READING REPORT: Back On Track... Hopefully!

Two bits of great news on the reading front this week: I've finally resumed Draugr after too long a break and my copy of the Deathstalker novelisation has arrived, shipped all the way from the U.S. of A.

I can't believed I put Draugr aside in the middle of such a tense sequence, and now I'm back in the deep, dark, scary forest I'm pleased to report the book is still incredibly atmospheric and creepy.

With Deathstalker turning up there's been yet more jiggery-pokery with my "to be read" list, meaning that this movie adaptation is now the next thing I intend to read, once I wrap up Draugr, 

While all this excitement was going on, I did get another of my fortnightly comic book shipments up from Paradox Comics in Poole, which means another nine comics to also slip in the "immediate" reading pile.

This week's comics

As long as I can be disciplined about it, I'm hopeful that I can somehow alternate between Draugr and the comics, rather than putting the novel aside again to make way for comic books.

I'm feeling surprisingly confident that I'll be able to do this. To paraphrase Madonna, I reckon I'm getting "into the groove" with this whole "reading" malarky again after years of dithering because of my poor concentration.

Of course, I also really need to start reading some roleplaying game rules books as well if I want to prove to the Tuesday Knights that I'm ready to run a campaign for them without bottling it after a couple of sessions.

Meanwhile, as we stand. the top titles in my reading list to follow Draugr are: Deathstalker; The Hammer Horror Omnibus, Volume One; and Ghosts, Trolls and The Hidden People: An Anthology of Icelandic Folk Legends.

Forthcoming Howardian Comics That Piqued My Interest

Legendary scribe Gail Simone is bringing us The Ring: The Man Who Beat The Man in June, courtesy of Dark Horse.

The eight-issue series, produced in co-operation with venerable boxing magazine, The Ring, follows:

"...veteran Ring Magazine journalist Cameron Duggan and rising broadcast personality Lisa Wolfe, a former podcaster who has transitioned into television commentary. As the pair travel the boxing world covering a new wave of contenders chasing championship glory, they encounter the ambition, rivalries and politics that shape the sport at its highest level.

"Each fighter approaches the pursuit differently, but the goal remains the same, reach the top of the sport and prove himself as the man who beat the man. As Duggan and Wolfe document the journey of these fighters, they also find themselves navigating the pressures and personalities that surround the sport."

While not directly a Robert E Howard story, Two-Gun Bob was a massive fan of boxing and wrote plenty of pulp tales set in that world - including those of my favourite character, Sailor Steve Costigan.

However, the next comic that caught my eye - and will be added to my pull-list PDQ - is pure Howard.

The incredible writer/artist Patrick Zircher brings his take on Howard's Puritan monster-hunter Solomon Kane back for another miniseries from Titan Comics in July.

Solomon Kane: The Lion Errant sees our hero travelling to India, guided by a "mysterious black-maned lion" where he is drawn into a "confrontation between the warrior queen Rani Durgavati and the mighty Mughal Empire".

"But the coming battle is more than a clash of armies. Ancient powers are stirring, gods and demons walk among the living, and Kane’s arcane Atlantean staff may hold the key to it all. Steel meets the divine. The Sword of Vengeance answers a higher call."

Joe Jusko cover art

The final forthcoming comic with serious Robert E Howard vibes is Dan Panosian's Fire And Ice: Darkwolf, from Dynamite, which also kicks off in July.

This is a spin-off from the gorgeous - but erratically published - Fire and Ice sword and sorcery comic book series.

"Born from the immortal imagination of fantasy illustrator supreme Frank Frazetta, Darkwolf storms into a new era of savage fantasy-brought to life by writer Dan "Urban Barbarian" Panosian and powerhouse artist Andrey Lunatik.

"Dynamite's acclaimed exploration of the world of Fire and Ice continues in this new series!

"It all begins when a mother and her twins flee the warlock who sired them - until a masked warrior descends from the mountains and unleashes hell upon their pursuers. But saving them is only the beginning. 

"Violent. Mythic. Unrelenting. This is Darkwolf, and the legend begins here - a fierce, visceral rebirth of one of fantasy's most iconic warriors

Dan Panosian cover art

PROJECT 60: What Does The Future Hold?

As I race towards my sixtieth birthday next year, I can't help feeling that it's time I got my "collecting" hobbies under control before I end up on an episode of Hoarders or Rachel finds me buried under a collapsed pile of books, comics, and blu-rays!

I've already mentioned that my life-long love affair with roleplaying games is dwindling, thanks to the dawning realisation that I'm never going to run a "forever campaign" that comes close to my hopes and dreams.

I still want to keep playing, and won't - and can't - stop thinking about RPGs, but the constant need to be working on 'my next great roleplaying project' has definitely eased off. 

Picture, if you can, the amount of space I could create in our house if I sold off all the games (and supplements) that I own but which I'll never read or revisit.

That's going to take a lot of effort to do properly, but it might generate a decent sum of money to bulk up my ever-shrinking bank account.

On the other hand, I'm currently thinking of burying myself in Cubicle 7's Doctor Who RPG, just not with any expectation of running it (it's simply not a game I could imagine my group, The Tuesday Knights, taking to).

However, I quite fancy the idea of creating Whoniverse scenarios, settings, gadgets, aliens etc to share with the readers of this blog.

If I were to return to running a campaign, with any chance of it surviving more than three or four sessions, it would almost certainly embrace the simplicity of old school Dungeons & Dragons-style gaming. As I did many years ago with the Tuesday Knight's three-year Heroes & Other Worlds campaign.

Honestly, I'd just really love to run a hardcore dungeoncrawl at some point. Just not now.

For reasons of both space and finances, I also need to trim my comic book pull-list from its current 25 titles a month down to something more manageable.

Part of my problem has been that my osteoarthritis has made me feel so uncomfortable that concentrating on reading (and finding a good position to do so) has led to a four or five month backlog of unread comics.

Some, I fear, will have to remain unread if I ever want to get back up-to-date.

Going forward, I'm thinking of streamlining my reading to: DC's Superman (and family); Marvel's Fantastic Four; and Titan's Howardverse titles (Conan The Barbarian, Savage Sword, Solomon Kane etc)

There'll be a few odds and ends in there as well: such as Dynamite's "occasional" Fire and Ice.

I've also heard a rumour that the long-delayed Afterlife With Archie (the greatest unfinished zombie comic book saga of all time) might have finally - after a 10 year hiatus - clawed its way out of the grave to resume its run, but I'll only believe it once that new issue is in my hands.

Of course, on top of all this, there's still my monthly Judge Dredd Megazine subscription and odd runs of 2000AD (I'm still undecided on whether to wean myself off the latter or take out a subscription to sit parallel with my Megazine one).

So, that's still a lot of comics each month, but - as long as I can catch up - it feels like it'll be easier to keep on top of.