Fantasy fans likely know Terri Windling primarily as an anthologist, editor of collections of modern fairy tales with co-editor Ellen Datlow including Black Thorn, White Rose, The Green Man,A Wolf at the Door, and others. Now Windling’s own original novel, The Wood Wife (1996) is getting a new release from Tor Books as part of its “Tor Essentials” library of books.
Readers (and writers) who came of age in the 1990s will find much here that feels like coming home to a familiar landscape. Windling’s tale of magic in the American desert, and the humans seduced by it, is at once a murder mystery, a story about art and artists, and a haunting fairy tale. The Wood Wife is a classic example of American fantasy at its finest.
When a poet she’s never met dies and leaves writer Maggie Black his remote home in Arizona, Maggie seizes the chance to leave her nomadic life behind and settle in the stark and beautiful Sonoran Desert near Tucson. Hoping to write a biography of Davis Cooper, the poet she wrote her college thesis on, Maggie eagerly digs into his papers, not realizing she’s opening the door to more than just his past. Strange things begin to happen: objects and people go missing, she has mysterious encounters with even more mysterious strangers, and she begins experiencing rumbles of unearthly dangers. As Maggie grows to understand the desert, she also uncovers its underlying magic, learning it’s as full of folklore, fairy life, and magic as anywhere in Western literature.
We kicked off borg.com as a way to catch up on entertainment news, books and movies back on June 10, 2011. We’ve posted what’s new each day to provide “your daily science fiction, fantasy, and entertainment fix” for two years now and continue to forge ahead as we tick past our 800,000th view by readers today.
We want to say thanks to you for reading. It’s a lot of fun (and hard work) keeping up on all the great genre entertainment out there, be it on TV, in theaters, in books, or comics. We also want to thank all the comic book publishers out there that provide us with preview review copies, as well as book publishers and TV and movie studios and collectible companies that allow us to give you first available previews and reviews. We cover only what we’re interested in and excited about–we figure that if we like it, so might you.
Some of the most fun we’ve had is meeting new people as we keep up on the coolest happenings in the genre realm, some at conventions, some are friends we are grateful to chat with each week of the year. And lucky for us, borg.com has allowed us to meet some of our own favorite celebrities over the past two years, sci-fi stars like Mark Hamill, Joss Whedon, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Anthony Stewart Head, Scott Bakula, Adam Baldwin, Lindsay Wagner, Saul Rubinek, Zachary Levi, Eddie McClintock, Wil Wheaton, and Mark Sheppard. Sci-fi and fantasy writers like Peter S. Beagle, Connie Willis, James Blaylock, and Sharon Shinn. And comic book creators like Frank Cho, Jim Lee, Sergio Aragones, Neal Adams, and Howard Chaykin, and scores of other great comics creators like Mike Mayhew, Mike Norton, Michael Golden and Mikel Janin (and several not named Mike).
Litographs is a company with a line of prints featuring the entire text of a book using the words themselves to form a picture. They sell these as prints/posters and on t-shirts. Want to own a beautiful picture of Alice falling down the rabbit hole that is also, when you look close, the entire text of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland? Want to walk down the street actually wearing a favorite book?
Peter S. Beagle, author of the fantasy classic The Last Unicorn (reviewed here at borg.com earlier in graphic novel form), A Fine and Private Place (we reviewed the comic book adaptation here, too) and many other great works announced today a limited discount Litograph design for The Last Unicorn. And until midnight tonight, you can get a $10 discount on your order by entering the code FORTUNA during the checkout process.
Once upon a time and long before Charles Perrault wrote down his version of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in the 17th century someone else created and shared through the oral tradition the fairy tales we know today. Before Jack and the Beanstalk and Snow White were collected as stories and written down and shared by familiar names like Grimm someone first thought of and created these elemental and immortal characters. But we will never know the names or these writers, shake their hands, ask them questions and know much about them at all. Creators of more modern classic tales are long gone as well, like Tolkien, Carroll, White and Lewis, and luckily a lot has been shared about them and their works. We know these creators of immortal works–stories that stick in your memory. But is The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as elemental to our storytelling tradition as Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty? Maybe. If they don’t quite fit in that category they are certainly on the next shelf over.
When a publisher adapts a work of fiction into comic book or graphic novel form, there should be a reason for it. How can a visual representation of this work add something to the story for a reader, either new to the story or not? And timing is relevant. Why release this adaptation now? Easy answers that are valid are simply because the work is a classic, because the work is by a noted writer, or because the subject matter is one that resonates with current audiences.
I don’t have an answer as to why now is a good time for an adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s A Fine and Private Place into comic book form. But many of the easy answers fit. Beagle is one of the most beloved authors of all time, and perhaps the most beloved author of classic fantasy of the level of Tolkien and Carroll and White and Lewis still living and still writing. Issue #1 of IDW Publishing’s adaptation of Beagle’s first novel, A Fine and Private Place, is probably a long time coming. Published in 1960, eight years before his celebrated The Last Unicorn, A Fine and Private Place is our first window into the thoughtful and introverted characters fans love Beagle for.
As everyone knows, it’s all too likely for a film adaptation of a beloved novel to, well, ruin it. (Witness the travesty of The Seeker, an utterly butchered translation of Susan Cooper’s breathtakingly beautiful fantasy series, The Dark is Rising.) And yet, some of our most brilliant and wonderful movies had their start as novels–Jaws, Gone With the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath, Babe. When they get it right, they get it really right, so it’s worth suggesting (albeit a bit tentatively) a few literary gems that deserve their day on the screen.
1. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
I almost don’t have to say anything about Orson Scott Card’s brilliant science fiction classic–fans have been clamoring for an Ender’s Game movie since its release in 1984, and the property has come close several times. One of the early stumbling blocks (filming those dynamic zero-gravity training sequences) will no longer pose a problem, thanks to advances in special effects. But drafting a script with all the excitement and nuance of Card’s novel intact remains a challenge, as does casting the novel’s impressive ensemble of very young characters. Hopefully someone will eventually be up for those challenges, and, like Peter Jackson with The Lord of the Rings, be able to do this literary masterpiece justice.
2. Lincoln’s Dreams, by Connie Willis
Seldom do I read a book and think immediately, “This should be a movie.” But that is exactly what I thought upon first reading Connie Willis’s stunning debut novel, and what I think every read thereafter. It’s short, which means it can be adpated wholesale without losing anything in the compression of film. It’s highly visual, with evocative scene-setting around Washington, DC and various Civil War battlefield sites, as well as graphic Civil War dream sequences. And the touching mystery and love story of the young historical researcher and the girl haunted by dreams of the past would be a perfect vehicle for young actors. When I first read this, I thought Tom Everett Scott would be ideal in the lead, but the intervening decades have made that less likely. Perhaps Jake M. Johnson from New Girl? Or the always-earnest Jake Gyllenhaall?
3. Les Miserables (the musical)
Victor Hugo’s classic tale of doomed revolutionaries, redemption, and obsession has been riveting readers since 1862, and has been adapted for the screen and stage countless times. But it’s safe to say that Claude-Michel Schonberg’s 1980 musical adaptation has been one of the most enduring, spawning legions of devoted fans all over the world. Alas, it missed the heyday of stage-to-screen adaptations of a generation before–but with the success of movies like Phantom of the Opera and Rent, not to mention current TV fads like Glee and Smash, perhaps it’s time to revisit this one. NEWSFLASH!!! According to Wikipedia, this one is on its way at last! Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway, no less! We’ll bring you news as we learn more.
4. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
Tamsin is my favorite novel in the world, which means that it’s perfect just the way it is, and the risk for mucking it up is great–but the potential for an absolutely brilliant screen adaptation here is huge, too. Beagle himself is an experienced screenwriter, and this novel deserves a bigger following. It’s the story of an American teen who moves to the Dorset countryside and runs headlong into the neighborhood’s older, Otherworldly residents–from the local pooka, to the Wild Hunt, to a company of ghosts at once more lovable and more chilling than she (or the reader) is prepared for. borg.com has actually heard a rumor that a British TV network is considering adapting the world of Tamsin into a long-running series, so we’ll be watching to see if–and how–that plays out.
5. Muppet _________
A Muppet Christmas Carol being one of the best book-to-screen adaptations ever made, and Muppet Treasure Island being great fun, too, it’s time the wacky gang gets back into serious literature–particularly now that the Muppets are a hot box office property again. Screenwriters can take inspiration from a fun series of comics from Boom! Studios, including titles such as Muppet Sherlock Holmes (with Gonzo in the title role), Muppet Peter Pan, and Muppet Robin Hood (Kermit); but allow me to suggest a few other works that may have good Muppet mileage. How about Muppet Jane Eyre? (Admittedly, their lack of a true ingenue might be a handicap here.) Of Muppets and Men? The Maltese Muppet? Wait–I’ve got it: Muppet Three Musketeers.
The first full day of the 42nd annual Comic-Con got off to a great start Thursday at the San Diego Convention Center with the first of tens of thousands of fanboys and fangirls and writers, artists, actors and everyone and anyone from the entertainment industry packing the venue. Lots of oversized swagbags and swag to carry in them and big displays from major creative properties. Several major events are celebrated this year, including the 35th anniversary of Star Wars throughout the convention.
But today Comic-Con really emphasized the COMIC in Comic-Con. Artists and writers packed both Artists Alley and the main aisles. Echo and Strangers in Paradise creator Terry Moore was signing at his booth (his 15th year at the Con):
Fan favorite David Petersen (Mouse Guard) revealed an exclusive to borg.com tonight: Years in the making, Friday will be the debut at Comic-Con of his boxed set Mouse Guard role playing game with a limited quantity available at Comic-Con. Here he is signing at his booth:
Legendary fantasy author Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn, Tamsin) shared stories about his writing and inspired others at his booth in Artists Alley. Freddie Williams II (Captain Atom, Robin) and his wife Kiki were jam-packed up until closing with fans at Freddie’s booth.
But not all the fun was to be had on the convention floor. Another popular franchise celebrates a benchmark this year. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books hosted an invitation-only bash tonight at the Hilton Bayfront to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Jeff Smith’s comic book franchise Bone. Guest of honor Smith was on hand, as well as a who’s who of the comic book and sci-fi/fantasy genres. Terry Moore and his wife Joann, were in attendance, as was David Petersen and his wife. Legendary artist Sergio Aragones celebrated as well, along with Judd Winick (Green Arrow writer, among other noted DC work) and Patrick Scullin (Super Siblings). Attendees included Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine artists and authors Elizabeth C. Bunce (Liar’s Moon, StarCrossed, A Curse Dark as Gold), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet), Ted Naifeh (The Good Neighbors), Jake Parker (Missile Mouse), Dan Santat (Sidekicks), Raina Telgemeier (Smile), and Doug TenNapel (BadIsland).
Here, the crowd toasts Jeff Smith (far left). Next to Jeff is Joann and Terry Moore, far left is Judd Winick next to Jeff’s wife and business partner Vijaya.
Here Elizabeth C. Bunce, Lisa Yee (Millicent Min), and Sheila Marie Everett, Scholastic publicist, celebrate at the party for Jeff Smith.
No industry has a more welcoming group of people than the Comic-Con crowd. Writers and artists shared stories into the night and everyone had a great time.
And Comic-Con wouldn’t be Comic-Con without some great costumes, including this group of Slave Leias at the Lucasfilm booth:
More to come tomorrow!
And we’ll post more updates throughout Comic-Con and over the coming weeks.
