Tagged: audio

AIRSHIP 27 DEBUTS AUDIO BOOKS!

The first Airship 27 Productions audio book is now available for sale at the Airship 27 Productions website; “Witchfire” by Ardath Mayhar & Ron Fortier.  (See link below.)  Produced in conjunction with Broken Sea audio, the six hours plus book features reader Fiona Thraille and was engineered by Chris Barnes.
“We could not be happier with the final product,” said Airship 27 Editor in Chief Ron Fortier, also one of the co-writers of the book along with the late Ardath Mayhar of Texas.  “I’m not sure if any of Ardath’s many science fiction or fantasy novels were ever adapted to this format. I hope her many fans will truly enjoy this audio version which is dedicated to her memory.”
Along with the release of this, Airship 27 is also releasing a Kindle version of “Witchfire.”  The company released its first Kindle title, “Captain Action – Riddle of the Glowing” by Jim Beard only last week.  “We are really excited about these new formats,” Fortier went on.  “Our readers have been asking for them and finally we have the capability to provide them with this multiple formats.  Expect to see many more of our books on both Kindle and as audio downloads.”
For now only audio file downloads will be available, selling for $9.99.  Airship 27 does hope to eventually press CD copies as well.  The company, started six years ago is devoted to publishing brand new pulp novels and anthologies and is operated by Fortier and his partner, Art Director Rob Davis.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – Pulps for a New Generation!

Get Your Copy here!

REVIEW: Homeland Season One

Not since the spy craze of the 1960s have there been so many television series about intelligence agents. There was the late, lamented and still-missed Rubicon and the JJ Abrams misfire Undercover. Currently, there’s the frothy, entertaining Covert Affairs and for those who like their espionage tales with some meat on the bones, there’s Showtime’s Homeland. The second season of the acclaimed series arrives at month’s end, but for now, the first season is just out on disc from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Anchored by the riveting performance from star Claire Danes, the series explores CIA agent Carrie Mathison and her quest to determine if a returned American POW, Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), is the real deal or a sleeper Al Qaeda  agent. Sounds simple enough, right? Instead, over the course of a dozen episodes, nothing is as it appears, starting with Mathison herself. When we meet her, she has just returned from an unauthorized operation in Iraq and is relegated to a Counterterrorism post back in Washington, DC. When her Director, David Estes (David Harewood), tells the staff a POW has been found, it confirms a rumor she had been fed about a sleeper agent. Is it Brody? Is it someone else? Are they connected? Already on thin ice from her Iraq mission, she has to investigate Brody carefully because everyone else has declared him a war hero and you don’t accuse heroes of being evil. Mathison only trusts her suspicions with her mentor, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), and together they covertly investigate Brody.

Without giving away all the exciting twists and thrilling turns, suffice to say that over the season there’s a lot of red herring to wade through along with some excellent writing and performing. The series is filled with a lively, engaging, and rich cast including Morena Baccarin, Jamey Sheridan, Amy Hargreaves, and Navid Negahban. The storyline is an evolving one demanding you pay attention so as not to miss a clue (or strong performance). Nothing is as it appears and as the tension mounts, the audience is left to wonder about Mathison’s own sanity. When Patinkin comes to realize how vulnerable she is, the show shifts into some of the most heartfelt moments. Both are damaged souls and few can play that vulnerability better than these two.

Set in and around Washington provides plenty of pretty pictures but the real strength is in the richness of the storyline. In addition to the main plot, we focus on Brody’s homecoming after eight years away and how that has turned his wife and children’s world upside down. There’s the usual office politics and governmental affairs but it all feels fresh which is to be applauded.

Veteran producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa (24) were inspired to create this from the Israeli series Hatufim (Prisoners of War), which is now streaming on Netflix. They were lucky to craft a lead character complex enough to entice Danes back to series television, a move that earned her a Golden Globe nomination while the series took home Best Television Series – Drama. The first season arrived on October 2, 2011 and received 1.08 million viewers which was sizeable and stayed that way, earning critical acclaim with every passing week. Having all twelve episodes to watch once more, without waiting a week in between, allow you to study and notice nuances you may have missed the first time.

The four disc DVD or three-disc Blu-ray sets come with audio commentary and some very interesting deleted scenes that fill in some gaps or let characters breathe. The final disc also has the featurette Under Surveillance – Making Homeland, which is nowhere near as enlightening as it should be. There is also The Visit: A Prologue to Season 2 which you will have to watch and judge for yourself.

Watch the video that got the Hugo Awards live stream shut down and interrupted Neil Gaiman

Back in March, I was asked to put together video clips for this year’s Hugo Awards ceremony, which took place during Worldcon in Chicago on Sunday. Simple assignment— find short clips of the nominated works to introduce them to the audience.

Well, it didn’t quite happen that smoothly. As you may have heard by now, in the middle of the Hugo Awards ceremony at Worldcon, with thousands of people tuned into via video streaming service Ustream, from the people in the overflow room at the convention to people viewing it live at DragonCon to people all over the world, the feed cut off just as Neil Gaiman was giving his acceptance speech for his Doctor Who script, “The Doctor’s Wife”, replaced with the words, “Worldcon banned due to copyright infringement.”

Here’s the video in question, the clip reel for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form:

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

Do you see anything in there that violates Fair Use? Of course not. But then, you’re not an automated copyright violation monitoring service, which is what UStream is blaming the problem on. (You’ll note that this video is currently hosted on YouTube, and they don’t seem to be having any problems with it.) I happen to strongly disagree: this service worked almost exactly as UStream intended it to, with the exception that they couldn’t do anything when it was discovered that, whoopsie! The automated service has no intelligence and no off switch, and we’ve just pissed off people with millions of twitter followers. I also note that UStream has been taking down comments on their own site, which of course has not stopped people from commenting on Slashdot, TechCrunch, io9, and CNN stories.

I’m also marveling at the irony of cutting of Neil in mid-speech, as Neil is one of the foremost anti-censorship people in the comics industry, as a board member and major backer of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and a supporter of anti-censorship actions on the web going back to the 90s.

We’re still waiting for the full awards ceremony to be rebroadcast. In the meantime, we hope that you were following our Twitter feed, as we were covering the awards live. Universal Geek has posted audio of Neil Gaiman’s Hugo acceptance speech. And here is the clip reel for the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO_Umi29iYM[/youtube]

Congratulations to all the winners. We hope the rest of the world will be able to see your victories shortly.

UPDATE: Yes, irony of ironies, the video is currently offline at YouTube due to a copyright claim from the BBC. Yes, we’re disputing it.

raidersofthelostark1981-300x199-1524271

Raiders of the Lost Ark gets IMAX Theatrical Run

raidersofthelostark1981-300x199-1524271SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (August 15, 2012) – The cinematic classic that introduced the world to Indiana Jones is ready to embark on a new adventure when director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas’ unforgettable Raiders of the Lost Ark is released for an exclusive one-week engagement in select IMAX® theatres beginning September 7, 2012.  The film has undergone a complete restoration for the IMAX exclusive one-week release and subsequent debut on Blu-ray. Tickets and a list of participating theatres are available starting today at www.imax.com.

“When I saw the stunning quality of the picture and heard the enhanced sound in an IMAX theatre, I was quite literally blown away and hope that audiences will enjoy the experience as much as I did,” said Spielberg.

“We are honored to present all the excitement of Indiana Jones in a way it’s never been experienced before – IMAX,” said Greg Foster, Chairman & President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment.  “We look forward to celebrating this iconic film with longtime fans as well as a new generation of moviegoers.”

The IMAX release of Raiders of the Lost Ark will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

Under the supervision of Spielberg and renowned sound designer Ben Burtt, Raiders of the Lost Ark has been meticulously restored with careful attention to preserving the original look, sound and feel of the iconic film for its highly-anticipated release on Blu-ray as part of INDIANA JONES: The Complete Adventures.  Every extraordinary exploit of world-renowned, globetrotting hero Indiana Jones finally comes home in sparkling high definition on September 18, 2012 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Paramount Home Media Distribution.  In addition to all of the thrilling adventures, the set features seven hours of fascinating bonus material, including a brand new two-part documentary entitled “On Set with Raiders of the Lost Ark – From Jungle to Desert and From Adventure to Legend.”  Featuring nearly an hour of rarely seen footage from the set of the film and archival interviews with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford, this captivating piece transports fans back to where the legend began.

Lucasfilm, Indiana Jones™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved.  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

MUTUAL, THE SPIDER, DIGITAL DOWNLOADS, AND MORE FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
August 10, 2012
 

 

What would it take to recapture the glory of the golden age of radio and still incorporate the stars and even stories of a more modern time? This query was answered extremely well in 1980 by one program, 20 of its episodes collected in Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 from Radio Archives!
 
At a time when radio drama was attempting a comeback, The Sears Radio Theater made a move and name change to Mutual, becoming the Mutual Radio Theater. Mutual answered the age old question of blending the classic with the modern by doing just that. Producing a show that put legends of the Radio Drama era to work side by side with modern up and coming stars of television and film!
 
The Mutual Radio Theater featured stories written by radio greats such as Arch Oboler, Norman Corwin, and Elliot Lewis. These scribes brought their formidable talents to bear on this kaleidoscopic show, providing solid scripts for every genre the show represented five nights a week. Oboler’s atmospheric twists, Corwin’s realistic, often revealing takes on American life, and Lewis’ understanding of what made listeners laugh, cry, and cringe blended well with the work of modern storytellers to make Mutual Radio Theater an instant classic.
 
Presenting the entire run of Mutual Radio Theater in five collections, Radio Archives proudly presents 20 Stereo episodes in Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2! Each show is presented in the highest quality and features writing and performances from the best of classic and more modern entertainment!
 
Priced at only $59.98, Save $20.00 for the next two weeks with our Introductory Price of $39.98! Volume 1 was one of our best selling radio sets in 2012. Make sure you get Volume 2 today. See below for a very special price on the download version.
 
 
Every week the Archives receives comments like this. “If Radio Archives begins offering download versions of its products, please let me know.” Radio Archives has been offering all of our audio sets in two formats for the last year. The very popular Audio CDs and MP3 Digital Downloads.
 
For well over a decade, Radio Archives has been known for our Sparkling audio quality of our Old Time Radio collections and it’s no wonder. We insist upon finding the absolute best quality masters, then carefully restoring them so that they retain all of the audio luster of the original recordings with none of the crackle, pops, hiss, or muffling so often heard in radio shows from other sources. Now, with Digital Downloads, Radio Archives gives you the same quality of work and restoration in each set. That’s why every classic radio collection you download from Radio Archives comes to you as a zip file containing each individual show, encoded as a mono 128 kpbs MP3 file with a sampling rate of 44,100. As audiophiles know 128 kbps Mono is the same quality as 256 kbps Stereo.
 
Some of you may be asking, “Just what is a digital download?” Put simply, it is a MP3 computer file. Digital Downloads from RadioArchives.com come to you as high bitrate MP3 files to ensure that you’ll enjoy the same sparkling audio fidelity as in our Audio CD sets. You receive the files in minutes, save postage, and you can play them on your computer, iPhone or Android phone, or on your favorite portable device. Whether you live in Seattle, Stockholm, or San Juan, each downloadable collection is available worldwide and you can carry hundreds of hours of our radio shows on devices that fit in your shirt pocket!
 
All new CD sets released by Radio Archives are available as downloads and most of our 200 Radio sets are available for download. If you find the odd set that isn’t available, send us an email and we will put that set next on the list to produce.
 
Digital Downloads make it easy for you to take the drama, comedy, music, mystery, and history of classic radio with you wherever you go. Solve mysteries along with Phillip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, Boston Blackie and more as you make your morning walk. Laugh and chortle at the antics of Fibber McGee and Molly, Jimmy Durante, Amos and Andy and others while doing chores around the house. Tap your foot to the tunes of Jolson, Ellington, and the best of the big bands while driving, at work, anytime you want from the mobile device of your choice. Now all of these great sets can also be purchased as Digital Downloads – and at a price considerably lower than the comparable CD set! Just visit RadioArchives.com today, place your order, download your sets, and in just minutes you’ll be enjoying some great audio entertainment.
 

Buying Digital Downloads is just as easy as being able to take your favorite shows with you and we’ll show you how!
 
Let’s say you want to purchase the NEW Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 that was released today. First go to the Radio Archives Home page and click on the OLD TIME RADIO button on the left or use the handy Search tool at the top of the main menu. Or click on the product above in the newsletter.
 
Click on the Drama category and click on Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 image. You’ll be taken to the Liner Notes for the CD version of that collection.
 
 
Next to the Front Cover, you’ll see the pricing for the Audio CD version and it happens to be on sale today. Prefer the Digital Download version? Click the ‘Go to Download Version’ button and you’ll see the download version. Add the download version to your shopping cart, proceed with checkout, and you’ll instantly be able to download a ZIP file containing MP3s of all of the shows in the set. In just a few seconds, you’ll be listening to the ‘Mutual Radio Theater!’ This is one of the simpliest downloads available anywhere.
 
 
On the road, around the house, in the yard, wherever you are, Digital Downloads from Radio Archives means you can take the best of old time radio and pulp audiobooks with you every where.
 
We are proud of our Downloads and would love you to try one. For the Next Two Weeks, you can get Digital Downloads of any of our Old Time Radio sets for 50% off the regular Audio CD version price!
 
Take a look at the Old Time Radio section of the website and you’ll see just how much variety there is. Such long-time customer favorites as the classic police drama “Calling All Cars”, the western adventure series “The Cisco Kid”, the high-flying adventures of America’s favorite free-lance insurance investigator “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar”, the fantastic musical numbers of shows like “ The Railroad Hour” and “Date with The Duke” and so many more can now be yours at the specially discounted price of 50% off the Audio CD version price for the next two weeks! TIP: Since the Audio CD version of the Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 is on sale, you also get the download version at 50% off the sale price, but only for the next two weeks.
 
Digital Downloads fromRadioArchives.com literally give you the best of everything- The same sparkling high quality audio content as our compact disc collections at a reduced price, Delivery immediately upon payment, and the ability to play them on your phone, computer, or portable device! Purchase the audio collections you love and enjoy them in a whole new way!
 
Still not sure if Digital Downloads are for you. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. After trying the downloads and if it isn’t your cup of tea, we’ll refund your money in full, no questions asked. We think you’ll love it.
 

 
by Derrick Ferguson
 

The one thing you have do before listening to a Spider audiobook, any Spider audiobook is realize that what you’re going to hear is gloriously, outrageously, outstandingly nuts. There’s no other way to describe a Spider adventure. But it’s a good nuts. One that entertains like few other pulp heroes can. A Spider adventure is like a shot of turbocharged adrenaline injected directly into your brain. It’s always apocalyptic on an Old Testament level with a body count high enough that I frankly give up trying to estimate how many people, guilty and innocents alike get killed in a Spider adventure.
 
The Flame Master is no different in this respect as it features a bizarre opponent for The Spider to battle: Aronk Dong, who claims to be a prince from the planet Mars. If that wasn’t enough, Aronk Dong appears to be half-man, half-lion. The Spider thinks it’s some sort of elaborate make-up until he’s on the receiving end of Aronk Dong’s claws. From then on, Richard Wentworth isn’t so sure this character isn’t for real. And if that wasn’t enough, Aronk Dong can apparently cause lightning to strike whenever and whoever he wishes at will.
 
Like the other Spider audiobooks I’ve been entertained by, this one comes complete with music and sound effects that greatly enhance the drama and really helps to get into the headlong, non-stop pace of the story. I really enjoy Nick Santa Maria’s voice work as it sounds as if he’s right at my elbow, telling me this story as urgently as he can before he’s interrupted. Robin Riker voices Nina Van Sloan and I love it. I always prefer when women do the voices of women character in audiobooks as it really doesn’t work for me when a man does a women’s voice because that’s usually what it sounds like: a man trying to sound like a women. Here in The Flame Master, Robin Riker’s wonderful work helps greatly, along with the music and sound effects to the feeling that I’m listening to a drama.
 

I’ve gotten so spoiled by Radio Archives series of Spider audiobooks that I’m actually reluctant to read the books as I’ve gotten hooked on hearing the voices of the characters and listening to the excellent production values of these excellent audiobooks. The Flame Master is yet another jewel in the crown of Spider audiobooks and well worth your time. Enjoy.
 
By Visionsmyth on Amazon
 
Imagine if somebody had produced a Doc Savage radio serial back in the ‘30’s or ‘40’s. Then imagine if the surviving copies were clean, clear, and had stereo capability. These are just plain FUN, produced in the manner of old radio serials but with all the modern amenities available to current technology – at least, 1980s technology, which was pretty darn good.
 
This series captures the style of serials produced when the Doc Savage adventures were written, and the actor selection was terrific. Renny sounds like Renny, Monk sounds the way Dent described him, Pat sounds like Pat. Some of the “evil vilian” accents are fairly cheesy (sorry), but then, that would likely be true if they were produced in the 30s, so at least it’s authentic cheesiness.
 
One extra CD includes production commentary, which I really enjoyed. Another has examples of other radio productions, also great fun. I only wish the movie developers had approached their project with the same intent and respect as these radio producers. Are you listening, Hollywood?
 

 

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 E-Reader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator 5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like Doctor Death and more, Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 
Five new golden age Pulp tales exquisitely reformatted into visually stunning E-books!

 

Fear stalked the corridors and offices on Capitol Hill, for it was from the ranks of the mighty — the rulers and lawmakers of America — that the Silver Assassins sought their victims! Singly, in pairs and in numbered groups they died, laying down their lives for their country — while panic spread, and the Spider, alone aware of the terrific catastrophe which impended, fought through black, bodiless shadows to reach and destroy the menace which festered underground! Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men! As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.
 

Hideous maniacal laughter shattered the dark silence of ghostly tenements. Sleepy-eyed men and women, stumbling through the dim halls of the building, found a sight that chilled their souls with terror. On a blank wall, spikes driven through her, hands and feet, blood coursing down her arms and breasts in tiny rivulets, a beautiful young woman was hanging, crucified, dying. Still another victim of the Torture Trust! And while panic spreads, while hundreds die victims of the Killers, the Spider is blinded, his faithful servants imprisoned, his friends dishonored! How can Richard Wentworth, desperate and alone, combat the powerful, well-organized Murder Syndicate whose gun hirelings hunt him down like a vicious mad dog? Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men! As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.

 

The news spread like wild-fire. A man had solved the problem of the ages — he was bringing the dead back to life! Operator 5, ace of the American Secret Service, recognized the grave menace. He realized the danger if the gigantic advances of modern science were employed selfishly by unscrupulous men. And that precisely was the danger facing his native land! The Master of Death, using the promise of life everlasting, was cunningly building an army of fanatic, half-mad followers, men who were burning, pillaging and slaying at the will of the man-monster they worshipped!
 
Jimmy Christopher, clean-cut, square-jawed and clear-eyed, was the star of the most audacious pulp magazines ever conceived — Operator #5. Savage would-be conquerors, creepy cults, weird weather-controllers and famine-creating menaces to our mid-western breadbasket… these were but a few of the fiendish horrors that Jimmy Christopher was forced to confront. Operator #5 returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of Operator #5 eBooks.

 
Four powerful factions work at cosmic cross purposes in a game of system-wide stakes as Curt Newton and his staunch comrades set out to create a brand new planet to add to the family of the Sun! Captain Future… the Ace of Space! Born and raised on the moon, Curt Newton survived the murder of his scientist parents to become the protector of the galaxy known as Captain Future. With his Futuremen, Grag the giant robot, Otho, the shape-shifting android and Simon Wright, the Living Brain, he patrols the solar system in the fastest space ship ever constructed, the Comet, pursuing human monsters and alien threats to Earth and her neighbor planets.

 

Wholesale murder-madness gripped an entire city when mothers killed their own children and husbands slew the wives they loved! Only two people knew the dread cause of this charnel-house terror; one was the Scorpion, relentless crime-master who would ride to power on the red crest of the death-mania. The other was the honest little medico of mystery — Dr. Skull!
 
The Scorpion was the pinnacle of weird menace. He appeared once, in a single pulp magazine issue, and never appeared again. The magazine never made to a series, for some reason. It was over-the-top action and audacious horror-thrills.  A classic, the likes of which has never been seen again! One of the rare supernatural series the pulps, The Scorpion returns in this vintage pulp tale, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format.
 

When you purchase these beautifully reformatted eBooks from RadioArchives.com you receive all three formats in one ZIP file: PDF for PC or Mac computer; Mobi for Kindle and ePub for iPad/IPhone, Android, Sony eReader, and Nook. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook novels 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 in the Kindle store and the Barnes and Noble Nook store! The best Pulp eBooks now available for only $2.99 each from Radio Archives!
 
1 cent Spider eBook!

 
For a limited time you can now download an exciting original Spider adventure for just one thin penny! 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. Their motto? Why “KILL THE SPIDER!” of course.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps this is a perfect opportunity 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 download this bargain.
 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you purchase this eBook from RadioArchives.comyou receive all three formats in one ZIP file. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your Spider novels to your new device without the need to purchase anything new. Use the PDF version when reading on your PC or Mac computer. If you have a Kindle, the Mobi version is what you want. If you have an iPad/iPhone, Android, Sony eReader or Nook, then the ePub version is what you want.

 

 

The Knight of Darkness wages battles to the death with two of his greatest superfoes! First, The Shadow becomes “The Devil’s Paymaster” to end the sadistic reign of The Prince of Evil in the violent conclusion of Theodore Tinsley’s most acclaimed storyline. Then, Lamont Cranston must die to crush a superfiend’s evil plots when “The Wasp Returns” in an action-packed thriller by Walter B. Gibson. Foreword by Michael Uslan, executive producer of the Summer Bat-Blockbuster, “The Dark Knight Rises.” This instant collector’s item leads off with one of Graves Gladney’s greatest covers, and also showcases all the original interior illustrations by legendary illustrator Earl Mayan, with historical commentary by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin. BONUS: The Shadow tracks down “The Comic Strip Killer” in a classic adventure from the Golden Age of Radio. Buy it today for $14.95.
 

The Man of Bronze returns in two tales of super-science that inspired classic Superman stories. First, a silvery stratospheric craft showers vapors of death upon a Texas town, while Cosmic Rays alter Long Tom’s mental makeup. Doc and Patricia Savage attempt to thwart the deadly plots of a red-hooded mastermind in “He Could Stop the World,” a pulp classic by Laurence Donovan that inspired an early Superman story by Jerry Siegel. Then, “The Laugh of Death” could change the outcome of World War II, in a Lester Dent thriller that introduced Doc’s new Fortress of Solitude that inspired the Man of Steel’s glacier hideaway. This double-novel collector’s edition leads off with a knockout cover by legendary paperback artist James Bama. and also reprints both classic color pulp covers by Robert G. Harris and Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray. Priced at only $14.95.
 

The Man of Bronze returns in two tales of super-science that inspired classic Superman stories. First, a silvery stratospheric craft showers vapors of death upon a Texas town, while Cosmic Rays alter Long Tom’s mental makeup. Doc and Patricia Savage attempt to thwart the deadly plots of a red-hooded mastermind in “He Could Stop the World,” a pulp classic by Laurence Donovan that inspired an early Superman story by Jerry Siegel. Then, “The Laugh of Death” could change the outcome of World War II, in a Lester Dent thriller that introduced Doc’s new Fortress of Solitude that inspired the Man of Steel’s glacier hideaway. This double-novel collector’s edition features both classic color pulp covers by Robert G. Harris and Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of ten Doc Savage novels. Priced at only $14.95 
 

One of the top crime-fighters from the golden age of pulp fiction, The Spider returns in two thrill-packed adventures written by Norvell Page under the pseudonym of Grant Stockbridge. First, in “Laboratory Of The Damned” (1936), Poisoned! Struck down by a deadly assault from a mad murderer, the Spider finds his friend Stanley Kirkpatrick, Commissioner of Police, doomed to a stupor of living death. Nor is he the only victim… also stricken with the dread malady is Richard Wentworth’s fiancee, Nita van Sloan! The Spider battles both the Law and the Underworld to survive! Then, in “Hell’s Sales Manager” (1940), The Brand wields a weird new weapon that sucks everything in its path into a vortex of destruction! How can even the Master of Men fight an enemy that seems to simply vanish? While this reign of terror goes unchecked, the Spider finds his every effort hampered by a human bloodhound assigned to track down and eliminate him. 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. Available now for $14.95!
 

Altus Press is proud to announce the release of the third volume in its acclaimed Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series, written by Will Murray and Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson.
 
Set in the Fall of 1936, The Infernal Buddha tells the epic story of Doc Savage’s desperate quest to control the Buddha of Ice, a relic of unknown origin—and what may become the most dangerous object on Earth!
 
When a mummy arrives at Doc Savage’s New York headquarters wearing the clothes of his missing assistant, engineer Renny Renwick, Doc, Monk, and Ham rush to Singapore where they get on the trail of a swashbuckling pirate who calls himself the Scourge of the South China Sea, in whose hands a piece of the infernal Buddha has fallen. The trail leads to Pirate Island, the fate of Renny, and a mysterious box containing a terrible, unstoppable power.
 
But that is only the beginning of the quest into which the Man of Bronze plunges—one that will take him to the upper reaches of the Yellow Sea and a series a wild ocean battles against the vicious factions fighting for control on the infernal Buddha.
 
Before it is all over, every human life on Earth will tremble on the brink of eternity, and Doc Savage will face his greatest test.
 
“This may be my wildest Doc novel to date,” says author Will Murray. “The Infernal Buddha is a fantasy epic full of corsairs, criminals and other culprits. The menace is planetary. The threat, extinction. Doc Savage has a reputation for saving the world. This time he does it on the greatest scale possible. I began this book back in 1992, working from an opening situation Lester Dent started in 1935. Together, we have produced a true Doc Savage epic. And it only took about 75 years….”
 
The Infernal Buddha features a startling cover painted by Joe DeVito, depicting Doc Savage as the Buccaneer of Bronze! This cover was painted from a still taken in 1964 of legendary model Steve Holland, and is a variant pose shot for famed illustrator James Bama’s classic cover to The Man of Bronze. There has never been a Doc cover like it! Buy it today for only $24.95 from Radio Archives.
 
 

By Dr. Art Sippo

 
Mysterious red monsters are boarding ships in the Atlantic Ocean and carrying passengers away with them into the sea. Once submerged, the hapless victims are never seen again. When Doctor Hugo Collendar is taken in this fashion from a ship bound to Cape town, his fate is made known to Doc Savage. The Bronze Man of Mystery along with his aides Monk, Ham and Long Tom.

 
They discover that the kidnappings all occur in the same area of the ocean. They examine the cabin from which Dr. Collander was abducted and discover 3 sets of fingerprints. One of those sets belongs to the famous deep sea diver Harry Day who disappeared at sea several months back when his ship exploded. He was presumed dead along with all of his crew. Now he appeared to be involved in the mysterious disappearances at sea. As Doc and his men dealve deeper into the mystery they are taken captive and dragged into the ocean depths by the Red Terrors.
 
What is the secret of the Red Terrors? Why are they kidnapping people? Where do they take their prisoners underneath the sea? How could Harry Day have survived underwater for all those months?
 
This is another highly imaginative story in the annals of Doc Savage and his crew of trusted companions. There is mystery, intrigue, weird menace, and a secret hidden for ages under the sea. Don’t miss this exciting adventure! Get it and another full length Doc Savage tale today in Doc Savage Volume 22 from Radio Archives for only $12.95!
 

Comments From Our Customers!
 
Richard Stone writes:

I am a lifetime Jolson fan and enthusiast and am thrilled and amazed by what you have just done. It’s not everyday that 36 Jolson shows surface in great sound!
 
Charles Power writes:
Keep at it. I’d love someday to have a complete electronic collection of the Spider.
 
Roger Lorette writes:
The quality of your product is excellent. Keep up the great work!!!
 
Steve Sher writes:
I greatly enjoyed Mutual Radio Theatre. Will there be any additional volumes in the future?

 
David Kunovic writes:
I really love the audio books. I listen more than I read now. Keep them coming. Is there any chance you can get the rights to do The Shadow in audio form ? This would be great. Love the Spider. Hope there are more to come.
 
Fr. Mike Phillips writes:
I grew up in the 40’s & loved the old radio shows. Your selections are the best I have ever seen. This is my first – but not my last – order. Many thanks.
 
Tracy Croffutt writes:
I would do away with my TVs if old radio shows came back on the radio. I’m 77 and listened every night when the programs started. I got my first radio when i was about 6. Loved every program. 
 

James Felder writes:
I’m so happy you’ve been doing the Spider ebook reprints. There were, I assume, unlicensed e-editions on Amazon in the past. I bought all of them (about 11) because I love the Spider. Yours are much better. I’m enjoying Operator #5 a lot too – surprised by the high quality of the writing in it.
 
Carolyn Andersen writes:
I thoroughly enjoy all 3 volumes of The Railroad Hour. As far as I am concerned they are magnificent! (And, goodness knows, they are ever so much better than what comes out today.)
 
William Blome writes:
Thanks. I am looking forward to adding this collection to my hundred or so Jolson 78’s, LPs, 45s, cassette tapes, and CDs. No 8-tracks. I’m not that crazy about him. Thanks for trusting me, although I suppose you know that anyone who likes Jolson is by definition an honest, superior, and all-around terrific person.

 

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 atRadioArchives.com.
 
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, or if this newsletter has been sent to you in error, please reply to this e-mail with the subject line UNSUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

HAVE YOU MET THE DEAD MAN?

Matt Cahill was an ordinary man leading a simple life until a shocking accident changed everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that exists within our own…
Description.

THE DEAD MAN is an original ebook series of short novels that blends the horror of Stephen King’s THE GUNSLINGER with the action/adventure of Don Pendleton’s THE EXECUTIONER…

Matthew Cahill is an ordinary man leading a simple life…until a shocking accident changes everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld of unspeakable evil and horrific violence that nobody else does…

For Cahill, each day is a journey into a dark world he knows nothing about…a quest for the answers to who he is and what he has become…and a fight to save us, and his soul, from the clutches of pure evil.

Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin brought an episodic TV approach to The Dead Man novels, which made it possible for them to capitalize on the creativity, experience, and unique voices of a dozen successful authors who represent a wide variety of genres. They created the first book and twelve story-lines–then invited writers they admire, love to read, or who they were dying to work with–to help author the novels. Amazon/47 North publishes a new Dead Man book just about every month…and has ordered a total of 24 novels to date, which will carry the series well into 2013. The books are also available in trade paperback and audio editions.

Learn more about The Dead Man at http://thedeadmanbooks.blogspot.com

AIRSHIP 27 AND CAE’S CAPTAIN ACTION PULP NOVEL AVAILABLE NOW!

NOW AVAILABLE!

CAPTAIN ACTION – RIDDLE OF THE GLOWING MEN, the first ever Captain Action novel from Airship 27 Productions and Captain Action Enterprises, LLC is now on sale!  Written by Jim Beard, the book features a stunning cover by Nick Runge with interior illustrations and design by Rob Davis.
Riddle of the Glowing Men,” is set in the sixties where secret agent, Miles Drake, aka, Captain Action, is attacked at A.C.T.I.O.N. headquarters by several assassins whose green skin glows as if radiated.  In the process of learning the identity of these killers and the reason behind their attack, Captain Action teams with a beautiful female Russian agent and their quest leads them to a hidden civilization under the frozen wasteland of Siberia. “Jim Beard has written a terrific, authentic Captain Action adventure,” applauds Airship 27 Productions Managing Editor Ron Fortier. “It perfectly captures the break-neck speed and thrills of the early pulps only with today’s modern sensibilities. This book is sure to appeal to both Captain Action fans and new pulp enthusiasts alike.”

Author Jim Beard will be signing copies at Pulp Fest, in Columbus, Ohio, at the Airship 27 table on Sat. 11th Aug.  He will also be signing at Captain Action’s New York Comic Con booth in October. 

Available Now at Amazon (https://www.createspace.com/3938619)
Captain Action Enterprises, LLC.

As Retropreneurs, Captain Action Enterprises, LLC specializes in rejuvenating old properties for a new generation. Captain Action toys and collectibles are available nationally. The Original Super Hero Action Figure will soon return to comics in an on-going comic book series.  Additional properties include Lady Action, the Zeroids and Savage Beauty. For more information, contact ed.catto@bonfireagency.com.


Airship 27 Productions

Begun in 2004 to produce new novels and anthologies featuring classic, public domain pulp heroes of the 30s and 40s, Airship 27 Productions was one of the major factors behind the pulp renaissance which evolved into the New Pulp Movement.  Today they have over fifty titles in their ever expanding catalog, sell both hard copy and digital versions of their books and will soon be launching audio books of their titles. They can be found at airship27hangar.com




FORTIER TAKES ON ‘WINGS OF THE BLACK DEATH’ FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

ALL PULP REVIEWS by Ron Fortier
THE SPIDER
Wings of the Black Death
(An Audio Book)
Radio Archives.com
6 CD Set
4 hrs. 46 min.
With the expansion of the increasing popular New Pulp movement, it was only inevitable that the audio book industry would enter this exciting new field.  One of the most aggressive to do so in the past year has been Radio Archives out of Spokane, Washington, headed by the wonderfully creative and energetic Roger Rittner.  Working with noted pulp writer and historian, Will Murray, Rittner and Radio Archives have began doing expansive audio book versions of classic pulp thrillers with the feel of genuine old time radio melodramas.  It is important to note that these are not exact, full cast recordings, but by adding brilliant sound effects and period background music, Radio Archives provides such marvelous audio atmosphere as to beautifully mimic those old radio plays.
“Wings of the Black,” was written by Norvell Page, writing as Grant Stockbridge, and appeared in the December 1933 issue of “The Spider” magazine. This exciting audio adaptation produced and directed by Rittner, features Nick Santa Maria as both the narrator and primary male characters to include Richard Wentworth, aka the Spider, and Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrck along with Robin Riker who takes on the role of Nita Van Sloan, Wentworth’s paramour.  They are absolutely marvelous, each evoking these well known characters as we all imagined they would sound…and act towards each other.
The plot centers about a fiendish villain calling himself the Black Death. He has managed to get a strain of the Bubonic Plague and is systematically unleashing it on the people of New York City. He will only stop when they pay him a billion dollar ransom.  As if that were not horrendous enough, this merciless fiend has managed to convince the police that it is the Spider who is responsible to the point of leaving the Spider’s telltale crimson seal on the foreheads of his policemen victims.  Now, for the first time ever, Commissioner Kirkpatrick finds himself believing the Spider is in reality a heartless monster and he proceeds to hunt him down with all the resources at his command. Suddenly Richard Wentworth is battling both the fiendish mastermind and the police, frantically trying to evade capture until he can solve the mystery of the Black Death and bring him to justice.
Rittner’s direction is pace-perfect as he leads both Santa Maria and Riker through each chapter hitting all the right beats, from moments of intense action scenes to those of quiet, anxious reflection as the pair, depending on each other as never before, endure the Spider’s greatest challenge of his crime-fighting career.  Radio Archives’ “The Spider – Wings of the Black Death,” is a winner from the opening scene to the last. It pulls the listener into the raw, brutal, fantastic world of the classic pulps and in the end provides such a unique, rewarding experience as to delight both old and new fans alike.
Finally, this audio book is available both as a digital download and in the 6 CD set, both reasonably priced.  For those into new fangled digital toys, this reviewer would imagine the digital version would be their obvious choice. Whereas the legion of audio book listeners who prefer enjoying books while on long road trips will find the CD set much to their liking.  Either way, this is a package you will be thrilled with.  And if you aren’t familiar with audio books, this is easily the right book to begin with.  Enjoy.

REVIEW: Fallen Skies Season One

fallingskies_s1_blu-300x442-1474255Everywhere you look, dystopia stories abound. Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games became the movie event of the spring while the most talking about new NBC series is J.J. Abrams’ Revolution. Little surprise then that basic cable’s ratings darling in 2011 was TNT’s Falling Skies. With the show’s second season debuting June 17, the first season has been released on DVD from Warner Home Entertainment. The premise is not necessarily an original one: aliens have arrived and have largely conquered Earth while small bands of resistance fighters struggle to free humanity. What the aliens want remains a mystery.

The series, which has been in development since 2009, was conceived by Bob Rodat, writer of Saving Private Ryan, and has been produced by Steven Spielberg, who enhanced many of Rodat’s notions. The showrunner for season one is my old pal Mark Verheiden (who handled a different dystopia on Battlestar Galactica), who brought his own point of view to the project. Verheiden’s sure hand made the ten episode first season quite entertaining and he’ll be missed when he moves to consulting producer (at least he wrote the two hour season opener for a smooth transition).

A history professor turned soldier, Tom Mason, is the series’ protagonist and is well played by Noah Wylie, mixing his knowledge with some grit while putting his two sons ahead of all else.  He is part of a regiment, the Second Massachusetts (near Concord, get it?), periodically receiving intelligence from nearby groups and sporadically getting news from armed forces elsewhere in America. The enemy, known as “Skitters”, are insectoid and reside in mammoth craft looming over key cities around the world. Using mechanical soldiers dubbed “mechs”, they maintain martial law and kill adults who oppose them, taking the children. (more…)

DOMINO LADY: ALL’S FAIR ON ITUNES

(831) 869-9995          www.audiocomicscompany.com          info@audiocomicscompany.com 

PRESS RELEASE:

THE DOMINO LADY IS ON iTUNES

AudioComics’ first Pulp Adventure now available on iTunes and Amazon Mp3

The AudioComics Company’s first production in its Pulp Adventures series is now available as a digital download through iTunes and Amazon Mp3: The Domino Lady: All’s Fair in War was released May 1, and has now gone worldwide through iTunes and Amazon, with Rhapsody, eMusic, and Nokia to follow.

Written by Rich Harvey, directed by Lance Roger Axt, and recorded in San Francisco, CA, The Domino Lady’s first-ever audio adventure takes us to 1935 San Diego, CA where she investigates the disappearance of an actual one million dollar bill from an International Exposition. Already the program has garnered excellent reviews from Airship 27’s Ron Fortier, who called it “a superb audio treat with great writing, perfect acting, especially by Karen Stillwell as Ellen Patrick/Domino Lady and Peter Carini as (Roge) McKane,” and comics legend Steve Englehart: “this is not a scratchy MP3 made from an old acetate – this is radio drama at its finest, with real actors and real writers.”

The cost for the twenty-minute work is $2.97, and can be found by entering “The AudioComics Company” into the provider’s search engine. AudioComics’ productions of Honey West, The Batsons, and Titanium Rain will follow before month’s end; also available through iTunes and Amazon Mp3 is the Company’s premiere work, Starstruck