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The Point Radio: CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL Goes British?

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL has started Season Four on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Rob Huebel and even Henry Winkler are excited about sharing some news on the upcoming episodes plus more with  Will Farrell and Zach Galifianakis and THE CAMPAIGN, and is it fan fiction coming true? “Mulder & Scully sitting in a tree……

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.

MUTUAL, THE SPIDER, DIGITAL DOWNLOADS, AND MORE FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

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August 10, 2012
 
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What would it take to recapture the glory of the golden age of radio and still incorporate the stars and even stories of a more modern time? This query was answered extremely well in 1980 by one program, 20 of its episodes collected in Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 from Radio Archives!
 
At a time when radio drama was attempting a comeback, The Sears Radio Theater made a move and name change to Mutual, becoming the Mutual Radio Theater. Mutual answered the age old question of blending the classic with the modern by doing just that. Producing a show that put legends of the Radio Drama era to work side by side with modern up and coming stars of television and film!
 
The Mutual Radio Theater featured stories written by radio greats such as Arch Oboler, Norman Corwin, and Elliot Lewis. These scribes brought their formidable talents to bear on this kaleidoscopic show, providing solid scripts for every genre the show represented five nights a week. Oboler’s atmospheric twists, Corwin’s realistic, often revealing takes on American life, and Lewis’ understanding of what made listeners laugh, cry, and cringe blended well with the work of modern storytellers to make Mutual Radio Theater an instant classic.
 
Presenting the entire run of Mutual Radio Theater in five collections, Radio Archives proudly presents 20 Stereo episodes in Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2! Each show is presented in the highest quality and features writing and performances from the best of classic and more modern entertainment!
 
Priced at only $59.98, Save $20.00 for the next two weeks with our Introductory Price of $39.98! Volume 1 was one of our best selling radio sets in 2012. Make sure you get Volume 2 today. See below for a very special price on the download version.
 
 
Every week the Archives receives comments like this. “If Radio Archives begins offering download versions of its products, please let me know.” Radio Archives has been offering all of our audio sets in two formats for the last year. The very popular Audio CDs and MP3 Digital Downloads.
 
For well over a decade, Radio Archives has been known for our Sparkling audio quality of our Old Time Radio collections and it’s no wonder. We insist upon finding the absolute best quality masters, then carefully restoring them so that they retain all of the audio luster of the original recordings with none of the crackle, pops, hiss, or muffling so often heard in radio shows from other sources. Now, with Digital Downloads, Radio Archives gives you the same quality of work and restoration in each set. That’s why every classic radio collection you download from Radio Archives comes to you as a zip file containing each individual show, encoded as a mono 128 kpbs MP3 file with a sampling rate of 44,100. As audiophiles know 128 kbps Mono is the same quality as 256 kbps Stereo.
 
Some of you may be asking, “Just what is a digital download?” Put simply, it is a MP3 computer file. Digital Downloads from RadioArchives.com come to you as high bitrate MP3 files to ensure that you’ll enjoy the same sparkling audio fidelity as in our Audio CD sets. You receive the files in minutes, save postage, and you can play them on your computer, iPhone or Android phone, or on your favorite portable device. Whether you live in Seattle, Stockholm, or San Juan, each downloadable collection is available worldwide and you can carry hundreds of hours of our radio shows on devices that fit in your shirt pocket!
 
All new CD sets released by Radio Archives are available as downloads and most of our 200 Radio sets are available for download. If you find the odd set that isn’t available, send us an email and we will put that set next on the list to produce.
 
Digital Downloads make it easy for you to take the drama, comedy, music, mystery, and history of classic radio with you wherever you go. Solve mysteries along with Phillip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, Boston Blackie and more as you make your morning walk. Laugh and chortle at the antics of Fibber McGee and Molly, Jimmy Durante, Amos and Andy and others while doing chores around the house. Tap your foot to the tunes of Jolson, Ellington, and the best of the big bands while driving, at work, anytime you want from the mobile device of your choice. Now all of these great sets can also be purchased as Digital Downloads – and at a price considerably lower than the comparable CD set! Just visit RadioArchives.com today, place your order, download your sets, and in just minutes you’ll be enjoying some great audio entertainment.
 

Buying Digital Downloads is just as easy as being able to take your favorite shows with you and we’ll show you how!
 
Let’s say you want to purchase the NEW Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 that was released today. First go to the Radio Archives Home page and click on the OLD TIME RADIO button on the left or use the handy Search tool at the top of the main menu. Or click on the product above in the newsletter.
 
Click on the Drama category and click on Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 image. You’ll be taken to the Liner Notes for the CD version of that collection.
 
 
Next to the Front Cover, you’ll see the pricing for the Audio CD version and it happens to be on sale today. Prefer the Digital Download version? Click the ‘Go to Download Version’ button and you’ll see the download version. Add the download version to your shopping cart, proceed with checkout, and you’ll instantly be able to download a ZIP file containing MP3s of all of the shows in the set. In just a few seconds, you’ll be listening to the ‘Mutual Radio Theater!’ This is one of the simpliest downloads available anywhere.
 
 
On the road, around the house, in the yard, wherever you are, Digital Downloads from Radio Archives means you can take the best of old time radio and pulp audiobooks with you every where.
 
We are proud of our Downloads and would love you to try one. For the Next Two Weeks, you can get Digital Downloads of any of our Old Time Radio sets for 50% off the regular Audio CD version price!
 
Take a look at the Old Time Radio section of the website and you’ll see just how much variety there is. Such long-time customer favorites as the classic police drama “Calling All Cars”, the western adventure series “The Cisco Kid”, the high-flying adventures of America’s favorite free-lance insurance investigator “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar”, the fantastic musical numbers of shows like “ The Railroad Hour” and “Date with The Duke” and so many more can now be yours at the specially discounted price of 50% off the Audio CD version price for the next two weeks! TIP: Since the Audio CD version of the Mutual Radio Theater, Volume 2 is on sale, you also get the download version at 50% off the sale price, but only for the next two weeks.
 
Digital Downloads fromRadioArchives.com literally give you the best of everything- 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!
 
Still not sure if Digital Downloads are for you. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. After trying the downloads and if it isn’t your cup of tea, we’ll refund your money in full, no questions asked. We think you’ll love it.
 

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Audiobook Reviews – The Spider “The Flame Master”
by Derrick Ferguson
 

The one thing you have do before listening to a Spider audiobook, any Spider audiobook is realize that what you’re going to hear is gloriously, outrageously, outstandingly nuts. There’s no other way to describe a Spider adventure. But it’s a good nuts. One that entertains like few other pulp heroes can. A Spider adventure is like a shot of turbocharged adrenaline injected directly into your brain. It’s always apocalyptic on an Old Testament level with a body count high enough that I frankly give up trying to estimate how many people, guilty and innocents alike get killed in a Spider adventure.
 
The Flame Master is no different in this respect as it features a bizarre opponent for The Spider to battle: Aronk Dong, who claims to be a prince from the planet Mars. If that wasn’t enough, Aronk Dong appears to be half-man, half-lion. The Spider thinks it’s some sort of elaborate make-up until he’s on the receiving end of Aronk Dong’s claws. From then on, Richard Wentworth isn’t so sure this character isn’t for real. And if that wasn’t enough, Aronk Dong can apparently cause lightning to strike whenever and whoever he wishes at will.
 
Like the other Spider audiobooks I’ve been entertained by, this one comes complete with music and sound effects that greatly enhance the drama and really helps to get into the headlong, non-stop pace of the story. I really enjoy Nick Santa Maria’s voice work as it sounds as if he’s right at my elbow, telling me this story as urgently as he can before he’s interrupted. Robin Riker voices Nina Van Sloan and I love it. I always prefer when women do the voices of women character in audiobooks as it really doesn’t work for me when a man does a women’s voice because that’s usually what it sounds like: a man trying to sound like a women. Here in The Flame Master, Robin Riker’s wonderful work helps greatly, along with the music and sound effects to the feeling that I’m listening to a drama.
 

I’ve gotten so spoiled by Radio Archives series of Spider audiobooks that I’m actually reluctant to read the books as I’ve gotten hooked on hearing the voices of the characters and listening to the excellent production values of these excellent audiobooks. The Flame Master is yet another jewel in the crown of Spider audiobooks and well worth your time. Enjoy.
 
By Visionsmyth on Amazon
 
Imagine if somebody had produced a Doc Savage radio serial back in the ‘30’s or ‘40’s. Then imagine if the surviving copies were clean, clear, and had stereo capability. These are just plain FUN, produced in the manner of old radio serials but with all the modern amenities available to current technology – at least, 1980s technology, which was pretty darn good.
 
This series captures the style of serials produced when the Doc Savage adventures were written, and the actor selection was terrific. Renny sounds like Renny, Monk sounds the way Dent described him, Pat sounds like Pat. Some of the “evil vilian” accents are fairly cheesy (sorry), but then, that would likely be true if they were produced in the 30s, so at least it’s authentic cheesiness.
 
One extra CD includes production commentary, which I really enjoyed. Another has examples of other radio productions, also great fun. I only wish the movie developers had approached their project with the same intent and respect as these radio producers. Are you listening, Hollywood?
 

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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 E-Reader! Presenting Pulp Icons such as the Spider and Operator 5 as well as wonderfully obscure characters like Doctor Death and more, Will Murray’s Pulp Classics brings you the best of yesterday’s Pulp today!
 
Five new golden age Pulp tales exquisitely reformatted into visually stunning E-books!

 

Fear stalked the corridors and offices on Capitol Hill, for it was from the ranks of the mighty — the rulers and lawmakers of America — that the Silver Assassins sought their victims! Singly, in pairs and in numbered groups they died, laying down their lives for their country — while panic spread, and the Spider, alone aware of the terrific catastrophe which impended, fought through black, bodiless shadows to reach and destroy the menace which festered underground! Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men! As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.
 
The Spider #14 Death’s Crimson Juggernaut

Hideous maniacal laughter shattered the dark silence of ghostly tenements. Sleepy-eyed men and women, stumbling through the dim halls of the building, found a sight that chilled their souls with terror. On a blank wall, spikes driven through her, hands and feet, blood coursing down her arms and breasts in tiny rivulets, a beautiful young woman was hanging, crucified, dying. Still another victim of the Torture Trust! And while panic spreads, while hundreds die victims of the Killers, the Spider is blinded, his faithful servants imprisoned, his friends dishonored! How can Richard Wentworth, desperate and alone, combat the powerful, well-organized Murder Syndicate whose gun hirelings hunt him down like a vicious mad dog? Another epic exploit of America’s best-loved pulp-fiction character of the 1930s and 1940s: The Spider — Master of Men! As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction: “Meet the Spider” especially for this series of eBooks.

 

The news spread like wild-fire. A man had solved the problem of the ages — he was bringing the dead back to life! Operator 5, ace of the American Secret Service, recognized the grave menace. He realized the danger if the gigantic advances of modern science were employed selfishly by unscrupulous men. And that precisely was the danger facing his native land! The Master of Death, using the promise of life everlasting, was cunningly building an army of fanatic, half-mad followers, men who were burning, pillaging and slaying at the will of the man-monster they worshipped!
 
Jimmy Christopher, clean-cut, square-jawed and clear-eyed, was the star of the most audacious pulp magazines ever conceived — Operator #5. Savage would-be conquerors, creepy cults, weird weather-controllers and famine-creating menaces to our mid-western breadbasket… these were but a few of the fiendish horrors that Jimmy Christopher was forced to confront. Operator #5 returns in vintage pulp tales, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format. As a special Bonus, Will Murray has written an introduction especially for this series of Operator #5 eBooks.

 
Four powerful factions work at cosmic cross purposes in a game of system-wide stakes as Curt Newton and his staunch comrades set out to create a brand new planet to add to the family of the Sun! Captain Future… the Ace of Space! Born and raised on the moon, Curt Newton survived the murder of his scientist parents to become the protector of the galaxy known as Captain Future. With his Futuremen, Grag the giant robot, Otho, the shape-shifting android and Simon Wright, the Living Brain, he patrols the solar system in the fastest space ship ever constructed, the Comet, pursuing human monsters and alien threats to Earth and her neighbor planets.

 

The Scorpion #1 Satan’s Incubator
Wholesale murder-madness gripped an entire city when mothers killed their own children and husbands slew the wives they loved! Only two people knew the dread cause of this charnel-house terror; one was the Scorpion, relentless crime-master who would ride to power on the red crest of the death-mania. The other was the honest little medico of mystery — Dr. Skull!
 
The Scorpion was the pinnacle of weird menace. He appeared once, in a single pulp magazine issue, and never appeared again. The magazine never made to a series, for some reason. It was over-the-top action and audacious horror-thrills.  A classic, the likes of which has never been seen again! One of the rare supernatural series the pulps, The Scorpion returns in this vintage pulp tale, reissued for today’s readers in electronic format.
 

When you purchase these beautifully reformatted eBooks from RadioArchives.com you receive all three formats in one ZIP file: PDF for PC or Mac computer; Mobi for Kindle and ePub for iPad/IPhone, Android, Sony eReader, and Nook. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your eBook novels 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! The best Pulp eBooks now available for only $2.99 each from Radio Archives!
 
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For a limited time you can now download an exciting original Spider adventure for just one thin penny! 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. Their motto? Why “KILL THE SPIDER!” of course.
 
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 download this bargain.
 
All eBooks produced by Radio Archives are available in ePub, Mobi, and PDF formats for the ultimate in compatibility. When you purchase this eBook from RadioArchives.comyou receive all three formats in one ZIP file. When you upgrade to a new eReader, you can transfer your Spider novels to your new device without the need to purchase anything new. Use the PDF version when reading on your PC or Mac computer. If you have a Kindle, the Mobi version is what you want. If you have an iPad/iPhone, Android, Sony eReader or Nook, then the ePub version is what you want.

 

 

The Knight of Darkness wages battles to the death with two of his greatest superfoes! First, The Shadow becomes “The Devil’s Paymaster” to end the sadistic reign of The Prince of Evil in the violent conclusion of Theodore Tinsley’s most acclaimed storyline. Then, Lamont Cranston must die to crush a superfiend’s evil plots when “The Wasp Returns” in an action-packed thriller by Walter B. Gibson. Foreword by Michael Uslan, executive producer of the Summer Bat-Blockbuster, “The Dark Knight Rises.” This instant collector’s item leads off with one of Graves Gladney’s greatest covers, and also showcases all the original interior illustrations by legendary illustrator Earl Mayan, with historical commentary by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin. BONUS: The Shadow tracks down “The Comic Strip Killer” in a classic adventure from the Golden Age of Radio. Buy it today for $14.95.
 

The Man of Bronze returns in two tales of super-science that inspired classic Superman stories. First, a silvery stratospheric craft showers vapors of death upon a Texas town, while Cosmic Rays alter Long Tom’s mental makeup. Doc and Patricia Savage attempt to thwart the deadly plots of a red-hooded mastermind in “He Could Stop the World,” a pulp classic by Laurence Donovan that inspired an early Superman story by Jerry Siegel. Then, “The Laugh of Death” could change the outcome of World War II, in a Lester Dent thriller that introduced Doc’s new Fortress of Solitude that inspired the Man of Steel’s glacier hideaway. This double-novel collector’s edition leads off with a knockout cover by legendary paperback artist James Bama. and also reprints both classic color pulp covers by Robert G. Harris and Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray. Priced at only $14.95.
 

The Man of Bronze returns in two tales of super-science that inspired classic Superman stories. First, a silvery stratospheric craft showers vapors of death upon a Texas town, while Cosmic Rays alter Long Tom’s mental makeup. Doc and Patricia Savage attempt to thwart the deadly plots of a red-hooded mastermind in “He Could Stop the World,” a pulp classic by Laurence Donovan that inspired an early Superman story by Jerry Siegel. Then, “The Laugh of Death” could change the outcome of World War II, in a Lester Dent thriller that introduced Doc’s new Fortress of Solitude that inspired the Man of Steel’s glacier hideaway. This double-novel collector’s edition features both classic color pulp covers by Robert G. Harris and Emery Clarke, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of ten Doc Savage novels. Priced at only $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!
 

Altus Press is proud to announce the release of the third volume in its acclaimed Wild Adventures of Doc Savage series, written by Will Murray and Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson.
 
Set in the Fall of 1936, The Infernal Buddha tells the epic story of Doc Savage’s desperate quest to control the Buddha of Ice, a relic of unknown origin—and what may become the most dangerous object on Earth!
 
When a mummy arrives at Doc Savage’s New York headquarters wearing the clothes of his missing assistant, engineer Renny Renwick, Doc, Monk, and Ham rush to Singapore where they get on the trail of a swashbuckling pirate who calls himself the Scourge of the South China Sea, in whose hands a piece of the infernal Buddha has fallen. The trail leads to Pirate Island, the fate of Renny, and a mysterious box containing a terrible, unstoppable power.
 
But that is only the beginning of the quest into which the Man of Bronze plunges—one that will take him to the upper reaches of the Yellow Sea and a series a wild ocean battles against the vicious factions fighting for control on the infernal Buddha.
 
Before it is all over, every human life on Earth will tremble on the brink of eternity, and Doc Savage will face his greatest test.
 
“This may be my wildest Doc novel to date,” says author Will Murray. “The Infernal Buddha is a fantasy epic full of corsairs, criminals and other culprits. The menace is planetary. The threat, extinction. Doc Savage has a reputation for saving the world. This time he does it on the greatest scale possible. I began this book back in 1992, working from an opening situation Lester Dent started in 1935. Together, we have produced a true Doc Savage epic. And it only took about 75 years….”
 
The Infernal Buddha features a startling cover painted by Joe DeVito, depicting Doc Savage as the Buccaneer of Bronze! This cover was painted from a still taken in 1964 of legendary model Steve Holland, and is a variant pose shot for famed illustrator James Bama’s classic cover to The Man of Bronze. There has never been a Doc cover like it! Buy it today for only $24.95 from Radio Archives.
 
 

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Review of “The Red Terrors” from Doc Savage, Volume 22
By Dr. Art Sippo

 
Mysterious red monsters are boarding ships in the Atlantic Ocean and carrying passengers away with them into the sea. Once submerged, the hapless victims are never seen again. When Doctor Hugo Collendar is taken in this fashion from a ship bound to Cape town, his fate is made known to Doc Savage. The Bronze Man of Mystery along with his aides Monk, Ham and Long Tom.

 
They discover that the kidnappings all occur in the same area of the ocean. They examine the cabin from which Dr. Collander was abducted and discover 3 sets of fingerprints. One of those sets belongs to the famous deep sea diver Harry Day who disappeared at sea several months back when his ship exploded. He was presumed dead along with all of his crew. Now he appeared to be involved in the mysterious disappearances at sea. As Doc and his men dealve deeper into the mystery they are taken captive and dragged into the ocean depths by the Red Terrors.
 
What is the secret of the Red Terrors? Why are they kidnapping people? Where do they take their prisoners underneath the sea? How could Harry Day have survived underwater for all those months?
 
This is another highly imaginative story in the annals of Doc Savage and his crew of trusted companions. There is mystery, intrigue, weird menace, and a secret hidden for ages under the sea. Don’t miss this exciting adventure! Get it and another full length Doc Savage tale today in Doc Savage Volume 22 from Radio Archives for only $12.95!
 

Comments From Our Customers!
 
Richard Stone writes:

I am a lifetime Jolson fan and enthusiast and am thrilled and amazed by what you have just done. It’s not everyday that 36 Jolson shows surface in great sound!
 
Charles Power writes:
Keep at it. I’d love someday to have a complete electronic collection of the Spider.
 
Roger Lorette writes:
The quality of your product is excellent. Keep up the great work!!!
 
Steve Sher writes:
I greatly enjoyed Mutual Radio Theatre. Will there be any additional volumes in the future?

 
David Kunovic writes:
I really love the audio books. I listen more than I read now. Keep them coming. Is there any chance you can get the rights to do The Shadow in audio form ? This would be great. Love the Spider. Hope there are more to come.
 
Fr. Mike Phillips writes:
I grew up in the 40’s & loved the old radio shows. Your selections are the best I have ever seen. This is my first – but not my last – order. Many thanks.
 
Tracy Croffutt writes:
I would do away with my TVs if old radio shows came back on the radio. I’m 77 and listened every night when the programs started. I got my first radio when i was about 6. Loved every program. 
 

James Felder writes:
I’m so happy you’ve been doing the Spider ebook reprints. There were, I assume, unlicensed e-editions on Amazon in the past. I bought all of them (about 11) because I love the Spider. Yours are much better. I’m enjoying Operator #5 a lot too – surprised by the high quality of the writing in it.
 
Carolyn Andersen writes:
I thoroughly enjoy all 3 volumes of The Railroad Hour. As far as I am concerned they are magnificent! (And, goodness knows, they are ever so much better than what comes out today.)
 
William Blome writes:
Thanks. I am looking forward to adding this collection to my hundred or so Jolson 78’s, LPs, 45s, cassette tapes, and CDs. No 8-tracks. I’m not that crazy about him. Thanks for trusting me, although I suppose you know that anyone who likes Jolson is by definition an honest, superior, and all-around terrific person.

 

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 atRadioArchives.com.
 
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, or if this newsletter has been sent to you in error, please reply to this e-mail with the subject line UNSUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

Martha Thomases: Fanboys In Congress

Because it is an election year and I’ve given money to candidates in the past (and foolishly included my phone number with the donations, because I’m an idiot and also it’s required by law), I get phone calls from people looking for more money. Most often, these calls are from organizations or PACs, but sometimes the actual candidate picks up the phone to call me.

Mostly I dismiss the calls from organizations because they are annoying and I don’t want to encourage them to keep calling me. However, ever since my pal, <a href=”

Sedarbaum, ran for office and told me how difficult it is to make those calls, and how great it is when someone will listen, I cut the individual candidates some slack. I listen. I engage. And, when I can, I make a pledge.

What does this have to do with comics? I recently got a call from Nate Shinagawa who is running for the U.S. Congressional seat for the 23rd district in New York. I’m sure he got my name from Eric Massa’s list, because Massa is from the same aea and I liked him a lot before his shenanigans got him into trouble.

Anyway, he introduced himself, and then we started to talk about Superman.

It turns out that Nate is a big old fanboy. He started reading comics around the time the Death of Superman story was playing out. He explained this to me in case I didn’t feel old enough.

We chatted for a far longer time than I suspect he allotted for me. We talked about comics, and I explained to him my theory that Superman is, at heart, a New Deal Democrat. To put it in a perspective more appropriate to the 21st century, he’s a superhero, sure, but he also demonstrates that the things that make us different from each other are what make us valuable, and we should use those things to make the world a better place.

So I’m not surprised that people who like superhero comics are occasionally inspired to live a life of public service. Most famously, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy is a Batman fan. I’m sure there are Marvel fans in politics, and conservative candidates who are comic book fans, but its unlikely I would come across them. I hope they found something equally valuable in the stories they love.

My point is that, like all art forms, graphic storytelling can inspire people. And the more commercially successful it is, the more people it reaches, and the more it can inspire.

Sometimes, a candidate will even set himself on a campaign against a super-villain.

Saturday: The Return of Marc Alan Fishman?

 

THE SKINVESTIGATOR INVESTIGATES ON KINDLE

For Immediate Release:

(Melbourne, Florida – August 8, 2012): Dermatologist detective series: The second Skinvestigator novel is now available on Kindle

The second novel in a new Florida noir trilogy, The Skinvestigator: Rash Guard has just become available for download on the Kindle, Amazon.com‘s handy digital reader. The novel follows the adventures of Florida dermatologist turned detective, Dr. Harry Poe, as he tries to help the Miami Police with a new murder investigation involving surfers, syphilis, and the State department.

Author Terry Cronin describes the surf noir story as both “an inside look at the exciting world of South Beach” and “a mystery novel that quickly escalates into a medical/political thriller involving tattoos, sexually-transmitted diseases, illicit cosmetic surgery, and murder”.

Ripped from today’s headlines about “scalpel tourism” where Americans travel to foreign nations to get cheaper cosmetic surgery, Cronin’s books have been described as “razor sharp”and “skincredible”. Reviewers have categorized them as “sunshine noir”, and made “for page-turner mystery fans”. The print version of the first novel is distributed by Atlas Books and is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Tower Books.

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While the Kindle version of the first novel, The Skinvestigator: Tramp Stamp, is promotionally priced at 99 cents for a limited time only!

The final book of the Sunshine State Trilogy, The Skinvestigator: Sunburn has been released as a print edition. Cronin, who is known for creating the critically-acclaimed horror-adventure comic series, Students of the Unusual and writing for Indie Comics Magazine, took advance copies of this new novel with him to the San Diego Comic-Con this year. “I’m known as a comic book writer but I found that comic readers and genre fans also enjoy reading hard-boiled detective novels and pulp fiction.” The new novel follows Doctor Poe whose been abducted by Venezuelan thugs from his past and is poorly prepared for their increasing level of violence. Sexy mysterious tattoos, illicit cosmetic surgery, and espionage round out book three of the Sunshine State Trilogy and may just mark the end of the career of the Skinvestigator.

The Kindle version of The Skinvestigator: Tramp Stamp can be downloaded here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Skinvestigator-Sunshine-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B005OCTWVM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1344462348&sr=8-3&keywords=skinvestigator

The Kindle version of The Skinvestigator: Rash Guard can be downloaded here:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Skinvestigator-Sunshine-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B008UFHNTS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1344462348&sr=8-5&keywords=skinvestigator

The new print edition of The Skinvestigator: Sunburn is available at:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Skinvestigator-Sunburn-Terry-Cronin/dp/0983766711

Batcave Being Built In Connecticut

So, fanboy, you think you’ve got a cool mancave?

According to the Greenwich Connecticut Time, a local resident in the mega-wealthy community is spending two million dollars to build himself a home theater.

Yeah, I know. Big deal. Well… this home theater is built in the form of the Batcave. Or, given the multitude of visions over the years, a Batcave. The 12,000-square-foot private home will include a Batcomputer, Batmobile, Batsuits, a 180° screen, a deafening sound system, gargoyles and an Bat-elevator, eliminating the need to hit the switch mid-way down the Batpoles. With luck, the whole thing should be done by Thanksgiving.

The company that’s doing the build-out, Canada’s Elite Home Theater Seating, says they’ve done this once before, so the Connecticut Batcave isn’t exactly original. Hey, what do you expect for two million bucks? There’s no word if there will be a dinosaur and an even bigger giant penny in the “cave.”

The property owner is maintaining his anonymity. I wonder why.

 

REVIEW: The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy

The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy
By Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy
304 pages, Abrams, $40

There is so much visually wonderful about Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman films that this book seemed an obvious event. An oversized hardcover, it has amazing production values with gorgeous photography on heavy paper, cleanly designed (thank you, Chip Kidd), and overall appealing. Clearly, the authors had access to everyone from Nolan on down and they spoke freely about the challenges of conceiving themes to marketing the films.

And yet, everything feels like we’ve just touched the surface and each chapter –Screenplay, Production Design, Cast, Costumes & Makeup, The Shoot,  Special Effects & Stunts, Editing, Music & Sound, Visual Effects, and Marketing – all leave you wondering about what else happened. For example, during the Shoot, one chapter per film, you never get a feel for how Nolan directs his cast, or how he adjusts to the needs of each actor. How did Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal differ in their interpretation of Rachel Dawes. We’re left wondering why the comic book antecedents for most of the characters are referenced but not Henri Ducard nor are we told about the various reveals through the films (such as Ducard really being Ra’s al Ghul, echoed in the third film by Miranda Tate being revealed as Talia). Michael Caine writes an introduction that extols Nolan’s virtues as a director, but after that, we’re still left wondering what those are.

This reads about two steps above the usual press materials sent out when films open, the canned features sent to media outlets hungry for content. The writing is clear and facile, but a little too fawning in spots and far from critical about things that worked and didn’t work.

Perhaps the most glaring omission is a real in-depth look at the wildly successful viral marketing. This section needed more content, more images of the viral marketing at work, and more examples of the Internet phenomena, especially for The Dark Knight, which raised the bar for films.

You get some great shots of how the costumes, sets, and vehicles were built and see some of the shooting challenges that were presented over the last decade. It certainly works as a primer to Nolan’s take on the caped crusader and his world, but you don’t necessarily get into the filmmaker’s head, especially why he felt he was done after three. Nor does he comment how his successful reinterpretation of the hero led to supervising next summer’s Man of Steel. The contributions from screenwriters David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan are acknowledged but hearing more from them would have certainly helped us better understand how the films evolved, especially the themes for the final film in the wake of Heath Ledger’s death. Nolan writes in his foreword, “I never thought we’d do a third – are there any great second sequels?” Well, there’s The Last Crusade for starters, but Batman has endured monthly for seventy-five years so the answer is yes.

The book is a fine read but given the size and weight of the tome, one would have hoped for depth in the written content. It leaves you want much, much more and at this price, readers deserve all that and more.

Dennis O’Neil: Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing?

We’ve been pretty grim, these last couple of weeks, so I thought maybe I should lighten up. What I thought I’d do, last night, was take my place at the computer and spin some wordfluffle suitable for submission to ComixMix and then…what? Continue existing? But before I could get to it, I saw the news window on the screen and learned that some lone gunman – anything familiar in those words? – had killed six Sikhs in a Wisconsin temple before being himself gunned down by police. We don’t yet know why. We probably won’t be too surprised when we do.

The politicians – no surprise here – beat me to the fluffle. The same dreary litanies we hear so often: hearts and prayers going out to and deep sadness and troubled days ahead… Democrat, Republican, independent all saying the same thing and in so doing actually saying nothing.

Look: I get ritual. I don’t much like it and I’m no good at it, but I think I understand it. Somebody dies or gets married or gives birth and you recite some variation of a limited set of sentiments and it’s not the words that have meaning, it’s the act of saying them. We use these formulae to console and rejoice and lament because, really, language isn’t up to these primal needs and so we let the clichés act as signifiers to express what resists expression. And that’s all good.

But when ambitious strangers say the words? When they claim that a tragedy that happened to strangers makes their hearts heavy? Allow us, please, to doubt. Allow us to at least suppose that the ambitious ones are using tragic occasions, at the very least, only because the recitation of the words is expected of them or, even less admirably, to further their own agendas. The word for this is hypocrite.

Let’s agree that hypocrisy stands pretty far down in the catalogue of major transgressions, and I’d have no serious quarrel with it if it were followed by action of some kind. Any kind. We’re not advocating anything draconian here. We’re not even advocating a program of legislation and, to be honest, I doubt that any single law or even set of laws will solve the problems that lay deep in the senseless acts of violence that are happening again and again and again.

But shouldn’t we start? Somewhere? As Jon Stewart pleaded, let’s agree to discuss everything, openly and honestly, with nothing withheld from consideration. Then maybe the hollow words will begin to have meaning.

FRIDAY: Martha Thomases and the Fanboy Politicians

 

FORTIER TAKES ON COLLINS, HELLER, AND ‘TRIPLE PLAY!’

ALL PULP REVIEWS by Ron Fortier
TRIPLE PLAY
(A Nathan Heller Casebook)
By Max Allan Collins
Thomas & Mercer
211 pages
I am a fan of Max Collins’ historical detective series, the Nathan Heller mysteries.  From the 1940s through the 60s, each book has taken Heller on an incredible journey connecting him with many of the most celebrated criminal cases of the twentieth century.  Now comes this collection of three Heller novellas, each a delicious reading gem and worthy addition to the Heller canon.
What is even more entertaining is Collins’ introductory essay on the matter of the short literary form itself.  What is the difference between a novella and novelette?  Or are they the same thing and is that best described as a long short story or a short novel?  The fun of the essay is his insightful comprehension that the form is the product of the classic pulp tales of the 1930s and 40s.  It is evident that short novels were born in the pulp magazines and have sadly morphed in an awkward, literary white elephant in this age of bloated, fat thriller novels. Collins details the history of each of the three pieces in this volume, collected here for the very first time, and how length did factor into the writing of each.
First up is “Dying in the Post-War World,” my personal favorite of the three and by far the most convoluted and gruesome.  The story centers on the infamous Lipstick Killer case of 1946 where a young girl was kidnapped from her home, murdered and dismembered.  A veteran of the World War Two, Heller is trying to fit into this supposedly brighter new tomorrow with a new business and a pregnant wife.  Along comes this brutal case and he’s left wondering what kind of a world it truly is he and his fellow soldiers fought to persevere.
“Kisses of Death,” is an interesting entry in that it gives us Heller’s first meeting with Marilyn Monroe and their burgeoning relationship which is later explored in his recent novel, “Bye Bye Baby.”  It also has Heller working in New York City, Mickey Spillane’s old stomping grounds.  The tale also peeks in to the life of Chicago journalist turned screenwriter Ben Hecht is another winner.
Finally comes “Strike Zone,” about one of the most bizarre moments in professional baseball which this reviewer, a fan of the game, had never heard before.  It caused me to spend a few hours on-line checking out the histories of several of these characters who participated in a madcap publicity stunt concerning the most unusual pinch hitter to ever step up to home plate in a Major League contest.
If like me, you’re a Nathan Heller fan, then you have to pick this up.  If you are one of those yet to have encountered Collins’ pragmatic, world-weary hero then we can’t think of a better way to make that introduction.  “Triple Play,” is very much a grand slam, no matter what your favorite sport is.

SENTINELS: THE GRAND DESIGN– OMNIBUS PAPERBACK!

The First Trilogy of Van Allen Plexico’s Superhero Novel Series—At Last in a One-Volume Edition!

 (August 8, 2012)  White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in trade paperback format of Van Allen Plexico’s SENTINELS: THE GRAND DESIGN, a one-volume collection of the first three novels in the famed cosmic superhero saga!
Weighing in at a whopping 624 pages and with a stunning painted cover by celebrated artist Mitch Foust, the “Grand Design” Omnibus also features no fewer than fifteen full-page interior illustrations by series artist Chris Kohler.
The book contains all three volumes of the first Sentinels trilogy (When Strikes the Warlord, A Distant Star, and Apocalypse Rising) in their entirety, introducing the heroes and villains (and those in between) that make up this fascinating and compelling superhero universe. 
What begins as an attempted abduction of a young student from her college campus quickly spirals out to engulf a diverse collection of individuals, including billionaire inventor and hero-wannabe Esro Brachis, beloved national savior (and amnesiac) Ultraa, wisecracking daredevil Damon “Cavalier” Sinclair, and mysterious alien powerhouse Vanadium.  Can this motley crew come together as a team in time to save the Earth from conquest or destruction?
Through the eyes of central character Lyn Li, a Chinese-American teen that possesses amazing electromagnetic powers, we encounter aliens and androids, geniuses and demigods, megalomaniacal arch-villains, space-borne monsters, and everything else one would expect from a classic Bronze-Age comic series—in New Pulp novel form!
“For most of my life I’ve loved the concept of a superhero team made up of very distinct individuals who barely get along with one another,” says author Van Allen Plexico.  “The fun comes in watching them encounter mind-blowing menaces and have to find a way—some way!—to work together long enough to miraculously save the day.  Throw in the ability that a novel series provides, to allow characters to really change and grow (and even die!) along the way, and you get what I strongly believe is a saga every superhero comics fan will love.  And with Chris Kohler illustrating the whole thing, you can’t go wrong!”
Plexico’s Sentinelsseries has been praised by Kirkus Reviews for offering “a fresh take on the superhero theme,” and by Pulp Fiction Reviews as “spectacular, action-packed, imaginative and wonderful.”  Noted superhero novelist Ian Thomas Healy called them “Kirbyesque,” describing Volume One as “the first book that successfully translates the feel of a comic book into prose.”
White Rocket Booksis a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.
On sale as of August 8, 2012, SENTINELS: THE GRAND DESIGN (Omnibus) is a $21.95, 6×9 format trade paperback from White Rocket Books.  (The individual novels are already available as $2.99 e-books for Kindle and other e-readers.)
624 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-98413-925-5 (6×9” Trade Paperback; 15 full-page illustrations)

JACK KIRBY MUSEUM SPOTLIGHTS BLACKTHORN ARTIST JAMES BURNS

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars Art: James Burns

The Jack Kirby Museum site spotlighted the Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars cover on their Kirby-Vision page.
Direct link: http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/kirby-vision/2012/08/08/blackthorn/

Congratulations to cover artist, and Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” artist, James Burns.

Learn more about Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars at www.whiterocketbooks.com