Before STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA hits shelves on September 16, fans can get a sneak peak at the 40+ hours of bonus footage on the Blu-ray collection through the Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access App. The App, available for all iDevices including the iPad and iPhone will highlight a sampling of bonus materials featured in the Blu-ray collection, including never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm Archives such as matte paintings and concept art; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more.
For fans lucky enough to score a ticket to Comic-Con, stop by booth #3528 to check out the App and get an even bigger sneak peek at the Blu-ray Disc and experience one of the Saga’s most iconic moments from a unique, in-universe vantage point!
Sometimes it’s all too personal.Or so Chicago based private eye, Nathan Heller discovers when he’s asked by his friend, Hollywood sex symbol and superstar Marilyn Monroe to help her in her battle with Twentieth Century Fox. The year is 1962 and the famous blond is in a contractual contest with the studio that is facing financial ruins. When the entire energies of the studio’s marketing staff begin attacking her reputation and credibility, Marilyn retaliates.Fearing the contest will end in court, she asks Heller to tap her phones thus providing her with physical evidence to present a judge. Heller, now in his mid-50s and a highly successful entrepreneur with offices in New York, Chicago and Hollywood, gladly accepts the job unaware his client is deeply embroiled in a sex scandal that could rip the country apart.
Heller soon learns that Marilyn’s sexual escapades with Jack and Bobby Kennedy have attracted a hive of dangerous bees to include the C.I.A., FBI, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa and underworld figure Sam Giancana. All of them have a vested interest in keeping the blond bombshell quiet.When she dies only a few months later of a drug overdose, the usually unflappable Heller is shocked by the inept police investigation that follows. It reeks of a cover up and Heller is convinced the depressed film actress was murdered.Now comes the tough part, proving it.
“Bye Bye, Baby,” is the fifteenth Nate Heller mystery, Collins’ longest running series and his most acclaimed.So meticulous is the research that goes into each book, one gets both a fast paced thriller and a history at the same time.Talk about more bang for your bucks.Throughout the series, Heller has crossed paths with such personalities as Orson Welles, Frank Nitti, Sally Rand and Charles Lindberg.He’s very much the detective version of a Forrest Gump.Yet in all these past cases, he has never been more human or vulnerable.This is due in large part to the events taking place in a time writer Collins is personally familiar with and it is that intimate connection that infuses itself into the character’s perceptions.
Norma Jean Baker, born June 1st, 1926, came to Hollywood as a model and became Marilyn Monroe.She landed her first film contract in 1946 and went on to become the most popular screen sex goddess since Jean Harlow.By 1953, she had progressed to leading roles and shaken off her “dumb blonde” image, winning the coveted Golden Globe Award in 1959 for her role in “Some Like It Hot.”The true circumstances of her death sparked an avalanche of conspiracy theories still bandied about today.
Collins’ genius is taking the dozens of convoluted records and few remaining pieces of evidence to describe one possible scenario on how Marilyn was murdered.In the end the story is a gut wrenching tragedy and perhaps Collin’s finest book ever.It is one this reviewer was emotionally involved with from beginning to end.I can remember all too easily being a fifteen year old fan when Marilyn Monroe died and the sadness I felt.You see, Max, I loved her too.
With the announcement of Lance Star: Sky Ranger joining the iPulp Fiction Library, we wanted to introduce readers to some of the Honorary Sky Rangers involved with making these stories happen. Next up is Lance star: Sky Ranger Publisher Ron Fortier.
LSSR: Tell us a little about yourself and where readers can find out more about you, your work, and Airship 27 Productions?
RF: Okay, Reader’s Digest version here. Been writing professionally for past thirty-five years, mostly comics and now pulps. Folks can visit my website (www.airship27.com) to see what I’m up to on a weekly basis and learn more about Airship 27 Productions etc.
Airship 27 Productions
LSSR: How did you become involved with the Lance Star: Sky Ranger series?
RF: Having been a fan of the old pulp aviation heroes, we wanted to do our own series and Lance Star was the answer. He and his Star Rangers are classic aviation heroes with tons of adventures to tell.
LSSR: Who is Lance Star? What makes pulp characters like Lance and the Sky Rangers appeal to you as a writer, a reader, and a publisher?
Lance Star: Sky Ranger Vol. 1
RF: Lance Star is an flying adventurer and veteran of World War One. He and his crew travel the globe of the 1930s and setting them against this ear as historical background is always fun.
LSSR: Digital content has changed the publishing landscape. As a creator and publisher, what excites you about digital content? As a reader?
RF: Obviously the ability to get our books out to a much larger audience, folks who own Kindles and Nooks, is the biggest attractions. We want lots of people to have the fun of reading our books and the digital market has opened that possibility far beyond our wildest dreams.
Lance Star: Sky Ranger Vol. 2
LSSR: Airship 27 currently has two Lance Star: Sky Ranger anthologies in print and available as eBooks with several of those stories soon to be released individually at iPulp Fiction. What’s next for these pulp heroes?
RF: Simply more of the same. We have a third Lance Star anthology in production and hope to follow it up with his first ever full blown novel.
And I’m told there are more shot comics in the works. We plan on keeping Lance and the Sky Rangers flying high for a long time to come.
Damballa
LSSR: Any upcoming projects you would like to plug?
RF: Airship 27 Production just released its third SHERLOCK HOLMES – CONSULTING DETECTIVE anthology and will soon be releasing the first ever African American 1930s avenger, DAMBALLA by novelist, Charles Saunders. It’s a book we’re damn proud of.
With the video of release of Sucker Punch last week, the debate over director Zack Snyder’s vision and treatment of women has been renewed across the boards. Frankly, we were disappointed by the empty characterizations mixed with pretty visuals. Still, it has its fans so let us cluye you in to a new feature on the movie’s website.
Close your eyes. Open your mind. Engage in a spectacular fantasy adventure. Create your own Sucker Punch custom videos by combining clips, audio, effects and transitions. Then save your creations to the Gallery and share with friends!
Capitalizing on the popularity of Paramount Pictures’ third installment in the live action Transformers franchises, Shout! Factory is releasing the long-awaited Japanese animated series which we talked about previously. The DVD set is coming out on Tuesday and to celebrate, we have one copy to give away to a lucky fan.
All you have to do is give us your best educated guess what the total domestic box office revenue of Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be when the theaters close at the end of business on Monday, concluding the holiday weekend. We want your guess by 11:59 Monday evening and the winning tally will be based on the finals as released by our friends at Box Office Mojo on Tuesday.
Meantime, here’s a look back at The Transformers: The Japanese Collection — Headmasters. The four disc set will come complete with Original Japnese Audio, English Subtitles, and an Art Gallery.
Coming in September is the Blu-ray debut of the classic Al Pacino film Scarface on September 6. Universal Home Entertainment is sparing nothing to make certain this becomes quite the event. There have been art contests and now there’s the imminent arrival of the Scarface-themed humidor.
For the ultimate collector and cigar enthusiast, an elegantly hand-crafted Scarface-themed humidor will be made available in an exclusive, never-before-available, limited edition, along with the new Scarface Special Limited Edition Blu-ray.
Created by the renowned Daniel Marshall, the humidor’s exterior is hand painted and polished with the Marshall’s trademark “1000 coat brilliant finish.” The interior – made with untreated Spanish cedar – will properly condition and age approximately 100 cigars at optimal humidity levels. Limited to 1,000 worldwide, each individually numbered humidor comes embellished with custom medallions inspired by the iconic film and includes a certificate of authenticity.
As seen in the photo above, The Scarface Special Limited Edition Blu-ray also includes art cards from the “Scarface Kingpins of Design” fan art contest where fans had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design Scarface-inspired artwork using classic Tony Montana images from the film. (more…)
DC Comics: The Ultimate Character Guide By Brandon T. Snider DK Books, 208 Pages, $16.99
DK continues their line of lightweight, visually interested Character Guides. Joining the extant Marvel Universe and Star Wars books is a volume dedicated to DC’s heroes and villains, or at least some of them. With a mere 208 pages, there was no way this could be considered an ultimate guide, what with 75 years of characters to work with.
These franchises all share the complication that they are organic universes, ever changing so the books can, at best, capture a distinct moment in time. In each case, DK’s editors fail to tell you where that moment in time is for the dedicated fan. This volume, for example, shows us the current version of Aqualad but also includes the currently deceased members of the Fourth World (yeah, I know, they’ve been resurrected on Earth-51, but this book focuses only on New Earth). And Dick Grayson appears here as Nightwing, not as Batman II.
The entries, from young adult writer Brandon Snider, are all surface, skimping on details and often avoids origins or focusing on the elements that make characters unique. Adam Strange is no longer a trained archaeologist and Animal Man’s family is entirely skipped.
Visually, the book is attractive with a relatively consistent modern day look so if it was drawn earlier than 2005, it won’t be here. Unfortunately, the text and art don’t always mesh so you see the Cyborg Superman as he appeared in the Blackest Night stories but the text makes no mention of his role. Wonder Woman turns up in her new outfit but the text doesn’t address the current confounding status quo.
Most of the groups have appearances here with an odd assortment of rosters presented so it’s more a hodge-podge of group. Many members don’t merit their own pages with the classic Justice Society members getting omitted (with Spectre being merely Crispus Allen with no mention of him being the Wrath of God). Other incarnations of characters are either briefly referenced or skipped entirely, such as the multiple Atoms and Green Lanterns.
This can be a primer to the DCU and it does merit flipping through to verify names, heights, weights, and the like but just about every fact appears to be rendered irrelevant or dated just two months after the book goes on sale. That’s a shame because this could have proven to be an immensely powerful tool to support the revamped line. If Co-Publisher Dan DiDio really had been planning this move for over a year, there was ample time to coordinate with DK and this is just another missed opportunity.
Given that far more detailed and comprehensive data can be found online, DK’s challenge is to make these books relevant and to date, they have yet to figure out how to manage this feat, which is a shame since they usually do stellar work.
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
THE SHADOW-The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954 Written by Martin Grams, Jr. Published by OTR Publishing 2011 830 pages
Reviewing Pulp is fun. Reading a story full of derring do and dastardly do badders is invigorating. Tackling a novel with larger than life heroes and plots that boggle the mind and senses makes me eager to pick up the next one and share with the world what I think. I think the process of reviewing, of sharing insight and opinion on anything has to be, at its basis, fun for the reviewer. Many would think, then, that tackling a book that is nonfiction, historical, and full of facts and such would be boring for a Pulp reviewer. Maybe so.
But not this book. Wow.
THE SHADOW-The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954, written by Martin Grams, Jr. opens with both of those on the first page-history and mystery. Welcoming the reader in with opening paragraphs that could well be the lead in of a pulp story in any magazine or collection, Grams takes what some might consider mundane information only for the most die hard of radio and/or Shadow fans and makes this entire work a sprawling, epic narrative bulging not only with what happened, but why things happened and who was involved. Grams tackles the variety of personalities involved in the development of the Shadow radio program and injects the feats and fallacies of all involved into every page.
This book is exactly what the title states, an extremely complex and comprehensive history of the phenomenon that was the long running SHADOW radio program. Grams starts with the origins of the character as a narrator for pulp tales and step by step takes the reader through the growth spurts and growing pains of the program that truly made The Shadow a part of the modern pantheon of American heroes. Although one would think that there would be urges to devote a lot of space to Orson Welles’ time on the program or to the intricacies and involvement of Street and Smith, Grams not only gives those and other well known aspects of this history their due, but he brings into light so many, one would daresay every aspect of this show and then does something even more startling. He makes every bit of it interesting, from the details about all the creative minds involved to the advertising to the effect that this program had on the industry and society alike.
One stand out section of this fantastic work is the episode guide. Grams is meticulous in not only describing the episode, but the way his guide is constructed lets you know not only where everything fits in continuity, but also gives you a sense of the impact of many of the episodes. This is not simply a reprinting or even a presentation of a new broadcast log or notes taken on each episode. Grams did a truly masterful job of providing information that was simultaneously educational and gratifying in this well done blow by blow episode guide.
THE SHADOW-The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954 is a must read for so many people-For the die hard pulp fan; for the Shadow fan; for the reader interested in OTR; for students of American culture; for the casual reader who wants to be exposed to multiple interests all at once; and probably several others I’m forgetting. This may sit on shelves as a reference or research book, which it is, but it is also highly entertaining and engaging.
FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF HANCOCK’S HAT-The Shadow may know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but nobody knows the Shadow radio program and its history like Martin Grams, Jr.
THE SHADOW: BLOOD & JUDGMENT Howard Chaykin Published by DC Comics
This was the era of Watchmen. Of The Dark Knight Returns. It was the boom of grim and gritty. Howard Chaykin, whose brilliant American Flagg! was already a modern masterpiece, was chosen to bring The Shadow back to life for DC Comics. He elected to bring the character into the 1980s rather than stick to being a period piece and he approached The Shadow with obvious knowledge but not necessarily a fan’s reverence. He had no problem ramping up the sex and violence, while emphasizing the fact that The Shadow himself is a grade-A jerk.
We get to see Kent Allard’s transformation into The Shadow, as well as he met Lamont Cranston, via flashback — and we learn that the real Cranston is a major jerk. A jerk who still hates The Shadow, even in the 1980s. Killing off The Shadow’s old aides in order to draw the mysterious vigilante back to the scene, Cranston is aided by a slutty secretary and an idiotic clone. He hopes to force The Shadow to take him back to the lost city where The Shadow gained his powers but he doesn’t count on treachery in the ranks, nor does he realize just how dangerous his old enemy truly is.
Classic artwork from Chaykin and a story that hits on nearly all cylinders, this is one of my favorite pulp-to-comics transformations. Chaykin avoided being a pastiche by updating the character and refusing to place him on a pedestal. While the ongoing series by Andy Helfer that followed was a piece of steaming dog poo, this kick-off miniseries deserves a place on every pulp fan’s shelf. It’s proof that the classic pulp heroes can work in the modern day.
One of the earliest comics series I inherited as an editor was M.A.S.K., based on the toys and cartoon series. I have no recollection how or why DC Comics acquired the comics rights but it was handed to Mike Gold shortly after he arrived on staff. He tapped the versatile Mike Fleisher as the writer, helping burn off contractual obligations. Better, he assigned the artwork to Curt Swan who needed something regular to produce after losing the Superman assignments. Inking was Kurt Schaffenberger so at least it looked good. I helped Mike get the series up and running then edited it a few issues before I handed it off to Mike Carlin to wrap up.
I never played with the toys or watched the cartoon, but thanks to Shout! Factory that can be rectified as seen in the following press release:
This Summer, loyal fans and collectors can finally bring home one of the most enduring animated adventures from the 80’s when the long-awaited M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series DVD box set debuts nationwide on August 9, 2011 from Shout! Factory, incollaboration with FremantleMedia Enterprises. Poised to attract an audience of kids, young adults and parents who grew up withthis animated series, this 12-DVD box set contains all 65 action-packed episodes – known to fans as the original series aired in 1985, as well as insightful bonus features. A must-have for collectors to complete their pop culture video library, M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series is available for pre-order now from Amazon.com and major retailers. (more…)
Before STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA hits shelves on September 16, fans can get a sneak peak at the 40+ hours of bonus footage on the Blu-ray collection through the Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access App. The App, available for all iDevices including the iPad and iPhone will highlight a sampling of bonus materials featured in the Blu-ray collection, including never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm Archives such as matte paintings and concept art; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more.
