Tagged: audio

RADIO ARCHIVES LATEST AND GREATEST!


Welcome to Another Weekly Newsletter from RadioArchives.com!

* New in Old Time Radio: The Jimmy Durante Show, Volume 2
* New in Pulp Fiction: The Spider Volume 19, The Shadow Volume 48, and Doc Savage Volume 47
* The Best Deals are in the Radio Archives Treasure Chest
* Also New in Old Time Radio: The Adventures of Archie Andrews
* Coming Soon: Pulp Audiobooks from RadioArchives.com

New in Old Time Radio: The Jimmy Durante Show, Volume 2 The first half of the 20th century was a great time for entertainment, with amazingly talented performers dominating the Broadway stage, vaudeville, and nightclubs. But, in the annals of show business, few entertainers achieved the lengthy and enduring career claimed by Jimmy Durante.

Nicknamed “Schnozzola” for his oversized nose, Jimmy Durante first came to prominence as a teenager, playing New York’s restaurant and nightclub circuit as Ragtime Jimmy. Bitten by the show-biz bug, he dropped out of school in the eighth grade and soon teamed up with fellow entertainers Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson to form a musical comedy trio that wowed nightclub audiences with its boisterous unpredictability, Durante’s aggressive interaction with the musicians, and his penchant for destroying pianos in mock frustration. Clayton, Jackson, and Durante quickly gained a reputation as one of the most hilarious acts in town – and, by the mid-1920s, the team was being featured in vaudeville, culminating in a lengthy run at New York’s Palace Theater. In 1929, Broadway called them for a featured spot in “Show Girl” and, by the time Cole Porter’s “The New Yorkers” opened in 1930, Durante was a star.

Jimmy continued his Broadway success in a string of popular shows and revues throughout the 1930s, but it was his role in “Jumbo” that brought him the most acclaim, playing the brash owner of a circus in an extravaganza that brought all of the delights of the Big Top to New York’s massive Hippodrome Theater. But he didn’t limit himself solely to the Great White Way; thanks to appearances in a series of films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a guest star spot on Rudy Vallee’s Fleischmann Hour, by 1933, Durante had taken over for Eddie Cantor as the host of radio’s “Chase and Sanborn Hour”. On the air, Durante’s broad delivery, overwhelming personality, and penchant for mangling his words only increased his popularity with laugh-hungry Depression-era audiences and his next radio series – “Jumbo”, based partially on the Broadway show – kept him a welcome visitor in American homes.

For a time, aside from an occasional radio guest appearance, Durante devoted himself solely to the stage and nightclubs. But, in 1943, Hollywood beckoned once again with the offer of comedic roles in a series of motion pictures. For this opportunity, Durante relocated to Hollywood, where he was also signed to headline a CBS series titled “The Camel Caravan”. The new series found the Schnozz co-starred with a fresh voiced young comedian named Garry Moore in what initially seemed to be an odd and highly unlikely pairing. As so often happens, however, the mismatched duo instantly clicked as a team, ratings went through the roof, and Durante’s patented brand of language mangling and outraged interaction with the orchestra introduced him to radio audiences all over again. Durante and Moore enjoyed four successful seasons together until Moore decided to pursue a solo career at the end of the 1946/47 season.

With Moore’s departure, in the fall of 1947, Jimmy Durante signed a contract to host a new series on NBC for the Rexall Drug Company, costarring vocalist Peggy Lee and character actor Victor Moore. Loud, boisterous, and wildly entertaining, “The Jimmy Durante Show” proved just as popular as its predecessor – so much so, in fact, that the following season found Durante back on CBS and back with Camel Cigarettes for another two years before the Schnozz finally moved full-time to television in the early 1950s.

The ten shows in this second compact disc collection, priced at just $14.98, showcase Jimmy Durante at his bigger-than-life best, complete with the fractured English, gravel voiced musical numbers, and warmhearted buffoonery that made him a show business legend. As an added bonus, this set includes two shows broadcast while Jimmy was in the hospital recovering from surgery – and it’s a mark of his reputation among show people that the personalities filling in for him include the Wizard of Oz himself, Frank Morgan, as well as the World’s Greatest Entertainer, Al Jolson. Taken directly from original master recordings and fully restored for sparkling audio fidelity, this second volume of “The Jimmy Durante Show” offers an additional selection of shows that are just as fresh, alive, and vibrant as they were when they were first aired over sixty years ago. If you love a good belly laugh, you’ll want to stop by RadioArchives.com and pick up your copy right away.
New in Pulp Fiction: The Spider Volume 19, The Shadow Volume 48, and Doc Savage Volume 47

At RadioArchives.com, we love the thrills, chills, and excitement that only a great pulp fiction story can provide. That’s why we’re excited to announce that three brand new reprints featuring the top heroes from the 1930s and 1940s are now available from RadioArchives.com:

Pulp fiction’s legendary Master of Men returns in “The Spider Volume 19”, featuring two classic novels written by Norvell Page under the pseudonym of Grant Stockbridge. First, in “Slaves of the Dragon”, white slavery is stripping America of its wives, sisters and sweethearts. Richard Wentworth, valiant champion of human rights, knows that an Oriental master criminal is captaining the slavery syndicate and has guessed the unspeakable purpose behind these wholesale abductions. Can the Spider outwit his most formidable foe and save America’s doomed womanhood? Then, in “The Spider and his Hobo Army”, murder and destruction has stupefied the nation. The zero hour has come and the vast and insidious Order of the Double Cross is ready to blast America from the face of the earth. Can The Spider crush the minions of the Double Cross, with only a handful of ragged hobos to aid him? This beautifully reformatted double-novel version of these two pulp classics, priced at just $14.95, features the original cover art and interior illustrations that accompany each story.

Next, in “The Shadow Volume 48”, the Dark Avenger continues the celebration of his 80th anniversary in an extra-length issue that pairs his explosive second adventure with a gripping novel of international intrigue. In “The Eyes of The Shadow”, the Knight of Darkness assumes the identity of Lamont Cranston to investigate a series of baffling serial murders in a groundbreaking novel that introduced the Shadow’s famous alter ego and his enigmatic agent, Burbank. Then, can The Shadow stop “The Money Master” before his financial machinations destroy the global economy? This instant collectors’ item, priced at just $14.95, showcases the classic cover paintings by George Rozen and John A. Coughlin, the original interior illustrations by George H. Wert and Paul Orban, two never-before-published articles by the Shadow’s creator Walter B. Gibson, and historical commentary by Will Murray.

Finally, in “Doc Savage Volume 47”, pulp fiction’s legendary Man of Bronze returns in three action-packed thrillers by Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson. First, when a man claiming to have found the secret of eternal life is murdered, Doc Savage journeys to Mexico searching for an answer in the remote “Weird Valley”. Then, only the Man of Bronze can provide a beautiful con artist with an antidote for murder in “Let’s Kill Ames”. Finally, a lost city of Incas battles over the strange power of “The Green Master”. This classic pulp reprint, priced at just $14.95, features the original color pulp covers by George Rozen, Modest Stein, and Walter Swenson, plus Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray.

If you’ve been collecting these beautifully reformatted issues as they are released, you’ll want to place your order for these new books right away. And if you’ve never read a pulp novel – well, you’re in for a real treat! Be sure to stop by RadioArchives.com today and check out our pulp fiction section, where you’ll find more of the exciting and engrossing tales of Doc Savage, The Shadow, The Spider, the Whisperer, and The Avenger.
The Best Deals are in the Radio Archives Treasure Chest
If you’re a regular visitor to our website at RadioArchives.com, we don’t have to tell you about our Treasure Chest Bonus Deals. They’re right there on our home page, with new ones posted all the time, and they give you the chance to add something very special to each and every one of your orders with us.

But if you’ve never heard about our Treasure Chest, well, it’s high time that you did! You see, when you submit an order for $35.00 or more at RadioArchives.com, you get the chance to add a Treasure Chest Bonus Deal to your order. On the weekends following their release, you’ll find our newest compact disc collection there – and it will be priced at just 99 Cents! During the week, you’ll find other great deals, including pulp fiction reprints, books, DVD sets, and other CD collections containing hours of great sounding radio entertainment. But no matter what day you happen to stop by, you’ll find a great deal waiting for you on the home page of RadioArchives.com.

This week, for example, you’ll want to circle the dates on your calendar to remember to take advantage of these great deals:

* Today through Monday May 23rd, you can get our newest CD set – “The Jimmy Durante Show, Volume 2”, a $14.98 value – for Just 99 Cents when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.

* On Tuesday May 24th, the Man of Bronze and his Fabulous Five are featured in “Doc Savage Volume 16”, featuring two exciting adventures from pulp fiction’s Golden Age. First, in “The Secret in the Sky”, Doc journeys to Oklahoma to investigate the murder of a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Then, in “The Giggling Ghosts,” a toxic outbreak of uncontrollable hilarity is causing New Jersey residents to literally laugh themselves to death. This beautifully reformatted double-novel reprint, chock full of special features, is normally priced at $12.95 – but you can enjoy these two exciting adventures for Just 99 Cents when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.

* On Wednesday May 25th, you’ll laugh along with one of radio’s most hilarious and innovative comedy teams in “Matinee with Bob and Ray, Volume 1”, an hilarious ten-CD set featuring 20 rare broadcasts from Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding’s earliest days at radio station WHDH in Boston, Massachusetts. This ten-hour collection of improvisational entertainment, transferred from the original one-of-kind transcriptions and fully restored for impressive audio fidelity, normally sells for $29.98 – but it can be yours for Just 99 Cents when you submit an order of $35.00 or more.

* In the 1930s, nobody combined high style, romantic comedy, and drama better than Carole Lombard. A talented comedic actress with the face of an angel, Lombard illuminated the silver screen with her sparkling wit and dazzling beauty. Now you have the chance to enjoy six of her most hilarious and heartwarming films in “Carole Lombard – The Glamour Collection”, featuring such top name costars as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, William Powell, John Barrymore, and Ralph Bellamy. This set, offering two double-sided DVDs, normally sells for $26.98 – but on Thursday, May 26th, it can be yours for Just $3.99 when you place an order of $35.00 or more.

We’re sorry but, at these low prices, multiple orders cannot be combined into single shipments. Each separate order must be placed on the days on which the specials are offered and no early or late orders will be accepted.

Make it a habit to visit RadioArchives.com often and see what’s waiting for you in the Treasure Chest. It’s great way to stretch your entertainment budget and add to your personal library of radio, pulp, and movie favorites.

New in Old Time Radio: The Adventures of Archie Andrews When we look back at American family life in the late 1930s, many of us view it not through the eyes of reality but, instead, thru the rose colored glasses of popular culture. If you were young yourself at that time, you have a more realistic memory of those years – but, if you’re a baby boomer and beyond, you’re more likely to imagine a typical American home, circa 1940, as being in Carvel where a teenager named Andy Hardy lives: clean, pleasant, prosperous, and where every challenge, crisis, or misadventure is resolved in time for a happy ending – complete with the occasional musical number.

It’s not surprising that we have this rosy vision of the past; after all, every entertainment medium did its best to create and sustain this image. Hollywood gave us a seemingly endless series of Andy Hardy movies, the Broadway stage gave us “What a Life!” which introduced the perpetually teenaged Henry Aldrich, and radio quickly turned Henry and his friend Homer into comedy characters that would endure for over a decade. As the 1940s progressed, the trend continued: perky teenager Corliss Archer came to radio in 1943, as did “A Date with Judy” – both sit-coms featuring a typical teenage girl dealing with her boyfriends, her often baffled parents, and the overwhelming dramas of high school social life. But it wasn’t the stage, screen, or radio that would bring us our most enduring and innocent image of teenaged life; it was, instead, the comics.

In December of 1941, just two weeks after Pearl Harbor, Pep Comics introduced a new character that continues to entertain readers to this very day – and his name is Archie Andrews. From the beginning, Archie was the epitome of the American teenager of the 1940s: dressed in a polka dot bow tie with a letterman’s sweater that proclaimed his loyalty to Riverdale High, he drove a souped-up jalopy, hung out with the perpetually lazy Jughead Jones, and spent most of his time in a lovesick haze. Aside from occasional crushes on movie goddesses, Archie divided his affection between two teenaged beauties: Betty Cooper, a bright and down-to-earth blonde, and Veronica Lodge, a wealthy brunette who loved to toy with Archie’s affections. Hitting just the right mix of familiarity, slapstick comedy, and small-town warmth, Archie and his pals were an instant hit with teen readers – and, in less than a year, the characters had made their way from comic books to a daily newspaper comic strip and to radio.

In its first incarnation, “The Adventures of Archie Andrews” was a daily fifteen-minute radio series, aired over the Blue Network. Ratings were respectable and, after a brief move to a half-hour weekly slot, the five-a-week format returned on Mutual in 1944. But the series really hit its stride in June of 1945, when a largely new cast was introduced and it premiered over NBC in a Saturday morning slot that it would happily occupy for eight years. For the majority of the Saturday morning run, Archie was played by Bob Hastings, a talented young actor who had already made his reputation playing juveniles on dramatic programs. Woman-hating food-loving Jughead was played by Harlan Stone, perky Betty was played by Rosemary Rice, and the honey-voiced Veronica was played by Gloria Mann. If you were looking for subtlety or teenaged angst, you were never going to find it on “The Adventures of Archie Andrews”; in typical sit-com fashion, the plots usually revolved around some simple misunderstanding that quickly turned into bedlam. Aimed straight at a pre-teen audience, the programs were designed to be nothing more than loud, goofy, and fun – and, from the reactions of the studio audience that attended each live broadcast, the show was clearly adored by its listeners.

Priced at just $20.98, “The Adventures of Archie Andrews” offers fourteen original NBC broadcasts, taken from the original network master recordings and fully restored for sparkling audio fidelity. If you’ve enjoyed the other comedy collections released by RadioArchives.com – and especially if Archie and his pals were a big part of your youth – this is a collection you simply won’t want to miss.
Coming Soon: Pulp Audiobooks from Radio Archives

You’ve thrilled to their exciting adventures in print! Now enjoy your favorite pulp stories in a whole new way in a brand new series of audiobooks, coming soon from RadioArchives.com!

For decades, the novels of Doc Savage, The Spider, and other classic heroes have occupied a special place in the hearts of readers everywhere. Now, by special arrangement with the authors, owners, and publishers of these thrill-packed adventures, Radio Archives.com will soon be offering full length unabridged audiobook adaptations of these timeless tales.

The first series of audiobooks, scheduled for release in the late Spring of 2011, will be the Doc Savage novels written by renowned writer Will Murray – starting with his classic adventure story, “Python Isle”. Future series will include the exploits of The Spider, the Master of Men, and Secret Agent “X”, as well as other well-known crimefighters from pulp fiction’s Golden Age. These new audio productions will feature the talents of some of the top voice actors in the country and will be produced and directed by Roger Rittner, who created the “Adventures of Doc Savage” full-cast radio series, now available from RadioArchives.com.

For more information on these exciting new releases, click here: Audiobooks from RadioArchives.com

Be watching for updates on our website and also special features in our weekly newsletters as we begin the “Countdown to Adventure” with pulp audiobooks, coming to you soon from RadioArchives.com!

Review: ‘The Hustler’

Far too films hold up to the test of time, their iconic nature re-evaluated through a modern prism and found wanting. Memorable performances or screen characters suddenly look one-dimensional or wanting. Then there are those that grew in stature through the years as audiences and critics catch up to the creators’ vision. Those are the ones that are hailed in retrospectives, make it to the National Film Registry and get the deluxe treatment when released on home video. The Hustler, the 1961 film about pool and people, is one such film and is this week making its Blu-ray debut courtesy of 20th Century Home Entertainment.

It used to be, pool sharks could tour the country, play high stakes games and eke out a living of sorts. Legendary pool players had a word-of-mouth reputation every bit as powerful as celebrities made famous by ESPN. The great novelist Walter Tevis captured these players and their world in his 1959 novel, prompting Robert Rosen and Sidney Carroll to adapt it to the big screen.

“Fast Eddie” Felson is the wandering pool player, with no roots, no life beyond the end of his cue stick. He arrives in the small, dark town of Ames specifically to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats – and loses. What happens next propels the rest of the film and becomes a study of pool players, friends, and lost souls searching for a better way.

Felson is a brilliant player but empty inside, yearning for something more but not sure what that is or how to get it. All he knows is he’s the best and wants to prove it time and again so being humbled by Fats rankles. And while he’s lost, he discovers there are others who don’t know just how lost they are, a point made when he meets the drunken Sarah Packard. (more…)

DOMINO LADY SPEAKS-COMING SOON!

For the first time ever on audio…The AudioComics Company presents THE DOMINO LADY

The AudioComics Company is proud to present the second characters in their original pulp audio project will be THE pulp vixen of the 1930′s, the scourge of LA herself, The Domino Lady!

First introduced by Lars Anderson in Saucy Romantic Adventures and Mystery Adventures, The Domino Lady is the alter-ego of Ellen Patrick, a wealthy UC Berkeley graduate out to avenge the murder of her father, District Attorney Owen Patrick, in the Raymond Chandler-esque Southern California of 1935. While she brandished a .45 and syringe of knockout serum, her greatest weapon was her sexuality, which she would use to disarm her unsuspecting opponents. Routinely stealing from her targets, she donates most of the profits to charity after deducting her cut, leaving a calling card with the words “Compliments of the Domino Lady” behind.

DL appeared specifically in “spicy pulp” magazines, pulps that typically featured semi-pornographic short stories. Such magazines had smaller print runs (and were as a result a few cents higher in price) and were usually sold “under the counter” upon request. Only a handful of Domino Lady were published, all of which were collected in Bold Venture Press’ Compliments of the Domino Lady, featuring a cover from the one and only Jim Steranko. In addition, Moonstone Books has published a new series of Domino Lady comics and prose stories. The AudioComics Company’s world-premiere productions will mark the first time that the alter-ego of Ellen Patrick has ever appeared in an audio format.

Portraying the Domino Lady will be San Francisco Bay Area actress and filmmaker Karen Stilwell, who has a unique tie to AudioComics; take a read of her bio…
Karen Stilwell began acting in San Francisco at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco as a teen. After winning a National Theater award for best ensemble work in regional theater (playing a maid in one of Tennessee Williams last plays called This is (an Entertainment)), she was propelled to continue acting after meeting Williams and Michael York and choosing, with the help of “A Chorus Line” summer touring cast members, to go to the Big Apple just after High School at age 17. Within a year she had joined both the Screen Actors Guild and The American Federation ofTelevision and Radio Artists recording voice overs, commercials, under five roles on soap operas like All My Children and The Guiding Light with some small parts in the films Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession and C.O D.

She became a core member of a theater company called Wild Hair Productions consisting of mainly fellow actors who had met in class and enjoyed writing and acting together in their own plays. The biggest hit to come from the troupe was Starstruck with Karen playing the original Erotica Ann 333, an android built for sex but re programmed to be the maintenance officer on the GOOD ship Harpy.

After several more years of off B’way work, more under five roles on soaps, and a few more national commercials, Karen did some stand in work for the lead ladies in Love Sick (staring Dudley Moore), was taken by the ensemble feeling the film crew had, and decided to get behind the camera herself taking off to film school in San Francisco. Soon Karen was making documentaries and shorts while raising her daughter Jenna. Two of her documentaries made it into the Library of Congress: The Real Jean Roe and Tear Gas Filled the Sky staring longshoreman, activist, writer & actor Bill Bailey. Acting picked up in San Francisco again in the 1990s with parts on television shows shooting in SF, not to mention many industrial films and commercials.

During the 2000’s Karen mainly worked in video post production with some corporate producing jobs and only acted when friends called upon her to jump in on low budget films and such. It wasn’t until reconnecting with Elaine Lee, her old acting troupe buddy, at the revived staged reading of Starstruck in Big Sur (which of course became The AudioComics Company’s debut audio play) that she finds herself ready to get in the nightgown and mask…behind the microphone that is…and play The Domino Lady.

The first Domino Lady project will be a three-part serial authored by one of the country’s leading DL historians, Rich Harvey, with the first part, “All’s Fair in War,” recording this fall in San Francisco, alongside AudioComics’ first two Green Lama audio adventures. The name Rich Harvey is synonymous with pulp stories and pulp history in the United States; a New Jersey-based graphic designer, writer, and publisher, his Bold Venture Press imprint specializes in reprints of classic pulp fiction, among  them Pulp Adventures magazine and Compliments of the Domino Lady, the reprint collection that thrust the Domino Lady back into the pulp limelight. He also sponsors an annual gathering of pulp enthusiasts, the Pulp Adventurecon, in New Jersey. Rich cites Dashiell Hammett as his favorite author and biggest influence, and next on the list is Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s The Destroyer series. www.boldventurepress.com is the handle!

“A warm west coast evening — a glamorous city bathed in silvery moonlight — a criminal element walking arm-in-arm with high society — and a masked woman who challenges their power the DOMINO LADY.”

The Comancheros

At a time when movie stars were truly larger-than-life and iconic, few stood taller and were more memorable than John Wayne. The Duke more or less played himself, the tall, laconic keeper of the moral code regardless of era or genre. He’s best remembered for his work in Westerns, ultimately earning his one Oscar for True Grit, a tribute to a career spent along the dusty trails of a bygone America.

Bit by bit, Wayne’s oeuvre is being preserved on DVD and now Blu-ray, with [[[The Comancheros]]] being the most recent offering. In time for the perfect Father’s Day gift, the deluxe package from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment offers up one of Wayne’s last big Westerns just as interest in the genre was beginning to wane. The movie is well regarded by many Western fans and Elmer Bernstein’s score has lived on, well beyond the film itself, used elsewhere ever since (including The Simpsons). It also has the historical footnote of being the final film from director Michael Curtiz, beloved for his earlier work on The Adventures of Robin Hood and Casablanca. He was laid low early on by cancer and Wayne himself took over much of the directing but refused credit. Second unit action sequences were handled by Cliff Lyons. The unfortunate many hands approach probably led to the film feeling incredibly uneven, talky without much punch to the dialogue sequences, and sluggishly paced for the first third. (more…)

PULP ARK DAY ONE-RADIO LIVES AGAIN!

Friday, May 13th, 2011, 6 PM



Tommy Hancock getting RADIO LIVES AGAIN started!

 As a part of the first day of activities at PULP ARK, Coordinator Tommy Hancock invited several writers to adapt excerpts from their stories for a live audio old time radio style recording.  One writer adapted a script himself and Hancock had time to adapt two other scripts.  What then ensued was tremendous fun and lots of bravery and performing by volunteers.  Each excerpt was performed unrehearsed live and with sound effects. 

Rob Davis (on floor), Art Sippo, Alex  Hancock,
Fuller Bumpers, Tommy Hancock
RADIO LIVES AGAIN

The first, an excerpt from Van Plexico’s GIDEON CAIN, stars Ron Fortier as a demon, Plexico as Cain, and Tommy Hancock as Cain’s Arab Companion.  LANCE STAR, SKY RANGER, written by Bobby Nash, followed, with Fuller Bumpers as Lance, Rob Davis as Ice, Art Sippo as Andrew, Alex Hancock as Bar Guy and Tommy Hancock as Announcer.  The final scene is from Wayne Reinagel’s KHAN DYNASTY with Patrick Cranford as Kong, Rob Davis as Bart, and Tommy Hancock as Chang Lee!  Follow the link below to download the whole event AND all the con chatter that went on inbetween scenes!

http://www.filedropper.com/pulpark



From Left-Rob Davis, Fuller Bumpers, Art Sippo, Tommy Hancock, Alex Hancock
RADIO LIVES AGAIN




Van Plexico (left) and Tommy Hancock
RADIO LIVES AGAIN



PULP ARK DAY ONE-ALL PULP PANEL!

Friday, May 13th, 5-6:00 PM

From Left-Barry Reese, Ron Fortier, Derrick Ferguson, Tommy Hancock, Bobby Nash

The first panel of the first ever Pulp Ark was hosted and manned by six of the seven men behind the first full blown news site dedicated to Pulp.  Six of the Spectacled Seven (You were missed, Sarge Portera!) made up this panel and shared news from various New Pulp publishers, a lot of which they were involved in in some way or another…..Taking one at a time, we’ll start with…

Art Sippo watching (from left) Derrick Ferguson, Tommy Hancock, Bobby Nash, Van Plexico

Barry Reese-



Barry Reese (on right) with Ron Fortier

 Has stories in The Green Hornet Casefiles and The Avenger Justice Inc. Files from Moonstone.

Rook Volume Six is coming out in late May- Early June, 2011 from Pro Se Productions

The Family Grace Collection, focusing on the adventuring family that is the backbone of the Rook Universe, is coming out later this year from Pro Se Productions.

Lazarus Gray vol. 1, a collection of Reese’s Sovereign City Project stories, will be out in September, 2011 and his first full length Lazarus Gray novel, DIE GLOCKE, is in progress.

Bobby Nash-


Bobby Nash (on right) with Wayne Reinagel



Bobby has a few anthologies and comic books coming out featuring stories in the next several months. Theose include The Green Hornet Casefiles (Moonstone), Tales From The Zero Hour Vol. 4: Weird Tales (Blinding Force Productions), Lance Star: Sky Ranger Vol. 3 (Airship 27), Secret Agent X Vol. 4 (Airship 27), The Danger People (New Babel Books), Aym Geronimo and the Post Modern Pioneers: Tall Tales, The Ruby Files (Airship 27), Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (Moonstone), The Wraith (Airship 27), The Avenger (Moonstone), Domino Lady Vs. The Mummy (Moonstone), untitled Abyss Walker Universe anthology, Frontier (BEN Books), and more.
Van Plexico-


Van Plexico (on right) with Bobby Nash

  Van’s new Sentinels novel, STELLARAX, from White Rocket Books, will be in stores by mid-June.  It is the seventh volume in the series overall, and completes the big, cosmic “Rivals” trilogy.

A story (“Thunder Over China”) in LANCE STAR: SKY RANGER, Vol. 3, coming soon from Airship 27.

Van is involved in Bobby Nash’s and Sean Taylor’s upcoming SF action anthology.

Van’s 45,000-word novella is featured in the second MARS McCOY: SPACE RANGER anthology from Airship 27, coming possibly later this year.
Van created and is editing an SF action-adventure anthology for White Rocket Books:  BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS.  It’s a sort of John Carter – meets – Thundarr deal.  Look for that one toward the end of the year.
Derrick Ferguson-



Derrick Ferguson (on right) with Art Sippo



A Fortune McCall collection, part of the Sovereign City Project, later this year (October) from Pro Se Productions
A special project with Joshua Reynolds forAirship 27 Productions.
A collection of Dillon stories later this year from Pulpwork Press.
Ron Fortier-
KALUTA  BOARDS AIRSHIP 27
Ron Fortier (on left) with Barry Reese
World famous graphic artist, Michael Kaluta has signed on to provide both cover art and interior illustrations for Airship 27 Productions forthcoming title, CHALLENGER STORM, Isle of Blood; the first in a new pulp series by writer Don Gates.
Kaluta’s comics work began in the 1970s working on such titles as “House of Secrets” and “Web of Horror.”  It was during this time he created fortune teller Madam Xanadu for Editor Joe Orlando.  His work on DC’s Shadow comics is considered the best graphic portrayal of that classic pulp hero ever produced.  He also illustrated Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Carson of Venus for that same company.  From 1975 to 1979, he was a member of “The Studio” along with Barry Windsor-Smith, Bernie Wrightson and Jeff Jones.  He’s an award winning painter and illustrator who had contributed to role playing games and illustrated numerous music album covers.  In 2003 he was named a Spectrum Grand Master in recognition of his vast and influential body of work.
“We, at Airship 27 Productions are extremely thrilled and honored to be working with a true living legend of American art,” said Ron Fortier, Managing Editor.  Airship 27 Productions is one of the leading producers of new pulp fiction novels and anthologies, their titles being published by Cornerstone Book Publishers of New Orleans. 
Challenger Storm is a rollicking, old fashion pulp adventure in the grand tradition of Doc Savage and Captain Hazzard and is Gates’ first book in a planned series.  “We hope to have the book out by the end of the year,” Fortier went on to add.  “Mr. Kaluta is always much in demand and we are not about to rush such beautiful artwork.”  Kaluta’s latest foray into pulp prose will soon be seen on the cover of Moonstone’s Green Hornet Casefiles due out in few weeks.
PHANTOM  SCRIBE  TACKLES  S & S  NOVEL
Airship 27 Table at PULP ARK!
Airship 27 Productions is pleased to announce that well known Phantom comic writer, Mike Bullock, has agreed to write a new sword & sorcery novel for the company titled THE RUNEMASTER.
Bullock is an award winning fiction writer, poet and former professional musician. Born in WashingtonDC, Bullock grew up reading comic books, comic strips and pulp fiction. He’s translated this love of fast-paced imaginative story-telling into a successful career as a comic book and prose author. Having worked on enduring characters from Black Bat and Captain Future to Sonic the Hedgehog and Zorro, Bullock cemented his place in the annals of speculative fiction by authoring more Phantom stories than any other American author aside from Lee Falk. His original works include Lions, Tigers and Bears, The Gimoles, Death Angel and more. Bullock’s Lions, Tigers and Bears was optioned by Paramount Pictures in 2010 as a feature film.
The Runemaster marks Bullock’s first foray into novel writing and tells the story of  Skarl Kirwall, a man born during the Last Great War and destined to lead his clan as the next Runemaster. When he is betrayed by a friend, Skarl is banished from his village and later learns of its destruction at the hands of their bitter enemies, the Ysling clan.
While mourning the loss of his family and clan, Skarl discovers the woman he loves has been dragged off to be sacrificed to Ysfang, the World Serpent. Armed with only his mighty sword and cunning, Skarl sets off across the frozen wastes to rescue her and somehow regain his rightful role as the Runemaster. 
Forged in the fires of Conan, Beowulf and Braveheart, steeped in Norse legendry and baptized in the blood of those who would oppose him comes the Runemaster.
Tommy Hancock –
 From Moonstone Entertainment-
Moonstone at PULP ARK!
 RETURN OF THE MONSTERS!
Moonstone Announces Halloween Pulps

Coming this October from Moonstone Books – Four pulp horror books sure to frighten and delight you.

In ANGELS AND THE UNDEAD writer Mike Bullock and artist  Eric Johns tell a tale of spine-chilling fear as Death Angel and Black Bat team up to face none other than the Lord of Vampires: Dracula in the
haunted halls of the historic Phaidor Hotel.

THE WEREWOLF WAR MASSACRES written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Jay Piscopo asks the question “Has the Master of Men finally met his Monstrous Match?”

From the mind of Aaron Shaps comes the third book, PHANTOM DETECTIVE: THE BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN the monster enjoys a new lease on life, illustrated by Kalman Andrasofszky and Jim McKern.

The fourth Halloween horror from Moonstone was announced at PULP ARK by author Bobby Nash.  Bobby recently completed and submitted to Tombstone a script entitled THE PERFECT MATE pitting The Domino Lady against The Mummy!  Art will be handled by Rock Baker and Jeff Austin.

Covers for at least three of these pulp terror tales brought to you by Dan Brereton.

Look for these and more in October, only from Moonstone Books.

Decoder Ring Theater



Tommy Hancock



Tommy is penning a new six episode series for Decoder Ring Theater.  Known for its audio drama podcasts starring fan favorites The Red Panda and Black Jack Justice, DRT, headed up by Gregg Taylor, is the home for great modern pulp audio.  Hancock’s new series, THE WEIRD WEST ADVENTURES OF HUNT AND PECK, is based on characters created by Taylor for a recent episode of DRT’s RED PANDA where The Panda and his sidekick The Flying Squirrel go back in time to the Old West.  Hancock’s six episodes will pick up where THE WILD WEST episode leaves off.
Pro Se Productions



Nancy Hansen and Ken Janssens with Pro Se at PULP ARK

 Pro Se is moving into audio!! Tommy Hancock announced that in partnership with Broken Sea Audio, Pro Se would be releasing audio book versions of some of its product this year, including issues of its three magazine titles, Hancock’s own novel, YESTERYEAR, and Barry Reese’s THE ROOK, VOLUME SIX.

Tommy reviewed upcoming publications from Pro Se Productions, including works by Nancy Hansen, Lee Houston, Jr., Ken Janssens and others.

BULLOCK BRINGS TOTEM TO PRO SE!

 Pro Se Productions was also proud to reveal that Mike Bullock, noted author of Moonstone’s THE PHANTOM, writer of comics such as SAVAGE BEAUTY, and an upcoming BLACK BAT Original Graphic Novel as well as his own original work, including LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS, will be joining the ranks of Pro Se for his first every prose short story collection!

Bullock brings an original character like none other to Pro Se’s stellar cast of characters.  Bullock’s TOTEM, VOLUME ONE will feature four stories focused on the title character, one rich in both history and tied to the supernatural!  Expect TOTEM VOLUME ONE by Mike Bullock to be out early next year from Pro Se Productions and stay tuned to http://www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com/ for more information on this fantastic creation by one of today’s best New Pulp writers as it becomes available!

Video Game Review: “Brink”

Video Game Review: “Brink”

Brink (video game)

Image via Wikipedia

The genre of First Person Shooters (or FPS) in an already over-saturated video game market is a risky venture.  In order to succeed in a sea of Halos and Call of Dutys, one must be unique, or offer something that will appeal to the masses.  Developer Splash Damage is hoping that [[[Brink]]] (out now for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360) is such a title.  Utilizing a unique graphical style, and taking note of some of the lesser-used conventions of modern shooters, Brink aims (no pun intended) to be the next go-to online shooter.  But does it hold up to expectations?

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Crazy Sexy Geeks: Tim Gunn and Horror Films!

Crazy Sexy Geeks: Tim Gunn and Horror Films!

It’s Halloween time and that means I and co-host Graham Skipper are ready to debate the merits and drawing power of movie monsters such as Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, the Aliens and the Predators.

Last week, the CSG gang spoke with Tim Gunn about super-hero fashion and then attended the DC Comics/Bloomingdale’s fashion show in NYC where they asked Batman and Catwoman how fashion techniques have influenced their costumes.

And if that isn’t enough for you, all previous episodes of Crazy Sexy Geeks: The Series have been remastered with better audio quality! Enjoy!

Women Super Heroes with guest Amber Benson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)!

Remakes, Reboots and Sequels with guests Rob Zombie (“Halloween”), Edward James Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica”) and novelist David Mack (“The Calling“)!

Comics Without Spandex with guests David W. Mack (“Kabuki”) and Emma Caulfield (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)!

Review: ‘Casino Royale’ 3-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD

Review: ‘Casino Royale’ 3-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD

I’m not objective when it comes to James Bond. [[[Dr. No]]] was the first “grown-up” movie I ever saw, and I’ve been writing about 007 in magazines and my books ever since.

Nor am I particularly dispassionate about [[[Casino Royale]]]. The New York premiere at the great Zeigfeld Theater was the best experience I’ve had in cinemas for the last few decades — and it was there that I ate humble pie because, to my shame, I had been dead set against Daniel Craig in the role prior to that (I had been rooting for runner-up Henry Cavill, and anyone who’s seen him as “Charles Brandon” in the second season of Showtime’s [[[The Tudors]]] can see why).

The only thing I wasn’t a big fan of was the original, cautious, DVD release that didn’t even include an audio commentary. Naturally, everyone knew that a big special edition would eventually appear, and, following record-breaking grosses and a Blu-ray release that really put the medium on the map, this is it.

The film remains exceptional but quibbliable (some nitpick at the central, drawn-out poker game, while I cavil [if you’ll excuse the expression] at the dispassionate off-screen dispatching of the main henchmen, to be hastily replaced by some generic thugs for 007 to slaughter at the climax).

The three-DVD status of this Special Edition (tomorrow) is also questionable, since the second disc only contains the extras found on the original release, promoted to their own disc apparently to make way for the previously absent audio commentaries. Even the DVD menus aren’t particularly distinguished.

However, the approximately nine hours of new Special Features made it worth the wait. Having done forty good, bad, or ugly audio commentaries myself, I know a great one when I hear it, and Casino Royale now has two. The first, with director Martin Campbell and producer Michael Wilson, is packed with illuminating info (including that the opening was inspired by The Ipcress File and the finale by Don’t Look Now), but the second is even better.

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