More Pulp In The Mail!

Paul Bishop over at BISH'S BEAT sent over an extra copy of  Paul S. Powers' autobiography  PULP WRITER.  I shall have to think of an appropriate, incriminating response.  Hmmmm....

And some mail of mine from France got mixed up and sent to my old address so I received my copy of LES COMPAGNONS DE L'OMBRE (Vol. 5) reprinting my short story Cadavres Exquis.  it was sent long ago so I am sure I've slighted my publisher.   Aaargh.

I am a bastard. Not necessarily by design (though that happens too), but by neglect.   

Pulp Report from NYCC: 2009 - Tollin Leaves Nostalgia Ventures, Shadow Feature Development, Murray to Write New Doc, More...

Pulpster Kevin Byrne answered the call to action and submitted this report on the "Pulp Panel" at this year's New York Comic Con:

Anthony Tollin announced that he split from Nostalgia Ventures and has moved his properties to Spectrum (which I believe is his own imprint).

Attending were Joe Gentile of Moonstone Publishing, Ron Fortier of Airship 27, Steven Seagel (sic?) of Weird Tales, Anthony Tollin (formerly) of Nostalgia Ventures, author Will Murray, producer F.G. DeSanto, Charles Ardai of Hardcase Crime, and Mark Halegua of NY Pulp Club.

In talking about new projects, Joe Gentile announced new Doc Savage collection of original radio scripts (didn't know that it had been on radio), as well as a collection of new Avenger stories; Ron Fortier has new Captain Hazard, Secret Agent X and Jim Anthony stories coming soon; Steven Seagel talked about how Weird Tales in trying to bridge the comic/fiction divide in the wake of their 85th anniversary.

Anthony Tollin talked about how he just printed the 25th edition of the Shadow and the 24th edition of Doc Savage, and will be publishing a collection of Orson Welles' radio shows from when he was the Shadow, as well as new Avenger, The Whisperer and Captain Fury stories. He also spoke of how he had warned DC Comics about the tagline for The Whisperer, which is 'The Secret Life of James W.Gordon.'

Will Murray and Anthony Tollin talked about how most of the early comics were nothing more than full-blown adaptations of those adventure pulps, citing Batman and the Green Hornet as prime examples (turns out Batman's first story was a full adaptation of a Shadow story).

F.G. DeSanto spoke about the current Shadow feature he has in development with Michael Uslan and Sam Raimi, and that they're currently working on the second draft. It will be a period piece, and they're aiming to maintain a tonal consistency with the original material - it will not be an origin story and it will stay away from the previous movie.

Oh, and the Shadow may not be Lamont Cranston...

Charles Ardai spoke about how Hard Case Crime is going to expand its scope, from just pulp crime to include pulp adventure as well. He has a series planned around a character - Gabriel Hunt - and that the first book is written and the second book is being written.

The two big pieces of news were saved for last:

• Will Murray announced that he is currently writing a new Doc Savage story based on old Lester Dent notes (due to be released either next year or the year after that), and...

• Joe Gentile announced that Moonstone will be publishing new Green Hornet material later this year, and that it will be pure pulp crime fiction.

Me? Inspirational?

Rolf Lejdegard - a new friend from Facebook (and talented artist!) sent me a little note along with this pulpy piece, saying he was inspired by my short story "Cadavres Exquis" which you can read for free here.

That's all sorts of cool.

This is what the internet is for - collaboration and inspiration. I am happy to provide dead bodies and psychotic characters which inspire.

And be sure to check out more of the same here.

Oh, and here.

You Look Okay for a Dead Man...

Way back in the beginnings of this blog, I published my first short story with Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier and their Black Coat Press. Since that time we have gone on to do three more stories together in the TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN series.

In honor of that first "walk down the dark alleyways" I present you with this:

Should you care to explore the world of French pulp fiction further (without having to learn French I might add) go here and place your orders. Lots of very cool stuff to choose from.

The Mad Pulp Bastard Strikes Again!

An adventure where our hero finds several persons discussing his story "Cadavres Exquis" from TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN Vol: 1 on the internet under the topic:

"So....what fictional character has the biggest evil act-not based on magnitude, but on the sheer vileness of the act."

And from fellow SHADOWMEN writer Matthew Baugh comes this micro-review:

"Cadavres Exquis" by Bill Cunningham is a severe and painful makeover for the obscure French proto-superhero, Fascinax. It made me think a little of DARK NIGHT RETURNS, but it is even more intense in the way that it re-imagines the character.

(All this will become clearer to readers of this blog. Please stand by. Mad Pulp Bastardry in progress. Hahahahahahahahahaha....)

Shadowmania

I love it when another edition of TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN comes around. Black Coat Press sets the bar so high with great contributors to the series, that sometimes I look around and go "How did I get so lucky to be here?" It makes it difficult to come up with a story that you feel is worthy of inclusion, and really makes you sweat to get it "just right."

.

But a really cool thing is when Jean-Marc and Randy send out the cover art and title:

.

LA - Frikkin - DRONN , bitches!

.

I also have learned what a sneaky editor J-M is, because he pointed me in a direction that works perfectly with this title...

and sets the stage for the next book.

(and yes, my story is a Fascinax tale)