The Hub of Reid Harris Cooper

Marvel and Fantagraphics Collect Savage Tales of the 1980s in Lost Marvels No. 3

Posted on 02/17/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

The latest volume in Fantagraphics’ Lost Marvels series collects all eight issues of the long-out-of-print, tough-minded 1980s run of Savage Tales

February 17, 2026 – For 13 months in the mid-1980s, editor Larry Hama assembled some of Marvel’s strongest artists and writers to tell gritty, harrowing, and blackly humorous adventure stories ranging from gangster noir to historical battlefields to the deadly old West to post-apocalyptic futures in Savage Tales. The magazine-sized anthology series was unlike anything on shelves and gave legendary artists like John Severin, John Buscema, Herb Trimpe and many more a chance to work on exciting, unique material alongside a new generation of creators. Now, Marvel and Fantagraphics are continuing their celebrated Lost Marvels line with Lost Marvels No. 3: Savage Tales of the 1980s, which reprints all 8 issues of the magazine’s run, the first time they have seen print since 1986.

Unseen for nearly 40 years, Lost Marvels No. 3: Savage Tales of the 1980 features some of the most shocking work of artists John Severin, John Buscema, Sam Glanzman, Val Mayerik, Ron Wagner, Gray Morrow, Wayne Vansant, Herb Trimpe, Michael Golden, Joe Jusko, Mary Wilshire, Arthur Suydam, Will Jungkuntz, Vincent Waller, and Ken Steacy, and writers Chuck Dixon, Bill Wray, Don Kraar, Robert Kanigher, Denny O’Neil, Doug Murray, and Archie Goodwin. Stories include Severin and Dixon’s “By Rail to Vladivostock,” Murray and Golden’s “The Nam, 1967,” Glanzman’s “Of War and Peace: The Trinity,” Jungkuntz’s Blood & Gutz series, and Trimpe’s Skywarriors series. With a remembrance by Savage Tales editor Larry Hama.

Here’s what critics are saying about Lost Marvels No. 1: Tower of Shadows

“Old-school Marvel fans will eagerly add this to their shelf and look forward to forthcoming volumes.”

— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“A worthy addition to Fantagraphics’ growing library of archival collections, a peek into a forgotten era. It’s an exciting beginning to a series with at least two more installments planned, surely to be as faithful to the originals as this one. By avoiding the modern contrivance of recoloring or cleaning up the pages, the volume feels more distinctly of its time, more genuine an artifact.” — AIPT COMICS

“Lost Marvels No.1: Tower of Shadows is another great collection by Fantagraphics. From cover to cover, it’s filled with excitement… A must have for fans of the horror-comic genre.”

— CINEMA SENTRIES

“If you are a fan of horror, this is a must get! It’s Fantastic” — GRAPHIC POLICY

Here’s what critics are saying about Lost Marvels No. 2: Howard Chaykin Vol. 1

“Lavish” — IGN

“If you like your comics with blood, bile, and jetpacks, and your jokes hard-boiled, you know what to do.” — BOING BOING

“This new Howard Chaykin-centered volume is bursting at the seams with smartly imaginative scripts and beautifully designed art featuring Dominic Fortune, Monark Starstalker, and Phantom Eagle!”

— GEEK VIBES NATION

“The book is a gorgeous oversized hardcover printed on premium paper, so it looks and feels outstanding! … these are a must-have for any Marvel fan or anyone who just loves seeing comic book legends at work.”

— Mike Spring, LIVE FOR FILM and COMIC WATCH

Posted in Comics | Comments Off

Numbers are hard, Talystro is Too (but fun)

Posted on 02/16/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

I am not good at “math” unless it has a $ in front of it and even then I use a calculator and its more about understanding costs of quanitity versus quality and quantification. I also never got into table top card games like Pokemon, Yugioh or Magic. I have played my share of TTRPGS, love card games and have done my share of craps which I enjoy. The thing I do like about those rpg competetive card games is the art and design, but the large amount of rules and strategies bog me down even though I know others absolutely thrive in it. In terms of modern video game card games I like many also truly enjoyed Balastro and thought it was a great entry point to have other games like it to take a twist on the entire genre and make stuff that was new, exciting and different and had the ability to reach many players if not all.

Take that entire paragraph and distill into a game and you’ve got Talystro. Now, I SUCK at this game. I explained why, but I know many of my friends and many gamers would LOVE it. I don’t know when it comes out, but you really should go WISHlist it today. I feel the two screen shots I have posted in this mini-review actually sell the game even better than I can. I mean I could shoot a video of me playing that would end up looking like those horrible mobile ads where the player seems to make ALL the wrong moves in an attempt to make you go “the game can’t be that hard, they just had an idiot play for the ad”… but the difference would be I hired myself, the game might be that hard and I might be an idiot. So what you should instead do is trust that despite me sucking I still want to reccomend the game cause of the art, concept and style and that you should get to Steam today and keep your eyes out.

Posted in Video Games | Comments Off

So many Demos (Steam Next before the Fest)

Posted on 02/14/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

So the February 2026 Steam Next Fest is coming next week but MANY of the games and demos to be featured in it already out for downloading and wishlisting. Here’s a list of the ones I am aware of and that should be given your interest in some cases. I did not play ALL of these demos but in the cases where I had hands on I have provided some insight and thoughts.

Clockwork Ambrosia

Haunted Lands

Rangers Path National Park Simulator: This zen-like experience lets you have the feel of cleaning and repairing, patrolling patrons, and even seeking animals and fauna to learn and explore. The demo gives a great little taste of the 3rd person adventure, with some missions and a little sandboxing, just enough to whet your whistle. As someone who not long ago trekked through the National Parks of Denver and surrounding areas in Colorado during the summer this felt special, but also even more special as I tried to imagine how much it conveyed the feels had I never been.

Helix: Descent N Ascent

ShipShaper

Deadhaus Sonata

Treeplanter

RUIN: Beast City: The visuals to this called me in, but I was absolutely lost. Maybe you’ll figure it out, cause it seems really really cool, if you have the time and patience to figure it out. I like to not die right away because of confusion, but you may not mind that.

Guardians of the Wild Sky

Ex Sanguis

The Mermaid Mask: The updated demo shows off an awesome art gallery with concept art. I have loved the first two games in the Detective Grimoire series (kickstarted the first) and this just feels like another excellent addition.

Hell Architect Survivors

Nightscape: A true 2.5 action puzzle platformer with beautiful graphics, easy gameplay and uses Qatari folklore as inspriation to feels special. I enjoyed every second of my time with this demo and think you may well too.

Cathedral Crow’s Curse

Kiipluu

Greenhearth Necromancer

Outbound

This one may or may not be on the Steam Next Fest, but it was featured on Playstation State of Play and it is definitely worthwhile a look:

Darwin’s Paradox!

Posted in Video Games | Comments Off

ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN (Review)

Posted on 02/11/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

A SUDA51 game is always hard to explain. You can break it down to its base elements of combat, minigames, weird story, out there visual design and maybe something more underneath, but that doesn’t really describe it or most things developed by Grasshopper Manufacture. There is no real formula, no real description to be given to games like No More Heroes, Killer7, Killer is Dead, etc. and the same is easily said about Romeo Is A Dead Man.

A SUDA game is not a game, it is an experience. A tripped out, deep, confusing, enjoyable, hard to grasp but easy to control experience and one that isn’t you either love or hate, truly an experience that can run the gamut of emotions as I have seen through more than one review or reaction to previous games but mostly especially in this post everything, five years since No More Heroes 3 world we live in of creation and critique.

I did state you couldn’t break down a SUDA61 game or Romeo is Dead Man to the visuals, but at the same time, pictures do speak a thousand words. Sound does too. The music (by a multitude of creative ear candy doctors) and visuals combine to really reflect the escapade the eyes, ears and mind take over switching from pixel farming to hectic combat (which is arguably at time times repetitive but NEVER boring), to cut scenes which evoke comics, cartoons, CGI and even more you should always be engrossed and never deeply thinking “well it could be this, but they did this thing I didn’t like but not because it was bad, but just because I would do it this way, but I don’t create, I just review”. This is a problem I see a lot of folks seem to be having with video games in “modern times”, allowing expectations (built on nothing actually ever presented or announced) to ruin their appreciation of the art as it stands. I don’t want to get into a rant here, nor am I calling Romeo Is a Dead Man a perfect game, but it is a SUDA51 game through and through and anyone thinking it doesn’t match up, are looking at it with specially tinted glasses with scratches (periodt).

Here are some more stills from the game that speak to it more than anything else I can say.

Romeo Is A Dead Man is now available to download on Steam, PS5, Xbox and the Windows store (other platforms as well as an art book, soundtrack and physical copies are planned for the future.)

[This isn’t to say Romeo Is A Dead Man is not without some severe flaws.

Dying while fighting a boss sends you back to a section before the boss level and you must sit through animations again, some of them skippable but others not. The idea I believe is maybe you need to grind more to beat the boss, but what if you don’t want to? The option should exist.
The TV subspaces are cool idea but seem more about finding paths through checking every nook and cranny in a fairly bland space instead of possible actual puzzles.
The mini-games do lack a bit of charm and seem difficult to master and fully understand as well, even with full instructions they don’t respond as well as you’d hope.
Something else I’m sure, but that’s all I got, the rest is just a mind trip.]

Posted in Video Games | Comments Off

Nerd Notes – 1/31/26

Posted on 01/31/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

Life continues, taking care of my mother, looking forward to April and trying to find ways to enjoy life as it is. Here’s some of that stuff that kept me enjoying:

MUSIC

the skit leading into Neil joining the song makes this even more special.

Rebecca Sugar is maybe even a better singer/songwriter than she is a cartoonist. Okay she’s just awesome at both.

I can’t recall if I’ve posted this before or not but it’s just hilarious and was in my recent History.

Two new Brook Pridemore videos:

Always going to share my friend Jack aka MIA MERA, but also he never misses.

Amazing cover.

Wrestling music is just music.

NEW Saliva, Gorrilaz, Black Crowes, Bush, Harry Styles, and Rob Zombie in the same month?

TV theme music is just music.

See caption above

K-POP:

These two strong proper messages from Waterparks and Bruce Springsteen, they have “spoken” and I have listened.

More promoting cool stuff by friends.

I’ll be their neighbor.

This part 4 of a series but the musical section is the most important.

These two covers from an 8 song album coming soon from Beck caught me.

Ooooooooooh….

Oooooooooooohhhhhhhh…

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The whole 50 minute orchestration

This is old but was featured on the released Jan 2026 Season 3 of School Spirits and sounded so cool I had to check it out on its own.

Let’s end music on just some cool new sounds.

VIDEO GAMES:

This looks cool.

Demo teased me to wanna know where this goes.

Still high as my 2025 GOTY.

Bought this so fast.

Gotta try the demo but this looks great.

IDW’s ACCLAIMED COMIC ‘THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN’ CREATED BY HANNAH ROSE MAY GETS BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION FROM BLUMHOUSE-ATOMIC MONSTER

Posted on 01/30/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

“…the next comic being added to the must-read list for any horror fan” – Andrew Dyce, Screen Rant

“…a high stakes political thriller with classic possession horror” – Dave Richards, Fangoria

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 30, 2026) – In a major crossover between the comic and film worlds, Blumhouse-Atomic Monster is adapting the breakout supernatural thriller comic book series, THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN. An IDW Publishing original horror from creator and writer, Hannah Rose May, and artist, Vanesa Del Rey, the acclaimed series will make the leap from page to screen in what is a landmark collaboration between one of horror’s most influential studios and one of the genre’s boldest emerging storytelling voices.

Set at the most famous address in the United States as it becomes a demonic battleground for good versus evil, THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN follows the first female president of the United States of America, as she balances boiling political tensions, the threat of World War III, being a mother to two teenagers, and a rapidly shifting media landscape.

Jason Blum will produce for Blumhouse, with Ryan Turek serving as executive producer. Series creator and writer Hannah Rose May and IDW Publishing CEO Davidi Jonas will also executive produce.
“Getting to work with Blumhouse to bring THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN to the big screen feels like a dream come true,” commented May. “Blumhouse has defined modern horror for a generation, and I could not be more excited to be working with them on this adaptation. I am so grateful to my incredible partners at IDW for their tireless work to share this story with audiences around the world.”

“We’re truly honored to be working with such amazing partners like Blumhouse and Hannah Rose May on the adaptation of THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN,” stated Jonas. “We’re so proud of this comic and we cannot wait for moviegoers to witness this horror masterpiece in theaters!”
“What immediately drew us to THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN was how grounded and urgent it feels,” said Ryan Turek, executive vice president, feature film development for Blumhouse. “Hannah has created a story that fuses classic possession horror with contemporary political tension in a way that feels bold and deeply human. It is exactly the kind of material we look for when we think about expanding horror into new spaces, and we are excited to identify a filmmaker who can bring this world to the screen with the scale and perspective it deserves.”
The adaptation underscores the growing cultural impact of May’s work, which combines grounded emotional stakes, contemporary political tension, and classic horror dread: a trifecta that has resonated strongly with both readers and critics.

The collected edition of THE EXORCISM AT 1600 PENN is on sale now wherever graphic novels are sold. Series creator and writer Hannah Rose May has also crafted the eagerly anticipated sequel, THE EXORCISM AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE, with the debut issue releasing on March 11, 2026, and pre-orders are currently open at comic shops. Additionally, May continues to deliver fear to comic book readers with SMILE: FOR THE CAMERA #1, on sale February 18, 2026.
May is represented by Verve, Luber Roklin and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.

Posted in Comics, TV and Movies | Comments Off

1st Nerd Notes of 2026 (01-16)

Posted on 01/16/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

After an amazing New Years Eve enjoying Game Changer Wrestling alongside friends and acquaintances the year began with taking mom home from Rehab. She was not ready, but rehab was not working and the facility had sudden issues on New Years Eve that preciptated an early discharge. It has been an experience taking care of her on my own. When not doing that which definitely is exhausting and life changing in terms of my regularness I have done my best to keep up with things in the world, especially in my own enterainment world and to that, here’s a new Nerd Notes full of movies, tv, gaming, music, books, comics, and more.

The Scholastic Spring 2026 Preview highlights some excellent stuff including a new AVI book, new Sidekicks by Dan Santat and a bunch of interesting Middle grade and YA novels.

Whuile watching Jacob the Carpetbagger’s cruise adevntures the thing that really caught my attention was Le Petit Chef, an AR dining experience. Located in cities all around the US and the world, the adventure I’d personally love to go on is in New Delhi, a vacation spot I desire highly where one of the best people I know period also live. Hopefully I will figure out a way to make this happen, 2026 looked so promising for this till my mother’s health took its tumble.

And now here’s some movie and TV trailers:

I honestly never became an ST fanatic, but I enjoyed the series and I like the idea of a cartoon exploring the universe itself further.

The most sensational inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational
This is what we call the Muppet Show! I can only hope. Kermit, get your hands off Sabrina’s behind! ANIMAL! YOU TOO! COME ON! I KNOW! I KNOW! IT’S THERE BUT STOP!

This feels so disconnected to the comics and the MCU but I’m still curious. Wonder Man as a character is so tightly wound around The Vision, so… we’ll see.

This looks cool.

I haven’t actually seen a Lee Cronin feature, but he’s a much talked about horror director so I’ll happily make sure people don’t miss this if they do.

I do not play Fortnite,but South Park Studios essentially made an original short for this that you don’t have to play Fortnite to enjoy the lore of the concept and also tying deeply into South Park video games.

Season one was awesome, season two looks like it goes BONKERS!

Gore Verbinski flick. Sam Rockwell being Sam Rockwell. Absolutely BONKERS!

Here’s some bad ass violence, drama and violence featuring bad ass people:

Here are two documentaries using old footage to tell stories of legendary musicians and people.

and here are two mini documentaries about the making of music.

Here’s a K-POP section:

Here’s a bunch of music videos I enjoyed:

Two wrestling things. One a deathmatch featuring Jun Kasai, who I am highly excited to see perform later this year in person and the other the start of a series of videos by Atticus Cogar which I believe will also culminate with happenings at the same events I’ll be seeing Jun Kasai in Las Vegas this April.

Two book things (sorta). A trailer for the newest book in a series I love and a video from a cartoonist whom I adore who is also a Youtuber celebrating their millionth fan on YT.

Gaming (but not trailers)

KEEPER is/will always be a contender for 2025 game of the year and anything about it I will gobble up.

To end things, the soundtrack to Dave the Diver. Good listening for whatever you’re doing.

Posted in Books, Culture, Food and Culinary, Music, Nerd Notes, TV and Movies, Video Games, Wrestling | Comments Off

A cat who is a frog: Zen yet frantic platformer

Posted on 01/05/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

Imagine you are a cat raised by frogs or maybe toads? Who cares… you live a sweet zen like life in a forest. Everything seems calm and simple, jump, climb, see cute creatures and then just when you feel safe, the world falls apart around you with no explanation and you must run and jump and climb while saving and surviving and being a cat. As frantic and scary and as often as you may die (you have more than 9 lives), the zen feel never disappears.

This is Princess of the Water Lilies. A game that came out late 2025 but because of the life I have been handed did not get to truly relax with and try until recent circumstances where nothing has gotten easier but the need for moods and feels like this game became very necessary.

One of the most fascinating things are the boss battles. Scary, intense, but never do they feel impossible. You just need to keep trying, you’ll get it. It’ll still feel calm somehow. Even as new mechanics get added each level, it doesn’t feel like too much, it just feels like progression through intense yet never heartbeat faster inducing. This is a great and wonderful thing and makes Princess of the Water Lillies stand out for me.

The game is available on Steam for $14.99 US.

Disclaimer: This game was recieved free for review, but truly has earned a glowing one.

Posted in Video Games | Comments Off

HANK: A Snippet of Time and Alcohol

Posted on 01/05/2026 by Pop-Culture Spectrum

One of the best experiences I had at PAX was learning more about HANK: Drowning on Dry Land. While I was disappointed to discover the game would only be a short snippet of a larger idea when it came out, it did not ruin my excitement. The time travel mechanic, avoidance of paradox, multiple deaths, and multiple solutions for a small game, along with amazing art and a killer song kept my interests high.

On Jan 13th 2026 at noon EST you can all experience the final version for only $2.99 on Steam. There will also be an art book available.

While I can’t show you the new trailer just yet, here’s the music video released awhile ago to whet your appetite. As well as a thumbnail with a few additional thoughts underneath.