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Gotta start with Imaro!

What I am typing is not meant to be a 'comment' on the future article but trying to be helpful -just in case whoever writes this doesn't know. If I'm redundant, sorry, just trying to help.

Saunders, a black man who happened to like Sword and Sorcery fiction (and I presume adventure fiction, science fiction) was a bit P.O'd by the stereotypes used casually - not even open racism with intent, rather casually. I bet a forward thinking writer who tried to escape the stereotypes would have been told "Uh, why DID you make up some complex culture for these natives the explorer encounters? Just have them with filed teeth, long arms and they are horrible cannibals he has fun shooting!" - even IF the writer was a woman, non white writing under an assumed name.

I'm sure you know this - but note also he self-published a lot. The expansion/improvement of photocopier technology enabled the first 'print on demand' options and thus a lot of "Copybooks" were made. Saunders self-published in 'Zines a lot before DAW picked him up. I said this because most of us probably think of "Black" and other "non-mainstream" writers as barely literate / horrible storytellers that some clueless/ideology driven editor/publisher picked from a college but hadn't written anything before, wasting dead trees on "Stories of .... Written by ...." that SUCK but you don't want to say lest they shriek "Racist!" Well Saunders made his own stories that were good and he self-published in the Zine market with or without any 'big publisher' even touching him!

Another note is his "Die! Black Dog!" article - first published in "Toadstool Wine" one of the many copybook/zine/small press - where he did complain about stereotypes used - he got blasted for 'political correctness' over it but made it clear he hated the concept - like LEGIT "Old school" leftists he was NOT politically correct. For a better world, against racism and sexism, but NOT "PC". He was a bit sick of stereotypes though he tackled them, such as the truth behind some - Tarzan vs the Leapord Men he wrote an article about the truth behind the story that if made up completely might be horrifically racist.

I'm sure you know that Imaro is his "Conan" though not a "Clonan" - he really was making it opposed to Tarzan - he HATED the "Black Tarzan" line on the first ed of Imaro and was secretly glad when the Burroughs coffin feeders abused trademark on that issue.

Note also he changed his own work - the new Imaro has a different story "Slaves of the Giant-Kings" was in the original paperback while he replaced it with "The Afua" due to parallels to the later (1994) Rawandan Genocide

Finally - there's a neat blacklight poster -

I'm sure that's meant to be Imaro though likely not directly working with Saunders - but it's been reprinted including in a book of blacklight posters of the era

Ben wrote: "Gotta start with Imaro!

What I am typing is not meant to be a 'comment' on the future article but trying to be helpful -just in case whoever writes this doesn't know. If I'm redundant, sorry, just..."

Ben, this is great. I think I'm going to have you copy/paste it into a folder once we set it up for the group read!

Actually, we'll be using the folder already started:
/topic/show/...

Don't expect a new Banner until Nov 1st, but if you want to get started early....then go ahead!

Glad you found my info helpful, did re-post with some minor mods for reading/spelling correction. I look forward to this discussion and adding more to it!