The Cromcast: A Weird Fiction Podcast: The Western Road

Showing posts with label The Western Road. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Season 11, Episode 9: The Vultures of Whapeton

Howdy, Cromrades! The end of The Road West is in sight, but we've got one more stop to make this week along the dusty trail, in a town called Whapeton. Or is it Wahpeton? We've been excited to get here, and now we're discussing The Vultures of Whapeton by Robert E. Howard! This is a fitting way to finish off the season, with discussions of classic vs. revisionist westerns, the trappings of westerns vs. sword and sorcery, and some further recommendations in the genre courtesy of our pal Evyl Ed!

One Things
Jon: A renewed love of drawing via pointillism.
Josh: Tiny Epic Quest
Luke: Barry on HBO

Next - Our way West led us East, to the mountains of Appalachia, where we'll wander the hills with Manly Wade Wellman and take a look at his creation, John the Balladeer! A story list will soon emerge from the darkest cavern, like a grizzled backwoods wizard who has seen things in the hollers that would make most men go mad...

Questions? Comments? Curses?

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Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Themes by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Outro: "TRINITY: TITOLI" by Franco Micalizzi from the Django Unchained soundtrack. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Friday, April 24, 2020

Season 11, Episode 8: The Mountain Man, Breck Elkins

Howdy, howdy cromrades! Get ready for funny bone tickling and mule kicking in an episode that features the humorous western character Breckenridge Elkins. We're going to be covering the Howard story "Mountain Man" and talking about why tall tales appeal to us. It's a rip roaring good time full of corn juice and giggles.

Things to check out

Mountain Man comic

Mountain Man, the movie!

One Things

Jon: Tiger King, the quarantine binge of choice

Josh: Horrified, the board game of classic monsters

Luke: The Annotated Hobbit, the scholarly hobbit's choice

Next - "The Vultures of Whapeton" by Robert E. Howard and the conclusion of our western adventure

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Season 11, Episode 7: The Wild Bunch and The Proposition

Howdy, Cromrades! This week we to back to the movies, and discuss classic and a modern takes on revisionist westerns - The Wild Bunch (1969) co-written by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah and directed by Sam Peckinpah, and The Proposition (2005) written by Nick Cave and directed by John Hillcoat.

Both of these films depict Howardian themes - civilization vs. barbarism, self reliance, the inexorable march of time and the toll it takes on those who hold on to the past as the rest of the world moves on. We were excited to discuss these movies, as you'll see!

What revisionist westerns are on your favorites? Let us know!

One Things

Jon: Stardew Valley - everyone's favorite farming sim!

Josh: Logan Lucky - Appalachian heist comedy thriller, highly recommended!

Luke: Goblin Sword for iOS - side scrolling sword and sorcery slash 'em up fun!

Next - "Mountain Man" by Robert E. Howard! (Read it on WikiSource). Lord, it's another one of them Elkins boys...

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Friday, April 3, 2020

Season 11 Episode 6, Trap of Gold

Howdy, Cromrades. We hope you are all doing well, we're still trying to pump out some content while the quarantine is in effect. For your enjoyment today, we offer "Trap of Gold" by the essential western author Louis L'Amour. It's short and sweet but full of atmosphere!

One Things:

Josh: Stardew Valley, the wholesome farming simulator!
Jon: the alcohol fueled, time travel story Time and Vine from IDW Press
Luke: The Last Wish, starring The Witcher

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "A Horse with No Name" by America. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Season 11, Episode 5: A Man Called Horse

Greetings Cromrades! We're going to be releasing our stores of content in the next week to provide some podcast entertainment for you while you may be in quarantine. Up first, we have Dorothy M. Johnson's story, "A Man Called Horse". It's a quick read, you can find it here, but it has a lot to say and has a great arc for the main character Horse.

Dorothy M. Johnson is fascinating in her own right! We hope you'll check out her other works and take a chance to read this quick overview of her life and career here.

She was a writer, teacher, and seemingly a collector of killing machines!

This story takes place in a community of Crow Indians, self identified as the Absaroka or Apsaalooke. Read up on their culture and history at these links
https://www.crystalinks.com/crow.html
https://indians.org/articles/crow-indians.html

You can also see the film version of "A Man Called Horse" at Vimeo!

One Things:

Josh: He's been digging on some history, if you ever wanted to see some historical cartography of Kentucky check out "Historic Maps of Kentucky" by TD Clark
Jon: Travelling the world with Anthony Bourdain through No Reservations
Luke: Getting his game on with Choose Your Own Adventure: War with the Evil Power Master

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "A Horse with No Name" by America. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Season 11, Episode 4: Old Garfield's Heart, with Rusty Burke!

Welcome back, Cromrades! Good to see you out here on the dusty Western Road. We just made camp and were about to drink some whiskey beside this here campfire and listen to our pal Rusty Burke tell some stories. Why don't ya join us? This week's tale is a Robert E. Howard weird western about an old cowboy who hasn't aged in going on a hundred years! Come listen in to learn the secret of Old Garfield's Heart!

It was fun catching up with Rusty and hearing his take on one of his favorite of Howard's western stories. Hopefully it won't be long before he joins us again, a little further down the trail!

Art by Jim and Ruth Keegan. So good!

One Things:
Rusty: The upcoming "Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration" exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The exhibition will run from June 6 - Sept 7 2020. If you go, let us know how it was!
Jon: Behind the Bastards podcast, which examines historical "bad guys".
Luke: Genesis: The Best...Compilation + the song Supper's Ready
Josh: The Apocrypals podcast. Join Benito and Chris on a Biblical adventure, as two non-believers read through the Bible but aren't jerks about it.

Up Next: Dorothy Johnson's classic story "A Man Called Horse". (read it here!)

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "Closer to the Heart" by Rush. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Season 11, Episode 3: Stage to Lordsburg by Ernest Haycox

Howdy, Cromrades! This week, we're heading down the dusty trail on the Stage to Lordsburg! This influential story by Ernest Haycox was first published by The Saturday Evening Post in 1937, and the 1939 adaptation was a cornerstone in the development of the western film genre! We were excited to talk about the archetypes found within this story.

Ernest Haycox

Watch the full version of the original film on YouTube.

Also, be sure to check out this blog post by Jeff Arnold for more information about the story!

Original art by our very own Luke!

One Things
Jon: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Hunter S. Thompson
Josh: 1776 by David McCullough
Luke: The Ginger Star by Leigh Brackett

Next time - We get weird in the west with Old Garfield's Heart by Robert E. Howard!

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "Stagecoach" by Willie Nelson. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Season 11, Episode 1 - Law-Shooters of Cowtown

Howdy, friends! We're lighting out down The Western Road this season, taking a look at Robert E. Howard's Western stories, along with tales from other influential western authors! We kick things off in wild fashion this week with "Law-Shooters of Cowtown" by Howard! You can find this story in "The End of the Trail" collection from Bison Books.

Image result for end of the trail bison books

We Know The Editor!

Interested in some actual Texas history as told by an actual Texian? Visit our friend Ben Friberg's podcast "The Texian"! Tell him The Cromcast sent you!

Luke cites Frank Gruber's list of seven basic plots for westerns (via Wikipedia):

Union Pacific story. The plot concerns construction of a railroad, a telegraph line, or some other type of modern technology or transportation. Wagon train stories fall into this category.
Ranch story. The plot concerns threats to the ranch from rustlers or large landowners attempting to force out the proper owners.
Empire story. The plot involves building a ranch empire or an oil empire from scratch, a classic rags-to-riches plot.
Revenge story. The plot often involves an elaborate chase and pursuit by a wronged individual, but it may also include elements of the classic mystery story.
Cavalry and Indian story. The plot revolves around "taming" the wilderness for white settlers.
Outlaw story. The outlaw gangs dominate the action.
Marshal story. The lawman and his challenges drive the plot.

Josh calls out the TV Tropes page for Westerns. Check it here. The relevant quote to us is as follows:

Much has been made of the distinction between the "classic" Western and the "revisionist" Western, the former being shiny and heroic, the latter Darker and Edgier and often embodying a paradox: "Civilization can only be defended from barbarians by men with guns, but once you pick up a gun, you become a barbarian yourself."

Seems to align with some themes we frequently discuss on the show, doesn't it?

One Things
Jon: The Political Process, a game in early development on Steam!
Josh: The Mandalorian, a very satisfying space western set in the Star Wars universe!
Luke: Mr. Robot, which is highly recommended television!

Next week - We try to catch the "Stage to Lordsburg", an influential western short story written by Ernest Haycox, which forms the basis for the 1939 John Ford western "Stagecoach", starring John Wayne. Read it online here!

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

Outro: "Desert's On Fire" by Murder by Death. Music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Monday, November 18, 2019

Announcing Season 11 - The Western Road Story List!

Howdy, Cromrades! Where do we turn after our jaunt off-world to Arrakis? How about the Wild West? Saddle up and join us on our trip through the plains for stagecoach robberies, gunfights at high noon, and adventure!

Season 11: The Western Road

1. “Law-Shooters of Cowtown”- Robert E. Howard (Cross Plains 1974): An intro episode where we talk about our experiences with westerns and how REH started writing them as well. We’ll begin with a grim western that features Grizzly Elkins and a fist fight with a mob that is supposed to be quite memorable. (From End of the Trail (Bison Books)

2. “Stage to Lordsburg”- Ernest Haycox (Saturday Evening Post 1937): Called by some “the greatest stagecoach story ever written” this short story also served as the inspiration for John Ford’s “Stagecoach”. Haycox was a pulp writer who published two dozen novels and about 300 short stories and was an early pioneer of the western. University of Arizona PDF

3. “Old Garfield’s Heart”- Robert E. Howard (Weird Tales 1933): A focus on REH and his hand in creating the weird western. What has this genre offered us in pop culture. This story specifically focuses on an old Texas Pioneer gains immortality by replacing his heart with something from another world. Was adapted into a Conan story “Old Garrod’s Heart” in SSoC #203.

The Horror Stories of REH (Del Rey)

Black Stranger and Other American Tales (Bison Books)

Project Gutenberg Link

4. “A Man Called Horse”- Dorothy Johnson (Collier’s 1950): A rich Bostonian is enslaved by Crow Indians. While enslaved he eventually gains the respect of the tribe through cunning and bravery in battle. Eventually he takes the name “Horse” and falls in love with an Indian woman. PDF Link

5. “Trap of Gold”- Louis L’Amour (Argosy 1951): The master of the western, L’Amour was prolific in his production. How has the genre solidified 20-30 years after Howard was tinkering with it? This short story focuses on a prospector, Weatherton. Weatherton finds the dream of a lifetime, a vein richer in gold than he ever cared to imagine. He knew he had more than he needed, but he almost lost his senses - and his life - as the fever began to take control of him. PDF Link

6. Western Film Fest: The Cromcast talks western movies with a classic “The Wild Bunch” by Sam Peckinpah and a modern western “The Proposition” by John Hillcoat.

7. “Mountain Man”- Robert E. Howard (Action Stories 1934): Breckenridge Elkins is a lesser known but extremely important Howard creation. With 26 published stories, he was actually Howard’s most commercially viable and longest published character. His stories are called “funny westerns” and feature tall tale structure with printed Texan vernacular. We will be reading and analyzing his first appearance.

Wikisource link

The Complete Action Stories (Wildside Press)

Riot at Bucksnort (Bison books)

8. “Vultures of Whapeton”- Robert E. Howard (Smashing Novels Magazine 1936): A conclusion to The Western Road, where we wrap up by talking about what is considered to be REH’s finest western story. Steve Corcoran, a Texas pistoleer, finds a job as deputy of the boom town of Wahpeton. At first, he doesn’t know that his boss is the secret head of the outlaw gang of “Vultures” who are preying on the town.

Vultures of Whapeton (Zebra Books)

Best of REH Vol 2: Grim Lands (Del Rey)

End of the Trail (Bison Books)

Project Gutenberg link