Wednesday, January 27, 2010

MCP: New Collections from DC Comics

Now available for pre-ordering:

Atomic Knights (On Sale May 19, 2010) [more info on Wikipedia]
Written by JOHN BROOME; Art and Cover by MURPHY ANDERSON

In a post-apocalyptic future, the Atomic Knights protect the surviving citizens against threats of all sorts in tales from STRANGE ADVENTURES #117, 120, 123, 126, 129, 132, 135, 136, 138, 141, 144, 147, 150, 153 156 and 160. Collected here for the first time!

DC Universe
192pg.
Color
Hardcover
$39.99 US


The Viking Prince (On Sale June 30, 2010) [more info on Wikipedia]
Written by ROBERT KANIGHER and BOB HANEY; Art and cover by Joe Kubert

In fifth century Iceland, an amnesiac Viking warrior faces peril from the ruler of a neighboring village, as well as giants, sea monsters, witches and more. Collecting classic adventure tales from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #1-5, 7-20, and OUR ARMY AT WAR #162 and 163.

DC Universe
296pg.
Color
Hardcover
$39.99 US

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Monstrous Medievalism 2010 (6/1/10; NEPCA Boston, MA 10/23/10)

CALL FOR PAPERS
MONSTROUS MEDIEVALISMS 2010
A SPECIAL SESSION OF THE SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND LEGEND AREA
Sponsored by The Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages: http://popularcultureandthemiddleages.blogspot.com/
2010 Conference of The Northeast Popular Culture/American
Culture Association (NEPCA)
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services (179
Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115), Saturday 23
October 2010
Proposals by 1 June 2010


Given the proximity to Halloween, we are especially interested in proposals devoted to the topic “Monstrous Medievalisms: Investigations of the Medieval in Gothic and Horror Narratives” for a session “Monstrous Medievalisms 2010" to be sponsored by the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages.

Proposals are invited from scholars of all levels and papers will be presented under the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Legend Area (http://sf-fantasy-legend.blogspot.com/). Presentations will be limited to 15-20 minutes in length and may address any aspect of the multi-media genres of science fiction, fantasy, and/or legends in popular culture.


If you are interested in proposing a paper or panel of papers, please send a paper proposal of approximately 250 words and a one-page CV to both the Program Chair and to the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Legend Area Chair at the following addresses:


David E. Tanner
Program Chair
david.tanner-at-mcphs.edu


Michael A. Torregrossa
Science Fiction, Fantasy and Legend Area Chair
Popular.Culture.and.the.Middle.Ages-at-gmail.com


The Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA) is a regional affiliate of the American Culture Association and the Popular Culture Association. NEPCA is an association of scholars in New England and New York, organized in 1974 at the University of Rhode Island. We reorganized and incorporated in Boston in 1992. The purpose of this professional association is to encourage and assist research, publication, and teaching on popular culture and culture studies topics by scholars in the northeast region of the United States. By bringing together scholars from various disciplines, both academic and non-academic people, we foster interdisciplinary research and learning.


Membership in NEPCA is required for participation. Annual dues are currently $30. Further details are available at
http://users.wpi.edu/~jphanlan/NEPCA.html.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

New Journal: postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies

A much belated post:

Palgrave Macmillan has recently launched a new journal of Medieval Studies called postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies. The journal appears to have developed from the investigations of the BABEL Working Group, the In the Middle blog, and the contributors to the collection Cultural Studies of the Modern Middle Ages. Collectively, they seem, in general, to have an ambivalent attitude towards popular medievalism vacillating between fascination and horror, but the new journal has potential.


Here are the details from their web site:

postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies is a cross-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal in medieval studies that aims to bring the medieval and modern into productive critical relation. The journal will work to develop a present-minded medieval studies in which contemporary events, issues, ideas, problems, objects, and texts serve as triggers for critical investigations of the Middle Ages. Further, we are concerned to illuminate the deep historical structures–mental, linguistic, social, cultural, aesthetic, religious, political, sexual, and the like–that underlie contemporary thought and life, and therefore, we are also interested in attending to the question of the relation of the medieval to the modern (and vice versa) in different times and places. We want to also demonstrate the important value of medieval studies and the longest possible historical perspectives to the ongoing development of contemporary critical and cultural theories that remain under-historicized. Finally, we will advocate for and support the continuing development, from any and all disciplinary directions, of historicist, materialist, comparatist, and theoretical approaches to the subjects of the Middle Ages.

Calls for papers from the 2010 through 2013 volumes appear on the site as does a link for the prospectus for the journal.

CFP: Arthurian Villains in Film/Television/Electronic Games (1st Round 4/1/10; Kalamazoo 5/12-15/11)

The Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Villains of the Matter of Britain, in conjunction with the Society for the Study of Popular Culture and the Middle Ages, will be proposing a set of panels for the 2011 International Congress on Medieval Studies (Western Michigan University, 12-15 May 2011) on the topic of Arthurian Villains in Film/Television/Electronic Games in celebration of the 30th anniversary of John Boorman's Excalibur (1981). Prior to submitting our session proposal, we would like to gauge interest in the topic and appreciate brief proposals and a short CV from potential presenters.

Michael A Torregrossa
The Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Villains of the Matter of Britain
34 Second Street
Smithfield, RI 02917-3627
United States
Email: arthurianvillainyresearch-at-gmail.com
Visit the website at http://arthurianvillainyresearch.blogspot.com/

Sunday, January 10, 2010

GMTV: Chiller Jan. 2010

The following are this month's medieval-themed listings on Chiller. The complete schedule can be found at http://www.chillertv.com/app/Schedule/.

This month features two mini-marathons of Forever Knight featuring Geraint Wyn Davies as a vampire that was "brought across" during the Middle Ages. The complete series has been released to DVD.


THURS., JAN 7
9:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: UNREALITY TV
10:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: FEEDING THE BEAST
11:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: IF LOOKS COULD KILL
12:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: FATAL MISTAKE
1:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: 1966
2:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: LOVE YOU TO DEATH
3:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: KILLER INSTINCT
4:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH


SAT, JAN. 16
9:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: STRANGER THAN FICTION
10:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: FORWARD INTO THE PAST
11:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: HUNTED
12:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS
1:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: FATHER'S DAY
2:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: UNDUE PROCESS
3:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: BAD BLOOD
4:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: CAN'T RUN, CAN'T HIDE


(No data for 1/31/10)

Also airing this month: Kindred: The Embraced, Poltergeist: The Legacy and Twin Peaks.

MCP: Wizards of Mickey


The following was posted this week on the Boom! Studios Blog:

WIZARDS OF MICKEY & DISNEY’S HERO SQUAD ARE ONGOING! (January 6th, 2010)

MAGIC, MYSTERY,

ACTION & ADVENTURE

ARE ONGOING THIS JANUARY WITH

WIZARDS OF MICKEY &

DISNEY’S HERO SQUAD!


January 7th, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA – Enchantment and excitement are around every corner as two new Disney comics debut this January, WIZARDS OF MICKEY and DISNEY’S HERO SQUAD: ULTRAHEROES.

WIZARDS OF MICKEY #1 continues the epic tale of magical adventure that will finish its first arc in MICKEY MOUSE & FRIENDS issues #296 - #299. Popular enough to garner its own stand alone series, the WIZARDS OF MICKEY serial continues the adventures of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as they compete in the Grand Wizard’s tournament, determined to win all the pieces of the Sorcerer Supreme’s crown and free Mickey’s master from the clutches of the evil Phantom Blot!

With WIZARDS OF MICKEY spinning off into its own series, MICKEY MOUSE & FRIENDS takes a break with issue #299, while we prepare the next wave of amazing Mickey adventures.

[...]

“The fan response to WIZARDS OF MICKEY and DISNEY’S HERO SQUAD has been completely insane,” says BOOM! Disney Editor Aaron Sparrow. “These characters have reached a whole new audience, and fans, old and new, have clamored to have these stories in their own dedicated series. Well, you demanded it and we delivered. WIZARDS OF MICKEY & DISNEY’S HERO SQUAD will be their own series starting this January!”

WIZARDS OF MICKEY is an ongoing series written by Stefano Ambrosio, with delightful interior art by Lorenzo Pastrovicchio. Issue one ships with two covers in a 50/50 split, and a 1/10 incentive cover. The series features fantastic cover art by Magic Eye Studios and has a Diamond Code of NOV090699.

[...]

About BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) is a unique publishing house specializing in high-profile projects across a wide variety of different genres from some of the industry’s biggest talents, including Philip K. Dick’s DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, The Henson Company’s FARSCAPE, and the original Mark Waid series IRREDEEMABLE. BOOM! recently launched its youth imprint, BOOM Kids!, with Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES, CARS, and TOY STORY, as well as Disney’s THE MUPPETS, DONALD DUCK, UNCLE SCROOGE and WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES. This year, BOOM! Studios celebrates its fourth anniversary.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

GMTV: Syfy Jan 2010

Here are the details for this month's listings. All times are EST, and the complete schedule can be found at http://www.syfy.com/schedule/index.php.


SUN, 3 JAN
01:00 PM MOVIE: BEOWULF (1999)


MON, 4 JAN
09:00 AM MOVIE: ARABIAN NIGHTS - PART ONE
11:00 AM MOVIE: ARABIAN NIGHTS - PART TWO


FRI, 8 JAN
05:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: PILOT


SUN, 10 JAN
04:00 PM MOVIE: IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE


FRI, 15 JAN
05:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: THE FIRE AND THE WOOD


SAT, 16 JAN
11:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: REIGN OF THE GARGOYLES
05:00 PM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: THOR: HAMMER OF THE GODS


THURS, 21 JAN
11:30 PM MOVIE: STARGATE: THE ARK OF TRUTH
Conclusion of the Ori arc. Features Merlin and Morgan le Fay.


SUN, 24 JAN
07:00 PM MOVIE: REIGN OF FIRE
09:00 PM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: WYVERN
11:00 PM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: FIRE AND ICE


MON, 25 JAN
08:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: SHADOWS AND LIGHT
09:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: SECRET SERVICE
10:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: TRIAL AND ERROR
11:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: SPRING CLEANING
12:00 PM JOAN OF ARCADIA: COMMON THREAD
01:00 PM JOAN OF ARCADIA: SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
02:00 PM JOAN OF ARCADIA: PILOT
03:00 PM JOAN OF ARCADIA: THE FIRE AND THE WOOD


THURS, 28 JAN
12:00 AM SCARIEST PLACES ON EARTH: CHARLEVILLE CASTLE


FRI, 29 JAN
05:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: TOUCH MOVE



Also airing this month: Highlander, Highlander: The Raven, and Jeremiah.

MMSM: Studies in Medievalism 19

From the Boydell & Brewer web site:

Studies in Medievalism XIX
Defining Neomedievalism(s)
Edited by Karl Fugelso

14 b/w illustrations
Pages: 192
Size: 23.4 x 15.6
13 digit ISBN: 9781843842286
Binding: Hardback
First published: 15/Jul/2010
Price: 95.00 USD / 50.00 GBP
Imprint: D. S. Brewer
Series: Studies in Medievalism
Subject: Medieval Literature

The focus on neomedievalism at the 2007 International Conference on Medievalism, in ever more sessions at the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies, and by many recent or forthcoming publications has left little doubt of the importance of this new, provocative area of study. In response to a seminal essay defining medievalism in relationship to neomedievalism [published in volume 18 of this journal], the volume begins with seven essays defining neomedievalism in relationship to medievalism. Their positions are then tested by five articles, whose subjects range from modern American manifestations of Byzantine art, to the Vietnam War as refracted through non-heterosexual implications in the 1976 movie Robin and Marian, and versions of abjection in recent Beowulf films. Theory and practice are thus juxtaposed in a volume that is certain to fuel a central debate in not one but two of the fastest growing areas of academia.

Contributors: Amy S. Kaufman, Brent Moberley, Kevin Moberley, Lesley Coote, Cory Lowell Grewell, M.J. Toswell, E.L. Risden, Lauryn S. Mayer, Glenn Peers, Tison Pugh, David W. Marshall, Richard H. Osberg, Richard Utz


Contents:

Editorial Note
1 Medieval Unmoored
2 Neomedievalism, Hyperrealism, and Simulation
3 A Short Essay about Neo-Medievalism
4 Neomedievalism: An Eleventh Little Middle Ages?
5 The Simulacrum of Neomedievalism
6 Sandworms, Bodices, and Undergrounds: The Transformative Mélange of Neomedievalism
7 Dark Matters and Slippery Words: Grappling with Neomedievalism[s]
8 Utopia and Heterotopia: Byzantine Modernisms in America
9 Queer Crusading, Military Masculinity, and Allegories of Vietnam in Richard Lester's Robin and Marian
10 Getting Reel with Grendel's Mother: The Abject Maternal and Social Critique
11 The Colony Writes Back: F. N. Robinson's Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer and the Translatio of Chaucer Studies to the United States
12 False Memories: The Dream of Chaucer and Chaucer's Dream in the Medieval Revival
13 Notes on Contributors

MMSM Update: Studies in Medievalism 18 is now available

Studies in Medievalism 18, entitled Defining Medievalism(s) II, is now available for purchase from the publisher and online vendors. Details of the book were posted on the blog over the summer.

GMTV: Chiller Dec. 2009 (Catching Up)

The following aired last month on Chiller. Sorry for the delay.


SUN, 6 DEC
4:00 PM POLTERGEIST: THE LEGACY: THE LAST GOOD KNIGHT


SAT,12 DEC
10:00 PM DOCUMENTARY: CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE


SUN, 13 DEC
2:00 AM DOCUMENTARY: CRACKING THE DA VINCI CODE
9:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: DARK KNIGHT
10:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: DARK KNIGHT: THE SECOND CHAPTER
11:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: FOR I HAVE SINNED
12:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: LAST ACT
1:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: DANCE BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON
2:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: DYING TO KNOW YOU
3:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: FALSE WITNESS
4:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: CHERRY BLOSSOMS


SAT, 19 DEC
10:00 PM DOCUMENTARY: ILLUMINATING ANGELS AND DEMONS


SUN, 20 DEC
2:00 AM DOCUMENTARY: ILLUMINATING ANGELS AND DEMONS


MON, 21 DEC
9:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: I WILL REPAY
10:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: DEAD AIR
11:00 AM FOREVER KNIGHT: HUNTERS
12:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: DEAD ISSUE
1:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: FATHER FIGURE
2:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: SPIN DOCTOR
3:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: DYING FOR FAME
4:00 PM FOREVER KNIGHT: ONLY THE LONELY



Also airing this month: Poltergeist: The Legacy and Twin Peaks.

GMTV: Syfy Dec. 2009 (Catching Up)

Here are the details for last month's airings on Syfy. Sorry for the delay.


TUES, 1 DEC

10:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MINISERIES: LEGEND OF EARTHSEA - PART 1
12:00 PM SYFY ORIGINAL MINISERIES: LEGEND OF EARTHSEA - PART 2


WEDNES., 2 DEC
08:00 AM SYFY ORGINAL MOVIE: DRAGON DYNASTY


THURS., 3 DEC
08:00 AM MOVIE: MERLIN - PART ONE
10:00 AM MOVIE: MERLIN - PART TWO
12:00 PM MOVIE: MERLIN'S APPRENTICE - PART ONE
02:00 PM MOVIE: MERLIN'S APPRENTICE - PART TWO


FRI., 4 DEC
08:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: DRAGON STORM
10:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: DRAGON SWORD
12:00 PM MOVIE: DRAGONQUEST
02:00 PM MOVIE: MERLIN AND THE WAR OF THE DRAGONS


SAT, 5 DEC
09:00 PM MOVIE: NATIONAL TREASURE


SUN, 6 DEC
11:00 AM MOVIE: KING ARTHUR
01:30 PM MOVIE: BROTHERS GRIMM, THE
06:00 PM MOVIE: NATIONAL TREASURE


MON, 7 DEC
09:00 AM MOVIE: STARGATE: THE ARK OF TRUTH


THURS, 10 DEC
03:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: DRAGON FIGHTER


SUN, 13 DEC
09:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: ROCK MONSTER
11:30 PM MOVIE: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: WRATH OF THE DRAGON GOD


MON, 14 DEC
02:00 AM SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: DRAGON STORM


SUN, 27 DEC
11:30 AM MOVIE MARATHON: IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE
02:00 PM MOVIE MARATHON: SYFY ORIGINAL MOVIE: BEYOND SHERWOOD FOREST
08:00 PM MOVIE MARATHON: NATIONAL TREASURE


MON, 28 DEC
05:00 PM MOVIE: NATIONAL TREASURE
08:00 PM MOVIE: KING ARTHUR


TUES, 29 DEC
08:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: THE BOOK OF QUESTIONS
09:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: DIVE
10:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: GAME THEORY
11:00 AM JOAN OF ARCADIA: QUEEN OF THE ZOMBIES
12:00 PM JOAN OF ARCADIA: THE RISE & FALL OF JOAN GIRARDI
01:00 PM JOAN OF ARCADIA: ROMANCING THE JOAN



Also airing this month: Highlander and Higlander: The Raven.