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Signing at McKay Used Books Saturday July 1

Howdy all you readers out there! To help support my latest novel, The End of Daze, I’ll be selling that book, all the Fat White Vampire series books, and the whole lineup from MonstraCity Press between 11 AM and 3 PM tomorrow, Saturday, July 1 at Richard McKay Used Books in Manassas (8345 Sudley Rd, Manassas, VA 20109-3508; 703 361 9042). I’ll be right outside the store’s front entrance, sitting at a table in front of my brand-new MonstraCity Press banner (very handsome, if I do say so myself!). Four hours is a long time to sit staring at the parking lot and hoping someone will get over their shyness and not race by me to get inside the shop, so please drop by if you’re in the area and come say hello! I love meeting friends old, new, and newly discovered.

Also, McKay Used Books is simply an awesome place to browse for incredibly cheap science fiction, fantasy, and horror paperbacks, reasonably priced used graphic novels, manga, and comics, and a huge variety of used music, dvds, and vintage pop culture toys. It’s one of my favorite spots to hang out for an hour or two. So kill two birds with one stone — scratch that browsing itch, and come keep me company!

Andrew Fox New Orleans Signings

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Anticipating Tomorrow’s Terrorists

My first book of nonfiction, The Devil’s Toy Box: Exposing and Defusing Promethean Terrorists, is out from Potomac Books, an imprint of University of Nebraska Press. It features a chapter on the unique suitability of science fiction writers to be part of a Promethean Spyglass forecasting team and also contains five detailed terror scenarios (essentially horrific short stories from the perpetrators’ view). Here’s a description from the publisher:

“A Promethean technology is one that allows someone of average resources, skills, and intelligence to carry out actions that were once only doable by governments, militaries, or institutions with considerable resources. Essentially, Promethean technologies allow users to create their own weapons of mass destruction.

“These emerging technologies are increasingly affordable and accessible—and are no more complicated to operate than a satellite TV control box or a smart phone. Although these technologies are a terrifying prospect, the more we know about these dangers, the better we can prepare to head them off.

“In The Devil’s Toy Box, Andrew Fox lays out seven decades of preemptive analysis and shows that while homeland security has explored, in depth, the possible Promethean threats the world faces, it has failed to forecast the most likely attacks. Using fictional scenarios Fox teaches how to predict future threats and how to forecast which ones are likely to be used by bad actors within the next five to ten years. Combining the skills of homeland security experts and the imaginations of speculative fiction writers, he then offers an analytical method to deter, counter, or abate these threats, rather than adopting an attitude of resigned fatalism.”

The publisher has made it available in hardcover and as an ebook; unfortunately, they chose to price the physical hardback and the ebook the same, which doesn’t make much sense to me (I complained but to no avail), and which has resulted in — surprise, surprise! — approximately ZERO copies of the ebook being sold. Dare you be the first to buy the ebook version for (gasp) $26.49? (Okay, Amazon took some pity on their Kindle customers and lowered the price from an even more unreasonable $32.95.) Or will you fork out $29.37 for the handsome and durable hardcover?

Buy Kindle version from Amazon

Buy hardback copy from Amazon

Cover Revealed for HUNT THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE

The fourth book in the popular Fat White Vampire series, Hunt the Fat White Vampire, will be published by MonstraCity Press in both ebook and print formats on June 14, 2021, right on the heels of the first-ever paperback publication of the third book in the series, Fat White Vampire Otaku, on April 12, 2021. Here’s the newly designed cover for Hunt.

Guest Editorial in Hollywood in Toto

Here’s a guest opinion piece I just published on Hollywood in Toto, an entertainment news and commentary website, “Rescuing Science Fiction from the Horde of ‘Woke Zombies’: Why Hazardous Imaginings Wrests Sci-fi Back from the Cancel Culture Mob”. Have a look!

HAZARDOUS IMAGININGS & AGAIN, HAZARDOUS IMAGININGS On the Way

Hazardous Imaginings: The Mondo Book of Politically Incorrect Science Fiction, a collection of two novellas and three stories of mine, is scheduled for publication on 10/12/2020. Its companion volume, Again, Hazardous Imaginings: More Politically Incorrect Science Fiction, an international anthology featuring 14 stories, is scheduled for publication on 12/14/2020.

Both books will be available as ebooks and trade paperbacks. I’ll share information on pricing and contributors soon.

Here’s a link to an article from the Hollywood in Toto site that gives some background on the genesis of these books.

My Science Fiction Rabbi

Here’s a link to an article of mine that was recently published in the online magazine TABLET, describing my long relationship with classic SF writer Barry N. Malzberg — first as a fan of his fiction, then as a devotee of his essays, and finally as his friend.



Initial Version of Kickstarter Project, Changed Under Threat of Lawsuit from Ellison Estate

When I first put out word that I wanted to do a modern-day re-imagining of Harlan Ellison’s classic 1967 anthology of original science fiction, Dangerous Visions, a good and wise friend suggested that I keep a journal of my experiences, gently pointing out that I should expect “interesting times,” in the Chinese sense. Little did I know the “interesting times” would get so interesting, so fast!

My original notion for my Kickstarter project was a modern-day responsa to Dangerous Visions, a cultural milestone from the New Wave era of science fiction and a period of momentous change in American society. I thought the time was ripe, given the spread of call-out culture and de-platforming from the university/higher education sphere into popular culture — most definitely including science fiction and its conventional publishing imprints — to do The New Dangerous Visions, focusing on the taboos of today.

I wanted to be considerate of Susan Ellison’s, Harlan’s widow’s, feelings, so, in searching for a contact email, I reached out to her through a representative from one of the Ellison Estate’s organizations. I knew that titles do not fall under copyright, but I also knew the possibility existed that the Estate had trademarked “Dangerous Visions,” so I wanted to find that out, as well. Below is my exchange of messages with the Estate.
———————————————
Andrew Fox
Mon, Apr 22, 7:23 PM
to ellison.editor

Hello! I’m Andrew Fox, a sf, horror, and fantasy writer, good friend of Barry Malzberg’s, and a lifelong fan of Harlan’s. I’d like to reach Susan Ellison regarding an anthology I would like to edit in Harlan’s honor. Is this a good email address to use?

Best wishes,

Andrew Fox

———————————————
Harlan Ellison Book Preservation Project
Apr 22, 2019, 8:07 PM
to me

Andrew,

I’ll relay your proposal to Susan.

Be aware there’s already an Ellison tribute anthology available for pre-order from PS Publishing.

Director, Harlan Ellison Book Preservation Project

———————————————-
Andrew Fox
Apr 22, 2019, 8:54 PM
to Director, Harlan Ellison Book Preservation Project

Dear Director,

Thank you for reaching back to me, and thank you for letting me know that an official tribute volume to Harlan Ellison has been prepared; I’ll look forward to reading it. Actually, the anthology I have in mind is a bit different. Although it would serve, in part, as a tribute to Harlan’s irreplaceable work, it would be primarily a responsa to one of his most famous and enduring literary efforts. I’d like to do a modern-day version of DANGEROUS VISIONS, tentatively titled THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS. I’ve started gauging interest from possible contributors, including folks I know through my membership in SIGMA, the science fiction think tank. If I get at least half a dozen notable (or reasonably notable) folks to express interest in contributing, then I’ll raise funds to pay the contributors market rates through one of the crowd-funding platforms.

Here’s my precis…

“Fifty-two years ago, in 1967, writer and anthologist Harlan Ellison captured the attention of the science fiction community (as well as much of the larger literary community) with his publication of the largest original anthology of science fiction printed to that time, DANGEROUS VISIONS. Ellison solicited stories from both science fiction’s established roster of writers and from the most talented newcomers; several writers (including Samuel Delany) broke into the field with their submissions to DANGEROUS VISIONS and later attained lasting renown in the field. Ellison asked for submissions that couldn’t be printed in the science fiction magazines of the time, nor in other, conventional science fiction anthologies. He sought taboo-shattering stories, and he received them… stories that centered around incest, homosexuality, bisexuality, cross-species sex, women’s liberation, sadism, graphic violence, blasphemies against widely held religious beliefs, an all-pervasive welfare state, the moral limitations of capitalism, and the pervasiveness of bigotry. Five years later, in 1972, he followed up with an even larger, two-volume anthology of original works, AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS. Ellison promised his readers a third and final anthology, THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS, but, despite soliciting and receiving dozens of submissions from major writers, he was never able to finish writing the thousands of words of story introductions and after words, and, despite repeated promises to fans and interviewers over the years, THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS remained incomplete and became the most famous/infamous work of science fiction never to be published. DANGEROUS VISIONS and AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS have remained almost continuously in print over the succeeding decades and have come to be recognized not only as classic science fiction anthologies but as key cultural artifacts of the late 1960s and early 1970s, paradigmatic works of science fiction’s New Wave that reflected rapidly changing artistic, cultural, and social mores in the U.S. and the western world.

“In the decades since DANGEROUS VISIONS’s publication, what was originally taboo-breaking has become the common mental furniture of the science fiction field and much of the rest of the arts. Virtually none of the stories published five decades ago in either of these ground-breaking anthologies would be considered shocking or disturbing to most of the readership today. Yesterday’s transgressions are today’s cultural virtues and/or commonplaces. This poses a question: if DANGEROUS VISIONS were to be published today, with the same goal of seeking to present science fiction that cannot be published elsewhere, due to commercial and cultural barriers, what sorts of stories would it contain? What are TODAY’S taboos, and how do they relate to the taboos Harlan Ellison and his contributors confronted in 1968 and 1973? How can these modern-day taboos be illuminated and sharply delineated through fiction and productively extrapolated and explored using the unique tools of science fiction?

“THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS will seek to answer these questions and to play a similar role in the culture — the culture of science fiction as well as the overarching culture — that Harlan Ellison’s anthologies played five decades ago. Contributions will be sought from established science fiction writers, writers who have made their marks outside the science fiction field, and new writers — just as Ellison did with the original DANGEROUS VISIONS. The project will be initially funded through a crowd-sourcing platform, which will both raise money, establishing the financial viability of the project, and serve to publicize the project and help get the word out to potential contributors. Such contributors will be asked to submit, not merely their best work, but work which, due to its content, viewpoint, and subject matter, has little or no chance of being published elsewhere.”

I intend for this anthology to serve as a cultural snapshot in time, just as the original DANGEROUS VISIONS and its sequel volumes served. I think the culture can benefit from a new dose of DANGEROUS VISIONS every half-century or so, if only to provide signposts of where we’ve been and where we’re possibly heading as a society. One of the best ways to know a culture is to know what it fears, hates, and forbids.

In addition to being a longtime friend of Barry Malzberg’s, I was also a student and friend of George Alec Effinger’s in New Orleans. I learned many of my editing skills at George’s feet. I know that George and Harlan were close for many years before they drifted apart. I wanted to provide Susan the courtesy of making her aware of my plans before I sign up with a crowd-funding platform and she becomes aware of the anthology third-hand, so that she may offer her comments and input.

Thank you for passing this message along. I truly appreciate it.

Best wishes,

Andrew Fox

——————————————————

Weeks passed. I didn’t hear back from my correspondent from the Ellison Estate or any other representatives. So I went ahead and put up the following project description on Kickstarter.

——————————————————
THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS
An anthology of original science fiction. A re-imagining of the classic 1967 anthology. DANGEROUS VISIONS, exploring today’s taboos.

Promotional Video

Fifty-two years ago, in 1967, writer and anthologist Harlan Ellison captured the attention of the science fiction community (as well as much of the larger literary community) with his publication of the largest original anthology of science fiction printed to that time, DANGEROUS VISIONS.

Ellison sought submissions that couldn’t be printed in the science fiction magazines or anthologies of the day. He asked for taboo-shattering stories. And he got them! The 32 stories included tales that explored the ramifications of incest, homosexuality, bisexuality, cross-species sex, women’s liberation, sadism, graphic violence, blasphemies against widely held religious beliefs, an all-pervasive welfare state, the moral limitations of capitalism, and the pervasiveness of bigotry. Some of science fiction’s most illustrious writers submitted pieces, including Ray Bradbury, Damon Knight, Philip K. Dick, and Theodore Sturgeon. But Ellison was especially eager to purchase stories from talented newcomers. Several writers who were later to become stars in their own right, including Samuel Delany and Gene Wolfe, broke into the field with their submissions to DANGEROUS VISIONS or its even larger sequel, the two-volume anthology AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS, published in 1972.

DANGEROUS VISIONS and AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS have remained almost continuously in print since their original publication. Both have come to be recognized, not only as classic science fiction anthologies, but as key cultural artifacts of the late 1960s and early 1970s – paradigmatic works of science fiction’s New Wave that reflected rapidly changing artistic, cultural, and social mores in the U.S. and the Western world.

Five decades have passed since the emergence of that cultural milestone. It’s time to peer through that vertigo-inducing looking glass again. It’s time for THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS.

I believe one of the best ways to know a culture is to learn what it fears, hates, and forbids.

In the decades since DANGEROUS VISIONS’s publication, what was originally taboo-breaking has become the common mental furniture of the science fiction field and much of the rest of the arts. But this does not mean that new social prohibitions have not risen to take the place of old ones. What are TODAY’S taboos? What kinds of science fiction stories are verboten in today’s commercial publishing market? How can these modern-day taboos be illuminated and explored using the unique extrapolative tools of science fiction?

These are the questions THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS will seek to answer.

I’m Andrew Fox. I’m the author of the award-winning comic-horror novel, Fat White Vampire Blues (2003), and its sequel, Bride of the Fat White Vampire (2004). My third novel, The Good Humor Man, or, Calorie 3501 (2009), was selected by Booklist Magazine as one of the Ten Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels of the Year. I’m also a member of SIGMA, the science fiction think tank. I learned how to edit a story from being a part of George Alec Effinger’s writing workshop for fourteen years. My day job involves managing acquisitions of information systems. One of my biggest personal accomplishments was organizing one of the most successful citizen-led anti-violence campaigns in New Orleans’s history. After my cousin Amy Silberman was killed by celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve in 1994, I co-founded the New Year Coalition Against Holiday Gunfire. Over the next six years, the New Year Coalition’s public safety education campaign helped reduce annual injuries from New Year’s Eve gunfire from a dozen casualties or more to zero.

Why do I want to get this anthology done? Am I, a little-known writer who seeks to step into Harlan Ellison’s gigantic shoes, a narcissist and an attention-grabber? Well, uh, sure, there’s a little of that going on (gotta be honest here). But the main impetus for my wanting to see THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS come to fruition is that I have been an ardent fan of science fiction since before I learned to read. I grew up on a steady diet of Robert Silverberg, Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe, Vonda McIntyre, Anne McCaffrey, Barry N. Malzberg, and Harlan Ellison. Our present-day drift towards censorship – not censorship by the government, but censorship of unpopular ideas by media companies, commercial publishing, and internet content/social media providers, and censorship through shaming mobs, and the self-censorship that comes from writers wanting to remain able to make a living in their chosen field – worries me greatly. Science fiction is often called “speculative fiction.” Speculation and extrapolation – asking what if? and why? or how? – is the life’s blood of science fiction. Science fiction writers can’t wrap themselves in yellow CAUTION tape. They need to be free to follow their what ifs? wherever those speculative rabbit-holes may lead… even if they lead to dark, dank, unpleasant places.

How many readers in Mary Shelley’s day wanted to read a tale in which Man abrogated the creative power of God? The existence of such a tale was a scandal in some quarters.

How many readers in H. G. Wells’s day wanted to read a tale in which the center of the world-spanning British Empire was itself colonized by invaders from another planet? The existence of such a tale was a scandal in some quarters.

How many readers in Philip Jose Farmer’s day wanted to read a collection of tales in which human beings engaged in sexual relations, not merely with persons of a different race or religion, but with members of bizarre alien species that had evolved light years distant from Earth? The existence of such tales was a scandal in some quarters.

How many readers during the glory days of the Apollo Program wanted to read a tale by Barry N. Malzberg that predicted bureaucratic dysfunction and its associated pathologies would cripple the U.S. manned space program (and drive astronauts insane)? The existence of such tales was a scandal in some quarters.

Yet each of these authors and their scandalous tales opened spaces for new viewpoints and fresh ways of thinking, pushing the great centuries-spanning conversation at the heart of science fiction forward.

I’ve lined up some contributors whose names are widely recognized in the science fiction field, including some who contributed to the original DANGEROUS VISIONS or AGAIN, DANGEROUS VISIONS or who pitched a story to one of those anthologies but didn’t manage to make the cut (but who went on to have noteworthy careers in science fiction or fantasy).

However, just as Harlan Ellison did, I’m primarily looking for talented beginners, those at the start of their writing careers or those whose work shows genuine literary skill but who have had a difficult time breaking into a contracting and commercially conservative publishing field. I’m also eager to feature strong work from those who have suffered “one-book-and-you’re-out” syndrome (those who’ve managed to get one book in print through a traditional publisher, but whose first-and-only book did not meet expectations, and therefore found themselves unable to follow up, since publishers no longer bother with gradually building up an author and his/her audience over time).

I intend to pay a professional rate, $.06 per word, for approximately 70,000 words of original fiction (not quite the size of the original DANGEROUS VISIONS, but hey, we all have to start somewhere!). To accommodate payments to contributors, book production costs (cover art, design, etc.), fees paid to Kickstarter, and the costs of premiums to be offered to donors, I aim to raise $7,000.00.

Should I exceed that amount, I will increase the maximum size of the collection accordingly, accepting more story submissions. Each additional $500.00 raised allows me to pay for an additional 8,000 words, which could be two 4,000-word stories added or an additional 6,000-word story and a 2,000-word short-short. Any funds raised beyond $8,500.00 will be put towards the publication of a second volume (which’ll be titled AGAIN, NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS – what else?). Raising at least $15,500.00 will guarantee the publication of both a first and a second volume.

Kickstarter does not charge contributors unless and until the minimum fund-raising goal is met. This means that if you pledge $25, but the pledged total at the end of the fund-raising period only totals $3,762.33, you aren’t out a dime. Also, I don’t see a dime myself. I only have funds turned over to me by Kickstarter if my efforts manage to raise at least $6,500.00. Otherwise, it’s back to the drawing board.

Assuming I hit my mark, I will issue a call for submissions; it’ll appear here on the Kickstarter site, on my personal blog site, on the MonstraCity Press site, and will be shared with the popular online compilations of open fiction markets. Here are my provisional guidelines:

Stories can be up to 7,000 words, maximum.
Stories cannot have been previously published (this is an ORIGINAL anthology).
No simultaneous submissions (I don’t want to get all hot-and-bothered about your wonderful story, only to learn it’s been sold to Clarkesworld Magazine).
I intend for this anthology to serve as a cultural snapshot in time, just as the original DANGEROUS VISIONS and its sequel volumes served. (I think the culture can benefit from a new dose of DANGEROUS VISIONS every half-century or so.) With this in mind, shoot for the stars – submit your very best work, work you are proud of.
I am looking for stories that, due to their content, viewpoint, and/or subject matter, have little or no chance of being published in the commercial market. That means no retreads of themes or taboo/transgressive subject matter from the original DANGEROUS VISIONS or its sequel (unless you do something new, interesting, and subversive with that material, looking at the subject matter in a way that likely renders your story unmarketable). Virtually none of the stories published five decades ago in either of Ellison’s ground-breaking anthologies would be considered shocking or disturbing to most of the readership today. Yesterday’s transgressions are today’s cultural virtues and/or commonplaces. What are TODAY’S taboos? What kinds of science fiction stories are verboten in today’s commercial publishing market? What just won’t fly, whether due to shared social beliefs and aversions common to editors, assumptions that editors make about their readerships’ beliefs and aversions, or the commercial pressures of the corporate publishing world? How can these modern-day taboos be illuminated and explored using the unique extrapolative tools of science fiction?
No troll submissions! I am looking for stories of high literary merit. No stories that merely (or primarily) seek to shock, insult, or provoke will be accepted. The subject matter may be outrageous by the standards of today’s marketplace. But keep in mind, the more outrageous or disturbing the material, the more incisively it needs to be explored using the cognitive tools of science fiction. Your story may be humorous or satirical; the subject matter may greatly benefit from that approach. But your goals should be to induce your readers to care about your characters, their conflicts, and their predicaments, to leave your readers with something memorable to think about, and, last but not least, to entertain.
Use of a pseudonym is acceptable. You have my word that I will not reveal your true identity if you do not wish it to be revealed, and I will be happy to disguise your PII (Personally Identifiable Information) in any story introductions.
Please be aware that making a financial contribution to my Kickstarter campaign will NOT factor into my story selection decisions, if you intend to contribute both money and a story submission. Each story will be considered on its own merits.

Pledge $5.00 to $9.99: You’ll receive

an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released.

Pledge $10.00 to $24.99: You’ll receive

an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released
and you’ll be listed as a Supporter in the book.

Pledge $25.00 to $39.99: You’ll receive

an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

Pledge $40.00 to $44.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

Pledge $45.00 to $49.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

Pledge $50.00 to $74.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

OR

Pledge $50.00 to $74.99: You’ll receive

an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released
an ebook of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

Pledge $75.00 to $99.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

OR

Pledge $75.00 to $99.99: You’ll receive

an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
and you’ll be listed as a Donor in the book.

Pledge $100.00 to $124.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
and you’ll be listed as a Patron in the book.

Pledge $125.00 to $149.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
and you’ll be listed as a Patron in the book.

Pledge $150.00 to $199.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
and you’ll be listed as a Patron in the book.

Pledge $200.00 to $249.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
and you’ll be listed as a Sponsor in the book.

Pledge $250.00 to $499.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
you’ll be listed as a Sponsor in the book
and a character in one of the anthology’s stories will be given your name (or the name of your choice).

Pledge $500.00 to $999.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
you’ll be listed as a Sponsor in the book
a character in one of the anthology’s stories will be given your name (or the name of your choice)
and you will be invited to join editor Andrew Fox at lunch or dinner in conjunction with a Mid-Atlantic-area science fiction convention.

Pledge $1,000.00 to $1,499.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
you’ll be listed as a Super-Patron in the book
a character in one of the anthology’s stories will be given your name (or the name of your choice)
ü you will be invited to join editor Andrew Fox at lunch or dinner in conjunction with a Mid-Atlantic-area science fiction convention
and Andrew Fox will provide a professional editorial appraisal of a short story written by the donor (up to 10,000 words).

Pledge $1,500.00 to $1,999.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
you’ll be listed as a Super-Patron in the book
a character in one of the anthology’s stories will be given your name (or the name of your choice)
you will be invited to join editor Andrew Fox at lunch or dinner in conjunction with a Mid-Atlantic-area science fiction convention
and Andrew Fox will provide a professional editorial appraisal of a novel-length manuscript written by the donor (up to 125,000 words).

Pledge $2,000.00 to $2,499.99: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
you’ll be listed as a Super-Patron in the book
a character in one of the anthology’s stories will be given your name (or the name of your choice)
you will be invited to join editor Andrew Fox at lunch or dinner in conjunction with a Mid-Atlantic-area science fiction convention
Andrew Fox will provide your choice of a professional editorial appraisal of a short story written by the donor (up to 10,000 words) or a professional editorial appraisal of a novel-length manuscript written by the donor (up to 125,000 words)
and you’ll receive a SIGNED vintage MS-DOS laptop computer, used by Andrew Fox to write one of his novels, with multiple drafts of the author’s novels FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES and BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE on the hard drive.

Pledge $2,500.00 or more: You’ll receive

a trade paperback copy and an ebook copy of THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS when it’s released (slight additional shipping fee will be applied)
an ebook copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE OTAKU
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FIRE ON IRON
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, OR, CALORIE 3501
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE
a signed trade paperback copy of Andrew Fox’s novel FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES
you’ll be listed as a Super-Patron in the book
a character in one of the anthology’s stories will be given your name (or the name of your choice)
you will be invited to join editor Andrew Fox at lunch or dinner in conjunction with a Mid-Atlantic-area science fiction convention
Andrew Fox will provide your choice of a professional editorial appraisal of a short story written by the donor (up to 10,000 words) or a professional editorial appraisal of a novel-length manuscript written by the donor (up to 125,000 words)
you’ll receive a SIGNED vintage MS-DOS laptop computer, used by Andrew Fox to write one of his novels, with multiple drafts of the author’s novels FAT WHITE VAMPIRE BLUES and BRIDE OF THE FAT WHITE VAMPIRE on the hard drive
and THE LAST DANGEROUS VISIONS will be dedicated to you (or to a relative or friend of your choice).

I believe in this project. I think it is an important thing to do, important for science fiction, which I love, and important for the continued health of the free-speech culture we enjoy in the United States.

I believe in this project strongly enough that I’m willing to put my own money where my mouth (or touch typing) is. If I don’t get funded through Kickstarter, THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS will still be published through MonstraCity Press. I’ll have to reduce the word rate I can offer, unfortunately, and I’ll probably have to limit the amount of fiction I’ll be able to pay for. But I can promise that THE NEW DANGEROUS VISIONS will see the light of day, regardless. And any profit I’m fortunate enough to make from the first volume will then get dedicated to a second, larger volume (perhaps to be successfully funded through a new crowd-funding campaign).

Science fiction will always make room, make room (h/t: Harry Harrison) for contrarians, for heretics, for the unfashionable and unpopular, for the ugly, for outcasts, for stubborn failures who won’t say die, for dreamers at the fringe. Without them, the centuries-long conversation at the heart of science fiction – Idea A being built upon by Idea B being refuted by Idea C that is then modified by Idea D – becomes a sterile echo chamber. And should that happen, science fiction – written science fiction, the fecund seed from which all other modes of science fiction sprout – will ultimately suffer the sad fate of poetry, declining from a mass medium that once spoke to the minds and hearts of large audiences to a withered stump, of interest only to a shrunken circle of its writers and practitioners and a few academics, an inward-looking, incestuous community characterized by log-rolling, desperate status-seeking, ideological nepotism, obscurantism, and futility.

In this era of accelerating technological change and resultant social change, we need a healthy, vigorous, daring and courageous science fiction more than ever. To point out the possible perils up ahead. To point out future opportunities most of us may never otherwise have imagined. To get us to examine our thinking, to revisit our assumptions, to rearrange our mental furniture. To enable us to meet the onrushing future, not blindly, not with an anticipatory cringe or defensive cower, but with our eyes wide open… braced for the worst, but filled with reasoned hope for much, much better to come.

Risks and challenges
The primary risk is that if I don’t hit my funding target of $7,000, I won’t be able to pay a professional rate of $.06/word, and I probably won’t be able to buy 70,000 words of original fiction. However, I am personally committed to this project. If I miss my Kickstarter goal and receive no funding through Kickstarter, I will still solicit original stories, but at a sub-professional word rate, and I will most likely purchase less original fiction. In the latter case, I will be less able to attract submissions from veteran professional writers. However, I anticipate being able to make up this shortfall with submissions from talented newcomers.

—————————————————————————-
The day after I launched the Kickstarter project, I received the following email from my correspondent with the Ellison Estate:

—————————————————————————-

Director
May 17, 2019, 2:18 PM
to me

Mr. Fox,

While the press of urgent business has not allowed us to reply to your last message, silence does not imply consent.

Know that both “Harlan Ellison” and “Dangerous Visions” are registered trademarks of The Kilimanjaro Corporation. ANY unauthorized use of either constitutes trademark infringement under 15 U.S. Code §1114.

Revise your Kickstarter to remove ALL references to “Harlan Ellison” and “Dangerous Visions,” or The Kilimanjaro Corporation will take the necessary legal action.

XXXXX XXXXXXXX
Project Director, The Kilimanjaro Corporation

——————————————————————————

I’d guestimate that email took all of two minutes to write. Why the gentleman from The Kilimanjaro Corporation didn’t respond to my April 22 8:07 PM email with similar promptness as he responded to my April 22 7:23 PM email is anyone’s guess. All it would have taken is an even shorter note to the effect of, “Dangerous Visions is a registered trademark of The Kilimanjaro Corporation; we would appreciate it if you would select a different title for your project,” and I would have honored that request then and there.

A trademark’s a trademark. I get it. I’ll comply.

However, what I don’t get is trademarking the name “Harlan Ellison”. Harlan Ellison was a major figure in science fiction and in American literary, film, and TV culture for upwards of sixty years. Does the Estate plan to try to control, through legal action, all discussion of Ellison’s work and legacy, whether online or in print? I could understand the Estate wanting to put a halt to unauthorized marketing and sales of Harlan Ellison Corn Flakes, or, more on-point, Harlan Ellison Underwood Typewriter Replicas or Harlan Ellison Anti-Anger Herbal Remedy. But trying to squelch any mention of “Harlan Ellison” in conjunction with a planned anthology that will exist primarily as a responsa to Ellison’s most important work, a milestone in science fiction’s development?

That I don’t get. It is as if the Estate wants to see Harlan Ellison gradually fade into undeserved obscurity. Because if they keep up their heavy-handed efforts to control all discussion of and creative engagement with the legacy of the late author, in twenty years’ time, no one under the age of 70, with the exception of a few obsessive bibliophiles, will have ever heard of Harlan Ellison. And I think that will be a shame.

Logo for Homeys on Film: Homeland Security Lessons from Bad Movies

I’ve been working on a Master’s Degree in Homeland Security Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School. One of our assignments is a group project to start a homeland security-related blog. My team’s contribution will be called Homeys on Film: Homeland Security Lessons from Bad Movies. The “business plan” is to provide springboards to discussions of homeland security best practices by snarking on awful examples of policing, intelligence work, civil defense, or international relations from (mostly) bad films. We’ll be providing content ourselves (see one of my recent posts for an example, this one snarking on King Kong vs. Godzilla), and we’ll be inviting our readers to submit content. I think lots of you (especially those of you involved in public safety, public health, or homeland security professions) will have a lot of fun plugging your favorite/least-favorite movies and your homeland security lessons into our simple template.

I’ll be providing more details as I get them. In the meantime, here’s our new logo! (Can anyone guess which movie the image comes from? Hint — it was Bela Lugosi’s last film, and it starred Tor Johnson).

Homeys on Film logo

Theodore Sturgeon’s Law for October 31, 2014

ted04c

Happy Halloween! Something about the day and the morning’s train ride to work got me thinking about Sturgeon’s Law, which can be paraphrased as, “Sure, 90% of science fiction is crap, but then 90% of everything is crap.”

This is, quite possibly, the most famous quote to ever emerge from the universe of science fiction. So famous that not a day goes by without the quote appearing in a news article.

That notion got me curious. In what news articles would Sturgeon’s Law be quoted or referred to on Halloween, 2014?

Google makes life easy for those embarking on such absurd quests. I found a grand total of 26 news articles that fit my criteria. I selected a sample of four.

One, “Artists expected to toe the official line,” is about the travails of Irish artists who dare to criticize their local art scene. Another, “I like most films I watch. Am I a sucker?” is about a desire by a film critic to watch and enjoy bad films. The third, “Tuba instructor works hard to fight musical stereotypes,” is about a song a tuba instructor composed in order to fight prejudice against tuba players (really). And the fourth, “Tim Cook Makes Waves, Creates Ripple Effect,” is about the CEO of Apple coming out as gay. Richard Adhikari, the author of the last article, writes for TechNewsWorld, E-Commerce Times, and LinuxInsider.com and mentions Sturgeon’s Law in his byline self-description block, so Theodore Sturgeon is mentioned (indirectly and parenthetically) in every single article he writes.

This is a fun little game. If I get enough positive feedback, I may make this a recurring feature of FantasticalAndrewFox.com. What say you?

Cover for Hellfire and Damnation

Hellfire and Damnation - High Resolution

This is the cover for my upcoming book, Hellfire and Damnation: the August Micholson Chronicles, Book 2, coming out from MonstraCity Press in August, 2014. And here is the “teaser” for that book:

The second book in the thrilling Civil War steampunk supernatural suspense series begun with Fire on Iron. In this installment in the series, August Micholson must clear his name — he is accused of being a traitor to the Union and a sabateur and faces a court martial. He escapes his prison in an observation balloon, but then he is faced with monumental twin challenges — restoring the mental health of his “madness plague”-striken wife Elizabeth, and figuring out a way to halt General Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania!
_____________________________________________________________________________

Here’s a gallery of the work that James of the Humble Nations: the Book Covers, Musings, & Fiction of ‘Cheap Literature’ Smith’ has done for me thus far:

James has hundreds and hundreds of pre-made covers available for writers to purchase for $35 apiece, and he often offers specials on them. If none of his pre-made covers work for you, he also does what he calls “Commission Rapide,” which is where you pick out a few images from ShutterStock and give him your title and instructions, and “Full Commission,” where you let him do all the work and he presents you with three different alternatives. He is very easy to work with and very friendly, and his prices are some of the best out there. As you can see from the gallery above, the quality of his work is quite high (the book covers are all “Commissions Rapide,” and the logo was a complete original that he put together for Dara and me for MonstraCity Press). He does ebook covers and for a small additional charge turns an ebook cover into a full, wrap-around cover for a CreateSpace or Lightning Source/IngramSpark trade paperback. I highly recommend him!

More Handmade Monsters!

Here to save the planet... it's Mothra!

My youngest son, Judah, continues to request handmade monster toys, so I continue to make them. My first efforts were Gorgo and Tarantula (seen here in this earlier post). Gorgo was a simple paper puppet, two layers of construction paper glued together over a straw. Tarantula, however, was a more elaborate project, involving two plastic token cups from Chuck E. Cheese’s, a ball of black yarn, and several dozen black pipe cleaners. I made sure to over-build that sucker, reinforcing his legs six ways to Sunday (or eight ways to Sunday, given the number of legs).

Now I just need those two tiny Japanese twin gals...

Next up, per Judah’s instructions, was Mothra. Making a Mothra isn’t too hard; making a Mothra that won’t get destroyed after one or two sessions of play is a taller order. Mothra’s body is a cardboard toilet paper roll, coated in yellow construction paper, with pipe cleaner legs inserted through holes. Her wings are two layers of construction paper, reinforced on top with “veins” of variously colored pipe cleaners (which also give the wings some stiffness). Her head is construction paper with fuzzy ball eyes and antennae made of Bendaroos (wax-coated string). So far, she has avoided mortal damage, and she has been in Judah’s hands for over a month. So I guess I must’ve built her right.

Ghidorah vs. Godzilla!

Having seen the “Ghidorah Trilogy” (Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster; Monster Zero; and Destroy All Monsters), of course Judah would want a Ghidorah for his collection (and professionally made Ghidorah toys aren’t too common, at least not here in the States). I’d originally intended to make a simple two-dimensional Ghidorah puppet, along the lines of what I’d done with Gorgo, but then I got a bit more ambitious. I couldn’t figure out a workable way for me to make him fully three-dimensional, but by making his heads, wings, torso, and legs separately and then slotting them together, I was able to make him at least partially three-dimensional, plus able to stand on his own (a definite plus in a household inhabited by a kitten who loves to chew paper).

Another view of the wintry grudge match

I printed out a nice, cartoony drawing of Ghidorah from the deviantart.com site and cut out portions to use for the fronts of Ghidorah’s heads and legs, the most difficult parts to draw, then drew the wings and torso freehand. I did my best to draw the reverse sides of his legs and feet and of his heads and necks on another sheet of construction paper, plus reverse sides of his wings and torso. I then traced the parts onto a sheet of corrugated cardboard, which would give all the parts the necessary stiffness. I cut everything out, glued the construction paper “skins” over the cardboard “skeleton,” and then, after it had all dried, cut slots into the various parts and slotted and glued them together, sort of like how you would put together a cardboard model of an airplane. My finished product didn’t come out exactly proportional (the torso and wings are too big for the heads and legs), but he turned out exactly the right scale to battle Judah’s plastic Godzilla, which is more important. And from certain angles, he is rather impressive, if I do say so myself. Besides, Ghidorah was always sort of a lumpy, ungainly monster, anyway, at least in the original 1960s Toho films.

The best thing about Yongary, Monster From the Deep--the hero's 1964 Corvair convertible

This past week was a bad one, health-wise, for my family. One by one, we all came down with bouts of stomach flu. Judah and Asher caught it nearly simultaneously, and while they were on the mend, I stayed home with them to give Dara a bit of a break. The three of us watched Yongary, Monster From the Deep (1967). This was one giant monster picture I had somehow not managed to see as a kid. Yongary is essentially a South Korean Godzilla, with the monster-loving little kid from Gamera, the Invincible tossed in for good measure. The model cities weren’t bad, at least on par with those seen in the early Gamera movies, but the monster costume was a step down from those featured in the Gamera creature-fests, about as silly looking as the average kaiju in an episode of Ultraman.

The worst thing about Yongary, Monster From the Deep--the heroine's absurdly obnoxious little brother, Icho

What made the film stand out in my eyes were two things — the hero drove a splendid 1964 Chevy Corvair convertible, and Icho, the six or seven-year-old kid whom the filmmakers unwisely (and sadistically) foisted on us for much of the film, was simply the most detestable and obnoxious child character I have ever witnessed in any monster movie, ever. Worse than any of the kids in the Gamera movies (even that horrid, virtually unwatchable little Caucasian girl who wore a Scottish tam in War of the Planets). Worse than the kid in Godzilla’s Revenge. Worse, quite possibly, than any of the kids in The Lemon Drop Kids Meet a Brooklyn Gorilla (although I’ll admit I haven’t seen that one, so I can’t say for certain). One gizmo that plays a role in the movie’s plot is an itching ray (yes, an itching ray) developed by the hero (for God knows what reason; he’s already invented it when the film begins, before Yongary ever appears). The first time we meet Icho, he is hiding in the bushes, having stolen his new brother-in-law’s invention, and he zaps his sister and her new husband with the itching ray as they drive past (in that splendid Corvair convertible), forcing them to pull over and jump out of their clothes while they are on their way to their honeymoon. Icho gets even more obnoxious as the film rolls on. At one point, the hero scientist and the military have found a way to render Yongary unconscious, after he has knocked down most of those parts of Seoul that weren’t already knocked down during the Korean War. What does cute little Icho do? He steals the itching ray again, runs to the giant monster’s side, and wakes him up. Just as a goof, you know. Yongary then proceeds to knock down those parts of Seoul he missed the first time around. At that point, I was rooting for the big lizard to squash the kid already. Doesn’t happen. Evil triumphs; Yongary dies.

View from my back deck, January 21, 2012

But enough about itch-inducing child actors. We got a bit of wet snow last night, enough to lightly coat our back yard and replenish our stream. Knowing I’d be posting about giant monster movies, I began wondering whether any of them had taken place in the wintertime, during a heavy snowfall. Dozens of them took place in the desert, in the American Southwest, near where the atomic tests were carried out. All of the Japanese kaiju movies that I can recall took place in the summertime, with the exception of the early parts of Gigantis the Fire Monster / Godzilla Raids Again, the second Godzilla movie, in which Godzilla (or a second Godzilla-like creature, the original having been thoroughly disintegrated by the oxygen destroyer at the close of Godzilla, King of the Monsters) and Anguilus are discovered fighting each other on a northerly, ice-covered island, before they both invade Japan. The Deadly Mantis begins in Antarctica, where the titular giant bug makes his first attack on humanity, but when he gets up to the cities of North America, it is summertime. Much of Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, which features numerous giant creatures, takes place in a mysterious region of the Arctic, but that’s more a fantasy-adventure film than a traditional “giant monsters attack” movie. I haven’t seen The Beast From Twenty Thousand Fathoms in a long time, and I seem to recall that its climax takes place in Coney Island during a storm. Was it a snowstorm? If anyone has a good memory for this kind of thing, help me out here. I just think it would be neat to see New York City or Washington, DC or Tokyo (or even Seoul) get attacked by a gigantic lizard during a beautiful snowstorm.

(Ah, memory just kicked in; Peter Jackson’s New York City scenes in his recent remake of King Kong took place in the wintertime, one of the nicer touches in that film. Digital effects make much possible that perhaps weren’t so practicable during the era of miniature models.)

Gladiator in the Light of Subsequent Super-Men and Superheroes


I just finished reading Philip Wylie’s 1930 novel Gladiator. I’d heard about the book for years, both as one of the earliest speculative fiction novels on the subject of a super-human (appearing five years prior to Olaf Stapleton’s Odd John and ten years before A. E. van Vogt’s Slan was serialized in Astounding) and as the purported inspiration for the creation of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1938.

On the surface, certain parallels between Hugo Danner, protagonist of Gladiator, and the original version of Superman are striking. Their power sets were virtually identical; Danner could run as fast as a locomotive, leap forty feet straight into the air or hurl a church steeple with a running start, lift up to five tons, and had skin impenetrable by anything short of an exploding artillery shell. Also, Danner spends part of the book attempting to root out corrupt politicians and industrialists from their center of power in Washington, DC, a pursuit echoed by a decidedly populist Superman in many pre-war issues of Action Comics and Superman (in Metropolis, rather than Washington). However, according to Gregory Feeley, who has looked into all the relevant sources, Gladiator may not have had anything to do with the inspiration for Superman. The novel initially found very few readers, selling less than 2,600 copies in its first hardcover printing from Alfred Knopf. During interviews they granted late in life, both Siegel and Shuster acknowledged several inspirations for their character, including the pulp action hero Doc Savage, but do not mention Wylie’s Gladiator. Sam Moskowitz’s claim of the link between the 1930 novel and the 1938 Action Comics character, published in his 1963 book of portraits of SF writers, Explorers of the Infinite, was based upon a single interview with Wylie. Gregory Feeley points out that the differences between Hugo Danner and Clark Kent/Superman are more notable, perhaps, than the similarities. Danner received his powers as the result of an experiment his chemist father carried out on Danner’s mother while she was pregnant, not as the result of coming from another planet; and Danner never puts on a costume, adopts a secret identity, or battles criminals as a vigilante, although following one of his frequent failures to achieve his ambitions, he fantasizes about doing the latter (or, alternatively, about becoming what we today would call a super-villain).

A friend of mine located for me a paperback reprint of the novel, published by the University of Nebraska’s Bison Press in 2004. Having just spent weeks laboring through Saul Bellow’s The Adventures of Augie March (more on that in my next post), I decided I needed a palate cleanser, something less challenging and a much quicker read. Gladiator seemed to fit the bill. I mainly picked up the book out of archeological interest, wanting to determine for myself any linkages between what I figured would be an antiquated, eighty year-old relic of the pulp era and the subsequent development of the super-hero in comics and films. What I discovered to my surprise was a novel centered on a sophisticated and sometimes subtle characterization of a believable, conflicted, and very three-dimensional protagonist, a book that could bear favorable comparisons, not only with its more renowned contemporaries like Odd John, but also with far more recent novels on similar themes, such as Robert Silverberg’s classic Dying Inside (1972).

As a reader in 2011 who has been marinated in forty years’ worth of super-hero comic books and films, I came to Gladiator with a considerably different set of preconceived notions and penumbras of earlier reading experiences than the novel’s original readers would have had back in 1930. I’ve had the benefit of having read Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Miracleman, Peter David’s Hulk, Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, and Mark Gruenwald’s Squadron Supreme. A familiarity with these comics and graphic novels enormously enriches one’s experience of Gladiator, because one can easily see reflections of Hugo Danner’s travails in all of those later works, whether the influence was direct (as it possibly was in the case of Moore, who visually “quoted” Gladiator in Watchmen) or indirect.

To me, a far more interesting question than whether or not Jerry Siegel or Joe Shuster read Gladiator in the 1930s is if Stan Lee read Gladiator in the early 1960s. The novel’s portrait of a man more cursed than blessed by his super-human strength and abilities is strongly echoed by Lee’s characterizations of Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer (and Lee’s pioneering work in the 1960s led to those deeper examinations of the dilemmas and conundrums of being super-human that I list above). Hugo Danner spends his entire adolescent and adult life searching for a purpose toward which to apply his enormous strength, and the varied purposes he pursues and ends up abandoning encompass almost the entire range of plots utilized by writers of super-hero stories since 1938. In order of attempt, Danner seeks personal glory through excelling at collegiate athletics; accumulation of wealth (or just making enough dough for a meal) through use of his physical strength; satisfaction through saving lives in danger; being able to “cut loose” during wartime and seek vengeance for the deaths of friends in battle; he tries to live up to a parental figure’s hopes; temporarily turns his back on his abilities in an effort to find normalcy and serenity; tries to root out corruption in government and the justice system; seeks to use his strength in the service of scientific exploration; and finally contemplates founding a utopia in the jungle and populating it with children having abilities like his. The tragedy of the novel — and it is a tragedy — is that Danner, despite his pure intentions, despite the rigid control he mostly maintains over his use of his abilities, either is foiled in each of these pursuits by the ignorance, fear, or venality of his fellow men, or he has rueful second thoughts about goals for which he was initially wild with enthusiasm, realizing that his dreams are unrealistic, given human nature. The book ends with Danner considering himself a failure, even though the reader will recognize that he has won many small victories throughout the novel, albeit victories on a far smaller scale than those for which Danner had yearned.

In many respects, Hugo Danner more closely resembles Peter Parker/Spider-Man than he does Clark Kent/Superman. Danner’s scientist father’s goal is to find a way to increase the efficiency of human muscle mass to that of the muscles of ants and grasshoppers, and he succeeds with his infant son (after first succeeding, far more horrifically, with a kitten he comes to name Samson). Danner ends up with the proportional strength of an ant and the proportional leaping ability and speed of a grasshopper, whereas Peter Parker ends up, far more famously, with the proportional strength and speed of a spider. The famous scene from Amazing Fantasy #15 and the first Spider-Man movie of Peter Parker, under an assumed identity, entering a ring with a professional wrestler in order to win a cash prize was foreshadowed decades earlier by an almost identical scene in Gladiator, wherein Hugo Danner uses a false name to win a hundred dollars by knocking out a professional boxer a foot taller and eighty pounds heavier than he is (in another Peter Parker-like touch, the reason Danner does this is to raise cash for a bus ticket back to Webster College after having been seduced, then robbed by a call girl in New York City). Danner’s foray into heroism and service to others, like Peter Parker’s, is preceded by a tragic death caused, in part, by a personal failing on the part of the protagonist. In Peter Parker’s case, his selfish refusal to interfere with a robber’s escape leads to the death of Peter’s Uncle Ben at the hands of that same robber. In Hugo Danner’s case, his anger on the football field at a personal snub from the jealous captain of his team leads Danner to momentarily let go of his self-control and hit an opposing player too hard in the process of scoring a touchdown, snapping the young man’s neck in three places. The big difference between the two characters? Peter Parker, meant almost from the start to be a character in a recurring series of stories, utilizes his shame and self-recrimination to forge a philosophy of “With great power comes great responsibility” and then embarks upon a career as Spider-Man which has now lasted nearly a half century. Hugo Danner, the protagonist of a single novel, struggles mightily to find a purpose for his power and never succeeds, or at least never manages to live up to the Olympian standard he sets for himself.

Danner also resembles another Stan Lee creation, the Incredible Hulk. Danner’s scientist father experiments on a pregnant cat before experimenting on his own wife. The result is a kitten with the strength of an ox. In a series of horrific scenes, among the most effective in the book, the super-kitten nearly destroys the Danners’ home and savagely kills several sheep and cattle. A farmer’s rifle bullet fails to kill it. Danner is forced to poison the creature when it returns to his house for a saucer of milk and a plate of meat. After this experience, Danner and his neurotically religious wife take special care to condition Hugo, once the baby shows signs of his super-human strength, against any expression of anger, use of violence, or open display of his prowess. They are mostly successful in this, although both as an infant and as a child, Hugo occasionally lets signs of his abnormality show, which results in his being ostracized by most of the other children in his town and by their parents. Throughout the book, Danner worries about his potential for losing control and struggles against incitements and temptations to give his anger (and his inhuman strength) free reign. His college career as a star football player is ended when Danner, goaded by a jealous teammate, momentarily forgets to self-limit himself to one-fifth of his abilities on the playing field and accidentally kills an opposing player. Danner’s potential as a killer is shown in full during his service with the French Foreign Legion during World War One, when, in the bloody aftermath of the death of his best friend from German artillery fire, Danner plows into the German trenches and kills a thousand soldiers with his bare hands. Another parallel with an early Hulk story (in this case, The Avengers #1)? Seeking refuge and peace, the Hulk “hides in open sight” by joining a circus and performing as a super-strong robot. In Danner’s case, when he suddenly learns that his parents will be unable to pay for his second year at Webster College, he raises money for his education by getting a job as a strong man on the Coney Island midway, trusting in audiences’ assumption of some form of fakery to mask the extent of his natural abilities.

Another theme of the novel is Danner’s continual search for acceptance, friendship, and love. The ordinary people who surround him can sense his difference, even when he is completely successful at hiding his abnormal strength. This sense of difference leads to distrust, fear, and often to hatred. Danner, after taking a job as a farm hand, finds love with the farmer’s neglected wife, only to see her love turn to horror after Danner is forced to kill a marauding bull by breaking its skull with his fist. In one key scene, Danner rescues a bank coworker who has become trapped in a bank vault and is close to suffocation. All conventional efforts to open the jammed vault have failed. Danner offers to rescue the man, but only if all other persons will leave the basement and will not inquire into his method. He then rips off the vault’s door with his bare hands. The bank’s president questions Danner, suspecting that he has devised a new method of safe cracking that he means to use criminally in the future. When Danner refuses to answer his boss’s questions, the executive has Danner arrested by a corrupt police chief, who then attempts to torture an answer out of Danner. Stan Lee utilized this pattern of a protagonist’s good deed leading to social condemnation and ostracism regularly, particularly in stories involving Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Sub-Mariner, or the Silver Surfer. Of all these, Hugo Danner is perhaps the most similar, personality-wise, to the Silver Surfer, one of Lee’s personal favorites. Both characters are portrayed as lonely introverts, frequently soliloquizing on the short-sighted foolishnesses of humanity, yet yearning all the same for human companionship and acceptance, trying to help those in need and sometimes succeeding, but never achieving any recognition. No issue of the classic Stan Lee-John Buscema run of The Silver Surfer was complete without the Surfer retreating to an isolated mountaintop and ruing his exile on Earth and the shortcomings of humanity. Gladiator ends the same way, with Hugo Danner on a mountaintop in Mexico, remonstrating with God.

As a reader conditioned by the “Dark and Gritty” era of super-hero storytelling that followed the publications of The Dark Knight Returns, Miracleman, and Watchmen in the mid-1980s, I kept waiting for Hugo Danner to truly lose it. In an early scene set during his time at Webster College, Danner gets drunk for the first time in his life, at a party attended by his fraternity brothers and a horde of showgirls. Intimations of Alan Moore’s Miracleman led me on, making me anticipate a horrific consequence on the scale of one of Young Nastyman’s drunken binges in the South Seas or Young Miracleman’s nihilistic destruction of part of London. But the worst that happens is that Danner goes home with one of the young women, passes out after having sex, and awakens the next morning with his wallet gone. Danner does let his anger and grief take over in 1918 in France after the Germans kill his best friend, but the Young Miracleman-like slaughter he inflicts on the German troops is camouflaged by the far more massive carnage taking place all along the Western Front; even a man who can kill a thousand enemies in a single night is overshadowed by a war in which a single battle could result in half a million casualties. In his civilian life back in America, the one time that Danner would have been fully justified in cutting loose and dismembering his foes, following his torture at the hands of corrupt police after he has freed a man trapped in a bank vault, he manages to retain control, limiting himself to an intimidating display of his abilities. I thought I might be disappointed by the author’s choice not to have his protagonist engage in vengeance which (most) modern super-characters would have allowed themselves. But Wylie is so successful in illuminating Hugo Danner’s character, his upbringing, and his sense of ethics that I fully “bought” Danner’s decision to be merciful, not feeling that it was a cop-out on the writer’s part.

Fans of the best work of Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Kurt Busiek, and Frank Miller exploring what it means to be super-human owe it to themselves to find a copy of Gladiator and read it, not as a historical curiosity, but as an engaging and enlightening novel. Philip Wylie covered their territory first, decades before most of them began their careers in comics. And he did so with a deftness, craftsmanship, and powers of extrapolation that make his book just as readable as it was upon its first publication in 1930. In fact, perhaps even a better fit for today’s comics-savvy audience than it was for those 2,568 readers who bought copies of the first edition from Alfred Knopf during the early years of the Great Depression.

Thanks to All My Commentators!

I’d just like to send out a big THANK YOU to all the readers of my article, “The Absence of 9/11 in Science Fiction,” who took the time to write me and point out books or stories that I had missed in my (admittedly somewhat cursory) search.

Stories you mentioned included:
“Pipeline” by Brian Aldiss
“Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colors of the Earth” by Michael Flynn
“Family Trade” series by Charles Stross
“There’s a Hole in the City” by Richard Bowes
“The Things they Left Behind” by Stephen King
“Closing Time” by Jack Ketchum

Novels you mentioned included:
Paladin of Shadows series and The Last Centurion by John Ringo
A Desert Called Peace series by Tom Kratman
Orson Scott Card’s Ender books written post-9/11
Variable Star by Spider Robinson
Quantico by Greg Bear
Illium and Olympus by Dan Simmons

I didn’t include Robert Ferrigno’s books, such as Prayer for the Assassin, because they were marketed as thrillers, rather than science fiction (although Robert apparently emailed Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit to complain that he was left out of my survey, so he, at least, considers his books to be SF, despite how they were labeled by the publishers). The same goes for John Birmingham’s novels, which have been marketed as military techo-thrillers (although his Axis of Time series is certainly SF).

Three cheers for crowd sourcing! I’ll have to take a look at all of your suggestions, then post a revised version of my article to incorporate them. Stay tuned!