The Big Labor Day Weekend Sale!

(This should have been posted to the NUELOW Games blog, but I stuck it here by accident. Well, since most the books are in black and white, it is kinda-sorta fitting for here too. So, support my blog by buying my books from NUELOW Games. And happy Labor Day!)

All NUELOW Games fiction anthologies, comics/rpg hybrid books, core rulebooks, art packs, and selected other products are on sale this Labor Day Weekend for just $0.99! The special prices are good through September 1.

Treat yourself to some fun games and great games and reading material!

Click here to see the full listings!

The Milla Jovovich Quarterly

As summer is coming to an end, the winds will start to pick up. Ladies in dresses and men in kilts had better be careful.

Or not. The rest of us might enjoy the show....

Sorceress of Zoom... Re-Envisioned!

Back in 2009, Warren Ellis put out a call for artists to have fun with the "Sorceress of Zoom" by redesigning her look and generally "remake" her. Since NUELOW Games has just released a collection of the original "Sorceress of Zoom" stories, this seems like a good time to post my favorite of those "remakes."

First, there are two illos from Valerio "Pupato" Gomez, one draft and one final. The artist named the pictures "The Doom from  ZooM."

I liked Marty Nozz's take on the character, too.

These two drawings update the character while capturing her nature as seen in the original series. Others were a bit further afield, so they don't appeal to my fundamentally conservative nature. You can see the entire thread on Ellis' message board by clicking here.

You can see another modern take on the "Sorceress of Zoom" on the cover of NUELOW Games' first book in their three-volume series by clicking here. It's by Bradley K. McDevitt, and he remained faithful to the original character design as he was drawing an illo that he knew would be used with the original stories.

By-the-numbers mystery with a nice twist

The Lady Confesses (1945)
Starring: Mary Beth Hughes, Hugh Beaumont, Edmund MacDonald, Emmett Vogan, and Claudia Drake
Director: Sam Newfield
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

When her wedding plans are derailed by murder, Vicki (Hughes) sets out to discover why nightclub owner Lucky Brandon (MacDonald) lied to cast doubt on her fiance's (Beaumont) otherwise unshakable alibi.

"The Lady Confesses" is a standard murder mystery that is elevated by a nice third-act twist. As is the case with many of these B-movies, the short running time leaves viewers wanting for a little more background on some of the characters. It would have been nice to know why the eventual murder victim disappeared for seven years, and it would have helped the story if we'd been given more information about Lucky's relationship to Vicki's fiance, Larry. However, I feel inclined to forgive the filmmakers, because there's not a wasted moment anywhere in the film where they might have squeezed such exposition in -- even the obligatory musical number at the night club is truncated when compared to what is typical in a movie like this.

The cast is interesting in this film, especially if you're a big fan of these kinds of movies. Mary Beth Hughes plays a role very different from the bad girl ones she's usually cast in. Hugh Beaumont also gets to play a role that's a little meatier than what we usually expect from him. He doesn't quite rise to the challenge, but nice lighting and some decent dialogue helps prop up his performance.

All in all, this is not a bad little movie.

The arrival of Zoom!

I am co-editing and writing material for a new three-volume series from NUELOW Games featuring the classic Golden Age magical femme fatale -- the Sorceress of Zoom!

The Sorceress of Zoom is the most powerful magic-user on her home world. She rules the flying city of Zoom, and she travels through space and time seeking to take whatever, and whomever, her heart desires. For the people of her world, few things are more terrifying than the sight of Zoom appearing in the sky, because the Sorceress always gets what she wants and others pay the price.

Click here to see previews of The Sorceress of Zoom, or to get your own copy. As a further preview, here are some splash pages from the book. It contains five "Sorceress of Zoom" stories and a new approach to incorporating magic into the OGL Modern d20 System roleplaying game.

When journalists were heroes

Back when Americans trusted journalists, and reporters were more interested in keeping the public informed than advancing their personal political agendas, they were pop-culture heroes. During the 1930s and 1940s, crusading reporters and news photographers were the subjects of movies and numerous comic book series.

Newshounds is a new series from NUELOW Games that presents some of those classic stories from the Golden Age of Comics when journalists were more interested in speaking truth to power and uncovering dirty corporate dealings than being part of the elite and reaping the benefits.

Click here to see previews and to get your own copy of Newshounds #1, which collects classics by Matt Baker, Bob Oksner, and Harvey Kurtzman. Like all NUELOW Games comics projects, this issue contains roleplaying game content. This one presents rules for playing adventuresome reporters using Lester Smith's d6xd6 CORE RPG system.

As a further preview, here are a few sample pages from the book.

Art by Matt Baker

Art by Bob Oksner

Art by Harvey Kurtzman

Art by Matt Baker

August 16th is Julie Newmar's birthday!

According to Freedonian tradition, pants are optional on your birthday. Julie Newmar is reportedly a strong believer in respecting  other cultures.

Shades of Gray wishes Ms. Newmar a happy 81st birthday!

Lauren Bacall has died at 89

The great Lauren Bacall passed away Tuesday, 8/12/2014. Here's a photo gallery in her memory.

Ann Miller never figured out chairs...

Although she tried, from she was a young girl, through her adult years, and into old age, Ann Miller never did master the chair.

Ann Miller is believed to have suffered from undiagnosed Cathedra-Caudexia. I am declaring today Cathedra-Caudexia Day, hoping to raise awareness of this rare condition. It is time to stand up for those who don't know how to sit down.

You can show your support by purchasing lots and lots of NUELOW Games products. You can see the full listing here.