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ALL PULP NEW PULP EBOOK BESTSELLER LIST DEBUTS!

  • Uncategorized
  • February 8, 2013

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Welcome to the first installment of All Pulp’s New Pulp EBook Best Seller List, inspired by the work of Barry Reese! Before we get to what you’re all waiting for, here are the rules by which this little list comes together.

    1)    This list only tracks Kindle sales through AMAZON. It does not keep track of sales through Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, or anything else!

    2)   
This list only tracks DIGITAL sales. Exactly how Amazon calculates these things is mostly a trade secret and they vary wildly from day to day. If I checked this tomorrow, the list could be very different. This list reflects sales ranks as of Friday afternoon, February 8, 2013. 


3)   In order to keep the focus on new releases, eligible works must have been published within the last three months. So, since this list is being done on February 8, 2013, we are only looking at books published since November 8, 2012. Please keep that in mind before complaining that Title X is not listed. Also, keep in mind that for the most part, we are tracking sales from smaller and mid level press publishers who actively publish New Pulp material. We won’t generally track sales from Simon and Schuster or places like that — they have the New York Times Bestseller List for that. If one of the major publishers starts doing The Shadow or something, we’ll track that, but some publishers will not be listed here in order to keep the focus on the publishers actively working to produce and promote New Pulp.

4)   
Like the name suggests, we’re tracking “New” pulp —not sales rankings for reprints of classic material. In order for something to qualify for this list, it has to be at least 50% new material that has not been printed in book form before.


5)    We are human. If you are aware of a title that should be listed below (keeping in mind all the rules above), please let us know and we will make sure to remedy the situation.


6)    This information is garnered mostly from All Pulp, New Pulp, the Pulp Factory mailing list and a few other sites. If you think we might miss your release, let us know in advance — drop All Pulp a line and tell us when it’s being released.

Without further ado, here’s the completely and totally unofficial New Pulp Ebook Bestseller List as of right now (title, then publisher, then release date, then sales rank):

1) The Cestus Concern by Mat Nastos (Nifty Entertainment, December 28,2012) 2.138

2) Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, Volume 4 by Various (Airship 27, January 19, 2012) – 59,826

3) Monster Earth by Various (Mechanoid Press, January 13, 2013- 60,940

4) Finn’s Golem by Gregg Taylor (Autogyro, January 10, 2013) -83,562

5) Legion I- Lords of Fire (The Shattering) by Van Allen Plexico (White Rocket Books, January 26, 2013) – 86,910

6) The Studio Specter by W. Peter Miller (Uchronic Books, January 5, 2013) – 108,769

7) The New Adventures of the Griffon by Various (Pro Se Productions, January 17, 2013) – 133,360

8) Sentinels: Metalgod by Van Plexico (White Rocket Books, December 10, 2012) – 155,489

9) Tier Zero by Henry Brown ( Virtual Pulp, January 13, 2013) – 276,126

10) Prohibition by Terrence McCauley, (Airship 27, December 15, 2012) – 279,713

Just missing the list were: Whack Job by Mike Baron (December 25, 2012)-339,703, Fight Card: Irish Dukes by Mike Faricy (Fight Card Books, November 12, 2012) – 399,113, Fight Card : The Knockout by Robert J. Randisi (Fight Card Books, December 1, 2012) – 402,303, Fight Card: Rumble in the Jungle by David Foster (Fight Card Books, January 8, 2013) – 472,411, The Fangslinger and the Preacher by Bret Lee Hart (Western Trail Blazer, January 3, 2013) – 410,666.

Being the first list, not a lot of commentary or history to track here.  Mat Nastos makes a fine showing in the top 2200 of all Kindle sales and our #10 comes in under 300,000, so the Kindle list definitely moves differently than Print, which is what creators and writers and publishers have been noticing for a while-Ebooks sell. 

As far as Publishers are concerned, White Rocket Books and Airship 27 each have two books in the debut EBook list, with Pro Se, Virtual Pulp, Nifty Entertainment, Mechanoid Press, Uchronic Books, and Autogyro all checking in with one.  But remember, readers, take it all with a grain of salt.  

Martha Thomases Sees Super Bowl Spots

  • News
  • February 8, 2013

Thomases Art 130208This is going to be old news by the time you’re reading this, but as a card-carrying DFH I am still obsessing over the gender and racial politics of the Super Bowl. And also the nerd politics.

First, a disclaimer: I’ve never been able to figure out football. Even when my son played it in high school, I couldn’t understand the rules. I know there are two teams fighting over a ball. I know there “downs,” and they matter. I know it isn’t soccer, which I do understand. So I’m only watching for the commercials, and because every other television station has surrendered and is running reruns.

(And even then, I switched to the Law & Order marathon on TNT occasionally, especially during the black-out.)

The commercials were depressing.

And they were depressing for a lot of reasons. For one, they weren’t very good. I get that, for the most part, they aren’t aimed at me, an older woman who isn’t into beer and lives in a city where she doesn’t have to own a car.

(I should say, however, that if anyone could manipulate me into buying a car, it’s <a href=”

Hamm and Willem Dafoe.)

So, yeah, there were commercials that tugged our heartstrings, with tear-jerking odes to soldiers and farmers and horses.

There were celebrities making unexpected appearances, like Oprah and Seth Rogan and Kelly Cuoco and Tracy Morgan and Paul Rudd. And, most surprising, dead Paul Harvey.

There were ads for summer movies, which are fun to see when it’s cold out.

There was the gross Go Daddy ad, which I believe is deliberately bad so we’ll talk about it, and therefore I’m going to stop now.

On average, the ads celebrate bros. The people in the ads are men who drink beer and eat chips and drive around. If there are women, they are either unobtainable sex objects (who are obtainable if you use Axe body spray or drink Budweiser) or affectionate scolds. It is as if to be a woman is to be the responsible adult, and that is to be avoided at all costs. A real man has no impulse control, and if he’s successful, women will take care of him.

If this is what men want, that’s really sad. I would be more inclined to believe that it’s what the advertisers want men to want, and so they try to sell this attitude along with their product. Or maybe the lowest common denominator is lower than I thought.

As a palate cleanser, you might enjoy this. I can’t say the men in the ad are particularly my type (big pecs don’t do it for me), but the ad is funny, to the point, and assumes a certain amount of intelligence in the target audience.

The other thing I learned from the Super Bowl this year is that, even though my initial reaction was that making this movie was a stupid idea, I desperately need to see The Lone Ranger.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman and the Comic Book Industry of the Future!

 

 

Orson Scott Card, Superman And Here We Go Again

  • News
  • February 7, 2013

I’ve already received e-mails about this. Encouraging me to go nuclear on DC Comics’ for hiring Orson Scott Card to write a story for the new Adventures of Superman digital comic, as reported by IGN.

The first two chapters are by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston, Chris Sprouse and Karl Story, the third by Jeff Parker and Chris Samnee; teling of Superman’s first meeting with Lex Luthor. Future chapters include work by Dan Abnett. Ed Benes, Mitch Breitweise, Giuseppe Camuncol, Nathan Edmondso, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Christos N. Gage, Marc Guggenheim, Justin Jordan, Matt Kindt, JT Krul , Max Landis, Andy Lanning, David Lapham, Jeff Lemire, Michael Avon Oeming, Riley Rossmo, Stephen Segovia, Bruce Timm, Marcus To and Marv Wolfman.

But Orson Scott Card is on the board of directors for National Organization for Marriage, an association committed to stopping the legalisation of gay marraige. And as a result of this, and a number of unpleasant statements he’s made regarding the issue of homosexuality, has been the subject of a number of boycotts. And it looks as if one is brewing for this Superman story.

I think that’s wrong.

There are a number of comic book creators who believe something very different to what I do. Some of those beliefs offend me. Sometimes they even inform their art, something that Card is unlikely to be accused of in Superman.

Some try to draw a line between an opionated person and an activist. I disagree, any famous person who expresses an opinion, especially in this day and age, de facto becomes an activist for that opinion.

It’s a very dangerous game, it has led in the past to witchtrials, McCarthyite or otherwise, and it’s no better than the actions of, say, One Million Moms. And next time? It could be you…

Disney Unveils Find Your Way to Oz Chrome Experiment

  • News
  • February 7, 2013

evanora_dark_generic-e1359405989693-4521104You won’t need magical powers to take a journey down the Yellow Brick Road; just point your favorite browser to the latest Chrome Experiment, “Find Your Way to Oz.” Developed in collaboration with Disney and UNIT9 in anticipation of the upcoming film, Oz The Great and Powerful, this experiment takes you through a dusty Kansas circus and leads to a vibrant land, following in the footsteps of the Wizard himself.

Like any good circus, there’s plenty to keep you entertained: compose your own music, play with a fun photo booth and create your own movie with a zoetrope. The path to Oz also involves confronting an ominous tornado; surviving it completes the journey, enabling fans of the movie to watch an exclusive unreleased clip from the film.

Chrome Experiments like “Find Your Way to Oz” would have been impossible a few years ago. Since that time, the web has evolved and allowed developers and designers to create immersive beautiful experiences. For “Find Your Way to Oz” the 3D environment was built entirely with new technologies such as WebGL and CSS3. It’s enhanced by rich audio effects thanks to the Web Audio Application Programming Interface (API). The photo booth and zoetrope were built using the getUserMedia feature of WebRTC, which grants webpages access to your computer’s camera and microphone (with your permission).

For the best experience, you’ll need to use an up-to-date computer built to handle intense graphics. It also works best with a webcam and a modern browser that supports WebGL and WebRTC, like Chrome. The experience also works best on For tablet or smartphone users, we have a smaller scale yet equally enjoyable experience that you can try with the latest Chrome browser on your Android device, iPhone or iPad.

If you want to learn more, or run away and join the developer circus, you can get an explanation of the technologies used on the Chromium blog or in Google’s technical case study.

Start your journey towards the yellow brick road at www.findyourwaytooz.com.

FORTIER TAKES ON MIKE HAMMER IN ‘COMPLEX 90’!

  • Uncategorized
  • February 7, 2013

ALL PULP REVIEWS by Ron Fortier
COMPLEX 90
By Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
Titan Books
244 pages
Available May 2013

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Beginning a new year with a new Mike Hammer novel is a cause for jubilant celebration.  In his short preface to the book, begun by the late Mickey Spillane, Collins informs us that the setting is 1964 and “Complex 90” is in part a sequel to the 1961 Mike Hammer novel, “The Girl Hunters.”  For those of you unfamiliar with that private eye classic, a brief summary is in order. 
“The Girl Hunters” opens with our down-and-out hero discovering that his secretary, and one true love, Velda, has returned from the dead.  Having lived in an alcoholic haze since her disappearance seven years earlier, he learns that Velda had been on a spy mission for the government, captured by the Russians and thrown into one of their of their prisons where she had endured physical tortures until managing to escape.  Now back on U.S. soil her ordeal is far from over as the Soviets send a specialized assassin team to terminate her permanently.  Instead they run into Hammer and it he who does the exterminating.  You can easily enjoy “Complex 90” without having read “The Girl Hunters,” but why on earth would you settle for one great Mike Hammer book when you can enjoy two?
Okay, back to this “sequel” of sorts.  The cold war is still in full tilt, even though Hammer and Velda have slowly gotten their lives back on a normal track.  Then an old colleague recruits Hammer to assist him as a bodyguard for a controversial senator throwing a lavish cocktail parting in his New York penthouse.  Hammer sees it as an opportunity to make a few fast bucks.  In the middle of the soiree, an assassin attempts to shoot the senator but instead guns down Hammer’s pal. Hammer takes a slug to the leg before sending the killer through a window eighty stories up via a hot lead tivkry from his .45 automatic.  So much for an easy few dollars.
Suffering only a flesh wound, Hammer is soon back on his feet.  Immediately he is offered a new assignment; that of bodyguard to the senator during his fact-finding junket to Moscow. The senator wants Hammer to replace his dead friend who was scheduled to accompany him.
No sooner are the two in Russia then Hammer is arrested and imprisoned by the KGB for being a spy.  Fortunately for the savvy P.I., they detain him in a city facility and he waste no time escaping, leaving half a dozen bodies behind.  By the time he makes it back to the States, he’s left a trail of forty-five dead Russians creating an international incident.  Now the Russians are clamoring for his hide and the State Department isn’t any too pleased with the notorious New York private-eye.  What bothers Hammer is why he was kidnapped in the first place and why the Commies are so hell bent on bringing him back to the U.S.S.R.
Finding the answers to those two questions is the major plot around which this fast paced thriller revolves and like all Mike Hammer tales, there’s plenty of two-fisted action along the journey.  Collins prose never lets up for a second propelling this reader to a slam-bang climax that had us needing a drink when it was over.  Cold war intrigue, sexy femme fatales and in the middle of it all, one tough son-of-bitch throwback whose conservative patriotism will not be shaken by gun-toting foreign agents or two-faced  Washington politicians. 
In a time of when America is being torn apart by a culture war, Spillane’s Mike Hammer is a cleansing storm that makes no excuses for loving ones country and doing whatever it takes to keep her strong.  Makes us wish we had a lot more like him.

Dennis O’Neil: Sea Hunt, Iron Man, and Me

  • Uncategorized
  • February 7, 2013

oneil-art-130207-7603495Way, way back in the day, when Harry S. Truman was president and that thing in the living room, that teevee set that daddy brought home, well, we watched whatever was on. I mean, it’s not like there were a lot of choices. In St. Louis we had no more than three channels, and back then, it might have been one or even two fewer. So you watched teevee, sometimes because there was a program you wanted too see, sometimes because, well…you wanted to watch teevee. You twisted the knob and whatever was on that wobbly, blurry, staticky screen is what you saw.

Sea Hunt, starring Lloyd Bridges, was sometimes what was on and what I watched. I thought it was okay – not a favorite, but okay. I couldn’t have seen it much because it debuted in 1958, which was my first year at the university, and you know what freshman college is: a new world, new friends, new disciplines, new activities and, oh yeah, there was this cute little brunette, senior at Xavier High, who was claiming my attention.

Later, watching one of the great movie westerns, I saw the same Lloyd Bridges have a dustup with Gary Cooper as the clock hands in the marshal’s office ticked closer and closer to High Noon.

I might have seen an issue or two of the Sea Hunt comic book. But maybe not, By then, I thought comics were a relic of my childhood, and if I ever did see a Sea Hunt, I probably didn’t read it.

Later still, in a northern California spa, I passed a guy standing at the checkout desk who, I was later told, was Beau Bridges, Lloyd’s oldest son. Oldest, but not only: Beau has a younger brother, Jeff.

Jeff is, like his brother and father, an actor. By any reasonable criteria, he is a movie star, but I think of him as actor and only incidentally star. There is something to be said for going into the family business, and I’m glad Jeff chose to do so.

I’ve never met Jeff Bridges, probably never will.  But I do feel some connection with Jeff. Actually, two connections.

Jeff starred in a movie titled Eight Million Ways to Die, adapted, loosely, from the novel of the same title. Not a great flick, despite being directed by the excellent Hal Ashby. The novel’s author, my old friend Lawrence Block, once remarked that it was strange, how they made a movie with the same title as his book…Eight Million Ways to Die is connection one. I know the author of the original story.

Then I saw and liked a bunch of other Jeff Bridges performances, not the least of which was the remake of True Grit. Dad was in a cowboy show and now son was in one, too. Call this the circle of life, cinematic edition.

Connection two: Iron Man. The first movie incarnation of the Marvel Comics armored do-gooder, starring Robert Downey Jr. and – wait for it – Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, the flick’s main villain and – now hold your breath – my creation. I introduced stinker Obadiah into Iron Man continuity over 20 years ago and pretty much forgot him. No reason to remember him, really. But sometimes the universe smiles and so Stane is resurrected by one of my favorite actors and life is good.

You may be asking: What’s all his got to do with anything? Okay, I’ll tell you: the preceding 572 words are a lead-in to this week’s –

REC0MMENDED READING: The Dude and the Zen Master, by Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman.

Happy to be of service.

FRIDAY MORNING: Martha Thomases and That Game

 

FREE AUDIOBOOK OFFER FOR ALL PULP FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

  • News
  • February 7, 2013

WWW.RADIOARCHIVES.COM is offering a fantastic way for All Pulp Fans to get the latest Pulp Audiobook from their Will Murray’s Pulp Classics line for Free! ALL PULP has already downloaded this fantastic find and it’s a smooth and simple process! You can be listening in just minutes to this great audiobook!  Read on!

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Special Offer from Will Murray’s Pulp Classics

RadioArchives.com and Will Murray are giving away to all members of this group the downloadable version of the newly released Strange Detective Mysteries #1 audiobook for FREE.

Strange Detective Mysteries #1 is one of my favorite pulps and I am excited to produce it as an audiobook with my good friends at Radio Archives. It leads off with Norvell W. Page’s bizarre novelette, “When the Death-Bat Flies,” and includes thrilling stories by Norbert Davis, Paul Ernst, Arthur Leo Zagat, Wayne Rogers and others. Popular Publications went all-out to make this 1937 debut issue a winner. And they succeeded!

If you prefer the Audio CDs to play in your car or home CD player, the coupon code will subtract the $11.99 price of the download version from the Audio CDs. That makes the Audio CDs half price.

It is easy to get you get your copy. Go to:
http://www.radioarchives.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=strange+detective+mysteries&Search.x=0&Search.y=0

Add Strange Detective Mysteries to the shopping cart and use the Coupon Code ALLPULP.

You can download the 6 hour audiobook immediately.

Happy listening
Tom Brown and Will Murray
RadioArchives.com

Earth Station One Episode 149 – The World of Sid & Marty Krofft

  • Uncategorized
  • February 7, 2013

The ESO crew, on a routine expedition, met the greatest earthquake ever known and landed in the wild and wacky world of Sid & Marty Krofft. Join Mike Faber, Mike Gordon, Bobby Nash, and special guests Darren Nowell (Legion of Substitute Podcasters), Johnny League (Metro Atlanta Geeks), and Joe Crowe (Dragon*Con American Sci-Fi Classics Track Director) as they discuss everything from Witchiepoo to Bigfoot and Wildboy and every quirky character in between. We also introduce writer Christopher Mills to the perils of The Geek Seat! All this, plus the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, and Shout Outs!

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at www.esopodcast.com
Direct link: http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/earth-station-one-episode-149-the-world-of-sid-marty-krofft/

Follow ESO on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Check out ESO’s new Amazon estore here.

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST TAKES ON MASTER AND COMMANDER

  • News
  • February 6, 2013

White Rocket 012: MASTER & COMMANDER (movie & books)

“THIS SHIP IS ENGLAND!”

New Pulp Author Van Allen Plexico and his guest, Bryan Crowson, have a blast talking about debauched wombats, the lesser of two weevils and all other things MASTER and COMMANDER (or Aubrey/Maturin), including the Russell Crowe/Paul Bettany movie (directed by Peter Weir) and the great Patrick O’Brian novels, in Episode 012 of the White Rocket Podcast–part of the Earth Station One Network!

Find it on iTunes or at http://whiterocket.podbean.com and http://www.whiterocketbooks.com

Clancy Brown to attend Premiere of Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite

lego-batman-cover-art-e1360167613813-2893442Clancy Brown, the quintessential voice of Lex Luthor, will walk the red carpet and take part in the post-screening panel discussion when Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and The Paley Center for Media present the World Premiere of LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite in New York on February 11, 2013.

Brown set the benchmark for all Lex Luthor voices with his iteration of the role for Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, and he has reprised the voice in several TV series episodes as well as the DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, and now for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite.

The World Premiere will include red carpet media interviews starting at 5:15 p.m. and the first-ever public screening of the film at 6:30 p.m.  Following the screening, cast and filmmakers will discuss the movie. Joining Brown on the panel will be TT Animation’s award-winning director/producer Jon Burton and director of photography Jeremy Pardon, and renowned videogame/animation actors Troy Baker (Bioshock Infinite, Batman: Arkham City) as Batman and Travis Willingham (Avengers Assemble, The Super Hero Squad Show) as Superman.

LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite, an all-new film from TT Animation based on its popular video game, finds Lex Luthor taking jealousy to new heights when fellow billionaire Bruce Wayne wins the Man of the Year Award. To top Wayne’s accomplishment, Lex begins a campaign for President – and to create the atmosphere for his type of fear-based politics, he recruits the Joker to perfect a Black LEGO Destructor Ray. While wreaking havoc on Gotham, Lex successfully destroys Batman’s technology – forcing the Caped Crusader to reluctantly turn to Superman for help.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has set May 21, 2013 as its release date for LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite on Blu-ray and DVD.

Brown made his very first theatrical appearance opposite Sean Penn in Bad Boys, and then forever sealed his place in fantasy villainy as The Kurgan in Highlander. Before playing an immortal, though, Brown etched his name in cult classic history as Rawhide in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Brown is regularly recognized from his standout performance as Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption, as the centerpiece of HBO’s Carnivale as Brother Justin Crowe, and to fanboys across the planet as gung-ho Sgt. Zim in Starship Troopers.

Having lent his voice to nearly 600 animated episodes and films, Brown is also widely known as Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants. His voice credits, to list just a few, include roles in The Batman, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jackie Chan Adventures, Wolverine and the X-Men, Phineaus and Ferb, Ben 10: Alien Force, Kim Possible, Duck Dodgers, Teen Titans, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Gargoyles.

The Paley Center in New York City is located at 25 West 52nd Street. There is no attached parking, however there is ample parking in numerous structures surrounding the Paley Center.

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