A Cowboy, A Space Captain, a Private Detective and a Barbarian Walk Into a Bar…
That could be the beginnings of a really lame joke, but it’s something more. All four of these characters, these separate genre icons, share something Read More
Category: Pulp Magazines
The Last Case of Jules deGrandjerque
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, does not always play out when the imitation proves to be a satire. I was surprised to hear Read More
The Werewolves of Weird Tales – 1936-1954
Continuing our list of great werewolf stories from “The Unique Magazine”. As the Pulp moved into the 1940s and the editorship of Dorothy McIlwraith the Read More
Werewolves of Weird Tales – 1923-1935
(Feel free to sing “Werewolves of Weird Tales” to Warren Zevon’s classic song. I know I did. I know you will, too.) If you are Read More
British Apemen of the Boys’ Papers
The Jungle Lord is a cultural construct, like the Western gun-fighter, the Northern Mountie, the Noir private detective or the African adventurer. All these motifs Read More
Sword & Sorcery versus Sword & Planet
A swordsman, his arms bearing red wounds, limps across a battlefield covered in bodies. His helmet is gone; his shield is broken. The flag of Read More
Sherlock Holmes Parodies
Every time you turn around someone comes out with their own Sherlock Holmes novel these days. But almost from the very beginning other writers have Read More
Paul Ernst and the Clayton Astounding
Paul Ernst (1899-1983) was the consummate professional writer, one who understood exactly what an editor wanted and provided it. Getting his start in Weird Tales Read More
The Science Fiction of Clark Ashton Smith
Usually when you mention Clark Ashton Smith you get a nod towards H. P. Lovecraft or Weird Tales. Certainly Smith did make his reputation in Read More
The Gods of East & West
In a previous article I showed how “The Tomb of Sarah” was the inspiration for one of Seabury Quinn’s Jules de Grandin stories. Quinn wrote Read More