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Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: Comparisons of Hercules and the Captive Women Blu-rays

Hercules and the Captive Women (1961, Vittorio Cottafavi) is a classic peplum from the golden age of Italian sword and sandal films of the late 50s to early 60s. Focusing on the more fantastique elements of the genre (that fight with Proteus!), the film received a second life and renewed longevity when it was riffed on a season four episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, joining the ranks of other pepla such as Hercules Unchained (1959, Pietro Francisci), Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964, Giacomo Gentilomo) who were also honoured on the series.

Aside from its appearance on MST3K, Hercules and the Captive Women has another unique facet to it: its availability in physical releases that sports a print/cut of the film in a decent condition. The peplum cycle contains a few hundred entries, but a vast majority of them have not seen re-released in an accessible fashion, and those that have are often released on subpar editions derived from generations of VHS recordings, cropped, stretched, degraded, blurry, and so on, but released by budget labels such as Brentwood and Alpha Video. These are epic movies, but the viewing experience for many of them is anything but. So, when a classic peplum title gets a release that has a quality image to it, that is a big deal!

Back in 2021 The Film Detective released a Blu-ray of Hercules and the Captive Women. This release was jam packed, not just with an HD version of the film, but also the MST3K version, a commentary, documentary, essay, and other supplemental features. The sleeve states the movie is a “4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative”. This sounds like a great thing!

The website PeplumTV did a review of The Film Detective Blu-ray of the film (which can be read here) and found the release to be disappointing regarding its image quality (especially with colours). The website did a vast number of comparisons between the Retromedia DVD, an Italian TV broadcast version, and the Blu-ray edition of the film, and visually, well, there are some huge differences.

Technical specification of a film is not my forte since I am more into the textual aspect of a movie, so I cannot really comment if The Film Detective version is inferior or superior, only that it is different (at least colour-wise). Since this edition purports to come from the original negative, I have to assume it captures Cottafavi’s original vision of the film as close as possible, which could mean the colours are actually correct (note: I have not dived into all the supplemental material on this release, so this matter may be overtly addressed). Or it could mean it is a botched restoration.

DVDBeaver, whose specialty is comparisons of physical releases of a film, doing not just frame comparisons but dive into hard technical subjects like bitrates, codecs, etc., also has a write up about The Film Detective release of Hercules and the Captive Women (which can be read here). Surprisingly, their write up does not do a frame comparison to other physical releases (but that is like their thing!) like the PeplumTV review does. They do provide lots of screenshots, praise the supplemental material, but do state that the film looks

“..abnormally faded. The source density appears compromised in the beginning but eventually holds up reasonably well. The overall 1080P is modest, mostly flat without an abundance of grain but some colors have depth (more in the second half – plenty of burnt orange) and it has instances of showing a pleasing image.”

This statement, coupled with PeplumTV’s write up, paints the picture that, though HD, this is a lackluster edition of the film.

Two blu-rays side by side. Both show the same poster art of a Hercules with legs apart and a woman framed between them, on her knees, with flames behind her.
The two Blu-rays of Hercules and the Captive Women.

Cut to five years later. Film Masters, who specializes in restored editions of classic films, though go the route of bare bones on supplements, release their edition of Hercules and the Captive Women. The cover simply states “restored in HD.” In my February news roundup at my website (link here), I briefly talk about picking up this new copy of Hercules and the Captive Women and thought about doing a comparison between it and The Film Detective version for fun. So, let’s do it! Let’s see what I can add to the dialogue about this film and its HD editions.

Firstly, I lack the technical prowess that DVDBeaver has, and like I mentioned before, film specs are not my forte. I want to make sure I make that overt as I put this write up here.
My methodology for this:

  1. I used a Pioneer BDR-XD08S Blu-ray player to read these discs.
  2. I used MakeMKV (I’m at vesion 1.18.1) to import the movies onto my Mac.
  3. Watched the movies using VLC (version 3.0.20).
  4. Skimmed through the movies looking for scenes with different colours or lots of objects in the mise-en-scene. Used the snapshot function to take a picture of the frame.
  5. I noted the time stamp, put the other movie in, fast forward to that time stamp as close as possible and used snapshot (so it is possible I may be a few milliseconds off between the frames).
  6. Because my webhost has limits on image size, I opened up each image, resized each one so the longest side was 1000 px (note: I do this with all images I upload to my website). These snaps were not altered in any other way (such as using a cropping tool).

Of quick note:

The Film Detective Blu-ray had four files on it (three being the supplemental material) with the movie coming in at 19.18 gb.

The Film Masters version had only one file (the movie) which came in at 21.51 gb. The difference in file size could be attributed to compression?

Title Screen of the movie. It says Hercules and the Captive Women and the words sit atop a pillar.
Film Detective – 22 seconds.
Title Screen of the movie. It says Hercules and the Captive Women and the words sit atop a pillar.
Film Masters – 22 Seconds.

On the title card, the Film Masters edition looks slightly redder. 

An older man in a white toga talked to another man in a stone room filled with candles.
Film Detective – 5 minutes, 11 seconds.
An older man in a white toga talked to another man in a stone room filled with candles.
Film Master – 5 minutes, 11 seconds.

Film Masters looks darker, but only by a little bit.

Hercules stands in a sail boat in the middle of the blue sea.
Film Detective – 12 minutes, 10 seconds.
Hercules stands in a sail boat in the middle of the blue sea.
Film Masters – 12 minutes, 10 seconds.

Again, not much of a difference save Film Masters appears darker, most noticeable in the hair.

Hercules strains to pull a large chain.
Film Detective – 20 minutes, 29 seconds.
Hercules strains to pull a large chain.
Film Masters – 29 minutes, 29 seconds.

Both versions have a very thin, vertical “scratch” near the top right of the frame. It looks equally pronounced in both. Though my timing skills are lackluster at capturing the exact frame, (side by side Hercules moves a bit), looking at the rock background and all the nooks and crannies, everything lines up. This tells me that both versions are at least cropped the very same and show the exact same information in each frame. 

A royal woman with a totally not anachronistic black beehive hairdo stands menacingly in a courtroom. There are lots of men in white robes behind her.
Film Detective – 33 minutes, 40 seconds.
A royal woman with a totally not anachronistic black beehive hairdo stands menacingly in a courtroom. There are lots of men in white robes behind her.
Film Masters – 33 minutes, 40 seconds.

Again, only a subtle difference in the Film Masters being a tad bit darker, mostly noticeable in the background stone roof.

A man in a white robe talks to the black beehive lady in a bedroom.
Film Detective – 44 minutes, 9 seconds.
A man in a white robe talks to the black beehive lady in a bedroom.
Film Masters – 44 minutes, 9 seconds.

Unlike the title screen in which the red was “redder”, that is not the case here. Both frames looks equally orange-red, with Film Masters, again, being darker. 

Hercules stands in a dark cavern with a toppled wall behind him.
Film Detective – 69 minutes, 11 seconds.
Hercules stands in a dark cavern with a toppled wall behind him.
Film Masters – 69 minutes, 11 seconds.

Last set of images, again, Film Masters looks darker, more apparent in this already dimly lit scene. 

Overall, both The Film Detective and Film Masters version of Hercules and the Captive Women look comparable to each other. There is not a huge, glaring difference in colour between these two Blu-ray releases, unlike the PeplumTV article which shows radical differences between the editions it examines. The biggest difference of these two release is the Film Masters iteration looks darker. I am not sure why, perhaps The Film Detective version has contrast boosting? However, the title screen of the Film Masters edition has more pronounced reds, which overall, is a colour that has been orange-ified in both Blu-rays. With that in mind, that means the Film Masters version is probably closer to being the version with the most ideal presentation of the film between these two specific releases. In my opinion, both are fairly interchangeable with each other, and both convey the movie in a nice resolution. Aside from The Film Detective having more supplemental materials, either version of the film will do for a pleasing viewing experience.
 
 

Categories
Essays Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: Vulcan, Son of Jupiter (1962)

Plot

On Mount Olympus, Jupiter (Furio Meniconi) is irate at the current state of affairs of his children and other gods disobeying and doing their own things. Of specific concern is the goddess Venus (Annie Gorassini) who is absconding to Earth and using her beauty and charms to seduce the men who catch her attention. Jupiter and his wife Juno (Edda Ferronao) come to the conclusion that the only way to tame Venus is to have her married to a husband that can control her. Two suitors come to mind: Mars, the god of war (Roger Browne) and Vulcan, the god of fire (Iloosh Khoshabe).

While working in his forge, Vulcan is baited into a brawl with Mars. Jupiter intervenes and punishes them both. Mars has had enough of his controlling dad, so he and Venus escape to Earth with the help of Pluto (Gordon Mitchell) where they ally themselves with Milos, king of the Thracians (Omero Gargano). Mars proposes to Milos a plan to construct a giant tower to Mount Olympus where they can then invade and overthrow Jupiter.

Mars, Venus, and Milos discuss the tower.

Vulcan, in pursuit of the wayward duo, is stabbed by Pluto and left for dead on a beach on Earth. His unconscious body is happened upon by Aetna (Bella Cortez) and her siren companions, collectively known as the Daughters of Neptune. They pluck up Vulcan with the intent to take care of him, but their quest to do a good deed is short lived as they are all captured by lizard men and imprisoned. The daughters hatch an escape plan that involves having fellow prisoner Geo (Salvatore Furnari), use his short-stature to hide in a basket, and is carried out to the sea and dumped into the water. Geo plays a conch that was given to him by the Daughters which summons a Triton who takes him to Neptune (Amedeo Trilli) who is briefed on the situation.

Vulcan captured by the Lizard people.

Geo, with the aide of the Tritons, break back into the prison and free Vulcan and the Daughters of Neptune. Vulcan and Aetna make their way to Neptune’s underwater kingdom where Aetna does a belly dance for Vulcan. However her routine is interrupted by Mercury (Isarco Ravaioli) who arrives with the news of Mars’ plan to overthrow Jupiter. Concurrently, Milos’ soldiers capture all the now-freed prisoners and put them to work on Jupiter’s tower construction project.

Vulcan returns to land in order to stop Mars and forces Geo to guide him to Milos’ camp. Aetna, who is in love with Vulcan, wishes to accompany him, but Vulcan rebuffs so she follows the duo in secret. On her trek she is ambushed by a group of cavemen but is rescued by Vulcan and Geo. Together all three travel to Milos’ camp. En route, Aetna calls out Vulcan’s negative treatment of her, and Vulcan confesses he no longer yearns for Venus. The two embrace. 

While scouting Milos’ camp, Aetna is captured by soldiers. Venus makes overt her jealousy of Aetna. Aetna is tortured and tied to a stake where she is to be executed by a wheeled contraption that has spears protruding forth. However, Vulcan and Geo are able to free the enslaved prisoners and they all attack Milos’ camp. Venus uses a whip to lash at a freed Aetna, but Aetna gets the upper hand, steals her whip and attacks back. Milos is killed by a spear through the heart by one of the prisoners. Vulcan and Mars finally face off against each other, with Vulcan wielding a giant club. As he is about to slay Mars, Jupiter intervenes: he forces Mars and Venus back to Olympus to be punished while Vulcan must stay on Earth with Aetna as long as he sees fit. 

Victory over Mars and Milos’ men.

Commentary

Vulcan, Son of Jupiter is a 1962, classic Italian peplum, directed by Emimmo Salvi, who had prior written numerous sword and sandal and costume flicks, such as Goliath and the Barbarians (1959), David and Goliath (1960), The Seven Revenges (1961), and The Giant of Metropolis (1961). The movie showcases many classic sword and sandal tropes such as leaning heavily into both mythology and Antiquity (making it akin to films such as Jason and the Argonauts [1963]), featuring a Hercules-style protagonist, and having not one, but two prisoner/slave revolts sequences. What makes Vulcan, Son of Jupiter stand out in the peplum canon are its archetypal characters and how different they are portrayed, especially the two female characters of Venus and Aetna.

Vulcan, the titular hero of the film, is also the primary strongman character, acting as the movie’s Hercules/Maciste/Ursus/etc. At the beginning of the film Vulcan is shown visually muscular, but not particularly powerful. The spar he has in his forge with Mars depicts both gods on equal footing. When imprisoned, Vulcan is chained and has his arms secured to a horizontal pole. While other strongmen characters would be able to use their strength to break their bonds, Vulcan is much to weak after being easily being dispatched by Pluto to do so. It is only in the final latter half that Vulcan becomes a true strongman character by battling the cavemen with his fists, breaking the chains of Milos’ prisoners, and wielding a large club while fighting Mars.

Vulcan battles Mars with a club.

While Vulcan may be the hero, he is not particularly likable, a trait he has in common with the other deities of the film. To Geo and Aetna is is especially mean spirited. Regarding Geo, Vulcan laughs at him when he is unable to mount a horse, he carries him like a handbag, and is dismissive of his guiding abilities. To Aetna he treats her with indifference, which he is eventually called out on by Aetna whom he does not even apologize to. When Aetna is being attacked by the cavemen, it is Geo who leads the rescue attempt, not Vulcan. 

Venus gazes into a mirror and at the audience.

Vulcan, Son of Jupiter tries hard to make the goddess Venus a villain and attempts to do so by relying on film noir archetypes by portraying her as a femme fatale. Venus is a seductress of men: she wants their adoration which gives her control over them. This is the extent of her goals though, she does not display any desires beyond having a man’s undivided attention and affection. This is in stark contrast to other peplum vamp characters, such as Princess Nellifer (Joan Collins) in Land of the Pharaohs (1955) who uses her skills to seduce Pharaoh Khufu (Jack Hawkins) for the specific goal to acquire his treasure. 

Bare back “nudity” on Venus.

Viewed with progressive eyes Venus is not so villainous. She is a liberated woman and she can have sexual relations with whomever she wants for whatever reasons she wants. This attitude, of course, is in opposition of traditional expectations of women during the period, which is why her parents Jupiter and Juno seek to control her by marrying her off. This would effectively neutralize what agency Venus has. 

All the other gods in the film, save Neptune, are portrayed as immature, childish, spoiled, and petulant. Just like real mythological gods! Jupiter attempts to stay in control of everyone, but comes off as ineffectual, narcissistic, and foolish. Neptune is the only deity not portrayed in this fashion, but this is because he is by himself in his undersea world. He does come across as rather addled though. In totality, all the gods and goddesses are depicted in a not-so-serious fashion, which adds a cartoonish element to the film.

Geo scouting to Milos’ camp.

Turning to the humans of the film, Geo is the comic relief character, comparable to Telemachus (Franco Giacobini) fromHercules in the Haunted World (1961). As a little person, Geo is involved in most the of physical gags of the film. Sometimes he is the recipient, such as when Vulcan carries him like a handbag. Other times he is the instigator, such as when he spits waters in the face of Neptune after being resuscitated, and when he makes onomatopoeia noises when clubbing foes when they are down. Aside from the last few seconds of the film when he runs off after Jupiter thunders his proclamations, Geo displays quite a bit of character development, going from cowardly to not. When first introduced he is afraid and wants to be left alone instead of helping the Daughters of Neptune. He opposes being the guide for Vulcan to Milos’ camp and is forced into the role. However by the movie’s end, Geo is involved in two instances of physical combat (once against the cavemen and the other against Milos’ soldiers), and even has a heroic instance of sneaking into Milos’ prison camp disguised as a bush.

Aetna at a pond before being captured by Milos’ soldiers.

Aetna is the love interest of Vulcan, the femme fragile to Venus’ femme fatale. Compared to other women characters of sword and sandal cinema, Aetna has a surprisingly amount of agency. She may get captured twice in the film, but she rises about the typical damsel: she and the other Daughters of Neptune rescue Vulcan, they plan the escape attempt from the prison, she goes on the adventure with Vulcan and Geo, and at the end of the film, she fights Venus, lashing at her with a whip. Aetna delivers on the kitten-with-a-whip action that was only promised, but not delivered, by the poster art of The Revolt of the Slaves (1960) which depicts Rhonda Fleming brandishing a whip while destruction surrounds her.

Aetna’s belly dance sequence as Vulcan looks on.

Though Venus is the seductress in Vulcan, Son of Jupiter, the film focuses on sexualizing Aetna. Aetna delivers the prerequisite belly dance sequence and numerous times the film focuses on her buxomness (especially noticeable in both the belly dance and when she is jogging after Vulcan and Geo who are on horseback). This specific body emphasis pushes Aetna’s actress, Bella Cortez, into the realm of the maggiorata fisica, placing her in the same camp as Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and Anita Ekberg. 

Vulcan, Son of Jupiter is a fun sword and sandal film. Vulcan may not be the most effective strongman character when compared to others (Hercules et. al.), but by the film’s end the character is performing in a spectacular fashion, swinging clubs and leading revolts. It is interesting to see the gods portrayed so immature, but that adds an extra lighthearted touch to the film. It is the women characters of Venus and Aetna who are the most stand out due to their subversive and progressive portrayals. Neither character is one dimensional, they bring an extra layer of nuance to what normally would have been a run-of-the-mill peplum. 

Categories
Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: The Tartars (1961)

Plot

Oleg (Victor Mature) and his army of Vikings pay a visit to Togrul (Folco Lulli) and his Tartar men at their camp in the steppes of eastern Europe/western Russia. Initially a friendly visit with Oleg bringing gifts of pelts, it turns turbulent when Togrul asks the Viking leader to join forces and attack the Slavs, a group of peoples the Vikings are friendly with. Oleg refuses. Angered at being rebuffed, Togrul attempts to kill Oleg, and a melee breaks out between the two forces. During the skirmish, Oleg axes Togrul and commands his men to retreat back to their Viking fort. In the process, Oleg’s brother, Eric (Luciano Marin), becomes smitten with Togrul’s daughter Samia (Bella Cortez) and kidnaps her.

DVD of The Tartars from the personal collection.

With Togrul slain, his brother, Burundai (Orson Welles), becomes Khan of the Tartars. Burundai has aspirations of great conquest of the West, starting with the obliteration of the Viking fort. Meanwhile at the Viking fort, Eric becomes more smitten with Samia and makes advances on her. He is initially rebuffed, but eventually Samia gives in. Oleg, fearing a Tartar attack, sends his wife Helga (Liana Orfei) away by boat back to Viking lands. En route her boat is attacked by the Tartars and she and her handmaidens are abducted.

Sword dance sequence.

Brought back to the Tartar castle, Burundai tortures one of the maidens for information about the Viking numbers and begins to lust after Helga. That night the Tartars host a lavish party with dancers wielding scimitars and mock-battling each other. During the feast Burundai poisons Helga’s drink. Incapacitated, she is taken to the Khan’s quarters where he rapes her.

Furious at his wife’s abduction, Oleg agrees to a hostage exchange at the Tartars’ castle: Samia for Helga. The meeting does not go well for the Vikings: a drugged Helga falls from the castle parapet, fatally injuring herself, and the group of Viking warriors are then attacked by the Tartars – Burundai having no use of having Samia back. 

Because he is going against tradition and beliefs, Burundai’s advisor Ciu Lang (Arnoldo Foà) leaves him, only to be captured and beheaded by the Kahn. Meanwhile an enraged Oleg wants to execute Samia, but Eric intervenes and declares his love for her and proclaims that she is carrying his child. Oleg puts the duo before a court made of Viking leaders, each casting their votes via axe tossing. The final vote comes down to Oleg, but before he can do so the Viking settlement is attacked by the Tartars. Oleg releases Eric so they can all join in the battle. As the Vikings are greatly outnumbered, the Tartars breach their walls and storm their court yard. Oleg and Burundai battle it out one-on-one, with Oleg victorious after he drowns the Khan in the river. Oleg’s victory is short lived as a Tartar archer shoots him in the back. Oleg’s final act, as his fort is overran, is to wave goodbye to Eric and Samia as they flee from the siege on their boat.

Samia and Eric flee the overran Viking fort.

Commentary

The Tartars is a 1961 sword and sandal film directed by Richard Thorpe. A deviation from the Greco-Roman antiquity setting, The Tartars takes place in Eastern Europe in the early Medieval period. Like many low budget costume films of the period, The Tartars is multi-national in its production: filmed in Italy and Yugoslavia, helmed by an American (Thorpe), with American (Mature and Welles) and Italian (Orfei, Marin) actors, and an Italian crew. The film features many stalwarts of peplum cinema: Mature from Samson and Delilah (1949), The Robe (1953), The Egyptian (1954), and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954); Orfei from Hercules in the Valley of Woe (1961), Damon and Pythias (1962), The Avenger (1962), Hercules, Samson and Ulysses (1963); Marin from Goliath and the Barbarians (1959), The Giants of Thessaly (1960), War Gods of Babylon (1962); Cortez from The Giant of Metropolis (1961), Vulcan Son of Jupiter (1962), The Seven Tasks of Ali Baba (1962); Foà from Barabbas (1961), Damon and Pythias, and War Gods of Babylon (these actors and actresses appear in a plethora of other historic epics, the examples here are limited for brevity’s sake). Thorpe is also no stranger to the genre having directed epics such as The Prodigal (1955) and Knights of the Round Table (1953).

Oleg and Helga embrace.

Despite being such a vanguard actor of pepla, Mature feels out of place in The Tartars. His slick backed hair is more fitting for a Roman character than a Viking and he lacks chemistry with Orfei who plays his wife Helga. His kissing scenes with her are comical rather than romantic. It is the twilight of Mature’s career and his enthusiasm may not all be there.

Burundai during the sword dance feast.

Welles, on the other hand, has dialed his over-the-topness to eleven. His character, Burundai, is realized via yellow face that borders on Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) levels of offence: Welles’ eyebrows are painted at 45 degree angles and he is constantly squinting. Despite the racist depiction, Welles owns the performance as he nails a warlord being creepy and lecherous, yet also extremely cunning. Welles must have been allowed to either improvise or rewrite his dialogue because there are many long, verbose sequences in the film that mirror what Welles was known for when doing talk show appearances.

Samia at the Viking fort.

Cortez’s Samia does not have much to work with in The Tartars. She plays the role of the damsel and is pretty much confined to the bit due the writing and lack of screen time. This is unfortunate because Cortez has a lot to offer. For example, in Vulcan Son of Jupiter (1962), she does get captured, but her character has much more agency: she talks, plans, banters, bellydances, battles the goddess Venus with a whip, and much more.

Eric forces himself onto Samia.

Samia only falls in love with Marin’s Eric because the script forces her to. There is zero chemistry between the two, after all Eric and the Vikings killed her father Togrul. Eric’s character is a product of 60s male sexism, exhibited by forcing himself onto Samia who eventually relents. If better realized, the relationship could be attributed to Stockholm Syndrome, yet The Tartars is trying to be earnest in that their romance is true.

Helga and her maidens captured by the Tartars.

The Tartars is notorious for bringing up plot points that it does not even follow through on. The movie begins with the Tartars asking the Vikings to band together to attack the Slavs. After being rebuffed, Oleg sends notice to the Slavs about the Tartars’ intention, yet nothing becomes of this. At the climatic battle at the end of the film one might expect the Slavs to show up and save the day, much like Henry the Red and his men in Army of Darkness (1992), but this never happens. Another plot point dropped is the abduction of Helga and her three handmaidens. Helga has a rescue attempt, but her three cohorts are never mentioned again and are forgotten by the Vikings.

The death of Oleg.

Despite the aforementioned criticisms, The Tartars is fascinating because it goes against every possible grain of the peplum genre. Almost all strongmen-centric pepla are lighthearted, with a Hercules-esque character performing heroics and going on adventures, beaming with optimism. The more serious toga and sandal films have the heroes/protagonists win at the movie’s end. The Tartars, however, is dour, dark, and bleak. The good guys – the Vikings – are annihilated at the film’s conclusion. Even though the main antagonist, Burundai, is slain, his men ultimately win: the Viking fort is burned, Oleg the leader killed, and only a handful of Vikings escape. 

The Tartars openly embraces both consensual and nonconsensual sex, which is fairly avant-garde for a non-exploitation film of the era. Many pepla have simile scenes for sex, such as having a belly dancing sequence stand in for intercourse. In The Tartars, Oleg leads his wife Helga to a curtained area of their house before fading to black. Later in the film, Helga is abducted, drugged and then raped by Burundai, indicated by another cut away and fade to black moment.

Samia and Eric on trial.

Mature’s Oleg is the opposite of what to expect in a heroic protagonist: he is a terrible leader for the Vikings and their downfall can be partially attributed to his incompetence. For example, at the end of the film Oleg focuses his attention on bringing his brother Eric and Samia to trial rather than develop a stratagem to deal with the Tartars. It is during the court scene that the Tartars attack, catching the Vikings not fully ready to repel them. 

Oleg and company at the prisoner exchange.

Another sequence of Oleg’s terrible leadership occurs earlier in the film during the prisoner exchange of Samia for Helga. Instead of suggesting a neutral location to rendezvous with the Tartars he agrees to meet with them right outside their castle gate, where they are, unsurprisingly, attacked and forced back to their fort. Overall, a poor leader, but it makes for an interesting portrayal of an extremely flawed character and central protagonist.

Burundai leads his men into battle against the Vikings.

While Oleg falters at being a leader, the villainous Burundai excels. At no point in the film does Burundai not hold all the cards in his hands when dealing with the Vikings. Oleg considers having Samia in captivity his ace up his sleeve, whileBurundai could care less about having her back, much to the chagrin of his advisor Ciu Lang who believes Samia is prophesied to marry a great Khan. This does lead to an interesting scenario: Ciu Lang believes Burundai to be the great next Khan and wants Samia back to marry him, but at the end of the film Samia flees with Eric, the interpretation being that Eric could be the next great Khan, or at least a great leader, though his character exhibits no traits of greatness in thenarrative.

The competency and the civilizedness of the Tartars is the opposite of what is typically showcased by villains in other pepla, especial other sword and sandal films that takes places in Eastern Europe/western Russia. Such a counter example can be found in Hercules Against the Mongols (1963), where the three sons of Genghis Khan and their men are shown to be more barbaric when compared to their disciplined counterparts in The Tartars. 

The steppes of Eastern Europe where the Tartars are camped.

Aside from these cases of taking the peplum genre in different directions, The Tartars does have traditional genre traits that it proficiently executes. The setting of steppes of Eastern Europe/western Russia are awesome to behold and make great backdrops for the films horse and cavalry sequences. The Tartars bring an exotic, larger than life element to the film, with their lavish ornate castle and elaborate sword dance routine that is the film’s most standout sequence. While there are no strongmen characters to bring a larger-than-life element to the film, the Vikings try their hardest to do over-the-top actions to add extra spectacle to the film, such as calibrating their catapults by firing them at each other, and the aforementioned axe throwing to denote yay or nay in the trial sequence. The battle sequences that bookend the film are spectacular with horseback riding and swarms of swordplay.

Tartar archers during the climatic battle.

If there is a takeaway from The Tartars it is that there is not much of a difference between the titular Tartars and the Vikings. Both are fairly ruthless peoples that result to kidnapping women and adhere to internal codes of conduct and prophecies. The leaders of both, Oleg and Burundai, both die at the end: Oleg from his incompetence and Burundai probably from his over confidence due to his ambition – he was going to win the battle due to his overpowering strength in numbers, so there no reason to rush into battle, except for the cinematic reason to have a one-on-one duel with Oleg. While the movie falters with its writing and casting choices, it is overall fascinating and accomplishes expanding the sword and sandal boundaries with its darker tone and subject matter. 

Categories
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.

Categories
Comics Interview Peplum

We Are Barbarians: Interview with Mike Dubisch and Tom Simmons on I Am a Barbarian

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!

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.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-01-30

Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot Listing

My essay, “Cullzathro Fhtagn! Magnifying the Carnivalesque in Lovecraft Through the Comic Book Series Vinegar Teeth,” has made the preliminary Bram Stoker Award ballot in the short non-fiction category. Note: this does not denote I am nominated or a finalist. It simply means I am on the preliminary ballot and have a 50% chance to advance to the final ballot.

Active and Lifetime members of the Horror Writers Association who would like to read my essay for final ballot consideration find it online at Academia.edu. Note: if there is a big ad in the way taking up the screen, just hit the X at the top right. Academia.edu is silly that way.

New Episode of H. P. Lovecast

Our January Transmissions episode for H. P. Lovecast went up earlier today!

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany.

This episode concludes our exploration into the anthology New Maps of Dream with interviews conducted with Matthew M. Bartlett, Christine Morgan, and Kaaron Warren. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout site or via your podcast app of preference.

February will see us diving into a space horror comic, the world of splatterpunk and antifa, and doing some additional coverage of writers who made it to the Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot. I invite you all to take a dive into our 2021 episodes because we reviewed/interviewed quite a few writers and editors who made the preliminary ballot.

New Episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time

Last week Michele and I were on our monthly Scholars from the Edge of Time program.

My Yor collection. German version autographed by Reb Brown to me.

For January we continued our sword and planet theme by discussing Yor: The Hunter from the Future. The episode can be streamed at BlogTalkRadio. I’ll be taking my notes, compiling them, and turning them into a Peplum Ponderings writeup in February.

Things in the Well Closing Shop

Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP:

Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.

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

Rest in Peplum

European comic book artist and illustrator Jean-Claude Mézières passed away at the age of 83 (article at Comics Beat).

Personal collection.

The D.N.A. of the sword and planet genre can be felt in his seminal series, Valerian and Laureline, which was later adapted into the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Michele and I recently discussed the movie incarnation on the Scholars from the Edge of Time program.

Son of Samson Upcoming Blu-Ray Release

Kino Lorber announced over the weekend that they would be releasing 1960’s Son of Samson on Blu-Ray:

The release isn’t listed for pre-order at the Kino website, but once it becomes available I’ll post news about it here.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-01-16

Personal / Website News

H. P. Lovecast News

Our first episode of January on New Maps of Dream will go up later today (instead of yesterday). We got two stories we will be examining. Our Transmissions episode will go up as usual at the end of the month and we are interviewing three folks from the anthology. Tune in to that episode when it drops for even more news.

Things in the Well Closing Shop

Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP:

Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.

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

Rest in Peplum Mark Forest

Stalwart sword and sandal veteran Mark Forest passed away at the age of 89 (article at Ansa). Along with the likes of Steve Reeves, Alan Steel, Reg Park, and Ed Fury, Forest literally and figuratively carried classic Italian pepla on his back.

He appeared in numerous historic epics:

  • The Egyptian (1954)
  • Goliath and the Dragon (1960)
  • Son of Samson (1960)
  • Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961)
  • Colossus of the Arena (1962)
  • Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (1963)
  • Hercules Against the Mongols (1963)
  • Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964)
  • The Lion of Thebes (1964)
  • Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964)
  • The Magnificent Gladiator (1964)
  • Kindar the Invulnerable (1965)
  • The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules (1964)

Rest in Peplum Matt Jacobs

I received news that artist and comic book illustrator Matt Jacobs passed away back in December.

Matt holding a drawing he did of Jason Voorhees in Michele’s sketchbook.

I’ve had the honour to know Matt since the early 2010s. He was a staple to the various Los Angeles and surrounding area comic book conventions, typically present at the Fanbase Press booth. He did the illustrations to one of their early comics, The Arcs, which is also his contribution to the neo-peplum genre. He was fun to talk with, especially about gory horror films.

He was a versatile dude, doing projects for Faith No More and Howard Stern. His art can still be seen on his Instagram account. He did this incredible sketch on an Army of Darkness blank cover as a gift to me back in 2014.

Can you spot all the cameos?

I have not seen Matt for a couple years, he kinda feel off the radar and stopped showing up to conventions. I only just found out via Fanbase Press that he passed away. He will be missed.

Gorgon Volume 2 Comic Kickstarter

Jay Fotos is doing a Kickstarter for volume 2 of a comic called Gorgon. Shades of neo-peplum are present! Kickstarter campaign can be found here.

Categories
Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: Ursus in the Valley of the Lions

Ursus in the Valley of the Lions is a 1961 Italian sword and sandal film starring Ed Fury as the titular Ursus, a strongman character in the same vein as Hercules. Ursus in the Valley of the Lions is an origin story of sorts, depicting Ursus as being raised by lions and eventually overthrowing the evil Ayak (Alberto Lupo) who usurped the kingdom from Ursus’ parents. What follows here are general and informal observations about the film. 

In Chains

When Ursus is locked in Ayak’s dungeon, he is chained up in a fashion that mimic’s the iconic shot of Hercules (Steve Reeves) at the end of Hercules (1958): arms outstretched, chains pulled in opposite directions.

There is a major difference though: Hercules’ strength allows him to pull his chains and cause the pillars they are attached to to collapse. Ursus, on the other hand, is unable to break his bonds. Instead, Attea (Moira Orfei) frees him. This portrayl of Ursus diminishes the notion that the strong man in pepla are 100% independent and can rely solely on their body’s capabilities to best any situation. This dungeon scene, along with a scene later in the film where Simba the lion helps free Ursus from a cave, demonstrate that a strong man does, indeed, need the help of others. A better way to put it: as much as the strong man helps those in need, he, in turn, needs help when he is in need (and that is ok!).

Swordless and Sandals

Ursus doesn’t use a sword or any other melee weapons in the film. Aside from a few instances of improvisational weapons (such as the throwing of tables or other debris at attackers) Ursus relies entirely on fisticuffs in all his battles. This is exceptional, consideration a) his opponents typically have an arsenal of weapons (swords and nets) and b) being raised by lions he doesn’t really have a combat school to adhere to. 

Tarzan and Romulus/Remus?

Some texts, such as the film’s Wikipedia entry and Barry Atkinson’s book Heroes Never Die! (pg 140) compare Ursus in this film to Tarzan in that both characters are considered feral children, with noble births, raised by animals (Ursus by lions and Tarzan by apes). Though the comparison is certainly apropos, it would be worthwhile to factor in the mythology of Romulus and Remus as well considering that many peplum films drew heavily from Grecian and Roman mythologies. Ursus’ upbringing, and eventual destiny, shares much in common with Romulus and Remus: as babies they represented threats to their respective kingdoms, they were raised by animals (lions/the she-wolf), and eventually go on to restore the throne to the proper heir. Echoes of Ursus (and Romulus and Remus) can also be found in episode four of the first season of the Netflix series Blood of Zeus where the character of Seraphim is also a baby that represents a threat to the throne and is eventually raised by bears.

The Revolt of the Slaves

The ending of Ursus in the Valley of the Lions shares similarities to The Revolt of the Slaves (1960). Both films end with rebels of sorts (Christians in Revolt and rebels proper in Ursus) being captured and put into an arena where many are burned alive for the amusement of others. 

Depiction of Animals

As a low budget Italian genre film, it probably goes without saying that animals were, indeed, harmed in the making of this film. The beginning scenes showing Ursus trying to coerce a kiss from a lion who clearly didn’t want to give one, to the hyena pit, and the climatic end where elephants are forced down to their side. Of note when the film introduces an adult Ursus interacting with this lion family: any shots of Ed Fury’s face are close up with nary a lion in frame, while all instances of Ursus interacting with the lions are wide shots, with Ursus’ back to the audience. What can be inferred here is that these scenes don’t actually contain Ed Fury but an animal handler instead.

Some of the plot synopsis of Ursus in the Valley of the Lions claim that Lothar and his men kill all the lions (but Simba) by poisoning them. When Ursus finds the lions, they all appear to be on their sides in a drowsy state. Is can be surmised from the film that the lions were not killed, only tranquilized. Also, these are well kept lions and not dumb creatures, they can probably use their sense of smell to suss out that the meat they’ve been tossed is not consumable. 

Ursus as a Hero and Political Leanings

Ursus is a hero with goals and motivations that seem to change throughout the film, which may be a combination of him adapting to the evolving narrative coupled with with his own naivety. The film implies Ursus is a feral child, raised by lions, however he contains a degree of civility, saying he has learned the language from caravans that pass by. The early scenes that show interactions between Ursus and the traveling slave trader convey that Ursus doesn’t know much about money or the value of objects (hence why he gives up his royal necklace so readily). However, there is a wink and a nod in the performance of Ed Fury that hints that Ursus knows more than he leads on, and is perhaps not as naive as the audience think he is. 

Regardless, Ursus begins the film not as a hero and without a goal, save perhaps to make Annia (Mary Marlon) his love interest. When Annia is captured by Lothar (Gérard Herter) and his men, Ursus’ motivating goal is to rescue her. When brought before Ayak, Ursus’ goal now changes to vengeance, to kill Ayak. When finally freed and grouped with the rebels, Ursus states his revised motivation: “I didn’t come here to claim a throne, though your words touch me. I came for only one reason: to return all your lands to all of you, the rightful owners.”

As Michael C. Cornelius states in the introduction to Of Muscles and Men, one of the selling points of these peplum films is that (corrupt) empires topple (page 5) and certainly that occurs at the end of Ursus in the Valley of the Lions. Politically, the film is concerned with overthrowing overly maleficent dictators and warlords, but restoring the government back to one with a monarchy and landowners, probably a form of Feudalism. 

Waterfalls of Monte Gelato

Towards the beginning of the film, Annia is swimming in a pool under a set of waterfalls. Later Lothar’s men attempt to capture Ursus here by throwing a net on him. These are the Waterfalls of Monte Gelato:

Screen capture from Alpha Video release.

Lots of other films have been shot in these waterfalls. Other pepla filmed here include:

  • Messalina (1960)

Categories
Comics Interview Peplum

Conquest Plans: Riley Hamilton on S.P.Q.R.

S.P.Q.R. is a neo-peplum comic created by Riley Hamilton whose first issue released in early 2021 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. S.P.Q.R. takes a different approach to the subject matter when compared to other indie/crowdfunded peplum comics as of late; it eschews mythology and the more fantastical elements to instead ground itself in historic events. The comic takes places in 69 C.E. during the Year of Four Emperors with the first issue focusing on a band of nomads in the Roman province of Moesia who are trying to survive in the wilderness while also avoiding the attention of the Roman military machine. 

Hamilton has graciously allowed an interview about S.P.Q.R.

S.P.Q.R. Logo used with permission from Riley Hamilton

Tell us a bit about yourself and what got you into writing and comics.

I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. The earliest memory I have of writing was when I was about 6 or 7, when I was writing my own Captain Underpants stories. The first comic book I remember getting and reading was Ultimate Spiderman #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, that I got on Free Comic Book Day, when I was in my [local comic book store] looking for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. 

After getting that book, I was completely hooked and started writing and drawing my own comics about a superhero called Energy-Man. The comics were four panels and drawn on printer paper that I took directly out of the printer. I stopped reading comics regularly in junior high and only started getting back into them when I was studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I saw that there was a comic book club on campus and decided to join.

When I joined, I assumed that the club would be talking comics and comics-related media, but they were in the process of making their own series. The series was called Gael Force and was about a superhero team made up of university students from different faculties. They had already written the first issue when I arrived and I helped the club president, now one of my closest friends, Brendan Montgomery, with lettering the first issue. I co-wrote issues 2 and 3 with another club member and helped with some editing, here and there. We completed the series just as I was finishing up my undergraduate degree and leaving Queen’s, so the timing worked out nicely for me. 

What was the genesis of S.P.Q.R.?

With Gael Force I got an in-depth look into the process of comic creation and how much planning and effort goes into a single, 24-page floppy. I really enjoyed working on Gael Force and was getting back into reading comics and the thought crossed my mind about writing my own book. I did not start to seriously think about creating the book until I got some feedback from a couple of friends, Brendan being one of them, who thought I had something good and should give it a go.

The main catalyst for the format of the book really took shape after I read Brian Wood’s Northlanders, a historical comic set during the Viking Age. The structure of that series is the blueprint that I want to follow with S.P.Q.R. Rather than follow one set of characters throughout the entire series, which I find incredibly daunting to even think about, each arc followed a different set of characters, in a different location, and time within the 250-year period of what’s considered the Viking Age. One of the small arcs in that series centered around the Viking raid on Lindisfarne and crafted an entire story about a real historical event that is not well understood.

What sort of research did you do prior to creating S.P.Q.R.?

I was reading Tacitus for a paper and came across a passage about Legio III Gallica massacring 6,000 Roxolani horsemen in Moesia in 69 CE. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but once I read Northlanders that short passage immediately jumped back into my mind.

Apart from that I read a few books on the Roman legions and on their prisoner-taking practices. Legion by Stephen Dando Collins was a massive help, especially simplifying the convoluted history and organization of the legions. I also read a few research papers such as Dr. Jason Wickham’s PhD thesis “The Enslavement of War Captives by the Romans to 146 BC.”

Standard cover of issue #1. Photo used with permission from Riley Hamilton.

What were some of the main obstacles you encountered while producing S.P.Q.R.?

I had been playing around with the idea of writing a historical comic since I had read Northlanders in 2016. I also knew, speaking to some artist friends, that I wanted to be able to pay anyone who I worked with, so I did not have the means to make the book when I first came up with the idea, so I sat on it for a couple of years. By November 2019, I felt that I had saved enough and had a feasible plan in place to pay for the production myself and then went looking for artists.

One interesting note was the title, which was originally going to be Pax Romana, which I really liked as a title. However, it turns out that Jonathan Hickman had released his own miniseries, through Image, with that exact title. His story was completely different, about a group of commandos who time travel to 312 CE on a mission from the Vatican, but I did not want to tempt fate, or Image’s legal team, so I changed it to S.P.Q.R.

One option would have been to launch a Kickstarter to cover the production costs of the book and deliver it to backers a year later when it would have been finished. I spoke to a friend who had done this for his book but had his artist ghost him and disappear, leaving him with no artist and backers waiting for their books. I did not want to have something like that happen to me and have to deal with that kind of stress, so I decided the fund the production out of my own pocket and use Kickstarter to cover the printing and shipping.

The production of the book ended up being incredibly smooth sailing and I’m grateful to my penciller, Samrat Das, inker, Rowel Roque, and colourist, Lucas Aparicio, for making the experience a pleasant one. There was a hiccup in printing that was my own fault for not checking a layer on the variant cover properly, but it was a learning experience, and hopefully the next one goes smoother. 

What are your favourite sword and sandal texts?

It seems the catalyst for a lot of people that I’ve talked to about their interest in Classics, whether other creators or people I went to university with, is Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. I didn’t see Gladiator until I was in my 20s and was already a sword and sandal fan.

My introduction to the genre was through video games, and Creative Assembly’s Rome: Total War. I loved that game as a kid and even though I can look back on it and see its many flaws, I still love to boot it up and play for hours when I get the urge. I loved playing as one of the patrician families and growing the empire before turning on the Senate and fighting a brutal civil war. It blended the turn-based games that I loved like Axis and Allies and mixed it with real-time battles like Age of Empires and StarCraft, without all the tedious base-building and resource gathering.

I’ve also sunk many hours into its sequel and have looking forward to the remastered edition which is coming out at the end of the month (April 29). In high school I got the boxed sets of HBO’s Rome and watched them religiously, I liked the performances from Ciaran Hinds, Kevin McKidd, and I really loved James Purefoy as Mark Antony. I also checked out the new German series Barbarians, which was a fun retelling of Arminius’s story and the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. My enjoyment of the series may have been influenced by the fact that I’m a sucker for the Roman characters speaking Latin. 

What are your general thoughts about the present-day state of sword and sandal media?

I can honestly say that I am not up to date on the happenings in the genre. If I stumble across something, new or old, I will check it out but most of the stuff I’ve seen and read has been enjoyable. I still feel that the genre does not have the same grasp on the public’s imagination that the World Wars or the Cold War have in popular media. I think the reason for that is largely because people has a direct connection to those events, whether they lived through them themselves or have close relatives who did.

The sword and sandal genre seems more abstract to people than more modern stories, but I think shows like Game of Thrones, despite being set in a fantasy world, have shown that people love a gripping story with interesting characters. I think that a show set during the Crisis of the Third Century or the Augustan Civil War, or many of the tumultuous events of Antiquity could become a huge hit, if you have the right people working on it. 

What do you feel differentiate S.P.Q.R. from other peplum/historic epic comics out there?

I always knew that I wanted to tell a story that was one that was grounded in history and real-world events. Most of the comics I have read that are sent in Antiquity, like Britannia by Peter Milligan and Frank Miller’s 300, have a heavy focus on mythology and fantasy as opposed to being strictly grounded. I knew that I wanted to tell a story that someone could read and learn that these people really did exist and could learn about things in my book without dismissing it as entirely made up.

What is the primary goal you want to accomplish with S.P.Q.R.?

The biggest thing for me was proving to myself that I could write, letter, and successfully self-publish my own book. Launching the Kickstarter was very intimidating and there are moments in the mid-campaign lull where I felt like the Kickstarter was not going to make it. Once we funded and reached our stretch goal, I felt very satisfied, at this point I am just looking to tell an interesting story and hoping people will read it and like it. The Kickstarter also showed me that there is an audience for this genre and that it does not need to be a fantasy series or have a heavy emphasis on mythology to succeed as a comic. 

S.P.Q.R. issue #1 variant cover. Used with permission from Riley Hamilton.

What has been the feedback you’ve received on S.P.Q.R. since its release?

I haven’t received much feedback to be perfectly honest but the feedback I have gotten has been positive. As a first-time creator, who has never published my own book before, I had no idea what sort of reception the first issue would get but it’s been good so far. I hope it continues as more people read the book and when issue two comes out. 

What are your next big plans?

Right now, issue two is in production and I’ve got some great ideas of where I want to take both Ara’s story and others going forward. I am still working to streamline the work process with my collaborators so we can hopefully start pushing issues out more regularly. I have a few other irons in the fire that I can’t go into too much detail about right now.

Lastly, I am a contributor to Sequential Magazine, a print magazine focusing on the Canadian indie comics scene and Canadian indie creators. We just released our mega-sized March issue in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the first comic book that was made and published in Canada, Better Comics #1. This issue of the magazine covers the history of Canadian comics and contains interviews and chats with creators in every part of Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia. You can order a copy on Sequential’s Gumroad store.

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