"Blood on Christmas" (Dec 30, 2007)

It looks like my little Christmas project has been successful (thank you, everyone, for the kind words about it) so I couldn't let it go without giving it a proper lobby card, in the tradition of Pulp Sunday :)
I also loved the idea that this was some sort of "Margo Year One" so I decided to include a little portrait of the faithful companion of our hero.

Holiday season is still on so I hope everyone is having a great time and I wish to you all and your families and friends a wonderful, serene, and pulpy 2008! :)

Have a Pulp Sunday and see you next year! ;)

Francesco

"Blood on Christmas" part 5, Dec 24, 2007

Hello dear Pulp Fans,

Here is the final chapter of this short Christmas tale titled "Blood on Christmas". When I first showed this to my wife, she gasped and said "Poor girl... she is going to be scarred for life" and I replied "well, that's what pulp/noir is all about!" ;)
Anyhow, I really hope you guys have enjoyed this little thing I crafted for you and I hope you will escuse me while I go off to celebrate the Christmas with my wife :)

Thank you, everyone, and have a Pulp Christmas!

Francesco

Blood on Christmas - Part 5

"Blood on Christmas" part 4, Dec 23, 2007

Hello dear Pulp Fans,

Welcome to the fourth installment of "Blood on Christmas". Things are getting crazy, and not just in this short tale of the Shadow. We are approaching Christmas so fast and there is much to do (shopping for gifts and then wrapping them ;) but mostly spending some quality Holiday time with my lovely wife :)) I barely had time today to do this strip, but I am glad I found the time. Don't miss the grand finale tomorrow - I hope you'll like what I have been cooking for ya :)

Enjoy and have a Pulp Christmas!

Francesco

Blood on Christmas - Part 4

"Blood on Christmas" part 3, Dec 22,2007

Hello dear Pulp Fans,

We should have expected it. Guns, knives, fists, hitting, stabbing, knocking... we should have expected all that mess would wake up our little angel... And now what?
While you think about it, I hope you enjoy the third installment of "Blood on Christmas". And please leave a note or two, if you feel inclined to. :)

This episode has been brought to you commercial free (no Blue Coal at all ;))

Enjoy and have a Pulp Christmas!

Francesco

Blood on Christmas - Part 3

"Blood on Christmas" part 2, Dec 21,2007

Hello dear Pulp Fans,

Welcome to the second strip of "Blood on Christmas". As you can see, I didn't make you wait too long before introducing our villain and, of course, our hero. But it is really everything over already? Will the Shadow be able to solve this situation without harming the poor sleeping girl?
I guess you have to wait until tomorrow to find out ;)

Enjoy and have a Pulp Christmas!

Francesco

Blood on Christmas - Part 2

"Blood on Christmas" part 1, Dec 20,2007

Hello dear Pulp Fans,

I hope you didn't think I forgot about you all since I am a bit late with this week installment ;) The fact is that I am pretty busy with my upcoming Zorro book and, also, I was looking for some Holiday themed episode of the Shadow but I couldn't find any. (if you have any pointers, feel free to let me know).
That's why I decided that, if there is no Xmas Shadow story, I should do one of my own :)
Starting today, for 5 days, you will get a strip a day (in the tradition od the Sunday paper cartoons of yesteryear) of this Shadow Christmas tale titled "Blood on Christmas". Is that a pulpy way to get to Christmas or what? :D
To make it more interesting, I'll try to have it without balloons (just SFX and, of course, the Shadow's laugh, if needed). Since the radio show are all about audio, I thought a sequential strip should be all about images ;)
Here's the first strip to get things started.
Hope you , Ladies and Gentlemen, enjoy the strips and feel free to let me know if you do (or don't ;)).

Enjoy and have a Pulp Christmas!

Francesco

Blood on Christmas

Pulp Spotlight: The Spider

New Feature: Pulp Spotlight

I have been illustrating several radio show of the Shadow in these past months, but it is my goal to cover also other characters of the Pulp Golden Age and other media as well. While I am planning to go back and do a few more Shadow radio episodes in the next few weeks, I would like to introduce a monthly new feature, called Pulp Spotlight. In this monthly appointment, I will provide a quick (illustrated) profile of other Pulp Heroes, based on suggestion you have been giving or on personal evergreen favorites.

Today's spotlight is dedicated to The Spider.


The Spider was initially created as competition for The Shadow. The Spider, Master of Men!!, appeared in a series of pulp magazines from October 1933 to December, 1943. Six writers using the pen name of Grant Stockbridge kept America spellbound with the epic battles of Richard Wentworth (as the Spider) against the crime world. The Spider was known to be quiet strong and sometime ruthless in bringing justice where needed, most of time killing the bad guys first and asking questions later ;)

Eventually the success of this pulp hero was enough to grant a couple of movies and a constant revival of his "adventures" through the 20th Century (lately brought back to pulp life by Moonstone in the form of illustrated prose).

A good starting point to know more about the Spider is, as usual, the related topic page on wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spider .

Hope everyone enjoy the illo and have a great Pulp Sunday!

Cheers,
Francesco

"Message from the Hills" (Jul 31, 1938)

I could say I choose this week episode of the Shadow because in it we discover the Shadow can hear (hypnotically) from long distances. Or because this is a story about diamonds and we all love diamonds, don't we? (our wives do anyway ;)) Or because this episode is about the tough life of mining people, who have to deal with mining (of course) and with a band of bloody crooks who are willing to kill everyone just to get those filthy diamonds (yeah, filthy... sure! ;))

The truth is that I picked this episode because the idea to draw a 1938 airplane piloted by the Shadow was too good to pass on ;)

Enjoy the episode and have a Pulp Sunday!
Francesco

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