Category: News

PULP OBSCURA ADDS TWO CLASSIC CHARACTERS FROM PULP’S GREATEST CREATOR!

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Pro Se Productions, an up and coming Publisher in the New Pulp field and known for original characters, announces today an exciting addition to its first foray into classic Pulp characters, the PULP OBSCURA line.
As previously announced, Pro Se Productions in conjunction with Altus Press, the premier producer of Pulp Reprints as well as the Publisher of The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage written by Will Murray, will be producing collections of New Pulp tales based on characters that Altus is reprinting.  These characters will not necessarily be the better-known Pulp characters, but rather largely unknown and forgotten heroes and villains from Pulp’s Golden Era.  Although many of these characters, such as Richard Knight, the aviator hero featured in the first PULP OBSCURA volume from Pro Se, are currently in the Public Domain, Pro Se reveals today that not only will there be volumes of PULP OBSCURA involving characters requiring permission and licensing to use, but the two characters currently in question were created by possibly the best known and respected Classic Pulp Author ever.
“Pro Se is absolutely proud,” Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor-in-Chief of Pro Se Productions stated, “to be able to say that with the sanction of the representative of the heirs of Norma Dent, PULP OBSCURA will include collections featuring brand new tales written by modern writers of two heroes created and originally written by Lester Dent.” 
Later in 2012, Altus Press has plans to reprint the original stories written by Lester Dent of two of his characters, both falling into the ‘gadget detective’ category, a particular niche that Dent often wrote in and one that definitely carried over into his Doc Savage stories.  These two characters, Foster Fade, the Crime Spectacularist and Lynn Lash will appear in Altus reprint editions and will also appear in anthologies of New Pulp tales featuring the characters as companion volumes to the Altus reprints.
“I can’t really express,” Hancock said, “how absolutely cool it is to be able to be a part of bringing two classic Dent characters back to life in a sense.   Although some Pulp Fans, particularly Dent devotees, are aware of Fade and Lash, they are largely unknown characters to many readers today.  To be able to not only have their original adventures in print again with Altus Press, but to also be producing and creating brand new stories to continue where Mr. Dent left off and to bring awareness to not just these characters, but to the wonderful variety of characters that still live from the Pulp Age as well as the lesser known work of Dent himself, its simply astounding for me to even be associated with it.”
Although definite dates for publishing have not been established, Hancock stated that recruiting the writers for the first two anthologies, one featuring each character, would begin immediately and would follow the same standard applied to previous PULP OBSCURA titles.  Anyone interested in having the opportunity to propose a tale for either THE NEW ADVENTURES OF FOSTER FADE, THE CRIME SPECTACULARIST VOLUME ONE or THE NEW ADVENTURES OF LYNN LASH VOLUME ONE simply needs to email Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net.   Those interested will then, according to Hancock, be given an opportunity to make proposals in the coming days.
“Thanks,” Hancock stated, “to Matt Moring from Altus Press for coming to Pro Se and wanting to bring new life to all these classic characters that have sat dormant far too long. And much appreciation to Will Murray and the Dent heirs for allowing Pro Se and the writers we’ll gather to be a part of something the man many of us consider the best Pulp creator ever started.”

MIKE GOLD: Satan’s Retro-Review

gold-column-art-120208-5219755One of the charms of being into comics is the joy of stumbling across an unexpected find. It could be a new comic that came in under the radar (in other words, I missed that page in the Diamond Catalog) or an oldie I hadn’t heard of. That used to be one of the real pleasures in attending comic book conventions, before they became the Cattle Calls of the Damned.

Yesterday I stumbled across a real interesting find. An emailed gift from a friend in need, and by “in need” I’m referring to me. I was staring at my blank computer screen, reciting the mantra “need… column… idea… need… column… idea…” The gift was a wonderful albeit sickening one-shot published by Dark Horse about five years ago, produced by Eric Powell of Goon fame.

For me, Powell’s work is irresistible. So is The Goon. But that doesn’t matter. It’s impossible for me to pass up a comic called Satan’s Sodomy Baby. That’s just how I roll. This one truly has it all: The Goon, bestiality, Satanic anal rape, multi-faith humor, dumb Tennesseans, pissing fire long before Ghost Rider did it, and truly gratuitous titties. Well, just two gratuitous titties, but you see ‘em a lot.

Did I mention this book isn’t for kiddies? Of course if you’re a parent that’s your decision; I ain’t trying to tell you how to raise your children up. But even Powell is on the same page: the false-cover consists of a blurb that says, and I quote,

WARNING: This comic contains material unsuitable for children. It’s filled with vile, morally reprehensible subject matter that is quite possibly illegal in some states, and if it’s not, it should be. Do not open this comic if you are under the age of 18. Do not open this comic if you have strong religious convictions or even the smallest hint of human decency. Do not open this comic if you love Satan. Do not open this comic if you have strong political beliefs. Do not open this comic if you are homophobic. Do not open this comic if you are racist. Do not open this comic if you love farm animals. In fact, unless you have no strong feelings about anything, THIS PROBABLY ISN’T THE COMIC FOR YOU. Unless you have a sense of humor.

Yow! Talk about your variant covers!

This book is hilarious. Pull the stick outta your ass – Satan probably put it there anyhow – and give it a read. I suggest doing so after an episode of Justified.THURSDAY: Bring it on, Dennis O’Neil!

It’s My Birthday…

..but you guys are the ones who get the present. For one day only, February 8th, you can get an original Dillon adventure for free.  That’s right, I said free and I meant free.  The background behind DILLON AND THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS can be found here and it’ll explain why you’re getting a Christmas story in February.
Or you could just skip all that yakkity yak and bounce on over to Smashwords and just download the story for your Kindle, your Nook, your computer, your whatever.  You can find it here
I did mention it was free, right?

Watch “The Amazing Spider-Man” Trailer, Now With New Hidden Web Site Link

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It’s quite possible you’ve already seen the new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, but if not, take a look… and in fact, look very closely:

You may have noticed Ol’ Webhead leave his mark, and not just on the walls… the phrase “the Mark of the Spider-Man” is mentioned by Captain Stacy and is hidden within the webbing towards the end of the trailer. The site markofthespider-man.com takes you to a site with six screens filled with static, but I’ll bet my last Spider-tracer that if you keep an eye on that new site over the next week, we’ll see all sorts of new stuff revealed on those screens.

The Amazing Spider-Man comes out July 3rd, and stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Rhys Ifans, Sally Field, and Martin Sheen.

(Hat tip: movieviral.com)

Simpsons Toys Banned In Iran

Isn’t it nice to know that after nearly five hundred episodes, The Simpsons still have the power to shock and offend censors?

The Simpsons have now joined Barbie as targets of an Iranian crackdown, putting one of the iconic blonde doll’s biggest critics on the same blacklist as her. Citing some kind of vague moral opposition to The Simpsons, Mohammad Hossein Farjoo (who Reuters awesomely describes as the head of an agency that “oversees what Iranian children can play with”) said authorities would crack down on sales of toys based on the series and its characters.

That means Lisa Simpson, who famously campaigned for a less sexist Malibu Stacey (the show’s thinly veiled version of Barbie), now joins Barbie as a threat to Iranian morals.

via Iran Bans Simpsons Toys – Global – The Atlantic Wire.

Watch the Extended “John Carter” Super Bowl Ad

Here’s Disney’s extended game spot for “John Carter”, directed by Andrew Stanton and starring Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins and Willem Dafoe, and based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “A Princess of Mars”. Coming to theaters March 9.

ROUND TWO-Andrew Salmon Guest Reviews FELONY FISTS!

AN UPPERCUT ABOVE THE REST

A Review of Paul Bishop’s FELONY FISTS

by Andrew Salmon

Back in the day, sports pulps, including boxing pulps, were as common as Westerns or Romance magazines on newsstands everywhere. People thrilled to action-packed, fist-flying tales of fictional sports heroes in action. And anyone who knows their pulp history might tell you that those days are over.

Well, they haven’t read Paul Bishop’s Felony Fists!

Move over James Ellroy, there’s a new kid roaming the dark alleys of 1950s Los Angeles. Part of the Fight Card line from Fight Card Productions, Bishop’s Felony Fists, published under the byline Jack Tunney, tells the story of Patrick “Felony” Flynn a hardnosed police officer with the LAPD and boxer. Flynn can’t resist a good scrap and is trying to parlay his impressive arrest record into an invitation to the Hat Squad – the elite crew of detectives keeping La-La Land’s streets clean. So when Chief Parker wants to put a crimp in Mickey Cohen’s plans to take over the fight game, he turns to the best boxer on the squad. Flynn’s task is no piece of cake. He has to beat Cohen’s title contender and beat him soundly.

What follows is one delicious slice of bygone Los Angeles. Felony Fists is a winner on every level. The book is lean, mean and authentic and it’s one no fan of hardboiled fiction will want to miss. The boxing scenes are visceral, bloody and you feel like you’ve gone toe to toe with Flynn’s opponents by the time you’re through. Throw in some fine police work, corruption, intrigue, blackmail and deception and Felony Fists lays out an irresistible buffet.

Paul Bishop is the real deal, folks. If you’re a pulp fan, boxing fan or just love a hard-hitting, down and dirty mean streets pot-boiler, then Bishop has your poison. Without doubt one of the best New Pulp releases of 2011. This was my first Bishop work and it won’t be my last. I give Felony Fists my highest recommendation. Do not miss it!

FORTIER TAKES ON DOC VOODOO!

ALL PULP REVIEWS by Ron Fortier
DOC VOODOO
Aces & Eights
By Dale Lucas
Beating Windward Press
201 pages
Last year well known fantasy author Charles Saunders delighted the new pulp community by releasing his novel DAMBALLA, making it the very first pulp novel set in the 1930s to feature an African American hero.  Just this week that same book has been nominated for the Pulp Factory Awards of 2011 for Best Pulp Novel.
Of course good ideas often emerge simultaneously amongst multiple creators and this was the case here.  While DAMBALLA was making its big splash from its widely respected new pulp publisher, Airship 27 Productions, another hard hitting new pulp thriller was debuting from a little known outfit called Beating Windward Press.  This one also featured an African American avenger operating in Harlem, only this one was set in 1926, the heart of the Roaring Twenties.  Written by California based Dale Lucas, “Doc Voodoo” shares several iconic similarities with Damballa to be sure, yet there are also enough differences to define each hero as unique and original in the world of pulpdom.
The hero is a World War One veteran of the famous Harlem Hellfighters 369th Infantry Division named Booker Dubois Butler Corveaux, a practicing M.D. known in his community as Doc Dub Corveaux.  Raised in Haiti and  having traveled the globe during his service years, Doc Corveaux is well versed in the Voodoo Religion and has become the physical agent of three  powerful entities who, when possessing his physical body, imbue it with supernatural abilities that make him virtually indestructible.  Thus in this state, he dons the garb of the Cemetery Man, black clothes, twin .45 automatics, magical clay bombs, a top hat and white painted face to resemble a skull. This frightening entity has assumed the mantle of Harlem’s protector and as we learn in this first book, she needs one desperately.
Two rival gangs are battle for control of the streets and the action is focused on a tough minded woman known as Queen Bee attempting to open a posh speakeasy called Aces & Eights.  Her opponent is a sadistic gang lord called Papa House who will do anything to ruin her plans even if it means unleashing a terrifying magic to corrupt the entire neighborhood and bring about untold suffering and misery.  Into this vicious contest comes the Cemetery Man, guns blazing, determined to thwart that black magic and save the innocent souls caught in the crossfire.
Dale Lucas is a superb writer with an eye for period detail. His research is meticulous and he knows New York from one end to the other, painting a virtual setting that is truly authentic for its period.  His command of slang and mood of the times pulls the reader into a world in flux, a world caught between the past horrors of the first world conflict and the heady exuberance of a social order challenging the mores of the future.
And like any classic pulp tale, the pacing is fast, the characters brilliantly etched and the action non-stop.  This is a true page-turner that will have you cheering with each new gun battle, from this new pulp hero’s first appearance to his last.  And Lucas wisely leaves the finale open ended for many more sequels, all of which we eagerly await.
“Aces & Eights” is as good a pulp actioner as any other there on the market today.  It’s one and only flaw is its packaging.  Most new pulp publishers are aware of the demands of the genre in regards to marketing.  True, one cannot judge the contents of a book by its cover, but then again, one can’t sell a good book with a bad cover.  “Aces & Eights” isn’t so much a bad cover as a non-existent one.  The tiny image of a white skull and a little color design manipulation do not make a great pulp cover.  I would argue this book would have won lots more attention had it sported a traditional pulp painted front, visually debuting Doc Voodoo in full regalia, guns firing away.  So please, Dale Lucas, if you do indeed have more of his wonderful adventures in store for us, give your packaging the extra attention it really deserves.