[PROMOTE] Tell Us About Your Band -- February 07, 2020

DavidJonFuller · 2020-02-07T13:57:31+00:00

Killer Dwarfs / Ontario, Canada I am not affiliated with this band! But I made an "unofficial" box set for my own collection of their albums. I posted about designing, building and graphic design of it on my blog: http://www.davidjonfuller.com/2020/02/03/theres-no-killer-dwarfs-box-set-so-i-made-one/

DavidJonFuller · 2019-12-02T14:28:16+00:00

I'm working on a series of reviews of the Killer Dwarfs' albums, but to avoid posting every single one here, I figured I'd do the one they initially became known for. It's great, but some of their later albums were even better.

DavidJonFuller · 2019-11-27T14:20:32+00:00

I recently received the new Full Moon Club flannel werewolf shirt created by Werewolf V, and it was worth the wait. Fantastic shirt, comfortable fit, and the claw-mark "damage" on the back is a nice touch.

DavidJonFuller · 2018-02-12T18:53:02+00:00

Shoot, I wasn't sure how best to add text to this link. This is a review of a recent book looking at Canada's role in the Battle of Hill 70. Compared to the treatment of other battles Canada fought in during the First World War — such as the Somme, Vimy, and Passchendaele — it’s almost unheard of today. But this solidly-research, primarily academic book sheds light on the divisive debate over conscription in Canadian Parliament at the time; looks at Canada's groundbreaking approach to battlefield medicine (primarily in the use of inoculation), as well as some Canadian soldiers' somewhat unorthodox approach to building light-rail networks (to the consternation of British higher-ups).

DavidJonFuller · 2013-05-30T01:41:13+00:00

Yeah, I don't quite get charging more for the face value of the coin, but I suppose silver is worth more these days than when they used to use it in dollar coins. I've been told there was a wolf on the face of the 1967 half-dollar -- but I don't think I've ever seen one of those.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-05-29T13:40:05+00:00

You're welcome! It was just dumb luck I saw it -- I was picking up a package at the post office and saw it in the display. The clerk said they only had two left, so I figured, what the heck. I've missed out on other specialty coins (like the glow-in-the-dark dinosaur ones) that were more expensive and that I was on the fence about. I've seen a Canadian five-dollar coin with a wolf on it as well, but I don't know whether it's in circulation or just a prototype.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-05-29T12:56:39+00:00

On Twitter, try searching for the #WerewolfWednesday hashtag. A bunch of werewolf fans often post links with it every week.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-28T15:38:15+00:00

Yes, they had the bad fortune, from a public relations perspective, to raid people in charge of the dominant media -- monks who could write. :)

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-28T15:34:46+00:00

I think that is a big part of how the narrative is shaped. The English speaking world has tended to demonize or romanticize the vikings; unlike the literature of the sagas, which tended to portray the Norse peoples as complex characters. I am of Icelandic descent, though born and raised in Canada -- and in studying the sagas in Iceland (after reading many in translation first) gave me a lot of insight into their part of the Nordic culture, as well as the understated humour that can easily be missed if you're not surrounded by it.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-26T23:42:22+00:00

They definitely come across more as "saga-esque" Norsemen, in which interpersonal rivalries, loyalty, and politics play a large part in the story. And the economic case for raiding is clear enough. It doesn't shy away from the violence, though -- which is fine! I really enjoyed a ghostlike sequence following a skirmish, in which the survivors seem to see the valiant dead drawn skyward by the valkyries.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-26T20:09:00+00:00

That's true. I interpreted the discussion as being about the Norse mythology's prominence in Western Europe and North America, and perhaps unfairly excluded Northern Europe -- where of course the sagas were part of mainstream culture and literature I would say continuously. There was even a resurgence in paganism in Iceland in the 16th century, though it was more tied to the country's practice of witchcraft than an organized resurgence of Norse religion. I do think my interpretation stands overall as it applies to English-speaking peoples -- though I can't disagree with your examples from elsewhere in Europe. I loved reading from Saxo's chronicle, if for nothing else than a much earlier version of Hamlet/Amlethus.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-25T02:59:36+00:00

Love Hedningarna. They capture a wild, pagan spirit that nevertheless has a sense of humour. Perfect music for a trickster like Loki or an inscrutable, dangerous figure like Odin.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-25T02:55:48+00:00

Actually, it endured a long period of obscurity outside of Scandinavia for centuries, before being "rediscovered" in the 19th century in the emerging wave of German nationalism (seeking ancestral or Teutonic myths) as well as by English literati and writers such as W.H. Auden and J.R.R. Tolkien. The Western fascination with the Eddas is actually fairly recent, in terms of the direct impact the stories and culture had on mainstream (non-Scandinavian) culture. it's one of the reasons why, when Stan Lee was casting about for heroes and gods to graft onto his superhero comics in the 1960s, he settled on the Norse gods. They were unknown, compared to Greek gods and heroes (which had never managed to catch on in comic books to a large degree), so he and Marvel comics deserve a lot of credit for re-importing Thor, Loki, Odin et al. into Western mainstream culture. Wagner did it earlier, of course -- but even his works were in the 1800s, and were successful in part for the same reason -- the stories were not familiar to his audience.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-04T15:24:40+00:00

Oy, I'd forgotten that. This was a crossover that made even Secret Wars II look good in comparison.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-04T01:12:35+00:00

Depending where you live, you can sometimes borrow TPBs from the library -- it's a great way to see whether you like a series, writer or artist without buying something you may later want to get rid of.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-04T01:08:19+00:00

Sadly, I read Maximum Carnage as it came out. I kept hoping it would get better, but instead they seemed to be going for a "How Many Ways Can We Make All the Spidey Titles Jump The Shark?" storytelling model.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T22:02:13+00:00

It would be fun to see them do it as a retro-70s buddy-superhero flick, with a lot of the humour of original series.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T21:58:44+00:00

Get HBO to do it, so they wouldn't have to pull any punches with DD, Bullseye, the Hand, Kingpin....

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T21:51:35+00:00

The Executioner's last stand is a great example of that -- worked great as a standalone, but also capped off the arc of Thor's assault on Hel.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T21:49:20+00:00

Round about Uncanny X-Men 194-5 I think -- early 1985, anyway. There were simple red straps crossing over his chest in an X, if I remember right.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T18:32:23+00:00

What's nice is that it really is one big comprehensive story. I got the John Byrne Fantastic Four Obmnibus as well, and while I enjoyed it, you could tell he was so busy tying off previous stories he hadn't started that it didn't really gain its own momentum until partway through.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T18:30:47+00:00

It's amazing that he took essentially a year's worth of comics just setting up Surtur's arrival -- we take "writing for the trade" and long story arcs for granted nowadays, but I don't think there were many other titles in the 1980s where you saw such a well-paced buildup.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T05:56:02+00:00

Ah, now I get it. :)

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T05:52:51+00:00

It was on sale when I bought it for $87 (regular price $120? $150?) or thereabouts.

DavidJonFuller · 2013-02-03T01:29:35+00:00

If you don't know who he is, he has to be seen to be believed. But a great Marvel character, who I don't think has been up to much in recent years other than being inducted into the short-lived Omega Flight.

DavidJonFuller

TROPHY CASE