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Post by dem bones on Nov 6, 2007 22:40:41 GMT
Only a Pan Horror fan would come up with a name like Pieces Of Mary, and Gareth James was certainly that. His Walsall-based 'zine ran for at least six issues from the mid to late 'eighties, a typical cut, paste and photocopy job and none the worse for that. The great thing about fan publications then (and message bores now) is that, just as you can never be too biased toward your heroes (in 'Mary's case, King, Herbert, Hutson, Van Thal, Masterton and the Damned), there is no such thing as hurling too much abuse at your detractors/ perceived enemies/ authors you've decided are "crap" (step forward Ramsey Campbell, 'backslapping' big-shots at FantasyCon who won't buy your 'zine, Marc Ronson and anyone who *choke* wrote a 'When animals attack' novel). I've only seen two issues, #5 (1988) and #6 (1989), so I missed out on the interviews with - can you believe this! - Ramsey Campbell, Shaun Hutson, James Herbert (twice!) and Graham Masterton (!). On the plus side, #5 has a three-page Ian Watson exclusive while F. Paul Wilson guest stars in #6. Of perhaps even greater interest, the latter also includes an item entitled Spine-Chilling Horror From Pan - 28 Years On which I've taken the outrageous liberty of reproducing below. Spine-Chilling Horror From Pan - 28 Years On by Gareth James The collection of Pan Horror stories is easily the most reliable and macabre of all the horror anthologies on offer at the moment. At present it has been bringing tales of terror to the bookshelves for just over 28 years, a time marked by the inclusion of the best short stories that the genre has created, from both old and new writing fields. From W.W Jacobs to Stephen King the collection has always managed to keep a razor edge on its tales, too often blunted by farcical stories in other collections.
Sadly in 1983 Herbert Van Thal, editor of the series, died, after 25 years working for the anthology. The success of the Pan Horror Collection will always be attributed to this man's talent to cream the best of the best horror tales, and his unrelenting taste for the spine-chiller.
In the belfry now is editor Clarence Paget, who has already compiled three recent collections for the series. Taking time off from the bile and blood he describes the ideals behind the anthology and a few words to the budding short story author.
"Are the stories especially commissioned for the series, or do you choose from submitted manuscripts?"
"Stories are not especially commissioned for the series, though I may call in stories by writers which I find particularly appealing. A great number of stories are sent in throughout the year, and I consider them all before I make my final selection. Many writers have been first published in the series, and others become consistent choices."
"Are the books still as popular now as they were when the collection began?".
"The earlier volumes in the series were very large sellers, but possibly this was because when the series started nearly thirty years ago there were notably fewer horror anthologies but yes, they still sell extremely well."
"What do you think makes the books so popular?"
"I hope that what makes them popular is that they provide a forum for lesser known as well as well established writers at a popular price and in a form which makes it easy for the reader to dip into the volume and find a satisfying, (and spine chilling) few moments. It is impossible to give the sales of the volumes, but there is every indication that after a slowing down in the popularity of such books the demand is now on the increase again, a trend which has been apparent for the last three years to four years. Sales are by no means comparable with novels by the best-selling authors of the day but then it is only major novelists who make 'gold disc' sales. Anthologies of short stories in any form have to be outstanding to hold their place in a very competitive market."
"The Future ?"
"I honestly would expect the current series to continue whilst there is a demand for a good varied read in this field. The success of novelists like Stephen King I think speaks for the hold on the imagination that the best writers exert."
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Post by justin on Nov 7, 2007 8:00:19 GMT
I fondly remember Pieces of Mary, in particular an issue which used the great Bill Phillips illo from Return of the Werewolf as its cover.
Back then the small press was enjoying a boom sparked off by Samhain and definitely inspired by the breathlessly enthusiastic, faux redneck style of journalism pioneered by Chas Balun in Deep Red. Each zine seemed interchangeable with the standard zombie films reviewed, a Dario Argento overview, and something on Troma. Pieces of Mary was a refreshing change and my only wish even at the time was that it could have been more in depth.
MY personal fave zines of the time were Sheer Filth and Ungawa! anyone remember them?
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Post by weirdmonger on Nov 7, 2007 8:47:40 GMT
MY personal fave zines of the time were Sheer Filth and Ungawa! anyone remember them? I had a piece in Sheer Filth (bragging!). I also remember 'Pieces of Mary'. (I thought I had a piece in there but my records seem to disprove that memory!) des
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Post by dem bones on Nov 7, 2007 11:36:28 GMT
Pieces of Mary was a refreshing change and my only wish even at the time was that it could have been more in depth. I know what you mean and the interview is a case in point, but Mary was an inspiration and I'm just glad to find anything on Clarence Paget at all. It's a very poignant piece when you think that, for all his optimism, within a few years both he and the series would be dead. MY personal fave zines of the time were Sheer Filth and Ungawa! anyone remember them? Found one of each yesterday when I dug out the Mary's! Maybe put some stuff up about them later in the week. I also remember 'Pieces of Mary'. (I thought I had a piece in there but my records seem to disprove that memory!) des Woah, Des. are you telling me there's a fanzine/ small press publication you've not been published in? Collectors item
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Post by justin on Nov 7, 2007 13:29:21 GMT
And I think I remember it Des...
A particularly fetid one-pager involving the narrator trying to recover something from a sewage tank in their back-garden?!? Possibly the only pieve of fiction ever published in Sheer Filth.
Unlike Filthy Creations, Sheer Filth did meet its description- a risque mix of exploitation movies, Cicciolina flicks, Robert Crumb appreciations and true crime book reviews.
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Post by weirdmonger on Nov 7, 2007 14:52:38 GMT
And I think I remember it Des... A particularly fetid one-pager involving the narrator trying to recover something from a sewage tank in their back-garden?!? Possibly the only pieve of fiction ever published in Sheer Filth. For PFJ LIII (rewritten)(This was its exact title in 'Sheer Filth' and below is not a rewrite but a copy of the original publication in 1989)
First Published 'Sheer Filth' 1989During those wonderful days when all lavatories were non-flushable & the stink cart came to collect all the doings once a week from the creaking oaken tank where it was all deposited pro tem... One morning I remember in particular, I had a bit of a problem. I suddenly realised that the garden wall that surrounded my house, at the level of a full grown giraffe, badly needed priming with broken bits of glass (in case of burglars). And during breakfast that morning I remembered that the day before I had inadvertently swallowed a piece of jagged glass (about as large as a half-a-crown) that had been hidden in with the frosted flakes. I had already evacuated my bowels twice (or was it three times?) since then so, as you can imagine, I had no option but to search the tank for it. There was a hatch at the top & one at the side towards the bottom for the lavatory man to shovel it all out into his shit pans. I thought the best way was to climb to the top & gently lower myself through the hatch up there, into the soft consistency. The tank had not been cleared for over a week (because the lavatory man had been on sick leave) so it was all pretty stiffened together, but I managed to wedge myself down until, with a sort of breast-stroke manoeuvre, I forced myself down, examining each turd as I went. Some were conjoined & some had taken a turn past the mush-by date, but nevertheless I was pleased to see that they were all mine or my wife's - pretty sure, anyway. But, then, imagine my shock to discover a whole clutch of them, like bad bananas - a dead giveaway that my mother-in-law had been using my lavatory! I had forbidden her to do so - I'd told her the canal at the end of the road was good enough for the likes of her. She'd promised to squat down there with the rest of the village. But here they were, foreign turds in my tank. I was quickly pacified though for, nearby, I discovered the shard I'd shat. I wormed back to the top & raised it into the air where the sunlight caught it a real treat. I felt good, as if the world was OK, after all. All God's creatures were in their rightful place. I got down from the top of the tank - a bit of a relief really, for the stench was becoming a trifle heady - & I quickly found a ladder, leant it against the garden wall at its most vunerable point, climbed it & placed the broken glass proudly at the top. The first of many, I hoped. Then, I happened to look towards the canal at the end of the road. I was irritated to see a hippopotamus wallowing in it, as if it didn't have a care in the world. I immediately got down, without preventing a slight abrasion on my left shin, ran to the house & telephoned the local zoo. They couldn't understand it, as none of their mother-in-laws were missing.
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Post by Calenture on Nov 7, 2007 16:02:50 GMT
Hah! You'd read Brian Aldiss's The Dark Light Years before you wrote that, didn't you, Des.
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Post by weirdmonger on Nov 7, 2007 17:10:56 GMT
Just getting used to the multiple flash-backstories / flash-forwards of the the third series of 'Lost', Rog! des
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Post by Calenture on Nov 7, 2007 17:33:05 GMT
Just getting used to the multiple flash-backstories / flash-forwards of the the third series of 'Lost', Rog! des *Thinks* He won't confuse me! In Aldiss's novel The Dark Light Years, he argued that civilisation has come to be defined by the distance Man places between himself and his own excretia. The story is about an alien spaceship which lands on Earth. When it's opened, it's found to be full of shit... and hippo-like creatures. Earthmen are baffled, wondering what happened to the crew. But of course the friendly hippo-creatures that they've stuck in pens - and begun vivisecting - are the crew.
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Post by weirdmonger on Nov 7, 2007 17:56:33 GMT
Blimey! That's all seems new to me. I've been a great fan of Aldiss over the years, but I don't think I've read that one. I thought you were referring to the time conundrum of a rewritten story not being rewritten! :-)
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Post by justin on Nov 7, 2007 18:40:12 GMT
I feel like that Marvel Comics character The Watcher, destined to observe but never permitted to act.
Cal- if you keep mentioning sci-fi stuff you know how angry that'll make the care-taker...
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