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New Treasures: Cult Magazines: A to Z

New Treasures: Cult Magazines: A to Z

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cult-magazine-atozYou get to meet a lot of great people at science fiction conventions. For some, the draw is the Featured Guests, and it’s certainly cool to meet Neil Gaimen, Pat Rothfuss, John Scalzi, Connie Willis, and other top-selling authors.

For me though, the true delights are in meeting exciting writers and artists I’m not always familiar with. A few years ago, as we were setting up our booth at Dragon*Con, author Rob Thurman, who had the booth next to us, wandered over and introduced herself. She turned out to be extremely cool and delightfully entertaining, and when I finally staggered home, bone weary from five days in Atlanta, I dropped into my big green chair with one of her Cal Leandros novels. If it hadn’t been for lucky booth placement, I might never have discovered what an entertaining writer she was.

The same thing happened at Worldcon in Chicago two weeks ago. During the rare slow moments in the Dealers’ Room, I was able to wander a bit and check out the nearby booths. I discovered to my surprise that we were next to Nonstop Press — publishers of Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010, The Collected Stories of Carol Emshwiller, and Cult Magazines: A to Z.

Nonstop’s Emshwiller: Infinity x Two: The Art & Life of Ed & Carol Emshwiller, by Luis Ortiz, is one of my favorite art books. The distinguished Mr. Ortiz was in the booth, and I was able to introduce myself. He had several intriguing new titles on display and — keeping a wary eye on the empty Black Gate booth — I was able to peek at them.

My eye was drawn immediately to Outermost: Life + Art of Jack Gaughan, a beautiful 176-page hardcover packed with over 500 images, many familiar from countless Ace and DAW paperback covers of the 60s and 70s. Over lunch, Rich Horton had talked about Robert Silverberg’s captivating memoir of writing SF in the 50s, Other Spaces, Other Times: A Life Spent in the Future, and there it was. I couldn’t resist Damien Broderick & Paul Di Filippo’s entertaining Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels – 1985-2010 either.

But the most fascinating book on the table, by a considerable margin, was Cult Magazines: A to Z, edited by Earl Kemp and Luis Ortiz, a gorgeous oversized softcover jam packed with articles and full-color pictures of hundreds of pulp, horror, science fiction, fantasy, comic, monster mags and men’s magazines published between 1925 and 1990.

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Goth Chick News: The Creature Had Good Taste and So Does Tim Burton

Goth Chick News: The Creature Had Good Taste and So Does Tim Burton

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image0021As it may have been with you, for me it all started with the original Universal Studios’ monster movies.

By “it,” I mean a lifelong fandom of the black and white, the subliminal scare, the camera angles and the long shadows; the classics created not because they were drenched in buckets of gore and nauseating realism, but because, as Bela Lugosi said in Ed Wood:

They were mythic. They had a poetry to them

Sigh.

Naturally, meeting someone associated with one of these films is the Goth Chick equivalent to winning the lottery; especially as those individuals who still are around to meet often do not venture far from the sunny and warm climates where they have retired.

Last weekend, Christmas came early when two of my all-time favorites from vintage Hollywood horror found their way to Chicago to attend The Hollywood Show.

Ms. Julie Adams, whose very presence and bearing makes you want to call her ma’am, is best known to many for her portrayal of bathing beauty Kay Lawrence in Universal’s 1954 classic The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Admittedly, my knowledge of Ms. Adams’ fifty-seven year career was extremely limited which she teasingly pointed out.

I wasn’t just the bit of cheesecake in the Creature movie you know. I actually worked with Elvis too!

Correct on both counts.

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It’s A Small World After All

It’s A Small World After All

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the-mindwarpersI sold a copy of Eric Frank Russell’s The Mindwarpers at Worldcon last week, for three bucks. This usually isn’t a big deal. I buy a lot of vintage SF and fantasy collections, and I end up with a lot of duplicates. A lot of duplicates — thousands of ’em, packed in dozens of boxes in my bedroom, garage, and basement. Years ago, I hit on the bright idea of bringing some with me when I get a booth at science fiction conventions. Beside all the bright, shiny Black Gate issues for sale, I spread out a few hundred paperbacks from the 60s and 70s, and let nostalgia do the rest. (Howard published some snapshots of our booth, including the paperbacks, in his Worldcon Wrap-up last week.)

Sometimes I’ll get compliments from folks who stop by the booth. “You have a terrific collection,” they say with admiration, fingering a 50-year old Ace paperback. It’s a little awkward to admit that this isn’t my collection. It’s a small portion of the duplicates from my collection. But admitting that is akin to confessing to a compulsive mental disorder, so I usually just smile and say, “Thanks. I hate to part with them, but I need the space.”

But the woman I sold The Mindwarpers to thought it was a big deal. She was evidently a big Eric Frank Russell fan, and she had no idea the book existed. It was originally published by Lancer in 1965 with a Richard Powers cover and a cover price of 50 cents, and she was thrilled to find it. She practically did a happy dance right there in the booth. I took her three bucks and told her I was glad it had found a good home.

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Genevieve Valentine Comments on Readercon Harassment in “Things You Should Know About the Fallout”

Genevieve Valentine Comments on Readercon Harassment in “Things You Should Know About the Fallout”

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Genevieve Valentine. Photo by Ellen Datlow.
Genevieve Valentine. Photo by Ellen Datlow

Author Genevieve Valentine, who was the victim of a sexual harassment incident at Readercon 23 that resulted in the resignation of the entire convention board, has posted a lengthy and thoughtful essay on the continued repercussions of the event, titled “Things You Should Know About the Fallout”:

Nearly two months ago, I went public about harassment I experienced at Readercon. Things happened. The outcome was positive….

However, for those thinking of going public with their own experiences with con harassment, I want to talk about how it looks nearly two months on. Because it’s still going, two months on.

In particular, she addresses the naked hostility she has faced from individuals who were not present at Readercon:

The fallout may not be, but will certainly seem like, a Kafka novel.

There will be creeps in comments. (I’ve opted not to publish some anonymous ones, including the person who informed me, “You have absolutely no right to deny someone looking at you or in your eyes.”)

There will be threats. (I won’t link to the worst of these, but it’s not hard to find if you search Readercon and “they take people like you and kill them with rocks” together. Trigger warning for pretty much everything. It’s not a fun read.)

The responses by self-proclaimed rational people questioning your veracity, or the necessity of the discussion, will be somehow worse. In discussing the idea of actively discouraging harassment at conventions, they will use phrases like “thought police” and “mob mentality” and “lynching.”

It’s a fascinating and insightful read. You can read the entire post here.

Worldcon Wrap-up

Worldcon Wrap-up

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black-gate-booth
The Black Gate booth. From left to right: John O’Neill, Howard Andrew Jones, James Enge, and part of Donald Crankshaw’s head. Also, the back of Peadar Ó Guilín. Click for bigger version.

I was almost to Chicago last Thursday when I realized I’d gotten so wrapped up in the audio book of The Name of the Wind that I’d missed my turn. Fortunately, I found another way to Interstate 90 and the Hyatt Regency. And when I finally reached the dealer’s room, I was able to lodge a personal complaint with Patrick Rothfuss himself for writing so well that I got distracted.

It wasn’t long ago that I’d arrive at a convention and be surrounded by strangers or literary luminaries I was too nervous to approach. When I turn up these days, there are still a lot of strangers, but there are plenty of familiar faces as well. Before I’d even checked in, I bumped into Tom Doyle, and shortly after registering my complaint with Patrick Rothfuss, I was welcomed by Arin Komins and Rich Warren  to their used books booth, Starfarer’s Dispatch.

Rich showed me a rare Harold Lamb book, then, as I noticed it contained an insert about Lamb I had no knowledge of, he handed me a CD with scans of the material. That was incredibly kind of him. I then signed a complete set of the Harold Lamb books I’d edited and personalized Arin’s copy of The Desert of Souls, which she had liked so much that I gifted her with an ARC of The Bones of the Old Ones.

Purely by chance, I kept down the aisle to the left and came instantly to the Black Gate booth where John O’Neill, (now with beard) occupied a booth surrounded by old but well-cared for paperbacks and stacks of Black Gate magazines. The booth remained a gathering spot for friends, acquaintances, and staff members throughout the convention, which is why the talented Peadar Ó Guilín and Donald Crankshaw were manning the booth with O’Neill. I’d never had the chance to meet Peadar before, but his gentle humor put me immediately at ease. We chatted for a while and then James Enge wandered up with his brother Patrick. While the Mighty Enge was settling into the room we shared, I retrieved a box of The Desert of Souls hardbacks to sell at the Black Gate booth. (We sold ’em all before the end of the convention!)

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2012 Hugo Award Winners Announced

2012 Hugo Award Winners Announced

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Lynne and Michael Thomas show us the 2012 Hugo Award for SF Squeecast.
Lynne and Michael Thomas show off the 2012 Hugo Award for SF Squeecast.

If it’s seemed a little quiet here on the Black Gate blog for the past five days, it’s because many of our staff and bloggers — including John O’Neill, Howard Andrew Jones, Rich Horton, Andrew Zimmerman Jones, Joe Bonadonna, and David C. Smith — have been at Chicon 7, the World Science Fiction Convention here in Chicago, over the Labor Day weekend.

It was a 5-day party and convention, culminating in the Hugo Awards ceremony Sunday night. We’ll have more complete con reports right here in the next few days, but for now here’s the big news: The 2012 Hugo Award winners. Congratulations to all!

BEST NOVEL

  • Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)

BEST NOVELLA

  • ‘‘The Man Who Bridged the Mist,’’ Kij Johnson (Asimov’s, Oct-Nov 2011)

BEST NOVELETTE

  • ‘‘Six Months, Three Days,’’ Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com, June 2011)

BEST SHORT STORY

  • ‘‘The Paper Menagerie,’’ Ken Liu (F&SF, March-April 2011)

BEST RELATED WORK

  • The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition, John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls & Graham Sleight, eds. (Gollancz)

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It Came From GenCon 2012: Young Kid Edition

It Came From GenCon 2012: Young Kid Edition

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Magician's Kitchen
In Magician's Kitchen, players try to get the potions in the correct cauldron, then to light the fireplace. Beware the tripping stones!

GenCon is fun for gamers of all ages, but now that I have young children, I always have a special place in my heart for games that I can play with one or both of them. Given that my oldest is currently 7, though, this puts some pretty massive restrictions on what I can actually play. It has to be age-appropriate in both content level and rule complexity.

This year saw a number of games that caught my fancy in this regard. The charming Magician’s Kitchen, the enchanting Dixit, and, last but certainly not least, the upcoming game Mice and Mystics, which is available now for online pre-order with a significant discount.

Magician’s Kitchen

This is a fun little game where you’re playing a magician’s apprentice who is running around, trying to get potions in the cauldrons and then starting a fire. The trick to this game is that there are hidden magnets that cause your piece to drop the potions. For a more detailed description of Magician’s Kitchen, I recommend my review over at the About.com Physics site, where I even proposed some ideas about how you could use this fantasy game to teach some cool scientific ideas to the young ones.

Magician’s Kitchen is designed for up to 4 players, aged 5 to 15. My youngest son (age 2) really gets enjoyment out of making the apprentices drop their potions. The game is available from Amazon.com and other retailers nationwide, with a retail cost of $29.99.

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Goth Chick News: Chicago Comic Con 2012: The Best (Creepy Stuff) at the Con

Goth Chick News: Chicago Comic Con 2012: The Best (Creepy Stuff) at the Con

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image002Once again, it’s time to welcome the pop-culture bacchanalia that is Wizard World’s Comic Con back to Chicago; and this year’s event was bigger and more chocked full of celebrities, costumes ,and other “things that make you go umm?” than ever before.

Wizard World, Inc produces Comic Cons across North America that celebrate (and oh how they celebrate!) graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys, and social networking. The events feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premiers, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests – this year was no exception.

And splattered amongst the super hero paraphernalia and 8-sided dice is enough tasty tidbits to make Comic Con a Goth Chick News favorite.

So as we prepare to wade into the sea of gratuitous spandex which is inexplicably drawn into the orbits of talented artists and other creative types wherever they gather, rest assured that if you missed out on San Diego or Chicago, fear not:  click here for a list of cities where there is still time to partake this year, or begin planning your road trip for 2013.

Now stay close, keep track of your buddy, and whatever you do, don’t talk to the shirtless guy in the unicorn costume.

Let’s go in…

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It Came From GenCon 2012: Craft Edition

It Came From GenCon 2012: Craft Edition

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GenCon isn’t called the biggest four days in gaming for nothing. As Howard Andrew Jones recently pointed out, it’s easy to go for several years and completely miss major tracks of programming (such as the fantastic Writers Symposium programs). One thing that’s easy to overlook amidst all the games are the great crafting booths…

hob_origins-300x305

Goblin Road’s stuffed Hob Goblins

Black Gate has always been about finding the lesser-known sides of the fantasy world, and the Goblin Road line of products definitely fits the bill. They make dolls and masks, but let’s focus first on the dolls – such as this fun little guy shown to the right. These Hob Goblin toys are handcrafted in Ohio.

These things were just adorable and, as a gamer who has young gamers-to-be in the family, I thought they were awesome. The one flaw that I can see is that there isn’t a ton of diversity. There are three colors of vest, but all of the dolls had tan skin. I’d love to see some diversity in skin tone, as well as hair styles, and so on, to help mix it up a bit.

One fun little feature is that each Hob Goblin comes with a goblin adoption certificate, sort of like the ones that used to be included with Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, indicating that the goblin has been adopted by a kind human for their care and feeding.

In addition to the Hob Goblin dolls, Goblin Road produces molded leather masks of various styles, and some other accessories, such as horns. These were fairly impressive and reasonably priced as well, but aren’t currently listed on the website, though I’m told that the website will be updated to include these products in the relatively near future.

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GenCon 2012 – Dungeons & Dragons Next Keynote Liveblog

GenCon 2012 – Dungeons & Dragons Next Keynote Liveblog

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Waiting for the D&D Next keynote to begin at GenCon 2012. Check it out on the big screen!
Waiting for the D&D Next keynote to begin at GenCon 2012. Check it out on the big screen!

For the first time in GenCon history, the week began with a keynote event on Thursday evening. And who gave the keynote? None other than the folks behind Dungeons & Dragons.

For the last several months, Dungeons & Dragons has been undergoing a transformation into their Dungeons & Dragons Next format (which they are loathe to officially call 5th edition).

The event was delayed a bit due to rain and venue change, but once things are moving, I’ll be liveblogging about the event. I know I won’t catch everything, but I’m sure there’ll be a link to video of the event online shortly and I’ll post it (and other background links) in an update over the next day or so, when I have more stable net access.

The Event Begins

7:25 pm – Peter Adkison, founder of Wizards of the Coast, runs onstage and discusses how this inaugural keynote came into being. Basically, Adkison strong-armed Greg Leeds (current CEO of Wizards of the Coast) into doing it, and made it clear that he expected Greg himself to get on stage and start the event off. So, with that ….

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