Tagged: IDW

Harvey Awards 2013 Final Ballot Announced, “Hawkeye” Gets 7 Noms

harvey-logo-2010-brown-300x2852-7421006The final ballot for the 2013 Harvey Awards is now available. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. The 26th Annual Harvey Awards will be presented Saturday, September 7th, 2013 as part of the Baltimore Comic-Con.

If you are a comics professional, you can vote online at harveyawards.org/2013-final-ballot/.  This will enable easier and faster methods for the professional community to submit their nominees. Ballots are due by Monday, August 19, 2013.

And the nominees are… (more…)

Marc Alan Fishman: Marctaku – A Study In Anime

Fishman Art 130713This past weekend, Unshaven Comics took a leap of faith. We attended our very first Anime Convention. To be honest, we had little expectation. The Samurnauts, while well-rooted in Sentairoots, isn’t Manga in any sense of the word. It’s pastiche. It’s homage. For those not initiated, it appears only to be tongue-in-cheek. But I digress.

We purchased a table at the third annual Anime Midwest show, now in the lovely Hyatt Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. Considered perhaps to be the little brother to the now monumental A-Cen show from a few months back, we were unsure if the show would be heavily attended and how we would strike the fancy of a fan-base we as a creative unit are only marginally related to.

Oh, how surprised we were. But first, a bit of backstory.

Speaking only for myself, my relationship to the Japanese comic/movie/TV Show empire was one of tepid acceptance. Shortly after meeting Matt and Kyle in 6th grade, it was clear that I would need to get on the Manga train. By 8th grade, Kyle and his brother had a basement full of VHS tapes (both booted from Japanese TV, and purchased at Suncoast Video), and a near encyclopedic knowledge of dozens of series, both in print and on screen. Matt was a longtime fan of Guyver and Neon Genesis Evangelion as well as dozens of other giant robot animes. Just as when your girlfriend decides to be a vegetarian begets your becoming a vegetarian, so too did I find myself sampling several series from across the pond.

I found several that I genuinely loved. The gritty Angel Cop with its leather, boobs, and super psychics. Record of Lodos War, homage to Tolkien with a Japanese twist. Akira, of course. And a smattering of others. I found most Anime to be kindred spirits to the comic books and super heroes I held dear, but with a foreign (natch) and mature manner about itself. Sitting down to a marathon of Evangelion left me both emotionally drained and completely inspired.

Unlike American action, the Japanese love (even in animated form) to let action unfold without a shaking camera. They like to pepper stories with emotional breaks and pauses. Every so often they even let complete sequences go without dialogue, letting the artistry on screen do all the communicating necessary. Their stories tended to be more complex, and with more expansive universes (albeit rarely shared like the DCU or 616). In simplest terms? Manga and Anime represented to me a world and culture that could easily be obsessed over and beloved by a sect of nerd-culture. Me, perhaps, if only from afar.

We were told by many friends that Anime Shows tend to be “friendlier.” Upon entering the hotel, I immediately recognized why. Comic book fans share a love of a wide-berth medium. Anime fans tend to be closer knit. While there are just as many genres, styles, and sub-sub-cultures within the Otaku world, here I noted that the relative age of the fan was younger than I’d been used to seeing at comic-cons. The show itself was also more akin to what comic-cons used to be like. Here was a convention that was built in celebration of the medium, not just vapid promotion. The brunt of the show attendees were there to view episodes, attend panels, contests, discussions, and enjoy the company of their brethren. The dealer room we sat in was merely one small hall amongst several others. Not the star of the show, just another part of it.

It was perhaps this that made things so lucrative for us. With fans able to attend so many different things while at the convention, our little dealer room was there for them to explore and to discover. When we made our pitch, much like at comic-cons, we were met with laughter, and quizzical looks. But unlike comic shows, we rarely heard the all-too-common “I just got here, and I’m making some rounds. I may be back.” Instead, we were given a “yes!” or a very polite “no thank you.” Matt sold 10+ commissions. I sold a few Domos. It was, for all intents and purposes, one of the most profitable shows we’d ever attended.

Beyond simple dollars and cents though, I come out of the experience once again inspired. Here this group of fans still celebrate their medium more than they snark at it from a far. Here cosplayers dress less to impress and more to get hugs and high-fives. Here is a convention more attuned to the type of event I long for (and will see again first hand in Baltimore – which still stands as the most comic-booky con I’ve had the pleasure to attend). I tip my hat to the Otaku. Anime and Manga is a once forgotten love-like of mine that I think I’ll have to revisit. Sometimes all it takes are a few pairs of enormous eyes to open our own, no?

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

 

Mike Gold: Archie’s Thyroid

Gold Art 130626When I started my first term at DC Comics back in 1976, DC’s then-VP of production Jack Adler told me the story of the biggest comic book the company never published: Blockbuster. It was purported to be a mammoth reprint book, not unlike their 100-Page Spectaculars but maybe five times bigger.

But it was a set-up. Jack said there had been this young artist – now a major comics legend – who had been coming into DC’s bullpen towards the end of the day to work at space vacated by one of the production artists. When nobody else was around, he’d poke around the production product to see what was happening. He would then leak noteworthy events to the fan press… and this pissed DC off. So in order to confirm their suspicions they mocked up a gargantuan reprint book called “Blockbuster” and left stuff lying around when only said leaker was around to see it. He did, he ratted the company out, and DC confirmed his guilt.comicscavalcadetb

I won’t tell you who this artist was for two reasons. Number one, I was young once myself (I am now a 14 year old boy trapped in the pathetic body of a 62 year old who deserves it back). Number two, were I in that position at that time, I probably would have done the same. Actually, I might do that today as well, but I’d do it for ComicMix. The title name was later resurrected for a weekly title featuring revivals of the Charlton heroes, but they changed it to Comics Cavalcade Weekly and commissioned a lot of work before deciding not to do it after all.

You might ask what this has to do with Archie’s thyroid. A couple weeks ago Archie Comics came out with a digest comic with serious glandular issues entitled Archie 1000 Page Comics Digest. This book, of course, reminded me of Blockbuster – except it is real.

Don’t go expecting it on the checkout racks of your neighborhood supermarket. The book is an inch and three-quarters thick. In comic book terms, that’s about, oh, 1000 pages. It retails for $15.00, which is quite a bargain, and places like Amazon have it for a hair over ten bucks. It’s also available digitally in three parts for retail price which, given the cost of printing and shipping and returns, is comparatively a rip.

Unlike Archie Comics’ other recent, slimmer tomes, Archie 1000 Page Comics Digest is mostly limited to fairly recent stories. I enjoy the early stuff quite a lot, but Dark Horse and IDW have been covering those bases with several coats of paint. No cover repros, no intros, the only additions were creator credits. 1000 pages of pure story.

I’m reminded of a time when I was even younger and the saints were battling dinosaurs. My parents would buy me one or two of those Harvey 25-centers (thinking the Archie annuals were gender-inappropriate) or maybe one of those Dennis The Menace or Disney vacation specials, plop me in the back seat of the car next to my sister (who did get those gender-inappropriate Archie annuals, which I also read) and drive off to visit my grandmother in Indiana or maybe to a wooden vacation shack in western Michigan alongside the Burma-Shave signs. They were right: those big bargain books kept me quiet for most of the trip.

If I were in my parents’ position today, I’d buy my kid this Archie 1000 Page Comics Digest in a heartbeat. Evidently Archie thinks highly of the format: they’ve got sequels set for October and December.

More power to them. At this price, you just can’t go wrong.

THURSDAY MORNING: Dennis O’Neil

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Martin Pasko

 

Richard Matheson: 1926-2013

Richard-MathesonRenowned science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer Richard Matheson died June 23, 2013 at his home at the age of 87. Matheson is the author of classic SF novels I Am Legend (1954) and The Shrinking Man (1956), among numerous other books. Many of his iconic works have become abiding parts of popular culture, and many of them have been adapted into comics by IDW Publishing. Adaptations of his works included I Am Legend, adapted by Steve Niles and Elman Brown, Blood Son, adapted by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood, and Duel by Ryall and Rafa Garres.

Matheson’s writing has always been popular for film and TV adaptations, with several of Matheson’s works being adapted, notably film versions of I Am Legend including The Last Man On Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend. The Shrinking Man was filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man (adapted by Matheson and winner of a Hugo Award for Outstanding Movie). Other novels that inspired films include A Stir of Echoes, Hell House, World Fantasy Award-winning romance Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time), and What Dreams May Come.

His horror story “Duel” was the basis for one of the first films directed by Steven Spielberg, with a script by Matheson. He also wrote 14 episodes for The Twilight Zone, including classics “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” and “Steel”; the latter was adapted again as film Real Steel. He adapted his story “The Box” (1970) for an episode of the revived Twilight Zone in the ’80s called “Button, Button”, and the story also inspired film The Box (2009). He also wrote episodes for Star Trek (“The Enemy Within”) and Night Gallery, plus TV and feature films, including horror movies with director Roger Corman.

Matheson was a prolific author of horror, SF, fantasy, Westerns, suspense, and mainstream novels. His most recent books are Other Kingdoms and autobiographical novel Generations.

Matheson’s first genre story was “Born of Man and Woman” in 1950, winner of a Retro Hugo in 2001. His short work and scripts have been collected in many volumes, notably Born of Man and Woman: Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy and World Fantasy Award winner Richard Matheson: Collected Stories.

Richard Burton Matheson was born February 20, 1926 in Allendale NJ. He grew up in Brooklyn and served in the infantry during WWII. He earned a journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1949, and relocated to California in 1951. He married Ruth Ann Woodson in 1952, and they had four children, three of whom are writers — Chris Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, and Ali Matheson.

Matheson won the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984 and a Stoker Life Achievement award in 1991. He was named a World Horror Grandmaster in 1991, an International Horror Guild Living Legend in 2000, and in 2010 was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010.

Our condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

The Latest News From Radio Archives!

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
June 7, 2013
 

 
Beginning with Tarzan, the pulp era was full of jungle heroes. Jungle Jim is one of the unique ones. He wasn’t a barely-literate loincloth-clad tree-dwelling wild man, but rather Jim Bradley, a “great white hunter” in the mold of heroes of earlier popular fiction such as H. Rider Haggard’s Allan Quatermain and Lord John Roxton from Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, who represented the colonial view of the so-called primitive regions of the globe. This gave him a distinctive difference from your run-of-the-mill jungle man, who often knew little about civilization and was equipped with not much more than a knife in most cases. Also, his stomping grounds were located in exotic southeastern Asia.
 
Produced by Jay Clark and often written by Gene Stafford, The Adventures of Jungle Jim was on the air weekly from 1935 to 1954, with announcer Glenn Riggs (among others). The show brought listeners tales of slave traders, pirates, foreign spies, wild beasts, poachers, hostile tribes, and, during World War II, the Japanese, as Jim often served as an Allied operative. Intended for a general audience, the series’ storylines are richer than the usual juvenile radio fare. Each exciting fifteen minutes episode opened with a section of the William Tell overture.
 
Matt Crowley originated the role, with Gerald Mohr, who had a long career in radio, film and television, taking over in 1938. Joined by his faithful aide, Kolu, a powerful Hindu giant (played by Juano Hernandez), Jungle Jim often encountered “Shanghai” Lille DeVrille (played by Vicki Vola and France Hale), who served as Jim’s femme fatale.
 
Described as a “gentleman adventurer, a true friend of all good men and relentless enemy of all bad ones, no matter what their race or creed may be”, Jungle Jim was so popular that in addition to his radio show, he also starred in film, comic books, comic strips and even television adaptations, portrayed notably by Johnny Weismuller in his post-Tarzan days.
 

This volume contains the first 40 fifteen minute episodes of The Adventures of Jungle Jim. Episodes #1 to #22 are “The Bat Woman” and episodes #23 to #40 comprise the first 18 exciting episodes of “The Purple Triangle.” 10 hours $29.98 Audio CDs / $14.99 Download.
 
 
Special 50% discount Offer
 
“The Cisco Kid, ” as old time radio and B-Western fans know him best, bears little resemblance to the character introduced by writer O. Henry in his 1907 short story “The Cabellero’s Way”: a dark-skinned white man passing himself off as Mexican, a scabrous, cold-blooded criminal who expunged his victims as much for the sheer joy of killing as he did as a necessity of his work.
Such a personality would seem to have little potential as a long-running star of juvenile adventure fiction — but the Kid made the transition, evolving from a series big-budget feature films at the dawn of the talking picture age, down into B-pictures, the comics, and radio. By the time Cisco arrived at the microphone, he had been greatly sanitized to make him acceptable kiddie fare and had picked up the obligatory humorous ethnic sidekick — Pancho, lifted without acknowledgement from Miguel Cervantes’ “Sancho Panza” character in “Don Quixote.”
 
Thus modified, “The Cisco Kid” became a great favorite with western/adventure fans during the 1940s. Dubbed “the Robin Hood of the Old West,” his radio adventures originated for many years at WOR, New York, and were widely syndicated by transcription by the Frederic W. Ziv Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. Jack Mather and Harry Lang filled the lead roles, supported by the usual WOR stock company, and the transcribed series was produced for nine highly successful and lucrative years.
 
Since the 1947-1956 syndicated ZIV series was pre-recorded, a great many of Cisco and Pancho’s adventures have been in the hands of collectors for years — with the majority of available programs dating from earlier entries in the series. Recently, however, a large collection of beautiful discs was discovered in Des Moines, Iowa — uncirculated and largely unplayed 16″ vinyl transcription recordings, carefully preserved by a local advertising agency. These programs have, for the most part, been unheard since the 1950s and most have never been available to collectors – a real “find” for radio enthusiasts everywhere.
 
In addition to their rarity, a unique feature of these restored broadcasts is the reintegration of regional commercials, voiced by well-known announcer Marvin Miller. The series was sponsored on a number of Midwestern radio stations by the bakers of Butter-nut Bread, and the program recordings were accompanied by separate discs containing the commercials. As presented in this set, the commercials have been edited back into the programs — allowing you to hear them just as they originally aired in the early 1950s.
 
Of special interest to radio enthusiasts are the last two shows in this collection: “Murder at North San Juan” and “Porfirio and the Bearded Lady,” starring Jack Mather as Cisco and Mel Blanc standing in for Harry “Pancho” Lang as Pancho’s cousin-in-law, Porfirio. Lang fell ill in early 1953 and, rather than have another actor temporarily fill in, the producers instead chose to have Pancho fall ill as well and be replaced with a series of relatives. For the next few months, a varied array of cousins and uncles would ride with Cisco until Harry was well enough to return to the show. Lang did return for a brief time but, sadly, he suffered a fatal heart attack in August of 1953. The relatives – including Uncle Jose and Great Uncle Cipriano – returned in his stead until, finally, Mel Blanc assumed the role of Pancho himself. Fans of the series will be happy to hear that there will be many more shows featuring Mel Blanc in his best “Frito Bandito” voice in upcoming “Cisco Kid” collections from Radio Archives. 10 hours. Regular Price $29.98 – Specially priced until June 20 for $14.99 Audio CDs / $7.49 Download.

 
 
It was the largest, most ambitious, and most successful military operation ever attempted — and radio was there to cover it.
D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. It was the turning point of the war in Europe, the beginning of the end for the Axis as the Allies started their drive towards Germany. It was a momentous event that would change not only the course of World War II, but the history of the world. Radio Archives is pleased and proud to offer the complete and continuous NBC network coverage of the events of June 6 and 7, 1944.
 
Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
 
Regular NBC shows were included in the broadcast, “The Bob Hope Show”, “Fibber McGee & Molly”, “The Guiding Light”, “Vic & Sade”, “The Red Skelton Show”, “The Road of Life”, “Today’s Children”, “Ma Perkins”, “Pepper Young’s Family”, “Mary Noble, Backstage Wife”, “Stella Dallas”, “Lorenzo Jones”, “Young Widder Brown”, “When A Girl Marries” and “Front Page Farrell” among them.
 
Hear the events of the day as reported by Ben Grauer, Cesar Saerchinger, Charles F. McCarthy, David Anderson, Don Goddard, Don Hollenbeck, Ed Hocker, Edward R. Murrow, Elmer Peterson, George Wheeler, H. V. Kaltenborn, Herbert M. Clark, James Willard, John W. Vandercook, Louis P. Lockner, Lowell Thomas, Merrill Mueller, Morgan Beatty, Ralph Howard, Richard Harkness, Robert McCormick, Robert St. John, Tommy Traynor, W. W. Chaplin and Wright Bryan. Alex Dreier, in Chicago, recalled his experiences as the last western correspondent in Nazi Germany while Stanley Richardson offered an eyewitness account of the invasion from the Channel boats, and George Hicks reported from the beach-head itself!
These are recordings that many historians believe to be among the most valuable audio documents ever preserved. The NBC broadcasts — containing over 38 hours of continuous programming of news, music, drama, comedy, and entertainment — are history as it happened, in a special collection that is sure to occupy a special place in your radio collection. 38 hours. Normally priced at $113.98 Audio CDs / $56.99 Download, D-Day is Specially priced through the month of June at only $99.98 Audio CDs / $49.99 Download.
 
 
On June 6, 2004, in remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the ABC Radio program Perspective featured a fascinating story detailing radio’s coverage of D-Day as it happened in 1944. Written, edited, and narrated by ABC reporter Chuck Sivertsen, the feature utilized clips from the D-Day collection described above. We think this in-depth and well-presented piece provides an excellent overview of the historic content of this collection.
 
 
Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #27
by Kendell Foster Crossen writing as Richard Foster
Read by James C. Lewis. Liner Notes by Will Murray

 
 

The jade-robed Buddhist priest who battled crime as The Green Lama is back! Conceived in 1939 at the behest of the editors of Munsey Publications to compete with The Shadow, The Green Lama was the creation of writer Kendell Foster Crossen, who was asked to think up a hero who could lure mystery-minded readers away from The Shadow’s loyal legion of followers.
 
“The basis for the Green Lama came after I’d read a non-fiction book review in the New York Times about an American who really became a lama,” Crossen once recalled. “The book was titled, The Penthouse of the Gods.” 
 
From that gossamer inspiration, the writer spun an outrageously unique superhero. Returning to the States, young Jethro Dumont assumed an alternative identity of the Buddhist cleric, the Reverend Dr. Pali, then began gathering about him a band of civic-minded citizens to join him in his Buddhistic battle against suffering in all forms—particularly those caused by criminals. And aiding him from the shadows, the mysterious Magga, a woman of many faces who had taken an interest in guiding The Green Lama’s campaign against malefactors.
 
It was an outlandish concept. While The Shadow possessed the power to cloud men’s minds after his time in the East, The Green Lama relied on other, even weirder, powers—including the ability to become radioactive and electrically shock opponents into submission! He carried a traditional Tibetan scarf, which he employed to bind and befuddle opponents, and possessed a knowledge of vulnerable nerve centers which he put to good use in hand-and-hand combat. Being a practicing Buddhist, it would not do for The Green Lama pack a pair of .45 automatics a la The Shadow!
 
“The real success of the Lama was because of the mysticism,” Ken Crossen recalled. “We received a tremendous amount of mail about the Lama. People would come into the offices of the publishing company asking to see him. If he wasn’t there, they’d want to talk with Richard Foster.” Foster was the name of the imaginary “author” of the series.
 
James C. Lewis gives a thrilling performance of the mystical Green Lama for two more exciting exploits, Babies for Sale and The Wave of Death, both set in 1940 Hollywood. Om Mani Padme Hum! The Green Lama knows! 6 hours $23.98 Audio CDs / $11.99 Download.

 
 

 

 
RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries audiobook for FREE.
 
If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.
 
Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code AUDIOBOOK.
 
“Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!”
 
Happy listening,
Will Murray
 

 

 

New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks

 
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 

The veterinarian’s ambulance was jammed, not with afflicted animals, but with human beings — monstrously deformed, and driven out into the street by men with whips! Richard Wentworth beheld this horror, and realized that a new Reign of Terror had struck New York! For somewhere, hidden from the baffled police, was a new Underworld master whom men called the Wreck. Foully misshapen, he had twisted countless victims — by means of drugs and operations — into his own evil image. And with this nightmare army he was plundering Manhattan! No area was safe from his vulture’s claws — not even the World’s Fair! But Richard Wentworth did not fear to challenge this crime-master — and with the Spider’s keen weapons began his fight to save a great metropolis from madness and death. Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
 
 

G-8 and His Battle Aces rode the nostalgia boom ten years after World War I ended. These high-flying exploits were tall tales of a World War that might have been, featuring monster bats, German zombies, wolf-men, harpies, Martians, and even tentacled floating monsters. Most of these monstrosities were the work of Germany’s seemingly endless supply of mad scientists, chief of whom was G-8’s recurring Nemesis, Herr Doktor Krueger. G-8 battled Germany’s Halloween shock troops for over a decade, not ceasing until the magazine folded in the middle of World War II. G-8 and his Battle Aces return in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.

 

 

The jade-robed Buddhist priest who battled crime as The Green Lama is back! Conceived in 1939 at the behest of the editors of Munsey Publications to compete with The Shadow, it was an outlandish concept. While The Shadow possessed the power to cloud men’s minds after his time in the East, The Green Lama relied on other, even weirder, powers — including the ability to become radioactive and electrically shock opponents into submission! He carried a traditional Tibetan scarf, which he employed to bind and befuddle opponents, and possessed a knowledge of vulnerable nerve centers which he put to good use in hand-and-hand combat. Om Mani Padme Hum! The Green Lama knows! The Green Lama returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.

 

In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Dime Mystery Magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Dime Mystery Magazine, all written by Hugh B. Cave, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.

 

99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 
Van Rees knew he must unravel the dreadful secret of that buried charnel house — if he were to save the girl he loved from the crimson hands of the — Devil’s Surgeon! In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

It was a school of helpless, frightened girls, too young to guess at the true nature of the thing which nightly brought them fear and death. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

 
Breezy young Poppy thought it would be lively fun — and good politics — to stir up all the women against the men. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 

Cowboy Chad knew a sure cure for the luscious little man-hater. Man-hatin’ Verlee found she was a tenderfoot at keepin’ her heart on her hatin’ when she met up with a Petticoat-Corralin’ Hombre. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.

 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
 
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, now available at:
 
 
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 

 
Receive an exciting original Spider adventure FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect chance to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp’s most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page’s stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
 
Even today Page’s scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
 

See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of  the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!
 
 

 

Richard Wentworth, in the guise of his crime-fighting alter-ego, returns in two classic tales of The Spider. First, in “Satan’s Death Blast” (1934), normal and healthy men are going about their work one minute but, in the next minute, they literally cease to exist, wiped out by a devilish power beyond human comprehension. Taking credit for these atrocities is a mastermind who calls himself the Devil – and only The Spider dares discover if he can indeed beat the Devil! Next, no one gazed upon the new Czar of Crime and lived to tell about it, as he could inflict instant death upon his victims simply by looking at them! He, too, called himself the Devil, and with The Spider accused of murder and Richard Wentworth under suspicion by the police, he has the Devil’s luck in “Murder’s Legionnaires” (1942). These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00
 

The Knight of Darkness proves that crime does not pay in two pulp classics by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow follows a trail of murder to retrieve the priceless rubies known as “The Seven Drops of Blood.” Then, to prove the innocence of a man accused of an impossible crime, the Dark Avenger must uncover the strange secret behind “Death from Nowhere.” BONUS: The Whisperer brings true sight to “The Eye of Zion” in a thriller by Alan Hathway writing as “Clifford Goodrich.” This instant collector’s item features the classic color pulp covers by Graves Gladney and George Rozen, the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Edd Cartier, and commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.

 

The original “Man of Steel” returns in three action-packed pulp thrillers by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, The Avenger is blamed when massive power outages black out North America. Can Dick Benson locate the mastermind called Nevlo in time to prevent a deadly final blackout? Then, Death in Slow Motion cripples an American industry, and Justice, Inc. must find an antidote in time to save hundreds from the deadly paralysis plague! Finally, a defeated crook returns to plot Vengeance on The Avenger in an exciting novelette by Spider-wordsmith Emile Tepperman. This classic pulp reprint includes both color covers by Graves Gladney, Paul Orban’s dynamic interior illustrations and commentary by pulp historian Will Murray. $14.95.

80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.

 

80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.

 
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $35.00
 
Continuing to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Doc Savage and King Kong
 
Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
 

Review of Satan’s Death Blast from The Spider, Volume 12
By Andrew Salmon
 
To say that Norvell Page’s Spider novels are intense is akin to saying that fire is hot. Satan’s Death Blast, first published in the June 1934 issue of The Spider magazine features all of the trappings one can expect from the series. A diabolical villain disguised as the Devil himself, a deadly explosive that can level buildings, break-neck action and countdown clock intensity. These are all present to give the novel an immediacy that can be felt today as easily as it was back in ‘34. Page does not disappoint, constantly ratcheting up the action while turning the screws until you can scarcely breathe.
 
Another element well on display here is Page’s penchant for putting the Spider through an emotional as well as physical wringer. Generally speaking, a case can be made for the precarious mental state of Richard Wentworth at the best of times so when the heat gets turned up, his brain really begins to churn. His burning desire for justice and/or vengeance is what drives the tale and he suffers the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune as he tries to prevent the Devil from using his revolutionary explosive to create panic as he loots cities of their wealth. One of those arrows cuts right to his heart: betrayal! Watching Wentworth wrestle with a traitor in his midst – the person closest to him – makes for the special anguish that is particular to the Spider stories. Nowhere is it better showcased than in this ripper of a novel.

 
The Spider’s failure to prevent catastrophe early in the story spurs him on and he’ll endure bullets and stabs wounds as he’s pushed to the edge of not only his sanity but his mortality as well. Spider novels are all-out adventures and Satan’s Death Blast is not only one of the most exciting in the long line of incredible Spider adventures, it also packs more wallop than any half-dozen summer blockbusters. Action, intensity, sacrifice, betrayal, failure, triumph – they are all here in spades.
 
Satan’s Death Blast is a great read and as good a place as any for anyone not familiar with the Spider to get their feet wet. This Spider novel is not to be missed. Girasol Replica #GC1xx $35.00 / eBook #RE009 $2.99 / Double Novel reprint #12 #5512 $14.95 On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

 

Comments From Our Customers!

 
James Droegemueller writes:
Thanks for this awesome sale on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Volume 1. I love OTR (and the pulps, even more!) and am excited to listen to this.
 
Christopher Southworth writes:
Woo-hoo! G-8, at last! Thanks, as always, and have a great weekend!
 
Bobby Nash writes:
i was set up at the Alabama a Phoenix Fest this weekend and am pleased to share the news that my biggest seller of the weekend was Nightbeat, of which I sold out. There were some who looked at it and left with my business card and links with promises of ordering the digital download. I met several OTR fans.

 

If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!

 

The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
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New Who Review: “Nightmare in Silver”

New Who Review: “Nightmare in Silver”

Not since Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park has the an amusement park been made the center of a thriller so perfectly.  The return (and re-threatening) of a classic villain, a heck of a guest cast and a script by Neil Gaiman.  Seems like a dream, but mix it all together and it’s a…

NIGHTMARE IN SILVER
by Neil Gaiman
Directed by Stephen Woolfenden

After last week’s last-minute extortion, Clara’s charges Angie and Artie are granted a trip on the TARDIS to Hedgewick’s World, the greatest amusement park ever.  But hidden beneath it is a dangerous secret – A vast sleeping army of Cybermen, under repair and improvement for a thousand years…and they are ready to return.

GUEST STAR REPORT

Warwick Davis (Porridge) has a list of genre longer than … OK, it’s long.  Starting off with Wicket in Return of the Jedi and Willow Ufgood in the film of the same name, he’s been the star of an amazing list of sci-fi and horro films.  He’s been featured in the Harry Potter films, and was Marvin in the film adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Most recently he was the star of Ricky Gervais’ latest project Life’s Too Short, where he played an over the to version of himself.

Jason Watkins (Webley) is a very busy comedic actor in Britain with quite a resume in genre work. He played Herrick on the British version of Being Human and DI Gilks in Dirk Gently. He was featured in Psychoville, the latest production of Sheersmith and Pemberton from The League of Gentlemen, and just worked twice with the delightful Miranda hart on Call the Midwife and her own show Miranda.

Since Neil Gaiman (writer) last wrote a Doctor Who script (last year’s The Doctor’s Wife, he’s written four of five new books (including children’s books [[[Chu’s Day]]] and [[[Fortunately, the Milk]]]), his novel [[[Neverwhere]]] was adapted for BBC Radio, and he’s probably won a few more awards (including the Hugo for the aforementioned Doctor Who script). He’s in the middle of what he calls his last book signing tour, and is still quite happily married with the musician and internet-enrager Amanda Palmer.

THE MONSTER FILES – The Cybermen are certainly The Doctor’s greatest enemy after The Daleks.  Originally from the tenth planet in our solar system, Mondas, the planet left the sun’s orbit, and to survive, the denizens of the planet began to replace their body parts with mechanical replacements, eventually becoming more machine than humanoid.  They fought The Doctor though many eras, taking many forms as their systems adapted and improved.

In the parallel universe known as “Pete’s world”, the Cybermen were created on Earth, by over-reaching scientist John Lumic as an improvement to the human race.  Things went bad quickly, and soon the world faced a global war with the Cybermen, one they believed they won.  They eventually crossed over to our world a few times, presumably meeting and allying (alloying?) with their Mondasian counterparts, eventually forming the version we see in this episode.

BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS – Trivia and production details

This episode owes a debt to several past Cybermen adventures.  Neil Gaiman noted that he found the Troughton episode Tomb of the Cybermen to be the most scary of the cyber-adventures, and this story parallels it in many ways.  Both are set many years after the Cybermen were believed destroyed forever, and both feature a massive armory of Cybermen in suspension, awaiting awakening.

A chess-playing Cyberman was the center of one of Mark Platt’s Big Finish Audio adventures, The Silver Turk.  Both Platt and Gaiman’s reference the original (fake) chess-playing automaton, also known as The Turk, run by a chess master hidden within, as Porridge did here.  One of Platt’s plots was used as the base of the first new series adventure, Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel.  Russell T. Davies made sure Platt was paid in full as if he’d written the TV script, and he received a “Thanks to” line in the credits.  The Turk was also the inspiration for the Clockwork Droids in The Girl in the Fireplace.

“Or don’t you have the processing power?” Even the last trick is a classic Sci-Fi move – give the computer an impossible problem to solve and it applies more and more power to solve it.  Spock told the ship’s computer to solve for Pi on Star Trek, and Arthur Dent almost killed everyone on the Heart of Gold when it asked the Nutrimatic machine if it knew why he wanted to drink dried leaves in a cup, boiled. As is true of all literature, it’s not what tools you choose to use, but how well you use them, and Neil uses them expertly.

UPGRADE COMPLETE – More than a few science-fiction fans have drawn parallels between the Cybermen and the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  The similarity was brought into te light in the recent Doctor Who / ST:TNG crossover in IDW comics, where the Borg and the Cybermen formed a brief alliance.  Here, we see the Cybermen take a bit more of a page from the Borg playbook, with the rapid adaptation and instantaneous assimilation of human beings.

TAKE MY ARMS, I’LL NEVER USE THEM… – Matt Smith’s portrayal of the battle in his head was dramatic and well-done, but the ever so slightly over the top portrayal of the Cyber-planner made me think of Steve Martin playing half of Lily Tomlin in All of Me.  And comic fans will note a parallel evolution in Dan Slott’s current run of Superior Spider-Man, with Peter Parker fighting for control of his mind and body, right down to trying to write messages on nearby pads.

JUST GIVE US ALL YOUR… – Gold has been a steadily growing threat to the Cybermen even since first mention of it as a weakness in the Tom Baker adventure Revenge of the Cybermen.  Originally it coated their respiration systems, causing asphyxiation.  As time passed, gold seemed to affect them as badly as silver did a werewolf.  Here, even in this advanced form, the weakness to gold survived, still in a physical fashion, allowing The Doctor to use it on the exposed circuitry to short out the Cyber-Planner’s control of his mind.

“The Biggest and best Amusement park there will ever be” – Considering the amusement parks that have been mentioned on the series, that’s saying quite a bit.  Disneyland Clom featured the Warpspeed Death Ride, as mentioned in The Girl Who Waited.  There’s been more than a few mentions of Disneyland in the series – a bunch of alien tourists were trying to go to Disneyland and ended up in Wales in Delta and the Bannermen.  The seventh Doctor and Ace visited The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

“Let me show you my collection” – They raided the prop closet to fill the sets of Hedgewick’s world – there’s a slightly refitted version of the Doctor’s spacesuit from The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe, a ventriloquist dummy from The God Complex, and various aliens from Rings of Akhaten.  There’s a few Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood alumni as well, including a Shansheeth, a Uvdoni, and a Blowfish.

“Do any of you play Chess?” – The Doctor certainly does.  He claims the Time Lords invented Chess; it’s not impossible as one of the traps in The Five Doctors resembled a giant chessboard.  He’s played regular games with K-9, and a high-stakes (and voltage) game against Gantok, an agent of The Silence in The Wedding of River Song.

“You are beautiful” – The Doctor has made a bit of a habit of complimenting particularly well-built enemies.  He similarly admired the Clockwork Droids in Girl in the Fireplace, and the werewolves in Tooth and Claw.

“See You Next Wednesday” – Fans of John Landis perked up at that line – it’s a running gag from his films.  Originally a line from the video call in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s been a movie poster, a film shown in Feelaround, dialogue in a horror movie, and more than a few other things in his various films.

“The Cyberiad” – As well as having a lovely Roman sound, mimicking several other terms the Cybermen use like Legion, it’s also a deliberate tip of the hat to the classic Stanislaw Lem novel.

“You’re deleting yourself from history.  You realize you can be reconstructed from the holes you left?” – Somewhat verifying the theme that’s been coming up most of the season, following up from The Doctor’s desire to “step back into the shadows”.  But it’s important to note that the first place that was done was in the Dalek database, and it was done by…Oswin Oswald.

BIG BAD REPORT / CLEVER THEORY DEPARTMENT

“I feel like a monster sometimes” – Warwick Davis delivers a solid performance in this episode, referring to the actions of The Emperor in the third person, and really getting across the heaviness of the crown.  And once again we get a reference to the term “Monster”, that we’ve heard in several episodes. And once again, his actions could easily parallel the way The Doctor feels about himself.

“She’s not our mother” – I can’t help but notice somewhat of a similarity between Angie and young Mels, as played by Maya Glace-Green in Let’s Kill Hitler.  The sass, the overuse of the word “stupid”, but yet the interest in seeing the TARDIS.  And when Clara describes her as being “full of surprises” one has to wonder if there’s not one more coming…

“You’re the boss” – And in this episode…she is.  She’s given charge of the Imperial platoon, and does a VERY good job of taking charge.

“You’re the impossible girl” – While it’s not the first time she learned about The Doctor’s fascination with her, it’s the first one she remembers, presuming she indeed doesn’t recall the events of Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.  And with the finale only days away, we clearly haven’t got long to wait to learn more.

NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – The Question is asked.  Who will hear the answer? The Name of the Doctor, this weekend.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtaIpkjF6Ss]

The Point Radio: Getting Sucked Into Tornado Week On The Weather Channel

 

PT042913Springtime means Tornado Season for most of the midwest and this week The Weather Channel is blowing out Tornado week. Meteorologist and morning host Mike Bettes talks with us exclusively about what’s coming up over the next few days, plus more with Jack Kenny and Eddie McClintoick on this season of WAREHOUSE 143 (and the next?). Lots of news out of C2E2, new homes for ELFQUEST and ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE and a new Comic Sales Countdown.

Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT?

New Pulp Publisher Pulp 2.0 Press has released The Knight Watchman: Graveyard Shift collected edition.

Press Release:

KNIGHT WATCHMAN: GRAVEYARD SHIFT
BUY IT NOW!
ONLY $8.99
CREATESPACE
AMAZON

From the Big Bang Comics Library comes this Pulp 2.0 graphic novel collecting the 1998 Image Comics 4-issue mini-series.   This is the gripping story by Chris Ecker, Gary Carlson with stark, atmospheric, film noir-ish artwork by Ben Torres.

It’s been five long years since the Knight Watchman prowled the streets of Midway City…
Now the city is under siege, and the streets are deadlier than ever before…
But so is he.

On the heels of an assassination attempt that leaves the Mayor in a coma and the city’s hero, GALAHAD, in traction; THE KNIGHT WATCHMAN ends his retirement and returns to the streets to keep the city from falling further into chaos.

However, chaos is exactly the plan orchestrated by the Knight Watchman’s arch enemy, PINK FLAMINGO. The master criminal has taken over the city government by installing Deputy Mayor PRINCETON into office, and unleashing the dirty cops on his payroll. When a mugger turns up dead and the evidence points straight at the Knight Watchman, Midway City’s former hero becomes its most wanted criminal.

This edition from Pulp 2.0 features the gritty, urban superhero storytelling that was a hallmark of the 90′s, and reinvented one of the founding heroes of the Big Bang Universe. This edition is complete with bonus features making it a must-have for all comics fans.

6.69″ x 9.61″ (16.993 x 24.409 cm)
Black & White Bleed on White paper
122 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1481885348
ISBN-10: 1481885340
BISAC: Comics & Graphic Novels / Superheroes

Learn more at http://pulp2ohpress.com

New Who Review: “Hide”

Quite often ghosts are described as spirits who cannot bear to leave their loved ones.  That appears to be the case in this week’s Doctor Who adventure, as an old house seems to be the home of a creature (or two) that makes you want to run and…

HIDE
by Neil Cross
Directed by Jamie Payne

Caluburn House is home to a roaming spirit who has been appearing for centuries, calling for help.  A former espionage agent and his assistant are dedicated to discovering her secrets when The Doctor arrives.  It’s evident quite quickly that the ghost is not all she appears to be…and she is not alone.  The Doctor is stranded, and Clara has to get past what appears to be a resentment by the TARDIS to save him.

Bluntly, this is the story people were expecting when they heard Neil Cross was writing for Doctor Who.  An indeed, it’s the first script he wrote – he had this idea first, and came to Moffat with it.  Rings of Akhaten was good, but didn’t have the edge one would expect from the creator of Luther.  A solid story with a stellar cast, including two exemplary guests.

GUEST STAR REPORT

Jessica Rayne (Emma Grayling) Hit the ground running in her short acting career, striking gold with the role of Jenny lee in Call the Midwife.  She’ll be back for the anniversary special An Adventure in Time and Space, playing Doctor Who producer Verity Lambert.  She also appeared with the rest of the Midwife cast in a sketch on Red Nose Day this year, with a particular guest star.

Dougray Scott (Alec Palmer) Has had an impressive career, both for the roles he took and the ones he almost had.  He was originally scheduled to play Wolverine in X-Men, but when production on Mission Impossible II went long, he had to give up the role.  He was also in the race to be the next James Bond, a part that eventually went to Daniel Craig.  He’s currently appearing in the thriller mystery series Hemlock Grove.

Jamie Payne (Director) has worked mainly in television, including three episodes of Call the Midwife and several genre shows like Primeval, Askes to Ashes and Survivors. I really liked the jump-cutting from several camera angles during conversations – gave the scenes a more disjointed nature.  Even more so than the Krafaysis in Vincent and the Doctor, the beasts are just lonely for each other, and reaching out for anyone who can help them.

THE MONSTER FILES – The Crooked Man follows a theme in Doctor Who of late – he’s not actually named in the episode, and he’s not actually a bad guy. The Doctor realizes it’s not actually trying to harm anyone, it’s just rapped in the same time/space event as Hilla Tacorien.  To make its movements a bit off, they filmed the suit actor moving backwards, and then reversed the film, resulting in being a bit irregular-looking when played.

Similarly, The Caliburn Ghast is another example of a phenomenon mistaken for supernatural when it’s just super-science. Scaroth of the Jagaroth was also spread across time, manifesting itself as seven distinct beings in City of Death.

Hmmm…a being appearing at several times in history, seemingly connected in some way… Oh, never mind, just a coincidence…

BACKGROUND BITS AND BOBS – Trivia and production details

NOTHING BEATS AN ASTRONAUT – That spacesuit may look familiar – it’s the one Ten wore in The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit.  He wears the same helmet as he enters Bowie Base One in The Waters of Mars,

STAY CLOSE TO THE CANDLES…THE STAIRWAY CAN BE TREACHEROUS – Not really a hint or anything, I just loved the way Clara hung onto the candelabra long after the candles got blown out.

THE QUESTION’S NOT WHERE…IT’S WHEN – The TARDIS didn’t used to get used in the body of an episode.  Usually it was a device for bringing the adventurers to the crisi of the week, and is them promptly forgotten about, or like in last week, taken off the table dramatically.  It’s really only in the Moffat years did it get more often used as a tool to solve the mysteries of the week.

“Member of the Baker Street Irregular, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” – A real covert ops department in the British government during WWII, those were both nicknames for the Special Operations Executive, also known as “Churchill’s Secret Army”.  One of its members was (yes, that) Christopher Lee.

“Experience makes liars of us all” – There are SO so many lines in this episode that could easily be applied at The Doctor.  Palmer is talking about his brief life in espionage, and later laments the deaths he has caused – imagine how many times more The Doctor feels these things.

“Whiskey is the the eleventh most disgusting thing ever invented” – Ignoring the potential correctness of the phrase, this is just another passing use of the number eleventh that permeates the series, all alluding to the fact that The Doctor is in his eleventh regeneration, starting with matt’s first episode The Eleventh Hour.

“A blue crystal frm Metebelis III” – Oh boy did that one make the Whofen squee.  The planet Metebelis III was possibly the first attempt to create an arc storry on Doctor Who.  It was first mentioned in Carnival of Monsters as a planet he wanted to Take Jo Grant to after his exile was lifted.  He made a few attempts to reach it, finally succeeding in The Green Death, retrieving one of the blue crystals.  As he explains in this episode, the crystals enhance mental energy, which in that past episode, allow a group of people to break from the control of a sentient computer.  He gives the crystal to Jo as a gift as she leaves his company, only to have it reappear in Pertwee’s last adventure, Planet of the Spiders.  Here allowed a mentally handicapped man to read, and eventually to be healed of its damage that cause him handicap.

“Subset of the Eye of Harmony” – The Eye of Harmony is traditionally the name of the Black Hole that Rassilon stabilized and set in the core of Gallifrey, to use as a power source for all Time Lord technology.  In the TV movie it’s said to be on the TARDIS itself.  There’s a couple of theories to explain that, the most plausible being that each TARDIS is connected to the original Eye on Gallifrey.  But with Gallifrey now trapped in the time lock as part of The Doctor’s actions in the Time War, the Eye is likely a stand-alone power source.  It’s recharged itself lately on Rift energy, like the one found in Wales.  This is in fact the time time the Eye has been mentioned in the new series.

“In four seconds the entropy would drain my heart – in ten seconds I would be dead” – It is assumed that the conduit that Emma opens would prevent that eventuality, as they were in the pocket universe for more than four seconds.  Once the way was open, the TARDIS opened up for Clara (by itself – note that modern Clara hasn’t got a key) and made the dangerous trip.  And then again at the end of the episode.  Presumably the trip through that conduit is not as arduous as a full blown trip in the time vortex, which explains how The Doctor and The crooked Man survived it hanging onto the outside.

“Every lonely monster…needs a companion” – See earlier comment about statements not always referring to whom they’re originally said about.

BIG BAD WOLF REPORT / CLEVER THEORY DEPARTMENT

“Is she real?  as in, actually real?” – That’s another “Clarallel” – it’s very similar to a line Future Oswin spoke in Asylum of the Daleks, asking The Doctor if he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

“Cold…warm…cold…warm” – What interesting is that it’s supposedly it’s Hilla and Emma & Alec who have the connection.  But the connection gets MUCH stronger when Clara walks through the odd manifestation The Doctor chalks off.  At first, many folks online thought it was because Clara herself was the anomaly.  That wasn’t the case, but since we learned later that the ghost was a temporal anomaly, might not another temporal anomaly also strengthen the link?

“It sticks out, like….a big chin.” – We’re not talking about Emma anymore, are we Clara?

“We’re all ghosts to you” – Here we see the sum total of Earth’s history, from its fiery origin to its fiery end.  And Clara can’t cope with it.  She imagines how insignificant humans must look like to him.  Wilf had a similar conversation with The Doctor, saying “We must look like ants to you”: The Doctor replied “I think you look like giants”

“You are the only mystery worth solving” – As before, The Doctor may well be talking about Humanity as a whole…but he may well be looking straight at Clara and talking to her specifically.

“It doesn’t like me” – Clara’s belief that the TARDIS “doesn’t like” her was first referenced in Cross’ last story, and it was easy enough to wave off as worry.  Here’s it’s placed flat in the middle of the room and has a lampshade on.  Theories have abounded that Clara may be an anomaly of time, as Captain Jack became when Rose made him a living Fixed Point.  More than a few people have drawn more than a vague connection there, suggesting that Clara may be related to Jack in some way.

The interaction between Clara and the TARDIS is priceless, from Clara called her a “cow” to the TARDIS choosing Clara’s own image, because it’s programmed to project an image the viewer will trust and esteem, and realizing the only person that means for Clara is herself.  Considering the title and plot of next week’s episode, it’s clear this plot thread will be followed quite a bit more.

“You need a place to keep this” – The Doctor’s confusion is understandable – there’s been either an umbrella stand or a hat rack in the control room for almost every iteration of either the ship or the Doctor.  It’s almost conspicuous in its absence.  I earlier posited the theory that what we’re seeing as the control room now is the default design, the design for a person who couldn’t care anymore about how it looks, and one who wasn’t expecting guests, so they wouldn’t need a hat rack.

“Clara – what is she?” – As in The Almost People, The Doctor is ostensibly just out for an adventure when he’s actually looking for information about his companion from an expert source.  Emma has nothing but good to say about her, which should please The Doctor, but likely only makes him more curious.

“Don’t trust him…there’s a sliver of ice in his heart” – but is it at all possible that based on this statement from earlier in the episode that she’s lying?  She’s a powerful enough psychic empath that The Doctor seeks her out to get a reading on Clara – odds are she’s right about what she sees in him. She just may not understand the whys and wherefores that cause d it, and assumed the worst.

NEXT TIME ON DOCTOR WHO – One of the more promising titles in the series – Journey to the Center of the TARDIS – in one Saturday hence.