All posts by Machine Trooper

Your Go-To Site for Discovering Good Reads

2024 is off to a pretty good start this year, this blog is back to fulfilling its original purpose: spreading the news of good reads still being produced, by authors you might not have ever discovered without Virtual Pulp.

For those who are late to the party, here’s some of the authors we’ve featured here so far just since New Year’s:

 

Adventure:

Milton Lane

Fantasy:

Ernie Laurence, Jr.

Michael R. Schultheiss

Jonathan Shuerguer

Sci-Fi:

Misha Burnett

Robert Kroese

Hans Schantz

Sword & Sorcery:

James Krake

Robert Victor Mills

Eric Waag

It’s no coincidence that these are all indie authors, either. Tradpub fiction sucks, with few exceptions. Sure, there is a lot of indie fiction that stinks just as bad as tradpub. But thanks to Gio and me, it’s now easy for you to find the diamonds in the rough.

Have I missed anybody so far? Don’t worry–the Infamous Gio is a reviewing/interviewing machine, and he’s got a lot more lined up for you. In fact, this very week is already packed with reviews and an interview. (Steampunk fans should feel right at home.)

This is worth remembering:

First of all, nobody pays us to do this. We even buy the books/comics/whatever ourselves. We don’t owe anybody anything.

Secondly, we are honest. We want to find/read good books. We like giving indie authors a signal boost. When we enjoy something, we like sharing our experience, so others can enjoy it, too. But when we think a book is bad, we will let you know we think it’s bad. If it’s good, but misses the mark in one or more aspect, we will say so. It’s nothing personal against the author. We might even be fond of the author as a human being, but we are still going to be honest.

Speaking for myself, I’ve got empathy out the wazoo for my fellow indie authors. I know the odds stacked against them and the petty, unfair, and even diabolical crap most of them have to wade through just to make a sale. I’m very pleased when an indie has put together a masterpiece. But if it ain’t a masterpiece, I’m not gonna try to convince people it is.

At the same time, we won’t get butthurt if you disagree with us over the quality of a book. We’re not gonna  unfriend you, block, mute, or cancel you because we have different opinions. (We might debate with you, because that can be healthy and stimulating.)

We’re not gonna engage in shady behavior to steal somebody’s traffic, or reduce their traffic–even though that has been done to us, by individuals supposedly on our side in the Culture War. We’re not jealous because other blogs also share quality content, or are reviewing indie work. I wish there were more indie reviewers out there working through their towering TBR piles like we are–especially if they’re honest.

How about drama?

I suspect there are some talented creatives out there who identify as #IronAge. From what I know, I fit under that umbrella, too.

I’m sure there are talented creatives associated with #Comicsgate, too.

Unfortunately, it appears there are overly sensitive (or perhaps just drama-addicted) folks on both sides locked in a pissing contest over some petty BS even they probably can’t explain the origin of. I’ve been honing my craft/plying my trade alone, and don’t know that many people from either side yet. IOW I have no dog in this fight. I also believe it’s a silly, counterproductive fight. Same with Eric July vs. Ethan Van Sciver. I’ve got more important items on my to-do list than to take part in all that drama. I’m also annoyed that I have to wade through all that silly drama to find anything that interests me as a reader, a novelist, and an aspiring graphic novelist.

Bottom line: I’m not gonna take anybody’s side in one of these squabbles based on what hashtag they’re associated with.

The Good News:

There’s a lot of quality entertainment being written in the indie-sphere, and we’re gonna help you find it.  (And some of it is mine, so consider looking at my work, too.) We’re also hosting the Infamous Writing Contest, to discover and showcase even more talented writers, whose published work you may be unfamiliar with.

We put out consistent content here, so stop by on the regular and let us know what you think. Consider subscribing to the blog, so you’ll never miss a post. And tell others about us and what we’re doing. We’re trying to grow our Internet footprint, and you can help with that.

 

 

The Spirit Phone

It is August 1899, and Thomas Edison proclaims his most amazing invention yet: the Spirit Phone Model SP-1. At nearly the same time, a cocksure young mage named Aleister Crowley inexplicably teleports into the home of Edison’s archrival, renowned inventor Nikola Tesla.

As insanity and suicide multiply among spirit phone users, Crowley and Tesla combine their respective skills in “magick” and technology to investigate the device’s actual origin and ultimate purpose.

Embarking upon an adventure of astral travel, demonic invocations, and high-speed airship journeys, they are soon embroiled in a desperate race to stop the spirit phone’s use by an unknown adversary to inaugurate a hell on earth from which none shall escape.

Review coming soon to Virtual Pulp!

The Infamous Writing Contest

We like to have fun at Virtual Pulp, and here’s a chance for you to have fun with us.

Why are Number One and Number Three the same?

Gio really likes crabs.

To submit, put your story in PDF or E-Pub format and send to

Gio: Infamous dot Reviewer at gmail dot com

AND

Henry: Machine Trooper at gmail dot com

ECHOES THROUGH DISTANT GLASS (BEYOND CASCADIA): BOOK ONE – a Review

(Author: S. KIRK PIERZCHALA)

Review by INFAMOUS 🦀

Echoes is a very well-written story which, however, could have been trimmed down to half its length and still manage to deliver everything it does. I’ll explain what I mean in a moment.

When a sample of a seemingly new, potentially devastating biological weapon is seized by special agency ITOD, agent Owen McIntyre finds himself involved in the dealings of the most dangerous Colombian cartel led by the Chen family. Deciding to go undercover and befriend the younger of the two Chen brothers (Tomas) in order to gather crucial evidence, Owen finds himself in a roller coaster of struggles; both physical and psychological. 

On the surface this seems a pretty cut and dry cyberpunk trope, if it wasn’t for the infusion of ‘humanity’ the author instilled in it. Though we do have good guys vs villains, we also learn that people in this futuristic world sometimes simply try to deal the cards handed to them the best they can. Owen gets a rude awakening when he discovers the true situation Tomas is in and even develops some sort of ‘friendship’ with the guy.

Will Owen be able to accomplish his mission, or will the Chen family (headed by resourceful and ambitious brother Francisco) keep controlling the world economies from behind the curtains?

As I mentioned earlier, Pierzchala can write some brilliant prose, and she digs deep into the minds of each character to expose their innermost joys, fears, worries, and inner struggles. What I notice though is that this approach can reach a point of diminishing returns by slowing down the pace too much and extending the story beyond what the reader may find engaging. Particularly when it comes to this specific genre, you want a fast-paced, story-driven narrative to keep the audience on the edge.

Segments like the road trip that Owen and Tomas go on felt like dragging too much, with just a couple of events that never impacted the story in any significant way. A lot of chapters are filled with ordinary tasks as these characters just go through the motion.

In addition to the overall pace I just discussed, it’s also worth mentioning some plot points that felt weak. Example: knowing that you have a spy under your roof and that he’s wired, destroying his wire device won’t help you much since by then his backup most likely already has a location locked on you. You should be running, and quick, not partying!

But I digress…


Echoes Through Distant Glass is an overall interesting ‘cyberpunk/drama’ that suffers from a few pace/plot hiccups. Sometimes it’s tough to find that fine balance in a story that wants to be both character-driven and story-driven. I honestly feel that cutting out a lot of content from the final draft could have turned this into an overall more dynamic narrative. But that’s just my take.

INFAMOUS 🦀

Steampunk Double Feature

In the year 1875, Inspector Ol’Barrow of Dover’s borough police finds himself grappling with the emergence of radio dramas when a perplexing murder case lands on his desk. Together with his colleague, Bigsby, they face an enigmatic assassin with origins beyond this world.

Driven by duty and a thirst for redemption, Ol’Barrow joins forces with a covert organization known as the Association of Ishtar. They serve as advisors to the authorities, specializing in managing anomalies called Rifts—innocuous gateways to alternate realms harboring untold dangers. Ol’Barrow’s eyes are opened to a reality where Napoleon wields futuristic weaponry against England, corporations pioneer otherworldly technology, and societal progress comes at a perilous cost.

As humanity hurtles towards a technocratic future, the question looms: Where will it lead? For some, biology is a dead end, and humanity must ascend.

Coming soon: Comic review by Hank; Novel review by Gio.

The Devil out the Wych Elm by Robert Victor Mills – a Review

Part 3 of a 6-part review series by THE INFAMOUS REVIEWER

 

In the third tale of Man of Swords, we find our hero crucified to a tree and barely alive, before being rescued and restored back to health by a family of fauns. How did Rhoye ever get in this predicament? And why would this local family want to aid a total stranger?

Well you’ll have to read to find out, but my job here really is to analyze the writing from a PCP (prose/characters/plot) standpoint. Objectively and fairly.

The ‘highlight reel’ definitely belongs to the Faun family: father Olnbirch, mother Khirra, and young daughter Zairre. What distinguishes them is their altruism and devotion to live a quiet and peaceful life, never to compromise their beliefs and code of ethics. Zairre particularly has some very special moments. With her innocence, she can melt the most hardened of hearts ( well, almost any). The way these three characters are written is so delightful that we can’t help but feel emotionally invested in their whereabouts.

Trouble starts when a group of greedy miners start harassing our beloved family in order to take their land which supposedly is rich in gold. The family is not willing to leave their land and that’s when things get ‘complicated’ since Rhoye is by now back in almost full health and strength.

This reminded me of a Spaghetti Western film adaptation in a sense. Only that instead of taking place in the Wild West it takes place in the Wandered Lands. It is gripping, exciting…But it could have been executed even better in my opinion and here is why:

Pace: from the time the miners give the family their ultimatum to leave the farm there is a long chunk of time when not much really happens. It’s just Rhoye living with the Faun family and helping them around the farm. This, I felt, was too drawn out: they work the fields, go visit other faun neighbors, go dance at some local harvest festival…

Dialogue: some of the dialogues were redundant and unnecessary. If we witness a particular action scene take place first hand, we don’t need one of the characters to give a thorough account of those events in the first person later, because we already know all about it. This creates unnecessary bloating. 

Overall, The Devil out of Wych Elm remains a solid tale worth reading. Again, the Faun family, their reaction to adversities, their meekness, their willingness to not live by the ‘eye for an eye’ rule, all of that is what makes this so special.

Not the best we’ve seen from Mills, yet highly recommended!

Superpowers and What They Reveal

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

I’m guessing that’s a question that’s been asked in interviews at Marvel and DC for decades, now. Not completely unrelated: in what decade did the last noteworthy superhero debut? I’m thinking the ’60s, but maybe it was the ’70s.

We’ve all seen the creative implosion in mainstream entertainment. That industry has always been crawling with commies and perverts, but back in the day they at least had talent and could create art that decent people enjoyed.

Sometime between when they persistently but subtly slipped their cultural Marxist messaging into movies/literature/music that  otherwise  had merit, and ramming blatant Globohomo narratives down the audience’s collective throat at every opportunity, the vehicles they deployed to deliver their mind control also lost their entertainment value. They lost any modicum of originality, too.

Unable to come up with a single compelling story idea, Homowood can now only recycle what’s already been done several times before, or mine other IP from old TV shows, cartoons, toys, and comic books.

Comic “creators” (what an ironic phrase, when applied to Marvel and DC employees) can’t come up with a single interesting idea of their own. They simply take legacy characters still beloved, and pervert, race-or-gender-swap them to peddle more cultural Marxist narratives that drive fans away from the medium.

Let’s look at some of the efforts of comic writers to develop new, original characters, in the postmodern era, with a specific focus.

The bread-and-butter of Marvel and DC was the superhero.  Characters have personalities (well, once upon a time they did) of course, but what makes a hero super is their superpowers. What sort of superpowers have postmodern comic artists/writers given their characters? (By “postmodern,” I include Boomers, Millennials, and whatever Gen Xers managed to slip in between them.)

There’s a character by the name of Jazz–an aspiring rapper by day who moonlights as a crimefighting (?) mutant. His superpower: he can turn himself blue.

But Color Kid is even more powerful. He can not only turn himself blue–he can turn other stuff other colors, too. Evildoers best beware!

These are far from the only characters with gay-ass abilities, but I want to highlight some more characters with powers that are far less interesting than what they reveal about their creators. Let’s roll the clock all the way back to the beginning of the postmodern era for the first one.

Matter-Eater Lad:

This dude can (and does) eat anything–food, dishes, utensils, wood, metal, glass, whatever. I suspect this superpower was inspired by some real people in the comic company bullpens (and later, typical proprietors and customers at comic shops) who ate a lot more than they exercised. And eating disorders are a nice transition to…

Blob:

His superpower is, he’s morbidly obese. Bet you didn’t know that is a good thing, huh? Well, now you know that our country in the 21st century is overrun with superheroes. Blob is a hero that millions today can relate to.

Seriously, I don’t want to get off on a fat-shaming tangent, but it says a lot about the delusions of our cultural influencers that they would spin obesity as a heroic asset.

Domino:

Her superpower is good luck. I can’t disparage this one too much because, in real life, whatever invisible force is often dismissed as “luck” is more of a determinant of success than talent, expertise, discipline, effort and planning, in many situations. Most of the “creatives” in today’s entertainment achieved and maintain their positions by “luck” (plus checking the correct diversity boxes, and the integrity of a whore). If you don’t have “luck,” then it rarely matters how good you are or how hard you try–you’ll never get as far as the lazy, spineless, amoral, untalented hacks who have it.

Echo:

This one is a Freudian slip, personified. The superpower is the ability to copy somebody else. A comic book glorification of what woketards in the entertainment industry do: rip off the intellectual property of actual creators, and twist it to their own nefarious purposes.

Tattooed Man:

His tattoos come to life. That’s his superpower. Are you starting to see how most of these superpowers are just exaggerations of the real-world attitudes embraced by certain demographics?

In real life, there are NPCs who truly believe they can make themselves more attractive by covering themselves with ink and piercings. In their fantasies, I suppose, such modifications not only make them more attractive and interesting, but also more powerful.

Skunk:

This one’s superpower is, basically, body odor. Along with obesity, another common characteristic in evidence at comic book shops (and in the bullpens, probably) is an aversion to personal hygiene. Little did you lesser mortals know, but this is an inspiring crimefighting tool.

Rainbow Girl:

Her superpower is bipolar mood swings. Are you starting to see that these characters are simply grandiose self-inserts by the narcissists who work at the Big Two? What sane people see as a handicap, flaw, or disorder is ack-shully part of what makes the visionaries in mainstream comics so superior to you.

There’s a character introduced within the last few years whose superpower was the ability to force others to like her. I kid you not. So remarkable and inspiring was this character that I can’t remember her name. Neither, apparently, can the World Wide Web.

Examine the Cultural Gatekeepers:

You’ve got an industry run by fat, unbathed, mentally unstable basement-dwellers (who believe themselves to be secret kings and queens far superior to us, with the knowledge of how to fix the world’s problems), incapable of developing characters that anybody finds interesting–much less heroic.

When you think about it, the “creatives” in the industry today almost perfectly match the personality profile of the fictional mad scientist villains from the Golden Age. (“The fools! They’re threatened by my  superior intellect! But one day they’ll bow before me and be forced to admit I am the ultimate genius!”) Except the mad scientists actually knew enough about real science to build giant robots, resurrect dinosaurs, and genetically engineer monsters. Their real-life counterparts still can’t grasp rudimentary concepts like two genders, herd immunity, and the size of virus particles.

How was it different when our country was healthy?

Go back to the Golden Age, and most of the Silver Age. Characters created back then had superpowers like super strength, invulnerability, flight, X-ray vision, super speed, invisibility, growth, shrinking, stretching, fire, and breathing underwater. As farfetched as they were, those abilities were practical. It was easy to conceptualize how those superpowers could be utilized to protect the innocent, make society better, and counter threats to peace and order.

In the “silly” cultural phenomenon of comic books, we find a bellweather for the state of our civilization. Far from the only bellweather, of course. Just one more corroborating all the other evidence that our civilization is circling the drain.

I was inspired to study this subject by a comment AC (Anonymous Conservative) made on his website some time ago. He has done some groundbreaking work on r and K selection, what that looks like in human societies, and how pop culture reflects it. It’s no wonder that he made this observation.

(I recommend his book on r and K selection: The Evolutionary Psychology Behind Politics, and might review it here one day.)

As I understand it: from the colonial days, up until the end of WWII, America was mostly K-selected. We built stuff, could fix stuff. We protected women and children. We worked, saved, prepared for the future. We were trustworthy neighbors, loyal friends, good Samaritans to strangers, but vigilant about protecting/preserving our own families, property, neighborhood, etc. We didn’t tolerate obvious thieves, perverts, traitors, murderers or rapists. We certainly didn’t allow them to force their amoral attitudes on the rest of society. Superheroes with practical superpowers made sense in that civilization.

Long story short, America shifted toward r-selection in the Postwar era. They abandoned the values and attitudes that helped make us once great. They became , basically, a bunch of indulged brats who threw a party, trashed their parents’ house, then refused to clean up afterwards. In fact, their every effort concentrates on destroying what is left of the house. Every effort that isn’t focused on their own personal gratification, that is. This is exemplified by the forgettable superheroes this r-selected culture has introduced. And by how the iconic superheroes of yesteryear are being corrupted and destroyed.

What do you think?

The Sword and the Sunflower by Mark Bradford – a Review

Review by INFAMOUS 🦀

I truly wanted to like this story, and the author is a standout human being, but unfortunately I have to be objective and report that I could find very little to praise about here.

The story suffers from several issues; from character development, to pacing, to some prosaic choices, and even too frequent and unnecessary line breaks.

Basically the story is about two individuals, Stojan and Anastazja, who (after losing their beloved ones, respectively) find one another and build a father/daughter relationship, while traveling across a dystopian world somewhere in a post-apocalyptic future.

On the surface, the premises sound good and intriguing. However a further look will reveal several weaknesses in how this was executed.

We meet Stojan, a former captain turned assassin who lost his will to live since the death of his daughter 3 years prior. When he takes on a ‘job’ by a so-called Bishop to assassinate a particular individual whom the prophecy has indicated to be a future threat to the Bishop himself, Stojan embarks on a journey that takes a strange turn: he falls in love with Anastazja and can no longer fulfill his task.

Now, I get that Stojan has lost his daughter and he’s still mourning, but every time we introduce a character that has the power and influence of healing the pain of a loss, the new relationship has to feel organic and it has to build up in steps, gradually, to feel believable. This doesn’t happen here. From the moment Stojan sets his eyes on Ana he’s already fallen in love with her as a father with a daughter. It all feels rushed and kind of weird in a way.

Another weird plot choice is the way Ana’s biological father dies in the story. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I encourage you to read that particular scene for yourself.

The other problem I found was the pace: after the two main characters come together and embark on their trip across these lands, everything feels very slow and tedious. They cross the ocean from a region called Poliska (Poland? Europe?) to another region called Amira (America?), and the most exciting thing that happens is ending up in a Native American colony where they spend a whole year just enjoying the lifestyle of their host. Nothing significant happens, except for perhaps having two of the Indian tribal chiefs arguing over what new tribal name to assign to Ana (I’m totally serious).

When the two protagonists decide to leave the Indian community there’s more hiking, more riding horses across vast lands, and more NOTHING….

Some of the prosaic choices I also found not ideal given this world: in this futuristic world most people are illiterate or barely know how to read, yet their spoken language is very articulate and even more sophisticated than ours is today. It’s almost as if these people somehow went back to speaking Shakespearean English though not even having any books around anymore.

To conclude, it is with sadness that I must admit that the only true highlight of this book and most uplifting moment was when I finally turned to the last page.

If you think I must be exaggerating or being too harsh, by all means buy a copy and read it for yourself. I would love your comments.

 

INFAMOUS 🦀

Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson

In the Web circles in which I cyber-travel, there is much discussion of Western civilization and legacy of Western culture. Also lamentations that it’s being lost.

My focus here is on one artifact of that disappearing legacy/culture.

American kids used to be exposed to Tennyson’s famous poem. You find references to it in hundreds or thousands of other creative work. It was through one such reference that I first learned of the existence of this poem.

Almost nobody in today’s government schools is introducing kids to this poem. In fact, there are certainly millions of adults in America who have never learned about it, or understand what references to it are still made.

(I in this clip, at about 0:24, the REMF* interpreter paraphrases part of “Charge of the Light Brigade.” Just as myself and probably millions of other veterans have.)

To put the narrative of this poem in context, we must know a little about the circumstances of a battle during the Crimean War:

25 October, 1854; the siege of Sevastopol. Lord Raglan is the  C.O. (commanding officer). The Russians are conducting a counterattack outside Balaclava, and capture British cannons. Raglan spots them running off with his artillery and wants to prevent this loss.

Raglan decides to send his Light Brigade after the Ruskies and get his field guns back. The Light Brigade is so-named because it is about a 600-man unit of light cavalry, which at this point in history meant the horses bore no armor (in contrast to the Heavy Brigade). The troopers carried sabers and light lances that were more like spears. Such units were quick and agile.

So far, so good. This is a sound, reasonable allocation of military resources to rebound from a setback. Raglan composes a message to his cavalry commander that says, basically, “Send the Light Brigade after those Ruskies stealing our cannons, and bring the guns back!”

Within his order was a careless neglect of specific detail that would make this a tragic day. From where  Raglan surveyed the battle space, it was obvious which Ruskies he was referring to. But the cavalry commander didn’t see what Raglan saw, from his position.

The message filtered down to Brigadier General Brudinell (the Earl of Cardigan or, simply, “Cardigan”), Commander of the Light Brigade. What Ruskies does Lord Raglan have in mind, he asks. The messenger waved toward the east. Attack, now, sez he.

Not that the cavalry knew, but the enemy was carrying off British field guns to the south, hidden by the terrain from their position. What lay to the east was something else entirely.

I’m sure Cardigan lost all color in his face.

Those cannons???” he must have wanted to ask.

In the direction the dispatch rider waved was an enormous Russian formation dug in on the high ground behind numerous artillery batteries on three sides. The valley they commanded was covered by a triangular crossfire. If any British, French, or Turkish unit was foolish enough to enter that valley, they would find themselves, in modern military parlance, inside a “kill box.”

The valley was a deathtrap. This was a suicide mission.

The Valley of Death.

The officers and men were obligated to take the orders at face value. They didn’t know the orders were based on a “blunder” of omission. I guarantee you, every cavalryman, from the C.O. down to the lowest enlisted man, was severely “dismayed” by the insane orders.

What followed was an age-old conundrum for a soldier.

A soldier has to obey the orders of the officers over him. Even when the orders make no sense. Even when the orders are crazy, idiotic, or suicidal. The officers have maps, and good vantage points, and knowledge that the common soldier doesn’t. Most of the time, orders that don’t make sense to a soldier at the time will make sense later, from a  strategic perspective, and prove necessary for accomplishing a mission. Some orders are, indeed, insane, and result in needless slaughter. But the common soldier usually doesn’t know which order is which. He must trust in his chain-of-command, and follow orders regardless.

It would be difficult-to-impossible to win wars without soldiers who will follow orders like those British cavalry troopers did.

Theirs was not to make reply. (Sir, this is suicidal! You’re sending us to our doom for no good reason!”)

Theirs was not to reason why. (“Why the bloody cack are we riding right into the mouth of hell, into the jaws of death? What purpose could this possibly serve? If we are to capture those cannons, send us in from behind, in the dark of night. And even then, with the advantage of surprise, it would be a forlorn hope!”)

Theirs was but to do and die. (Their job was to carry out their orders, even when it guaranteed their death.)

Boldly they rode, and well, while under murderous fire from the front and both flanks. As they grew closer to the enemy line, Russian gunners switched out the artillery shells for “shot.” That’s short for “grapeshot.” By this time grapeshot was more sophisticated, and starting to be called “cannister.” In effect, the smoothbore cannons were firing something like shotgun blasts into both “horse and hero,” with pellets the size of musket balls.

But once the survivors had broken through the line, Cossacks rode upon them. The troopers had to fall back through the Valley of Death, with the Russian artillery shredding them from both flanks and the rear. It was a bloodbath.

There’s a lot that can be said about that engagement. Tennyson concentrated on the honor of the steadfast troopers who rode knowingly into the Mouth of Hell. It was courageous, glorious, as he saw it. A cynic might be tempted to dismiss it as a foolish catastrophe. Were they fools for following orders that day? Not for me to judge. But nobody can question  their loyalty, their commitment to their duty, or their mettle.

One more thought: to preserve the stamina of their horses, the cavalry could not maintain a charge at a full gallop over long distances. They advanced at a walk, while already under fire. After half a league (a league is about 3 1/2 miles) they adjusted the pace to a trot. Later they accelerated to a lope or canter. Finally, a sprint. When read the right way, this poem’s cadence approximates the changing pace of the brigade riding into the Jaws of Death.

I’ll let Tennyson take it from here:

I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
   Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
   Rode the six hundred.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
   Someone had blundered.
   Theirs not to make reply,
   Theirs not to reason why,
   Theirs but to do and die.
   Into the valley of Death
   Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
   Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
   Rode the six hundred.
(At 0:20 is a brief-but-spectacular shot of a cavalryman breaking through the line and sabering a gunner while his horse is in mid air hurdling the barricade.)
IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
   All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
   Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
   Not the six hundred.
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
   Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
   Left of six hundred.
VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
   All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
   Noble six hundred!

This is my way of honoring the noble 600 and the charge they made, Alfred.

* “Rear Echelon Mo-Fo,” AKA “clerks & jerks.” The corporal is literally a clerk-typist, assigned to a squad of Rangers for the mission that this movie is about.

Comics, Manga, Literacy and a Possible Renaissance

How do you hide something from a Millennial?

Put it in a book

Yeah, I know: harsh generalization. But I bet the statistics would back it up. I would also bet there’s a strong correlation (if not causation) between recreational reading and independent/critical thinking.

When Did the Slide Begin?

Some sources suggest America’s decline in literacy began in the 1920s. I consider it more likely that significant decline can be traced to 1947, when television began to proliferate in middle class homes across America. But whatever.

Two boys reading reading comics at a news stand, USA, circa 1955. (Photo by FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What we do know is that  the popularity of comic books exploded in 1938 and lasted into the 1950s (the superhero craze lasted from 1938 until about 1945). Comic books have never been as popular as they were during the Golden Age. And the comic-reading demographic during that time was mostly boys. A lot of teenagers read them, some old enough to serve in uniform overseas, but the scale tipped significantly to pre-teen boys. Specifically, these were late-cohort GI Generation, Silent Generation, and early-cohort Boomers.

Changing of the Guard

Many from the latter generation would continue reading comics into adulthood. Some from that generation would take over the industry, and shift their sights to an audience of their own peers, turning their backs on the following generations.

Fast-forward to today. With some exceptions, the Millennials and Homelanders* are functionally illiterate and incapable of independent/critical thought. Lots of factors have converged to handicap them this way. One factor is there have effectively no comic books that excited them as boys and led them to a transition to “more serious” prose books.

I listened to one of Chuck Dixon’s podcasts recently, He mentioned that Manga has attracted the young audience that comics lost over the course of the Pozzed Age.**

What Manga Proves

If Manga can win back that young demographic, then why couldn’t American comics, too? After all, American comics are the original gangsta that first won that audience, anyway.

Here is a windmill worth tipping at. I have begun some research, starting with Demon Slayer, which a librarian says is one of the more popular titles with teenagers. So far as drawing and writing style, it is more refined than most of the Golden Age comics. But I don’t see the story quality as an improvement. I’m sure there is better Manga out there (and hopefully I’ll find some), but take note, my fellow creators: we can do better than this stuff!

We don’t have the equivalent of Anime to market comics to kids, but we should think of something. The Boomers will begin dying off, soon, and American comics will die with them as a medium, unless we crack the code for finding a young audience.

Share your thoughts in the comments.

 

* I use Generational Theory, as codified by William Strauss & Neil Howe, not the MPAI terms like “Gen Y,” “Gen Z,” “Zoomers,” etc.

** IMO this age began in the 1990s and is still in effect, at least when it comes to mainstream entertainment. Some of us are hard at work trying to usher in an Iron Age…history will determine if we’re successful.