Happy Holidays!

Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or even nothing at all, The Weird Western Emporium hopes you have a wonderful and safe Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year!

The Emporium will reopen on January 11th, 2010!

American Vampire on the Horizon!

If you read my previous post about it, you know I'm pretty dern excited about the new Scott Snyder/Stephen King/Rafael Albuquerque half Weird Western Vampire comic American Vampire from DC/Vertigo. Well the solicitation just came out today and goodness it looks to be fun!

The official word is this:

Witness the birth of a brand new species of vampire in this new ongoing series that begins with five extra-sized issues featuring back-to-back stories by exciting new writer Scott Snyder and the master of horror himself, Stephen King! When notorious outlaw Skinner Sweet is attacked by an old enemy (who happens to be a member of the undead), the first American vampire is born... a vampire powered by the sun, stronger, fiercer, and meaner than anything that came before. Plus... Pearl Jones is a struggling young actress in 1920s Los Angeles. But when her big break brings her face-to-face with an ancient evil, her Hollywood dream quickly turns into a brutal, shocking nightmare.

The book comes out on March 17, so save some of that Christmas money!....or don't, its only 4 bucks...

Bang! Howdy

The tragic thing about Three Ring's Bang! Howdy is, not only did I find out about it too late, but people have systematically stopped playing it. The reason for this is because the game just isn't being updated....and the promised expansions have yet to materialize.

What IS Bang! Howdy you ask? According to Wikipedia: Bang! Howdy is a free online strategy game with a "Wild West" theme (Personally I would have stated it has a "WEIRD West theme.....but then I'm biased) The setting mixes elements from a variety of related genres, such as Steampunk or Native American myth. Several of the players' available units are entirely mechanical, including artillery and a "steam gunman", a robot boasting large wagon wheels for movement while wearing a cowboy hat. Other, more conventional units include cavalry and gunslingers.

I'll have to admit, I've only played the game for a small amount of time but I like the graphic style, which is very cartoony but brings out the Steam-Western elements of the game nicely. I also like the music, which has a sort of Hip-Hop/Western fusion sound to it.

Currently there are only 2 Towns, a Frontier Town (a very classic Western town that you start the game in) and the Indian Trading Post. More have been promised including a Boom Town which is supposed to focus on the Steamier elements of the game and a Ghost Town which will focus on the "Weirder" elements with spooks and haunts. However those were promised years ago, and have yet to develop. Only time will tell whether the game continues to grow.

Its too bad really, because Bang! Howdy is BIG among its fans....how many games do you know that have endless videos on Youtube, OR its own Wiki called Howdypedia?

As for game play....I can't really say. I only played for about an hour a few weeks ago to get a feel for the game and most of that time was spent doing tutorials. While I've been meaning to go back and devour it, time hasn't permitted just yet. Don't let that depress you, though, this is the PERFECT opportunity for you to find out what all the Hubbub is about yourself! All your questions can be answered at Howdypedia and all of your game play itches can be scratched at the game's Main Page Who knows, now that the rush has died down, maybe it'll be time for the rest of us to take a crack.

Until you start playing, here is the main site's official preview to give you a taste of what the whole thing is about:

Deadwalkers...The Western is Dead!

I hate to admit it, but I didn't give Deadwalkers much of a chance when I came across the trailer a few months ago on Youtube. It felt somewhat cheap, amateurish, and the deep "I'm so sinister so this must be a scary movie" narration didn't really help things. I just figured it was done by a bunch of cowboy actors looking to make a Zombie pic.




My opinion was based solely on its trailer:



Then I came across an article in Rue Morgue Magazine that said not only is the film winning a bunch of awards on the film festival circuit, but that its actually quite good! So I looked back into it and I came to a new conclusion...these people put there blood, sweat, and tears into this film and I say Good for them! I just wish Id given them the proper chance at the time. But don't make the same mistake I did.....check out the Production Blog, which has videos and links to some articles, and their Youtube channel, which has some behind the scenes videos and a funny Thriller parody! Also their Facebook Page has photos and other stuff. You can also become a fan and get updates on their travels and progress.

This film should be supported not only for what they were able to accomplish on such a low budget, but for everyone else trying to do the same thing and not finding an easy time of it.

The Official word on Dead Walkers is this:

Bounty hunter and gunman Jack Link has a knack for trouble, but when he stumbles into a town cursed with the undead, he might have bit off more than he can chew. Deadwalkers is a 13min short film by Spencer Estabrooks.

Nice!

Steamcon 2010

Steamcon is a Seattle based Steampunk convention. I could have sworn that they did this a few years ago, but according to their website, this years con was the "Inaugural Year". It took place for 3 days in October and consisted of, according to their website:

* A Vendor’s Bazaar packed with exotic wares
* An Art Exhibition
* The Perpetual Teatime and Hospitality suite
* The Magic Lantern Theater
* Talks and discussions on all matters Steampunk
* Gun modification demonstrations
* Lessons in etiquette
* Steam technology exhibitions
* Games and diversions of a role playing nature
* Cabaret acts presented by the esteemed Mr. Bodewell

This actually sounded like a lot of fun, that Magic Lantern Theater would have been amazing! Unfortunately, I only just found out about the convention so I wasn't able to go. Who knows, maybe next year, because next year the Weird West invades Steamcon!

That's right, the theme for next years Steamcon 2010 is The Weird, Weird West. It should be pretty amazing to see what people come up with costume-wise. Maybe they could even try to get Ghoultown as one of the musical guests. Right now the specifics are all speculative because even they don't the logistics quite yet (or if they do they aren't talkin'), but if you are interested in keeping updated their Website is a good place to start. Also their Facebook page should be a good source of info past and present.

I was going to post a video overview of the convention, but all that came up on Youtube were TONS of Abney Park performance videos....which are definitely worth checking out...but weren't really what I was looking for, so since I couldn't pick just any one, here are the lot of them!

New Official Jonah Hex Picture!

I was thinking of taking the week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, but this just came out today and its too good not to report on! Warner Brothers has released the first official photo for Jonah Hex and its perty dern cool.

Its just a front portrait type-shot, no action, but I like it!

Being a big fan of Jonah, I was kind of hoping they would do a little more with his wonky eye. In the comics they always show his right eye as being wide open and, more or less, dead. I understand that that would be difficult to do, but I kind of wish that they had, at least, given him a contact lens or something. Maybe they are planning to do something digitally.

Of course you can't see his eyes in this picture so it seems a little pointless too bring it up....but you can see them (and other pictures) here. I also like the tease of his scar...which, in the world he lives in, is legendary; everyone knows about the scarred bounty hunter Jonah Hex.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (or just a great Thursday for my non-American readers) and are ready for the long weekend. The Weird West Emporium will reopen on Monday.

'til then...Adios, Pards!

The Deadeye Kid rides into the Weird West!

Being a fan of Radio Drama, Ive always wanted to find some good Weird West radio plays to both post about here at the Weird West Emporium, and to simply geek out about in my own time...however there just hasn't been any to find, until now that is. Julie Hoverson and her 19 Nocturne Blvd radio troupe have been putting together the weird adventures of Lemuel Roberts, aka The Deadeye Kid.

The official word for episode 1 is this:

Lemuel Roberts, once the infamous "Deadeye Kid," travels the west
trying to make up for his checkered past.
But sorting out a feud in Ozark hill country might be more than
he and chum Clarence Fanshaw can handle.

Lem has a secret, you see, but I shouldn't say too much lest I reveal it...but its quite clever and you may need to listen to the first episode a couple times to get all the subtleties Ms. Hoverson has written into the script. Even the title has an ironic twist.....and no The Deadeye Kid isn't an undead Zombie Gunslinger (That's what I thought). Also, it may seem like Weird West lite on first listen but by the end you'll realize that the whole thing has been deeply anchored into the genre from the first moments.

So far there are two episodes, which you should have time to listen to before Episode 3 becomes available tomorrow at the official 19 Nocturne Blvd website with new episodes coming out about every 6 months (March and November).

Episodes 1 and 2 (and 3, when it becomes available) can be heard and/or downloaded here......And if you get a chance check out 19 Nocturne's other, non Western offerings, they are always good for a spooky time!

Enjoy!