Description
Book SynopsisOver the past century or more, the genres of fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction have increasingly expanded beyond literature and into an array of mediafilm, television, comic books, and art. Many of the leading figures in the field engage in multimedia enterprises that allow their work to reach a much wider public than the mere readers of books. In Disorders of Magnitude: A Survey of Dark Fantasy, Jason V Brock analyzes the intersection of literature, media, and genre fiction in essays, reviews, and pioneering interviews. Beginning with the pulp magazines of the 1920s, Brock studies such dynamic figures as H. P. Lovecraft, Forrest J Ackerman, Harlan Ellison, and the Southern California writers known collectively as The GroupRay Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Rod Serling, and William F. Nolan. This collection also includes filmmakers Roger Corman, George Romero, and Dan O'Bannon, and such fantasy artists as H. R. Giger. Graced with dozens of photographs from th
Trade ReviewImagine your favorite late night college radio show. And the deejay is Jason V Brock, the author of this book, Disorders of Magnitude. You rely upon Jason to provide insights and intriguing facts as he connects the dots. Good, so far? Well, it gets even better. We’re talking about a multitude of connections, some from on high and some from on low. It’s not easy to categorize it all but Brock manages to collect a lot of essential wisdom and in a very accessible presentation. The college radio analogy is fitting since Disorders of Magnitude falls under an academic book category. It is right at home as part of a college course. But it is also the perfect companion for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of where we are today in terms of the entertainment we consume, particularly dark fantasy. * Comics Grinder *
Table of ContentsSection One: The Darkest Age The Smoldering Past: The Creation of the Modern from Frankenstein and Dracula to the Great War and Beyond “Cosmic Introspection”: Lovecraft’s Attainment of Personal Value by Way of Infinite Insignificance Forrest J Ackerman: Fan Zero Gathering Darkness: In Appreciation of the Artists of Weird Tales Frank M. Robinson: First Fandom and Beyond Section Two: Things Become The Burden of Now: Welles’s “Panic Broadcast,” World War II, and Creeping Anomie Ray Bradbury: The Boy Who Never Grew Up Cinematic Dream Logic: How Movies Permanently Altered the Fabric of Reality Individual Sexual Liberation Becomes Social Emancipation: Playboy Changes the World Harlan Ellison®: L’Enfant Terrible (Sort Of) Section Three: The Rise of the Speculative Mind Rod Serling: Articulating the American Nightmare A Howling at Owl Creek Bridge: Observations on Two Important Twilight Zone Episodes George Clayton Johnson: A Touch of Strange L’ ge d’Or to Götterdämmerung: How Bradbury, Serling, Beaumont, and “The Group” Shaped a Pop Future Roger Corman: Socially Conscious Auteur Finding Sanctuary: Running from the Zone to Logan The Long Nuclear Shadow: Atomic Horror, Godzilla, and the Cold War The Horror of It All! EC and the Beginnings of Modern Media HOOHAH! Madly Yours, Al Feldstein An End, a Middle, a Beginning: Richard Matheson and His Impact Section Four: Slashers, Blockbusters, and Bestsellers Riding the Dark Wave: The Role of Dystopian Science Fiction in Popular Culture Celluloid Asylum: O’Bannon, Romero, Carpenter, and the Liberals Lose (and Find) Their Collective Minds Terrible Beauty: Slasher Film Connections to Conservatism, Pornography, and Misogyny King of the Dead: Filmmaker George A. Romero on Politics, Film, and the Future Dan O’Bannon: Not Gone, Not Forgotten H. R. Giger: A Darkness Faster Than Light The Emperor’s New Book: How Stephen King Saved Horror, Created Clive Barker (and Sam Raimi) . . . and Killed Publishing The Doctor Is In: F. Paul Wilson Sounds Horrific: Art Rock, Soundtracks, and the Zeitgeist Section Five: A Century of Speculation Carnivora: The Dark Art of Automobiles David J. Skal: Monster Kid Ambassador of Horror Seasons in Hell Kris Kuksi: Dark Horizons in the Realm of the Senses Bluewater Comics’s Darren G. Davis: On the Run in the Digital Age of Comics The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival: Cosmic Chaos on the Silver Screen S. T. Joshi: Champion of the Weird Tale Marc Scott Zicree: As Timeless as Infinity Section Six: From (and Into) the Beyond Fangoria’s Chris Alexander: Cinephilia, Music, and All the Rest of It Bruce Campbell: From The Evil Dead to Burn Notice and Beyond The Inner World of William F. Nolan The Mammoth Book of Body Horror Two of a Kind: Lee-Anne Raymond and Demetrios Vakras “Cthulhu, a Vampire, and a Zombie Walk into a Bar . . .”: Why These Themes, Why Now, and What’s the Matter with Hollyweird? John Shirley: The Tao of Identity Ray Harryhausen: A Note on the Passage of Giants Kneeling at the Dandelion Shrine: An Appreciation William F. Nolan and Ray Bradbury: Reflections Introduction: The Pope of Speculative Fiction Future Shock? (De)Parting Thoughts Appendices Index About the Author
