Over the span of his career, Bwana Spoons has been using his highly stylized and imaginative art to create Forest Island—a hyper-kinetic and super-saturated place that his surreal characters call home. A compilation of pieces that could easily stand on their own, and short narratives, Welcome to Forest Island may actually form some grand narrative from cover to cover. Spoons, as a multi-media artist, combines his abilities in painting, design, screen-printing, and toy making in these addictive 144 pages.

Showtime’s water-cooler thriller Dexter is essentially The Shield at its core, with a rogue police officer working against his own department to cover up his criminal involvement with cases of interest—in Dexter, though, that rogue cop has the added twist of being a serial killer, albeit one guided by a rigid moral code. It’s an entertaining setup with ample opportunity for cat-and-mouse intrigue, and like The Shield, Dexter understands the power of a dynamo guest star to spice up the show before the formula wears thin.

According to Invincible Criminal‘s accompanying press releases, this is Mark Mallman’s most lyric-driven album to date. His decision to change his typically self-deprecating and nihilistic lyrics resulted in a record that Mallman considers “alive, powerful, moving.”

As summer simmers ever-so gently into autumn and this Hawaiian septet delivers a light tropical breeze through willing speakers (wait for dusk; the effect is awesome), even listeners garbed in season-appropriate attire might find themselves spectacularly underdressed. Adventures in Paradise is a smart and swank affair, the kind that usually hums between the walls of an air-conditioned nightclub.

I don’t dance. I’m an arrhythmic white girl whose main goal—at most events—is to not put an eye out with my pen or notebook. Although, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to getting my (very) awkward groove on at last night’s Friendly Fires show. For the record: no writing utensil related injuries were sustained.

All that time in The Melvins is starting to rub off on the Big Biz fellas, as they seem intent on perversely sidestepping expectations. This one’s going to divide the fan base, no doubt. Many will see welcome growth; others will wonder what the hell happened. You could do bullet points on the changes (or infractions, depending on your ears).

Many children of the ‘80s and earlier no doubt read the comic strips in their parents’ Sunday newspapers. Most of the strips were mildly amusing at best (with the exception of The Far Side and a couple of others) and some were downright lame (Family Circus, anyone?). Sometimes there would be a Spider-Man or Superman strip that was tailored more for a mainstream audience than the diehard comic book fan. With Wednesday Comics, DC has reinvented and revitalized the comic strip.

The Low Anthem’s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin might begin with hollowed, harmonized croons fronted by a stunning falsetto in the opener “Charlie Darwin,” but don’t be fooled: By the fourth track, “The Horizon is a Beltway,” the Providence-based trio is knee deep in gravelly vocals, roaring harmonica runs, and shouted choruses.

Whereas most of the main characters on teen dramas like The O.C. or Beverly Hills, 90210 seem to be pure of heart but, like most real-life teenagers, prone to mistakes, the Gossip Girl group doesn’t have the same set of morals. This is the show’s stroke of genius, and what makes it the most fun to be found in primetime television.