Mostly when I write a genre police story, I begin by picking the genre and then discussing the issues around the context and creation of the genre. But today we’re going to have to approach this article from a different perspective. We’re about to talk about the Bronze age of comics, a style and era […]
About Ben Jackson-Ellery
Genre Police: Look, Up In The Sky!
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No! It’s the wonderful world of superheroes. Easy to discuss Supers, just check out Captain America, right? What do you mean he comes from a different genre to Thor? What about Rorschach? Claire Bennet fits in here somewhere as well, doesn’t she? Now we are in a […]
Genre Police: Pulp Fiction(s)?
So, Pulp. I’ve left this one off for a long while because I think we needed to discuss a few of the other genres to get here. When someone mentions Pulp tales, we all know what we are talking about. We’re fighting Nazis on a plane wing, discovering lost valleys with golden temples, escaping dinosaurs […]
Genre Police: Trenchcoats & Tragedy
I know you’ve put the trenchcoat away since we did Gothpunk but it’s time to get it out again. Put it back on, find a hat and pour yourself some bourbon straight from the bottle. There’s a mystery to be solved and we’re gonna have to crack some writer’s knuckles to do it – let’s […]
Genre Police: You Call it Wuxia, I call it Wushu
From a western perspective, Wuxia and the Samurai genre can be very easy to blend together. In reality, though, Wuxia is a different beast. It has a history of rebellion, heroes disinterested in serving a local lord and finding their own destiny. Sound familiar? It’s probably the content of most weekly gaming sessions. Let’s take […]
Genre Police: Eventually We Had To Mention Katanas
The Samurai is now culturally everywhere. Most western geeks understand the concept of Bushido code and can happily argue the difference between wakishai and a tanto. However, when it first arrived, I imagine it was an odd genre for western audiences because while it was wildly aesthetically different, it had many hallmarks recognisable in our […]
Genre Police: The Only Good Pirate Is A Fake Pirate
Hoist the mainsail! Stow the booty! Set Sail For Outer shores! And while we’re at it, make sure we paint over anything that might make a bunch of bandits at sea look like criminals! Spend some time with us and let investigate the genre of pirates and how its far from a guide to the […]
Genre Police: The Sum Of All Fears
It’s far too late, far far too late to do anything about it. The end is not nigh, it’s been and gone. All that remains is this wasteland. And into this wasteland comes one man, a man with a mission to inform you about a genre. Count your bullets road warriors, let’s drive headlong into […]
Genre Police: Taking Up Space?
Okay….this is gonna be a difficult one. It’s gonna really be a column about how we can’t do a column that turns into a column. We’re going to look at how we look at science fiction, how historically it has evolved and how that isnt’ helpful to us. We might even learn something about games […]
Genre Police: Showdown At High Noon
Many of you might be wondering why I’m even bothering with the Western. Nowadays it’s viewed as a diminishing corner genre. When you say ‘Western’ to people they come up with an idea of ‘heroic cowboys’ killing ‘savage injuns’ and give it a pass. While there is some content that resembles this statement, not all […]