BotTalk Reviews

What you'll find inside McSweeney's issue no. sixty-nine: The New Toe by Zach Williams (A two-year-old grows an extra toe.) Asymptote by Siqi Liu (A widow and her daughter wait for the world to end.) 18 or 34 Miles from Perennial Square by Max Delsohn (A feral frank appears in the forest.) A Fable by John Lee Clark (Blind men and an elephant, reimagined.) Stuffed Cabbage Man by Julie Hecht (A writer remembers her neighbours.) This is Not Miami by Fernanda Melchor/Translated by Sophie Hughes (Dockworkers in Veracruz assist stowaways.) Scraps by Leila Renee (A heartbroken girl licks her wounds in a KFC.) True, False, Floating by Mel Kassel (Rib reading is the new palmistry.) An Audacious Man by Evan James (Daring to be bold.) The Reanimator by Mikkel Rosengaard (DMs from the dead.) The New Maite by Yohanca Delgado (A woman comes across a clone of herself.) The Starlight by Lydi Conklin (A pterodactyl crashes into a Pegasus and surmounting selfishness.) The Nominal Sca...

What you'll actually find inside this "parody of a grief manual" by Jason Roeder (a former senior editor and senior writer at The Onion): INTRODUCTION: Devastation Perfected Five Grieving Visualization Power Postures  A Short History of Grief CHAPTER I: Hospitals: Pregaming for Grief  A Hospital Who's Who Health Care Directives (treatments that may be used) Know Your Hospital Televisions Hospice Care Last Words That Wow Using a Last Word Service CHAPTER II: Fun with Aftermath  A List of Funerals, Caskets and Headstones Surefire Eulogy Starters Experiencing Grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance) A Short History of The Never-Released Sixth Stage of Grief How Much Am I Allowed To Blame God? A State-By-State Breakdown Grief Speed Run Dealing with Regrets Visiting The Grave Rating Grief with The Chili Pepper System Dealing with Belongings (Keep, Sell, Donate, etc.) Grief and Toxic Relationships Grieving for Pets A Pupa Press "Books by Insects for Th...

The year is 26 CE. Tektons (craftsmen/builders), including a young Yeshua/Jesus of Nazareth and three of his siblings (Joses/Joseph, Jude and Simon (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55)), have been hired to rebuild the city of Sepphoris (inspired by Matthew 5:14) by Herod Antipas (the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea under the Roman Empire during the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1)). During the day, Jesus is suffering from headaches caused by divine visions (John 5:20) of the past (we glimpse the destruction of Sepphoris by Publius Quinctilius Varus). Pontius Pilate, the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea mentions Caiaphas (Jesus will be sent before the high priest after his arrest (Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:53; John 11:49; John 18:14)) who was appointed by Valerius Gratus (the prefect who preceded Pilate). Jesus has a nightmare, he sees SIX (Revelation 13:18; The sixth commandment is "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13)) serpents within the clouds of heaven.  Jesus ventures in...

Marin County (San Francisco Bay Area of California), December 1978 Wendy Moira (a Peter Pan homage?) confesses to Clara Holmwood that she is in love with the leader of "The California Cult", Billy Joe aka William Joseph Franklin. Wendy plays Billy Joe's advanced promo record. Wendy and Clara listen to Billy Joe's song "Come Wander With Me". Suzy Smiles (a radicalized acolyte of Billy Joe who likes to listen to "Always is Always Forever" by Charles Manson) pays the girls a visit. Suzy leads the demoiselles into an ambush, they get abducted by "The California Cult". Death Valley National Park, east of the Sierra Nevada, 5 months later Clara escapes from the Billy Joe Family. Reseda, Los Angeles, California, Present day Clara (now Lucy) cannot afford to pay for her daughter's university tuition, so she agrees to tell her "California Cult" story on TV for beaucoup bucks.  Clara/Lucy, Wren (Clara's daughter), Phoebe (Clara...

Ninkugel the Harvester purloins bars (a currency) from his stingy employer, Tonkfarr. Ninkugel trades his bars for a Schema Beetle sculpture. The sculpture comes to life and gives birth to a brood that devours all of Tonkfarr's crops. Ninkugel is thrown in jail, he escapes and leaves his village that has become abandoned. Ninkugel comes across a talking lizard, Wurl. Wurl gets killed by slavers: Rolden and "Huntsman". A Bog King appears. Rolden and "Huntsman" slaughter the beast, but Ninkugel drops his blade, blade first, on "Huntsman"'s foot. Refusing to be sold into servitude in Arn-Uthyr (An homage to Uther Pendragon?), Ninkugel murders Rolden and "Huntsman". Ninkugel runs into a talking dragon (a "demon"), he kills it. Ninkugel arrives at another village, he introduces himself as a "Demon Slayer" to Arloth. Arloth introduces Ninkugel to Smekland. Smekland introduces Ninkugel to the village council members (includin...

Who is this Benjamin Marra? What is he known for? His great illustrations for MLB.com and NYTimes.com The GRAMMY nominated Warfaring Strangers: Acid Nightmares album from The Numero Group His contribution to Cryptozoo (2021) He is Jake Rhodes aka Space Cowboy (Channel Frederator) His cameo in The Education of Fredrick Fitzell (2020) The Indie Rock Universe special foldout in Rolling Stone magazine #1039 The title sequence for Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018) When the King Held Court (30 for 30 Shorts) Masters of the Powerskull Sword in Adventure Time Comics #21 Robot Overlord Land in Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream Hellcloud Awaits in Bloodshot Reborn Annual 2016 U.S. Agent vs. the Terror-Saur!! in Strange Tales II #3 Space-Werewolf Biker Gang Zealots Gone Wild!! in Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies Beachhead in Heavy Metal Magazine #280-281 Teen Swamp Monster Love in I Feel Love   Casino Squat in Lethal Comics Presents: Psycho Goreman Album cover art for Peter Peter (Bien...