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NEW FROM RADIO ARCHIVES

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

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April 12, 2013
 
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The popular CBS Radio Workshop series is back with Volume 2! This seven hour set contains fourteen radio dramas, including children’s author, lyricist and playwright Edward Eager’s “The Toledo War”; an adaptation of the best-selling “The Little Prince”, Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s most famous work which was autobiographical; John Cheever’s “The Enormous Radio”, which allows a family to hear what goes on in their neighbors’ residences; “A Matter of Logic”, in which writer-director Anthony Ellis and announcer William Conrad, known to radio audiences as Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, struggle to deal with a script; “The Stronger”, the famous 1889 play by August Strindberg which consists of two characters, only one of whom speaks.
 
The CBS Radio Workshop debuted at the end of the Age of Classic Radio, which was a time of innovation and experimentation, especially in terms of radio drama. The broadcasts consisted of a variety of formats, including a folk ballad enacted with music and rhyme, an interview with Shakespeare and an analysis of satire.
 
The man behind CBS Radio Workshop, which debuted in 1956, was William Froug. Inspired directly by the work of Norman Corwin on the original Columbia Workshop, Froug put all the pieces together to produce a program that took the best of what had come before it and succeeded even further in production, performance and storytelling.
 
Premiering with a two-part adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, which was narrated by the author himself, with a score by famed film composer Bernard Hermann, Froug drew upon the works of many popular writers, including Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Sinclair Lewis, H. L. Mencken, Frederick Pohl, Thomas Wolfe, James Thurber and Robert Heinlein.
 
CBS Radio Workshop not only continued to push boundaries in terms of utilizing story, music, voice and more in exciting, modern ways, it broke new ground in radio drama. In short, the CBS Radio Workshop set the standard for modern audio drama.
 
Blending sound effects with story, music with voice, and quality with substance, the episodes on CBS Radio Workshop, Volume 2 shows how boundless storytelling can be with audio drama. 7 hours $20.98 Audio CDs / $10.49 Download.
 
 
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Will Murray’s Pulp Classics #23
by Robert J. Hogan
Read by Michael C. Gwynne. Liner Notes by Will Murray
 
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Popular Publications publisher Harry Steeger and writer Robert J. Hogan had scored a hit with G-8 and His Battles Aces in 1933. A year later, they put their heads together and concocted a crime series with a fantasy flare. They called it The Secret 6!
 
Steeger always credited the successful Park Avenue Hunt Club stories running in the pages of Detective Fiction Weekly as his main inspiration. But the types of stories he asked Robert J. Hogan to write smacked of the one and only Doc Savage. In a sense, The Secret 6 was a take off of Doc Savage and his men—but without the superhuman aspects of Doc. The title was lifted from a 1931 crime film. To insure that the first issue sold like hotcakes, they stole a little more of Street & Smith’s thunder by titling that debut novel The Red Shadow.  
 
The premise was simple. Framed for the crimes of the diabolical Red Shadow, a mystery man with a haunted past calling himself King breaks out of the Death House. Scouring the Underworld, he assembles a team of shadowy specialists who dedicate themselves to hunting down The Red Shadow. But The Red Shadow conceals a secret even The Secret 6 doesn’t suspect!
 
One major clue can be found in a list of the members of this new crime-busting organization: King, The Doctor, The Professor, The Key, The Bishop, Shakespeare and Luga. Yes. Seven men have banded together to become the fearless fugitives operating outside the law known as—The Secret 6! One will not survive…
 
Only four issues of The Secret 6 were ever published. But what a glorious run! The Red Shadow was followed by House of Walking Corpses, The Monster Murders and The Golden Alligator. Each succeeding novel was more fantastic than the one before. Collectively, they read like a dry run for Carleton E. Morse’s classic radio series, I Love a Mystery.
 
The Red Shadow is narrated with the headlong velocity of a locomotive by Michael C. Gwynne. Three action stories round out this first Secret 6 audiobook, all of them penned by Robert J. Hogan hiding under a blizzard of pseudonyms. 6 hours $23.98 Audio CDs / $11.99 Download.
 
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RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries audiobook for FREE.
 
If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.
 
Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code AUDIOBOOK.
 
“Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!”
 
Happy listening,
Will Murray
 
 
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New Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks
 
The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and Captain Satan. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 
Weird, haunting, the murder-melody rang in the ears of New York — and all those who heard its sinister song died in the throes of raving madness! For a monstrous musician had mastered the city, holding the police and Underworld alike at bay. One by one, the men marked to die received the music-score with the printed notes that were tiny skulls — and none dared raise a hand to stay the red harvest. Yet Richard Wentworth, in the grim black garb of the Spider, struck at the unseen Terror — matching one courageous champion’s strength against the fabulous power of a madman who had found the way to murder men with a simple score of music! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.
 
 

It struck out of the night, a phantom monster whose blood-red shadow brought death to everyone it touched. New York was panic-stricken. Beneath its reign of terror, the police were helpless. But grimly, out of the list of victims, rose six men — six men who vowed to track the scarlet killer to a murder showdown! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. $2.99.

 
In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine by Arthur Leo Zagat, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $2.99.
 
99 cent eBook Singles
Each 99 cent eBook Single contains a single short story, one of the many amazing tales selected from the pages of Terror Tales and Rangeland Romances. These short stories are not included in any of our other eBooks.
 
What would you do if you knew the ones you loved were doomed to die horribly in your defense? In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
Lester Emery feared that his body remained in the laboratory, while his disembodied spirit was driven forth to murder — slave to the grim genius of a madman… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
From nowhere came the hand — bringing with it a lingering death… In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird me most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a classic story from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. $0.99.
 
 
Miles from the wagon train and afoot in hostile Indian country, Linda found herself alone at night with her sister’s sweetheart. Linda feared this handsome buckskin man, but she feared her own heart more — for she knew she’d give it to him… for the asking! One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 
When vibrant Marta met Noah Conrad she knew that she would have to come out of her shell of indifference and match wits and kisses with a soft, cuddly, starry-eyed belle. One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
 
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, now available at:
 
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Search for RadioArchives.com in iTunes.
 
 
 
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Receive an exciting original Spider adventure FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect chance to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp’s most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page’s stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
 
Even today Page’s scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
 
See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of  the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!
 
 
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Will Murray’s Monumental New Novel
Doc Savage vs. King Kong!
 
Eighty years ago in February, 1933 the Street & Smith company released the first issue of Doc Savage Magazine, introducing one of the most popular and influential pulp superheroes ever to hit the American scene. Doc Savage was the greatest adventurer and scientist of his era, and while his magazine ended in 1949, he influenced the creators of Superman, Batman, Star Trek, The Man from UNCLE and the Marvel Universe—to name only a few.
 
While that first issue of Doc Savage was fresh on Depression newsstands, RKO Radio Pictures released one of the most important fantasy films of all time. Everyone knows the story of how King Kong was discovered on Skull Island and hauled back to New York in chains, only to perish tragically atop the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Empire State Building.
 
As it happened, that was where Doc Savage had his world headquarters. For decades, fans have wondered: Where was Doc the day Kong fell?
 
On the eightieth anniversary of these fictional giants, Altus Press is proud to release the first authorized clash between The Man of Bronze and the Eighth Wonder of the World—Doc Savage: Skull Island. Written by Will Murray in collaboration with Joe DeVito, creator of KONG: King of Skull Island, Doc Savage: Skull Island is a new pulp epic.
 
The story opens when Doc returns from his secret retreat in the North Pole to discover the cold corpse of Kong lying on his doorstep.
 
“I know this creature,” Doc tells his dumbfounded men.
 
Tasked to dispose of the remains, the Man of Bronze then relates the untold story of his epic encounter with Kong back in 1920, after Doc returns from service in World War I, long before Kong became known to the civilized world as “King” Kong.
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is a multi-generational story in which Doc and his father—the man who placed him in the hands of scientists who made him into a superman—sail to the Indian Ocean in search of Doc’s grandfather, the legendary Stormalong Savage, whose famous clipper ship has been discovered floating, deserted, her masts snapped by some incredible force.
 
The quest for Stormalong Savage leads to the fog-shrouded Indian Ocean and—Skull Island! There, Doc Savage faces his first great test as he encounters its prehistoric dangers and tangles with the towering, unstoppable Kong.
 
“When Joe DeVito brought this idea to me,” says Will Murray, “I knew it had to be written with reverence for both of these immortal characters. So I used the locale of Skull Island to tell a larger story, an untold origin for Doc Savage. It all started back on Skull Island….”
 
“Pulling off the first ever face-off between Doc Savage and King Kong was both challenging and exhilarating,” adds DeVito. “Will’s unique take on the tale scatters the primordial mists surrounding Skull Island long enough to reveal secrets of both classic characters hidden since their creation.”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island has already been hailed as “The Doc Savage novel that Doc fans have been waiting on for 80 years!”
 
Doc Savage: Skull Island is the fifth entry in Altus Press’ popular Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series. Cover by Joe DeVito. $24.95.
 
 

Richard Wentworth, in the guise of his crime-fighting alter-ego, returns in two 1930s tales of The Spider. First, in “Wings of the Black Death” (1933), The Spider wages a desperate struggle against a foe fiendish enough to use bubonic plague as a weapon. While the tainted air swirls among the populace, bringing death to all it touches, a clever scheme is revealed to strip the nation of wealth and life. And the worst part? The Spider may be to blame! Then, in a stunning story from 1936, hundreds of citizens have suddenly been struck blind, including Nita van Sloan and The Spider himself. The mysterious Blind Man wields a terrible weapon that robs his victims of their sight, spreading suffering and terror with every step. Betrayed by his loyal retainer Jenkyns and robbed of his vision, how can Richard Wentworth possibly save New York from “Satan’s Sightless Legion” (1936)? These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. On sale for $12.95, save $2.00

80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.

 

80th Anniversary Commemorative Special. Commemorating the Man of Bronze’s anniversary with two expanded novels, restored from Lester Dent’s original manuscripts with never-before-published text! First, a Wall Street scandal sets the Man of Bronze on the golden trail of “The Midas Man,” who plots to control the global financial system. Then, while recovering from a serious head wound, a disoriented Doc Savage battles modern-day pirates and murderous zombies in “The Derelict of Skull Shoal.” PLUS: “80 Years of Doc Savage”: a Pictorial History of the Pulps’ Greatest Superman! This landmark collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Walter M. Baumhofer and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and new historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eleven Doc Savage novels. $14.95.

 
 
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The Master of Darkness explores mansions of murder in two thrilling pulp mysteries by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, in Spoils of The Shadow a mastermind plots five super-crimes, but innocent victims will be murdered if The Shadow intervenes! Then, the Master of Darkness sheds light on the terrible secret of the House of Silence in one of Walter Gibson’s most atmospheric mysteries. This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen and the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell, with commentary by popular culture historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 

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The original “Man of Steel” returns in three action-packed pulp thrillers by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, The Avenger is blamed when massive power outages black out North America. Can Dick Benson locate the mastermind called Nevlo in time to prevent a deadly final blackout? Then, Death in Slow Motion cripples an American industry, and Justice, Inc. must find an antidote in time to save hundreds from the deadly paralysis plague! Finally, a defeated crook returns to plot Vengeance on The Avenger in an exciting novelette by Spider-wordsmith Emile Tepperman. This classic pulp reprint includes both color covers by Graves Gladney, Paul Orban’s dynamic interior illustrations and commentary by pulp historian Will Murray. $14.95.
 
This is an authentic replica of an original pulp magazine published by Girasol Collectables. This edition is designed to give the reader an authentic taste of what a typical pulp magazine was like when it was first issued – but without the frailty or expense of trying to find a decades-old collectable to enjoy. The outer covers, the interior pages, and the advertisements are reprinted just as they appeared in the original magazine, left intact to give the reader the true feel of the original as well as an appreciation for the way in which these publications were first offered to their avid readers. To further enhance the “pulp experience”, this edition is printed on off-white bond paper intended to simulate the original look while, at the same time, assuring that this edition will last far longer than the original upon which it is based. The overall construction and appearance of this reprint is designed to be as faithful to the original magazine as is reasonably possible, given the unavoidable changes in production methods and materials. $25.00
 
 
 
 
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By Dr. Art Sippo

 
In the backwoods of Northern Michigan, a local bully, Bruno Hen, is found crushed to death in his own home. The doors were locked and he was well armed, but SOMETHING removed the roof of his log cabin and reached in to crush him like a bug. The bullies neighbor hears the commotion and comes to see what happened. He is horrified. Thick timbers had been snapped like matchsticks. All around the site were enormous tracks of some huge unknown creature. What could have done this? The neighbor knows that there is only one man who can solve this mystery: Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze. And so he goes to New York City to enlist Doc’s aid. But then he is gunned down in the hallway outside of Doc’s 86th floor aerie. Doc discovers news clippings on the man’s body describing the horrific scene of death at the cabin and he is drawn into the affair.
Then ads start appearing in Newspapers around the country warning that The Monsters are coming bringing death and destruction! All of these ads had been mailed from the same Michigan town where Bruno Hen was killed.
Doc Savage and his Iron Crew in the company of the beautiful lion tamer Jean Morris travel to rural Michigan and discover a huge walled compound with an electrified net draped over its top. They hear loud noises and suspicious rumblings. What is inside the compound? Who is the mysterious Pere Teston? What are The Monsters? Can even Doc Savage defeat creatures who can tear a building apart with their bare hands?
The Monsters was one of the earliest and most popular Doc Savage adventure. In fact is was so well done that it was the basis for the first story arc in Batman comics. This is one Super Saga you have to read! Double Novel reprint $12.95
 
Comments From Our Customers!
 
Carolyn H Andersen writes:
I am so happy that this has become available. Nelson Eddy is one of my two favorite baritones, and Dorothy Kirsten is also a favorite. I enjoy her visits to the Railroad Hour with my other favorite baritone.
 
Dennis E Henley writes:
Thanks for the quick service which is outstanding. I’ll be back to get more ebooks as I’m  only to happy to support a company that thinks of its customers first.
 
Eugene Dungan writes:
I just received two more of your Pulp Audiobooks in the mail today, I now have 26 of your Pulp Audiobooks. I have been very happy with your service that you have given me. I am looking forward to many more of your Pulp Audiobooks and I would like to see more Pulp Audiobooks of “The Spider”.
 
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 UN-SUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

FORTIER TAKES ON PANUSH’S ‘COLD WARS!’

STEIN AND CANDLE
Vol II – Cold Wars
By Michael Panush
Curiosity Quills Press
217 pages
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One of the most enjoyable aspects of New Pulp Fiction has been the creation of memorable new heroes by today’s pre-eminent pulp writers.   Derrick Ferguson has given us Dillon and Mongrel to name a few.  Barry Reese has created a bunch of awesome characters, the most recognizable being the Rook and Lazarus Gray. And the list goes on and on.  Which is why this reviewer has become so enamored with Michael Panush’s series, STEIN AND CANDLE : Detective Agency which features two of the most original new pulp heroes ever to grace a page of purple prose.
Mort Candle is an ex-Army sergeant tough-guy private eye who is parts Sam Spade and Mike Hammer.  Candle’s fist often speak louder than his words.  His partner is a teenage boy named Weatherby Stein, a German youth whose parents were killed by the Nazis.  Weatherby’s father was one of the world’s leading authorities on the occult and Weatherby was raised studying arcane lore thus making him, even at a young age, an expert in the dark arts.  Thus this duo travels the post World War II globe tackling all manner of bizarre adventures.  This is the second volume of their cases and like the first is jammed packed with memorable scenes that assure Stein and Candle a reserved niche in the halls of New Pulp Fiction heroes.
“Tiki Terror,” has the guys flying to Honolulu, Hawaii to solve a bizarre murder of a hotel magnate who was apparently eaten by sharks in his high-rise office far from the sea. While on the island, Weatherby is reunited with his older sister, Selena, a college student studying anthropology.
“Crimson Catch” takes our duo to the mysterious New England fishing town of Innsmouth where they cross paths with Lovecraft monsters from the deep.  Panush audaciously swipes the plot from “A Fist Full of Dollars,” having Candle play the part of the instigator pitting two occult clans of fishmen against each other.
With “Mort Candle’s War,” Panush continues the origin saga began in the first volume returning back to the Black Forest where Sgt. Mort Candle and his squad of Screaming Eagles fight a desperate battle to save young Weatherby Stein and deliver safely to General Patton’s Third Army.  Great combat sequences reminiscent of DC Comic’s old Sgt.Rock series.
In “Pharoah’s Palace,” Mort and Weatherby uncover an ancient Egyptian mystic operating a casino on Los Vegas and team up with legendary hero, Doc Dearborn and his daughter, Evelyn, to combat this ancient evil.
The fifth tale is called “The Hallow,” and has our heroes visiting rural Appalachia to rescue a miner’s daughter kidnapped by a coven of witches.  But before they can formulate an effective strategy, the witches snatch Weatherby and its left to Mort to rescue his young partner with the aid of a con artist turned preacher man.
“Business Proposition,” picks up on the episodic origin story of how the gruff former army sergeant and the special trained teenager hook up again in Brooklyn after the war and what leads them to form their partnerships as detectives who specialize in the bizarre. Easily our favorite tale in this collection.
Finally the book wraps with “Crypt Chasers,” a high-balling confrontation between Weatherby and malevolent distant relative who has returned from the dead and plans on unleashing his particular brand of sadism on the modern world.  Panush leaves the story open ended, having created what looks to be a recurring arch-enemy for our duo.  Making us all the more anxious to dig into the next volume of this terrific series.
We’d also like to applaud Curiosity Quills Press for a gorgeous design package here, from a beautiful cover to fitting interior illustrations that truly enhance each story.  “Stein and Candle Vol II Cold Wars” is a fantastic, thoroughly enjoyable book we cannot recommend strongly enough.  If you like New Pulp Fiction, Stein and Candle are you kind of heroes.  Move over Dillon and the Rook, you’ve got company.

NEW DIGEST SERIES DEBUTS FROM PRO SE PRODUCTIONS-DRAMATIS PERSONAE! TRUTH IS FICTION!

Pro Se Productions, a Publisher known for Innovative Genre Fiction and New Pulp, announces one of its most interesting, unique projects to date!  Author Joseph Lamere brings a wild concept to Pro Se in the first volume of his digest series, DRAMATIS PERSONAE! 

The Truth isn’t stranger than Fiction. Truth is Fiction! Find out in Joseph Lamere’s DRAMATIS PERSONAE: PUBLIC DOMAIN!

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For your whole life secrets have been kept from you. Science and history books have gotten it wrong. They only tell part of the story. Maybe someday these books will be rewritten, but only if Diogenes Ra’s secret gets out. 

If you only knew what Diogenes Ra knew

He knows something the rest of us don’t. Fiction is real. All your favorite characters exists, their stories overlapping in one grand, timeless narrative. Diogenes Ra can access that narrative. For the right price he will even bring your favorite fictional characters here to our world. But they can’t be gone long. They have to get back to their stories in time for you to read them or watch them on TV. 

Diogenes Ra believes he alone possesses the ability to pass unchecked between this world and the one we mistakenly call fiction. He’s about to find out he’s wrong. 

“One of the awesome things about being a Publisher of Genre Fiction,” Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor-in-Chief of Pro Se states, “is that it’s a fertile field for new and different takes on old standards.  With DRAMATIS PERSONAE, Joseph has brought something to the table that’s part mystery/part mash up/ part family drama and most definitely all Fun.   The characters jump off the page, literally within the story, but also Diogenes and crew are truly unforgettable on their own.   This is a series that Pro Se will be glad to share with the world for a long time coming.”

DRAMATIS PERSONAE: PUBLIC DOMAIN by Joseph Lamere! With Cover Art by Terry Pavlet, Format and Design by Sean Ali, and Ebook Design by Russ Anderson! The first of a fantastically imaginative new series from Pro Se Productions!

DRAMATIS PERSONAE: PUBLIC DOMAIN is available for $8.00 in print from Pro Se’s own store at https://www.createspace.com/4234535, from Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/d8kjfnl and available in digital format for $2.99 for your Nook at http://tinyurl.com/crtlvjc, on your Kindle at http://tinyurl.com/c5tu4ta, and for other formats via Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303433!

Interested in interviews and review copies of this title? Email Morgan Minor, Pro Se’s Director of Corporate Operations at TommyHancockPulp@yahoo.com

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Shooting Underway

captain-america-winter-soldier-teaser-e1365457551173-8280185BURBANK, Calif. (April 8, 2013) – Following in the footsteps of the record-breaking Marvel Studios’ release, Marvel’s The Avengers, production on the highly anticipated release, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier has commenced in Los Angeles, Calif., with production also including locations in Cleveland, Ohio, and Washington D.C. Directing the film is the team of Anthony and Joe Russo (Welcome to Collinwood) from a screenplay written by Christopher Markus (Captain America: The First Avenger) & Stephen McFeely (Captain America: The First Avenger). Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier returns Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s The Avengers) as the iconic Super Hero character Steve Rogers/Captain America, along with Scarlett Johansson (Marvel’s The Avengers, Iron Man 2) as Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel’s The Avengers, Iron Man 2) as Nick Fury. In addition, film icon Robert Redford has joined the all-star cast as Agent Alexander Pierce, a senior leader within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is set for release in the U.S. on April 4, 2014.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier will pick-up where Marvel’s The Avengers left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C.

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series, first published in 1941, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier features an outstanding supporting cast that includes Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The First Avenger, Black Swan) as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker, Million Dollar Baby) as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Cobie Smulders (Marvel’s The Avengers, How I Met Your Mother) as Agent Maria Hill, Frank Grillo (Zero Dark Thirty) as Brock Rumlow and Georges St-Pierre (“Death Warrior”) as Georges Batroc. Rounding out the talented cast are Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Peggy Carter, Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Hunger Games) as Arnim Zola, Emily VanCamp (The Ring 2, Revenge) as Agent 13 and Maximiliano Hernández (Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor) as Agent Jasper Sitwell.

Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. Executive producers on the project include Alan Fine, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee. The creative production team on the film includes director of photography Trent Opaloch (Elysium, District 9), production designer Peter Wenham (21 Jump Street, Fast Five), editors Jeffrey Ford, A.C.E. and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. (Star Wars: Episode 7, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and three time Oscar-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone).

Marvel Studios’ upcoming release schedule includes Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013, and Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013. The studio most recently produced the critically acclaimed Marvel’s The Avengers, which set the all-time, domestic 3-day weekend box office record at $207.4 million. The film, which shattered both domestic and international box office records, is Disney’s highest-grossing global and domestic release of all time and marks the studio’s fifth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

In the summer of 2011, Marvel successfully launched two new franchises with Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth, and Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans. Both films opened #1 at the box office and have grossed over $800 million worldwide combined. In 2010 Iron Man 2, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury took the #1 spot in its first weekend with a domestic box office gross of $128.1 million.

In the summer of 2008, Marvel produced the summer blockbuster movies Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.  Iron Man, in which Robert Downey Jr. originally dons the Super Hero’s powerful armor and stars alongside co-stars Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released May 2, 2008, and was an immediate box office success. Garnering the number one position for two weeks in a row, the film brought in over $100 million in its opening weekend.  On June 13, 2008, Marvel released The Incredible Hulk, marking its second number one opener of that summer.

ALL PULP LIVES! AND A MYSTERY ENSUES!

Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of and one of the founding members of All Pulp, announced today that since his announcement on April 1, 2013, concerning the closing of All Pulp if someone did not assume his duties, which he submitted his resignation from approximately a month ago, several interested individuals have applied.  And as of today, Hancock has made a decision as to who will be in charge of continuing the great legacy of Pulp Coverage All Pulp has maintained since opening in September, 2010.

“This,” Hancock states, “is truly a great day for All Pulp.  Although I’m not currently at liberty to reveal who the new ramrods of the outfit will be, I promise that the quality from All Pulp will not only continue, but will most likely improve with a whole new host of possible contributors.  Also, this move will carry All Pulp to multiple audiences, including not only our wonderful readers who fill the New Pulp Movement, but to fans of all sorts of Pop Culture goodness.”

Hancock states that even though he is in no way rescinding his resignation as Editor-in-Chief, the new development has inspired him to maintain with All Pulp as a contributor beyond the occasional book review he originally promised.  “I’ll be a presence in the continuation of All Pulp,” he explains.  “Not the guy in the Captain’s chair, but with where All Pulp is going, I’ll definitely be a regular part of things.”

Stay tuned to All Pulp, continuing in its normal fashion until further developments are announced.

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST EXPANDS NEW PULP COVERAGE


Critically Acclaimed Podcast Adds Additional Features to Serve New Pulp Community

 (April 3, 2013)  White Rocket Books proudly announces that the critically-acclaimed weekly podcast, The White Rocket Podcast with Van Allen Plexico, immediately will move to a more New Pulp-oriented format and add additional features to more extensively serve writers, artists, publishers and fans of the New Pulp community.
The White Rocket Podcast has proven to be an unquestioned critical and listener success in its five-plus months “on the air,” having received nearly five thousand discrete channel visits and attracting hundreds of ongoing subscribers.  It has been publicly recognized for its organization and focus, production values, variety of topics and guests, one-on-one discussion/interview format, and above all for its entertainment and informational value.
After its first month in production, the White Rocket Podcast was invited to join the Earth Station One (ESO) Network of programming, where it has prospered, reaching an additional crossover audience with the New Pulp message and expanding its presence in the market.
Each roughly one-hour-long episode thus far has featured noted New Pulp author and publisher Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels; Lords of Fire) discussing some aspect of popular culture with a special guest.  Popular episodes have included the ongoing series on “Superheroes in Novels and Beyond” and interviews with authors working in the superhero pulp genre, such as Jeff Deischer and Ian Healy.
New featureswill include additional interviews with key figures in the New Pulp community and industry; book reviews; audiobook segments and previews; occasional video interview segments, as pioneered by White Rocket at the 2012 Windy City Pulp and Paperback Convention; and the New Pulp Best Sellers List Discussion, examining that week’s crop of best sellers.
Fans of the show can rest assured that other popular topics, including action movie discussions with film critics such as Mark Bousquet and novel discussions with authors such as Mark Finn, Rick Lai, and James Hickson, will continue.
White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and reached #1 on the New Pulp Best-Sellers List, and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.  The White Rocket Podcast, a member of the ESO Network of shows, began in October 2012.
The Podcast can be found on iTunes (White Rocket Podcast) or at White Rocket’s home on the Web:  www.whiterocketbooks.com.  All past episodes can be found at http://whiterocket.podbean.com.
Follow White Rocket on Twitter: @WhiteRocketBook and on Facebook (White Rocket Books).
Follow Van: @VanAllenPlexico and (Van Allen Plexico) on Facebook.
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Emily S. Whitten: Promote Your Awesome Friends Week!

whitten-art-1304021-8094383Or at least, that’s what I’ve decided this week will be, here in my column. And it’s my column, so as Loki would say (and I am fond of quoting), “I do what I want!” Mwahaha!

Seriously, though – I have a lot of fantastically talented friends, and it just so happens that two of them are currently involved in fun Kickstarters that I think are deserving of attention. So without further ado, here they are:

1) Stage Production of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters:

Anybody who knows me probably knows that I’m a huge fan of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series. What you might not know (even if you’re a Discworld fan) is that over nineteen of Terry’s books have been adapted to the stage since 1991 by the Audie Award-winning voice actor and Discworld collaborator Stephen Briggs, who has also voiced a large number of the Discworld audiobooks. Stephen regularly stages Discworld plays with the Studio Theatre Club [http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/LastProduction.html ] in Oxford, UK to popular acclaim; and his adaptations have been used around the world to stage Pratchett’s works.

Despite this, there seems to be a sad lack of Discworld in theater in the United States, at least in my observation. But worry not! My friend Kevin O’Shea of the excellent geeky Made of Fail podcast and productions is seeking to remedy that with a group of other dedicated Discworld and theater folks. They are striving to produce the stage adaptation of Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters from Thursday to Sunday during the last two weeks of July this year, at the Side Project Theatre in Chicago (just off the CTA Red Line; the Jarvis station between Loyola and Northwestern Universities).

Aside from knowing first-hand about Kevin’s passion for Discworld, dedication to geek projects, and overall reliability, I’ve looked at the project’s Kickstarter page, and it seems like a fun and solidly constructed project to me, with some cool donation rewards (I want a hand-knitted model of Discworld!). I think it’s worth backing, for any Discworld fans who want to see more Discworld theater in the U.S., and particularly for those who might be able to actually make it to the play if (when!) it hits Chicago in July. As of this writing, the project has received approximately 72% of the $5,000 they will need in pledges to reach their goal and stage the production. That’s pretty darned good, but they only have until April 10 to raise the other 28%. So if there are any Discworld fans out there who haven’t given yet but want to support this great project, now’s the time!

The Turtle Moves!

2) CineManiac: Horror Edition:

Ben Fisher is a funny guy. I’ve already positively reviewed some of his humorous writing in comics, and since then, we’ve become friends, and I’ve learned first-hand just how zany and occasionally…twisted his humor can be. (And, full disclosure, we are currently working on an un-related-to-this-topic project, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere). I’ve also learned that he’s a huge gaming geek, as well as a horror fan and aficionado of storytelling tropes; so when he told me he’d designed an interactive, humorous card game you play while watching horror films, I wasn’t surprised. I was excited, though, particularly after seeing that the talented Mike Henderson was going to be doing the art for the cards. Mike’s got a great style for the dramatic, the ominous, and the terrifying. (He’s also got a slightly twisted sense of humor.) Who better to do the art for a funny game about horror movies and horror movie tropes?

The basic game itself looks simple enough to play without distracting unduly from the enjoyment of watching the movie (and like it will add to that enjoyment for anyone with a sense of humor who knows horror movies); and the addition of “curse cards” to the basic mechanic of gameplay makes it sound like a whole lot of fun. As the Kickstarter says:

“But at the center of its little black heart, CineManiac is a party game. And what’s a party game without the ability to humiliate your competition? Curse cards force your opponents to reenact scenes, impersonate horror icons, and otherwise do your dastardly bidding!”

… Yeah, I’d play that game.

The Kickstarter has some great donation rewards for those of us who have a weakness for collecting original art or exclusives, like the signed original art from the card of your choice, or exclusive limited edition bonus cards. And, as it turns out, the project is also doing a giveaway contest through April 8th at the Tabletop Gaming News site, so you can also head on over there and enter if you want to, for the chance to win inclusion of your likeness in the art for one of the cards, or, for runners-up, an autographed print of art from the game.

This Kickstarter still has 28 days to go, but it needs a lot of love to reach its goal, so if you think it sounds awesome, as I do, go check it out (and watch the fun trailer!) and consider pledging here.

I’d love to see both of these projects make it to their final goals. If you would too…go pledge!

And until next time: Servo Lectio!

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis

WEDNESDAY MORNING: Mike Gold

 

Davis Named DC President, Publisher

davis-april-fool-art-7478628Today I became president and publisher of DC Comics.

Shortly, I will be detailing my agenda which includes renaming DC, Milestone, the termination of all white people on staff as well as freelancers and moving the NY office to Harlem and the LA office to Compton.

To avoid any silly “racist” talk I will keep my white girlfriend.

Disney Is Watching Your Skin

hee6530f5-7724787When we started hearing rumors and reports from WonderCon this weekend, we thought we knew what the story was going to be: Disney/Marvel was following in the footsteps of Warner Bros/DC Comics and going after tattooed fans in an attempt to get a piece of the still-growing body modification dollar.

We were wrong.

Sort of.

Yes, this morning we had the unveiling of the officially licensed tattoo flash with sheets featuring Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters.

But that’s not the story here. The real story is what happened when corporate executives approached attendees at the Anaheim California Convention Center and what occurred at area tattoo shops.

Unlike the cease-and-desist letters fans received from Warner Bros/DC two years ago, Disney (which now includes their Marvel and LucasFilm divisions) has taken a wholly different tack with fans. “I guess they don’t want the pics from spring break of that guy doing body shots off of me up on Facebook” said one female fan whose right arm has a huge Dark Phoenix tattoo.

“We feel that fans are acting as ‘brand ambassadors’ when they sport tattoos of our characters, and as such have a responsibility to maintain our company’s image, as well as that of our properties’. Therefore we are asking our “inked” fans and devotees to please take care and be mindful of behavior that may be deemed improper,” is how the opening statement of the packets handed out to attendees with the applicable visible ink.

They go on to outline what basically amounts to a morality clause, asking that tattoos be covered up if the wearer insists on participating in objectionable or questionable acts. And Disney “insists upon curtailing the posting of any images to social media outlets where our property is visible while such actions as drug abuse, alcohol use, smoking, or illegal activities are taking place, as well as usage in any nudity or sexually explicit content whatsoever.” Disney states the cease-and-desist letters will be issued should these requests not be fulfilled, adding a bunch of legalese that boils down to threats of copyright infringement lawsuits.poo-tattoo1-3547130

Ah, yes. Copyright Infringements. Because Disney wants to control the images of their characters in the literal sense too. “They asked me where I’d gotten my work done,” WonderCon attendee Sean Law told ComicMix. “They were really interested in it – and really unhappy about it” he laughed, then showed us his tattoo of a maniacal Winnie the Pooh holding Piglet’s bloody head rather than a honeypot.

The Orange County tattoo artist who did Law’s tattoo, as well as artists at dozens of other area shops, received visits from lawyers this morning. Law’s artist was told he had violated Disney’s copyrights by doing the piece. “They objected to both the image and the execution, dude said it wasn’t ‘on model.’ Can you believe that?

“Then he handed me a style guide!”

ALL PULP TO CLOSE END OF THIS WEEK!

Approximately four weeks ago, Tommy Hancock, one of the original founding members of All Pulp as well as Editor in Chief, announced that he was stepping down from All Pulp, except as an incidental contributor.  At that point, Hancock stated that the position of Editor in Chief was open if anyone was interested in taking it on.  Although some have considered it, none have come forward.

“Based upon the fact,” Hancock says in a statement today, “that the Editor in Chief position at All Pulp remains open and that the site will not function in the same capacity at all without not only a body, but an active person in that position, I must announce today that, unless that position is filled by Saturday, April 6th, 2013, All Pulp will cease operation.”
Anyone interested in the position of Editor in Chief of All Pulp should contact Hancock at allpulp@yahoo.com or proseproductions@earthlink.net or at 870-834-4022.