Do you like exciting new weird fiction magazines, packed with great stories, features and art? Of course you do, unless you’re here for the lurchers, in which case hang in there until next week. Today, dear listener, we have the pleasure of welcoming Skelos to the neighbourhood. And do we give this a quick mention and run away? No, we do not. Instead we have a cracking interview with Jeffrey Shanks, one of the masterminds behind Skelos. And we throw in some Conan the Barbarian trivia – and even music – afterwards, of course.

Jeffrey Shanks is an archaeologist and a scholar of the pulps and Golden Age comics. He has published a number of popular and academic articles on comics and pulps, and on pulp writers like Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H. P. Lovecraft. He was the co-editor of the essay collection, The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales, which was nominated for a 2016 Bram Stoker Award, and editor of the highly-regarded Zombies from the Pulps! He has received five Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards for his scholarship on Howard. He currently serves as co-chair of Pulp Studies for the Popular Culture Association and is the content advisor and art director of the new Conan RPG from Modiphius Games.

Shall we meet him?

greydog: Welcome, Jeffrey, and thanks for joining us at this auspicious moment – the first copies of your new magazine are even now winging their way out into the world. Some of our listeners will already be committed backers and enthusiasts; others will have little idea what we’re on about. Maybe you could start by giving us a potted version of what Skelos is?

jeffrey: Sure, but first let me say I really appreciate greydogtales giving me the opportunity to tell you about Skelos.

So what is Skelos? The short answer is that it’s a new literary journal specializing in dark fantasy and weird fiction. And we’re defining weird fiction very broadly – we want to err on the side of inclusiveness. So while sword and sorcery and Lovecraftian fiction are obviously genres we’ll be publishing, we also plan to have more eclectic fare – straight horror, new weird, sword and planet, weird science, occult detective, sword and soul, weird menace, hybrid genres like weird westerns and weird piracy, etc. It’s all on the table really. Basically, anything that might have appeared in Weird Tales back in the day is fair game – plus more recent takes on the weird fiction tradition.

But Skelos is more than just fiction. We’ll also have non-fiction like reviews, interviews, and scholarly essays, as well as amazing artwork by talented artists whose names you’ll likely recognize. And beyond the journal itself, we hope to build a community of readers, authors, scholars, and creators that love the same kinds of fiction we do and want to help create and sustain a venue for that fiction.

greydog: Launching a magazine is a daunting business. When was the defining moment, when you said ‘let’s do this’ and damn the torpedoes?

jeffrey: It’s an idea that we had been kicking around for a couple years, but the true defining moment was at Robert E. Howard Days in June of 2014. That was when Mark Finn, Chris Gruber, and I decided to make it reality. At the time we were really just envisioning a simple fanzine and a way to publish and promote the work of our many talented friends and colleagues. We all missed the print version of Black Gate and the latest incarnation of Weird Tales seemed to have lost steam and petered out, so we thought it might be fun to try and fill that vacuum. We talked to a few folks at that REH gathering, all of whom expressed a desire to contribute and we began reaching out to others over the next few months until by early 2015 we had a solid list of contributors for the first issue.

A number of other projects kept pushing Skelos back however, in particular the new Conan RPG from Modiphius Games for which all three of us were drafted into service, me quite deeply. But by the beginning of 2016 we had all of our content ready to go and it was at that point that we decided to up the ante and make Skelos a semiprozine rather than just a fanzine. Because of the connections we had in the industry, we were fortunate to already have named professional writers like Keith Taylor and Scott Cupp and artists like Mark Schultz and Tomas Giorello on board.

I had just gone through a highly successful Kickstarter with the Conan RPG and felt that we too could use crowd-funding as a way to finance a higher end journal. Of course that ended up being spectacularly successful and that’s made it possible for Skelos to reach a higher level of quality than would been possible otherwise. So there were really two defining moments for us: the initial decision to do this and the decision to go big with crowdfunding.

greydog: You’re an experienced editor and essayist in your own right. As you say, this time you’re working with Mark Finn and Chris Gruber to drive Skelos. Is this a triumvirate of like minds, or are you each coming at the project from quite different corners?

jeffrey: It’s actually a little bit of both. All three of us do have an amazing chemistry. We’ve been involved in Howard fandom and publishing together for a number of years and have become good friends. We are almost always on the same page as for our vision for Skelos and that allows us the ability to divide and conquer various tasks more or less independently because we all pretty much know what the other two are thinking.

That said, we also bring different strengths to the table. We all have a great deal of editing experience, we’re all very well-read, but my strengths lie on the academic side so I’ve been focusing on the non-fiction. Mark is a talented writer of fiction and understands the craft. Chris has incredibly good instincts about what works and what doesn’t. I think the three of us make an outstanding team – but it’s our high level of trust that makes our triumvirate so effective.

greydog: So, the Skelos Kickstarter itself – you had the editors and contributors, but you needed the backers and general supporters. Was the process here based on meticulous research and sounding out potential readers, or borne on the back of sheer enthusiasm and crossed fingers?

jeffrey: Well, like I mentioned, I had just gone through a massively complex Kickstarter with the Conan RPG and so that really prepared me for the basics. We did research quite a few similar Kickstarers to get a feel for how we might expect to do and what mistakes we should avoid. And choosing to do the Kickstarter was not just about raising funds, it was also a great way to build a core group of fans and supporters – the core of the Skelos community we wanted to create. So we went down that route, hoping to get a few thousand dollars to fund the first issue and maybe the second issue if we were lucky.

The rest is history – we blew past our funding goals within hours and ultimate made enough to fund the first four issues. That was completely unexpected and once it took off we were scrambling somewhat to keep up – a runaway success of a Kickstarter can be like having a tiger by the tail. It is a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes, and is exhausting. It’s basically non-stop 24 hours a day, responding to queries, making updates, creating new goals, etc. But it is an amazing tool for partnering with your backers to create incredible projects.

greydog: It’s a lively time for weird fiction magazines – Skelos, Gamut, Vastarien and Ravenwood Quarterly (and even Occult Detective Quarterly) are all launching this year. Why is this happening now, do you think?

jeffrey: Also Weirdbook, Cirsova, Lovecraft eZine, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and several others that are already out there going strong. There clearly seems to be a desire for this kind of fiction right now. We’ve tapped into something for sure. Weird fiction and dark fantasy has become a bit more visible in mainstream popular culture, and I think that’s a part of the larger mainstreaming of so-called geek culture in general. We see this with True Detective and Game of Thrones and Cthulhu plushies.

The fanbase for these kinds of stories is growing rapidly right now. I think that there is enough interest and demand out there to easily sustain all of these magazines. And they all can build on each other – a rising tide lifts all boats. I believe that and so we want to support all of these other publications as well.

greydog: Nice to hear that sort of mutualism expressed – it’s what we believe as well. And though the above publications have different focal points, a Venn diagram would no doubt show a degree of readership crossover. What do you see as Skelos’ unique selling points (if you’ll excuse the marketing term)?

jeffrey: Wow, it’s actually funny you say that, because a Venn diagram is exactly the phrase Mark Finn uses in his editorial in the first issue of Skelos to describe what we are trying to be. We want to be that overlapping portion of the Venn diagram. We want to be eclectic enough so that no matter what your tastes, you’ll find at least one or two items in every issue that appeal directly to them, but at the same time introduce you to one two new things that you might not have realized you like.

greydog: We know a number of the people contributing to Issue One, obviously (Charles Gramlich, Paul McNamee, Bobby Derie, Ashley Dioses and K A Opperman, for example). Did you provide them with a very specific ‘mission’ statement or just tell them the general idea and see what emerged?

jeffrey: We didn’t give much prior direction at all. We went to certain creators because we already know what they do well and we wanted them for those reasons. Actually it’s funny though, as there were times when we were surprised by what we received. For example in a couple of cases I approached well-known Mythos writers expecting to get a Lovecraftian piece and instead they gave us sword and sorcery. Our REH background preceded us I suppose. I can imagine them thinking, “Oh it’s Shanks, Finn, and Grub. Finally I can sell that S&S piece I’ve been sitting on.” It’s great though, because that really does keep things fresh and interesting.

greydog: What portion of the magazine are you giving over to non-fiction – reviews and articles?

jeffrey: Roughly 70% percent fiction and 30% essays and reviews. We’re planning to have some interviews as well. Fiction is our primary content, but we feel that interesting, well-written, non-fiction essays can be a nice change of pace. Not jargony academic articles, but not dumbed-down either. We have intelligent, well-read readers. We’re aiming for what I call “accessible scholarly” or “high-end popular” essays.

greydog: You’re also including By Crom!, Rachel Kahn’s commentary/comic strip in future issues, and are having talks with the great Tim Truman of Grimjack fame. Tell us something about your art/illustration vision for Skelos.

jeffrey: I’ve always been an art collector and aficionado. I served as art director for the Conan game among other duties and so bringing great artwork to Skelos was always a part of the plan. Again, we have a number of friends and colleagues in the comic industry and so we were fortunate to be able to tap into that. Mark Shultz is a true legend and Tomas Giorello is one of the hottest rising stars out there and we were so grateful to be able to include them in issue one. Tim Truman is a friend and amazing talent, and so I always wanted to get him on board.

Part of art directing is matching the material to the style of the artist. For Tim I plan to have him illustrate one of our weird western stories as that’s right up his alley. I just received two gorgeous illustrations from the legendary Esteban Maroto, artist for Vampirella and Savage Sword of Conan. His illustrations are for two sensual vampire poems by K. A. Opperman and his style perfectly matches the material.

We are going to have an official Thongor of Lemuria pastiche by Robert M. Price illustrated by another legend, Val Mayerik, who drew Thongor for Marvel back in the early 70s. I’m hoping to have Dave Dorman, the great Star Wars artist, do one of our sword and planet stories. So that gives you some idea of the way we’ll be using illustration in Skelos.

But in addition to illustrations for the stories we plan to have a special visual arts feature in each issue. In issue one it’s an illustrated adaptation of the Icelandic saga of Grettir the Strong by the amazing Samuel Dillon. In future issues we are discussing comic inserts, illustration galleries, and even photography portfolios.

greydog: Sounds fantastic. Whilst wanting to applaud all the work in Issue One equally, dare we ask what you were most proud of securing for the issue?

jeffrey: Oh that’s tough. That’s the Sophie’s choice question. How do you choose between your “children”? But in truth I would have to say that securing a never-before published Robert E. Howard piece was a very big deal for me. For starters there isn’t much unpublished REH out there, especially works related to his sword and sorcery like these drafts. And it was something of a personal thing for me as I was the one who first transcribed these random draft pages and then first put them in the proper order and recognized exactly what they were – not just a few isolated draft pages from a Bran Mak Morn story, but three complete drafts of an early world-building essay that was essentially a proto-type for “The Hyborian Age.”

greydog: Before we finish, we also wanted to ask you about the rising Sword and Soul genre. We’ve been impressed by some exciting stuff coming out in this area, as pioneered by Charles R Saunders and his Imaro protagonist, and championed by Milton Davis. Is this an area in which you’re interested?

jeffrey: You better believe it! I already have an awesome sword and soul story from Milton in the hopper. I’ve been a fan of Charles Saunders for years, and have just recently started reading Milton. He’s a truly gifted and exciting writer and I hope he will be a regular. We need some Steamfunk too!

greydog: Steamfunk is on our own exploration list (we interviewed Milton on sword and soul, and steamfunk, here – black is the new black ). And finally, for anyone who might be wavering, maybe you could throw in a few names appearing in forthcoming issues to pique their interest.

jeffrey: Absolutely! I’ve already thrown out a few like Robert M. Price and Milton Davis, but we also have stories from World Fantasy Award winner Jessica Amanda Salmonson; best-selling author of Men of Bronze, Scott Oden; Conan and the Emerald Lotus author John C. Hocking; Bram Stoker nominee Angeline Hawkes; Adrian Cole who’ll be doing an official Elak of Atlantis story; Cynthia Ward, Wilum Pugmire, Ed Erdelac, Howard Andrew Jones, Jess Nevins, and the list goes on and on. There are also few big names we’re talking to that I need to keep close to the vest for now. But it’s a really great line-up already set for these upcoming issues and we haven’t even done an open call yet. I am so excited to start putting together Skelos 2!

greydog: Many thanks for coming over to talk to us. We wish you the greatest success, and look forward to sinking into your magazine’s bony arms for a good long read.

To find out more, or to hunt down a copy of Skelos, go and check out their website here:

skelos press

Inevitable Trivia Corner – Who Is This Skelos Guy?

The immediate connection which springs to many casual readers’ minds is The Sword of Skelos (1979), a novel written by Andrew J Offutt. It’s the last of his trilogy which includes Conan and the Sorceror and Conan the Mercenary. In the William Galen Grey Chronology of the Cimmerian’s adventures, the book is followed by Conan the Outcast (1991) by Leonard Carpenter.

Briefly, The Sword of Skelos is set in Zamboula, where a mage called Zafra has enchanted a sword which he then commands to kill two captives in a demonstration to the local Khan. Impressed, the Khan wants a whole bunch of these. The mage reveals that only two swords can be enchanted with the gift of Skelos, and goes through the necessary unpleasantries to give the Khan’s sword the same abilities.

Conan, naturally, gets caught up in all this and then kills people.

The story was adapted by Roy Thomas and John Buscema in issues #56-58, September–November 1980, of the Marvel Comics magazine series The Savage Sword of Conan.

However, the original reference to Skelos (unless we’ve missed an earlier one, which is quite possible) is from a genuine Robert E Howard story, The Pool of the Black One (1933), where Conan serves under the Zingaran captain Zaporavo. The story starts with the lines:

Into the west, unknown of man,

Ships have sailed since the world began.

Read, if you dare, what Skelos wrote,

With dead hands fumbling his silken coat;

And follow the ships through the wind-blown wrack–

Follow the ships that come not back.

And in the text we find:

“Zaporavo had his reasons for wishing to go alone. He desired to learn if this island were indeed that mentioned in the mysterious Book of Skelos, whereon, nameless sages aver, strange monsters guard crypts filled with hieroglyph-careen gold.”

The story is unusual in that Zaporavo, the dubious and duplicitous captain, is killed by Conan. No, hang on, business as normal actually.

This tale was also adapted for comics by Roy Thomas in 1977. Above is the opening panel of the comic adaptation of The Pool of the Black One by Roy Thomas featuring the art of John Buscema and Sonny Trinidad, copyright Marvel and the creators.

Finally, if you’re not feeling visual, then why not enjoy Manilla Road’s Skelos interpretation, from their album The Courts of Chaos (1990):

We submit to time. Back in two or three days with something which has no connection with Conan at all – and some more spiffing longdogs photos soon…

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