Monster Magnet - Prog 6 - Ray Wonsowski

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends...

Continuing the prog-rock-fueled adventures of the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, from last week's Prog, when the mad conqueror of Warworld, Mongul, had defeated Superman. The Twins, however, have rallied the Super Friends to challenge him and defend Metropolis...

This week's episode is based on Monster Magnet's "Space Lord"...

Panel 1 - MONGUL tosses an unconscious SUPERMAN from his levitating platform in victory, but something has caught his attention below.

MONGUL: Now give me the strength to split the world in two!

JAYNA (off-panel): Yeah?

Panel 2 - in an intersection, traffic light knocked over, a giant Cerberus stalks amidst the wounded alien fighters. The middle head has the face and winning grin of JAYNA, the other two heads have unconscious alien bodies clamped painfully in their jaws. JAYNA is looking straight up at us, as if taunting Mongul.

JAYNA: I ate all the rest...now I've gotta eat you...

Panel 3 - ZAN has leapt up to MONGUL's platform, his fist glows purple with power. MONGUL, furiously surprised, turns to face his challenge. In the deep background, BLACK VULCAN and SAMURAI can be seen tearing into MONGUL's alien warship.

ZAN: I lost my soul when I fell to Earth. My planets called me to the void of my birth...

Panel 4 - ZAN's arm has become a long, violet icy lance, impaling MONGUL through the middle and lifting him off the platform. ZAN's expression should be of righteous anger, while MONGUL is truly shocked.

ZAN: The time has come for me to kill this game! Now open wide and say my name!

Panel 5 - close-up of ZAN, teeth gnashing, staring up into the dying eyes of MONGUL, sweating in his dying breath.

ZAN: ...space...lord....mother - -!!

...to be continued...

Monster Magnet – Monster Mash – MK Stangeland Jr.

(4 Panels)

Panel 1: A band which looks like MONSTER MAGNET is on stage, performing. In the audience is an array of monsters, rocking out and enjoying the music.

Panel 2: In-Between songs – the LEAD SINGER steps forwards to the mic.

LEAD SINGER: Glad you’re all here and settled in!

Panel 3: LEAD SINGER pulls off their mask and flips open the front of their guitar. This reveals that the performer is actually ELSA BLOODSTONE, and her guitar contains her monster-hunting weapons. The look on her face is of smug glee.

ELSA: It means our trap worked.

Panel 4: The monsters in the crowd begin running, screaming, and panicking as they try to run and flee from the stage. ELSA leaps out into the air over the former mosh pit, action scene pose style. Behind her, the other three performers shed their own costumes as they move into action, they are reveled to be BLADE, ADAM THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER, and SPITFIRE.

(END PAGE)

Monster Magnet - Self-Titled - Grant McLaughlin

A loose interpretation of the week's prompt, but I hope you'll forgive that.  Panel 4 should be the focus of the page.

1 - A big room that's a mixture between a scientist's lab and mission control at NASA.  Lots of beakers and blackboards, with plenty of consoles and control stations spread about as well.  A head scientist stands at a central console, calling out to their workers.  Many look up from their work in response, one speaks out to answer.

HEAD SCIENTIST (1): This thing is getting out of hand, people.

HEAD SCIENTIST (2): What do we have?

SCIENTIST 1: The calculations say it should work, but we need to run more tests to be sure.

2 - A group of scientists gathers around that central console to discuss their options.  The rest of the team has kind of stopped what they're doing to see what's going on.

HEAD SCIENTIST: No time.  This spreads too far, nothing will be able to stop it.  We have to act now.

SCIENTIST 2: With all due respect, if something goes wrong, we could all die.

3 - Cut to a close-up of the console the head scientist has been standing in front of.  A big ACTIVATION button sits on the panel, going green as the head scientist presses it.

HEAD SCIENTIST (off-panel): Considering what we've unleashed on the world...

4 - Cut to outside.  A big, concrete building stands in the midst of a partially destroyed city.  Monsters of various shapes and sizes roam about, knocking over things and stomping on others.  It's pretty chaotic and awful.  That said, on top of the concrete building is an enormous stereotypical horseshoe magnet crackling with energy and electricity as it powers up.  A monster in the foreground of the panel might be drawing its attention to this sudden change.

CAPTION (HEAD SCIENTIST): Maybe that's what we deserve.

Monster Magnet - Power Trip - Derek Adnams

Lyrics by Dave Wyndorf and Monster Magnet, “Power Trip” from the album by the same name.

Page 1 - (6 Panels)

1.1:  Interior, a cubicle maze in an office setting, early evening in winter as the sun sets at a sharp angle through the windows.  Our Protagonist, an unnamed office drone in his late 30’s, thinning hair, clean shaven, wearing the tie he puts on in Panel 1.2, is staring at his computer monitor.  He has just sent his resignation to his boss via e-mail and is smiling broadly, proud of what he has accomplished.  He’s smiling here and will also smile in the last “Dream” panel.  Other than these two panels he looks dead.

Caption:  Who’s gonna teach you how to dance?

Caption:  Who’s gonna teach you how to fly?

1.2:  Interior, a brightly lit sterile corporate bathroom.  We’ve moved backwards through time, viewing Our Protagonist earlier in his workday.  He is putting on his tie, the one we saw him wearing in Panel 1.1.  There are round bright bulbs above the mirror, hot alien suns.  He can see his reflection, and is disgusted at what he’s doing.  If there’s enough room in the panel, have another guy either walking into a stall or exiting through a door.  No faces visible besides the Protagonist and his reflection.

Caption:  When you get tired of all the crap baby move over here and maybe buy some of mine.

1.3:  Exterior, morning earlier still, the front entrance into the suburban office building Our Protagonist calls his “work”.  He’s entering the building along with a host of other worker bees.  He is not wearing his tie, but otherwise has on a suit and is carrying a brief case.

Caption:  I’m never gonna work another day in my life.

1.4:  Interior, Our Protagonist’s bathroom, dawn.  He is standing before his sink, a paunchy guy in his late 30’s in his underwear, looking into a mirror, his stubble faced sad reflection looking back at him.  There is a razor sitting on the sink.

Caption:  The gods told me to relax.

Caption:  They said I’m gonna be fixed up right.

1.5:  Interior, the apartment bedroom of our Protagonist, morning but so early it’s still dark.  He is in bed, waking up.  The alarm clock is going off and he’s reaching out to hit it.  The time on the alarm clock is 5:06 AM.

Caption:  I’m never gonna work another day in my life.

Caption:  I’m way too busy powertripping.

1.6:  Dream – the dream he was having before the alarm clock awoke him from this brief slice of Nirvana.  Our Protagonist is flying, a 1960’s Marvel superhero traversing a universe of Kirby Crackle and gravity wells, twin Earth’s and Mars Gods, a temple of your dreams.  Our Protagonist is smiling – finally home before his day can even begin.

Caption:  But I’m gonna shed you some light.

Why Monster Magnet? - Derek Adnams

...because it’s 10:42 PM and I’m listening to “Brainstorm” off of Superjudge and remembering being ten years old and going to Fantasy Zone in Red Bank, New Jersey, the first comic book shop I ever frequented.

It was managed by a long haired man who asked me what books I was into.  At the time I was a fan of John Byrne, especially his Fantastic Four run.

“Well – if you like ‘writer-artists’, you should check this out.”

And he led me to the long-box for a book called Daredevil by a man called Frank Miller.

Then I knew I wanted to make comics.

Years later, after I was already a fan of their music, I would discover that the man who worked at Fantasy Zone in Red Bank, New Jersey, was Dave Wyndorf, leader of the band Monster Magnet.

With lyrics such as “I was thinking how the world should have cried, on the day Jack Kirby died” (“Melt”, God Says No), and "So what would MODOK do, if his memory got too full?” (“Baby Götterdämerung”, Powertrip), the hours Dave spent absorbing the cosmic sagas of 1960’s and 1970’s Marvel “Pop-Art” space gods found a rebirth through ten albums of lo-fi acid fueled 70’s inspired metal.

Then there’s the art...



A singularity of influence occurred when Grant Morrison gave “Special Thanks” to Dave Wyndorf and Monster Magnet in the final issue of Multiversity, titled “Superjudge”.

This is also Monster Magnet’s best album.

Listen to Monster Magnet and be the Bull God.