Heroes of Ancient Greece

Stories By Tom Johnson, Michael A. Black, Ralph E. Horner, and Ron Wilber

Two of the greatest of the Greek heroes were Hercules and Atalanta, and both have survived in their own identities, as well as being the patterns for many other heroes of print, song, and screen. But no hero has ever achieved the strength of the mighty Hercules. Nor has any arrow ever flown as swift and true as one shot from the bow of Atalanta! Monsters from the land, sea, and moon face our heroes in these exciting pulp adventures!

This volume contains stories by Doc Atlas creator, Michael A. Black, paranormal author, Ralph Horner, and Tom Johnson, author of the popular Jur novels. Fully illustrated by Ron Wilber, including a three page comic by the artist.

If you like your heroes strong, your heroines beautiful, and the action fast, then go no further, this adventure is for you!

Available from NTD and Amazon.

Bad Moon Rising By Tom Johnson

Tom’s 45,000-word short novel about a Recon Team, and the dangers they faced in Vietnam. These men weren’t looking to be heroes, they were only men who wanted to survive and go home. This was originally published by NBI in 2003, but went out of print when they folded. It was picked up by NTD in 2008, and was the lead in their anthology, BLOOD MOONS AND NIGHTSCAPES with Barbara Custer. BLOOD MOONS also contains many of my short Soul Stealer stories, about Angels on Earth. The current edition is available from NTD and Amazon. $13.90 paperback, and $3.50 Kendle.

Guns Of The Black Ghost

Trained by a retired secret agent of the government, Jimmy Malone dons a black hood and cape sending fear into the hearts of evildoers, as he battles the underworld in the tradition of a modern day Shadow or Spider. Burning eyes, a mocking laugh, and blazing automatics announce his entrance into an affray. Gangsters cringe when they come up against the guns of the Black Ghost!

The vast chamber was suddenly filled with a mocking laugh as the Black Ghost issued his challenge to gangdom, and the weird mirth rose to a high crescendo, reverberating throughout the building, echoing like a wild thing in the silent void of space. Gang members stopped what they were doing, and looked about the shop like hunted animals on opening season in the woods. And then a chorus of shouts rang out as they spotted the intrepid fighter in black. “The Black Ghost!” burst from a dozen lips at once, and murderous hands dug for guns beneath their tunics.

Gunfire suddenly blazed as those weapons came up, but the Black Ghost had drawn two heavy automatics of his own, and the machine shop was thundering with the clash of guns as a battle began between gangland and the fighter in black. A wild volley of bullets sang like angry hornets disturbed by a farmer’s deadly spray of insecticide.

This is my tribute to Walter Gibson and his creation, The Shadow. Available from the publisher, NTD, or Amazon. $16.50 print and $3.50 on Kendle.

Early Paul Bishop

I thought it would be fun to post an old magazine with a Paul Bishop short story for his fans.  Here is Issue #2 of Detective Story Magazine, September 1988, from Gary Lovisi. Paul's story is "The Neighbor Hood". The issue also contains material by Michael Avallone and C.J. Henderson, as well as others. The cover is by Ron Wilber, who did a lot of the covers for our Fading Shadows magazines, including Detective Mystery Stories.

Jur: A Story of Pre Dawn Earth

Jur: A Story of Pre Dawn Earth by Tom Johnson & James Reasoner.

Coming Soon From NTD

“We have to go back a bit, to an earlier day when adventure and romance weren't as rare as they are today... that's  a good way to start don't you think....." 

Lost in a prehistoric land that time forgot, a twentieth century couple must survive the dangers of savage beasts and dinosaurs. A young French archeologist disappears without a trace in the jungles of Africa.  An American adventurer with time on his hands volunteers to go find her.  Through the high thrills of adventure and the adrenalin-pumping lows of terror, these two must unite in their fight to survive the jungle as they attempt to find their way back to the world they left behind and discover a love like no other.  Will they succeed?  Only time will tell….

C.A. Murphy

Above is artist, C.A. Murphy's rendition of Richard Curtis Van Loan, The Phantom Detective, in the April 1942 issue.

Above is his rendition of g-man Dan Fowler, in the August 1936 issue. 

The Black Bat Companion

Coming soon from Altus Press, priced at $29.95, one of the most beloved Pulp characters, The Black Bat, is finally celebrated with this 340-Page deluxe retrospective. Author Tom Johnson has indexed each issue, listing everything you need to know about the series, along with the following highlights:

1)    A complete reprint of the rejected Black Bat adventure, “The Lady’s Out For Blood.”

2)    A breakdown of the newly discovered final Black Bat story, “The Celebrity Murders.”

3)    All 800 German Black Bat stories newly identified for the English audience.

4)    Nine complete reprints of The Black Bat Golden Age comic book stories.

5)    An interview with series creator Norman Daniels as well as his complete Payment records for the first time.

6)    Featuring additional articles by Will Murray, this is the ultimate history of the series.