JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #537.168!

The Beat Poets – “Staring Stars Down” b/w “G.I.” (self released) :: Don’tcha be lettin’ the wee bit of a bongo name be foolin’ ya because this ain’t no Ginsberg-Corso daisy pull; this is poppy rock that hails all the way from the land o’ the Irish springs. That’s why it’s strong enough for a man but gentle enough for a woman.

Anti-Flag – The Bright Lights Of America (Red Ink) :: I’m so bored with the U.S.A. Clash clones.

Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez – Locke & Key (IDW Publishing) :: In case you missed it the first time around, the debut issue is titled “Welcome To Lovecraft” and it’s a more than apt appellation for a spooky story that has its sights set on eerily evoking the best of old H.P. himself. After the Locke family is visited by two murderers, the surviving members begin their new lives in a Gothic home that goes by the Steranko-sounding name of Keyhouse. As it happens, there are doors in Keyhouse which are not meant to be opened—but they are anyway. Even worse, despite being locked up under heavy security in a juvenile detention center, one of the murderers is in contact with an ally that’s on the outside. Way, way out on the outside.

Joe Hill’s flashback-infused script is methodically paced for maximum effect, and Gabriel Rodriguez’s clean and stylish artwork gives Locke & Key a unique look that easily stands apart from the rest of the cookie-cutter comics on display these days. Just look for the glowing skull-laden black onyx key on the front. You can’t miss it.

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Does It Offend You, Yeah? – You Have No Idea What You Are Getting Yourself Into (Red Ink) :: Sure you do! Viciously loud, heavy-duty, Theremin-fueled psychotronically retrosonic electro-retardo disco synth music that makes Death From Above and their synapse-snappin’ ilk sound positively narcoleptic by comparison.

Be seeing you!