The most popular article on the Black Gate blog last month was “An Open Letter to Dave Truesdale,” which was visited roughly 8,000 times and generated 100+ comments. It’s the first article to beat out New Treasures in overall monthly traffic in nearly a year — which just goes to show you, controversy trumps tradition, every time.

Next was my brief article “Star Trek 3 Confirmed,” which was read over 5,500 times. Glad to see interest in classic Trek remains strong among BG readers!

Third was Elizabeth Eckhart bit of Games of Thrones scholarship, “The HBO Season 4 Finale of Game of Thrones: How Different Was it from George R.R. Martin’s Version?”, read over 4,600 times.

Rounding out the Top Five were M Harold Page’s review of Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan’s Column to Icelandic Sagas, and our report on Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson’s return to comics for the first time in nearly two decades.

The complete Top 50 Black Gate posts in June were:

1. An Open Letter to Dave Truesdale
2. Star Trek 3 Confirmed
3. The HBO Season 4 Finale of Game of Thrones: How Different Was it from George R.R. Martin’s Version?
4. Review: Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan’s Column to Icelandic Sagas
5. Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson Draws Pearls Before Swine
6. The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Meet Nero Wolfe
7. A Bomb on a Plane: The Adventures of Captain Marvel, Chapter Four: Death Takes the Wheel
8. In Praise of Paperbacks
9. Why Pure Historical Fantasies Never Seem to be Bestsellers
10. The Economics of Short Fiction Writing

     

11. Scenic Dunnsmouth
12. The How’s and Why’s of Outlining
13. Art of the Genre: The Art of D&D is Not Right for Lankhmar [and Most Other Fiction Settings]
14. A Monster Index for Shub-Niggurath, Cthuhlu or Azathoth: A Review of Lovecraft’s Monsters
15. My Favorite Fantasy Villains
16. Hiking Along Hadrian’s Wall
17. Were These the 10 Best Ghost Stories as of 1927?
18. Vintage Treasures: The Stars Are the Styx by Theodore Sturgeon
19. A Reconstructed Celtic Village in Spain
20. … and Miniature Figures

     

21. Dawn Duellist Society: 20 Years of an Urban Fantasy
22. Vintage Treasures: Weird Tales #290
23. What Might Have Been: Steven Bauer’s Satyrday
24. The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: Gary Gygax’s Role Playing Mastery
25. Jay Lake, June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014
26. With Apologies to Dopey
27. New Treasures: Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue With His Century Volume 2: 1948 – 1988: The Man Who Learned Better, by William H. Patterson
28. How I Lost My Soul and Learned to Love Hell
29. Category: Magazines
30. Tarzan-on-Demand: Tarzan and the Great River (1967)

     

31. New Treasures: Trail of Cthulhu: Eternal Lies
32. Goth Chick News: Nice Souvenir – Dracula’s Tomb Found in Italy (Maybe)
33. The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes: When Elric of Melnibone Came to 221B Baker Street
34. The Constant Tower by Carole McDonnell
35. The Godzilla Blu-ray Flood: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster)
36. Category: Books
37. At the Mountains of Merchandise
38. Thanks, Dad
39. Welcome To The Club
40. Heroes and Antiheroes

     

41. Can Writing Be Taught?
42. New Treasures: Nihal of the Land of the Wind by Licia Troisi
43. “Gamera Is Really Neat!” (Sometimes): The Classic Gamera Series on Blu-ray
44. Doctor Strange Gets a Director
45. Review: They Say the Sirens Left the Seas
46. The Series Series: Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell
47. Sage Stossel’s Starling
48. To The Dark Tower He Came: Warlock of the Witch World by Andre Norton
49. Visiting York Castle
50. A Strong Case That We’re Living in a Golden Age of Horror: The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Six

The Top 5o Black Gate blog posts in May are here, and you can see all 107 posts we made in the month of June here.