In Case Anyone's Unclear

Shitheads are flinging shit and it's sticking elsewhere and soon it's likely to land here and here's my statement on the matter.

The presentation of something in a fictional space, no matter how it is presented, is not an endorsement of that thing in real life. Enjoying something in fiction (or enjoying fiction that contains something) does not mean that a person would enjoy that same thing in real life.

Everything and anything is on the table when it comes to fictional works. The point is to be creative and explore (or not, as the creator wishes). There are no subjects so sacred that people should feel pressure not to explore them in fiction. No restrictions. 

Just about nobody is going to be as good as, say, Alan Moore (From Hell, Neonomicon, Lost Girls) or Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita), but everyone that wishes to try is entitled to do so, and failing (or succeeding, for that matter) is not a a reason for harassment.

Shit, neither is aspiring to be the next Hideki Takayama (Chôjin densetsu Urotsukidôji).

It's even OK to be silly about horrible things in the world of make-believe. It loses the entire point of imagination for it to be bound by the mores, restrictions, and taboos of reality.


How many people reading this have also read Chick Tracts? That guy means it, man, and yet here we are still living our same lives with our same morality and religious identity as before we read that stuff. It is bullshit to pretend you're somehow so much better and more aware and intelligent than the public at large who can't be trusted being exposed to certain things.

You know, before I got exposed to certain internet moral crusaders, I used to get pissed and crusadery concerning bands like Burzum and Graveland or attend a Nokturnal Mortem concert and lose my shit at the idea that people listened to them without caring about the bands' ideology. Now, while I still am not going to buy the albums or go to the concerts, I have chilled the fuck out about other people who listen to it. It doesn't matter. It doesn't affect the things I like at all.

(You'll also notice I edition war less in recent years... same reason. "Oh you're not allowed to like this thing that I don't like" is bullshit and it's wrong no matter what "this" is. I still slip now and again because I'm excited about things. oops.)

That a bad thing exists does not stain other things made in the same genre or using the same medium. Iron Maiden's music or sales or concert attendance isn't affected at all because they sometimes play the same festivals as Cannibal Corpse or Rotting Christ. The fact that Cannibal Holocaust and A Serbian Film and I Spit on Your Grave exist and have been screened maybe even in a cinema you've been in didn't stop anyone from seeing The Avengers - and neither did the fact that a ton of shitty superhero movies have been previously released.

I remember that soon after I announced my collaboration with Zak for Vornheim and Geoffrey for Carcosa and Isle, certain people raised their eyebrows. Both had been involved in OSR controversies because they've done stuff some people don't like and some people don't like standing in the same room with those they disagree with. I received one email that I wish I still had and I hope I'm not misremembering its wording (the wife says I am getting the gist right), but it basically was asking me quite strongly to not associate with Zak or Geoffrey or I'd be in danger of being associated with those kinds of things.

oops.

Look, people... the box set's cover has nudity on it as a protest and an "Up yours!" to American decency standards. Other art is in there to basically settle the question of good taste. I didn't hire Christina Casperson to do Grindhouse artwork because I wanted mass appeal. I didn't hire Vince Locke to do a piece to make people feel good about looking at his art. Just the opposite, in fact. Because that's the kind of guy I am.

I even approached Six Entertainment about licensing The Human Centipede for an adventure last year. Turns out I'm still too small a publisher to afford such licenses, but I really, really would have liked to have that in your hands by now. That's the kind of guy I am.

I just discovered something called "bizarro fiction" today. I know, way way way fuckin' late to the party. But after reading a bunch of reviews and interviews, I put some money down because there's a good chance it'll fit me like a glove. I ordered Carlton Mellick III's The Haunted Vagina from my local bookstore, even though it was a bit cheaper on Amazon, just so when it arrives I get to go down to the store and tell the cashier "I'm here to pick up my Haunted Vagina." That's the kind of guy I am.

(I did order Ryan Harding's Genital Grinder, Robert Devereaux's Baby's First Book of Seriously Fucked Up Shit, Edward Lee's Trolley No. 1852 and Brain Cheese Buffet and The Haunter of the Threshold and The Innswich Horror, Cameron Pierce's Ass-Goblins of Auschwitz, Garrett Cook's Jimmy Plush: Teddy Bear Detective, and Mellick's The Kobold Wizard's Dildo of Enlightenment +2 from Amazon as well today. Because that's the kind of guy I am too.)


So enough of this bullshit.

If you think "action" needs to be taken over someone's make-believe, then I am your enemy.