The Green Ghost: Declassified - audio book!

Along with my fellow creators, Eric Fein, David Niehaus, and Malcolm McClinton, I'm very pleased to announce that The Green Ghost: Declassified (Moonstone Books) is now available as an audio book read by Roger Price!


The audio book features seven prose tales.


Of course, if you also want the two comic stories and the accompanying illustrations to the prose stories, then please buy the print version, which is available in:

• trade softcover (SOLD OUT!)
• limited edition hardcover
• "Zombies under Broadway" teaser/chapbook edition with one prose story and "wide-vision" illustrations

The Green Ghost—magician sleuth George Chance—returns! Once a debunker of the supernatural, the Green Ghost terrorized criminals with his horrific skull-face and wraithlike abilities. But criminologist Chance came back from Europe changed—for his wartime experiences taught him: the occult and night creatures were real! Thrill to new prose and comic book tales featuring a multitude of murderers, monsters, and crossovers with I. V. Frost, the Domino Lady, and more!

Audio book contents:

ZOMBIES UNDER BROADWAY by Win Scott Eckert and Eric Fein

DEATH SCREAM OVERDRIVE by Eric Fein
Featuring The Black Shrike and The Green Ghost

GHOST OF A CHANCE by Howard Hopkins

CHANCE OF A GHOST by Win Scott Eckert

THE PHANTOM’S GHOST by Eric Fein
Featuring The Green Ghost and the Phantom of the Opera

DAME SINSESTRE by Win Scott Eckert
Featuring The Green Ghost and The Domino Lady vs. a Rohmer-esque femme fatale

MURDER IN THE MIND’S EYE by Eric Fein
Featuring The Green Ghost and I. V. Frost

I'm especially pleased that we were able to include a previously unpublished Green Ghost story by the late Howard Hopkins. Howard was a fantastic writer and a pulp expert. Hopefully the rescue of this tale and it's inclusion in this collection begins to pay back, in some small way, the inspiration and friendship which Howard showed me.

The Green Ghost: Declassified audio book is available at:

• Audible
• Amazon

It's Convention Season!

I'll be attending two conventions, two weeks in a row!

First up is PulpFest 2018 / FarmerCon 100, held in Mars/Cranberry, PA, July 26-29, 2018. Not only am I an attendee, I'm also a FarmerCon organizer. And I'll be attending as a dealer, working at the Meteor House table as well as selling my own, non-Meteor House books.

Click here for the full PulpFest 2018 / FarmerCon 100 Programming Schedule

My panels:

Thursday, July 26

10:45 – 11:15 PM — FarmerCon 100: World Building and Writing in the Nine Continuity (Win Scott Eckert & Frank Schildiner, moderated by Paul Spiteri)

Friday, July 27

2:30 – 3:05 PM — FarmerCon 100: An Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke (Chuck Loridans, Christopher Paul Carey, & Win Scott Eckert)

Saturday, July 28

12:30 – 1:45 PM — FarmerCon 100: Farmer Jam (all members of FarmerCon 100 and PulpFest 2018 are welcome to read from their favorite Philip José Farmer work or reminisce about the author and his work)

2:55 – 3:50 PM — FarmerCon 100: Reading Duet (featuring New Fictioneers Win Scott Eckert & Frank Schildiner)


9:10 – 9:50 PM — FarmerCon 100: The Dark Heart of Loki: Philip José Farmer Revisits 1918 (Christopher Paul Carey & Win Scott Eckert, moderated by Paul Spiteri)

~ ~ ~

The next weekend is the 2018 Edgar Rice Burroughs Dum Dum & Tarzan Celebration, held in Morgan City, LA, August 2-5, 2018.

Click here to watch video

The Dum Dum event, celebrating 100 years since the 1918 release of the first Tarzan movie, which was filmed in Morgan City, is co-sponsored by the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau and the Burroughs Bibliophiles.

I'll have a table in the Dealer's Room at which I'll be selling the new Meteor House edition of Farmer's authorized novel Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time (available for the first time in hardcover!), as well as some of my other books.

My panel:

Friday, August 3

2:00 PM — I'll be giving a talk about Burroughs' influence on another famous science fiction author: From ERB to PJF: How Burroughs Inspired Philip José Farmer

2018 Edgar Rice Burroughs Dum Dum & Tarzan Celebration

Yesterday morning, I was pleased to chat with the fine folks at KNOE 8 News here in Monroe, LA, about the upcoming 2018 Edgar Rice Burroughs Dum Dum & Tarzan Celebration, in Morgan City, LA, August 2-5, 2018.

Click here to watch video

As a part of this television interview, I was given permission by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., to announce that I will be an authorized Burroughs writer! The working title for my novel is Korak at the Earth's Core, and is tentatively slated for late 2019, as I am first working on my collaborative novel with Philip José Farmer, The Monster on Hold. To say I'm over the moon about writing an authorized Burroughs novel is a vast understatement--the world at the Earth's Core is my favorite ERB series, and I'm thrilled that I'll be able to contribute to it. 


The Dum Dum event, celebrating 100 years since the 1918 release of the first Tarzan movie, which was filmed in Morgan City, is co-sponsored by the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau and the Burroughs Bibliophiles.

At the Dum Dum, I'll be giving a talk about Burroughs' influence on another famous science fiction author, Philip José Farmer, on Friday, August 3, at 2:00 PM. And I'll have a table in the Dealer's Room at which I'll be selling the new Meteor House edition of Farmer's authorized novel Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time (available for the first time in hardcover!), as well as some of my other books.

It will be a fun time, with guest speakers, dinners, a dealer's room, a swamp tour, and self-guided movie location driving tour. Check it out!

Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time – Now in Hardcover!

Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time

by Philip José Farmer

Meteor House, as a part of the yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Philip José Farmer, is thrilled to announce the first hardcover publication of his authorized Tarzan novel, Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time—a book that takes place in 1918, the year of Farmer’s birth!

One of the most famous heroes in literature is back! Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, returns with a vengeance in this action-packed adventure by Philip José Farmer, Hugo Award winner, Nebula Grand Master, and author of the incredible Riverworld saga.

Tarzan’s beloved mate, Jane, has been kidnapped, and the furious ape-man will let nothing stand in the way of rescuing her—not even a sinister safari whose target is Tarzan himself. With fierce Masai trackers leading the chase, a trio of white hunters are hellbent on capturing the Jungle Lord. But as the pursuers, and their uncanny half-human tracker, close in from behind, Tarzan races toward even greater danger ahead.

For the trail leads to a bizarre, long-forgotten land boasting a multitude of strange and terrifying mysteries: the City Built by God, the Hideous Hunter, the One to Avoid, and most shocking of all, the Crystal Tree of Time—whose seductive powers could ultimately spell Tarzan’s doom . . .

Philip José Farmer, a descendant of the actual Greystoke family, and a recipient of the prestigious Golden Lion Award, bestowed by the Burroughs Bibliophiles at the 1970 Dum-Dum, is famous for his adventure novels starring Tarzanic characters. Now, in Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time, authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Farmer lends his vast imagination to the legend of the Lord of the Apes himself!

~   ~   ~  ~  ~

In addition, this handsome new edition, which sports a gorgeous painted cover by well known Burroughs artist Mark Wheatley, a new Foreword by longtime Burroughs scholar Robert R. Barrett, and a new Introduction by Farmer expert Win Scott Eckert, will also be released in a trade paperback edition.

Now accepting preorders, the book will be released at FarmerCon 100, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA, July 26-29, 2018. As always, readers who preorder and attend FarmerCon/PulpFest can pick up their copies there—and as an added bonus, get them signed by Wheatley and Eckert! All other copies will ship immediately after FarmerCon 100.

I will also have copies available at my table at the Edgar Rice Burroughs Dum Dum 2018 & Tarzan Celebration, in Morgan City, LA, August 2-5, 2018. The event, celebrating 100 years since the release of the first Tarzan movie, which was filmed in Morgan City, is cosponsored by the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau and the Burroughs Bibliophiles.

Trademarks TARZAN(R)  and EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS(R) owned by EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, INC., and Used By Permission.

2018 - 100 Years of Philip José Farmer and the Centennial Collection!

To mark Philip José Farmer’s 100th Birthday, Meteor House is proud to present a mammoth collection worthy of the Grand Master. With over fifty pieces spanning seven decades, The Philip José Farmer Centennial Collection goes far beyond the typical “best of” anthology by including classic science fiction, poems, articles, tributes, speeches, and more, all from Farmer's magic pen. 

This mammoth collection boasts an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale, a foreword by Tracy Knight, and a bibliography by Zacharias L.A. Nuninga, while each decade features a synopsis of the Grand Master's life and career. 

At well over 900 pages, this collection is a must for all science fiction fans and historians, and is available in trade paperback and hardcover, featuring two covers by Mark Wheatley.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Joe R. Lansdale
Foreword by Tracy Knight

The 1940s
Bradley Brave Sees New York
O’Brien and Obrenov
Imagination

The 1950s
The Lovers
Sail On! Sail On!
Sestina of the Space Rocket
Mother
Lovers and Otherwise
Attitudes
Totem and Taboo
The Tin Woodman Slams the Door

The 1960s
On a Mountain Upside Down
Uproar in Acheron
The King of the Beasts
Riverworld
The Blind Rowers
Riders of the Purple Wage
The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod
My Father the Ripper (an excerpt from A Feast Unknown)
Kickaha’s Escape (an excerpt from A Private Cosmos)
The Josés From Rio

The 1970s
Only Who Can Make a Tree
The Sliced-Crosswise-Only-On-Tuesday World
An Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke
Sketches Among The Ruins of My Mind
After King Kong Fell
Writing Doc’s Biography
Sherlock Holmes & Sufism
The Problem of the Sore Bridge—Among Others
To the Wizard of Sci-Fi
A Fimbulwinter Introduction
Osiris on Crutches
The Last Rise of Nick Adams
The Freshman
Creating Artificial Worlds

The 1980s
The Making of Revelation, Part 1
Buddha Contemplates His Novel
The Long Wet Dream of Rip van Winkle
The Man Who Came for Christmas
Plane Talking (an excerpt from A Barnstormer in Oz)
The Peoria-Colored Writer
Memoir
Why and How I Became Kilgore Trout
St. Francis Kisses His Ass Goodbye

The 1990s
Evil, Be My Good
Wolf, Iron, and Moth
Why Do I Write?
A Hole in Hell
More than Most
Casting Turtles (an excerpt from Nothing Burns in Hell)

The 2000s
The Face That Launched a Thousand Eggs
Keep Your Mouth Shut
The Good of the Land
The First Robot
The Princess of Terra
That Great Spanish Author, Ernesto
The Terminalization of J. G. Ballard
The Light-Hog Incident

Bibliography by Zacharias L.A. Nuninga

Due out in July 2018, Meteor House is now taking preorders for the trade paperback, hardcover, or both.

The Writer's Adventures in Northeast Louisiana

See why people have relocated or come back home to Northeast Louisiana to find their opportunity. If you squint, you might catch a fleeting glimpse of me and my better half, Lisa, in the Monroe, Louisiana video.



#FindYourOpportunity

https://nelaopportunity.com/

The Lone Ranger: Frontier Justice - Table of Contents

I'm very pleased to announce the Table of Contents for Moonstone Books' forthcoming anthology, The Lone Ranger: Frontier Justice, edited by Matthew Baugh.

• Introduction—Troy D. Smith
• Daze of Yesteryear—Lane Adamson 
• Being an Account of the Delay at Green River, Wyoming of Phileas Fogg, World Traveler—Win Scott Eckert (1872) 
• Ghost Flowers—Thom Brannan (1874)
• Stone Creek Revenge—Joe Gentile (1874–75) 
• Soul of the East—Frank Schildiner (1876)
• The Lake Spirit—Troy D. Smith (1878)
• The Last Uprising—Matthew Baugh (1879)
• Frozen Hell on the Llano—Chuck Dixon (1880)
• To the Land of Gold—Richard Dean Starr (1883) 
• Dead Man’s Gold—Bill Crider (1885) 
• The Death of the Lone Ranger—Tim Lasiuta (1887) 
• Tonto, Teddy, and the Ranger—Johnny D. Boggs (1905) 
• Encounters—Various Authors 
• Leap of Faith—Thom Brannan 

The masked ex-Texas ranger and the Native warrior Tonto fight injustice in the Wild West, in an anthology of brand new, never before seen stories! Guest starring Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, The Cisco Kid, Phileas Fogg, and more!

The "Encounters" section is a unique idea, with snippets of short-short "what if" tales. My own "encounter" takes place in 1873 and flows from the events of my 1872 story. Fans of Barbara Hambly's Star Trek novel Ishmael might be pleased.

The book is scheduled for a July 2018 release and is available for preorder from Amazon. Hopefully I'll have copies on hand in time for PulpFest 2018 in late July.

2018 - The 100th Year of Philip José Farmer!

To mark Philip José Farmer’s 100th Birthday, Meteor House is proud to present a mammoth collection worthy of the Grand Master. With over fifty pieces spanning seven decades, The Philip José Farmer Centennial Collection goes far beyond the typical “best of” anthology by including classic science fiction, poems, articles, tributes, speeches, and more, all from Farmer's magic pen. 

This mammoth collection boasts an introduction by Joe R. Lansdale, a foreword by Tracy Knight, and a bibliography by Zacharias L.A. Nuninga, while each decade features a synopsis of the Grand Master's life and career. 

At well over 900 pages, this collection is a must for all science fiction fans and historians, and is available in trade paperback and hardcover, featuring two covers by Mark Wheatley.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Joe R. Lansdale
Foreword by Tracy Knight

The 1940s
Bradley Brave Sees New York
O’Brien and Obrenov
Imagination

The 1950s
The Lovers
Sail On! Sail On!
Sestina of the Space Rocket
Mother
Lovers and Otherwise
Attitudes
Totem and Taboo
The Tin Woodman Slams the Door

The 1960s
On a Mountain Upside Down
Uproar in Acheron
The King of the Beasts
Riverworld
The Blind Rowers
Riders of the Purple Wage
The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod
My Father the Ripper (an excerpt from A Feast Unknown)
Kickaha’s Escape (an excerpt from A Private Cosmos)
The Josés From Rio

The 1970s
Only Who Can Make a Tree
The Sliced-Crosswise-Only-On-Tuesday World
An Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke
Sketches Among The Ruins of My Mind
After King Kong Fell
Writing Doc’s Biography
Sherlock Holmes & Sufism
The Problem of the Sore Bridge—Among Others
To the Wizard of Sci-Fi
A Fimbulwinter Introduction
Osiris on Crutches
The Last Rise of Nick Adams
The Freshman
Creating Artificial Worlds

The 1980s
The Making of Revelation, Part 1
Buddha Contemplates His Novel
The Long Wet Dream of Rip van Winkle
The Man Who Came for Christmas
Plane Talking (an excerpt from A Barnstormer in Oz)
The Peoria-Colored Writer
Memoir
Why and How I Became Kilgore Trout
St. Francis Kisses His Ass Goodbye

The 1990s
Evil, Be My Good
Wolf, Iron, and Moth
Why Do I Write?
A Hole in Hell
More than Most
Casting Turtles (an excerpt from Nothing Burns in Hell)

The 2000s
The Face That Launched a Thousand Eggs
Keep Your Mouth Shut
The Good of the Land
The First Robot
The Princess of Terra
That Great Spanish Author, Ernesto
The Terminalization of J. G. Ballard
The Light-Hog Incident

Bibliography by Zacharias L.A. Nuninga

Due out in July 2018, Meteor House is now taking preorders for the trade paperback, hardcover, or both.

Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time – Now in Hardcover!

Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time

by Philip José Farmer

Meteor House, as a part of the yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Philip José Farmer, is thrilled to announce the first hardcover publication of his authorized Tarzan novel, Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time—a book that takes place in 1918, the year of Farmer’s birth!

One of the most famous heroes in literature is back! Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, returns with a vengeance in this action-packed adventure by Philip José Farmer, Hugo Award winner, Nebula Grand Master, and author of the incredible Riverworld saga.

Tarzan’s beloved mate, Jane, has been kidnapped, and the furious ape-man will let nothing stand in the way of rescuing her—not even a sinister safari whose target is Tarzan himself. With fierce Masai trackers leading the chase, a trio of white hunters are hellbent on capturing the Jungle Lord. But as the pursuers, and their uncanny half-human tracker, close in from behind, Tarzan races toward even greater danger ahead.

For the trail leads to a bizarre, long-forgotten land boasting a multitude of strange and terrifying mysteries: the City Built by God, the Hideous Hunter, the One to Avoid, and most shocking of all, the Crystal Tree of Time—whose seductive powers could ultimately spell Tarzan’s doom . . .

Philip José Farmer, a descendant of the actual Greystoke family, and a recipient of the prestigious Golden Lion Award, bestowed by the Burroughs Bibliophiles at the 1970 Dum-Dum, is famous for his adventure novels starring Tarzanic characters. Now, in Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time, authorized by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Farmer lends his vast imagination to the legend of the Lord of the Apes himself!

~   ~   ~  ~  ~

In addition, this handsome new edition, which sports a gorgeous painted cover by well known Burroughs artist Mark Wheatley, a new Foreword by longtime Burroughs scholar Robert R. Barrett, and a new Introduction by Farmer expert Win Scott Eckert, will also be released in a trade paperback edition.

Now accepting preorders, the book will be released at FarmerCon 100, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA, July 26-29. As always, readers who preorder and attend FarmerCon/PulpFest can pick up their copies there—and as an added bonus, get them signed by Wheatley and Eckert! All other copies will ship immediately after FarmerCon 100.

Trademarks TARZAN(R)  and EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS(R) owned by EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS, INC., and Used By Permission.

Chapbooks

Chapbooks can be an easy gateway to a new author, or to new works by an author with whom a reader is already familiar.

Here are four recently published chapbooks that I hope you'll check out:


The Adventure of the Fallen Stone by Win Scott Eckert








Being an Account of the Delay at Green River, Wyoming, of Phileas Fogg, World Traveler, or, The Masked Man Meets an English Gentleman by Win Scott Eckert







The Green Ghost: Zombies under Broadway by Win Scott Eckert & Eric Fein













Watch Your Back, Mr. Minamoto by Frank Schildiner

Hey kids, here are some books I'm in. Collect 'em all, while supplies last!

The Lone Ranger and Tonto: Frontier Justice

Announcing The Lone Ranger and Tonto: Frontier Justice, an anthology of new stories edited by Matthew Baugh, in which the masked ex-Texas ranger and the Native warrior Tonto fight injustice in the Wild West!

My story is "Being an Account of the Delay at Green River, Wyoming, of Phileas Fogg, World Traveler, or, The Masked Man Meets an English Gentleman."

Coming from Moonstone Books in March 2018!

Preorder on Amazon

HUGE Philip José Farmer ebook sale, TODAY ONLY (09/24/17)!

Spotlight On: Philip José Farmer

HUGE Philip José Farmer ebook sale, TODAY ONLY!

• Amazon 
• Apple 
• Barnes & Noble 
• Google
• Kobo

Known for his groundbreaking novella, The Lovers, which featured a romantic relationship between a human and an extraterrestrial, Philip José Farmer’s work has left a lasting mark on the genre. Enjoy some of Farmer’s best books today at a discount.

**********

The Lovers * Dark Is the Sun * Riders of the Purple Wage
$1.99
ORIGINALLY $10.99
Three classics in one volume 
An epic showcase of imagination from a Hugo and Nebula Award winner, featuring tales of future worlds, space travel, and aliens.

**********

The World of Tiers Volume One
$1.99
ORIGINALLY $19.99
The first three adventures in The World of Tiers series
A secret doorway leads to an amazing realm whose ongoing survival hinges on the battle between earthlings and enemies disguised as their allies.
"A wide-screen adventure that never fails to provoke, amuse, and educate.” —Time

**********

The World of Tiers Volume Two
$1.99
ORIGINALLY $12.99
The earthling hero, Kickaha, returns for another four adventures of strange planetary visits, dangerous AIs, and world-shattering duels against his nemeses.

**********

Dayworld
$1.99
ORIGINALLY $7.99
This high-concept dystopian novel features an overpopulated Earth under strict government control and is “every bit as appealing” as the Hugo-winning author’s popular Riverworld saga (Booklist).
“A tightly plotted, often exciting yarn.” —Kirkus Reviews

**********

Riverworld and Other Stories
$1.99
ORIGINALLY $7.99
Three stories of a world shared by resurrected humans from all times and places—plus ten more tales of the wonderful and bizarre.
“One of the most imaginative worlds in science fiction.” —Booklist

**********

* OFFERS EXPIRE 9/24/2017 *

The Best of Farmerphile - from Meteor House

This post is long overdue, but as the cliche goes, better late...

From 2005 to 2009 I was honored to be a regular contributor to Farmerphile: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer, a quarterly fanzine that ran for fifteen issues. For the last five issues, numbers 11 to 15, I also served as coeditor.

I produced some of my best (if I do say so) Farmerian speculation--"Creative Mythography"--during this period, and also launched my fiction-writing career in this time frame. 

I'm honored that these essays are once again available, this time to a wider reading public, and to those who missed them the first time around, in The Best of Farmerphile from Meteor House.

• The Farmerian Holmes
• Excessively Diverted, Or, Coming to Pemberley House
• Only a Coincidence: Phileas Fogg, Philip José Farmer, and the Wold Newton Family
• Gribardsun through the Ages by Win Scott Eckert & Dennis E. Power

In fairness of disclosure, some of these essays were slightly revised for inclusion as front or back matter in Titan Books' recent reissues of some of Farmer's classic novels, and the versions that appear in The Best of Farmerphile are the revised ones rather than the original versions. But the revisions, while important to me in the matter of some details and accuracy, still have the essence of the originals and new readers should not feel shortchanged by this.

Other regular contributors were Bette Farmer, Dennis E. Power, Danny Adams (Phil's nephew), artist Keith Howell (who did the covers for the new book), coeditor Paul Spiteri, and coeditor Christopher Paul Carey... as well as Philip José Farmer himself. For, you see, Farmerphile also brought to light never-before-published short fiction (and nonfiction) from Phil's files!

It is fair to say that none of this would have happened without the dedicated effort of publisher Michael Croteau, who was (and is) the webmaster of Phil's site, The Official Philip José Farmer Web Page, and is now the publisher of Meteor House.

Many others contributed over the fanzine fifteen issues. The full table of contents for The Best of Farmerphile, and ordering information (for the hardcover, the softcover, or both) is here.

NOTE: due to the complexities of publishing rights, no ebook edition will be produced!

Sequel to Philip José Farmer's TWO HAWKS FROM EARTH!

Philip José Farmer's novel TWO HAWKS FROM EARTH is one of my favorite Farmer tales, so it comes as no surprise that I literally cannot wait to read Heidi Ruby Miller's sequel, MAN OF WAR--which, by the way, features a wonderful painted cover by artist extraordinaire Mark Wheatley! 

Meteor House is taking preorders right now. This is a book no Farmer fan will want to miss!

The Chronologically Confounding Case of Korak the Killer

As I mentioned in a prior post, Sunday-style color comic strips are available on www.edgarriceburroughs.com.

I've read the Korak the Killer strip, written by well-known comic book scribe Ron Marz. This is a new, original tale in which Korak agrees to help Princess Nemu, whom he encounters in the jungle as she searches for Tarzan. Tarzan is away from Africa, and so Korak agrees to help her by returning with her to her hidden city of Memnon to free it from usurpers/slavers.

Memnon first appeared in Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman (Dark Horse Comics /DC Comics, 2000), which took place in November 1939. Princess Khefretari of Memnon was the titular “Cat-Woman” of the title. I noted this crossover at http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Chron7.htm and in my book Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World, Volume 1 (Black Coat Press, 2010). Batman/Tarzan was also written by Ron Marz.

The Korak tale reveals that Princess Nemu is the daughter of now-Queen Khefretari. Nemu appears to be about 16 or 17, although this is purely a guess based on how she is depicted (although she is surely not younger than 16 or 17). Confoundingly, the usurpers are led by a soldier of the Reich—presumably the Third Reich. Batman/Tarzan undisputedly takes place in November 1939. The Korak tale cannot take place in the time range 1939-1945. The very earliest Nemu could have been born would be Sept 1940 (there was no evidence that Khefretari was pregnant in the Batman/Tarzan tale). Nemu is absolutely not four or five years old in the Korak tale; in fact, she and Korak almost share a romantic kiss. (We’ll come back to that.)

A creatively mythographical explanation for the timing is that the usurpers are of a type seen frequently in stories, holdover Nazis trying to rekindle former glories and establish a new Reich. With this interpretation, the Korak story could take place in 1956, ’57, ’58, etc. (depending on whether we readers ever learn more definitively that Nemu’s age is).

Now, about that kiss. This story absolutely cannot take place before Korak met Meriem in The Son of Tarzan [Third Reich story elements]. If the story takes place in the mid- or late-1950s, is Meriem dead by this time? Have they divorced? Was Korak about to “step-out” on Meriem? (The kiss was not completed; however, the storyline is not complete, so who knows what Mr. Marz has in store for Korak and Nemu.) Perhaps injecting a potential romance between Korak and Nemu was a misstep on the part of Mr. Marz. I should say I’m a fan of his work, such as the Batman/Tarzan series and his run on Witchblade.

The really cool parts… in strip #26, there is a panel in which the prior adventure in Memnon is discussed, stating that a treasure hunter was defeated by Korak’s father, including an “aided by a man who dressed like a bat.” (Nemu states that this took place before she was born, reinforcing the chronological discussion above.) In strip #33, the prior events are again discussed; Khefretari tells Korak shat she knew his father “years ago,” when Tarzan came to Memnon with “…another hero, an American”; in this panel, a Batman shadow-silhouette is seen, just like in the ’40s Golden Age Batman comics.


Cool stuff indeed. Despite the chronological conundrums and the uncharacteristic romantic interlude, I recommend this strip and have great hopes that Mr. Marz will not leave us hanging.