Tag: CFP

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-05-15

Personal / Website News

Born of Blood Write Up

MERC Publishing just released issue one of their neo-peplum comic series, Born of Blood.

Two versions of issue 1 from my personal collection.

I did a write up of all the Kickstarter loot I received along with a few observations in the first issue. Check out my article here.

AnnRadCon Presentation Online

This past weekend was StokerCon and with it was the fifth year of Michele’s and my Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference. Still decompressing from the event. Our scholars rocked it out the park with their presentations.

I am making my presentation, “Correlating the Contents: Mimetic Desire in The Call of the Cthulhu,” publicly available. It is a short, 17 minute presentation applying Rene Girard’s Mimetic Theory of Desire to H. P. Lovecraft’s renown story. Check it out in the embed above.

Raw Dog Screaming Press/AnnRadCon News Articles

Michele and I are deeply grateful for Raw Dog Screaming Press for sponsoring AnnRadCon this year. RDSP sent out a press release about their sponsorship and other endeavors, “Black Authors and Academics Shape Horror Business,” and it was picked up by a few venues:

McFarland Medieval Sale

My publisher, McFarland Books, is having a sale on Medieval-centric books. This includes my book, The New Peplum.

The New Peplum
Cover art for The New Peplum

Between now through May 31, use coupon code MEDIEVAL25 to receive 25% off all medieval studies books on the McFarland website.

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

I am a Barbarian Preorders

A luxurious version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ peplum story, I am a Barbarian, is being released by Cedar Run Publications.

Limited to 600 copies, the graphic novel will come in two versions, the difference being a presence of a bookplate signed by Thomas Simmons, Mike Dubisch and L. Jamal Walton. The book will be posted the week of June 15th. More information can be found at the Cedar Run Publications website.

Jesus the Christ (1923) at Bible Films Blog

Matt Page has updated his Bible Films Blog with a write up of the silent film Jesus the Christ from 1923.

Picture from Page’s Bible Films Blog

As a reminder, Page’s book, 100 Bible Films, comes out this week! Don’t forget to preorder at Amazon and Bloomsbury.

Recent Acquisitions

Lots of sword and sandal loot arrived in the mail last week!

Shout! Factory had a sale on their going out of print titles, so I used the opportunity to pluck up Blu-Rays of Hercules and Hercules 2 starring Lou Ferrigno. I also picked up a Lethal Ladies 2 Collection that contains the original version of The Arena.

Kino did a nice release of Son of Samson which I’ve had pre-ordered for a while now. That pre-order just arrived. Side note: Kino, if you need someone to do a commentary track or essay on a future sword and sandal release, hit me up!

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-05-01

Personal / Website News

Interview with V. Castro

Last week was LV-426, aka Aliens Day! I love to celebrate Aliens Day by writing articles that help spotlight the Aliens mythology in different and interesting fashions.

Later this year a new novel, Aliens: Vasquez will be published. I had the honour to interview author V. Castro about her book. It can be read here.

New Episode of HP Lovecast

Michele and I have a brand new episode of our Transmissions programming on HP Lovecast Podcast.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

In this episode we interview David Rose about his novella, Lovecraft’s Iraq, and Jonathan Maberry about his upcoming Dark Fantasy book, Kagen. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

This Is Horror 2021 Nominations Open

The publication nominations for works for consideration for the 2021 This Is Horror awards are open.

HP Lovecast Podcast qualifies for the non-fiction award category. If you feel our podcast is meritable, consider nominating it. The rules and nomination process can be found at this post at the This is Horror website. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

StokerCon 2022 Souvenir Cover Reveal

The cover art for the souvenir book for StokerCon 2022 has been revealed!

The book is edited by Cynthia Pelayo and the cover art done by Kealan Patrick Burke. Michele and I have two articles in this book: one is a quick essay about the five year anniversary of AnnRadCon and the other is an interview with one of the guests of honour, john Lawson.

Writing in the Dark Spring 2022 Appearance

Michele and I appeared as guests at the All Access Con’s Writing in the Dark Spring 2022 event. For an hour starting 2:00 pm PST on Saturday the 30th we talked about AnnRadCon and being academic writers.

The conference can be found here. If you register for All Access Con you’ll get access to archival presentations. Check it out!

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

100 Bible Films vs. The New Peplum

Matt Page’s (interviewed by me here) 100 Bible Films and my The New Peplum are neck and neck on one of Amazon’s sales ranking book categories:

Help Matt not only blow past my book, but to have a super successful debut book launch by pre-ordering his book! You can order at copy at Amazon and Bloomsbury.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-04-24

Personal / Website News

“Permission to Kill” Citation

My essay, “Permission to Kill: Exploring Italy’s 1960s Eurospy Phenomenon, Impact and Legacy,” that appears in James Bond and Popular Culture: Essays on the Influence of the Fictional Superspy, has been cited in Rui Lopes’ essay “The Eurospy boom and the evolution of Europe’s transnational identity” in the journal of Intelligence and National Security.

“Building on the vernacular
film framework developed by Mikel Koven to analyze giallo movies, Nicholas Diak emphasizes the
fact that Eurospies were hastily and cheaply made to be consumed in places such as the Italian third
run theaters (terza visione) – the equivalent of grindhouse theaters in the USA – by an audience of
blue-colour [sic] workers socializing among friends and not necessarily adopting the silent, attentive
attitude expected in upper-tier cinemas (hence the primacy of viscerally exciting, playful, and
exploitative content).”

The essay can be read at the Taylor and Francis website, if you have access.

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.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-04-17

Personal / Website News

Encounter with the Unknown Interview

Chuffed to be featured on Bernie Gonzalez and Pete Charbonneau‘s Fan2Fan Podcast again!

They are doing a series of episodes about the Twilight Zone and I am on an episode discussing the movie Encounter with the Unknown. This episode can be heard at the Fan2Fan Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference.

A reminder: later this year my essay, “Strange Realities: Twilight Zone-sploitation in Encounter with the Unknown” will be published in the collection The Many Lives of the Twilight Zone: Essays on the Television and Film Franchise, edited by Ron Riekki and Kevin J. Wetmore Jr. The book can be pre-ordered at the McFarland product page.

Shudder Magazine Article by Michele

Michele has a new article up at her website: a review of a few issues of Shudder magazine.

Photo by Michele Brittany of her Shudder magazines.

Her write up can be read at her website.

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

Review of Kimaera’s Imperium

Apocalypse Later has a review at their website on Kimaera’s new album, Imperium.

The review can be read at Apocalypse Later while the album can be bought digitally at Kimaera’s Bandcamp page. I’ve bought the album and am giving it a listen: symphonic death metal with unclean vocals. Digging the music and the few instances where there are more clean vox. Album cover art is cool.

Review of Crusade of Bards’ Tales of the Seven Seas

With the hit streaming series Our Flag Means Death, pirates are officially back to being pop culture juggernauts since the Pirates of the Caribbean series lost the wind in its sails in the mid 2010s. The pirate genre has straddled the line of being considered pepla or not, but with films such as Morgan the Pirate (1960) and Hercules and the Black Pirate (1963), the boundaries are nebulous – so go for it! Pirate pepla!

In addition to the aforementioned Kimaera review, Apocalypse Later has a review of the new Crusade of Bards album, Tales of the Seven Seas. The review sounded complimentary, but actually listening to this band is a hard feat! Their Bandcamp page has only their old album, and you can only buy it, not listen. Their Discogs page is barebones. There are a few official videos on YouTube, and I dig it. Reminds me a bit of Leaves Eyes.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-04-10

Personal / Website News

Two Years of Resurrection

Two years ago Michele and I resurrected the H.P. Lovecast Podcast!

Logo by Philip Yount

To celebrate, we got a new logo/thumbnail! Check out this badass piece done by Philip Yount. We love it!

We have a new episode up as well: we recap our last year of podcasting, accomplishments, and talk about goals and upcoming projects. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

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

Elysian Fields Remaster Indiegogo

Michael Oden has an Indiegogo campaign going for a remastered version of his Elysian Fields comic book.

Also part of this campaign is SPQR’s Bizarre Adventures: Rubicon Invaders. The campaign can be viewed here.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-04-03

Personal / Website News

Fan2Fan Podcast Interview #2

The second part of my interview with the Fan2Fab Podcast called “Sword, Sandals, and Sorcery Part 2” has been published.

Banner made by the F2n2Fan Podcast.

The episode can be streamed at the Fan2Fan Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference. There is also a video version on YouTube (complete with 100x more arm flailing). Sincere appreciation to hosts Pete and Bernie for having me as a guest!

Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern Citation

AnnRadCon frequent presenter, Dr. Gavin Hurley, has a new essay published in volume 8, number 1 of Metal Music Studies: “Funeral Doom Metal as the Rhetoric of Contemplation: A Burkean Perspective.”

Dr. Hurley cites his own essay, “Richard Laymon’s Rhetorical Style: Minimalism, Suspense, and Negative Space,” which was published in Horror Literature From Gothic to Post-Modern.

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

The Kings of Strength

Not really sword and sandal, but definitely adjacent, my publisher, McFarland, just released a book called The Kings of Strength: A History of All Strong Men from Ancient Times to Our Own.

The book looks to focally mostly on early 1900s strongmen, however it does contain a small section called “Physical Strength in Antiquity” which may provide some historic contextualizing to use while watching pepla. The book can be ordered at McFarland.

“Enjoy My Flames”

Dr. Jeremy Swist has a new essay published titled “Enjoy My Flames: On heavy metal’s fascination with Roman emperors”. It can be read at Lapham’s Quarterly.

Kagen the Damned

In sword and sorcery news, Jonathan Maberry has a new epic fantasy novel coming out titled Kagen the Damned.

The book can be preordered at Macmillan.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-03-27

Personal / Website News

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearance

I had the honour to be invited onto the Fan2Fan Podcast to talk about the peplum and sword and sorcery genres. I recorded a few episodes with hosts Bernie Gonzalez and Pete Carbonneau who are terrific hosts and made the interviews seamless and fun.

The first episode is now online on the Fan2Fan Podcast Lybsin page. It can either be streamed there or via your podcast app of preference. They have also been posting snippets, excepts, and mini-videos on the Fan2Fan Twitter account, so be sure to give that a follow.

Sincere gratitude to Gonzalez and Carbonneau for giving me an opportunity and a venue. Stay tuned for subsequent appearances from yours truly!

A Vindication of Monsters

Michele will have a new essay published in an upcoming non-fiction anthology!

The collection is called A Vindication of Monsters: Essays on Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley. Michele’s essay is titled “Beauty in the Grotesque: Bernie Wrightson’s Lifelong Obsession with Frankenstein’s Monster.” More information on the other contributors can be found at editor Claire Fitzpatrick’s website.

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

Scholars from the Edge of Time

This past week Michele and I had our monthly Scholars from the Edge of Time appearance on Hercules Invictus’ program.

Version of The Lion of Thebes in my personal collection.

This month we talked about the Mark Forest toga and sandal film, The Lion of Thebes. A movie that has a lot of potential but was squandered with bad directing and cinematography. There is not much online about this film, with the most detailed plot synopsis being in Barry Atkinson’s Heroes Never Die, and next to nothing on analysis. I think I’ll have to get my thoughts down on a Peplum Ponderings article ASAP. In the meantime, you can hear my and Michele’s thoughts on BlogTalkRadio.

Recent Acquisitions

Another crowdfunded neo-peplum comic arrived in my paws. This one is the first issue of Gilgamesh Eternal.

Autographed issue #1 I received

The comic is written by Cam Kerkau and is new take on the Epic of Gilgamesh. This isn’t covered a topic depicted often in the sword and sandal genre, which makes this title a bit more standout. Also standout is the artwork of Kostas Pantoulas. Definitely excited to give this a read soon. If you’re interested, the comic can be purchased at Kerkau’s Gumroad Website.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-03-20

Personal / Website News

D. J. Kirkbride Interview

My interview with D. J. Kirkbride about the release of the trade paperback edition of his Errand Boys comic is now online.

It can be read here.

New Citations and Acknowledgments

Valerie Estelle Frankel’s essay from The New Peplum, “Hercules, Xena and Genre: The Methodology Behind the Mashup,” has been cited in Jonathan L. Friedmann’s book, Goliath as Gentle Giant: Sympathetic Portrayals in Popular Culture.

Ed Glaser has a new book titled How the World Remade Hollywood: Global Interpretations of 65 Iconic Films.

I’m honored to be mentioned in the acknowledgements!

The book can be purchased at McFarland’s website.

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

Recent Acquisitions

My pre-order of The Sword and the Sorcerer arrived!

I have not seen this sword and sorcery film before. I’m an Albert Pyun fan, so I got good feelings about this one.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-02-20

Personal / Website News

Things in the Well Closing Shop

Small press publisher Things in the Well has started the process of shuttering its operations and that means two anthologies they’ve published that I have stories in will soon be out of print.

Trickster’s Treats #3: The Seven Deadly Sins, which contains my story “Journey to Agharti,” already has the Kindle version delisted from Amazon. There are only two physical copies left.

Guilty Pleasures and Other Dark Delights, which contains my story “Seamed Stocking Summoning Circle,” still has Kindle and physical copies for sale.

Act fast on these books! I don’t have any venues right now to have the story/drabble republished, so it will be quite a while before they see print again. Editors and publishers interested in republishing these pieces in other anthologies, feel free to contact me!

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.

Recent acquisitions, courtesy of the Full Moon Valentines sale.

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

Thermae Romae Novae Trailer

On March 28 Netflix will begin streaming the neo-peplum anime Thermal Romae Novae, which is about a Roman bath designer who accidentally time travels to modern day Japan.

A trailer has been released! Not many animes or mangas dealing with antiquity, so this is quite cool.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-02-13

Personal / Website News

New Episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast

A brand new episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast is now online!

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

In this episode we discuss the space horror comic series Caliban, written by Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher) and art by Facundo Percio. This episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

Tiki Melange Article

It has been a while, but I have a new article at my website – a cocktail article!

It’s about the Tiki Melange cocktail that can be found in the comic book Jasper’s Starlight Tavern. It’s not a good comic or drink but I had fun writing about it. The article can be read here.

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

Tarzan and the Lion of Judah

Tarzan is not a peplum property, but he is a strong man that shares imagery with a majority of sword and sandal protagonists, and he was also in the peplum novel, Tarzan and the Lost Empire, so I am counting this news as peplum-adjacent.

Cover art provided by Gary A. Buckingham

Gary A. Buckingham (Tarzan: Untamed Frontiers) is publishing a new Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. authorized book titled Tarzan and the Lion of Judah. The book contains eight stories and is available in a variety of editions: an autographed sketch letter edition with a Dan Parson Remarque for $175, an autographed limited numbered edition for $118, and a trade edition with a signed bookplate for $56. Tarzan and the Lion of Judah is slated to be released this June. For more information or ordering details, contact Buckingham at gbucking2@yahoo.com.

Recent Acquisitions

Scholar Rocky Colavito brought to my attention a magazine called The Lost Films Fanzine. The zine is focused not strictly on lost films, but films that were supposed to get made, but for a variety of reasons, did not.

Issue eight of the zine prominently features on the cover a movie called Hercules Against the Gods, with Hercules fighting a giant dragon-dinosaur-looking monster. So, of course, I had to order this.

The article, citing Peplum TV, suspects that the unmade Hercules Against the Gods film was actually, more or less, filmed, but it became The Vengeance of Hercules. It’s a fun read that gives a glimpse into the American process of importing and rejiggering Italian films for state-side audiences.

During the week Michele and I took a trip to Zia’s since she was procuring some Highlander releases. I plucked up a used copy of the Dragonheart collection. I had seen the first movie long, long ago but never any of the sequels. I’ve heard of them, and also heard that their quality is extremely lacking. But, I have a soft spot for franchise continuations (I stand by the Scanner Cop movies are legit awesome) so I decided to buy this set. It’s sword and sorcery, with the first movie having shades of Arthurian-peplum, so I’m interested.

Powerslave: Exhumed was just released digitally last week and I bought it off the Xbox marketplace and have been playing it off an on. I was a huge PC gamer in the 90s, and I still love classic DOS style FPS like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Powerslave looks to have been released at the height of Doom clones, but I had never heard of it before (I may have seen it in a PC Gamer mag?). Regardless, it’s old school and its Egyptian antiquity (thus: neo-peplum!). I am a bit into the game and its…… I dunno. I really want to like it, but it has some questionable mechanics (no reticle, so it’s hard to hit airborne enemies), way too much platforming for a faux 3D FPS, and it is extremely, extremely cryptic at what you need to do to progress. Aside from that, I like the 90s charm and the soundtrack is banging.