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News Roundup 2024-12-22

Personal / Website News

Review: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore

One more article up here at the website before 2024 ends and I am going out talking to what I believe is the video game of the year: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore.

Slipcase of Arzette with an xbox case poking out from it. Next to it is a CD version of Arzette in a sleeve as well. The cover is pink. It depicts Arzette slashing her sword. Behind her are various characters from the game, culled from the game's cut scenes.
Personal copy of Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore on Xbox. The packaging mimics that of a CD-i game.

I had pre-ordered this game from Limited Run thinking it would be a fun little CD-i Zelda curio, but it turned out to be a fantastic adventure/Metroidvania that I could not put the controller down (I beat the game across all difficulties in just a few days). I loved this game and I hope you check out my write up about it here.

Fan2Fan Podcast Appearances

The cool kids at the Fan2Fan Podcast have dropped two episodes that I am a guest on.

First there is the episode “Nick Diak Recommends“.

Square image thats used as a thumbnail for the podcast episode. The picture depicts a row of horror VHS covers such as Army of Darkness, They Live, Dead Alive, lien, V/H/S/2. The thumbnail says: F2F taff Picks. New Pan2Fan Podcast Episode! Nick Diak Staff Recommends. fanpodcast.com.
Thumbnail for Fan2Fan Episode of Nick Diak – Staff recommends.

Nick Diak's Movie Recommendations – Fan2Fan Podcast

And then there is an episode of me reminiscing about Scarecrow Video in Seattle back in the 2000s.

Square thumbnail for the podcast episode. The image shows a black and white photo (but the letters are in yellow) of the Scarecrow Video sign above the entrance to the store. It says "F2f New Fan2Fan Podcast Episode! Found 1988. Scarecrow Video. Leading the way for video in a digital age. Fanpodcast.com.
Thumbnail for Fan2Fan Episode about Scarecrow Video.

Scarecrow Video with Nick Diak – Fan2Fan Podcast

These episodes can be streamed via the links above, or the embedded players, or through your favorite Podcast App. Check them out!

Sincere appreciation to the Fan2Fan crew for having me on their podcast.

Vilioti Noir

Sincerely chuffed to find myself name dropped in the new book Vilioti Noir: Interviews with the World’s Greatest Neo-Noir Creatives. What an honour!

Cover shows a pinup girl/femme fatale. She has nylon elbow length gloves, a dress with red sequins, and is pointing a gun. She has black hair and is standing in front of a red curtain.
Cover for Vilioti Noir.

The book is the brain child of Lady Medusa and Jimmy Vargas. I’ve reviewed Vargas’ fiction in an issue of Exotica Moderne, and I’ve reviewed Medusa/Vargas’ prior collaboration, Vilioti Vintage, right here at my website. Give it a read!

Thank you page. Lady Medusa and Jimmy Vargas list lots of folks to thank. Vargas has me listed. Sincere appreciation!
Thank you page from Vilioti Noir.

I don’t think Vilioti Noir is out in the wild for purchase yet, but when it is, it will probably be found at the Vilioti Press website.

Citation News

The New Peplum has been cited in Ronald Blankenborg’s essay “The Wide Canvas of human Drama: Fantasizing Antiquity Through Graphic Novel” in the open source/access journal Thersites.

Journal cover. White background. There are two images on the cover contains in circles: one is of two roman statues pained in rainbow colors and the other are statues in various poses with balls around them. It's vaporware looking. The Cover says: Journal for Transcultural Presences & Diachronic Identities from Antiquity to Date. Thersites 12/2024. Matthias Heinemann, Adrian Weiss, & Christine Walde (eds.). Fantastic antiquities and where to find them: ancient worlds in (post-)modern novels. www.thersites-journal.de.
Cover of Thersites 19/2024.

The essay can be read here – check it out!

McFarland Holiday Sale

Did you miss out on McFarland’s Black Friday sale of 35% off books? Well, worry not for the publisher is still doing an online sale, though at 20% off instead of 35% off. Still a great deal! During check out, use code HOLIDAY24 to get 20% off your order.

If you want to support me, consider buying a copy of The New Peplum or Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern:

The New Peplum book. The cover is a scene from the Rock version of Hercules - it shows Hercules and his companions and small army behind him.
Cover art for The New Peplum

New Peplum McFarland Page

Cover is black and red. The black is a spooky person in a hooded cloak surrounded by silhouettes of trees. Behind the figure is a red light.
Cover of Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern: Critical Essays.

Horror Literature McFarland Page

If you want to support Michele, consider buying James Bond and Popular Culture and Horror in Space: Critical Essays (I have essays in both):

Cover shows Sean Connery as Bond, holding his Walther PPK and a martini. Behind him is a swirl of the gun barrel.
Cover of James Bond and Popular Culture.

James Bond McFarland Page

Cover is a frame from the movie Jason X where it shows Jason walking through a circular hallway on a space station.
Cover for Horror in Space.

Horror in Space McFarland Page

If you’re interested in another book that I have an essay in, consider The Many Lives of the Twilight Zone and Uncovering Stranger Things:

Cover depicts a white door that is open and there is a swirl going on in it. The door stands by itself on a grassy area. Behind it is airspace with stars and planets.
Cover of The Many Lives of The Twilight Zone: Essays on the Television and Film Franchise.

Twilight Zone Product Page

Cover shows the silhouettes of four kids on bikes, with a dark and stormy road going to the horizon. Beneath them are x-mas lights.
Cover for Uncovering Stranger Things.

Uncovering Stranger Things McFarland Page

A Hero Will Endure Paperback Relese + Discount

Vernon Press, the publisher of A Hero Will Endure: Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of Gladiator, has just released a cheaper, paperback version of the book, just in time for Gladiator 2!

Cover for A Hero Will Endure. It shows a ghostly blue arm running through an orange field of wheat (or some other agricultural plant).
A Hero Will Endure.

The paperback is at the much more friendly price of $57 compared to $96 for the hardcover and $107 for an electronic version. All editions of the book can be found at the Vernon Press product page.

In addition, the publisher is offering a coupon on purchases of the collection! From now until the end of January 2025, if you use code SLZM30 at check out, you’ll get 30% off the title. So, the $57 book now becomes $39.99. Nice!

ECOF 2025

In September of 2025 there will be an Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship (ECOF) event down in Willcox, AZ. This event is to celebrate the 150th birthday of Burroughs while also honoring him with a plaque in the town due to his stationing with there the 7th U.S. Calvary in the 1890s. (Note: another ERB convention was held in Willcox back in 2019 and an event recap of that can be read at ERBZine #7059).

Here is a flyer for the 2025 event:

The flyer shows desert mountains with three insert images: one of a young Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1896, one of the author Jeffrey J. Mariotte (who is the guest of honour), and one of the Willcox train depot in the 1880s. The flyer reads was follows: Edgar Rice Burroughs ERB Inc.'s Commemoration of ERB's 150th Birthday! 7th Cavalry Historical Monument Celebration Willcox, AZ, September 25-28, 2025. Formal Dedication on September 27th, 2025. Sponsored by the Suplher Springs Valley Historical Society and the Arizona Apache Deveils Chapter of the Burroughs Bibliophiles.
Flyer for the Edgar Rice Burroughs Circle of Friendship (ECOF) Gathering in Willcox, AZ 2025.

I’ll share more information about the event as I find out more on my website updates. There currently is a fundraiser going on to raise funds for the ERB plaque, and details for that can be found in the QR code in the above graphic, or by checking out the donation page at the Sulphur Springs Valley Valley Historical Society. 3.8K of 5K has been raised already. 

Michele and I will be in attendance for this convention, so I’ve added it to the appearances section of my website as well. 

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2024.

Cover of the journal portrays a scene from John Carter's Mars. There is a multi-armed green skinned alien holding a spear riding atop of a multi-legged blue mount that looks like a horse and a brontosaurus? Next to them is Woola, a puppy-like alien with 10 legs. They are on the martian landscape which is very orange.
National Capital Panthans Journal #326.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #326.

Cover shows a scene from a John Carter moment. There is a free multi-armed alien atop a blue steed. There are robots on spider legs firing weapons. There are round domed buildings that dot the rocky landscape.
National Capital Panthans Journal #327.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#2″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #327.

Cover art by Mark Wheatley. It shows Tarzan atop a barren tree trunk, pulling the string on a bow.
National Capital Panthans Journal #328.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus: The Flames Beyond#3″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #328.

Cover is called "Stand with Thoris" by Mark Wheatley. It shows Dejah Thoris wearing a dress and holding a long sword in her right hand. There is a domed building in the distance.
National Capital Panthans Journal #329.

Comic Book Review: “Carson of Venus / Warlord of Mars #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #329.

Cover shows a sail boat, manned by three folks, on a green sea against a pink sky.
National Capital Panthans Journal #330.

“Wondercon 2019 Coverage: Tarzan, John Carter, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.: What’s New?” reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #330.

Cover of Panthans Journal #331 done by Mark Wheatley. It shows Carson from the Venus stories, jumping through the air, firing his laser pistol down at a group of savage barbarians who are armed with bows.
Panthans Journal #331

Comic Book Review: “The Moon Maid: Catacombs of the Moon #1″ reprinted in the National Capital Panthans Journal #331.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Some fun things and shout outs from these past few weeks. I shared a lot of autographed swag on Bluesky, so I’m going to reshare them here.

Forgotten Realms Campaign Boxset

Last year I shared the tale of how my Local Comic Book Store back in Federal Way had Jeff Grubb as a customer and did a meet-n-greet and signing event with him. I shared that Grubb has signed one of my Forgotten Realms modules, “Endless Armies”. That recap can be read here.

Box with a gold cover. It shows a nomadic warrior on horseback. It is signed "Enjoy! Jeff Grubb".
Forgotten Realms Campaign setting boxset signed by Jeff Grubb.

Grubb signed lots of other stuff from Michele and I. One of the other items he signed was my Forgotten Realms campaign boxset. Check that bad boy out! And I still have everything in it too!

Space Truckers DVD

Someone on Bluesky did a post that shared their adoration of the Stuart Gordon movie Space Truckers (1996), which afforded me the perfect opportunity to share my autographed copy of the film.

Standard black DVD case. Very red cover. Cover shows Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff, and Debi Mazar in space helmets. There are red stars and space explosions everywhere.
Personal copy of Space Truckers signed by Stuart Gordon.

I’ve shared my autographed copy of RobotJox (1990) before (link here), but I never talked about how we met Gordon (RIP). He was a guest at a Monsterpalooza event in the LA Area, and here is a picture of all of us. He will be missed!

Stuart Gordon stands in the middle, arms around Nick and Michele. Behind them is a hotel conference room lobby with vendors selling movie memorabilia.
Nicholas Diak, Michele Brittany, and Stuart Gordon.

Cherry 2000 DVD

The 80s gave us lots of cyberpunk films, from Bladerunner to Akira to Max Headroom. Cherry 2000 is, I feel, a forgotten film of 80s cyberpunk. I have a copy of the DVD signed by cult actor Tim Thomerson and Connie Woods.

Standard black DVD case. Cover shows a red haired Melanie Griffith holding a large rifle. There is a big sun behind her and a red, desert landscape. In Black it is signed "Nick - Tim Thomerson" and in Silver it is signed "To Nick, Love Connie Woods".
Personal copy of Cherry 2000 signed by Tim Thomerson and Connie Woods.

Connie Woods was in an episode of the original run of Twin Peaks. I met her at Twin Peaks reunion at a Hollywood Collector’s show where she signed my DVD:

Nicholas Diak (left) wearing glassing, a grey shirt over another grey shirt. Connie Woods has a white shirt and brown hair.
Nicholas Diak and Connie Woods.

Italian Sexy Comedy

A book from the collection, here is Italian Sexy Comedy. This book is 99% pictures from Italian sex-comedy films, so stockings everywhere. I love it.

But, I also love it in that its shore foreword is pretty informative in talking about how Italian horror films faved the way for the sex comedies. This actually become a big point in my masters thesis back in the day.

Cover shows a portly man next to a black hair woman who is only wearing white panties, white garters, and black stockings.
Personal copy of Italian Sexy Comedy.

My book is also signed by starlet Barbara Bouchet!

Photo in the book. Barbara Bouchet stands in a door frame. She is wearing only a white bra and white panties. In silver marker it is signed "To Nick with Love - Barbara Bouchet".
Barbara Bouchet page from Italian Sexy Comedy signed by the actress.

Victoria Vetri Autographs

A couple months ago I sent off my Blu-ray sleeves of When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) and Kings of the Sun (1963) to Hammer Glamour lady Victoria Vetri, and I just got them back. Check them out!

Standard Blu-ray case. Shows the movie's poster - which shows a dinosaur eating a woman, a blonde cavewoman holding a spear, people dancing around a fire. In blue marker it is signed "Sanna - Victoria Vetri".
Blu-ray of “When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth” signed by Victoria Vetri.

And:

Kings of the Sun Blu-ray, which shows the poster of the movie. It has Yul Brynner dressed as a Native American, thrusting a spear at George Chakiris, who is wearing armor and a leopard print cape and wielding a sword. Behind them is a titanic Mayan pyramid with multiple skirmishes of soldiers about. In blue sharpie it is signed in the top center "Victoria Vetri".
Kings of the Sun Blu-ray autographed by Victoria Vetri.

Since one film is a spear and fang movie and the other a Mesoamerican Historic Epic, Michele and I will probably wind up talking about them on a vidcast next year.

The Children of Gla’aki

Finally, one more sharing of autographed loot from the archives, is my copy of The Children of Gla’aki.

Cover shows Gla'aki. It looks kinda of like a turtle crossed with a porcupine. It has need like teeth. There's lots of tentacles coming off of its spine body, each one has an eye at the end.
Children of Gla’aki cover.

My copy is signed by the legendary Ramsey Campbell:

Title page of the book. In black (or dark purple?) ink it is signed "Very far to Nicholas! Ramsey Campbell" (It may say something else, but it is kinda a scribble).
Children of Gla’aki title page signed by Ramsey Campbell.

And the prolific Tim Waggoner:

First page of Tim Waggoner's story "The Nature of Water". In black ink it is signed "To Nick - water water everywhere... - Tim Waggoner"
Tim Waggoner’s story signed by the author.

If folks recall, Michele and I rebooted the HP Lovecast Podcast talking about stories from this book. That episode can be streamed at this link, the embedded player below, or through your podcast app of preference.

Ep 26 – The Children of Gla'aki – H. P. Lovecast Podcast

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News

Biweekly News Roundup 2023-09-24

Personal / Website News

General Things Going On

As usual, lots of stuff going on behind the scenes. A small recap of things I am juggling:

  • Book reviews galore. I overcommitted myself to reviews I need to dig myself out of.
  • Michele and I are judges for an upcoming film festival, so we’ve been watching lots of short films for it.
  • Submitting the Emmanuelle proposal to publishers.
  • Next HP Lovecast Podcast episode will be an interview with Angela Sylvaine about her debut novel Frost Bite.
  • Will be a guest on a few upcoming Fan2Fan podcast episodes.
  • Next Scholars from the Edge of Time episode will be on Ironmaster.
  • Work has gotten hectic with project management work and implementations.
  • Other essay projects on the to do list I keep deprioritizing to get above items done.

Ooof. I’ll get my desk cleared off. Someday. I hope. It’s nice to get things done, but I need to manage better and learn to say no.

Book Review: The Scourge Between Stars

It’s been a bit since I published something here at my website. To break the spell I’ve done a book review on Ness Brown’s space horror novella, The Scourge Between Stars.

My review can be read here.

Michele and I also had the honor to interview Ness on our H. P. Lovecast Podcast. That episode can be streamed here.

Publishing Recap

Below is a recap of my publishing endeavors so far in 2023.

Published in February, this collection contains my essay “Dance or Dēcēdere: Gladiator and Industrial Music Sampling.”

Vernon Press Product Page

Published in May, this issue of Weird Tales contains my essay “When the Stars are Right.”

Weird Tales Product Page

Published in late March, the first issue of the zine Footage Fiends, contains my essay “Analisi Della Cosa: Found Footage in Caltiki and Italian Theater Going Practices.”

Limited to 50 physical copies.

Order via Patreon.

Published in early August, Dark Dead Things #2 contains my essay “Correlating the Contents: Mimetic Desire in H. P. Lovecraft’s ‘The Call of Cthulhu’.”

Order via Dark Dead Thingswebsite.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

Peplum Acquisitions

I did it. After watching G2: Mortal Conquest and doing a Scholars at the Edge of Time vidcast about it, I went out and bought a copy of The Swordsman 2: Gladiator Cop off eBay.

Oh yes, expect a podcast or an essay or a review – a something! – about this magnificent bastard of a film.

Autograph Stuff

Here are some of the autographed treasures I shared on social media these past two weeks.

First is the xbox game Darks of Days.

Michele and I saw this game demoed at PAX 2009? Around there. We have a shirt in a box somewhere. It’s an underrated time travel FPS game. It mostly takes place during the Civil War, but also WW1 and WW2, with a concentration camp scene being especially harrowing. The ending of the game is totally neo-peplum and totally epic: you’re back in Pompeii as Mt. Vesuvius is erupting. You got future armor and gun and you can just mow down Roman soldiers as folks run about. It is hectic and chaotic. Calls for an essay someday that’s for sure.

Way back then I contacted the developers, 8Monkey Labs, if they would autograph my copy. They said sure, I snail mailed it to them, and voila, here it is.

Next up is one of my most prized possessions, an Arkham House publication, Nameless Places, signed by author Gary Myers, Ramsey Campbell, and over artist Tim Kirk.

Gary is an old friend who has been a big inspiration to me for writing and getting into Lovecraft, especially the Dreamlands. I will never not plug his work when I can (check out his collection Country of the Worm!!!). Campbell I met at StokerCon 2018. Kirk I met at a Vintage Paperback Show in Glendale. He did a doodle in my book and its adorbs.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2022-03-06

Personal / Website News

Troy Director’s Cut Boxset Unboxing

New article up at my website, right here!

I plucked up the Troy Director’s Boxset from Zia’s Records in December and was nostalgic back to the 2000s when I was hardcore collecting DVDs and special editions. Since folks seem to like unboxing articles and seeing contents inside of stuff, I did one for the Troy boxset. Check it out here.

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.

Emmanuelle 2

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.

Upcoming Website Articles

Believe it or not, I have two interviews I’ve conducted that I’ll be publishing at my website over the next two weeks. That makes three weeks in a row of non-weekly news roundups for this website! Prepare to mark your calendars.

Matthew Page
D. J. Kirkbride

On Wednesday March 9th my interview with Matthew Page about his upcoming book, 100 Bible Films, will be published here. The following week my interview with D. J. Kirkbride on the trade paperback release of his comic series, Errand Boys, will go online. I also have some other mini-essays/interviews in the works, so stay tuned!

General Neo-Peplum News

Supporting Isidora #3

G.A. Lungaro, author of the Lovecraft/neo-peplum comic series Isidora (see my interview with Lungaro on issue 1, or check out my unboxing of issue 2) is selling new merch at his web store to help fund the production of Isidora #3.

Items include the Cute Cthulhu Collection – stickers of Lovecraftian monsters cute-ified. He will also be exploring NFTs later on. For now, check out the website at darthdaddylunga.com.

John Carter Video Game Kickstarter

In big sword and planet news, a Kickstarter to create a John Carter FPS video game has been launched by Sci-Fi-London.

Promotional image provided courtesy of Louis Savy from Sci-Fi-London.

The game is in development right now and has some promising aspects, a big one being relocating John Carter to a WW2 setting and having him a spy in the employ of Ian Fleming! Aside from the Kickstarter proper, news for the game can be found on the official game social media accounts at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube. Right now it’s only for PC release, but cross fingers for a console version.

Adrastea Kickstarter

Another Kickstarter to take a look at is for the graphic novel Adrastea.

Image from the Kickstarter. Looks like a kick-ass Cyclops to me.

The campaign’s flavor text describes it as such:

Blessed or cursed with Immortality, the ageless king of Hyperborea wakes up from a millennium of self-imposed oblivion, having watched his kingdom crumble to time, along with all those he has ever loved. He decides to travel to Mount Olympus where he will confront the gods to ask why he was burdened with such an affliction and how he can end it. The journey will be long and treacherous and filled with unimaginable men and beasts of lore, but he has no fear of harm and all the time in the world…

The graphic novel is by Mathieu Bablet and published by Magnetic.

Gladiatrix Comic

Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, the masterminds behind the neo-peplum film Immortals and animated series Blood of Zeus are coming out with a new graphic novel called Gladiatrix. Screen Rant has some preview pages of the comic.

Ultimate List of Greek Mythology Films

Over at Bored Panda, writers Miglė Ivanauskaitė and Melanie Gervasoni list out the best Greek mythology pepla and neo-pepla. Not all these films are Greek Myth in origin, but regardless, their list (45 titles!) and order is as follows:

  1. The Odyssey (1997)
  2. Troy (2004) (note: see above or here for my unboxing!)
  3. Jason And The Argonauts (1962)
  4. 300 (2006)
  5. The 300 Spartans (1962)
  6. Immortals (2011)
  7. Hercules (1997)
  8. Wonder Woman (2017)
  9. Clash of the Titans (2010)
  10. Wrath of the Titans (2012)
  11. Spartacus (1960)
  12. Hercules (2014)
  13. Agora (2009)
  14. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
  15. Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (2013)
  16. 300: Rise Of An Empire (2014)
  17. Minotaur (2006)
  18. The Legend Of Hercules (2014)
  19. Alexander (2004)
  20. Helen Of Troy (1956)
  21. Iphigenia (1977)
  22. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
  23. Spartacus (2004)
  24. Ulysses (1967)
  25. The Trojan Women (1971)
  26. Oedipus The King (1986)
  27. Antigone (1961)
  28. Orpheus (1950)
  29. Goliath And The Dragon (1960)
  30. Electra (1962)
  31. Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
  32. Medea (1969)
  33. Black Orpheus (1959)
  34. Oedipus Rex (1957)
  35. Hercules In New York (1970)
  36. Oedipus Mayor (1996)
  37. The First King (2019)
  38. Helena (1924)
  39. Hercules The Invincible (1964)
  40. Hercules (1983)
  41. Young Hercules (1998)
  42. Hercules and Xena (1998)
  43. The Fury Of Hercules (1962)
  44. Pygmalion (1938)
  45. The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2022-02-13

Personal / Website News

New Episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast

A brand new episode of H. P. Lovecast Podcast is now online!

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

In this episode we discuss the space horror comic series Caliban, written by Garth Ennis (The Boys, Preacher) and art by Facundo Percio. This episode can be streamed at our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

Tiki Melange Article

It has been a while, but I have a new article at my website – a cocktail article!

It’s about the Tiki Melange cocktail that can be found in the comic book Jasper’s Starlight Tavern. It’s not a good comic or drink but I had fun writing about it. The article can be read here.

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

Tarzan and the Lion of Judah

Tarzan is not a peplum property, but he is a strong man that shares imagery with a majority of sword and sandal protagonists, and he was also in the peplum novel, Tarzan and the Lost Empire, so I am counting this news as peplum-adjacent.

Cover art provided by Gary A. Buckingham

Gary A. Buckingham (Tarzan: Untamed Frontiers) is publishing a new Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. authorized book titled Tarzan and the Lion of Judah. The book contains eight stories and is available in a variety of editions: an autographed sketch letter edition with a Dan Parson Remarque for $175, an autographed limited numbered edition for $118, and a trade edition with a signed bookplate for $56. Tarzan and the Lion of Judah is slated to be released this June. For more information or ordering details, contact Buckingham at gbucking2@yahoo.com.

Recent Acquisitions

Scholar Rocky Colavito brought to my attention a magazine called The Lost Films Fanzine. The zine is focused not strictly on lost films, but films that were supposed to get made, but for a variety of reasons, did not.

Issue eight of the zine prominently features on the cover a movie called Hercules Against the Gods, with Hercules fighting a giant dragon-dinosaur-looking monster. So, of course, I had to order this.

The article, citing Peplum TV, suspects that the unmade Hercules Against the Gods film was actually, more or less, filmed, but it became The Vengeance of Hercules. It’s a fun read that gives a glimpse into the American process of importing and rejiggering Italian films for state-side audiences.

During the week Michele and I took a trip to Zia’s since she was procuring some Highlander releases. I plucked up a used copy of the Dragonheart collection. I had seen the first movie long, long ago but never any of the sequels. I’ve heard of them, and also heard that their quality is extremely lacking. But, I have a soft spot for franchise continuations (I stand by the Scanner Cop movies are legit awesome) so I decided to buy this set. It’s sword and sorcery, with the first movie having shades of Arthurian-peplum, so I’m interested.

Powerslave: Exhumed was just released digitally last week and I bought it off the Xbox marketplace and have been playing it off an on. I was a huge PC gamer in the 90s, and I still love classic DOS style FPS like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. Powerslave looks to have been released at the height of Doom clones, but I had never heard of it before (I may have seen it in a PC Gamer mag?). Regardless, it’s old school and its Egyptian antiquity (thus: neo-peplum!). I am a bit into the game and its…… I dunno. I really want to like it, but it has some questionable mechanics (no reticle, so it’s hard to hit airborne enemies), way too much platforming for a faux 3D FPS, and it is extremely, extremely cryptic at what you need to do to progress. Aside from that, I like the 90s charm and the soundtrack is banging.

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News

News Roundup W/E 2021-10-24

Personal / Website News

Gold Ninja Video’s Fury of Achilles Write Up

I recently interviewed Justin Decloux about his release of Fury of Achilles via his Gold Ninja Video imprint.

Copy 77 of 500!

I’ve compiled his responses with my impressions into a nice write up of the Blu-ray. It can be read here. I strongly encourage purchasing a copy of the Blu-ray, it’s limited to 500 numbered copies.

H. P. Lovecast Podcast

New episode of the H. P. Lovecast Podcast is now online! In this episode Michele and I talk about “Every Hole in the Earth We Will Claim As Our Own” by Gemma Files and “Eye of the Beholder” by Nancy Kilpatrick both from the Dark Regions Press published, Lynne Jamneck edited anthology, Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror.

Thumbnail by Michele Brittany

This episode can be streamed from our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

McFarland Horror Book Sale

McFarland Publishing is doing a promotion during October for their horror books: if you use the code SPOOKY25 during check out, you’ll get a 25% discount.

There are three books I am involved with that are part of this promotion:

This is a great opportunity to pluck these books up!

Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference CFP

The CFP for the 2022 AnnRadCon is now LIVE! Open until the end of December, AnnRadCon 2022 will be hybrid, both online and in person. The CFP can be found at the AnnRadCon page at the StokerCon website. Please share far and wide!

Michele at HWA Halloween Haunts

Michele has an article up at the Horror Writer Association’s website for their Halloween Haunts series going through the month of October.

Thumbnail created by the HWA.

Michele’s article is a “how to” feature called “How To Make a Spooky Zig Zaggy Mini Halloween Journal.” There is a contest open as well: if you leave a comment (you don’t need to be an HWA member) you have a chance to win the journals Michele made.

General Neo-Peplum News

History of the World Part 2

Looks like a sequel to Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I is in the works! Per this article at Variety, it sounds like it will be a series on Hulu with Brooks writing and producing.

For those curious, Tatiana Prorokova writes extensively about History of the World: Part I in her essay “Laughing at the Body: The Imitation of Masculinity in Peplum Parody Films” that appears in The New Peplum.

Women in Classical Video Games Cover Reveal

Bloomsbury will be releasing a new book called Women in Classical Video Games edited by Jane Draycott and Kate Cook. Here is the cover reveal:

Salomé Footage Found

Per an article at Benzinga, 2 minutes of footage of the 1918 lost, porto-peplum film Salomé has been found.

Theda Bara in Salomé.
Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-08-08

Personal / Website News

Podcast News

H. P. Lovecast Podcast kicks off its King in Yellow August with a brand new episode. Live now is our deep dive into two short stories from the brand new anthology from Hippocampus Press, Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign: “The Yellow Crown” by Carol Gyzander and “Found and Lost” by Meghan Arcuri. The episode can be streamed on our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.

In other podcast news, Michele and I were interviewed by Brenda S. Tolian and Joy Yehle for their Burial Plot Horror Podcast. This episode will be published later on, but I strongly encourage a listen to their catalog of episodes which can be found at their Buzzspout website or via your podcast app of preference.

Exotica Moderne #12

The newest issue of Exotica Moderne is now out! This issue contains my write up of the video game The Touryst. So far, I have still be in all issues of Exotica Moderne, and I hope to keep it up.

The issue can be ordered from the House of Tabu website. The product page can be found here.

Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association Conference

I have been accepted to present a paper at the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association conference in November. My paper is titled “Victory over Valhalla: Violence via Vikings Sampling in Acylum’s Kampf Dem Verderb” and continues my research of industrial bands that sample peplum/historic epic texts into their music. This will be the first time presenting at MAPACA, thought I have presented many years at the SWPACA. I’m excited for the opportunity. Time to get to work on that presentation!

Gladiator Book

On the subject of industrial bands that sample peplum films, the Gladiator book that contains my essay about industrial bands that sample Gladiator, is looking to be published in early 2022. Cross fingers!

General Neo-Peplum News

Drunk Mythology Gals Podcast

Discovered a podcast called Drunk Mythology Gals described as “Two gals spike and spill the divine tea from Olympus to Valhalla.” Their newest episode dropped August 3 and is a second part of a discussion on the Olympics of antiquity.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-07-18

Personal / Website News

The Supernatural Media Virus

Friend, colleague, and AnnRadCon alumni Rahel Sixta Schmitz has their debut book, The Supernatural Media Virus: Virus Anxiety in Gothic Fiction Since 1990, being published by transcript Verlag.

Cover image from the publisher’s website

Schmitz’s book cites her essay, “Mapping Digital ­Dis-Ease: Representations of Movement and Technology in Jim Sonzero’s Pulse and Stephen King’s Cell” and Frazer Lee’s “Koji Suzuki’s Ring: A World Literary Perspective” both of which appeared in Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern: Critical Essays. I am honored to be mentioned in the acknowledgments.

The book can be purchased at the publisher’s website or at any major online bookstore.

Exotica Moderne #12 Cover Reveal

Issue 12 of Exotica Moderne will be out soon! The cover of a Tiki Statue fighting a shark makes me recall Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2:

Exotica Moderne #12 Cover

This issue contains my write up of the video game “The Touryst” published by Shin’en Multimedia. Here’s an interview preview that shows a bit of my article:

I’ll admit, I’m proud of the pictures in this one, they were convoluted to get! I played the game on the Xbox One, which allows screen captures. However, I don’t have a Microsoft cloud storage, so I wound up posting screenshots to Twitter from the Xbox and downloading them from there.

The magazine will be able to be ordered at the issue’s product page at House of Tabu.

General Neo-Peplum News

Dr. Kara Cooney Podcast Appearance

Dr. Kara Cooney will be appearing on The Ozymandias Project: Ancient Office Hours podcast on July 21. Episode listing at their website.

Neo-peplum Short Story Submissions

Black Ink Fiction has an open call for 2-5K neo-peplum short stories for an anthology called Shadows Over Olympus. Details can be found at the publisher’s website.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-06-27

Personal / Website News

Scholars from the Edge of Time

On Thursday Michele and I had our monthly Scholars from the Edge of Time segment on the Voice of Olympus program. In this episode Michele discussed the mummy anthology Spirits Unwrapped while I talked about the classic peplum film Ursus in the Valley of the Lions. The episode can be listened to at Blog Talk Radio.

Peplum Ponderings

I’ve started a new series here at my website called Peplum Ponderings. This is reserved for after I’ve watched a peplum film and I’ve taken notes, as a venue for me to share my informal observations about the film. My first one is online and it is for Ursus in the Valley of the Lions. Expect one later on this week for Messalina.

HWA CFP Board

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) Academics/Non-fiction board has been updated with a few new CFPs:

  • NEPCA – Monstrous in Disney
  • NEPCA – Northeast USA contribution to Monstrous canon
  • Call for chapters for book on horror comics

Details for these CFPs can be found on the board. If you have a CFP yourself that needs to be added, please send an email to annradcon@gmail.com .

General Neo-Peplum News

Physical Release of Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames

The physical version of Dr. Ross Clare’s Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames: Representation, Play, Transmedia will be published next week! The New Peplum is cited many times in this book.

The electronic version is already out while the physical version can be found at the Bloomsbury website.

Band of Warriors #2 Kickstarter News

Samuel G. London has been sending out the Kickstarter rewards for backers of Band of Warriors #1 (which you can read my interview with London here). In a news update for backers, the script for issue #2 is being worked on and the campaign to fund the issue is likely to launch in September. However, there is a cover reveal for issue #2, with art by Federico Avila Corsini:

Follow London on Twitter for more information about this comics.

New Ex Deo Album

Canadian neo-peplum band Ex Deo officially announced on their Facebook page their next album, The Thirteen Years of Nero, will be released on August 27th. They released the first video of the album, “Imperator,” on Youtube.

Categories
News

News Roundup W/E 2021-05-02

Personal / Website News

Podcast News – H. P. Lovecast

Michele and I launched a new program under the H. P. Lovecast banner called H. P. Lovecast Presents: Transmissions. Transmissions is made up of small, 15-20 minute interviews with other authors (or content creators), more-or-less being asked the same six questions. The idea is to have a non-obstructive platform for folks to promote their newest releases. The format is flexible enough to accommodate not only books, but novellas, short stories, collections, and other texts. The idea being that a handful of the 15-20 minute episodes, combined with a one minute reading, are merged together for a longer episode.

Our first episode has interviews with Howard David Ingham and Candace Robinson. The episode can be streamed at Buzzsprout or your podcast platform of preference.

Transmissions is set to air on the final day of each month. If this is a program you’d like to be featured on, feel free to email us at hplovecast@gmail.com and we evaluate.

Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference

If you’ve noticed that lately I have not posted much new content here (such as interviews, essays, etc.) it because for the past month I’ve been neck deep in preparing for the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference, which is part of StokerCon in the latter half of May. In addition to getting my presentation in a row, it’s also being coordinating with the StokerCon chairs, working with the other presenters, lots of emails, and so on. Thankfully, the end is in sight for all the prep work for AnnRadCon (though there is still lots to do for StokerCon proper). So come June you’ll start to see an uptick in new content from your’s truly when StokerCon/AnnRadCon is over.

However, hope to see folks attend StokerCon and also AnnRadCon and support horror academic! The convention is May 20-23rd, and here is the link to register or get more info.

General Neo-Peplum News

The Forgotten City

Modern Storyteller is releasing a neo-peplum game across all major platforms called The Forgotten City.

From the publisher’s website:

The Forgotten City is a mature narrative-driven game, and a re-imagining of the critically acclaimed mod that won a national Writers’ Guild award and racked up over 3 million downloads.

Trapped in a secret underground city during the Roman Empire, twenty-three lost souls cling to life. In this precarious utopia, if one person breaks the mysterious Golden Rule, everyone dies.

As a time-traveller drawn two thousand years into the past, you’ll relive their final moments in an endless loop, exploring and interrogating, and changing the course of the day with each secret you uncover. Only by cleverly exploiting the time loop and making difficult moral choices can you hope to solve this epic mystery.

Here, your decisions matter. The fate of the city is in your hands.

– Modern Storyteller Website

More info can be found at Forgottencitygame.com and the game is already available for preorder.

Rest in Peplum

Olympia Dukakis passed away at the age of 89. She starred in the TV series of Joan of Arc (1999).

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.