Tagged: Horror

AUCTION SITE INVITES CREATORS TO PARTICIPATE TO HELP ARTIST AND WRITER!

AUCTION SITE INVITES CREATORS TO PARTICIPATE TO HELP ARTIST AND WRITER!

http://magick4terri.livejournal.com/


Beloved editor, artist and writer Terri Windling is in need, and we are asking for your help in a fundraising auction to assist her. This auction will combine donations from professionals and fans in an online sale to help Terri through a serious financial crisis.

Terri is the creator of groundbreaking fantasy and mythic art and literature over the past several decades, ranging from the influential urban fantasy series Bordertown to the online Journal of Mythic Arts. With co-editor Ellen Datlow, she changed the face of contemporary short fiction with The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and other award-winning anthologies, including Silver Birch, Blood Moon and The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest. Her remarkable Endicott Studio blog continues to bring music, poetry, art and inspiration to people all over the world.

Terri Windling and her family have been coping with health and legal issues that have drained her financial resources at a critical time. Due to the serious nature of these issues, and privacy concerns for individual family members, we can’t be more specific than that, but Terri is in need of our support. As a friend, a colleague and an inspiration, Terri has touched many, many lives over the years. She has been supremely generous in donating her own work and art to support friends and colleagues in crisis. Now, Terri is in need of some serious help from her community. Who better than her colleagues and fans to rise up to make some magick for her?

Through the next 18 days, we’ll be posting personal offerings from the likes of Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Wendy & Brian Froud, and many more! Besides bidding on these beautiful items, YOU can also post your own skills, services, arts, crafts, or whatever else you’d like to offer for auction! Please see our complete About Us page for FAQ about Terri, the auction process, and other ways to get involved. Thank you!


FORTIER TAKES ON TWIT PUBLISHING’S ‘PULP!’

ALL PULP REVIEWS- By RON FORTIER

PULP!

Edited by Chris Gabrysch

Twit Publishing LLC

213 pages

I make no bones about loving anthologies as I’m a huge fan of the short story format.  And with pulp anthologies of this kind you are bound to find some really amazing nuggets as well as an assortment of lesser quality entries.  Overall, if the number of excellent, fun tales outweighs the bad, you’re in good hands. Which is why it is easy for me to recommend this book edited by Chris Gabrysch as the majority of the twelve included within are truly worth your perusal.

My favorite was easily “A Shot in the Dark” by Peter Michael Rosenberg which features a marvelous protagonist in Cairo based Chief Inspector Walaa Yousesef.  This Egyptian Hercules Poirot won me over from his first appearance revolving around the body of an English photojournalist found crammed in an old cabinet in her hotel room. I hope Rosenberg writes many more cases for this unique detective.

Another enjoyable entry was “Balalaika” by Jennifer Loring.  It deals with vengeful vampire stalking the citizens of an isolated Russian village.  It is well written and haunting in its depiction of rural Russian settlement and the horror visited upon it. Whereas “The Schitzel Connection” by Cyril C. Young Jr. had me in stitches.  It’s a cautionary tale wherein we are warned evolution can easily go backwards instead of forward depending on how much pretzels and beer one consumes.  If you can’t chuckle after reading this, there’s something totally wrong with you.

“Install” by Drew Wilcox is a scary tale of a cable guy’s visit to a very bad address. Horror shorts are hard to do but Wilcox pulls it off and this one really had me flipping pages to get to the end.  Noire crime stories were also well represented with two nifty yarns.  “Smooth as Sharkskin,” by Slade Grayson is a classic crime pulp story and delivers as neatly as its title portents while “My Date with Red,” by Tom Swoffer, is an oddball, highly readable story of a drug dealer scared witless done in a Quentin Tarrentino style.

As this collection is eclectic in subject matter, I was pleased to find “Montana Jack” by Dave P. Fisher, a no-frills classic western tale; truly superb writing.  Another contender for my favorite in this book.  Fisher really should stretch his writing muscles and try a full length western novel.  He’s that good.

And finally there is the fantasy comedy “Whatever Happened to the Dark Lord?” by Frank R. Sjodin that has some really hilarious moments and twists nicely on its own logic.

The remaining four stories did nothing for me at all; obviously not my cup of tea. One, a long crime piece, “Double Take,” by Chris O’Grady was competently written, but in his attempt to mimic other successful hard boiled writers, he completely homogenized his tale so that it comes across bland and spiritless.  Even the toughest, most cynical writers of this genre know you need to inject some melodrama to grease the plot wheels.

So eight out of twelve gives this collection a big thumbs up in my accounting.  Try a copy and let me know if you agree with me.  Or not?

FAMOUS MONSTERS EDITOR INTERVIEWED BY ALL PULP!

Jessie Lilley has been publishing and editing small press magazines for 20+ years. She is the original publisher of the much acclaimed Scarlet Street: The Magazine of Mystery and Horror, Worldly Remains: A Pop Culture Review and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Mondo Cult Magazine and MondoCult.com as well as Editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Jessie is only the fourth editor of FM since it first published back in 1958. Her freelance work has appeared in the pages of Los Angeles’ Valley Scene Magazine and Perth, Australia’s Messenger along with a host of small press publications and websites related to horror films and music.

Jessie also edits biographies, including the memoir GLORIA by Bond-girl Gloria Hendry; an in-depth and candid look at the life of an African-American actress coming up in the extraordinary time known simply as ‘The 60s”. It is currently available at amazon.com. Another project which was completed in the fall of 2009 is the biography of character actor Paul Reed, Sr. by his son Paul, Jr. A delightful remembrance by a loving son and a retelling of the stories his father told him about making a mark in “the business” in early 20th century New York City. Entitled You Grew Up, the book is available from Bear Manor Media and amazon.com. Jessie is currently editing a series of children’s books called Rowdy and Me. The first in the series, Rowdy Comes Home, is due to hit bookstores later this year.

Jessie lives in Santa Cruz County, CA at the top of a hill at the end of the road with her husband, musician David Paul Campbell, four sleek, rescued cats and various, visiting doggies.

AP:  Jessie, first we’d like to welcome you to ALL PULP!  Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to visit.  Before we get into specifics, can you share a bit about yourself, your background and such?

 JL:  it’s my pleasure to talk with you and thanks so much for including me in All Pulp with the likes of such luminaries as Martin Powell. I’m flattered. There really isn’t much to tell. I was brought into this business via the back door, kicking and screaming all the way. Richard Valley, who had dragged me down the rabbit hole with him several times in our 20 year friendship, did it to me again with Scarlet Street. From there, things seemed to just move along to the coveted chair that I hold today. Being Editor of Famous Monsters is truly an unbelievable opportunity for me. Philip Kim flatters me with the position which I’ve held for over a year now.



 AP: You’ve been involved in the Horror arena for some time, including working with such luminaries in the horror magazine field as Forrest J.  Ackerman.  Has the field of horror changed dramatically since you became a part of it, particularly in the magazine arena?  If so, how?


 JL: You know, Forry had names for everyone. Brad Linaweaver was always “pal” and I was Wonder Woman. I was very lucky to have known the man and will always be grateful for the time I was able to spend with him. God, how that man loved his music. A love of all kinds of music was something he and I shared. Between us, we knew more lyrics than my husband. (Laughs) And that’s saying something! But you asked if the horror field has changed since I got into it in 1990. It certainly has. For one thing, the state of the US and world economy has removed 99% of the disposable income folks use to enjoy. These days if you’re making $75K a year, you’re just scraping by so those of us who make a lot less than that are just barely off the streets. The internet seems to have come along at just the right time for the news hungry populace that doesn’t have the extra change for a daily paper, let alone a monthly magazine at anywhere from $6 to $12 a pop. And those lower prices are amazing. I know what it costs to get one of these things printed and as I refuse to print overseas, it costs even more. Advertising has become extremely important to print mags at this point, even more than in decades past. Without the advertising income, a magazine like FM would be in a whole lot of trouble. 

Jessie with Forrest Ackerman

 And of course, the second thing that’s changed regarding the magazine arena is the aforementioned internet. There are countless web-only zines out there spreading the word and most any print mag worth its salt has a website to go with it as well as a forum where, hopefully, the magazine’s readers come to chat about the articles they’ve read and what they’d like to read about in the future.



 That part hasn’t changed. We still want to know what the reader wants information on so we can continue to have those people as readers.


 AP:  Why is horror a popular genre?  More so than most of the others, Horror seems to have a very active, committed community following and supporting it.  Why is that?



 JL: Because it’s fun. Because it’s easier to take than the evening news. Because it brings back memories of our youth, when times were better (they tell me) and life was simpler (they continue to tell me – it wasn’t you know, it just seemed that way because we were kids) and the world was new and fun. Horror helps keep the world fun. In the world we know today, that counts for a whole lot.


AP: Has the fact you’re a woman working in the Horror field been a benefit or hindrance, or maybe even both, in any way?   Do you feel like women contribute something different within Horror that men do and if so, what?


 JL: I get that question a lot and I’ve answered it a lot, but am happy to reiterate my thoughts on the matter for your readership. It’s amazingly important that people get all sides of this story. I seem to be alone in my thoughts here. There are a lot of women who really don’t like what I have to say so brace yourselves. This question always seems to generate a lot of letters.


 I wish to start by saying that my being a woman – and at the time I started in this business a rather comely wench at that (I’m old and fat now) – was never a problem for me.  God knows women have been in publishing for decades and while some may say that what I did in 1990 with Scarlet Street was no big deal because of the likes of Helen Gurley Brown (can’t imagine why they’d lump me into that august company, but there it is), the fact is that at the time I was the only female publisher in the horror market. That didn’t last long but for a short while that’s the way it was. So from the git go, my being a woman was a benefit because it was new. I had a different outlook than the boys did and Richard Valley, as editor, had a far different outlook than the other boys did. By 1990 when we put out issue 1, we were all so tired of the same writers writing the same stuff and commenting about each others’ work that we thought it might be time to shake things up a bit with some different viewpoints. We succeeded in that and after I left SS, Richard continued to shake things up in his own inimitable style. He’s gone now, but the legacy he left changed horror publishing forever and I’m proud to have been associated with that project and with him.


As to the second part of your question – and this is where the letters come from – may I say the answer is an emphatic yes. It’s called the mother instinct. Whether a woman has given birth, adopted or never had children, there is something inherent in the female of the species that nurtures. Men are not natural caregivers. Women are. Also, when it comes to beating on male monsters, women are better at it because it’s part of their natural defense mechanism. It’s the lesson life has taught many of us. Very few people out there are really interested in anyone but themselves. There are both men and women in this world that are out for whatever they can get. Being the “weaker” of the species – in theory, if not in fact – women are aware that men (and women too, let’s be fair here) will take any advantage they can and as a result, while a man meeting a man will assume an attitude of bonhomme, a woman’s defenses will always be up. A man can be blindsided by another man’s evil intent but a woman has a better chance of being prepared out of hand.


AP:  Horror films can be divided into many categories, one of those being classic monster movies.  Do you feel like the old Universal monsters still have a strong appeal today and if so, what do you think contributes to that?


 JL: Yes, in fact I know those old films still appeal in the 21st century. I believe they will appeal for decades, if not centuries, to come. Many things contribute to this, I think, and while this is all speculation on my part, it comes from a fairly rich education on the subject. There’s the nostalgia factor of course. When I was a kid, the ‘new stuff’ included the goodies that Roger Corman was putting out, like the Vincent Price Poe films. I saw those at the drive-ins and movie houses. At home though, on TV, I saw the classic horror flicks; those that starred Lugosi, Karloff, Chaney and later, Rathbone and Zucco to name just a few. Wonderful films in black & white, with scripts that were well-written, actors that took the roles seriously and delivered wonderful performances and directors that knew how to scare the pants off an audience – not to mention some really cool make-up.


I’m not the only Monster Kid out here you know. We are legion and many have had kids of their own. The parents still love the old movies and their kids – through the wonder of videotape and now DVD and Blu-Ray – are being exposed to these old favorites along with the new. A large enough percentage of them have fallen in love with the Universal classics and some of those kids – older now and with their own progeny – are showing the films to their kids.


 These films were very well done for the most part and the love of them will never die as long as we have recordings of them to show our children.


AP:   A current project you have in the works is a new take on FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN.  What details can you share about this, including format, creative team, where it will appear, etc.


JL: You know, of all the things I’ve worked on with Phil Kim, this project has to be my favorite. For 20 years or more I’ve simply been gaga for the artwork of Joe Jusko. I’ve had a mad fan crush on the guy just because of the spectacular renditions of the male and female forms divine. And his use of color is so wonderfully vibrant. I’ll never stop being in awe of those who paint. Jusko, Stout, Wrightson…. Can’t name them all here. There’s not enough room! These creatures come off the page at you when they turn their talents to paint and canvas, and you know that one night something is going to lumber off the wall and get you while you’re in bed… when Martin Powell started to lobby for the FMTWM project in one of the Retro issues, I – being a Powell fan – immediately started to lobby for it with Phil for Retro 71. Then Martin says to me, he says, “So Jessie. What do you think about the cover artist? I mean, do you know about Joe Jusko?” I almost died right then and there. What a perfect idea. What a spectacular choice. Oh, man! And Joe said yes. And Phil said yes. And I am one very happy camper. It’s like a dream come true. So, the format will be close to the original filmbooks from Forry’s day and that’s all you’re going to get out of me. I know Phil is hoping to have it for Comic Con, but it’s actual scheduled release is September of 2011. If we can get it done in time for Comic Con, we would be bringing a limited number for sale there. That’s’ the last I heard anyway.


AP:  We’ve talked about the appeal of the classic monsters already.  Specifically, though, what about this particular film adaptation do you think speaks to a modern audience?


JL: The fact is, there was no deep meaning in this film; not that I could see at any rate. The film says the same thing today that it said to the audience back then. Here are a couple of our monsters that you liked before. We thought we’d get them together for you and see what happens. Perhaps that statement will be seen as disrespectful by some, but it is the way I see it. FMTWM was discussed in the pages of Famous Monsters back in the day, but it never got a filmbook treatment. It struck us that it oughta have one and so Retro 71 seemed to be the logical place for it.


AP: As an editor, how do you make sure the tension and drama and fear that builds up in a horror movie translates well enough to the page to have similar effects?


JL: As an editor, you get the best writer for the project. When the writer presents the project and himself as the best writer for the job, you really don’t have to do much. Pretty much be sure all the words are spelled properly and that said writer doesn’t ramble off into areas not necessary to the project. I’ll tell you that working with Martin is quite possibly the easiest job I’ve had in 20 years. The fella knows his stuff. I guess that hardest part of the whole thing is figuring out what else goes in this issue with the filmbook.


AP:  Specifically about the creative team behind this project, what do Martin Powell and Joe Jusko bring to the process that makes them the best for the job?


 JL: I think other than what I’ve already stated earlier, they bring the thing back to life through the eyes of the children that they once were. Both of these men were so completely overjoyed to be doing this for Famous Monsters that it was almost laughable. Almost, but not quite – because I knew exactly how they felt. I felt the same way when someone told me that, yeah, I was the editor of Famous Monsters now.

AP:  Are there any projects for the magazine or yourself personally that you can or want to let our readers know about coming up in the near future?



JL: Oh absolutely! My favorite personal project is issue 3 of Mondo Cult, the magazine I edit for Brad Linaweaver. It’s a completely different gig from FM. I’m looking forward to being able to write about music again, and in a publication that is written for adults. FM is written as a strictly family friendly magazine, which is only proper as that’s where it started out and the idea was to bring FM back in the same vein as it always was. Mondo, on the other hand, started out as a magazine of which I am Editor-In-Chief and I don’t censor my writers. I never pretended the thing was for kids so the language you will find in the pages of Mondo is usually a bit more ripe than that which you will find in FM.


This issue of Mondo Cult is going to rock. I’m really excited about it because I’m finally putting my piece on Black Zoo together. I’ve wanted to write about that film for years and now I have my chance. I think I’ve got a little something to discuss about this film that hasn’t been touched on before. It has to do with women again. What a surprise. Ron Garmon is going after DeSade and Medved and Brad Linaweaver is going after the world in general. Paul Gaita is back as Music Editor and all is right with the world. The best thing though, is the cover. It’s by L.J. Dopp but that’s all I’m going to say about it. You’ll just have to be surprised along with everyone else. We’ll have it on the stands by the end of the year.


 AP:  Thank you so much for your time, Jessie!


 JL: As I said before, it’s my pleasure. Thanks again.

PORTABLE NEW PULP PROGRAMMING FOR CONVENTIONS OF ALL TYPES NOW AVAILABLE!

 

Press Release-
PRO SE PRODUCTIONS’ NEW PULP PROGRAMMING
SETS SAIL TO A CONVENTION NEAR YOU!
May 28th, 2011                                                              Batesville, AR
Pro Se Productions, LLC.,  a Publisher of New Pulp books, anthologies, and magazines, as well as the sponsor of PULP ARK, a Creators Conference/Fan Convention that debuted in Arkansas May 13-15, 2011, announces today plans to offer Pulp convention programming to other Conventions, Pulp and otherwise.
Dubbed NEW PULP CONVENTION PROGRAMMING, Pro Se Productions Partner and Editor in Chief Tommy Hancock states, “With the success of PULP ARK in terms of programming, education, and entertainment all in a Pulp vein, there has been much discussion on how to share this with others that can’t get to Arkansas. PULP ARK 2012 is already being planned, but we began looking at avenues to do even more than that.  Out of a discussion about possibly hosting other NEW PULP conventions came an extremely interesting idea.

“So many conventions,” Hancock continued, “that have or should have aspects related to New Pulp already exist.  Comic conventions, old time radio and new audio drama shows, genre specific gatherings like Horror, Western, etc., the list is probably endless.  Instead of adding a whole roster of NEW PULP Cons to that, Pro Se Productions now offers NEW PULP CON PROGRAMMING PACKAGES.  Essentially what this means is Pro Se Productions will provide any interested convention or show with Pulp related programming.  These packages will range from a single one hour session to a full blown multiday experience, including panels, classrooms, interactive theater drama, and other special events.  Although this is New Pulp programming, panels and classrooms will also include sessions on classic Pulp as well because without those at the beginning, there would not be a New Pulp Movement today.”

These packages, according to Hancock, will include Panel and Classroom presenters, actors for any dramas and participants from other activities drawn from some of the biggest names in New Pulp today. The packages emulate the program used for the first PULP ARK, one that received rave reviews from guests and fans in attendance.  And location is not a concern.  “If your show is in Colorado for example,” Hancock explains, “then we would draw our presenters for various panels and classrooms from the New Pulp community that exists there.  The same goes for Georgia, New York, other states, and even Canada.   Our plan is to provide conventions with the best New Pulp programming possible at the best rate possible. However, if you want a full line up of top of the line New Pulp writers and artists and are willing to cover expenses, Pro Se will at the best of our ability arrange to partner with the best possible and get them to your event.”
The Packages are as follows-(NOTE-All packages depend on Author/Artist availability.  No financial exchange will occur until the Convention Producers, Pro Se Productions, and the Staff Pro Se will dispatch are in full agreement)
NEW PULP PACKAGE ONE-Introduction-Basic
If a New Pulp Artist or Author is within 50 miles of your convention/show and you are interested in a one hour Classroom or Panel, then Pro Se will set this up.  The only cost is that the attending NEW PULP Author/artist be provided a table at the convention free of charge, if requested.
NEW PULP PACKAGE TWO-Single Day-Full Basic Programming
Three Classrooms and/or Panels utilizing a minimum of Three NEW PULP Artists/Writers. (If more than three are wanted/necessary, then cost may be higher)
Cost-$200.00 plus free tables for each Artist/Author Attending as well as any travel expenses incurred by Authors/Artists more than 50 miles away from Convention site.
NEW PULP PACKAGE THREE-Single Day-Deluxe Programming
Three Classrooms and/or Panels utilizing a minimum of Three NEW PULP Artists/Writers. (If more than three are wanted/necessary, then cost may be higher)
A fully produced Pulp Drama done onsite or another similar event (total time 1.5-2.5 hours
Cost-$300.00 plus free tables for each Artist/Author Attending as well as any travel expenses incurred by Authors/Artists more than 50 miles away from Convention site.
NEW PULP PACKAGE FOUR-MultiDay Deluxe Programming
Three Classrooms and/or Panels  each FULL DAY utilizing a minimum of Three NEW PULP Artists/Writers. (If more than three are wanted/necessary, then cost may be higher) (One-two panels/classrooms on partial days)
A fully produced Pulp Drama done onsite (total time 1.5-2.5 hours) that can either be performed in one setting or throughout the convention’s run.
An event to be determined in negotiation (Old Time Radio recreations, further drama, Pulped! Game Show, and other possibilities exist)
Cost will include free tables for each Artist/Author Attending as well as any travel expenses incurred by Authors/Artists more than 50 miles away from Convention site and Hotel expenses incurred by those who are not local to the area.   Cost beyond this must be negotiated due to multiple factors, including number of days expected, etc.
Hancock also reports, “Although we have a beginning list of writers and artists from one coast to the other and beyond that will participate in this Programming, schedules allowing, any New Pulp Writer/Artist interested in participating can contact me and if they fit what we’re looking for, we’ll add them to our list of available personalities to participate.”
Hancock states, “What we want to do with NEW PULP Programming is allow any Convention or Show interested in having a Pulp line of programming included in their regular schedule of events, programming that they do not have to plan, design, recruit, or set up for.  We will come in and all we’ll require is to be pointed in the direction where we’ll speak, teach, and perform from.  This will be beneficial to not only New Pulp, but also to the Convention itself as well as bringing new fans to each and introducing existing fanbases to another entertaining aspect of Pop Culture-New Pulp!”
For More information, contact Hancock at 870-834-4022 or at proseproductions@earthlink.net.

Fortier takes on Koontz’s FRANKENSTEIN-LOST SOULS!

ALL PULP Reviews by Ron Fortier
FRANKENSTEIN – Lost Souls
By Dean Koontz
Bantaam Books
381 pages
Released Jan 2011
ISBN 10 – 0553593676
ISBN 13 – 978-0553593679
About the author –
Dean R. Koontz is the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers.  He lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Anna, and the enduring spirit of their golden, Trixie.
Review –
Horror fantasist, Dean Koontz continues his best selling series about the never ending war between Mary Shelly’s mad scientist Victor Frankenstein and his immortal creation, the Monster; now known in these books as Deucalion.  This is the fourth book in the saga and the beginning of a brand new story arc.  In the opening trilogy, which took place in New Orleans, the four hundred year old obsessed genius set about creating an army of super clones who would ultimately replace imperfect humans as the new dominant species on Earth. 
He was foiled by Deucalion and two brave police detectives, Carson O’Connor and Michael Maddison.  By the third book’s climax, they believed he had been killed and the world saved.  What they were not aware of was Frankenstein had cloned himself and this doppelganger came to life upon the death of the original.
“Lost Souls” opens two years later after the first conflict to find Carson and Michael have married, moved to San Francisco, opened a private detective agency and had a child, a beautiful baby girl named Scout.  For the most part their lives couldn’t be any happier.  This is why Deucalion’s reappearance bodes ill tides.  He has learned that his creator is still alive and hiding in the small town of Rainbow Falls, Montana.  What the patchwork  warrior does not know is that his cloned nemesis is completely insane and unlike his predecessor, has but one goal, the total annihilation of all mankind, both originals and replicants.  He dreams of Armageddon.
“Frankenstein – Lost Souls” is Koontz’ most audacious pulp novel to date.  It is a bold, raucous narrative that moves at lightning pacing.  Horror upon horror is visited on the small, peaceful town of Rainbow Falls and Koontz never once spares his readers with his lean and brutal prose.  His fans are going to devour this latest chapter in what has become a truly classic pulp series.  New readers need not have read the first trilogy, although it would add much to their enjoyment of this entry.  And be aware, this is book is only the first part of the story and ends with a suspense laden cliffhanger. Wherein the only real sour note is we now have to wait for several months for part two.  Now that’s torture at its most sophisticated.
2009 Stoker Nominees Announced

2009 Stoker Nominees Announced

The Horror Writers Association has announced the nominees for the 2009 Bram Stoker Award, honoring superior achievement in horror literature:

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

  • Breathers by S. G. Browne (Broadway Books)
  • Solomon’s Grave by Daniel G. Keohane (Dragon Moon Press)
  • Damnable by Hank Schwaeble (Jove)
  • The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay (Henry Holt)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION

  • “Dreaming Robot Monster” by Mort Castle (Mighty Unclean)
  • The Hunger of Empty Vessels by Scott Edelman (Bad Moon Books)
  • The Lucid Dreaming by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
  • Doc Good’s Traveling Show by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION

  • “Keeping Watch” by Nate Kenyon (Monstrous: 20 Tales of Giant Creature Terror)
  • “The Crossing of Aldo Ray” by Weston Ochse (The Dead That Walk)
  • “In the Porches of My Ears” by Norman Prentiss (Postscripts #18)
  • “The Night Nurse” by Harry Shannon (Horror Drive-in)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN FICTION COLLECTION

  • Martyrs and Monsters by Robert Dunbar (DarkHart Press)
  • Got to Kill Them All and Other Stories by Dennis Etchison (Cemetery Dance)
  • A Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O’Neill (Apex Book Company)
  • In the Closet, Under the Bed by Lee Thomas (Dark Scribe Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ANTHOLOGY (EDITING)

  • He is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson edited by Christopher Conlon (Gauntlet Press)
  • Lovecraft Unbound edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse Books)
  • Poe edited by Ellen Datlow (Solaris) [See SF Signal review]
  • Midnight Walk edited by Lisa Morton (Darkhouse Publishing)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION

  • Writers Workshop of Horror by Michael Knost (Woodland Press)
  • Cinema Knife Fight by L. L. Soares and Michael Arruda (Fearzone)
  • The Stephen King Illustrated Companion by Bev Vincent (Fall River Press)
  • Stephen King: The Non-fiction by Rocky Wood and Justin Brook (Cemetery Dance)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN POETRY COLLECTION

  • Double Visions by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions)
  • North Left of Earth by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot)
  • Barfodder by Rain Graves (Cemetery Dance)
  • Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder (Creative Guy Publishing)

Congratulations to all the nominees!

UPDATED: And a belated hat tip to John DeNardo at SFSignal, who took the time to format the list of nominees and which we dropped in here. Thank you!

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 12, 2009

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 12, 2009

Today’s installment of comic-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest…

* Fantasy author Poppy Z. Brite was arrested last week at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in New Orleans as part of a peaceable demonstration in which churches in the Uptown area of the city were occupied to protest their closings. She’s been writing it up on her LiveJournal.

* Not quite related to the story above, but there’s not going to be a The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthology for 2008, according to editors Gavin J. Grant & Kelly Link. Not that there isn’t material, of course, but the economy’s a bear…

* My boyfriend and I went to see "The Spirit" because we are stupid …

* The Lost Ten Commandments of Comics .

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

Review: ‘Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft’

Review: ‘Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft’

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
By Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
IDW Publishing, October 2008, $24.99

Horror in comic books have always been an uneven affair.  These days, horror comics tend to feature zombies or H.P. Lovecraft adaptations but there’s so much more that can explored.  Fortunately, Joe Hill doesn’t mind going where others fear to tread.

His [[[Locke & Key]]] miniseries at IDW was a chilling affair, as much for its fresh take on the supernatural as for the superb art from Gabriel Rodriguez.  The six issues are collected today for the first time in a handsome hardcover volume that comes well recommended.

Too often horror offers you stock characters in a stock situations and how A Meets B is about the only variable.  You tend not to care a whit for the hero or victim and too often gore for gore’s sake overwhelms the storytelling.  Hill, instead, takes his time setting up the characters, the Locke family, and as wee progress through the 158 pages, we learn things.  As a result, we get to care for the three children whose father dies at the story’s beginning.  There’s Ty, the eldest who is conflicted over the father he had come to hate; Kinsey the young teen figuring out her place in the world and young Bode who becomes our focal point.

After their father is killed, Nina takes her children to live with her brother-in-law at Keyhouse in Lovecraft, MA. The large ramshackle property comes complete with a well house and its while visiting there that Bode comes in contact with a spirit. The growing relationship truly begins our story as the secrets of the Locke family and their connections to the other residents of the small island town are doled out in bite-sized chunks. 

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2008 Hugo Award winners

2008 Hugo Award winners

The 2008 Hugo Awards were given out last night at Denvention, this year’s World Science Fiction Convention, a.k.a. WorldCon. The Master of Ceremony was Wil McCarthy. The winners are (cue the drum roll) …

NovelThe Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon (HarperCollins; Fourth Estate)
Novella: "All Seated on the Ground" by Connie Willis (Asimov’s Dec. 2007; Subterranean Press)
Novelette: "The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate" by Ted Chiang (Subterranean Press; F&SF Sept. 2007)
Short Story: "Tideline" by Elizabeth Bear (Asimov’s June 2007)
Dramatic Presentation, Long FormStardust Written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman Illustrated by Charles Vess Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Paramount Pictures)
Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Doctor Who "Blink" Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Hettie Macdonald (BBC)
Professional Editor, Short Form: Gordon Van Gelder (F&SF)
Professional Artist: Stephan Martiniere
SemiprozineLocus, edited by Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, & Liza Groen Trombi
FanzineFile 770
Fan Writer: John Scalzi
Fan Artist: Brad Foster
Campbell Award: Mary Robinette Kowal
 
Full list of nominated works after the jump.

 

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Happy Birthday: Graham Ingels

Happy Birthday: Graham Ingels

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1915, Graham Ingels began work early, joining the work force at 14, shortly after his father died. At 16 he began doing art jobs. He married at 20 and entered the Navy at 27 in 1943. After WWII, Ingels worked for Fiction House, Magazine Enterprises, and several other comic book and pulp magazine publishers.

In 1948, he began drawing Western and romance stories at EC Comics. He switched to the horror line—Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear—as soon as they began and was quickly dubbed “Ghastly Graham Ingels” for his facility with the genre. By 1952, Ingels was even signing his work as “Ghastly.”

After the horror line was canceled in the early 1950s, Ingels contributed to other EC lines, and then did some work for Classics Illustrated after EC folded in the mid-1950s.

He later taught art in Westport, Connecticut, and then became an art instructor in Florida. Ingels died in 1991.