Bangsian fantasy
Encyclopedia
Bangsian fantasy is a fantasy genre which concerns the use of famous literary or historical individuals and their interactions in the afterlife
. It is named for John Kendrick Bangs
who often wrote it.
This definition does not take into account that some of Bangs' stories took place in the afterlife. Jess Nevins
' 2003 definition in Heroes & Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
says it is "a fantasy of the afterlife in which the ghosts of various famous men and women come together and have various, usually genial, adventures", which closely agrees with Rama Kundu's 2008 definition.
ARSDnet suggests it is a fantasy "which focuses primarily on the exploration of the afterlife and possibly where various ancient and influential figures ended up in the scheme of things."
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
. It is named for John Kendrick Bangs
John Kendrick Bangs
John Kendrick Bangs was an American author, editor and satirist.-Biography:He was born in Yonkers, New York. His father was a lawyer in New York City....
who often wrote it.
Definition
According to E. F. Bleiler, in his 1983 Guide to Supernatural Fiction, "Bangs' most noteworthy achievement was a contribution to literary typology: the so-called Bangsian story, in which important literary and historical personalities serve humorously as characters in a slender plot line. Bangs did not invent this subgenre, but his work gave it publicity and literary status".This definition does not take into account that some of Bangs' stories took place in the afterlife. Jess Nevins
Jess Nevins
John J. Nevins, MA/MS, is an American author and librarian, born 30 July 1966 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the World Fantasy Award-nominated Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana , and other works on Victoriana and pulp fiction...
' 2003 definition in Heroes & Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
says it is "a fantasy of the afterlife in which the ghosts of various famous men and women come together and have various, usually genial, adventures", which closely agrees with Rama Kundu's 2008 definition.
ARSDnet suggests it is a fantasy "which focuses primarily on the exploration of the afterlife and possibly where various ancient and influential figures ended up in the scheme of things."
By Bangs
- A House-Boat on the StyxA House-Boat on the StyxA House-Boat on the Styx is a book written by John Kendrick Bangs and published in 1895.-Plot summary:The premise of the book is that everyone who has ever died has gone to Styx, the river that circles the underworld.The book begins with Charon, ferryman of the Styx being...
(1895) - Pursuit of the House-BoatPursuit of the House-BoatPursuit of the House-Boat is an 1897 novel by John Kendrick Bangs, and the second one to feature his Associated Shades take on the afterlife.-Plot summary:...
(1897) - The Enchanted Type-WriterThe Enchanted Type-WriterThe Enchanted Type-Writer is a collection of short stories by the American author John Kendrick Bangs, written in 1899 in the style that has become known as Bangsian fantasy. Bangs attributes many of the stories to the late James Boswell, who has become an editor for a newspaper in Hades, and who...
(1899) - Mr. Munchausen: Being a True Account of Some of the Recent Adventures beyond the Styx of the Late Hieronymus Carl Friedrich, Sometime Baron Munchausen of Bodenwerder, as originally reported for the Sunday Edition of the Gehenna Gazette by its special interviewer the late Mr. Ananias formerly of Jerusalem, and now first transcribed from the columns of that journal by J. K. BangsMr. MunchausenMr. Munchausen: Being a True Account of Some of the Recent Adventures Beyond the Styx of the Late Hieronymus Carl Friedrich, Sometime Baron Munchausen of Bodenwerder, as originally reported for the Sunday Edition of the Gehenna Gazette by its special interviewer the late Mr. Ananias formerly of...
(1901)
By others
- God Bless You, Dr. KevorkianGod Bless You, Dr. KevorkianGod Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, by Kurt Vonnegut, is a collection of short fictional interviews written by Vonnegut and first broadcast on NPR. The title parodies that of Vonnegut's 1965 novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater.- Synopsis :...
by Kurt Vonnegut - RiverworldRiverworldRiverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer . Riverworld is an artificial environment where all humans are reconstructed. The books explore interactions of individuals from many different cultures and time periods...
by Philip José FarmerPhilip José FarmerPhilip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
, began 1971 - The third act of George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's play Man and SupermanMan and SupermanMan and Superman is a four-act drama, written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to calls for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. Man and Superman opened at The Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 May 1905, but with the omission of the 3rd Act...
(1903) is a long philosophical discourse set in hell, between the shades of Don JuanDon JuanDon Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
, the Devil, Dona Ana, and Don Juan's nemesis, the statue of her father Don Gonzalo. - Heroes in HellHeroes in HellHeroes in Hell is a series of shared world fantasy books, within the genre Bangsian fantasy, created and edited by Janet Morris and written by her, Chris Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others...
series by Janet MorrisJanet MorrisJanet Ellen Morris is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a nonlethal weapons concept for the U.S. military.-Writing:...
, began 1986 - BleachBleachBleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
manga by Tite KuboTite Kubo, known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. His most significant work is the manga series Bleach.-Biography:Kubo was the son of a town council member in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima. He never took drawing seriously until he was 17, and after reading the manga Saint Seiya which...
, began 2001