othing rouses the blood like an acid-dipped, utopian manifesto. Literary movements thrive on witty, partisan, clear-headed, blue-sky pronouncements by artistic and social visionaries. Without a flag to rally 'round, creators all too often drift apart into loneliness and frustration. United under a single banner, they often revolutionize the world. The literature of the fantastic—science fiction, fantasy, horror and slipstream—has seen its own share of such movements, from Damon Knight's Futurians in the 1940s on down to the cyberpunks of the 1980s. But since this latter tide ebbed, no new currents have really arisen to wash away the stale cliches of the marketplace. At least until now.
Fantastic Metropolis, the brainchild of editor, agitator, propagandist and primo ranter Gabe Chouinard, blares out a classic—and classy—call to arms. Chouinard is intent on purging the genres mentioned above of their worst dross, the crappiest products, while substituting—and fostering—the high-quality literature now buried beneath lesser junk. To that end, Chouinard's site features incendiary essays (in this issue Bruce Sterling on Viridan design, Michael Moorcock on the glory of hallucinogens and Warren Ellis on reforming comics, among others); short fiction pieces exemplifying no particular platform other than the artist's unique conception of beauty; reviews of worthwhile books; and interviews with various admirable creators. Additionally, over 250 links take you to likely co-conspirators, and a Forum on Delphi allows feedback and discussion.
If you demand more from your literature than the equivalent of a snooze in a warm tub, you'll want to position yourself on the barricades at Fantastic Metropolis.
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—October 22, 2001
ove of American culture—often its most wonderfully "lowbrow" elements, such as drag racing and pop music—knows no national boundaries. Thus it's only mildly surprising to discover that a site devoted to the glories of pulp magazines—those fragile, garish publications that flourished mainly in the United States during the first half of the 20th century—should originate from a Portuguese fan named Nuno Miranda. His labor of love, The Pulp Zone, reflects his expertise as writer and graphic artist, as well as his immense affection for this extinct medium so suited to bravura, melodramatic storytelling.
The main page of this site offers an efficient and informative welcome. Then comes an embarrassment of riches. Visiting the "Gallery," we find numerous magazines arrayed by clickable title. Choosing Bill Barnes, Air Adventurer, for instance, brings us to glorious cover scans and a fascinating history of this little-known zine, once so popular that it had Latin American editions! Then the "Heroes" wing of this museum acquaints us with such individuals as Doc Savage, the Spider and Captain Future. A look at actual text from the pulps—such as Hugo Gernsback's editorials—is obtained at "Stories." Samples from the vibrant pulp letter columns and information on individual artists and writers each have their own offshoots from the main page. Plenteous links are found under the "Reading" and "Browsing" header. And, lastly, the "Bookshop" offers recommended volumes purchasable through links to the big online bookstores.
If, like me, you are nostalgic for the literature of an era you've never personally experienced, this site is a fine time-travel machine!
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—October 15, 2001
he mission of Unknown Movies is to bring obscure and little-known pictures to the attention of interested Web visitors. Covering films ranging from East Side Story (a film about Iron Curtain musicals) and Dogs (killer canines attack a remote university campus), Unknown Movies dredges up overlooked gems, camp classics and more than a few dead ducks.
Reviews form the core content of this site. Each review delivers enough information to give browsers an accurate idea as to whether a particular movie might be worth seeing. Well-written, insightful and funny, they also provide photos. The reviews are indexed both alphabetically and by genre, with an SF section that includes films like Omega Doom and Attack of the Teenage Vixens from Outer Space. However, reviews are not all the site has to offer. An active letters section discusses movies already reviewed, suggests other flicks worthy of consideration and generally lets film buffs connect with each other over trivia and other areas of interest. Meanwhile, another section of the page plays matchmaker for collectors who are looking to trade their videos. A third has links to other top-notch movie sites.
Unknown Movies also contains a "Why" section which attempts to justify its existence by extolling the archaeological delights of watching films nobody else has seen, and which proudly displays the page's Legion of Muck award from www.badmovies.org. Whether or not visitors buy into the site's philosophy, one thing is certain. Unknown Movies offers delightful reading matter for dedicated film fans and cinema dilettantes alike.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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