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MOONSTONE MONDAY-INTERVIEW WITH JOSH AITKEN

  • News
  • September 20, 2010

JOSH AITKEN, LETTERER, WRITER OF GLADIATOR FOR RETURN OF THE ORIGINALS, MOONSTONE BOOKS

AP:  Josh, thanks for joining ALL PULP on Moonstone Monday! Before we get into the awesome project you’re a part of, tell us something about yourself, both personally and professionally.

JA: Thanks for having me!
I’m a Canuck who went to school for film, television, and radio production, as well as fine art. I play a bunch of instruments, and like to do technical and architectural sketching in my free time. I also design logos for things and companies that don’t exist, or make new ones for famous ones. I like letters; how they interact with each other, different styles and typesets, big bold sound effect ones, and sleek and flowing cursive ones… good thing I’m a letterer, eh?
I’ve been lettering professionally for around five years, as well as running my own graphic design company for around eight. I’ve done lots of work for Moonstone, and have also done work for Shadowline, Ape Entertainment, and most recently Benaroya Publishing, as well as a ton of books that were put out by self-publishers. I’ve also edited a few books, most recently as an assistant editor for Zeros2Heroes Media.
I’m also a strong advocate for Comics in the Classroom. I read Graphic Novels all through high school, receiving top marks for it along the way. Recently my high school English teacher invited me to put a proposal together for a syllabus for integrating Comics into their current curriculum. I’ve had a very busy 2010, but I’m hoping I can take him up on his offer in the coming year.
AP: You’re attached to RETURN OF THE ORIGINALS, Moonstone’s new pulp comic line. Are you a pulp fan? What’s it feel like to be part of such a grand comic experience as this line is shaping up to be?
JA: I’m a huge pulp fan, but, to be honest, I don’t know when it started. I guess it just hit me one day like the butt of a gun in a dark alleyway. It’s probably because I really like all the entertainment put out between the 20’s and the 40’s. I love classic Hollywood films, especially the noir stuff; stuff like “A Touch of Evil” and “Angels With Dirty Faces”. I usually have TCM playing on the TV when I’m working. I love the classic pulp stuff… Phantom, the Shadow, Dick Tracy… and I like the new stuff coming out too. I can easily see the influence in movies like “The Iron Giant” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”.
I’m really stoked to be getting the opportunity to add to this project. I can’t wait to see all the stuff we’re going to be putting out. I just finished putting together the handbook for our “new” characters, and we have some really cool toys in this sandbox.
AP: You’re the writer on GLADIATOR for Moonstone’s ORIGINALS line. What is the story behind this comic? Who’s the main character and what are his literary origins?

JA: The comic is based upon the short novel by Philip Wylie of the same name, written in 1930. Philip went on to write The Savage Gentleman, quite possibly the inspiration for Doc Savage, and When Worlds Collide, the basis for Flash Gordon. Gladiator tells the story of Hugo Danner, a man genetically modified by his father before he was born, and his constant struggle to live in a society that would never accept his secret.

AP: Working with characters that already exist is an awesome experience, but they also sometimes bring their own sorts of baggage. What from the source material are you planning to keep intact?
JA: Everything. While some people like to adapt a story, picking it apart and choosing bits and pieces they like, I decided to work from the source material, using it as an outline. When Mike and I first started planning this series, we decided that we didn’t want to do an adaptation, or a modern retelling. That’s already been done before.
AP: The GLADIATOR concept has been told and used in a variety of tales over the years, reworked and retooled. What new takes and twists, if any, will you bring to your telling of GLADIATOR?
JA: It’s a great book, but it’s also a really short one. Moonstone’s version will just fill in some of the blanks; flesh it out a bit. For example; my first story takes place during Hugo’s time in the French Foreign Legion. The First World War lasted four years, yet Hugo’s service only lasts a short time in the novel, almost like a summary. Going forward, I’m not planning on writing in chronological order. Since most of my stories will be shorts, I just want to give him some cool adventures that happen “between the pages” as it were.
AP: How is the experience of writing comics different from your other comic work, such as layout and lettering? Is one more fulfilling or exciting than the others?
JA: Writing is totally different than lettering. It’s really apples and oranges.

With lettering and design, I feel I use more logical thinking, with a touch of creativity. It’s really about figuring out the flow of the page, where I can place the elements to supplement that flow, and making sure everything is set to be sent to the printer. I am a very analytical thinker, so I think that’s why lettering comes naturally to me. I love puzzles. It can be a real good one to figure out how I’m going to get the balloons to fit in a panel when there isn’t much room to work with. I also have to figure out what font will best represent a sound effect, and what color will compliment it. I also enjoy designing up new caption styles to give a comic a style all its own.

On the other hand, writing for me is more of a demon. I don’t write a lot, and when I do, it’s usually because an idea has been rattling around in my head to the point of causing insomnia, and I’ve got to get it out and onto the page. If I wasn’t writing it down on paper, I’d be writing it all over the walls of my padded cell. I’m always reading magazines, novels, and reference books, and I watch the Discovery and History Channels a ton. When you fill you head with enough stuff, something has to start dripping out of it.
Writing “Gladiator” is also different than my usually writing as I have to consider the source material. Somebody else has already set up the foundation, I just have to make sure I stay true to that. Usually I can just write whatever I want because I’ve got a totally blank page. I welcome the challenge, and know this is going to be a really fun experience. I’m just grateful to Mike and Joe for letting me decide what to put in the speech bubbles for a change.
AP: The main character in GLADIATOR gets a lot of credit for inspiring ideas that we are all familiar with, or at least bearing strong resemblances to well known characters, like Superman or Doc Savage. Do you feel any sort of pressure from those comparisons?
JA: Not really. I read a ton of comics now, but I don’t get awestruck by the weight of a character’s legacy, or the people who work on them. The real pressure is living up to the legacy of the original book and putting out something that pulp fans will enjoy. I know it’s been said before to the point of cliché, but if they like what we’re doing, then it’s all worthwhile.
AP: Do you have anything else in the pipeline for Moonstone or anywhere else, you’d like to let the Pulp world know about?
JA: I’ve got a few comic projects I’m tinkering around with, both at Moonstone and elsewhere. I’m also working on a couple of short films, and those will likely start shooting around 2012. I also have a Phantom story that appears in the back of one of the Phantom: Generations trades. I didn’t think I was going to get a crack at him when I heard that Dynamite was taking over the character, but Joe and Mike allowed me to squeeze one in at the buzzer. Other than that, you’ll see me lettering a bunch of stuff for Moonstone, as well as a couple of other publishers here and there.
AP: Josh, thanks so much and can’t wait to see what you do with GLADIATOR!
JA: Thanks for having me!

MOONSTONE MONDAY-INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH MASSIE!

  • News
  • September 20, 2010
ELIZABETH MASSIE, Writer of JULIE WALKER IS THE PHANTOM and the upcoming MOON MAN for RETURN OF THE ORIGINALS, MOONSTONE BOOKS

　

AP:  Elizabeth, it’s a treat and a half to have you with All Pulp today!　 Can you give us a bit of background on yourself, personal and professional?


EM: Thanks so much! I’m a native Virginian, living within 20 miles of where my family moved in 1746. We tend to stay put once we put ourselves somewhere. I’ve been a newspaper receptionist, a camp counselor, a life guard, a teacher, and have been a full time freelance writer for 16 years. My first short story, “Whittler,” which was published in the now gone but well respected magazine, The Horror Show, earned me the grand sum of $2.00. Since then I’ve had close to 100 horror short stories published in magazines and anthologies, have had 23 novels for adults and young adults – both historical and horror – published by some of the best houses in the biz (Berkley, Tor, Simon & Schuster, Pocket. I’ve won two Bram Stoker Awards for my fiction, presented by the Horror Writers Association. I later branched out and did several media tie-in novels, one set in the Dark Shadows universe and one in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe. It was the first time I’d hopped over to play in someone else’s sandbox but found it a great deal of fun. Since then I’ve continued writing original fiction, nonfiction for educational publishers, and media-tie ins. In 2001 I met illustrator Cortney Skinner at the best horror convention EVER – Necon, which is held in Rhode Island. He moved down to Virginia and we’ve been sharing life and abode ever since. In 2010 I won a Scribe Award from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers for my novelization of the third season of Showtime’s television series, The Tudors. I love Pepsi and chai. I hate cheese. I love the beach and World’s Softest Brand socks. I have never bungee jumped or skydived. I hate fun houses; they scare me.
　
AP: Let’s talk about your work with Moonstone.　 You’ve worked with pretty two classic characters, Zorro and The Phantom.　 What about these iconic characters appeals to the writer in you?


EM: Well, Zorro was my first crush, so that’s an appeal all to itself. When I was a little girl we used to watch Disney’s Zorro. I was too young to know it was a crush, but why else would I carve a Z into the wooden base of my grandmother’s old-fashioned sewing machine? Plus, I loved that he was such a good guy with a sense of humor. So confident and so brave. People looked up to him and depended on his being there in the nick of time. What’s not to love? Even though he wore a mask and cape there was nothing scary about him. Writing about Zorro was really enjoyable in that I was able to take a serious story but highlight Don Diego’s sense of humor and ability to go back and forth between two completely different personas – the rich young man who enjoyed relaxing and playing cards and had no desire whatsoever to fight and the dashing mysterious hero who can out duel, out ride, and outwit any criminal who comes along.


The Phantom has many of the same appealing characteristics. He fights crime to protect the innocent from the clutches of evil. He also lives two different lives, and wears a disguise when fighting criminals and defending the defenseless. However, the Phantom (AKA Kit Walker) is a more brooding, more serious character, even during his “down time.” As a writer, I could appreciate the depths of character here, how his life truly is tuned in to the needs of others and how that can torment his soul. This gives a writer a lot to work with. I also love the exotic setting of his home – the fictional country of Bengalla in Africa.
　
AP: Your work with the Phantom involved a twist to the usual take on the character.  Can you tell us a bit about ‘Julie Walker is the Phantom’?　 Was there any particular impetus or inspiration for the idea?


EM: Well, I was actually asked to do a “female Phantom” comic from the outset. I thought it was a grand idea, and set to work researching the Phantom and the various time periods in which Phantom stories have been written. Some might not know that there has been a long line of Phantoms, beginning in 1536; that the mantle is passed down from father to son. My story begins as a more typical Phantom story, with the legendary Nellie Bly setting out on her round-the-world trip in 1889. Kit, as the Phantom, sets off to secretly protect her from those who wish her harm, but is wounded terribly soon afterwards. This leaves Kit’s twin sister, Julie, to be the Phantom in his stead. I loved this…writing about two strong, independent, adventurous women in one comic.
　

AP:. You’ve also written a story for Moonstone about a classic TV character. Tell us about writing KOLCHAK, THE NIGHT STALKER.


EM: Carl Kolchak is another t.v. character on whom I had a bit of a crush, though this time I was definitely grown up! Unlike Zorro or the Phantom, Kolchak is just a guy wanting to do his job – a reporter who investigates and exposes and often unwittingly fights and conquers monsters of all every imaginable types. In my story, “They Came From the Dark Ride,” two of my favorite topics were merged – The Night Stalker and old Coney Island, which in itself was a fascinating, colorful, fun, yet potentially terrifying place. Kolchak encounters a man who has purchased several hundred-year-old rides from Coney Island, with no clue as to what supernatural elements he’s actually brought to his home by doing so. Good ole’ Carl must investigate, figure it out, and try to halt the deadly force.
　
AP: With your work with pulp characters, you’re definitely stepping into an area that has always been largely male dominated and unfortunately so, in most peoples’ opinions I think. Do you think female writers bring anything different to the table in presenting pulp stories than male writers?


EM:  I don’t think so, at least not now. I’ve heard some people say women writers (in pulp, in horror, in science fiction, in mystery or crime fiction) tend to write more emotion-based or character-driven works, but honestly, these days I think men delve into the emotion of the pulp characters as often as women do, and women as often write action-packed, plot-driven, hard-edged stories as the men do.
　
AP:  What do you feel is the appeal of pulp fiction and characters to the audience of today?


EM: People love a good hero, someone who, like themselves, struggles with the actualities of real life but are able to turn on a dime and go out and fight with strength, courage, determination, and purpose for those in need or those in peril. It’s fun to imagine such people exist; and hey, I not only imagine it but believe it. There are amazing heroes all around us, they just don’t wear capes or have comic books about them.
　

AP: You have an upcoming project that surely will be a favorite for pulp fans. Talk to us, if you can, about your MOON MAN comic.

 EM: Moon Man is a great crime fighter. Living in the era of the Great Depression, he is a police detective in his real life but has an alter ego that robs from the rich and gives to the poor while wearing a robe (or cape, depending on the story) and an “Argus glass” bowl on his head. Quite a wild and wonderful bit or creativity there! The glass bowl allows him to see out, but others can’t see his face. It’s also rigged so his breath doesn’t steam up the inside. My wide vision Moon Man comic, “Feint of Heart,” pits our hero the Moon Man against a wealthy, devious, and evil real estate mogul who wants to destroy a tenement (where many poor people live!) for his own purposes while also luring his young ward (a pretty female boxer) back into his clutches for his foul purposes.


AP:  Are there characters in the pulp realm that you haven’t tackled yet that you’d love to get your hands on? If so, who and why?


EM: Actually, I’d just love to do another Kolchak, Zorro, or Julie Walker/Phantom tale!
　
AP: Do you have any projects outside of Moonstone that might interest the pulp community?


At last I’ve been dragged into the world of e-books. While I love holding books and comics in my hand, I also realize that e-books are here and that many people are buying them. Soooooo…..some novels and collections from my back list are heading that way. In fact, my first novel, Sineater, (a Bram Stoker Award winner) is now available from Crossroad Press http://crossroadpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=126 and soon will be available as an audio book. I also have several new ghost stories out in anthologies from Woodland Press, including two due to be out October, 2010 –“Something You Need to Know” in Specters in Coal Dust and “Someone Came and Took Them Away” in Legends of the Mountain State 4.



AP:  Any future Moonstone projects we haven’t discussed you’d like to share about?

EM: A new anthology, edited by Lori Gentile, is due out in a few months. It’s called Chicks in Capes. The title alone probably gives you a good idea of the contents! Each writer (yes, all female writers and illustrators in this project) was to write a new story based on a character they owned or a new character they created for the book. My story, “Silver Slut: And So It Begins,” features a young bike messenger who discovers to her amazement that, while wearing a silver-lined cape given her on her birthday she has several super powers, but also discovers to her dismay that the first name someone calls her when they see her in her cape becomes her super hero name. My story is fast-paced, character-driven, and with a lot of humor.
　
AP: Again, it’s been a pleasure to visit with you!


EM: Thanks! It’s been fun!

The Snark Files: Insanely Useless Licensed Products!

  • News
  • September 20, 2010

Tip of hat to iFanboy for posting the photos of this insanely hilarious find. I wonder sometimes when the folks at Marvel and DC are sitting in their big leather chairs, surrounded by rich mahogany book shelves, and leather bound editions of Action Comics and X-Force…”how far is too far, when it comes to licensing out our most awesome characters?” I imagine these big shots then puff off incredibly large cigars, and quickly use their iPads to check their enormous bank accounts. They think quickly back to a time before you could buy Spider-Man toothbrushes, Hulk official shredded purple swim-trunks, and Superman collector plates. Then they laugh their insane laugh, and sign off on any number of crazy products to be slapped together with the image of one of their countless licensees.

My case in point? Look to your right. Hostess Green Lantern GloBalls and Flashcakes! Really? Before I lay into the newest pair of uselessly licensed products, allow me first to answer those people who are already typing up their counter-snarky arguments for me. I know that DC and Marvel license out their characters in a near endless parade of products… and honestly, it doesn’t bother me in the least. As a kid, I loved my Spider-Man toothbrush, Batman underoos, and Superman halloween costume (complete with chinese macro-produced superman plastic mask that pressed up on your mouth so you got that icky sweaty film between the mask and your face after wearing the ten cent piece of plastic for less than a minute!). I don’t think it’s wrong for Marvel, DC, Image, or any other comic company to use it’s characters to snag a quick dollar from time to time. It keeps the coffers full long enough to green light actual good products, like Blue Beetle mini-series, and H.E.R.O.! Are we clear on that? Do you all understand that from here on out, my snarkyness comes packaged as a joke / satire / humorous observation? This is strictly to entertain you, my most finicky of fans. That being said… Let’s snark it up.

So DC… this is what the kids are dying for? Or did Hostess call you frantically to say “HELP US! We have all this leftover green dye from the Shrek 3D movie tie-ins, that we need to get rid of, and Marvel said no to “Hulk GammaBalls”!” And then, I imagine you, the DC Executive thought for maybe 10 or 15 seconds, and fired back. “Sure, you can make em’ Green Lantern Power Battery Balls… But Geoff Johns is in my office, and he said that we need to elevate both Green Lantern and Flash, since they are his favorite characters… and whatever Geoff says, we do. So, you have to make a Flash Cake too. Make a Flash-filled Twinkie or Speed Force Fruit Pie.” And in a few short weeks, right next to the Avengers Fruit Snacks now sits GloBalls and Flash Cakes. Now, as both a comic fan, and snack cake fan, I’m down for this. But the comic fan in me has a few reservations:

  1. Am I too believe Green Lantern’s power ring is making Snowball constructs? Even by the product shot on the box, I can see only the outer layer appears to be made out of the green energy that is dispensed from a power ring and battery combo. Further more, I just went through all 257 issues of Green Lantern that I keep near my computer, and not once did I see evidence that the power ring has the capability to create sustenance. And if I were to be nice and give Hostess the benefit of the doubt, I must say that the Green Lantern power rings always assist in the mental and physical prowess of the host, and I doubt that the ring would produce such unhealthy snacks… Unless… this is all a trick produced by Sinestro, Larfleeze, and Atrocitus to fatten up fanboys, so that we can’t come to the aid of Hal Jordan when they attack! Don’t eat those cakes kids! It’s a trap!!!

  2. Based on the box art, I can safely assume that the Flash Cakes are a product of Barry Allen. It’s not clear if these snack cakes are produced within the speed force (the graphics on the box make it appear to possibly be speed force related…). Since we know that the speed force can create mutli-colored fully realized constructs, thanks to Wally West, these cakes are certainly plausible. What is curious to us though, is why Barry Allen would endorse a product that, like its GloBall brethren, is an unhealthy treat. The chocolate cake, cream filling, and icing are all heavily laden with high fructose corn syrup, fat, and preservatives. Why would Barry Allen, police officer, and all-around goody-two-shoes endorse a product that would lend itself so freely to the epidemic of childhood obesity… Unless… the Flash Cakes are in fact a product of that inglorious bastard Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash! His M.O., thanks to Geoff Johns, is to cause all the problems in Barry Allen’s life… and what could be worse than filling up Central City and Keystone City full of wobbling weeble children! And when they clog the hospitals with their fat-filled tummies, in diabetic comas… All the doctors will exclaim “Why? Why are all these children so fat?” And then, in his yellow and red blur, the Reverse Flash will laugh his maniacal laugh as they realize it was the fun-colored Flash Cakes that drove the children to their state of sedentary sluggishness! Don’t eat these cakes either kids! It’s another trap!

So… there you have it. Hostess and DC have been duped by Geoff Johns and the ne’er-do-wells of the DC Universe, to sell you licensed snack cakes, in hopes of lulling you into a sugar-spiked coma. We recommend you avoid these obviously villainous vittles, and opt instead for a Green-hued Granny Smith, or a Flash-friendly fiber-filled Red Delicious. You’ll get the same boost of sweetness, but with some actual vitamins and nutrients. DC may not like it… but you will, next time your lard-laden butt has to walk uphill to the comic shop.

The Snark Files: Marvel’s Newest Team

  • News
  • September 20, 2010

Our dear friends at Marvel decided to share a little cryptic image… and you know how much we love cryptic images. So, let’s take a look at it, and see if we can guess what’s going on here.

  • Well right off the bat, the headline reads “All new. All different.” And the ‘T’ in different is a sword. It’s obvious to us that this means that this new team, for the first time in marvel history, will consist of members permanently on fire.
  • Front and center we see Warpath is his old costume, as opposed to his black and silver X-Force: Pointy Things Kill People costume. Last time we checked wikipedia, it seems Warpath left the team because he “was finally at peace”… Our guess, Warpath wasn’t at peace, he just was holding out for a team without Wolverine.
  • Behind Warpath is Banshee, who as you’ll recall, has never been cool. Wikipedia said Cyclops eye-beamed him off Utopia at the end of the last X-men mini series we didn’t care about. Looks like Banshee’s back… And with it, there’s goes the sales.
  • Behind Banshee are a collection of Multiple Men. Using both the newer costume and the “body sock” 90’s costume… we can only assume Marvel ran out of characters to put on teams… so why not fill out the ranks with Multiple Men! It worked in the 90s, and it’ll work now, damn it.
  • To the right of Banshee, Multiple Man and Warpath are … uhh… some women. On fire. They’re in v-neck tunics, top coats, and skirts. Our guess? It’s Firestar and Frankie Raye. Why? They’re the only fire-type girls we know, except for Jean Gray. And we’re pretty sure she’s dead this week.
  • We also note that all these folks are sporting glowing red eyes. This could mean they’re being mind-controlled, have all developed Cyclops-like eye beams, or that they’ve forgotten their Visene.
  • The term “All New. All Different.” is generally associated with the X-Men. Look, we admit we bailed on the X-Men when we heard they were fighting vampires… but when your new team is 4/5ths Multiple Man, and Banshee? Why not close the deal, and add some of our favorite members… Doctor Nemesis, Dust, and No-Girl (a literal brain in a jar.)
  • At the bottom of the image, it declare a street date of December 2010. Oh! We got it. It’s the Marvel Character end-of-the-year Fire Sale! Get any of these characters for your own project before they’re shipped off to Marvel Island. That’s right kids, Marvel Island™, where a licensee can go to quietly die until Bendis wants them on the Avengers.

Do you have any ideas? If so, post em’ below… because lord knows we ain’t gotta clue.

Tippin’ Hancock’s Hat

  • News
  • September 20, 2010


TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews by Tommy Hancock

BLACK BAT DOUBLE SHOT REVIEW-PART TWO
Writer-Mike Bullock
Artist-Michael Metcalf
(NOTE-This review is for the second of two stories in this issue. A review of the first story has already appeared on ALL PULP! Just click REVIEWS and scroll down!

Death Angel

Pulp writers today walk a multitude of slippery slopes and fine lines. They have to be careful when dealing with established characters not to tick off hardcore fans and also not to alienate new readers. It’s even more hazardous when introducing a new character into the Pulp genre. Writers run the risk of being accused of being derivative if their creation is too similar to a pulp icon or, even worse, they get accused of not knowing what in the tommy guns they are doing, trying to shoehorn a modern idea into the pulp world.

The creators behind the DEATH ANGEL story in the second half of Black Bat: Double Shot, Moonstone Books, walk that slope. And they do it really, really well.

Death Angel, an original creation of the book’s creative team, Bullock and Metcalf, is a vigilante with a horrible visage and a dedicated mission to see justice done. As violently and as bloodily as possible. Although some would argue that the character looks to be more modern in appearance than some might like their pulp characters, make no mistake. If artists of the past could have gotten away with it (and some arguably did), then there would have been some really scary lookin’ good guys back in the day.

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The story is very fast paced, dealing with a new drug on the scene that essentially drives the user insane. Death Angel encounters a couple of these junkies and deals with them swiftly and savagely, but Bullock works in character development in this cyclone of a tale as well, with a literal ‘behind the mask’ moment, one that may surprise people who didn’t read the Angel’s debut.

The art is solid, stark, and insane. The line work is tight, yet at times, particularly when Death Angel uses some of her devices, the word ‘psychedelic’ could be used. The story moves along like a freight train out of control and out of track. It’s hindered a little by its own speed, moving almost too fast to be understood and enjoyed in a single reading. Overall, however, Death Angel’s story in this double shot stands up well against her companion, The Black Bat, and is a welcome denizen of the night seeking justice in the pulp genre!

Four out of Five Tips of Hancock’s Hat (usually reserved for heads of state, arresting officers, and little old ladies, which is pretty darn good.)

MOONSTONE MONDAY-ED CATTO INTERVIEW

  • News
  • September 20, 2010

Ed Catto, Retropeneur, C & A Enterprises, LLC, partnered with Moonstone Books

AP: Ed, welcome to ALL PULP and to Moonstone Monday!  Tell us about yourself, some personal as well as professional background?
EC: Sure, thanks for having me!
 I’m a marketing professional and have spent my career building brands such as OREO, Snuggle, Chips   Ahoy!, Lysol, KIA and Napa.  But I’m also a long-time comic fan, and have worked with Marvel, DC, Valiant and Reed Expo’s New York Comic Con developing strategy and marketing initiatives.  Developing Captain Action Enterprises, LLC, with my partner Joe Ahearn, seems a natural extension of both my marketing skills and my passion for comics.
AP: What is your involvement with Moonstone Books?
EC: We shopped our first property, Captain Action, around a bit when we were looking to develop the new comic series.  Moonstone was really the best place for us to find a solid partner committed to working together to build an engaging series. 
We work closely with the whole Moonstone team to develop our series, manage the monthly ebb and flow of producing the comics, and to develop new initiatives. Examples include our digital relationships with ComiXology and Panelfly and our new partnership with Overdrive, the group that manages digital comics and books for libraries worldwide. Some of the other programs have been more straight forward, like the enamel/cloisonné pins we created for The Phantom and for Captain Acton.
We’ve been thrilled with our partnership with Moonstone. It’s been a great place to be creative and work with fantastic talent.  And now our titles with Moonstone are growing to include Zeroids, Savage Beauty, Lady Action and Captain Action Classified, the new 60’s series featuring the “original” Captain Action.
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AP: Captain Action seems to be your primary property. Can you give us some background on Captain Action as a character?
EC: After the success of G.I. Joe, Stan Weston created the Captain Action toy line for Ideal.  Just as G.I. Joe could change into an army soldier or an astronaut, Captain Action could change into superheroes.  Originally he could change into a plethora of heroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman…even The Green Hornet and Buck Rogers.
On the very basic level, Captain Action is all about imagining the possibilities of oneself.  The idea is that “you can be anything you want to be” but always tempered with “being yourself is pretty cool too.”  We try to bring that into our Moonstone series.
He has a rich cast of characters too, including his arch-enemy, Dr. Eville, his sidekick, Action Boy and his amazing amphibious car, the Silver Streak!
AP: Can you talk about the process of how you came to be involved with Captain Action on a business level?  This is also probably a good place to have you explain the term you use on your facebook page to refer to yourself..Just what is a retropreneur?
EC: Our company, CAE, LLC is based on the idea of taking old properties that still have appeal or a nostalgia value, polishing them up and getting them out there once more – both for original fans and a whole new audience too.
So –we’re kind of entrepreneurs with throwback/retro perspective. We get a lot of positive feedback when we offer our business cards to folks and they see Retropreneur. It’s a little whimsical, but it’s memorable!
AP: Why Moonstone for Captain Action?  What about Moonstone appeals to you to help get the legend of Captain Action out to the masses.
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EC:  Moonstone has been a great place to serve as a launch pad for many of our own ideas, but publisher Joe Gentile also provides great guidance and insight.  Plus, he’s a tireless worker, so there’s always a sense that he’s working hard for us and our books.  The Moonstone extended family, with Dave Ulanski, Lori G and the whole crowd, including solid folks like Marshall Dillon have been a joy to work with.   And Mike Bullock, the Phantom/Black Bat/Lions, Tigers and Bears writer, has been a great compadre.  We worked with him on our Phantom/Captain Action miniseries and are working even more closely developing our upcoming Savage Beauty Series!
Moonstone’s also a publisher with a big tent. We’re publishing a superhero comic, and robot/Zombie/Sorority Girl comic and a jungle comic..and they all seem to fit perfectly under the Moonstone banner.
In 15 years, Moonstone’s been good and honest with creatives too.  So when we call up our favorites to say, “Hey, wanna work with us”, they know that Moonstone is a reliable outfit.
AP: How do you make a concept like Captain Action, one that started as a toy decades ago, relevant to the modern audience?
EC:  We ask ourselves that every day. And I’m not sure if there’s an easy answer. But we’ve worked hard to  be true to the characters, while finding fresh voices and innovations.  We want to keep the core of what made the toy interesting in the first place (otherwise, why bother with it?) and yet spin it out so you’ll be pleasantly surprising the old fans and still providing engaging, welcoming entertainment for new fans.
AP: Do you have any other projects with Moonstone currently?
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EC: Zeroids was another Ideal property from the sixties. They were a sort of early Transformers – robots from space.   We’ve brought that back with a vengeance. The first issue just met huge critical acclaim and the second issue will be out in about 2 weeks.   Then we’ll continue on in 2012 with an ongoing Zeroids monthly comic.    For this one, we worked with writer Aaron Schapps to create a SciFi mash up of several concepts, including robots, zombies, aliens and, of course, sorority girls.  In fact, the series real protagonist is a college sophomore named Destiny Zero. She has sort of a Dorothy-in-Oz relationship  to the Zeroids!
After that we have a Captain Action Winter Special! And what a special this is! It’ll include:
A classic Captain Action tale of a beautiful French double-agent and a communist Yeti penned by Beau Smith and expertly rendered by the great Eduardo Baretto. 
1.       Lady Action in “The Spy Who Snowballed Me” by our favorite British madman, Tony Lee with art by Reno Maniquis.
2.       For the first time ever, Green Hornet will team up with Captain Action in a prose story by Matthew Baugh.
3.       Covers are by Mark Wheately and Ruben Propocio – it’ll be a quite a package.
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Then we’ll debut Savage Beauty in February! This is a re-imagining of the old Jungle Girl Comics, but with a modern day twist.
Starting with a generous sneak peek at New York Comic Con, we’ll be inviting readers to take a walk on the wild side with Savage Beauty, our new comic series that tells the stories of sisters Lacy and Livvy Rae. This series focuses on their travels throughout modern-day Africa as they are called upon to help right wrongs, protect the innocent and punish evildoers. As reporters for Africa Adventures Online, the Rae sisters are guided by the mysterious Mr. Eden to assume the identity of the mythical goddess Ayana. Disguised as this “Savage Beauty”, the two girls fight modern-day pirates, hard corps militias, corrupt politicians and various other real-world adversaries torn from today’s headlines.

Savage Beauty will take you on an exciting journey as the Rae sisters discover their purpose in life, even as they make a real difference in the world.

Plus the comic book series intends to make a difference too – each issue will donate a full page to partner causes such as Oxfam, Just A Drop and Invisible Children, among others.

And our first issue will be oversized, with a Savage Beauty story, a classic reprint of the first Jungle Girl – Sheena, and special features including lost promotional art to 60’s Raquel Welch Jungle Girl movie pitch…and we’ll be offering it all for just $2.99.
And future covers read like a who’s who of comics – Paul Gulacy, Mark Wheately, Dave Hoover, Chris Short and even a few non-traditional surprises!  Series write and co-creator Mike Bullock has a long list of hot stories that we can’t wait to publish.  We’re really excited for this project!
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So much else going on too: Our Phantom-Captain Action Hardcover is coming out and it looks gorgeous.  Wait till you see the wonderful John Byrne cover on issue #1 of Captain Action Classified. Future storylines in that title include a Berlin Wall story with Nazi’s and LSD, and a story that features the Beatles in Paris right before their historic Ed Sullivan appearance.  And be on the lookout in November when that British Bombshell, Lady Action appears in the prose collection of short stories in the anthology: Chicks in Capes, edited by Lori G!  Look for the lovely Nicola (Wonder Woman/Secret Six) Scott cover!
And convention-wise, we have two more this season. I’ll be a guest of Honor at the 35th Annual Ithacon in Ithaca, NY September 25th, and then we’ll have strong presence again at booth #2380 at New York Comic Con October 8-10th.
AP: What is the appeal of reviving old toy characters/lines and giving them new life in the modern era? 
EC:  In one sense, it’s a big-boys-big-toys kind of thing.  We like to play with entertainment properties and get down to their essence, and then build them back up again in an engaging story.
In another sense, it’s what every kid does with every Imagination-based toy. They make their own story up. We’re doing just that- with a talented group of collaborators- and it’s a great challenge to put it out there and see if anyone likes it!
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AP: Any future projects you care to let the ALL PULP pulpsters in on?
 EC: Our biggest news isn’t quite ready yet, but it’s so very, very close. We’ll be making a big toy announcement soon – hopefully before New York Comic Con – that both new and old fans will be jump-out-of-their-seats excited about!
AP: Thanks a lot, Ed!
EC: It’s been a pleasure – thanks for having me!

NEW QUIZ FROM SARGE’S P.O.P QUIZ CENTRAL!!

  • News
  • September 19, 2010
P.O.P. QUIZ CENTRAL: PULP ART
Well, here’s another pop quiz from P.O.P. QUIZ CENTRAL, where the P.O.P. in P.O.P. QUIZ stands for Periodic Outcome Profile (Sounds pretty test happy ta me!). While our last P.O.P. Quiz was fairly general in content, this one concentrates on pulp art, comicbook art and artists. Again only circle one choice per line! With this particular P.O.P. QUIZ don’t feel obligated to answer every item. If you’re not familiar with the following names just look ‘em up later. Consider it homework that will amaze and astound you! Many of us Many of us are not familiar with the names of the authentic pulp artists of yesteryear but are quite familiar with the comicbook artists of the 1940’s to the present. Others have become quite familiar with the cracklin’ crop of artists who are posting their awe inspirin’ artwork on fb.  Again, don’t sweat the small stuff, it’s only a test! If it were the real thing I’d sit you down at Disney with a drawing table and a mess of markers and tell ya ta draw a caricature of every guest that plunks themselves down in front of ya!  I think you’ll be happier with the end results and analysis here. Well, here we go again!
(Circle only one answer per line, please. It’ll make it a lot easier for self-scoring. Don’t worry, I still trust you!)
  1. Hal Foster or Alex Raymond?
  2. Little Nemo or Popeye?
  3. The Magnificent Seven or Seven Angry Men?
  4. Dennis the Menace or Peanuts?
  5. Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko?
  6. Gil Kane or Neal Adams?
  7. Gil Kane or Bob Kane?
  8. Wayne Boring or Paul Reiman?
  9. Joe Kubert or Jerry Robinson?
  10. John Buscema or Johnny Romita?
  11. Will Eisener or Jules Feiffer?
  12. Jay Piscopo or Delfin Barral?
  13. Wally Wood or Mark Wheatley?
  14. Battle Star Galactica or Star Trek?
  15. Seascapes or Still Life?
  16. Nik Poliwko or Lawrence Leeson?
  17. Monopoly or Clue?
  18. Carl Barks or Walter Lantz?
  19. Art Deco or Craftsman?
  20. Evan Quiring or Del Hewitt, Jr.
  21. Law & Order or Dragnet?
  22. Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers?
  23. Dave Lung or Danny De Bruin?
  24. Twin Earths or Lost In Space?
  25. Jeremy Billadeau or Mike Spicer?
  26. Danny Kelly or Pete Hernandez II?
  27. Addams Family or the Munsters ?
  28. Jim Steranko or Peter Max?
  29. Desperate Housewives or All My Children?
  30. James Bama or Frank Frazetta
Well, did you find a pattern here? No? Look again, if you circled mostly names on the left you enjoy going to the movies. If more of your choices were on the right than you most likely enjoy live theatre. Now how does this translate to pulp art and design? Easy! The more names and titles you circled on the left the more you’re drawn to a cinematic angle and perspective. The more answers you circled on the right tells us you enjoy a dramatic feel and approach that can only be achieved on stage. If your choices even out between, let’s say 14 of one and 16 of the other, then you’re comfortable with more styles and techniques than most pulp artists, fans and writers.

Review: ‘The Big Bang Theory the Complete Third Season’

1000149528brdlef1-7176949By the beginning of its third season, CBS’s [[[The Big Bang Theory]]] had crossed over from well-reviewed sitcom for geeks to a ratings blockbuster. The characters remained oblivious to this elevation in esteem while their performers and creators didn’t let the success get to their heads. Instead, the season’s 22 episodes remained sharp and funny, delving deeper into the characters, revealing back stories, and expanding on the work place dilemmas.

As seen in The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Third Season, now out from Warner Home Video, the major arc of the year was Penny and Leonard’s relationship, with her making efforts to understand his working world while he tried to socially adjust to her world. And when they broke up, the repercussions are keenly felt among the others – Sheldon, Raj, and Howard. The show nicely builds up the Sheldon/Penny relationship, which hit a dramatic point halfway through the second season and the chemistry between Kaley Cuoco and Emmy-winning Jim Parsons makes their scenes sheer delights. Penny’s romantic entanglement with Leonard also altered the roommate dynamic with Sheldon, which played out nicely throughout the season.

The four guys remain geeks that ComicMix fans recognize, for better or worse. As a result, episodes such as “The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary” and “The Wheaton Recurrence” with guest nemesis Wil Wheaton and “The Precious Fragmentation” are particularly enjoyable. But, the show begins to bring in stunt casting gimmicks such as “The Excelsior Acquisition” and the legendary Stan Lee, which is fine once a season, but can easily devolve if not kept in check. And as the third season begins, mastermind Chuck Lorre will be overseeing not only this gem, but [[[Two and a Half Men]]] and the newcomer, [[[Mike and Molly]]], so if the show jumps the shark, it could be this season.

(more…)

Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

  • News
  • September 19, 2010

Founded by Cap’n Slappy and Ol’ Chumbucket in 1996, International Talk Like A Pirate Day is celebrated today, the 19th of September here and abroad. The two mates began talking like buccaneers one day, and thanks to some promotion from Dave Barry, we can now all share in this truly amazing holiday.

So, today, unlike any other day in the year, you’re allowed to yell “Avast, ye matey!” when you see your friend at Buffalo Wild Wings. You may refer to the waitress as “a soddy lass” or “a buxom wench”. When you order your wings, you can dust off some phrases like “Ahoy! I’ll ‘ave the cap’n’s order of yer finest wings, and a enough grog to make me loaded to the Gunwales!” And when the waitress gives you the stank eye for speaking pirate, bang your fist on the table and say “By the powers! You land-lubber lass…I said get me a plunder of wings and ale, lest I and me mates turn this table over and make you walk the plank!”

If you still need a little hint or two on how to talk like a pirate, you should double up on your adjectives. Instead of calling your last issue of Brightest Day a “waste of my time”, you can say its “a stinking, rotten waste of me time, arrrrgh!”. Another hint would be to use ‘I be’ instead ‘I am’, and drop your G’s and V’s. That way when you declare “I be throwin’ you this issue of X-Men, and I be wantin’ a refund!” the store clerk will give you a knowing glance.

Tip of our pirate hat to the the fine folks at yarr.org, for gettin’ us up to speed on this momentous day. Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to go put on our peg legs, and hoist our sails on for Ford Explorarrrrrgh!

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Review: ‘Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide’

Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide

by Alan Cowsill
208 pages, DK Publishing, $16.99

avengers-guide1-9804420It’s a new Age of Heroes in the Marvel Universe but as always, the clarion call for champions is answered by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. With the hoopla surrounding the Marvel Studios’ announcements regarding the 2012 live-action [[[Avengers]]] movie, the timing is perfect for this book from DK Publishing.

Unfortunately, the book itself is already dated because they made little effort to make certain the status quo matched what was being published in the comic books. This is, of course, an exceedingly tricky proposition but thankfully, both Marvel and DC have recently hit demarcation points where you could say the information contained in these books are concurrent. (I managed to make next month’s [[[The Essential Superman Encyclopedia]]] information reflected the end of the [[[New Krypton]]] story so it can be done.) Reading through Alan Cowsill’s text, it is largely set during he events of Siege although some information is from the subsequent Age of Heroes so its inconsistent and confusing.

A book like this, especially from DK, prides itself on clarity of information and yet organizations and events are referred to and there’s no context or explanation provided, so it’s one thing to tell readers someone belonged to the Initiative, but what was the Initiative? The book also lacks any source material so you don’t have the usual listing of first appearances which is a major factual omission. Even more grievous is that for a book called Avengers, not once is there anything about the team. I was interested to see the line-up by line-up examinations along with explanations for the West Coast and New incarnations of the team.

Instead, this book features just over 200 heores and villains with information blocks, pointless power rankings, and lots of pop-ups with additional details. Visually, the material is mostly showing us the current incarnations of the character with smaller images culled from throughout Marvel history. This, though, may be the first time a book of this nature lacks substantial images culled from the first Marvel Age so Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and John Romita are severely underrepresented. Heck, titans like John Buscema, John Romita, Jr., John Byrne, and many others are also missing in action.

Over two dozen of the entries are out of date given the end of the Siege storyline. Perhaps the most inaccurate page is the one for Ant Man which gives us the deceased Scott Lang and never mentions the current Eric O’Grady, while the callout image of Hank Pym shows him as Giant Man.

There are some other serious gaffes such as giving us Clint Barton pages, one for Hawkeye and one for Ronin, which was superfluous. Similarly, Hank Pym gets pages as both Wasp II and Giant Man. The [[[Captain America]]] page is Steve Rogers with no page for Bucky as either the Winter Solider or Captain America II. In much the same way, the Black Panther page is all about T’Challa despite his sister being the current Panther (even in comics coming out this fall) but she gets merely a brief mention.

Characters who recently died such as[[[ Hercules]]], [[[Black Bolt]]], and [[[the Sentry]]] are said to be hale and hardy and while Jessica Jones’ page tells us she and Luke Cage had a child, Luke’s page neglects that detail as does the Invisible Woman entry neglect to mention Franklin and Valeria.

Books like these are great to thumb through and make a handy reference work but this one volume is a wee bit too all over the place to be anything more than a pretty picture book.

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