Tag: neo-jungle girl

Personal / Website News

I did not get much published at my website in April, but that does not mean a lot of news didn’t happen!

GosT/Perturbator Concert Archival Write Up

James Lollar, the mastermind behind the dark/synthwave band GosT passed away earlier this month. He was a pioneer of the retrowave genre.

I was lucky to have seen GosT perform with Perturbator back in 2017. I did a concert write up that was published at Heathen Harvest, but that website is long since dead. Since it has been on my radar to bring some of my old articles back online and host them here, and I want to do what I can to help keep Lollar’s memory eternal, I’ve gone ahead and dug up my concert report and put it online. I’ve also included more photos than the original publication.

My republished write up can be read here. Enjoy!

Exotica Moderne #31

It has been a few years since my last piece being published in Exotica Moderne, but I am back!

Back in November 2025 I had the honour to interview Alex Lamb and Max Well, the filmmakers behind the documentary The Donn of Tiki. That interview will be published in the next issue of Exotica Moderne, which is issue #31. In fact, orders for that issue are already being taken at the House of Tabu website (product link).

I have other article ideas that have been on the back burner for Exotica Moderne, such as an essay on Secret of the Incas. It is probably a good time to realize them. Exotica Moderne has always been a great periodical and one of the best venues I have ever written for.

Vanya #10 Compendium

The neo-jungle girl comic series Vanya: The Lost Warrior (which I’ve covered extensively at my website here) had a successful Kickstarter this month to fund issue ten.

One of the items every backer will receive with their pledge is a digital compendium that includes supplemental material, such as character bios, universe lore, a short story, and even a recap of what transpired from issues one to nine to allow folks a quick way round catch up in the story.

I was humbled and honored to be asked by the Bad Bug Editor in Chief, and writer of Vanya, Mike Tener, to write this summary to be included in the compendium! So, keep an eye out here, or the various Bad Bug outlets (Facebook link here) for news on how the development of issue ten goes.

Panthans Journal #347

The April issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a reprint of my review of issue eight of Vanya: The Lost Warrior. The original can be read right here.

Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journal is a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos, and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.

Sincere appreciation to Laurence for the opportunity to have my work published in the journal.

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearance

I had the honour to appear on two episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast that were published this month.

First, Michele and I are both guests on the episode where the topic is the 90s monster film, The Relic.

It is a good movie, and a unique monster in that decade between the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11. The episode can be streamed at the Fan2Fan website here or in the player below:

Next up there is an episode where I talk generally about the different Lovecraft monsters out there, from Cthulhu to Azathoth.

That episode can be streamed here or in the player below.

Sincere appreciation to Bernie and Pete of Fan2Fan for having Michele and I on as guests!

Scholars from the Edge of Time

For Scholars from the Edge of Time for April Michele and I went old school via new school and watched the new Deathstalker film. To sum it up: it ruled.

Listen to our musings about this reinterpretation of a classic 80s S&S series on YouTube.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2026.

Calls for Papers/Proposals

Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my path or I am sharing on behalf of my colleagues. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.

Dragon Age: Worlds of Power and Play

Edited by Adam Crowley (Husson University) and Daniel Reardon (Missouri University of Science and Technology) 

The Dragon Age franchise (BioWare, 2009–present) stands as one of the most narratively and philosophically ambitious bodies of work in contemporary role-playing games. Across its major titles, the series constructs a world shaped by conflict, belief, and consequence—where institutions govern bodies, identities are contested, and player choice operates within systems that both enable and constrain action. 

This edited collection invites scholars to examine Dragon Age as a site of meaning-making across narrative, mechanical, cultural, and philosophical dimensions. We seek contributions that engage the series not simply as a set of texts, but as a structured system in which power, identity, agency, and belief are produced, negotiated, and experienced. 

This collection takes a comprehensive view of the franchise, including Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. At the same time, Dragon Age operates as a transmedia world rather than a closed set of game texts. We therefore welcome contributions that engage the broader narrative and paratextual ecosystem of the series, including novels, comics, strategy guides, codices, and reference works such as The World of Thedas volumes, as well as screen-based media such as Dragon Age: Redemption and animated adaptations. Essays may focus on a single game, trace developments across multiple titles, or examine how meaning emerges through the interaction of game systems and transmedia storytelling. We are particularly interested in work that attends to the relationship between narrative, system design, and player experience across these materials. 

Areas of Interest 

1. Power, Authority, and Institutions 

Essays in this category may examine the structures that organize and regulate life in Thedas, including the Chantry, the Circles of Magi, the Templar Order, and the Inquisition. Approaches may include political theory, rhetorical analysis of governance, institutional critique, and studies of legitimacy, surveillance, and control.

2. Identity, Embodiment, and Otherness

This section invites work on race, gender, sexuality, and the body within Dragon Age. Topics may include the construction of elven, Qunari, dwarven, and human identities; representations of difference and marginalization; romance and intimacy systems; and the relationship between player identity and character embodiment. 

3. Systems, Choice, and Player Agency 

Contributions may explore how Dragon Age structures player action through dialogue systems, branching narratives, and moral decision-making frameworks. We welcome analyses of agency, constraint, consequence, and the role of the player as a co-creator within designed systems. 

4. Lore, Worldbuilding, and Transmedia Storytelling 

This category focuses on the narrative architecture of Dragon Age across games, codices, novels, comics, and other media. Topics may include paratexts, environmental storytelling, worldbuilding practices, and the role of distributed narrative in shaping player understanding. 

5. Ethics, Belief, and Moral Philosophy 

Essays may address the ethical and philosophical questions at the heart of Dragon Age, including justice, faith, sacrifice, and moral responsibility. We invite work that engages the series’ treatment of belief systems, divine authority, and the player’s role in navigating complex moral landscapes. 

Please submit proposals by June 1, 2026. Drafted chapters will be due September 15, 2026. 

Submission Guidelines

• Abstracts: Maximum 750 words 
• Include: Title, abstract, and brief bio (100–150 words) 
• Format: Word document (.docx) 
• Email submissions to: reardond@mst.edu 

New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions

The ever growing peplum research library grows with these recent sword and sandal acquisitions.

Goliath and the Barbarians and Goliath and the Vampires

Michele and I went down to Tucson in mid-April to catch the Ray Harryhausen exhibit (that write up is forthcoming!) but also explore a little bit of the city. We wound up going to Booksmans on Speedway and one of the treasure I found in the cult movie section was this Goliath double feature.

Looks like the company who put this out, Wild East, closed their doors earlier this decade. They seemed to have specialized in spaghetti westerns, with this Goliath and the Barbarians / Goliath and the Vampires DVD being their sole sword and sandal output. This looks like a lot of fun!

Rest in Peplum: Gerry Conway

At the end of April comic book legend Gerry Conway passed away. Conway appeared at many of the comic book conventions in the LA area and I had the honour to meet him a few times. Here is a picture of the first time I met him back in 2014:

Conway is probably best known for co-creating the Punisher, but I revered him for his contributions to the sword and sorcery genre. He wrote Conan the Destroyer (1984) and the Ralph Bakshi animated Fire and Ice (1983).

One of my prized sword and sorcery possessions is my Blu-ray of Fire and Ice signed by Conway, and artists/animators Steven E. Gordon and Tom Tataranowicz.

A true, sincere rest in peplum to Conway.

News from Friends

Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.

New Ride the Stream Episodes

New episodes of Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata’s vidcast, Ride the Stream, are online. The duo continue their deep dive into the sci-fi series Falling Skies.

Here is their discussion on season one episode seven:

Episode eight:

Episode nine:

And episode ten:

After this Ride the Stream pivots to talk about Dark Winds. Here is their analysis of season one episode one:

Make sure to subscribe the Ride the Stream YouTube channel to see when new episodes drop. There is also a BlueSky social media as well.

New Fan2Fan Episodes

Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online. Pete and Bernie continue their discussions on different monster movies. Aside from the two monster movies episodes mentioned above, here are the others that dropped in April.

First they have an episode on Pumpkinhead:

And then one on Godzilla:

Followed by another Godzilla episode:

And finally, an episode titled “When Monsters Lose Their Mojo“:

Older episodes of Fan2Fan can be found at its Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference. There is also the Fan2FanFacebook page.

The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove by Ian Welke

Author Ian Welke has a new book that just came out! It is called The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove and it is a loose sequel to The Azure Cove Assignment which came out last year. The cover art is done by Kelly Lyon-King.

The Many Worlds Interpretation of Azure Cove can be found on Amazon.

Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn by Jeffrey J. Mariotte

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. announced that pre-orders are now open for the brand new ERB Universe novella, Beyond Thirty: A World Reborn. This book is penned by the prolific Jeffrey J. Mariotte, the guest of honour at last year’s Edgar Rice Burroughs Circle of Friendship.

The product page for all the different editions of this novella can be found here at the ERB website.