NIGHTMARES ILLUMINATED. The column for horror evangelists. 057 A Fistful of Slight

I usually take the first paragraph (or two) to complain about, eh, this and that…usually it is more of a whine. This time, however, I am going to jump right off with two happy experiences: the Mayhem Festival and the Connecticut HorrorFest. For the record let me say that this surprising burst of joy does not constitute a precedent.

I originally bought a ticket to the Mayhem Festival show in New Hampshire, but that date was cancelled (!) and I spiraled into despair. Picking myself up, like you do, I grabbed a VIP pass to the Mansfield date, outside of Boston. It is an all-day heavy metal show (not quite a festival) with nine bands on two stages, but the headliners this year are Slayer and King Diamond – heavy metal horror if it ever existed. I mentioned this festival a while back and now having experienced I have to say, “That was a fine recommendation, buddy.” Beautiful weather, VIP bar, most of the bands were great, very little crowd violence. And King Diamond. I wouldn’t say he was at the top of his game but he hasn’t fallen off much and the concert he put on fairly qualifies as amazing. As an early adopter of Satanic philosophy, the 59-year-old Danish Texan lays down the evil like no other. Do yourself a favor, folks. The tour is almost over. Jump while you can. Mayhem itself might be on its way out. This year, there were only nine bands and two stages whereas only a couple years back I saw the tour in Saratoga Springs, New York and there were fifteen bands and three stages. Attendance at the show in Mansfield was quite poor – the pavilion was perhaps one third full. And the crowd was old. There weren’t all that many people my age (very, very old) but there was a huge 35-45 year-old contingent, and the 15-25 crowd was thin indeed. While the headliners were fantastic this year, what Mayhem needs is a bigger and better supporting lineup. Fingers crossed.

Before I veer away from music, I was lamenting with an old pal the other day that Motörhead didn’t have any US dates this year and the most recent photos of Lemmy aren’t very encouraging for future tours. Thinking only of myself, I want to see them live again. Today, like angels whispering into my tender parts, the news came down that there are a few US dates after all. I grabbed a ticket. I’ll be seeing Motörhead in Connecticut in September. I’ll get back to you. Seeing Motörhead and King Diamond in the same year makes 2015 one of the good ones. Note to self…

O crap, I have to mention one more. Mojave Lords, Unfuckwithable. Seek it out now. No time to say why! And Mutoid Man. Any Mutoid Man you see, give it a listen.

The second enjoyable little interlude I experienced was a day at the Connecticut HorrorFest in Danbury (photo barrage here: http://horrornewsnetwork.net/component/content/article/2-uncategorised/13330-ct-horrorfest-2015-coverage?Itemid=101 ). It was a nice, very well organized one-day horror convention focusing primarily on film. This was only the second one but it looks like it might be a going concern and an annual event. Horror celebrities like Doug Bradley (of Hellraiser/Pinhead fame) and dozens of vendors wielding rare and interesting merchandise sure to appeal to horror fans made this a memorable event. I am already looking forward to the next one. If you are in the NYC/Connecticut area in July looking for something to do, the search is over.

Lots of big comics news recently. Let me pick two items: Grant Morrison is the new editor in chief at Heavy Metal and the final Fables has been released. I mentioned the end of Fables a couple of columns back, and the news was pretty widespread so anybody reading this already knows about it. The surprise was that the final issues was a 160-page trade paperback, doubling as the final collection (vol. 22) of the series. In many ways it is like an extended continuation (is that a thing?) of what the recent several issues have been – wrapping up loose ends. I hate to see the book end as it has been one of my all-time favorites. How to do it? Either you do what Bill Willingham has done and try to clear up as much as you can or you just let it drop with a thump and wrap up only on or two story lines. The way it was done is the better choice. If fans accept that the series is ending, then the final issue/volume should appease.

Now look, the big thing is the announcement that Grant Morrison will be heading up Heavy Metal as editor in chief. That was a jaw dropper, at least for me. It’s a bold choice and Morrison is a great writer. It will be fascinating to see what he does at Heavy Metal which is, after all, not much like what most of his work has been so far in his career. Maybe there will be a new-found freedom at the more adult-oriented publication. I have high hopes.

I am running off at the mouth more than usual this month and hitting hard the word limit. Crap. A couple of quick comic picks, then. IDW has released some hot material lately. I love the new Fly book with its intense artwork. Make sure you see it. And then there are new Godzilla books left and right, it seems. If I am picking one, Godzilla In Hell is just amazing. What a crazy idea: Godzilla literally goes to hell. All art and no narrative makes the first issue in the series something to see and hold onto. Highly recommended.

Terminator: Genisys is getting a profound round of bad reviews. It is 26% on Rotten Tomatoes (all critics) right now, but it pulls 64% on Flickster (audience rating). Those scores are not all that great. I liked the movie a lot. I thought it was well done and fit into the universe as well as any of the others. I read a lot comments complaining that the multiple time travel paths rendered the plot pointless because nothing is ever settled if someone can always travel through time and change things again. And again. And again. Well, yeah, but if you are going to suspend your disbelief and accept the time travel horseshit in the first place, it is a little silly to then complain about the absurd concept being taken to the next logical (ceteris paribus) level. Emilia Clarke was fantastic in the Sarah Connor pick-up role and Arnold Schwarzenegger was as good as ever as a Terminator. Recommended, people.

I am going to kick the Ancient Aliens can down the road again, but I swear I will eventually get around to that story. I swear.

Enjoy the summer but don’t go to the beach. Why? Because beaches are boring.

******************************************************************************

Be the first to follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @we21011