Leiji Matsumoto, creator of Captain Harlock, honored with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Paris (October 26, 2012) – Leiji Matsumoto, renowned creator of the celebrated manga Captain Harlock, has been honored with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres on October 23^rd, 2012 for the series’ wide influence on French popular culture. The ceremony took place at the French Embassy in Tokyo.

Established in 1957, the “Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” recognizes luminaries across literature, film and music. Significant title holders include T.S. Eliot, Bob Dylan, Clint Eastwood, Takeshi Kitano, Emir Kusturica and Patti Smith.

Born in 1938, Mr. Leiji Matsumoto drew his first manga at the age of five. He began his career in 1954 with his comic strip Hachimitsu no Boken which earned him the Best New Writer prize for a long narrative, in the first Manga Shônen awards ceremony. His first success came in 1971 with Otoko Oidon, followed by Galaxy Express 999 which was adapted for television and film. His works recount a journey of discovery – or how “a man can grow up” – with space and science-fiction themes as a backdrop. The following year, he won the Kodansha Cultural Price, in the child manga category. A man’s fight against misery is what Matsumoto seems to develop as his favorite topic. His career launched, he published several hit titles: “Gun Frontier” (1972), “Space Battleship Yamato” (1974), “The Cockpit” (1975), “Space Pirate Captain Harlock” (1977), “Galaxy Express 999” (1977), “Danguard A” (1977), “Queen Emeraldas” (1978).

 Reputed for his sci-fi tales, he similarly ventured into many other genres: comic strips about animals, war stories or shôjo manga, for young girls. Meanwhile his work on the French group Daft Punk’s music videos helped him to reach a worldwide audience. Leiji Matsumoto is also taking part in the upcoming Captain Harlock remake project “SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK” (to be released in 2013).

John Carter, Warlord of Mars : New Marvel adaptation

“John Carter, Warlord of Mars,” by Edgar Rice Burroughs is being adapted by Marvel Entertainment for a five-issue mini-series in September. Marvel will eventually release all ten novels in the graphic novel format. Marvel previously adapted the novel in a 10 issue mini-series published 1977-78.

Burrough’s original John Carter story, serialized as ’Under The Moons Of Mars” (1912) was rooted in a traditional Western theme.

“On March 3, 1866, Powell and I packed his provisions on two of our burros, and bidding me good-bye he mounted his horse, and started down the mountainside toward the valley, across which led the first stage of his journey.

The morning of Powell’s departure was, like nearly all Arizona mornings, clear and beautiful; I could see him and his little pack animals picking their way down the mountainside toward the valley, and all during the morning I would catch occasional glimpses of them as they topped a hog back or came out upon a level plateau. My last sight of Powell was about three in the afternoon as he entered the shadows of the range on the opposite side of the valley.

Some half hour later I happened to glance casually across the valley and was much surprised to note three little dots in about the same place I had last seen my friend and his two pack animals. I am not given to needless worrying, but the more I tried to convince myself that all was well with Powell, and that the dots I had seen on his trail were antelope or wild horses, the less I was able to assure myself.

Since we had entered the territory we had not seen a hostile Indian, and we had, therefore, become careless in the extreme, and were wont to ridicule the stories we had heard of the great numbers of these vicious marauders that were supposed to haunt the trails, taking their toll in lives and torture of every white party which fell into their merciless clutches.

Powell, I knew, was well armed and, further, an experienced Indian fighter; but I too had lived and fought for years among the Sioux in the North, and I knew that his chances were small against a party of cunning trailing Apaches. Finally I could endure the suspense no longer, and, arming myself with my two Colt revolvers and a carbine, I strapped two belts of cartridges about me and catching my saddle horse, started down the trail taken by Powell in the morning.”

Artwork copyright Marvel Entertainment/Associated Press 2011. All rights reserved.

Northwest of Earth : The Complete Northwest Smith by C.L. Moore

I highly recommend Northwest of Earth : The Complete Northwest Smith by C.L. Moore with an introduction by C.J. Cherryh. This 379 page softcover edition is published by Planet Stories, 2008 and includes all thirteen Northwest Smith stories (mainly from the 1930s) including the classic ‘Shambleau.” Space Western fiction at its pulp best with the “quick-drawing outlaw of the spaceways.”

Northwest Smith served as the inspiration for all space outlaws but C.L. Moore does more than simply transfer a Western style outlaw to space. Her stories are infused with a subtle eroticism and dream-like landscapes. Weird Tales stories with a touch of class and genuine imagination.

 

Avatar (2009): Space Western

The new science fiction film from James Cameron has been described as a Space Western by more than one commentator including actor Stephen Lang who plays Colonel Miles Quaritch in the movie.

The story of a native race facing extermination at the hands of colonists is a theme central to many Westerns.  The blue-skinned Na’vi are substitute Native Americans, inhabitants of the planet Pandora, who come under threat from the military (substitute the U.S. Cavalry) from Earth, intent on mining a precious gray rock with little regard for native people or environment.

Although promotion of the film has concentrated on the groundbreaking special effects the film works on many levels with references to the military invasion of foreign lands, environmental destruction and the Space Western theme.  But it is the new “performance capture” technology and 3-D effects that ultimately dominate the screen.  $200 million leaves you lots of room for creative freedom.

Serenity RPG Big Damn Heroes Handbook

Big Damn Heroes Handbook was published after the completion of my Weird Westerns Encyclopedia.  So it makes it’s appearance on my blog.  The handbook is a supplement to the Serenity Role Playing Game from Margaret Weis Productions.

Author Jennifer Brozek has kindly contributed some of the background to her work on the book.

“I did a lot of the writing involving the canon characters of the book.  How to die, how to integrate yourself into a party and several of the archetypes.  Also, every writer got to read everything else the other authors wrote and to comment on what was written.  Cam rode herd over us all and it worked well.”

Alana Joli Abbott Interview [Part 1] Serenity Adventures

Writer Alana Joli Abbott has kindly agreed to share her thoughts about her work in the Space and Science Fiction Western for my site.  This is the first part of her interview.

“I was really delighted to get the chance to work on Serenity Adventures. I had been a huge fan of Firefly before it even came out — I was part of a market survey that got shown the trailer for the show that spring and was ecstatic about the possibility of it hitting the small screen.  My roommate at the time and I devotedly watched the show every Friday night (until Fox started hiding it in the schedule and pre-empting it for basketball, and we couldn’t find it).  I got involved with the Browncoat community much later, but connected with other fans before Serenity came out in theaters, and had the opportunity (via my good friend and first-reader, Arielle Kesweder) to go to the premiere of the movie in Hollywood.  Which is a long way of saying I had a lot of love for the world.

At the premiere (and previously at GenCon), I’d had the chance to hang out with Jamie and Renae Chambers and Margaret Weis from Margaret Weis Productions, who had licensed the Serenity property for a role playing game.  I said that any time they needed writers, I would love to have the chance to play in that world. I got the invitation to submit a proposal for an adventure to be in Serenity Adventures, and they liked what I suggested, and we went from there into the process of adventure development and editing.  Margaret Weis is a masterful editor, and, having read her fiction as a teen, I was in a little bit of fan-girl shock to be working with her directly!

Overall, it was a great experience, and it was such a great opportunity to revisit Joss Whedon’s world and add to it in my own small way.”

Interview copyright © 2009 Paul Green.  All rights reserved.

Nathan Fillion homage to Firefly on Castle

Interesting to see Nathan Fillion appear in his Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds costume from Firefly on the Halloween themed episode of Castle last night.  For some reason when he actually appeared at the Halloween costume party he was dressed as Edgar Allan Poe.  But for Firefly fans “Vampire Weekend” is required viewing and provides for another enjoyable Castle episode with a slight Space Western twist.

Star Wars The Clone Wars : Rise of the Bounty Hunters

Season Two sees the Spaghetti Western influenced (Lee Van Cleef’s characters in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) Cad Bane take center stage. Coming this Fall to Cartoon Network. Too late for inclusion in my book but included here for you pleasure.

Cad Bane was first introduced in March 2009 in the webcomic Invitation Only followed by The Clone Wars season one finale “Hostage Crisis.”