Purple Pirate continues the adventures of Tros of Samothrace amid the war-torn chaos of a period where half a dozen factions fought for the control of Rome and the seas were stalked by pirate kings who harassed the Wolves of the Tiber when they could and plundered the rest of the world when they willed.

Michael Tierney opened his first comic book store in 1982, but Mike is far from being a simple retailer.  As an Alderman, Mike has been a crusader for justice and a force for change in his city, and sometimes-illustrator and publisher of his series of comics and novels, The Wild Stars. It would take a fleet, six-man Barsoomian flyer full of two-headed aliens to wear as many hats as Mike Tierney, and keep a mad, Kaldane hatter in business to do so. 

So, the other day I was rereading the first chapter of Robert E. Howard’s "People of the Black Circle" and I hit this line:

"Again that far, weirdly dreeing cry, from realms immeasurable."

That word, "dreeing." Obviously, the gerund form of "dree." But what was "dree"? What did it mean?

Just like The Broken Sword, Hrolf Kraki’s Saga is another dark Viking tale with many grim themes such as rape, violent betrayal, murdering of kin and incestuous relationships.  Again, there is a degree of witchcraft and sorcery that takes place, as well as quite a bit of great fighting and battle scenes.  

Lin Carter once described Poul Anderson as being obsessed with the “Northern Thing”.  A well known and loved author of fantasy and science fiction, the American author had an amazing knack for crafting epic stories that often pulled much from Norse legends and mythology.