Season 4, Episode 20: The Lost Road Finale

We've finally arrived at the end of The Lost Road! What a long and twisted path we've walked over the past year. This season was spent exploring lost worlds and lost civilizations in pulp fiction and fantasy, and while there are some notable stories missing from the list, this season should serve as a nice cross section of this important genre.

On this episode, we begin with a conversation with our friend, Howard fan and scholar Rusty Burke. Scotch, open bars, one things, and King Arthur feature heavily in this conversation.

Bran Mak Morn w/ Rusty 12:00
Hobbits and Picts 14:18
Picts and Howard: 19:00
The HPL/REH letter about REH discovering picts in New Orleans Library
22:15: The most tragic and emo of the Howard scholars. "Bran knows he's doomed but he fights on anyway."
30:12 - Are the Bran stories suitable for an introduction to Howard's work, or are they considered "advanced" Howard?
35:55 - Arthurian elements in Bran Mak Morn.

Rusty wrote us with some more information about King Arthur, and those literary links he discussed on the show!

Regarding the Arthurian themes in the Bran cycle:

The King Arthur legends are, of course, varied, because over the course of 1000+ years they've been told by so many different narrators. But taking the tale in its best-known form today, and in very broad outline, Arthur was the son of an illicit union between King Uther and Ygraine, the wife of another king, Gorlois. He was raised in secrecy, and when Uther died, Arthur became king by virtue of drawing a sword from a stone. Arthur reigned over Britain with his Knights of the Round Table, at a court called Camelot. In a number of battles, they defended Celtic Britain from the Saxon invaders. After many adventures and intrigues, Arthur was fatally wounded in battle by Mordred, the son of his sister. He was taken to the Isle of Avalon, where he waits to return to England when he is needed.

A full discussion of the relevance of Arthurian themes to Bran would take more time than I have. But here are two compelling ones (at least to me):

In some versions of the legend, Arthur's slayer, Mordred, is the son of Arthur's sister - and of Arthur himself, who slept with his sister (or perhaps half-sister) unwittingly. In Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, the chief basis for most modern versions, she is Morgause, one of three daughters of Ygraine and Gorlois - thus Arthur's half-sister, the daughter of his mother. Intriguingly, for the Bran connection, Morgause has a sister named Morgan, in most versions of the legends Morgan le Fay (the Fairy), and in some versions Morgause and Morgan either are conflated or switch places: thus we have a supernatural woman (fairy, witch, enchantress), sleeping with Arthur, the union producing the child, Mordred, who will ultimately be the agent of Arthur's demise. This seems to me rather analogous to the mating of Bran with the "witch-woman of Dagon-moor."

Of course, Howard never told us what offspring might have been produced by that union, if any, so I'm speculating. But from the story "The Dark Man" we know what became of Bran: After uniting the Picts and driving the Romans south of "their Wall," "Bran Mak Morn fell in battle; the nation fell apart." While he yet lived, though, "A wizard made this statue" (the titular image of the story), "and when he died in the last great battle, his spirit entered into it." And "Bran Mak Morn, great king of Pictdom, shall come again to his people some day in the days to come." Like Arthur, then, Bran Mak Morn is not dead, but merely sleeps, waiting to come to his people in their hour of need.

(As an aside, there is an interesting parallelism I just noted between "Worms of the Earth" and "The Dark Man." In the former story, the witch-woman mocks Bran when he recoils from what he has done (in calling on the Worms): "But you are stained with the taint - you have called them forth and they will remember! And in their own time they will come to you again." In "The Dark Man," after Turlogh has fought by the side of the Picts against the Danes, Brogar tells him, "The tie of blood is between us, Gael, and mayhap we shall come to you again in your need, as Bran Mak Morn, great king of Pictdom, shall come again to his people some day in the days to come.")

While original sources such as Malory's Le Morte d"Arthur and Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of England would have been available in Howard's time (while other of the older sources would have been available primarily to scholars), it strikes me as more likely that he would have been an avid reader of either or both of what remain (to my tastes) the best introductions to the Arthurian legends.

The Boy's King Arthur was a retelling of Malory, edited by poet Sidney Lanier (who is mentioned in Howard's letters, though not in connection with this book). It was illustrated by the great N.C. Wyeth.

Another of the great illustrators, Howard Pyle, wrote and illustrated The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. His was not a straight retelling, but incorporated elements of other stories, as well as Pyle's own invention, into the tale, and the illustrations form an important part of the story.

For those interested in the historical background (or lack thereof) of Arthur, and the growth and uses of his legends, the best book on the subject that I have read is John Morris's The Age of Arthur. At over 600 pages, it is not for the faint of heart, but I found it fascinating.

Another book I found useful is Leslie Alcock's Arthur's Britain.

Thanks, Rusty, for joining us for another interesting conversation! We look forward to the next one!

 One Things
Luke - David Hartwell, editor, anthologist, Foundations of Fear - An Exploration of Horror
Josh - They Must Be Destroyed on Sight Podcast
Jon - TD Griffith - Outlaw Tales of Nebraska
Rusty - Ireland, a novel by Frank Delaney

After the musical interlude provided by The Sword, Empty Temples from their album "Low Country", we get into a summary and reflection of the season. Which stories were your favorites? Let us know!

You should visit the Red Sun Magazine website and pick up Issue #2! You might run across some familiar names!

Sailor Steve Costigan, by Clayton Hinkle

Next season: The Road of Champions! Join us for an exploration of boxing stories from the pulps and famous cinematic bouts! It's going to be a great time, and we're looking forward to discussing these stories with you! A story list will be available very shortly!

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com), You know you want to follow us on Twitter! Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play! Finally.... Call us! (859)429-CROM!

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/

Beginning theme: Sudden Defeat by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Closing theme: "Gonna Fly Now" from the Rocky soundtrack, composed by Bill Conti with lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 19: Worms of the Earth

Hile, Cromrades! This week, we bear witness to the destruction of a man's soul. Worms of the Earth by Robert E. Howard was published in November of 1932 in Weird Tales, but you can read the story online here. This one is a doozy, and is a great way to kick off Cromtober! Time to get yer scare on!!!

An adaptation of this story appeared in Savage Sword of Conan #16-17, and was interpreted by Roy Thomas with art by Barry Smith and Tim Conrad. Here's a bit of Tim Conrad's contribution:

One Things
Jon - O.J.: Simpson, Made in America
Luke - Jake Xerxes Fussell's eponymous album
Josh - Straight Outta Compton

Questions? Comments? Curses?

Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter! Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play! Finally.... Call us! (859)429-CROM!

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/

Beginning theme: Sudden Defeat by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Closing theme: Raggy Levy by Jake Xerxes Fussell from his eponymous album. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 18: The Dark Man

Welcome back, friends and Cromrades! This week, we gather to discuss dark business indeed. Rage boils within Turlogh O'Brien! Is he on a quest for rescue? Or is it vengeance?  No one but the mysterious statue of The Dark Man knows for sure... The Dark Man by Robert E. Howard was published in the December 1931 issue Weird Tales, but you can read the story online here. Certainly, this story was influential on the greater legacy of Robert E. Howard, as the tale lends its title to the name of the Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies established by Rusty Burke!

Cover Art by C.C. Senf

One Things
Jon - Hell or High Water, Starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster
Luke - Atlanta starring Donald Glover
Josh - Trick or Treat Radio

The Venn diagram provided by Examining the Odd that we discuss toward the end of the episode:

And, Charles Rutledge's insightful comparison of the original text of The Dark Man with the comic adaptation from Savage Tales #4 from 1974.

Next time we get down in the dirt with the Worms of the Earth and bring the Bran Mak Morn cycle to a close!

Questions? Comments? Curses?
Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter! Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play! Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

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/
Beginning theme: Sudden Defeat by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Closing theme: Raise Your Horns by Amon Amarth from the album Jomsviking. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4 Episode 17: Kings of the Night

The drums of war sound for you Cromrades! We must rally to the banner of King Bran as he tries to boot the greedy Romans from our isles of heather. But we need help from the northmen, and they need a king. What man or ghost will lead them into battle? Tune in to our discussion of "The Kings of the Night" to find out! Howardian historical fantasy at its finest!

Assorted and sundry
Go and get issue #1 of Skelos!
http://skelospress.com/


One Things
Luke: The album Children of the Night by Tribulation
Josh: Steve Jackson's Sorcery for your handheld devices
Jon: Assault on Precinct 13 directed by John Carpenter


Next Time
We are nearing the end of the lost the road. But before we find ourselves again we meet up with... The Dark Man!!!

Questions? Comments? Curses?
Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter! Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! We're also on Stitcher Radio and Google Play! Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

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/
Beginning theme: Sudden Defeat by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Closing theme: Dark is the Night, Cold is the Ground by Blind Willie Johnson

Season 4, Episode 16: Men of the Shadows

Welcome back, Cromrades! This week, we get back to basics with a Robert E. Howard story, "Men of the Shadows." However, we have a special guest to help us navigate this story and its implications for REH's literary world building: Howardian luminary Rusty Burke! 

Robert E. Howard Days 2016, Cross Plains, TX

To say that Rusty is a Howard fan is an understatement, to say the least. From helping to establish Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, TX to his numerous scholarly contributions as a researcher, Rusty has been instrumental in moving Howard studies forward. In this episode, Rusty discusses "Men in the Shadows" and places it in the context of Howard's larger literary canon, all the while letting us in on some of Howard's readings that helped shape the course of his writings. Here are a few of those primary sources, along with some notes provided by Rusty!

(A note about Robert E. Howard's Bookshelf: This list of books was compiled by Rusty, and was formerly hosted on the REHupa website. We haven't been able to find a copy online, though the page was archived by The Internet Archive's Way Back Machine. All pages are accessible, though you may find that you need to click through the archived copies to find certain pages. The most recent copy is from October 9, 2011. Here's the link.) 

(Letter from Robert E. Howard to H.P. Lovecraft, ca January 1932): "Then when I was about twelve I spent a short time in New Orleans and found in a Canal Street library, a book detailing the pageant of British history, from prehistoric times up to – I believe – the Norman conquest. It was written for school-boys and told in an interesting and romantic style, probably with many historical inaccuracies. But there I first learned of the small dark people which first settled Britain, and they were referred to as Picts." (REH to HP Lovecraft, ca January 1932)

While Howard never identified the book, Rusty Burke believes it may have been this one: 

The Romance of Early British Life, From the Earliest Times to the Coming of the Danes, by G.F. Scott Elliot (London: Seeley and Co. Ltd., 1909)

There are many points in the book that seem to relate directly to Howard's descriptions and remarks about the Picts, including the illustrations here.

"I saw the name 'Picts' first on maps, and always the name lay outside the far-flung bounds of the Roman empire. This fact aroused my intense interest – it was so signifigant of itself. The mere fact suggested terrific wars – savage attacks and ferocious resistance – valor and heroism and ferocity." (REH to HP Lovecraft, 2 March 1932)

"There did the tribe abide for centuries, and grew strong and mighty, and from thence did they spread all over the world.  From the Afric deserts to the Baltic forests, from the Nile to the peaks of Alba they ranged, growing their grain, grazing their cattle, weaving their cloth.  They built their crannogs in the Alpen lakes; they reared their temples of stone upon the plains of Britain.  They drove the Atlanteans before them, and they smote the red-haired reindeer men." (Men of the Shadows)

 "We scanned the lake.  No boats rippled its surface.  No foe showed among the scant reeds near its bank.  We turned, gazing across the heather.  And without a sound the Roman crumpled and fell forward, a short spear standing between his shoulders." (Men of the Shadows)

The Prehistoric World: Or, Vanished Races, by E.A. Allen. (Cincinnati: Central Publishing House, 1885).

This book was a very important source for many of the concepts in "Men of the Shadows." It was included in the Howard library donated to Howard Payne College. (See Robert E. Howard's Bookshelf)

"'Does the frog represent the creative, the egg the passive, and the serpent the destructive power of nature?' Not a few writers, though not acquainted with the presence of the frog-shaped figure, have been struck with the combination of the egg and the serpent, that plays such an important part in the mythology of the Old World. We are told that the serpent, separate or in combination with the circle, egg, or globe, has been a predominant symbol among many primitive nations." (page 353)

The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind, by H.G. Wells. 4th Edition. 4 vols. (New York: The Review of Reviews Company, 1922).

Wells' discussions of prehistory seem to have found their way into "Men of the Shadows" and Howard's stories of prehistoric man. This book was included in the Howard library donated to Howard Payne College. (See Robert E. Howard's Bookshelf)

"When the wild horse and the reindeer diminished in Europe, and a newer type of human culture, with a greater power over food supply, a greater tenacity of settlement, and probably a larger social organization, arose, the Reindeer men had to learn fresh ways of living or disappear. How far they learnt and mingled their strain with the new European populations, and how far they went under we cannot yet guess. ... Whether the Cro-Magnon type of men mingled completely with the Neolithic peoples, or whether they remained distinct and held their own in favourable localities to the north and west, following the reindeer over Siberia and towards America... or whether they disappeared altogether from the world, is a matter that can be only speculated about at present.... There is little to prevent our believing that they survived without much inter-mixture for a long time in north Asia, that 'pockets' of them remained here and there in Europe, that there is a streak of their blood in most European peoples to-day, and that there is a much stronger streak, if not a predominant strain, in the Mongolian and American races." (pages 98-99)

Theosophy in Outline, by F. Milton Willis. Little Blue Book (Pocket Series) No. 477. (Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Company, 1923).

Theosophical concepts appear in Howard's work and letters, but not in such detail as to convince us he had actually read the work of Helena Blavatsky or others. He was a fan of the Little Blue Books, pocket-sized paper books spanning a wide range of subjects, published by E. Haldeman-Julius in Kansas. It's possible that concepts such as "root races" came from this Little Blue Book.

We hope this episode sheds some more light on Howard's world building and how Conan, Kull, and Bran's worlds are actually one and the same - and one that they share with us!

Thanks so much to Rusty Burke for joining us for this conversation! Come back, any time!

Next time - Crossover! It's "Kings of the Night"!

Season 4, Episode 15: She (1965 Film)

Greetings, Cromrades! This week we discuss the 1965 film version of H. Rider Haggard's She. There are many versions of this story, from the original text, to various film interpretations. We tackled the version by Hammer Film Productions, but briefly discuss the earlier RKO production as well.

One Things
Jon: River Monsters by Jeremy Wade
Josh: Deadpool out now!
Luke: Teen Titans Go! on Cartoon Network

Next Time
We get back into some Robert E. Howard, tackling the first of the Bran Mak Morn cycle, namely Men of the Shadows! See you further down The Lost Road!

Questions? Comments? Curses?
Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter! Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

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/ Beginning theme: Sudden Defeat by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. Closing theme: One Woman as performed by Isaac Hayes on his classic album, Hot Buttered Soul. All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Cromcast Special: Roadtrip to REH Days 2016!

We're taking a small detour from The Lost Road to visit Howard's hometown of Cross Plains, TX! Josh and Jon made the trek to Robert E. Howard Days this year and brought back some audio entertainment for you all as a souvenir. This year's festival was a special one as it coincided with the 80th anniversary of Howard's death, the 30th anniversary of Howard Days itself, and the 20th anniversary of the release of "The Whole Wide World"!

This episode will be a real treat as you get to hear from luminaries such as Bill Cavalier and Rusty Burke, long time Cromrades "Listener Gary" and EvilEd, and Cromcast stalwarts Mark Finn and Jeffrey Shanks!

So kick back, pour a stiff drink (or ladle out some barbecue) and join us for our Texas adventure! Be sure you mark your calendars for next year and get down to Cross Plains!

And now... the Texas sun bears down and the dust rises as you drive through the four-way stop in Cross Plains, and approach a small white house on the left, with a pavilion off to the side... Welcome to Howard Days!

News article covering the first Howard Day in 1986.

Left: Treasures in the Cross Plains Library! Right: A Cromcaster holding an original typescript of Sword Woman!  

The Cromcast Was Here!

Daniel Look: Math Sorcerer

 Dierk Guenther gave an excellent presentation about Howard's use of time.

"Fighting, horse racing, drinking, and other feats of hyper-masculinity..."
You haven't been to an academic symposium like this before! 

Poetry reading on Howard's  

The Pavilion: Where stories are told, friendships are made, and the whiskey flows!

It's worth the trip,  y'all. 

 Show Order

• Evyl Ed (4:35)
• Watch "Hell Comes to Frogtown" and "Yor: The Hunter From The Future".
• Gary Dowell (15:55)
• You really ought to subscribe to Far Fetched Fables!
• Kurt Amacker (28:00)
• Check out Kurt's projects at Dark Notes Press!
• Rob King (35:42)
• Spend some time with the Texas Tech University Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library! They're working to digitize the Cross Plains Review! 
• Jeb Boyt (41:52)
• The Google+ Conan RPG Community is a great place to discuss the upcoming Modiphius game!
• Bill "Indy" Cavalier and Rusty Burke (56:13)
• Are you into the idea of fanzines? Hear Bill and Rusty talk about REHUPA and the history of Robert E. Howard Days!
• Arlene Stephenson (01:26:43)
• You really should consider supporting Project Pride. They keep up the Robert E. Howard House and Museum!
• Michael Scott Myers (01:32:07)
• Pick up a copy of The Whole Wide World if you don't already have one!
• Ben Friberg (1:41:57)
• Ben uploads videos from Robert E. Howard Days to his YouTube Channel. Check them out!
• Chris Gruber (1:55:43)
• Get a copy of Robert E. Howard's Boxing Stories! Treat yo'self! 
• Mark Finn (2:01:30)
• Delve deep into the mind of Mark Finn at his blog, Finn's Wake. Also, subscribe to The Gentlemen Nerds Podcast! Quality entertainment at a reasonable price (free)!
• Jeffrey Shanks (2:11:38)
• Did you miss the Skelos Kickstarter? Fear not, you can get your copies of Skelos here!
• REH Days Wrap Up (2:30:26)

Season 4, Episode 14: King Solomon's Mines, Part 2 (or, Let me Gagool That For You)

Greetings once again, Cromrades! This week we continue the quest for King Solomon's Mines with Allan Quatermain and his band of adventurers. Though we are now beyond the mountains called Sheba's Breasts, the journey is not quite finished! Join us for a literary discussion, an evaluation of the lost world genre up to this point, and the bad accents you've come to expect!  One Things Jon: Punisher: War Zone (2009), directed by Lexi Alexander Luke: The Ghost Brigades (2007), by John Scalzi. (Part 2 of Old Man's War)  Josh: A Bug's Life (1999), from Pixar. (A modern CGI retelling of The Seven Samurai! Watch and see if it isn't!) Next time: We go to the movies with H. Rider Haggard and the 1965 adaptation of She by Hammer Film Productions, starring Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins, John Richardson, Rosenda Monteros, and Christopher Lee! Should be a fun episode! We hope you join in. This film isn't available to stream, but you can snag a copy on Amazon for around $10.  See you further down The Lost Road!
Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal mumbojumbo
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/
Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Closing theme: "History of Man" by Amanaz from their 1975 album Africa.
All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 13: King Solomon's Mines, Part One

Cromrades, welcome back! This week, we present King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard! This adventure story was published in 1885, and has been highly influential, attributed to be the first Lost World novel. You can trace a direct line from King Solomon's Mines to The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, to King Kong and beyond, right up to Jurassic World present day!

We split the novel into two episodes, and discuss the first half of the book through about Chapter 10 for part one. Primary research for this episode was found in part by browsing a King Solomon's Mines study guide, found here.

One Things
Jon - The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Josh - Wicked Bugs: The Louse that Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects by Amy Stewart
Luke - The Virgin Suicides film from 2000, directed by Sofia Coppola and starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Michael Paré, Scott Glenn, Danny DeVito, and A.J. Cook.

Next time: King Solomon's Mines, part two! Will Quartermain and his associates make it to the fabled King Solomon's Mines? Let's find out!

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!
Legal mumbojumbo 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/
Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Closing theme: "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter from their 1995 album Short Bus.
All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 12: Join us in "The Temple of Abomination"!

Greetings Cromrades! Today we join Cormac mac Art and his buddy Wulfhere as they inch their way through the Temple of Abomination. It's a creepy tale with religious overtones as only Robert E. Howard himself could write it!
 

Show Notes Time points: New business and mailbag time: 1-7:00 One Things: 8:30 Story Discussion: 17:00 Further reading: Price, Robert M. “Christ and Conan: Howard’s View of Christianity.” Cromlech 1 (Spring 1985): 14-23.  Pan's Death and the Birth of Theology: http://taylormarshall.com/2014/09/death-of-pan-death-of-christ.html One Things! Jon: The Greates Movies You'll Never See by Simon Braund Luke: Season two of Better Call Saul  Josh: The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales by Justin Everett and Jeff Shanks Talk to us! Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM! When next we meet! Dust off your dime store copy of H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" as we head to Africa with Allen Quartermain! Then, we will be checking out the film adaptation of Haggard's "She"! Good times all around! Legal mumbojumbo 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/
Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Closing theme: "Look out There's a Monster Coming" by Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 11: Robert E. Howard's Conan: Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of

Welcome back, Cromrades! On the show this week we have Jeffrey Shanks and Jason Durall, two Hyborian Age scribes who are part of a large collaborative effort to bring forth the definitive Conan RPG experience, Robert E. Howard's Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of!  Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for us to ask! We tried to get to as many of them as possible! Big thanks to Jared Cvetas, Eddie Coulter, and John dAuteuil for sending in questions for Jeffrey and Jason! 
Check out the Kickstarter for this project if you haven't already!  And here is a link to the free Quick Start rules. Let us know what you think!
Next time: We journey to the Temple of Abomination with Cormac and Wulfhere! Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal mumbojumbo 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/ "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. Closing theme: "Dungeon Master" performed by Visigoth from the 2015 album "The Revenant King." All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 10: Tigers of the Sea

"Tigers of the sea! Men with the hearts of wolves and thews of fire and steel! Feeders of ravens whose only joy lies in slaying and dying! Giants to whom the death-song of the sword is sweeter than the love-song of a girl!"

The Many Editions of Tigers of the Sea

Hail, Cromrades! It is your loyal Podcast carls, back in the recording steading again and returning to our roots with a Robert E. Howard story on this week's episode: "Tigers of the Sea"! This was unpublished in Howard's lifetime, but was later finished by Richard Tierney and released by Donald Grant Publications in 1973. This story features Gaelic pirate Cormac Mac Art and his exploits with his Danish viking companion Wulfhere, who are charged with the rescue of a Briton princess from... well, someone!  One Things: Jon: The Billy Gibbons and the BFG's record "Perfectamundo." Josh: The power metal band Gloryhammer's second album "Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards."
Luke: Joe Abercrombie's novel "Half a King" The next stop on the Lost Road is another adventure on the choppy northern seas with Cormac and Wulfhere, but this Tuesday (4/5/16) we are joining Jeffrey Shanks and Jason Durall to discuss the upcoming Conan RPG from Modiphius Entertainment: "Adventures in An Age Undreamed Of." If you have questions for the Hyborean Age scribes, please email them our way before Tuesday at 7PM Eastern Standard Time!  Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)
You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

Legal mumbojumbo 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/ "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. Closing theme: "Baby Please Don't Go" performed by Billy Gibbons and the BFG's from the 2015 album "Perfectamundo." All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 9: King Kong, With El Goro (Or, All Things Kongsidered)

Greetings Cromrades! On today's show we meet up with El Goro of The Talk Without Rhythm podcast to discuss the cinematic spectacle and splendor of King Kong (1933)! If you haven't watched this movie or even if it's just been a while, do yourself a favor and check it out!   Show Notes:  Check out El Goro's show: http://tworpodcast.blogspot.com/ One Things:  Jon: Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe El Goro: The Astounding, The Amazing, and the Unknown by Paul Malmont Luke: The Gardens of the Moon by Steven Ericson Josh: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
Talk to us! Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!
When next we meet! As we continue to journey down the lost road we will find ourselves in familiar territory as we return to some Robert E. Howard literature! If you wish to prepare then start looking for the Cormac mac Art stories, "The Tigers of the Sea" and "The Temple of Abomination".
Legal mumbojumbo 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/
Beginning theme: "King Kong Main Title" by Max Steiner, King Kong 1933 Motion Picture Soundtrack
Closing theme: "King Kong" by Tom Waits
All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4, Episode 8: The Lost World (1925 Film Adaptation)

Hile, adventurers! Explorers! Paleontologists! Cromrades! We have returned from a recent trek to the jungles of South America, and escaped from a mysterious plateau filled with dinosaurs and ape-men with our lives intact! This episode features a discussion of the original film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's seminal work "The Lost World." It was directed by Harry Hoyt, and featured a cast that went on to great acclaim including Bessie Love, Lewis Stone, Wallace Beery, and Lloyd Hughes. But the real stars of the show are the dinosaurs, painstakingly animated by Willis O'Brien and Marcel Delgado! This film was groundbreaking for its time, and definitely influenced special effects work in cinema. The stop-motion dinosaurs are still fun to watch! And, their appearance influence the way dinosaurs have been portrayed on screen to this day!

We focus on Arthur Conan Doyle, the film adaptation, and a brief look at how evolution and geologic time are portrayed in fiction! We get scientific in this one!

Some resources:  The Telegraph: Russian Supergrass 'poisoned after being tricked into visiting Paris' BBC: Piltdown Man: Britain's Greatest Hoax Project Gutenberg: The Lost World novel Smithsonian: On Dinosaur Time Let us know what you think of this film! And, what your favorite dinosaur is!  One Things:  Jon: Crusader Kings 2 (on Steam) Luke: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (on Amazon) Josh: Bone Tomahawk (on Amazon) Next time: Journey with us to Skull Island to explore the legend of Kong...  Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com) You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

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/
Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Closing theme: "S.O.B." by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Season 4 Episode 7: Part II Addressing The Wizard of Lemuria by Lin Carter

Frank Frazetta, "Against the Gods"

Greetings, Cromrades! When last we were together, we discussed Lin Carter the author, the editor, and the scholar. We also delved into Carter's first novel "Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria." This week, we return to finish our quest with Thongor.

One Things:

Luke: Sicario - The War On Drugs as a backdrop to a kick ass movie. Check it!

Jon: You Must Remember This: A podcast about the secret and/or forgotten history of Hollywood's first century.

Josh - Remember Alan Rickman. Watch Galaxy Quest!

Note on our beef with Fandom Fest: It would appear everything has been squared away now, but they clearly stole Justin Stewart's design, was still a careless thing for them to do. We still say: Support your local conventions - but be selective! 

Compare for yourself. Here's The Fandom Fest website and logo design. Here's Lexington Comic and Toy Convention's web and logo design.

A picture's worth a thousand words. Don't support "cons"!

Speaking of pictures - here's a visual representation of the fantasy genre discussion (takes place around, 00:44:15, gets even deeper at 01:10.29). We'd love to hear your thoughts on what it means for a story to be classified as sword and sorcery versus epic fantasy! Start with Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria and see where that takes you! Let us know what you think!

Next time: We go to the movies to check out a couple of pulpy classics: The Lost World from 1925 and King Kong from 1933. It's "The Lost Road in Cinema!" Should be fun, we hope you'll join us!

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)
You know you want to follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes!
Finally.... Call us! (859) 429-CROM!

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/
Beginning theme: "Sudden Defeat" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.
Closing theme: "Quest for the Hammer of Glory" by Gloryhammer.
All music was obtained legally; we hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!