1. Karl E Wagner

Jan 20, 2012  KARL EDWARD WAGNER MASTERS OF THE WEIRD TALE SYNOPSIS With over 700 pages, including all of Karl Edward Wagner’s horror fiction, this is one of the best, most impeccably proofed and designed in our Masters of the Weird Tale series. This collection includes Sticks, Where the Summer Ends, In the Pines; in sum, all of the horror fiction. Feel free to email us for a list of the stories as a PDF. Karl Edward Wagner. This collection includes Sticks, Where the Summer Ends, In the. Feel free to email us for a list of the stories as a PDF file.

Karl Edward Wagner at writers panel, World Fantasy Conference, Seattle, 1989. Born ( 1945-12-12)December 12, 1945, US Died October 14, 1994 (1994-10-14) (aged 48), US Nationality American Spouse(s) Barbara Ruth Mott 1974-1986 Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor and publisher of, and, who was born in and originally trained as a. He wrote numerous dark fantasy and horror stories. As an editor, he created a three-volume set of Robert E. Howard's fiction restored to its original form as written, and edited the long-running and genre-defining series for.

His publishing company issued four volumes of the best stories by some of the major authors of the so-called Golden Age. He is possibly best known for his creation of a series of stories featuring the character, the Mystic Swordsman. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be detected in the stories 'The Fourth Seal' and 'Into Whose Hands'. He described his personal philosophy as, and, and claimed, not entirely seriously, to be related to 'an opera composer named '.

Wagner also admired the cinema of, stating 'I worship the film '. Contents. Biography Wagner was the fourth and youngest child of Aubrey J. Wagner and Dorothea Huber. His father was an official of the.

Wagner earned a history degree from Kenyon College during 1967, and a psychiatry degree from. As noted above, he disliked the medical profession, which he abandoned upon establishing himself as a writer.

Wagner was productive as both a writer and editor/anthologist; see below. His friends included the writer, two of whose collections he published with the publishing imprint. Wagner died in his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on October 14, 1994, essentially of the consequences of longterm. It was reported in a late 1994 issue of the Newsletter of the that Wagner's causes of death were and. Exorcisms and Ecstasies, a posthumous volume of uncollected stories, miscellany and tributes was published by small press publisher during 1997. Night Shade Books has published the complete Kane stories (novels and shorts) in two hardcover volumes. Published works Some of Wagner's work is set in 's universe (featuring and ); he also edited three volumes of Howard's original Conan tales, important to purists for being the first to restore the texts to their originally published form.

His three volumes of also featured restored versions of pulp-era fantasy stories by authors such as, and. Wagner wrote an unpublished Bran Mak Morn novel, Queen of the Night, which was originally scheduled to be published by Zebra books during 1978 and Ace Books during 1980. Kane, the Mystic Swordsman Wagner created his own mystical and immortal pre-historical anti-hero, whose name and background are based on traditional conceptions of the biblical. A powerful, left-handed warrior-sorcerer with red hair and blue eyes, the character was described by Wagner as one 'who could master any situation intellectually, or rip heads off if push came to shove'.

Kane is an immortal somewhat like the (or more specifically, 's, a novel which Wagner cites as a major influence in his essay 'The Once and Future Kane') Kane's character also includes elements of Robert E. He is an immortal, cursed to wander the earth until he is destroyed by the violence that he himself has created. He sells his loyalty as a fighter to the highest bidder.

He is a well-read and intelligent man who has traveled his world for centuries and is able to discuss music, poetry, politics, and many other subjects. He is also amoral and a born killer. The Kane stories are often classified as tales of (although Wagner disliked the term), which some critics have compared favourably to those of Howard and. The character Kane is considered one of the most memorable and original of Inspired by the sword and sorcery adventures of 's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and Robert E. Howard's mighty-thewed barbarian Conan the Cimmerian, Wagner set about creating his own fantasy character while still attending medical school.

The result was initially published as a paperback original during 1970 by West Coast pornography publisher Powell Publications, with a lurid cover. The text of the novel was altered by an unknown copyeditor to conform with the cover art. After publishing a pseudonymous pornographic novel with a small New York company, Wagner relinquished his chance to become a doctor and instead decided to write full-time. During 1973, Warner Paperback library published Death Angel's Shadow, which collected the three original Kane novellas. He also began selling his stories and poems regularly to the growing small press magazine market. Several of his tales were published in Gary Hoppenstand's Midnight Sunn, a magazine initially devoted to Kane and the new school of epic fantasy writers.

This was followed by publication of the first Kane novel, Bloodstone, during 1975. Warner Books commissioned a cover painting by (a ploy which a decade previously had helped revive the Conan franchise) and Wagner's writing career improved. After a novel featuring Howard's Pictish hero, Wagner's next Kane book was Dark Crusade, (1976) which was again graced with a superb Frazetta cover. A Kane story published elsewhere, 'Two Suns Setting', won the 1977 and was also a nominee. Wagner published other Kane stories in magazines such as Chacal, Whispers and Escape! Page, then editor of DAW Books Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Stories began to reprint Kane tales in the anthology series. Night Winds, a collection of six previously published Kane tales (again with a Frazetta cover) followed (Warner Books, 1978).

The publisher also reissued all previous Kane books including a new edition of Darkness Weaves which reinstated the author's preferred text. The Book of Kane was the last published volume of Kane material (1985) until Night Shade Books' omnibus editions of novels and tales. A proposed fourth Kane novel, In the Wake of the Night, was never completed, although an excerpt was published as part of a souvenir book of 1981; this also appears in the collection Midnight Sun (2003). During 2004, it was reported that movie producer Lauren Moews had 'acquired Death Angel's Shadow, and will produce a film based upon 'Reflections for the Winter of My Soul,' which is the first of three short stories comprising Death Angel's Shadow.

The other two short stories, 'Cold Light' and 'Mirage,' are waiting in the wings to be developed into a possible KANE franchise for Tonic Films'. As of 2017 the movie has not entered production. Other writings Besides the Kane books, Wagner wrote contemporary horror stories (some of which, like 'At First Just Ghostly', also feature Kane).

These were collected in the books In a Lonely Place (1983), Why Not You and I? (1987) and the posthumous Exorcisms and Ecstasies (1997). They range from the very literate and allusive (such as 'The River of Night's Dreaming', which refers to 's and the myth of used in the work of and ), to the pulpy and parodic (such as 'Plan Ten from Inner Space', a crazed homage to 's magnum opus ).

His later stories, such as 'But You'll Never Follow Me' and 'Silted In', were described by as tormented and deeply personal; some deal explicitly with (e.g. 'More Sinned Against') and sexual subjects, including (e.g. 'Brushed Away') and (e.g. During 1983 Wagner won the for his horror novella 'Beyond Any Measure' and the during 1984 for 'Neither Brute Nor Human'. With his friends Jim Groce and, who were concerned that Arkham House would cease publication after the death of its founder, Wagner formed the publishing house in North Carolina during 1973 to preserve the work of their favorite horror writers in hard covers. Carcosa Press published four substantial volumes of horror tales: by, by, and, both.

All books were edited by Wagner and illustrated profusely. A fifth collection was planned, Death Stalks the Night, by; was working on illustrating it when he died, causing Carcosa to abandon the project.

The book was eventually published. Wagner later acted as the literary agent for Manly Wade Wellman's estate.

Wagner collaborated with Drake on Killer, a horror novel set during the reign of the emperor. The illustrator of Murgunstrumm and Worse Things Waiting was the noted artist.

Coye's macabre designs, incorporating mysterious lattices of twigs, were the inspiration for Wagner's -winning story '. A connoisseur of rare horror stories, Wagner perspicaciously edited many horror and fantasy; perhaps his greatest achievement of this topic was the annual anthology series , which he edited for fourteen years from volume VIII (1980) until volume XXII (1994). The series was canceled after Wagner's death. However, while the original editions were paperback originals, Underwood-Miller preserved the series in a set of three limited edition hardcovers. Wagner was a frequent visitor to London to attend fantasy and horror conventions. Though he continued to edit, producing three volumes of the heroic fantasy anthology Echoes of Valor for Tor Books during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and published a steady sequence of short stories (most of which were apparently written some years earlier), his most productive time was finished. In the story 'The Gothic Touch', Kane teams up with the albino warrior-sorcerer in a tribute anthology honouring the fiction of ( Tales of the White Wolf).

Wagner wrote several unproduced screenplays and treatments including a movie script for Conan III for movie producer and a TV script based on Robert E. Howards 'The Horror on the Mound' (for Tales from the Darkside). Wagner provided the Foreword to 'Fat Face', a tale by published as a standalone book by Axolotl Press, 1987.

Audio, television and comics adaptations Audio Several Wagner works were adapted for audio cassette readings, including:. 'Sticks' Adapted by Meatball Fulton, as part of the radio series. Directed by Bill Raymond. Fort Edward, NY: ZBS Foundation, 1984. (A dramatic reading of Wagner's story plus two stories by ). This recording was re-issued by ZBZ Foundation on audio CD in 1998, combined with a story by Meatball Fulton and Tom Lopez.

'Sticks' Unabridged reading by on Dove Audo four-cassette anthology The Greatest Horror of the 20th Century, ed. Martin Greenberg. LA: New Star Publishing, 1998. Night Winds. A Kane audio collection containing three stories on two cassettes; narrated.

Santa Fe, NM: Sunset Productions, 1993. Raven's Eyrie. A Kane story on two audio cassettes; narrated. Santa Fe, NM: Sunset Productions, 1993. Television 'The River of Night's Dreaming' was adapted for the TV series during 1998. Provided the inspiration for the lattice type structures used in the television series. Graphic novels Wagner was involved with several comics ventures.

His Kane story 'In the Lair of Yslsl' (which was later incorporated into the Kane novel Dark Crusade) was adapted by Bill Whitcomb and Steve Vance, and illustratedby Vance, Wes Smith and Bill Black for the graphic medium in Dark Phantasms 1, Summer 1976. During 1993 Wagner co-wrote the graphic novel Tell Me Dark with John Ney Reiber and Kent Williams, contributing original characters and situations. It was published by DC Comics in both hardcover and trade paperback. At the time of his death, he had just finished compiling Exorcisms and Ecstasies, and had started working on two novels - The Fourth Seal and Tell Me, Dark, the latter based on the graphic novel he disowned. Bibliography Collections. In a Lonely Place (1983). Why Not You and I?.

Unthreatened by the Morning Light (1989) (Issue 2 of Author's Choice Monthly - a series published by Pulphouse Publishing. It was issued in both a limited signed hardcover of 350 copies (50 deluxe leatherbound signed and numbered 1-50; 300 limited clothbound with d.j., signed and numbered 1-300), and an unlimited perfectbound paper edition. There was also five deluxe Publisher's Copies and 25 Limited Publisher's copies). Masters of the Weird Tale: Karl Edward Wagner (, 2011). Where the Summer Ends (, 2012).

Walk on the Wild Side (, 2012). Novels.

The Other Woman as by 'Kent Allard'. NY: Carlyle Communications/The Orpheus Series, 1973.

Erotic novel. Killer (written with, 1985) Poetry collections. Songs of the Damned. Knoxvxille, TN: Village Printers/Silver Eel Press, 1981.

Edited by Vern Clark and Bob Barger. Poetry chapbook issued in a 250-copy trade edition and a 50-copy signed edition. Contains nine poems.

Red Harvest. Chapel Hill, NC: Sidecar Preservation Society, 2002. Edited by Scott F. Restored and corrected edition of Songs of the Damned, containing fourteen poems and with an Introduction, 'The Mark of Cain' by who also illustrates the volume. Also includes several pages of bibliographic updates and corrections to the bibliography of Wagner's work first published in Exorcisms and Ecstasies.

Limited to 200 numbered copies in chapbook format, and a 20-copy handbound hardcover edition. Short stories.220 Swift (1980). An Awareness of Angels (1988). At First Just Ghostly (1988). Beyond Any Measure (1982). Blue Lady, Come Back (1985). Brushed Away (1997).

But You'll Never Follow Me (1990). Cedar Lane (1990). The Coming of Ghor (1977).

The Dark Muse. Deep in the Depths of the Acme Warehouse (1994). Did They Get You to Trade? Main article:.

Darkness Weaves (novel) (published in abridged and altered form 1970 as Darkness Weaves with Many Shades; restored text 1978). Death Angel's Shadow (collection) (1973).

Bloodstone (novel) (1975). Dark Crusade (novel) (1976).

(collection) (1978). (collection) (1985). Gods in Darkness (omnibus collection of the three novels) (2002). Issued as a 1200 copy trade edition and also as a 150 copy edition signed by the artist with an additional illustration. Midnight Sun: The Complete Stories of Kane (collection) (2003). Introduction 'Raising Kane'.

Collection of all Kane material except the three novels; companion publication to Gods in Darkness. Howard pastiches. Legion from the Shadows (Bran Mak Morn novel) (1976). (Conan novel) (1979) Collections and anthologies edited. by (1975)., by (1977)., by (1973).

by (1981). The Valley So Low: Southern Mountain Stories by (1987). John the Balladeer by (1988).:., by (1977)., by Robert E. Howard (1977)., by Robert E. Howard (1977). The Essential Conan. NY: SFBC Fantasy, 1998.

^ Interview with Horror magazine, October 1994. ^, 'Wagner, Karl Edward' in St. James Guide To Fantasy Writers, edited.

James Press, 1996, p. Stephen Jones, 'Raising Kane', in Midnight Sun, 2002, p. The HWA Newsletter 5, Issue 6 Nov/Dec 1994, p. 9.

Bibliography in Karl Edward Wagner, Exorcisms and Ecstasies', Minneapolis: Fedogan and Bremer, 1997, p. 433, Item A17. Karl Edward Wagner, 'The Once and Future Kane' in Wagner, Midnight Sun', San Francisco: Night Shade Books, 2003, pp 431-37. Stephen Jones, 'Raising Kane' in Midnight Sun (2003), p. Stephen Jones, 'Raising Kane' in Midnight Sun (2003), p. Stephen Jones, 'The Mark of Kane', introduction to Red Harvest, Chapel Hill, NC: Sidecar Preservation Society, 2002, p.4. Ramsey Campbell, 'Friends Die', tribute essay in Exorcisms and Ecstasies (1997).

Stephen Jones, 'Raising Kane', in Midnight Sun, 2002, p. Bibliography in Exorcisms and Ecstasies (1997) p.

Bibliography, in Exorcisms and Ecstasies, p. Jacket bio, Karl Edward Wagner, Exorcisms and Ecstasies, Minneapolis: Fedogan and Bremer, 1997. Identified in Scott F. Wyatt and Stephen Jones, 'Karl Edward Wagner: A Working Bibliography of English Language First Editions', in Karl Edward Wagner, Exorcisms and Ecstasies' (1997), p. 429 Further reading. Jeffrey M. Interview with Karl Edward Wagner.

Fantasy Newsletter, No-38-39 (July-Aug 1981). Schweitzer, Darrell.'

Karl Edward Wagner and the Haunted Hills (and Kudzu)' in Schweitzer (ed), Discovering Modern Horror Fiction. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, 1985, pp. External links. at the.

Karl E Wagner

Karl Edward Wagner website.