Monthly Archives: December 2018

Yes! We Have Bananas!

31 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in Lovecraftian arts, Odd scratchings

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The sheet music for the song “Yes! We Have No Bananas” by Robert King and James F. Hanley slips out-of-copyright in America at the start of 2019, having been held up for 20 years by the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.

One H.P. Lovecraft once crept (rather naughtily) up to the organ loft of the Providence First Baptist church and tried to play this tune to liven things up a bit. Now it can be played whenever and wherever one spots a handy organ loft, royalty free.

In terms of being a 1923 publication one assumes that the Lovecraft revision story “The Horror at Martin’s Beach” (1923), written with Sonia, is affected by this? His other 1923 fiction is already in the public domain. His 1924 collaborations “The Loved Dead” and “Imprisoned with the Pharaohs” also seem likely to be affected at the start of 2020, as the annual conveyor-belt of releases now starts up again after the 20 year hiatus.

The 1923 Harry Clarke edition of Poe’s Tales of mystery and imagination also seems of interest for its outstanding illustrations by the Irish artist. It appears to be a New York first edition, but is actually a reprint from 1919 but with new illustrations including new colour plates.

This 1923 Life cover is also rather good…

Wladyslaw T. Benda died 1948, so presumably his art also comes out of copyright under the 70 years rule?

In terms of “70 years” literature from authors who died in 1948, and likely to be of interest to readers of this blog, see this post. Canada and New Zealand have life plus 50 years, and so get Mervyn Peake’s work (Gormenghast).

New books from Modiphius

31 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in Lovecraftian arts, New books, Scholarly works

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A new 120-page book claims to catalogue all the monsters of Robert E. Howard. Conan: Horrors of the Hyborean Age appears to be one of those PDF books for gamers that that give them the monster ‘stats’, but which are also rather useful for the reference shelves of writers.

Not sure about the cover, though. I recently re-read the Howard Conan stories in audiobook and I don’t quite remember Wonder Woman fighting a T. Rex, as per this book’s cover. Nor the distinctly LOTR orc who flanks Conan.

As a gamebook it needs to be interflipped with the Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed core rule-book. There appear to be other catalogue-like guide books to Conan’s world in the same series, one on Ancient Ruins & Cursed Cities and a guide to Nameless Cults, Cosmology and Gods. Apparently they all have inspiring art inside, and I’d guess also some maps.

New book - The Cracks of Doom: Untold Tales in Middle-earth

31 Monday Dec 2018

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New book! The Cracks of Doom: Untold Tales in Middle-earth. This new book is available now in paper. It is a side-project from my larger scholarly Tolkien book, and should be of interest to RPG makers as well as to fan-writers of Tolkien stories set in Middle-earth.

The Cracks of Doom is a comprehensive, fully annotated and indexed list of ‘Untold Tales’ in Middle-earth, pointing out the ‘cracks’ where new fan-works or role-playing might be developed. There are 125 entries and these usually lightly suggest ideas for story development and connections that might not otherwise be considered. This book is intended as a handy and inspiring reference work for writers, game makers, role-players, performers and daydreamers. It will also be useful for scholars seeking to understand what Tolkien “left out” and why, or those interested in ‘transformative works’ and fandom.

1. Introduction: “On Untold Tales in Middle-earth”.

2. Writing guidance: “Faith, Duty and Fun: plan and style in Middle-earth fiction”.

3. The list: ‘Openings, Gaps and Cracks’. 125 entries. Note that this is only for LOTR, inc. the Appendices. It also draws on Unfinished Tales, books in the History series, and for one item I also reference the Letters. It does not, of course, delve into the vast amount of material in The Silmarillion.

Sample:

PDF sample with the Index. The full book has 64 pages, about 22,000-words, with place and character Index. The book is wholly unofficial, and very respectful of Tolkien’s vision.

Happy New Year

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by in Odd scratchings

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Wishing you, dear reader, a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

This month I count 16,000 words posted on my H.P. Lovecraft blog, along with numerous pictures, several maps and a couple of lengthy reviews. Also many Web links to new books, a major rock album, and scholarly works including one new free PhD thesis by a fantasy writer on R.E. Howard. Plus my year-end round-up, to be found in the post “Lovecraft’s 2018: a year in review”.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading your daily Tentaclii during December. If you were thinking of making a few New Year resolutions, it would be great if support for ‘Tentaclii’ could be one of them!

Please help me continue doing this blog, by supporting me on Patreon. Currently my Patreon is at $24 a month, and my current aim is $50 a month. It would be very encouraging to me if you were to add just $1 a month on top, or perhaps more!

Gloom Number

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by in Historical context, Lovecraftian arts

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As we say goodbye to an irrationally gloom-shrouded year, it seems surprisingly fitting that I stumble on the newly-posted cover of Life magazine’s “Gloom Number” from July 1914. One imagines Lovecraft must have noticed this in the Reading Room of the Public Library, and on the magazine racks, at the start of July 1914.

Presumably the death of John Barleycorn, dated to 1st July 1919 on the central tombstone, had some relevance to the anticipated legal and political moves toward prohibition of alcohol? The cartoonist would thus be implying that the planned prohibition of alcohol would not work. If that’s the case then he also implied that those who promoted prohibition were gloomy killjoys, long past the age at which fun might be had.

London Lovecraft Festival returns in 2019

29 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in Lovecraftian arts

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The London Lovecraft Festival Returns…

“This year [2019] the festival is one day longer and many productions will be larger, with several one-off performances especially created for the festival. These include: a staged reading of “Cool Air” originally done at the 2005 Seattle Lovecraft Festival; a production of “Shivers”, the cult favourite spooky tales and music event; and a first-ever “Night of a Thousand Tentacles: Lovecraft” burlesque evening on opening night, co-produced with the Clocktopus Cabaret. There is also an interactive production “Patient 4620” which will place over all seven days of the festival, off-site at the Royal Museum of Contemporary Art. […] Two brand new, fully-realized productions will make their world premiere at the festival: “Late Night with Cthulhu”, a look at life after the Old Ones take over; and “Lovecraft After Dark”, an expansion of story-teller Jonathan Goodwin’s excursion into weird fiction. […] two nights of the show “Providence”, a blending of Lovecraft’s life and stories; a reading of “Pickman’s Model” by master storyteller Robert Lloyd Parry; two nights of a puppet-enhanced version of “The Lurking Fear”; and a sound-effects/radio play presentation of “The Colour out of Space. The festival also has a new writing strand…”.

Essential Salt

29 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in Lovecraftian arts

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“Revealing Illustrations” by Jared A. Nielsen.

“We are celebrating the completion of Jared A. Nielsen’s 13 copper etchings for the book “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” for an edition by Uncanny Valley Press. Original etchings and posters for sale. Free letterpress printed poster set by Paul Alessini for those who attend the event!”

Date: Friday the 18th of January 2019, 6pm to 9pm.

Venue: Saltgrass Printmakers, at 412 South 700 West, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Vanquish Fantasy

29 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in Fonts, Lovecraftian arts

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Propnomicon has discovered J.S. Sullivan’s Vanquish Fantasy Font, a pseudo-exotic calligraphic font that has a usefully indefinable air of ‘east of Alhazred’ about it. It’s only for “non-commercial use” though, so can’t be used for a comic, game or card-set — unless you first come to an arrangement with the font’s maker.

Looking through Sullivan’s DeviantArt gallery I see he has a similar script font, Banish, under the same license.

If you need free + commercial use then Font Squirrel is your main clearing-house and catalogue.

Details on L’orrore di Lovecraft

28 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by in New books

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A new Italian review has further details of the new Italian book L’orrore di Lovecraft, which I noticed in a post some weeks ago but couldn’t quite figure out to what extent it might be an artbook. Although richly produced and illustrated, it’s actually more of an anthology.

It has 40 Mythos stories by various writers, and the review makes these sound like standard-fare. But the book also has four essays, plus a new Italian translation of Lovecraft’s “The Tomb”. A Deluxe colour two-volume edition also has a new Italian translation of “The Dunwich Horror” by “Professor Busnelli Miriam”. The essays, apparently left unread by the reviewer, are in translated-title:

“The ‘reverse’ positivism of H.P. Lovecraft” / “Il positivismo ‘inverso’ di H.P. Lovecraft”, by Stefano Spataro.

“Lovecraft and the in-communicability of materialism” / “Lovecraft e l’incomunicabilita del materialismo” by Giacomo De Colle.

“The” Weird Music Of H.P. Lovecraft” / “The “Weird” Music Of H.P. Lovecraft” by Cesare Buttaboni. [possibly in English?]

“Lovecraft: a journey into the unknowable” | Lovecraft: un viaggio nell’inconoscibile” by Daniela Ferraro Pozzer.

The Deluxe edition is a large-format colour version for collectors in two volumes, presumably so that the art can be fully enjoyed.