• Lucas Jones

Well, it's not quite as exciting as the sea of rowdy Juggalos that surrounded the Roseland before the Insane Clown Posse show, but here is a photo of the line already formed for tonight's Morrissey show. Looks kind of, well, sad.

For the Morrissey edition of OTRWFW—a semi-regular series in which employees of Floating World Comics recommend books for musicians playing in town—local comics writer, novelist, and film critic Jamie S. Rich steps up to the plate. Jamie's recent graphic novel You Have Killed Me borrows its title from a Morrissey song—he's also a former editor at Dark Horse and Oni who currently works at Floating World, making him uniquely qualified to recommend comics for everyone's favorite Vegas-idol-in-training. As always, mention this blog post at Floating World (20 NW 5th) the week of the show, receive 10% off recommended titles. Morrissey plays tonight at the Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th, tonight, 8 pm, $49.50. Here's Jamie:

Recommending any book to Morrissey can be a daunting task. A well-read artiste of particular tastes, he's a reader that will challenge even the most knowledgeable bookstore clerk to toss him a tome he doesn't already know. Luckily, indie comics could be one area where it might still be possible to surprise him, and some recent new comics capture a personal vision that might appeal to the quiffed one.

Weird Fishes by Jamaica Dyer

This debut graphic novel chronicles the coming-of-age of two social misfits, Dee and the Bunny Boy. These creative kids meet when they are young. Both are outcasts shunned because of their creative outlook on life. Dee sees things that may not be there, while the Bunny Boy dresses in a rabbit suit. They grow up together as a platonic couple, but when adolescence lands hits, sex gets in the way of their friendship. Bunny Boy goes mod to try to get the attention of a girl, and Dee goes mad trying to get the attention of Bunny Boy. This story about two oddballs wrestling with their feelings could easily be soundtracked by any number of old Morrissey records, even if it is named after a Radiohead song. Hopefully Moz doesn't know that, just to keep him from rejecting it outright.

Beast by Marian Churchland

Another first-time solo outing, this time from an artist who has previously worked with other writers and contributed art to Conan and Elephantmen. For her first full-length work as a full-blown cartoonist, Marian Churchland spins a yarn about a sculptor who is sucked into her own "Beauty & the Beast" scenario by a faceless, timeless creature who demands she create his stone portrait. The question arises: how does one portray the inscrutable and the unknowable? The girl must feel her way, letting the stone itself and her own instinct lead her to the essence of the art. It may even be love she feels as she spends her every moment dreaming of her bizarre benefactor.

Churchland's sketchy style finds dreaminess in realism, as opposed to Jamaica Dyer's more wiggly line, but both have a classical art foundation that should appeal to a traditionalist like Morrissey. Each spin scenarios about personal passions and the drive to be true to oneself, two themes our subject is more than familiar with himself.

Breakfast After Noon by Andi Watson

An oldie but a goodie from my days editing at Oni Press. Andi's story about two unemployed lovers in England is evocative of the kitchen sink films Morrissey grew up watching. The gray skies, the shattered dreams, the anger and the heartbreak—these are all things that make those old British films so compelling. Watson adds to that a gentleness and sensitivity that further deepens the emotional landscape.

Even homeboy promoting tonight's event to "Raise Awareness about the Southern Italian Utopia" doesn't know what the hell that means. Nothing comes up on Googles. I'll go out on a limb here and assume someone's summer home in Napoli needs a new a sauna in the nursery. I only kid. Mama mia!

Whatever Bohemian culture's plight the Dandy Warhol's Zia McCabe is raising awareness for, tonight's event at Rotture sure has some bang for it's buck. For a mere $8 (that's only €5.34 Euro) you'll see McCabe perform her solo material for the first time and a whole pizza pie of fantastico bands like Orca Team, 1776, Green Ladies, Hawkeye and many more filing both levels of Rotture and Branx.

Here's the spicy meat-a-ball though: included in your measly admission fee is the opportunity to have your portrait drawn by local artists, your future told by local psychics (you're going to die by Anton Newcombe's hands!), your shoulders rubbed by local masseuses, and you might be on a television in outer space (this will be filmed and broadcast live on Pirate Satellite TV). Bravo! Magnifico!

If you're a wannabe Wampire then put on your Vampire Hands and plastic White or Red Fang(s)—better yet, quickly get yourself some Meth Teeth, which will actually help you become nocturnal too—and make sure to head out to see Twilight: New Moon tonight with hoards of screeching, gothed out tweenage girls, or maybe sometime this Vampire Weekend. To help get you even more vamped up, here's a video of a real life "vampire" (I suspect she's not actually undead, just super nerdy).

Well, that was much better than this song:

Colin Meloy - "Dracula's Daughter" (Live)