SNACKSTUME

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.

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?

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.

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.

Scary for Halloween or every day of the year: The officially licensed Super7 Universal Monsters retro monster masks! A collaboration with Retro-a-go-go and designed by artist Doug P’gosh. Made of high-quality plastic with an elastic headband and with retro packaging that will remind you of being a child before the Internet.

You can’t keep a good book down. Even if it’s a children’s book. Vote For Me! by Ben Clanton is enjoying a resurgence due to his Narwhal and Jelly fame. Vote For Me! was Clanton’s first published book. It was re-issued a year ago. It is so apropos for today’s political divide so Tundra Books decided to reprint the book. The whole notion of the book is silly but rooted in reality at many times. Since the book’s first printing in 2012, politics has grown to new shameful heights and Vote for Me! parodies the opposite polarities in both political parties. There is no right or wrong, and blue or red. They just want your vote.

The U.S. Postal Service commemorates the Day of the Dead, an increasingly popular holiday in the United States, with the release of four new Forever stamps. A dedication ceremony for the stamps was held today at the El Paso Museum of Art.

AllHorror.com, a movie database like IMDb but only for horror, was created by Adrian DeGus along with a team of fellow horror fans as a way to help others find new movies based on the exact types of movies they already love. Horror seekers can browse through over 8,725 movies organized into over 150 different horror sub-genres, 25 different styles, 107 different years and the streaming platforms they can be watched on. Seekers can also find new horror movies similar to movies they already know using AllHorror’s “Movies Like” system that is curated manually by horror fans who have personally seen all movies mentioned. All movies are rated, have hand-picked screengrabs, trailers, critic reviews, spoiler-free “What to Expect” write-ups and similar movie recommendations. Horror fans can also browse through hundreds of top lists curated by AllHorror staff as well as lists curated by fellow fans.

Black Sabbath’s Technical Ecstasy was a bitter pill for fans to swallow. The band was no longer hungry, most of them had nothing left in the can. Drugs had taken over the band and the music suffered. Sabbath strayed away from their roots and gave us perhaps the worst album in their recording catalog. However, a song like “She’s Gone” is a polished gem that stood out from the lot. “It’s Alright,” is the first time we hear Bill Ward sing on a Sabbath album. There was nothing technical or ecstatic about this album. It was a train wreck from the beginning. It is rare if ever any songs are played live from this album. Time can be forgiving, Rhino has given us an extremely extended version of the album with new live songs and 90 minutes of new studio outtakes and alternate versions of the songs recorded. This deep dive is a welcome addition and perhaps salvation to a greatly misunderstood album. This offering is meant for the true Black Sabbath super-fan.

Keep home closer with Astro, the household robot for home monitoring, with Alexa. When you’re away, use the Astro app to see a live view of your home, check in on specific rooms and viewpoints, and get activity alerts. When you’re home, Astro can follow you from room to room playing your favorite music, podcasts, or shows, and find you to deliver calls, reminders, alarms, and timers set with Alexa.

Fisher-Price has released an officially licensed set of Little People collectibles featuring the Rolling Stones. Fans can live out their rock n’ roll dreams and get some “Satisfaction” with this special edition Little People Collector Rolling Stones figure set from Fisher-Price. This rockin’ gift set features four members of the iconic band brought down to Little People toy size, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood. This must-have figure set is a great gift for music fans of all ages.

Ritchie Blackmore by Ross Halfin is an intimate portrait of Blackmore both on and off stage and captures the brilliance and madness of Rainbow during those years. Ross had unparalleled access for several years and the images in this book often show Ritchie as you’ve never seen him before. It finishes with shots of early Blackmore’s Night in action.