AIRSHIP’S LATEST RELEASE DEBUTS! GHOST BOY!
Everyone has secrets. The thing is, secrets want to be told. The level of intimacy we have with another person is reflected by the number of secrets we share with them.
There are many different levels of secrets. Some would seem mundane – your name, for example. Unless you’re wearing a name tag, a stranger won’t know it. You have to choose to share it and there are occasions when you wouldn’t or would only give your first name or maybe even a name that isn’t your own. In the latest Star Trek film, Uhura doesn’t give James T. Kirk her full name. In the same movie, a young and defiant James Tiberius Kirk gives a police officer (policebot?) his full name. Both are choices that say something of the character.
There are other levels of secrets, some mundane, some deeper. Boy meets girl. Boy wants girl’s phone number (or vice versa). At the moment the question is asked, the answer is a secret. A decision is made to share it or not. I have known many ladies not always eager to share that phone number with me and some with whom I did not want to share mine. Sometimes you can tell crazy pretty quick.
There are deeper levels of secrets. Your address, are you in a relationship, your social security number, your password on different sites. There are secrets you share with your friends but maybe not your family and vice versa. There are secrets you share only with your best friends or with that one special person. There are secrets you share with no one, keeping them to yourself. There are secrets, truths about you, that you keep even from yourself.
In writing, secrets can be powerful tools for creating and understanding a character. There are all kinds of secrets, great and small, that will help you define the character for yourself and your readers.
Secrets can also define the plot. Who does a character choose to tell what secret and when? Most important, was it as good idea? We have all chosen to share something with someone and it turned out to be a bad idea. If that’s true for you, it’s true for your character. Ever hear something that you labeled TMI – Too Much Information? The character being told the secret may have the same reaction. How do you feel when you’ve told a secret and turned out to be TMI for the person hearing it? Awkward? Embarrassed? Or were you oblivious to it?
The reverse can be true as well. Should a secret have been told at a given moment and wasn’t? What effect does that have on the characters and the plot? What opportunities may have been missed? We all know moments like that in our own lives; what is true for us should also be true for our characters.
Why was the secret told or not told? Why was that moment chosen to tell or not tell? What was the character trying to get or achieve by telling it? Why did they not choose to tell a secret at the right moment? Fear? Fear of what? These all define a character.
Was telling the secret to a given person/character a good idea? Again, think of your own life. Did you ever share something with someone and later wished you hadn’t? When reading a story or watching a movie or TV show or a play, did you even hear a character tell a secret to another character and wince, knowing it was a bad idea even if the character didn’t yet know it?
There’s also telling someone else’s secret. Sometimes it’s a betrayal; sometimes it’s necessity. Which is it and, again, why did the character choose to share that secret at that moment and with whom? Why would you?
In writing, in life, secrets tell us a lot about someone. Knowing them is powerful. We never, however, can or should know all the secrets of a person or a character. As writer, I often know more about the character than I share with a reader. There should always be a bit of mystery, a secret not yet shared hiding within us, within the character.
It comes down to trust. You have to trust in order to share. Sometimes that trust is misplaced and sometimes it’s not. All that drives story – our own or in the stories we create.
MONDAY MORNING: Mindy Newell
TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten
Art: Joe DeVito |
New Pulp Author Jim Beard reviews Altus Press’ Doc Savage “Skull Island” novel by New Pulp Author Will Murray.
DOC SAVAGE: SKULL ISLAND
A review by Jim Beard
If you’re like me, you probably wondered what exactly we’d be getting in the new Doc Savage novel, SKULL ISLAND, it being both a Doc story featuring King Kong and a way to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of both legendary creations. Well, after reading the book, I’m happy to report that author Will Murray’s put some definite heart and soul into it and crafted what is now my most favorite of the recent “Wild Adventures of Doc Savage” series of novels.
But, that said, it’s different from just about any other Doc book you’ve ever read, something we’re clued in on by the “Will Murray” byline and the absence of the traditional “Kenneth Robeson” house name.
For me, the story was literally one that I didn’t want to put down; it’s that engaging. It begins at the end, right after Kong’s infamous nosedive off the Empire State Building, which leads directly to Doc’s involvement – or, rather, his telling of a tale to his aides of when he first met the giant simian. Yes, the great majority of the novel is a flashback to Doc Savage’s early days and therein is found its fascinating core. In essence, what we have here is the heretofore Secret Origin of Doc Savage.
Doc and his father – yes, you read that right; his father – head off on a quest for Doc’s grandfather, Stormalong Savage, which takes them into strange waters and exotic climes…and ultimately Skull Island. There they run afoul of enemies of many different stripes and discover wonders beyond their imagining. And a humongous ape-like “god-beast” called Kong.
Murray’s defining of the relationship here between Clark Senior and Clark Junior is practically worth the price of admission alone. This is a young Doc, fresh out of World War I and not exactly the bronze hero of the pulp adventures we know so well, and it’s with that admission that I can see some potential backlash with diehard Doc fans. This is a Doc who has not quite found his mission in life yet, nor honed all his skills and formed his famous tenets – most especially the rule against killing. This Doc kills and kills in often savage ways, which at points drenches the narrative in a bloodbath that may even disturb some readers. But, and it’s important to point this out, there’s a method behind Murray’s seeming madness – it all leads to something and something significant, namely the forging of the Doc Savage of the famous pulp adventures. And Murray does this all with style and careful thought and exciting imagery and action.
One of the things I loved about this novel is its use of language, precisely that which flies back and forth between elder and younger Savage in many bouts of witty verbal “fencing.” Will Murray has obviously crafted all his Doc books with care, but in SKULL ISLAND I believe I saw even more attention to detail, to dialogue, to atmosphere and to adventure. The story moves right along, only slightly bogging down a bit past its mid-section, and really defines the term “page turner.” Murray gives this one his best and finest and the book benefits from that in ways too numerous to list.
As I said before, this is a story of origins. Here we learn the origin of Doc’s trilling, of his disdain of guns and his inexhaustible search for knowledge, even the origin of the Hidalgo Trading Co. hanger. We also discover more information on the Savage family then we’ve ever had revealed to us before and hints of not only some of Doc’s other early adventures – did you know he was on the Titanic? – but also those of his father and grandfather, both famous explorers in their own right. Heck, we even hear about Doc’s uncle, another adventurer in the family. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the author is suggesting here that readers might care to hear more of these adventures, as separate works.
But, again, it’s the relationship between father and son that really stands out in the novel, one that careens between dysfunctional and loving, and it’s that which will stay with me for some time to come. In fact, knowing the fate of Clark Savage Senior in 1933’s MAN OF BRONZE will perhaps add another layer of pathos to your reading of SKULL ISLAND.
And, oh yes, King Kong is here, too. You will discover much more about his origins, also, as well as Skull Island’s original inhabitants. And that’s all fascinating as well. Dinosaur fans will especially have reason to love this book. Kong and his environs are not given short shrift in the slightest; the King looms over this book with all the weight and gravity he deserves.
In all, I’m a richer pulp fan for having read SKULL ISLAND. Will Murray takes our expectations and delivers upon them while still striking off on his own path, assembling a story that will please both Savage and Kong aficionados and remind us all just how cool pulp can be. There’s heart and soul here, like I said, and I for one can’t quite see how Murray will manage to top this one….but I know he will, somehow.
Get this book and settle in for a trip to the South Seas and beyond, Savage style.
Reviews help us in a couple of ways. First, we get an idea of what you enjoyed or thought needed improvement about the product. This helps Radio Archives continually improve and provide you with the best quality possible.
Also, reviews let others know what their fellow customers think. Your opinion of a radio set, eBook or an audiobook means more to other shoppers than any words we could write. They get a better idea of the experience someone else had with Radio Archives collections or books. Each time you leave a review, a star ranking appears by the name of the product on our site. That lets customers browsing know at a glance that that item has been reviewed.
Regardless of the product, you can leave a review for it at Radio Archives. Click on the product you want to review. Go to the bottom of that product page and click ‘Be the First to Write a Review’ or ‘Write A Review’. Type in your opinion and then post it for others to take advantage of while shopping Radio Archives!
Let everyone know what you think of Radio Archives products and be a part of what we do by leaving reviews! Thank you for your continued support!
Lovely Tess knew that big ranches weren’t built on promises and moonlight kisses. She wanted her future safe-guarded against the ravages of wild range life — and she poured her whole heart into that kiss she gave Dusty, a kiss meaning… good-by! One of the most popular settings for romance stories was the old west, where men were men and women were women. As many a swooning damsel could attest, “There’s something about a cowboy.” The western romance became one of the most popular types of magazines sold during the early and mid-twentieth century. $0.99.
The pulp era’s legendary superman returns in two action-packed novels by Alan Hathway and Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, the Man of Bronze confronts the deadly menace of The Headless Men, decapitated zombies commanded by a mad genius in the landmark 100th Doc Savage novel. Then, in his first solo adventure, a disguised Doc Savage travels to King Joe Cay to infiltrate a gang of schemers. This double-novel collector’s edition features the original color pulp covers by Emery Clarke and Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of ten Doc Savage novels. $14.95.
It all starts with Wally Drillick, a smooth operator who spends his leisure hours in smart night clubs and high-priced taprooms. He’s been hired by Duke Unrig, a big-time crime boss, to pilfer the Melrue jewels. But The Shadow is on the job, guarding the jewels.
What we know, although The Shadow hasn’t learned yet, is that Duke Unrig insured his crime. If the robbery is thwarted, he receives payment from a mysterious insurance company. Also, while all this has been going on, a mysterious figure has been watching. This mysterious figure has identified three of The Shadow’s secret agents. Yes, one by one, the agents of The Shadow are being revealed to a thin, stooped figure who hides in the shadows. And finally, Lamont Cranston is revealed as The Shadow. Even the location of The Shadow’s sanctum is discovered!
The mastermind behind Crime, Insured now knows The Shadow’s agents, The Shadow’s sanctum and The Shadow’s disguise. And that means it’s time to attack. Attack the one man who stands to thwart crime, and cause Crime, Insured to pay out on its insurance policies. Without The Shadow, the company fortunes will soar.
Nearly all of The Shadow’s agents appear in this story. Criminologist Slade Farrow shows up along with his assistant Tapper, whose expertise at picking a lock is second only to The Shadow. Giant African Jericho Druke is another reserve agent who appears. Doctor Rupert Sayre joins in to assist with some radio direction finding tasks.
The New York Police is represented by Commissioner Ralph Weston and ace inspector Joe Cardona. Both get small parts, but don’t get to do much. Still, it’s nice to see them included here.
Finally, as I read this story, it occurred to me that there is another of The Shadow’s agents that we always seem to forget. He’s that unnamed announcer at radio station WNX who reads The Shadow’s coded messages over the air, and emphasizes certain words to indicate the secret message. Who is he? What’s his name? We are never told. But I would like to know more about this unsung agent.
This story is one of the pivotal ones in the saga of The Shadow. Only one other time, in the entire run of the magazine stories, was The Shadow’s sanctum invaded. Read as The Shadow battles the boldest and most amazing racket in the history of modern crime, and nearly loses his entire organization in the bargain. Get ‘Crime Insured’ and another classic Shadow novel in The Shadow Volume 1. Double Novel reprint $12.95
Jim Anthony meets Dillon!
Get ready for grandest over-the-top pulp adventure of them all by Joshua Reynolds and Derrick Ferguson.
Coming later this year – An Airship 27 & Pulp Work Press presentation you do not want to miss – THE VRIL AGENDA!!
Keep watching All Pulp for more details as they become available.
The other week on my podcast
And while I could spend the entirety of this column discussing why Geoff Johns’ name no longer comes with the reverence and respect it once did from me, I choose to digress to a more optimistic topic. With Johns and his entire GL crew stepping away, it will soon be time for new creative teams to grab the reigns of DC’s biggest B-lister and his C and D-list cohorts. And with that comes major cosmic boots to fill. Consider this my open letter to those new teams: reportedly, Peter Tomasi on the lead Green Lantern title, Joshua Hale Fialkov on Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns, possibly Robert Venditti or Justin Jordan on New Guardians, and Keith Giffen on Threshold. Please note: I write on Tuesdays for my column on Saturday, but all of this unsolicited advice still applies to those who actually land the jobs.
Before you new people even open up a blank word document to scribble down thoughts and ideas, go pick up Mark Waid’s Daredevil run over at Marvel. Now read it. Now read it again. Waid, in his own right, may be one of the most prolific and amazing writers in contemporary comicsdom. I asked that you pick up his DD run not only because it’s amazing but because it followed Brian Michael Bendis’ run, which lasted about a decade if I’m not mistaken. Waid proved that even with that much narrative weight attached to a character, he could find a fresh perspective and new legs. And he did it in spades.
Now that you’ve seen that it can be done, it’s time for you to do it yourself. Realize above all else that the issues and events before your run must inspire you, not weigh you down. Bendis drug Matt Murdoch to hell several times over. Waid took that and found a way to flip it. So too, will you have to do the same with the entirety of DC’s cosmic comics. But to be fair? If nothing else, Geoff Johns built you an entire universe to play in.
Over nine years Johns took a single Green Lantern – Kyle Rayner – forgot him, and in his place built an entire emotional spectrum of warring aliens. He reignited the Green Lantern Corps. He created depth with villains (who have since had a slight change of heart) like Sinestro and Atrocitus. He created mystery with Larfleeze, and the Indigo Tribe. He created the Blue Lanterns, who up ‘til this point were essentially hero support from D&D. He granted Krona his own epic end. He retconned in an entirely new origin for the Guardians. He even made another new Earth Lantern (who I’ll mention is totally not a terrorist). It’s easy to see how anyone walking into all of this might be overwrought by this newfound continuity. Where does one even begin?
If it’s not already clear to you: consider working a year (or more, Rao willing) without an event. Is it even possible? I beg of you to look to the past. Comics, albeit serialized soaps for teens and wish-they-were-still-teens, were born in an era where complete thoughts could be told in a single floppy issue. And while I’ve explored both the good and the bad of today’s modern “write for the trade” era writing styles, suffice to say after nine years of nothing but event-driven drama for my favorite sect of mainstream comic books? My white flag has been flying since the new 52 graced my longboxes.
At the core of every great run on comic books these days, comes a commonality of concept. I cite Grant Morrison or Scott Snyder’s runs on Batman, Jonathan Hickman’s run on Fantastic Four and FF, Bendis’ run on Ultimate Spider-Man, or Matt Fraction’s run on Invincible Iron Man or his current run on Hawkeye. With each of these books (and a few other fine examples I’m missing), the creators all present a singular vision of the hero and their world. They start from a seed, and grow their own microverses within their respective issues. And in each of these cases, they take into account the continuity that occurred before them, but choose to move past it. Our past informs who we are, but it doesn’t need to be what keeps up from moving forward. So too, are our heroes of pulp and paper.
A lesser set of writers would take the last scenes of however Johns and company ends their books and emulate where they thought they were going. But you, new creative teams… will do better. You will find the essence of your respective lanterns, and will build your own bold direction. You will celebrate nine years of new ideas with years of your own. You will refrain from creating more secrets hidden in lost continuity. You will refrain from crossing over the books because one of you had a great idea that needs everyone else in the pool. You will find ways to use heroes and villains that already exist, or create new ones that help elevate your stories. You will not feel the need to end every major arc with Hal (or John, or Guy, or Kyle, or Not Terrorist) reciting the oath and blasting something to oblivion. You will not give Kyle Rayner another new costume. You will not make John Stewart blow up another planet. You will not play emotional footsie between Hal and Carol.
You will go boldly where no one has gone before. And if you’re worth your salt, you’ll earn my subscription back.
Sunday: John Ostrander
Monday: Mindy Newell
It’s a little bit of sports, a little bit of science fiction and all action. SyFy is set to debut ROBOT COMBAT LEAGUE with man-controlled machines battling to survive. Series host (and WWE Superstar) Chris Jericho, explains why the new reality show is really a wave of the future. Plus Valiant offers a comic book bargain, and everyone on the net is asking Who Is Writing GREEN LANTERN?
Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
God bless the deranged maniacs at the Warner Archives and their desire to not let anything be forgotten. As part of their exponentially-growing manufacture on demand DVD program, they’ve added to their already impressive list of animated releases with a 2-disc release of Hanna-Barbera’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley.
Featuring a mini-reunion of the SCTV gang, the series features Martin in the titular (a word you want to hear more often, and so seldom do) role, with Andrea Martin and Catherine O’Hara, with Joe Flaherty reprising his SCTV creation Count Floyd. Jonathan Winters rounded out the crew, adding in his comedy genius.
The comparison to Pee-Wee is easy to make on the surface, but at its base, Ed’s show was a surreal take on a sitcom, as opposed to the kids show parody of Mr. Herman. Ed has no desire to find adventures; he’s more than happy practicing his triangle and enjoying the company of his neighbors at the palatial Freebus Arms. But adventure seeks him out, and before you can say “Uncle Balfour’s favorite Mantovani record” he’s running n a horse race or getting a new identity after testifying in a robbery trial or being whisked to Kansas via a hurricane.
Ed Grimley was one of the last shows made at Hanna-Barbera before their purchase by Turner, and was one of its last truly original works. With character work and story direction by Scott Shaw! the show had a unique voice that stood above the sadly dying world of Saturday Morning cartoons. It’s popped back up on Cartoon Network on occasion, but thanks to Warner Archives, fans can get their triangle on whenever they please.
The 2-disc set is available from The Warner Brothers Shop.
1. In a move that reminds absolutely everyone of Dick Tracy, Apple may be developing the twenty-first century version of the two-way wrist radio. This would be a flexible all-class device that one would wear on the wrist. There is speculation the screen would be 1.5 inches in diameter.
I hate this idea. I can barely type on the keyboard of my phone with two thumbs. There is no way I could tap out anything even vaguely intelligible on my wrist with one hand. There is only a slightly larger chance that I would be able to read anything on a screen that small, so I guess that would limit the amount to typing I would need to do.
There is apparently an entire department at Apple that is developing wearable computers. The article alludes to the possibility of Apple sunglasses as well.
My first reaction was to get excited, because I would look much cooler in sunglasses, and also, Neuromancer. However, the more I think about it, the more I think it’s either a bad idea, or requires more refinement. I mean, it’s difficult enough to walk a city sidewalk now, when the multitudes are so engrossed with looking at their phones that they walk into traffic. And they have to actually take their phones out of their pockets and hold them in their hands to look at those screens. With glasses, even that little bit of effort is superfluous. As you walk down the sidewalk (or, God forbid, drive your car) you won’t be able to tell who is or isn’t paying attention.
We’re all doomed.
At least, with a watch, there’s the possibility of fighting crime.
2). Those of you who keep track of my every utterance may remember how appalled I was last year when the editorial brain trust at DC Comics decided that super-powered female lizards have breasts
http://www.comicmix.com//columns/2012/03/23/martha-thomases-what-would-women-worldkillers-wear/. For one thing, I kept formulating a joke in my head (“Like tits on a lizard, these are the Days of Our Lives“) that no one would understand anymore.
But, mostly, it upsets me that purportedly adult humans either know nothing about human biology or think the customers who pay their salaries are stupid tools who are easily manipulated. Both of these alternatives fill me with despair.
And this week, as I read my DC Comics, I was let down in exactly this way by a few books I normally enjoy.
The first was the end of the “Rot World” storyline, taking place in the #17 issues of Animal Man and Swamp Thing. Our title heroes and their allies are fighting creatures who have been overtaken by The Rot, so that they are desiccated zombies or monsters. Among the zombies are Superman and Wonder Woman. They are skeletal, except for Superman’s enormous muscles, and Wonder Woman’s muscular arms and giant breasts.
It makes no sense whatsoever for Wonder Woman to have a body that indicates she has no fat, but the gigantic breasts belie that. I suppose it’s possible that her breasts are full of pus, which would be scary, but also disturbing.
And then, in Dial H for Hero #9, the woman with a dial turns into a Minotaura, a female minotaur. She is covered with hair, has horns on her head, again with the exaggerated musculature, and again with ginormous boobies.
Think about it. A minotaur, half man and half bull. The female version would be half woman, half cow. No horns. And, if mammary glands, just as likely to be an udder as breasts.
Consider the possibilities of the super-powered udder. There could be jet-propelled milk, used to knock opponents off balance. A full udder is heavy, and an empty one could be flexible. It would be awesome.
But it wouldn’t give the fanboys boners, so I guess it’s not to be.
I await the Apple computer that gets built into bras.
SATURDAY: Marc Alan Fishman
SUNDAY: John Ostrander