by Duane Spurlock
It’s time for The Pulp Rack's Eccentric Shopping List for 2008. (You can see my reasoning for providing the title's adjective in the first year's list by clicking here and last year's list by clicking here.) Certainly this list will say more about me and my particular interests than it may meet the desires of all other pulp readers. For that, it's probably not only eccentric but idiosyncratic, to boot. So not only will some readers dispute my choices, but others will simply scratch their heads. I’m just offering up a list of interesting items. I’m not saying these are the best or the must-haves. This isn’t a top 10 list. It’s simply a list.
That preamble ambulated, let’s jump in. Many of these items are listed on The Pulp Rack Book Rack, or are otherwise available from Amazon.com. One or two are available only from the publisher, and that is so noted.
Let’s start with reprint editions of classic pulp fiction.
Altus Press is bringing back into print in uniform editions a number of pulp character series. For our list, we have Secret Agent "X" -- The Complete Series: Volume 1, which includes four stories by fictioneer Paul Chadwick: "The Torture Trust," "The Spectral Strangler," "The Death-Torch Terror" and "Ambassador of Doom."
Altus Press also has packaged Thunder Jim Wade: The Complete Series by Henry Kuttner. These five stories – written about a heroic adventurer in the Doc Savage mold – first appeared in 1941 in Thrilling Adventures. These tales carry on the tradition of pulp heroics.
Haffner Press, ably guided by Stephen Haffner, continues to produce lovingly packaged volumes of classic SF from the giants of yesteryear. The Worlds of Jack Williamson: A Centennial Tribute (1908-2008) was published to commemorate Williamson’s 100th birthday. It’s a very nice compilation. As the publisher says, “Assembled in this centennial tribute are several unpublished stories: The Moon Bird, The Forbidden Window, The Golden Glass, and a film treatment from 1957, The Planets are Calling. Also included are several classics in the Williamson canon such as the original novella-length version of Darker Thank You Think; Minus Sign, an unreprinted seetee story of anti-matter and terraforming; and a tale with the first use of psionics, The Man from Outside. Contemporary stories include The Hole in the World, Afterlife, and The Luck of the Legion, the last Legion of Space adventure. Included are four essays from academics and scholars who have studied Williamson s works, as well as Dr. Williamson s 1957 Master s Thesis, A Study of the Sense of Prophecy in Modern Science Fiction. Fellow Grand Masters of science fiction Frederik Pohl and James Gunn provide introductory remarks on reading, knowing, collaborating with, and admiring Jack Williamson. Contents Academic Essays Alan C. Elms, PhD Darker Than He Thought: The Psychoanalysis of Jack Williamson Jack Williamson A Study of the Sense of Prophecy in Modern Science Fiction Tricentennial Century Alfred D. Stewart, PhD Jack Williamson: The Comedy of Cosmic Evolution Vicky Medley Queens of Space: Women in the work of Jack Williamson Richard A. Hauptmann Collecting Jack Williamson: Master of Wonder Fiction Classic Stories Darker Than You Think (1940) Minus Sign (1942) The Man from Outside (1951) Contemporary Stories The Humanoid Universe (1980) The Hole in the World (1997) Afterlife (2002) The Luck of the Legion (2002) New Unpublished Stories The Moon Bird (1929) The Forbidden Window (19??) The Golden Glass (1939) The Planets are Calling (1957) A Chrismas Carol (2000).”
John Locke’s Off Trail Publications also is dedicated to bringing back into print solid storytelling from the pulps. This outfit is represented here by Amazon Stories Volume 1: Pedro & Lourenço by Arthur O. Friel. This fictioneer was a reliable storyteller in many genres. This collection includes his first ten stories about these two characters from issue of Adventure magazine during 191 and 1920. The engrossing, suspenseful, and often violent, stories follow two rubber industry workers as they venture into the wildest, most inhospitable jungles on Earth. This is pulp adventure at its best. Also included is an in-depth examination of Arthur O. Friel, an enigmatic real-life explorer, and the roots of his Amazon stories.
The pulp publishers left no genre unexplored. That includes the crime genre. Off Trail also is reprinting the stories featuring Big Nose Serrano, starting with THE GANGLAND SAGAS OF BIG NOSE SERRANO Volume 1: DAMES, DICE AND THE DEVIL by Anatole Feldman and introduced by Will Murray. The first four Big Nose Serrano novels appeared in Gangster Stories issues during 1930 and 1931. They’ve never been reprinted since their original publication. Feldman established Serrano as one of the earliest adaptations of Cyrano de Bergerac, setting his hero in the Chicago of gangland times. He grew into a gangster of near-mythic proportions, inspiring to his Tommy gun toting followers, and feared by his mob enemies. But as violent and harrowing as his gangland conflicts became, he always kept a soft spot for a swell-looking frail.
We continue in the crime fiction genre with a double-novel flip book, Murder of the Admiral / Murder of the Pigboat Skipper: an Age of Aces Double by pulp fictioneer and Hollywood scripter Steve Fisher. These two tales feature Lieutenant Commander Sheridan Doome, whose adventures appeared as back-up tales in The Shadow magazine. Doome was chief detective for U.S. Naval Intelligence. Whenever an extraordinary mystery or crime occurred in the fleet, on a naval base, or anywhere the navy worked to protect American interests, Doome was immediately dispatched to investigate it. Fear and dread would always precede Doome’s arrival in his special black airplane. For, in an explosion during WWI, he had been monstrously disfigured. Much of his skin had been burned away, leaving his head and face an expressionless bone-white lump of scar tissue. But behind the ugliness was a brilliant mind. Sheridan Doome always got his man. Before Sheridan Doome became a staple in the pages of The Shadow, two Doome hardcover mysteries were written in the mid-1930s. Age of Aces now brings you both books in one double novel, presented in a retro "flip book" style.
Age of Aces also is dedicated to air aviation pulps. Chinese Brady: The Complete Adventures by C.M. Miller first appeared in Popular Publications' Battle Birds and Dare-Devil Aces from 1933 through 1940. For Chinese Brady, war and excitement were like bread and butter. He was known far and wide as a fierce warrior, a soldier of the world. And after almost twenty years of scrapping in every war and revolution, in every corner of the globe, Brady was going to finally fight under his own flag, as a Captain in the WWI American air force. But rank didn't matter to him. After all, he had been a Prime Minister in Abyssinia, a General in China, a Major in Honduras, a Chief of Staff in Mexico, and a buck private in Guatemala. What did matter was that he could now bring his savage skills to bear against Germany, to save Europe from the Kaiser and all his evil minions!
Anthony Tollin’s Nostalgia Ventures continues to release handsome volumes reprinting The Shadow and Doc Savage adventures with the original illustrations and additional essays. (Soon to come: a reprint series for The Avenger.) Here’s a great gift set for someone who would appreciate these volumes, but maybe they didn’t jump on the bandwagon with other happy fans: Complete sets of all the reprints for both series: The Shadow Collector Set-- Direct from Publisher Nostalgia Ventures, Inc. (The Shadow, Volumes 1-21) as by Maxwell Grant and Doc Savage Collector Set -- Direct from Publisher Nostalgia Ventures, Inc. (Doc Savage, Volumes 1-20) as by Kenneth Robeson. Who could resist all that crime-fighting excitement?
Dark Horse has been publishing reprints of Fritz Leiber’s great sword-and-sorcery stories about Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. These stories are classics of fantasy, and the first appeared in Unknown magazine in 1939. First first volume -- Swords And Deviltry – is a good place to start reading. For those already on the journey through Nehwon, the most recent release is Book 7: The Knight and Knave of Swords.
Tom Roberts’ Black Dog Books has for a number of years been returning to print some overlooked-but-deserving-attention stories. On the way are the first two volumes of a series reprinting Talbot Mundy’s magazine work, and we’re looking forward to those. But available now is THE GOOD DIE YOUNG—And Other Early Stories of Romance by that noir master, Cornell Woolrich. Edited and with an introduction by Gene Christie, this volume collects 35 stories by Woolrich. You can learn more about this title at http://www.blackdogbooks.net/catalog.0.html1.0.html and you can order it directly from Tom by emailing orders@blackdogbooks.net.
Now, how about some books featuring new stories that capture that classic pulp flavor?
Moonstone Books has demonstrated a love of pulp through its collection of prose stories featuring newspaper strip character The Phantom and magazine hero The Spider. This year the company has brought us anthologies of new stories for two great pulp-born characters: The Avenger and Zorro. Authors for The Avenger Chronicles include Matthew Baugh, Tom DeFalco, Win Eckert, Joe Gentile, Clay and Susan Griffith, Ron Goulart, CJ Henderson, Howard Hopkins, Paul Kupperberg, Max McCoy, Will Murray, Mel Odom, Gary Phillips, Martin Powell, Robert Randisi, James Reasoner, Richard Dean Starr, & Dan Wickline. Authors for Tales of Zorro include Max Allan Collins, Greg Cox, A.C. Crispin, Peter David, Loren D. Estleman, and Ed Gorman, as well as Jan Adkins, Robin Wayne Bailey, Matthew Baugh, Mike Bullock, Terry Butler, Robert Greenberger, Nancy Holder, Doug Klauba, Tim Lasiuta, Andy Mangels, Jeff Mariotte, Michael A. Martin, Elizabeth Massie, Robert Morrish, Kathleen O'Malley, Ruben Procopio, Jean Schanberger, & Richard Dean Starr.
New tales of Secret Agent X by Sean Ellis, Kevin Noel Olson, G.L. Gick & B.C. Bell are featured in this Volume 2 from Cornerstone Book Publishers and Airship 27 Productions. This is a new edition of this title. Airship 27 and Cornerstone also are behind the return of pulp hero Captain Hazzard, whose fourth adventure – The Cavemen of New York – was released this year, written by Ron Fortier. And a brand-new, pulp-inspired series – the Ghost Squad – launched with Rise of the Black Legion, written by Fortier and Andrew Salmon.
Sherlock Holmes wasn’t born in the pulps, but he certainly influenced a lot of pulp characters. Capturing the spirits of Holmes and the pulps are the eleven stories featured in Gaslight Grimoire: Fantastic Tales of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Jeff Campbell and Charles Prepolec. Authors for this volume include Barbara Hambly, Kim Newman, Barbara Roden, Bob Madison, Christopher Sequeira, Chris Roberson, and Peter Calamai.
Charles Ardai, publisher for the Hard Case Crime imprint, has a soft spot in his heart for the pulps – even though the focus of his books is hard boiled. But the boom of the paperback originals grew from the fall of the pulp magazines. Ardai revels in the heyday of the paperback book with a new release – Hard Case Crime’s 50th book -- Fifty-to-One, written by Ardai. Each chapter is titled for one of the imprint’s 49 preceding books. The premise for the novel? “What if, instead of having been founded 50 books ago, Hard Case Crime had been founded 50 years ago, by a rascal out to make a quick buck off the popularity of pulp fiction? Such a fellow might make a few enemies—especially after publishing a supposed non-fiction account of a heist at a Mob-run nightclub, actually penned by an 18-year-old showgirl. With both the cops and the crooks after them, our heroes are about to learn that reading and writing pulp novels is a lot more fun than living them.”
Now, let’s turn to that very important realm of pulp research.
The always-surprising Jess Nevins has compiled Pulp Magazine Holdings Directory: Library Collections in North America and Europe. Ever wondered where you might find library holdings for some of your favorite pulp magazines? This work is a comprehensive index of American pulp magazines. Entries are organized alphabetically by magazine title, and offer bibliographic data including author, volume/issue numbers, dates of publication, publisher, and a brief categorization. Each entry also includes a helpful list of current library holdings, if any, among American, Canadian, and European libraries.
Another look at Sherlock Holmes: If you love detective fiction, and want to know more about the Great Detective who influenced so many pulp characters, you deserve to investigate The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Leslie S. Klinger. This two-volume set gathers all the short stories Doyle wrote about his creation, includes voluminous annotations for each, and provides interesting and insightful original essays that reveal backstory and historical details. Klinger also has published a third volume that collects and annotates the Holmes novels Doyle wrote.
The Holmes volumes have been out awhile. But released in time for Halloween this year was The New Annotated Dracula, also by Leslie S. Klinger. As with the Holmes stories, Klinger pulls in the reader – much as Phil Farmer did with Tarzan Alive! – by treating Stoker’s novel as nonfiction: real events happening to real persons. After a brief preface in which he explains his trick, Klinger’s edition becomes a surreal treat, exploiting the 'real-life' flavor of the book’s succession of journal entries and letters.
As noted above, you can find The Book Rack by clicking here. By purchasing through The Pulp Rack's Book Rack -- or by purchasing some other item during the same Amazon session -- you'll drop a few pennies into the Pulp Rack's piggy bank and help defray its online expenses, for which I thank you.
Best holiday wishes!
Posted by ds at November 23, 2008 05:08 PM
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