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From: Radio Archives <Newsletter@RadioArchives.com>
Date: May 10, 2013, 3:40:05 AM CDT
To: Tommy Hancock <braedenalex@centurytel.net>
Subject: [News] RadioArchives.com Newsletter – May 10, 2013

 
May 10, 2013
 
 
“Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can’t even pronounce. They all spell the same thing, though. Trouble.”
 
In this opening line heard on various episodes, Steve Mitchell, special agent for an unnamed agency charged with protecting America from foreign threats, describes Dangerous Assignment perfectly. Focused on Mitchell’s adventures around the world, Dangerous Assignment capitalized on the desire of Americans at the time for patriotic, stalwart heroes to stand up for them. Mitchell, as portrayed by Brian Donlevy definitely fits that bill.
 
A multitalented actor, Donlevy had a thirst in his own life for adventure and patriotism. At age 14, Donlevy lied about his age and joined the local Army National Guard in Wisconsin as they became a part of the expedition to capture Pancho Villa. Serving as a bugler then, he also later enlisted and fought in World War I in France.
 
Although he had some initial success in theater and silent films, Donlevy came to prominence as a player of tough guys and villains. Such roles in Barbary Coast, Destry Rides Again, and Beau Geste, assured Donlevy a career in Hollywood and led to other fantastic roles, including that of Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment.
 
Brian Donlevy shines as Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment, Volume 3. Hard boiled delivery and two fisted intensity make Mitchell a fun hero to follow and fight beside! Restored to sparkling audio quality, the episodes in this collection are a great example of 1950s radio adventure!  10 hours $29.98 Audio CDs / $14.99 Download.
 
 
 
It was the largest, most ambitious, and most successful military operation ever attempted — and radio was there to cover it.
D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. It was the turning point of the war in Europe, the beginning of the end for the Axis as the Allies started their drive towards Germany. It was a momentous event that would change not only the course of World War II, but the history of the world. Radio Archives is pleased and proud to offer the complete and continuous NBC network coverage of the events of June 6 and 7, 1944.

Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
 
Regular NBC shows were included in the broadcast, “The Bob Hope Show”, “Fibber McGee & Molly”, “The Guiding Light”, “Vic & Sade”, “The Red Skelton Show”, “The Road of Life”, “Today’s Children”, “Ma Perkins”, “Pepper Young’s Family”, “Mary Noble, Backstage Wife”, “Stella Dallas”, “Lorenzo Jones”, “Young Widder Brown”, “When A Girl Marries” and “Front Page Farrell” among them.
 
Hear the events of the day as reported by Ben Grauer, Cesar Saerchinger, Charles F. McCarthy, David Anderson, Don Goddard, Don Hollenbeck, Ed Hocker, Edward R. Murrow, Elmer Peterson, George Wheeler, H. V. Kaltenborn, Herbert M. Clark, James Willard, John W. Vandercook, Louis P. Lockner, Lowell Thomas, Merrill Mueller, Morgan Beatty, Ralph Howard, Richard Harkness, Robert McCormick, Robert St. John, Tommy Traynor, W. W. Chaplin and Wright Bryan. Alex Dreier, in Chicago, recalled his experiences as the last western correspondent in Nazi Germany while Stanley Richardson offered an eyewitness account of the invasion from the Channel boats, and George Hicks reported from the beach-head itself!
These are recordings that many historians believe to be among the most valuable audio documents ever preserved. The NBC broadcasts — containing over 38 hours of continuous programming of news, music, drama, comedy, and entertainment — are history as it happened, in a special collection that is sure to occupy a special place in your radio collection. 38 hours. Normally priced at $113.98 Audio CDs / $56.99 Download, D-Day is Specially priced through the month of June at only $99.98 Audio CDs / $49.99 Download.
 
 
On June 6, 2004, in remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the ABC Radio program Perspective featured a fascinating story detailing radio’s coverage of D-Day as it happened in 1944. Written, edited, and narrated by ABC reporter Chuck Sivertsen, the feature utilized clips from the D-Day collection described above. We think this in-depth and well-presented piece provides an excellent overview of the historic content of this collection.
 
 
Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #25
Read by Michael C. Gwynne, Joey D’Auria, Nicholas Camm, and John Doyle. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
 

When we released our first Terror Tales audiobook last Autumn, we weren’t sure if Radio Archives customers would be enthralled––or repulsed! It turned out you experienced both reactions. And in that realization, we see the appeal of stories of the supernatural and tales of bone-chilling horror. People are fascinated by the emotions of fear, horror, terror, and the like.
 
Hence, Terror Tales, created in 1934 and lasting until 1941. Weirder than Weird Tales, more mysterious than Dime Mystery Magazine––which gave it birth––it pushed the boundaries of pulp fiction so far it shattered them. When Terror’s editors went too far, the censors shut them down.
 
For our second Terror Tales collection we have again taken the anthology approach. Most of these stories were considered for our first release. They range from the purely supernatural to the horrifically horrible. The authors include Popular Publications’ star scribes such as Norvell Page, John Knox and Carl Jacobi, sprinkled with stand-out stories penned by lesser lights.
 
Here is the lineup:
 
Laurence Donovan’s “Swamp Madness” opens this dark carnival of doom. What is the dismal thing that emerged from a cursed swamp? And what does it want? In a tale of lunatic revenge, Norvell W. Page offers “Blood on the Moon.” John Knox chills with “The Ice Maiden,” a story of supernatural siege. James Duncan takes us “Where the Black Cats Ruled” and unmasks the inner tigress hiding within one man’s lover. William Barrett explains why “It is Dark in My Grave!” in a yarn that out-creeps Poe’s “Premature Burial.” Carl Jacobi invites us into “Satan’s Roadhouse” for a cold repast of gore and grue. Finally, Raymond Whetstone introduces us to…”Mistress of the Damned.” Is she ghost, succubus, or lamia?
 
We have invited back the acclaimed readers of our inaugural Terror Tales gorefest, Michael C. Gywnne and Joey D’Auria, as well as newcomers Nicholas Camm and John Doyle. Let them thrill and chill you with their sepulchral storytelling. And try to get a good night’s sleep before you start in. You’ll need it for the wide-awake nights that follow….  8 hours $31.98 Audio CDs / $15.99 Download.
 
 
 
 
RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries audiobook for FREE.
 
If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.
 
Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code AUDIOBOOK.
 
“Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!”
 
Happy listening,
Will Murray
 
 
 
New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks
 
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 
Strange, flaming death had come to New York where screaming mortals died, burned to a charred crisp! Everywhere ran the terrified rumor that an exploring party, returned from Asia, had brought with them a stolen Hindu treasure and the curse of Genghis Khan. It was from this horror that there was born, in Chinatown, a sinister Brotherhood of Murder — composed of all the Eastern races and sworn to found an evil empire. Before such a tidal wave of terror and plundering, the metropolitan police were powerless. Only Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, dared challenge the rule of this new and fearful crime-master who had blanketed Manhattan in the human ashes of his helpless victims! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
 
 

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

 
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine by George Alden Edson, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
 
99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 
What would you do if you knew the ones you loved were doomed to die horribly in your defense? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
Lester Emery feared that his body remained in the laboratory, while his disembodied spirit was driven forth to murder — slave to the grim genius of a madman… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
From nowhere came the hand — bringing with it a lingering death… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
 
Warm and lovely was Vangie… but coolly wise. For she wanted no part of Bart’s beautiful, empty dreams that might come true — some day. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 
Beth didn’t mind being an empty-headed flirt — if her arms were full of Jimmy. Jimmy’s intoxicatin’ caressin’ had her dizzy in the head — until she learned the luscious reason why he was practicin’ his technique. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
 
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, now available at:
 
 
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 
 
Receive an exciting original Spider adventure FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect chance to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp’s most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page’s stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
 
Even today Page’s scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
 
See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of  the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!
 
 
 

The legendary Master of Men returns in two classic stories first released in 1934 and 1942. First, in “The Corpse Cargo” (1934), modern day pirates are hijacking passenger trains instead of shipa. Lead by the self-proclaimed Captain Kidd, as heartless a murderess as ever rode the seven seas, Kidd and her ruthless gang engage in robbery, murder, and mass destruction – and only The Spider dares defy them! Then, in “Slaves of the Ring” (1942), freedom teeters on the bring of extinction as a dictatorship threatens America. Richard Wentworth gathers together a ragtag assortment of men and women to wage the ultimate battle for life and liberty. With every hand against them, the tiny army risks life and limb to preserve the idea of justice and freedom – but can they alone triumph over tyranny? These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00
 

The Dark Avenger wages war on organized super-crime in two classic pulp mysteries by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, a city’s financial system is threatened by the murderous machinations of “Intimidation, Inc.,” until The Shadow beats them at their own game! Then, the Knight of Darkness strives to unmask the “Wizard of Crime,” the hidden financial genius behind Intimidation, Inc., in a rare shadowy sequel. This instant collector’s item showcases the classic color pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Paul Orban, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray.$14.95.

 

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

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

 

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

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

By John Olsen
 
“The Red Blot” was originally published in the June 1, 1933 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Crime has struck New York. Strange, unexplainable crime. All orchestrated by the master criminal who leaves behind a red blot. The Shadow must uncover his hidden hoard of mobsters before he can confront the mastermind known as the Red Blot!
 
The Shadow is on the case. As our story opens, The Shadow is in his sanctum, reviewing the crimes that have left men of wealth in terror. A bank messenger had been shot down in broad daylight. The assailants mysteriously disappeared after a police chase. Upon the sidewalk where the man had been slain was a huge blot of crimson. That was how it all began. But it didn’t stop there.
 
A gambling club was the next target of the strange band. Police had arrived at the club as the crooks were escaping with a large amount of cash. Again, the perpetrators escaped by some strange unknown method. And on the green felt of the central card table in the club was a huge dab of dulled crimson. The Red Blot had struck again.
 
Then there was the theft of a painting valued at many thousands. Left behind, a large red blot. Once again the criminals departed with impunity, disappearing before the police could gather them up. And most recently, a big-time fight promoter was strangled in his apartment. His bankroll of a hundred thousand dollars was stolen; on his white starched shirt front was the familiar dread sign of spattered crimson.
 
The police were baffled. They had not gathered a single clue. As we view The Shadow in his sanctum, he begins piecing together what few meager clues his agents have accumulated. The report sheets and clippings seem to point The Shadow in the right direction: old Timothy Baruch’s pawnshop.
 
Timothy Baruch is one of the oddest characters on the East Side. He’s been a pawnbroker for years and rumor has it that his safe contains jewels and other wealth of great enough value to tempt the Red Blot. The Shadow decides a visit to the pawnshop is in order. Word from the underworld, via his secret agents, is that the pawnshop will be struck at 11 PM. The Shadow decides to show up early.
 
With plenty of time to spare, The Shadow appears at Baruch’s pawnshop
 
Double Novel reprint $12.95
 
Comments From Our Customers!
 
Rodger Johnson writes:
Just finished listening to “KONG King of Skull Island” You outdid yourself on this one, best audio book I have ever heard…Perfect story.
 
Christopher Southworth writes:
Thank you once again for providing quality downloads of classic pulps. I’m very interested in acquiring eBooks of some of the various “G-man” series, if they are available.
 
If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!
 

The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
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 UN-SUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

New From Radio Archives

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
May 10, 2013

 

 
“Yeah, danger is my assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can’t even pronounce. They all spell the same thing, though. Trouble.”
 
In this opening line heard on various episodes, Steve Mitchell, special agent for an unnamed agency charged with protecting America from foreign threats, describes Dangerous Assignment perfectly. Focused on Mitchell’s adventures around the world, Dangerous Assignment capitalized on the desire of Americans at the time for patriotic, stalwart heroes to stand up for them. Mitchell, as portrayed by Brian Donlevy definitely fits that bill.
 
A multitalented actor, Donlevy had a thirst in his own life for adventure and patriotism. At age 14, Donlevy lied about his age and joined the local Army National Guard in Wisconsin as they became a part of the expedition to capture Pancho Villa. Serving as a bugler then, he also later enlisted and fought in World War I in France.
 
Although he had some initial success in theater and silent films, Donlevy came to prominence as a player of tough guys and villains. Such roles in Barbary Coast, Destry Rides Again, and Beau Geste, assured Donlevy a career in Hollywood and led to other fantastic roles, including that of Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment.
 
Brian Donlevy shines as Steve Mitchell in Dangerous Assignment, Volume 3. Hard boiled delivery and two fisted intensity make Mitchell a fun hero to follow and fight beside! Restored to sparkling audio quality, the episodes in this collection are a great example of 1950s radio adventure!  10 hours $29.98 Audio CDs / $14.99 Download.
 

 
 
It was the largest, most ambitious, and most successful military operation ever attempted — and radio was there to cover it.
D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. It was the turning point of the war in Europe, the beginning of the end for the Axis as the Allies started their drive towards Germany. It was a momentous event that would change not only the course of World War II, but the history of the world. Radio Archives is pleased and proud to offer the complete and continuous NBC network coverage of the events of June 6 and 7, 1944.
 
Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
 
Regular NBC shows were included in the broadcast, “The Bob Hope Show”, “Fibber McGee & Molly”, “The Guiding Light”, “Vic & Sade”, “The Red Skelton Show”, “The Road of Life”, “Today’s Children”, “Ma Perkins”, “Pepper Young’s Family”, “Mary Noble, Backstage Wife”, “Stella Dallas”, “Lorenzo Jones”, “Young Widder Brown”, “When A Girl Marries” and “Front Page Farrell” among them.
 
Hear the events of the day as reported by Ben Grauer, Cesar Saerchinger, Charles F. McCarthy, David Anderson, Don Goddard, Don Hollenbeck, Ed Hocker, Edward R. Murrow, Elmer Peterson, George Wheeler, H. V. Kaltenborn, Herbert M. Clark, James Willard, John W. Vandercook, Louis P. Lockner, Lowell Thomas, Merrill Mueller, Morgan Beatty, Ralph Howard, Richard Harkness, Robert McCormick, Robert St. John, Tommy Traynor, W. W. Chaplin and Wright Bryan. Alex Dreier, in Chicago, recalled his experiences as the last western correspondent in Nazi Germany while Stanley Richardson offered an eyewitness account of the invasion from the Channel boats, and George Hicks reported from the beach-head itself!
These are recordings that many historians believe to be among the most valuable audio documents ever preserved. The NBC broadcasts — containing over 38 hours of continuous programming of news, music, drama, comedy, and entertainment — are history as it happened, in a special collection that is sure to occupy a special place in your radio collection. 38 hours. Normally priced at $113.98 Audio CDs / $56.99 Download, D-Day is Specially priced through the month of June at only $99.98 Audio CDs / $49.99 Download.
 
 
On June 6, 2004, in remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the ABC Radio program Perspective featured a fascinating story detailing radio’s coverage of D-Day as it happened in 1944. Written, edited, and narrated by ABC reporter Chuck Sivertsen, the feature utilized clips from the D-Day collection described above. We think this in-depth and well-presented piece provides an excellent overview of the historic content of this collection.
 
 
Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #25
Read by Michael C. Gwynne, Joey D’Auria, Nicholas Camm, and John Doyle. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
 

When we released our first Terror Tales audiobook last Autumn, we weren’t sure if Radio Archives customers would be enthralled––or repulsed! It turned out you experienced both reactions. And in that realization, we see the appeal of stories of the supernatural and tales of bone-chilling horror. People are fascinated by the emotions of fear, horror, terror, and the like.
 
Hence, Terror Tales, created in 1934 and lasting until 1941. Weirder than Weird Tales, more mysterious than Dime Mystery Magazine––which gave it birth––it pushed the boundaries of pulp fiction so far it shattered them. When Terror’s editors went too far, the censors shut them down.
 
For our second Terror Tales collection we have again taken the anthology approach. Most of these stories were considered for our first release. They range from the purely supernatural to the horrifically horrible. The authors include Popular Publications’ star scribes such as Norvell Page, John Knox and Carl Jacobi, sprinkled with stand-out stories penned by lesser lights.
 
Here is the lineup:
 
Laurence Donovan’s “Swamp Madness” opens this dark carnival of doom. What is the dismal thing that emerged from a cursed swamp? And what does it want? In a tale of lunatic revenge, Norvell W. Page offers “Blood on the Moon.” John Knox chills with “The Ice Maiden,” a story of supernatural siege. James Duncan takes us “Where the Black Cats Ruled” and unmasks the inner tigress hiding within one man’s lover. William Barrett explains why “It is Dark in My Grave!” in a yarn that out-creeps Poe’s “Premature Burial.” Carl Jacobi invites us into “Satan’s Roadhouse” for a cold repast of gore and grue. Finally, Raymond Whetstone introduces us to…”Mistress of the Damned.” Is she ghost, succubus, or lamia?
 

We have invited back the acclaimed readers of our inaugural Terror Tales gorefest, Michael C. Gywnne and Joey D’Auria, as well as newcomers Nicholas Camm and John Doyle. Let them thrill and chill you with their sepulchral storytelling. And try to get a good night’s sleep before you start in. You’ll need it for the wide-awake nights that follow….  8 hours $31.98 Audio CDs / $15.99 Download.
 
 

 

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

 

 

New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks

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

Strange, flaming death had come to New York where screaming mortals died, burned to a charred crisp! Everywhere ran the terrified rumor that an exploring party, returned from Asia, had brought with them a stolen Hindu treasure and the curse of Genghis Khan. It was from this horror that there was born, in Chinatown, a sinister Brotherhood of Murder — composed of all the Eastern races and sworn to found an evil empire. Before such a tidal wave of terror and plundering, the metropolitan police were powerless. Only Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, dared challenge the rule of this new and fearful crime-master who had blanketed Manhattan in the human ashes of his helpless victims! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
 

 

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

 

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

99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 
What would you do if you knew the ones you loved were doomed to die horribly in your defense? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
Lester Emery feared that his body remained in the laboratory, while his disembodied spirit was driven forth to murder — slave to the grim genius of a madman… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

From nowhere came the hand — bringing with it a lingering death… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

 
Warm and lovely was Vangie… but coolly wise. For she wanted no part of Bart’s beautiful, empty dreams that might come true — some day. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 

Beth didn’t mind being an empty-headed flirt — if her arms were full of Jimmy. Jimmy’s intoxicatin’ caressin’ had her dizzy in the head — until she learned the luscious reason why he was practicin’ his technique. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.

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

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

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

 

The legendary Master of Men returns in two classic stories first released in 1934 and 1942. First, in “The Corpse Cargo” (1934), modern day pirates are hijacking passenger trains instead of shipa. Lead by the self-proclaimed Captain Kidd, as heartless a murderess as ever rode the seven seas, Kidd and her ruthless gang engage in robbery, murder, and mass destruction – and only The Spider dares defy them! Then, in “Slaves of the Ring” (1942), freedom teeters on the bring of extinction as a dictatorship threatens America. Richard Wentworth gathers together a ragtag assortment of men and women to wage the ultimate battle for life and liberty. With every hand against them, the tiny army risks life and limb to preserve the idea of justice and freedom – but can they alone triumph over tyranny? These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00
 

The Dark Avenger wages war on organized super-crime in two classic pulp mysteries by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, a city’s financial system is threatened by the murderous machinations of “Intimidation, Inc.,” until The Shadow beats them at their own game! Then, the Knight of Darkness strives to unmask the “Wizard of Crime,” the hidden financial genius behind Intimidation, Inc., in a rare shadowy sequel. This instant collector’s item showcases the classic color pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Paul Orban, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray.$14.95.

 

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

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

 

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

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

By John Olsen
 

“The Red Blot” was originally published in the June 1, 1933 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Crime has struck New York. Strange, unexplainable crime. All orchestrated by the master criminal who leaves behind a red blot. The Shadow must uncover his hidden hoard of mobsters before he can confront the mastermind known as the Red Blot!
 
The Shadow is on the case. As our story opens, The Shadow is in his sanctum, reviewing the crimes that have left men of wealth in terror. A bank messenger had been shot down in broad daylight. The assailants mysteriously disappeared after a police chase. Upon the sidewalk where the man had been slain was a huge blot of crimson. That was how it all began. But it didn’t stop there.
 
A gambling club was the next target of the strange band. Police had arrived at the club as the crooks were escaping with a large amount of cash. Again, the perpetrators escaped by some strange unknown method. And on the green felt of the central card table in the club was a huge dab of dulled crimson. The Red Blot had struck again.
 
Then there was the theft of a painting valued at many thousands. Left behind, a large red blot. Once again the criminals departed with impunity, disappearing before the police could gather them up. And most recently, a big-time fight promoter was strangled in his apartment. His bankroll of a hundred thousand dollars was stolen; on his white starched shirt front was the familiar dread sign of spattered crimson.
 
The police were baffled. They had not gathered a single clue. As we view The Shadow in his sanctum, he begins piecing together what few meager clues his agents have accumulated. The report sheets and clippings seem to point The Shadow in the right direction: old Timothy Baruch’s pawnshop.
 
Timothy Baruch is one of the oddest characters on the East Side. He’s been a pawnbroker for years and rumor has it that his safe contains jewels and other wealth of great enough value to tempt the Red Blot. The Shadow decides a visit to the pawnshop is in order. Word from the underworld, via his secret agents, is that the pawnshop will be struck at 11 PM. The Shadow decides to show up early.
 
With plenty of time to spare, The Shadow appears at Baruch’s pawnshop
 

Double Novel reprint $12.95

 

Comments From Our Customers!

 
Rodger Johnson writes:
Just finished listening to “KONG King of Skull Island” You outdid yourself on this one, best audio book I have ever heard…Perfect story.
 
Christopher Southworth writes:
Thank you once again for providing quality downloads of classic pulps. I’m very interested in acquiring eBooks of some of the various “G-man” series, if they are available.

 

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

 

The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
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 UN-SUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

Ray Harryhausen, 1920-2013

ray_harryhausenHe brought out dreams to life.

Raymond “Ray” Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) died today at age 92, leaving behind a legacy of pioneering special effects work and a filmography that has deeply influenced writers, artists, and filmmakers for generations.

Dubbed by Starlog as “The Man Who Work Miracles”, he was one of the most influential movie makers who was himself inspired by Willis O’Brien’s stop-motion animation in King Kong. He took O’Brien’s efforts and improved upon them, branding it as Dynamation.

mjy0090Although he resided in England for the majority of his adult life, Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles. King Kong was the spark that set him on a course towards a career in film, meticulously creating miniatures that could be photographed a few frames at a time followed by the tiniest of movements, followed by more frames, until the model appeared to move across the screen. This was done with artistry and engineering know-how long before Industrial Light and Magic brought computer-aided technology to the process.

When the legend met the student, they bonded quickly and Harryhausen was given pointers to improve his work through trial, error and art classes. Along the way, he befriended fellow Angelino Ray Bradbury, just at the beginning of his fantastic career. Little wonder they both belonged to Forrest J. Ackerman’s Science Fiction League, linking the trio until their deaths.

beast-from-20000-fathoms02Like O’Brien, Harryhausen strove for realistic creatures to confront the live-action performers, drawing inspiration from the myths and legends familiar to people the world over. He began his professional career with George Pal, contributing to his series of Puppetoon shorts. World War II intervened and Harryhausen was assigned to the Special Services Division, continuing to make movies. This proved an invaluable tutorial and lab for experimenting with his animation techniques.

Soon after leaving the service, he embarked on the first of several dream projects that would dot his career. He did some demo footage based on H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds but the project never materialized. Instead, he was hired to work on Mighty Joe Young, letting the master and student work together and earning them earning them the Academy Award in 1949 for best Special Effects. Harryhausen was hired solo to provide the effects to The Monster from Beneath the Sea. When a connection was made to Bradbury’s story “The Fog Horn”, the film was renamed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the story’s original title and was released to acclaim and box office success in 1953.

By this point, Harryhausen had developed the technique that saw him shoot the actors then animate the creatures, splitting the image between foreground and background, the latter becoming a rear projection with the models before it. With mattes, the images were combined and Dynamation was born, although it was named later.

TheGoldenVoyageofSinbad-2Harryhausen continued to evolve his work and then made the leap to color with The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958. By now, he was partnered with producer Charles H. Schneer – beginning with It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) — who helped him perfect the shift to color, experimenting with different stocks until the look was right. Given the requirements of the models, Harryhausen became far more intimately involved in the story than most effects men ever did, ultimately co-directing many features although Director’s Guild rules denied him his proper credits.

The Sinbad series of films found an eager audience in the later 1950s and early 1960s as all things fantastic played well on screen. It offered adults, and their children, a wholesome escape from the Cold War tensions. It wasn’t all fantasy and monsters as Harryhausen and Schneer also produced several science fiction tales, such as 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).

jasonandtheargonauts11-300x213They continued to produce works that stretched the imagination until 1963 and what is considered by many his finest outing, Jason and the Argonauts. Here, there was the amazing complex battle with the skeletons and the multi-armed gorgon. Little wonder that Tom Hanks, who first saw it as a kid, proclaimed years later, “Some people say Casablanca or Citizen Kane…I say Jason and the Argonauts is the greatest film ever made!”

Despite this pinnacle of technological achievement, tastes were changing and he endured a series of box office failures. After losing his contract with Columbia Pictures, he wound up in England working for Hammer Films’ One Million Years B.C. (1967). That film’s success allowed him to on to make The Valley of Gwangi (1969), a labor of love considering it was O’Brien’s unrealized dream project.

Harryhausen endured a lean 1970s, kept in the minds of readers thanks to Ackerman’s devoted retrospectives in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Finally, thanks to Star Wars, inspired in part by Harryhausen’s work, the appetite for fantasy was back and he revived Sinbad beginning with The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.  This and its sequel Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger were suddenly feeling dated and jokey, not at all what modern day audiences found palatable.

gwangi_curiousHe put everything he had into his Greek myth opus Clash of the Titans (1981), working with protégés Steve Archer Jim Danforth, much as O’Brien mentored him. With a star-studded cast and the addition of the impressive Kraken, the film was a last hurrah but for audiences now used to computer-generated effects, it looked and felt dated. Harryhausen was effectively retired, like it or not.

Thankfully, his work was rediscovered with h advent of magazines like Starlog, the rise of cable television, and a new generation of fans enchanted by his creations. As a result, he released several lovely books about his career:  Film Fantasy Scrapbook, An Animated Life, The Art of Ray Harryhausen, and A Century of Model Animation. With the arrival of home video, Harryhausen personally oversaw the restoration and transfer of his films, from VHS to Blu-ray.

Clash-Of-The-Titans-Kraken-300x208Harryhausen relocated to England in 1960 and in 2005, donated his archive, some 50,000 pieces, to the National Media Museum in Bradford, England. His efforts have not gone unrewarded such as being given the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for “technological contributions [which] have brought credit to the industry” in 1992, handed to him by Bradbury, and a special BAFTA award, delivered by director Peter Jackson.

Hollywood didn’t forget Harryhausen either, with Columbia’s parent, Sony, naming their main screening theater after him and his receipt of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

His influence and spirit will live on for generations to come thanks to his films being available to enjoy and the generations of filmmakers he inspired.

 

Radio Archives News

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
April 26, 2013
 
 
It was the largest, most ambitious, and most successful military operation ever attempted — and radio was there to cover it.
D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. It was the turning point of the war in Europe, the beginning of the end for the Axis as the Allies started their drive towards Germany. It was a momentous event that would change not only the course of World War II, but the history of the world. Radio Archives is pleased and proud to offer the complete and continuous NBC network coverage of the events of June 6 and 7, 1944.

Noted inspirational author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, King Haakon VII of Norway, Premier Gerbandy of the Netherlands, Premier Pierlot of Belgium, and US Senators Clark, Barkley, White, Hill and Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce speak, as does the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. General Eisenhower speaks from SHAEF headquarters.
 
Regular NBC shows were included in the broadcast, “The Bob Hope Show”, “Fibber McGee & Molly”, “The Guiding Light”, “Vic & Sade”, “The Red Skelton Show”, “The Road of Life”, “Today’s Children”, “Ma Perkins”, “Pepper Young’s Family”, “Mary Noble, Backstage Wife”, “Stella Dallas”, “Lorenzo Jones”, “Young Widder Brown”, “When A Girl Marries” and “Front Page Farrell” among them.
 
Hear the events of the day as reported by Ben Grauer, Cesar Saerchinger, Charles F. McCarthy, David Anderson, Don Goddard, Don Hollenbeck, Ed Hocker, Edward R. Murrow, Elmer Peterson, George Wheeler, H. V. Kaltenborn, Herbert M. Clark, James Willard, John W. Vandercook, Louis P. Lockner, Lowell Thomas, Merrill Mueller, Morgan Beatty, Ralph Howard, Richard Harkness, Robert McCormick, Robert St. John, Tommy Traynor, W. W. Chaplin and Wright Bryan. Alex Dreier, in Chicago, recalled his experiences as the last western correspondent in Nazi Germany while Stanley Richardson offered an eyewitness account of the invasion from the Channel boats, and George Hicks reported from the beach-head itself!
These are recordings that many historians believe to be among the most valuable audio documents ever preserved. The NBC broadcasts — containing over 38 hours of continuous programming of news, music, drama, comedy, and entertainment — are history as it happened, in a special collection that is sure to occupy a special place in your radio collection. 38 hours. Normally priced at $113.98 Audio CDs / $56.99 Download, D-Day is Specially priced through the month of June at only $99.98 Audio CDs / $49.99 Download.
 
 
On June 6, 2004, in remembrance of the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, the ABC Radio program Perspective featured a fascinating story detailing radio’s coverage of D-Day as it happened in 1944. Written, edited, and narrated by ABC reporter Chuck Sivertsen, the feature utilized clips from the D-Day collection described above. We think this in-depth and well-presented piece provides an excellent overview of the historic content of this collection.
 
 
Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #24
by Harold Ward, under the pseudonym of Zorro
Read by Joey D’Auria. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
 

Doctor Death and his Zombie army return for a new stab at conquering the civilized world. This time, he sets out to shrink of the size of government in Washington, D.C.—one politician at a time!
 
The horror commences when a box no bigger than a Christmas package arrives at the White House. Inside, lies the grisly corpse of the Vice President of the United States—gruesomely reduced to tiny size! With it, a chilling note:
 
Abdicate. Turn the nation over to me. Make no move against me or he who is next to you will share a like fate.
                                                                                                                                    — Doctor Death
 
In the Oval office, with the U. S. President and Jimmy Holm, head of the Secret Twelve, looking on in horror, the Secretary of State begins to shrink to the size of a doll…
 
So begins The Shriveling Murders, Harold Ward’s manic third entry in Dell’s Doctor Death series. This one has it all. Zombies. Doom rays. More Zombies. Poisoned postage stamps. Wholesale slaughter. Zombies galore! Doctor Death pulls out all the stops in this one!
 
The Shriveling Murders was published in the third and final issue of Dell’s Doctor Death magazine back in 1935.
 
Narrated with manic intensity by Joey D’Auria, The Shriveling Murders takes the reader from the nation’s capital to the sinister swamps of the South on a roller coaster ride through over-the-top terror.  6 hours $23.98 Audio CDs / $11.99 Download.
 
 
 
 
RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries audiobook for FREE.
 
If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.
 
Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code AUDIOBOOK.
 
“Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!”
 
Happy listening,
Will Murray
 
By Derrick Ferguson
 

It’s been said before and the reason it gets said so much is because it’s true: your imagination is the best special effects studio ever created. Give your brain the proper stimulus and it can create terrifying images that no amount of CGI can match. And I can think of no better stimulus than the voices of Joey D’Auria and Michael C. Gwynne as they read the stories in Terror Tales, a truly interesting audiobook for Radio Archives.
 
It’s interesting because it’s a step outside of their usual fare that I’ve been listening to and enjoying, such as the Doc Savage audiobooks and the ones featuring heroes like The Spider, The Green Lama, Operator #5 and others in two-fisted tales of white-hot action. The stories in Terror Tales are stories of horror that hooked me in mainly because of the unique approach to the telling of these tales by Mr. D’Auria and Mr. Gwynne.
 
Joey D’Auria starts off his stories in a calm, measured tone but as he gets more involved in the telling, his voice becomes more insistent, ever more excited as if he himself is caught up in the escalating nightmare of his own story. There’s a couple of stories that end up with Mr. D’Auria on a near hysteric note that conveys the hideous trauma of the characters in the story very well indeed. Listening to Mr. D’Auria tell his stories is like watching a marathon runner who starts out at a gentle jog and ends up crossing the finish line dripping sheets of cold sweat, crazy-eyed and barely able to breathe.
 
Michael C. Gwynne relates his stories in a more laid back manner, keeping his deep and stentorian voice level. And at certain moments he actually lowers his voice even more which had the effect of making me lean in even closer. You would think that by keeping his voice so even and steady, the story wouldn’t be very suspenseful but it’s actually the opposite. He wants you to pay close attention to the horrors he’s relating for maximum effect. And believe me, it works.
 
As always I’m thrilled by the production values of this latest audiobook as they easily are equal to the rest of the terrific Radio Archives audiobook line. Having Joey D’Auria and Michael C. Gwynne alternate on the stories is a wonderful idea and I hope that if there are more audiobooks of Terror Tales to come, they’ll be part of it.
 
 
 
 
New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks
 
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 
Through the chill darkness a deluge of death swept over New York — and men died mysteriously with their brains battered in as the terror struck! For a new, frightful master of the underworld had risen, to paralyze the police and empty the city’s treasure coffers. Over a long period, Richard Wentworth, with the Spider’s weird weapons, had fought those master criminals whom the law could not reach. But never before had he been compelled to challenge the rule of a ruthless raider who left a great metropolis sacked and plundered as he rose to the heights of an emperor, evil and powerful — invincible in his systematic scheme of slaughter and destruction! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
 
 

To the teeming city of the Golden Gate the sinister Doctor Yen Sin had transferred his base of operations — and there, under cover of the fog-shrouded Frisco night, he set loose the most ghastly weapon in his whole armory of mysterious torture devices — the curse of the Singing Mummies. In ten minutes by the clock, to the accompaniment of that insidious, eerie music, living men and women underwent their ghastly metamorphosis, became fit occupants for the coffin-cases of ancient Egypt. How could the saffron-skinned crime-emperor accomplish the change? How could even Michael Traile, the Man Who Never Slept, hope to cope with the devilish Thing?Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.

 
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine by Frances Bragg Middleton and Raymond Whetstone, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
 
99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 
What would you do if you knew the ones you loved were doomed to die horribly in your defense? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
Lester Emery feared that his body remained in the laboratory, while his disembodied spirit was driven forth to murder — slave to the grim genius of a madman… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
From nowhere came the hand — bringing with it a lingering death… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
 
Blonde Truly couldn’t keep her kiss-ban against that cowboy Dave — not even when sultry Garnet ran engaging interference. She thought Dave’s kisses delightfully habit-forming — and so did his sultry fiancee. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 
To cover the escapades of her willful young sister, beautiful Donna let herself be branded a ruthless heart thiefOne of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
 
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, now available at:
 
 
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 
 
Receive an exciting original Spider adventure FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect chance to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp’s most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page’s stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
 
Even today Page’s scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
 
See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of  the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!
 
 
 

A special issue celebrating the origin of the Master of Men! First, it’s the story that started it all: “The Spider Strikes”, from “The Spider Magazine”, Issue #1, released in October of 1933. In this epic adventure, join Richard Wentworth III (alias The Spider), along with his fiancee Nita van Sloan and his faithful servants, as they struggle to save the nation from a criminal genius. Introduced here is the secret of The Spider’s seal and many of the tricks and devices that will serve him so well in the many stories to come. Next, in “Satan’s Workshop” (1937), who is kidnapping and extorting money from the city’s wealthiest men and most beautiful women? Was it science or sorcery that gave an ordinary and healthy man a severe case of leprosy? While the police close in on The Spider’s secret identity, the villainous Doc seems immune from police prosecution, but not from web of The Spider! These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

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

 

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

 
 
The Master of Darkness explores mansions of murder in two thrilling pulp mysteries by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, in Spoils of The Shadow a mastermind plots five super-crimes, but innocent victims will be murdered if The Shadow intervenes! Then, the Master of Darkness sheds light on the terrible secret of the House of Silence in one of Walter Gibson’s most atmospheric mysteries. This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 

The original “Man of Steel” returns in three action-packed pulp thrillers by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, The Avenger is blamed when massive power outages black out North America. Can Dick Benson locate the mastermind called Nevlo in time to prevent a deadly final blackout? Then, Death in Slow Motion cripples an American industry, and Justice, Inc. must find an antidote in time to save hundreds from the deadly paralysis plague! Finally, a defeated crook returns to plot Vengeance on The Avenger in an exciting novelette by Spider-wordsmith Emile Tepperman. This classic pulp reprint includes both color covers by Graves Gladney, Paul Orban’s dynamic interior illustrations and commentary by pulp historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $25.00
 
Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
 
 
Review of The Corpse Cargo from The Spider, Volume 10
By Andrew Salmon
 
I’ll admit that when I first dove into The Corpse Cargo I did not have high hopes. The Spider novels are grim, gritty, lean and mean action adventure tales with a pace that moves at a steady clip whether it be an action sequence, dialogue or character moments. Everything happens with frenetic verve so giving Richard Wentworth a boy sidekick did not seem to this reader to be in keeping with the intense maelstrom of addictive chaos typical of any of the truly great Spider yarns. However, after the first couple of chapters, I knew that I was in familiar Spider territory.
 
This one was heavy stuff. By the time I was finished, The Corpse Cargo had catapulted into my Top 5 Spider adventures of all time!
 
The action is unrelenting in this one, unwavering and the modern-day (1930s) pirates, led by a beautiful and deadly sociopath who calls herself Captain Kidd, are some of the most heinous villains the Spider has ever faced. Their plan is simple: having harnessed electricity, they are using it to electrify passing trains and planes, killing all aboard, then looting the corpses. Hence the title. And, in the case of the trains, then hurtling the train full of corpses full speed into stations for the sake of inflicting as much damage as they can. The pirates’ raid on one train load full of people is one of the best sustained, most unforgettable action sequences in the history of pulp fiction, new or old, and it is one no reader will ever forget.
 
This adventure also sees the Spider and his love, Nita, fall into the gang’s clutches, leaving them with only deadly decisions before them and no chance of escape. The intensity level, always high in a Spider yarn, gets ratcheted up here to epic proportions. Emotions run high and you will be on the edge of your seat as you tear your way through the yarn.
 
Norvell Page, writing under the house name Grant Stockbridge, was one of the best pulp fictioneers of the day and his style is as fresh today in our world of grim, in-your-face action as anything modern masters can muster. The Corpse Cargo hits the ground running and does not let up.
 
This novel enthralls. It’s as simple as that. Do. Not. Miss. It. My highest recommendation.
 
Girasol Replica #GC181 $35.00 / eBook #RE027 $2.99 / Double Novel reprint #10 #5510 $14.95 On sale for $12.95, save $2.00 / Audiobook Audio CDs $27.98 / Audiobook Download $13.98
 
 
Comments From Our Customers!
 
John Weiser of Honolulu radio fame writes:
When I am driving around these days, I energize the Captain Zero stories. The phrasing and modulation of the pulp-like adjectives totally capture my brain. That’s how it starts. But then, I get drawn into the story line, and I find myself stalled at my destination with the engine running, unable to leave my vehicle while Captain Zero is trapped on a ledge adjacent to a roof garden. Finally he makes it home just as the sun is emerging. I resist the temptation to proceed to the next chapter and switch off the player. It’s really good stuff, Mr. Gwynne.
 
Andy Wood from England writes:
Utterly WOW! Oh my goodness!!! Have Gun, Will Travel has forever been one of my favourite radio classics and I’m very familiar with every episode from constant re-listening over the years. Some have been decent sound others pretty bad but I grew to love them despite this, “knowing” that’s the best there was available. Then THIS!
 
I almost got a lump in my throat hearing these versions which are so perfect, they sound like they’ve just been transcribed!!! I’m awestruck! This gives me so much hope for other great programs that I figured were never going to be upgraded sound-wise!
 
Alan Clark writes:
Thanks VERY much!  The e-book is gorgeous!  I cannot wait to read it. I see that you have Black Bat #1.  I can’t wait to get that, too!
 
If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!
 

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

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
March 29, 2013

Continuing to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of King Kong
Radio Archives has some great King Kong and Doc Savage products for you in the next couple months. Four exciting products in fact and you can order the third one, KONG: KING OF SKULL ISLAND today! Here’s Joe DeVito to tell you more:
It is 1957, twenty five years after King Kong’s fall from atop the Empire State Building. Carl Denham and the body of Kong vanished before any investigation could be launched, leaving rumor and speculation in their wake. Denham’s son, Vincent, was left behind. Now a paleontologist, he desperately searches for Kong’s Skull Island home, his father – and the truth.
 
Once there, Vincent becomes captive to an enigmatic island elder know as ‘Storyteller’. Her ancient tale of the islanders’ quest to escape a terrible fate mysteriously has the power to reach across time and change the destiny of both Vincent and Carl – if they survive. For at the nexus of every event is the beast-god of Skull Island: KING KONG

 

Created and Illustrated by Joe DeVito. Written by Brad Strickland with John Michlig
Read by Joey D’Auria. Liner Notes by Joe DeVito
 
 

In 1933, American showman Carl Denham returned from a mysterious, hidden island with a priceless treasure. A treasure not gold or jewels, but the island’s barbaric god, a monstrous anthropoid called “Kong.” The savage giant escaped and wreaked havoc among the man-made canyons of Manhattan, but within hours of the giant ape’s death his bodyand Carl Denhamdisappeared. Twenty-five years later, the son of Carl Denham makes a shocking discovery that leads him back to the site of his father’s greatest adventure and to the answers that will unlock the century’s greatest mystery and history’s greatest miracle. Authorized by the Cooper Estate and based on the original novel that inspired the all-time classic film. This new novel acts as both prequel and sequel to the classic fantasy tale, King Kong. Acclaimed fantasy artist Joe DeVito and top fantasy and science-fiction writer Brad Strickland join forces to make for an interactive visual-narrative storytelling experience unlike any other.
 
“Anyone who loves King Kong with Carl Denham and Ann Darrow in 1933 and hated DeLaurentis’ 1976 remake cannot help but love this new Kong book. Bravo!”
— Ray Bradbury
 
“I had never wondered before where King Kong came from, and how such a creature could exist, until I saw what Joe had sent. It was all a revelation to me.”
— James Bama
 
“Kong: King of Skull Island is the first—and for my money, only—addition to the Kong myth that does the original proud.”
— Arnle Fenner. Spectrum Fantastic Art
 
“I give this book a BIG two gorilla thumbs up and highly recommend it to anyone, especially, who wants to know more about the Eighth Wonder of the Wortd.”
— Bob Burns, Archivist of Fantastic Cinema
 
Read by the marvelous Joey D’Auria. 9 hours $35.98 Audio CDs / $17.99 Download.

 

 
 
The Kraft Music Hall began in 1933 as The Kraft Program, a radio music-variety show featuring orchestra leader Paul Whiteman, who was billed as “the King of Jazz” and who was arguably America’s first popular music superstar. Later hosted by Bing Crosby from 1936-1946. During the Al Jolson years, Nelson Eddy was the host of the summer show from 1947-1949.
 
Nelson Eddy, a classically trained baritone, is best remembered today for his nineteen films, particularly those with soprano Jeanette McDonald, who was Eddy’s co-star in eight musicals. His best-known film is Rose-Marie (1936), in which Eddy portrayed Sgt. Bruce, a steadfast Canadian Mountie that has been imitated and satirized, giving birth to the cartoon Dudley Do-right among others. The musical’s biggest hit, Indian Love Call, is so ubiquitous, selling over a million copies, that many who have not seen the film know the song. Eddy was the highest paid singer in the world in his heyday, earning $10,000 for a single concert.
 
In his last two seasons with The Kraft Music Hall, Eddy was joined by co-host Dorothy Kirsten. She was an operatic soprano who had debuted at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. After performing roles with a number of opera companies, Kirsten had her own radio program, Keepsakes, from 1943-1944.
 
Rounding out Eddy’s supporting cast were announcer Ken Carpenter, who had joined Bing Crosby in 1936 when the famous singer began his tenure as host of the show (Crosby called him “the man with the golden voice”) and continued to announce for Crosby on various programs for the following twenty-seven years, and; musical director Robert Armbruster, who joined the show in 1948. A conductor, composer, pianist and songwriter, he was featured in classical piano solos each week on the program.
 
The Kraft Music Hall Starring Nelson Eddy contains fourteen half-hour shows in Sparkling audio quality from the summer of 1948. Five of the shows are rare dress rehearsals. 7 hours $20.98 Audio CDs / $10.49 Download.

 

 

New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks

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

From sinister Chinatown came the epidemic of terror that fell upon New York. For all over Manhattan defenseless citizens were dying with a Blood Orchid in their hearts! Through the rain of red petals that filled the sky, the Dragon screamed his ultimatum that death and destruction would walk the streets unless his word was heeded. From the resources of America — her brains and bullion — this monster planned to build an Eastern empire! With the city prostrate and the Law at bay, Richard Wentworth took up the challenge. In the Spider’s cloak of night, he struck at this Prince of Darkness — waging desperate battle against the strangest crime cavalcade and the most serious threat to civilization known in the history of modern man! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.

 

 
Sweeping westward down the Pacific slope, the Purple Emperor’s invading armies thundered to trap the last defending Americans between flaming guns and an ocean grave. Operator 5, with the audacity of desperation, launched a forlorn hope — a dazzling daring raid into the heart of the enemy’s lines. Here is the tale of the mad dash of his pitifully heroic handful of volunteers toward the great gun works where he might snatch victory from defeat. Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks. $2.99.
 

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

99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.

While the orchestra played, my beloved Carla danced… But when it stopped, her loveliness became something that was unearthly and vile — and murderous! In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.

Could Conroy trust those savage charms to cure the girl who bleated like a goat? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

Did the very fiends of hell possess young William Arnold’s soul and body, that he should twine his clutching fingers about the throat of his own beloved bride? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

 

Judy knew that it wasn’t fair to a girl for Bart to kiss her gloriously… then let her learn of his plans to marry high-and-mighty Laurita. It just wasn’t fair — and impish Judy devised a sensational retribution! One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.

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

 
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 
 
 

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

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

 
An iPad book app of gargantuan proportions based on the original novel by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland.
 
Available now through the iPad through the Apple App store and at www.copyright1957.com
 
Droid version available soon!
 
This digital version of the authorized prequel/sequel to the King Kong story takes you back to Skull Island for a dramatic telling of Kong’s origins and the civilization that built the Wall.
 
Based on DeVito’s 2004 illustrated print edition, abridged text scrolls manually over creatively combined views of the fantastic paintings and sketches from the original book with new imagery created specially for this app,
 
Together, with two latter day explorers, you find the island and view ancient murals and statues, then learn from the enigmatic Storyteller the story of the island’s past. Mysteriously, everyone is inextricably bound to the Storyteller’s tale. It tells of islanders Ishara and Kublai, and their quest to escape a terrible fate which threatens both themselves and their people. That struggle has the power to reach across time and change the destiny of all. If they survive. For at the nexus of every event is the beast-god of Skull Island: KING KONG.
 
A separate gallery of the illustrations and commentary from the original book are included. It’s a pulp-tastic production you’ll never forget!
 
 
Customer Reviews:
“Best app I have downloaded yet! Incredible visuals and a great story!”
 
“This is beyond awesome! I probably feel like those who saw the movie for the first time!”
 
“…this is something I’ve never seen before…a completely new way to experience a novel!”

for the ‘Doc Savage: Skull Island’ cover are now available direct from Joe DeVito!

Please go to either of these addresses for all the details:

http://www.kongskullisland.com/print.html

http://jdevito.com/print.html

 
 
 
 
 
 

Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
 
 

Pulp fiction’s Master of Men returns in two classic stories from 1938 and 1942. First, in City of Lost Men (1938), Manhattan’s guardians of the law are turned into drooling lunatics, leaving the city wide open to thieves and criminals. Who is behind this hideous menace? Can the afflicted be cured or are they doomed to insanity forever? Death is the only answer in this epic fight between the Master of the Mad and the Master of Men! Then, strange cat-like men are striking down their victims with a horrifying death-device that causes the doomed to wither away to nothing. A man with no face points a slender cane and a man dies. With his fiance Nita van Sloan enslaved within the Temple of Beauty, The Spider battles to save New York from the Gentleman From Hell (1942). These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. $14.95. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

 

The Master of Darkness explores mansions of murder in two thrilling pulp mysteries by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, in Spoils of The Shadow a mastermind plots five super-crimes, but innocent victims will be murdered if The Shadow intervenes! Then, the Master of Darkness sheds light on the terrible secret of the House of Silence in one of Walter Gibson’s most atmospheric mysteries. This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 

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

 
The pulp era’s greatest superman returns in two action-packed novels by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, what could cause an entire island to vanish into thin air? Doc Savage and his aides must unravel the strange secret of Mystery Island to save England from environmental armageddon. Then, the Man of Bronze (in a rare solo adventure) encounters a strange bearded giant floating in the Bay of Fundy. This double-novel collector’s edition leads off with a classic color cover by Emery Clarke, and showcases all of Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
 
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $25.00
 
 
 
 
 

By John Olsen
 

“The Third Shadow” was originally published in the March 15, 1936 issue of The Shadow Magazine. A black cloaked figure of the night strikes again. But this singular mystery man is not The Shadow. And the eerie figure strikes not against crime, but strikes at gambling establishments, collecting loot for his own ends. Someone is impersonating The Shadow!
 
This pulp novel from 1936 offers an interesting twist on The Shadow, one that had not been seen before. But it was anticipated earlier by Police Commissioner Ralph Weston. Weston, you may remember, refused to believe in The Shadow in the early years of the pulp magazine. When Detective Joe Cardona reported being rescued by an uncanny cloaked personality, Weston would refuse to believe it was a single man. He argued that it could be the same man that Cardona had encountered before, or that it could be someone else dressed in black. There could be various personages appearing in black cloak and slouch hat. And finally, in this story, that is exactly what happens.
 
Some unknown impersonator is masquerading as The Shadow! In this story, author Walter Gibson examines what would happen if someone else should don the garb of black and appear in public as The Shadow. And what if this someone was a criminal? He could use the palpable fear generated by just the sight of the cloaked crimefighter, to his own nefarious ends. And what if a third Shadow appeared? What if some master criminal saw how effective the second Shadow could be, and decided to appropriate the scheme and expand upon it? Would the rightful Shadow, the scourge of the underworld, then lose his power? Could he do anything to stop the ever-growing crime wave? It’s this interesting premise upon which “The Third Shadow” is based.
 
The story opens with a simple crime. It’s a crime that The Shadow resolves in the first four chapters. Lucian Yorne was a jewelry salesman. He was murdered in his office; his jewels and cash stolen. The law was on the case, but overlooked certain angles that only The Shadow could see. It won’t be giving much away to reveal that Parlington, the butler, did it.
 
The Shadow confronts Parlington in the pantry. The butler quakes in fear at the sight of the man in black. The Shadow forces him to write out a confession. The hiss……
Double Novel reprint $12.95
 

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The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
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Flash Gordon (1979) vs Flash Gordon (1980)

The end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s saw fans confronted with two completely different visions for what Flash Gordon could be.

It began in the late Seventies when producers Norm Prescott and Lou Scheimer wanted to make a full-blown, live-action Flash Gordon movie, probably for television but possibly for theatrical release.  They commissioned a script that turned out to be, in their description, extremely close to the original pulp source material and potentially amazing as a film–but also far, far too expensive to produce.

Instead they decided to create an animated version of the movie using essentially the same script.  They did so, complete with references to Hitler and the Nazis working with Ming the Merciless, but then decided to revamp the concept into a weekly animated series.  That’s how we ended up with the show as it now exists–known at the time simply as FLASH GORDON but today called “The New Adventures of Flash Gordon” to distinguish it from other versions of the property.

Needing extra money to be able to complete the project, they hooked up with film producer Dino de Laurentiis (he of “Orca” and 1976 “King Kong” fame) to help fund the show in conjunction with the production of a live-action movie.  This, of course, would result in the Sam Jones/Max von Sydow 1980 “Flash Gordon” film.  De Laurentiis saw the animated series as perhaps raising public awareness of the property in the months leading up to his big-budget movie’s release.

As it turned out, the movie was about what one would’ve (or should have) expected from De Laurentiis–an over-the-top camp-fest, best remembered today mainly for its fantastic Queen music score.

The animated series, however, lives on as a mostly very-good-to-excellent example of late Seventies animation (with rotoscoping of human movement, interesting back-lighting effects, and pioneering use of scale models for spacecraft animation).  It’s also just a flat-out great planetary adventure pulp story, with Flash first confronting (as foes) and then gathering to his side the leaders of the various other kingdoms of Mongo, in common cause against their evil ruler, Ming.

As a side note, not only was the animation cutting-edge, the music is excellent (an orchestral score–for a Saturday morning cartoon!) and the women… well, let’s just say you can tell this project was conceived as a movie for grown-ups and retrofitted into being a kids’ cartoon!  Wow!

The series is available on DVD and, with the ability to fast-forward through some of the repetitive parts necessitated by the serialized format of a weekly half-hour show and budget constraints, it is well worth your time.

(Addendum: The voice of Ming the Merciless is performed by Allen Oppenheimer, later known as the voice of Skeletor in Filmation’s “He-Man” and “She-Ra” series.  This might prove distracting to some, as the voice is quite distinct.)

WHAT’S NEW FROM RADIO ARCHIVE?

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
March 15, 2013

Continuing to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Doc Savage and King Kong
Radio Archives has some great Doc Savage and King Kong products for you in the next couple months. Four exciting products in fact and you can order the second one, Doc Savage: The Forgotten Realm today! Here’s Will Murray to tell you more:
Last year, Altus Press reissued my 7th Doc Savage novel, The Forgotten Realm, after being out of print for nearly twenty years. Response to this tale of maddening mystery and mayhem was so positive that we decided to jump ahead In the more-or-less chronological release of my first Doc  Savage adventures and record The Forgotten Realm for Radio Archives. Here it is!

 

by Will Murray and Lester Dent writing as Kenneth Robeson
Read by Michael McConnohie.
 
 
Back in 1933, Lester Dent outlined a great Doc Savage story involving a lost city of Romans hidden in the African Congo. For reasons unknown, he abandoned the best part of his plans, taking the tale in a different direction, to another part of the world.
 
Sixty years later in 1993, Will Murray dusted off that plot and turned it into his seventh Doc novel, The Forgotten Realm. It’s the bizarre story of a mystery man who escaped from a Scottish madhouse, who embroils archeologist Johnny Littlejohn in a quest that ranges from the British Isles to the impenetrable core of the Dark Continent. And whenever Johnny swings into action, the mighty Doc Savage is not far behind!
 
Here is another riveting exploit of the superhuman Man of Bronze. This is pulp high adventure at its most exciting. Tricks and traps propel the plot. Not everyone is who he seems to be. The colorful cast includes the mysterious X Man, the brutal Waterloo O’Neil, the mystic Goona Bey, and lovely Princess Namora. Doc, Johnny, Monk and Ham are on hand to pit their powers against the forces of evil. As always, the thrilling narrative grips straight through to the ultimate climax, and the final reveal.
 
Before it’s all over, Doc Savage will struggle against marauding sea serpents, murderous rogues, and end up in a gladiatorial arena battling ferocious lions in the best tradition of Tarzan of the Apes. All to unravel the riddle of the enigmatic individual known as X Man—who may or may not be a survivor of a lost Roman outpost still operating as if time had passed it by. A place beyond the fabled Veil of Silence called Novum Eboracum, which translates as New York!
 
The multi-talented Michael McConnohie again brings another fantastic Doc Savage adventure to life, one that takes the listener on a roller coaster of thrills and perils that you won’t want to end. This is the Man of Bronze at his most magnificent, using his might and mechanical skill to battle across two continents to a satisfying pulp conclusion. 10 hours $39.98 Audio CDs / $19.99 Download.
 

 
 
A great mind ready to help humanity. A savage monster bent on death and destruction. And both are the same person. Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has thrilled and chilled readers for nearly two centuries in print, film, and on stage. One of the best adaptations of this classic tale of good and evil was actually for radio and the final 6 hours are now collected in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Volume 2 from Radio Archives.
 
The man behind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was George Edwards and just the right person to bring this dynamic tale of split personality to life. An Australian actor and producer, Edwards lived many lives before coming to the career he is most known for. Vaudevillian, acrobat, stage actor, and comedian, Edwards shone brightest in bringing wonderful stories to life on Australian radio. The man behind other series, such as Afloat with Henry Morgan and Adventures of Marco Polo lent not only his production skills to Jekyll and Hyde, but shared his amazing vocal talents as well.
 
Edwards was well known as “The Man with a Thousand Voices.” Not only could he mimic multiple voices, Edwards could carry on complete conversations between characters he was playing. Many scenes in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with multiple characters are all voiced by George Edwards. Edwards also brought authenticity to the roles he played, able to reproduce any tone or accent with his voice, save that of children or young women. The amazing aspect of this was that when not in front of a microphone, Edwards often spoke with a stutter.
 
The final 24 episodes of this classic Radio serial are collected in Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde, Volume 2. Stevenson’s story, Edwards’ performance and production, and the intense pacing of each episode make Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Volume 2 a necessary part of any Classic Radio fan’s collection! 6 hours $17.98 Audio CDs / $8.99 Download.
 
 
 
 
 

 

New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks

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

New York lay helpless under the heel of the Black Police, and when men dared oppose this ruinous reign of the Underworld, they were struck down by a frightful plague! Nowhere, it seemed, was there succor for the defenseless. Even the Federal Government, which had stepped in to hold a New Deal, was beaten by intimidated votes at the polls. In this moment, one mad hope dawned. For Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, had come down from his mountain retreat. With him was Stanley Kirkpatrick, former Commissioner of Police, and a whole fugitive legion of honest fighting men — sworn to take the law into their own hands and strike blow for blow against the most monstrous criminal set-up known to modern man! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.

 
With his last camp of honest fighting men scattered by the Black Police, and the Underworld’s Master in supreme control of the state — Richard Wentworth had reached trail’s end! For nowhere was their succor for the thousands of oppressed, and even a duped federal Government was arrayed against them. Yet it was now that Wentworth knew, alone and unaided, he must strike one final desperate blow. As the Spider, in the dread disguise of his crime-fighting role, he took his stand. There, facing the legions of the world’s mightiest mass-murderer, the Spider struck again and again — to raise the Empire State from the dust and free an entire, despairing people from the scourge of living death! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks. $2.99.

 
Purple armies from the prairies and a great Purple navy looming over the western horizon made ready to clamp the fetters of slavery on America’s last defenders. But a grim line of fighting men waited in the Emperor Rudolph’s path with a soldierly serenity that said, “Here we die.” And every life laid on this altar of freedom gave Jimmy Christopher, Operator 5 of the Intelligence, new respite as he followed a trail of desperate adventure studded with disgrace and death. Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks. $2.99.
 

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

99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.

A tale of one dark night’s adventure that you will not soon forget… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.

When she saw savage blood-lust in the eyes of her lover, Nellie knew that he had become one of the lost children of the moon. In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.

Why should a man who loved his daughter, send her, long after his death, into the clutches of an unearthly creature of satanic passions? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.

 

What secret horror was it that forced that group of fear-frozen people to hurl themselves, one by one, into the storm-lashed maw of the canyon far below?… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

Alice came to Robber’s Roost to write a story — and found herself the kiss-besieged heroine of a big bad wolf… and a guitar-strummin’ ghost. She got first-hand savvy on romantic plots — when a phantom desperado haunted her house… and her heart. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.

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

 
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 
 
 

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

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

Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
 
 

The legendary Master of Men returns in two classic stories from one of the pulp era’s most popular magazines. First, in “Emperor of the Yellow Death” (1935), an exotic women of the East, as deadly as she is beautiful, is servant to a criminal genius. More ruthless than any of his Mongol ancestors, Wang-ba stages a villainous uprising designed to enslave all of America. To defeat him, Richard Wentworth, alias The Spider, must face hidden death-traps, hordes of maddened gunmen and a pool of man-eating turtles. Then, in “Slaves of the Burning Blade” (1941), is a foreign sabotage ring responsible for a recent reign of terror or is a criminal genius known as The Knife really to blame? Only The Spider knows for certain, but will he survive being hounded by both the police and a vigilante band known as the Knights of Liberty so as to reveal the truth? 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. $14.95. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

 

The Master of Darkness teams with Scotland Yard’s Eric Delka in two thrilling tales of international intrigue by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow investigates an international spy ring with the assistance of “The Man from Scotland Yard” (in his first appearance). Then, The Shadow and Delka’s investigation of missing submarine plans sets them on the trail of the legendary Parisian super-criminal, Gaspard Zemba, in Walter Gibson’s all-time masterpiece of misdirection! This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen and all the original interior illustrations of Tom Lovell, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 

 
The pulp era’s greatest superman returns in two action-packed novels by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, what could cause an entire island to vanish into thin air? Doc Savage and his aides must unravel the strange secret of “Mystery Island” to save England from environmental armageddon. Then, the Man of Bronze (in a rare solo adventure) encounters a strange bearded giant floating in the Bay of Fundy. This double-novel collector’s edition leads off with a classic color cover by Emery Clarke, and showcases all of Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
 
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $25.00

 

Review of Emperor of the Yellow Death from The Spider, Volume 6
By David White
 

This counts as the third time I have read a story where The Spider battles a threat against the world from the Orient. They have been some of the finest Spider stories, in my mind, that have been written. There is always a high degree of treachery and cunning that pushes The Spider to the very brink of death. This story is no exception.
 

The Spider starts thing off battling a tiger and a tigress, the first being actually ten feet long and of the seven hundred pound variety. The Spider in this instance proves that not only is he the Master of Men, but deadly beasts as well. The tigress is an Oriental beauty, whose glamour is matched only by her deadliness. All this and then the diabolical Wang-Ba. He is known as The Turtle who will carry the world on his back. A stark raving mad genius that doesn’t care how many bodies he has to climb to take over the world, he has what seems like an unlimited amount of resources to help him, even a submarine.

Wang-Ba wastes no time in attacking the Spider. In one fell swoop, he not only captures the Lovely Nita, but also transforms Jackson into a raving lunatic. Wang-Ba is not your typical madman though. He feels that he is doing the world a favor by ridding it of all its criminals. Of course if a few hundred innocents die in the process…oh well.

Richard Wentworth plays his violin a bit to clear his mind before heading out against the powerful Oriental. The two literally lock in a struggle of wills, The Spider once again proving why he is called The Master of Men. Wang-Ba has already thrown his plans into action. He will literally hold New York hostage until his demands are met. For each demand the nation does not meet, he will kill ten officials and five hundred citizens.

The Spider is really in trouble this time. Wang-Ba seems to almost play with him at times. But in true Spider form, he shows that until he has breathed his last, the battle is never lost. Girasol Replica #GC181 $35.00 / eBook #RE027 $2.99 / Double Novel reprint #5506 $14.95 On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

 
 
Comments From Our Customers!

 
Jo Peters writes:
I got the Spider free ebook. Love it. No problems downloading or reading the Nook version. Would love it if you could create ebooks of the Shadow and Doc Savage books. Please????
 
Lee Roselli writes:
I would recommend to everybody to purchase their Shadow Magazines from you. Excellent and fast service, the books come in a secure and safe box to prevent damage during shipping. I want to thank you for the graphic Sherlock Holmes book you gave me. Excellent How did you know that I read all the Sherlock Holmes stories I can. I will be buying some more Shadow stories shortly.
 
Paul Gray from the United Kingdom writes:
I am very impressed with volume 1 of Cocoanut Grove recordings. The music is a good example what was being played by the dance bands of the time. It has charm and style and is very tuneful compared with a lot that is being pumped out these days. I am a musician and I play 3 nights a week at an up-market hotel down on the South Devonshire coast, about 35 miles away. The band is a four-piece group consisting of piano, electric guitar, bass and myself on drums. We have customers coming up to us saying that we are unique in playing genuine accoustic music, and playing plenty of good old standards and a few of the more melodic recent tunes, without all the contrived electronics that bombard the ears. I say all this because there is obviously still a demand for the sort of music that the Cocoanut Grove bands played all those years ago. The big thing that makes all the difference to your sets of recordings is the amazing clear quality of sound that makes you feel that you are actually there. I will certainly be ordering volume 2 very soon as a download. I am only buying downloads now instead CDs because I dont have to waste money on expensive postage and the extra customs and postage over here – with downloads I can buy three from you for the cost of one set of CDs and feel happier that all the money goes to you to carry out more amazing work in future.
 
Ernst H. Spellmeyer writes:
Once again I want to thank you for your prompt response in filling my last request for the three sets of Radio CD’s. I listened briefly to the first episode in each set of the three sets of CD’s. Dragnet, Volume 4 was wonderful, just like Volumes 1 and 2; Have Gun Will Travel also was really great. John Dehner makes a terrific Paladin, just as good – if not even better – than Richard Boone, the TV Paladin. Mr Dehner was quite an actor. His voice inflections and demeanor were totally different from his previous role in the Radio series Frontier Gentleman. Now, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone in a separate category all together!! Wow!! what perfect sound and sound effects, coupled with period characters. Sam Buffington is wonderful as Luke Slaughter. Everyone should have this set in their CD collection!! It’s terrific!! I wish you continued success with Radio Archives. I will continue to sing your praises to others! I enjoy doing business with you!
 
Henry Picchioni writes:
Your service has always been top notch and it is always a pleasure to do business with you. Keep up the good work and thanks for the good reads.
 
Beth Barrows writes:
I’d like to receive the newsletter, please. I very much enjoy the Shadow, Spider and Doc Savage and look forward to more of their adventures. Oh and say hi to Will from me.
 

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

 

The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
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DOC SAVAGE! KING KONG! AND MORE FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

 
March 1, 2013

It’s the 80th Anniversary of King Kong and Doc Savage
Radio Archives has some great King Kong and Doc Savage products for you in the next couple months. Four exciting products in fact and you can order the first one, Doc Savage: Skull Island today! Here’s Will Murray to tell you more:
“For eight decades, fans of both characters have tried to imagine a face-off between Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, and King Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World. These legendary characters debuted only weeks apart in the Winter of 1933. Now, I am privileged to have written the previously untold tale of what happened after King Kong fell from the Empire State Building, which just happened to be Doc Savage’s headquarters! Don’t miss this latest and greatest Wild Adventure of Doc SavageSkull Island!
 

Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island will be released in March, as the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.

 
 

 
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is considered one of the greatest tales of horror to date. When one of the best, but most underrated producers of the Golden Age Radio added in his production and vocal skills, a true radio serial classic was born and is now collected in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Volume 1.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is just one of over 300 radio series and serials produced by George Edwards over the course of his twenty year career in radio. Telling Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of a man divided, this fifteen minute serial debuted in 1943, running for 52 episodes, and was produced by Edwards, a well-known Australian radio personality. The man behind other Australian series, such as Afloat with Henry Morgan and Adventures of Marco Polo lent not only his production skills to Jekyll and Hyde, but shared his amazing vocal talents as well. Edwards’ skill to do multiple voices in a single episode definitely fit the needs of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde, Volume 1 collects the first 28 episodes, 7 hours, of one of the best serial adventures of the radio era. The intense pacing of each episode as well as the high quality production values and the talented voice acting of George Edwards and the rest of the cast make this a must have for any fan of Classic Radio. 7 hours $20.98 Audio CDs / $10.49 Download.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #22
by G.T. Fleming-Roberts
Read by Michael C. Gwynne. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
 

In 1949, Popular Publications, which had been out of the hero business since the cancellation of The Spider in 1943, decided to renter the fading field. The Shadow was still going strong on radio, even if his pulp magazine had been folded a few months before.
 
Veteran mystery pulpster G. T. Fleming-Roberts was tapped to pen the new series under his own name. He had a knack for clever plots, contemporary dialogue, and avoiding the most egregious pulp clichés. In that post-war era, readers expected their heroes to be more realistic, so Fleming-Roberts and his editors went for broke.
 
Their hero, Daily World copywriter Lee Allyn—apparently named in a nod to serial Superman Kirk Alyn—was a meek horn-rimmed fellow who possessed few heroic qualities. But between midnight and dawn, thanks to a scientific experiment that went awry, he turned invisible—except for his floating disembodied eyes.
 
It was as if Clark Kent had learned to become as invisible as Lamont Cranston, but remained a mild-mannered newspaperman.
 
Captain Zero fought crime in small-town settings, aided by fellow journalist, Doro Kelly. He had a lot in common with the early Spider-Man. Luck—both good and bad—dogged his nocturnal forays. He was often outnumbered, not to mention outfought and outwitted. For Lee Allyn, fighting crime was no lark. Especially when you didn’t even have a car—never mind a super-car.
 
In his first bumbling case, City of Deadly Sleep, Captain Zero gets the tar repeatedly beaten out of him by rival gangs before pulling out a victory by the skin of his invisible teeth.
 
Unfortunately, despite a trio of well-crafted stories, the time had passed for heroes like Captain Zero. He expired after only three stories. But they are refreshingly different, and RadioArchives.com is proud to bring them to crackling life in a series of audiobooks narrated by the unseen Michael C. Gwynne.
 
Also included are a fascinating fact story featuring Sherlock Holmes’ creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, called “Elementary, my Dear Corpse!” along with Russell Bender’s tense crime tale, “Killer for Sale!” 7 hours $27.98 Audio CDs / $13.99 Download.

 
 

 

New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks

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

Over Manhattan fell the mystic murder-spell which had transformed America’s moneyed aristocracy into ruthless fiends and criminals! New York’s First Families, no longer the sturdy pillars of society, had launched upon a career of slayings and thievery that outdid even the Underworld! Against this high-hatted holocaust, the law was powerless. Only Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, could fight for a betrayed civilization — battling a Hindu horror league that had worked a monstrous miracle by turning the Best People into butchers! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.

 
Deeper and deeper New York had sunk in the toils of the Underworld czar — until its entire population had been regimented by the Black Police into a Kingdom of Crime! Everywhere marched the evil emperor’s cohorts, collecting the taxes that meant death; and the law was at a standstill. In that moment of desperation, one man had a heaven-sent inspiration. For now Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, resolved to fight the Underworld with its own merciless weapons. With New York’s own police commissioner at his side, he raised a fugitive, fighting legion of honest men who, like Robin Hood’s band of old, took the law into its own hands — to come from secret lairs, strike and punish criminals — then slip back into the shadows again! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks. $2.99.

 
The United States forces have been driven to their last, desperate stronghold before the blood-maddened ruthless hordes of the self-styled emperor, Rudolph I, even as a courageous but blind nation, wrapped in the dreams of false security, had practiced the foolish doctrine of “It can’t happen here!” America’s patriotic Death Battalion was the last ragged hope of embattled patriots — the women of the nation who hurled themselves bravely and futilely against the war-mad forces of the Purple Invaders. When they fell before the terror-inspiring and deadly barrage of cholera bombs, a few stricken survivors turned for their hope of averting ultimate disaster to one man — Jimmy Christopher — who, as Operator 5, was to face the most overpowering and deadly odds in all his embattled career! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks. $2.99.
 

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

 

Into the city of Bagdad, once host to the forty thieves and hot bed of ancient sin-has come the Dragon Lord of Crime, Wu Fang — his purpose and his mission Death — but death more ghastly than any the mind of man can conceive, wrested from the secrets of forgotten centuries and now employed in gaining the mastery of the earth. Wu Fang is a Chinese criminal mastermind and scientific genius. With his hybrid monkey-men, he plans to conquer America. He is member of various secret societies and has spies everywhere. Opposing him is Val Kildare of the F.B.I.  His aides, reporter Jerry Hazard, archaeologist Rod Carson and newsboy Cappy, help him in his battles against the sinister man of evil known as Wu Fang. $2.99.

 
 
99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 

From the measureless crypt of Time, Frazier called Sekhmet, Queen of the Lions. But the price he paid was dear… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 

Lovely Benedicta made lively plans to surprise her sweetheart and his cantina-dancer lady friend at the forbidden fiesta. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.

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

 
Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 
 
 

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

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

 

A review by Jim Beard
 
If you’re like me, you probably wondered what exactly we’d be getting in the new Doc Savage novel, SKULL ISLAND, it being both a Doc story featuring King Kong and a way to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of both legendary creations. Well, after reading the book, I’m happy to report that author Will Murray’s put some definite heart and soul into it and crafted what is now my most favorite of the recent “Wild Adventures of Doc Savage” series of novels.
 
But, that said, it’s different from just about any other Doc book you’ve ever read, something we’re clued in on by the “Will Murray” byline and the absence of the traditional “Kenneth Robeson” house name.
 
For me, the story was literally one that I didn’t want to put down; it’s that engaging. It begins at the end, right after Kong’s infamous nosedive off the Empire State Building, which leads directly to Doc’s involvement – or, rather, his telling of a tale to his aides of when he first met the giant simian. Yes, the great majority of the novel is a flashback to Doc Savage’s early days and therein is found its fascinating core. In essence, what we have here is the heretofore Secret Origin of Doc Savage.
 
Doc and his father – yes, you read that right; his father – head off on a quest for Doc’s grandfather, Stormalong Savage, which takes them into strange waters and exotic climes…and ultimately Skull Island. There they run afoul of enemies of many different stripes and discover wonders beyond their imagining. And a humongous ape-like “god-beast” called Kong.
 
Murray’s defining of the relationship here between Clark Senior and Clark Junior is practically worth the price of admission alone. This is a young Doc, fresh out of World War I and not exactly the bronze hero of the pulp adventures we know so well, and it’s with that admission that I can see some potential backlash with diehard Doc fans. This is a Doc who has not quite found his mission in life yet, nor honed all his skills and formed his famous tenets – most especially the rule against killing. This Doc kills and kills in often savage ways, which at points drenches the narrative in a bloodbath that may even disturb some readers. But, and it’s important to point this out, there’s a method behind Murray’s seeming madness – it all leads to something and something significant, namely the forging of the Doc Savage of the famous pulp adventures. And Murray does this all with style and careful thought and exciting imagery and action.
 
One of the things I loved about this novel is its use of language, precisely that which flies back and forth between elder and younger Savage in many bouts of witty verbal “fencing.” Will Murray has obviously crafted all his Doc books with care, but in SKULL ISLAND I believe I saw even more attention to detail, to dialogue, to atmosphere and to adventure. The story moves right along, only slightly bogging down a bit past its mid-section, and really defines the term “page turner.” Murray gives this one his best and finest and the book benefits from that in ways too numerous to list.
 
As I said before, this is a story of origins. Here we learn the origin of Doc’s trilling, of his disdain of guns and his inexhaustible search for knowledge, even the origin of the Hidalgo Trading Co. hanger. We also discover more information on the Savage family then we’ve ever had revealed to us before and hints of not only some of Doc’s other early adventures – did you know he was on the Titanic? – but also those of his father and grandfather, both famous explorers in their own right. Heck, we even hear about Doc’s uncle, another adventurer in the family. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the author is suggesting here that readers might care to hear more of these adventures, as separate works.
 
But, again, it’s the relationship between father and son that really stands out in the novel, one that careens between dysfunctional and loving, and it’s that which will stay with me for some time to come. In fact, knowing the fate of Clark Savage Senior in 1933’s MAN OF BRONZE will perhaps add another layer of pathos to your reading of SKULL ISLAND.
 
And, oh yes, King Kong is here, too. You will discover much more about his origins, also, as well as Skull Island’s original inhabitants. And that’s all fascinating as well. Dinosaur fans will especially have reason to love this book. Kong and his environs are not given short shrift in the slightest; the King looms over this book with all the weight and gravity he deserves.
 
In all, I’m a richer pulp fan for having read SKULL ISLAND. Will Murray takes our expectations and delivers upon them while still striking off on his own path, assembling a story that will please both Savage and Kong aficionados and remind us all just how cool pulp can be. There’s heart and soul here, like I said, and I for one can’t quite see how Murray will manage to top this one….but I know he will, somehow.
 
Get this book and settle in for a trip to the South Seas and beyond, Savage style.

 

Richard Wentworth, in the guise of his crime-fighting alter-ego, returns in two 1930s tales of The Spider. First, in “Builders of the Black Empire” (1934), swift and terrible death rides the waves as modern day pirates turn the seas into a battlefield, striking down majestic ocean liners and lumbering cargo ships with violent abandon. To defeat these seafaring slaughterers, The Spider must match wits with a criminal genius whose cruelty runs the gamut of terror, mass destruction and torture! Then, in “Satan’s Shackles” (1938), Wentworth hangs up The Spider’s guns and seeks peace and contentment in the rural countryside  while his fiancee Nita van Sloan recovers her health. But even here, a gang of vicious criminals is at work, threatening not only the citizens of Harper’s Falls but The Spider’s own hidden identity! 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. $14.95. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

 

The Master of Darkness teams with Scotland Yard’s Eric Delka in two thrilling tales of international intrigue by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow investigates an international spy ring with the assistance of “The Man from Scotland Yard” (in his first appearance). Then, The Shadow and Delka’s investigation of missing submarine plans sets them on the trail of the legendary Parisian super-criminal, Gaspard Zemba, in Walter Gibson’s all-time masterpiece of misdirection! This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen and all the original interior illustrations of Tom Lovell, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 

 
 
The pulp era’s greatest superman returns in two action-packed novels by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, what could cause an entire island to vanish into thin air? Doc Savage and his aides must unravel the strange secret of “Mystery Island” to save England from environmental armageddon. Then, the Man of Bronze (in a rare solo adventure) encounters a strange bearded giant floating in the Bay of Fundy. This double-novel collector’s edition leads off with a classic color cover by Emery Clarke, and showcases all of Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
 
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $25.00
 
 

 

By Dr. Art Sippo

 

In ‘The Pirate of the Pacific’, on their return from their arctic adventure in which they travelled underneath the north polar ice cap, Doc Savage and his crew are attacked by hostile aircraft.  Cleverly escaping from this trap, Doc returns to New York where he receives an urgent message from his friend Juan Mindoro of the island nation, the Luzon Union.  He and his country are in serious trouble and only Doc can help.  But the crafty Liung-Sun and his band of Mongol cutthroats roam New York seeking to kill Doc and anyone who might assist him or Juan Mindoro.  Sugar Magnate Scott Osborn become the target of the wily villain’s wrath.  But Liung-Sun is only the advanced agent for the infamous Tom-Too, the mastermind called the Pirate of the Pacific who is planning to overthrow the Luzon Union as a stepping stone to conquering the entire Pacific region.

 
Doc Savage finds himself in a series of battles fighting his way across the Pacific Ocean to the Luzon Union.  He becomes enmeshed in an all-out revolution that threatens to destabilize the entire region.  The powerful Juan Mindoro is in hiding for fear of his life.  Who is the mysterious Tom Too?  Can Doc and his crew of five aides defeat this horde of marauding pirates?  Doc and his crew find themselves in the midst of a war.  Can even they prevail against these odds? Find out when You pick up this and another full length Doc Savage novel in Doc Savage, Volume 6. Double Novel reprint $12.95

 
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JIM BEARD TAKES A TRIP TO SKULL ISLAND

Art: Joe DeVito

New Pulp Author Jim Beard reviews Altus Press’ Doc Savage “Skull Island” novel by New Pulp Author Will Murray.

DOC SAVAGE: SKULL ISLAND
A review by Jim Beard

If you’re like me, you probably wondered what exactly we’d be getting in the new Doc Savage novel, SKULL ISLAND, it being both a Doc story featuring King Kong and a way to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of both legendary creations. Well, after reading the book, I’m happy to report that author Will Murray’s put some definite heart and soul into it and crafted what is now my most favorite of the recent “Wild Adventures of Doc Savage” series of novels.

But, that said, it’s different from just about any other Doc book you’ve ever read, something we’re clued in on by the “Will Murray” byline and the absence of the traditional “Kenneth Robeson” house name.

For me, the story was literally one that I didn’t want to put down; it’s that engaging. It begins at the end, right after Kong’s infamous nosedive off the Empire State Building, which leads directly to Doc’s involvement – or, rather, his telling of a tale to his aides of when he first met the giant simian. Yes, the great majority of the novel is a flashback to Doc Savage’s early days and therein is found its fascinating core. In essence, what we have here is the heretofore Secret Origin of Doc Savage.

Doc and his father – yes, you read that right; his father – head off on a quest for Doc’s grandfather, Stormalong Savage, which takes them into strange waters and exotic climes…and ultimately Skull Island. There they run afoul of enemies of many different stripes and discover wonders beyond their imagining. And a humongous ape-like “god-beast” called Kong.

Murray’s defining of the relationship here between Clark Senior and Clark Junior is practically worth the price of admission alone. This is a young Doc, fresh out of World War I and not exactly the bronze hero of the pulp adventures we know so well, and it’s with that admission that I can see some potential backlash with diehard Doc fans. This is a Doc who has not quite found his mission in life yet, nor honed all his skills and formed his famous tenets – most especially the rule against killing. This Doc kills and kills in often savage ways, which at points drenches the narrative in a bloodbath that may even disturb some readers. But, and it’s important to point this out, there’s a method behind Murray’s seeming madness – it all leads to something and something significant, namely the forging of the Doc Savage of the famous pulp adventures. And Murray does this all with style and careful thought and exciting imagery and action.

One of the things I loved about this novel is its use of language, precisely that which flies back and forth between elder and younger Savage in many bouts of witty verbal “fencing.” Will Murray has obviously crafted all his Doc books with care, but in SKULL ISLAND I believe I saw even more attention to detail, to dialogue, to atmosphere and to adventure. The story moves right along, only slightly bogging down a bit past its mid-section, and really defines the term “page turner.” Murray gives this one his best and finest and the book benefits from that in ways too numerous to list.

As I said before, this is a story of origins. Here we learn the origin of Doc’s trilling, of his disdain of guns and his inexhaustible search for knowledge, even the origin of the Hidalgo Trading Co. hanger. We also discover more information on the Savage family then we’ve ever had revealed to us before and hints of not only some of Doc’s other early adventures – did you know he was on the Titanic? – but also those of his father and grandfather, both famous explorers in their own right. Heck, we even hear about Doc’s uncle, another adventurer in the family. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the author is suggesting here that readers might care to hear more of these adventures, as separate works.

But, again, it’s the relationship between father and son that really stands out in the novel, one that careens between dysfunctional and loving, and it’s that which will stay with me for some time to come. In fact, knowing the fate of Clark Savage Senior in 1933’s MAN OF BRONZE will perhaps add another layer of pathos to your reading of SKULL ISLAND.

And, oh yes, King Kong is here, too. You will discover much more about his origins, also, as well as Skull Island’s original inhabitants. And that’s all fascinating as well. Dinosaur fans will especially have reason to love this book. Kong and his environs are not given short shrift in the slightest; the King looms over this book with all the weight and gravity he deserves.

In all, I’m a richer pulp fan for having read SKULL ISLAND. Will Murray takes our expectations and delivers upon them while still striking off on his own path, assembling a story that will please both Savage and Kong aficionados and remind us all just how cool pulp can be. There’s heart and soul here, like I said, and I for one can’t quite see how Murray will manage to top this one….but I know he will, somehow.

Get this book and settle in for a trip to the South Seas and beyond, Savage style.