JUST CAUSE

JUST CAUSE

By Ian Thomas Healy

Local Hero Press LLC

350 pages

For the past three years, Colorado based writer Ian Thomas Healy has been writing some of the most entertaining superhero fiction on the market today. This subgenre of fantasy adventure is about bringing spandex wearing comicbook characters to the world of prose fiction. It is a growing field in literature today with a half-dozen notable New Pulp writers thriving in it; names like Van Plexico, Lee Houston Jr. and Nick Ahlhelm spring immediately to mind. Considering the amount of world-building that went into this novel, we’re amazed this book (series) doesn’t have a much larger following.  It deserves to.

“Just Cause,” billed as the first in the series, actually begins in the middle of the saga, in 2012, when Salena Thompson joins the premier superhero team, Just Cause, as their newest intern after having graduated from the renowned Hero Academy.  A third generation speedster, she calls herself Mustang Sally and is overwhelmed by how fast her life is moving, much like her own super-speed abilities. Both Sally’s mother, Faith, and grandmother, possessed similar powers and fought with previous teams dating back to World War II when metahumans first appeared.

Mustang Sally, as the protagonist, is our entry into this amazing world, and through her eyes we discover the rich and complex history of superheroes, and their villainous counterparts.  Sally’s father was killed weeks before she was born by a twisted scientific genius known as the Destroyer who continues to be Just Cause’s greatest adversary. Sally’s secret wish is to find him and have her revenge. But before she can do that, she must prove herself to the Just Cause which is led by the brilliant, but conservative Juice, whose powers to produce electric charges make him a formidable warrior.

Along the way Sally makes close friends with a Sondra Eagle, the winged Native American known as Desert Eagle and falls madly in love with Jason, the super strong young rock musician called Mastiff. All the while getting to know the other members of the team and learning to adjust to her new role as an adult superhero. Thus the book is really a coming-of-age tale decked out in a flashy superhero garment and it is to Healy’s credit as a writer, that his characterization of Sally and the others is as skillful as his ability to convey action sequences. For in the end, if we don’t believe Salena, the naïve, eager, loyal and courageous young woman then there is no empathizing with Mustang Sally.

“Just Cause” is a pure delight from cover to cover.  This edition is a heavily revised and expanded version. It is a most welcomed addition to our library and we recommend it highly.  If you grew up with your nose buried in Marvel and DC comics, as we did, then you are going to love “Just Cause.”  And as Mr. Stan Lee would say, “Nuff said.”

JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN

JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN

By Edgar Rice Burroughs

(A graphic novel)

Editor Patrick Thorpe

Sequential Pulps &

Dark Horse Books

Since we first heard of this project, we were excited to see it come to fruition. The idea was simple enough, take Burrough’s own book, which relates the adventures of a young Tarzan in a collection of short stories and have them adapted to comic strips by various artists. Michael Hudson of Sequential Pulps was the driving force behind this super cool idea and he enlisted the talented Martin Powell to adapt those tales into comic scripts. Then it was a matter of recruiting the right artist for each segment.

Daren Bader’s cover art is simply stunning in both composition and execution. It sets a very high bar for the interior artists, some of whom proved to be its equal while others fall a bit short. The nature of any anthology is in the end a subjective experience between individual creators and their audience. Thus, of the twelve strips assembled here, there were some that simply bowled us over and we’d like to single them out as they were truly exceptional.

If we had to pick a favorite, it would be a tie between “Tarzan and the Native Boy” from Nik Poliwko and “The Nightmare” by Mark Wheatley. In the first, Poliwko ssems to be channeling the late/great Russ Manning. As a comic lover who grew up reading Manning’s Tarzan comics from Dell, this strip was a loving trip home. Whereas Wheatley’s style of art was perfectly suited to a tale about what is real and unreal, his colors blending in perfectly to add the proper mood. We’ve yet to see a bad piece of Wheatley art and have to believe none exist.

We’d also like to applaud artists Lowell Isaac, Will Meugniot, Terry Beatty who all turned in inspired work. Whereas we found Jamie Chase’s style moody and Steven Gordon’s cartoony, both worked beautifully with their stories.  Each is a joy to read and we truly appreciated the wonderful artwork on displaye in these pages.

As we indicated above, this is an amazing collection and will please any true Tarzan fan. One can only imagine the logistic chores of corralling all these various talents and pulling such a project together.  A tip of the pulp hat to Diane Leto for making it all come together.  This is a beautiful book we are happy to have in our library.

GENTLEMAN ROGUE

GENTLEMAN ROGUE

An Infernum Novella

By Percival Constantine

Nifty Entertainment

139 pages

“Gentleman Rogue” is the third in a series about a shadowy spy organization and the mysterious man who operates, Dante.  The first was a mixed bag called “Love and Bullets” which evidenced the potential Constantine had as a writer.  With the second, “Outlaw Blues,” that promise was realized and now with this latest entry, he lets loose with a wonderful, sophisticated heist caper that hits all the classic beats readers expect from this genre.

The fun here is his protagonist Dalton Moore, a former British Spy turned thief who has left his past behind and adopted a humanitarian code of ethics wherein he does not kill; even his worst enemies. Not that easy an oath to maintain when being chased around the globe by some of the deadliest assassins in the world.  A criminal mastermind named Johnny Venom has obtained a drug that turns people into mindless savages and is about to auction it off to the international terrorist organizations.  Dante wants Dalton to steal the drug, called Fury, and deliver it to him. He manipulates Dalton by offering to tell him where his missing father is being imprisoned and upon the delivery of Fury, Dante says he will free the old man. Dalton reluctantly accepts the deal.

But as ever there are always wrinkles in these spy missions.  For Dalton it is being saddled with the sexy but deadly Tauna, one of Dante’s personal lieutenants. Dalton is none to happy to have her shadowing his every move.  Of course the bad guys are no slouches either when it comes to gathering intel and soon Dalton and Tauna learn that Venom has dispatched the silent assassin Vincente to find and dispose of them.

All the while, it becomes clear to Dalton that someone, either in his own camp, or Dante’s group, has sold them out; they have a traitor in their midst.

Part heist, part chase and totally one hundred percent action packed, “Gentlemen Rogue” is gem of a read.  Dalton Moore and Tauna are likeable characters and Constantine would be wise to bring them back soon.  As for the Infernum series as a whole, each new chapter is better than the last.  Thus you have to believe this reviewer is now most anxious for volume four.

HITLER'S TIME MACHINE

HITLER’S TIME MACHINE

By Robert F. Dorr

ISBN # 978-0-9863200-0-2

292 pages

The fun of any new pulp adventure is you never know exactly what you are going to get. Oh, sure, you can make a few educated guesses based on your knowledge of the author’s history and the book’s theme, but that’s still pretty much surface data. It doesn’t really delve deep enough to reveal anything of significance until you start reading. That being said, you can imagine my curiosity in picking up something called, “Hitler’s Time Machine.” Some assumptions leapt immediately mind; it being a sci-fi thriller set against the backdrop of World War II.

Robert F. Door is an Air Force vet and one-time diplomat. He has written several military history books. “Hitler’s Time Machine” is his first fiction title and I’m delighted to say he hits a home run his first time at bat. Within just a few chapters, I was hooked. Long before the advent of World War II, a German sniper arrives on Campobello Island. He has traveled from the future to injure the famous inhabitant of that little island off the Canadian coast, Franklin D. Roosevelt. From that opening sequence the narrative takes of like a V-2 rocket, pulling the reader along for a wild, crazy adventure wherein both the U.S. and Germans simultaneously begin experimenting with time travel as another way of fighting the war.

In the states, the program is led by a tenacious, brilliant young woman named Barbara Stafford, while in Germany, her counterpart is Prof. Kimmler, one of the men tasked with creating the Holocaust death camps. While Barbara struggles to deal with the overt sexism of the 40s, Kimmler is caught up in playing political games between the Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler, and one of his most trusted advisors and chief off the SS, Heinrich Himmler. Throughout the story, Dorr brilliantly mixes real history with his fictional narrative weaving them into a seamless tapestry that in the end had this reader wondering if the events in this book didn’t actually happen. That’s how good a writer he is.

In fact, it is this attention to historical detail that makes “Hitler’s Time Machine” so fascinating. Unlike the majority of overly verbose thriller writers today, Dorr’s exposition is sparse and to the point. He doesn’t waste words but creates quick scalpel sharp scenes that built upon each other to reach a suspense filled climax.  Ever wonder what kind of science-fiction Tom Clancy might have written? Look not further than “Hitler’s Time Machine.”

THE MINISTRY OF THUNDER

THE MINISTRY OF THUNDER

By Davide Mana

Acheron Books

340 pages

Shanghai in 1936 is overrun by foreign agents all vying to align themselves with various political factions they believe will survive the coming global conflict and emerge victorious.  Amidst this cauldron of intrigue and espionage, Italian mercenary pilot Felice Sabatini finds himself caught up in a bizarre expedition that will lead to mysterious peeks of Tibet in search of an ancient artifact that could easily tilt the balance of power to whoever possesses it.

Guiding him along this dangerous quest is a beautiful Asian femme-fatale with the anglicized name of Pat Neal. Their enemy is a blonde German vixen who commands a giant black airship with a Nazi swastika painted on its hull. Along the way, Sabatini and Neal confront both human and magical advisories to include a group of Ninja like monks, Japanese agents, a three-eyed demon and talking green dogs. Author Mana has crammed more fantasy adventure in this one pulp tale than we’d normally find twice as many.

“The Ministry of Thunder,” is a rollicking tongue-in-cheek over-the-top pulp winner that completely won me over within its first few chapters. It’s Indiana Jones meets Bill Barnes with a touch of Kung-Fu thrown in to spice things up.  It is the first Davide Mana book we’ve read and we certainly hope not the last.

BANARAK - Storming the Gates.

BANARAK – Storming the Gates

By Van Allen Plexico

White Rocket Books and

243 pages

This is as yet another action packed adventure taking place in the fictional sci-fi mythology created by Van Allen Plexico call The Shattering. In this mythos, mankind exists in a universe made up of three distinct level of reality; the Above, where dwell gods with amazing powers, the Middle (or for want of a better term, our own universe) made up of we mere mortals and lastly the Below, home to assorted demons and other monstrous creatures. In his galaxy spanning saga, most of the drama results from unexpected interactions between these three levels which tend to lead to cataclysmic results.

In one of Plexico’s first books, “Lucien – Dark God’s Homecoming,” we were given a glimpse of this universe long after the old god’s from the Above had been vanquished via an act of betrayal amongst one of their owns. Then, in subsequent titles, Plexico opted to move around to other parts of his mythos and chose to weave stories that for the most part happened in his imagined future. Now, with “Banarak – Storming the Gates,” he takes back in time and spins the fantastic story of the actual birth of the Above gods.

The setup is quickly related. In the distant future mankind has launched itself into space hoping to find new worlds to colonize and guarantee the continuation of our species. Almost immediately star-gates are discovered at various points in space which allow us to leap front across the galaxies and soon seven worlds are settled and a burgeoning Empire of Man is about to be established. But just as quickly as the gates were found, they suddenly, without warning, cease functioning and thus seven separate human planets learn they must forge on independent of the others. Thus seven different cultures continue to evolve over the next few decades, each establishing its own unique identity. The only single unifying tradition to remain viable on all seven isolated empires is their common religion; the Church of the Seven Stars.

Then, just as mysteriously as they stopped functioning, the star-gates are reactivated by forces unknown.  On the human world of Majondra, the military commander Constantine Baranak devises a plan to use the gates to invade and conquer the other six empires thus establishing one cohesive galaxy spanning regime. Aiding him in this audacious scheme are his siblings and his son, Gaius, who also serves as Constantine’s military aide. On the eve of this stellar invasion, Constantine is betrayed and assassinated by a high priest of the church at the same time Majondra comes under attack by a rival empire. It is left to Gaius to fathom how his father’s bold scheme was discovered and who amongst the royal family betrayed them.

One of Plexico’s hallmarks is the breakneck speed at which he propels his plot never allowing his reader a moment’s respite as his protagonist is plunged into one amazing adventure after another. He creates unique, alien allies and foes that confront Gaius at every turn until in the end; his family’s very survival depends on his keen insights into both their various natures. Dealing with cosmic forces beyond understanding, Constantine’s son must gamble with the fate of his people to either achieve a bold new future or fail and watch them totally destroyed.  “BANARAK – Storming the Gates,” is a space opera thrill ride that never disappoints.  If you have never a Van Allen Plexico space adventure, this is clearly the place to start.

HILO - The Boy Who Crashed To Earth

HILO –

The Boy Who Crashed To Earth

By Judd Winick

Random House Children’s Books

193 pages

What we have with this charming, wonderfully illustrated hardback book is a marriage between traditional children’s books and your standard graphic novel.  Formatted like a comic but capturing the essence of a children’s book intended to amuse, enlighten and teach all in a colorful, fantastic, exuberant story.  “HILO – The Boy Who Crashed To Earth,” marvelously captures the joy of childhood complete with its fears, innocence and abounding sense of wonder.

As a child, we truly believe anything is possible, including the fanciful premise of this tale; a strange boy from another world falls out of the sky and instantly ingratiates himself with two earth kids quickly becoming their new remarkable friend.

You would think HILO is the main character in this sci-fi kids’ adventure but not true. The real star of the story is young Daniel Jackson Lim, better known to his family and friends as D.J.  He’s one of five children and believes he is the only one without any special talents.  His brothers and sisters all excel in either sports or academics but not poor D.J.  He’s just an average boy and that lack of self-worth bothers him terribly.

It is only when he meets the “Boy Who Crashed To Earth,” that D.J. is thrust into having to exceed his own expectations that he is forced to reevaluate his true self and therein discovers own, unique gifts.

We cannot recommend this book highly enough.  The story and art are superb and will delight both young and old readers alike. For you parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, we cannot imagine any young boy or girl not being thrilled to have a copy.  And yes, the book is available from Amazon.  Get it now!  You can thank us later.

THE BLACK STILETTO

THE BLACK STILETTO

By Raymond Benson

Oceanview Publishing

266 pages

Did you ever wish you had a lot more time to read?  I have to believe everyone reading these reviews is now nodding their head affirmatively. It seems every day a new book comes out that appeals to our particular likes and suddenly our pile of books to read begins to rise towards the ceiling. It’s a daily occurrence for every reviewer I know and there is no solution other than to accept the limitations imposed by life and do one’s best to climb that mountain. What follows is one of those reviews of a book I’ve been waiting years to get to.

Judy Cooper is raped by her stepfather at the age of thirteen. She leaves her small town home in Texas and makes her way to New York City circa the mid-1950s. There she gets a job as a waitress in a greasy spoon diner and then makes friends with the owner of a local boxing gym. For her help in managing his office chores, this old pugilist allows her to live in the apartment over the gym. Pretty standard stuff until one day Judy gets it into her head that she wants to learn how to box. The nightmares of her rape continues to haunt her and learning how to physically defend herself is something she has to do for her own peace of mind. Not only does she learn to box, much to the chagrin of the male clientele, but soon thereafter Judy discovers a new Japanese dojo has opened in the city and out of curiosity goes to see what all the fuss is about. Seeing both a display of judo and karate, the young Texas gal realizes this is going to be the next step in her evolution as a warrior.

All of this history is related to us via flashbacks found in Judy’s diaries by her son, Martin. In the present, Judy is an old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s and has been committed to a nursing facility. Because of her incapacity to manage her own affairs, her lawyer delivers a box of her personal belongs to Martin and thus he discovers the diaries. Once he begins reading them, he, and we readers, learn a whole lot more about this amazing woman he calls Mom.

Through a series of fateful encounters, Judy falls in love with a gangster working for the Mafia. When he is murdered by his own Don, Judy decides to emulate the comic book heroes she’s read about and seek her own personal justice. She dons a black leather jacket and mask and becomes a butt-kicking vigilante calling herself the Black Stiletto.

Deftly moving back and forth from his mother’s writings to Martin’s own personal problems, Benson deftly keeps the pace moving at a machine-gun rattling clip. The idea of a real costume clad hero has been done by many other writers today, all of them hoping to cash in on the recent popularity of comics. But none have done so as logically as Benson does with Judy and her metamorphosis into this radical new persona is totally believable. Though she possesses no supernatural powers, she is gifted with heightened senses that allow her discern when people are lying to her. At the same time her survival instincts, due in large part to her rigorous martial arts training, have grown sharp and unerring. 

And so we are given a female Batman, though after reading this first book in the series, I’d argue Judy Cooper has a great deal more in common with the early pulp heroes; especially one Ellen Patrick, better known as the Domino Lady. Although they are polar opposites in their modus operandi and looks, it is those qualities they share that make them sisters in arms.  Beautiful, cunning, vulnerable and with a strong sense of justice is what makes them exceptional in their own times and settings.

“The Black Stilleto” is grand tale with a truly original, endearing protagonist. Having met Judy Cooper, I doubt seriously I’ll ever forget her.  And neither will you.

CRYPTOZOOLOGY Anthology

CRYPTOZOOLOGY ANTHOLOGY

Edited by Robert Deis, David Coleman & Wyatt Dole

New Texture

281 pages

Once again, Men’s Adventure Magazines (MAMS) historian, Robert Deis, and his co-horts, David Coleman and Wyatt Dole, have put together another absolutely wonderful collection of bizarre tales culled from the various MAMS published between the 50s and 70s.  In their first book, “Weasels Ripped My Flesh,” they assembled an eclectic mixture of every possible genre known to men’s fiction from westerns to crime and mystery and heroic war tales.  They followed this up with a volume devoted entirely to the works of writer Walter Kaylin, one of the most prolific pulp writers of the era, in a gorgeous package entitled, “He-Men, Bag Men & Nymphos.”

With this latest entry, we are given a healthy dose of weird creatures that roam the remaining wilderness areas of the world.  Here, in what these long-ago pseudo scientific experts labeled Cryptozoology, are stories that relate amazing encounters with all manner of freakish monsters from the Abominable Snowman (the largest group in the book) to horrific sea monsters capable of sinking the largest ocean liners and high mountain Thunder Birds so large they can carry away adult humans in their razor sharp talons.

If you’ve ever wondered at where the legends of such notorious beings as Bigfoot and the Jersey Devil were born, you needn’t look any further than these pages.  The MAMS were crammed with these eye-witness sightings, often at the cost of human lives.  Here are reported accounts by hunters, explorers, scientists and unlucky travelers, all testifying to those mysterious things that go bump in the night lost in the deep woods of our imagination.  And that is what is at work throughout each and every one of these macabre episodes, sheer, unbridled imagination.  Hell, there’s even a story about a sea leviathan by none other than Arthur C. Clarke.

“Cryptozoology Anthology,” is the kind of book P.T. Barnum might have been hawking in front of his circus tents to make a few extra pennies before allowing us into the inner big-top to view the wonders chained inside.  It is a book for those of us who remember a world a little less mapped and a whole lot more dangerous.  Grab a copy, get your ticket punched and hang on for the ride.  It’s a whopper!

THE QUEST OF FRANKENSTEIN

THE QUEST OF FRANKENSTEIN

By Frank Schildiner

250 pages

Black Coat Press

Most of my experiences with Frank Schildiner’s work has been reading and editing his fast paced, action pack hero-pulp short stories.  That his first full length novel should be one of unremitting horror came as a surprise to say the least.  I had no idea what to expect when I opened it and began the first chapter.  I should note this particular book falls in line with a series of older Frankenstein books written Jean-Claude Carriere begun in 1956.  As explained by the editor/publisher Jean-Marc Lofficer in his introduction to this volume. Carriere’s tales interpreted the monster, known as Gouroull, as a more savage creature obsessed with goals in his twisted life; one the creation of a mate and the other the total destruction of all mankind.

It is this version that Schildiner continues in his book.  The setting is the height of World War One and in the midst of the all the battlefields of Europe, Gouroull appears reviling in the unrelenting bloodletting. Ultimately he encounters the mad scientist Herbert West who has become a disciple of his late creator, Victor Frankenstein.  West is thrilled to finally meet Gouroull and agrees to create a mate for him if the monster will procure half a dozen occult artifacts scattered throughout the world.  Being virtually indestructible, Gouroull sets off to complete his assigned task.  Thus the book’s first half becomes a bizarre scavenger hunt through some of the most frightening settings ever culled from horror fiction. Schildiner has much fun taking his protagonist on this journey and each chapter has the monster encountering one memorable fiend after another. Honestly, the congress of famous vampires that occurs in chapter five is worth the price of admission. It had me chuckling aloud and stomping my feet on the floor with the introduction of each new invitee.  From Barnabus Collins to Dracula himself, this is by far the most colorful vampire gathering ever put to paper.

Of course procuring those unique objects proves to be no challenge to Gouroull.  But when he returns to mad doctor’s lab with these items, he is told his mission is only half completed.  Even with the arcane treasures to replicate Frankenstein’s operation, West still requires the bones of a strong and powerful woman upon which to build this new creation. Once again Gouroull is off on yet another journey through the back roads and dark woods of the continent and for a second time the quest formula becomes Schildiner’s tool to showcase some of the more evil females of legend and history.

“The Quest of Frankenstein” is one of the most well written horror pastiches ever imagined and Schildiner’s work rivals even the most experienced scribes in the field. For in the end, it is his sincere love of the genre that shines through every single page and pulls the reader along for one hell of an unforgettable ride. Easily one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read all year and one truly warranting a sequel.  This is my kind of monster!

HADON, King of Opar

HADON, King of Opar

By Christopher Paul Carey

Meteor House Press

153 pages

Opar, the lost jungle city first appeared in the pages of Edgar Rice Burrough’s “The Return of Tarzan.” Some believe Burroughs took the name from the Biblical reference to Ophir, whence King Solomon supposedly received a cargo of  gold, silver, sandalwood, precious stones, ivory, and other treasures every three years via some unknown, secret route. Burroughs would revisit the lost city in several other Tarzan adventures to include “Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar,” “Tarzan and the Golden Lion,” and “Tarzan the Invicncible.”

In 1974, the late Philip Jose Farmer took it upon himself to write the history of Opar and beganwith his novel, “Hadon of Ancient Opar,” and continued it with “Flight to Opar,” published two years later.  Now Christopher Paul Carey has picked up the narrative and will most likely carry it to its ultimate conclusion.  In the words of Phantom creator, Lee Falk, for those who came in late, never fear, the publisher has provided an abbreviated history of events which is found as a helpful supplement in the back of the book.

Whereas not having read any of these previous chapters, we found this a rollicking good adventure read and any reader with even the slightest familiarity with either Burroughs or Farmer will have no problems enjoying this tale.  At the offset, Opar is invaded by a large force of river pirates led by a sadistic mercenary named Gahesi.  In the middle of the night, Hadon, the King, rallies his troops and goes out to battle his foes. Too late he learns the enemy’s forces have found the secret tunnel passages into the vast city and have already gained control of its primary routes of access.

Afraid to commit his remaining forces, Hadon opts to reenter Opar via this same maze of secret passageways and learned the fate of his queen and family.  In the process he discovers it was one of the high priest and priestess that betrayed them in divulging the secret routes to Gahesi in hopes of sharing in the coup’s bloody victory. But Hadon is not so easily defeated and through a series of near fatal encounters, he manages to rescue a few members of his beloved family and rejoin his troops outside the gates to the city. Here he is discovers even more startling news; a group of giant warriors led the son of Hadon’s deceased cousin, Kwasin, have arrived on a quest to learn the fate of their sire.

Could they possibly be the allies Hadon needs to retake Opar and defeat the river pirates? The opportunity exists but first Hadon will have to fight eight foot tall leader of the giants to prove his worthiness.  Spinning a non-stop adventure tale, Carey’s pace never lets up and his easy, competent style allows readers to slip into this ancient, magnificent world he has so expertly brought back to life.  Burroughs and Farmer would have been proud.

STRIP FOR MURDER

STRIP FOR MURDER

By Max Allan Collins

Illustrations by Terry Beatty

Dover Mystery Classic

265 pages

Of all the ongoing series mystery writer Max Collins continues to juggle, while doing all the things we normal being do such eat, drink and sleep, my favorite is quickly becoming his Jack and Maggie Starr books.  Being a comic book fan since the age of five, it’s only natural I’d appreciate a mystery series that involves American comic books during the Golden Age of the four-color little mags.  It started with A Killing in Comics (May 2007) which I’ve not had the pleasure of reading yet and then later produced Strip for Murder (May 2008 and the subject of this review) and wrapped with Seduction of the Innocent (June 2013) which revolved around fictionalized version of Frederic Wertham’s crusade against comic books back in the 1950s.  One of my personal favorites of Collins’ books.

The set up is a fun one.  Maggie Starr was once a famous burlesque queen who married the Major, a World War One hero and widower.  He owned Starr Syndicates which managed a group of highly profitable cartoon strips.  When the Major died, Maggie inherited the business and helping her run it as a special security consultant is the Major’s son, Jack.  Immediately one is reminded me of the classic boss-employee partnership between Rex Stout’s master detective Nero Wolfe and his witty, tough-guy legman chronicler, Archie Goodwin.  Here it is Jack who tells the tales with tongue firmly in cheek.  In fact Jack’s dialogue showcases some of the best lines Collins has ever put to paper; many so exaggerated as to be as cartoonish as the properties Starr Syndicate handles. 

The banter between Jack, a healthy, handsome lad and his drop-dead gorgeous stepmother is one of the major attractions (pun intended) of these stories. Though it is made absolutely clear there is no risqué hanky-panky happening here. But don’t feel sorry for the lad, in the two books I’ve read thus far, he never lacks sexy feminine companionship.  Whereas there’s plenty of adult foibles within the stories themselves and the world of early comics is proven to be as nasty and cutthroat as any other commercial venture in American history. 

The crux of the plot deals with an on-going feud between two famous cartoonists, both with inflated egos, who despise each other for multiple past wrongs. When one of them is murdered, Starr Syndicate is in danger of losing its most profitable strip and so Maggie orders Jack to solve the mystery and help save the family business. Throughout the story, Collins offers up a parade of thinly disguised cartoonists most fans will easily recognize, in fact the feuding duo are thinly veiled versions of the men who created Lil’ Abner and Joe Palooka. 

Now as entertained as I was throughout the book, I’m going to bet half my own readers here, especially those under thirty, don’t have the foggiest notion as to the two iconic characters I just mentioned.  Thus the book, for the non-fan, is most likely going to be bothersome as most of the book’s appeal will fall flat.  How can you truly enjoy the game if you don’t know who the players are?

Don’t get me wrong.  Even with that handicap, Collins is too much a pro not to deliver a good mystery and always plays fair with the clues peppered throughout the course of the narrative.  But what I would like to see is for him to take the series away from its limited comic-world settings and explore its true potential as a straight out mystery series starring two of the most enjoyable detectives ever to grace the printed page.  In the end there’s a whole lot more to Maggie and Jack then just four flat colors.

THE STRIKER

THE STRIKER

An Isaac Bell Adventure

By JUSTIN SCOTT & Clive Cussler

Berkley Novel

402 pages

Okay, back-story first for those of you unfamiliar with the Isaac Bell series. He was created by popular new pulp writer Clive Cussler in the first book of the series, “The Chase,” with the assistance of novelist Justin Scott. Since that time, although his name always appears on the book’s covers, it is all too clear that these marvelous tales are penned solely by Mr. Scott. And, we might add, we’ve come to enjoy them just as much as Cussler’s own original Dirk Pitt books.

Isaac Bell is the leading investigator for the New York based Van Horn Detective Agency. The son of a wealthy Boston banker, Bell found the life of a banker much too dull and boring for his taste and discovering the excitement and adventure inherent in his chosen professional, quickly became one of the finest investigators at the Agency. In the previous books, all taking place in the early 1900s, Bell’s saga is set against the amazing birth of the industrial age in America. His cases have dealt with the burgeoning empires of transcontinental railroads and the pioneers of early aviation; whereas in this volume, Scott sends us backward in time to one of Bell’s first assignments.

As the book opens, he is disguised as a coal miner in rural West Virginia attempting to learn more concerning the make up of union organizers determined to gain higher wages and safer working conditions for their members. At the same time he begins to suspect that one of the richest Wall Street tycoons is behind a series of sabotage attacks on the mines that have left dozens injured or dead. Someone has hired a cunning agitator to create turmoil between the owners and the workers but to what end he cannot fathom.

As ever Scott’s historical setting is phenomenal and half the fun of reading these exploits. But with “The Striker” there comes a fresh twist in that this mysterious provocateur Bell is chasing is in many ways as skilled and trained as he is. Could it be possible that the man Bell is hunting is another detective? One trained by his own mentor?  And what is the role of the lovely Mary Higgins, the sister of one of the union organizers?  Combining both emotional investments with a mile-a-minute pacing, Scott once again delivers a breath-taking race through history at the same time making it come alive for today’s readers. It isn’t often that a thriller provides us with a genuine glimpse into tragedies and glories that made this country great.

“The Striker” is another great addition to the Isaac Bell series and we’re already anxious for the next one.  Major thumbs up here, loyal readers.

HE-MEN, BAG MEN & NYMPHOS

HE-MEN, BAG MEN & NYMPHOS

Stories by Walter Kaylin

Edited by Robert Deis & Wyatt Doyle

New Texture

283 pages

A little while ago this reviewer had the joy of discovering the fiction world of Men’s Adventure Magazines that proliferated the newsstands of the 50s, 60s and 70s via a wonderful anthology titled, “Weasels Ripped My Flesh.” Amongst the great and wacky stories in that were a few by a writer named Walter Kaylin who the editors claimed was one of the most prolific writers for those magazines.

“He-Men, Bag Men & Nymphos,” is an entire collection of Kaylin’s amazing work with fifteen stories featured within its pages. They represent the entire spectrum of this he-man brand of pulp fiction; from modern day gangsters, to south sea island sirens to western outlaws and surfing assassins. This book has it all making us marvel at the boundless imagination that produced these outlandish tales. There are even a few factual articles mixed amongst them. Of these, the most gripping is Kaylin’s account of the U.S.S Indianapolis and its fate when sunk in the last days of World War II. It is a harrowing tale comprised from documented naval records and survivors’ testimonies.

Going from fact to fiction has no diminishing effects on any of Kaylin’s work, all of it is brilliant and written with a flare, no matter how boring the subject material. Which brings us to the one piece we feel should have been omitted; “The Army’s Terrifying Death Bugs and Loony Gas.” It is dated 1960 and is report on the state of the military’s research into chemical warfare. It is the only piece that doesn’t belong here. But hey, fourteen bulleyes out of fifteen shots is a damn impressive score.

Which is as good a way as any to describe Walter Kaylin’s wrtings. He was a master at his craft of spinning pulp tall tales and the fun he had writing them infects his readers as well. Bravo, Bob Deis and Wyatt Doyle; that’s two homeruns in a row.  Please, keep swinging for the fences. We love this stuff.  

TRIPL3 CROSS

TRIPL3 CROSS

An Eliot Cross Adventure

By John Hegenberger

Rough Edge Press

144 pages

We so love discovering talented writers like John Hegenberger. Although still relatively new to pulp fiction, he has a wonderful, clean, no-nonsense style of writing that is always a pleasure to read. His new spy thriller, set in 1988, captures the feel and essences of the era and the Cold War tensions that pervaded world politics at that time.

His protagonist is Eliot Cross, a small time private-eye operating out of Ohio whose father disappeared two decades earlier. An only child, Cross grew up with the constant question of why had his father had abandoned him and his mother. Her dying wish is for him to find his father who she believes to be in danger. After her passing, Cross files away her request as a hopeless dream. He has absolutely no clues as to where his father might have fled.

When a shady former C.I.A. contact approaches him with the news that his father is actually in Cuba working as a deep-cover agent for the Agency, Cross doesn’t know whether to believe him or throw him out of his office. In the end he travels to C.I.A. headquarters in Washington, where he meets a beautiful operative who unwillingly confirms what ex-spy had alluded to. But when this fellow is gunned down in his hotel room, Cross begins to suspect he’s inadvertently kicked over a hornet’s nest and could be the next the unknown killer’s next target.

Obsessed with learning the truth, Cross manages to make his way to Cuba where he is promptly captured and thrown into jail. Still he manages to extricate himself from one dire situation after another. As he tries to piece together the complex puzzle that is his father’s ultimate fate, he becomes embroiled in a new conspiracy wherein he may be the sacrificial pawn. Death could be his final reward unless he can discover the truth behind a twenty year old secret.

“Tripl3 Cross,” is a small book that packs an awfully big punch. Hegenberger brilliantly captures Cross’ voice and pulls us intimately into his adventure until the very end where he pulls off a dandy O’Henry style twist that had this reviewer crying, “Bravo!” This is a damn good read by a pro.  Spy buffs will not be disappointed.

SEVEN FOR A SECRET

SEVEN FOR A SECRET

A Timothy Wilde Novel

By Linsay Faye

The Penguin Group

451 pages

In 2012 writer Lyndsay Faye set mystery fiction world on its collective rear with the release of her historical mystery, “The Gods of Gotham.” That it went on to receive a Best Novel nominations from the Mystery Writers of America was no surprise to any of the millions of fans who had to read it. In that book we were introduced to two orphaned brothers of Irish immigrant parents, Valentine and Timothy Wilde, both living in New York City in 1845.

The plot of that first story was centered about the creation of New York’s first ever Police Department and related how the brothers, for their own personal reasons, chose to put on the copper star and join this new law keeping body. Shortly thereafter Timothy uncovered the works of a child serial killer and was successful at tracking him down and ending his reign of terror. But his triumph was not without personal sacrifices from the abandonment of the woman he loved and the vicious animus of another who vowed to cause him unending suffering.

“Seven For a Secret,” picks up with Wilde brothers almost a year later. Though missing Ms. Mercy Underwood badly, Timothy has been able to focus his energies on his new career as a detective.  According to Commissioner Matsell, Timothy has a “gift” for solving puzzles which makes him ideal for police work. Soon enough, our hero finds himself caught up in another tragic murder; one that revolves around the heinous practice of slave catching that occurred all too often during this time period. With the advent of the Underground Railroad, more and more slaves fled to northern cities in hopes of making their way to Canada and freedom. Sadly the laws regarding such abductions were vague at best and legal magistrates found themselves unable to determine whether the captured black men and women were actually runaway slaves or northern born free men and women.

When Timothy learns that two black women and a child have been abducted from their home by southern bounty-hunters, he enlists Valentine’s aid in rescuing them. Two days later one of the women is found strangled in Valentine’s apartment and her sister and son once again missing. Ms. Faye weaves a powerful story set against one of history’s ugliest eras, embroiling her characters in the hellish boiling pot of mixed cultures that was New York. As in her previous novel, the city is always a major element in the tale and her ability to capture its people, their language, hopes, dreams and agonizing despair is as skillful as any sculptor shaping a stone figure.

Her command of words is the essence of poetry and we found ourselves relishing each new metaphor that would fly from her imagination. She is a gifted writer with an uncanny sense of time and place…and above all the human condition. If you enjoy solid history mixed with heartfelt drame, you won’t do any better than “Seven For a Secret.” It is a great book!

LADY ACTION – The Sands of Forever

By Ron Fortier

Airship 27 Productions

91 pages

Guest Reviewer – Bob Deis

Ron Fortier has a long and distinguished career as a writer for comics. I’ve been a fan of his work in that realm for years, especially his contributions to the Green Hornet and Terminator series published by NOW Comics. In 2006, Fortier created his own publishing company called Airship 27. At that point, he became a pioneer in publishing “new pulp” novels and story anthologies that are inspired by both classic comics and old pulp magazines.

THE SANDS OF FOREVER is a short novel that has genes from both realms. It features the character Nicola Sinclair, a beautiful, butt-kicking international spy code-named “Lady Action.” Although she comes from the popular Captain Action comics series, you don’t really need to know anything about that series to understand and enjoy THE SANDS OF FOREVER. It’s a self-contained action/adventure romp that takes Nicola to Libya to find another agent who has gone missing. He was searching for the mysterious “Tree of Life” mentioned in the Bible, which was said to have tremendous powers and be hidden somewhere in the Libyan Desert.

The search-and-rescue mission soon turns into a fight for survival. A local, colorfully-evil Arab sheik has also heard of the magical tree and wants it for himself. This leads to a series of bloody fights between Nicola and the sheik’s henchman, a wild car chase through the streets of Tripoli, a race across the desert and a final confrontation in an ancient underground maze of tunnels full of deadly giant scorpions. It’s a fun read with a quick-paced, cinematic style: kind of a novelistic mashup of Lara Croft, Indiana Jones and James Bond with its own unique characters and flavor. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading future Lady Action novels by Fortier.

THE DIGEST ENTHUSIAST - Book Two

THE DIGEST ENTHUSIAST  Book Two

Editor Arkay Olgar

Contributing Editor D. Blake Werts

Larque Press LLC

151 pg

Having really enjoyed issue #1 of this terrific new digest, I was delighted to find # 2 in my mailbox a few weeks ago.  Much like the first volume, this second issue features a wonderful balance of articles, interviews and short fiction.  Being a writer/editor, the latter has particular appeal to me and writers Rudolf Schmitdt, D.D. Ploog, Richard Krauss and John Kuharik all deliver quality tales filled with adventure, horror and fantasy.

After the fiction, the two lengthy interviews with writers Gary Lovisi and Robert Lopresti were excellent; each giving the reader personal insights to the careers of these two talented penmen.  Add articles on Australian crime pulps, an Italian comic named Mister No and various other fascinating pieces and biblio entries and you have a solid package worthy of the best digests of the past.

A hardy applause to the entire editorial crew, writers, artists and designers.  If you aren’t following “The Digest Enthusiast,” you are missing out on a very entertaining title.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH!

WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH!

Edited by Deis, Friedman & Doyle

New Texture

416 pages

Telling you this book is amazing would be perpetuating the biggest understatement of all time.  It is a fantastic collection of over-the-top fiction and articles from those garish, exploitive men’s adventure magazines that proliferated throughout the 50s, 60s and ultimately died in the 1970s.  Chief Editor Robert Deis gives the reader a brief history of this macho movement, connecting it with the post World War II era wherein millions of American veterans came home after having saved the world from the dictatorial evil of fascisms.  They returned home heroes not afraid to challenge whatever the future might throw at them while rebuilding a new, brighter society.

This was the macho nature of times, particularly in the 50s where a John Wayne attitude pervaded both in literature and on the giant silver screen.  So it’s no surprise magazines that lauded brave, he-men protagonist willing to take on overwhelming odds, battle ravenous beasts, and take on tribes of love hungry nymphomaniacs.  It was the age of the tough guys and dozens of publishers eagerly flooded drugstore racks with their fantastic exploits.  Deis makes a solid case that these were the direct descendants of the cheap pulp mags of the 30s and 40s; something he has been extremely passionate about and this collection bears out his theory wonderfully.

What is also startling about this anthology is the caliber of writers it showcases; writers who later went on to earn accolades and awards in the more sophisticated, accepted publications of the times.  Names like Lawrence Block, Harlan Ellison, Mario Puzo and Robert Silverberg all cut their literary teeth writing for these men’s adventure titles thus making them a training school for the best of the best.

Then there are the bogus scientific articles dealing with drugs and sexual proclivities, never mind the outlandish battles with maddened beasts of all types from the cover spotlighted weasels to ravenous snapping turtles and killer-mad monkeys.  “Weasels Riped My Flesh!” not only entertained the hell out of me, it also educated me in the process.  No self-respecting pulp enthusiast should be without this tome.  We tip our fedora to Misters Deis, Friedman & Doyle.  Thanks for the oh-so enjoyable lesson.