Twitter Updates for 2011-04-24
- WHEN TITANS MARRY! Congratulations to @ValerieDOrazio and @DavidGallaher! @Comixace has the sweetest pic: http://plixi.com/p/95234880 #
Category: News
Weekend Window Closing Wrap Up: April 22, 2010
Closing windows on my computer so you can open them on yours:
- Heavenly Heroines and their Facebook page. My favorite bit on their page: the birthday listed is August 25, 1959, and they went to Midvale High School.
- The Comics Journal No. 56, June 1980 was the first issue of the magazine I ever read, featuring an interview with Michael Fleisher; reviews of Batman, Tomb of Dracula, and Legion of Super-Heroes; and an illustration of Princess Python by Dennis Fujitake that caught my father’s attention because it was topless.
- The Electronic Publishing Bingo Card by John Scalzi. Yes, I heard these claims being made well over a decade ago– and a lot of them still require the effort to make them work. Related: Are eBooks the new Content Farms?, The Kindle Swindle, Jane Friedman’ Enigma Variations, and The Dark Side of Kindle Publishing
- 5 Amazing Things Invented by Donald Duck (Seriously) | Cracked.com
- Japan Disaster Will Have Greater Financial Impact on Disney Than ‘Mars Needs Moms’ (Analyst) – The Hollywood Reporter: it’s insane that the impact of what could be the world’s greatest natural disaster might only have three or four times the impact of that movie on Disney’s bottom line. I’m not sure which number is out of scale more.
- Science fiction movie produced in 48 hours
- Missed this at the time in March: Chris Burnham Accepts Exclusive with DC Comics. Congrats, fella– we’d like to say “we knew him when”.
James Bond 23 and James Bond 24 Will Be Distributed by Sony and MGM – MovieWeb.com - George R.R. Martin: Game of Thrones Writer’s Top 10 Fantasy Films and Game of Thrones for Newbies: We Put a Complicated Show in Familiar Terms. Start watching now, the show has already been picked up for a second season after only one episode.
- MinimumComics: 102 – Conventions
- How To Steal Like An Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me) – Austin Kleon
Ugh– and I still have dozens of tabs open. But this should do for a start.
Gerard Jones On Comics Life & Death
With half a dozen comic book based films set to open in weeks and sales inside the comic shops at an all time low, where is it all heading? We talked to Comic Historian and Author GERARD JONES on his perspective, plus trouble with the HAPPY DAYS Crew and a DOCTOR WHO History Crash Course.
Do you think comics are dying? Drop us a comment below!
HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO FERGUSON’S DILLON!
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
‘Dillon and The Judas Chalice’
by Derrick Ferguson
Exclusive Author Released Short Story
In the New Pulp genre, there are a handful of characters that already have some name recognition, a following of fans eager for the next drop of pulpy goodness from this harbinger of action and adventure. One such character is Dillon, the all around jack of all trades hero type from the wonderful mind and world of Derrick Ferguson. Every time Ferguson speaks of Dillon on the Book Cave or his blog or wherever, murmurs begin about new Dillon, the next Dillon, untold tales of Dillon, etc. and so forth. This story is just such an event, one that was written by Ferguson as a birthday gift to all his friends and fans.
And what a gift it is!
This story opens with Dillon on a high speed chase, both chasing something and being chased by probably every law enforcement agency in the world. After this chase ends and Dillon saves the day in his own balls to the wall fashion, he is whisked away by a notorious millionaire who tells him of a wonderful artifact-the Judas Chalice, a cup made from the silver Judas Iscariot took for betraying Jesus Christ. This item allegedly will give its bearer whatever it wants as long as the bearer betrays those around them, the millionaire once its bearer, but now a victim of its power. Dillon, more out of an instant affection for the vile traitorous soul he’d just met than anything else, undertakes the mission to retrieve the Chalice, stolen by the millionaire’s former right hand man and his own traitorous wife.
What ensues at this point is one of the best all around rollicking roller coasters I’ve read in the short story form in a while. Dillon and his cohorts, including the millionaire’s own daughter, are complete and fully realized, full of facets and levels that are often hard to capture in just a few pages. The bad guys have all they need to have as well, being driven by their own desires, but even in the end, being basically people overwhelmed by their own urges. Explosions, gunfights, treachery, destruction, close calls, near misses, it’s all here! And that even includes hints and rumors about a mysterious group who hold a whole lot of power and sway!
The only drawback I found to this tale was the opening. It sets a tone for who Dillon is and what a day in his life would be like, but it was also distracting from what the story became. It set a stage, but it didn’t connect really well to what came later and showed Dillon’s skills, but somehow was more of a ‘oh, well, ok, he can drive fast’ than something that added weight to the blockbuster that followed. Even with that, though, this story is CANNOT MISS because the last 2/3 or so blow most full length novels out of the water.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-The beginning might be a little clunky, but overall the story is a fist in your face and an uppercut to your gut! Awesome stuff!
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 4/22/11
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
4/22/11
COMING SOON FROM ALTUS PRESS!
From Matt Moring, http://www.altuspress.com/
The Crimes of The Scarlet Ace: The Complete Stories of Major Lacy & Amusement, Inc.
by Theodore A. Tinsley, covers by Frank Tinsley & Eugene Fradzen, Introduction by Will Murray
by Theodore A. Tinsley, covers by Frank Tinsley & Eugene Fradzen, Introduction by Will Murray
Major John Tattersall Lacy, once of the U.S. Marines–and now field leader of the Emergency Council for Crime Control with orders to meet the racketeers at their own game, to fight terror with terror and death with death…. Backed with tremendous resources, and the power of the six foremost men in the metropolis, Lacy and his ex-marine mates have broadcast their challenge–“Run, rat, or die!” And underworld war-lords ready an answer.
From the author of THE SHADOW! Reprinted in its entirety for the first time, the entire saga of Lacy’s battle with the underworld army of the Scarlet Ace from the pages of BLACK ACES and ALL DETECTIVE. And it features an all-new introduction by Will Murray.
approx. 390 pages | $29.95 softcover | $39.95 hardcover
Dan Fowler: G-Man Companion
by Tom Johnson, Will Murray, Robert Sidney Bowen, Charles Greenberg, & Norvell W. Page
by Tom Johnson, Will Murray, Robert Sidney Bowen, Charles Greenberg, & Norvell W. Page
For nearly 20 years, Dan Fowler and his G-men battled crimedom in the pages of G-Men Detective. Now, author Tom Johnson has indexed each issue, listing everything you need to know about the series. Also included are complete reprints of the two best Dan Fowler stories as chosen by Johnson and pulp historian Will Murray: “Give ‘Em Hell” by Norvell W. Page and “Bullet Justice” by Charles Greenberg. And reprinted in its entirety for the first time: “I Cover the Murder Front,” the lost, rejected Dan Fowler story.
Featuring additional articles by Johnson and Murray, this is the ultimate history of the series.
414 pages | $34.95 softcover | $44.95 hardcover
The Green Lama: The Complete Pulp Adventures Volume 1
by Kendell Foster Crossen, Illustrated by V.E. Pyles, Introduction by Will Murray
by Kendell Foster Crossen, Illustrated by V.E. Pyles, Introduction by Will Murray
Om! Ma-ni pad-me Hum! The first of its kind, the complete adventures of the Green Lama follows the adventures of Buddhist Jethro Dumont and his aides as the battle the forces of evil in the western world.
Written by Kendell Foster Crossen, it’s non-stop action in the vein of The Shadow!
Never completely reprinted before, the series is collected in three volumes. Each volume contains an all-new introduction, focusing on a different aspect of the character’s life across several forms of
popular media. Volume 1 contains in introduction by Will Murray and features the first five stories: “The Case of the Crimson Hand,” “The Case of the Croesus of Murder,” “The Case of Babies for Sale,” “The Case of the Wave of Death,” and “The Case of the Man Who Wasn’t There.”
popular media. Volume 1 contains in introduction by Will Murray and features the first five stories: “The Case of the Crimson Hand,” “The Case of the Croesus of Murder,” “The Case of Babies for Sale,” “The Case of the Wave of Death,” and “The Case of the Man Who Wasn’t There.”
524 pages | $34.95 softcover | $44.95 hardcover
NOTE: Volumes 2 and 3 will follow immediately after the release of Volume 1.
Riding the Pulp Trail
by Paul S. Powers, Edited by Laurie Powers
by Paul S. Powers, Edited by Laurie Powers
Most fans of Western fiction know Paul S. Powers as one of the foundation authors of the famous pulp magazine of the 1930s and 1940s, Wild West Weekly. Now, for the first time, are twelve Paul Powers stories written in the years after Wild West Weekly stopped publication. Six of these stories were published in magazines such as Exciting Western, Thrilling Western, The Rio Kid Western and Thrilling Ranch Stories. The other six are brand new stories – never before published – that were discovered in 2009. Altogether they make for an outstanding collection of western stories that represent the glory years of the Western short story and the best of Powers’ prolific pulp Western career.
350 pages | $29.95 softcover | $39.95 hardcover
Alias The Whirlwind
by Johnston McCulley and Tom Johnson
by Johnston McCulley and Tom Johnson
Written in the depths of The Depression, this collects the entire saga of The Whirlwind, Johnston (Zorro) McCulley’s other Southwestern hero of the Old West!
Never before reprinted, this omnibus includes an all-new Whirlwind adventure by novelist Tom Johnson.
228 pages | $19.95 softcover | $29.95 hardcover
Secret Agent “X” – The Complete Series Volume 5
by Paul Chadwick & G.T. Fleming-Roberts, Introduction by Tom Johnson
by Paul Chadwick & G.T. Fleming-Roberts, Introduction by Tom Johnson
For 41 issues from 1934 to 1939, SECRET AGENT “X” battled the forces of evil in the pages of his own pulp magazine. Now, for the first time… the complete pulp series is being reprinted in nine deluxe omnibus editions! The text has been reset and all the original interior illustrations have been remastered. This volume contains the next five stories, by Paul Chadwick and G.T. Fleming-Roberts: “MONARCH OF MURDER,” “LEGION OF THE LIVING DEAD,” “HORDE OF THE DAMNED,” “RINGMASTER OF DOOM” and “KINGDOM OF BLUE CORPSES.” This is THE Secret Agent “X” reprint series to own!
576 pages | $34.95 softcover | $44.95 hardcover
Secret Agent “X” – The Complete Series Volume 6
Authored by G.T. Fleming-Roberts & Paul Chadwick, Introduction by Tom Johnson
Authored by G.T. Fleming-Roberts & Paul Chadwick, Introduction by Tom Johnson
For 41 issues from 1934 to 1939, SECRET AGENT “X” battled the forces of evil in the pages of his own pulp magazine. Now, for the first time… the complete pulp series is being reprinted in nine deluxe omnibus editions! The text has been reset and all the original interior illustrations have been remastered. This volume contains the next five stories, by G.T. Fleming-Roberts and Paul Chadwick: “BRAND OF THE METAL MAIDEN,” “DIVIDENDS OF DOOM,” “THE FEAR MERCHANTS,” “FACELESS FURY” and “SUBTERRANEAN SCOURGE.” This is THE Secret Agent
“X” reprint series to own!
“X” reprint series to own!
492 pages | $34.95 softcover | $44.95 hardcover
The Complete Adventures of Senorita Scorpion Volume 1
by Les Savage Jr, Introduction by Will Murray
by Les Savage Jr, Introduction by Will Murray
Saddle up! Taken from their original appearances ACTION STORIES from 1944-45, this book collects the first four adventures of Senorita Scorpion: “Senorita Scorpion,” “The Brand of Senorita Scorpion,” “Secret of Santiago” and “The Curse of Montezuma.” Volume 1 also includes an all-new introduction by pulp historian Will Murray.
308 pages | $29.95 softcover | $39.95 hardcover
HONEY WEST BACK IN ACTION!
From Howard Hopkins, http://networkedblogs.com/gXwWB
I’m pleased to announce I will be editing and contributing to a brand new anthology of short stories dedicated to the ’60s sexy PI chick Honey West.
Honey West began as a series of paperbacks in 1957 with This Girl For Hire, written by the husband and wife team of Gloria and Forest Fickling under the penname G.G. Fickling. The novels were a tad risque for their time and ran 10 novels through the ’60s, with two more in an early ’70s comeback. They became a cult favorite TV series in 1965-66, starring Anne Francis and running some 30 episodes, and while the toplessness might have been toned down for prime time, Anne was still allowed to be a slinky sexy investigator with a big pus–um, ocelot, named Bruce, at her side. She was one of the first female private eyes on television, given to quips and leopard print outfits, though the series made her a bit more like The Avengers’ Emma Peel, with Judo expertise, exploding compacts and other gadgets. Unfortunately, that very tact helped contribute to her demise on TV because it was cheaper for the network to import The Avengers than to continue with the series.
Recently Moonstone began a new series of Honey West comic books, written by the much talented Trina Robbins, who is slated to pen a brand new tale for this anthology. A number of other talented scribes have been brought aboard as well, such as Elaine Lee, Will Murray, Mark Ellis, CJ Henderson and Mel Odom, along with some surprises.
It promises to to be a Honey of a book.
MOONSTONE ANNOUNCES AVENGER: JUSTICE, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS!
TOC: ‘The Avenger: The Justice Inc Files’ Edited by Joe Gentile & Howard Hopkins
Here’s the table of contents for the upcoming The Avenger: The Justice Inc Files edited by Joe Gentile & Howard Hopkins, available next month from Moonstone Books:
- “East Wind, Rain” by Paul Kupperberg
- “Invisible Empire” by Matthew Baugh
- “Vengeance, Inc.” by Howard Hopkins
- “Whiteout” by Robyn Wayne Bailey
- “Happy Death Men” by Win Scott Eckert
- “Vengeance is Mine” by Ron Fortier
- “The Devil’s Workmen” by Barry Reese
- “Dead Man’s Vengeance” by Eric Fein
- “The Breath of Destruction” by Frank Schildiner
- “Devil’s Dark Harvest” by Christopher Paul Carey
- “Snow Blind” by Mark Ellis
- “The Changeling” by Will Murray
- “The Medicine Murders” by B. Chris Bell
- “The Blood Moons” by David Michelinie
Ben McKenzie, Bryan Cranston, Katee Sackhoff, and Eliza Dushku cast in animated ‘Batman: Year One’
The voice cast has been revealed for the animated version of Frank Miller’s [[[Batman: Year One]]], which premieres in July at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con. Heat Vision reports that Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) will provide the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with [[[Breaking Bad]]] star Bryan Cranston portraying Lt. James Gordon. Katee Sackhoff ([[[Battlestar Galactica]]]) is voicing Detective Sarah Essen, and Eliza Dushku ([[[Dollhouse]]]) will voice Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Alex Rocco (Moe Greene from The Godfather) will be the voice of Carmine Falcone.
Tab Murphy ([[[Superman/Batman:Apocalypse]]]) adapted the script, and Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery ([[[Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths]]]) are directing. Miller’s original novel lends itself nicely to a film adaptation, and large hunks of the story were used in Christopher Nolan’s [[[Batman Begins]]]. Executive producer Bruce Timm points out:
“The source material is surprisingly cinematic; it’s a pretty straight forward literal retelling. [David] Mazzucchelli’s artwork is beautifully composed and we were able to refer to the comic for about 80 percent of the camera setups.”
Miller’s Year One storyline– along with Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which is also being adapted into an animated version– were both pivotal in restoring a dark and gritty style to the Caped Crusader.
To refresh your memory on Miller’s original 1987 four-issue story arc, “Batman: Year One”:
A young Bruce Wayne spent his adolescence and early adulthood traveling the world so he could hone his body and mind into the perfect fighting and investigative machine. But now as he returns to Gotham City, he must find a way to focus his passion and bring justice to his city.
Retracing Batman’s first attempts to fight injustice as a costumed vigilante, we watch as he chooses the guise of a giant bat, creates an early bond with a young Lieutenant James Gordon, inadvertently plays a role in the birth of Catwoman, and helps to bring down a corrupt political system that infests Gotham.
Batman: Year One comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on September 27th.
Reviews from the 86th Floor: Barry Reese reviews Gideon’s Sword
Gideon’s Sword by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
9780446564328
Preston & Child are the authors of the much-loved Special Agent Pendergast series, the most recent of which (FEVER DREAM) introduced several layers to the series that further cement it as one of the best New Pulps out there. Pendergast is the Shadow, Doc Savage and The Spider, all rounded into one. It’s a tremendous tour-de-force and is highly recommended by this reviewer.
GIDEON’S SWORD is a new series, introducing Gideon Crew, who witnessed his father die in a suspicious manner. Gideon grew up believing his father was a traitor to his country and mentally unbalanced… but the truth is that his father was the fall-guy in a government conspiracy. Armed with this knowledge, Gideon sets out to get revenge — he does so (surprisingly easily) and is then recruited into a shadowy organization (one that was featured in other Preston & Child books, most notably ICE LIMIT). Gideon is also informed that he’s dying and has less than a year to live. He elects to live his life to the fullest and along the way has romantic relationships with both a prostitute with a heart of gold and a lovely CIA agent.
This felt like two books — the story of Gideon’s hunt for his father’s killer and then the story of his becoming a secret agent. The first part was simply awful and almost prompted me to give up on the book. It was trite, silly and at times, just stupid. The way people just gave up sensitive information or engaged in info-dumps for the benefit of the reader was very frustrating. Thankfully, once Gideon is recruited for his later work, things do improve, though they never come close to approaching the quality of every other Preston & Child book that I’ve read. As much as I enjoyed the character of Orchid, how many hookers-with-a-heart-of-gold have we seen in fiction? And while Gideon’s master-of-disguise talents appeal to the pulp lover in me, I didn’t get a clear indication of how Gideon mastered these skills and thus it felt convenient to me. The entire story was utterly predictable, which is not something I would usually say about these authors. Until this book, I would say that their worst work was still better than most authors’ best… but this was a disappointment, from page one.
There are enough signs of hope here that makes me think they could still salvage the series (the authors say they’ve already sold the film rights to (shudder) Michael Bay) but to be honest, I’d prefer to simply pretend this book didn’t happen and go back to enjoying the Pendergast books and the various one-offs that the authors have done (like the excellent ICE LIMIT or RIPTIDE).
I give it 2 out of 5 stars.
HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO NEW WESTERN PULP AT ITS BEST!
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
TRAIL OF THE BURNED MAN
by Thomas McNulty
Linford Western Library, 2009
270 Pages
It’s always interesting to me to look at genres of fiction that were and still are staples within the realm of Pulp, but have somehow drifted away from those roots. None of these is more apparent than the Western. What once was fast paced, dead aimed storytelling full of heroes, villains, guns, horses, shootouts and standoffs has, at least in the hands of some authors, become more about exposition, analysis, and the human condition. Many authors, well known ones even, have simply adapted a post modern take on literature to the western and by virtue of that have watered down an almost distinctly American form of storytelling. Fortunately, there are some notable exceptions, men and women who still wear their six guns proudly and know that all a good man needs in the Old West is a woman better than he is and a villain badder than he is.
Add author Thomas McNulty to that latter group.
TRAIL OF THE BURNED MAN is definitely a New Pulp western written with the distinct flavor of the classics as well as liberally laced with the bravado and rapidity of a modern tale. The characters are full and rich, complete portraits on a canvas of hard living, hair trigger decisions, and six gun action and adventure! The story opens with Rafe Morgan, a man with a reputation, riding into a Wyoming town looking to make a new start for himself. Almost immediately that gets complicated when Morgan gets into a fight with known badman Dutch Williams. Scarred horribly by fire during the fight with Morgan, Williams vows revenge. Morgan ends up staying on, working on Amy O’Hara’s ranch, even after her father, Ethan, also a Deputy U.S. Marshall, encourages Morgan to move on. Soon, Williams enacts his plan for vengeance and involves Amy, Ethan, Rafe, an African American blacksmith, a Shoshone Indian, a young orphan, and an old ranch hand! Oh, and did I mention the Sioux war party and a- no, I’ll let you find that one out yourself.
McNulty fires characters off like bullets from a hogleg. This story is flowing with fully realized images of men and women, good and bad, lost and found. The villain is grotesque and insane as any good Pulp villain would and should be. What stands out for me most, however, are three characters. I say three, but like many classic trios in the past, these men function as one, a sort of Trinity within McNulty’s story. There’s Ethan O’Hara, the Marshall, Adam Washington, the blacksmith, and Black Wolf. the Shoshone Indian. These three men have a connection that goes back beyond the start of this book and one that resonates loudly throughout the whole tale. I’m not sure if McNulty plans to or not, but I would highly encourage him to consider more stories with these three larger than life heroically inspiring characters as the focus.
The only part of TRAIL OF THE BURNED MAN that bothered me in the slightest initially was some of the phrasing. It just didn’t flow like most modern westerns I’d read in the last few years. Then, about page six or so, it hit me. It didn’t flow like most modern westerns because it’s not written like a modern western! This is true old wild west Pulp at its best, full of descriptive phrasing, interesting, tight, concise exposition, and imagery and scene setting that doesn’t get in the way of the blockbuster narrative being told. This is truly a New Pulp classic.
FIVE OF FIVE TIPS OF HANCOCK’S HAT-You won’t find a better New Pulp Western than McNulty’s TRAIL OF THE BURNED MAN. Some will equal it for sure, but there aren’t any better.
MORE WINDY CITY GOODNESS! ON VIDEO!
Continuing the coverage of the Windy City Con, held April 15-17 in Chicago, find for your viewing pleasure below videos done at the con by Mark Halegua, pulp enthusiast, historian, columnist, and writer (http://www.pulps1st.com/)
Walking into the Windy City Dealer Room
Tommy Hancock and Fuller Bumpers, Pro Se Press
Wayne Reinagel, Knightraven Studios
Thomas McNulty, Author and Historian
Will Murray, Author and Historian
John Gunnison, Adventure House Windy City Producer
MORE VIDEO GOODNESS TO COME!
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 4/20/11
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
4/20/11
DOCTOR WHO LEGEND PASSES!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 – Posted by Chuck Foster
It is with great sadness that we report the death of the actress Elisabeth Sladen – forever known to us as the Doctor’s best friend, Sarah Jane Smith.
Born in Liverpool in February 1948, Elisabeth Sladen took an interest in acting from an early age; she joined the Liverpool Playhouse repertory company as assistant stage manager after drama school, where she would meet her future husband Brian Miller. After a stint touring the country in repertory, she settled in Manchester, during which she had her breakthrough television role in 1970, appearing as Anita Reynolds in Coronation Street. More small roles were to follow in popular shows like Doomwatch, Z Cars and Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.
Then in 1973 came what would be her defining role as she was cast as the replacement companion for third Doctor Jon Pertwee. Following in the footsteps of popular companion Jo Grant played by Katy Manning, Sladen was to hit the ground running as investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith in her debut story The Time Warrior, and over the next three years would see her popularity soar as she became part of what is arguably known as the “golden years” of Doctor Who alongside fourth Doctor Tom Baker, an era including the story frequently appearing top of fan polls, Genesis of the Daleks.
Despite choosing to leave the programme in 1976, with an emotional departure scene at the conclusion of the serial The Hand of Fear, Sladen later stated in interviews that although she had left Sarah Jane, “Sarah Jane never left me”. Although she declined producer John Nathan-Turner‘s offer to come back as support for the Fourth Doctor’s regeneration (being present at his own arrival at the end of this week’s DVD release Planet of the Spiders), she did returned to the role for the 1981 pilot: having been described by the Doctor as his best friend, Sarah was form her second long-lasting partnership with his “second-best friend” in the titular K9 and Company.
Sladen was re-united with “her” Doctor, Jon Pertwee, in the 1983 20th anniversary celebration The Five Doctors, and again during the 1990s for the two radio stories The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space, written and produced by the person who originally cast her, Barry Letts – the two would also be joined by another popular Doctor Who legend in the form of Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier.
Outside of Doctor Who, Elisabeth continued to work in theatre and television, often alongside her husband Brian; roles included Josie Hall in Take My Wife, a small role in the film Silver Dream Racer, and as Lady Flimnap in a production of Gulliver in Lilliput by her former producer Barry Letts, followed a few years later in his production of Alice in Wonderland as the Cheshire Cat. However, with the birth of her daughter Sadie in 1985, she was to focus more on her family.
However, Sarah would never be far from her life, with the actress continuing to be a popular guest at Doctor Who conventions, and also featuring in a series of audio adventures from Big Finish. Then, in 2005, a discussion with the revived Doctor Who’s head writer and long-term fan of hers, Russell T Davies, led to a guest appearance in the second series adventure School Reunion, which re-united Sarah (and K9!) with the Doctor in his most recent incarnation (David Tennant) – her appearance proved instrumental in cementing the connection between the 20th and 21st Century productions in a way that the Daleks couldn’t!
The character, and Sladen’s performance, proved to be as popular as ever, if not more so, and led to her own starring role in spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures; the CBBC series continued on from her re-introduction in Doctor Who as an independent investigator of alien activity – now joined by her young own assistants as well as her faithful K9 – and winning a whole new legion of fans, both young and old. It is also a testament to the strength of the show that it has been graced by the appearance of the both the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney), and the Doctor himself in both his Tenth incarnation in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (and David Tennant‘s final performance as the Doctor), and Eleventh in the form of Matt Smith in Death of the Doctor – where Sladen was also to come ‘full circle’ by performing with the actress she ‘replaced’ way back in 1973, Katy Manning, aka Jo Jones né Grant.
The series itself has gone on to win awards, including the Royal Television Society award for Children’s Drama last month.
At the time of her death there are still three stories of The Sarah Jane Adventures to be broadcast on television, and her autobiography, Who’s That Girl is due out later in the year.
Elisabeth Sladen died in the morning of 19th April, having been battling with cancer for some time. She is survived by her husband Brian Miller, and daughter Sadie.
KPSB KEEPS UP WITH THE PULP GOODNESS!
From Kevin Paul Shaw Broden-
REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST
Chapter 19 “Fight For A Ghost”
The action is building to a head as the Masked Ghost’s investigation has lead him to the center of a massive web. Will he survive the night?
FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY Issue #0 Page 4
“I worked very hard to put that part of my life behind me…” as Elsie and Annie continue to debate over the reunion, another attendee is more than happy to await the big day.
Find out the latest in “Generational Glory” our special issue #0
CALL FOR WRITERS ON CHALLENGER ANTHOLOGY!
PROFESSOR CHALLENGER ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Professor Challenger Anthology Submission Guidelines
Editors: J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec
Publisher: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
Genres: SF, Fantasy, Horror, Steampunk, Adventure
Submission deadline: January 31, 2012
Story Length: Approx. 7, 500 words to a maximum of 10,000 words
What we’re after:
A broad range of new and original stories built around Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s LOST WORLD character Professor George Edward Challenger. Stories derived from the aftermath of events in the Lost World are welcome, however simply revisiting or rehashing the Lost World without good cause is not. Challenger is a man of science first and foremost, not an explorer. Mash-ups or crossovers with public domain literary characters are welcome.
For inspiration think X-files, Quatermass, Dr. Who, cryptozoology – Yeti, Nessie, etc…, aliens among us, supernatural occurrences, science gone awry in a Dr. Moreau, Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll vein, nature run amuck, monsters large and small, world threatening cataclysm, Lovecraft mythos, think H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, E. R. Burroughs, John Wyndham, Nigel Kneale, alternate history, new lost places, steampunk, whatever…. Be creative.
Mine the potential for all it’s worth! Push it out there, get weird, play, have fun!
Notes: This is a professional market. Full rate to 7,500 words, half rate for balance to 10,000 words. One time publication rights. The anthology is part invitation and part open submission. Priority will be given to invited authors, but an invitation to submit is not a guarantee of acceptance. A minimum of two slots will be held for open submissions. Acceptance is based entirely on suitability of story and quality of writing. No reprints.
Submission Format:
Email submission in Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Microsoft Word (.doc) attachments only. Use standard manuscript format. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuscript_format#Basic_manuscript_formatting)
Send submissions to charles@bakerstreetdozen.com and/or themightyjrc@shaw.ca
