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From: michaelb@cse.fau.edu (Michael Rogero Brown) Newsgroups: alt.pulp Subject: alt.pulp FAQ Message-ID: <1993Jan19.225309.1766@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> Date: 19 Jan 93 22:53:09 GMT Organization: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA Lines: 544

ALT.PULP FACT LIST

version 0.9.5

last updated: Oct 14, 1992

:: New Information this version:

This is the unofficial alt.pulp FACT list. I am still working on it. Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated. While pulp magazines covered a wide variety of genres, this faq (and I think alt.pulp) is more interested in the hero/character pulps. [but if you want to post other pulp stuff to alt.pulp feel free]

* What are pulp magazines? * Are there any equivalents to pulps today? * What were the major pulp publishers and what hero pulps did they publish? * Who are some of the major pulp characters? * info on the Shadow * info on Doc Savage * info on the Avenger * info on the Spider * info on G-8 * others (Black Bat, Phantom Dick, Secret Agent X, Operator 5, "yellow-menace" villain pulps, Dr Death, Whisperer, Captain Future, et al) * Do indexes for these characters exist on-line? * Have pulp heroes made any impact on popular culture? * Have there been attempts to do modern-day pulp-style characters? * What is PJ Farmer's Wold Newton Family? * Are there any books on pulps? * Are there any pulp fanzines? * Are there any pulp conventions?

Q: What are pulp magazines?

A: Pulp magazines were cheap magazines that existed from the turn of the century to the early 50s. They were called "pulp" because they were printed on pulp paper, the cheapest paper available. You could see the bits of wood in the paper. The edges of the magazines where ragged and the covers where printed on slick papers with colorful covers. In terms of literary quality, they were at the bottom of the rung. Many well-known (and respected) authors got their start writing for the pulps. Many of the respected authors of science-fiction, fantasy, horror, crime/detective, westerns, and general fiction started off in the pulps. These include authors like ER Burroughs of "Tarzan" fame, HP Lovecraft, Robert Block of "Psycho", Asimov, Robert Heinlein et al, Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane, Louis L'Amour, John D MacDonald, and many, many others. The term "pulp" refers not just to the paper of the magazines, but to the style of writing prevalent. There were pulp paper magazines that are not "pulps" and there are "pulps" that were printed on slick paper.

Pulp magazines covered many different genres. In addition to those publishing stories in general there were many which focused on a specific type. There were: crime/mystery/detective, war, love, science-fiction, horror, adult, sports, westerns, air stories and so on. There were a variety of short-lived magazines that had 'unusual' topics like pirates, firefighters, zepplins, civil war, submarines, etc. There where about 1300 different titles, with crime/mystery being about the largest with 180 titles.

Each issue was full of stories, usually consisting of a novel and filled out with several shorter stories. Pseudonyms were prevalent so a given issue might have a majority of stories written by the same person, but because of the use of pseudonyms and the fact that most writers were able to use different styles, the reader would be unaware of this. There was a 'rule' whereby if a author had more then one story in an issue, only one would appear under his real name.

One of the major contribution of pulps was the genre called "character pulps", or 'hero-pulps' which focused on a single set of heroes like the Shadow, Doc Savage, the Spider, etc. "Character pulps" themselves had several sub-genres. There were the "Yellow Menace" style pulps inspired by Fu Manchu. There were the "Masked Detective" group including Phantom Detective and Black Bat. These were a continuation of the dime-novel heroes of the turn of the century. And it is these that I think most of the readers of alt.pulp are interested in.

Q: Are there any equivalents to pulps today?

A: Yes, they're called "paperback adventure series". Seriously, paperbacks fill the same niche as the old pulp magazines. Just as the old pulp writers hoped to `move up' to slick magazines and original books, most paperback novelists hope to move up to original hardback books. In particular the paperback series like the Executioner, Nick Carter (a revival of sorts of the pulp and dime novel character), the Destroyer, the Penetrator, et al. are similar in many way to the old pulp character magazines. Of course, these numbered adventure series would never have happened if Bantam's reprint series of Doc Savage and the new Nick Carter series had failed.

In fact, Will Murray, the new Kenneth Robeson, is the current writer of the Destroyer series.

Q: Who were the major pulp publishers and their hero pulps?

A: There were 4 'major' publishers of hero pulps, Street & Smith, Popular, Standard/Better (Thrilling), and Magazine Pub/Periodical House (Ace). They all published several well known pulp heroes. There were other pulp houses who also tried their hand at a hero/villain pulp series. The others didn't last long. The series from the "Big 4" are:

Street & Smith

Avenger (1939-42, 24 issues, plus 6 more short stories, plus 12 new novels in 74/75) Doc Savage (1933-49, 181 issues, plus 6 new novels with more coming !) The Shadow (1931-49, 325 issues, plus 9 new novels in the '60s) The Skipper/Cap'n Fury (??) Whisperer (2 magazine runs and as back up series in Shadow; 1936-37, 14 issues, 25 in Shadow, 1940-42, 10 issues) Wizard/Cash Gorman (1940-41, 6 issues)

Popular (and its affiliates)

Captain Combat (1940, 3 stories) Captain Satan (1938, 5 issues) Captain V (1942/43, 7 stories) Captain Zero (1949-50, 3 issues, 2 'lost' stories) Dr. Yen Sin (1936, 3 issues) Dusty Ayres & His Battle Aces (1934-35, 12 issues) G-8 & His Battle Aces (1933-44, 110 issues) Mysterious Wu Fang (1935/36, 7 issues) Octopus/Scorpion (1939, 1 issue each) Operator 5 (1934-39, 48 issues) Secret Six (1934/35, 4 issues) Spider (1933-43, 118 issues)

Thrilling (Standard/Better Publications)

Black Bat (1939-53, 62 novels) Captain Future (1940-51, 27 stories) Captain Danger (1940-43, 10 stories) Crimson Mask (1940-44, 15 stories) Ghost/Green Ghost (1940-44, 14 stories) Masked Detective (1940-44, 13 stories) Phantom Detective (1933-53, 170 issues)

Ace (Magazine Pub/Periodical House)

Captain Hazzard (1938, 1 issue) Moon Man (1933-36, 39 stories) Secret Agent X (1934-39, 41 issues)

Q: What are some of the major pulp characters?

A: The Shadow - The first of the hero pulps. The Shadow began as a radio narrator who read stories from S&S Detective Story Magazine. When people started asking for 'that Shadow magazine' Street & Smith realized they had better publish one before someone else did. They enlisted author Maxwell Grant to write the stories. Grant had plans for a mystery crime fighter and he turned this into the Shadow. The magazine was planned at first to be a quarterly, but almost immediately became a monthly and soon bi-monthly.

The Shadow was a mysterious crime fighter with a cadre of loyal aides. The real name of the Shadow would only later be revealed to be Kent Allard, WWI ace and spy. Lamont Cranston was merely a disguise for the Shadow, as revealed in the second novel.

< section under construction >

Q: Do indexes exist for these characters on-line?

A: Yes and No. A few months back Nick Sauer and myself put together several files containing the index for most of the hero pulps. At present they include: The Avenger, Black Bat, Captain Future, Doc Savage (2 files), G-8, Moon Man, Nick Carter, Operator 5, Phantom Detective, Secret Agent X, The Shadow (2 files), Spider, Whisperer. There is a set of 5 files containing most of the minor hero/villain pulps and another containing Weird Heroes, an attempt at creating a modern paperback hero-pulp anthology.

The indexes include volume and issue numbers, authors, date of publication, paperback reprints, and comic book, radio, movie, and other book appearances of the characters. These indexes came from information in Weinburg's _Hero-Pulp Index_ and have been updated with more recent works.

I plan on putting together a file containing the Shadow radio episodes sometime in the future.

I have posted these files occasionally to alt.pulp. I would like to have these files available on an anonymous ftp site, but do not know how to do this. I will email them to anyone who wants them.

Q: Have pulp heroes made any impact on popular culture?

A: Yes, but to a great extent most people don't realize it. Who hasn't heard of the phrases "The weed of crime bears bitter fruit, crime does not pay, the Shadow Knows!" or "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow Knows!" which come from the widely popular Shadow radio show? For the most part the pulp heroes influenced other characters who became much more popular. Batman was influenced quite a bit by Zorro, the Shadow, and Doc Savage, all pulp heroes. Doc Savage had a great influence on Superman. During the 50s a great deal of ideas from Doc was added to Superman. Superman got an Arctic Fortress of Solitude (just like Doc), he got a superpowered cousin (just like Doc), and so on. Much of the gadgetry of James Bond, Man from UNCLE, et al was done before by Doc.

Comic book heroes started off being influenced by the pulps before they went in their own directions. A pulp-influenced comic character would be one who wore ordinary clothes such as a fedora and overcoat (no matter how colorful) vs. some kind of skin-tight spandex outfit and would be better than average person as opposed to a superhuman. Some examples of pulp-influenced comic characters are the DC's Dr. Occult and the original Sandman (who wore a green suit, purple cape, and orange fedora with a weird gas-mask).

Q: Have there been attempts to do new pulp-style hero characters?

A: There have been a few attempts at doing original pulp-style characters in books, comics, and movies with limited success. Ones I am aware of are: (NOTE: These are original characters, not adaptations of classic pulp characters. This rules out stuff like Conan movies, Doc comics, etc.)

BOOKS: Buckaroo Banzai novelization(Earl Mac Rauch)- contains info on character left out in the movie.

Lin Carter- Prince Zarkon of the Unknown Series 1. Nemesis of Evil 2. Invisible Death 3. Volcano Ogre 4. Earth-Shaker 5. Horror Wears Blue 6. Moon Menace (not yet published)

An Avenger/Doc style character with aides. Most novels have cameos of pulp characters.

Frank Dille & David Marconi- Agent 13 series 1. The Midnight Avenger 2. Serpentine Assassins 3. Acolytes of Darkness

Indian Jones novels series by Rob MacGregor IJ & the Peril at Delphi IJ & the Dance of the Giants IJ & the Seven Veils IJ & the Genesis Deluge IJ & the Unicorn's Legacy IJ & the Interior World

New novels on this movie serial/pulp mag -style character.

Dr. Bones series from Byron Priess Visual Productions 1. The Secret of the Loma (Stephen Leigh) 2. The Cosmic Bomber (William F. Wu) 3. Garukan Blood (Thomas Wilde) 4. The Dragons of Komako (John Gregory Betancourt) 5. Nightmare World (David Stern) 6. Journey to Rilla (Thomas Wilde)

A pulpish space adventurer conceived by the creator of the Weird Heroes series.

Philip Jose Farmer- Lord Grandrith/Doc Caliban Series 1. A Feast Unknown 2. Lord of the Trees 3. Mad Goblin 4. Secret Immortals (exist??)

Series dealing with the "real" Tarzan and Doc Savage.

Weird Heroes: A New American Pulp (ed Byron Preiss) 8 volumes. An attempt to create new pulp-style heroes. Unfortunately had limited success. A mixture of anthologies and novels. An index is posted to alt.pulp.

COMICS: Agent 13(TSR) graphic novel & comic based on pulp-style books. The graphic novel loosely adapts the first 2 books.

Dominic Fortune(Marvel) character created by Howard Chaykin. Similar in some ways to his "Scorpion" character. A soldier of fortune-style character set in the 30s. Appeared in several showcase series at Marvel. Has also appear in modern times as an old man searching for his lover from the 30s.

Dreamwalker(Marvel) graphic novel dealing with a pulp style hero.

Prowler/Revenge of the Prowler(Eclipse) character based on pulp and movie serials heroes.

Scorpion(Atlas) character created by Howard Chaykin. Mercenarial immortal man set in the 30s. Only the first 2 issues done by Chaykin are any good (he left after #2). #3 is set in modern times with Scorpion now a costumed do-gooder.

Wordsmith(Renegade) series deals with a writer of pulp heroes. This 12-issue series has been collected in a trade paperback by Caliber. There is a 'companion' series called _Heroes from Wordsmith_ dealing with the pulp characters. Only one issue has appeared so far (from Special Studio).

Rocketeer(Eclipse) series more influenced by rocket-pack movie serials. But in the comic series we find that it was Doc who created the rocket-pack.

Twilight Avenger(??/Eternity) pulp-style hero set in the 30s

MOVIES: Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Banzai, the rock-star/physicist/surgeon/hero with his aides are very pulp-like in style.

Dark Man - The Spider was an inspiration for this character according to the creator.

Jake Speed - Hero from a paperback novel series (the novels are written by Jake's assistant to fund their adventures) helps a woman looking for her sister taken by white slavers. Jake mentions the Destroyer and Doc as being real people. (Doc is said to be retired.)

GAMES: Justice, Inc (Hero Games) Hero-pulp role-playing game.

Agent 13 (TSR) Role-playing game based on the book series.

GURPS Cliffhanger (SJG) Worldbook for Steve Jackson Games' Generic Universal Role-Playing Game for role-playing serial and pulp heroes. Has info on these.

Q: What is Philip Jose Farmer's Wold Newton Family?

A: Farmer's idea of the Wold Newton was put forth in TARZAN ALIVE and DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE, his two "biographies" of those characters. Basically the idea is that in the 1700s a radioactive meteor landed near Wold Newton, England. The radiation affected the occupants of two nearby coaches. The descendants of these people became the real-life heroes and villains that are the basis for almost all the major and minor literary heroes of the last couple of centuries, including such diverse characters as Fu Manchu, James Bond, Travis McGee, most of the pulp heroes, the Scarlet Pimpernel and others. Of course the stories we have read about them are exaggerated fiction about them, so that most people think them wholly fictitious. Some people like this concept, many do not. Farmer has written several works linking these people together (like the ADVENTURE OF THE PEERLESS PEER and THE OTHER LOG OF PHINEAS FOGG) and there was a short-lived fanzine devoted to the idea.

<this section still under construction>

Q: Are there any books on Pulps?

A: Over the years there have been several books written on the pulps.

PULPS IN GENERAL-

Gruber, Frank. _The Pulp Jungle_ Sherbourne, 1967. Jones, Robert. _The Shudder Pulps_ FAX/Starmont, 1975. Overview of horror and weird menace pulps. Reynolds, Quentin. _Fiction Factory: From Pulp Road to Quality Street_ Random House, 1956. History of S&S written for their 100th anniversary. Unfortunately full of errors and omissions. Sampson, Robert. _Deadly Excitements, Shadows and Phantoms_ Bowling Green Univ/Popular Press, 1989. Collection of his articles on pulps. Sampson, Robert. _Yesterday's Faces: A Study of Series Characters in the Early Pulp Magazines_ 5 volumes. Bowling Green Univ/Popular Press, 1988. Vol 1:?,2:?,3: From the Dark Side, 4: The Solvers, 5: Dangerous Horizons. Weinburg, Robert & Lohr McKinstry. _The Hero-Pulp Index_. An extensive index with short bios of major heroes. Has some errors.

DOC SAVAGE-

Farmer, Philip Jose. _Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life_ The only book-length work on Doc. Mard by Farmer's theories on Doc. Someone should write a book on Doc similar to Murray's _Duende History of the Shadow_ or Sampson's _Spider_. Gruskin, Frank. _The Invincible Doc Savage_ Odyssey Pub, 197?. Three radio scripts from the 1943 Doc show. Lai, Rick. _The Bronze Age: An Alternate DS Chronology_ Fading Shadows, 92. Attempt to place the DS novels in chronological order. Murray, Will. _Doc Savage: Reflections in Bronze_ Odyssey Pub, 197?. Murray, Will. _Secrets of Doc Savage_ Odyssey Pub, 197?. Collections of articles. Nanovic, John. _Doc Savage, Supreme Adventurer_ Odyssey Pub, 197?. The 1932 short story written as a blueprint for Doc series. Robeson, Kenneth. _The Incredible Radio Exploits of Doc Savage_ 2 vol. Odyssey Pub, 1980. Each has 14 scripts by Lester Dent for the 1934 Doc show. Weinburg, Robert. _The Man Behind Doc Savage_

SHADOW-

Carr, Nick. _Gangland's Doom_ Pulp Classics #1, 1973. Starmont, 1985. Gibson, Walter. _The Shadow Scrapbook_ HBJ. Book by Shadow's creator. Lots of info on the Shadow, including radio show, newspaper strip, comic books, paperbacks, etc. Johnson, Tom. _From Shadow to Superman_ Fading Shadows, Inc. 1991. A look at the Belmont Shadow novels. Also article on pulp hero fighting style. Murray, Will. _The Duende History of the Shadow_ Odyssey Press, 1980. THE book on the Shadow pulp. Gives synopsis of all stories. Sampson, Robert. _The Night Master_ Pulp Press, 1982.

OTHER HERO PULPS-

Carr, Nick. _America's Secret Service Ace-Operator #5_ Pulp Classics #7, 1974. Starmont, 1985. The only booklength work on this character. Carr, Nick. _The Flying Ace, A History of G-8_ Pulp Classics #19. 1978. Starmont, 1989. The only booklength work on this character. Carr, Nick. _The Other Detective Pulp Heroes_ Tattered Pages Press, 1992. A booklength work on the lesser-known pulp detective series. Hopkins, Howard. _The Grey Nemesis_ Golden Perils Press, 1992. The only booklength work on the Avenger. Johnson, Tom. _The Black Bat_ Golden Perils Press & Fading Shadows, Inc, 1990. The only booklength work on this character. Johnson, Tom. _The Green Ghost_ Fading Shadows, Inc. 1991. The only booklength work on this character. Also sections on Cap'n Zero and the Black Hood. Johnson, Tom (as Harrison Stievers) _The History of the Purple Wars_ Fading Shadows, Inc. 1991. A booklength treatment on the Purple Wars storyline in Operator #5. Johnson, Tom and Will Murray. _Secret Agent X_ Pulp Classics #22, 1980. revised edition: Golden Perils Press & Fading Shadows, Inc. 1990. The only booklength work on this character. Also has info on Cap'n Hazzard. Sampson, Robert. _The Spider_ Bowling Green Univ/Popular Press, 1987. THE book on the Spider.

Q: Are there any magazines devoted to pulps?

A: There are several still being published. Some of these publishers have put out other works on the pulps. If your are requesting info, such as latest price info, back issue availability, etc, please include a SASE. Where indicated, make checks payable to the publisher, not the 'zine. Funds should be in American currency. The 'zines vary widely in quality. "Quality" here meaning production quality. They range from xeroxed and hand folded zines, to nicely bound with slick covers. Art ranges from amateur (some good, some amateurish) to professional. Articles are almost always of high quality. The prominent pulp writers and researchers will have articles in all the 'zines, and the 'zines will mention each others.

BRONZE GAZETTE (was DOC SAVAGE GAZETTE)

Howard Wright PO BOX 1145 Modesto, CA 95353

Small (8.5 x 5.5) nicely done 'zine devoted to Doc Savage. Subscriptions are $12/3. Make checks payable to Howard Wright. At present subscriptions are to issues #8,9,10 only. FEW back issues available.

GOLDEN PERILS

Golden Perils Press (Howard Hopkins) 5 Milliken Mills Rd Scarboro, ME 04070

Small (8.5 x 5.5) 'zine. Has occasion 'theme issues'. Subscriptions are $12/3 issues, single issues are $4. Make checks payable to Howard Hopkins. Some back issues available and has other booklets available. At present magazine is on "hiatus". Do not know when it will resume publication.

ECHOES BEHIND THE MASK

Fading Shadows, Inc (Tom Johnson) 504 E Morris St Seymour, TX 76380

_Echoes_ is the longest running `zine, has existed for about ten years with over 60 issues. It is a large format (8.5 x 11) 'zine. Subscriptions are $21/6 issues, single issues are $3.60. _Behind the Mask_ reprints hard to find pulp hero fiction. Subscriptions are $19/4 issues, single issues are $4.85. _Behind_ is published 6 times a year, #14 is most recent. Some back issues of both mags are available as are other booklets. I believe checks should be made out to Tom Johnson.

PULP COLLECTOR PULP REVIEW

Pulp Collector Press (John Gunnison) 4704 Col Ewell Crt Upper Marlboro, MD 20772

_Pulp Collector_ is a large, high quality 'zine printing articles on all types of pulps. Has occasional 'theme' issues. Most recent is #22. Subscriptions are $20/4 issues, single issues are $6.00. _Pulp Review_ is a small (8.5 x 5.5) mag reprinting classic pulp stories. Subscriptions are $25/6 issues, single issues are $5. Most recent is #6. Some back issues of both are available as are other booklets. Make checks payable to John Gunnison.

PULP VAULT

Tattered Pages Press (Doug Ellis) 6942 N. Oleander Chicago, IL 60631

Large, high quality 'zine publishing articles, story reprints, and unpublished pulp stories. Subscriptions are no longer accepted, single issues are $7.95. Most recent issue is #10. Some back issues are available as are other booklets.

SPICY ARMADILLO STORIES

Jerry Page 193 Battery Pl NE Atlanta, GA 30307

Recently started fanzine publishing articles and new fiction. Subscriptions are $20/6 issues, single issues are $5. Have yet to see this one.

Others???

Defunct fanzines

AGE OF THE UNICORN (early 80s, at least 8 issues) BRONZE SHADOWS (Fred Cook, 1965-68, 15 issues, first fanzine) CLOAK & PISTOL (Joe Lewandowski, early 80s) DOC SAVAGE QUARTERLY (early 80s) DOC SAVAGE & ASSOCIATES (one-shot) DUENDE (Odyssey Publ, mid 70's, at least 2 issues) THE MAN OF BRONZE (one-shot) NEMESIS, INC. [was DOC SAVAGE CLUB READER with 12 issues] (Frank Lewandowski, 1977-91, 30 issues) PULP (Robert Weinburg ?, late 70's-early 80's, at least 13 issues) PULP ERA (Lynn Hickman, 1960's, at least 71 issues) PULPETTE (Joe Lewandowski, early 80s) SAVAGE SOCIETY OF BRONZE (at least 4 issues) THE WOLD ATLAS (about 5 issues, early '80s, concerned with Farmer's ideas) XENOPHILE (Nils Hardin, 1972-79, ~45 issues) others???

Q: Are there any pulp conventions?

A: Yes. There is Pulpcon. Its usually held once a year near Dayton, Ohio. The latest, Pulpcon 21, was held July 16-19, 1992. For information on future Pulpcons write: Rusty Hevelin, PO BOX 1332, Dayton, OH, 45401.

-- << Michael Rogero Brown | Disclaimer: I speak >> << CS Graduate Student-Florida Atlantic Univ | only for myself. >> << Internet: michaelb@sunrise.cse.fau.edu | All my opinions are >> << BitNet: m_brown@fauvax | that: mine & opinions. >>