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CLASSIC PULP POLICE PROCEDURALS OPTIONED FOR TV!

  • News
  • October 15, 2010

 From Ron Fortier reporting for All Pulp-

The widow of the late mystery writer Evan Hunter has sent out a batch letter to her husband’s fans with some truly wonderful news.   Under the pseudonym of  Ed McBain, Hunter created a series of police procedural novels starring the fictitious 87th Precinct in 1956.  The books were quickly hailed by mystery fans as some of the best cop books every written.  There was a short lived TV series that only ran one season between 1961-62 starring Robert Lansing as Detective Steve Corella and Gena Rowlands and his deaf-mute wife, Teddy.  Several of the books were turned into feature films and made-for-tv projects; the most well known being FUZZ with Burt Reynold, Racquel Welch and Yul Brynner.  Hunter died in 2005, by then having won a Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster honorarium.  At the time of his death he had written over fifty 87th Precinct novels.
   
Now, Stanley Tucci and Steve Buscemi have optioned the books and formed a production team with Lionsgate films to develop them as a series for NBC.  The pilot script is being written.  This is fantastic
news for all pulp mystery fans.

National Graphic Novel Writing Month, Day 15: Plotting Your Way Out Of A Paper Bag

  • News
  • October 15, 2010

Let me give you an example of a bad plot that you’re already familiar with– the story of William Tell.

The legend has it that William Tell was known as an expert shot with the crossbow. In his time, the new ruler of his land raised a pole in the village’s central square, hung his hat on top of
it, demanding that all the townsfolk bow before the hat. When Tell
passed by the hat without bowing to it, he was arrested. As punishment,
he was forced to shoot an apple off the head of his son.
Otherwise, both would be executed. Tell was promised freedom if he
successfully made the shot.

Now, ladies and gentlemen– do you think there’s any doubt that he made the shot? Of course he did.

In history, this is an exciting moment, because you don’t know if a real person could do it. But in fiction? BORING.

Why? Because in fiction, you can have your characters do anything. They can be good enough or lucky enough to make the shot because the author says he’s lucky enough to make the shot. There is no suspense there.

I’ve said before that one of the things that drives me nuts about most fantasy novels, and a problem that I discovered when first writing Star Trek
stories, is that any story that you can technobabble your way into to,
or technobabble your way out of, is inherently boring. It’s make
believe. There’s absolutely no tension, the writer will wave his wand
and make everything come out. There’s nothing to resolve.

By contrast, any story with an choice – what do you do and
why? – has interest. Think about all the stories that haunt you, and
you’ll find that there’s often a choice that’s presented in the story,
and you revisit the story because the dilemma is still not fully
resolved in your own head.

This was brought home for me a few years back watching Star Wars— the real one, thank you– in a theater. The audience applauded and cheered like crazy during the final attack on the Death Star, but they surprised me by applauding the most during what I thought was the pivotal moment.

Quick now– you know the scene. What’s the pivotal moment?

The death of Biggs or Porkins? Spurs him on, sad, but no.

Blowing up the Death Star? Anticlimax. Go back earlier.

The death of Red Leader? Closer. Luke takes over command because there’s nobody else to take over at that point, and he chooses to do so, but that’s not much of a choice when every commander above him has been taken out.

No– the crowd went wild when Luke turned off his targeting computer. He chose to accept the world around him, and to take faith in his own abilities to solve the problem. No crutches, just him.

And then it’s followed up by the second great cheer, when Han Solo chooses to come back and join the fight just in time to save Luke’s hash, when Han chooses to be about something more than money.

Make your characters work for a choice, show how they change to get there– and you have a story worth telling.

So– it’s Day Fifteen. Half way through the month. How are you doing?

Remember: you can follow all the NaGraNoWriMo posts here!

INTERVIEW WITH PULP 2.0 PRESS’ BILL CUNNINGHAM ABOUT UPCOMING COMIC PROJECT!

  • News
  • October 15, 2010

BILL CUNNINGHAM: PUBLISHER, PULP 2.0 Press
AP: Tell us a bit about Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger and why this is the perfect time for these pulp graphic novels to return.
BC: Anyone who knows me knows that I love classic movie serials, poverty row thrillers and creature features – the great pulp movies. Back in 1987, I was in the USAF and stationed at Nellis, AFB in Las Vegas,NV. I used to frequent my local comic shop every weekend when I was home. Now imagine you’re me, die-hard pulp movie fan, and you walk into your comic shop and there on the shelf you see comics that not only look like classic movie serials, they read like them and they’re in glorious black & white. How could you not rush right over and throw them in your ‘buy pile’?

Even though it’s many years later, I still remember picking Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger from that comic shop [Page after Page] and reading them cover to cover – even before I left the parking lot. Those two comics captured that wonderful energy and enthusiasm of the serials and were able to place it on the page, much like the way that The Rocketeer did.

That’s magic.

For those of you who don’t remember: The Miracle Squad is the A-TEAM set in 1930’s Los Angeles. All of the characters work at a small poverty row movie studio, and when the studio is threatened with a hostile takeover by a local gangster they use their special talents to thwart him. It’s got stunts, special effects and of course – cliffhanger thrills aplenty. What really sets it apart though is the fact that these characters become a family of sorts. A family that wears disguises, escapes deathtraps, leap from airplanes, chase cars and takes the bad guys down, but a family nonetheless.

The Twilight Avenger is every pulp, golden age comic or serial hero you’ve ever heard of — but done in a new way. You’ve got a young man seeking revenge against the mob who crippled his fiance; a mouthy lady reporter who always gets in over her head; a hooded villain called The Centipede (cut from the same cloth as Capt. Marvel’s serial nemesis The Scorpion) and plenty of henchmen who stand between our hero and his revenge. Add to that a cool gas gun, a magnesium chest lamp and you have a recipe for a steaming hot bowl of pulp chili. www.pulp2ohpress.com as well as out to our audience via our upcoming newsletter and Facebook page.

Pulp never goes away – so the idea that pulp is ‘returning’ is to my mind, something of a misnomer. Pulp is an attitude and it transcends the restrictions of the 1930’s and 40’s pulpwood magazine format it used to inhabit. In the 50’s and 60’s, “pulp” meant the cheap, lurid paperbacks or the outrageous EC comics. In the 1970’s it meant paperbacks with new heroes like The Destroyer, The Executioner and others. Pulp also meant that the classic pulps like Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Spider were being reprinted. The pulp attitude also migrated to movies and television: westerns, science-fiction, crime and ‘spy-fi’ owe a lot to the pulps. In the 80’s John and Terry were able to capture that essence and place it in their comics.

Thanks to technology, Pulp 2.0 is taking readers back to our pulp roots – entertaining popular fiction distributed and marketed inexpensively to our target audience. MS and TA are books that are going to appeal to fans of Indiana Jones, The Rocketeer, Golden age comics, movie serials, old time radio – the works. They ARE just that much fun, and we know there’s an audience out there that is hungry for fun when it comes to their comics entertainment. Now they can find these books, read them and most of all – ENJOY THEM – without having to pay Ebay prices.
　
AP: In the age of “remastering” material before it is repackaged, will these books be run as is or are they being updated with new colors, or tweaking things?
BC: These two separate series have never had the ‘graphic novel’ treatment. Their issues were originally supposed to be in color, but each publisher yanked the color after the first issue. Since each of these titles mimic the black & white films of yesteryear, I thought it would be best to republish them as exactly that and not mess with color. That isn’t to say that in the future we won’t try color – but right now it’s cost prohibitive and would stand in the way of our placing these great stories in the hearts of readers.

We will be collecting them as graphic novels and releasing them in that format. You will get complete stories with each volume. Whether you read these for digital or print, all of the images are going to be taken from the original artwork wherever possible and optimized. That means I’m sitting down with the scanner and Photoshop and cleaning up each page of artwork so it’s clear, crisp and dynamic. It will look good on your screen or in your hand.

Because we take a stylized pulp approach to our books there will be details and design you never saw in their original floppy magazine editions. Things like full color covers, bonus content features, behind-the-scenes material and so on. In this way all of our print editions are like BluRay Special Editions – worthy of displaying on your bookshelf.
　
AP: As with Pulp 2.0 Press’ other offerings, Miracle Squad and Twilight Avenger will be offered via digital and print distribution. In what formats will readers be able to purchase these books?
BC: As always our digital books are designed and distributed to be as cost effective and accessible as possible. You will be able to get a full trade paperback book – well over 100 pages – on your digital device for only $2.99. That’s cheaper than a current single issue of a 32 page comic. We do that because we know what it’s like to hunt for a lost classic – only to find it online for a small fortune. Our job is to get cool pulp entertainment into your hands as quickly and inexpensively as possible so you can enjoy it. Right now our digital components include: downloadable PDF’s and Kindle versions (which can be read on PC, Mac, Kindle, IPad, IPhone and Blackberry). We will be following this up with an epub version which can be read on a variety of other types of devices.

We are partnered with Createspace for all of our print editions. They do black & white print really well and I am eager to challenge them with the design for this project. It will be a larger trade size (8 x 10) that will showcase the art in a new pulpy way. Fortunately for me, Terry did a great job originally composing his art for black & white reproduction so that makes my design job that much easier.

AP: Are there plans to tell new stories with Miracle Squad and/or Twilight Avenger after these new editions are released?

BC: Never say never. If the audience demands it – we’ll try and satisfy that need. I always have a few tricks up my sleeve, but for right now it will be very satisfying to get these books in front of their audience. I read recently that Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead is going from a series of graphic novels to prose. I think that’s a great idea and I want to explore more transmedia experiences like that especially with properties like Miracle Squad, Twilight Avenger or my own The Knightmare (who’s already starred in his own radio serial with Decoder Ring Theatre) Remember: Pulp is not a medium – it’s an extra large!
AP: What type of bonus “behind-the-scenes” features can we look forward to for the print editions?
BC: We are still in the design phase of the project – the ink is still wet on the contracts after all – but I can say that we’ll be including all of the original extras like John’s essay on the poverty row cinema of the 30’s, an original story, as well as some other pulp cinema-related surprises. I sent the art direction document to Terry the other day and I think we’re going to have some great brainstorming sessions coming up with something that will capture the essence of these books.

And as always we’ll be making limited edition cover proofs available for fans who send us pictures of themselves with the book once it comes out in print.

As soon as we nail down some of our design choices and have a cover, the information will go up on our website

AP: What other books can readers find from Pulp 2.0 Press?
BC: This October we will be releasing Radio Western Adventures – our tribute to radio, movie and tv cowboys of the airwaves – on Kindle. Then we will be releasing the first volume of our New Adventures of Frankenstein series in time for Christmas. Beginning in in 1st Quarter 2011 we will release Miracle Squad Volume 1 for Kindle. Long before that we will be releasing promotional material so you’ll know exactly how cool this book really is – an online preview of the book’s first chapter, a good look at the cover in full color, and whatever other goodies we can think up for you to download and place on your blog or website.

Of course, we currently have our debut book Brother Blood available in both ebook and print editions.

AP: Are there plans for more comic book revivals, or new pulp graphic novels, coming from Pulp 2.0 Press?

BC: I have plans in 2011 to announce more comic and pulp reprint titles, Kindle-only pulp specials and other cool stuff. We are a company that creates, develops and publishes pulp and comic BOOKS – no matter what their form. I am open to pursuing stuff I think is cool and that I think my readers want to see.

There’s a lot of great material out there that deserves to be seen and read by this generation so they can enjoy it as much as our grandparents, parents and we did. We have our work cut out for us.
　
AP: Are there any upcoming convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you and pick up copies of Miracle Squad and/or Twilight Avenger?
BC: We have been taking baby steps through this first year of our existence. We’ve only done a couple of appearances here and there and really are trying to test the waters to see where we swim best. I will be announcing a 2011 appearance schedule that allows us plenty of face time with fans.

AP: Thanks, Bill.

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON LANCE STAR: SKY RANGER!

  • News
  • October 15, 2010

AND MEANWHILE, OUR HERO…- Pulp Character Spotlights

Character Written and Profile Completed by Bobby Nash

1. Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s secret identity is…?
Lance Star. Lance and his team do not hide their identities. Their many exploits have even garnered them something akin to celebrity status thanks to their repeated appearances in newsreels. Some call them heroes. They call themselves Sky Rangers.

2. In five sentences or less, Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s origin is…?

Lance Star is a top-notch pilot, an Air Ace. Lance owns and operates Lance Star. Inc. and Star Field, which builds custom aircraft. When he was a child, Lance and his father, Landon Star traveled the world on one adventure after another until Landon one day flew off alone and was never heard from again. Lance continues his father’s legacy of exploration and adventure.

3. Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s first appearance was…?
Lance Star’s first appearance was in the Lance Star: Sky Ranger pulp anthology, published by Wildcat Books in 2006.

4. Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s most recent appearance was…?
Lance’s most recent appearance was in the Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” comic book, published by BEN Books.

5. The 5 most important people in Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s life are…?
Betty Terrel, Buck Tellonger, Eric (Red) Davis, Walt Anderson, and Skip Terrel.

6. The 3 top villains Lance Star: Sky Ranger has faced are…?
Austrian Air Ace Otto Baron Von Blood, pirates, and Nazis.

7. Lance Star: Sky Ranger likes…?

Flying, being elbow-deep inside the engine of an airplane, spending time with the lovely Betty Terrel, reading pulp novels, and going on adventures with the Sky Rangers.

8. Lance Star: Sky Ranger dislikes…?
Being told what to do, politics, and Nazis. He really hates Nazis.

9. Existing characters Lance Star: Sky Ranger has met/had a crossover with include…?
Lance Star met Ellen Patrick, also known to pulp readers as the Domino Lady, in vol. 2 of the Lance star: Sky Ranger pulp anthology series from Airship 27 and Cornerstone Books.

10. Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s greatest fear is…?
Losing another of his pilots. The loss of young pilot and sky Ranger in training, Skip Terrel was a terrible blow to Lance, one from which he almost did not recover.

11. Lance Star: Sky Ranger’s favorite food is…?
Steak and potatoes washed down with a beer or a soda.

12. If Lance Star: Sky Ranger couldn’t be there to save the day, the person he’d pick to take his place is…?
Lance would certainly trust any of the other Sky Rangers to save the day. If they weren’t available he would probably call on Bill Barnes, Captain Midnight, or Niles Isburgh.

13. Free-for-all-Say anything, in ten sentences or less, you want about your character. That would be…?
Lance Star and his Sky Rangers love a fun adventure and they would love to have you tag along with them on their next one, coming soon to a bookstore near you.

14. Links for more of Lance Star: Sky Ranger include…?
www.lance-star.com
http://bobby-nash-news.blogspot.com/

National Graphic Novel Writing Month, Day 14: Creating Characters: The Nature of Heroes and Villains, by Peter David

  • Uncategorized
  • October 15, 2010

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Peter David, writer of stuff, wrote a book about writing comics and graphic novels called Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels with Peter David
(certainly clear in intent) from which we take the following:

If you ask anyone you know whether they need someone who is going to make their life difficult, you would unquestionably get a resounding “no.”  No person would say that he measures the success of his day by how soundly he manages to overcome an implacable opponent. 

And yet, many of us do have “villains” in our lives.  Be they oppressive bosses, obnoxious co-workers, bullies at school…on any given day we may find ourselves in a position where we have to outthink, outwit, and outmaneuver those who are in a position to make our lives difficult. 

Push comes to shove, we may even find ourselves with our backs against the wall and have to slug it out with them.  In such a situation, it helps to remember that comic book heroes are able to avail themselves of everything from super-science to healing factors in order to bounce back.  We, being mere mortals, tend to break far more easily.  So even as we discuss the ways and means of depicting heroes going toe-to-toe with villains, it helps to remember that talking one’s differences out is definitely the way to go.

Curiously, we tend to think of the hero as the mover and shaker, the protagonist.  Yet the opposite is often true:  It is the villain who actually drives the plot.  He’s the one with the plan, he’s the one with the goal—anything from robbing a bank to world domination.  There’s a variety of possibilities and directions that the villain’s foul schemes can go to satisfy his needs.  The hero, on the other hand, exists for one reason only:  To thwart the villain.  On an average day, the Avengers sit around playing pinochle, waiting for the activities of a villain to spur them to action.  On an average night, Batman is either hanging out at the Batcave dodging falling bat guano, or else he’s patrolling the city looking to find a villain whose endeavors he can thwart. 

So as a writer, not only do you need to have a hero with whom your reader can connect, but you also want the reader to understand—and perhaps even sympathize—with the villain’s goals as well.

Is such a thing possible?  Sure it is.  Alfred Hitchcock once pointed out that an audience could be watching a scene in a movie wherein a handsome burglar has concocted an elaborate and clever scheme to gain access to a vault inside a wealthy couple’s home.  As he is working on opening the safe, unbeknownst to the burglar, the couple is on their way home unexpectedly because they left their theater tickets on the bureau in the room he’s burgling. 

Tension mounts as the burglar continues to crack the safe while the couple draws closer and closer to discovering.  And what, asked Hitchcock, is going through the audience’s mind during that time?  They’re mentally urging the burglar, “Hurry!  Hurry!  You’re going to get caught!”  Yes, that’s right:  They’re rooting for a bad guy. 

It is the ingeniousness of his plans, after all, that are being asked to seize the audience’s imagination.  If the villain’s plan is lame, if the villain is someone who fails to engage the reader’s attention, then not only will the reader not care about his evil doings, but the hero’s eventual triumph over his opponent will seem unimpressive.

That’s why it’s impossible to invest too much energy in either crafting new heroes and villains, or choosing unique ways in which to interpret or reinterpret already existing characters.  Your stories stand or fall on your characters.  If the reader doesn’t connect with the characters, then the most ingenious plot in the world will make no difference at all.

Artwork by Tom Gauld. And remember: you can follow all the NaGraNoWriMo posts here!

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

  • News
  • October 14, 2010
ALL PULP’S OFFICIAL PODCAST!!!!

10/14/10

THIS WEEK ON THE BOOK CAVE!  James Sutter joins Art and Ric as they talk about the September Book of the Month, BEFORE THEY WERE GIANTS.  Then, Tommy Hancock delivers the ALL PULP news this week, including major PULP ARK announcements and a tease or two.
Check out ALL PULP’S official podcast, THE BOOK CAVE here-
http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/

********

INTRODUCING NEW INTERVIEW FEATURE-NINE FOR THE NEW!!!

  • News
  • October 14, 2010
ALL PULP is proud to debut its newest feature!!  So many interviews, reviews, columns, etc. get done here at ALL PULP and elsewhere that inform you the fan about the established writers and artists, the veteran creators who have made Pulp what it is today!  ALL PULP endeavors to also introduce you to those creators who have joined this Pulp Renaissance or Revolution or whatever you may call it recently and will be a part of the future of Pulp!
NINE FOR THE NEW is a nine question interview format that will focus on creators of Pulp who have only been published within the last 12 months or so. New voices writing new words, new hands drawing new faces for Pulp today and tomorrow!  Have someone you think should get our nine questions (Most of them are the same, with only slight variations concerning specific characters, etc.)?  Then contact ALL PULP at allpulp@yahoo.com, leave a comment, or post on our facebook page!  Now, without hesitation, let’s get on with the first NINE FOR THE NEW!!
CW Russette-Writer/Creator/Artist

AP:  CW, welcome to ALL PULP!  First, can you tell us about yourself, some personal background?
CWR: Sure, I’m Canadian born but have lived in America since I was a teenager. I was in the military for a few years during which I took a writing correspondence course that really got me interested in writing as a profession. I’ve been writing and drawing about my characters and those of others since I was a wee lad. I used to favor drawing monsters and giant robots at a very early age. In high school I started taking my writing seriously but still thought of myself as an artist that writes where as now it’s rather the opposite.
 
AP:  What works have you had published in the pulp field, including any books, short stories, etc.?

CWR: I’ve had two comic books published by Modern Pulp Comics through Rorschach Entertainment (Lucifer Fawkes: Blood Flow and The Blind Ones) as well as a number of short stories through Pro Se Productions’ Peculiar Adventures and the upcoming issue of Pro Se Presents Fantasy and Fear.
 
AP: As a writer, what influences have affected your style and interests the most over the years?  Do you have a particular genre/type of story you prefer to write?

CWR: Music and movies have had a huge influence on my style of writing. I tend to listen to a lot hard rock though not exclusively. I like horror movies, action flicks, historical and science fiction. I like anything with a unique twist and has a pulse, it’s gotta move for me to get into it. I think the main writers that have influenced me are Stephen King, James Clavell and Warren Ellis. What I write kind of fuses those three together on some level. I write a lot of paranormal adventure tales that range from immortal hitmen to werewolves to super heroes. That’s my comfort zone right there.
 
AP:  What about genres that make you uncomfortable?  What areas within pulp are a little bit intimidating for you as an author?

CWR: I think writing the hard sci fi stuff. I’m not too techno savvy so I don’t go that route very often.
 
AP:  What do you think you bring to pulp fiction as a writer?

CWR:  I think all writer’s bring their own perspective to everything they write. No one is going to tell a tale the way I do. I run heavy on physical drama, dark themes, psychologically I think the more complex the characters are the more engaging it will be for the reader.

AP:  You have a recurring character that is a part of the Pro Se Productions stable.  Can you tell us who Virgil is and where that idea came from?

CWR: Virgil is a hitman that made a deal with something very dark in the 1920’s. That thing gave him the power to resurrect himself should he ever die. Hitmen live a rather dangerous life to begin with but if one had no fear of dying you can imagine how the body count might go up. The problem is the entity that empowered him needs Virgil to keep killing. That’s the deal, kill for me and I guarantee you eternal youth and life. Stop killing for me and there are consequences. Virgil made the deal in haste when he was young and angry. It didn’t take long for him to regret the decision. The story takes place in the present in McQuade, Nevada where Virgil has just landed. It has been a long road and he wants out of the deal. His prey are as plentiful as ever. There’s a lot of backstory I flashback to which allows me to write in different time periods which helps keep things popping for me as the writer. Virgil has rather come full circle now as he is more frustrated than ever to be this otherworldly entity’s slave.

I came up with the character some years ago. He was originally a familiar of a vampire that kept his master chained and weakened in his coffin. Something to use as a food source and the familiar didn’t have to do any labor for his master, he could be his own man. I don’t recall how he made the jump from familiar to lazarus hitman but the original idea must have gotten tired to me and things built on one another and just evolved.
 

AP:  You stepped off into the ‘weird western’ arena with a story that will soon appear in the Age of Adventure anthology “Vampires versus Werewolves.”  Can you talk about that story, including the process of coming up with the concept and how you blended the two genres?
CWR: I watch a lot of discovery channel, national geographic and the like. One day there was a bit on shootists of the old west so I watched as I love a good western flick. Wild Bill Hickok was one of the subjects. I had heard of him and knew he was a fair shot but not to the degree that he is credited. Something about him struck a nerve and that lead me to reading up on the man. There is a point in his past where Hickok gets caught without his guns one night out in the wild. A bear attacks him and Hickok fights the animal off with a knife. That takes some stones, I don’t care who you are. So Hickok wins the fight but gets mauled pretty good because he needs down time in Rock Creek, Nebraska afterward.

For some reason, the idea of something other than a bear mauling him before showing up in Rock Creek hit me. What if it was a werewolf? The idea had merit, I thought. Wild Bill versus a werewolf? What isn’t fun about that? Seems like a fine way to test the gunslinger. Other elements were added later like the Philosopher’s Stone and a vampire but the wolf and Hickok were the nuggets that got my attention. I think werewolves are a natural fit for the old west. Vampires not so much as they have to hide from the sunlight. The Native Americans called the lupines skinwalkers so it’s built right into the time period. It was great fun to write and way out of my comfort zone. Liking western movies doesn’t mean you know how to write a western. It allowed me to stretch some muscles I didn’t know I had.
 

AP: You’re also an artist.  What work have you had published?

CWR: I sold a few tattoo designs recently and a piece to Pulp Works Press but the majority of my gigs have been coming from Pro Se Productions.
 

AP: What’s coming from CW Russette in the future? Any projects you want to discuss?
CWR:  Well I’ve got one book waiting on the desk of a major publisher that I’m hoping to get picked up. Been pondering a second book as well but that’s yet in the planning stages and I can’t talk about that. Virgil will be around for some time thanks to Pro Productions and I’ve a few more short story ideas in various stages of completion. I’d like to get back to some comic book scripting if I can find the right team.
 
AP:  CW, thanks for coming by ALL PULP and we hope we’ll see a lot more of you and your work!

CWR: Thanks for having me!

Reviews from the 86th Floor by Barry Reese: Doc Savage # 7

  • News
  • October 14, 2010

doc7-2554709
DOC SAVAGE # 7
DC Comics
Doc Savage – Ivan Brandon, Brian Azzarello & Nic Klein
Justice Inc. – Jason Starr & Scott Hampton

Another month, another issue of DC’s Doc Savage series. At some point, you’d suspect that DC might accidentally stumble onto a formula that works — but there’s no sign of it yet. This one continues the “Belly of the Beast” storyline and has Doc and his aides knee deep in the Middle East, still in pursuit of a friend of theirs that they all believed was dead. There’s a bunch of pointless fighting in this and several pages of decompressed storytelling where Doc and the gang talk about how amazing their friend was. It was during those pages where I hit upon a key problem that I have with Brian Azzarello’s take on the pulp characters in this First Wave universe: pacing. Azzarello is quite obviously “writing for the trade,” which in comic book terms means that he stretches everything out so that it fills 6 to 7 issues, which just so happens to be the standard size of a comic book trade paperback. The problem comes from the fact that this sort of storytelling (typified by pages of talking heads, where the characters speak “naturally” in small bursts of words, as occurs multiple times in this issue) does not fit with the pulp paradigm. Doc Savage was many things but it was never slow, boring or ponderous. It was quick, exciting reading and that’s where all of Azzarello’s First Wave work is falling extremely short.

That and the fact that the plots don’t make sense. That’s a pretty big one, too. After all the issues of First Wave and seven of Doc Savage, I find “The War” to be a muddled mess that should either be better defined or ignored and the characters seem like pale reflections of their actual selves. Really — is anybody reading this Doc Savage series and coming away with a clear view of who Doc or his aides are? I can’t imagine how, since the storytelling leaves no room for characterization. I know — how can there be pages of talking heads but no characterization? Pretty easy. People talk and talk but they don’t say anything that illuminates them as people. And aside from Monk and Ham’s snarky comments towards each other, most of the dialogue could be cut and pasted between characters and nobody would notice. The end of the main story sees the arrival of the Siamese twins we were teased with earlier in the arc and I assume we’re supposed to be excited by their arrival but given the fact that they, like everyone else in the book, has been given no personality, I was like “Oh, they’re finally doing something with them” as opposed to “Wow! Can’t wait to see what happens when Doc fights a pair of Siamese twin children.”

Yeah, it’s pretty dumb.

In the back-up, Smitty continues to track down a murderer and rapist, intending to kill him at some point. Now, Smitty is still never identified by name which continues to be an awesomely stupid writing mistake. If this was your first issue, you would not know who this character was. Hell, I’ve been reading for seven issues and I don’t know who this character is — because it sure isn’t Smitty.

Anyway, Smitty tracks the bad guy for days and — get this — never once disguises himself. Oh, he says he’s trying to be cool about it, but he’s following the man for days. Without disguising himself. So is it a shock when the bad guy says “Hey, that fella over there — I think he was at the Track. And the so-and-so. And the so-and-so. Isn’t that weird?”

A member of Justice Inc. just follows a guy for days without disguising himself. He follows him to clubs, to a racetrack, even to the freakin’ bathroom… Without. Disguising. Himself.

Needless to say, he gets ambushed and arrested by some cops on the take. Benson (you remember him? The star of Justice Inc.? He’s here for one page) finally arrives but doesn’t bail Smitty out of jail because he’s so angry that one of his gang would plan a murder.

Sigh. I can’t express to you how much this sucks. On the plus side, the art is real pretty.

This issue gets a whopping 1 out of 5 stars.

nagranowrimo-6393652

National Graphic Novel Writing Month, Day 13: Even if you don’t wanna…

  • News
  • October 14, 2010

nagranowrimo-6936869Even if you’re sick…

Even if it’s only a sentence…

Write something.

After all, one sentence may turn into two sentences.

And two sentences may turn into a paragraph.

And before you know it, you might have written a panel. Or two panels. Or even a page.

No, it might not be good. It might even be lousy and you may need to rewrite the entire thing. But it might be good. It might even be brilliant. Particularly if you’re on those really good meds that will knock you out and give you all those really fun hallucinations. (Hey, if it works for Grant Morrison and Jamie Delano…)

And writing short stuff is more useful than you think it is. We’ll come back to that later.

Remember: you can follow all the NaGraNoWriMo posts here!

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