I'm not feeling particularly theocidal today. I am, however, feeling somewhat at a loss for a topic. Consequently, I thought I'd just reprint the foreword to “The War of the Apocalyptics”, the latest phantacea Mythos print publication.

(NOTE: Double-click on the graphic to the right and the Moloch Sedon's Mighty Eye-Mouth in the Sky, as it appears on War-Pox's back cover, shall leap into view.)

While it isn't a typical photo essay as such, it does give me an opportunity to publish five never-before-seen-online pages from the second issue (of a planned 15 issues) of the ill-fated phantacea Phase One project. (Unless I come up with a better idea I'll publish the final five next time.)

Hopefully these pages, and Ian Bateson's black and white cover for the comic, will spur you into some serious ordering and recommending to friends.

The War of the Apocalyptics – Author’s Foreword

Prior to plopping potential readers of epic-length fantasies ‘in media res’, in the middle of things, it’s customary to provide a brief advisory of ‘what’s gone on before’. Customarily being somewhat of a sensible sort, not to mention also being somewhat of a contrarian, I’ve often felt that if anyone really wanted to learn that they’d buy what went before and read it.

I’m making an exception in this case because “The War of the Apocalyptics” (henceforth ‘War-Pox’) is not, per se, a prequel or a sequel to “Feeling Theocidal” (henceforth ‘Feel Theo’), the previous PHANTACEA Mythos print publication. Nor is it Book Two of “The Thrice-Cursed Godly Glories”, though they all make brief, yet seemingly significant appearances herein.

Sooth said, which I always strive to do, War-Pox is only set in the same world(s) as Feel Theo, albeit well over 1500 years later.  Sooth said some more, the first and third parts of the novel-in-hand derive directly from a different incarnation of PHANTACEA: namely, the original series of six comic books that I wrote and published between 1977 and 1980.

Much the same could be said about War-Pox’s second part. Except it derived from scripts prepared for an offshoot series of comic books I promised but never delivered, ones that were once tentatively entitled “The Justice Chronicles”. Although its titular character, Baron Justice, appeared in PHANTACEA One, I never got around to publishing the second series due less to a lack of fans, or interested artists, as far too less in the way of disposable income on my part all those years ago.

In other words, there’s not much point recommending anyone buy the comic books because they’re long out of print.  Although I do still occasionally sell remainder and return copies of the first four issues via www.phantacea.com (them along with never-ordered and hence pretty much pristine copies of 'Forever & 40 Days - The Genesis of PHANTACEA' {which can still be ordered}, the graphic novel that followed most of a decade later), there’s not much point in even looking for the complete series online.

That’s because copies of pH-5 and pH-6 seem to have vapourized. And, believe me, I know. I’ve searched Cyberia for them. So, all that being said, what has gone on before? Tell you what, how about we pretend that War-Pox, as the first book in the Launch 1980 cycle, starts everything anew?

That’s precisely what we’ll do then, with the proviso that part two of the novel, which reintroduces Signal System and is set mostly in Vancouver, Canada, will continue in “Centauri Island”, the second book of the Launch 1980 cycle.

Jim McPherson
The PHANTACEA Mythos
(www.phantacea.com)
October 2009

That'll do for now. Until the next time, be pHantacizing you.

Oh, and in case you haven't done so already, here's a friendly reminder:

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