Jeff C. Carter's Blog, page 6
April 6, 2018
Don’t forget to burn
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 upcoming book CRITERION.
Spider-Man had me wrapped up in Marvel’s web for a long time, especially with the alien symbiote saga and its creepy crazy villain Venom. I asked my father to photocopy pictures of Venom so I could put them around my room. I was in deep. What’s better than Spider-Man? An evil Spider-Man that wants to EAT Spider-Man!
Perhaps Kraven’s Last Hunt affected me more than I realized.
But like all great villains he outshined (over shadowed?) the hero, and by the arcane rules of capitalism and the comics code authority, had to be promoted in his own spin offs and cross over events, remade as a hero. A ‘lethal protector’, if you will. It was the heel-face turn that ended my obsession with Marvel comics.
Vrrroooommmm Vrrooooommmmm
What’s that, Marvel? Got something cool and edgy to woo me back? I kinda doubt…
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Holy Crap!
Ghost rider was the perfect guide into the dark corners of the Marvel universe. A spirit of vengeance, it possessed a young man to hunt bad guys with a spiked fist, a chain and a bitchin’ hellfire powered motorcycle. His enemies included assassins, ninjas and demons and he crossed paths with the freaky horror characters of the 70s, like Morbius the Living Vampire and my beloved Blade the dhampir. With the Midnight Sons, he fought an evil little person unleashing hell with the Darkhold, Marvel’s own Lovecraftian grimoire. I heart you, Ghost Rider.
How dark? Sometimes it was literally hard to see! Penciler Javier Saltares, Inker Mark Texeira and Colourist Gregory Wright bathed everything in black. Contents include: Demonic possession, face melting immolation, hell fire, flaming skulls, vengeance, suicide and murder.
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Who needs to change in a phone booth when you have innocent blood and a skull wreathed in hellfire?
Have a favorite dark comic book you think people should know about? Drop a comment and let me know.
CRITERION will be available soon from Crossroad Press in print and digital
P.S. : James O’Barr’s The Crow preceded the Ghost Rider reboot, but I didn’t find that spirit of vengeance until I had access to better comic book shops. I loved the book, movie and soundtrack. Imagine my surprise when I heard this Henry Rollins song:
April 4, 2018
Memoirs from the Dark Age
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?”
If I had to dissect the influences that lead me to the idea, the bloody trail would probably lead back to the comic book explosion of the 1990s. Funny book weren’t just for kids anymore. They became brooding, dark and edgy, and thus irresistible to a teenage mind (plus a metric ton of vampire novels, but I digress).
It was a great and terrible time of crossover events, special collector’s edition foil stamped variant covers (I still have my glow-in-the-dark Ghost Riders) and a plague of unnecessary FIRST! issues. This bloat and excess eventually collapsed like bloated things do, with the ‘tryhard’ edge-lord comics devolving into self-parody.
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Okay, maybe not this bad
Still, my unholy appetite was whetted and I eventually found my way to masterpieces like Alan Moore’s WATCHMEN and Frank Miller’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. I’ll always love Spidey, but I like my fiction like my coffee and chocolate: DARK.
Over the next few days I’m going to review some noteworthy pieces to celebrate the release of my upcoming book CRITERION.
Marvel delivered some entertaining stuff, like the rebooted Ghost Rider, Thanos’ quest for the Infinity Gauntlet and the demonic crossover event ‘Inferno’.
The arc with the most impact for me, personally, was ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’. It was a real shock to see my favorite hero Spidey get out-smarted and outgunned by a minor villain with a rifle and a flair for leopard skin vests. The hero and villain were both rendered as flawed human beings, struggling with their own mortality and identity.
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by J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod
How dark? Contents include: gorging on spiders, live burial, drug induced mania and suicide.
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He’s Kraven some spiders.
Have a favorite dark comic book you think people should know about? Drop a comment and let me know.
CRITERION will be available soon from Crossroad Press in print and digital from all major book distributors.
P.S. : Liefeld is in on the joke now. [image error]We love you Rob, you rock those pre-ripped, acid washed 501 jeans.
January 23, 2018
Meet me at the Crossroads
I am proud to announce that I have signed a deal with Crossroad Press. In addition to my upcoming ‘Grimdark-Superhero’ novel, they publish a variety of genres from authors including some of my lifelong favorites such as Brian Lumley, Robert McCammon, Joe R. Lansdale and Clive Barker.
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I’ll post more news as it develops, and you can subscribe to their newsletter here.
October 3, 2017
A Splotch, A blotch: 13 Songs about THE BLOB
Most years, I hunt down spooky tunes for my annual play list. This year, the spooky tune crept and leapt across the floor, slid and glided (glid?) under my door, and all around my wall. This year, the theme is the Blob!
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I heard the unmistakable refrains of The Blob theme song, by Burt Bacharach and the Five blobs, on a Spanish language radio station. You can hear more about my descent into madness here.
I could not find a comprehensive list of songs about the Blob, so I knew that I must build my own. Unfortunately it seemed that every electronica band, by law, must label one song on each album ‘the blob’. Many hundreds of songs later, here is my handpicked list of 13 tunes you can and should play at your Halloween party.
The Blob Theme Song by Burt Bacharach and the Five Blobs – We begin with the original and mutate wildly from here.
La Burbuja by Liberacion – Here is the Spanish version that will make you shake your ‘burbuja’.
La Burbuja by Manuel ‘Loco’ Valdes – A very strange version by a Mexican comedian that has a lot to say about love, heart ache and banishing people to Japan.
Wolfman Jack sings The Blob (with The Jaggerz) – Now we have Wolfman Jack singing a song about The Blob SONG, in which he compares the theme itself to a monster that infests your brain.
The Blob by Sleaford Mods – This is a relatively new song by a british punk duo and it is delightful.
The Blob That Ate Everyone by Smashy Claw – A very literal approach to the subject that mixes melancholy strains with indy rock.
Green Slime by Richard Delveccio – This 70’s acid rock song is about a slimy monster from outer space, so I’m including it on the blob list. This jam will scream across your mind!
The Blob by Groovy Ghoulies – This punk song compares a selfish lover to the Blob
Les blobs attaquent la plage by Ludwig von 88 – This French punk song’s title translates as ‘The Blobs Attack the Beach’.
Can’t Stop the Blob by Far Flowers/Jordan Dittus – No Halloween playlist would be complete without some surf rock!
Fight the Blob by Class of 3000 – a funk song by Andre 3000
The Blob by Love & Respect – this rap demo is simple, effective and goes to an unexpected place that cracks me up.
Here Comes the Blob by The Electric Company – This song and video really freak me out.
This list is now trapped in arctic ice, but teeming masses of sloppy music await you on this bonus alternative playlist.
For my other Halloween playlists, click here, here, here, here, here and here.
September 8, 2017
Ear Candy – a list of fine podcasts
I don’t just make a podcast, The Six Demon Bag, I eat, sleep, and yes, even listen to podcasts. I’ve been collecting and refining my library for years. Here is a partial list of some mainstream shows and a few hidden gems for you to try.
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Comedy
Harmontown – Dan Harmon, writer of Community, Rick and Morty, Channel 101 and friends plan to colonize the moon.
Dumb People Town – The Sklar Brothers and Daniel Van Kirk bring in a comedian each week to riff on weird crime stories.
CoolGames Inc – Griffin and Nick improvise new videogames
Who Charted? – Kulap and Howard and a guest break down the music, movie and tv charts each week
My Brother, My Brother and Me – An advice show for the modren era
How Did This Get Made? – Jason, Paul and June explore movies so bad they’re good (but sometimes just so bad)
Role Playing
Acquisitions Inc – The Penny Arcade team explore and exploit the cut throat world of Dungeons & Dragons
Acquisitions Inc: The C Team – A franchise of Acquisitions Inc
Drunks and Dragons – A small but funny team muddle through a fantasy realm
Crit Juice – Always inventive, always funny, often very loud.
The Adventure Zone – The McElroy Brothers (and father) play hilarious and poignant D&D
Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff – Two writers, game designers and polymaths expound on stuff
Science!
Weird Things – Hosts Andrew Mayne, Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young share strange news, space industry gossip and comedy
The Infinite Monkey Cage – Physicist Brian Cox and a panel pick a new topic each episode.
Oh No Ross and Carrie – Skeptic investigators explore pseudoscience and religious groups firsthand
MonsterTalk – the science and lore of monsters
Probably Science – Comedians discuss the science news of the week
Stuff to Blow Your Mind – A rich variety of topics from science and mythology are researched and explored in a pop culture infused, interdisciplinary show
Radiolab – A mix of art, science and journalism
Art
The HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast – Readings and reviews of HP Lovecraft’s work and his contemporaries (subscription podcast, with one free show each month)
The No Proscenium Podcast – the latest interviews and reviews of the Immersive Theater scene
My Haunt Life – Everything you need to know about Haunted Houses, amusement parks, alternate reality games, immersive theater and more.
After Things – The Weird Things crew reveal the triumphs and failures of life as a content creator
Lore – Spooky tales from myth and history
Voices of VR Podcast – All the latest news and behind the scenes interviews from the world of Virtual Reality
Writing Excuses – Four professional writers offer succinct advice about their craft
Interviews
Waking Up – with Sam Harris – Politics, science and controversy
You Made It Weird – with Pete Holmes – hours of comedy and soul searching
The Nerdist – Chris Hardwick interviews everyone from everything
The Joe Rogan Experience – at night…all day!
The Tim Ferris Show – Optimal minimalism, life hacks, etc
The Dana Gould Hour – funny, informative, damned dirty apes
Enjoy!
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August 7, 2017
I am feet, hear me roar
To celebrate season 3 of Voltron on Netflix (and to make my pal Dave Wein happy) I am cracking open the old webcomic vault. Enjoy this vintage edition of Robot! VS Ninja!
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August 3, 2017
The Six Demon Bag Podcast
I’ve neglected to mention that I have a new podcast!
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Soon we will all be pod-people
It’s called The Six Demon Bag, and if you get that reference you’ll dig our show. If you don’t get the reference, we’ll surely win you over with our healthy recipes flirty fashions political discourse grab bag of topics guaranteed to include things like science, writing, movies, comics, games, anime, true tales, ponderables…all that kind of thing!
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Subscribe and Rate at iTunes and Stitcher
Throw a topic in the bag!
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October 20, 2016
Season of the Witch: 13 Songs for Halloween
The Season of the Witch is upon us, and once again I have conjured songs for your Halloween party. The theme for this year is Witches. There are too many great weird songs to choose from, so I used arcane magicks to pick my lucky 13.
Turn on any classic rock station and you’re bound to hear Love Potion No.9, I Put a Spell on You, Black Magic Woman, Witchy Woman or a ditty by Fleetwood Mac. This list is not meant to be comprehensive. I’m scooping down deeper into the cauldron and tossing back any tune you can’t dance to.
Come, have a sip of strange brew and listen for a spell.
Season of the Witch by Donovan (This isn’t No. 1, it’s the introduction)
Devil Woman by Cliff Richard (The 60s and 70s- the golden age of witch songs)
Swamp Witch by Jim Stafford (I love these southern fried stories full of creepy bayou atmosphere. “Snakes hang thick from the Cyprus trees, like sausage on a smokehouse wall.”)
Marie Laveau by Bobby Bare (This is a novelty song, but it harkens back to the time when everyone knew about the Witch Queen of New Orleans.)
Marie Laveau by Dr. John (This song does the Witch Queen more reverence.)
Voodoo by The Neville Brothers (Voodoo songs are often songs about love)
Voodoo Woman by Curtis Knight (or love lost)
Voodoo Woman by Koko Taylor (The next chapter in Curtis’ story?)
One Eyed Witch by The 7th Court (The manic energy of the electric organ just sounds like Halloween)
Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band (The cheesy fx of this music video had me spellbound as a kid.)
She’s My Witch by Kip Tyler (Let’s down tune for some Rockabilly and a few rippin’ guitar songs)
Brujo by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (Screamin’ Jay is Halloween royalty, and he’s representing the Man-witches)
Wicked Old Witch by John Fogerty
19 Witches by Monster Magnet
The Witch by The Cult
Witchfinder General by Carl Douglas (It’s not all love songs. Pimps up, Witches down.)
The Salem Witch Trial by Kiriae Crucible (Dark days in Salem. But on the bright side: electric organ!)
It’s only right to give the last word on witches to the ladies who have been so persecuted and maligned. And who better than Yoko?)
Yes, I’m a Witch by Yoko Ono (the 1974 original is smoother, but this version brings the madness home)
Bonus: I Want to be Evil by Eartha Kitt
For five more curated lists, check out my other Halloween mixes here, here, here, here and here.
October 26, 2015
Bloody Good Tunes – Music from Horror Movies
Here’s another 13 songs for your Halloween party. The theme for this year’s mix is Horror Movies, featuring songs from scary movies or about movie monsters. While there are many throat-shredding, head-banging heavy metal bands that write nothing but monster odes, this list will even appeal to mullet-challenged individuals.
If you think a song is missing from this list, you may find it included on a previous list here, here, here and here.
Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula – The Diamonds
There are many songs about B-Movies from the 50s and 60s, but I like this one because it’s about a girl who can only be amorous when watching monster movies.
Beware of the Blob! – The Five Blobs
I don’t know what else Burt Bacharach and his band The Five Blobs sang about, but this is the definitive song about blobs.
Human Fly – The Cramps
Bzzzz bzzzz bzzzzzz!
The Creature From the Black Lagoon – Dave Edmunds
I like how simply the love story is laid bare in this catchy tune.
The Howling – Babel
This entire song is performed live several times in The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf.
Big Bad Wolf – Bunny and the Wolf Sisters
This is the song from the prom at Teen Wolf to which the Teen Wolf dance is choreographed. Dear God I love this movie.
Pet Cemetery – the Ramones
Sometimes Ramones is bettah. For bonus horror movie music, checkout ‘Chainsaw’ about a certain massacreeee.
Drinkenstein – Dolly Parton & Sylvester Stallone
Not from a horror movie, not a classic monster, not stopping me from putting it on the list. The album has a bigger sound, but the outfit from the movie is not to be missed:
Halloween Rap by The Roots
Here’s a quick rap about Michael Myers.
I Still Believe – Tim Cappello
This song was performed live in Lost Boys, and the saxophone player really brings the heat.
He’s Back (the Man Behind the Mask) – Alice Cooper
This movie is written about Jason Voorhees for Friday the 13th part 6. Not only does the music video have Cooper in a hockey mask running around a theater showing the movie, Jason himself makes a cameo.
Dream Warriors – Dokken
Not to be outdone, Dokken made a music video for Nightmare on Elm Street Part 3 where they rock out so hard they give Freddy Krueger a nightmare.
Do the Freddy – The Elm Street Group with Freddy Krueger
Did somebody say FREDDY? Two rap songs weren’t enough, so Freddy cut an album with The Elm Street Group that will definitely give you nightmares. Other highlights include ‘Dance or Else’ and ‘Down in the Boiler Room’.
Feel free to suggest more songs in the comments. I hope you enjoy the music and have a Happy Halloween!
September 15, 2015
Delta Green: Extraordinary Renditions now available
My short story Le Pain Maudit is now available in an anthology of all new mythos fiction from Arc Dream Publishing.
These are 18 case histories ranging from the late 1940s to present day by some of the most popular writers in the horror and RPG field.
Here is the table of contents
“The Color of Dust” by Laurel Halbany.
“PAPERCLIP” by Kenneth Hite.
“A Spider With Barbed-Wire Legs” by Davide Mana.
“Le Pain Maudit” by Jeff C. Carter.
“Cracks in the Door” by Jason Mical.
“Ganzfeld Gate” by Cody Goodfellow.
“Utopia” by David Farnell.
“The Perplexing Demise of Stooge Wilson” by David J. Fielding.
“Dark” by Daniel Harms.
“Morning in America” by James Lowder.
“Boxes Inside Boxes” and “The Mirror Maze” by Dennis Detwiller.
“A Question of Memory” by Greg Stolze.
“Pluperfect” by Ray Winninger.
“Friendly Advice” by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan.
“Passing the Torch” by Adam Scott Glancy.
“The Lucky Ones” by John Scott Tynes.
“Syndemic” and an introduction by Shane Ivey.
I have been a fan of Delta Green since the U.S. military stormed the blighted town at the end of ‘Shadow Over Innsmouth’. The paradigm of military vs. monsters is thrilling because we think monsters aren’t real. When you delve deeper into the military and intelligence side, however, the ground does not get more stable. The secrets you learn do not make you feel safer. This is a world of paranoia and murder. This is the real world, where even now people with unlimited budgets are scrambling to invent the next existential threat before ‘the other side’ can.
My story follows from two disturbing chapters in recent history. The first was the revelation of the CIA’s Project MKULTRA, which attempted to develop mind control techniques that they tested on innocent people without their consent.
The second was the strange tragedy known as ‘Le Pain Maudit’, the outbreak of mass hallucinations that ravaged a small French village in 1951. Some theorize that the local baker’s bread was contaminated by ergot fungus. There are clues, however, that suggest the CIA had dosed the town with LSD.
Here is an excerpt from Le Pain Maudit:
Frank, Gerhard and John stood shoulder to shoulder, watching through the two-way mirror. Edward was negotiating with Monsieur Tatin over wine, cheese and bread. John filmed the proceedings with a purring film camera.
Frank idly scratched his pen on the metal clipboard balanced on his forearm while he observed the German. Gerhard marked his log each time Tatin took a bite or sip. He checked a stop watch and smiled.
“Any moment now.”
Frank pulled off his headphones and whispered.
“What did you dose him with?”
“Shwarzlotos.”
“Black lotus?”
“Ja, a potent hallucinogen. It enhances the truth-serum effects of LSD.”
A crash from the main room turned their heads.
Monsieur Tatin had dropped his wine glass and stumbled against the wall. Edward eased him into a chair.
“Relax, monsieur. It’s all right.”
“Je suis désolé, I do not feel so well. I just….”
Monsieur Tatin twisted to stare into the firelight. His eyes had dilated into gaping black holes.
“How are you feeling, monsieur? What do you see?”
The Frenchman licked his wine-stained lips and wavered.
“A black temple…with spires that reach the stars. It’s impossible. So vast. So ancient!”
Gerhard’s scratching pen fell silent. Frank looked over. The German had closed his eyes in an expression like prayer.
Tatin gripped the edge of the table and shook.
“I’m being pulled inside. I’m sinking! In the crypts, they dwell…fungal things…silently waiting. I’m frightened! They know I am there! They know!”
He spewed a stream of bile across the table and collapsed. Edward hurried over and checked his pulse.
“Monsieur?”
Tatin looked around with blurry, bloodshot eyes. His pupils were returning to normal. He finally noticed Edward standing over him.
“What happened?”
“We drank too much, monsieur. Let me walk you home.”
John turned off the recording equipment. Frank pretended to finish his notes while watching Gerhard. The German gathered the remaining food and wine with great reverence, like a priest handling sacraments.
Frank stepped out of the bedroom and waved a pen.
“Was that a success or a failure, Herr Doktor?”
~
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