Monstropolis is the sequel to my last novel, the horror comedy I Love Ilsa. It continues the zany adventures of the monster rock band, I Love Ilsa. I am particularly excited about this one. It is where it really gets into the meat of the story and the overall story arch starts to come together. Though it is far more serious and has a much deeper plot, it is still slammed full of the wacky pop culture humor that made the first book what it was. So to give you an idea of the actual plot, here is the little write up from the publisher:
"A mysterious monster claiming to be Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess, has risen up and taken over a large portion of Texas. Renaming it Monstropolis, the area is a safe haven for all monsters. From there she rules over the independent monster kingdom.
Monstropolis is an epic new adventure for the monster rock band I Love Ilsa. Growing sick of Los Angeles and its music scene, the band decides to go on tour and then relocate to Monstropolis. But the tour does not go exactly smoothly and things are not what they seem in Texas. The band deals with the usual hijinx, from monster strippers to an abduction of one of the members at a comic book convention to the liberation of New Orleans. Also, many secrets of Kane’s past will be revealed!"
And just a word on the page count. It doesn't sound like the books are very long, being only 200 pages, but the books themselves are large(hardback sized) with smaller print. So in essence, they are the equivalent of a 400 to 500 page paperback.
If you enjoyed I Love Ilsa, you will love Monstropolis. And right now, the first book of the series is now on sale for only 6 bucks!
The Complete Drive-In, by Joe R Lansdale(author of Bubba Ho-Tep) is one of the most unique books I have read in a long while. The series, which is three books in all, are all combined here under one cover with a few little bonus extras. As far as the plot, well, that is hard to describe. Saying too much kind of gives things a way. I can say that it is like The Stand meets Cannibal the Musical, slammed full of pop culture references. It's quirky B movie fun in book form. It also has a nice, southern charm to it.
The first book, The Drive-In: A “B” Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas, starts off with a group of buddies going to a classic Drive-In. Once there a mystery comet(with a large smile on its face) flies in. The Drive-In is completely surrounded by a black goo that melts away anything it touches and all goes it hell. The first book is about the struggles of the people trapped in this Drive-In. Though that sounds pretty straight forward, it gets whackier and whackier as it goes. There is a little something for many weird tastes within, including dinosaurs, a mutant named the Popcorn King, cannibals, and even aliens.
The second and third books, The Drive-In 2: Not Just One of Them Sequels and The Drive-In: The Bus Tour, are also quite good, though not as good as the first one. They also start to get a bit low brow, relying on potty and penis humor a lot. There is a part where a person is killed by choking on giant fish excrement.
My only real complaint, though it is a big one, is the ending. It is generic and a let-down. For such a well written series, it surprises me that the author would end with such generic, cheap way out. There is a slight twist to it, but not enough to get past the "it was all a dream" type ending I hate so much.
So why am I writing about this book where I disliked the ending quite a bit? Well, the first book is soooo good, it is worth it just for that. Its much like a great movie with a couple of sub-par sequels. Also, maybe knowing the ending is let down, new readers won't be expecting as much and won't be as disappointed.
Bottom line, read the first book, The Drive-In: A “B” Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas. It is one of the best things I have read in a long time. Then, if you want more and are prepared for a let down ending, continue on. Though a let down, the other two books are still worth reading.
It's been awhile since I have done anything about music. So I thought I'd talk about some albums that many have not heard, but should have!
Misfits - Famous Monsters
I think music fans, especially hardcore fans, get too caught up in legacy. Many think that just cause someone did something first, that means it is better. I disagree. At the end of the day, all that really matters is how much YOU enjoy a song or album. The Misfits have been one of my favorite bands since I was a preteen. I started with the Danzig era stuff and continued to follow them when new singer Michale Graves came in. That being said, I have never had that bias against Graves because Danzig was first.
Famous Monsters, released in 1999, is hands down my favorite Misfits album. It has the best production, the best written songs, it is the heaviest(some songs very close to metal), great packaging, and Graves is by far a better singer than Danzig. Whether one likes his style or not, you can not deny the man has an amazing range. This album should have been a much bigger success. Yet, it wasn't. And why? Because people were so hung up on Danzig, many never even gave it a shot. Had it been under a name other than Misfits, I think it would have been accepted. And even those that still like Danzig Misfits better, there is no denying that Famous Monsters is better than any post Misfits Danzig release.
So if you like melodic punk mixed with metal with horror movie themes, give this album a shot! And the video below was directed by George Romero!
WASP - Kill, Fuck, Die
WASP is a band that many people associate with hair metal. While it is true they had big hair, and did do a glam rock album, the band was overall NOT hair metal. They began as more of a satanic/occult shock rock/metal band. The first few WASP albums were way heavier than most hair metal and the later ones moved into a much more serious, often political direction.
Well, right there in the middle was Kill, Fuck, Die, which is my favorite WASP album. After a short hiatus, the band returned and they were pissed off at the world. And it shows! It is their darkest album, it is their heaviest album, and it is the most experimental. Many fans were turned off by just how dark the lyrics were and the fact that Blackie incorporated Middle Eastern and industrial music into their sound. The WASP stage show grew even darker at this point as well including the slaughter of a dead pig and the brutal knife codpiece raping of Marilyn Manson. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to.
Kill, Fuck, Die is the one album I have found that non-WASP fans often enjoy. So if you want some heavy metal with screeching vocals, industrial high lights, and Middle Eastern guitar riffs, give K.F.D. a listen.
Lene Nystrom - Play with Me
Now for a very different album that I love, that NO ONE else has heard. Lene, as you may know, is the singer for the Danish pop group Aqua. They had a huge hit with Barbie Girl and some minor hits followed. No, they were not a one hit wonder. Every one of their singles charted and did well. And that was just in America. In Europe the band stayed, and remains, huge.
So I can understand how some may not have liked Aqua. Lene's voice, especially the cutesy style parts, is something you love or hate. Well, there isn't much of that on Play with Me, Lene's first solo album. What you have instead is sexy dance music mixed with rock and touches of pop. It is much more akin to the poppier Lords of Acid songs. Lene had said in an interview that the Bloodhound Gang was a big inspiration and that certainly shows. The lyrics aren't silly like theirs, but the song structures and sound is very similar. So kind of picture BHG with a sexy female vocalist, often singing about sex. That is this album!
Erotic Nights of the Living Dead aka Sexy Nights of the Living Dead, is a movie that had a lot going for it and should have been amazing. Yet, for several obvious reasons, it was not. Some of those reasons being a blogged down plot in the beginning(it takes an hour to get to the island) and some hardcore porn scenes. I love nudity in movies, but actual full on porn in a normal movie is very offputting to me.
These things aside, the movie has real potential. Cool zombies, George Eastman being all badassy, great music, nice scenery, and of course, Laura Gemser. So on a recent re-watch I made my own edit of the film, so the speak. Basically with a few chapter skips and a tad of fast forwarding, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead becomes a really cool Italian zombie movie with some great eye candy. I have not seen the edited version, so this guide is only for the uncut edition. So here we go!
1. Begin at Chapter 2 and fast forward to the 5:45 mark. 2. At the 9 minute mark, jump ahead to chapter 8 3. At 34:18 jump to Chapter 8 4. At 43:25 fast forward to 50:32 5. At 125:00 jump to Chapter 15
This seem like a bit of work, but it is worth it! Enjoy the Voodoo Rob edit of Erotic Nights of the Living Dead.
Today's update is about the Twisted Anger special release of Spookies on DVD. You may remember my review of Twisted Anger a few months back. They are an amazing company offering some of the rarest movies around, at good prices, and in GOOD quality.
Spookies is a very strange, but very cool monster movie. It has the typical 80s teens in a haunted house kind of plot, but with some of the most unique monsters ever put on film. Ranging from a really cool Grim Reaper to a spider woman to zombies. It kind of feels like a video. The people go from place to place in the house and run into different monsters. I highly recommend it for monster movie fans and 80s horror fans.
This Twister Anger special edition is really a great release. Not only has Spookies never been released on DVD before now, this version is of the best quality I have ever seen of it. Far better than the old VHS release in the late 80s. The packaging is top notch with full color artwork on case and DVD, as well as a unique looking white DVD case. For only 11.90 this DVD is a steal. I really just can't say enough nice things about Twisted Anger. So head on over and buy Spookies Undead Edition and 12 other titles.
And make sure and check out Twisted Anger's website
and Facebook
In honor of Christmas...yes Christmas(it's ok to say it), here is my favorite Christmas song off my favorite Christmas themed album, King Diamond's The Puppet Master.
And now for another instalment of some of my favorite trailers! Being that it is cold out, I figured I'd do a summery themed post. Enjoy.
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals - starring my favorite actress, Laura Gesmer. This movie is great cause it works as a horror movie AND a titty movie. Great date movie.
Bikini Summer - Probably my second favorite bikini movie. Lots of nudity, fun hi-jinx, and several laughs. The early '90s was such an amazing time for boobie movies.
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death - From the looks of the trailer, I thought this movie would be kind of boobie movie. But in truth, it has very little nudity. It is more so just a fun '80s comedy. Kind of a silly Indiana Jones.
I've been an avid X-Men fan since the early '90s. I started collecting somewhere around issue 200 and haven't stopped since. Recently, I really got back into the swing of things and collected some crossovers and mini-series that I had missed. The culmination of this was the 2010 mega-cross-over Second Coming. And wow, I have not read an X-Men event this good since The Age of Apocalypse back in '95.
The plot is complicated, so I won't go too much into here. But basically, after an event called M-Day, most of the worlds mutants were lost. For almost a year no new mutants were born and the mutant race was dying off. Then, during the also great Messiah Complex, a new mutant was born. This new mutant brought hope that the mutant race would not die off. To protect her, Cable took her off into the future.
Second Coming picks up with the sential hybrid Bastian making an attempt to not only kill off the remaining mutants, but to kill Hope(the mutant Messiah). The writing is dark and fast paced, yet still deep. There is a feeling of urgency throughout the whole book as the X-Men try to get to Hope before Bastian does. Also, a major character is killed off.
If you've been out of X-Men for awhile, I would recommend you getting the Messiah Complex and Messiah War graphic novels first. But with the three of them you have one of the greatest comic epics ever written. THere is also some amazing art within, especially the X-Force issues.
I Love Ilsa is my newest novel, the first of three in a new horror/comedy series. Definitely the best thing I have ever written. So instead of ranting about how good I think it is, I'll just put the publisher summary up!
The story of a band of monsters, Pretending to be a band of humans, Pretending to be a band of monsters!
Monsters are commonplace and have lived among humans since the 1970s. There was a time when the two races were at war. But now, years after the war, the two are at an uneasy truce. I Love Ilsa follows the zany adventures and tour of an all monster rock band made up of mostly girl-crazy female members and only one male. From an epic battle with emo zombies in Florida to an evil carnival in California, I Love Ilsa is a funny and ultra violent tale that rock and horror fans alike will love!
Voodoo Rob - a southern born hellbilly and hoodoo nut living in Hollywood.
Hellbilly Hollywood - write-ups, reviews, and random info on horror, sleaze, and grindhouse. From movies to video games to comics to trailers to music, HH covers it all.
