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YET ANOTHER ONE OF THE SPECTACLED SEVEN REVEALS HIMSELF!

  • News
  • December 3, 2010
BOBBY  NASH-Writer, Columnist and member of ALL PULP’S SPECTACLED SEVEN!
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AP: Bobby, thanks for putting away your convention travelin’ shoes and visiting with ALL PULP today. Tell us first, just who is Bobby Nash?
BN: Bobby Nash is a mystery wrapped in an enigma with a candy coated outer shell, a man who travels from town to town sharing tall tales with anyone who will listen.  He–  Oh, you wanted a serious answer.  Well, in that case Bobby Nash is a writer of novels, comic books, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and the occasional article, interview, column, and screenplay.
My official bio goes a little something like this:
From his secret lair in the wilds of Bethlehem, Georgia, Bobby Nash writes. A multitasker, Bobby’s certain that he does not suffer from ADD, but instead he… ooh, shiny. When he finally manages to put fingers to the keyboard, Bobby writes novels (Evil Ways, Fantastix), comic books (Fuzzy Bunnies From Hell, Demonslayer), short prose (A Fistful of Legends, Full Throttle Space Tales Vol. 2: Space Sirens), novellas (Lance Star: Sky Ranger, Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery), graphic novels (Yin Yang, I Am Googol: The Great Invasion), and even a little pulp fiction (Domino Lady, Secret Agent X) just for good measure.  Despite what his brother says, Bobby is not addicted to buying DVD box sets and can quit anytime he wants to. You can check out Bobby’s work at http://bobby-nash-news.blogspot.com, www.bobbynash.com, www.facebook.com/bobbyenash, www.twitter.com/bobbynash, and www.lance-star.com, among other places across the web.
AP: You’re a writer. When did you start writing and how did you end up writing in the pulp field?
BN: I started out writing comic book stories that I could draw because I wanted to be a comic book artist. Eventually, I realized that I would never make a living drawing comics, but I was told my stories showed promise.  When I was in high school English class we used to get a list of words each week that we had to use in a sentence, but there was no challenge there so I asked the teacher if I could write a story and incorporate those words.  He said fine and off I went. To challenge myself further I started writer cliffhangers and would have to use next week’s works to help get my characters out of whatever jam I’d gotten them into this week.  I took these characters on grand adventures around the world.  It was a lot of fun.  One of the stories was published in a literary magazine so I guess that was my first pulp story.
Eventually I started writing comics for various publishers.  I was having a ball with it, but one day I decided to write a sci fi novel, so I did.  It needed a lot of work, but the story was told.  I guess I was doing NA NO RI MO before I even knew what that was.  Ha! Ha!  I decided to try it again and started on a story that would eventually become Evil Ways, which turned out to be my first published novel.
Cut to a couple years later at Dragon Con in Atlanta and I’m set up in artist alley next to Ron Fortier, who I knew as a comic book writer.  We talked writing a bit and he went home with a copy of Evil Ways, which he read and also reviewed on his Pulp Fiction Reviews site.  When Ron started up what would become known as Airship 27 he invited me along to work on the anthology that became Lance Star: Sky Ranger.  I had so much fun writing that one that I wrote Domino Lady, Secret Agent X, Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery, and more Lance Star.  The rest, as they say, is history.
AP: Can you give us a quick overview of what you’ve written?
BN: Sure. Here’s a list of my published works.
Novels: Evil Ways and Fantastix: Code Red. 
Short story, novella, and anthology work: Lance Star: Sky Ranger Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 [Airship 27 Prod./Cornerstone Books], Startling Stories Magazine [Wild Cat Books], Sentinels Widescreen Special Edition [White Rocket Books], Full Throttle Space Tales Vol. 2: Space Sirens [Flying Pen Press], Sentinels: Alternate Visions [White Rocket Books], Domino Lady: Sex As A Weapon [Moonstone Books], Shadow One: Shades Of Gray [BEN Books], Real Magicalism [Daemon Press], and A Fistful of Legends [Express Westerns].
Comic books and graphic novels: Life In The Faster Lane, Fuzzy Bunnies From Hell [FYI Comics], Bubba The Redneck Werewolf [Brass Ball Comics], Demonslayer [Avatar Press], Threshold [Avatar Press], Doc Dresden: The Immortal [Odyssey Comics], Jungle Fantasy [Avatar Press], The Garden [Planetary Stories], Fantastix [FYI Comics], Yin Yang [Arcana Comics], and Lance Star: Sky Ranger [BEN Books].
AP: You’re closely associated with Lance Star, Sky Ranger. Who is Lance and what inspired you to create an aviator hero?
BN: Lance Star is a pulp-inspired aviator hero in the vein of G-8, Airboy, Captain Midnight, and Bill Barnes with just a little bit of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure.  Along with his Sky Rangers, Lance Star is a globetrotting adventurer.  Whether they are fighting pirates off the coast of Hawaii, traveling to far off hidden mystical lands, running afoul of spies and saboteurs, or battling evil doers, the Sky Rangers are there.
Lance Star and the Sky Rangers were created as a group effort when the first anthology was being put together.  Since I took ownership of the copyright I tweaked a few things, but the Sky Rangers remains heroic pulp characters much as they were in their first adventure in 2006.
AP: Pulp is a genre that wanes and waxes in popularity. What do you think is the reason for the current increase in popularity of Pulp today and how can writers and artists of new Pulp, such as yourself, make sure that Pulp becomes even more well known than it is and doesn’t see a downturn?
BN: Like everything, pulp will have its high and low points of popularity, but these things are cyclical so they will eventually come back around. All pulp creators can do is tell the best darn stories they can. Readers will find good stories.
AP: What about Pulp appeals to you as a writer?
BN: Pulp stories appeal to me because they are simple, fun adventures.  I enjoy involved storytelling as much as the next guy, but sometimes I want a simple, fun, balls-to-the-wall adventure I can enjoy. I find pulp stories a joy to write.
AP: You’ve got a novel under your belt that might have some pulp overtones. What is EVIL WAYS about?
BN: Evil Ways is a mystery thriller novel.  It is planned as a first in a series featuring FBI Agent Harold Palmer.  I have already started a second novel titled Evil Intent.  My plan is to complete the novel in 2011 and shop it around to publishers.  The current publishing contract for Evil Ways ends in August of 2011 and I plan to (hopefully) rerelease it elsewhere as well.
Here’s the synopsis for Evil Ways:
A close call on the job sends FBI agent Harold Palmer on a non-voluntary vacation.  At his wife’s insistence, Harold travels from Washington DC to Sommersville, Georgia where his brother, former Atlanta Journal Constitution investigative journalist Franklin Palmer, owns and operates the local newspaper.  After a really intense story, Franklin called it quits and moved on to quieter surroundings, hoping to have put corruption and murder behind him.
Unfortunately, that kind of evil is not consigned only to major cities, as Franklin Palmer soon learns when another body is found inside Fort Greene State Park.  He sees the timely arrival of his federal agent brother as his means to solve the case.
Also looking to recruit the help of the FBI agent is Sommersville Sheriff Tom Myers, who openly admits that he is out of his depth on the case.  Multiple homicides are not something with which he has had much experience.
Reluctantly, Harold agrees to work with the two men to solve the case.
While the investigation proceeds, many visitors come home to Sommerville for the annual Autumn Festival as well as Sommersville High’s ten-year reunion.  The town is abuzz with excitement.
Until the next victim is found. 
As EVIL WAYS builds to its startling outcome, Harold, Franklin, and Sheriff Myers find themselves between a sadistic killer who feeds on the fear of his prey and the unsuspecting victims still on the killer’s hit list.
They should fear his evil ways.
One of the best reviews of Evil Ways said (paraphrasing) “Imagine if Die Hard’s John McClane found himself in a horror movie.” I love that and I use it all the time when telling people about the book.
AP: Writers often get into a story because of personal interests. What interests brought you to write EVIL WAYS?
BN: Not really. Evil Ways started out as a potential screenplay idea for a friend of mine who was wanting to shoot his first feature length movie.  I came up with a story that utilized locations I knew we had access to and wrote for the actors available.  When that didn’t happen I reworked and added to it for the novel.  At the time I was doing that I did go to my ten year high school reunion and that gave me the reason to have all of the characters coming back to town in the story.  My reunion wasn’t necessarily as exciting as the one in the novel, but at least we all survived it.  Ha! Ha!
The two main protagonists, Harold and Franklin Palmer are brothers.  I was talking a writing class at the time I wrote Evil Ways and I read some pages with the brothers and several of the others told me that they didn’t “feel” like brothers.  I worked at it, but something was missing.  Finally, I decided to give one of the brothers my personality and the other my brothers and then wrote how we interact.  Suddenly, people could tell they were brothers without me telling them.  I learned a lot about casting my characters that day.
AP: Your main character is a FBI agent pulled into this suspense thriller. Was there any inspiration for Harold Palmer or is this a case of the writer writing himself into the tale?
BN: I don’t recall any specific reason for making Harold an FBI agent other than I thought it would make for a nice dynamic between him and the local sheriff when they meet and find themselves working together to stop a killer.  As I mentioned before, the part of Harold that is “me” is his personality when it comes to interacting with his brother.  A secondary concern that came near the end of writing the novel was an idea for a second novel featuring Harold Palmer.  That caused me to add a few tweaks to his job with the FBI and also led to the opening chapter being added to set up book two.  The first thing you read in Evil Ways was actually the last thing I wrote for it.

AP: You have a background in comics as well, including the Lance Star ONE SHOT. What other comics have you worked on. Any you would consider pulp comics or at least having pulp influences or connections?
BN: Comics were my first love. I started reading them when I was a kid after discovering the 60’s Spider-man cartoon in syndication, but really got into them in my teenage years.  The first comics I remember owning came in a 3-pack.  Amazing Spider-man 192, 193, and 194.  I still have them to this day.  We moved when I was twelve and the first new friends I made at my new school were comic fans and they were also big into creating their own comics.  After that I was hooked.
I’ve bounced around with some local productions and even published a fanzine for a few years called Odyssey Magazine.  My first professional comic writing gig was on Marat Mychaels’ Demonslayer, published by Avatar Press. I also worked on Threshold and Jungle Fantasy for Avatar.  For 12 years I wrote and drew Life In The Faster Lane for Keeping Up With Kids Magazine, which was a lot of fun.  I also wrote Fuzzy Bunnies From Hell, Bubba The Redneck Werewolf (a back up story), Doc Dresden: The Immortal, Fantastix, Yin Yang, Lance Star: Sky Ranger, and The Garden (for Planetary Stories online magazine).  Coming up I have I Am Googol: The Great Invasion, more Lance star: Sky Ranger, and a few projects I can’t talk about quite yet.
AP: Expanding on the last question, many fans and creators agree that pulps gave birth to a lot of ideas we now see in comic books. Are pulps still a viable source of comic inspiration or are the two more or less influencing/encouraging one another now idea wise?
BN: Sure.  I think there are comic book characters that fit the definition of pulp.  I also think there are pulp characters that will translate well into comics.  I’m actually working on a comic book anthology featuring pulp characters and it was interesting to see these characters in that format.
AP: You are known for attending conventions seemingly year round. How many conventions did you attend this year?
BN: As of today, I have been a guest at 15 conventions this year.  This coming weekend I’ll be at the first Wizard World Atlanta Comic Con and there is a 1 day show in Charlotte, NC in December I may attend.  That would bring my total to 16 or 17 for the year.
AP: What is the draw for you to attend conventions? Is it more than just selling product?
BN: Absolutely.  I have a lot of fun at conventions whether they are money makers or not.  Obviously, I would prefer to cover my costs and bring a little extra home, but that doesn’t always happen.  Sometimes it does.  Not only are the cons a great ways to meet your fans and promote and sell your books, but it’s also a great place to meet new people and visit new places you’ve never been before.  Plus, it gets me out of the house.  I love ‘em.  I’d do more if I could afford it.
AP: What about the future? What do you have in the works that might appeal to the ALL PULP audience?
BN: There are plans for some upcoming pulpy stuff from me.  I recently turned in my story for Lance Star: Sky Ranger anthology vol. 3, which will be out sometime in 2011.  I’m about halfway on a lance Star: Sky Ranger novel titled “Cold Snap” for next year as well.  The Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery anthology should be out in either December or January and features a story by me.  Other anthologies in the works are Secret Agent X, The Wraith, Mars McCoy: Space Ranger, and a few other surprises.  The aforementioned are from Airship 27 and Cornerstone Books.  I’ve also written a Green Hornet tale for Moonstone and have turned in stories for Aym Geronimo and the post Modern Pioneers: Tall Tales and Tales From The Zero Hour: Weird Tales. I’m also planning more Lance Star: Sky Ranger comic books as well.  I’m also shopping around and writing more novels.  Plus, a few hush-hush items I’ll have to tell you about later.
2011 looks to be a busy year for me.
AP: Bobby, ALL PULP appreciates you stopping by! See ya on the road!
BN: My pleasure.

INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BOOP!!!

  • News
  • December 3, 2010
DAVID BOOP-Pulp Writer
AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.
DB: I’m a single dad, full time employee, returning college student and author. I’ve gone in and out of pulp fandom over the years, but keep coming back. I guess I’m here to stay this time. Heh. I mostly came at it from the film industry; the serials, film noir, and pulp mysteries. I didn’t get into the pulp heroes until later, maybe late eighties.
AP: What does pulp mean to you?
DB: There are many ways to look at pulp, from the pure meaning of books published quickly and cheaply in the 30s-40s, to the style of writing you get when you publish quickly and cheaply. They didn’t have the time to develop complicated plots and deep characters. These guys were straight forward, courageous and everything they weren’t and wanted to be. I considered that when I created Gridiron. I was never into sports and don’t do well with pain. *snicker* He’s able to handle both. I wanted to make someone I could hope to be when the chips were down.
AP: Your novel, She Murdered Me with Science is a mix of noir action and good old-fashioned pulp adventure. What was your inspiration for the novel and do you have any plans to return to the world introduced in She Murdered Me With Science?
DB: The novel came from a dream, mostly what you see in the prolog of the book; a hairless man, running down an alleyway, trying to flee someone unseen. He thinks he’s escaped into a crowd of people when all of a sudden his head explodes. I woke up wanting to know what killed him and why. I knew I didn’t have the answer, so I had to invent someone who could. I came up with my scientist-detective and set him in a pulp-noir world of hideous hit men, dangerous dames and strange science. As for returning, yes. I’m currently working on the follow-up, Murdered in a Mechanical World (and I’m a Mechanical Girl).
AP: You have worked on shorter pulp tales Full Throttle Space Tales, Tales Of The Talisman, 2020 Visions, Six Guns Straight from Hell, and Mystery Men vol. 1, plus others.  What draws you to these shorter tales?
DB: When I get an idea, I kind of know instinctually how much story it’s going to need to be realized. Most of the ideas I get don’t have a full novel in them. Thank God, or otherwise, I’d never sleep. Sometimes I’ll also test the waters of the world/characters by writing it as a short and seeing if it has legs for a novel.
AP: Do you have a favorite genre in which to work or do you like to play the field and work in as many different genres as possible?
DB: I get inspiration across all spectrums. I love writing with a noir panache. I enjoy crossing genres, especially. Weird westerns are my current blend of choice. As mentioned, I’m also spending time back in the fifties for MG, so that infusing my work with that pulp mentality again.
AP: What, if any, existing characters would you like to try your hand at writing?
DB: Indiana Jones, hands down. I’ve been bugging Lucasbooks for years. I have both a short and novel waiting for them. I wish I could have written the Phantom before it left Moonstone. I might have one or two tie-ins in the near future, but those are super secret projects. Shhhhh!
AP: Who are some of your creative influences?
DB: For classics: Rex Stout, Dashiell Hammett, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Modern word slingers include Alan Dean Foster, Mike Stackpole, Michael Connelly, Kevin J. Anderson.
AP: What does David Boop do when he’s not writing?
DB: Mostly, focus on my son. He’s autistic and needs a lot of attention. I feel blessed, as the situation could have been so much worse had we not caught it as early as we did. I’ve learned a lot about patience. I also watch a lot of movies, read comics, and other geeky endeavors. Oh, and date. But we’re not talking horror stories today. *snicker*  
AP: Where can readers find learn more about you and your work?
DB: http://www.davidboop.com/. I have interviews, a page for each of my works, and good clean fun like the “Finding Bobby Nash” game. You’d like it.
AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?
DB: I have three anthos in the fourth quarter: Mystery Men (and Women) Vol 1., Six-Guns Straight From Hell, and 2020 Visions. In the first q, I have my first non-crossed-over mystery in a new mystery magazine called “Bête Noire.” Also, I should be able to announce one of those secret projects before Christmas, if all goes well.
AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you?
DB: Not until late in the first quarter, unless you’re in Colorado Springs. I do COSine every January. Then in May, you can find me in Arkansas at PulpArk.
AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a writer?
DB: If writing was not your focus before now, go back to school, get good critical feedback from a creative writing course, then surround yourself with other people hungry as you to be published and read. Oh, and go to conventions, learn about publishing from the pros. Find out their mistakes and don’t repeat them. Make all new ones. You will, and that’s just fine.
AP: Thanks, David.

Reviews from the 86th Floor – Book Reviews by Barry Reese

  • News
  • December 3, 2010


This book is a bit of an odd beast. It’s set in between the first and second trilogies in the Sentinels series and is comprised of a couple of shorts from the creator (Van Allen Plexico), a bunch of short stories by other authors set in the Sentinels Universe, an essay on the origin and development of the series and an Official Handbook of sorts to the various characters. As with any anthology, there are stories that work better than others. I can honestly say that there are no absolute stinkers in the bunch, though there are certainly stories that didn’t really click with me for whatever reason. There is also art sprinkled throughout the book and the vast majority of it features Pulsar (which is fine with me, as she’s my favorite character in the Sentinels universe). The piece on page 41 by Gary Bedell is my favorite and I wish he’d contributed more than just that one image. My favorite stores in the book were: “Best Laid Plans” by Wayne Skiver, “The Camping Trip” by Ron Fortier, “The Road to Hell” by Bobby Nash and “The Adventures of Captain Cook” by David Wright. That last one is a really odd piece but I found myself quite interested in the “behind the scenes” storyline dealing with the Captain Cook series. As for Van’s two ‘official’ contributions, the second one was a lot of fun but the first one didn’t really impress me. There were some cute moments but it kind of felt like a “fill-in” or “inventory” story. I think I get what Van was going for — something lighter than the usual Sentinels fare but I thought some of the humorous moments missed the mark. “Future Shocked” was a major improvement, however. Actually, what I enjoyed more than anything was “The Making of the Sentinels” which summarizes how Van came up with the core concepts and developed them. I’ve always enjoyed those kinds of things and this piece was more than a little inspiring.

In summary, is this an essential piece of the Sentinels saga? Eh, I don’t know. It is fun, though and if you’re a fan of the Sentinels Universe, I’d recommend it. I would NOT recommend that anyone start their journey into the Sentinels universe with this book, however. Start with the original trilogy and if you enjoy that, try Alternate Visions.

BOBBY NASH and ALL PULP INTERVIEW CHUCK DIXON!!!

  • News
  • December 3, 2010

Chuck Dixon-Comic Creator and Pulp Writer

AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.

CD: If you want to know the history of comics you have to go back to the newspaper strips and the pulps. Those are the parents of the comic book. In the 70s they were reprinting a lot of stuff so I got to sample G-8, the Shadow, Conan, Captain Future and lots of other classic pulp characters.

AP: What does pulp mean to you?

CD: Story. Story. Story. Pulp is pure plot advancement and action. No pretense to literature or art. Pulp has become our literature. Lost is pulp. What you see on the bestselling book lists is all pulp. Most of our movies are pulp. But there’s art there nonetheless. Cormac McCarthy is literary pulp.

AP: You are known as a writer of comic books and pulp stories. How did you get your start and what was your first published work in each?

CD: I’m like 99.99% comic book writer. A few pulpy short stories as opposed to thousands of comics scripts.

My first paying work was for an awful Heavy Metal rip-off called Gasm. That was like 1978. I futzed around on the edge after that for a few years and then got a break on Airboy and Savage Sword of Conan almost simultaneously. My first pulp thing was a Kolchak story for Moonstone.

AP: You have worked on short prose tales for Domino Lady and The Spider Chronicles. What draws you to these shorter stories and can we expect to see more short pulp from you in the future?

CD: What draws me to short stories is my fear of working in prose. I only wrote those stories because Joe Gentile at Moonstone dared me. The idea of writing a long form novel is intimidating to me. I’m a comic book writer through and through. The only reason I would turn to writing prose full time would be out of desperation. And wasn’t that what drove most pulp writers?

AP: Mixing comic books and pulp has brought some interesting characters to the masses. Airboy was one of those characters. How did you come to be associated with Airboy? What is it about this character that continues to thrill readers?

CD: I think there’s a core improbability to the character that’s appealing. Here’s this kid with this ridiculous plane who gets to kill bad guys in the name of his country. No parental supervision and he winds up with one of the hottest characters in comics as his girlfriend. Pure wish-fulfillment fantasy.

AP: You’ve written many comic books and are often associated with the Batman family of titles as well as kick starting one of my favorite titles, Birds Of Prey. What is it about writing comics that keeps you coming back for more and are there any areas in comics that you’ve not worked in that you would like to try your hand?

CD: I dream of writing an ongoing daily strip. Though, these days, that’s like dreaming of being a radio scripter.

AP: What, if any, existing pulp or comic book characters would you like to try your hand at writing?

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CD: Fantastic Four, the Jetsons and the Lone Ranger. The Shadow would be fun. I actually got to meet Walter Gibson. What a workhorse that guy was! And a self-effacing gentleman to talk to. Probably the first real writer I’d ever met. Also, the Lone Ranger. And any of the Edgar Rice Burroughs characters.

AP: Who are some of your creative influences?

CD: Aw, anything. I’m a very eclectic reader. Anything from Jim Thompson to P.G. Wodehouse. In comics my biggest influence was Archie Goodwin. A massive talent a mentor to me when I was trying to break in with my weak efforts. Stan Lee as well. Charles Schulz to a great extent and Larry Hama who was my first editor at Marvel and really helped me polish my craft for the bigs.

AP: It’s understood that pulps inspired many comic book creations. Are pulps still a viable source of comic book inspiration or are the two more or less influencing/encouraging one another now idea wise?

CD: They’re the same genre in different mediums.

AP: What does Chuck Dixon do when he’s not writing?

CD: I’m always writing! Naps are nice. I enjoy walking and getting to the shooting range when I can.

AP: Where can readers learn more about you and your work?

CD: My website at either dixonverse.net or thedixonverse.com. Lots more about me there and a message board I frequent.

AP: Any current or upcoming projects you would like to mention?

CD: For lovers of pulpy SF, I have a new Alien Legion mini-series coming out soon from Dark Horse. Larry Stroman on pencils and Carl Potts inking. Fun stuff. I’m also on two GI Joe titles including Snake Eyes new monthly coming in May. And I’ve written some scripts for a new Spongebob Squarepants comic from Bongo.

AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings where fans can meet you?

CD: Nothing in the foreseeable future.

AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a writer?

CD: You won’t be working for publishing houses, you’ll be working for people. Your rapport with your editor is the most important working relationship of your life. Rather than schmooze your way into work, find editors you have something in common with; share a common goal with. It makes life easier. For both of you.

AP: Thanks, Chuck.

  • News
  • December 3, 2010

Chuck Dixon-Comic Creator and Pulp Writer

AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.

CD: If you want to know the history of comics you have to go back to the newspaper strips and the pulps. Those are the parents of the comic book. In the 70s they were reprinting a lot of stuff so I got to sample G-8, the Shadow, Conan, Captain Future and lots of other classic pulp characters.

AP: What does pulp mean to you?

CD: Story. Story. Story. Pulp is pure plot advancement and action. No pretense to literature or art. Pulp has become our literature. Lost is pulp. What you see on the bestselling book lists is all pulp. Most of our movies are pulp. But there’s art there nonetheless. Cormac McCarthy is literary pulp.

AP: You are known as a writer of comic books and pulp stories. How did you get your start and what was your first published work in each?

CD: I’m like 99.99% comic book writer. A few pulpy short stories as opposed to thousands of comics scripts.

My first paying work was for an awful Heavy Metal rip-off called Gasm. That was like 1978. I futzed around on the edge after that for a few years and then got a break on Airboy and Savage Sword of Conan almost simultaneously. My first pulp thing was a Kolchak story for Moonstone.

AP: You have worked on short prose tales for Domino Lady and The Spider Chronicles. What draws you to these shorter stories and can we expect to see more short pulp from you in the future?

CD: What draws me to short stories is my fear of working in prose. I only wrote those stories because Joe Gentile at Moonstone dared me. The idea of writing a long form novel is intimidating to me. I’m a comic book writer through and through. The only reason I would turn to writing prose full time would be out of desperation. And wasn’t that what drove most pulp writers?

AP: Mixing comic books and pulp has brought some interesting characters to the masses. Airboy was one of those characters. How did you come to be associated with Airboy? What is it about this character that continues to thrill readers?

CD: I think there’s a core improbability to the character that’s appealing. Here’s this kid with this ridiculous plane who gets to kill bad guys in the name of his country. No parental supervision and he winds up with one of the hottest characters in comics as his girlfriend. Pure wish-fulfillment fantasy.

AP: You’ve written many comic books and are often associated with the Batman family of titles as well as kick starting one of my favorite titles, Birds Of Prey. What is it about writing comics that keeps you coming back for more and are there any areas in comics that you’ve not worked in that you would like to try your hand?

CD: I dream of writing an ongoing daily strip. Though, these days, that’s like dreaming of being a radio scripter.

AP: What, if any, existing pulp or comic book characters would you like to try your hand at writing?

CD: Fantastic Four, the Jetsons and the Lone Ranger. The Shadow would be fun. I actually got to meet Walter Gibson. What a workhorse that guy was! And a self-effacing gentleman to talk to. Probably the first real writer I’d ever met. Also, the Lone Ranger. And any of the Edgar Rice Burroughs characters.

AP: Who are some of your creative influences?

CD: Aw, anything. I’m a very eclectic reader. Anything from Jim Thompson to P.G. Wodehouse. In comics my biggest influence was Archie Goodwin. A massive talent a mentor to me when I was trying to break in with my weak efforts. Stan Lee as well. Charles Schulz to a great extent and Larry Hama who was my first editor at Marvel and really helped me polish my craft for the bigs.

AP: It’s understood that pulps inspired many comic book creations. Are pulps still a viable source of comic book inspiration or are the two more or less influencing/encouraging one another now idea wise?

CD: They’re the same genre in different mediums.

AP: What does Chuck Dixon do when he’s not writing?

CD: I’m always writing! Naps are nice. I enjoy walking and getting to the shooting range when I can.

AP: Where can readers learn more about you and your work?

CD: My website at either dixonverse.net or thedixonverse.com. Lots more about me there and a message board I frequent.

AP: Any current or upcoming projects you would like to mention?

CD: For lovers of pulpy SF, I have a new Alien Legion mini-series coming out soon from Dark Horse. Larry Stroman on pencils and Carl Potts inking. Fun stuff. I’m also on two GI Joe titles including Snake Eyes new monthly coming in May. And I’ve written some scripts for a new Spongebob Squarepants comic from Bongo.

AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings where fans can meet you?

CD: Nothing in the foreseeable future.

AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a writer?

CD: You won’t be working for publishing houses, you’ll be working for people. Your rapport with your editor is the most important working relationship of your life. Rather than schmooze your way into work, find editors you have something in common with; share a common goal with. It makes life easier. For both of you.

AP: Thanks, Chuck.

NEWSSTAND NIGHTHAWK EDITION 12/2/10

  • News
  • December 3, 2010
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
NIGHTHAWK EDITION
12/2/10
THIS WEEK ON THE BOOK CAVE!!
The Book Cave Episode 103: Bobby Nash’s Evil Ways

Bobby Nash joins Ric to talk about his Evil Ways. Art is out this week doing experiments on his neighbors.  ;-) After the show Tommy Hancock gives us all the Pulp news with All Pulp
Check out ALL PULP’S official podcast, THE BOOK CAVE here-http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/

UPCOMING INTERVIEWS ON ALL PULP!!

Stay tuned for the following interviews on ALL PULP!!

David Boop – pulp writer
Chuck Dixon comic book and pulp writer
Flint Dille & David Marconi – pulp/film writers
Sean Taylor – comic and pulp writer
Bernadette Johnson – pulp writer
Van Allen Plexico – pulp writer, Member of Spectacled Seven
James Palmer – pulp writer
Frank Fradella – pulp writer, publisher of I, Hero magazine
Ian Watson-pulp writer
Lee Houston-pulp writer
Megan Smith-pulp writer
Nancy Hansen-pulp writer
Ken Janssens-pulp writer
Sarge Portera-Member of Spectacled Seven
Bobby Nash-Pulp writer, Member of Spectacled Seven
Barbara Parker-Author and Widow of Robert B. Parker

AND MANY MORE TO COME!

A Look at ‘I am Number Four’

  • News
  • December 2, 2010

DreamWorks Studio released details about February’s thriller I Am Number Four. Given the behind-the-scenes crew and the cast, we’re certainly intrigued. Take a look and you tell us.

Three are dead. Who is Number Four? D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye, Disturbia) helms an action-packed thriller about an extraordinary teen, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), who is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant), John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events—his first love (Dianna Agron), powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.
John (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed…he is Number Four.

Genre:            Action-thriller
Rating:            TBD
U.S. Release date:    February 18, 2011

Cast:    Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand, Callan McAuliffe
Director:        D.J. Caruso
Producer:        Michael Bay
Executive Producers:    Chris Bender, J.C. Spink, David Valdes
Screenplay by:        Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Marti Noxon

For more information, you can check out their Facebook back or follow them on Twitter.

GUEST REVIEW OF THE WEEK…DR. HERMES RETURNS!!

  • News
  • December 2, 2010

GUEST REVIEW OF THE WEEK!

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Dr. Hermes Retro-Scans http://dr-hermes.livejournal.com/790788.html                     

CHILDREN OF THE LENS (ah, kids today)

From the November and December 1947 issues of ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, this was the final book in the original Lensman series (Smith later revised TRIPLANETARY to serve as a prologue and wrote FIRST LENSMAN to fill in the gap between TRIPLANETARY and GALACTIC PATROL). CHILDREN OF THE LENS certainly has a full cast, with both Kimball and Clarrissa Kinnison, their five offspring and familiar faces (if “faces” is the correct word) like Worsel, Tregonsee and Nadreck… not to mention Mentor of Arisia. Our heroes are united in action to combat the biggest threat to Civilization yet, all building up to a cosmic showdown two billion years in the making.

Yet for most of the time, I didn’t find CHILDREN OF THE LENS quite as satisfying as the earlier books in the series. Smith’s writing has gotten much smoother and less flamboyant than when he started, but some of the purple grandeur has been lost. Also, to be honest, too much of the conflict this time around is on a telepathic level. Powerful superhuman minds probing and clashing is dramatic enough, but the earlier books capped off the psychic struggles with epic scenes of planets crashing into each other and the output of suns concentrated into destructive beans.

The big ultimate showdown is impressive enough (and actually I don’t see how it could have ended any other way), but I thought the middle of the story could have used some more exploding planets and ultra-resonating frammistats. Kimball Kinnison’s undercover missions (posing as a smuggler or crook) were always highlights of the first three books and here they gets skipped over briefly. (Smith’s infrequent dry humor shows where Kim is posing as a snoopy author.)

There is a haunting moment when, with all the minds of untold millions of Lensmen combined, the five Children have joined into a group-consciousness called the UNIT to spearhead the attack. “Strong young arms laced the straining Five into a group as motionless and as sculpturesque as statuary, while between their bodies and around them came into being a gigantic Lens: a Lens whose splendor filled the entire room with radiance.” I love that image; if the Lensmen books are ever filmed properly, that scene would raise goose bumps.

I felt slightly dismayed at the way the Children so easily and presumptuously manipulate the minds of everyone around them. After cheering for Kim, Clarrissa and Worsel through their adventures in the three preceding books, it was a wee bit unsettling to watch them being toyed with like marionettes by the kids (and without their even knowing about it). I know a major part of Smith’s theme was developing and increasing our heroes’ abilities and that Mr and Mrs Kinnison wanted their Children to keep stepping up in power, inevitably leaving themselves in the dust… but somehow this made me unreasonably sad. It would be like seeing Sherlock Holmes train an apprentice who then secretly plants clues to make it easier for the Great Detective or if Korak had been slyly protecting Tarzan from danger without getting caught.

It’s been twenty years since the last installment. Kim and Clarrissa Kinnison (the Gray Lensman and the Red) have turned out a son (Christopher or Kit) and two pairs of non-identical twin girls. These all have names starting with a “K” sound, and (although each has slightly different abilities and personalities) the girls really all look and sound pretty much alike; enough so, that I wasn’t sure which one was teaming up with Worsel and which with Tregonsee. All five of the Children start off already gifted beyond their parents — they are after all the culmination of the millenia-long breeding program which produced parents Kim and Chris — and additionally they were raised by two Second Stage Lensmen and pals like Worsel and Tregonsee. In fact, these kids are so advanced they can materialize the amazing Lenses on their arms all by themselves. Not that they need one. But they each also head to Arisia to receive their final upgrades from Mentor himself (itself? theirselves?). By this time, the five Children seem like they could take over Olympus itself without much trouble and tackle Asgard a few minutes later.

It’s hard to keep coming up with challenges fit for these steadily evolving superhumans, but Smith always manages. For one thing, they go up against alien beings who can meet them head on; also, much of the action is carried out through technology, as weapons and defenses keep outdoing each other. Too, they have to deal with problems like their nasty counterparts, the Black Lensmen, who get their yellow power rings from the anti-matter universe of Qward… no, wait. Who get their substandard cheap imitation Lenses from somewhere to be identified.

I’m still not sure I’ve got the big picture right, as Smith has created a mythology as dense and complex as Tolkien’s. So I might be perplexed about something on page 221 of SECOND STAGE LENSMEN that is clarified in the introduction to TRIPLANETARY. (My Visualization of the Cosmic All is clouded and weak; in fact, I have trouble finding my car keys.) Be that as it may, it seems that the ultimate evil (from our viewpoint) in the universe are the Eddorians, who operate through a hierarchy of races descending below them in both power and wickedness. As we follow the books, our heroes keep overcoming their enemies only to later find that there was something behind them even worse. (Frustrating, eh?) So the villains escalate from the Boskonian pirates to the Overlords of Delgon to the Eich to the Ploorans (brrrr). Although we the readers know about the Eddorians, in the narrative itself only the Children and the Arisians are hip to their existence.

There are some tantalizing hints here and there that the five Children will soon start breeding with each other in a big incestuous commune. Actually, there are also some unsavory undertones in the scene where Kit initiates his mother in the mysteries of becoming a Second-Stage Lensman; aside from the way he keeps telling how gorgeous and sexy she is, the description of their intense training session sure suggests science-fiction MILFism to me. (“Kit came [telepathically, that is,]; and at the first terrific surge of his mind within hers the Red Lensman caught her breath, stiffened in every muscle and all but screamed in agony.”) After she has been raised to Second Stage Lenshood, her face is white and sweaty and her hair dishevelled. While she goes to freshen up, Kit eats a steak.

Anyway, back to the girls. None of the four sisters “had ever shown or felt the slightest interest in any one of numerous boys and men.” No normal human male, even a Lensman, could possibly come up to their standards. Except, of course, for their brother Kit, who is their equal and who can join with them in a thrilling group mind called the UNIT. Hmm, you don’t suppose…? (“They each had dreamed of a man who would be her own equal, physically and mentally, but it had not yet occurred to any of them that one such man already existed.”) And Kit has funny stirrings about his sisters, too (“They didn’t FEEL like other girls. After dancing with one of them, other girls felt like robots made out putty. Their flesh was different. It was firmer, finer, infinitely more responsive.”)

I’m just glad Philip Jose Farmer never got around to writing a Lensman book. Whew!

In the epilogue to CHILDREN OF THE LENS, Kit informs whatever race discovers his time-capsule message that his own Civilization has probably fallen by now and his reader’s new society is being threatened by some arch-threat of its own. But, Kit reassures them, help will be available. (“Prepare your mind for contact.”) And the cycle will start all over again. I can’t even imagine what Smith would have come up with for a challenge bigger and nastier than the Eddorians. Tackling Yog-Sothoth and the Great Old Ones? One of the five Children going bad and turning on the others? Blackie DuQuesne making a comeback? Excursions into the afterlife?

WRITER TEEL JAMES GLENN INTERVIEWED!!

  • News
  • December 2, 2010

TEEL JAMES GLENN, Writer

AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.

TJG: I was born in Brooklyn and was a sickly child who found refuge and strength in television (The Lone Ranger, Wild Wild West etc) and most especially in comic books and novels.

In fact I read anything I could get my hands on- I leaned to read from comic books then started on the Hardy Boys, the Three Investigators, Tom Swift, Tom Quest and finally the Doc Savage books (I loved heroes and series characters).

From Dent’s novels I found other pulp characters like The Shadow and the Green Lama and stumbled, by fortunate chance, onto pulp fandom. I was embraced by and embraced it doing illustrations for Tom Johnson’s amazing Echoes and articles for Paul Mcall’s Aces magazines.

But it was a decade or more before I began creating my own characters and moved to writing full time.

AP: What does pulp mean to you?

TJG: The great writer Algis Budrys once stated that ‘The essence of pulp writing is that it must offer a clear cut resolution to a sentimental problem.” White hats and black hats slugging it out. In the hero pulps the white hats always won; in the dark world of noir and hardboiled detective pulps it was not always a clear-cut thing and there were a lot of ‘grey hats’.

It is an era of covers painted in bold strokes and larger than life characters painted with equally bold strokes of the typewriter. I don’t think of it as an excuse for poor writing as so many literati would have everyone believe, but it was absolutely the place where dull writing is not allowed.

It’s the place I’m most comfortable both reading and writing…

AP: You’ve worked as an actor, swordsman, stuntman, and fight choreographer for films, stage, and television. How did you get your start?as an actor, swordsman, stuntman, and fight choreographer for films, stage, and television. How did you get your start?

TJG: I attended Parsons School of Design intent on an illustration career when a chance meeting with a director at a party the day before graduation led to an audition and the lead part in a film. I continued to work as a book illustrator sporadically over the course of the next years, it became the ‘background’ career to performing.

A fan of action movie serials of old, I made a number of super 8 films in high school and when I launched on a film career began taking stage combat classes with various instructors including Errol Flynn’s last stunt double for stage swordplay. I began teaching stage combat, stunt work and related physical skills from Florida to Toronto.

All this was concurrent with his film career and employment as fight choreographer and performer at over fifty Renaissance faires as well as fight director for over a hundred stage productions And a stuntman or actor in over eighty films and several hundred soap opera appearances.

I’ve also appeared on The View menacing Lisa Ling, The Morning Show teaching Regis Philbin how to be a Swashbuckler and a host of news programs.

My most famous ‘small screen’ appearance was as Vega (and fight choreographer) in the worldwide web series “Street Fighter: The Later Years.” It was the most watched web series in the world at one time.

By far the largest part of my performing career has been in low budget fantasy/horror genre films.

All this background informs my writing with a number of my stories drawing on my theatre film or period work for authenticity.

AP: Introduce us to your nemesis of crime, Dr. Shadows and The Adventures of the Granite man. How did the pulps inspire this book?

TJG: I searched for a bit to find the elements of the pulp greats that appealed to me when I decided to delve into creating a “pulp avatar’-so to speak and what bubbled to the surface was Anton Chadeaux PhD who, the world would come to know—as Dr. Shadows! He was a petro-chemical engineer who dabbled in stage magic during college where he was something of a heck raiser and a wastrel. He undergoes a life transforming disaster in the mountains of Northern Korea when Chinese warlords in Japanese employ shoot down the plane on which he and his parents are traveling.

All are killed save the young Chadeaux.

He is left for dead, hopelessly paralyzed. Fate intervenes when he is found by monks from an ancient, hidden monastery. The monks of Wei practice Sulsa Do, a 2,000-year-old art that perfects the body and frees the mind.

His body is turned into a grey color that is the reason the bad guys call him “the granite man.” That and the body he builds from his new studies make him a formidable enemy to evil. When he returns to the west he establishes the Shadows Foundation for Justice. He gathers around him a loyal band of crusaders and so is born the legend of Dr. Shadows, a grey Galahad, nemesis of evil and last hope of the hopeless.

I work very hard to place him firmly in the world of the 1930s but exploring- I hope- some of the side areas that Doc Savage, the Shadow, the Green Lama and others don’t spend as much time with-namely the growing menace of Imperial Japan and prejudice against the Korean culture. I also bring my martial arts background into giving the stories a flavor I don’t think I’ve found elsewhere in period work.

His stories have been published in a number of Pulp books for a couple of years and a collection is finally out from Epress “Hex of Shadows” though all the rest of the series will be out from Booksforabuck starting in 2011.

AP: Who are The Exceptionals?

TJG: The Exceptionals is a high action saga set in the near tomorrow of 2030. It follows the adventures of a group of scientifically augmented, bio-enhanced government agents as they confront and come to question their own humanity and become aware of a vast conspiracy that threatens the downfall of the United States.

In this violent future the rise of narco terrorists and extra territorial criminals has lead the U.N. to create a new class of lawmen, The Exceptionals, –bio enhanced bounty hunters who can go almost any where in pursuit of these extraordinary criminals.

It is essentially a ‘realistic’ look at superheroes written with truly breakneck speed and almost a ‘old western’ sensibility of good guys and bad guys.

There are three books currently out from Whiskeycreekpress.com with more intended when I can get my schedule clear…

AP: Your writing covers several genres. Do you have a favorite in which to work or do you like to play the field and work in as many different genres as possible?

TJG: I always approach stores from character first, so the genre almost doesn’t matter (beyond certain conventions each genre calls for). I do ‘play the field’ for the fun of it to keep if fresh though.

AP: Who are some of your creative influences?

TJG: ER Burroughs, Lester Dent and Robert E Howard are top of the list for authors who understood action; Richard Matheson for his mood and characterization and Nathanial Hawthorne and Poe for their language.

Best book? Probably Tarzan of the Apes.

AP: What does T J Glenn do when he’s not writing, acting, or sword fighting?

I don’t sleep much and my work is my recreation, actually. I am an avid old movie and tv fan- particularly 1950s TV. And reading my favorites like Hammett, Howard etc.

AP: Where can readers learn more about you and your work?

Theurbanswashbuckler.com,

Wordcave.wordpress.com

And on amazon, fictionwise, smashwords and gypyshadow.com

AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?

TJG: I have a collection of stories about a husband and wife team –Moxie and Maxi Donovan- who investigate weird crimes in the 1930s—but with a light touch. Think of the Front Page meets White Zombie.

He’s a reporter and she a showgirl. Bela Lugosi even shows up in two of the stories as a good guy. The book is called Deadline Zombies and is out from BooksforaBuck .

And a new collection of “Shadows of New York” is set to come out early in 2011 to ‘relaunch’ the granite man to a wider audience.

AP: Are there any convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you?

TJG: I’m not planning to be at any cons till Lunacon next year at the moment.

AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a writer or an actor?

TJG: Be born into a rich family. But seriously folks, neither field is an easy path so if you only WANT to do it you won’t last, but if you NEED to do it then push on through and enjoy the journey because you just may never end up where you expect.

AP: Thanks, TJ.

See The Lost ‘Doctor Who’ Cold Open From ‘The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson’

  • Uncategorized
  • December 2, 2010

This was the planned opening of November 16’s episode of The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson with special guest star Matt Smith that was killed about five minutes before airing because it turned out they didn’t have the rights to use the Doctor Who Theme on the air.

Craig was quite put out about it, as you can see from the cold open that actually aired:

And yet, somehow, thanks to the magic of the Internets and Wikileaks (hey, it could happen) the original rehearsal footage has gotten out. So take that, all of you <aycaramba!> at CBS and BBC!

Hat tip: Ross Vincent.

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