When asked what Pulp Fiction is, regardless if its classic tales from the medium’s greatest era in the early 20th Century or new stories written in the same vein and style by today’s writers, there are a few common traits usually mentioned by enthusiasts and fans. Pulp Fiction is usually described as being fast paced and plot driven. For the most part, this results in action packed short stories, packing all the wow possible into an economy of words. Even most Pulp novels fall into the realm of 60,000 words, definitely short by today’s standards for books. To every rule, even if it’s just more of a guideline, there must always be an exception. For New Pulp, that exception is the work of Wayne Reinagel, the one-man creative powerhouse behind Knightraven Studios.
Publisher, writer, artist, researcher, and formatter, Reinagel took the opportunity to dedicate his time to fulfilling a dream he’d had since childhood. “Being a passionate reader of comic books and novels since I was about knee-high,” said Reinagel, “I have always had a deep-seated desire to write and illustrate my own series of stories. About five years ago I started working on an epic-length ‘Steampulp’ story involving dozens of Victorian era characters of the late 1800’s combined with a group of four heroes of the 1930’s pulp era in a universe known as Infinite Horizons. The main title is Pulp Heroes and the individual novels are subtitled More Than Mortal, Khan Dynasty, and the upcoming Sanctuary Falls. The Hunter Island Adventure is the first of a long series of short stories, and it takes place between Khan Dynasty and More Than Mortal. The next series of novels take place in the 1800’s, and are described as Gothic Horror Steampunk. These are Modern Marvels – Viktoriana and the upcoming Modern Marvels – Gothika.”
The mix of historical and literary characters, as well as Reinagel’s own homages to known Pulp characters, makes his work stand out from most. Although many writers have tinkered with guest starring a literary character or tying their stories into historical events, very few, save possibly those involved in the writing of Wold Newton stories, have endeavored to weave such massive tales around known personages, both fictional and real. Reinagel’s decision to do this again goes back to his youth.
“At a very early age I began reading novels written during the mid-to-late 1800’s, such as Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Dracula, and so on. During my teen years, I discovered reprints of the pulp era, specifically, Doc Savage and the Shadow. Even after all these years, these are still the stories I prefer to read for recreation.”

Reinagel recognizes that although he feels quite at home in the New Pulp world, some may not consider his books to be traditionally Pulp in the strictest sense. “My stories are a bit unique and often described as ‘epics.’ They are not a light snack, but rather an eight course dinner including a dessert and appetizer, and as such, not intended to be consumed at one sitting. They take the readers around the world and sometimes back through decades of time. The characters are more realistic – living, growing and sometimes even dying. The stories are vastly more complex than your average short pulp story, but I have had nothing but positive feedback from all my readers, so I must be doing something right.
“And,” continued Wayne, “I believe readers enjoy the addition depth added to existing stories and characters. For instance, in Khan Dynasty we explore a deeper storyline involving Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. I actually wrote more pages regarding these two characters than the original author, Robert Louis Stevenson.”
As far as why people read Pulp and how his work clearly fits into that niche, Reinagel stated, “Pulp is fun, fast-paced, entertaining, and the best bang for the buck. Personally, I enjoy reading action/adventure stories that take me on a wild roller-coaster ride and still leave me wanting more. And that’s what I try to offer in each of my stories. A reader recently emailed me and stated that after he finished Khan Dynasty, which is nearly 600 pages long, he couldn’t wait to start reading the next novel. That’s a high compliment, indeed.”

As previously mentioned, Wayne Reinagel is currently the sole employee and only staff member of Knightraven Studios. This was not so much a part of his initial plan, according to Reinagel, as it was just a circumstance of the moment. “Honestly, I didn’t know any professional writers or artists when I began writing More Than Mortal. And I wanted to explore this opportunity in both writing and illustrating a full-length story. It’s also very gratifying to know that I accomplished so much in my little one-man studio.
There are positives and negatives for Wayne being the only driving force and labor pool for his studio. “The upside is I control every aspect of the story and art. I drive myself very hard, working on improving my craft. And it’s something I really enjoy. The downside? Sometimes progress is very slow, doing everything myself. Occasionally, I feel the need to step back, take a deep breath, and realize everything that I’ve accomplished.”
Regardless of the length of his works or the complexity he applies to plot and character, Wayne Reinagel clearly sees his work as Pulp. And his fans do as well. “One of my readers described my books as, “Lightning in a bottle.” I don’t think I can come up with a better description than that.”
Find out just how epic Wayne Reinagel’s work is by checking out the Knightraven Studios page in the Pulp Book Store!