Author: Tommy Hancock

A BOOK A DAY IS BACK!

After a brief hiatus, the column spotlighting a different book each day (or most days at least) that would add to any Pulp fan’s, writer’s, and artist’s knowledge and toolbox, is BACK!  Bear Manor Media is once again the go to source for the content for this column, but as always, if you have another resource or a suggested title to spotlight here, please email allpulp@yahoo.com and let us know!  And now….

http://www.bearmanormedia.com/

OrientalSleuths.jpg

THE CASE FILES OF THE ORIENTAL SLEUTHS:
CHARLIE CHAN
MR. MOTO
MR. WONG

During the golden age of magazine fiction, motion pictures, and radio-roughly the 1920s through the late 1940s-three Oriental crime fighters were introduced to the American public.  Through the media which they inhabited they became fictional icons in American popular culture: Honolulu Police Inspector Charlie Chan, International Secret Agent Mr. I. A. Moto, and Justice Department Agent Mr. James Lee Wong-commonly known as the Oriental Sleuths.

Created by respected authors Earl Derr Biggers, Pulitzer Prize-winner John P. Marquand, and Hugh Wiley, the three Oriental sleuths’ adventures first appeared in popular magazines and then were quickly snapped up by Hollywood to sate the appetites of film-goers for detective thrillers on the silver screen.  Charlie Chan carried his case loads over into radio, television, newspaper comic strips, comic books, Better Little Books, and games.  Mr. Moto followed with radio adventures and a graphic novel, and Mr. Wong added comic book exploits to his résumé.

Now author David Rothel brings all three Oriental sleuths together for the first time in one volume as he examines their origins and covers their development in all the media forms they encompassed through the years. 

THE SUSPENSEFUL NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES
THE EXCITING FILMS
THE MYSTERIOUS RADIO EPISODES
THE LIVE-ACTION TELEVISION EPISODES
THE ANIMATED TELEVISION EPISODES
THE CLASSIC COMIC BOOKS, BETTER LITTLE BOOKS, AND GAMES
IN FACT, JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT
THE ORIENTAL SLEUTHS

FORTIER TAKES ON ‘CRUSADERS OF THE SALTIER’!

CRUSADERS OF SALTIER
By William Speir
Strategic Book Group
230 pages
Release date – 14 April 2011
ISBN 10 – 1612041973
ISBN 13 – 978-1-61204-197-1
Last year William Speir introduced the world to a super secret organization known as the Knights of the Saltier; a group of patriotic men and women dedicated to helping the legal authorities of the world maintain law and order.  Into this highly complex organization he set his protagonist, Tom Anderson, a former military officer looking to find meaning in his life beyond the normal goals of career and monetary success.  By the end of that first volume, Anderson had joined the Knights and discovered his own father was one of the Grand Masters.
At the time I reviewed KNIGHTS OF THE SALTIER, I made a point of applauding it’s originality in giving pulp fans something new and fresh.  Whereas with this second entry in the saga, Speir has inadvertently gone down a very popular plot path considered to be one of the most remembered in the history of the genre.  In 1934 Popular Publications launched OPERATOR 5, the adventures of a Secret Service agent named Jimmy Christopher. The stories were penned by veteran pulp scribes Frederick C. Davis and Paul Tepperman.  Tepperman was responsible for the 13 interconnected novels that make up The Purple Invasion, a series in which the Purple Empire (an unnamed European power) conquers the United States after conquering the rest of the world.  Jimmy then led the insurgency against them.  The saga is often referred to as the War and Peace of pulps.
In CRUSADERS OF SALTIER, Speir has America conquered but not from an outside force.  Rather it is seized from within by a corrupt Washington Administration led by a megalomaniac President set on a course of tyranny and using his power to illegally circumvent the Constitution.  When dissenting Americans begin mysteriously disappearing without due process, the Knights of Saltier must confront their greatest challenge ever, how to battle corrupt government agencies and restore the country to the rightful rule of the people.
This is an intense thriller with a fascinating, and very chilling plot line, extremely well realized.  Speir balances the action sequences with the more mundane occurrences in Anderson’s life, ala his meeting a lovely young woman and falling in love all the while caught up in the Knights’ struggles to save the government.  His skills as a storyteller are growing exponentially with each new book. Once again I heartily recommend this to pulp fans looking for a new twist on action-adventure prose. CRUSADERS OF THE SALTIER is a terrific chapter in a truly excellent series.

DOC, DOLLAR, AND THE SHADOW! UNEXPECTED PULPY GOODNESS FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

Doc Savage Audiobook Debuts at RadioArchives.com!

* Now Available: “Python Isle”
* The Treasure Chest Deals Keep Coming
* New in Pulp Fiction: Doc Savage Volume 48 and The Shadow Volume 49
* Also New in Old Time Radio: The Unexpected, Volume 2

Now Available: “Python Isle” For over eighty years, the name Doc Savage has meant thrills and excitement to millions of readers worldwide. Now, for the very first time, the Man of Bronze comes to vivid life in “Python Isle”, the first audiobook adventure from RadioArchives.com!

In “Python Isle”, a long-lost pioneer flyer returns to civilization accompanied by an exotic woman who speaks in a lost tongue. From his towering skyscraper headquarters in New York, through a dangerous Zeppelin journey to Cape Town, climaxing on a serpent-haunted island in the forbidden reaches of the Indian Ocean, Doc Savage and his iron comrades race to untangle a weird puzzle so deep that the only clues can be found in the Bible!

Written by Will Murray and produced and directed by Roger Rittner – the same team that brought you “The Adventures of Doc Savage” radio series – “Python Isle” features dramatic narration by Michael McConnohie, cover art by Joe DeVito, and two exclusive interviews with Will Murray on the history of Doc Savage and the discovery of author Lester Dent’s long lost manuscripts.

“Python Isle”, the first in a new series of unabridged audiobooks from RadioArchives.com, is available now as an eight audio CD set, priced at just $25.98, or as a digital download for just $17.98. In the weeks to come, be sure to visit RadioArchives.com often for more exciting audiobook adventures featuring the top heroes of pulp fiction, including The Spider, Secret Agent X, and many, many more.

If you’re looking for adventure, excitement, and suspense, you’ll find it on “Python Isle”, available now from RadioArchives.com!

The Treasure Chest Deals Keep Coming
Here at RadioArchives.com, we love to add something extra to every order we receive – and that’s why, every day of the week, we offer our customers a special Treasure Chest Bonus offer. Sometimes it’s one of our classic radio show collections, other times a double-novel pulp fiction reprint or bargain priced DVD set, but you’ll always find it waiting for you on our homepage.

Here are the deals you can look forward to seeing this week:* Today through Monday June 13th, you can get our newest CD set – “The Lux Radio Theatre, Volume 2”, a $17.98 value – for Just 99 Cents when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.

* On Tuesday June 14th, pulp fiction’s legendary Knight of Darkness returns in “The Shadow Volume 7”, featuring two classic stories by Walter Gibson: The Cobra” and “The Third Shadow”. This beautifully reformatted double-novel reprint is normally priced at $12.95 – but you can enjoy these two exciting adventures for Just 99 Cents when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.
* On Wednesday June 15th, “America’s Favorite Free-Lance Insurance Investigator” is featured in “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Volume 1”, a ten-CD collection featuring ten high-flying five-part detective adventures. Starring Bob Bailey in the title role, this set has long been a favorite with Radio Archives customers – and its now been updated with a specially commissioned cover painting by artist Douglas Klauba. This thrill-packed compact disc collection normally sells for $29.98 – but, for one day only, it can be yours for Just 99 Cents when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.

* On Thursday June 16th, sing along with a show business icon in “Bing Crosby: The Screen Legends Collection”, a 3-DVD set offering five of the crooner’s classic movies from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Normally priced at $26.98, you’ll be able to get this beautifully packaged collection of fully restored films for Just $3.99 when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.
Make it a habit to visit RadioArchives.com often and see what’s waiting for you in the Treasure Chest. You’ll find a deal we know you won’t want to miss!
New in Pulp Fiction: Doc Savage Volume 48 and The Shadow Volume 49If you just can’t get enough of the page-turning adventures of the great pulp heroes, stop by RadioArchives.com today for two new double novel pulp reprints:In “Doc Savage Volume 48”, priced at just $14.95, you’ll thrill to the classic adventures of the Man of Bronze in two original novels by Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson. First, what is the bizarre connection between the appearance of “Red Snow” and the disappearance of a United States senator? Our national security may depend on Doc Savage’s discovery of the sinister secret! Then, in “Death Had Yellow Eyes”, Monk Mayfair is abducted while the Man of Bronze is framed for bank robbery and murder. This classic pulp reprint is available in two editions: one features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, while the alternate edition features an impressive painting by Bantam artist James Bama. Both feature Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by historian Will Murray.

Next, the radio origins of the Knight of Darkness are showcased in “The Shadow Volume 49”, priced at just $14.95 and featuring two classic pulp novels by Walter Gibson, writing as Maxwell Grant. First, the Dark Avenger teams with Secret Service agent Vic Marquette to investigate a far-reaching counterfeiting ring in “The Shadow Laughs!”, the landmark novel that introduced the real Lamont Cranston. Then, how can The Shadow prove that an innocent man is not a murderer when several witnesses have identified the young man as the “Voice of Death”? This instant collector’s item features the original color pulp covers by Jerome Rozen and Graves Gladney, classic interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Edd Cartier, and commentary by popular-culture historians Will Murray and Anthony Tollin.

There’s nothing like the action and excitement you’ll get from a great pulp fiction adventure story. Visit RadioArchives.com and browse our extensive array of pulp classics right away.Also New in Old Time Radio: The Unexpected, Volume 2 If you’re a fan of suspenseful mysteries – and particularly if you love surprise endings – you’ll enjoy “The Unexpected, Volume 2”, a new classic radio collection from RadioArchives.com. Featuring such talented performers as Lurene Tuttle, Lyle Talbot, Barry Sullivan, and Virginia Gregg, this series of fascinating and suspenseful tales offer the kind of twist endings that you’ll never see coming.
Transferred directly from original transcription recordings and fully restored for sparkling audio fidelity, “The Unexpected, Volume 2” is now available in two formats: a five-CD set priced at just $14.98 or a digital download, available for just $9.98. If you love a mystery, you’ll love “The Unexpected” from RadioArchives.com.

Listen to this Newsletter!


The releases we’ve described in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s pulp fiction classics, colorful and exciting books from Moonstone, timeless movies and television shows on DVD, or the over 150 compact disc collections containing thousands of sparkling and fully restored classic radio shows, we hope you’ll make RadioArchives.com your source for the best in entertainment.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy this newsletter as an Audio Podcast! Click anywhere in the colorful banner at the top and you’ll automatically hear the Radio Archives Newsletter, enhanced with narration, music, and clips from our latest compact disc collections! This audio version of our regular newsletter is a pleasant and convenient way to hear all about our latest CD sets, as well as the newest pulp fiction reprints, special offers, and much, much more!

PULPS!-Second Column from Mark Halegua!

PULPS!- A Column by Mark Halegua
Continuing from the previous column-
During the next six years from 1917 through 1923 there was a further explosion in titles and publishers.
The titles ranged from short runs like Thrill Book, to long running weekly titles like Western Story, both by Street and Smith.  Western Story was the first all western title, renamed from a nickel paper, New Buffalo Bill Weekly.  For most of 20 years it was published weekly.  Street and Smith also published Love Story (another weekly) and Sport Story (twice a month for a long period).

 

 

Other important and long running titles in this period include Ace High (which later become Ace High Western), Action Stories, Black Mask, and Weird Tales.
The latter two were never best selling titles.  Weird Tales in fact, by many accounts, was hanging on by the skin of its teeth with bankruptcy never far from the door.
But, they were important far beyond their sales for what they published.  They were important for their impact on the pulps and later popular literature, for the authors and artists they introduced and the style of writing.
Initially Black Mask was created to help pay for another magazine with poor sales figures, The Smart Set – which was supposed to compete with the New Yorker.  It wasn’t making money, but it was a prestigious title and so H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan decided to try publishing a pulp to help pay the bills.  This wasn’t their first, having published Parisienne and Saucy Stories. 
From the beginning Black Mask was a general fiction title.  One of many in the period.  It advertised on its covers Detective, Adventure, Mystery, Romance, and Occult stories.  Early issues also published westerns.  The quality of these early issues wasn’t high but they sold the title for a huge profit from their initial investment.
Still, it took the new publishers a couple of years before an editor took over who changed the face of the magazine and crime fiction forever.  Joseph “Cap” Shaw took over the reins in 1926 and decided that crime fiction should fit the times, gritty, direct, and powerful.  He was also in favor of justice and depicting criminals as cowardly and no account.
Even at this stage of the pulps, entering their third decade, crime fiction was still somewhat laid back.  No longer the drawing room mysteries of years earlier, but relatively soft.  Yes, you had gun battles, Private Investigators, police, criminals, but it was still didn’t have the hard edge,  the punch it would have under the new editorship.
Under Cap Shaw that punch was delivered.  The stories started at a 60 miles per hour pace and just revved up, non-stop.  Shaw also realized Black Mask couldn’t compete as a general fiction magazine against such titles as Argosy, Adventure, Blue Book, and Short Stories, among others.  Black Mask had to concentrate on detective stories.  It took awhile, but eventually detective was all it published.
In 1923 Carroll John Daly wrote his first story for Black Mask, titled “Three Gun Terry,” about private investigator Terry Mack.  He would write later stories about Race Williams.  Williams wasn’t the first detective, but he was an uneducated, rough talking, rough acting individual, and always with something to say.  He was a street fighter and used his gun without compunction or remorse.  If he thought you deserved a bullet in the brain, you got it.
A year before Daly introduced Race Williams one-time Pinkerton agent, Dashiel Hammett, wrote about the Continental Op.  You never knew his name.  This first story, “The Road Home” appeared in the December 1922 issue of Black Mask under the name Peter Collinson.  In December 1923 Earle Stanley Gardner’s first story appeared, “The Shrieking Skeleton,” under the pen name of Charles M. Green.  Gardner would later leave the Black Mask stable as he chaffed under the constant editorial hand of Shaw trying to shape all of his writers after Hammett.   In 1933 Raymond Chandler joined the pulp.
And so, with these and other authors, was born the hard boiled detective!
For 10 years Cap Shaw helmed Black Mask, and circulation grew.  Never a best selling title but one with great respect accorded to it.  How could it not with stories like the Maltese Falcon?
In 1923 Weird Tales entered the picture.  This was the first all fantasy and horror title.  Over its 30 year history it would change physical formats from pulp to bedsheet back to pulp and, finally, near the end in the 50s digest.

During those 30 years Harry Houdini, H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Seabury Quinn, Robert E. Howard, Edmond Hamilton, Robert Bloch, and many others, including Tennessee Williams first story (“The  Vengeance of Nitocris”) would grace the pages with characters from Cthulu, Conan, King Kull, Jules De Grandin, Dr. Satan, and more.
Covers were done by J. Allen St. John, Margaret Brundage, Virgil Finlay,  Hannes Bok, and others, these being the most notable.  Brundage’s covers included whipping nude or semi-nude nubile young women.  Rumor has it she used her daughter as a model, and many decried the covers which, of course, brought more attention and more sales.
Never a best selling title, always on the verge of bankruptcy, its impact resonated beyond the pulp world.  One story, by C. M. Eddy, Jr., included necrophilia and forced the magazine’s removal from some newsstands.  But, it also drew interest and sold well enough to stave off the bank.
There have been several attempts to revive Weird Tales after its original run ended in 1954 and there is one now been out for a couple of years.  If you’re interested in this number of current writers (Stephen King for one) have written for it.  Go to: http://weirdtalesmagazine.com
Otto Penzler has edited a huge (over 1,100 pages) compendium of Black Mask stories in the Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask.
This book includes the original Maltese Falcon story, the first time seeing publication since its original Black Mask publication, it having been modified since that original printing.
Authors include Carroll John Daly and his Race Williams (against the KKK no less), Earle Stanley Gardner, Richard Sale, Raoul Whitfield, Dashiel Hammet (as Peter Collinson), Fredric Brown, and more.  All the stories come with the original illustrations.
You can find this book at most bookstores and on Amazon.
All of the images are from my Pulp Image Library version 7 disk, on sale at pulps1st.com.

NEW DOC SAVAGE NOVELS COMING FROM WILL MURRAY AND ALTUS PRESS!!

 

ALTUS PRESS • ALTUSPRESS.COM • MATTHEW MORING, PUBLISHER

ANNOUNCING ALL-NEW DOC SAVAGE NOVELS!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Announcing All-New Doc Savage Novels!

BOSTON, MA—JUNE 14, 2011: Altus Press is excited to announce the launch of The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage, the first in a new series of blockbuster novels starring the legendary pulp superhero in nearly 20 years.

Written by prolific pulp writer Will Murray, who has won acclaim for his unequalled ten-year tenure ghostwriting Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s Destroyer action-adventure series, The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage is a continuation of the well-received Doc novels Murray wrote for Bantam Books back in the 1990s, along with the late Lester Dent. The posthumous collaborations will be published under time-honored byline, Kenneth Robeson.

“These new novels are kicked-up, over-the-top exploits of the Man of Bronze, pitting him against forces and foes never before encountered,” promises Murray. “This is not some comic book scripter’s concept of Doc Savage. It’s the real deal.”

Fully authorized by Condé Nast, trademark holder of Doc Savage and based upon unpublished outlines and manuscripts originally written by Lester Dent, the originating writer of the seminal Street & Smith superman, and licensed from the Heirs of Norma Dent, The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage begins with a searing story set in the summer of 1936, The Desert Demons!

“I’ve always had an uncanny knack of writing novels that are more topical when published than when I wrote them,” Murray revealed. “Witness Nick Fury; Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D: Empyre. Published in 2000, it reads like a blueprint for the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., right down to the use of passenger aircraft piloted by terrorists to decimate U.S. cities.

“In The Desert Demons, a rash of unexplainable tornado-like outbreaks wreak havoc in California, calling Doc Savage and his men into action. And what action! Men and machinery are swallowed up by the scarlet cyclones, never to be seen again. Some chapters read like news reports of the Spring of 2011. Let’s hope we have a happy ending in real life! The entire Doc Savage cast is back for this reintroductory episode, including fan-favorite Patricia Savage.”

Murray also reunites with his other Doc Savage collaborator, award-winning artist and sculptor Joe DeVito, who will paint the covers from never-seen photographs of model Steve Holland, who posed for the best-selling James Bama covers as the living embodiment of the Man of Bronze. These vintage photos were donated to the project by Mr. Bama.

DeVito notes, “Working with Doc Savage again might best be described as revisiting old friends: both figuratively and literally. Collaborating with Will Murray, working from classic photos of the late Steve Holland provided by Jim Bama to illustrate the first super hero of them all… I guess I can also describe it as FUN!”

The Desert Demons will be released in July, followed by a second wild exploit, Horror In Gold, by late summer. Seven new novels are planned. Murray promises the familiar characters in their rightful time period, but with a definite edge to them.

“Since I wrote my last Bantam Books Doc,” Murray commented, “a lot of writers have taken a swing at the bronze man, and struck out. It was painful to watch. So Lester Dent and I have come out of semi-retirement to show everyone how Doc Savage is done. With the recent release of Python Isle, the first of my original seven Doc novels to be released as audiobooks by Radioarchives.com, I’m proclaiming this the Summer of Doc Savage. Doc is back. For real this time.”

The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage will be released in a variety of formats:

—6″x9″ trade paperbacks which will be available to bookstores and comic shops everywhere, as well as to individual purchasers through the official Wild Adventures of Doc Savage website, www.adventuresinbronze.com.

—6″x9″deluxe hardcovers which will contain an illustrated Afterword detailing the background creation of each novel, as well as bonus articles and biographies by Will Murray and others—available in this edition only. These will also include signed bookplates autographed by Will Murray, artist Joe DeVito, and “Lester Dent” (in facsimile).

—e-book formats available for all the most popular e-readers: Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Apple’s iBookstore (for the iPad and iPhone).

Website: www.adventuresinbronze.com

Facebook Page: The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage

Second All Pulp Blog
History of the Pulps part 4
June 2, 2011
by Mark S. Halegua
During the next six years from 1917 through 1923 there was a further explosion in titles and publishers.
The titles ranged from short runs like Thrill Book, to long running weekly titles like Western Story, both by Street and Smith.  Western Story was the first all western title, renamed from a nickel paper, New Buffalo Bill Weekly.  For most of 20 years it was published weekly.  Street and Smith also published Love Story (another weekly) and Sport Story (twice a month for a long period).
Other important and long running titles in this period include Ace High (which later become Ace High Western), Action Stories, Black Mask, and Weird Tales.
The latter two were never best selling titles.  Weird Tales in fact, by many accounts, was hanging on by the skin of its teeth with bankruptcy never far from the door.
But, they were important far beyond their sales for what they published.  They were important for their impact on the pulps and later popular literature, for the authors and artists they introduced and the style of writing.
Initially Black Mask was created to help pay for another magazine with poor sales figures, The Smart Set – which was supposed to compete with the New Yorker.  It wasn’t making money, but it was a prestigious title and so H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan decided to try publishing a pulp to help pay the bills.  This wasn’t their first, having published Parisienne and Saucy Stories. 
From the beginning Black Mask was a general fiction title.  One of many in the period.  It advertised on its covers Detective, Adventure, Mystery, Romance, and Occult stories.  Early issues also published westerns.  The quality of these early issues wasn’t high but they sold the title for a huge profit from their initial investment.
Still, it took the new publishers a couple of years before an editor took over who changed the face of the magazine and crime fiction forever.  Joseph “Cap” Shaw took over the reins in 1926 and decided that crime fiction should fit the times, gritty, direct, and powerful.  He was also in favor of justice and depicting criminals as cowardly and no account.
Even at this stage of the pulps, entering their third decade, crime fiction was still somewhat laid back.  No longer the drawing room mysteries of years earlier, but relatively soft.  Yes, you had gun battles, Private Investigators, police, criminals, but it was still didn’t have the hard edge,  the punch it would have under the new editorship.
Under Cap Shaw that punch was delivered.  The stories started at a 60 miles per hour pace and just revved up, non-stop.  Shaw also realized Black Mask couldn’t compete as a general fiction magazine against such titles as Argosy, Adventure, Blue Book, and Short Stories, among others.  Black Mask had to concentrate on detective stories.  It took awhile, but eventually detective was all it published.
In 1923 Carroll John Daly wrote his first story for Black Mask, titled “Three Gun Terry,” about private investigator Terry Mack.  He would write later stories about Race Williams.  Williams wasn’t the first detective, but he was an uneducated, rough talking, rough acting individual, and always with something to say.  He was a street fighter and used his gun without compunction or remorse.  If he thought you deserved a bullet in the brain, you got it.
A year before Daly introduced Race Williams one-time Pinkerton agent, Dashiel Hammett, wrote about the Continental Op.  You never knew his name.  This first story, “The Road Home” appeared in the December 1922 issue of Black Mask under the name Peter Collinson.  In December 1923 Earle Stanley Gardner’s first story appeared, “The Shrieking Skeleton,” under the pen name of Charles M. Green.  Gardner would later leave the Black Mask stable as he chaffed under the constant editorial hand of Shaw trying to shape all of his writers after Hammett. 
In 1933 Raymond Chandler joined the pulp.
And so, with these and other authors, was born the hard boiled detective!
For 10 years Cap Shaw helmed Black Mask, and circulation grew.  Never a best selling title but one with great respect accorded to it.  How could it not with stories like the Maltese Falcon?
In 1923 Weird Tales entered the picture.  This was the first all fantasy and horror title.  Over its 30 year history it would change physical formats from pulp to bedsheet back to pulp and, finally, near the end in the 50s digest.
During those 30 years Harry Houdini, H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Seabury Quinn, Robert E. Howard, Edmond Hamilton, Robert Bloch, and many others, including Tennessee Williams first story (“The  Vengeance of Nitocris”) would grace the pages with characters from Cthulu, Conan, King Kull, Jules De Grandin, Dr. Satan, and more.
Covers were done by J. Allen St. John, Margaret Brundage, Virgil Finlay,  Hannes Bok, and others, these being the most notable.  Brundage’s covers included whipping nude or semi-nude nubile young women.  Rumor has it she used her daughter as a model, and many decried the covers which, of course, brought more attention and more sales.
Never a best selling title, always on the verge of bankruptcy, its impact resonated beyond the pulp world.  One story, by C. M. Eddy, Jr., included necrophilia and forced the magazine’s removal from some newsstands.  But, it also drew interest and sold well enough to stave off the bank.
There have been several attempts to revive Weird Tales after its original run ended in 1954 and there is one now been out for a couple of years.  If you’re interested in this number of current writers (Stephen King for one) have written for it.  Go to: http://weirdtalesmagazine.com
Otto Penzler has edited a huge (over 1,100 pages) compendium of Black Mask stories in the Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask.
This book includes the original Maltese Falcon story, the first time seeing publication since its original Black Mask publication, it having been modified since that original printing.
Authors include Carroll John Daly and his Race Williams (against the KKK no less), Earle Stanley Gardner, Richard Sale, Raoul Whitfield, Dashiel Hammet (as Peter Collinson), Fredric Brown, and more.  All the stories come with the original illustrations.
You can find this book at most bookstores and on Amazon.
All of the images are from my Pulp Image Library version 7 disk, on sale at pulps1st.com.
FARMER PULP CLASSIC AVAILABLE AGAIN SOON WITH ECKERT AFTERWORD AND MORE!

FARMER PULP CLASSIC AVAILABLE AGAIN SOON WITH ECKERT AFTERWORD AND MORE!

Reposted from http://www.sherlockholmesbooks.org/2011/06/coming-soon-further-adventures-of.html

Coming soon: The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Peerless Peer

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Peerless Peer

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Peerless Peer

by Philip Jose Farmer
Holmes and Watson take to the skies in the quest of the nefarious Von Bork and his weapon of dread… A night sky aerial engagement with the deadly Fokker nearly claims three brilliant lives… And an historic alliance is formed, whereby Baker Street’s enigmatic mystery-solver and Greystoke, the noble savage, peer of the realm and lord of the jungle, team up to bring down the hellish hun!

This edition also contains a brand new afterword by Win Scott Eckert and a bonus preview of the new Kim Newman novel, Moriarty: The Hound of the D’Urbervilles.

MOONSTONE MONDAY-CHILLS AND THRILLS IN OCTOBER!

MOONSTONE MONDAY-CHILLS AND THRILLS IN OCTOBER!

OCT ’11 releases
RETURN OF THE MONSTERS: The Spider vs Werewolf
Story: Martin Powell
Art: Jay Piscopo
Cover: Dan Brereton
40pgs, grayscale, $3.99
A Return of the Originals event!
A seething, ferocious nightmare from the Spider’s dark past invades New York City, preying upon the innocent and the helpless. Mutilated victims are strewn in the blood-slick streets, and once normal men have become murderous monsters. The Master of Men must face the deadly demons alone. Not even his beloved Nita Van Sloan can be trusted when everyone—including the Spider himself—may not be what they seem.
_______________________________________
RETURN OF THE MONSTERS: BLACK BAT vs Dracula
Story: Mike Bullock
Art: Eric Johns
Cover: Dan Brereton
40pgs, grayscale, $3.99
A Return of the Originals event!
For the first time in history three eras collide in one place as Pulp Fiction’s newest heroine, Death Angel joins forces with Pulp’s enduring vigilante The Black Bat to battle the eternal face of horror, Dracula. Mike (The Phantom) Bullock and rising star Eric Johns bring this spine-tingling tale of darkness, lust and fear to you, wrapped in a visceral cover crafted by horror comic legend Dan Brereton.
______________________________________________________
RETURN OF THE MONSTERS: DOMINO LADY vs Mummy
Story: Nancy Holder, Bobby Nash
Art: Rock Baker, Jeff Austin
Cover: Dan Brereton
40pgs, grayscale, $3.99
A Return of the Originals event!
The Egyptian sorceress Nephthys has promised to build her mummified mistress the perfect mate. Together, they cut a bloody swath across 1930’s Hollywood in search of the last few perfect bodies to harvest to complete the process. The last thing Nepthys or the mummy expected to run across was The Domino Lady, a perfect body that fights back.
______________________________________________
RETURN OF THE MONSTERS: PHANTOM DETECTIVE vs Frankenstein
Story: Aaron Shaps
Art: Andrew Froedge
Cover: Dan Brereton
40pgs, grayscale, $3.99
A Return of the Originals event!
“THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE: THE BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN”
One of the greatest crimefighters in pulp history crosses paths with the most iconic monster in all of pop culture! Frankenstein’s monster is on a rampage in New York, leaving a trail of destruction—and dead bodies—in his wake, but before the Phantom Detective can stop him, the World’s Greatest Sleuth must contend with the insidious, occult Nazi brotherhood known as the Order of the Black Sun!
_____________________________________________________
Justice Machine #2
Writer: Mark Ellis
Art: David Enebral/Mar Degano
Cover: Jeff Slemons
32 Pages, color, $3.99
The Justice Machine: Object of Power #2 (of 3)
DARKFORCE RISING!
As The Justice Machine battles to survive in a shocking new reality, they are torn by personal horrors and tragedies…but the countdown to enslave all of humanity has begun and the Machine must face their most implacable foe—Darkforce! Their demonic arch-enemy has returned for a deadly confrontation that will remake the Earth or ensure its final destruction!
The saga of the legendary super-team continues!
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Airboy presents the Airfighters
Story: Jeff Limke
Art: Giovanni Timpano
Cover: Tom Grindberg
40pgs, grayscale, $3.99
Air Fighters: Insurrection.
Starring Airboy, Sky Wolf, Flying Dutchman, Black Angel, and Flying Fool!
A botched mission forces the Air Fighters into a standoff against
Vichy soldiers, leaving the fate of concentration camp prisoners
teetering in the balance.
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ZOMBIES vs CHEERLEADERS #5
(W) Steven L Frank and Pals (A) Various
32pgs, color, $3.99
Each issue features killer stories by some of the top indie writers and artists out there. This anthology, and the awesome covers that showcase it, is a read not to be missed if you enjoy horror or humor, or both (humror?)! See what all the buzz is about in the pages of ZvC!
Bill McKay (50%) Ryan Kincaid/Jason Worthington (20%) Pasquale Qualano (20%) Ben Hansen (10%)
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Vampire, PA: Pittsburgh Noir Limited HC
J.C. Vaughn, Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim
Full Color / 104 Pages / Hardcover, $34.95
ISBN: 978-1-936814-13-8
Vampires in suburbia? Dean Marklin didn’t believe in vampires until a beautiful one tried to kill him! Now he’s a vampire hunter trying to hold onto what’s left of normal life. How do you think that’s working out for him? This new limited edition hardcover collects Moonstone’s three-issue Vampire, PA mini-series, bonus story pages, and the prose short story that inspired it, from the writer of Zombie-Proof and Bedtime Stories for Impressionable Children. Visit Western Pennsylvania’s oddly vampire-rich environment! Cover by Mark Wheatley.
*Note: All copies ordered on initial orders come with a signed bookplate.
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CAPTAIN ACTION: Season 2 HC
Story: Steven Grant
Art: Reno Maniquis, Manual Martin
Cover: Art Thibert
120pgs, Color, 7” x 10”, HC, $36.95
978-1-936814-12-1
The new adventures of the original super-hero action figure continue as the original Captain Action, and his son Cole, the new Captain Action, face the insidious challenges of the Red Crawl. And along the way they encounter Lady Action, Patriot Power, Crescent and…Dr. Eville! The full story arc from “Season 2” including the epilogue is collected here.
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OMEGA PARADOX #1
(story) Ian Ng
(Art) Mark Sparacio
(Colors) Abe Melendez
32pgs, color, $2.99

Julian and Solarra face off against mercenaries to rescue a man from their grasp, leading to a tenuous partnership. The enigmatic man leads them into the bowels of antiquity in search of a fearful artifact.
Moonstone introduces a creator-owned effort from Mark
Sparacio (Captain Action, Jonah Hex) and newcomer Ian Ng, in full color.
Two Covers (75/25 split)

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Moonstone’s Modern Myths – The Blackest Terror #1
(W) Eric M Esquivel (A) Ander Sarabia
32pgs, B&W, $2.99
The Blackest Terror is a pioneer in what sociologists have dubbed “the super hero subculture”, a collection of racial and social minorities who feel underserved by the mainstream legal system and have decided to take matters into their own costumed hands.
How will the world react to these benevolent outlaws? Will they become celebrated symbols of humankind’s capacity for good or hated catalysts of a bloody revolution? This is a new breakout series not to be missed.

NEW DOC SAVAGE AUDIO PULP FROM RADIO ARCHIVES AND WILL MURRAY!

RadioArchives.com
1402 S Kahuna Drive
Spokane Valley, WA 99212-3258
Service@RadioArchives.com
800-886-0551
June 10, 2011
For Immediate Release
Pulp Hero Doc Savage Returns in Exciting Audiobook Adventure
The greatest pulp fiction hero of the 1930s is back in the first of a new series of thrilling audiobooks!
DOC SAVAGE Creator
Lester Dent
For over 80 years, the name Doc Savage has meant thrills and excitement to millions of readers worldwide. Now, for the very first time, the legendary Man of Bronze comes to vivid life in “Python Isle”, the first audiobook adventure from RadioArchives.com.
PYTHON ISLE Author
Will Murray
In “Python Isle”, a long-lost pioneer flyer returns to civilization accompanied by an exotic woman who speaks in a lost tongue. From his towering skyscraper headquarters in New York, through a dangerous Zeppelin journey to Cape Town, climaxing on a serpent-haunted island in the forbidden reaches of the Indian Ocean, Doc Savage and his iron comrades race to untangle a weird puzzle so deep that the only clues can be found in the Bible!
PYTHON ISLE Producer/Director
Roger Rittner
Written by Will Murray and produced and directed by Roger Rittner – the same team that created “The Adventures of Doc Savage” radio series – “Python Isle” features dramatic narration by Michael McConnohie, cover art by Joe DeVito, and two exclusive audio interviews with Will Murray on the history of Doc Savage and the discovery of Doc Savage creator Lester Dent’s long lost manuscripts.
PYTHON ISLE Narrator
Michale McConnohie

“Python Isle”, available as an 8-CD set priced at $25.98 or as an 8-hour digital download priced at $17.98, is the first in a new pulp fiction audiobook series from RadioArchives.com. Upcoming releases will feature the classic adventures of The Spider, Secret Agent “X”, and all seven of Will Murray’s exciting Doc Savage adventures.

 

RadioArchives.com is one of the largest creators and distributors of old time radio and pulp fiction entertainment in the United States. Specializing in fully restored radio programs, remastered from original recordings, they are known for their outstanding audio fidelity, impressive packaging, and commitment to top quality customer service.
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For review copies. interviews, wholesale opportunities, or additional information, contact:
Harlan Zinck
www.RadioArchives.com
1402 S Kahuna Drive
Spokane Valley, WA 99212-3258
Service@RadioArchives.com
800-886-0551
Attachments:
Creative Team Biographies & Photographs
ISBN Information
Doc Savage Python Isle Graphics
Audio Trailer
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Doc Savage “Python Isle” Creative Team Biographies
Will Murray (author) is the literary agent for the estate of Lester Dent, and the author of over 50 novels, including several posthumous Doc Savage collaborations with series originator Lester Dent, among them “Python Isle”, “White Eyes”, and his latest novel “Desert Demons”.
Roger Rittner (producer, director) has written, produced, and directed specials and multi-part series for National Public Radio, including the drama series “Darkness”, the mystery/macabre series “Midnight”, “The Adventures of Doc Savage”, and the musical special “Charlie Sent Me!” Other radio projects have been heard on stations KMPC, KFI, and KGBS in Los Angeles. Roger created and directed The Variety Arts Radio Theatre, live recreations of classic radio drama, for 10 years at the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles.
Michael McConnohie (narrator) began reading at a very early age, and developed a lifelong relationship with the written and spoken word. As an actor, he has appeared in soap operas, cartoons, prime-time TV, and in stage productions.  His audiobook narrations range from true crime to history, biography, science, self-help and poetry. He is an Earphones award winner for fiction.
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Python Isle – Unabridged Audiobook
Written by Will Murray, based on a concept by Lester Dent
Narrated by Michael McConnohie
Produced and Directed by Roger Rittner
Cover Art by Joe DeVito
ISBN: 978-161081-401-0
8 Audio Compact Disc Set $25.98
8 Hour Digital Download $17.98

INTERVIEW WITH WRITER MARTIN POWELL ABOUT MONSTERS!!

AP:  Martin, thanks for joining ALL PULP once again for an interview.  Can you catch us up to speed on some of the things you’ve been doing since your last visit?
POWELL:  Thanks for asking me back.  It’s been a crazily busy time since we last spoke.  I’m writing several new comics, graphic novels, and co-writing a screenplay, as well as a top secret new pulp prose novel featuring a very famous classic character.  Also, I have a new novella for teens about to be published.  There’s a lot going on here.  I’m not sure where to begin.
AP:  You are involved in a very special project, one that means a lot to you both professionally and personally.  Talk a bit, if you would, about the professional aspects of FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, how you became involved, the process of getting the project going, etc.?
POWELL:  I’ve written a vintage-style “filmbook” treatment of the classic Universal movie FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN for the newly resurrected Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.  Fans of the magazine will know exactly what I mean, but to clarify, this will be a pulpy prose version of the story as adapted from Curt Siodmak’s original screenplay, profusely illustrated with photos from the film.  This is one of the secret projects I’ve been teasing about on Facebook for the past few months.  I pitched the proposal around last Halloween to editor Jessie Lilley, and she was wild about it.  Next, we approached Joe Jusko for the cover.  There was no other artist better suited and we were absolutely thrilled when he enthusiastically agreed.  Joe loves this stuff as much as we do, and he created a magnificently monstrous cover painting.
AP:  One question is why?  Why does a classic monster movie need the sort of adaptation you’re giving it decades after it was released?
POWELL:  Because this version of the movie has never been seen before, containing several scenes that were cut from the released film.  In my filmbook, Bela Lugosi’s Frankenstein Monster is blind, and will speak, as Siodmak originally intended. Think of it as a sort of “Director’s Cut” of a long-cherished classic monster movie.  Today, there are almost always novelized paperbacks of current hit movies, and FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN was a ground-breaking blockbuster at the box office, and deserves the very same attention today.
AP:  How do you as a writer take this entire concept, including the very classic, but also in some views very stereotypical portrayals of these monsters and make it appeal to a modern audience?
POWELL:  In no way do I consider these characters “stereotypical.”  Someone might as well say Superman, Sherlock Holmes, or Tarzan are stereotypes.  The Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man are legendary archetypes of the cinema, and will far outlive the soulless slashers and the zombie-glut of today.  I doubt there are very many kids over the age of six, anywhere in this country, who can’t name the classic monsters by sight, even if they’ve never seen one of the old movies.
AP:  What does this being a feature in a magazine add to the concept, if anything?  Why this particular medium?
 POWELL:  It’s not just any magazine—this is Famous Monsters of Filmland!  As co-created by the late, great Forrest J Ackerman, it’s been the single most influential publication of my life.  This is a national magazine with a tremendous readership, and there’s no greater home for this project.  I can hardly express how exciting it is to be the writer of a cover feature in this iconic magazine!
AP:  All right, now let’s talk about your personal affection for these characters.  Why do these monsters mean so much to you?
POWELL:  That’s tough to describe, but I’ll try.  I was sick a lot as a little kid and Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine served as a sort of security blanket for me every dreaded time I went to the doctor’s office. FM never, ever failed to make me feel better.  I was a monster movie fanatic, and my older brothers have told me that Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi were the first movie stars I recognized on TV.  FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN was only the second Frankenstein film I ever saw—and also was my first encounter with the Wolf Man—when I was six years old, and I was utterly fascinated.  When I first read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel at the age of eleven, it was a life-defining moment.  That book, and especially the Boris Karloff films, changed me forever and I’ve never been the same since.
AP:  Horror in recent years has moved away from Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Dracula, etc., and more to the visceral slasher type killers and the torture types.  Why do you think this has occurred?  And can the classic monsters and the stories those movies told be made viable again?
 POWELL:  Personally, I feel these slasher/torture movies represent lazy storytelling.  Somewhere, somehow, the horror film became the gross-out film, with visceral effects replacing story and performance.  To each his own, but I don’t find that sort of thing very entertaining.  The classic monster movies have their peaks and valleys, but they’ve always returned to the screen and to new popularity.  It’s happening again already.  I recently read in Variety that no less than a half-dozen new Frankenstein films are currently in production in Hollywood.  Plus, there’s The National Theatre’s brilliant new Frankenstein stage play by Danny Boyle and Nick Dear, where actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller alternated the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature.  The play was a huge critical success and a phenomenal sell-out hit.  Audiences are always ready for something done exceptionally well.
AP:  This is a Pulp news site.  Some would, and actually have, argued that things such as movie adaptations of classic monster tales and other such things don’t qualify as Pulp.  How would you respond to that?
 POWELL:  ‘Pulp’, at least as I understand it, is difficult to contain with such a narrow view, and by its nature has a very broad definition.
AP:  You’ve also got a ton of other projects going.  Care to share any information on what you can talk about?
 POWELL:  Well, I’m the writer for the continuing comic book series of THE SPIDER, for Moonstone, including a Halloween Special issue with artist Jay Piscopo, whom I’m very excited to be working with again.  And speaking of my favorite holiday, my teen-readers mystery novella THE HALLOWEEN LEGION will be published later in the summer, and is probably the most personal project I’ve ever written.  Also, I’ve just been contracted for a number of graphic novels coming from Sequential Pulp Comics, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, including an exciting collaboration with my favorite author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, which will be happily teaming me again with my good friend, and Golden Lion Award Winner, illustrator Tom Floyd.  Very shortly, I’ll be co-writing the screenplay for a new murder mystery set in the 1920s, but there’s not much more I can say about that right now.  Most importantly, I’m surrounded by the things I love, which is the luckiest place for any writer to be.
AP: Martin, it’s been absolutely great to have you back on ALL PULP!
POWELL:  Thank you very much.  I always appreciate your interest in what I’m doing.