Characters I Love # 6: Spitfire

by Updates • Tags: , , ,

spitfireEvery Wednesday, I focus on a character from adventure fiction (film, comics & prose) that I simply adore. This week we’re talking about: Spitfire, the super-fast Marvel Comics’ heroine. Spitfire first appeared in Invaders # 7 (July 1976) in her identity as Jacqueline Falsworth before debuting as Spitfire in Invaders # 12 (December 1976). Over the years, she’s been a member of not only the World War II-era Invaders but also of MI-13.

The daughter of the original Union Jack and the sister of the second man to use that identity, Spitfire was exposed to heroism and patriotism her entire life. As a teenager in World War II, she met the Invaders and was injured by the vampiric Baron Blood. Only a blood transfusion from the artificial lifeform that was the original Human Torch saved her, also endowing her with superspeed. After joining the Invaders, Spitfire operated throughout the war as one of England’s primary champions. After the war, she married Lord Crichton and bore him a son, Kenneth. Unfortunately, Kenneth would eventually be swayed to the side of darkness, becoming the second Baron Blood.

Spitfire eventually retired as a hero and focused on running Falsworth Industries, though a later second transfusion from the Torch not only restored her powers but also her youth. After this, she returned to active adventuring, working with both the New Invaders and MI-13. Unfortunately, the curse of vampirism that had claimed the lives of both her father and her son eventually played havoc on Spitfire herself as she manifested several unique abilities. She has vampire fangs that appear when she’s angered but she possesses no blood lust and does not need to drink it to survive.

I’ve always loved this character – not only because of her sleek costume design but because she’s such an old-fashioned hero. She wants to do the right thing so she does it! She’s a golden age hero through and through, with all that entails. I was a huge Invaders fan back in the day but I love seeing her in the modern world, as well — even with the darkening of her character brought about by the vampire business (which I’m not too keen on), she’s still a breath of relatively fresh air in what’s become a pretty seedy Marvel Universe.

Back in my fanfiction days, I wrote a LOT of stories featuring Spitfire, casting her as a member of the heroic Pendragons. Those were the days, eh?

Anyway, I’d love to see somebody treat Spitfire as a legitimate big gun in the Marvel Universe but I’m afraid that they’d just drag her through the mud like they have most of their heroes, so maybe she should just stay in the shadows for now.

Tuesday!

by Updates • Tags: , , , ,

lg_v3_abby_vs_femi_smallIt’s a Tuesday here at Ye Olde Blog, which is exciting mainly because that means it’s no longer Monday! We should always embrace the positive, right?

Uploaded Episode 32 of The Shadow Fan’s Podcast this morning. After taking a week off from it, it was fun to dive back into some Shadow talk. I reviewed an episode of the radio series and a classic novel from 1936 (“Intimidation, Inc.” – love the title!). If you like The Shadow, give it a listen, why don’t you?

Work continues on the current Lazarus Gray story, which I hope to finish before the end of this week. Then I can focus on writing the last few thousand words on my weird western story for Mechanoid Press… then it’s probably back to Gravedigger for a little while. I plan to alternate work on Gravedigger & Lazarus Gray until I finish both books.

Speaking of Lazarus, I know that the third volume has come through editing and should be out very soon — the image accompanying this blog post today is an interior piece from that book, drawn by George Sellas.

George, by the way, is currently working on the cover for The Rook Special Edition Volume Three. Volume Two has only been out for a few weeks so grab that one while it’s fresh.

Things never slow down around here, do they?

Don’t forget to join me on Twitter and/or Tumblr – you can get even more disturbing insight into my mental state by doing so!

Monday Morning Musings

by Updates • Tags: , , , , , ,

emma-watson-in-w-magazine-july-2013-02Welcome back to Ye Olde Blog! I have a number of things to share with you this morning so let’s get underway, shall we?

I’ve been splitting my reading time between Inferno by Dan Brown and Intimidation Inc. by Walter Gibson. Two very different writers but I’m enjoying both works. I took a week off from doing The Shadow Fan Podcast last week so I hope to get a new episode up in a day or two.

I now have a tumblr account, which you can access at barryreesepulp. So far, I’m not really sure what I’m going to be doing with it. I have my blog here and a Facebook page and a Twitter account so it’s not like I have a shortage of places to share my opinions. Nevertheless, I now have a tumblr, which so far I’m using to share pictures of my own work and other things that I just really like. We’ll see if it sticks around.

I hope to finish the Lazarus Gray story I’m writing in a day or two, which will let me then go back to finishing off this weird west tale I own Mechanoid Press.

Got my copies of The Avenger: Roaring Heart of the Crucible and it’s a gorgeous book. An amazing honor to write this hero a second time. I grew up loving The Avenger and he’s still right up there with The Shadow as my favorite pulp hero… now, if I could only get my grubby little mitts on The Shadow, I could die a happy man, pulp-wise.

So, I did two blog postings last week dedicated to DC’s obscure hero Pariah. A few folks responded positively but from the hits to my site on those days, i think it’s safe to understand why DC hasn’t given this guy his own solo series yet. But I do like the character and enjoy the opportunity to focus on some of my obscure loves on Wednesdays. I could keep up this Characters I Love column for another ten years and never scratch the bottom of the barrel. The Saturday Matinee thing is started to become a chore, though, as I’m running out of easy ideas for it. Any suggestions for it would be appreciated.

Our image today is the lovely Emma Watson, who has been doing some very glamorous modeling sessions as of late. She looks like she’d fit right into one of my pulp adventure novels, doesn’t she? In fact, she looks more than a little like Samantha Grace of Assistance Unlimited!

 

Pariah (Marvel Heroic RPG Stats)

by Marvel Heroic RPG • Tags: ,

pariahPARIAH
First Appearance: Crisis on Infinite Earths # 1.
“He has conquered all disease! His control over the weather makes our world a paradise. He is the greatest of the greats!” — Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

Affiliations: Solo D10 Buddy D8 Team D6

Distinctions: D4 (+1PP) or D8
It’s All My Fault!
Emotionally Unstable
Flair for the Dramatic

Power Sets:
My Powers Are a Curse!
Godlike Durability D12
Godlike Resistance D12
Teleportation D12
SFX: Invulnerable: Spend 1 PP to ignore Physical Stress or Trauma unless caused by Anti-Matter Energy attacks.
Limit: Uncontrollable – Teleportation automatically takes Pariah to scenes of mass destruction. Turn the power into a complication and gain 1 PP. Activate an opportunity or remove the complication to recover the power.

Specialties:
Cosmic Master D10 or 2D8 or 3D6
Science Master D10 or 2D8 or 3D6
Tech Master D10 or 2D8 or 3D6

Character Background:

tiny1Kell Mossa (he was, at various times, called by both names — I’m assuming his proper name is Kell Mossa for the purposes of this website) was born on a planet known to comic fans as Earth-Omega. He was, without a doubt, this world’s foremost scientist. He cured world-wide disease and invented machines that regulated the weather. He was seen as a savior and a hero and he reveled in the adulation.

But not all was perfect. Mossa had grown cold and arrogant, marrying out of convenience and fathering two children whom he discribed as “emotional nuisances.” While his wife was never named, his children are known to have been named Tarran and Mart.

Mossa’s greatest work was at hand, even as his marriage was crumbling — he had discovered the existence of a multiverse. Despite legends which warned that such probings would only lead to destruction, Mossa pressed on and created an Anti-Matter Chamber which would bridge all universes.

Mossa entered the chamber, hoping to witness the origin of creation — instead, he gave life to the greatest evil the multiverse would ever know. Mossa’s experiment awakened the slumbering being known as the Anti-Monitor, who eradicated Earth-Omega and began the events known as Crisis.

“Everything was gone. And I…was suddenly very, very… alone. My first million years were spent trying to understand the enormity of what I had done… I spent another million years in the nether-void understanding what I had lost. My wife…my children…The love I had successfully ignored. And for the next million years all I wanted, all I wished for, all I begged for, was to die. But the fates were far too cruel to permit me to so easily atone for my sins.” — New Teen Titans #81.

tiny4 The Anti-Monitor’s opposite number, the Monitor, chose to use Mossa as his agent. Giving him the ability to sense disasters, the Monitor used Pariah to track the progress of the Anti-Monitor’s anti-matter attacks. Pariah believed this was punishment for his sins — something which he dealt with in Crisis and resolved to move past. However, subsequent appearances have continued to have him spouting off about how this is an atonement for his great sin. Go figure.

Nowadays, presumably, Pariah is still bouncing through time/space (and Hypertimelines?), witnessing disasters. He’s been shown once in the New 52, as a prisoner of the US government in Vibe # 1.

For the record, Pariah is invulnerable to all harm (Superman was unable to hurt him in War of the Gods #2) and teleports across the multiverse with ease (but only when summoned to a disaster).

Saturday Matinee: Lara Croft vs. Nathan Drake!

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by Saturday Matinee • Tags: , , , ,

art-lara-croft-nathan-drake-wallpaperEvery Saturday I find a movie or clip that I think will appeal to the fans of this blog. Since most of you enjoy action/adventure, I tend to focus on something that falls into that category. This week we’re looking at an epic beatdown between Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) and Nathan Drake (Uncharted)! Both of these characters emerged from pulp-inspired video games that are quite popular with the adventure crowd. Obviously, most of the younger generation thinks that these heroes are basically variations on Indiana Jones but we all know that Indy himself was inspired by the movie serials and pulps of the past.

So – who’s going to win in this titanic tussle?

Click and see!

New Pulp Recommendation of the Week: Staff of Judea (Rogue Angel # 41)

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by New Pulp Recommendations • Tags:

judeaEvery Friday I focus on a New Pulp work that I think merits your attention. Sometimes it will be something that’s brand new, other times I’ll look at something that’s a few years old. This week, I’m encouraging you to check out Staff of Judea, which is the 41st book in the Rogue Angel series published by Gold Eagle. Before we launch into a detailed look at the book itself, let’s see how the publisher describes the volume:

The Staff of Aaron…the sword of Joan of Arc.After decoding an ancient scroll—one that purports to pinpont the treasure of the Jewish Temple, lost for two thousand years—archaeologist Annja Creed agrees to lead the party to recover the find in Judea. It’s a perilous desert journey through sandstorms and bandits, and complicated by mysterious sabotage within the group, to arrive at a long-forgotten fortress deep beneath a mountain. Only then does Annja discover that this archaeological expedition is really one man’s quest for the mystical Staff of Aaron, one of the Bible’s holiest and most powerful relics—a weapon they say can do incalculable harm in the hands of the wrong individual. She must try everything humanly possible to prevent the staff from being used for selfish purposes. Even if it puts her in the mightiest battle yet—sword against staff.

Rogue Angel stars Annja Creed, archaeologist and host of a television series, Chasing History’s Monsters. In the very first book in the series (“Destiny”), Annja becomes the owner of a sword that once belonged to Joan of Arc. This sword can be summoned to her mentally — when she’s not using it, it floats in another dimension, waiting for her call.

Rogue Angel is a consistently entertaining New Pulp series — and one of the most successful, to boot. New books come out every other month and you can find them at your local grocery store or convenience center. I bought this one at a K-Mart… how many other New Pulp series can you say that about these days?

At first glance, Annja looks like a Lara Croft ripoff and I’m certain that played a part in her creation. But despite her beauty, the series does not pander at all… in fact, it’s almost oddly sexless. There’s no romance to be found in most of these — it’s straight-ahead adventure fiction, just with a female protagonist. Plots vary wildly from book to book but are almost always based around ancient myths and relics.

This particular volume is written by Joe Nassise, though it’s credited to the house name of Alex Archer on the cover. The story moves quickly and, while it gives you sufficient historical detail about the Staff of Aaron and the various mysteries being explored here, it’s never a dry read. Some old faces from the series (like Roux) reappear but for the most part, Annja is with new characters in this novel and they play off of her very well. I sometimes worry when we delve into Christian myths that we’re going to somehow become a little too spiritual for my tastes but it’s handled well here, with little difference from how they treat any other mythology.

If you want some fun reads that can bring you back every other month, I heartily recommend not only Staff of Judea but the entire Rogue Angel series.

From the Vault: Great Pulp Villains

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by Updates • Tags: , , ,

The pulp heroes often faced villains who were memorably over the top. Though most of the villains only appeared once (mainly because they were either killed by the heroes or accidentally brought about their own demise), there were still a few that stuck in my memory. Here are some of my favorites:

  • Fu Manchu – How can you top this Oriental mastermind? His brilliance was unmatched and I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t consider himself a villain at all.
  • John Sunlight – The man who exposed the secrets of Doc Savage’s Fortress of Solitude, Sunlight was just as formidable as the Man of Bronze. The only thing that would have made him better in my opinion was if he’d had an interesting supporting cast, mainly as a counterpoint to Doc’s Fabulous Five.
  • Doctor Satan – I first encountered this guy in Ron Fortier’s Hounds of Hell novel and have enjoyed him ever since. Dressed as the freakin’ devil, this guy has a memorable group of servants and is so over-the-top evil that he’s fun to root against.
  • Fantomas – The brilliantly evil Fantomas was as cool as they came, but sadistic and ruthless. For years, I’ve thought using some version of this character in one of my stories. Eventually, I’ll get around to it.
  • The Prince of Evil – Benedict Stark was a twisted killer who battled The Shadow over the course of four novels. The first two are definitely the best – the depraved depths that Stark is willing to go to really makes him stand out amongst The Shadow’s rogues gallery.

What about you guys? What pulp villains could you never get enough of?

BTW, the Doctor Satan image at left is by Anthony Castrillo and features the crimson-clad bad guy as he was depicted in my Rook series.

Characters I Love # 5: Pariah

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Pariah_0001Every Wednesday, I focus on a character from adventure fiction (film, comics & prose) that I simply adore. This week we’re talking about: Pariah, the tortured DC Comics’ character first introduced in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

I really can’t describe why I love this character. On the surface, he’s almost comical. Cursed by causing the accident which released the Anti-Monitor onto the multiverse, Pariah would teleport from universe to universe, bearing witness to that reality’s demise. He would cry a lot and talk about how much he wished he could help but he knew it would do no good. Eventually, he teamed up with Harbinger and other heroes of the multiverse to stand against the Anti-Monitor. With that villain’s defeat, Pariah took to wandering the post-Crisis DC Universe, usually with survivors Lady Quark & Harbinger in tow (I also really like Harbinger). Pariah made a few appearances over the years, popping up in the Titans book during the Titans Hunt storyline, guest-starred in DC Comics Presents and eventually ended up as a Black Lantern during the Green Lantern-centric crossover, Blackest Night.

Pariah was a genius-level scientist and his powers included immortality, invulnerability and flight. I also assume he could translate any language automatically since he never seemed to encounter anyone he couldn’t understand.

I really love his crazy outfit — the funky belt, the long boots, the cloak with the hood that can be raised. I also like his guy-liner eyes!

I always had this strange desire to take this seemingly worthless character and do a whole series about him. I could make it work — I’d play up the redemption angle, having him seek out these disasters but allow him to actually intervene and save as many people as possible. It would never be enough in his own eyes to undo all the damage that his arrogance had caused, however. I think the notion of an immortal witness to disasters, both great and small, could have tremendous potential.

Pariah has popped up in DC’s New 52 Universe, as he was seen in one panel of Vibe # 1. Apparently, he’s currently a prisoner of the United States government. His current origin is unknown.

The Rook Volume 2 Special Edition Is Now Available!

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by Updates • Tags: ,

rook2special

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND DISTRIBUTION-
THE ROOK VOLUME 2 SPECIAL EDITION NOW AVAILABLE!

Reese Unlimited, an author centered imprint of Pro Se Productions, proudly announces the release of the special edition second volume collection of one of New Pulp’s best known and loved heroes! THE ROOK VOLUME 2 SPECIAL EDITION by multiple award winning author Barry Reese is now available in print and eBook format!

THE ROOK VOLUME 2-SPECIAL EDITION is a newly edited, newly formatted Pro Se edition of the second volume of Reese’s Rook Series. The adventures of Max Davies, tortured masked hero and defender against evil of all kinds, continue in typical Reese two fisted, double barreled action in this collection of stories. Continuing his battle against the supernatural, The Rook discovers more about his own tragic destiny while battling darknesses vile and ancient! He also discovers he is not alone in his fight, teaming up with Classic Pulp heroine, The Domino Lady, and the Russian near superman Leonid Kaslov, another one of Reese’s wonderful New Pulp Heroes.

Even with companions, though, The Rook continues a solitary war, striking out at villains because he has been given no other choice!

“The Rook,” Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief and Partner in Pro Se stated, “is one of the first names people bring up when a discussion of New Pulp heroes starts. Barry struck such a necessary chord with the creation of Max and company, combining classic Pulp sensibilities with his love for the expansiveness comic books allowed with cast and such, and adding his own very unique twist to the mix. Pro Se is proud to be able to put its own unique touch on the early adventures of The Rook in these Special Edition collections from Reese Unlimited.”

THE ROOK VOLUME 2-SPECIAL EDITION features the six original stories of the collection, all newly edited by David White, as well as an updated timeline of Reese’s shared universe in which he writes! The edition also includes a stunning new cover and accompanying brand new illustrations by award winning Pulp Artist George Sellas! With logo and cover design and print formatting by Sean Ali and ebook formatting by Russ Anderson, THE ROOK VOLUME 2-SPECIAL EDITION is the second from Pro Se in the SPECIAL EDITION series collecting the classic tales of Reese’s seminal creation!

THE ROOK VOLUME 2 – SPECIAL EDITION is now available at Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/d3ctcus, at Barnes and Noble at http://tinyurl.com/bq4ns9q and through Pro Se’s own store at http://tinyurl.com/bpmtega for $18.00. Available via Kindle WITH INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS INCLUDED at http://tinyurl.com/cxxoblr and available at http://www.smashwords.com and via the Nook at http://tinyurl.com/bq4ns9q for $4.99!

It’s a Monday.

by Updates • Tags: , , , ,

mellisa_clarke_10_001Yep, it’s a Monday here at Ye Olde Blog. Had a nice day yesterday with my family so now it’s back to the daily grind!

I continue to split my writing between Gravedigger Volume Two and Lazarus Gray Volume Five. Both stories are going really well – on the Tales of The Rook front, there’s still one story that I haven’t received so I don’t know when that volume will be scheduled. This will definitely be the last of the Tales of The Rook series and I have no plans whatsoever to return to the character any time soon. Tommy Hancock is still penciled in to write volumes 7-9 of the main Rook series and hopefully his schedule will allow him to do it, as it was a cool idea he had.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I went off on a little rant last night about fans of certain classic pulp characters who seemed actively opposed to new adventures featuring their favorites. I don’t understand that at all. If I love something, then I want it to be a living, breathing property and not confined to just stories from nearly a hundred years ago. Though they might not want to admit it, new stories generate new excitement. For whatever reason, Barnes & Noble doesn’t stock the excellent Sanctum reprints of classic Shadow novels. But if there were new novels, perhaps timed to coincide with a new film or tv series? They’d be on the shelves — I lost track of how many different editions of John Carter of Mars I saw at Barnes & Noble in the months leading up to the release of the film! Had the film been more successful, would I have been interested in new John Carter stories? Yes! I love the old ones but I am not automatically opposed to continuations of beloved heroes. The large number of Sherlock Holmes pastiches I’ve read can testify to that. Have all the new Holmes stories been good? Nope. Some have been awful. Did any of them ruin the classics for me? No. And if you don’t want to read new stories? Then don’t!

And as for folks who say “But I wouldn’t be able to afford new books *and* the reprints!”

Cry me a freakin’ river. Welcome to the real world, where people have to make decisions. Do you think Lucasfilm/Disney sits back and says “Maybe we should put out less Star Wars merchandise since the fans can’t afford to buy everything?”

Hell no! People pick and choose what they buy — and I’d love to have so many choices of Shadow or Avenger product that I had to make decisions like that!

Our model today is the lovely Mellisa Clarke, who was one of the visual inspirations I had in mind for Charity Grace (aka Gravedigger)

Take care!