Platypus of Truth

I spent some time studying at Oxford in my undergraduate days.  Much of that season was passed in the freezing upper corners of the Radcliffe Camera delving into the byzantine world of Elizabethan political iconography.  The paper I produced on it won a small prize and I still have the certificate hanging up in my office. After returning to this side of the pond, I went out a rented "Elizabeth" directed by Shekhar Kapur and staring Cate Blanchett in the leading role as the (not so) Virgin Queen.  The chief impression I walked away with at the time was that it was a dark, brooding, and incredibly cynical piece.  It was also interesting to see how the movie wove its way through the varying and contradictory world of Elizabethan scholarship.  Nothing is deferred or left ambiguous; at each critical juncture, the movie takes a definite stand. Fast forward to the present.  My wife and I are working our way through popular depictions of English royalty in film.  Nine years lat

I recently had the pleasure of reading "Scrooge and Santa," a graphic novel written by Matthew Wilson and illustrated by Josh Kenfield.  The story of how a descendant of Ebenezer Scrooge kidnaps Santa is about as quirky as it can get and the perfect concept for artist Josh Kenfield to run wild with.  I have known Josh since college, and it is truly a treat to see him handle a story that is so congenial to his strange and vivid imagination.  The illustrations seem to inhabit a bizarre territory somewhere between Tolkien's "Father Christmas Letters" and Jim Henson's Muppets.  The plot also does not disapoint with an ending that was refreshingly honest and bucked the normal holiday story cliches.  If you know Kenfield's work, or are just looking for something fresh and different, you need to pick up a copy of "Scrooge and Santa".

Now that Barnes and Noble is publishing all of the late, great H.P.'s works in a cheep and handy one-volume edition, I've been scanning back and forth through the cannon.  Doing so has produced a few new gems. The Dunwhich Horror: The good guys win and no one goes insane (what the shoggoth!?!).  Also, this is the first time I tried reading Lovecraft through S.T. Joshi's suggested lens: science fiction.  Doing so lends a whole different texture to the work.  Worried that turning horror into sci fi will demystify and ruin it? -just think "Alien." The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath: H.P.L. channels Lord Dunsany for an entirlie differente flavour of ficktion.  This is also another chance to see Lovecraft the New England patriot (1st draft pick) hard at work.  Check also to see if anyone goes insane or gets eaten first. Lovecraft, even at his best, is a bit goobish and easy to parody.  Beginning to read a little more extensively through his work, however, has be