Dispatches from the silver key

Arcane Arts

Although you wouldn’t know it from the sparse Silver Key updates it’s been a productive last couple weeks on the writing front. I completed two articles and both are in the hands of editors of sword-and-sorcery magazines.

Let’s start with “The small press origins of Karl Edward Wagner’s Kane,” which, appropriately enough, will be appearing in a new little fanzine entitled Night Winds.

I was just young enough to largely miss the golden age of the fanzine era (1970s-80s). Growing up I remember seeing ads for fan-made RPG magazines in the back of White Dwarf and the like. They looked interesting, but by the time I had disposable income the internet age was dawning and I assumed fanzines were dead.

I was wrong; they live.

Jay Hardy has been doing an Edgar Rice Burroughs print fanzine since 2018, The Minunian, of which he’s now working on issue #33. Per Jay, he decided to do a second ‘zine based on his love of Sword & Sorcery, choosing Night Winds as a tribute to KEW. Jay plans to print 35-40 copies and bring them to Howard Days in June, along with a few other ‘zines and odds and ends. Night Winds may or may not prove to be a one-shot, but I’m proud to have a piece in it.

This is the third year I’ve been asked to contribute to one of Jay’s ‘zines. If I have the time and interest, I’ll continue to do it, because I love that they exist. And that a little piece of me will be traveling to Cross Plains. I’ll get back there one day.

BTW while researching the article I discovered that Chacal #1 is available here online. Worth checking out for the Jeff Easley art portfolio of “Reflections for the Winter of My Soul” alone.

I’ve also completed a second article for New Edge Sword and Sorcery, “Barbarians of the open road: The airbrushed age of vanning and sword-and-sorcery” (title tentative based on the editor’s input). This required considerable research because I knew so few details about the van craze that gripped the nation in the 1970s. It’s a fascinating story of a fad that caught like wildfire and led to huge van conventions and even a pair of films. If you were a kid in the 70s and early 80s you might have seen Frank Frazetta art on the side panel of a Dodge Tradesman as it drove on past in a slow ride, pungent smell of marijuana drifting out of a draped window.

The kickstarter for New Edge is going very strong and as of this writing has more than doubled its funding goal, raising $66,366. It’s done so well I and the other contributors are getting a pay raise! You can back the project here. ​

What I’m reading

To Leave a Warrior Behind, Jon Tattrie. This is shaping up to be a wonderful little biography of Charles Saunders, the man best known in sword-and-sorcery circles as the creator of Imaro. I’m at the halfway mark, have learned a lot about Saunders, and been entertained. Tattrie has an easy to follow, clear writing style. Tattrie and Saunders’ paths overlapped for some years as they worked together at the Halifax Daily News, so Tattrie had some limited insight into the man. But the book has a bit of feel of a detective novel. Saunders was a literal missing entity when Tattrie began his work, his body buried in an unmarked grave that his few friends and fans could not place. The story builds from there. I will be doing a full review on the blog in the next couple weeks I’m sure.

What I’m pondering on my throne (aka., La-Z-Boy recliner)

Is King Conan finally getting greenlighted?

​Apparently so. ​

I’m not sure what to think about this.

I’ve been interested in seeing King Conan come to the screen for many years. The John Milius screenplay “Crown of Iron,” a long-rumored sequel to Conan the Barbarian that mercifully ignores Destroyer, has been floating around the internet for a couple decades. It had potential but was ultimately shelved when Arnold entered politics.

Now, old barbaric fires are again stoked.

The problem of course is Arnold (age 78) will probably be 80 by the time of the filming. One thing that could make it work is if he’s an aged king reflecting on past glories, presented as a series of flashbacks to a younger actor. Arnold hinted at something like this during an interview at the recent Arnold Classic, which also included news of an apparent Commando 2 and Predator sequel.

The dude is of course an icon but I can’t help feeling that the optimal time for all this was 20 years ago.