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Marc Alan Fishman: To The Digital Age and… Beyond!

  • Uncategorized
  • October 6, 2012

fishman-art-121006-4372627For as forward-thinking as I’d like to position myself as being, I am a comic book luddite. Where I was like the rest of my generation – adopting the the MP3 over CD, and taking to the cloud the second I had the opportunity – I have never been lured by the siren’s song of digital comic book reading. That is until I was gifted some not too long ago. And here I am to report on whether I’m slowly turning towards the horizon of sequential fiction.

First off, you should know what prey-tell I was gifted. DC’s Justice League Beyond, as pitched to me by Mike Gold, was “…perhaps the best straight-forward action team book being put out today.” Well, given Mike’s pedigree and tastes, I was willing to bite on that. And with no more pretense than that single line of praise, I tore through 12 digital issues. At the tail end of them, I’m happy to report Mike is very close to right with his kind words.

JLB is an extension of the animated Batman Beyond Universe, birthed by our lords and saviors Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and brought to us by the writing, penciling, and inking team of Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs. And much like Dini and Timm’s futuretoon, the digital book appears light as a feather in presentation, but its looks are truly deceiving.

Beneath the veneer of simplistic art and truly light prose, comes a world-shattering tale worthy of the Justice League. Backed by a few “secret origins” to break up the main story, a solid hour of reading gave way to lasting moments of truly memorable scenes and concepts. Case in point: Fridolfs and Nguyen are able to create a New Gods story that is near Kirby-level in its weight and presentation. If that isn’t cause enough to pause, well, I don’t know what else is.

From the visual standpoint, I’m less than thrilled. I get that the appeal of the book ties directly to its parent animation. But in the realm of comics, there’s far more to do than just replicate someone’s style and call it a day. Call me crazy, but I’d like to see them reach a bit further visually then what DC delivered. Without knowing anything beyond what I was reading, the books ‘looked’ just the teeniest bit phoned in. It could be the stylistic choice of editorial to match the show so closely.

The truest compliment I can lay out though comes in aforementioned origin issues. Meant as breathers between the main “War to end all wars” arc, here we get glimpses into the backstories of two characters that never struck me as more than filler bodies. Warhawk and Aquagirl are each given a backstory treatment that would shame the king of origins, Geoff Johns. Delivering real pathos, enhanced by a few Easter egg nods and winks to the comic historians amongst us. And for those (like me) that lived-ate-and-breathed the Dini/Timm-Verse? Well, this whole series is like a trip back to a better time. And better than that, they took the time in both cases to try a different visual approach. Loose and simple still, but with enough of a change to allow to enjoy the stories on a higher level.

But the crux of the matter to me was in the enjoyment. Did I have as good a time e-flipping through the pages as I do with normal comics? Sadly, no. To be fair, I tried reading the files both on my large iMac screen and my wife’s iPad – which is as close to the size of a single comic page as one can get digitally. The book itself is cut in odd places. It was hard to tell if it was built in “standard” format akin to be eventually printed, or if it was always intended only for digital consumption. Given what I saw, I believe it to be the latter. And that in and of itself isn’t a dig. For the longest time, I enjoyed DC’s Zuda line of web comics mostly due to its formatting being suited for the screens at the time. Here though, the digital books read just a bit wonky to me. Some pages are portrait, others are landscape. And although each issue is 20+ pages, in some issues there’s barely six or seven actual pages worth of content.

I am all for the idea that the comic companies shoot to create all digital publications; it’s the future whether or not I’m an adopter. But the key here needs to be the same as it in print. That is to say the final product need not short the reader with content, just because its home is on the backlit screen of a retina-display.

At the end of the day, I know that this initial pass into the non-inky realms was not enough to lure me over permanently. That being said, I would be more prone at this point to enjoy digital titles should they wholly separate entities built specifically for the medium. And if they are significantly less money than the printed counter part (akin to the music or TV episodes), then I’m even more likely to consider incorporating it into the fabric of my e-life.

Most important though is that the quality is no different on screen than it’d be on the page. When you have to make art that is only 72 DPI, it can be tempting to become chinsy with the deliverable (both in words on the page, and the stories delivered per issue, as I was noting in the over-before-they-got-started JLB issues). The comic brethren must remember that the digital music and movie media eventually made their way to HD.

With all of those pieces in place? I can rest happy that my son may end up collecting his longboxes on a hard drive instead of a basement. Assuredly though… this digital-aged bearded bloke will still be bagging and boarding his wares until they stop putting them in the stores.

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

 

Mutual, Dr. Yen Sin, Michael C. Gwynne, New Doc and MORE All From Radio Archives!

  • News
  • October 5, 2012

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

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October 5, 2012
 
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Any program in entertainment needs its own special energy, something that drives it to be the best of the best. When that special electricity comes from many different angles, then you get shows like those in Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 3.
 
An entry in the comeback of radio drama in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Mutual Radio Theater provided new and amazing shows five nights a week for its entire run. Written by leading names in radio, Mutual Radio Theater also sported something that every show needs to succeed. Star power.
 
Each night of the week, a different star hosted – Lorne Greene, Andy Griffith, Vincent Price, Cicely Tyson, and Leonard Nimoy. These stunning talents, though, were only the beginning. The shows were peopled with stars from both classic radio and modern television and movies. Names from the golden era of radio drama included John Dehner, Vic Perrin, Hans Conried, Marvin Miller, Parley Baer, Elliot Lewis, Jeff Corey, Virginia Gregg, and Lurene Tuttle. Modern entertainment lent some of its best talent as well, including Tom Bosley, Marian Ross, Lloyd Bochner, Rick Jason, Frank Campanella, Toni Tennille, Arthur Hill, and Jesse White.
 
Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 3 contains 20 Stereo episodes featuring legendary talent alongside up and coming stars of the early 1980s. Combined with the stellar writing talents of such greats as Arch Oboler, Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 3 is a must have for any Radio enthusiast! $59.98 Audio CDs/$29.99 Download. For the next two weeks, Save $20.00 on the Audio CD version.  Introductory Priced at only $39.98!
 

 

“A modern day soldier of fortune finds mystery and intrigue in lands strange and romantic on Dangerous Assignment!”
 
This ad copy for NBC’s globe hopping adventure of intrigue and espionage captured the essence of Dangerous Assignment perfectly. Each week, Steve Mitchell was summoned to the office of the unnamed agency he worked for by his superior, the Commissioner. There, details of a plot that normally meant harm and death might come to the United States were revealed and Steve would be off on another action packed trip to uncover the plot, rout out the villains, and keep America safe for another week.
 
Dangerous Assignment is an excellent example of pulpy Post World War II action, especially with its focus on Mitchell. Played by Brian Donlevy in a two fisted, head on style, Mitchell is the sort of hero America looked for in entertainment in the 1950s. Devoutly patriotic, ready to defend the United States at the drop of a hat, and prepared to stand against any menace, mostly foreign, that might endanger the lives of honest Americans. Definitely not the only character to rise out of the paranoia and concern of Americans about Communists and other foreign threats throughout the 1950s, Steve Mitchell is wonderfully conceived in that mold and played to the hilt by Donlevy.
 
Dangerous Assignment, Volume 2 from Radio Archives features episodes of this classic series restored to sparkling audio quality and full of intrigue, suspense, and humor, making every episode a fun listen for any fan! Ten hours, twenty shows of great fun. $29.98 Audio CDs/$14.99 Download.

OTR Digital Downloads at Half Price

 
Because of your great response, Digital Downloads of any of our Old Time Radio sets will be priced at 50% off the regular Audio CD price through the end of the year. You get the same sparkling high quality audio content as our compact disc collections at a reduced price, Delivery immediately upon payment, and the ability to play them on your phone, computer, or portable device! Purchase the audio collections you love and enjoy them in a whole new way!
 

 

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NEW Pulp Audiobook: Dr. Yen Sin #1 “The Mystery of The Dragon’s Shadow”
Read by Michael C. Gwynne
 

Ever since Sax Rohmer conceived Dr. Fu Manchu, thriller writers have attempted to emulate his sinister appeal. No class of authors vied to out-villain Rohmer more than the pulp writers of the 1930s. The very best of these imitations was the work of top pulpateer Donald E. Keyhoe, later to make headlines as the retired Air Force officer who claimed that flying saucers were real.
 
Dr. Yen Sin lasted only three issues in 1936, but Keyhoe’s short-lived trilogy was a memorable attempt to give the “Yellow Peril” theme a mature and suspenseful treatment. The premise is a familiar one—a sinister Chinese super-scientist out to conquer the world. Pitted against him is the Q-Group, headed by State Department operative Michael Traile, who because of a childhood accident cannot sleep. Instead, he employs Yoga as a substitute. Under Traile are a host of secret agents, chief of whom is Eric Gordon of the F. B. I., who reports personally to Director John Glover—actually J. Edgar Hoover. Adding a dash of feminine mystique is Sin’s mysterious cohort, Sonya Damatri, while Eric Gordon’s girlfriend, Iris Vaughan, furnishes the series’ love interest.
 
Beginning with The Mystery of The Dragon’s Shadow and continuing through The Mystery of the Golden Skull and The Mystery of the Singing Mummies, the running battle between Dr. Yen Sin and his sleepless nemesis is a riveting roller-coaster ride of exotic torture, diabolic doom devices and sudden death that rages from Washington, D. C. to San Francisco! One wishes that Popular Publications had seen fit to publish the promised fourth installment, The Mystery of the Faceless Men…This series was that good!
 
Here is the suspenseful first encounter between Dr. Sin and the forces dedicated to destroying his Invisible Empire. The Mystery of the Dragon’s Shadow is read with appropriate gravity by Michael C. Gwynne. Also included are a trio of Chinatown tales by Frank Gruber, Arden X. Pangborn and radio’s famed Arch Obler. Six exciting hours. $23.98 Audio CDs/$11.99 Download.
 
Introducing our newest Audiobook Reader: Michael C. Gwynne
 

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Click to Listen to the extended podcast of this interview.
 
Will Murray’s Pulp Classics Line of Audiobooks continue to thrill and excite listeners, due in great part to the fantastic voices bringing these treasures of the past to life for modern fans. In a continuing effort to provide the best in Audiobook entertainment, Radio Archives has added not just another Audiobook reader to the already sterling lineup, but a performer with background in Radio, Television, and Films, and with such a distinctive, vibrant sound all his own that he can only be called ‘The Voice’.
 
Michael C. Gwynne, although new to Radio Archives, is in no way new to Radio. From his early childhood of listening to classic radio programs while waiting for his father, Big Band leader Frankie Kaye, to come home from work late at night, Gwynne discovered an interest very early on in what he heard. “I grew up with a lot of music around the house and a lot of uncles who weren’t really uncles sleeping over on couches and spare beds and lots of laughter well into the early morning hours. My first babysitter was a golden dialed radio that sat in the corner of my little room where my brother and I slept and it was telling stories and singing songs and I thought that’s what the rest of the world was doing.”
 
Determining that he wanted to be a part of what was coming out of radios all over the country, Gwynne set off at a very early age to do just that. “I realized I really loved the magic of radio and it had been my first babysitter, the golden dial that told me stories and scared me to death in the middle of the night and then sang songs. And so I thought wouldn’t that be interesting as a job. This would be in the late 50’s and I started listening to a lot of people on the radio and they were seeming to have a wonderful time playing that Top 40 brand new Rock and Roll Music. By the end of the ninth grade when the school promised to pass me only if I went to another school in the tenth grade, I took my mother’s typewriter into the basement. I wrote some letters to a few radio stations and asked them if there was any jobs to be had and one of them responded rather positively, if I would send an audition tape. I had no idea what that was, we didn’t have a tape recorder in those days…Then I thought, you know what, this is not going to work. I hitchhiked to this little radio station which by then we had moved to Toronto, so it was in a suburb of the big city and showed up on a Saturday afternoon. I just showed up… And I got the job. So radio went from one thing to another…Radio I realized combined two of my favorite passions – radio and traveling. I had a road itch.” Following his passions, Michael found himself in Berkley California, then Natchez, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama and Monterey, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as more radio jobs that eventually landed him in San Francisco in 1966.
 
Although his avenue into entertainment, Radio would not hold Michael C. Gwynne forever. An interest in acting as well as quite a bit of providence led him into a career full of roles in Television and film as well as interactions and friendship with noted Hollywood actors, such as Robert Mitchum. “I had to try my hand at acting. I had no experience, but like any other thing I’ve done, I had to try it for myself to see if I could do it. So I arranged for the radio station in San Francisco to switch me to their sister station in Manhattan, WWRL, where I did the all night show and studied acting with Stella Adler during the day. All that seemed to be for naught, it was too much like school…but finally I realized just like anything else I had to try it, so quite coincidentally a letter came from a friend I knew in San Francisco who said he was now living in Hollywood and that’s where the actors were and I should come out.”
 
After a coincidental meeting with Jerrold Freeman, a Producer at Universal, at a 1969 New Years Eve Party, Gwynne found himself with an acting job two weeks later. “I immediately went right into the business, I mean I know it sounds like the classic Hollywood story, but it’s what happened to me. One thing led to another…I didn’t even have an agent, it was only later when I met this young kid named Spielberg and Jerry Freeman also got him on at Universal, I did Spielberg’s first three TV shows.”
 
With roles in TV shows such as Kojak and MacGyver, as well as parts in movies like Sunset with James Garner and Bruce Willis and Private Parts, the Howard Stern movie, Gwynne still did not wander far from a particular interest he had in his youth – Pulps. “I started collecting Weird Tales when I was like fifteen years old. I used to go to every old book store I would see in any town I was in and ask them if they had any Weird Tales. And sometimes mostly they would laugh and say that was a Pulp twenty years ago, they’re not gonna be around anymore, but every now and again one guy would smile and disappear for a minute or two and bring one or two of them from the basement somewhere and I would spend like a dollar apiece for them and keep them, so I’ve amassed quite a collection.”
 
Of the title character of his debut audiobook in the Will Murray’s Pulp Classics line, Gwynne particularly enjoys not only the sheer over the top deviltry of Dr. Yen Sin, but also the fact that this villain has a truly formidable hero to spar with. “First of all, let’s look at this man’s name. Dr. Yen Sin. We all know what yen means and we all know what sin means, that’s how evil this guy is. He enjoys his evil. He’s got a yen for the sin. It’s rooted in a more interesting and singularly recurrent foe, the figure of Michael Traile, the man who could not sleep, the man who never slept. This is a man with almost equal power. Michael Traile began to intrigue me, a story about a young man in India who had a botched operation for a brain aneurism and found that the sleep aspect of the brain was interfered with and now he could no longer sleep. And he had to be taught how to take yoga relaxation exercises in order to keep him from just exploding. His mind couldn’t stop working and how even as a young man they had to constantly give him puzzles to solve, things to read, languages to learn. By the time he was fifteen he was speaking twelve different languages. He had grasped the deepest philosophies of the Orient and had gone on to become a bit of a scholar before he reached his twenties. So now Dr. Yen Sin has a formidable foe.”
 
Michael is clearly having fun with the tales he’s now telling for Will Murray’s Pulp Classics and feels like listeners and fans will as well. “Possibly, it has such a, there’s a quality to them. As soon as I started reading them aloud, I realized, whoa I can have some fun here, I’m not just delivering information. Most read material is delivering information. Pulps employed words of color, even exaggerated color. People thrummed when they talked, things bolted across the room, lightning flashed with a brilliant scientific blur across this room and several people were so satanic and their eyes glistened…As I’m reading them, I’m thinking, My God, I bet the police are going to be here any minute. They’re so big and wonderful and grand and glorious.”
 
Listen to Michael C. Gwynne as he brings Dr. Yen Sin #1 to life for Will Murray’s Pulp Classics from Radio Archives.

 

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FREE Spider eBook!

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Receive an exciting original Spider adventure for FREE! Part of the Will Murray Pulp Classics line, The Spider #11, Prince of the Red Looters first saw print in 1934 and features his momentous battle with The Fly and his armies of crazed criminal killers.
 
For those who have been unsure about digging into the wonderful world of pulps, this is a perfect opportunity to give one of these fantastic yarns a real test run. With a full introduction to the Spider written by famed pulp historian and author Will Murray, The Spider #11 was written by one of pulp’s most respected authors, Norvell W. Page. Writing as Grant Stockbridge, Page’s stories included some of the most bizarre and fun takes on heroes and crime fighting in the history of escapist fiction.
 
Even today Page’s scenarios and his edge-of-the-seat writing style are still thrilling both new and old fans everywhere. For those who have never read one of these rollercoaster adventures, you are in for a thrill. If you already know how much fun a classic pulp is, make sure you get a copy of this classic.
 

See what the Total Pulp Experience is for yourself. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
Send an eMail to eBooks@RadioArchives.com and start reading your FREE copy of  the Spider #11 within seconds! Experience The Best Pulps the Past has to offer in the most modern way possible!

 

 

The best of timeless Pulp now available as cutting edge eBooks! Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings the greatest heroes, awesome action, and two fisted thrills to your eReader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator #5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like the Octopus and more, Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!

 

Cholera! Like Death’s own handmaiden, it was reaping a grim harvest. Corpses piled high in the streets of New York. Innocent men, women and children died faster than their wasted bodies could be cremated. Pestilence reached fatal fingers into every home; terror haunted every breast… Richard Wentworth — whom the Underworld knows and fears as the Spider — realized that a new criminal maniac, keen-witted and ruthless, had loosed the devastating disease to further his own mad ambitions. And the Spider, hampered as ever by the Law, hunted tirelessly by the vengeful lawless, accepts a challenge to the strangest duel in the world, in which the prize he strives to win seems to be disgrace and death! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine.
 
A depraved Oriental monster had planned the wholesale abductions. White slavery — the horrible traffic in women’s bodies and souls — was stripping America of women. Hunted avidly by the Dragon’s loathsome followers, they vanished, never to return, doomed at best to a vile life in the ghastly harems of the East… Richard Wentworth — whose adventures as the Spider have made him famous throughout the world — was the only hope of salvation for American womanhood. Pursued by G-men, with his beloved Nita captured by the Dragon, Richard Wentworth must battle on, when all others have gone down in shameful defeat! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks.

 

At the heart of a vast international spy ring sat a devilishly cunning Master of Intrigue, spinning a plot intended to render the United States helpless against every foreign onslaught. Wealth, power and brains he had recruited to his organization; evil, destruction and death were the weapons with which he plied his diabolical game: the disarming of the greatest nation in the world! Against this terrible combination, against this hellish overlord, Operator 5 pitted his own brains and strength in a counter-struggle which placed Jimmy Christopher and his beloved Diane in the very jaws of Death! Total Pulp Experience. These exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading as an eBook and features every story, every editorial, and every column of the original pulp magazine. As a special bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of eBooks.

 
Terror Tales Arthur Leo Zagat, Book 1

In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, all written by Arthur Leo Zagat, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format.

 

In 1934 a new type of magazine was born. Known by various names — the shudder pulps, mystery-terror magazines, horror-terror magazines — weird menace is the sub-genre term that has survived today. Terror Tales magazine was one of the most popular. It came from Popular Publications, whose publisher Harry Steeger was inspired by the Grand Guignol theater of Paris. This breed of pulp story survived less than ten years, but in that time, they became infamous, even to this day. This ebook contains a collection of stories from the pages of Terror Tales magazine, all written by Ray Cummings, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format.

 

All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook to your new device without the need to purchase anything new.
 
Find these legendary Pulp tales and more in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, now available in the Kindle store and the Barnes and Noble Nook store! and RadioArchives.com!

 
 
Radio Archives is very proud to announce that we have Upgraded all of our Pulp eBooks, and you can upgrade the eBooks you have purchased from Radio Archives for FREE.
 
We have upgraded the Will Murray’s Pulp Classics eBooks. We made the eBooks look better by polishing the formatting, making the graphics crisper, and a new Contents page when you open the book just like in a pulp magazine.
 
We made it easier to purchase by eliminating the zipfile. Buy a Will Murray’s Pulp Classic from your iPad or other mobile reading device, and be reading within seconds. There is no need for a desktop computer.
 
Customers who have purchased the previous eBooks can upgrade to the new versions at no additional cost. Send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com and we will send you instructions on how to upgrade.
 

 

 
Will Murray’s New Doc Savage Novel: “Death’s Dark Domain”
 

The shattering sequel to Fortress of Solitude.
 
The Doc Savage exploit that went untold for 74 years—Death’s Dark Domain!
 
In the aftermath of the evil John Sunlight’s pillaging of the secret Fortress of Solitude, a dreadful super-weapon has fallen the hands of a Balkan dictator intent upon seizing control of the vampire-haunted zone of desolation known as Ultra-Stygia. War is imminent. Monsters are loose in the disputed region. A strange darkness falls over the sinister landscape. Only Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, understands the terrible threat to humanity. And only he can prevent the terror from spreading…
 
There are unknown Things prowling the darkest patch of land on the planet. Haunted by creatures that might have emerged from the Hell’s lowest regions, ancient Ultra-Stygia has turned into a cauldron of conflict between rival countries. Monster bats careen through the night sky. Invisible Cyclopes patrol the scorched battleground. And a power beyond understanding robs men of their vision.
 
Can the 20th century’s premier scientist and superman untangle this Gordian knot of carnage before neighboring nations are drawn into an apocalyptic new world war? Or will the Man of Bronze succumb to an unstoppable power he himself has unleashed upon mankind?
 
From the frozen Arctic to the war-torn Balkans, Doc Savage and his fighting five follow a winding trail of terror to a blood-freezing climax.

 
Death’s Dark Domain features a fantastic cover painted by Joe DeVito! Buy it today for only $24.95 from Radio Archives.

 

 
Will Murray’s Doc Savage Novel is Back “The Forgotten Realm”
 

Back in print after 20 years! The rare Lester Dent-Will Murray collaboration resurrecting the original pulp superman…

 
Also available is the first Altus Press edition of Will Murray’s 1993 Doc Savage adventure, The Forgotten Realm. Deep in the heart of the African Congo lies a secret unsuspected for thousands of years. Doc Savage and his men embark on a quest to discover the secret of the strange individual known only as X Man, X for unknown. Before they come to the end of the trail, they find themselves fighting for their lives like gladiators of old!
 
No one knows who—or what—the strange being who calls himself “X Man” truly is. He was found wandering the ruins of a crumbling Roman fort, dressed in a toga, speaking classical Latin—and clutching a handful of unearthly black seeds.
 
Declared insane, the X Man patiently tends his weird plants until the day, impelled by a nameless terror, he flees Wyndmoor Asylum to unleash a cyclone of violence that is destined to suck the mighty Man of Bronze into the blackest, most unbelievable mystery of his entire career. For far from Scotland lies a domain of death unknown to the world and called by the ancient Latin name of Novum Eboracum—New York!
 
From the wild Scottish moors to the unexplored heart of darkest Africa, Doc Savage and his indomitable men embarked upon a desperate quest for the Forgotten Realm….
 

The Forgotten Realm features a spectacular cover painted by Joe DeVito! Buy it today for only $24.95 from Radio Archives.

 

Eerie Halloween Special
The Master of Darkness investigates baffling mysteries in two classic pulp novels by Walter B. Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, a deadly outbreak of “Gypsy Vengeance” pittin gclan against clan can only be ended by The Shadow’s justice! Then, the Knight of Darkness must pierce the mystery behind a silver veil to end the murderous crimewave commanded by “The Veiled Prophet.” BONUS: legendary sleuth Nick Carter investigates murder on the set of a Shadow movie in a classic story from the Golden Age of Comics! This instant collector’s item showcases the original pulp covers by George Rozen and Graves Gladney plus the classic interior illustrations by Tom Lovell and Edd Cartier, with historical commentary by Anthony Tollin and Will Murray. Buy it today for $14.95.

 

Expanded Manuscript Edition Plus Supersnipe!
The pulp era’s greatest superhero returns in two incredible tales by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, Doc, Monk and Ham journey to the Indo-China jungles to solve the strange enigma of “The Flaming Falcons” in a novel expanded from Lester Dent’s original 1939 manuscript. Then, what is the bizarre connection between “The Two-Wise Owl” and the murder of Ham Brooks’ brother? BONUS: Supersnipe, “the boy with the most comic books in America,” gets imto mischief on the set of a Shadow movie in a classic story from the Golden Age of Comics! This double-novel collector’s edition features both original color pulp covers by Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of ten Doc Savage novels. Buy it today for $14.95.

 

Expanded Manuscript Edition Plus Supersnipe!
The pulp era’s greatest superhero returns in two incredible tales by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, Doc, Monk and Ham journey to the Indo-China jungles to solve the strange enigma of “The Flaming Falcons” in a novel expanded from Lester Dent’s original 1939 manuscript. Then, what is the bizarre connection between “The Two-Wise Owl” and the murder of Ham Brooks’ brother? BONUS: Supersnipe, “the boy with the most comic books in America,” gets imto mischief on the set of a Shadow movie in a classic story from the Golden Age of Comics! This double-novel collector’s edition features both original color pulp covers by Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of ten Doc Savage novels. Buy it today for $14.95.

 

One of the top crime-fighters from the golden age of pulp fiction, The Spider returns in two thrill-packed adventures written by Norvell Page under the pseudonym of Grant Stockbridge. First, in “Laboratory Of The Damned” (1936), Poisoned! Struck down by a deadly assault from a mad murderer, the Spider finds his friend Stanley Kirkpatrick, Commissioner of Police, doomed to a stupor of living death. Nor is he the only victim… also stricken with the dread malady is Richard Wentworth’s fiancee, Nita van Sloan! The Spider battles both the Law and the Underworld to survive! Then, in “Hell’s Sales Manager” (1940), The Brand wields a weird new weapon that sucks everything in its path into a vortex of destruction! How can even the Master of Men fight an enemy that seems to simply vanish? While this reign of terror goes unchecked, the Spider finds his every effort hampered by a human bloodhound assigned to track down and eliminate him. These two exciting pulp adventures have been beautifully reformatted for easy reading and feature both of the original full color covers as well as interior illustrations that accompany each story. Available now for $14.95!
 

 

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Review of “The Mystery Under the Sea” from Doc Savage, Volume 22
By Dr. Art Sippo

 

A man is rescued from Long Island Sound by life guards and then tries wildly to escape. But he is eventually caught by a crowd of ruffians who burn his mouth with acid and cut the tendons in his hands as a warning to a woman called Diamond Eve Post to stay away from Taz. The mutilated man makes his way instead to Doc Savage’s headquarters. Unable to speak or write he attempted to communicate with the bronze man by dipping his foot in ink and writing on the carpet. But he dies before he can complete the message. Meanwhile Diamond Eve Post arrived to enlist Doc’s aid in the matter of Taz when the 86th floor headquarters is stormed by the villainous Captain Flamingo and his crew.
 
Eventually, Doc and his men are taken prisoner and secretly taken out to sea on a ship headed to the Caribbean. They escape, to find themselves abandoned on the ship in the middle of the ocean with no one else on board. After several hours, men arise from the sea wearing no special diving equipment though they obviously have been underwater working for a long time. How can this be?
 
Doc Savage and his intrepid crew have come in between two warring factions both vying to control the secrets of Taz which is hidden deep underneath the sea. What is Taz? What is the mystery under the sea that is worth killing for? Can Doc trust Diamond Eve Post? Or are all hands turned against him and his men.
 
The Mystery Under the Sea is a tale of high adventure and ancient mystery. Doc Savage will confront a secret form the forgotten past of mankind: a secret that is worth billions to whomever controls it. But can even he defeat an enemy armed with the power of Taz? Don’t miss this exciting saga! Only $12.95 from Radio Archives!
 

Comments From Our Customers!
 
Pat writes from New Zealand:
I love that all this is being done! A wonderful idea indeed. Keep up the good work.
 
Somehow though, I can’t seem to find an easy way to select an audio book by the reader. I am hoping that you have a heap being read by ‘The Voice’ Michael Gwynne (and others of course). If the readers were listed and that list would pop up for me ….or offer any OTHER way of spotting and selecting them easily, I would be in seventh heaven.

 

If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!

 
The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
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The Point Radio: ONCE UPON A TIME Still Magic

  • News
  • October 5, 2012

pt100512-6878079ONCE UPON A TIME is into it’s second season, and magic is back in a big way. We talk to Snow White herself, Ginnifer Goodwin, about the challenges she has plus creators Adam Horowitz and Ed Kitsis recall just a year ago when critics said the show was doomed. We also begin our look at ARROW, set to premiere Wednesday on the CW and bringing a new twist to the familiar DC hero, plus Robyn Schneider helps us (and The Doctor) to part with The Ponds!

Don’t miss a minute of pop culture news – The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any mobile device with the Tune In Radio app - and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

DEATH ANGEL – DOMINION II ARRIVES ON AMAZON

  • Uncategorized
  • October 5, 2012

Acclaimed New Pulp Author, Mike Bullock’s Death Angel returns in a new ebook, Death Angel: Dominion II.

Press Release:

Runemaster Press is pleased to announce the debut of the third Death Angel story on Amazon.com.

One of New Pulp’s rising stars, Death Angel debuted in the pages of Moonstone’s Phantom Doubleshot series to critical acclaim. Since then, the dark hero has returned in Black Bat versus Dracula #1, Death Angel: Hung Jury and Death Angel: Dominion part one.

Dominion part two marks the second installment in the serialized Death Angel prose series, released exclusively in eBook format.

Owners of eReaders, eReader apps, or eReader programs can download the latest Death Angel tale here: Death Angel: Dominion part two.

For more on Death Angel, Runemaster Press and it’s line of New Pulp tales, visit the Runemaster Press site by clicking here.

Martha Thomases: Could Obama Rescue Michelle From The Joker?

  • Uncategorized
  • October 5, 2012

thomases-art-121005-3569223Deadlines being what they are, I’m writing this before the first Presidential debate, and you are reading it after. By now, all the various news agencies, pundits and comedians will have picked out the most salient points and decided who “won.” I’m sure I also have opinions by this time, and I assure you that I am right.

However, this has nothing to do with pop culture in general, nor comics in specific. And I’m having trouble thinking about anything else.

As the kind of nerd who was on the debate team in high school, I’m a little bit affronted that they call these televised events “debates.” There is not a thesis, and it is not set up so that one side argues for it and the other side against. There are no definitions of terms. Instead, there are specific questions, defined amount of time for each candidate to answer, the other candidate to respond, and so on, for an hour and a half. Everything is micro-managed, from the height of the podia to the lighting, and both sides have minions who will run out and declare their respective candidate the winner, no matter what is actually said.

It’s about as spontaneous as a Papal mass. And about as persuasive.

You know the debates are boring because, when they are presented in popular entertainment, suspense has to be added. For example, in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, when they depicted the famous Lincoln/Douglas debates, they added, well, vampires.

What if candidates for elected office debated the way characters do in comics? You know, with fighting?

My personal favorite examples of this are the Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories by my beloved Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams. The two main characters argue about their respective world-views while shooting arrows, leaping over rooftops, flying through the air, and, sometimes, facing off against little blue aliens.

It would be wonderful if there were similar obstacles presented in our political debates. We would have the opportunity to not only hear the different viewpoints of the candidates, but also observe their problem-solving skills in action. Obama might have rescued the auto industry, but can he rescue Michelle from the clutches of the Joker? Romney boasts of his business experience, but can he fend off a hostile takeover from Intergang? Forget Ahmadinejad, would either man allow a Doctor Doom to speak at the UN?

And after they fight, can they team up and solve the problems together? That would not only increase the ratings for the debates, but improve our level of discourse.

SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman and the Old Guys League of America

 

Words and Art: Finding the Right Blend in Comic Book Scriptwriting

  • Uncategorized
  • October 4, 2012

This week’s roundtable at New Pulp Author Sean Taylor’s Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action Blog focuses specifically on comic book scriptwriting. Sean posted the top three questions he hears often at conventions or from those wanting to start writing comics or looking to turn an indie movie or small press novel into a graphic novel.

Sean assembled a collection of comic book writers (many familiar to New Pulp readers) together to find out what they had to say. The writers include:
Jim Beard (Ghostbusters Con-Volution, Star Wars Tales, Hawkman Secret Files)
Mike Bullock (Lions, Tigers, and Bears, The Phantom)
Erik Burnham (Ghostbusters, TMNT Splinter, A-Team)
Percival Constantine (Femforce, Kagemono, All-Star Pulp Comics)
Ron Fortier (The Green Hornet, Popeye, Street Fighter)
Dan Jurgens (Superman, Booster Gold, Teen Titans, Captain America)
Roland Mann (Cat and Mouse, Ex-Mutants, Switchblade)
John Jackson Miller (Star Wars Knight Errant, Iron Man, Mass Effect)
Michael Avon Oeming (The Victories, Powers, Thor, Red Sonja)
Bobby Nash (Lance Star: Sky Ranger, Fuzzy Bunnies from Hell, Domino Lady vs. The Mummy)
Jenny Reed (Around the World in 80 Days, Charles Darwin)
Janet Stone Wade (Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa)

You can read their answers now at http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2012/10/words-and-art-finding-right-blend-in.html

INTRODUCING THE BAGO AWARDS

  • News
  • October 4, 2012

New Pulp Author Sean Taylor’s Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action Blog is planning a new award for bloggers called The BaGo Awards. Sean is currently looking for nominations so let him know your favorite blogs here.

Press Release:

We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of the blog (first post was 11/27/11), and I wanted to do something special for it, but not for me — for all the other bloggers out there plugging away every day.

So here’s what I have in mind — The BaGo Awards (or the soon to be known simply as the BaGo). Send me your suggestions and I’ll present the best of the best blogs out there for and by writers. Here are a few of the categories I propose. What categories would you add? (not blogs yet… I’ll announce the call for those as soon as we get the categories hammered out.)

Best In Show Awards
For INDIVIDUAL writers who are primarily genre-specific who maintain a blog about their work in that genre and the genre itself.

Genres include:
Horror
Pulp
Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Mystery
Thriller
Comics and Graphic Novels

Best in Craft Award
For the best instructional/inspirational resource blog to make writers better at their craft.

Most Beautiful Soul Award
For the best, personal blog from a writer who uses his or her platform to “bare the soul” as the cliche goes.

Best Group Blog Award
For those blogs maintained by a group of writers, whether focused on genres, news, interviews, reviews or a combination them.

Best in Reviews Award
For the best blog that focuses primarily on book reviews, can be be a writer blog or reader blog in this category.

Welcome to the Club Award for the best blog from a new writer first published within the past year

Any other suggestions?

Take care,

Sean Taylor
Official Taylorverse Website
Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action Blog

SPACE OPERA LANDS AT THE BOOK CAVE!

  • News
  • October 4, 2012

Author Wes Salem shares his space opera, “The Shadow of the Sund” with The Book Cave’s Ric Croxton and Dr. Art Sippo. Listen to the conversation now at http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/webpage

Learn more about New Pulp Author Wes Salem at https://westerntainment.blogspot.com

Visit The Book Cave at http://thebookcave.libsyn.com.

KISS and… Hello Kitty?

  • News
  • October 4, 2012

If you thought KISS meeting Archie was the strangest combination possible in comics, we’re happy that we can surprise you with the news that KISS is now teaming up with Hello Kitty:

The partnership between Sanrio and KISS will come to fruition next week when the full Hello Kitty x KISS collection debuts across the U.S.

“Over the past 40 years we have watched proudly as The KISS Army has crossed and come to include all generations and demographics,” says Paul Stanley, lead singer and co-founder, KISS. “This co-branding is trailblazing, and we have all been very excited about the collaboration of our two iconic brands from the beginning.”

The line of co-branded products includes two different styles–Rock ‘N’ Roll/Rock Mood and 1976 destroyer/Street Mood. Each style will be featured on a variety of products including bags, jewelry, stationery, plush and t-shirts. Two teaser t-shirts from the collection were released at Hot Topic in April as a preview for the fall line.

Hello Kitty x KISS products will be sold at Hot Topic, Claire’s and select Sanrio boutiques, as well as on the Sanrio website.

via Hello Kitty KISS to Debut – License.

I’m going to really start worrying if the hardcore Hello Kitty fans start showing up at KISS concerts…

REVIEW: Cinderella

  • Uncategorized
  • October 4, 2012

cinderelladiamondeditionbluraycomboart-2276739Walt Disney deserves its reputation for making magic on a regular basis, starting with the black and white shorts of the 1930s all the way through their current hits on their cable channel. They’ve managed to spread the supernaturally wonderful touch to cartoons, films, television, theme parks, and tons of merchandise. The joy is looking back, seeing the progress as Disney and the Nine Old Men, the master animators, learned the tricks of the trade, refining them and then owning them, setting them apart from all.

The 1950 release, Cinderella, is one of those films where all the elements come together. It possesses a classic story, told with verve and humor, coupled with fluid animation and memorable songs. Disney has spruced the film up, debuting it this week as part of its Diamond edition series of films.

Watching this classic feels fresh thanks to the restoration efforts. The songs sound better, the characters feel funnier, and you grin happily all the way through. The fairy tale was nicely adapted as the young girl found herself trapped in her role as scullery maid to the wicked stepmother and her homely, but favored, two daughters. She makes her wish to attend the ball and is greeted by the lovable but somewhat daffy Fairy Godmother. There’s the ball, the price, the dancing, and the glass hoe left behind as the clock strikes twelve. It’s all there, well-paced and crafted, with natural movements to the humans, saving the exaggerated antics for the anthropomorphized mice that were Cinderella’s friends from the outset.

cinderelladiamondedition_photo_08-300x227-7358596You root for Cinderella, hiss at the step-mother, and giggle at the slapstick. It’s all done well and is a perfect family film that endures.

One of the highlights of Disney’s Diamond releases is seeing how much improved the video image is and Cinderella does not disappoint. The high-definition restoration is amazing, with bright colors and sharp clarity, making the film all the more magical. Accompanying the improved look is amazing sound, which enlivens the overall experience.

Disney rarely skimps on the extras for these special releases and once more, this disc comes chockfull of goodness. The Blu-ray and DVD come nicely packaged in an embossed case but that’s just starting the fun. There are tons of extras that show the history of the film, the filmmaking process, and the usual assortment of excellent featurettes taking us into the magic behind the screen. Thankfully, the Classic Backstage Disney section repurposes all the content from previous editions.

cinderelladiamondedition_photo_06-300x236-6557765“The Real Fairy Godmother” (12:00) is fascinating in that it is a tribute to Walt’s wife, the inspiration for the supporting player. Daughter Diane Disney Miller appears here along with an optional video introduction to Cinderella. A new Tangled short appears in “Tangled Ever After”, which was in theaters with the last rerelease of Beauty and the Beast but acts as the lead-in to the Cinderella.

In a nice bit of cross-promotion, Snow White, that is Once Upon a Time’s Ginnfer Goodwin, takes you on a tour of the revamped Fantasyland at Disneyland, as “Behind the Magic: A New Disney Princess Fantasyland” (8:00) emphasizes the Princesses that have proven a marketing juggernaut. More promotion can be found in the focus on designer Christian Louboutin in “The Magic of a Glass Slipper: A Cinderella Story” (10:00).

For Blu-ray fans, there’s the DisneyView option, spotlighting the art of  Cristy Maltese, in case those black bars on the sides bother you.

If anything is less than stellar, it’s the Disney Second Screen, accessed via your mobile device or computer, lacking the usual breadth of secrets from the Disney Vault.

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