Author: Tommy Hancock

FORTIER CONFRONTS ‘THE DAMNED THING’!

  • News
  • March 10, 2011
PULP REVIEWS by RON FORTIER
 
THE DAMNED THING
By Barry Reese
Wild Cat Books Digest
152 pages
Pulp writer Reese takes a stab at turning Dashiel Hammetts’ classic “The Maltese Falcon” into an occult thriller with delightful results.  Instead of tough guy private eye, Sam Spade, he gives us tough gal, Violet Cambridge.  She’s a widow whose husband, Walter Cambridge, was killed on a case and rather than seeing the offices of Cambridge and Knopf shut down, she assumes his position in the company.  Violet has no qualms about shooting first and asking questions later.  Always dressing in mourning black, she is a femme fatale who is perfectly at ease using her feminine wiles to achieve her ends; a true Black Widow in way.
When her partner is cruelly murdered by an occult sect in search of an ancient artifact said to possess immeasurable power, Violet takes up the hunt for “The Damn Thing” to solve his death and bring them to justice.  Along with way she soon discovers there are several other factions competing with her.
There’s a religious order, dedicated to finding the cursed statue for the sole purpose of destroying it while the world famous occultist, Aleister Crowley, represents those seeking to possess it for their own twisted ends.  During this danger laden hunt Violet discovers it was this very affair that led to her husband’s murder.  From that point on, the case becomes a personal vendetta and nothing is going to stop this Atlanta based, strong willed investigator from uncovering the truth, no matter who she has to shoot to do so.
A fan of Reese’s work for several years now, this reader believes “The Damn Thing” is by far his most polished story.  As a writer he continues to grow and the prose here is smooth, economic and effective.  There’s no wastage of words to get the tale across with as much power and drama as it requires with not a superfluous sentence more.  It’s fun, suspenseful and introduces one of the classiest dames in fiction since Honey West.  Here’s hoping there’s lot more Violet Cambridge in all our futures.

PRO SE PLANS FOR BARRY REESE’S THE ROOK!

  • News
  • March 10, 2011

Pro Se Productions, LLC and Barry Reese, noted author and creator of the popular character, THE ROOK, announced earlier today that THE ROOK would join the family of characters already being published at Pro Se for at least the next two years. 

Pro Se Editor in Chief Tommy Hancock issued the following statement concerning the licensing deal and plans for THE ROOK property-

“I can’t even put into words how honored and excited Pro Se Productions is to be able to add THE ROOK and all the action and wonder that Barry has infused in this universe and property to our lineup.   We are not only getting a Pulp concept that people recognize and even cite as one of the best modern pulp characters yet, but we’re getting a property that has been well cared for thus far.  Ron Hanna and WILD CAT Books  have produced top quality work featuring The Rook and have, along with Barry’s talent, made sure THE ROOK was a viable concept with a ton of growth potential.

As for what plans there are for THE ROOK with Pro Se, its a bit early to talk about all the ideas, suggestions, and such that we have batted back and forth with Barry.  We can, though, say that THE ROOK will have an increased presence on the net, with trailers and other special advertising type things being developed and designed as we speak.   Of course, the books will continue, starting with Volume 6, written by Barry.   At least three more novels are already planned as well and there is currently discussion about a ROOK anthology made up of other writers taking their turn with Barry’s creation.  Another plan that we can discuss is to develop THE ROOK as an audiobook along with some other Pro Se properties.   Will there be more, oh yes, most definitely, but you’ll have to wait like the rest of us to find out what.

A character the quality of THE ROOK and a creator of the calibre of Barry Reese can only be a positive for any company.  Pro Se Productions is glad and very fortunate to be that publisher.”

STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS AND ALL THE PULP THAT IS NEWS STORIES ON ALL PULP!

BARRY REESE’S THE ROOK ROOSTS AT PRO SE!!

  • News
  • March 10, 2011
NOTED PULP AUTHOR BRINGS BEST KNOWN CHARACTER TO NEW HOME!
Pro Se Productions, LLC. announces today that noted award winning Pulp author Barry Reese has entered into a contract licensing his character, THE ROOK, and all related concepts to Pro Se Productions for a period of two years!
THE ROOK, Reese’s excellent take on the classic pulp hero and one of the penultimate characters leading the current Pulp Renaissance, has built up an extensive following and fan base, thanks to Reese and WILD CAT BOOKS and publisher Ron Hanna.  The agreement is that the fine work that has been done on the first five volumes will remain with WILD CAT and this arrangement is for new print material as well as development of other product featuring THE ROOK.
Reese provided the following statement-
“I’m really excited about the new relationship with Pro Se. It’s a tremendous opportunity that will hopefully introduce The Rook to new audiences and new media. In a relatively short period of time, Pro Se has established itself as one of the leaders in the pulp field and I consider it an honor to bring The Rook to their publishing platform. I still consider all the folks at Wild Cat Books to be great friends and will continue to work with them on future projects.”
STAY TUNED TO ALL PULP FOR A FULL LENGTH INTERVIEW WITH REESE AS WELL AS STATEMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PRO SE PRODUCTIONS CONCERNING PLANS FOR BARRY REESE’S THE ROOK!

THIS WEEK ON THE BOOK CAVE!!!

  • News
  • March 10, 2011

THIS WEEK ON THE BOOK CAVE, ALL PULP’S OFFICIAL PODCAST!!

http://www.thebookcave.libsyn.com/

The Book Cave Episode 117: Jeff Diescher

HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO CAPT’N ELI…A LOT!

  • News
  • March 10, 2011

TIPPIN’ HANCOCKS’ HAT-Reviews of Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
THE UNDERSEA ADVENTURES OF CAPT’N ELI: VOLUME 1
Written and Illustrated by Jay Piscopo
Cover Art by Steve Rude
Nemo Publishing, 2008

WARNING!! If you are one of those adult type readers who believe that as you age, your reading choices should mature, become less exciting, more prose than picture, and border on bland and spoon fed to you, then STOP READING! This review IS NOT for you!

For the rest of you who actually probably enjoy life and love things both nostalgic and cutting edge, continue on with my blessing…

For those who aren’t Facebookers like most of us, you might not know who Jay Piscopo is.  If you travel in the social network circles most of our readers do, though, it is likely.  Jay is an accomplished creator that has also proven to be one of the best I’ve seen at self promotion.  Whether it be work on his original creations or his awesome takes on classic pulp characters or his breathtaking renditions of the work of others (He’s the guy behind my much bally hooed YESTERYEAR novel cover), Jay has made a name for himself as being up and coming, awesome, and dead on with his work.

That reputation is furthered by this first volume of THE UNDERSEA ADVENTURES OF CAPT’N ELI, Jay’s own tale put out by Nemo Publishing set in a wild and wonderful universe all his own.    This graphic novel/digest like tome centers around Capt’n Eli, a genius of a boy who has a very familiar feeling origin and takes off almost from birth on adventures that while reminding some of us of things we’ve read or seen in the past, manage to be innovative, original, and exciting.

Jay brings all his creative wonder to bear in this first volume of Capt’n Eli’s adventures.   Within this you see tips of the hat to adventures and creators of the past as Jay’s influences for both art and story are pretty obvious.  Capt’n Eli has traces of Johnny Quest, Superman, Doc Savage, Tom Swift, and the list goes on.  But what makes this cool is although you, if you’re a reader steeped in this Saturday morning/pulp magazine stuff, get all the references, they are simply that.  References, little things that Jay does with the story or the art to put you in mind of what we all thought was a simpler time, a time when storytelling was about telling the story and the art backed up the story, but didn’t overshadow it.

In this first volume, we get Capt’n Eli’s origin, his first meeting with and hints of connection to Commander X, Jay’s mix of Doc Savage and Captain Nemo that is DEAD ON, Eli’s teaming up with a crack team of sea based heroes, and two of the coolest sidekicks in a long time-Barney, the knot tying dog and Jolly Roger, a parrot of some years who knows seventy languages.  Oh, and time travel, strange ships, a historic moment (literally) and so much more!

Also included in the volume is a story from ‘the golden age’ of Jay’s universe done very much in a golden age style that showcases Commander X in his hero days along with two others that make up the Big Three.  Stir this in with words from Jay, a hit-the-head-on-the-nail introduction from argon Zark! creator Charley Parker, and pin ups by Steve Rude, Herb Trimpe, and Howard Chaykin, and you have one classic, now and later, tale that makes me want to watch Boomerang late at night to see more stuff like this!

The layout of the book is awesome, part action adventure comic, part edutainment (and not boring edutainment, but story supporting, mind enhancing edutainment), and part sunday newspaper comic strip!  I enjoyed the size of the book, not a TPB size, more digest like, and the overall layout does what a layout should do, makes the book stand out among others and not only compliments, but adds to the tale it tells!

The only thing I found a bit hard to deal with at first was the mix of art with 3-D backgrounds.  Although stunning in many places, I initially had a little difficulty with this, mostly because the look is a bit jarring at times.  I will say, though, about halfway through the first read of this, I was not only adjusted to this mix of things, but actually enjoyed it quite a bit.  It added a bit of uniqueness to the book as a whole.

THE UNDERSEA ADVENTURES OF CAPT’N ELI: VOLUME ONE is a high sailing, deep sea divin’, time travellin’, ocean explorin’ story that cannot be missed!!!

FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-Probably the best comprehensive (touching many points of my inner fanboy) read that I’ve had in a long time!  Thanks, Jay!

THE LONG MATINEE PUTS THE PULP BALL IN YOUR COURT!

  • News
  • March 9, 2011

THE LONG MATINEE-Pulp Movie Reviews by Derrick Ferguson

So just what is a Pulp Movie?

Isn’t that opening up a Pandora’s Box of opinions.  We’re all still trying to achieve a meeting of the minds on what a Pulp story/novel/comic is.  We get on Skype, on IM, debate and discuss in chatrooms, message boards and at conventions on what Pulp is and at the end of the day, everybody can only agree on one thing: Pulp is Different Things To Different People.

And that’s okay.  That why The Good Lord in His Infinite Widsom made us all different.  So we could have fun trying to figure out stuff like this.

So back to Pulp Movies.  See, I can point at Alan Rudolph’s wonderfully quirky TROUBLE IN MIND and say that for me, that’s Pulp.  You may disagree.  I think we can all safely shake hands on the Indiana Jones and The Mummy movies and agree those are Pulp.  But then again, I consider TRUCK TURNER, SNAKES ON A PLANE and Woody Allen’s BROADWAY DANNY ROSE Pulp as well.  No doubt you feel differently about those choices.  Again, this is a good thing and it brings me to the meat-and-potatoes portion of this.

Our Mr. Hancock has been insisting most strenuously that I resume writing movie reviews for ALL PULP, which is a good idea.  Pulp novels, stories and comics get plenty of ink here but movies sometimes get lost in the sauce, as they say.

That’s where you guys come in.  After all, you’re part of this family, aintcha?  So why shouldn’t you get in on the fun?  Why don’t you recommend movies that you think qualify as Pulp Movies and I’ll review ‘em right here on ALL PULP.  If you have any doubts as to my competency as a movie reviewer then allow me to kindly direct you to The Ferguson Theater http://derricklferguson.wordpress.com/  where you can find a whole buncha reviews a’mine to read and enjoy.

Be so good as to send your movie recommendations directly to me at DerrickFerguson1@aol.com and as long as my Netflix subscription and personal DVD collection holds out, I’ll review ‘em.  It’ll keep me busy, you’ll get good stuff to read and Our Mr. Hancock will stop sending me suspicious looking packages in the mail.

.

ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 3/9/11

  • News
  • March 9, 2011
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
3/9/11
ALL NEW MASKED GHOST!!
From Kevin Paul Shaw Broden-
rmg_titleart_01-4391061
REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST – Chapter 16 “Package For A Ghost”-an All New Chapter in the Chronicles of this Pulp Hero!!
Donald has sworn never to be the Masked Ghost again. So what secrets will he and his wife Margaret learn when they open the mysterious package? Read the latest chapter and find out: http://bit.ly/90mqVE

Also, updated and corrected versions of Chapters 3,4, and 5 have been posted.

ALL PULP GUEST REVIEW-DOC HERMES REVIEWS DOC SAVAGE!

  • News
  • March 8, 2011

From May 1941, this is a very minor but enjoyable case for Doc and his crew. After slogging through a few dreary Laurence Donovan misfires, it’s a treat to see again how deftly Lester Dent keeps the story flowing, providing just enough information to make the situation clear while not giving everything away. Not that this is one of Dent’s better efforts, but it’s a decent little mixture of action and mystery that rolls along and provides a few hours’ diversion.

This book shares with THE SEVEN AGATE DEVILS (where Doc leaps at a speeding car and kicks the front wheel with both feet to make the car swerve), the “Oh, Come ON! Award” Here we find from out of nowhere that Long Tom, while infiltrating a gang of suspicious crooks, has concealed carrier pigeons in some old clothes and has covered up their cooing by pretending to have asthma and hiccups. Sounds like a scene from a British sitcom.

The type of story is a Mad Science gimmick (as opposed to a Lost Race or Warlord or Enigmatic Clue Mystery) and here something is turning people a bright, bubble-gum pink– even their teeth and eyes. From the opening chapter, when a panicky pink lady bursts into a hotel lobby during a thunderstorm and is brutally burned to death by gasmasked thugs (or IS she?), one development flows another in a well-crafted thriller. Trying to summarize the complex twists and reversals in the plot, where suspects are telling conflicting stories and posing as each other, while at the same time Doc is juggling some of his more intricate schemes, would really be difficult to do clearly. If you haven’t read this particular story yet, you might want to pay closer attention than usual.

Despite the fact that the opposition in this adventure are rather ordinary hoodlums, with no masked mastermind or world conquest scheme, the crooks are well organized and resourceful. They put up a real struggle, and at one point, things look so dismal and hopeless, that Doc picks up a book and glances through it nervously while he thinks.

All five aides take active part in this book, and each gets a bit of characteristic dialogue or action. Monk, who has been turned invisible in THE SPOOK LEGION, here goes pink, as does Long Tom (but in a fake guise as an undercover agent). Renny tells a gangster wearing a bulletproof vest, “Pal, I can shoot the pupils out of your eyes without touching the whites.” Ham tries to do some research on color in Doc’s library but is left scratching his head; we’re told many times in the stories that he’s a great lawyer and linguist but knows less science than the average man.

One of the characteristics I enjoy about Dent is the confident way he throws out casual details a fill-in writer might hesitate to include. Long Tom leaves a zig-zag mark representing electricity as his personal insignia; it’s also the brand used “on a small cow ranch which he owned in the Jackson Hole County of Wyoming.” And we’re told Doc used to carry an explosive formula in a fake wisdom tooth, but then he grew a genuine wisdom tooth and has no place for it. Irrelevant touches like this don’t further the plot and will probably never be mentioned again, but they do bolster the illusion that these men have actual lives and histories outside of the adventures we read.

Doc goes about solving the mystery in his competent, deadpan way. He uses the full range of gadgets and some elaborate ruses and trickery to work on the case, but doesn’t hesitate to fall back on bronze knuckles when necessary. He has his hands full with a pair of muscular fighters trained in close quarters combat, showing he’s at the upper levels of human development, but then other people can approach this also. Doc keeps going with a dislocated arm, not the first one he’s suffered. And the mention of clothing ripping indicate that this might one of the cases where he actually looks the way he’s depicted on the Bantam reprints. (“Another shirt ruined– well, at least the right cuff’s still attached….”)

DARK VALENTINE SPRING ISSUE NOW LIVE!

  • News
  • March 8, 2011
SPRING ISSUE OF DARK VALENTINE MAGAZINE IS HERE
Featuring fifteen stories filled with dark desires, selfish needs and compelling urges, the spring issue of Dark Valentine caps the magazine’s first year of publication with contributors from as far away as Poland.
“It’s been a fantastic year for the magazine,” says publisher Katherine Tomlinson.  “We have been thrilled with the quality of the stories coming our way.  In fact, a piece of flash fiction from our inaugural issue, Carol Kilgore’s “Blues in the Night,” has been short-listed for a Derringer Award, competing against stories from long-established print magazines like Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.”
Tomlinson praises editor/design director Joy Sillesen for giving the publication its unique look.  “Joy does double duty every issue.  In addition to being a terrific editor, she has an artist’s eye for layout and is the queen of fonts.  From the very first issue, her work made the magazine memorable.”
As always, each of the stories is accompanied by original artwork commissioned just for that piece.  “Our art director, Joanne Renaud, has collected a terrific group of artists whose styles vary from the other-worldly richness of Kitamu Latham-Sampier’s illustration for ‘Swamp’ to the noir-ish black and white stylings of Walter Conley,” Tomlinson continues.  As with the stories, the art was gathered from all over the world, with artists from the UK, Greece, Poland, and Australia as well as North America.
“Yes,” Tomlinson adds.  “We are after total domination of all genres of dark fiction.”
Dark Valentine is a quarterly magazine dedicated to dark fiction from every genre. 
Coming in June—Dark Valentine Magazine’s anniversary issue which will be available in pdf, electronic formats, and print.
“If you like what you saw last year,” Tomlinson says, “you’re going to love what you see this year.”
Find the Spring issue of Dark Valentine at:  http://darkvalentine.net/index.php/2011/03/rites-of-spring/
Contact:  publisher@darkvalentine.net

ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 3/8/11

  • News
  • March 8, 2011
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
3/8/11
FLYING GLORY AT THE DANCE!
From Kevin Paul Shaw Broden-
FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY
 
The Dance is Here… Debra and John are headed to the Sweetheart Dance, but other things are brewing as well. Find out in the latest page at http://www.flying-glory.com/ as we bring Issue #13 “Looking for a Love Song.” towards a close.
 
Also, Shannon Muir, co-creator and co-writer of FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY has published her first novel, and it was released today on Amazon.com http://t.co/nJYkNcf

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