A Few Free Comics and Other Coolness.

Some free classic SF, Horror, and Adventure comics to relax to after a long day, and some good genre related music.


Illustration from When Worlds Collide in the comics section.







@The Horrors of It All: "Singing Slaves" (1953) Horror.
@Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: "The Thing In the Fog" (1957) Horror.
@The Comic Book Catacombs: Fantomah in "The Revenge of Zomax" (1941) Adventure.
@Four-Color Shadows: "Ultimate Destiny" (1954) Horror.
@Digital Comics Museum: Motion Picture Comics #110 -When Worlds Collide and Space Rangers Archive Vol0 Pt.1a (Fiction House). Science Fiction.
@Atomic Kommie Comics: "Outlaws of Mars" and "Invasion" Science Fiction.
@Secret Sanctum of Captain Video: Beneath the Planet of the Apes Parts One and Two.
@Femmes Fantastique: Cave Girl in "Man Who Served Death" Adventure.


Other Coolness - Audio
@Sci-Fi Songs: John Anealio's latest SF inspired song, "Geek Dad," is available for free download. If you haven't heard any of his songs yet (such as "Summer Glau" and "Angry Robot") check it out. If you have heard his songs before, you probably downloaded this one the day it came out.



TuneIn Radio Android App. The first free app recommendation. TuneIn Radio is an app that lets you listen to over 50,000 radio stations for free. So what does it have to do with fantasy, SF, or Horror? Surprisingly, quite a bit.

It has at least three good old time radio stations, Horror Theater (Horror and Suspense), Bygolly Old Time Radio (mostly Noir, some horror), and 20th Century Radio (all types, including some SF/Horror).

And for newer stories I was able to Escape Pod episodes available for streaming and WRFR (Rockland Maine) which broadcasts Beam Me Up on Saturdays 4-5 Eastern Standard Time.

And music. While there is, as far as I know, no pure genre music channel**, there are great music channels that have a fantasy feel. I especially recommend Ancient FM (Medieval/Renaissance), GotRadio Native, and GotRadio Celtic as background mood music for fantasy reading or gaming. **Thanks to Dominic for pointing out Radio Rivendell, which is pretty much a fantasy music station and is available through this app and online.

Available for free download at your Android app store. Also available in a PC version, and versions for other phones, including inferior devices named after fruit.

Friday Freebies Updated

Some more items added, back later this weekend.





Fiction
The April 2011 issue of Redstone Science Fiction is up with

"Perfection" by Jay Garmon.
"Honestly, how did anyone ever fall in love back when it was optional? I say this with awe, not judgment."

"Brittlestar" by Mike Barretta.
"“I always get the shakes before a drop,” explained Major Joseph Anniston. He fidgeted nervously at the ramp’s hinge point. The flight technician smiled at him and he thought he detected a hint of sadness in her eyes."

and "Time’s Arrow" by J. Chant.
"It’s a law of our Universe that cannot be broken, time’s irreversible, relentless arrow piercing the future. I’m hurtling through time at the speed of light. As are you."


@Anotherealm: "The Edge of the Looking Glass" by Dee Travis.
"Where’s Alice?” “Hospital. “Hospital?” “ICU.” “What happened?” “Went through the Looking Glass; reads too much."

@Daily Science Fiction: "Trust" by David D. Levine.
"You've got to hold to your priorities, Michelle Fletcher. That's what you tell yourself as you scrub and scrub and scrub at the crusted black grit in your one saucepan. You've got to remember what's important."

@Ray Gun Revival: "Future Imperfect" by Peter Wood.
“Whatever happened to the flying cars we were supposed to have by now?” Darla asked Mike. She held up an old science fiction magazine she had found in a box of odds and ends she was sorting in her grandfather’s attic for the estate sale. On the magazine’s cover a young couple flew off into the sunset in a finned convertible.


Classic SF
Linked and reviewed at Variety SF: "The Man Who Evolved" by Edmond Hamilton, from Wonder Stories (April 1931).
"There were three of us in Pollard's house on that night that I try vainly to forget. Dr. John Pollard himself, Hugh Dutton and I, Arthur Wright--we were the three. Pollard met that night a fate whose horror none could dream; Dutton has since that night inhabited a state institution reserved for the insane, and I alone am left to tell what happened."



Flash Fiction
@365 tomorrows: "Something In The Water" by Martin Sumner.
@The Daily Cabal: "Magic Shake" by David Kopaska-Merkel.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Getting Out to Vote" by Hillary Lyon.



Audio Fiction






@Escape Pod: Episode #284 "The ’76 Goldwater Dime" by John Medaille, read by Norm Sherman.
"I started in 1962, that’s when I became a numismatist. You know what that is? It’s the study of….well, it’s not the study of anything. It’s coin collecting, is what it is."

@Pseudopod: Episode #223 "Murdock The Nobody" by Kate Jonez, read by Matt Arnold.
“‘Destiny is what you make it,’ Murdock’s eyes were unnaturally bright. ‘And luck is what’s left over. If you want something to happen, you’ve got to make it happen.’


Gaming
@DriveThruRPG: Pathways #2, a free pathfinder compatible magazine including

"Guest Editorial" by Ben McFarland
"Pyroclastic Creature and Ardon-nue" by Steven D. Russell
"Sacred Beasts: Priests of Fur and Feathers" by Jonathan McAnulty
"Malevolent Manifestation" by T. H. Gulliver
"Synergixxik" by Michael Welham
"The Riderless Horse" by Creighton Broadhurst
"Twenty Questions with Tim Hitchcock!" by Steven D. Russell.

[free membership required].


@DriveThruRPG: "The Charioteer's Tomb" from Griffon Publishing Studio.
"This free scenario introduces readers to all aspects of gaming in Pulp Egypt, from ancient tombs and superstitious workers to nefarious criminals intent on relieving the heroes of the treasures they recover. As members of an archaeological expedition, the characters explore a long-lost tomb belonging to a charioteer hero of the ancient Battle of Kadesh." For any game system. [free membership required]. More Pulp Egypt free downloads HERE.



Small But Very Cool.
@The Land of NOD: [encounter] Mu-Pan - Encounter XVII.
@A Character for Every Game: [Map] The Rad Ruins (post-apocalyptic).
@Blog on the Borderlands: [New Magic Item] Sandals of the Four Winds.
@The Savage Afterworld: [Links] Thundarr RPGs Found Throughout The Blogosphere.
@Strange Magic: ["1 page" dungeon] Citadel of Evil.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] Burstcone.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Spell] Light as a Feather, Heavy as Stone.
@DriveThruRPG: Nobis Oracle Mysteries (Pathfinder)

A Few Friday Freebies

TGIF! A few cool items today. Two of the biggest free audio fiction sites have new episodes today - horror at Pseudopod and SF at Escape Pod. There's some good free fiction and gaming items (The Land of NOD has been working overtime on the cool Mu-Pan setting), and more enjoy. And if any of the creaters/posters of these fine, free items happens to read this, thanks again for your hard work! See you all some time this weekend - space-time warp isn't always accurate.


Fiction
@Daily Science Fiction: "Newfangled" by by K.G. Jewell.
"No, sir, I don't think your problem is with the fridge elf." I watched the technician bend his thin frame behind the refrigerator as he spoke, flashing his light through the cooling fan into the inner recess of the unit. "He looks pretty happy. He's got himself satellite TV and a case of Fritos."



4 Star Stories has its first issue out with

"Meet Me at the Grassy Knoll" by Lou Antonelli.
"I was a teenager, my grandfather was almost 90, when I asked him straight out, looked him in the eye, and asked him--just like I’m talking to you--if he had anything to do with it. You know what he said?"
"Defiance" by Rhonda Eudaly.
"It seemed like such a good idea at the time. A bargain struck with a beautiful woman over too much ale and sealed with blood magic."
"Collateral Damage" by David L. Gray.
"Inside the space helmet, the rasping sound of her breathing was loud in her ears. SEAs Corporal Kathleen “Blaze” O’Donnell strained against the inertia of the spherical, all-terrain mobile container she was dragging. Only the near-zero gravity allowed her to tow the full load of weapons and ammunition over the rough terrain at all."
and "A Beast Named Winter" by William Ledbetter.
"Monia turned, prepared to answer the question with a glare, but was taken aback by the teacher’s appearance. He was by far the ugliest male she had ever encountered." [via SF Signal]

Classic SF
"The Animated Pinup" by Lewis Parker, from Imagination: Stories of Science and Fantasy (July 1953).
"You're not expected to believe this story since it's the kind of thing that science calls impossible. But anyway, she happened. Who? Why—"

@Munseys and Project Gutenberg.


Flash Fiction:



@Every Day Fiction: "Genesis" by JR Hume.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Statues" by Neil Leckman.
@365 tomorrows: "The First Warp Drive"by Patricia Stewart.
@The Daily Cabal: "Staff Disaster Plan #24" by Jon Hansen.


Audio Fiction:
@Escape Pod: Episode #285 "Jaiden’s Weaver" by Mary Robinette Kowal, read by Kij Johnson.
"I was never one of those girls who fell in love with horses. For one thing, on our part of New Oregon they were largely impractical animals. Most of the countryside consisted of forests attached to sheer hills and you wanted to ride something with a little more clinging ability. So from the time I was, well, from the time I can remember I wanted a teddy bear spider more than I wanted to breathe."

@Pseudopod: Episode #222 "Terrible Lizard King" by Nathaniel Lee, read by Steve Anderson.
"That night, Patrick’s dreams were troubled, full of rumbling sounds like drums or distant guns. Patrick woke up several times in the darkness and lay frozen beneath his blanket, unwilling to peep out because he knew what would be at the window."

Serial Audio
@The Guild of Cowry Catchers: Cowry Catchers Book 3 – Episode 6 by Abigail Hilton, performed by a full cast.
"a dark, nautical fantasy for people who shop in the grown-up section of the bookstore."

Gaming
@DriveThruRPG: "The Haunted Fort - An Oathbound Eclipse Adventure"
"Far off in the deep of the mists, the village of Blackhold is in trouble. Villagers are disappearing at an alarming rate, and the nearby ancient sorcerer's stronghold appears to have acquired some new, sinister residents. Will you come to their rescue?" Pathfinder compatible.

In a free PDF download HERE [free membership required]

Small, But Cool, Gaming Items
@Ode to Black Dougal: [Chart] Random Sword Description Table.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Windlewine’s Bugbeer.
@Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: [New Magic Item] Homing Mushroom.
@Sickly Purple Death Ray: [Map] Interesting Places: Beneath the Cemetery.
@The Land of NOD: [Encounters] Mu-Pan - Encounter IX, Mu-Pan - Encounter X, and Mu-Pan - Encounter XI.

Friday Post 1.1 *updated*

QD has a few very cool items for you today, including some items from sites we haven't linked to before. Updated with serial fiction, an SF pulp magazine, and a gaming magazine. Enjoy, stay strong space soldiers, and don't forget to drink your Ovaltine.






E-Fiction
At Munseys and Project Gutenberg "Sugar Plum" a humorous sf story by Reginald Bretnor, from Galaxy Science Fiction (Nov. 1952).
"On a clear spring evening in 2189, Charles Edward Button came home half an hour late for his supper, tossed his hat to the robot butler who came out from behind the DoItAll, and announced that he had just bought a planet."

Available online and in e-book downloads at Munseys and Project Gutenberg.




At Daily Science Fiction, "Rinse or Repeat" by Sylvia Hiven.
"Gabriel wouldn't ever have thought there would be circumstances rough enough for him to set foot in lower Manhattan Chinatown. In the old days, perhaps, but not after the integration. Too many dragons. There were mainly humans, of course; clingy people chattering in Mandarin as he walked by in the drizzle, one offering traditional Chinese souvenirs while the next tried to sell him pornographic holograms"

Online HERE.

At Crosseyed Cyclops, classic pulp SF, Worlds Beyond #12 (Dec. 1950). Available in CBR format, which while less optimal than pdf, is readable enough.



Available HERE.








Audio Fiction
At Escape Pod, "The Notebook of my Favourite Skin-Trees" by Alex Dally MacFarlane, read by Pamela Quevillon.
"The best part of these are the fruits, growing on their fat stem, dangling down the person’s back or from their arm. I always bow and smile, asking, 'Can I taste one of your fruits? Bananas from a skin-tree are so sweet.'"

streaming and in MP3 download HERE.


Serial Fiction
At Book View Cafe, chapters 8&9 of Polar City Blues by Katharine Kerr (1990).
"Not only has Polar City been spared the expense of a long drawn-out trial, but a dead assassin causes no further political embarrassments to anyone. With their trained wolf alive and talking, the Alliance would no doubt grow self-righteous and dangerously belligerent to cover their tracks."
Online HERE or start from the beginning here.





Gaming
At Mongoose Publishing, Signs & Portents #89 featuring material for RuneQuest II, Judge Dredd, Traveller, Elric of Melnibone, Lone Wolf, and other RPGs.



In a free 93 page pdf download HERE.






Fighting Fantazine is "a fan magazine based on the Fighting Fantasy range of gamebooks first published in 1982 by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. In particular it focusses on the worlds those adventures are set in, especially the fantasy world of Titan" These are quite professional looking, each with a mini Fighting Fantasy adventure and more. The latest issue, Feb. 2011, features an interview with artist John Sibbick and a "bumper length mini Fighting Fantasy adventure"

All five issues are available in free pdf downloads HERE [via FightingFantasist]



At The City of Iron, The Elementalist - a new class for Labyrinth Lord (or D&D, OD&D, Hackmaster, or 1e AD&D)


In a free pdf download HERE.



At Sickly Purple Death Ray, a series of interesting maps, along with descriptions of the map environment called interesting places. D&D-centric but useful for any fantasy rpg.

All online HERE.




Comics
At The Comic Book Catacombs, jungle adventure with "Tabu, Wizard of the Jungle" in an untitled adventure from Jungle Comics #6 (June 1940)


Online HERE.



At Ditko Comics, "The Strange Fate Of Captain Fenton" from Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #6 [1957]. An adventure tale with a weird twist.




Online HERE.