Adam WarRock has made a name for himself in the Nerdcore genre of music. His music is not only full of geek references but also contains a real message for all listeners.

You Dare Call That Thing Human?!?, Adam’s second album released in February, is about being  true to yourself, not society’s expectations. The cover of the album is inspired by a most poignant scene from the 1980′s comic book  ‘God Loves Man Kills’ by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Brent Anderson. In the scene, the leader of the X-men, Cyclops, states that mutants, for all their different abilities, are still human and should be treated as such, despite popular belief.

Each track has a fluid sound combined with unique hip-hop beats and WarRock’s geek and pop cultural sensibility. The track 616 is an excellent example of this. Other tracks on the record such as I Kill Giants, Retcon, and the bonus track Andrew Garfield @ SDCC (Joules remix), stand out because of their deeper meanings.

Neo-Tokyo, his newest album released May 13 this year, is inspired by the legendary anime Akira. WarRock brings listeners seven new futuristic tracks that could be an addition to the original Akira soundtrack. Each track focuses on a particular character, place, or event that is featured in the film.

Toonari Post (TP): What inspires you to write and when did you begin writing?

Adam WarRock (AW):I started writing when I was in high school, because I read a lot, and envisioned myself as some kind of intellectual, artistic writer. I filled up notepads with bad short stories and poetry, before I realized I didn’t have the attention span to actually write, and rewrite and edit, and finish anything. Eventually it started turning into spoken word pieces, which eventually turned into lyrics.

TP: How did you get into music?

AW: My parents were always big into music. My mother was a voice major in college, my sister studied piano, music was a constant in the house. As a result, I grew up dabbling in a ton of musical instruments: guitar, trumpet, drums, piano. I just honestly can’t remember a time of my life where music wasn’t one of the most important things in it.

TP: Besides rap, what genres of music are you most influenced by?

AW: I’m definitely influenced by a lot of pop music. It’s impossible to not be somewhat aware of current pop trends, and have it influence your music in little ways. I also love folksy indie music. Jonathan Coulton is a huge influence on my music.

TP: What inspired the albums You Dare Call That Thing Human?!? and Neo Tokyo? What was the creative process?

AW: Most of what causes me to make an album is fairly uninteresting. With Akira, I had a pile of beats from producer DicepticoN, and they sounded so futuristic, like it was the soundtrack to a futuristic motorcycle chase. It made me think of Akira, and I went from there .

With Human?!?, it was after a 3-month straight tour. I wrote that while delirious and tired, and just suffering from homesickness, and sort of punch drunk. I knew I had to have a new album, and it just kind of came out of me in between road trips and tour stops along the way.

TP: You have an excellent work ethic. Where does that come from?

AW: Boredom. I hate being idle, I can’t stand it. Even if I’ve finished an album, if I have nothing to do that day, I’ll probably still record a song or two.

TP: What’s the best thing about being a musician and what’s the hardest?

AW: The best thing about being a musician is getting to feel like you have some sort of legacy, that this artistic endeavor that you do makes any sort of impact or difference in the general scheme of things. I think that deep down, that’s what we all kind of hunger for, and not in a narcissistic way (though there’s a bit of that too). You just want to feel like you’re not some small, insignificant speck in the universe.

The hardest is just being okay with the lack of structure, that you can’t plan for anything. Good and bad things happen, and they’ll happen whether you like it or not. You just have to roll with it, and hope that you can make it from one victory to the next.

TP: What artists are you currently listening to?

AW: I listen to a lot of people I’ve worked with before, like Dual Core, ThoughtCriminals, Jesse Dangerously, MC Frontalot, people like that. And then there’s people whose music I’m just a fan of, like K.Flay, Shad, Doomtree, Brother Ali. And then there’s embarrassing stuff like really bad ’90s R&B, Disney soundtracks, or old Paul Simon records.

TP: What future goals do you hope to achieve with your music? What type of future projects would you like to do?

AW: Honestly, the only goal I want is the financial and personal security to keep making music. I have tons of ideas for subjects and ways to take what I do, and I just want to survive long enough to at least attempt to do them.

TP: What advice can you give musicians who are just starting out?

AW: Write and record as much as you can, as fast as you can. And then put it out there, publicly. Even if you don’t think it’s perfect. You need that public shame and embarrassment to get better, and it has to be a real thing to you. It’s not real until you ask other people to judge it, and hopefully you’re good enough, or you’ll get good enough, to have other people accept it.

But no one just started making music, and was amazing from the get-go. You need to evolve, and it has to be in the public eye, whether you like it or not. If you’re too embarrassed to put something on a website or tweet about something, you definitely don’t have the stomach to stand up to how much harder it will get.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.adamwarrock.com/

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In the third installment of the official Diablo III comic book, our mopey hero returns home seeking the punishment he has been craving since the first issue.

The issue begins on a cool note, as a band of Khazra goat demons argue with the thugs who are pursuing Jacob. In a truly creepy moment, the thugs’ leader, Ivan, starts bleeding from his facial orifices as he strikes a bargain with the demons.

It soon becomes apparent that Ivan is possessed by a sinister force—a force that offers to make the Khazra great again if only they will reveal Jacob’s location. The Khazra spend about five seconds contemplating the offer before declaring that Jacob and his wizard friend, Shanar, are hiding beneath them.

Thankfully for Jacob, Shanar has some more nifty wizard tricks up her sleeve, and she deploys several new in-game spells, including Mirror Image and Electrocute. Meanwhile, Jacob engages in some expository combat with Ivan that reveals that the madness affecting Jacob’s people is apparently spread by blood.

A well-placed lightning bolt from Shanar knocks Ivan to the ground, which gives Jacob an excellent opportunity to rid himself of the madman who has been pursuing him for the past three issues. Common sense suggests that it might be a good idea for him to use his flashy magic sword to lop off Ivan’s head. Sadly, common sense is not Jacob’s strong suit.

Instead of killing Ivan, he uses his sword to carve glyphs into his chest. Shanar is naturally confused, and Jacob explains that he will return to his home city of Staalbreak with Ivan and the other thugs so that he can face justice for killing his father.

The problem is, Jacob’s plan is epically stupid. I understand that he feels guilty about killing his father (he has, after all, been moaning about that since the first issue), but the idea that he will find justice back home is just laughable.

He knows his people are suffering from an insanity-inducing plague of unknown, but undoubtedly sinister, origin, yet he is willing to let them sit in judgment of him. That is not nobility. That is not ‘doing the right thing.’ It is a logic fail of titanic proportions, and Jacob richly deserves the slap that Shanar administers to try to jolt some sense into him.

Naturally, things go to Hell as soon as Jacob returns home. The townspeople start to stone him as soon as he enters the city. He is dragged before the constable (who has the face of a demonic Kewpie doll) and is cheerfully informed that there will be no trial. Jacob was found guilty as soon as he fled the city. Jacob begs for a chance to address the people, and the constable agrees, provided Jacob surrenders his super powerful magic sword.

Because Jacob has all the common sense of a head of cabbage, he agrees to this proposal and is promptly hung from a gibbet by his wrists. The townspeople start stoning him again, and they refuse to listen to his attempts to warn them about the plague. He spends an entire night hanging from the gibbet before Shanar saves his sorry butt once again.

Throughout the issue, readers have cause to question Jacob’s intelligence. If he did not know about the blood plague, then his decision to return home to face justice would seem noble, but he knows something is rotten in Staalbreak. He watched his father go crazy. He saw Ivan and his minions eat a boar while it was still alive.

Heck, he even heard Ivan speaking in the voice of a demon! All these things suggest that Jacob’s countrymen are under the influence of something nasty, but he seems oblivious to the danger he faces. He apparently believed that all he had to do was address the people, and they would realize that something evil was afoot. Calling him naïve would be the understatement of the year.

This is the second time Jacob’s masochistic guilt has gotten him into a dicey situation from which Shanar has had to rescue him. We can only hope he has finally learned his lesson.

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To start off the new year, Dark Horse Comics tried to scare the pants off its readers with the seventh installment of ‘Creepy’. For those of you who are unaware, ‘Creepy’, along with its cousin ‘Eerie’, was a popular horror comic series back in the ’60s and ’70s by Warren Publishing, to which Dark Horse Comics recently acquired the rights. If you would like a more detailed explanation on how Dark Horse acquired these series, click here.

Let’s see if ‘Creepy’ has truly risen from the dead or if it was robbed from the grave. When first looking upon ‘Creepy’ #7, we are given menacing, yet beautiful, cover art by Sanjulian, which works to give the readers goosebumps even before they open up to the first page.

The comic really seems to be a staple of classic horror tales from the ’60s and ’70s. It is clear that a lot of thought went into this aspect of the comic, which really inspires nostalgia in those who grew up with it. The comic, itself, is a series of short stories by different artists and is brought together by a ghoulish host named Uncle Creepy.

While having different writers and artists for each story is a great way to keep the comics fresh and unique, there are also vices that can bring down the comic in quality. With this in mind, let us look at the first story of Creeper #7!

‘Mud’ is a very simplistic story. We are introduced to Ronnie, our protagonist who is getting pushed in the mud by the town bully, Jake. We then see Ronnie walking through the woods, venting his anger and demanding revenge. In typical horror flare, a monster of vengeance comes to his aid. Overall, this chapter has some classic horror themes.

My biggest gripe about it would be the art design. The details are nice, and the style is gritty. In a few panels, however, I found the noir style intolerable due to the amount of action that was occurring. This made certain panels hard to see and left me sitting there jumping between panels. The chapter was good, but on its own, it would not further the comic’s appeal.

‘The Shroud’ is a chapter filled with stereotypical characters, a foreseeable plot, and an “I saw that coming” ending. These factors make a very entertaining trip through the classic horror story. Our protagonist is Steven, an overconfident man who rushes into things (which usually turns out for the worst).

In the story, he finds himself at a storage site, cleaning out the inventory. His wife, Sherry, is very cautious and always disagrees with her husband’s plans, but still tags along. It was there that they find a mysterious textile  for which people would pay handsomely, and others would kill to get their hands on. Its gritty style brings this chapter to life and is another classic pulled straight from the past.

‘Bloodsuckers’ is Creepy’s version of the modern vampire. Taking place in a swamp town, an angry southern sheriff discredits the citizens’ fear of vampire attacks while an election-weary mayor exploits them for votes. The story is your typical cat-and-mouse game, but takes an interesting twist when murders include both human and vampire victims. This chapter had a really nice twist at the end, which makes this one of the best stories.

The ‘Ultimate High’ was mainly filler and the weakest chapter of the comic. The moral of the story is nothing more than another adaptation of ‘Reefer Madness’. The final story seems to come straight out of the ‘Twilight Zone’. ‘Deep Ruby’ offers a mind-blowing experience filled with bizarre and amazing visuals, where the lack of a true story is forgotten as you are taken on a short, yet amazing, ride from beginning to end.

A final thought on Creepy #7, though, is that the comic is a hit-and-miss. Most of the stories are good with a few exceptions that I found extremely irritating. I felt that ‘The Ultimate High’ was out of place and did not add anything to the volume. Everything else was solid, and the short story format makes it easy to pick up at any volume. It is a must-read if you are a fan of ’70s and ’80s horror. If not, then this will probably not interest you. 7/10

Creepy #7 comes out January 25.

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The second printing of “The Good: Wicked Inclinations” Volume 5, a collection of Issues #14-18, has come out this November 30, almost exactly five years after its original publication in 2006. Featuring an all-new design for the cover illustrated by author, Eric Powell, the second edition of “Wicked Inclinations” offers a humorous and action-packed look into the world of The Goon.

Volume 5 opens with a brief background of one of The Goon’s allies, The Buzzard, who has discovered the Priest’s real name. Armed with this information, he successfully scares The Priest into not calling up any more of the undead, but The Priest is determined, and he manages to create an unholy army of minions set on destroying The Goon.

Meanwhile, Goon and his friend, Franky, defend their territory from several local crime families, as well as help the owner of the bar they frequent from a powerful gypsy bent on getting revenge.

For someone who hasn’t read the first four volumes of “The Goon” series, the beginning comes off as being very serious and a little dark. But as the story continues, the humor shines through. Although it can be easy for humor to overpower or detract from a relatively serious plot, Powell manages to keep the tension going, while at the same time encouraging his readers to have a few laughs along the way.

Originally, Powell had planned on making Issue #18 an independent piece called “Satan’s Sodomy Baby,” but word got out about its possibly blasphemous nature, and it began to be boycotted even before its release. As a result, Powell ratcheted up the offensive content and Dark Horse Comics released it separately as a one-shot.

The title on the cover was changed to “Satan’s **** Baby” with a parental advisory sticker on the front, and plastic wrapping was put on it so no one could accidentally be offended by browsing through its pages. Because of the controversy, “Satan’s **** Baby” will never be put into a collection, but Powell does reference it in “Wicked Inclinations.” Franky finds a copy of the comic and makes several humorous comments about it to Goon.

Eric Powell is most well-known for his work in “The Goon” series, but he has also been involved in a number of other popular comic series such as, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Hellboy: Weird Tales, Star Wars Tales, and The Incredible Hulk. Powell is a talented writer and author, and both abilities shine through in “Wicked Inclinations.”

Stirring violence mixed with humor that is often irreverent, “The Goon: Wicked Inclinations” is a riveting and amusing journey into a mix of 30’s noir, zombies, and fantastic creatures. The winner of the 2005 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication and Best Ongoing Series, this comic is a must-read for anyone looking for a high-quality humorous tale.

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When the impossible is everywhere and the very fabric of reality is threatened by insanity, the world needs more than super heroes — they need Defenders! Enter Defenders #1, from the top-selling creative team of Matt Fraction (Fear Itself, Invincible Iron Man, Mighty Thor) and Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men), as Doctor Strange assembles a new team of heroes to face a new kind of threat that will leave readers shocked.

The original series first appeared in December 1971 so the re-booted Defenders will mark 40 years of justice at the hand of a rotating line-up between 1972 and 1986.

Heroes like Nighthawk, Beast, Valkyrie and Daimon Hellstrom aka the Son of Satan have all graced the pages of Marvel’s Defenders and the new books will have the original leader Doctor Strange teaming up with Iron Fist, Namor, Red She-Hulk, Hulk, the Silver Surfer and more of the favorite Marvel Heroes.

They will band together exploring corners of the Marvel Universe you never knew existed for missions so deadly they have to be kept secret. Once a Defender, always a Defender – no matter the cost or sacrifice.

To support the launch of this major new series, Marvel is promoting Defenders through the following retailer support program:

• A free Defenders/Avengers X-Sanction preview book in stores Wednesday, November 2^nd
• Exciting new ordering incentives for retailers, announced in this week’s Marvel Mailer
• Full issue preview on Diamond Retailer Site
• Extremely limited-edition Defenders #1 Neal Adams Inked Variant
• In-store promotional items including mini-posters, postcards and more.
• Digital marketing designed to drive consumers to comic stores for Defenders #1
• Prominently placed Defenders house ads in major Marvel comics
• A month long promotion through the Marvel Comics app, designed to create greater awareness and interest in Defenders
• Defenders-centric E-mail blasts to consumers
• Mainstream press timed around the Defenders #1 on-sale
• Ads in each digital issue of Defenders #1 directing fans to check out subsequent issues at their local comic shop

This December, all-new era in Marvel history begins with Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson’s Defenders #1.

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