Tag: Sword and Planet

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Essays

Hyper[Sex]Drive: Alicia Carter and Robot Issue 02

Intergalactic thief extraordinaire Alicia Carter and her robot companion GDU-3 have just fled Junk World in a stolen space freighter belonging to reptilian bounty hunter Klaven. Klaven, none-too-happy to be stranded on a world of refuse along with his fellow hunters Kira and Arms, sends an SOS to his brother Vardak for rescue. Vardak is more than interested to help Klaven, for a price of course: a percentage of the bounty on Carter and the value of a crystal she has stolen. Meanwhile the freighter Carter is piloting beings to break down, experiencing issues with both the gravity and the hyperdrive. Carter and GDU-3 set about fixing the ship, with things getting quite personal in the close quarters. 

Shikarii Cover for Issue #2.

Issue two of Alicia Carter and Robot (ACaR) picks up right after issue one with the duo having fled their bounty hunting pursuers. The minor amnesia subplot present in ACaR #1 is thankfully nowhere to be found, allowing issue two to better align its focus on true character development of Carter and GDU-3 as they bond. GDU-3, after encountering robot space leeches, expresses fear, something not really explored with robot characters. Carter’s backstory gets expanded upon as well, revealing she has partaken in sapphic rendezvous, specifically with the main antagonist’s wife. 

The pulp elements hinted at in issue one of ACaR also appear to be dropped. Instead, the story embraces a more Cowboy Bebop approach regarding spacefaring adventuring. However, if there is a word to describe the tone of issue two of ACaRit is “horny.” The first half of the issue sees the narrative push Carter and GDU-3 as close to having sex as possible without actually having sex or showing nudity. The cramped access ducts of the space freighter force the two to straddle each other. GDU-3 sends some of his tendrils to fix various apparati of the ship and in the process rubs/vibrates against Carter’s labia majora that protrudes through her suit.

Is GDU-3 an innocent robot who is merely trying to fix the ship who is accidentally getting Carter all steamed up? The bend in his tendril suggests otherwise. Coinciding with the in-panel suggestive antics are innuendos galore as repairing the ship allows for many out of context verbal opportunities such as “I can barely reach the shaft,” “it’s getting harder,” and “Ah yes! It’s in!”

The sequences do give the scifi-adventure story overtones of 80s sex comedies, but at the same time does challenge the relationship between the two. Will Carter and GDU-3 remain platonic partners on the run from other criminals and assassins? Develop a true friendship? Or perhaps a more intimate relationship? (Some of the alternate covers for issues one and two definitely hint at the latter)

Story-wise, author Tristan Vick devotes issue two to characters, not just Carter and the robot, but introducing new characters and adversaries as well. The stakes are increasing against Carter which sets up the dominos for even more action in subsequent issues while in the process having the characters become even more interconnected as they not only pursue Carter, but some pursue each other (such as Kira and Vardak).

Chris Awayan and Mirza Wirawan both return to issue two on art and colours respectively. The images of space proper, instead of being void and black, are instead popping with colour and activity. The artistic depiction of Carter, though it retains an emphasis on showcasing her bust and bottom, still portrays her in a warm fashion. Carter is a thief, a Han Solo-esque character, yet her facial expressions depict her with a girl next door quality.

As with issue one, issue two of ACaR enjoys a bounty of Kickstarter loot (that is if one contributed to the campaign). The art print done by the Xong Bros. showcases Carter and GDU-3 in a manga style. Carter sitting atop of her robot companion is reminiscent of some of the Masamune Shirow/Ghost in the Shell covers.

The swimsuit print done by Rocha is fun and flirty. 

And there are trading cards, fridge magnets, and stickers of the characters done in a chibi style.

As with many Kickstarted comics, there are numerous alternative covers for issue two, with Shikarii’s version depicting the bounty hunter Kira (shown at the beginning of this review and in the fridge magnet above) being the most standout. Shikarii has an iconic hyper-realistic style that is always a pleasure to see.

ACaR issue two plays more naughty than nice in its narrative, but it scratches the itch to see Carter and GDU-3 taking the next step in their galactic adventure as thieves on the run. It is both playful and fun to see the two characters interact (sexual overtones or not) as they are both extremely likable. The art and colouring are also well done, with an emphasis on vibrant purples and pinks that pop on the page. 

If you’ve enjoyed this review consider backing the Kickstarter campaign for issue three of Alicia Carter. The campaign ends on November 18th. Also, consider checking out my review of issue one of Alicia Carter.

More information about Alicia Carter and Robot and the team behind it can be found at the following locations:

Categories
Essays

Claws From the Bulkhead Walls: Deep Space Horror in Ness Brown’s The Scourge Between Stars

Somewhere between the solar system and Proxima b the generation ship Calypso slowly limps back to Earth after failing to colonize an extrasolar planet. Carrying what may be the last of the human race, the Calypso is besieged by mechanical problems and caught in the crossfire between two unseen galactic forces. The ship’s problems are further compounded when a handful of xenomorphic stowaways make their presence known. The only person keeping everyone’s shit together (including their own) is Jacklyn Albright, who steps up to lead the Calypso against all odds when her father, the captain, falters.

And thus the premise of The Scourge Between Stars, the debut space horror novella by Ness Brown and published by Tor’s Nightfire imprint in the spring of 2023. Borrowing the stalking xenomorph from Alien, the decaying ship from Dark Star, and the uniformed humans who occupy a variety of functions a’la Star Trek, The Scourge Between Stars feels familiar, but Brown, whose professional background is astrophysics, keeps the narrative fresh, grounded, and throws in their own unique genre vision.

There’s no FTL in The Scourge Between Stars, which adds to a sense of futility and hopelessness to the story. If the Calypso will not make it back to Earth for hundreds of years, why bother? Main protag Jacklyn keeps the fire of hope burning despite all odds, and oh boy, are the odds against her, the crew, and the ship. Jacklyn is excessively critical of herself, comparing herself negatively to her father who, despite apparently having once been a great captain and leader, has sequestered himself in his quarter, forcing his daughter and crew to face the hardships on their own. 

Yet, Jacklyn is extremely resolute, and this is demonstrated through all her relationships – be them platonic, professional, or romantic. Jacklyn puts everyone before herself, which overtime does take its toll on her. She is carrying a burden and Brown excels at depicting Jacklyn overcoming all the ordeals she is faced with by using her leadership and trusting others to do their roles. 

These are the more action-oriented elements of The Scourge Between Stars. Jacklyn and her crew are also being hunted by xenomorphs that have made themselves hidden in the ship’s supplies, only surfacing now to lay eggs and stalk the Calypso crew. They bang inside the walls, dismember alone crew members, attack from the darkness, and even have a few unexpected tricks up their sleeve. Jacklyn and her crew take a competent approach to handle the alien menace, going ship section by ship section, locking down areas and trying to contain the aliens. Try as they might, things inevitably go awry, and the book has no shortage of alien attacks.

If there is a fault with The Scourge Between Stars is that the ending does feel rushed and resolved in a too tidy of package. Aside from this, The Scourge Between Stars expertly alternates between action and horror, finely maintaining an atmosphere of hopelessness and hope. Jacklyn is an excellent character, sympathetic and admirable, a model of a person acting against all odds. As a story proper, The Scourge Between Stars leverages the tropes that make space horror a fun genre to indulge in, but there is a unique authorial stamp from Ness that distinguishes the story from other space horror texts.

For more information about Ness Brown’s The Scourge Between Stars, check out our H. P. Lovecast Podcast interview with them:

HPLCP Transmissions – Ep 25 – Ness Brown – Scourge Between Stars – H. P. Lovecast Podcast

For more information check out the following links:

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News

Biweekly News Roundup 2022-09-25

Personal / Website News

Welcome to the second instance of my biweekly news roundup. I am digging this schedule more than my prior weekly schedule. There is a lot of content below, so make sure you scroll through it all.

Alicia Carter and Robot #1 Review

The physical first issue of the crowdfunded pulp/sword and planet inspired comic The Astonishing Adventures of Alicia Carter and Robot arrived last week.

Check out my review of the issue here.

The New Peplum Citation News

One of my favorite things is finding new citations of the essays by the authors who appeared in the books I edited.

Dr. Hannah Mueller’s essay, “Male Nudity, Violence and the Disruption of Voyeuristic Pleasure in Starz’s Spartacus,” which appeared in The New Peplum, has been cited in Dr. Amanda Potter’s essay, “From Female Stereotypes to Women with Agency: Elite Women and Slave Women in Howard Fast’s 1951 Novel, Spartacus (1960), and Starz Spartacus (2010–13)” in Gender, Power, and Identity in the Films of Stanley Kubrick, edited by Karen A. Ritzenhoff, Dijana Metlić, and Jeremi Szaniawski.

Super congrats!

The Kubrick collection has been published by Routledge and the product page can be found here.

H. P. Lovecast Podcast Updates

New episode of H. P. Lovecast is online!

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany.

In this episode we talk about the second film in John Carpenter’s informal apocalypse trilogy, Prince of Darkness. This episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout page, in the embedded player below, or via your podcast app of preference.

Ep 54 – John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness – H. P. Lovecast Podcast

On the 30th this month our September Transmissions episode will publish. This episode will have Brenda S. Tolian and Ian Welke.

Looking to the future, for October we will be covering the movie Mimic 2 (we covered the first Mimic film almost a year ago – here is the link). We are also solidifying our Transmissions guests as well.

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearance

The folks at Fan2Fan Podcast are collecting top five Halloween season films from their guests and I was honored to contribute mine.

The episode I appear on with my top five was published last Wednesday and can be heard at this Fan2Fan Libsyn page. Present in this episode was also Joshua Pruett. His top five movies can be heard on this Fan2Fan episode. Keep an eye out for Michele’s list!

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Footage Fiends Zine

Evan Jordan of the Void Video Podcast and Madeleine of the Unnamed Footage Festival are launching a brand new zine called Footage Fiends that is devoted to all aspects of the found footage genre of films. Tweet embedded below:

This, of course, inspired me, so now I am working on an essay about the 1950s Italian cosmic horror film, Caltiki: The Immortal Monster (one of the first films to have a found footage scene). If you’re interested in submitting, check out the Tweet thread above for more information.

The Warrior and the Sorceress Re-Release

Shout Factory, under their Scream Factory label, is did a re-release of the Roger Corman 1980s sword and sorcery (sword and planet since it takes place on another planet?) film, The Warrior and the Sorceress.

My copy of The Warrior and the Sorceress with the poster.

I have not seen this film before, even though it is included in the four movie DVD release Shout Factory did a few years ago that contained Deathstalker, Deathstalker 2, and Barbarian Queen (side note: if you want to hear me talk Deathstalker 2 with the Fan2Fan Podcast crew, click here). Of course I had to pre-order the Blu-ray incarnation, plus it comes with a poster and the cover is reversible to a Cthulhu-looking one.

Reverse sleeve.

Here is a link to the Shout Factory product page for The Warrior and the Sorceress. My copy arrived extremely quickly.

Just Jaeckin Releases from Cult Epics

Emmanuelle director Just Jaeckin passed away earlier this month.

The filmmaker may be gone but his legacy lives on. Later in September Cult Epics released two Blu-rays of Jaeckin’s work: Madame Claude and The Last Romantic Lover. Commentary on the discs is done by Jeremy Richey who wrote Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle to Chabrol (read my review here). Check out the Cult Epics website for more info on these releases.

Artist Gilead Kickstarter Campaign

Sword and sorcery artist Gilead has started a Kickstarter campaign for his Sketch book and print art.

Check out the campaign on Kickstarter and consider supporting!

Categories
Peplum

Salvaged Goods: Alicia Carter and Robot Issue 01

The Astonishing Adventures of Alicia Carter and Robot is a brand new comic series by Tristan Vick, with Chris Awayan on art and Mirza Wirawan on colours. The debut issue of Alicia Carter and Robot (ACaR) was Kickstarted in February 2022 and released by Vick’s own publishing imprint, Regolith Comics. 

SFW cover for ACaR by Karen Darboe (for preview/thumbnail purposes)

ACaR is described on its Kickstarter campaign as an “action-packed sci-fi adventure” in the vein of classic pulps such as “Northwest Smith, Flash Gordon, and John Carter of Mars” with comedy thrown in. The Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character homage is immediately noticed in Alicia Carter’s last name. The comic shares the sci-fi pulp DNA in the same vein as Star Wars does. 


Personal copy of ACaR with NSFW Toshio Maeda-inspired cover by Awayan.

Carter is an infamous space thief whose latest escapade has her stealing a crystal from the reptilian criminal Klaven Skullvek and the two bounty hunters in his employ: the cybernetic Armitage and sniper Kira. While being pursued, Carter crash lands on Junk World, an entire planet converted into a garbage dump by Nova Corp. Amnesic from a head wound during her rough landing, Carter is rescued by Garbage Disposal Unit 3 (GDU-3), a bipedal robot that salvages treasures from the refuse. Together, Carter and GDU-3 team up to evade Skullvek and his henchpeople and escape from Junk World. 

Alicia Carter.

Carter as a character is a fun, rogueish heroine in the Han Solo/Star-Lord sense. As a sword and planet character, much like John Carter, she appears to be incredibly agile and able to leap large distances – or at least within the gravity on Junk World. If Carter has any fault it is due to the temporary amnesia she only suffers from for a handful of pages. If anything, this selective amnesia robs her of precious character development as it otherwise doesn’t advance or effect the plot at all. On the other hand, Carter is extremely animated and emotive. She pops off the comic’s pages with gestures and facial expressions that make her both endearing and easy to read, which is definitely in part due to the art and colour work of Awayan and Wirawan respectively. 

GDU-3 (The Robot).

GDU-3 is quite fleshed out as a robot character. While he has protocols he must follow, he exhibits numerous human-like traits, such as he collects books and other trinkets for his own collection. His relationship to his parent company, Nova Corp, is very like that of Robocop to OCP – he follows his directives, but with the help of others, is able to overcome some of his programming to be more capable and free. 

The art of ACaR is excellent. The Awayan and Wirawan team are able to make the muted, drab garbage planet of Junk World look interesting. All the characters look distinctive, at appropriate times stepping into cartoonish territory, but only for added comedic affect. 

No expense was spared on issue one of ACaR. The comic clocks in at thirty-six pages of content including a gallery of all the alternative covers. The back cover of the comic has a bit of texture on it as well. In addition, folks who contributed to the ACaR Kickstarter received a plethora of fantastic loot as part of the campaign’s stretch goals. 

Trading cards.

Firstly, there was six trading cards, one for each character. The backs of the cards contain stats (strength, speed, charisma, etc.) along with a biography of the pictured character. Hopefully the trading card trend will continue in successor crowdfunding campaigns. They are fun but they also provided paratextual information to supplement the world and character building in the comic.

Stickers and magnet.

Next, two chibi-styled stickers of Carter and GDU-3 along with a magnet of their ship were part of the stretch goals.

Foil art print by Shikarii.

Finally, a holofoil art print of Carter looking bad ass by artist Shikarii is also part of the package.

The Kickstarter campaign was also an avenue to pre-purchase exclusive cover variants of ACaR done by different artists, with most covers also having a NSFW incarnation. Interestingly, most Kickstarter comic book campaigns that have numerous NSFW covers also have corresponding content that is adult in nature (nudity, sex, and violence). Though ACaR has a handful of risque covers (see personal copy above), the comic proper is fairly PG-13. There’s no nudity and barely any profanity (swear words are replaced: “helios” for “hell,” “frack” for “fuck” and so on). The violence is cartoonish, with only one scene showing blood (on a regenerative character at that). 

ACaR is off to a great start. Carter is a fun heroine and GDU-3 a shocking fleshed out, unique character. Unknown if future issues of the series will be episodic in nature, with a different adventure in each comic, or one large arc spanning multiple issues, but the intergalactic antics of Carter and GDU-3 look promising and exciting.

More information about Alicia Carter and Robot and the team behind it can be found at the following locations:

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
Peplum

Fitness to Purpose: Born of Blood Issue One

MERC Publishing is an Indiana-based comic book publisher that came onto the scene in 2020. Taking an approach similar to CrossGen in the late 90s, MERC’s ambitious goal is a shared universe of comic titles with aesthetics of a magazine (complete with faux adverts and story line titles on the cover) and a heavy emphasis on powerful women, such as mercenaries and Spartans. The three MERC product lines so far are Miss Meow, Deathrage, and the neo-peplum comic, Born of Blood, all funded via crowdfunding campaigns.

Born of Blood issue one completed its Kickstarter on the last day of December 2021 with backer awards being shipped in early May 2022. With numerous stretch goals realized, backers were treated with a treasure trove of Born of Blood and MERC-brand ephemera. The following is a showcasing of all the swag (in no particular order) packaged with the release of the first issue of Born of Blood followed by a few observations about the comic proper.

All pictures taken of the loot from my collection from backing the campaign.

First, for the non-Born of Blood MERChandise, is a sew-on badge for one’s battle vest and an enamel pin and poker chip that has the MERC mercenary logo adorned on them: a skull with wings giving the people’s eyebrow atop a rank insignia.

There is a trading card for Princess Giaris, the protagonist of Born of Blood. The front of the card displayis the cover art by Jay Ferguson (which is featured prominently on many of the stretch goal items) that gives Giaris a modern-gothic, vampiric look. The back of the card gives a brief bio along with her stats (she’s super strong, fast, and stealthy).

There is a Born of Blood lanyard, with blood-red lettering in a stylized typeface evoking antiquity. 

In addition to the MERC pin, there are also two Born of Blood pins/badges (all which would look snazzy on the aforementioned lanyard). One pin has the Ferguson cover art while the other has the Leirix cover art. 

There are four magnets included in the loot. Three display cover arts by (left to right) Sorah Suhng, Shikarii, and John Royal. The fourth magnet is a 2022 calendar with the Ferguson art.

There are three paper bookmarks as well.

And a paper coaster, though it looks a bit too small to be practical. It could function as a giant pog though.

There is also a Kickstarter sticker which adds an element of exclusivity. Most of the swag at this point is probably destined to be used as promotional items and giveaways by MERC at future comic cons and bonuses in website purchases, but the sticker is nice and distinct for campaign backers.

What is a welcome item in the Born of Blood package is the separate gallery booklet that contains all the Born of Bloodcover variants, both clothed and nude versions. Many comics have a cover gallery in their appendix, but Born of Blood goes the extra mile by putting all variations (and variations of the variations) into its own physical booklet which adds an appreciation factor. The Born of Blood covers are all works of art done by some fairly talented illustrators, and having them all consolidated into a booklet creates an experience akin to when one looks at art books from publishers like Taschen. Each page in the cover gallery booklet also displays a QR code to its respective artist’s online presence, adding functionality to help promote the Born of Blood’s artists even more. 

That’s me!

And finally, no crowdfunding endeavor wouldn’t be complete without a perk to have one’s name immortalized in the final product. This is always a fun thing to do: seeing one’s name in a comic is a highlight and adds a personal touch between buyer, creator, and end result. 

Two variants were plucked up during the Born of Blood campaign: the standard Sorah Suhng variant and the nude virgin (no letters/logos) Mike Krome variant. Of all the covers, the Suhng cover conveys the most sword and sandal iconography with its army of Spartan soldiers standing behind Princess Giaris – it’s quite evocative of Frank Miller’s 300.

Image from 300 found via Google Images.

The Krome variant is the most alluring and seductive of all the covers. The clothed version has Giaris looking akin to sword and planet heroine Deja Thoris from the John Carter universe. 

Deja Thoris status from my personal collection.

All in all, the Born of Blood issue one Kickstarter contained a treasury of fun trinkets, beautiful art, and a transgressive neo-peplum comic. 

Born of Blood issue one is the origin story of Princess Giaris who will form one of the pillars of the MERC shared universe. The first panel of the comic grabs a reader’s attention immediately as it depicts a blood covered Giaris (in a very Kill Bill Vol 1 fashion) having dealt a mortal blow to an Argive warrior, right to his exposed genitalia. 

The sword and sandal genre is perhaps the most body-centric narrative genre out there and Born of Blood leans into this facet with wanton abandon. The men channel the traditional Hercules strong man portrayal that has been a genre staple since the original Italian run of films in the early 1960s. Princess Giaris goes through a body transformation herself, somewhat parodied by one of the issue’s faux advertisements, from lithe and slender to muscular yet very much feminine.

An interesting aspect of Giaris is that within the story proper, she only appears nude once, in a bathing scene as she is recuperating from her injuries while undergoing forced combat training against Spartan warrior Mor. Her body is very much on display, usually in a gown or a Red Sonja-esque bikini armour, but she isn’t overly sexualized in the comic’s pages. It is the issue’s various cover arts that depict Giaris in different states of undress and poses, be it seductive, commanding, or both. The plethora of variant covers adds a new aspect to pepla’s relation to the body: for a consumer of sword and sandal media, one not only can gaze at the body, they can also control/select the desired body to be gazed at, in this case via the covers. (Note: a similar concept can be found in video games that has a character creation process). 

Body portrayal aside, Born of Blood borrows quite a bit from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, specifically from the character of Kassandra. Both characters have similar noble Spartan backstories and combat abilities, juggling stealthy kills to more brute force, mercenary tactics. Kassandra has more autonomy than Giaris who is thrown into a dungeon by her father, Spartan King Cleomenes, to endure months of combat training with the hopes she endures and becomes a hardened Spartan Warrior (she does). Kassandra has choices (though dictated by the player), while future Queen of Sparta Giaris has the illusion of choice of what she wants to become. If she had not been thrown into the dungeon, should would’ve have been content to live a simpler, royal life. 

In the final panel of the comic, after putting her strength and wits to the test by defeating a regiment from Argos, Giaris is depicted as completely transformed in attitude and body as she waves to her subjects, the people of Sparta, from the center of a coliseum in an excellently executed panel. Since the rest of the MERC universe takes place in modern times, it will be fascinating to see Princess Giaris’ journey to be incorporated into fold while at the same time contributing to the greater neo-peplum canon.

Excellent, commanding portrayal in the ending page.

More information about Born of Blood and MERC Publishing can be found at the below websites and social medias: 

Categories
Interview

Surprise Delivery: Interview with D. J. Kirkbride on Errand Boys

For well over a decade, D. J. Kirkbride has been writing some of the most creative and unique comics to have hit the market. From Amelia Cole to The Biggest Bang, from Never Ending to The Once and Future Queen, Kirkbride has a signature light-hearted wit that compliments his fun and engaging speculative-fiction stories. His latest comic book series is Errand Boys – a sci-fi adventure that sees two brothers as interplanetary couriers – and was originally published as a five issue run at Image Comics. This spring season sees a release of a trade paperback version of this comic from Dark Horse Comics. 

Trade paperback cover for Errand Boys.

What was the catalyst for Errand Boys? How did the comic come about?

The story started with me working out something personal in the only way I know how: wild and weird comic book adventure tales filled with lots of aliens and absurd technology and shenanigans.

I have a kind of Brady Bunch times two or three family, and the relationship between brothers who share one parent but didn’t really grow up together was definitely something I wanted to explore. Different types of families and what it means to be family. Dealing with loss was a big part of the story, too. The comic is not at all literal or a one-to-one with my experiences, but they’re all present or represented in some way.

The ever-growing gig economy, people working not just weekly paycheck to weekly paycheck, but gig payment to gig payment, with no real infrastructure or insurance or any of the things I grew up thinking was everyone’s goal was another aspect of it. That kind of uncertainty can sometimes lead to a lot of us making hasty decisions with potentially heavy consequences.

D. J. Kirkbride, photo courtesy of Kirkbride.

What is the primary goal you wanted to accomplish with Errand Boys?

Entertainment is always the goal! Wage inequality and the devastating environmental impact of big corporations along with family tragedy and stepping up for those in need is all in this story, but if it’s not a fun ride that keeps readers turning the pages, it belongs scribbled in my diary, not in a beautifully illustrated and designed book from Dark Horse Comics, you know?

Cyberpunk stories, such as Snow Crash, Johnny Mnemonic, and the video game Mirror’s Edge, prominently feature couriers and, despite the super presence high tech, take the low tech, sneaker net approach to delivering goods and information, something echoed in Errand Boys. Do you have any sort of affinity to the cyberpunk genre or has it had an influence on you?

I just started reading Snow Crash a few days ago, oddly enough. I’m digging it so far, but, suffice it to say, it wasn’t an influence on this Errand Boys. Also, and this is strange given what I write and watch and read, but I don’t really play video games, so I don’t know Mirror’s Edge. Johnny Mnemonic I saw in the theater when it came out, but I’ve not read the source material. 

Having said all that, so much of this type of work is in the culture, and influences influence other influences to the point that I’m sure echoes of all of these stories made it into my over-caffeinated brain. 

No one in Errand Boys is as cool as Keanu Reeves in Johnny Mnemonic (or Keanu in any other movie), though. Jace doesn’t even own a snazzy suit.

What are texts that you feel have their DNA in Errand Boys?

In the original pitch, I put forth the idea it could be looked at like a story about the type of characters in the background of Star Wars movies, the ones who don’t have any Jedi friends and aren’t fighting in giant intergalactic skirmishes. These are the folks just trying to get by and afford the occasional blue milk and all that. 

Someone, either a review or a comment, said Errand Boys seemed inspired by Futurama to them, which didn’t occur to me until I read that. I see it now, though.

The best intergalactic settings have unique planets and a variety of memorable non-human characters. How did you and artist Nikos Koutsis work together to accomplish this aspect for Errand Boys?

Originally, I pictured this more as almost a science/speculative fiction world designed like a Wes Anderson movie. The story was a little more static and introspective. Co-creator/artist Nikos Koutsis, genius that he is, took the script for the original pitch pages, and made them into a budget-less blockbuster movie. Suddenly, and happily, where I originally saw mid shots and formal framing, we had action-packed angles and crazy energy.

When I write, I try to figure out how much description to give to each artist. Nikos would take something like, “Bear is Jace’s heavyset, cigar chomping boss who always has a stain on his shirt,” and make him that amazingly designed alien creature that he is. Nikos did that with all the characters and the tech in Errand Boys.

He influenced the writing and pacing, too. Lots of conversations went from taking place in a room or something to happening while being chased or running or jumping off of all sorts of structures way too high for people to jump off of, and it made the book so much more exciting. 

He’s a great collaborator and became a friend as we worked on this book. I hope to work with him again. 

You’ve written quite a few speculative fiction comics. What would you say is the most distinguishable, uniquely you, aspect about your writing?

That might be for others to say. I’m not the best at intellectualizing what I do or why I do it, if that makes any sense. My hope is that the comics I work on entertain readers and make them feel some emotions. Even the all-ages fun stuff has real stakes that I hope affect readers young and old!

What were some of the new challenges, or perhaps learning something you didn’t know before, that you encountered with Errand Boys?

The background, kind of nuts ‘n bolts of comic book publishing, how much it’s changed since I started working in comics, was, and continues to be really eye opening. Our experience with Errand Boys has been a long and winding road, filled with surprises and challenges that ultimately made me realize that, for the types of stories I like to help tell, the trade format is probably better than single issues. I grew up on single issues, and there are titles I enjoy buying that way, but I don’t know if the market is conducive to that publishing style for my work or level in this zany industry.

What are you most proud of with the comic?

In terms of writing, it was a big breakthrough for me. I always weave in some personal details and whatnot, but this one was the most honest while also being silly and fun, I think. That our characters truly grow and change from the start to finish in ways that feel organic and true was nice, and hopefully readers of the trade will take that journey. Nikos along with color flatter Mike Toris and letterer/logo designer Frank Cvetkovic, all brought the story to life beautifully, and I’m really proud of it.

In one of the scenes of Errand Boys, there’s an alien chilling poolside with a multi-straw libation. This is a perfect segue to ask you how you got into tiki culture and what your favourite tiki cocktail is.

Ah, hmmmmm… my partner introduced me to a nice little place called Ventiki in Ventura, CA. I’m sure I had a tiki cocktail or two before that, but that opened me up to a whole new world of tasty, fancy, fun drinks! It’s become a must visit when we’re near, and we like finding tiki bars in other towns we visit. I enjoy the style and happy vibe of most of those places, but I’m fairly ignorant of the actual culture that inspired this style. It’s something I need to read up on and learn more about, actually.

As for my favorite drink, that’s a tough one! A Mai Tai, in almost all of its variations, is always good to try out when visiting a new place. There’s a drink called the Jet Pilot that I also really like, as I’m a fan of cinnamon. 

What are upcoming projects or news you’d like to share?

Nothing set in stone at the moment. One pitch is being pitched, and another is being lettered now, and I have some ideas scribbled in my notebook, so… hopefully more soon!

Finally, and most importantly, (but not related to Errand Boys), why does Amelia Cole eat tacos from the top? 

That’s a question for artist/co-creator Nick Brokenshire. Once he drew her eating a taco like that, though, co-writer/co-creator Adam P. Knave and I acknowledged it as perfectly in character and noted it in the script the next time she had a taco for lunch.

Sincere thanks to D. J. Kirkbride for allowing me to interview him. The trade paperback edition of Errand Boys will be published April 13. Errand Boys can be ordered via your favourite brick and mortar comic book store, or check out these purchasing options listed at Dark Horse Comics.

Kirkbride can be found at his website and his other publications can be found at his Amazon author page.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-02-27

Personal / Website News

New Episodes of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast

It’s the end of the month, we’ve got not one – but two! – new episodes of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast online.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

First, on H. P. Lovecast Present: Fragments, we have a longer form interview with author/editor/podcast Eric Raglin. We discuss his podcast, Cursed Morsels, and his recently released anthology, Antifa Splatterpunk. The episode can be streamed at this listing at our Buzzsprout website.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

Next, we have our monthly Transmissions episode. In this episode, as part of our support for Bram Stoker preliminary ballot/final ballot folks, we interview Mathias Clasen, Angela Yuriko Smith, Aric Cushing and Logan Thomas. This episode can be streamed at this listing at our Buzzsprout website. Of course, both episodes can be listened to via your podcast app of preference.

Scholars from the Edge of Time

Michele and I had our monthly Scholars from the Edge of Time appearance on Hercules Invictus’ program. In this episode we talk about Barbarella! Check it out on BlogTalkRadio.

There’s No Such Thing as Vampires Release

Aric Cushing and Logan Thomas (see podcast above) are the creative team behind the retrowave 80s inspired film, There’s No Such Thing as Vampires.

Poster courtesy of Logan Thomas

While Cushing and Thomas appeared on our podcast, years ago we appeared in their film! Michele and I had the opportunity to play dead bodies in There’s No Such Thing as Vampires, and what an awesome experience it was.

Let the bodies hit the floor.

The movie has now been officially released to the home watching markets: it can be rented on Amazon Prime or bought on Blu-Ray (which is full of lots of features, including a “making of” documentary). Thomas’ synthwave soundtrack can even be bought from Amazon Music. Check it all out!

Things in the Well Closing Shop

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

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

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

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

Highlander Call for Papers

Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.

If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of. 

Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP

Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.

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

Matt Page Podcast Appearance

Matt Page, author of the upcoming 100 Bible Films, had an appearance on The Online Movie Show with Phil Hall podcast, where, of course, Biblical pepla was brought up.

One Will Fall Online Comic

Bernie Gonzalez, one of the co-hosts of the Fan2Fan Podcast, has an online Viking/barbarian/neo-peplum comic hosted at Instagram called One Will Fall.

By Bernie Gonzalez

Check it out on Instagram / at onewillfall.com.

Son of Samson Re-release

Kino has a product page for their Son of Samson release. Slated to be released 2022-05-10.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-10-31

Personal / Website News

H. P. Lovecast Podcast Transmissions

Our monthly Transmissions episode of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast is now online. This month we interview Kathleen Kaufman, Janet Joyce Holden, and Heather Herrman.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

Isidora #2 Unboxing

Over the weekend I received my copy of Isidora #2 and wow! was it packaged with so much loot. I decided to do a write up of unboxing its contents.

Sword and Sandal Podcasts

On Tuesday I was a guest on Hercules Invictus’ Sword and Sandal Special episode. I talked about the neo-peplum video game, The Forgotten City. That episode can be streamed/downloaded at BlogTalkRadio.

On Thursday Michele and I had our monthly Scholars From the Edge of Time episode, which is currently focused on the sword and planet genre. We discuss Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. This episode can also be streamed/downloaded at BlogTalkRadio.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-04-04

Personal / Website News

Podcast News

This past Thursday, Jessica Scott and myself were guests on the Scaredy Cats Podcast talking about the film The Slumber Party Massacre. The episode will go online on Thursday the 8th across all major podcast platforms (I recommend their Buzzsprout page).

Michele and I appeared on the Voice of Olympus program on Tuesday to talk EC Comics. Michele covered War Against Crime while I talked about Valor.

Due to timing, billing cycles, and so on, the newest episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast will go online on April 5th.

Horror CFPs

I run the horror academics board for the Horror Writers Association. I try to add new CFPs for papers, presentations, and keep tabs on publishers who accept academic and non-fiction submission. When I update it, go forward, I’ll mention the updates here as well in order to help proliferate the CFPs. The board can be found here and can be viewed by anyone.

General Neo-Peplum News

Das Neue Evangelium

The Bible Films Blog has a write up of Das Neue Evangelium (The New Gospel, 2020), which contains shot-for-shot remakes of Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964).

John Carter Video Game

Sword and planet hero John Carter is getting a video game treatment called John Carter: Warlord of Mars. A website has been setup about the game as it develops at http://jcwom.com.

Elysian Fields: “The Pyramid Gambit”

The newest issue of the Elysian Fields comic series, “The Pyramid Gambit,” has started shipping. I’ve received my copy:

Elysian Fields: The Pyramid Gambit: Loot from the Indiegogo campaign

A call back: I interviewed Michael Oden about Elysian Fields #0 on my website. It can be read here.

Isidora issue #2 News

G. A. Lungaro has completed the script for Isidora #2. The new issue will have four different covers (Jay Espin, Vic King, Mark McKenna, and a mystery person). Issue 2 will also be crowdfunded via Indiegogo this time instead of Kickstarter and is expected to go live May/June. Other related news is that issue #1 is going to be re-lettered and there appears to be a special edition that will contain issues 1 and 2.

Another call back, I interviewed Lungaro very recently about Isidora #1.

Teaching With Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Dr. Deb Trusty will be giving a talk titled “Playing in the Past: Reflections from a Classicist on Playing, Streaming, and Teaching with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” via Zoom on April 7th, 2021 at 7:00 pm PST. Registration is here.