Returned From a Wee Hiatus, Boyo

I've only just returned from a phenomenal trip from the emerald isle, so hopefully I'll get back to posting more items soon. I'll tell you one thing I learned from being in Ireland: Chris Claremont has never stepped a damned foot there.

Read This, Drink That #2

Read This:

Drink That:

            You’re drowning. You’re swirling round and wondering if there’s anywhere to come up for air just before you realize how warm it is. Trickling down your spine, what was first panic and confusion now slowly melts away and leaves you feeling comforted and wondering. You start to find the beauty in the inevitable tragedies and begin to piece together the larger puzzle. Both Daytripper and Delirium Tremens need to be experienced multiple times to fully grasp how ungraspable they can be.

Daytripper by the infinitely talented brothers, Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon, is a special book that lovingly punches you in the gut and hugs you at the same time. To be honest, I’m a sucker for father & son tales and that’s at the heart of what’s happening here. On the surface, Daytripper follows the life and many deaths of author Bràs de Oliva Domingos. Witnessing the repeated deaths of Bràs as he travels to understand who his father was and who he is, the reader is swept into the flow of this tale’s journey of magical realism connecting snippets of the most important moments of his life.  I found myself choking up numerous times throughout the story; sometimes at the moments of heartbreaking loss and sometimes at the moments of beautiful simplicity. ‘This IS life’, I thought multiple times. Oftentimes the larger picture is obscured as if in a dream state, but each individual moment is an entire lifetime for Bràs. All those lifetimes, the friendships and romances, the failures and the determination to continue, culminate in the larger painting of what shapes Bràs. All the while you are absolutely awash in soft saturated color on every page thanks to the masterful work of Dave Stewart, who compliments that tandem of Bá & Moon’s pencils to perfection. The brothers are at the height of their illustrative craft with setting suns, underwater vistas and quiet rural moments. The art reminds you that we’re only just gingerly rooted in the real world, ready to be swept away with the flip of a page.

Take a sip of your Delirium Tremens and start trying to remember if you’ve been here before while fruits dance with cloves on your tongue before giving way to the alcohol warmth. A traditional Belgian Strong Pale Ale that balances spiciness with a rich full bodied malt flavor. It is hardly an attack on the senses, instead the complexities introduce themselves subtlety one after another each sip noticing something new atop familiar elements. Much like Bràs’ journey we are given an experience warm in color and aftertaste, a mix of comfort and wonder and a true life-affirming experience even after the bottle has emptied.