OK, let's jump into the pulpmobile and head back to the world of 1976: they were having a #heatwave too!
The shirt of seduction: Casos Reales! 1976.
That is a very well-behaved bat.
Vampirella: Bloodstalk, by Ron Goulart. Sphere Books, 1976.
The healing of Brother Brian. Rolling Stone, November 1976.
What do we want? AGGRO!
How do we want it? IN A KID'S COMIC!!
Action, 18 September 1976.
You had me at Full-Size Messerschmitts...
Radio Models & Electronics, October 1976.
When the pupil is ready, the master will appear...
The Platypus of Doom and Other Nihilists, by Arthur Byron Cover. Warner Books, 1976.
"And from France... Stinky Toys!"
Punk at the 100 Club, Oxford St London in 1976.
It's only a matter of time...
The MAD Star Trek musical. MAD magazine, October 1976.
Rod, Jane and Freddy. Or was it Matthew? Was he before Roger? Or after original Bungle left? #SoManyQuestions... (1976)
The Finest In Roller Skates (1976). All in neon and suede.
Donald F Glut and the Extended Frankenstein Universe (1976)
And so it begins...
Night Of The Crabs, by Guy N Smith. NEL, 1976.
Star Trek: portfolio of the crew (1976) by Frank Kelly Freas.
Frank Frazetta's reimagined Flash Gordon from 1976.
Kids today* have too much screentime!** Something MUST be done etc.
(*1976)
(**monochrome)
How does Conan toast a panini? He puts it under the griller!
The Savage Sword of Conan. Issue 14, Sept 1976. Cover by Earl Norem.
Meryl Streep and John Cazale in Measure For Measure by William Shakespeare. Delacorte Theatre 1976, Central Park #NewYork.
"What are you two boys up to?"
The Electric Company Magazine: Mystery Issue, October 1976.
The Queen, sending her first email in 1976.
The Phantom* menace! RC Modeler December 1976.
(*press F4 to continue)
ABBA was everywhere in 1976...
The e-scooter of 1976: the Solo Electra.
They look more like The Goodies...
The Kids, by Tony Parsons. NEL, 1976
Nothing to see here Twitter, move along now...
Derai, by E C Tubb. Arrow, 1976.
"Twins, Basil. Twins!"
False Colours, by Georgette Heyer. Signet Regency Romance, 1976.
All This And World War II, the 1976 movie that mixed WW2 footage with Beatles cover versions by the Bee Gees, Bryan Ferry, Elton John, Keith Moon, Status Quo, Jeff Lynne, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart and Peter Gabriel:
What are the pulp archetypes? Pulp novels are usually written quickly and rely on a formula, but do they use different archetypal characters to other fiction?
Let's take a look at a few...
The Outlaw is a classic pulp archetype: from Dick Turpin onwards lawbreakers have been a staple of the genre. Crime never pays, but it's exciting and trangressive!
Some pulp outlaws however are principled...
As Bob Dylan sang "to live outside the law you must be honest." Michel Gourdon's 1915 hero Dr Christopher Syn is a good example. A clergyman turned pirate and smuggler, he starts as a revenger but becomes the moral magistrate of the smuggling gangs of Romney Marsh.
Given the current heatwave, I feel obliged to ask my favourite question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?
Let's find out...
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.
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.
Today in pulp I look back at the publishing phenomenon of gamebooks: novels in which YOU are the hero!
A pencil and dice may be required for this thread...
Gamebooks are a simple but addictive concept: you control the narrative. At the end of each section of the story you are offered a choice of outcomes, and based on that you turn to the page indicated to see what happens next.
Gamebook plots are in fact complicated decision tree maps: one or more branches end in success, but many more end in failure! It's down to you to decide which path to tread.