Tag: Sword and Sandal

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Interview Peplum

Getting the Band Back Together: Samuel George London Interview #2

Back in January I had the honour to interview Samuel George London about the release of the first issue of his neo-peplum comic, Band of Warriors. Currently there is a Kickstarter going on for issue two of the comic and London has graciously returned to do a second interview about his continuing series. 

First things first, it’s been since January since we last talked. How are you, and aside from Band of Warriors, what has been going on?

What a year!? I’ve been busy badgering away on some other comics I’m pitching to publishers but also my son was born a few weeks ago. He’s our second child, so it’s been wonderful to see them interact but it’s also a game changer in terms of time management. On the whole though, I’m good and looking forward to seeing what 2022 brings.

The first issue of Band of Warriors was released earlier this year. What has been the feedback and comments you’ve received thus far?

The feedback on BoW #1 has been really positive. The general feeling seems to be that it’s a strong start and people are looking forward to seeing where it goes. Pipedream Comics gave me a positive review which I’m really happy about.

Since issue one has been out for a while, spoil away! What has been the most delightful thing for you personally about that issue?

As you say SPOILERS AHEAD, but the most delightful thing for me about issue one was killing off who seemed to be a main character. I think most people thought that King Minos would be sticking around but unless they find a cure for decapitation, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Has there been any experiences, encounters, something read, watched or learned in the last few months that has had an impact on Band of Warriors?

I went to visit my in-laws in France over the summer and we visited a beach that inspired the front cover of issue two. It’s always good to base things off of experience when you can.

Any new obstacles or hurdles encountered while trying to get issue two up and running?

Haha… The only thing was my son being born the week before. I was in a mad rush to get everything ready, so that I could just press the launch button. I almost had everything ready but hadn’t got round to the video. I managed to cobble something together, which does the job.

Your Kickstarter has some new characters mentioned. Tell us about them!

We know Gaia and Girogos a little already, although we’ll find out more about them in this issue. The main difference is that we’re ten years in the future from the previous issue, so they’re ten years older. The other two main characters in this issue are Sarpedon and King Brutus. Starting with Sarpedon, he’s King Minos’ brother and chief of Aremorio, which is where Gaia and Giorgos reside and is located in modern day Brittany, France. King Brutus hails from Cornovii, which is modern day Cornwall, England. He has an interesting back story to say the least but you’ll have to read issue 2 before finding out what that is.

Whats been your soundtrack while writing Band of Warriors? What do you suggest as a soundtrack for your readers?

When writing I usually listen to the same music whatever I’m writing, which is Tycho. It doesn’t distract me but helps boost my thought process. If I was to recommend a soundtrack for BoW #2 though, it’d be traditional Breton music. If you watch this video closely you’ll see that in the background there’s a triskell symbol, which you’ll also find on Giorgos’ shield.

You’ve been contributing to the canon of neo-pepla with your comic. The genre seems to thrive on in other medias except for film nowadays. What do you feel the sword and sandal genre needs to do in order to stay relevant?

Relevance is always difficult to a handle on but people just need a compelling story they can relate to. I’m hoping that this and the next issue (#3) of BoW does that through the journey that Gaia and Giorgos are about to go on.

A little outside scope for Band of Warriors, but still relevant to you: you have a podcast called Comics for the Apocalypse. Can you tell us about this endeavor?

Comics for the Apocalypse is a lot of fun. I interview other comic creators about what comics they’d take into an apocalypse. I started it a few years ago and I now have over 130 episode with the likes of Charlie Adlard, Alison Sampson, Mark Waid, and Rachael Smith having been on the show.

As spoiler free as possible, what are some amazing things readers can look forward to in issue two of Band of Warriors? The main thing is that readers will get to see who Gaia and Girogos are. In the first issue they were being protected by their parents, but now they’re all on their own.

Thank you very much for this second interview, wishing you and all your endeavors continued success!

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Peplum

Peplum Ponderings: Messalina (1960)

Messalina is a 1960 Italian toga and sandal film, directed by Vittorio Cottafavi (who directed many proto-peplum films in his career) and starring Belinda Lee as the titular character. A historic epic, Messalina tells the story of Valeria Messalina (Belinda Lee), the new wife to Roman emperor Claudius (Mino Doro), and her rise to power via her charms and schemes. The story also follows Lucius Maximus (Spiros Focas), a respected soldier who falls in love with Messalina but comes to realize her cutthroat ways. What follows are some general musings and observations about this film. 

Toga and Sandal Genre Conventions

Messalina falls into sword and sandal subgenre called the “toga and sandal” film. While the “sword” in sword and sandal draws martial images and has strong connotations to combat (be it physical combat as when a strongman engages with an opponent with his fists, or when a soldier or gladiator fights melee with weapons), the “toga” in toga and sandal downplays the action aspect of these films. Instead, in a toga and sandal film, what is underscored are politics, with an emphasis on intrigue, espionage, strategy, scheming, planning, oratory and speeches. In these films, the loincloth wearing Herculean character is replaced by the well dressed solider or statesman, the gladiator replaced by the assassin, and the dangerous cavern or labyrinth replaced by the palatial court. These films also tend to be more grounded in realism and overlap with the historic epic genre.

That is not to say the toga and sandal film is completely void of martial content, it is simply not the primary focus. Messalina contains a peppering of traditional sword and sandal scenes: these include two strongmen fighting each other as part of the festivities and entertainment when Claudius officially takes over as emperor, and the ending contains a small battle of Maximus and his loyal soldiers fighting the corrupted praetorians who were sent to assassinate Claudius. 

In a greater Italian cross-genre (filoni) sense, the courts of Claudius, full of food, wine, and entertainment (be it dancers,musicians, fighters, or all of the above), is akin to the bars of the spaghetti western and the nightclubs in the Eurospy film. Of note, early in Messalina, Maximus returns back from a military campaign and engages in a celebratory bar fight. 

Lady Peplum

Messalina is one of the rare non-Cleopatra female-centric peplum films that came out of the golden age of historic epics and sword and sandal films. Decades later, peplum media would see a smattering of more female-led titles. Most of these were 1980s sword and sorcery flicks, such as Red Sonja (1985), Barbarian Queen (1985), Amazons (1986), and Hundra (1982), but also include the television show Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001), and the video game Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey with Kassandra as one of the two playable characters. 

As a typical sword and sandal film focuses on a muscleman’s body, so too does Messalina emphasis the titular character’s body. Messalina makes use of veils to both obfuscate and draw attention to her form. Sequences of her taking a milk bath and when she disrobes, (the camera pans down her exposed legs), show no nudity, yet offer much in the way of titillation. Messalina also utilizes a great deal of seductive pinup poses: laying on her back, body stretched and tilted to showcase her lithe figure.

Messalina and the strongman both make use of their bodies as tools to overcome obstacles. While Ursus may singlehandedly lift a horse-drawn cart out of a pit, Messalina uses her body to seduce an assassin. Though her body is a great asset, Messalina also uses her intelligence, intimidation, guile, and charms to plot, scheme, and advance her agenda. In this regard, she is a multifaceted character, more than just her sex appeal. 

Waterfalls of Monte Gelato

Towards the end of the film, there is an epic battle between Maximus’ men and the praetorian guards atop a waterfall. These are the Waterfalls of Monte Gelato.

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

Self Censorship

Messalina straddles the line of acceptable and taboo, particularly in the representation of the sexualized Messalina (she doesn’t show nudity and there is no on screen sex, but the film comes really close to depictions of both with lots of not-so-subtle winks and nods).

During this period, Italy was under the Christian Democratic government, which held great influence over the film industry and could dictate what was able to be depicted on screen or not. Genre productions active through these decadeswere able to have their cake and eat it too by showcasing sex, (sometimes) nudity, violence, blood, and other taboo activities, so long as the film as a whole was able to affirm Christian Democratic morality: reward the righteous and punish the wicked.

For Messalina, her crimes, of course, is showing pseudo-nudity, engaging in affairs and sexual trysts, and (the greatest crime of all) being a successful woman. By the movie’s end, she is killed when stabbed through the stomach with a gladius. Her sexual proclivities are punished by death.

Maximus also must adhere to these provisions. Though he is the (male) hero of the story, he still falls for Messalina’s charms and becomes an agent of her when he forces Christians from their homes. His atonement comes with conversion: at the end of the film he takes the side of Silvia (Ida Galli) and travels with her to a new Christian land. Maximums has given up his love for Messalina, Rome and her wicked ways, and found a new (and subservient) love interest and perhaps salvation. 

Miscellaneous Thoughts

History is written by the winners and it is no doubt that Messalina (the historic figure) has been portrayed in a hyper negative fashion by later, misogynistic historians, which of course has influenced her depiction in pop culture (such as this film). In the past few years, Medusa has seen a great shift in in perception and interpretation (from monster to victim), so it’s possible that Messalina will receive some reconsideration as well. 

The big question that Messalina leaves viewers with is did Messalina truly love Maximus in the end? The romantic notions of the period, as depicted in other films, strongly hints that she did, for in the end, Messalina is still a love story, and in order to have a love story, there’s got to be a great love. Messalina, when she is in the embrace of other men, tilts her head away from them, so only the audience can see her facial expressions of disgust and revolt. She does not do this with Maximus, strongly suggesting that she truly loved him, but was not able to negotiate having his love and her power at the same time. 

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Interview Peplum

Carmina et Circenses: Sidereal Fortress’ Circus Maximus

In early May 2021, Italian dungeon synth project Sidereal Fortress dug into their archives of unreleased material and published Circus Maximus, the first entry in their Official Bootlegs series. In contrast to typical subject matter found in the dungeon synth scene, Circus Maximus, as the name implies, was rife with sword and sandal elements: a fantastic cover depicting chariot racing, and alluring peplum, gladiatorial song titles such as “Into the Arena” and “We Live Well, We Die Well.” 

The anonymous mastermind behind Sidereal Fortress had generously allowed me to interview them about their sword and sandal opus. 

You’ve recently released the EP Circus Maximus, which was originally recorded in 2019. What has been the reception of the EP so far and what was the primary goal you wanted to accomplish with it?

So, Circus Maximus is an EP that came [about] after watching a beautiful documentary on the national television. That movie was about the life of Flavius Scorpus, the greatest charioteer that ever lived in Ancient Rome. Do you know about him?

I do not!

He was a true living legend back then! As long as I remember, I wrote and recorded the title track for the Circus MaximusEP immediately after seeing that documentary. About the EP’s reception by the audience; the fact that YOU are here basing your interview on the Circus Maximus album says everything. The new one has definitely reached its goal, like all the other Sidereal Fortress albums, and that’s the best prize an artist could ever win, believe me.

The Bandcamp description of Circus Maximus equates it to historic epics such as Ben-Hur and Demetrius and the Gladiators. Do you have a greater interested in the sword and sandal genre, and if so, what is your relationship with the genre?

Just to connect to the previous question, the main influence for Circus Maximus was the documentary about Flavius Scorpus, at least concerning the title track. When I had to compose the other songs with the same Roman concept, I went back to reviewing those incredible movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood. That’s how it works best for me, I find inspiration in retrospective: reviewing things I did, watched, or just enjoyed when I was younger. I’m absolutely sure that it is the best way to portray nostalgia in music. But, apart from this, I don’t want the EP to be labeled as “Hollywood-dungeon-synth.” Circus Maximus is somehow darker, rawer, more minimalistic and threatening than my other albums!

Do you have any favourite sword and sandal movies?

Oh, yes I do! I really loved Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, even if it’s not exactly a “historical” pic, you know. It’s just a novel of fiction with all its chronological mistakes and other funny things. I watched Demetrius and the Gladiators and Ben-Hur for the first time when I was almost a child and both really impressed me; it must have been the 80s or so. Also, Hercules by Luigi Cozzi is a B-movie that I’m really bound to. Of course it’s not a masterpiece at all, but I think it’s a rare example of [the] fanta-peplum paradox. With that movie, Cozzi makes the sword & sandal clichè coexist with weird, DIY, steampunk robots and laser beams…well…that’s absolutely great, don’t you think?

You’ll laugh at this: while I do like Cozzi’s Hercules, I have a guilty pleasure for his film Contamination. Other people deride the film, but I think it’s brilliant, campy, and gory.

Cozzi’s movies are as low-budget as most of the Italian movies from the 70s and 80s. His strength was being able to make them weird enough, using just what he had on disposal.

When it comes to fanta-peplum, I think of Antonio Margheriti’s film Yor: The Hunter from the Future. I adore that film, but I am also a big fan of Margheriti.

[As with Cozzi] we could say the same about Margheriti, Fulci, Aldo Lado and other Italian directors from the good old days. They were like craftsmen, that’s all. Yor is a total cult!

The second track of Circus Maximus, “Into the Arena,” has an epic, militaristic sound to it; it successfully creates the fanfare of, as the title states, “entering the arena.” There seems to be a peppering of the martial-industrial genre in this track. Is this a genre you indulge in or find inspiration from?

Definitely not. “Into the Arena” is maybe the track off the Circus Maximus EP where I wanted it to be the most EPIC. The inspiration for that song is more obvious than you may wonder, I mean…I was just referring to old movie soundtracks, but with a personal approach. If you noticed, there’s a weird time-signature in some sections of that track. I like to use them sometimes.

Your album, Odissea, also has shades of the peplum genre, with a focus on Greek mythology. What was the genesis of this album and what did you want to accomplish with it?

Odissea was a real smash hit: it was the first dungeon synth album to be reviewed on Bandcamp Daily and one of the best sellers of the HDK (Heimat Der Katastrophe) catalogue. Well, I’m not sure it’s also one of my best album as well. I’m curious to know your thoughts about it.

Odissea was actually my first foray into Sidereal Fortress when I was out questing for peplum-centric dungeon synth albums. I loved it! 

What I honestly think, at the risk of glorifying myself beyond reason, is that Odissea is one of those very few albums that draws in something new in the dungeon synth genre. Odissea is the album that, much more than [the] others, broke the barriers and let new elements in. There was a huge risk for [its] mixture of new-age, bombastic and comfy elements (musically and aesthetically) to not be accepted by the community. When I recorded The Forgotten Tomb of Yshnakalbum, there had been the same “issue” with [its] 70s synth influences and fusion-sounding guitar solos. Maybe the average DS-fan does not accept when artists dare to go out-of-the-box, but I can tell you that Sidereal Fortress fans are NOT AVERAGE at all! [Laughs]

About the genesis of Odissea: if you have the HDK tape, all you need to know is written in its J-card. I was reading an in-prose version of the Odyssey written by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, and the reaction was the most obvious you can imagine: writing a soundtrack for Ulysses’ adventures

There’s a small handful of neo-peplum albums released by dungeon synth artists: Båvingr’s Bycirce, Marsyas Zskin’s The Flight of Icarus and Echo and Narcissus, Golden Fleece’s The Journey to Colchis, possibly Basilica Rift’s Through the Unknown Rift, and of course, your own Odissea and Circus Maximus. It’s an extremely niche subject matter within the greater dungeon synth scene, but perhaps it bears more exploration and interpretation? What aspects of sword and sandal genre do you think are the most compatible with dungeon synth, or conversely, what do you think dungeon synth can uniquely contribute to the world of pepla?

Well, well, let’s see… I remember Båvingr popping up in the early days of the “revival,” just a couple of months after Sidereal Fortress’ Ruins. Both him [Båvingr] and Marsyas Zskin have recorded very good stuff, they clearly take care of what they’re doing and that’s a correct approach to music in general. As to the aspects of S&S into dungeon synth…maybe I’m disappointing you, but, apart from the epic side of peplum, with swords, battles etc. that obviously fit the DS imagery, what I really think is that DS definitely needs to go out-of-the-box if we want it to survive. Releasing another Tolkien-inspired dungeon synth project is completely useless, unless you’re releasing a true masterpiece. Thangorodrim hit the spot in 2016 just because Taur nu fuin is an album of the highest level, but we already had plenty of Lord of the Rings dungeon synth. So, the concept on which I built Odissea brings in some freshness even in that sense.

You say Sidereal Fortress fans are not average dungeon synth fans, which of course means that Sidereal Fortress is not an average dungeon synth project. What would you say is your most unique attribute that distinguishes Sidereal Fortress from other outfits in the genre?

This reminds me of those tricky questions at job interviews! [Laughs] As I was telling about Båvingr, Marsyas Zskin and other artists, I have a basic discipline that allows me to never release actual garbage. You may not like my music and there’s nothing wrong in that, but be sure I’ll never release sketchy or low-quality stuff. I’m not here to make fun of listeners, riding the crest of the dungeon synth wave or stuff like that. I just want to record music the best I can, being sketchy just when the album/track NEEDS that shape or mood. With my “kosmische” project, Il Generale Inverno, I play only free-form and improvised tracks, but I did the same a couple of times even with Sidereal Fortress. If you listen to my full length album The Hermit’s Hole you will understand what I’m saying. Sidereal Fortress fans are not people who just look at the “cool” tape, artwork, mood or theme, they want to listen to an artist who takes care of his music. They have to finally state if I hit the spot or not.

Any plans to revisit the sword and sandal in future Sidereal Fortress compositions?

Sidereal Fortress is actually a project in a sleepy status of stand-by. I have lots of archived stuff written and recorded between 2017 and 2020, so I’m going to publish those unreleased things eventually. If you want to hear more epic & heroic stuff from Sidereal Fortress, I highly recommend the Bogatyr EP, a short album about the knights of venture in Medieval Russia. I spent a lot of money, time and attention in that mini-album, but I can tell you the result it’s a true speaker-blower! Yes, that EP could definitely be my ticket to Hollywood! [Laughs]

And finally, any final words you’d like to impart, or news you’d like to share?

No news at all right now [because] my projects are in actual standby. Maybe I will return to my most new age project called Nuovaera, where I explore the fantasy sound with even more freedom, [which includes] brighter moods and some guitar tracks. But, man, I’m not sure it’s the right time. The scene has moved forward (or backwards, depending on your thoughts about) and the needs of dungeon-synth listeners have radically changed in the last two years…so, what I honestly think is that it’s not the right time for Sidereal Fortress…

I’m sincerely grateful for this opportunity to interview Sidereal Fortress. Despite their reservations, I sincerely hope the project keeps flourishing, and hopefully, even returns to explore the toga and sandal genre further. Wishing the vanguard dungeon synth project continued success! 

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News

News Roundup W/E 2021-03-28

Personal / Website News

Podcast News

Michele and I has our monthly appearance on the Scholars from the Edge of Time segment of the Voice of Olympus podcast. This month we discuss the toga and sandal film Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). Great discussion and keep an eye out on a write up about the film here at my website. In the meantime, the episode can be downloaded/streamed at BlogTalkRadio.

Screen capture from the Eclipse release of Caesar and Cleopatra. Pictured is Claude Rains as Caesar and Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra.

This upcoming Tuesday we will have a mini episode on Voice of Olympus as well.

General Neo-Peplum News

Polis Part 2 Comic

Jave Galt-Miller informs via Kickstarter that the second part of his Polis: The Trail of Socrates has been printed and in his possession. He expects to ship out to backers in the next couple of weeks. Historic info about the project can be found on Kickstarter.

Cover art of issue 2. Copyright by Jave Galt-Miller

Of note, back when I wrote for Fanbase Press, I did a review of issue one of Polis. It can be read here.

Rest in Peplum

Bertrand Tavernier passed away at the age of 79. He was an assistant director for The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules (1964).

Susana Canales passed away at the age of 87. She starred in Revolt of the Mercenaries (1961).

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Peplum

An Empire Crumbles: Retrospective of the Roman-themed Fry’s Electronics

On Tuesday February 23rd mega retailer Fry’s Electronics announced it was immediately suspending operations and permanently closing all of its remaining thirty-one stores. While the announcement was sudden, it was not unexpected: Fry’s had been in a death spiral for many years with many speculating its end. Customers, past and present, turned to social media to share their nostalgia of the former titan of electronics and reminiscence over each store’s unique theme.

My first experience with Fry’s was while living in Phoenix in the early 2000s. At the time I was attending a tech school, working on my Bachelors of Science, and the store was a mecca. Myself and many of my friends would go to the Aztec-themed Fry’s on Thunderbird and get lost in the store for hours. This was the era of PC games still being released in big boxes, and niche music labels such as Mute and Metropolis had albums for sale. I greatly rounded out my KMFDM collection at this Fry’s while plucking up computer games and an occasional part or two for my PC. As a tech student, Fry’s was heaven. 

I vividly recall my final purchase at this Fry’s: a copy of Persona 2 on the Playstation in the discount bin, which now goes for 100s of dollars on eBay. 

When I moved back to Washington, the Fry’s in Renton became the go-to Fry’s for Michele and I. By this time my interests has shifted: I was knee deep in my masters on film studies. While we didn’t visit this Fry’s as much, (and I unfortunately cannot recall its theme), I was always impressed by its massive DVD section: huge aisles broken into genres. I was able to load up on quite a bit of exploitation and foreign films at this Fry’s that I was unable to get elsewhere.

In the 2010s Michele and I moved to Orange CA and the Fry’s in Anaheim became our home base. Unlike the Renton Fry’s, the Anaheim Fry’s was mere minutes away from our apartment. This Fry’s was to say rather lackluster in its theme, which was NASA and Cape Canaveral. What should be a fairly easy to execute theme, this Fry’s was rather bland and generic. It was also quite empty. I recall the Aztec Fry’s in Phoenix in the early 2000s being filled to the brim with customers, with long queues to get in. The Anaheim Fry’s, 10+ years later, a ghost town. Regardless, it was often our place of preference to pick up a last minute movie, or find a cheap video game. By this time, the movie section was obliterated: the genres all gone and everything condensed to simply “blu-ray.” The music section was practically absent. However, I was able to load up on Skylanders figures extremely cheap. 

And thus my history with Fry’s Electronics. What does this have to do with the peplum genre? In the very late 2010s the news really started to pick up traction of Fry’s closing down. There were a plethora of articles about shuttered stores and Fry’s that were entirely empty of product. Directly south of me on the border of Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley was a Roman-themed Fry’s. Not wanting to miss out on seeing this Fry’s before it shuttered, in October 2019 Michele and I went and checked it out. What follows below is a gallery of images I took of the Roman-theme Fry’s, highlighting its many embellishments of antiquity while also documenting a store in decline. 

There are a few things to note about this Fry’s. First, its address was on Kalama River Ave, which resonated with me for I grew up in Kalama Washington on the Kalama River. Secondly, this Fry’s was 80% empty. Entire aisles were void of product, which you might get a hint of in these photos. However, all of the Roman statues and faux-architecture was still quite a sight to behold, which is what this gallery focuses on. Much like how we behold the glory of a fallen empire by marveling at its crumbled ruins, one can get a glimpse of what Fry’s would have been like back in its heyday.

  • Fry’s signage
  • Empty parking lot and nondescript entrance.
  • Interior entrance arches
  • Statues
  • PC displays on lion tables
  • Vine covered walls
  • Vines, different view
  • Statues and torches
  • Atlas
  • Audio room
  • Magazine rack
  • Statues that watch over the magazines
  • Crumbled ruins, foreshadowing?
  • Mural at the registers
  • Empty check out
  • Themes prize machines

All photos copyright by Nicholas Diak.

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Interview Peplum

Unlocking the Secrets of Secret Rites: Interview with Sammy Ward

Secret Rites is a neo-peplum, mythological comic by Sammy Ward. The one-shot comic was successfully Kickstarted and subsequently published in late 2020. The comic provides an alternate viewpoint of the myth of Persephone and Hades by being told from the point of view of her mother, Demeter. Simultaneously, the comic also not only depicts, but acts as an extension and interpretation of the Eleusinian Mysteries. This places the comic in the same canon as other artifacts of antiquity and paintings that depict the mysterious rituals.

Sincere thanks to Sammy Ward for allowing the following interview about her comic.

Secret Rites cover

Tell us a bit about your background and how you got into art and comics.

I’ve always been creative and enjoyed drawing. My first interest in comics came when I discovered Kabuki by David Mack. I was really interested in how he used different media and how it didn’t follow the typical conventions of a comic book. It opened up the medium to me and I realised it wasn’t all just super heroes.

Tell us more about the catalyst that started this comic, that is when you happened across the Eleusinian Mysteries? What was the big “A-ha! I want to make  comic from this!”

The first spark for me was when I did an illustration of Persephone for a drawing challenge back in 2018. I wasn’t following the usual prompt list but drawing deities from different cultures. Persephone is so fascinating as a symbol of life and death as well as being presented as powerful and a victim. When I was researching Persephone I read about the Eleusinian Mysteries. It just captured my imagination in that it was a real mystery so it opened up all these possibilities that I played around with for a while before writing what is now Secret Rites.

What texts did you use to draw inspiration from?

I’ve read Circe by Madeline Miller which explores Circe’s defiance as a witch and a mother against the Olympians. That defiance was definitely a theme I wanted to use in Secret Rites. I also enjoy listening to a lot of soundtracks whilst working and I find it can be inspiring. The God of War OST has probably been the main one but I also discovered the Hadestown the musical by Anaïs Mitchell whilst creating Secret Rites. It’s a different Greek Tragedy with a modern take but I still found it inspirational in creating the characters for Secret Rites where each one has a selfish agenda.

What texts and resources did you use for research materials?

I found articles by Mark Cartwright and Joshua J. Mark very helpful which led me to discover The Myth of Er by Plato (said to be an initiate himself) which describes the character Er joining the afterlife and then returning to reality. I also came across a talk from Terence Mckenna who was an ethnobotanist and mystic. He discusses the use of Ergot, a deadly black fungus found on wheat and barley with psychotropic properties which was a component in a drink consumed during the ritual. I found the link of this and Demeter being the goddess of the harvest very alluring.

Interior page depicting a scene of the Eleusinian Mysteries

What is your relationship with Greek mythology?

I think my interest in Greek mythology started when I was at school studying Greek playwrights in drama class. It’s not something I’ve devoted loads of time throughout my life but mythology and folklore have always fascinated me. I love reading different stories from all over the world whether it’s the Poetic Edda or Russian fairy tales. That’s my constant go to for books and comics.

Are you into any sword and sandal media?

I do enjoy the 1963 Jason and The Argonauts and [the] 1981 Clash of the Titans. I have a big appreciation for the Ray Harryhausen era of stop motion animation that really captures those stories. I also really enjoy reading Wonder Woman comics, I especially enjoyed the 2011 relaunch written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Cliff Chiangs and Tony Akins. Again, women defying the power and will of the Gods seems to be a favourite theme of mine.

What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered while realizing Secret Rites?

Whilst the actual concept and story came pretty naturally, the script process was challenging as it would change whilst I was creating the art. There are good and bad aspects of being both writer and illustrator. I started illustrating the book in 2019 but my art has changed/improved a fair bit since then so I went back and changed a few pieces I had previously completed. My first comic, Scavengers, is a silent comic so I managed to create a story without having to do any lettering other than the intros which I hand lettered. Learning to letter Secret Rites has been a really fun journey for me though a slow one. Lettering is it’s own art form.

Secret Rites and pin-up art from a Kickstarter package. Photo by Nicholas Diak.

Do you any any successor plans to Secret Rites?

Secret Rites is a one shot so there are no sequels planned. Not to say I wouldn’t be interested in exploring the mythos a little more. I’m very interested in exploring more deities from the Greek pantheon and from many different cultures and religions. I would also like to collaborate more in the future especially with those writing mythology and folktales.

Do you have any upcoming projects on the horizon that you’d like to share?

I worked on some original pieces illustrating winter and Christmas deities which are available from my Etsy store along with my comics. I’m currently working on a comic/zine hybrid which will involve deities but I can’t say much more at this stage, it will include more mixed media in terms of art and will be a lot more experimental.

Links for Sammy Ward

Artwork provided courtesy of Sammy Ward unless otherwise noted.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-01-24

Personal / Website News

Call for Papers

The Call for Abstracts for my collection of essays on neo-medievalism is live. The CFP can be found here.

Podcast News

The preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards was just announced a few days ago. Some of the books on the ballot have been the subject of a few interviews/episodes of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast. In case you missed it, here they are and I strongly encourage a listen to the episodes, checking out the work, and if you’re a voting member of the Horror Writer’s Association, consider voting for these works:

Jasaon Parent’s Eight Cylinders is on the prelim ballot under the Superior Achievement in Long Fiction category:
My text review of Eight Cylinders
H. P. Lovecast Podcast discussion of Eight Cylinders
H. P. Lovecast Interview with Parent about Eight Cylinders

Robert P. Ottone’s Her Infernal Name & Other Nightmares is on the preliminary ballot under the Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection category:
H. P. Lovecast Podcast interview with Ottone about Her Infernal Name

Now, because of the Stoker preliminary ballot being announced, Michele and I are going to be shifting our February schedule somewhat to better promote/leverage/accommodate our guest that month, Lee Murry. The initial schedule was that we were going to discuss Cthulhu Deep Down Under Volume 2 on the first weekend of the month and interview Murray on the third. However, Murray is on the preliminary ballot for two publications: Grotesque: Monster Stories under the Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection category and Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women under the Superior Achievement in an Anthology category. Because of this, we are going to flip and publish the interview the first week of the month and the discussion the third.

Outside of H. P. Lovecast Podcast news, I have two appearances on the Voice of Olympus program this week, one on Tuesday and another on Friday where Michele and I will be interviewing S. Alessandro Martinez. Also, a big heads up, it looks like I will be a guest on the Scaredy Cats podcast in April to discuss the film Slumber Party Massacre. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to April and a date is solidified.

General Neo-Peplum News

Neo-Peplum Metal Release

Italian death/black/adventure metal band Gates of Doom released a new album earlier this month called Aquileia Mater Aeterna. Per the album’s description on the band’s Bandcamp page, Aquileia Mater Aeterna is

[a] concept album [that] focuses on the Friulian city of Aquileia, from its foundation by the Romans in 181 B.C. to its destruction in 452 A.D. at the hands of Attila. Historically, the city has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures crucial for the birth of our homeland Friûl and its identity, and it’s a great inspiration for our band.

Gates of Doom at Bandcamp

Sword and Sandal Peanut Butter Commercial

Peanut butter brand Jif has a new add that spoofs Gladiator. The commercial can be watched at Adweek.

Screenshot from the Jif commerical

Academic Panels

Dr. Ross Clare was recently on a panel called “Tolkien and the Classical World: Book Discussion.” An audio recording of that panel can be found on YouTube.

Categories
Interview Peplum

Building Mythologies: Samuel George London on Band of Warriors

Band of Warriors is a neo-peplum comic that is currently in the stages of being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. Written by Samuel George London (The S Factor, Milford Green, and Project Hoax), with art by Federico Avila Corsini (Treble, Remitente, and Maranatá) and editing by Nicole D’Andria (Miraculous), the story begins with King Minos at the height of his reign and leads to an epic, adventurous tale that incorporates both Grecian and Celtic mythologies.

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

I only got into comics in 2015 after finding out that the TV show, The Walking Dead, was based on a comic. I bought all the compendiums up to that point and was hooked. After that I discovered Image’s back catalogue and went down a rabbit hole of indie comics. After a year or so, I was inspired enough to give writing a go and luckily an idea came to me in the form of Milford Green, which is best described as a Victorian space adventure. I Kickstarted that in 2018 and have since successfully funded five other comics as well as having a four issue mini-series titled The S Factor published by Action Lab – Danger Zone, which is about the dark underbelly of a superhero dating reality TV show.

What was the genesis of Band of Warriors (BoW)?

My mother has a house on the island of Crete and when I visited there for the first time in 2016 I was enthralled by the history it had, both fairly recently (WW2) and even further in the past, especially the bronze age (3,000-1200 BC). That same year, I visited my wife’s family in Brittany, France. Of course, I had visited them before but this time we visited a megalith which was next to an old tin mine. For those of you not in the know, bronze is made up of copper and tin.

When investigating all of this further it turned out that bronze age tin from France and Britain (my own homeland) had been found among bronze age artefacts on and around Crete. This trading relationship between France, Britain and Crete during the bronze age got my imagination fired up and the idea of Band of Warriors began.

BoW was actually the first idea that came to me but I thought the scope of the story was far too big for me to take on as a first time writer. But now that I’ve got a few books under my belt, I thought it was high time I got it out to the world. Honestly, it hasn’t been easy trawling through all the history and mythology surrounding all of those regions to create a coherent story but I think (if I don’t say so myself) I’ve created a rather epic story.

What were your other sources of inspiration for this comic?

To name but a few; 300 (both comic and movie), Kill the Minotaur and Vikings (both comics and TV show) have all inspired BoW. The mixture of mythology, history and action really helped me see that it’s possible.

What texts did you use for research for BoW?

One that really stands out is 1077 B.C. by Professor Eric Cline. The book is an outstanding insight into the era and as an added bonus you watch a lot of his lectures online, which are also massively useful.

What was some of the most interesting things you learned while researching?

One of the most interesting things to me was just how international that time was. There were full on trading relationships from France and Britain to Crete and even to Egypt, Turkey and Afghanistan. It’s incredible to me that over 3,500 years ago this was going on.

There’s a few other comics out there that merge different mythologies: what would you say sets yours apart?

My USP, so to speak, is that I’ve grounded the mythology in actual historical events. Using actual history to try and connect the dots of mythology is time consuming as a writer but I think that it will help the comic shine for the readers.

Do you have any favourite sword and sandal texts?

This might seem vacuous but I really enjoyed the 2014 movie with Dwayne Johnson, Hercules. I thought they did a superb job of merging mythology, history, reality and action. Sure the character development wasn’t great but man was the action awesome.

What is your general thoughts/impressions of the current state of the sword and sandal genre?

I think the sword and sandal genre can be quite one-dimensional and predictable, so I think it’s important that for those of us who are passionate about it think outside the box. Dwayne Johnson’s Hercules was a great example of subverting my expectations from everything being about magic and what not when in reality it was all tricks of the eye and playing into the reputation Hercules and his team had created.

How did you go about meeting/recruiting your artist Federico Avila Corsini and editor Nicole D’Andria?

I met Nicole a couple of years ago through Kickstarter and it turned out she did freelance editing. I then hired her to work on the Milford Green series and she’s been my trusted editor ever since. Federico on the other hand, was through Reddit. A few months ago I put a call out on Twitter and Reddit for an artist to work on a story that involved both Celtic and Greek mythology and after sifting through about thirty artists, Federico stood out. Both his style and work ethic are fantastic, so he’s the ideal artist for BoW.

What were some of the biggest challenges or obstacles you encountered while creating BoW?

My biggest challenge was connecting all the dots and making the story consistent. I actually have one of those cork boards that allows me to see all the storylines side by side in chronological order. I feel like I’m trying to catch a serial killer but it really does help.

Having successfully Kickstarted other projects, what advice do you have for other folks looking to use the medium?

First and foremost, get involved with the community. Secondly, research successful campaigns. Lastly, make sure you triple check your reward and postage costs.

What is the biggest thing you want to accomplish with BoW?

Great question! We’ve got an initial six issue arc sorted but I’d love for BoW to become an on-going series that would be released every three months, direct to the people via crowdfunding. However, that’s only possible if we get the right level of support, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Thank you your time for this interview, any final words?

I’d just like to say thanks to you for taking the time to do this interview and to your readers who have read this interview. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and that you’ll check out Band of Warriors to potentially help support it.

Links

Samuel George London

Federico Avila Corsini

Nicole D’Andria

Artwork for this interview provided courtesy by Samuel George London.

Categories
Peplum

Immortals Fenyx Rising: Ubisoft’s Newest Neo-Peplum Game

Immortals Fenyx Rising is the newest neo-peplum game slated to be published by Ubisoft and developed by Ubisoft Quebec. Ubisoft have long established themselves as the premier publisher of video games that embrace the different shades of the sword and sandal and historic epics genres, specifically in regard to their Prince of Persia releases and numerous Assassin’s Creed titles that sees players exploring various time periods. Assassin’s Creed fully embraced the sword and sandal genre with their release of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey in 2018 that had gamers playing as the misthios Kassandra (or Alexios) during the Peloponnesian War in Greece in the latter half of 400 BCE.

Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey more-or-less stuck to the non-magical variety of the sword and sandal genre, only making occasionally forays out of the historic epic subgenre when Kassandra fought legendary creatures such as a cyclops and a Medusa, or, via a simulator, traveled to Elysium. Otherwise the game kept mostly to being a stealth-action game with conspiracy theory intrigue.

Immortals Fenyx Rising looks to fully embrace the mythological aspect of the sword and sandal genre that Odyssey only flirted with, making it more akin to the legendary Harryhausen film Jason and the Argonauts (1963) rather than, say, Kubrick’s Spartacus (1960).

Immortals Fenyx Rising has gamers playing as Fenyx, a winged demigod who is trying to save a Grecian-Mythological world from various other gods and beasts. The gameplay looks to be an action-RPG, with comparisons to Nintendo’s sword and sorcery game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Here is a slideshow of screenshots and artwork from the Ubisoft press materials for the title’s announcement:

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Ubsisoft has also uploaded various trailers and gameplay reveals on YouTube:

Overall, this looks like an exciting game and a fun take on the sword and sandal genre. The colours are vibrant, the graphics look playful and excellent, and if the game does mimic Breath of the Wild even a little bit, then it should have some solid gameplay that can easily be expanded upon. While the neo-peplum genre continues to show declining interest on the big screens for a contemporary audience, Ubisoft is instead demonstrating how successful the subject matter can be in video game medium with not only with Immortals Fenyx Rising, but also with their upcoming Prince of Persia remaster and new Assassin’s Creed title: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

Categories
Interview Peplum

Entering the Arena: Elysian Fields #0

Elysian Fields #0 is a neo-peplum comic, the first in a series, written by Michael Oden with artwork by Marcelo Oliveira Costa, lettering by Luke Stone, cover art by Jim O’Riley, and published via Oden’s own 9 Realms Publishing imprint.

Elysian Fields #0 poster

Taking its cues from mythological pepla, Elysian Fields follows somewhat in the footsteps of Marvel’s attempts at historic epic adaptations that appeared in the late 2000s on the short lived Marvel Illustrated imprint. These releases include comic book (and collected editions) adaptations of The Iliad (2008), The Odyssey (2009), and The Trojan War (2009). Elysian Fields is a continuation of The Iliad, albeit in a slightly unexpected fashion. The comic begins during the siege of Troy with Achilles locked in battle with King Memnon. While Achilles bests the warrior king (as per the Aethiopis), he himself is slain by an arrow shot by Paris (the prince of Troy) though his heel. From here Elysian Fields splits from the epics and follows Achilles into the afterlife where Charon (ferryman on the river Styx) takes the legendary warrior to Hades’ arena where he is to do battle with other iconic warriors of history and mythology. Elysian Fields #0 concludes on a cliffhanger with Achilles teaming up with King Theseus (founder of Athens) to battle Enkidu (bull-man from the Epic of Gilgamesh) and Gilgamesh proper (hero of ancient Sumer), setting up the events that will transpire in Elysian Fields: The Pyramid Gambit.

The underlying premise of Elysian Fields seems to be setting up a series that will see Achilles and other heroes through the ages, from various other civilizations and time periods, duking it out in Hades’ arena. This Mortal Kombat approach to the sword and sandal genre has promise, and in fact, perhaps echoes an earlier attempt at the same concept: the collectable card game Anachronism. A short lived affair in the mid-2000s, well past the collectable card game boom of the 90s, Anachronism was The History Channel’s attempt at a CCG, which involved players pitting mythological and historical figures (such as Genghis Khan, Vlad Tepes, Achilles, Spartacus, and so on) against each other. The second issue of Elysian Fields, called The Pyramid Gambit, hints that Achilles (and others) will be in combat with figures of Egyptian antiquity.

Elysian Fields’ approach to this old school subject matter is equally old school. While the plot is a love letter to mythology, the cover and artwork looks to homage 90s comic book aesthetics and practices. There is a definite post-McFarlane/Spawn vibe in the artwork, with a color pallet and action sequences that evoke the likes of Witchblade, Blood Hunter, Gen 13, and other titles of the decade. The foil cover of issue #0 also recalls the various experimentations and gimmicks done to comics during that period. The nostalgia factor in strong in Elysian Fields #0, but it is competently executed (the foil cover is pretty slick), and if anything, underscores the efforts of the comic to take readers back into the past; not just in subject matter, but in the reading experience as well.

The Indiegogo campaign for issue #0 has long since ended and copies posted to backers during the summer. However, copies of the comic can be still procured during the current running Indiegogo campaign for The Pyramid Gambit.

Writer and creator of Elysian Fields, Michael Oden, provides some additional insight into his comic in the following interview.

Tell us something about yourself, a bit of your personal background.

Well, I have done a lot of things in my life. I served six years as an Infantryman in the Army National Guard, and I have done freelance journalism for the creative industry for years now. I have written my own industry blogs as well as have worked for sites like Moviepilot, Heroic Hollywood, and currently Up Your Geek.

I have always been a big history fan. My dad used to read me the Iliad as a bedtime story which started my love for history and mythology from an early age. This love has persisted my entire life and so getting a chance to use it in this way, to create a story like this [Elysian Fields comic] has been super surreal and cathartic in no small way.

What was the genesis of the Elysian Fields comic, how did this come about?

Honestly, it started as a game growing up. As I said, I grew up loving mythology and history, and so, big shock, I surrounded myself with friends with similar interests and it was always one of those big debates. Normal nerdy kids were arguing between Superman and Batman, Kirk or Picard, and for sure we had those discussions too, but I remember really chatting up my friends about which of our mythic heroes was better and who would win in a fight. This concept never left me and while it has continued to evolve, even as a write it now, it’s something that had always stirred in the back of my mind, knowing the potential it could have.

What is the primary goal you want to accomplish with the Elysian Fields series?

I mean the primary thing I want to accomplish is honestly to make a great book. There is also a measure of financial success I would like to have as well, anyone who dismisses the financial aspect is either lying or stupid. Doing books is expensive, it’s not just some hobby to bankroll, especially for me as a single father. However, the chief thing is of course to make a book that people really enjoy and that establishes myself, and additionally get people interested in these characters and their stories. No matter how well Elysian Fields has been received, the stories where these characters drew their routes have stood the test of time for a reason.

What would you say distinguishes Elysian Fields from other mythological comics out there?

Honestly, I would like to think the big distinguishing factor is trying to be as authentic as possible. That’s not to say that the other mythological books I have read don’t do that in their own way, but I feel like a lot of books I see in relation to mythology take inspiration from the myth, but that’s where the line stops. They want to make the characters theirs. And while I am sure that there are some that will see my versions of characters and it won’t be how they see them, my goal has been to look at the characters I choose and create as authentic a picture as I can from what I have read.

What was the biggest hurdle or challenge you faced while creating issue 0?

Oof… that’s a tough one, I don’t know if I’d be able to narrow it down to just one. Creating a book is a multi-pronged process, so I feel there is a challenge that I had that was equal with each phase. However, with the actual writing aspect of it, it was writing a script. I remember being very frustrated because all the script writing classes I found were effectively an introduction to creative writing class, and that’s not what I needed. I needed to learn about structuring and format, but instead I was being lectured about “what is a protagonist.” This was beyond frustrating. I then ended up picking up the deluxe edition of Marv Wolfman’s Man and Superman and was pleasantly surprised to find that what made it so deluxe was that the comic legend included a copy of the first draft of his script for the first issues of the book. I was ecstatic, if it works for Marv Wolfman then it has to be good. I used that script as a template for how to write my own and taught myself how to write a comic script as I was writing: teaching myself panel set up and perspective, familiarizing myself with the terminology, you name it.

Where did you draw some of your influence from, be it for this comic or other projects? Films like Gladiator, comics like 300, television like Spartacus, actual mythology, something else?

[A]ctual mythology played a massive role in how I wrote this book. However, there was a series that played an instrumental role in how I came about the overarching idea of what is now called The Abyssal Tournament of Champions. The series I am speaking of is none other than the Fate anime series, specifically Fate/Zero and Fate/ Apocrypha.

What has been the feedback so far on your comic?

Very positive. We have had constructive criticisms for sure, but the overall consensus is that our book is a book worth having and to me that means the world. However, all the criticisms we have had have played a massive role as well. No comic is perfect, no story is either. So I have used this feedback to grow the book and really make it the best it can be, and that’s what I aim to do moving forward.

What is 9 Realms Publishing and what do you hope to accomplish with this endeavor?

9 Realms Publishing is my own publishing imprint and it is continuing to grow. We have two other projects outside of Elysian Fields attached to that imprint written by myself, however, I don’t want people to think that this is a vanity project. It is an equal hope that, at some point, we are able to bring on and sign other creators and help build their IPs and promote them. It is my genuine belief that one of the greatest problems with the mainline industry is that they have cut themselves off from outside ideas. 9 Realms’ mission is to bring aspiring creators to the forefront and give them the chance to make books. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a shot and frankly, that’s more than a lot of people get.

Can you give a preview of what folks can expect with the second Elysian Fields comic, The Pyramid Gambit?

The second comic is all about bringing Team Hades together. Honestly it’s a bumpy ride for these guys. Theseus and Herakles have been fighting in this tournament for a long time, and as an added bonus, they knew each other in life. However, enter this arrogant kid Achilles who is running his mouth off at everyone, god included. So there are growing pains for all of these characters, and you add on the stress of going against Imhotep, a champion who has never been directly beaten in the arena, there are a lot of mixed emotions we see from our champions.

Elysian Fields: The Pyramid Gambit

What is your general thoughts or impressions on the depiction of mythology and antiquity in pop culture today? Where do you think it is headed?

The answer to that is simple: it’s headed nowhere. Sadly there hasn’t been a solid sword and sandals movie since Gladiator, and there hasn’t been a solid sword and sandals show since Spartacus, and while I love both of those projects, they are the farthest thing from portraying the period with any sort of authenticity. That’s not to say they are bad, just that Hollywood has no faith in the classical time period. I think it is a damn shame because with the success of superhero films as a genre, you’d think they’d realize “hey, why don’t we push movies that accurately depict the ORIGINAL superheroes.” Heroes of myth are the archetypes that inspired the modern superhero, they are the blueprint. But I haven’t seen Hollywood show reverence to that in a long time. Hopefully the success of things like Elysian Fields can inspire other people to bring myth to the forefront in the entertainment industry.

Addendums / Connections

2020-11-29 – Michele and I conducted an interview with Michael Oden on the Scholars from the Edge of Time podcast where we talked in detail about Elysian Fields. That episode can be streamed/downloaded here.