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EC Comics is back
Cruel Universe #1 and Epitaphs from the Abyss #1. Covers by Greg Smallwood and Andrea Sorrentino EC Comics is back. In cooperation with Oni Press, the classic imprint that brought us Tales from the...
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What I’ve Been Watching: November 2024
Wow. It’s been a year since I did a What I’ve Been Watching. I did do those two Ten Things I Think I Think, covering Marvel movies, but that’s it. So, let’s talk about a few things I liked. WHAT WE DO...
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Chess in Sword & Planet Fiction, Part II: Dray Prescot and Gor
Dray Prescot 20: A Sword for Kregen (DAW, August 1979) and Players of Gor (DAW Books, March 1984). Covers by Richard Hescox and Ken Kelly My second exposure to Sword & Planet chess came in one of...
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G.W. Thomas on Science Fiction of the 30s by Damon Knight
Conan the Barbarian: Archie Style! From Everything Archie #111 (May 1984). Art by Stan Goldberg and Larry Lapick. G.W. Thomas has gradually become my favorite genre blogger. Not just because of his...
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Goth Chick News: My Weekend at “The Overlook” Hotel
I have always loved The Shining. Granted, I saw the movie first and fell in love. It was the idea of a hotel that comes to life in the desolate isolation of winter, preying on a fragile family unit –...
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A to Z Review: “After the Sky Fell,” by Rob Vagle
Rob Vagle’s “After the Sky Fell” is set in a small bar in Carman, Minnesota run by Marv, who is in love with one of his waitresses, Rose. Rose works in the bar in between trips to explore the variety...
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Alien Overlords, Part II
Inseminoid (Jupiter Film Productions, 1981) and Alien: Reign of Man (Pikchure Zero Entertainment, 2017) This is Part II of a new, 20-film marathon. The rules: Must include aliens Cannot take place on...
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Enter the Prince of Darkness:Dracula by Bram Stoker
“Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!” Dracula to Jonathan Harker I’ve heard tell my generation had nightmares about nuclear war, worried someone was going to press the big...
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A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Bob’s Books – Shelfie #11 (Dashiell Hammett)
It’s a new shelfie and we’re up to number eleven. And this one is my Dashiell Hammett collection. His face is the first one on my Hardboiled Mt. Rushmore. So, he’s got a solid shelf in my Hardboiled...
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Post Convention Musings
Good afterevenmorn! I am writing this post rather late, having just woken up from the longest sleep in the history of sleeps following my last convention of the year. Actually, my only convention of...
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A Land Two Stars to the Left of Middle-Earth: Breath Warmth & Dream by Zig...
Breath, Warmth, and Dream (Obsidian Sky Books, May 17, 2024). Cover uncredited In the land of Eurola, an ancient evil preyed on the people of Waterfall. Then along came Khumalo, Amnandi, and Bog – a...
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Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales: Scott Forbes Crawford’s Weirdly...
Besting the Beast by Scott Forbes Crawford (2024, Kindle); Cover art by Ben Greaves Besting the Beast is Grimm-like tales for Grimdark readers Fantasy readers often seek escapism and encounters with...
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A to Z Review: “You Go Too Far,” by Ray Vukcevich
Ray Vukcevich’s “You Go Too Far “ is the sort of story that makes writing these reviews difficult. The story, which appeared in issue 17 of the second incarnation of Pulphouse Magazine, is only about...
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Romancing the Planet: The 23rd Hero by Rebecca Anne Nguyen
The 23rd Hero (Castle Bridge Media, August 13, 2024) Hybrids are hardly unknown in the long history of fantasy and science fiction literature. It could easily be argued that the genre itself is a...
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A Dark, Forbidding, Action-packed Experience: The ShadowDark RPG
Back in December I received the ShadowDark RPG from the fine folks at The Arcane Library. This game looks wonderful, so far, and the production values are second to none. Thick, durable paper;...
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What I’ve Been Reading: November, 2024
So, I managed to actually read a few books since September’s What I’ve Been Reading. That was while listening, yet again, to Tony Hillerman’s fantastic Navajo Tribal Police series. I never tire of...
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Chess in Sword & Planet Fiction, Part III: From Zelazny to Infinity
Pawn to Infinity, edited by Fred Saberhagen with Joan Saberhagen (Ace Books, June 1982), and Unicorn Variations by Roger Zelazny (Timescape Books, February 1984). Cover artists: unknown, and Gerry...
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Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords: Arthur and Out
Tristan & Isolde (20th Century Fox, 2006) Greetings, friends, and welcome to the last Ellsworth’s Cinema of Swords article, at least for a while. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with you here on the...
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Goth Chick News: Somebody at Mattel Is Getting Fired
Though this sounds like something I would plot to do to get around Black Gate Big Cheese John O’s moratorium on any of my content that isn’t family friendly, this is for real, and I’m not responsible....
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A to Z Reviews: “Black Box,” by Peter J. Wacks
Peter J. Wacks’ short story “Black Box” appeared in the 2023 anthology High Noon on Proxima B, edited by David Boop, a collection of stories that mix tropes of the Western with science fiction to...
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