Disorders of Magnitude

Jason V Brock is an award-winning writer, editor, filmmaker, composer, and artist. He has been widely-published online, in comic books, magazines, and anthologies, such as Butcher Knives & Body Counts, Simulacrum and Other Possible Realities,Fungi, Weird Fiction Review, Fangoria, and many others.

Imagine your favorite late night college radio show. And the deejay is Jason V Brock, the author of this book, Disorders of Magnitude. You rely upon Jason to provide insights and intriguing facts as he connects the dots. Good, so far? Well, it gets even better. We’re talking about a multitude of connections, some from on high and some from on low. It’s not easy to categorize it all but Brock manages to collect a lot of essential wisdom and in a very accessible presentation. The college radio analogy is fitting since Disorders of Magnitude falls under an academic book category. It is right at home as part of a college course. But it is also the perfect companion for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of where we are today in terms of the entertainment we consume, particularly dark fantasy.

• Section One: The Darkest AgeThe Smoldering Past: The Creation of the Modern from Frankenstein and Dracula to the Great War and Beyond“Cosmic Introspection”: Lovecraft’s Attainment of Personal Value by Way of Infinite InsignificanceForrest J Ackerman: Fan ZeroGathering Darkness: In Appreciation of the Artists of Weird TalesFrank M. Robinson: First Fandom and BeyondSection Two: Things BecomeThe Burden of Now: Welles’s “Panic Broadcast,” World War II, and Creeping AnomieRay Bradbury: The Boy Who Never Grew UpCinematic Dream Logic: How Movies Permanently Altered the Fabric of RealityIndividual Sexual Liberation Becomes Social Emancipation: Playboy Changes the WorldHarlan Ellison®: L’Enfant Terrible (Sort Of)Section Three: The Rise of the Speculative MindRod Serling: Articulating the American NightmareA Howling at Owl Creek Bridge: Observations on Two Important Twilight Zone EpisodesGeorge Clayton Johnson: A Touch of StrangeL’Âge d’Or to Götterdämmerung: How Bradbury, Serling, Beaumont, and “The Group” Shaped a Pop FutureRoger Corman: Socially Conscious AuteurFinding Sanctuary: Running from the Zone to LoganThe Long Nuclear Shadow: Atomic Horror, Godzilla, and the Cold WarThe Horror of It All! EC and the Beginnings of Modern Media HOOHAH!Madly Yours, Al FeldsteinAn End, a Middle, a Beginning: Richard Matheson and His ImpactSection Four: Slashers, Blockbusters, and BestsellersRiding the Dark Wave: The Role of Dystopian Science Fiction in Popular CultureCelluloid Asylum: O’Bannon, Romero, Carpenter, and the Liberals Lose (and Find) Their Collective MindsTerrible Beauty: Slasher Film Connections to Conservatism, Pornography, and MisogynyKing of the Dead: Filmmaker George A. Romero on Politics, Film, and the FutureDan O’Bannon: Not Gone, Not ForgottenH. R. Giger: A Darkness Faster Than LightThe Emperor’s New Book: How Stephen King Saved Horror, Created Clive Barker (and Sam Raimi) . . . and Killed PublishingThe Doctor Is In: F. Paul WilsonSounds Horrific: Art Rock, Soundtracks, and the ZeitgeistSection Five: A Century of SpeculationCarnivora: The Dark Art of AutomobilesDavid J. Skal: Monster Kid Ambassador of HorrorSeasons in HellKris Kuksi: Dark Horizons in the Realm of the SensesBluewater Comics’s Darren G. Davis: On the Run in the Digital Age of ComicsThe H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival: Cosmic Chaos on the Silver ScreenS. T. Joshi: Champion of the Weird TaleMarc Scott Zicree: As Timeless as InfinitySection Six: From (and Into) the BeyondFangoria’s Chris Alexander: Cinephilia, Music, and All the Rest of ItBruce Campbell: From The Evil Dead to Burn Notice and BeyondThe Inner World of William F. NolanThe Mammoth Book of Body HorrorTwo of a Kind: Lee-Anne Raymond and Demetrios Vakras“Cthulhu, a Vampire, and a Zombie Walk into a Bar . . .”: Why These Themes, Why Now, and What’s the Matter with Hollyweird?John Shirley: The Tao of IdentityRay Harryhausen: A Note on the Passage of GiantsKneeling at the Dandelion Shrine: An AppreciationWilliam F. Nolan and Ray Bradbury: ReflectionsIntroduction: The Pope of Speculative Fiction Future Shock? (De)Parting ThoughtsAppendicesIndexAbout the Author