Thanksgiving Prayer

By WILLIAM BURROUGHS

(For John Dillinger, in the hope that he is still alive.
Thanksgiving Day, November 28th 1986)

Thanks for the wild turkey and the passenger pigeons, destined to be
shit-out through wholesome American guts.
Thanks for a continent to despoil and poison.
Thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and danger.
Thanks for vast herds of Bison to kill and skin, leaving the carcasses to rot.
Thanks for bounties on wolves and coyotes.
Thanks for the American Dream - to vulgarise and falsify until the bare lies shine through.
Thanks for the K.K.K.
For nigger-killing lawmen feeling their notches.
For decent, church-going women with their mean, pinched, bitter evil faces.
Thanks for 'Kill A Queer For Christ' stickers.
Thanks for laboratory AIDS.
Thanks for prohibition, and the war on drugs.
Thanks for a country where nobody is allowed to mind their own business.
Thanks for a nation of finks.
Yes, thanks for the memories - "Alright, let's see your arms."
You always were a headache and you always were a bore.
Thanks, for the last and greatest betrayal, of the last and greatest of human dreams...

AMERICAN HARDCORE

Devoted fans of early hardcore will inevitably hate this new documentary. It's snotty and opinionated and paints some broad and ugly strokes. Hey, just like the music it sets out to document! The Misfits aren't even mentioned in the film and hugely influential bands like Negative Approach, Big Boys, and Agnostic Front get mere seconds of screen time. Who the fuck cares about Phil Anselmo's retarded opinion? Those precious minutes could've been filled with more live Cro Mags footage! Still, I enjoyed American Hardcore (the book and the movie) for what it is. And I hope everybody who complains about the film will go out and make their own documentary so that eventually a more comprehensive perspective will emerge of this powerful music. A highlight of the film for me was NYHC artist Sean Taggart getting his 15 seconds of fame and using it to make some intelligent observations. Here's a photo of Sean Taggart and me moshing silly for the camera at his home in New York a few years ago. Apparently I never got the memo that hardcore ended in 1984. Whoops. I'm always the last person to know everything...

Roll Call!

Reporting from the trenches of Stumptown Comics Fest 2006!

Once again, I alienated the comic-buying public and didn't sell much merchandise. Apparently comic fans don't like to be called "wimps" and can't be goaded into buying zines with skulls on the cover. Anyway, I nearly broke even and met a bunch of nice people in the process. Thanks to everyone who came up to the table and bought a Destroying Angels shirt and copies of the zine (or traded for other cool stuff). In the spirit of supporting fellow artists, I've hand selected my favorites from the throngs of talent repesented at this year's fest. My picks might surprise you, but these people really shine for doing their own thing. Roll call!

First of all, here are the fine gentlemen who represented the tagteam Destroying Angels/Smith Brothers table. On the left is Ryan "Suffer No Fools" Sorensen who provided much needed moral support. He also held down the table for two hours while I over slept on Saturday. "Time is money!" On the right is the talented Ian Smith who wisely advised me to attend the Stumptown Comics Fest last year. Two good men in a sea of smelly fandom.

We had the good fortune of being placed beside these two sexy mofo's. Hannah Stouffer is the design queen behind Grand Array and was hands down one of the most talented and original artists in the hall. She does these stunning prints that caught me off guard with their provocative colors and almost subliminal design. She also happens to be painfully gorgeous. But that dude on the left is her boyfriend and he's incredibly nice and talented to boot. They were so friendly I wanted to invite myself back to their hotel room to party, but I know how creepy that would've seemed.

This mop-topped Jack Kirby fanatic was all smiles. Honestly, I was more fascinated by the gaping sphincter-faced monster on his backdrop than his comics. We decided his art was like a good Carcass worship band. It's fun because it imitates so well. At least he's a monster advocate. Check his stuff out here.

Joshua Ellingson rules! This guy was at last year's Stumptown Fest and won me over with his awesome earthtone Godzilla print. This year was no exception and he unveiled his new pinstriped Cthulhu drawing. This thing looks like H.P. Lovecraft being conjured from the grave by the ghost of Von Dutch! Joshua is a real nice guy and someday my house will be plastered in his prints.

These guys seemed a little nervous when I asked them to hold up their favorite prints for a photo. They probably figured I would post their photo with nasty comments like that dude on Rotten Cotton. Nah. The guy on the left is Kevin Dart and he does these great stylized prints inspired by early 60's commercial illustration and exploitation movie posters. If Ennio Morricone were a cartoonist it might look like this. The other dude is Chris Turnham. He works with slighly more traditional and mainstream subject matter but the effect is no less exciting. Really great stuff! These guys share a site called Fleet Street Scandal and I'm a sucker for a good Sweeney Todd reference!

Here's Robin Bougie, mad creator of Cinema Sewer! This is one of the best reads out there today and when it comes to obscure grindhouse culture, this guy knows what he's talking about. Cinema Sewer is one fun & sleazy ride! He was selling a small zine about incest that supposedly features interviews with people that actually and openly indulge in incest! That's gross even by my standards. The remarkable part is that this guy appeared to actually sell stuff at the fest. Hmm, maybe I need slick color covers.

Last but not least...the real treat of the fest. I got to meet prolific (and sorely underrated) underground artist Jim Blanchard! Jim's art is as synonymous with the Northwest as porn shops and bigfoot. He's been drawing insane shit since I was a kid and published an art zine in the 80's called Blatch that was a direct influence on Destroying Angels. I told him so when we met. Poor guy. I stalked him for most of the two day fest. Yeah, the interview will be featured in the next issue of Destroying Angels! Until then, instead of asking when the new issue is coming out...buy a Destroying Angels shirt!

CEASE TO EXIST

Happy Halloween from Charlie and Family!