A few years back, I contributed a short story to
The Spider Chronicles, a prose fiction anthology from
Moonstone Books spotlighting the legendary pulpmagazine character created by
Norvell Page. The book was fully licensed and featured a stellar line-up of talent:
Steve Englehart, Martin Powell, Bill Crider, Mort Castle, Chuck Dixon, C.J. Henderson, Howard Hopkins, John Jakes, and many others. I'm still not sure how I rated inclusion in such august company. My story, "The Spider And The Monster Makers," was my humble attempt to emulate Page's breathless, vivid prose, and although I don't think I quite accomplished that goal, I'm still quite proud of how the story turned out, and feel honored to have been asked to participate.
A week or so ago, artist
Tom Floyd (creator of
Captain Spectre) posted a scan of this great illustration, which accompanied my story in the aforementioned anthology, over on Facebook. We exchanged a few e-mails about it, and he graciously gifted me the original artwork, which will soon be in a frame adorning my office wall. It's a terrific piece, and evocatively illustrates the action-packed climax of my tale.
If you missed the book when it came out, I believe that it is now out of print and commanding "collectible" prices. However, I have discovered that Moonstone does have a Kindle e-book edition available that can be purchased through Amazon here:
The Spider Chronicles
What a neat volume. I missed out on it when it first came out, and made a special trip to a Cincinnati comic convention where Moonstone was featured to snag a copy from Joe Gentile himself.
ReplyDeleteThe Moonstone collections have a really wonderful look and heft, and they are full of great spins on classic heroes, but then I don't have to repeat that to you. Thanks for the fine stories.
Rip Off
I mailed it yesterday, Chris, let me know if it arrives in tact. Enjoy my friend.
ReplyDeletetom