Author Archives: Jon Mollison

About Jon Mollison

Jon Mollison was weaned at the literary knee of Tolkein, Howard, Moore, and Burroughs. He spent decades wandering in the wilderness of modern genre fiction, wondering when the magic and wonder went out of the world of dragons and space ships. In his darkest hour, he encountered a wise man who handed him the open secrets to crafting works that emulate the stories of the great authors who built the genre. They are easily summarized in but two words: Regress Harder. Now one of the twelve champions of the Pulp Revolution, his self-published works represent a more direct lineage to the tales of action, mystery, romance, virtue, and pure unalloyed adventure than the bland imitations churned out by New York City publishing houses in recent decades.

Kakerlacs, by Alexandru Constantin

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Jon Mollison

The modern day monster genre suffers from a dearth of creativity that leaves most stories feeling like a scene from “The Monster Squad”.  Vampires?  Garlic.  Werewolf?  Silver.  Blue haired land whale?  Crime statistics and logic.  Or they feature protagonists who … Continue reading →

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Temple of Baktaar, by Jason Restrick

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Jon Mollison

Bridging the gap between review and shill, it’s time to talk about StoryHack, an action and adventure short story periodical produced by Bryce Beattie.  He had the urge to produce a regular collection of short works that runs the gamut … Continue reading →

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Solemn Veterans Day

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Jon Mollison

What can be said that hasn’t already. Thank you boys for all of your sacrifices to make the world safe for whatever the hell it is they are doing down in Florida these days. I’d feel bad about using today’s … Continue reading →

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Must. Resist. Watchmen.

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Jon Mollison

Amazon Prime has made Zack Snyder’s Watchmen available in both regular size and jumbo Director’s cut size, and it’s tempting to give it a re-watch.  So why does this post show an image of the Farrelley Brothers’ Something About Mary? Because … Continue reading →

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Deadpool: Too Soon? Yep

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Jon Mollison

Mainstream comics are so much worse than I thought.  All dazzle, no razzle. I’m a sucker for ten cent comics, particularly when they are bundled in plain brown wrappers and sold in ten packs to clear shelf space down at … Continue reading →

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Zero Jumper: A Meta-Review

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Jon Mollison

Yesterday I told you about Alterna Comic’s Zero Jumper.  In the interests of showing Peter Simeti, the big hearted entrepreneur behind Alterna, an open and honest appraisal of the comic, I waited until today to discuss the broader cultural issues … Continue reading →

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Zero Jumper: A Comic Review

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Jon Mollison

Patrick Mulholland and Peter Simeti bring this four issue sci-fi adventure to us by way of the usual $1.50 newsprint titles, which I love, smudged fingerprints and all, or via  trade paperback. I’ve read it, and it’s okay.  I’m really … Continue reading →

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Last First Sentences – My Own Petard

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Jon Mollison

This past week we’ve looked at more than a dozen story openings, and hopefully the exercise has been of some value to both the writers out there and the readers.  My thanks to all of the authors whose works were … Continue reading →

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Third and Final First Sentences

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Jon Mollison

First sentences matter.  People are judgy and they love to find reasons to reject your works.  Knowing the how and why people judge can help you writers make sales, and they can help you readers be better judges of whether … Continue reading →

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Second First Sentences

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Jon Mollison

Happy All Saints Day!  Don’t forget to ask your favorite Saint to put in a good word for you with the man upstairs.  That’s what they’re here for! Today we continue our look at the first sentences of stories you … Continue reading →

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