Episode 548 - Black God's Kiss - Part 1

What’s the outro music? I love it!

Step on me Jirel.

Rob_Hellfire_Graves (Cult organ donor, wrestler, poet & Satanic Reverend)

Read the title as Black God's Kids. Thought it was going to contain a sassy kid and some high jinks.

Los Angeles has always seemed Weird to me- so sprawling and spread out, in between desert, mountain and sea with all those valleys and anonymous neighborhoods, always slightly dusty but strangely bright. Tim Powers does a lot of good work with Weird LA. Angel used the city quite Weirdly too.

I still think they missed their chance by not having someone walk in on Aquaman having a shower, and when he turns around it's web-fingered Patrick Duffy.

Unusual eye color often tips you off that there's something uncanny about a character. Thomas Harris does this by giving Francis Dolarhyde yellow eyes and Hannibal Lecter maroon eyes. Sarah from the Deadbeats graphic novel also has really vivid eye color (chartreuse I think).

Now I want to see the Matthew Barney cut of Justice League where there's 6 hours of real-time footage of Aquaman buying shirts and practicing his rip technique.

Dr. Mctock

It's a tough choice: kiss Jirel's sword-flavoured mouth or smell one of Gwyneth Paltrow's candles…

YES! I read about it yesterday. I really hope it gets published.

https://youtu.be/w6cCkdjPxsg

Alan Ricks

Also Red Sonja, the character developed by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith in the 70s is partially based on REH’s creations Red Sonya of Rogatino with some of his Dark Agnes de Chastillon thrown in. Here is a good article. https://www.tor.com/2009/02/23/red-sonja-vs-red-sonya/

Alan Ricks

You might not be aware of filk music. It is nerd folk music whose highpoint was the 60s-80s. Its folk music about fantasy, sci-fi, weird fiction fandom. Its great but not that well known even though stuff like nerdcore is spiritually descended from it. Anyways Jirel of Joiry has a banger of a filk song off no less than Mercedes Lackey’s album Magic, Moondust & Melancholy.

Alan Ricks

I'm just learning this now, but if you're an Audible Premium Plus subscriber, there's an free unabridged version of Black God's Kiss on that site.

Clint Page

Also, this story should get a special mention for "Worst Water Slide, Ever."

Peter Larsen

This story was such a pleasant surprise. I’m not a huge fan of the Conan-style sword and sorcery (sorry lads) but I’ve always appreciated how Mr. E. Howard tossed some Weird into the mix even if it was just something to punch. This story took it to another level. Jirel is such an interesting character. Her motivation of revenge is straightforward, but I think being a woman in this setting in a traditionally masculine role gives her straightforward revenge motivation a lot of nuance. The “many little hatreds” she experienced in her life sounds very similar to the micro-aggressions experienced by women in traditionally masculine areas today. I can imagine Moore had some experience with that as a fantasy writer in the 30s. it makes the villain’s actions blisteringly personal. [Jirel isn’t even given the honor of dying with her commander like the other men Guillaume has conquered. ] EDIT: I realized on reading the story that I was mistaken and didn’t realize Jirel was the commander. My bad. Instead she’s kept as a trophy object even though Guillaume is visibly disappointed by her. With that context the “Hell” that she visits is fascinating. Does it exist as a solely physical location, with its own strange creatures and logic? Or is it influenced by the minds of those who make the poor decision to visit? Since we only know the Priest’s reaction it’s left delightfully ambiguous how much of this land is real and how much is illusion or reflection. The scene of “plain” Jirel watching a stunningly beautiful woman flip mindlessly in the mud like an object is a chilling image. The tone and world reminds me of the Manga Berserk, which I find sadly well-timed since the creator just died. The series is set in a medieval fantasy world where magic is extremely rare at first, but whenever it does show up it is always bizarre, capital “W” Weird, and dangerous. I love this odd genre of “Weird Dark Fantasy” like Berserk, Dark Souls, or Bloodbourne. I hope you cover more of the Jirel stories, I know I’ll be purchasing a collection to follow along. How about Jirel June?

Kit Ainslie

Oh wow, was not expecting the bitter sting of remembering the Magic Castle on the tail of such a great episode! I was fortunate enough to have access to it through a boss of mine at a previous job, and I had to cancel my last foreseeable visit due to the pandemic. For those outside of LA, the Magic Castle is a private club for magicians that is an invitation only experience. It has fantastic food and drink, frankly astonishing magic shows, nooks and crannys full of easter eggs, and a ghostly piano player that takes requests. One of the very few places left that gives off that 'private club' atmosphere that is an underpinning of so many stories covered on the show. I love it whenever we get references to Los Angeles on the show, still hoping for a post-pandemic live show in the city at some point. Thanks for this, and every, great episode that y'all put together!

I'm pretty sure that shirt-growing is one of Aquaman's least appreciated powers.

Her origin is explained in "The Celebrated Frog-Jumping Woman of Calaveras County."

Ben Gilbert

So happy you guys are covering this one! There's nothing better than a good ol' fashioned sell-your-soul to get revenge tale!

I Like the Cut of Your Gibbering

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/22/john-steinbecks-estate-urged-to-let-the-world-read-his-shunned-werewolf-novel?CMP=twt_books_b-gdnbooks

I'm really enjoying this character. But I came here to address another issue. Did you know about John Steinbeck's unpublished WEREWOLF NOVEL?

Gotta say, was not at all expecting the turns this story took

superkeaton

Also, frog-jumping-woman is super-creepy.

Peter Larsen

She didn't have to hold the sword in her teeth! She could hold it between her toes!

Peter Larsen

I got unnecessarily upset at the end learning that Chad has an unrequited love with someone that's not Chris. You fool Fifer, Lackey's right in front of you...you fool

Nomnom De Gair

I'm also a fan of Lavie Tidhar's novellas Gorel & The Pot-Bellied God and its sequel Black Gods Kiss, which were inspired by C.L. Moore.

Steve

7 minutes into a 30-minute episode and I am completely in love with this character. Yellow eyes and all.

I may post something more substantive after this, but I didn’t want to forget. This is a GREAT video about boob armor that I highly recommend lol. https://youtu.be/60lU68oyxK4

Evan

I agree that Moore has a knack for the uncanny. That frog-jumping woman will really stick with me! And her description of the tower of light emerging from a non-reflective black surface was prescient. It reminded me of ultra-black paint - when you coat a three dimensional object with this stuff, it hides all the contours and it kind of hurts your brain to look at. There are some really fun videos on Youtube playing with the effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PSaGS5i1Yw&t=372s

Christine M

It's a treat!

Steve

never heard of C.L. Moore before today.. good to have some new eldritch tales to hear

Yellow eyes, red hair, tall… Are we dealing with Scut Farkus’s ancestor?

Black God’s Kiss should be the name of a Danzig tribute act.

Pretty sure ‘The Validity Of Boob Armour’ is what Thomas Paine wrote after ‘The Rights Of Man’

Jamie Brittain