REBELLION UK Kicks Ass

I have had a love for British works of entertainment, in all sorts of forms. The media has a flavor that is distinct, and dark, if also fun. REBELLION UK is a gaming, comic reading, merchandise source for all things dark and delightful. There is a movie about Rogue Trooper on the way. There are many Judge Dredd works on the way. Which means that REBELLION UK offers a quality adventure of the mind.

REBELLION UK

They also offer merchandise to tempt your wallet. In fact, this kind of product would work well for any upcoming holiday season or birthday.

NEXUS on Kickstarter, Bronze Star on Amazon, Mike Baron Writes!

NEXUS & BRONZE STAR
By Alex Ness
August 26, 2026

THE CREATIVE TEAM: Author Mike Baron, Artist Kelsey Shannon
THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN: Found Here

A space faring planet destroyer and three powered children wreak havoc. The world of Nexus is unsolvable, for anyone else, but he makes certain to prevent disaster.

THE KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN: Found Here

BRONZE STAR, A PROSE NOVEL

It is on Amazon right now!

There is a hard copy version. There is an ebook.

Find the ebook HERE
Find the print book HERE

Over the cycles of boom and bust, the remote, the dangerous town Cobb's Gap waits for the next weird thing to hit their town. The sheriff is cursed, the town's people are exhausted, and life goes on, but not in any way one might prefer. The nearby silver mine is spent, and weird and dangerous events plague the town. 

LINKS:
MY POETRY: AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
MEDIA:  Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My Published Works: HERE

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

EXCELLENCE OF ART: Yoshitaka Amano

YOSHITAKA AMANO:
A view of an artist of excellence
By Alex Ness
August 23, 2026

ALL IMAGES SHOWN ARE COPYRIGHT RESERVED TO THEIR CREATOR/OWNER use is to illustrate the artist, and as fair use. No rights asserted.

Click to enlarge each image.

This week I am sharing a look at the magnificent work of Yoshitaka Amano.  His work at one time was thought, in the West, to be anime or gaming art. There was more, he did the illustration for the 57 volume Vampire Hunter D. His work has also made Neil Gaiman's story SANDMAN: Dream Hunters, Elektra and Wolverine with Greg Rucka. His art is exquisite, unique within the style in which it works, and has soft lines, bold colors, and looks classical.

For me the classic works he illustrated, Elegant Spirits, The Tale of Genji, Fairies, and others are the absolute best works of their kind. They are beautiful, clearly tell their story, and impart a spirit of glory in their being. I offer here the works of Yoshitaka Amano

Https://www.yoshitakaamanoinc.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshitaka_Amano

MONGOOSE PUBLISHING: SIGN UP TO DEFEND THE EARTH

Mongoose News Dark Conspiracy is finally here!

Dark Conspiracy Are you ready to defend our world? Dark Conspiracy is a horror roleplaying game set in our own modern world – or just a few years hence. A terrible threat lurks in the shadows, one utterly unknown by most of humanity. If the world is to be kept safe, this ignorance has to be maintained. A conspiracy of secrecy, ignorance and darkness must be constructed for the greater good of all. And it has just gone live on BackerKit! Help Support the Dark Conspiracy!

Dark Minions There are countless dimensions beyond our own - perhaps an infinite number. Many are barren, devoid of life. A tiny few, like ours, are paradises. Then there are the Dark Dimensions, filled with terrible creatures, entities that hate, lust, and hunger. These dimensions have begun to breach the veil beyond worlds, and humanity is the target. The Dark is corruption.

The Operatives The wider world cannot know about this threat. No one knows the extent to which it has corrupted the power structures of the planet, and the defenders of humanity are simply not ready to take the fight to the enemy – right now, they do not even know the nature of the threat, what its goals are, or just what it is capable of. In Dark Conspiracy, players take the roles of Operatives, skilled individuals recruited by an organisation they know little about, yet it is clearly the last, best hope of humanity's defence.They will be funded, equipped, and directed towards the worst of threats. However, Operatives may soon come to realise that no one really knows anything about the Dark or the dangers it really poses.

Sign Up to Defend the Earth We are looking for good Operatives, of potent skill and bottomless bravery. Their role will be nothing short of being the shield between dimensions, of protecting humanity from the most hideous form of corruption. Can we count on you? Will you stand?

QUOTES to remember

QUOTES FROM PROSE AUTHORS, POETS & CRITICS
By Alex Ness
August 17, 2026

I recommend each writer for the whole of their works. Yet sometimes, it is powerful to be awash in the wisdom of each of the writers

LINKS:

MY POETRY AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
HERE: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
MY PUBLISHED WORKS 

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

MY CURRENT CHOICES AND WISH LIST

MY CURRENT WISH LIST
Or, it is all about me!
By Alex Ness
August 12, 2026

ART AND WORDS
TPBs And Collections

Why that's an unusual selection, what is Alex Ness trying to tell us? well, I like art. I like Art books. I like art museums. And I like comics. My mind is not necessarily easily pleased, but if I am surrounded by beauty or fascinating images the story of the work shines through. 

My favorite author, Robert E. Howard might have written occasional works that weren't great but I haven't read them. Conan is a wonderfully nuanced barbarian. He isn't a rapist or slaughter minded killing machine. His character works because it feels real, and there appears to be a lesser theme than his muscles and quick mind, he has a destiny that he is carving from time and action.

The Spawn characters were perhaps the reverse. I wanted to like Spawn, I enjoyed his creator's art. But the basic Spawn character was flawed. It assigned a morality to him that didn't sound like that of someone who'd give up his soul to save another. However, often, when I read the works of alternate versions of Spawn, show how the work could have been approached from the beginning.  Spawn Dark Ages introduced me to Steve Niles. Medieval Spawn and Witchblade showed me the aspects of the character that felt far more authentic than the original. Not that I am taking a shot at the original creative force, because without the original version, the alternative version would never have shown the different versions I enjoyed.

Brian Haberlin is a wonderfully talented artist. And, like some other great artists, he has talents as well as skills writing. His art collection Oil & Water gathers his works that are epic and beautiful. I like his subjects, but more so, his collection of watercolor, acrylic, and oil colors works are tremendously rich, delivered with great impact. The art book is purely beauty on a page. His writing and art skills are immense, but I'd like to add, he is as kind as he is skilled/talented.

Jeffrey Catherine Jones was a great painter, her eye was fantastic, and her deeply emotive hand led the viewer to be moved, aware of the courage to reveal more than the action on the page. I am rarely as moved with Fantasy images, as I am with her work.

DIFFERENT KIND OF ART BOOKS

My love of Japan can be seen in the art that pours out from the nation. Beauty, symbolism, clarity of thought are traits that define the works from the creative minds of Japan. Masahisa Fukase was brilliantly talented, more so, he translated his life, his emotions and sorrow into image. He was moved by Ravens and considered them his focus area to express grieving following his divorce. More too, he fell down a long series of stairs and broke bones, and entered into a long period of coma, dying much later. I believe that his work is unique. The Solitude of Ravens was perfect, and beautiful. The artist of Japan prior to industrialism captured the beauty of the world, told in ways that would be considered symbolic more than representational. The Ukiyo-E was the style, the school of art.

Propaganda and the efforts to express a desired perception, are more than a political act. In this age where everything must be easy, simply moments rather than long or deep dives, the power of the words and arts serve a political goal. The era of needing to understand the underpinnings of information, losing memory is a dangerous place to be. I'm gathering more information rather than making firm my foundations. Understanding that propaganda might also be telling a version of the truth, but in a way aimed at guiding the viewers final verdict, propaganda is not about capturing truth, but guidance of the viewer's mind. I want to know more, because the future isn't going to be simple. So many sensory stimuli, so many auctions of truth, we need to perceive what is being told. That is why the three books shown are on my list.

MY CURRENT 24 FAVORITE FILMS 

Some folks who read me keep track of my favorite films, as over the years there have been new entries, and some greater understanding of the themes, leading to an update. There are many films I love and can't change for anything new, but there are films that I didn't understand fully and upon deeper reflection, have risen in my esteem. The Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut is freaking amazing. Edward Norton, as Baldwin IV is as powerful as a human is able to be, he evokes so many emotions, while also being caged behind a mask for all but a second or two.  I am also adding the film The Black Swan with Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. The adventures of a reformed and good pirate, who is assigned to tracking and fighting evil pirates, a forbidden love story is not a work that will drive a person to distraction with subplots and complex stories. But sometimes something someone wants or needs to watch, is simple and fun.

THE MISFITS (1961)

This movie is beautifully filmed, in rich black and white. With a brilliant cast. The film is pregnant with themes that are demonstration of the loss of a classic eras as well as the loss of those heroes of that golden age. The most notable actors/actresses playing the characters, are playing their final roles in their life. They play roles that mirror, purposely or not, their lives outside of film. Also, the characters in the story work are in the fields that are becoming obsolete and are unable to fit the impending new era. Technology has replaced courage, electricity has devoured physical labors. 

I admit, I could see how some might find the film overlong. It might sound empty, the soundtrack is not overbearing or even noticeably present. But, the themes of life are themselves the heartbeat of the story.  People are bitter. Perhaps all of the characters are alcoholics. Or, they are just along the edge of being functional, and along with their life's challenges, they simply exist. When they die, perhaps they will be remembered. Or not.

LINKS

MY POETRY: AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
MEDIA:  Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com
My Published Works: HERE

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.

The Awesome and Amazing

GROOVY STUFF
By Alex Ness
August 10, 2026

ART BOOKS THAT KICK ASS

I was asked if there are collections of sci fi, fantasy, comic book artists that one might keep even if they can't afford the original, they can remember and look over the works in a work. However good they are, these aren't the groundbreaking, auction record breaking, museum works, that one might think of when considering art. They ought to be, mind you, they collect just as interesting work as those in the museums. And why not both? 

I don't have many art book collections, but, I wish I did.

These are some cover images of the Art of works:
Barry Windsor-Smith
Neal Adams
Wallace Wood
Steve Ditko
Jack Kirby
Peter Bergting
Dave Cockrum
Michael W.Kaluta
Frank Frazetta
Alex Schomburg
Albrecht Dürer
Howard Pyle
Arthur Rackham
Gustave Doré
Harry Clarke
The work of Studio Ghibli
The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki

ROMANS AT WAR

The world, except for the non specialists often perceives the Roman military style of battle as being violent, mass actions, without nuance, or ability to change in midstream. Sometimes, that would have to be true. But it is not the case that it was a style often used. For instance, in Caesar's brilliant battle, the rebellious Gauls led by Vercingetorix gathered in Alesia, with the knowledge that many reinforcements were on their way. Caesar surrounded the city with battlements and men, and also erected, a wall around their wall for protection from the warriors coming to relieve the people and army surrounded by Rome. At a point of desperation Romans had to defend an assault from inside the circle, and those on the outside, having chosen to squeeze the Romans out. The involvement of Caesar among those in hand to hand direct battle, gave the Romans extra hope. In the end, Caesar defeated both armies, and took Vercingetorix to Rome, as a part of the victory parade *a Triumph. As a reader of the history of Rome at war, one might actually read the nuanced battles, and replay them. From the great victories to the losses of ground shaking enormity one can pursue the battles, and see exactly how they occurred. 

LINKS:

MY POETRY: AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com 
MEDIA:  Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com 
PROSE THOUGHTS: AlexNessWritesv1.blogspot.com
My Published Works: HERE

Social Media
https://bsky.app/profile/alexanderness63.bsky.social 
https://x.com/alexnesspoetry

All works shown and/or considered are copyright the respective owners, fair use is the sole means of use asserted.