THE GREEN HORNET CHRONICLES Published by Moonstone Books (2010) ISBN 978-1-933078074-4
Another in Moonstone’s excellent line of prose anthologies, this book features a number of stories about Green Hornet and Kato. The emphasis is definitely on the television version of the pair, though there is a story adapted from a radio script and various small nods and winks to other versions of the characters. As with all anthologies, there are stories that stand out more than others but with one exception, this one really doesn’t have any clunkers. The worst ones are simply too short, where it doesn’t feel like the plot had time to properly develop or (most frequently) the endings are too rushed and a little too pat. These flaws make sense when you consider that these are all 10-12,000 word pieces (or less in some cases). You’re definitely getting a lot of fast-paced stories with this book.
My favorites were “I Had The Green Hornet’s Love Child!” by Greg Cox (who definitely wins the award for best title), “Flight of the Yellow Jacket” by Howard Hopkins and “Fang and Sting” by Win Scott Eckert. That shouldn’t be intended as a slight to the other stories, however — I did, again with one exception, enjoy all of them. Special mention should be made of Ron Fortier’s “Eyes of the Madonna,” since many younger readers (myself included) have probably read more of his version of the character than any other, given that he used to write him at NOW.
As for the one exception that I keep mentioning, it comes in the form of “The Soul of Solomon” by Harlan Ellison. Now, I don’t know Mr. Ellison but I’ve certainly read many interviews with him. He’s complained in the past about editors rushing writers to produce “on time crap” as opposed to letting genuine art develop. Well, apparently, Mr. Ellison is also capable of taking a long time to create not art, but genuine “not on time crap.” You see, according to his ‘essay’ (and to call it that is a stretch) he was given the opportunity to write a team-up between The Phantom and The Green Hornet… and then pissed it away. How many authors would kill for that opportunity? Most of the ones in this book alone would have rocked on that story! But Mr. Ellison only wrote a couple of pages of his story (which are included here) before wasting everyone’s time over the course of a year. And then does he admit that he wasted a grand opportunity and prevented the publisher from actually getting this story written by someone else? Of course not. We’re told that “I spent a year near the end of my life, trying to write what should never be written. The Phantom stands, The Green Hornet stands, they need never meet.”
What a load of steaming s*&t. The inclusion of this waste of space might allow Moonstone to include Ellison’s name in solicits but it’s an insult to anyone who might have actually wanted to see this incredible team-up in print — or who might have actually put in the effort to make it happen. Screw you, Harlan Ellison.
On a lighter note, the art by Ruben Procopio is brilliant and adds quite a bit to the package. Some of the pin-ups were so good that they could have easily been turned into book covers.
Overall, I give this one 4 out of 5 stars — and probably would have given it 5 except for the inclusion of Ellison’s naval-gazing waste of space.
AP:Barry, it’s your turn on the other side of the table.Before we dive into your writing career, tell us a little about yourself.
BR: Well, I’m turning 38 on November 11, 2010 and I’m very happily married to my high school sweetheart. Together, we have a 4-year-old son. I was born and raised in Milledgeville, Georgia. I’m currently the Library Director for the Twin Lakes Library System, which is based in Baldwin County, Georgia. I’ve always loved reading and from a very young age, I wanted to be a writer. But somewhere in my teen years, I gave up on the dream and pursued other things… thankfully, things have a way of working out and in 2003 I was approached about writing for Marvel Comics. I jumped at the opportunity and spent the next four years writing various things for them, including a volume in their Marvel Encyclopedia series (the Marvel Knights volume) and quite a few entries in their Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe line of titles. I’m a huge comic book fan, love movies and music and spend far too much time pounding away at the keyboard.
AP: Now, onto Pulp.How long have you been writing pulp fiction? How/Why did you get into writing pulp?And can you give us a rundown of some of the stories/books you’ve written?
BR: Well, I always loved pulp growing up – when I was very little, my father had all the old Doc Savage and Avengers lying around and the covers really grabbed me. Even before I could read an entire book by myself, I would carry around those Doc novels. But by the time I became an adult, it seemed like very few people remembered those old heroes and even fewer were writing in that style. This wasn’t quite true, of course, but I was unaware of publishers like Wild Cat Books and Black Coat Press at the time.
So I decided that I’d take a break from the Marvel and role-playing game stuff I’d been doing and try to write something different. I decided to do a pulp novel because it seemed like it would be a fun thing to write and I wanted to enjoy the process. So I wrote The Conquerors of Shadow, which was basically my big love letter to the John Carter of Mars series that Edgar Rice Burroughs did. Around that time I came across a copy of Hounds of Hell, a book published originally by Wild Cat Books and written by Ron Fortier. It was very exciting and pitted Doctor Satan against the Moon Man. I was enthusiastic enough to write my first Rook story and from there I ended up contacting Ron Hanna of Wild Cat to see if he’d be interested in publishing them.
So far, my pulp career consists of: five published volumes in The Rook Chronicles (with a sixth coming next year); a pirate novel called Guan-Yin and the Horrors of Skull Island; Savage Tales of Ki-Gor, Lord of the Jungle; Rabbit Heart; and The Conquerors of Shadow. I’ve also completed a novel entitled The Damned Thing that’s awaiting publication from Wild Cat Books. Then there are all the short stories I’ve done for various magazines and anthologies! I won’t list them all but I’ve been included in books like How The West Was Weird, Tales of the Norse Gods and Airship 27’s upcoming Mystery Men Volume One. I’m also currently writing a series of stories starring a new character, Lazarus Gray, for Pro Se Productions.
AP:You are probably currently best known for one of your own creations.Can you tell us a little about The Rook starting with who he is and what he does?
BR: The Rook does tend to be the first thing people think of when it comes to me… The Rook is a masked vigilante who operates out of Boston in the late 1920s and early 1930s before moving to Atlanta in 1936. His real name is Max Davies and in classic pulp fashion, he watched his father die at the hands of criminals. Soon after this tragedy, Max began experiencing painful visions of future crimes. Deciding that he had to do something about these visions, he set off on a trip around the world, mastering almost all known forms of combat, as well as learning about various sciences and the occult. Unlike most masked heroes like The Shadow or The Spider, The Rook tends to encounter actual occult menaces with astonishing frequency. In a twist on things, he later learns that his visions are actually sent from beyond by his own father, who pressured his son from beyond the grave, hoping to create an instrument of vengeance. This places a tremendous strain on their renewed relationship.
AP:Where did the inspiration for The Rook come from for you?Is he based on anyone in particular?
BR: The Rook was inspired by a number of sources, most notably: Batman, Doc Savage, The Shadow, Indiana Jones and Nexus. I took all the things I liked about those heroes, added a bit of spice and created something that hopefully stands on its own.
AP: The Rook has a rich, varied supporting cast.Would you share a few of them with us?
BR: Well, first and foremost you have his wife Evelyn. A minor star on stage and screen, Evelyn Gould Davies is introduced in the very first Rook story I wrote (“Lucifer’s Cage”) and they’re married in the second. Evelyn sometimes adventures alongside her husband though she does this less frequently after they begin having children. They have two during the course of the series: William and Emma. Both of their kids end up becoming The Rook in the 1960s and 1970s, respectively.
Will McKenzie is the Police Chief and is, according to “Kingdom of Blood” (his debut), the youngest police chief in the country. Will has matinee idol good looks and is as brave as they come. Not only does Will help The Rook in his adventures but he’s also a major character in The Damned Thing, which is set in 1939. A few years after that he marries a former Nazi agent, who defects to the Allied side after falling in love with Will.
There’s also Leonid Kaslov, dubbed “The Russian Doc Savage” by many fans. The son of genius Nikolai Kaslov, Leonid is brilliant and capable. He has his own set of aides and battles alongside The Rook in numerous adventures, most notably “Kazlov’s Fire,” which was his debut.
Later in The Rook series (Volume Five), we’re introduced to The Claws of the Rook, which unites various supporting characters like Revenant, Frankenstein’s Monster, Catalyst and Esper into their team. The Rook adventures alongside them and also sends them into the field in his stead. They’re joined by public domain Golden Age heroes The Flame, The Black Terror & Tim and Miss Masque.
AP:Is a supporting cast important to a pulp character like The Rook?If so, what purpose does it serve, for both the story and the readers?
BR: I certainly think it helps flesh out the characters, to show them in various relationships and in different settings. Little scenes where we see Max hanging out with his kids or on a date with his wife helps make him a little more human than some of the classic pulp characters were depicted. It also reinforces the notion that The Rook isn’t a one-man army; he needs help and this sometimes makes him vulnerable. One of the things I wanted to do early on was give Max a stable relationship and one in which his wife was treated as an equal. While I love Doc Savage, The Avenger and The Shadow, I wanted a hero who was a little more human.
AP:Now, aside from the Rook, can you pick out your favorite one or two other tales you’ve written and discuss them?
BR: Sure! I love The Rook but I sometimes feel like everything else I do is cast under its shadow.
It’s not out yet but I’m very proud of The Damned Thing. It’s an occult noir set in 1939 Atlanta and is a bit of a kooky love letter to The Maltese Falcon. I had great fun writing it and it’s set firmly in The Rook universe. In fact, the main character (Violet Cambridge) shows up in 2011’s The Rook Volume Six.
Rabbit Heart was released in February 2010 and it’s a slasher horror novel with pulp influences. It’s set in my hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia and is a lot different than everything else I’ve written. It’s violent, it’s dirty and it’s just plain mean-spirited in places. But I’m very proud of it and think the main character (Fiona Chapman) was a lot of fun to write – and her partner in the story is classic pulp hero Ascott Keane (who used to fight Doctor Satan in the old days). I’m hoping that Rabbit Heart will get a few votes for Book of the Year in the Pulp Ark Awards but I don’t expect to win. The subject matter turns some people off and besides, as much as I pimp my work, there are those out there who seem dedicated to mobilizing their voters to ensure their books or their publisher’s books are the forefront of everything. I just don’t have the time or energy to engage in that much effort when it comes to awards.
The Lazarus Gray stories I’m currently writing for Pro Se Productions are good ones, too. Only one has seen print yet but eventually you’ll see the first six compiled into a collection. I’m also planning to team Lazarus Gray with The Rook for the Pulp Ark charity book.
And though I have no real idea when it will be out, I did an Avenger story for Moonstone that I really enjoyed. The Avenger is my all-time favorite pulp hero and to write an official story featuring him… that was a dream come true.
AP: This is a question that ends up in almost every interview ALL PULP does in one form or another.For Barry Reese, what does the term ‘pulp’ mean?
BR: Pulp is not an era. It is not specifically tied to the sort of paper the stories were printed on. That may have been where the origins of pulp came from and the earliest definition but it’s expanded beyond that. Pulp is a mindset. It’s about escapism. It’s about fun. It’s about excitement. Pulp doesn’t hold a mirror up to humanity in an attempt to examine what being human “means,” pulp is about telling you an exciting story that takes you out of your day-to-day life for a little while. I frequently tell this anecdote at conventions: The “point” of a Doc Savage story is this: if you build a crazy weather-controlling machine and try to take over the world, Doc Savage is going to come and kick your ass.
That’s the point of pulp. It’s beer-and-pretzels fiction.
AP:There’s the ongoing debate of whether or not pulp creators should be true to the standard set by the original writers of pulp fiction or if they should modernize/tweak/update both characters and concepts to give stories more relevance with a modern audience.What is your take on this?
BR: I think there’s room for modernization but not bastardization. If you’re going to remove the core premise and alter the characters beyond recognition, do something new and leave the old stuff alone. But you can certainly keep the spirit and update things. First Wave has gotten it all wrong but The Spirit stories by Darwyne Cooke got it right. Cooke updated The Spirit to a modern sensibility but kept all the charm of the original. First Wave has people using the names of heroes like The Avenger but nothing else.
AP: What are your strengths as a pulp author?What about your weaknesses?
BR: I think I create interesting characters and have pretty cool ideas. But I don’t think I write action scenes all that well and if you really break down my plots, I don’t think they’re particularly complex. For me, it’s all about putting the characters into situations where I can see what they’re feeling and trying to convey that in dialogue. So I’m good at characterization, not so good at the actual nuts-and-bolts of writing. I always hope that my enthusiasm will pass on to the reader and that will make up for any faults in my style.
AP:Now, you’re also one of the Spectacled Seven with ALL PULP.What are your duties with the news site and why is being a part of this important to you?
BR: I do the occasional interview, book reviews and I seem to have fallen into the role of doing the First Wave news items, just because nobody else will touch them.
I love pulp and I think anything that portrays it as a legitimate genre and community is a good thing. We’re kind of in a ghetto at present – even with the pulp “renaissance,” everyone’s sales are in the toilet and don’t let anyone lie to you. Massive pulp “hits” sell hundreds of copies, not thousands. We need to consistently improve our presentation and our message to get new readers and not just cater to the old ones.
AP: You’re also planning to attend Pulp Ark next May.You’re one of the guests and you’re doing a panel as well.Can you tell us about your panel, if you have it plotted out as of yet?
BR: I’d like to do something about capturing the spirit of pulp on the page. In other words, how do you write in that style? Is it a mindset? Are there specific techniques that can help? Does Lester Dent’s formula for writing pulp still apply today? That sort of thing.
AP:You have a project you’re working on that’s just recently been announced.Mind sharing with our readers a little about TURNING THE PAGE: TODAY’S PULP HEROES?
BR: It was a real honor to be approached about working on the project with Tommy Hancock and with Tom Johnson’s approval. We’re going to be looking at all the original pulp heroes created post 1955. Through fanzines and small press publications, there has been a steady stream of pulp characters created since the golden age ended and we’re going to shine the light on them. Many are well worthy of standing side-by-side with the classics. The first volume should be out sometime next year.
AP:You’re a librarian by trade.Does pulp have a place in our country’s libraries?And if so, why isn’t in more libraries or is it and the pulp community just isn’t aware of it?
BR: Of course it has a place in libraries. The library I run has books on its shelves by Derrick Ferguson, Maxwell Grant, Lester Dent, Robert E. Howard and many more. But why don’t most libraries stock it? The answer’s really, really simple.
Most pulp is published by print-on-demand publishers. Print-on-demand publishers are not generally listed by major resale vendors like Baker & Taylor, Ingram and Brodart. Almost all libraries do their book ordering through those vendors. My own Rook books aren’t listed in them so if I want a library to stock them, I have several routes I could take: I could sell the books to them directly or I could direct them to Amazon or Barnes and Noble or some other online source. But I can say from experience that a lot of libraries (including our own) don’t like buying from multiple vendors. It makes accounting more difficult and it’s easier to simply say “We order books from Ingram.” Print-on-demand works for the small market that is pulp but it is still regarded by libraries as being one step above a vanity press.
AP:All right, what does the future hold for Barry Reese and all his pulpy goodness?Any projects you want to share with ALL PULP?
BR: Both The Damned Thing and The Rook Volume Six are at Wild Cat Books now but I don’t think you’ll see either until sometime next year. I’m continuing to work on the Lazarus Gray stories and hope that eventually they’ll be as popular as The Rook has proven to be. And even though I always think I’m burning out on Max Davies, I’m sure I have more Rook novels in me. Another new character of mine, Dusk, will also debut in Airship 27’s Mystery Men book, so maybe folks will like her enough for me to write more.
Beyond that, we’ll see. Many of my books just came to me out of the blue and I’d imagine my next one will do the same.
DOC ARDAN: CITY OF GOLD AND LEPERS Written by Guy D’Armen Adapted and Retold by Dean-Marc & Randy Lofficier ISBN 1-932983-03-1
This book is published by Black Coat Press and features a retelling of a 1928 French pulp novel. The main character is similar in style and theme to Doc Savage and the enemy of the book is reminiscent of Fu Manchu, making this confrontation all the more fun.
The basic plot is this: Doc Ardan accidentally wanders into the City of Gold, a hidden kingdom ruled over by Doctor Natas. Natas (Satan spelled backward) is a super-genius with absolutely no morals. He’s discovered a way to transform ordinary items into gold and has inflicted his slaves with a mutated form of super leprosy which only his healing Z-Rays can hold off. In other words, if you try to escape or turn against him, he’ll simply turn off the Z-Rays and you’ll literally fall to pieces in minutes. Along the way, Ardan befriends the lovely Louise Ducharme and the two of them enter into a bloody conflict with Natas.
I greatly enjoyed the story and, given the ending, wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel. But I’m curious how much “adapting” the Lofficiers did. There’s a wink-wink reference to an ore from Wakanda that conducts sound. This is obviously tying into the Marvel Comics’ Black Panther mythos and was added in by the authors. I’m just curious how many other changes they made.
If you’re looking for a good old-fashioned pulp adventure, you really can’t go wrong with this one. The first 20 pages or so were a bit of a slow starter but once Natas arrives, the excitement really begins.
AP: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us! How about we start with you telling us a little bit about yourself — where are you from and how did you develop an interesting in writing?
RB: Thanks for having me here to share my story with your readers. I’m a freelance journalist/photojournalist from Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. I have had a passion for writing since I was 10 years old. I started reading comics before I was in kindergarten. I love how a great storyteller can weave an epic tale. When I started writing in my school journal, I wanted to make my journal sound more like an adventure than a simple record of school events. My third grade teacher complimented me on my imagination. I continued writing and felt a fire inside me. I pursued that interest to North Bay where I studied journalism at Canadore College. I received the North Bay Nugget Journalism Award. My articles have appeared in newspapers all across Ontario and on the Internet. My most renowned piece was a five-part series on child pornography called, “They Hide in Suits. The feature appeared in Osprey newspapers across Ontario. Since then writing has been my mistress.
AP: In addition to writing, you’re also a photographer — do you think that helps you in any way as a writer? Are you able to look at things from a different visual perspective and then transfer that to the page?
RB: That’s an excellent question. Without a doubt, photography has played a key role in my writing. A photo is a visual account of an event or moment. It captures the essence of the scene and tells the story. Photography brings it all to life in front of our eyes. Before I take a photo, I follow three principle steps: What is the best angle to take a photo? Will the new angle change the meaning of the photo or add more detail to the story? And what can I do to add more feeling into this picture? In photography, as in writing, we change the angles of our characters, the scene, the plot, and the essence. A writer begins with a mental image of what he/she sees for the scene in question. As well, drawing is a form of photography, and it allows us to focus on what’s going on in the scene. I believe photography has been a faithful guide in my writing. One of the fathers of photography, Louis Daguerre said it best, ‘I have seized the light. I have arrested its flight.’ And that’s what writing is all about, capturing your readers’ attention by giving them a visual picture in their minds.
AP: You recently published your first novel (The Resurgence: Chronicles of the Shadow Chaser), which is actually the first book in a two-part series. What’s the story on The Shadow Chaser and are there plans to continue the series past the announced two volumes?RB: I created Shadow Chaser when I was 16 years old. Me and the guys were always getting together once a week to play a role-playing game (rpg). It was a few weeks after Christmas, and I just got this new super-hero rpg. So, we started a new campaign. The other players took all the cool heroes, so I decided to create my own. I started to draw a rough design, and then it was time to give my hero a name. The smoke was coming out of my ears; I wanted use something cool and original. So I decided, for now, I’ll call my hero Shadow Chaser. As the weeks went by, I started to expand on the story and the characters. It came to the point I had created a binder just for Shadow Chaser. Then about a few months later, I forgot to do an English assignment where you had to create a short fiction story. To save myself from the jaws of detention, I used a quick short story I did on Shadow Chaser, and I got an “A” for originality. Many friends told me I should write a Shadow Chaser novel. In 2005, I decided to put the character to the test. Five years and several rewrites later, The Shadow Chaser is ready to fight against the forces of evil. So, the first book is an origin story. We have the old Shadow Chaser, Dr. Arthur Brown, looking for a new Shadow Chaser to take on the evil Scorpion Syndicate. He chooses, Kevin Wolf, a dispirited seventeen-year-old, damaged by the brutal murder of a loved one, to reprise his role. But will Kevin be able to live up to the Shadow Chaser legacy? It’s a question readers will be asking at the end of the story.
At the present, we’re editing the second novel, The Reckoning: Chronicles of the Shadow Chaser, the conclusion of the two-book series. We’re gunning for a 2011 release, but rest assured, it’s not the end. I don’t want to add a spoiler alert, but you will see a big change in our hero’s life, and I don’t mean two fives for a ten. I’m also in the free writing process for a third Shadow Chaser novel; where we will encounter Shadow Chaser’s newest and most powerful villain, Deathlore. My nephew, Ron Belaire Jr. (who also did the inks for the cover), and I created this bad boy. And believe me; SC will have his hands full. I’m also in the talks with some artists to bring SC into the comic book world. So, I will be quite busy, but it’s a great busy, and I’m lovin’ every minute of it.
AP: Shadow Chaser certainly looks like he draws from both the classic pulps and also from the world of comic books. What influences went into the development of the character?
RB: I believe it goes back my years reading comics and the classic pulp characters such as the Shadow, the Spider, and the Phantom. Since I was a kid, my mom would tell me stories of when my grandfather used to listen to the classic radio series of the Shadow. She used to tell how Orson Well’s portrayal of the Shadow frightened her. She said his laugh echoed in their small wooden cabin. But my grandfather was glued to the radio and enjoyed every moment of drama and escapism. Times were tough in 1940’s Quebec; he worked hard and for just under a dollar a day. When he arrived home, he would turn on the radio and listen to the Shadow. I never met my grandfather, but the story always stayed with me. It would be a safe bet to say, in a way, Shadow Chaser has allowed me to be closer to my grandfather. Also, the classic Spider-man stories of the 70’s and 80’s really played a role in developing the character. What I loved about Spider-man was his humanity and he was a teen with real-life problems. So, I wanted Shadow Chaser to have the same realism. He’s far from perfect; he’s constantly making choices, and those choices have consequences. Consequences lead to conflict, and conflict leads to great storytelling.
AP: One thing that’s kind of unusual about your promotion of the book are all the trailers and videos you’ve posted — who creates those and what kind of work goes into them? Do you think this has worked in terms of attracting attention to the book?
RB: My nephew Ron and I have created them all to this point. We used a computer game called the Movies by Lionhead Studios. The software allowed us to create movies in a Sims type atmosphere. It takes many man-hours to come up with 3 to 4 minutes of footage, but I think it’s worth the effort; especially when I saw Shadow Chaser coming alive and knocking out a thug in front of my monitor. I stumbled on this by accident. At first, we were thinking of doing audio trailers with photo stills, but I happened to be checking trailers and spotted the word “machinima” during my search. The technology behind it is amazing. I checked out the forums and asked if anyone could create a Shadow Chaser costume template. I was fortunate that I found such a person in Mr. Michael Perkey. He created the template and the first teaser trailer went up in the fall of 2009. The reaction was amazing; I had responses from people from all over the world. The highlight was when former Marvel and DC artist, Michael Netzer added my teaser trailer to his favourites on his YouTube channel. After the creation and positive feedback I received from the teaser trailer, came the extended trailer. And I was surprised by another turn of events. I had supporters and Facebook friends, whom I have never met, asked me if they could take part in lending out their voices for characters. From that moment, I knew I had something special. The best part of all of is I met some awesome people as result of these trailers. So, I have spread the word about the book and made new friends. That alone is incredible. With YouTube and social media, book trailers have now become just as popular as movie trailers. Hopefully within the next year, I will be upgrading my software to increase the quality of the trailers. They’re a great promotional tool.
AP: This is a real boom time for modern pulp fiction: are there any authors or series out there that you’re currently a fan of? Do you see yourself branching out into other characters besides just the Shadow Chaser?
RB: I’m just starting to follow the modern pulp scene, but what I’m seeing so far is off the charts. One of these modern pulp characters I am following is Don Gates’s upcoming series, Challenger Storm. Recently, I watched a Challenger Storm tribute video, and it really brought the series alive. I can’t wait for its release. I believe there is a resurgence of interest in the classic pulp tales of the past. Many of my members have said that Shadow Chaser, and other new heroes like him, are considered to be within the “Neo-Pulp” genre. I’m honoured and humbled to be a part of this new and exciting universe, but at the same time, I feel the old pulp stories are still of tremendous interest to readers today.
As for branching out, I’m currently talking with Dan Barnes, the creator of Tree Frog Comics, to do a Shadow Chaser crossover with his flagship character, Vatican: the Angel of Justice. And I’m thinking of bringing in another creation of mine to the public. But for now, Shadow Chaser is my top priority.
AP: If people want to learn more about you or the Shadow Chaser, where should they go? And where can they buy a copy of the book?
The novel is available at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble online, and Lulu.com. Currently, if they go to Lulu.com, they can save 25% off the cover price. As well, if anyone is interested to have a signed copy, you can check out the official website and send me a message.
AP: Thanks for joining us!
RB: Thank you for having me. If I may, I want to take this moment to thank all my family, friends, and supporters. You’re all the best. For story is nothing without the reader.
“Beastly and Bloody” a tale from the anthology VAMPIRES VS. WEREWOLVES, Age of Adventure Written by Tommy Hancock
This story is a bit of an oddity, in that it mixes ancient mythology with a classic clash between a vampire and a werewolf. The twist, you see, is that the combatants have a relationship that dates back centuries and is one that almost all fans of literature are familiar with. I won’t give too much away here but I will say that I found the story quite engaging, with some wonderfully brutal action. This lives up to the title in more ways than one. It’s also the perfect springboard for more adventures starring these characters: in fact, upon finishing it, I assumed that this was the beginning of a series and said as much to the author, who assured me that he was indeed planning to continue the tale. The author is able to effectively create well-rounded characters with an economy of prose. This is not a story that takes the modern approach of spending pages of self-pitying prose on the main characters, where they bemoan their fates. Here, the characters are conflicted because of their relationship but this is pure pulp goodness: this story MOVES. I quite liked it. 4 out of 5 stars!
Barry Reese, Moonstone Contributor as well as writer for Wild Cat Books, Marvel Comics, West End Games, Pro Se Productions and Airship 27, will be signing books at Kema’s Hobby Bookstore in Gray, Georgia from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday October 23, 2010! The store will have copies of all Barry’s books for sale, including all five volumes in The Rook Chronicles, Rabbit Heart, Guan-Yin and the Horrors of Skull Island, Savage Tales of Ki-Gor and more!
Beau Smith, Marketer/Creator, Writer of CAPTAIN ACTION story, Moonstone Books
AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests and your mission to make manly comics.
BEAU: I’ve been writing comic books since 1987 as well as marketing them. I was in the third grade when I decided that I wanted to “make” comic books, I was always entranced by the colorful art and characters and spent the next few decades trying to figure out how I was going to put a check beside this goal of mine. Being from a smallish town in West Virginia, it wasn’t easy. Even as a kid I had been drawn to the pulp style painted covers of the magazines and paperback books I would see at the newsstand and drug store. I believe it was Argosy or Stag Magazine that mesmerized me with their sometimes lurid, yet adventurous covers of a manly man saving a beautiful woman with torn clothes from some wild boar or crazed Nazi. I wanted to read and write that kinda stuff.
AP: How did you get your start as a writer and how did it lead to marketing gigs?
BEAU: Tim Truman, creator of SCOUT and co-creator of GRIMJACK, gave me my first break in comics. Tim and I had met at Chicago Con around 1984. We found out we are both West Virginia boys and that set the cart off to full throttle. We also shared the same interests in comics, film, TV and books. Tim introduced me to Dean Mullaney who was the publisher of Eclipse Comics. It seemed at the time (1987) they were in need of a Sales Manager in the direct market. Since my background was sales and marketing, as well as knowing comic books, Tim hooked me up with a meeting with Dean at the American Book Sellers Association in Washington D.C. It was there I also met Chuck Dixon who was also a buddy of Tim’s and writing Airboy for Eclipse. Things started to roll and next thing you know, Dean hired me and Tim asked me to write a one page gag strip in the back of SCOUT called “Beau LaDuke’s Tips For Real Men”, based on the character that Tim and I co-created as a supporting cast member in SCOUT. (The character just happened to look like me…) So there I was in my early 30’s making my third grade dream come true. I wished I had gotten the job a little sooner, but life does tend to throw curve balls at you from time to time.
AP: As a Marketing Advisor you’ve worked for several companies and recently joined IDW Publishing’s Library of American Comics imprint (which includes some pulp like comics within its vast amount of material) as its new Director of Marketing. What can we expect to see from this imprint?
BEAU: We want to continue to collect and publish important comic books and comic strips that have been the foundation to the comics we read today. Readers need to know the history of comics and see where the influences and traditions have come from if they expect to grow into the future. The upcoming Genius Isolated: The Life And Art Of Alex Toth http://www.libraryofamericancomics.com looks to be one of the most anticipated releases in our catalog of books yet. It will appeal to not only readers, but professionals on all sorts of creative levels as well.
AP: There seem to be many different opinions about what can be defined as pulp. How do you define pulp and what do you look for in a pulp story as a writer and a reader?
BEAU: Pulp is like trying to describe the term pop culture, it’s hard to pinpoint it to one certain arena. Personally, I’ve always related pulp to that of noir. A traditional sense of thrilling stories with a grit to it. It’s adventure with a moodier light cast on it. You have examples of Doc Savage, The Shadow, Mike Hammer, there are just so many variants, nothing wrong with that. I like a big canvas. I look for that peculiar slant on adventure or sci-fi that you don’t usually get from mainstream. If someone were to suggest a new book and say “Well, it’s kinda like Tarzan with a sci-fi twist.” I would be the first person to order it. I believe it’s a mix of traditional with a new layer.
AP: Where can readers find information on you and your books?
BEAU: as always, folks can find out what recent crimes I’ve committed on my official website www.flyingfistranch.com or find me on Facebook (Beau Smith) and Twitter. (BeauSmithRanch) As far as the work we’re doing at The Library Of American Comics we have the website http://www.libraryofamericancomics.com and the IDW Publishing webiste www.idwpublishing.com
AP: What upcoming projects do you have coming up that you can tell us about at this time?
BEAU: In December 2010 from IDW Publishing, I will have my new original graphic novel, Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars (Full color, 104 pages, $17.99) In January from Moonstone, you can find an action packed Classic Captain Action story that Eduardo Barreto and I are doing called “White Lies.” It’ll be in the Captain Action Winter Special book. I also have a new project, a full blown western coming up from a major publisher for 2011, but that’s all I can say right now on that.
AP: Do you have any shows, signings, or conventions coming up where your fans can meet you and buy you a beer?
BEAU: I will be a special guest at this year’s Mid-Ohio Comic Convention in Columbus Ohio. (November 6-7) http://midohiocon.blogspot.com I hope a lot of folks come by and see me there. I ain’t much to look at, but I can talk the skin off a chicken.
AP: And finally, what does Beau Smith do when she’s not writing, marketing, or kicking ass?
BEAU: I don’t know about the kicking ass part, I’m not getting any younger. I might have to let a ball bat do the majority of the talking for me these days, but mostly I read (A lot!), do five miles a day, work with weights three days a week, watch some fine TV like Human Target and Burn Notice as well as some movies that interest me in a manly sorta way. I walk my dogs, my wife and I enjoy the empty nest thing and I try and run my son’s adult lives as much as I can. I have lunch with my long time buddies once a week and discuss things only adults with 12 year old brains should talk about and I guess that’s about it. If I did anymore we’d hear police sirens in the background.
DOC SAVAGE #10 Written by IVAN BRANDON Art by PHIL WINSLADE Cover by J.G. JONES It was the war that changed everything and brought Clark Savage, Jr., and Ronan McKenna together. But the things those men had to do as soldiers would one day tear them apart! Don’t miss this thrilling flashback to the history of the First Wave universe; a story that sets the scene for the deadly conclusion of Doc’s adventure in the Middle East! On sale JANUARY 12 * 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
FIRST WAVE #6 Written by BRIAN AZZARELLO Art by RAGS MORALES & RICK BRYANT Cover by J.G. JONES 1:10 Variant cover by JIM LEE This is it – the cataclysmic conclusion of the miniseries that launched the FIRST WAVE universe! Every life on Earth is threatened by Anton Colossi’s mad ambition. But The Spirit is at death’s door, The Batman is near his breaking point, and Doc Savage is at the mercy of a mad scientist! The stakes couldn’t be higher – and in FIRST WAVE, anything can happen! Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information. On sale JANUARY 26 * 6 of 6 * 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
DOC SAVAGE # 7 DC Comics Doc Savage – Ivan Brandon, Brian Azzarello & Nic Klein Justice Inc. – Jason Starr & Scott Hampton
Another month, another issue of DC’s Doc Savage series. At some point, you’d suspect that DC might accidentally stumble onto a formula that works — but there’s no sign of it yet. This one continues the “Belly of the Beast” storyline and has Doc and his aides knee deep in the Middle East, still in pursuit of a friend of theirs that they all believed was dead. There’s a bunch of pointless fighting in this and several pages of decompressed storytelling where Doc and the gang talk about how amazing their friend was. It was during those pages where I hit upon a key problem that I have with Brian Azzarello’s take on the pulp characters in this First Wave universe: pacing. Azzarello is quite obviously “writing for the trade,” which in comic book terms means that he stretches everything out so that it fills 6 to 7 issues, which just so happens to be the standard size of a comic book trade paperback. The problem comes from the fact that this sort of storytelling (typified by pages of talking heads, where the characters speak “naturally” in small bursts of words, as occurs multiple times in this issue) does not fit with the pulp paradigm. Doc Savage was many things but it was never slow, boring or ponderous. It was quick, exciting reading and that’s where all of Azzarello’s First Wave work is falling extremely short.
That and the fact that the plots don’t make sense. That’s a pretty big one, too. After all the issues of First Wave and seven of Doc Savage, I find “The War” to be a muddled mess that should either be better defined or ignored and the characters seem like pale reflections of their actual selves. Really — is anybody reading this Doc Savage series and coming away with a clear view of who Doc or his aides are? I can’t imagine how, since the storytelling leaves no room for characterization. I know — how can there be pages of talking heads but no characterization? Pretty easy. People talk and talk but they don’t say anything that illuminates them as people. And aside from Monk and Ham’s snarky comments towards each other, most of the dialogue could be cut and pasted between characters and nobody would notice. The end of the main story sees the arrival of the Siamese twins we were teased with earlier in the arc and I assume we’re supposed to be excited by their arrival but given the fact that they, like everyone else in the book, has been given no personality, I was like “Oh, they’re finally doing something with them” as opposed to “Wow! Can’t wait to see what happens when Doc fights a pair of Siamese twin children.”
Yeah, it’s pretty dumb.
In the back-up, Smitty continues to track down a murderer and rapist, intending to kill him at some point. Now, Smitty is still never identified by name which continues to be an awesomely stupid writing mistake. If this was your first issue, you would not know who this character was. Hell, I’ve been reading for seven issues and I don’t know who this character is — because it sure isn’t Smitty.
Anyway, Smitty tracks the bad guy for days and — get this — never once disguises himself. Oh, he says he’s trying to be cool about it, but he’s following the man for days. Without disguising himself. So is it a shock when the bad guy says “Hey, that fella over there — I think he was at the Track. And the so-and-so. And the so-and-so. Isn’t that weird?”
A member of Justice Inc. just follows a guy for days without disguising himself. He follows him to clubs, to a racetrack, even to the freakin’ bathroom… Without. Disguising. Himself.
Needless to say, he gets ambushed and arrested by some cops on the take. Benson (you remember him? The star of Justice Inc.? He’s here for one page) finally arrives but doesn’t bail Smitty out of jail because he’s so angry that one of his gang would plan a murder.
Sigh. I can’t express to you how much this sucks. On the plus side, the art is real pretty.
