In the Gaming Hut we talk about our visit to Shadowcon in Barcelona, courtesy of our beloved pals at Shadowlands, who have just published a stunning edition of the Dracula Dossier in the Spanish language.

Travel Advisory covers our exploration of the less nerdy reaches of our new favorite city, with an obligatory selection of small plates in the Food Hut.

Ken didn’t come home with a pile of Spanish books, but if it’s a trip we have to look at some new acquisitions. So Ken’s Bookshelf finally reveals the second half of his Potomac region plunder.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

13th Age is ready to escalate! The second edition of the fast-moving, easy-playing encapsulation of the fantasy roleplaying hits Kickstarter on May 7th. Manifest your One Unique Thing and get updates on the campaign by sharing your email address with Pelgrane Press here.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

In the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer Andrew Miller asks for tips on playing paladins well.

We enter  the History Hut to wonder what shattered the mind of Tudor historian John Leland.

Amid the popcorn munching of the Cinema Hut estimable backer David Sowa asks why so many action movies have poor final acts.

Finally the Consulting Occultist looks at the career of Icelandic medium Indriði Indriðason.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

If you love heroic fast-paced fantasy roleplaying action and incredible deals, Pelgrane Press has two iconic bargains for you. Until May 7th, date of the impending 13th Age Kickstarter, get the core book for 50% at the Pelgrane web store. Or grab the brief return of the stunnning 13th Age Bundle of Holding PDF deal.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Jason Thompson asks if the group dynamic known as the Tyranny of Structurelessness applies to GM-less roleplaying games.

Estimable backer Gray St. Quintin seeks the regular confines of the Architecture Hut to ask about Walter Burley Griffin, designer of Canberra and avid anthroposophist.

Fun With Science ensues when formidable backer asks what the heck was up with a rich philanthropist’s decision to take hominid fossils with him on his Virgin Galactic space flight.

Finally, Ken’s Time Machine finds out what really happened in the Roman assault on the druids of Anglesey, with possible alterations to known history on the part of our sterling chrononaut.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

If you love heroic fast-paced fantasy roleplaying action and incredible deals, Pelgrane Press has two iconic bargains for you. Until May 7th, date of the impending 13th Age Kickstarter, get the core book for 50% at the Pelgrane web store. Or grab the brief return of the stunnning 13th Age Bundle of Holding PDF deal.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

In the Gaming Hut we identify the elements of a great recurring gamemaster character.

At the behest of beloved Patreon backer Lester Ward, the Archaeology Hut mulls the ancient Egyptian fortresses that were flooded by the building of the Aswan dam.

In the Book Hut tough, wisecracking Patreon backer Adam Grotjohn seeks a 101 on hardboiled fiction.

And finally the Consulting Occultist profiles Maria de Naglowska, occult lecturer and sex magician of 20s and 30s Paris.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

Elves and dragons have some emotional needs to work out as the Gaming Hut answers beloved Patreon backer Nikolaj’s request for tips on bringing elements of DramaSystem into an F20 game.

The Crime Blotter checks out the Philadelphia poison murders, a massive killing for profit scheme involving syndicate witches in the Trail of Cthulhu era.

Madrigals are sung and the underworld is descended into in the Culture Hut, as erudite backer Patrick Holmes asks for a gameable bio of 16th century composer and possible part time alchemist Claudio Monteverdi.

Move your lap blanket away from the fireplace as the Eliptony Hut takes a long overdue look at the classic Fortean subject of spontaneous human combustion.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

Ken and Robin Consume Media is brought to you by the discriminating and good-looking backers of the Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Patreon. Each week we provide capsule reviews of the books, movies, TV seasons and more we cram into our hyper-analytical sensoriums. Join the Patreon to help pick the items we’ll talk about in greater depth on a little podcast segment we like to call Tell Me More.

Recommended

American Fiction (Film, US, Cord Jefferson, 2023) As a scathing joke, a dyspeptic literary author (Jeffrey Wright) whose mom needs expensive care writes a novel packed with demeaning cliches of Black life, only to find an enthusiastic market for it in the white publishing world. Family drama lends emotional weight to a pointed takedown of representation’s cringey side. Witty dialogue is on a downswing in film at the moment so it’s nice to see it revived here.—RDL

I… for Icarus (Film, France, Henri Verneuil, 1979) In an alternate France, a patrician attorney general (Yves Montand) dissents from the whitewashing conclusions of a commission into a Presidential assassination, granting him the right to launch his own investigation. The medium is the conspiracy in this odd, oddly compelling McLuhanesque reconfiguration of the JFK assassination, complete with a detailed recreation of the Milgram Experiment.—RDL

The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (Film, Mexico, Rogelio A. González, 1960) The neurotic browbeating of his pious, conniving wife (Amparo Rivelles) drives a bibulous taxidermist (Arturo de Córdova) to a desperate act. Satirical, expressionistic Grand Guignol based on Arthur Machen’s The Islington Mystery.—RDL

The Worst Ones (Film, France, Lise Akoka & Romane Gueret, 2022)  Teens from a tough working class neighborhood win roles in a social issue film helmed by a middle-aged first time auteur (Johan Heldenbergh) whose grasp of boundaries isn’t as secure as he wants to think. Neorealist drama featuring intense performances from its young cast questions the ethics of its genre tradition.—RDL

Good

The Ambushers (Film, US, Henry Levin, 1967) Counter-spy Matt Helm (Dean Martin) escorts US saucer pilot Sheila Sommers (Janice Rule) into Mexico to recover her hijacked saucer and ID the hijacker. The Matt Helm movies are best enjoyed as period pieces by those who consider the Roger Moore Bond to be too grim and gritty, but Sheila has genuine agency and competence, a standout amongst the beer fights and brassiere guns. The UFO adds another nicely surreal touch to the sight of Dean Martin lounging through alleged action scenes.—KH

The Big Shot (Film, US, Lewis Seiler, 1942) Betrayed by the fancy lawyer who married his girl (Irene Manning), an ex-con with a secret conscience (Humphrey Bogart) returns to prison for an armored car heist he decided not to go through with. Bogie and Seiler give their best to a routine script.—RDL

Okay

Risen (Film, US/Spain, Kevin Reynolds, 2016) In occupied Judea, Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) orders Roman tribune Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) to recover the body of a crucified Nazarene radical, which has vanished from its tomb. The first half of the movie is a taut, intriguing “Zero (A.D.) Dark Thirty” War on Terror parable with a touch of X-Files; the second half is Clavius’ internalizing his new faith in the (spoiler) risen Christ (Cliff Curtis), basically bringing the narrative to a dead halt. This could have been great if it were all the first half, though at the cost of many fewer copies of the Blu-Ray sold to church media rooms.—KH

In the Gaming Hut we find ways to bring players back into the action when they make sensible decisions that sideline their characters.

2Beloved Patreon backer Paul S. Enns beckons us into the Tradecraft Hut to cover the May 23rd Lake Maggiore boating accident.

In the Monster Hut we look at the blemmyae, the hungry headless folk of classical and medieval lore.

Finally Ken’s Time Machine responds to the request of estimable backer Eric Parks, who wants to know what the timeline would look like had Rhode Island’s Dorr Rebellion succeeded.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

In the Gaming Hut, Robin pitches Ken on a concept for a roleplaying game called Renfields.

The Mythology Hut looks at the enigmatic Dacian god and/or person named Zalmoxis, who might have been a sky deity. Or an earth deity. Or a physician.

In Ask Ken and Robin, beloved Patreon backer Walter Manbeck asks Robin to expand on his capsule review of the 1956 Carol Reed circus movie Trapeze as a model for efficiently executed DramaSystem scenes.

The Consulting Occultist wraps up the episode with the rundown on the 17th century English physician and mystic Robert Fludd.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Don your pallid mask and get all the Ken, Carcosa, and footnotes you require now that Arc Dream’s The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition is now available in paperback and ebook formats. With stunning art by Samuel Araya, this lavish tome of terror earns a space on any shelf.

We hope you can make it to the Gaming Hut for a discussion of quorum and attendance vagaries.

In the History Hut we answer the request of beloved Patreon backer Jeromy French to flesh out a topic we have previously only alluded to—the Toronto clown-fireman riot.

Finally Ken’s Bookshelf features a mere half of our resident bibliomane’s book raid on the Potomac region.

4th segment

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.

Players say they hate linear scenarios. Seasoned convention GMs extoll the efficacy of the greased rail session. In the Gaming Hut we ask what’s up with that.

Beloved Patreon backer Monster Talk requests a Ripped from the Headlines on the now world-famous Chicago rat hole.

Finally, in keeping with our pre-Oscars tradition, we sneak into the Cinema Hut to finally reveal our respective movie top tens for 2023.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.

Keep your ancient documents well-hidden in the Gaming Hut, as beloved Patreon backer Brian Thomas asks us how to construct a Bookhounds of London one-shot around explorer Aurel Stein, the Great Game, and the Diamond Sutras.

When architects go wrong they wind up not in their own hut, but on the Crime Blotter, as is the case, as requested by estimable backer Derek Upham, 19th century heist mastermind George Leonidas Leslie.

In the Narrative Hut we ask ourselves if procedural crime dramas are, in the older literary meaning of the word, romances.

Finally in the Eliptony Hut we answer the call of legendary backer Jake Maas for a look at Newfoundland’s Isle of Demons.

Want to pose a question to the show? Get your priority question asking access with your support for the KARTAS Patreon!

Our Patreon-backed Letterboxd list of all films mentioned on the show is now up and running.

Also check out the Goodreads list of books mentioned on the show.

Snag Ken and Robin merchandise at TeePublic.

The official CatStronauts board game is launching on Kickstarter, from Atlas Games! Designed and illustrated by Drew Brockington, this cooperative game brings 30-45 minutes of fast feline fun to 1-4 players aged 10 and up.

Reality horror just got realer with three new support products for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game: Black Star Magic, Legions of Carcosa: The Yellow King Bestiary, and Robin’s latest novel, Fifth Imperative.

Put on your flannels, grab your duffel bag of hardware and assemble your fake passports. Alert your retailer to the contents of their favorite unmarked warehouse. Delta Green: The Conspiracy, the revised, updated and declassified edition of the iconic 1990s sourcebook has escaped from Arc Dream Publishing.