Writer Legs McNeil followed up his definitive 1996 oral history on the secret origins of punk, “Please Kill Me,” with another oral history, this time connecting the ubiquitous Mafioso dots behind the porn scene, among other things, mob hit per bloody mob hit. Read how money made from “Deep Throat” (1972) spawned the mob-run production company that distributed runaway success “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974). Read from the actual mouths of the people who lived through it, lurid tales of Times Square’s 42nd street pre-AIDS/pre-Disneyfication Sodom & Gomorrah, back when for just a buck you could get what was called a “boxed lunch” where you’d stand in line to eat out up-&-cumming starlets swabbing themselves with baby-wipes readying up for the next customer (the origins of lap-dancing according to Annie Sprinkle). Another page-turner from the guy that helped coin the term “punk rock.” Co-written by Jennifer Osborne with Peter Pavia. Original header for the 2006 Montreal Mirror publication of this comic strip book review: “(Venereal) Warts & All!” (To see full-sized, keep clicking on the image to open it in a new window & use the magnify function).

Original art for sale for $100.00 CAD. Includes three items total: The pencil art preliminaries, the original finished B&W inks (signed & dated by author/artist Rick Trembles in pencil on the back), & a color newsprint tear-sheet (or B&W gray tones, depending on when it came out) from where it was originally published. Postage & framing not included. Motion Picture Purgatory Volumes One & Two available at FAB Press. For original art info, contact Rick Trembles @ ricktrembles (at) hotmail (dot) com.

The team of Alexeïeff & Parker are considered to have created the first embodiments of digital film, achieved by robotically tracing swinging shiny pendulums filmed at slow exposures that left ghostly trails, what they dubbed “illusory solids,” which were compared to falling stars. Famous for his grueling pinscreen animation technique (which also resembles pixels), Alexeïeff occasionally illustrated on the side with his pinscreen contraption, such as for the opening images of Orson Welles’ feature film “The Trial” (1962). Original header for the 2010 Montreal Mirror publication of this comic strip movie (p)review: “Cozy as a bed of nails!” (To see full-sized, keep clicking on the image to open it in a new window & use the magnify function).

Original art for sale for $100.00 CAD. Includes three items total: The pencil art preliminaries, the original finished B&W inks (signed & dated by author/artist Rick Trembles in pencil on the back), & a color newsprint tear-sheet (or B&W gray tones, depending on when it came out) from where it was originally published. Postage & framing not included. Motion Picture Purgatory Volumes One & Two available at FAB Press. For original art info, contact Rick Trembles @ ricktrembles (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Women are more disconnected from their sexuality because their vaginas are a hidden hole jailed behind their panties, whereas men are always reminded when their dangling wieners rub up against their own legs that it’s their duty to break girls free, says avid Playboy reader, Gene Simmons of Kiss in the Canadian-made 2009 documentary/puff-piece “Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist & Rebel”! Original print header for this 2010 Montreal Mirror comic strip movie preview: “‘If women weren’t sexual objects there wouldn’t be another generation’ –Hef”

Original art for sale for $100.00 CAD. Includes three items total: The pencil art preliminaries, the original finished B&W inks (signed & dated by author/artist Rick Trembles in pencil on the back), & a color newsprint tear-sheet (or B&W gray tones, depending on when it came out) from where it was originally published. Postage & framing not included. To see full-sized image, click on image to open in a new window & use magnify function. Motion Picture Purgatory Volumes One & Two available at FAB Press. For original art info, contact Rick Trembles @ ricktrembles (at) hotmail (dot) com.

“Cosmopolis” was a welcome break from Cronenberg’s string of previous Harlequin Romances. It was timely the year it came out, too, especially here in Montreal right in the middle of the violent “Red Squares” student protests. I worked current events into my review, quoting audience members I overheard in the washroom after the screening saying they were gonna wave dead rats around during the Red Squares just like the protesters do in the movie. My second-to-last Motion Picture Purgatory for The Montreal Mirror before the plug got pulled on the free weekly. I’d like to throw a dead rat at whoever was responsible for THAT. Original print header (referencing star Robert Pattinson’s purported actual olfactory eccentricities): “Lifestyles of the Rich & One-PerSCENTers (pee-yew)!”

Original art for sale for $100.00 CAD. Includes three items total: The pencil art preliminaries, the original finished B&W inks (signed & dated by author/artist Rick Trembles in pencil on the back), & a color newsprint tear-sheet (or B&W gray tones, depending on when it came out) from where it was originally published. Postage & framing not included. To see full-sized image, click on image to open in a new window & use magnify function. Motion Picture Purgatory Volumes One & Two available at FAB Press. For original art info, contact Rick Trembles @ ricktrembles (at) hotmail (dot) com.

A Spielberg remake of sci-fi classic “War of the Worlds” (1953) seemed like a bad idea, but the special effects were spectacular, especially the introductory scenes of the alien spacecrafts destroying a bridge, the “whirlpool-sphincters-of-the-gods,” & all. Though, the 9/11 parallels came off surprisingly exploitative, considering Spielberg’s penchant for sanctimoniousness. This one appeared in the UK’s Hotdog Magazine as well as free weekly The Montreal Mirror. Original print header: “Bring on the mayhem!”

Original art for sale for $100.00 CAD. Includes three items total: The pencil art preliminaries, the original finished B&W inks (signed & dated by author/artist Rick Trembles in pencil on the back), & a color newsprint tear-sheet (or B&W gray tones, depending on when it came out) from where it was originally published. Postage & framing not included. To see full-sized image, click on image to open in a new window & use magnify function. Motion Picture Purgatory Volumes One & Two available at FAB Press. For original art info, contact Rick Trembles @ ricktrembles (at) hotmail (dot) com.