Author: Tommy Hancock

REMO WILLIAMS playing at THE LONG MATINEE!!!

  • News
  • October 23, 2010

 

THE LONG MATINEE-Movie Reviews by Derrick Ferguson

 

REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

1985
Orion Pictures
Directed by Guy Hamilton

Produced by Larry Spiegel and Dick Clark

Screenplay by Christopher Wood
Based on “The Destroyer” created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir
            In the 1970’s there was a tremendous revival of pulp adventure heroes of the 1930’s and 1940’s.  And as a result the paperback racks in bookstores were stuffed with novels reprinting the adventures of such classic characters like Doc Savage, The Shadow, Conan The Barbarian, G-8 And His Battle Aces and The Spider.  They were helped along by breathtakingly beautiful covers done by legends of the art world such as James Bama, Jim Steranko and Frank Frazetta. And they sold like crack.  And it was like crack to the imagination of a high school student named Derrick Ferguson who spent his entire allowance on buying them and who spent his weekends devouring them voraciously and it was these pulps that shaped my writing ambitions and my style.
            Publishers who saw this trend for pulp adventure jumped on the bandwagon and soon there was a whole army of modern day characters inspired by the pulps with their own series fighting for space on the racks with their forefathers.  Some of them were pretty poor, to be honest.  Some like Mack Bolan, The Executioner still survive to this day.  One of my favorites was The Inquisitor,  a hitman that worked for The Vatican.  He had to fast for three days for every man he killed while on assignment and his confession was only heard by The Pope himself.  But the guy who really stood out and gained a rabid fan following that exists to this day is Remo Williams, The Master Of Sinanju who is the hero of “The Destroyer” series of novels which still enjoys life in paperbacks and was featured in the movie REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS which in the opinion of your humble reviewer is along with “The Phantom” one of the unsung classics of pulp adventure movies.
            A New York cop (Fred Ward) is catching a coffee break under The Brooklyn Bridge when he stumbles on what appears to be a random mugging.  He takes out the three muggers all by himself and while he’s calling for backup in his patrol car, it’s shoved into the East River and he’s presumed killed.  He wakes up in a hospital where he’s told by the sharply dressed Conn MacCleary (J.A. Preston) that he’s been handpicked to be the enforcement arm of a secret organization called CURE.  “Why CURE?” The cop asks.  Cleary answers; “because this country has a disease and we’re the cure.  You’re going to be the Thirteenth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Get Away With It.” Which I think should be the motto of just about every pulp hero.  Especially guys like The Spider and Secret Agent X.
           MacCleary gives him his new name: Remo Williams and takes him to meet the head of the organization, one Harold Smith, who works in a dark sub-basement of The World Bank.  Smith tells him that CURE has only four members: MacCleary, Smith, Remo and the man who will train Remo: Chiun (Joel Grey) The current Master Of Sinanju, an ancient Korean who will teach Remo the art of Sinanju, which is the martial art from which all other martial arts such as karate, kung fu and ninjitsu was derived. CURE is an organization that is only known to The President of the United States and answers only to him.
            Chiun is takes Remo under his wing as his student and informs him that The House of Sinanju has a long history of ‘perfect assassinations’.  As Chiun tells Remo in a scene that is hysterical to watch and listen to courtesy of Joel Grey’s utter seriousness and Fred Ward’s increasing disbelief, assassination is the highest form of public service.  The House of Sinanju is responsible for the deaths of such notable historical figures as Alexander The Great, Napoleon and Robin Hood.  All perfect assassinations carried out with such skill and grace that they appeared to be accidents or natural deaths.  Chiun begins training Remo for his job while Smith lines up his first job: an industrialist named George Grove (Charles Cioffi) who has been bilking the United States Army out of billions with a weapons systems called The Harp that doesn’t work.  Grove’s theft has come to attention of Major Rayner Fleming (Kate Mulgrew) who is making trouble for Grove and she’s targeted to be killed.  Smith assigns Remo Williams to protect Major Fleming and expose Grove’s evildoing.
            REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES isn’t a movie that comes up very often when people discuss superhero or pulp inspired movies but  it’s a movie that I highly recommend you seek out and watch.  Mainly for the performances of the always likeable and watchable Fred Ward (who would have been the perfect Rocky Davis if a ‘Challengers Of The Unknown’ movie had ever been made) and Joel Grey as Chiun.  Their relationship in the movie is what really sells this movie as it progresses from one of active hatred to respect and love to the point where Chiun calls Remo his son and Remo calls Chiun ‘Little Father” The training scenes are a lot of fun, especially the one where Chiun seeks to conquer Remo’s fear of heights by having him stand on the top of a moving car of Coney Island’s world famous Wonder Wheel while dodging the other moving cars.  The scene is helped tremendously by the fact that it’s obviously Fred Ward doing his stunts and its nail-bitingly suspenseful as well as hilarious, once again courtesy of Joel Grey’s comments.
            In fact, Joel Grey effortlessly steals the movie as Chiun.  He creates a wonderfully eccentric character that is as wise and as badass as Master Yoda.  But a whole lot funnier.  Chiun is capable of taking out an army of fully armed men barehanded but he’s also addicted to soap operas which he considers to be the highest artistic achievement of American culture.  One of the best scenes in the movie is when he is forced to tell Remo that if Remo fails in his assignment to take out Grove that Chiun will have to kill Remo.  The scene is done with a degree of feeling and sheer acting power that lifts it out of what could have been a run of the mill action movie and approaches real heart.  It’s a terrific scene.  It’s also helped by the music which is done by Craig Safan and it is absolutely one the best music soundtracks ever done for a movie.  The theme music is guaranteed to get your heart pumping.
The only let down of the movie is the badguy.  Charles Cioffi’s George Grove really isn’t much of a villain and it’s he’s not much of a threat.  The fact that he’s stealing billions of money from the US Government reduces Remo to not much more than a high level collection agent and Grove’s crew of henchmen aren’t on the level of James Bond style enforcers such as Oddjob or Jaws which is what the movie really needs to give Remo a real threat.  But the performances are what really sell this movie, especially those of a pre ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ Kate Mulgrew and Fred Ward and Joel Grey.  Joel Grey won two awards for his role in this movie:  One from The Golden Globes and one from The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films and he deserved them both. 
            So should you see REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS?  You get an enthusiastic Hell Yes from me.  It’s a lost classic that needs to be seen by fans of superhero movies and lovers of the pulps.  It’s modern day pulp all the way and it’s done with style, class and a love of the genre.  It should be seen just for the terrific performances of Fred Ward and Joel Grey is nothing else.  It’s a really good movie and a perfect Saturday night rental.  Enjoy with my blessings.
121 minutes
Rated PG-13

ANOTHER OUTLET PICKS UP ALL PULP!!!

  • News
  • October 23, 2010

From Bobby Nash, one of ALL PULP’s Spectacled Seven-

The N. GA Community Daily is out and they picked up my retweet of an All Pulp story. 
http://bit.ly/91nGPw

Bobby

The word on ALL PULP is getting out!  People are picking up our work!  This particular piece is the recent ‘TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT’ to EPISODES FROM THE ZERO HOUR: VOL 3

LAURA GIVENS FEATURED ARTIST IN ALL PULP GALLERY!!!

  • News
  • October 23, 2010

Welcome to ALL PULP’S  PULP ARTIST’S WEEKEND GALLERY!!!  This is where artists delving into that wonderful, wild world of Pulp Art can display their work!  Each weekend more art will be added, both the art of interviewed artists as well as art of those who simply want their work shown!  Please enjoy your time amongst the awesome artwork you are about to view and remember, pencil and paint mean as much to pulp as pen and typewriter….

FEATURED ARTIST-LAURA GIVENS

PULP ARTISTS’ WEEKEND-INTERVIEW WITH LAURA GIVENS

  • News
  • October 23, 2010
LAURA GIVENS – ARTIST – WRITER – EDITOR

AP – First of all, thanks for joining us here at All Pulp, Laura and being so gracious as to answer these questions.  You have made quite a name for yourself as a talented cover artist working in all kinds of genres.  Before we dig into that career and your new endeavors, why not tells us a little bit about yourself, your education and background etc.  When did you first start drawing professionally?

LG – I got my degree in commercial art at a school called Ferris State College in Michigan, where I learned that the day of the illustrator was dead, and that using a computer for graphics was an idea that would never catch on.  Hey, it was the 70’s! 
My first paid art gig was doing a large canvas poster of a mermaid for a carnival, while still a student.  I wanted to be a comics artist so bad I could taste it, but wound up doing ads, silk-screening and a little cartooning on the side.  The closest I came to my dream was doing a gay porno comic for a San Francisco publisher.  Why didn’t the guy quit his job shoveling elephant poop?  What, and leave showbiz?

AP – As you’ve drawn everything from fantasy, horror and science fiction, is there a particular genre you like more than others?  Why is that?

LG – Easy one, science fiction, or more properly, space opera!  Give me a good space battle and people in impossibly ornate space suits populating weird planets with strange aliens and terrifying critters, and I’m in hog heaven.  Heroes, villains, fate of the universe in the balance—everything else seems pale by comparison!  Things like that grabbed my imagination as a kid and have never let go.  I love it all but SF assignments always make me smile a little wider.

AP – Which would you say is your least favorite and why?

LG – Another easy one, Erotic romance!  There’s basically only one cover that works, the “clench”.  Usually when I get roped into doing one, I try to break the mold, something that the art directors love, but the buyers hate.  Were I able to turn off my artistic sensibilities, I could make some money, because it’s a market that pays well and publishes a lot of titles.  It is also a market that bores me silly.


AP – Who would you say have been your biggest influences in your development as a cover artist?

LG – First and foremost would have to be Frank Frazetta, his covers would smack you up side the head and demand to know why you hadn’t already bought the book!  Norman Rockwell covers always spoke to the commonality of humankind.  You instantly know the whole story, on a Rockwell cover because, in some way, it’s your story.  James Bama did all those 60’s Doc Savage covers and they all basically had to be the same cover, but they always seemed like he had managed to re-invent the wheel, every time, and left the viewer stunned, every time. 
I see bits of a hundred comic book artists, illustrators of all persuasions and fine artists, working in a zillion styles, in my work and I love the view that I get from standing on the shoulders of these giants.

AP – Many of your works have a photo realism about them.  Is there a particular way you achieve this effect and what medium to you like to work in?  Are you a traditional artist using canvas or do you do all your work digitally?

LG – I am a traditional artist who works digitally.  I use a lot of photos that I shoot myself in my work–as does every “traditional illustrator” who is working in a vaguely realistic style.  I don’t just slap photos together and make a computer collage.  The pictures are simply a starting point for where my imagination wants to go.  I work in Adobe Photoshop and it’s like having a studio with every artistic tool I could ever imagine; every type of paint, and in infinite color combinations that would take hours to mix, working on any size and shape of canvas I desire, every brush and palette knife I’ve ever wished for, and all at my fingertips.  Not only that, but it bestows god-like vision, allowing you to see the tiniest detail or manipulate the colors to try nearly infinite permutations and combinations.
A computer is just a tool box.

AP – The one writer whose books you’ve become affiliated with is Billy Craig and his hard edged private eye thriller.  How did your association come about and what is about Billy’s work that lends itself so easily to your dynamic covers?

LG – I met Billy through Pulp Factory. He’d gone on-line and checked out my portfolio and contacted me to see if I would charge him an arm and a leg to do book covers for him.  I have fees for bigger publishers and then I always am willing to adjust them to accommodate the guys with more heart than money.  Billy has a ton of heart and he kept giving me goofy challenges that I just loved.  I mean, how many times in one’s career is one asked to do a fight between a guy with a knife and a velociraptor?  Give me a fun challenge and you won’t see me the rest of the day.

AP – You recently did several pulp covers for Airship 27 Productions.  Was this your first introduction to the world of pulps and did you enjoy the experience?


LG – I’ve loved pulp art and pulp heroes for most of my life.  I am just young enough to have missed the age of pulps but I was introduced to them in the pages of Jim Steranko’s magnificent “History of Comics”.  So, I grabbed up whatever I stumbled across and eventually fell in love with the whole genre.  I did a couple of covers that had a very pulp like feel, and they got noticed in the right circles.  I had a blast doing the Airship 27 covers though my Captain Hazzard cover looks a bit rough to me. It was a rush job and I tried some (for me) new and ambitious things.  The bagman, I think I nailed though.  Both were fun and I hope I get to do many more.

AP – SIX GUNS STRAIGHT FROM HELL is your first published fiction and editorial credit.  How did this come about in the first place?

LG – I had done many covers for “Science Fiction Trails” but when I had an idea for a story, David B Riley decided to humor me and gave it a look.  He loved it.  Later, when he decided to put out a weird western collection he asked if I might consider co-editing the thing.  I said no, then, I said I’d think it over, then somehow I was doing it.  I can be such a sucker.  Anyway, once I started seeing some of the things coming in, I decided I could probably do as well.  To my utter surprise, the two I submitted were both accepted and that’s how I became alias: Renee James as it seemed a bit tacky that I have two stories.

AP – Were you apprehensive of writing at all?

LG – No, writing is just like illustrating but with more words.  Actually, I have very little confidence in my abilities generally.  What I do have absolute confidence in is the story or the illustration, if it’s there in my head and I like it, all I have to do is get out of the way and let it happen! 

AP – Now that the book is out, what did you learn from the experience and do you plan on doing more writing along with your art?

LG – I want to do more short stories and maybe find a novel that needs me to get out of its way.  The art has gotten me a number of connections and I will exploit as many as I find necessary to conquer the world… um, I mean to get my foot in the door.  I love doing art and intend to keep at it full steam (reasonable rates, satisfaction guaranteed – end of commercial).  I learned that an editor isn’t a proofreader—at that I’d be hopeless—and that the true role of an editor is to nurture talent and find the gem beneath all that dirt.

AP – Where can fans go to see your work and perspective clients commission you and what do you have in the works both in writing and art coming in the near future?


LG – My on-line portfolio may be found at http://www.lauragivens-artist.com/  Poke around on all the various pages and you’ll see lots of covers as well as black and white and color illustrations.  You’ll also find the stuff I do just because I have an idea that I need to scratch.  I can be contacted at lauragive@comcast.net  As for the future, I have a couple of stories in the hopper and some covers still out awaiting final approval and I’m always looking for the next bright shiny challenge that totally distracts my attention.

AP – Laura, thanks so very much for taking the time to chat with and continued success in all your ventures.

DARK VALENTINE HOSTS FALL FICTION FRENZY!!!

  • News
  • October 22, 2010

FALL FICTION FRENZY is underway at Dark Valentine (http://darkvalentine.net/) 

“We’re currently in the middle of a Fall Fiction Frenzy,” stated Katherine Tomlinson, Publisher of DARK VALENTINE, “31 stories in 31 days, with original artwork commissioned for each story.  We are delighted by the variety and quality of the stories, which range from sci fi to urban dire.  We’ll have a story for All Soul’s Day and also a four-day Thanksgiving Weekend Feast of Fiction.  (I already have two stories for that. )”


According to the magazine’s site-
“Dark Valentine is a quarterly journal devoted entirely to dark fiction, which we define as any story in any genre that is disturbing, provocative, haunting, scary, dangerous, or any combination of those things. Think of classic stories like “The Mummy’s Paw,” “The Open Window,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Lady or the Tiger?” Think of Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Harlan Ellison’ “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream,” J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” and Tanith Lee’s “Because Our Skins are Finer.”
The world is a dangerous place, as full of shadows and moonlight as it is sun and blue sky. We want the stories that come from the dark places—words that sear and scar and bewitch and bedazzle. Words that are as dangerous to hear as they are to tell.”

Interested in submitting to Dark Valentine?  Guidelines are posted on the site along with an informative FAQ! 

BLACK MASK IS COMING TO iPULPFICTION.COM

  • News
  • October 22, 2010

iPulpFiction.com will publish two series of stories based upon the holdings of the Black Mask Magazine franchise. The first is Black Mask DS (Digital Series), which features stories from the original Black Mask Magazine (1920 to 1951) — the premier detective and mystery magazine of all time. Black Mask Magazine was the first home to such distinguished and popular writers as Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner.

The second series, Black Mask PSR (Pulp Story Reader), will draw on material from ten other pulp magazines, including Astonishing Stories, Terror Tales, Strange Detective Mysteries, and Rangeland Romances. Story prices range from FREE, to $1 based on the length of the story.

Black Mask DS premieres on November 1st, 2010 with new stories appearing every 10 days. The Black Mask PSR series begins November 6th.

AIRSHIP 27 BRINGS YOU WEIRD HORROR TALES-THE FEASTING!!

  • News
  • October 22, 2010

Horror fans can cheer as this second volume of macabre, creepy tales once again centers on the haunted town of Lights End, Maine, where nothing is what it seems. Unimaginable monsters fill the dreams of unsuspecting. Profusely illustrated by fantasy artist Earl Geier, this is a collection readers will not soon forget. ISBN: 1-934935-80-8. Retail Price: $21.95 HANGAR 27 PRICE: $16.50

Order your copy today at www.gopulp.info!

VAMPIRES VS. WEREWOLVES SCARING YOU STRAIGHT FROM AGE OF ADVENTURE!!!

  • News
  • October 22, 2010

 

Grab your Holy Water and Load up with Silver Bullets because not one, but TWO infamous creatures of the night are lurking in these pages! From an age old rivalry that ends at a movie theatre to the dusty streets of the Old West prepare to get your fix of Fangs and Beasts! 3 New stories paint the world of adventure red with horror from C. William Russette, Tommy Hancock, and Gregory Wilson. Also featured is the classic “Dracula’s Guest” by Bram Stoker and what many literary scholars consider the greatest Werewolf novella ever published; “The Camp of the Dog” by Algernon Blackwood. Features a Cover by comic artist Rob Moran!
 

HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO ‘EPISODES FROM THE ZERO HOUR: VOL THREE!!!’

  • News
  • October 22, 2010


TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews by Tommy Hancock
“EPISODES FROM THE ZERO HOUR: VOL THREE”
Written by Jason Butkowski, S. E. Dogaru, and Anthony Schiavino
Art by Rich Woodall, Duane Spurlock, and Dave Flora
Production and Design by Anthony Schiavino

Reviewing a magazine or collection format book is a bit different than just a straight story or book review.  Each tale has to be looked at almost individually, then as a group.  Art has to be considered in the same way and I, at least, also give a lot of weight to production and design in magazine type things simply because that is almost more important to a book that expects readers to buy its next installment or issue than the writing or art.

So, let’s get the easiest bits out of the way first.  The art in this work is outstanding.  Each artist delivers fantastic images, every one extremely evocative of the tale being told.  The lineup of artists makes the excellence no surprise.  Flora, Spurlock, and Woodall deliver one two punches with each illustration, in many ways adding almost extra chapters to the tales themselves.  Top of the line art makes this collection a joy to view.

Anthony Schiavino’s design for this volume only adds to its appeal.  The presentation of the stories, the placement of the art, and the design that went into font and even things so many people overlook, like the Table of Contents page, make viewing and navigating this work an awesome experience.  It’s very clearly laid out and presented in a way that makes it easy for any reader, the Pulp diehard or the new novice, to enjoy all it has to offer.

Now to the stories-

            “Rex Rockwell: Weird Game Hunter” is simply amazing.  This story takes several stereotypes, archetypes, and cryptids and mixes them together in an exciting, believable fashion.
The premise of the story is that Rex Rockwell, a big game hunter type, is actually less hunter and more rescuer, and less big game and more unbelievable, mythological quarry.  Rockwell’s mission-To find and capture creatures that are the stuff of rumors and legends and bring them to his preserve, named for his beloved wife, to insure their safety and for study.  On this mission, Rex brings a team of his own, including a Texan cowboy, a morose psychic, an Indian bodyguard and ward, among others.  The stories within this volume center on the arrival of a new member of Rockwell’s team, Daniel Whitlock, a noted folklorist.  Through Whitlock’s eyes, we see how this odd team works together while getting some over the top action, creatures, and overall pulp thrills and chills.  The dialogue is convincing, the description is dead on, and the narrative flows like good pulp should.

“Mac Sampson: Secrets of the Lost City” is one heckuva rollicking adventure tale.  The storytelling in this action packed romp is top notch for the most part.  Mac Sampson, the titular character, has all the heroic aspects a pulp icon should have, plus a few foibles that make him somewhat human and interesting.  The strength of this story, though, rests in an odd spot-with the supporting cast.  The characterization of almost all of the characters in this tale is dead on, inspiring, and just leaves this reader wanting more and more of the most basic of characters.  The pilots, Mac’s buddies, even the bad guys had a charm that endeared them to me as I read.  I enjoyed this cast of characters, in fact, more than I liked the main character.  Mac reads more like a plot device instead of the character stirring the action that this story is full of.  Hopefully later installments make me care about Mac more than I do everyone else around him, but fortunately I care enough about them that I will be back again for wherever this ride goes.

Lastly, “CT and The Savage Chimps of Cannibal Mesas” is last not only in magazine placement of stories, but it is unfortunately last in quality.  The idea of a ‘cowboy meets mad monkeys’ western is interesting, even intriguing on some level, but in this story it barely makes it to intriguing.  The main character, Cowboy Tony, is supposed to be driven by vengeance and a desire for….I was never really sure what.  And his enemies are the aforementioned savage primate types.  The entire story seems implausible even in the realm of pulp and characterization is one dimensional.  Although the idea has merit, the execution of it in this story just didn’t make me want to know what happened to CT next, monkey hand or not.

Overall, EPISODES FROM THE ZERO HOUR: VOL THREE delivers as a whole package.  The set up, the art, and most of the stories hammer home why pulp is good stuff and offer fans a plethora of action, great characters, and all in all, a volume worth having.  And yes, a volume that does its job-making sure I’ll be back for #4.

Four out of Five Tips of Hancock’s Hat (usually reserved for heads of state, arresting officers, and little old ladies, which is pretty darn good.)

SAVAGE CON 2010 DISCUSSED ON BOOK CAVE!!! NEWS TOO!!

  • News
  • October 21, 2010
ALL PULP’S OFFICIAL PODCAST!!!!

10/21/10

THIS WEEK ON THE BOOK CAVE! Art and Ric discuss the recent Savage Con held in St. Louis, Missouri!!!   And Ron Fortier delivers All the News that is All Pulp!!!

Check out ALL PULP’S official podcast, THE BOOK CAVE here-
http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/

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