One more article up here at the website before 2024 ends and I am going out talking to what I believe is the video game of the year: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore.
Personal copy of Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore on Xbox. The packaging mimics that of a CD-i game.
I had pre-ordered this game from Limited Run thinking it would be a fun little CD-i Zelda curio, but it turned out to be a fantastic adventure/Metroidvania that I could not put the controller down (I beat the game across all difficulties in just a few days). I loved this game and I hope you check out my write up about it here.
Fan2Fan Podcast Appearances
The cool kids at the Fan2Fan Podcast have dropped two episodes that I am a guest on.
These episodes can be streamed via the links above, or the embedded players, or through your favorite Podcast App. Check them out!
Sincere appreciation to the Fan2Fan crew for having me on their podcast.
Vilioti Noir
Sincerely chuffed to find myself name dropped in the new book Vilioti Noir: Interviews with the World’s Greatest Neo-Noir Creatives. What an honour!
Cover for Vilioti Noir.
The book is the brain child of Lady Medusa and Jimmy Vargas. I’ve reviewed Vargas’ fiction in an issue of Exotica Moderne, and I’ve reviewed Medusa/Vargas’ prior collaboration, Vilioti Vintage, right here at my website. Give it a read!
Thank you page from Vilioti Noir.
I don’t think Vilioti Noir is out in the wild for purchase yet, but when it is, it will probably be found at the Vilioti Press website.
Citation News
The New Peplum has been cited in Ronald Blankenborg’s essay “The Wide Canvas of human Drama: Fantasizing Antiquity Through Graphic Novel” in the open source/access journal Thersites.
Did you miss out on McFarland’s Black Friday sale of 35% off books? Well, worry not for the publisher is still doing an online sale, though at 20% off instead of 35% off. Still a great deal! During check out, use code HOLIDAY24 to get 20% off your order.
If you want to support me, consider buying a copy of The New Peplum or Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern:
Vernon Press, the publisher of A Hero Will Endure: Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of Gladiator, has just released a cheaper, paperback version of the book, just in time for Gladiator 2!
A Hero Will Endure.
The paperback is at the much more friendly price of $57 compared to $96 for the hardcover and $107 for an electronic version. All editions of the book can be found at the Vernon Press product page.
In addition, the publisher is offering a coupon on purchases of the collection! From now until the end of January 2025, if you use code SLZM30 at check out, you’ll get 30% off the title. So, the $57 book now becomes $39.99. Nice!
ECOF 2025
In September of 2025 there will be an Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship (ECOF) event down in Willcox, AZ. This event is to celebrate the 150th birthday of Burroughs while also honoring him with a plaque in the town due to his stationing with there the 7th U.S. Calvary in the 1890s. (Note: another ERB convention was held in Willcox back in 2019 and an event recap of that can be read at ERBZine #7059).
Here is a flyer for the 2025 event:
Flyer for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Circle of Friendship (ECOF) Gathering in Willcox, AZ 2025.
I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. There currently is a fundraiser going on to raise funds for the ERB plaque, and details for that can be found in the QR code in the above graphic, or by checking out the donation page at the Sulphur Springs Valley Valley Historical Society. 3.8K of 5K has been raised already.
Michele and I will be in attendance for this convention, so I’ve added it to the appearances section of my website as well.
Publishing Recap
Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2024.
National Capital Panthans Journal #326.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #326.
National Capital Panthans Journal #327.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #327.
National Capital Panthans Journal #328.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #328.
National Capital Panthans Journal #329.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus / Warlord of Mars #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #329.
National Capital Panthans Journal #330.
“Wondercon 2019 Coverage: Tarzan, John Carter, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.: What’s New?” reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #330.
Panthans Journal #331
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #331.
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks. I shared a lot of autographed swag on Bluesky, so I’m going to reshare them here.
Forgotten Realms Campaign Boxset
Last year I shared the tale of how my Local Comic Book Store back in Federal Way had Jeff Grubb as a customer and did a meet-n-greet and signing event with him. I shared that Grubb has signed one of my Forgotten Realms modules, “Endless Armies”. That recap can be read here.
Forgotten Realms Campaign setting boxset signed by Jeff Grubb.
Grubb signed lots of other stuff from Michele and I. One of the other items he signed was my Forgotten Realms campaign boxset. Check that bad boy out! And I still have everything in it too!
Space Truckers DVD
Someone on Bluesky did a post that shared their adoration of the Stuart Gordon movie Space Truckers (1996), which afforded me the perfect opportunity to share my autographed copy of the film.
Personal copy of Space Truckers signed by Stuart Gordon.
I’ve shared my autographed copy of RobotJox (1990) before (link here), but I never talked about how we met Gordon (RIP). He was a guest at a Monsterpalooza event in the LA Area, and here is a picture of all of us. He will be missed!
Nicholas Diak, Michele Brittany, and Stuart Gordon.
Cherry 2000 DVD
The 80s gave us lots of cyberpunk films, from Bladerunner to Akira to Max Headroom. Cherry 2000 is, I feel, a forgotten film of 80s cyberpunk. I have a copy of the DVD signed by cult actor Tim Thomerson and Connie Woods.
Personal copy of Cherry 2000 signed by Tim Thomerson and Connie Woods.
Connie Woods was in an episode of the original run of Twin Peaks. I met her at Twin Peaks reunion at a Hollywood Collector’s show where she signed my DVD:
Nicholas Diak and Connie Woods.
Italian Sexy Comedy
A book from the collection, here is Italian Sexy Comedy. This book is 99% pictures from Italian sex-comedy films, so stockings everywhere. I love it.
But, I also love it in that its shore foreword is pretty informative in talking about how Italian horror films faved the way for the sex comedies. This actually become a big point in my masters thesis back in the day.
Personal copy of Italian Sexy Comedy.
My book is also signed by starlet Barbara Bouchet!
Barbara Bouchet page from Italian Sexy Comedy signed by the actress.
Victoria Vetri Autographs
A couple months ago I sent off my Blu-ray sleeves of When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) and Kings of the Sun (1963) to Hammer Glamour lady Victoria Vetri, and I just got them back. Check them out!
Blu-ray of “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” signed by Victoria Vetri.
And:
Kings of the Sun Blu-ray autographed by Victoria Vetri.
Since one film is a spear and fang movie and the other a Mesoamerican Historic Epic, Michele and I will probably wind up talking about them on a vidcast next year.
The Children of Gla’aki
Finally, one more sharing of autographed loot from the archives, is my copy of The Children of Gla’aki.
Children of Gla’aki cover.
My copy is signed by the legendary Ramsey Campbell:
Children of Gla’aki title page signed by Ramsey Campbell.
And the prolific Tim Waggoner:
Tim Waggoner’s story signed by the author.
If folks recall, Michele and I rebooted the HP Lovecast Podcast talking about stories from this book. That episode can be streamed at this link, the embedded player below, or through your podcast app of preference.
Non-PC videogaming during the 90s was predominately dominated by three companies: Nintendo (Super Nintendo, N64, and the Gameboy), Sega (Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast), and, in the latter half of the decade, Sony (Playstation). It was an era of innovation (graphics and online capabilities), experimentation (FMV and system add-ons), and transition (12 bit to 32 to 64, cartridges to CDs), and these three companies trailblazed the gaming Wild West. Of course, other companies would throw their hats into the ring to partake in the Console Wars, though most would fail miserably: Atari with the Jaguar, 3DO Company with the 3DO, and Philips with the CD-i (SNK’s Neo-Geo is an outlier console). These consoles failed for just reasons (lack of gaming libraries, hard to develop for, poor performance), but remain a curious aspect of gaming history, though practically inaccessible to revisit with retrogaming in mind. Emulation of these systems is difficult and out of reach of a typical gamer, hardware is expensive and prone to break, and console exclusive titles do not see releases.
That is until the past few years in which failed console games have started to be resurrected with re-releases. Atari 50, released in 2022, is a museum/compilation hybrid release that contained nine Atari Jaguar titles, providing the first opportunity in thirty years to play these games. In 2024 Limited Run Games re-released the maligned 1993 3DO game Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties, allowing gamers to experience one of the worst video game titles in existence.
Cover art for Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore.
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, also released by Limited Run Games in 2024, is title born out of these resurrected titles. Back in 1993, Philips released two Legend of Zelda games on its CD-i console: Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (the same year the Super Mario Bros. movie was released [Nintendo seemed to be a bit more laissez-faire with their properties back them]). The two Zelda games became notorious for their poor quality, horrible controls, and most famously, their cartoon cutscenes. Someone looked at these two Zelda games and said, “But what if they were remade – but made good?” The end result is Arzette, and it is an AMAZING game.
Released across all major gaming platforms, Arzette is a fantasy adventure game with some light Metroidvania elements, an homage to the two aforementioned Zelda games, and a love letter to a different style of retrogaming that has not been accessible for some time.
The river level in Arzette. The colorful backgrounds done in an drawn/painted style are like this for every level.
The first thing players will notice about Arzette is its art style and animation. The narrated intro to Arzette is done in a colour-pencil, storybook style. The game proper shies away from the pixel art that has dominated retrogaming and instead embraces a painted aesthetic, which gives each level a unique look. The enemies are also done in a similar style, at times giving them the appearance of vaporwave artwork. The cutscenes of the game are straight poorly animated cartoon style as used the in CD-i Zelda games, and almost reminiscent of rudimentary Flash animation during the format’s heyday. All of this gives Arzette a distinct and unique charm. It does not look like any other game out there right now, while at the same time evoking the imagery of early 90s non-pixel gaming.
Cutscene of Arzette and the Ice Lady. The animation is crude and the style purposely campy and low budget.
The music of Arzette, composed by Jake Silverman, is an absolute banger and compliments the game’s visual aesthetics. The score is firmly in the realm of fantasy, but it almost has a pirate, tropical vibe to it at times (it would not be out of place in a Shantae game at all). It is upbeat and carries the feeling of exploration. Even the tracks for more sinister looking levels (such as the volcano level) and boss fights sound positive instead of aggressive and menacing. This is a whimsical game and the soundtrack underscores this.
One of the many criticisms of the original CD-i Zelda games were its controls and gameplay, such as requiring the character to duck in order to access the inventory or having to stab gems with the character’s weapon in order to collect them. Arzette pokes fun at these restrictions without breaking the gameplay. For example, gems and other items can be walked over to be collected (as is standard in 99.99% of these types of games), but in order to talk to another character, they need to be “attacked” with the sword. The sword is (per the story) enchanted in such a way that bad people get damaged while good people do not. As for the ducking to access the menu, Arzette offers a difficulty option that brings in some of these Zelda aspects, such as the duck-menu, into the game.
On the subject of difficulty, Arzette is an extremely forgiving. The easier settings provide unlimited level continues with enemies spawning health regenerating items. Harder difficulties take away the level continues and health item generation and even bring in the aforementioned Zelda broken gameplay aspects. However, the levels in Arzette are fairly small, broken into even smaller sections. Dying on a screen only sets the player back to the beginning of that screen, so major progress is never lost. This makes Arzette quite accessible to younger or newer gamers, but it does perhaps come at the cost of being almost too easy, even on higher difficulties, for seasoned gamers. Once all of the game’s powerups are collected, Arzette becomes extremely overpowered, regardless of difficulty.
World map screen for Arzette. Level selection at the bottom, level progress at the top.
As each level is in bite-sized chunks, they invite multiple replays for exploration to find hidden collectables. As with other Metroidvania style games, many areas of Arzette are initially inaccessible until later in the game when a specific item (double jump shoes or a different colour magic shot for example) is procured. A handy menu on the world map indicates progress of each level’s collectables and the system menu indicates game completion percentage. In this regard, Arzette provides quality of life mechanics that were absent in older games, and still sometimes missing in present day titles.
If there is a fault with Arzette it is with its story and characters. The story of Arzette is fairly standard sword and sorcery fare: the evil Daimur (a stand-in for Zelda’s main antagonist Ganon) who was defeated and imprisoned many years ago is set free. He and his band of cronies (which include a horseman and a business suit wearing dragon) set out to conquer the land of Faramore while shrouding it in darkness. Princess Arzette sets out to relight the beacons to bring light back to the kingdom and then defeat Daimur again. This is not George R. R. Martin levels of storytelling, but it is serviceable, and certainly expandable if Arzette sequels are realized.
Arzette and Maki in the bakery.
The characters of Arzette, save the titular character herself, are one dimensional. The majority of characters simply appear during a cutscene, a fetch quest is given/completed, and they scamper off to become dialogue repeating NPCs. This is unfortunate because the world of Arzette looks like it contains some interesting characters (an ogre who likes to garden, a bourgeois frog, a clumsy but well-meaning guard, etc.) that could really take advantage of the game’s camp-style cutscenes. These are missed opportunities to really flesh out the side characters, expand on the world building, and have more of the game’s fun cutscenes. Thankfully, Arzette the character has some great character building: coping with the death of her King father and being the only competent one in the kingdom to stand against Daimur in battle. She also is a problem solver as she develops an alternative way to deal with Daimur than how he has been dealt with in the past. The game also drops hints that Arzette may be a non-heterosexual character, such as her agreeing to a date with the Maki the Baker and her blushing at the physical advances of the Ice Lady. Though the game does not fully commit to this representation, the overall character of Arzette is multifaceted and as far from a stock heroine as seen in games past.
Arzette has been released digitally across all the major gaming consoles, making it readily procurable by almost anyone (in stark contrast to the Zelda CD-i games that command large prices on eBay). In addition to this, Limited Run Games did physical releases of the game for the different platforms, and its collector’s edition incarnation is fully stacked with swag.
Outside slip case of the Collector’s Edition.
The game comes packaged in the iconic big-box format, evocative of PC game packaging of the 90s.
Inside box.
The game proper comes with both a standard case as well as a jewel case akin to how CD-i games were packaged back in the day.
Xbox version with clip case, and a CD case with a sleeve.
There is also a soundtrack, a poster map, and a titanic tome of art, lore, background images and information and more.
Art book, poster, and soundtrack.
There is also a pin of Arzette and a display of Mortar, the pompadour-sporting merchant, though a display of Arzette proper would have been preferred.
Pin and stand.
Overall, Arzette is a fantastic game. The gameplay is a solid adventure/platformer/Metroidvania with a variety of collectibles. The art style is genius, both as an homage to a gaming style that has not been explored in decades but also stands on its own right. The music and the overall presentation of the game is singular and whimsical. The main protagonist has the makings of becoming an iconic videogame character. If Arzette is the result of taking two broken games and turning them into something successful and fun, it would be incredible to see if Arzette can be built upon even more via a sequel title (which, post credits, do hint at).
This is a little outside my comfort zone as I’m no expert on crime fiction, but I took a dive into Andrew Nette’s novel Orphan Road and enjoyed it. Check out the review proper here.
Artus Films have just released Antonio Margheriti’s Castle of Blood, under the Danse Macabre title, in a luxurious UHD Blu-ray boxset.
Artus boxset of Castle of Blood + swag.
The boxset has 3 discs, postcards, pins and buttons, and a near 100 page booklet. The final page of the booklet contains a snippet from my master’s thesis on Castle of Blood!
Final page of the Danse Macabre booklet.
Super chuffed to have some of my scholarship appear as part of a physical release of a movie I adore. The boxset can be purchased at the Danse Macabre product page at the Artus Films website.
H. P. Lovecast Podcast
Brand new episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast is now online!
HP Lovecast Podcast episode thumbnail for episode 62 – Flesh Eaters.
In this episode we take a look at issue 1 of the comic book Flesh Eaters by Philippe Gerber, Orville Thurstan, with art by Okiko. The episode can be streamed at the HP Lovecast Buzzsprout, via the embedded player below, or through your podcast app of preference.
We have one more podcast for 2024 that we are planning to do. Nothing says X-mas time like angels, so we will be watching and talking about the 1995 film The Prophecy. Stay tuned!
The Best Horror of the Year Vol 16
Every year Ellen Datlow puts out a recap book called The Best Horror of the Year where she recounts notable releases and reprints some of the best stories and poetry.
Cover for The Best Horror of the Year volume 16.
Volume 16 just dropped and I’m chuffed to find out I’m mentioned in the book regarding my essay in the cosmic horror issue of Weird Tales. I’m super flattered!
Nicholas Diak mention on page xxiii.
This is actually the second time I’ve been mentioned in one of these books. A few years ago both Michele and I were mentioned in The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 13 regarding the collection we edited, Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern: Critical Essays.
Cover for The Best Horror of the Year volume 13.
Here is the text from that edition:
Nicholas Diak and Michele Brittany mention on page xiv – xivi.
Both volumes can be ordered from Amazon – here is the link to #13 and here is the link to #16.
Panthans Journal #331
The newest issue of the The National Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a re-print of my review of The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #1.
Panthans Journal #331
Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journalis a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn@gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.
McFarland Holiday Sale
My publisher, McFarland, is having a Holiday sale on all of their tiles! From November 15th to December 2nd, if you use code “HOLIDAY24” during checkout, you’ll get a 35% discount.
If you want to support me, consider buying a copy of The New Peplum or Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern:
Normal Price: 19.99 35% = 6.99 Price after coupon: 12.99
A Hero Will Endure Paperback Relese + Discount
Vernon Press, the publisher of A Hero Will Endure: Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of Gladiator, has just released a cheaper, paperback version of the book, just in time for Gladiator 2!
A Hero Will Endure.
The paperback is at the much more friendly price of $57 compared to $96 for the hardcover and $107 for an electronic version. All editions of the book can be found at the Vernon Press product page.
In addition, the publisher is offering a coupon on purchases of the collection! From now until the end of January 2025, if you use code SLZM30 at check out, you’ll get 30% off the title. So, the $57 book now becomes $39.99. Nice!
ECOF 2025
In September of 2025 there will be an Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship (ECOF) event down in Willcox, AZ. This event is to celebrate the 150th birthday of Burroughs while also honoring him with a plaque in the town due to his stationing with there the 7th U.S. Calvary in the 1890s. (Note: another ERB convention was held in Willcox back in 2019 and an event recap of that can be read at ERBZine #7059).
Here is a flyer for the 2025 event:
ECOF 2025 Flyer (original)
I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. There currently is a fundraiser going on to raise funds for the ERB plaque, and details for that can be found in the QR code in the above graphic, or by checking out the donation page at the Sulphur Springs Valley Valley Historical Society. 3.8K of 5K has been raised already.
Michele and I will be in attendance for this convention, so I’ve added it to the appearances section of my website as well.
Publishing Recap
Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2024.
National Capital Panthans Journal #326.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #326.
National Capital Panthans Journal #327.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #327.
National Capital Panthans Journal #328.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #328.
National Capital Panthans Journal #329.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus / Warlord of Mars #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #329.
National Capital Panthans Journal #330.
“Wondercon 2019 Coverage: Tarzan, John Carter, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.: What’s New?” reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #330.
Panthans Journal #331
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #331.
Calls for Papers/Proposals
Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my path. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.
Play and the Gothic
[Note: I = Simon Bacon]
I have a speculative CFP on “Play and the Gothic” to encompass any kind of gaming, boardgames, role-playing games, toys, construction games (Lego etc), dolls, collective or individual games across mediums, history and cultures that can be read in terms of play, playful, interactive, immersive, virtual, problem solving, psychological, well-being, materiality.
Their role in fictional fictional and non-fictive spaces, as the focus and instigators of narrative, their relation to the ludicrous gothic, their ability to gothicise spaces, or how they become gothicised via their use or environment.
This can equally involve the relationship between gaming/games/toys to certain kinds of gothic; happy gothic; regional gothic; ecogothic; folk gothic; children’s gothic; female gothic; religious gothic; gothic monsters (vampires/werewolves/ghosts/etc); the weird; cosmic gothic.
If interested send abstracts/ideas to me by Jan 31, 2025 at: baconetti@gmail.com
(Final essays of 6-7,000 words would potentially be needed mid 2026)
Monstrous Consumption: The Diets of Monsters and Monstrous Diets in the Popular Imagination
Another Simon Bacon CFP:
If we are what we eat, what things do we eat to make us monsters And what things do monsters eat to make them so monstrous?
This can be read as broad as you like, and across history and cultures and in any media (games, comics, music, performance, literature, film, TV).
Possible areas could be, but in no way limited to:
magic foods that transform people into monsters
diets/foods that make other cultures/peoples monstrous
additives/secret ingredients with monstrous effects
diets/foods specific to monsters
the role of cannibalism and/or forbidden foods
toxins/poisons/drugs
shrooms/mezcal and hallucinogenic foods
allergies and intolerances
transgressive foods/diets
supernatural and/or magical foods
foods that are alive
food/diets in rituals/religious practices and the transgression of those
role of vegetarianism and veganism
The call is going really well, but don’t let that put you off if you have an idea.
Consuming Identity: Cannibalism and the Beyond Human Subject
Connectedly….there has been a lot of interest within this around Cannibalism with the possibility of a separate collection solely on this. So if you have any left field ideas to do with cannibalism in regards to:
Historical cases
Philosophy
Theology and religion
fantasy and science fiction (alien cannibals)
indigenous and cross-cultural examples
cannibalism and eco-criticism/environmentalism
cannibalism and decolonisation
Deadline for receiving abstracts is 31st December 2024, with final essays due early to mid-2026. If you have thoughts, abstracts, or relevant essays looking for a home…drop me a message at: baconetti@gmail.com
Panel: Airborne Gothic
ASLE 2025 Panel Organized by the Society for the Study of American Gothic
July 8-11, 2025
University of Maryland, College Park
This panel sets out to consider how gothic is carried and transmitted through air. Airborne gothic takes many forms: stories told around campfires; plague and Covid narratives; texts featuring ominous flying creatures (birds, bats, and bugs!); radiation/nuclear gothic; propagandistic talk about windmills as killing machines; airplanes or spacecraft as gothic sites; the winds and wutherings that course through so many gothic stories; and more. How do gothic texts evoke unrest, turbulence, undeadness, and/or trauma by way of airborne vectors? How does airborne gothic both thwart and encourage collective atmospheres?
Please send one-paragraph abstracts and short bios to Jennifer Schell (jschell5@alaska.edu) and Eric Anderson (eandersd@gmu.edu) by December 20, 2024.
TV Matters (Intellect Books)
Editor: Sabrina Mittermeier
TV Matters is a new series of short monographs (40,000 to 50,000 words) on television series, analysing their production history, cultural context, main themes, as well as fandom and audience reception. The focus is on shows that both have critical acclaim (as reflected by awards, media reviews), but more importantly, are genuinely ‘popular’. That means they have had a robust viewership and ideally an active fandom (watercooler discussions on- and offline, as well as fan production such as fic, art, vids etc.) and/or an unusual reception history (cases of bans, censorship or similar). As the intended audience for this book series extends beyond academia, we expect an engaging/accessible writing style. This however does not mean less academic ‘rigour’ – authors should thoroughly research production history (incl. where possible through interviews with creators or archival research), include a solid textual analysis of main themes and should show familiarity with concepts and theories of fan and audience studies.
The aim of this book series is to engage with TV shows that were and are truly popular rather than just part of a canon of ‘quality TV’ or ‘cult TV’. The scope includes scripted/fictional programming, both live action as well as animation, but also reality TV, casting shows and documentary formats, if they fill the criteria. If it mattered to people, it qualifies!
This crucially also means shows outside of a Eurocentric lens of media production – K-Drama, Telenovelas, any popular TV in its respective cultural contexts, but also productions that crossed border lines and were adapted transnationally. In case of particularly long-running shows such as soaps or procedurals, or non-scripted content, ongoing series are also open to consideration. To illustrate examples, series that tentative authors have already been approached about include Bridgerton(2020–), Game of Thrones (2011–2019), Ted Lasso (2020–2023), Ducktales (1987–1990), Star Trek: Voyager(1995–2001) and the Eurovision Song Contest.
At this point, we are open to any proposals on series meeting the criteria, but are especially looking for someone interested in writing on Supernatural (2005–2020), Friends (1994–2004), Buffy the Vampire Slayer(1997–2003), Grey’s Anatomy (2005–), Doctor Who (1963–), the CSI, NCIS, Law & Order franchises or long-running reality TV and transnational competition formats such as Survivor, Big Brother or Strictly Come Dancing. If this sounds like you please approach us!
As a first step, just send a short (!) pitch (500 words max), including what series you’d want to write on and why you think it matters, to the series editor Sabrina Mittermeier (Sabrina.Mittermeier@uni-kassel.de). If deemed a good fit, we move on to a more formal proposal. We expect the series to launch in 2026.
Gothic Crossroads
A conference exploring and celebrating the multi and interdisciplinary crossings of Gothic and Horror Studies.
Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, 25th-27th June, 2025
Plenary Speakers: Prof Rosario Arias (University of Malaga, Spain), Dr. Maisha Wester (Global Professor, University of Sheffield, UK)
Physical crossroads have long been sites where the human, divine and demonic were felt to converge and potent sites for magical, religious encounters, rituals of transformation, binding of undesirable spirits, siting of gallows and links to ancient cosmology. This conference also considers the crossroads as a space where the boundaries between differing spheres are negotiable, asking what it means to walk in the interdisciplinary pathways and cross currents of the Gothic.
The crossroad is a geographical location and ancient symbol closely associated with folklore where two or more realms touch. It is historically and imaginatively connected with travellers and travelling, strange encounters, omens, choice and indecision, danger, suicide, criminality, apocalypse and renewal, guilt and judgement, punishment, ritual and ceremony, lovers’ meetings, hanging, summoning, access to Gods, devil dealing, casting out and death. The choice between paths can also lead to repercussions and consequences of “the wrong path”, “the path not taken” and “straying from the path”.
This conference invites creative and scholarly consideration of any aspect of these areas or any other creative/critical spin on themes of crossing/crossover/cross currents, travelling, intersection, interception, (con)junction, incursion, deviation and transitioning in any/all aspects of cultural production as it relates to Gothic and horror.
It also proposes the crossing as a metaphor for presenting and thinking on the interdisciplinary work of the Gothic and the intersectional/transnational spaces where the gothic is engaged and approached. Thus, we are particularly interested in “paths less travelled” and contributions from scholars and ECRs working in the intersections where the cultural work of Gothic and horror studies crosses boundaries and spheres, engaging with fields and disciplines beyond the traditional, and where new “crossings” can be discovered. This includes, but is not limited to: Gothic and horror in gaming, architecture and heritage, creative writing and practice, comics and graphic novels, scriptwriting, theatre, music, geography, plant studies and environmentalism, anthropology, libraries and archives, sociology and social studies, broadcasting, publishing, media and graphic design. We are sure there are more, so feel free to surprise us with your wanders, crossings, and encounters!
Please submit a 250-word abstract for 15-minute presentations by 28th February 2025 to Dr Emma Liggins and Dr Eleanor Beal at gothic@mmu.ac.uk
For all submissions, be sure to include your name, a short (50-word) biographical sketch, institutional affiliation (if any), and contact details. Please send your submission as an attachment (as opposed to a link to a server such as Googledocs).
Submissions for panels should be sent as a single submission with three to four 250-word abstracts, a brief statement of the theme of the panel and the information above about each of the presenters.
Submissions for workshops should indicate the length of the workshop (max. 45 minutes).
If accepted to deliver a paper or workshop, a number of travel bursaries up to £100 are available for selected international and UK postgraduates on application.
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.
![Cover shows a UFO emerging from space. Below it is a processing of silhouettes walking through the desert, holding the Ark of the Covenant. In black pen it is signed "To Nichola [sic] and Michele, Enjoy your journey! Tim R. Swartz"](https://i0.wp.com/nickdiak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Ancient-Aliens-Season-6-DVD.jpg?resize=580%2C812&ssl=1)