Dungeons & Dragons: Lore & Legends
A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game
Hardcover | Kindle
By Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, Sam Witwer
Foreword by Tom Morello
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Release Date: October 3, 2023

Well met, readers! I hope you are having the best of days and find success in all that you do. How goes my day, you ask? Splendidly, I must say, for I get the distinct pleasure of raving about a beautiful tome that found its way to my home just days ago. It was accompanied by many of its friends, but I will concentrate solely on this book, Lore & Legends: A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World’s Greatest Roleplaying Game. This references, of course, the game of Dungeons & Dragons, a franchise of gaming that has helped my interests, passion, and some small fortune of mine that I have invested in supplies and whatnot. Time, effort, and money well spent, I must say.

It’s a slow news week for obvious reasons, which makes it the perfect time for slightly pointless yet totally awesome videos.

In this video, a robot performs Ramin Djawadi‘s (featuring Tom Morello) main theme from Guillermo del Toro‘s giant monsters vs. giant robots epic Pacific Rim (click here if you’ve not yet heard it or need a refresher), all while a couple of Tesla coils blast bolts of electricity at each other.

You can check out the video below.

The Battle of Los Angeles, one of the strongest statements ever from the punky hardcore hip hop trap group Rage Against the Machine is now available on MP3 format from Amazon this month for only $2.99, as part of their $2.99 MP3 Albums promotion.

By The Battle of Los Angeles, the Rage’s third album, there was such a high confidence and tight musicality evident from the band, live and on record, it was nothing short of mindboggling. From the one-two rabbit punch bullet from a gun strains of the opening notes of “Testify,” Rage Against the Machine propels their musical manifesto of politics and personal transgressions to a pitch so hard and fast and groovy it is impossible to be ignored.

As part of Amazon’s $2.99 MP3 album deals for February 2013, Rage Against The Machine’s XX (20th Anniversary Edition) is on sale for less than $3. That’s right, for only $2.99 you can own one of my favorite albums of all time. Totally remastered for a new generation, these digital versions sound far better than the originals.

I’m not usually one for remastered albums, but I gave the first track a listen and had to take the plunge. For me, Rage Against The Machine stands out as one of the truly great rock bands of the 1990s. I always thought of them as more hardcore than rock/rap, but one thing is for sure, their music is definitely recognizable. If a RATM song is playing, you know it immediately… Tom Morello‘s wicked guitar riffs and vocalist Zach de la Rocha‘s unique voice bombard your ears and lay siege to your soul. XX is packed with political diatribes focused on capitalism, corporate greed, and governmental oppression. This is the quintessential Rage album, as it really embodies what they represent and expresses their displeasure in no uncertain terms.

Dark Horse Comics has provided Geeks of Doom with an exclusive first look at four amazing covers that are set to be released in the month of December, and one coming in February.

In these comics is House of Fun (one-shot) a comic that I’ve been looking forward to for some time now, from Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dwyer. Collected in this one-shot are several entries from the House of Fun run in Dark Horse Presents including new Milk and Cheese comics and some of the most hilarious comic strips that have ever been printed. Also listed below are the comics for Michael Avon Oeming‘s The Victories #5, John Ostrander‘s Star Wars mini-series Agent of the Empire: Hard Targets #3 (of 5), the final issue of Tom Morello‘s Orchid, and the cover to the new Trigun Omnibus, which is set for February.

Each one of these covers is great, and based on what I’ve previously read and the creators attached, these are all great picks for December, so make sure to get your pre-order sheets ready, because you won’t want to miss any of these comics.