Tagged: literature

FORTIER TAKES ON TRASH ‘N’ TREASURES!

  • News
  • March 4, 2012

ALL PULP REVIEWS- by Ron Fortier

ANTIQUES DISPOSAL
A Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery
Barbara Allan
Kensington Books
230 pages

Vivian Borne is an eccentric antiques dealer who lives in Serenity, a small Midwestern  town situated on the banks of the Mississippi river.  She lives with her daughters, Peggy Sue and Brandy.  Together Vivian and Brandy solve murders that in one way or another deal with the business of antiquing.  Which is the simplest way to describe this series, of which this book is the sixth and has been described by other reviewers as being a “cozy” series if anyone really knows exactly what that means.
As a fan of hardboiled detective fiction, I’m assuming “cozy” refers to those mysteries wherein the protagonist is a little old lady ala Agatha Christie’s popular Miss Marple books or the old Angela Landsbury TV show, “Murder She Wrote.”  In other words, not my particular brand of tea; I prefer a headier beverage literature.  Still, every now and then one desires to try something different.  I decided I’d take a chance with “Antiques Disposal.”
It is probably one of the smartest things I’ve done in a while.  Why?  Well simply because the book is so damn funny, I honestly couldn’t put it down.  And the characters!  Oh, my God, is there a more dysfunctional group then the Borne girls?  Remember I said Brandy was Vivian’s youngest daughter?  Well she’s actually Peggy Sue’s daughter.  Yup.  Echoes of “Chinatown.”  You see Peggy Sue got herself “in trouble” as a young, unmarried girl and left her baby with her mother to raise figuring it was best for the child.  Did I mention Vivian suffers from a bi-polar disorder and is on medication?  Never mind that Brandy herself has a daughter….oh, forget it.  Its way too complicated for me to keep track of after only one visit with this eclectic bunch.  The thing is the writing is so clean and precise, even though you haven’t read those first five books  (something I hope to one day correct) the reader just goes with the flow.  There is a charm and decency to these characters that immediately grabbed me and had me caring for them from page one. 
Look, here’s what every true mystery fan knows as a fact, series fail or succeed not on how brilliant the crimes are staged and then solved, but on how appealing and original the heroes are.  Don’t believe me, give this some thought.   Early fans of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson came to demand more stories from Arthur Conan Doyle to read more about them and not the mysteries they dealt with, those became incidental.  The same can be said of every solid mystery series from Sam Spade, to Nero Wolfe and Nate Heller.  In fact one of those famous shamus plays a huge part in this book’s climatic dénouement finale in such a hilarious way, I will not spoil it for you.  It’s just too damn funny.
Okay, if you really need to know the plot, here it is.  Vivian and Brandy go to a storage unit auction, wherein the person who owned the unit stopped paying rental fees on it and the manager is legally free to sell its contents to recoup his or her loses.  These auctions have become very common among antique dealers and I believe there is even a reality show based on the practice.  So our two ladies end up winning the bid, begin transporting the boxed contents to their home and cataloguing them; everything perfectly normal and routine.  Until they return to the storage facility for their second trip and find the manager dead in the now empty unit.  The very next night someone breaks into Vivian’s home, attacks Peggy Sue leaving her unconscious and nearly kill’s Brandy’s loveable little blind poodle, Sushi.
From this point forward, both Vivian and Brandy are on the hunt for the killer and how they go about it so entertaining, pages simply fly by.  Sure, I was playing along and looking for clues too, but honestly, it was the ride I was enjoying to the max.  Bottom line, if all of the Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mysteries are as wonderful as “Antiques Disposal,” then sign me up for the long haul.
Hey, even if you end up not liking the book, did I mention there are recipes for chocolate brownies in it?  Now how can you go wrong with that? 

Howard Hopkins Remembered

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  • February 2, 2012
A RETROSPECTIVE FOR HOWARD HOPKINS

This piece was arranged immediately following the announcement of the passing of Howard Hopkins, noted Pulp Writer/Editor.   It is published now as those participating have all completed their thoughts and remembrances.

From Tommy Hancock
My friendship with Howard Hopkins, and I can definitely refer to it as that, was one of emails, keyboards, and computer screens. I’d only seen Howard in the occasional image on his Facebook page, most notably that pic of him leaned against a tree. But it was also a friendship founded on mutuality. We were both writers, we had a massive jones for Pulp and genre fiction in general, and we were both fairly active in pursuing that love for that sort of thing in our own ways. From my side, there was also a basis of reverence in a sense. That may sound corny, but it’s true. There have been a handful of writers I’ve looked up to for a long time, long before I was published or a publisher myself. Authors who I recognized were working in New Pulp before it even had that name attached directly to it. It was a short list initially, mind you one that has grown over time, but of the few names that were on that initial list, Howard Hopkins was one.
As sudden as Howard’s passing was, his effect on me and, as I’ve learned, other writers and I think in the long run on the field of Pulp fiction in general, has been a gradual, ever growin
g positive one. Whether or not he was tackling a known character from the vast library of Pulp and literature, editing the work of others putting their own brand on what has come before, or crafting all new tales to terrify, tantalize, and tease from his own expansive imagination, Howard always brought something extra to what he did.
There was a vitality, a strength, an ever present energy to Howard’s work, to even his email interactions. You could sense it, it was this palpable wave of excitement, of happiness to be digging his way into this work that wasn’t just a job, but more of a life’s work for

him. Our first long extensive correspondence began a few months ago as I was considering stepping up my efforts in the Western genre and, if you didn’t know this already, one of the strongest modern voices in that field as far as I’m concerned is Howard Hopkins. As he outlined for me his thoughts on how I could accomplish that and gave me tips and hints, he also did something else that I’m not even sure he was aware of. These emails, some of them simply a few lines in response to my queries, read to me like adventures all their own. The very sense of Howard’s true passion for the craft of writing and genre work bled through in each and every word. Even though he was looking at moving away from that corner of genre a bit and really wanting to put his effort into his other work, such as the Chloe Files, I still saw the burning need to write, the childlike giddiness of being a part of this field, that Howard had. He poured into his work, into his editing, into his Facebook statuses even.
And that doesn’t even touch the actual work itself. If you’ve never read a Howard Hopkins tale, you’ll find in it all the staples of whatever genre he decided to work in, but there’s more. Howard is in everything he wrote. And I don’t just mean the way that it’s assumed writers write from their own experiences and we pour a little bit of ourselves into the narrative. It’s that energy again, that exuberance, that unbridled love for what he crafted, it’s in everything I’ve ever read that Howard wrote and it’s the reason I kept reading things by Howard after the first one I’d ever read.

Some will think this retrospective is late, that it should have been done as most others were in the days just after Howard’s passing. I don’t apologize for that, it is coming when it was right for it to come for me. Others may see this as maudlin or ‘too much’ from someone who admittedly only knew Howard via the internet and from reading his books. To them, I’ll say this-What better way to know a writer than through that which he believed he was born to write?
Howard is fondly missed and will continue to be a presence in the Pulp world, as his wife has pledged to continue his work. I actually have a small part in that as I’m the editor on a collection that will contain one of the last pieces Howard submitted for publication. In times like this, we often say that an artist’s work will continue to live even after he has passed. How long that work has life, however, depends on how much life its creator gave it at the moment of its birth. Based on that, Howard Hopkins will be around long after the rest of us are gone.
From Martin Powell-
I still cannot bring myself to talk, or write, much about this. It is a profound, unexpected tragedy. Howard and I had known each other for several years and he was like a brother to me. We shared our ups and downs, and our thrills and frustrations. I last spoke with him Wednesday evening, a day before he died. How horrible. How unfair. Howard was a tireless professional and a genuine gentleman. It was a privilege to be his friend. He was one of those rarest of men, a real “good guy”, as loyal and true as the heroes he so vividly brought to life on the page. I’ll never stop missing him.
Martin Powell

PRO SE PLANS FOR PULP POETRY IN 2012!

  • News
  • January 2, 2012
Pro Se Productions, a Publisher known to be on the cutting edge of New Pulp, announces an ambitious new project today that, if successful in 2012, will lead to a new imprint from Pro Se in 2013.

According to Tommy Hancock, Editor-in Chief and Partner in Pro Se, “Being a Publisher of both books and magazines, Pro Se obviously gets quite a few queries.  One of the very first we got upon announcing we would be publishing Pulp magazines back in 2010 concerned whether or not we were interested in something described as ‘Pulp, but poetry instead of prose.’   At the time, we weren’t, but that hasn’t stopped the queries from coming in, at least one every week to two weeks about whether or not we’ll accept crime poetry, space poetry, fantasy poetry, and so on.   Well, after a year and a half of requests as well as research and study, Pro Se has decided to test the waters via our magazine, PRO SE PRESENTS, by having an all Pulp Poetry volume.”

When asked to define Pulp Poetry, Hancock stated, “Well, if there’s a definition out there that is clear cut as to what it is, I haven’t found it. Pulp writers, most notably Robert E. Howard, have been known for their poetry as well.  Defining Pulp is subjective often anyway and that is something it has in common with Poetry.  Basically what we’re looking for is poetry that deals with subjects and genres that are a part of Pulp.  So, action, adventure, heroes and villains, conflict, and genre.  Genre is important in determining Pulp Poetry.  Pulp is all about genre, be it western, crime, fantasy, and so on.   So, Pulp Poetry definitely has to be something that deals in a particular genre that is a part of Pulp.”

As far as other requirements for Pulp Poetry, there are no requirements that it rhyme or be a certain length. Hancock stated that submissions would be open from January 2nd to March 1st 2012 for poems to be included in this volume.

The May 2012 issue of PRO SE PRESENTS, the tenth issue of the magazine, will be an all Pulp Poetry issue, edited by newly appointed Pulp Poetry Editor for Pro Se, Megan Smith. 

“I have been writing Poetry,” Smith explained, “since I was little. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t enjoy writing it or reading it.  There has always been an interest in Poetry and with the increase in the interest in Pulp in the last several years, it seems the perfect time to show the world what Pulp Poetry can be.”

Currently the only Pulp Poetry title on the Pro Se Schedule is the special magazine issue scheduled for May 2012.  Smith will serve as editor of Pulp Poetry regardless of the form it continues in, either as a continual part of the magazine format on a monthly basis or as its own line with Pulp Poetry collections in 2013.

“This,” Hancock pointed out, “is an experiment, but it’s one we have full faith in.  Pulp is known for being speculative and a field of literature where anything can happen.  The concept of Pulp Poetry fits perfectly and just wait and see what Pro Se does with it.”

Submissions for the Pulp Poetry volume can be made to Smith at pulppoetryeditor@yahoo.com or to Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net.  Submissions must be made by March 1, 2011.

To follow what Pro Se has coming check out www.prosepulp.com and www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com.

HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO MYSTERY MEN (& WOMEN) VOLUME 2!

  • News
  • December 5, 2011

TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock
MYSTERY MEN (& WOMEN) VOLUME TWO
Written by Various Authors
Cover by Mike Fyles
Interior Art and Design by Rob Davis
Published by Airship 27 Productions
New Pulp is such an interesting creature.  It is organic, something sprouting from the past, but as it grows and blossoms, it becomes its own thing.   And there are Publishers and Writers today who continue to care for this beautiful thing we call New Pulp, making sure that it remains available, that it stands out as innovative and different, not derivative and unoriginal.    A leading Publisher in doing just that is Airship 27 Productions, a company that divides itself between New Pulp based on Public Domain pulp characters as well as new and original characters blazing trails through New Pulp. 
One of the titles that showcases the movement of original characters in Airship is their MYSTERY MEN (& WOMEN) series of books.  Four stories in the first volume introduced the idea and it has been continued in a second volume.  Overall, the book is enjoyable, a hoot to read, and wonderful to view.   Individually, the stories vary in style and quality. 
THE RED BADGE ATTACKS- by Mark Halegua and Andrew Salmon
This is not only the debut of the vigilante known as The Red Badge, but it’s also the first story published by the Badge’s creator, Mark Halegua.   The premise is simple.  A vigilante is in the city taking out the bad guys as quickly and violently as possible. Throw into that the fact that the identity of the Badge is a mystery, even up until the very end, but a mystery with a myriad of suspects.
The Red Badge has definite potential as a concept.  The path traveled by this story is well worn, but its also one that could be done with twists and turns.  Unfortunately, that’s not done nearly enough with this tale.  Yes, some of the action scenes sing like a chorus of tommy guns, but others drag like they’re falling on dead chambers.  The same with the dialogue-There’s a few solid exchanges, but overall it’s stilted and weak.   The strongest point of this story is you can see what Halegua (with help from Salmon) wants the Red Badge to be, which gives one hope he may get there in future tales.
TWO OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
LAIR OF THE MOLE PEOPLE- by Greg Bastianelli
One of the neatest stories in Pulp is when you take a person in an occupation that isn’t cop, adventurer, spy, and you throw them into a Pulp over the top adventure tale and it works!   Bastianelli does this with his character Jack Minch, Ace Reporter in this tale and does it so well and with such skill that the story was over before I even realized it.    The premise, again like with the previous story, is straightforward.  Minch opens a message from a woman who had left it behind to be opened if she disappeared, which she did.  This action leads this spunky, two fisted typewriter jockey into a world beneath the city, as indicated by the title, and at that point, the real fun begins. 
This story crackles with solid characterization, strong dialogue, and enough jump-from-around the corner action to keep any Pulp fan enticed and most definitely wanting more!
FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
DOCK DOYLE AND THE WANDERING CITY by Adam Lance Garcia
This story gave me fits.  Here’s why.
Dock Doyle is a great American Hero and Movie Star, legends galore attached to his name.  And this story takes him on an adventure deep into the Jungle for what is apparently another film job, but Doyle finds out far too late that things are not at all what they seem.  And the reader finds that out as well, even about the central character himself.
This is quite possibly one of the best stories I have ever read.  No kidding.    Looking at it as an avid bibliophile who reads across all genres and recognizes all the movements, nuances, and influences in literature, mainstream and otherwise, this story is one of the best examples of post modern deconstruction I have found in a long time.
Looking at it as a reviewer of Pulp….It isn’t.  It simply isn’t a Pulp Tale. 
Don’t get me wrong.  Some key elements are woven in.  Action.  Quick Pacing.  Exotic locales.  Defiance of death.  All of that is there.  Where this fails as a Pulp story is in the characters, especially the lead himself. Garcia paints vivid pictures and builds characters from the ground up.  But they’re not Pulp characters.  And trust me, I don’t feel Pulp characters have to be two dimensional or all good or all bad….but with Dock Doyle, there’s far too much gray even in the lead character…especially in the lead character…for this to be a Pulp Tale.
THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT- It ain’t Pulp, but it is damned good.
A MAN CALLED MONGREL by Derrick Ferguson
One of the great things about a good author…no, about a great author, is that he/she can deliver consistently, even when they are writing characters with some similarities in the same field of literature.  And not just consistently in terms of quality, but also consistently in terms of differentiation-in making their work stand out solidly from what has come before.  
Derrick Ferguson is just such an author.  A master of the art.
Mongrel is a member of a family who essentially has a corner on the genius gene pool.   When an attempt is made on the life of a family member, Mongrel swings into action against a Family that is focused on taking down leading corporations in the world via super science.   But not while Mongrel Henderson is on the job.
This tale is raucous, over the top, and yet grounded in strong values.  Family connections, pure heroism, and the battle of intellect versus emotion are all not only clearly on display in this story, but turned up to Eleven and broadcast in every single word.  These characters, particularly Mongrel, exude excitement, action, as well as humanity.    Mongrel can take on nearly any baddie that wants to stand with him, but he still cowers when called down by his mother.  Ferguson’s strong suit in all his work is that the action is relentless, the violence is pointed and necessary, and the characters ooze the good and bad of simply being human, although the smartest, toughest, and most righteous or vile humans ever seen anywhere.  This story stands out as the best in the entire volume and likely in the entire MYSTERY MEN (& WOMEN) series to date.
FIVE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
Design and Art-Even though I said what I did about Dock Doyle’s debut story, the first image of Dock to be seen, the cover of this volume, is phenomenal.    Award winning artist Mike Fyles delivers once again and proves he understands the concept of what Pulp covers are and what they need to convey. 
Likewise the interior art and design of the book by Rob Davis does just what both of those things are supposed to.   Davis’ work supports all the stories, the images bringing out in wonderful line work and iconic imagery exact moments from the stories and the format of the book makes one feel as if they’re holding a Pulp from a news kiosk back in the Thirties.    Even the back cover design as well as the ads included add to that authentic feel.
FIVE OUT FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT
Even though every story wasn’t a grand slam and one might be better suited in another volume, MYSTERY MEN (& WOMEN) VOLUME TWO as a whole delivers.
OVERALL-FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF THE HAT!

FORTIER TAKES ON VIKTORIANA!

  • News
  • November 10, 2011
ALL PULP PULP FICTION REVIEWS
By Ron Fortier
MODERN  MARVELS –Viktoriana
By Wayne Reinagel
Knight Raven Studios
440 pages
Several years ago, writer Wayne Reinagle burst upon the pulp fiction world with a self published tome that was the pulp equivalent of “Gone With the Wind.”  PULP HEROES – MORE THAN MORTAL was a giant white elephant of a clunker that was not well written and appeared to be stitched together by a fan boy who was irrevocably addicted to the classic pulp heroes of the 1930s & 40s.  Still, as badly exceuted as that book was, the poor mechanics could not disguise the genuine love and enthusiasm Reinagel possessed for these iconic heroes and how much fun he had playing with them.  You see, the audacity of the man is he put practically every single major ( & minor ) pulp hero in that one giant volume.  Here were Doc Savage, the Shadow, the Spider, the Avenger etc.etc., albeit all with new names to avoid legal repercussions from the rights holders, though readers knew exactly who each was.  Despite its literary flaws, the book is also important in that it was the beginning of Reinagel’s super saga that would invariably use every major literary hero and villain from both the 19th and 20th Centuries spread across an historical roadmap of herculean breath and girth.
Somewhere in all this Reinagel came to an unexplainable decision in regards to his pulp magnus opus; he’d inadvertently begun it in the middle.  After the subsequent release of MORE THAN MORTALS, he was plagued with plot threads that could only be rationalized by going backwards in time, rather than forward.  Thus the second book in the trilogy was actually the first chronologically: PULP HEROES – KHAN DYNASTY. It went back decades to give us the origins of the people who would ultimately sire the pulp heroes of the Great Depression.  Asserting his genuine talent, Reinagel’s prose is much improved with this book though it still suffered the same affliction as its predecessor; massive dumps of historical data were dropped helter skelter through the narrative even in the middle of some balls-out action sequences.  Again, Reinagel is not a man of moderations, he wants to give his readers ( & himself ) more and more.  Some times to the detriment of his tale.  Still KHAN DYNASTY was a major improvement and contained the portent of better things to come.
This reviewer is very happy to declare that literary promise has at long last been realized in Reinagel’s third book, MODERN MARVELS – VIKTORIANA.  Clocking in at an impressive 440 pages, it adds proof that the guy simply cannot write a short piece but it also loudly proclaims his arrival as a sophisticated storyteller.  This is the work of a craftsman who judiciously balances both action and characterizations and even though there are still many researched historical facts, they are kept concise and only used when propelling the action forward.  That this is the writer’s fastest paced, most colorful and grandiose book is blatantly obvious from the first page to last.
Once again, the author propels us backward to lay the foundation of heroic fiction in a brilliant twist that is pure nectar of the gods to any reader who grew up enjoying the fantastic literature of the 19th Century.  The heroes of this volume are the writers who produced those amazing works all of us encountered along the road to maturity and adulthood; the English classics with a few mongrel relatives thrown in for good measure.
The plot is simple enough.  The planet’s are about to align in a unique positioning only witnessed every thousand years and two insidious fiends, Varney the Vampire and his stooge, a teenage Aleister Crowley, plan to use the stellar phenomenon to their own twisted ends.  They wish to open a hole to another dimension; one filled with demons eager to crossover and destroy the earth.  But to do so, Varney requires nine special magical tablets or else his insane plot will fail.
Guarding those arcane items are the most famous and courageous souls of their times; H.R. Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Nikola Tesla, and an aged Edgar Allen Poe accompanied by a teenage magician named Harry Houdini. They are led by an enigmatic, seemingly immortal beauty, Mary Shelly.   Now if that isn’t a Who’s Who list of the most influential writers in English Literature during the late 19th Century, then I’d be at a loss to compile another.  The exuberant bravado of Reinagel is his fearlessness in employing this stellar cast and bringing them to wonderful life in his glorious adventure.  Their interaction amongst themselves, the romance between Haggard and the ever dangerous lovely Miss Shelley, the good-old-boys camaraderie between Doyle and Stoker is simply endearing and believable.
Wayne Reinagel clearly possesses one of the grandest imaginations ever unleashed on the printed page. His dreams and his fiction know no bounds when after adventure of the highest order and he delivers it beyond measure in this book.  Every one of his books is an experience with so many surprises in store for the reader but none have so entertained and delighted this reviewer as MODERN MARVELS VIKTORIANA.  Mark my words, pulp fans, your lives will be enriched for the better after reading this pure pulp odyssey by a truly one of a kind maser storyteller.  Bravo, Wayne Reinagel, bravo!

Tree of Life

tree-of-life-300x358-4860061The story goes that in Stamford CT, so many people walked out of Tree of Life and demanded their money back that the management had to post a sign explaining the movie was not your traditional story and that no more refunds would be issued. On the one hand, it says people pick movies indiscriminately and it also says without being prepared, more thoughtful works can be poorly received.

Director Terrence Malick is an artist with film, turning the moving picture into portraiture. Since his first film, Badlands, the cinematography alone is a reason to seek out his films. There’s usually a long wait between his movies because he takes his time conceiving, making and editing each one, building up anticipation from his fans and the actors who love to work with him. Few get to do it twice although the current movie does feature Sean Penn for a second effort. Recently, though, he has bad mouthed the film, wondering what he was doing in it and yes, Tree of Life can be a real headscratching experience.

But, Malick gets credit for tackling the big issues of life, the universe, and everything. He focuses on a single nuclear family, seemingly set in the 1950s, but all the themes are large ones. So large, in fact, that when there’s a fissure, everything cracks apart. And when that occurs, Malick takes us back to the beginning, and I mean the beginning. We’re talking the Big Bang, a cooling planet and the beginning of life. The lush origins of our world through the early days of the dinosaur is a wonder to watch and it transfers brilliantly to the home screen in the Blu-ray edition coming this Tuesday from 20th Century Home Entertainment.

Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain are a happily married couple, raising three boys in an idyllic American suburb. Most of the film follows their development through those pivotal childhood years and like a work of literature, says more through what is not spoken than is conveyed in dialogue.By setting this in the past, it automatically evokes a sense of longing in the audience. Curiously, this is a past without much in the way of technology: no radio or television, just a phonograph. (more…)

HANCOCK TIPS HIS HAT TO ‘THE WAY THEY WERE’!!

  • News
  • July 31, 2011
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Reviews of All Things Pulp by Tommy Hancock



(I would like to extend a personal apology to Jeff Deischer, author of the book reviewed below.  I intended to have this review posted last week, but due to issues far beyond my control, I could not.  Doesn’t mean it’s right to break a promise, My sincerest apologies, Jeff.)

THE WAY THEY WERE: The Histories of Some of Adventure Fiction’s Most Famous Heroes and Villains

By Jeff Deischer


Published 2011 by Westerntainment





thewaytheywere-6430513One of the many fantastic things about literature in general and about Pulp specifically is the richness and variety woven into the novels, stories, and tales that make up the genre.   Not only are heroes good and larger than life and villains evil and over the top, but there is a depth to these characters and the events creators thrust them into, a depth that over years has been explored in a myriad of ways. 


One of the most fun of these, in my opinion, is the work of creators and scholars to not only establish timelines for these fictitious creations and their marvelous escapades.   Although many people might find actual history boring, there’s something inventive and exciting about taking a literary character and matching their exploits to a particular year or event, tying our fantasy into our reality.  And an even cooler step beyond that is finding connections between one character and others, connections that given the right phrasing and tweaking become familial or uncover possible links that could lead to here to yet untold adventures.   Several works of this type have been written in the last several decades, including chronologies, timelines, or just full on stories bringing characters you’d never imagine being drawn together into the same realm.


Jeff Deischer, author THE WAY THEY WERE, is one of those writers and creators who not only imagines the possibilities, but sets out to establish them, not simply by telling tales, but by providing thought provoking articles and essays.  Drawing first from his own interest as a fan and reader, Deischer adds in research and analysis as he takes on several questions that have plagued Pulp fans for years and, in other articles, he poses brand new theories and brings characters to mind that at least I as a reader hadn’t given much thought to in a while.


Deischer tackles well-traveled ground by covering points various and sundry about Doc Savage and The Avenger.  He also takes on famous characters from horror literature, tying Dracula and Frankenstein and the Phantom of the Opera to timeframes and situations.  Surprises lurk within these pages as well, including a multi article study of the works of Jules Verne and a most excellent essay about the use of Antarctica and Mars in early Pulp fiction.   Regardless of it being James Bond or Gullivar of Mars, Deischer brings new life to old characters, breathing into them questions and theories that show a different light on them.   One of Deischer’s strongest points is his willingness to present ideas that run totally the opposite of established concepts and then go on to back them up.   Add to that a writing skill that is both engaging and entertaining, THE WAY THEY WERE reads as much like a multi chapter pulp tale as it does a collection of essays.


FOUR OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF HANCOCK’S HAT-Insight and detail add to the education into these fantastic characters that THE WAY THEY WERE provides.

NEW PULP ORGANIZES, EXPANDS AND TAKES OFF RUNNING!

  • News
  • July 29, 2011

Readers of ALL PULP saw it announced here first.  An initiative to bring creators and publishers of what many consider the modern version of Pulp fiction together under one banner, a branding plan that would make Pulp publishers and creators easily identifiable, regardless if it was a Western pulp tale or a sci fi pulp opus, something that would link these various modern Pulpsters together.  A way to advertise, to unite, to push what Pulp is today without concerns of competition, sales, and who writes what for who.  A true recognition of ‘If it helps one of us, it can help all of us.’ that was first expressed in a statement on ALL PULP and not only gained quick support, but led to a brand that is now sported on books from various publishers, including Moonstone, Airship 27, Pro Se Press, Pulpwork Press, and others.  A brand and an idea that has grown quickly into a Movement.

New Pulp.

newpulplogo-1709399

In an effort to capitalize on the support and involvement New Pulp has garnished since the man who initiated the organization of the Movement, Tommy Hancock, announced it, Hancock announces today a next step in the evolution of New Pulp.  While in many ways nothing will change, in other areas, improvements are being made and plans moving forward to insure that the New Pulp Movement isn’t just something among like minded fans, but a major part of literature and social consciousness.

“New Pulp is still New Pulp,” Hancock states, “just as it was outlined in my original statement and just as its sort of organically developed since then.   It’s that development, that growth, that has sort of spurred the next step.  We could let New Pulp basically remain this open source thing that just anybody can pick up and use as a brand on their products and have a ‘New Pulp’ project here and there and most likely it would limp along forever and be okay that way.  But that’s not what this whole thing was about, jsut sort of doing it halfway.  It’s about getting recognition for creators and publishers of modern Pulp.  It’s about increasing awareness, readership, and involvement in New Pulp, so creators can get their stories told, publishers and producers can get their product sold, and society as a whole can experience some of the best durned literature for the masses anyone could read.

“What’s going to be happening as far as the Movement is concerned is some extra hands have been brought on and given formal positions within New Pulp to help facilitate more exposure, more material, more chances for New Pulp and all of us involved to get noticed, and more ways to make any creator’s or publisher’s association with New Pulp a positive and successful experience.  One thing New Pulp is committing to is that New Pulp will attend all three major Pulp Cons next year-Pulp Ark (The only official New Pulp Convention’Conference), Windy City, and Pulpfest.  Also, since people pretty much have already been asking me before they can use the New Pulp logo, that’s a practice we’re going to formalize for a couple of reasons.  One, so we can keep up with everybody who is involved in New Pulp and two, so we can at least have a say in quality control and make sure that the New Pulp logo is being applied appropriately.  It’s still free and being a part of the whole New Pulp Movement still doesn’t require you to take on extra work (unless you want to help out) or to sign your first born away.   This is just part of the evolution.”

Provided below is the roster of Staff of the New Pulp Movement.  Hancock points out that, “This list is incomplete, although that’s only by one or two spots.  And there can be more of almost everything on here as well, so if you want to help out, we can put you somewhere.  But remember, even when we start selling merchandise or producing books or whatever, that money doesn’t go into anyone’s pockets.  It goes back into New Pulp or to a charity New Pulp has partnered with.”

newpulpsealcopy-9748674

NEW PULP STAFF-
Tommy Hancock-Coordinator
Megan Smith-Coordinator’s Assistant
Sean Ali-Design/Advertising
Barry Reese-Online Promotions
Joshua Reynolds-Recruitment
Derrick Ferguson-Recruitment
Andrew Salmon-Merchandising
Mike Bullock-Editor in Chief, www.newpulpfiction.com
Columns Editor – Hank Brown
Columnists –
Michael May “Pulptacular”
Jim Garrison “Pulp Magnet”
Sean Ellis – Title to be determined
Reviewers –
Andrew Salmon

The New Pulp Movement also has a Staff of Advisors, a board of three that will provide advice and insight to Hancock as needed and provide a vital support in that fashion.   Two of the three positions have been selected and accepted.

NEW PULP BOARD OF ADVISORS
Ron Fortier
Wayne Reinagel

“New Pulp is about the creators and publishers that make it up,” Hancock states.  “We’re just trying to make it something they benefit from and are glad they are a part of.”

Anyone interested in helping out with New Pulp or using the New Pulp logo can email Hancock at proseproductions@earthlink.net

The Un-Ethics of Watchmen, Part 1: A Bird’s-Eye View

  • News
  • March 2, 2009

drmanhattan-8414138Editor’s note: With the imminent release of Watchmen, we thought we’d try and get a different perspective. So we asked Alexandra Honigsberg, a professional ethicist and genre author, to read the book for the first time and delve into the ethos of the world created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

If super-hero comics are the literature of ethics, then Watchmen is the literature of un-ethics. It is the template for what not to do and makes Batman look like a Boy Scout, even at his darkest Dark Knight. They make Dirty Harry look clean. There’s a new saying on the street that Bitch is the New Black, it Gets Things Done. Well, these guys and gals are certainly the biatch. But is there any way to redeem their actions so that the ends justify the means? Or, more importantly, that even the most inhumane or inhuman retains some sense of what it means to be human?

The study of ethics is the exploration of the good life and how to live it. Now by the “good life” I don’t mean the bling life. I mean a life that is honourable, virtuous and, on a profound level not shaken by the winds of change, happy. Happiness (or pleasure or joy or The Good). That’s the end, the ultimate goal, or what Aristotle calls “that at which all rational beings aim.” Ari makes a fine distinction between the acts of a man (animal, non-rational) and the acts of a human (rational) or what some of us might term the mensch (gender neutral). One of the biggest invectives that Laurie hurls at Dr. Manhattan/Jon Osterman is that, after working for so long in the lab and being so all-powerful (the man not only to end all wars, but end all worlds), he ceases to be human. Moore emphasizes this with quotes from Nietzsche, who claims that when we become evolved enough we will not need rules, we will have become extra-moral – the superman (not the Nazis’ bastardization thereof) who has no need of ethics as we now know them. But are we still human? Extreme means change the agent and therefore change the end (e.g., The Comedian’s total amorality). Can we still give a damn if we’re all god-like? Or in the midst of so much horror that no human could reasonably be expected to survive unscarred (think of the Holocaust), are we still human? What’s human? What’s life? What’s good and who decides? Who gives authority to whom and why?

 

(more…)

‘Watchmen’ Atop Amazon Fiction Sales

  • News
  • July 28, 2008

watchmen-cover-2203991From a Wired article about the excessive success of this year’s Comic-Con is a little tidbit about the success of comics: Watchmen is now sitting at the top of Amazon’s fiction and literature sales list.

DC has been printing up copies like mad to meet the demand, which is of course churned up by the upcoming Zack Snyder film adaptation.

From the article:

Last week’s release of the movie’s trailer sent sales of a paperback collection of Alan Moore’s original Watchmen comics through the roof. The graphic novel now sits at the top of Amazon.com’s literature and fiction sales list.

"That’s never happened before," said DC’s Levitz. "We literally can’t print enough…. I don’t think we’ve been able to kill any more trees fast enough."

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