Australian Penthouse

NOW this is how it should be done! Any porno that begins with a dream team of hotness and a spacesuit-wearing, clean-freak landlord is on the right track, if you ask us. (continue reading…)

IT SHOULD be no surprise that Scream is a porn-infused take on the reinvigorated horror genre, though we’re still trying to figure out if it’s a piss-take or not. (continue reading…)

Born to be Wild

Naughty New Zealander, Chantelle, is one of the busiest babes we’ve ever met. Just today, the energetic 25-year-old has already done a photoshoot, competed in a bikini competition, performed a strip routine, and had sex three times!
PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTOMODELZ (continue reading…)

We don’t know who watches the Watchmen, but we do know who illustrated the legendary graphic novel: English artist Dave Gibbons. Recently in Sydney for the Supanova pop-culture expo, Dave discussed the comic-making process and the Watchmen phenomenon… (continue reading…)

Karma Killer

Dexter is a rare piece of literary genius—a lovable serial killer with a conscience. Australian Penthouse crawls inside the mind of its creator

You may have seen the slew of posters around town depicting a blood-stained, smiling young man called Dexter. The brainchild of author Jeff Lindsay (whose works include Hunting with Hemingway, which he co-wrote with his wife, Hilary (Ernest Hemingway’s niece), Dexter has become a roaring success—a disturbing anti-hero whose stream of consciousness and sense of humour belies his dark, murderous intentions.
As a boy Dexter is a mass murderer in the making, until his father, a cop, channels his craving into picking out the evil-doers who slip through the judicial system. More importantly, he carefully guides his son in the art of not getting caught. Thus, a blood splatter expert for Miami Police Forensics by day, Dexter becomes a vigilante killer by night.

After three novels and a hugely successful TV series, Jeff Lindsay reveals how to create a sympathetic serial killer.

Did you think the book would be as successful as it has been?
I didn’t have a big long-term plan for this, I just figured I’d write this one and if I was lucky enough, somebody would publish it. But the contract I have with the publisher specifically requires me to write Dexter books, so that’s what I’m doing. To be honest I’m astonished, of course everyone wants this to happen. The goal I set myself was to make a serial killer sympathetic. I was surprised that not only was he sympathetic, but people began falling in love with him.

What were your main influences?
I had a Romanian directing teacher, he would do a scene that you would laugh at and then go ‘eewww’, and I asked him, “are you doing that on purpose?” He said: “Yeah, I make the audience to laugh, and then make them feel like zis is illegal.” So I adopted that illegal laugh straight away. That’s what I love to see – people saying: “Hey isn’t that funny,” and then, “ewww you laughed didn’t you?”

It’s all about duality. We do a lot of covering up in our lives, and we’re all a lot closer to being Dexter’s than we think, we just don’t admit it and don’t express it. It’s just the last few hundred years we’ve been teaching ourselves killing is wrong. Killing is not a good thing and I don’t think Attila the Hun would go along with that, or anybody else in history.

Was it difficult handing your Dexter ‘baby’ over to TV execs?
That was the part that worried me the most. I didn’t think they could do it, but they did. At first I was standoffish, so when they butchered it, I wouldn’t be too close. But after the first day on the set, I realised how good Michael C. Hall [the actor who plays Dexter in the series] was. He nailed it, and has done a great job. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop, but it never did.

So taking Cody, the young son of Dexter’s girlfriend, down that serial killer path, isn’t that taboo?
It’s tough delving. It’s something that I think is necessary and I’ve kinda already promised the readers this was going to happen, but it doesn’t make it any easier to do. This is probably the biggest taboo (child serial killers). That makes it all the more attractive to me too. Because that’s how the whole series started, messing with those taboos.

Who did you model Deb, Dexter’s sister, on?
One of my friend’s wives was the model for Debbie, she was a homicide detective and her nickname was Einstein. I asked her once: “Is that because you’re smart? Do you solve a lot of cases?” She says with this completely deadpan cop face, “No, because if my tits were brains I’d be Einstein.”

Do you suffer from writer’s block?
There was a lot of frustration as to where the book was going. It was fighting back. A couple of times, it didn’t want to go where it was supposed to. It took two or three times as long to write it as I thought it would. At a certain point you have to stand up and be a man, and say: “Character, do what I fucking tell you, or you’re outta here! You can be replaced…”

And what does the future hold for the kind killer?
I don’t know. In the middle of Dexter in the Dark there were days that I thought seriously about having someone bump him (Dexter) on the head, and throw him into a canal, and Cody would take over the story. In the foreseeable future, that’s probably what I’ll be doing.

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay, as well as Darkly Dreaming Dexter and Dearly Devoted Dexter are available from all major bookstores. Dexter is currently screening on Foxtel’s Showtime.

Picking out furniture isn’t usually a bloke’s domain, but you should INSIST on The Man Wall! Designed in Florida, USA, this ultimate big boys’ toy, no, necessity, comes complete with:

* Four flat-screen HD TVs

* Five-speaker surround sound system

* DVD player

* Full-size beer keg with refrigerator and tap

* Live electronic sports ticker

* Microwave oven

* Two cigar humidors

* iPod docking station, AND

* 32-bottle wine rack!

“This is the Taj Mahal of Man Room accessories,” says Man Wall co-designer Vince Caruso. “It has everything but the kitchen sink, and we only left that out to make room for the full-size kegerator.”

The Man Wall retails for a mere US$14,900, but unfortunately they’re not available in Australia…yet. For more info – and drool-worthy pics – head over to www.themanwall.com

The Absolute Sandman: Volume Three

The Absolute Sandman: Volume Three
Written by Neil Gaiman / Cover by Dave McKean
Vertigo

An involving and rewarding effort from the master of surrealist fantasy graphic novels.

It is difficult to find fault with such an iconic and perfectly presented book, other than to say that Volume Three is more a bridging-middle to the series than the snap-crackle-pop introductory story arcs of the two preceding books. Naturally, it’s wise to begin your Gaiman journey with Volume One, as these are not the kind of books you just pick up and start reading from any point; the stories are deep, broad and complex—written for adults who prefer to delve into the depths instead of the shallows, with themes of morality, mythology, life after death, faith and love.

Volume Three’s major story arc is ‘Brief Lives’ (it also features the single-issue prequel ‘Song of Orpheus’), the plot focuses on The Sandman’s sister, Delirium, and her quest to find their missing brother, Destruction.  Accompanied by Dream (who carries a hidden-agenda), the pair embark on a fruitless search that throws up more questions than answers—especially between The Sandman and his son, Orpheus.

‘World’s End’, travellers’ stories about how the duo became moored at the Inn at Worlds End, provides a welcome and interesting divergence. The book also features several single-issue stories, including the acclaimed ‘Ramadan’: the story of a boy-king of ancient Baghdad and the deal he brokers with The Sandman to grant his city immortality—featuring stunning illustrations by P. Craig Russell (The Jungle Book); and ‘A Parliament of Rooks’, a prequel that examines the childhood lives of Dream and Death.

First-time bonus features include: pin-up pages from galleries in The Sandman #50 and Sandman Special #1; the ‘Desire’ story from Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #3; The Endless Gallery #1; script and thumbnails from The Sandman #50, a section on Endless products (such as poster, statues, t-shirts and more); plus an introduction by artist, Jill Thompson.

This beautifully bound book of more than 600 pages is presented in a sturdy, illustrated hardcover slipcase.

Gorgeous Digital Playground contract girl, Riley Steele, brings you into the action with Jack’s POV 14 – her first hot point-of-view sex film.

(continue reading…)

Thanks to our friends at Icon, we’re giving you the chance to score one of 36 copies (worth a staggering $1,528.20) of brilliant movie The Baader Meinhof Complex on your choice of DVD or Blu-ray. Click on the link to see the winners! (continue reading…)

Photo feature: Strolling through the recently refurbished venue, it’s easy to see why Melbourne’s California Club is one of Australia’s hottest brothels…
Photography: Andrew K (continue reading…)

Bettie Page from an early, silent short of her work. Image credits in detail at bottom of article

In the 1940s and 50s, when the pin-up girl was an institution, sassy, curvaceous goddesses decorated magazine advertising, and even military aircraft. While most favoured the classic buxom blonde, a la Marilyn Monroe, others preferred babes with a harder edge, and nobody captured the essence of a good girl gone bad better than the stunning, raven-haired Bettie Page. (continue reading…)

Fleur is a 19-year-old Aussie student and sporting star of the future that is currently on a scholarship to an American university. She “loves the adult industry from the outside”, so thought it might be a good idea to experience it from the inside. Aren’t we greatful for that? Vote for Fleur now! (continue reading…)