Spunkmeyer's Last Gasp...

Oh nothing, just a little xenomorph study before the night closes in...pencil and charcoal pencil.

Clive Barker's The Scarlet Gospels...A Book Review...

"All is death, woman. All is pain. Love breeds loss. Isolation breeds resentment. No matter which way we turn, we are beaten. Our only true inheritance is death. And our only legacy, dust."

And so begins the end...





Obvious Spoilers ensue...

First a bit of backstory - this novel was first teased as far back as the 1990s. Intended as a short story, the project eventually swelled to a reported 200,000+ words. During this whole process, Barker suffered the loss of loved ones, broken relationships, and finally a coma brought on by blood poisoning. But now, nearly two decades in the making, we have it. It is bloody, surreal, and kinetic. The main focus here is to tell the final Hell Priest (Pinhead) story, but it is also very much the story of Harry D'Amour, the magician and last of his kind, as he faces off with the gridded demon.

Right out of the gates, we are treated to a triple evisceration as Pinhead hunts down the last of the world's great magicians. He tortures them in unimaginable ways leaving behind a trail of death and adopting one of them as his own personal assistant. It seems Pinhead has acquired a taste for all of the world's magic. As he kills, he absorbs...storing the incantations for some unknown endgame. Barker has never suffered for descriptive terms, and here we get our first, plain view of the monster:

"He looked like a creature that had lived too long, his eyes set in bruised pools, his gait steady but slow. But the tools that hung from his belt...were, like the abattoir worker's chain-mail apron he wore, wet with blood: confirmation that his weariness did not apparently keep him from taking a personal hand in the practicalities of agony."



D'Amour engages the Priest at various intervals, gaining insight into his quest and gathering friends along the way, the most important being a blind black woman named Norma who consults with the recently deceased. We discover that Pinhead actually hates his nickname, even maiming in retaliation for its usage (a point no doubt driven home by Barker as that name was never officially chosen by the author.) As the descent into hell itself unfolds, so do the motivations for Pinhead's (oops) modus operandi. He methodically eliminates the obstacles in his way, much like the dark surgeon he is known for being. He aims to have it all - apparently ending with him on the throne of the underworld itself. A particular gruesome opening volley occurs when he unleashes a horde of magical paper cranes, each a folded written curse of tangible annihilation. Some familiar faces appear here, ones that Hellraiser film fans will recognize and ultimately, feel remorse for.

Barker's hell is a wasteland populated with mutant monsters, deformed humans and immense gothic architecture. He takes us to the literal "ends of earth" while in this demonic place. As Harry and company track down the Priest, who has kidnapped Norma as bait, they encounter all sorts of lesser and greater demons. Some are soldiers of high importance - adorned with battle armor and sadistic weaponry, others merely commoners who live out their pitiful lives in the mud of hell. One of my favorite "characters" is a giant slumbering beast, known only as The Quo'oto, which Harry sees as they cross a river on frail, wooden boats. It is the size of Dune sandworm, an immense thing, and its face has the features of a devil and a bat. Barker delights in scaring the shit out of us with his imagination.

The final act is a truly macabre confrontation. The Priest waltzes through foggy fields of ancient machines en route to the Devil's Tower. Yes, Lucifer himself. Never to be one to shy away from self immolation, The Priest (and Barker himself) literally takes blade to flesh and bone as he cuts away extraneous parts of himself. He does this in order to fit Lucifer's Armor upon his scarred body and assume the ultimate prize. It is literally one of the bloodiest scenes in any novel I've ever read. Without giving it all away, Lucifer's Armor doesn't go without a fight as Harry and his friends literally watch as Hell itself cracks and falls down on their heads. The Priest is given his final, poignant farewell as things unfold - or should I say unravel - as they should. Barker changes the game as a result of this story, and nothing - including Harry D'Amour - will be the same after this. I wonder where Barker will take us after this purging of everything known and unknown in the world of demons and devils.

Of special note is Barker's characterization of the Hell Priest. Being only a casual mention in the original novel, and with only film incarnations since then to round out his persona, Barker adopts the recognizable into the current literary form of his monster. Several times I could hear Doug Bradley's voice deliver those eloquent lines of mockery and malice. It reads like a film and could serve as a fascinating screenplay if a movie should ever see the light of day (or the dark of night.) Barker succeeds in giving us what we want while at the same time, producing his final vision of his most popular creation. Not many artists are afforded that luxury.

In many ways, we the readers are along for the ride with Harry and his company as they track down the demon in a fantastical landscape. Just as Harry is fascinated with the evil things he dare not seek out, so too are we unable to look away from the final ultimate battle for Hell's future. It's messy and disturbing. And while I would have loved to have heard a bit more about how not only the Priest came to this crusade against the Order that brought him into being but also of Hell's denizens...I can't deny Barker gave us just enough in every case to give us an idea of the whole in which his story permeates. He has never written about every minute detail in a given setting anyway, opting more for suggestion when the main plot permits. This allows the reader to breathe and create the world in their mind, using his finely tuned descriptive guides.

All in all, a fantastic read. It's no minor miracle that we have it to digest in the first place. Combine that with the expectations that legions of fans bring with them magnified by nearly twenty years of waiting and it's Barker's latest major accomplishment. I can't wait to dissect it again very soon.

Farewell, Priest.

5 out of 5 Hooks.

The Mission is a Man...A (Retro) Movie Review...

I don't often do this, especially with older films I have seen many times. But today I feel compelled since yesterday was Memorial Day and I took in a viewing of perhaps the best war movie of a generation.

Saving Private Ryan.

For those who have seen it, and let's be honest, you should have by now - it begins with one of the most harrowing scenes in motion picture history. The morning landings at Normandy - June 6, 1944. I know of veterans who chose to leave the theater during this because it was so authentic - they simply could not handle its realism. It's a testament to Spielberg that he chose to portray it in this manner. War is not glamorous, nor is it a thing to be sought out. It is a terrible, awful thing that unfortunately at this point in history - was a necessary thing.



The cast is perfect. Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies are all brilliant. Every single one.

This is a war film where several combat engagements occur, but what makes this a near perfect film are the "in between" scenes that carry as much weight as any bullet or bomb.

A few of these I will discuss below...

A slow overhead zoom in shot of the beach post assault as it closes in on the name - Ryan, S. - on a backpack of a dead soldier on the beach. We go to a typists office where the death notices are being prepared for the families of the deceased. A close-up of a woman's face as she gasps momentarily. We discover here that all of the Ryan brothers have been killed and this is brought to the attention of George Marshall. When prompted to forget the 'foolhardy' mission of sending a team to find Private Ryan, Marshall reads an eloquent letter of condolence to a Mrs. Bixby of Boston, after which he calmly states:

"That boy is alive. We are gonna send somebody to find him. And we are gonna get him the Hell... outta there."

An early scene that emphasizes Marshall's feelings on the matter is when Ryan's mother notices the Army car coming down her driveway back home. She looks up and knows this isn't good. When she sees the pastor from her porch, it absolutely nails me every time.



So off they go...



The next scene, much later after the loss of one of their own and with Miller's soldiers threatening to leave the mission, he reveals to them that he is a school teacher. One particular speech sticks with me:

"You know if going to Rumelle and finding him so that he can go home. If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then that's my mission. You want to leave? You want to go off and fight the war? All right. All right. I won't stop you. I'll even put in the paperwork. I just know that every man I kill the farther away from home I feel."

No one leaves.

Much later as Captain Miller asks Ryan about his brothers, Ryan tells him of the last night they were all together before the oldest shipped off to training. Upon finishing, Ryan asks Miller to tell him about "his wife back home and those rose bushes" alluding to Miller's "something specific" when he attempts to think of home. But Miller refuses, simply stating...

"No, no that one I save just for me."

The fourth and final scene is at the very end. Old Ryan stands among the gravestones at Normandy, directly in front of Captain Miller's final resting place. To it, he says:

"My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best that I could. I hope that was enough. I hope that, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me."

He stands and salutes. It is one of the most heart wrenching scenes in any movie of my lifetime.



John Williams conducts a beautiful, subtle score as the American Flag waves in the afternoon sunlight. Perfection.



5 out of 5 Khans. The best war movie ever made.

Draw, Draw, Draw...

Got some sketching and acrylic work in this weekend. Here are some work in progress shots of the first piece.

Grand Moff Tarkin and The Inquisitor from Star Wars Rebels...yes, the animated show.





























Now, this is a less exciting one for me. Sketched it out a week or so ago, and started in on the face just yesterday. Still a work in progress - not sure how I feel about it. Luke started out looking like an Ape but I guess I'm "getting there" - I don't know, I may go back to it at some point. Prob bit off more than I can chew at this point. Here is the progress up to now:

First the reference photo...



And the work so far...



























Human faces are the most difficult thing to do...EVER. I may go more "stylized" with this before it's over. Or I may just scrap it altogether and paint over it. Not sure.

More later...

Mad Max Fury Road...A Movie Review...

Well that sure kicked my ass! Obvious spoilers follow...

Summer started early this year and this one will be hard to top. Fury Road is balls out, straight forward action set in a post apocalyptic wasteland of a future Earth. The story is pretty straight forward - our "hero" Max gets mixed up in a "family dispute" between a female general named Furiosa (Charlize Theron doing her best Sigourney Weaver impersonation) and Overlord Immortan Joe - a Darth Vader-esque villain complete with flowing white mane and clunky breathing apparatus.



There is an entire world created in this film, one of albino "war boys" who serve the overlord by running his kingdom of dirty dregs and driving his assault vehicles. Nicholas Hoult is a standout who begins the film using Max as a "blood bag" - essentially stringing him up as a hood ornament with a lifeline of plasma providing him with precious body replenishment. His story comes full circle as Max eventually escapes and Hoult's character tags along. Turns out Furiosa is running with Joe's "wives" - a set of females used for breeding as Max and Nux (Hoult) join their mission.





The film is highlighted by huge chase scenes, each occurring in different environments and circumstances - a gigantic sand storm, a bog, and a rocky terrain filled with murderous biker gangs. The vehicles and the mutants who inhabit them are spectacular, the chase and the explosions / car wrecks are even better! Harpoons fly, knives and chainsaws tear through metal and flesh, and grenade tipped staffs are used with reckless abandon. It is glorious and utter chaos. And then this guy just plays his literal "heavy metal" guitar adorning one of Joe's tanks, announcing the fleet's arrival with foreboding malice - a sort of macabre drummer boy if you will...



Awesome.

There is an endgame to the whole ordeal and a satisfying final act that sees mostly everyone in a new place with a new destiny. And yes there are a few exceptional nods to the previous Max films - little trinkets or instances that will make long time fans smile when they spot them. I won't spoil them here. My only nitpicks would be that we don't get as much backstory in some scenes - a truly exceptional swamp bog scene is relegated to about a minute of screen time! - but it's a minor thing. When something is this well-made I want as much as I can get!



All in all, this is an awesome throwback to not only the Mad Max originals, but to action movies in general. Nearly 90% of the effects, vehicles are all REAL...no CGI crap here acting as a crutch. I hope we get more Max movies in this day and age - not bad for a 70 year old director bringing back a 36 year old franchise!

4 out of 5 Khans!!!



^ Now that's a movie poster! ^