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Derrick Ferguson Hunts Down The EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET!

  • News
  • August 24, 2011

·  Paperback: 256 pages
·  Publisher: PulpWork Press; 1ST edition (September 15, 2009)
·  Language: English
·  ISBN-10: 0979732921
·  ISBN-13: 978-0979732928
When last we saw Garvey Dire, he was doing pretty well for himself.  Oh sure, his mission to Mars had gone wrong, leaving him near death.  But then he was miraculously transported 47,000 years into the past.  And in that past, Mars is not a dying planet.  Indeed, it thrives with life including the Muvari tribe which is mostly populated by warrior women.  The males of the tribe are few and are guarded as they assure the continued survival of the tribe.
Garvey survives a number of harrowing adventures to rise to a level of prominence in the Muvari tribe as well as marrying the gorgeous and deadly Ntashia, the finest swordswoman of Mars.  Garvey even managed to prevent World War III back on Earth in his native time period and save the life of his best friend.  Salt-N-Pepa could very well have been talking about Garvey in their song “Whatta Man”
When we catch up again with Garvey Dire he’s facing an army of Galbran.  They’re a rival tribe of cannibals who have an old score to settle with Garvey and an older one to settle with the Muvari.  And while he’s trying to hold off this army in a remote outpost with but a handful of Muvari warrior women, he’s also trying to figure out how to handle the Muvari custom of a man having more than one wife.  It’s not as hard one might think since his first wife Ntashia has made the arraignments for the marriage and is actively encouraging it.  It’s custom, y’know and when on Mars, do as the Martians do.
It’s almost a relief for Garvey to discover that his old rival and fellow Earthman Arnold Stechter survived the events of “Dire Planet” and is alive and well.  He’s lost his memory of his life on Earth and doesn’t recall that he and Garvey are bitter enemies.  But Stechter hasn’t forgotten his ambition and desire for power.  He has gathered together outcast warrior women from a dozen different tribes and forged them into a savage, bloodthirsty army.  And with these EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET he intends to conquer and rule Mars.  But it’s a plan that has to begin with the overthrow of Ledgrim, the hidden Muvari capital city.  And it’s Garvey Dire who will unwittingly help Stechter achieve that goal…
If you’ve read and enjoyed “Dire Planet” then you’ll certainly want to read the sequel.  Not only does Joel continue to explore and reveal new layers of his Martian culture but he also gives us new layers of his protagonist.  Garvey’s naturally hesitant about entering into another marriage when he’s already got a wife he’s perfectly happy with.  Garvey Dire exhibits more maturity in this multiple marriage thing than you would expect from a hero in this genre.  Garvey’s still learning his role and place in this world and he sometimes wishes things would go a little slower.
One thing he’s not slow at is facing down the hoards of enemies thirsting for his blood in this one.  If this book doesn’t have the highest body count of any of Joel’s books, its right up there in the top three.  Just the first fifty pages of the book has a higher death rate than most complete novels.  And this is before Garvey finds out about Stechter and his army of exiles.
EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET is an enjoyable book but a demanding one.  Joel seems determined to give readers more bang for their buck and while he certainly does that it also means that there’s a lot more you to pay attention to attention to and keep track of.  The only complaint I have with the book is that in order to get in as much information as he can, Joel will occasionally have characters explain some aspect of Martian life and culture to Garvey, even during scenes where it seemed to me that concerning themselves with surviving whatever is trying to kill them should be of paramount importance.  Also there’s the character of Naegrik the Galbran.   While he provides Garvey with a sidekick who’s just as much of an outsider as he is, Garvey’s acceptance of his conversion from full-blown cannibalism to bosom buddy and lifelong pal is a bit too quick for my taste.  I liked how the other characters kept an eye on Naegrik when he was around and constantly reminded Garvey that hey, this guy grew up eating people.
But the main thing here is the adventure and Joel delivers it with great style and tight control over the half dozen subplots he’s got going.  And EXILES OF THE DIRE PLANET ends with a cliffhanger that will demand that you get the third book in the series; “Into The Dire Planet” to find out what happens next.  And for my money that’s exactly what Pulp, whether Classic or New is supposed to do.  Enjoy.
For more information about Joel Jenkins please visit:
The Vaults of Caladrex  http://www.joeljenkins.com/
Pulpwork Press   http://www.pulpwork.com/
And Joel has kindly provided a Dire Planet Compendium that you can find at The Vaults of Caladrex if you go to the right side of the blog and scroll down until you hit the keyword ‘Dire Planet Compendium’

CLASSIC PULP TODAY MAKING THE NEWS!

  • News
  • August 24, 2011

News reported by Joshua Reynolds, All Pulp Staffer

*PULP FICTION ON THE BBC!

bbc-5138172Starting August 20th on BBC Radio 4 Extra, the BBC presented readings of five stories from the classic era of pulp crime fiction, read by Peter Marinker!

Listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fy3lh

　

*19 NOCTURNE BOULEVARD PRESENTS…THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP!

19 Nocturne Boulevard: Your Address for Strange Stories

has just released an audio version of Lovecraft
’s pulp-tastic tale of body-swapping , “The Thing on the Doorstep”. Go give it a listen, then maybe cycle through the rest of the episodes…you won’t be disappointed!

Listen here: http://www.19nocturneboulevard.net/Episodes.htm

Direct link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/nineteennocturne/19Noc_Thing_on_the_Doorstep.mp3

　

*REH’S SPICY ADVENTURES UP FOR PRE-ORDER!

The Robert E. Howard Foundation is proud to present their newest collection of hard-to-find REH work, Spicy Adventures! Available now for pre-order, the collection contains eight full-length stories as well as odd bits and bobs of miscellanea as well as a kick-butt cover by Jim & Ruth Keegan! For information:

http://www.rehfoundation.org/2011/08/13/pre-order-spicy-adventures/

Table Talk: Who Are You?

  • Uncategorized
  • August 24, 2011

Table Talk returns to New Pulp. This week, Bobby, Barry and Mike dig into the hats they wear and what it’s like to switch them around, based on the needs of the moment.
You can read the Table Talk conversation at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/2011/08/table-talk-who-are-you.html

Guest Reviewer Doc Hermes on DESERT DEMONS!

  • News
  • August 24, 2011
 
In November 1993, the last of Will Murray’s new Doc Savage novels, THE FORGOTTEN REALM, was published. I wrote in a review a dozen years later, “It has been twelve years since THE FORGOTTEN REALM was published. Right now, it looks like we will not see a new Doc Savage novel on the stands ever again. But…. that’s what we thought in 1949, too.”

And against the odds (as we might expect from him) the Man of Bronze has returned yet again. Will Murray has begun a new “new” series of Doc adventures and I’m signing up for the ride. I had to order a copy from Altus Press: Barnes & Noble were no help and I’m not much for using Amazon or eBay. (And frankly, $24 is a bit of a gouge for a trade paperback this size but of course I’ve paid more than that for an old pulp or out-of-print books, it’s my choice).

THE DESERT DEMONS is just fine. It’s not as good as the very best of the original pulp stories like METEOR MENACE or THE SARGASSO OGRE, but then neither were most the pulps. There were many original Docs that ranged from passable down to atrocious, and DEMONS is a lot more fun than most of the wartime issues. The book is based on an unused outline Lester Dent left behind. I appreciate the respect Will Murray shows for Dent and understand why he incorporates as much Dent material as he can. But I would be perfectly willing to read a new book that is all Murray, I have trust in his integrity and his own storytelling.

Okay, it’s 1936 again and yet another mysterious menace has surfaced for our hero to investigate. Out in Hollywood, a phenomenon called the Copper Clouds has been killing people. They’re a sort of red cyclonic masses that swoop down from the sky as if targetting individuals, then turn black and evaporate, leaving only white ash, bleached brittle houses or cars and an occasional piece of glass. This is exactly the sort of threat Clark Savage Sr raised his little boy to handle. All five of the aides are on hand, plus Patricia and even Chemistry and Habeas Corpus, and there are enough “hair-raising thrills, breath-taking escapes and blood-curdling excitement” (as the old Bantam paperbacks promised) to more than satisfy. The gadgets are fired off with abandon, science detection is used and there’s even a dirigible. It’s Thirties to the core. References to the then-new phenomenon “smog” and the then-recent Florida land-bust add to the atmosphere.

Of COURSE I have a few complaints. It’s inevitable, there are always a few flaws in any piece of work. Coming in at 239 pages, this is more accessible than the unweildy 300-pagers like THE FORGOTTEN REALM or THE WHISTLING WRAITH. I like my pulp novels around 120 to 150 pages, enough to finish off on a snowy Sunday afternoon without real breaks. They seem to work best when you plow through them at a good clip like riding a roller coaster. Even so, while THE DESERT DEMONS is well paced and doesn’t drag, it can’t be as crisp and headlong as the original pulps. With the extra space available, I hoped to see Renny or Long Tom get a few chapters to themselves with room for them to shine but instead we got more incidents and incidental characters. The other place where I think THE DESERT DEMONS misstepped is that nearly all the story takes place in Hollywood and at the very end we go to Florida for the wrap-up. My preference is for the classic two-part structure with mystery and intrigue in New York, then a trip to Tibet or Brazil or Samoa for a blast of all-out action. So I’d like to see that structure return, but it’s not mandatory for every adventure.

And the menace turns out to be more outright science fictional than usual. I’m good with this. The original series, after all, featured everything from genuine invisibility to fifteen-foot tall Monster Men to the Blue Meteor and earthquake-making machines. The wilder more implausible stuff was usually explained away as hoaxes and misinterpretations (“so the giant spider was a marionette?” “Fraid so,”) but Doc Savage was always borderline science fiction. I think I would draw the line at time travel as going too far, but I’d be fine with seeing Doc tackle things like someone rediscovering Dr Jekyll’s serum. Nothing of the outright supernatural, though… I think Doc Savage’s world just wouldn’t have real werewolves or vampires.

I have come to count on Will Murray to throw in many delightful bits almost as asides. Ham Brooks shows some actual legal knowledge for once. (He says,”In the absence of a corpse, California law allows a grace period of a year before someone may be declared dead.”)Doc can look at a revolver held on him and see that it’s loaded with blanks. Long Tom finally gets useful application for his electronic bug-repelling machine he always seemed to be getting nowhere with. When Doc grapples with someone, the person’s actions seem to be in slow-motion because the bronze man is moving so quickly. (This has the ring of classic Lester Dent to it!)

That’s it, I’m convinced. It would take an awful lot to keep me from getting the next book in the series. I’m so glad how things have turned out for Doc Savage fans. The pulp ended in 1949, which was then thought to be the last the characters would ever be seen. Then in 1964, Bantam started a few reprint paperbacks and the usual event would be to see a handful appear but no… eventually all 181 of the original novels were available, as well as a previously unpublished story. Ah well, that was good but it had to be the end. No. Then Philip Jose Farmer wrote ESCAPE FROM LOKI and starting in 1991, Will Murray turned out seven new books. In 1993, putting down THE FORBIDDEN REALM, I hoped that I would live long enough to see a few more authorized Doc Savage adventures come to be, and here we are.

MIKE GOLD: Baltimore Tales

  • Uncategorized
  • August 24, 2011

gold-column-art-110824-5301075As predicted, I had a swell time at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Lots of friends, lots of fans, and lots of attention from the best convention crew I’ve ever seen. The editorial we had a few fun experiences we’d like to share.

•     •     •     •     •

I bopped around the show carrying a cane. I don’t really need it, but since I was on my feet in a crowd for a couple days I thought bringing it would be a good idea. Besides, at any comics convention I can never tell when I might need to bash some head-slapping backpack donkey. Several people asked about my unconcealed weapon, including cosmic comics superstar Jim Starlin.

I told Jim I blew out my back in his hometown of Detroit. He sympathized and then one-upped me. He screwed up his back in South Africa, at a funeral, at which he was a pallbearer. When a breeze wafted by, the pallbearer in front of him lost his yarmulke and left his responsibility to go fetch. The weight of the coffin shifted over to Jim, and that screwed up his back. O.K. Jim wins.

•     •     •     •     •

At 88, living legend Stan Lee gets more attention from women than a 1960s movie spy. At least three-quarters of the men at the show were jealous, including those who were happily married. And including me. I was particularly amused at his lustful glowering at my daughter.

•     •     •     •     •

Most of the folks who dress up in costume at these shows are, at the very least, entertaining to watch. Some are sexy, others are cute, many are adorable. But for the life of me I just don’t know who the buff middle-aged guy dressed in nothing but a loin cloth was supposed to be, other than a buff middle-aged guy dressed in nothing but a loin cloth.

•     •     •     •     •

Mark Wheatley took me to a place purposed (by comics fanboy and teevee star Guy Fieri) to have some of the best pit beef in the nation. It’s a wonderful shack called Chap’s and it’s next to a strip club on Pulaski Highway. Both Mark and Guy are right. The place kills. This wasn’t the highlight of the convention for me, but it made my Top 10 list.

•     •     •     •     •

Mike Grell introduced me to his former assistant on [[[The Warlord]]], a woman who used to be married to the brother of Brother Grell’s ex-wife. Beverly Derouin was extraordinarily pleasant, particularly after Mike explained the etymology of their relationship. That’s really cool. Particularly in an environment that can be a bit overwhelming.

•     •     •     •     •

Timothy Truman and his son Ben were hawking their upcoming series Hawken. If it is half as fantastic as the t-shirt they were selling (and I should have purchased, damnit), this series will be absolutely fantastic. As well it should be, given its high pedigree.

•     •     •     •     •

I got a chance to tell Dean Haspiel how much I enjoyed [[[Cuba ­– My Revolution]]], one of my favorite projects of the year. It was written by Inverna Lockpez, and if you haven’t read it yet, you’re making a very, very serious mistake. It’s the best graphic novel I’ve read since Stagger Lee. Outside of those I’ve edited, of course.

•     •     •     •     •

The drive from Connecticut to Baltimore takes about four hours, which is how long it took for us to drive down last Friday. The drive back took eight and one-half hours, virtually all of which were spent on the New Jersey Turnpike. That road hasn’t been the same since Simon and Garfunkel broke up.

•     •     •     •     •

As always, I want to thank Marc Nathan and his unbelievably professional crew for putting on another great show, to Mark and Carol Wheatley for putting my daughter Adriane Nash and me up – as well as putting up with me – and to the aforementioned Ms. Nash for her assistance and companionship during the show and for sharing with me my proudest moment in my comics career.

I’ll be at the Baltimore Comic-Con next year. You should be, too.

(ComicMix editor-in-chief Mike Gold annoys the masses with his Weird Sounds Inside The Gold Mind rock’n’blues radio show, which streams four times a week on www.getthepointradio.com and is also available on demand at that very same venue. He also pens a very political column at Michael Davis World – http://mdwp.malibulist.com/ — where he joins ComicMix columnists Martha Thomases and Michael Davis.)

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

Win a private Jungle Cruise tour skippered by John Lasseter

  • News
  • August 23, 2011

From late 1977 through spring 1978, John Lasseter, before becoming chief creative officer at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and principal creative advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering, worked at Disneyland, and was a skipper on the Jungle Cruise attraction. Recently, a search for a photo of John skippering the Jungle Cruise came up empty. Surely there must be a photo of Skipper John somewhere? To find one, Pixar has created a contest: the first person to submit a verifiable photo of John as the skipper of the Jungle Cruise from 1977 will win a trip for 4 to the grand opening of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure in summer 2012, and a ride on the Jungle Cruise skippered by none other than John himself!

For details on how to submit, visit Johnofthejungle.com or the official Disney•Pixar Facebook page

Surveying Keanu Reeves More Interesting Performances

  • News
  • August 23, 2011

Keanu Reaves is no stranger to the crime genre!  Films like Point Break and Street Kings come to mind, but we think he got his start officially in the TV crime drama, Night Heat.  In Henry’s Crime, which is out on Blu-ray and DVD today, Reeves stars as Henry Torne, a wrongly accused man who winds up behind bars for a bank robbery he didn’t commit.  After befriending a charismatic lifer (James Caan) in prison, Henry finds his purpose — having done the time, he decides he may as well do the crime.  But his outlandish plan to rob the very same bank spins wildly out of control, as he finds himself performing in a stage play and falling in love with the production’s seductive leading lady (Vera Farmiga).

To celebrate the release of Henry’s Crime, our pals at ThinkJam put together a list of our favorite law-breaking and abiding Keanu films. We know they skipped the obvious like Bill & Ted and The Matrix Trilogy but did they miss anything?

Speed – 1994

It all started with, “There’s a bomb on the bus!” This one really put Keanu Reeves on the blockbuster map. With its non-stop high action sequences, and bombs on the bus, train, Sandra Bullock, this movie is an action flick-junkie dream.

Street Kings – 2008

In this fast-paced action-crime film, Keanu portrays a disillusioned LAPD detective haunted by the death of his wife.  We love it when he breaks rules and butts heads.

Chain Reaction – 1996

How progressive.  This film about alternative energy delves deep into a sociopolitical dialogue that involves the FBI, CIA and basically Big Brother chasing our beloved scientists down!

Point Break – 1991                

Classic.  This box office success melded surfing with bank robbery, making it by far one of Keanu’s most bodacious films to date.  And orphan surfer girl Lori Petty just sweetens the deal.

keanu-reeves-constantine-6806853Henry’s Crime – 2010

Working as a toll collector, Henry gets swept up in a crime he didn’t mean to commit.  Now that he’s done the time, he had a lot of time to think about reaping the rewards if he had

The Watcher – 2000

Mr. Reeves plays David aka your worst nightmare if you’re a woman.  Talk about a misleading first date.  Once you feel like you can trust a man, he’s meticulous about the way he kills you.

Constantine – 2005

Supernaturally tubular Keanu solves mythical crimes in this wild and epic film that plunges viewers into the afterlife and spiritual worlds beyond this realm.

Real Steel’s “Main Event” Featurette Debuts

  • Uncategorized
  • August 23, 2011

Hugh Jackman’s fall action film Real Steel has unveiled a new featurette, exploring the world of these rock’em sock’em robots avatars. The film opens October 7 and stars Jackman alongside Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, and Kevin Durand. The movie was directed by Shawn Levy, better known for his Night at the Museum films, who claims to have thrived on the challenge of doing something new and different.

The DreamWorks release comes from a story by Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven and a script by John Gatins but the real source material is the wonderful Richard Matheson’s short story “Steel”.

Here’s the official synopsis:

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

REVIEW: Everything’s Okay

  • Uncategorized
  • August 23, 2011

Everything’s Okay: My Journey to Building a Joyous Life After Surviving Childhood Cancer
by Alesia Ellen Shute
80 pages

If you’re lucky, you won’t get this book because you need it.

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s really good.  Maybe even great.  You should hunt it down.  But it’s about something very scary – childhood cancer – and it doesn’t pull any punches, emotional or physical.

Alesia Shute was diagnosed with colon cancer when she was 7 years old.  She went through years of surgeries, hospital stays, discomfort (which is the polite way to describe pain) and tests.  Lots and lots of tests.  She also grew up, fought with her siblings, fought with her parents, dated, fell in love, fell out of love, fell in love some more, got married, and had a child.  Oh, and she got cancer again after she found out she was pregnant.

Several years ago, she wrote a book about her experiences, which she self-published.  With the money raised she raised, she started a non-profit organization, which raises funds for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (which she affectionately calls CHoP), her alma mater.

This fall, to coincide with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Round Table Comics is publishing a graphic novel adaptation of her book, which is available at Hudson Newstands and through Amazon at the link above.  All proceeds will be donated to CHoP.

When I first heard about this project, I thought, in my condescending way, that it was for children, a way for parents to talk to their sick child (or her siblings) about cancer.  I was wrong.  This book is too intense to give to a young child.  While neither bloody nor gory,  Nathan Lueth’s artwork conveys Alesia’s pain and fear, and the loneliness she feels because she’s so different from other kids.  It is, however, a great way for parents and other concerned adults to know what a child with cancer is going through.

There is none of the sentimentality that so often accompanies stories about cancer survivors.  Instead, there are real emotions (not just the noble ones) that reinforce Alesia’s humanity, and make her experiences believably real.

As I write this, Diamond is not distributing this book.  Perhaps if enough of us ask our local comic shops, they might reconsider.

Mike Gold gets Dick Giordano Humanitarian Of The Year Award from HERO Initiative

  • News
  • August 23, 2011

We are exceptionally proud to note that our own Mike Gold, Editor in Chief of ComicMix, was given the first Dick Giordano Humanitarian Of The Year Award from the HERO Initiative at this year’s Harvey Awards ceremony at the Baltimore Comic-Con. The award was presented by Mark Wheatley.

While note was made of Mike’s long career and assistance to various creators and causes, and the publishing of Dick Giordano’s last major comics work, White Viper, he was singled out this year for the efforts in raising money to save comics writer John Ostrander‘s eyesight.

In his acceptance speech, Mike thanked Gail Simone and Adriane Nash, who worked with him on fundraising.

Mike is a 30-year veteran of the comics industry, having served as group editor and director of editorial development for DC Comics, founder and editorial director of First Comics Inc., and publisher of Classics Illustrated. Prior to ComicMix, Gold had been editorial director for ArrogantMGMS, creating intellectual properties and overseeing media and ancillary rights and packaging comic books published by numerous comic book imprints, including Image, Acclaim and IDW.

He was a pioneer in the creation of an American market for graphic novels, and edited more than three-dozen graphic novels and anthologies, including the bestsellers The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, The Joker: Stacked Deck, GrimJack: Killer Instinct, Jon Sable Freelance: Bloodtrail and American Flagg!.

In addition, Mike has an extensive background in the media and in the youth social services field, having been a broadcaster and radio personality, director of communication and education for a major Chicago drug abuse prevention program, cofounder and director of communication of the National Runaway Switchboard, and creator, and managing editor of Video Action magazine.

He has been an author and editor of, or contributor to, more than one dozen books, including, as Mark was quick to point out, [[[How To Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics]]] with artist Frank McLaughlin. His work has appeared a wide range of newspapers and magazines, including The Chicago Tribune, The Realist and the British edition of MacUser magazine.

He has also served as a consultant to the Organic Theater of Chicago (home to Dennis Franz, Joe Mantegna, Ray Bradbury and David Mamet), the Stratford Connecticut Shakespeare Festival Theater, to numerous political efforts, and to The Child Care Center of Stamford, an award-winning Head Start and early childhood education program, as well as a media coordinator for the Chicago Conspiracy Trial.

Mike has received numerous awards previously, including the prestigious Comics Buyers’ Guide Award as favorite editor and the Golden Apple Award for best comics limited series (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters).

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