TARZAN SWINGS INTO A NEW ADVENTURE!
A new Tarzan strip is on the way. Learn more here.
Read the recent All Pulp interviews with Tarzan 2012 comic strip writer Roy Thomas and artist Tom Grindberg.
The Mix : What are people talking about today?
ComicsPRO Retailers Celebrate Banned Books Week!
Banned Books Week, the national celebration of the Freedom to Read, starts this Sunday! Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a sponsor of Banned Books Week, and will be joined in the celebration by members of ComicsPRO, the comics retailer trade association who will be hosting displays and events to raise awareness of the comics that have been banned and challenged!
Participating retailers are:
California
Corner Store Comics Banned Comics display
Colorado
Muse Comics + Games Banned Comics display, plus thank you gifts for members signing up for CBLDF Membership!
Louisiana
BSI Comics Banned Comics Party on October 5! Plus display and discussion group, CBLDF membership drive and an auction!
Mississippi
Southern Fried Comics Banned Comics shirts & display. For every $5 donation, customers will go in the draw to win a banned books gift pack (and we’ll get 10% off their purchases).
Montana
The Splash Page Banned Comics Display, plus thank you gifts for members signing up for CBLDF Membership!
Muse Comics Banned Comics Display, plus thank you gifts for members signing up for CBLDF Membership!
Ohio
Laughing Ogre Comics Banned Comics display!
Texas
Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy Banned Comics Readout on Wednesday October 3rd starting at 6:00PM. Additionally, a display of banned graphic novels up all week with case files for people to read and a membership drive!
Virginia
Laughing Ogre Comics Banned Comics display!
Are you doing a Banned Books Week event? Would you like to get in on the fun and host one? Email us at info@cbldf.org and put Banned Books Week in the subject and we’ll add you to our list! If you’re looking for ways to get involved, check out our How You Can Help page. Want to spread the word? Here’s some handy signage you can print out, and here’s a brochure you can print to spread the word!
FIGHT CARD Announces Another New Pulpster on the Line Up!
ÃÂ
TOMMY HANCOCK GETS A TITLE SHOT
ÃÂ
Fight CardÃÂ scores another main event by bringingÃÂ New PulpÃÂ maven Tommy Hancock into theÃÂ Fight Card Team.ÃÂ ÃÂ Hancock will get his shot at aÃÂ Fight CardÃÂ title in early 2013, adding another exciting installment to theÃÂ Fight CardÃÂ canon.
ÃÂ
Tommy is a writer, editor, publisher, podcast host, and audio voice actor, but beyond all those things he is first and foremost a fan.ÃÂ ÃÂ Pulp, comics, movies, TV, old time radio, and new audio drama, Hancock is steeped in all sorts of pop culture up to the brim of his fedora.ÃÂ
ÃÂ
A partner in and Editor in Chief ofÃÂ Pro Se Productions, Hancock is also one of the leading figures in the organization of theÃÂ New Pulp Movement.ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ Aside fromÃÂ Pro Se, Hancock is also an editor and writer forÃÂ Moonstone Books, and editor forÃÂ Kerlak PublishingÃÂ as well as having written forÃÂ Airship 27,ÃÂ Age of Adventure,ÃÂ Pulpwork Press, and a few companies where work is still up coming.ÃÂ
ÃÂ
The founder and organizer ofÃÂ Pulp Ark, theÃÂ Official New Pulp Convention, Hancock is also the founder, organizer, and one of the four hosts ofÃÂ PULPED!ÃÂ The Official New Pulp Podcast.ÃÂ
ÃÂ
His novel Fight Card: Fight River will be published in March 2013
ÃÂ
ON THE WEB
ÃÂ
TOMMY HANCOCK
Twitter: @IdeasLkBullets
Facebook:ÃÂ https://www.facebook.com/tommyhancock/
Blog:ÃÂ http://allpulp.blogspot.com/
John Ostrander says “Continuity Be Damned!”
Got The Avengers DVD on the day of its release and watched it all over again. My Mary and I enjoyed ourselves immensely and, from all indications, so did a lot of other people since its big screen release made more money than all but two other films.
Yes, previous Marvel films (Iron Man 1 and 2, Thor, Captain America, and the last Hulk film) all built up to it. It was great how it took the basic stuff we knew about all of them, including the initial Avengers comics, and was true to them but do you know what really made The Avengers such a juggernaut?
It was accessible.
You don’t need to know anything about the comics. You don’t need even to know anything about the other films. Everything you need to know to sit back and enjoy the movie is in the movie. Yes, if you know your Marvel lore it adds to the enjoyment but the fun of the movie and your understanding of the story is not predicated on that lore.
Over at DC, the Silver Age began when the legendary Julius Schwartz (hallowed be his name) took a bunch of character titles and concepts from the Golden Age, re-imagined them for what were more contemporary tastes, and re-ignited the superhero comic. He wasn’t concerned with continuity with the Golden Age, which was itself never too concerned with internal continuity; he wanted to sell comics.
When Marvel started (as Marvel) back in the Sixties, it started with all new characters at first so they didn’t have continuity problems. Even when they worked in Golden Age characters like Captain America and Namor, you didn’t need to have ever read any of the old stories. Everything you needed to know about those characters were in the stories.
Say that you’ve seen the movie The Avengers and you’d like to read a comic based on what you saw. So you go into a comic book shop and find: The Avengers, The Uncanny Avengers, The New Avengers, The Secret Avengers, Avengers Assemble, Avengers Academy, Dark Avengers, and, if you hurry, Avengers Vs. X-Men. This doesn’t include The Ultimates, which might be closest to the movie. Which one do you choose? And, if you do choose one, can you understand the story? Is it accessible or so caught up in past or current continuity as to not make sense to a casual reader?
I’m not excluding DC either. Say that you saw and liked The Dark Knight Rises and would love to know what happened next. So you go to the comic book store and you will not only find nothing that would tell you what happened next but nothing that isn’t tied to a crossover.
Look, I’m well versed in the ways of continuity. I’ve mined it for my own uses. However, when I started my run on Suicide Squad I essentially dropped everything but the title, even redefining the concept. Yes, I made use of continuity but I never assumed that the reader of the new book would know anything about the old series or care about the old characters.
I work in Star Wars and believe me when I say that the continuity there is as dense and complicated as anything at Marvel or DC. I’ve learned how to negotiate those reef filled waters by either creating new characters or going forward or backwards or even sideways in time. I research the continuity where my stories touch upon it but I don’t get tied down to it.
The ones who care about continuity are the fans and the hardcore fans care about it most. I’ve had all sorts of fans who want to tell a story based upon some obscure plot point that doesn’t fit quite snuggly enough into continuity (or how they perceive it) and explains it all. It’s hard to tell stories based on continuity alone. They’re bloodless. Story comes from characters and their desires and interactions.
This summer we’ve seen a load of very successful superhero movies – The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Spider-Man (itself a reboot from the last Spider-Man movie which was out only about five years ago). So there is a market out there. Yes, yes – comics and movies are two different media but the concepts are the same in both. Do we want to attract even a portion of that audience? For the survival of a medium we love, all of us – fans and pros alike – need to say yes.
The way to do that is with well-told stories that are accessible to all readers. Mary and I know a friend who watched The Avengers with her grandson and both enjoyed it. And they enjoyed watching it together. That’s something we should aim for.
In the end, if continuity gets in the way of a really good, accessible story, then I say – continuity be damned.
MONDAY: Mindy Newell
TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten
REVIEW: Dark Shadows
I don’t recall how I first stumbled across the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows back in the 1960s. Normally, back then, I‘d come home from school and watch ‘50s reruns on WNEW or WPIX but somehow, I found the Dan Curtis series and fell for it thanks to the supernatural overtones. It was was heady mix of vampires, werewolves, witches, parallel universes and lots of secrets. When the show reached its conclusion, I was in high school, at a friend’s house and insisted we watch it even though he’d never seen it. I read many of the Marion Ross novels, some of the Gold Key comics, and even the short-lived syndicated strip with terrific Ken Bald artwork. The attempts to revive the series ever since never worked. Ever. So, when I heard both Tim Burton and Johnny Depp were fans, I figured they’d be ideal for a modern film version.
The casting sounded spot on and the first visuals looked great. Then came the first trailer and it was a bit of culture shock, much like Barnabas Collins’ resurrection after 196 years of undead contemplation in the Maine soil. It was quirky and akin to Burton’s Mars Attacks! but I was game to see more. Thankfully, word from screenings indicated the trailers emphasized the quirk and the movie was actually stronger. Perhaps, but not strong enough, and the tepid reviews in the wake of The Avengers meant it was DOA at the box office.
Now we have a chance to re-examine it as Warner Home Video releases the film on disc, notably its Combo Pack (Blu-ray, DVD, Ultraviolet). Visually, it’s stunning, capturing the beauty of Maine, the creepiness of Collinwood mansion and replete with grace notes harkening back to the black and white series, especially the water crashing on the rocks. Danny Elfman’s score eerily echoes the original music and supplements that with songs culled from 1972, punctuating the cultural dissonance experienced by Barnabas.
Depp is well supported by Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Lee Miller, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley, and Chloe Grace Moretz. In some cases they closely resemble their television counterparts and their characterizations are close enough to be satisfying. Eva Green as Angelique, the witch who cursed him to be a vampire after spurning her love two centuries ago, is trampy, campy and sex as hell.
While the film has all the elements to be a strong remake of the series, it falls apart because of a thin script, surprising for a Burton production. Seth Grahame-Smith’s script, from a story concocted by Smith and John August, hints at many soap opera threads but rarely strays from the core conflict between would-be lovers. Angelique is frustrated because Barnabas’ true love, Josette, has been resurrected as Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote), the newly arrived governess. Further complicating the triangle is the unhealthy interest Dr. Grayson (Carter) has in Barnabas’ vampiric qualities.
The supporting cast is good and does fine with what they’re given, but it’s not enough, especially given how rich and varied the storylines were, which propelled the series for years. We’re reminded of that and Burton deserves credit for including members of the original cast – Jonathan Frid, David Selby, Lara Parker, and Kathryn Leigh Scott—make a cameo appearance at a party. It’s as if they come on scene, have a moment and vanish until needed again which robs the overall film of a richness the material deserves.
The film’s final act, with its pyrotechnic climax was overdone, overlong and totally out of place, more Harryhausen than Curtis.
Depp, with oversized ears and long, tapering clawed fingers, channels Frid’s Barnabas, without the tortured soul that made the original actor an unexpected heartthrob. Instead, he’s devoted to family, playful with the kids, and determined to break the curse that causes him to kill. He is boggled by the technological and cultural changes but it’s all on the surface and worthy of exploration.
As a result, the sum is less than the parts and the movie is a misfire from Burton. For the diehard fans of the cast, director, or series, it’s certainly worth a look. The Blu-ray transfer is both strong with terrific color and sound.
The handful of extras include about 15 minutes of deleted scenes, several of which would have enhanced the film, especially a scene between Barnabas and young David (Gulliver McGrath).You can also watch the film in Maximum Movie Mode that lets you see special featurettes on the casting, production, effects, etc. Thankfully, they are all provided as standalone pieces so you can watch whatever catches your fancy.
Banned Comic Books for Banned Books Week
(In honor of Banned Books Week (September 30-October 6, 2012) we are reprinting this list from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and will be reprinting lots of stuff from them over the coming week to highlight their efforts. Donate now! âCM)
Banned Books Week is upon us, and itâs telling that the event is more relevant than ever in its 30th year. Given their visual nature and the rampantly held misconception that comic books are for children, comics are among the most challenged and banned books in libraries and schools. Letâs take a look at some frequently challenged and banned comicsâ¦
Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations by J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita, Jr., and Scott Hanna
⢠Location of key challenge: A middle-school library in Millard, Nebraska
⢠Reason challenged: Sexual overtones
The parent of a 6-year-old who checked out the book filed a complaint and took the story to the media; the parent also withheld the book for the duration of the review process rather than returning it per library policy.
Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley
⢠Location of key challenge: Stark County District Library in Canton, Ohio
⢠Reason challenged: Sexism, offensive language, and unsuited to age group
Despite the challenge, the library retained the book and now holds two copies, which are shelved in the Teen section.
Blankets by Craig Thompson 
⢠Location of key challenge: The public library in Marshall, Missouri
⢠Reason challenged: Obscene images
CBLDF wrote a letter to the Marshall library on behalf of Blankets and Alison Bechdelâs Fun Home, playing a key role in keeping both books on shelves.
Bone by Jeff Smith 
⢠Location of key challenge: Independent School District 196 in Rosemount, Minnesota
⢠Reason challenged: Promotion of smoking and drinking
A letter from Jeff Smith decrying the attempted ban of his book was read aloud at the library review committeeâs hearing, and the challenge was ultimately rejected by a 10-1 vote, to the praise of Smith and the CBLDF.
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
⢠Location of key challenge: All public school libraries in Wicomico County, Maryland
⢠Reason challenged: Violence and nudity
The library review committee recommended that the books in the Dragon Ball series, which were recommended by the publisher for ages 13+, be removed from the entire public school library system, including at the high school level.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel 
⢠Location of key challenge: The public library in Marshall, Missouri
⢠Reason challenged: Obscene images
CBLDF wrote a letter to the Marshall library on behalf of Fun Home and Craig Thompsonâs Blankets, playing a key role in keeping both books on shelves.
Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes
⢠Location of key challenge: A high school in Guilford, Connecticut
⢠Reason challenged: Profanity, course language, and brief non-sexual nudity
A high school teacher was forced to resign from his job after a parent filed both a complaint with the school and a police complaint against the teacher for lending a high school freshman a copy of Eightball #22, which was later published as the graphic novel Ice Haven.
In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
⢠Location of key challenge: Multiple locations
⢠Reason challenged: Nudity
In the Night Kitchen was not often removed from shelves; instead, librarians censored it by painting underwear or diapers over the genitals of the main character, a precocious child named Mickey.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin OâNeill
⢠Location of key challenge: Jessamine County Public Library in Kentucky
⢠Reason challenged: Sex scenes
Two employees of the Jessamine County Public Library in Kentucky were fired after they took it upon themselves to withhold the libraryâs copy of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier from circulation because they felt it was pornographic.
Maus by Art Spiegelman
⢠Location of key challenge: Pasadena Public Library in Pasadena, California
⢠Reason challenged: Anti-ethnic and unsuited for age group
Nick Smith of the Pasadena Public Library describes the challenge as being âmade by a Polish-American who is very proud of his heritage, and who had made other suggestions about adding books on Polish history⦠The thing is, Maus made him uncomfortable, so he didnât want other people to read it. That is censorship, as opposed to parental guidance.â
Neonomicon by Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows
⢠Location of key challenge: The public library in Greenville, South Carolina
⢠Reason challenged: Sexual content
Despite giving her 14-year-old daughter permission to check out the book, which was appropriately shelved in the adult section of the library, a mother filed a complaint, claiming the book was âpornographic.â CBLDF wrote a letter in support of the book, but it remains out of circulation pending review.
Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughn and Niko Henrichon
⢠Location of key challenge: Various
⢠Reason challenged: Sexual content
Despite receiving high praise from the ALA and Booklist and featuring a cast consisting of animals, the book has been challenged at libraries for sexual content.
Sandman by Neil Gaiman and various artists
⢠Location of key challenge: Various
⢠Reason challenged: Anti-family themes, offensive language, and unsuited for age group
When asked about how he felt when Sandman was labelled unsuitable for teens, Gaiman responded, âI suspect that having a reputation as adult material thatâs unsuitable for teens will probably do more to get teens to read Sandman than having the books ready and waiting on the YA shelves would ever do.â
SideScrollers by Matthew Loux
⢠Location of key challenge: The public school district in Enfield, Connecticut
⢠Reason challenged: Profanity and sexual references
The school district removed the book from non-compulsory summer reading lists, possibly violating its own review policy, which states in part that âno parent nor group of parents has the right to negate the use of educational resources for students other than his/her own child.â CBLDF wrote a letter in support of the book and is still awaiting a response from the school board.
Stuck in the Middle, edited by Ariel Schrag
⢠Location of key challenge: The public school system in Dixfield, Maine
⢠Reason challenged: Language, sexual content, and drug references
CBLDF wrote a letter in support of the book, and the school board voted to leave the book on library shelves with the caveat the students must have parental permission to check out the book. âWhile weâre pleased to see the book retained in the libraryâs collection, weâre very disappointed that it is retained with restrictions,â said Executive Director Charles Brownstein.
Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse
⢠Location of key challenge: Montgomery County Memorial Library System, Texas
⢠Reason challenged: Depiction of homosexuality
The book was challenged alongside 15 other young adult books with gay positive themes. The book was ultimately retained in the Montgomery County system, but was reclassified from Young Adult to Adult.
Tank Girl by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett
⢠Location of key challenge: Hammond Public Library in Hammond, Indiana
⢠Reason challenged: Nudity and violence
The Tank Girl books are meant to entertain an adult audience, frequently depicting violence, flatulence, vomiting, sex, and drug use. After the 2009 challenge, the Hammond Public Library chose to retain the book, and it remains on shelves today.
The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa
⢠Location of key challenge: Various
⢠Reason challenged: Nudity, sexual content, and unsuited to age group
When the American Library Associationâs Office of Intellectual Freedom released their list of the Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2011, the second-most challenged book on that list was The Color of Earth, the first book of a critically-acclaimed Korean manwha, or comic book, series.
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
⢠Location of key challenge: Various
⢠Reason challenged: Unsuited to age group
Watchmenreceived a Hugo Award in 1988 and was instrumental in garnering more respect and shelf space for comics and graphic novels in libraries and mainstream bookstores. The inclusion of Watchmen in school library collections has been challenged by parents at least twice, according to the American Library Associationâs Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Given their visual nature, graphic novels and comic books are among the most-challenged books in libraries and schools. CBLDF is an official sponsor of Banned Books Week, which takes place September 30 â October 6, 2012. Please help support CBLDFâs defense of your right to read by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!
HARD CASE BRINGS LOST NOIR NOVEL TO READERS!
REPOSTED FROM CNN
(CNN)Â — Would you recognize a roscoe if you see one? Ever run into a gumshoe? Do you take your heroes hard-boiled and your dames dangerous?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then dear reader, you will welcome the arrival of a lost novel from a prince of pulp fiction. The book is “The Cocktail Waitress.”
The author is James M. Cain, best known for two noir masterpieces, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.” Both books sold millions of copies and inspired classic movies. When Cain died in 1977, his fans thought it was the end of the story.
Now, 35 years later, Cain’s last novel is finally reaching readers. So how did this book go from buried treasure to publication?
Credit crime fiction connoisseur Charles Ardai with discovering “The Cocktail Waitress.” Ardai is a longtime Cain fan, an author, editor and the publisher behind the Hard Case Crime series. Ardai helped revive the pulp fiction genre in recent years with a series of popular paperbacks packed with sex, sin and recognized for their tawdry covers.
Years ago, Ardai heard rumors of a lost Cain novel, written at the end of his life but never published. With nearly a decade of detective work, Ardai uncovered “The Cocktail Waitress,” polished the manuscript and this week brings it to bookstores. To fans of old school crime fiction, this book is akin to finding an unheard symphony or a missing oil masterpiece. It has all the hallmarks of classic Cain: lust, greed, betrayal and deception.
It’s the story of beautiful young widow, Joan Medford. After her husband dies under suspicious circumstances, she’s forced to work as a waitress in a cocktail lounge where she meets a handsome young hustler and an aging millionaire. To reveal more would spoil the fun for readers, but suffice to say Joan is not your typical femme fatale. CNN recently spoke to Ardai about the hunt for Cain’s long-lost novel.
The following transcript has been edited for style and brevity:
CNN: Tell me about the hunt for “The Cocktail Waitress.” How did you discover the book?
Ardai: A decade ago, before we ever put out our first book, I was talking with “Road to Perdition” author Max Allan Collins about what sorts of books we might want Hard Case Crime to publish, and he mentioned that he’d heard that there was a last unpublished James M. Cain novel called “The Cocktail Waitress,” written at the very end of Cain’s life, but Max had never seen the book and no one he knew had. Maybe I could find it?
Well, I’d been a huge Cain fan since my freshman year in college, when I’d found a battered copy of “Double Indemnity” on a used book table, and I couldn’t resist this challenge. So I began searching.
The search took nine years. No one I asked seemed to have seen a copy of the manuscript. The Cain estate didn’t have one. None of the collectors or historians I reached out to did. For a while, the more inquiries I put out the less progress I seemed to be making. But I finally thought to ask Joel Gotler, the Hollywood agent who’d inherited the files of H. N. Swanson, Cain’s agent back in the day, and sure enough, there was a copy of the manuscript lurking in Swanson’s files.
But even that wasn’t the end of the search, since it turned out there were several incomplete drafts hiding in the rare manuscript collection of the Library of Congress. …
CNN: This sounds like quite a literary find?
Ardai: Very much so. Cain is considered one of the “big three” in hard-boiled crime fiction, the other two being Dashiell Hammett (“The Maltese Falcon”) and Raymond Chandler (“The Big Sleep”). Chandler and Hammett defined the hard-boiled detective story, but when you take the detective away and just focus on the criminals — the story of a femme fatale out to kill her husband for the insurance money and the lust-blinded sap she seduces into doing the deed — then you’re on Cain’s turf.
He completely owned that type of sordid, desperate crime story. And finding an unpublished manuscript by Cain — it’s like finding a lost Steinbeck novel, or a lost Hemingway, or if you’re a music lover a lost score by George Gershwin. A last chance to hear a great voice from the past, taking you on one last wild ride.
CNN: Once you found the novel, your work was not over. There was quite a bit of revision and editing before the novel’s release.
Ardai: Cain worked and reworked this novel several times at the end of his life, which was presumably why it never got published — he was still working on it when he died. But just to be clear, this doesn’t mean the book was incomplete; on the contrary, he completed at least two full drafts, and then also had various partial drafts that petered out after anywhere from 1 to 100 pages. Which left me with an editing challenge: How to put together a single, complete final draft out of all the material Cain left behind?
In some cases, it was clear that Cain had made a choice he wanted to stick with — for instance, after writing his first draft in the third person, all subsequent drafts were penned in the first person. So first person clearly was his preference.
But in other places, it was less clear what he’d have preferred, so we had to just go with the version we felt was stronger. But in the end, this is what an editor always does — work with an author’s draft to make it the strongest book you possibly can.
It’s easier when the author is alive and can answer questions, but this is hardly the first posthumous book we’ve published. We’ve had similar situations with Donald E. Westlake and Roger Zelazny and David Dodge, among others. So I could draw on that experience when working on this book.
CNN: How does the novel hold up for today’s audience?
Ardai: Oh, it’s great. Part of the reason is that it’s set smack in the heart of the “Mad Men” era, which is certainly not a turnoff for today’s audience. But a bigger reason is that Cain’s themes are timeless.
The dialogue and clothing and hairstyles might remind you you’re reading about the past, but men still kill each other over the love of a beautiful woman today; women still hunger for men who aren’t their husbands; people still find themselves in dire situations, desperate for money and forced to take a degrading job to provide for their children.
The danger in the book, the threats, the pain, the horror of losing a loved one — these are things that never go away.
CNN: “The Cocktail Waitress” is written from the point of view of Joan Medford. How would you describe her?
Ardai: The thing that makes Joan unusual is that she’s the narrator of the book. Usually in Cain’s novels, it’s a man who’s narrating and you see the femme fatale through his eyes — beautiful, sultry, ice cold one minute and burning hot the next, more than a little mysterious. But here Cain makes the brave choice to put us inside the head of the femme fatale herself, which makes her a much richer and more complex character.
No femme fatale thinks she is one or will admit it if she does. From her point of view, she’s just a woman who’s acting reasonably while the world goes mad around her. Do the men in her life drop like flies? Perhaps — but it’s not her fault! This chance to see a classic femme fatale from the inside out is part of what makes “The Cocktail Waitress” so fascinating, and so daring.
CNN: As an award-winning writer, editor and publisher of crime fiction, Cain must have had a great influence on you.
Ardai: No question. The pair of novels I wrote as Richard Aleas — “Little Girl Lost” and “Songs of Innocence” — were directly inspired by Cain. They’re the story of a young man blinded by his love for two beautiful women, who finds himself doing terrible things as a result.
Before I wrote them, I read every book Cain had ever published. He was my muse. As you can imagine, it was an honor and a privilege to get to work on Cain’s final novel, to have a hand in bringing this last lost dollop of darkness to light.
MCCAULEY AND FERGUSON GET ON THE FIGHT CARD
New Pulp Authors Derrick Ferguson and Terrence P. McCaulley join the Fight Card series line up. Look for their respective Fight Card novels in 2013.
PRESS RELEASE:
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| Derrick Ferguson |
Fight Card is excited to announce the addition of Derrick Ferguson and Terrence P. McCaulley to the Fight Card Team of two-fisted, hard-punching, writers who will have fighters slugging it out on the pages of Fight Card main events in 2013.
New Pulp sensation Derrick Ferguson â the creator of the modern pulp hero Dillonâ is a native of Brooklyn, New York. His interests include radio/audio drama, Classic Pulp from the 30âÂÂs, 40âÂÂs, 50âÂÂs, and the current New Pulp movement.
With his podcast partner, Thomas Deja, Derrick currently co-hosts the Better In The Dark podcast where he rants and raves about movies on a bi-weekly basis. Derrick is also a rotating co-host of the PULPED! podcast, where he interview writers of the New Pulp Movement as well as discusses the various themes, topics, ebb and flow of what constitutes New Pulp and why you should be reading it.
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| Terrance P. McCauley |
His books include, Dillon and the Voice of Odin, Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell, Four Bullets For Dillon, Dillon And The Pirates of Xonira, and The Adventures of Fortune McCall, all of which are available through Amazon.com as paperbacks and ebooks.
Terrence P. McCauley is a proud native of the Bronx, NY. He first gained recognition as a writer by winning TruTVâÂÂs Search for the Next Great Crime Writer contest in 2008.
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| You ready to step into the ring? |
His short story Blood Moon of 1931 appeared in Matt HiltonâÂÂs Acton: Pulse Pounding Tales Vol. 1 and his short story Lady MadelineâÂÂs Dive appeared in the first edition relaunch of Thug Lit in 2012. Both anthologies are available for the Kindle at Amazon.com. His novels include, The Slow Burn from Noir Nation Books (as an e-book), and Prohibition from Airship 27, both of which will be published in late 2012.
McCauleyâÂÂs novel Fight Card: will be released in January 2013.
FergusonâÂÂs Fight Card: Brooklyn Beatdown will be released in February 2013.
Learn more about Fight Card Books at http://fightcardbooks.com.
Check out All Pulp’s recent interview with Fight Card co-creator Paul Bishop here and his Earth Station One podcast interview here.
ALTUS PRESS PRESENTS THE PULPMASTER
Altus Press presents Pulpmaster: The Theodore Roscoe Story. Released on September 23, the book is written by Audrey Parente and features a forward by Theodore Roscoe himself.
About Pulpmaster: The Theodore Roscoe Story:
The allure of French Foreign Legionnaire Thibaut Cordayâs adventures flowed from the pen of Theodore Roscoe. Exotic tales from a dusky outpost unfolded in glossy-covered 10-cent magazines, before television. Hundreds of Roscoeâs yarns, published on cheap pulp paper unraveled mysteries, immortalized hometown heroes and stirred the imagination of a generation. In real life, Roscoe stowed aboard tramp steamers and mingled with locals in far away corners. His intriguing style later echoed in non-fiction works, when he was among the first to view declassified Lincoln assassination documents and when he documented historic American military operations. Journalist Audrey Parente became steeped in American pulp history when she lived blocks away from Roscoe in Ormond Beach, Florida, where she chronicled his life for this book.
Pulpmaster: The Theodore Roscoe Story is available in paperback from Amazon, in a limited edition (only 100 made) hardcover, and from Mike Chomko Books.
CHALLENGER STORM AND THE VALLEY OF FEAR EPISODE 4
Challenger Storm: The Valley of Fear episode 4: “The King’s Tale” by New Pulp Author Don Gates is now live at http://challengerstorm.blogspot.com/2012/09/challenger-storm-valley-of-fear-episode_29.html
NOTE: This serial takes place out of order chronologically with the Challenger Storm novels, which are being written with a definite timeline in mind. “The Valley of Fear” happens after at least book 5 or 6, but this shouldn’t hinder the reading experience. I’m flying by the seat of my pants here, so I make no guarantees in regards to quality or coherence.
A second Challenger Storm novel, The Curse of Poseidon, has been announced for 2013 release.
You can read The Valley of Fear at http://challengerstorm.blogspot.com/
Challenger Storm: The Isle of Blood is still available from Airship 27 Productions.
