Classic Pulp Fiction Stories

FADING SHADOWS entered the genre fiction magazines with CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES in June 1995. It became our longest running title lasting for 91 issues, and ending in December 2004, almost ten years as the leading new pulp magazine since the era of the pulps. The cover shown here is issue #24, from May 1997, with another great cover by Albert Roberts. The issue contains 7 short stories and part two of a serial. Authors are Chester Ingram (pseudonym of Ray Capella), John L. French, Nick Carr, Naomi Walker, Lida Broadhurst, T.J. Glenn, Michael Laramie, and Sean Danowski.

New Pulp And New Pulp Heroes

New Pulp & New Pulp Heroes

Clancy O’Hara’s PULP #7

The hero pulp magazines ended in the summer of 1953, while genre pulp magazines continued through the late fifties, and even into the 1960’s. One had the gall to hang on until about 1972. But the end had arrived. Men’s adventure paperbacks were taking the place of those old magazines on the racks, and digest magazines replaced the SF, Mystery, Western & Romance pulps.

The pulp magazines had kept to a strict moral code watched over by publishers and editors, though some of the covers might have gave a different impression of what was inside. By 1953, however, the hero pulps were not immune to the changing time, and the morals were beginning to evaporate. The final issues of The Phantom Detective, Dan Fowler (G-Men Detective), and The Black Bat (Black Book Detective) contained strong hints of sex and rougher language. But by then their time was dying, and the paperbacks had taken over for good.

Jerry Page’s The Armadillo

Let’s concentrate on the pulp hero, or I might use the term NEW PULP HERO at this phase. When did it start? That’s easy. The first we absolutely know of for sure, was Jerry Page’s The Armadillo, a masked hero that appeared in print just a few years after the hero pulp magazines ceased in the mid 1950s. By the 1960s there were new stories of The Shadow, to prove that OLD PULP HEROES were not dead. And others were writing clones of Doc Savage and Tarzan, like Phil Farmer and Lin Carter, among others. I don’t have a good track on all the new pulp heroes that were strangely appearing in paperback, but I could name some, if pressed. Even major comic book houses like Marvel and DC were bringing their characters out in prose paperback editions.

Tom Johnson’s The Black Ghost

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a concerted effort to maintain this new pulp/new pulp hero tradition until 1995. In January of that year – dated Winter - it all changed. The culprit was Clancy O’Hara’s PULP FICTION MAGAZINE - changed to PULP, A FICTION MAGAZINE with the third issue and just plain PULP with the seventh issue. And the first new pulp characters to arrive in Clancy’s magazine were Aaron B. Larson’s Haakon Jones, and Tom Johnson’s The Black Ghost, both appearing in early issues. In June 1995, Tom & Ginger’s FADING SHADOWS magazines kicked off with CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES and ran through December 2004, and the new pulp/new pulp heroes were claiming their place as “new pulp fiction”. Clancy may have been the first to call it NEW PULP, but we at FADING SHADOWS called it NEW STORIES IN THE PULP TRADITION. I’m not really sure when the NEW PULP banner started, but I imagine someone at Pro Se could fill us in.

As the reader can see, NEW PULP is really quite old. I still prefer NEW STORIES IN THE PULP TRADITION, however. Doesn’t that make sense? But whatever we call it, since 1995 NEW PULP FICTION has been going strong, and we’ve definitely seen some interesting characters show up on radar. In January 2015, the modern day pulp fiction will be twenty years old. Haakon Jones and The Black Ghost will also share that honor.

The Domino Mask

The Domino Mask

Creator: Ray Capella

Characters

Dominic Orwell

Baryl Chessman

Toshiro Segawa

Herb Chessman

            Dominic Orwell is under thirty, medium build, deep black eyes, with wide shoulders and granite jaw. A crystal had been passed down through his male ancestors that seems to be connected to their inner beings. It gives them the ability to teleport, as long as they can see the place where they want to be. That power now belongs to Dominic.

            The Domino Mask is a trim figure from the black soft-soled boots to the skin-tight hood covering all but his eyes. A white dot over the center of the man’s sternum interrupted the dark fabric that clothed him. The dot flashed in a swift iridescence of color.

            One night, a year ago, Dominic was riding the rails as a hobo, the liquor still on his breath, when he saw several men attempting to kidnap a young blonde girl in riding attire. An Asian man was with her, and fighting the kidnappers in a strange oriental style, but was knocked out by a blackjack. He knew the Asian was protecting the girl, and now she was alone. Using the power of the crystal, he materializes close to the man still standing and knocks him out.

            Turning his life around, Dominic now works as a columnist for the Star News, and trains in martial arts with Baryl Chessman’s bodyguard, the Asian who had defended her that night a year ago. Baryl’s father, Herb Chessman had been with the Chicago mob, but wanted to break away from crime and the evil it begets, but his old pals are still after him.

            Toshiro Segawa had met Herb Chessman in the city’s slum district, as both were trying to stop the flow of drugs. Toshiro’s son was using, and he joined forces with the elder Chessman and became Baryl’s bodyguard.

The Domino Curse  CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #23

The Domino Legacy DOUBLE DANGER TALES #9

Beware The Domino Mask DOUBLE DANGER TALES #10

Three ‘Domino’ Masks Too Many CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #42 

The Red Death

The Red Death

Creator: Steve Mitchell

Characters (Villain)

Ralph Talbott

Dr. Wu Sin

Naoma Freeman

Melanie Guilford

Professor Jason Guilford

Douglas Urguhart

Michael Logan

Baxter – Manservant

Frank Loftin

George Kannally

Lt. Karl Delcambre

Sergeant Kerry

Paul Compton

Penelope Ballard

Julian Ballard

Royce Thornbee

Ira Hieatt

Timothy Rees

            The Red Death is a tall, slender man, dressed in a black suit. A long cloak that was crimson as blood, and a crimson hood was pilled up over his head, his features obscured by the folds of the hood. He might be anywhere; at times, he seemed to be everywhere. He scented opportunities for crime with the instinct of a bloodhound. He arrived at scenes where plunder awaited with the speed of a hurricane. He struck with the power of a giant. A lone wolf who battled the law, his hand had never failed. The Red Death uses the aliases of Professor Richard Williamson, David Bell, Valentine Carter, Alain Marcel and others.

            Ralph Talbott is a sleek, prosperous looking man in his early thirties. He has a pencil-line mustache and roving eyes. Engaged to a rich young woman, he has another mistress or two waiting.

            Naoma Freeman is a blonde; her robe tied indifferently revealed enticing glimpses of a sheer black nightgown underneath. Full red lips invited men to taste their delight.

            Melanie Guilford is 23, with long dark hair and dark, flashing eyes. Her mother, now deceased, was an Egyptian.

            Professor Jason Guilford.

            Douglas Urguhart is a handsome actor of early thirties, with brown hair.

            Michael Logan is in his early fifties, a movie and stage producer, stocky build with a florid appearance.

            Baxter is Michael Logan’s manservant.

George Kannally is the police commissioner. He is stocky build, middle height, about 60. His face denoted both shrewdness and determination.

            Sergeant Kerry is the detective assigned the case.

            Paul Compton is tall and lean. His face is angular. She has jet-black hair and pale colorless eyes. In his late thirties, he returned from WWI with severe injuries, and has only one leg. After the war he started his own chemical company, and made a fortune, but now has retired and become a hermit in his apartment, supposedly working on a special chemical.

            Penelope Ballard, Paul Compton’s sister, married to a lawyer, she’s in her thirties, love, slender, and middle height. She has amber-tinted hair, and a very fair complexion.

            Julian Ballard is Penelope’s husband.

Joan Windsor is stunningly beautiful.  Mid twenties, she has auburn hair. Her parents are Nathan and Flora Windsor.

            Lt. Karl Delcambre is a Detective on the case. He has a stout build, middle height, and graying.

            Frank Loftin is the administrative assistant to the police commissioner. He is young, slender, with brown hair and keen dark eyes.

            Royce Thornbee is Joan Windsor’s uncle by marriage.

            Timothy Rees, the publisher.

Ira Hieatt, a financier.

Mikhail Sebetoff gave four jade discs to four men for saving his life during the Boxer war.

There has just been the one novel, serialized in three parts. However, The Red Death was not caught, and promised to return in the future.

“The Red Death” CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #45, 46 & 47

The Undertaker

The Undertaker

Creator: Nick Carr

Characters

Martin Gort

Wilkins

Edward White

Emil Lotana

Cytherea Lotana

Oceans

Small towns can produce the mysterious corpse every now and then, and someone has to have a knack for investigating them, whether they turn out to be explainable or supernatural. In Oskaloosa, that’s where Martin Gort, the local undertaker comes in. He has a penchant for solving hidden mysteries, whether it’s a haunted chair or a corpse with the head crushed in – and the only suspect is a nearby statue.

Martin Gort is the Funeral Director for Oskaloosa, Kansas, located two miles off a major highway, with a population of one thousand souls. His description is left up to the reader, but hints at the old western frontier’s black-clad, rather cadaverous characters of similar profession.

Wilkins is the train depot agent. He Loves to play checkers, and always seems to beat the local undertaker.

Edward White is the local sheriff. He can never quite solve the strange mysteries that pop up every now and then.

Emil Lotana is Gort’s assistant at the funeral home.

Cytherea Lotana is a cosmetic professional who prepares the deceased for burial.

Oceans is the town coroner.

There have been several interesting stories in this series.

The Buffalo   CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #11

The Bottle CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #12

The Bird* CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #14

The Corpse CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #15

The Black Coffin CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #16

The Devil’s Caretaker CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #18

The Devil’s Handmaidens  CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #19

Button, Button, Who’s Got The Button  CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES #20

(Note: *A similar version of The Bird was published in Skull Duggery #2.)