Personal / Website News
Born of Blood #2 Writeup
The second issue of the neo-peplum comic Born of Blood was released late 2022 by MERC Publishing.
I’ve done a write up of the issue which can be read here.
Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP
The Call for Papers for Emmanuelle, Black Emanuelle, and Emmanuelle derivative films is open.
The CFP can found on this page. If you know other scholars who would be interested in this project, please share! I’d be super appreciative to get the word out.
New Episode of H. P. Lovecast
A new episode of H. P. Lovecast is now online. This episode was recorded last month, but with all the moving and getting settled, we are publishing it now. It’s a recap episode where Michele and I talk about accomplishments of 2022, personal projects, and goals for 2023. Check it out at our Buzzsprout website, at the podcast player below, or via your podcast app of preference.
Ep 56 – 2022 Recap, Podcast News, Upcoming Projects – H. P. Lovecast Podcast
A Hero Will Endure Cover Reveal and Table of Contents
A Hero Will Endure: Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of Gladiator has a (draft) cover reveal and a table of contents! Here is the cover (might be slightly changed):
And here is the table of contents:
- Introduction: On Comets, Cakes, and Toys – Marking ‘Gladiator Days’ for (More than) Two Decades – Rachel L. Carazo
- Chapter 1 “A Vital and Adrenalized Contributor”: DreamWorks, Gladiator, and the Establishment of a Movie Studio – Kimberly A. Owczarski
- Chapter 2 ‘Wailing’ and ‘Moaning’: Gladiator’s Music Phenomenon and Legacy – Matthew Hodge
- Chapter 3 “What We Do in Life, Echoes in Eternity”: An Ecocritical Reading of the Scenery and Landscapes in Gladiator – Stefano Rozzoni
- Chapter 4 Maximus – The Twenty-First-Century Hybrid Hero: The Bridge Between Traditional and Counterculture Hero Archetypes in Gladiator – Kristen Leer
- Chapter 5 “Father! I would butcher the whole world, if you would only love me…”: The Character of Commodus, between Historical Reality and Cinematographic Representation – Livio Lepratto
- Chapter 6 “Commodus is not a Moral Man”: Nemesis, Narrative Construction, and Historical Reconstruction in Gladiator – James Shelton
- Chapter 7 Games for the Throne, the Thread of Love, and Women and Heroes: Mythic Gendered Arenas in Gladiator and Game of Thrones – Loraine Haywood
- Chapter 8 “…But Not Yet”: Reflections on Juba, the Spirit Guide and “Eternal Echo” of Gladiator – Ashley Weaver
- Chapter 9 Ecce homo heroicus! The Enduring Maximus, Twenty Years On – Peter Burkholder and Krista Jenkins
- Chapter 10 Roman Religious Figurines that “hear you […] in the afterlife”: Maximus’ Lares, His Vilica, and the Pomerium of Elysium in Gladiator – Rachel L. Carazo
- Chapter 11 Dance or Dēcēdere: Gladiator and Industrial Music Sampling – Nicholas Diak
- Chapter 12 Gladiator and Contemporary Roman Customs: The Myth of Maximus on the Roma and Lazio Soccer Fields – Antonio Valerio Spera
The collection is set to be published this February by Vernon Press which has a product/pre-order page.
Citation News
Just discovered that my essay “Assimilate and Manipulate: Industrial Music and Cyberpunk in the Comic Series ‘Shatter’” at We Are The Mutants was cited in an article titled “Soundtracks to a Dying World: Death Grips” at a website called Neon Dystopia. Very cool!
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Queen Esther (1948) Reviewed
Matt Page has a review of the newly resorted 1948 Biblical peplum film Queen Esther starring Ottilie Kruger (in her only non-stage acting role per IMDB) as the titular character (from the Book of Esther).
The review can be read at Page’s Bible Films Blog.
Double Pulver/Mamatas Lovecraft
This past Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for me because I received not one, but two! Joseph S. Pulver. Sr. edited Lovecraftian anthologies that contain Nick Mamatas autographs.
The first is The Leaves of a Necronomicon which Nick Mamatas graciously autographed to me. Copies can be ordered via this link at Books Inc.
Next is the Dreamlands anthology New Maps of Dream. This anthology was actually released back in 2020, but the edition with autograph pages from the contributors was delayed due to the sheets being lost in the mail. However, this edition is now released and can be purchased at PS Publishing.
Michele and I did two episodes about New Maps of Dream on the H. P. Lovecast Podcast. The first was our deep dive into the short stories by Scott R. Jones and Matthew M. Bartlett.
Ep 47 – New Maps of Dream: Scott R. Jones and Matthew M. Bartlett – H. P. Lovecast Podcast
The second was our interviews with contributors Kaaron Warren, Christine Morgan, and Matthew M. Bartlett.
HPLCP Transmissions – Ep 09 – Kaaron Warren, Christine Morgan, and Matthew M. Bartlett – H. P. Lovecast Podcast
Emmanuelle à la Crepax
Italian erotic comics artist Guido Crepax has been having his body of work republished by Fantagraphics. At the tale end of 2022 the publisher released The Complete Guido Crepax: Erotic Stories 1 which contains all of his Emmanuelle adaptations:
I had trade paperback editions of Emmanuelle 1 and 3 but missing 2, so having this collection released was an excellent surprise.
Of course, if anyone wants to write about sequential art versions of Emmanuelle, I happen to have a CFP open…..
Funko Toga and Sandal Homer
Michele gifted me this rather adorable Toga and Sandal-themed Funko Homer Simpson named Obeseus.
It’s not shown in this picture, but he’s holding a drumstick. I love it!
Xiphos – The Rise and Fall of Athens
The Rise and Fall of Athens is the debut album of the martial/neo-classical outfit Xiphos.
As can be seen from the cover and title, the neo-peplum album is about Ancient Greece. Two of the members of Xiphos, Miklós Hoffer and Troy Southgate, and also a part of the neo-classical outfit H.E.R.R. who have an album called XII Caesars that explores the same subject matter.
Hoffer was gracious to autograph a copy of the album to me. Copies of the limited edition digipack can be ordered by PayPaling 11.99 euros to mgahoffer AT hotmail.com