ontrary to what others may have said, H.P. Lovecraft was never buddies with Aleister Crowley and did not create Hastur the Unspeakable (he merely borrowed Hastur from Ambrose Bierce). Mythbusting of this sort is one of the primary aims of the H.P. Lovecraft Archive, a staid but informative site devoted to the life and works of one of the 20th century's most influential horror authors. Stories about the writer who brought us Cthulhu and the Necronomicon abound, but this Web page has the actual facts about the legend ... and it gets them right from Lovecraft's own pen.
In addition to his fiction, Lovecraft had a large social circle. Though one of the myths states he was a lifelong recluse, the Archive shows he traveled widely to visit friends and maintained a vibrant correspondence with dozens of writers, among them SF luminaries like Robert Bloch and Fritz Leiber Jr. Portions of his more than 100,000 letters appear in every section of this site, providing a treasure trove of autobiographical notes, observations and quirky personal trivia. The Archive's creators hope one day to post the surviving letters online in a searchable format to aid researchers and fans; for the moment, though, they have posted an ample supply of interesting excerpts.
This site has a detailed author's biography, a family tree, notes about Lovecraft's various passions, from chocolate to motion pictures, and data on his fictional creations as well as travel essays, philosophical articles and other nonfiction. It has information on Lovecraft tie-in media, such as taped readings and radio dramatizations, and notes on every Hollywood movie to be closely or loosely based on his creations. For serious scholars, it offers links to Lovecraft events, bibliographies and literary criticism.
Lovecraft's unique imagination placed an indelible stamp on the horror and SF fields, and a site like the Archive, one that allows visitors to get to know the unusual man behind the fantastic creatures and mythology of his stories, is nothing short of a public service.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—May 31, 2005
edicated to "all things entertainment," Fantastica Daily maintains an enjoyably mixed weblog that points readers to book and movie reviews, SF links, Hollywood news and coverage of SF conventions around the United States.
The reviews and feature articles are what really make the site special. Dozens of SF novels are featured in the review archive, and the film reviews are even more numerous: Fantastica covers current SF, fantasy and horror releases as well as older stuff being reissued on DVD. (They review some mainstream films, too.) Articulate, chatty and well informed, these reviews are just the thing for anyone trying to decide whether to rent, say, Alien vs. Predator or to read a book like Kim Wilkins' fantasy The Autumn Castle. Visitor comments provide a constellation of alternate perspectives on the same film, sometimes sparking intriguing discussions.
Among Fantastica Daily's more whimsical features is a set of SF-themed crossword puzzles, with questions including Star Trek trivia, esoterica about SF authors and novels, and general pop-culture info. These crosswords are a few years out of date—visitors hoping for Lost questions or to test their knowledge of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica will have to hope more puzzles are forthcoming in the future.
Fantastica Daily has a slightly unfinished feel at times: Its chat area is still under construction, while its discussion forums are very quiet. The calendar of events is sparse, and some of the blog entries generate just a few comments. It is to be hoped that site construction continues and traffic picks up, because the intelligent and casual writing style of this Web page—not to mention its clean and eminently readable design—makes it entirely worthy of fan attention and participation.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—May 23, 2005
or years, quirky comic-book writer/artist Phil Foglio has been self-publishing his work, which gives him immense creative freedom but makes it hard to maintain a steady output—new issues of his series Buck Godot and Xxxenophile emerged erratically, especially as he and his collaborator/wife Kaja worked on other projects, from illustrating Magic cards to marketing their own collectible card games. In 2001, Phil and Kaja launched the fantastic new series Girl Genius, the sometimes humorous but mostly serious story of a female mad scientist in a politically baroque steampunk world. But the series only reached 13 issues over the course of four years, and the costs of self-publishing a high-quality color glossy were high.
So in February, Phil and Kaja stopped publishing the comic's print edition and took it online. The simple splash page of their new Web site offers two options: Newbies can go to "Girl Genius 101" and start reading the series from the beginning, while experienced readers should head for the "Girl Genius Advanced Class," which takes up where the print comic left off. New full-size comics pages are added every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, advancing both parts of the story, and the old pages are archived and easily accessible through a "previous" button.
Both sides of the site have the same sidebar of links explaining the Girl Genius plot and linking to Phil and Kaja's weblogs, their main site, their newsroom, their store and more. The network of sites is relatively sparse and simple, though, nosing around, Foglio fans can find unpublished or unavailable comics, among many other things. But currently, the big draw is the chance to read Girl Genius free, with frequent updates. The Foglios plan to publish books of all the online strips, but for the moment, this is the best way to follow—or jump into—their tangled and always intriguing fantasy plot.
—Tasha Robinson
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