The Mithra Mysteries are a specialized terrorist team, led by the Lion of Jupiter, who wreak havoc in an alternate history Rome, one that is technologically advanced with cyberpunk tech. The last mission of the Mysteries had Jupiter allowing himself to get captured and connected to the Emperor’s Navigator to have his memories prodded by the Veritas Decider. However, Jupiter is acting as a trojan horse, implanted with special memories that trap the Decider, allowing his team to initiate their assault and steal information from the Navigator.
Issue #2 Plot
Information in hand, the Mysteries’ next mission given to them by their Pater is to infiltrate the imperial palace and assassinate Emperor Tiberius. The mission goes horribly wrong as the Mysteries walk right into an ambush due to their ranks having been compromised by an informant. Concurrently, detective Rufus begins to investigate the Mysteries’ attack on the Navigator and Veritas Decider but is stymied by Germanicus and his Praetorian Guard. Rufus’ partner, Eugenio, seeks out a contact in Praetorian Intelligence who perhaps can provide some data on the Mysteries and the Guard.
Commentary
Rome Eternal issue two commits to the same bit that 2021’s The Suicide Squad did by killing the heroes right as their mission starts. In a true Game of Thrones fashion, no one is safe in Rome Eternal in that nearly all the named characters from the first issue, along with newly introduced characters in issue two, are horrifically dispatched. On one hand this raises the stakes of Rome Eternal considerably while at the same time underscoring the cunning and brutality of [techno] Rome. On the other hand, readers do not get a chance to see the members of the Mysteries in much action. In issue one they are all introduced along with their corresponding power/specialty, so there is the expectation to see them in their element, doing their thing, building up more characterization to give their eventual demise more weight. So, it is bittersweet to see the Mysteries members annihilated, quite easily at that.
As with issue one, Rome Eternal embraces non-linear storytelling. While issue one used memories in tandem with unfolding events, issue two is told in flashback while also switching perspectives between the Lion and the Mysteries and Rufus and his investigation. Ultra violence and non-linear storytelling, it is as if 90s Tarantino decided to make an alt-history neo-peplum.
The art and writing quality from issue one carries over to issue two and everything is top notch. The art is especially stand out, both detailed and colourful. Dark blues dominate this issue, with the nighttime assault and covert meetings in alleyways. The newly introduced Detective Rufus and Germanicus have detailed attire that are anachronistic, they feel both ancient, yet new. It is these details that keep grounding the sword and sandal setting in a different, hi-tech context. Rome Eternal is fully committed to the bit.
With nearly all the heroes killed and the issue ending on a major cliffhanger, it is nail biting to see what will happen next. The introduction of Rufus indicates Rome Eternal may start diving into the toga and sandal genre with more intrigue and the addition of political maneuvering from Germanicus. It is nice to see all these 60s peplum tropes being explored in a way different fashion in Rome Eternal.
For more information on Rome Eternal and its team, check out the following links:
It has been a while so it is time to dive back into my bread and butter, the world of the neo-peplum, so here is a brand new review online.
I’m fairly timely with this review as Rome Eternal came out in November, and I have issue #2 (which came out in January) in my paws as well. Should I aim to do back to back reviews?
Anywho, Rome Eternal is a neo-peplum comic about an Ancient Rome that did not fall but instead became a huge superpower that is just as corrupt and nasty as it has ever been. Just this time they have laser spears.
Sincerely chuffed that editor Naomi Simone Borwein mentions Michele and I in her acknowledgments in her upcoming edited academic collection, Global Indigenous Horror, from University Press of Mississippi.
We had the honour of having Dr. Borwein present at a past Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference and to have her presentation published in Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern.
I’ve shared prior, but want to re-iterate how awesome the cover art for Global Indigenous Horror is:
Global Indigenous Horror is slated to be published April 15th and can be pre-ordered at the UPoM website.
Scholars from the Edge of Time: Gentlemen Broncos
First episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time of 2025 is now online!
Back in 2024 Michele and I watched Krull and loved it (that episode can be viewed here). The cyclops in Krull made me recall that Gentlemen Broncos has homages to the iconic one-eyed character, so we decided to give that film a shot! The vidcast episode can be watched on YouTube, check it out!
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:
I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. 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 external publishing endeavors so far in 2025.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #332.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #333.
“There’s Always Room” in Merry Creepsmas: The Red Book. Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty. Wicked Shadow Press, 2025.
“Tagliolini al Tarzan: Interview with Actress Bella Cortez on Taur the Mighty” in The Burroughs Bulletin #109. Edited by Henry Franke III. February, 2025.
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.
Selling Scary Movies: Horror Film Promotion & the American Market
While American horror cinema is among the most widely examined of all entertainment formats, scholarship on this topic has mainly focused on film content or its reception. Consequently, despite representing a profuse component of horror’s inter-textual replay, the marketing of such films remains under-theorized and supported by a relative paucity of case-studies. Indeed, the promotion of scary movies still tends to be imagined rather reductively as a nightmarish mix of terror, loathing, threat, violence, and monstrosity, exemplified by such oft-quoted taglines as “be afraid, be very afraid” and “keep repeating it’s only a movie!”. This collection of essays therefore proposes to broaden conceptions of how chillers, thrillers, and the like have been promoted on the US market. It shall do so by uniting diverse approaches focusing on the industrial, social, discursive, and aesthetic dimensions of horror film marketing across a range of industry sectors, windows of release, and time periods. In so doing, the collection aims to expand and clarify the terms under which we understand one of the most pervasive yet poorly appreciated aspects of American audiovisual culture.
Accordingly, the editor of this collection therefore solicits original essays of 6000-8000-words offering a variety of perspectives on topics including but not restricted to:
Marketing campaigns of individual horror films
Repacking horror films across windows of release
Marketing campaigns across horror film trends and sub-types
Horror film and print advertising
Horror film and audiovisual advertising
Horror film and radio advertising
Horror film and viral advertising
Horror films and synergy
Horror films and publicity tours
Exploitation sector marketing
Indie/Art horror marketing
Marketing extreme or niche horror
Hollywood horror marketing
Targeting horror at specific audiences
Promoting imported horror on the American market
Horror in the marketing of non-horror films
Non-horror in the marketing of horror films
Please send 200-word abstracts plus a short academic bio – or any questions and queries – to richardandrew.nowell@amu.cz
Abstract due date (31 May 2025), chapter submissions (circa. January-May 2027).
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.
New Acquisitions
Gladiator 2
Gladiator 2 was release in theaters back in November 2024 and Michele and I got to see it on the big screen in December. I started a draft of a write up of the film, got 80% done, but decided to shelve it for when the Blu-ray comes out so I could re-watch it.
And now, the movie is out on physical media! I got my pre-order the other week, so expect an upcoming Peplum Ponderings about the film, but also a Scholars from the Edge of Time episode devoted to it.
Helen of Troy
A recent pick up for an old film, here is Helen of Troy (Robert Wise, 1956).
I have not seen this one yet, but this will be a great watch in tandem with Ruby Blondell’s Helen of Troy in Hollywood.
Autographed Treasures
Lots of cool autographed treasures I’ve shared on Bluesky these past few weeks.
Rodan/War of the Gargantuas
I love kaiju films, but I am far from an expert on all the Toho and Toei monster films out there. Don’t laugh, but one of my favorite Godzilla films is All Monsters Attack (1969, Ishiro Honda).
I have quite a Godzilla film collection, but I have only one autographed kaiju film, and that is War of the Gargantuas (1966, Ishiro Honda) by Russ Tamblyn. There was a West Side Story anniversary Hollywood Collector’s show way back in the day, and he was in attendance, so I had to get my monster movie signed!
When Women Ruled the Earth / War Goddess
Luciana Paluzzi is an iconic starlet of Italian genre cinema, and she has made frequent appearances at conventions, mostly James Bond-themed ones due to her being in Thunderball.
I actually really liked her in the Eurospy film The Venetian Affair (1967, Jerry Thorpe). Paluzzi starred in her fair share of pepla, including the very late era peplum War Goddess (1973, Terence Young), which she signed my copy of.
Strike Commando
Reb Brown rules and Yor, the Hunter from the Future rules.
Reb has done many other cult films and is probably (aside from Yor) best known for Space Mutiny which was on MST3K.
However, he was in a handful of other Italian genre films of the 80s, including the men-on-a-mission film, Strike Commando, which is awesome. Severin Films did a nice Blu-ray release a few years back, but 20 years ago the only way I could watch the film was in a multi-film budget DVD set called Mercs: Soldiers of Fortune 10 Feature Film Collection which contained a low quality copy of Strike Commando, which Brown graciously signed to me.
News from Friends
Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.
Bible Films Blog – House of David
Matt Page over at his Bible Films blog is on a roll doing write ups about season one of House of David. Check them out:
AncientTechno Rome. Veritas Decisor Titus Amaro and the Emperor’s Navigator are memory diving into the mind of The Lion of Jupiter, the terrorist son of the Greek Sergius Lauro who led a failed rebellion against the empire. Titus witnesses the memories of when the rebellion was squelched by Javelin Germanicus followed by the indoctrination ritual from the Cult of Mithra of bringing the Lion into their ranks.
Meanwhile the companions of the Lion of Jupiter, collectively called the Mithra Mysteries (Corax the Raven, Persus the Persian, Amalia the Virgin, Heliodromus the Sun Runner, and Miles the Soldier), initiate their plan rescue their leader and retrieve something else of value.
Commentary
Rome Eternal is a neo-peplum comic written by Homero Rios (Heavy Metal), with Diego Yapur (Bloodshot: Rising Spirit,Death Dealer) on art, Oscar Carreño (Wolverine: Xisle) on colours, and Shawn Lee (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Judge Dredd) doing editing. The first issue was published in November 2024 by Magma Comix. The comic takes place in an alternate history where ancient Rome did not fall but instead became an empire that is a mixture of antiquity and hi-tech, with floating chariots, laser spears, and the cyberpunk-esque ability to view someone’s memories. The juxtaposition of old and future in Rome Eternal is conceptually comparable to the Fallout universe but replace 50s atomic-era Americana with the SPQR.
Ostensibly, Rome Eternal is a superhero/specialist team story, with each member of the Mithra Mysteries bringing a unique talent or ability to the fold: Miles is a giant, brute of a man who wields a titanic hammer; Persus is akin to an agile, stealthy thief, Heliodromus shoots flames from his bracers, Amalia is a sniper, Corax is able to fly and hack into machines, and the Lion is the leader and mastermind. Since issue one of Rome Eternal has two narratives going at the same time, (the real-world narrative and the narrative of the memories of the Lion), each character is given two introductions: one via the memories and then via them showcasing their abilities and the other when they commence their assault. It is a unique take on character introduction.
As a sword and sandal story, Rome Eternal brings its own unique spin to the genre, akin to other neo-peplum comics such as Jonathan Hickman’s Pax Romana and Jean-David Morvan’s Hercules: Wrath of the Heavens. The Rome depicted in Rome Eternal is just as corrupt and decadent as any portrayal in a historic epic, but the addition of hi-tech really ups the brutalism in a way similar to the space marines in the Warhammer 40K universe, where armour and (chainsaw) swords clash with bolt guns and spaceships. It is jarring (in a good way) how one panel will look exactly like it is from an antiquity comic (such as Frank Miller’s 300) and the next the image will be replete with laser rifles and electro-spears.
Rome Eternal is a high concept idea, and writer Rios brings the singular components (techno ancient Roman X-men) while Yapur and Carreño bring the great visuals. The art of Rome Eternal is colorful, creative and detailed, and it has to be in order to portray the mixture of ancient architecture in tandem with cyberpunk technology. The armour and uniforms of all the character look both old and futuristic at the same time. There is a great amount of detail in the characters, but this is also one of those comics that is not afraid to explore the background art as that is the realm that will solidify the anachronistic setting the comic is establishing.
The arrival of Rome Eternal could not happen at a more appropriate and cyclical, time in pop culture and real-world history. In late 2000 Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was released, starting a revival of the sword and sandal genre with films like 300 (Zach Snyder, 2006), Troy (Wolfgang Petersen, 2004), Immortals (Tarsem Singh, 2011), The Eagle (Kevin Macdonald, 2011), and many more. A bulk of the peplum revival coincided with the presidency of George W. Bush and eight years of right-wing hegemony. Depending on how they are perceived, peplum texts can be a critique of fascism (Neil Marshall’s Centurion) or a glorification of it (such as the jingoism in 300). Fast-forward twenty-four years and Rome Eternal #1 is released, the same month as Gladiator II, and just at the eve of another wave of the rise of the right under Trump. Gladiator II attempted a course correction in its story and went more overt in calling out the evils of the empire. Rome Eternal looks to be echoing the same message, to rebel against fascism.
Will a renewed cycle of sword and sandal films, games, comics, and other texts arise again? Rome Eternal is looking to lead the pack and it will be great to see what the rest of the story will convey and commentate on.
For more information on Rome Eternal and its team, check out the following links:
This has been a fun adult comic from Obscura Comics. I previously reviewed issue one and issue two. My issue two review has been updated to reflect that the publisher corrected their missing swag issue and sent it on over. Top notch for Obscura!
Castle of Horror Podcast Appearance
My first podcast appearance of 2025 is on the Castle of Horror Podcast! I was invited on to talk about Antonio Margheriti’s 1964 gothic horror classic, Castle of Blood.
The episode can be streamed at the Castle of Horror Spreaker website here, via the embedded player below, or through your podcast app of preference. Sincere appreciation to Jason Henderson for having me on.
If you can’t get enough of me talking about Castle of Blood, make sure you give a listen to the Fan2Fan Podcast episode where I talk about the film.
New Edge Sword and Sorcery 5, 6, and 7
New Edge Sword and Sorcery are currently crowdfunding the next three issues of their magazine, which will be two issues of sword and sorcery and one issue of sword and planet!
I am excited to announce I’ll be part of this project! The NESS magazines have featured cocktails in prior issues done by Kevin Beckett, and I’ve been asked to develop brand new cocktails for these upcoming three.
Here is a graphic from the Backerkit campaign of the authors involved in these three issues, and I am chuffed to be listed among them all!
The Backerkit Campaign for NESS 5,6,7 can be found here. Please consider contributing! The campaign ends on March 15th. Sincere appreciation to Oliver Brackenbury for having me on board for this project.
If you’re curious, I did a short interview of issue 00 back in 2023, so check that out!
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:
I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. 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 external publishing endeavors so far in 2025.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #332.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #333.
“There’s Always Room” in Merry Creepsmas: The Red Book. Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty. Wicked Shadow Press, 2025.
“Tagliolini al Tarzan: Interview with Actress Bella Cortez on Taur the Mighty” in The Burroughs Bulletin #109. Edited by Henry Franke III. February, 2025.
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.
Medieval + Monsters in Comics
Online Sponsored Session Proposed for Medieval + Monsters: Medieval Association of the Midwest (MAM), Mid-America Medieval Association (MAMA), Illinois Medieval Association (IMA) Joint Conference with The Newberry Library Hosted at Dominican University & the Newberry Library 17-18 October 2025
The Medieval Comics Project and the Monsters & the Monstrous Area of the Northeast Popular/American Culture Association seek proposals of 250 words for a proposed online panel devoted to the theme of the medieval and the monstrous in sequential art, comics, manga, and related media.
Topics might include:
Adaptations of medieval monsters in modern comics/manga/related media
Monsters in sequential art of the medieval era
Monsters in marginalia in medieval manuscripts (akin to modern panel comics)
New monsters in comics/manga/related media set in the medieval era
The use of horror in comics/manga/related media set in the medieval era
The use of monstrosity to represent issues of class/gender/race in comic/manga versions of the Middle Ages
Please send submissions (250-word proposal plus a short biographical statement) to the session organizers (Michael A. Torregrossa, Karen Casey Casebier, and Benjamin H. Hoover) at Comics.Get.Medieval@gmail.com by 15 March 2025.
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.
Boris and Natasha DVD
Someone posted on Bluesky that they made a Letterbox list of original movies for Showtime. Seeing that made me recall I have some of those films on DVD, including this stately copy of Boris and Natasha: The Movie, signed by Sid Haig and Sally Kellerman (both RIP).
I know next to nothing about Rocky and Bullwinkle, maybe seeing a handful of cartoons growing up. However the Boris and Natasha live action movie was on all the time, and I thought it hilarious when I was a kid.
Sid Haig I met at Crypticon in SeaTac in the late 2000s. Sally Kellerman was at a Hollywood Collectors show, either late 2000s or early 2010.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol 1
I am a kid of the 80s, so of course I grew up with the TMNT cartoon and live action films. I had not really been into TMNT since I was a kid, but every one in a while I check something out in the franchise. Last month I watched Mutant Mayhem and it was awesome!
Anywho, I do have some of the IDW collections of the original mid-80s Turtles comics. I’ve met Kevin Eastman a few times at different cons, but at a Long Beach Comic Con in the later 2010s I took him the Ultimate Collection Vol 1 to autograph, which he did, and he drew a sweet Donatello (my favorite turtle) in it!
Adventure Time: Bitter Sweets
Another treasure from a comic book con, a copy of Adventure Time: Bitter Sweets signed by artist Chrystin Garland.
I had the honour to meet Garland at a Wondercon in the mid 2010s.
Burden of Dreams
Fitzcarraldo is probably my favorite Herzog/Kinski collaboration, both on screen and off screen. Burden of Dreams is a documentary that captures the mammoth undertaken of this tour de force film.
Les Blank, who passed away a few years ago, was gracious to let me post him my DVD back in the late 2000s to be autographed by him. Probably time for a re-watch, and to also re-watch the supplement where Herzog eats his shoe!
Phantasm & Reggie Bannister
Fangoria reports the sad news that horror icon Reggie Bannister has entered hospice care due to dementia and Parkinson’s. They have an article up letting people know where to send fan mail to him to keep his spirits up (link).
We’ve met Bannister at a few different horror cons over the years. The first time was at a horror con in Seattle that was also a reunion of Phantasm alumni. There Michele and I got our DVD copy of Phantasm signed by Bannister, Bill Thornbury, Kathy Lester, and Don Coscarelli. Bannister joked he loved to sign over Angus Scrimm’s face to tease him.
Back in 2023 Michele appeared on the Fan2Fan Podcast to talk about her memories of Phantasm. Give it a listen!
My friend Lee Mitchell has a new book out! It is called The Eternal End. It’s the third book in her “Divine Darkness” trilogy after The Divine Darkness and The Lasting Light.
More information about the book can be found at Mitchell’s Substack. The book can be found at Amazon as well as at all major book vendors online.
Gyro and the Argonauts!
Joshua Pruett, who has been on many episodes of the Fan2Fan Podcast, and even appeared on our H. P. Lovecast Podcast has a new book coming out, and it is kiddo neo-peplum! It is called Gyro and the Argonauts! and I am super excited for it.
This book can also be ordered at Amazon and other major vendors.
Michele’s 2025 Reading Vlog #2
Michele has a new Vlog up about her 2025 Book challenges!
If you want to see Michele talk about what she is reading as well as seeing some cat cameos, give it a watch!
New Ride the Stream Episodes
Michele and Travis have some brand new episodes of their Ride the Stream vidcast online at YouTube. They dive into the next few episodes of Lost.
Here is their discussion of episode seven of season 1:
And episode eight:
New episodes drop every Friday on YouTube. Keep an eye on their YouTube channel, or give them a follow on Bluesky.
Becca, a well-meaning but slightly dim woman with a high libido, is hit by a van and dies. When the Grim Reaper comes to take her away, he becomes distracted, allowing Becca to glance at his papers and see her fate. In an attempt to reverse course, she uses her sexual prowess (for good!) to bed men, women, and other ghosts, including Bloody Mary who becomes a friend to Becca in the afterlife.
Standard cover by Kenan Halilovic.
Becca Boo Issue Three
The Grim Reaper arrives at Bloody Mary’s apartment to finally escort Becca away. Once again using her charms and sex appeal, Becca is able to buy more time in the afterlife by having kinky sex with Death at his bachelor pad. Becca tells the Grim Reaper that she is using her time as a ghost to do good deeds, and recounts her activities the past two months, which include bedding the new tenant in her apartment (sparing him from a fate worse than death: karaoke!). However, the Grim Reaper falls asleep during Becca’s flashback. Seeing her chance to escape again, Becca makes haste, taking Death’s robe and scythe with her. With the help of Bloody Mary, Becca glams up the outfit with white stockings, exposed midriff, and lots of ribbons, and is now ready for more undead action.
As with issues one and two, Becca Boo #3 was a crowdfunded endeavor, which completed its campaign in September 2024 and fulfilled in January 2025 (during a time that the Canadian post was on strike). The third issue continues Becca’s exploration being a ghost, with the story trying out new comedy angles. If Becca Boo #1 was leaning in on ditzy blonde comedy and Becca Boo #2 added in some teen boner comedy, Becca Boo #3 transitions to all out parody. The centerpiece gag in #3 is a spoof of the Ring/Ringu films, where Becca crawls out of a wells à la Sadako, and then trips coming out of the wall-mounted television set. It is a sequence that was parodied over twenty years ago in Scary Movie 3, so it may not be the most current pop culture reference. However, the gag still works and it transitions extremely well to the sequential art format and fits in with the in-universe comedy of Becca Boo as issue one continued a callback to the early 90s movie Ghost.
Another spoof can be seen at the end of the comic when Becca dons the attire of the Grim Reaper. Recollections of The Simpsons 2003 Halloween episode “Treehouse of Horror XIV” which contains a segment called “Reaper Madness” where Homer becomes the Grim Reaper (itself a parody of the Tim Allen Santa Claus films) comes to mind. Becca’s sexy death outfit gives off a gothic Lolita vibe.
On the subject of the Grim Reaper, this character becomes much more fleshed out in issue three. Issue one introduced Death as a character who may not be the best as his job as he is easily swayed by the promises of sex, and issue three ramps this facet about him up to eleven. The Grim Reaper gives off the impression he is smarter than Becca, the reality is that he is easily manipulated by her sexual powers. The Grim Reaper adds tremendously to the comedy of Becca Boo with his facial – er – skull expressions. It sounds fairly hard to have a skull be so emotive, but Death brings all the squees, furrowed brows, and exasperations, so kudos to interior artist Kenan Halilovic for really bringing Death to life (pun 100% intended) and having him so animated.
Bloody Mary is not as prominent in this issue as she is in issue two, but the narrative seems to be pushing her to be the straight character in the comedic escapades.
Becca, as oblivious as she is, displays a surprisingly amount of cleverness and guile (probably accidental on the character’s part) as she is able to escape the clutches of death (again!) and, during flashback, seduce the chaste man who has moved into her apartment. Becca is truly singularly focused to redeem herself as a ghost and escape eternity from hell, so it will be interesting what her next move will be as she assumes the guise of Death.
As with prior Becca Boo Kickstarter campaigns from publisher Obscura Comics, Becca Boo #3 sports a wide array of alternate covers which in turns have various incarnations of not nude/nude artwork. All of them portray Becca in with different sex appeal styles.
Obscura continues to provide fun swag as stretch goals are met. The numbered trading cards and magnet depict the different issue covers.
There is also a bookmark, postcard, and sticker, all fun and collectible swag that all adds to the reading experience of Becca Boo.
More info on Becca Boo can be found at the following websites:
My first website content for 2025! I dig Bachelor PadMagazine, and I love stockings and nylons, so I was totally excited when they announced they were going to start a new line called Nylon Nightcap. When announced, I pre-ordered a copy immediately, and it is a fantastic issue.
I’d like to do what I can to help get the word out about this issue, so I’ve done a write up about it and included quotations from Jason “Java” Croft, Miss Corsair Debonair, and Miss Penelope Pink. Check out my write up here!
Burroughs Bulletin #109
I have not one, not two, but three publication announcements!
Firstly, as part of Michele and my retrospective of the peplum work of Bella Cortez that we did in 2024, I conducted an interview with Cortez about her work on the Italian Tarzan knock off, Taur the Mighty (1963).
This interview has now been published in issue 109 of The Burroughs Bulletin, the journal of the Burroughs Bibliophiles. This is my first time being published in the journal and I am super excited.
Bella Cortez as Queen Akiba in Taur the Mighty (1963). Screen capture from the Sinister Cinema DVD of the film.
Sincere appreciation to Cortez for her time in being part of this interview.
For more information on the Burroughs Bibliophiles, how to join, and how to get copies of the Bulletins, check out https://www.burroughsbibliophiles.com or contact editor Henry Franke III at BurroughsBibliophiles AT gmail.com.
Merry Creepsmas
I have a sword & sorcery dark comedy/horror short story appearance in the anthology Merry Creepsmas: The Red Book from Wicked Shadow Press. My story is called “There’s Always Room.”
This is actually a short story I wrote 8-9 years ago for a different Christmas themed anthology that didn’t get accepted. The story has been in my repertoire for all this time, and when I saw this call for story submissions, I thought why not dust off the story, spruce it up a bit, and submit. Chuffed that it was accepted!
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 #3.
Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journal is 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 AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.
Podcast Stuff
HP Lovecast Podcast is still going, we’re just a bit erratic about it. We will have an episode for The Prophecy up, and we’ll be exploring doing some shorter comic-book reviews in between bigger episodes, perhaps resurrect the old Fragments line.
BlogTalkRadio shut down in January. This means all the podcasts I appeared on (Voice of Olympus, Chatting with Sherri) are no longer available, which is unfortunate. However, I have saved all my appearances as mp3s. I’ll be looking into having them edits and published elsewhere (with permission), perhaps at Archive.org or another venue.
This past week I’ve been a guest on Fan2Fan and also on the Castle of Horror Podcast. Stay tuned for when those become published online.
Michele is also cranking out episodes of her Ride the Stream vidcast with Travis Lakata. She’s also done an episode of Fan2Fan as well.
So, we are both still heavy in the world of vidcasting and podcasting. We are just kind of all over the map now. As always, if you’d like me to be a guest on your podcast or vidcast, do reach out! I love appearing on other folks’ shows.
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:
I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. 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 external publishing endeavors so far in 2025.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #332.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #333.
“There’s Always Room” in Merry Creepsmas: The Red Book. Edited by Parth Sarathi Chakraborty. Wicked Shadow Press, 2025.
“Tagliolini al Tarzan: Interview with Actress Bella Cortez on Taur the Mighty” in The Burroughs Bulletin #109. Edited by Henry Franke III. February, 2025.
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.
Horror Studies Now 2025
Horror Studies Now: A Two-Day Conference (29-30 May 2025, Northumbria University, UK)
Researchers working in the broad field of “Horror Studies”, are invited to submit abstracts about their research for an in-person conference, hosted by the Horror Studies Research Group at Northumbria University, on 29-30 May 2025.
Speakers will each deliver a 15-minute talk about their research, followed by extended discussion and questions from the conference delegation. We welcome submissions from scholars at any career stage, but are particularly open to hearing from early career researchers and new voices in the field. The event is intended to provide a welcoming space in which to develop ideas, network, and forge collaborations with fellow Horror Studies researchers.
The event seeks to explore areas and approaches that have not yet been adequately accounted for or represented in the field, encompassing (but not limited to):
The diversity of perspectives, identities, and voices that comprise Horror Studies and horror production
Independent horror production, alternative histories, and horror produced outside of Europe and North America
The field’s methodological richness, including archival approaches, audience research, practice-based research, and new theoretical perspectives
The breadth of cultural perspectives that inform Horror Studies and horror media
Papers that address horror in all its media forms including games, film, comics, music, social media, television, literature, art, and so forth
We seek to foreground scholarly excellence within the field by embracing a wide range of approaches, confronting representational biases within the canon, highlighting strategies to counter these biases, and contributing to a more diverse and inclusive academic landscape. We encourage and welcome expressions of interest from members of the global majority and people from underrepresented or marginalised groups.
Special guests include:
Dr Cüneyt Çakırlar (Nottingham Trent University; editor of Transnational Horror: Folklore, Genre and Cultural Politics [Liverpool University Press, 2025])
Dr Maxine Gee (Bournemouth University; screenwriter of short film Standing Woman [2020] and web series Tales of Bacon [2018])
Professor Maisha L Wester (University of Sheffield/Indiana University, Bloomington; author of African American Gothic in the Era of Black Lives Matter [Cambridge University Press, 2025])
The deadline for abstracts (of 250 words) is 23:59 (GMT) Friday 14 March 2025. Abstracts should be accompanied by a biographical statement (of 50-100 words) and submitted at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/FgdAxxxWxy.
A small fee will be required to attend to cover catering expenses; however, we are striving to keep this cost as low as possible. All speakers, unless they choose to decline, will have their work considered for the new Peter Hutchings Award for Outstanding Contribution to Horror Studies. The award includes a certificate for the winner and a publication (subject to revision) in Studies in the Fantastic.
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their proposal within 14 days of the deadline. Any questions should be directed to horrorstudies@northumbria.ac.uk
The Horror Studies Research Group at Northumbria: Northumbria University is internationally renowned as the home of horror scholarship. This research specialism was founded by our late Professor Peter Hutchings, and the Horror Studies Research Group formalises Northumbria’s concentration of experts in this area. Our core team are widely recognised as leaders in this area, publishing field-defining monographs, presenting keynote lectures at major conferences, delivering talks at numerous European film festivals, holding positions on the editorial boards of the field’s primary book series and winning major research grants. Our global reputation for research excellence in Horror Studies is further proliferated by our many genre-based PhDs and alumni.
Dracula: A Companion
Dracula: A Companion is intended to both be an essential guide to interpreting Bram Stoker’s Dracula and a collection of new perspectives supporting a reshaping of the way the text is taught and engaged with by students.
Fundamental to the approach of this companion is placing the text at the epicentre of its own cultural afterlife and pop culture status. Beginning with the novel’s inception and influences, Dracula is positioned as a ‘spark’ that ignited the character’s enduring popularity and presence across the globe. From here, the familiar topics the novel is understood through will see novel perspectives, accounting not only for new and exciting research, but exploring how Dracula’s immortality stems from how it can be subjected to new approaches, showcasing the versatility of the book, and its continued capacity to lend itself to readings that speak of topical cultural concerns.
The final sections prioritise the way the text has been reshaped to suit contemporary audiences, distanced from the ‘original’ novel through adaptation and literary pastiche. Every ‘version’ of Dracula has the potential to be someone’s first encounter with the character, and may be what they think of when hearing the name. By giving this aspect a clear focus it establishes to students and readers alike that ‘Dracula’ is not contained within the novel, but has become a myth recognised across the globe.
We kindly request abstracts of no more than 250 words for either full essay style chapters of 4,500 words or shorter case studies focusing on individual texts of approx 2000 words. We are also open to further ideas, suggestions, and questions. The deadline for abstracts is Monday March 31st 2025. Full contributions are expected to be due at the end of Summer 2025.
Please email abstracts or any other enquiries to madeline.potter@ed.ac.uk & m.crofts@hull.ac.uk
Potential topics (but by no means limited to):
Theatrical Influences on the novel’s form Historical influences
Transylvania as a mosaic (Hungarian and Irish Parallelism)
Stoker: a biographical reading
Global Dracula Stoker’s own travels
Dracula in translation
New perspectives on sexuality: LGBTQA+ readings/drag
New scientific & medical readingsNew perspectives on race
Romany enslavement
Dracula as Sensation fiction/Victorian popular fiction
Publishing practices
Reception of Dracula
Reading Dracula as a werewolf text
Neo-Victorian readings
Wider cultural understanding of Dracula [Intended as shorter chapters, akin to case studies of texts]
Dracula adaptations, appropriations and pastiches
Neglected adaptations (eg. The Claes Bang/Gatiss version, The 1977 Louis Jourdan version)
Neglected adaptations from non-anglo/American countries
Non-Western Draculas
Dracula for children: eg. Hotel Transylvania eg. Count Duckula
Dracula games (computer and table-top)
Dracula in New Media & Fandom
Twenty-First Century Neo-Victorian Gothic: Deviance and Transgression on Page and Screen
For a volume in the Genre Fiction and Film Companion series published by Peter Lang Oxford, we solicit papers on the topic of Neo-Victorian Gothic literature and film adaptation in the twenty-first century.
Neo-Victorian Gothic represents a contemporary revival of Gothic themes, often exploring deviance and transgression in the context of Victorian society as a challenge to the rigid structures imposed by Victorian society and a re-examination of marginalized voices and experiences. This genre not only revisits the aesthetic and narrative structures of the Gothic, but also critiques and reinterprets the cultural anxieties of both the Victorian and modern societies. Neo-Victorian texts frequently engage with themes of sexual and social deviance thus reflecting on contemporary concerns about identity, gender roles, and morality too.
The neo-Victorian Gothic critiques historical injustices, especially regarding gender inequality, violence, sexual transgression, and neurodiversity through intricately weaving together themes of deviance and transgression, with a critical lens on both Victorian history and contemporary culture. By revisiting Gothic conventions such as encounters with the uncanny in all its manifestations, with ghosts and the doppelgënger, neo-Victorian works illuminate the persistent shadows of social constraints and anxiety while advocating for a deeper understanding of identity and morality in both past and present contexts. Moreover, the genre heavily relies on intertextual references to Victorian literature, thus drawing parallels between the past and the present and reflecting on the continuity of certain social issues across time.
While aware of the many renowned masterpieces of neo-Victorian Gothic literature from the previous century, the proposed volume will explore how our twenty-first century engages with the topics of deviance and transgression. Will Self’s Dorian, An Imitation (2002), Julian Barnes’ Arthur and George (2005), Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale (2006), John Harding’s Florence and Giles (2010), Rosie Garland’s The Palace of Curiosities (2013), Gregory Blake Smith’s The Maze at Windermere (2018), Nell Stevens’ Briefly, A Delicious Life (2022) are some of the many novels published in the past twenty-odd years. What is more, neo-Victorian novels are frequently adapted for the screen: for example, the novels of Sarah Waters’ Tipping the Velvet (2002), Fingersmith (2005), Affinity (2008) and Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White (2011) or more recent productions such as Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films, and TV series like Sherlock, Ripper Street, Whitechapel, and Penny Dreadful. The Companion will therefore revisit the issues of deviance and transgression as embodied in literary texts and adaptations in the context of the challenges set by the contemporary reading audiences and viewers.
Please send abstracts of about 300 words and short bios for consideration by 1 April 2025 to Prof. Rossie Artemis at: artemis.r@unic.ac.cy
Authors will be notified about the status of their proposals by 1 May 2025, and the first drafts of essays (about 4500 words) will be expected by 1 November 2025.
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.
Rest in peplum David Lynch
David Lynch passed away last month, and he deserves as rest in peplum (Dune is sword and planet enough for me!). Lynch is one of my all time favorite directors, and many of his films, especially Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive, had a huge impact on my and my appreciation of cinema as a whole. I’d like to recap some of my Lynch thoughts, my exposure to his work, and share some of my Lynch treasures.
The first David Lynch movie I ever saw was Lost Highway. This was in the late 90s and I checked it out because I was a hardcore Rammstein fan at the time and Rammstein was in the soundtrack.
I recall renting the movie on VHS and watching it, and my dad walked in and decided to sit down and give it a watch too. And then Patricia Arquette pops on screen and does a striptease. Awkward!
It was a surreal movie, and I didn’t know too much about film noir at the time, but I remember enjoying it! The soundtrack was rocking, Bill Pullman was fresh of ID4 and he ruled, and the movie was mysterious and interesting. I was a fan!
Years later Michele and I would meet actor Greg Travis, who played the aggressive motorist who gets beat up, at a convention were he autographed my DVD of Lost Highway (and Michele’s copy of Starship Troopers).
Years later Mulholland Drive came out. I was a student working on my bachelors and I was hyped about this film. This was the agonizing days of waiting months and months for a film to be released on DVD after it had been released in theaters.
I watched Mulholland Drive and it was basically Lost Highway done even better. The noir elements, the erotic elements, the recreation of people into other people. While Lost Highway had a “distance” to it, Mulholland Drive was more emotional. I was a super fan of it immediately.
At a different convention Michele and I met Rena Riffel, perhaps better known for her appearance in Showgirls and various women-in-prison films by Lloyd A. Simandl. She had a small part in Mulholland Drive where she is under the employ of the seedy Mark Pellegrino. I was so happy we got to meet her and she signed my Mulholland Drive DVD.
After Mulholland Drive I was pretty much a Lynch convert and watched nearly all of his movies. I dug Elephant Man. I could never get through Dune. I don’t recall Wild at Heart too well unfortunately. Blue Velvet was amazing. I have a Twin Peaks boxset, but have been afraid to dive into it unfortunately.
In the late 2000s there was a Twin Peaks anniversary convention at the Hollywood Collectors show that Michele and I went to and met lots of awesome actors and actresses.
I met Jennifer Lynch who signed the documentary she did about her father’s painting, Pretty as a Picture.
Jennifer, Charlotte Stewart, and Catherine E. Coulson all signed my Eraserhead boxset. This boxset I purchased from Scarecrow Video up in Seattle. Eraserhead is, well, it’s an odd film. It’s surreal, and I dug it, but nowhere near the level of Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive. But I appreciate the hell out of it.
Notice the little squiggly face by the vertical 2000 on the right side? That’s Jack Nance. When Coulson signed my DVD, she closed her eyes and reached out to the long departed Nance, who guided her to draw his face. I was so flattered she did that. RIP to Coulson who sadly passed away 10 years ago.
One other artifact I was to share is this boxset of Dumbland. It’s in the same dimensions as the Eraserhead boxset, so I believe it was put out by the same company. This boxset I also bought at Scarecrow (plug: hear me talk about Scarecrow Video at the Fan2Fan podcast!)
I remember watching this and thinking… well.. that’s David Lynch for you!
One last note, my friends over at the Fan2Fan Podcast have dropped a new episode, and it is on Lynch’s Blue Velvet. Give it a listen!
Since 2007, Jason “Java” Croft has been creating and publishing the digest-sized pinup magazine, Bachelor Pad (for more information about the history and production of Bachelor Pad check out the interview with Croft in Vilioti Vintage. My review of this book can be read here). Filled with comics, reviews, articles, and of course, many images of pinup/cheesecake/glamour models, Bachelor Pad is the de facto leader in literature for the “mature” and “sophisticated reader.”
Bachelor Pad Nylon Nightcap #1 cover promo image provided courtesy from Jason “Java” Croft.
With almost twenty years of publication, the need to innovate and experiment with Bachelor Pad has led to the creation specialty lines of issues: spotlight issues, Nightcap Edition (which focuses on topless pinups), and Tattoo Nightcap (which focus on topless tattooed models). Nylon Nightcap is the newest endeavor from Bachelor Pad to deep dive and showcase an iconic component of pinup photography and history: the stocking. Per Croft
“I am always looking for new ideas or new themes to expand the Bachelor Pad brand. I like to mix things up. I like to give myself a challenge every once in a while. Nightcap editions have always been our most popular issues (nudies girls, who knew?). Several years back we started doing our Tattoo Nightcap and way back when we did a X-mas Nightcap. This [Nylon Nightcap] seemed like a natural addition to the lineup. And, when you think of the types of retro pin-ups we feature, the classic stockings and garter look are right at home with what we do. It really is the foundation, if you will, to most pin-up looks.”
The inaugural issue of Nylon Nightcap showcases eight models (Heather Marie, Annette Coquette, Abby Dandy, Leela Minx, Peach Venom, Alaina Rose Lee, Lady Gold Moon, Miss Penelope Pink) and a story + photoset from Miss Corsair Debonair. If these names sound familiar, they should be, as most have appeared in prior issues of Bachelor Pad Magazine, with many of them making their Nightcap debut in this stockings-centric issue, an aspect that Croft is proud of:
“Most of the models had been in regular issues of the magazine. Three had been in other Nightcap projects. Six made their first Nightcap appearances with this issue. I don’t think we’ve ever had that before. I think that says something when lots of folks want to make their Nightcap debuts with this particular issue.”
For veteran readers of Bachelor Pad, seeing their favourite pinups in their (debut) appearance in a Nightcap iteration provides a more intimate venue to appreciate their craft. For brand new readers of Bachelor Pad, Nylon Nightcap provides an excellent introduction to these retro-inspired models.
Since Nylon Nightcap’s focus is on stockings, the photosets contained within showcase a variety of stocking colours and styles that guarantee an appeal to everyone. Colour-wise, Marie Heather is blue, Annette Coquette is white, Abby Dandy with black-brown, Leela Minx with transparent, Peach Venom and Lady gold Moon with black, Alaina Rose Lee with red, and Miss Penelope Pink with tan-brown. Style-wise, all the models wear stockings save Peach Venom who sports a pair of French-cut pantyhose. Abby Dandy, Leela Minx, Alaina Rose Lee, and [especially] Heather Marie all show off their seams while Annette Coquette’s white stockings feature small white flowers on down her ankle sides. With all this variety and emphasis on hosiery, Croft made sure to account for this in designing the issue:
“Fundamentally, it’s still your standard Bachelor PadNightcap issue. I still try to give each layout its own personality and try to write fun copy for each model. The big difference this time was to keep in mind that we were doing an issue focused on nylons and the legs that wear them. So, in the layouts, you see a lot more full-length photos as well as shots of just legs. Had to make sure the nylons were the focus of what people were looking at.”
To further cement this nylon philosophy home, the last comic in Nylon Nightcap (by Becca Whitaker) depicts a pinup wearing layers of different stockings, stating “I didn’t know which ones to pick, so I wore them all!”
Heather Marie promo picture provided courtesy from Jason “Java” Croft.
The first pinup in Nylon Nightcap, Heather Marie, wears a killer colour combo of black gloves and blue-seamed and blue topped stockings with matching blue garters, posing on a blue sofa. She appeared in Nightcap #14.
Annette Coquette brings a cabaret vibe with her gemstone garters and seductive teacher glasses while posing in front of a piano. This is her debut Nightcap appearance, but she previously appeared in Bachelor Pad #50.
Abby Dandy promotional image provided courtesy from Jason “Java” Croft.
Abby Dandy is the third model showcased in Nylon Nightcap and she projects the classic Irving Klaw/Eric Stanton fetish vibes with her black corset and seamed black-brown stockings that look delicate with a vintage vibe. The presence of a floor length mirror ensures readers are treated to double Abby Dandy. While this is her Nightcap debut, her prior appearance was in issues #69 and #68, sharing a photoshoot with the iconic Bernie Dexter in the latter.
Stack of Bachelor Pad issues from personal collection. Issue #68 is on top, autographed by cover model Bernie Dexter.
Following Abby Dandy is the photoset for cover model Leela Minx who brings a radiant Claire Sinclair vibe. Leela Minx’s outfit is a translucent black nightie with transparent black seamed stockings. The purple background goes with the purple ribbon that she uses to tie herself up with while sitting on a chair, recalling retro-bondage photography, but with a much more feminine touch. She previously appeared in Bachelor Pad #64.
Next, Nylon Nightcap takes a slight break from the singular photoshoots to showcase a collection of different photos of Miss Corsair Debonair along with a short missive of her’s. Debonair is a veteran of Bachelor Pad and sums up her experience initially becoming featured in the magazine:
“In 2020 as I was testing the waters with pinup photography and using myself as a subject, I sent a submission to Bachelor Pad as my biggest goal. Bachelor Pad has high standards for image quality and doesn’t churn out issues as fast as photographs come in, so I knew if I could make it into Bachelor Pad, my images were on the right track. Those first ones weren’t accepted, but Java gave me some great tips and I continued to improve until I made it in.”
Bachelor Pad #58 and Nightcap #12 from personal collection.
The photos of Debonair in Nylon Nightcap include bonus photos from her prior appearances in Bachelor Pad which had not been published before. These photos are coupled with a short commentary piece about wearing hosiery written by Debonair.
“I’ve been so busy that I wasn’t able to do a whole new set of photos for this issue, and Java said it wouldn’t be right to do a Nylon issue without something from me. So, I wrote about what first attracted me to nylons and how I wear them now.”
Following Miss Corsair Debonair’s section is Peach Venom who previously appeared in Bachelor Pad #65. Peach Venom has a fun set, with her black pantyhose and elbow length gloves, and a powerful look underscored by her yellow eye makeup, all giving her a distinguished aura.
Burlesque performer and tiki aficionado Alaina Rose Lee dominates the colour red that emit from her seamed stockings, heels, straps, hair, and bedroom-boudoir set with fluffy blankets and valentines’ pillows. Lee can also be seen in Bachelor Pad #57.
The second to last pinup is Lady Gold Moon, who like Abby Dandy, channels a retro-dominating look with her black stockings and top. Lady Gold Moon enhances the vibe she is going for by using props such as whips while her set echoes an old school “man cave” with wood paneled walls. It would not be hard to imagine that there is a camera club outside frame taking pictures of her sultry poses. Nylon Nightcap is Lady Gold Moon’s Nightcap debut, but she can be previously seen in Bachelor Pad # 69.
Stack of Bachelor Pad issues from personal collection. Tattoo Nightcap #6 is on top.
The final model showcased in Nylon Nightcap is Miss Penelope Pink, complete with her iconic look of pink hair and sporty tattoos. Miss Penelope Pink made her Bachelor Pad debut in Tattoo Nightcap #6. Miss Penelope Pink recalls:
“I’ve been a long-time follower and fan of Bachelor Pad for many years. I was so excited to see that Java added a special Nightcap edition specifically for tattooed models. It blended my love of vintage/pinup and tattooed look perfectly, I just knew I had to be part of it!”
Miss Penelope Pink brings her love of vintage and hosiery to her photoshoot, wearing a pink corset that matches her hair with garters that connect to old school solid brown stockings. For Miss Penelope Pink:
“I wear stockings for most of my shoots, nothing beats the look of nylons! I’m inspired by classic pinups of the 50s and have quite the collection of stockings: seamed, Cuban heel, different color stocking tops. For this shoot, I wanted to pair my nylons with a corset, as I have several and just love being cinched down.”
Between the photosets, Nylon Nightcap features stockings-centric comics by Jaimie Filer, Misha Pinup Art, Jerry Carr, Carlos Carrillo, and the aforementioned Becca Whitaker. An erotic short story by Sasha Dahl about a display worker at Marshalls working on a lingerie display who winds up attending to a peculiar customer’s needs rounds out the features of the magazine.
Overall, the inaugural issue of Bachelor Pad’s Nylon Nightcap is a tremendous success. The photoshoots are professionally shot with interesting and retro sets. The pinup ladies are all exciting and gorgeous to look at, with each one showcasing a different facet of the allure of stockings. Aside from the nylons continuity, the issue in its entirety is adventurous and fun, as was the intent of Croft:
“With all my issues I want it to be fun for the readers, and I want for those people who are involved to be proud to be in it. I think I accomplished both of those. On top of that, I got to see a lot of models who weren’t in the issue get excited about the concept. So, we made a showcase for those who were in it and inspired others to want to be in future issue. I would call that a success.”
With the publication of Nylon Nightcap, Croft reflects on its impact of readers and models and the future for the new line of the themed magazine:
“The response has been amazing. Besides other models and photographers being inspired, our readers have really taken to it. It really struck a chord with pin-up fans. But, I’m really not surprised. It’s fun to have themes every once in a while. Sometimes folks need a creative prompt. And I’m happy to supply it. […] I already have people asking about the next [issue of Nylon Nightcap]. My hope would be to be able to do another at the end of 2025. All I need is for folks to start sending me those photos!”
Sincere appreciation to Jason “Java” Croft, Miss Corsair Debonair, and Miss Penelope Pink for their time providing quotations to use in this write up. For more information on Bachelor Pad, Nylon Nightcap, or the models, artists, and writers featured within, check out the following links:
Every year I like to do a recap of accomplishments for the prior year and talk about future projects and goals. You can find prior year end summaries here:
In short, 2024 was not a prolific year for me, especially compared to 2023. In terms of quantity of getting things published, it was a painful year. I definitely was not on my A-game this year. Now, part of this has been my focus on the Emmanuelle/Black Emanuelle book, which has had its ups and many downs. That manuscript will be done soon and sent to the publisher, freeing me up to tackle my backlog and other items on my to do list.
Despite this, there was some pleasant surprises in 2024. Let’s take a look!
Publication Accomplishments
In the realm of physical publications, I had zero new essays published this past year. However, 2024 was the year of the reprint because I had a ton of content from my archives get a new life. I’ve never had reprints of my work before, so this was a comforting accomplishment.
“A Hero Will Endure”: Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of Gladiator, which contains my essay “Dance or Dēcēdere: Gladiator and Industrial Music Sampling” saw a softcover edition published in November.
Portions of my master’s thesis on Antonio Margheriti’s film Castle of Blood was reprinted in the booklet for the Artus films release of the film.
The National Capital Panthans Journal reprinted six of my Edgar Rice Burroughs comic book reviews and convention writeups across six issues.
My essay I did for Weird Tales was mentioned in Ellen Datlow’s The Best Horror of the Year #16.
Here at my website I had 13 articles published (so a bit better than 1 a month):
Peplum Ponderings = 3
Comic Book Reviews and Articles = 3
Book Reviews = 2
Music Reviews and Essays = 2
Interviews Conducted = 2
Videogame Articles = 1
Podcast Accomplishments
Michele and I went into 2024 with big plans and goals for the H. P. Lovecast Podcast. Early in the year though, however, we had a bad encounter, which killed our podcasting momentum. That, and combined that I was working on the Emmanuelle book and Michele on her Mummy ’99 book, we put HP Lovecast on the back burner until the autumn when we resumed making new episodes. We are climbing out the rut for sure.
23 Podcasts and Vidcasts in 2024:
11 appearances on Scholars from the Edge of Time
7 appearances on Fan2Fan
5 episodes of H. P. Lovecast
2025 Expectations
I’m hoping 2025 will be a big turnaround for me. There’s lots on my to do list and even a few items that floating out there waiting to be published.
Podcasting
2025 Marks the 10 year anniversary of the HP Lovecast Podcast! What do Michele and I have planned? Not sure yet, but we will get it sussed out. We have an episode on The Prophecy that will be published in February (it was going to be our X-mas episode, so a little late).
Michele and I will also be continuing with the Scholars from the Edge of Time vidcast in March.
I’m already queued up to be on the Castle of Horror Podcast to talk about, well, Margheriti’s film Castle of Blood! So, folks, if you want me on your vidcast or podcast, feel free to reach out!
And not me, but I do want to plug Michele’s new vidcast, Ride the Stream, with Travis Lakata. They’ve got LOTS of episodes in the pipe on the TV show Lost.
Publications
The Emmanuelle/Black Emanuelle book will be sent to the publishers in the next month or so. So, cross fingers all goes well for it!
Hopefully my essay on peplum cats will see publication this year.
I am on the hook to do a Roger Corman and Sampling essay due later this year. After doing the Gladiator and Sampling essay, it will be fun to build on my existing scholarship.
I’ve got a backlog of comic book and book-book reviews I am hoping to churn out for my website. Some of these writings will also be concurrently published in the Panthans Journal.
I’ve been asked to create some unique cocktails to be published in a few issues of a magazine (not tiki, surprisingly!). More info when I’m allowed to spill more beans.
On the subject of tiki, I’ll be getting some articles out there for Exotica Moderne as well.
Finally, my interview with peplum starlet Bella Cortez will be published in an issue of the Burroughs Bibliophiles Bulletin later this year.
Conferences
I’m only slated for one conference this year which will be the Edgar Rice Burroughs Circle of Friendship that will be in Willcox, AZ in late September. I have a presentation I’ll be doing on the sword and planet genre.
On top of personal ongoings, (I am working on getting my driver’s license, yay!), 2025 is going to be BUSY. I am not expecting my output to be like it was in 2023, but I’m optimistic I’m going to realize some cool stuff.
Thank you to all the friends, peers, and colleagues who support what I do. And thank you, yes you visitor to my website, as well.
Publishing Recap
Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2025.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #332.
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.
The Handbook of Trans Cinema
Chapter proposals are invited for The Handbook of Trans Cinema. Join confirmed contributors like Cáel M. Keegan, author of Lana and Lilly Wachowski: Sensing Transgender. We seek a broadly international group of scholarly contributors.
Past books have provided in-depth studies of transgender themes and filmmakers in selected works of cinema, e.g., Rebecca Bell-Metereau’s Transgender Cinema (2019), Eliza Steinbock’s Shimmering Images: Trans Cinema, Embodiment, and the Aesthetics of Change (2019), and Akkadia Ford’s Trans New Wave Cinema (2021). As a next step, The Handbook of Trans Cinema provides an encyclopedic overview of international trans cinema, with chapters examining the variety of genres of trans cinema from around the world, as well as the connections between these films and core concepts in trans studies and in film theory. Each chapter will provide a broad overview of its subject, with extensive references to both trans theory and film theory. In addition to giving surveys of the chapter’s topic, chapters will include in-depth discussion of at least three films. Abstracts for proposed chapters should include several references to both trans theory and film theory, and abstracts should list at least three films that will be explored in-depth.
Please see the list of high priority chapters at the end of this CFP. Proposals for other topics will also be considered, but all chapters will offer broad overviews of their subject, and not traditional scholarly analyses of a single film or filmmaker. To be most competitive, each chapter proposal should examine films from multiple countries and in multiple languages, with the exception of chapters in the handbook’s Part IV. “National Overviews of Trans Films,” which will each focus on a single country’s films. (See the listing of high priority chapters for the four parts of the book at the end of this CFP.)
Interested authors should submit a 300-word abstract, a 200-word biography, and a sample of a previously published chapter or article to https://bit.ly/HandbookofTransCinema no later than January 30, 2025. Proposals submitted by email will not be accepted. Abstracts and biographies should be submitted as Word documents, and previously published chapters or articles should be submitted as PDFs. Both Word files and PDFs should contain the author’s name in the file names. Please include your email address in your biography file so we can contact you with our decision about your proposal.
You are welcome to submit more than one abstract. If you decide to submit multiple abstracts for different chapters, please add a note at the top of each abstract to indicate whether you wish to be considered for writing only a single chapter, or whether you wish to be considered for writing more than one chapter.
The most competitive proposals will detail the author’s argument. It is not enough to describe what you plan to do in your chapter. You should summarize what you will conclude. For example, it’s not enough to say you will examine multiple films from diverse countries. List the specific films you propose to include and then explain what your analysis will demonstrate.
Authors will be notified whether their proposals are accepted by March 20, 2025. Partial first drafts are due by July 15, 2025; solid first drafts of full chapters are due by October 1, 2025; and final versions that cross-reference other chapters extensively are due December 1, 2025. All chapters must include at least one author with a PhD. In your 200-word biography, please note the year and university where you earned your doctorate. Only previously unpublished works will be considered.
Part IV. National Overviews of Trans Films (National Overviews Are Also Encouraged and Warmly Invited for Other Countries Not Listed)
Trans Cinema from Argentina
Trans Cinema from Australia
Trans Cinema from Brazil
Trans Cinema from Canada
Trans Cinema from Chile
Trans Cinema from China
Trans Cinema from Costa Rica
Trans Cinema from Egypt
Trans Cinema from France
Trans Cinema from Germany
Trans Cinema from Ghana
Trans Cinema from Hong Kong
Trans Cinema from India
Trans Cinema from Indonesia
Trans Cinema from Iran
Trans Cinema from Iraq
Trans Cinema from Israel
Trans Cinema from Italy
Trans Cinema from Japan
Trans Cinema from Mexico
Trans Cinema from New Zealand
Trans Cinema from Nigeria
Trans Cinema from Norway
Trans Cinema from Poland
Trans Cinema from Russia
Trans Cinema from South Africa
Trans Cinema from South Korea
Trans Cinema from Spain
Trans Cinema from Sweden
Trans Cinema from Switzerland
Trans Cinema from Taiwan
Trans Cinema from Thailand
Trans Cinema from the United Kingdom
Trans Cinema from the United States
Technical and Professional Knowledge in Late Antiquity
Society for Classical Studies 157th Annual Meeting JANUARY 7-10, 2026 SAN FRANCISCO
Call for Papers for Panel Sponsored by the Society for Late Antiquity
Organized by Betsy Bevis, Department of Classics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Society for Late Antiquity invites papers that in some way situate themselves at the intersection of intellectual and economic history (broadly conceived) and speak to aspects of technical or professional knowledge in the long Late Antiquity. Because professional and technical knowledge is often knowledge intended to be put into practice, we encourage submissions that incorporate archaeological and other material evidence.
The past decade has been especially fruitful for both economic and intellectual histories of the ancient Mediterranean. Monographs, such as Bond 2016, or Hawkins 2016, have expanded our understanding of specific professions in the classical world, while intellectual histories such as Johnson 2010, Eshelman 2012, or Gellar-Goad and Poult 2024 have tackled topics such as reading, intellectual communities, or the transmission and creation of knowledge. Recent works such as Mark Lettney’s (2023) The Christianization of Knowledge in Late Antiquity, or Salvatore Cosentino’s (2022) “Pillars of Empire,” that deal specifically with the later centuries of Mediterranean Antiquity continue these trends into Late Antiquity. This panel endeavors to bring together these two strands of scholarship and examine their continuing impact in the post-Classical world.
Ideas for submissions might include:
Technical Treatises – such as agricultural, military, or magical manuals. What role do compendia and encyclopedic works play in the transmission of technical and professional knowledge?
New Professions and Technologies – such as the expansion of imperial bureaucracies, professionalization of Christian clergy, or technologies (e.g., large-scale water mills, or tube-constructed vaulting) and art forms (e.g., cage cups or gold-sandwich glass) that expanded or developed after the 3rd century CE.
Technologies of Knowing – codices, tabulation, exegetical or typological readings of text or iconography.
Technique/Technology within Space – where and how is professional and technical knowledge visible in the environment? Can we reconstruct changes in technical knowledge from changes in workshop spaces?
Fragments of Knowing – where and how do technologies and professions end or break down? Processes of recycling, deconstruction, or de-skilling.
Professional Education and Organization – how did one become a “professional”?
Please send abstracts that follow the guidelines for individual abstracts (see the SCS Guidelines for Authors of Abstracts) by email to Betsy Bevis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign at (ebevis@illinois.edu) by February 14, 2025.
Please ensure that the abstracts are anonymous.
The organizers will review all submissions anonymously, and their decision will be communicated to the authors of abstracts by March 21, 2025, with enough time that those whose abstracts are not chosen can participate in the individual abstract submission process for the upcoming SCS meeting.
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.
Wildfire 7
I lived in Orange, CA from 2010 to 2020, so I am no stranger to the fires that happen in SoCal, but these fires going on right now are just Earth-shatteringly tragic. There’s places I’ve been to before that simply don’t exist anymore. I’m lucky that none of my friends have lost their homes, but thousands of others have.
I saw in the news about deployed prisoner fire fighters and it reminded me of the movie Wildfire 7:
My copy is signed by the director, Jason Bourque, and actors Tahmoh Penikett and William DeVry.
I have not seen this movie since the late 2010s, so I’ll be fuzzy on remembering the plot, but basically Tracy Gold is the victim of domestic violence, but winds up going to prison anyways, and joins the fire fighting squad in California. I’m pretty sure the movie is probably extremely relevant today regarding the punishing the women victims and the ideas of putting prisoners into legal slavery.
Nightmare Weekend
A fun one I shared on BlueSky, here is my copy of Nightmare Weekend signed by Andrea Thompson, best known for her portray of Talia Winters on Babylon 5.
We met her at an autograph show back in 2009. Here we are!
The Monuments of Mars
An odd duck in my autograph media collection, here is a copy of The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever signed by author/conspiracy theorist Richard C. Hoagland:
Why do I have this book in my collection? Well, growing up in the 90s, the channel I watched the most often was the Sci-Fi Channel (Saturday Anime! MST3K!) An aside from commercials shilling Dianetics, the commercial that appeared the most often on the network was for a VHS tape of the Monuments of Mars: A Terrestrial Connection:
So, I grew up seeing that commercial many times a day.
Years, years later I am at a Half Price Books in Tacoma Washington, and a copy of the book was sitting there, on the shelf, all autographed, for not even eight dollars. Nostalgia kicked in and I bought it.
Have I ever read it? Not a chance. I am certain 95% of the book is totally made up.
Ride the Stream Vidcast Episodes
Michele and Travis have some brand new episodes of their Ride the Stream Vidcast online at YouTube. They dive into the next few episodes of Lost.
Here is part 2 of discussing the pilot:
Here is their discussion on the episode “Tabula Rasa”:
And here is their discussion on the episode “Walkabout”:
Happened across two new citations of my Stranger Things/synthwave essay, so I’d like to share them and invite you to take a gander at these scholars’ work:
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 #2.
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.
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!
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:
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 2025.
Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #332.
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.
The Gore Gore Film Book
Edited by: Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns (Universidad de Buenos Aires) Kevin Wetmore (Loyola Marymount University)
We, the editors, are looking to put together an edited collection on gore on film and gore films. The recent success of films such as the Terrifier franchise and Smile has shown that there is a growing interest in gore films. This interest is not recent, as the gore film began in the mid-sixties, with the godfather of gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, directing Blood Feast, a fringe hit that would bring gore to the forefront. That first success would be followed by others, each of them bloodier (The Wizard of Gore; The Gore Gore Girls) but gore would not reach mainstream cinema until the 1980s, with the rise of the slasher and its inventive murders. This new visibility would clash many times with the MPAA and feed the UK “video nasties” controversy. Magazines like Fangoria would be in charge of rescuing the gore scenes from the editing room floor, putting exploded heads on their covers.
However, gore was always frowned upon, a trashy resource to attract unsophisticated viewers. It is in our contemporary times that gore reached a novel point: mainstream recognition as another cinematographic tool to tell a story and appeal to the spectator’s sensorium. Today gore seems to have reached a certain degree of respectability.
However, it has not yet achieved critical recognition, with few studies on gore cinema within academic scholarship. This edited collection aims to begin to fill this gap by offering several chapters that conceptualize gore from different interdisciplinary perspectives, while offering close readings of gore films.
This collection will be divided into two main theoretical sections: the first will be focused to analyzing gore itself, centering on its aesthetics, its ethics, its relationship with the spectator, etc. The second section will be devoted to close readings of gore films of any period and nationality.
Contributions could include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
Section I:
Gore and aesthetics (including color, thickness, digital blood vs. practical blood, etc.)
Gore and humor
Gore and ethics
Gore and theology
Gore and spectatorship
Gore and art house sensibilities
Gore and the body
Gore on video vs. gore in cinema
Gore and horror film magazines
Section II:
American slashers
Auteur cinema
Gore in mainstream horror films
European gore films
Asian gore films
Herschell Gordon Lewis’s films.
Gore in classic films
We are open to works that focus on other topics as well. Prospective authors are well to contact the editor with any questions, including potential topics not listed above. Please submit a 300-500-word abstract of your proposed chapter contribution as a Word Doc (not PDF) with a brief bio (in the same document), current position, affiliation, and complete contact information to editors Kevin Wetmore and Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns to goregorebook@yahoo.com by 28 February 2025. Full chapters of 5,000-6,000 words are likely due in October 2025. A renowned publisher has shown preliminary interest.
Please share this announcement with anyone you believe would be interested in contributing to this volume.
Note: Acceptance of a proposed abstract does not guarantee the acceptance of the full chapter
Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns (PhD in Arts, PhD Candidate in History) works as Professor at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) – Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (Argentina)-. He teaches courses on international horror film. He is director of the research group on horror cinema “Grite” and has authored a book about Spanish horror TV series Historias para no Dormir (Universidad de Cádiz, 2020) and has edited books on Frankenstein bicentennial (Universidad de Buenos Aires), one on director James Wan (McFarland, 2021), the Italian giallo film (University of Mississippi Press, 2022), horror comics (Routledge, 2022) and Hammer horror films (Routledge, 2024). Currently editing a book on Baltic horror. He is Director of “Terror: Estudios Críticos” (Universidad de Cádiz, Spain), the first-ever horror studies series in Spain.
Kevin Wetmore (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh) is a professor of Theatre Arts at Loyola Marymount University, teaching courses in horror cinema and horror theatre, among others. He also transforms his university library into a literary haunted house every October. He is a six-time Bram Stoker Award nominee, author of thirteen books including Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters (Reaktion, 2021) and Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema (Continuum, 2012), and editor or co-editor of another nineteen volumes, including The Streaming of Hill House (McFarland, 2020), Theatre and the Macabre (University of Wales Press, 2022) and The Many Lives of the Purge (McFarland, 2024).
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks.
Shadows Over Main Street
I shared over on my BlueSky account (link) my copy of Shadows Over Main Street.
I got my copy autographed by a handful of contributors at one of the StokerCon events: D. Alexander Ward, Stephanie M. Wytovich, James Chambers, Lucy A. Snyder, Josh Malerman, and Lisa Morton. Scroll through the gallery above to check them out.
Biblical Pepla Haul
On New Years Eve Michele and I visited our local Zia Records to do a little shopping of used music and movies. I walked away with way too much loot, but also procured three Biblical epics on Blu-ray.
The three movies were Samson and Delilah (Cecil B. DeMille, 1949), The Robe (Henry Koster, 1953), and its sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators (Delmer Daves, 1954). Plucking up Demetrius and the Gladiators on Blu-ray was extremely fortuitous. Twilight Time, a now defunct boutique label, released the Blu-ray edition and it is way out of print and commands absurd prices on eBay (the same fate as with their Blu-ray release of The Egyptian [Michael Curtiz, 1954]). Note: I did a write up of the Twilight Time release of Messalina (Vittorio Cottafavi, 1960) which can be read here.
Ride the Stream Podcast Episode 01
Michele and Travis Lakata have started a vidcast together called Ride the Stream. They are currently going through each episode of the cult TV series Lost. The vidcast’s debut episode just got published. The episode can be watched on the Ride the Stream’s YouTube channel or via the embedded player below.
One of my favorite electro-pop bands is Hyperbubble. I’ve been a super fan of theirs since buying a copy of Candy Apple Daydreams from A Different Drum way back in the late 2000s.
Hyperbubble put together a documentary about the making of their Western Ware album, and their exploration of country and cowgirl/boy (pop toy) aesthetics. The documentary is called Cowgirls and Synthesizers and more information about it can be found at the Hyperbubble website.
I am super chuffed to discover I am listed in the Thank You section in the credits!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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:
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.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #326.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #327.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #328.
Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus / Warlord of Mars #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #329.
“Wondercon 2019 Coverage: Tarzan, John Carter, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.: What’s New?” reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #330.
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.
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, which afforded me the perfect opportunity to share my autographed copy of the film.
I’ve shared my autographed copy of RobotJox 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!
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.
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:
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.
My book is also signed by starlet Barbara Bouchet!
Victoria Vetri Autographs
A couple months ago I sent off my Blu-ray sleeves of When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth and Kings of the Sun to Hammer Glamour lady Victoria Vetri, and I just got them back. Check them out!
And:
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.
My copy is signed by the legendary Ramsey Campbell:
And the prolific Tim Waggoner:
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.
