The Archer and The Sorceress (1981)

A sword-and-sorcery flick that has long eluded me, I finally caved and got myself an imported German DVD of The Archer and The Sorceress aka The Archer: Fugitive from The Empire (aka Der Zauberbogen).

The poster art, by Les Edwards, that had so stirred my youthful imagination, had always suggested that I was missing out out on another Deathstalker or The Warrior and The Sorceress, but sadly The Archer is a family-friendly, Certificate 12, failed TV pilot.

This kind of explains the lethargic set-up and anticlimactic denouement, but doesn't excuse the messily over-complicated plot and the occasionally nonsensical dialogue.

The land of Malveel, home to a disparate group of feuding nomadic tribes, is under threat of invasion by the Draikian empire (known, confusingly, as The Dynasty) and its snakemen allies.

The nomads have been united under the rule of King Brakus (George Kennedy), but behind-the-scenes shenanigans see him murdered and his son, Toran (Lane Caudell), framed.

With his dying breath, Brakus tells Toran to seek the wizard Lazar-Sa, to assist him in regaining his rightful position as the tribal leader.

Toran escapes with his mentor, Mak (George Innes), but Mak soon dies as well (for reasons) and in doing so bequeaths the magical Heartbow, known as Elbe, to Toran.

On his journey, Toran teams up with the slippery rogue Slant (Victor Campos) and the sultry sorceress Estra (Belinda Bauer). Having had a previous run-in with Toran, she is also seeking Lazar-Sa, but to kill him in revenge for the death of her mother.

All the while, they are being chased by Gar (Kabir Bedi), the leader of the Draikians (I think) and his warband of nine snake-people.

Snakeman

Although they add little more than a modicum of atmosphere, the make-up on the snakemen is superb, they wouldn't have looked out of place on Jabba's sailbarge.

Like the handful of other creatures and species shown in this hour-and-a-half flick, the snakepeople, ultimately, are little more than set dressing.

When our 'heroes' arrive in the town of Kamal, they end up saving the locals from someone claiming to be Lazar-Sa.

They pursue him to his hidden, magical base only to discover he is an imposter, a student of Lazar-Sa's, defaming his old master's name.

Nevertheless, Gar and his snakeboys pursue Toran and co. into the misty valley for a final showdown.

There's definitely potential in The Archer, but the ragged script (written and directed by TV stalwart Nicholas Corea) comes nowhere close to realising it, despite the best efforts of Victor Campos's duplicitous - but ultimately good-natured - scoundrel and Belinda Bauer, who smoulders extremely well in an Eva Green style.

Clearly a lot of worldbuilding had gone into the backstory, the film opens with a fleeting shot of a map of the area, people swear by different gods depending on where they hail from, and it's implied - more than once - that Elbe is not the only Heartbow.

But none of this, or any of the other setting nuggets the script is sprinkled with, really go anywhere because this wasn't written as a self-contained movie, but rather the start of an on-going serial.

Sadly, we will never know the full depth of Toran and Estra's world.

The Archer still has a few interesting moments, but its bloodless combat and bland lead mean it really should turn in its swords-and-sorcery genre membership card.

I don't know if I'm getting slow in my old age, but, for me, one of the main areas where the story fell down was my inability to keep track of who was on whose side, and really why Gar was bothering with Toran in the first place (having already successfully engineered his fall from grace).

My problem with following the narrative was heightened by the mumbly dialogue, made worse by the fact that more than once - when I could understand what was being said - it didn't make a lot of sense anyway.

For instance, the town leaders in Kamal, when thanking our heroes for their rescue, seemed to be riffing off the script they had been given, talking over each other, and generally behaving rather peculiarly.

The Archer and The Sorceress isn't so bad that it's good (cf. Deathstalker) and it obviously isn't particularly good.

Instead, it's horribly mediocre, one of the worst sins a film can inflict upon an audience.

The Return of Solomon Kane

Main cover art by Patrick Zircher

Patrick Zircher brings Robert E Howard's Puritan monster-hunter, Solomon Kane, back to comics with his second miniseries, The Lion Errant, which launches next month.

Publisher Titan Comics has shared some examples of artist-writer Zircher's incredible interior work from the first issue, as well as a selection of its variant covers before this second eye-catching miniseries debuts on July 22.

And here are the main variant covers for the first issue of Solomon Kane - The Lion Errant: 

Variant cover art by Utsab Chatterjee

Variant cover by JH Williams III

Variant cover by Daniel Brereton

Variant cover by Stuart Sayger

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATION!

If only I'd been a bit patient the other day, I could have added a third art book (well, booklet) to my recent acquisitions of visual inspiration.

Today's new addition - which arrived quicker from the eBayer seller than I was expecting (thank you so much) - is Fighting Dragons and Demons: "a collection of Dragonbane drawings by Jann Galino".

Jann is the primary Dragonbane artist for Dunderdagar, a third-party publisher of material for Dragonbane, the English-language iteration of Sweden's most-enduring and beloved fantasy roleplaying game, Drakar och Demoner (which has been in print since 1982).

The black-and-white art in this 38-page booklet is fantastic, and - as with yesterday's grand, sweeping, full-colour masterpieces - instantly evokes the character and excitement of each particular illustration, transporting you into the fantastical realm it is portraying.

Below are three random spreads from the booklet, poorly photographed by me, to help suggest the excellence of Jann Galino's art:

This picture, The Oracle, should explain some of my love for Dragonbane

INSPIRATION! INSPIRATION! INSPIRATION!

Although I sometimes feel a bit of a heathen, the majority of my inspiration for gaming is visual (e.g. movies, TV, comics etc), which is why I have a soft spot for art books.

As much as I enjoy reading, ultimately it's "the pictures" that more often hook me into a particular narrative or environment.

While not in the slightest artistically gifted myself, a great piece of art sets my creative neurons firing, giving me a new window into the current fantasy setting of choice - generally one of my own creation for whatever roleplaying game I'm "into" at that moment.

As we speak, I'm really hungry to play (run?) a swords-and-sorcery roleplaying game, which is why my comic book pull-list is increasingly filled with titles that either land squarely in that genre or, at least, have some tangential connection.

Yes, I have many comics, graphic novels, omnibuses etc, along with a broad library of movies and TV shows that scratch that particular itch, but there's always room for the straight-forward art book, with erudite commentary.
 
Thus, this week, I've acquired a second-hand, hardback copy of Paul Kidby's The Art of Discworld and the brand new, just-published softback edition of The Book of Jusko.

Joe Jusko's striking artwork can be seen on the covers of sword-and-sorcery, sword-and-planet, horror and superhero comics, as well as paperback novels, calendars etc

You can open either of these tomes at a random page and be swept away to another world, which is exactly the kind of extra fuel I need to keep the mental fires of my fantasy gaming dreams from fizzling out.

THE FASCINATION OF ARDUIN, BLOODY ARDUIN

Anyone who has read my drivel for long enough - and is into old school gaming - will be aware that Dave Hargrave's Arduin is one of my favourite settings and one that, to this day, shapes my ideals of what a "perfect" RPG campaign world should be like.

Over the years I have joined a number of Arduin groups on platforms that no longer exist, but I thought, today, I'd share a couple of pieces from those old groups that will - hopefully - go some way towards explaining my eternal love for Hargrave's legendary campaign.

In one group, a gentleman who went by the handle of Mourn Storm recounted a legendary tale from Dave's game and shared the picture below (by insanely talented Russian artist Leo Hao) to illustrate the story of the Battle of Fort Blood.

Storm's story read as follows:

"I patched together the tale of Fort Blood based solely upon what tidbits David passed along to me and interviews over the years with one or two players who were there. You also may remember the dedication to "Koryu, leader of the 47 Ronin" in [Arduin Grimoire, Volume 1].

"This crew was part of a world spanning quest he ran WWWAAAYYY back in the day, The players changed, characters died or were taken out of play, but there were always 47 'ronin' on this quest of Koryu's to retrieve/rescue his lover's soul.

"They found themselves at a place called Fort Blood and were about to camp for the night when one of the mages declared it was the Eve of the Black Solstice and that THIS place was a focus point. Long story short, they fought against the very Hordes of Hell from the moment the sun dipped beneath the rim of the world until dawn the next day."

Click here to see a massive version of this ultra-detailed painting

At some point I joined an Arduin discussion group on Yahoo and nothing sums up the spirit of Arduin better than the group's poetic, introductory text:

What dreams and glories we have all beheld!

I have travelled through the Ebon Gates on the Plateau of Forever, seen the highest peaks of the Misty Mountains and looked down into the dark swirling mists of The Devils Footprint.

I have delved deep within foul Skull Tower, wintered on the northern border of far Ghorfar where the Blue Barbarian Amazons wield their deadly skills and felt the oppressive heat rising from the jungles of Green Hell far to the south.

I have ridden the trails with brave men and craven, mad men and priests; I have known warriors, thieves, mages, treasure seekers, glory hounds, fools and wisemen. I call Deodanths my blood enemies, Dwarves stout hearted, Elves fools and Centaurs gallant foes. I have seen true honour and nobility in the bug folk called Phraints and courage unheard of from Halfling bakers.

I know the terrors of the Night of the Black Solstice, the fear that grips men when Amazons close to battle screaming like Furies from legend and the sweet thrill of victory when the last foe dies or flees the field. I've seen the deadly ballet of combat between TIE fighter and Dragon played out with lethal finality over the Mountains of Madness. I've fought in the blood games of Melnibone, traded skins with a Marmachandian merchant and walked the streets of Talismonde' side by side with Vampyr and Paladin companions.

I've searched for the Yabander stone, found the Blood of Sorkar, and once I saw Stormbringer unsheathed and lived to tell the tale!

More often than not, when I'm kicking around an idea for a fantasy campaign in my noggin, my first port of call for inspiration will always be Hargrave's legendary Arduin Grimoire (particularly the first three books, which I purchased as an eager Dungeons & Dragons-obsessed 12-year-old so many years ago).

As I begun one such expedition into the depths of the Grimoire, I came across the following quote on page two of the first book, on a page about experience point rewards.

Bear in mind that the Grimoire used an experience/level system very similar to that of old school Dungeons and Dragons.

In this particular entry, Mr Hargrave was counting down various events and giving guidelines to what experience points they would earn in his campaign.

For 375 experience points a player character would have to have been:

"sole survivor of an expedition acquiring the mightiest of artifacts (Satan's own pitchfork, nuclear weapons, phasers etc.)."

What kind of wonderfully, whacked-out and over-the-top campaign must Dave Hargrave have been running that such treasures were available to lucky (foolhardy?) player-characters?

And how gutting to only earn a mere 375 experience points from probably the most dangerous adventure of your life?

It's no wonder that The Arduin Grimoire blew my pre-teen mind and continues to hold an amazing fascination for me even after all these decades.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Gil Kane

When you're a very young kid reading comics you don't really pay attention to the credits.

Before I became a serious collector in my late teens/early 20s, I was picking up random issues as and when I could find them - either the original colour American comics or the black and white reprints that came out over here.

But I couldn't tell you who drew them. To be honest, I doubt I could have even told you who had written them!

I'm not sure when it happened, but the first artist whose style I recognised as distinctively different, and actively sought out, was that of Gil Kane. I liked his stark lines.

Then my tastes expanded to being able to pick out the work of Carmine Infantino whose art, to my untrained and uneducated eye, I thought was quite similar to Kane's work.

But it's Kane's illustrations that have always held a particular nostalgia for me, taking me to being a little kid, with my comics spread across the bedroom floor, following the adventures of sundry superheroes around imaginary cities, throughout space, and even into different dimensions.

Monday (April 6) was the 100th anniversary of Kane's birth.

"We Are Gathered Here Today To Geek Out!"

Me with The Real Kent Ghostbusters at Geek Mania in Tonbridge

Today Rachel and I attended the first Geek Mania show (convention? gathering?) at the Angel Centre, Tonbridge, and it was magnificent.

There were stalls selling books, games, artwork, badges, dice, LARPing gear, and trading cards (so many cards), as well as participation tables for 5e Dungeons & Dragons, various shades of Warhammer, card games (so many cards), Beyblades, figure painting, a lightsaber training academy, and probably other things I missed.

A selection of the amazing props brought along by The Real Kent Ghostbusters

Rachel and I posing with Slimer

I'd really hoped to get Rachel into an "introduction to Dungeons & Dragons" session, but we were there around 11.30 and the tables had proved so popular that the first available slot was 2.30pm... and it was unlikely we'd still be around then (as I have limited reserves of stamina).

The participation tables were packed from the moment we arrived, and just got busier

These were the lightsaber tutors, but they mainly ran classes for younglings through the day

The vibe of the whole show was very welcoming and everyone we spoke to was incredibly friendly, delighted we were there, and happy to talk about whatever geeky niche was their forte.

There were cosplayers - always happy to pose for pictures - and LARPers, with a vast selection of costumes, masks, and boffer weapons for sale. 

I achieved a lifelong ambition and purchased my first pair of elf ears! 

Incredible array of costuming and weaponry from Gem's Trading Company 

"You've made an old man very happy," I told the lady who sold me these ears!!!

I strongly suspect I was one of - if not the - oldest people there (knocking on the door to sixty this year), but it didn't matter. There was a youthful, positive atmosphere that I hope translated into cash in the pockets of the organisers so that this will become a regular event.

Geek Mania was the brainchild of Planet JJs Geekery, which, in very real terms, is close to being at the bottom of our road (although too far for me to walk there and back, sadly).

I really must try and get signed up for regular RPG events at the store, which I have to confess we've only actually been in once. Rachel is supportively offering to be my taxi to and from the store if I join their "club".

I also believe that Geek Mania being organised locally is a massive plus for the future of the show, as there's an automatic community investment here.

Either side of the Pandemic, there were several attempts to make "comic-cons" a thing at the Angel Centre, but they never really took off.

Run by travelling groups who organise such events around the country, there was no great incentive to come back if they didn't rake in the cash they had been hoping for at the first attempt.

That said, Geek Mania was definitely busier than any of the "comic-cons" I've attended at the Angel Centre over the years.

Overall, Rachel and I stayed for about an hour-and-a-half, which wasn't too bad by my usual variable health standards, only having to have a single sit down and cookie break.

Even though Pokémon is an alien language to me and seemed to dominate every other stall, I still managed to pick up some mighty treasures (as well as my ears) from the traders:

My Geek Mania haul

My first purchase of the day was a He-Man Funko Pop (because, like dice, you can never have too many Pops). Sadly, they were all out of Frieren-related Pops.

I was excited to find a couple of boxes of old 60s/70s pulp sci-fi anthology magazines on the floor of a bookseller's stall.

She very kindly picked them up and put them on the table so I could sort through them properly.

My main guiding principle here was looking for authors that Michael K Vaughan had mentioned on his Booktube channel, so that it appeared as though I knew what I was doing.

And finally I bought a cute little pocket zine from local artist Katherine Burgess, whose style and obvious talent made me wish I was producing a game - or a supplement - so I could hire her to illustrate it.

"Tonbridge. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

They’ve Always Been Dead: The History Of Elementals

This video [from Strange Brain Parts] does a deep dive into the origin, history and tragic, exploitative decline of The Elementals, created by Bill Willingham and published by Comico from 1984-1997.

The initial volume of The Elementals was a foundational work for Steve and I during our early Villains & Vigilantes superhero games back in the day, because of the Bill Willingham connection to the game.

He wrote - and illustrated - two of the system's first adventure modules: Death Duel With The Destroyers and The Island of Doctor Apocalypse. Several characters from these scenarios would then appear in The Elementals.

It was only later that I discovered that Villains & Vigilantes' co-creator Jack Herman also wrote some issues on The Elementals.

The first edition of V&V came out in 1979, followed by a revised and improved edition in 1982.

Around that time, the game's creators Jack Herman and Jeff Dee were onboard to create a back-up feature for Willingham’s Elementals, when it was coming out from Texas Comics, but the company dissolved and Bill moved Elementals to Comico.

In a 2011 interview with Ain't It Cool News, Jack explains that his feature would have been based on "my first original V&V character, a superhero-versus-supernatural-horror sort of thing".

When Elementals took off at Comico, Bill Willingham started looking around for in-universe support features. Jack submitted a story which was turned into a full-length issue and he began writing for the title regularly.

Again, quoting the 2011 interview, Jack said: "So, here's this guy who is now rightfully recognized as one of the best comics writers in America, and I was writing scripts for him!"

The Elementals Fight Saddam Hussein, Elementals #17, May 1991, script by Jack Herman,
pencils by Mike Leeke, inks by Dan Schaefer, colours by Julia Lacquement, and letters by Pat Williams

Conan The Barbarian Hits His Quarter-Century

Painted wraparound cover for by Alex Horley

The blockbuster Conan The Barbarian comic, from Titan and Heroic Signatures, releases its landmark 25th issue this October.

To mark the occasion, this issue will be a 48-page, standalon King Conan adventure from celebrated Conan scribe Jim Zub, fully painted by Alex Horley.

In his weekly newsletter, Zub stated:

"Solicits and preview pages are making the rounds and it’s so nice to be able to show people some of the jaw-dropping work I’ve been staring in awe at since Alex and I started working on this epic back in September of last year.

"This issue is my first King Conan story, it’s a self-contained adventure, and it’s a fist-pumping sword-swinging celebration of our series – past, present, and future."

He added:

"And just as a reminder – Conan the Barbarian will keep going after issue #25! I know a lot of current comic series seem to be getting cancelled or constantly relaunched, but we are going strong and our latest issues have defied typical attrition patterns and are going up in sales.

"There are many more adventures to come as long as readers and retailers keep supporting the series the way they have so far."

Fully-painted preview of interior artwork by Alex Horley

At last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, it was also revealed that the popularity of Patrick Zircher's recent Solomon Kane mini-series means a second series is coming next year; and a new title called Savage Sword: Reforged is being launched, reprinting select stories from the original black and white Marvel run of Savage Sword of Conan but in colour.

A sample of Barry Windsor-Smith's coloured art from The Frost-Giant's Daughter

The first issue of Reforged comes with a choice of covers:

A new podcast, called Legends of Conan, was mentioned; Jim Zub hinted at his four-year plan (with annual 'event' pillars) for Conan The Barbarian, including the arc in issues 26 to 28 which will show how Conan became the king of Aquilonia; and a forthcoming, brand new Kull comic book series was also announced during the busy Heroic Signatures panel.

It's a great time to be a comic book-reading fan of the creations of Robert E Howard!

Art tease from Patrick Zircher's next Solomon Kane miniseries

New Fantastic Four Artwork Spectacular

I may have bitched and moaned about Marvel "restarting" the numbering of the Fantastic Four in the middle of the current Ryan North run, but that doesn't mean I won't be picking it up like the loyal little Marvel zombie I am.

Check out some sample pages of Humberto Ramos's artwork from the issue here:

And, of course, there's a dozen variant covers (because aren't there always these days?), which you can see below:

foil variant by Mahmud Asrar

remastered variant by John Buscema

wraparound variant by Claudio Castellini

Cliff Chang

Alan Davis

Jeehyung Lee

Jerome Opeña

Disney What If? Fantastic Four Homage variant by Lorenzo Pastrovicchio

Retrovision Variant by Leo Romero

Alex Ross

connecting cover variant by Skottie Young

Marvel Rivals connecting cover variant by Netease Games