I recently received the first two issues of a new magazine: Anvil: Iron Age Magazine, dated Summer and Fall of 2023.
“Iron Age” is a term I’ve seen recently for a loose group of authors and artists doing more traditional stories but through independent means now possible through print-on-demand and crowdsourcing. Many of these I would consider New Pulp, as I see references to original pulp works, such as sword-and-sorcery stories in the style of Robert E. Howard and the like.
This first issue is very nice. It’s 8.5- by 11-inches, square bound, 110 pages on thick glossy paper with artwork in both color and black and white. The second is similar and both where done as crowdsourcing campaigns.
#1 (Summer 2023) has eight short stories, a solo role-playing game, plus a preview of an upcoming comic, along with reviews and letters.
The cover story is “Fleet of Theseus” by Daniel J. Snow. It’s a future war story. The others are a variety of styles and setting, such as fantasy/sword-and-sorcery, sf, and more.
The comic preview is a 10-page selection from the upcoming Ghost of the Badlands by Razörfist and George Alexopoulus, which was recently crowdfunded and should be coming out soon. This is a vengeance/divine-retribution western (or gothic western) with a mysterious figure known only as “The Ghost” who, like The Shadow, has a cadre of agents called his “missionaries,” set in the area of Canyon Diablo, Arizona. If you’re not aware, the gun he uses is real, a Bergmann 1896 #3 semi-auto pistol. I’m looking forward to getting my copy of the comic.
#2 (Fall 2023) has 11 short stories, and three comics, along with reviews.
The cover story is “The Prowler of Blagh Square” by Micah Murray. It is about a monster hunter set in a Victorian-era world. The other stories run the gamut. There are some fantasy/sword-and-sorcery ones, Victorian-era monster stories, and science fiction.
The comics are also a mixed bag. One looks to be the first of a series, but seems more manga-style, set in a fantasy world of monsters. The other two are science fiction. One may be the first of a series, as it stars a detective hero.
They have a website store where you can subscribe to the four issues planned for 2024, either print or digital, and you can also get issues 1 and 2. There are still some print copies available. I’m not sure yet if I’ll subscribe to the next issues yet, but do check them out.
