Two Branches, One Fruit: The Tree of Heroic Fantasy

G. W. Thomas has an interesting post about Sword and Sorcery over at his Genre Writer blog:

Joseph McCullough did a pretty good job of looking at the mark between S&S and other forms of Fantasy in his article at Sword&Sorcery.org.The more I research, comics especially, the muddier the waters get. I've poked fun at this before but the question still tortures me. Is a definition, a line, really possible? Is it a spectrum? Is it even important to mark off one sub-genre from another?

You can read the rest of it here. While you're there, check the place out. There's lots of interesting facts and opinions to savour. You'll be glad you did.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

CALVIN'S CANADIAN CAVE OF COOL

My compatriot, fellow Canadian, Calvin from the Cave of Cool, curates a curious collection of cultural oddities, incisive insights, beautiful images and an eclectic taste in music as well as occasionally and coquettishly displaying pictures of decidedly delicious culinary delights.

Lord Admiral Fluffy, with his indentured human, Cal in the background.

Calvin`s Cave is more than cool, it is a creative combustion of cracking good posts, culled from the chaos that is our online world, kicking out in every direction and yet retaining a cohesiveness that culminates in a whole experience that encapsulates all that can be called "cool".


Do your brains a favour and click here to visit Cal's colossal Canadian Cave of Cool.


And while you are there hit the follow button and keep the good times rolling! (Seriously -- the guy craves followers. He's obsessed with his numbers.) 


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

JOHN CARTER

You know the more I see of this movie the more I feel this strange churning in my guts. I grew up with Edgar Rice Burroughs in my head. Burroughs' Mars was a place of wonder and danger and part of me is really glad that it is getting a big-screen treatment now when the technology is ready for it.


On the other hand it's like my worst nightmare that it's being done by Disney. Every time I see new stills it just confirms the worst and this new batch is no exception.

The design of the CGI creatures, especially the tharks, is just so cartoony, so... frickin'... Disney! And what's with all those clothes that Dejah Thoris is wearing?


I'm sorry. You can pump all the money you want into this thing but this will always be Barsoom to me:

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

GANTLET BROTHERS GREATEST HITS

Here's a cover I did for Pulpwork Press.

Pulpwork Press has just released Joel Jenkins' book THE GANTLET BROTHERS GREATEST HITS. Not a sequel, per se, but featuring the same characters from his previous book THE NUCLEAR SUITCASE.


Who are the Gantlet Brothers? They are East German brothers who escaped from behind the Iron Curtain and have formed a heavy metal band. They also take on spy missions for the government on the side. Think a James Bond adventure but instead of the British Super Spy it stars Motorhead.


Here's what the book's back cover says:

From the broken and dusty terrain of Egypt's Qattara Depression to the grimy underbelly of New York City, erstwhile rock musicians and guns for hire, the Gantlet Brothers, use charm, blades, bullets, and fists to plow a path through amorous starlets with ill intentions, bounty hunters, a deranged serial killer and terrorists hell-bent on bringing down nuclear annihilation.

These are the Gantlet Brothers' greatest hits collected for the first time and including two never before published stories.

They're fun adventures and a great read. Go here and you can pick up a copy at 30% off the cover price.
___________________________________________________________________________________
I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

MAYBE I NEED AN ASSISTANT...

"Experimenting" Oil by Ron Swanson

...someone to carry my brushes and canvasses? No?


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

This one kind of caught me off-guard. It looks really cool and one of the production designers was artist Justin Sweet, who is one of my favourites. That having been said, the concept is kind of goofy. What if the Evil Queen hired Thor to kill Snow White and instead he trains her to become a kick-ass warrior?


Oooookay.


And another thing: In what universe is Kristin Stewart fairer than Charlize Theron? Not mine, that's for sure.


I guess that's where that "willing suspension of disbelief" comes in.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

THE BIG RED ONE

It's Remembrance Day here in Canada, Veteran's Day in the U.S. and Armistice day in the U.K. I have nothing to say on the subject that hasn't been said by others and in a much more eloquent way then of which I am capable.


I do, however, have a movie recommendation. If you have the urge to watch a war movie on this day (some do. Go figure) try seeking out Samuel Fuller's THE BIG RED ONE. It stars Lee Marvin and a young Mark Hamill as World War II soldiers in the 1st Infantry Division. The title refers to the red patch that the division`s soldiers wear on their uniforms.


The film is exciting, sometimes funny and at times touching. The film doesn`t preach or hit you over the head with a MESSAGE, but it does say a lot about war and its dehumanizing nature. Ultimately, however, it is about the triumph of humanity despite war.


You can find the film on DVD or likely online somewhere. Here is the trailer:

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SPACEGIRL

I Just can't seem to focus on anything since November started. The time change hasn't helped. This is a work in progress, obviously. I don't know if this will become a finished painting or not. Don't even know why I started it considering that I still have other commissions to do that I haven't even started.


Gotta get with it.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

BARBARIAN

Because when you've just finished a big project and you don't know what else to do, you draw a barbarian.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio