Still here, part 2

As mentioned in Part 1, I've been posting more elsewhere and I need to refresh this neglected blog.

Along with more gaming content, I want to update the Hammer horror movie list here, update links,  and provide some updates on what I've been watching.

Two months ago was Shawtember -- all Shaw Brothers kung fu movies, and following that was an October full of Hammer and Godzilla films. This month is Noirvember, a deep dive into the underbelly of crime films. Speaking of Godzilla, my look at the brand new Godzilla set from Criterion will be up soon.

At the beginning of the year I planned a John Carpenter retrospective re-watch over a few months, but I only got as far as DARK STAR. Now I'm thinking that the Christmas/New Year's break might be a good time for it.

Still here, part 1

I haven't had an update here in a while, posting what I might put here on Facebook, Twitter, and Discord. I hope to have some actual gaming content here soon, particularly my take on the "New New Crobuzon Challenge" in a few days.

Non-gaming content in Part 2!

Godzilla: The Showa Era films on Blu-ray from Criterion!

The rumored, highly-anticipated announcement finally arrived yesterday. The Criterion Collection's spine #1000 milestone has a massive subject to match: Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975. The fifteen original films and extras are spread across eight Blu-rays. Nine of these movies will be on Blu-ray for the first time in Region A! The discs are packaged in a 10" x 14" hardcover book with notes on each film and new full-page illustrations from sixteen artists.

The highlight of the set might be the inclusion of the Japanese version of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962) in HD. This will be the first time it has ever been on home video in America (or anywhere else outside Japan, I believe).

I'll keep my Classic Media DVDs, and Media Blasters and Kraken Releasing Blu-rays of these titles for completeness, however. The US versions of GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956) and KING KONG VS. GODZILLA are here, but the only other English dubs included are for INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER, SON OF GODZILLA, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, GODZILLA VS. MEGALON, GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA, AND TERROR OF MECHAGODZILA. These are the Toho International dub tracks, not the AIP or Titra dubs many of us remember from Saturday afternoon movie matinees or TV showings.

Despite not being as complete as many fans would like, this is still a monumental achievement. Every Showa-era G-film is now on Blu-ray. Seeing an entire block of Godzilla films joining a prestigious film collection like this, and with the symbolic designation of #1000, should make all kaiju fans proud.

Happy 113th Birthday, Robert E. Howard

Today marks the 113th anniversary of the birth of pulp writer Robert E. Howard. It has become a
tradition on this date for Howard fans to read a favorite story and raise a toast.

Howard wrote something for every interest: sword and sorcery, hard-boiled detectives, weird horror, historical fiction, boxing, westerns, pirates, and poetry.

Two-Gun Bob's fans who are also tabletop gamers are seeing another resurgence of products, with the Conan adventure board game (recommended), and the main rulebook and many sourcebooks for the Conan RPG out now. This month Marvel Comics released the first two issues of their new Conan comic series, with Savage Sword and other new books on the way.

One of the best brief introductions to Howard is the mostly true, somewhat fictionalized film THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (1996), based on the writings of Novalyne Price Ellis.

For more information on his life and career, start with the following sites:

• Robert E. Howard Days
• The Robert E. Howard Foundation
• Howard Works bibliographic database
• The Cimmerian (archive; no longer updated)

I highly recommend Mark Finn's Howard biography, the Locus and World Fantasy Award-nominated Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard available as an expanded edition from the REH Foundation.

Update, part 3 -- Board games

Forgot to mention in one of the previous posts -- I'd like to get in more board games this year. I have Monolith's Conan and Everything Epic's Big Trouble in Little China, and of those I've only played Conan once.

I'd also like to play some of the games that friends of mine own, like Rising Sun and the different flavors of Zombicide.