Category: News

The Bootleg War is now Available

  • News
  • June 15, 2012

the-bootleg-war-is-now-available-3296581Latchkeys #4, “The Bootleg War”, is now available for Kindle and Nook. Author Paul Kupperberg talks about the writing experience.

By Paul Kupperberg

For writers, ideas are like stacked up airplanes circling the fogged in airport. We want desperately to have all of them land safely, but some are going to have to stay up in the air a little longer than others until the weather clears or a runway opens up. As a result, we’ve all got lots of ideas circling our brains but no opportunity to bring them in for a landing on paper as quickly as we would like.

A few years back, Steven Savile, on a writers email list to which we both belong, suggested that a bunch of us join forces to take some of those high-flying ideas, throw them into a hat, and pick a few on which a dozen or so of us could work together. The idea was to hasten the development and writing of these various concepts by sharing the workloads. The result of Steve’s suggestion was a collective we came to call the HivemMnd.

While Steve has already related the secret origin of the HiveMind in an earlier post here on the Crazy 8 Press blog, the work of actually writing Latchkeys takes place not as a community activity, but in the individual workrooms, offices, and minds of our fourteen writers. The current episode, “Chapter 4: Speakeasy, Part One: The Bootleg War” began with a story by Kris Katzen, which landed on my desk for fleshing out and was a particularly fun story for me to work on. It incorporates elements that play to several of my strengths as a writer: It takes place in New York, the city in which I was born and about which I have an insatiable curiosity (I have shelves containing nothing but histories and biographies related to this, the greatest city on earth), and is set against a historic backdrop, in this case the Prohibition era of the 1920s (coincidentally, I recently read Daniel Okrent’s fascinating history, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition).

I love to pepper period stories like “Bootleg War” with interesting little historic tidbits, whether about its locale or some incidental information (did you know Converse All-Stars sneakers were introduced during the First World War?)…just enough to give it the right flavor and a dash of verisimilitude. Of course, stories have to come from out of the characters first, but those characters need to be rooted in a world that’s as real as they are. The use of the wrong slang or an anachronistic prop and the reader is yanked out of the moment and all the mood and drama the author was hoping to set up is ruined.

And speaking of characters: Latchkeys stars a roster of good ones. I was already familiar with two of them, twin sisters Mercy and Marguerite, from writing one of the later Latchkeys episodes (#13, “Emmett”), but “Bootleg War” gave me the opportunity to get to know a couple of the other fascinating teens who populate this world. I hope you’ll find their intelligence and resourcefulness as interesting as I did while writing them.

So, to torture my opening airplane analogy just a little further, bringing Latchkeys in for a landing has been, in some ways, a long and sometimes bumpy ride, but now that we’re safely home, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a moment of the trip. For readers, on the other hand, there’s nothing but clear skies and some good reading ahead.

FIBBER, OPERATOR 5, THE SPIDER, AND SO MUCH MORE FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

  • News
  • June 15, 2012

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

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June 15, 2012
 
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Very few shows from Radio’s golden age had an impact that still today resonates throughout society and entertainment. One such program left its mark indelibly on performers, on our language, on popular culture in a number of ways. Forever changing the landscape of American comedy, it featured a duo all others would be judged by. Why is evident in The Fibber McGee and Molly Show, The 1939/1940 Season from Radio Archives!
 
Best known as the blustery storyteller and his witty, long suffering wife, Jim and Marian Jordan did in fact have a lot in common with Fibber and Molly, the characters they created for themselves. Married in 1918, The Jordans worked to be entertainers together. Spending the next nearly seven years trying to break into show business and failing, The Jordans finally got their chance in 1924 when they rushed to a radio station, sure they could perform better than the singing act they’d just heard on the same station.
 
The rest indeed is history, but it was a history marked with many ups and downs as well as a multitude of other characters, real and fictional, joining Jim and Marian as they made ‘Fibber McGee and Molly’ not only a hit on the radio, but a remarkable page all its own in American history.
 
Restored to “Sparkling Radio Archives” audio quality, The Fibber McGee and Molly Show, The 1939/1940 Season is a 20 hour collection that begins a series of collections featuring individual seasons of the classic program as originally heard over 70 years ago. Only $59.98 from Radio Archives!
 

Special New Release Price: Save $20 for the next two weeks. Only $39.98 in a beautful 20 CD storage case!

 
 
 
weirdtales-3932907“Weird Tales” was a proposed radio series recorded in Hollywood in 1932 and based on stories in the famous horror themed Pulp of the same name, notable for featuring such iconic authors as Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. The series was produced by Hollywood Radio Attractions, 4376 Sunset Drive, Hollywood. In a promotional flyer for the program, they advertise three episodes that had been produced and the company was planning to record a total of 52 half-hour shows.
 
Scholars looking at the history of “Weird Tales” magazine have heard about the series for years, but no recordings of the shows themselves or many detail about the series have surfaced until now.
 
Radio Archives is giving you a chance to hear an episode of Weird Tales for Free! Similar to “The Witch’s Tale”, the show was created in such a way that they could be played as one half-hour program each week or split into two fifteen minute shows, completing one story each week. Click the Weird Tales Banner and listen to the Weird Tales radio show today!

 
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NEW Pulp Audiobook: Operator #5 “#1 The Masked Invasion”
 

Before James Bond was ever imagined, Jimmy Christopher was the bravest, boldest and best-equipped secret agent any nation ever had!

 

 

From out of the pages of Operator #5 magazine steps a dramatic hero who pits himself against threats to national security from all origins. Whether it’s subversive internal menace, or a full-scale invasion from an enemy land, James Christopher stood ready and resolute to defeat it.

 

In 1934, with Hitler consolidating power in Germany and the Japanese Empire on the rise in Asia, young pulp publisher Harry Steeger decided that the American public was ready for a magazine chronicling the exploits of an undercover agent dedicated to defending the United States from foreign aggressors. With his editors, Steeger came up with a title, Secret Service Operator #5, and a cover depicting a masked terrorist fleeing an exploding White House. Over this loomed the resourceful hero, blazing away with a .45 automatic. His job: to defeat a new invasion of the United States—every month!

 

James Christopher did not technically belong to the U. S. Secret Service. He was a top agent for an America’s unnamed Intelligence Service. It was in his blood. His father, John Christopher, retired from the same agency years before. Answerable only to his superior, Z-7, and carrying a letter from the President of the United States identifying him as Operator #5, Jimmy Christopher played for keeps. He carried a rapier sewn into his belt, and in a golden skull hanging from his watch-chain was a reservoir of poison to be taken in the event of capture.

 

Aided by a small group of trusted assistants, ranging from his twin sister Nan to scrappy street urchin Tim Donovan, Jimmy Christopher was a one-man defense force. Proud and patriotic, expert marksman and swordsman, he was the best America has to offer in a time of severe trial.

 

Originally written by master pulpsmith Frederick C. Davis, the Operator #5 series was a clear forerunner of the spy and espionage genre, which exploded in the 1960s when President John F. Kennedy happened remark that he enjoyed reading Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. The first Bond film, Dr. No, was released in 1962. Soon, America was surrounded by spies. The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Our Man Flint, and Nick Carter, Killmaster were just a few of the most prolific. Jimmy Christopher was on the job a generation before them all, blazing the espionage trail, and keeping America safe from fascism and other wicked isms.

 

Invisible, secret, deadly, the Masked Empire wielded its dread power of darkness throughout the nation. Havoc and ruin followed the terror-torn thousands who fled the country to escape the Thirteenth Darkness. America, faced with certain disaster, placed her chance of survival in one man’s capable hands — and prayed that the warrior gods might smile once more upon the miracle man of her Secret Service — Jimmy Christopher!

 

Into this unprecedented crisis plunged Jimmy Christopher. Only one man, but a man who embodied with the American spirit—and stands prepared to perish to protect his country. James Christopher, Operator #5 is voiced by the talented Richard Epcar. Order your copy today for only $17.98.

 
Interview with Audiobook Reader: Richard Epcar
 
One important aspect of bringing a Pulp classic to life as an audiobook is finding just the right voice to breathe life into the words on the page. Continuing its fine tradition of doing just that, Will Murray’s Pulp Classics from Radio Archives has matched one of Pulpdom’s most loved characters with a voice actor with a passion for the period and this type of character.
 
Jimmy Christopher, that super United States secret agent known to Pulp fans as Operator #5 is the newest character to be added to the ranks of The Spider, Doc Savage, and others to be featured in the audiobooks produced as a part of Will Murray’s Pulp classics. And giving voice to Christopher and to the stories themselves is a voice talent who feels a certain connection to a character that most definitely might be considered the James Bond of the Pulp set.
 
Richard Epcar has had an acting career in Los Angeles for nearly three decades. “I’ve appeared,” Epcar stated, “in films, television, commercials, stage and as a voice actor, I’ve voiced over 300 different characters in games, animation, commercials, foreign film dubs and anime.”
 
With this exceptional background in voice acting, Epcar’s involvement in the Operator #5 audiobook project is actually his first major professional association with Pulp. “Honestly,” Epcar admitted, “I haven’t had that much exposure to it, although I think that pulp fiction and I are a very good fit. I love the stories and I’m kind of an old school guy, so I think these books and my style really go hand in hand.”
 
As for Operator #5 specifically, Epcar finds himself well suited to take on a character that truly stands out amongst its Pulp peers and as a precursor to the Spy craze of the 1960s. Richard said, “I am a huge fan of spies and spy tales so this is perfect for me. I’m just starting the second book as we speak, and I’m really getting into the characters.”
 
The cast of the Operator #5 tales particularly appeals to Epcar. “They’re a bunch of wonderful characters and I’m having so much fun doing the different voices for each character. It has a great noir, old time comic book feel to it. I love the plots and the science involved, especially for the time, is amazing.”
 
Richard feels a connection, not only to the Operator #5 stories, but to the time when the stories were first published. “I love the period,” he said, referring to the heyday of Pulps. “I would have loved to have lived then. In some ways a simpler time, but a time with more style. I really enjoy getting into all the wonderful characters and becoming ensconced in the language of that time. I think people love these stories for the same reason I do-because they are wonderful period pieces, and great escapism. Like watching some old Bogart movie or any of the old Noir detective or spy films. There’s just a great feel to them and they create a lovely fantasy by which to escape into the world of espionage, danger and intrigue.”
 
Richard definitely notes the obvious comparisons between Jimmy Christopher and another famous spy, but recognizes differences that make Operator #5 stand out as well. “I’m a huge fan of spies, especially James Bond. Anyone who knows me knows that. My office is covered with 007 movie posters, figures, books and memorabilia. There are a lot of similarities between Bond and Christopher.”
 
“But unlike James Bond,” Richard continued, “Jimmy Christopher is an ace spy for the United States, he’s straight laced, a man of honor and high moral code, isn’t a womanizer, doesn’t really drink, but he is a master of many forms of combat and nobody’s fool. He’s also quite a magician, which is something really interesting that pops up in all the stories. The stories are fantastic and a lot of fun.”
 
Although many of the Operator #5 stories might be considered extravagant and over the top compared to other Pulp tales, Richard noted why he thought the stories appealed to the readers of Pulp in the 1930s and 40s. “Up until Pearl Harbor, the United States had never been attacked. I think the idea of a foreign power invading us and taking over is a very frightening thought for all Americans. It might even be enough to cause us to stop bickering amongst ourselves. I think by using our actual enemies at the time, it gives the stories more verisimilitude.”
 
He also recognizes why Operator #5 is an ideal character to bring to modern listeners in the Will Murray’s Pulp Classics audiobook line. “Perhaps when these books were written the idea of attacking our mainland seemed far fetched, but as 9-11 showed, we’re not impregnable. I think audiences today will love these stories, for the characters, the incredible action, and that sense of another time, also they have a fantastic hero-Jimmy Christopher.”
 
Operator #5 is a series that fans of Pulp and audiobooks will enjoy for its action, fast pace, and stunning characters brought to life by Richard Epcar. “I love the feel of the books,” Richard said. “I think they are great story telling and you care about the characters. I really like that Jimmy Christopher is a man of honor, yet he is also self-effacing. I like the relationships between all the characters, they are really fleshed out, and not one dimensional and I said before, you really care about them. I’ve really been enjoying reading these books and I hope that everyone enjoys my interpretation of Operator #5.”
 
Operator #5 “#1 The Masked Invasion” is the latest title from Will Murray’s Pulp Classics voiced by Richard Epcar and available now! Stay tuned for more adventures of Jimmy Christopher voiced by Epcar from Radio Archives!
 

Guest Audiobook Review: The Spider “Wings of the Black Death”
by Ron Fortier, Airship 27
 
With the expansion of the increasing popular New Pulp movement, it was only inevitable that the audio book industry would enter this exciting new field. One of the most aggressive to do so in the past year has been Radio Archives out of Spokane, Washington, headed by the wonderfully creative and energetic Roger Rittner. Working with noted pulp writer and historian, Will Murray, Rittner and Radio Archives have began doing expansive audio book versions of classic pulp thrillers with the feel of genuine old time radio melodramas. It is important to note that these are not exact, full cast recordings, but by adding brilliant sound effects and period background music, Radio Archives provides such marvelous audio atmosphere as to beautifully mimic those old radio plays.
 
“Wings of the Black,” was written by Norvell Page, writing as Grant Stockbridge, and appeared in the December 1933 issue of “The Spider” magazine. This exciting audio adaptation produced and directed by Rittner, features Nick Santa Maria as both the narrator and primary male characters to include Richard Wentworth, aka the Spider, and Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrck along with Robin Riker who takes on the role of Nita Van Sloan, Wentworth’s paramour. They are absolutely marvelous, each evoking these well known characters as we all imagined they would sound…and act towards each other.
 
The plot centers about a fiendish villain calling himself the Black Death. He has managed to get a strain of the Bubonic Plague and is systematically unleashing it on the people of New York City. He will only stop when they pay him a billion dollar ransom. As if that were not horrendous enough, this merciless fiend has managed to convince the police that it is the Spider who is responsible to the point of leaving the Spider’s telltale crimson seal on the foreheads of his policemen victims. Now, for the first time ever, Commissioner Kirkpatrick finds himself believing the Spider is in reality a heartless monster and he proceeds to hunt him down with all the resources at his command. Suddenly Richard Wentworth is battling both the fiendish mastermind and the police, frantically trying to evade capture until he can solve the mystery of the Black Death and bring him to justice.
 
Rittner’s direction is pace-perfect as he leads both Santa Maria and Riker through each chapter hitting all the right beats, from moments of intense action scenes to those of quiet, anxious reflection as the pair, depending on each other as never before, endure the Spider’s greatest challenge of his crime-fighting career. Radio Archives’ “The Spider – Wings of the Black Death,” is a winner from the opening scene to the last. It pulls the listener into the raw, brutal, fantastic world of the classic pulps and in the end provides such a unique, rewarding experience as to delight both old and new fans alike.
 
Finally, this audio book is available both as a digital download and in the 6 CD set, both reasonably priced. For those into new fangled digital toys, this reviewer would imagine the digital version would be their obvious choice. Whereas the legion of audio book listeners who prefer enjoying books while on long road trips will find the CD set much to their liking. Either way, this is a package you will be thrilled with. And if you aren’t familiar with audio books, this is easily the right book to begin with. Enjoy.

 

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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 E-Reader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator 5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like Doctor Death and more, Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 
Five new golden age Pulp tales exquisitely reformatted into visually stunning E-books!

 

Mysterious death, suicide, and madness took uncanny toll of New York’s most prominent citizens. Only the Spider sensed the presence of the criminal genius whose tentacles were strangling the city — and the Spider was next on the crime monster’s death list! Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men! As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.
 
America faces certain doom as its citizens fall in screaming thousands before the noxious death vapors loosed upon them by the Green Hand. How can the Spider, harried and threatened by a hundred new and deadly perils, check the rising power of the next Dictator — and lay bare the scheming, criminal mind which seeks to enslave the nation? Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men! As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.
 

The mad Emperor, warrior descendant of the ravagers of Asia, unleashed a new, horrible, ingenious weapon against the American people. While slant-eyed Mongols bent over a powerful death-machine, a thousand miles away, the air became unbreathable! Men and women and children — all living things — gasped for life-giving oxygen, and with searing, heaving lungs, fell strangled by the mysterious, deadly element. Against these demoniacal hordes, one man alone — Operator 5 — struggles while red revolt and destruction blasts America!
 
Jimmy Christopher, clean-cut, square-jawed and clear-eyed, was the star of the most audacious pulp magazines ever conceived — Operator #5. Savage would-be conquerors, creepy cults, weird weather-controllers and famine-creating menaces to our mid-western breadbasket… these were but a few of the fiendish horrors that Jimmy Christopher was forced to confront. Operator #5 returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of Operator #5 eBooks.

 
Trapped in the depths of Halley’s Comet, the Futuremen battle fourth-dimensional monsters in a titanic struggle to save the system’s solar energy! Captain Future… the Ace of Space! Born and raised on the moon, Curt Newton survived the murder of his scientist parents to become the protector of the galaxy known as Captain Future. With his Futuremen, Grag the giant robot, Otho, the shape-shifting android and Simon Wright, the Living Brain, he patrols the solar system in the fastest space ship ever constructed, the Comet, pursuing human monsters and alien threats to Earth and her neighbor planets.

 

Through an unguessable abyss fraught with peril, Curt Newton and the Futuremen set out to save the remnants of a great civilization from suicide and destruction! Captain Future… the Ace of Space! Born and raised on the moon, Curt Newton survived the murder of his scientist parents to become the protector of the galaxy known as Captain Future. With his Futuremen, Grag the giant robot, Otho, the shape-shifting android and Simon Wright, the Living Brain, he patrols the solar system in the fastest space ship ever constructed, the Comet, pursuing human monsters and alien threats to Earth and her neighbor planets.
 

When you purchase these beautifully reformatted eBooks from RadioArchives.com you receive all three formats in one ZIP file: PDF for PC or Mac computer; Mobi for Kindle and ePub for iPad/IPhone, Android, Sony eReader, and Nook. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook novels 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 in the Kindle store and the Barnes and Noble Nook store! The best Pulp eBooks now available for only $2.99 each from Radio Archives!
 
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For a limited time you can now download an exciting original Spider adventure for just one thin penny! 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. Their motto? Why “KILL THE SPIDER!” of course.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps this is a perfect opportunity 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 download this bargain.
 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you purchase this eBook from RadioArchives.com you receive all three formats in one ZIP file. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your Spider novels to your new device without the need to purchase anything new. Use the PDF version when reading on your PC or Mac computer. If you have a Kindle, the Mobi version is what you want. If you have an iPad/iPhone, Android, Sony eReader or Nook, then the ePub version is what you want.

 

 

Altus Press is proud to announce the release of the third volume in its acclaimed Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series, written by Will Murray and Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson.
 
Set in the Fall of 1936, The Infernal Buddha tells the epic story of Doc Savage’s desperate quest to control the Buddha of Ice, a relic of unknown origin—and what may become the most dangerous object on Earth!
 
When a mummy arrives at Doc Savage’s New York headquarters wearing the clothes of his missing assistant, engineer Renny Renwick, Doc, Monk, and Ham rush to Singapore where they get on the trail of a swashbuckling pirate who calls himself the Scourge of the South China Sea, in whose hands a piece of the infernal Buddha has fallen. The trail leads to Pirate Island, the fate of Renny, and a mysterious box containing a terrible, unstoppable power.
 
But that is only the beginning of the quest into which the Man of Bronze plunges—one that will take him to the upper reaches of the Yellow Sea and a series a wild ocean battles against the vicious factions fighting for control on the infernal Buddha.
 
Before it is all over, every human life on Earth will tremble on the brink of eternity, and Doc Savage will face his greatest test.
 
“This may be my wildest Doc novel to date,” says author Will Murray. “The Infernal Buddha is a fantasy epic full of corsairs, criminals and other culprits. The menace is planetary. The threat, extinction. Doc Savage has a reputation for saving the world. This time he does it on the greatest scale possible. I began this book back in 1992, working from an opening situation Lester Dent started in 1935. Together, we have produced a true Doc Savage epic. And it only took about 75 years….”
 
The Infernal Buddha features a startling cover painted by Joe DeVito, depicting Doc Savage as the Buccaneer of Bronze! This cover was painted from a still taken in 1964 of legendary model Steve Holland, and is a variant pose shot for famed illustrator James Bama’s classic cover to The Man of Bronze. There has never been a Doc cover like it! Buy it today for only $24.95 from Radio Archives.
 

Girasol Collectables presents a fantastic example of Villain Pulps that thrilled and chilled readers of the early 20th Century. Dr. Death #1 is an authentic replica of the magazine as originally presented in February 1935. Featuring a full length tale starring the evil Dr. Death, this replica is designed to give fans a real idea of what holding and reading a pulp magazine really was like. Every aspect of the magazine is faithfully reproduced. Experience a harrowing tale of a Villain gone mad in Doctor Death #1, faithfully reproduced as a top of the line Pulp Replica from Girasol Collectables.
 

Altus Press publishes a book destined to be a Pulp history classic. Writings in Bronze by Will Murray, noted Pulp Expert and Historian, features the best of 40 years of articles on Lester Dent and Doc Savage written by Murray. Considered to be the leading expert on the author and his greatest creation, Murray brings to light many facts and insights about Dent and Doc in this collection of work, all articles that have been features in fanzines throughout the last four decades. Writings in Bronze is a definite must have for Pulp fans from Altus Press!

 

The Master of Darkness battles murderous master villains in thrilling pulp novels by Walter B. Gibson and Theodore Tinsley writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, the Master of Darkness journeys to New Orleans to uncover the hidden identity of the international swindler known only as “Cyro.” Then, The Shadow suspects that “The Man Who Died Twice” still lives, and is the key to the Prince of Evil’s plot to murder Lamont Cranston! This instant collector’s item showcases the original color covers by George Rozen and Graves Gladney and the classic interior illustrations by legendary illustrators Tom Lovell and Earl Mayan, with historical commentary by Will Murray. Buy it today for $14.95.
 

A knockout painting by legendary paperback artist James Bama leads off a special variant edition of two action-packed pulp epics by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, a bequest from a dying scientist leads Doc Savage to Death Valley in search of a long-dead pirate’s legendary treasure. Can this amazing invention allow “The Pirate’s Ghost” to speak from beyond the grave? Then, the Man of Bronze goes undercover at a Wyoming dude ranch to solve the bizarre puzzle of a strange “Green Eagle” with lead feathers! This special anniversary edition also showcases the original color pulp covers by Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and an intriguing article by The Shadow’s famous raconteur, Walter B. Gibson. Priced at only $14.95.
 

The Pulp Era’s most unusual mystery man returns in three action-packed adventures by Paul Ernst and Emile Tepperman writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” Dick Benson’s life will be forever changed after “Murder on Wheels” and the mysterious Cole Wilson lure The Avenger into a deadly trap! Then, “The Three Gold Crowns” and a dentist’s forceps leads The Avenger to Mr. Death’s house of murder. PLUS: “Death to The Avenger,” a bonus Avenger novelette, and a Whisperer thriller by Alan Hathway. This classic pulp reprint features the color pulp covers by H. W. Scott, Paul Orban’s original interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray. Priced at only $14.95 
 

One of the top crime-fighters from the golden age of pulp fiction, The Spider returns in two thrill-packed adventures written by Norvell Page under the pseudonym of Grant Stockbridge. First, in “The Spider and the Scarlet Surgeon” (1941), With unheard of skill, the Red Surgeon can change a patient into an imbecile… or a genius of crime! Not only can he alter the physical shell, but this mad doctor can even amputate parts of a victim’s personality, even their conscience. And his greatest ambition is to operate on none other than Stanley Kirkpatrick, Nita van Sloan… and the Spider! Then, in “The Spider and the Death Piper” (1942), Weird compelling music lures the inhabitants of Martinsville to suicide! By ones and twos at first, then in a stampede of maddened self-destruction. Even Richard Wentworth, with the iron will of the Spider, felt the irresistible calling of that Devil-tune! Can even the Master of Men prevail against an unearthly power that goads the listener to suicide? 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. Available now for $14.95!
 
 

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Review of “The King Maker” from Doc Savage, Volume 19
By Dr Art Sippo

 
The Ambassador of the Balkan nation of Calbia comes to Doc Savage to seek his protection against an assassination attempt. But while Doc is going to see him, the ambassador’s yacht is blown up in New York harbor! Then the beautiful Princess Gusta de Galbin of Calbia is in peril and Doc comes to her rescue. There is a revolution brewing in this Balkan nation and the Princess begs Doc to come with her. A new king must ascend the Calbian throne and Doc is being offered the job! The megalomaniac Captain Henri Flancul wants to make himself dictator and Gusta’s ailing father wants to abdicate in Doc’s favor offering the hand of his only daughter as both an enticement and a legitimization of royal succession.
 
Doc and his men go to Calbia and fight a guerrilla war against the anarchist seeking to take over the government. Flancul has a super weapon that he used to destroy the Ambassador’s yacht and he is threatening to use it against anyone who stands in the way of his rise to power.
 
This is a cloak and dagger tale of intrigue, suspense, and espionage. Doc and his men operate like an underground cell seeking out the villainous Captain Flancul. But this is the wily Flancul’s home turf and he knows how to play the game and fight a clandestine war. At stake is the throne of Calbia and the key to control the entire Balkan area of Europe.
 
Can Doc Savage prevail against a covert army of revolutionaries led by a man with Napoleonic visions of grandeur? Will he allow himself to be made King of Calbia? And will he accept the hand of the lovely Princess Gusta to seal the deal of rightful succession in this war torn land?
 
This is one of the earlier Doc Savage novels (October 1934) when Doc was at his super-heroic best. The stakes were high but Doc was always up for the challenge. Don’t miss this one! Only $12.95 from Radio Archives!
 

Comments From Our Customers!
 
SGT Michael D. Dean writes:
I just wanted to say thank you for your line of pulp classic ebooks. Not only are you offering these classic stories at a reasonable price, but you have also taken it upon yourselves to provide multiple formats, allowing customers a flexibility not offered through the regular Nook or Kindle storefronts. While that is not so significant when you only have one device, it is a great help if you’re looking for a new device and don’t want to lose your purchased books. Thank you for allowing us that flexibility not offered by all booksellers.
 
Uncle Chunk writes:

Real life has forced me to neglect my nostalgia life and I’m just now getting back to the important things…pulp reprints, for one. My last order was back in 2010. I just finished ordering two more reprints of The Shadow and I was pleasantly surprised to see the prices are unchanged and your inventory has expanded.
 
Lou Dumont writes:
During the mid-summer weeks of 1945, I served as announcer on three of the ‘Date With The Duke’ radio shows. The first, in July, was at the RKO Keith Memorial Theatre, downtown Boston. A couple of weeks later, we did a remote for ABC from Marshfield, Massachusetts and in August, after V-J Day, another show from Marshfield. I have them on a reel to reel made by a friend some years back but the quality that you’ve got on your Radio Archives set is just outstanding and this is a testimonial and you can print that and I will be very pleased. Excellent sound. What pleasant memories. Keep up the great work. Lou Dumont still broadcasting at age 87.
Update
I’ve listened to several of the shows, hoping to find my voice and I did on program #34. I remember that the show vividly. He never gave us a play-list. Keeping an envelope on his piano, he had jotted down song titles. I would check with him, hoping he would give me a clue to help me quickly come up with an appropriate intro. So, if you hear this ‘rookie’ (aged 19) introducing “In a Mellow Tone,” “The Wish That I Wish Tonight” (sung by Joya Sherill); “C-Jam Blues”; “UltraViolet”; and that crazy intro about the alphabet, with Kay Davis singing “There’s No You.”
 
Norma Mawston writes from England:
Many thanks for your speedy response to my query regarding new Railroad Hour CD releases. I’ve immediately ordered Volume 3. Yippee-I-Kay!! Please keep them coming!!! Thanks again.

 
Allan Smith writes from England:
Have received latest package and just finished being completely entertained by “ The Spider – Wings of the Black Death “. It had me nailed to the chair until the early hours listening in the dark. Total enjoyment for me, a grand story, magnificently orated and enhanced so well by the subtle touch of delicate background atmosphere that works beautifully in generating that right sense of involvement. I was there and look forward to the next thrilling episode. Thanks so much for this piece as well as all that you produce and release. Cheers.
 
Owen Ken Knight writes:
I bought all 3 volumes of One Night Stand programs, and they’re wonderful! The sound quality is excellent, and whoever selected these from among the hundreds of AFRS recordings really knew what they were doing. High points are Jan Garber’s swing band with Debbie Claire (sister of the more famous Dorothy Claire) and Art Wayner’s orchestra with Ginnie Powell and Andy Pierce. Not to mention the two Gay Claridge segments with guitarist Mary Osborn singing. These performances, just to name a few, are treasures that I’ve listened to over and over again.
 

If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!

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

Disney Announces Paperman to be Shown with Wreck-It Ralph

BURBANK, Calif. (June 15, 2012) – Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) announced today that “Paperman,” a groundbreaking short film combining the best of the computer-generated and hand-drawn animation worlds, will make its theatrical debut in front of Wreck-It Ralph, a hilarious, arcade-game-hopping adventure that hits theaters nationwide on Nov. 2, 2012. The short will play in front of Wreck-It Ralph for most international markets (release dates vary by market). Taking the art of animation in a bold new direction, “Paperman” is directed by John Kahrs and produced by Kristina Reed.

Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what fate has in store for him.

Kahrs, a veteran animator who joined WDAS in 2007, led an innovative team of 2D and CG artists who used a proprietary program called Meander to create the short. Employing a technique called final line advection, artists were able to add a level of grace and expressiveness never before seen in an animated film.

The world premiere of the short took place on the opening night of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, June 4, 2012. Its U.S. premiere is slated for the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 17, 2012.

PRO SE DEBUTS ‘THE PULPTRESS’ IN DIGEST FORMAT!

  • News
  • June 15, 2012

Pro Se Productions, Publisher of New Pulp and one of the leading companies in what many refer to as The New Pulp Movement, proudly announces the release of the first collection of the adventures of the First Lady of New Pulp- “The Pulptress” is now available in Pro Se’s digest size!
She appears, an enigma, a guardian angel in a mask and fedora, her past shrouded in mystery. Where did she come from? What secrets in her past drove her to become a crusader for justice? Who is The Pulptress? This masked woman of mystery, makes her debut on the New Pulp scene in a collection of stories sure to thrill and amaze you. Leading off with an introduction by The Pulptress’ creator, Tommy Hancock, this collection features stories by Terry Alexander, Ron Fortier, Erwin K. Roberts, Andrea Judy, and Tommy Hancock! With a fantastic cover by Mitch Foust and beautiful design work by Sean Ali, this collection is a must have! It’s time You met The First Lady of New Pulp! The Pulptress! From Pro Se Productions!

Originally conceived by Hancock as a character to represent New Pulp and Pro Se, The Pulptress quickly came to life, both as a vibrant real person portrayed by Pro Se’s own Megan Smith at the inaugural Pulp Ark Conference/Convention in 2011 and not long after that in the form of ideas and stories from the authors featured in this collection!  Several tales also feature well known New Pulp guest stars alongside the Pulptress, including Derrick Ferguson’s Dillon, Ron Fortier’s Brother Bones, and Erwin K. Roberts’ The Voice!

Pro Se Productions presents ‘The Pulptress’ as the first of many books and collections that will appear in a digest format!  Get your copy today for $6.00 from Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/c3v9599 or directly from Pro Se’s own store at http://tinyurl.com/7yyoeal !  Ebooks coming soon!

pulptressbc-6239485
Check out Pro Se Productions at www.prosepulp.com and www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com! 

SEVENTH STAR PRESS ADDS TALENTED AUTHOR AND TEEN STEAM PUNK!

  • News
  • June 14, 2012

For Immediate Release

June 8, 2012

Seventh Star Press Announces New Young Adult Steampunk Series with the Addition of J.L. Mulvihill to its Author Family

Seventh Star Press proudly announces the addition of J.L. Mulvihill to its author family with Steel Roots, an exciting new young adult steampunk series set in an alternate history with a dash of folklore.  The first title, The Box Car Baby, is slated for release in the 2nd quarter of 2013, with new titles following at the beginning of 2014 and 2015. Readers can look forward to meeting a host of enthralling, distinctive characters within a richly-developed landscape woven by the imagination of J.L. Mulvihill.

(Steel Roots illustration by Rachael Ward)

The Box Car Baby introduces the character of AB’Gale Steel who was born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia, according to what her papa told her.  Bishop Steel, a mechanical engineer for the Southern Railroad, found his adopted daughter snuggled in a basket of cotton on an otherwise empty boxcar in the train yard.  When no one came around to claim the baby, Bishop Steel, rather than relinquish the child to the State only to end up at the Workhouse someday, smuggled her home to raise as his own. The name on the boxcar he found her in read, A B Gale Logs, and so he named the baby AB’Gale.

But if the mystery of who her real parents are isn’t enough for fifteen-year -old AB’Gale, Papa Bishop goes missing. Worried for her family and afraid of having to spend her life at the Workhouse, AB’Gale goes into town to see if anyone’s seen her papa, only to find a deeper mystery.  At the train station no one seems to know who her papa is even though he’s worked for the Southern Railroad for thirty years.

An encounter with a strange Hobo-man, who claims to know her father, results in the acquisition of a leather eye-glass tube that he says belongs to her papa. Before AB’Gale can question him further the man runs away.  When she gets home, she finds the Crushers taking her grandma off to the Oldies-home, so she hides until they are gone.

AB’Gale finds that the leather tube contains a map of the United States, with markers made by various towns across the country.  By each marker is a word or a name written in her papa’s handwriting.

Alone, and with only the clues of the map to go by, AB’Gale has no choice but to set out on her own to find her papa.  

“Seventh Star Press has a very vivacious group of people with an incredible amount of awesome novels and stories pouring out,” J.L. commented on her addition to Seventh Star Press.  “I just thought that SSP might need a little more Teen-Steam, so I am very pleased they have asked me to come on board with my young adult steampunk series, Steel Roots.”

Born in Hollywood and raised in San Diego, CA, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the past fifteen years.  Her debut novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter of Easa,  an engaing fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of steampunk (Kerlak Publishing).  J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication, among them “Chilled Meat”, a steampunk thriller found in the Dreams of Steam II-Of Bolts and Brass, anthology (Kerlak Publishing) and “The Leprechaun’s Story“, a steampunk urban Fantasy found in the anthology, Clockwork, Spells, & Magical Bells  (Kerlak Publishing)

 
J.L. is very active with the writing community, and is the events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower.  She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Arts Council of Clinton, and the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group. 

“J.L. Mulvihill is a perfect fit for our family of authors, editors, and artists,” fellow Seventh Star Press author Stephen Zimmer commented. “She is already well-loved on the convention circuit, and in addition to her great talent as a writer, she has a fantastic work ethic and approach to the realities of the publishing world today.  We are all so excited to have her with us.”

The Steel Roots novels will be released in limited hardcover, softcover (trade paperback), and several eBook editions, including versions for Kindle, Nook, the iBookstore, and Sony-compatible devices.  The books will also include interior illustrations, in addition to cover art from Seventh Star Press’ award-winning artists.

For further information on J.L Mulvihill and the upcoming releases, please visit www.seventhstarpress.com or the author’s site at www.elsielind.com

Contact: C.C. James

Public Relations, Seventh Star Press

ccjames@seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

Is “The Avengers” Director’s Cut Theater-Bound?

  • News
  • June 12, 2012

I’d believe that Disney and Marvel would re-release The Avengers if for no other reason that doing so could be the spur to get Joss Whedon’s film even higher in the rank of all-time money makers– and as much as Disney wants the money, they want the ego boost and bragging rights even more.

The interesting question is whether or not it would count as a re-release, or whether The Avengers will stay in theaters from now until then. The follow-up question: will this be a 3-D IMAX director’s cut?

There’s a rumor that’s rapidly growing on the internet that Marvel Studios is going to release a three-hour director’s cut of The Avengers in theaters this August!

Joss Whedon may have already cut this longer version of the film for the upcoming Blu-ray, but by releasing that cut in theaters Marvel, Disney, and Paramount will be able to not only promote the Blu-ray, but they will make even more money at the box office! The Avengers currently sits in third place as one of the highest grossing movies of all time. Releasing a Director’s Cut could give the movie the box office boost it needs to rise to the top!

via THE AVENGERS Director’s Cut Coming to Theaters in August!? – News – GeekTyrant.

Alternate theory: Disney is padding their balance sheet because somebody thinks The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is going to do even worse than John Carter.

1 Day Left to Enter our Father’s Day Contest

  • News
  • June 12, 2012

We’ve partnered with Warner Home Video to offer three lucky readers to win a Blu-ray disc, either Blood Work, U.S Marshals, or A Perfect World. Here’s how you can enter the contest: tell us what, in 300 words or less, Father’s Day means to you.

The contest ends tomorrow night at 11:59 and we want to make sure you remember to enter and hopefully win.

Win a Copy of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

  • News
  • June 12, 2012

shh2-34884-300x198-1836386On Tuesday, Warner Home Video will release Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on Blu-ray Combo Pack or Digital Download and they have made two Blu-ray Combo Packs available for ComicMix readers.

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and Jude Law returns as his friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective. Around the globe, headlines break the news: a scandal takes down an Indian cotton tycoon; a Chinese opium trader dies of an apparent overdose; bombings in Strasbourg and Vienna; the death of an American steel magnate… No one sees the connective thread between these seemingly random events—no one, that is, except the great Sherlock Holmes, who has discerned a deliberate web of death and destruction. At its center sits a singularly sinister spider: Moriarty. Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his ominous plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history.

To win, tell us which is your favorite Sherlock Holmes disguise from this film or its predecessor. All entries must be posted on our site by 11:59 p.m., Monday, June 18. The judgment of ComicMix’s judges will be final. Entrants must have a current domestic address, no post office boxes allowed.

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