THE STINGING 'NTING AND OTHERS by Hugh B. Cave---Four rare short stories of adventure taken from
(the "impossible" to find pulps) FAR EAST ADVENTURE STORIES and MAN STORIES.

GALLOWS HERITAGE by Robert Leslie Bellem, THE SURGEON OF SOULS COLLECTION, Vol. 2---
The final installments of Dr. Zarkov, the mysterious Surgeon of Souls from SPICY MYSTERY.

These are the same format as previous Black Dog Book publications, 5.5 X 8.5 inches in size.
These books are are priced at $9 each, due to increased printing costs.

Mike Chomko is now accepting pre-orders for these titles.
Orders over $25 are discounted 10% and shipped postpaid.
Shipping will be $2 for orders of $25 or less.
Contact Mike at chomko@enter.net.
Click here to download Mikes latest product catalog.

Mike Chomko is now accepting pre-orders for this title.
Orders over $25 are discounted 10% and shipped postpaid.
Shipping will be $2 for orders of $25 or less.
Contact Mike at chomko@enter.net.
Click here to download Mikes latest product catalog.

Robert Mullen's Shadow PDF: 
Charg Monster (07/01/34), The Crime Master (08/01/34), The Chinese Disks (11/01/34), The Dark Death (02/15/35), The Gray Ghost (05/01/36), The Crime Oracle (06/01/36), The Broken Napoleons (07/15/36), Loot of Death (02/01/37), Quetzal (02/15/37), Washington Crime (04/01/37), Brothers of Doom (06/01/37), Crime Insured (07/01/37), Buried Evidence (09/01/37),  Keepers Gold (10/15/37), Teeth of The Dragon (11/15/37),  The Hand (05/15/38),  Murder for Sale (07/01/38), Death Jewels (08/01/38), The Golden Dog Murders (09/01/38), The Dead Who Lived (10/01/38), The Voice (11/01/38), Chicago Crime (11/15/38), Shadow Over Alcatraz (12/01/38), and Double Death (12/15/38).

The Shadow Magazine Interior Artwork: 
The Masked Headsman (04/15/37), House of Silence (07/15/37), and Serpents of Siva (04/15/38)

Doc Savage PDF: The Sea Magician (11/34)

The Shrevnitz Memorial Library:  Nothing new this week.

Blackmask Online: Six Deadly Dames by Frederick Nebel

Larry Estep-Online Pulps: 
People in Glass Tombstones by Norman Daniels from the May, 1943 issue of TEN DETECTIVE ACES. 
When Brasset Forgot by Harcourt Farmer from the May 15, 1919 issue of THE THRILL BOOK.
Clue of Courage by Norvell Page from STRANGE DETECTIVE TALES, January, 1934. 
The Black Abbot by Perley Poore Sheehan from the January, 1933 issue of THRILLING ADVENTURES. 
   This is a "Captain Trouble" story.  The seventh in the series. 
The Lunar Point of View by S. M. Tenneshaw from the April, 1950 issue of FANTASTIC ADVENTURES. 

THE EERIE MR. MURPHY is a companion piece to TIME BURIAL (1995), and collects the balance of the younger Wandrei's horror, fantasy, and science fiction, many of the stories published for the first time. Over four hundred  pages long, it includes twenty-nine stories, some illustrated by the author. A gallery of selected artwork by Howard Wandrei rounds out  the volume.

The contents include: The Eerie Mr. Murphy; Vine Terror; Time Haven; The Molester; The Persuader; Old Hokey; Danger - Quicksand; The Eyes of the Tiger; For Murderers Only; The Guns of Maiden Hill; The African Trick; In the Dark; The Mind Marauder; The Road West; The Pen; Effluvia; Trap of Atlas; A Shape in the Sky; The Mind Marauder; The Step Between; What Happened to Rudolf; Hounds in Scarlet; The Valley of Doubt; Diamondback; The Great Imitator; The Shadow; Just Lean Back; Measure Infinity; The Sleeper.

The book was edited by D. H. Olson, who also provides the introductions. The retail price is $34.

Mike Chomko is now accepting pre-orders for this title.
Orders over $25 are discounted 10% and shipped postpaid.
Contact Mike at chomko@enter.net.
Click here to download Mikes latest product catalog.

Softcover, 6x9, 276 pages, $9.99.
The Diamond Item Code is APR032739.

All six issues of ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE can now be viewed and downloaded in PDF format on the ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE websites ARCHIVE page. 

ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE, 540 Wooddell Court,Kirkwood, MO 63122.
48 pages in black and white and full color for $9.
Four issue subscriptions are available for $36.

ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE is also available from:
Adventure House
Bud Plant Comic Art
Michael Chomko (chomko@enter.net )

S.S Wilson, creator of the "Tremors" films and upcoming series, told Sci Fi Wire that the proposed Lost in Space television reunion movie and backdoor pilot might still come together, despite the death last November of original series star Jonathan Harris. It was derailed a little bit, and we were all deeply saddened by the loss of Jonathan Harris, because he was written into it in a big way," Wilson said in an interview.  "The producer there and the engine behind that project, Kevin Burns, is talking with me and my partner, Brent Maddock, about ways to revise it now to deal with the fact Jonathan is no longer here." 

Wilson added, "We've got a really good take on what to do, and once Brent and I get any time at all, we're possibly going to do a revision and get it back on track. Everybody's still very excited about it. Reunion shows are very, very popular on television right now, and there's a lot of interest in it for that reason alone." Wilson said that Burns has managed to keep the original cast members interested and involved. 

The proposed television movie would bring the Jupiter II crew home and, in the process, strand a new group of people in space. Wilson said that Burns came to him in part because of his work on the SCI FI Channel's upcoming original show Tremors: The Series. Burns told Wilson, "'Here's the problem: How do you find the original people and then end up lost yourself?' That was one of the bigger problems Brent and I solved in the script. But I will maintain the secrecy of that in case it ever gets made."

Beginning in comics in the Golden Age of the 1940s, Anderson went on to produce a syndicated comic strip (Buck Rogers) and educational comics (PS Magazine for the military) in addition to the science-fiction comic books that his fans know and love. Now for the first time, comics historian R.C. Harvey has compiled an exhaustive look at the varied career of this cartooning legend, best known for his ground-breaking work at DC Comics in the 1960s on such characters as Superman, Hawkman, Adam Strange, the Atomic Knights, and others!

Murphy’s recollections are peppered with comments and insights about the state of the art and behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes about other artists he encountered (Lou Fine, Will Eisner, Curt Swan, Gil Kane, and others), and illustrated with a generous sampling of work from every phase of his career, particularly at Fiction House, Ziff-Davis, and DC Comics, all direct from his personal archives. It’s the ultimate look at the career of one of comics’ top talents!

The 160-page, 8-1/2" by 11" squarebound trade paperback with full color covers and black-&-white interiors retails for $17.95 in the U.S. and ships 26 June 2003.

This book is published by TwoMorrows Publishing. 
It can be ordered direct from TwoMorrows Publishing or from your local comic shop in the April PREVIEWS.
The Diamond Item Code is APR032574.

The Nedor heroes are slated to get a return engagement in June when writers Alan Moore & Peter Hogan team up with artists Yanick Paquette & Karl Story for TERRA OBSCURA, a 6-issue miniseries that ventures into a new
corner of the ABC universe!

It's been nearly three years since the events in TOM STRONG #12, and the heroes of Terra Obscura haven't had things easy.  After being held in suspended animation for decades, they're finding out that their loved ones are aged or dead, their children are now older than they are, and their secret identities have been blown.  And culturally, there's a lot to catch up on: fast food, cell phones, the Internet, and much more!  Preoccupied with their own problems, S.M.A.S.H. hasn't met in two years. Tom Strange has vanished.  Mystico is in seclusion, and the Ghost has departed Earth for the higher planes.  In this world, only The Terror 2003 Program has any authority.  So why is one of his former teammates trying to take the program offline - permanently? Plus, a mysterious threat has begun to overtake the western United States, destroying all technology in its wake.  It's spreading like a cancer, and soon the world will be reduced to Stone Age technology.  Where are the heroes when their world needs them?
The 32-page issue #1 arrives in comic-book stores June 25 with a cover price of $2.95.
The Diamond Item Code is APR030229.

Coming in September from ibooks new line of graphic novels is RAYMOND CHANDLER'S MARLOWE.
Three classic Philip Marlowe mysteries, adapted by a group of comics masters fully authorized by the Chandler estate.  The featured stories are The Pencil, Goldfish, and Trouble in My Business.
This is a 7" X 10", 144 page trade paperback for $17.95.
The cover is by Jim Steranko!

It can be ordered from your local comic shop in the April PREVIEWS.
The Diamond Item Code is APR032323.

Coming soon: more F&SF,  Authentic,  Imagination and Imaginative Tales, more BRE titles.

The contents are as follows. 
Fiction:
Purity by Thomas Ligotti
Blood Chess by Tanith Lee
My Name is Nancy Wood by Gene Wolfe
The Melkart Coin by Charles Harness
The Company of the Gods by Keith Taylor. 
The Company of the Gods is the "origin story" in the Kamose Archpriest of Anubis series. 

Verse: 
Illustrated limericks by George Barr
If Stephen King Wrote for the Soaps by Carolyn Clink
After Hours in the Hall of Heroes by Darrell Schweitzer. 

Features: 
The Eyrie
Shadowings by Douglas Winter
The Classic Horrors: Ooze by Allen Koszwoski. 

The Classic Horrors: Ooze is particularly appropriate because Oooze was the cover story on the first issue of WT, March 1923.* Now, at last, after 80 years, it is illustrated properly, with the amoeboid blob the author described, rather than the large octopus which graces (?) the cover of the first issue.  Coming up in the future: new stories by Thomas Ligotti, Robert Sheckley, Kelly Vaughn, Brian Stableford, Keith Taylor, David Schow etc.

Information provided by John Betancourt on the Weird Tales message board at:
http://www.wildsidepress.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Weird+Tales+Magazine&number=10

THE AGONY COLUMN by Earl Derr Biggers 
THE AGONY COLUMN was written ten years before Earl Derr Biggers began to write his classic stories of Charlie Chan.  Set in 1914 London, Geoffrey West meets the woman of his dreams -- they both read the Agony Column -- personal notices in the newspaper by which otherwise sedate Londoners communicate their secret desires.  The story was adapted in silent film form in 1930, starring Loretta Young.  Told with Biggers' storytelling mastery, the tale is both romantic and suspenseful -- for will Geoffrey get the girl, and will the murder that is revealed through the personals be
solved?  Readers must read -- and find out. 

108 pages, Trade paperback, ISBN: 1-58715-301-7,  $12.50 

CARNACKI: THE GHOST FINDER by William Hope Hodgson 
Six tales of Carnacki the Ghost Finder, William Hope Hodgson's psychic detective -- tales of the outré, the unexpected, and the unexplained from a renowned master of the macabre. 

These stories are as frightening today as they were when first-published.  "Mr. Hodgson's new novel (Carnacki the Ghost Finder) comprises half a dozen of the 'creepiest' experiences imaginable. . . . Read after nightfall in a dimly lighted room peopled with uneasy shadows, these tales carry with them a haunting atmosphere of terror and an ever-present sense of the unknown powers of darkness . . . Mr. Hope Hodgson plays deftly on the strings of fear, and his new novel stamps him a fascinating panic-monger with a quick eye for all the sensational possibilities of ghost lore." -- The Bookman (1913) 

172 pages
Trade paperback, ISBN: 1-58715-571-0,  $15.95 
Library (Jacketless) hardcover, ISBN: 1-58715-572-9,  $28.95 

Adventure House has selected Diamond Book Distributors (DBD) as the exclusive U.S. and non-exclusive worldwide distributor of English-language editions of its titles to the bookstore, library, warehouse, mass merchandise, and comic book specialty markets.

Adventure House is known for its unflagging devotion to the pulps, considered by many to be the main precursors to modern-day comic books and science-fiction. From reprints of original pulp titles to informative reference books on the subject, Adventure House publishes a line devoted to keeping the spirit of the pulps alive for generations to come.

"Our modern popular culture owes a debt of gratitude to the great pulp fiction of the early 20th century," said Diamond Vice President of Purchasing Bill Schanes. "Adventure House is dedicated to paying that debt by keeping the pulps alive through a variety of publications."

"Adventure House is proud to be in alliance with Diamond Book Distributors," said Publisher/Owner John P. Gunnison. "As Adventure House is dedicated to bringing the lost forgotten pulp era to light, so is Diamond dedicated to its customers and excellent service. We look forward to many profitable years in this new endeavor."

"Adventure House's books represent an important link to our common cultural past," Schanes added. "Its titles are not only entertaining, but also educational and of interest to a broad reading public."
 

KEEP OFF THE GRASS by George Allan England
By the author of DARKNESS AND DAWN, THE AIR TRUST, THE FLYING LEGION and other classics of science fiction and fantasy comes KEEP OFF THE GRASS, a humorous novel of the Home Front during World War I, complete with the author's own illustrations. Done in Adobe Acrobat format, and comes with the latest Acrobat Reader for Windows, Mac and Linux formats. Also included on the CD-ROM are text versions in Palm Reader, Mobipocket, Hiebook, Microsoft Reader and iSilo formats for reading on your PDA or pocket PC. CD-ROM price: $8.99. Also available for a considerable discount for download at http://www.ebookad.com -- but note that only the Acrobat format features the author’s illustrations!

Also available are CD-ROM versions of George Allan England's DARKNESS AND DAWN, THE FLYING LEGION, THE GOLDEN BLIGHT, THE ALIBI, CURSED, and POD, BENDER & CO.—many unavailable for the better part of a century! The individual CD-ROMs are $8.99 plus shipping and tax, where applicable. You may order directly from Bifrost Press or through http://www.abebooks.com (The Advanced Book Exchange). Generous dealer rates are available.
To order, contact Bifrost Press at info@bifrostpress.com

COMING SOON:  THE GEORGE ALLAN ENGLAND COLLECTION VOLUME ONE, Edited by Gerald R. Fairclift features all the above novels and more, plus a plethora of rare novelettes and short stories all in one volume! Includes classic and brand new illustrations. The edition will be limited, signed by the editor and numbered. Order now to be assured a copy!  $34.99 plus shipping and handling ($37.99 postpaid).
To order, contact Bifrost Press at info@bifrostpress.com

RARE WORLDS
A new idea in electronic publishing, each issue of RARE WORLDS will contain at least three full-length novels of scarce SF, fantasy and horror—plus enough novelettes and short stories from the pulps to completely pack the CD-ROM to the rafters! Including classic plus brand new illustrations.  Authors will include Ray Cummings, Hugo Gernsback,  Fenton Ash, Pierre Benoit, Austin Hall, Homer Eon Flint, C. Cutcliffe Hyne, A. Merritt, Charles B. Stilson, Max Brand, Garrett Smith, William Wallace Cook, George Allan England, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sax Rohmer, Murray Leinster, Francis Flagg, H. P. Lovecraft, H. Bedford-Jones, Harold Lamb, Talbot Mundy, and far too many more to name. The first issue will be released on the first of June, and follow quarterly. 

Sample issue is $18 ppd., and a year’s subscription is $50.00.
To order, contact Bifrost Press at info@bifrostpress.com

Bifrost Press is really excited about RARE WORLDS MAGAZINE, and are throwing open the doors to article submissions. Please send to Bifrost Press, P. O. Box 302, California, PA 15419.

THE ACE LETTER-SERIES INDEX OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORROR
By Gerald R. Fairclift. Bifrost Press, 2003. Version 1.0, First Edition. 
A complete listing of all the Ace Letter-Series science fiction, fantasy and horror paperbacks of the fifties and sixties, including year of publication, author, title, and cover artist (where known). Divided into several sections: Introduction, A Short History of Ace Books, Index by Letter-Series, Index by Author, Index of Cover Artist, and Index by Title. Includes over 275 full-color cover reproductions by artists such as Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkel, Gray Morrow, Richard Powers, William Barton, Kelly Freas, and man, many others. Done in Adobe Acrobat format, and comes with the latest Acrobat Reader for Windows, Mac and Linux formats. With registration you get your choice of a text-only version for your PDA or Pocket PC (CD-ROM version only!) in any of the following formats: Mobipocket,  Microsoft Reader, Palm Reader, iSilo, or Hiebook—specifically for mobile reference! List is $19.99 plus $3.00 shipping in the U.S. ($7.50 in Canada and $10.00 abroad). Also available for download in Adobe Acrobat at http://www.ebookad.com at a 30% discount—for a limited time only. The downloadable edition does not qualify for the text-only mobile version. Also, it’s 5.5 megs (all those cover reproductions), so it may pay you to buy the CD-ROM.
To order, contact Bifrost Press at  info@bifrostpress.com

All Bifrost Press CD-ROMs are in jewel cases with illustrated “covers”.

CONAN OF CIMMERIA Volume 1 contains the following stories: The Phoenix and the Sword, The Frost Giant’s Daughter, The God in the Bowl, The Tower of the Elephant, The Scarlet Citadel, Black Colossus, Xuthal of the Dusk, The Pool of the Black One, Rogues in the House, The Vale of Lost Women, Iron Shadows of the Moon, Queen of the Black Coast, and The Devil in Iron.  Complementing the stories are several full-page color plates by Schultz, plus exquisite b&w line work throughout the volume. In addition, you will get contextual notes, synopses and plot outlines, original ideas, notes and Howard's hand-drawn maps of the Hyborian world--everything Conan's creator ever wrote about the barbarian is dutifully reprinted inside. This book has excellent production values: a full-color dustjacket, slipcase with embossed color plate, gilt-edged pages, an embossed cover, and it's signed by illustrator Schultz. 
The book is expected in May.  The pre-publication price is $205.
Click here or on the image at the right for a look at Mark Schultz's artwork for this volume.

Robert Mullen's Shadow PDF: Nothing new this week.

The Shadow Magazine Interior Artwork: 
Rackets King (06/15/38), The Golden Vulture (07/15/38), and Xitli, God of Fire (12/01/40)

Doc Savage PDF: The Black, Black Witch (03/43)

The Shrevnitz Memorial Library:  Nothing new this week.

Blackmask Online: The Black, Black Witch (03/43)

Larry Estep-Online Pulps: 
Crash on Delivery by Joe Archibald comes from the November, 1937 issue of FLYING ACES. 
War Plans Divided by Robert Leslie Bellem comes from the Fall, 1939 issue of THRILLING SPY STORIES. 
Staten Island Ferry by Ben Conlon comes from the May, 1936 issue of THRILLING DETECTIVE. 
Ship of the Golden Ghoul by Lazar Levi from the September, 1939 issue of MYSTERY NOVELS & SHORT STORIES. 
Lure of Souls by Sax Rohmer from the December 1, 1918 issue of TOP-NOTCH.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume II #6 is solicited in the April PREVIEWS (available on 26 March) for a June 11 release. The grand finale!  The last hope of the Empire, nay, the Earth, rests in the hands of our grand adventurers.  Prepare to dab your eyes as more than one League member makes the ultimate sacrifice!  Don't dare miss the startling conclusion to one of the most acclaimed miniseries of the year! 
The Diamond Item Code is APR030228.

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN mass market paperback by K.J. Anderson is also solicited in the April PREVIEWS for a June release.  Based on the 20th Century Fox feature film and screenplay adaptation of the Alan Moore penned comic book! London, 1899. As the British Empire lies in mortal jeopardy, a top-secret initiative unites several of the most illustrious (and infamous) personages of the age: Alan Quartermain; Capatin Nemo; Dr. Henry Jekyll and his brutish alter-ego, Mr. Hyde; Rodney Skinner, the Invisible Man; the ageless Dorian Gray; Mina Harker, the bride of Dracula; and scrappy American secret agent Tom Sawyer. When the criminal mastermind known only as "The Fantom" plots to hurl the world into war, they must race across the globe to foil the masked madman's insidious scheme!  288 pages for $6.99.  The Diamond Item Code is APR032727

The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" and Other Nautical Adventures: The Collected Fiction of William Hope Hodgson Volume One is finally complete and goes to the printer this week!  The book should be out the first week of May.

Thanks to Howard Hopkins for information on this great website.

A Yank at Valhalla by Edmund Hamilton
A war-weary aircraft pilot on a scientific expedition in the Artic, helps discover a strangely shaped gold cylinder covered with runic symbols. Flying it back to the mainland he soon finds his plane is being drawn northward by an irresistible force. When he spots a vast chasm in the earth spanned only by a shimmering bridge of rainbow hues, with a noble castle rising on the far side, and a golden-haired Valkyrie on a flying horse being pursued by hideous giants, our hero realizes he may have flown over the rainbow, but he hasn't landed in Oz! When he is rescued by the Valkyrie, he discovers her name is Freya, and although he wasn't planning to fall in love with a warrior-maid and demigoddess, he does. Soon Odin, Thor, Baldur, and the other Norse Gods welcome him into the fraternity of Valhalla, as a brother warrior and reveal the super-scientific secrets that have kept them alive – and hidden – for tens of thousands of years. But what he does not suspect is that he, and his love for Freya, is part of Loki's long-brewed plan to free the sinister giants of Jotunheim, trigger Ragnarok, and bring on the Twilight of the Gods!   220 pages for $4.

The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
A sinister genius threatens the world with bio-terrorism in this 1905 chiller – the first book in the classic Fu-Manchu series.  Determined to bring the world to its knees and see himself crowned its emperor, a mysterious figure begins striking down every government official with extensive knowledge of Pacific Rim affairs. Only one man is aware of this menace, Denis Nyland-Smith of Scotland Yard, and he has been marked for death! As he tells the only man he can trust, Dr. John Petrie: Imagine a person, tall, lean and feline, high-shouldered, with a brow like Shakespeare and a face like Satan, a close-shaven skull, and long, magnetic eyes of the true cat-green. Invest him with ... cruel cunning ... with all the resources of science past and present, with all the resources, if you will, of a wealthy government – which, however, already has denied all knowledge of his existence.  300 pages for $4.

THE TATTOO MURDERS by John Russell Fearn 
"Mary," "Ian," "Lil." Three rather ordinary names. But when these names are each found tattooed on the backs of three murder victims, they are steppingstones on a murder trail that baffles Scotland Yard investigators.  A story that grips from first page to last, THE TATTOO MURDERS is one of John Russell Fearn's finest detective mysteries! 

133 pages, Trade paperback,  ISBN: 1-58715-503-6,  $13.95

THE MARK OF ZORRO by Johnston McCulley 
A thrill-a minute ride set in the days of Spanish colonialism in California, where thugs and greedy tyrants try to wrest every penny from peasants . . . and the one hero who defends the common man is the mysterious masked stranger who calls himself Zorro--The Fox! The first Zorro story appeared as a 5-part serial in ALL-STORY WEEKLY, a famous American pulp fiction magazine, starting in the August 9, 1919 issue. In a case of fortunate timing, Douglas Fairbanks, the silent movie star, was in the process of trying to change his image at the time, and he chose Zorro as his next starring role. In 1920, when the romantic swashbuckler debuted, it set movie box office records. Riot police had to disperse the huge crowds that showed up at the New York opening. Zorro entered the public consciousness and is now a part of popular culture, the same as such heroes as Superman, Tarzan, and The Lone Ranger. The rest is history. 

172 pages, Trade Hardcover,  ISBN: 1-59224-060-7,  $24.95 

January 2004 will see the release of the all new Conan roleplaying game from Mongoose Publishing, based on the d20 System used by Dungeons & Dragons. 

Noted author Harry Turtledove will lead the relaunch of new Conan novels to be published by Tor Books. 
Plans call for three new titles a year.  The first novel, Conan of Venarium, is planned for July 2003. 

Robert E. Howard’s original Conan tales will be issued by Ballantine Books as trade hardcover editions of specialty house Wandering Star’s line of gorgeous limited collectors versions. 

A “Conan Legacy” book is in the works.  This is an art-driven archive that will encapsulate all things Conan, from books to films to toys to RPS and beyond.

The site also includes a complete Conan bibliography.

The Spider #6 will be available from Bold Venture Press for $12 postpaid after publication.

Robert Mullen's Shadow PDF:  Nothing new this week.
Charg, Monster (07/01/34), The Crime Master (08/01/34), The Chinese Disks (11/01/34) 

The Shadow Magazine Interior Artwork: 
Death Token (03/01/37), The Golden Dog Murders (09/01/38), The Dead Who Lived (10/01/38), 
and Silver Skull (01/01/39)

Doc Savage PDF: Death in Silver (10/34)

The Shrevnitz Memorial Library:
Coming in 2003: The Black Bat in The Nazi Spy Murders

Blackmask Online: Nothing new this week.

Larry Estep-Online Pulps: 
The Mystery of the Talking Idols by Achmed Abdullah from the May, 1929 issue of TRIPLE-X.
Skip Tracer Bullets by Joe Archibald from the June, 1944 isse of POPULAR DETECTIVE.
Bells of Pell Street by Arthur J. Burks from the June, 1933 isse of ALL DETECTIVE.
River Round-Up by Ryerson Johnson from the May 14, 1932 issue of WESTERN STORY.
When the Earth Melted by A. Wilkinson, Junior from the June 15, 1918 issue of TOP-NOTCH.

THE EERIE MR. MURPHY is a companion piece to TIME BURIAL (1995), and collects the balance of the younger Wandrei's horror, fantasy, and science fiction, many of the stories published for the first time. Over four hundred pages long, it includes twenty-nine stories, some iillustrated by the author. An gallery of sellected artwork by Howard Wandrei rounds out the volume.

The book was edited by D. H. Olson, who also provides the introductions. The release price will be $34.00.  If you preorder this book and have changed addesses since then, please contact Fedogan & Bremer and confirm your current address.

Ordering information will be released once a firm shipping date is obtained from the printer.

Flash Gordon Volume 1 has an on sale date of 16 April.
Flash Gordon Volume 2 has an on sale date of 25 June.

Orders over $25 are discounted 10% and shipped postpaid.
Contact Mike at chomko@enter.net.
Click here to download the catalog.

Wild Cat Books
6664 Valley Pike
Middletown, VA 22645-1720
wildcatbooks@netzero.net

Wild Cat Books
6664 Valley Pike
Middletown, VA 22645-1720
wildcatbooks@netzero.net
 

Wildside Press has purchased a minority ownership of WEIRD TALES magazine from DNA Publications. John Betancourt, publisher of Wildside Press, will have a hands-on management style, with plans to build the circulation, bring in additional advertising revenue, and in general increase genre awareness of WEIRD TALES as the oldest and most respected magazine in the field. Editors Darrell Schweitzer and George Scithers will remain in place.
Betancourt's presence will be felt immediately. Page count for the next issue of Weird Tales has already been increased. Wildside Press will use 3 of the additional pages for house ads. Editors Scithers & Schweitzer are adding fiction to the other pages. A Robert Sheckley story has already been selected for the next issue.

Wildside Press has published a number of Weird Tales-related book titles in recent years, including The Weird Tales Story, by Robert Weinberg; The Best of Weird Tales: 1923, edited by Marvin Kaye and John Gregory Betancourt, and The Moon Terror, by A.G. Birch, which originally appeared in WEIRD TALES. 

UNDER THE GREEN STAR by Lin Carter 

On Earth, life held for him only the fate of a recluse -- confined to daydreams and the lore of ancient wonders but apparently destined never to share them -- until he found the formula that let him cross space to the world of the Green Star. There, appearing in the body of a fabled hero, he is to experience all that his heroic fantasies had yearned for. A princess to be saved . . . an invader to be thwarted . . . and otherworldly monsters to be faced! A thrilling adventure in the grand tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, as only Lin Carter can tell it! This edition includes an afterword by Lin Carter. 

124 pages, Trade Paperback,  ISBN: 1-58715-647-4, $14.00
 
 

This will be our first year in our new hotel, the Radisson Lincolnwood, having outgrown the old one.  In addition to a larger dealer room, there will be a large display of original illustration art (among them covers to Doc Savage, The Avenger, Operator 5 and The Phantom Detective, and artists such as Finlay, Belarski, Rozen and Emsh), and much better facilities for the pulp film fest (16 mm prints, not video), a collection of 1930's and 1940's films based on pulp stories.  The hotel is also much closer to the airport, and an airport shuttle is available (please call the hotel in advance for this).  It's also closer to downtown if significant others are bored with the show and want to see some of the city.

The program book is at the printer.  This year we're moving to full color covers (a Spicy Mystery themed front cover and Barsoomian back cover, both by Fastner and Larson) and perfect binding.  The book will contain, among other things, pulp fiction by both author GoH's, Hugh Cave and Frank Robinson.

LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS Volume 1
The Compleat Peter the Brazen by George F. Worts
Due in mid-April 2003 is The Compleat Peter the Brazen by George F. Worts, a two-volume hardcover set reprinting the entire Peter the Brazen saga from the pages of ARGOSY magazine.   Each volume is 9x12, in full color jacket, and contains over 300,000 words of high adventure fiction.  Book One is 388 double-column pages, while Book Two is 402 double-column pages. Click here or in the images to the right for larger images.

The Peter the Brazen adventure series has long been considered by pulp fans as perhaps the greatest action series ever to be published in the pulp magazines.  In particular, Peter’s three adventures fighting the Chinese mastermind, the Blue Scorpion, rank among the finest heroic adventures ever written.   While a few Peter the Brazen stories have been reprinted in scarce fan publications, a majority of these novelets and novels have been out of print for more than a half-century. 

Complimenting the entire series of Peter the Brazen stories, from 1919-1920 and 1930-1935, these volumes include special articles by Rick Lai and Robert Weinberg on the stories, their settings, and their author, George F. Worts.  Both volumes are newly typeset on quality paper with matching dust jackets.  Along with reproductions of all the covers and interior illustrations from the series, the books also include new maps showing the world of Peter the Brazen. 

The set of two books will be available sometime in late April.  An advance set of the books should be available at the Windy City Pulp and Paperback Show in April, but regular copies will not be shipped until a few weeks after the show.   LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS feature open print runs, so the books will never be out of print.  However, after the first printing of the volumes, it may be months before they are available again.  If you want to pre-order your set, for delivery on publication, now is the time to do so. 

Cost per two-volume set is  $150.00.  (the two books are only sold as a set)  Postage is $10 due to the weight of these immense volumes.  No checks will be cashed until the books are on hand and ready for shipping. 
Payment in US Funds, please.  Sorry but we do not take charge card orders at present.
Order from: The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, PO Box 204, Shelburne, Ontario Canada L0N 1S0. 

LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS Volume 2
Minions of the Shadow by William Gray Beyer
Also due in mid-April from LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS, is the 2nd publication of the series, Minions of the Shadow – The Collected Mark Nevin- Omega Novels by William Gray Beyer.   This stand-alone 6x9 hardcover volume, with color jacket by Rudolph Belarski, reprints the four Minions novels – Minions of the Moon, Minions of Mars, Minions of Mercury, and Minions of the Shadow, from ARGOSY in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. 
Minions of the Moon was reprinted in hardcover over fifty years ago, and the other three novels have never been reprinted.  Newly typeset, 481 pages. 

Mark Nevin entered the hospital one morning for routine surgery and awoke six thousand years later.  It was a world reverted to barbarism and savagery, filled with cannibals, pseudo-Vikings and the very beautiful but stoic, Nona Barr.  Mark hadn’t planned to save the world, but that’s what he found himself doing, in the company of a meddling super-being that called itself Omega, the last survivor of an ancient lunar culture.  All Mark had to do was defeat the two evil Russian brains-in-the-jar who couldn’t be killed.  And that was only Mark’s first adventure in the future!
Four very entertaining, delightfully wacky, humorous science fiction novels that are as much fun now as when they were originally published more than sixty years ago, these are definitely LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS!

This book will always remain available.  However, after the first printing of the volume, it may be months before it is available again.  If you want to pre-order your copy for delivery on publication, now is the time to do so.  Cost for this very thick hardcover is $50.  Postage is $5.   No checks will be cashed until the books are on hand and ready for shipping.   Payment in US Funds, please.  Sorry but we do not take charge card orders at present. 
Order from: The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, PO Box 204, Shelburne, Ontario Canada L0N 1S0.

LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS Volume 3 
The Complete Adventures of the Dean by Merle Constiner
Volume 3 is moving along, but will not be published before the end of 2003.
These stories originally ran in DIME DETECTIVE. 

UPDATE
I have been informed that the following dealers will be carrying LOST TREASURES FROM THE PULPS.
Mike Chomko:  Contact Mike Chomko at chomko@enter.net.
Girasol Collectables: Contact Girasol Collectables at girasol@interlog.com.

"The Courtyard was my attempt to write a story within the mythology of H.P. Lovecraft that did not try to regurgitate Lovecraft's style," says creator Alan Moore. "It was an attempt to write a Lovecraftian story that was set in what was then the near future rather than in a Lovecraftian Era.  As such, I thought it was a very successful story and it has always been a little favorite of mine in terms of my horror output.  I am looking forward a great deal to seeing what Jacen does with the Avatar version."

BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER #4 will feature:
L. Ron Hubbard Scholar Rex W. Layton uncovers The Secret of Treasure Island, the 1938 Columbia serial adapted from Hubbard's unpublished novel, Murder at Pirate Castle.

BnT publisher Mark Trost takes a look at some of the one-shot wonders - including Paul Ernst's "The Wraith" and Donald G. Cormack's "The Parson" - that popped up in the Popular Publications' detective pulps of the '30s.

Also: an expanded edition of the pulp-review department, From the Top Shelf, another installment of "Tricks of the Trade" and a few surprises!

BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER #3 (shown at the right) is almost sold out from the publisher.
If you haven't ordered #3 yet, don't delay much longer.
BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER #3 can be purchased for $6.00 postpaid from: 
Ed Hulse, Mountain Club, Bldg. 15, Apt. 4B, Morris Plains, NJ 07950. 
Four-issue subscriptions are $20.

This will be a 224-page book with a retail price of $16.00. 
Publisher Larry Estep is shooting for an early April release date in time for the Windy City Pulp and Paperback Show.

GUNS IN THE SHADOWS will be available from Blue Mushroom Books after publication.
Mike Chomko is now accepting pre-orders for GUNS IN THE SHADOWS. 
Contact Mike at chomko@enter.net.

Here is what Kurt Busiek had to say about the new series:
"We're starting over, going back to the beginning. My directive from Dark Horse is that we're taking the original Robert E. Howard stories as our foundation, and nothing else -- and I'm delighted. For all that plenty of creators have done good work, in the books and in the comics, it's the Howard stuff that it all comes back to, and it's the Howard stuff that truly matters. So much as I love what Roy and Barry and John and Gil did, we're not going to be incorporating the  Marvel stuff (though I hope Dark Horse reprints big TPBs of it, like they've been doing the Marvel STAR WARS) -- we're going to start out clean, following Conan's career as he first leaves Cimmeria to venture out into other lands in search of adventure and fortune. We'll adapt the Howard stories, and we'll tell our own in the gaps between, and build a new, modern Conan  legend on rock-solid roots. Call it ULTIMATE CONAN, I guess -- it fits, in a lot of ways. So we're dropping a young, naive, and deadly-as-hell  barbarian into the corrupt heart of the  Hyborean kingdoms, and watching as he hacks and claws his way to the top. It should be a lot of fun."

Robert Mullen's Shadow PDF:  Nothing new this week.

The Shadow Magazine Interior Artwork: 
The Voice (11/01/38)

Doc Savage PDF: Fear Cay (09/34) and Waves of Death (02/43)

The Shrevnitz Memorial Library:
Coming in 2003: The Black Bat in The Nazi Spy Murders

Blackmask Online: Doc Savage in Fear Cay (09/34) and Waves of Death (02/43)

Larry Estep-Online Pulps: 
The Ghost Strikes Back by George Chance from the Spring, 1940 issue of THE GHOST.
   It was written by G. T. Fleming-Roberts under the George Chance pen name. 
   It is a first person story with George Chance as the main character.
Chinatown Challenge by Arden X. Pangborn from the March, 1937 issue of THE WHISPERER.
The Dogs of Purgatory by Hugh Pendexter from the June, 1936 issue of COMPLETE NORTHWEST STORIES. 
The Devil's Crypt by E. Hoffmann Price from the January, 1934 issue of STRANGE DETECTIVE STORIES.

"El Cazador is set in the 1600s, and is a period pirate adventure set on earth in the past – so we’ll be seeing the Caribbean, the African Coast, the pirate rounds – all of that,” Dixon said. “We’re in the middle ground between strict historical accuracy and an Errol Flynn movie. We’ll be buckling many swashes.”

Given the slight confusion that can arise when seeing the name El Cazador (with the male-referring El) in front of the Spanish word for ‘hunter,’ Dixon explained what everything referred to. 

“El Cazador is the name of the ship of Captain Sin, a lady prate,” Dixon said. “She’s a Spanish Donessa who turns to the pirate trade when some of her family is kidnapped by a villainous pirate, Blackjack Tom. So El Cazador is what she renames her ship, because she is hunting for her family.”

Sin won’t be alone in her adventures, Red Hand Harry, a disgraced English nobleman who has turned to privateering will play a role in the series as well – with his own ship. But even though the goal of Captain Sin sounds simple – finding her family – Dixon said that it’s not going to be any easy task. 

“It’s the 1600’s, and the main mode of large-scale transportation is sailboats, so, it’s going to take a while,” Dixon said. “But along the way, of course, there will be all kinds of pirate adventure – maroonings, headhunters, boarding parties and all of that.” 

Dixon also stressed that El Cazador will be a strict historical adventure – there will be no fantasy or supernatural elements to it at all. Given that, the writer said that he and artist Steve Epting are hip deep in researching the elements of the series. “We’re trying to get into the difficulties of fighting under sail, and all the period detail,” Dixon said. “Right now, the language is the challenge for me.”

Finally, Dixon added that, due to it being historically accurate, at first, El Cazador may be a little disillusioning to some whose only experience with pirates or sea-based adventures has been in the realm of fiction. The life was brutal, the battles were savage, the travel was at times wildly unpredictable, and the ship maneuvering was a science unto itself. In short – not many will be singing “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!” after the series gets rolling. 

BEHIND THE MASK #63 featuring:
   Vindex in Vengeance of Vindex by Tracey French
   The Mongoose in The Voice From Nowhere by Johnston McCulley
   Marty Quade in Killer's Club Car by Emile C. Tepperman

ALIEN WORLDS #36 featuring Shame Like Bones by Douglas Roome; Slow Degeneration by Michael Bracken;
Otheric by Tom Condarcure; Am I Not, Not Am? By J. Richard Reed; After School Activity by Timons Esaias;
and serial The Queen of Jur (Part 1 of 4) by Tom Johnson.

DOUBLE DANGER TALES #60 featuring Plutonium Nightmare (The Voice) in Part one of a new serial by Erwin K. Roberts; King of Crime (The Dark Avenger), Part 3, by T.J. Moore; Seven Brilliants by Douglas Empringham

DETECTIVE MYSTERY STORIES #34  featuring 66 Miles To Nowhere by Len Jellema; The Hospitality of Monsieur Mansavary by Jeff Deischer; Gulliver's Travails by Sandra Levy Ceren; Night Work by John M. Floyd; Looking For Audrey by Carter Swart; and Tale of Two Kitties by Lyn McConchie.

Each issue is 5.5 by 8.5 inches in size and runs approximately 80 pages.
One issue is $6.30 postpaid. Two or more issues are $6 each postpaid.
Not responsible for packages lost in the mail. 
Insurance is $1.10 per $50.00 value and highly recommended.
Order from: Fading Shadows, Inc., 504 E. Morris Street, Seymour, TX 76380-2212

We lead off with the March 15 1934 issue of THE SHADOW MAGAZINE, The Green Box. 
A striking cover and as always, a great read.

Our second Replica for the month is issue #7 of the short run series, STRANGE TALES. 
This book features the classic Hugh Cave story Murgunstrumm as well as a Robert E. Howard story.
Speaking of Hugh Cave, he will be appearing as a guest at the Windy City show coming up April 4-6. 
Girasol Collectables will, of course, be there too so stop by and say hello.

As always, these reprints are exact copies including the illustrations, ads and back-up stories and have been printed on off-white paper, staple-bound and finished off with a high quality reproduction of the original cover.
The only thing missing is the smell (alas) and the flaking newsprint.

THE SHADOW
The Living Shadow (April 1931)
The Five Chameleons (11/01/32)
The Shadow's Justice  (04/15/33)
The Black Hush (08/01/33)
Gray Fist  (02/15/34)
The Green Box  (03/15/34)
The Plot Master (02/01/35)
Strange Disappearance of Joe Cardona (11/15/36)
Intimidation Inc (12/15/36)
House of Silence  (07/15/37)
The Golden Dog Murders  (09/01/38) 
The Voice (11/01/38)
House of Shadows (12/15/39) 
Death About Town  (07/15/42) 

SPICY DETECTIVE
October 1936:  Incredible, truly classic HJ Ward cover
August 1940:   Great HJ Ward cover, Dan Turner, Eel stories

SPICY ADVENTURE
May 1935:  Great Middle Eastern motif cover

STRANGE TALES
October 1932: Famous 'Worm Monster' cover
November 1932 
January 1933

SPICY WESTERN
Dec 37:  Great HJ Ward cover

WEIRD TALES
March 1923:  WEIRD TALES #1 ($35 each postpaid within North America)
Available in 2 cover choices: the 'regular' cover, or the recently discovered 'rarer' version. 
Exactly the same, except the black and orange of the cover illustration are switched.

April 1923:WEIRD TALES #2

Email Girasol Collectables at: girasol@interlog.com to purchase any of these Pulp Replicas.
A complete listing, along with other items such as books, fanzines and of course pulps, can be found on
the Girasol Collectables website at http://www.girasolcollectables.com/

All payments must be made in $US payable to Girasol Collectables and mailed to:
Neil Mechem c/o Girasol Collectables
3501 Glen Erin Drive, Apt. 1409, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5L 2E9

That's the idea behind HOLMES AND WATSON, a pitch that was sold to New Line Cinema by producers William Sherak and Jason Shuman (DARKNESS FALLS). In this modern day twist on the Holmes/Watson partnership, it's Dr. Jane Watson who must recruit Sherlock's great-great-grandson to rise above the skirtchasing and use his sleuthing skills to solve the murder of Watson's best friend. Comic book scribe-turned-screenwriter James Robinson (THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLMEN) is the frontrunner to write the HOLMES AND WATSON script. 

Click here or on the image at the right for a larger picture.

Order from Fading Shadows for $15.95 postpaid. 
All orders to Fading Shadows will be autographed by Tom Johnson. 
Contact Fading Shadows Inc., 504 East Morris Street, Seymour, Texas 76380-2212 
email: fadingshadows@juno.com

Lost Land of Jur will be available in electronic format from Novel Books Inc. on 10 March.

Written by Ben Raab, art by Lou Manna, colored by Matt Webb, cover by Joel Naprstek. 
The Phantom follows the trail of jewel-thieving pirates into a most dangerous adventure. An old foe comes forth to put every skill The Phantom has to the test. Trapped on a Madman's island, the chance of his survival looks as slim as Satan's smile. He must fight sharks with his hands and feet- he must gain the trust of a beautiful woman- and he must prevail through all of this to an explosion conclusion.

48 pages, full color, $6.95

The film will mainly be shot on the sand dunes of Namibia and is the first installment in the series of books about Pitt, an adventurer and master explorer. Filming was originally scheduled to start in September 2001, but was postponed following the September 11 attack in the US.  It was then rescheduled for the winter of 2002, and then October 28th, 2002.  The most recent target start date was January 2003, in Namibia, but that didn't happen either, and there's no current word about when Paramount might reschedule.

Actors who have expressed interest in playing Dirk Pitt include George Clooney, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis.
Richard Jordan, who played Dirk Pitt in 'Raise The Titanic', died in 1993.  Hugh Jackman has also been mentioned as a top choice for the role.  The Hollywood Reporter says the producers hope to sign Tom Cruise as Dirk Pitt.
According to an unconfirmed report, Cruise might have accepted.

SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE by Earl Derr Biggers 

When a famous author comes to the closed-up summer resort at Baldpate Mountain in the dead of winter, he expects to find peace and quiet in which to write his next book, his literary masterpiece. But before his first
night is out, a steady stream of unexpected visitors begins to fill the hotel . . . secretive and sometimes dangerous men and women with stories of love, loss, and flight . . . and none of them are telling the truth. A fortune is at stake, and they will do anything to possess it. For some it means wealth. For others it means power. And some need it as a point of honor. Before the week is over, there will be gunfire, bribery, fights in the snow, and hidden truths unmasked. SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE is a mystery that will leave you guessing to the end! Earl Derr Biggers penned this novel long before he created his most famous character, Chinese detective Charlie Chan, yet in its day it was a popular best-seller and became the source for no less than seven films. 

184 pages, Trade Hardcover, ISBN: 1-59224-081-X,  $35.00 

FIRE-TONGUE by Sax Rohmer

A new force stalks the fog-shrouded streets of London, bringing death to its victims ... the mysterious Fire-Tongue! Psychic detective Paul Harley investigates, in this mystery classic with supernatural elements. From the author of the Fu Manchu books. 

164 pages, Trade paperback, ISBN: 1-59224-028-3,  $14.99