Genre blending has always been a staple of pulp fiction and there have been many sci-fi based private eye creations over the years.Writer Lee Houston Jr. isn’t breaking any new ground with this collection. What he is doing is adding to it with a truly sympathetic character in Hugh Monn, a human residing on the planet of Frontera.For background, we are told that there was an intergalactic war between isolationists who opposed species interaction and the allied worlds who favored it both for moral and economic reasons.The isolationists lost although remnants survive in bands of outlawed terrorists.Monn is a battle weary veteran of the campaign having fought with the allies.Now he’s settled down in his one man private investigations business and the eight cases in this volume have him mixing with various humanoid species also inhabiting the city island of Galveston 2. Each is well done and adds in creating a fascinating supporting cast.
“Dineena’s Dilemna,” in which a disinherited son attempts to frame his cousin for the murder of his own mother.Alas, private detective Hugh Moon is on the case and spots enough clues to free his client and bring the murderous heir to justice.
In “Shortages” Monn is hired by a docking outfit to solve the theft of merchandise from a highly secured storage facility. It looks like an inside job and evidence implicates one of the alien employees unless Monn can figure out how the thieves are working their operations.
In “Law and Order,” Monn is retained by a Felinoid lawyer named Mau to help clear her client from an armed robbery charge.The problem is the store’s video tapes clearly show the defendant committing the crime. Monn has to prove that even the eyes can be deceived by digital chicanery.
With “The Siege,” Houston gives us his version of the move “Die Hard,” with Monn going up against a group of ant-like terrorist secretly taking over a major business tower at the heart of the island where he resides. Super rifle in hand, the gutsy private eye takes on this squad of trained commandos single handed.
“Where Can I Get A Witness?”Monn is hired to subpoena an elusive witness in a motor vehicle accident case.In the process he stumbles over the case of a popular female singer who mysteriously vanished decades earlier. What’s the connection between that disappearance and the old man becomes the puzzle he must solve before someone dies.
Then a paternity issue results in a kidnapping and ends with Monn trapping an embezzler who became too greedy, all in the story, “For The Benefit Of Master Tyke.”This one gives us more of the detective’s character and sensitivity as he tries to keep a family from falling apart.While “At What Price Gloria?” Monn helps an old acquaintance from an earlier case outwit foreign blackmailers and foil an assassination plot.
Finally the book ends with our hero attempting to spend, “A Day At The Beach,” only to end up solving a brutal murder with the help of a few other beach goers.
What is particularly refreshing in these tales is that Houston wisely opts not to make his hero a hard-boiled, typically cynical type.Hugh Monn is a genuinely nice guy who likes people and aliens alike and is sincere in trying to make his world a better place for all to live in.He’s a good guy I liked meeting and hope to see him again real soon.
Once upon a time there was a powerful Wizard who had evil in his heart. He saw the comic world as a place he could bend to his will. And for a time, publishing companies flocked to him as loyal lap-dogs. Their best artists and writers were doled out to him to make appearances at his traveling circus. He was gloriously powerful, but feared his mortality. Soon, his spells… terrible fluff charms with no bite or news illusions presented way past their prime… weakened his power. The Wizard flailed madly to stay relevant. The people of the comic world simply stopped paying attention. His power dwindled. His traveling circus became a geek show of tired acts. He was left with no choice. He took the few followers he’d kept a grasp on, and sucked their life force… and ran into the forest. And there he stayed, seething, and cursing the public for abandoning him. When a court jester dared make fun of him, he shot from the darkness! But the shot was less than even a first year spellcaster’s magic missile. It fizzled, and died before it could even hit. He-who-everyone-knows has quit magic altogether.
There was a time when the word “Wizard” was synonymous amongst comic book fans as a glorious thing. Wizard Magazine was the zeitgeist of the comic community. Wizard also put on amazing shows featuring top talent, insightful panels, and legitimately helpful workshops. And then the Internet became a thing.
Slowly Wizard became more and more out of touch. As comic book news was published more frequently, its articles became old hat by the time they reached print. The helpful price guide that anchored the last third of the magazine ceased to be of any value. And their shows? I think anyone who has long frequented my writings here know all to well that a Wizard Convention fell from grace harder than Lucifer. Most recently, Wizard shut down its publication arm. It took subscribers’ cash, refused to refund it, and started publishing an e-magazine. No one read it. It shut down too. And should the Internet be believed… the now resigned CEO, Gareb Shamus, perhaps attempted to get an artist fired from his day job for making a scathing webcomic about him.
Shamus reportedly attempted to get an artist fired from his day job for a webcomic published on The Gutters. No other details aside from the strip’s writer (and Gutter EIC Ryan Sohmer) are available, aside from his post on the subject. As he said:
“Should you find yourself the subject matter of a Gutters page, and take offense to it, don’t go after my artists. Should you be so offended that you attempt to get someone fired from their day job, don’t be a coward.
“Come after me.”
Let’s pontificate on this, shall we? If this is to be true, Gareb needs his head checked. Last time I looked, the Internet is a place built on the idea that anyone can say anything they want about anyone else short of legal slander or accusation of murder or rape. I don’t actually know if that’s true, but it sounds right, doesn’t it?
Perhaps Shamus forgot he once ran a magazine that sent quite a few barbs towards Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, and anyone else in the pop culture arena. Half the fun of Wizard, in its hey-day, were its jokes crammed in the margins and in word balloons to article’s pictures. And not once did I read of them getting reamed by Rob Liefeld for drawing pretty man boobs… let alone have an artist potentially fired for drawing a commissioned strip. It’s mind-numbing if this indeed happened.
It’s a sad tailspin the Wizard corporation seems to be in these days. I’ll be honest. I subscribed to their e-mailed magazine when it came out. I gave it three issues. And then it was junked, I unsubscribed, and moved on with my life. For all the good they used to represent, they simply never figured out a way to make their content current. Suffice to say with the utter glut of talent around the edge of this industry just waiting for a chance to write a nice op-ed piece, or jam on a funny strip… Shamus and company truly can’t see the forest for the trees. Well, I’m a nice guy.
And Steven Shamus was immensely helpful in getting Unshaven Comics into two very excellent conventions this year. So, here’s my good deed of the season; Wizard (are you paying attention?), here’s how you can fix your tattered reputation:
1. Have Gareb Shamus post an honest-to-Rao apology to the comic fans around the world. We need to know, in detail, why money was taken for subscriptions not filled, and nothing was done to even things up. We need an apology for promising content, and never delivering. If there’s a pool of people’s money sitting somewhere, you need to make it right. Take it, commission some jam pieces from the artists who still may like you. Better yet, get young, up and coming talent and commission them to do some great pieces. Then send that artwork to the former subscribers, with a big fat I’m sorry written on them.
2. Take the conventions you own and put them back in the hands of those who make the industry work. Ditch the aging wrestlers, and D-List sci-fi extras, and find a way to get back the creators who make these shows what they are meant to be… comic book shows. Not pop culture festivals. Mend fences with those you lost over the years. Comp them. Get them back into the buildings by any means necessary (like groveling)… so they can see their fans. Get them to interact in sketch-offs, trivia contests, and wicked debates. Make the conventions a place to be, and be seen; Not just an overgrown flea market, and autograph zone.
3. Take what resources you do have, and create timely content for other people’s more successful sites. The industry doesn’t need another Newsarama, Comic Alliance, Comic Book Resources, Bleeding Cool, or ComicMix. But all of those sites sure like a good article, a snappy comic, or relevant video. Create the content, release it for free, and excite the fans again. Earn back the goodwill you once had by doing what you should have done a while ago; Apologize. Work hard to earn back the trust and respect from the industry you took for granted, and produce something that stimulates the fan base… instead of pandering to your stock holders in an attempt to appear profitable.
We see through the spells, Wizard… and we know all your tricks already.
Created by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian), the book features stories by New Pulp luminaries Mark Bousquet, Joe Crowe, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, Sean Taylor, I. A. Watson, and Plexico, with bonus e-book stories by Mark Beaulieu and Danny Wall. Also included are six full-page illustrations by Chris Kohler (Sentinels). Cover art and design are by James Burns (Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!”).
Art: James Burns
In the spirit of “Thundarr the Barbarian” and “John Carter of Mars” comes the gripping saga of US General John Blackthorn. Betrayed and left for dead on the battlefield, Blackthorn awakens many thousands of years later to find himself trapped amidst the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Mars, his only companions a savage Mock-Man and a mysterious sorceress. They battle together to free this strange new world from oppression, but it won’t be easy, for arrayed against them are the deadliest foes imaginable: mutants, monsters, and robots, as well as treacherous teammates. And lurking behind it all are the fanatical forces of the First Men: the Black Sorcerer, the Sorcerer of Fatal Laughter, Lord Ruin, and the Sorcerer of Night—masters of magic and technology alike—the dreaded Sorcerers of Mars!
All Pulp sat down recently with Blackthorn creator, Van Allen Plexico and writers Joe Crowe, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, Sean Taylor, I. A. Watson, and Mark Beaulieu to talk about the new anthology.
Art: Chris Kohler
AP: Tell us a little about yourself.
VP: I like to create and write fun stuff, and I like bringing in very talented people to work with me on those projects. BLACKTHORN is a great example of this. As the creator and editor of the project, all I had to do was say, “short stories in the spirit of Thundarr the Barbarian” and all these terrific writers and artists came running!
I also write the fairly popular Sentinels superhero novels and have created and/or edited a variety of other SF and New Pulp properties, including MARS McCOY, HAWK, and GIDEON CAIN, for numerous publishers. I also created and edited the ASSEMBLED! books about Marvel’s Avengers, and I write SF and sports columns. I try to stay busy.
JC: I’m Joe Crowe, senior writer and producer of RevolutionSF.com, where we write commentary, criticism, and comedy about sci-fi and its related genres. Our site has been chugging along for ten years, which is like a million years in Internet time.
BN: I’m Bobby Nash. When I’m not procrastinating or distracted by shiny objects, I write novels, comic books, novellas, e-books, magazines, you name it. I’m probably most known for my work with the pulp characters LANCE STAR: SKY RANGER and DOMINO LADY or for my first novel, EVIL WAYS. You can find out more about me and the stuff I write at http://www.bobbynash.com/. I also co-host a weekly podcast called Earth Station One, which can be found at http://www.esopodcast.com/.
JP: I have written articles, interviews, and reviews for Strange Horizons, Tangent Online, and a few other online and print publications. I have been writing New Pulp for about three or four years now, and have written for Airship 27 Productions, Pro Se Productions, as well as White Rocket Books. I live in Georgia with my wife and daughter.
ST: I write stories. I write them in comic books, graphic novels, magazines, book anthologies and novels. I write them for money, and I write them for fun — both at the same time. I’ve worked as a freelancer for companies like IDW and Penquin Books, and I’ve been on the editorial team with companies like Shooting Star Comics, iHero Entertainment and Campfire Graphic Novels.
IW: My defining characteristic in American pulp circles seems to be that I’m British. That means when I read people citing The Shadow and Doc Savage and Conan and Lovecraft as sources of inspiration for their work I just assume those are strange Americanised spellings of Sherlock Holmes, the insidious Fu Manchu, Alan Quartermain, and William Hope Hodgson.
Given enough time and an audience that doesn’t run away fast enough I’ll also demonstrate a passion for Arthurian legend, Greek and Norse myths, European fairy tales, and odd corners of actual history. It’s probably not a good idea to ask me how the French got George Washington to confess to murder over a cow or how Sir Winston Churchill’s son seduced an English queen in 1667!
It’s a sad but true fact that my teenage daughter and son could tell you, though.
MB: I’m a criminal justice professor in upstate New York. Not sure what else to say here, but I recently got into watching old Doctor Who episodes. On the pulp front, I read Tarzan and John Carter of Mars as a kid and really got into Conan as an adult. Read the Conan comics as a kid, but not the actual stories so it was nice to get to these as an adult. I love Barry Reese’s The Rook. The 1st volume just blew me away and I’ve been grabbing Barry Reese stuff ever since.
Art: Chris Kohler
AP: What attracted you to the Blackthorn: Thunder On Mars project?
VP: I was trying to come up with a more sophisticated approach to the “Thundarr the Barbarian” type of post-apocalyptic action-adventure storyline, and at the same time considering doing a new version of John Carter of Mars. The two clicked together somehow in my head and instantly I knew I had a winning formula. I think what we’ve come up with will be instantly recognizable in terms of its spirit and inspirations, but in this form it really is an original concept–and a really exciting and fun one.
JC: For my entire career in nerd journalism, I’ve been an editor and a reviewer. I goaded myself into trying to write fiction again. The last time I did was a “THUNDER Agents” story in the back of my math notebook when I was 11. Wait! I forgot about a “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” script and some goofily fun superhero comedy stories with a writing group from the GEnie BBS.
BN: When Van first told me about his plans for Blackthorn I got excited. As a fan of Thundarr, John Carter, and Kamandi, I knew this would be a fun project. And sure enough, it was. Van’s excitement is contagious and I didn’t have to give the matter too much thought when he invited me to participate. Then he told me who else would be contributing stories and my excitement for the project increased even more. My only disappointment was that I couldn’t have Blackthorn scream, “Lords of Light!”
JP: I am a huge fan of the old Thundarr the Barbarian cartoon, as well as John Carter of Mars. I think the concept for this anthology is brilliant and something that has never been done before. Plus, I knew I would have a lot of fun playing around in this world that Van has created.
ST: Van told me I’d be famous if I contributed a story, and sure enough, now I am. How ’bout that? Seriously though, the source material was the stuff of dreams for me. It was like sticking all my favorite post-apocalyptic stories in a blender and then dumping the mixture out with carte blanche to play around in it and get my fingers sticky — in a good way. Van would have had to file a restraining order to keep me away from this one.
IW: Van Plexico asked me to do it. Nearly everything I write for publication starts with me being too polite to say no.
In this case though, I was attracted for three reasons. First, I’d enjoyed collaborating with Van and some of the other writers on our previous anthology, Gideon Cain: Demon Hunter. Having had a good experience there I was happy to go again.
Secondly, I thought the idea as pitched, of an amnesiac soldier waking on another world that needed a hero, and the mood as suggested, Edgar Rice Burroughs meets Jack Kirby, would be a fun thing to write.
Finally, I wanted to see what my writing colleagues would come up with. Part of the joy of these shared creative processes is that each person brings something extra to the mix. Any subsequent volume will be a different writing experience because of what’s been cooked up this time.
MB: Van asked for submissions and I wanted to look at the bible as an example for a project I wanted to get started. Once I looked over the bible, a story idea started to grow.
Art: Chris Kohler
AP: Blackthorn has its genesis in characters like Thundaar the Barbarian, John Carter of Mars, and Kamandi: the Last Boy on Earth mixed together with a modern day hero and a futuristic post-apocalyptic Mars. Tell us a bit about your story and some of the challenges or unexpected surprises you encountered while visiting Blackthorn’s world?
VP: As the creator, I took it upon myself to do the “double-length” origin story. It ended up being “double-length” mainly because I had to set everything up, including how an American military man ends up on the Mars of the future and how he encounters these other very unusual allies and foes. I think the main challenge was creating very distinctive individual main characters that had strong personalities, so that the writers who followed afterward would know exactly who these people are and how to make them act and speak consistently. And I have to say everyone involved did a great job with that. The stories are varied in approach and style and action, but they’re all very consistent in their portrayals of the world and the people, and they’re definitely all very exciting and entertaining.
JC: The books and comics you mentioned have bombastic, cackling villains. I wanted to throw some of those at Blackthorn and his partners. Unfortunately for the bad guys, the heroes threw them back, hard. My story is the shortest in the book.
BN: My story is called “The Minefields of Malador.” It starts with a simple enough premise. Blackthorn and his companions are riding their steeds across the Martian countryside, enjoying the first bit of peace and quiet in some time when the ground in front of them explodes. That’s when they realize they’ve wandered into a minefield. They realize that there is no way to go through or around the mines so they have to go underground into Malador’s ancient system of caves. From there, things get weird.
JP: I didn’t want it to sound like the Thundarr cartoon, or for Blackthorn to be Thundarr. There were times when his dialogue was a bit too “pulpy”, so I had to reign it in some. Having Van’s story available to read before I got too deeply into it really helped me shape the characters and their relationships to each other. Van also gave all of us room to be ourselves and put our own spin on each story, which was very freeing.
ST: My story is called “City of Relics” and started in my head from a single image of Blackthorn (and his Amazing Friends) fighting off a group of naked snake women. It was like I had a 1960’s sci-fi book cover in my head that needed to be expounded upon. So expound I did. I wanted to explore the idea of a sort of anti-Blackthorn, not as a warrior, but as scientist left as the last of her kind for hundreds of years. I imagine that sort of loneliness might drive a person crazy. And I couldn’t resist making that character female, because, well, I’m a sucker for a good femme fatale, even without all noir smoke filling up the story.
IW: I’m not happy until I’ve mapped things out, a good back story (and sometimes even a map) that informs what I’m writing about. If I’m featuring a genetically created race of Mock-Men then I want to know that when left to their own devices they live in settlements of bee-shaped huts, growing spices in shallow water-gardens and fermenting their thick liqueurs on their agricultural trellises. I want to know that at sunset they sit together and croon the Song of Yearning. I want to know that the word for surrender in their growling tongue actually means “wait for an opportunity”. Some of that even made it into the story, but the rest was there in my head informing it.
If we’d set these stories on post-apocalyptic Earth we’d have inevitably assumed the continents and rivers and city ruins based on our current world. A Martian setting gives us a chance for something richer and stranger, but to sell that we need to have the same familiarity with it as a dystopian Earth writer might mention “the Great Washington Crater” or “the Italian archipelago”. I’m pleased we were able to world-map sufficiently to offer that kind of verisimilitude.
Blackthorn’s Mars is ruled by the four sorcerous First Men, each a very different kind of tyrant using ancient technologies indistinguishable from magic. I wanted to work out how four archvillains managed to survive on the same planet. I was interested in what challenged and constrained them as well as the hero. Hence I set my story in the Valley of Acheron, the toxic wasteland where the big four dump their failed experiments and keep clear. Then I imagined what might evolve there or slink in attracted by the chemical, nuclear, and psychic waste.
And having got the setting – a place even the First Men didn’t go – it seemed only fair to send the Black Sorcerer, Blackthorn’s major bad guy – in there after him. That allows us to showcase the regular villain as well as our heroic crew.
If I get another go at a Blackthorn story I really want to do a meeting of all the heroes and all the villains together in a room where they can’t immediately kill each other. I think that would be great fun to write.
MB: My story focuses on two characters not realizing that what they want is actually bad for them. There’s a little crazy girl, Nikka, who has lost her parents and starts hearing voices and all she wants is her parents back. Then there’s Bazooka Bronson who wants to get into Lord Ruin’s good graces and ignores that Lord Ruin’s men had left him for dead the last time to win him over. The big challenge was getting the main characters more involved in the story since the character arcs revolve around Nikka and Bazooka Bronson. The most surprising thing was that this story came to me on a 2 hour car trip and was plotted out almost completely by the end of that trip. I just had to get Blackthorn more involved. I also had to find something for Oglok to do. The story actually has a little bit of Judge Dredd in it. In the end, I’d say my story is a mix of John Carter of Mars and Judge Dredd with a tad bit of Thundaar thrown in.
Art: James Burns
AP: Where can readers find and learn more about you and your work?
VP: They can visit www.plexico.net for links to my work with various publishers, as well as biographical information. And follow me on Twitter at @VanAllenPlexico
JP: I am active on Facebook and, to a lesser extent, on Twitter @palmerwriter, and everyone can check out my website and blog at http://www.jamespalmerbooks.com/.
ST: I’m all over the place, convention-wise and on the ‘Net. Online there’s my official website at http://www.taylorverse.com/, along with my Twitter feed and Facebook page (both at seanhtaylor after the /), and there’s also my brand new writer’s blog, Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action, seanhtaylor.blogspot.com. For conventions, check out my appearance schedule on my website.
IW: I wouldn’t want readers to know much more about me; but they can chase up my novels, Robin Hood: King of Sherwood and Robin Hood: Arrow of Justice via my Robin Hood website at http://www.chillwater.org.uk/writing/robinhome.htm. There are sample chapters there and other materials, and lists of the various anthologies I’ve contributed to. I’ve had tales in volumes one to three of Airship 27 / Cornerstone Books’ top selling Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective series. My volume 2 tale got me a Best Pulp Short Story award. And there’s the aforementioned Gideon Cain: Demon Hunter, from pretty much the people who brought you Blackthorn.
Upcoming in 2012 is Robin Hood: Freedom’s Champion, a story in a new anthology about pulp airman Richard Knight for Pulp Obscura, a jungle heroine tale (details still embargoed), “The Case of the Clockwork Courtesan” for Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective volume 4, a novella set on an airship and some other bits and pieces. I like writing. All these publishers really need to keep up!
MB: Right now, this is my 1st published story. Hopefully, it’s not too obvious. I am working on a series with I.A. Watson and Mark Bousquet. We’ll have to figure out where that’ll be published, but I’ve read the draft for Ian’s story and it’s absolutely fantastic and I’ve written a draft for my story. It’s called The Many Worlds of Ulysses King and involves a Doctor Who-like character saving alternate realities (rather than time travel) with his companions. Mixes my love of Doctor Who with my love of alternate history fiction.
The only other work I have that’s seen print, outside of academic circles, would be found in Van’s Assembled volumes.
AP: And finally, Van, what are the future plans for Blackthorn and his companions? Can we expect a return visit to Mars?
VP: The grand plan is for two more books. The next one will up the ante with even more direct confrontations between Blackthorn’s team and the big baddies of Mars, and the third one will bring things to a more-or-less final resolution. That’s the plan right now, but of course one never knows how such things will turn out. As General Blackthorn himself would probably remind us, “No battle plan long survives contact with the enemy.”
And as Oglok would probably add, “GRRAAAARRRRRHH!!!”
One way or another, though, we will definitely be seeing more exciting adventures of Blackthorn, Aria and Oglok in the future.
Universal is releasing [[[Cowboys & Aliens]]] on DVD today and they have sent out some preview clips. The set below focus on the delectable Olivia Wilde.
We all know Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso work well together. Uttering the duo’s name automatically triggers thoughts of quality. I know for me, the pair rests near the top of creative teams of the last decade. Sometimes, though, I believe we forget how truly great these guys are together. We acknowledge their high esteem in the medium, but after a while we get into the habit of just accepting without truly seeing. We lack the sort of realization you can only experience when you’re sitting down with one of their comics–the sensation that as you turn the page, you know you’re reading something special because your mind is being blown.
Azzarello and Risso do comics how they should be done. These men, along with colorist Patricia Mulvihill, construct sophisticated worlds and atmospheres and then tell you all about in just as sophisticated a fashion. The approach is reserved and cool. The necessary hints are subtly placed, and the reader’s own effort tells the tale. Azzarello/Risso books are, simply said, confident, independent and sexy.
And Spaceman #1 held the crown as the single best comic book of October. Easily.
With Spaceman, we’re told the story of a genetically engineered man who’s life-long purpose was to go to Mars. In reality, his goal was never reached, and when we meet him he’s simply a junkie trapped in a world of decay.
Dynamite Entertainment has released their solicitations for February 2012. These titles are available for preorder now from your favorite comic book retailer.
Rating: TEEN+ Covers: http://www.dynamite.net/htmlfiles/search2.html?0=19&next0=&KMPZ=Alex%20Ross&method=dynamiteAlex Ross (50%), Francesco Francavilla (50%) Writer: Ande Parks Artist: Esteve Polls Colorist: Marcello Pinto Genre: Western Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130186065 00111 UPC: 725130186065 00121 UPC: 725130186065 00131 UPC: 725130186065 00141 It’s been two months since Lone Ranger and Tonto hit the trails of the old west, looking for injustice. They’ve found plenty. Now, they come across settlers who have been victimized in a way that stirs memories in John Reid. Loss, vengeance, and redemption as pioneer idealism meets the reality of hard life on the prairie. A stand-alone tale that ties into an epic six part story that will test the mettle of the west’s most legendary heroes.
Rating: Teen + Covers: http://www.dynamite.net/htmlfiles/search2.html?0=19&next0=&KMPZ=Alex%20Ross&method=dynamiteAlex Ross (75%), Paul Renaud (25%), Francesco Francavilla (1-in-10) Writer: Eric Trautmann Artist: Daniel Indro Genre: Sci-Fi Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130183958 00311 UPC: 725130183958 00321 UPC: 725130183958 00331 UPC: 725130183958 00341 Flash Gordon — on the run from Ming’s pursuit ships — finds himself cut off and alone, facing down the deadly hazards of Mongo’s untamed wilderness, and the primal rage of Prince Thun of the Lion Men. Alien threats abound, which will test Gordon’s skills to their outer limits. Meanwhile, on an Earth still menaced by the threat of invasion from Mongo, three alien rebels wage a secret battle against Ming the Merciless. Their target: a shipment of powerful extraterrestrial weapons, delivered into the hands of the Third Reich! Dynamite Entertainment‘s epic space opera continues in Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist’s thrilling third chapter, “Monsters of Mongo.
Rating: Mature Covers: Lucio Parillo (50%), Paul Renaud (50%), Francesco Francavilla (1-in-10) Writer: Arvid Nelson Artist: Roberto Castro Genre: Action/Adventure Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130183934 00211 UPC: 725130183934 00221 UPC: 725130183934 00231 UPC: 725130183934 00241 UPC: 725130183934 00251 The year is 1909. Bloodthirsty mutineers have seized the beautiful Jane Porter and her father. The cutthroats are lying low on the coast of the Belgian Congo as they squabble over a mysterious chest Jane and her father risked their lives for. Cecil Clayton, heir apparent to the title of Lord Greystoke, is with them, searching for a long-lost uncle who disappeared on the very shores he and the Porters find themselves on. Fortunately for the hostages, they’ve stumbled onto the hunting grounds of pulp fiction’s greatest hero! Could there be a connection to their mysterious protector and Clayton’s missing relative? Find out in Lord of the Jungle Issue 2: The Forest God!
VAMPIRELLA VS. DRACULA #1 Rating: Teen + Covers: Joe Linsner Writer: Joe Harris Artist: Jean Diaz Genre: Horror, Super-Hero Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 48 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130186058 00111 UPC: 725130186058 00121 UPC: 725130186058 00131 48 pages at only $3.99! Spinning out of Alan Moore’s retelling of the ageless horror classic, Dracula has come to America to play out his timeless narrative in this brave, New World. Only he didn’t realize ANOTHER vampire already beat him to it. Drawn to one another across continents and centuries by a mysterious force, both Vampirella and Bram Stoker’s immortal monster find themselves sucked into a time-tossed epic of love, hate, death and damnation. But can an epic built for one vampire possibly hold them both? Also includes the reprinted Alan Moore/Gary Frank story!
Rating: Teen + Covers: Francesco Francavilla (50%), Aaron Campbell (50%) Writer: Stuart Manning Artist: Aaron Campbell Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130183989 00411 A killer is stalking the streets of Collinsport as vampire Barnabas Collins finds himself in a race against time to save the Collins family from a dangerous force. As his eternal nemesis, the witch Angelique, makes her new bid for eternal life, Barnabas and Julia must work out what links Barnabas’ dreams to the mysterious statue in time to prevent a tragic death.
Rating: Teen + Covers: http://www.dynamite.net/htmlfiles/search2.html?0=19&next0=&KMPZ=Alex%20Ross&method=dynamiteAlex Ross (main), Jonathan Lau (1-in-10) Writer: Kevin Smith with Phil Hester Artist: Jonathan Lau Colorist: Ivan Nunes Genre: Media Tie-In, Action Adventure Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184009 00611 UPC: 725130184009 00621 UPC: 725130184009 00631 Steve Austin and the evil cyborg Hull engage in a bionic battle that shakes the very foundation of Washington DC. From the posh ballrooms of high society to the bowels of the subway, the half-machine combatants leave a path of destruction through our nation’s Capitol. But when Hull’s tactics put the lives of innocents in danger, Steve Austin must push his new bionic Powers to the limit… and beyond!
Rating: Mature Covers: Joe Jusko (50%), Stephen Sadowski (50%), Lucio Parrillo (1-in-15) Writer: Arvid Nelson Artist: Edgar Salazar Colorist: Adriano Lucas Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Super-Hero Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184047 01611 UPC: 725130184047 01621 UPC: 725130184047 01631 John Carter is finally united with the son he never knew. The two of them face bloody death in the great arena of Issus, Goddess of Life Eternal. No one has ever escaped from the arena of Issus before, but Carter and his son might have a thing or two to teach this false goddess about religion — the old fashioned way, at the end of a sword point! Hair-raising escapes, devious villainy, and an embarrassing revelation or two await you in Warlord of Mars Issue 16: Flight and Pursuit!
Rating: Mature Covers: Paul Renaud (33%), Ale Garza (33%), Fabiano Neves (33%) Writer: Robert Napton Artist: Carlos Rafael Colorist: Carlos Lopez Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Super-Hero Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184054 01111 UPC: 725130184054 01121 UPC: 725130184054 01131 The Great Toonolian Marshes–one of the most feared places in Barsoom with 1800 miles of marsh land infested with exotic and dangerous creatures. It also possesses natural resources that Helium needs for its reconstruction. Dejah, along with her new pilot Kantos Kan, ventures into this foreboding region on an expeditionary mission. While there, Dejah is possessed by “the Boora Witch,” one of the marshes’ most dangerous residents. Unknown to anyone, The Witch takes control of Dejah and starts spinning a web that could destroy Helium once and for all! Dejah has overcome many enemies, but can she overcome the enemy within?
Rating: Mature Covers: Lucio Parrillo Writer: Mark Rahner Artist: Stephen Sadowski Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Super-Hero Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 40 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130186072 00111 The mighty green warrior Tars Tarkas was ready for blood the day he first met John Carter on Barsoom. Make that MORE blood. The epic, “Shell Shock,” chronicles the violence and horror that led to that day. Tars Tarkas is jolted out of an existential crisis by the massacre of a Thark egg incubator, and things just get worse from there as he faces mutiny and … and genocide! Written by Mark Rahner (“Rotten,” “Green Hornet” Annual #2).
Rating: Teen + Covers: Brian Denham (33%), Phil Hester (33%), and Jonathan Lau (33%) Writer: Ande Parks Artist: Igor Vitorino Colorist: Ivan Nunes Genre: Super-Hero, Adventure Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184115 02411 Green Hornet’s perception as a villain in Century City has been kicked up a notch, as someone disguised as the Hornet has assassinated the city’s Mayor. A pair of new villains finalize their plans to seize power, and a fearful public demands blood, with Green Hornet and Kato as the prime targets. Britt Reid has to find a way to clear his alter ego’s name while maintaining both his secret identity and his fearful reputation amongst the gangs of Century City. Green Hornet is now Public Enemy #1… with a bullet.
Rating: Teen + Covers: Matt Wagner Writer: Matt Wagner Artist: John K. Snyder III Genre: Action/Adventure Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184139 00711 The one and only Matt (MAGE, GRENDEL) Wagner is in the home-stretch of his epic story of Zorro! After catastrophic changes in Zorro’s world-events, Zorro begins to question everything he does and everything for which he stands. There’re thrilling times ahead as ZORRO RIDES AGAIN with issue #7 from Dynamite Entertainment!
Rating: Teen + Covers: Walter Geovani (50%), John Watson (50%) Writer: Eric Trautmann Artist: Walter Geovani Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Adventure, Superhero Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184153 06611 The final, bloody showdown over the cursed Horn of Nergal is at hand! To stand fast against an army of Stygian assassins, and the sinister machinations of the Priestess Azanathi, will require all of Red Sonja‘s considerable skill. But is the She-Devil’s martial prowess enough to win the day, and perhaps, a measure of redemption, or will the Horn’s curse cost Sonja everything?
Rating: Teen + Covers: Frank Martin Jr. Writer: Marc Mason Artist: Lui Antonio Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Adventure, Superhero Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 40 Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130186089 00111 The goddess Scathach places her blessings upon a new warrior, Raven, who dedicates herself to the advancement of women all across the land. But when Red Sonja finds herself investigating a series of massacres, she begins to suspect that Raven isn’t quite as noble as she seems in the pursuit of her cause. Surrounded by an army of women ready to draw blood in her name, Raven may be the one foe that Sonja cannot defeat… and she may not want to!
Rating: Teen + Cover: Igor Vitorino (50%), Lucio Parrillo (50%) Writer: Luke Lieberman Artist: Milton Estevam Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Adventure Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: Comic Book PAGE COUNT: 32 pages Rights: WW Age range: 16+ UPC: 725130184160 02711 When you move to strike Empress Sonja you had better not miss, because you only get one shot. Then it is her turn. Meanwhile Xander and Melea penetrate Koliostri’s growing cult, and learn its secrets.
Rating: Mature Writer: Chuck Dixon Genre: WAR Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: 6 x 9 prose novel PAGE COUNT: 160 Rights: WW Age range: 16+ New York Times Best-Selling Author and comic book writer, Chuck Dixon’s first ever novel from DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT! In the tradition of G.I. Joe, Punisher, Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, Clive Cussler, Vince Flynn, W.E. Griffin, and Dale Brown: SEAL Team Six: The Novel! They are highly trained. Their missions are classified. They are our best and last hope. Yet they do not exist. Follow SEAL Team Six as they train, hunt and fight an enemy who reaches out from the most remote corners of the world to murder and maim. These highly-trained, military men are the unknown heroes who endure unimaginable hardship and murderous combat to protect our homeland. SBN-10: 1-60690-251-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-60690-251-6
Rating: TEEN+ Cover: http://www.dynamite.net/htmlfiles/search2.html?0=19&next0=&KMPZ=Alex%20Ross&method=dynamiteAlex Ross Writer: Ande Parks Artists: Esteve Polls Genre: Action/Adventure, Western Awards: N/A Publication Date: Jan 2012 Format: soft cover trade paperback PAGE COUNT: 128 The legendary masked crime-fighter, Zorro, now in his sixties, has hung up his cape and sword. Living on a peaceful ranch in the new state of California, Don Diego tends to his cattle, breaks horses, and enjoys the company of his wife. When a renegade band of Confederate bushwhackers attack a nearby Indian settlement, though, Don Diego cannot Just stand by and let innocents be slaughtered. Zorro heads back into action again… for the last time! Guest starring another legendary masked lawman – The Lone Ranger! Collecting the entire five-issue series, along with a complete cover gallery. ISBN-10: 1606901575 ISBN-13: 978-1-60690-157-1
New Pulp Author Martin Powell shared a new preview page by artist Lowell Isaac from their upcoming graphic novel, MARTIANS, GO HOME, based on the sci-fi classic by Fredric Brown. The invasion begins in 2012 from Sequential Pulp/Dark Horse Comics.
The New Challengers of the Unknown. Cover: Ryan Sook
The original Challengers. Art: Jack Kirby
DC Comics’ classic sci-fi adventure team the Challengers of the Unknown joins the brand new DC Universe under the creative team of writer Dan Didio and artist Jerry Ordway in February 2012’s DC Universe Presents #6.
The new Challengers of the Unknown feature imagines a new start for the team where the entirety of its membership will play a role…and one where they may not all make it out alive.
Comic Book Resources has an interview with Challengers of the Unknown writer and DC Comics co-publisher Dan Didio at http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35378 about the return of these classic pulpy characters.
Related Categories: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Short Stories
The hard-boiled private eye genre is one I dearly love.The trench-coated shamus with a cigarette dangling from his lip, .45 automatic or .38 revolver in a well-worn shoulder holster, fedora pulled down low over his forehead, the faithful gum-chewing secretary and even more faithful fifth of scotch in the desk drawer…it’s a genre I never get enough of.And since television and movies have apparently abandoned the P.I. it’s up to writers like Lee Houston, Jr. and books like HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE to give me my fix.
Let me explain; even though Hugh Monn lives and works on the far distant planet of Frontera interacting with many different species and using advanced technology, the tone and feel of the character and the eight stories in the book are pure 1950’s.Lee drops in a mention here and there of some bit of sci-fi such as a character having green or purple skin or Hugh’s weapon of choice being a Nuke 653 Rechargeable but that’s just throwaways Lee lobs at us once in a while to remind us that we’re not on Earth.But he doesn’t go into any real detail as to how this future civilization operates or how the technology works.When the subject of detective stories crossed with science fiction comes up, I usually mention Larry Niven’s stories and novels about Gil The Arm or Roger Zelazny’s “My Name Is Legion” since in those stories, the science fiction is integral to the story.Take out the science fiction and you wouldn’t have a story.Not so with Lee’s Hugh Monn stories.They could easily have been set in 1950’s Los Angeles or New York with a little rewriting.But I digress…let’s take HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE for what it is, not for what it isn’t.
Hugh Monn is a Human and yes, he freely admits to his clients that his name is a gag.But one he prefers to use as he’s got some pretty big secrets in his past he’d prefer to keep to himself.As a detective, Hugh is capable, sharp, principled and dogged in his determination to solve his cases and get to the truth. Hugh isn’t a pain-in-the-ass who rebels against authority and isn’t a lone wolf who doesn’t play by the rules.Matter of fact, Hugh conducts himself as a total professional.He doesn’t shoot when he doesn’t have to, he’s polite to everybody he meets and he co-operates with the authorities.In particular, Lawbot 714 who he runs into in a couple of stories and who I wouldn’t mind seeing become a regular if Lee gives us more Hugh Monn cases.He doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink, he likes kids; he holds open the doors for old ladies.I think you can tell where I’m going with this.Hugh’s a fine detective but as a character I found myself wishing that once in a while he’d haul off and slug a suspect for no good reason other than he doesn’t like the fact the guy has eight eyes.Hugh could stand to be a little rougher and not so polite.
The story “Shortages” is a good example of how Hugh Monn solves a case using his understanding of both humans and aliens and his powers of observation.It also introduces the character of Big Louie, a Primoid.Big Louie is the main suspect in a series of thefts being committed at a high security pier.It’s a pretty good locked room mystery and the relationship between Hugh and Big Louie is the primary attraction in this story, as in “At What Price Gloria?”Hugh and Big Louie have to rescue Big Louie’s wife Gloria and stop an assassination attempt.I only wish more of the stories had been as suspenseful as this one.In some of them, the mystery really isn’t that hard to figure out as there’s a lack of suspects so the solution comes down to either being this one or that one.And I never got a sense of Hugh being in any real danger in any of these stories.But Lee should be commended for trying different types of stories such as “For The Benefit of Master Tyke” which hinges more on the healing of a family than the solving of any real crime.I picked up halfway through “Where Can I Get A Witness?” is intended as a homage to the 1944 film noir “Laura” and I enjoyed it until the very last paragraph where it felt to me as if the writer had stepped in to give his opinion of his own story and didn’t allow his character to do so.
So should you read HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE?As a first book from a new writer, I’m inclined to give Lee a pat on the back.There’s a lot to like in his writing style.He does know how to keep a story moving but he shouldn’t shy away from rolling in the dirt and giving his characters some sharp edges.I wouldn’t mind seeing Hugh Monn tackle some more cases but I also wouldn’t mind seeing Lee Houston, Jr. strip away the political correctness and explore the real darkness of Frontera.
“Adventure wanted. Will go anyplace, do anything. Box Thirteen.” This want ad, placed by reporter turned mystery writer Dan Holiday in the Star-Times serves as the centerpiece of ‘Box Thirteen’, a classic mystery adventure program starring screen legend Alan Ladd.
Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Alan Ladd found his way to Hollywood, California by his high school years. Finding work initially on the radio, landing roles such as ‘The Richfield Reporter,” Ladd also began appearing in several films, taking the small roles he could get. The part that would change Ladd’s life forever and cement him as a movie tough guy came in 1942. Playing Raven, a conscientious murderer for hire, in ‘This Gun For Hire,’ Ladd gained fame for being able to play hard-boiled characters with at least some heart.
Now a leading man, Ladd played his hard bitten world wearied warrior with a soul in films now considered classics – including the role he’s most known for, Shane. With the creation of his own production company, Mayfair in 1948, Ladd found yet another way to turn the skills he’d become famous for into a program that radio listeners would thrill to decades after its original run.
In “Box Thirteen,” Ladd played Dan Holiday, a journalist who was now an author of mystery fiction. Interested in writing the most successful and thrilling stories possible, Holiday placed an ad in the paper he worked for – the Star-Times. Apparently prospering as a mystery writer, Holiday rarely charged a fee to any of the colorful clients that crossed his path, most of whom needed his assistance in one way or another.
Even on a rail thin budget, “Box Thirteen” was a fairly high-quality program. Writer Russell Hughes supplied the show with witty, engaging scripts and many of radio’s acting professionals, including Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Joseph Kearns, Frank Lovejoy, John Beal, and others, lent their talents to ‘Box Thirteen’ throughout its run.
“Box Thirteen” clearly showcased Alan Ladd at his best. Known largely for tough guy roles in film, this series allowed Ladd to take his charisma and stoic presence from the screen and apply it to a good guy character in a different medium. The show’s format also guaranteed that each week, something new and exciting awaited Holiday and the show’s listeners. This second volume of twelve episodes restored to the highest quality continues Holiday’s adventures into the mystery and unknown that he discovered every week when he checked ‘Box Thirteen.’ Available today on CD for $17.98 and as a digital download for $11.98!
Adapting a story from one medium to another is never an easy task. Difficulty increases when the tale being adapted is a classic work first written hundreds of years ago and those adapting it have to figure out a way to make it work for their intended audience. So many things can go wrong with this process; too much can be cut out of the story, making it something else entirely; too much of the original work gets included, adding unnecessary weight and exposition to the new product; or the sensibilities of the intended consumers isn’t considered enough and what is produced seems boring and tepid to said consumers. So it’s a hard journey, this road of adaptation, sometimes.
Fortunately for Old Time Radio enthusiasts today, this trip was a successful one for the people behind The Adventures of Marco Polo, Volume 1. Written originally in 1300, this seminal work, part adventure tale and part exotic travelogue, not only told a wonderfully exciting tale of world travels and of a wayward boy growing into a legendary explorer, but it also set the standard for both future volumes of this sort as well as for the men those volumes would be about. Many explorers from the 1300s into the modern day cite one of their earliest inspirations to breach the unknown around them, being the thrill of reading about Polo and the Kublai Khan and the wondrous things Polo encountered on his journeys. This appeal over the centuries is just one factor that likely led to George Edwards, a noted Australian radio performer and producer, to adapting the book into a radio serial in the 1940s.
The Adventures of Marco Polo, Volume 1, is a great OTR collection for several reasons. As already stated, the material was suited for adaptation due to both its popularity and its content. Also, the assembled cast and staff behind its production speak volumes for quality. Edwards, known as much for his ability to mimic hundreds if not more voices as he is for the shows he produced, lends his incredible talent to this production. Filling the roles of many of the characters, the most intriguing task Edwards takes on is playing both Marco Polo and the Kublai Khan. It’s truly a treat listening to this show and knowing when these two distinct sounding characters are having a conversation, it’s Edwards talking to himself!
If you’re looking for dialogue laden completely character driven audio, The Adventures of Marco Polo may not be your bag. That’s not really a negative with this show, though. The narrative moves the story along at a pretty quick clip at the slowest moments and at a nearly breakneck speed in the action scenes. In this program, narration and dialogue comfortably compliment each other, making what might have seemed dry to some readers in school actually exciting and vibrant to the listener.
Another aspect of this program that is done extremely well is how it’s handled as a serial. Serialization, like adaptation, is as much art as it is work. Building the tension in small snippets of story just right to leave the listener wanting more is no easy chore. The Adventures of Marco Polo is a well paced, finely crafted serial, its cliffhangers and surprise twists of which there are a few are written and delivered in a manner that hooks the listener for the rest of the ride.
The Adventures of Marco Polo, Volume 1 from Radio Archives is a wonderful program for those interested in serial adventures and/or history period. Combine the pacing, the performance, and the production quality with the fact that it has been restored by Radio Archives to the finest sound quality possible and this collection is a must have for fans of Old Time Radio, history, serials, or just those who like a well told tale. Only $20.98 for the Seven hour CD set or $13.98 for the Digital Download version.
Radio Archives, known as a leading producer of quality Audio collections as well as a popular purveyor of Pulp Fiction announces the blending of the two in its latest product line. Not only is Radio Archives adding twelve new audiobooks to its future lineup, it is doing so with the direction of perhaps the best known Pulp expert and author of the modern era. Acting as series producer, historian/author Will Murray lends his name to Radio Archive’s newest line of audiobooks. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics are now available from Radio Archives and take both Pulp and audio to a whole new level!
Murray’s involvement with past Radio Archives projects led to this new innovation in sharing Pulp classics with today’s audience. “Like everything about my association with RadioArchives.com,” stated Murray, “it was like being struck by lightning. They had just released the first two Doc Savage audiobooks and were preparing The Spider and Secret Agent X, which I had recommended to them, when Tom Brown suggested expanding the line under the umbrella of Will Murray’s Pulp Classics.”
With the success of the Doc Savage audiobooks, based on Murray’s Doc novels, and the early indicators that The Spider audiobook was a hit, discussion of this project turned toward what other classic characters would get the Will Murray’s Pulp Classic treatment. “We already had a full Spider program planned, and the first Secret Agent X novel, The Torture Trust, mapped out,” Murray explained, “so Tom and I hashed out a number of titles that would both compliment and contrast those. As a kind of pulp alternate-reality version of Batman, the Black Bat was a natural. Since Zombies are all the rage, who better than the past master of the undead, Dr. Death? With the legions of weird menaces like mad scientists, vampires and—yes, more Zombies—that he fought, G-8 and His Battles Aces, made sense. And for a dose of Untouchables-style reality, George Fielding-Eliot’s hard-fighting G-Man, Dan Fowler. In almost every case, we’re launching each character with his inaugural exploit.”
Although the stories used in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics first appeared in print during the heyday of the Pulp magazines, Murray sees the transition of these tales to audiobooks as a good and logical one. “Pulp fiction endures because in contrast to the bloated novels modern publishers insist on foisting upon the reading public, vintage pulp fiction tells a fast-moving, never-flagging, riveting narrative that holds you in your seat until you careen to The End. Audiobooks demand that the reader’s attention be held tightly. Whether it’s Doc Savage, the Spider or Dan Fowler, pulp novels are a perfect fit. I’ve had several of my Destroyer novels adapted as audiobooks in years past, but this is the first time I’d been hands-on in this medium since I worked with Roger Rittner on the Adventures of Doc Savage radio series.”
Murray looks forward to the future of the Pulp Classics line and sees the customers and listeners as a vital part of it. “For the first year, we’re going to be introducing our top heroes. The buying public will tell us whether they want more G-8, Dr. Death or the Spider. And I’m sure that same audience will make suggestions. I’d like to do some horror and fantasy pulp writers, like A. Merritt and William Hodgson, a few exceptional Westerns, and high adventures in the Talbot Mundy vein. But pulp fans prefer heroes, so we’ll see if, for example, we can find a Dan Turner detective story that works as an audiobook. Ultimately, I hope we can mine all the major pulp genres. We expect involved and excited listeners will be the ones to surprise us, not vice versa.”
The first two entries in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics are now available from Radio Archives.
If Batman ever had a brother, he would be the pulp hero called the Black Bat.
Both bat-caped heroes debuted in the same year, 1939. It was a strange coincidence. Blame The Shadow for that. He was in his eighth year fighting crime in the pages of his celebrated pulp magazine, and Orson Welles was bringing him to life on radio, when two different publishers decided the time was perfect to copy The Shadow.
Batman was the creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. He debuted in Detective Comics #37, dated March, 1939, in “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” which was freely adapted from the 1936 Shadow mystery, Partners of Peril.
At virtually the same time, over at the Thrilling Group pulp house, editor in chief Leo Margulies asked prolific writer Norman A. Daniels to create a new hero for Black Book Detective magazine. Daniels came up with a character he called the Tiger. Margulies liked his idea, but decided the new hero should be more mysterioso, like The Shadow, and renamed him the Black Bat. The new nemesis of criminals was first published in the July, 1939 Black Book Detective.
As they appeared on the covers of their respective magazines, Batman and the Black Bat were strikingly similar. While the Black Bat lacked Batman’s signature spread-winged chest emblem and bat-ears on his cowl, both had similar finned gauntlets.
The similarities did not go much beyond their ebony costumes. The Black Bat was a district attorney named Anthony Quinn—this was long before the actor of that name made the scene. Blinded by a cowardly criminal, Quinn lost his sight, his face acid-scarred around the eyes. No longer able to practice law, Quinn retired. But a miracle eye transplant restored his sight, and more. Quinn discovered that he could see in the dark. This gave him inspiration.
Gathering together a small band of assistants—reformed conman “Silk” Kirby and muscleman “Butch” O’Leary—Quinn decided to wage an unrelenting secret war on the criminal element. Joining him is lovely Carol Baldwin. It was the corneas of her dying policeman father which were grafted into Tony’s own eyes, restoring his sight.
The first Black Bat adventure, Brand of the Black Bat, relates all that. It’s a stirring story of crime and corruption, and of a courageous avenger determined to track down the vicious gangster who robbed him of his brilliant career, all the while thwarting Captain MacGrath of the N.Y.P.D., who suspects Quinn and the Black Bat are one and the same. For like The Shadow, but unlike Batman, The Bat carries a brace of .45 automatics and the will to use them. This does not make the cloaked vigilante popular with the police.
There has never been a media crossover for this long-running pulp hero. No radio show, no movie serial, no comic books. So it is with justifiable pride that RadioArchives.com lures the Black Bat out of the shadows of his original era and into the 21st century with his first audiobook, read with impeccable skill and fidelity by the accomplished Michael McConnohie. Brand of the Black Bat is available now from Radio Archives for $14.98 for Audio CDs and $9.98 for the Digital Download!
Prince of the Red Looters, the first audio adventure of The Spider and the first of Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, packs mile-a-minute thrills as Richard Wentworth races to discover the identity of The Fly, one of the Spider’s most fiendish foes. A master of the blade who can anticipate The Spider’s every move, The Fly is bent on The Spider’s destruction, leaving The Fly’s criminal organization free to loot, maim, and kill.
Producer/Director Roger Rittner says, “Prince of the Red Looters is an astounding accomplishment, wedding dynamic narration from two unique stars of stage and screen, specially selected sound effects, and a complete period music score.”
Prince of the Red Looters is available now in a six-CD set, priced at $19.98, with original cover art and special bonus features. The audiobook is also available as an MP3 Digital Download, including the special bonus feature, at just $13.98.
Also, RadioArchives.com first two Doc Savage audiobooks, Will Murray’s Python Isle and White Eyes continue to garner accolades from Doc fans as well as those just discovering the greatest adventure hero of the 1930s.
Python Isle, narrated by Michael McConnohie, and White Eyes, narrated by Richard Epcar, are available in impressive CD sets and as digital downloads. Python Isle and White Eyes are also available in special Signed Director’s Editions.
Like your audiobooks Adventure filled and Pulpy? Then RadioArchives.com is the right place for you!
Yesteryear or Today, Pulp Fiction is where readers find adventure, suspense, justice, and thrills a minute! And The Pulp Book Store is where the finest of Pulp can be found! Whether you’re seeking Classic Pulp tales from legendary authors or you’re looking for new tales of derring do by today’s writers, all of it and more is right here for you in The Pulp Book Store!
The Dark Avenger and Harry Vincent share center stage in two thrilling tales of lost treasure by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow and his ablest agent journey to Michigan timber country in The Golden Quest, a thrilling tale of deadly avarice, betrayal and a forgotten gold mine. Then, a supercrook preys upon aristocratic refugees from the Spanish civil war, leading The Shadow into a deadly dual with The Masked Headsman. This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen, the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell, commentary by popular-culture historian Will Murray plus “The Shadow Around the World.” Enjoy these tales and extra features for only $14.95 from Sanctum Press in The Pulp Book Store!
Triple-novel World War II Special: The Man of Bronze battles America’s enemies in three World War II thrillers by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, Doc Savage has only two days to unmask the disguised Adolf Hitler, who has fled a collapsing Nazi Germany! Then, the Man of Bronze is framed for murder as he hunts an undercover Gestapo officer. Finally, after Johnny Littlejohn vanishes on a secret mission for Army Intelligence, Doc goes on a rescue mission to the Far East. Can he unmask a murderous fugitive from Nazi Germany in time to save his aide? This classic pulp reprint features the original color pulp covers by Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eight Doc Savage novels. All of this and more available now for $14.95 from Sanctum Press from The Pulp Book Store!
First, The Spider sets out to stop wholesale slaughter that turns the dead green as he squares off with The Corpse Broker! Next, The Spider encounters deadly plague germs used against the nation and, stricken himself, battles the Volunteer Corpse Brigade! All of this available from Girasol Collectables for $14.95 in the Pulp Book Store!
In 1939, author Paul Ernst gave Pulp fiction a frozen faced force of Justice. Now the greatest crime-fighter of the 40s returns in a stunning collection from Moonstone of original action-packed tales of adventure, intrigue and revenge written by leading names in Pulp today, including the first and only time The Avenger meets the uncompromising relentless justice of The Spider! From Moonstone Books, available in the Pulp Book Store for $18.95!
The only survivor of a doomed starship, stranded in his spacesuit, leaves a frantic message about a strange alien “talent”. Classic sci-fi by Peter Baily, from Astounding Science Fiction magazine, February 1959. A full cast audio play adapted from a Pulp magazine of the late 1950s. Specially dramatized and produced in dimensional sound with professional cast, stereo sound effects, and period music. Starring Terwilliger Rhinehart. From Roger Rittner Productions! Only $4.95 in The Pulp Book Store!
Fighting the aerial forces of evil for nearly ten years in the pages of Flying Aces, Kerry Keen AKA The Griffon returns to print! This edition begins a complete reprinting of the entire series. Volume 1 contains his first six stories, all from 1935, including the debut story-“Guns of the Griffon”: Meet Kerry Keen sky sleuth in this new series of modern thrillers! Also included is an article by series author, Arch Whitehouse. From Altus Press and only $19.95 in the Pulp Book Store!
The Pulp Book Store – The Place to get the Pulp You Need.
The Man of Bronze confronts his greatest enemy in The Devil Genghis, reprinted in Doc Savage, Volume 1! From the Arctic to the French Riviera, men begin to go mad and lash out at invisible opponents until they are either exhausted or physically restrained. Then Doc Savage on his way to play the violin and the clarinet in a charity concert is kidnapped! He escapes but discovers that whoever ordered the kidnapping wanted to bring him to Europe. Doc and his aides set sail for Europe to find out what was behind the plot to capture the Man of Bronze. Along the way they encounter danger and Renny falls victim to the invisible enemy madness. Meanwhile, the stunning and resourceful woman, Toni Lash joins up with Doc and his crew to solve the mystery. She is an exceptional woman and even Doc takes notice.
The trail leads to the Arctic and to the unthinkable. Is John Sunlight still alive? It was believed that he had been devoured by a polar bear months before. But unmistakably, Sunlight is alive and well and he is plotting again to conquer the world. Now under the title of “The Devil Genghis” he plans to create a world empire under his absolute rule. But this time instead of fighting Doc Savage, Sunlight will offer him a Faustian bargain. Can even Doc Savage refuse an offer to share dominion over the entire world?
John Sunlight is the greatest villain the Man of Bronze has ever faced. No other enemy had ever survived to confront Doc a second time. Sunlight is a man of great physical and mental powers with the indomitable will to survive death itself. Has Doc Savage finally met his match? Find all the answers to these troubling questions for $12.95 in Doc Savage, Volume 1 from Radio Archives!
High quality Audio, Pulp, and Classic DVDs! And at a fantastic price! That’s the Radio Archives Deal of the Day! The Deal of the Day is actually several great deals at all times. No limits! Simply Great Products at Unbelievable Prices!
Look for the yellow ‘Deal Of The Day’ price tag on the right side of the home page and click it for a great deal every Single Day from RadioArchives.com!
Comments From Our Customers!
Ken Bosworth writes:
I can’t wait to get Volume 2 of “Afloat with Henry Morgan” My wife and I found the first volume to be totally enjoyable, very good radio drama. We really look forward to listening to the rest of the story. We had intended to listen to one disc each evening, but ended up listening to the entire 7-disc series in one evening and the next morning because we just could not tear ourselves away from the story. Thanks again.
Randall F Miller Jr., Society of Broadcast Engineers:
I just want to tell you that your program selection is excellent, and the quality is superb. As a broadcast engineer with over 30 years experience, I certainly appreciate good quality and yours is the best. Keep up the good work, and keep adding to the digital downloads. They are the best way to get my old time radio fix.
Solid Gold Reviews comments on “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”:
Complete with musical transition, multiple actors with background sounds, and excellent story-play, Sherlock Holmes has everything the audiobook enthusiast seeks. Holmes addicts, or just those looking for a quick suspenseful mystery, will greatly enjoy this audio broadcast. This audio selection is perfect for those who want to enjoy the original Holmes, sans image, or find themselves on a vehicle trek in need of background storytelling at its finest.
Steve Sher:
“Listening to Old Time Radio shows from Radio Archives has actually slowed down my highway driving (the faster I go, the harder it is to hear the shows clearly because of road noise) which has resulted in fewer speeding tickets! Excellent by product of my love affair with the many shows I’ve ordered from Radio Archives!”
Barney McCasland:
I’m really liking the new pulp audiobooks. Looking forward to many more. Thanks!
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, known as a leading producer of quality Audio collections as well as a popular purveyor of Pulp Fiction announces the blending of the two in its latest product line. Not only is Radio Archives adding twelve new audiobooks to its future lineup, it is doing so with the direction of perhaps the best known Pulp expert and author of the modern era. Acting as series producer, historian/author Will Murray lends his name to Radio Archive’s newest line of audiobooks. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics are now available from Radio Archives and take both Pulp and audio to a whole new level!
