Author: Glenn Hauman

PREVIEW: “Jim Henson’s Tale Of Sand”

  • Uncategorized
  • December 13, 2011

Discovered in the Archives of The Jim Henson Company, Tale of Sand is an original graphic novel adaptation of an unproduced, feature-length screenplay written by Jim Henson and his frequent writing partner, Jerry Juhl. Tale of Sand follows scruffy everyman, Mac, who wakes up in an unfamiliar town, and is chased across the desert of the American Southwest by all manners of man and beast of unimaginable proportions. Produced with the complete supervision of Jim’s daughter, Lisa Henson, Tale of Sand will allow Henson fans to recognize some of the inspirations and set pieces that appeared in later Henson Company productions.

The book will be on sale in comic shops tomorrow in limited quantities, and on a wider basis on Jan. 17.

[[[JIM HENSON’S TALE OF SAND]]]
Original Graphic Novel Hardcover
Retail Price: $29.95 U.S.
Page Count: 160 pages
Format: hardcover (paper over board), 8.25” x 11.5”, full color
ISBN-13: 978-1-936393-09-1
Written by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl
Illustrated by Ramón Pérez
Cover by Ramón Pérez

WOLD NEWTON DAY 2011-HANCOCK’S TIPS HIS HAT TO MYTHS OF THE MODERN AGE

  • News
  • December 13, 2011

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE:  PHILIP JOSE FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE
Various Authors
Edited by Win Scott Eckert
Monkeybrain Books
2005

This is the first review of three today in recognition of Wold Newton Day.   What is Wold Newton Day?  In short, it commemorates the date in 1795 when a meteor crashed into the small English village of Wold Newton.  According to iconic Author Philip Jose Farmer, this meteor crashed as a group of people were passing through the village and radiation from the space borne rock affected the genes of these already mostly fantastic specimens in such a way that their descendants became both the Heroes and Villains of Fiction via mediums of all sorts.  This posit by Farmer led to Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan sharing family as well as hundreds of thousands of others being tangled together in the Wold Newton Family Tree.  Other writers and scholars have taken up the cause of Wold Newton and have developed fantastic tales as well as scholarly works about both Farmer and the wonderful universe he brought into existence.

MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE is a wonderful piece of scholarship, a grand escapade into imagination, and a fitting remembrance of a man who with words and ideas literally captivated creators both while he lived and will likely for centuries to come.  In his introduction to the volume, Mr. Eckert, the editor, poses several questions, queries about Holmes, Moriarty, Mowgli, Doc Savage, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and more and although he states that the essays that follow do not answer every question, they prove a good place to start.

Counting the introduction, MYTHS contains 29 works, essays focused on Farmer, his work, and on Wold Newton.   Authors such as Rick Lai, Brad Mengel, Matthew Baugh, Dennis E. Power, Jess Nevins, Farmer himself, and many others fill these pages.  Names like Tarzan, Captain Nemo, Rick Blaine, Lord Rufton, Charlie Chan, Zorro, Chtulhu, Fu Manchu, Joh Carter, and oh so many more dot these pages like spectacular plumage of a grand bird.    Although not a Wold Newton Scholar, I do have a background as a historian and can say that the research and effort to be academic that went into each article is impressive and notable.   These are not people sitting around having fanboy chats, although I’m sure they all have and would do that.  This is instead a serious endeavor to bring true study to Wold Newton as a concept, to Farmer as a Man, and to the duty of imagination in furthering our society.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-You need to know what Wold Newton is?  You want to know more than just the basics?  This is as close to a Wold Newton Textbook as we may ever get.

DC Comics March 2012 Solicitations

  • News
  • December 12, 2011

titi_cv50-291x450-5401614We hold in our hands the covers for DC Comics this March. As a child of four can plainly see, these comics have been hermetically sealed in a CGC 9.8 slab, and they’ve been kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar under a giant pile of Christmas tinsel since noon today.

What do we have worth noting? The first fill-in artist on Justice League, although Gene Ha is certainly no slouch in that department. We also have new writers on Firestorm and Green Arrow, new backups in Justice League and Action Comics, and the DC 52 hits lucky number 7.

Shall we see who is the fariest of them all? Oh indeedy, let’s do!

As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

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“Justice League: Doom” on DVD February 28

  • News
  • December 12, 2011

Earth’s greatest super heroes face foes on all fronts – using a plan initiated from within – in the all-new [[[Justice League: Doom]]], the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated film arrives February 28, 2012 from Warner Home Video.

Justice League: Doom finds Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg and Batman on their heels when a team of super villains discover and implement the Dark Knight’s “contingency plans” for stopping any rogue Justice League member. The story is inspired by Mark Waid’s much-heralded “JLA: Tower of Babel.” The trailer for the movie is here.

Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Tim Daly (Private Practice), the reigning voices of Green Lantern and Superman, respectively, join a group of eight actors reprising their famed Justice League cartoon roles. Fillion made his debut as Green Lantern/Hal Jordan in the recent Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, and took his initial DC Universe movie bow as the voice of Steve Trevor in the 2008 hit Wonder Woman. Daly originated his role as Superman’s voice in the landmark cartoon, Superman: The Animated Series. He has reprised the role in two DC Universe films: the 2009 extravaganza Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and the 2010 thriller Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.

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The Dark Knight Rises Teaser Poster Unveiled

  • News
  • December 10, 2011

Warner Bros. has sent us the teaser poster to next July’s The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final Christian Bale-starring film. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film wraps up the story that began in Batman Begins. The first eight minutes will be shown in selected IMAX theaters this month, attached to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

We’ll let the image do the rest of the talking.

ALAN LADD, SECRET AGENT X, PHILIP JOSE FARMER AND MORE! AND IT’S STILL CHRISTMAS AT RADIO ARCHIVES!

  • News
  • December 9, 2011

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

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December 9, 2011
oldtimeradio-4247958   NEW Radio Set: Box Thirteen, Volume 3

Alan Ladd, a legend of the silver screen, brought his trademark tough guy with a heart to the airwaves in ‘Box Thirteen’, a pulpy mystery adventure radio program. Produced by his own Mayfair Productions from 1948-1949, Ladd returned to his radio roots as Dan Holiday, the central character in this thrilling show.

 
For fifty two episodes, Holiday, a reporter turned fiction writer, checked Box Thirteen at the Star-Times, finding thrills and chills in every response to the want ad he placed stating ‘Adventure Wanted.’ Russell Hughes, who hired Ladd at KFWB, scripted most of the show’s episodes. Rudy Schrager provided the often light, sometimes atmospheric music for Box Thirteen and Vern Carstensen doubled as the show’s director and announcer. Well-known radio actors also contributed their voices over the entire run of Box Thirteen, adding to the high quality of this tightly budgeted program.
 
Although Box Thirteen bears similarities to other mystery and action programs of the time, something that stands out is how Ladd portrayed the show’s mostly hard-boiled protagonist. Dan Holiday, a reporter trying to make his way as a fiction writer, has no police training, no investigator’s license, no skills that identify he could handle rough and tumble action and multitudes of thugs every episode. Yet, that’s exactly what he did week in and week out and thanks to Alan Ladd, Holiday was more than believable. Over the show’s run, he proved his worth as both a hard-boiled, ready for anything action hero and an everyman dealing with what troubles came his way with little more than his wits.
 
Ladd gave his portrayal of Dan Holiday his sardonic wit as well the edge to his voice that added unpredictability to everything he said. He also provided a subdued ever-present sense of humanity. Listeners knew that Holiday would always win out, but sat on the edges of their seats anxiously, unsure of just how he would pull it off each show.
 
Listen to the fantastic episodes included in this third volume and ride along with Holiday as he uncovers the twists and turns each new response to his ad brings him. Box Thirteen, Volume 3 contains the further adventures of this hard-boiled everyman, each show restored to the highest quality possible, thanks to Radio Archives. The Seven hour collection is $20.98 for the Audio CD version and $13.98 for the Digital Download version!

 
 

 
“Enemy to those who make him an enemy…Friend to those who have no friend!”

 
Ready to have a Pulpy Christmas? Then join everyone’s favorite safecracker turned crimefighter on Boston Blackie, Volume 1 for only 99 Cents! Have your own Holiday Hijinks listening to Blackie track the criminals and one up Inspector Faraday in every humorous, exciting episode!
 
Ride along with Blackie in 10 hours of wonderfully restored audio for only 99 Cents with a $35.00 Order! Just add Boston Blackie, Volume 1” to your shopping cart, and then add $35.00 or more worth of additional merchandise to your cart as well. Before checking out, be sure to enter the coupon code BONUS to get Boston Blackie set for just 99 Cents.
 
* * *
Still looking for that perfect present for that Special Person on your list? Then dig deep into the Radio Archives Treasure Chest for the best Holiday Deals Possible! This Christmas season, Every single DVD we offer is available at 60% off its regular price! Ride the range with Roy Rogers! Fly high with Superman! Chuckle along with the likes of Jack Benny!
 
Take a peek in the Treasure Chest and you’ll find Great Presents like:
 

Bing Crosby: The Screen Legends Collection – 3 DVDs of classic Crosby movies. Normally priced at $26.98 now $10.79, 60% off!
 
The Jack Benny Show – Hilarious collection of four classic episodes from his CBS television series. Normally $6.98 now $2.79, a 60% discount
 
TV’s Greatest Shows – Laugh, Cry, and Thrill to 7 DVDs worth of classic Television Episodes from TV’s Golden Age! Normally $29.98 now $11.99  – Unbelievably discounted 60%!

 
Superman – The 1948 & 1950 Theatrical Serials Collection – 4 DVDs of two of the earliest screen portrayals of the Man of Steel – Normally $39.98 now $15.99 – A 60% discount!
 
Best of The Cisco Kid – 35 half hour TV shows on this 3 DVD collection of the classic Cisco Kid TV Series- Normally $14.98 now $5.99 – A 60% discount!
 
Zorro – The Masked Avenger, Old Mexico’s swashbuckling sword wielder on 3 DVDs – Normally $14.98 now $5.99. Available now at 60% off!
 
Just like your Christmas tree, the Treasure Chest is full to the brim with the best Gifts for Everyone!
 
Merry Christmas from Radio Archives!
 
 
Classic Radio And Christmas Go Great Together!
 

Everyone Loves a Good Comedy, Mystery, Drama, and even a touch of Horror now and then! And You can get all of that and more this Christmas for those special to you from Radio Archives! Just look at a few of the treasures you can find here at Radio Archives.
 
Blast off with Sci Fi Fun with Space Patrol, Volume 1! Follow the exploits of Commander Buzz Corey in charge of a thirtieth-century police-keeping force operating from a man-made planet known as Terra. Assisted by his protégé Cadet Happy, Corey struggled to maintain law and order on the interplanetary frontier against the villainous likes of Mister Proteus, Agent X, Prince Baccaretti , known as The Black Falcon! A Science Fiction Classic, Space Patrol, Volume 1 is ten hours of space faring laser blasting fun! Available now from Radio Archives on Audio CDs for $29.98 and Digital Download for $19.98.
 
Follow intrepid ace cameraman Casey as he tracks down the biggest stories in the city! Casey, Crime Photographer, Volume 1 collects 20 episodes of the Adventures of Casey and his camera along with his reporter Girlfriend Annie Williams, Captain Logan of the Police, and Blue Note bartender Ethelbert! This show is the prefect blend of action, mystery, and humor! Get ten hours on Audio CDs for $29.98 or via Digital Download for $19.98 today!
 

ra169-200-8340142The adventures of the Biggest Man West of the Rio Grande can be found on Luke Slaughter of Tombstone! Thrill to the escapades of Slaughter, a cattleman tougher than rawhide, faster than a rattler, and just deadly enough to survive! This frontier adventure is a fantastic Old West tale of six guns, steers, and outlaws galore! Enjoy Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, a total of eight hours on Audio CDs for $23.98 and Digital Download for 15.98!
 
If you’re thinking Medical Melodrama is a modern invention, then you need to listen to the father of them all! The Story of Dr. Kildare, Volume 1 focuses on a young doctor and his crotchety mentor, Dr. Gillespie (played by Lionel Barrymore) as they deal with the day to day issues that arise for their patients! Tender moments, medical mysteries, and a bit of action makes The Story of Dr. Kildare, Volume 1 a great collection! Available for $29.98 on Audio CD or Digital Download for $19.98!
 
Hear All the Best Classic Radio this Holiday Season! Wonderfully restored to beautiful sound quality and available from Radio Archives!

 
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The Mysterious Secret Agent “X” Comes to Audiobooks!
  Just in time for that last-minute holiday gift, RadioArchives.com brings to audiobooks Secret Agent “X”, the man of many identities.   A nameless mystery man with a wartime past in the Intelligence service, declared dead by the Department of Justice, and backed by a shadowy group of powerful philanthropists, Secret Agent “X” infiltrates the Underworld to crush crime in all of its hideous manifestations.   The Torture Trust, the audio version of the very first Secret Agent “X” adventure, introduces the mysterious nemesis of the most nefarious criminals the pulp writers could dream up. In it, Secret Agent “X” pits all his secretive skill and devious daring against a criminal triad that wields face-destroying acid as an instrument of blackmail.  

Read by noted voiceover actor Dave Mallow, The Torture Trust is a danger-a-minute audio introduction to this fondly remembered pulp avenger of the 1930s.

 

The Torture Trust, the latest entry in RadioArchives.com’s Will Murray’s Pulp Classics series, will provide thrills and chills to pulp and audiobook fans alike.

 

The deluxe five-CD set of The Torture Trust is just $14.98. The instant download version is just $9.98.

 

The Jade Ogre – High Adventure for the Holidays and Beyond

 

The RadioArchives.com audiobook of Will Murray’s monumental Doc Savage adventure The Jade Ogre is sure to delight fans of audio adventure this holiday season … and into the New Year.

 

“The Jade Ogre makes a wonderful listening experience,” Producer/Director Roger Rittner says. “Will has packed a cast of colorful characters, plus mystery, intrigue, action, adventure, and a bit of mysticism into an heroic tale. It’s an epic adventure to be savored.”

 

Based on an outline by Lester Dent, the massive The Jade Ogre tells the story of one of Doc Savage’s most exciting and exotic adventures.

 

Accompanied by his aides Monk Mayfair and Ham Brooks, his cousin Pat Savage, and a cast of unique characters, Doc races to unlock the secret of the Jade Ogre, a fantastic Oriental villain who unleashes death in the form of disembodied flying arms, capable of disintegrating its victims in a flash of fire. But the lethal flying arms are merely the cover for a more deadly menace – the mysterious Jade Fever, which strikes down its victims with a deadly virus that turns its victims green as jade.

 

“The Jade Ogre will carry the listener from the fog-shrouded streets of the Chinatown of 1935 San Francisco, to the crumbling ruins of Cambodia, as the armless and ruthless Jade Ogre attempts to blackmail the world with his lethal Jade Fever,” author Will Murray says in his liner notes.

 

Narrator Michael McConnohie essays every role in the story with unerring vocal impressions that give life to Murray’s distinctive characters.

 

In addition to the 36-chapter story, the 12-CD set includes two bonus audio features: a continuation of Will Murray’s discussion of the creation of Doc Savage, and his memory of creating The Jade Ogre from Lester Dent’s notes, plus how Pat Savage has contributed to the Doc Savage canon.

 

Listen to a sample of The Jade Ogre.

 

The Jade Ogre is available now from RadioArchives.com at $37.98 for the deluxe 12-CD set, or $25.98 for instant digital download.

 

The Spider Offers A Unique Listening Experience

 

For over-the-top thrills, you can’t beat Prince of the Red Looters, the first audiobook from RadioArchives.com featuring the pulp hero, The Spider.

 

“With extensive sound effects and complete period music score, Prince of the Red Looters is an almost ‘cinematic’ experience for listeners,’ says Producer/Director Roger Rittner. “Customers are telling us it’s like a movie playing in your mind.”

 

Narrating Norvel Page’s propulsive prose, stage and screen stars Nick Santa Maria and Robin Riker give life to the sword fights, escapes, insurmountable odds, nail-biting suspense, and unexpected twists in Prince of the Red Looters.

 

Prince of the Red Looters is available in a 6-CD deluxe set at just $19.98, or as an instant digital download at just $14.98.

 

More Audio Adventures Ideal for Holiday Giving

 

ra401-200-3185589Listeners continue to discover and delight in Python Isle. In Booklist, the 100-year-old journal of the American Library Association, Kaite Mediatore Stover says that Python Isle, the first Doc Savage audiobook from Radio Archives.com, “takes listeners on a breathless, roller-coaster adventure ride. Michael McConnohie’s masterful pacing keeps the tension and suspense tighter than a python’s grip, and a superb blend of sound effects and music enhance the mood, lending the production a cinematic feel.”

 

The full-cast NPR series The Adventures of Doc Savage presents special adaptations of “Fear Cay” and “The Thousand-Headed Man” by Roger Rittner and Will Murray. Featuring a full cast of voice actors, extensive sound effects, and period music score, The Adventures of Doc Savage is non-stop action in 13 exciting installments.

 

A super-criminal emerges in White Eyes, the second Doc Savage audiobook from RadioArchives.com. From his skyscraper headquarters high above the streets of New York City to the sugarcane fields of Cuba, Doc Savage races to crush gangland’s latest uncrowned king. White Eyes features dramatic narration by Richard Epcar, cover art by Joe DeVito, plus fantastic extras.

 

ra405-200-9464962The first Black Bat audiobook, Brand of the Black Bat, is 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. Michael McConnohie reads this fantastic tale.

 

RadioArchives.com resurrects the wild and wonderful Doctor Death, one of the rare unabashedly supernatural pulp series. Equal parts Doctor Frankenstein and Albert Einstein, with a dash of Fu Manchu, Doctor Death’s supreme goal in life was to crush civilization. His first fatal foray into reversing mankind’s fortunes, 12 Must Die, is now available in an audiobook read by television and anime star Joey D’Auria.

 

 

 
 
Pulp Fiction, both Classic and New, is replete with strong, larger than life characters, those figures who against all odds strive and struggle to make sure the world is better for what they do! And that’s not just the heroes featured in great Pulp tales. It applies as well to the writers, the authors of the great adventures we thrill to with the turn of every page. Meteor House Publishing, launched in 2010, centers on one of these iconic creators, a man known for reinvigorating Pulp after it was long thought dead as well as breathing his own version of life into other genres, even to the point of starting an entire fictional Universe where famous literary characters knew and were even related to each other.
 
“Meteor House was launched with our first book, The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions,” reports Michael Croteau, one of the owners of Meteor House. “I started out as a book collector, because no one warned me it was a gateway to more serious hobbies, like creating a website about my favorite science fiction author, Philip José Farmer. That led to me meeting Phil and working with him on various things like doing his official website, selling photocopies of unpublished manuscripts for him, publishing the fanzine Farmerphile from 2005 to 2009 and even being an organizer of the annual FarmerCon gatherings. The latest manifestation of this addiction is being one of the owners of Meteor House and the editor of the Worlds of Philip José Farmer series of anthologies.”
 
A legendary author for his unique views on literature and how to tell stories as well as innovations that are still reverberating through fiction today, Philip Jose Farmer was a juggernaut of creativity, imagination and production, leaving Meteor House with material aplenty as well as the mission of making sure Farmer’s work and impact continues to be recognized into the future.
 
“Our initial goal, “Croteau says, “is to keep bringing Farmer fans “new” material to read. Sometimes that means reprinting an article about him that was published over fifty years ago in an obscure fanzine and nearly forgotten, like Randall Garrett’s essay, “The Bite of the Asp.” Sometimes that means publishing an interview with Farmer from the 1990s that was never printed, or a speech he gave in Denmark in 1977, or a short story found in his files that was never sold. It can also mean new stories in Farmer’s worlds by other writers, similar to what new pulp authors are doing with vintage pulp characters.
 
For those unfamiliar with Farmer’s work or who just have a general sense of it, his connection to Pulp may be tenuous. Meteor House recognizes his impact on the Pulp field and Croteau explains why Farmer was involved with Pulps.
 
“Farmer was a child of the pulps and a life-long fan of them. In fact you can say he was a champion of the pulps. Countless science fiction fans throughout the 1970s and 80s were introduced to Tarzan of the printed page, not of the movies and tv shows, and Doc Savage through Farmer. In fact, I personally had never heard of Doc Savage before I discovered Farmer’s biography of him, Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life in the early 1990s. Along with his other biography, Tarzan Alive, these two books launched the Wold Newton Universe which goes hand in hand with new pulp.
 
“Anyone who has ever read Farmer’s great comic novel, Greatheart Silver can tell how much he loved the pulps. And Farmer is a great example for new pulp writers. How you don’t have to do the expected, how you don’t have write firmly stuck in a narrow genre. Look at his Khokarsa series. He did the meticulous world-building you normally only find in science fiction, but Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard were his primary “sources.” He then used this world, a vast civilization in Central Africa 12,000 years ago, to write adventure stories worthy of Burroughs and Haggard.”
 
Meteor House currently features its two titles in the Pulp Book Store! The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions is a tour through Farmer’s many creations, featuring essays by the likes of Randall Garrett and James Gunn, interviews with Farmer, stories set in Farmer’s expanded worlds by Chris Roberson, David Bischoff, Rhys Hughes, and other SF/F talents, and previously unpublished fiction and more by Farmer himself.
 
The Worlds of Philip Jose Farmer Volume 2: Of Dust and Soul takes another trip through Farmer’s imagination, featuring essays by the likes of Charles Platt and James Sallis, stories set in Farmer’s expanded worlds by Spider Robinson, Mary A. Turzillo, and others and featuring an all new novella by Philip José Farmer & Christopher Paul Carey, along with much more by Farmer himself.
 
Meteor House, according to Croteau, definitely intends to produce more quality work. “We are taking things one step at a time and growing slowly. We have plans for other books, Farmer related and otherwise, but nothing we can talk about just yet.”
 
Meteor House Publishing is a fantastic example of what people who love fiction and an author’s work can do with their passion and dedication. The Pulp Book Store is honored that Meteor House is one of the Publishers featured in the Store!
 

 

The Man of Bronze battles the supernatural in classic pulp thrillers by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, Doc Savage follows his stolen dirigible to a magic island and discovers the lost city of Ost, in an expanded novel with never-before-published text from Lester Dent’s original manuscript. Then, Renny Renwick awakens in the body of a fugitive gangster after encountering a strange impish man. What is the bizarre connection between the One-Eyed Mystic, a stolen military secret and a Nazi plot? This classic pulp reprint features the original color pulp covers by Robert G. Harris and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eight Doc Savage novels.
 
The Shadow’s true identity takes center stage in two classic pulp novels that inspired the classic 1940 Shadow movie serial. First, explorer Kent Allard is invited to join The Green Hoods, a hooded secret society whose true purpose is an enigma. Then, airplanes carrying wealthy passengers disappear over the Rockies, setting The Shadow on the trail of the criminal mastermind called Silver Skull. PLUS “Prelude to Terror,” a 1939 radio classic. This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen, the original interior illustrations by Edd Cartier and commentary by popular-culture historians Ed Hulse and Will Murray.
 

 
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Review of “The Polar Treasure” from Doc Savage, Volume 6

By Dr. Art Sippo

After a concert, blind Violin virtuoso Victor Vail is given an urgent message to see an old friend, Ben O’Gard. Preparing to do so, it turns out this is actually an attempt to kidnap him. As multiple thugs drag Vail towards a taxi a bronze cyclone intervenes. Doc Savage had come to the concert to speak with Vail about performing an operation that might restore his sight. Even though Victor Vail had been born blind, Doc still thought that he could give him some form of vision. Doc handily thwarts the kidnap plot but comes upon a deeper mystery. Fifteen years earlier during the Great War, Victor Vail and his wife and daughter had been aboard the liner Oceanic when it was chased into the arctic ice pack by a German U-boat. It became trapped there and one day, Victor was suddenly rendered unconscious. When he awoke he was told by Ben O’Gard that the ship had been crushed by the ice and his family killed. Only a handful of the crew survived. A fight then ensued between Ben O’Gard and the evil Keelhaul de Rosa over which of them would take Victor with them. O’Gard and his men prevailed and escaped taking Vail with them. Ever since he returned, Vail has been menaced by a man with “clicking” teeth whom he can hear but no one else has been able to see.
 
Doc Savage is intrigued. The official story of the Oceanic was that it had been lost at sea and a review of its manifest showed that it had been carrying $50 million dollars in gold and diamonds. Victor Vail unwittingly held the secret of the location of the lost liner hidden on his body. Suddenly Ben O’Gard was no longer a hero, but a venal villain.
 
Doc Savage is in a race against time. The two villainous factions gain access to the location of the wreck and are on their way there. Can Doc and his crew arrive there in time to thwart them? And what really happened to the passengers and crew of the Oceanic?
 
This is one of the earliest Doc Savage adventures and still one of the best! Get The Polar Treasure and another full Doc Savage Tale today in Doc Savage, Volume 6 for $12.95 from Radio Archives!
 

Comments From Our Customers!
 

Barney McCasland:

I am looking forward to more Doctor Death. I’m now listening to The Jade Ogre. I’m only a few chapters in so far, but I think the potential is there for it to be much better than either Python Isle or White Eyes. Michael McConnohie is awesome! I like the fact that the last few books have been coming out so quick. More! More! More!

 
Larry Black:
Thanks a million for the super deals and the excellent quality of your product! I look forward to hours of great viewing and listening pleasure and to many more years of a continuing GREAT relationship.

Luke Hackenberg:

I read your newsletter via the AllPulp blog and it really comes out like an entertaining publication rather than just a rundown of ads. You guys are really putting out some great quality products right now — keep up the great work! Honestly, my intention is to be buying all of your new audio productions. It’s exciting to see you focusing on ramping up the line so enthusiastically. And I also like the availability of the downloads though my intention is to buy the hard copies, listen, and then donate to my local library so others can enjoy and word of your products can be spread.

Rodger Johnson:

Being a long time customer, I like the way you keep getting better with your product lines. My favorite new thing is the Pulp audiobooks, you can’t put them out fast enough,they are very well done….

 

If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!
 
The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, or if this newsletter has been sent to you in error, please reply to this e-mail with the subject line UNSUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

How Should Comic Shop Owners Deal With Digital Comics? Start Drinking. (Really.)

  • News
  • December 9, 2011

A lot of pixels have been spilled recently about Dark Horse going day-and-date digital at a cheaper price point than the print edition, with many retailers feeling undercut. Mark Millar has said we shouldn’t be doing day-and-date at all:

I really think day and date release is a disastrous idea and makes no economic sense at all to comics as a business. It’s potentially ruinous for comic stores, and in the long term it’s not going to do publishers any favors either.

Brian Wood has a more nuanced point of view:

No sane creator, or publisher, wants to see comic shops hurt. We all have emotional connections to them, to the idea of them, and we count owners and employees as personal friends. We aren’t looking for digital to steal customers away from shops, but rather to be an additive thing, to be an additional source of income. To simply switch a current print consumer to a digital consumer does not solve any problems! It benefits no one at all. It will not save us.

So what will save us? In the words of Bluto Blutarsky: “My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.”

If you’re in comics, you’ve spent time in bars. (Oh, don’t deny it, the photos are all up on Facebook.) But the question is: what kind of bars? Do you spend it in old man bars where the average age of the customers goes up by one each year? Are the places dimly lit and crowded, but it’s still happening– or have you not been in that dive since you graduated? Is it a friendly place where you and your friends can hang out? Is there a decent beer list, or do they only sell stuff from the big players, without a hint of imported beer or microbrews? Does the person behind the bar know how to make a decent Harbor Light?

And really, why are you spending time in bars anyway? You can get booze cheaper if you buy it and drink it at home. Much cheaper.

This is where we are now with comic book stores– compare them to your bar on the corner. Maybe it’s a place you’d rather not be at all. Maybe it’s okay for some people, but it’s not the kind of place you’d take your mom on her birthday. Maybe it’s a family place, maybe it’s sports only. And just as some bars die out for a variety of reasons, so too do comic stores.

There are great comic stores out there– Challengers in Chicago, The Secret Headquarters and Meltdown in LA, and New York City has a bunch like Midtown and Manhattan and St. Mark’s and Jim Hanley’s Universe. Each one has a different vibe and feel, but they all know how to reach their customers and they’re all places you want to spend some time in.

Is your store a place you really enjoy spending time in? Or is it a place that’s survived because it’s the only way to get your weekly fix?

There are comic stores that have taken these lessons to heart and made them places you want to go to and spend money, even though you can get stuff cheaper elesewhere.

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