Tagged: review

REVIEW: Justice League #22 – When The Tale Wags the Dog

JL22Justice League #22 came out today, touching the fuse for DC’s summer event, Trinity War, which we already know leads into the fall event, Forever Evil.

(Obviously, there’s your mandatory SPOILER ALERT!)

In all fairness, it’s a heck of a setup issue – the battle lines are drawn, it is made abundantly clear the stakes are high, and there are wheels within wheels of which few of the players are aware. It’s a book that absolutely brings you back next week to see what will happen. Geoff Johns is a master of this – he weaves a long-form plot into his books that all ties up into bows whenever he chooses to pull the plot threads. I don’t think he’s ever written a book that didn’t delight me in all his years at DC.

Add to that his wonderful ability to pull obscure characters and plot threads out of the distant past and make them relevant and exciting today. We saw the Shaggy Man make his debut in the New 52 recently, and in this issue we see the on-screen premiere of The Outsider, an old Batman villain (and a long story in and of himself), and a variant version appearing in the Flashpoint minis, written by James Robinson, the mini which I went on record as being my favorite of the bunch, and the one “new” character I said I’d most like to see find his way to the New 52. I’ll be curious of the details of this new iteration of the character.

Having said that, the book had several things going on in the book that I found infuriating, more as a reflection of what’s going in comics in general today.

Death, Death and Death

We saw two characters (seemingly) die in the book – one brand new and one very old. Old Firestorm villain Plastique took out Madame Xanadu, and thanks to The Outsider’s manipulations, Superman seems to have killed the brand spanking new Doctor Light. The former is annoying because of the legacy of the character, the latter, not only because the character was seemingly created solely to be killed, it’s another minority character to have been used in the same fashion. Geoff caught some hell for a similar scenario in Aquaman – a new character of middle eastern descent was killed off in her first adventure – a flashback, no less.

I say “seemingly” because a sub-issue is while DC has sworn blind that the new status quo is “dead is dead,” they don’t seem to mind swerving the readers with the heavy suggestion that a character has died only to reveal the next issue that they’re fine, it was just a flesh wound, they switched at the last minute, etc. Now that’s a tried and true device, used endlessly in the Republic serials, but as Annie Wilkes explained, it’s not good storytelling, it’s cheating. Catwoman never got into the cockadoodie chair.

So it’s entirely possible that Madame Xanadu teleported, or was teleported away, and that Doctor Light will return with even more amazing powers and a serious mad on for the heroes. But the point is, the moment was designed to shock us, provide a hotshot to get us back for the next issue, as opposed to creating a solid dramatic moment. In a documentary, Hitchcock talks about the difference between shock and suspense: one provides a moment of excitement that passes quickly, and one provides a long scene of emotional duress that people will talk about for a long time. Both of these deaths were mere moments. And if they turn out to be false alarms, they’ll be empty moments.

Stories Without End

Literally and figuratively. Event crossovers, mini-series, any story, really, but finite, limited stories should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. There’s lots of opportunity to lay plot threads that can be returned to should the need arise, but time was you’d close the last issue and think “That was a good story.” Or at least, “That wasn’t that good, but at least it’s over”.

The Empire Strikes Back may be the first example in modern narrative where that didn’t happen. They already knew they were making a third film, so there was less of an impetus to make the film end definitively. It didn’t really end – it just paused for three years.  Everyone was safe and all, but there were so many questions left unanswered it felt more like a season finale than a film.

So too in comics, the event / maximegacrossovers don’t quite end as much as they seem to just lead straight into the next one. The defeat of the Big Bad only serves to set up the next one, and not even in a few months – sometimes right at the end of the last issue. Marvel’s been doing this for some years now – each big event would set up the next, and the event wouldn’t quite…end, it’d just say “Join us for next event in a few weeks!”

Geoff Johns had been writing one big long story in Green Lantern, one that included several huge crossover events. But they were all discrete, they ended, they had winners and losers, and there was a sense that something had been achieved.  Even if the next big plot point was teased at the end, it was given months, even years to grow and bloom.

DC has done a couple of these in the past. The Oracle: The Cure mini-series had an overcrowded mess of a climax (what pro wrestling fans refer to as a “Schmoz” finish) that literally ended with “The story continues in Batgirl #1!”  James Robinson’s much maligned mini Justice League: Cry for Justice(!) Seemed to have gone through quite an overhaul – originally pitched as a more “pro-active” League, it quickly turned into nothing but a springboard for Green Arrow’s new plot twist. AND it was chock full of death that only happened to make the main characters angry and “Justice!”-yelly.  James was good enough to un-do one of the more egregious demises, and did it well.

This is DC’s first attempt at Marvel’s “direct flow” format in a big way, but at least they’re being fair about it. We’ve already been told, clearly and distinctly, that the events of Trinity War will cause the villains to win, which will be portrayed in September’s Forever Evil event, and the “villains month” of books. We don’t know “The ending” per se, but we do know that it won’t be an ending, per se.  It’ll be a direct segue to the next event, and a very expensive event it’ll be, if you’re the type that likes to get every part of the story.

It effectively changes Trinity War from the main event to a mere prologue to the next event. I do not expect many plot points to resolve here, save for the various teams realizing they need to team up to fight the real threat. I expect the actions of Superman to be explained to the public very quickly and quickly forgotten, far different from the way they dealt with Wonder Woman’s killing of max lord in the last universe, and the stellar way Gail Simone is dealing with the death of her own brother, and Commissioner Gordon’s (a.k.a. her father) witness of the act.

The Roots Are Too Deep

There’s nothing wrong with foreshadowing. It’s the sign of quality literature. Before Crisis on Infinite Earths, they teased The Monitor in DC titles a full year ahead of time.  In this event, at least one title, Justice League America, seems to have been set up for the express purpose of setting up this event.  It exists not because there was enough demand for a third JL series (tho sales suggests the audience was happy to accept it), but only to serve as a place to put all the plot that would be needed to have Trinity War make sense.

This has been happening for some years now. Dwayne McDuffie’s run on Justice League was severely hindered by Editorial asking him to shoehorn in plot points that only served to set up an upcoming event, and in some cases, being asked to step aside entirely for a couple months.

There’ve been more than a few examples of Editorial getting in the way of the creators since the New 52 came to be as well, many of them ending in creators leaving said books, willingly or no. There’s nothing wrong with an Editor wanting to work with the writer on the stories. When the editor starts taking more of a role than the writer, conflict is almost certainly to follow. There hasn’t been an editor good enough to do that in several decades, and I don’t see one coming along anytime soon.

We’re seeing too many stories that exist only to set up an upcoming event, stories that don’t quite fit in the continuing narrative of the titles, ones that don’t quite end, and ones that just plain get in the way. They cause a small jump in sales as collectors grab the “first chapter” of the next big event, but they rarely bring new readers long-term.

There’s every ability for a writer to turn out a great story, even if any or all of these issues appear.  I fully expect to enjoy the rollercoaster ride that Geoff and his cronies have set up. But it’ll be in spite of what I describe above, not because of them.

Mike Gold: Two For TwoMorrows

Mike Gold: Two For TwoMorrows

Layout 1If I quit my day job, I just might possibly keep up with the output from TwoMorrows Publishing. Sundry regularly published magazines (Alter-Ego, Back Issue, Draw!, etc.), trade paperback and hardcover profiles of significant creators, publishing lines, eras and events – I can’t begin to list them all here. Well, I could, but they do a better job on their own website.

Did I mention they do everything up in both hardcopy and digital? Well, they do, and they’ve made many an otherwise tedious commute into Manhattan a lot more palatable.

I only get to bring to your attention a small fraction of their books. I’m still pissed that travel and work schedules didn’t allow me to review their Matt Baker: The Art of Glamour. So, to paraphrase the great Jack Kirby (and, yeah, they also publish The Jack Kirby Collector), just buy it.

But I will seize this moment to briefly wax poetic about two of their latest releases: The Star*Reach Companion by Richard Arndt, and Dan Spiegle: A Life In Comic Art by John Coates.

DanSpiegle_MEDDan Spiegle is a proper legend. As a kid I missed most of his “early” work because I didn’t like westerns (aside from Maverick; lucky for me, Dan drew the comic version) or teevee tie-in comics. Therefore, I missed out on his beautiful Hopalong Cassidy newspaper strip and his work on Lost In Space and other Dell/Gold Key titles. I did latch onto his work in Korak, Green Hornet and Doctor Solar, but he met me more than half-way when he started working at DC Comics in the 1980s (Jonah Hex, Teen Titans, Unknown Soldier). The work he and Mark Evanier did on Blackhawk single-handedly justifies the overworked and overwrought concept of rebooting. He and Evanier (who wrote the introduction to this book) also did one of my all-time favorites of the era: Crossfire, published by Eclipse Comics during the Great Independent Age of Comics.

Dan Spiegle: A Life In Comic Art contains everything you would expect in such a volume: history, index, interviews. It is lavishly illustrated, and, yes, it’s okay to just look at the pictures (yeah; just try that!). There’s eight color pages reprinting some of his watercolors; most of us haven’t seen them before and, damn, are they worth the wait. There’s at least four of them that I would steal if I was clever and fast enough to get away with it.

The Star*Reach Companion is a long-overdue analysis of and tribute to Mike Friedrich’s classic anthology comic. Mike thought it was a great idea to get some of the best people doing comics at the time to create, writer and/or draw stuff that was of a more mature nature – and I don’t necessarily mean salacious – and there “some of the best” includes Neal Adams, Frank Brunner, Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, Michael T. Gilbert, Dick Giordano, Steve Leialoha, Marshall Rogers, P. Craig Russell, Dave Sim, Walter Simonson, Ken Steacy, Dave Stevens, Mike Vosburg, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Workman …you get the idea. I’m hard-pressed to think of an anthology series with a better line-up.

Not that a lot of folks didn’t try, and a great many of them were quite, quite good. The Star*Reach Companion covers most of these publications as well, and here it serves an important historical function.

The problem with books like these is that, if they are successful, they leave the reader with a thirst they can never quench. Sure, we can pick up the back issues and the reprint books – and after reading these two, I’ll bet you wind up doing at least a bit of that. If you don’t, you’re missing something.

In fact, this is why I implore comic book stores with large back issue inventories to stock TwoMorrows’ books and magazines. They publish the true comics Who’s Who of What’s What.

THURSDAY MORNING: Dennis O’Neil

THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Martin Pasko

 

REVIEW: Wolverine: Origin

wolverineorigin1

In 2000, Bill Jemas arrived at Marvel and began a long process of pulling the company out of bankruptcy. He tapped Joe Quesada to give up running the Marvel Knights imprint and take over Marvel Comics as its Editor-in-Chief. It was a fresh beginning and break from some truly bleak creative years. There was a new atmosphere that said anything was possible which was made manifest with the launch of the Ultimate line of comics.

Sometime that year, Jemas and Quesada held a creative summit and the topic of Wolverine’s origin came up. Shrouded in mystery and misdirection, it was a tale no one dared to tell, which was catnip to Jemas, who was more interested in stirring the pot as creatively and as commercially as possible.

Although discussed with writer Paul Jenkins that year, nothing much was done about it, percolating in the background. In the spring of 2001, when I arrived, Bill and I were informed there was a projected budget shortfall and something had to be added to the schedule to fill the large gap. At that moment, necessity sparked invention and the project was jumpstarted.

Origin, launched in the fall, delivered on its promise. Top talent told a story that fans had been waiting to learn and it was poignant, moving, and exciting. It was not at all what fans expected, which was good. The miniseries sold a ton of copies, made up the budget gap and then some, establishing new lore in the Marvel Universe.

A powerful story, it was a logical step for it to be added to Marvel Knights’ Motion Comics, and released on disc today from Shout! Factory.

Jenkins pulled elements from his childhood to tell the story of poor James Howlett, a sickly child living in19th Century Canada. To keep him company, his father, John Howlett, Sr., brings the redheaded orphan, Rose, to the plantation and they become best friends. Their play dates were extended to Dog, the battered son of the groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. All seemed idyllic but it was far from it, with Thomas’ cruelty, the near madness of James’ mother Elizabeth, who never quite recovered from her eldest son John’s death. As time passes, tensions mount until Thomas comes to rob the mansion and take Elizabeth, with whom he may have had an affair, away with him. When John intervenes, he is shot to death before all three children. The traumatic incident ignites James’ latent mutant powers and the claws pop for the first time, forever changing his life.

It’s a powerful story, honed to near perfection by Jenkins with enough input from Quesada and Jemas to earn them shared story credit. What helped make the miniseries ever better was the artwork from Any Kubert. He leapt at the assignment and then labored over it all summer and that fall, crafting his pencils to such richness that they need not be inked. That gave the story a unique look which was then layered with the watercolor art of Richard Isanove. The Photoshopped color was subtle and meticulous, making him a true collaborator with Kubert. Coupled with the symbolic covers by Quesada and Isanove, it was truly special event.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjX54H2tNog[/youtube]

Unfortunately, Kubert’s lifelike artwork is marred when figures are asked to go from static to kinetic, making this one of the weaker motion comics efforts. The painterly imagery was never intended to move like this and it shows, with awkwardly positioned heads or arms. Thankfully, the vocal cast, usually a weak point on these discs, is above average. The 66 minute, six chapter, story actually would have benefitted more from a proper score than limited motion.

The Blu-ray disc comes complete with two nice extras, the first is a 12:48 look back by Jemas, Quesada, and Jenkins that goes back to the creator summit and how the story came together. The second piece continues the story and over the 14:50, those three are joined by Kubert and Isanove, discussing their visual approach to Jenkins’ story and how each learned to enhance their storytelling. Both pieces make for a good look at the creative process at a key moment in the modern Marvel era.

REVIEW: Robot Chicken DC Comics Special

RobotChicken_DCComicsSpecial_BLURobot Chicken has had some fun with the DC Universe ever since the series premiered on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. As a result, a DC-centric special was inevitable and it aired back in the winter. Now out on DVD from Warner Home Video, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is a fast-paced laugh riot for comic book fans.

The RC crew, headed by cocreators Seth Green and Brecken Mayer are on hand, aided, abetted, and egged on by DC’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. Interestingly, Zeb Wells, who normally writes for Marvel, never for DC, is ion hand to direct the special. On the surface, they cleverly make this appealing to mainstream viewers by basing the look, feel, and sound to mimic the Super Friends animated series, using sound effects from other animated projects. But once the special gets underway, you glimpse tons of characters only comic readers would know, and that’s fun, because you don’t need to know the arcane details. Still, one of the funniest bits involves the foe Mr. Banjo, voiced by Alfred Molina, who admits it was his favorite part on the special.

And the voices help sell this. Molina is joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Megan Fox, Abe Benrubi, Tara Strong, Clare Grant, and the hilarious, foul-mouthed Alex Borstein.

The 23 minutes zip by, tied together by the usual ribbing Aquaman gets but this time, he gets so frustrated he turns to the Legion of Doom and offers his help in taking down the JLA. Another running gag, that never gets old, is the sudden arrival of Bane, who picks up Batman, breaks his back and departs.

Given how short the running time, it’s pretty impressive the disc comes with two hours’ worth of extras, notably funny writer commentaries and slightly less funny actor commentaries. There’s also The Making of Robot Chicken DC Comics Special that runs nearly as long as the show itself and gives you a good idea of what goes into making one of these episodes. There are some outtakes as the actors flub lines and deleted sketches, that get introduced and you learn why they didn’t make the cut. These, at least, got turned into animatics before being cut and one, the heroes needing the bathroom after eating Green Arrow’s chili, was borderline offensive while Booster Gold debating time traveling to kill Hitler with the JSA felt inappropriate (I guess you still shouldn’t make fun of the Holocaust).

Another extra takes you on an incomplete, mildly incoherent tour of DC Entertainment’s new Burbank offices, which makes it look like a fun place to work. The disc is rounded out with Robot Chicken DC Comics Special’s Aquaman Origin Story, Chicken Nuggets, Stoopid Alter Egos, and 5.2 Questions.

Pulp Fiction Reviews El Mosaico

  • Uncategorized
  • July 5, 2013

New Pulp Author Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at EL MOSAICO (Scarred Souls) by New Pulp Author Michael Panush.

EL MOSAICO
(Scarred Souls)
By Michael Panush
Curiosity Quills
201 pages

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Michael Panush is rapidly becoming one of my favorite New Pulp writers.  Having discovered him via “Dinosaur Jazz,” a book we nominated for Best Pulp Novel of 2012, we then discovered his “Stein & Candle Detective Agency” series about two post-World War II occult detectives.  As if that isn’t enough to keep this prolific writer busy, now he’s launched as yet another series which can best be described as Frankenstein done western style.

During the Civil War, a Confederate doctor/occultist has the brilliant idea of stitching together body parts from dead soldiers and then animating them using black magic. His plan is to fill the rapidly diminishing ranks of Southern companies with these reanimated corpse soldiers.  He manages to create one such patchwork man before being killed by Union bombardment.  That one and only success is Clayton Cane.

Cane is a bounty hunter traveling the untamed west of the late 1860s and because his very nature is always encountering one fantastic monster after another in this first collection of adventures; there are eight total and each is a gem.

In “Bayou Bloodshed,” Cane is hired to find a black girl who has run off to a secluded island in the middle of the swamps.  The island is populated with two desperate clans; one of gatormen and the other of werewolves.  Needless to say, Cane’s mission is not an easy one.

Then Panush offers up “Red Blades of Whitechapel,” whereby his jigsaw hero end up in London to hunt down a serial killer with a royal pedigree.  Considering this story’s open-ended climax, the main villain could well return for a future encounter.

With “Dead Man’s Band,” Cane captures an outlaw alchemist named Black who leads a band of dead outlaws.  When these deceased desperados attack the hotel Cane is hold up in the pitched battle appears to be El Mosaico’s last stand.

“Monster Men of Malchite Falls” has the bizarre bounty hunter infiltrating a weird fortress laboratory in the middle of the dessert to rescue a little boy. What he discovers is another mad scientist much like the man who put him together.

In “Tomb of Kings” Clayton Cane is one again employed by the British Government to act as security for an archeological dig in Egypt. When the leader of the expedition unearths and revives the Nameless Pharaoh, Cane must ally himself with Arab dessert warriors to defeat an ancient army of monsters.

Back in the U.S. the man-made gunslinger is next hired by the cavalry to help down an old Indian shaman who may be unleashing an army of ghost braves to defend their land in the moving “Ghost Dances.”

In the seventh story, Cane travels south of the border hunting a gang of vicious stage coach robbers and teams up with a wily Mexican bandito named “Tarantula.”

Lastly Cane is hired by a foreign professor to help him track down the whereabouts of the Ragnorak Hammer before it can be used to destroy the world. When their hunt takes into a brutal Minnesota blizzard, they received unexpected aid from an immortal Viking legend.

“El Mosaico – Scarred Souls” is the epitome of New Pulp fun and originality.  It’s a dandy mash up of cowboys and creatures and the wise reader should saddle up and join Clayton Cane.  The ahead looks to be truly fantastic.

Tthe Shadow Fan Visits the Carnival of Death

The Shadow Fan returns for Episode 38! This time around, New Pulp Author Barry Reese reviews a classic episode of the radio series – “Carnival of Death,” which aired on November 10, 1940! He also takes a look at Dynamite’s comic book solicitations for September 2013 and goes on a mini-rant about Shadow fandom.

If you love pulp’s greatest crimefighter, then this is the podcast for you!

Listen to The Shadow Fan Podcast Episode 38 now at
http://theshadowfan.libsyn.com/carnival-of-death

New From Radio Archives!

 
July 5, 2013
 
 
The CBS Radio Workshop debuted at the end of the Age of Classic Radio, which was a time of innovation and experimentation, especially in terms of radio drama. Volume 3 of the series includes “Subways are for Sleeping”, an adaptation of the novel by Edmund Love, who actually slept on the subways in the Fifties (and, who, with the profits from his book, ate at every restaurant in the New York Yellow Pages, in alphabetical order); “An Analysis of Satire” by Stan Freberg, a comedian, author and actor who is best known today for his voice actor work with Warner Brothers animation; “A Pride of Carrots, or Venus Well Served” is narrated by its author, Robert Nathan, best known for films made from his novels (The Bishop’s Wife, with Cary Grant, and Portrait of Jennie, with Jennifer Jones); he also contributed “Report on the Weans”, which “documents” what future archaeologist might deduce about twentieth century life by examining its artifacts; an adaptation of Mark Twain’s Roughing It, a semi-autobiographical travelogue that was published in 1872 as a prequel to Innocents Aboard, and covered Twain’s travels in the American West 1861-1867; “The Legend of Annie Christmas”, the title role of which was played by Amanda Randolph, the first African-American actress to star in a regularly scheduled network television show; an adaptation of Charles Ferdinand Ramuz’s 1935 novel, When the Mountain Fell.
 
The man behind CBS Radio Workshop, which debuted in 1956, was William Froug. Inspired directly by the work of Norman Corwin on the original Columbia Workshop, Froug put all the pieces together to produce a program that took the best of what had come before it and succeeded even further in production, performance and storytelling.
 
CBS Radio Workshop not only continued to push boundaries in terms of utilizing story, music, voice and more in exciting, modern ways, it broke new ground in radio drama. In short, the CBS Radio Workshop set the standard for modern audio drama.
 
Blending sound effects with story, music with voice, and quality with substance, the episodes on CBS Radio Workshop, Volume 3 shows how boundless storytelling can be with audio drama. 10 hours $29.98 Audio CDs / $14.99 Download.
 
Special 50% discount Offer
 
 
“If trouble is around, yours truly will most likely get a chunk of it.”
“Richard Diamond, Private Detective” proved to be the perfect radio vehicle for actor-singer Dick Powell, combining his tough-guy image, showcased in the 1944 film “Murder, My Sweet” and the 1945-46 radio series “Rogue’s Gallery,” with his tremendous talent for a song, as all those 1930s Warner Brothers/Fox musicals will bear out. The detective series, created by an aspiring screenwriter named Blake Edwards, featured a hard-boiled detective who rarely took himself too seriously; Edwards, the future director of the “Pink Panther” film series, conceived the Diamond character as an ex-cop who had decided to hang out his own shingle in the investigation business.
 

Richard Diamond bore a not-unintentional resemblance to another wisecracking detective of the airwaves, namely Sam Spade (as in “The Adventures of”). Both shamuses – Powell as Diamond, Howard Duff as Spade – demonstrated a breezy insouciance that added a much-needed touch of levity to the type of detective show that was often in danger of sinking under the weight of its own clichés. The lighthearted tone of “Richard Diamond” was even evident in the program’s weekly opening, which featured Powell whistling a jaunty “Leave it to Love.” It was not uncommon, after cracking each weekly case, for “the singing detective” to sit down at the piano in the penthouse apartment of Helen Asher, his wealthy, red-headed love interest played by Virginia Gregg and also Frances Robinson, and serenade her with a number from the Hit Parade. In-jokes were rampant on the show; Richard would often make reference to other detectives (notably Sam Spade) and he had a particularly pronounced fondness for actress June Allyson — in real life, Mrs. Dick Powell.
 
Just as Spade had a love-hate relationship with Lieutenant Dundy, Diamond shared a similar bond with his contact on the force, homicide detective Lieutenant Walt Levinson. The sarcastic badinage between the detective and his easily agitated cop pal provided many a memorable moment on the series. Diamond reserved his suffer-no-fools disdain for Sergeant Otis Ludlum, a cop who had such a force field of stupidity surrounding him that you just know he had to have a relative at City Hall looking after his job. Otis was played by actor Wilms Herbert, who also doubled on the show as Francis, Helen’s faithful retainer; Francis had an uncanny, mood-killing knack of barging in at the most inopportune times, like when Diamond and Helen were getting ready to turn down the lights and pour the wine…
 
“Richard Diamond, Private Detective” debuted over NBC Radio on April 24, 1949 as a sustaining series, but picked up a sponsor in Rexall Drugs (complete with announcer Bill “Whistler” Forman and your Rexall family druggist) in June 1950. Camel Cigarettes picked up the tab as of January of 1951, just before the show moved to ABC, but by June the show was back with Rexall again, which continued its sponsorship until the program left the airwaves on June 27, 1952. (The series would return briefly during the summer of 1953 for CBS, recycling earlier scripts from the 1950-51 season.)
 
10 hours. Regular Price $29.98 – Specially priced until July 18 for $14.99 Audio CDs / $7.49 Download.
 
 
Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #29
by Frederick C. Davis writing as Curtis Steele
Read by Richard Epcar. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
 

From out of the pages of Operator #5 magazine steps a dramatic hero who pits himself against threats to national security from all origins. Whether it’s a subversive internal threat, or a full-scale invasion from an enemy land, James Christopher stood ready and resolute to defeat it.
 
James Christopher did not technically belong to the U. S. Secret Service. He was a top agent for an America’s unnamed Intelligence Service. It was in his blood. His father, John Christopher, retired from the same agency years before. Answerable only to his superior, Z-7, and carrying a letter from the President of the United States identifying him as Operator #5, Jimmy Christopher played for keeps. He carried a rapier sewn into his belt, and in a golden skull hanging from his watch-chain was a reservoir of poison to be swallowed in the event of capture.
 
Aided by a small group of trusted assistants, ranging from his twin sister Nan to scrappy street urchin Tim Donovan, Jimmy Christopher was a one-man defense force. Proud and patriotic, expert marksman and swordsman, he is the best America has to offer in a time of severe trial.
 
Fresh from his epic battle with the malevolent forces of the Yellow Empire in the previous exploit torn from the pages of Operator #5 magazine, James Christopher once again grapples with the machinations of the belligerent Asian Island nation in The Yellow Scourge.
 
One moment good-will bound the United States and the great Power across the sea—the next, shells screamed their death wails into Coast homes and factories. No citizen was safe from the bloody holocaust when the Yellow Empire struck without warning from the Pacific. With fiendish artifice the world was turned against us. And somewhere in this country, covertly completing the terrifying work of wholesale destruction, lurked the ruthless agent of the invading hordes. Operator #5 alone guessed the dread secret and matched his individual might against a million war-drunk terrorists…while the nation trembled on the brink of red wreckage!
 
Back in 1934, pulp writers didn’t name names—if they could help it—but Frederick C. Davis, writing as Curtis Steele, was prescient in that seven years before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he depicted the forces of Nippon as bombarding coastal California!
 
This Total Pulp Experience audiobook contains all three stories from the third issue of Operator #5 magazine, June, 1934. 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
 
 
 
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 the tabernacle meeting rose the old man’s shout, “This is a phony religion, you dumb psalm-singers! There is only one true religion, and that is — ” Then, horrified, incredulous, the victimized worshipers beheld that defiant figure suddenly snuffed out in fire and smoke. For a new hysteria was sweeping the nation — headed by one who called himself the reincarnation of Zoroaster. His god was the Fire God, and men must pay tribute in money and adoration — or die! Hundreds perished in flames, and the police were paralyzed. It was Richard Wentworth, as the Spider, who took up the trail of the flame-master — to lock grips with the greatest murder-menace that men had seen since the time of ancient priests and human sacrifice! 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.
 
 

Criminals quaked at the name The Secret Six. And for four glorious issues, this team of six crimefighters took on some of the weirdest and most fantastic antagonists that ever reared their heads in the pulp magazines. It was where weird menace met six normal men with no strange gadgets or outlandish skills. The utterly amazing stories were written by Robert J. Hogan, better known for writing the G-8 and his Battle Aces stories. But after four issues, the over-the-top action came to an end and Popular Publications pulled the plug on the series. These vintage pulp tales are now 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, all written by Henry Treat Sperry, 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. 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 Paul Ernst, 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 devil’s power was it that sent fierce terror prowling through the shadowed rooms of the ancient house of the Ravilliacs? 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 classic story the pages of Dime Mystery Magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
In modern New York, the Medieval Inquisition lived again! 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 classic story the pages of Dime Mystery Magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
 
The woman I love is so overpoweringly lovely that she awakens in my being a monster that thirsts for beauty — and destroys it! 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.
 
Salty little Arly went all-out to out-glamour a gorgeous Eastern girl. 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!
 
 
 

Pulp fiction’s Master of Men returns in two classic stories from one of the pulp era’s best selling magazines. First, in “Slaves of the Murder Syndicate” (1936), tiny darts tipped with a strange and deadly drug are wreaking havoc on the city and spreading fear and panic throughout the population. Victims, struck with the darts, die horribly, convulsing with the deadly rhythms of an evil and sinister dance of death. The Spider is desperately needed or help battle this terrible menace from the east but, as Richard Wentworth. he finds himself betrayed into the hands of the police – by his own fiance! Then, in “Pirates From Hell” (1940), a buccaneer calling himself LaFitte recreates history and plunders not ships of sea, but trains and their vital cargo. Like his pirate predecessor, LaFitte hands out death and fates worse than death to those he crushes in his path: white slavery, fiendish tortures — no method is too foul for the pirate and his savage crew of murdering cut-throats. Can The Spider defeat LaFitte? 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 Knight of Darkness proves that crime does not pay in two pulp classics by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow follows a trail of murder to retrieve the priceless rubies known as “The Seven Drops of Blood.” Then, to prove the innocence of a man accused of an impossible crime, the Dark Avenger must uncover the strange secret behind “Death from Nowhere.” BONUS: The Whisperer brings true sight to “The Eye of Zion” in a thriller by Alan Hathway writing as “Clifford Goodrich.” This instant collector’s item features the classic color pulp covers by Graves Gladney and George Rozen, the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Edd Cartier, and commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.

 

The pulps’ original “Man of Steel” returns in three action-packed pulp thrillers by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, smuggled “Pictures of Death” are only the sinister prelude to deadly sabotage and mass destruction. Then, Justice Inc. hunts for the antidote to a deadly malady that transforms men into apelike monstrosities in “The Green Killer.” Will the cure bring death to The Avenger? PLUS “Calling Justice Inc.,” a bonus Avenger thriller by Spider-scribe Emile Tepperman! This classic pulp reprint showcases the classic color pulp covers by Lenosci and William Timmons, Paul Orban’s interior illustrations and commentary by pulp historian Will Murray. $14.95.

The Man of Bronze and his daredevil cousin Pat Savage return in two classic pulp novels by Lester Dent and William Bogart writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, Doc Savage is accused of serial murders and jailed. Can Pat and Doc’s aides help unearth the strange secret of “The Invisible-Box Murders” and prove the Man of Bronze’s innocence? Then, Doc journeys to Honolulu after a strange letter makes Pat’s friend, Sally Trent, a “Target for Death.” BONUS: “The Hang String,” a rare 1933 tale by Lester Dent from the back pages of The Shadow Magazine. 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. $35.00.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Continuing to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Doc Savage and King Kong
 
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 Dr. Art Sippo
 
A silver pleasure sloop is found adrift by the Coast Guard. On it are fifteen bodies bloated and sun-burned beyond recognition. One of the bodies belongs to a woman whose throat has been cut by a well-known philanthropist who himself lies dead next to her. Reviewing the passenger’s list one passenger is missing: Velma Crale, female adventurer, aviatrix, and all around daredevil. She had just completed an aerial trip around the South Polar region but rather atypically claimed she had found nothing of interest. Now she has disappeared while everyone else on her ship has been killed by what appears to be severe sun exposure.
 
One week later, Velma Crale calls Doc Savage. He and his men are told to board the liner Regis sailing from Southhampton for New York and to watch out for a man named Thurston H. Wardhouse. No sooner are they underway when mayhem and violence stalk them. Then just as Doc and his crew seem to get the upper hand, the Regis is bathed is a powerful blinding light unlike anything they have ever seen. This secret weapon was what Velma Crale encountered at the South Pole. It so frightened her that she kept quiet about it until she could get to Doc Savage for help. Now the Regis has been taken over by cutthroats who change its course to take the ship to the South Pole?
 
Why is this ship being hijacked? What is the secret that Velma Crale discovered at the South Pole? Who is Thurston H. Wardhouse? Who has taken over the ship? What is this deadly weapon that kills with bright light? Is it too late now to stop the nefarious plot?
 
Don’t miss this exciting adventure as Doc and his iron crew combat the South Pole Terror! Double Novel reprint $12.95
 
Comments From Our Customers!
 
Ivan Watson writes:
Thank you again for all that you do to preserve America’s invaluable radio heritage and for providing me with many hours of wonderful radio listening.
 
Joseph Wrzos writes:

I’ve bought quite a few of the Radio Archives audio series, which I love. Enjoying the curious sensation of “listening” to pulp stories of old read aloud, though “not” converted into radio dramas. So far, I’ve particularly liked THE SPIDER, DOC SAVAGE, DR. YEN SIN, THE GREEN LAMA, STRANGE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES, TERROR TALES, and (most particularly) THE MOON POOL AND OTHER WONDERS.

Editor: Joe suggests a number of ideas for future audiobooks which we are considering. Take Joe’s advice and pick up a copy of The Moon Pool and Other Wonders. It is mesmerizing.
 
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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Earth Station One Episode 169 – The World of H.G. Wells

The Collected Works

New Pulp creators discuss H.G. Wells on the latest episode of the Earth Station One podcast.

On this episode, the station is full to the brim with folks celebrating the life and career of “The Father of Speculative Fiction,” “The Patron Saint of Steampunk,” “The Shaper of Things to Come,” “History’s Awesome Outliner,” and “That Strange Gent from Kent,” Herbert George Wells. Showing the Wellsian love along with Mike Faber, Mike Gordon, Jennifer Hartshorn, and the award-winning author Bobby Nash are Mark Maddox and Sean Taylor (two award-winners in their own right), Doctor Q (soon to win an award in something), and Drew Meyer (who should get an award for suffering through The Geek Seat). Plus, we also manage to find some time for Rants, Raves, the Khan Report, and Shout Outs.

Jamie Murray as Warehouse 13’s HG

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: The World of H.G. Wells at www.esopodcast.com
Direct link: http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/earth-station-one-episode-169-the-wold-of-h-g-wells/

Next on Earth Station One…

Hi-Yo, Silver! Away!

ESO returns to the theater as the crew relive those thrilling days of yesteryear! From out of the past come the thundering hoof-beats of the great horse Silver! That’s right, The Lone Ranger rides again! ESO reviews the new Johnny Depp/Armie

Adapted by Sean Taylor

Hammer film and takes a look at the history of The Lone Ranger. You get all this and the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, Geek Seat, and Shout Outs on the next Earth Station One.

We would love to hear from you. Tell us your favorite Lone Ranger memories. Did you see the new film? Please leave a short review at esopodcast@gmail.com, www.esopodcast.com, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. We would love to hear from you. Who knows, we might just read yours on the show.

Pulp Fiction Reviews and Junkyard Dogs

New Pulp Author Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at Junkyard Dogs, a Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson.

JUNKYARD DOGS
(A Walt Longmire Mystery)
By Craig Johnson
Penguin Books
306 pages

Happily one doesn’t have to read the Walt Longmire series in order to enjoy their levity, fast paced action and classic mystery formulas.  We should also point out that the highly popular television series, which is also a great deal of fun, is decidedly different from the books to make both unique and worthy of your attention for various reasons.

When the owner-manager of the local junkyard and landfill dies under mysterious reasons, Sheriff Longmire naturally suspects the big time land developer making noises to move the refuse facility.  But when that individual, upon escaping from custody, is shot to death in a small park in the middle of a snow blizzard, Longmire finds himself back to square one.

As anyone who has been following this series knows by now, the rugged high plains of Wyoming are as much a part of these tales as are the convoluted plots themselves.  Whereas with this particular case, poor old Longmire is really put through the physical ringer as he gets sprayed in the face with a heavy dose of Pepper Spray, bitten on the butt by a mean German Shepherd and in the end has a stack of scrapped automobiles dumped on him.  He somehow manages to survive all these challenges and bring the murderer to justice making him the quintessential western hero.

Of course this book has references to past exploits and although they don’t impede the enjoyment, they will make you want to go out and pick them up.  This is one series you won’t want to miss a single installment.

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