Kaleidoscope

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Published: Apr 16, 2009

Philly-based illustrator Christine Larsen updates the Roy Lichtenstein formula with pulpy, B-movie sensibilities. Hercules vs. the Astro Zombies is pretty much how it sounds, while The Ghoul Goes West re-imagines an aborted Ed Wood film with an Eastwoodian corpse on his equally undead steed. Don't worry if you missed her show at Italian Market watering hole 12 Steps Down — you can check out her work at thelarsenproject.com.

—Molly Eichel

It's a shame The Felice Brothers are so good at wistful, gravelly Americana, 'cause I kinda wanna rip into them for all the name-checking nostalgia. Their latest, Yonder is the Clock (Team Love), stars Jesse James, Ty Cobb, the devil and an "ambulance man" (?!), surrounded by chicken wire, trains and sweetly tinkling piano. Yell for "All When We Were Young" when these grizzled, world-weary twentysomethings play the Troc tonight.

—Patrick Rapa

While Seth Rogen is the marquee name, it's Michael Peña who stands out in the severely twisted comedy Observe and Report (read Shaun Brady's review in Movie shorts, p. 29). Peña's character, Dennis, is a pimp in mall cop's clothing — complete with Jheri curl, gold chains and heavy lisp. Is he squandering all the dramatic cred he stockpiled after World Trade Center and Babel? Peña won't get the same critical attention for O&R, but listen: Dying is easy, comedy is hard.

—Molly Eichel

The first time Heather B. Armstrong got pregnant, she went off her meds and started throwing things at her husband. Hard. But if you've been obsessively following dooce.com, Armstrong's personal blog about everything from Mormons to mental illness to dogs that eat their own poop, you already knew that. The older, wiser, still endearingly batshit blogger's new book chronicling that nightmarish nine months, It Sucked and Then I Cried, is perfect timing: She's expecting again. Watch your head, Jon.

—Carolyn Huckabay

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Luminous Darwin
Jeanne Ruddy Dance
Canstruction
Skin Stories
The White Room
Joe Queenan
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