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FLASH GORDON (1936)

  • News
  • June 26, 2011

FLASH GORDON (1936)
1936
Universal Pictures
Directed by Frederick Stephani
Produced by Henry MacRae
Written by Basil Dickey, Ella O’Neill, George H. Plympton
Based on the comic strip by Alex Raymond
Say whatever you want about The Internet.  It’s done all right by me so far.  It’s a never ending source of delight to me that I can find and rediscover movies, books, comics and old TV shows that I thought I’d never see or experience again.  But it’s all out there and thanks to the wonderful technology we now have, it’s a joy to be able to relive some of my childhood pleasures.  This is one of ‘em.
Set The Wayback Machine for pre-Netflix days, Sherman. (I’m talking about the 70’s and 80’s, folks) when the only way I could see cliffhanger serials from the 30’s and 40’s was to either borrow them from the library and hope the VHS tape hadn’t been dubbed from a poor copy or wait until they were shown on PBS.  Usually during the summer PBS would have a Saturday night marathon showing of “Spy Smasher” “Perils of Nyoka” “The Masked Marvel” or “Manhunt of Mystery Island” in their original form.  Much more common were the edited versions of cliffhangers that Channel 9 or Channel 11 here in New York would show on Saturday afternoons.  15 chapters were edited down into 90 minutes.  It gave you a good flavor of what cliffhangers were like but that was all.
But now we’ve got Netflix and it was while accidentally finding they had “King of The Rocketmen” available, I hunted up some other serials as well.  Including what is probably the best known and best loved cliffhanger serial of all; FLASH GORDON starring Larry “Buster” Crabbe.   The man was known as The King of The Serials due to his playing in serials arguably the three most popular comic strip heroes at that time: Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tarzan.  Talk about your hat tricks.
But there’s a reason why Mr. Crabbe got to play such heroes.  The cat looks like a hero.   He had the genuine square chin, steely eyes and a build most guys would give ten years off their life for.  But I think that Buster Crabbe’s real appeal in this serial lay in his Everyman quality.  His Flash Gordon isn’t the smartest guy in the room.  And he’s okay with that.  He’s more than happy to let Dr. Zarkov be the brains of the outfit while he does the dirty work.   He’s clever and resourceful.  He’s got morals and compassion for the little guy.  And when it comes to kicking ass all over Mongo, just step back and give Flash some fightin’ room.
By now, the story is legend.  The planet Mongo is hurtling toward Earth on what appears to be a collision course.  Earth’s weather is going crazy as well as the populace.  Flash Gordon is on one of the last cross country flights as he wishes to be with his scientist father when the end comes.  Also on the plane is Dale Arden (Jean Rogers).  Due to the severity of the weather, Flash and Dale are forced to bail out by parachute and happen to land right near the spaceship of Dr. Hans Zarkov (Frank Shannon) who talks them into a suicide mission to fly through space to the planet Mongo and somehow stop it from crashing into Earth.
Flash and Dale agree to go along and our intrepid heroes successfully make it to Mongo where they are promptly captured by Captain Torch (Earl Askam) who takes them to his Emperor: Ming The Merciless (Charles Middleton) who rules Mongo by fear and terror.  Ming and Flash take an instant dislike to each other.  However, Ming’s daughter Princess Aura (Priscilla Lawson) falls immediately in love with Flash and tries to save him when her daddy throws Flash in the Arena of Death with three brutal ape men.  Now mind you, this is just the first chapter and I didn’t even describe half of what happens.
The next 12 chapters are a goofy blizzard of classic space opera pulp adventure as Flash and his friends are chased, captured, enslaved, escape, battle and struggle against Ming while making friends and allies with Vultan (John Lipson) King of The Hawkmen, Prince Barin (Richard Alexander) the rightful ruler of Mongo and Prince Thun (James Pierce) of The Lionmen.
First off let me say up front that you have to have a love of this kind of thing from Jump Street or at least be curious to learn more about this genre.  This entire serial was made for less than a million bucks which today wouldn’t even pay for the catering for some of today’s movie.  So we’re talking about production values that are downright laughable by today’s standards.  The acting is nothing to brag about.  But it is sincere.  Buster Crabbe sells it with all his heart.  When he’s up there on screen he convinces you that he’s in the deadliest of peril even while fighting the most obvious rubber octopus in the history of movies.  And the rest of the cast follow suit.  Especially John Lipson as Vultan who I was afraid would belly laugh himself a hernia, that’s how much he’s enjoying playing the Falstaffian King of The Hawkmen.
Jean Rogers as Dale Arden is kinda blah, even for this material.  She mostly just stands around looking gorgeous in her flowing, gossamer robes.  Mongo must really be hard up for women since everybody who meets Dale wants to marry her.  Her contribution to the story consists of either fainting or screaming at least once every chapter.  I gotta give her props, though.  Not many actresses even today could give so many inflections to one line; “What have you done with Flash?” which is usually all she gets to say.
Princess Aura is much more fun to watch as she’s the real woman of action here.  She’s always pulling a ray gun on someone, even on her own father to rescue Flash.  Something she does a surprising number of times.  There’s even a scene where Aura tells Dale that if Dale really cared about Flash, she’d do something and not just stand there cramming her fist in her mouth to hold back yet another scream.  Whenever she hears Flash has been captured yet again, Aura grabs  the nearest ray gun, holds up her dress so as not to trip and runs off in her marvelously high heels to save him.
Frank Shannon is amazing as Dr. Hans Zarkov, one of the greatest Mad Scientists in fiction.  There’s a scene in the spaceship that made me laugh out loud:  Our Heroes are heading for Mongo when Flash asks Zarkov if he’s ever done this before.  Zarkov admits that he hasn’t but he’s tested with models.  “What happened to them?” Flash asks.  “They never came back,” Zarkov sheepishly admits.  If you watch this serial, check out the expression on Flash’s face.  Priceless.
And while I’m sure that Mr. Crabbe didn’t mind having to wear shorts through the whole production, I would think Frank Shannon and Richard Alexander did since they don’t have the legs to pull that look off.  At least Charles Middleton didn’t have to.  He doesn’t have the fabulous wardrobe Max Von Sydow sported in the 1980 movie but he does have the sufficient gravitas to make us take Ming seriously.  Flash Gordon vs Ming The Merciless is one of the most celebrated hero/villain pairings in heroic fiction and I believe it’s largely due to the work Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Middleton do in this serial as well as the two sequels.  They are never less than convincing and in their best moments they make us forget the cheapness of the production.
So should you see the 1936 serial version of FLASH GORDON?  It depends.  Are you just looking for a casual Friday or Saturday night movie? Then  go Netflix the 1980 version starring Sam J. Jones as Flash and Max Von Sydow as Ming with the absolutely kickass Queen soundtrack.
But if you consider yourself a student of pulp fiction, of heroic fiction in film, of the cliffhanger serial or of the science fiction movie genre or of just plain movies then I say that there is no way you can call yourself a student of any/all those genres and not watch the 1936 FLASH GORDON at least once.  It’s the great-grandfather of 90% of filmic space opera that came after it and need I remind you that the major reason George Lucas created “Star Wars” is because he couldn’t get the rights to do FLASH GORDON, which is really what he wanted to do.  If things had turned out different we might have been watching Flash Gordon, Prince Thun and Prince Barin wielding those lightsabers.
Ideally you should do it the right way and watch one chapter a week on Saturday to get the real effect of watching Saturday morning cliffhangers but I’m a greedy bastard and watched it all in one day with 15 minutes breaks in between.  No, it’s not the same but I kinda think that after the first two of three chapters, you’re gonna keep watching.
Taken as a cultural artifact it is a superior example of a style of film storytelling that isn’t done anymore.  As a gateway drug into pulp in general and as cliffhanger serials in particular, there are few better examples than FLASH GORDON.  Load it up on Netflix and enjoy.
FLASH GORDON has no rating but be advised that it is a culturally and racial insensitive movie by our standard today.  If you’re willing to overlook that and understand it was made in a less socially enlightened time, fine.  If not, give it a pass.
245 minutes (13 Episodes)

Spy Kids Adds a Fourth Dimension

  • Uncategorized
  • June 25, 2011

Well, just over a year after Avatar encouraged the Hollywood machine to overhype 3-D movies to the point where the fad is already fading fast, the hunt is on for the next great thing. Dimension Films thinks they have the solution, announcing that this summer’s fourth installment of the Spy Kids franchise will introduce the fourth dimension with Aromascope.

Of course, adding smells to movie (as opposed to movies that just smell) is nothing new, dating back to 1906 when canny filmmakers scented cotton wool and placed them in front of ventilators. Much as is happening now, after 3-D faded in the 1950s, people sought new gimmicks ot keep people away from the television and flocking to the theater. Italian director Carlo Lizzani called his process “AromaRama” and used it to screen Behind the Great Wall, a travelogue through China.

Hans Laube created Smell-O-Vision used in 1960’s Scent of Mystery. Thirty different odors were released at key points during this thriller.

And there was John Waters weho had people scratch and sniff in the 1980s.

So really, everything that’s old is new again.

For the curious, here’s the Dimension release:

New York, NY, June 24, 2011 – Dimension Films announced today that SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD is taking moviegoers to a whole new dimension in 4D with Aromascope.

Cutting edge filmmaker and director of the highly popular SPY KIDS franchise, Robert Rodriguez, was one of the first to re-introduce audiences to 3D since its inception in the 1950s.  After many years away from the cultural mindset Rodriguez brought back a whole new wave and rebirth of 3D into mainstream cinema in 2003 with SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER.   The film impressed and entertained audiences and went on to gross close to $200 million. (more…)

HOLMES AND HARRY LIME AND MORE FROM RADIO ARCHIVES!

  • News
  • June 24, 2011
radioarchives-7422098

June 24, 2011

It’s a Sherlock Holmes Weekend at RadioArchives.com!

* Just Released: Classic Whodunits with Sherlock Holmes
* In the Treasure Chest This Week
* New in Pulp Fiction: Doc Savage Volume 45 and The Shadow Volume 50
* Now Available: Doc Savage in Python Isle Audiobook
* New: Orson Welles in The Lives of Harry Lime, Volume 3
Exciting News! Thanks to an arrangement with Diamond Distributors, you’ll soon be seeing audio compact disc collections from RadioArchives.com available from booksellers and on-line book stores world-wide! So the next time you visit your favorite bookseller or comic book store, ask for “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”, “The Adventures of Doc Savage”, and other great audio collections from RadioArchives.com!

Just Released: Classic Whodunits with Sherlock Holmes

In the annals of detective fiction, there are many investigators who could lay claim to legendary status. But, for many, the most famous, the most unique, and the most emulated would be the pipe smoking, violin playing, and deer-stalker clad gentleman known as Sherlock Holmes.

Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes and his faithful friend and companion Doctor Watson have been a significant part of popular culture ever since their adventures first appeared in the Strand Magazine in 1887. In the years that have followed, Holmes and Watson have made their way to the stage, the movies, television, and even graphic novels – but, for fans of classic radio, “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” remains among the best interpretations of these two unforgettable characters and their often baffling cases.

The two actors most associated with the roles during radio’s Golden Age were, of course, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. But Rathbone’s departure from the series in 1946 resulted in another actor taking on the part: Tom Conway, the suave and handsome leading man who had recently been seen as The Falcon in the popular RKO movie series. Though long-time fans were understandably dubious of the change, Conway’s talents fit the role like a glove and he, along with Nigel Bruce, continued to broadcast the series from Hollywood for another successful season.

In “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1”, RadioArchives.com brings you ten exciting and fully restored episodes from this little-known chapter in the life of the World’s Greatest Consulting Detective, just as originally aired in 1946 and starring Tom Conway and Nigel Bruce. Priced at just $14.98 for the five audio CD set, or $9.98 for the digital download, this collection also features original cover art by Timothy Lantz. Visit RadioArchives.com and add Sherlock Holmes to your personal library of mystery favorites right away!

(Note for long-time customers: this 5-hour collection is a repackaged re-release of the first half of a 10-CD set which we previously offered in our catalog. In addition to new cover art, all of the shows in this collection have been newly restored from the original masters to ensure outstanding audio fidelity.)

In the Treasure Chest This Week
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson have appeared in many mediums – but two of their most fascinating cases were recently featured in an exciting graphic novel from Moonstone, offering tales of two of their most challenging foes: Dracula and The Invisible Man!

“Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, Volume 1”, a colorful 200 page softcover book, is normally available for sale on our website for $22.95. But, from Friday June 24th thru Monday June 27th, these suspenseful stories of crime and terror can be yours for Just 99 Cents with any purchase of $35.00 or more.

But that’s not the only bargain you’ll find this week in the Radio Archives Treasure Chest:

On Tuesday, June 28th, you’ll enjoy two action-packed tales of The Man of Bronze in “Doc Savage, Volume 18”. Normally priced at $12.95, for one day only, this book can be yours for Just 99 Cents with your purchase of $35.00 or

more. And, if detective stories are your passion, you can’t do better than Bob Bailey starring in “Let
George Do It, Volume 1″, a 10-CD set featuring twenty long-lost radio shows from the 1940s. This collection is normally priced at $29.98 but, on Wednesday June 29th and Thursday June 30th, it too can be added to your personal library for Just 99 Cents with any purchase of $35.00 or more.

Whether it’s tales of mystery and suspense with Sherlock Holmes, the thrilling adventures of Doc Savage, or the detective cases of George Valentine, you’ll find some great bargains in the Treasure Chest this week at RadioArchives.com!
New in Pulp Fiction: Doc Savage Volume 45 and The Shadow Volume 50
Great news! Two brand new double novel pulp reprints have just been released and are now available from RadioArchives.com!

In “The Shadow, Volume 50”, priced at just $14.95, Sanctum Books celebrates the publication of its 100th Shadow novel with an extra-length volume showcasing tales by each of the pulp wordsmiths who wrote as Maxwell Grant. First, “The Man from Shanghai” is caught in the web of a murderous mastermind in one of Walter Gibson’s greatest thrillers. Then, blood sapphires drip a deadly trail across Manhattan in Theodore Tinsley’s “The Golden Dog Murders”. Finally, Lamont Cranston and Joe Cardona go undercover to investigate murders at an Alice in Wonderland ball in Bruce Elliott’s “Jabberwocky Thrust”.

Next, in “Doc Savage, Volume 45”, you’ll thrill to two original pulp adventures as the Man of Bronze returns in two action-packed thrillers by Harold A. Davis and Lester Dent, writing as Kenneth Robeson. First, the War Department calls in Doc Savage after a weird wave of mass suffocations decimates the U. S. military. Can the Man of Bronze defeat “Merchants of Disaster” to restore national security? Then in “Measures for a Coffin”, Doc Savage announces his retirement to a stunned world after a fiery accident. This alternate cover edition, issued with a classic cover earlier this year, features artwork by Bantam artist James Bama.

When it comes to thrills, chills, and excitement, there’s nothing like a great pulp fiction story to really get your heart racing. Visit RadioArchives.com and pick up these new releases right away!

Now Available: Doc Savage in Python Isle Audiobook
For over eighty years, the name Doc Savage has meant thrills and excitement to millions of readers worldwide. Now, for the very first time, the Man of Bronze comes to vivid life in “Python Isle”, the first audiobook adventure from RadioArchives.com!

In “Python Isle”, a long-lost pioneer flyer returns to civilization accompanied by an exotic woman who speaks in a lost tongue. From his towering skyscraper headquarters in New York, through a dangerous Zeppelin journey to Cape Town, climaxing on a serpent-haunted island in the forbidden reaches of the Indian Ocean, Doc Savage and his iron comrades race to untangle a weird puzzle so deep that the only clues can be found in the Bible!

Written by Will Murray and produced and directed by Roger Rittner – the same team that brought you “The Adventures of Doc Savage” radio series – “Python Isle” features dramatic narration by Michael McConnohie, cover art by Joe DeVito, and two exclusive interviews with Will Murray on the history of Doc Savage and the discovery of author Lester Dent’s long lost manuscripts.

“Python Isle”, the first in a new series of unabridged audiobooks from RadioArchives.com, is available now as an eight audio CD set, priced at just $25.98, or as a digital download for just $17.98. In the weeks to come, be sure to visit RadioArchives.com often for more exciting audiobook adventures featuring the top heroes of pulp fiction, including The Spider, Secret Agent X, and many, many more. If you’re looking for adventure, excitement, and suspense, you’ll find it on “Python Isle”, available now from RadioArchives.com!

New: Orson Welles in The Lives of Harry Lime, Volume 3

For film buffs, it’s a memorable image: Harry Lime – criminal, thief, and black market racketeer – has been killed by a runaway car in the ravaged streets of postwar Vienna. But suddenly, out of the darkness of a moonlit night, a stray spotlight happens upon a doorway – and there he is: Harry Lime, in the flesh, alive…and smiling.

“The Third Man” is a film noir classic, combining a stellar cast, an intriguing story, and images of a once glamorous European city damaged by war, greed, and intrigue. Though brief, Orson Welles performance as Harry Lime remains one of the most memorable characterizations in his long and varied career. Luckily, for fans of audio entertainment, Welles revisited his role in “The Lives of Harry Lime”, a radio series that recounted the adventures of this memorable scoundrel in a series of tongue in cheek adventures that remain some of the best and most imaginative programs ever produced for radio.

In “The Lives of Harry Lime, Volume 3”, RadioArchives.com brings you ten more light-hearted and colorful tales of crime and criminals starring the legendary Orson Welles. Available as a five-CD audio collection for just $14.98 or a five-hour digital download for just $9.98, these fascinating programs have been transferred directly from original transcriptions and fully restored for sparkling audio fidelity. Visit RadioArchives.com and pick up your copy right away!
We’d love to hear from you! Send an e-mail to Service@RadioArchives.com or call us toll free at 800-886-0551 with your comments, questions, or suggestions.

Listen to this Newsletter!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy this newsletter as an Audio Podcast! Click anywhere in the colorful banner at the top and you’ll automatically hear the Radio Archives Newsletter, enhanced with narration, music, and clips from our latest compact disc collections! This audio version of our regular newsletter is a pleasant and convenient way to hear all about our latest CD sets, as well as the newest pulp fiction reprints, special offers, and much, much more!

The releases we’ve described in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s pulp fiction classics, our new line of audiobooks, colorful and exciting items from Moonstone, timeless movies and television shows on DVD, or the over 150 compact disc collections containing thousands of sparkling and fully restored classic radio shows, we hope you’ll make RadioArchives.com your source for the best in entertainment.

FORTIER TAKES ON AGENT PENDERGAST’S LATEST FROM PRESTON AND CHILD!

  • News
  • June 24, 2011

FEVER DREAM

By Preston & Child

Vision Books

540 pages

Since creating their unique modern pulp hero, FBI Special Agent Pendergast, writers Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have miserly doled out small pieces of his background history.  The highlight of which seemed to be the monumental trilogy that depicted the battle with his demented brother, Diogenes.  Still there remains missing elements and with FEVER DREAM, the tenth book in the series, the pair once again sets about filling in those pieces.  At the offset we are introduced to Helen Esterhazy, the beautiful and brilliant woman who would be Mrs. Pendergast for an all too brief time only to die in a horrible hunting accident while on safari in Africa.

Now, twelve years after that tragic event, Pendergast uncovers irrefutable evidence that Helen’s death was not an accident but murder, the result of a well orchestrated scheme but a merciless killer. A man of obsessive passions, once this information comes to light, Pendergast becomes a living dynamo set upon a singular quest; to discover the murderers and wreak his vengeance upon them.  To accomplish this, he recruits his long time friend and ally, New York police detective, Vincent D’Agosta much to the frustration of the cop’s lover, Chief Laura Hayward.  Hayward doesn’t trust Pendergast because of his unorthodox methods and is forever worried his recklessness will jeopardize D’Agosta career or worse, get him killed.

This time her fears are almost realized as the pair begin traveling the globe unaware their inquiries into this decades old mystery has made them the targets of a ruthless, professional killer. The non-stop action moves from the African bush to the bayou swamplands of the south making FEVER DREAM another solid entry into what has become this reviewer’s favorite modern pulp series.  As I’ve always preferred paperback editions to the hardbacks, my apologies for these reviews being somewhat late.  If you love great characters and truly bizarre story plots, the Special Agent Pendergast books should be on your must-read list.  Believe me, you will not be disappointed.

MORE SKY RANGER FROM LANCE STAR AUTHOR NASH!

  • News
  • June 24, 2011

From http://www.lance-star.com/

The Lance Star: Sky Ranger Interviews Continue – Author Bobby Nash

Bobby Nash

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 Bobby Nash.

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

One Shot! Art by James Burns

BN: I’m a writer of novels, comic books, novellas, short stories, graphic novels, and the occasional screenplay. My novels include Evil Ways and Fantastix. My comic book work includes Fuzzy Bunnies From Hell, Demonslayer, Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot”, and the upcoming Domino Lady vs. Mummy. My short prose includes A Fistful of Legends, Full Throttle Space Tales Vol. 2: Space Sirens, and the upcoming Green Hornet Case Files and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. My novellas include Lance Star: Sky Ranger, Ravenwood: Stepson of Mystery, Domino Lady; plus the upcoming Secret Agent X and The Avenger titles. My graphic novels include Yin Yang; I Am Googol: The Great Invasion, and Fantastix. You can see a full list of credits on my website, www.bobbynash.com. I also regularly post at www.lance-star.com, www.facebook.com/bobbyenash, and www.twitter.com/bobbynash.

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

Space Ranger Art By Jeff Austin

BN: It’s all Ron Fortier’s fault. Ron my table neighbor at the 2005 Dragon Con convention in Atlanta in 2005. At least I think that’s the right year. The cons start to run together after awhile. Anyway, Ron and I had corresponded via message boards and email before, but this was the first time we’d met in person. Ron picked up my novel, Evil Ways, and reviewed it at his Pulp Fiction Reviews site. When he started up what eventually became Airship 27, he invited me to work on an anthology featuring a pulp aviator hero. That book became Lance Star: Sky Ranger. The rest, as they say, is history.

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

Lance Star Vol. 2 Cover by Shane Evans

BN: Lance Star embodies the best aspects of a pulp hero. He’s smart, inventive, courageous, fearless, and not afraid to do what’s necessary to stop the bad guys. Lance is also a nice guy. You want to be his friend, and if you are his friend you know he’s got your back. He’s a little bit John Wayne, a little bit Jimmy Stewart, and a little bit Indiana Jones. As a writer and reader, that’s a lot of fun.

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

BN: The digital frontier is an exciting undiscovered country for me. I’ve not read many eBooks, but that’s mainly because I spend all day writing and doing edits on computer so when I read for enjoyment it’s to get away from the computer. I like the idea of electronic books. Imagine the possibilities when you can have your entire library at your fingertips wherever you are. That’s pretty amazing.

The Adventure Continues…

As a writer, I think that eBooks, because of their easy access and generally lower prices, make it easier for readers to try something new. Someone who has never read my work may be more willing to give it a try for $1 as opposed to buying an entire novel or anthology. Digital content helps make that happen.

LSSR: Your Lance Star: Sky Ranger story, “Where The Sea Meets The Sky” is currently available in print and as an eBook from Airship 27, and is soon to be released individually at iPulp Fiction. What can you tell us about this story? (plug it, tease it)

Where The Sea Meets The Sky. Cover art: Rich Woodall

BN: “Where The Sea Meets The Sky” was the first pulp story I ever wrote and I am quite proud of it. Lance Star flies his newest creation, a specialized seaplane called “The Nessie” to Hawaii where he intends to present it to the US Navy. Lance looked on this trip as a working vacation. The last thing he expected to find waiting for him was a sunken treasure, pirates, mobsters, and a rival pilot with a massive chip on his shoulder. If Lance isn’t careful, this adventure could be his last.

From the back cover of the anthology: Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, off the shores of Tropical Hawaii, a hidden treasure has been discovered. Now a band of sky pirates is out to steal it no matter how many innocent lives must be sacrificed in the process. Only Lance Star and the Sky Rangers can end their bloody assault.

LSSR: Airship 27 currently has two Lance Star: Sky Ranger anthologies in print and available as eBooks with several of those stories soon to be released individually at iPulp Fiction as well as a Lance Star comic book. What’s next for these pulp heroes?

Still flying high…

BN: Volume 3 of the pulp anthology series from Airship 27 is in the works now. All four stories are in and the artist is currently busy working on the interior illustrations. Volume 3 features Lance Star: Sky Ranger stories from Bernadette Johnson, Sean Taylor, Van Allen Plexico, and myself. Interior art is by Shannon Hall. I’ll wait on the cover artist until the publisher announces it first.

In addition to volume 3, there are more comic book stories in the works, as well as some digital comic book offerings as well. Plus, the Lance Star: Sky Ranger novel, “Cold Snap!” is in production. I’ve had to set it aside for some other work, but it will be completed in 2011 to come out in 2012.

GH Cover Art: Reuben Procopio

LSSR: Any upcoming projects you would like to plug?

BN: July will see the release of two anthologies featuring stories by me. The Green Hornet Casefiles and Tales From The Zero Hour Vol. 4: Weird Tales. There are several other anthology tales in production, but I don’t know release dates as yet. On the comic book side of things, I wrote a Secret Agent X story (with Jeremy McHugh on art) for All-Star Pulp Comics, a one-shot comic anthology that should be out sometime this year. In October, Domino Lady Vs. Mummy will be out from Moonstone. Co-written by Nancy Holder and myself, this one-shot story is part of Moonstone’s Return Of The Monsters Halloween event and features gorgeous art by Rock Baker and Jeff Austin. Keep checking in at www.bobbynash.com for more information and release dates.

ZH Cover Art: Dirk Shearer

LSSR: Thanks, Bobby.

#####

Release schedule for Lance Star: Sky Ranger tales on iPulp:
06/17: Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Vol.1 #1: Attack of the Bird Man by Frank Dirsherl (now available)
07/07: Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Vol.1 #2: Where the Sea Meets the Sky by Bobby Nash
07/27: Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Vol.1 #3: Talons of the Red Condors by Bill Spangler

DL Cover Art: Dan Brereton

Visit the official Lance Star: Sky Ranger iPulp Library at http://www.ipulpfiction.com/bookstore.php?sort=Title
For more information on iPulp Fiction’s offerings, please visit http://www.ipulpfiction.com/
For more information on Airship 27 Productions’ offerings, please visit http://www.gopulp.info/
For more information on Lance Star: Sky Ranger, please visit http://www.lance-star.com/
For more information on Bobby Nash, please visit http://www.bobbynash.com/

 

ROB CORRDRY Agrees Clowns Are Scary

  • News
  • June 24, 2011

Rob Corddry gives us the “secret origin”  CHILDRENS HOSPITAL and why clowns just suck, plus if you watch GLEE are you watching THE GLEE PROJECT on Oxygen? we talk with Ellis Wylie booted off the show just days ago.

 

Do you watch CHILDRENS HOSPITAL?  Drop us a comment below!

ALL PULP INTERVIEWS NOTED PULP ARTIST ROB DAVIS ABOUT SKY RANGER!

  • News
  • June 24, 2011

With the announcement of Lance Star: Sky Ranger joining the iPulp Fiction Library, ALL PULP wanted to introduce readers to some of the Honorary Sky Rangers involved with making these stories happen. Next up is Lance star: Sky Ranger Art Director and Designer, Rob Davis.

AP: Tell us a little about yourself and where readers can find out more about you, your work, and Airship 27 Productions?

robdavis2-5804492
RD: I’ve been a freelance artist since 1986 working on such diverse projects as a Saturday morning cartoon adaptation for Marvel to Star Trek books for DC and Malibu Comics. Presently I’m the art director/designer for Airship 27, which encompasses the actual design and look of each of Airship 27’s books to cover and interior illustrations. I’m also a comics publisher using the Redbud Studio Comics imprint to sell “print on demand” comics through IndyPlanet.com. Yeah, I’m busy!

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


RD: Through my design work for Airship 27. We have been the publisher of the prose versions of the tales of Lance Star through anthologies and eventually novels featuring the pulp-era air ace.

AP: Who is Lance Star? What makes pulp characters like Lance and the Sky Rangers appeal to you as a creator, a reader, and a publisher?

RD: Lance is another star in the pantheon of pulp heroes in that he has a definite sense of right and wrong and will fight to the end to defend the right. In the pulp age aviators like Lance were like today’s astronauts in that they were envied for their daring flight into the atmosphere. It’s interesting to me to see what the interest was of pulp era readers in these cousins of Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart.

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

RD: As a reader it’s exciting to think about being able to carry my whole library of books with me in my new iPad. As a creator and publisher it excites me that we now have a new, thrilling and inexpensive outlet to get our productions out to the reader. The first few weeks after Airship 27 opened up our Airship27Hangar.com site we had phenomenal response! It’s exciting to put up another new book and see sales within just hours or minutes of the upload.

AP: As you are both a designer and artist, tell us a bit about your process for both the print and digital versions of the Airship 27 stories.

RD: Fortunately, there’s not much difference in the two. Since I have so many irons in the fire I don’t have a lot of time to devote to producing our digital versions. Mostly what I do is add the front and back covers to the interior PDF file that we send to our printing sources, reduce the file size (since digital screens need less resolution than traditional print) and then mark each page with a watermark to keep our books safe from pirating. The whole process takes less than an hour for each book. Add in the design time to create the online catalogue entry and within just a couple of hours we have a version of our latest masterpiece of New Pulp ready for viewing and enjoyment!

AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to plug?

RD: We have a number of different books in the Airship 27 pipeline. Right now my next illustrating gig for Airship 27 is calling to me: Robin Hood: Arrow of Justice written by Ian Watson, a very talented writer from the UK. This is the second of a three-part retelling of the Robin Hood legend and it is rollicking good fun! Ian is very gifted and his version of Robin Hood is a joy to read and illustrate!

AP: Thanks, Rob.

RD: Thanks for having me!

Release schedule for Lance Star: Sky Ranger tales on iPulp:

06/17: Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Vol.1 #1: Attack of the Bird Man by Frank Dirsherl (now available)

07/07: Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Vol.1 #2: Where the Sea Meets the Sky by Bobby Nash

07/27: Lance Star: Sky Ranger – Vol.1 #3: Talons of the Red Condors by Bill Spangler

For more information on iPulp Fiction’s offerings, please visit www.ipulpfiction.com

For more information on Airship 27 Productions’ offerings, please visit www.gopulp.info

For more information on Lance Star: Sky Ranger, please visit www.lance-star.com

For more information on Rob Davis, please visit http://homepage.mac.com/robmdavis/

Gene Colan

Gene Colan: 1926-2011

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I regret to announce that my friend Gene Colan died at about 11 pm on June 23. Gene spent this last week in a quasi-coma state following a broken hip and complications from liver disease. He was 84.

I am terribly saddened to lose Gene. He was a gentle and deeply spiritual man, a bright light in every context, and those who knew him at any level were enriched by his warmth and generous nature. Below are some thoughts I cobbled together when he slipped from consciousness earlier this week.

I leave the historical perspective and details of Gene’s significant career to my friends Tom Spurgeon and Mark Evanier. For now, I mourn.
My Friend Gene Colan

When I was in Morristown, New Jersey, in the early 1990s, there was a girl of about 12 or 13 who lived around the corner. Every time I saw her, she was out walking a German Sheppard puppy. I’d see the pair every two weeks or so. But as the years passed, I realized the girl’s puppy didn’t seem to age. My young neighbor was blossoming into a young lady, but her little dog was like Peter Pan, or Jefty in Harlan Ellison’s story. Eventually, I inquired and learned that the young lady took her young dog from the Morristown Seeing Eye. After she had house-broken and bonded with the little dog, she returned it when it was ready to be further trained to help one of the blind. And then she’d get another puppy and start over again.

It must be heart-breaking, I thought, getting to love something the way only taking care of it will allow you to love, just to say goodbye so quickly.

(more…)

HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO A TOME ON THE SHADOW!!

  • News
  • June 23, 2011

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock

THE SHADOW-The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954
Written by Martin Grams, Jr. 
Published by OTR Publishing
2011
830 pages

Reviewing Pulp is fun.  Reading a story full of derring do and dastardly do badders is invigorating.  Tackling a novel with larger than life heroes and plots that boggle the mind and senses makes me eager to pick up the next one and share with the world what I think.  I think the process of reviewing, of sharing insight and opinion on anything has to be, at its basis, fun for the reviewer.  Many would think, then, that tackling a book that is nonfiction, historical, and full of facts and such would be boring for a Pulp reviewer.  Maybe so.

But not this book.  Wow.

THE SHADOW-The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954, written by Martin Grams, Jr. opens with both of those on the first page-history and mystery.  Welcoming the reader in with opening paragraphs that could well be the lead in of a pulp story in any magazine or collection, Grams takes what some might consider mundane information only for the most die hard of radio and/or Shadow fans and makes this entire work a sprawling, epic narrative bulging not only with what happened, but why things happened and who was involved.  Grams tackles the variety of personalities involved in the development of the Shadow radio program and injects the feats and fallacies of all involved into every page.

This book is exactly what the title states, an extremely complex and comprehensive history of the phenomenon that was the long running SHADOW radio program.   Grams starts with the origins of the character as a narrator for pulp tales and step by step takes the reader through the growth spurts and growing pains of the program that truly made The Shadow a part of the modern pantheon of American heroes.  Although one would think that there would be urges to devote a lot of space to Orson Welles’ time on the program or to the intricacies and involvement of Street and Smith, Grams not only gives those and other well known aspects of this history their due, but he brings into light so many, one would daresay every aspect of this show and then does something even more startling.  He makes every bit of it interesting, from the details about all the creative minds involved to the advertising to the effect that this program had on the industry and society alike. 

One stand out section of this fantastic work is the episode guide.  Grams is meticulous in not only describing the episode, but the way his guide is constructed lets you know not only where everything fits in continuity, but also gives you a sense of the impact of many of the episodes.  This is not simply a reprinting or even a presentation of a new broadcast log or notes taken on each episode.  Grams did a truly masterful job of providing information that was simultaneously educational and gratifying in this well done blow by blow episode guide.

THE SHADOW-The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954 is a must read for so many people-For the die hard pulp fan; for the Shadow fan; for the reader interested in OTR; for students of American culture; for the casual reader who wants to be exposed to multiple interests all at once; and probably several others I’m forgetting.   This may sit on shelves as a reference or research book, which it is, but it is also highly entertaining and engaging.

FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF HANCOCK’S HAT-The Shadow may know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but nobody knows the Shadow radio program and its history like Martin Grams, Jr.

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