Weird Tales (M Porcius): The May 1941 issue of Weird Tales is like a monument to the genius of Hannes Bok, with a Bok cover and an interior chockablock with Bok illustrations of horrible monsters and alluring ladies.  So this issue of D. McIlwraith’s magazine is already getting the MPorcius Seal of Approval even before I read any of the fiction.

Appendix N (Goodman Games): Some Appendix N authors directly influenced the creation of fantasy role-playing. We see concrete inspiration in the trolls borrowed from Poul Anderson or the “Vancian” magic system of D&D. Other Appendix N writers exerted a less obvious influence, providing more a sense of tone and wonder than any specific element.

Star Trek (Comics Radio): Planet of Judgment is the first of two Trek novels written by noted SF author Joe Haldeman, back when Bantam Books had the franchise license and their occasional novels were the only new stories we poor Trekkies could get.

Publishing (Fandom Pulse): Earlier this year, Ark Press announced it would be coming out with a new urban fantasy series from Larry Correia titled American Paladin. Today, he answered why it’s going to launch on Kickstarter.

World Con (Jon Del Arroz): Worldcon Seattle has their 2025 Hugo Awards and it’s an embarassment as much nominated isn’t even science fiction.

Conventions (Pulp Super Fan): This past Aug. 7-10, 2025, PulpFest 2025 was held in Pittsburgh, again at the DoubleTree in Mars, Penn. This was my third time attending. In addition, there were three associated events. There was FarmerCon XX, ERBFest 2025, and Doc Con 2025. The program book for PulpFest is The Pulpster, which I have reviewed the latest one, #34.

Cinema (Mr H Reviews): RED SONJA First Reviews – “Terrible” Critics Hate It

Comic Books (Glitter Night): RED NAILS – I always like to emphasize that – despite the way Marvel Comics’ 1970s and 1980s Conan stories kept the character’s name alive and introduced new generations to him – the Cimmerian was not a mere comic book figure. Iconic author Robert E. Howard introduced Conan on the printed page in his 1930s stories featuring the character.

Fiction (Walker’s Library): Michael Moorcock’s contribution to the literary conversation is to bring forth a protagonist that was as much about the Sorcery as he was about the Swords, and to do so in a manner that maintained the underlying ethos that dealing deep in Sorcery was a dangerous pursuit at the best of times. That man? The Last Dragon Emperor, Elric of Melniboné, Eternal Champion.

Robert E. Howard (Paperback Warrior): The tenth of the Lancer Conan paperbacks, Conan of Cimmeria, was published in 1969. The publisher reprinted it in 1970 through 1973. Ace took over the publication in 1977, after Lancer’s bankruptcy. The paperback was also published by Sphere Books in England in 1974. The book’s contents is disappointing considering that Robert E. Howard’s sole work, “The Frost Giant’s Daughter”, “Queen of the Black Coast”, and “The Vale of Lost Women” only make up three of the eight selections.

Publishing (Kairos): The groan of empty convention halls, the sigh of remaindered titles gathering dust; the awkward shuffle of a midlist author hawking paperbacks at a booth next to a wall of FunkoPops. That’s the sound of oldpub dying. Contrary to what newpub authors have said for years, the legacy publishing industry isn’t in trouble. It’s terminal.

D&D (NPR): For years after it was invented in the 1970s, Dungeons & Dragons remained a niche game that people — stereotypically, nerdy boys — played at home with their friends. But in the past decade or so, D&D has emerged as a popular form of spectator entertainment, with comedians, actors and podcasters playing the game for other people to watch.

Fiction (Vintage Pop Fictions): Assassin of Gor, published in 1970, is the fifth of John Norman’s Gor novels. The Gor series needs to be read in publication order so I’m going to be very careful not to hint at any spoilers for the earlier books. Tarl Cabot is from Earth. He ends up on Gor, a hitherto unknown planet in out solar system. Gorean society is quite primitive.

Weird Tales (Tellers of Weird Tales): Archibald Leavenworth MacNab was born on December 21, 1872, in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Alexander MacNab and Margaret (McArthur) MacNab. MacNab was educated at the University of Toronto. He came to the United States in June 1895 and was naturalized as an American citizen on May 25, 1923, at the age of fifty.

Interview (Grognardia): I think it’s fair to say that James Edward Raggi IV needs no introduction. He’s been publishing old school fantasy roleplaying game materials since 2008, many of which are not only foundational to the OSR but also take inspiration from the works and ideas of H.P. Lovecraft. I asked James a few question relating to LotFP, HPL, and other matters and he very kindly provided with some lengthy answers that will appear over the course of the next two days.

Fiction (Black Gate): The genre of Sword & Planet fiction means a lot to me. That brings me to Del DowDell. Somewhere in the 1980s I stumbled on a DowDell book called Warlord of Ghandor. The cover, by Don Maitz, suggested a Sword & Planet kind of tale, and it was published by DAW, which published the Prescot books I loved.