Showing posts with label Doc Savage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doc Savage. Show all posts

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Warehouse find! Rare Pemberley House chapbook!


Due to a warehouse find at Subterranean Press, I'm pleased to make available several copies of the ultra-rare, out of print chapbook which accompanied the Limited Edition of the novel The Evil in Pemberley House.

The cover by Killer Keith Howell features the Doc Savage Coat of Arms, based on Philip José Farmer's written description in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, and supplemented with information from Farmer's private notes.

Chapbook contents:

  • An Expanded Pemberley House/Wold Newton Family graphic tree, which including SPOILERS from the novel
  • Notes on the Wildman [Savage] Coat of Arms by Philip José Farmer
  • Outline for the novel by Philip José Farmer
  • A timeline of key events in the novel by Win Scott Eckert
  • A "Creative Mythography" essay by Win Scott Eckert, about the research and writing of the novel and ensuring it remained in continuity with Farmer's other Wold Newtonian works, such as Tarzan Alive, the aforementioned Doc Savage, and The Adventure of the Peerless Peer

  • Info on how to order is on my Signed Books page (along with many other goodies). If you missed the chapbook the first time around, you probably want to act now, 'cause once they're gone, they're gone.

    Wednesday, July 21, 2010

    The Revised Complete Chronology of Bronze: A Review

    Review: A stunning tour de force of Savageology

    Rick Lai’s The Revised Complete Chronology of Bronze arrived, a timeline of pulp hero Doc Savage's adventures, and I read it in a day, in one sitting. That’s not because it’s light reading, but because it’s so compelling.

    Generously acknowledging the research of other chronologists, including the late Philip José Farmer's Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, Lai sets a new bar in scholarship, and it’s a high bar indeed. He meticulously, and yet quite understandably, lays out his methodology, and describes why and how if differs from methodologies employed by prior chronologies. He also includes the radio adventures where appropriate (recently collected by Moonstone Books as Doc Savage: The Lost Radio Scripts of Lester Dent), as well as the continuation novels by Farmer (Escape from Loki) and Will Murray (such as Python Isle, Flight Into Fear, etc.).

    When reconciling conflicting or contradictory information, Lai relies on well-reasoned and erudite theories and research. Lai not only provides the definitive (in my view) timeline of Doc’s supersagas, he also includes several informative and entertaining appendices covering Apocryphal Adventures (such as Farmer’s “After King Kong Fell” and Ironcastle and my own collaboration with Farmer, The Evil in Pemberley House; Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer; and Jean-Marc Lofficier’s translation of Guy d’Armen’s Doc Ardan: City of Gold and Lepers), and so on; this section also includes fascinating essays regarding Doc’s possible interactions with characters such as Fu Manchu and The Shadow), the literary works of Clark Savage, Jr., and easy-to-read checklists.

    The cover art by Keith Wilson is a beauty (the back cover art is quite amusing) and the folks at Altus Press have put together a nice, clean package. I’ll be referring to Rick's Chronology of Bronze time and again, both as a Doc Savage fan and as a pulp adventure writer, as it has immediately attained the status of my primary reference work in this area.


    Saturday, January 16, 2010

    Philip José Farmer's DOC SAVAGE and Dave Stevens' THE ROCKETEER and CROSSOVERS

    Philip José Farmer's Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life was the starting point for my lifelong fascination with Farmer's Wold Newton Family concept of many popular characters belonging to the same, widespread genealogical family, Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer was the impetus for the idea of the Wold Newton Universe (many more characters inhabiting the same continuity, but not necessarily related to the Wold Newton Family members), and was literally the very first entry in what now is Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World.

    I've picked up a lot of books from Phil's estate since his unfortunate passing last year, most of them signed by Phil and most of them related to his Wold Newton mythos. Some have been non-PJF books, inscribed to Phil, such as a copy of the British edition of Bunduki signed by J.T. Edson to Phil, and a hardback of Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker's Poodle Springs, signed by Parker to Phil and Bette.

    So when Mike Croteau wrote me last night asking if I'd like a hardcover of the Eclipse Comics edition of Stevens' Rocketeer graphic novel (collecting the first storyline which features an unnamed appearance of Doc Savage and his aides), signed "For Philip José Farmer, With Great Respect, Dave Stevens"... let's just say he had me at "hello."

    This one is particularly special for me.

    Friday, January 15, 2010

    Short essay publication

    Somehow blogging about this slipped past me, but I wrote a short tribute to Philip José Farmer's contributions to the overarching Doc Savage canon and mythology in the program book for Doc Con XII, The Big Book of Bronze #2 (published November 2009).

    Saturday, October 17, 2009

    pic o' the day

    I hadn't intended to do another week of Philip José Farmer covers so soon, but since I sort of inadvertently kicked it off yesterday with the sole French edition of Tarzan Alive, what the heck.

    The first is the 2003 edition of A Feast Unknown, which I was fortunate enough to pick up at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris last July.

    Then I decided I might as well add the 1970s French Chute Libre edition to my collection, and it arrived a few weeks ago.

    Saturday, October 10, 2009

    Washington Times review of PEMBERLEY HOUSE...

    "When super heroes are conflicted"...

    Ron Capshaw at the Washington Times has reviewed The Evil in Pemberley House. Choice quotes include: "It is safe to say that Patricia Clarke Wildman has sufficient baggage before she ever sets foot in the Pemberley House of Jane Austen fame" and "'Pemberley' is clearly a love letter rescued from the grave by co-writer Win Scott Eckert to Farmer's aged fans. It is replete with interrelated heroes and perverted sex scenes.
    "

    Check out the complete review here, won't you?

    Tuesday, October 06, 2009

    Will Murray's tribute to Philip José Farmer





    Fans who haven't already picked up the DOC SAVAGE #27 double reprint, including Will Murray's tribute article to Philip José Farmer, really should grab it, the article is excellent.

    Will peppers the article with a ton of quotes from Phil from prior
    interviews, and spends a lot of time on the Wold Newton Family, Doc Caliban, THE MONSTER ON HOLD, etc., as well as the two faux-bios, TARZAN ALIVE and DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE.

    Saturday, September 12, 2009

    THE EVIL IN PEMBERLEY HOUSE - shipping complete & 1st look at Limited Edition Chapbook cover




    According to
    Subterranean Press, all individual, retail, and wholesale orders for The Evil in Pemberley House have shipped.

    I have yet to receive my author copies, but Mike Croteau of The Official Philip José Farmer Home Page got his copy today, and kindly has provided a scan of the Limited Edition Chapbook cover, featuring the Doc Wildman ("Doc Savage") Coat of Arms as designed and described by Philip José Farmer in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (with a couple extra touches added from Phil's unpublished notes by yours truly) and lovingly rendered by Keith Howell.

    Subterranean Press
    Amazon.com





    Saturday, June 20, 2009

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Evil in Pemberley House by Philip José Farmer and Win Scott Eckert

    The Evil is coming...

    A darkly erotic Jane Austen-Pulp Fiction-Sherlockian-Gothic-Wold Newton mashup, in which the Man of Bronze's daughter confronts her family's ancient legacy, lays a ghost to rest, and meets her destiny!

    The Wold Newton novel, The Evil in Pemberley House, by Philip José Farmer and Win Scott Eckert, will be published in late September 2009 by Subterranean Press. Dust jacket by Glen Orbik.

    Early reviews:
    Pre-order:

    Trade -- Fully cloth bound hardcover edition:

    • novel
    • endsheets with a Pemberley House/Wold Newton Family tree

    Limited Edition -- 200 numbered copies, signed by Win Scott Eckert, with bonus chapbook:

    • cover art (the Doc Wildman [Doc Savage] Coat of Arms by Keith Howell)
    • endsheets with an expanded Pemberley House/Wold Newton Family tree--including SPOILERS from the novel
    • notes on the Wildman Coat of Arms by Philip José Farmer
    • outline for the novel by Philip José Farmer
    • timeline of key events in the novel by Win Scott Eckert
    • Wold Newtonian essay by Win Scott Eckert
    Trade: $40
    ISBN: 978-1-59606-249-8
    Limited: $60

    Monday, December 01, 2008

    Subterranean Press acquires a new Wold Newton novel



    Subterranean Press announced today that they have acquired a new novel that is part of Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton mythos:

    In addition, we’ve just bought a few other new titles:

    The Evil in Pemberley House (Philip José Farmer and Win Scott Eckert) — a darkly erotic novel that is part of Farmer’s Wold Newton canon. The limited edition will include a chapbook with a whole host of unpublished background material.

    The promotional image to the right is by the extraordinary Keith Howell....

    I've created a site specifically for the book; just go here, and sign up as a blog "follower," if you're so inclined.

    I am still not processing this... my first novel, written with Phil Farmer. I have so many people to thank for helping me reach this point... I'd better get it right for the book's acknowledgments... :-)

    I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

    Friday, October 10, 2008

    The Wold Newton gang in FARMERPHILE #14

    Now that I've broken the news about the Doc Savage coat of arms in FARMERPHILE no. 14 , it really bears mentioning how many Wold-Newtoneers we have contributing to this issue, our longest issue yet!

    Art Sippo makes his first contribution with "This Played in Peoria?"

    Rick Lai is back with the very timely "
    The Doc Ravage Presidential Campaign."

    Regular
    Dennis Power joins in with "
    Oh the Humanity."

    Chris Carey , as always, puts his indelible stamp on the issue with all of his invaluable behind-the-scenes work.

    And I've got a few Pemberley House things in there, including an interview about writing the book, a family tree, and a two-chapter excerpt.

    Complete contents:

    Issue No. 14 - October 2008
    60 pages (5.5 x 8.5 inches)
    $11 (includes shipping in the US and Canada)

    Table of contents:

    This Played in Peoria?
    - by Art Sippo

    A Whale of a Time
    - by Leo Queequeg Tincrowdor

    Tongues of the Moon
    - by Philip José Farmer
    --- illustrated by John Streleckis

    The Voice of Farmer in My Vermiform Appendix
    - by Rhys Hughes

    Creative Mythography: Excessively Diverted, or, Coming to Pemberley House
    - by Win Scott Eckert

    Farmerphile Interviews Win Scott Eckert

    Excerpt from The Evil in Pemberley House
    - by Philip José Farmer & Win Scott Eckert
    --- illustrated by Keith Howell

    Say, What's the Big Idea?
    - by Michael Carroll

    The Doc Ravage Presidential Campaign
    - by Rick Lai

    Bibliophile
    - by Paul Spiteri

    Boris the Bear: Wold Newton and Philip José Farmer
    - by Steve Mattsson

    Oh the Humanity
    - by Dennis E. Power

    Unpolished Pearls from the Magic Filing Cabinet

    Greartheart Silver
    - by Philip José Farmer

    Doc Wildman's Coat of Arms
    - by Philip José Farmer
    --- illustrated by Keith Howell

    Cover art by Charles Berlin


    We really hope you'll support our efforts and pick up this issue .

    All the best,

    Win

    Doc Savage's Coat of Arms!

    I'm very pleased to announce that, as I blogged about a short time ago, Doc Savage's (okay, Doc Wildman's :-) coat of arms will appear in issue 14 of Farmerphile! The illustration is based on Phil Farmer's description in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, with a few additions based on unpublished notes from the Magic Filing Cabinet in Phil's basement. I (and my lovely wife) were very pleased research the rules of heraldry in order to provide instructions to fantastic artist Keith Howell in executing what Phil described in DS:HAL, as well as choosing the small additions from Phil's unpublished notes.

    This is a big deal for Doc fans, so please spread the word (forward the link to this post!) and consider picking up the issue; Keith's illustration is truly extraordinary.

    Sunday, July 20, 2008

    Announcement: The Evil in Pemberley House - A new novel by Philip José Farmer & Win Scott Eckert

    Earlier today, at FarmerCon 90, a convention in honor of Philip José Farmer's 90th birthday held at the Lakeview branch of the Peoria Public Library, a "Mystery Panel" was held in which it was revealed that Phil and Bette Farmer made the decision to have writers they trusted complete some of Phil's unfinished manuscripts.


    Among these are:

    • The Song of Kwasin, a continuation of the Khokarsa cycle, the first two books being Hadon of Ancient Opar and Flight to Opar - completed by collaborator Christopher Paul Carey (I've read it, and it's a wonderfully stirring conclusion to the saga, which fans of H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and, of course, Phil Farmer, are going to absolutely love; read Chris' own blog post here)

    • A Western, Cougar By the Tail, with collaborator Tracy Knight (author of many short stories and two novels, Beneath a Whiskey Sky and The Astonished Eye
    • "Getting Ready to Write," a very funny Polytropical Paramyth written with Paul Spiteri, and appearing in Farmerphile #13 (July 2008)

    • The Evil in Pemberley House with collaborator Win Scott Eckert

    I first discovered the short synopsis, longer outline, handwritten notes, and incomplete manuscript for The Evil in Pemberley House in the "Magic Filing Cabinet" in Phil Farmer's basement on a trip to Peoria with Mike Croteau, publisher of Farmerphile and webmaster of the Official Philip José Farmer Home Page, in July 2005. (During the same trip we also discovered the Kwasin manuscript and notes, much to Chris Carey's joy.) At Phil's bequest, I researched and prepared to finish the novel for two years (amidst other writing projects, in particular finalizing the manuscript for Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World, long-anticipated and coming in 2010 from MonkeyBrain Books) and wrote in earnest this past year.

    During this time Chris Carey was also completing The Song of Kwasin and I can't thank him enough for the literally hundreds of emails and many phone calls, in which we bounced ideas around, exchanged feedback, and in general provided much needed support and encouragement.

    It's an incredible honor and supreme thrill to have been selected to tell the story that Phil didn't complete, the "origin story" of Patricia Wildman, the "woman of bronze," the daughter of "Doc" Wildman, who was a renaissance man and battler of evil-doers from the Golden Age of the 1930s. (For fans who may have forgotten, Phil brought this bronze superman's real name and family background to the world-at-large in a "fictional biography" published in the early 1970s.)


    With Phil and Bette Farmer's blessing, the manuscript is now in the hands of Phil's agent.

    For more information, I've launched a website for The Evil in Pemberley House. Please bookmark it and check back often for news, a forthcoming book trailer, etc. I'm thrilled beyond belief to be involved in this project, and to finally launch it in earnest to the blogosphere. An excerpt from the novel will appear in Farmerphile #14 (October 2008).


    In the meantime, content yourself with the gorgeous spot illustration of Patricia Wildman, woman of bronze (lovingly rendered by the amazing Keith Howell) and read below the summary which appeared in the convention booklet handed out today at FarmerCon 90.




    THE EVIL IN PEMBERLEY HOUSE

    For over thirty years, readers have marveled at Philip José Farmer’s clever integration of some of popular fiction and literature’s most beloved characters, in a mythical web known as the Wold Newton Family. First described in the fictional biographies Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life, Farmer expanded the mythos in The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, the Tarzan-Sherlock Holmes pastiche The Adventure of the Peerless Peer, Time’s Last Gift, Hadon of Ancient Opar, Flight to Opar, and the authorized series novels The Dark Heart of Time: A Tarzan Novel and Escape from Loki: Doc Savage’s First Adventure.

    Now, from imagination of Philip José Farmer and Wold Newton expert Win Scott Eckert, comes an addition to the Wold Newton cycle, a Gothic tale of adventure which builds upon the Canon of Sherlock Holmes mysteries and explores the psyche of a pulp superman’s offspring…


    It’s 1973, and Patricia Wildman is traveling from New York to Derbyshire in England to claim her legacy, the grand estate known as Pemberley House. The descendant of famous and infamous dukes and duchesses, and of Pemberley’s memorable Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, Patricia is also the daughter of the world-renowned crimefighter of the 1930s and ’40s, Dr. James Clarke “Doc” Wildman. She is also the inheritor of her father’s bronzed skin, gold-flecked eyes, and his physical and intellectual perfection, as well as her mother’s cunning and compassion.

    Patricia is looking to put her past behind her and start a new life at Pemberley. Instead, she’s almost immediately attacked by poachers and has to contend with the resentful inhabitants of Pemberley who would prefer the venerable estate pass to them. Foremost among those seeking to prevent Patricia from accepting her legacy and becoming the new Baroness of Lambton are the imperious 103-year-old dowager duchess of Pemberley, her adopted grandchildren, and her personal physician, Dr. Augustus Moran.

    Patricia, however, is not only faced with the devious machinations of British nobility and greedy hangers-on, but must also contend with being haunted by her direct ancestor, the 16th century Baroness, Bess of Pemberley. Or is the “Pemberley Curse” really the product of the conniving residents of Pemberley House?

    As Patricia struggles to reconcile the supernatural evidence in front of her with her rational scientific upbringing, she also attempts to work through unresolved feelings about her late parents. It’s not easy being the daughter of a superman, after all…

    The Evil in Pemberley House is an adventure, Gothic horror, and genealogical mystery set against the backdrop of Jane Austen’s Derbyshire, which will excite a broad array of readers of both pulp and popular literature, especially fans of the Doc Savage pulp novels, the Sherlock Holmes mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Farmer’s own celebrated Wold Newton Family mythos.

    Friday, May 09, 2008

    Farmerphile #12 -- The Sherlock Holmes issue



    FARMERPHILE: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer no. 12 is now available.

    This is the Sherlock Holmes issue, and as such it's selling out quickly. Plus, those interested in Phil's Wold Newton family tree are going to want to pick up this issue, because we've discovered an addition to the tree by him that somehow didn't make it into the final printed version of DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE!

    http://www.pjfarmer.com/farmerphile.htm#iss12

    Full Contents:


    The Roller Coaster Ride with Phil Farmer- by Bette Farmer

    We Were Introduced by Sherlock Holmes- by George Scheetz

    Sherlock Holmes and Sufism- by Philip José Farmer--- illustrated by Charles Berlin

    Philip José Farmer and The Case of the Two Jungle Lords- by Dennis E. Power

    Urania's Babysitter- by Rick Lai

    A Study of Ralph von Wau Wau- by Danny Adams

    Creative Mythography: The Farmerian Holmes- by Win Scott Eckert

    Bibliophile: The Other Log of Phileas Fogg- by Paul Spiteri

    How Much Free Will Does a Pumpkin Have?- by Christopher Paul Carey

    Jongor in the Wold Newton Family- by Philip José Farmer

    The Lure of the Emergency Shelf- by Michael Carroll

    Full Blown Comic Book Images of the Beast- by Steve Mattsson

    Unpolished Pearls from the Magic Filing Cabinet:



    • Three Metafictional Proposals- by Philip José Farmer

    • Uncle Sam's Mad Tea Party- by Philip José Farmer

    • Down to Earth's Centre- by Philip José Farmer

    Cover art by Keith Howell

    And Doc Savage aficionados... If you're thinking that the title "Down to Earth's Centre" might be something Doc-related... you're right!

    Dedicated Sherlockians, Savageologists, and of course Farmerphiles won't want to miss this issue. Ordering info is here:http://www.pjfarmer.com/farmerphile.htm

    We put a lot into this issue, so please check it out!

    Best,

    Win

    www.winscotteckert.com