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60’s black-and-white Warren comic story where someone destroys all magic?

A Zoomer friend of mine was wondering how old this trope was, and I found myself recalling the following comics story, probably from a 1960’s issue of Creepy or Eerie; the writer was almost certainly Archie Goodwin, and the artist may have been Steve Ditko.

As I remember it, a foolhardy wizard manages to broach all the security measures surrounding the ultra-classified This-Is-Not-A-Place-Of-Honor containment chamber for a forbidden spell that he believes will neutralize his rivals’ powers. Turns out that he’s right—because the spell causes magic, period, to self-destruct. Fleeing the Wizards’ Council HQ, he consoles himself with the thought that his rivals are at least powerless against him—except that the populace have gotten wind of the fact that the healing, blessing, and fertility magic is gone (and who’s to blame), and torches and pitchforks still work just fine.

Current Mood: nerdy
Current Music: Implicit in the subject.

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Who made this brilliant Calvin and Hobbes/Bohemian Rhapsody fusion?

A fancomic where Calvin appeals to his classmates and principal by singing “Bohemian Rhapsody”…abetted by his dad!

I’m familiar with Bill Watterson and Queen, of course; this has been making the rounds of Facebook, Imgur, and Tumblr since autumn 2023, but I’ve been unable to find a version that credits the fanartist who so cleverly fused the two—the lettering alone, including “Bismillah” in the original Arabic and the sudden gigantic red scare text of “BEELZEBUB”, is worthy of Joe Sabino. And the time frame is right: children in Calvin’s generational bracket would know this song as a favorite of their parents.)

(And, should Calvin’s dad actually happen to agree with his son’s grievance about school, you know he’d absolutely pull something like this.)

Current Mood: hopeful

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Ex US Army MP/Ex Secret Service Agent now Bodyguard main character - At least 3 books in the series

Hi. I wonder if you could help me, please. I'm searching for the name of the author who wrote three fiction novels with the same main character. The main character is an ex-US Army MP, ex-Secret Service Agent who works for a bodyguard agency in Asia. In the first novel, his ex-army buddy's body is found half eaten in Hawaii. In the second novel, he returns to his home city (I think it was New York) to bury his father. He drinks with his older brother in a bar, then leaves the bar with a girl he met. The next day he discovers his brother is in a coma in the hospital after a severe beating. His brother visited an after-hours club that used a membership card with the drawing of a woman holding a finger to her lips. In the third book he flies to London, England to rescue his first love and her young daughter from the middle of a drug war between a Jamaican drug gang and a Croatian gang led by her dead husband's uncle who was killed by Dobermans. Any assistance with the name of one of the books or the author's name is much appreciated. Thank you.

Children's book featuring the island of St. Kilda

I first read this book before 2000 (for sure by 2005), I think, in the USA. It had the feel of a book published in the 70s or 80s, *maybe* 90s, but I don't remember anything about the cover or title.

It was a children's book about a girl living on St. Kilda in what I want to say was around 1400s or 1500s? Could be 1300s or even earlier, but pretty sure it wasn't later than 1500s - had that "Middle Ages" kind of feel. The plot focused on the islanders being pagan and completely isolated (like, generally no visitors from anywhere at all), and the girl getting to know someone who came to the island and was a Christian, maybe an early missionary or something? I want to say he (I think it was a he!) died by the end of the book (maybe at the hands of the residents of the island, because he was challenging their pagan traditions) but she kept his Testament, but I could be wrong, those details are extremely fuzzy. I do remember she was trying to decide whether to follow Christianity, or something like that.

I've tried to find it but there are literally thousands of books that come up in Worldcat when searching for St. Kilda, even limiting by things like year, juvenile, and fiction. Does anyone remember reading a book like this? Thanks in advance to anyone attempting to help identify it! It's been at the back of my mind of years, lol.

Current Mood: frustrated

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Lost Book! Pre-2000 sci-fi book, the cover has a galaxy like Andromeda in the sky of a planet

I remember reading this book when I was at school (I pretty much lived in the library and the sci-fi section was my idea of heaven <3) so it would have been 1985-ish through to 2000-ish?
But literally the only thing I can remember is the book cover *facepalm*

I’m pretty sure it was a reddish or pinkish colour (but honestly, don’t take that as gospel, I could be mis-remembering it, I was only a teen at the time).

The cover had a huge galaxy like Andromeda or the Milky Way galaxy in the sky of a planet (the pov was from the planet looking at the galaxy in the sky) and it was never truly night because the galaxy was so bright all the time. I remember a character commenting on how it was never fully dark because the galaxy was so bright.

It was either a hardcover, or large library edition paperback. I feel like it was a well known sci-fi author of that time but can’t remember a name.

It looked sort like the style of this book cover…

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60641307-andromeda

…with a full galaxy in the sky of a planet, but it was more like daytime, and more of an 80’s-90’s art style, and the galaxy was larger in the planets sky, also the planet had atmosphere, no spacesuits needed.

If this book cover is familiar to anyone, please help me find it again?

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*found book

Found- High fantasy series

Edit: Found! This is the Averalaan / House War / Sun Sword set-of-interconnected-series by Michelle West. Thank you all & I'm off to read wizard hurt/comfort.

-

I'm here because I saw a Tumblr post that said "I feel like a wizard who used too much magic" and I was struck by a memory.

In search of a high fantasy book series of at least 3-4 books. I read these in the US in the mid 2000s, and they were not brand shiny new but not antique either, maybe published in the 90s. I think the author's last name starts with W, or something else close to the end of the alphabet.

I unfortunately do not remember much of the main plot, only details that stood out to me. The books take place mostly in a large city with an elaborate system of noble houses; most of the characters have very long names and being a member of House Something is very important to them. One of the main characters is a young woman who is high up in the leadership of her house / has recently been appointed to the top position of her house?

Another major character is a magic-user who carries a very plain shield and no weapons, because when he needs to fight, he conjures up a magic sword made of sky-blue light.

The thing that reminded me of this book is, if someone overexerts themself using magic in this world, it makes them feel like they have a high fever and start shaking uncontrollably. So there's a scene at the end of the book after the climactic events where one of the characters, although not physically injured, is stuck in the hospital because they're shaking too hard to stand up, and someone brings them water in a wooden cup so it won't break if they drop it.

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lost book

Lost book! Young boy meets two monks, appeal to king, blind wizard YA Historical fantasy(?)

Also posted on goodreads.
Read in 2022. Published sometime between 1970-2010 I think. Could be wrong but I think it was a beige hardcover with the title in a generic blue serif.

Set in medieval Europe?

Begins with a boy living in a rural town and his mother/grandmother/aunt? His has a weird name like Chestnut or something. She's telling him he needs to go out and find his place in the world. He goes into his town, where theres some man accusing him of failing to return a tool or something, which the boy denies. Theres something about a chicken in here somewhere. He leaves town, and meets up with two monks, which one is nicknamed something like 'Brother Girthy' for his size. They plan to go to the capital where the king lives, and ask him for something?

Theres something about war coming, or a hostile neighbor pushing borders. But the king isn't doing anything about it because he's obsessed with this noblewoman that doesn't want anything to do with him. Theres an old, blind wizard who hangs around the castle, blinded in a 'loathly lady' situation. The protag goes to the wizard, the wizard points him to the noblewoman, she just doesn't want anything to do with the king, doesn't love him.

The enemy arrives, and the protag and monks go to try and negotiate/resolve the hostility, but it doesn't work. Theres some visceral moment between the protag and another character here. Something about dragons? The enemy won't leave. The protag returns to the king, urging him to do something, but it doesn't work. I dont really remember after this, but I think the tension between the kingdoms does get solved somehow and some time passes.

The king is still not over the noblewoman, and he sends the protag to ask what he can change about himself to make him worthy to be desired by the noblewoman. She talks to the protag, saying that she wouldn't even love the king if he didn't have warts, or a bad foot, xyz things the king has. As the protag spends more time with her, she falls in love with him and the King is ailed from his imperfections, which the protag gains. Then they get married/are together?? But the king gets over it. Or maybe she gets married to the king, idk. But after the long stay (could have been weeks or years?) the protag leaves to back to his hometown, I think? The plot is wrapped up in a nice bow and everything, as per usual.

Thanks.

Current Mood: awake
Current Location: comatose in bed
Current Music: the scent of privacy

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!FOUND Looking for fandom history post on tumblr, way too many fandoms and characters to list.

I hope to find it and this is one of the few places I can think of to look because searching google and tumblr produced nada. Tumblr posted a fascinating bit on fandom history circa 2017 entitled "Old Time Fandom Used Kerosene Lamps And Involved Horses" (paraphrased) It generated many reminiscences and I forgot to bookmark it. :/ Please let me know if you recall it. Thanks.

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Solitary Monk In A European Monastery

Wow---it's been a minute. Hi, guys!

A new friend is looking for a book she read as a kid in the 1980s. She was at her grandma's house in California.

-The book was a novel/chapter book with no illustrations or pictures, much too old for her as an elementary-school kid. Ah, the things we read when we're bored out of our minds at relatives' houses.

-It was less than 100 pages long, regular novel-sized book. No oversized stuff here. It appealed to her because it was short.

-It was definitely published before the 1980s and was not set in the future.

-It had a plain cover, also with no pictures. She doesn't remember what color it was.

-It told of the life of a solitary monk in a monastery who lived in Europe, near the ocean. The monk was not a leader of any sort. She was adamant that it had no plot. It was a simple book.

What do you think?

Social Studies Book From The Late 1980s

I am looking for a soft-cover social studies book that my school purchased for everyone in the class sometime around 1987. The book was aimed for 6th or 7th graders.

It was a short book that we were instructed to put in our cubby and not take out again until we were instructed. The 7th grade teacher was very emphatic about this. So emphatic was the teacher that we should not read the book that I took my copy out and read it cover to cover at my first opportunity.

It covered a bunch of political and social justice concepts that I had not encountered in school before.

The book had a chapter that defined political points of view along a spectrum from "reactionary" to "radical". It also had a section in which a fictionalized ethnic group called the Duda were lobbying for women's rights.

EDIT: This was in the United States, at a private school in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Any suggestion on what the title of the book might be are appreciated.

Looking for a YA fantasy

Hi all! So I’m hoping you can help me find a book I loved when I was a teenager. The premise was two teenage royals who hated each other but were betrothed to help mend the rift between the two kingdoms. However, as they are were traveling together before their wedding they were set upon by bandits and captured. The two of them were then taken across the boarder to a third kingdom where they were sold into the household of the pretty evil warlord. There one of them thrived and was invited into the household as a guest whereas the other was forced into hard labor and whatnot. Together they had to try to figure out how to escape back to their own kingdoms who were now preparing for war as they each blamed the other for the disappearance of their heir. They ended up leading a revolt and joining a rebellion and becoming the leaders neither of them were at the start of the book. There was a little bit of romance towards the end. I read this book over and over again in the early 2000s. I think the title was some like “the sparrow and the lark”, but clearly it’s not quite that. I hope that someone else remembers this book because I would love to read it again. Thank you!

shorts story, sf, mid 1980s or earlier

Looking for a SF short story I would have read in the mid to late 1980s, from a collection or anthology borrowed from an Australian library.

Character A has done something bad to character B (or their family). Character B is from a community (alien race? planet?) which is famed for getting revenge. They are both at a gathering; Character B offers Character A some kind of fruit, with an explanation of something about this has to do with resolving the conflict. A eats the fruit, it is then revealed that something else that was in it (possibly a grub?) will kill them.

Current Mood: agitated
Current Location: The Secret Archives of Love.
Current Music: ”Trance Dance”.

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Golden/early Silver Age romance comic with a masked host? (FOUND: Jon Juan #1.)

Okay; this one has been causing me a nagging itch in the brain. I recall having seen—probably on some incarnation of Scans Daily on another platform—a U.S. romance comic from the 1940’s or 1950’s that had an anthology host—something more characteristic of horror comics. He was a Zorroesque Masked Lover who narrated love stories throughout history (and may have been an immortal or time-traveler who’d personally witnessed/taken part in them); the specific story featured a girl who was concealing her blindness—which she felt made her unfit to marry.

Even after specifying romance, the sheer number of masquerade balls, highway robbers, masked vigilantes, and tragic disfigurements in the genre has made this a royal pain in the kazoo to Google.

ETA: FOUND: Jon Juan #1, with the help of

superfangirl1 on

scans_daily, who directed me to https://comicbookplus.com/, an online archive of public domain comics; there I found Great Lover Romances #1 (Toby/Minoan, 1951)—an anthology including a story starring a character called Jon Juan: https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=41459

That, in turn, gave me the search term I needed to track down Jon Juan’s own comic (under One Shots rather than Romance):
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=1829

Shout-out as well to the helpful folks at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2023/08/habo-vintage-comic-search/#comments

Jon Juan was an immortal from Atlantis who went swashbuckling through history, dallying with history’s legendary beauties and rescuing damsels from Durance Vile, only to ride off into the sunset as wandering adventurers are wont to do; this didn’t stop him from archiving cherished memories of all his paramours (housed in his own Inner Sanctum, the Secret Archives of Love.)

The story I remembered was “Lady in the Dark”, pp. 27-35; the setting is (19th-century?) Spain, and Jon Juan is dressing and comporting himself very much as a capa y espada adventurer—but it’s the titular Lady who wears a mask/veil, to disguise her condition; the Reveal, coming abruptly from her duenna, has the air of an ableist punch line: sorry, Carmelita has a ding in her, and that’s that.

It’s easy to see what doomed Jon Juan to be a one-off experiment: Spicy Adventure is a genre that Siegel and Schomberg couldn’t do justice to under the restrictions of 1950’s US comics, and romance readers tend to want commitment as a payoff. It’s still an exercise in delightful cracktacular weirditude, much like The Continental or Korla Pandit's Adventures In Music.

And here’s the

scans_daily post, from 14 January 2011: https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2691288.html#cutid1

teen/ kids adventure novel about being stuck in a computer game

I really hope you guys can help me!

First is the plot.

The main character was to my knowledge a teenager, who had some issues. I don't exactly remember what issues, but something is nagging in the back of my head that it's about his dad (maybe they fought?). He then begins playing a new computer game, and is sucked into the game, alongside several others playing the game.

I don't remember everyone involved, but there was a little sister to someone (might be the main character himself?), who was framed as being pretty useless and annoying. I also remember a girl, probably around the age of the main character, who he fights with at the beginning. And then I remember a guy that's the first to lose the game, but I don't remember anything about him. The sister I mentioned *might* be someone that joined later, but I'm really not sure.

I remember that they're in a sort of forest area, talking about how they don't have any food. I remember a bit (semi) vvivdly about one of the group being like "I wish we could use a microwave/ iw wish we had pizza", and then another one from the group is like "but... we don't have any electricity??"

I very vividly remember that they try to hurt the monkeys in the forest, but they realize that they can't attack them. A fight breaks out in the grup (might be main character and the girl I mentioned), but they realize they can't attack other players either.

I don't rememebr much main plot, but I remember that they're fighting in the game (monsters/ animals etc?), and the guy I mentioned loses all his life... and he then disappears from the game. And that's when they realize that when you die in game, you're logged out, and they're not sure if that means they're also dead in real life.

Throughout the game, they lose more and more of the group. At some point, they get to a sort of tribe in the game, where they meet the creator of the game.

I remember that he's talking to one of the girls left in the group, and he specifically uses the practical example of his technology that ti would mean you could try on clothing fom the comfort of your own home. I don't rememebr exactly why, but something happens to maybe enrage him? But they're forced to leave the tribe, and they're still stuc in the game.

At that point, they're not many left, and it's looking really dire. I think they're under attack from a fort? But when all hope seems lost, the little sister I mentioned bfore shows a way out, I believe? Lik she totally saves the day. I believe that she made friends with some of the enemies that showed her a secret path to escape the game?

In the end, it was revealed that the people who died in game were all alive, but I o't remembr if they explain why they didn't just log in again.

Now, for some general things I remember:

The date is set, and it can't be newer than 2013, but probably even older since I borrowed it from the library. I know the date is set, because I read it at my mom's friends place, and she moved around the first half of 2013, so I couldn't have read it after.

I read it in Danish, but all the names weren't Danish, and it felt like it was originally English (or at least not Danish). The title (in my head at least) is kind of snappy like "game over" or the like. Words that could ring a bell are words like "war" or "commander".

It's one book, and not a series. This one is very firm, as there was no mention of a sequel, and it was very contained.

It was not dark or dystopic or anything. I've trid searching for this a few times, and was often asked if it was crtain series that had plots pertaining to the end of the world, viruses etc. This was relatively light hearted with nothing of the sort.

The cover I remmeber was a cartoon-style. It was black, mayb to show it was night? And there's a group of peopl (probably the main group). I think there might be a campfire, and one of them is pointing in my memoy, like "lt's go that way!" or "charge!"

It's not The Heir Apparent series, Ready Player One, or Jumanji. I've gotten those a few times, but it's without a doubt not them. It's not Virtual War either.

Phew, this got really long... But I really hope someone here knows it! It's been bugging me for so long!

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lost book

Lost book about blood transfusion - historical fiction

I have been trying to find a book again and have not had any luck searching for it so maybe y’all can help. It’s about blood and old medical science and disease so I’ll put the summary under a cut.
( Read more... )

Looking for a short story I read at school.

While I was studying English at school for one lesson a substitute teacher had us read a short story that I'd love to read again.

It concerned a rather muscly man cleaning his motorbike and detailed how his landlord's daughter seduced him into marriage by sitting behind him and pushing herself up against him.

I remember at the time a group of 13-14 year old kids couldn't comprehend that a guy would just give up all his freedom for a woman and our teacher telling us that we were young and one day a woman would come into our lives that would have us understand how this man could just forget everything and fall in love.

I remember really not getting it then but would love to read it again.

If it helps it was set against the backdrop of a really hot day.

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lectura juvenil

YA Book about a runner...

There was a YA Book I purchased on my way to the airport and read on a flight circa 1990. The main character was a runner who had an injury and was supposed to stay off his feet as much as possible. He was scolded by a doctor at one point because he kept at running practice anyway. At some point, he got a girlfriend and that's pretty much all I remember about it.

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English Victorian Literature that features Death/Funeral

Hello everyone,

I am currently writing my Master's thesis on perceptions of death and proper ways of mourning in Victorian England. I am analyzing samples of life writing and comparing those depicitions of grief and death to examples in popular literature.

I am struggling to find th eliterature though! So far I have Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop, and possible North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

I am looking for book recommendations that:

Fall into the Victorian era published by authors from the UK
Depict some sort of death, funeral, expression of grief.
** Bonus points if it has a woman dying

I wouldn't mine poems either.

Thank you!
-M

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Sci-Fi Comic About A Courier Who Travels Between Worlds?

Hullo All.

I woke up this morning puzzled by a notion I'd had of a comic I saw on the scans-daily community ages ago. Only thing is I can't recall the title or the characters' names. I was wondering if anyone might know of it and could help me out?

( Details Below )

Current Mood: pensive

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Orange-juice-braised vegetable recipe prepared by a mentally ill Southern U.S. lady?

(Warning for self-harm and attempted suicide mention.)

I’m recalling an account (nonfiction; I can’t recall whether it was a memoir , a magazine article, or a cookbook) in which the author recounts visiting a genteel (Southern U.S., I seem to recall) older lady who used to fix them carrots and onions braised in orange juice; she ate only fruits and vegetables, believing such foods to be cleaner than grains and animal products. Her dietary choices also had to do with a paranoid-schizophrenic idea that people were trying to poison her; she’d never had children, owing to abdominal damage sustained during a suicide attempt.

This would’ve been in the 70’s or 80’s. Since similar recipes are commonplace, the recipe per se isn’t what I’m looking for; it’s the context that’s creating a nagging itch in the brain.