Jeff C. Carter's Blog, page 5
December 31, 2018
Bandersnatch Poppins
With the convergence of Black Mirror’s interactive movie BANDERSNATCH and the reboot of MARY POPPINS, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to post my interactive Mary Poppins inspired ‘choose thine own adventure’ game.
click here to play
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December 8, 2018
Punktown AF
Dark Regions Press presents TRANSMISSIONS FROM PUNKTOWN, a new anthology set in the weird, bleak, urban, shared world of Jeffrey Thomas. If you like your science fiction to feel lived in you will love Punktown. This book is an escape from the shiny plastic sets of the Star Wars prequels and a journey through the flesh and blood lives and grease and grime worlds you’ve seen in Blade Runner, The Expanse and yes, Mos Eisley.
Punktown is a coral reef, an accretion of bones, concrete, dreams and stories. In my entry, Less, Then Zero, a luckless thief has a scheme to trade places with one of the city’s anonymous, ever present labor clones.
Mik regained consciousness and tried to blink. He could not feel his eyelids. Do I still have my face? Or did the drugs wear off too soon? He imagined stumbling to the mirror to see a fleshless skull screaming back.
A robotic arm unspooled Kwik-Klot bandaging from his head. Each loop brought the world back in shades of red, from wine dark to scarlet to cherry-red.
He squinted at the harsh light of the body-mod shop and pushed the delicate auto-doc aside. He looked in the mirror. A stranger’s face looked back, the corners of its mouth twitching with a weak smile. It worked!
Mik gently touched his new face and winced, expecting pain, but the stolen flesh was numb. He bent his ear. The jailhouse tattoo tucked behind it, Gillen’s date of birth, was gone. In exchange he had a large, stylized ZERO inked across his scalp and forehead.
The auto-doc’s thin arms lifted a sterile tray holding Mik’s original face. No one had ever looked kindly on that portrait of failure. Even his own reflection had glared back with loathing.
“Flush it with the rest.” The auto-doc dumped the thin slice of flesh into a vat. It landed with a sticky slap upon a naked, faceless corpse.
The lid of the vat squealed shut and filled with caustic chemicals. Mik pried it open with one hand. Blistering fumes and the stench of dissolving meat stung his eyes. He gripped the auto-doc, uprooted it from its base station, and shoved it down.
The vat flushed. Corroded robot parts and melting bones rattled down the gurgling pipes. He zipped up the clone’s jumpsuit. The perfect crime, at last. Here’s to many more.
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Transmissions from Punktown is available for pre-order now! Get the ebook, paperback or hardcover from Dark Regions Press here.
October 23, 2018
Halloween Round Up
Seasons Creepings, etc etc.
This post is for short cuts, so I’ll get right to it.
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Yes, I know I said ‘cuts’. Zip it.
Here is my Halloween Roundup of original content for 2018
Music Mix: Horror Reggae!
The movie post: The Slasher Cycle Theory
Sci-Fi-Fun: Halloween on Mars
The Spooktaculars: The 6 Demon Bag podcast (part 1)
Stay tuned for more Spooktaculars
October 15, 2018
Gimme some Horror Reggae!
It has recently come to my attention that there is a sub-genre of music called Horror Reggae. I don’t get a lot of Reggae in my diet, but the dollop of horror makes it quite delicious.
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Here is a handpicked list of Reggae, Dub, and Calypso horror songs for your Hallowe’en party. Caribbean scares come mostly in the form of Obeah (voodoo, witch doctors), Duppy (spirits) and jumbies (zombies, evil creatures). If you want to get political, however, you sing about vampires. Lots of vampires.
Gimme some Horror Reggae!
1) Dracula Prince of Darkness by King Horror.
King Horror seems less interested in metaphors for societal ills and political corruption and more interested in screaming about monsters.
2) Witch Doctor by Mighty Sparrow
3) Mr. Brown by Bob Marley & the Wailers
Mr. Brown is a clown who rides to town in a coffin.
4) Ketch Vampire by Lee Perry
Jah Jah sent us here to catch vampire
We have the chalice to light up Jah fire
When I-and-I a-go catch them vampire
I-and-I a go set them on fire
5) Obeah Man by Lone Ranger
6) Dracula by Desmond Dekker
Don’t trust a big butt and a smile
7)Duppy Conqueror by Bob Marley and the Wailers
8) Vampire by Lee Perry and the Upsetters
9) Frankenstein by King Horror
Only Frankenstein can bust up these vampires in the list
10) Vampire by Peter Tosh
11) Obeah Wedding by Mighty Sparrow
A diss track against a girl so ugly she needs necromancy. Damn.
12) Chase Vampire by Sancho
13) Zombie Jamboree by King Flash and Calypso Carnival
For my other Halloween playlists, click here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
July 3, 2018
An open apology to KITT
I am sorry.
It is with a heavy heart, hat in hand and tear stained cheeks that I grovel before you. I have spoken irresponsibly, making wild statements such as “KITT from Knight Rider has no offensive capabilities, Airwolf would destroy it every time.”
Mea culpa.
I have searched my heart, the television archives and numerous fan made wikis to set the record straight.
Of course KITT has offensive capabilities. Not only does it have a flamethrower and tear gas launcher, it has a frikkin’ laser!
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I don’t know why I forgot this, as everything in the 80’s had mandatory lasers. Had G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K. and Rick Springfield’s music video for ‘Bop ‘Til You Drop’ taught me nothing?
To be sure, the laser was rarely used. It struggled with its power supply, calibration and range. While it may have failed to destroy the evil KARR, it did bullseye a weakspot the size of a quarter on Goliath.
How could a horizontal mounted short distance, 3 shot capacity laser possibly take down a super helicopter like Airwolf? Let’s start slicing apples and oranges (not with a laser, though. We only have 3 shots).
Let’s start with Defense:
KITT has the vaunted Tri-Helical 1000 MBS, the ‘Molecular Bonded System’ that makes it indestructible. It has been claimed to be resistant to everything except for heavy artillery and missiles. This is largely true – it has even shrugged off rounds from a gatling gun and high speed head on collisions (RIP KARR).
With its upgraded super pursuit mode, KITT can travel at 420 mph.
In addition to physical defenses like magnesium flares, smoke screens and oil jets, KITT has a dizzying array of electronic warfare capabilities including long distance sensors, and an almost magical electronic jamming systems that could control other machines. In Episode 26, “Merchants of Death” the Microwave Jammer’s power has been increased 3 times than its normal strength, strong enough to bring down a helicopter, but only when KITT managed to jump over it.)
Airwolf is bullet proof and armored, though not to the extent that KITT is. It does have enough of its own electronic counter measures that we may assume that it would not be the deciding factor in a confrontation.
Airwolf has 30mm cannons, .50 cal chain guns, and dozens upon dozens of missiles, all sufficient to exceed KITTS threshold of invulnerability. With a cruising speed of 350 mph and the option to kick it up to Mach 2 (over 1,400 mph) there is no way KITT could outrun it. With a flight ceiling of 89,000 ft and up, KITT’s short range laser won’t be very useful.
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If ‘The Firm’ orders Airwolf to destroy KITT from on high with extreme prejudice, it would be over in minutes. Even with KITT’s anti-heat seeking flares, smoke screens and faster than human reflexes, the battle would be determined by overwhelming air superiority.
But let us imagine that the Foundation for Law and Government gets wind of The Firm’s hostile intentions. What advantage could a car possibly have over a supersonic high altitude weapons platform?
Teamwork.
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KITT possesses advanced, general artificial intelligence. In retrospect, the fact that this was used to drive a Pontiac instead of irrevocably transforming the fate of mankind is insane, but perhaps there is a long game here that has yet to be revealed. I digress.
The important thing is that Airwolf’s crew members are confined to one vehicle, while KITT and Michael can operate independently.
Why would Airwolf ever give up its decisive advantage and get close to the ground? That’s just how its pilot, Stringfellow Hawke, rolls. He’s not the type to use chainguns on a man fleeing on foot. His preference is always low and slow, map of the earth stunt flying.
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If KITT were to play dead, perhaps after a spectacle of smoke screens and evasive driving, Michael could get out and run from Airwolf.
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If Airwolf took the bait and came down low, KITT could turbo boost upto 40 feet in the air and either use its laser or simply ram its indestructible body into the helicopter.
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If you really want to think outside the box, KITT could use his Surveillance Mode to hack into The Firm’s systems and then use his Voice Synthesizer and Voice Stress Analyzer to call Archangel to coerce, threaten and blackmail him into calling off the attack.
So the next time you are at one of your glitzy cocktail parties and a group of people are debating 80’s action properties and dismissing Knight Rider, remember the frickin’ lasers.
Will I ever get back the time I spent researching this? Will you ever get back the time you spent reading it?
No.
And for that, I am sorry.
If you do like to go deep on pop culture action, perhaps you’d like my dark superhero novel CRITERION.
CRITERION is available now in print and digital at
April 30, 2018
Six Demon Book Bag
We discuss my new novel CRITERION on the latest episode of the Six Demon Bag Podcast, including an introduction and excerpt read by Andrew Weary!
Download or stream it here:
http://ia801501.us.archive.org/15/items/44Criterionbookreleasespectacular/44%20Criterion%20Release%20Party.mp3
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CRITERION is available now in print and digital at
April 19, 2018
Take me down to Astro City
I’ve often described my new novel CRITERION as a ‘Grimdark superhero’ story. I did not set out to chase a certain tone or style, it merely followed from the concept – ‘When a super hero is murdered, what happens to his sidekicks?”
I’d like to share and review some of my influences to celebrate the release of my upcoming book CRITERION.
Any comics fan knows not to judge a book by it cover, because we’ve all been hooked by amazing cover art with subpar writing and illustration inside. It’s especially bad with comic books that promise action or plot on the cover that never materializes. I eventually became so jaded I assumed the better the cover the worse the book.
Then I saw this:
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Steeljack, a retired supervillain trying to go straight.
I gravitated to Alex Ross’ breathtaking cover. Inside I expected to find flat art and characters. What I found was the rich, fantastical world of Astro City. Kurt Busiek’s complex people and Brent Anderson’s solid artwork practically popped off the page.
The events and organizations on display are as surreal and corny as anything you’d find in a four color funny book from the golden age, yet all of it is balanced and nuanced so well you’ll believe there is a real person under every mask. It has won a million awards, but don’t take the experts and fans word for it. Just look at it!
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I don’t want to reveal any of the brilliant twists and turns of these books, so I will simply put this picture of The Confessor here to commemorate one of my favorite moments in comics.
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“Well done.”
How dark? Contents include: Eldritch horrors, betrayal, spooks and murder.
Have a favorite dark comic book you think people should know about? Drop a comment and let me know.
CRITERION is available now in print and digital at
April 16, 2018
The Real Shogun of the Dark
I’ve reviewed some early grim/dark comics and prose, but the real shogun of the dark? That honorific goes to the anime classic NINJA SCROLL.
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Read my review here on Ed Erdelac’s blog DELIRIUM TREMENS.
If you want more desperate heroes, over the top action and freaky villains you should check out my new book Criterion.
April 10, 2018
How the prose do it
I’ve often described my new novel CRITERION as a ‘Grimdark superhero’ story. I did not set out to chase a certain tone or style, it merely followed from the concept – ‘When a super hero is murdered, what happens to his sidekicks?”
I’d like to share and review some of my influences to celebrate the release of my upcoming book CRITERION.
Enough with the picture books, what about prose? Comic books had their resurgence and then flamed out so badly that it was difficult to find a comic book store, let alone a prose novel, but in 1995 John Varley put out an anthology of short stories called SUPERHEROES. The fact that the title was available illustrates how unsaturated the market was.
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I borrowed the book from a friend. We had grown up pondering ‘what would you do if you had superpowers?’ or ‘what is the worst superpower?’ This book played with these topics and lead me to consider more.
I can’t list specific stories, but certain scenes are still vivid in my memory. One superhero confronting another who has turned his powers on his unfaithful wife. A villainess breaking a hero’s heart on a tropical beach. The most provocative was the story of a hero from another world with a determined fan who learns too late that his human appearance is only skin deep.
The anthology was edited by John Varley (who wrote the excellent sci-fi epic DEMON) and Ricia Mainhardt with stories from genre veterans including Roger Zelazny, Alan Dean Foster, Laurell K. Hamilton, Mike Resnick, Richard Lee Byers and Michael A. Stackpole.
How dark? Contents include: skeletonized victims, arson, secret alien supermen, child murder and publicists.
Have a favorite dark comic book you think people should know about? Drop a comment and let me know.
CRITERION is available now from Crossroad Press in print and digital at
April 7, 2018
Evil Mr. Potato Head
I’ve often described my new novel CRITERION as a ‘Grimdark superhero’ story. I did not set out to chase a certain tone or style, it merely followed from the concept – ‘When a super hero is murdered, what happens to his sidekicks?”
Over the next few days I’m going to review some noteworthy pieces to celebrate the release of my new book CRITERION.
Before we stop making mine Marvel, let’s go out on a high note with Terror, Inc.
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Coldsteel, is that you?
Terror, aka Shreck, is a whiskered green ghoul with the ability to rip off limbs and attach them to his own rotting body. An accomplished DIY body hacker, he has lived for over a thousand years and crossed from the Epic Comics imprint to the Marvel main stage.
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He kept a cache of special limbs in freezers to customize his body as each mission required, and in the heat of battle often scavenged what was necessary. Along with each borrowed part came memory and personality traits. Body Parts, the movie about a man who receives an evil transplant from a serial killer came out around the same time. Coincidence?
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He worked as a hitman for the mob as well as a freelancer, teaming up with surprisingly vanilla heroes like Spidey, Wolverine and the Punisher as well as small timers like Luke Cage, Silver Sable and (ugh) Darkhawk. His rogues gallery was packed full of freaks like Piranha Jones and (ahem) Priapus.
The books ran on gore, body horror and dark humor. Sometimes Terror wore a spiffy trench coat and fedora, sometimes he dressed up like Santa Claus and laughed as he burned people alive.
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How dark? Contents include: dismemberment, body horror, demons and impersonating Santa to commit murder.
Have a favorite dark comic book you think people should know about? Drop a comment and let me know.
CRITERION is available now from Crossroad Press in print and digital at
P.S.: It’s fitting that terror was one of the first and most obscure modded action figures I ever saw.
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