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Sep 14, 2021 10 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Today in pulp... let me introduce you to Mark Hardin: The Penetrator!
Mark Hardin is a one-man strike force against corruption. Orphaned at the age of four he was brought up mean and hungry. He learned his fighting skills in Vietnam before returning to an America gone bad.
Actually The Penetrator is one of a long list of vigilante pulp heroes thrown up in the 1970s counter-counterculture backlash, along with The Destroyer, The Executioner The Iceman and The Marksman to name but a few.
Lionel Derrick was a Pinnacle house alias used by two pulp writers: Mark Roberts and Chet Cunningham. Overall they produced 52 Penetrator novels, with Roberts writing the odd-numbered books and Cunningham the evens.
Unlike other pulp vigilantes who only battle the Mafia, Mark Hardin fights anyone looking to destroy the American way of life: crooks, terrorists, pornographers, hippies, scientists...
But wherever he goes Mark Hardin knows how to blend in: his skills in covert operations and infiltration led to his uniquely memorable name - The Penetrator!
Are these books any good? Well there's plenty of bloody action and Hardin is always getting injured and having to fight against immense pain. Plus he has a moustache (sometimes). And a side parting. So he has lots to deal with.
If you like your books low on sex but high on blunt trauma, concussion and acid baths then The Penetrator is probably right up your alley. Omnibus editions ("Double Penetrator!") are also available.
But be warned: later Penetrator novels do get kinda weird: French-Canadian dwarf cults, mad Nicaraguan super-ants, mollusc assassins, remote controlled supervolcanoes etc.
The novels are easy to collect: prices are low and many editions are in reasonable condition, as they were only read once.

That's it for my look back at Mark Hardin and his one man war against weird villainy. More pulp heroes another time...

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Jun 3
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 funky flight attendant uniforms!

This thread may involve go-go boots... Image
At #10: Lufthansa! This uniform was styled on the condiment dispensers at Tempelhof Airport. Image
At #9: Caledonian Airlines! This look was later used in the film Heathers. Image
Read 12 tweets
May 29
Today in pulp... I head back to 1967! Image
Batman teaching children how to cross the road. London, 1967. Image
The 1967 Star Trek space fun helmet!

"Fun" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here... Image
Read 23 tweets
May 27
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

And today a few tips if you're thinking of taking this up as a hobby... Image
There are of course many gothic domiciles that women with great hair can flee from:
- a house
- a mansion
- a castle
- a château


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More adventurous gothic heroines can also choose to flee:
- a manor
- a keep
- a graveyard
- some dark foggy towers


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Read 11 tweets
May 17
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 trendy tipples!

Stand by for a world of sophistication... Image
At #10: port! It's basically Xmas turbo-wine to get you through to Boxing Day.

Best mixed with Pepsi apparently... Image
At #9: Guinness! Liquid power for grandparents that tastes... well let's just say there's a reason they don't sell it warm any more. Image
Read 12 tweets
May 16
What do Batman, Spiderman, Bettie Page, Madonna and women wrestlers have in common? Well I'll tell you: they all feature in the life of today's featured pulp artist.

Today I look back at the career of "the father of fetish" Eric Stanton! Image
Eric Stanton was born in New York in 1926. His childhood was marred by many illnesses, and confined to bed he learnt to draw by tracing comic books. He was fascinated by strong Amazonian women like Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and soon began creating similar cartoons. Image
After high school Stanton joined the Navy in 1944, putting his skills to use in drawing aircraft recognition cartoons. Post-war he got a job with cartoonist Gordon 'Boody' Rogers, creator of Babe: Amazon Of The Ozarks. Image
Read 18 tweets
May 12
Given the weather is getting warmer I feel obliged to ask the following question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?

Let's find out... Image
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say. Image
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile. Image
Read 13 tweets

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