So in a post that was in the New Pulp Facebook group (sadly, it seems to have been deleted…), we were all informed that proceeds from the Legends of New … Continue reading Legends Fiasco
Tag: Ron Fortier
Musing about awards…
So the Pulp Factory Awards nominee list was revealed today and, once again, it’s heavily weighted towards Airship 27. 18 of the 23 nominations went to Airship and the ones that didn’t still feature writers that also work for Airship. This is not surprising given that the only people that can make nominations are members of the Pulp Factory Mailing List, which is overseen by Ron Fortier, who just so happens to run Airship 27. Airship 27 membership is open to anyone as long as Ron approves them but I’d guess that at least 95% of its membership also does work for Airship. A few years back, I had a conversation with a fellow New Pulp writer about how the Pulp Factory Awards were basically the Airship 27 Awards and he had a lot to say on the subject… then he decided that the best way to get nominated was to offer to work on putting the awards together. Suddenly he was a regular part of the nominee list! It’s amazing how that happened… and now he is a staunch defender of the Awards themselves.
Look, I’m not saying that anyone is out to deliberately mislead the public… but it makes sense that a mailing list composed of people that primarily (or, at least, partially) work with one single publisher are going to skew the nominees towards that publisher. That makes sense — but it also means that these awards are not as “open” to everyone as you might think.
I confess that there are some sour grapes here. I’ve been writing New Pulp for nearly 14 years… I’ve won tons of awards… but it wasn’t until 2018 that I even received a nomination for an Airship 27 award.
And guess what?
It was for a Captain Action novel… that I wrote for (wait for it)… Airship 27.
This year, the final book in my Gravedigger series was one that I would have thought might have gotten a nomination – at least for the amazing cover by George Sellas. But all the covers nominated are for Airship 27. Likewise, Christ Batista did some amazing interior art… but, once again, all the interior artists nominated were for Airship 27 books.
Oh, well. I went and voted for the people I believe deserve to win off the nominees list. I just hate for anyone to look at that list and believe that they’re seeing a representative sample of what New Pulp has to offer. There are great things on there but there’s a lot more to be found, as well.
New Pulp Recommendations: Brother Bones – City of Lost Souls
One of my favorite New Pulp characters is Brother Bones, the Undead Avenger created by Ron Fortier. Bones patrols the shadowy streets of Cape Noire and is an excellent melding of The Shadow with Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider… he’s a fedora-wearing, skull-faced dispenser of retribution. I was lucky enough to get Ron’s blessing to feature Brother Bones in one of my Lazarus Gray volumes and it was a blast to handle the character.
City of Lost Souls is the newest volume in the series and it features five stories of varying length – the shortest is a scant five pages while the longest clocks in at 103 pages. The book is a bit different than the earlier Bones adventures in that there feels like a lot less Brother Bones than usual… a strong emphasis is placed on the supporting characters. In fact, Bones doesn’t even appear in “A Taste of Cherry Pie,” which is one of the strongest tales in the book!
The cover artwork is based upon “The Synthetic Man,” the longest story in the book, and that tale pits Doctor Satan against Brother Bones. It wasn’t what I was expecting, though, as there’s not really a whole lot of Satan vs. Bones in direct conflict… I did really enjoy the tale, though, and found the subplot revolving around a disfigured henchman and his mannequin girlfriend to be particularly strong.
As for the cover itself, I really liked it – Michael Stribling did a nice job on this.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the character, you’ll like this book. It deepens the vigilante’s world and makes it clear that the supporting characters are strong enough to carry the tales even without Bones.
What Are You Doing, Barry?
I ask myself that all the time.
I finished off the Captain Action novel awhile back and it was sent off to the guys at Airship 27 plus the license holders. Editor-in-Chief Ron Fortier gave the book a big thumb’s up so I think it’s probably on the fast track to getting published. I had a blast writing it and working with Jim Beard.
I also completed the Nightveil novel — “The Quiet Girls.” I’m really proud of that one and I’m hoping that Tommy Hancock at Pro Se and Bill Black at AC Comics approve of what I’ve done. I created a few new characters in this one and I think that some of them would make for good recurring foes and friends for Laura Wright. We’ll see if anybody at AC wants to incorporate the story into the comic book canon.
I’m currently working on the second story for Lazarus Gray Volume Eight. “Wait,” you ask, “shouldn’t that read Volume Seven?” No — I’ve already written book seven and it’s already in the hands of the good folks at Pro Se. It should appear later this year, though I suspect it will be after the third book in the Gravedigger series — also complete and at the publisher.
It’s good to be ahead on deadlines, isn’t it?
If you guys have any questions about upcoming works, feel free to ask away!
“Custer’s Ghost”: A New Pulp Review
Ron Fortier’s Captain Hazzard series is one of New Pulp’s best and it does that rarest of feats – it gets better as it goes along. This is the fifth entry and it’s by far the best.
This one features an old west theme as Custer’s ghost is apparently on the loose and a group of Skinwalkers has joined its ghostly cause. Along for the ride is Jim Anthony, the classic pulp hero dubbed ‘The Super Detective.” Fortier does a great job of balancing Hazzard and Anthony, giving each moments to shine. Hazzard gets a fantastic action sequence at one point wearing a Rocketeer-style jet pack, battling fighter planes. Anthony’s best sequence features him going toe-to-toe with the leader of the Skinwalkers.
There’s plenty of romance, too, as we’re introduced to the lovely Dancing Moon and see the return of Azlea O’Hara, who continues pining after Hazzard in humorous fashion.
The cover by Pat Carbajal is fantastic and Rob Davis is back again to depict the heroes in a series of interior pieces.
Highly recommended!
Frost Warning!
MOONSTONE JUNE ’17 release
I.V. Frost: Tales of Mystery and Scientific Detection
Authors: Matthew Baugh, David Boop, Eric Fein, Ron Fortier, Chuck Miller, Gene Moyers, William Nedrow, Barry Reese, and Frank Schildiner.
Cover: Alex Innocenti
266 pgs, $16.95
ISBN: 978-1-944017-12-5(51695)
“Stalking a territory that is somewhere between the gaslit world of the Victorian Consulting Detective and the flickering neon darkness of Film Noir, Wandrei’s Frost is part analytical rationalist, part Angel of Death. Like someone took Sherlock Holmes, armed him to the teeth, and turned him loose on the mean streets of Phillip Marlowe.” –Peter Atkins
For the first time ever, a NEW collection of I.V. Frost stories!
Guest-starring: The Green Ghost, The Phantom Detective, Dr. Satan, The Moon Man, & more!
Matthew Baugh, David Boop, Eric Fein, Ron Fortier, Chuck Miller, Gene Moyers, William Nedrow, Barry Reese, and Frank Schildiner.
A Mega-Review of Peregrine Volume 3!
Wojtek is back with an in-depth look at the third volume in The Peregrine Omnibus series. Let’s see what he had to say:
“Third time, and still with charm!”
I am not going to lie.
I am an incurable fanboy of Mr. Reese’s writing, so I was really waiting for this book to be released since I finished “The Peregrine Omnibus – Volume Two” back in January of 2016.
