BEAT TO A PULP #80!

BEAT TO A PULP #80!

THE MERCY OF JEAN LAFITTE

EVAN LEWIS

Another spurt of flame, and the caravel’s mainmast toppled, dragging with it great sheets of sail. The battle, such as it was, was effectively over, and the hated Spanish were now in possession of Lafitte’s island home.

The captain settled himself on the spar, accepted the telescope and put it to his eye. Andre saw him grip the spyglass all the harder in his impotence to affect the outcome.

"Castrillón." Lafitte spat the name like a curse.

THE WORD FROM EDITOR DAVID CRANMER . . .

When I sent out a call for pirates a few months back, Evan Lewis sent two terrific stories of equal worth. What to do? Luckily, he allowed me to be greedy and use both. “The Ghost Ship” will be in ROUND ONE, but first here’s “The Mercy of Jean Lafitte.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Evan Lewis hails from the Pacific Northwest and currently hangs his hat in Portland, Oregon. His work has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Reflection's Edge, Oregon Literary Review and the western anthology A Fistful of Legends. He'll have another pirate tale in BEAT to a PULP: Round One. He's currently at work on a pair of historical adventure novels. He blogs daily at Davy Crockett's Almanack of Mystery, Adventure and the Wild West.

TO CHECK OUT EVAN'S BLOG CLICK HERE

TO READ EVAN’S STORY CLICK HERE

COCKTAIL NATION #130 ~ KOOPER ESCAPES FROM VOODOO ISLAND!

COCKTAIL NATION #130 ~ KOOPER ESCAPES FROM VOODOO ISLAND!

Thanks to Tiki Shark, It’s the Cocktail Nation with Koop Kooper! This week on the show Koop talks to Scott Menshing about his latest project called Voodoo Island. Ther’s news from Sydney Band, Machiniso, and there’s a new tiki mug fromm Frankie’s Tiki room to collect. Koop will also share news from the crazed mugs, take a look at the world of swank, get with another popular segment of Ask Koop, plus he’ll play the best classic and neo lounge and exotica as he’s relaxes in his ‘G’ plan lounge to spin the tracks.

PLAYLIST:

Mambo Zombies ~ Autumn In New York
Tiki Boys ~ Fly Me To The Island
Voodoo Island ~ Shot In The Dark
Julie London ~ True to You in My Fashion
Jackie Gleason ~ Temptation
Paul Desmomd ~ Samba with Barbecue
Waitiki 7 ~ When I First Love
Bill Evans ~ Soiree
Stan Getz ~ Penthouse Serenade
Crazed Mugs ~ My Mug Collection
Frank Bennet ~ Would I Lie To You
Machinoso ~ Hexotica
Frank Sinatra ~ Body and Soul
Les Baxter ~ Earth Light

TO LISTEN OR DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF SENORITA SCORPION!

PULP CENTRAL: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF SENORITA SCORPION!

VOLUME 1

LES SAVAGE, JR.

INTRODUCTION BY WILL MURRAY

Saddle up! Taken from their original appearances ACTION STORIES from 1944-45, this book collects the first four adventures of Senorita Scorpion:

"Senorita Scorpion"
"The Brand of Senorita Scorpion"
"Secret of Santiago"
and "The Curse of Montezuma"

Volume 1 also includes an all-new introduction
by pulp historian Will Murray.

308 PAGES $29.95 SOFTCOVER $39.95 HARDCOVER

ALTUS PRESS

PULP CENTRAL: DIAMONDSTONE ~ MAGICIAN-SLEUTH!

PULP CENTRAL: DIAMONDSTONE ~ MAGICIAN-SLEUTH!

G. T. FLEMING-ROBERTS

INTRODUCTION BY WILL MURRAY

"I know all about cards..."

For six spectacular adventures, Diamondstone, Magician-Sleuth delivered justice with a sleight of hand in the pages of POPULAR DETECTIVE from 1937-1939.

Written by master pulp scribe G. T. Fleming-Roberts, this is the first time the complete series has been collected.

Includes an all-new introduction by pulp historian Will Murray.

252 PAGES $24.95 SOFTCOVER $34.95 HARDCOVER

ALTUS PRESS

PULP CENTRAL: BLACK LIZARD BIG BOOK OF BLACK MASK STORIES!

PULP CENTRAL: BLACK LIZARD BIG BOOK OF BLACK MASK STORIES!

COMING SEPTEMBER 21ST!

EDITED BY OTTO PENZLER

Weighing in at over a thousand pages, containing over forty-seven stories and two novels, this book is big baby, bigger and more powerful than a freight train--a bullet couldn't pass through it. Here are the best stories and every major writer who ever appeared in celebrated Pulps like Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, and more. These are the classic tales that created the genre and gave birth to hard-hitting detectives who smoke criminals like packs of cigarettes; sultry dames whose looks are as lethal as a dagger to the chest; and gin-soaked hideouts where conversations are just preludes to murder. This is crime fiction at its gritty best. Illustrated throughout!

INCLUDING:

• Three stories by Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Dashiell Hammett.
• Complete novels from Carroll John Daly, the man who invented the hard-boiled detective, and Fredrick Nebel,
one of the masters of the form.
• A never before published Dashiell Hammett story.
• Every other major pulp writer of the time, including Paul Cain, Steve Fisher, James M. Cain, Horace McCoy, and many
many more of whom you've probably never heard.
• Three deadly sections - The Crimefighters, The Villains, and Dames - with three unstoppable introductions by Harlan Coben, Harlan Ellison, and Laura Lippman

PAPERBACK: 1136 PAGES / $25.00

VINTAGE CRIME/BLACK LIZARD ORIGINAL

RAT PACK CENTRAL: PAL JOEY SOUNDTRACK (1957)!

RAT PACK CENTRAL: PAL JOEY SOUNDTRACK (1957)!

HERE’S A TRULY SWINGIN’ SOUNDTRACK DOWNLOAD VIA KELLY’S LOUNGE SOUNDZ . . .

Despite its flaws I really liked this movie. Being besotted with Sinatra helped – but Kim Novak! I thought she was amazing. For me she nearly stole the film from Sinatra with her perfect mix of innocence, sexuality and self assurance. Easy to see why director Alfred Hitchcock cast her opposite James Stewart in "Vertigo" (1958) one year later.

Pal Joey was a Rodgers and Hart musical debuting on Broadway in 1941 and featuring then Gene Kelly as lounge lizard Joey Evans. For the 1957 film adaptation Sinatra, of course, played Joey and Rita Hayworth (Vera) and Kim Novak (Linda) his love interests. The soundtrack has Sinatra singing many of his best Rodgers and Hart material: "The Lady Is A Tramp", "There's A Small Hotel", and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was". However, the female voices heard on several of the tracks are not the voices of Rita Hayworth or Kim Novak. Rita Hayworth almost never did her own singing in her films and the voice on this soundtrack is actually the voice of Jo Ann Greer, while the voice of Kim Novak is actually the voice of Trudy Erwin (both professional singers used often by Hollywood to dub singing). Sinatra, of course, does his own singing, and in 1957 his singing and performing was at its peak. This film and its soundtrack (perhaps the best Sinatra ever did) is a crystal clear snapshot of that.

TRACKLIST:

01) Main Title
[The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

02) That Terrific Rainbow
[Trudy Erwin (for Kim Novak), Chorus Girls, The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

03) I Didn't Know What Time It Was
[Frank Sinatra, Orchestra, Nelson Riddle]

04) Do It The Hard Way
[The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

05) Great Big Town
[Chorus Girls, The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

06) There's A Small Hotel
[Frank Sinatra, Orchestra, Nelson Riddle]

07) Zip
[Jo Ann Greer (for Rita Hayworth), Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

08) I Could Write A Book
[Frank Sinatra, Orchestra, Nelson Riddle]

09) Bewitched
[Jo Ann Greer (for Rita Hayworth), The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

10) The Lady Is A Tramp
[Frank Sinatra, Orchestra, Nelson Riddle]

11) Plant You Now, Dig You Later
[The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

12) My Funny Valentine
[Trudy Erwin (for Kim Novak), Chorus Girls, The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

13) You Mustn't Kick It Around
[The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

14) Bewitched
[Frank Sinatra, Orchestra, Nelson Riddle]

15) Strip Number
[The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

16) Dream Sequence and Finale (What Do I Care For A Dame/Bewitched/I Could Write A Book)
[Frank Sinatra, The Columbia Pictures Chorus, The Columbia Pictures Orchestra, Morris Stoloff]

FOR THE FULL POST OR TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

HIGH ADVENTURE NOW! ~ THE LETTER OF HIS ORDERS!

PULP NOW! ~ THE LETTER OF HIS ORDERS!

THREE SHORT NOVELS FROM ADVENTURE, 1913

TALBOT MUNDY / BLACK DOG BOOKS

"For anyone who imagines Mundy's stories are simple-minded adventure melodramas, "The Letter of His Orders" shows Mundy to be a first-class observer of real world politics and human nature. In a very real sense, a story like "The Letter of His Orders" presages . . . Graham Greene. Where Greene makes fun of colonial intelligence officers in novels like Our Man in Havana, Mundy shows us the other side of that most mundane of heroes, the British colonial civil servant ... [as he] fulfills the noble promise of unquestioning loyalty . . ." ~ Gerry Conway, from this introduction.

This title reprints three classic short novels from the pages of Adventure, Mundy's primary American market during the early years of his career.

With an introduction by Gerry Conway (writer/producer Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Father Dowling Mysteries, Diagnosis Murder, etc.)

Cover art by Walter M. Baumhofer.

NOVELS INCLUDE:

•THE GUZZLER'S GRAND PRIX
•HOOKUM HAI
•THE LETTER OF HIS ORDERS

PRICE: $19.95 / TRADE PAPERBACK / 188 PAGES

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

WILL THE MASH UP MADNESS NEVER STOP ~ PART II?

ROBOT CENTRAL: ANDROID KARENINA!

BEN H. WINTERS / LEO TOLSTOY

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters co-author Ben H. Winters is back with an all-new collaborator, legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, and the result is Android Karenina an enhanced edition of the classic love story set in a dystopian world of robots, cyborgs, and interstellar space travel.
As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya.

These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them-but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society's high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen."

Filled with the same blend of romance, drama, and fantasy that made the first two Quirk Classics New York Times best sellers, Android Karenina brings this celebrated series into the exciting world of science fiction.

WILL THE MASH-UP MADNESS NEVER STOP?

ZOMBIE CENTRAL: PAUL IS UNDEAD!

ALAN GOLDSHER

Are readers ready for a world in which the Beatles just wanna eat your brains? Goldsher (Hard Bop Academy) thinks so, and he may be right. In this humor-filled splatterfest, the rise and fall of the zombie Beatles unfolds through eyewitness accounts, newspaper clippings, and interviews. Violence and music go hand-in-hand as the zombiefied Lennon, Harrison, and McCartney fight, eat, and rock their way to fame and popularity while ninja lord Ringo Starr tries to keep them out of trouble.

Nothing can stop them--not even a vampiric Pete Best, zombie-killing Mick Jagger, rival ninja Yoko Ono, or bad reviews. In fact, their only enemies may be one another, as personal conflicts threaten to break them up for good. Roughly paralleling the real-world career of the Beatles, this alternate history reimagines successes, failures, and rivalries with over-the-top bizarro charm.

FORGOTTEN BOOKS: A WORLD CUP TWO-FER!

FORGOTTEN BOOKS: A WORLD CUP TWO-FER!

The U.S. Men’s Soccer Team was both inspiring and humble in their World Cup win earlier this week. I have railed against the quality of play and coaching of the U.S. men’s team, but I was on my feet and cheering when Landon Donovan lifted the U.S. team on his shoulders. So, it is with inexplicable high hopes that I am looking forward to the next U.S. World Cup game against Ghana.

The past couple of weeks, I’ve covered a couple of fiction novels that have used the World Cup as a story background. These fiction outings have only been mildly successful, so today I want to cover a couple of my favorite non-fiction soccer related titles. Both of these books are compelling reads and worth seeking out if you have any interest at all in the beautiful game.

First up is The Miracle of Castle di Sangro from bestselling true crime writer Joe McGinnis. A long time soccer fan, McGinnis reached a point in his career where he need to escape the darkness of the reasearch he’d been doing in order to write his true crime tomes. In an effort to recharge, McGinnis moves with his family to a small Italian village where he leans the difference between being a soccer fan and becoming a true soccer fanatic.

THE MIRACLE OF CASTLE DI SANGRO

JOE MCGINNISS

In the summer of 1996, Joe McGinnis, the author of such non-fiction bestsellers as The Selling of the President, Fatal Vision, Blind Faith, and The Last Brother, set out for the remote Italian village of Castle di Sangro, located deep within the forbidding and isolated region of the Abruzzo.

His goal was to spend a season with the village soccer team, which only weeks before had accomplished a feat – hailed throughout Italy as a miracle – of winning promotion to the second highest professional league in the land. Though Castel di Sangro had only five thousand inhabitants, its team would now compete against those from such cities as Genoa, Turin, Padua, and Venice in a fight to keep its miracle alive.

Almost immediately, Joe McGinniss was embroiled in a small-town drama that had less to do with a game played by men kicking a ball than with hope, fear, love, loss and almost unbearable suspense. He found himself, like everyone in the town, bursting with affection and anxiety for this quixotic and boisterous band of young Italian athletes. Through victories, losses, scandals, deaths, and hard lessons in the Italian way of sport, he found a story whose depth and powers stunned him.

This book is his account of that year, a masterpiece of storytelling that transcends its particulars to embrace universal emotions.

Written with passion, tenderness, and humor – plus an appreciation for the absurd – The Miracle of Castel di Sangro is an unforgettable portrait of Italy’s people, its towns and cities, and its complicated, irrepressible spirit.

Next up is a book that literally moved me to tears. It is the story of a group of amazing athletes who make the greatest sacrifice for their sport imaginable. I dare anyone to read this story and not be emotionally moved.

DYNAMO ~ TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY IN NAZI-OCCUPIED KIEV

ANDY DOUGAN

When Hitler initiated Operation Barbossa in June 1941, he caught the Soviet Union completely by surprise. At breathtaking speed, his armies swept East, slaughtering the ill-prepared Soviet Forces. His greatest military gains in all of World War II were made in these few short months, and the largest single country that he concurred was the Ukraine. Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, was circled, assaulted, and overrun. Among the city’s defenders who were captured and incarcerated were many of the members of the sparkling 1939 Dynamo Kiev football team, arguably the best squad in Europe before the war.

Captured Kiev was a starving city whose young population was deported in vast numbers as slave labor. However, one man was determined not to just save the surviving players from the Dynamo squad, but other athletes as well. He offered them work, shelter and – more valuable – bread , as workers in his bakery.

Inspired by the charismatic goalkeeper Trusevich, the Dynamo side was re-formed as Start FC, and a series of matches were arranged, all of which the team won handsomely, and to such an extent that they inspired Kievan spirits.

The final match, however, against the Luftwaffe, was arranged by the German authorities. A well-fed team from the Fatherland would vanquish the upstart Ukrainians, especially since the game would be refereed by an S.S. officer. The match itself was an allegory of resistance, and its consequences were brutal.

In Dynamo, Andy Dougan has discovered the truth behind the legendary encounter, sorting fact from fiction and restoring a moment of extraordinary poignancy and complex bravery to the center of World War II. The cliché is demonstrably true: football is not a matter of life or death, it’s much more important.

As the World Cup continues over the next few weeks, I’l be there each day glued to the unfolding drama. For anyone who doesn’t understand the game, that statement will make no sence. For those who have been bitten by the soccer bug, however, there will be no misunderstanding.

“WE’RE NOT DONE YET. WE BELIEVE, MAN. WE’RE ALIVE, BABY!”
~ LANDON DONOVAN.

WE’RE WITH YOU, MAN. GO U.S.A.

SLOW BOAT TO CHINA!

SLOW BOAT TO CHINA!

THE BLOG STANDARD OF THE DAY HAS JUST POSTED A PIECE ON ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS, SLOW BOAT TO CHINA . . .

In contrast to his many hits from shows, "Slow Boat to China" was one of Loesser's hit pop songs. It was introduced by Kay Kyser, and soon became a very enduring standard. Like so many Loesser compositions, it remains a part of our popular lexicon.

TO READ THE FULL POST CLICK HERE

BULLET TO THE HEAD #1

BULLET TO THE HEAD #1

COVERS: COLIN WILSON

WRITER: MATZ

PENCILLER/INKER: COLIN WILSON

A crime saga in comic book form as the story centers around buddy crooks, buddy cops, femme fatales and one unlikely official in the middle - with a target on his head! Dynamite proudly presents its first-ever crim noir series! Featuring art by Colin Wilson (Ed Brubaker's Point Blank)!

$3.99

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

RED SONJA ~ BLOOD DYNASTY!

RED SONJA ~ BLOOD DYNASTY!

COVER: PAUL RENAUD

WRITER: BRIAN REED

PENCILLER/INKER: WALTER GEOVANI

COLORIST: VINICIUS ANDRADE

Twenty winters have passed since last Sonja walked the land. However, now that she has returned, her new incarnation self has yet to learn the truth of her existence, or the reason for her miraculous rebirth...

So begins the odyssey of the "Blood Dynasty (Red Sonja #41-49)! This ambitious story features Sonja as you've never seen her before, as the series takes a thrilling turn towards the mysterious, while maintaining a classic sense of adventure!

232 PAGES ~ $29.99

JUNE, 2010

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

WHOOOHOOO!

WHOOOHOOO!

LANDON DONOVAN SCORES! FOR ALL MY RANTING AND RAVING ABOUT THE U.S. / SLOVINIA GAME, IT WAS LIKE WATCHING A DIFFERENT TEAM TODAY. I’M STILL NOT ENAMORED WITH BOB BRADLEY AS A COACH, BUT HE TOOK CHANCES TODAY (A FOUR MAN FRONT LINE, YES!) AND THEY FINALLY PAID OFF . . .

IT WAS A NAILBITER, BUT U.S.A. WIN’S THEIR GROUP AND ENGLAND , WHO STILL PROGRESS TO THE NEXT ROUND, HANG THEIR COLLECTIVE HEAD IN SHAME . . .

GO, U.S.A.!

ZOMBIE CENTRAL: THE ZOMBIES OF LAKE WOEBEGOTTON!

ZOMBIE CENTRAL: THE ZOMBIES OF LAKE WOEBEGOTTON!

HARRISON GEILLOR

The town of Lake Woebegotton, MN is a small town, filled with ordinary (yet above average) people, leading ordinary lives. Ordinary, that is, until the dead start coming back to life, with the intent to feast upon the living! Now this small town of above average citizens must overcome their petty rivalries and hidden secrets in order to survive an onslaught of the dead.

AND HERE ALL ALONG, I THOUGHT GARRISON KEILLOR WAS ALREADY A ZOMBIE . . .

ZOMBIE CENTRAL: MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES!

ZOMBIE CENTRAL: MARRIED WITH ZOMBIES!

JESSE PETERSEN

Meet Sarah and David. Once upon a time, they met and fell in love. But now they’re on the verge of divorce and going to couples’ counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things: the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client’s throat. Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn’t mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don’t eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

THE CAT'S MEOW ~ DOUBLE PLAY!

THE CAT'S MEOW ~ WORLD CUP EDITION!

RADIO SWING WORLDWIDE!

RADIO SWING WORLDWIDE!

Radio Swing Worldwide (www.RadioSwingWorldwide.com) ~ Your Parade of Hits from the 30s and 40s! is the newest member of the Bop Media Group which includes Radio Bop (www.RadioBop.com), Radio Bop 60s (www.RadioBop60s.com) and ROOTSofROCK.US … If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding any of our stations, email Harold Levine, Program Director, at hl@radiobop.com …

Radio Swing Worldwide plays popular hits from the years 1935-1946, the heart of the big band/swing era, plus popular songs from the early 30s. Our primary musical reference for this period is Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music …

FOR THE RADIO SWING WORLDWIDE BLOG CLICK HERE

TO LISTEN CLICK HERE

HAT TIP TO BILL CRIDER

MEMPHIS BEAT!

MEMPHIS BEAT!

PREMIERS TONIGHT . . .

A COP WHO DIGS ELVIS . . . THIS IS EITHER GOING TO BE REALLY GOOD OR EMBARRASSINGLY BAD . . .

PULP CENTRAL: SECRET AGENT X VOL. 2!

PULP CENTRAL: SECRET AGENT X VOL. 2!

VOLUME 1:

THE GREATEST SPY OF THE PULPS RETURNS IN THREE CLASSIC TALES OF ACTION AND ADVENTURE, PLUS A FOURTH BRAND NEW STORY EXCLUSIVE TO THIS NEW EDITION. STORIES BY KEVIN NOEL OLSON, MARK JUSTICE, BRIAN MEREDITH AND ANDREW SALMON. EDITED BY RON FORTIER WITH ART BY ROB DAVIS AND SHANE EVANS. NOT TO BE MISSED!

VOLUME 2:

PULP'S TOP SUPER SPY RETURNS IN FOUR ACTION PACKED MISSIONS, WRITTEN BY TODAY'S FINEST THRILLER WRITERS; ONE BRAND NEW TO THIS GORGEOUS REPRINT EDITION. STORIES BY SEAN ELLIS, KEVIN NOEL OLSON, G.L. GICK & B.C. BELL. FEATURES 12 INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROB DAVIS, WITH A COVER BY DAVIS AND CHRIS CARNEY.

PULP ACTION AT ITS BEST!

FOR MORE ON VOL. 1 CLICK HERE

FOR MORE ON VOL. 2 CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: DOUBLE DANGER TALES VOL. 1!

PULP CENTRAL: DOUBLE DANGER TALES VOL. 1!

DR. SATAN & THE BLACK BAT RETURN IN 4 ALL-NEW EXCITING TALES OF MYSTERY, MAGIC, AND ADVENTURE! PULP FICTION AT ITS FINEST!

INCLUDES:

DR. SATAN
SYMPHONY IN DEATH MINOR ~ WAYNE SKIVER
THE PRISONER ~ SEAN ELLIS

THE BLACK BAT
DEATH SMILES BACK ~ WAYNE SKIVER
MURDER UNDER THE BIG TOP ~ TOM JOHNSON

COVER ART & INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY RICH WOODALL

JOIN IN THESE THRILLING AND CHILLING STORIES FEATURING 2 HEROES & VILLAINS, IN 2 STORIES EACH! DOUBLE DANGER TALES!
FOR MORE CLICK HERE

PULP CENTRAL: THE ADVENTURES OF DODGE DALTON!

PULP CENTRAL: THE ADVENTURES OF DODGE DALTON!

COMING IN JUNE FROM SEAN ELLIS . . .

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW ~ FREE e-NOVELLA!

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW ~ FREE e-NOVELLA!

SEAN ELLIS

FROM THE AUTHOR OF SECRET AGENT X: THE SCAR . . .

Nick Kismet, the unstoppable hero of The Shroud of Heaven returns in a novella-length thriller. Kismet's search for the shadowy Prometheus group turns a corner when he receives an invitation to meet a mysterious informant. But instead of answers, he finds a beautiful reporter, hunted by vicious kidnappers and a fallen priest wielding the unholy power of the Judas Rope.

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

SECRET AGENT X: THE SCAR ~ FREE e-BOOK!

SECRET AGENT X: THE SCAR ~ FREE e-BOOK!

SEAN ELLIS /SMASHWORDS

Pulp hero Secret Agent X, the original man of a thousand faces, is about to face his greatest challenge and a villain preparing to unleash a wave of death. But first he must unlock the mystery of a strange scar on his hand...from a wound he cannot remember. As he follows the trail of clues, the Secret Agent will discover that he has lost more than his memories.

TO DOWNLOAD CLICK HERE

UNIVERSAL NIGHTHAWKS!

UNIVERSAL NIGHTHAWKS!

EDWARD HOPPER MEETS JAMES WHALE IN THIS IRRESISTIBLE PIECE CALLED UNIVERSAL NIGHTHAWKS BY ILLUSTRATOR DAVE LOWE.

CHECK OUT DAVE’S BLOG PARA ABNORMAL

HONEY WEST #1!

HONEY WEST #1!

WRITER: TRINA ROBBINS
ARTIST: CYNTHIA MARTIN

AVAILABLE NOW FROM MOONSTONE BOOKS . . . FOUR COVERS TO CHOOSE FROM TO GET YOU TO PART WITH YOUR CASH . . .

The return of the world's first female private eye in fiction and on TV! As tough as Mike Hammer and as sultry as Marilyn Monroe!

Danger lurks in Hollywood when topless piano player Mimi Malloy walks into Honey West's office. There's been a double homicide at her nightclub, the Purple Pussy, and Mimi suspects she's the next victim!

Honey goes undercover as a go-go dancer and mixes it up with Hollywood hippies to uncover the 'Killer on the Keys.' Available with covers by David Lloyd and Malcolm McClinton or a special Anne Francis photo variant.

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

NOIR CENTRAL: SCENT OF A WOMAN!

NOIR CENTRAL: SCENT OF A WOMAN!

A FRIEND MENTIONED SOMETHING IN PASSING ABOUT A WOMAN IN A BLACK SEAMED STOCKINGS AND A CLINGING RED DRESS HIDING IN A BACK BOOTH IN A 1950’S NOIR DINER, AND THE START TO A WHOLE STORY POPPED INTO MY HEAD.

THEN, SHORTLY AFTERWARD, I CAME ACROSS THIS ARTICLE, WHICH EVOKED THE WHOLE SCENE FOR ME . . .

FROM FINCH’S QUARTERLY REVIEW . . . A NOIR COCKTAIL . . .

Ever sipped on a cocktail that emitted the scent of an ex lover? It is a silkily seductive idea, and one that award winning bartender Tony Conigliaro must have considered as he set about creating his new signature drink.

“I had this idea that I wanted to marry an iconic perfume with a classic cocktail”, says Conigliaro. Some of his creations start with a concept such as this that he works back from, while others are inspired by a new methodology or flavour.

FOR THE FULL POST CLICK HERE

MODESTY IN TAMIL!

MODESTY IN TAMIL!

MODESTY BLAISE NEWS HAS JUST PUT UP A POST FEATURING TAMIL REPRITS OF THE MODESTY BLAISE COMICS.

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

THE CAT'S MEOW!

FAUX-VINTAGE!

FAUX-VINTAGE!

IT’S CLEAR RAP SHEET BLOGGER J. KINGSTON PIERCE HAS A THING FOR KILLER COVER – EVEN IF THEY ARE COVERS FOR NONE EXISTANT FOUX-VINTAGE NOVELS. AS SUCH, THE RAP SHEET POINTS US TO THE BLOG OF ILLUSTRATOR ROB KELLY, WHO CREATED THE IMAGE ABOVE AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHERS . . .

TO CHECK OUT ROB’S ART CLICK HERE

PLAINCLOTHES ~ DICK TRACY SITE!

PLAINCLOTHES ~ DICK TRACY SITE!

JIM DOHERTY DIRECTS US TO A NEW TRIBUTE SITE TO THE GREAT DICK TRACY – PLAINCLOTHES. IN JIM’S WORDS . . .

It includes a Tracy comic book story, "Fireworks," written by Max Allan Collins and illustrated by Joe Staton. Originally intended for DISNEY ADVENTURES but never actually printed, it was intended to cash in on the then-hot DICK TRACY movie. Collins, of course, was then the writer of the Tracy strip, and was also the creator of such comics sleuths as MS. TREE, a Chicago private eye who took over her husband's P.I. agency after his murder, MIKE MIST, another Chicago shamus who starred in a series of "solve-them-yourself" whodunits, as well as the writer of ROAD TO PERDITION, the first graphic novel ever to make it to the New York TIMES best-seller list.

It also includes two prose stories about Tracy. "The Treasure of Captain Cannonsmoke," by the aptly-named Tracy Kazaleh, is set in the world of the UPA animated TRACY cartoons, and features more humorous takes on Tracy's famous Rogues' Gallery, together on a cruise ship in search of hidden treasure.

"Murder Is My Hobby," by Jim Doherty, pits Tracy against a serial killer.

The centerpiece of the site is a new comics story in newspaper strip format, "Major Crimes Squad," illustrated by Staton and written by Mike Curtis, publisher of Shandafa Comics. It features the return of that long-ago villain Willie "The Fifth" Millyun and his odious lawyer Flyface, and answers the question that has baffled Tracy fans for decades:

"Whatever happened to the Space Coupe?"

TO CHECK OUT PLAINCLOTHES CLICK HERE

A TIP OF THE FEDORA TO CHRIS MILLS @ ATOMIC PULP

Y/A CORNER: THE LOST HERO!

Y/A CORNER: THE LOST HERO!

RICK RIORDON

RETURN TO THE WORLD OF CAMP HALF-BLOOD AS A NEW GENERATION INHERITS AT QUEST . . .

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. Apparently she’s his girlfriend Piper, his best friend is a kid named Leo, and they’re all students in the Wilderness School, a boarding school for “bad kids.” What he did to end up here, Jason has no idea—except that everything seems very wrong.

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, and her vivid nightmares reveal that he’s in terrible danger. Now her boyfriend doesn’t recognize her, and when a freak storm and strange creatures attack during a school field trip, she, Jason, and Leo are whisked away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood. What is going on?

Leo has a way with tools. His new cabin at Camp Half-Blood is filled with them. Seriously, the place beats Wilderness School hands down, with its weapons training, monsters, and fine-looking girls. What’s troubling is the curse everyone keeps talking about, and that a camper’s gone missing. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist they are all—including Leo—related to a god.

Rick Riordan, the best-selling author of the Percy Jackson series, pumps up the action and suspense in The Lost Hero, the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series. Fans of demi-gods, prophesies, and quests will be left breathless--and panting for Book Two.

BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA LIVE @ THE MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL!

BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA LIVE @ THE MONTREAL JAZZ FESTIVAL!

FRIDAY, JUNE 25 @ 9:30PM EST

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE SHOW IN MONTREAL NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT? DON'T WORRY. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO STREAM THE ENTIRE PERFORMANCE ONLINE!

BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA ~ SUMMERTIME BLUES!

BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA ~ SUMMERTIME BLUES!

START THIS SUMMER OFF RIGHT WITH TWO SCORCHING TRACKS – SUMMERTIME BLUES & GOOD ROCKIN' DADDY – BOTH FROM THE UPCOMING LIVE ALBUM DON'T MESS WITH A BIG BAND.

THE BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA
SUMMERTIME BLUES
BACKED WITH
GOOD ROCKIN' DADDY

THERE IS A CURE FOR THE SUMMERTIME BLUES!

DOWNLOAD AT ITUNES

NOIR CENTRAL: DAVID GOODIS . . . TO A PULP (DVD)!

NOIR CENTRAL: DAVID GOODIS . . . TO A PULP (DVD)!

In the pantheon of noir writers David Goodis is one of the best. His brand of gritty, realistic prose is wholly unique and immediately recognizable. Yet, today he is probably one of the least known authors within the genre. He achieved his greatest fame when Warner Brothers produced the film Dark Passage, based on his novel, and hired him as a screenwriter. However, within a short time he was divorced, left Hollywood and retreated to his parents home in Philadelphia, where he remained for the rest of his life.

But even from his monastic bedroom he continued to write, producing a series of dark, highly personal paperback novels. His life remains full of mystery and speculation. Now the story can be revealed. Using archival footage, rare photographs, dramatization and interviews with friends, relatives and scholars, this documentary traces the trajectory of a promising career and the quiet descent of a gifted and sad author.

ABOUT THE ACTOR

Larry Withers is the host of this program. His mother was also married to David Goodis, so he has a unique perspective on the subject of the documentary. Larry Withers is a successful author, video producer and a founder of On Air Video. Working with his wife, Sharyn, he combines his training in the fine arts with his knowledge of video production to create a line of clear and comprehensive instructional videos.

FOR MORE INFO CLICK HERE

FOREIGN FORGOTTEN FRIDAYS!

FOREIGN FORGOTTEN FRIDAYS!

There’s a cool new addition to Forgotten Books Fridays. Glenn Harper is joining the frey via his International Noir Fiction blog to bring us Foreign Forgotten Fridays . . . Obviously, Glenn’s posts will bring us little known or forgotten titles from outside the U.S.

Glenn jumped in last Friday with Pieke Biermann's Violetta, featuring Berlin police detective Karin Lietze, published in its German original the year after the fall of the wall. Biermann's detective is caught up in several murder investigations that involve racism, a serial killer, a band of vengeful feminists, and other denizens of an apocalyptic, millennial Berlin.

The novel is available in English from Serpent’s Tail . . .

TO CHECK OUT THE FIRST FOREIGN FORGOTTEN FRIDAY CLICK HERE

KNIGHT & DAY!

KNIGHT & DAY!

STARTS WEDNESDAY. I'M THERE!

THE CAT'S MEOW!

SIGN OF THE FOUR!

SIGN OF THE FOUR!

STEVE HOLLAND’S BEAR ALLEY BLOG HAS STARTED POSTING COMIC PAGES FROM THE SHERLOCK HOLME’S TALE THE SIGN OF THE FOUR . . .

TO CHECK OUT PART ONE CLICK HERE

SYFY ~ THE PHANTOM!

SYFY ~ THE PHANTOM!

TONIGHT, THE SYFY NETWORK TROTS OUT THE LATEST TAKE ON THE PHANTOM, ONE OF THE GREATEST PULP HEROES EVER. I DON’T HOLD OUT MUCH HOPE FOR THIS FOUR HOUR EPIC, BUT I’LL WATCH THE BEGINNING TO SEE IF IT PULLS ME IN . . .

Synopsis: Ryan Carnes stars as The Phantom and his alter ego Kit Walker in this re-imagined version of the classic comic book transported to present day. Isabella Rossellini guest stars in a villainous turn as Lithia, the head of an experimental mind control program. Also starring are Sandrine Holt as The Phantom's trusted advisor, Guran and Cameron Goodman as Walker's love interest, Renny.

A favorite costumed hero for nearly 75 years, The Phantom, created by Lee Falk, relies on his wits, physical strength and skill with weapons over superhuman powers. In this contemporary version, directed by Paolo Barzman, young Kit Walker survives an attempt on his life but his mother's life is lost. Flash forward nearly 20 years and Kit, raised by loving adoptive parents, is now a young law student who, unbeknownst to him, is next in line to become The Phantom, a role passed down from generation to generation in his family since the 1500's. Hoping to stop the ascension of the next Phantom, the notorious and deadly Singh crime syndicate sets a plan in motion to kill Kit and simultaneously start an international war.

FOR MORE CLICK HERE

FEMME FATALES!

FEMME FATALES!

JOE ACKERMAN HAS REALLY BEEN BUSY TODAY ON HIS TWO-FISTED TALES OF TRUE-LIFE WEIRD ROMANCE BLOG, THIS TIME BRINGING US UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE BEAUTIFUL ELEANOR PARKER . . .

TO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE