when it originally premiered on October 16, 2001. For ten years, Smallville's adversarial showdown between Lex Luther and Clark Kent went back and forth. Viewers waited for Clark to become Superman as he secretly used his powers to help the citizens of Smallville. Along the way, Clark met a gamut of characters and actors from Superman lore from both movies and comic books. Smallville became the blueprint for Arrow and The Flash series on CW for years to come. Smallville: The Complete Series 20th Anniversary Edition is a great way to see the whole run of the classic series.

Night Gallery: Season 1 on Blu-ray

Prepare for the chill of a lifetime as the master of suspense, Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone), hosts every spine-tingling episode from the complete first season of Night Gallery.

The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season

Barry Allan has been running for seven seasons and is not running out of speed yet. Season eight is around the corner and is running at full throttle. The Flash: The Complete Seventh Season was part of the Arrowverse and technically a spin-off series from Arrow. The Flash will be matching the Arrow series this year and outpacing Arrow with a 13 episode 9th season. The Flash always had a richer history in the comics to draw from. Season seven is no different, the show has settled on cruise control since season 4 with the same formula. Mirror Monarch plays a central role in the Mirrorverse storyline. The formula-driven Flash series will soon come to a halt. You can tune into The Flash on The CW every Tuesday night at 8:00 pm ET for new Season 8 episodes.

Paleontologist Mats E. Eriksson names 469 million-years-old fossil after Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi

A new species of conodonts has just been discovered by a Danish/Swedish team of paleontologists. The fossil is around 469 million years old and was recovered from a succession of limestone in western Russia, rocks that once formed the seafloor sediments during the Ordovician Period. Because the species proved to be new to science, it had to be formally baptized with a unique Latin moniker. As all study authors are passionate hobby musicians and have long love affairs with the history of heavy rock music, they decided to honor one of heavy metal's true pioneers — guitar legend Tony Iommi of BLACK SABBATH.

Deep Purple Turning to Crime

It has become a novelty act for many groups as of late to do a whole album of cover songs. Deep Purple has come full circle. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover who both were in Episode Six covered Arthur Lee's Love song "Alone Again Or." I am not surprised that the first song is "7 And 7 Is." It's a great selection of tunes on what is going to be perhaps the last official studio album for the group. Never say never. This is a great range of musical influences. Bob Dylan's "Watching The River Flow" is a welcome surprise. This is a must for Deep Purple Fans.

Buy Netflix’s Squid Game inspired Halloween costumes

Folks you might be seeing quite a lot of Squid Games costumes out for Halloween this year. The psychologically thrilling Korean drama — which premiered on September 17 is catching the world by surprise. Amazon and Etsy are selling non-sanctioned costumes. Most of the costumes are unisex, I am sure some sicko will come out with a sexy version of the Squid Games costume. Netflix fell asleep behind the wheel with this one. Better get one before Halloween gets here, shipping could be a problem if you do not watch out from where you are getting the costume.

Batwoman: The Complete Second Season

It's not every day an actor leaves a series after season one and gets replaced in season two with a completely different actor. Perhaps Darrin from Bewitched but that is a whole different story. Javicia Leslie who plays Batwoman in season two gives the character more meat to chew on. Caroline Dries, who developed the series returns season two of Batwoman gives us non-stop action once again. Batwoman is a fun series outside the Bat-Universe with all the same things you would expect in a superhero soap opera swashbuckling series. Some fans consider the series to be a self-serious superhero melodrama sprinkled with choreographed fighting scenes. If you want escapism from reality and inspirational hope, Batwoman: The Complete Second Season is your ticket to fun. Batwoman is in good hands with Javicia Leslie. The third season of Batwoman was announced in February 2021 and is set to premiere on The CW on October 13, 2021. Same bat-channel, same bat-time. This is a perfect way to binge-watch the series before season three begins.

Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom by Nora Guthrie and Robert Santelli

Woody Gutherie has to be the most important lyrist in the history of music. His words have weight if you study the man and the times he grew up in. Kung-fu introduced me indirectly to Woody Guthrie through David Carradine's "Bound for Glory." Carradine channeled Gutherie's life as no other actor has done for a musical artist. Nora Guthrie the daughter of Woody with the help of Robert Santelli has brilliantly captured the essence of one greatest musician. Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom by Nora Guthrie and Robert Santelli collects some of Gutherie's personal writings and scribbles. The book is graced with original Woody drawings and copies from the various copybooks of his lyrics that he jotted when he was alive. This is the most personal book on Woody Guthrie in book form. You get the see a passionate human fighting corruption in politics and big business with his music and various artistic extensions of his core believes. You don't have to love Woody's music. This testament to his legacy will surprise both and new and old fans. You can't be more personal than this unless you talked to the man himself.

Inked: Cartoons, Confessions, Rejected Ideas, And Secret Sketches From The New Yorker’s Joe Dator

But Inked is more than a book of cartoons. Dator also dives into the creative process, offering bonus commentary on how ideas have come to fruition, how one idea has led to another, and the various attempts to get an idea right. Along the way, he shows how a spark of imagination has turned into a laugh-out-loud moment with only a single image and caption, and how other attempts have found themselves on the cutting-room floor.

What If everything we think we know about Jim Morrison is wrong?

That question has haunted Jeff Finn since 1985 when he first researched the infamous vocalist and lyricist of the legendary 1960s rock band, The Doors. Finn is the writer, director and narrator of Before the End: Searching for Jim Morrison, a forthcoming limited film series that rips the hinges off Morrison's purported official story. Indie film production company Z-Machine has released a new extended preview of this hard-boiled but empathic documystery. What If everything we think we know about Jim Morrison is wrong?

New graphic novel repurposes vintage comics in the fight for social justice

Everything old is new again. Argle Bargle Books is onto something special. Their winning formula is quite simple. They take public domain comic books and repurpose them with new pertinent dialogue. I love the old comic book feel. This is a winning formula for the Ottawa-based independent publisher. The Canuck publisher supports Canadian and international underground comic creators who exhibit something new to say in the 4-color medium. Argle Bargle Books' new offering is called, GREENIE JOSEPHENIE. Just think of it as a rap song with loops and mixes cobbled together with new lyrics.

Remastered 70s album of “Peter and the Wolf”

In the 70s it was a thing to gather a whole bunch of musicians to create a concept/rock opera album. Albums as Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell, and The Wiz are perfect examples of rock operas that cobbled some up and coming talent of the time. Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf is another record released in 1975 with rock icons such as Manfred Mann, Gary Moore, Brian Eno, Phil Collins, and Cozy Powell.