Author Archives: Jarett Kobek
calling me my secret name: Aporia Press's Thomas Tany booklet from 1988
First tried to buy this in 1998; found a hardbound copy in Bobst Library (before it became a suicide magnet) after reading Christopher Hill’s The World Turned Upside Down and knew by instinct I needed my own. Aporia Press did … Continue reading
the king of vulgarity, in his triumphance, returns
Fresh from prison, freed on bail and making movies again. From the newly released Kajer Manush comes “Dole Dole,” the best song of the reformed, anti-vulgarity period:
lying like a shroud over our perceptions
A picture from some months ago– even in the worst of times, dear old Los Angeles isn’t normally this smoggy. Taken towards the tale end of the ’09 Station fire. From up top, it looked as though a grey semi-circle … Continue reading
droppin in on dighton rock
Dighton Rock– centuries old and covered in mysterious scrawls of unknown origin. Trapped beneath the Taunton River for most of existence, it was raised in the 1960s. The museum was built in the early 1970s. 18th and 19th Century drawings … Continue reading
Checkin' in with Dave Sim's glamourpuss
Way back in May of 2008, I wrote a bit about Dave Sim’s glamourpuss– as you’ll note, it’s a mostly complimentary review appreciative of the project’s complexity. More than a year later, I continue to collect the title– in fact, … Continue reading
Agar Agar in… The Harem of Bacchus
Agar Agar in “The Harem of Bacchus” by Albert Solsano. From Dracula Magazine, 1972. Remarkably, even in context, it don’t make a lick more sense. Collected in TPB by Warren Publishing. Whose offices were located at 145 East 32nd Street. … Continue reading
One Must Develop an Evaluative Criteria
About two years ago– maybe a little longer– I devised a simple criteria to determine when it had become Real. I figured that on the day I wandered into Borders at the corner of Sunset & Vine, the worst individual … Continue reading
I left my skull in San Francisco
It behooves mentioning that ZYZZYVA, the literary journal of West Coast writers and artists, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Under the auspices of its editor, Howard Junker, the journal does the noble work of providing folks on the far side … Continue reading
a catalogue of misery
Union Square in 1905, looking towards 33 & 31 Union Square West. The block remains much unchanged. I lived in 31 for about a year, before leaving under a black cloud. SF writer Thomas M. Disch lived on the top … Continue reading
Introducing the New Teen Swinger: Romance Comics in the Summer of Love
Well, well, looks as though I am running par for the course in my persistent inability to update my blog and/or complete a series of posts. I do have a final post from the Comic Con about 3/4ths written. I … Continue reading
come up and see me some time, sailor
A thing to do: Saturday, July 25th, 2009. San Diego Comic Con. 2:30-3:30 Comics Arts Conference Session #12: Poster Session — Want to go in depth with a comics scholar? On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the PowerPoints of the poster … Continue reading
why i don't post, why you don't understand
They call it the June Gloom.
back to the nazi fortress: gone and come again, okay?
Returned to the Nazi Fortress, saw new things, saw familiar things, took some pictures:
a foreigner is a person who travels to a country poorer than his own. every one else is a tourist
Then we went to the House of the Seven Gables… …and did you like it? – P.S. Yeah, I know. Don’t worry.
is your mask slipping? how long can you wear it?
Infidel Izmir. The Family Seat & The Place of Blood.
any special desire
From the Abyss comes Chorozon.
C U in Diyarbakir
All right, I’m out– gone to the Middle East. Assuming I won’t have a chance to update, but could be wrong. Back in May.
a miscellany of mistakes; photos about town
Several days’ worth.