Still Among the Living

Apologies for the deathly silence both here and at Guns In the Gutters.

Been very busy behind-the-scenes, so to speak; lettering the first issue of my Kolchak: Night Stalker of the Living Dead miniseries for Moonstone (the cover art above is by Dave Aikens), working on various scripts and short stories, revising websites, watching movies for my DVD column... etc.

Nothing much new to report. Saw Spider-Man 3. Liked it, but, like X-Men 3, was vaguely dissatisfied. I think they should have left the Venom storyline out completely.

A cool new horror DVD worth checking out is Altered, a very effective and strikingly different horror movie by writer Jamie Nash and director Eduardo Sánchez. My pal James Chambers wrote up a "guest" review of it that should be appearing on my DVD Late Show site this weekend. He liked it, too.

I've also been doing more reading. In the last couple of weeks, I re-read all of Lin Carter's Jandar of Callisto series, and Gardner Fox's two "Llarn" novels. I've also finally broken down under my wife's constant urgings, and started reading the Harry Potter novels. I think she's tired of me asking her to explain the gaping plot holes in the films. Anyway, I'm trying to get caught up before the new movie comes out.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try and post more often. I need to get back to some graphic novel reviews for Gutters, too.

"The Beast of Bava Pass"

Here's Ken Wolak's illustration for my short story, "The Beast of Bava Pass," which is scheduled to appear in Moonstone Book's upcoming Werewolves: Dead Moon Rising prose anthology, edited by Dave Ulanski.

Except for the fact that the human character in the middle is supposed to have snow-white hair, it pretty well captures the mood of the story, which is my nod to the Universal/Hammer horror tradition, with a touch of Paul Naschy.

The book should be out this October, for Halloween.

Wassup?

Been out of town for a few days. The wife and I took a long weekend off, and just relaxed. Rented a few kid's films (Flushed Away, Monster House), a couple of comedies (Foul Play, Idiocracy) and The Prestige. Great film. Need to see it again.

Had another consultation in Boston last Thursday. Apparently, if I don't want my remaining kidney to konk out on me, I'm going to have to severely lower my blood pressure (new meds and a low-salt diet – which sucks, because all my favorite foods are just loaded with sodium) and deal with my probable sleep apnea.

Yeah, it seems quite likely that I'm suffering from apnea, and am seriously sleep deprived – which could explain my frequent inability to concentrate and my chronic productivity problems. I am therefore, not a slacker, but, essentially, a zombie.

I'm still struggling with a couple of comics scripts that I hoped to have finished a couple weeks ago. No good excuse – other than what I theorize above – just can't seem to whip them into shape. I have to clear them in the next week or so, though – I've got two short stories that I really need to start ASAP.

One of them is for the forthcoming Captain Midnight anthology. Stories and illustrations are starting to come in, and as one of the editors on the book, I'm thrilled with how it's shaping up. I'll post more details about contributors and such just as soon as I'm allowed to.

The Femme Noir miniseries is coming along well. Joe Staton continues to turn out some of the finest pages of his career, and inkers Horacio Ottolini (Issues #1 & #2) and Mark Stegbauer (Issues #3 & #4) are doing a great job with the finished art. Brian Bolland turned in the alternate cover for Issue #1, and it's beautiful.

That's it for now. Gotta get back to work.

New DVD Late Show column posted

Yep, 14 DVD reviews are now posted at Quick Stop Entertainment.

Titles include: Crank, Hunk, The Hellbenders, The Ghost Busters, Jason of Star Command, H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator, Dead and Deader, The Michael Shayne Mysteries, Casino Royale, Once Upon A Girl, The Wild Wild West Season 2, Fletch, The Bride and the Beast/The White Gorilla, and Tomboy.

Admittedly, this particular column is a bit klunky – I'm definitely out of practice. But I'm trying for a bi-weekly schedule now, and hopefully, my writing of these things will improve as I get back into the groove.

Also, I expect to have the revised and revamped DVD Late Show website – with the complete archives of over 200 DVD reviews – uploaded tonight. I may not have all the Amazon links in place, but the archives will finally be up-to-date.

Gordon Scott, R.I.P.

My favorite Tarzan movie of all is probably Tarzan's Greatest Adventure, the one where they dropped Jane, Boy and the "Me Tarzan" schtick, and made Tarzan a true bad-ass again.

When Tarzan drops Cheetah off at the treehouse, says, "Don't wait up," and heads off after a boatload of brutal, heavily armed criminals (including Sean Connery) carrying only a longbow and a knife... well, that's the beginning of one of the best adventure flicks of all time.

Gordon Scott – the Greatest Tarzan – has passed away.

According to friends, Scott passed away the morning of April 30th in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Gordon had been hospitalized for several months recovering from heart valve surgery. Unfortunately, following the surgery he suffered complications and was kept in ICU. Just recently the complications reoccurred and he physically fought to remove his IV whenever he could, choosing not to prolong his life.

Ironically, he died just a day short of the anniversary of the death of his close friend and fellow Hercules, Steve Reeves.

He was 80 years old, and the father of five... and reportedly died penniless.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Born Gordon M. Werschkull in Portland, Oregon, Gordon Scott was raised in Oregon and attended the University of Oregon for one year. Upon leaving school he went into the United States Army and was honorably discharged in 1947. He then worked at a variety of jobs until 1953, when he was spotted by a talent agent while working as a lifeguard at the Las Vegas Sahara Hotel. Due in part to his muscular frame and 6'3" height, he was quickly signed to replace Lex Barker as Tarzan. He was also a friend of Hercules star Steve Reeves, and collaborated with him as Remus to Reeves' Romulus in Duel of the Titans (1961).

Scott also played Hercules in a couple low-budget productions during the mid-1960s. His final film appearance was in The Tramplers, filmed in 1966, released in the U. S. in 1968. Scott was married to actress Vera Miles from 1954 to 1959. For the last two decades of his life, he was a popular guest at film conventions and autograph shows.

Farewell, Gordon.

That's two Tarzans lost to us just this year.