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PRO SE PROUDLY PRESENTS REESE’S ‘THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX!’

THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX FLIES HIGH FROM ITS NEW HOME-PRO SE PRESS!
Press Release
Pro Se Productions
Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief
06/09/2011
Pro Se Press, a leader in New Pulp fiction, is extremely proud to announce the first of many releases penned by Veteran Pulp Author Barry Reese and starring Reese’s best known creation, THE ROOK!  THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX by Reese is now available from Pro Se Press!
Already established as one of the best known heroes of The New Pulp Movement, The Rook takes on his greatest adventures in VOLUME SIX.  Reese ups the ante significantly for Max Davies, millionaire and vision driven vigilante, by setting The Rook against Sun Koh, Prince of Atlantis in the lead story, THE SCORCHED GOD!  A character from German pulps of the 1930s, Sun Koh is essentially the Germanic Doc Savage and comes up against The Rook in order to take his supposed rightful place as ruler of the world.  Assisted by a variety of interesting villains, most notably The Furies, three women, each one representing an Axis nation.  What chance does any mere mortal man have against a near Godlike being and his bevy of deadly beauties?  Fortunately, there is nothing ‘mere’ about The Rook in ‘THE SCORCHED GOD!’
The Rook continues to deliver two fisted justice in two other tales included in VOLUME SIX!  Taking a trip to the Old West like no one ever has, The Rook hopes to help lost souls clear up ‘SINS OF THE PAST’!  And The Rook appears for the first time ever in a story with Reese’s latest and greatest New Pulp hero!  Lazarus Gray, of Pro Se’s SOVEREIGN CITY PROJECT, stands side by side with The Rook as they take on evil and injustice in ‘DARKNESS, SPREADING ITS WINGS OF BLACK’! 
This volume also includes an introduction by Pro Se Editor in Chief Tommy Hancock, an interview with the author, and a timeline for The Rook and the various and sundry tales told within that universe!
“Clearly, Pro Se is more than proud and pleased to be able to put out THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX,” stated Tommy Hancock, EIC of Pro Se Press.  “Barry has clearly set a standard for what a New Pulp Author and a New Pulp hero should be!  And this volume is not just chocked full with adventure, but the extras give it a more rounded feel as well.  Also, this represents another step toward Pro Se’s own house style of formatting, developed and designed by our own Sean Ali.”
AVAILABLE NOW-THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX by Barry Reese from Pro Se Press!
No shelf of New Pulp Fiction will be complete without this volume!
Pro Se Productions-Putting the Monthly Back into New Pulp!
ISBN-13: 978-1463548995  
ISBN-10: 1463548990
Release date: 06/09/11
Retail Price: $12.00
On-Line Store – https://www.createspace.com/3623250
Available NOW at http://www.amazon.com/

Review: ‘Probe’ TV Pilot

  • Uncategorized
  • June 9, 2011

In the fall of 1972, I was 14 and consuming as much science fiction and heroic fantasy as I could mainline. As a result, I was the prime candidate to fall in love with a television series that had great concepts, an appealing cast and plenty of action. None were more disappointed when the series, Search, faded after a single season. Thanks to the Wayback Machine that is Warner Archive, the pilot film, Probe, is currently available with hints that the series itself may follow.

Billed as “science fiction in today’s world”, NBC offered up a series that may be a little creaky upon watching today but the series offered some forward looking thinking that was all too rare during the 1970s. It all began with a two-hour telefilm that served as a pilot from Outer Limits creator Leslie Stevens. Producing the show was Star Trek veteran Robert Justman which may well explain why so many of the sound effects at Probe Control remind you of the Enterprise bridge.

World Securities Corp. was a nondescript business but within its office building lay the ultra-high-tech, secret Probe division. The field agents were outfitted with neural earjacks and dental implants that were wirelessly connected to the control room. Each agent carried a scanner that could transmit audio, video, infrared, medical telemetry and the like. Worn as a ring, cufflink or medallion, it was the ultimate fashion accessory. At Probe Control, a quintet of operatives monitored incoming and outgoing data, the physical health of the agent or the target, and could call up information from international databases. Orchestrating the flow and playing Jiminy Cricket to the field operatives was the no-nonsense VCR Cameron. (more…)

“Uncanny X-Men” ending

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Looks like DC isn’t the only one canceling long-running titles of late, as this October Uncanny X-Men #544 concludes the long running series.

For a while, this was the highest selling title Marvel had, and was the benchmark against which all other titles were measured. But hey, let’s get that first issue sales pop, right?

Yet Another Reason For Comics To Go Digital: 40 Is The New 15

For years, comics executives have quietly worried that the comics audience is aging out. We’ve been seeing surveys year after year showing that the average age of a comic book reader has been moving up year by year, leading many to conclude that we haven’t been bringing younger readers in– and thereby causing a lot of panic.

But that may not be the conclusion to draw at all.

According to a survey of 1,200 households compiled by the Entertainment Software Association, the average videogame player is now 37 years old, and the average buyer is 41. In fact, 29% of players are over 50. And the average gamer has been playing for 12 years. 42% of them are women.

Those demographics are disturbingly close to the comic book reading audience in general, and to ComicMix in particular– 32% of our readers are between the ages of 35 and 44, and 29% of our readers are over 45. We do tend to skew male, though, with 67% of our readers being male.

The study also notes that as games become ubiquitous on all platforms, especially smart phones, more players could eventually make that demo younger, considering games are now played, in some form, by 72% of American households, stealing away audiences from TV shows and movies, the trade group said.

With such similar demographics, DC’s move to focus so much on digital platforms, both the day-and-date reboot this fall and the DC Universe Online MMORPG, make a lot of sense– they want part of that $25.1 billion on game content, hardware and accessories that consumers spent in 2010.

Something to consider as everybody goes out to E3 this week.

PRO SE DEBUTS SECOND ROOK TRAILER! VOLUME SIX IS COMING!

Pro Se Productions released a second trailer spotlighting its upcoming release of Barry Reese’s THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX today. Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of Pro Se, states, “This book is good enough to have its own movie, much less more than one trailer!  This trailer shows a different aspect from the first one and actually previews art from the upcoming volume!”  Produced by Pro Se CEO Fuller Bumpers, this trailer showcases THE ROOK: VOLUME SIX, due out in a matter of days!

HANCOCK AND HIS HAT GO INTO ‘THE BLEEDING HELLS’!

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
THE BLEEDING HELLS
by Barry Reese
Published by Wild Cat Books
2008

If you know New Pulp, then you probably know the work of author Barry Reese.  Even more likely you know the character Reese is best known for creating, THE ROOK, formerly with Wild Cat Books, coming soon from Pro Se Press.  Barry has made quite a name for himself by producing ROOK story after ROOK story, most of them collected in six total volumes with plans for three full novels to come over the next year or two. What you may not know about, though, is a little Reese gem that slides under most radars.  And not only is The Rook central to the story, but Reese with all his New Pulp skill and style reaches into the land of Classic Pulp and the Public Domain and adds a liberal dose of The Black Bat, Ascott Keane, and Doctor Satan into one bleeding helluva story that may be one of my favorite ROOK adventures.

THE BLEEDING HELLS focuses on The Knife of Elohim, a blade that is a major part of The Rook’s arsenal.  This blade, once bathed in the blood of Christ, is blessed with supernatural energy.  Within this story, it turns out there were four such blades and two criminals have decided to collect all four and open up a portal into The Bleeding Hells, essentially the worst version of Lucifer’s headquarters one could imagine.  It turns out that not only does The Rook have one of these knives, but The Black Bat has one and the infamous Dr. Satan has the other two.   The criminals of course end up getting hands on all four and our heroes…and yes, one incredibly evil villain…have to pool resources, set aside differences, and hope they can save the world, even if they already be too late.

THE BLEEDING HELLS is Reese’s ROOK  at its best.  The characterization of Max Davies shows not only an avenger of justice, but a man troubled enough by his own past to fight like heck to insure the safety of the future.  Reese goes to a whole other level, however, within this tale than just putting his best Rook forward.  Once again, Barry shows an excellent grasp of what’s come before and gives fantastic portrayals of THE BLACK BAT, ASCOTT KEANE, and a thoroughly chilling and enjoyable DOCTOR SATAN.  Other strengths shine through as well, including the pacing being dead on.  Barry builds the tension of the story well, even as he thrusts you immediately into the action.  Dialogue pops all the way through, from the smarminess of Satan to the back and forth charming dialogue between the various heroes’ sidekicks.  In all ways Reese, this is one of the best efforts I’ve yet to see and definitely makes me want to see this collection of heroes and villains once again…and even twice.

The only drawback to this volume and unfortunately it’s a significant one, is the editing.  It’s not that there’s a mistake on every page, but the misspelling and absence of words is enough that it proved distracting from the beginning to the end.  I thoroughly enjoyed THE BLEEDING HELLS, but I have also built up a tolerance to editing errors to a small degree.  Even with that, though, the editing or lack of it made THE BLEEDING HELLS a little more difficult to read than I would have liked.

FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-The editing is an issue for me, but to be honest, the story is just awesome enough to overcome it.

ALL PULP INTERVIEWS PULP ARTIST JOE JUSKO!

AP:  Joe, Welcome to ALL PULP.  First, tell us a little about yourself please, sir!
JJ: Thanks! I’ve been a professional illustrator since 1978 when I sold my first cover to Heavy Metal magazine at the age of 18. Since then I’ve worked for just about every major comic company producing everything from covers to posters, trading cards, and fully painted sequential stories.
AP:  You are involved in the FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN project coming up in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine.  How did you get to be a part of this adaptation?
JJ: Facebook is a wonderful thing! Martin Powell and I follow each other’s pages and realized we both had a love all things monster in common, particularly the old Universal Monsters films and Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine. Martin contacted me to inquire as to my interest in painting the cover to his filmbook adaptation for FM and I jumped at the opportunity! I have wanted to see that Famous Monsters masthead over a piece of my art since childhood. I can’t believe after all these years it’s actually happened! Cross one more thing off of my bucket list!
AP:  The cover you’ve done for the magazine the adaptation will appear in looks fantastic.  Was there any particular scene or maybe even other influence you drew inspiration from for that cover?
JJ: Well, when you think of that film the (much too brief) climactic fight is invariably the first thing that comes to mind. If you were going to paint one image to represent the movie that would have to be it! I had seen it painted before but without the surging water from the exploded dam. That is such a dramatic element I knew from the very start I’d be including it in the painting. I had thoughts about showing the dam blowing up through a window but decided against it for compositional and narrative reasons. If you know he film you know where the water is coming from and if you don’t maybe you’ll want to find out.
AP:  As an artist, can you outline your process of creating a painting or drawing for a project?  Are there any steps you go through, any particular techniques you use each time?
JJ: Geez, that is such an involved answer. Actual steps vary from piece to piece but in general I first try to determine what scene will make the most effective and eye catching image for the cover. It’s my job to get the potential reader to pick up the magazine in the first place. Once I decide on a scene I’ll work up a quick layout or two to see if my idea will work. I very seldom do more that one or two because my instincts are pretty well honed by now and I pretty much feel my first idea is always my best. Ninety percent of the time, at least.  I’ll then send the sketch the editor/AD for approval and then proceed to the final art. I either photograph or gather the reference I’ll need for a particular job (in this case I scoured the internet and shot screen grabs from a DVD) and refine the initial idea before proceeding to paint. I work exclusively in quick drying acrylics which I find suits my temperament as I’m a very impatient painter and dislike waiting for stages to dry. I then scan the final art, clean it up in Photoshop and send it off to the client.
AP:  What appeals to you as an artist about the monsters like Frankenstein and the Wolfman?
JJ: For me it’s the nostalgia and visual interest of the films. I think the Universal Monster series had some of the most imaginative set design and atmospheric cinematography that gave them a very unique look and feel. Many have tried to emulate them but never really seem to come close. Jack Pierce’s make up also set the standard for how those creatures should look. When you think of Frankenstein you think of Boris Karloff, not Kiwi Kingston.
AP:  One question some might ask about this project is relevance.  Is this a project aimed at old fans of classic monster movies or is it a project that hopes to bring in new fans?  What role do you feel art plays in that?
JJ: Let’s face it, Famous Monsters has a fairly classic, older fan base. While I truly hope the revised magazine and the art will generate new interest among a younger demographic, based on how little interest my fiancee’s 18 year old son has in reading magazines of any kind, B&W movies or anything not digitally enhanced I’m not sure. I know that many of my friends who are painting covers for FM’s current incarnation are doing it for the coolness factor and some very fond childhood memories. We are just beside ourselves to be on the cover!
AP: Art plays a major role in Pulp Fiction, both historically and even in New Pulp work.  Do you consider yourself a pulp artist and if so, why?
JJ: In many ways I do, and I often lament the fact that I was not working in the 60’s when pulp art was so prevalent in paperbacks. I am the biggest fan of artists like Robert McGinnis, Bob Abbett, Robert Maquire and Mitchell Hooks (among many others). I would be content painting pulp and genre covers all the time. I’ve done a lot of superhero work over the years but my real love is pulpy, noirish material. All the Conan covers I’ve done as well as the Edgar Rice Burroughs work definitely falls into that category to be sure.
AP:  What other projects do you have in the works that might be of interest to our Pulpy audience?
 JJ: Harkening back to the previous question I’m actually producing a series of faux 60’s style paperback images for a proposed calendar, and Im having a blast! I’m also currently painting the monthly covers for Dynamite Entertainment’s adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series. You can’t get much pulpier than that! I also may be illustrating the first two Tarzan novels for the 100th anniversary but that is still uncertain as of this time.
AP:  Joe, thanks for your time!
JJ: My pleasure!

Administrivia: Notice of Server Upgrade and Possible Hiccups

We’re expecting a server upgrade to come sometime in the next 24 hours. We may be offline for a bit here, but we’ll continue to post on our Facebook page and Twitter account in the meantime if there’s any extended outages.

See you on the other side.

Pixar Reveals La Luna Details

  • Uncategorized
  • June 7, 2011

Pixar has announced details about the short, “La Luna” that will run prior to Cars 2 later this month. The story’s synopsis, according to a studio release:

La Luna is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait.  A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family’s most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?

The story comes from director Enrico Casarosa, who is also Pixar’s Head of Story. (more…)

‘Super 8’ Clip

  • Uncategorized
  • June 7, 2011

J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s Super 8, opening later this month, is certainly starting to generate buzz. The early reviews confirm that the movie has a CE3K mixed with Stand By Me feel. Things blow up but that’s not what the movie is about (thankfully). Paramount Pictures just sent us the following clip for your perusal:

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