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With Further Ado #275: Holiday Gift Giving Guide 2023 – Part 3

With Further Ado #275: Holiday Gift Giving Guide 2023 – Part 3

Posted on by Ed Catto

There are so many amazing Pop Culture treasures out there. Shall we jump right in and take a look at a few more for this year’s Holiday Gift Guide?

Dig Two Graves
by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Titan Books (September 19, 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1803364612

Whenever there’s a new book by this particular author, Mike Gold always jokes “If you only read one Max Allan Collins book this month, read this one!”

But that’s just the way I feel too. I’ve been a fan for a long time, but for me – it never gets old with this writer. The latest book, Dig Two Graves is part of the Mike Hammer series. Collins again collaborates, after a fashion, with his mentor Mickey Spillane. When Spillane died, he left instructions with his wife to reach out to Collins and figure out what do with all the half-finished manuscripts and story fragments.

I’m so glad this has come together and Titan publishes them. They are crackling good fun and I daresay I like them better than the original Spillane stories, as heretical as that may be.

In this mystery, Hammer and his long-time secretary and partner Velda Sterling leave New York and the action shifts to Arizona. It’s great fun with witty dialog, kooky characters and plenty of action. You can’t help but recall every 1950s movie you’ve ever seen to mentally conjure up the visuals for this thriller.

MCU : The Reign of Marvel Studios
by Johanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards

Continue reading “With Further Ado #275: Holiday Gift Giving Guide 2023 – Part 3” →

With Further Ado #275: 2023 Holiday Gift Giving Guide – Part 2

With Further Ado #275: 2023 Holiday Gift Giving Guide – Part 2

Posted on by Ed Catto

Ed is back with part two of this years gift giving guide. Check out these three awesome recommendations.

Scary Stuff!

Macabras The Horror Comic Art of Jayme Cortez
by Fabio Moraes with an introduction by Paul Gravett
Publisher ‏ : Korero
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN ‏ : ‎ 781912740215

UK Publisher Korero continues to publish fantastic books that I love reading and I must find spots for on my bookshelves.

Before I cracked open Macabras, I didn’t know much about Portuguese-born artist Jayme Cortez. He spent his career in Brazil creating comics, cartoons and comics strips for newspapers and magazines, including O Terror Negro (The Black Terror). I’m glad a I know a bit now, and want to learn more.

The book is creepy in all the right ways. It showcases Cortez’s talents across different media – his painting, his illustrations, his comic work and more. Cortez was also able to employ a few different styles in each media too. To the eyes of an American like me – all the subjects seem hauntingly familiar but skewed just enough so they are fresh and new.

A nice addition to the book provided by author Moraes is the many original reference model photos that Cortez took for his paintings. They provide a rare look into the development process. And you can’t help but think, when you see a vintage photo with a woman about to be impaled by a wooden stake or some such – “What in the world was that model thinking about back then?”

For pop culture fans, I think it’s always important to expand our horizons and see what’s going on, or went on, in other parts of the world. And embracing oneself in Brazilian Horror comics, with a master like Moraes, seems like the perfect thing to do this Yuletide Season by gifting it to yourself. Continue reading “With Further Ado #275: 2023 Holiday Gift Giving Guide – Part 2” →

With Further Ado #271: Holiday Gift Guide Part 1 – Voices from Krypton

With Further Ado #271: Holiday Gift Guide Part 1 – Voices from Krypton

Posted on by Ed Catto

Every year, it’s a treat to shine the spotlight on top-notch creative endeavors for the With Further Ado Holiday Gift Guide. Maybe these are suggestions that would be fantastic treasures for you to gift to your loved ones. And maybe, let’s face it, they are suggestions that you want to make to others so they will gift ‘em to you! Hey, I’m not judging.

Ed Gross is an enthusiastic fan with a polished writing talent. The books he creates are the kind that force you to bargain with yourself. You know those types of bargains: “I will just read five more pages and then turn off the light,” or “I will just read this chapter, and I can finish up that work project early in the morning.”

His latest oversized volume Voices from Krypton is exactly that type of book. It’s an oral history of Superman, as told by an impressively wide array of people who were either there at the time, or who are experts in their field.

Gross has assembled folks like Ilya Salkind, Richard Donner, and Margot Kidder to discuss the 70s Superman movies. Or actors like Tom Welling, Teri Hatcher, and Melissa Benoist analyze their Smallville, Lois & Clark and Supergirl TV shows.

Modern day super-experts like Mark Waid and Andy Mangels are also included and provide smart insights with a learned expertise. Waid, in fact, supplies a fantastic afterward and admits he even learned a thing or two from this book. Continue reading “With Further Ado #271: Holiday Gift Guide Part 1 – Voices from Krypton” →