The Lance Star: Sky Ranger series of pulp anthologies and comic books has grown again with the addition of “One Shot!” to MyDigitalComics. Below is a handy list of the places where Lance Star: Sky Ranger books are available. Visit http://www.lance-star.com/ for more information about the Sky Rangers.
PRINT EDITIONS:
Airship 27’s Lance Star: Sky Ranger pulp anthologies volumes 1, 2, and 3 remain available to bookstores and on-line outlets via Cornerstone Books (http://www.cornerstonepublishers.com/). In addition to these outlets, the pulp anthology series joins the Lance Star: Sky Ranger comic book at Indy Planet (http://www.indyplanet.com/) at a new low price. A quick find search for Lance Star will pull up all four titles.
About Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” November, 1941. Ace Air Adventurer Lance Star accepts a dangerous mission into an enemy stronghold to stop the Nazi’s from uncovering plans for a weapon long believed destroyed. Lance flies a solo mission to Kiev where he is to plant explosives and destroy a weapons facility when he runs into an old enemy. Now, Lance is faced with a choice. Complete the mission? Or take down the Sky Ranger’s greatest adversary? He’s only going to get one shot at this. Will he choose the mission or revenge?
Featuring high-flying adventure, aerial dog fights, explosive action, and stunning artwork, Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” is pure pulp fun from start to finish.
Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” Written by Bobby Nash Art/Letters/Colors by James Burns 28 page DriveThru Comics Digital Edition $1.50
Howard Hopkins is a prolific writer of novels, comic books, and short stories as well as an editor and musician. It was recently announced that Howard would be writing the first new Lone Ranger novel of the 21st Century, which will certainly be a future Trivial Pursuit question. All Pulp sat down to discuss the new novel, Lone Ranger: Vendetta as well as Howard’s other writing and editing projects.
AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.
HH: I’m a horror, western, kids’ horror, pulp, comics writer who lives in Maine, in a small seaside community haunted by sea captains’ ghosts and tourists. It’s a very mysterious place of snaking mist and strange happenings, most of which occur on beer night, which is basically every night in these parts! I’m not sure I can really label myself a “pulp” fan, but I am a huge fan of certain pulp characters, such as Doc Savage, The Avenger and The Shadow, maybe a handful of others to a lesser degree. I grew up on the Doc Savage paperback reprints with their gorgeous Bama covers, as well as The Avenger with their Caras and Gross covers. As a kid I didn’t know what a pulp was, only that there was the occasional odd reference in the books to running boards and wire recorders. It was only in my 20s I got my hands on an actual, honest-to-goodness-crumble-my-hands-as-tried-to-read-it pulp and learned of some of the other characters, like The Spider, Captain Future and The Moon Man.
AP: It was recently announced that your next novel will be The Lone Ranger: Vendetta from Moonstone Books. With your history writing western novels, this seems like a perfect fit. What can we expect from the first Lone Ranger novel of the 21st century? HH: You can expect the true Lone Ranger, no re-imaging and political correctness. Set in a more realistic and gritty West, dealing with authentic issues and vicious villains. The original Lone Ranger series on the radio and TV—which, make no mistake, I love dearly—was largely intended for a younger audience. Moonstone’s series is not aimed at kids, but it is aimed at Lone Ranger fans and Western readers, as well as adventure readers and folks who just enjoy a thrilling story. The Lone Ranger and Tonto—I don’t like to use the term Blood Brothers because it was a term not used by the Native Americans, but that’s what they really are—are equal parts of a whole, dealing with a West full of prejudice, sudden death and human corruption. Yet The Ranger also stands above that. He is The Lone Ranger and I have taken great pains to keep the soul and spirit of the character intact. I have a great love and respect for this character and have done my best to make sure to respect Rangers fans in writing the book. There’s nothing I hate more than seeing a cherished character so totally redone as to be not only unrecognizable but alienating. These are great, iconic characters. They were popular and loved for a reason. I see no need to screw with that. At the same time, the Old West is a violent, vast and even lonely place, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto are operating within it. Basically I have done my durndest to preserve everything that makes The Ranger The Ranger, and set it against a backdrop of a Deadwood styled West (without the cussing). I believe fans as well as many non-Western readers will like it. I am hoping there will be a few of those goosebump moments we all look for in our favorite characters when they appear in new books or movies.
You can also expect a pretty vicious villain seeking revenge. The story is called Vendetta and the lead villain has a hell of a score to settle. Unfortunately this means bad news for some of the Masked Rider of the Plains’ acquaintances.
AP: In addition to writing, you also have a couple of anthologies coming up that you’ve edited as well. Tell us a bit about the upcoming Sherlock Holmes and The Avenger collections.
HH: Yes, indeed. A Honey West anthology too, in fact. The Sherlock Holmes antho is called Sherlock Holmes: The Crossovers Casebook, and involves the Great Detective working with some of history’s fictional and real characters, solving a crime. My own story, called The Haunted Manor, teams Sherlock with Calamity Jane. He teams with Arsene Lupin, The Great and Powerful OZ, Lawrence of Arabia and many others. We have some truly excellent writers involved with the project and an awesome cover. I believe Holmes fans will enjoy it and if I may say so myself it’s going to be one kick ass anthology. I have also been co-editor with Joe Gentile on three Avenger anthologies, the first two of which are out now and available from comic shops and Amazon.com. These are labors of love for me, since The Avenger is one of my all time favorite characters, second (or perhaps even tied with) Doc Savage. I’ve done stories for all three volumes, and the second volume, titled The Justice, Inc. Files, includes, in the special hardcover edition, the first three of six vignettes focusing on the original Man of Steel’s aides. In this case, Nellie, Mac and Cole Wilson. The next will spotlight Smitty, Josh and Rosabel. And of course this is THE Richard Benson, not somebody named Benny or a drastic updating of characters.
AP: What is The Chloe Files?
HH: The Chloe Files is my paranormal horror series focusing on Chloe Everson, a dancer at The Red Lagoon who gets herself into all sorts of supernatural problems. She’s not a wizard like Harry Dresden, but she does take on others’ ghostly problems and something quite special about her will be revealed as the series progresses. Two books are now available on Kindle, Nook and in paperback. The action takes place in the cursed seaside town of New Salem, Maine, and this is not your sparkly vampire lovefest. The monsters Chloe faces are classic style and mean as hell. She’s Kolchak with boobs. She’s also going to find out some rather dark and startling revelations about her past and the reasons the supernatural is after her. In the meantime, she’s kicking Evil’s ass—one demon at a time.
AP: Your books have spanned multiple genres including westerns, horror, mystery, pulp adventure, and more. Do you have a favorite genre to write? What appeals to you about switching genres?
HH: The spooky genes are probably my favorite. I love things that go bump in the night and I love to scare readers. But I enjoy all genres I write in because it all boils down to the same thing–I read to escape…I write to help others escape. I like working in genres that take folks away from their worries and day to day problems, at least for a couple hours. I do not strive to be literary, though I do strive to make my characters live and drive the story. I am an entertainer and that’s just fine with me. It’s all about the escape. When I was a kid, I went through some tough times—and if not for some of the heroes and books I love, honestly, I might not have made it. They saved me from at least some addictions that might have proved destructive. I owe the writers of those stories more than I can repay and I owe my readers what I was given.
AP: Is there a genre you’ve not written that you would like to try your hand at some point?
HH: Well, actually there’s one I am just now getting a chance to write in I haven’t done much with before and that’s 50s noir. I will be writing a 15,000 word novella (novelette?) for a brand new anthology based on the old radio show Nightbeat, about a reporter who stumbles into serious crime. And the best part is I am getting to be in it with some super talents. What more can a writer ask? It will be a lot of fun slipping into that noir world.
AP: There seem to be many different opinions about what can be defined as pulp. How do you define pulp and what do you look for in a pulp story as a writer and a reader?
HH: Oh, man, this may get me into some trouble, but I don’t define pulp. Pulp was a type of paper novels and stories were printed on, in magazine format. In every genre. Now stories are printed in paperbacks and in ebooks. It was cheap fiction, but still just fiction, often written hastily and for the specific reason of entertaining its audience. Escapism, again. I don’t write pulp, because pulp does not really exist as a genre, in my opinion. I write about some characters who appeared in pulp magazines, but I make no deliberate attempt to write in the same style or emulate the technical mistakes they made. I believe the authors, had they been paid better and given the opportunity, would have polished their stories more. But they weren’t and didn’t have time. When I write about those characters, I do my best to flesh them out and present as highly a polished story as my ability allows. Some are hero stories, some horror, some adventure. I think the modern audience expects more from authors now. While I think it’s a huge mistake to reinvent the wheel with these characters—I do my damnedest to maintain the core and soul of the characters and let’s face it, these characters have cult followings because there was something special that didn’t need changing—I do feel writers handling them have to give them more depth, along with slicker writing and better plot. I love reading these characters’ original adventures, but I accept them for what they are and when they were written. I won’t accept that from modern writers who have the time and talent to avoid the things the original writers would have avoided had they gotten the time for rewrites. If you look at The Avenger Chronicles and Justice, Inc. Files, you won’t see “pulp” stories; you’ll see very talented authors telling great stories. I don’t label anything “pulp.” I label them good stories using pulp characters. They are adventure, hero stories in genre. They cross into mystery, horror, western, etc.
Not Actual Cover
That said, anyone who wants to call it pulp or call me a pulp writer is certainly free to do so and it bothers me not in the least. I just don’t feel it’s even an argument and worth the time debating, to be honest. I’d rather read and write the stories!
AP: Where can readers find information on you and your books?
AP: What upcoming projects do you have coming up that you can tell us about at this time?
HH: Well, The Lone Ranger novel, of course, and a Lone Ranger short story for an anthology, along with another story for The Green Hornet 3, the novella for Nightbeat, a new Chloe Files novel in the works, an Avenger story, Honey West story, a new Western novel, a comic book called Threesome that involves my own—dare I now say “pulp”?—heroine called The Veil and the return of the Golden Amazon (with The Domino Lady and co-written with NY Times bestselling author, the lovely and talented Nancy Holder), A Golden Amazon novel called Ripper, Burning Bright, three Spider widescreen graphic novels from Moonstone, new Golden Amazon short stories, a YA series novel, and some other stuff. Two upcoming Westerns called Hell of Hoofs and Twilight Trail. Then a kidnapping of myself by Jennifer Love Hewitt, but shhhh on that…
AP: Do you have any shows, signings, or conventions coming up where your fans can meet you?
HH: Nothing scheduled at present. I haven’t done many shows, but I’m hoping to change that soon.
AP: And finally, what does Howard Hopkins do when he’s not writing?
HH: Um, what do you mean by that? What is this not writing thing of which you speak? My ass is superglued to the office chair. Well, ok, I am a musician—mandolin, keyboards, guitar, singing—so when I have time I do that, read, of course, collect comic books and DVDs of old TV shows such as UFO, Hulk, Dark Shadows, etc. Sometimes I sleep, but try not to let that get in the way.
AP: Thanks, Howard.
HH: Thank you, All Pulp Potentates!s
About The Lone Ranger – Vendetta:
The Masked Man in a brand-new adventure! From out of the past comes a mysterious killer systematically murdering anyone with a connection to the Masked Rider of the Pains former identity. When all signs point to Butch Cavendish, a man long dead, The Lone Ranger finds himself trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the life of his faithful Indian companion hanging in the balance!
CANNES — Scott Adkins (“The Expendables 2”) and Michael Jai White (“Black Dynamite”) have joined the international cast of sci-fi TV series “Metal Hurlant Chronicles.”
Rutger Hauer (“Blade Runner”), Joe Flanigan (“Stargate Atlantis) and James Marsters (“Buffy”) will also star in the TV show’s first season.
“Metal Hurlant Chronicles” is based on the French sci-fi and fantasy comics anthology that was published in the U.S. as “Heavy Metal.” The first season will be delivered in April and the second will bow in November 2012. Each episode will adapt stories from the original graphic novels. Created by comic artists Jean Giraud (aka Moebius) and Philippe Druillet in 1974, “Metal Hurlant” became a sci-fi phenom in the 1980s.
Drawn by Marc Laming SC, 32 pgs, FC, SRP: $1.00 Diamond Code: JUL110956 SPECIAL $1 DEBUT ISSUE! Acclaimed crime novelist Gary Phillips (THE JOOK, VERTIGO’S ANGELTOWN and COWBOYS) returns to BOOM! with a new brand of crime! High finance and low-down greed rear their ugly heads as Jeff Sinclair, the premiere laundryman in San Francisco—and we’re not talkin’ wrinkled jeans and dirty gym socks—is unwillingly pulled into a dangerous gig laundering $25 million in stolen casino skim money. Forced to truly consider his line of work and the evil that he facilitates, Jeff must find a way to clean the cash and wash away his own sins. A grounded, gritty look at the world of money laundering in the vein of Elmore Leonard, THE RINSE is a modern crime classic in the making! For fans of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ CRIMINAL!
ZOMBIE TALES OMNIBUS: OUTBREAKWritten by Mark Waid, John Rogers, Willliam Messner-Loebs and many more!
Drawn by Andy Kuhn, Keith Giffen, Jon Schnepp and many more! SC, 220 pgs, FC, SRP: $19.99 ISBN13: 9781608860760 Diamond Code: JUL110957 We’ve got plenty more mad creations spilling out of our zombie kitchen! Delivering smart, accessible, high-quality zombie short stories, this anthology has met with great acclaim amongst both comic and zombie fans, featuring more great zombie stories from more great writers and artists that you know and love. Don’t worry about leaving room for dessert — you’re it! Featuring work from writers Mark Waid (IRREDEEMABLE, KINGDOM COME), John Rogers (Leverage, Transformers), William Messner-Loebs (THE FLASH, THE MAXX), Brian Augustyn (JLA: YEAR ONE, B.P.R.D.), role-playing game master Monte Cook, Karl Kesel (FANTASTIC FOUR, SUPERMAN), Michael Alan Nelson (28 DAYS LATER), Ian Brill (DARKWING DUCK), Tom Peyer (THE FLASH), Pierluigi Cothran (HEROES webcomic), Bryce Carlson (WALL•E), plus art from the likes of Andy Kuhn (FIREBREATHER), Keith Giffen (52, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES), Jon Schnepp (Venture Brothers, Metalocalypse), Toby Cypress (KILLING GIRL), and more. With talent like this, neither the dead nor the living stand a chance!
DRACULA: THE COMPANY OF MONSTERS VOL. 3 TPBWritten by Daryl Gregory, Kurt Busiek Drawn by Scott Godlewski, Damian Couceiro SC, 112 pgs, FC, SRP: $14.99 ISBN13: 9781608860586 Diamond Code: JUL110932 The terrifying conclusion to the critically acclaimed series from comics legend Kurt Busiek! After a powerful, predatory corporation acquires Dracula as a valuable asset, they soon discover one terrifying truth: no one can own the Son of the Dragon! As the vampire armies of the corporation and Dracula face off against each other, our hero Evan must enter into an unlikely alliance with Marta and her team of vampire hunters. As Dracula and the corporation’s fight reaches a fever pitch, can Evan and Marta work together long enough to rally a rebellion that will be able to withstand the onslaught? It’s bloodsuckers vs. bloodsucker, as Busiek brings an incredibly modern spin to the Dracula mythos with award-winning author Daryl Gregrory (PANDEMONIUM, PLANET OF THE APES) and rising star artists Scott Godlewski (CODEBREAKERS) and Damian Couceiro (NOLA). For a full listing of Boom Studios’s October Release, visit them at http://www.boom-studios.com/.
GRIOTS Edited by Milton Davis & Charles Saunders MV Media LLC. 284 pages
This reviewer has often made it known that he enjoys anthologies for two reasons; the first being the concept of similarly themed tales from various writers collected between two cover is just plain fun. The second is the continued encouragement of the short story format. For many years academics were decrying the extinction of this form with the loss of so many monthly literary magazines and they were right to do so. But thanks to the emergence of genre themed anthologies, the short story has truly had a strong resurgence in popularity over the past decade.
Now comes this truly unique book which heralds the supposed creation of yet another fiction genre, that of “sword and soul.” In the opening introduction, editors Davis and Saunders, both African Americans and leading writers in the field of fantasy adventure, detail a history of the genre first established by pulp writer Robert E. Howard when he invented sword and sorcery with his well known Conan adventures. Whereas Saunders entered the field in the 1970s with the creation of his own barbaric warrior hero, Imaro and later Davis followed suit, each imbuing this fantasy sub-genre with what they believe is a clearly felt African sensibility. Davis argues this is a new, original evolution of the well established sword and sorcery theme. Are they correct, or simply trying to sell us something old with a new coat of paint?
As always, reviewing an anthology to determine its entertainment worth is pure mathematics. You simply count how many stories are in the volume and then during the course of reading label those which are exceptional, those which are simply mediocre and those that are ineffective. At the end, whichever way the scales tip, you have your verdict. GRIOTS, that’s French for African storytellers, collects fourteen tales of exotic action and adventure all presented by African American writers. Here are my favorite six in this collection.
“Changeling” by Carole McDonnell is my favorite of the bunch. It tells the story of three sisters and their fates in a poignant tale of human emotions from the noble self-scarifying nature of true love to the petty ugliness of greed and jealousy. Three princesses, each cast in a different mold confront the meanings of their lives and truth while resigning themselves to destiny proving the age old adage that a leopard can’t change its spots. McDonnell is a gifted writer and she lays out her plot with an efficiency of words that mesmerize and paint images long remembered after the reading.
“The Three Faced One,” by Charles Saunders was no surprise as my second favorite here in that it is us another great tale of the wandering warrior, Imaro, the hero of several of Saunders’ novels. This story finds Imaro coming to the aid of a tribe of cattle herders being taken abused by a three-faced demon. Once more the powerful hero must pit his muscles against the forces of evil sorcery. This is pure Imaro gold and worth the price of admission by itself.
“Skin Magic” by P.Djeli Clark is a gripping, original action piece about the victim of a dying sorcerer’s curse. A young thief must live with moving tattoos etched his chest that are actual portals to other worlds and the monsters that live there. How he comes to deal with this horrid fate is a very gripping and exciting entry.
Whereas co-editor Milton Davis’s own “Captured Beauty” is the rollicking action tale of Changa, who despises slavery and risks his own position with his sympathetic employer to find a kidnapped maiden and rescue her from a cruel master who wields black magic.
Another winner is “The Demon in the Wall,” by Stafford L.Battle featuring beautiful Makhulu and her warrior grandson Zende. Together they must rescue their captured family from the demoness Swallow and her human ally, the rich and fat Fabu. Together they are an unbeatable combination of sorcery and strength. In “The Queen, The Demon & The Mercenary,” by Ronald T. Jones, Queen Zara’s land is besieged by an evil demon warrior and her salvation lies in the hands of an enigmatic mercenary with a cocky air of self-confidence.
The above half dozen are extremely well done and highly recommended. At the same time honorable mention goes to “Awakening” by Valjeanne Jeffers, “Lost Son” by Maurice Broaddus, “The General’s Daughter” by Anthony Kwamu and “The Leopard Walks Alone,” by Melvin Carter.
The remaining four failed to impress me and one was so convoluted in its prose, I re-read it twice and still couldn’t decipher what exactly was going in the story. You may have a different opinion. Still six truly well crafted adventures and four equally well told make GRIOTS a winning anthology unlike most of the fantasy found on today’s book shelves. Is it really a new genre? I leave that for you to decide, me, I just enjoyed the stories regardless of what anyone wishes to label them.
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Review Postscript – I do have one final critique concerning GRIOTS, but as it does not concern its literary contents, I felt it best to set this issue apart from my main review. Many readers do not give much attention to the accompanying artwork in such volumes but they are, at least to this reviewer, an integral part of the book’s overall presentation. Following the tradition of classic pulp fiction, GRIOTS, besides its lovely cover painting, also showcases fourteen black and white interior illustrations, one for each of the stories.
And therein is my frustration as the art is delivered by half a dozen artists. At their basic core, anthologies are diverse stories all connected by a central theme. Nothing helps cement that theme more than one artist bringing his or her talent to a book, giving it a visual cohesiveness that is crucial to the overall feel of the tome. But when a reader is confronted by multiple art pieces done in a variety of styles with differing levels of quality that unifying thread is shattered.
Consider this analogy if you will. Imagine being invited to a fancy, hip hop dance with lively modern music. You’re out on the dance floor have a grand time when suddenly you have to hold up because every new track being played has to be handled by a new D.J. All too soon what was once a fun time is now a discordant mess. A single, talented D.J. can clearly leave his or her personality imprint on such a party, a single illustrator for GRIOTS would have left the same kind of visual oneness.
I would strongly urge the editors to consider using only one interior artist for their follow up sequels. And just so you do not think I’m anti artists, let me finish with saying I really liked the work of Stanley Weaver, John Jennings, Paul Davey and Shawn Alleyne found in this book.
Writer David Wood’s novels are filled with action, adventure, and more pulpy goodness than you may be able to handle. All Pulp recently sat down with David to talk about his books and to find out just what pulp means to him.
All Pulp: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.
David Wood: I write action-adventure with a strong pulp influence. I love the “old school” pulp stories with a heavy dose of lost cities and ancient mysteries.
AP: What does pulp and pulp fiction mean to you?
DW: To me, a good pulp story is a fast-paced adventure or mystery. The hero doesn’t rely on technology to save the day, but on his or her own wits and skills.
AP: Quest is your latest novel in the Dane Maddock adventure series. Tell us a bit about the book, the character, and the series. Where can readers find them?
DW: Readers have compared the series to “Dirk Pitt meets Indiana Jones.” Dane Maddock and his partner “Bones” Bonebrake are former Navy SEALs turned treasure hunters who keep stumbling into ancient mysteries, usually Biblical in origin. In Quest, they head off on the trail of Percy Fawcett’s final expedition, and we put a new twist on the Lost City of Z legend. The books are always a blend of mystery and action-adventure.
AP: Your bio says that you’re a fan of all things historical, archaeological, mythological, and cryptozoological. That’s quite an interesting mix of interests. How has your passion for these things inspired and worked their way into your writing?
DW: I like to imagine that there’s still some mystery left in the world, be it ancient mysteries or undiscovered creatures. I think these elements lend a sense of wonder to a story, and I try to put a little of each into my books. In Quest, in particular, you can clearly see all of these influences.
AP: You’ve written adventure, historical pieces, and stories about zombies. Do you have a favorite genre in which to work or do you like to play the field and work in as many different genres as possible?
DW: When I’m at the beginning or end of a story, the genre of the work-in-progress is always my favorite. When I’m in the middle third of a story, my favorite genre is whatever I’m not working on at the time. As a student I hated sophomore years, as a teacher I hated winter quarter, and as a writer I hate the middle of any book. I enjoy all the different genres I’ve tackled so far, though I found historical fiction to be the most daunting, and I’d love to write a baseball novel sometime. If I had to choose only one genre, though, it would be action-adventure. There are so many places I want my characters to go and so many ancient mysteries I want them to solve that I suspect I could write in the genre for the rest of my life and not run out of stories to tell.
AP: What, if any, existing characters would you like to try your hand at writing?
DW: The easy answer would be Indiana Jones, but that’s been done by better writers than me. I would like to see what I could do with Flynn Carson from the “Librarian” movie series. Some of his exploits are a silly, but I think his humor and adventurous spirit offers lots of possibilities.
AP: Who are some of your creative influences?
DW: Too many to count, but there are a few biggies. Clive Cussler’s early novels inspired me to experiment with action-adventure, and I learned a great deal about story structure from his work. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are inspiring in the way they manage to maintain a fast pace while slowly unfolding the mystery element of their story. Finally, the old Conan adventures by Robert E. Howard always fueled my sense of wonder.
AP: What does David Wood do when he’s not writing?
DW: Aside from annoying my wife and kids at every possible turn, I coach fast-pitch softball and suffer through the ups and downs of the Atlanta Braves. I also co-host the ThrillerCast podcast, which isn’t about Michael Jackson, but about the thriller genre. When I want to get really geeky, I play a miniature war game called HeroScape, but that’s a secret.
AP: Where can readers find learn more about you and your work?
DW: Visit me at www.davidwoodweb.com. From there you can link to my blog, which is the best way to keep current with me, and to find links to my Facebook page and Twitter. Also, give ThrillerCast a listen. You can download it on iTunes or check it out at http://www.thrillerpodcast.com/.
AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?
DW: Things have been busy. I’ve just co-authored a book in Jeremy Robinson’s ‘Jack Sigler/Chess Team’ universe called Callsign: Queen, and my short story “Dark Entry,” which features the main characters from the Dane Maddock adventures, was included in a recent anthology called The Game. Pulp fans will love it because all of the stories are re-interpretations of the classic story “The Most Dangerous Game.”
AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you?
DW: I don’t have any personal appearances coming in the near future. I think it’s my coffee breath. I do have an upcoming appearance scheduled on Gail Z. Martin’s “Ghost in the Machine” podcast.
AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a writer?
DW: Patience and determination. It took seven years of slowly building my audience and improving my craft before I could make writing my full-time job. Don’t give up if your first book doesn’t take off; don’t get cocky if your first book goes crazy; and don’t invest so much time marketing your book(s) that it slows your progress on your work in-progress. Keep putting out books and building your audience.
AP: Thanks, David.
DW: Thank you very much for the interview. All Pulp is a great site and I’m honored to be included. To learn more about David Wood and his books, visit him at http://www.davidwoodweb.com/.
Before we get into the meat-n-potatoes of this review, it’s necessary that Sherman set the Wayback Machine for 1970’s so we can indulge in a brief history lesson for context: Charles R. Saunders is a writer who like most of you reading this review fell in love with the work of Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, King Kull and Solomon Kane.REH is credited with being the creator of “sword and sorcery” a sub-genre of epic fantasy.Sword and sorcery concerns itself with stories driven by action, healthy doses of sex and violence and strong supernatural/magical elements.
So in love with sword and sorcery is he that Mr. Saunders sets about writing his own stories.And in doing so he determines to expand the genre by creating a black heroic fantasy character and set his adventures in a mythical Africa just as fabulous and dangerous as Howard’s Hyborian Age.And with his stories of Imaro, Charles Saunders gives birth to what is now known as “sword and soul” which are fantasy stories with an African connection or featuring African characters
I’ve been a fan of Mr. Saunders and his work ever since I was a high school student back in the 70’s and devouring heroic fiction at an appalling rate.And as the Wayback Machine brings us back to the present we can begin this review proper with the good news that sword-and-soul is not only thriving here and now, it is giving voice to a new generation of African American fantasy writers eager to explore the genre and continue to nourish it with their talents.
GRIOTS is an anthology of sword and soul stories co-edited by Mr. Saunders and Milton J. Davis who himself has long carved out his own territory in the genre.The fourteen stories in the book are:
“Captured Beauty” by Milton Davis.It’s a great action story to lead off the book with.It’s a simple plot having to do with rescuing a beautiful damsel in distress from the clutches of a vile villain.But what made this story stand out for me were the characterizations of the protagonist Changa and his employer, the merchant Belay and their relationship.
“Awakening” by Valjeanne Jeffers.It starts out with a little girl who has no desire to spend her adult days sitting around being ladylike and raising squalling brats while the men have all the fun being warriors. The girl, Nandi, grows up and finds out that there’s a supernatural force in her life who also thinks that yeah, her being a warrior is a pretty good idea.
“Lost Son” by Maurice Broaddus is a story I wanted to like a lot more than I do as I like Mr. Broaddus’ style of writing.But the story just seemed to end without resolution or even much of a point.
“In The Wake of Mist” by Kirk A. Johnson is another story I didn’t get.Although I liked the imagery the writer evokes, that’s all the impression the story made on me.A series of wonderfully described images that really didn’t seem to go anywhere or evoke any sort of feeling in me.
“Skin Magic” by Djeli A. Clark kicks the anthology back into action mode with a story that has a healthy heap of horror.The main character is a thief on the run who has living tattoos on his skin that are portals to a nightmarish limbo through which Cthulhuian creatures can emerge into our world.The thief, barely able to control this horrible ability is pursued by the fearsome minions of a consortium of dark magicians who desire this power for their own purposes.As soon as I finished this story, I wanted to read a sequel right away.
“The Demon In The Wall” by Stafford L. Battle is one of my favorite stories in this anthology.Equal parts high adventure and comedy, it’s an entertaining near parody of the genre.The sorceress Makhulu and her grandson, the warrior Zende are characters I’d love to see more of.The banter between them alone is worth reading the story for.
“The Belly of The Crocodile” by Minister Faust is a tale of sibling rivalry.And that’s all I’ll say about it because it’s not a long story and its emotional punch is best served by reading it yourself.
“Changeling” by Carole McDonnell is a story that works just the way it is but if it were twice as long I wouldn’t kick.This is about three sisters destined to marry and become queens of their own kingdoms.But the real prize is their native kingdom only one of them will inherit when their mother dies.It’s got that ‘Once Upon A Time” feeling as it unfolds it’s ultimately sorrowful tale.It’s a story of Shakespearean tragedy that has a lot to say about human nature and the ugly power of jealousy.
“The General’s Daughter” by Anthony Nana Kwamu is a good choice to follow “Changeling” as they have something in common.Both of them have more than their share of action but they also dig deeper into the emotional core of their characters to reveal who these people really are and why we should care about what happens to them.I really liked the emotional resonance I felt in both these stories after I finished them.
“Sekadi’s Koan” by Geoffrey Thorne is another story I immediately wanted a sequel to as soon as I finished reading it.I got a very strong Roger Zelazny vibe in this tale of a gifted martial artist studying her deadly art at a school located…well, I’m not sure where it’s located but I was so entertained I didn’t care.And unlike some other stories where I got the impression that the writers themselves weren’t sure of where their stories were happening, I didn’t get that impression from Mr. Thorne.I got the feeling he knew exactly where and when his story was taking place but is saving that for what I hope will be future stories about Sekadi.
“The Queen, The Demon and The Mercenary” is by Ronald T. Jones and like “The Demon In The Wall” is a story that seems designed for nothing but the reader to have as much fun reading it as I’m sure the writer had writing it.The swaggering warrior Toulou sets out to rescue a suffering kingdom from the demon-wizard terrorizing the people and does it in style.Highly recommended.
“Icewitch” by Rebecca McFarland Kyle proves that you don’t necessarily have to set a sword and soul story in an African setting.This story takes place in a frigid realm where a dark-skinned youth struggles to find acceptance among his mother’s people who are lighter-skinned.
The only real problem I have with Melvin Carter’s “The Leopard Walks Alone” is the ugliness of the names in the story.I tried saying them aloud and I swear I bruised my tongue.I realize it’s a somewhat petty quibble but naming is important in fantasy stories.Difficult and harsh sounding names should be used sparingly.
And The Master himself, Charles Saunders finishes up the anthology with a tale of Imaro: “The Three Faced One”If you’ve never read an Imaro story or anything by Charles Saunders, this is an excellent introduction to both.
GRIOTS also boasts fourteen interior black and white illustrations by fourteen separate artists as well as biographical information about the writers and artists and introductory essays by the editors.The cover by Natiq Jalil is simply wonderful to look at.
So should you read GRIOTS?Absolutely.True, a few of the stories didn’t turn my crank but most of them did.If you’re a sword and sorcery fan looking for some heroic fantasy that takes place in realms other than the Medieval or ancient settings most sword-and-sorcery stories take place in then you most certainly should check this anthology out.
PulpEmpire.com is proud to offer our newest anthology Pirates & Swashbucklers, a seventeen story collection of great pirate pulp fiction! Pirates & Swashbucklers author Kameron W. Franklin interviewed his fellow writers of the new Pulp Empire anthology out now!
Today he sits down with Pam Bitner, author of “The Mark of the Brotherhood”.
When did you first realize you were a writer? In middle school, though my writing back then would better serve as toilet paper. By high school, I only allowed my close friends to read anything and they encouraged me to go beyond that.
What authors influence or inspire you? First and foremost, David Morrell. He was the first author I really, really started looking forward to the next book to come out. Lately, Brent Weeks has caught my attention. Not only is he a great guy, he tells a great story. Both make reading a joy.
What book(s) have you read more than once? What drew you back? Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morrell. The characters drew me back. It’s the only book I’ve ever read twice.
Do you consider yourself a “pulp” writer? Why? Is there another genre you like to write? I’ve written pulp, but it’s not the only genre I write, so I don’t consider myself exclusively ‘pulp’. I have a couple of alter egos out there writing anything from young adult and beyond. For me, it’s not about writing in one genre. It’s about taking it and writing a story well. I haven’t found a genre I didn’t like yet.
In 25 words or less, how would you define “pulp” as a genre? Gritty. It’s got that character you sometimes love to hate, and perhaps to some level, it’s got a bit of cliche cheese, but in a good way. A femme fatale doesn’t hurt either.
What made you decide to submit a story for the Pirates & Swashbucklers anthology? I belong to a private writer’s site called Scribophile. A couple of the ladies and I have a group there and when a good anthology waggles its bum in our direction, we announce it. I’ve always liked the arrogance of a swashbuckler and how, no matter what, they get out of trouble and snag the girl in one swoop.
Read more of Kameron’s interviews at PensAndSwords.com.
Pulp Empire Presents: Pirates & Swashbucklers is now available at Pulp Empire.com. Until October 10th, use the code “62QUSQGC” at our CreateSpace bookstore to receive 15% off on the book!
IDW Unleashes Prose Program for Breakout Comic Series: ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS 35 Writers Explore, Expand and Remix ZvR World
San Diego, CA (September 6, 2011)—IDW’s gleefully subversive ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS comic book series from creators Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood will soon be eating readers’ brains from the inside via a series of short stories, novellas and more. As announced at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con in July, the company plans for an ambitious slate of original prose stories set at different points in this epic adventure of a zombie apocalypse. In ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS, the clanking robots are built to fight the shambling braineaters, in a desperate attempt to save Earth’s dwindling population.
“It’s gratifying to see that ZvR has taken on an unlife of its own,” asserts Ryall, series co-creator and Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief for IDW. “Expanding from comics into prose is a logical progression, though as the heretofore sole writer of the series I must admit that letting other writers into our subversive little world was at first troubling. But now I’m fine with it. Really. Mostly. Especially since editor Jeff Conner has corralled such a talented array of writers to tackle some really bizarre and creative prose stories. As long as no one expects me to let them write ZvR comics, too…”
A lurching cohort of writers—including such notable talents as John Shirley, Nancy A. Collins, Rio Youers, Brea Grant, Steve Rasnic Tem, Amber Benson, James A. Moore, Rachel Swirsky, Norman Prentiss, and John Skipp & Cody Goodfellow, led by Ryall himself—has been assembled to pen original stories of life during wartime in the ZVR world. “It’s our biggest project so far,” states Conner, the IDW contributing editor helming the ZVR prose program. “In a way it’s a follow-up to our Classics Mutilated release, at least in terms of its anything goes spirit. The results so far have been—um, riveting.” The rest of the ZVR writer roster includes: Dale Bailey, Amelia Beamer, Jesse Bullington, Simon Clark, Lincoln Crisler, Stephen Dedman, Rain Graves, Rhodi Hawk, Robert Hood, Stephen Graham Jones, Nicholas Kaufmann, Steven Lockley, Nick Mamatas, Jonathan McGoran, Joe McKinney, Gary McMahon, Mark Morris, Bobby Nash, Yvonne Navarro, Hank Schwaeble, Ekaterina Sedia, Sean Taylor, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Kaaron Warren, and Don Webb.
A film version of ZVR is currently in development through Sony Pictures, with Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes as producer.
Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s Doctor Who; Toho’s Godzilla and comics and trade collections based on novels by worldwide bestselling author, James Patterson. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio. IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com. ###
