Red World of Madness
Clark Ashton Smith is one of my favorite writers. Right up there with Edgar Allen Poe and Lord Dunsany, as far as I'm concerned. His accomplishments are all the more impressive because most of his stories are first drafts (as far as I know). The classic pulp rags were literary meatgrinders, after all. When you consider the conditions under which writers like Smith, Lovecraft and Howard wrote, you can't help but have an increased respect for them.
For a long time, Smith's The Red World of Polaris was assumed to be lost. It was the El Dorado of Smith fanatics. But a copy turned up a few years ago – it was nothing short of a miracle. The people at Nightshade Books published it, along with the rest of Smith's Captain Volmar stories, of which Red World is one. God bless ya, Nightshade Books. They also publish very scholarly, very beautifully bound editions of the rest of Smith's prose.
The discovery of Red World of Polaris is an adventure in itself, and it's recollected in the preface to the Nightshade Books edition, so I won't repeat it here – buy the book!
The parallels in Red World to Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness practically slap you across the face. The aliens of Smith's Polaris are very similar in appearance to the "Ancient Race" of Mountains of Madness. And the stories are basically the same: a race of bio-engineered servitors rebel and destroy their masters. The servitor races are strikingly similar, too – in Smith's story they're called "Murms", and in Lovecraft's they're "Shoggoths".
I know Lovecraft and Smith kept up a correspondence through the mail. I wonder if Smith inspired Lovecraft... or vice-versa? I have no idea of the exact date of either story.
The Captain Volmar tales are not my favorites of Smith, but I'll read anything by him. My vocabulary invariably grows by at least a half-dozen words every time I finish one of his stories. The Volmar yarns have a sort of "golly-gosh-gee-whiz" feeling to them, which shows how far ahead of the curve Smith was – that tone/style of writing became very prominent in the sci-fi of the 50s and 60s, 30 years after he was active.
If you've never encountered Smith before, it's hard to say where to begin... I would just pick up the first volume of the Nightshade Books collection and go for it. You won't want to come back.
Arvid @ Comic Geek Speak
The lads at Comic Geek Speak were kind enough to interview me yesterday about the Zero Killer trade paperback, which is coming out in August. I had a swell time, we discussed everything from World War II to Euro board games.
Portal Crossing
I found this road sign just a few dozen yards from our apartment.
WARNING: Cake Ahead!
Whoever did this is a lot cooler and cleverer than me. If you haven't played Portal, you should! There's no excuse now since it's finally available on Mac.
My Monkey’s Name is Kennifer
Ken Knudtsen!
Ever notice how the weirdest people
on the inside usually look totally normal on the outside? That’s Ken Knudtsen for you. If you ever approach his table at a convention: BEWARE. He will throw a football at your head and offer you a shot or three of vodka.I'm serious.
Ken’s also the creator of My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer, which, if you haven’t read it, is one of the greatest independent comics ever to have dribbled off of a pen.
I've been a dedicated fan of Ken's since meeting him at a convention several geological epochs ago. And I’m thrilled to the marrow, because, after seven long years, a new Jennifer comic is finally coming out. Ken was kind enough to answer a few questions for me about life, comics, and growing up a Jehovah’s Witness.
My Monkey's Name is Jennifer, Book 2!
RVID: Ken, where did you get the idea for My Monkey’s Name is Jennifer?
KEN: Well, a little bit of background is needed, because I might ramble a bit. As students from the School of Visual Arts, my friends and I thought we’d all get great jobs at Marvel or DC when we graduated. Then Marvel went bankrupt, and DC was right behind them. Nobody was getting any work. So, after many failed attempts at this, Jerry Ma and I decided to self-publish our own books. The only problem (well, the first of many)? I had no idea what I wanted to do! As I was sitting on my couch, exhausted from thinking up many failed ideas, inspiration hit in the form of the Simpsons. Specifically, the episode when Homer gets a “helper monkey”.
Hurray, I will do something with a monkey. But what could be better than a story with a monkey? How about a story with an angry monkey! The story began to build from there as I tried to come up with as many ways as possible to make a monkey miserable.
MMNiJ 2, page 62
RVID: It’s been a long time – too long! – since you graced us with new Jennifer. What can we expect in the new edition, more of the same sweetness, or is it going to be even weirder more over-the-top?
KEN: A little bit of both, actually. Without giving too much of the story away, the evil Dr. Tunick returns to gain his revenge on Jennifer and Kaitlyn. This sets into motion their adventures to the jungle, tropical islands, and more. I had a lot of fun doing these guys again after taking some time away.
MMNiJ 2, page 63
RVID: What's the biggest challenge you face as an independent creator?
KEN: MOTIVATION! Man, it is tough to try to do this each and every day. As someone who works full-time at my “day” job, I am effectively working two full-time jobs. That also means my output of final product is less than I’d like, but it’s something I’m always striving to get better at. But then, I guess that YOU, Arvid, might be able to empathize just a bit with me on this.
Oh my sweet, sweet Jesus. Four words, Ken: thank God for caffeine.
MMNiJ 2, page 64
RVID: You were raised Jehovah’s Witness, if I'm not mistaken. How did that impact you as an artist?
Wow, this is easily the only question in an interview that I've had to actually stop and think about. As a JW, a lot of what people take for granted without a second thought (origins of holidays, blood transfusions) were things I was forced to deal with as a young child. It should not be understated how profound, almost scarring, this information can be, and what effect it might have on each individual’s development.
More than anything, I have found myself not taking any thoughts or theories as instant truths on their own. This goes for JW and religions especially. I left “the truth”, as the JWs call it, at 13, pretty much disenfranchised with all of religion. It certainly affected how I see and think about everything, which I guess has affected how I try to go about my art process. It also, not to sound too depressing, helped with dealing with the isolation involved with make art. It can be a very lonely experience at times (both good and bad), but hey, nothing gets you ready like having to spend every school birthday or holiday celebration in the library!
MMNiJ 2, page 65
RVID: Any chance we'll see Ken Knudtsen’s Illustrated Leviticus as your next project? No? Fine. What *are* you gonna do next?
KEN: Only if you’re willing to script that out for me, Arvid! I’ve actually got a couple of things lined up for my next project. Kids, take note, because when you do this type of creative work, you always want to have a couple of things ready to go at a moments notice. Chris Kirby (LOST SQUAD) is writing a noir western for me, Jim Ma (BURN) and I are working on a roman gladiator/fall of Rome story, and of course, the next MY MONKEY'S NAME IS JENNIFER. What would their family vacation be like...hmmm...
Ahthum! Glad we’re going to see more Jennifer. Jim told me a little bit about the twilight of Rome story. That period of time interests me, too. I can’t wait to read it.
ARVID: Thanks, Ken!
KEN: Just wanted to take a second to thank you, Arvid. To all you readers out there, I’ve known Arvid since “the beginning”. The beginning of Jennifer, and of Rex Mundi. I was waiting on line for a portfolio review, which was obnoxiously formed as a human blockade in front of several booths, Arvid’s being one of them. So, as I waited, I chatted with Arvid and Eric about their cool looking ashcan(?) they had out. The line was very long and slow moving, so we got to talk and look at each other's books. I bought the 0 issues, and we’ve kept in touch since. And now I’m off to buy a copy of my new favorite comic, Red Sonja. The art clearly saves the story in this, but nobody’s perfect.
Damn you, monkey! Growing up with you in comics has been a great experience, Ken. Thanks for offering me all the shots of vodka. Sorry I'm such a lame-a$$.
