The Vulgar Eclectic

recent blog posts

• Terrarium update

  I was away for about two weeks and was concerned what state the bug terrarium would be in upon my return. Thankfully, all seems well. There are so many roly polies…still a little concerned about overpopulation and think a centipede might be a beneficial addition. The Japanese beetle and the green stink bug are alive and well. We couldn’t spot the desert stink beetle and I was worried it had died. It is quite large and I figured wouldn’t be too difficult to find. We looked around, even moving a couple of things, to no avail. And then, suddenly, there it was, walking around and investigating an apple slice. Perhaps it burrows or squeezes between the two pieces of bark that provide a bit of a backdrop to the terrarium. I was very happy to see it alive and looking healthy!

  The only critter I haven’t seen is the little spider. There is some webbing in one corner that has trapped a fungus gnat, but there’s been no appearance of its weaver. Just as I was typing this, I realized the spider is small enough to have easily climbed through some of the ventilation holes, so I’m hoping it wandered to other climes, rather than died in the terrarium.

  There is definitely a fungus gnat concern. They aren’t harmful or anything, but just a little annoying. They leave the enclosure easily and fly around the house. I am considering getting some rove beetles (Dalotia coriaria) and introducing them to the habitat. I have been reading that they are excellent at predating fungus gnats, both in the soil when the gnats are in their larval stage and above ground when the gnats are adults. I am slightly concerned about the rove beetles impacting the springtail population but, from what I’ve read, this should be okay. Also, unless we’re able to find one or two, I’ll have to order them online and they’re not particularly cheap, especially with shipping. Plus, the smallest amount I’ve been able to find is a hundred specimens, and that is way more than the terrarium could handle in any kind of balanced way. Perhaps we could start a separate rove beetle colony?

  I also ordered some very small usb fans (designed for cooling computers) and plan on using one or two in an effort to better ventilate the terrarium. I think improving air circulation might help with the fungus gnat situation and probably be good overall for the habitat.

• Basking

  

  Here is Pebble, getting some autumn sun!

• Bug terrarium

  My daughter and I have been keeping a bug terrarium for the last several weeks. It began as a roly-poly and springtail habitat but the list of inhabitants has now grown to include a Japanese beetle, a little spider, fungus gnats (unintentional tenants), a giant black beetle (that I think is a desert stink beetle?), and a green stink bug.

  The roly-poly (aka pillbugs, woodlice, etc.) population has skyrocketed and adding a predatory centipede might make sense. The spider showed up in a corner of the bathroom sink; it was very tiny and had caught a couple of rogue fungus gnats. I added the little guy to the terrarium and he has grown quite a bit.

  My daughter caught the Japanese beetle and green stink bug around the same time. They’ve been hanging out and occasionally eating fresh fruit we’ve put in the terrarium. The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) seems particularly hungry, and the shiny metallic green Coleopteran can often be observed munching away at a slice of strawberry or apple. I read that the first written record of this beetle, originally–as the name suggests–from Japan, being noticed in North America was in 1916 in New Jersey.

  

  In contrast, I wondered for quite a while if the green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris) had eaten a single thing. Finally, I observed it snacking on some of the fresh produce we’d placed in the terrarium.

  I don’t know what kind of spider the little arachnid is…perhaps if it continues to grow in size, we’ll be able to get a better idea. In the meantime, hopefully it keeps chowing down on the fungus gnats.

  It’s been a lot of fun just watching all the action in the terrarium. The roly-polies dart in and out of nooks and crannies in the miniature topography. Occasionally the giant beetle, especially large in comparison to the other critters, makes an appearance, sometimes even atop one of the rocks (some variety of chert I picked up on a hike years ago in Missouri). The tiny spider weaves its likewise tiny webs. The springtails are usually out of sight but occasionally can be sighted (they were especially visible in an early accidental flooding that occurred…they floated together in little clumps of springtail rafts and seemed to weather the adventure just fine).

  

  I’m excited to see what the coming weeks and months bring to this little world of bugs.

• Hunger by Knut Hamsun

  A book jot from January 2022:

  I just finished reading Hunger (1890) by Knut Hamsun, translated by Robert Bly. This novel is narrated by an unnamed protagonist living in the city of Christiania (modern-day Oslo) near the end of the 19th century. He is extremely destitute, often homeless, and his penurious existence combined with a perhaps unusual sense of propriety results in such protracted periods without food that his physical and mental health are severely affected.

  The reader is given an intimate tour of the insides of the narrator’s brain. His sanity is often in question, as well as what it is exactly he is struggling so fiercely against. There’s a great deal of deep psychological darkness and physical suffering, as well as occasional moments of beauty and even gentle light-heartedness. As the narrator’s thoughts are traced in intricate detail, the reader gets a sense of his minute-to-minute existence.

  When considered with the entirety of the book, the ending seems to hold a key to understanding the narrator’s extreme descent into hunger and isolation.

  “My God, I was a long way down.”

  

• Wulf the Barbarian

  In a continuation of my recent sword and sorcery (and specifically barbarian) comic book reading foray, I jumped into the world of Wulf the Barbarian by Atlas Comics. This is the Atlas publisher from the 1970s, usually referred to as Atlas/Seaboard to distinguish it from the much earlier pre-Marvel Atlas of the 1950s.

  

  If Claw the Unconquered seems truncated at 12 issues (or 14, if you count the two photocopied unreleased stories), Wulf was pruned to the quick at only four installments. This was the result of the entire Atlas/Seaboard publication roster abruptly disappearing when the company was dissolved only months after it was created. The Atlas/Seaboard story is an interesting one.

  As a reader who gobbled up comics during the 90s boom of independent publishers, it came as a surprise that some of the business stratagems of that era had already been attempted in the mid-seventies at Atlas/Seaboard. Specifically, Atlas/Seaboard attracted some high-level talent by offering very good pay (some of the highest in the industry at the time) and rights to characters authors created. In a similar creator-focused vein, original artwork was returned to the artists. All of this brought many exceptionally talented creators to the new company, including names like Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, Russ Heath, Bernie Wrightson, Wally Wood, Neal Adams, John Severin, Pat Boyette, and others.

  

  

  Unfortunately, Atlas/Seaboard faced numerous distribution problems as they burst out of the publishing gate, launching 23 titles and an additional five oversized comics magazine titles in a very short span of time. According to some sources, in addition to the distribution issues, some readers reacted negatively to what they perceived as carbon-copies of existing Marvel heroes. All of this culminated in the company dissolving late in 1975. Wulf was one of a handful of titles that made it to four issues. It was an abrupt and complete end to the Atlas/Seaboard universe.

  I have only read Wulf from that list of 23 titles. I feel it had real potential. The character, a blonde-maned barbarian “on a nameless world in a forgotten time,” was created by Larry Hama. Hama, of course, would go on to garner acclaim as the writer for years on Marvel’s G.I. Joe title. In Wulf, he did both the writing and penciling for the first two issues. He does an excellent job in both departments and it was disappointing to see him depart after those initial issues.

  The first issue introduces the reader to Wulf, a young and optimistic outlander, and his mentor Stavro Dar Kovin, a disabled juggler, as they exist on the margins of society in the city of Azerebajia. It’s not long before we are treated to a flashback origin story, explaining how Wulf, prince of Baernholm, and Stavro, fencing master of the house of Wulfgar, have ended up destitute on the streets of a foreign city.

  

  

  We are then brought back to the present day, as Wulf’s reality is turned on its head and he is suddenly thrust into an adventure leading ultimately to his destiny (a destiny we as readers are doomed to never reach).

  

  This first issue is excellently told and well-drawn. The pacing and characterization are top-notch and an early example of Hama’s skill as a craftsman of compelling stories and characters. While the comic uses some familiar tropes, both the plot and the characters feel fresh and different. This comic could really have developed into a great narrative had it been allowed to evolve. Keeping Hama on the title would also have helped, but I did find the third and fourth issues enjoyable, if not nearly as masterfully done as the first two. And with the conclusion of issue four, the tale is interrupted and seemingly confined to the ashpits of abandoned comics. Wulf will find good company there in the likes of Claw, Star Hunters, Korg, and so many others.

  

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