The Enjoyables
Roundup of what I've been digging this summer, and what I'm most looking forward to
I’ve absorbed my sunshine quota for the day, and in lieu of working on the projects I should be working on, I figured I’d procrastinate by just chatting a bit about some things I’ve enjoyed as of late. This will be a brief smorgasbord of some things that I think deserve more love, and then at the end I’ll rapid-fire some stuff I’m looking forward to. And of course, I’ll keep it spoiler-free.
I’m thinking about making this into a bi-annual series, or something along those lines. If you read this and have a recommendation for something you think I’d like, I’d love to hear about it!
Snotgirl
I’m kind of late to the Snotgirl party, largely because I’ve only recently gotten into reading comics.
Started in 2016, Snotgirl is a comic series by the creator of Scott Pilgrim, Bryan Lee O’Malley, in collaboration with artist Leslie Hung. It follows Lottie Person, a fashion blogger with green hair and serious allergies, who’s glamorous life is upturned when she meets the enigmatic Caroline.
Hung’s art is glamorous as hell (gives kind of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), and O’Malley’s charming characters grow on you quickly. It’s funny, strange, wholesome, disturbing, and very gay.
(Image: Bryan Lee O’Malley, Leslie Hung/Image Comics)
As of writing, there are 20 issues of Snotgirl out through Image Comics.
NHOTL/NHBTS, Department of Truth
Staying on the comics train, I’ve been absolutely enthralled in James Tynion IV’s comic series’ The Nice House on the Lake, it’s sequel series The Nice House by the Sea, and The Department of Truth.
NHOTL/NHBTS follow a disparate group of estranged friends who are all invited by their mutual connection, Walter, to his lake house, wherein they soon learn a disastrous truth. I won’t say anything else for fear of spoiling it. The art is amazing, the characters are great and have a surprising amount of depth, and with NHBTS, it seems to only be getting better.
(Image: James Tynion IV, Álvaro Martínez Bueno/DC Comics)
The Department of Truth is a paranoid odyssey through conspiracy and history. Lee Harvey Oswald is actually alive (or is he?), Mothman, Bigfoot, and the Hatman are real (or are they?), and the freshly recruited Cole Turner is caught up in the middle of it all. If you like Men in Black, X-Files, Control, etc., then check this one out. Martin Simmons’ art whips ass.
(Image: James Tynion IV, Martin Simmons/Image Comics)
Nice House by the Sea and The Department of Truth are currently ongoing, so it’s a great time to hop in and get caught up. If you’re like me, and are interested in comics but too intimidated by the density and history of super-hero stuff, then these shorter, contained series are the perfect onboarding ramp.
SHIFTY: Living in Britain at the End of the Twentieth Century
SHIFTY is the new Adam Curtis documentary miniseries, which through droves of BBC archive footage, details the whirlwind of change following the fall of the British Empire, and the nation’s subsequent tail-spin. It’s a sprawling, Mark Fisher-esque exploration into hauntology, post-modernism, and capitalism, attempting to document the death throes of the grand, unifying narratives that had theretofore sustained the world (empire, race, economics, the gender binary, patriarchy, etc.), and how a nation reacts when they are confronted with a world that is far more complex than they had been told (pairs well with The Department of Truth). If you’re already a fan of Curtis, this is a no-brainer. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, this is a great place to start. Someone has kindly uploaded All 5 parts of the BBC miniseries to YouTube here.
(Image: Adam Curtis/BBC)
The Shards
The Shards is a 2023 novel by Bret Easton Ellis. At 600 pages, it’s a bit large for the kind of novel it is—autofiction/crime/thriller/////—but it’s a fun, horrifying read. You follow a bunch of rich LA private school kids as they act rich and insufferable in the early 1980s. Oh, and there’s a serial killer.
The book feels like if you mashed the vulgar teenage characters of Stephen King together with the psychoneurotic narration of The Talented Mr. Ripley, and plopped them into a campus novel. If you didn’t like any other of Ellis’ books, you won’t like this one.
(Image: Bret Easton Ellis/Knopf)
Caveman Wakes Up - Friendship
Caveman Wakes Up is the newest album from Philly outfit Friendship. Alt-country is kind of having a moment right now (see Wednesday and MJ Lenderman), and I think this Friendship album is some of the best the genre has to offer. Twangy guitars; layers upon layers of folky instruments; lyricism that alternates between rambling and harrowing; sulky, drunken, howling vocals. It’s great.
Most Anticipated
Greg Freeman’s upcoming album, Burnover. Drops on August 22.
Park Chan-Wook’s next film, No Other Choice.
Zach Creggor’s new horror film, Weapons. Releases Aug 8.
Resident Evil: Requiem, releasing Feb 26.