Name: Patrick (he/they)
Been With SHQ Since: 2019
It is I, Patrick. Wearing my Something is Killing the Children tee and holding a copy of Spectregraph issue 2.
📚: Now that the Krakoan era has ended in the X comics world, there is only one author whose comics I read as soon as they release, James Tynion IV. If you told me five years ago I would be into horror comics I wouldn't have believed you, but I'm obsessed. Something Is Killing The Children is absolutely my favorite ongoing series. SHQ gets the new issues in stock, but we try to keep all 7 of the trade paperbacks around because it's such a compelling series. Two hardcover collections are also available, and if you are as much of a SIKTC freak as I am, there are some fancy slipcase versions of these as well.
If monster hunting isn't your jam, I highly recommend Spectregraph. Christian Ward's prismatic fever dream art style is a perfect match for Tynion's eerie sensibilities. Angry cultists who keep to the shadows, a stressed out mother, and a clockwork house with plenty of haunting secrets, this series is the best that DSTLRY has to offer. Two issues are available so far and the final issue is out in September.
A Nice house by the Sea.
The Nice House by the Sea: I didn't intend for this to be a Tynion love fest, but you need to know that The Nice House By the Sea is finally here. If you have already read The Nice House on the Lake you have been eagerly awaiting the next series and we have plenty of copies of issue #1, in my opinion it's going to be even better than the first series. If you don't know what I'm talking about, stop by and pick up The Nice House on the Lake as soon as possible, available as two paperbacks or collected in a single hardcover.
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store banner.
The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store: Newly available in English, this book is certain to charm. Akino starts a new job at a large department store and has to deal with quite a few strange requests from guests who just so happen to be anthropomorphic animals. Work stress has never been so cute. Sketchy volume 3 was also just releasaed, Lords of Dogtown meets Skate Kitchen in the idyllic Japanese countryside.
Still from I Saw The TV Glow (2024), there is still time.
🎞️: I’m kind of bad at movies. Back in the Blockbuster days I was there every weekend with my best friend, trying out everything. However as an adult movies have mostly been an after thought. Recently I’ve been making a concerted effort to try more movies and it seems to be going well. I tend to enjoy smaller character studies than whatever the big action movie everyone is talking about this year (unless everyone is talking about Alien: Romulus because I can’t wait to hit the theater for that).
One film I saw recently is still sticking with me, I Saw The TV Glow was a game changer. A full on love letter to David Lynch and 90s Nickelodeon, was was entranced during the film and have been thinking about it constantly for the last two months. Some recent favorites have been Sometimes I Think About Dying (Daisy Ridley has suicidal ideation working at a soul sucking office job) and Mother, Couch (Ewan McGregor has an existential crisis when his mother sits down on a couch at a quirky furniture store and refuses to get up).
Fever Ray takes a nap on a photocopier.
🎶: While probably not a surprise, I like the weirdo stuff. The Knife is far and away my favorite band (and by extension Fever Ray). I was lucky enough to see The Knife before they stopped making music and I’ve gone to see Fever Ray twice. I hope to see them many more times! Typically I listen to a lot of electronic music, with my top artist in that sphere being Boards of Canada. I tend to love the downtrodden so Tomorrow’s Harvest is my top album by BoC, but I listen to them all pretty frequently.
The cast of Futurama waves hello.
📺: Futurama has been my favorite cartoon since it originally started releasing when I was in high school. It's been a rollercoaster ride with repeated cancellations, but it's worth sticking around for. the new episodes have been just as funny and relevant as they ever were. While I can keep up with television a little bit better than I can with movies, I still am a bit behind because I don't really binge TV. I'm finally finishing the previous season of What We Do In the Shadows, and I can't stop laughing. Just watched the John Slattery guest episode and I genuinely can't get over how clever this show is. While I'm sad that the new season is going to be the last, I'm happy it's going out on top.
And since I am on a Tynion kick, I felt I should mention that Something Is Killing The Children is in the process of being adapted for Netflix. I know comic book adaptations can be a mixed bag but the show runners are the perfect people for this project. Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese really know how to create a world full of fascinating characters with lots of heavy emotions. Their first Netflix show DARK has been one of the only shows I have felt compelled to binge in the last 10 years. Not for the faint of heart (you have been warned), this show seems to start off like a Twin Peaks knockoff with the discovery of a child's body in the woods, but very quickly diverges into something totally different and incredibly sinister. Plus it has a top notch soundtrack, but maybe I'm biased because there is a Fever Ray song in season one. Happy viewing, you got this.
It's all happening. Something is Killing the Children title page for the script of episode 2 of the forthcoming Netflix series. "It was a project that won us over in the title. As you can see from the things we do, we love to kill children (laughs)."