Fighting Crime One Dime At A Time

Fighting Crime One Dime At A Time (Hero Pulp Fiction)

By Ed Hulse

Murania Press

ISBN #978-1976273452

Price $24.95

220 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

This 8.5 x 11 inch production is a fun read, covering the hero – or single-character pulp titles that began with The Shadow in 1931 and dominated the newsstands until 1953, 22 years that saw good versus evil in literature, and good always triumphed. The heroes began after the Roaring Twenties, when readers were fed up with gangster rule, and the Depression laid low the working class in our society. Aimed at young audiences, they offered masked crime fighters who sometimes wore colorful or eclectic costumes that intrigued youthful minds. Their reign would end only after a world war, and an economy bouncing back from the abyss, and youngsters grown and looking for more mature fare. This book discusses the rise of story papers to dime novels, and eventually the pulp magazines, and finally the pulp hero. Most of it has been written before by earlier researches, but the writers involved visit the history again, in their own way, and I enjoyed every page.

Edited by Ed Hulse, who also writes the Introduction and some of the articles; we have these subjects: “The Great Transition: Story Papers and Dime Novels Yield To Pulp Magazines by Larry Latham; The Man In The Black Cloak: Did This Story Paper Character Influence The Shadow? By Joe Rainone; Reminiscences of Nick Carter: The Dime-Novel Precursor of Pulp Heroes by John Coryell; The House of Heroes: Street & Smith’s Single-Character Pulps by Ed Hulse; The Hero-Pulp Revolution Continues: Standard, Popular, Ace, and Fiction House Titles by Ed Hulse; Dithering Over Doc: Launching One of The Most Famous Hero Pulps by Will Murray; Disposable Heroes: Pulpdom’s Forgotten Crimebusters by Mark Trost; Archie Bittner and The Spider: The Case of the Missing “Master” by Will Murray; How Not To Write A Hero Pulp-Novel: Anatomy Of A Phantom Detective Outline by Mark Trost; Masked Rider of The (Pulps) Plains: A History of The Lone Ranger Magazine by Albert Tonic; The 20 Most Underrated Shadow Novels: Overlooked Entries From The Long-Running Series Chosen by Blood ‘n’ Thunder’s All-Star Panel of Judges; The Strange, Sad Story of Zarnak: The Pulp Hero Everybody Hated by Mark Trost; Three Aces In One Draw: Pulp Heroes In Comic Books by Mark Trost; Last Hurrahs: The Twilight of The Hero Pulps by Ed Hulse and Mark Trost; Appendix: Four-Color Fakery Reprinting Two Comic-Book Stories Adapted From Hero Pulps: The Mask and Major Mars.

It was nice seeing familiar names like Larry Latham and Albert Tonic in new publications once more. Their names were part of pulp fandom for many years. Will Murray and Joe Rainone have continued to be involved through the years, while Ed Hulse and Mark Trost - who began the Blood ‘n’ Thunder fan magazine in 2002 - have published ever since. Perhaps what is missing from the book are credits – there are many research books that preceded this tome that details Story Papers, Dime Novels, and the Hero Pulps, and should have been mentioned, if not credied. However, I highly recommend this book for any fan of the Pulp Heroes, be they Doc Savage fans, or Shadow fans, or any of the other heroes. It’s not only a good read, it gives insight to some of the happenings behind the scenes, and that’s always fun.

Tom Johnson

Author of THE BLACK BAT COMPANION

The Purple Eye

This wildly melodramatic thriller, originally published in the August 1933 issue of DIME MYSTERY MAGAZINE, provided the template for countless pulp-hero novels published during the Thirties. Depression-era readers craved outlandish menaces to take their minds off their troubles, and The Purple Eye was at the top of the list. The Eye, maniacal criminal mastermind and leader of the ancient death cult known as the Brotherhood of Baktuun, terrorizes New York City with a series of high-profile murders accomplished by mysterious means. Seven million souls are at his mercy as his outrages mount in dizzying succession. The police, constrained by legal niceties and endless red tape, seem powerless to thwart his mad schemes. Enter Wayne Saxon, millionaire sportsman and world traveler, who devotes his life to running the Eye to earth. He works within the law when possible, but without it when necessary. Will he succeed? There's a thrill on every page of this baffling mystery.

The Purple Eye (Pulp Thrills)

By William Corcoran

Murania Press www.muraniapress.com

ISBN #978-151764098

Price $17.95

188 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Pulpy Action, With Great Villain And Hero.”

Millionaire Wayne Saxon has been away from New York for some time, on a mysterious trip overseas. Upon his return he finds a visitor wishing to see him before he can unpack. Young David Storm, the son of an old enemy, seeks his help. A new menace has risen in Saxon’s absence, known as The Purple Eye. And David’s girlfriend, Dolores has been threatened.

Saxon entertains the couple, and promises protection while he investigates The Purple Eye. With his manservant, the huge black man named Christophe, Saxon is quickly thrown against the minions of The Purple Eye. There is also the mysterious Secret Hundred, a group of cab drivers, who may also be fighting The Purple Eye, and interferes with Saxon. This group is led by Martha Considine, the widow of Big Mike Considine, a murder victim of The Purple Eye. But Saxon and The Secret Hundred don’t immediately see eye-to-eye, and are at cross-purposes.

Typical of early pulp stories, the villain isn’t difficult to unmask by the reader very early on, but it’s all about the hero working his way to the end of the story and finding all the answers. Although a topnotch story, I thought Saxon was a little weak as a hero, and was more impressed with Martha Considine and The Secret Hundred. Imagine a team of taxi drivers fighting crime, led by a fascinating beautiful woman? We also see a black man as the hero’s aide, though there is a bit of racial stereotyping in the story, which is also typical of the time period. Still, for a quick, fun read, I highly recommend this book for readers who like a good yarn in the old style of pulp thrills.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH