Wold Newton San Diego Comic-Con videos now on YouTube

Thanks to Savage Chuck Loridans, video editor extraordinaire, videos of the Wold Newton panel presentations at the 2004 and 2006 San Diego Comic-Cons are now online.

I linked to them from various places on my sites, both with external links and embedded video.

http://www.winscotteckert.com/
http://www.winscotteckert.com/Writings5.htm
http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Articles10.htm#Parascholarship
http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Articles11.htm#Myths
http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/2004SanDiego.htm
http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/2006SanDiego.htm

Enjoy!

-Win

Pulps / Wold Newton Podcast - Monday 9/3 @ 7pm Pacific Time

This week Bill Cunningham and Christian Johnson will be discussing "Barsoom, Hyboria, and Urban Mean Streets: The Pulps and Their Modern Legacy" on the weekly online radio show Geekerati. Two of the books they will be discussing are MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSE FARMER'S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE and the Nebraska Press edition of TARZAN ALIVE. The podcast is Monday, 9/3/07 at 7pm Pacific Time.

Geekerati Radio is an online radio show which includes Christian Johnson, Shawna Benson, Bill Cunningham, Eric Lytle, and guests in a round table discussion of popular culture by geeks for geeks. Geekerati Radio is a featured show in the BlogTalkRadio network. The Geekerati Radio show airs Monday nights at 7pm Pacific.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/geekerati
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=50000

I will be a guest on the Geekerati Radio Podcast this Monday night, so I hope you'll check it out.

Best,

-Win
www.winscotteckert.com

FarmerCon II

Via SavageChuck.... More later!

Farmerphile: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer - Issue No. 9

Farmerphile #9 is now available for ordering and will be shipping sometime in the next couple weeks.

The issue is Ancient Opar themed. Table of Contents:

• The Archaeology of Khokarsa - by Christopher Paul Carey
• White Skinned Grey-Eyed God- by Dennis E. Power
• Sketches from the Ruins of My Mind- by Robert R. Barrett
• The Brueckel/Harwood Letter- by Philip José Farmer
• Bibliophile- by Paul Spiteri
• The Rebels Unthawed- by Philip José Farmer (Star Trek fans, take note!)--- illustrated by Shannon Robicheaux
• Star Trek’s Loss Is Your Gain- by Danny Adams
• Creative Mythography: "The Shades of Pemberley, Part II"- a Sexton Blake/Sherlock Holmes/Farmerian homage by Win Scott Eckert--- illustrated by Chuck Loridans
• Up from the Bottomless Pit (part 9)- by Philip José Farmer
  
  
  Check out this utterly gorgeous cover art by Charles Berlin. That’s Phil Farmer exploring the ruins of Opar with the specter of Hadon of Opar hauntingly behind him. Chris Carey consulted with Charles on this illustration so that the symbols you see on the ruins and on the paper in Phil’s hand are actually the real characters Phil devised for the Khokarsan language (but have never previously been published anywhere). The stylized ant head painted on Hadon’s chest was also designed by Phil.

This issue also has the second part of my "The Shades of Pemberley." Please be sure to check out the Shades of Pemberley Contest; you can win copies of books signed by Phil Farmer, me, Chris Carey, Chuck Loridans, and Mike Croteau.

Best,
Win
http://www.winscotteckert.com/

Steven Colbert puts the Wold Newton Family On Notice

Via cpc: First Colbert put metafictional authors On Notice.

Now he's after the Wold Newton Family.

Somebody stop this man.

Up from the Bottomless Pit shipping soon

Via Christopher Paul Carey:

"The word is in from Subterranean Press that Up from the Bottomless Pit and Other Stories will be shipping in July. This collection features the first book publication of Philip José Farmer’s Up from the Bottomless Pit, an eco-thriller that Phil wrote in the late-1970s about a worldwide disaster in the oil industry. The book never saw print until its serialized publication in Farmerphile (2005-2007) and now in this handsome limited edition from Subterranean Press. The book also features fourteen previously rare and uncollected Farmer stories and public talks, as well as an introduction and story headers by yours truly, and a special introduction to one story by Win Scott Eckert. Since this is a limited edition, which collectors will doubtless be after because it’s a first edition Farmer, I suggest you get 'em while they’re hot, folks."

My "special introduction" is Star Trek-related, although it is not to, alas a Trek story by Philip José Farmer. Still, if you're a Farmer fan and a Trek fan, you'll want to check it out. As well as the whole Chris Carey-edited collection, of course. :-)

At the Locus Awards & a MYTHS signing

Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe is a 2007 Locus Award Finalist in the Non-Fiction Category. Myths contributor Christopher Paul Carey and I will be attending the Award Ceremony this coming weekend in Seattle, and taking in the festivities at Science Fiction Museum 2007 Hall of Fame Awards Weekend.

Friday, June 15, 2007
8:00 to 11:00 pm: Costume party and exhibition preview of Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television at Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. This event is open to EMP/SFM members and to attendees of the Locus Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Saturday, June 16, 2007
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: “Thinking about Humanity” Panel with Connie Willis, Gardner Dozois, and Nancy Kress, moderated by Eileen Gunn at the Courtyard Marriott.

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: “Thinking about the World” Panel with Vernor Vinge, Greg Bear, and Neal Stephenson, moderated by Charles N. Brown at the Courtyard Marriott.

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm: Locus Awards Banquet at the Courtyard Marriott with emcee Connie Willis, who will present the awards and judge the traditional Hawaiian shirt contest.

3:00 to 3:30 p.m.: Book signing with Gene Wolfe, Connie Willis, John Picacio (of Myths cover art fame), and others at the Courtyard Marriott.

8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.: 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honoring Gene Wolfe, Ed Emshwiller, Ridley Scott and Gene Roddenberry.


Chris Carey and I will be at the Book Signing at the Courtyard Marriott from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m., so if you're in the Seattle area, please drop by, we'd love to see you and mark up your copy of Myths -- or sell you a new one. ;-)

Best of luck also to John Picacio and Mark Finn, who also have MonkeyBrain-published books in the running, and of course Subterranean's The Best of Philip José Farmer.

Best,

Win
winscotteckert.com

FARMERPHILE no. 8 shipping... and a contest to win signed books!

Issue no. 8 of Farmerphile: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer is now shipping. Just click here for contents and ordering information.

We've doing something a bit different with this issue and the next for the Creative Mythography section of the magazine. We're running a contest for the readers who can identify the most "Easter egg" references in the two-part "The Shades of Pemberley," which runs in issues 8 and 9. Issue 9 ships in July and contest entries will be due after that.

Full details on the rules and prizes--including a copy of Venus on the Half-Shell signed by Philip José Farmer!--are here.

Let the Games begin!

Locus Award Finalists

From Chris Roberson, publisher of MonkeyBrain Books:

"Looks like MonkeyBrain has three horses in this race (and two of them in the same category!)."

The full list is online , but here are the relevant parts:

*Best Non-Fiction *
- About Writing, Samuel R. Delany (Wesleyan University Press)
- Blood & Thunder: The Life & Art of Robert E. Howard, Mark Finn (MonkeyBrain Books)
- The Darkening Garden: A Short Lexicon of Horror, John Clute (Payseur & Schmidt)
- James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, Julie Phillips (St. Martin's)
- Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe, Win Scott Eckert (MonkeyBrain Books)

*Best Art Book *
- Cathy & Arnie Fenner, eds. Spectrum 13: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art (Underwood)
- Edward Gorey, Amphigorey Again (Harcourt)
- John Jude Palencar, Origins (Underwood Books)
- John Picacio, Cover Story (MonkeyBrain Books)
- Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell, The Fabulous Women of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell (HarperCollins/Collins Design)

My congratulations to fellow MonkeyBrain scribe Mark Finn, and to John Picacio (who also happened to do the cover art for Myths) for his dual nomination in the category of Best Artist!

I should also point out that The Best of Philip José Farmer (Subterranean Press) is up for Best Collection.

I am very, very thankful to everyone who voted for Myths. And most grateful, once again, to all the wonderful creative mythographers who contributed to the book.

Beyond that, I'm mostly speechless right now.

Locus poll ends tomorrow

Friends,

The Locus Magazine annual "best-of" poll ends tomorrow!

If you haven't had a chance to vote yet, your support for Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe in the non-fiction category will be most appreciated...

Best,

-Win

Philip José Farmer and LOST

Doc Jensen (and a whole bunch of other people all over the 'net) does what is essentially a creative mythography analysis of LOST every week.

This week, Philip José Farmer and his work are name-dropped--multiple times. There are some amazing theories in here. Check out the links at the bottom for other essays.

I know that the latest hot genre show is HEROES, but for me, LOST is still where it's at.

THE GHOST Lives!

Wild Cat Books proudly announces THE GHOST, an upcoming pulp anthology featuring brand new stories by some of today’s most acclaimed writers of mystery, horror, and science fiction. The Ghost, a fascinating, nearly forgotten pulp hero, is magician detective George Chance, (later known as the Green Ghost), whose thrilling adventures were originally written by G.T. Fleming-Roberts, pseudonym of George Thomas Roberts, a prolific contributor to pulp magazines. As the Ghost, Chance adopts a terrifying disguise, using his superior skill as an illusionist and master escape artist, to battle the criminal Underworld.

THE GHOST resurrection is the collaborative brain-child of Wild Cat founder and publisher Ron Hanna, who has been printing new editions of pulp material for over a decade, and writer/editor Martin Powell, a contributor not only to Moonstone’s eagerly awaited pulp anthologies reviving THE SPIDER, THE PHANTOM, THE AVENGER, and CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT, but was also a featured writer in KOLCHAK: The Night Stalker Chronicles, which earned a Bram Stoker nomination.

“About a year ago, publisher Ron Hanna approached me with the idea of doing something new with the Ghost, an old favorite character for both of us,” Powell said. “He generously gave me the freedom to select my own writers and illustrator, and I immediately knew exactly who I wanted for the book. As busy as all of these guys are, I was genuinely surprised when every single writer that I’d hand-picked enthusiastically joined the project. Already this has been an awesome experience.”

The featured “Ghost Writers” are an impressive group, including: James Chambers (The Midnight Hour), Win Scott Eckert (Tales of the Shadowmen), Mike Frigon (Doctor Satan), Joe Gentile (Kolchak the Night Stalker & Sherlock Holmes), Howard Hopkins (Night Demons), Christopher Mills (Femme Noir), and Powell himself. Larry Marshall (Flying Models) is on board as co-editor.

Thomas L. Floyd, creator of the web-comic strip, CAPTAIN SPECTRE, has also joined THE GHOST, contributing a new painted cover and providing a series of b&w interior illustrations, as well.

Hanna and Powell also hint at a major surprise within the covers of THE GHOST, yet to be announced, that they guarantee will give pulp fans a reason to celebrate.

The resurrection of THE GHOST promises to be as cool a pulp publishing "event" as anything that's come before!

CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT Returns at Moonstone Books

Well, the contract's signed, so I guess it's official. I've been invited to contribute to Moonstone Books' new Captain Midnight anthology, and couldn't be more pleased.

Moonstone is the outfit responsible for bringing back many favorites in prose, four-color/b&w glory, or both, including Sherlock Holmes, Kolchak the Night Stalker, The Phantom, Mr. Moto, The Mysterious Traveler, I Love a Mystery, Buckaroo Banzai, Bulldog Drummond, The Spider, The Avenger, and even Doc Savage (radio scripts).

This is exciting stuff! I don't have any more info right now, but when I do I'll post it.

Index to MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE

Adrian Nebbett, gentleman proprietor of the Sherlock Holmes Pastiche Character Index, a resource I turn to often, e-mailed me out of the blue to say he's done an index for MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE.

It's a fantastic bit of work, for which I've thanked him profusely.

You can download your copy by going to his page "Indexes to Classic Sherlockian Works."

And no, it is not lost on me that Mr. Nebbett considers MYTHS to be a "classic Sherlockian work." High praise, indeed.

MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE now listed on 37th annual Locus Awards ballot - Please Vote

Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe is on the 37th Annual Locus Awards ballot for best Non-Fiction book of 2006.

If you've read Myths and enjoyed it, then please consider voting for it; I and the other contributors would be most grateful.

THE BEST OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER is also listed on the ballot for Best Single-Author Collection, so be sure to vote for that as well.

Be sure to also give props to Chris Roberson and the other MonkeyBrain Books titles, and consider a vote for Myths contributor Chris Carey's former Writing Popular Fiction mentor, Tobias Buckell, who is up for Best First Novel for CRYSTAL RAIN.

Anyone can vote. Please post this on your blogs, forward to friends and family, etc, ASAP. And ask them to vote and forward it on.

https://secure.locusmag.com/2007/2007PollAndSurvey.html

Best,

Win

MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE now listed on 37th annual Locus Awards ballot - Please Vote

Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe is on the 37th Annual Locus Awards ballot for best Non-Fiction book of 2006.

If you've read Myths and enjoyed it, then please consider voting for it; I and the other contributors would be most grateful.

THE BEST OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER is also listed on the ballot for Best Single-Author Collection, so be sure to vote for that as well.

Be sure to also give props to Chris Roberson and the other MonkeyBrain Books titles, and consider a vote for Myths contributor Chris Carey's former Writing Popular Fiction mentor, Tobias Buckell, who is up for Best First Novel for CRYSTAL RAIN.

Anyone can vote. Please post this on your blogs, forward to friends and family, etc, ASAP. And ask them to vote and forward it on.

https://secure.locusmag.com/2007/2007PollAndSurvey.html

Best,

Win

MYTHS makes Locus Magazine's Recommended Reading: 2006

I've very pleased to note that Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer's Wold Newton Universe made the Locus Magazine's Recommended Reading List for 2006. The list will appear in the February issue.

Continuing the Farmerian trend, The Best of Philip José Farmer was also listed.

Props also to Chris Roberson, publisher of Myths for the Modern Age, for his own mentions and the other MonkeyBrain titles!

FARMERPHILE - Issue No. 7 – January 2007 – Now Available!

FARMERPHILE: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer

Farmerphile is a quarterly magazine completely dedicated to works by and about Philip José Farmer. It features the unpublished novel Up from the Bottomless Pit, a suspense-thriller about the ultimate disaster in the oil industry, serialized over the first ten issues. These ten issues will also include other unpublished stories, speeches and letters by Farmer himself, as well as articles about the Grand Master and his work from his fans and peers. Farmerphile is fabulously illustrated by such talented artists as Jason Robert Bell, Charles Berlin, Keith Howell, Karl Kauffman, Chuck Loridans, and Shannon Robicheaux.

Issue No. 7 – January 2007 – Now Available!

The January 2007 issue of Farmerphile features Philip José Farmer’s previously unpublished science fiction story “The Frames,” a prophetically disturbing look at the electronic duplicity of our media. Next up is “The Light-Hog Incident,” a never before seen in print excerpt from PJF’s unfinished novel The Man Who Loved the Great Wizard. But that’s not all: Be the first to read an excerpt from the upcoming short novel The City Beyond Play (PS Publishing, 2007) by Philip José Farmer and Danny Adams, and an exclusive interview with the two authors about the writing of this new and exciting release. Also included in this issue: a little known account by author David Bischoff in which he inadvertently becomes involved in an uncomfortable near miss with one of his favorite authors; the hilarious Riverworld parodies of fan legend Walt Liebscher; a look at the mysteries of The World of Tiers by Dennis E. Power (contributor to Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe); and features by our regular contributors Bette Farmer and Paul Spiteri (editor of Pearls from Peoria).


Table of contents:

Riverworld in Parody – Walt Liebscher

The Rollercoaster Ride with Phil Farmer – Bette Farmer

An Excerpt from The City Beyond Play – Philip José Farmer & Danny Adams

Farmerphile Interviews Danny Adams and Philip José Farmer

The Frames – Philip José Farmer

illustrated by Charles Berlin

The Light-Hog Incident – Philip José Farmer

A Letter from Farmer – David Bischoff

Creative Mythography – Dennis E. Power

Bibliophile: a discussion on The Long Warpath – Paul Spiteri

Up from the Bottomless Pit, Part 7 – Philip José Farmer

illustrated by Keith Howell

Cover art by Shannon Robicheaux

Complete ordering information for Farmerphile may be found at:

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

___________

(Note from Win: my pal and fellow Wold Newton/PJF researcher Dennis Power kindly agreed to do a guest Creative Mythography column for this issue. Check it out, why don't you? I'll be back in issue no. 8.

Interviewed in STARLOG!

The March 2007 issue of Starlog magazine (the issue with Heroes on the cover, now on the newsstands) features an article on Philip José Farmer and the Wold Newton Universe.

If you haven't yet found a copy, Starlog has put up an excerpt from the article on their website. The front page of the Starlog website features a picture of Phil and a link to the excerpt, or you can go straight to the excerpt.

Phil agreed to a new interview for this article. I was also interviewed, as well as Farmerphile editor Christopher Paul Carey.

This is just a teaser (the full printed article is a glossy four-page spread), so if you're a fan, it's still worth picking up a physical copy of the magazine for your collection. B&N and Borders should both be carrying it.

Oh yeah, this issue of Starlog also hypes Tales of the Shadowmen Volume 3: Danse Macabre. Cool.

-Win

www.winscotteckert.com

CROSSOVERS: A Chronology of Adventure Heroes

Announcing CROSSOVERS: A Chronology of Adventure Heroes (working title) by Win Scott Eckert

The book will be an enormous expansion and revision of what is currently called the Crossover Chronology. The current version of the Crossover Chronology (online here) has approximately 400 entries. For the book version, those entries have been revised, as needed, and will contain approximately an additional 1,200 entries -- for a grand total of about 1,600 entries -- to what will be called the "Crossover Universe."

Readers can still think "Wold Newton Universe," if they prefer, and all the current references in the chronology to the Wold Newton Family, the Wold Newton meteor event, etc., will be maintained.

The basis for CROSSOVERS: A Chronology of Adventure Heroes will be fictional biographies, such as Philip José Farmer's TARZAN ALIVE and DOC SAVAGE, but also other works such as C. Northcote Parkinson's biography of Horatio Hornblower, or the short biographical pieces of the detectives in Anthony Boucher's FOUR-&-TWENTY BLOODHOUNDS.

In addition, the book will contain appendices on TV crossovers, and extensive Alternate Universe entries for stories that don't fit into the main continuity of CROSSOVERS, as well as an introductory essay on the history of the crossover by the incomparable Jess Nevins.

Coming in Spring/Summer 2008 (date tentative) from MonkeyBrain Books.

Lance Star--Sky Ranger now available on Amazon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LANCE STAR--SKY RANGER NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

If you're a pulp fan, Lance Star--Sky Ranger is for you.  Along with my
fellow writers [Bobby Nash, Frank Dirscherl, and Bill Spangler] we have crafted four tales to excite and thrill.

You can go to www.amazon.com and search for "Lance Star Sky Ranger" or follow this direct link.

My story, "Shadows Over Kunlun," has a lot of Wold Newton crossover referenecs, and and contains my answer to what happened to a particular second-tier pulp aviation hero. I hope you'll check it out.

Best,

Win Scott Eckert
Sky Ranger
www.winscotteckert.com


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

LANCE STAR - SKY RANGER Now Available from Wild Cat Books!

LANCE STAR - SKY RANGER... In the summer of 1936, a new flying hero magazine was created called LANCE STAR - SKY RANGER. It was produced by the small time Canadian publisher, Dutton Press, out of Ontario. Managing Editor, Saul Kingman, wanted a title to compete with the flying titles that were popping up all over the U.S. He wanted a title that would join the ranks of such pulp heroes as G-8, DUSTY AYRES and BILL BARNES... Wild Cat Books is proud to announce the return of this classic pulp hero! This new collection of stories features pulse-pounding prose by Frank Dirscherl, Bobby Nash, Win Scott Eckert, and Bill Spangler and is produced by pulp fiction wordsmith Ron Fortier. Artwork by Rich Woodall... Stories include: "Attack Of The Bird Man", "Where The Sea Meets The Sky", "Shadows Over Kunlun", and "Talons Of The Red Condors"... plus the special feature article "Pulp Aviation Heroes and the Rise of the Model Aviation Press" by Larry Marshall...

152 pages, 6"x9" Trade Paperback... $15.00.  An electronic version is
available as an e-book for $7.43.

Available at Wild Cat Books and at Amazon.com.

Tales of the Shadowmen 3: Danse Macabre

... is now available!

Crossover stories featuring French, British, and American literature and pulp sources and characters:

Fantômas is dead, long live Fantômas! Doctor Omega and Captain Kronos challenge the might of the Vampire City! The Animalists overthrow Babar, King of the Elephants! King Kong falls in love for the first time! Hercule Poirot stalks a Murderer from Beyond! The Sûreté du Temps Perdu faces the Vampires and the Cat Women of the Moon invade the 20th Century–but which 20th Century? And also Fu-Manchu, Judex, Maciste, the Black Coats, Biggles, John Devil, Barbarella and many more! Welcome once again to our merry-go-round of heroes and villains of popular literature, the danse macabre of the Shadowmen.

Order it here!

Well-known Wold Newton writers Matthew Baugh, Rick Lai, Greg Gick, Bill Cunningham, Brad Mengel, and myself (I contribute a "Doc Ardan," aka Doc Savage tale), along with well-known writers such as Paul Di Filippo, John Peel, Brian Stableford, Chris Roberson, and Michael Moorcock(!!)... Don't miss it, order your copy today! ;-)

Lost footage from Trek second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before"

As much as I'm enjoying the Original Star Trek series remastered with updated effects, this news just blows me away: there's "lost" footage from the second pilot which has been unearthed and is now available on YouTube. Enjoy.

FARMERPHILE: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer, Issue 6 – the DOC SAVAGE themed issue - Shipping soon!

FARMERPHILE: The Magazine of Philip José Farmer

Farmerphile is a quarterly magazine completely dedicated to works by and about Philip José Farmer. It features the unpublished novel Up from the Bottomless Pit, a suspense-thriller about the ultimate disaster in the oil industry, serialized over the first ten issues. These ten issues will also include other unpublished stories, speeches and letters by Farmer himself, as well as articles about the Grand Master and his work from his fans and peers. Farmerphile is fabulously illustrated by such talented artists as Jason Robert Bell, Charles Berlin, Keith Howell, Karl Kauffman, and Chuck Loridans.

Issue No. 6 - October 2006 – Shipping soon!



The October 2006 issue of Farmerphile features Philip José Farmer’s previously unpublished short story "Keep Your Mouth Shut" and the sixth exciting installment of Up from the Bottomless Pit. Also spotlighted is an insightful look at Farmer's "writings in bronze" by Doc Savage author and expert Will Murray. Carrying on the theme of Murray’s essay, Danny Adams (co-author of The City Beyond Play), Win Scott Eckert (editor of and contributor to Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe), and Christopher Paul Carey (contributor to Myths for the Modern Age: Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe) all pay tribute in this issue to Farmer’s Doc Savage-related work; and Bette Farmer shares behind the scenes reminiscences from the Farmers' visit to the home of Lester Dent, the first "Kenneth Robeson." Also included is an essay on collecting PJF worldwide by Rias Nuninga (webmaster of The Philip José Farmer International Bibliography) and a Bibliophile column on Farmer’s only mainstream novel, Fire and the Night, by Ramble House publisher Fender Tucker.

Table of Contents:

The International Appeal of Philip José Farmer - Rias Nuninga

Bibliophile: a discussion on Fire and the Night - Fender Tucker

Keep Your Mouth Shut - Philip José Farmer
illustrated by Jason Robert Bell

The Roller Coaster Ride with Philip José Farmer - Bette Farmer

Caliban - Will Murray

A Box within a Box - Danny Adams

Creative Mythography: Doc Wildman: Out of Time* - Win Scott Eckert
illustrated by Chuck Loridans

Through the Seventh Gate - Christopher Paul Carey

Up from the Bottomless Pit - Philip José Farmer
illustrated by Keith Howell

Covert art by Charles Berlin

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Complete ordering information for Farmerphile may be found here.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Doc Wildman: Out of Time" is the written version of my Wold Newton panel presentation at the 2006 San Diego ComicCon, reviews of which are here, here, and here.

Tales of the Shadowmen 3: Danse Macabre

The final contents and cover art for Tales of the Shadowmen 3: Danse Macabre are now up at the Black Coat Press website, and at my website.

Of course I'm abuzz with anticipation at my latest DOC ARDAN tale seeing print, but I am also eagerly awaiting all the other stories. I mean, look at the list of contributors. I have a feeling this will be the best volume yet.

Neil Gaiman likes Wold Newton

Via my pal Christopher Paul Carey....

Neil Gaiman’s new collection is out.

“As a boy I had loved Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton stories, in which dozens of characters from fiction were incorporated into one coherent world, and I had greatly enjoyed watching my friends Kim Newman and Alan Moore build their own Wold Newton-descended worlds in the Anno Dracula sequence and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, respectively. It looked like fun. I wondered if I could try something like that.”

--from the intro to “A Study in Emerald” (which was previously published in Shadows Over Baker Street).

Farmercon written up in Locus

I haven't seen the September '06 issue yet, but Chris Carey phoned tonight with news that Farmercon I, held at the end of July on Peoria, has a brief entry in this month's Locus, complete with color photos.

Here are Chris Carey's entries on the festivities: here and here.

Cool. Got to get that issue of Locus ASAP.

New pulp anthologies

I am definitely digging Moonstone Books and the anthologies they’re planning, such as this one dedicated to pulp hero The Spider:

Moonstone is also doing other prose anthologies:

- a volume of Doc Savage stories from original Lester Dent radio scripts
- a volume of stories on Lee Falk's The Phantom
- a second Kolchak: The Night Stalker anthology.
- they also have a Sherlock Holmes/Kolchak crossover graphic novel in the works.

And I have my suspicions that they'll be announcing a volume on another fairly well-known pulp hero soon.

In terms of ongoing anthologies of pulp characters, I also have to shamelessly plug Lance Star - Sky Ranger.

It's also soon to be available on Amazon. If you like it, please post a review. My story does have crossovers, which link Lance into the larger Wold Newton mythos and pulp fiction universe continuity, for those who care about such things. But it can also be read without prior knowledge of the crossovers.

This ongoing series of anthologies is put together by Ron Fortier (NOW Comics' The Green Hornet) and future volumes will be dedicated to Secret Agent X, Ki-Gor, The Domino Lady, The Black Bat, The Moon Man, Dr. Satan, and more.

I hope folks will support these efforts.

Also, speaking of pulp anthologies, Jean-Marc Lofficier has posted the writers and characters for the upcoming Tales of the Shadowmen 3: Danse Macabre.

My story features Doc Ardan (okay... Doc Savage), Adelaide Lupin (daughter of gentleman thief Arsene Lupin), private dick Nestor Burma, mystic Jens Rolf, Le Chiffre, and Elizabeth Bathory. I had a lot of fun with this one.

One more brief write-up of the Wold Newton panel at Comic-Con

From PopMatters.com...

Another write-up of the Wold Newton panel at Comic-Con

Peter Sanderson, comic book writer, editor, journalist and NYU professor, has done a very nice write-up of our Wold Newton panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.

I've said it before, but it's gratifying when people really get what we're doing, right down to the intricate intellectual literary exercises and the tongues-in-cheeks.

Adventures of Caveman Robot

If you haven't checked out the wacky multi-media Adventures of Caveman Robot, you really should.

The latest comic features a story by "Newt Woldon" and a ref to Savage Chuck's MONSTAAH organization.

Here's me and Lisa with Cavey. Oh yeah, and the back of Andrew's head.

Where did July go??

I've already blogged about the San Diego Comic Con, both in words and in pics.

Less than a week after getting home from Comic-Con, where I spent a full week, I turned around and flew to Peoria to visit legendary writer Philip José Farmer for FARMERCON I.

Chris Carey has already blogged on the Farmer trip. It was a great time, he wrote a wonderful report, and I don't have to much to add, so go read it here.

Meanwhile, Savage Chuck Loridans and Brad Mengel have chimed in on our Comic-Con experiences. Too cool.

SMALL TALK COLUMN By John A. Small

Today we have a "guest blog: from my pal John Small:

SMALL TALK COLUMN
For August 3, 2006

By John A. Small
News Editor
Johnston County Capital-Democrat


A WELCOME BREAK FROM REALITY

For a lifelong, self-admitted übergeek like Yours Truly, it was an experience that can only be described as being just slightly this side of nirvana...

Some of you may recall (there's absolutely no reason in the world why you should, but then again stranger things have happened) that last year I was one of several writers whose essays appeared in an anthology entitled Myths For The Modern Age. The book was something of a tribute to famed science fiction author Philip José Farmer – like my wife, a native of Peoria, Ill. – whose works include what I have come to call the Wold Newton Mythos: a series of novels, short stories, essays and other works in which Farmer combines some of fiction's best known stories and characters into a single unified mythology.

To make a long story short: over the years a number of writers have expounded on Farmer's ideas with their own essays, several of which were collected by editor Win Scott Eckert into Myths For The Modern Age. I was fortunate enough to be among those whose efforts are included in the book; my contribution is an admittedly minor one – a mere 14 pages of a 400-plus page tome – but it was a kick to be invited to participate in the project on two levels.

First, it offered me the opportunity to exercise a little more creative writing than my day job (much as I love it) usually allows; second, it was a chance to pay tribute to a writer whose works had helped fuel a youthful enthusiasm for the science fiction/fantasy genre that continues to this day.

The book came out last November to almost universal praise from critics and fans alike, and for a small town newspaper reporter from rural Oklahoma it's been a pretty heady experience which, frankly, has been a little difficult to explain to those who ordinarily might not be all that interested in such things. (To use a metaphor that our sports editor Gerry Ratliff might appreciate, I suppose it's a little like a lifelong baseball fan being invited out of the stands to throw a couple of pitches to the likes of Ernie Banks or Hank Aaron at an old-timers' game.)

The personal thrill of being involved in the project was compounded not long afterwards when I was invited to help promote the book by taking part in a panel discussion and book signing at this year's ComicCon International in San Diego, Calif. Although it's promoted as a comic book convention – the largest in America, in fact – ComicCon International has grown in its 30-plus year history into more a celebration of pop culture in general. Movie studios and video game manufacturers use the week-long event to preview their upcoming releases, while motion picture and television actors turn out to sign autographs and promote their latest works and/or whatever social cause they happen to be pursuing that particular week.

Over in another corner of the convention center, famed science fiction and fantasy authors hold question-and-answer sessions with fans and press alike, while companies that specialize in the manufacture of Hollywood props or costumes sell replicas of their work; from what I could tell, it cost more for fans to buy the replicas than it did for the company to build the originals. Meanwhile, fans parade around the convention floor in homemade costumes from "Star Trek," "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings" or "The Matrix," as used book dealers sell hard-to-find paperback and hardcover editions of everything from Edgar Rice Burroughs or Robert E. Howard first editions to the collected works of Charles M. Schulz and Dr. Suess.

Somewhere amidst all the madness, your friendly neighborhood news editor briefly held court before an audience of comic book and pulp fiction fans who learned about the connection between an ally of Zorro's named Lady Rawhide and a popular comic book heroine of the 1970s named Vampirella. Pretty silly stuff, I suppose, and obviously not all that important in the grand scheme of reality.

To some extent, however, that was the point... for me, at any rate. Although I've never let it become quite the all-encompassing fanaticism that it is for your
stereotypical fanboy nerd types (the kind of people who go to the grocery store wearing rubber Spock ears or respond to daily crises by quoting Yoda, for example), my fondness for science fiction and fantasy in general has always provided a sort of release from the day-to-day realities that make up all of our lives. It's not meant to be taken seriously, but it's fun to turn one’s back on reality every now and then and escape into a fantasy world of superheroes and intergalactic adventurers.

And on a professional level it afforded me an opportunity I would never have had otherwise: to not only share the room with such luminaries as famed author Ray Bradbury, legendary comic book creator Stan Lee or special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen, but to be viewed by fellow fans in attendance – by virtue of my mere 14 pages in a 400-plus page tome – as being a peer to these storytellers whose works I have enjoyed all my life.

Even better was the opportunity to finally meet some of my fellow contributors to said book – media scholars like Win Eckert, Brad Mengel, Dennis Power, Henry Covert, Chris Carey, Dr. Pete Coogan, and the lovably lunatic “Savage Chuck” Loridans (brother in spirit, if not by blood) – and to bask in the glow of newfound friendship.

Somewhere inside this world-weary journalist, there beats the heart of a six-year-old who still remembers how his imagination soared the first time he saw Superman flying faster than a speeding bullet, King Kong carrying Fay Wray to the top of the Empire State Building and Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star. It's nice every now and then to let that six-year-old back out to play for just a little while. It's even better to be able to share the experience with those who aren't afraid to let their own internal six-year-olds out onto the same playground.

Yeah, I know. It's all so terribly silly. Childish, even. Grow up already, Small. Act like an adult, for crying out loud!

But it was all just so dog-gone cool...

(Copyright © 2006 by John A. Small)

LANCE STAR - SKY RANGER ... Now Available from Wild Cat Books

LANCE STAR - SKY RANGER... In the summer of 1936, a new flying hero magazine was created called LANCE STAR – SKY RANGER. It was produced by the small time Canadian publisher, Dutton Press, out of Ontario. Managing Editor, Saul Kingman, wanted a title to compete with the flying titles that were popping up all over the U.S. He wanted a title that would join the ranks of such pulp heroes as G-8, DUSTY AYRES and BILL BARNES... Wild Cat Books is proud to announce the return of this classic pulp hero! This new collection of stories features pulse-pounding prose by Frank Dirscherl, Bobby Nash, Win Scott Eckert, and Bill Spangler and is produced by pulp fiction wordsmith Ron Fortier. Artwork by Rich Woodall... Stories include: "Attack Of The Bird Man", "Where The Sea Meets The Sky", "Shadows Over Kunlun", and "Talons Of The Red Condors"... plus the special feature article "Pulp Aviation Heroes and the Rise of the Model Aviation Press" by Larry Marshall...
152 pages, 6"x9" Trade Paperback... $15.00
Available at Wild Cat Books


My tale, "Shadows Over Kunlun," sends Lance and the boys on an expedition to Tibet in search of a lost World War One ace and a hidden power source that could change the course of history!

I hope you'll check out this first in a series of single-character pulp anthologies edited by Ron Fortier and published by Wild Cat Books.


Win
Win Scott Eckert.com
The Wold Newton Universe

2006 Comic-Con pics

As promised...


Win Eckert - book signing




Win Eckert - Wold Newton panel




Chuck Loridans - Wold Newton panel




John Small - Wold Newton panel





Brad Mengel - Wold Newton panel





Pete Coogan - Wold Newton panel






Last copy





Family affair





The gang

2006 Comic-Con report

Where to start...?

At the beginning! Lisa, Andrew, and I arrived Monday night and spent the day Tuesday at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Very hot, but we had a great time.

Brad Mengel got in Tuesday night, but understandably was too exhausted from traveling the better part around the world, so we met up with him for breakfast on Wednesday morning. Dennis Power arrived a few hours later and we had a great time chatting and getting to know each other.

Later we made our way over to the Con itself to pick up our badges and get ready for Preview Night. We met up with Henry Covert and Rachel, and the “getting to know you” continued. Eventually Chuck Loridans, John Small and Family, and Pete Coogan arrived. We also bid our greetings to Chris Roberson of MonkeyBrain Books and solidified the plans for the Myths for the Modern Age book signing the next day.

Dinner was had and Wold Newtonry was discussed! Various permutations of this group of folks met for breakfast and dinner on Thursday (including late arrivals Chris Carey, his pal Karl Kauffman, and their very nice writing colleague, tcastleb) over the next few days, so I won’t bore everyone with that.

The Wold Newton panel kicked off the Comics Arts Conference presentations, and went well. In fact, there’s a nice report on it here.

From there was the Myths signing, and we sold all the copies that MonkeyBrain brought to San Diego.

After that, our time was our own, and we spent long hours discussing our various Wold Newton projects and theories, other writing projects, and Philip José Farmer.

Along the way I picked up the first new Shadow pulp reprint, signed stock of Tarzan Alive at the Bud Plant booth, picked up some beautiful prints of The Shadow by the legendary Steranko (who also signed them, and is a very nice man), chatted briefly but productively with Joe Gentile of Moonstone Books, picked up some very cool pulp magazines, attended a panel on thriller writing (featuring Paul Malmont, who also signed my copy of The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, and Max Allan Collins, among others), attended the Lost panel (which had some great meta-fictional moments, including a "protester" accusing the show and its creators of fronting for the very real, evil, Hanso Foundation), hung out with Jason Robert Bell and the other great folks at Caveman Robot, and the panel featuring the legendary Forry Ackerman, Ray Harryhausen, and Ray Bradbury.

By far the best part, though, was hooking up with old pals and making new friends. The panel and signing would never have come off without their help, so I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Chris Carey for putting together some very nicely done flyers to promote the Wold Newton panel session; his pal Karl Kauffman for handing out said flyers at the door; Brad Mengel for bringing us all some truly invaluable shoulder bags emblazoned with the word "Pulp" for hauling stuff around; Chuck Loridans, John Small, Brad Mengel, and Pete Coogan for helping put together a great presentation (and for traveling from around the world to give it!); my wife Lisa for setting up the computer at the panel session while I was scurrying around, and for taking pics; Lisa's son Andrew for running the video camera and doing a great job of it; Henry Covert and Rachel Kadushin, John's family (Melissa, Joshua, and William), Dennis Power, Jason Robert Bell (Caveman Robot!), Karl Kauffman, tcastleb, and Chris Carey for showing up at the panel and lending much-needed support; and Chris Roberson for holding the book signing afterwards.

It was a great time and I’m hoping to see everyone again soon. I still haven’t got my Con pics ready, but I’ll post those next.

Win Scott Eckert.com

It's still a little buggy, but the bugs should be resolved in a few days, so I'll go ahead and roll out my new writing website, Win Scott Eckert.com. Anyone inclined to link to it, the URL right now is http://www.winscotteckert.com/Index.htm, but in a few days plain old http://www.winscotteckert.com/ will work.

The syndicated blog feeds may take a few more days beyond that, so ignore those for the time being.

I could have waited, but I'll be buzzing around this weekend and preparing to depart for the San Diego Comic-Con on Monday.

Anyway, anyone who feels like it, I'll much appreciate a link. And I'll be happy to reciprocate once I figure out how to update the damn pages myself. ;-)

Props for TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN...

... from no less than Michael Moorcock. Start on page 1 and continue through page 7.

Standout quotes: "I think the Shadowmen titles are great and a good way in to French pulp... Probably the best kept secret in publishing." He also says he's interested in participating in a future volume.

Hey, I have no idea if he liked (or even remembers) my particular stories or not. But when you have guys like Robert Sheckley, Brian Stableford, and Kim Newman involved, and Michael Moorcock interested... well, it can't be a bad thing to be associated with the Tales of the Shadowmen.

SanDiego Comic-Con - Wold Newton panel and book signing

Thursday, July 20th, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Comic Arts Conference Session #1: Myths for the Modern Age — In the tradition of Philip José Farmer's famous hoax biography Tarzan Alive, contributors to Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe (MonkeyBrain Books) present their parascholarship with a straight face, treating comic book as the reports of the adventures of real-life people. Win Eckert ("Foreword," Tarzan Alive) brings forward evidence to show that DC Comics' Doc Savage series of the 1990s, dismissed by many scholars because of numerous inconsistencies, in fact portrays events from Doc Savage's life consistent with the original pulp super-sagas. Brad Mengel settles the longstanding question of the Man of Bronze's true family name—"Savage" as asserted in the pulps, or—"Wildman" as Farmer revealed in Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life. Chuck Loridans reveals evidence recently uncovered from the files of Richard Henry Benson (aka The Avenger) that suggests that the Jungle Lord may have sired two daughters, Modesty Blaise and Nellie Gray. John Small presents a compelling case that the woman known as Vampirella was born Anita Santiago and adventured with Zorro as Lady Rawhide. Peter
Coogan (Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre) pulls the curtain back and discusses the principles of Wold-Newtonry employed in the essays. Room 7B

After the Comic Arts Conference Wold Newton panel session, we'll be at the MonkeyBrain Books booth (F1) for a signing for my book, Myths for the Modern Age: Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Universe.
Thursday, July 20th, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

If anyone reading this will be there, please drop by, I'd love to see you.

Lance Star, Sky Ranger

Wild Cat Books has announced it will soon begin a series of pulp anthologies made up of all new stories focusing on one specific, classic pulp hero. The brainstorm of editor Ron Fortier, the first volume will star LANCE STAR, SKY RANGER in four brand new tales by pulp experts and writers Bobby Nash, Bill Spangler, Frank Dirscherl and me. The book features three beautiful black and white spot illustrations per story, and a brand new cover painting by graphic artist, Rich Woodall. Coming July 2006 from Ron Hanna's Wild Cat Books!

Here is Rich Woodall's portrait of Lance Star.


I'm very pleased to be involved in the Lance Star project. My story, "Shadows Over Kunlun," deals with the search for a long-lost Great War air ace, and takes Lance and his Sky Rangers to San Francisco and Tibet. If you're unfamiliar with Lance Star, he's a long-forgotten air hero whose adventures were briefly published in Canadian pulps in the 1930s.

As you can see from the book cover, this is a class-act group of talent, and I'm honored to be a part of it.