We all grow up wondering why TV and film aren’t as good these days as when we were young. Yes, nostalgia is rose-tinted. I fondly remember a lot of the cartoons and puppet-laden children’s shows of my early years, and I firmly believe the fact that I encountered dragons and […]
Lassitude n. 1. A condition of weariness or debility; fatigue. 2. A condition characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit; languor. “Lassitude” is a great word for those “fade-to-black” scenes, as below, to describe the sensation as someone is drugged or otherwise lulled to sleep. It’s also a […]
This morning I started reading Stanley Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey,” and had intended to write a full reaction to it, but, well, I ran out of time and haven’t even finished it yet. It’s been difficult to keep up with my reading and nerding lately, I admit. Lots of “real” […]
My recent post on hawkmen got me thinking a little about Ogre Battle. And then yesterday Thomas of Weird Catholic decided to revisit his series on tarot cards. Ok, so let’s take a little stroll down memory lane. Ogre Battle: March of the Back Queen, released on the SNES in […]
It’s been observed that Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter was an early inspiration for the modern superhero. I believe he was actually a direct inspiration for the genesis of Superman. But what if we go further back? The Greek heroes like Hercules and Perseus and Achilles are no-brainers, but what […]
Hawkman, the comic book superhero, was apparently created in 1940 by Gardner Fox of Appendix N fame. This post wasn’t originally intended to include him beyond a cursory note, but I found it quite interesting and coincidental that Fox should come up in this context, given my preoccupation in recent […]
Schloss n. A castle or palace. There are a number of words for castles and other great houses or fortified compounds – keep, citadel, fortress, stronghold, manor, estate, manse, etc. Sometimes, though, you may want to invoke a certain exoticism or foreignness that such words lack. “Schloss” is the German […]
This is probably going to sound kind of unhinged, but has anyone else noticed that trees get all the vegetational glory in SFF tales? Mirkwood and Lothlorien and Fangorn Forest and the ents, wood nymphs, Hogwart’s Forbidden Forest, Sherwood, the Great Woods of Narnia, even the Hundred Acre Wood – […]
Scifi and Fantasy are absolutely littered with famous weapons – from Excalibur to the lightsaber to Indiana Jones’ signature bullwhip. The further back you go, the more and more you find. Compiling a list of my favorites would be an undertaking, but reminiscing about Dilvish got me thinking a little […]
You might argue that Roger Zelazny’s brand of fantasy is plenty infected by modernism, as some would put it. You might also argue that he was doing some hard drugs when he wrote it. But it’s not the apple that fell from the Tolkien tree of Fantasy. Earlier this year […]
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