Archaia Press - Jim Henson's The Storyteller and Rust: A Visitor In The Field

Archaia Press is doing something really special. They are putting out amazing comics with presentation that is just incredible. This is the first batch of comics we'll be talking about here and these two books definitely deserve to be first. We reviewed Rust on the show last week and two weeks from now will be reviewing The Storyteller. Here are the two books front and back.

There's just something really great about the books that Archaia is putting out. These could sit on a shelf with any hardcover novels in a bookstore.

The first book up is Jim Henson's The Storyteller. This is based on the 80's HBO show of the same name. If you haven't seen the show, get on it. It's John Hurt playing titular character and Brian Henson (Jim Henson's son) as the voice and puppetry of his dog. The storyteller tells the dog stories based on European myths and they are shown through some of the best puppetry and creature creation I've ever seen.

This book brings together a ton of great comic book creators to tell even more great European myths. With the television show, they did a second series that was Greek Myths, in which Michael Gambon played the storyteller. In this comic, there are no Greek myths, but we do get some fantastic Asian folk tales. Some of the creators on this book include Roger Langridge, Colleen Coover, Chris Eliopoulos, Jeff Parker, Tom Fowler, Marjorie Liu, Paul Tobin and Ron Marz. There is a huge amount of talent contributing to this book and it shows.

This book is incredible. It is an ALL AGES book. That means that an adult can enjoy it as much as a kid and if you have a kid, they would love this book. The final story is based on an unproduced episode of The Storyteller TV series and is the standout of this book. If you can, get your hands on this book.

The second book is Rust: A Visitor In The Field. This book's plot is too intricate to explain, but it is a very good book.

And while the story is really good, it's the art that makes this book stand out so much. The way the writer/artist, Royden Lepp, is able to draw light and focus is something I don't think I've ever seen in a comic. It really is quite an accomplishment.

Here's a really good example of both.

So, with our first comic book post on this blog is two books from an incredible publisher that everyone that is interested in reading something other than capes and cowls should check out.

React! Showcase Box Set (Color)

This is something that Aram and React! have put together for both of their showcases. At the 2010 showcase, they had put a few 7" records in the box set, but for the 2011 box set they went all out with 5 LP's. I didn't previously own any of these records, but I have heard each one. The thing here and why I paid Aram $90 bucks for this set is the presentation and what went into putting this together.

The front and back of the box set are both screen printed with the normal React! logo on the front and React! Showcase 2011 on the back with the dates.

My copy was hand numbered 12/15. I think they printed up 100 of these box sets and 85 were on black vinyl that they sold at the show. The other 15 were on color vinyl and were given out to friends that helped with the showcase. So...this is a pretty awesomely rare vinyl find.

Once you open the box, the 5 LP's are all in white sleeves with a hand stamped band logo on each sleeve. They even went to the trouble to tie a bow around the 5 records.

Here are the 5 LP's that came with the box set.
ON - Double Vision on clear
Skin Like Iron - Arrival on yellow
Get The Most - Collection on maroon
Common Cause - Statement of Purpose on blue
Get The Most - Together on clear blue

Also inside is a copy of the special edition of Effort Fanzine that was put together for the showcase and this box set. This is a really thick issue and has interviews with every band on the label and the other bands that were playing the showcase. They even interview all of the folks that run React! Great fanzine!

The box set also came with all of the writings that are typical of a React! release.

...and a whole bunch of stickers and download codes for each album that we will be giving away on the show very soon.

The first record in the set is ON - Double vision on clear vinyl. This is the second pressing of this record that was co-released by React! and Reaper Records. The clear is out of 400. This is such a solid record. ON is comprised of members of Champion, Go It Alone, Blue Monday and Lights Out. How could this band not be good. Double Vision collects the bands two out of print 7" records Control and Vital Times. I had previously got a copy of Control but have never been able to find a decently priced copy of Vital Times, so it's nice to have them collected here. And man, do I love clear vinyl.

Next up is Skin Like Iron's React! debut, Arrival on yellow vinyl. There were 200 pressed of this color. I've had the MP3's that were sent to me to play on the show from React! for awhile and have never been able to get into it. I guess I didn't give it much of a chance, because I cannot stop spinning this record. It's kind of a strange band to be on React! This is more of a metal album than a hardcore record and mostly sounds like a crust record. Very very good though.

Common Cause Statement of Purpose on blue out of 300. This is such an awesome record. Not much else to say about it. Great from start to finish. We play this on the show all time time, so if you're into it, listen to the show for your chance to win a downloadable copy of this album.

Get The Most were the first band on React! Records and this showcase was their last show. Very sad that I never got to see them live, because this is one killer band. Both of these records are just incredible. Together on blue out of 400 is such an insane record and Collection on maroon out of 300 is even better than the first. Every song on this album is straight forward, in your face, fast hardcore.

This is definitely the best piece of my ever growing record collection. So glad to have this and be able to listen to these 5 records.

Coming up later, we're talking about a couple of Archaia comic book releases and a new game shop that we discovered here in Stephenville.

Dead End Path - Blind Faith LP

The first thing we wanted to post about is something we can't stop listening to for the last couple of weeks. I saw Dead End Path a few months ago with Bane and Defeater in Dallas. They really struck me when I saw them and the vocals were really cool and interesting. It took me quite awhile to order this, but I just happened to be on the Triple B webstore ordering Give - I Am Love and Disengage - Expressions (future posts) so I thought I'd pick this up to.

This is such a great record. There are a few tracks that get a little too moshtastic for my tastes, but overall, it is a super solid album. I can't wait to see this band again at Chaos in Tejas in June.

The color I picked up was called cotton candy, but it's mostly just pink. It's actually a really cool looking record as I haven't had many splatter prints in the past.

This is also my first gatefold cover and except for production sake, I can't really understand the need for this. It's just another picture of the band, but I guess it's cool.

And the back cover...

The insert to the album is really big and pretty cool. Just more really good production on this thing, which is something Triple B obviously knows how to do. This side is another group photo.

The other side is the lyrics sheet and since this LP is 10 tracks and none of these songs are really short, it's nice to not have them crammed on a single page.

And that's it. I hope everyone enjoyed the first post. Listen to the show if you can and support hardcore. Head over to www.triple-brecords.com to grab a copy of this and all of their great releases.

Get PUMPED!!! Next post is going to be about a couple of great releases from Archaia Press. Jim Henson's The Storyteller and Rust: A Visitor In The Fiend. And for those not into comics, we have plenty more hardcore vinyl to show off.

Hardcore & Comics

Hardcore and Comics is a weekly radio show hosted by myself and my friend Lariat from 100.7 in Stephenville, TX. We play hardcore music and talk about comics, movies, TV, etc...

This blog is a chronicle of our collecting habits. Anything from hardcore records, really great looking trade paperbacks and anything else we might get.

Check out the show at Tarleton.edu/ThePlanet. You can listen live there every Tuesday night. Like our page on facebook. Just search Hardcore & Comics. Also, remember to check this blog out. There will be a ton of updates. Just so you know, someone has a React! Showcase Color Box Set 2011 on the way. You will not want to miss that.