Due to looming deadlines, there will be no April edition. I just haven’t had the time. Busy finishing up The Apes of Wrath.

For info on forthcoming and expiring Netflix selections check out FeedFliks and Instantwatcher.

But fear not, the Impending Geekgasm will return next month.

In all the excitement revolving around The Apes of Wrath, I failed to mention this news release. I offer it without comment.

(emphasis is mine)

Bettie Page in leather, shot in my grandfather’s studio

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel: Volume One
by George R. R. Martin
Adapted by Daniel Abraham
Art by Tommy Patterson

Promo copy:

You’ve read the books. You’ve watched the hit series on HBO. Now acclaimed novelist Daniel Abraham and illustrator Tommy Patterson bring George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy masterwork A Game of Thrones to majestic new life in the pages of this full-color graphic novel. Comprised of the initial six issues of the graphic series, this is the first volume in what is sure to be one of the most coveted collaborations of the year.

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King’s Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert’s name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.

Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen’s brothers Jamie and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.

Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

A Clash of Kings (HBO Tie-in Edition)
by George R. R. Martin

Promo copy:

A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE: BOOK TWO

In this thrilling sequel to A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin has created a work of unsurpassed vision, power, and imagination. A Clash of Kings transports us to a world of revelry and revenge, wizardry and warfare unlike any we have ever experienced.

A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel . . . and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories
Edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer

Promo copy:

From Lovecraft to Borges to Gaiman, a century of intrepid literary experimentation has created a corpus of dark and strange stories that transcend all known genre boundaries. Together these stories form The Weird, and its practitioners include some of the greatest names in twentieth and twenty-first century literature.

Exotic and esoteric, The Weird plunges you into dark domains and brings you face to face with surreal monstrosities. You won’t find any elves or wizards here…but you will find the biggest, boldest, and downright most peculiar stories from the last hundred years bound together in the biggest Weird collection ever assembled.

The Weird features 110 stories by an all-star cast, from literary legends to international bestsellers to Booker Prize winners: including William Gibson, George R. R. Martin, Stephen King, Angela Carter, Kelly Link, Franz Kafka, China Miéville, Clive Barker, Haruki Murakami, M. R. James, Neil Gaiman, Mervyn Peake, and Michael Chabon.

Check out the full table of contents here

Darksiders: The Abomination Vault
by Ari Marmell

Promo copy:

Ride with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse as they seek to unearth a plot that could plunge all of Creation into chaos!

Ages before the events of Darksiders and Darksiders II, two of the feared Horsemen—Death and War—are tasked with stopping a group of renegades from locating the Abomination Vault: a hoard containing weapons of ultimate power and malice, capable of bringing an end to the uneasy truce between Heaven and Hell . . . but only by unleashing total destruction.

Created in close collaboration with the Darksiders II teams at Vigil and THQ, Darksiders: The Abomination Vault gives an exciting look at the history and world of the Horsemen, shining a new light on the unbreakable bond between War and Death.

Nebula Awards Showcase 2012
Edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel
Cover by Michael Whelan

Promo copy:

The latest volume of the prestigious anthology series.

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes, which have been published since 1966, collect the year’s Nebula Award-nominated and winning stories and poems, as voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. This year’s volume includes the winners of the Andre Norton, Dwarf Star, Rhysling, and Solstice Awards, as well as the Nebula winners, and features:

"How Interesting: A Tiny Man" by
Harlan Ellison

"Ponies" by
Kij Johnson

"That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made" by
Eric James Stone

"The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window by
Rachel Swirsky

an excerpt from
Blackout / All Clear by
Connie Willis

and an excerpt from the Andre Norton Award-winning
I Shall Wear Midnight by
Terry Pratchett

with additional stories and poems by Chris Barzak, Aliette de Bodard, Amal El-Mohtar, Kendall Evans and Samantha Henderson, Howard Hendrix, Geoff Landis, Shweta Narayan, Ann K. Schwader, James Tiptree, Jr., and Adam Troy-Castro and a cover by Solstice Award-winner Michael Whelan.

This is (ahem) fantastic news for those in Austin:

After seeing it at last year’s Fantastic Fest, here’s what I wrote:

Definitely a MUST see!

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Angelmaker
by Nick Harkaway
Cover by Jason Booher

Promo copy:

From the acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World, blistering gangster noir meets howling absurdist comedy as the forces of good square off against the forces of evil, and only an unassuming clockwork repairman and an octogenarian former superspy can save the world from total destruction.

Joe Spork spends his days fixing antique clocks. The son of infamous London criminal Mathew “Tommy Gun” Spork, he has turned his back on his family’s mobster history and aims to live a quiet life. That orderly existence is suddenly upended when Joe activates a particularly unusual clockwork mechanism. His client, Edie Banister, is more than the kindly old lady she appears to be—she’s a retired international secret agent. And the device? It’s a 1950s doomsday machine. Having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the British government and a diabolical South Asian dictator who is also Edie’s old arch-nemesis. On the upside, Joe’s got a girl: a bold receptionist named Polly whose smarts, savvy and sex appeal may be just what he needs. With Joe’s once-quiet world suddenly overrun by mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realizes that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she abandoned years ago and pick up his father’s old gun…

This looks fascinating. Sadly, won’t be able to get to it until after I turn in The Apes of Wrath.

Here’s some great quotes about the book courtesy of Knopf’s pr department.

The Master of Heathcrest Hall
by Galen Beckett
Cover by Phil Heffernan

Promo copy:

Even as her husband is about to attain undreamed-of power, Ivy Quent fears for her family’s safety. With war looming and turmoil sweeping the nation of Altania, Ivy finds the long-abandoned manor on the moors a temporary haven. But nowhere is really safe from the treachery that threatens all the Quents have risked to achieve. And an even greater peril is stirring deep within the countryside’s beautiful green estates. As Ivy dares an alliance with a brilliant illusionist and a dangerous lord, she races to master her forbidden talents and unravel the terrible truth at the heart of her land’s unrest—even as a triumphant, inhuman darkness rises to claim Altania eternally for its own.

Body, Inc.
by Alan Dean Foster
Cover by Carl Galian

Promo copy:

New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster has always been on the cutting-edge of science fiction. In Body, Inc., he creates a tomorrow where genetic manipulation has become ubiquitous, and the very meaning of what it is to be human is undergoing drastic transformation.

In a world deeply wounded by centuries of environmental damage, two unlikely souls join forces: Dr. Ingrid Seastrom has stumbled into a mystery involving quantum-entangled nanoscale implants—a mystery that just may kill her. Whispr is a thief and murderer whose radical body modifications have left him so thin he is all but two-dimensional. Whispr has found a silver data-storage thread, a technology that will make him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. He is also going mad with longing for Dr. Ingrid Seastrom. Their quest to learn the secrets of the implant and the thread—which may well be the same secret—has led them to the South African Economic Combine, otherwise known as SAEC. Or, less respectfully, SICK. SICK, it seems, has the answers.

Unfortunately, SICK has also got Napun Molé, a cold-blooded assassin whose genetic enhancements make him the equivalent of a small army. Molé has already missed one chance to kill Ingrid and Whispr and now he has followed them to South Africa. This time, he is not only going to succeed, he is going to make them suffer.

RevSF contributing editor Alan J. Porter interviewed Foster about The Human Blend, the first volume of The Tipping Point Series.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Fair Coin
by E. C. Myers
Cover by Sam Weber

Promo copy:

The coin changed Ephraim’s life. But how can he change it back?

Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin–a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted–if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

Destroyer of Worlds (Kingdom of the Serpent, Book 3)
by Mark Chadbourn

Shadow’s Master
by Jon Sprunk
Cover by Michael Komarck

Promo copy:

THE NORTHERN WASTES…
A land of death and shadow where only the strongest survive. Yet that is where Caim must go to follow the mystery at the heart of his life. Armed only with his knives and his companions, he plunges into a world of eternal night where the sun is never seen and every hand is turned against him.

Caim has buried his father’s sword and found some measure of peace, but deep in the north an unfathomable power lies waiting. To succeed on this mission, Caim will have to do more than just survive. He must face the Shadow’s Master.

With this novel, Jon Sprunk brings his action-packed trilogy to an epic conclusion.

The icon of the Austin weird, Leslie Cochran died this morning. The thong-wearing, outspoken street person ran for mayor three times (once finishing second). Often seen pushing an oversized cart adorned with various handmade signs and slogans, Leslie came to typify the unusual and strange of Austin. He is so beloved that the mayor has declared today Leslie Cochran day.

I first encountered Leslie in 1997 while riding a downtown bus. This meeting inspired my short story "JohnCalvin," which appeared in Electric Velocipede #5 (Fall 2003).

In honor of Leslie’s passing, here’s "JohnCalvin."

JohnCalvin

by Rick Klaw

The tiara itched his dirty scalp. Not that JohnCalvin noticed or cared. He had bigger concerns. Like how to keep Bobo away from his guitar or why his black hose kept falling.

This was way too early in the morning for Patrick. No one should be up this early. Yet here he was, sitting on a bus heading toward a new job he really didn’t want. He kept trying to focus on the Elmer Kelton novel in his lap, but the brain and eyes were having trouble hooking up. His mind would wander over his life and the mess of the past six months. The separation, the job troubles, illness…all added up to big trouble. Several of his friends marveled at the fact that Patrick hadn’t lost his mind and to be honest so had he. Things seemed to slowly be looking up. Ever so slowly. His improved health and new job brought Patrick some solace. Sure the job was a return to bookstores and lord knows how long his health would hold together. He often felt for every step forward he took two steps back.

“You look troubled, my friend.” He was snapped out of his introspection to an older grey haired, bearded gentleman in a tiara! Patrick did a double take. Not just a tiara but a white blouse complete with a feather boa and a plaid skirt. He wore black hose that sported several runs and drooped down to his knees.

“Excuse me?” He tried to not stare but how could you not. There was so much to take in. The little white purse hanging over his shoulder. The huge teddy bear cuddled in his arms. The guitar case wrapped in a large white trash bag on the seat next to him.

Bobo fussed at JohnCalvin. He hated the way he spoke to strangers like they were his friends or something. They both knew that JohnCalvin’s only friend was Bobo.

Several moments passed and Patrick thought the transvestite had gone wherever crazies go when he spoke up again. “I asked if you were ok.”

The old man leaned in and whispered to Patrick. His breath smelled not of alcohol as you would expect but of poor hygiene. “You don’t understand the risk I take talking to you. They are everywhere. Bobo warned me about you but I like you.” He pointed at the western in Patrick’s lap. “Only a man of culture, taste, and sophistication would read such an important work.”

Despite himself, Patrick smiled at that comment. He though how happy his Papa would’ve been to hear that. He was a man of culture, taste, and sophistication that happened to devour westerns. “Um.. Thanks… Who is Bobo?”

“Hush… they are everywhere.” He leaned even closer and nodded his head toward the bear.

“What? The bear?”

“Quiet. They think he’s just a stuffed animal. But we know better. Don’t we.” He winked at Patrick.

Patrick rolled his eyes and smiled as the old man went on. “My name is…” He shot an acidic glance at the bear. “Shut up! What harm will it do?”

He adjusted his boa and smiled at Patrick. “My name is JohnCalvin.” He said it as though it was one word like his entire identity was wrapped up in it.

“I’m Patrick.”

“Charmed.” JohnCalvin extend his hand curved downward at the wrist in a very feminine manner.

On reflex Patrick reached up and shook it. The hand was cold and dry. Patrick swore he could feel flakes of skin peel off. A shiver went up his spine.

As he averted his eyes from JohnCalvin, he spied the candlestick holder on his lap. “Can I ask you something, John?”

The old man stared off into space as the bus sped a long. His lips moved as he muttered something.

“In the brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight.” Then Bobo joined in as the chant continued, “Change! Change, O form of man! Release the might from fleshy mire.” The pure light of reality splurged forth from the talisman of power illuminating the way and granting JohnCalvin the power to smite the enemy.

His hands stroked the candlestick holder to some private rhythm. Faster and faster as JohnCalvin’s lips moved. Suddenly he convulsed and spit out, spraying the seat next to Patrick.

“Hey! Watch it!” Patrick moved away.

As fast as it started it stopped and JohnCalvin looked at Patrick with a queer little smile. “I’m sorry, my friend. Sometimes the enemy must be expelled. Ya know they send germs out to infiltrate each and everyone of us.”

“Why? What?” Patrick was confused. It was too early for this.

With a gentle nod, JohnCalvin pulled the cord telling the bus to stop. “We all do what we must to find our way. Good day, my new friend.” And with that JohnCalvin grabbed his guitar case wrapped in a white garbage bag, his best friend Bobo, and the candlestick holder. He stepped off the bus and out of Patrick’s life.

JohnCalvin watched the bus slip away from his world. He looked down at his best friend. “Another day.. Another saved soul. Score one for our side.”

Raising his hand, the old man in the plaid skirt, black hose, boa, and tiara flagged down another bus with yet another soul to save.

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season

Promo copy:

Summers span decades. Winters can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; and all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords, and honest men…all will play the Game of Thrones.

Special Features
*Making of
*15 Character profile clips
*Creating the Dothraki language
*Inside the Night’s Watch
*From Book to Screen
*Creating the Show Open
*7 Audio Commentaries Guide to Westeros

Blu-ray Exclusive Features

*Complete Guide to Westeros
*In-Episode Guide
*Anatomy of an Episode
*Hidden Dragon Eggs

Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1
Edited by Blake Bell

Promo copy:

The 1939 creation of the Sub-Mariner for the first issue of Marvel Comics assures Bill Everett a place in history. Co-creating Daredevil, the Man Without Fear, for Marvel Comics in 1964 gave Everett a link to one of the most popular superheroes of the past 50 years. And producing over 400 additional pages of superhero-related work in the very early days of the Golden Age of Comics (1938-42) makes Bill Everett a legend.

This book collects over 200 pages of this never-before-reprinted work from titles such as Amazing Mystery Funnies (1938), Amazing-Man Comics (1939), Target Comics (1940), Heroic Comics (1940), and Blue Bolt Comics (1940). These titles feature an endless array of great vintage Everett characters such as Amazing-Man, Hydroman, Skyrocket Steele, Sub-Zero, The Chameleon, and many more, all produced by Everett’s shop Funnies, Inc. for such clients as Centaur, Novelty Press, and Eastern Color, and all displaying Everett’s brilliant cartooning and energetic storytelling.

Edited and compiled by best-selling author and comic-book historian Blake Bell (Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko), Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives is a stunning companion to Bell’s 2010 critically acclaimed Everett biography and art book, Fire and Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner and the Birth of Marvel Comics. This volume follows the format of Bell’s Steve Ditko Archives series; never-before-reprinted, beautifully restored, full-color stories from one of comic books’ greatest visionaries and most accomplished artists. Also includes an introduction by Bell that delves even deeper into Everett’s life, fiery personality, and the history of the era. The resultant package enhances Everett’s place in history as one of the first and best comic-book creators of all time. 224 pages of full-color comics

Justice League: Doom

Promo copy:

This epic tale of heroism and betrayal details the vile plot of villain Vandal Savage, who discovers Batman’s contingency plan to defeat the Justice League should any of them go rogue.

It can now be revealed: the magnificent The Apes of Wrath cover with art by Alex Solis and design by Elizabeth Story.

A survey of ape literature, The Apes of Wrath delivers 17 classic short stories, along with four original essays on various aspects of apes in pop culture. The book’s stellar lineup includes work from Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Franz Kafka, Gustave Flaubert, Robert E. Howard, Karen Joy Fowler, 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, Mark Finn, and an introduction by Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt.

The fun comes your way in March 2013 from Tachyon Publications.

Solis originally created the art for kick ass, must have selection of T-shirts and hoodies. This will be it’s first book publication.

Click on image for larger size

The tee is currently sold out but you can request one. I suggest, nay, urge everyone to do this so Threadless will reprint the shirt.