Miss Meow by Andrew Mangum

Parkton, MD

Preview: Alice Cooper #3

Alice Cooper #3 preview. It’s time to hear Satan’s side of the story, don’t you agree? #comics #comicbooks

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Fangs Rage Preview (October 2002) by Viper Comics

Fangs Written by Jessie Garza, drawn by Andrew Mangum.  Rage written by Jessie Garza, drawn by Josh Howard.

"I Have Been Floated" by Olivia Tremor Control, performed during Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise, at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, 23 October 2008

How many presidential rematches have there been?

When it comes to the major candidates in a general election, this year's election will be the ninth rematch:

•John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson: 1796 & 1800

•John Quincy Adams vs. Andrew Jackson: 1824 & 1828 (William H. Crawford and Henry Clay were also candidates in 1824)

•Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay: 1824 & 1832 (John Quincy Adams and William H. Crawford were also candidates in 1824; John Floyd and William Wirt were also candidates in 1832)

•Martin Van Buren vs. William Henry Harrison: 1836 & 1840 (Hugh L. White, Daniel Webster, and Willie P. Mangum were also candidates in 1836)

•Grover Cleveland vs. Benjamin Harrison: 1888 & 1892 (James B. Weaver was also a candidate in 1892)

•William McKinley vs. William Jennings Bryan: 1896 & 1900

•Dwight D. Eisenhower vs. Adlai E. Stevenson: 1952 & 1956

•Bill Clinton vs. Ross Perot: 1992 & 1996 (George H.W. Bush was also a candidate in 1992; Bob Dole was also a candidate in 1996)

•Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump: 2020 & 2024

Even Gotham City Has an Elm Street by  Andrew Mangum

Friko — Where we’ve been, Where we go from here (ATO)

Photo by Pooneh Ghana

Niko Kapetan is working stuff out as he goes along. Sensitive, poetic, contradictory, all that, and a voice that takes you along for the ride. With drummer/multi-instrumentalist Bailey Minzenberger, Kapetan makes rousing heart-on-the-sleeve anthems and delicate, minor key folk songs that explore all the paradoxes of youthful nostalgia, loss and inchoate longing. Immediately one thinks of the Buckley’s and Jeff Mangum, but also, particularly, of Frightened Rabbits’ Scott Hutchison pouring himself into a song with the band behind him 100% committed. Kapetan shares that ineffable quality of never seeming ridiculous, because, for him and Minzenberger, Friko’s songs are real, true and felt.

Songs like “Where We Been” and “Crashing Through” build from small beginnings, voice, guitar, piano into huge anthemic refrains and breakdowns. The duo cite a shared love of Chopin and draw a bead from his melancholy to the emotive heights of Mangum and Hutchinson’s work. The use of the backing vocals as a cathartic Greek chorus lifts these songs from insular to collective and provides sonic and emotional heft that carries the listener along like a riptide. There are two responses, you fight, tire and drown or you allow yourself the go with flow, The thing is, Kapetan and Minzenberger have you and that sense of being borne somewhere away from Where we’ve been makes onetrust they know Where we go from here.

The transition from “Until I’m With You Again” to “Get Numb To It” is representative. The latter a minor key declaration of emphatic support that segues into furious acoustic strumming and anthemic call to dance in the face of disappointment, broken promises and self-defeat which culminates in an acapella refrain of the album title that sounds as much end of night in your cups singalong as affirmation. The closer “Cardinal” is a gentle ending with a kick, a companion piece to Jackson Browne’s “These Days”, picked guitar and plangent cello, a tale of giving up to go forward, “Someone else, instead of me/Figured it all out/Niko where’s your fight now?”. Although it feels like they’ve given their all, one suspects Kapetan and Minzenberger have the reserves to go on. Keep an ear open.

Andrew Forell

100 Black Men of America Inc. is a civic organization dedicated to the improvement of quality of life in the African American community through fostering the development of young African American men. In 1963, a group of African American men met in New York to discuss concerns about the cultural and financial obstacles that have limited the achievements of African Americans, particularly young men. Among these founders were David Dinkins, Robert Mangum, Dr. William Hayling, Nathaniel Goldston III, Livingston Wingate, Andrew Hatcher, and Jackie Robinson. These men formed 100 Black Men. They sought to nurture the intellectual development of black youth and enhance the economic empowerment of the African American community based on the following precepts: respect for family, spirituality, justice, and integrity. Their programs include leadership development, youth mentoring, educational scholarships, health and wellness, and economic development.

Originally the group was exclusively a New York City organization. In 1976, however, Dr. William Hayling, a member of the New York 100 Black Men organization, relocated to Newark, New Jersey, and established a New Jersey chapter of 100 Black Men. Soon thereafter chapters were established in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, San Francisco/ Oakland Bay Area, the Nassau/ Suffolk area of Long Island, Alton, Illinois, and Sacramento. In 1986, the Black Men chapters organized nationally at a meeting in Las Vegas. They called the group the National Organization for 100 Black Men but changed the name to “100 Black Men of America, Inc.”

By 2008 the organization had grown to over 105 chapters with more than 10,000 members who continue to strive to improve the quality of life in African American communities and enhance the educational and economic opportunities for African Americans. 100 Black Men of America, Inc. has more than 100,000 youth participants annually in its mentoring and youth development programs. All members are volunteers and represent various sectors including education, engineering, law, business, health, and politics. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

Top 10 MiLB Triple Leaders: Week 25

10: Andrew Stevenson, St. Paul (7) 9: Masyn Winn, Memphis (7) 8: Parker Meadows, Toledo (7) 7: Osleivis Basabe, Durham (7) 6: Daniel Montano, Albuquerque (7) 5: Jake Mangum, Jacksonville (8) 4: Cody Thomas, Las Vegas (8) 3: Clifton Kennedy, Las Vegas (8) 2: Jorge Barrosa, Reno (8) 1: Nick Gonzales, Indianapolis (8)

Alice Cooper is Taking on the Forces of Evil in New Comic Book Series

Dynamite Entertainment has announced a new comic book series that will pit Rock Legend Alice Cooper against the forces of evil. Alice Cooper hails from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Edu Menna. The comic is rated Teen+.

“Alice Cooper is no stranger to comic book fans as the iconic rocker has been popping up in the four-colored pages since the seventies. But in this new tale of terror, legendary rock acts are being attacked by demonic forces and Alice starts to notice some of his own fans happen to be… undead.” (Dynamite Entertainment)

Alice Cooper #1 goes on sale in October 2023. Covers for the first issue are by Jason Shawn Alexander, Stuart Sayger, and Andrew Mangum as well as a photo cover of Alice Cooper and a black cover for original sketches.

(Image via Dynamite Entertainment - Jason Shawn Alexander’s Cover of Alice Cooper #1)

Born of Blood by Andrew Mangum

Savage, MD

Preview: Alice Cooper #4

Alice Cooper #4 preview. With his soul on the line, Alice Cooper readies himself for a no-holds-barred rock battle against the Prince of Darkness #comics #comicbooks

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"Forever" by Circulatory System, performed during Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise, at the Bottom Lounge, Chicago, 21 October 2008

Corporate cutbacks threaten to reverse diversity gains

Raymone Jackson of asset manager T Rowe Price says many black professionals recognise improvements since 2020, but stress that ‘the work is not done’ © Andrew Mangum for the FT US businesses are cutting back on their investments in diversity and inclusion as fears of recession grow — in a shift that experts say risks reversing the progress made since George Floyd’s murder in 2020. The number of…

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