Monthly Archive: January 2012

MICHAEL DAVIS: Why I Like The New 52

Because I’m trying to kiss the ass of DC Comics.

The end.

Well that’s not really true. If you know anything about my history you will know the last thing I’d ever do is kiss ass.

It’s simply not in my DNA not now, not ever. I’ve been in many a situation where a well place smack on someone’s ass would have been very beneficial to me but I just couldn’t do it.

I’ve tried to kiss some ass. I really have. I wanted to kiss some ass. I was even looking forward (she was fine) to kissing some ass at one point but I just… could… not…do it.

What always stops me is my inability to show respect to those who do not deserve it.

Respect is a very big thing with me. I’d rather have someone’s respect than just about anything else. To get my respect is not hard on a personal level all I really need on that level is for you to treat me with respect and you have mine.

On a professional level getting my respect is not easy. I’m not the guy to tip toe around people’s absence of professionalism. If you have ever read any of my articles on Michael Davis World (plug!) then you may have noticed a recurring theme in my rants: customer service or the lack there of.

I don’t care if you are an artist, IBM or Larry the Hot Dog Vender, if I’m going to write you a check for your services your professionalism had better be your A game.  Anything less than an A game I’ll never work with you or use your services again. You can forget any respect I may have had for you because that my friend, like the old south, is gone with the wind.

Chief among all the reasons I have for liking The New 52 from DC is the massive amount of respect I have because DC went there.

DC comics went where no other comic book company in the world went before: they started over. If the books sucked which they still would have had my respect. There are some in The New 52 that have left me wondering why they went into the direction they went but for the most part I like or love what they have done.

Liking or even loving what DC Comics did with the re-boot creatively is not the main reason I like The New 52. It’s really about respect and balls.

I respect the balls the editors at DC showed in going there.

Every die-hard comic book fan has thought how cool it would be to completely overhaul a comic book universe. The fan forums are filled with what’s wrong with DC, what the problem is with Marvel, or what was Dark Horse thinking? I don’t think there is any comic book universe that is so darn cool that everyone agrees they are doing everything right. I’ll let you in on a little secret; I’m a closet Archie fan. Actually, I’m a huge fan of Little Archie. I’m not sure they even do Little Archie stories anymore but when I was a kid I loved me some Little Archie.

That’s the only comic book universe I had no problem with. The Little Archie universe was perfect to me. Because I was such a fan of Little Archie I tried the regular Archie books.

After reading the regular Archie books for a while I decided if I ran the Archie universe the first thing I would do was have Archie tap Veronica and Betty’s ass.

Hell, I’d have Archie tap them both at the same time. You think that’s bad? Then you don’t want to know the plans I had for Mr. Fantastic.

That’s why it’s good not to have fan’s revamp comic book universes.

Like any young fan, I often wondered why comic book companies don’t do the obvious. Why can’t Uncle Ben come back? Why did Gwen Stacy have to stay dead? Why doesn’t Superman tap the ass of all those people whose initials are LL?

Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lucy Lane, Lori Lemaris? If I were in charge of the Superman Universe Clark would have had some serious LL booty. I mean the LL list is endless!

Lara Lor, Linda Lang, Lighting Lad, Lex Luthor…eh…wait a sec…maybe tapping all the LL’s is not a great idea after all.  Another reason it seems that fans should not be in charge of universes.

So, as fans we don’t have the power to make massive changes in our comic book universes but why don’t the comic companies make massive cool ass changes a lot more?

Yes. Every so often some new event happens that sorta, kinda, changes stuff but not really. Not like you are I would have changed it.

Massive, cool, earth shattering new shit that will be the envy of all of comicdom!

DC went there.

However, as easy as it may seem to fans to simply hit the reset button it’s not easy at all. You may think as I did when I was just a fan that imagination is all you really need to run a comic book universe and you would be as wrong as I was.

If you are Larry Comics and you started your comic book company a couple of years ago you can reboot all you want and the only people you have to please is your new fan base.

DC Comics has been around since 1935. That’s a lot of history to muck with.

The people at DC Comics just couldn’t sit in a room and decide to do this. That’s not how it works in the real world. The people who came up with the reboot idea had to sell that idea to the parent company and that parent company is Time Warner. Time Warner is one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world.

I’m not sure what kind of relationship DC has with Time Warner. Time Warner could be completely hands off. I doubt it, but that could be the case. DC may have complete control over the comics and Time Warner may not give a sheet.

I’d think something this big would have had to be run up the flagpole at corporate on some level. Again, I’m not aware of DC’s relationship with Time Warner so I can only speculate from my own corporate experience.

I’ve been President or President and CEO at a few entertainment companies and any major decision over a certain dollar amount I made had to be at presented to the powers that be on some level.

When I ran Motown Animation & Filmworks I was hired to create, develop and sell film and television properties. When I decided to do a comic book line, Motown Machineworks, I had to create a business plan, present it to my boss and hope to God it did not crash and burn.

That’s what a lot of fans don’t understand about comics. It’s a fantastic medium and great entertainment, but it’s a business.

Whoever came up with the reboot and then sold the idea to corporate had good creative intentions to be sure but something that big has a lot more to worry about than creative ideas.

Regardless if the ideas were great or if Time Warner is hands off or not, if the reboot would have been a dismal failure heads may have rolled.

This is the real world folks, with great power comes great responsibility is truer in the real world than in comics. Peter Parker fails to stop a guy who then busts a cap in his Uncle is tragic but at any point Marvel could change that.

Real people put their careers in play on some level. I don’t know to what extent those people were at risk if at all but something as big as a reboot it stands to reason that someone’s ass would be on the line if it went south.

It’s easy to talk a big game when it’s not your ass on the line. It’s not so easy when that great power comes with a great responsibility that could result in you having a real bad ending to your story.

That takes balls and that gets my respect.

WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold

PRO SE ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER MAGAZINE LINEUP, INCLUDING COLLABORATION WITH WHITE ROCKET BOOKS!

  • News
  • January 2, 2012
Pro Se Productions, Publisher of the monthly New Pulp Magazine PRO SE PRESENTS, announced today its magazine lineup for the first quarter of 2012!  This lineup includes not only works from multiple writers, both new and familiar to New Pulp fans, but also features the first collaboration between Pro Se and noted New Pulp Publisher, White Rocket Books!

“Pro Se is ecstatic,” Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of and Partner in Pro Se Productions, stated today, “to be working with White Rocket Books and especially its owner and premier writer, Van Allen Plexico.   Known as one of the leading New Pulp writers today and able to bridge nearly any genre, Van brings a special touch to anything he writes and creates.   For Pro Se to be able to give Van a vehicle to showcase his latest upcoming work HAWK in a monthly magazine format is an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”

HAWK: HAND OF THE MACHINE is a stand-alone piece including an excerpt from Plexico’s HAWK novel, to be published by White Rocket Books in 2012, reworked to be a story all its own.  It spotlights the title character, a member of a force of protectors of space and its galaxies and planets.  HAND OF THE MACHINE will be featured in two parts beginning in PRO SE PRESENTS #7, February 2012, and ending in PRO SE PRESENTS # 8, March 2012.  HAWK will also be the cover feature for the March issue.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Van Allen Plexico, creator of HAWK and Publisher of White Rocket Books, “to see HAWK getting to make his mark for the first time in the pages of PRO SE PRESENTS, before he appears anywhere else.  I think HAWK will appeal to readers of all sorts–from military SF fans to space opera aficionados to pure pulp action/adventure fans–and Pro Se has positioned itself to reach that kind of broad audience and bring them the best that New Pulp has to offer.



Plexico continued, “The readers of PRO SE PRESENTS will discover a new character and a new universe to get into and enjoy, and my own readers will check out the magazine and find in it a publication that they will truly get a kick out of every month.  My thanks go out to Tommy Hancock and his merry band of Pulpsters for giving HAWK this kind of spotlight to make his big debut!”
The tales that make up the rest of PRO SE PRESENTS for the January, February, and March issues only show how varied the New Pulp field and the content from Pro Se can be!   Featuring stories from various genres by Kevin Rodgers, Megan Smith, PJ Lozito, James Palmer, Frank Schildiner, Ken Janssens, and Ashley Strole Mangin, the first three months of PRO SE PRESENTS is full of intergalactic adventure, Private Eyes of a feminine persuasion, dimension hopping teenagers, monster hunting gangsters, masked heroes, eerie Villains cast in classic molds, and so much more!  Known for Puttin’ The Monthly Back into Pulp, PRO SE PRESENTS is headed up by Lee Houston, Jr., Magazine Editor in Chief and edited by Houston, Frank Schildiner, Nancy Hansen, and Don Thomas!

For more information on Pro Se and when PRO SE PRESENTS is available, like PRO SE PRODUCTIONS on Facebook and follow www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com and www.prosepulp.com for all the latest on Pro Se Productions!

PRO SE PLANS FOR PULP POETRY IN 2012!

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  • January 2, 2012
Pro Se Productions, a Publisher known to be on the cutting edge of New Pulp, announces an ambitious new project today that, if successful in 2012, will lead to a new imprint from Pro Se in 2013.

According to Tommy Hancock, Editor-in Chief and Partner in Pro Se, “Being a Publisher of both books and magazines, Pro Se obviously gets quite a few queries.  One of the very first we got upon announcing we would be publishing Pulp magazines back in 2010 concerned whether or not we were interested in something described as ‘Pulp, but poetry instead of prose.’   At the time, we weren’t, but that hasn’t stopped the queries from coming in, at least one every week to two weeks about whether or not we’ll accept crime poetry, space poetry, fantasy poetry, and so on.   Well, after a year and a half of requests as well as research and study, Pro Se has decided to test the waters via our magazine, PRO SE PRESENTS, by having an all Pulp Poetry volume.”

When asked to define Pulp Poetry, Hancock stated, “Well, if there’s a definition out there that is clear cut as to what it is, I haven’t found it. Pulp writers, most notably Robert E. Howard, have been known for their poetry as well.  Defining Pulp is subjective often anyway and that is something it has in common with Poetry.  Basically what we’re looking for is poetry that deals with subjects and genres that are a part of Pulp.  So, action, adventure, heroes and villains, conflict, and genre.  Genre is important in determining Pulp Poetry.  Pulp is all about genre, be it western, crime, fantasy, and so on.   So, Pulp Poetry definitely has to be something that deals in a particular genre that is a part of Pulp.”

As far as other requirements for Pulp Poetry, there are no requirements that it rhyme or be a certain length. Hancock stated that submissions would be open from January 2nd to March 1st 2012 for poems to be included in this volume.

The May 2012 issue of PRO SE PRESENTS, the tenth issue of the magazine, will be an all Pulp Poetry issue, edited by newly appointed Pulp Poetry Editor for Pro Se, Megan Smith. 

“I have been writing Poetry,” Smith explained, “since I was little. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t enjoy writing it or reading it.  There has always been an interest in Poetry and with the increase in the interest in Pulp in the last several years, it seems the perfect time to show the world what Pulp Poetry can be.”

Currently the only Pulp Poetry title on the Pro Se Schedule is the special magazine issue scheduled for May 2012.  Smith will serve as editor of Pulp Poetry regardless of the form it continues in, either as a continual part of the magazine format on a monthly basis or as its own line with Pulp Poetry collections in 2013.

“This,” Hancock pointed out, “is an experiment, but it’s one we have full faith in.  Pulp is known for being speculative and a field of literature where anything can happen.  The concept of Pulp Poetry fits perfectly and just wait and see what Pro Se does with it.”

Submissions for the Pulp Poetry volume can be made to Smith at pulppoetryeditor@yahoo.com or to Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net.  Submissions must be made by March 1, 2011.

To follow what Pro Se has coming check out www.prosepulp.com and www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com.

Katie McGrath Discusses the Joys of Wickedness as Merlin’s Morgana

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  • January 2, 2012

img_0710-300x450-2493926To put a new spin on an old phrase, hell hath no fury like a sorceress scorned.

So goes the tale of MERLIN, the international hit series that begins its fourth season on Syfy next Friday, January 6 with the first of a two-part episode that finds Morgana’s blinkered determination threatening not only Arthur’s future, but the very balance of the world. With her magic stronger than ever, the sorceress summons the mighty Callieach to tear open the veil between the worlds. Hellish creatures pour forth, killing any who succumb to their touch. With King Uther a shadow of his former self, it falls to Merlin, Arthur and his loyal Knights to protect the kingdom.

Katie McGrath has spent four years evolving the character of Morgana, once the beloved ward to the king who discovers she is actually his daughter. That secret is revealed to her through her half-sister, the wicked Morgause, who guides Morgana down a path of dark magic, opening her eyes to the true power of her evil. Morgana now has a clear focus: to return to Camelot as its rightful ruler, and bring down her wrath upon all she believes have wronged her.

McGrath has eschewed vacation time away from the MERLIN set in lieu of additional work in productions as varied as W.E., the Madonna-directed drama about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson; A Princess for Christmas, a 2011 Hallmark Channel holiday enchanter starring McGrath opposite Sir Roger Moore; and the upcoming Labyrinth, a medieval tale from Ridley Scott that centers around the Holy Grail.

Before taking a winter holiday, though, McGrath spent some time chatting about the new season of MERLIN, the virtues of playing evil, “Jitterbug Perfume,” the recurring medieval themes in her professional life, The West Wing, Louis XIV, and Florence and the Machine. The Lady Morgana speaks … read on.

QUESTION: The fourth season of MERLIN continues down a darker, more dramatic path. Do you feel the show is following a natural evolution?

KATIE MCGRATH: The guys (co-creators Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy) have found a formula that works, and they’ve taken it to the next level with the fourth season. This is clearly their most ambitious. In four seasons, the characters have changed and grown, and the audience has grown with them. MERLIN still has all the great comedy and relationships that the audiences adore, but we’ve gotten more sinister and the show has gotten there in a very organic way. That was the path that was destined for us. Plus the show has gotten more filmic – it’s bigger in many ways than when we started, visually and in the storytelling. So our episodes are now more like 14 little cinematic films.

QUESTION: Morgana is having dreams in Season Four that include visions of her future … as well as an aged, bearded Merlin. How does this affect her perspective of what she’s doing?

MCGRATH: I think it breathes a fear in her of this character. Morgana doesn’t know that this vision is actually Merlin – she only knows the name Emrys and that he’s a very powerful person.  Before the visions, Morgana didn’t believe she had anything to worry about, because she is so powerful herself. But these visions breed a fear and mistrust in her because she can’t fight what she doesn’t know. So her fear and paranoia of Emrys becomes a major part of the fourth season. (more…)

MINDY NEWELL: The Enemy Within

I stink at writing battles between the superhero and the bad guy.

Oh, I’ve always managed to struggle through – and through the years I’ve learned how to choreograph them pretty well, thanks to watching great action movies, anything from Bullitt to the Die Hard series to the Matrix Trilogy and Kill Bill, Vols. I and II. But I was always happier to write a fight scene “Marvel style,” especially if I was working with an artist I trusted. Full script, though? Talk about pulling teeth!

So why the hell do I love writing comics?

That’s a good question. And here’s the answer.

What has always interested me about the superhero is the what makes them tick?, the what’s going on in their lives?, the how does having special abilities affect a person? Questions. Of course I wasn’t the first comic writer to address these issues. There’s one or two columnists here at ComicMix who have done so and continue to do so – yeah, I’m talking ‘bout you two, John Ostrander and Denny O’Neil. But John and Denny are also able to write great battle scenes. I can’t.

Way-back-when I sat down to try my luck at writing an entry for DC’s New Talent Showcase program, I thought about what was lacking in the super-hero biz. Hmm, I thought. There are superheroes who are men, and superheroes who are women. There are superheroes who date or are married to ordinary women, and there are superhero married couples. But I couldn’t think of any super-hero women who were married to “ordinary” guys. “That could be really interesting,” I thought to myself.

Then something clicked in my brain. “What if,” I said to myself, “these two people are just regular young marrieds, very much in love with each other, expecting their first child, and believing they’ve got the world on a string? And then everything goes wrong. She gains super-powers, but the trade-off is: she loses the baby. And he just can’t deal.  What happens to them? What happens to the marriage?”

And that’s the way I’ve always tried to approach the superhero. Treating them like real people, with real personalities and all the positive and negative traits that real people have. Facing real problems with paying the bills and trying to lose weight.

Let’s take Wonder Woman. I don’t remember the issue number, but it was one of the last few issues before the book went on hiatus until George Pérez reintroduced the character. One of my favorite scenes was the one in which Diana tried to make breakfast, only she burned the toast and undercooked the eggs. It was only about two or three panels, but it made sense to me that as an individual who grew up on a magical island on which time had stopped in the Hellenic Age, a toaster and a frying pan would be as strange to her as, well, the appearance of an Amazon princess in the middle of New York City would be to us here on Earth-Prime.

And, although I’m a staunch pro-choicer, I’ve always believed Diana should be a staunch pro-lifer. Why? Well, think about it. An island of immortal women called Themyiscyra, where men are forbidden. For 3,000 years, cut off from the outside world by powerful magiks, babies are unknown…yes, pregnancy, the unborn child, would be ultimate, holy, sacrosanct, untouchable, inviolable object of worship of a woman raised in this environment.

(Of course, when I mentioned this to Karen Berger once, I believe she was intrigued, but what with Jenette Khan, then publisher of DC, being a friend of Gloria Steinem, and Steinem being one of the “ultimate, holy, sacrosanct, untouchable, and inviolable” feminists of the day, along with being editor of Ms. Magazine, she basically told me to “forget it.”)

I’d like to explore the loneliness of the last survivor of an alien civilization. (Superman, J’onn J’onzz.)

What does it do to a person to be able to run “faster than a speeding bullet” and get stuck in traffic? (Flash, Quicksilver).

How do you not go insane when you’re trapped in a body of rock? (Thing, Concrete.)

If you can fly, would you resent having to walk?

If you have x-ray vision, can you resist taking a look the boss’s e-mails? Or your co-worker’s paycheck?

If you can read minds, do you really want to know what people are thinking?

If you have telekinesis, would you ever get up off the couch?

One of my favorite science fiction movies, definitely on my top five list, is Forbidden Planet, in which the monster is a creature risen from the jealousies and fears that lurk within the human mind.

“Creatures from the id.”

Yes.

The enemy within.

TUESDAY: Michael Davis

PRO SE ANNOUNCES NEW STAFF ADDITIONS FOR 2012!

  • News
  • January 1, 2012
Pro Se Productions, known for its quality books and magazines since coming on the New Pulp scene in 2010, announced today that due to the company’s past success as well as ambitious plans for 2012 and beyond, new positions have been added to the Pro Se Productions staff roster.
“In order to,” Tommy Hancock, Partner and Editor in Chief of Pro Se stated, “not only continue to produce at the quality and level we have been, but to continually improve and exceed that, it has become necessary to spread the work around a bit.  Fortunately there are those who support and believe in Pro Se’s goal of providing the best possible New Pulp fiction it can that have agreed to fill these positions.   They are no strangers to the company and have proven themselves in various other capacities, mostly as writers.  In at least one instance, we are finally giving a title to someone who Pro Se would not be what it is today without.”
The new staffers and their positions are as follows, according to Hancock-
Director of Art and Design- Sean E. Ali.  Hancock said, “This is a position that Sean has had with me since long before Pro Se existed, along with several others like sounding board, critic, friend, and others.  Sean is one of the best designers in New Pulp today and proves that by upping his game with every single new work Pro Se puts out.”
EBook Format and Design Consultant-Russ Anderson.  According to Hancock, “Russ is a godsend in that this is a direction Pro Se has been aimed at for a while.  Now we’re able to pull the trigger and Russ is firing out our eBook versions at a good clip and great quality as well.”
Assistant Editor-Nancy Hansen.  Hancock stated, “I can’t put into words what sort of support Nancy has been as well as the fact that she is one of the most prolific and consistent writers I know.  And there comes a time when the right person presents himself or herself to any EIC that he has to say ‘It’s time to share.’  It’s way past time that I finally took Nancy up on all her offers to help and could think of no one better to assist me.”
Copy Editor-Don Thomas.  As Hancock put it, “Pro Se looks to continually improve and editing is one area where every single publishing company in the world can always do better.  As a part of that we’ve brought on editors to handle specific duties.  Don has been with Pro Se since before our first magazine hit the stands and has a commitment not only to Pro Se, but also to New Pulp.  Handling spelling, grammar, and other basic copyediting is something he has already tackled with dedication and persistence. “
Magazine Editor in Chief -Lee Houston, Jr.  Hancock reported, “Again one of those who has been with Pro Se since our first call for writers, Lee is an amazing individual.  He tackles every project with excitement and passion and wants only the best from himself and Pro Se.   He definitely displayed a great work ethic as a writer and as a genre magazine editor and has already brought that level of ability and dedication to this new position.”  Houston oversees Thomas’ work on the magazine as well as Frank Schildiner, magazine editor.  “Frank,” Hancock added, “is a top hand and continues to prove an asset to Pro Se’s magazine line, especially now that we have streamlined it to one title.”
Pulp Poetry Editor-Megan Smith.   “This,” Hancock explains, “is a position that we created for two reasons.  One is we get more requests than you would think for poetry, both in book and magazine form.  One of the first queries we got was whether or not we published crime poetry.  We didn’t then, but now we want to.  The other reason is we have the person perfect to head up this potential new line already working with Pro Se.  Megan is an up and coming writer, known primarily for Perry Lell from Pro Se as well as giving her face and skills to The Pulptress, a spokesmodel for Pro Se and New Pulp.  Megan is also a fantastic poet and her real passion lies in working with others interested in that.”  More details will follow, according to Hancock, but there will be at least one magazine issue devoted exclusively to Pulp Poetry from Pro Se this year with Smith at the helm.
Other staff members already working with Pro Se include Hancock (Partner and Editor in Chief), Fuller Bumpers (Partner and Chief Executive Officer), and Barry Reese (Submissions Editor).
“These additions,” Hancock noted, “are not simply to look like we’re bigger than we are.  Pro Se has literally grown tremendously in the last year and these positions have become necessary.   We are also considering other positions as well, related primarily to marketing and promotions, but that’s an ongoing process.”
To follow or get more information on Pro Se, check out www.prosepulp.com and www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com.

FORTIER TAKES ON MAC’S NATE HELLER IN ‘CHICAGO LIGHTNING’!

  • News
  • January 1, 2012

ALL PULP REVIEWS by Ron Fortier
CHICAGO LIGHTNING
By Max Allan Collins
Thomas & Mercer
373 pages
Sixty three year old Max Collins has been at this writing game for a while coming onto the mystery private-eye scene with his 1994 Shamus Award winning “True Detective,” published the year before.  Since that monumental debut, Collins has gone on to produce several continuing series both in comics and prose; these include his comic book female P.I. Ms. Tree and the morally ambiguous hit-man, Quarry. The one fictional character Collins is most recognized for is Nathan Heller from his historical crime novels.   Heller is a Chicago based investigator who over the course of his career rubs shoulders with personalities such as Al Capone and Eliot Ness and worked on such mysteries as the Lindberg baby kidnapping and the disappearance of aviatrix Amelia Earhart.  His most recent Heller case was the critically acclaimed “Bye Bye Baby” wherein the fiftyish shamus becames involved with the death of Marilyn Monroe.  All of these books are excellent and worthy of your time and attention.
Over the years Collins, at the request of anthology editors, also penned short stories featuring Heller.  With the assistance of his research colleague, George Hagenauer, Collins adapted true crime stories and then wove his tough guy hero into their fabric so that the history and fiction elements become indistinguishable.  This volume has taken that baker’s dozen and for the very first time presented them in chronological order from the first which occurs in 1933 to the last set in 1949.  The settings range from Chicago to Cleveland and Hollywood.  Here is a sampling of what is included between the covers.
“Kaddish for the Kid,” Heller is hired to protect a retailer from a crooked union scam in reality a protection racket.  During a street shootout, his young partner is killed and the angry private dick goes after the killers with a vengeance.
“The Blonde Tigress,” has Heller investigating a trio of stick-up artists led by a female boss who tries to manipulate him into aiding her escape justice.
“Private Consultation,” has a well known Chicago doctor accused for murdering her daughter-in-law and her son hires Heller to investigate. What he uncovers is a sad testimony to a loveless marriage where none of the participants are innocent of wrong doing.
The Perfect Crime,” finds Heller in Los Angeles to help a friend. Before he can pack up and head home, he’s hired by the beautiful blonde star, Thelma Todd to act as her bodyguard. Miss Todd suspects mobsters wish to do her harm for refusing to allow Lucky Luciano to use the top floors of her famous restaurant as a casino.  When she is found dead in her garage from carbon monoxide poisoning, Heller knows the coroner’s accidental death ruling is pure bunk. He decides to extend his trip to catch a killer.
In “House Call” a caring doctor is brutally murdered while answering a night summons to aid a sick child.  This time Heller joins forces with the Chicago P.D. to hunt down the vicious killers and bring them to justice.
“Marble Mildred” tells the story of woman trapped for fourteen years in a loveless marriage who discovers a humiliating secret which she’d rather go to the electric chair rather than having it made public.  A tragedy Heller is helpless to prevent.
“The Strawberry Teardrop” is based on the case of Cleveland serial killer, the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run and how he was finally caught by the famous lawman Eliot Ness.
There is not a lemon in the batch.  Collins writing style is terse and economically efficient.  He uses words like a scalpel carving up the psychological motivations that induce people to do bad things.  All the while Nathan Heller is his surgeon, meting out equally doses of justice and compassion.  The title, “Chicago Lightning,” is gangster slang for gunfire and is only fitting as this book comes heavily loaded with pure pulp pizzaz.  Don’t miss it.

PRO SE’S LATEST AND MORE AVAILABLE AS E-BOOKS!

  • News
  • January 1, 2012

Pro Se Productions, one of the leading New Pulp Publishers focused on ‘Puttin’ The Monthly Back Into Pulp’ announced today that it has expanded its recently announced E-Book offerings!   Within the last month, Pro Se reported that thanks to the effort of E-Book Formatter Russ Anderson joining the company, it would be moving toward getting both its existing catalogue of titles as well as upcoming new books and magazines available as E-Books in various formats.  Today, Pro Se revealed that five titles are now available as E-Books, including its newest book, THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL by Derrick Ferguson!
As of 1/1/12, Pro Se has the following books available in E-book Format from the Following locations-
THE ADVENTURES OF LAZARUS GRAY BY BARRY REESE
Available at www.amazon.com for Kindle, www.barnesandnoble.com for the Nook, and www.smashwords.com in various formats for $2.99
THE ADVENTURES OF FORTUNE MCCALL BY DERRICK FERGUSON
Available at www.amazon.com for Kindle, www.barnesandnoble.com for the Nook, and www.smashwords.com in various formats for $2.99
PRO SE PRESENTS #1-Pro Se’s Monthly Pulp Magazine featuring tales from Sean Taylor, Ken Janssens, and Don Thomas!
Available at www.amazon.com for Kindle and www.smashwords.com in various formats for $1.99.  Available soon at www.barnesandnoble.com for the Nook!
PRO SE PRESENTS #2-Pro Se’s Monthly Pulp Magazine featuring tales from Geoff Goulet and Michael Montague and Nancy Hansen!
Available at www.amazon.com for Kindle and www.smashwords.com in various formats for $1.99.  Available soon at www.barnesandnoble.com for the Nook!
PRO SE PRESENTS #3-Pro Se’s Monthly Pulp Magazine featuring the novella ‘The Hunter Island Adventure’ from Wayne Reinagel!
Available at www.amazon.com for Kindle and www.smashwords.com in various formats for $1.99.  Available soon at www.barnesandnoble.com for the Nook!
Pro Se also stated that both books from the existing catalogue as well as new titles will be forthcoming throughout 2012!  For more information and to follow news from Pro Se, check out www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com and www.prosepulp.com!

Transformers 3 Comes to DVD on January 31

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (December 27, 2011) – From director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg, in association with Hasbro, Paramount Pictures’ global smash hit Transformers: Dark of the Moon returns to Earth January 31, 2012 in a four-disc Ultimate Edition Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD combo pack with UltraViolet™ and a Digital Copy.  A must-own film for every home media collection, Transformers: Dark of the Moon features “jaw-droppingly amazing 3D” (Harry Knowles, AintItCool.com) and fan-favorite characters OPTIMUS PRIME, BUMBLEBEE and Sam Witwicky amidst bigger and more spectacular action in an adventure that surpassed its predecessors to earn over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office and become the #4 biggest movie of all time at the global box office.

Bursting with nearly four hours of sensational behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews and more, the Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD combo pack delivers blockbuster entertainment.

“This Blu-ray 3D of Dark of the Moon will blow you away.  If you’ve been waiting for the right time to get a 3D television, this is it,” said director Michael Bay.  “For fans who’ve been waiting patiently to bring Dark of the Moon home, this Ultimate Edition release delivers the goods.”

And, for a limited time, all three eye-popping films in the Transformers franchise will be available in a 7-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Trilogy featuring each film in high definition, Transformers: Dark of the Moon in high definition 3D, more than 10 hours of special features and a plaque of movie images signed by Bay. (more…)

JOHN OSTRANDER: Prognostications 2012

Crap. Crappity crappitry crap.

It’s New Year’s Day. If it was New Year’s Eve I could look backwards and wax philosophic about 2011. But here we are smack dab in the middle of New Year’s Day, Day 1 for the year 2012, so I really should be looking ahead and prognosticating about what the year will bring especially for comics and related media.

I’m a crappy prognosticator.

Years ago, I read a squib in a newspaper about how a Japanese cell phone company had worked out how to add a camera to their phone and I thought, “What a stupid idea. They’ll have these crappy little photos and how good could the lens be and so on. Who would want that?”

Well, everyone, as it turned out.

Before that, I read another little squib about how the Dean of St. Paul’s cathedral in London was going to do a controlled jump with a parachute from the top of the church to bring attention to a rock opera that was premiering called “Jesus Christ Superstar.” And I thought, ‘What a stupid idea. A rock opera? About Jesus? Who would want to go see that?”

Well, gobs and gobs of people, as it turned out.

So I’m not the world’s foremost prognosticator. The Great Criswell I ain’t.

This year, however, it may not matter. The Mayan calendar ends with 2012 and some people predict that means the world is going to end in 2012. Heck, they’ve already done a big, loud, lousy movie about it. How you can take such a potentially fantastic event and make a lousy movie about it is beyond my – wait. The director was Roland Emmerich, wasn’t it? He’s also the one who directed Anonymous which says Shakespeare didn’t write Shakespeare’s play (piffle, I say!). And the producer/director of the heinous Godzilla remake. Never mind.

Okay, I grant you that maybe this isn’t real strong evidence. I mean, just because the calendar I have on my wall ended last night didn’t mean the world ended. Not if you’re reading this. I bought another calendar. And if the Mayans were all that sharp as prognosticators, why didn’t they chop up every single Spaniard they met into tiny little pieces?

In 2012, we have The Avengers movie coming out, the new Spider-Man movie, The Dark Knight Rises, and even the first of The Hobbit movies. The first of The Hunger Games movies, the next James Bond movie (Skyfall) will also make their appearances. Heck, based on the latest trailer, I’m hyped to see John Carter. This doesn’t even include the stuff that I don’t know I’ll want to see yet. I didn’t know about Hugo until relatively late this year and that may be my favorite film of 2011.

Seriously, would any sort of just and loving god end the world before Mary and I get to see The Hobbit?

Wait, That’s right. I’m agnostic. Said so last week. Doesn’t matter; I’m not going to believe in the Mayans either. We’re going to have 2012 and it’s going to be fun. Despite the Mayans, despite the elections, there are good times waiting out there.

As Stan (the Man) Lee himself was known to say: “Face front, True Believers! Because that’s there the future’s coming from!”

Words of wisdom for us all. Happy New Year, folks.

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

 

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