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News Roundup W/E 2022-07-31

Personal / Website News

Art Boozel Book Review

Jennifer Croll has done some unique and inventive takes on cocktails and cocktail culture, with Free the Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women in 2018 and her recently published this past spring, Dressed to Swill: Runway-Ready Cocktails Inspired by Fashion Icons.

Personal copy of Art Boozel

Art Boozel is Croll’s book from 2021, and it’s fantastic. I’ve done a few cocktails from the book and enjoyed them so I though I’d do a book review. The write up can be read here.

New Episode of H. P. Lovecast

August has just ended so that means a new Transmissions episode of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

For August we focused on the recently published horror anthology, Even in the Grave. For our normal episode we discussed Trevor Firetog’s “What’s Your Secret?” and Steven Van Patten’s “Blind Spot.” That episode can be found at our Buzzsprout website.

HPLCP Transmissions – Ep 14 – Carol Gyzander, Trevor Firetog, and Steven Van Patten H. P. Lovecast Podcast

We conclude the month by not only interviewing Firetog and Van Patten about their stories, but also returning guest Carol Gyzander who co-edited the book. This episode can also be found at our Buzzsprout website, at the embedded player above, or streamed via your podcast app of preference.

CoKoCon 2022 Panel Appearances

Michele and I will make an appearance at CoKoCon 2022 over Labour Day weekend.

CoKoCon is a local (Phoenix) sci-fi/fantasy fan con. More info on the con can be found at CoKoCon website, along with ticket and guest news.

Michele and I will be appearing on three panels over the course of the con. The schedule is below, but I also have the information on my Conference Appearances page:

Horror & Sci-Fi from Pre-Code Films
Saturday, Sept. 3rd
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Fiesta Ballroom 2

Your Mom is Lovecraftian: Why Cosmic Horror is So Hard to Get Right
Sunday, Sept.4th
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Coronado room

Swords, Sandals, Sorcery, and Other Planets
Monday, Sept. 5th
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Fiesta Ballroom 1

Scholars from the Edge of Time

New episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time is now online! This one is on YouTube, so you get to see my acting like a doof. In this episode I talk about the sword and sorcery film, DragonHeart, but also bring up Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and Troma films.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-07-24

Personal / Website News

CoKoCon 2022 Panel Appearances

Michele and I will make an appearance at CoKoCon 2022 over Labour Day weekend.

CoKoCon is a local (Phoenix) sci-fi/fantasy fan con. More info on the con can be found at CoKoCon website, along with ticket and guest news.

Michele and I will be appearing on three panels over the course of the con. The schedule is below, but I also have the information on my Conference Appearances page:

Horror & Sci-Fi from Pre-Code Films
Saturday, Sept. 3rd
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Fiesta Ballroom 2

Your Mom is Lovecraftian: Why Cosmic Horror is So Hard to Get Right
Sunday, Sept.4th
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Coronado room

Swords, Sandals, Sorcery, and Other Planets
Monday, Sept. 5th
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Fiesta Ballroom 1

Scholars from the Edge of Time

Michele and I will be appearing on our month Scholars from the Edge of Time show later this week. We will be talking about the 1996 film Dragon Heart. Keep an eye out for link to stream.

General Neo-Peplum News

Wind Rose Review

Hal C. F. Astell has a new review of a neo-peplum release.

This is on Warfront by the Italian power/folk/Viking metal band Wind Rose. The review can be read at Apocalypse Later.

Recent Acquisitions

Arrived last week was my pre-order of the Kino Blu-ray Maria Montez & Jon Hall Collection.

Personal Copy.

This collection contains a toga and sandal film, Sudan, and a tiki film, White Savage (also known as South of Tahiti). Excited to check out all three, hopefully even do a write up on them here at my website. DVD Beaver did a review with screen caps at everything, so check that out.

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News Roundup W/E 2022-07-17

Personal / Website News

Ben-Hur Boxset

Brand new article here at my website!

Folks seem to like unboxing articles, so I did one for the 50th anniversary Blu-ray boxset for Ben-Hur. Check it out!

McFarland Pop Culture Book Sale

Michele’s and my publisher, McFarland, is having a sale on their pop culture line of books. If you use the code “POPCULT22” during check out, you’ll get 25% off pop culture titles. The promotion ends July 31st.

The New Peplum

A few books I am in/edited are pare of this sale. Here are the direct product page links:

CoKoCon 2022 Panel Appearances

Michele and I will make an appearance at CoKoCon 2022 this labour day weekend!

CoKoCon is a local (Phoenix) sci-fi/fantasy fan con. Michele and I will be appearing on a few panels. More info to come, but for now, check out the CoKoCon website for ticket information and guest news.

General Neo-Peplum News

Viking Article at Inverse

Neat article about Viking women at Inverse called “A Maiden King? Dust and Bones Mat Reveal the True Power of Viking Women” by Sarah Sloat.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-07-10

Personal / Website News

Holy smokes, this was a prolific and active week!

I Am a Barbarian Writer and Illustrator Interview

I had the honor to interview Tom Simmons and Mike Dubisch, the creative team behind the comic book adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel I Am a Barbarian.

Personal copy.

The interview can be read here.

New Episode of HP Lovecast

New episode of HP Lovecast is online!

Ep 52 – Even in the Grave: Trevor Firetog and Steven Van Patten H. P. Lovecast Podcast

This is the first episode of our themed month on the anthology, Even in the Grave. In this episode we take a look at “What’s Your Secret?” by Trevor Firetog and “Blind Spot” by Steven Van Patten. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website, via the embedded player above, or at your podcast app of preference.

For our transmissions episode this month we will be interviewing editor Carol Gyzander, and contributors Firetog and Van Patten. Stay tuned!

Short Film: Dinosaur Joke

I made a short film and put it on YouTube!

I bought a box of Trix cereal this past week, and on the back, to promote the new Jurassic Park film, there were cutout dinosaurs and pop up trees, inviting you to make a movie with the back of the box. I don’t know how many kids actually do these things, but I decided I would! So, give it a watch, and maybe a like or a comment. It was silly, but a fun thing to do.

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearances

The folks at Fan2Fan had me back on their podcast for two (2!!) new episodes that dropped this past week!

The first episode is about sword and sorcery cartoons of the 80s, which can be heard at the Fan2Fan Libsyn page (or via your podcast app of preference).

A chance to show off my autographed animation cell of Teegra from Fire and Ice!

The second episode is an entry in their series where they ask folks about their dream Saturday morning cartoon lineup. You can hear mine here.

Here’s four of my dream line up! Gotta listen in to hear the rest.

Sincere thank you to Pete and Bernie for having me on their show. It has been a wonderful experience and I always appreciate their support.

CoKoCon 2022 Panel Appearances

Michele and I will make an appearance at CoKoCon 2022 this labour day weekend!

CoKoCon is a local (Phoenix) sci-fi/fantasy fan con. Michele and I will be appearing on a few panels. More info to come, but for now, check out the CoKoCon website for ticket information and guest news.

General Neo-Peplum News

Blog Entries at DMR Books

Here a listing of genre relevant blog articles at DMR Books this past week:

Red Sonja Blu-ray/4K

Red Sonja is getting a nice, steenbok, Blu-ray/4K release! Article at Collider.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-07-03

Personal / Website News

New episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast

Our monthly end of the month Transmissions episode is now online!

Thumbnail made by Michele Brittany

This is a middle grade/young adult focused episode. We interview Lora Senf about her debut, The Clackity, and Robert P. Ottone about The Triangle, the first book in his The Rise Trilogy.

HPLCP Transmissions – Ep 13 – Lora Senf and Robert P. Ottone H. P. Lovecast Podcast

The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout page, the embedded player above, or via your podcast app of preference.

CoKoCon 2022 Appearance

CoKoCon is a Phoenix speculative fiction conference that is being held over Labour Day weekend.

Michele and I will be in attendance as panelists. Programming is still being solidified, but keep an eye out at the CoKoCon website or Twitter as news comes in.

The New Peplum Citation

The New Peplum appears in the bibliography of the edited collection La Strada: The Cinema and Cinematographers of Italy, edited by Alexander A. Sinitsyn.

I’m not sure which specific essay(s) in the collection cites The New Peplum, or what specifically from The New Peplum has been cited, but you can see the bibliographic entry in the uploaded paper “Antiquity in the Cinema of Italy in the 1910s – 1930s” by Alexandra Solovyeva, which happens to include the bib for the entire book.

Very cool. I’m always humbled and honored to see other academics referencing The New Peplum.

Exotica Moderne Book Review

Turned in a book review to be published in an upcoming issue of Exotica Moderne (hopefully the next one!). In the meantime, check out the publisher, House of Tabu, who has various mugs, pins, and the latest issue, #15 with the Shag cover, still for sale.

General Neo-Peplum News

Blog Entries at DMR Books

Here a listing of genre relevant blog articles at DMR Books this past week, both are author interviews:

Recent Acquisitions

My autographed copy of Matt Page‘s 100 Bible Films has arrived from across the sea!

Personal copy now in the peplum library.

Copies can be procured from Bloomsbury or via Amazon. Also, be sure to check out my interview with Page.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-06-26

Personal / Website News

Scholars From the Edge of Time

Brand new episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time on Hercules Invictus’ Mount Olympus programming is now online.

Personal Copy.

In this episode Michele and I talk about the 80s sword and sorcery film, The Sword and the Sorcerer, which was legit good! The episode can be streamed at BlogTalkRadio.

Next month we will be talking about DragonHeart (1996).

New H.P. Lovecast This Thursday

Our monthly Transmissions program will be published this upcoming Thursday, June 30th. We will be interviewing Lora Senf and Robert Ottone.

General Neo-Peplum News

“Temm the Riven” by Brian Matthews

Dark fiction writer Brian W. Matthews, author of The Conveyance (read my review over at Goodreads), Forever Man (which just got a re-release earlier this month) and its sequels Revelation and Dark Rescue, takes a plunge into the sword and sorcery genre with a new short story titled “Temm the Riven.” The story will be published in an upcoming issue of the recently revived Weird Tales magazine.

Amplifying Antiquity with Heavy Metal Music

Dr. Jeremy Swiss was recently interviewed Brandeis University in their BrandeisNow online news. The interview is called, “Amplifying Antiquity with Heavy Metal Music” and can be read here.

DMR Blog Entries

DMR Books is a publisher of sword and sorcery, pulp, and horror books that are in an old school pulp vein. In addition to their publishing endeavors they maintain a very active blog of contributors doing essays, interviews, and reviews. This past week saw:

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-06-19

Personal / Website News

Happy Birthday to Me / General Updates

Today (June 20th) is my birthday. Happy birthday to me. I turn 40.

This past week was a roller coaster of things happening. Some good. Most not so good. I didn’t have anything released last week (podcast, essay, etc.), so I’ll use this opportunity to paint a picture of things I am working on, and maybe see my 40th solar year be super successful.

H. P. Lovecast Podcast

Michele and I pretty much have the rest of the summer plotted out for the podcast. June’s Transmissions episode has the interviews already recorded, and they are with Robert Ottone and Lora Senf. We simply need to record our script, edit, and upload. That episode will drop on the final day of June as normally scheduled.

Edit: The Lora Senf/Robert Ottone Transmissions episode can be streamed at the HP Lovecast Podcast Buzzsprout page.

We are working on July’s programming as well. Much like August of 2021 when we devoted a month to the King in Yellow with a specific focus on the anthology Under Twin Suns, we will be spending July devoted to the anthology Even in the Grave. The ball is already rolling to coordinate interviews.

Edit: Our analysis of Even in the Grave can be streamed here while our interviews with contributors of the anthology can be read here.

For August we are looking at releases from Weird House Press.

Edit: Our analysis of Something in the Water (published by Weird House) can be streamed here and our interview with Douglas Wynne is here.

Everything with the podcast is going along pretty well and we hope to stay ahead of the game with our programming.

Scholars From the Edge of Time

This upcoming Thursday Michele and I will do our monthly Scholars from the Edge of Time program. We will be discussing the 1982 Albert Pyun film, The Sword and the Sorcerer (which ruled).

Other Podcast News

I recorded an episode with Fan2Fan about Saturday morning cartoons. I expect that episode to be published in the near future. It has been fantastic appearing on their shows.

I am slated to be invited back on Scaredy Cats to talk about The Final Girls. That’s all TBD for now, but excited to be back on that show.

Emmanuelle CFP

I still plan on putting an official CFP for the Emmanuelle and Black Emmanuelle films out later this year on places like UPenn. To be honest, the only thing holding me back is all my source material (films, books, etc.) are in a box in storage since we moved and I have not gotten around to locating it yet. Once I get my paws on my stuff and I can craft a real CFP, it’ll go up. I’ll still have an unofficial call open for folks interested to email me, but for now, instead of broadcasting the unofficial CFP every week, I’ll do it every month until a proper go live.

Vikings Sampling Essay

My current big writing project is taking my presentation from the MAPACA conference last year, “Victory Or Valhalla: Violence via Vikings Sampling in Acylum’s Kampf Dem Verderb,” and turning it into a journal article proper. The work is basically done, it just needs to be edited and spruced up to make it publishable quality.

Exotica Moderne

Working on a book review for the next issue of Exotica Moderne. Review is due at the end of June.

Other Publications

I have composed essays slated to appear in a Westward book, a Gladiator book, and a Twilight Zone book. It’s been quiet on all three fronts. As soon as I hear any news on the production of any of these books, I’ll let y’all know here.

Edit: The Many Lives of the Twilight Zone was published in October. It can be bought at McFarland.

I Am a Barbarian Interview

I’m currently doing an email interview with Tom Simmons and Mike Dubish about their recently published graphic novel of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ story, I Am a Barbarian. Expect this to go online at my website in July.

Edit: This article went live 2022-07-06. It can be read here.

CoKoCon 2022

Michele and I are in exchanges with the folks at CoKoCo to possibly appear on some panels at CoKoCon during Labour Day weekend this year. Cross fingers!

Summary

In summary, I have A LOT going on – I just didn’t have anything come out last week. There’s other projects on my to-do list, such as book reviews I’ve wanted to write and some peplum ponderings. I also just started a new job mid-April, which has been awesome, but there’s simply quite a bit to juggle going on right now. I appreciate folks who have been supportive of my (and Michele’s!) endeavors. You all rock.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-06-12

Personal / Website News

New Episode of H.P. Lovecast Podcast

Brand new episode of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast is online!

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

Last month we had a Twitter poll on what film we should watch and discuss for this month, Cthulhu Mansion or Feed the Light, and Cthulhu Mansion won. So, we subjugated ourselves to it.

Ep 51 – Juan Piquer Simón's Cthulhu Mansion H. P. Lovecast Podcast

The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout site, via the embedded podcast link above, or via your podcast application of preference.

For our Transmissions episode that drops the last day of June, we will be interviewing Lora Senf and Robert Ottone. Stay tuned for that episode.

General Neo-Peplum News

Kino Release of Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World

Kino has been on a roll lately with their classic sword and sandal releases. Recently they put out Son of Samson. They have Sudan coming out in a Maria Montez and Jon Hall collection, and now they’ve announced a release of Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World.

Amazon does not have an order page up yet, but there is a product page for the Blu-ray at the Kino website.

Though not peplum, but of interest to me in my Emmanuelle studies, Kino also announced a release of the Sylvia Kristel film Mata Hari.

That film’s product page can be found here. You better believe I’ll be ordering both!

100 Bible Films Released

Last month, Matt Page’s 100 Bible Films was released by BFI last month.

The book can be ordered at Amazon and Bloomsbury. Be sure to check out my interview with Page.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-06-05

Personal / Website News

New Episode of H. P. Lovecast

Our monthly Transmissions program went up last Tuesday.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany.

This episode concluded our May Music Month. We interviewed Thomas Blakeley and Matt Toronto of the musical A Dream at the End of Time, and Dorian Williamson and Jim Field of the dark ambient band Northumbria.

HPLCP Transmissions – Ep 12 – A Dream at the End of Time and Northumbria H. P. Lovecast Podcast

The episode can be streamed via our Buzzsprout website, via the embedded player above, or via our podcast app of preference.

For June, we will be talking about the film Cthulhu Mansion on our primary episode, and interviewing Robert Ottone and Lora Senf on our Transmissions episode. Stay tuned!

The New Peplum Citation

Kevin Wetmore’s essay, “In the Green Zone with the Ninth Legion: The Post-Iraq Roman Film” has been cited in Óscar Lapeña Marchena’s essay “Defendiendo el limes desde Britannia hasta Irak: nuevos enfoques bélicos en el cine de romanos del siglo XXI” in the book Pantallas en guerra.

Cover taken from Google Search

Marchena previously cited Wetmore’s essay in “La recepción de la guerra en la antigua Roma a través del cine: un estado de la cuestión.”

Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP

Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.

Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.

General Neo-Peplum News

Recent Acquisitions

During a trip to Bookman’s last week I happened upon this EC Comics collection:

I already have the EC Comics collection of Valor comics and wasn’t thinking of Two-Fisted Tales since it seemed centered on war narratives. But there were quite a few pre-1900s battles in the comic and there just happened to be a peplum one:

It’s called “Pigs of the Roman Empire” and I am glad I happened upon it. I’ll now have to keep an eye out for other EC collections that just might have more sword and sandal stories in them.

Of course, obligatory seamed stockings panel.

On Sunday Michele and I went off to Zia’s Records looking for treasure. The metal section is always a treasure trove of pepla-music. I happened upon Visions of Atlantis’ Pirates album.

Believe I’ve said on a prior news post, to some pirates are pepla to others they are not. I like to toss in news about pirate-pepla when I can. I’d never heard of Visions of Atlantis (Greek mythology name there!) and the cover of their Pirates album seemed to promise pirate metal in the vein of Alestorm. But I was wrong! It’s symphonic power metal and it’s damn good! So good I plucked up the vinyl and the CD.

For dirt cheap I also happened upon this Blu-ray boxset of Ben-Hur. I actually do not have a copy of Ben-Hur in the sword and sandal collection, so that’s been rectified. The boxset is big, but unlike the Troy boxset I did an article on, there isn’t much in here. I think I’ll still do a quick unboxing article later this week. Content is content, ya know.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-05-29

Personal / Website News

Born of Blood Interview

New article at my website, hot on the heels of my write up of Born of Blood issue 1, I had the honor to interview Dolan, the writer of Born of Blood.

Check it out here.

The Kickstarter for issue 2 is also in the interview, so consider supporting.

Cthulhu Mansion Voted for HP Lovecast Episode

It’s unanimous: 92.9% of voters on our Twitter poll selected Cthulhu Mansion as the film Michele and I will watch and discuss on the June episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast.

Blu-ray from my personal collection.

We have not seen it before, and though it is Spanish, it looks like it has all the right qualities of a fantastic 80s Italian horror film. We’re excited to watch it and talk about it.

For fans of Feed the Light, worry not! We will visit that movie down the road.

Thank you all who partook in our poll. We will do another in the future.

H. P. Lovecast Podcast Transmissions – May

The May episode of HP Lovecast Transmissions will be published Tuesday, May 31st. In this episode we interview writer Thomas Blakeley and director Matthew Toronto about their upcoming musical, A Dream at the End of Time, and Dorian Williamson and Jim Field of the dark ambient band Northumbria. Subscribe to our podcast via your app of preference to be notified when it goes live!

Scholars from the Edge of Time – Moon Knight

New episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time is online. This one is on YouTube (was done via Zoom) and has special guest Travis Lakata. We all talk about the Disney+ series, Moon Knight. I, unfortunately, had to take off mid-vidcast for unexpected phone call.

Highlander Call for Papers

Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.

If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of. 

Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP

Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.

Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.

General Neo-Peplum News

Witcher Short Story Review at Fanbase Press

In sword and sorcery news, Michele has a write up over at Fanbase Press on The Witcher: A Grain of Truth.

It can be read here.

State of Decay 2 – Neo-peplum Board Game

I’ve been playing a lot of State of Decay 2 on the ol’ Xbox lately, having a blast… blasting zombies.

Screenshot I nabbed. Might have to zoom in, it’s kinda dark.

Over the weekend I was looting a house and was kinda checking out some of the background elements in the game and I found a faux-boardgame sitting on someone’s table. It’s called The Aquaductor, and it looks to be a neo-peplum board game of sorts – probably like Carcasonne but with Roman aqueducts. I’d play it if it existed!