Moorcock, Art & Comics PART I

Simon Perrins joins me in Derry and Toms to discuss Moorcock, art, comics, Tolkien, TV adaptations, role-playing games, tortured poet musicians we adored in our youths and generally go totally fugazi.

Simon is the man behind our banner art, logo, Gerard Arthur Connelly portraits and pretty much our entire visual identity. Follow him on Twitter and check out his store.

Listen to BITR Breakfast in the Ruins Radio on Radio Garden.

Imagery and stuff we discuss along the way:

White Dwarf #57

Thrud and Eric of Boneymaloney – Carl Critchlow

Fighting Fantasy Book 9 – Caverns of the Snow Witch

Imagine Magazine January 1985 – Cover by Rodney Matthews

The Nomad of Time – Grafton Edition – Cover by Melvyn

The Tolkien Bestiary – David Day – Illustration of The Fall of Numenor by Ian Miller

More Tolkien Bestiary – elves by Victor Ambrus

Andy’s Fave Elric cover – Jack Gaughan

Barry Windsor-Smith’s Elric vs Conan

Simon’s fave Elric – Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Whelan

Elric by Lawrence Cutting

Blue Steel

Science Fantasy #47

Stormbringer 2e by GW – Rob Halford Elric

James Cawthorn’s Stormbringer by Jayde Design

Death of Elric prelim sketch by Cawthorn

Cawthorn’s History of the Runestaff

P Craig Russell on The Dreaming City

Julien Tello on The Dreaming City for the Julian Blondel adaptations

Mike Mignola’s Corum

MM on The Beatles

Moorcock and Mike Harrison (Robert Crumb style)

Homemade MERP Screens

The Swords of Heaven the Flowers of Hell by Howard Chaykin

The Mad God’s Amulet by Bob Haberfield

Swords of Corum by Mark Salwowski

The Chronicles of Castle Brass by Mark Salwowski

Breakfast in the Ruins – Random House – artist unknown

Fantasy Masterworks History of the Runestaff by Richard Carr

Fugazi by Mark Wilkinson

Moorcock RPGs and the Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly

Moorcock RPGs and the Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly

Phil, Loz and I celebrate an all too brief interlude in lockdown life to drink weird porters and muse upon Moorcock’s treatment at the hands of tabletop role-playing games.

Phil taunts us with her syrupy beer avoidance skills, two-man canoes get far too many mentions and Loz gatekeeps Moorcock RPG play (the rotter).

Also, The Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly debuts with chapter one. There are 5 more to come (and if I don’t get pelted with rottent tomatoes I may write more).

The Eternal Champion Part Two

We’re back.

The Eternal Champion continues on his crusade to defeat the enemies of humanity and further proves himself an absolute duffer with the ladies.

Phil reveals a penchant for watching extreme violence against Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum.

I wring my hands at the horror of it all.

JOIN US!

Episode 06 – Elric of Melniboné Part Two w/ @lozbearfield

Elric of Melniboné Part Two

Loz is back with me at Derry and Tom’s as we dive into Straasha’s ocean depths to prize open the mysteries below and discuss (most of) Book Two of Elric of Melniboné. Elric is full of pith and vinegar for a change and we get a good look at him from a different perspective.

Excellent beverages are consumed along the way.

Episode 05 – The Final Programme Phase One w/ @husseindharma

The Final Programme Phase One

After a degree of arm-twisting and one false start, Hussein finally gets his head into a sci-fi/fantasy book and agrees to tell the tale!

We cover the first Phase of The Final Programme, the introduction of Jerry Cornelius into the world of Michael Moorcock.

Hussein pops a couple of cherries, appearing on his first podcast AND reading his first ever scifi/fantasy novel! He also gets to marvel at the wonders of psychedelic 70s scifi covers. Meanwhile I keep mixing up my Perssons with my Brunners.

Massive thanks to new patrons Matt and Tom, as well of course as existing Chaos Engineers Norman, Fred, Malpertius and David. I’m ruminating on what I can do in terms of patron exclusives. Watch this space.

Episode 04 – Happy Birthday MM and Phil!!!

Happy Birthday Michael Moorcock and Phil

One of the twitter gang tipped me off a few weeks ago that December 18th is Michael Moorcock’s birthday. It took a while for the penny to drop, but when it did and my brain was penetrated by the copper and grub of ten thousand grasping fingers, I was taken aback for a second.

December 18th is also my brilliant and long-suffering partner Phil’s birthday!

Sweet, sweet synchronicity.

This presented an opportunity to celebrate both birthdays with a special, festive episode recorded in a four poster suite in the ancient 16th century Bagdale Hall Hotel in Whitby, the salt-bitten harboured, red-roofed jewel in Yorkshire’s Crown.

What’s more, some fine friends of the show sent along their messages to MM for inclusion.

So thanks Rob, Michael, Fred, Anthony, Asako Soh, David and The Pastor for your contributions. I’d like to think that in some cycle of existence MM may hear your words and feel the love.

The Pastor went the extra mile and sent a video of his salutation. As I could only keep the audio for the episode, here is his contribution in all its heavenly glory!

Thanks again Pastor!

So, many happy returns of the day to Phil, to Michael Moorcock, to anyone else who shares this day and anyone who just happens to listen to this on their birthday at any point in the future, from Earth 01 to Earth 16 or anywhere in the multiverse!

Finally, my gratitude to new patrons Malpertius and David, who join Fred and Norman in the ranks of Chaos Engineers. I’m always humbled that anyone would offer up their own sheckles to support this podcast. I hope I can repay your confidence.

Anyway, I hear the Song of the Swords. A transition approaches so… I’ll see you on the Moonbeam Roads!

Episode 03 – Elric of Melniboné Part one

Elric of Melniboné Part one

Loz is back with me at Derry and Tom’s as we tackle the 1972 novel Elric of Melniboné.

We have a few drinks and muse upon Elric’s early pre-wanderer, Stormbringerless years on the Ruby Throne of Imrryr.

We also ponder the news of a possible Elric TV show and attempt to get comfortable on Lord Shark’s Ostentatious Couch (spoiler, we don’t).

Episode 02 – The Jewel in the Skull Book One

The Jewel in the Skull Book One

Natasha and I discuss Book One of The Jewel in the Skull. It’s got it all!

Moorcock discussion? Check!

Moorcroft? Sure, why not!

Bagging small English towns? Check!

Dogs wagging tails? Check and check!

NOW IN THC SOUND!

Thanks are once again due to Neil for his ace moral and technical support.

Note: The bulk of this was recorded before Episode One, so we’re already entering into the true spirit of Moorcock by complicating our own internal chronology.

Breakfast in the Ruins Book Club

Thanks to a great sugestion from a fellow traveller (@walfseo, you know who you are), I’ll now be posting in good time to let you know what we’ll be covering next.

So, with that in mind, dust off your copy of The Jewel in the Skull and get reading.

In epsiode 02 Natasha and I will be discussing Book One of The Jewel in the Skull (pages 7 to 39) and having a few tugs of Angostura Rum and some delicious Trinidadian cuisine!

If you can get your thoughts to me by Sunday 28th October I’ll include them in the outro!

Episode 01 – Elric part 1 – The Dreaming City

The Dreaming City

Join Loz and I as we discuss the first published Elric story, The Dreaming City.

Loz is an old friend and fellow traveller of the moonbeam roads and will be a regular contributor.

In this, the first full-blooded episode of Breakfast in the Ruins we take a look at the first published story featuring (arguably) Michael Moorcock’s most enduring creation, the moody albino warrior-sorcerer-emperor-wanderer Elric.

As discussed in the episode, be sure to check out the Stormbringer episodes of The Grognard Files (available at https://thegrognardfiles.com/tag/stormbringer/)

Thanks to Neil (@nelbert1 on twitter) for the ace support and Jonny Royale for the enthusiasm and positivity that ensured I got on and did this.

The music in this episode is by Giantkind, by kind permission of Loz & Neil!