Forbidden Planets

Here's the cover of the anthology Forbidden Planets, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the film that we all remember for Robby the Robot (and, let's not kid ourselves, the swimsuit). My contribution is called "This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine," and if I had a list of all the other stories I'd post it. Fans of the movie (and who among us doesn't love this movie?) will find an introduction by Ray Bradbury and about a dozen swell stories...don't miss it.

More Pulp

Got my contributor copies of Retro Pulp Tales in the mail yesterday. Publishers Weekly says, "With six-guns blazing and tentacles flailing, this nifty all-original anthology delivers impressively on the "pure storytelling" promise Lansdale (Flaming London) makes in his intro. The dozen authors manage to address serious issues while remaining true to their roots and the book's theme."

And Booklist: "The movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was contemporary pulp fiction that felt as though it was made decades ago. So, too, are the stories in this exciting new collection of "retro pulp." The contributors, including F. Paul Wilson and Bill Crider, were asked to write a story that could have appeared in the pulps, and they have succeeded spectacularly."

Son of Satan

Just in time to coincide with the release of The Omen, Marvel Comics announced at WizardWorld in Philly that Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, will be coming back in a five-issue limited series that will land in stores this fall. I'm writing it, and Russ Braun is the artist, and there is an outstanding inker to be named later. Here's me talking with Comic Book Resources about the project, and here's my editor Axel Alonso discussing it with Newsarama. My first foray into comics has been a great experience so far.

48 hours

The 48 Hour Film Project came to Portland, Maine, this year, and I had the good fortune to write the screenplay for one of the 14 teams that competed. The film, called Music Box, is linked here. University of Maine new-media professor Raphael DiLuzio put our team together under his 3leggeddog umbrella, and we were lucky enough to get cinematographer Rob Draper (Spitfire Grill, Tales from the Crypt) involved. If you're in the Portland area, there's a screening in Windham Tuesday night...and if the film takes some kind of honors for Portland, it's off to national judging of one kind or another. More as I know it.

Update: Here's a photo from a short Portland Forecaster article about the shoot.