Pulp Sci-Fi Week: Buck Rogers

While surveying an abandoned mine, Rogers, a former United States Army Air Corps officer, falls into a coma after exposure to a leaking gas, and awakes in the twenty-fifth century. Together with his new comrades, the beautiful Wilma Deering and the intrepid Dr. Huer, he struggles to rid the world of evil warlords and "Mongol" hordes.
Created by writer Philip Francis Nowlan in 1928 for a couple of novels published on Amazing Stories, Anthony Rogers changed name in Buck Rogers when his stories were adapted in a comic strip format and published daily on newspapers.


Since then, the popularity of Buck Rogers has grown and grown and reached other media like radio shows (I might illustrate some of them later on ;)), novels, movies, tv series (famous the one from the '80s), and comics again, thanks to the recent move of Dynamite (a publisher well known to me ;)) licensing the character to bring it on the shelves again.
My little challange of the day was to try to make the classic (and a little silly) design of Buck's rocket ship from the '30s look cool. Let me know if I succeded, if you have a min to spare :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Pulp Sci-Fi Week: Captain Future

Hello pulp-friends,

On the second day of Pulp Sci Fi Week I am very honored to introduce a very talented artist and friend, Kyle Latino (kyle-latino.deviantart.com) who kindly offered to illustrate one of the classic pulp sci-fi hero. He did the beautiful illo that open this post and wrote the brief introduction to this character, including those trivia we all love :) I just added the little illo of Grag, just my daily contribute to Pulp sci-fi week.

Thank you, Kyle!

Curtis Newton (Captain Future) is born in his father's moon lab in the distant year of 1990. The Newtons share this space dwelling with three of his father's greatest scientific works: Grag, the robot; Otho, the shape-sifting biological android; and Simon Wright, family friend and scientist whose life is lived beyond his body in a small mechanized tank. Life was happy while everyone when about their amazing research projects until sceince criminal, Victor Kaslan, breaks into the moon lab and kills Curtis' parents. From that point on, Curtis is raised by Grag, Otho, and Simon to become a galactic crime-fighter. The four of them become known as the Futuremen.


His adventures were first published in 1940, by Thrilling Publications, penned by Edmond Hamilton. Interesting to note that the bickering Grag and Otho are largely considered to be the precursors of the two iconic droids, C-3PO and R2-D2. Also, Leigh Brackett, Hamilton's wife and sci-fi author in her own right, worked on the screenplay to Empire Strikes Back. So see, what inspires and excites people today is often built upon even earlier works which have all but faded from the public view. Dig through the sediment layers of pop culture, and there's no telling what you'll find.

Pulp Sci-Fi Week: Flash Gordon

Hello pulp-friends,

Welcome to the first edition of Pulp Sci Fi Week. I said first because we will get more sci-fi weeks in the near future, if you guys enjoy this one.
I couldn't start this edition without spotlighting the most famous sci-fi pulp hero of all: Flash Gordon!
Do I need to introduce him? Really? Ok, just a quick overview then ;) Flash Gordon is the "son" of Alex Raymond, one of the greatest artist of the american (and world wide) comics. Flash is athletic, tall, strong, and ready to action. He is "born" in 1934 to defend the men of Earth from the evil Ming (see below), emperor of planet Mongo, who wants to conquer the Earth and put it under his tyranny. The story and the characters were so strong that they jumped off the newspaper strips to become a radio show, a series of movies in the 40s, and to live until the modern days.


Some of the most recent "incarnations" of this character include the world famous De Laurentis big budget adaption for the big screen in the 80s and a tv series last year for the tv channel Sci-Fi. While a little cheesy in parts, the movie has lots to be enjoyed like the beautiful Ornella Muti as Ming's daughter, Ming himself played by a superb Max Von Sydow, the cool visuals and the rocking (pun fully intended) soundtrack by Queen. The tv show... well, that's completely another story ;)

Cheers,
Francesco

"Carnival of Death" (Nov 10, 1940)

Hello Pulp friends,

I am back and I am back with apologies for my long interruption of your favorite radio program. I was under a couple of very important (and tight) deadlines, and pretty much turned myself in one of those monks from the Middle Age who spent the whole day (every holy day) hunched on the table and writing miniature text. I think they were Benedettini, from San benedetto, and their motto was "Ora et Labora" (prey and work, that's all you have to do ;)). But I am digressing. So, I am back with another Shadow radio episode (see below) and with an announcement: to make up for the long absence, what if we declare this upcoming week the Pulp Sci-Fi week? Every day I will spotlight some cool pulp sci-fi hero. Stay tuned :)


"Every move you make will be closely watched by...
The Shadow!"
Police's song comes to mind ;)

Dead bodies in the wax museum, real quicksand in the basement, an underground secret railway, a ghost train, and the shadow of a tragedy happened 10 years earlier looming over the colorful lights and the festive crowd of the Carnival.
Is this really an amusement park? Well, not much amusement for Lamont and Margo who were planning to have some fun at the Carnival and eneded up solving a case of missing people and murders. I know, it sounds like a lot of meat for one single episode, but the writers manage to make it work perfectly and even give more "screen time" to Margo in this episode. Even if there is a feel of "hauntings" and "ghosts" around the old subway and the wax museum, we will discover that once again the mind behind all this is pretty "real" and directly connected to the tragedy that hit the amusement park years before.

Have a Pulp SUnday, everyone!

Francesco

Download from the Archive

Pulp in the Making

The Radio Transmissions Will Be Resumed Soon.

Meanwhile hope you guys enjoy this sneak peek at the process behind Zorro #2 (which will be out at the very beginning of April) :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Pulp Spotlight: The Rocketeer

Hello pulp-friends,

I usually try to keep one spotlight a month so we can have room for the radio episodes, but when I heard today the sad news of Dave Stevens passing away I felt I had to spotlight his most famous creation which is, undoubtly, Pulp at its core. And it's also the occasion to celebrate the man himself.

I met Dave at a couple of shows and in both cases he was in company of our common friend Jim Steranko. The last time we met was particularly nice as it was away from the chaos of the convention but in the comfortable and realxing enviroment of the hotel lounge. A very good person, a real nice and classy guy. We'll miss you, Dave.




The Rocketeer has been created in what we can define "recent times" but its settings and the art deco style of the illustrations make it feel like it coming out straight from the '30s. Accidentally becoming a superhero after finding a (cool) jetpack and with a helmet that seems inspired by Commando Cody, pilot Cliff secord battles nazi spies and evil villains while surrounded/helped by beautiful women who are the paper version of pinup moodel of that period like Bettie Page.
The Rocketeer was so popular that eventually got also a big budget movie feature which was quite enjoyable in my opinion.
I still listen to the soundtrack every now and then while working on my stuff. Speaking of which, I will definitely get back to that Rocketeer pencils (see above) and finish to ink them as my tribute to the great Dave.

Cheers,
Francesco

Pulp Spotlight is the monthly feature where I cover other famous characters that have helped to build the Pulp genre not just on the radio but also in the other media.

Pulp Spotlight: Captain Midnight & the Secret Squadron

Hello pulp-friends,

I know, I know, I am a day late but I hope you all will forgive me and will bear with me as I go through one of the busiest period of the year (and I know, the year just started, kinda, but hey, it started pretty busy so let's hope it will lighten up a bit ;))

This month (it's already March, isn't it?) spotlight is dedicated to Captain Midnight and the Secret Squadron. I am hoping to feature some radio episodes too but I still have to find an episode that works as standalone (the shows were serialized so it's like the pulp version of a soap, but way more cool ;))


Captain Midnight began as a radio show in September 1940. The first comic book appeared in July 1941. Captain Midnight was really the aviator Captain Albright, who was to defeat the Nazis. A movie serial was made in 1942 and a comic strip was published for a short time. The comic book Captain Midnight ended his career in 1948. The radio premiums are the prized collector memorabilia today.
I am pretty sure this is not the last time we will see Captain Midnight on this blog, so more good news for Bill ;)

Cheers,
Francesco

Pulp Spotlight is the monthly feature where I cover other famous characters that have helped to build the Pulp genre not just on the radio but also in the other media.