Re: The Last Word
well back in the day, Dick Tracy fought "the bad guys", Tracy being a cop. Nowadays, that same archetypical story is being told as "24" with Jack Bauer, with the "bad guys" being labeled terrorists not "gangsters".
Another example: Sanctuary, Warehouse 13, Librarian trilogy to me are all "modern pulp" the earlier to being on the Sci-Fi channel.
X-Files to has pulp elements -- mainly that two gov't agents explore the supernatual/unexplained. Can see a Lovecraftian vibe to it (minus the Lovecraft 'monsters').
Then you've got sword 'n' sorcery of Conan which is pulp as well. Star Wars to me is mainly sword'n'sorcery in a space setting, the sword'n'sorcery elements are all there.
The Golden Age of Superhero comics is very pulpish in its tones and vibes. Lex Luther originally being a "mad scientist".
Torchwood, Carnivale, Jerico, The 4400, Firefly all have a pulpish vibe to me. I'd dare say that the tv show Supernatural could have been appeared in a pulp magazine (not that I've watched it at all).
to me it is more about the genres that appeared in the pulp magazines and seeing echoes of those genres and stories in today's media. Dick Tracy / Jack Bauer I reckon being a good example.