Florida’s child, Philly’s homie, Diplo released a book today called 128 Beats Per Minute (Shouts to System D 128 on the title props). Amazon gives you a sneak peek of the work and it is def a visual guide to the world and the girls he banged on tour. Urban Outfitters on the sponsor tip and Alexander Wang on the intro lit? Damn, this dude is a hunk. This jawn is full of amazing photography, playlist advice and even some shit talk on Philly. Fucked up.
If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics, you’ve probably been hearing about the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men series that is planned for 2012. This will be a 12-part series, released biweekly starting in April 2012, that has the two major groups in the Marvel Universe battling one another over the custody of Hope Summers, a potential new Phoenix that could be a danger to all of mankind. While the X-Men seek to protect her as a mutant, The Avengers, along with Spider-Man, want to determine what should be done with her to keep the world safe. It sounds like the best thing out of the Marvel camp since Civil War and has help from some of the biggest names in comics today for writing and illustration. There will be an Issue Zero in March as a prologue to the series that will help set things up. Keep up on this now, before it becomes the biggest film of 2016 or whenever there is a budget large enough to cast Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr., and the rest of the stars of the previous movies into one mega-blockbuster.
Duane Swierczynski has the new Charlie Hardie series under way with the release of Fun & Games on Mullholland Books. The release date for part two has been announced. Hell & Gone will pick up right where Fun & Games leaves off, supposedly with a truly epic shootout, according to the synopsis on the publisher’s site. Expect a ton of violence and deception from the latest work by Philadelphia’s own Swierczynski. Hell & Gone will be released as a paperback and a Kindle download on October 12th. Presales have already begun at a reduced price of $9.79. The third and final chapter of the Charlie Hardie series, Point And Shoot, will be out in March 2012.
Refused were one of the bands that when you first heard them, you knew you were going to love them forever, even if you discovered them after their short time together. The Swedish hardcore band that are responsible for one of my all-time favorite albums, The Shape Of Punk To Come, disbanded in 1998, the same year their masterpiece was released, forever etching themselves as legends in the hardcore and punk scene. Their frontman Dennis Lyxzen has an upcoming book documenting the history of Refused and their decision to break up at their pinnacle, only to become such an influential band to many of today’s musical acts. Lyxzen recently sat down with Sweden’s STV to speak about the new book. You can watch the interview here. Also, enjoy the classic video for their most well-known track, “New Noise”. I still remember being blown away the first time I saw this video and instantly listening to the album on repeat.
Local author Duane Swierczynski has a true talent for writing suspenseful action thrillers that keep readers turning pages at a furious speed. His former work, Severance Package was picked up by Lions Gate Entertainment to be turned into a film co-written by Swierczynski and directed by Brett Simon. Swierczynski’s fiction novels have mostly all taken place in Philadelphia, with great detail about the city streets that only a local boy could pull off. He also was responsible for one of the best Punisher series of recent years, 6 Hours To Kill. While continuing to write for Marvel Comics, he has begun work on a new crime trilogy centered around a character named Charlie Hardie. The first in the three part series is Fun And Games, which will be released on June 20th. You can check out a review for the book and pre-order Fun And Games now for only $9.79 from Amazon. Gotta support the hometown kid.
Mark Millar said he just had too many ideas to run with for Hit-Girl to limit her to the Kick-Ass comic series. Millar is the man responsible for such classics as Marvel’s Civil War and Wanted. The new comic series will kick off in September with issue #1. The Millar written series will be illustrated by Leandro Fernandez. Hit-Girl will be destined for a movie adaptation. Millar’s shit is always great, so be sure to keep an eye out for the first issue of Hit-Girl.
Famed author Brett Easton Ellis is next on the list of celebrities to share their opinion about the popular TV series Glee. Ellis is the writer responsible for such classics as Less Than Zero, The Rules Of Attraction, and of course American Psycho. Ellis posted on twitter the following: “I like the idea of ‘Glee‘ but why is it that every time I watch an episode I feel like I’ve stepped into a puddle of HIV?” Ellis, who frequently has themes of homosexuality in his novels, will surely have some backlash because of this comment. I’ve never been able to get into Glee, but not because of the gay theme. It’s just not as enjoyable as all the hype has made it out to be. I am sure we will see an apology tweet for the insensitive remark made by Ellis.
