I take a look at the debut issue of Hearteater, a NSFW erotic pirate adventure comic. It can be read here.
HP Lovecast Podcast
A new episode of HP Lovecast Podcast is also online!
We have a returning guest, David Rose, on the show talking about his short story collection of Lovecraftian military fiction, Monsters in the Bush. The episode can be streamed at the HP Lovecast Buzzsprout page, via the embedded player below, or through your podcast app of preference.
The February Scholars from the Edge of Time vidcast is now online.
Michele and I start our retrospective of the peplum films of Bella Cortez with Vulcan, Son of Jupiter. I’ll be typing up my notes as a “Peplum Ponderings” article later this month.
The episode can be watched on YouTube. Stay tuned in March for the next Bella Cortez film we tackle which will probably be The Tartars (1961).
I’ve also started annotating Emmanuelle scholarship and posting it here at my website so other scholars have a nice bibliographic resource. The bibliography and annotations can be found hereand it’s a major WIP.
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Recent Peplum Acquisitions
I never heard the term “spear and fang” before as a genre, I just kinda called them “prehistoric peplum,” but alas, it’s a term and it has its roots in a Robert E. Howard story of the same name (story found here).
Coincidentally, at the same time of learning about “spear and fang” I had ordered such a film from Amazon. I never heard of it before, but it is called Alpha (2018). I learned of it while researching my In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds write up in that both films star Natassia Malthe).
I’ve never seen it, but it looks tough. I also know the poor pupper is not going to make it.
In the mood for some new peplum music to write to I plucked up off discos the soundtrack to the Conan TV series of the 90s.
This was a series that was greenlit to capitalize on the success of the Hercules/Xena shows. Conan managed to slip by me growing up, so I’ll have to hunt down the boxset of it to watch (but it’s way OOP). It does star Ralph Möller who is always bad ass, from Universal Solider to Gladiator. He looks like a good Conan on the cover of the album.
The music is fun – great background music to write to.
On the subject of Möller and music, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up his guest appearance in the E Nomine song “Schwarze Sonnne” which has Möller wielding a sword in a post- apocalyptic city while fighting tech ninja. The song slaps hard:
Next up is In The Name of the King 3: The Last Mission.
After seeing Two Worlds, I felt obligated to complete the trilogy. I hope in this one they actually lean into the modern day soldier/merc doing stuff in Medieval times. If you want to read my thoughts on In the Name of the King 2: Two World, click here.
Also procured is Damon and Pythias (1962), another classic era sword and sandal I have not seen.
I’ve been trying to get the Warner Archive releases of sword and sandal films when I can. I heard scuttlebutt that Warner was going to wind down their production of physical media, which would be a shame because they actually took care of their films so their peplum releases actually look decent on home video.
I don’t know how I stumbled across it, but it was random on Discogs, but I had to have a copy of Inferno’s The Roman Empire.
Someone on a Sword and Sorcery Discord I go to said the cover looks like Encarta barfed all over it (they’re not wrong!). I am going to try to hunt down all the pictured that where used in the collage work on this album. I’ve identified one: The chariot and horse scene near the top left is from the Hercules Unchained poster (see bottom right):
The music is early 90s Eurodance style. It’s campy, but kinda catchy and fun. If I can find more image sources I’ll do an article proper on this album.
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.
Michele and I will be on two panels over the course of the event:
Horror & Sci-Fi from Pre-Code Films Saturday, Sept. 3rd 10:00 am – 11:00 am Fiesta Ballroom 2
Swords, Sandals, Sorcery, and Other Planets Monday, Sept. 5th 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Fiesta Ballroom 1
We hope to see yall there!
Scholars from the Edge of Time
Michele and I are prepping for the Pre-Code Horror Panel at CoKoCon so we are mad dash revisiting some pre-1934 films. One of them was King Kong. For our Scholars from the Edge of Time appearance this month we focused our episode on that. That episode is on YouTube and can be watched here.
For September we will be discussing Son of Samson on the show.
I Am a Barbarian™ is a sword and sandal novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs that was published posthumously in 1967. Due to its historic antiquity subject matter, the novel is an outlier when compared to Burroughs’ speculative fiction bibliography of Tarzan®, Barsoom® (John Carter of Mars), and Pellucidar® novels for which he is most famous. In the 2010s, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. began posting a webcomic adaptation of I Am a Barbarian at their website, written by Tom Simmons with art by Mike Dubisch and lettering by L. Jamal Walton. In early summer of 2022, the entirety of I Am a Barbarian was published in an ornate, hardback collection. Simmons and Dubisch have graciously allowed an interview about the I Am a Barbarian project.
How do you get into Edgar Rice Burroughs? Do you have a particular fondness for I Am a Barbarian?
Mike Dubisch: I loved Tarzan and John Carter of Mars as a kid, and of course his works were a favorite subject among the classic fantasy illustrators who shaped me. Anything about hidden fantastic worlds and strange adventures fascinated me. While I knew and loved the original cover painting, I’m not sure I ever read I Am a Barbarian before the project.
Personal copy of I Am a Barbarian with slip case.
What were some of those illustrators that shaped you?
MD: Oh, it’s the usual pantheon: Frank Frazetta, Richard Corben, Hal Foster, Michael Whelan, Burne Hogarth, Wally Wood, Alex Nino, Nestor Redondo, John Buscema, in terms of artists who worked on ERB or ERB-like products. Otherwise, fairy tale and book illustrators like Arthur Rackham, H. J. Ford, Edmund Dulac, and the Brothers Hildebrandt. Pulp illustrators like Hans Bok and Virgil Finlay. I love studying the wood engravings of Doré illustrations, and the engravings of Albrecht Durer. Other comic book artists, particularly Europeans like Moebius, Jordi Bernet, Jose Ortiz, Tanino Liberator, as well as Charles Burns, Robert Crumb, Dave Stevens, Jack Kirby, Bernie Wrightson, and Basil Woolverton.
What was the genesis of the original I Am a Barbarian webcomic?
Tom Simmons: I wrote an email to Jim Sullos, President of ERB, Inc., in 2012 offering to write a gratis screenplay (I’m a self-taught screenwriter); the script I wanted to adapt was the original Tarzan at the Earth’s Core. Jim replied that the character was “taken” by a licensing agreement at the time, but he must have been impressed by my offer to do work for free because when the online strips launched in 2013-14 he suggested I toss my proverbial writing quill into the ring and put together a collaborative team to do one of them; he even provided the name of an artist who had contacted him about getting involved with the online strips project. I Am a Barbarian is actually the third online strip with which I’ve been involved, and still am in the case of one of the three: The Outlaw of Torn. I chose Barbarian because it was available to adapt as a strip; I thought it would be a challenge to adapt (it was), and I’ve always had an interest in ancient history (I have a Bachelor’s degree as well as Master’s work in history).
How was the creative team formed?
TS: Regarding how our creative team was formed, the artist I originally worked with on The Monster Men™ strip (which was among the first ERB, Inc. placed online in 2014) referred me to letterist/graphic designer/artist Jamal Walton of Durham, NC (full name: Larry Jamal Walton but he goes by “L. Jamal” or simply “Jamal”). As it transpired, Jamal has been involved in all three of the ERB, Inc. strips I’ve adapted, and was also the letterist for my 2015 e-book Crispus Caesar, which, indeed, is yet another “Swords and Sandals” story, adapted by me from my 2010 screenplay of the same name. My collaboration with Mike Dubisch came about when Mike contacted another ERB online strip artist and asked how he could become involved with the online strips; that artist referred Mike to me and the rest, as the cliche goes, is history.
MD: After a period of trying to focus only on my own work in the comic industry, I decided it was time to seek out professional commissions again to advance my career. ERB was one of the markets I approached right away and fortunately Tom was manning the lines of communication and snatched me right up for his project. I knew instantly that I Am a Barbarian was the right fit because it would be a comic with the word “barbarian” in the title!
What were some of the challenges encountered when adapting the original novel into a webcomic format?
TS: The writing challenge for any adaptation to strip format (or any other, for that matter) is about scale/scope: we didn’t want the strip to continue indefinitely, set an end goal of roughly 225-245 weekly episodes (about five years of the strip being presented online), and worked toward that end. The second phase of the project after the online adaptation was complete was always to produce a printed graphic novel encompassing the entire online strip, and we achieved that goal. Apart from considerations of scale/scope, I did a thorough re-examination of Caligula, aided by a recent biography by Anthony Barrett. While there is little doubt Caligula was very likely a mentally unbalanced individual prone to cruelty and outright bloodthirstiness, the sources ERB used (historians Suetonius and Dio) also had a vested interest in painting an “over the top” picture of the assassinated ruler; I’d compare their accounts (and neither was an actual eyewitness to events) to Shakespeare’s lambasting of the Yorkists. Lastly, for me Barbarian is a love story wrapped around a tragedy; to dwell on Caligula’s misdeeds would not only have been a gratuitous waste of time but it would have obscured Brit and Attica’s character arcs. That said, I still included plenty of outrageous and bloodthirsty Caligulan behavior!
MD: For me the adaptation is from Tom’s script into the art for the strip, and so the re-imagining the scene from the book as comic pages has already been established when I start in. My biggest challenge is remembering to refer back to my historical architectural and costume references.
What would you say you each brought that is distinctively “you” to the comic?
TS: Mike and I formed a natural collaborative team, in my opinion. I did most of the historical research and (of course) writing the actual adaptation, but largely relied on Mike to place his own unique artistic stamping on the panels themselves. I know Mike will be speaking to his many projects currently underway, but for me he stepped up and out of his mostly Lovecraftian/horror mold to draw the history-based I Am a Barbarian, although those influences can be seen in many panels, in particular the scenes involving dungeons, prophecies and strange people.
Mike Dubisch. Photo courtesy of Dubisch.
MD: I have a bad habit of only looking at reference when I don’t know how to draw something, and I know how to draw just about everything, and if I don’t, well then I usually know how to draw something after referencing it only once or twice. So, what you see with my work is devised almost entirely from my imagination, and that is why everything I do has a distinct style. Additionally, I tend to use a lot of black on the pages, using bold core shadows on figures and props, creating a feeling of dynamic lighting and adding volume, and bringing weight to the page.
Setting aside (since it is not a John Carter or Tarzan story), what do you feel is unique about I Am a Barbarianwhen compared to Burroughs’ other work?
TS: As far as I’m aware, Barbarian is the only ERB story in which the female protagonist dies. Overall, it’s a “darker” story than most of ERB’s work, and is likely a reflection of the dark period the writer was experiencing in his own life when he wrote the story in the spring/summer of 1941: his second marriage was on the rocks, he was drinking too much, and he was in and out of the hospital with health issues that year.
MD: For me it’s the danger and trauma of Brit’s life; he loses everything and lives under the threat of torture and death his whole life. This seems a far cry from ERB’s superhuman heroes who rule their secret worlds.
TS: Good observation about Brit’s travails, Mike. If you want to test (and grow) your protagonist’s character arc, toss said protagonist under as many proverbial buses as possible.
Signed bookplate. I’m lucky number 7!
I Am a Barbarian has just been released in a luxurious, oversized, hardback edition in a slipcase. This is a stark contrast to how comics are normally collected in a trade paperback release. What were the reasons for going the “Roman Decadent” route for the comic?
TS: I wanted the IAAB graphic novel to be an instantly recognizable, collectible classic and used this approach when we designed and produced the book over a 10-month period starting in June, 2021. For me, we achieved that goal. It’s a “pandemic book,” however, and as such it ended up costing considerably more to produce. I had no choice but to increase the price commensurately, and it turns out we’re working with little or no margin. As often is the case with these projects, IAAB is a true labor of love, not money.
ERB stories have seen many comic adaptations across many decades by a plethora of publishers: Marvel, Dynamite, Gold Key, American Mythology, and so on. Is there any particular run of a Burroughs comic that you hold in high regard?
TS: I’m so old school re: comics I’m probably not relevant; the first actual comic books I read (other than the newspaper version) were Classics Illustrated. That said, for me old school illustrators and writers like Hal Foster, Alex Raymond and Russ Manning were always my favorites.
MD: I recall OBSESSING on a big treasury edition sized Tarzan comic adaptation that I read to shreds as a kid – I no longer have it and can’t identify what edition it was. I do love Joe Kubert’s work on the character. I never really read the John Carter comics, but I love what I’ve seen in issues drawn by Gil Kane. I haven’t kept up with anything modern – I’ve enjoyed seeing Joseph Michael Linsners Dejah Thoris® cover art.
TS: If we’re talking about Dejah Thoris, for me Jay Anacleto and Michael C. Hayes are tops.
Deja Thoris by Jay Anacleto. Image provided by Simmons.
Deja Thoris by Michael C. Hayes. Image provided by Simmons.
I Am a Barbarian can be considered a sword and sandal story. Is this a genre you have appreciation for? If so, any particular texts over the years that have left an impression on you?
TS: The film Gladiator is a recent standout for me. I also very much liked Spartacus and Ben-Hur.
MD: Oh man, Old Testament Biblical epics were one of my favorite things to watch as a kid, and Biblical comic adaptations were always a favorite as well. I loved Conan and Kull too, especially the comic books, but also the Robert E. Howard stories. While I was drawing I Am a Barbarian I streamed the Spartacus TV series, which was also very entertaining.
TS: Also, thinking of further S&S influences for me, I loved Colleen McCullough’s First Man in Rome series of novels as well as the 2005 Rome TV series.
Tom Simmons. Photo courtesy of Simmons.
What projects do you have on the horizon that you’d like to share?
TS: I’m continuing doing the online strip adaptation of ERB’s other historical novel, The Outlaw of Torn. I’m currently working with Benito Gallego, who does the art, colors and letters for the strip. The plan is to do a printed version of this story as well when it’s completed in 2024. The book will form a “companion volume” to the printed I Am a Barbarian graphic novel, and I envision a matte red board slipcase with silver foil lettering for the book which will have two parts, one containing the art of Jake Bilbao and the other that of Benito Gallego. I also have ongoing screenplay projects; this summer I’ll finally complete the pilot for an 8-part miniseries entitled The Nessus Shirt, a WWII story told from the German point of view through the eyes of an ordinary soldier who becomes involved in the pre-Valkyrie plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
MD: My primary focus has been Forbidden Futures Magazine and the Forbidden Futures Book Club, where I am the illustrator of an entire line of books and magazines working with premiere science fiction and horror writers, that goes out as a quarterly package to our subscribers through Oddness Books.
We are currently printing Forbidden Futures issue #10 which is a double issue with new fiction by David Gerrold, creator of both Star Trek’s Tribbles, and the Sleestacks from the Land of the Lost TV series. The issue also presents the first fully illustrated publication of Philip K. Dick’s “Tony and The Beetles,” a new sci-fi comic story I wrote and illustrated, and contributions from John Shirley and Cody Goodfellow. Forbidden Futures will be reissuing several of my out-of-print comics and graphic novels, including my Cthulhu Mythos SF graphic novel Weirdling, body horror underground comix Mystery Meat, and a collection of short graphic stories “The Wet Nurse and Other Tales of Conception and Re-Birth.” We have been publishing illustrated novels and novellas under the “Forbidden Futures Presents” banner, and I have my own illustrated prose projects planned for that line, including a soon to be announced SF novella. Finally, we are also debuting a bi-yearly chapbook “In Human Skin: The Mike Dubisch Journal of Illustrated Verse,” which pairs my series of surreal drawings on black paper with my own written verse.
Additionally, I continue to contribute to Diabolik Books Adventures of Professor Dario Bava comics, with the epic graphic novel tribute to Italian horror films and mod culture, “Murder Vibes from the Monster Dimension” still available and the new “Orgy Of The Blood Freaks” out now with new issues on the way.
Sincere thanks to Simmons and Dubisch for this interview. Their release of I Am a Barbarian can be found in two editions – with and without a signed bookplate – at Cedar Run Publications. Consider checking it out!
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:
Born of Blood is a neo-peplum comic published by MERC Publishing, written by Dolan, edited by Murphey, lettered by Joel Rodriguez, with art by Carlos Beccaria and colours by Sebastian Gonzalez. The first issue of the comic was successfully crowdfunded at the very end of 2021 with happy fans receiving their fulfillment orders this Spring (my write up of issue one and the associated Kickstarter look can be read here, check it out!).
On Friday, May 27th, MERC publishing continues the tale of Giaris, future queen of Sparta, by launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund Born of Blood issue 2. What follows is an interview with Born of Blood writer Dolan interspersed with images from issue two provided by Murphey who also coordinated this interview. Sincere gratitude to them both.
Cover arts provided courtesy of Murphey.
What was the genesis of Born of Blood?
April of 2021, Murphey had the idea to do a story about a Queen of Sparta. I did some research and found that king Leonidas’ wife, (who had a relatively untold backstory), would be a great choice. It made sense that the greatest warrior would have an equal in a wife.
That same day, I started doing research into the history of Sparta as well as the king’s daughter who in reality was named Gorgo. I told Shawn [Hudachko] and he said, “No that sucks, change it.” So, I researched the Mediterranean for a sexy name and discovered an island called Giara and said, “How about Giaris?” Shawn replied, “Perfect.”
So, I spent about two weeks nailing down a pitch for one comic and then I was asked to extend it to two issues, and three, then four, then five… And finally six. We were effectively done with the first issue by, I would say June, so it took me about a month with edits from Murphey and Shawn.
An immediate thought when reading Born of Blood is that it looks to take inspiration from 300 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. What sources would you say Born of Blood are inspired by?
There is some inspiration from 300 but a lot from the region and nation’s history itself. I did a lot of research into the timeline, historical figures, nations, battles, and events. There are a lot of historical elements but we did have some veering from history. I don’t know what Assassin’s Creed exactly is, is that a movie?
Cover arts provided courtesy of Murphey.
What are the challenges you’ve encountered, or conversely, something learned, when creating a comic set in antiquity compared to a contemporary setting?
The challenges were trying to nail down exact dates, familial lineages, and deaths. There’s a lot we know but at the same time, there’s a lot that’s left to speculation and guessing. At the same time, another challenge was telling someone’s life story over six issues and making them exciting. I hadn’t done that before so that was challenging in itself.
Cover arts provided courtesy of Murphey.
There’s quite a few sword and sandal comics out there, especially from crowdfunded endeavors. What do you feel is unique about Born of Blood that distinguishes it from others of a similar ilk?
What makes this unique is that we’re taking historical figures and events, but setting them in the Merc Publishing world. We’re going to see how this was the foundation for everything to come with Deathrage, Miss Meow, and Katfight. On top of that, we’re not pulling our punches with the violence and gore. The bang will be worth the buck on every issue.
Lastly, this is a female character who won’t be perfect in every way like in modern Marvel and DC Comics. She will be hurt, she will fall, she will fail, she will need help, but she will grow and eventually become Queen. I recently read a new Marvel comic off the stands where the female character knocked out a 250 pound man with one punch. It is completely disingenuous. When Giaris fights, it’ll be grounded in reality.
Sample pages provided courtesy of Murphey.
What are your favourite sword and sandal texts and how have they left an impression on you?
The Odyssey, to me, is the greatest sword and sandal story ever told. I remember reading it in middle school and was just blown away by it. The Iliad is a close second. Others would be Spartacus, 300, The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, and Jason and the Argonauts.
The larger than life aspect of these stories truly blew me away when I was younger, especially The Odyssey. A virtual life long journey to different islands with colorful villains with our hero’s hope of eventually making it home to his wife. You never forget stories like that when you’re young.
Sample pages provided courtesy of Murphey.
What was the soundtrack/music you listened to while creating Born of Blood? And what is the recommended music for fans to crank it to while reading?
The PERFECT soundtrack would be the soundtrack from the film Conan the Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
New episode of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast is online! In this episode we discuss “The Barrens” by F. Paul Wilson and “The Faces at Pine Dunes” by Ramsey Campbell both from the Arkham House anthology Cthulhu 2000. The episode can be streamed from our Buzzsprout website or your Podcast app of preference.
General Neo-Peplum News
Call for Peplum Papers
There are a few CFPs for peplum related conferences going on right now.
The first is from Dr. Jeremy Swist and Dr. Charlotte Naylor Davis on Heavy Metal and Global Premodernity. The CFP can be found here on Google Docs.
The second is from Michael A. Torregrossa on Medieval in Popular Culture Sponsored Sessions at MAPACA 2020. The CFP can be found at UPENN.
Rest in Peplum
Rest in peplum to iconic director Richard Donner! Director of many high profile and influential films, such as The Omen (1976), Superman (1978), and Lethal Weapon (1987), he also directed peplum adjacent fare such as Ladyhawke (1985) and Timeline (2003). He passed away at the age of 91.
Prolific character and genre actor William Smith passed away at the age of 88. His most iconic peplum role was playing Conan’s father in Conan The Barbarian (1982). He was also in Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961).
Michele and I had the honor to meet William Smith at a convention.
Michele and I recently interview Amanda Desiree on the Scholars from the Edge of Time show about her debut novel Smithy. The episode can be downloaded/streamed at Blog Talk Radio.
H. P. Lovecast Podcast Slight Delays
We sorta underestimated how much AnnRadCon and StokerCon was going to throw our writing and recording schedule awry, but it did. So for May, we didn’t get a chance to do our episode on Caltiki. Instead, we are going to move that discussion to June along with our discussion on the comic book series Vinegar Teeth. However, we did complete the interviews for our newest episode of Transmissions, one with Amy Grech and the other with Catherine McCarthy. That episode will go live on Monday (check the podcast appearances page).
Mark My Words Physical Edition
The physical edition of Mark My Words is out on POD at Amazon.
StokerCon and Cocktails
I totally forgot to mention this before StokerCon, but I was invited to be part of a StokerCon-Cocktail-Video thing where I talk about my cocktail of preference for StokerCon and what I’m doing. Gaby Triana edited the end product and it contains videos from herself, Sara Tantlinger, Cina Pelayo, and yours truly. The video can be found on her Witch Haunt YouTube page (and was available during the StokerCon Hopin as well!).
Working Classicists is a new endeavor and a knowledge hub, seeking contributors to write about Classical Studies across all mediums, with an emphasis on the working class in the classics. Their Twitter account is @WorkClassicists and their website is https://www.workingclassicists.com.
Rest in Peplum
Joe Lara, known for playing two incarnations of Tarzan, died in a tragic plane crash over the weekend. His contribution to the peplum genre was an appearance in an episode “The Cavern” in the Ralf Möller Conan the Adventurer television series in 1997.
Gavin MacLeod, famous for playing Captain Stubing in The Love Boat, passed away at the age of 90. He starred in The Sword of Ali Baba (1965).
Invincible Red Sonja #1 Preview
Comicon.com has a preview of Invincible Red Sonja #1.
H. P. Lovecast celebrated its one year (resurrection) anniversary! A year ago last April the world was knee deep in an apocalyptic pandemic (which we are still in). With so much uncertainty out there, Michele and I decided to bring back the dormant podcast. Since then, we’ve consistanluy published new episodes, expanded the scope of the podcast, brought attention to new writers, and hopefully given a little hope out there. In this month’s episode, we recap the last year, talk about goals for the upcoming year, while also taking a deep dive into William Meikle’s “Dagon Rising.” The podcast can be streamed on Buzzsprout or on your app of preference.
The episode of Scaredy Cats that I am a guest on has been delayed in being published. Unfortunately I don’t have an ETA yet.
S.P.Q.R. Comic
Did an interview with Riley Hamilton about his comic, S.P.Q.R. It can be read here.
General Neo-Peplum News
CFP for Ancient World Academia
The Society of Classical Studies has a CFP out for their Annual Meeting for Postgraduates in the Reception of the Ancient World. It can be found here.
Rest in Peplum
English actor Paul Ritter passed away at the age of 54. He was Galba in The Eagle (2011).
Italian make up artist Giannetto De Rossi passed away. He worked on a variety of filone films, and his peplum work includes:
Apologies, I missed putting out a news roundup for 11/22, so this post will cover both weeks.
Podcast News
Michele and I interviewed Michael Oden (creator of the Elysian Fields comic) on the Scholars from the Edge of Time segment of the Voice of Olympus show. Episode has been added to the podcast index and can also be streamed here.
For H. P. Lovecast Podcast, the upcoming schedule is going to look like this:
2020-12-06 – Wonder and Glory Forever
2020-12-20 – Interview with Nick Mamatas (already recorded)
2021-01-03 – Eight Cylinders
2021-01-17 – Interview with Jason Parent
Call for Papers
The Call for Abstracts for my collection of essays on neo-medievalism is live. The CFP can be found here.
General Neo-Peplum News
Rest in Peplum
David Prowse, better reknown as the actor who portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, passed away at the age of 85. His contributions to the sword and sandal genre include:
Dr. Who “The Time Monster” (1972). He was a minotaur
Up Pompeii (as an muscular extra)
Jabberwocky (1977, Terry Gilliam)
Daria Nicolodi passed away at the age of 70. She was known for her many contributions to Italian cinema in the 70s and 80s and her collaborations with Dario Argento. She appeared in Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989, Enzo G. Castellari)
Miscellanea
The folks at Comicon have quite a few articles that have gone up in the past two weeks:
