The Mix : What are people talking about today?

  • News
  • July 13, 2011
Legendary Superhero Doc Savage Returns in Second Audiobook Adventure

The greatest pulp fiction character of the 20th Century is featured in a brand new audio release from RadioArchives.com!

whiteeyes-8988613
He was a role model during the Great Depression and World War II and a pop icon for the millions who thrilled to his paperback exploits from the 1960s thru the 1980s. Now Doc Savage, the legendary Man of Bronze, comes to vivid life in “White Eyes”, the new and soon to be released audiobook adventure from RadioArchives.com.

In “White Eyes”, a new supercriminal emerges from the underworld. Dressed all in white, his face masked, eyes blank as a blind man’s, he calls himself White Eyes. Who is he? What are his goals? All of Manhattan reels under the onslaught of the Blind Death, a scourge so terrible that innocent people are struck dead, their eyes turning white as hardboiled eggs. From his skyscraper headquarters high above the streets of New York City to the sugarcane fields of Cuba, Doc Savage races to crush gangland’s latest uncrowned king!

Written by Will Murray and produced and directed by Roger Rittner – the same team that created “Python Isle” and “The Adventures of Doc Savage” audio collections also available from RadioArchives.com, “White Eyes” features dramatic narration by Richard Epcar, cover art by Joe DeVito, and two exclusive audio interviews with Will Murray on the continuing history of Doc Savage and the original Lester Dent manuscript that led to the writing of this exciting edge-of-your-seat adventure.

Scheduled for release on July 29, 2011, “White Eyes” will be available as a 10-CD set priced at $31.98 and as a 10-hour digital download priced at $21.98. This Doc Savage thriller is the second in a new line of pulp fiction audiobooks from RadioArchives.com; upcoming releases will feature the classic adventures of The Spider, Secret Agent “X”, and more of Will Murray’s exciting Doc Savage adventures.

RadioArchives.com is one of the largest creators and distributors of old time radio and pulp fiction entertainment in the United States. Specializing in fully restored radio programs, remastered from original recordings, they are known for their outstanding audio fidelity, impressive packaging, and commitment to top quality customer service.

###
###

Doc Savage “White Eyes” Creative Team Biographies

Will Murray (author) is the literary agent for the estate of Lester Dent, and the author of over 50 novels, including several posthumous Doc Savage collaborations with series originator Lester Dent, among them “Python Isle”, “White Eyes”, and his latest novel “Desert Demons”, soon to be released by Altus Press.

Roger Rittner (producer, director) has written, produced, and directed specials and multi-part series for National Public Radio, including the drama series “Darkness”, the mystery/macabre series “Midnight”, “The Adventures of Doc Savage”, and the musical special “Charlie Sent Me!” Other radio projects have been heard on stations KMPC, KFI, and KGBS in Los Angeles. Roger created and directed The Variety Arts Radio Theatre, live recreations of classic radio drama, for 10 years at the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles.

Richard Epcar (narrator) is well known to animation, anime, and gaming fans, having voiced over 300 characters in his lengthy career. He is “Batou” in “Ghost in the Shell” and he’s also featured in a new series from Nickelodeon, “Airbender: The Legend of Korra’. Video game credits include “Robotech”, “Kingdom Hearts”, “Transformers”, “Star Wars”, “Mortal Kombat”, “Modnation Racers”, “Mortal Kombat vs. D.C. Universe”, “Call of Duty: Black Ops”, “Dead Space”, “Star Craft”, “Red Faction Guerilla”, “Command & Conquer”, “Xenosaga”, “Guilty Gears”, “.Hack”, and “Resident Evil”, to name only a few. Animation fans have heard his voice in “Bleach”, “Bobobo”, “X-Men”, “Macross Plus”, “The New Speed Racer”, “Rurouni Kenshin”, “Lupin the Third”, “Digimon”, and “Power Rangers”. On camera, Richard has appeared in many films and television shows, including “Memoirs of an Invisible Man”, “Columbo”, “Diagnosis Murder”, “Guns of Paradise”, “Beverly Hills 90210”, “Matlock”, “Who’s the Boss?”, “Cheers”, “Days of Our Lives”, and “General Hospital” and he will be featured in the film “Broken Spirits”, scheduled for release later this year.

###
White Eyes – Unabridged Audiobook

Written by Will Murray, based on a concept by Lester Dent
Narrated by Richard Epcar
Produced and Directed by Roger Rittner
Cover Art by Joe DeVito
ISBN: 9781610814027

10 Audio Compact Disc Set $31.98

10 Hour Digital Download $21.98

Release Date: July 29, 2011

Batman Year One Video Details Revealed

  • News
  • July 13, 2011

We all knew about this, but with the film debuting at next week’s Comic-Con International, Warner Home Video has shared the details. We’re kind of excited to see the classic story adapted for the screen, but we might be even more excited about the spot-on vocal casting for the Catwoman that accompanies the feature.

BURBANK, CA, (July 13, 2011) – Comics legend Frank Miller’s classic retelling of Batman’s gritty, formative days makes its full-length animated debut in Batman: Year One, the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated film arrives October 18, 2011 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray™ Combo Pack ($24.98 SRP) and DVD ($19.98 SRP), On Demand and for Download. Order due date is September 13, 2011

Batman: Year One is based on the landmark 1987 DC Comics titles from 12-time Eisner Award winner Frank Miller and illustrator David Mazzucchelli. The film depicts young Bruce Wayne’s return to Gotham City in his first attempts to fight injustice as a costumed vigilante. The playboy billionaire chooses the guise of a giant bat to combat crime, creates an early bond with a young Lieutenant James Gordon (who is already battling corruption from inside the police department), inadvertently plays a role in the birth of Catwoman, and helps to bring down a crooked political system that infests Gotham.

Prime time television stars Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Ben McKenzie (Southland, The O.C.), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) provide the core voices for Batman: Year One. Three-time Emmy® Award winner Cranston gives voice to young Jim Gordon, while McKenzie makes his animated voiceover debut as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Fanboy favorites Dushku and Sackhoff fill the roles of Selina Kyle/Catwoman and Detective Sarah Essen, respectively. Alex Rocco (The Godfather) is the voice of crime lord Carmine Falcone.

Animation master Bruce Timm is executive producer of Batman: Year One. Directors are Lauren Montgomery (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) and Sam Liu (All-Star Superman) from a script penned by Academy Award® nominee Tab Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse).

“Batman: Year One offers fans and newcomers alike an animated perspective on one of the true benchmark works in Batman comics history,” said Hersin Magante, Warner Home Video Marketing Manager, Family &, Animation.. “Bruce Timm and the Warner Bros. Animation team have gone to great lengths to realize Frank Miller’s ground-breaking, influential vision. Batman: Year One stands tall as the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie.” (more…)

MIKE GOLD: Hey, Here’s A Surprise!

mike-gold-column-photo-8889817Well, I’m having fun.

Back when we started out, ComicMix used to run all these fabulous columns written by all these swell writers and, well, by me too. Those columns disappeared after about a year and a half and a lot of people told us they wanted ‘em back. Among those people were most of the columnists themselves. And me. Man, I bitched up a storm. And nobody can bitch up a storm like me.

So we re-geared out operations (that term creates the ambiance that we actually have a clue as to what we’re doing), and, effective right now, we’re reinstating our daily columns. Joining returning writers Dennis O’Neil, John Ostrander, Martha Thomases, Michael Davis and myself are two newcomers: Marc Alan Fishman and Mindy Newell.

You know Marc from his frequent contributions to ComicMix. He’s just a kid, which is weird because his wife is pregnant with a smaller, younger kid. A life-long comics fan who knows his barbecue, Marc is part of the mighty Unshaven Comics crew. That’s at www.unshavencomicsonline.com, where he’s joined by his buddies and my pals Matt Wright and Kyle Gnepper. Together, they publish indy comics that are truly worth reading; that’s how we found Marc in the first place. Check ‘em out at their website.

Chances are pretty damn good you’ve also heard of Mindy. She’s making her return to comics here at ComicMix; she spent about five years editing at Marvel Comics and ten years writing such features as Wonder Woman, Catwoman, the Legion of Super-Heroes, American Flagg!, Daredevil, Black Widow, The Next Wave… you get the idea. She’s also an operating room nurse, which I think might come in handy around here. Somebody told me – I think it was Mindy – that I cannot live on barbecue alone. I try.

We’ll be focusing more solidly on comics than we did last time around. Not to say we’ve abandoned the heavy political/social stuff: Martha, Michael and I have been writing those type of columns every week for www.michaeldavisworld.com for a couple years now and we’ll be continuing to do so until we get arrested for sedition.

But here at ComicMix we’ll be mostly talking about comics and directly related media and phenomena. We’ll probably be talking about the comics related movies and teevee shows and, if we can find somebody wealthy enough to buy tickets, even to comics related Broadway plays. Perhaps I’ll even do an expose about just how many Wonder Woman statues a 35-year-old woman can squeeze into her basement apartment.

Most important, we invite you to join in on the fun. We’re in for some hectic times in the greater comics world. DC is recreating itself again, and Marvel going nuts with special events. Everybody’s got something new, and new publishers continue to pop up like rabid Whac-a-Moles. Please feel free to comment until your fingers fall off. It’s probable that the relevant columnist will play in and we can get a nice little dialog going. Think of ComicMix as sort of like Twitter with an attention span.

And bring along your sense of humor.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil!

GUEST REVIEW AND INTERVIEW-MYSTERY MEN FROM MARVEL COMICS!

  • News
  • July 12, 2011
ALL PULP thanks Peter Miller – docsavagetales.blogspot.com – very much for providing this Guest Review AND a Creator Interview to go with It!
Mystery Men #1 and #2 of 5
Written by David Liss
Art by Patrick Zircher
Published by Marvel Comics

 
 
DC comics made a big splash when the First Wave Universe premiered. They were making pulp comics in a new way. Not set in the past, not set in the DC Universe, but set in their own universe. They hyped it as cel phones and airships. What they created, combining pieces of the past—Doc Savage, the Avenger, The Spirit—with non-super-powered DC characters like Batman and the Blackhawks, was a failed mess. In most of the books the world seemed just like our own except for an extra airship or two. The best book was the Spirit, but even Spirit fans didn’t seem to love it.

Now Marvel has taken a stab at New Pulp and I think they are on to something great. Mystery Men takes place in New York in the regular Marvel Universe in 1932. As far as I know, this is the earliest a series has been set in the MU. The heroes (thus far) are not super-powered. The villain, however, is another story. He exudes occult mystical powers.

Mystery Men follows a millionaire playboy with a Robin Hood complex. He puts on a mask and calls himself the Operative. The Operative is trying to unravel a criminal conspiracy among the New York elite that is led by a frightening occult powered character called the General. The Operative is trying to find a killer.

Also involved in the case is another masked hero, the Revenant. He looks a bit like Moonknight and acts like the Shadow. He seems to have gotten the corrupt NYPD on his case and after crossing paths with the Operative, he decides they should work together.

The Operative doesn’t want the help and the fact that the Revenant is black doesn’t make it any easier, but we know they’re getting together. Issue #2 introduces the Rockettrix (not her real name, but the best description) with ties to the murder.

David Liss has nicely tied together a trio of pulp characters that I want to see more of. The story is good so far and the characters are charming, crude, tough, fascinating, and believable. I like the book a lot so far. Hopefully sales will be good enough to have the title continue.

I haven’t mentioned the art yet. The art is GREAT. Patrick Zircher’s style feels right for the period, but is modern at the same time. The entire first issue is done with horizontal panels, giving it a very cinematic style. The art is clear and direct and reminds me a little bit of Steve Bryant (Athena Voltaire). That is a compliment, by the way.

The second issue continues with the horizontal panels, but does break them up a bit. The colors by Andy Troy are also excellent, clean and subdued, but with color motifs to help define locations.

The final page of each issue so far has been an essay. Issue One’s article is by the writer, David Liss, and he discusses the thrill of adding to the beginning of the Marvel canon. He relates how he decided that the social issues of the 1930s would not be glossed over—that racism, sexism, poverty, and worker’s rights would play a part in the narrative. They do, and I think he has used them in his story well.

In the second issue, artist Patrick Zircher discusses the design path of the character’s looks.

I really hope these essays continue.

Go out and buy this great bit of New Pulp, you won’t be disappointed.

Interview with David Liss

mystery-men-2_1308796982-3390572
The first two issues of Mystery Men are out and they are terrific. The essay at the back of the first issue tells a bit about the genesis of the project, but I was wondering about your background with pulp and the history of the 1930s. Had you studied the era or was this an excuse to do just that?

It really was more of an excuse to learn about the 1930s. Over the years I’ve read various things from and about the period, and, of course, there are films. Like anyone who enjoys comics, I have always found a lot to love in the pulp era, but this was my first serious creative engagement with the period.

Have you read much original pulp of the era? If so, what titles or characters are you familiar with?

I’ve read a lot of pulp crime over the years, and I’ve read most of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. I have not actually read that much of the primary heroic pulp, though I have read the original stories of some characters like Doc Savage and the Spider. And then, of course, many of these characters have ongoing legacies in comics and other media that I’ve read.

Are you aware of the “New Pulp” movement – contemporary authors writing new stories set in the classic pulp era?

Yes, I have several friends who have contributed to some of these new pulp anthologies, and I have another new pulp project of my own in the works, though I can’t yet talk about it. I love the revival.

So far it seems that the 3 main characters – The Operative, The Revenant, and Sarah Starr have no innate super-powers. The villains do. Will we be seeing super-powered heroes in Mystery Men?

Hmm. Best to stay away from spoilers, but I will say that the amulet the General is after is packed with all kinds of surprises.

How did you go from writing historical mystery novels to comics?

I was asked! Marvel editor, and pulp-enthusiast, Bill Rosemann read one of my books and contacted me to ask if I liked comics and would I be interested in writing them. The answer was yes & yes. My first project for Marvel featured the pulp hero, the Phantom Reporter.

Are you a long time comics reader or are you new to the genre?

I was away from comics for the period of time I was in graduate school, when I lacked the time and money for comics — or just about any leisure activity — but otherwise I’m a lifelong fan.

What titles or characters are your favorites?

Some of my long-time faves include Daredevil, Spider-Man, Punisher, Captain America, Batman, Superman, Legion of Super-Heroes & Martian Manhunter, but I’ve always followed the story more than the character. My investment has always been less in titles and individual heroes than which creators are putting together good comics, so I’ll read just about anything with a cool story.

What writers or artists excite you?


On the writing side, these days my favorite creators are probably Robert Kirkman, Mark Millar, Brian Bendis and Ed Brubaker. I feel like I’ve been very lucky, because in my projects at Marvel I’ve been paired with some of the best artists out there. Francesco Francavilla and Jefte Palo, who have been doing the art for Black Panther, are both fantastic. And then, of course, there’s Patrick Zircher’s phenomenal work on Mystery Men. In terms of detail and beauty, as well as art that advances character and story, Patrick’s work on this book is about as good as it gets.

Did you hear about Griff the Invisible?

  • News
  • July 12, 2011

With everyone buzzing about the revamped DC Universe or the surprisingly sweet Super 8,  there’s another super-hero movie coming out this summer that you might not be aware of. A few weeks after Captain America opens, you can try the quirky romantic comedy Griff the Invisible, on August 19. Starring Ryan Kwanten and Maeve Dermody.

The official synopsis tells us:

The world can make us invisible. Courage can make us incredible. Love can make us invincible.

Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) stars in this totally unpredictable romantic comedy about the superhero in all of us. Griff (Kwanten), a shy and awkward office worker by day, finds escape from his ordinary life by assuming the identity of a fantastic superhero each night. Griff’s secret is jeopardized when he meets Melody (Maeve Dermody), a cute but unconventional daydreamer. She quickly becomes fascinated by his idiosyncrasies, which are equal only to her own. In the face of mounting pressure to live in the “real world,” it’s up to Melody to rescue GRIFF THE INVISIBLE for the sake of herself, Griff and their newfound love for each other.

The 93 minute PG-13 film was written and directed by Leon Ford, an actor perhaps best known for his work on HBO’s The Pacific. It currently has a limited release schedule so if you’re in the vicinity, you might want to check it out.

RELEASE SCHEDULE:

August 19, 2011 – Los Angeles, Berkley, San Francisco, New York

August 26, 2011  – Boston, San Diego, Seattle, Denver

September 2, 2011 – Washington DC, Philadelphia

September 9, 2011 – Atlanta, Minneapolis

September 16, 2011 – St. Louis


<a href=”

“>

 

Flesk Prime Spotlights Classical Artists

  • Uncategorized
  • July 12, 2011

With all the attention paid to the flashy artists of the moment at the major publishers, it’s always refreshing to see that the talented and reliable artists also get their due. Flesh Publications can usually be counted on for classy packages featuting artists who deserve your attention even if they don’t illustrate your favorite monthly titles. Check out this new announcement:

Flesk Publications is proud to announce their latest art book, Flesk Prime.

Flesk Prime serves as a fresh look into the imagery of five exceptional artists: Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldzija, Mark Schultz and William Stout. The essence of each craftsman is captured here to satisfy their fans as well as individuals who are enjoying their first glimpse. The section on each artist begins with an introduction and a biography written by Flesk publisher John Fleskes. The five were invited to handpick their pieces for inclusion, to showcase the best representation of their works.

Furthermore, new quotes have been obtained to capture the artists’ own thoughts. Each chapter shows the dynamic range of styles and illustrations and the unique diversity of these five creators. Almost all of the artwork has been reproduced direct from the originals.

Flesk Prime is a full-color 64 page hardbound book with jacket at 8.5 x 11 inches. The cover price is $24.95. ISBN: 978-1-933865-38-6. Pre-orders are being accepted at the Flesk online store. The book will premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego at the Flesk booth (#5019) on July 20. There you can have Elliott, Gianni, Schultz and Stout sign your copy. All pre-orders will begin shipping on July 26. This title is an exclusive item only available direct from Flesk Publications.

Elliott’s section contains an assortment of fine art, much of it centered on the female form. Also featured are editorial assignments and an enlightening look into the process behind one of his most recent paintings.

Gianni is represented by oil paintings, a pencil sketch, finished pen-and-ink drawings, comic book pages, a Sunday newspaper strip and book illustrations that span the last twenty years. (more…)

ALPHAS Is A Different Breed

  • News
  • July 11, 2011

 Tonight at 10pm(9c), Syfy premieres ALPHAS – a new series involving y9ung people with extraordinary abilities. Sound familiar? Co-creator Zak Penn explains why this is one super hero epic that we haven’t seen so far. Plus a reprieve for the ABC Soaps and TRANSFORMERS 3 tops the list once again.

Check out The Point Radio for constant pop culture updates – and please check us out on Facebookright here & toss us a “like”.

ALL PULP SEEKS NEWSHOUNDS, KEYBOARD JOCKEYS, AND VERBAL PAPARAZZI!

  • News
  • July 11, 2011

ALL PULP (www.allpulp.blogspot.com) , a leading site for news related to Pulp fiction in any medium, announces today a talent search for open staff reporter/reviewer positions.  Started in September, 2010, ALL PULP quickly became the go to site for news, reviews, interviews, and columns related to Pulp fiction, both classic and New Pulp.  Started by a group of New Pulp creators that became known as The Spectacled Seven, All Pulp has strived to provide interesting, current, and topical news and views on a daily basis.   In order to continue the tradition and standards that the site has set for itself, the Spectacled Seven, headed up by Editor in Chief Tommy Hancock, have determined that ALL PULP is in need of additional staff to work as reporters, reviewers, and columnists to provide content for the site.

“We are looking for,” Hancock states, “3-5 individuals who have either an interest in the Pulp genre/field of writing, a background or interest in journalism, or a combination of the two.   In order to stay on top of all the news that happens in Pulp every day, an amount that is increasing on a weekly basis, ALL PULP needs a dedicated staff of field reporters collecting news releases, conducting interviews, and writing columns and reviews of the latest Pulp available as well as all the classic Pulp available to the public today.  We have the Spectacled Seven and a handful of other contributors who provide content as they acquire it or as they can, but what is needed is a small select group of people providing 3-5 pieces of news a week.  Length is not an issue, it can be a 5,000 word column or a 300 word newsbyte.  ALL PULP is about making sure the news is delivered to its readers consistently, concisely, and regularly.”

Hancock notes that there is currently no monetary compensation for these open positions or any position currently filled at ALL PULP, including his own.  “This is all volunteer at this time, but other benefit do exist.  The opportunity to be a part of known pop culture news site, to interact with publishers, writers, artists, and personalities in the Pulp field, and to expand the coverage ALL PULP already has are all advantages one would gain by being a part of ALL PULP.”

Anyone interested in applying for the open positions can submit a mock interview, review, column or news story (or an actual story written for another publication) to Hancock at allpulp@yahoo.com.

FORTIER TACKLES MAC’S LATEST HELLER NOVEL!

  • News
  • July 10, 2011

ALL PULP REVIEWS by Ron Fortier

BYE BYE, BABY

By Max Allan Collins

Forge Books

326 pages

Release Date 16 Aug. 2011

ISBN 10 – 0765321793

ISBN 13 – 978-0765321794

Sometimes it’s all too personal.  Or so Chicago based private eye, Nathan Heller discovers when he’s asked by his friend, Hollywood sex symbol and superstar Marilyn Monroe to help her in her battle with Twentieth Century Fox. The year is 1962 and the famous blond is in a contractual contest with the studio that is facing financial ruins. When the entire energies of the studio’s marketing staff begin attacking her reputation and credibility, Marilyn retaliates.  Fearing the contest will end in court, she asks Heller to tap her phones thus providing her with physical evidence to present a judge. Heller, now in his mid-50s and a highly successful entrepreneur with offices in New York, Chicago and Hollywood, gladly accepts the job unaware his client is deeply embroiled in a sex scandal that could rip the country apart.

Heller soon learns that Marilyn’s sexual escapades with Jack and Bobby Kennedy have attracted a hive of dangerous bees to include the C.I.A., FBI, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa and underworld figure Sam Giancana. All of them have a vested interest in keeping the blond bombshell quiet.  When she dies only a few months later of a drug overdose, the usually unflappable Heller is shocked by the inept police investigation that follows. It reeks of a cover up and Heller is convinced the depressed film actress was murdered.  Now comes the tough part, proving it.

“Bye Bye, Baby,” is the fifteenth Nate Heller mystery, Collins’ longest running series and his most acclaimed.  So meticulous is the research that goes into each book, one gets both a fast paced thriller and a history at the same time.  Talk about more bang for your bucks.  Throughout the series, Heller has crossed paths with such personalities as Orson Welles, Frank Nitti, Sally Rand and Charles Lindberg.  He’s very much the detective version of a Forrest Gump.  Yet in all these past cases, he has never been more human or vulnerable.  This is due in large part to the events taking place in a time writer Collins is personally familiar with and it is that intimate connection that infuses itself into the character’s perceptions.

Norma Jean Baker, born June 1st, 1926, came to Hollywood as a model and became Marilyn Monroe.  She landed her first film contract in 1946 and went on to become the most popular screen sex goddess since Jean Harlow.  By 1953, she had progressed to leading roles and shaken off her “dumb blonde” image, winning the coveted Golden Globe Award in 1959 for her role in “Some Like It Hot.”  The true circumstances of her death sparked an avalanche of conspiracy theories still bandied about today.

 

Collins’ genius is taking the dozens of convoluted records and few remaining pieces of evidence to describe one possible scenario on how Marilyn was murdered.  In the end the story is a gut wrenching tragedy and perhaps Collin’s finest book ever.  It is one this reviewer was emotionally involved with from beginning to end.   I can remember all too easily being a fifteen year old fan when Marilyn Monroe died and the sadness I felt.  You see, Max, I loved her too.

MORE SKY RANGER! MORE AUTHORS! MORE IPULP!

  • News
  • July 10, 2011

The Lance Star: Sky Ranger interviews – Author Frank Dirscherl

Frank Dirscherl

With the announcement of Lance Star: Sky Ranger joining the iPulp Fiction Library, we wanted to introduce readers to some of the Honorary Sky Rangers involved with making these stories happen. Next up is Lance star: Sky Ranger Author Frank Dirscherl.

LSSR: Tell us a little about yourself and where readers can find out more about you and your work?

FD: I’m a 38 year old librarian, live in Australia and have been writing off and on my whole life, professionally for about 10 or so years now. I’ve mainly been writing the adventures of my modern day pulp paradin, The Wraith, in both comic book and prose form, but I’ve worked on some other projects as well. My two websites contain further information and links to buy my work – http://www.trinitycomics.com/ and http://www.frankdirscherl.com/.

Attack of the Bird Man Now Available.

LSSR: How did you become involved with the Lance Star: Sky Ranger series?

FD: I don’t quite recall how I was introduced to Mr Ron Fortier online, but ultimately, he invited me to contribute to this, and other works, from his publishing venture Airship 27, and I eagerly signed up. I only wish I’d have had the time to contribute more than I thus far have, but there will be more from me coming, rest assured. Pulp storytelling is my absolute favorite, and the more I can contribute to this genre, the better.

LSSR: Who is Lance Star? What makes pulp characters like Lance and the Sky Rangers appeal to you as a writer and a reader?

FD: Lance Star is an aviator adventurer who surrounds himself with a team of fellow enthusiasts and who end up fighting crime and seeking adventure the world over. I think characters such as Doc Savage and even Indiana Jones are probably of a similar ilk to Lance. What I love about all such pulp novel characters is that their stories are, for mine, true adventures. When coming to the end of such a story, one gets the feeling you’ve been on a real ride, unlike any other in fiction. The adventures are often fast-paced and even, at times, feverish and melodramatic—the characters go through so much in the course of their adventure, and I love that. Above all else, I’m a reader of the genre, so that makes it all the more special to also be a writer of such stories. I feel privileged to be able to contribute in some small way to the genre.

The Wraith: Valley of Evil

LSSR: Digital content has changed the publishing landscape. As a creator, what excites you about digital content? As a reader?

FD: What excites me is that all our work can now be accessed by as wide a range of readers as possible. Never before has the work of all authors been as easily accessible as they are now with the ‘digital revolution’. This can only be of benefit to all creators. For just a few dollars—often as low as two or three—a reader can download a book and have it instantly available to read on their e-reader. I myself own a Kindle, and it’s an amazing tool.

LSSR: Your Lance Star: Sky Ranger story, “Attack Of The Birdman” is currently available in print, as an eBook, and soon to be released individually at iPulp Fiction. What can you tell us about this story? (plug it, tease it)

FD: I was somewhat inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds, but also by an incident which happened while I was pondering my Lance Star story. On that day, I looked outside my (then) home and saw dozens of birds congregated on a power line that weren’t there moments earlier. That really gave me the spark of an idea as to where to take my story. But, what if a master criminal was behind the appearance of the birds. What if he was controlling them, using them to further his own nefarious plans? And, what if he was possibly not even human? Once I’d established that, a Birdman threatening the country, everything flowed easily from there. It turned into a rollicking adventure, one which links very well into the established Lance Star mythos, and I think is one of the best stories I’ve thus far written.

The Wraith: Cult of the Damned

LSSR: Any upcoming projects you would like to plug?

FD: My latest novel in The Wraith Adventures series, Cry of the Werewolf, will be out either later this year or early next year, and I’m very excited about that. The Wraith is truly out of his comfort zone in this one as he vacations with his girlfriend in the countryside and battles with werewolves, a Satanic cult and much more. I’ve also just completed my Wraith short story, titled Sundown, for the upcoming Airship 27 Wraith anthology and another Wraith short story, Zombies Attack!, for an anthology titled Superheroes vs. Zombies (from Coscom Entertainment). More short stories to come, and readers can always access the various comic books I’ve also written and published from my aforementioned websites.

LSSR: Thanks, Frank.

You can find Lance Star: Sky Ranger “Attack Of The Bird Man”
at http://www.ipulpfiction.com/bookstore.php?sort=Title

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks