Orlando Slideshow Geekiness

Here's a slide show video I made with photos I took while on vacation in Orlando last week. Enjoy!

Issue Number 10 Is Here!

Hey folks,

I just published issue 10 of If - E - Zine(tm). It's filled with FREE science fiction and fantasy stories. Here's just a sampling:

In "From Here to the Stars!" we meet Tad Manly, a luchador catapulted into worlds beyond known space!

"Rescuing the Dead" sees the return of Sgt. Drake, an ultra-futuristic space marine in hot pursuit of psychics.

"Zalam in the Lost City of Adul-Ra" is a sword & sorcery tale with a giant alien protagonist in a world of might, magic and mechano-men!

Finally, in "Captain Destiny & the Creature from Atrius-99" we read of the exploits of Cpt. Destiny... the first human to discover a planet populated entirely by kaiju!

Feel free to check it out at:

http://www.thelordshen.com/

Bonus Post! Giant Robo

This is TOEI's orignal tokusatsu TV series for kids called Giant Robo. Here in the United States it was dubbed Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot.



SEE ALSO:

GIGANTOR

KAIJU FAN ONLINE

Ghosts, Zombies, Vikings, Bradbury, Kaiju... It's Halloween!

Halloween will soon be here. Does anyone have any idea what they're dressing up as? If you want to share, please do so in the comments! I'll be posting pics of me and my Halloween sometime soon after the holiday.

Please remember to stop by www.TheLordShen.com to check out If - E - Zine(tm): The Free Online Magazine of Thrilling Speculative Fiction! Issue Number 9 was published earlier this month and is this year's Special Halloween Edition. Within it's printable and completely FREE pages are three short stories and a kaiju rpg fighting game called Kaiju Katana: Monster Maker(tm).

Please check it out if you can. It's most appreciated.

And remember, this Friday I will be posting Part 2 of "Hunter of the Dead" -- a short story from the pages of If - E - Zine(tm) about Vikings in a zombie-filled apocalyptic world!

Now, enjoy the opening sequence of Ray Bradbury's animated Halloween classic: The Halloween Tree!



ADDITIONAL NOTES AND LINKS:

On a side-note, I recently finished the major work on my first novel. It's a science fiction piece set in the future where technology is virtually outlawed. I suppose I'm bragging a bit here, but I also know some of you good people may actually be interested by this little tid-bit. I'll be shipping it off to publishers and trying to get it sold soon.

Also please be sure to check out If - E - Zine's MySpace if you should happen to have a MySpace account yourself.

Kaiju Katana: Monster Maker(tm)

Just a reminder that Issue Number 9 of If - E - Zine(tm) is NOW AVAILABLE. Besides three FREE science fiction- and Halloween-themed short stories, it also offers Kaiju Katana: Monster Maker(tm) - a set of rules you can use to make giant monsters like Godzilla and battle them with your friends!

Check it out, won't you? Enjoy!


And remember: It takes a man to be a father!

If - E - Zine(tm) Issue Number 9 is HERE and it's FREE!!!

Hey Folks!

These are exciting times! Not only is Issue Number 9 of If - E - Zine(tm) now available as of today, but the site has a whole new look!

I'm especially excited because this issue is not only Issue 9 and Special Halloween Edition 5 (If - E - Zine(tm) is now four years old and going strong!) but it's also the First Ever Monster Issue!

What makes this the First Ever Monster Issue?

Firstly, there’s quite a monstrous amount of material for you to peruse! There's three short stories:

In “A Bit Of Chocolate” we see three space-faring scientists attempt to discover the roots of the mysterious ‘Space Fever’.

In “A Touch of Rust” a grandfather’s desperation leads him to extreme measures to convince his young grandson that there are still parts of the world where trees exist.

And in “Hunter of the Dead” we're introduced to the character Urdgar the Hunter, a Viking that finds himself thrust into a zombie-filled apocalypse! Yep, Vikings vs. Zombies!

As if that weren’t enough, Issue Number 9 of If - E - Zine(tm) is also loaded with Kaiju Katana: Monster Maker(tm)! This is a set of rules for you and your friends to make giant-sized monsters (like Godzilla, King Kong, the Zords and Ultraman) and pit them in mortal combat with one another!

Now the second reason I call this the First Ever Monster Issue is that I’ve decided to borrow an idea from the original Outer Limits television show. In their initial season the producers of the show required at least one monster per episode. After the first season they dropped this requirement and the shows' ratings diminished horribly.

With Issue Number 9 of If - E - Zine(tm) I promise, dear readers, to provide at least one story per issue (starting with this issue) that includes the appearance of at least one monster!

I also want to take a quick moment and thank everyone who has supported me and my fiction and If - E - Zine(tm) over the last four years. I also want to welcome all the new readers from MySpace. I appreciate all the support I receive.

Also, dear readers, please note that the If - E - Zine(tm) MySpace profile has some new tunes for you to listen to while at work, at home or wherever you can access the internet! It's all science fiction- and Halloween-themed right now. Help me celebrate the Halloween Season and enjoy listening!

Enough talk! Let's get to that FREE fiction!

With much thanks,

~ charles

KAIJU! KAIJU! And more KAIJU!

While doing some research on Wikipedia I came across a list called "List of unproduced Toho kaiju". For those not in the know, Toho is most famous for creating the character Godzilla. Kaiju is a general term for any giant-sized monster.

Here today I present to you the list of unproduced Toho kaiju (the pictures provided are a mix of concept art and fanart):


Film Kaiju

Bagan

Bagan, as originally slated to appear in Godzilla vs. Bagan.
Bagan is a monster that appeared in a Godzilla video game called, Super Godzilla. He was planned to battle against Godzilla in the original script for The Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Bagan and he was also planned to fight Mothra in Mothra vs. Bagan, but he somehow did not have the chances to fight the two kaiju. There is a kaiju that has a similar appearance to Bagan named Monster X who appeared in Godzilla: Final Wars.

Ghost Godzilla

Ghost Godzilla was the spirit of the Godzilla killed by the Oxygen Destroyer. He was planned for a film called "Godzilla vs. Ghost Godzilla" (also referred to as "Godzilla vs. Godzilla") that was dropped in favor of "Godzilla vs. Destroyah". In the film he would have rematerialized and fought Godzilla at several points across Japan during the film. The outcome allegedly had Ghost Godzilla kill Godzilla and then fade away but the full details are unknown. This idea came about as a result of Toho wanting Godzilla to be the one to kill himself.

Gigamoth

Gigamoth was originally meant to be a pollution spawned dark twin of Mothra, possessing similar powers to Hedorah. He was to appear in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), but was later replaced with Battra.

Deutalios

Deutalios is a rat-like monster that was originally going to be in Godzilla vs Biollante, but was scrapped in favor of Super-X2 and Biollante's first form.

Erabus

Erabus is a kaiju that was expected to appear in the planned Godzilla movie, Godzilla vs. Redmoon, but also got scrapped. She was to be the mate of Redmoon and the mother of Hafun. The Erabus suit is a modified version of Daigoro's Mother's (a Toho monster) suit.

Hafun
[NOTE FROM CHARLES: Sorry, no good pics were available at time of posting]
Hafun is a kaiju that was also expected to be in Godzilla vs. Redmoon, but he became a failed creation. He was to be the son of Redmoon and Erabus. The Hafun suit would have been a modified version of Daigoro's suit.

Hitodah

Hitodah is a kaiju that was supposed to appear in a planned sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah, but got scrapped. Hitodah's appearance is supposedly a mutated starfish.


Majin Tuol

Majin Tuol is a sword wielding god statue that became a failed creation. He was expected to appear in a lost project, Godzilla vs. the Space Monsters: Earth Defense Directive.

Mogu

Mogu is a red dragon-like kaiju that was supposed to be in the planned The Return of King Ghidorah, however she did not make it.

Nessie

A 1978 project was to be made about the Loch Ness Monster.

Redmoon
[NOTE: No picture actually exists]
Redmoon was a gargoyle/dinosaur like creature that appeared on the moon (hence his name) in the canceled movie Godzilla vs Redmoon, he was to be the mate of Erabus and father of Hafun. His suit was a modified version of Goliath's suit.

Satan
[NOTE: No picture exists]
Godzilla was supposed to fight "Satan" in Godzilla vs. The Devil, but did not make it, possibly from use of religious characters. It was given the go ahead after the completion of Terror of Mechagodzilla. Toho's rendition of "Satan" would've been in a form of a demonic dinosaur, shark, and lion.

Titans
[NOTE: No pictures exist]
The Titans are two separate prehistoric kaiju that were supposed to form Titanosaurus in Terror of Mechagodzilla, but they failed to appear in the movie.

Video Game Kaiju

Firelion

Firelion was a kaiju that was expected to be a playable character in Godzilla: Unleashed, but was out-voted by Obsidius along with two other kaiju made just for Unleashed. The four monsters were contestants on an IGN poll to see who would be a new playable character in the game, which ended April 20th, 2007.

The Visitor

The Visitor was another kaiju created specifically for Godzilla: Unleashed. The Visitor was controlled by the Vortakk aliens. He was out-voted by Obsidius on the IGN poll.

Lightning Bug

Lightning Bug was the final monster in the voting roster at IGN, created for Godzilla: Unleashed. He was, however, out-voted by Obsidius.

SOURCES:
"List of unproduced Toho kaiju" article
Wikipedia
Toho Kingdom (fan-site in English)
Toho (official Japanese site)
Toho article on Wikipedia
IGN Readers: Roster Vote article on IGN


Also, a quick note: Sorry I've not really kicked off any serials yet on this blog. I am genuinely working hard on this year's Halloween issue of If - E - Zine(tm) and the site re-design. I'll start posting serials here as soon as I am able.

Giving Shout-Outs

Hey folks,

Serials will be coming soon, or so I hope. I've been very busy editing stories and working on the website. The serials are just sitting on the back burner for now. They're on their way.


For today's weekly post I bring to you some shout-outs and links to favorite sites and people, all with an old skool sci-fi flair. Let me know what you think and be sure to check them out. Enjoy.









SUPER ATOMIC TV





CIVIL DEFENSE MUSEUM





DRIVE-IN THEATERS





THE GHASTLY ONES

A Special Announcement About the Future

Hey folks,

I hope this post finds all of you well. I'm a bit busy and wanted to share with everyone my plans for the future.

As you may or may not know I am the founder and proprietor of Black Swans with Atom Bombs Publishing, hereafter referred to as BSWAB. In January I published my first paper zine, called "Bleeding from the Nose, Twisting in the Wind", under the BSWAB label. In the near future I will be publishing more paper zines.


Among my many constant concerns is streamlining the presentation of my work for ease of consumption and enjoyment for my audience. As a result, virtually everything I do henceforth shall be under the BSWAB label.

Starting in August I will be revamping a few things in the hope of streamlining my material and presentation.

In August I will be re-launching TheLordShen.com (my site) with a whole new design and some added content. I hope you all will return in the future to check it out.

Also in August I will be re-launching this blog with a new design. It will still be my official blog, but with more focus.

"Sketches of Cool" will become "Atomic Swan Serials". Seeing the amount of response I received via email and comments (which, again, I thank all of you for) to the fairy tale "The Children of Gods" I have decided that the major purpose of this blog should be to present serialized stories to my loyal fans and friends. I still may throw in a rant or a poem or a news piece here and there, but this blog's focus will be serialized tales.

Nothing is currently set in stone as to what my first offering of a serialized tale will be, but the most immediate idea I have includes multiple kaiju (giant monsters like Godzilla).


In September I will be publishing the first Atomic Swan paper zine under the BSWAB label. The first issue will contain some of my journal entries, fiction and poetry all concerning my battles with Hepatitis C.


Then in October I will be presenting my annual Halloween edition of my e-zine If - E - Zine(tm): The Free Online Magazine of Thrilling Speculative Fiction! This will be the first ever MONSTER ISSUE, meaning that not only will there be about twice as many stories (I usually average 2 or 3 stories per e-zine, so this MONSTER ISSUE will have 4 or 5 stories) but there will also be at least one tale with a monster as its main focus. In fact, I think I may steal the idea of "one monster per episode" from the original Outer Limits television series and require the e-zine to feature not only some elements of science fiction, but at least one story with a monster. What do you think? Let me know!

The e-zine will also be published for the first time under the BSWAB label this October.

My plate is full, to say the least. Wish me luck and please check back for updates and leave comments should the mood strike you. Also please be sure to check out the e-zine's MySpace profile and request an add if you have a profile, too!


Thanks again to everyone for the loyal readership and let's hope things only get more exciting from here on in.


~ charles