skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Sad news. Charles Pierce, pioneering producer/director of The Legend of Boggy Creek, has left our dimension at age 71.This film was a favorite among the Drive-In Theater screens when I was a kid, with a startling and very effective television promotional campaign. Commercials for the movie seemed to run several times an hour on our local stations in Louisville, each time showing a brief tension-filled scene that progressively became more frightening with each clip. This thing looked creepy as hell.It was the movie's subtitle, "A True Story", that really grabbed all of us. Before long all the kids in my neighborhood, and my cousins living in rural Kentucky, were all talking about it. We had to see this movie!The Legend of Boggy Creek ultimately had quite an imaginative effect on me and I've never forgotten its simple, atmospheric power.So, I'm very grateful to you, Charles. You've been a very positive influence to my life.Rest easy, sir. You've earned it.http://www.legacy.com/NS/fullstory.aspx?storytype=0&storyid=16349
The Spider by Rafael DeSoto.
The Ray Harryhausen Film Festival begins tonight in Minneapolis, 7pm at the Trylon Theater, with JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS!
When I was a kid, the films of Ray Harryhausen held a special fascination for me. I was always prowling through the television schedule of our local newspapers, forever on the look-out for the next broadcast of 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The Mysterious Island, or One Million Years B.C. As was my ritual, in between seeing the movies, I wrote and drew my own comic book versions of the films to help keep me company.
These films continue to hold the same magic for me today, and have remained among my personal favorites of all time. It was Mr. Harryhausen's miraculous touch that inspired my own The Adventures of Hercules children's book, published a couple years ago, as well as the upcoming Sinbad the Voyager, which I wrote just recently. Without the slightest doubt, I know that Ray Harryhausen's classic productions will continue to fuel my imagination for many years to come. What would I have ever done without them?
And I'm far from the only one who feels this way. I remember some years ago when Ray Harryhausen won a special Academy Award, emotionally presented to him by his life-long friend, Ray Bradbury. During the ceremony actor Tom Hanks summed it all up the best, I think, when he said:
"Some say Casablanca, some say Citizen Kane...but for me, Jason and the Argonauts is the greatest movie ever made."
Bravo.
Tonight's event is only the beginning. Six more Harryhausen epics will follow in the weekends ahead.
Lisa and I will be there. Hope to see you, too!http://take-up.org/
A few weeks ago, on Facebook, I announced a possible pulp project that was starting to take shape. It was necessary for me to be rather cryptic, and the curiosity and well-wishes from my readers and friends was very gratifying. The waiting was difficult and sometimes draining, especially those times when all seemed lost.Then, finally, after much tension and suspense, I received the most welcomed news late last night. Now I've just been given the nod to finally spill everything...so here goes.
Officially, as of yesterday, I am the new writer for The Spider at Moonstone!To better comprehend the full gravity of that position, perhaps I should better explain the extent of exactly what my new duties will encompass.I will be solely responsible for writing:1. A new bi-monthly Spider comic book.2. A semi-annual illustrated Spider pulp magazine.3. A special illustrated pulp novella featuring the first team-up of The Spider and G-8 and His Battle Aces.
And that's just for starters.The artists for these stories are in the process of being cast. I'm ecstatic regarding the possibility of one of them, in particular. You will be, too, I promise.
I've loved this weird, wonderful character since my horrid high school days. Most popularly written by author Norvell Page in the original pulp magazines during the 1930s and '40s, there is simply no other pulp hero like him. The Spider is, arguably, the third tier of pulpdom's Big Three--just a rung or two below The Shadow and Doc Savage in popularity. Don't get me wrong; I love The Shadow and Doc, but I'd much rather write The Spider and his hellish apocalyptic adventures, than either of them.
Now I have my chance at last. I would sound like a blubbering idiot if I attempted to express what this opportunity means to me, both on a sentimental level, and for the creative challenge it represents. So, don't worry. I won't even try.
Tonight, I feel like the luckiest writer alive.Although I've already written a couple published Spider adventures during the last few years, as well as providing the box text for Real Art Studios' statue, this was a lot tougher gig to land than you might expect. I won't go into the stressful details here, as I'm certain that would be very dull reading for anyone not involved, but let me state plainly that there are several very generous folks that I need to thank. They are shy and modest individuals, but all are heroes in my eyes. So, please accept my heart-felt appreciation. You know who you are.
All my love and gratitude for Lisa, as well. I never could have accomplished this without her patient understanding and support. She's always believed in me, without fail.
Currently, I'm busily shaping up a number of ideas and outlines that have been waiting to explode from my brain for years. I'm extremely nervous, and excited, and you should be seeing my first new Spider story, I think, this autumn. The title is "The City That Couldn't Sleep."
However, you don't need to wait that long for a daring dose of pure Spider prose. Currently, Moonstone's newest issue of The Spider, entitled, "The Strange Case of The Spider and Mr. Hyde", written by my talented pal Howard Hopkins, is a breathlessly action-packed and creepy-as-hell page-turner. The interior illustrations by Cortney Skinner are atmospherically enigmatic, as is artist Gary Carbon's very cool cover. Highly recommended.
Even more news of The Spider is coming soon. Stay tuned!(Click on pictures for larger images.)
"One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time."Carl Sagan
