Knightmarish Reviews:

"...brought to mind characters like The Shadow and The Phantom and made me pine for the era of my grandparents."

Chad Derdowski, Mania.com

"... a great story wonderfully produced by the DeCoder gang. Am hoping you've more of these in store for us? Please!!! This was tons of fun."

Ron Fortier, Airship 27 / The Pulp Factory

The show is straight out of the era of the Radio Dramas. Organ music, dramatic dialogue, the boy assistant, the super-car, the Nazi's, the ray guns, the superhero who refers to himself in the Third Person...

Fortunately, this is exactly the place to play that sort of show.

--- StephensMat, AudioDramaTalk.com

Pulp 2.0 Theatre of the Mind

Just a reminder...

The Knightmare: The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight can be found here:

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Don't forget to join our Facebook Group or check out Decoder Ring Theatre's other radio adventures!

Thanks for your support of New Pulp Media.

The Knightmare: A Hero is His Car

Maybe this is an American thing, or possibly an Angeleno thing, but many of our pulp heroes and heroines have been defined by the vehicle they drive (or pilot):

Batman has the Bat-mobile...
The Shadow has Shrevvy the cab driver chauffeur him around in a Yellow cab...
The Green Hornet has The Black Beauty...
and Wonder Woman has her Invisible Plane.

So, while I paint a pretty good audio picture of our horrific hero's car in part one of The Knightmare: The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight, it was one sharp-eared listener who goes by the handle "Planish" over at the Audio Drama Talk forums who knew the truth...

The Knightmare's rolling arsenal is real.

From the Corsair wiki (emphasis mine):

Heinz planned to put the Phantom Corsair, which cost approximately $24,000 to produce in 1938 (approximately $300,000 in 2005 dollars) into limited production at an estimated selling price of $12,500. However, Heinz's death, shortly after the car was completed, ended those plans.

The completely unique 1938 Phantom Corsair now resides in the National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada.

The full story of this car, as well as studio pictures, appears in the October 2006 edition of Classic and Sports Car magazine.

I hate to burst their bubble, but that's not the full story...

You can discuss this here or over at the Fans of the Knightmare Facebook board.

Thanks!

To everyone who's sent emails and notes from across the internet about Chapter One of "The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight."

I am very gratified that everyone has boarded the fun train [TM by Rogers] with us - from Gregg who took a chance, to the actors who gave life to my scribbling, to Scott and Matt who gave our hero a "look."

I look forward to answering some of your questions and dropping a few hints on my plans for the character and for New Pulp Media.

If you haven't heard it yet (and shame on you if you haven't) - go here.

He Knows What You Fear!

Right here.

Thanks go to Gregg and the gang at Decoder Ring.

Enjoy... I have to get back to cropping video for my garage sale....Tomorrow!

Bill, What's it Like Writing an Internet Radio Adventure?

You write. You rewrite.

You worry that you're clear and entertaining even though this is your first radio script. You worry about getting the tone of a 1939 radio adventure "right." You worry about being able to give the actors what they need to make it sing. You work in all of those influences that hit you as a kid as being "cool."

You kill all your darlings, polish then hit "Send."

Then you wait...and wait...and wait...sending the occasional message to the elves in Toronto as they do their work. Then you wait some more...

until you get this.

And then the smiles come and you realize it's real.

Then you realize it's only the beginning!

This Weekend Is Dedicated To:

1. Finishing all my edits for FLY BY NIGHT and get to the actual re-typing.

(My process includes lots of red pens that bleed all over the first draft of the script making no sense to anyone but me taught in the arcane ways of pulp screenwriting)

2. Finishing this issue of THE PULP LEGION ELECTROGRAM.

3. Polishing the press release for THE KNIGHTMARE.

I had wanted to throw up a contest on the Fans of the Knightmare Facebook page, but it looks like I won't have time. May have to come up with something special for next week.

Support New Pulp Media.

Edit Red = Completed.

Kid Schlocko Loves New Pulp Media !

as evidenced by his blog post here.

Kid Schlocko aka Tim Shrumm is a pulp filmmaker who creates these incredible puppet theater films as well as DIY SFX at his blog LOST IN SCHLOCK.

Go check it out.

New Pulp Media Loves The Knightmare !

I wanted to pass along some of the linkage we've received for our upcoming Knightmare radio serial "The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight" debuting May 30th on Decoder Ring Theatre.

The first is a bit of two-fisted promotion by our own Scotty Godlewski.

Dave Flora of Ghost Zero fame has tweeted for us: you can reach him here: @dave_flora

and "Pappy" Ron Fortier has linked with us over at Airship 27.

If you link to any Knightmare post or our Facebook Page then please shoot me an email and send me the link.

The picture left is from historic Mack Sennett / Keystone studios in Edendale (Now Echo Park) - a suburb of Los Angeles.

If the original Knightmare serial and radio show had gone forward as Cameron Tyler had planned this would have been where they shot it.

For the whole story, please join our Facebook Group.

And above all: SUPPORT NEW PULP MEDIA!

Knightmarish Happenings!

Go to Facebook and join us for more fun as we roll out the red carpet for that pulp media sensation The Knightmare who will debut May 30th on Decoder Ring Theatre.

The Shadow knows... but The Knightmare knows what you fear!

More info and fun to come.

Many thanks go to Gregg Taylor and his troupe in Toronto.

The wonderful logo and advertisement are by Scott Godlewski and Matt Bennett they who regularly take us on Mysterious Adventures.

Support new pulp media.

It's My Blog and I'll Pulp If I Want to...

Yes, thank you all for your kind Birthday wishes to me. I thought I would throw out my will list and other randomness for this year:

- I will get my waistline down 12 inches from my age.
- I will get more people to understand this.
- One year ago today I was in the screening room watching the Leverage pilot. Time flies!
- I will get more people to read these.

2009 is going to be a good one:

- a radioplay is coming out from Decoder Ring Theater featuring something by yours truly.
- I've made some major in-roads to setting up NPM
- I have a movie going into production (once I get the script written)
- and there's a lot of stuff going on that I can't talk about yet, but that will change how we look at pulp and comic media. Just sayin...
- oh and I'm launching the newsletter. (see sidebar to subscribe)

Sunday Coffee Talk with the Bastard

Finished 4 pages of webcomic yesterday and it was one of the most gut-wrenching experiences as I had to keep my editor hat on as I was doing it, figuring out some panels and angles that play into the storytelling.

I will finish up tomorrow and then set it aside for a day or two so I can relax and read it with no preconceived notions - ha!

---------------------------

I now have to work on some contractual stuff with an artist I am working with for that other thing I can't really talk about yet. Contracts are terrible to go over and work out.

(I'm sorry I'm such a damn tease)

----------------------------

Already started organizing my calendar for the new year. I am going to be busy. Very busy.

----------------------------

Saw this movie this morning while in bed. Would have liked to have had my own pulp hottie to share that with, but it was not to be...

----------------------------

As I understand it, things are going along swimmingly up North regarding The Knightmare.

(who of course, is the subject of my upcoming webcomic)

(K)nightmarish Lessons 2: The Sequel

Got those wonderful, pithy notes back from Gregg and as usual his voice of experience cut through the din and got right to the pulp of the matter:

1. I am a visual writer. That doesn't always work in a frikkin audio adventure!!! Have to rethink my "tried and true."

2. It's not the writing it's the rewriting.

3. I am used to The three tier story: A plot, B plot and C plot that are all intertwined somehow. Will probably have to cut that to an A and B plot format. Yank the story elements out that absolutely need telling and hose off the excess. Shake and towel off.

4. I came in heavy - at 45 pages - but the show is only supposed to be 1/2 hour. I have to up the momentum.

(K)nightmarish Lessons Learned:

So, I just turned in my draft of our Knightmare radio play that I'm doing with Decoder Ring Theatre. Along the way I've learned a few lessons that I feel I should chronicle if not pass along to you, my fellow pulpsters:

(Note: These are some of the lessons that inspired the Pulp Writer's Warm Up seen below)

1. Real life drama (which I won't go into other than to say it was both financial and legal and a pain in the ass) got in the way of my writing. This is a major no-no here at the Mad Pulp Headquarters. It prevented me from moving forward and honoring my commitments in a timely manner. It wasn't professional of me, and it really hurts that I was so paralyzed by it. If this weren't a personal, non-paying gig I would have fired myself.

2. During this time, I learned I have a lot of good friends who stepped up and for that I am grateful. You know who you are as you listened to me whine, and didn't offer me cheese with that.

3. I realized I like owning my characters. I like building things and laying the groundwork for people to build upon what I've started. Gregg is going to have his hands full with the script I've turned in, and I am sure he will hit it out of the park (or slap it into the goal. Whatever it is you Canucks do...) I am so happy I acquired the rights to do The Knightmare and make him my own. I know Cameron Tyler would be proud.

4. This internet thingie is really built on the short burst entertainment model. I am trying to embrace that in my work, realizing that most folks who read (or listen, or watch, or play, or interact with) material online do so in small increments. It makes sense to build on that and not try to shoe-horn longer forms onto the web - not only for attention-span reasons but for bandwidth issues too.

(Yes, I am talking yet again about the serial. Get over it)

5. It's hard writing a radio drama. You find yourself laying a ton of narrative pipe in the dialog (characters asking questions. Exclamations with tags of info on them, vague references) and it doesn't sound right - at all. Thank Dog I am working with Gregg who has a better ear for that than I do because he knows what works and what doesn't. I will have to do more of these things and develop my chops.

6. I also realized/cemented/committed to doing my next project online. Moving forward and building the infrastructure for NewPulp. More on that later.

The Mad Pulp Philosophy...

of movies, especially writing movies is as follows:

- Write what you wish it to be.
- Use what you know.
- Serve the story.

Brian Clemens - the extremely prolific writer-producer of THE AVENGERS, THE NEW AVENGERS, THE PROFESSIONALS and THRILLER - once said he wrote the story as he wanted to see it, then went back after and fact-checked. Yes, he tweaked it a bit here and there if it served the story, but generally he didn't need to do so.

This is an extremely different take on the old writers adage, "Write what you know." It's different in that it addresses the whole energy of ideas. Sometimes I read an article or a blurb on the web and I say, "Bill, you bastard - there's a story there!" Then I furiously bookmark the site and start writing down notes, finding a structure, thinking of a character...

And I very rarely go back to the web page to "fact check." If I did that, it would rob me of the energy of the creative process... and that doesn't serve the story. We are in the business of telling the biggest, best lies we can. That's why we use facts and don't just report them.

Who cares the Nazis never invaded the US?
Who cares that they gave up a lot of their zeppelin work by 1939?
Who cares they never had a Der Mord Legion?

Dum vivimus servimus - While we live, we serve (the story)... and not just the facts.

Heroic Derring-Do ...

Tonight on Geekerati. If you like these guys pictured, then you'll want to tune in and listen to us discuss Old Time Radio and the goings-on over at Decoder Ring Theatre (Featuring the exploits of The Red Panda (pictured) and Black Jack Justice). My friend Gregg Taylor and I will also spill some behind-the-scenes secrets about our upcoming radio mystery-drama, The Knightmare.
So join Christian, Shawna, Eric, Gregg and myself for some pulpy OTR fun.

Edit to add: We had a great time last night. Gregg was a remarkable, very eloquent guest who is obviously very familiar with speaking to groups. Take a listen from the player in my sidebar and you'll hear my amateurish reading of the first page from The Knightmare radio mystery. One interesting sidenote is the fact that Gregg edits his shows on freeware that he found online. 4GM in effect - yo!

Holiday Chores...

Whenever I go to my parents house for the holidays, I wind up helping around the house with some "chores" that need doin' here and there. Things like cleaning out the gutters, moving a piece of furniture downstairs or up, or cleaning out the garage. Simple things that help a household run smoother. I am happy to do these things for my folks even though my brother and I kid each other about it.

Anyway, I have a few chores to handle around my own "house" that will see some changes for readers of the old blog. Think of it as a new coat of paint, replacing a few worn floorboards, cleaning the windows and airing out the attic. As you check in over the next week or so, things may be a little "wonky" as some links will disappear and new ones re-appear, colors will shift as will type fonts.

This is all by design.

As I posted earlier I am redesigning the focus of this blog to better reflect my work and interests. I have also started another private, invitation-only blog that will house some short, raw fiction and media that I'm going to later bring to print and elsewhere. More details on that as it develops.

Have a Happy New Year. I will be here with The Knightmare living the dream...