Recommendations and updates...

A number of articles have announced The Big Stone Grid as my next picture, which isn't quite correct. I am sending that one around as a possible fifth movie, but I've made far more progress with another different original project to direct for my fourth one: I am negotiating deals to see if it will become a reality. I will give more information about this when things are more certain. Continue to look here for my next movie announcement.
The debut album of my experimental/power electronics/noise project Mindscrubber is now available on CD and digitally from Chondritic Sounds:
https://chondriticsound.bandcamp.com/...
Below are some accolades I received for my second graphic novel, a huge-scale, hard sci-fi work published by Dark Horse Comics called Organisms from an Ancient Cosmos. Below the blurbs are some words and links to my 2023 favorites in books, music, movies, and comics.

"Zahler continues to amaze me. I got goosebumps." - Justin Lin, director Fast Five and Star Trek Beyond

"Yikes, what scary talent!" - Geof Darrow

"What a fantastic read!" -Patton Oswalt

"I had the best time reading this graphic novel. I never knew where it was going or how." -Brian Michael Bendis

Order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506733077/...

This is a link to my top 50+ albums of the year:
https://rateyourmusic.com/list/S_Crai...

These are the best new movies and revival screenings I saw this year:
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls524075975/

My top 15 favorite prose books I read in 2023 are:
An Immense World (Yong)
Permutation City (Egan)
Skidding into Oblivion (Hodges; reviewed by me on this site)
Soldato! (Albert; reviewed by me on this site)
Valley of Assassins (Albert; reviewed by me on this site)
Reborn as a Demonic Tree (XKarnation; reviewed by me on this site)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
Fargo: Death Valley Gold (Haas)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
My Best Friend's Exorcism (Hendrix)
Rontel (Pink)
Children of Time (Tchaikovsky)
Imaro (Saunders)
In Watermelon Sugar (Brautigan)
Everyman (Roth)

Baby Boom (Yokoyama) was my favorite 2023 comic, and an all-time great manga/use of the medium. This book contains the most exciting daily chores in history (and might have come out very late 2022 in some markets).
The Gull Yettin (Kessler), Monica (Clowes), Life Under Tension (Harkness), I Wish I Was Stupid (Ebisu), Werewolf Jones & Sons (Hanselmann & Pettinger), Michael Mouse (Lohmeier), Tombs (Ito), Three Rocks (Griffith), Maniac Army (Ryan), and Night of the Ghoul (Snyder & Francavilla) are also special books.
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Published on January 03, 2024 20:41
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message 1: by Byron (new)

Byron What animes would you recommend to someone who generally shares your taste in other media but hasn't seen a ton of anime?


message 2: by T/James (new)

T/James Reagan i loved that ransom record as well. that song with crooked i with those strings was just incredible. i didn't even realize aesop dropped a project this year until i saw your list so i'll definitely be checking that out. although much lighter than what you normally listen to, did you give ice nine kills 'welcome to horrorwood' a try? it plays like the best horror movie marathon. i also really loved this ep called 'burning halos' by the band NVM. it's like the rock version of a tarantino movie with the amount of influences they pack into one song.


message 3: by S. (new)

S. Zahler I'll look into those. Thanks!


message 4: by S. (last edited Jan 04, 2024 10:35AM) (new)

S. Zahler Byron,
My top 10 favorite anime movies/shows are: Getter Robo Armaggedon, The 2001 "X" TV series, Gurren Lagann, Galaxy Express 999 (1979 movie), Princess Mononoke, Golgo 13 (1983 movie), Death Note (2006 series), Porco Rosso, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Berserk (1997 series).
To get a complete list, search for: Author, Cartoonist, Brawl in Cell Block 99 & Bone Tomahawk writer/director S. Craig Zahler's Anime Recommendations


Λευτέρης Αναγνωστόπουλος A movie announcement?? Yes please! In 2023 I rewatched Bone and Brawl, after many years, and they are still amazing. The line "Say goodbye to my wife. I'll say hello to yours" is gold! Also, I read Organisms and I liked it. Can't wait!


message 6: by Muskippa (new)

Muskippa Is the movie announcement the Ridley Scott one, or you own directorial thing? Either way can't wait!


message 7: by S. (new)

S. Zahler The movie announcement will be about the next movie I intend to direct.


message 8: by Byron (new)

Byron Thanks Z, looking forward to checking them out. Been watching a lot of animation lately and looking to branch out from my comfort zone as I've been biased to US stuff in the past.


message 9: by Jim (new)

Jim Bonomo Thanks for the updates! Flying soon, picked up a couple of these for the trip. Best of luck with the new project!


message 10: by Jason (last edited Jan 08, 2024 08:23AM) (new)

Jason Excellent news, can't wait to share a new Zahler experience with friends and family.

I just finished A Congregation of Jackals and was wondering if there was update on your Fantasy Novel, have you found a publisher yet?


message 11: by Timothy (new)

Timothy Nommensen Awesome. Please give Vince Vaughn another home run.


message 12: by Ben (new)

Ben Daré Cant wait for the next film! Theres so many awesome actors I think you'd get great performances out of!! Josh Hartnett, Joel Kinnaman, Zoe Kravitz, Carrie-Ann Moss, Tobey Maguire, Timothy Olyphant, & Sterling K Brown are actors I think could do really interesting work w/ you.


message 13: by Tom (new)

Tom Davidson Great news Zahler, I can't wait for your next film, and you've also inspired me to write my own novel, the angle you approach fiction resonates with me very much. Your goodreads recommendations have given me some great books too. And I'm curious, what are your thoughts on the genre of shoegaze?


message 14: by S. (new)

S. Zahler Thanks for the kind words---I'm happy to have inspired you. I've heard very little shoegaze music, but will likely explore the genre at some point.


message 15: by Ben (last edited Jan 12, 2024 04:18AM) (new)

Ben Daré Hey you should check out Genndy Tartakovsky's show PRIMAL I consider it the best show of the last decade and I think you would really like it and connect to it in a weird way. Also Queens Of The Stone Age had a pretty good new album this yr you should check out. Just finished Cosmos and it's fantastic brother!


message 16: by Jacopo (new)

Jacopo Magri Wonderful news Zahler! Will this be one of your old movie
scripts or something completely new?


message 17: by Aaron (new)

Aaron Hey! Excited to hear about the upcoming movie, been filling up on your novels, will you be working with CINESTATE again? As I've noticed quite a lot of your features have been made under that production company.


message 18: by S. (last edited Jan 12, 2024 10:58AM) (new)

S. Zahler Jacopo: I will make an announcement when more details are solidified.
Aaron: Cinestate no longer exists, and I parted ways with the people who ran that company a long time ago.
Ben: I own both seasons of Primal on Blu Ray. That show and Tartakovsky's Clone Wars micro-series are very enjoyable.
Thanks for checking out Organisms from an Ancient Cosmos--I am extremely proud of that graphic novel.


message 19: by Alan (last edited Jan 18, 2024 02:02AM) (new)

Alan Wright Howdy Mr. Zahler! I’m a big fan of your writing and I was wondering if you had a top 10 for regular novels you read this past year as well. Or just recommendations in general. I’ve been looking for ultra-violent crime books like Slanted Gutter and Mean Business but they always end up feeling tamer.

Also wondering if you’ve read any books in the Splatter Western series, if you don’t know them I recommend Kristopher Triana’s Thirteenth Koyote. Would you consider writing another western, maybe for that series? A man can dream…

PS: looking forward to your forthcoming fantasy novel! And the movie announcement, of course!


message 20: by S. (last edited Jan 19, 2024 03:56PM) (new)

S. Zahler Thanks for the support. Look at my reviews on this site for Bronson: Blind Rage (Rawls), Gannon: Blood for Breakfast (Ballenger), and The Sadist (Block) for good, very nasty crime fiction. Some indie genre publishers need to get these three books back in print.
My top 15 favorite prose books I read in 2023 are:
An Immense World (Yong)
Permutation City (Egan)
Skidding into Oblivion (Hodges; reviewed by me on this site)
Soldato! (Albert; reviewed by me on this site)
Valley of Assassins (Albert; reviewed by me on this site)
Reborn as a Demonic Tree (XKarnation; reviewed by me on this site)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
Fargo: Death Valley Gold (Haas)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
My Best Friend's Exorcism (Hendrix)
Rontel (Pink)
Children of Time (Tchaikovsky)
Imaro (Saunders)
In Watermelon Sugar (Brautigan)
Everyman (Roth)


message 21: by Leo (last edited Apr 02, 2024 09:07PM) (new)

Leo Ashline Mr. Zahler, My name is Leo Ashline. I tried to submit this on your contact form on your website but there was no “submit” button. I’m writing to say what a huge fan I am of your work. Ever since the release of Bone Tomahawk I’ve eagerly awaited news of any new film or work by you. I’ve read all of your novels except Hug Chickenpenny and Corpus Chrome (I just finished Congregation of Jackals today) and plan on reading those next. I absolutely love your writing. As a huge fan of crime fiction and westerns I can say that you are one of the most unique and refreshing voices to come along in these genres in decades. I sing for a an industrial/noise band called Street Sects based out of Austin Texas, and your work has been a MASSIVE inspiration to me, so I just wanted to say thank you for the incredible work. Here’s a link to our new record coming out later this year on Flenser Records if you wanted to check it out (no worries if not, as I’m sure you get flooded constantly with people sending you scripts and things like that all the time) and all of our past albums are on Spotify, etc. I saw on your good reads profile that you are into metal and noise music (love the mindscrubber record on bandcamp, btw). If you ever wanted to collaborate on anything or just trade recommendations, it would be a huge honor. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this, and thank you again for your inspiring work. Can’t wait to see what you come out with next.

P.S. good reads won’t let me include the link to the record but if you’re at all interested you can email at [email protected]


message 22: by S. (new)

S. Zahler Leo Ashline,
Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you dig the Mindscrubber album, and I'm happy to have inspired you. I'll check out your music when I'm in the mood for some industrial tunes. Take care and good luck!


message 23: by Leo (new)

Leo Ashline Thanks for taking the time to read my message and reply. Means a lot!!! Looking forward to the upcoming announcement!


message 24: by Landon (new)

Landon Hey Zahler,

I've been so slack on reading long form works recently and want to get back into it. Just rewatched Brawl and Dragged and several noir so I've been in a real crime mood. What are some that you would recommend? For reference, I love Thompson, Chandler and Higgins.

Also, I asked several years ago for advice on dialogue for screenwriting and you provided me great guidance which served as TREMENDOUS help. Thank you


message 25: by Reader (new)

Reader Hello Mr. Zahler, I wasn’t sure if a direct way to reach you.
I was hoping to contact you in regards to getting your permission
To read some of your work as audio samples?

Id like to post one or two of your dialog scenes on the website
ACX.com where I submit auditions to authors to produce audio
Books of their work. (Most of the literature on the site is trash unfortunately) but I’d love the opportunity to read one of your scenes because of how well they sing in the hard boiled noir genre,
No one writes dialogue like you and some of those punchlines absolutely kill.

Thanks and keep at it, we’re all eager for the next Zahler project


message 26: by Eric (new)

Eric Lees Hello Mr. Zahler. Are there any other visual novels you'd recommend? I recommend two for you: Witch on the Holy Night and Full Metal Daemon: Muramasa


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