Blog Archives
sForgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: Virgil Finlay
Sunday , 15, October 2017 Uncategorized 4 CommentsVirgil Finlay (1914-1971) was one of the first artists of sword and sorcery fiction. Hugh Rankin and Vincent Napoli are almost the only ones who proceed Finlay in the genre. Finlay started in the pages of Weird Tales in 1935. He illustrated Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith. Finlay illustrated early […]
The spooky season is upon us once again, and as HP shares his experience with the horror stories of Robert E Howard, I’ve decided to get Gothic. This month is Poctober for me, as I spend some time with a master who inspired Howard, Lovecraft, and many other great succeeding SFF writers. Before now I’d […]
Short Reviews – The Vanishing Venusians, by Leigh Brackett
Friday , 13, October 2017 Uncategorized 2 CommentsThe Vanishing Venusians by Leigh Brackett appeared in the Spring 1945 issue of Planet Stories. It can be found here at Archive.org. I almost wonder if Peacock was going for a theme, running two stories with plant-aliens in a row. While the Sorogasters of Rocklynne’s Sandhound story are truly alien in both form and behavior, […]
SUPERVERSIVE: The Fatal Flaw of “The Once and Future King”
Tuesday , 10, October 2017 Uncategorized Leave a commentLet me get some stuff out of the way right now. “The Once and Future King”, T.H. White’s brilliant retelling of the Arthurian legend based on Malory’s Le Morte De’Arthur, is an incredible book. It is one of the great achievements of literature. “The Ill-Made Knight” is the second best fantasy novel of all time. […]
Earl Norem (1923-2015) was an artist with a similar background as John Duillo. It is debatable that he is forgotten considering his comic book work is still discussed today. Norem served in the U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division in WW II. He saw combat including getting wounded during the breakout into the Po River valley […]
Short Reviews – The Sandhound Strikes, by Ross Rocklynne
Friday , 6, October 2017 Uncategorized 2 CommentsThe Sandhound Strikes by Ross Rocklynne appeared in the Spring 1945 issue of Planet Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. The Sandhound Strikes is a great example of why it’s such a shame that Ross Rocklynne has become one of the forgotten greats of science-fiction, supplanted in the pantheon by Campbell’s Big Three. […]
There’s just something about the vast red wastelands of our nearest planetary neighbor. Even though we’ve all seen photos of the desolate surface taken by our robot pioneers and know on an intellectual level that nothing waits for us on Mars but red dirt, freezing winds, and the wreckage of the machines we’ve sent to […]
Forgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: Stephen Fabian
Sunday , 1, October 2017 Uncategorized 6 CommentsPulp magazine illustration did have some influence that carried over into post-pulp publications. One of the best examples is Stephen Fabian (b. 1930). Gerry de la Ree wrote in the introduction to Stephen E. Fabian’s Ladies and Legends (Charles Miller, 1993): “Stephen E. Fabian came late to professional illustration. Whereas most of our leading […]
Short Reviews – Dutchman’s Gold, Told by Arthur Greyslen and Set Down by Alan Burgess
Friday , 29, September 2017 Uncategorized Leave a commentDutchman’s Gold, Told by Arthur Greyslen and Set Down by Alan Burgess appeared in the June 1944 issue of The Wide World. Here’s a story with some stuff to steal! Exotic location, sunken treasure, a crazy villain, and a moray eel named Little Joey. Arthur Greyslen has been living the good life in a tiny […]
Prepare for the fall harvests with a round-up of September’s fantasy new releases. * * * * * Bushido Online: the Battle Begins – Nikita Thorn Seth Kinnaman’s dream has always been to become the best fighter the world has ever seen. After spending his entire life […]
Does it make any sense for these ape-like human ancestors in the opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey to “suddenly” be imbued with an understanding of tools by “divine fiat” via the alien artifact? This is a story element that rubs me the wrong way, but given the film’s success and reputation – not […]
Forgotten Sword and Sorcery Artists: John Duillo
Sunday , 24, September 2017 Uncategorized 2 CommentsJohn Duillo (1928-2003) is an artist many of you have seen if you collect classic sword and sorcery paperbacks. He is known as the other guy who painted three covers for Lancer Books seminal Conan series in the late 1960s. There is not much information available on John Duillo. He produced covers for the “men’s […]