The Call for Papers for the Emmanuelle, Black Emanuelle, and Emmanuelle derivative films is now live!
The CFP can found on this page. If you know other scholars who would be interested in this project, please share! I’d be super appreciative to get the word out.
New Episode of H. P. Lovecast
Our October Transmissions episode dropped a day early (didn’t want to compete with Halloween). In this episode we interview Erika T. Wurth and Chris Philbrook.
Thumbnail made by Michele Brittany.
The episode can be streamed at the H. P. Lovecast Buzzsprout page, via the embedded player below, your via your podcast app of preference.
Other guests on the program are Kenneth Cain and Karen Heuler. The episode will record live on November 10th at 8:00 pm PST. The Galactic Terrors YouTube channel can be found here (check out the archives!).
Scholars from the Edge of Time
The last two episodes of Scholars from the Edge of Time are now online. In these episodes Michele and I discuss Son of Samson (September episode) and The Barbarians(October episode). Click the links to give them a watch!
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Alicia Carter and Robot #2 Kickstarter
The Kickstarter campaign for issue two of The Astonishing Adventures of Alicia Carter and Robot is now live and can be found here.
I really enjoyed issue one of the series, and my review can be read here. I’m excited for issue two to see the continuing adventures of Alicia and GDU-3.
Image taken from the Kickstarter Campaign.
No naughty covers for me this time, I went for the standard Shikarii cover (see above) which depicts Kira, a sniper bounty hunter introduced in issue one.
Solomon and Sheba Blu-ray
A recent acquisition for the sword and sandal library, I plucked up a relatively new HD release of Solomon and Sheba (1959).
Personal Copy of Solomon and Sheba.
The film stars genre veterans Yul Brynner (The Ten Commandments and Westworld [Roman World counts as peplum!]) and the maggiorata fisica actress Gina Lollobrigida (Crossed Swords). Have not seen this film before, so it will be nice to check it out in HS.
Also, this is a perfect time to show off my Gina Lollobrigida autographed 8×10:
In 1974 Just Jaeckin’s film, Emmanuelle, was released to commercial success. The movie propelled its starlet, Sylvia Kristel, into the limelight, spurred a wave of similar erotic fare, and concurrently with the Golden Age of Porn, helped usher in mainstream acceptance of erotic content in cinema. Black Emanuelle, one of the many films that came in the wake of Emmanuelle, would go on to have its own impact, specifically in the realm of Italian cult cinema with its plethora of sequels starring Laura Gemser. The Emmanuelle, Black Emanuelle, and derivative Emmanuelle film phenomena lasted from the mid-70s to the early 80s before interest tapered off, though the Emmanuelle name continued to be used by producer Alain Siritzky for direct to cable softcore content.
Four decades later, the Emmanuelle movies have faded in pop culture memory, but are being kept alive with blu-ray releases from specialty and boutique labels such as Severin Films and Kino Lorber. While most of the Kristel and Gemser films are readily obtainable, scholarship on the Emmanuelle legacy is not. The majority of references to both Emmanuelleand Black Emmanuelle are found in film guides and books that focus on cult and exploitation films in a general sense (see the bibliography section at the end of this CFP) with a journal article here and there. Alex Cox’s 2000 documentary,Emmanuelle: A Hard Look, remains largely inaccessible, though companies like the aforementioned Severin Films release supplementary material on their Black Emanuelle and Emmanuelle derivative DVDs and Blu-rays. There is no singular, consolidated resource focused on the Emmanuelle film canon.
This proposed collection of essays will strive to rectify this scholarship gap. This CFP seeks abstracts that analyze the films that make up the Emmanuelle legacy (see filmography below), with the aim to illustrate the various ways these movies are important, how they impacted both pop and film culture, and to illuminate subtexts and commentaries they impart.
Framework/Topics
Frameworks, essay ideas, and topics might include, but are not limited to, the following:
Adaptations
Anti/Reverse Emmanuelle roles/films
Auteur theory (specific films and their directors)
Class and wealth depictions
Close textual analysis
Comparative textual analysis
Cosmopolitanism
Cultural and racial representations
Feminism studies
Ethical/Philosophical issues
Genre studies (porn-chic, softcore, exploitation, grindhouse, travelog, cannibal film, women in prison, etc.)
LBGT+ discourse and ideology
Interviews with/perspectives from crew/filmmakers
Literature studies (Emmanuelle Arsan books)
Monster Studies (Emmanuelle vs. Dracula, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals)
Multiplicities (see Cycles, Sequels, Spin-offs, Remakes, and Reboots eds. Klein & Palmer)
Non-Emmanuelle films that star Sylvia Kristel or Laura Gemser (such as Julia [1974], Alice ou la dernière fugue [1977], etc.), Alain Siritzky produced films, and other Just Jaeckin movies will be considered if they can be strongly tied to the Emmanuelle/Black Emanuelle legacy.
Other related texts, such as the Emmanuelle Arsan novels, the Emmanuelle erotic comics by Guido Crepax, and the like, are also of interest.
Submission
Abstracts (no word limit), preliminary bibliographies, and CVs should be submitted to Nicholas Diak at vnvdiak@gmail.com.
There is no publisher chosen for this project yet. Due to the subject matter and the speciality, niche interest of this proposed book, the goal is to amass a collection of abstracts first for the purposes of having a solid proposal and preliminary table of contents, and then procure a publisher. A proper timetable for first draft submissions will be drawn up after a publisher is obtained.
Please feel free to share this CFP with other scholars. Any proliferation is much appreciated.
This CFP will be open initially for six months.
About the Editor
Nicholas Diak is a pop culture scholar with a range of interests: sword and sandal films, industrial music, synthwave music and aesthetics, horror studies, and other idiosyncratic topics. He edited the collection The New Peplum: Essays on Sword and Sandal Films and Television Programs Since the 1990s (2018) and co-edited Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern: Critical Essays (2020). More information, including academic CV, can be found at nickdiak.com.
Emmanuelle Studies Bibliography
100 Cult Films by Ernest Mathijs and Xavier Mendik
Alternative Europe: Eurotrash and Exploitation Cinema Since 1945 edited by Mathijs and Mendik
“Black is Beautiful” in DarkSide issue 211
Bodies of Desire and Bodies in Distress: The Golden Age of Italian Cult Cinema 1970-1985 by Mendik
Deadlier Than the Male: Femme Fatales in 1960s and 1970s Cinema by Douglas Brode
“Forever Emmanuelle: Sylvia Kristel and Soft-Core Cult” by Leila Wimmer in Cult Film Stardom
The History of French Literature on Film by Kate Griffiths and Andrew Watts
Immoral Tales: Sex and Horror Cinema in Europe 1956-1984 by Tohill and Tombs
Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema” by Simon Sheridan
“The Legacy of Emmanuelle: Oriental Desire and Interracial Encounters 562 in European Films Set in Thailand 1974-1980” by Alexander J. Klemm
“Mondo Realism, the Sensual Body, and Genre Hybridity in Joe D’Amato’s Emanuelle Films” by Mario DeGiglio-Bellemare
Offbeat Attractions and Processes of Cultification edited by Egan and Thomas
“Orientalism, Star Power and Cinethetic Racism in Seventies Italian Exploitation Cinema” by Calum Waddell
Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle to Chabrol by Jeremy Richey
“Thailand in the European Cinematic Imagination: The Phenomenon and Legacy of Emmanuelle (Fr 1974)” by Alexander J. Klemm
Michele and I will be on two panels over the course of the event:
Horror & Sci-Fi from Pre-Code Films Saturday, Sept. 3rd 10:00 am – 11:00 am Fiesta Ballroom 2
Swords, Sandals, Sorcery, and Other Planets Monday, Sept. 5th 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Fiesta Ballroom 1
We hope to see yall there!
Scholars from the Edge of Time
Michele and I are prepping for the Pre-Code Horror Panel at CoKoCon so we are mad dash revisiting some pre-1934 films. One of them was King Kong. For our Scholars from the Edge of Time appearance this month we focused our episode on that. That episode is on YouTube and can be watched here.
For September we will be discussing Son of Samson on the show.
When released in 1974, the erotic French film Emmanuelle became a worldwide sensation that topped box offices and garnered controversy. The movie would catapult its starlet, Sylvia Kristel, into the limelight, but at the same time it would overshadow her. Kristel became synonymous with the Emmanuelle character whose specter she could never escape despite efforts appearing in a variety of other films ranging from auteur-made art house movies to lifeless commercial fare. During her lifetime, few critics and scholars took Kristel seriously as an actress. Jeremy Richey’s book, Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle to Chabrol (SK:FETC) aims to rectify this oversight and help usher in a reassessment and a rediscovery of Kristel and her body of work.
Published in 2022 by Cult Epics after a successful crowdfunding campaign, SK:FETC focuses on Kristel’s career from 1973 to 1981, her beginnings to when she was at her height of popularity. The book is divided into seven sections covering twenty-three movies, with the final section devoted to unrealized projects. Richey sticks to a disciplined structure when discussing each film: background contextualization, production and musings, and performance assessment with contemporary reception. This structure makes SK:FETC easy to navigate, search, and enjoy.
Standard cover.
Starting each film’s chapter is a background to how the movie came to being, diving into literary sources, filmmaker and crew backgrounds, and even general societal hegemony. For example, before discussing Kristel’s first film, Frank and Eva, time is spent describing the general landscape of Dutch cinema of the era so readers will have the contextualization that Kristel’s movies operated in. Regarding filmmakers and the crew, SK:FETC takes an interconnected approach by highlighting who was in Kristel’s orbit and describing how they contributed to the film and her career.
Next, Richey focuses on the film’s production while adding his own musings, such as what scenes and sequences stand out, or detailing difficulties Kristel dealt with, such as egotistical directors and actors (see the entry on The Concorde … Airport ’79). There are some insightful observations within these film entries, such as when Richey points out that Naked Over the Fence captures a specific snapshot of early 70s Netherlands analog pinball arcades and the burgeoning European martial arts culture.
Finally, each chapter concludes with an assessment of the film and performances. For Richey, Kristel is the gold standard for performance and other players are held to this bar. Richey does counterbalance this inherent favoritism by including a plethora of quotations from contemporary film critics from all over the globe, both positive and negative reception. In addition to film critical quotations, Richey incorporates a great deal of other citations as well: texts from scholars such as femist academic Camille Paglia and cult film scholar Marcus Stiglegger; excerpts from Kristel’s autobiography, and interviews from cast and crew, some of them rare (such as the interview with Laura Gemser about Emmanuelle 2) and others conducted by Richey exclusively for SK:FETC.
If there is a fault with SK:FETC, it is a built in one that mirrors Kristel’s career. In her attempt to shake the Emmanuelle image, Kristel began appearing in films that would hinder rather than advance her career. These films are otherwise unremarkable, giving Richey less to work with in his writings. The chapters become shorter and contain less insight when compared to the first 2/3s of SK:FETC.
Example of interior with lobby card images.
Clocking in at over 330 pages, SK:FETC is a tome of insight, observations, and rare material about Kristel and her career. Care was not only put into the text but into the physical book proper as SK:FETC is a luxurious hardcover release. Aside from the standard edition of the book, there are versions with a collector’s box and others with dust jackets autographed by Richey. The book is presented in full colour and filled with numerous photographs and promotional materials, such as lobby cards and posters. Such inclusions greatly add to the reading experience while acting as a visual catalogue to Kristel’s career. The end product is a gorgeous edition matching – even surpassing – comparable efforts by similar publishers such as FAB Press or PulseVideo.
SK:FETC accomplishes its goal in reassessing Kristel and her films. The book acts as an authority on Kristel’s early career, and provides much needed contextualization along with performance observations and incorporation of a variety of rare, unique, and otherwise inaccessible sources. Kristel is portrayed in a positive and interesting light. Emmanuelle still remains the film Kristel is the most synonymous with, but SK:FETC demonstrates that there is much more to the legendary Dutch actress.
Sylvia Kristel: From Emmanuelle to Chabrol book can be purchased at the following venues:
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.
My essay, “Cullzathro Fhtagn! Magnifying the Carnivalesque in Lovecraft Through the Comic Book Series Vinegar Teeth,” has made the preliminary Bram Stoker Award ballot in the short non-fiction category. Note: this does not denote I am nominated or a finalist. It simply means I am on the preliminary ballot and have a 50% chance to advance to the final ballot.
Active and Lifetime members of the Horror Writers Association who would like to read my essay for final ballot consideration (which closes February 15th) you can find it online at Academia.edu. Note: if there is a big ad in the way taking up the screen, just hit the X at the top right. Academia.edu is silly that way.
New Issue of Exotica Moderne
Issue fourteen of Exotica Moderne is now out!
Celebrating my newest publication with a Death & Co. inspired Mai Tai
This issue contains my interview with New Zealand stockings/pinup model Miss Corsair Debonair and it can be purchased at the House of Tabu website.
Things in the Well Closing Shop
Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP:
Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.
Highlander Call for Papers
Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.
If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of.
Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP
Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.
Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.
General Neo-Peplum News
Rest in Peplum
Monica Vitti, who stared in many, many Italian auteur films, passed away at the age of 90 (article at CNN.com).
She starred in the Medieval peplum/comedy film On My Way to the Crusades,I Met a Girl Who… which is also known as The Chastity Belt.
The Sword and the Sorcerer Release
Shout Factory announced they are doing a 4K/Blu-ray release of the Albert Pyun sword and sorcery film, The Sword and the Sorcerer, which is slated for a March 15th release.
***OFFICIAL EXTRAS ANNOUNCEMENT***
THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER UHD, coming March 15th, has extras worthy of a princess. (🧵)
I actually have not seen this film since most older releases are way OOP so you better believe I pre-ordered this. Side note: I dig Albert Pyun films, with Cyborg and Nemesis being my favorites.
Zeus Super Bowl Commerical
I’m always down for some neo-peplum commercials (anyone remember the Gladiator/Jif one from last year?)
Per Cinema Blend, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek will star as Zeus and Hera respectively in a series of Super Bowl ads for BMW.
Recent Acquisitions
I love buying art prints and getting commissions done when at comic books cons. I’ve made lots of friends over the years going to cons and I’ve accumulated quite a bit of art!
I was only passingly familiar with Les Edwards, due to him doing the cover art of Hero Quest, but I am certain I’ve seen his sword and sorcery artwork in other places. Recently, I am not sure where, but I saw his art piece, TheInvocation, and I was just mesmerized by it. Simply a beautiful piece. Yes, there is a naked lady featured prominently, but the sky in the background – I am always in awe in powerful skies. When I see a cloud filled sky, be it ominous with storm clouds or full of huge, puffy white ones, I get that feeling of “something big is coming.” TheInvocation does that.
Anywho, turns out Edwards has a website and sells prints of his work. So, I ordered a print of TheInvocation.
Even autographed to me. I love it.
On Sunday Michele and I went to Half Price Books (we had not been in a while) to scour material for some of our respective projects.
I may double dipped on that Historic Epics boxset, but if I did, it’s in an inaccessible box. For sure though I didn’t have that Hail, Caesar! soundtrack. Coen Brothers films usually have fantastic soundtracks, and since Hail, Caesar! is a fantastic neo-peplum and one of the source films that launched The New Peplum, I had to pluck it up.
Our first episode of January on New Maps of Dream will go up later today (instead of yesterday). We got two stories we will be examining. Our Transmissions episode will go up as usual at the end of the month and we are interviewing three folks from the anthology. Tune in to that episode when it drops for even more news.
Things in the Well Closing Shop
Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP:
Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.
Highlander Call for Papers
Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.
If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of.
Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP
Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.
Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.
General Neo-Peplum News
Rest in Peplum Mark Forest
Stalwart sword and sandal veteran Mark Forest passed away at the age of 89 (article at Ansa). Along with the likes of Steve Reeves, Alan Steel, Reg Park, and Ed Fury, Forest literally and figuratively carried classic Italian pepla on his back.
He appeared in numerous historic epics:
The Egyptian (1954)
Goliath and the Dragon (1960)
Son of Samson (1960)
Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961)
Colossus of the Arena (1962)
Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (1963)
Hercules Against the Mongols (1963)
Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964)
The Lion of Thebes (1964)
Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964)
The Magnificent Gladiator (1964)
Kindar the Invulnerable (1965)
The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules (1964)
Rest in Peplum Matt Jacobs
I received news that artist and comic book illustrator Matt Jacobs passed away back in December.
Matt holding a drawing he did of Jason Voorhees in Michele’s sketchbook.
I’ve had the honour to know Matt since the early 2010s. He was a staple to the various Los Angeles and surrounding area comic book conventions, typically present at the Fanbase Press booth. He did the illustrations to one of their early comics, The Arcs, which is also his contribution to the neo-peplum genre. He was fun to talk with, especially about gory horror films.
He was a versatile dude, doing projects for Faith No More and Howard Stern. His art can still be seen on his Instagram account. He did this incredible sketch on an Army of Darkness blank cover as a gift to me back in 2014.
Can you spot all the cameos?
I have not seen Matt for a couple years, he kinda feel off the radar and stopped showing up to conventions. I only just found out via Fanbase Press that he passed away. He will be missed.
I’ve aggregated all my 2021 accomplishments on this post while also listing projects I expect to realize in this new year. I thank the folks who have supported me or provided me platforms immensely.
H. P. Lovecast Transmissions Episode
Our last episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast for 2021 is online!
Thumbnail by Michele Brittany
This is our monthly transmissions episode where we interview a few folks. In this episode we interview Jennifer Barnes, Lee Murray, and Rena Mason about their work with Attack from the ’80s. The episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or your podcast app of preference.
AnnRadCon CFP is Closed
The CFP for the 5th Annual Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference at StokerCon 2022 has now closed. Thank you to all who submitted abstracts. Michele and I will be going over them during the first two weeks of January and sending out acceptances.
Highlander CFP
When one CFP closes another one opens!
Adrian Paul has way more charisma than Christopher Lambert.
Michele has a CFP that just opened on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays about 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
Recently I scored two Black Emanuelle vinyls from Light in the Attic records and it got me really nostalgic.
Two Black Emanuelle vinyls I procured. I just need a record player!
I grew up with the Sylvia Kristel Emmanuelle films and got into the Laura Gemser Black Emanuelle films when I started studying Italian genre films when I was working on my masters. One of my bucket list items has been to do a book on the Emmanuelle films and their various knock offs, sequels, and so on because no such book exists. I think it’s time to bite the bullet and get the process going for this project.
Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I’ll be publishing an official CFP for essays on Emmanuelle, Emanuelle, and the other Emmanuelles out there. 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!
Things in the Well Closing Shop
Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP.
Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.
General Neo-Peplum News
Bible Films Blog: Once Upon a Time in Bethlehem
Matt Page has a new review up at his Bible Films Blog.
It’s on the 2019 Italian Biblical neo-peplum film titled Once Upon a Time in Bethlehem. Page’s write up can be read at his blog.
Severin Caligula Releases
Severin Films is releasing two Italian porno-pepla in February.
The first is Joe D’Amato’s 1982 film Caligula: The Untold Story and the second is Bruno Mattei’s 1981 Caligula and Messalina. Severin is offering quote a few options on pre-ordering these films:
Yours truly, of course, has already pre-ordered these. Expect essays later on!
Born of Blood Comic
I only learned about this comic because it appeared in an update email from another peplum comic I contributed to on Kickstarter. Of course, upon discovery, it has 40 hours left of its campaign, so by the time this news post goes up it will have ended. Regardless, a newish publisher called Merc Magazine is putting out a neo-peplum comic called Born of Blood.
Sorah Suhng cover
Mike Krome virgin cover
It looks like Born of Blood was previewed in prior published comics of Merc Magazine, Miss Meow and Deathrage, so I am a bit out of the loop of plot. Looking at the cover art, I see lots of Spartan imagery, so I am definitely intrigued.
As an aside, there has been a great uptick in what I call “pandemic peplum” comics appearing on Kickstarter. I have interviewed many of those creators already at my website:
Not to mention many others I’ve Kickstarted as well that I either have not written about or haven’t received yet: Gilgamesh Eternal #1, Teoatl, and Aztlan.
Anywho, I hope once I get Born of Blood 01, maybe I can do a review or interview the team behind it. But it’s so curious that so many sword and sandal crowdfunded comics have come out since the pandemic began.
I put in monies to get two versions of the first issue: a cover by Sorah Suhng and a virgin cover by Mike Krome. As you can see above, they look really sweet!
