Super Squirrel Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 I'm really psyched about Pulp Hero. It didn't occur to me until recently. Last night we rented Sky Captain and the World of Tommorrow. I just sort of realized, how much I love the pulp genre. Now I can't wait for the new book to come out. I have a million questions I want to get answered for this Hero Genre. But I will refrain from asking 999,998 of them. The second question is of greater importance because it will allow me to begin preparing early. 1. Will you be creating a Pulp Forum when the book is released? 2. Can you share any recommmended books and movies that you plan on mentioning in the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh First off, I've moved this to the "Other Genres" forum, just to keep things consistent. Now, on to the questions.... 1. Probably. If it doesn't get enough traffic, we can always merge it back into Other Genres. 2. Well, beyond the obvious (reading actual pulp stories), I've come across a wide variety of interesting books on the subject of the pulps themselves, or discussing the time period, such as: --just about anything by Robert Sampson, including his exhaustive 6-volume Yesterday's Faces series about the early pulps --Richard Halliburton's travelogues --Pulp Fictions, a Barnes & Noble collection of hardboiled detective stories (most from the pulp era) --The Great Pulp Heroes, by Don Burleson Feel free to ask more questions if you like; I am really looking forward to the project and don't mind answering 'em. If I don't have the time, they'll just sit here until I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Anomaly Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I really love Pulp stuff, too, and am VERY much looking forward to this project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowcat1313 Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh and with lots of inspiration on pulpish movies, such as Sky Captain and League of Extraondinary Gentlemen, can we avoid the Doc Savage movie with Ron Ely which is best forgotten? heres another reference work I found in a bargain bin "Pulp Art" by Robert Lesser, original cover paintings from the classic american pulp magazines. the section on SF pulp art was written by Forrest J Ackerman whos probably the worlds biggest SF fan, and leading expert on the era and SF in general... Forrest is an amazing font of knowledge on a lot of things from this era and fandom in general... I met him at a con years ago, and I understand hes been in failing health... is he still with us? heres a website for Forrest http://4forry.best.vwh.net/ its been a rough year already for SF, Jack Chalker and Frank Kelly Freas have are already gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starwolf Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh By all means avoid the Doc Savage movie like the plague, but any discussion of the pulp era must include Doc and the Fab 5 from the novels/magazines. IRRC there were a couple of really bad Captain America movies before marvel got it right. Sorry but I had to jump on this, I am an unadulterated Doc Fanboy -- and regrettably old enough to own a couple of original first print Doc novels, that I bought when they were new Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koshka Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I just double-checked at Amazon, and both the 1940 serial "The Green Hornet" and the 1941 serial "The Green Hornet Strikes Again!" are still available on VHS. I have both; they're a little late for the true pulp era, and there's some scenes (especially on the first serial) where you can tell the tape was not made from a mint-condition original, but they would still be good references. (Oh, and if anyone else has them -- is that a genuine licence plate on the Black Beauty, or just a licence plate holder? I can't picture Britt driving down to the Department of Motor Vehicles to license his alter-ego's car ....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowcat1313 Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh we have a local used book store that has a lot of the newer priintings of the Doc Savage novels for a couple of bucks each, there just reading copies, but not bad for the price do the Perry Rhodan novels count as pulp? there newer but seem to be written in the same style Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatwyrm Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh Anybody know if there's a more firm release date for PulpHERO yet? Last I heard was "mid 2005". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specks Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I think Steve said it would be a GenCon release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamePhil Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh Anybody know if there's a more firm release date for PulpHERO yet? Last I heard was "mid 2005". Now it's mid-2006. http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28307 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh GamePhil, either you're confused about something or I've misposted. Pulp Hero is our GenCon 2005 release -- which is to say, it'll be out about six months from now. It wasn't moved to the 2006 schedule; that was never even contemplated. If we've intimated otherwise, please point me to where so I can correct it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specks Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh Now it's mid-2006. GamePhil, What Steve said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamePhil Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I see my reading comprehension skills are still up to snuff. I was looking at the Resource Guide. At least the link is right! I get credit for that, right? except of course that Pulp is a 2005 release, so the link is not right, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sketchpad Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I really love Pulp stuff' date=' too, and am VERY much looking forward to this project! [/quote'] I completely agree Doc ... in fact, I'm so interested in this that I'm contemplating running a regular Pulp Hero In Character Chat if there's enough interest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curufea Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh Hmm, there's a thought- Is "The Shadow" a Pulp Hero character, a Dark Champions character, or both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh There's a lot of overlap. The pulps had a large number of masked mystery men who fought crime and/or Nazis. Masks, crime-fighting, and odd powers make a lot of pulp guys fit the superhero genre, whereas the lower power level combined with a heavy reliance on real world tech makes a lot of them (probably most) fit the street-level supers genre, but simply having guns, fists, and the will to use them puts nearly all pulp heroes into the 5th Ed Dark Champions genre. To my way of thinking, pulp heroes, superheroes, and masked vigilantes are all at least first cousins. Many are functionally twins.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I was looking at the Resource Guide. At least the link is right! I get credit for that, right? Yes, credit has been awarded. Is "The Shadow" a Pulp Hero character, a Dark Champions character, or both? Well, to my mind, he's unquestionably a Pulp Hero character. He appeared in the pulps, he acts like a pulp hero, he has the abilities and "feel" of a pulp character. The underworld the Shadow moves through is a relatively light-hearted and simple thing compared to that of the typical modern-day Dark Champions character -- the cruelest and most sadistic of the Shadow's foes pales in comparison to things like serial killers, Uzi-wielding 14-year-old gangstas curb-stomping their rivals, sadistic freaks dousing subway attendants with gasoline from spray bottles and setting them on fire for fun, rapists and stalkers, prostitutes turning tricks to earn just enough for some more heroin, and the other sorts of cruelties and tragedies that occur so often in modern metropoli. You might have a better case arguing for the Spider, who was downright ruthless and murderous compared to the Shadow, but even he definitely falls in the Pulp camp, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAVeira Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh For anyone looking to read the Doc Savage or Shadow stories, go here: http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/page.cgi?g=Pulp_Fiction%2Findex.html&d=1 Every single Doc Savage and Shadow story is available in a number of different formats. Plus, it is FREE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh *cracks his knuckles* Well, I tried to get some stuff but I didn't have much luck. I bought a copy of Lost World by Sir Arther Conan Doyle. I went to the library and picked up the Non-Fiction book The Curse of the Pharaohs by Philipp Vandenberg and King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard. There was so much more I was after that I could get but I'll use what I have now. I'm already beginning to form the ideas behind two adventures and I have some of my campaign rules lined up. I'm going to require all players to put at least 25 points towards contacts. "I know this guy in..." Oh, I need access to some good Nazi Pulp stories. If someone has some recommendations for those, I'd love to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 13 Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Pulp Links Cometh The Pulp Heroes Pulp Magazine Heroes The Thrilling Detective Web Site Jaap van Deijk 's Pulp Art Palace Doc Comics The Holloway Pages: Pulp Heroes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorPse Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh You might have a better case arguing for the Spider' date=' who was downright ruthless and murderous compared to the Shadow...[/quote'] Where do I meet this Spider fella? Sounds like CorPse owes him a beer. Seriously - does anyone have web links leading to more info on this intriguing sounding pulp era personage? RIP, CorPse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh I don't have any links offhand, CorPse, other than http://www.vintagelibrary.com but just run a search for "spider richard wentworth" and I expect you'll pull up plenty of sites. The difference I was alluding to was that compared to the Shadow stories (or just about any other crimebusting pulp stories), the Spider stories tend to be violent, bloody, and even overtly sexual. During the course of a Spider story, it's not uncommon for the villain to kill thousands of innocent people, for the Spider himself to gun down dozens of underworld thugs, and for female characters to get captured, stripped naked, and tortured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorPse Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh During the course of a Spider story' date=' it's not uncommon for the villain to kill thousands of innocent people, for the Spider himself to gun down dozens of underworld thugs, and for female characters to get captured, stripped naked, and tortured.[/quote'] And people thought old CorPsey was naughty. Well, everybody needs something to aspire to... even the dearly departed. Thanks for the (severed) heads-up! CorPse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh Indiana Jones DUH..maybe that's why nobody said it. The Rocketeer The Land That Time Forgot I think even Planet of the Apes qualifies on some level. The book Dydeetown World is sci fi but still kinda pulp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamePhil Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Re: Pulp Hero Cometh While I think it could have been quite a bit better, Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow made a game attempt, although it is rather at the "over the top" end of things. The Doc Savage movie might be worth looking at: it seems an adequate portrail of "camp pulp" in much the same way as the 60's Batman series is "camp superhero". Not something that really gives you a good look at the genre, but might be useful if you want more comedy in it, or want a break from your normal game. I hope I used enough qualifiers with that... Radio shows can be gotten these days, including the Green Hornet (I think) and the Shadow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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