Category: Peplum

Category for all things peplum, neo-peplum, historic epic, toga and sandal, sword and sandal, sword and sorcery, sword and planet, and all genres in between.

Categories
Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: The Tartars (1961)

Plot

Oleg (Victor Mature) and his army of Vikings pay a visit to Togrul (Folco Lulli) and his Tartar men at their camp in the steppes of eastern Europe/western Russia. Initially a friendly visit with Oleg bringing gifts of pelts, it turns turbulent when Togrul asks the Viking leader to join forces and attack the Slavs, a group of peoples the Vikings are friendly with. Oleg refuses. Angered at being rebuffed, Togrul attempts to kill Oleg, and a melee breaks out between the two forces. During the skirmish, Oleg axes Togrul and commands his men to retreat back to their Viking fort. In the process, Oleg’s brother, Eric (Luciano Marin), becomes smitten with Togrul’s daughter Samia (Bella Cortez) and kidnaps her.

DVD of The Tartars from the personal collection.

With Togrul slain, his brother, Burundai (Orson Welles), becomes Khan of the Tartars. Burundai has aspirations of great conquest of the West, starting with the obliteration of the Viking fort. Meanwhile at the Viking fort, Eric becomes more smitten with Samia and makes advances on her. He is initially rebuffed, but eventually Samia gives in. Oleg, fearing a Tartar attack, sends his wife Helga (Liana Orfei) away by boat back to Viking lands. En route her boat is attacked by the Tartars and she and her handmaidens are abducted.

Sword dance sequence.

Brought back to the Tartar castle, Burundai tortures one of the maidens for information about the Viking numbers and begins to lust after Helga. That night the Tartars host a lavish party with dancers wielding scimitars and mock-battling each other. During the feast Burundai poisons Helga’s drink. Incapacitated, she is taken to the Khan’s quarters where he rapes her.

Furious at his wife’s abduction, Oleg agrees to a hostage exchange at the Tartars’ castle: Samia for Helga. The meeting does not go well for the Vikings: a drugged Helga falls from the castle parapet, fatally injuring herself, and the group of Viking warriors are then attacked by the Tartars – Burundai having no use of having Samia back. 

Because he is going against tradition and beliefs, Burundai’s advisor Ciu Lang (Arnoldo Foà) leaves him, only to be captured and beheaded by the Kahn. Meanwhile an enraged Oleg wants to execute Samia, but Eric intervenes and declares his love for her and proclaims that she is carrying his child. Oleg puts the duo before a court made of Viking leaders, each casting their votes via axe tossing. The final vote comes down to Oleg, but before he can do so the Viking settlement is attacked by the Tartars. Oleg releases Eric so they can all join in the battle. As the Vikings are greatly outnumbered, the Tartars breach their walls and storm their court yard. Oleg and Burundai battle it out one-on-one, with Oleg victorious after he drowns the Khan in the river. Oleg’s victory is short lived as a Tartar archer shoots him in the back. Oleg’s final act, as his fort is overran, is to wave goodbye to Eric and Samia as they flee from the siege on their boat.

Samia and Eric flee the overran Viking fort.

Commentary

The Tartars is a 1961 sword and sandal film directed by Richard Thorpe. A deviation from the Greco-Roman antiquity setting, The Tartars takes place in Eastern Europe in the early Medieval period. Like many low budget costume films of the period, The Tartars is multi-national in its production: filmed in Italy and Yugoslavia, helmed by an American (Thorpe), with American (Mature and Welles) and Italian (Orfei, Marin) actors, and an Italian crew. The film features many stalwarts of peplum cinema: Mature from Samson and Delilah (1949), The Robe (1953), The Egyptian (1954), and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954); Orfei from Hercules in the Valley of Woe (1961), Damon and Pythias (1962), The Avenger (1962), Hercules, Samson and Ulysses (1963); Marin from Goliath and the Barbarians (1959), The Giants of Thessaly (1960), War Gods of Babylon (1962); Cortez from The Giant of Metropolis (1961), Vulcan Son of Jupiter (1962), The Seven Tasks of Ali Baba (1962); Foà from Barabbas (1961), Damon and Pythias, and War Gods of Babylon (these actors and actresses appear in a plethora of other historic epics, the examples here are limited for brevity’s sake). Thorpe is also no stranger to the genre having directed epics such as The Prodigal (1955) and Knights of the Round Table (1953).

Oleg and Helga embrace.

Despite being such a vanguard actor of pepla, Mature feels out of place in The Tartars. His slick backed hair is more fitting for a Roman character than a Viking and he lacks chemistry with Orfei who plays his wife Helga. His kissing scenes with her are comical rather than romantic. It is the twilight of Mature’s career and his enthusiasm may not all be there.

Burundai during the sword dance feast.

Welles, on the other hand, has dialed his over-the-topness to eleven. His character, Burundai, is realized via yellow face that borders on Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) levels of offence: Welles’ eyebrows are painted at 45 degree angles and he is constantly squinting. Despite the racist depiction, Welles owns the performance as he nails a warlord being creepy and lecherous, yet also extremely cunning. Welles must have been allowed to either improvise or rewrite his dialogue because there are many long, verbose sequences in the film that mirror what Welles was known for when doing talk show appearances.

Samia at the Viking fort.

Cortez’s Samia does not have much to work with in The Tartars. She plays the role of the damsel and is pretty much confined to the bit due the writing and lack of screen time. This is unfortunate because Cortez has a lot to offer. For example, in Vulcan Son of Jupiter (1962), she does get captured, but her character has much more agency: she talks, plans, banters, bellydances, battles the goddess Venus with a whip, and much more.

Eric forces himself onto Samia.

Samia only falls in love with Marin’s Eric because the script forces her to. There is zero chemistry between the two, after all Eric and the Vikings killed her father Togrul. Eric’s character is a product of 60s male sexism, exhibited by forcing himself onto Samia who eventually relents. If better realized, the relationship could be attributed to Stockholm Syndrome, yet The Tartars is trying to be earnest in that their romance is true.

Helga and her maidens captured by the Tartars.

The Tartars is notorious for bringing up plot points that it does not even follow through on. The movie begins with the Tartars asking the Vikings to band together to attack the Slavs. After being rebuffed, Oleg sends notice to the Slavs about the Tartars’ intention, yet nothing becomes of this. At the climatic battle at the end of the film one might expect the Slavs to show up and save the day, much like Henry the Red and his men in Army of Darkness (1992), but this never happens. Another plot point dropped is the abduction of Helga and her three handmaidens. Helga has a rescue attempt, but her three cohorts are never mentioned again and are forgotten by the Vikings.

The death of Oleg.

Despite the aforementioned criticisms, The Tartars is fascinating because it goes against every possible grain of the peplum genre. Almost all strongmen-centric pepla are lighthearted, with a Hercules-esque character performing heroics and going on adventures, beaming with optimism. The more serious toga and sandal films have the heroes/protagonists win at the movie’s end. The Tartars, however, is dour, dark, and bleak. The good guys – the Vikings – are annihilated at the film’s conclusion. Even though the main antagonist, Burundai, is slain, his men ultimately win: the Viking fort is burned, Oleg the leader killed, and only a handful of Vikings escape. 

The Tartars openly embraces both consensual and nonconsensual sex, which is fairly avant-garde for a non-exploitation film of the era. Many pepla have simile scenes for sex, such as having a belly dancing sequence stand in for intercourse. In The Tartars, Oleg leads his wife Helga to a curtained area of their house before fading to black. Later in the film, Helga is abducted, drugged and then raped by Burundai, indicated by another cut away and fade to black moment.

Samia and Eric on trial.

Mature’s Oleg is the opposite of what to expect in a heroic protagonist: he is a terrible leader for the Vikings and their downfall can be partially attributed to his incompetence. For example, at the end of the film Oleg focuses his attention on bringing his brother Eric and Samia to trial rather than develop a stratagem to deal with the Tartars. It is during the court scene that the Tartars attack, catching the Vikings not fully ready to repel them. 

Oleg and company at the prisoner exchange.

Another sequence of Oleg’s terrible leadership occurs earlier in the film during the prisoner exchange of Samia for Helga. Instead of suggesting a neutral location to rendezvous with the Tartars he agrees to meet with them right outside their castle gate, where they are, unsurprisingly, attacked and forced back to their fort. Overall, a poor leader, but it makes for an interesting portrayal of an extremely flawed character and central protagonist.

Burundai leads his men into battle against the Vikings.

While Oleg falters at being a leader, the villainous Burundai excels. At no point in the film does Burundai not hold all the cards in his hands when dealing with the Vikings. Oleg considers having Samia in captivity his ace up his sleeve, whileBurundai could care less about having her back, much to the chagrin of his advisor Ciu Lang who believes Samia is prophesied to marry a great Khan. This does lead to an interesting scenario: Ciu Lang believes Burundai to be the great next Khan and wants Samia back to marry him, but at the end of the film Samia flees with Eric, the interpretation being that Eric could be the next great Khan, or at least a great leader, though his character exhibits no traits of greatness in thenarrative.

The competency and the civilizedness of the Tartars is the opposite of what is typically showcased by villains in other pepla, especial other sword and sandal films that takes places in Eastern Europe/western Russia. Such a counter example can be found in Hercules Against the Mongols (1963), where the three sons of Genghis Khan and their men are shown to be more barbaric when compared to their disciplined counterparts in The Tartars. 

The steppes of Eastern Europe where the Tartars are camped.

Aside from these cases of taking the peplum genre in different directions, The Tartars does have traditional genre traits that it proficiently executes. The setting of steppes of Eastern Europe/western Russia are awesome to behold and make great backdrops for the films horse and cavalry sequences. The Tartars bring an exotic, larger than life element to the film, with their lavish ornate castle and elaborate sword dance routine that is the film’s most standout sequence. While there are no strongmen characters to bring a larger-than-life element to the film, the Vikings try their hardest to do over-the-top actions to add extra spectacle to the film, such as calibrating their catapults by firing them at each other, and the aforementioned axe throwing to denote yay or nay in the trial sequence. The battle sequences that bookend the film are spectacular with horseback riding and swarms of swordplay.

Tartar archers during the climatic battle.

If there is a takeaway from The Tartars it is that there is not much of a difference between the titular Tartars and the Vikings. Both are fairly ruthless peoples that result to kidnapping women and adhere to internal codes of conduct and prophecies. The leaders of both, Oleg and Burundai, both die at the end: Oleg from his incompetence and Burundai probably from his over confidence due to his ambition – he was going to win the battle due to his overpowering strength in numbers, so there no reason to rush into battle, except for the cinematic reason to have a one-on-one duel with Oleg. While the movie falters with its writing and casting choices, it is overall fascinating and accomplishes expanding the sword and sandal boundaries with its darker tone and subject matter. 

Categories
Interview Peplum

Aut Caesar Aut Nihil: Twenty Year Retrospective of the XII Caesars Industrial Compilation

Twenty years ago can seem like ancient history when looking at both pop and underground culture, a feeling that becomes compounded when a textual artifact from the past is an examination of ancient history proper. Industrial music typically does not dive into the world of antiquity, (usually staying in the realm of post-modern concepts), but the inherent experimental nature of the genre occasionally pushes a music project or release to explore topics related to ancient history. The 2004 compilation, XII Caesars, released by the long since defunct Somnambulant Corpse, is one of those outlier releases where industrialism and antiquity collide. Twenty years later, the release deserves to be unearthed and re-appreciated, not only for its contribution to the industrial genre, but as a time capsule of the underground scene in the aughts – a literal aural artifact. 

XII Caesars Cover Insert.

XII Caesars is a concept compilation with a specific focus on Julius Caesar and the first eleven emperors of Ancient Rome as detailed in Suetonius’ influential text, The Twelve Caesars. Each track focuses on a specific Caesar and are presented in chronological order of each emperor’s reign with two exceptions: four emperors share track seven “Year Of Four Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian)” and the last track is the epilogue “Ultor,” a reference to Mars Ultor, an iteration of the god of Mars during the period of Augustus.

The first track, “Julius Caesar, Dictator,” is by the ambient-industrial project Exsanguinate. The background drone of the song feels like one is being shaken or rattled, with distorted wailing appearing halfway through the track. There is a chilling, 4-beat rhythm that adds a catchyness to the track, giving listeners something to latch onto during the song’s duration. 

“Augustus” by Tugend is the album’s second track. An ambient song with some neo-classical and borderline dungeon synth elements, it sounds like the music one would hear from a church belonging to an apocalyptic cult, with the latter half of the track bringing a fire-and-brimstone drumming to it.

Card of Tiberius / Murderous Vision.

The third track is the ambient “Tiberius” by Murderous Vision. The song begins with a repeating sample “Hey, Caesar” with the background giving way to other, garbled, sampled voices. The gives the track an effect of hearing whispered plots and schemes, and a general uncomfortable vibe, no doubt recreating the feelings of Tiberius’ paranoia.

“Tiberius” is followed by “Gaius (Caligula)” by Bestia Centauri. A droning track with some atonal electronics, it would easily be at home on the Cryo Chamber label.

Card for Claudius / Post Scriptvm.

Post Scriptvm’s “Claudius” is the compilation’s fifth track. An experimental soundscape, the song is sample heavy of crying, weeping, animal baying, and water rustling. The samples sit atop a 1-2 beat that flows through the song, making the song unnerving and ominous while at the same time accessible and easy to latch onto.

The minimal-ambient “Nero” appears to be the only song ever released by The Great Despisers. 

Survival Unit brings the power electronics genre to XII Caesars with their “Year Of Four Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian).” The track is both burbling and bombastic, peppered with muddled samples of speeches and screeches. It is volatile track, definitely mimicking the period of civil war in the Roman Empire. 

“Titus” by Önd is an extremely minimal, experimental song, bordering on a single note being held through the entire duration. 

The last of the twelves Caesars, Domitian, is the compilation’s penultimate track and composed by Axone, the project of Somnambulant Corpse’s owner Chris Donovan. An industrial soundscape song, “Domitian” feels both windswept and grating, like traversing stone tunnels constructed by giant bees.

The final track on XII Caesars is “Epilogue (Ultor)” by Marspiter. An industrial-ambient composition, the song feels like gazing upon a ruined city in the middle of a desert under a dark sky, a last glimpse of what once was.

Insert Back.
CD in tray.

The cover of XII Caesars shows the busts of the twelve emperors in a small, 3×4 grid, with a faint, dark, modern cityscape as the background. Inside the booklet shows a gladius while the CD proper shows the pillars and buildings of Ancient Rome aflame. The presentation proper is akin to the imagery used by VNV Nation during their Empires-era (late 90s/early 2000s). Included with the album is a series of large, double sided postcards, housed in a ziplock bag, each depicting a rendition of different Caesar in a hand drawn style. The entire package evokes both the ornateness and DIY philosophy expressed by small, extreme music labels of the aughts. 

Complete packaging of XII Caesars.

Though ten industrial/ambient/noise artists are showcased on XII Caesars, only a three survive to the present day: Murderous Vision, Post Scriptvm, and Survival Unit (though Exsanguinate appears defunct, the project’s mastermind, Thomas Garrison, continues on prolifically as Control). Post Scriptvm and Stephen Petrus from Murderous Vision have graciously shared their experiences and thoughts about their tracks, providing incredible insight not only into their craft, but of industrialism of the period. 

What is your relationship with antiquity, classics, or (in the case of pop culture) the sword and sandal genre? Are these topics that interest you or influence you in any way?

Murderous Vision: Outside of an affinity for the Jason And The Argonauts film as a child, I don’t have a notable interest in the genre. I do, however, have an interest in all things historical. So, when creating my Tiberius themed contribution, I tried to keep his rule in mind. Something sounding epical, orderly and underlying dread were the things I attempted to execute.

Post Scriptvm: The name of my project, Post Scriptvm, as well as its specific spelling, is inspired by the mid-1970s BBC series I, Claudius, which portrays the early Roman Empire and is narrated by Emperor Claudius. Although my project has consistently been influenced by the ideas and aesthetics of Russian art and literary movements at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly Russian Futurism, I opted for this Latin name because, to me, it implies fin de siècle or the end of an era.

Murderous Vision, photo courtesy of the artist.

Outside niche subgenres such as neofolk and martial industrial, industrial music generally doesn’t dabble in pre-1900s history, let alone antiquity. From your perspective why do you think that is?

Murderous Vision: I think it may be related to the actual sounds of these genres. The instruments used and song structures involved evoke the way one thinks music sounded in these periods. With standard industrial music, the instrumentation is very clearly of the 20th and 21st centuries, and might be sonically incompatible with these historical periods. Authenticity and effectiveness reign.

Post Scriptvm: Many industrial music artists that I particularly appreciate, such as Bad Sector, Werkbund, Internal Fusion, SPK, Inade, among others, find inspiration in ancient mythologies. To me, this makes perfect sense. A 20th-century art critic once observed that the avant-garde serves as a continuation of classical art within modern contexts—an intentional continuation of an ideal that has been lost and ruined. For me, industrial music, particularly its more extreme, dark variety, has always served as a soundtrack to a civilization in steady and catastrophic decline. We primarily grasp, value and interpret antiquity through its ruins entombed within the sterile museum morgues, while a minuscule portion of surviving texts suggests an expansive realm of ideas forever beyond our reach. Industrial music, in parallel, reflects the decay of modern civilization, frequently finding inspiration in the ruins of ancient cultures. By referencing ancient ruins to depict the downfall of our own society, we are essentially shaping our own antiquity.

Post Scriptvm, photo courtesy of the artist.

What was the genesis of your involvement of the XII Caesars compilation?

Murderous Vision: At the time I had a close relationship with Chris Donovan and his label Somnambulant Corpse. I had previously been involved with the label on his Lovecraft themed compilation [note: The Outsider], and released a split CD with his personal project Kuru, called Blood-Brain Barrier. Both of these were released by Somnambulant.

Post Scriptvm: I received an invitation to contribute to the compilation from the owner of the Somnambulant Corpse record label. A couple of years prior to XII Caesars, Somnambulant had issued my debut album [note: Guaze], and I had previously contributed a track to the label’s earlier compilation dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft.

Did you get to select your emperor or was one assigned to you?

Post Scriptvm: The label actually had assigned each artist a Caesar to dedicate a track to, stating that the compilation’s subject matter necessitated a somewhat dictatorial approach.

Murderous Vision: It was assigned to me, based on his personal feeling of which emperor he felt suited the sound of each project he chose to include.

Your track on the compilation, was it an untitled song you had in your repertoire that you submitted or was it a song composed exclusively for the release?

Murderous Vision: It was composed exclusively for his compilation.

Post Scriptvm: For this compilation, I created an entirely new track, incorporating samples from both I, Claudius and the 1979 film Caligula, another one of my favorites.

How did you go about capturing the theme of your respective Caesar and conveying it in your composition?

Murderous Vision: I started by reading what I could online about the history and life of my Caesar. In drafting the sounds I kept in mind that I wanted to use reverbs that would evoke vast marble halls and open ancient stadiums. I recorded everything with a degraded VHS copy of Caligula playing on the TV in the background. 

Post Scriptvm: Apart from incorporating samples from the mentioned films and submerging myself into both The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius and The Roman Empresses by Jacques Roergas De Serviez prior to recording the track, I did not deviate from my typical approach for composing Post Scriptvm tracks at the time. As an undergraduate student back then, I had only rather primitive, rudimentary equipment at my disposal, which, in my view, was well suited for interpreting the ambiance of the ancient Roman Empire.

Going back in time to 2004, what do you recall the reception of the XII Caesars was like?

Murderous Vision: I don’t think it was widely circulated, but deeply appreciated by those who did get one. I seem to remember some favorable reviews circulating. 

Post Scriptvm: The reception was very positive. Despite being a DIY homemade CD-R release, the compilation was sold all over the United States and Europe and received several positive reviews in the underground press. The early 2000s marked the pinnacle for underground industrial music artists and small independent record labels like Somnambulant.

What are your thoughts on the compilation as a whole, from the presentation to the other contributions?

Murderous Vision: I was quite proud of my involvement. The label pulled no punches in the presentation, using high quality artwork and paper stocks to present the art panels, and professionally produced media sealed the deal. Every other act contributed great sound materials. It was a stellar compilation from a golden era that was known for stellar compilations.

Post Scriptvm: It is certainly of its time both in terms of sound production and its distinctly DIY presentation. It’s a wonderful testament to the era when underground experimental music flourished, showcasing the passion and dedication of the record label and every artist involved. Regrettably, the record label and the majority of the artists are no longer active.

Reflecting on your song for the compilation, are there any changes you would’ve made for it? Any thoughts of updating, remastering, or remixing your song and giving it a second life?

Murderous Vision: I think the track was a nice representation of the sound of Murderous Vision in that era. I think it stands as a good representation of both the band and the theme. The version that appears on there was truncated by the label for whatever reason he had at the time. The full, unedited version did, however, appear in 2006 on the Murderous Vision retrospective Ghosts of the Soul Long Lost Volume 1 [Note: listed as “Tiberious (Full Version)”].

Post Scriptvm: If I were to reinterpret that track now, it would have a completely different sound. I prefer directing my attention towards the future rather than dwelling on the past. Nonetheless, having to revisit it would provide me with a compelling reason to reread The Twelve Caesars and The Roman Empresses and to rewatch Caligula and I, Claudius.

Finally, what are some upcoming project news you’d like to share?

Post Scriptvm: My new LP titled Eisstoß is now available on Tesco Organisation, and I have a cassette EP titled Секта set for release in April on DumpsterScore Home Recordings.

Murderous Vision: This year will be another filled with activity. 2024 actually marks thirty years since the inception of the project. Among things that will happen this year are a performance in May supporting longtime friends Awen in NYC. There are a couple special surprises planned for the gig, but one must attend to see what they are! This year will also see the release of a new full length album called Pestilent Black Breath on Germany’s excellent label Dunkelheit Produktionen. Work is also well underway on a retrospective book of reflections on thirty years of Murderous Vision that will be packed with photos, flyers and ephemera from the beginning to present times. The machine chugs on…

Sincere thank you to Stephen Petrus and Post Scriptvm for their time and answers. More information on their projects can be found at the below links:

More information/tickets on the upcoming Awen/Murderous Vision/Autumn Brigade/DSM-III can be found here.

Categories
Peplum

Maiden Voyage: Hearteater #1

Kimona, better known as the Hearteater, is an adventurous pirate lass, who along with her talking raven companion Zephyr, have had their fair share of encounters with treasures, riches, and near death misses. Their newest adventure brings them to Port Harmony, where a magical voice compels Kimona to rescue Finn, a handsome scoundrel of a thief, sentenced to be hung at the gallows. After getting intimately acquainted with each other during the night at an inn, a mystical bell that Kimona wears around her neck begins to glow, signifying a new adventure for the trio.

PDF Cover.

Hearteater is crowdfunded, erotic pirate comic set during the Golden Age of Piracy. Published by the women-owned Laguna Studios, (an offshoot/successor of Unlikely Heroes Studios), the comic is written by Laurie Foster (The Surgeon, Super!), with Cari Salviejo (Xenogeist, Hypergeist) on line art, Patty Arroyo (cover artist for Bombshell & Atomica,Roseblood Manor) on colours, Saïda Temofonte (Number of the Beast, DCeased) on lettering and Brian J. Lambert (Wingless Comics founder) and Sarah White (The Surgeon) as editors.

Genre waves come in cycles: rising, cresting, and retreating every few years. The pirate genre is no exception. After a period of cooling from the numerous Pirates of the Caribbean films, the last few years have seen pirates remerging in all corners of media: television (Our Flag Means Death), video games (Sea of Thieves, and Ubisoft’s freshly released, though somewhat maligned Skull and Bones), music (Visions of Atlantis), and comic books (The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl). Laguna Studios’ Hearteater definitely contributes to the pirate genre canon while overtly embracing the erotic angle promised by tales of swashbucklery. 

Kimona is a fun character, who knows what she wants and is always on the prowl for the next promise of adventure, be it by the sword or between the sheets. She is also a liberated character, both in race and gender, which gives her the agency and mobility to do her pirating deeds. Her raven familiar, Zephyr, acts as her voice of reason, but Kimona is the type of character who does not always give into reason.

Issue one of Hearteater is fairly short, there is no seafaring or sword fighting to be found, but there is an escape attempt and a steamy love scene. Kimona proper gets her character foundtations fleshed out and it is easy for readers to latch on to her.

While the narrative sets up the chess pieces as is traditional in first issues of a new series, the art of Hearteater tells a different story: great characters but forgettable backgrounds.

The expressions and details on characters such as Kimono and Zephyr are great.

The characters, especially Kimona, in Hearteater, look great. Kimona has the best facial expressions that compliment her speech bubbles and make transparent her emotions. Her seductive poses are sultry (with some breast jiggle onomatopoeia thrown in for good measure) while her other depictions show her in command, perhaps with air of mystery as readers are learning more about her.

Opening panel of the comic.

The background art, on the other hand, falters a bit. The opening shot of the comic, designed to lure readers in right from the get go, is an aerial shot of Port Harmony, filled with nondescript, featureless, flat buildings. Hearteater may actually be aware of this limitation because subsequent panels focus on closeups of Kimona and other characters, rather than have backgrounds shown in detail. It’s a shame since in the pirate genre, setting is important as readers want to be whisked away to tropical islands and port cities. The look of the characters nails it, but the world proper needs a bit more love.

Hearteater’s Kickstarter campaign concluded in the autumn of 2023 with backers receiving their rewards in February 2024, a pretty quick turnaround. As with many crowdfunded comics, Hearteater sported a variety of alternative covers – both in normal and risque formats – and came with a handful of extras from meeting stretch goals.

Zheanhmeart risqué cover – personal copy.

Artists who contributed covered are Cari Salviejo, Ian Richardson, KodiArt, Dravacus, Zheanhmeart, and Katy Rewston. All the covers are great, making choosing one a difficult process. Salviejo’s cover though, showing Kimona surrounded by green tentacles, hints at the eldritch elements stated in the Kickstarter campaign but not shown in issue one (something to look forward to in the next issue).

Rewards for the campaign included a metal bookmark and a chibi-esque sticker of Kimona.

Backers also received both digital and physical prints done by Mike Watson and Veronica Smith.

Pirates are awesome and Hearteater is looking to be fantastic as well. The erotic elements are definitely sexy, Kimona and company look to be fun characters to invest in and see their adventure continue, especially if it might venture down into Lovecraftian/Eldritch horror territory while maintaining the pirate atmosphere. A Lovecraftian-Erotic-Pirate story? Yes, please!

Links to know more about Hearteater:

Categories
Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds (2011)

Plot

Granger (Dolph Lundgren) is a retired special forces soldier who runs a martial arts gym in Vancouver, Canada. Sometime in the past he lost his squad during a battle, and each anniversary since then he sips a whisky in their honour. While partaking in his yearly ritual in his home office, he is assaulted by black robed assailants – Dark Ones – which he dispatches with his fists and firearms. In the midst of the skirmish, warrior-wizard Elianna (Natalie Burn) appears, summons a portal, and takes Granger back in time to the ancient kingdom of Ehb. When they manifest by a lake, Elianna is stabbed by a Dark One. After Granger kills the foe, he is besieged by the king’s right hand man, Allard (Aleks Paunovic), who knocks Granger out and takes him to the forest fortress. There Granger meets the king (Lochlyn Munro), who tells Granger he is a chosen one and part of a prophecy where he is to slay the Holy Mother (Christina Jastrzembska), an evil witch who has brought a plague upon the land.

After being tended to by healer Manhattan (Natassia Malthe), surviving an assassination attempt by a wench (Michaela Mann), and consulting a blind fortune teller who lives in a tree (Elisabeth Rosen), Granger is briefed again by the king and sets off into the forest on his quest. Though wanting to go solo, Granger is joined by Allard, Manhattan, and a small squad of the king’s soldiers. Granger and company are ambushed twice by the Dark Ones, with the second time Allard sacrificing himself to allow Granger and Manhattan time to escape.

While fleeing, Manhattan injures her leg, so Granger leaves her in a safe area by a stream and sets off alone to the Dark Ones’ camp. He deduces the Holy Mother wants him alive, so he strolls into the camp unimpeded and gains audience with the Holy Mother who informs him that the king is actually an alchemist named Raven, who is the real villain in the kingdom. He unleashed a plague that killed off many and took over the throne. Granger is actually a child from the prior royal family that the Holy Mother took to the future to hide from Raven, and now that he is back he needs to fulfill the prophecy: find the “catalyst” and defeat Raven. 

The Holy Mother, who turns out was one of the Dark Ones who assaulted Granger in his house, passes away, leaving warrior Dunyana (Heather Doerksen) as the new leader of the Dark Ones. She and her men escort Granger to the outskirts of the dark forest where he is supposed to venture in to search for the unknown “catalyst.” Before entering the forest, Granger uses his new kingly abilities to make Dunyana the new leader of Ehb.

Granger enters the forest and encounters a dragon. As he is about to fight the dragon, Manhattan appears and throws a rock at the beast. The two escape and encounter a squad of Raven’s men, who are quickly dispatched by the dragon that was in pursuit. Granger and Manhattan flee the forest and run into Raven and his small army who take the two captive and back to the forest fortress where he intends to execute them. Just as he is about to kill the duo, the dragon arrives and starts attacking the fortress. Dunyana and her men, who have been waiting in hiding nearby, deduce that the dragon is the catalyst, and charge into the battlefield. 

Raven makes his escape with Granger in pursuit. Arriving at the lake, Raven opens a portal to the future where he intends to unleash his alchemy plague. Raven and Granger hop in and find themselves in Granger’s house. Granger easily dispatches Raven by drowning him in his bath tub and stuffing his vial of plague solution into his mouth. Granger returns to his home office to do a new toast to his new fallen comrades. While doing so, an amulet given to Granger by Manhattan begins to shimmer.

Commentary

In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds (2011) is a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court-style neo-peplum and the second film in Uwe Boll’s In the Name of the King trilogy. As of 2024 it is the second to last video game inspired/adapted film that Boll has directed, the last one being In the Name of the King 3: The Last Mission (2014). Like the first film in the series, the only connection Two Worlds has to the Dungeon Siege PC games of the aughts is being set in the kingdom of Ehb.

Two Worlds can be best summarized as diet Army of Darkness (1992). Both are low budget affairs that involve a time traveler unwittingly thrown to Medieval times, being part of a chosen one prophecy, having to kill an ominous villain (Bad Ash/Holy Mother), and questing to procure a “thing” (Necronomicon/the catalyst [a dragon]). While Army of Darkness has gone on to enjoy decades of cult film appreciation, Two Worlds is fairly run-of-the-mill. There are two primary issues with Two Worlds that hold it back from being a better film: Lundgren (and how he is portrayed/portrays himself) and the writing. 

Lundgren is a proper action star, from bigger budget, A-list, popular films (Universal Soldier [1992], Rocky IV [1985], The Expendables [2010]) to direct-to-DVD fare (Diamond Dogs [2007], Icarus [2010], Silent Trigger [1996], etc.). In 99% of Lundgren films a viewer will know exactly what to expect: Lundgren bringing the martial arts, fisticuffs, and gunplay. Sadly, Two Worlds falls into that 1% category where Lundgren is not on his A-game.

Per IMDB trivia there are two reasons in tandem that are throwing off Lundgren: that this is a paycheck role and that he injured himself early in production. Paycheck roles are not bad per se, they can be fun or elevate an otherwise unremarkable film. Paycheck gigs can be an indicator of enthusiasm for the actor in some instances, with some going through the motions to collect their salary (see the advent of geazer teasers), while others still take their part seriously (such as Nic Cage during his financial troubles, he still brought “Nic Cage” to everything he did).

However, coupling a paycheck role along with Lundgren injuring himself and you have the performance of an actor who definitely does not want to be there. Lundgren must have been in some serious pain because he looks uncomfortable in every shot he is in. This is not the uncomfortable of a fish out of water scenario, (which is what should be going on in this time travel tale), but of someone in legit pain. Because of this, it can be assumed that Boll had to drastically alter the film’s action scenes to accommodate Lundgren. He has one scene in the forest where he punches, kicks, and spears soldiers part of an ambush, but a good chunk of the film shows Lundgren resting, sitting, or laying down. Narratively, the film tries to justify Lundgren’s lack of physical performance by showing scars on his back, that he was previously wounded in battle, and still takes medication to combat his lingering injuries. It is, pun intended, only a bandaid for the film. For these reasons, it appears Lundgren is not able to bring his full Lundgren-ness to Two Worlds, especially since he is no stranger to fantasy roles having played He-Man in Masters of the Universe (1987), but commendable for him sticking it out. 

The second major fault with Two Worlds lays with its writing, specifically in two arenas: the film does not lean in to its main, unique feature, and the film has no narrative stakes and will unfold the same way regardless of the presence of the Granger character or not.

Firstly, Two Worlds does not take advantage of its premise: that of a special forces person thrust into Medieval times. This movie should have had multiple scenes of Granger using his special forces expertise to dispatch enemies, infiltrate camps, and gather intel. Army of Darkness leaned into this attribute with the character of Ash (Bruce Campbell), even though that character is a normal person: he trains Arthur’s army, has a shotgun, uses a chemistry textbook to make explosives, outfits his car with a giant rotor and so on. The character of Granger exclaims he wants to sneak into the Holy Mother’s camp, but the king instead outfits him with a squad of soldiers, ruining an opportunity for modern day covert activity action. There is one sequence where Granger sneaks up on an unsuspecting soldier as they are cooking and then stabs them. Granger then proceeds to walk into the Holy Mother’s camp unimpeded, as he is expected, rending his stealth kill unnecessary. Movies such as The Final Countdown (1980) and G. I. Samurai (1979) narratively take advantage of modern tech/skills in historic times, Two Worlds does not.

Secondly, this is a film were the events that unfold do not “count,” like a movie that ends with everything being a dream, lowering the narrative stakes. If Granger had not time traveled back to the era of Ehb, the movie would end in the exact same way as if he did: Raven may or may not attempt to kill the Holy Mother, but regardless he will still take the time portal and – surprise – end up in Granger’s house. At that point, the movie would end in the same fashion of Granger defeating Raven as he would be an intruder in his home. The only reason for Granger to travel to the past is because the prophecy of him being the chosen one dictates it. Unfortunately, the plot of the film leans too heavy on the chosen one prophecy as it is used as hand-waving justification of why the movie unfolds the way it does. Why does Granger need to head into the woods? Who knows – prophecy. What is he questing for? Who knows – prophecy. Why do the Dark Ones, if they are the good guys, attack Granger in his own home? Who knows – prophecy. And so on. It’s a panacea for bad writing.

Boll, to his credit, salvages what he can with an injured actor and a script that was no doubt in flux. The woodland battles look good and the use of sweeping shots of tree-covered mountains give the film an epic quality to it. The choice to film in winter is an interesting one. Everyone in this film is obviously cold, with their breath visible in every shot, but this cold factor adds a gritty element to the film. 

As a neo-peplum film, Two Worlds is sword and sorcery in the post-Lord of the Rings vein. There is not an emphasis on bodies in Two Worlds as one would find in 80s barbarian films. Like a peplum strongman character, Granger primarily uses punches and kicks to dispatch his foes. He is given a sword towards the film’s final act, which he unsheathes when he encounters the dragon, but he does not actually engage in combat with it. 

Aside from the brief shot of his back in his gym at the beginning of the film, Lundgren/Granger’s body is never on display in Two Worlds, so no Ivan Drago shots to be found. Though he is not portrayed as a traditional strongman character, Granger does share some characteristics with Conan in that they are both orphaned very young and grow up learning how to fight (Conan as a gladiator and Granger as a special forces member). In a related observation, the kingdom of Ehb is similar to Conan’s Hyborian Age, a prehistory fantasy setting that allows wiggle room for magic and history proper.

There is a genre meta reference when Granger asks Allard if he is into “swords and sweaty sandals.” However, the jab sounds like it is trying to ape Airplane’s (1980) “Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?” except it comes off as needlessly homophobic in Two Worlds. The reference is welcomed, but it could have been delivered in a non-derogatory manner. In fact, this is another missed opportunity in that Granger could have brought up pop culture references of fantasy and peplum films to help him make sense of his time traveled predicament. 

Boll has a reputation for making bad movies, particularly video game adapted films, but In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds is one of his better works. The movie proper is competent and scratches an epic fantasy itch. If Lundgren had been able to perform at his 100% his presence would have elevated the film to a more memorable status and provided a much needed wink-and-nod to make the greater narrative more digestible. 

Categories
Peplum

Straight From the Forge: New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine #00

At a functional level, genre labels provide a short hand of attributes and qualities to assist in categorizing a text. By calling a film or a book or any sort of media a “comedy,” or “fantasy,” or “horror” and so on denotes that the text exhibits a large quantity of aspects associated with that label, with the assumption that genres are not absolute and that texts can straddle multiple genres (though some purists may argue for concrete borders on genre definitions). As time progresses and forms of media explore the limits of ur-genre boundaries, the development of subgenre labels come into being to assist in fine tuning categorizations: it’s not just a horror film, it’s a slasher film. 

“New Edge Sword and Sorcery” can be thought of as a subgenre of the sword and sorcery genre, which is turn can be thought of as an offshoot of the fantasy genre. New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine acts as the first stake in the ground to lay the foundations of/crystalize the burgeoning subgenre.

What is New Edge Sword and Sorcery (NES&S) and what makes it distinct when compared to sword and sorcery proper? This is the question editor Oliver Brackenbury addresses in the final column of the first (zero) issue of New Edge magazine: a flexible iteration of sword and sorcery that embraces not only marginalized and outsider protagonists, but genre content creators as well (the magazine looks to be more rooted in literary New Edge, but the subgenre philosophy posited by the publication is certainly applicable to NES&S in other forms). 

To illustrate these aspects of the subgenre, New Edge magazine is divided into 50% short fiction and 50% non-fiction that entails interviews, essays, and reviews. The non-fiction half of issue zero of the magazine contains the following: an extremely thoughtful, long-form interview with Milton Davis, one of the leading figures of the sword and soul subgenre; nice, succinct piece from Brian Murphy on the prevalence of the outsider in sword and sorcery fiction; a review on The Obanaax, and essay from Cora Buhlert about C. L. Moore and their S&S protagonist, Jirel of Joiry; and more. The fiction portion contains some great pieces, with “The Ember Inside” by Remco Straten and Angeline B. Adams being particularly stand out with its unique take on storytelling as a concept proper while the opening story, “The Curse of the Horsetail Banner” by Daniel R. A. Quioque offers up illustrative combat sequences with a hero that, against all odds, really overcomes the masses. 


Peppered throughout issue zero of New Edge are a variety of black and white illustrations to accompany the various pieces, giving the whole issue a feel of classic RPG books. 

The first issue (technically zero issue) of New Edge is both informative and fun. Old and new guard fans of the sword and sorcery genre will certainly appreciate the stories within, while the non-fiction pieces are thoughtful with the Davis interview being particularly insightful. The current trend of fantasy genre media seems to be sweeping toward titanic epics in the George R. R. Martin vein, which isn’t an antithesis of new edge per se, it is just a different approach via different modes. Fantasy is en vogue again, and it is the perfect opportunity to showcase that there are different, more inclusive ways to explore the genre, and that is were new edge (the subgenre) comes into play. New Edge (the magazine) acts as a portal for readers to enter the realm of new fantasy stories built upon the pillars of the old. 

More information about New Edge the magazine and the genre can be found at the following links:

Categories
Peplum

Weekend Rental: 80s Sword and Sorcery and Retrogaming in A Game Called Quest

Note: This essay was first published in the autumn of 2018 in the Letters from Thanator zine that is part of S. T. Joshi’s Esoteric Order of Dagon APA. This essay has been updated with corrections to spelling, word usage, and various clarifications. 

A Game Called Quest is author S. J. Larsson’s third book, after 2016’s Megalodon: Apex Predator and 2017’s Total Immersion. Published with Severed Press, (as with his other two titles), A Game Called Quest concerns brother and sister Donny and Amanda, joined by friend Kevin, as they play a video game on the Atari 2600 entitled Quest which seemingly has VR capabilities that puts them into a fantasy world called Quintarria. The novella itself has issues: misspellings pop up more frequent than they should and Larsson doesn’t appear to be up to task to convey the story at an appropriate pace and consistent fashion. Despite these shortcomings, A Game Called Quest is noteworthy for its attempt at blending retro-modernism in the form of 80s nostalgia that has surfaced in the past decade along with the neo-peplum/sword and sorcery genre. The ongoing wave of 80s nostalgia is mostly preoccupied with the era’s horror aspect, (as evident in the Netflix series Stranger Things), and Miami Vice-esque aesthetics and for the most part eschews the sword and sorcery element that were popular during the decade. A Game Called Quest’s intersection of 80s retro-ism and sword and sorcery is its strongest facet and deserves exploration. 

Personal copy of A Game Called Quest.

This short-form article will first provide a plot summation of A Game Called Quest followed by an attempt to unearth both the 80s retro-modernism and sword and sorcery elements in the story. Next, additional contextualization will be pointed out between the text and the real world, specifically regarding the usage of Pac-Man and how A Game Called Quest relates to other early console fantasy games, some that flirt with ARG (alternate reality game)-elements, akin to Quest’s VR immersion. 

A Game Called Quest centers on Donny, a fourteen year old freshman trying to purchase a copy of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600 on launch day, but is thwarted by class bullies Brian, Duff, and Ernie. His punk-rock sister Amanda takes him and Kevin, a not-quite-a-friend of Donny’s, to purchase something else to cheer them up. They wind up in a mysterious trinket store where the eccentric proprietor, Royee, rents them an Atari game he created himself: Quest. The three take the game, along with its various peripherals, back home and play it. They are plunged into a fantasy world called Quintarria, with Donny assuming the role of a wizard and party leader, Amanda an elf archer, and Kevin a dwarf warrior. The three set off to save the kingdom, leveling up by killing monsters and bosses while gaining new skills and abilities in the process. At the same time, they also combat the real world bullies who intrude on them. The novella ends with the trio beating the VRgame, besting the bullies, and returning Quest to Royee, whose shop mysteriously disappears. 

The 80s was perhaps the last gilded age of the sword and sorcery genre until the Lord of the Rings trilogy attempted to revive it twenty years later. The decade prior saw the cumulation of literary sword and sorcery, with folks like Lin Carter who edited many fantasy anthologies that gave visibility to both new talent and older, obscure works. The 80s saw the genre transcend the literary world and into other mediums, particularly in the cinematic realm. Examples include film adaptations of Robert E. Howard’s Conan such as Conan the Barbarian (1982, John Milius) and Conan the Destroyer (1984, Richard Fleischer), esoteric fare such as Hundra (1983, Matt Cimber), animated endeavors like Fire and Ice (1983, Ralph Bakshi) and even Italian derivatives such as Ator, The Fighting Eagle (1982, Joe D’Amato) and Conquest (1983, Lucio Fulci). The genre was also explored in video games, such as Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II, Legendary Axe and Golden Axe, and tabletop games as with Dungeons and Dragons.

Despite the popularity of the genre, sword and sorcery elements are greatly lacking representation in the current 80s nostalgia trend. Outrun, the aesthetics that dominate 80s retro-ism and so named after the Sega arcade game of the same name, concentrates on components such as neon-magenta colours, vector gridlines, VHS tracking artifacts and faux VHS boxart, a setting sun broken by clouds, fast cars and palm trees. Synthwave, the music genre heavily inspired by the 80s, focuses mostly on horror elements (especially John Carpenter films and his music), as well police elements such as those in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985, William Friedkin), and cyberpunk and 8-bit/16-bit video game aesthetics. Movies and television shows such as Stranger Things, Kung Fury (2015, David Sandberg), Turbo Kid (2015, Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell), and so on, also focus on these facets of the 80s. Stranger Things comes close to tackling the sword and sorcery genre during this time period, with the children in the show playing Dungeons and Dragons in season one and the arcade game Dragon’s Lair in season two. However, depictions of Frank Frazetta-styled barbarians and ruggedly harsh but fantastic worlds are absent in the present day trend of retro-modernism. Most sword and sorcery depictions appear in shows such as Game of Thrones, but even that series has its own identity and does not rely on 80s homage. The Fox television show Son of Zorn is perhaps the closest example of sword and sorcery done in a retro-modern fashion. Son of Zorn was a live action sitcom with a cartoonish He-Man inspired character named Zorn inserted into the “real world” à la Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, Robert Zemeckis) and Cool World (1992, Ralph Bakshi). The show was not a success and was cancelled after its first season. 

Therefore, while the greater outrun, synthwave, and retro-modernism movements are concerned with exploring the horror, retro-tech, cyberpunk and Miami Vice elements of the 80s, A Game Called Quest differentiates itself within 80s revivalism by centering itself at the crossroads of retro-gaming and the sword and sorcery genre while borrowing heavily from other popular and cult 80s stories. To begin with, A Game Called Quest shares much in common with The NeverEnding Story (1984, Wolfgang Petersen): both involve bullies harassing a young protagonist and a sequence in which the youth visits a store and procures an item (a book in The NeverEnding Story and a video game in A Game Called Quest) that transports them to a fantasy world full of magic and populated by fantastic beasts and denizens. There are also shades of Labyrinth (1986, Jim Hensen) and Tron (1982, Steven Lisberger) present in A Game Called Quest as well, with both films involving heroes going to another world, with Tron complimenting the video game aspect and Labyrinth the fantasy aspect. Though made in the early 90s, it should be pointed out that A Game Called Quest’s plot anticipates Full Moon Entertainment’s Arcade (1993, Albert Pyun) in which teenagers are transported into a virtual video game world. 

Regarding the 80s sword and sorcery elements, attention should first be directed to the novella’s cover. The artwork is a stock piece of art called “Dwarf Knight on Winter Cold” by Vuk Kostic1 that depicts a heavily armored dwarf in a forest during a winter’s night. The placement of the artwork against a solid red background and the typeface of the title has the cover replicate the box art of an old Atari video game. Though the dwarf isn’t quite in the Frazetta or Boris Vallejo style, it still evokes 80s fantasy elements. The story proper, of course, is submerged in video game sword and sorcery, with a party of adventurers fighting dragons, dark elves, snow imps, trolls, chimeras, and more. While the sword and sandal and the sword and sorcery genres share some overlap, A Game Called Quest contains elements of the neo-peplum genre, having been written post-1990, and by playfully making use of the genre tropes in a unique fashion.2 Basically, a contemporary-written book that leverages the sword and sorcery genre but via an 80s retro-gaming framework.

There is some fortuitous irony in that Donny is able to get Quest over Pac-Man. Various times through the story, Donny or Kevin exclaim how Quest is the greatest game ever.3 This is in stark contrast to the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man that Donny had been pining for. This was the first home console port of Pac-Man, though it differs wildly in quality to the superior arcade version. Though initially a best seller, the port’s poor quality eventually had a negative impact to both Atari (who had manufactured an excessive number of cartridges)4 and the overall image of the video game industry. These would be elements that led into the video game crash of 1983.5

Poor reception of Pac-Man aside, there is a greater link between Pac-Man, Quest and fantasy games as they appeared on early consoles. The 2600 port of Pac-Man was programmed by Tod R. Frye who would go on to program the Swordquestseries of games for the 2600. Swordquest consisted of three games, Earthworld, Fireworld, and Waterworld with a fourth release, Airworld, being unreleased (though a version would appear on the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration compilation released in late 2022). The Swordquest games were not RPG games but instead adventure-puzzlers. Taking place in a fantasy world, players would move between rooms, dropping off items and solving puzzles. The innovative feature of the Swordquest games, much like Quest, is the ARG/metagame aspect of it: accomplishments in the game could impact the real world. In Swordquest, clues are unveiled within the game and crossed referenced in an accompanying comic book. Solving these puzzles would offer the player opportunities to win real world treasures created by the Franklin Mint: the Talisman of Penultimate Truth from Earthworld, the Chalice of Light from Fireworld, the Crown of Life from Waterworld, the Philosopher’s Stone from Airworld and ultimately the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery. The series was ultimately cancelled after the limited release of Waterworld and Atari was purchased by Tramel Technology.6 It is quite uncanny that Quest attempts to blend a video game with the real world in its narrative while the Swordquest series was, in every practical sense, actually able to perform this feat. 

A Game Called Quest is not the best written work as Larsson doesn’t posses either the technical writing or storytelling acumen to truly accomplish what they set out to do. However, the fragments that do exist, the intersection of 80s nostalgia and the sword and sorcery genre via retro-gaming, is a stand out, well executed aspect of the novella. It’s definitely aninteresting take on the sword and sorcery genre as well as a refreshing nostalgia piece that attempts to work with specific80s tropes that are not as popular as others.

Endnotes

  1. “Dwarf Night on a Winter Cold,” Shutterstock, accessed July 19, 2018. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/dwarf-knight-on-winter-cold-537957022.
  2. A few of the tenants of neo-pepla is that while it is applicable mostly to the sword and sandal stories, it has a universality that is can be applied to stories with shades of sword and sandal and encourages different styles (especially post-modern) of storytelling as well. The genre is also not restricted to films, but instead is a true transmedia genre thatcan be found in television, video games, comic books, music, literature, and other media as well. Nicholas Diak, introduction to The New Peplum: Essays on Sword and Sandal Films and Television Programs since the 1990s, ed. Nicholas Diak (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017), 6-14
  3. S. J. Larsson, A Game Called Quest (Hobart, Tasmania: Severed Press, 2018), 18, 130.
  4. Steven L. Kent, The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond – The Story Behind the Craze that Touched Our Lives and Changed the World (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001), 236.
  5. Ibid., 239.
  6. Eric Grundhauser, “The Quest for the Real-Life Treasures of Atari’s Swordquest,” Atlas Obscura, last modified March 8, 2016. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-quest-for-the-reallife-treasures-of-ataris-swordquest.

Bibliography

Diak, Nicholas. Introduction to The New Peplum: Essays on Sword and Sandal Films and Television Programs since the 1990s, 4-19. Edited by Nicholas Diak. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017. 

“Dwarf Night on a Winter Cold.” Shutterstock. Accessed July 19, 2018. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/dwarf-knight-on-winter-cold-537957022.

Grundhauser, Eric. “The Quest for the Real-Life Treasures of Atari’s Swordquest.” Atlas Obscura. Last modified March 8, 2016. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-quest-for-the-reallife-treasures-of-ataris-swordquest.

Kent, Steven L. The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond – The Story Behind the Craze that Touched Our Lives and Changed the World. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2001. 

Larsson, S. J. A Game Called Quest. Hobart, Tasmania: Severed Press, 2018. 

Categories
Peplum

The Perfume of Traitors: Born of Blood Issue 2

Spoilers and NSFW content ahead.

It’s been one year since Princess Giaris led a victorious attack on the Argives and won over the Sparta populace as their future queen. In the time since, Giaris, her father King Cleomenes, and warrior Mor all led successful sorties against the enemies of Sparta. While Cleomenes is satisfied with his daughter’s development into a skilled warrior, he sends her off to his advisor Aurelia to continue her training – the arts of suggestion and seduction.

Born of Blood #2 standard retail cover by Ruth Lucas.

Aurelia puts Giaris through a regimen of bedding Spartan warriors to improve her sexual prowess and to make her able to read men’s bodies in order to seduce and then command them. She is taught other arts of intrigue, such as using different perfumes to accomplish near magical effects. 

Born of Blood #2 variant cover by Shikarii.

Meanwhile, Cleomenes is visited by the Klepthes who demand land as payment for the information they provided to Giaris to the whereabouts of the Argives (see issue one). Cleomenes furiously rejects their demands. That night the Klepthes kidnap Cleomenes and hold him ransom and murder Mor in the skirmish. Giaris tortures one of the surviving Klepthes to find their camp by ripping his foot off.

Giaris leads a small army of women armed with intoxicating perfumes to the Klepthes’ camp where they proceed to charm and murder its occupants. However, they are too late for Cleomenes had been impaled to a rack, tortured, and killed. 

After the King is buried next to his wife during a funeral attended by Leonidas, Aurelia spits on his grave, revealing herself as the orchestrator of his demise. 

Born of Blood #2 variant cover (in foil) by Lauren Wright.

While the first issue of Born of Blood was heavy on combat, issue two takes the toga and sandal approach by focusing on the political and intrigue aspects of the neo-peplum genre (with an strong emphasis on the seduction). Issue two borrows heavily from the porno-pepla of the late 70s and early 80s (Caligula, Caligula the Untold Story, and Caligula and Messalina) with wanton nudity and sexual acts. Blood is not the only bodily fluid that flows in abundance in the panels of issue two.

These two panels sum up issue two.

The artwork depicting Aurelia in a rather sinister format foreshadows her treachery at the issue’s end. It’s an obvious cliché. However, the throwback to the first issue’s encounter with the Klepthes, which only occurs in one (seemingly) throwaway panel was an unexpected element of intrigued that strongly ties both issues together. 

The emotional angle of issue two is on the idiosyncratic side. Giaris mourns for the loss of her father during a rainy funeral, yet has no reaction (during or immediately afterward) when finding Mor’s body. He is only brought up offhandedly at the issue’s funeral conclusion. Giaris isn’t that cold hearted (yet?), instead it feels like a panel of acknowledgment is missing. 

Issue two of Born of Blood is certainly graphic, both in its violence (ripped off limbs) and nudity, but it provides a backdrop of severity and intensity for Princess Giaris in her story to become a fierce Queen of Sparta. 

The Kickstarter that funded the production of issue two concluded in June 2022 with issues shipping in the late fall. As with other MERC Publishing crowdfunding endeavors there was lots of swag, add-ons, and alternate covers which also had their own variants (foil, metal, nude/non-nude, etc.).

These included bookmarks.

And Magnets.

Stickers, poker chips, and other loot.

All the Kickstarter loot for my pledge.

The Kickstarter .PDF of issue two stated that issue three would be hitting stores back in November. This didn’t quite happen as it looks like crowdfunding for issue three will begin in early 2023. The Kickstarter waiting page can be found here.

In the meantime, please check my other articles related to this write up.

Born of Blood #2 and MERC Publishing Links:

Categories
Peplum

Salvaged Goods: Alicia Carter and Robot Issue 01

The Astonishing Adventures of Alicia Carter and Robot is a brand new comic series by Tristan Vick, with Chris Awayan on art and Mirza Wirawan on colours. The debut issue of Alicia Carter and Robot (ACaR) was Kickstarted in February 2022 and released by Vick’s own publishing imprint, Regolith Comics. 

SFW cover for ACaR by Karen Darboe (for preview/thumbnail purposes)

ACaR is described on its Kickstarter campaign as an “action-packed sci-fi adventure” in the vein of classic pulps such as “Northwest Smith, Flash Gordon, and John Carter of Mars” with comedy thrown in. The Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character homage is immediately noticed in Alicia Carter’s last name. The comic shares the sci-fi pulp DNA in the same vein as Star Wars does. 


Personal copy of ACaR with NSFW Toshio Maeda-inspired cover by Awayan.

Carter is an infamous space thief whose latest escapade has her stealing a crystal from the reptilian criminal Klaven Skullvek and the two bounty hunters in his employ: the cybernetic Armitage and sniper Kira. While being pursued, Carter crash lands on Junk World, an entire planet converted into a garbage dump by Nova Corp. Amnesic from a head wound during her rough landing, Carter is rescued by Garbage Disposal Unit 3 (GDU-3), a bipedal robot that salvages treasures from the refuse. Together, Carter and GDU-3 team up to evade Skullvek and his henchpeople and escape from Junk World. 

Alicia Carter.

Carter as a character is a fun, rogueish heroine in the Han Solo/Star-Lord sense. As a sword and planet character, much like John Carter, she appears to be incredibly agile and able to leap large distances – or at least within the gravity on Junk World. If Carter has any fault it is due to the temporary amnesia she only suffers from for a handful of pages. If anything, this selective amnesia robs her of precious character development as it otherwise doesn’t advance or effect the plot at all. On the other hand, Carter is extremely animated and emotive. She pops off the comic’s pages with gestures and facial expressions that make her both endearing and easy to read, which is definitely in part due to the art and colour work of Awayan and Wirawan respectively. 

GDU-3 (The Robot).

GDU-3 is quite fleshed out as a robot character. While he has protocols he must follow, he exhibits numerous human-like traits, such as he collects books and other trinkets for his own collection. His relationship to his parent company, Nova Corp, is very like that of Robocop to OCP – he follows his directives, but with the help of others, is able to overcome some of his programming to be more capable and free. 

The art of ACaR is excellent. The Awayan and Wirawan team are able to make the muted, drab garbage planet of Junk World look interesting. All the characters look distinctive, at appropriate times stepping into cartoonish territory, but only for added comedic affect. 

No expense was spared on issue one of ACaR. The comic clocks in at thirty-six pages of content including a gallery of all the alternative covers. The back cover of the comic has a bit of texture on it as well. In addition, folks who contributed to the ACaR Kickstarter received a plethora of fantastic loot as part of the campaign’s stretch goals. 

Trading cards.

Firstly, there was six trading cards, one for each character. The backs of the cards contain stats (strength, speed, charisma, etc.) along with a biography of the pictured character. Hopefully the trading card trend will continue in successor crowdfunding campaigns. They are fun but they also provided paratextual information to supplement the world and character building in the comic.

Stickers and magnet.

Next, two chibi-styled stickers of Carter and GDU-3 along with a magnet of their ship were part of the stretch goals.

Foil art print by Shikarii.

Finally, a holofoil art print of Carter looking bad ass by artist Shikarii is also part of the package.

The Kickstarter campaign was also an avenue to pre-purchase exclusive cover variants of ACaR done by different artists, with most covers also having a NSFW incarnation. Interestingly, most Kickstarter comic book campaigns that have numerous NSFW covers also have corresponding content that is adult in nature (nudity, sex, and violence). Though ACaR has a handful of risque covers (see personal copy above), the comic proper is fairly PG-13. There’s no nudity and barely any profanity (swear words are replaced: “helios” for “hell,” “frack” for “fuck” and so on). The violence is cartoonish, with only one scene showing blood (on a regenerative character at that). 

ACaR is off to a great start. Carter is a fun heroine and GDU-3 a shocking fleshed out, unique character. Unknown if future issues of the series will be episodic in nature, with a different adventure in each comic, or one large arc spanning multiple issues, but the intergalactic antics of Carter and GDU-3 look promising and exciting.

More information about Alicia Carter and Robot and the team behind it can be found at the following locations:

Categories
Interview Peplum

New Tales of Heroic Fantasy: Sword and Sorcery Stories in Weird Tales #366

There’s no time like the present to indulge in the stories of the heroic, mythical, and magical past. Streaming services from Amazon and HBO launched brand new fantasy shows, The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon respectively. Young adult fantasy continues to be a lucrative market and indie fantasy comics books are being realized via the power of crowdfunding.

Vanguard literary magazine Weird Tales pioneered pulp, cosmic horror, and sword and sorcery stories. Their upcoming issue, #366, is devoted to tales of heroic fantasy with new stories, poems, and essays contributing to the contemporary fantasy canon. A few contributors to this sword and sorcery special issue have graciously shared tidbits of their poems and stories along with their relationship with the genre. 

Brian W. Matthews

Story Title

“Temm the Riven”

Story Synopsis

A knight is tasked by his king to save the realm, but to do so, he must return to his childhood home and confront the evil of his past.

Primary goal to accomplish with your story?

I wanted to create an effective blend of fantasy and horror. Clive Barker does it so well, but he blends horror with urban fantasy. I wanted to take a stab at injecting horror into an epic fantasy setting.

Your favourite type of sword and sorcery: classic heroic fantasy (like R.E. Howard) or big epic fantasy (like Tolkien)?

I’m more of an epic fantasy person. Nothing against heroic fantasy. I just never had much exposure to [Robert E.] Howard. 

Any S&S authors that have had an influence on you? If so, who and how?

I grew up reading Tolkein and Donaldson and Zelazny and was taken by their characters and how the setting forged who they were into who they became. This is particularly true of Stephen R. Donaldson. He makes his characters quite human, injects common sense and self-preservation into them, and then puts them through the grinder of the fantasy setting to see what kind of person/hero they can become.

Brian W. Matthews can be found at:

Teel James Glenn

Poem Title

“Bard”

Poem Synopsis

It recounts the life/career of a storyteller, and as a Celt a Seanache was an important part of the Celtic culture and means a lot to me. 

Primary goal to accomplish with your poem?

I think all cultures, especially warrior cultures, the propaganda of narrative and drive much of their agendas. This is a tale of someone embracing that warrior ethic.

Your favourite type of sword and sorcery: classic heroic fantasy (like Robert E. Howard) or big epic fantasy (like Tolkien)?

Absolutely the R.E.H. type of tale. My own approach to poetry is very much in the shadows of Howard’s poetry. I much prefer the “in the streets” fantasy as opposed to the ‘from the place window’ type of story that has a grand, expansive view.

My own fantasy series of Altiva stories, which often contain poetry as part of the narrative, are very “down to earth.”

Any S&S authors that have had an influence on you? If so, who and how?

Clearly Howard is prime, but so are the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Nancy Hansen, and even the Lin Carter books. All very much in the same “in the trenches” feel, though Ms. Hansen’s stories have a very wide world view they never feel ‘effete’ or fantastic—they stay grounded. And, Moorcock is the perfect mix of a grand vision but a very personal, human story telling. The characters never feel like analogs, they feel like real people.

Teel James Glenn can be found at:

Dana Fredsti & Dave Fitzgerald

Story Title

“Maid of Steel”

Story Synopsis

It’s a classic hero’s journey with really nasty monsters. 

How about: It’s a twist on the classic hero’s journey in a fresh fantasy milieu, with some really nasty monsters… 

Primary goal to accomplish with your story?

Dana: We pretty much wanted to write a story that was original, but stayed true to the elements that make sword and sorcery so much fun to read. I was dying to return to the fantasy world I’d created a few years ago for another short story. It had strong characters, both male and female, with a really unique setting and all the makings of a truly great series. Dave and I couldn’t wait to build on the promise of the original story. 

Your favourite type of sword and sorcery: classic heroic fantasy (like Robert E. Howard) or big epic fantasy (like Tolkien)?

Dave: I admire the beauties of high fantasy, but if pressed, I have to confess I prefer to play in the rough-and-tumble gutters and back alleys of low fantasy. 

Dana: I definitely prefer heroic fantasy, and more specifically, the darker entries in the genre. I love a good mix of fantasy, swashbuckling, and horror. 

Any S&S authors that have had an influence on you? If so, who and how?

Dave: Both REH and Tolkien, but also Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné series, Jack Vance’s Dying Earth stories, Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, and so many others (RBT, Holdstock, Tanith Lee, Burroughs’ Warlord of Mars…). I especially love the blend of the outré and the strangely familiar in all these series. 

Dana: While I love the works of Robert E. Howard, the king of dark S&S for me is Karl Edward Wagner and his Kanenovels and stories. I don’t think there’s a better anti-hero out there. I’ve reread them at least a half dozen times, my old Wagner paperbacks are very well-loved! I am also a huge fan of Jonathan Maberry’s epic S&S novel Kagen the Damned.

[Note: check out the H. P. Lovecast Podcast interview with Maberry about Kagen the Damned]

Dana Fredsti can be found at:

Dave Fitzgerald can be found at:

Sincere thanks and gratitude for all who partook in this collection of short form interviews to talk about their sword and sorcery texts. If you’re interested in reading these stories and poems when they are published, make sure to pre-order issue #366 of Weird Tales. The product page for this issue can be found here. 

Categories
Peplum

Victory Lap: Unpacking the Ben-Hur Fiftieth Anniversary Boxset

As covered previously, the aughts were a decadent decade for physical movie releases and re-releases, where titanic boxsets of film ephemera reigned supreme. 

In 2009 the Biblical peplum film Ben-Hur turned fifty years old. Such an occasional merited a boxset re-release of the film, even though it had just been re-released as a four disc collector’s edition four years prior, and as a deluxe edition in 2002. In 2011 the fiftieth anniversary edition was finally realized on Blu-ray with standard and boxset editions, which saw unprecedented restorations to the film’s quality. 

Compared to the 2002 deluxe edition of Ben-Hur, which included lobby cards, a film frame, photographs, and a poster, the 2011 boxset edition seems rather chaste. The boxset proper is rather large, promising lots of cinematic paraphernalia inside.

I have # 21,171!

The boxset has an outer cardboard sleeve that has a sticker denoting what number the edition is out of 125,000 units.

The sleeve slides off easily, revealing the boxset underneath. Super sturdy back cardboard with an embossed Ben-Hur bookended by two olympians. 

Lifting the boxset lit, the first item encountered is a commemorative hardback book, with a cover depicting the famous chariot race.

The inside of the book contains a plethora of behind the scenes photos (including wardrobe stills), photos from the film proper, sketches, and reproduced news clippings and adverts.

Under the book the large digipack edition of the Blu-ray sits atop a felt-lined tray. Unlike the Troy boxset which used all of its real estate, the Ben-Hur box has a third dead air inside, much like a Doritos bag filled with snackmosphere. Perhaps a missed opportunity to add more swag to the boxset, but on the hand, prior releases contained their own exclusive swag, so what does one put into this boxset to make it unique? There’s definitely a less-is-more route with this edition, focusing mostly on the Blu-ray’s contents and the restored edition of Ben-Hur over collectables. 

The Blu-ray digipack unfolds to three plastic trays/pages, with three Blu-rays proper: one for part one of the film, one for part two, and the special features on the third disc. 

Under the digipack the final item of the boxset can be found: an on-set journal of Charlton Heston.

First day of filming. So far, so good!

The cover is adorned with the same Olympian as the box. The contents mimic a daily schedule, with entries at certain times of the day. Typewriter text captures Heston’s musings on each day. On some of the pages, photos and ticket stubs have been tapped inside, mimicking a scrapbook.

Overall, living up to being an epic film, the 50th anniversary boxset of Ben-Hur omits the small items and instead aims big: big box, two books, and three Blu-rays, which of course, are loaded with commentaries, special features, trailers, and documentaries. Definitely a nice presentation while also encapsulating an era of lavish home video releases 

If you enjoyed this unboxing article, check out these other ones:

And also these DVD/Blu-ray write ups: