ELRIC BY MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Elric
Michael Moorcock
Gollancz fantasy masterworks
£7.99

I'm not a massive fantasy reader - though, I do like to dip into the genre from time to time and have read many of the classics. I tend to, when I'm in the mood, enjoy the heroic fantasy from the likes of David Gemmel, Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard and others of that ilk.

I've had this Elric book for some time but never taken the plunge until now - I'd always intended too,though. Moorcock is well regarded in the genre and a known name to people like me who would not consider themselves followers of the genre.

I've never been a fan of books where character names are unpronounceable and made up of a dozen syllables, books with detailed maps that would fox a cartographer, but if there's a good story there, well written, then count me in.

This collection binds together the first six Elric stories that made up the first two books The Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer - and is a great introduction to the laconic Albino sorcerer. In fact this is one fantasy that will appeal not only to fans of the genre but casual readers wanting something that little but different.

The first story, The Dreaming City introduces us to Elric -Elric was tall, broad shouldered and slim hipped. He wore his hair long, bunched and pinned at the nape of his neck and, for some obscure reason, affected the dress of a Southern Gentleman.
His bizarre dress was tasteless and gaudy, and did not match his sensitive face and long fingered, almost delicate hands, yet he flaunted it since it emphasised the fact that he did not belong in any company - that he was an outsider and an outcast. But in reality he had little reason to wear such outlandish gear - for his eyes and skin were enough to mark him. Elric, Last Lord of Melnibone was a pure albino who drew his power from a secret and terrible source.

What I like like about the Elric saga is that although they contain the usual gobbledygook it all seems logical and when Elric uses magic to free himself from a situation it all seems logical and real. But of course the man with the crimson eyes is not only a student of sorcery but a true man of action and he weilds his mystical sword, Stormbringer with true skill.

I very much enjoyed the stories within this volume and was able to believe fully in the more fantastical elements, even if things do tend to get a little cosmic from time to time, but then that's to be expected since the albino anti-hero was spawned in the Sixties and was quickly adopted as a literary hero by the counter culture of the day.


Aging hippies and fans of good storytelling will be delighted with this volume which is number 17 in Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks collection.

The Masterworks collection is a great library of classic novels that have become renowned as among the best of the genre. The complete listing of titles follow:

Gene WolfeThe Book of the New Sun: Volume 1 Shadow and Claw1Lord DunsanyTime and the Gods2E. R. EddisonThe Worm Ouroboros3Jack VanceTales of the Dying Earth4John CrowleyLittle, Big5Roger ZelaznyChronicles of Amber6M. John HarrisonViriconium7Robert E. HowardThe Conan Chronicles: Volume 1 The People of the Black Circle8Jonathan CarrollThe Land of Laughs9L Sprague De Camp and Fletcher PrattThe Compleat Enchanter (out of print)10Hope MirlessLud-In-The-Mist (out of print)11Gene WolfeThe Book of the New Sun: Volume 2 Sword and Citadel12George R.R. MartinFevre Dream13Sheri S. TepperBeauty14Lord DunsanyThe King of Elfland's Daughter (out of print)15Robert E. HowardThe Conan Chronicles: Volume 2 Hour of the Dragon16Michael MoorcockElric17Fritz LeiberThe First Book of Lankhmar18Patricia A. MckillipThe Riddle-Master's Game19Jack FinneyTime and Again (out of print)20E. R. EddisonMistress of Mistresses (out of print)21Michael MoorcockGloriana22Fletcher PrattThe Well of the Unicorn (out of print)23Fritz LeiberThe Second Book of Lankhmar24Jonathan CarrollVoice of Our Shadow25Clark Ashton SmithThe Emperor of Dreams Best Fantasy Tales26Jack VanceLyonesse Suldrun's Garden27Gene WolfePeace (out of print)28John M. FordThe Dragon Waiting a Mague of History29Michael MoorcockCorum the Prince in the Scarlet Robe30C. L. MooreBlack Gods and Scarlet Dreams31Poul AndersonThe Broken Sword32William Hope HodgsonThe House on the Borderland and Other Novels33Tim PowersThe Drawing of the Dark34Jack VanceLyonesse II The Green Pearl and Madouc35Michael MoorcockThe History of the Runestaff The Jewel in the Skull, The Mad God's Amulet, The Sword of the Dawn, The Runestaff36David LindsayA Voyage to Arcturus37Jack WilliamsonDarker Than You Think38Evangeline WaltonThe Mabinogion39Poul AndersonThree Hearts & Three Lions40John GardnerGrendel41Michael SwanwickThe Iron Dragon's Daughter42Geoff RymanWas43Dan SimmonsSong of Kali44Ken GrimwoodReplay45Leigh BrackettSea-Kings of Mars and Other Worldly Stories46Tim PowersThe Anubis Gates47Patricia A. MckillipThe Forgotten Beasts of Eld48Ray BradburySomething Wicked this Way Comes49Rudyard KiplingThe Mark of the Beast and Other Fantastical Tales50

THESE COMIC BOOKS ARE A THREAT TO ALL THAT IS GOOD IN SOCIETY - THE EC COMICS STORY

You want to feel your bones shake, eh? Something to give you nightmares? To keep you awake at night?

Well let me offer you this putrid story from beyond the grave, a tainted, twisted story of bloodcurdling horror and gruesome murder, of vampires and werewolves and human monsters driven by insanity - The Tainted Archive looks at the history of EC comics.

EC, or Educational Comics, was originally run by the conservative Max Gaines. He had been there at the birth of comics when he had the idea of folding the newspaper funnies into a booklet and selling them to the comic hungry masses. When he set up EC Comics the line was made up of patriotic American history stories and Biblical legends. The company was initially hugely successful but by the late 40's children were turning away from these wholesome comics and looking for their thrills in the new superhero titles that were appearing on stands.


When Max was killed in a bizarre speedboat accident his son, William Gaines took charge of an ailing comic book company. His answer to the company's problems was to totally change the direction of the comic books published.

He found a kindred spirit in artist, Al Feldsten and together the two men set about creating a series of macabre comic books that would appeal to the masses. But first they dropped the word Educational from the comic book line and EC became to mean Entertaining Comics.

In early 1950, EC released two new titles - Crypt of Terror (which was later renamed Tales from the Crypt) and Vault of Horror. So successful were these new books that they followed these up with Weird Fantasy and Weird Science and then these were boosted by several more titles - Crime Suspense Stories and The Haunt of Fear.


The horror comics were the most successful - each story was introduced by grisly characters; the white haired crypt keeper, the old witch and the maniacal vault keeper. Each character would introduce their respective stories with a series of ghoulish, and often terrible, puns.

The lurid cover artwork often featuring severed heads, axes dripping blood and ghoulish creatures would certainly stick out on the stands next to the likes of Classics Illustrated and Archie. The comics were outselling their nearest rivals three to one and for awhile everything looked on the up and up for the revitalised EC Comics.

Trouble however was just around the corner.

In 1954, the US Senate Sub-committee held hearings to decide whether comics inspired juvenile delinquency. This campaign was led by Senator Estes Kefauver. A lead witness, Dr. Fredrick Wertham testified that comics created a mental readiness for temptation and that Hitler had only been a mild threat compared to the comic books the children of America were reading.

The Dr also suggested that Batman was promoting homosexuality because Robin was always drawn with his legs apart and naked and that he was totally smitten with Batman.

Although no definite connection could be found between the comic books and America's then problems with youth crime, the Senate decided on a course of self regulation. This though was basically censorship under a different name and was not that different to today's political correctness movement.

In 1955 the Comics Code Authority came into being and it published a set of guidelines to control the content of comic books and the rules laid down were particularly harmful to crime and horror comics. Each title had to be submitted to the Comics Code Authority for their seal of approval and most US distributors refused to carry titles that didn't hold the seal of approval.

EC comics were refused the seal of approval without first making massive changes to their story lines. Gaines initially refused and he found he had no distributor for his titles. And then in 1956 Gaines was told by the authority to tone down a story it considered racist because a picture in the story showed a black man perspiring.

Gaines decided there was little point in publishing comics in such an environment and gradually the EC line ceased to exist.

However EC lives on today in graphic novel reprints and the countless TV shows and movies that were inspired by the comics.

BEAT TO A PULP - CREATOR INTERVIEW

I have no doubt that the next generation of big name writers are going to come from the internet. It's happening with music - British group The Artic Monkeys secured a number one song via internet downloads before they even had a record contract.

Novels are published on the net, some have even gone from the screen into conventional print.

So where does this new writing talent start out? Where do they learn their craft?

Webzines, online magazines, are publishing new talent all the time.

One of the better webzines around at the moment is Beat to a Pulp run by writers David Cramer and Elaine Ash.

And so I sat down with the duo to find out what it is they are hoping to achive with their webzine. Why for instance, given that there are so many webzines out there did they decide to start a new one?

"Elaine: I had been working with David in an editor/writer relationship for about a year, on his own short stories, so we knew each other but had never actually met face to face. David ran a successful news blog for several years. Every now and then he would mention starting up a short story site and collecting submissions from writers all over the world, and I thought it was a terrible idea. I told him it would divert his attention from his own writing and he’d run the risk of getting bogged down with the workload, blah blah. Then DZ Allen’s Muzzle Flash closed down, and a few others, at the same time. Online venues were shrinking for short stories, so when David announced that he was really serious about starting a site, I revisited my opinion and came onboard as Editor at Large"

"David: I couldn’t have said it any better!"

And it's been a success - I point out that I strongly believe the next superstar scribe is going to come from the internet. So what do David and Elaine look for in a story?

"Elaine: I think e-zine publishing is a terrific way for unknown writers to establish themselves and for known writers to reach new readers. It’s truly been a renaissance for the short story. Everything old is new again as the saying goes. I eat, sleep and breathe discovering new writers and working with them. It’s hugely satisfying and exciting for me. Then, when comments start coming in, and you can tell when readers are truly jazzed about a piece, it’s a reward all in itself."

"David: Our primary focus is hardboiled crime but we welcome action/adventure, western, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and thrillers. We pass on bigotry and overt political agendas. Elaine looks for an exciting start to a story, the plot kick-off. I’m more patient with a slow start if the story gradually draws me in and ends with a bang."

But would there every be a subject they would turn down?

"

David: We judge each story on its own merit but we’re not interested in publishing overt political pieces or anything that encourages racism. Extreme violence and sex are fine as long it’s central to the story and not just a gratuitous scene."

Both David and Elaine are writers themselves. Will they be publishing any of their own work on Beat to a Pulp?

"Elaine: Yes. "

"David: Yes, I have a story coming up that will be published later in the year. "

And where do they see the webzine being in a year's time.

"Elaine: I just want the quality to stay as consistently good as it is now. I keep saying to David, that’s all we have to do. Just show the world that we can do this week after week, and attract a loyal readership"

Well the policy seems to be paying off big time and I, among many others, make it a part of our online week to read the new story on Beat to a Pulp. I wonder what writers influence David and Elaine's work?

"Elaine: James M. Cain, Thomas Harris, Stephen King, Tom Robbins, Jim Thompson, Janet Fitch, John Barth, John Burdett, Terry Pratchett, just to name a few. Please don’t recoil in horror if your favorite writer isn’t listed here. I could fill an entire page with writers I hugely love and admire."

"David: Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie and Stephen King are some of my influences. Recently I’ve started writing a western and I’ve turned to the work of Luke Short, Louis L’Amour and the Longarm novels written by James Reasoner for inspiration."

Is there a backlog of stories waiting to be read?

"David: So far, I’m staying on top of the heap.

So generally how long would a writer wait for a decision when sending a story?

"Elaine: Thirty days, max."

"David: We try to reply within a couple of weeks so authors aren’t waiting too long, but as Elaine says, no more than a month."

So far the zine has published crime and westerns albeit with a slant. In fact one or two of the stories published thus far are hard to catagorise. Are there any other genres lined up? Horror, SF perhaps?

"Elaine: Yes, but not enough in my opinion. One of our goals is to reach out to horror and sci-fi writers, and extend a warm welcome for their submissions. Good writing and good stories can appeal to readers in any genre. BTAP is a great place to get a story read by a fresh readership that might not surf over to a horror site, but will read and enjoy a horror story with gusto on BTAP."

"David: I’ll just add that we have a very eerie horror offering from Chris F. Holm whose work has been featured in Ellery Queen, plus a dark fantasy from Canadian author Barbara Martin."

And finally are there ever times when David and Elaine disagree on a story?

"Elaine: Yes. Vehemently. David is the perfect publisher for me because he remains calm while I passionately argue my case. I took my graduate degree in story critique at Hollywood Screw U, and learned to defend plot points in a series writers’ room. Not for the faint of heart. In Hollywood, it’s just accepted that passionate disagreement and creative negotiation can yield great work. A Hollywood writer that I’ve argued the most with, is one I love and respect tremendously, and we would jump at the chance to work together again. There are never hard feelings about a little creative skirmish. The one who cares the most wins."

"David: Ha! Elaine’s answer cracks me up, though it’s not far from the truth. I come from the O. Henry school of writing and I’m really big on the twist endings. So, occasionally we may differ. For Elaine, as long as the ride in getting to the end is thrilling, the end doesn’t need to tip her out of her seat."

Nuff said

Beat to a pulp

David Cramer

Elaine Ash

Next interview western writer PATRICIA GOTT