Just curious.

I like Doc Savage and Conan myself. Also, Tarzan and John Carter, if you consider them pulps.

Love all of those. Love pulps in general. The Shadow.

You been reading the re-release of the Shadow and Doc Savage pulps that have been coming out? I haven't tried any Shadow novels but have the Fortress of Solitude book. I'm considering picking up the Man of Bronze volume.

I like the idea of them, and the premises appeal to me, but I don't own or desire to own/read any of the old pulp classics. When they make movies or comics with the characters, I'm interested.

Yes, I've been buying them more than staying caught up reading them. I've read two of the Doc Savages. I bought the first Shadow they put out, but haven't gotten to it yet.

I may be in the minority, but I actually liked the Alec Baldwin Shadow film.

It wasn't bad . . . I watched after I had this recent pulp craze (recent as in about two years ago). So I was watching it as a true pulp fanboy and pointing things out to my wife.

You might enjoy Chinatown Death Cloud Peril. I think I saw where DAC was reading it, and then I read it. It's a novel based in the pulp era, with real pulp writers solving a crime. Lots of "pulpy" exposition.

I love pulp heros. I've been working my way through re-reading the L. Sprague de Camp editions of the Howard Conan stories this summer. I love the Burroughs Tarzan and John Carter stuff. I've never read any Doc Samson stuff, but I'd love to.

I loved Tarzan, too. Racist as all get out - but a romp, nonetheless.

I love the pulp heroes, especially Doc Savage and the Avenger.

anything REH and ERB wrote, im there !

I've spent part of my life living near a paper mill. Anybody who spends years working round-the-clock shifts in that smelly environment to support a family has got to be some kind of hero!

Let's not forget Lovecraft -- some great pulp horror there.

I haven't read too many actual pulps, but I love many of the characters.
I have read and enjoyed reprints of the Zorro pulp adventures, and I am quite fond of the
Captain Zero pulps. Captain Zero was probably the LAST of the pulp heroes to appear.

I read comic books so that I don't have to read paragraphs.

But I AM as fan of pulp art.

I'm in that minority with you, Hanzo.

I also like The Avenger among pulp heroes and the Green Hornet.

(Doc Savage, the Shadow, Tarzan, John Carter all having been mentioned).

If you're into checking out either Doc Savage or the Shadow, Nostalgia Ventures are reprinting the pulps and releasing them very regularly, and selling them at the low price of $12.95. It's a good deal, because you get two novels in one book. If you're near a Borders, they're in the Mystery/Thriller section and instead of being under the author's name, are under "N" for Nostalgia Ventures.

For the Doc, I'd recommend starting with Volume 14-- which reprints the very first two Doc stories. The cover features this art...



http://www.amazon.com/dp/193280689X/?tag=imwan-20

I like all those as well. Especially Doc Savage and John Carter.

He was an amazing writer. I prefer those of his stories which are more heavy on the atmosphere and lighter on the repulsive stuff.

In the spirit of this, I'm going to do a massive "let's not forget" list in honor of the pulps. Now, Hanzo specifically opened discussion on "pulp heroes," but the context is close enough to have a review of how much our modern pulp culture is DOMINATED by things that started in the pulps. I will compile this list, and update it if you add to it:

Tarzan -- starting in 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs created this most popular of pulp heroes.

John Carter of Mars -- Burroughs pioneers science fiction with this character. First published in story form (in the pulp All Story) in 1912. Many people don't realize how early in history that is, not just for a science fiction story, but for such a good one that holds up so well.

Fu Manchu -- starting in 1919, Sax Rohmer heightens the presence of the Asian presence in American fiction, even if it did spawn a lot of "yellow peril" bad guy knock offs like Ming the Merciless and Wu Fang.

Horror Fiction -- H.P. Lovecraft has probably affected your pop culture life more than anybody else, pioeering unspeakable horror in literary form. His stories in the early pulp age were before their time, with The Call of Chtluthu (1926) a notable one. He wrote many stories like it about strange "Elder Gods," horrific, gigantic creatures or damnable horrors buried underground and under the ocean.

Hard-boiled Detective (Noir) -- Dashiell Hammett's first "Continental Op" story was published in 1923 in Black Mask. Continental Op was the moniker given to Hammet's nameless detective who appeared in many of his best stories (and his first novel, Red Harvest. Of course, Sam Spade would be his other most famous hard-boiled detective, and he also appeared first in the pulps (Hammett serialized Red Harvest, The Maltest Falcon, and all but the last of his novels, in the pulps.)

The Shadow -- beginning in 1931, this character was the forerunner of Batman, giving us the best an earliest example of the mysterious crime-fighter. The Shadow used mystical abilities and mostly, a legion of secret allies to befuddle wrongdoers. Almost all were written by Walter Gibson under the house name Maxwell Grant.

Conan the Barbarian -- Robert E. Howard virtually created the "sword and sorcery" genre with this popular character, regularly published in Weird Tales beginning in 1932.

Doc Savage -- (1933) The "superman" prototype, a man bred and raised from birth to be the smartest, strongest, and outright best at everything. He was the hero who never let you down, who was greater than any challenge. His first name was Clark, he had a Fortress of Solitude, and Siegel and Schuster were huge fans.

Science Fiction -- As is well known, the genre of science fiction (itself a immeasurable pop-culture influence) came of age as a literary force in the science fiction of the 1930's and early 1940's. Building upon the already popular traditions of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers (and similar space opera's -- so thank you for Star Wars) The year 1938 stands out as a titanic leap forward, with each year thereafter matching it in output. Authors who got their start in the pulps during this time include Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Sturgeon, and Bradbury, Del Rey, Sprague de Camp, (Poul) Anderson, Van Vogt, Simak, and many more (even John D. MacDonald!).

This list is far from exhaustive, but you can see we have been mining the pulp era for our character fiction ever since.

I liked it too, actually. As for Pulp Heroes, definitely Conan. The Robert E. Howard stuff is essential.

Of your list, Jay, I find that John Carter of Mars to be the most underrated. John Carter should be a household name-- without him, Star Wars, Flash Gordon, and all the other space fantasy characters wouldn't exist. Or they'd exist in a very different form.

John Carter, baby-- all the way.