The Mix : What are people talking about today?

CONSTANTINE TALKS ‘MYTH HUNTER’ WITH ALL PULP!

Percy Constantine’s newest novel THE MYTH HUNTER from Pulpwork Press (http://www.pulpwork.com/) hits the streets today!  The up and coming New Pulp Author took time out of promoting to…well, promote via an interview with ALL PULP!

ALL PULP BREAKS 100,000 VIEWS!!!!

All right, so ALL PULP takes its day off AFTER THIS!   Sometime in the wee morning hours of this Memorial Day, ALL PULP broke the 100,000 views mark.  This in itself is a milestone, but also has been done in our first nine months of existence!!  Everyone involved in ALL PULP, the Spectacled Seven especially, would like to thank each and every person who’s followed, contributed, commented, and read ALL PULP.  Seriously, we’d like to come to your house, shake your hand, buy you a coffee or a soda, and-…. well,at least we can say THANK YOU here to all of you….and we do just that. Thank you for all the support and encouragement you’ve provided and please continue to do so as ALL PULP endeavors to continue bringing you…ALL THE NEWS THAT IS PULP…THAT’S ALL PULP!

ALL PULP WISHES EVERYONE A MEMORABLE MEMORIAL DAY!

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On this day of honor and remembrance of those who fought and those who died to make what lives we live possible, ALL PULP extends its heartfelt thanks to all veterans, past, present, and future, for what you have given, regardless of whether you carried a gun or a pen, if you fought in war or worked in peace, regardless of your type of service.  We thank you!  In honor of this day, ALL PULP will observe it with its family and friends and encourages you all to do the same.  And personally thank a veteran/service person, why dontcha?!

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NEW PULP GIVEAWAY-THE FIRST PULPTRESS STORY EVER!

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Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions and member of the New Pulp Movement announced today that the first ever tale of THE PULPTRESS, 21st Century Pulp Heroine and spokesperson for Pro Se and New Pulp, would be available for anyone interested for FREE for a period of one week.

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“The Pulptress,” Hancock said in his statement, “is a concept and a figure that has already drawn much interest since her debut two weeks ago at Pulp Ark. But she’s more than that.   She is just a hint at all that New Pulp has to offer any reader, from the uninitiated person to the avid, obsessed Pulp fan.  There’s a vibrance, an excitement to The Pulptress that draws directly from the vibrant exciting pace and and action that New Pulp is rifled with.  And to celebrate that connection as well as to put a little more New Pulp out there, we’d like to offer this first tale of The Pulptress for free to any takers for a limited time.  And New Pulp fans take note-There is a special guest star in this first tale that many New Pulpsters may recognize.”

The tale, written by Hancock, is one of a collection that is being written and will be printed by Pro Se Productions when complete.  Other writers currently participating in this collection include Derrick Ferguson, Robin Bailey, Ron Fortier, and Barry Reese.  

In order to get your free copy, email Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net between now and Sunday, June 5th, 2011 and the story will be emailed to you directly.

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“This is an opportunity,” Hancock pointed out, “to introduce your friends who may know nothing of New Pulp to the Movement and get others interested in the heroic fiction some of today’s best writers are producing!”

National Cartoonist Society Winners Announced

  • Uncategorized
  • May 29, 2011

art-by-tom-richmond-1347705The annual National Cartoonist Society annual awards were awarded Saturday night. The prestigious Reuben Award for cartoonist of the year went to Richard Thompson for the newspaper strip Cul de Sac. Jill Thompson was selected as best comic book artist for Beasts of Burton, beating out Stan Sakai and Chris Samnee, and Joyce Farmer and her Special Exits took home the prize for graphic novel, beating out Daryn Cooke and James Strum.

Jeff Parker and Steve Kelley were designated best newspaper comic strip cartoonists for Dustin, Mike Lester took the book illustration award for The Butt Book, and Glenn McCoy won the newspaper panel cartoon award for The Flying McCoys. Other prize winners included Michael McParlane for newspaper illustration, Gary McCoy for gag cartoons, Jim Benton for greeting cards, Anton Emdin for magazine illustration, Gary Varvel for editorial cartooning, Dave Whamond for advertising illustration, Dave Filoni for television animation (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and Nicolas Marlet for feature animation (How to Train Your Dragon).

The NCS 65th annual awards dinner was held in Boston over the past several days. The artwork (above) was contributed by Mad Magazine’s Tom Richmond.

 

ALL PULP INTERVIEWS THE FACE OF NEW PULP-THE PULPTRESS!

AP:  It is indeed a pleasure to have you at ALL PULP today!  I’m fairly sure this will be a short answer, but can you tell us something about you personally?  Some background maybe?
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PULPTRESS: (laughs) Sorry, but the mask is my free pass on most of that question.  Let’s see, I’m twenty something…maybe.   I have august red hair…unless I don’t.   My eyes are brown with hints of green…except when they aren’t.  I’m just your every day average girl…who can use any weapon put in her pretty porcelain hands.  I will say that I came into the world much like everyone else did, even though things changed dramatically not long after my auspicious beginnings.   But looking back on it, I don’t think I’d change a day.  Except maybe one, my ninety third one, so I’ve been told.
AP:  Your…when you were three months old.  That would be when your parents…
PULPTRESS:  Yes, when they disappeared.    They were well known in the Pulp crime fighting circle, probably the best known.  I haven’t been told much about them, only that they had made a plan in case something like….them disappearing happened.  Which it did, so I’m thankful they planned ahead.
AP:  Best known?  Many people speculate that your parents weren’t just any crimefighters, but-
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THE PULPTRESS as drawn by
Rob Davis
PULPTRESS:  Ah, ah, ah. (shaking a single red nail tipped finger playfully) Not something to discuss on, off, or even to break a record.  I didn’t have them at all that I can remember, but they gave me the next best thing.  A family like none anyone has ever had.
AP:  Yes, you had a particularly interesting raising.  Can you talk about that at all?
PULPTRESS:  Enough just to tease your readers, certainly.  The plan that my parents had devised in case of their…being unable to raise me was basically the next best possible option.  I was left with one of my parents’ closest confidantes until I was able to walk and talk. At that point, my training began.  I have lived with Cherokee Indians, Inuit tribesmen, Shinto priests, and any other group of experts in anything you can think of.  I’ve been taught every style of fighting by the fiercest warriors, academics by today’s greatest minds, science and other disciplines by people that most only believe are legend and rumor.  From my first steps until my 18th birthday, I was steeped in disguise, strategy, espionage, and every learnable skill, field, and technique that the world had an expert in. 
AP:  Really?  To what purpose?
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PULPTRESS:  That’s another thing wrapped in innuendo and smoke.  Some say that there’s a greater good I’m being prepared for, something my parents knew I would have to be ready to face.  Others say it wasn’t so grand, that they just wanted to groom me to follow in their footsteps.  (Chuckles)  There’s a few who think that I was brought up that way because it was the only life my parents ever knew.  Regardless, I consider myself the luckiest gal in the world for the way I came up in the world.
AP:  And now that you’ve survived until adulthood, you seem to actually have taken up where your parents left off.  Why?
PULPTRESS:  Not just my parents, but most of my foster family as well.  And the why is fairly simple.  Even though I learned many different things from all the teachers and mentors I had around the world, they each imparted one common idea to me, almost a mantra.  ‘Regardless of how the world changes, it will always need a Hero.”  I had other options, choices I could have made.  Any career I wanted was an open door.  But those words were etched in my heart and wear heavy on my mind every day.  And there’s not a truer statement.  So, yeah, that’s why.
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THE PULPTRESS as drawn by
Ralf van der Hoeven
AP:  Interesting.  All right, what is it you do, then?  How do you describe your chosen vocation?
PULPTRESS:  Adventurer, Explorer, Problem Solver, a gal who likes a good fight and is good at fighting?  All of those fit and a few more.  Basically I’m the person that Henry Fonda described even better than Steinbeck himself wrote it.  Wherever someone is need, wherever someone is hurt and abused, wherever there’s absolutely no chance to survive, no way out, no justice at all, I am there.  I do all I can to meet the need, fix the hurt, save all I can, cut a door where there isn’t any, and bring justice in the prettiest package ever.  That’s what I do.
AP:  And on top of that, you recently debuted as the public face and voice for Pro Se Productions and even more than that, for the New Pulp Movement at the recent first PULP ARK Convention/Conference.  How did that happen?
PULPTRESS:  Have you met Tommy Hancock?  That man could talk the North Wind into blowing from the South if he wanted to.  (Laughs) Among many of the attributes that I picked up through the years was reading.  I often would rather read than eat and sleep and almost more than punching bad guys.  (Grins) Almost.   I’ve read thousands and thousands of volumes, tomes, and manifestos, but my favorite genre has always been Pulp.  I know, right?   But it has.  The classic heroic fiction rendered by Gibson, Burroughs, Dent, and others has a special place in my heart.  Part of that has to do with it being so reminiscent of people I have known throughout my life, heroes who lived Pulp lives all their own.
When I got to know Tommy due to our paths crossing, and that’s a tale someone should one day write, he exposed me to the writers and artists that have made New Pulp the force it is today.  And he brought up the fact that many consider me the New Pulp Heroine of the 21st Century and that New Pulp, while continuing the traditions established by the classics, is its own Movement, so there’s a relationship of sorts between the two.  And it doesn’t hurt a girl, even one in a mask, to be associated with the best stories told today for the readers of tomorrow!
AP:  So, you signed on just because you liked to read Pulp?  Or is there more, does New Pulp have an importance all its own?
PULPTRESS:  Of course it does.  Actually, it’s the same importance, the same mission that I feel like I have.  Regardless of how the world changes, it will always need stories about Heroes.  New Pulp provides that in spades and aces.   You don’t just get a rapid action high adventure tale with New Pulp stories.  You get ideals to reach, models to follow, and the reassuring fact that no matter how dark reality gets, the light eventually shines through.  You can’t get more important than that. 
AP:  What about your stories?  Any plans for a New Pulp writer to tackle the life and times of The Pulptress?  Or are you more of a to yourself kind of girl?
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PULPTRESS:  Are you kidding?  The lady who, depending on what the adventure is, comes dressed as a cowgirl, a space explorer, pirate, or whatever fits being a to herself kind of girl?  Yeah, right.  Stories are not only underway, but multiple authors, like Barry Reese, Derrick Ferguson, Ron Fortier, and Robin Bailey, are already committed to a collection spotlighting me and my rollicking adventures. The collection, when ready, will be available from Pro Se Productions. And, on the ball as he is, Tommy has already completed one story about me in the Big Apple and is hard at work on another one…one about me at home. 

 AP:  That brings up a good final question.  Where is home?  Who are you when you hang up the mask on the hook beside your fedora?  Who are you when you’re not The Pulptress?

PULPTRESS:  Home is…the only place where The Pulptress isn’t.  Other than there, I can’t be…don’t want to be anything other than The Pulptress.
AP:  And the New Pulp Movement and the world are thankful for that.  Thank you so much for taking time to talk to ALL PULP.
PULPTRESS:  Hey, anytime.  It’s not often bullets stop flying and villains stop trying to conquer the world long enough for me just to visit. So thank you!


(Want to follow The Pulptress daily?  Then join ‘The Pulptress’ Page on Facebook!!!  And follow her here at ALL PULP, as well as at pulpmachine.blogspot.com and http://www.newpulpfiction.com/!)

PORTABLE NEW PULP PROGRAMMING FOR CONVENTIONS OF ALL TYPES NOW AVAILABLE!

 

Press Release-
PRO SE PRODUCTIONS’ NEW PULP PROGRAMMING
SETS SAIL TO A CONVENTION NEAR YOU!
May 28th, 2011                                                              Batesville, AR
Pro Se Productions, LLC.,  a Publisher of New Pulp books, anthologies, and magazines, as well as the sponsor of PULP ARK, a Creators Conference/Fan Convention that debuted in Arkansas May 13-15, 2011, announces today plans to offer Pulp convention programming to other Conventions, Pulp and otherwise.
Dubbed NEW PULP CONVENTION PROGRAMMING, Pro Se Productions Partner and Editor in Chief Tommy Hancock states, “With the success of PULP ARK in terms of programming, education, and entertainment all in a Pulp vein, there has been much discussion on how to share this with others that can’t get to Arkansas. PULP ARK 2012 is already being planned, but we began looking at avenues to do even more than that.  Out of a discussion about possibly hosting other NEW PULP conventions came an extremely interesting idea.

“So many conventions,” Hancock continued, “that have or should have aspects related to New Pulp already exist.  Comic conventions, old time radio and new audio drama shows, genre specific gatherings like Horror, Western, etc., the list is probably endless.  Instead of adding a whole roster of NEW PULP Cons to that, Pro Se Productions now offers NEW PULP CON PROGRAMMING PACKAGES.  Essentially what this means is Pro Se Productions will provide any interested convention or show with Pulp related programming.  These packages will range from a single one hour session to a full blown multiday experience, including panels, classrooms, interactive theater drama, and other special events.  Although this is New Pulp programming, panels and classrooms will also include sessions on classic Pulp as well because without those at the beginning, there would not be a New Pulp Movement today.”

These packages, according to Hancock, will include Panel and Classroom presenters, actors for any dramas and participants from other activities drawn from some of the biggest names in New Pulp today. The packages emulate the program used for the first PULP ARK, one that received rave reviews from guests and fans in attendance.  And location is not a concern.  “If your show is in Colorado for example,” Hancock explains, “then we would draw our presenters for various panels and classrooms from the New Pulp community that exists there.  The same goes for Georgia, New York, other states, and even Canada.   Our plan is to provide conventions with the best New Pulp programming possible at the best rate possible. However, if you want a full line up of top of the line New Pulp writers and artists and are willing to cover expenses, Pro Se will at the best of our ability arrange to partner with the best possible and get them to your event.”
The Packages are as follows-(NOTE-All packages depend on Author/Artist availability.  No financial exchange will occur until the Convention Producers, Pro Se Productions, and the Staff Pro Se will dispatch are in full agreement)
NEW PULP PACKAGE ONE-Introduction-Basic
If a New Pulp Artist or Author is within 50 miles of your convention/show and you are interested in a one hour Classroom or Panel, then Pro Se will set this up.  The only cost is that the attending NEW PULP Author/artist be provided a table at the convention free of charge, if requested.
NEW PULP PACKAGE TWO-Single Day-Full Basic Programming
Three Classrooms and/or Panels utilizing a minimum of Three NEW PULP Artists/Writers. (If more than three are wanted/necessary, then cost may be higher)
Cost-$200.00 plus free tables for each Artist/Author Attending as well as any travel expenses incurred by Authors/Artists more than 50 miles away from Convention site.
NEW PULP PACKAGE THREE-Single Day-Deluxe Programming
Three Classrooms and/or Panels utilizing a minimum of Three NEW PULP Artists/Writers. (If more than three are wanted/necessary, then cost may be higher)
A fully produced Pulp Drama done onsite or another similar event (total time 1.5-2.5 hours
Cost-$300.00 plus free tables for each Artist/Author Attending as well as any travel expenses incurred by Authors/Artists more than 50 miles away from Convention site.
NEW PULP PACKAGE FOUR-MultiDay Deluxe Programming
Three Classrooms and/or Panels  each FULL DAY utilizing a minimum of Three NEW PULP Artists/Writers. (If more than three are wanted/necessary, then cost may be higher) (One-two panels/classrooms on partial days)
A fully produced Pulp Drama done onsite (total time 1.5-2.5 hours) that can either be performed in one setting or throughout the convention’s run.
An event to be determined in negotiation (Old Time Radio recreations, further drama, Pulped! Game Show, and other possibilities exist)
Cost will include free tables for each Artist/Author Attending as well as any travel expenses incurred by Authors/Artists more than 50 miles away from Convention site and Hotel expenses incurred by those who are not local to the area.   Cost beyond this must be negotiated due to multiple factors, including number of days expected, etc.
Hancock also reports, “Although we have a beginning list of writers and artists from one coast to the other and beyond that will participate in this Programming, schedules allowing, any New Pulp Writer/Artist interested in participating can contact me and if they fit what we’re looking for, we’ll add them to our list of available personalities to participate.”
Hancock states, “What we want to do with NEW PULP Programming is allow any Convention or Show interested in having a Pulp line of programming included in their regular schedule of events, programming that they do not have to plan, design, recruit, or set up for.  We will come in and all we’ll require is to be pointed in the direction where we’ll speak, teach, and perform from.  This will be beneficial to not only New Pulp, but also to the Convention itself as well as bringing new fans to each and introducing existing fanbases to another entertaining aspect of Pop Culture-New Pulp!”
For More information, contact Hancock at 870-834-4022 or at proseproductions@earthlink.net.

TIPPIN’ HANCOCKS HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD: VOL II-
Barry Reese, David Boop, Ian Taylor, Joel Jenkins, Ron Fortier, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Deja, Desmond Reddick, Grahm Eberhardt, Dale W. Glaser, Ian Mileham, Stacy Dooks, Mark Mousquet, Matthew P. Mayo, Kevin Thornton, David Golightly, Tommy Hancock, Tony Wilson, Derrick Ferguson, Mike McGee
Edited by Russ Anderson
Published by Pulpwork Press
A truly American genre, the Western story holds so much meaning, so much emotion, so much raw action for anyone who reads it.  It also holds a whole passle of potential that until recent years, people were afraid to explore.  Due to the impact of western movies and such iconic luminaries as Louis L’Amour (one known to put the genre on its ear every now and again himself), the Western had for many years this ‘Oh, you can’t go outside the established boundaries’ unspoken rule.   And I’ll be the first to say that there are still a ton of stories that can be told within those parameters.  But I’m also glad to say that there’s a group of writers, an entire movement known as New Pulp, that recognizes just where Westerns can go that they haven’t yet, and those writers are taking this genre there yet again.
HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD: VOL II, edited by Russ Anderson and published by Pulpwork Press, is a follow up collection to the very popular bestselling first volume, but stands on its own as a stellar collection of speculative Western fiction.  Not only are the traditional trappings strapped on for this rollicking rodeo of weirdness, but even the ‘supernatural’ or ‘strange’ elements seem to go beyond the ken in several of the stories.  This is a major positive because it shows that New Pulp can be different, can be enjoyable, and yet still hold on to the traditions and style that classic Pulps originated.
NOTE-As I review each story and the book overall, I will not be commenting on my story in this volume.  WEST OF FORT SMITH is my tale and that will be reviewed by others when they look at the collection, but I do not feel right talking about my work. 
DESIGN AND FORMAT-This is absolutely an exceptionally formatted book.  Easy to read, well laid out, and the Tamas Jakab designed cover, fantastically rendered by Jim Rugg adds that ‘new classic’ touch to this gorgeous looking paper back collection.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
EDITING-Anderson does a tremendous job at not only providing mostly error free editing, but also in how these tales were placed in the book.  Each one seemed to build on the ones previous to it in terms of tension and quality.  Determining placement in such a mixed bag anthology as this one is extremely difficult, so fedoras off to Russ for handling this extremely well.  FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
STORIES-
DESOLATION by BARRY REESE-This is a tale about family, about belief, and about just how crazy perception can be.  But it’s more than that, it’s a peek into the desperation that haunts every human soul, but must have been particularly strong in the wide open spaces of the West.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
THE RAG DOLL KID by DAVID BOOP-This is not just any ghost story, although it is a well crafted one of those.  This tale takes the reader on a journey of what makes a man who he is and how even at the end of his life, keeps him going until the job is done.  FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
THEY CALL HIM PAT by IAN TAYLOR- This one falls into the weird category because of ‘Pat’ and is one of those that goes a little farther than most would think.  Saying that, this is one helluva classic western ‘Stranger in town’ tale and were Clint Eastwood prone to play weird parts, Pat was written for him.  FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
THE LOST VALE by JOEL JENKINS-Mixing historical characters with Doyle influenced locations and creatures is something that sounds easy, but would actually take an artisan to pull off.  Joel Jenkins proves to be just the man for the job.  The story reads as it should, like a Western with weird sprinkled throughout it for good taste and measure.  The sheer number of characters to follow is a slight drawback, but Jenkins turns out one heckuva tale that would make a Challenger proud! FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
THE YELLOW DOG by RON FORTIER- This story goes into an area many Western writers haven’t gone, even traditionally and that’s the Western Animal subgenre.  Typified by such books as OL’ YELLER and the FLICKA series, writers tend to shy away from this direction because it’s a fine line between Western rawness and sentimentality.  Fortier walks that line well, dipping liberally from both sides and producing a hard edged Western tale that explores the connection between man and beast.  FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
MR. BRASS AND THE DEVIL’S TEETH by JOSHUA REYNOLDS-Reynolds gets points right off the bat for teaming up his steampunk Pinkerton with one of the most underrated yet interesting outlaws that ever rode the West.  Frank James and Brass set out after a whole pack of owlhoots that have a bit of an advantage, thanks to cursed objects.  Reynolds keeps a distinctly Western flavor throughout, while still interspersing the conflict Brass feels about being more…or is that less…than human.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
THUNDER PURSUED by THOMAS DEJA-This was a fantastically fun tale that went a different direction than most of the others did.  Suffice it to say, seeing a Western character that had hints and glimmers of Doc Savage is not only something I enjoyed, but something I hope I see much more of.    Deja also deftly handled an exploration of Western family and friendship dynamics as well.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
WALKER ON THE WIND by DESMOND REDDICK-Reddick takes the reader to the far West, using members of the Mounted Police, and plunges them all into the desolate, frozen West and all the horrors that and a man’s mind may hide.  The suspense built well, the character narration was engaging, and the end result extremely and appropriately disturbing.  Although putting together the pieces of the story seemed to be a bit slow, Reddick definitely knows how to make one’s hair stand up and never hear the wind blowing the same way again.  FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
THE VELVET SCOURGE by GRAHM EBERHARDT-This story so intrigued me I had to immediately read it again.  Eberhardt must have been channeling Sergio Leone with a liberal dash of Poe and Hitchcock to boot.  A totally reprehensible character takes the lead and by the end of it becomes the only one I was cheering for.  Characterization was top notch, establishment of atmosphere was unbelievable, and I’d be more than happy to see more from this author and this character in the near future.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
THE DEMON WRESTLER by DALE W. GLASER-This story took a little bit to get into, but as the smoke cleared, what remained in whole was a fantastic story of just what people will believe and what others will go through to benefit from those beliefs.  FOUR OUT FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME AND THAT’LL BE AN END TO IT by IAN MILEHAM-Mileham does two things in this tale:  He delivers one heck of an atmospheric telling of just how a murder might be handled in the Old West; and He drifts into the psychological as well as supernatural thriller realm as smoothly as silk and leaves the reader happily frighteningly chilled.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
UNHALLOWED GROUND by STACY DOOKS-Going back North for this Western tale, Dooks creates two memorable leads that basically fit the ‘buddy cop’ motif Old West style and then promptly throws them into a psychedelic Hell.  Even with that twist, this story holds up as a wonderfully written Western because, after all, Westerns are about ordinary men facing extraordinary challenges.  And Dooks definitely provides all of that in spades.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
TRAIN COMES A-BURNIN’ by MARK BOUSQUET-I don’t know how to summarize this tale except to say that I hope there’s a novel that rises out of it in the future.  Two women board a train, each with a shared, yet their own distinct missions to complete.  Throw in a special forces type outfit, some monsters, and kids and their teddy bears, and you have one wild Western roundup.  It very much felt like the middle of a story, though, and sorting things out was a bit jarring, but as I opened with, I want the novel.  Now.  FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
THE WITCH HOLE by MATTHEW P. MAYO-Let me admit, this type of tale is not usually my favorite.  I can’t really tell you why, except that I wasn’t the kid who was into the mystery comics and such when I was young.  And this one reads as if it would fit perfectly in an old DC House of Mystery or an EC comic.   That, however, is the reason that I liked it as much as I did-because as I read it, I could see the artwork, I could see the creepy green and black coloring.  The set up, the premise, and the characters smack heavily and enjoyably of that 1950s and 60s weird tale comic story, even though it’s in prose.  FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
THE TESTIMONY OF CONSTABLE FRASER by KEVIN THORNTON-It’s interesting that in this volume of Western tales, so many writers chose to explore the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for stories.  And thankfully so.  Thornton not only paints a great image of a central character in Fraser, but he tells a story that simultaneously is serial killer/Western/ancient history mystery and it all blends together like hardtack and coffee at a campfire.  And yes, that’s good.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
RAID AT RAZORFANG RANCH by DAVID GOLIGHTLY-This was refreshing in the midst and toward the end of the book. Golightly takes us not only into the Weird West, but into ranch life and shows how hard both the work and that sort of living can be in general.  Combining that with the peculiar livestock the ranch deals in, Golightly delivers a quick draw blast of action and characterization.  FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
WEST OF FORT SMITH by TOMMY HANCOCK-As said before, skipping this one.
BEAST OF THE BLACK HILLS by TONY WILSON-Yes, this is a weird tale, involving everything from green glowing severed heads to hairy bipeds and more, but Wilson does something even more fantastic.  The two main characters in this story could just as well be in any John Wayne buddy western or Larry McMurtry’s LONESOME DOVE or Robert B. Parker’s turn at Western series.  They are men fully realized, strengths and flaws and bonds between them included.  The internal voice of one of them that Wilson uses for narration is absolutely dead on.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
STORMS OF BLOOD AND SNOW by DERRICK FERGUSON-Derrick Ferguson has a gift.  That is to take aspects and traits and render whole cloth full blown love and hate ‘em characters from varied pieces and parts.  Sebastian Red and the cast he leads through Derrick’s multilayered Western tale, that is part ‘man in pursuit,’ ‘blood feud’ and ‘Act of God versus Man’ all rolled together, are real people by the time you finish the story, real enough you want to see them again.  And often.  FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
TERROR IN TOYLAND by Mike McGee-Now, for me, this story just didn’t fit.  It’s a modern tale, which is all right with me, but I didn’t get that it had a Western feel to it.  It was, however, a fantastic slice of life after some apocalyptic event had changed at least the part of the world it’s set in.  McGee tells a great story and the narration was fun and equally creepy, which I feel like was the intent.  As a matter of fact, the strength of the story itself overcomes a little of my discombulation about its inclusion in this collection.  FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT.
HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD: VOLUME II will be out  July 1st, 2011.  You’re a dagnabbed fool if you don’t get it as soon as it splits the batwing doors of your favorite online book outlet.  Stay tuned at http://www.pulpwork.com/ for more details and get it on your wish list today, Pard. Or Else.
OVERALL RATING-FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT-Yeehaw, indeed!

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