Biblioholic's Bookshelf: Death Commits Bigamy - Forties Crime Fiction

There's a definite Mondrian feel to this cover for 1947's Death Commits Bigamy, an entry in the Johnny and Suzy Marshall series described by The Thrilling Detective as a suburban Nick and Nora Charles. I suspect this is a later edition in spite of the '47 copyright. As you can see by the scrawl, I got this one free at a library book sale. 

Further Reading

Alternate cover on Flickr

Damballa - All New African American '30s Pulp Hero

Saw this mentioned on another blog the other day, and noticed I had news about it in my in-box from Cornerstone Books and Airshop 27. They're billing Damballa as "pulpdom’s first ever 1930s African-American pulp hero as created by the acclaimed author, Charles Saunders."

Synopsis
From the heart of Africa to the streets of Harlem, a new hero is born sworn to support and protect Americans of all races and creeds; he is Damballa and he strikes from the shadows. When the reigning black heavy weight boxing champion of the world agrees to defend his crown against a German fighter representing Hitler’s Nazis regime, the ring becomes the stage for a greater political contest. The Nazis’ agenda is to humble the American champion and prove the superiority of their pure-blood Aryan heritage. To achieve this end, they employ an unscrupulous scientist capable of transforming their warrior into a superhuman killing machine.

Can the mysterious Damballa unravel their insidious plot before it is too late to save a brave and noble man?

Seems to blend a lot of pulp elements.

“Racism and sexism were a few of the ugly aspects of the pulps we’d all like to forget,” according to Editor Ron Fortier in the Cornerstone release. “Minority groups based on race, sex and religion were ostracized and either ignored completely or denigrated in their outlandish portrayals. Since its creation, Airship 27 Productions has made it a goal to address these wrongs and help correct them within the context of providing top-notch action fiction to our readers. Damballa is a major step in that direction and we are truly excited about its release.”

Interesting on many fronts. It's available for order here.

Biblioholic's Bookshelf: Search For A Dead Nympho - Sixties Noir

Paul W. Fairman was the founding editor of If magazine but left after only four issues, if Wikipedia is to be believed, anyway. This is a noir novel copyrighted 1967, about 10 years before his death. (I believe it's bound to be the same Paul W. Fairman, anyway.)

 It's published by Lancer Books, obviously, if you glance down a bit. That's an early imprint from the late Walter Zacharius, who went on to found Kensington Books. It was under Kensington's Pinnacle imprint that my novels originally appeared. Six degrees, I guess. I don't know that I knew that when I bought this years back. 

Further reading
Dead City, an earlier tale from Mr. Fairman and basis for the film Target Earth, now at Project Gutenberg 

Pulp Abounds - New Pulp Fiction

A press release from a friend of a friend announces the release of a new pulp-style thriller with a  little bit o' Lovecraft, The Green Lama - Unbound by Adam Lance Garcia.

The synopsis provided reads:

"When Jethro Dumont’s friend, Jean Farrell, disappears on the small Greek island of Samothrace, he and associates fly off to rescue her.   Upon their arrival, they discover the forces of evil have gathered in this out of the way place in search of the Jade Tablet and the unholy grimoire known as the Necronomicon.  It is the book of rituals that will allow the Nazis and their allies to call forth the Great Old Ones, led by the demon god, Cthulhu. 

Now it is up to the Master of the Mystic Arts, the Green Lama, to uncover the mysteries of those ancient rites and thwart the powers of chaos.  But before he can do so, he will have to use all the unique skills at his command at the same time rely on the bravery and loyalty of his friends.  THE GREEN LAMA – UNBOUND  is a non-stop pulp thriller that explores the Green Lama’s past, detailing for the very first time elements of his origin never made known before."

Looks like fun for readers who enjoy the high energy style of Doc Savage and The Shadow plus the Cthulhu mythos, and it's part of a larger line of books from the specialty press Cornerstone, all with similar slam-bang themes. 

Interestingly, they seem to be utilizing the Lulu print-on-demand service for publishing and distribution. 

This new era keeps expanding in interesting ways. I've run across some small press magazines utilizing Lulu, but this the first instance I've seen of an established publisher harnessing it, though I'm sure there are others.

My Favorite Fictional Characters - The Guilty Pleasures List

Some of my friends have been posting lists of favorite fictional characters. I thought I'd mention a few of my favorites who are fun but at least guilty pleasures of a sort.

1. Vampirella - originally a black-and-white Warren comic magazine sensation but also the star of some great paperback novels by Ron Goulart. She's a sexy vampire from the planet Draculon. She battles Cthulhu like monsters and pre-dates most of today's paranormal fantasy by many years.

2. Schlock Homes - a goofy Sherlocks Holmes take off by Robert L. Fish and frequently featured once upon a time in the pages of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

3. Remo Williams, The Destroyer - pulp paperback parody hero - light hearted and clever in the hands of the original authors.

4. Ed Noon - creation of the Michael Avalone, fastest typewriter in the East, maligned in the pages of Gun in Cheek, but loads of fun whether spying for the president or solving hardboiled mysteries including his first, The Tall Dolores.

5. Edge - Cowboy tales penned by a Brit and probably later a host of house authors, the Edge series is over the top, violent and his adventures are often impossible to put down. Think Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name as a comic book written in prose. Tougher than hard boiled, meaner than Mickey Spillane and sometimes featuring weird in jokes. In one adventure Edge encounters three Pinkerton agents named things like Lou Archer, Phil Marlowe and Samuel Spade or something like that.