The Broadway Mall bookstore of Denver, Colorado played host on Sunday, Oct. 17th to Laura Givens, pulp/sci-fi cover artist turned writer/editor and she and several of her colleagues greeted the public and signed copies of SIX GUNS FROM HELL.
Seated left to write are David Boop, Carol Hightshoe, Laura Givens, Jennifer Campbell-Hicks & David B. Riley. The book was published by Science Fiction Trails Publishing. The signing attracted a nice crowd of friends, family and fans and a really fun time was had by all in attendance.
Laura Givens is a popular, well known cover artist who will be featured in a full length ALL PULP interview later this week. For All Pulp – Ron Fortier
Imagine if you will that we’re all living in the time of King Henry V. His court would be the A list, their comings and goings the subject of gossip at every tavern and pub in England. They were the celebrities of their day, at a time when England was still a small power, finding their voice and charting their destiny.
For four years, Michael Hirst has been delivering a taste of what it might have been like in the Showtime series, The Tudors . Now, the fourth and final year, covering the final two wives and his death, has been collected on a four disc set released from CBS Home Entertainment.
The show’s success was attributable to the lush visuals, from the costuming to the locations. John Rhys Meyers was a lusty, virile king, craving a dynasty and constantly thwarted. He was a man of voracious appetites, far beyond food, but history denied him greatness. The first season covered his unhappy first marriage to his dead brother’s wife, Catherine, and his true love, Anne Boleyn, challenging the Pope for his freedom. In the end, he broke from the Church, established the Church of England and found himself challenged at every turn.
Hirst took liberties with characters, characterizations, and sequence of events so don’t use this for your homework, but for a sense of what the time was like and players, this is darn good entertainment. The seasons rolled through his loves and losses, with some of the wives coming to life and others barely sketched out. The fourth season suffers a bit from compressing so much into a mere ten episodes.
His quest for a male heir led him to Katherine Howard then the unhappy final wife, Katherine Parr. Age and illness (the dreaded gout) robbed him of his strength and appeal, letting the upper class maneuver for favor or power.
We open in 1540, thirty years into Henry’s reign and he remains strong as he gets to know his fifth and youngest wife, Katherine, a mere 17 years old. While Henry and Katherine are cordial, Thomas Culpepper covets Katherine while currying favor with the king, a subplot that plays out in the early episodes. Henry also gets a chance to realize what he may have missed during an encounter with wife number four, Anne of Cleves, who compares more favorably than does young Katherine. While Katherine and Culpepper play, Henry and Anne clandestinely reunite. It’s certainly good to be the king.
His rages are legendary and Meyers handles the explosive emotions quite well, especially when Katherine’s affair and sordid past come to light. Also, his rocky relationships with his daughters comes to the fore at mid-season as he restores Princesses Elizabeth and Mary to the line of succession. At the same time, politics and religion clash as the Reformation is weakened when Henry takes the Catholics’ side in matters of state.
We rush through his final wife, Katherine Parr, who is closer in age to the now ailing Henry. Clearly, Hirst could not end the series without covering all six legendary wives but one wishes for more We also get a truncated war with France before illness finally claims the king. Nicely done was a final dream sequence as the dear departed former wives (Maria Doyle Kennedy, Annabelle Wallis and Natalie Dormer) all appear and have final words for their husband.
The show looks wonderful on disc but one wishes the same attention to detail in extras from the first three sets was given to this final set. Instead, there are no extras of any sort but a collection of sampler episodes from Showtime’s other series. A sad way to take our leave of Tudor England but the show is well worth a look.
THE LONG MATINEE -Movie Reviews by Derrick Ferguson
THE WRATH OF GOD
1972 MGM
Produced by William S. Gilmore Directed by Ralph Nelson Screenplay by Ralph Nelson and James Graham Based on a novel by James Graham
Back in the 60’s and 70’s there was a sub-genre of the western that had these elements: a group of American outlaws/mercenaries/rogues would find themselves in Mexico or South America at the turn of the century and get involved in what amounted to a suicide mission that circumstances forced them to accept. There’s usually a huge amount of money waiting for them at the end of the mission but during the course of the adventure the outlaws would find their long buried sense of justice and honor awakened and they would abandon the money to take up the cause of the downtrodden and oppressed peasantry. This is pretty much the plot of movies such as “The Wild Bunch” “The Professionals” “Duck, You Sucker” and “Vera Cruz” but I’ve never seen this plot worked in such a goofy and flat out off the wall manner as we see in THE WRATH OF GOD.
Emmett Keogh (Ken Hutchinson) is a wildass Irishman stuck in South America during the 1920’s. He’s blackmailed into driving a truck north by Jennings (Victor Buono) who tells him it’s a load of whiskey that will fetch a helluva price in the United States that is suffering under Prohibition. Since Jennings was the guy who arraigned for his passport to be stolen, Emmett has no choice to agree. Along the way he meets Father Oliver Van Horn (Robert Mitchum) who is one of the strangest priests that Emmett has ever met since Father Van Horn drinks liquor like it’s lemonade, swears like a Kansas City pimp and totes a huge black valise carrying a Thompson sub-machine gun. It’s a weapon that Father Van Horn knows as well as a monkey knows his coconuts which he demonstrates when Emmett and Father Van Horn have to rescue an Indian girl named Chela (Paula Pritchett) from being gang raped by the soldiers of Colonel Santilla (John Colicos) The two men are forced to go on the run with the girl in tow but they’re caught by Colonel Santilla’s troops and Emmett discovers that the truck actually carries guns meant for the rebels. Jennings has also been captured by Santilla and the three men are made an offer they can’t refuse: in return for their lives they have to agree to kill De La Plata (Frank Langella) a local rebel warlord who is causing Santilla a great deal of trouble.
Posing as mining engineers, Jennings and Emmett infiltrate De La Plata’s fortress-like hacienda while Van Horn takes up residence in the village church, which has been desecrated. It turns out that De Le Plata hates priests and personally killed the last one himself. Del La Plata’s mother (Rita Hayworth) begs her son not to kill this priest and De La Plata agrees not to since Van Horn saves his mother’s life when the local mine caves in. You see, the mine is filled with gold and De La Plata has terrorized the villagers into digging it out for him. But the mine is horribly unsafe and he needs the expertise of mining engineers to get it out. Of course, the three outlaws have to kill De La Plata before he figures out that Jennings and Emmett know as much about mining as I do about Chinese arithmetic. The situation is complicated by Emmett’s relationship with Chela who has fallen in love with him and Van Horn’s increasing desire to live up to the trust the villagers have in him as a priest. And while the outlaws have no loyalty to Santilla, they also see that living under De La Plata’s rule isn’t any day at the beach either. So they make a decision. And that’s when the story really takes off as Father Van Horn begins to conscript the villagers to stand up for themselves against De La Plata, Chela marries Emmett and Jennings makes plans to break outta Dodge and save his own ass.
You see? I told you it was goofy. What makes THE WRATH OF GOD so much fun to watch is that you never know where this damn movie is going to take you or what’s going to happen next. There’s a plot twist every five minutes and just when you think you know what’s going to happen, it doesn’t. There are a lot of really funny one-liners thrown back and forth between the three leading men and from the amount of humor in the story you might think halfway through it that it’s a spoof of the genre. I mean, this is a movie that has Victor Buono as an action hero, for cryin’ out loud. We’re talking about a guy who’s best known role was probably as the King Tut villain on the “Batman” TV show. In this movie he has a great scene where he drives a car like a battering ram into the barricaded gates of De La Plata’s fortress while firing a Thompson sub-machine and then he jumps out to take on the chief henchman with his sword cane. And he’s totally convincing during his fight scenes of which he has several. And he has a bunch of great one liners, such as “We’re going to get along famously” which is used in this movie the same way “I have a bad feeling about this” was used in “Star Wars”
I’ve never seen Ken Hutchinson in a movie before and have no idea who he is but he’s immensely likeable as the wily Emmett who seems to tumble in and out of adventures as easily as you or I eat fried chicken. A lot of the humor in the movie comes from him as he’s constantly thrown into situations where he’s clearly way in over his head but he manages to come through with luck and sheer dogged determination that even Dirk Pitt might admire. And as for Robert Mitchum…well, he’s flat out terrific in this. For much of the movie we’re never sure what the deal with Father Van Horn is. Not only does he carry an arsenal of machine guns and grenades in that big black valise of his but he also has $50,000 dollars that he hints he got by robbing banks. He has a great scene where he tells the villagers that he’s going to hold an all night service in the church where he performs weddings, baptizes babies and hears confessions where it made clear that he knows the rituals of The Catholic Church inside and out but he also indulges in decidedly un-priestly activities like sleeping with whores, drinking whiskey like water and cussing like crazy. He also carries a Bible that has a concealed gun inside and his cross hides a six-inch blade. Nobody in the movie really knows if this guy is actually one really badass priest or a really eccentric badass who likes to pretend he’s a priest until he spills the beans near the end of the movie.
Robert Mitchum is one of those old type movie stars I love because he looks like a man who actually looks like he’s tough enough to kick your ass with just a look, unlike a lot of the current crop of movie stars who are just too damn pretty to look like they’re as tough as the characters they’re portraying on screen. Robert Mitchum comes from the crop of actors I like to call ‘Old School Tough’. I’m talking about guys like Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, William Holden, Ernest Borgnine and Steve McQueen. You know what I’m talking about. Whenever he’s on screen in this movie you just can’t take your eyes off him, as you want to know just like the other characters what the real deal with him is.
There are a lot of great action sequences in this movie, especially when the three outlaws finally take on De La Plata’s army in a ferocious shootout in front of the church and the final showdown at the fortress. In between we’ve got a whole series of double-crosses, fistfights, staredowns and showdowns that will make your head giddy. Trust me, this isn’t a boring movie. In fact, despite having been made back in 1972, THE WRATH OF GOD seemed to me a lot more of how current action/adventure are made with it’s healthy mix of violent action, comedy and eccentric characters which is why I think it makes enjoyable watching today.
So should you see THE WRATH OF GOD? Hell yes. If you’re a big Robert Mitchum fan it’s worth seeing just for him alone as obviously he’s having a great time with his role and the material. Victor Buono and Ken Hutchinson also turn in great performances as well. Frank Langella has a wonderful time with his role as a bad guy and his scene in the church where he confronts Robert Mitchum and tells him why he hates priests and God is an example of just plain good solid acting from both of them that goes a long way to establishing both of their characters and sets up the conflict between them nicely. THE WRATH OF GOD works as a really good cinematic pulp adventure that should be enjoyed for what it is: a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with the snacks and beverages of your choice. If you get Turner Classic Movies on your satellite/cable provider you can wait for it to show up there but if you’re a dedicated pulp or Robert Mitchum fan, spring for the rental fee and give it a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I know I wasn’t.
Bleeding Cool reports that Jonny Rench, comics colorist best known for his recent work for DC and Wildstorm, from Batman, Human Target, Midnighter, The Programme and Red Menace, has passed away from a heart attack at the age of 28.
His last work appears to be in the now disturbingly titled Welcome To Tranquility: One Foot In The Grave.
When Disney bought Marvel, the movie rights to the majority of their big-name properties were tied up. They still are.But now that writer Jeph Loeb is head
of Marvel television, he’s been pitching a bunch of properties to ABC-TV, which, of course, is owned by Disney. You might have heard that The Incredible Hulk is in development – which is not the same as being green-lighted. That’s kind of remarkable as Mark Ruffalo, movie’s third Bruce Banner, has been signed to do three Avengers movies as well several Hulks.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t do television at the same time. I think Ed Norton’s chance at going green again is only slightly better than Bill Bixby’s, but Ed’s extremely talented and, hell, Idon’t have to work with him.
There’s two more Marvel properties on the short list: Cloak and Dagger, which is presently sans comic book, and The Punisher, who is three movies shy of being a star. Maybe the small screen is a warmer environment.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Heroes for Hire is being kicked around;
this show would focus on Luke Cage; I don’t know if Iron Fist would be in it.
But “Heroes” IS plural. His comic book wife, Jessica Jones, is on the list with
her own show. It can’t be called Alias, so they’ve titled it Alter-Ego. This should not be confused with Roy Thomas’s character of the same name, nor his monthly fanzine of the same name.
Jack Kirby’s The Eternals is being considered. Even with CGI I don’t see this being as strong in live action as it would be in traditional animation, but I doubt ABC has the guts to do that. Stepping out of the pages of Marvel’s recent mega-crossover, The Hood is on the list. I guess ABC needs a nice family-oriented show starring a ruthless villain. Everybody’s favorite private eyes, Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, are on the list under the title Daughters of the Dragon. If they can cast the right sexy babes, this one is a shoo-in. Not so much the other two on the list.
ABC is looking at Ka-Zar. I don’t know if the teevee world is ready for the return of Tarzan, but my guess is that if it is, it would be looking for a show called “Tarzan.” Finally, there’s Agents of Atlas. Marvel just cancelled this title, which pisses me off because I love it. Is the world ready for a talking gorilla, a guy from Uranus, and a female Sub-Mariner? Well, this is an election year.
Mind you, even though ABC and Marvel are both owned by Disney, the network is not obligated to pick up any of these shows and most certainly will not pick them all up. But it would be kind of fun if they picked up a couple so they can do Marvel-style crossovers.
AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.
JB: When I was a kid I owned all 80-some Doc Savage paperbacks. I lived and breathed Kenneth Robeson.
AP: What does pulp mean to you?
JB: Adventure stories, told in a direct, no nonsense fashion, or possibly something having to do with the timber industry…
AP: Your entry into creating comic books is rather unique compared to most. Tell us about the personal story that launched your comic book career.
JB:
It’s both a scary, as well as a redemptive tale, and one actually told in my first comic Book. I had always loved comics, and had always wanted to create a comic, but I was one of those folks who talked about it a lot, but when I sat down to actually make one, I found I didn’t really have a story to tell.Then in 2002 I had a serious problem with my eyes, a detached retina, which necessitated having surgery on both of my eyes, a scary prospect for a visual artist. Needless to say, I recovered, but at last I had a story to tell, and at age 45 I drew my first comic, Detached, about the experience. AP: Let’s talk Grumbles. How did your long running weekly comic strip come about, how long has it been appearing, and where folks can find it.
JB: Grumbleshas been running in Atlanta’s Sunday Paper for over six years now. I first pitched it when I heard they were starting an alt-newsweekly in town, and they were nice enough to accept it. I had a guaranteed 9 weeks of strips that they’d buy. I’m now working on week 314.I wish I were more of a self-promoter, so I could get it into more publications, but I’m happy that someone pays me to draw on a weekly basis. It also serves as an outlet for my anger at what I consider to be the stupid or cruel or selfish behavior of my fellow man, and expressing that angst on a weekly basis keeps my head from exploding.All of the weekly strips are available in an archive at http://jamesburnsdesign.com/comics/grumbles/, and I also sell physical compilations of each year’s strips at comic shows, and on Indyplanet.com.
AP: You handled the art on Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s leap from pulp anthology to comic book. How did that come about?
JB: Atlanta has a vital and energetic community of comics creators, and there are frequent chances for them to get together and work on projects together. That’s how working on this comic came about, from talking with Lance Star’s creator Bobby Nash, and as a result of networking at comic shows.It was a lot of fun to work on, especially as this was the first script I’ve drawn that I hadn’t written myself. What a fun character! Who doesn’t like to draw Nazis being punched out, or fantastic air battles?
AP: You were the creator, editor, and publisher of Real Magicalism. Tell us a bit about the book and the title. Are there plans for more Real Magicalism volumes?
JB:
Well, the title comes from the literary term for a dreamlike narrative style, called magical realism where you can’t really tell what’s real and what’s part of the dream. I twisted the title around to both pay homage to that genre, as well as to indicate that these stories in the anthology also contained a twist, a slant. I’m very proud of that volume, and learned a lot about pulling an anthology together. It’s quality is due to the wonderful work with which I managed to surround my own work with, which in the end made my stuff look that much better. I cannot thank the contributors enough.Yes, I’d like to do another volume when I get enough of my own work collected to start the ball rolling again.
AP: Who are some of your artistic/creative influences?
JB: I love the classic, old-school storytellers; Kirby, Wally Wood, Wil Eisner… They all share 2 characteristics – the ability to tell a story really well, and they’re all amazing visual artists.They’re something to aspire to.There may be some illustrators out there who have perfect technique, their draftsmanship might be considered superior to these folks, but in terms of pure storytelling, they’re unparalleled.
AP: What does James Burns do when he’s not making comic books?
JB:
For the last 25 years I’ve created motion graphics for a living; that means things like title animations for video, cable, television, and the web. For the last year I’ve also been teaching what I know at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), here at their Atlanta campus.On the personal side, I’ve been married to the beautiful and talented Rebecca Burns, author, editor, and writer, for over 21 years.We have a beautiful 18-year-old daughter who’s just starting college. I’m a very lucky man.
AP: Where can readers find learn more about you and your work?
JB: My main website is http://jamesburnsdesign.com, from which you can find out about all aspects of my professional life, and http://jamesburnsdesign.com/comics/ to find out about my comics work.
AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?
JB: Grumble Year 6 should be out before the end of the year, and I’ll also have translated versions of a couple of my strips in the Italian magazine Mamma! My plan is to take Europe by storm, and become famous over there like Jerry Lewis is in France.
AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you?
JB: I tend to stick at home and not travel far afield, which means I’ll be at any Atlanta area convention that will have me. The end of the year looks busy for me, with a trip to Germany and some much-needed back surgery (perhaps I’ll get a new comic out of it… “Slipped!”) , I probably won’t be at any show until Wes Tilander’s next Atlanta Comic Convention, on Superbowl Sunday.
AP: You have served as a writer, artist, colorist, letterer, editor, and publisher. Are there any creative areas you’ve not been worked in that you would like to try your hand at doing?
JB: I think it would be fun to do a children’s book, or perhaps a novel. I’ve always envied writers. Especially comic book writers. They’re allowed to write something like “… at that moment every soul on the planet stood up, put on a crushed velvet tuxedo, slicked back their hair, and brandishing an authentic katana sword, joined the battle…” and then some poor comic artist would be expected to draw that. What a scam!
AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in comics and/or art?
JB: Talk is cheap. Lot’s of people say they want to do comic books, but all they ever produce is fan art or single illustrations.If you really want to create comic books, just sit down and start doing it. Don’t wait to get a publisher, don’t wait to get a deal, just buckle down and start learning the craft of storytelling by actually putting pen to paper and by doing it.
For those of you who haven’t read the three-issue comic book miniseries Red, by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, don’t worry. The movie version is to the comic book as [[[Blade Runner]]] was to Philip K. Dick’s novel [[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]] That is, Red takes the comic book’s basic concept—a retired CIA assassin, Frank Moses, finds himself under attack and comes out of retirement to deal with the problem—and then spins it off in a new direction. In this movie’s case, that direction is a fast, fun film with a fantastic cast, great action, great lines, and more than a little bit of humor.
Let’s start with the cast. You’ve got Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren. That’s a fantastic lineup all by itself. But then throw in Mary Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Brian Cox, and Richard Dreyfuss, and this movie could be about pretty much anything and it would still be fun. Hell, I’d watch that group doing an improv of strangers meeting in a supermarket checkout line!
But don’t worry about the plot. It’s there. Oh, is it there. And it all works. It’s straightforward enough to follow without a problem, but has plenty of depth to keep you interested. There aren’t any of those cinematic asides Hollywood is so fond of these days, either—I think there’s all of one flashback, and it’s short and to the point.
There’s also a lot of humor to this movie. Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, especially with Willis and Mirren’s droll delivery, Freeman’s cheerful amiability, and Malkovich’s off-kilter antics. If anything, Malkovich steals the show, but only barely. This isn’t a group you can steal much attention from.
There’s a lot of violence, of course. But no real gore. No nudity either, and not much profanity. Plus the light tone and the romantic element offsets all the talk about killing and killers. The film’s rated PG-13 and I think that’s fair.
One of the best things about this movie is that you can tell everyone had a great time making it. Willis is definitely on as the calm, cool, slightly amused Frank Moses. Malkovich is perfect as the addled but still deadly Marvin. Parker is delightful as the confused but sweet Sarah. Mirren is wonderful as the wickedly serene Victoria, Freeman is endearing as the easy-going but utterly competent Joe, Urban is excellent as the focused and competent Cooper, and Cox is charming as the smooth-talking Ivan. And watch for a cameo by screen legend Ernest Borgnine.
Red is definitely a movie well worth seeing. If you’re anything like me, you’ll walk away grinning—and with a new appreciation for postcards from cities around the world.
John Wooley and Terry Tidwell-Creators, Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger
Terry Tidwell
AP: Tell us a bit about Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger and how these books came about?
John: The Miracle Squad is a loosely knit group of people from a Poverty Row movie studio who band together to try and prevent a takeover of the company by a powerful L.A. gangster. Running the gamut from studio head to star to handyman, they find adventure in 1930s Hollywood, and beyond. The Twilight Avenger also takes place in the late 1930s, but in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa was a progressive city, the “Oil Capital of the World,” the place to be in the Midwest. The banks were full of money, and Oklahoma had its share of flamboyant bank robbers such as Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie and Clyde. Reese Chambers, local college football star, suffers a loss at the hands of some of these bank robbers. With the help of a college chemistry professor, who was active in the design of gas weaponry in World War I, a gas gun is created and Reese dons a gas mask and goes after them as the Twilight Avenger.
is another ‘30s character, a costumed hero whose alter-ego is a student athlete at an Oklahoma university during the Dust Bowl.
John Wooley
These books came about for a couple of reasons. Terry, who is younger than me by several years, was a friend of my brother’s, and I found out Terry wanted to be a comic-book artist. Since I had sold a few comic-book stories to Warren’s Eerie back in the early ‘70s, my brother thought we should meet. We did, I loved Terry’s samples, and we set about trying to come up with characters we’d enjoy writing and drawing. I’m a huge fan of ‘30s B-pictures and pulp magazines, so those were definitely an influence. In fact, while I was in Viet Nam I’d written a prose story called “The Return of Mr. Mystery,” in which a dying pulp writer comes face-to-face with his creations, and some of those characters ended up as members of the Miracle Squad. That story, by the way, will be a part of the boatload of extras planned for the Miracle Squad graphic novels from Pulp 2.0 Press.
Terry: The Miracle Squad is set in late 1930’s Hollywood. Miracle Studios, a Poverty Row movie studio, is being threatened by gangsters. People working at the studio band together and fight off the gangster’s attempted takeover. The Miracle Squad consists of Mark Barron, head of the studio; Sandra Castle, actress, the studio’s ” IT” girl; Johnny Rice, the Amazing Miralco, serial movie actor, illusionist and escape artist; Robert B. Leslie, studio detective; Hamilton Wynde, character actor; Billy Caserta, prop man, mentally challenged giant, over 8 feet tall; and Tito Guzman, Mark Barron’s personal valet and martial arts whiz.
Terry:
AP: How did you hook up with everyone’s favorite Mad Pulp Bastard, Bill Cunningham, at Pulp 2.0 Press?
John: Bill actually contacted us. As it turned out, he’d bought the original issues of Miracle Squad and the Twilight Avenger off the stands in the ‘80s, and he’d enjoyed them and remembered them when he decided to start his press. One phone conversation convinced me that his heart and head were both in the right place, and we were delighted to have the characters come out again under the Pulp 2.0 imprint. Plus, Bill obviously navigates cyberspace with ease, and is hip to all the most current ways of marketing and delivering books and comics to this generation, which opens us up to a vast potential new audience. Me, I don’t even understand my own website.
Terry: Bill contacted me via Facebook.
AP: Do you have plans to tell new stories with Miracle Squad and/or Twilight Avenger?
John: We’d love to. When the black-and-white comics boom went bust, we still had plenty of ideas we hadn’t yet been able to get down on paper. Thanks to MPB and his Pulp 2.0 Press, we may just get a chance to do that – even if it is a generation later.
Terry:
AP: Both Miracle Squad and/or Twilight Avenger have a pulp vibe to them. Are you fans of the pulps?
John: As I said earlier, I’m a huge pulp fan. In fact, my love of pulps has provided me with some of my writing income over the years. I’ve either edited or co-edited a number of pulp-story collections, including At the Stroke of Midnight and Thrilling Detective Heroes for Adventure House, Super-Detective Flip Book for Off Trail Press, and Robert Leslie Bellem’sDan Turner, Hollywood Detective for Popular Press. I’m sort of considered the authority on Dan Turner, certainly one of the wackiest hard-boiled detectives to see print, and he’s been good to me. In addition to editing a couple of Turner collections, I wrote a Dan Turner series for Eternity Comics and scripted the 1990 made-for-TV movie Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective (aka The Raven Red Kiss-Off), which starred Marc (Beastmaster, V) Singer as Dan. I’m a regular attendee at the Windy City Pulp & Paperback Convention and PulpFest (as well as its predecessor, Pulpcon). At Pulpcon 35 in 2006, I was honored with the Lamont Award, given “for outstanding effort in keeping alive the memory and spirit of the Pulp Magazine Era.”
Terry: Growing up, I was a fan of Houdini. I used to practice escaping from ropes and such, and seeing how long I could hold my breath using Houdini’s methods ( such as forcing air into your stomach and burping it up, ha) . I owned a couple of books exposing how Houdini did his escapes. They were written by Walter Gibson, Houdini’s assistant. Gibson also wrote the Shadow. So yeah, I read and enjoyed the Shadow too. I think Miracle Squad has a Doc Savage feel to it, while Twilight Avenger has elements of The Shadow.
Twilight Avenger I knew of John way before I actually met him. I’d heard the talk around Chelsea, Oklahoma of this wonder boy, who sat around reading newspapers when he was four years old. They said he had a monstrous comic book collection. I had a drawer half full of them. Then , while I was in junior high, I became friends with his younger brother, Mark. One day when I was over at Mark’s house, and John was away at college, Mark asked if I wanted to see John’s comic book collection. He led me up narrow stairs to a small room over the garage. The room’s walls were covered with old movie posters and photos. In a case of huge wooden drawers was the mother lode! He had everything: Fantastic Four, Avengers , Spiderman and something I’d never heard of …. PULPS. I remember being nervous, thinking what would happen if John were to return at that moment and find his neatly stored editions strewn all over the floor.Jump to years later…… I was in college and Mark introduced us. I was trying to break into comics then and John had some cool ideas for stories. We started to work……
AP: Both Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger were originally published in the 1980’s. What makes this is the perfect time for these pulp graphic novels to return?
John: Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to be seeing a pulp renaissance, or maybe just a new pulp sensibility, out there in the zeitgeist right now. Part of the heyday of the actual pulp magazines was the Great Depression, and those wild escapist stories provided a few hours of stress relief for millions of strung-out and worried folks. We’re in some fairly hard times today as well, and the great thing is that pulps still work, still provide some beautiful alpha waves for readers beset upon by the world, or simply looking for a little entertainment. Both the Twilight Avenger and the Miracle Squad, I think, carry the true spirit of the old-time pulps. We’re not being cynical or post-modern. We love to read this kind of stuff ourselves. I read a lot, in fact, and sometimes nothing but a pulp will do. Well……hmmmm. Pulp-based projects have had a tough go of it over the years, with Indiana Jones movies being the one exception. I think a lot of pulp projects throughout the last few decades were presented tongue in cheek , with camp sensibilities. They’ve had these great properties such as Doc Savage or The Phantom, and just didn’t take the subject matter seriously. John and I love, understand and have respect for the pulps. I think our approach in Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger will be what makes this a “perfect time” for pulp graphic novels. YES!!!! We have untold stories, and ideas for new tales!I was a fan of Doc Savage. I was pulled in by those gorgeous James Bama covers!!! I have a collection of them now. The concept of Doc Savage and his band of five, working out of the top of the Empire State building engages me and sparks all kinds of images! Oh, by the way Lester Dent worked at the Tulsa World newspaper for a bit, way back then. John used to work for the World too!
AP: What does pulp mean to you?
John: Pulp is something more than escapism and nostalgia, although the best of it contains both those elements. But I think there has to be a sense of wonder there, too, a willingness to, as the saying goes, suspend your disbelief and give yourself over to the material, just as you would have when you were a kid.
Terry: The world wasn’t so well explored back in those pulp days. Who knew then? Maybe there was a Pellucidar at the bottom of the planet, a city of Opar in the jungles of Africa, or a group of Mayan miners tending to a secret gold mine in central America. I guess pulp gives me a chance to imagine what it would be like to live in that era. Of course the reality of that time was that of an economic depression. Pulps were an escape then from the economic realities of the day. Hmmmm. Maybe it is the perfect time for a pulp resurgence!Creating pulp-based comics is just pure fun!. I love the design of the cars, the airplanes, blimps and locomotives of that era. I also love the clunkiness of the machines of that time, whether it’s an autogyro or mechanical desktop calculator. I used to be an engineer before I quit to draw Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger. I love being able to look at these old machines and envision how they actually worked and how simple they were in terms of today’s high-tech wonders. The art deco buildings and streamlined designs are beautiful. AP: Where can readers find information on Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger?
John: Bill Cunningham’s doing a bang-up job of publicity, and I’m also going to try to have regular updates on my website,www.johnwooley.com
I’m also, Lord help me, tweeting @JohnSWooley
Terry:I know John has already listed his web site. I have quite a bit of stuff concerning Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger on my blog: http://uncannymanfrog.wordpress.com/ AP: Where can readers find learn more about John Wooley, Terry Tidwell, and your work?
John: Same places.
Terry: www.miraclestudios.com is my art studio. It was named after Miracle Studios in the Miracle Squad. You can see lots of my current work there. Also at Miracle Studios’ blog at http://miraclestudiosblog.wordpress.com/An interview by Doug Kelly featuring John and me and our work on The Miracle Squad will be published soon in Back Issue magazine, published by Two Morrows Publishing . http://twomorrows.com/John and I are in an exhibit at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City. If you go there you can watch videos of us going on and on about comics, ha. Art from the books is on display and the Twilight Avenger costume, complete with gas gun and magnesium light stands there in a glass case! Check it out here…..http://www.okiecartoonists.org/Information about John and me, as well as art from Twilight Avenger and Miracle Squad, is on display at the Toy and Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, where we were both inducted into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame. http://www.actionfiguremuseum.com/oklahoma_cartoonists.htm
AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?
John: I have two books scheduled to hit the shelves next spring: Wes Craven: A Manand His Nightmares, from John Wiley and Sons, and Shot in Oklahoma, a history of movies made in the state, from the University of Oklahoma Press. With Pulp 2.0 Press scheduled to bring out the first of the Miracle Squad/Twilight Avenger books around the same time, it should be a pretty lively season for me. Thankfully.
Terry: I’m working on two new graphic novels which will debut at Comic Con next year: “Blood Code” which is a new Uncanny Man-Frog book, and “Liberty” set in a futuristic dystopia where a Joan of Arc type character, leads a boy scout army against the evil status quo.
AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you and pick up copies of Miracle Squad and/or Twilight Avenger?
John: At this point, I plan on making the Windy City Pulp and Paperback Convention in Chicago on April 15-17, and PulpFest in Columbus, Ohio, July 29-31. I’m sure there will be other signings and appearances for one or both of us.
Terry: I will be at Comic Con next year. Look me up!
AP: Thanks, John and Terry.
John: Thank you, Bobby. We appreciate it, and if there’s anything else you need from me, please let me know.
At this point, those of you participating in NaGraNoWriMo are halfway there. Congratulations! You have made it past the initial excitement and momentum into the phase where you really have to put the pedal to the metal to keep going. Can you do it? Absolutely!
As a NaNoWriMo veteran and someone who keeps daily and monthly writing goals, I am familiar with the doldrums that come with the halfway point. You might start second-guessing your character ideas or worrying that you have fallen too far behind to catch up. You might feel you are a little bit ahead of the game and that you can afford some wiggle room. Some of you might even be throwing your hands in the air in dismay and wondering when you became so masochistic. No matter what you’re feeling right now, though, you have made it to the halfway point. If you’ve made it this far, you can make it all the way to the finish!
The thing about being in the middle of a project like this is that it can feel overwhelming. Your ideas don’t seem as shiny as they did when they began, and the road before you seems to be stretching into the distance. Two weeks seems like an eternity, and finishing your graphic novel seems like a fever dream. You may be feeling irritable and short-tempered. That’s perfectly understandable, because this is the hardest part of putting the story together. It’s the glue that connects the introduction to the conclusion, and sometimes it feels like that glue just isn’t going to stick. Every creative genius has been in this place, so don’t worry: you’re in good company.
Imagine if you will that we’re all living in the time of King Henry V. His court would be the A list, their comings and goings the subject of gossip at every tavern and pub in England. They were the celebrities of their day, at a time when England was still a small power, finding their voice and charting their destiny.
For those of you who haven’t read the three-issue comic book miniseries 
, by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, don’t worry. The movie version is to the comic book as [[[Blade Runner]]] was to Philip K. Dick’s novel [[[Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?]]] That is, Red takes the comic book’s basic concept—a retired CIA assassin, Frank Moses, finds himself under attack and comes out of retirement to deal with the problem—and then spins it off in a new direction. In this movie’s case, that direction is a fast, fun film with a fantastic cast, great action, great lines, and more than a little bit of humor.
There’s a lot of violence, of course. But no real gore. No nudity either, and not much profanity. Plus the light tone and the romantic element offsets all the talk about killing and killers. The film’s rated PG-13 and I think that’s fair.
At this point, those of you participating in NaGraNoWriMo are halfway there. Congratulations! You have made it past the initial excitement and momentum into the phase where you really have to put the pedal to the metal to keep going. Can you do it? Absolutely!
