The Sapphire Siren & Portal Fantasy
“The Sapphire Siren” was an unusual tale from an author with an equally odd name, Nyctzin Dyalhis. The story appeared in Weird Tales, February 1934 Read More
Tag: Sword & Sorcery
Careful What You Wish For III: I Want a New Genre
One piece of advice most writing books make is that a new writer should familiarize themselves with their chosen genre so they don’t repeat worn Read More
The Gothic in Sword & Sorcery
Pulp Origins Sword & Sorcery, from its very first story in 1929 was steeped in the Gothic. Robert E. Howard published “The Shadow Kingdom” in Read More
The Weird Tales of Galen C. Colin
Galen C. Colin (1890-1973) wrote for the early Weird Tales. He later went onto write dozens of Westerns, mostly for Wild West Weekly. Those early Read More
Historical Sword & Sorcery
Robert E. Howard muddied the waters when he created Solomon Kane, his first historical Sword & Sorcery series. By definition, heroic fantasy is set in Read More
Link: Of Serpents Men & Worms
Robert E. Howard’s Serpent Men first appeared in his Sword & Sorcery tale “The Shadow Kingdom” (Weird Tales, August 1929). As a piece of fantasy, Read More
The Barbarian and the Line
The Barbarian and the Line belong together. The heroic figure offers the fantastic artist such a pleasure of riches. I remember encountering such sketches for Read More
Robert E. Howard’s Crusades
Robert E. Howard’s stories about the Crusades are a treat, even to Sword & Sorcery fans. Especially to S&S readers who may not know him Read More
Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?
Giant snakes, poisonous serpents, reptiles of the slithering variety, all grace the covers of the comics. Two big sources are Tarzan and Conan covers. If Read More
Plant Monsters in Weird Tales
Plant monsters were a natural for Weird Tales. The Pulp featured all types too, from the romantic in “The Woman of the Wood” by A. Read More