The joke's on Jeffrey Morgan's Media Blackout #182!

Various Contributors — The Comics Journal (Fantagraphics Books) :: Issue 291 contains a veritable embarrassment of riches including a 38-page interview with TV Heroes artist Tim Sale; a 30-page evaluation of Hunter S. Thompson artist Ralph Steadman by Gary Groth; an appraisal of writer Steve Gerber — who penned the line about Howard the Duck being "Trapped in a world that he never made!" in the Pretenders' song "Precious"— and a tribute to Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens by famed bootleg cover artist Bill Stout. It's an amazing issue and it's all in color for only 1,200 cents!

Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band — The Whole Fam Damnily (Side One Dummy) :: Wherein the ragged but right Rev. rasps out a gnarly backwater batcha tub-stompin' songs o'protest 'n' faith, all wrapped 'round a seismic swath of tremeloed slide gitbox 'n' harp that'll turn you into a testifyin' witness givin' state's evidence that this here long-player sho 'nuff sounds like a stripped-down high-energy cross between High on the Hog and Led Zeppelin III.

SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: New York Dolls — Live at the Fillmore East (Sony) :: Some wonky word wankers wrote that I was thoroughly Scrooged for viciously smearcasing the Dolls' last album as a too little too late pasty-faced pastiche that was nothing more than a David JoHandsome solo album in sell-out drag — but I was right, no matter how many other critics waxed blowjobian over it. So why do I heartily recommend this new ragged rehash? Because it's the energetic antithesis of its slick and soulless studio predecessor, that's why. It also helps that they dug deep into their solid songbook to run through a number of less obvious numbers, such as "Jet Boy" and "Pills" and "Puss 'n' Boots" before finally bringing down the curtain with a heartfelt tribute to El Thunderoso on "Lonely Planet Boy." As a matter of fact, this album is so good, you'll almost forgive the singer for foisting Buster Poindexter on us. Almost.

Caesar Romero — Batman (ABC) :: Best. Joker. Ever.

Be seeing you!