For the past month or so my attention has been devoted to one of my dream projects.

I’m editing The Apes of Wrath, an anthology of ape fiction for Tachyon. The volume, a reprint collection of 15-20 stories, comes with three original essays on various aspects of apes in pop culture; essentially a survey of ape literature that will include works by Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Franz Kafka, Gustave Flaubert, Joe R. Lansdale, Howard Waldrop, Steven Utley, Mary Robinette Kowal, Pat Murphy, Leigh Kennedy, James P. Blaylock, Clark Ashton Smith, Aesop, Hugh B. Cave, Jess Nevins, Scott Cupp, and others.

This is a book I’ve been contemplating for sometime (even to the extent that I even outlined such a volume as part of an SF Signal Mind Meld) and thanks to the success of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the forthcoming sequels, it’s finally becoming a reality.

The fact that so many ape stories exist may come as a surprise to many, but stories featuring apes are almost as old as the art of storytelling. There are stories about apes in most societies. Simians, especially the great apes, play an integral, vital role in our culture, our collective unconsciousness. These creatures represent a part of humanity that must remain hidden. They can be both savage and gentle. They are much like man but they are not men. With their human-like appearance and actions, it’s easy to see what Darwin saw. They may be humanity’s closest relation. How could apes not fascinate?

Surprisingly, given the simian’s important and influential role in popular culture, only one previous anthology of ape fiction exists. Published in 1978 by Corgi, The Rivals of King Kong collected eight reprinted stories, two originals, and an excerpt from one of H. Rider Haggard’s Allan Quartermain books. Editor Michel Parry contributed the introduction and a checklist of simian cinema. The difficult-to-locate paperback original commands collectible prices, ranging from $30-$200, when found.

The Apes of Wrath comes your way in March 2013.

Presenting The Apes of Wrath was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Getting ready for bed. ]
Again with another Justice League graphic novel. And another instalment from the Cartoon Network JL tie in. I really can’t say enough nice things about this series. It is not deep and earth shattering, but it is fun and lets younger kids get into the Justice League without anything scarring happening.

As with the previous two volumes, this one contains a series of stand alone stories that feature both the big and smaller names fighting bad guys. And again, the strength here is that the stories do a great job focusing on the lesser known characters. This volume has stories that focus on Vibe, Deadman, Steel, Red Tornado and the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick.

Just a fun read for the littler comics fan.

As part of his ongoing column at New Pulp, Alan J. Porter is serializing our story “The Raven: Nameless Here For Evermore,” scheduled to appear in the not yet published Protectors anthology. The fourth segment appeared recently.

Here’s an excerpt:

After sitting in stunned silence for several minutes, Lala sputtered, “He and I, well we were…. You know… and he never gave the slightest sign… You know… a double life. I don’t believe it. He was just an actor… a good one. But not a spy.”

“Spies don’t wear badges, my dear,” Vandemeer cooed in something that Malone assumed was meant to be an attempt at a soothing voice, “at least I don’t think they do, I’ve never met one. Well at least I don’t think I have, and if I had how would have known. Of course, except for Edwin, and I didn’t know, and neither did you. After all what better person to be a spy than someone who lies and tells stories for a living?”

“Have you quite finished?” Lala flashed Vandemeer a withering look.

“I don’t like to admit it, but Mr. Vandemeer has a point, Miss Ward. An actor would make for a perfect spy.“ He slid the British Security Council folder across the table. “I’m afraid it’s all true. See for yourself.”

Lala flipped through the enclosed papers. She didn’t read them, she didn’t really need to. She could tell from the look and just a few brief glances that they corroborated Malone’s story. She returned the folder with a deep sad sigh. “So you think that the Nazis got to him?”

Read the rest of the fourth part and find links to the previous installments at New Pulp.

The Raven: Nameless Here For Evermore Part 4 was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Listening to My son play ]
So here we have a new year, and I feel pressured by society to make some New Year’s resolutions. I’ll spare you the long winded explanations of why, because that might be over sharing. So here I go, with my resolutions for the new year:

1. Spend more time with my son.

2. Spend more time with my husband.

3. Making time for the rest of my fiends and family.

4. Go to bed earlier.

5. Blog more.

6. Get back to writing articles for RevolutionSF.com

7. Floss more.

8. Clean my house and get organized.

9. Read and review 300 books at Goodreads this year.

10. Do something totally creative this year.

So there you have it. I will use the blog to keep all who care upto date.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Listening to Shauncastic ]
As some of you may or may not have figures out, I love the Justice League. So I tend to read any graphic novels the library has or will get for me. (Why I don’t buy them? That’s another post.)

This is another collection of straightforward, episodic stories based on the Justice League Unlimited cartoon series. This is nothing earth shattering, but there is some minor character development. Again, this allows the comic writers to explore characters that are spear carriers in the animated series. The best of these is when Vixen travels back in time to help Merlin defeat Morgana Le Fey (a call back to a great Justice League episode).

A very kid friendly graphic novel.

[  Mood: Silly ]
[ Currently: Editing the Podcast ]
I love manga, and I am always looking for a series to pick up to add to the three or four that I read. Hense why I grabbed the Hand of Recca when it came up at the library recently.

Interesting manga about a young man (Recca) who wants to be a ninja. In this volume, he finds his princess, fellow student Yanagi Sakoshita, to whom he pledges his undying loyalty. This irks his fellow classmates, because Recca has always said he would be the slave of the first person who could beat him in combat. Particularly upset are lifelong friend Fuko Kirisawa, who has fought with Recca since they were children, and classmate Domon Ishijima, who is jealous of the attention that Fuko lavishes on Recca. Added to the mix is Kagehoshi, Mistress of the Shadows, who claims that Recca is the one destined to kill her.

Not the most engaging first volumes of manga I have read, but there is enough there to keep me reading to see how this story develops.

Wecome to the New Year’s edition of the Geekgasm. TV rules the new arrivals this month. Beloved shows such as Adam-12, the original Knight Rider, Magnum P.I., Miami Vice, and Quincy M.E. alongside newer series Ghost Hunters: International, United States of Tara, and Supernatural premiere. On the movie front, the classic Chinese Ghost Story trilogy and True Legend headline the meager movie selections.

* streaming for the first time via Netflix.
* streaming in HD
* close captioning is available

Premiering January 1:
*Adam-12
The Adventures of Brer Rabbit
*Amazing Stories
Antitrust
*Beyblade: Fierce Battle: The Movie Despise titles with two colons. It’s just wrong.
*A Chinese Ghost Story
*A Chinese Ghost Story 2
*A Chinese Ghost Story 3: Special Edition
*City on Fire “Lung fu fong wan”
*Disco Worms
*The Dark Half
Dragnet (1967)
Dying Breed (2008)
*Ghost Hunters: International
*Going Berserk
*In the Cold of the Night
*Knight Rider (1982) The original “classic” show
*Louis C.K.: Hilarious
*Magnum P.I.
*Miami Vice (1984)
*The Mod Squad (1999)
*The Neverending Story 3: Escape From Fantasia
Office Space
*Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys
*Quincy, M.E.
Rollerball (1975)
*Sitting Ducks
*Swordsman “Xiao ao jiang hu” (1990)
Toys (1992)
*True Legend “Su Qi-Er”

Premiering January 2:
*Phase 7
*United States of Tara

Premiering January 5:
*Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic

Premiering January 6:
American Kickboxer 1
*Carrie (2002)

Premiering January 12:
*The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman

Premiering January 24:
*Grave Encounters

Premiering January 30:
*Supernatural (2005)

Titles expiring soon

Expiring January 1:
*The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
*Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
**Amadeus
*Arsenic and Old Lace
**Arthur (1981)
*The Blues Brothers
Cannibal! The Musical
*Carrie (1976) Apparently two verisions of Carrie streaming at the same time will cause a disruption in the spce-time continutity.
*Chinatown
Class of Nuke ‘Em High
*A Clockwork Orange
*Cobra
*Conspiracy Theory
**The Craft
*CQ
Creepshow
*Cypher
**Dial M for Murder (1954)
Drunken Master
*Duck, You Sucker
**Dumb and Dumber: Unrated
*Ghost Story (1981)
Gotcha!
*The Gumball Rally
**Hearts in Atlantis
**Heavenly Creatures Better hurry up if you plan on catching Peter Jackson’s best movie!
**The Hudsucker Proxy
**Insomnia (2002)
**Interview with the Vampire
Jeremiah: Season 2
**The Lost Boys: Special Edition
**Mad Max
**The Majestic
**Murder by Death
**Natural Born Killers: Director’s Cut
*9 ½ Weeks
*Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
**The Omega Man
**One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
**The Queen of the Damned
**Racing Stripes
*Scarface (1983)
**The Science of Sleep
Shadowlands (1985)
Shiri
**Space Cowboys
The Street Fighter (1974)
*Streets of Fire
Supercop
*Superfly
*Superman: The Movie
**Superman II
Superstarlet A.D.
Surf Nazis Must Die
*Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)
Teen Wolf
*Teen Wolf Too
Teenage Catgirls in Heat
**The Terminator
Terror Firmer: Special Edition
*(John Carpenter’s) The Thing (1982)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Time Barbarians
**Timecop
The Toxic Avenger
The Toxic Avenger, Part 2
The Toxic Avenger, Part 3
**Trick ‘r Treat
Troma Triple B-Header: Vol. 5: Bloodspell
Tromeo & Juliet
True Stories
*Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show
*Weird Science
**Wild Wild West Good riddance!
Wizards of the Demon Sword
Wolfen
Yes, Madam Michelle Yeoh’s first starring role
Young Einstein
Zombie Island Massacre
Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain

Expiring January 4:
Wizards of Waverly Place: Season 1

Expiring January 5:
*2012: Supernova
*Haunting of Winchester House
*The Land That Time Forgot (2009)
*Transmorphers: Fall of Man

Expiring January 6:
Independent Lens: The Atom Smashers

Expiring January 7:
Memoirs of an Invisible Man Great book, terrible movie

Expiring January 8:
Bond Girls Are Forever
Casino Royale (1954) 1st ever James Bond screen adaptation was originally intended as the pilot for a TV series
*Diamonds Are Forever
*Dr. No
*For Your Eyes Only
Goldeneye
*Goldfinger
*Licence To Kill
*Live and Let Die
*The Living Daylights
*The Man With the Golden Gun
*Moonraker
*Never Say Never Again
*Octopussy
*On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
*The Spy Who Loved Me
*Thunderball
*A View To a Kill
*The World Is Never Enough
*You Only Live Twice

Expiring January 10:
*Lost Boys: The Thirst

Expiring January 12:
Backwoods
The Color of Magic
Gulliver’s Travels (1996)
Hogfather
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
*Killer Wave
*Son of the Dragon
*Tin Man

Expiring January 14:
Body Snatchers

Info courtesy of FeedFliks and Instantwatcher

Impending Geekgasm on Netflix Instant Watch- Jan. edition was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Evil ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]
Let’s get this clear, I hate the story of Romeo and Juliette. Loathe it to a depth of my being that you can’t understand. The year we were forced to study it in high school was only made bearable because I had an amazing English teacher who let us watch West Side Story.

So why do I hate this play? Because it enforces the wrong stereotypes about young love. That it lasts forever. That it is pure. That it was meant to be. That two 14 year-olds have it figured out more than the adults who surround them.

I teach 14 year-olds, and believe me, nothing could be further from the truth. What you feel at 14 is not love, it is infatuation at best, but is in most cases your hormones trying out this lust thing. Love is not intense feelings and violins in the background. Love is the man who gets up in the middle of the night and drives the baby who has been fussing on and off for six hours around in the car so you can finally get some sleep. Love is the woman who takes the kids so you can hang with the boys and play video games. Love is sacrifice and unselfishness. Of putting someone else before you. The hormone rush gets us to a point where real love can grow.

In reality, Romeo and Juliette by William Shakespeare, is about two young people who "fall in love" (and maybe they really do) but are prevented from marrying because their families hate each other. Yet, when presented with a way out, Romeo’s aunt in another city, they dither about, whining and indecisive until they both end up dead. (Ooops, spoilers!)

The two of them deserved their fates and we need to stop mooning over this story be anything more than a morality tale written to warn us to take control of our lives and grow the hell up.

[  Mood: Amused ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio – that clearly has replacement techs working ]
I finally got to the big cross over that has been rumoured for years.

The cross over between the JLA and Avengers has been in the works for years. An earlier version even got as far as pencilling (ironically enough by George Perez) before it was cancelled. This one finally brings together two of the biggest teams of comics. Both have been charged to find twelve items that can be used to prevent the destruction of their respective universes.

And because it’s superhero comics, there has to be fighting, so we get to see Thor and Superman duke it out, as well as Wonder Woman and She-Hulk. The best of these is Green Arrow and Hawkeye, although Green Arrow comes out the worst of that excahnge. Initially, they teams work against each other trying to gather the essential items of the quest, but when they realize they are being used, they unite to fight the cosmic big bad.

The biggest issue with this book is the plotting. In order to give the heroes something to fight, Busiek has a new created cosmic big bad, Krona, to fight against. The problem is that Krona has to be so powerful that only the united teams can bring him down. (And for some reason, Krona looks human and dresses like supervillains. Why can’t cosmic big bads look non-human? That is more plausible.)

The story telling is disjointed and jumps all over the place in time, mostly to allow the swapping in and out of historic JLA/Avengers teams and members. Because of the temporal story line, costumes, incarnations and even relationships kept shifting. Other characters in the universes also get cameos, but there is a noticeable lack of X-Men. Busiek justifies this with our supervillain’s attempt to force the two universes together causing temporal rifts. But perhaps the worse thing is the deus ex machina ending.

This book got three stars for the subtle Green Arrow/Hawkeye rivalry story line that permeates the book. It is really the only thing that feels like there is a joy of storytelling, and a knowledge and care for the characters. The rest of the book feels earnest, as if Busiek wants us to know he has important work to do.

One of the saving graces is Perez’s art. It is very good, almost brilliant at times. You can see where he laid out panels with his trademark multi-panel action and/or symetry. Which works in a story about teams from mirror universes fighting each other. His ability to draw hundreds of people fighting is at its peak. You can forgive his tendency to draw the women as D-cupped weight lifters.

This is an OK outing, and this group of heroes deserves more than just OK.

[  Mood: Distorted ]
[ Currently: Drinking some tea ]
I am not going to lie. I love the Justice League. I have read it in many of its incarnations. And in the 80s, we got the below:

This is a collection of the first few issues of the 80s problem filled reboot of the Justice League. So you get the gathering/origin story that is earnest in a way that only the 80s can be. And a guest spot for President Reagan.

This most valuable part of the collection is the introduction. In this we learn two things. First, that this reboot was meant to be a reaction to the Alan Moore darkening of comics. The spit takes and running gags were done on purpose. Which, I will admit I loved in the 80s. But now, I look at it and think cringeorama.

Second, this was a reboot because the previous incarnation with Gypsy, Vibe and Vixen, was pretty much a disaster. That is the reason why DC wanted a reboot. The problem was, that Superman and Wonder Woman were undergoing reboots themselves, and were not available for permanent membership. So once again, this lead to a group of second stringers and unknowns. But there was a desperate attempt to make it hipper and more appealing than what had come before.

And can I say 80s? Hal Jordan makes a cameo, with a sweater draped around his chest that makes him look like Ken. We have superheroes from another dimension destroying our nuclear capabilities in a storyline so heavy-handed, it deserved to be in a very special episode of Blossom. And don’t get me started on Flashdance Canary.

Good for the completionist, but it will serve to remind most readers of the flaws of this run of the series.

Although it might be worthwhile to pick up just to watch Batman slug Guy Gardener.