The Dying Bookstore, Continued

The Dying Bookstore, Continued

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ri_-img_2608Further news on the plight of the physical bookstore front.  Berkeley’s Serendipity Books is closing. Man, if a bookstore can’t survive in Berkeley, where can it?  Well, one place is Charlottesville, VA, which I chose to move to in part because of the plethora of bookstores.  But even here in this cultural mecca that shades blue in otherwise red  territory, bookstores may not survive the retirement or demise of their owners.

In related news, Criminal Records, one of Atlanta’s largest non-chain music retailers whose owner was involved in forming Record Store Day, a nationwide event to increase awareness of and traffic to independent record stores, is expected to close by November, barring some benefactor.  Eric Levin blames the economy, not digital downloads or box stores, but it would also seem he missed the class about paying your taxes.

Speaking of the demise of physical presence, Michael Hart, who is credited with creating the first e-book forty years ago by typing the Declaration of Independence into a computer on, you guessed it, July 4, has died.

If you can, go out today to your local bookseller/record store and buy something.  Do your bit to get the economy going. Exactly how someone is supposed to help you get your personal economy going, I’m not sure, but a good book or record can at least make you feel better about not being able to buy other stuff you can’t afford.

The Problem with ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST

The Problem with ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST

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elric3
“Arioch! Blood and Souls!”

When I heard that Boom! Studios was putting together a new series starring Michael Moorcock’s most beloved and iconic character Elric of Melnibone, I was instantly on board. Especially when the Free Comic Book Day preview was released. Lo and behold! Great art by Francesco Biagini was just what the Prince of Ruins needed to bring him to life in a new comics venture!

So I jumped on board when the first issue of ELRIC: THE BALANCE LOST hit the comics stands, and I was pleasantly surprised that not only was the art fantastic, but the writing is good as well. Chris Roberson does a nice job filling Moorcock’s shoes, throwing multiversal concepts around with great abandon. Great art. Great writing. What’s not to like?

Here’s the problem: ELRIC isn’t really an ELRIC comic. We’re three -and-a-half issues in and we’ve gotten only about one issue’s worth of Elric story time (if that). The trouble with this new book is that it should be called Michael Moorcock’s ETERNAL CHAMPION because every issue is divided between the ongoing (and apparently unrelated!) stories of Elric and several other Moorcock creations: Dorian Hawkmoon, Corum Jhaelen, and Eric Beck (?). Only those who are familiar with Moorcock’s body of non-comics fiction will have any idea that each of these characters is a variation or facet of the Eternal Champion–the hero that exists in all realities at once.

Instead of featuring Elric of Melnibone as its main character, we get a melange of four different stories–a blend of science fiction, steampunk, alternate history, and a smidgen of sword-and-sorcery. “What’s wrong with that? Sounds like a nice blend!” I hear somebody asking in the back row. The problem isn’t in the concepts, it’s in the execution.

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Blogging Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, Part Eleven – “Outlaws of Mongo”

Blogging Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon, Part Eleven – “Outlaws of Mongo”

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outlaws-of-mongo1outlaws-of-mongo2“Outlaws of Mongo” was the eleventh installment of Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon Sunday comic strip serial for King Features Syndicate. Originally printed between August 15, 1937 and June 5, 1938, the epic-length “Outlaws of Mongo” picks up the storyline where the tenth installment, “The Beast Men of Mongo” left off with Barin, Flash and Dale returning to Arboria. The traitor, Grombo collapses while crossing the desert, but is saved from carrion birds by Ming’s Desert Legion. Ming rewards Grombo by appointing him a Captain. Ming confronts Barin and demands that he hand Flash and Dale over, Barin refuses. Fearing the situation will quickly escalate to a war that would devastate Arboria, Flash decides to flee to the jungles of Arboria so that Barin can report his escape to Ming. The Emperor, of course, demands Barin hand Dale over and when he refuses, Ming orders Arboria destroyed by his air fleet.

Don Moore and Alex Raymond’s stories were growing more complex and as a consequence, Mongo and its lands and peoples were becoming more detailed. The two also clarify the point that the kingdoms of Mongo are denied the technology that Ming’s forces command to ensure they cannot successfully revolt. Moore’s script also specifies that Barin views Flash as a savior who has come to Mongo to liberate its kingdoms from Barin’s tyrannical father-in-law. Flash stumbles out of the jungles of Arboria into the desert and discovers Ming’s tanks are rolling in. Flash singlehandedly commandeers a tank, overpowering the crew and turns its gun on the rest of the fleet as well as the infantry. Meantime, the air fleet has launched and is en route to bomb Arboria.

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Goth Chick News: 13 Questions for Blood Junky Author Stavros

Goth Chick News: 13 Questions for Blood Junky Author Stavros

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6x9-cover-templateIf you happen to be familiar with the Black Gate submission guidelines, then you’ve read the following on our feelings about vampires around the office:

We see far too much bad vampire fiction, and if you think you’re going to surprise readers by revealing your hero is a vampire on the last page, you’re dead wrong.

As a hard-core vampire fan you might think this would be just another chafing point for me, along with the toilet seat being left up in the unisex bathrooms and Scott Taylor coming in shirtless and pretending to be an Ork every Halloween.

But no.

I wholeheartedly support this anti-vampire stance but not just because most vampire fiction is bad. It’s because it is a rare thing indeed, to find a truly unique take on the concept. Bram Stoker created an epic character and ever since, it’s pretty much been the same thing only different; slight variations on all the major themes of immortality, blood consumption, aversion to daylight, etc, etc, etc.

Yawn.

Imaginative vampires in literature are as difficult to find as the real thing, but thankfully, not impossible.

Enter Stavros — an artist and author who, like Dracula, goes by one name — and his first novel Blood Junky. I devoured the book in one sitting which is not what I expected to do when I first talked to Stavros about it at this year’s Comic-Con. This story was really, truly different; it was cool and kind of gross. I couldn’t put it down.

I had to know more about this guy and this book.

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Art of the Genre: Eowyn, Nouveau, and Herman Lau

Art of the Genre: Eowyn, Nouveau, and Herman Lau

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Herman Lau's Nouveau look at Eowyn and the Lich King... Click for Larger Image
Herman Lau's Nouveau look at Eowyn and the Lich King... Click for Larger Image

Eowyn… a fantasy lover’s dream… When I first read Tolkien, I fell in love with her, and really what boy wouldn’t? I’m pretty sure I was in love with her even before I read Lord of the Rings, having watched the Rankin and Bass Return of the King where the Pelennor Fields is laid out in all its animated glory.

Pelennor Fields gets me every time, my adoration of Theoden and his fear that he will never be good enough to sit at the table with his ancestors a strong enough subplot to carry the battle into my top five literary moments. Theoden, however, pales in comparison to Eowyn’s battle with the Lich King, and this cements her as a heroine for the ages.

Her conflict and resolution have been the subject of countless artist’s visions, and you’ll not find a Tolkien calendar, omnibus, reference, etc without this scene portrayed in it. Somehow, Eowyn has transcended the pages, surpassed Frodo and the ring, eclipsed Aragorn and the shards of Narsil, and overshadowed Gandalf and the Balrog while talking hold of Tolkien’s world as the image to both render and remember.

I, like all of you, have seen countless renditions of this conflict, but it wasn’t until earlier this year that I had a new take on the subject material capture my imagination. Before I detail this, let me first set the stage.

I’m a pretty big fan of The Art Order, a site run by Wizards of the Coast Creative Director Jon Schindehette. He does some great stuff over there, and I have to say that some of my favorite topics deal with contests, or should I say ‘challenges’.

One of this year’s artistic competitions revolved around Eowyn and the Nazgul, each artist tasked with the following line, ‘There’s nothing complicated about this challenge – review the scene in the book, and create your own interpretation of the scene…’ The requirements didn’t end there, and if you continued to scroll down you discovered what I perceived as the most interesting aspect of the challenge, the judging, which read as follows, ‘As always quality is a major player in the judging as well as fulfilling the art order, but this time you are also going to be judged on the innovation of your interpretation, and the storytelling of the piece.’

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Adventures Fantastic Reviews Black Gate 3

Adventures Fantastic Reviews Black Gate 3

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bg_3_cover_254Keith West, mastermind behind the excellent Adventures Fantastic review site, took advantage of our Back Issue Sale to lay his hands on some of our rarer back issues — including the nearly-out-of-print Black Gate 3, a star-studded issue featuring Harry Connolly, Ellen Klages, Darrell Schweitzer, ElizaBeth Gilligan, Elaine Cunningham, Mike Resnick, Don Bassingthwaite, and the first published story by Todd McAulty. He covers the issue in detail in his review:

I decided to start this series with Black Gate 3, Winter 2002 because I like this publication.  It’s published some great fiction over the years by people who have gone on to have successful careers.  I can’t think of a single issue that hasn’t been a winner.  By the third issue, BG was beginning to hit its stride and had developed a clear editorial style… BG 3 clocks in at 224 pages, with approximately 150 pages of fiction and accompanying illustrations, the rest being devoted to reviews and articles, the ToC, an ad for subscriptions, and an editorial.

Keith calls out several stories for special attention, including the sequel to “The Whoremaster of Pald” (BG 2) by a new writer named Harry James Connolly:

Harry James Connolly, who has since gone on to publish several novels as Harry Connolly, returns from the second issue with another story set in the city of Pald.  “Another Man’s Burden” is a heartbreaking tale of what happens when we try to realize our dreams by any means possible.

Harry’s recent novels include Child of Fire, Game of Cages, and the just-released Circle of Enemies. Keith also had words of praise for another short story writer who has since gone on to considerable acclaim, including a Nebula Award, and the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction for her first novel, The Green Glass Sea:

In “A Taste of Summer,” Ellen Klages (Portable Childhoods) tells the story of a young girl and a very special ice cream shop.  This one was highly reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s Green Town stories, and it took me back to the summers of my childhood, despite the fact they weren’t much like the one in the story.  Of all the stories in the issue, this one moved me the most.

He closes with:

All in all, BG 3 is a solid issue, with a great deal of exciting fiction to recommend it.  There’s something here for everyone.  From sword and sorcery to near contemporary to futuristic, from quiet and thoughtful to humorous to horrifying. You can’t go wrong.  And although they may disagree with me, it’s fun to see some of the early efforts of some of the rising stars of the genres.

You can read the complete review here. Keith’s previous review, of the Warrior Women fiction of Black Gate 15, is here.

End of Summer Remembrance: The Rocketeer

End of Summer Remembrance: The Rocketeer

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rocketeer-art-deco-posterUpdate: Right as I was posting this review, I received the official news that Disney is releasing a 20th Anniversary Blu-ray of The Rocketeer. It will come out on December 13. No other technical information or details on extras are yet available. Disney should have planned this earlier, but the obvious reason they did it … Captain America. And my telepathic waves sent from writing this review.

The summer is over, and it was a good one at the movies. It was certainly better than 2010, known as the year that Inception made everyone else look like idiots. This year the movies gave us more variety, more base hits, and a few home runs. Unfortunately, it also gave us the tremendous flop of Conan the Barbarian, but in a summer that took one of my beloved characters and put him in a great movie (Captain America: The First Avenger) and also refreshed one of my favorite film series with a stunning new kick-off (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), I have plenty to feel thankful for. Other films I enjoyed: X-Men: First Class, Hobo with a Shotgun, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (and I’m not even much of a Potter fan), Attack the Block, Midnight in Paris, and Thor. I didn’t hate Green Lantern either!

But Captain America is the reason this post exists, because it got me thinking about 1991’s summer surprise and fan-favorite flick, The Rocketeer. The films share the same director, Joe Johnston, who is a natural with this sort of big-hearted, nostalgia-filled, period superhero film.

There is an unfortunate difference between the films, however. Captain America was a hit. The Rocketeer was considered a disappointment in 1991, and Disney ditched plans for a sequel. However, you would never know that the film was a box-office failure based on talking about it with people today. The Rocketeer has enormous fan-love.

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Q.D. Leavis, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Fiction and the Reading Public

Q.D. Leavis, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Fiction and the Reading Public

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Tarzan of the ApesBefore continuing the series of posts on Romanticism that I talked about last week, I’d like to write about a couple of subjects I’ve had on my mind for a while. First up is Q.D. Leavis, and her book Fiction and the Reading Public.

In or slightly before 1932, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote a letter to literary ciritc Queenie Dorothy Leavis. Leavis was preparing her PhD thesis, a book that would be an overview of the development of the bestseller and the publishing industry; as part of her preparation, she sent a questionnaire to sixty writers of various kinds, asking them about various aspects of fiction and publishing. Burroughs returned his questionnaire with a letter, which Leavis reproduced at one point in her book:

In submitting to you, in accordance with your courteous letter, my answers to your questionnaire, I wish you to know that I am fully aware of the attitude of many scholars and self-imagined literati toward that particular brand of deathless literature of which I am guilty.

From past experience it is only natural that I should assume that you may, in some degree at least, share their views. It would seem rather remarkable to me if you did not.

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Nude Barbarian, Descending a Staircase

Nude Barbarian, Descending a Staircase

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mariqueI’m planning a more lengthy post on the role of religion and spirituality in fantasy (expanding on some things I hinted at in my last post, which involved orc samurai), but the last couple weeks have been so crammed with lounging on beaches, jujitsu, and job hunting that I haven’t had the opportunity to give it the work it deserves.  So, instead, I present:

10 Ways Conan the Barbarian (2011 Edition) Could Have Been a Great Movie

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Game Review: Ikusa

Game Review: Ikusa

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ikusa-300Long ago, in the days of parachute pants and phones with cords, I became addicted to Milton Bradley’s Gamemaster Series of board games. Games such as Axis and Allies, Conquest Empire, Broadsides & Boarding Parties, and Fortress America taking up large blocks of time on Saturday’s all through junior high and high school.

Little did I know the intrigue of big business hijinks going on behind the scenes where my absolute favorite board games were concerned. In 1984 the venerable and one-hundred and twenty year-old Milton Bradley Company was bought out by the gaming giant Hasbro. This moved the GMS [Gamemaster Series] games under a new banner, and when Hasbro acquired the publishing name of Avalon Hill in 1998, the GMS began being published there.

Funny side note: My first ever official interview with a game company came in 1997 with Avalon Hill when it was still independent and located in the industrial district of Baltimore. It was a surreal experience, going on an interview at Applebees and having to answer questions like ‘who was your most powerful role-playing character?’ and ‘tell me about your best gaming moment?’ Yeah, I didn’t get the job, but it was still pretty cool.

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