Kenric Regan Talks Supernatural Baby Detective, Cthulhu, Conan, and Premium Box Wine
Also (*clears throat*): Falanghina ftaghan! Pecorino ph'nguli!
Kenric Regan is a longtime podcaster but relatively newly arrived writer, and he joins us for an epic, just-shy-of 2-hour talk about first-time Kickstarter nerves (though his comic funded between the filming and the posting of this video!), also the handling of public domain characters like Cthulhu, then where in the dark-gods'-names he came up with a batshit concept like Supernatural Baby Detective, and then of course we get to the wine (boxed, baby!) and Kenric's own comic book love (the Barbarian, baby! Yes, there's only one.)
Get yourself a copy of the first issue of Supernatural Baby Detective until October 12 here.
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THE WINES
Dallas' Pairing
2019 Feudo Antico Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGT
A native Italian grape that’s not too common to find yet (though we’re getting there, it was largely extinct before a revival in the 1990’s.) Pecorino makes for a medium-bodied white with melon and tart, zesty flavors. The right balance of sweet and zip, and light and heavy.
A small, delicately pale grape, Pecorino is happy from higher mountain altitudes all the way down to hillside slopes to the coast, and thrives in Italy’s Abruzzo region (although you’ll also find it in Marche, Umbria, Liguria, and Tuscany). The grape itself has an exceptionally high sugar content and tends to reflect the terroir without reserve - it’s both sensitive and expressive, not unlike Pinot Noir, so it’s a grape for a patient, dedicated winemaker.
Dave's Pairing
2021 Ciro Picariello "BruEmm" Falanghina, Campania, Italy
A grape with a spelling Cthulhu would love (Falanghina ftaghan!), like the Pecorino above, this is a white with a balance between heft and zest. A bit golden in hue with the fresh hay/barnyard funk that’s often associated with the presence of “Brett” (brettanomyces) a yeast that, when balanced, gives the fresh hay scents and flavors, though if overdone can lead to a scent that many describe as “baby diapers”. The, uhm, used kind.
The below Falanghina is thankfully far from anything like baby diapers, thought I loved the kitschy poetry of pairing it with Supernatural Baby Detective! Available in the States from Wine Access.
A Tale of Mistaken Grape Identity
There’s also the fun fact that modern day Falanghina is actually two grapes, “Falanghina Beneventana” and “Falanghina Flegrea”, thanks to a tale of mistaken identity coupled with money and politics. Essentially, two different farmers found two different ancient vines and repopulated Campania with what they determined was the ancient grape, “Falanghina”. However, the differences between the two grapes heavily suggests that they are genetically distinct from each other. Aka, only one can be the actual “Falanghina” of old.
On wine labels, you will typically only find the word “Falanghina”. Sometimes wines will be labeled as “Falanghina Beneventana Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT)”. Alternatively, Falanghina Flegrea is the grape of choice for wines labeled “Falerno del Massico or Falanghina del Sannio DOC”. For reasons no one in Campania particularly wants to discuss, the lack of eagerness to settle the matter probably comes down to marketing and money. No one who grows either or both grapes wants to take the next logical step of examining the DNA because then that would require a different name for one of the grapes and a long and likely bitter and labyrinthine ordeal to decide which contingent of growers “wins” the name.
Kenric's Comic and Wine Pairing
The Comic
SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN (the oversized Curtis Magazine editions!)
These are the oversized - almost European in dimensions - releases of original Conan stories that didn’t have to abide by the Comics Code Authority rules because they were “magazines”, and not comics.
Marvel released a crazy number of these (235!) between 1974 - 1995. Personally, I started buying and reading these in their twilight years, in the early 90’s, when I’d spot them in gas stations during family road trips. They were just about the only comics game in those venues outside of Archie digests, and little did I or my parents realize that these were sort-of adult in content! More violence, at least more visceral violence, more sexiness and sometimes even outright sex. I just thought this is what Conan was all about. I’d seen the R-rated Schwarzenegger film adaptation, after all. ;)
Currently being republished in giant omnibuses, up to 8 volumes so far, collecting roughly half the series.
The Wine
BOTA BOX MINI CABERNET
Yes! BOXED wine! This ain’t your grandmama’s Franzia!
Premium boxed wine is slowly gaining traction, as I mentioned at the tail end of a previous post. BOTA BOX here is neither quite “Premium”, nor the bulk trash of yesteryear. It’s a well-made, balanced, yet still affordable ($7 for the 3-glass “mini” box pictured below) alternatively packaged wine.
Glass bottles, especially those as thick as standard wine bottles, require a tanker ton of energy to make and ship. Boxes, cans, even thinner, lighter bottles are all being considered to make the wine industry more eco-friendly.
One interesting tidbit I just learned this week: canned wine is an extra-difficult option because some asshat in Australia PATENTED the concept of “canned wine”, smdh. So now everyone who wants to do the same has to pay him $$$.
Why are we like this?
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