Comic painter extraordinaire Mark Wheatley announced a very nifty little contest over on his Facebook Fan Page today. Mark presented his fans a painting, LEZ VAMPS, from the Flesh & Blood series. The contest? Fans of the page are asked to be inspired by the illustration, and submit (and I quote…)
“…stories, poems, songs, haiku, comics or even recipes – as long as you can relate it to Mark Wheatley’s painting.”
In brief… gaze upon the painting, and write to your heart’s content! A panel of judges (feel free to start sending bribes to me now… hint hint) will read over all entries. What ever said judges dig will get published in an illustrated eBook distributed by Wheatley. And to sweeten the pot? Everyone who enters the contest gets something. What that thing is? Only the man with the brushes knows for sure.
Folks should hop over to Mark’s Facebook Fan Page and check out the contest. Entries are due by June 1st. Write early. Write often. And good luck!
We each saw The Avengers at fan-filled midnight screenings, separately but equally. We tried to avoid any spoilers here, but we can’t guarantee we hit that mark. And, being who we are, there are a couple of teasers in this dialog.
MIKE: Did you see it in 2-D, 3-D, or IMAX?
GLENN: 3-D.
MIKE: Me too. This was the first movie ever that I can recommend in 3-D.
GLENN: Which is amazing, considering it was upsampled to 3-D. The film was converted to 3-D during post-production for the theatrical release. But it certainly paid off.
MIKE: The 3-D imaging credits were as long as the Manhattan phone book.
GLENN: Someone asked me point blank if The Avengers is the greatest superhero movie of all time. I said I don’t know about that, it has some very tough competition. But hands down, it’s the greatest superhero battle movie of all time. Act Three in particular is just completely packed with the loving destruction of the New York skyline, and in 3-D it’s incredibly staggering. It’s also fast and fun, as compared to the smashing of Chicago in Transformers: Dark Of The Moon… that just felt drawn out and more akin to a disaster movie. Here, it’s battle, action, and a much better feeling of scope and scale.
MIKE: Yes. It was a real superhero battle in the classic Marvel sense: everybody fights each other then gets together to fight the bad guys. And I’ll never be able to look at Grand Central Terminal the same way again.
GLENN: Or the Pan-Am building. Or 387 Park Avenue South, or Marvel’s address on 40th Street. All of that and they didn’t blow up any of DC’s offices. Have we reached detente?
MIKE: Well, they blew up CBS’s first teevee studios. Which is funny, as this was a Paramount movie.
GLENN: Not really a Paramount movie, Disney bought ‘em out but they had to keep the logo on.
MIKE: And, of course, Paramount got a truckload of money and, I’ll bet, a piece.
GLENN: Exactly.
MIKE: Did you notice they hardly ever referred to anybody by their superhero name – other than The Hulk, who is obviously different from Banner, and Thor, who is, obviously, Thor.
GLENN: I think everybody got name-checked at least once.
PRO SE PRESENTS 9 FEATURES FIRST PART OF EPIC TALE- ‘THE SONS OF THOR!’
Pro Se Productions, a New Pulp Publisher noted for bringing monthly Pulp magazines into the modern era, releases today its latest issue of its award winning magazine, PRO SE PRESENTS!The ninth issue of this New Pulp periodical features the first half of an epic new adventure set in the classic era of the Pulps featuring a mix of new characters as well as fantastic original Pulp characters that are now in the Public Domain!
THE SONS OF THOR by noted New Pulp Author Erwin K. Roberts is so much of an epic that it will consume TWO full issues of Pro Se Presents.Beginning with Issue 9 and finishing in Issue Ten at the end of May, this story looks at the prospect of the villains of a tale being as strong as the heroes who stand against them!
They are a legend told in fearful whispers- A terror generations old…
They believed that they were the chosen of the old Norse Gods.They could not fail unless someone touched by another pantheon of gods intervened.To this end, they trained themselves and their families to such extremes that even the ancient Spartans would have been appalled.
They believed they would rule first all of Europe, then the entire world.We thought the sect gone forever.
We were wrong.The Sons of Thor live!
Heaven Help the Foolish Few Who Dare to Challenge THE SONS OF THOR!
Available now at www.amazon.comand www.prosepulp.com for $6.00 in print! Also available as an ebook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and www.smashwords.com for $1.99.Featuring Cover art and design by Sean Ali and Ebook formatting by Russ Anderson! Edited by Don Thomas and Lee Houston, Jr.!
Pro Se Presents #9 Featuring THE SONS OF THOR Part One by Erwin K. Roberts!
For more information on Pro Se, go to www.prosepulp.com!
The Avengers opens today. As near as I can tell from the Internets, I’m the last person in the world to see it. The New York Daily Newsreviewed it on Monday, since apparently everyone in the city has the option of going to a screening.
I hope to catch it this weekend, like a rube from the sticks.
Which brings me to the graphic story that has me most excited right now. Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland. Written by Harvey with fantastic art by Joseph Memnant, was just published by ZIP in collaboration with Top Shelf.
Cleveland, Ohio is a large, midwestern city, and, like many large midwestern cities, is a shadow of its former self. Unlike Chicago, it is not the City of Big Shoulders, nor is it the Hog Butcher of the World. It’s not like San Francisco, Miami or New York, a portal to the international scene. Cleveland is kind of schlubby, most famous these days for the fact that the Cuyahoga River caught fire… over a dozen times.
To me, Cleveland was the Big City. Growing up in Youngstown (about an hour and a half away), Cleveland to me was a place that was big where my town was small: the airport, the art museum, the library, the department stores. My father’s work took him more often to Pittsburgh (also about an hour and a half away), and he liked the Pirates and the Steelers. My mother liked the shopping better in Pittsburgh.
For me, there was no comparison. Cleveland was the city where Superman was born. Cleveland was the more rock’n’roll town, and had the best radio stations to prove it.
Pekar loved Cleveland for some of these reasons, and more. It’s his hometown, where he grew up and worked and married. He revels in the seemingly contradictory traditions of progressive politics, union membership, and racism.
The mix of history and personal reminiscence is both seamless and magical. Reading this book, you feel Cleveland as a place, not just a spot on a map, but a city where people live and work, dream and comfort each other. You root for the mass-transit system and the used book stores.
I was lucky enough to meet Harvey a few times, although never in Cleveland. I don’t have that chance anymore. Still, there’s a chance we might be able to keep more than his spirit in the city he loved. If you haven’t chipped in on this project, think about it. I’m told they could use more money.
Pro Se Productions, a leading Publisher of New Pulp, proudly announced today the release of its latest novel which features the book length debut of a character featured in two recent issues of Pro Se’s Award Winning Magazine, PRO SE PRESENTS. Written by author PJ Lozito, Pro Se’s 12th novel, THE STING OF THE SILVER MANTICORE, takes New Pulp by storm today.
“The Manticore is already a fan favorite,” Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor-in-Chief of Pro Se, stated. “An instant hit since his debut in the magazine earlier this year. PJ’s hero has definitely struck a chord with New Pulp fans, both those interested in stories that read and feel like they were written in Pulp’s heyday and those who like new insights and twists on the old style. Giving the Manticore and his colorful cast of goodies and baddies a full length venue to play from was not only an easy decision, it was most definitely the best place for both writer and creation to display pure New Pulp awesomeness.”
Art by Sean Ali
According to the book itself-
He hunts the most dangerous prey imaginable!
His mission: To fight criminals and villains who are out to destroy our society!
“Ride with Brent Allred and his mysterious assistant, Bako,
as they wage war against enemies who mock the law, but will feel its strength by
THE STING OF THE SILVER MANTICORE!
Throughout the underworld and in the halls of law enforcement,
one cry inspired fear and awe by all who hear it.
“Beware the Sting of the Silver Manticore!”
The Silver Manticore, the masked marauder wanted by the law and criminals alike, is about to undertake what will be one of the greatest adventures of his incredible career. The Silver Manticore will be drawn into a web of suspense and intrigue that will bring him face to face with his most dangerous enemy as they begin a battle that will span decades and generations!
PJ Lozito presents a tale of action and adventure, of thrills and suspense,
setting the stage for a hero for the ages!
Featuring a stunning cover by award winning artist David L. Russell and exquisite formatting and design by Sean E. Ali, THE STING OF THE SILVER MANTICORE is destined to be a New Pulp Classic, appealing to fans of Action and Larger than Life Heroes everywhere!
Available now in print for $12.00 at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Coming Soon in all Ebook formats!
For more information on Pro Se Productions, check out www.prosepulp.com!
I blame our tyrant-in-chief, that miserable cur of a backstabbing foreigner who lives in the White House. Yes, who else? Barack Hussein Obama. Stands to reason – it has to be his fault. There is no other reasonable explanation – hell, no possible explanation.
Last weekend, the Avengers movie opened in 39 overseas markets, made a whopping $178.4 million. What opened here? The Five Year Engagement. Oh sure, all us guys want to see that! We won’t get our Avengers fix until tomorrow. I have to wait almost a week before, movie money clutched in my sweaty grip, I ask the nice lady or gentleman at the monsterplex for a ticket, creep into the semi-dark theater, sink into a seat and prepare for moviegoing bliss. (My cell phone will be turned off. I don’t even have a laptop or a tablet. I’m a good audience member!)
What I’ll be seeing, in the following two-hour ecstasy fest, is the latest manifestation of the genius of Stan Lee. Years ago, before you were born, Mr. Lee revolutionized comic book publishing by… well, maybe by several things, but one of them was doing something there wasn’t even a name for back then (at least none that I ever heard): branding. Using what I think was a combination of intuition, native smarts, and years of sitting behind an editorial desk, Stan didn’t give us just comic books, he gave us Marvel Comics. So you didn’t go to he newsstand (this was before comic book shops existed) and buy an issue, say, The Amazing Spider-Man, you bought a Marvel comic that was about your friendly neighborhood web-slinger. And you were encouraged to get – to collect! – other Marvels, like Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk. These heroes seemed know each other and sometimes one of them would appear in another’s comic and so Stan wasn’t presenting mere stories, he was presenting stories that were park of a (more-or-less) coherent universe that you could (kind of) get to now and it was a lot more fun than the universe outside your window and you couldn’t wait until you could get the next issue
Stan’s pals at the movie studios are following his example and putting on our screens, not superhero movies, but Marvel superhero movies. They’ve been building the brand by such ploys as adding teasers to the end credits, brief scenes that referred to forthcoming films, thereby helping to create the theater version of the Marvel universe and, incidentally, creating anticipation for the next set of astonishments, much as the young Stan Lee did with coming issue blurbs and text pages.
Does the still-spry Stan approve? Hey, true believer, he does make those cameo appearances in the movies, doesn’t he?
At this point, if you have a wandering, non-linear mind, you might be wondering why Comrade Obama played us dirty and allowed the Avengers flick to debut in far places. Isn’t it obvious? We all know that Barack Hussein Obama wasn’t born in the land of the free. (Surely you heard that.) He isn’t a real American. So of course he favors the foreigners.
The byline reads, “A Brooklyn-Filtered Literary Arts Salon.” And yet, here I sit, writing yet another dark story about Pittsburgh. The obvious question is, “Why?” Why don’t I set my stories in New York City, or one of the other four boroughs? Why do I keep taking you on a visit to Western Pennsylvania?
Ready…Set…ACTION! That’s something this year’s crop of blockbusters promise to deliver and the ESO crew discuss what films may or may not keep us on the edge of the theater seat. Mike, Mike, and Bobby gaze into the summer movie crystal ball along with Box Office Buzz scribe Ashley Bergner and award-winning artist Mark Maddox. Also, IDW editor Jeff Conner joins us to talk about the new Zombies vs Robots prose project and finds himself caught in The Geek Seat. All this, plus the usual Rants, Raves, Shout Outs, and Khan Report!
Table of Contents 0:00:00 Intro / Welcome 0:06:47 Rants & Raves 0:42:01 The Geek Seat w/ Jeff Conner if IDW 1:14:15 ESO’s 3rd Annual Summer Movie Preview 2:32:47 Khan Report 2:48:05 Shout Outs 2:54:49 Show Close
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Next on Earth Station One… the ESO crew assembles for all things Avengers with New Pulp’s own Van Allen Plexico, Mark Maddox, and Bobby Nash.
Before Star Trek was Fringe and Lost, and Alias and before Alias was Felicity. It may be hard to recall that genre wunderkind Abrams actually broke into television by making a splash in 1998 with the WB series about a college girl. Created with Cabin in the Woods collaborator Matt Reeves, the series is worth a second look given the storytelling, music, and keen eye for casting that first introduced to an armload of performers who have gone on to success, including repeat appearances in later Abrams productions. Or do you think Keri Russell’s cameo in Mission: Impossible 3 was an oddity?
Lionsgate has resurrected the first two seasons in newly packaged DVDs, both out this week. The WB knew that a female-skewing series with a high concept would be a good fit for their struggling network so when Abrams and Reeves turned up with the concept, there was excitement. Susanne Daniels excitedly listened as Abrams outlined a five season arc for Felicity Porter, who would chuck everything she and her parents planned for, to follow a boy from California to New York. The boy barely knew she existed but all it took was for him to sign her yearbook and she was hooked.
So was Daniels who has written, “He brings heart to a pitch and can tell you clearly why anyone would or should care about the world he’s describing. But the single most impressive thing about J.J. is the depth of analysis he lays out in a compelling, almost professorial way. He can tell you everything about every character and their story arcs. And he can tell you how and why his show fits into your network, in the television business, and the world at large, and how the audience will relate to it.” (more…)
New Pulp author and Trinity Comics publisher, Frank Dirscherl shared the following information about the upcoming novel, The Wraith: Cry of the Werewolf with All Pulp.
Dear friends
My latest novel (a look at the cover is attached), the fourth in The Wraith Adventures series, CRY OF THE WEREWOLF, will be released for sale on May 18 from my own Trinity Comics. You’ll be able to buy (initially) direct from my online store, as well as from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other online and bricks and mortar stores shortly thereafter. EBook release will coincide with the print release.
Below is the book’s rear cover blurb:
Having gone through ordeal after ordeal, Paul Sanderson (aka The Wraith Dread Avenger of the Underworld ®) and his love Leena Patterson, decide to take a long overdue vacation. Choosing the mountain village of Bidbury as their destination, the two happily leave the crime and filth of Metro City far behind them, at least for a time. Once they reach the picturesque surrounds of the Little England area, their idyll is shattered by an attack by a creature nobody thought could possibly exist—a werewolf. Soon, Paul discovers a village wracked by fear and deceit, and an evil so pronounced, so monstrous, that only The Wraith could possibly defeat it.
CRY OF THE WEREWOLF is the fourth in this enthralling series of pulp novels featuring the Dread Avenger of the Underworld, and has all the thrills and emotion that one has come to expect from Dirscherl, surely the pre-eminent superhero pulp author of our time.
Thank you, and I hope everyone who chooses to buy this enjoys it. I put a LOT into this book, and I hope you all give it a chance and thoroughly enjoy it. Thank you again :)
Comic painter extraordinaire Mark Wheatley announced a very nifty little contest over on his Facebook Fan Page today. Mark presented his fans a painting, LEZ VAMPS, from the Flesh & Blood series. The contest? Fans of the page are asked to be inspired by the illustration, and submit (and I quote…)
