It's been years since I've worked in the medical profession (I was a lab tech in the Navy), but I can testify that this sort of thing actually did happen all the time. It did. Really.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Cover Cavalcade
It's been years since I've worked in the medical profession (I was a lab tech in the Navy), but I can testify that this sort of thing actually did happen all the time. It did. Really.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday's Favorite OTR
Cavalcade of America: "Steamboat Builders" 6/24/36
Steamboats are cool, so this dramatized history lesson about the development of the steam-powered boat can't help but be fun.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Steamboats are cool, so this dramatized history lesson about the development of the steam-powered boat can't help but be fun.
Click HERE to listen or download.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
It's the only thing he ever wrote!
As far as anyone knows for sure, the short story "Waiting for Rusty" is the only thing William Cole every wrote. The story--accurately referred to by one critic as "a masterpiece of concision"--is only 1400 words long. But it so effectively sets up its main character that the tragic denouement has as much emotional impact as many full-length novels. It was published in the October 1939 issue of Black Mask magazine, which was the birthplace of hard-boiled detective fiction. And it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the best that magazine had to offer. (Which including Hammett, Chandler, Cornell Woolrich and the other greats of the genre.)
Of course, it's possible William Cole was a pen name. The introduction to this story in Hard-Boiled: An
Anthology of American Crime Stories presents the theories that it was written by an editor working at Black Mask when an upcoming issue fell a few pages short; or that Cole is a pen name for a pulp writer who usually worked under another name. We will apparently never know for sure.
The story begins when Dotty, the moll of a well-known and wanted gangster named Rusty, enters a remote roadhouse along with a couple of shotgun-toting confederates. The cops are hot on their trail, but Dotty is supposed to meet Rusty here. She's determined to stay until he arrives, regardless of how anxious her partners get and regardless of what the news reports on the radio are saying about Rusty's probable location.
And I really can't say more about it without spoiling it. "Waiting for Rusty" is simply one of the best hard-boiled stories ever written and it would do you all good to dig up a copy and read it.
Waiting for Rusty via Google Books
Of course, it's possible William Cole was a pen name. The introduction to this story in Hard-Boiled: An
The story begins when Dotty, the moll of a well-known and wanted gangster named Rusty, enters a remote roadhouse along with a couple of shotgun-toting confederates. The cops are hot on their trail, but Dotty is supposed to meet Rusty here. She's determined to stay until he arrives, regardless of how anxious her partners get and regardless of what the news reports on the radio are saying about Rusty's probable location.
And I really can't say more about it without spoiling it. "Waiting for Rusty" is simply one of the best hard-boiled stories ever written and it would do you all good to dig up a copy and read it.
Waiting for Rusty via Google Books
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Riding a Dinosaur
Last week, I was struggling to remember if the Conan comic I reviewed was my introduction to Conan--as I started reading the Lancer paperback reprints of the original REH tales at about the same time.
Well, Turok, Son of Stone #79 (June, 1972) was perhaps my introduction to the greatest dinosaur hunter ever. Though, once again, I don't remember for sure. It may have been another issue.
Darn it, I'm making it hard for my future biographers, aren't I?
Anyway, this is a typically fun story. Turok and Andar see a kid trying to ride a styracosaurus. They save the kid's life and learn two things. First, riding a dinosaur is a rite of manhood for the boy's tribe. Second, there's a narrow passage through the cliffs that might just lead out of the Lost Valley. But that passage is guarded by a big carnosaur.
The two Indians try to navigate the passage, taking out the T-Rex sentry with their poison arrows. This leads to the necessity of avoiding a herd of triceratops that charge into the passage, then avoid it a second time when they charge back out after tussling with the T-Rex pack that resides at the other end of the passage. So they need to figure out a way to get through the passage without being either trampled or eaten.
The cool thing about the original Turok stories is that the resolutions didn't depend on the
protagonists simply picking off dinosaurs with poison arrows to come out on top. The best tales depended on Turok using his brains as well as his fighting skill. This time around, it involves coming up with a plan to get to the end of the passage alive and discovering if it provides an escape from the valley. It's a good plan, but not without risk. In fact, it results in Turok and Andar being forced to themselves ride a dinosaur.
If this was my first encounter with Turok, then its no wonder I became a fan. This is a well-constructed, straightforward adventure yarn with some great imagery. Who doesn't want to see a herd
of triceratops rumbling with a pack of tyrannosaurs? Who doesn't want to see two Indians taking a wild ride atop dinosaurs? I'll go there every time.
Well, Turok, Son of Stone #79 (June, 1972) was perhaps my introduction to the greatest dinosaur hunter ever. Though, once again, I don't remember for sure. It may have been another issue.
Darn it, I'm making it hard for my future biographers, aren't I?
Anyway, this is a typically fun story. Turok and Andar see a kid trying to ride a styracosaurus. They save the kid's life and learn two things. First, riding a dinosaur is a rite of manhood for the boy's tribe. Second, there's a narrow passage through the cliffs that might just lead out of the Lost Valley. But that passage is guarded by a big carnosaur.The two Indians try to navigate the passage, taking out the T-Rex sentry with their poison arrows. This leads to the necessity of avoiding a herd of triceratops that charge into the passage, then avoid it a second time when they charge back out after tussling with the T-Rex pack that resides at the other end of the passage. So they need to figure out a way to get through the passage without being either trampled or eaten.
The cool thing about the original Turok stories is that the resolutions didn't depend on the
protagonists simply picking off dinosaurs with poison arrows to come out on top. The best tales depended on Turok using his brains as well as his fighting skill. This time around, it involves coming up with a plan to get to the end of the passage alive and discovering if it provides an escape from the valley. It's a good plan, but not without risk. In fact, it results in Turok and Andar being forced to themselves ride a dinosaur.
If this was my first encounter with Turok, then its no wonder I became a fan. This is a well-constructed, straightforward adventure yarn with some great imagery. Who doesn't want to see a herd
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
I bought a new microphone and now you all have to SUFFER!
My YouTube channel has largely become a repository for movie clips to be embedded here when I talk about a particular film. But I've also done a half-dozen videos in a series called "Pulp Era Video Reviews"--I'll never win a prize for my narration skills, but I have fun doing them.
Well, I just bought an external microphone for my laptop, relieving me of the necessity of recording the videos during my lunch time at work. To test the mike out, I recorded some commentary for a scene from 1950's Tarzan and the Slave Girl, then recorded some comments about various adventure cartoons made during the 1960s & 1970s.
Usually, I write out my comments before I record narration.This time around, I didn't bother. I just did the narration stream-of-consciousness, so I tended to ramble on a bit and I'm not sure I'm always making a particular point as clearly as I should. But these videos were made simply to test the new microphone, which turns out to works just fine.
But that leaves me with two videos that I did, after all, go to the trouble of making. So what do I do with them? I really don't want to just delete them--I had too much fun simply geeking out when I made them. Obviously, then, I must force the loyal readers of my blog to endure them. It's the only solution:
Monday, September 23, 2013
Cover Cavalcade
Yes, the Gold Key adaptation of Star Trek was poorly done for the most part--but dang if they didn't produce some bizarrely entertaining covers.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Encyclopedia Awesomeness
If you click on THIS LINK, you go to my brand new Contributor page at the Encyclopedia Britannica.
From there, you can link to the articles I've written for them about Doc Savage and the Green Hornet. Before long, there should also be articles on DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Shadow (with separate entries for the pulp character and the radio character), and a general entry on pulp magazines.
Yes, I am awesome.
From there, you can link to the articles I've written for them about Doc Savage and the Green Hornet. Before long, there should also be articles on DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Shadow (with separate entries for the pulp character and the radio character), and a general entry on pulp magazines.
Yes, I am awesome.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Friday's Favorite OTR
The Six Shooter "Hiram's Goldstrike" 1/10/54
This particularly
entertaining episode involves an eccentric prospector (enthusiastically played
by Howard McNeer) who seems to have finally found a rich strike after 45 years
of searching. The story segues smoothly from comedy to drama and back to
comedy, with a superb sequence in which Britt and an outlaw confront each other
in a pitch-black room. There’s a great twist near the end, leading up to a
hilarious gag at the conclusion.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
From Mars to Earth to Venus
Read/Watch 'em in Order #39
Gee whiz, Prince Zinlo of Olba (a kingdom located on ancient Venus) has led an interesting life. That's mostly because he wasn't originally Zinlo.
He began life as Rorgen Takkor on ancient Mars, then swapped bodies through a time/space thought transference process to become Harry Throne on modern Earth. But he was still feeling restless, so Dr. Morgan transfers him to the body of Zinlo on Venus. This sets up the plot for Prince of Peril, first anthologized in Argosy magazine in 1930.
As with the previous books in this series, this was done with the original Zinlo's permission. And we can understand why Zinlo was willing to move to Earth--he was being stalked by assassins on his home planet.
Well, the new Zinlo is pretty good with a sword, so he manages to promptly do away with a pair of assassins within moments of arriving in his new body. But a later assassination attempt forces him to flee. This leads to his being present when the same guy who wants him dead kidnaps the beautiful Princess Loralie.
And thus begins a quest that takes Zinlo across much of Venus, either chasing after Loralie to rescue her or trying to escort her home. The situation reminds me a bit of the Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar novels Back to the Stone Age and Land of Terror, in which the hero is forced to travel across an unexplored land and encounters one unique danger after another.
Prince of Peril pulls this off successfully, because Otis Adelbert Kline really does present us with unique and fun situations. (Or rather, he recounts Zinlo's fascinating true history--Kline explains in his forward that he's not making any of this stuff up and who are we to doubt him?)
Aside from the various large and hungry fauna that wanders around the Venusian jungles, there's a swarm of giant blood-sucking leeches. There's also a tribe of 11-foot-tall intelligent cave apes who have a taste for human flesh. The apes are enemies at first, but Zinlo manages to defeat their king in single combat and thus make them friends and allies for a time.
Then there's my favorite part of the novel--a remote kingdom in which the king, his beautiful sister and about a thousand followers have used the thought transference process to place themselves in mechanical (but human looking & feeling) bodies, thus gaining functional immortality. They plan on using Zinlo and Loralie to reintroduce physical love into their culture, which doesn't go over well with our heroes. But though the mechanical bodies can be "killed" with some effort, the consciousness in each simply transfers to a back-up body. The king has at least a half-dozen back-ups handy, which means his inevitable duel with Zinlo is rather unusual.
Anyway, Zinlo and Loralie get back to civilization, but the original bad guy has by then usurped the throne. To save himself, his woman and his kingdom, Zinlo must very quickly organize and launch a revolution.
This leaves just one more novel to go, in which we'll return to the other side of Venus to see how Robert Grandon and his wife Vernia (the protagonists from Planet of Peril) are doing. We'll also learn a bit about how Venusian pirates operate, so stay tuned. That's the sort of information that might some day just save your life. Remember, Kline assures us this is all true!
Gee whiz, Prince Zinlo of Olba (a kingdom located on ancient Venus) has led an interesting life. That's mostly because he wasn't originally Zinlo.
He began life as Rorgen Takkor on ancient Mars, then swapped bodies through a time/space thought transference process to become Harry Throne on modern Earth. But he was still feeling restless, so Dr. Morgan transfers him to the body of Zinlo on Venus. This sets up the plot for Prince of Peril, first anthologized in Argosy magazine in 1930.
As with the previous books in this series, this was done with the original Zinlo's permission. And we can understand why Zinlo was willing to move to Earth--he was being stalked by assassins on his home planet.
Well, the new Zinlo is pretty good with a sword, so he manages to promptly do away with a pair of assassins within moments of arriving in his new body. But a later assassination attempt forces him to flee. This leads to his being present when the same guy who wants him dead kidnaps the beautiful Princess Loralie.
And thus begins a quest that takes Zinlo across much of Venus, either chasing after Loralie to rescue her or trying to escort her home. The situation reminds me a bit of the Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar novels Back to the Stone Age and Land of Terror, in which the hero is forced to travel across an unexplored land and encounters one unique danger after another.
Prince of Peril pulls this off successfully, because Otis Adelbert Kline really does present us with unique and fun situations. (Or rather, he recounts Zinlo's fascinating true history--Kline explains in his forward that he's not making any of this stuff up and who are we to doubt him?)
Aside from the various large and hungry fauna that wanders around the Venusian jungles, there's a swarm of giant blood-sucking leeches. There's also a tribe of 11-foot-tall intelligent cave apes who have a taste for human flesh. The apes are enemies at first, but Zinlo manages to defeat their king in single combat and thus make them friends and allies for a time.
Then there's my favorite part of the novel--a remote kingdom in which the king, his beautiful sister and about a thousand followers have used the thought transference process to place themselves in mechanical (but human looking & feeling) bodies, thus gaining functional immortality. They plan on using Zinlo and Loralie to reintroduce physical love into their culture, which doesn't go over well with our heroes. But though the mechanical bodies can be "killed" with some effort, the consciousness in each simply transfers to a back-up body. The king has at least a half-dozen back-ups handy, which means his inevitable duel with Zinlo is rather unusual.
Anyway, Zinlo and Loralie get back to civilization, but the original bad guy has by then usurped the throne. To save himself, his woman and his kingdom, Zinlo must very quickly organize and launch a revolution.
This leaves just one more novel to go, in which we'll return to the other side of Venus to see how Robert Grandon and his wife Vernia (the protagonists from Planet of Peril) are doing. We'll also learn a bit about how Venusian pirates operate, so stay tuned. That's the sort of information that might some day just save your life. Remember, Kline assures us this is all true!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
