tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-336107082024-03-13T10:29:19.765-07:00The Pulp ReaderPulp-related Audiobooks-OTR-Serials-Moviesshonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-511893460628071512015-05-22T15:40:00.001-07:002015-05-22T15:40:14.720-07:00The Hooded Terror Strikes!<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/dvds/houseofhate/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The House of Hate is now on DVD!</b></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PpdeJjeqL8k/VV-tv1MvpsI/AAAAAAAAAt8/3Uf4mzH8HSo/s1600/house%2Bof%2Bhate%2B02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PpdeJjeqL8k/VV-tv1MvpsI/AAAAAAAAAt8/3Uf4mzH8HSo/s320/house%2Bof%2Bhate%2B02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You should see this. It is a rare piece of film history. Thought lost for ages, then found in Russia and rescued, restored and translated back to English. It's full of action and suspense. It has an amazing villain- "The Hooded Terror" and the queen of silent serials, Pearl White is the heroine. She was no wilting violet and would have stood her ground just fine in a Mad Max movie! I was startlingly mesmerized upon seeing the first episode. </div>
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The Hooded Terror is really something. A mix of insane and intelligent, brutal and devious. Something akin to Fantomas or The Joker and with a super-strength to wreck havoc on everyone that gets in its way. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iYWbiuLlZlo/VV-tvxs4l9I/AAAAAAAAAt4/9IvtRKUwMcs/s1600/house%2Bof%2Bhate%2B01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iYWbiuLlZlo/VV-tvxs4l9I/AAAAAAAAAt4/9IvtRKUwMcs/s1600/house%2Bof%2Bhate%2B01.jpg" /></a></div>
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Full disclosure; I donated a little bit of research for this project, but solely out of my pure fascination and admiration of it. And I'm plugging The House of Hate because it's a really top of the line example of what the best of silent serials were all about.</div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-38360321629234190842013-11-05T12:20:00.003-08:002013-11-05T12:20:59.892-08:00NAKED CITY: DVD UpdateA couple of years ago <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2011/07/of-charm-and-violence.html" target="_blank">I posted about the detective/crime drama NAKED CITY</a>. At the time there were a few "Best of" DVD collections. But now the complete series is out in a boxed set (four seasons on 29 DVDs!). From the episodes I've sampled so far the image and sound quality is great. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Naked-City-The-Complete-Series/dp/B00CPR3RB0/" target="_blank">amazon</a> has it on sale at $99 which is 44% off retail.<br /><br />I have nothing to complain about since this is presented in excellent quality and at a decent price. I do wish there had been an effort at some behind the scenes features or a few commentary tracks. Be that at is may, this is an extraordinary chance to get all 138 episodes.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp8TKgXCi18/UnlSY8b-UVI/AAAAAAAAAtA/x6HKF3mh9cI/s1600/NakedCity_Complete.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gp8TKgXCi18/UnlSY8b-UVI/AAAAAAAAAtA/x6HKF3mh9cI/s400/NakedCity_Complete.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-61779607953685068942013-09-26T12:56:00.004-07:002013-09-26T12:56:53.809-07:00Wellman Audiobooks<div style="text-align: justify;">
As of October 22nd 2013 audible.com will
be releasing two audio adaptations of what looks to
be the NightShade Books collections of Wellman stories.
Volumes 1 & 2 will be <a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/The-Third-Cry-to-Legba-and-Other-Invocations-Audiobook/B00F2ORJB2/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1380209777&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b>THIRD
CRY TO LEGBA AND OTHER INVOCATIONS</b></a> and <b><a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Classics/The-Devil-is-Not-Mocked-and-Other-Warnings-Audiobook/B00FFWVO3A/ref=sr_1_4?qid=1380209777&sr=1-4" target="_blank">THE
DEVIL IS NOT MOCKED AND OTHER WARNINGS</a></b>. The
producers seem to promise that all five of the NightShade
collections will be adapted. Special thanks to Bill
Ekhardt for the heads up!<br />
<br />
<b>THIRD CRY TO LEGBA</b> is described thus: <i>"This
audiobook collects Wellman’s John Thunstone and
Lee Corbet stories, written between 1943 and 1979. These
stories combine the mystical and horrific with traditional
Southern folk tales and legends. These stories also
reveal a post-World War II modernism that make them
much more then pulp romanticism. The paranoia and cynicism
of modern weird icons, such as The X-files, may well
have had their genesis in the pulp musings of Manly
Wade Wellman. Indeed the intensely driven, idealistic
occult investigator, John Thunstone, could be a pulp/noir
stand-in for Fox Mulder. ©2000 Frances Wellman
(P)2013 Audible, Inc."</i><br />
<br />
<i><img align="left" height="116" src="http://www.manlywadewellman.com/galaxytrilogy.jpg" width="110" /></i>And
<b>THE DEVIL IS NOT MOCKED</b> as:<i> "Wellman’s
work will be remembered, and should be preserved because
it combines the dark gothic tradition of the American
pulps with a detailed snapshot of regional history and
culture. This mixture is shown through the lens of the
American modernist tradition, revealing something that
is larger than the sum of its parts. Volume two of a
five volume set collecting all of Wellman's Appalachian
fantasy stories. ©2001 The Estate of Manly Wade
Wellman (P)2013 Audible, Inc."</i><br />
</div>
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Also <b><i>available now </i></b>are <b>GIANTS
FROM ETERNITY </b>in the audio collection <b><a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/A-Galaxy-Trilogy-Volume-3-Audiobook/B002V9ZC7E/ref=sr_1_3?qid=1380209777&sr=1-3" target="_blank">A
GALAXY TRILOGY Vol 3</a></b> and an audiobook adaptation
of the single Wellman adaptation to <b><a href="http://www.audible.com/pd/Nostalgia-Radio/Still-Valley-Audiobook/B00DL9QAJ2/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1380209777&sr=1-2" target="_blank">THE
TWILIGHT ZONE, Still Valley</a></b>.<br />This article is re-posted from <a href="http://manlywadewellman.com/">manlywadewellman.com</a></div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-1687957722484415712013-02-23T21:27:00.002-08:002013-02-23T21:27:57.298-08:00The Mill at Calder's End<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lJ2dG995OFE/USmbYqnjJnI/AAAAAAAAArc/cAlNu_tFAjY/s1600/mill_at_calders_mill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lJ2dG995OFE/USmbYqnjJnI/AAAAAAAAArc/cAlNu_tFAjY/s400/mill_at_calders_mill.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<b>W</b>hether you've been lucky enough to see it in full at festivals or at least the trailer, you may have been drawn to Kevin McTurk's curious puppet show-turned-short film called <i><b>THE NARRATIVE OF VICTOR KARLOCH. </b></i>The imagery is stark and powerful, the atmosphere electric with fear of the unknown. All of the major visuals and characters brought to life via puppets, practical effects and miniature sets.</div>
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Karloch was produced by Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams project and the Jim Henson Foundation. The film hit the festival circuit and on special occasions had live performances.</div>
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If you have been aching to see this supernatural puppet show but hadn't the chance. Soon you will, and even more, you'll be able to help contribute to the next installment of the "Spirit Cabinet" series, of which Karloch is the first. McTurk is now raising funds for THE MILL AT CALDER'S END. Another Victornian ghost story cut from the clothe of Poe, Lovecraft, Bava and Hammer films. </div>
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Artistic contributors to the project include Hellboy's Mike Mignola and B.P.R.D. and The Marquis Guy Davis. Karloch starred the voices of Elijah Wood and Christopher Lloyd while Calder's Mill stars Barbara Steele and Jason Flemyng.</div>
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<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/935772123/the-mill-at-calders-end-a-ghost-story-puppet-film" target="_blank"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/935772123/the-mill-at-calders-end-a-ghost-story-puppet-film" target="_blank">Head over to the kickstarter page to check out more in-depth info on the production!</a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2Oqc_xhbhFU" width="560"></iframe></div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-14668833856902382072012-10-01T21:01:00.002-07:002012-10-07T20:42:27.404-07:00Mysteries of Myra UPDATE!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t2J-KHQFMXY/UGpjOfsl70I/AAAAAAAAAqM/XJ0sAg2HN9M/s1600/Myra02.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t2J-KHQFMXY/UGpjOfsl70I/AAAAAAAAAqM/XJ0sAg2HN9M/s320/Myra02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep contrast and wide spectrum of mid-tones.<br />
A framegrab from the surviving footage</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>B</b></span>elow this nerd-out rant is the original Pulp Reader post about the silent serial <b>The Mysteries of Myra</b>. It has been considered long lost but The Serial Squadron's Eric Stedman edited together the novelized story and press materials <a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/books/novels/" target="_blank">into a book</a>. And a mighty fine book it is too. <br />
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Well there is now an update to the status of Myra. On the tail of the announcement that <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2012/09/trail-of-octopus-hits-dvd.html" target="_blank"><b>Trail of the Octopus </b></a>will be out on <a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/dvds/silent/trailoftheoctopus/" target="_blank">DVD any time now</a> (exciting news indeed!), it was also announced that some found footage of Myra will be shown at the Serial Squadron's streaming website <a href="http://www.chapters.ws/" target="_blank">"Chapters"</a> just in time for Halloween, starting on October 27th. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4Ega8yo2Us/UGpjPGsfW3I/AAAAAAAAAqU/3Wa5MKt5hxw/s1600/Myra03.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F4Ega8yo2Us/UGpjPGsfW3I/AAAAAAAAAqU/3Wa5MKt5hxw/s200/Myra03.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Thought Monster" escapes!<br />
Another frame from the footage.</td></tr>
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I was honored to be able to preview the footage and it is pretty outstanding to see. It once again reaffirms (in my opinion at least) that the era of the silent serials was truly the height of the art form. At the time, made more for adults than children, the subject matter was
more daring and psychologically intense, with more artful cinematography
and story-lines you would find in the best of the thriller pulps. Those stark Noirish tonal ranges and shadows you may associate with the likes of Fritz Lang are common in many of the early silent serials. And speaking of visuals, a lot of this footage seen here is in really great shape, with very sharp image, great contrast and very stable. <br />
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I won't spoil anything that goes on in the footage you will see, but will say that it is more than worth seeing. The only regret is that it leaves me wanting to see the rest of the serial. But it is an amazing and rare opportunity to see what still exist and who knows, as Eric states below, even more footage will hopefully, eventually show up. Many serials have been previously considered lost and have since not only turned up but have been made available to the public. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h54AKEFMXJQ/UGpjQVAz5CI/AAAAAAAAAqc/XB71l3lQCJ4/s1600/Myra04.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h54AKEFMXJQ/UGpjQVAz5CI/AAAAAAAAAqc/XB71l3lQCJ4/s320/Myra04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the Lair.<br />
Click on the pic to see more of the crisp detail</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />H</b></span>ere's what Eric has to say about the footage and what is being done with it:</div>
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<i>...there's about a half hour's worth of footage left which I've already put together and restored, including the last reel which is knock-out amazing, and the quality of the transfer is eye-popping, without question the highest quality transfer of any serial I've ever seen, done in new digital HD/Blu-ray quality, with an image size about 8 times larger than regular DVD resolution. One reel is in another archive which we're expecting to get ahold of later on. We may not have it by Halloween but it's not impossible. Anyway what exists has already been put together and is ready to go in case the new reel comes in and has to be added more quickly. We're not going to put it all on DVD at the moment pending decisions as to how to handle possible re-creation of the rest of the serial, which we want to do a good job of if we embark upon such a major project. </i></blockquote>
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It was a thrill to see the footage and I'm inspired to re-read the book in time to catch the official stream release <a href="http://www.chapters.ws/" target="_blank">at Halloween time</a>. The cool thing is that <a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/books/novels/" target="_blank">you can too</a>! And no, I don't work for Eric or the Squadron, but I love to share cool stuff (that's what the blog is all about after all) and this is really cool! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lwtxI0F4oKY/UGpjRKI5RpI/AAAAAAAAAqk/n_YKl-ry-E0/s1600/myra01.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lwtxI0F4oKY/UGpjRKI5RpI/AAAAAAAAAqk/n_YKl-ry-E0/s320/myra01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aleister Crowley would be proud!<br />
Another frame grab and another amazing scene.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lwtxI0F4oKY/UGpjRKI5RpI/AAAAAAAAAqk/n_YKl-ry-E0/s1600/myra01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hw9rH10Ug2s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<b>Original Post about the publication of the book:</b></div>
<br />
I love pulps. I also love cliffhanger serials. And maybe more than
anything, I love behind the scenes info and history about movie and
television production. As my poor suffering wife can attest, my
bookshelves are jammed with reference books and guides about pulp
characters, old movies, radio dramas and T.V. shows.<br />
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Enter
Eric Stedman, an entrepreneur who dedicates long hours to the
restoration and preservation of many cliffhanger movie serials. At <a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/" target="_blank">The Serial Squadron</a>
you can get a taste of the massive amount of work he has put into the
genre through his line of restored movie DVDs along with relevant books
and audio.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCVti7g9VI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Xy5FOZpcMPg/s1600/myrafire.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499059754722456914" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCVti7g9VI/AAAAAAAAAfc/Xy5FOZpcMPg/s200/myrafire.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 130px;" /></a>One
of Eric's latest projects (one of many ongoing productions) is the
novelization of a lost serial from 1916. THE MYSTERIES OF MYRA is a
strange brew of action, intrigue, magic, spiritualism, monsters and
zombies. As Eric put it "an X-Files of 1916". Unfortunately quite
possibly all prints of MYRA were lost in a warehouse fire. At least at
this date it is still considered a lost serial. This is truly
unfortunate as from the evidence at hand and eloquently shown in this
book, MYRA may be one of the most astoundingly put together serials of
the silent and talkie era. From the looks of the stills and behind the
scenes photos and info, this was a lavish production with impressive
sets and intriguing special effects.</div>
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The process of this production was a painstaking one, <a href="http://movieserialmessageboards.yuku.com/reply/51825/t/Squadron-Updates-amp-New-Release-Schedule.html#reply-51825" target="_blank">as Eric explains</a>: <br />
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic;">Tracy Burton ... took on </span><span style="font-style: italic;">the
job of interpreting fuzzy microfilm versions of the newspaper
serializations of the story -- virtually all of which were incomplete,
damaged, or otherwise messed up, which means after her pass through it
and interpretations she was able to make, it took two other guys (me
and Dr. Daka) hours and hours to fill in the missing words and correct
errors. Daka discovered ... that there were about 5 different versions
of the text, also, which all appeared in different newspapers, with
different illustrations.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCV8mQkmGI/AAAAAAAAAfk/jhlUrKFywkE/s1600/myracult.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499060013314119778" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCV8mQkmGI/AAAAAAAAAfk/jhlUrKFywkE/s200/myracult.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 156px;" /></a><br />
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Along
with reconstructing the various newspaper serializations of the story
into a coherent novel, Eric delved deeply into researching the
production history of MYRA, which is contained in a lengthy introduction
and includes many production photos and biographies of cast and crew.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCWEpqH3xI/AAAAAAAAAfs/uIL36_i360M/s1600/MyraGun.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a>So
here we have it; a novel that any pulp writer would dream to write,
which is based on a legendary serial that no longer exists, along with a
lot of tasty background info and photos. A perfect storm of
entertainment for anyone who is into pulps, serials and movie history
bound into one handsome tome.</div>
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This is the sales blurb for the book, which concisely explains what it's all about:</div>
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-style: italic;">BEWARE
THE BLACK ORDER! So comes the warning from the spirit of Myra Maynard's
father, who reaches out to her from beyond the grave to warn her of
danger from the masters of the occult arts that lurk in the shadows and
mark her for murder on her eighteenth birthday. Only the world's first
psychic detective, Dr. Payson Alden, and his friend Haji the Brahman
mystic, can save clairvoyant Myra from the terrors of The Grand Master
of the Order, who tries to claim not only her fortune but her life by
means of suicide-inducing spells, invasion of her chamber by spirit
assassins, and even reanimation of the dead by a fire elemental.
Originally a fifteen-episode serial shot in Ithaca, New York (before
Hollywood became the center of American movie-making) in 1916,
painstakingly reconstructed from the original screenplay, novelization,
and existing stills. Includes background information, behind-the-scenes
photos and cast biographies.
</span></blockquote>
</div>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCWEpqH3xI/AAAAAAAAAfs/uIL36_i360M/s1600/MyraGun.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499060151665549074" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TFCWEpqH3xI/AAAAAAAAAfs/uIL36_i360M/s200/MyraGun.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 116px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
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At $25 it is well worth the price of admission and I urge you to head over to the <a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/" target="_blank">Serial Squadron </a>and pick up a copy.<br />
<br />shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-82936107174573444632012-09-18T09:38:00.002-07:002012-09-18T09:41:24.307-07:00Jonny Quest: The Stop Motion Episode<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L0IMC6yR-fs/UFigHDNIGvI/AAAAAAAAApk/V_9Y3I_Dh0s/s1600/Jonny-quest-opening-title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L0IMC6yR-fs/UFigHDNIGvI/AAAAAAAAApk/V_9Y3I_Dh0s/s320/Jonny-quest-opening-title.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In my humble opinion, the absolute pinnacle of pulp adventure translated to a visual medium was the 1964 cartoon <b>Jonny Quest.</b> There's been nothing like it before and nothing that has measured up to it since. </div>
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Also, as a kid who grew up fascinated by the wonders of Willis O'Brien's King Kong, the works of Ray Harryhausen and the stop motion animated dinosaurs of Land of the Lost, I've had a life long passion for animation and especially stop motion. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now the two have come together. Roger Evans, who did the scene by scene recreation of the <a href="http://vimeo.com/28278839" target="_blank">Jonny Quest intro which went viral last year</a>, has put some thought behind "converting" an entire episode. I think that would be fantastic! The thing is, is that <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1913243956/jonny-quest-episode-in-stop-motion-animation" target="_blank">he'll need some help</a> as it will be a full time job to pull it off. This is something that I think is truly worthy of any pulp adventure fan's efforts. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxzPM-cJR3w/UFii4ga64_I/AAAAAAAAAp8/fbzCP3eDGZI/s1600/jonnyquestcomparison.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gxzPM-cJR3w/UFii4ga64_I/AAAAAAAAAp8/fbzCP3eDGZI/s1600/jonnyquestcomparison.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Take a look at this behind the scenes diary of everything that went into making the opening credits happen. I tell ya it is a LOT of work! If you click on a picture, it will open to a page showing a whole in depth look at the process of <a href="http://www.rogerevans.tv/jq_cut_01.html" target="_blank">how that scene was constructed</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28278839?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="500"></iframe> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/28278839">Jonny Quest Opening Titles</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user8282078">Roger D. Evans</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Please</b></i> check out his <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1913243956/jonny-quest-episode-in-stop-motion-animation" target="_blank">kickstarter campaign</a> and help out if at all possible! Unfortunately I had not heard about this earlier as this campaign seems to have gone much less viral than the original opening credits film did. <span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>There are only 8 days left as of today September 18, 2012.</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1913243956/jonny-quest-episode-in-stop-motion-animation" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ucv-3zbJkC8/UFigJ9YbOcI/AAAAAAAAAps/4AtmGtULnus/s400/questcollage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-56260379739997596982012-09-08T12:27:00.001-07:002012-09-10T10:50:01.802-07:00SUSPENSE, SUSPICION & SHOCKERS<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">While perusing Steven Reid Harbin's Facebook group "Pulp Magazine Authors and Literature Fans", one <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/18051312978/permalink/10151074023137979/" target="_blank">Patricia Boeckman posted</a> about her husband's (Charles Boeckman AKA Charles Beckman Jr) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Suspense-Suspicion-Shockers-Volume-1/dp/1479238732" target="_blank">now available collection</a> of past pulp stories; SUSPENSE, SUSPICION & SHOCKERS. I asked if she wouldn't mind posting more info about Charles' work and Mr. Boeckman himself generously gave us some biographical history:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8DUES4gF5UY/UEuPetjb_hI/AAAAAAAAAo0/pn-JBvyYQDw/s1600/beckman_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TPyIYc9Rjyg/UEuOqdQfYWI/AAAAAAAAAos/U0_qLKoF_0U/s1600/beckman_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TPyIYc9Rjyg/UEuOqdQfYWI/AAAAAAAAAos/U0_qLKoF_0U/s320/beckman_1.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Boeckman shared ink with other pulp<br />legends such as Mickey Spillane and<br />William Irish (AKA Cornell Woolrich)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">I
sold my first pulp suspense story in 1945 to Mike Tilden the editor of
Detective Tales. Once I broke into the pulps, I had a steady stream of
short stories and novelettes published by Popular Publications both
suspense stories and Westerns and other publishers such as "Pursuit,
Malcolms, Manhunt, Alfred Hitchcock, Publishers paid one cent a word for
stories in those days. One could make a good living if he or she could
turn out a lot of stories. I wrote all of my stories first draft (as
did other pulp writers I knew). I could write a 5,000 word story in a
day. (One day I wrote a 9,000 word novelette in a working day.(no time
for much revising.) We used mechanical typewriters. The Royal portable
was the choice of many of the writers I knew. <br /> <br /> I grew up in
Texas so knew a lot about rattle snakes so I used that for a basis of my
first story, STRICTLY POISON. Once I was making a living from full
time writing I visited many of the big cities, San Francisco, New
Orleans and New York. My favorite was Manhattan where I had leased a
small apartment a block from Central Park west. New York was the center
of the publishing business so I became friends with many of the best
known editors of the pulps. I also got to know the top writers in the
field, such as Day Keene (he was on the cover of almost every pulp story
magazine) Talmage Powell, Gil Brewer, Harry Whittington, and others. </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">
</span></span></span></span></h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8DUES4gF5UY/UEuPetjb_hI/AAAAAAAAAo0/pn-JBvyYQDw/s1600/beckman_2.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8DUES4gF5UY/UEuPetjb_hI/AAAAAAAAAo0/pn-JBvyYQDw/s1600/beckman_2.jpg" /></a></b></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h6 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you haven't read Boeckman<br />before and are eager to start<br />one of his stories is on amazon<br />as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Honky-Tonk-Girl-Charles-Beckman-Jr/dp/1434435652/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347128619&sr=1-1" target="_blank">book</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Honky-Tonk-Girl/dp/B007H4ZKQ6/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347128619&sr=1-2" target="_blank">audiobook</a></span>.</span></span></h6>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">In the 1920's,30s, and 40s a large segment of the population got their
entertainment from radio and magazine stories. Every month the
magazine stands were filled with fiction stories-- suspense, murder,
action, love and science fiction stories and others. The pulp stories
(so called because of the cheap pulp paper on which they were published)
sold for ten or fifteen cents and had ten or fifteen stories. I
started reading the pulps when I was ten years old. I grew up in the
Great Depression. We had enough to eat but not any left over for music
lessons. I taught myself to play clarinet and saxophone listening to
phonograph records. When I left home I had $30 in my pocket, a used
portable typewriter and some musical instruments from a pawn shop. I'd
always liked the seashore so I took a bus to Corpus Christi, Texas. The
next day I had a part time day job and a week-end job playing music.
Those were the days of the big band era: Benny Goodman, Count Basie,
Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Pete Fountain, Fatha Hines, Satchmo
Armstrong. I later wrote a book on the history of jazz, Cool. Hot and
Blue. I have a copy that was autographed by all of the above.</span></span></span></span></h6>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
</h6>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BtEkQIk4h9Y/UEuS-psel7I/AAAAAAAAApE/NyghW6BOKZ8/s1600/Beckman_3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BtEkQIk4h9Y/UEuS-psel7I/AAAAAAAAApE/NyghW6BOKZ8/s320/Beckman_3.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the first pulps Beckman appeared in.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">My writing and music gave me an exciting life and the freedom to travel.
I married a beautiful and talented young lady, Patti Kennelly who
also had talent as a writer. We collaborated on 26 love stories for
Silhouette and Harlequin that sold world wide over two million
copies. I'm now 91 looking back over a creative and exciting life.
Patti has encouraged me to make a collection of my short stories going
back to my first pulp sale in 1945. The collection will be published
soon. </span></span></span></span></h6>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Charles at <a href="http://charlesboeckman.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">his website</a> had this to say about one of the stories in the upcoming collection:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;">This excerpt is from a story entitled, “Eddie Builds His Mouse Trap,”
from my anthology of short stories that I wrote beginning in 1945. The
style of some of the stories in the collection is crisp, biting, and
and punchy. Short sentences. Quick observations. Brief descriptions.
Some are more in the Alfred Hitchcock style, with longer sentences and
psychological twists and turns.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">EDDIE BUILDS HIS MOUSE TRAP</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It was ironic. All the beautiful dolls Eddie Price had on his string,
and a plain little mouse like Ginny Potucek finally hashes him up.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The morning he was going to kill her, she came out of the</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> kitchen,
her face flushed and damp from the heat of the stove. She was untying
her apron. “Eddie, we’re out of bread. I’ll have to run down to the
grocery store.”<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">“Oh?” Eddie said. Not that he was really surprised, having just tossed their last loaf out in the alley.<br /></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S8YY6Blv_xg/UE4fonSxAAI/AAAAAAAAApU/muAaWkLmdmo/s1600/boeckman_0.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S8YY6Blv_xg/UE4fonSxAAI/AAAAAAAAApU/muAaWkLmdmo/s1600/boeckman_0.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>SUSPENSE, SUSPICION & SHOCKERS</b><br />A </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">collection of 24 short stories by Charles<br />Boeckman and is now available at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Suspense-Suspicion-Shockers-Volume-1/dp/1479238732/" target="_blank">amazon.com</a></span>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://charlesboeckman.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"></a></span></span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">He stood in front of the dresser mirror, whistling, buttoning up a
clean white shirt. It was easy to see why the dames fell all over Eddie
Price. He was six feet of man, adequately spread out around the
shoulders and chest. He had lazy, grey eyes that would drift over a
girl, caressing her, sending shivers up her spine, and a shy, little-boy
grin that twisted her heart. After that, she’d be a fit subject for
Freud if she didn’t run her fingers <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S8YY6Blv_xg/UE4fonSxAAI/AAAAAAAAApU/muAaWkLmdmo/s1600/boeckman_0.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>through his thick black hair and
whisper in his ear.<br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">But he wasn’t thinking about dames at the moment. His fingers were
all thumbs, knotting his tie, and there was a sick pit of nausea in his
stomach. In a few minutes he was going to kill his bride of two months,
Ginny, in a very messy way. He wasn’t too enthusiastic about it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S8YY6Blv_xg/UE4fonSxAAI/AAAAAAAAApU/muAaWkLmdmo/s1600/boeckman_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />You can read more about Patricia, Charles and more excepts from the new book at <a href="http://charlesboeckman.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">charlesboeckman.com</a></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-53444004837770987112012-09-03T14:06:00.001-07:002012-10-05T12:07:56.852-07:00Trail of the Octopus hits DVD!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>UPDATE!</b></span><br />The Trial of the Octopus is now up for pre-order, with a scheduled release of Oct 1st 2012. This is on three DVDs with 14 out of 15 episodes, missing episode 9.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.serialsquadron.com/dvds/silent/trailoftheoctopus/" target="_blank">Go to the order page here.</a><br />
Below are segments from my original informational post from 2010:<br />
<img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLmeNXzcrI/AAAAAAAAAho/MGXuYSX27Ts/s320/octopusoctopus.jpg" width="320" /></div>
Although we may never see the complete serial of <a _blank="" href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2010/07/mysteries-of-myra.html" target="_blank">THE MYSTERIES OF MYRA</a>
there are other serials that may be just as amazing from the silent
movie era. Serials where it is obvious that a lot of money, time and
creativity went into the productions. One that will hopefully be
available in Spring 2011 is THE TRAIL OF THE OCTOPUS. This is another
revelation from the age of the silents; where an amazing globe-trotting
adventure comes to life as we meet great detectives, evil cults and
mysterious strangers, spanning from a lost city in Egypt to the streets
of San Francisco.<br />
<br />
THE TRAIL OF THE OCTOPUS (not to be
confused with the book by Goddard & Coleman) is a serial from
1919 consisting of 14 episodes totaling 7 hours. From the Serial
Squadron's page the story goes:</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLmdnzNYbI/AAAAAAAAAhk/h_NaiTE7Jm4/s1600/octopus_1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLmdnzNYbI/AAAAAAAAAhk/h_NaiTE7Jm4/s1600/octopus_1.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font: 12px Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Dr. Reid Stanhope, a noted scientist, and Raoul Bornay, a Frenchman of
questionable standing, set out upon an expedition to explore the
mysteries of ancient Egypt. With their caravan of natives and camels,
they pierce the very heart of the great Sahara Desert in their search
for the Temple of Death and the sacred Talisman of Set, both considered
mythological by everyone except Dr. Stanhope. </span><span style="font: 12px Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
After weeks of searching they discover a sarcophagus upon which
hieroglyphics read: “He that toucheth or taketh away the Sacred
Talisman of Set will bathe his hands in human blood.” Reaching inside
the sarcophagus, Stanhope takes out the Sacred Talisman which is also
known as the Devil's Trademark – the cloven hoof of Satan. <br />
<br />
From the moment the Talisman is released, murder and destruction run
rampant. Stanhope is forced to kill Bornay when attacked by him and
Bornay's final words are “Don't think you killed a friend – they sent
me to get you and the Talisman.” Who “they” are provides the foundation
for the story of the rest of the serial, which takes place after
Stanhope returned to civilization.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLmekWg1qI/AAAAAAAAAhs/-0WttNteIps/s1600/octopusposter.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLmekWg1qI/AAAAAAAAAhs/-0WttNteIps/s320/octopusposter.jpg" width="217" /></a><span style="font: 12px Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When
we pick up the story from there, we see Stanhope telling his niece
Ruth he has never had a moment's peace since he hid the Devil's
Trademark in a rock vault – he's been haunted by the sudden mysterious
appearance of a pair of uncanny looking eyes. While Dr. Stanhope tells
the story, a thunderstorm arises and the “eyes” appear outside. He
tells Ruth she must get rid of the Talisman as it endangers her life.
He takes a dagger from a drawer and says, “Eight other daggers like
this are in the hands of eight fellow scientists for safe-keeping. You
must have all of them to get the combination of the rock vault, in
which is hidden the sacred Talisman.” <br />
<br />
When Stanhope receives a telephone call from the mysterious masked
Monsieur X, who tells him that his friend, Professor Hubbard, one of
the scientists, is dead, Ruth runs across the street to call on Carter
Holmes, the criminologist, taking the dagger with her.Stanhope's
scream in the distance begins a chain of events that leads to the
kidnapping of Ruth by a clan of Devil Worshippers headed by a sorceress
named Madame Zora, and a three-way battle between Holmes, the
Devil-cult, and an Asian mastermind known as the Octopus to possess the
Talisman by collecting the remaining daggers and placing them together
in a cliffside vault that will reveal its secret.<br />
<br />
An extremely atmospheric serial, heavily influenced by aspects of THE
MYSTERIES OF MYRA (the Devil-cult with its crystal ball, and characters
who disappear into astral form), and anticipating DRUMS OF FU MANCHU in
its noir-ish look, THE TRAIL OF THE OCTOPUS changes location and
emphasis many times but remains generally in early pulp/detective/horror
mode throughout, with more than the occasional element of the
paranormal thrown in to kick the mystery up a notch. </span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLme6D3rVI/AAAAAAAAAhw/yqYFGfbl-d0/s1600/trail-of-the-octopus-2-1919.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_W1QqjhqAmzs/TNLme6D3rVI/AAAAAAAAAhw/yqYFGfbl-d0/s320/trail-of-the-octopus-2-1919.jpg" width="231" /></a>This
serial is being restored by the Serial Squadron and even some missing
scenes are being re-filmed with contemporary actors in order to have the
story be as complete as possible. <br />
<br />
<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
TRAIL OF THE OCTOPUS is $40 for 2 double-sided DVDs. This
is a very fair and reasonable price for a micro-production which is
putting out a small run, but professionally restored and extremely rare
serial. You won't find this serial anywhere else because it does not
exists anywhere else. This DVD set is being digitally remastered from a
35mm print from the Library of Congress.<br />
<br />
Along with the
visual restoration the Squadron's Eric Stedman has mixed a new sound
track including music that is scene relevant along with sound effects
for important points of nuance. This in my opinion really adds a layer
of watchability and entertainment value to the whole project. You can
see and hear the results in a sample posted at the bottom of this entry.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Check out the first 15 minutes of the first episode of TRAIL here:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A1A_OfWU8ao" width="420"></iframe>
</div>
</div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-61910529961222760992012-07-02T16:17:00.000-07:002012-07-08T15:16:53.374-07:00The SPIDER and the Black Dog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Qu5FhRSpz8/T_IreQn2evI/AAAAAAAAAoI/1mF8KKsIa54/s1600/spidersampson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Qu5FhRSpz8/T_IreQn2evI/AAAAAAAAAoI/1mF8KKsIa54/s320/spidersampson.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have this thing, this quirk you might say. When I get interested in a book, a movie, a literary character, a created world and so on, I am interested in the workings of how and why it was created. I probably have more non-fiction books on the history and makings of fictional worlds, characters and movies than I have fiction books now. <br />
<br />
But there's one that has always eluded me. And that was <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2010/10/pulp-reference-online.html" target="_blank">Robert Sampson</a>'s seminal work on the pulp hero The Spider. Published in 1987, over the next decade it disappeared off of booksellers' shelves. I searched literally for years to find that book (at a sane price). Even at insane prices it was not easy to find.<br />
<br />
Thanks to a heads up by Lucas Garrett about some Spider books on ebay, and some news via Ralph Grasso at at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/410558008976123/" target="_blank">Spider-Master of Men FB page</a>, two things have come to light: One is that it seems many soft and hard backs of the original 1987 printing have recently turned up at online bookshops. I don't know why this has happened. I've emailed Popular Press about it so if they know why then I'll amend this post with the answer.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QwybLJkUODU/T_IuM2TrwdI/AAAAAAAAAoU/-XvSGWel0UU/s1600/nightmaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QwybLJkUODU/T_IuM2TrwdI/AAAAAAAAAoU/-XvSGWel0UU/s200/nightmaster.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
As fate would have it (and fate always has it this way doesn't it?), literally as soon as I had happily, even gleefully, purchased <a href="http://blackdogbooks.net/index.php?Itemid=15&option=com_zoo&view=item&category_id=9&item_id=79" target="_blank">SPIDER</a> for $13 plus shipping, Ralph G mentioned a new edition would be coming out in the near future from <a href="http://blackdogbooks.net/index.php?option=com_zoo&view=category&layout=category&Itemid=13" target="_blank">Black Dog Books</a>. This edition will not have new written content but will have editorial fixes and added pics of magazine covers and illustrations. No price or release date is set yet.<br />
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Black Dog Books has some other rarities and surprises dear to the heart of The Pulp Reader coming up soon. There is another Robert Sampson pulp treatise reprint coming up based on The Shadow called <a href="http://blackdogbooks.net/index.php?option=com_zoo&view=item&item_id=42&Itemid=24" target="_blank">THE NIGHT MASTER</a> which will also be expanded with pics and cover scans.<br />
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Also they are collecting selected later tales of hard-boiled Pulp Reader favorite <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2011/06/lurking-shadows.html" target="_blank">Carroll John Daly</a>. <a href="http://blackdogbooks.net/index.php?Itemid=11&option=com_zoo&view=item&category_id=6&item_id=124" target="_blank">This tome</a> will include four previously <i>uncollected</i> Race Williams tales, one Satan Hall and a few others. <br /><br />Obviously, I've been away from the blog for a while. I have been what you might call... <i><b>busy</b></i>. But I've not abandoned you, dear Reader. <br /><br /><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W8IYffz9UaY/T_oGVlF9jMI/AAAAAAAAAog/JiQC37bEPvQ/s1600/race_williams_double_date.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W8IYffz9UaY/T_oGVlF9jMI/AAAAAAAAAog/JiQC37bEPvQ/s320/race_williams_double_date.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-6403865496672078842012-03-12T10:41:00.000-07:002012-03-12T10:41:00.994-07:00GO SEE JOHN CARTER!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kKr4Fwc9_U/T14u6BYHmrI/AAAAAAAAAn4/KmLpMdYYjss/s1600/johncarter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--kKr4Fwc9_U/T14u6BYHmrI/AAAAAAAAAn4/KmLpMdYYjss/s1600/johncarter.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're reading this you are probably a pulp fan. If you are a pulp fan you might have read at least a couple of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom books. If you have and you liked them, go see the movie. It's a well-done, thoughtful orchestration of elements of the first three books that help shape a serialized story into one solid movie. If you have been on the fence because of some poor reviews, then all I can tell you is that I don't know what those people saw.<br />
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I've waited 35+ years to see this movie. It has a LOT to live up to for me because 35 years is a long time to let expectations ferment. I think they did a good job and it didn't let me down. I don't know what Disney's problem with their marketing department is, but they completely and absolutely failed to present this movie the way it should have been. John Carter is not a one-off of Prince of Persia. It is not a rip off of Star Wars. It is not one long brainless battle as the trailers would lead you to believe. Any of the heart that you find in the books, even more, really... is in the movie.<br />
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Get off of your computer and go see it right now for cryin' out loud!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ps_KJpSMFkE/T140xQTSuQI/AAAAAAAAAoA/stxf5HF-ILE/s1600/DISNEYHATESJC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ps_KJpSMFkE/T140xQTSuQI/AAAAAAAAAoA/stxf5HF-ILE/s400/DISNEYHATESJC.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-91941692456501957442012-02-29T13:57:00.006-08:002012-03-01T11:41:06.960-08:00Spacehawk and the Creeping Death from Neptune<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-suvP-UkHn4Q/T06ew98_18I/AAAAAAAAAnc/quJQwC0zEyw/s1600/spacefunnies_wolverton_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-suvP-UkHn4Q/T06ew98_18I/AAAAAAAAAnc/quJQwC0zEyw/s320/spacefunnies_wolverton_cover.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Below is a quote from the <a href="http://www.fantagraphics.com/browse-shop/creeping-death-from-neptune-horror-and-science-fiction-comics-by-basil-wolverton-feb.-2012-2.html" target="_blank">Fantagraphics webpage</a> for CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE, a collection of Basil Wolverton's weird scifi tales. This and the SPACEHAWK book have been in the making for ages. It seems 2012 will finally be the year these come out. Though Wolverton is known to the 60s and 70s generation as the artist who drew ugly and weird caricatures in Mad Magazine, Plop! and Topps Cards, many years before, he did more straightforward scifi/adventure/horror comics. </div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: justify;">Basil Wolverton’s work refuses to die. Following a well-received exhibit of original art in New York City’s Gladstone Gallery (which <i>The New York Times</i> called “exuberantly grotesque”) came 2009’s publication of <i>The Wolverton Bible</i> (Fantagraphics Books). Though his comic book work has been reprinted endlessly, it has either been “modernized” with digital colors or presented in austere black and white. The time has come for a robust volume of Wolverton’s comics taken from their original printed source — the comic books themselves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A pioneer from the first generation of comic book artists, Wolverton arrived just as publishers began embracing original material, turning away from the newspaper-strip reprints that had been sustaining the industry since its inception four years earlier. One of the first to realize the value of “in-house” features was Centaur Publications, whose art director Lloyd Jacquet gave Wolverton his big break in comics in 1938, accepting “Meteor Martin” for <i>Amazing Man Comics</i> and “Space Patrol” for <i>Amazing Mystery Funnies</i>. Jacquet soon established an independent comics packager, Funnies, Inc., for which he asked Wolverton to invent a new science-fiction character. The artist came up with the iconic “Spacehawk,” who made thirty appearances in <i>Target Comics</i>. Prime examples of Wolverton’s iconic space hero will be featured in <i>Creeping Death from Neptune</i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-twx-4edsxvE/T06ewoTyzPI/AAAAAAAAAnY/VwKjRP5-XnE/s1600/05_spacehawk_target05_wolverton.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-twx-4edsxvE/T06ewoTyzPI/AAAAAAAAAnY/VwKjRP5-XnE/s320/05_spacehawk_target05_wolverton.jpg" width="220" /></a>Fed up with the publisher’s constant meddling with “Spacehawk,” Wolverton dropped his creation in 1942 and concentrated on humorous features for the rest of the decade. His short-lived return to serious subjects in 1951 resulted in some of the most intense horror and science-fiction stories of the pre-code era, including the classics “Brain Bats of Venus,” “Escape to Death,” and “Robot Woman,” all of which appear in this volume.</div>Created with the full cooperation of the Wolverton estate, <i>Creeping Death from Neptune</i> will also examine, for the first time, the artist’s personal ledgers and diaries, shedding new light on his working methods and his day-to-day life as a freelance comic book artist. The digital restoration of the printed art will be performed with subtlety and restraint, mainly to correct registration and printing errors, with every effort made to retain the flavor of the original comic books.</blockquote></div>Both volumes will be full color and both are on preorder through amazon.com. <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606995057/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i4?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=09H1BYWM484X0NEE8H1N&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank">CREEPING DEATH FROM NEPTUNE (coming in May)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1732900557" target="_blank">SPACEHAWK</a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606995502/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_g14_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=09H1BYWM484X0NEE8H1N&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"> (coming in August)</a><br />
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You can check out (preview) three SPACEHAWK stories at <a href="http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/2009/06/basil-wolvertons-space-funnies.html" target="_blank">Golden Age Comics</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>New Pulp Comics: THE BLACK BEETLE</b></span><br />
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While on the subject of pulp comics, I would also like to point out that <a href="http://francescofrancavilla.com/" target="_blank">Francesco Francavilla</a>, who in my eyes is easily one of the best of the modern pulp comic artists, will be seeing his original creation BLACK BEETLE printed in a new story via Dark Horse Presents. He was interviewed about this upcoming publication at <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/black-beetle-dark-horse-presents-francavilla-120228.html" target="_blank">Newsrama.com </a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;">Artist Francesco Francavilla has quietly become one of the most dynamic and speedy artists in comics as seen from his work in DC Comics’ <i>Detective Comics</i>, plus Marvel’s <i>Black Panther: Man Without Fear</i> and the current <i>Captain America & Bucky</i> arc, and even regular covers for Dynamite Entertainment. And now he’s spreading his wings with a story of his own as he writes and draws a three part pulp-noir story in the pages of the prestigious anthology <b>Dark Horse Presents</b>.</div><div style="color: #fff2cc; float: left; margin: 5px 0pt 13px; text-align: justify;"><div class="adsense_only"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-933UENtv76k/T0_CDphqUyI/AAAAAAAAAno/beCVQbJzHkU/s1600/black_beetle_turno_di_notte_low.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-933UENtv76k/T0_CDphqUyI/AAAAAAAAAno/beCVQbJzHkU/s320/black_beetle_turno_di_notte_low.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;">Scheduled to launch in April’s <b>Dark Horse Presents #11</b>, the three-part story <b>Night Shift</b> follows the Italian artist back into the world of his enigmatic hero Black Beetle and the crime-ridden burgh of Colt City. Francavilla first explored this hero and his world in an ashcan preview for a still-unreleased graphic novel as well as a webcomic short, but this venture in <b>Dark Horse Presents</b> poses his biggest platform yet, and possibly the beginning of a new future for Black Beetle. Newsarama spoke with the artist about Black Beetle and this anthology story, as well as his ambitions for writing and drawing comics both here and at Marvel and DC.</div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;"><b>Newsarama</b>: Francesco, you’ve written comics before, but never on this big of stage – what’s it like to be able to do it here at <b>Dark Horse Presents</b> and now with your own creation, the Black Beetle?</div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;"><b>Francesco Francavilla</b>: I have written short stories here and there for a few anthologies, but this is definitely a new experience for me in terms of structure (longer story, divided in three acts) and audience, and I am very thrilled and thankful for the opportunity. As someone who has still lots of stories to tell, I consider this debut in <b>Dark Horse Presents</b> to be very important and possibly something that could set a new path for my future career as a full-on storyteller. <b> </b></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;"><b> </b></div><div style="color: #fff2cc; text-align: justify;"><b><a href="http://i.newsarama.com/images/black_beetle_turno_di_notte_low.JPG" rel="facebox" style="text-decoration: none;"></a>Nrama</b>: For people that may be following you to this from your Marvel and DC work, who is Black Beetle? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #fff2cc;">Francavilla</b><span style="color: #fff2cc;">: Black Beetle is the protector and hero of our story. His mission is to fight crime in Colt City. We don’t know who he is, not yet anyway. When we meet him in my three-part </span><b style="color: #fff2cc;">Dark Horse Presents</b><span style="color: #fff2cc;"> story </span><b style="color: #fff2cc;">Night Shift</b><span style="color: #fff2cc;">, we learn that he’s patrolling the city streets and protecting the citizens the best he can. How he came to be in this position and why he feels compelled to protect others is something we’ll discover as we go along. This is definitely an action-packed thriller with lots of twists and turns, so I hope fans will come along and enjoy the ride! Continued...</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/black-beetle-dark-horse-presents-francavilla-120228.html" target="_blank">Check out the full interview at Newsrama!</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CCHKS2Gqfro/T0_DiFa7wfI/AAAAAAAAAnw/Dc1hBXne8AQ/s1600/2012_the_black_beetle_low.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CCHKS2Gqfro/T0_DiFa7wfI/AAAAAAAAAnw/Dc1hBXne8AQ/s320/2012_the_black_beetle_low.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/sequentials/bb_kb00.html" target="_blank">Check out Francesco's online comic of BLACK BEETLE here.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pulp-Reader/112586702121246" target="_blank">Don't forget to "like" The Pulp Reader on Facebook. There's plenty going on over there too!</a></div></div></blockquote>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-9413893650401112732011-12-08T14:01:00.000-08:002012-01-04T16:33:45.654-08:00McLevy The Edinburgh Detective Series 8The latest season of McLevy came out last month. I missed some of it, but it looks like BBC Radio 4 is currently rerunning their McLevy catalog. I don't know if they will be running all 8 seasons, but they are right now on season 1.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=mclevy" target="_blank">Click here to do a search for the latest episodes. </a><br />
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Don't know about McLevy? Check out the <a href="http://jamesmclevy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Pulp Reader's McLevy subsite</a> to learn about Edinburgh's 19th Century beat detective.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jamesmclevy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="108" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C8LR69QXSqw/S0EQbi0hydI/AAAAAAAAAag/1jFz-BBkJwo/s320/mclevylogo.jpg" width="320" /> McLevy</a></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-45754861609027061262011-11-30T10:29:00.000-08:002011-12-01T11:34:12.240-08:00A Pulp Holiday Gift Guide<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfAp4Qw_LE/TtZlZqgmBuI/AAAAAAAAAmw/SYE0DfZn19c/s1600/adventures+of+doc+savage.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfAp4Qw_LE/TtZlZqgmBuI/AAAAAAAAAmw/SYE0DfZn19c/s1600/adventures+of+doc+savage.jpg" /></a>There has been a lot going on in the retail world of the pulps this year and I would like to offer some suggestions for holiday gift giving:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfAp4Qw_LE/TtZlZqgmBuI/AAAAAAAAAmw/SYE0DfZn19c/s1600/adventures+of+doc+savage.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>First off, pulp historian and fictioneer Will Murray has been full steam ahead in his new <a href="http://www.adventuresinbronze.com/" target="_blank">Doc Savage novel</a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfAp4Qw_LE/TtZlZqgmBuI/AAAAAAAAAmw/SYE0DfZn19c/s1600/adventures+of+doc+savage.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>writing and pulp audio adaptations. Radio Archives has been adapting several pulp classics to audio this year. You will find <b>THE SPIDER: PRINCE OF THE RED LOOTERS</b>, <b>THE BLACK BAT: BRAND OF THE BLACK BAT</b>, <b>DOCTOR DEATH: 12 WILL DIE</b> and of course <b>DOC SAVAGE</b> in <b>THE JADE OGRE</b>, <b>PYTHON ISLE</b>, <b>WHITE EYES</b> plus a digitally restored CD of the Doc Savage radio dramas <b>FEAR CAY</b> and <b>THE THOUSAND HEADED MAN</b>. All of these can be bought as CDs or digital downloads from <a href="http://www.radioarchives.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=103" target="_blank">RADIO ARCHIVES</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dMfAp4Qw_LE/TtZlZqgmBuI/AAAAAAAAAmw/SYE0DfZn19c/s1600/adventures+of+doc+savage.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Also in the aural zone is film director Larry Fessenden's new horror audiodrama label <b>Tales From Beyond the Pale</b>. These are tales of horror inspired by the classic Old Time Radio shows and star the voice talents of many genre favorites such as Vincent D'Onofrio, Ron Perleman and Doug Jones. The full season 1 (10 episodes) is available as DVD packs, a complete boxed set or digital downloads. For more info and samples please check out their website at <a href="http://talesfrombeyondthepale.com/" target="_blank">talesfrombeyondthepale.com/</a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DAVKjpZwa4s/TtZn0Q58A2I/AAAAAAAAAnA/8BjLwhSOfPU/s1600/TFBTPboxset.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DAVKjpZwa4s/TtZn0Q58A2I/AAAAAAAAAnA/8BjLwhSOfPU/s400/TFBTPboxset.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In the visual landscape there are a few DVDs to take note of. One is the nutty mashup of Raymond Chandler's FAREWELL, MY LOVELY and apocalyptic mad scientist genre, <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Bang-Antonio-Banderas/dp/B004OUZLGA/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1322674645&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The BIG BANG</a></b>, directed by Tony Krantz and starring Antonio Banderas. Probably an either love it or hate it movie, it has a daring and brazen edge to it that keeps it visually and plot-wise quirky. I thought it was a lot of fun.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fhOKI7qQOCw/TtZu4TisUeI/AAAAAAAAAnI/Rjt0iAynO7U/s1600/HushPoster.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fhOKI7qQOCw/TtZu4TisUeI/AAAAAAAAAnI/Rjt0iAynO7U/s320/HushPoster.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>I have to mention one of my favorite modern hard-boiled flicks, <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Give-Hell-Malone-Thomas-Jane/dp/B002SF9YT8/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1322675495&sr=1-1" target="_blank">GIVE 'EM HELL MALONE</a></b> which is an over the top action mystery that is part Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT and part fevered action romp as seen in the writings of The Spider's author Norvell Page. This is a really fun movie that doesn't take itself seriously but hits all the right buttons for super pulpy action. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zfU2JUd9xaU/TtfWO0masZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/8D9VS7hv2d0/s1600/WhispererPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>And finally for DVDs, as I mentioned on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pulp-Reader/112586702121246" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, what I consider the must have movie of the year for the Weird Menace pulp aficionado is Vincent Cortez's <b>The HUSH</b>. This is an indie movie made on $8000. But don't let that fool you into thinking it is not a quality production. The Hush has everything hitting the right marks. It is a dark, brooding, supernatural hard-boiled neo-Noir with loads of action, drama and phantasmagorical effects. I have a full review <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2011/06/hush.html" target="_blank">here</a>. You can now <a href="http://mitchellstreetpictures.com/MSP_Store.html" target="_blank">buy a signed DVD for $15 straight from the director</a>. If you want to have a really interesting stocking stuffer for your pulpy friends this year, I highly recommend this film!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zfU2JUd9xaU/TtfWO0masZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/8D9VS7hv2d0/s1600/WhispererPoster.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>A late breaking entry for DVD is the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society's latest film THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS. Previously the HPLHS produced the silent short movie THE CALL OF CTHULHU and they have now produced a feature length "talkie" adaptation of Whisperer. <a href="http://cthulhulives.org/store/storeDetailPages/whisperer-dvd.html" target="_blank">It is now on sale at their website.</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zfU2JUd9xaU/TtfWO0masZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/8D9VS7hv2d0/s1600/WhispererPoster.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zfU2JUd9xaU/TtfWO0masZI/AAAAAAAAAnQ/8D9VS7hv2d0/s320/WhispererPoster.jpg" width="215" /></a>And then we have the books and magazines! First off, we have the holiday issue of <b><a href="http://www.strandmag.com/htm/strandmag_whatsnew.htm" target="_blank">The STRAND</a></b> magazine which is printing a lost <b>Cornell Woolrich</b> story "Never Kick a Dick" which is set in a hotel overlooking Biscayne Bay. The STRAND also rediscovered a lost Dashiell Hammett story "So I Shot Him" published in the Feb 28th 2011 issue.<br />
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As mentioned above, <b>Will Murray</b> has a new line of <b>Doc Savage</b> novels being published. These can be found at <a href="http://www.adventuresinbronze.com/" target="_blank">Adventures in Bronze</a>. <br />
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Also, <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2011/08/phantom-ace.html" target="_blank">earlier this year</a> I talked about Donald Keyhoe's <b>Philip Strange</b>, WWI flying ace. Strange fought demons and dinosaurs on the European battlefront. How can you not love biplanes vs pterodactyls!</div><br />
There is also a whole world of pulp reprints and new material being published these days. The best place to keep track of it all is at <a href="http://www.pulpcomingattractions.com/index.html" target="_blank">Coming Attractions</a>.</div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-86941252592094209712011-10-12T13:58:00.000-07:002013-06-19T13:23:17.545-07:00Tang Dynasty's Judge Dread<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O3kxzw19zTQ/TpX-JmLmlCI/AAAAAAAAAmk/cuJjtBKHXlA/s1600/vangulikDeeillo.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O3kxzw19zTQ/TpX-JmLmlCI/AAAAAAAAAmk/cuJjtBKHXlA/s320/vangulikDeeillo.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">van Gulik illustrated his own books.</span></td></tr>
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I was going to write a big article on the historical figure Di Ren Jie. He was a magistrate during Tang Dynasty (7th Century via Western calender) China. But I keep coming across articles and blogs that have already covered the territory I was going to cover. So I have a brief review of two books and then for the more curious, a few links at the bottom of the page to the most enlightening articles.<br />
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Just briefly: Di Ren Jie was a judge who it turns out like most judges of the time, were more like Judge Dread than Judge Judy. They were out in the field doing detective work and police procedurals with investigating, interrogating, torturing and convicting criminals. The only thing they didn't do by hand was the physical act of torturing or capital punishment.There is apparently a long history in China of these judges being written about in fictionalized accounts. Sort of like epic pulp fiction, as the cast of characters ranged into the hundreds along with an even higher number of chapters, with each chapter being hundreds of pages. These books were huge and full of intricate information.<br />
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This is something that went by the Western world without anyone ever noticing. But then, enter Robert Hans van Gulik. He was a mid-20th Century Dutch diplomat whose work brought him to Japan and China where he became an expert on Chinese history. He stumbled across an anonymously written 1800s pulp story about one of these judges from the 600s. Because of the brevity of this story, being shorter than thousands of pages with much less than hundreds of characters (so being more close to what the modern world would consider a book), he felt it would be great material to translate for a modern audience.<br />
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The result was THE CELEBRATED CASES OF JUDGE DEE (Dee Goong An 1949). In this book three crimes are unfolded. Each case is completely separate from the other but completely intertwined in the telling of the story. Again, I'll let someone else speak for me, in this case wikipedia, about the plot: </div>
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There are three cases in this book. The first might be called <i>The Double Murder at Dawn</i>. The case describes the hazardous life of the traveling silk merchant and the murder which is committed to gain wealth.<br />
The second is <i>The Strange Corpse</i> which takes place in a small village, a crime of passion which proves hard to solve. The criminal is a very determined woman.<br />
The third case <i>The Poisoned Bride</i> contains the murder of the daughter of a local scholar who marries the son of the former administrator of the district. This case contains a surprising twist in its solution.</blockquote>
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All three cases are solved by Judge Dee, the district magistrate - Detective, prosecutor, judge, and jury all wrapped up into one person.</blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C1BdtQ7_V0s/TpX-Jc9qOZI/AAAAAAAAAmc/vkD7lARhonQ/s1600/DeeGoongAn.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C1BdtQ7_V0s/TpX-Jc9qOZI/AAAAAAAAAmc/vkD7lARhonQ/s320/DeeGoongAn.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">First edition of Celebrated Cases.</span></td></tr>
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I found this book to be really grippingly intriguing all the way through. The way the plot elements intertwine and van Gulik's knack for writing very clear prose is highly enjoyable and very easy to digest. The penchant for torture being pretty much the answer for everything was a bit unnerving. But then that was the way of things at that time and van Gulik did not whitewash the original prose. A very in-depth and fascinating introduction puts the torture, the way of life of Magistrates and how the Chinese legal system itself worked into historical perspective. All in all, if you want to maximize your experience with Judge Dee on a historical and fictional level, this first book is definitely the one to read.</div>
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van Gulik went on to write 17 original novels and collections about Judge Dee. Since CELEBRATED CASES was a direct translation of another author's work I wanted to try one of van Gulik's original titles and jumped on JUDGE DEE AND THE HAUNTED MONASTERY (1961). This is from about mid-way through van Gulik's Judge Dee series. It seems to have its basis in the "Old Dark House" mysteries of the 1920s-50s, where a group of people typically become trapped in a single maze-like location and as bodies pile up, the hero has to figure out whodunnit. This book definitely has that feel.</div>
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For the plot this is again from wikipedia: </div>
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Judge Dee and his three wives are on their way back from a visit to family in the capital accompanied by the Judge's aid Tao Gan when a terrible storm forces the party to take shelter for the night in an isolated Taoist monastery of sinister repute. The wives go directly to bed but the Judge is required to pay a courtesy visit to the Abbot. Thus begins an endless night of murder, mayhem and madness as the Judge, suffering from the beginnings of a head cold, solves the mysterious deaths, punishes the guilty and brings two star-crossed young couples together.</blockquote>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wv1eBnli6Yg/TpX-JFUA-XI/AAAAAAAAAmU/TyN212dNaRA/s1600/DetectiveDee.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wv1eBnli6Yg/TpX-JFUA-XI/AAAAAAAAAmU/TyN212dNaRA/s320/DetectiveDee.jpg" width="227" /></a>This book, a completely original tale, has no torture to speak of and Judge Dee comes off more as an everyman detective as you might find in contemporary (1950s) fiction than as the high and mighty Magistrate portrayed in CELEBRATED CASES. Though there is no problem with the first book and it is completely enjoyable, this shift in focus on Dee's personality makes it less troublesome to get through. Judge Dee is fairly likable in this. I just have to admit that anyone who uses torture is probably not going to seem that amiable or likable, so the character has a one-up in HAUNTED MONASTERY. Though these two books are different animals, they are both eminently readable. I will absolutely continue reading further Judge Dee adventures. Next will be THE CHINESE MAZE MURDERS.<br />
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I have to admit I'd never heard of Judge Dee until a movie about him came out last year. DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME is an original story by Lin Quinyu and filmed by the legendary director Tsui Hark (Chinese Ghost Story-1987, Once Upon a Time in China -1991). This big budget epic intrigued me about the character and the more I researched the more I realized how much Judge Dee there was out there to read and learn about! <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZeMLCCws5m8" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<b>Reference materials:</b><br />
The movie DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME is out in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=detective+dee+and+the+phantom+flame&x=0&y=0">various DVD formats</a> but I believe the valid Region 1 DVD comes out in December (2011). It is also currently touring the US at art house theaters. Roger Ebert's review is <a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110921/REVIEWS/110929994">here</a>. There is also a movie from 1974 that is an adaptation of THE HAUNTED MONASTERY, called JUDGE DEE AND THE MONASTERY MURDERS which you can find a review <a href="http://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2011/03/night-at-monastery.html">here</a>.<br />
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There is a chronology of the stories along with lots of background data <a href="http://www.friesian.com/ross/dee.htm">here</a>.<br />
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And there is an excellent and in-depth essay on van Gulik and Judge Dee <a href="http://endlessbookshelf.net/rhvangulik.html">here</a>.<br />
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If all of this fires your sparkplugs and you can't get enough, then be advised that a Chinese TV series on Judge Dee will be available on DVD with English subtitles <a href="http://www.yesasia.com/us/detective-di-renjie-dvd-end-english-subtitled-us-version/1024956785-0-0-0-en/info.html">starting in November</a>.<br />
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Another nice overview of the character is at this <a href="http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2011/03/crime-law-enforcement-judge-dee.html">blog</a>.<br />
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And here I thought this was going to be a brief article. </div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-24295725504566126882011-09-06T14:31:00.000-07:002011-09-06T15:33:39.353-07:00Arsene Lupin in: The Crystal Stopper<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-60fI3aQyBSw/TmafDCO8UpI/AAAAAAAAAmM/UGuuBbsqkh4/s1600/arsenetv0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-60fI3aQyBSw/TmafDCO8UpI/AAAAAAAAAmM/UGuuBbsqkh4/s200/arsenetv0.jpg" width="101" /></a>As promised on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pulp-Reader/112586702121246" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, The Pulp Reader is presenting Maurice LeBlanc's Arsene Lupin thriller <b>THE CRYSTAL STOPPER</b>. After watching the first episode of the French 1971 television series starring Georges Descrieres, which is an adaptation of this story, I felt compelled to see how different it is from the book. The TV adaptation was surprisingly good and imagine the novel to be even better.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XIFMDcwz8cM/TmaOZlrLG1I/AAAAAAAAAmI/A0cfB0Y0ebM/s1600/lebouchondecristal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XIFMDcwz8cM/TmaOZlrLG1I/AAAAAAAAAmI/A0cfB0Y0ebM/s1600/lebouchondecristal.jpg" /></a>Information from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Stopper" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>: The Crystal Stopper is a mystery novel by Maurice Leblanc featuring the adventures of the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin. The novel appeared in serial form in the French newspaper <b>Le Journal</b> from September to November 1912 and was released as a novel subsequently. Maurice Leblanc was inspired by the infamous Panama scandals of 1892 and 1893. The novel borrows from Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Purloined Letter the idea of hiding an object in plain sight.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br />
Plot Summary: </b>During a burglary at the home of Deputy Daubrecq a crime is committed and two accomplices of Arsène Lupin were arrested by the police. One is guilty of the crime, the other innocent but both will be sentenced to death. Lupin seeks to deliver the victim of a miscarriage of justice, but struggles against Deputy Daubrecq's ruthless blackmailer, who has an incriminating document hidden in a crystal stopper.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eg2J2TVm2ks/TO25In3mV8I/AAAAAAAAAiM/U2i-HiK5hH0/s1600/archivedotorg_logo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eg2J2TVm2ks/TO25In3mV8I/AAAAAAAAAiM/U2i-HiK5hH0/s1600/archivedotorg_logo.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/TheCrystalStopper" target="_blank">* Head over to the Internet Archive</a><br />
<a href="http://www.archive.org/download/TheCrystalStopper/TheCrystalStopper_vbr_mp3.zip" target="_blank">* Download the ZIPPED files (13 Chapters)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/TheCrystalStopper" target="_blank">* Listen through your media player</a><br />
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* Listen to the stream right here:<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="26" width="640"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"/><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"/><param value="high" name="quality"/><param value="true" name="cachebusting"/><param value="#000000" name="bgcolor"/><param name="movie" value="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" /><param value="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'TheCrystalStopper_001.mp3','autoPlay':false},'TheCrystalStopper_002.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_003.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_004.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_005.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_006.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_007.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_008.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_009.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_010.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_011.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_012.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_013.mp3'],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/TheCrystalStopper/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':true,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}" name="flashvars"/><embed src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="26" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" cachebusting="true" bgcolor="#000000" quality="high" flashvars="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'TheCrystalStopper_001.mp3','autoPlay':false},'TheCrystalStopper_002.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_003.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_004.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_005.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_006.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_007.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_008.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_009.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_010.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_011.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_012.mp3','TheCrystalStopper_013.mp3'],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/TheCrystalStopper/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':true,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}"> </embed></object></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-85098513098911851332011-08-01T17:14:00.000-07:002013-05-01T09:39:55.503-07:00The Phantom Ace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d3YkdzpLom0/Tjc_vprQEOI/AAAAAAAAAl8/qmX58AxfbuI/s1600/G8-18-TheDeathMonsters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d3YkdzpLom0/Tjc_vprQEOI/AAAAAAAAAl8/qmX58AxfbuI/s1600/G8-18-TheDeathMonsters.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoQ0Wi5TczM/Tjc_g3ErzEI/AAAAAAAAAl4/61EQQyxYSrQ/s1600/strangewar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>When I first started The Pulp Reader there were what I considered a top handful of interesting pulp heroes; <b>Doc Savage</b>, <b>The Shadow</b>, <b>The Spider</b>, <b>Secret Agent X </b>and <b>G-8 and his Battle Aces</b>. Sure there's hundreds of pulp heroes out there, but those were the ones I was most interested in. </div>
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G8 seemed to be one of the more oddball characters as he was a WWI ace pilot who was also a top spy and happened to fight giant bats, flying tentacled behemoths, panther men, animated skeletons, intelligent apes and a whole menagerie of bizarre and supernatural creatures conjured up by the madmen employed by the Kaiser.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzukTAyaQ9Q/Tjc_W6uGgoI/AAAAAAAAAl0/8V5u0ZqAO4c/s1600/flying_aces_193202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzukTAyaQ9Q/Tjc_W6uGgoI/AAAAAAAAAl0/8V5u0ZqAO4c/s200/flying_aces_193202.jpg" width="137" /></a>The ideas were over the top and crazy and a lot of fun. The only hindrance to the reading experience was that though creator Robert Hogan had a fertile and unfettered imagination, his writing skills were pedestrian, suffering IMO mainly from direly wooden dialog and sometimes vague descriptions of action.</div>
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The story setup was so sweet but the execution was unexceptional.</div>
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Well, there's a lot of pulp history that I just don't know about. But I'm always happily discovering new information! What I've discovered <i>this</i> week is that 2 years before the creation of G-8 there was another author writing about a pilot fighting the same type of Weird War...</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l49do1CABQs/TdsZwyWgkhI/AAAAAAAAF5s/DhXyHKctwsY/s1600/Keyhoe+FlyingSaucersReal.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l49do1CABQs/TdsZwyWgkhI/AAAAAAAAF5s/DhXyHKctwsY/s200/Keyhoe+FlyingSaucersReal.jpg" width="115" /></a>The pulp reprinting publisher <a href="http://www.ageofaces.net/" target="_blank"><b>AGE OF ACES</b></a> specializes in WWI aviation. They've been around for a few years now, putting out high quality collections that you just weren't likely to see anywhere else. They've culled the stories of <b>The Red Falcon</b> (also written by Hogan and existing in G-8's universe), <b>Captain Combat</b>, <b>The Three Mosquitoes</b>, <b>The Iron Ace</b>, <b>Smoke Wade</b> and others. <br />
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I was recently made aware that they would have a new book premiering at Pulpfest 2011 called <a href="http://www.ageofaces.net/our-books/captain-philip-strange-strange-war/" target="_blank"><b>Captain Philip Strange: Strange War</b></a> written by <b>Donald Keyhoe</b>. If you are into Ufology you may have heard of Keyhoe as he wrote a few books about and was heavily into the UFO phenomena scene.<br />
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Well before the UFOs he was a Major in the USMC as a fighter pilot. And drawing from that experience he entered the pulp world, writing for magazines such as <b>WEIRD TALES</b> and notably <b>FLYING ACES</b> with stories of heroic pilots who fought weird menaces at the WWI Front lines.<br />
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AGE of ACES describes Captain Strange as such:</div>
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<blockquote>
Welcome to a Strange War! In Donald E. Keyhoe’s imaginings, the stormy skies of World War I are filled with giant pterodactyls, mystic fireballs and demon aces. But America has it’s own unnatural secret weapon: Captain Philip Strange. A mental marvel from birth, he was so terrifyingly effective that the Allies referred to him as “The Phantom Ace of G-2.” But to the Germans he was “The Brain-Devil,” whose penetrating green eyes were both a legend and a nightmare. Keyhoe’s Philip Strange stories ran for nine years—from 1931 through 1939—in the pages of Flying Aces magazine. This first volume in our new series contains six exciting tales of terror skies! It also features an introduction by Sid Bradd and is beautifully wrapped up in an exciting new design by Chris Kalb! </blockquote>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoQ0Wi5TczM/Tjc_g3ErzEI/AAAAAAAAAl4/61EQQyxYSrQ/s1600/strangewar.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoQ0Wi5TczM/Tjc_g3ErzEI/AAAAAAAAAl4/61EQQyxYSrQ/s200/strangewar.jpg" width="133" /></a>Having my interest piqued I started roaming around the 'net and found a few of these Strange tales online. The one I'm reading right now is the short story <b>The Skeleton From the Sky</b>. I have to tell you that having that true life experience in the deadly skies really set's Keyhoe's writing apart from Hogan's and probably most everyone else's. Like Dashiell Hammett who was employed by the Pinkerton's before embarking on writing about The Continental Op and Sam Spade, Keyhoe's working knowledge of his subject matter comes through especially in the air combat. His character studies are quick and concise but let you know each person remarkably well. This was somebody doing what Hogan got famous for with G-8, but doing it much better.<br />
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<b>Captain Philip Strange: Strange War </b>should be out at the regular online bookstores any time now. I know I'm ready and waiting!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_y-wNPY7l1Q/TjdgzCDwITI/AAAAAAAAAmA/EfHnQTQuHqA/s1600/harrigan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_y-wNPY7l1Q/TjdgzCDwITI/AAAAAAAAAmA/EfHnQTQuHqA/s200/harrigan.jpg" width="199" /></a>To whet your appetite, instead of an audiobook, I'm going to point you to <b>The Skeleton From the Sky</b> in <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20111015134403/http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~idesign/oct-03/skeleton.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a> and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20111015140001/http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~idesign/oct-03/skeleton.html" target="_blank">HTML</a> form.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hop Harrigan</span></b><br />
<br />
And for the aural aerial experience, the comic book turned Radio show turned cliffhanger serial Hop Harrigan can be found at my neighbor, <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/otr_hopharrigan" target="_blank">archive.org.</a> This is a surprisingly good show that reminds me a lot of a cross between these weird aerial pulp adventures and the early adventures of Steve Canyon. The files at archive.org are a bit out of order, but it's the only place I've seen them around lately.</div>
shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-64394959360941082052011-07-28T15:57:00.000-07:002011-07-29T12:24:20.278-07:00Of Charm and Violence<div style="text-align: justify;">You've probably heard the tag line at some point in your life. And if you grew up in the U.S. and are over 35 and had a radio or TV, you certainly heard it used and paraphrased a lot in the 60s, 70s & 80s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br />
"There are eight million stories in the Naked City, and this has been one of them."</i><br />
<br />
I heard it a lot and got to know it well. The phrase that is, but not the show it comes from. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pOuoZVkfOp4/TjHpJRYbSyI/AAAAAAAAAlw/aQR62e-gTjw/s1600/nakedcitylogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pOuoZVkfOp4/TjHpJRYbSyI/AAAAAAAAAlw/aQR62e-gTjw/s200/nakedcitylogo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>In 1945 a photographer known as "Weegee" put out a book of sensationalistic photos. He cruised the night life of New York City and captured in stark black and white the life and death of it's denizens. The book is still in print today. This tome of lurid images became the basis for the Film Noir classic with the same name as the book: <b>THE NAKED CITY</b> (1948). Shot in a semi documentary form, the film revolves around two cops trying to solve the case of a female fashion model murdered in her apartment. <br />
<br />
The opening narration to the film does not introduce the story itself but instead talks about how it was created. Eschewing Hollywood back lots and studios, it was filmed on the streets and in the apartment and office buildings of NYC itself. Thus defining the city as a part of the overarching character of the movie. This type of show-casing of the environment in a police drama was put to good use 30+ years later in <b>The Streets of San Francisco</b>. </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PFffkWKz81s/TPpSEN_qz4I/AAAAAAAAABs/RCRyDZjc46c/s1600/jf-nakedcity-009.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PFffkWKz81s/TPpSEN_qz4I/AAAAAAAAABs/RCRyDZjc46c/s200/jf-nakedcity-009.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fraciscus and McIntire in <br />
a Naked City publicity photo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Ten years after the movie came out, a spin off television series went into production. It used the same foundation of the streets of New York City as its true life backdrop. In its first season it was a half hour action show starring <b>James Franciscus</b> (Det. Halloran) and <b>John McIntire</b> (Lt. Muldoon). McIntire burned out on all the location shooting about halfway through the first season and when he left the show, his character was murdered in a flaming car crash, ran off the road by an assassin. <br />
<br />
Writer Stirling Silliphant had gone out of his way in the 30 minute opening season to engage in a <i>lack</i> of plot in order to get a concise, action packed story out and done with. It was full of shootouts and tense situations with vignettes of personal pathos. There was some focus on the criminals themselves, hinting at what was to come later. Though full of terse action and drama, it failed to garner high ratings and at the end of the season it went on hiatus for a year.<br />
<br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sQ7UTwMsfE/TjHh0ifw18I/AAAAAAAAAlk/oy2kOjvLiA0/s1600/Paulburknancymalone.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4sQ7UTwMsfE/TjHh0ifw18I/AAAAAAAAAlk/oy2kOjvLiA0/s200/Paulburknancymalone.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Burke and Nancy Malone</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">When it returned in 1960 it had been retooled into an hour long show focusing less on action and more on drama with a new lead; the unconceitedly charismatic <b>Paul Burke</b> as "Det. Flint". What really began to stand out with NAKED CITY as different from other crime dramas was this greater focus on the criminals. Almost all of the shows spend more air-time looking at the lives of the criminals than on the police procedural itself.<br />
<br />
The criminals in this show turned out to be humans. Not just brief character sketches to push the plot along. Some are normal people thrown into unfortunate circumstances that force them into crime, some are born bad and show it through and through. Others straddle the fence, some eventually falling on the side of the law but usually on the side of villainy. <br />
<br />
There was still plenty of violence though. I imagine there must have been a directive from the studio execs requiring a certain amount of violence in each episode. There was a lot of shoot 'em up in almost every episode. The only episode I've seen so far that did not have some type of explosive amount of lead poisoning is the Dennis Hopper starring episode "Shoes for Vinnie Winford", which though it has a car chase, does not have any gunplay.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iGbBiZc-gzQ/TjHkzzmc87I/AAAAAAAAAls/-eWYLakVhrQ/s1600/dernalvinepstein.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iGbBiZc-gzQ/TjHkzzmc87I/AAAAAAAAAls/-eWYLakVhrQ/s200/dernalvinepstein.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Bruce Dern and Alvin Epstein</div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">in "The Fault of Our Stars"</div></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Though this interesting and different angle of centering on the criminal elements made it unique, what made it <i>shine</i> was the writing. Every episode I've seen so far has been perfectly written. There is always a balance between drama, horror and comedy. Comedy? Yes, there tends to be a lot of funny and cute moments amidst the turmoil. The dialog especially for the heroes tends to be very witty and charming. Something that with the modern focus on verity method acting and method writing seems to have all but disappeared from television and movies. Too bad, I say, as contemporary entertainment could use a lot more charm and wit.<br />
<br />
Some episodes are very funny throughout (The Virtues of Madame Douvay), some are heart-warming journeys to redemption (Debt of Honor), and others deal with irredeemable and uncompromising evil (A Death of Princes). Each story whether being about horror, action, love, comedy or equilibrium, they have, in my opinion, all been successful. <br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mkZyrygmZCk/TjHjCktogOI/AAAAAAAAAlo/8ASZJIiPHAQ/s1600/dustinhoffman.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mkZyrygmZCk/TjHjCktogOI/AAAAAAAAAlo/8ASZJIiPHAQ/s200/dustinhoffman.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Dustin Hoffman in</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Barefoot on a Bed of Coals"</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>Another interesting thing about this show is the staggering amount of up coming actors who guest-starred in the series who went on to very successful careers. Forgive me for cribbing from wikipedia, but here is a small list of actors seen on NAKED CITY; Rip Torn, Tuesday Weld, Jack Klugman, Peter Falk, Robert Duvall, Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Suzanne Pleshette, George Segal, Martin Sheen, Robert Redford, Sylvia Miles, Jon Voight, Sandy Dennis, William Shatner, Christopher Walken and Dustin Hoffman. <br />
<br />
The show also featured such established performers as Kim Hunter, Eileen Heckart, Nehemiah Persoff, Betty Field, Luther Adler, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jan Sterling, Mildred Natwick, Walter Matthau, Viveca Lindfors, Claude Rains, Jack Warden, Eli Wallach, Burgess Meredith, Mickey Rooney, and Aldo Ray.<br />
<br />
Well, at the beginning of this post I mentioned not actually <i>seeing</i> the show. That is until recently. <a href="http://www.myretrotv.com/index2.html" target="_blank">Retro Television Network</a> started rerunning the series in July. RTV shows the half-hour episodes on the weekend and the hour shows during the week. Watching it on RTV got me hooked and am very happy about the discovery of this television relic. It may be over 50 years old now, but the writing, acting and overall production still have a moxie and life that makes it very entertaining and engaging today.<br />
<br />
If you do not have RTV, there were 3 box sets of the "best of" episodes put out by Image Entertainment. They are out of print but easily findable at online retail outlets and on Netflix.</div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-35485495238393679972011-06-15T16:13:00.000-07:002011-06-15T16:18:13.248-07:00Lurking Shadows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KCaS6WaEq7E/Tfk76Ano3PI/AAAAAAAAAlc/dNAF8GnlEU0/s1600/satanhall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KCaS6WaEq7E/Tfk76Ano3PI/AAAAAAAAAlc/dNAF8GnlEU0/s200/satanhall.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>he new visitor to The Pulp Reader may not realize that this blog started out as a repository for Text to Speech generated audiobooks. If you look at the mission statement at the very bottom of this page you will see where this all started. <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As time has gone by there has been some evolution in the content. The Pulp Reader covers pulp, Noir, cliffhanger and classic movie reviews, news of what is going on in video and audio related media and anything else of a general interest to a pulp book, audio and movie fan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">But once in a while I still have a book I'd like to share. And this is somewhat exciting, at least for me, that today I'm experimenting with a new TTS reader. I'm always looking for the latest in technology so that the TTS audiobooks can sound as natural as possible. I stumbled across a nice British voice that seems to pronounce most words very well without the hitches and sometimes garbled sounds that come with machine driven audio. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OlLNrBLf440/Tfk76iTOBNI/AAAAAAAAAlg/S-NGrb0mwT4/s1600/racewilliams.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OlLNrBLf440/Tfk76iTOBNI/AAAAAAAAAlg/S-NGrb0mwT4/s200/racewilliams.jpg" width="141" /></a>Today's experiment is from the man who is considered the father of the "Hard-Boiled" genre, Carroll John Daly. Though his writing can be a little creaky, it is for the most part a truly pulpy thrill ride that is full of tough good guys and even tougher bad guys. Outside of my acute admiration for both his Race Williams and Satan Hall stories, there is not much I can tell you that has not been told by more capable hands than mine.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Therefore I leave you with some links for further edification and finally the book Lurking Shadows. I would be interested in knowing what you think of this new TTS voice. Is it easy to listen to? Is it a better voice than the traditional TTS voice that I use? Let me know.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><blockquote><ul><li><a href="http://www.vintagelibrary.com/pulpfiction/authors/Carroll-John-Daly.php" target="_blank">Daly at the Vintage Library</a> where you can buy etext of many Daly classics.</li>
<li>The first Daly Hard-boiled story <a href="http://www.pulpserenade.com/2009/04/three-gun-terry-by-carroll-john-daly.html" target="_blank">"Three Gun Terry" is boiled down</a>.</li>
<li>A brief biography and look at the themes in <a href="http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7930292/Daly,-Carroll-John" target="_blank">Daly's stories at gadetection</a>.</li>
<li>And at Davy Crockett's Almanack, Evan has <a href="http://davycrockettsalmanack.blogspot.com/search/label/Carroll%20John%20Daly" target="_blank">written extensively about many Daly titles</a>.</li>
</ul></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4P36tiXsWHg/SJuHvQjQW4I/AAAAAAAAAOY/GIZc7QNCwEg/s1600/archive.org.logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4P36tiXsWHg/SJuHvQjQW4I/AAAAAAAAAOY/GIZc7QNCwEg/s1600/archive.org.logo.jpg" /></a><b>LISTENING OPTIONS:</b><br />
listen to<a href="http://www.archive.org/details/LurkingShadows"> LURKING SHADOWS at archive.org</a>!<br />
Direct Download the<a href="http://www.archive.org/download/LurkingShadows/LurkingShadows_vbr_mp3.zip"> zip file here</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Play the stream in your <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/LurkingShadows">media player</a>.<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="26" width="640"><param value="true" name="allowfullscreen"/><param value="always" name="allowscriptaccess"/><param value="high" name="quality"/><param value="true" name="cachebusting"/><param value="#000000" name="bgcolor"/><param name="movie" value="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" /><param value="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'LurkingShadows01.mp3','autoPlay':false},'LurkingShadows02.mp3','LurkingShadows03.mp3','LurkingShadows04.mp3','LurkingShadows05.mp3','LurkingShadows06.mp3','LurkingShadows07.mp3','LurkingShadows08.mp3','LurkingShadows09.mp3','LurkingShadows10.mp3','LurkingShadows11.mp3','LurkingShadows12.mp3'],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/LurkingShadows/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':true,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}" name="flashvars"/><embed src="http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.1.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="26" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" cachebusting="true" bgcolor="#000000" quality="high" flashvars="config={'key':'#$aa4baff94a9bdcafce8','playlist':[{'url':'LurkingShadows01.mp3','autoPlay':false},'LurkingShadows02.mp3','LurkingShadows03.mp3','LurkingShadows04.mp3','LurkingShadows05.mp3','LurkingShadows06.mp3','LurkingShadows07.mp3','LurkingShadows08.mp3','LurkingShadows09.mp3','LurkingShadows10.mp3','LurkingShadows11.mp3','LurkingShadows12.mp3'],'clip':{'autoPlay':true,'baseUrl':'http://www.archive.org/download/LurkingShadows/'},'canvas':{'backgroundColor':'#000000','backgroundGradient':'none'},'plugins':{'audio':{'url':'http://www.archive.org/flow/flowplayer.audio-3.2.1-dev.swf'},'controls':{'playlist':true,'fullscreen':false,'height':26,'backgroundColor':'#000000','autoHide':{'fullscreenOnly':true},'scrubberHeightRatio':0.6,'timeFontSize':9,'mute':false,'top':0}},'contextMenu':[{},'-','Flowplayer v3.2.1']}"> </embed></object></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-75996341379199400042011-06-14T10:16:00.000-07:002011-09-03T17:02:30.743-07:00The HUSH<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">V</span>incent Cortez is a man on a mission.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And a man of many talents. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8A6qIcxM6do/TfeVzk3ehkI/AAAAAAAAAlM/dtKGzM8cj-A/s1600/Hush2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8A6qIcxM6do/TfeVzk3ehkI/AAAAAAAAAlM/dtKGzM8cj-A/s1600/Hush2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Zachary Gossett as The Hush</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">He is an artist, a writer, a director, a producer. He even mixes his own audio and records Foley in a closet-sized audio studio in his home. Cortez's ingenuity and resourcefulness shows how an indie movie can be brought to life with a budget of $8000 and still compete with anything coming of Hollywood. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cortez also garners a lot of loyalty and admiration from his actors, co-workers and family. I found out why when I attended a screening of his haunting, supernatural Noir adventure The HUSH. For the proof is in the puddin'. Outside of a brief synopsis and the trailer, I didn't know what exactly to expect. But what I got was an amazing journey into darkness, into a haunted realm of memory, sorrow, loneliness and regret. All are prime elements that go into the making of the best films Noir. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">An extra ingredient that is rare in the genre is the supernatural. It is an ingredient that is well-added and takes this movie far beyond the norms of Noir. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The Hush" is hit man Freddy Burnett who as a child was indoctrinated into a world of violence and death, making him a hardened one man killing machine. Zachary Gossett plays The Hush with a quiet intensity and verve that is unsettling. The calm and assured way of dispatching his victims and his opponents lets you know who's side you want him on in a fight. Gossett pulls this vibe off without a hitch.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48zfsD8JMnA/TfeV3Z5ipdI/AAAAAAAAAlU/YKsJ8x_DyVc/s1600/hush4.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48zfsD8JMnA/TfeV3Z5ipdI/AAAAAAAAAlU/YKsJ8x_DyVc/s1600/hush4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Melody Gomez and Zachary Gossett</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The beginning of the film finds The Hush, who works for a mysterious group known as "The Horsemen", dispatching a local, crooked judge for them. But as the judge is killed, an unforeseen complication arises when his mistress, Lillian, walks out of a bathroom, witnessing the hit. A struggle ensues and she is killed. Lillian is played by Melody Gomez, who is appropriately haunting. A spectral presence who's death changes the direction of The Hush's life. For soon after she is killed her ghost follows her killer around. Taking an innocent life has changed him and now he has to work towards some type of atonement for his victims.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the story progresses, another inadvertent death and more ghosts to follow The Hush around. Each with their own story, history and their own mission for The Hush. Each mission a stair step towards redemption. But doing so will turn his employers against him and he starts to discover the true, dark nature of The Horsemen. Now The Hush is in a one night race against time and a fight for his own life, and soul.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTdyy3pvo6g/TfeV3n2tTUI/AAAAAAAAAlY/dDVKRNHulhk/s1600/hush3.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTdyy3pvo6g/TfeV3n2tTUI/AAAAAAAAAlY/dDVKRNHulhk/s1600/hush3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Horsemen on The Hush's trail</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Cortez has created a moody and feverish nightmare. A phantasmagoria of death and specters all pushing and pulling against The Hush and against each other. It is a delirious ride that seats itself in deep introspection and accented with hot blasts of action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Visually the colors are muted, almost black and white, with shifting fields of focal depth that keep the viewer in a blurred off-balance stupor living in the same night-land of the dead that The Hush is surrounded by. We are not just viewers, but participants. Watching from the backseat of his car, from under a table in the midst of a firefight or as he runs through a deserted train yard. To be clear, this is not "<span style="font-family: inherit;">cinéma vérité</span>" with shaky cams jostling the viewer around, this is your personal entrance into Morpheus' Underworld.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6izVw14nIs/TfeV3UwS4hI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/c-jcA1wIG7Q/s1600/hush1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v6izVw14nIs/TfeV3UwS4hI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/c-jcA1wIG7Q/s1600/hush1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jeremiah Turner gets into makeup</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Like <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2010/11/la-pantera-negra-2009.html" target="_blank">La Pantera Negra</a>, another indie title I reviewed recently, this is a solid film with solid acting, directing, visual effects, audio and a great soundtrack. It is the sort of story that lovers of Noir, hardcore pulp fiction and lovers of ghost stories will appreciate. The Hush is being shown locally in the SF Bay Area, but will be hitting DVD and other digital distribution channels in the near future. Find this movie when you can, you won't regret it. Cortez and crew will rock your ghost-haunted world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
Did I mention that Vincent Cortez also composed the background music?<br />
<br />
Keep up to date with The Hush at the <a href="http://mitchellstreetpictures.com/HOME.html" target="_blank">Mitchell Street website</a> and their<a href="https://www.facebook.com/thehushmovie" target="_blank"> facebook page</a>.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: The Hush is trying to make its way into the digital media circuit (Hulu, Netflix, etc) and they could use your help at <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Hush">IndieGoGo</a>. Go check it out as it's a project worth backing!<br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/t2t8IXLgBI0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
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</div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-57956500931274999772011-05-31T10:06:00.000-07:002011-05-31T10:12:03.837-07:00Comics - Audio - Film!<div style="text-align: justify;">Another catch up day here at the Pulp Reader. There's some interesting things going on in various media that should be of interest to the pulp and noir aficionados. Enough has built up that I felt I should pass some of this on here at the blog. If you are a Pulp Reader facebook fan you already know about these events, plus even more news and trivia not covered in the blog. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pulp-Reader/112586702121246" target="_blank">If you aren't yet, then go try it, you might like it</a>!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAFMQPQmtRc/TeUc8Ec1RgI/AAAAAAAAAkw/I_m6axLqpx0/s1600/arcmar-preview.00005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAFMQPQmtRc/TeUc8Ec1RgI/AAAAAAAAAkw/I_m6axLqpx0/s200/arcmar-preview.00005.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Jaques Tardi's Adele Blanc-Sec comics</b></span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">I've been eagerly awaiting several books to be published by Fantagraphics. I just found out that two of them (both by Jacques Tardi) are now out. One is two stories of Adele Blanc-Sec adventures (Pterror over Paris and Eiffel Tower Demon) the other is The Arctic Marauder. Here's a glimps at the latter at <a href="http://www.comicsbeat.com/2011/01/27/preview-the-arctic-maurauder-by-jacques-tardi-wow/" target="_blank">COMICSBEAT</a>. Fantagraphics was originally putting Adele Blanc-Sec out in conjunction with Luc Besson's new movie. Since the movie doesn't seem to be getting a roadshow in the US, the publisher has decided to start releasing the newly translated books now.</div><br />
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Audio Adventures of Doc Savage, The Spider & Secret Agent X!</b></span></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody">Radio Archives will start producing audiobooks based on pulp historian Will Murray's 7 Doc Savage novels, and from there record The Spider and Secret Agent X. From Radio Archives' press release: <i><br />
</i></span></span></h6><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BxtPROJe2vU/TeUc8YNHTfI/AAAAAAAAAk0/GsqutH168dk/s1600/doc+savage+audio.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody"><i>"</i></span>Radio Archives today announced a new series of audiobooks, based on favorite pulp novels of the 1930s and 1940s. The audiobooks will begin Radio Archives' new line of original audio productions based on classic pulp fiction.<br />
<br />
The first series of audiobooks will be the seven Doc Savage novels penned by pulp author and Doc Savage authority Will Murray, featuring cover art by Joe DeVito. Future series will include the exploits of pulp heroes <span style="font-style: italic;">The Spider</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Secret Agent "X"</span>, as well as other pulp fiction properties. The new audio productions will utilize the talents of some of the top voice actors and recording talents in the United States. The first audiobook release is scheduled for June 2011.<br />
<br />
"We're thrilled to have Will Murray's excellent Doc Savage novels as the lead-off offerings in this </span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BxtPROJe2vU/TeUc8YNHTfI/AAAAAAAAAk0/GsqutH168dk/s1600/doc+savage+audio.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #fff2cc; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BxtPROJe2vU/TeUc8YNHTfI/AAAAAAAAAk0/GsqutH168dk/s320/doc+savage+audio.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">exciting new series," said Harlan Zinck, president of Radio Archives. "The audiobooks and other new audio productions will nicely complement our classic radio and pulp reprint offerings."<br />
<br />
Murray's Doc Savage stories were published in the 1990's and were the first new Doc Savage stories in more than 40 years. "Creating audiobooks of these extensions of the Doc Savage canon brings a new dimension to this classic pulp character," Murray said.<br />
<br />
The new audiobook line, which will be recorded and released in digital stereo, will be produced and directed by audio producer Roger Rittner, who created <span style="font-style: italic;">The Adventures of Doc Savage</span> full-cast radio series, available in a deluxe CD set from Radio Archives. "I'm delighted to be able to bring the superb quality of Radio Archives productions to these exciting stories," said Rittner, who has a 30-year history of both recorded and live classic radio and audio productions.</span><i style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"</span></i></blockquote></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">More info and listening samples at<a href="http://www.radioarchives.com/The_Adventures_of_Doc_Savage_8_hour_set_p/5000.htm" target="_blank"> RA</a>.</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>NPR</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> covers the new rise of old pulps</b></span><br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;">NPR takes a look at several selections of pulps that are currently being reprinted. From their article:</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></i></h6><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Swe7fxoRnd0/TeUc8oJAhXI/AAAAAAAAAk4/tGtleiKghkc/s1600/planetstories.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Swe7fxoRnd0/TeUc8oJAhXI/AAAAAAAAAk4/tGtleiKghkc/s1600/planetstories.jpg" /></a><br />
<blockquote style="color: #fff2cc;"><i>After the dawn of the 20th century, popular fiction could be found at the corner newsstand by a nation eager for the tales. Each issue was printed on cheap, pulpy paper that was soon synonymous with the lurid style typical of the contents. The pulps have a well-earned reputation for purple prose, but there was gold among the dross.<br />
</i><br />
<i> </i><i>Fine adventure stories from other genres were printed in pulps like <i>Adventure</i>, <i>Weird Tales</i> and <i>Planet Stories</i>, but unfortunately, many of these authors remain neglected or marginalized. Today's readers might expect to find nothing but legions of square-jawed heroes, wilting damsels and tentacled monsters in the old magazines, but there were also skilled, inventive writers plying their trade, evoking thrills and chills without formulaic plotting.</i></blockquote></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/135149916/rich-tales-in-cheap-print-three-pulp-fiction-finds?sc=fb&cc=fp">Check out their rundown here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE HUSH Screening and Event</b></span></span></span></h6><blockquote style="color: #fff2cc;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">Freddy 'the Hush' Burnett is a hitman with his own code of justice. In one night, a simple job gets out of control as he takes an innocent life. Now, as mysterious forces threaten his life, his only chance for survival and redemption rests in the ghosts of a troubled young woman and a sadistic psychopath.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The Hush" is the the first feature film of Oakland CA born-and-based Writer/Director Vincent Cortez. The film is a spiritual journey featuring</span> <span style="font-size: small;">supernatural and action elements, done in film noir style, that deals with fear, violence and change.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/t2t8IXLgBI0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody">If you are in the SF Bay Area and are into supernatural detective fiction and film noir, you might want to try and check out this new indie feature. <a href="http://filmmaker-cortez.blogspot.com/2011/05/hush-screening-and-event.html" target="_blank">From the writer, director and editors' blog we get this info</a>:</span></span></h6><blockquote><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;">"The Hush", will be showing at the <i><b>Historic Bal Theatre</b></i> in <i><b>San Leandro CA</b></i> on <i><b>Saturday night, June 11th 2011</b></i>, followed by an exclusive in depth retrospective about indie filmmaking and tackling high concepts on a low budget. The cast and crew will be in attendance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> Time and Location:</span><span style="color: #fff2cc;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> 7PM @ The Historic Bal Theatre </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> 14808 East 14th Street </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> San Leandro CA 94578</span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> Box Office: 510.614.1224 </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> info@baltheatre.com</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> Tickets: $12</span><span style="color: #fff2cc;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> NOTE: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thehushmovie">Check Facebook Deals</a> for discounted tickets.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: small;"> *The retrospective will include a 10 minute behind the scenes video exclusive, as well as a Q&A and discussion with the cast/crew.</span><span style="color: #fff2cc;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></blockquote><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-weight: normal;"></h6>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-11245125873335206212011-04-06T10:23:00.000-07:002011-04-07T10:18:30.981-07:00Today: FANTOMAS!<div style="text-align: center;">Just a reminder that the <b>100 Years of FANTOMAS</b> event is this week in San Francisco.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Details can be found <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2011/02/100-years-of-fantomas-event.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.citylights.com/info/?fa=event&event_id=1160">here</a>. <i>I'll be there!</i><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zWhOF4BtZo/TZyg7qFA8aI/AAAAAAAAAkI/VVFbNeZB_Oc/s1600/fantomasposter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zWhOF4BtZo/TZyg7qFA8aI/AAAAAAAAAkI/VVFbNeZB_Oc/s400/fantomasposter.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k9bDXc5RRdQ/TZ3tgRhfU1I/AAAAAAAAAkU/vBEFlKTCvUc/s1600/sro.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k9bDXc5RRdQ/TZ3tgRhfU1I/AAAAAAAAAkU/vBEFlKTCvUc/s400/sro.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
At City Lights it was Standing Room Only.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
So packed I could not make it to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxOGv6jHRKE" target="_blank">absinth</a> bar.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O8WDvAVaaLs/TZ3tgJDjhFI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/RmxvEOxSEQk/s1600/lemony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u_d6c97up6M/TZ3tgq26_aI/AAAAAAAAAkY/0qstcrAvwh4/s1600/fantomas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u_d6c97up6M/TZ3tgq26_aI/AAAAAAAAAkY/0qstcrAvwh4/s400/fantomas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fantomas makes an appearance to spread fear and paranoia!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O8WDvAVaaLs/TZ3tgJDjhFI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/RmxvEOxSEQk/s1600/lemony.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O8WDvAVaaLs/TZ3tgJDjhFI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/RmxvEOxSEQk/s400/lemony.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://www.jilltracy.com/" target="_blank"><br />
Jill Tracy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Handler" target="_blank">Daniel Handler</a> (Lemony Snicket)</div><div style="text-align: center;">as musical duet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zWhOF4BtZo/TZyg7qFA8aI/AAAAAAAAAkI/VVFbNeZB_Oc/s1600/fantomasposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-76748587003985605982011-03-31T17:07:00.000-07:002011-04-01T10:17:11.556-07:00Studies in Cornell Woolrich<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLlWKm2nc7Q/TZUUu0UhaVI/AAAAAAAAAkE/c5vljIjXxrQ/s1600/woolrichportrait.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JLlWKm2nc7Q/TZUUu0UhaVI/AAAAAAAAAkE/c5vljIjXxrQ/s1600/woolrichportrait.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Cornell Woolrich</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've been on a Cornell Woolrich bender lately, mainly fueled by many episodes of the radio series <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/SUSPENSE" target="_blank"><b>SUSPENSE</b></a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today's average pulp reader or watcher of mystery/noir/horror films might not have heard of Woolrich, it seems a lot of people haven't. According to Harlan Ellison's intro to the Woolrich short story collection ANGELS OF DARKNESS, it seems he was becoming obscure even by the early 1970s. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Certainly he's not as well-known today as Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler. But ironically even though you may not know him or his works intimately, you've probably bumped into an episode of a TV show that uses one of his stories as its basis, or seen a movie adapted from his books. In fact he's probably the most directly-adapted pulp mystery writer out there.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some examples are (most famously) Alfred Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW and (most recently) Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie's ORIGINAL SIN. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0941280/" target="_blank">IMDB lists 93</a> adaptations in various forms, not including radio plays.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u9rWWlrpS4k/TZUUuGUy1RI/AAAAAAAAAj4/qtwDCFXHhJs/s1600/rear-window.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u9rWWlrpS4k/TZUUuGUy1RI/AAAAAAAAAj4/qtwDCFXHhJs/s320/rear-window.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We get a very concise and terse overview of his life from the description of the biography written by Francis M. Nevins, <b>FIRST YOU DREAM, THEN YOU DIE</b>: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><br />
</div><blockquote style="color: #fff2cc;">Cornell Woolrich was called the Poe of the 20th century and the poet of its shadows. He lived a life of such deep despair and terror that he could do nothing with its experiences but put them between the covers of some of the century's finest novels of suspense.<br />
<br />
Born the child of a broken marriage in 1903, Woolrich spent his childhood in revolutionary Mexico, coming to New York in his teens. While still a student at Columbia, he sold the first of several mainstream novels, which led critics to compare him with F. Scott Fitzgerald.<br />
<br />
During the 1930s and '40s, when he was acclaimed as the preeminent author of American suspense fiction, Woolrich lived with his mother in an apartment-hotel near Harlem. After her death in 1957, Woolrich became a self-imposed prisoner in a series of lonely hotel rooms until his death in 1968. Few attended his funeral, and his million-dollar fortune was left to Columbia University to establish a scholarship fund.<br />
<br />
Though he perceived himself as a failure, Woolrich's work was a critical and financial success. His novels, such as 'The Bride Wore black,' 'Phantom Lady' and 'Deadline at Dawn,' inspired the French roman noir and film noir. His novella 'Rear Window' became one of Alfred Hitchcock's most acclaimed films. </blockquote> Sounds like someone living out his own stories, which is quite sad but very fascinating.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> </tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ne8o4pqsK44/TZUUurmqDNI/AAAAAAAAAkA/R9h9HeR_hSs/s1600/Black+Alibi+Original+Cover.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ne8o4pqsK44/TZUUurmqDNI/AAAAAAAAAkA/R9h9HeR_hSs/s1600/Black+Alibi+Original+Cover.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adapted as <a href="http://cineaction.ca/issue71sample.htm" target="_blank">The Leopard Man 1943</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Since he <i>is</i> fascinating and his writing <i>so</i> amazing, what I have for you today is a load of information from various sources to pull you further into his work. These links all contain some type of synopsis or overview for many of theWoolrich adaptations. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Escape-Suspense</b></span><br />
<br />
First up is the <a href="http://www.escape-suspense.com/cornell_woolrich/" target="_blank">Woolrich page at escape-suspense.com</a>. Here we find a comprehensive cache of Woolrich adapted to radio. Mainly in episodes of Suspense but also in other programs. Webmeister <b>Christine</b> gives a good overview of each episode and when possible other background or behind the scenes info which is presented along with downloadable MP3s.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Jonathan Rosenbaum</b></span><br />
<br />
Reviewer for <b>The Chicago Reader</b>, <b>Jonathan</b> has a richly illustrated <a href="http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.com/?p=19108" target="_blank">essay</a> on Woolrich film adaptations originally printed in Film Comment, Sept 1984. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Black Gate</b></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RigHASiIY3g/TZUUuYndm8I/AAAAAAAAAj8/RmUiITR7DZs/s1600/fright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RigHASiIY3g/TZUUuYndm8I/AAAAAAAAAj8/RmUiITR7DZs/s320/fright.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Recently reprinted by <a href="http://www.hardcasecrime.com/" target="_blank">Hard Case Crime</a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Black Gate online magazine <a href="http://www.blackgate.com/2010/02/02/the-weird-of-cornell-woolrich-%E2%80%9Cjane-brown%E2%80%99s-body%E2%80%9D/" target="_blank">has an article</a> on the Weird Fiction bent of some Woolrich tales and focusing on the Frankensteinian tale "Jane Brown's Body". Writer <b>Ryan Harvey</b> puts succinctly what I also feel about Woolrich's prose:<br />
<blockquote style="color: #fff2cc;">His specialty was the “emotional thriller,” harrowing trips into fear and paranoia with suspense set pieces that no author has equaled. Often called by admirers and critics “the literary Hitchcock” and “the twentieth-century Edgar Allan Poe,” Woolrich could wring more palpitating dread out of everyday life than any writer I’ve encountered. His style is defining of <i>noir</i>, the existential crime tale.</blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Noir of the Week</b></span><br />
<br />
This blog does an in-depth review of a Film Noir every week. Writer <b>Steve-O</b> has submitted a review every week since 2005. He has a <a href="http://www.noiroftheweek.com/search/label/Cornell%20Woolrich" target="_blank">selection of Woolrich</a> to read about. Keep in mind these are not glib summaries, but well researched articles with plenty of background info on the films and writings.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cornellwoolrich.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>CornellWoolrich.com</b></span></a><br />
<br />
This site has a ton of pics of book covers, movie posters and lists of currently available books and films. Also presented are scans and reprints of Woolrich articles from a plethora of sources such as TWILIGHT ZONE Magazine, Francis Nevins column from Mystery File, and scans of some of Woolrich's actual letters and notes. </div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-35589737530383208342011-03-18T10:17:00.000-07:002011-03-18T10:21:59.444-07:00The Mysteries of London<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes the most innocent turn in your travels lead down darker paths.</span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This might sum up the Penny Dreadful <a href="http://www.victorianlondon.org/mysteries/mysteries-00-chapters.htm" target="_blank">The Mysteries of London</a> and <i>also</i> my experience in finding such a story.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ejDLH_1YtOs/TXvcn-2yLgI/AAAAAAAATb4/DkP5nRrrAEI/s1600/SHJ+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ejDLH_1YtOs/TXvcn-2yLgI/AAAAAAAATb4/DkP5nRrrAEI/s320/SHJ+4.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I had my curiosity piqued when following a link from a newspaper comic strip <a href="http://www.ilovecomixarchive.com/" target="_blank">archive</a> to John Adcock's <a href="http://john-adcock.blogspot.com/2011/03/robert-prowse-junior.html" target="_blank">Yesterday's Papers</a>. The post displayed covers painted by Robert Prowse Jr for a Spring-Heeled Jack series. I found this to be very interesting. When looking into the print history of this well known boogieman I started reading up on some of the Victorian English Penny Dreadfuls which made Jack a household name. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The history of Spring-Heeled Jack in print starts in the 1830s with accounts of his accosting lone travelers. In the early publications readers had to wonder if he was man, beast or demon? Whatever he was, he wasn't a nice guy. But by the 1860s, in the Penny Dreadfuls this started to turn around and Jack was reinterpreted as a hero. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Spring-Heeled Jack became possibly the very first prototype for Batman; A rich young man loses his parents to a tragedy at sea. When trying to claim his ancestral home he finds the estate and even his family name stolen from him by his villainous cousin. When fleeing for his life after a murder attempt Jack decides to create a costume and his Springed Heel apparatus in order to start a new life as a vigilante. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can read this account <a href="http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090729181244/http://geocities.com/justingilb/texts/SpringHeeledJack.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Mysteriesoflondon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Mysteriesoflondon.jpg" width="292" /></a>As someone so into hero and horror pulps I found a natural affinity for this style of writing. It has lead to further reading. And in the case of The Mysteries of London, further <i>listening</i>. Though The Mysteries of London can be read online, right now my reading stand is full. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is exactly how The Pulp Reader first came into existence; too many books and too little time. I was going to make a digital TTS edition of Mysteries but first thought I'd see if anyone had already made an audiobook of it. And yes, <a href="http://www.mysteriesoflondon.com/" target="_blank">there is one...<i> in progress</i></a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://piratelibrary.com/about" target="_blank">Cori Samuel</a> is an etext / digital book maven. She has proofread and assembled a large amount of material for Project Gutenberg and has also gotten into the audiobook realm at Librivox. I have to tell you honestly that I'm not always a fan of Librivox. While there is the rare reader who is a delight to listen to, some of which I've <a href="http://thepulpreader.blogspot.com/2007/12/tom-swifts-electric-gizmo-santa.html" target="_blank">mentioned in the past</a>, mostly I find the quality to be painful. Cori falls into the first category and is an excellent and riveting storyteller with great delivery and cadence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's the thing though, Cori has been stuck for a while and has possibly not felt inspired to get past whatever hurdles are preventing her from continuing the reading. What about you head over to her page and give a listen to the<a href="http://www.mysteriesoflondon.com/chapter-001-the-old-house-in-smithfield" target="_blank"> first chapter</a>, then if you like what you hear, drop her a line in the comments section and let her know you would love to see her finish this epic story. I know I would!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, you can find a few other Penny Dreadful audiobooks at Librivox and Archive.org. Here is a quick list:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/stringofpearls_0809_librivox" target="_blank">The String of Pearls</a> (the first appearance of Sweeny Todd)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/old_man_in_corner_jms_librivox" target="_blank">The Old Man in the Corner</a> (Sherlock Holmes-ish)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/varney_vampyre1_0811_librivox" target="_blank">Varney the Vampire</a></div><a href="http://www.archive.org/details/defendant_rc_librivox1" target="_blank">G. K. Chesterton's Defense of Penny Dreadfuls</a>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-509714211090211772011-03-17T12:42:00.000-07:002011-03-17T13:01:16.766-07:00McLevy Season 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jamesmclevy.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C8LR69QXSqw/S0EQbi0hydI/AAAAAAAAAag/1jFz-BBkJwo/s320/mclevylogo.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">The Ides of March also bring new episodes of <b>McLevy</b>.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Who's McLevy? Head to the <a href="http://jamesmclevy.blogspot.com/">Pulp Reader subsite</a> to learn all about him! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately I was caught off guard and we are already mid-way through the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zf340">four episode season</a>. But as of right now you can listen to the current episode <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=mclevy">Prince of Darkness on the BBC Radio 4 iplayer</a>!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fu-jWrB__Qs/TYJmO1BC-cI/AAAAAAAAAj0/Xwi7zWZ7nNM/s1600/mclevybookcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-fu-jWrB__Qs/TYJmO1BC-cI/AAAAAAAAAj0/Xwi7zWZ7nNM/s320/mclevybookcover.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33610708.post-71025256312571643822011-02-25T14:02:00.000-08:002011-02-25T14:45:22.680-08:00100 Years of FANTOMAS Event<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uT9n1YQbTq8/TVRGswXllOI/AAAAAAAADaw/lnznCIl_2ME/s1600/Fantomas%2BL%2527Agent%2BSecret.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572156373676168418" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uT9n1YQbTq8/TVRGswXllOI/AAAAAAAADaw/lnznCIl_2ME/s320/Fantomas%2BL%2527Agent%2BSecret.jpg" style="float: left; height: 314px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 208px;" /></a><br />
<div class="eventtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A </b><span style="font-size: small;">three day celebration of 100 years of Fantomas is coming to San Francisco in April. But before getting to this big event, I'd like to point you to Tim Lucas at <b>Video WatchBlog</b> who has reprinted his essay from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Horror-Another-100-Best-Books/dp/0786715774/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298673673&sr=8-1" target="_blank">HORROR: ANOTHER 100 BEST BOOKS </a>at his site. It gives a great recounting of the history of Fantomas. Tim starts by saying:</span></span></div><div class="eventtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote><div class="eventtitle"><i>One hundred years ago today, the criminal genius known as Fantômas was first released into the world in the form of a fat paperback novel printed on uncut pulp paper. Written by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain, it sent shock waves throughout popular culture which resonated in literature (with numerous knock-offs), silent films (the Feuillade serial adaptations, but also notably F.W. Murnau's FAUST, which quoted Gino Starace's striking cover painting), and which still resonate today. One of these still-rumbling shock waves we now know as the Anti-Hero.</i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div></blockquote></div><div class="eventtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://videowatchdog.blogspot.com/2011/02/100-years-of-fantomas-early-novels.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;" target="_blank">Head over to Video Watchblog to check it out!<br />
</span></a></span><br />
<div class="eventtitle" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Fantomas By The Bay</b></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>April 6, 7, 8, and 9, 2011</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b><a href="http://www.citylights.com/info/?fa=event&event_id=1160" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">This news is reprinted from the City Lights Bookstore website:</span></a><b><br />
</b></span></div><br />
<div class="eventdate" style="text-align: justify;">City Lights Bookstore, Mechanics' Institute Library, and an Undisclosed Secret Location</div><div class="eventdate" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.citylights.com/html/WYSIWYGfiles/image/FantomasByTheBay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.citylights.com/html/WYSIWYGfiles/image/FantomasByTheBay.jpg" style="height: 231px; width: 166px;" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>City Lights Booksellers & Publishers </b>in conjunction with the <b>Cultural Services of the Consulate General of France </b>& the <b>Mechanics' Institute Library </b>present:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br />
<br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Centenary Celebration of the Literary Creation of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><b>WHO IS FANTOMAS?? Arch-villain? Mad genius? Master of disguises? Agent of chaos?</b></i> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1911 the pulp fiction writers Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain introduced a fictional character to the French reading public that was to capture their imagination and keep them yearning for more. The ultimate anti-hero, as enigmatic as he was treacherous, Fantomas executed the most appalling crimes with ruthlessness and precision. He spread terror and chaos amidst the lives of a bourgeois society that he took pleasure in ridiculing. Souvestre and Allain were in tune with the pulse of the public's fascination with shadow-side of modernity. Fantomas was to become one of the most popular serials in the history of French crime fiction anticipating the future arrival of Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse and the master villains of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. On the occasion of the one hundred year anniversary of the creation of the FANTOMAS series, City Lights Booksellers and Publishers joins centenary celebrations in Paris to commemorate this extraordinary literary event.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>FANTOMAS BY-THE-BAY shall feature:</b> readings, lectures, film screenings, art exhibitions, and performance art, featuring Robin Walz, Dominique Kalifa, Daniel Handler, Mel Gordon, Marc Ellis, Howard Rodman, Jonathan P. Eburne, Janaki Ranpura, Jill Tracy, and more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Schedule:<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #ffd966;">EVENT 1.)</b> <b>FANTOMAS STRIKES THE BAY! </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Date & Time: Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 7:00 P.M.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Location: City Lights Booksellers & Publishers, 261 Columbus Avenue, S.F., CA 94133 (admission free)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reception and Absinthe tasting followed by an evening of readings, diatribes, and manifestos – accompanied by a display of FANTOMAS book covers & artwork</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Opening Statements by <b>Peter Maravelis & Robin Walz</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Readings and performances by <b>Jonathan P. Eburne, </b><b>Marc Ellis</b>, <b>Andrew Joron</b>, <b>Daniel Handler </b>in a musical duet with chantuese<b> Jill Tracy</b>, <b>Dominique Kalifa</b>, <b>Brian Lucas</b>, <b>Joseph Noble</b>, <b>Howard Rodman, </b>and <b>Robin Walz</b>, and more tba.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #ffd966;">EVENT 2.)</b><b><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span></b>FANTOMAS! AGENT OF CHAOS! <br />
</b><b>An exploration of the origins of Pulp Surrealism</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Date & Time: Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6:00 P.M.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Location: Mechanics' Institute Library, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 (admission charge $12.00, members free)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Join four erudite cultural explorers as they delve into the history and lore of one of the most notorious literary creations ever. Fantomas was the ultimate anti-hero who was adopted by the surrealists as a cultural mascot. On the occasion of the centenary celebration of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain's pulp serial, the roots of pulp literary history will be exhumed in evening of lively discussion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Opening Statement: <b>Peter Maravelis</b>/ City Lights</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Session 1: The Genealogy of Fantômas - From Lacenaire to Ravachol via Rocambole (<b>Robin Walz</b>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Session 2: From the Hills of Montmartre to the Bay of San Francisco : One Century of Fantômas's Friends (<b>Dominique Kalifa</b>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Session 3: The Shudder of History (<b>Jonathan P. Eburne</b>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Session 4: The Origin of Fantomas: Why there isn't one (<b>Howard Rodman</b>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #ffd966;">EVENT 3.)</b><span style="color: #ffd966;"> </span><b>AN ELEGANT THREAT</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A performance piece and soiree by <b>Janaki Ranpur</b><b>a <br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">with a special musical appearance by<b> The Slow Poisoner</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Location: Undisclosed & Secret (admission free)</div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Date & Time: Friday, April 8, 2011, 8:00 P.M.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Engage in crimes of love, where visiting crime scenes is the dating game. Interactive environments and puppets take you on a noir journey to the human heart, which is made of candy. The spector of Fantomas looms in the shadows.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(This event is by invitation only. Admission is free, but on a first come first serve basis. Invitations become available at the front counter of City Lights on 4/6/2011)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="color: #ffd966;">EVENT 4.)</b> <b>THE SCREEN BLEEDS: FANTOMAS on Film </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="color: #ffd966; text-align: justify;">Location: Mechanics' Institiute Library, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 Date & Time: Saturday, April 9, 2011, 7:00 P.M. (admission $10.00, members free)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A screening of selected excerpts from the Fantômas films over the course of the last century. We shall visit the work of such directors as Louis Feuillade, Paul Fejos, Andre Hunebelle, Jean Sacha, and Robert Vernay. Also included in the program will be a special focus on the Fantômas inspired films (i.e. Judex, Les Vampires, and more.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Opening Statement: <b>Peter Maravelis/City Lights</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Commentary by <b>Howard Rodman</b> & <b>Robin Walz </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-Special presentation by <b>Mel Gordon</b> (Fantomas in French Musical & Brothel Culture)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Films for this evening were curated by David King and Peter Maravelis)</div>shonokinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10763268507407471807noreply@blogger.com0