Today is August 1, and we have three birthdays of note. M. R. James (1862-1936), David Gemmell (1948-2006), and Edd Cartier (1914-2008).  Let’s take a quick look at each of them.

Montague Rhodes James is arguably the best known practitioner of the classic English ghost story. In honor of his birth, I read several stories. “The Mezzotint”, in which the curator of a university museum comes into possession of a mezzotint in a sinister figure moves closer to a country manor every time he looks at it, and “The Ash Tree”, wherein a witch curses the man who testified against her, I had read before. “The Rose Garden” was new to me. A woman want a large post removed from a clearing on her property so she can plant a rose gardens learns there are times one should leave well enough alone. M. R. James almost always delivers on the chills.

David Gemmell with Snaga

David Gemmell left us far too soon, but he left an enduring legacy of heroic fantasy. “Birth of a Legend” tells how his best-known character, Druss, came to possess the ax Snaga. This is good introduction to Druss, and develops a number of characters in addition to Druss. There’s plenty of action. Druss is chopping wood in the forest when slavers attack his village, capturing the young women and killing everyone else, including Druss’s father and stepmother. His new wife is among the captives. Naturally he sets out to rescue her. “Birth of a Legend” is the opening segment of The First Chronicles of Druss the Legend.

Providing the graphics of the title is Edd Cartier. Cartier illustrated a number of pulps, many in the Street and Smith stable, including Astounding, Unknown, and The Shadow. Below are some examples of his work.