Click here for Page 1 of the Leader's Report on Pulpfest 3-5 August 2023

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Saturday 5 August 2023

Tom Martin Tom Martin is one of my favorite dealers at Pulpfest and we had an enjoyable dinner together at the nearby Bob Evans restaurant during the show. Here's Tom with a magazine sporting a science fiction cover. Tom said the cover reminded him of those covers drawn by Al Feldstein for the 1950s EC comic books Weird and Weird Fantasy. The Ghost Rider #5 comic book from 1951 has a cover drawn by Frank Frazetta. Many of these 1950s Ghost Rider issues were drawn by Dick Ayers who also drew all the issues for Marvel's version of Ghost Rider in the late 1960s.	Martin Swiatkowski, Tom Martin Martin and Tom sharing a light moment together at Pulpfest. Martin is the only Pulpfest attendee who is taller than me.	Ross Warren, Todd Warren Ross and Todd had some interesting pulps and books. The book on Hannes Bok at right was published not that long ago in 2012. I'm glad I bought it then for cover price instead of the $650 dealers are now asking for it. The Marvel pulps in the foreground were published by Martin Goodman who was also publishing Timely (Marvel) comic books at the time including Marvel Mystery Comics which featured Human Torch comic book stories. But I didn't know there was a Marvel pulp with a Human Torch story until I saw Todd's note on the cover. I suppose it is a regular text story but it should have illustrations also; I should have checked it. Some of these Marvel pulps have text illustrations by Jack Kirby who was drawing Captain America Comics for Timely in this early 1940s time period.

Todd Warren Todd with a "bedsheet" size Amazing Stories pulp probably from the late 1920s. Amazing Stories was the first magazine devoted to science fiction and its publisher Hugo Gernsback is regarded as the modern (as opposed to 19th Century science fiction by writers Jules Verne and H.G. Wells) "father of science fiction." Gernsback had an employee named Martin Goodman who in the early 1930s left Gernsback to form his own pulp magazine and later comic book publishing company Small world, isn't it?	Michael Brenner Mike is another veteran book dealer who sets up at Pulpfest each year. The Spectacular Spider-Man #2, 1968 magazine at left is probably the most recent publication he has. Everything else is older, much older.	Michael Brenner Mike with two of those sultry, suggestive paperbacks that were so poplar in the late 1940s through the early 1960s. According to the cover blurb on Rotten To The Core the lady on the cover is probably a candidate for Madison Avenue's version of the Hollywood "casting couch."

Brendan Faulkner, RobinBeth Faulkner Veteran dealer Brendan Faulkner always has a large selection of books, magazines and other esoteric items at Pulpfest. I saw Brendan and Robin in Columbus, Ohio at the Columbus Moving Picture Show last May and I will see them again in early September at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Con in Hunt Valley, Maryland.	Amanda Peebles Amanda Peebles of Heartwood Books and Art with two high grade issues of the top dark fantasy pulp magazine Weird Tales with stories by top pulp writers Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch and August Dereleth. I didn't check but both covers appear to be drawn by Weird Tales most famous cover artist, Margaret Brundage.	Terry O'Neil Veteran comic book dealer Terry O'Neil of Terry's Old School Comics with two of the Fantastic Adventures pulps he brought to the show.

Cliff Keirce, Terry O'Neil Cliff Keirce is a long time magazine and comic book collector. I sold him a few magazines at the Tyson's Corner comic con in the Washington D.C. area in the late 1990s when I was selling as a dealer at the comic book shows. I lost track of him for many years but caught a fleeting glimpse of him at HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina last June. This Pulpfest show was the first time I had to chance to speak to him again.	Doug Simms Doug with the most expensive item in the room. I think this table has mostly merchandise owned by Doug's partner New York dealer Mike Carbonaro but Mike was scouting the show and seldom at his table. At Pulpfest in 2017 Doug and Mike were showing off a restored copy of Action #1, 1938. This year they were back with a restored copy of Detective #27, 1939.	Doug Ellis Doug Ellis is a veteran pulp and original art collector who also promotes the Windy City Pulp and Paperback show in the Chicago area. Here's Doug with some of the paintings he brought to Pulpfest this year.

John Gunnison John Gunnison's Adventure House company publishes softcover books reprinting old pulp magazines and John usually has the largest selection of pulps at this show. Here's John with a Weird Tales pulp from 1932 with stories by Lovecraft Circle writers Clark Ashton Smith and August Dereleth.	Jim Emerson Author and graphic designer Jim Emerson has embarked on an ambitious publishing project named "Futures Past." Jim told me he's chronicling the history of modern science fiction from 1926 through 1975 by producing one book for each of those years. He had the books for first three years 1926, 1927, 1928 for sale at his table. He says he can release one book per year and maybe two when he retires from his regular job shortly. I thumbed through the books and found the graphic design to be excellent with crisp, nicely colored photos of science fiction pulps and books. I bought all three books and signed up to buy the rest. I hope we all live long enough to see the project completed.	Jim Emerson Jim showing part of what he wrote about pulp author Edmond Hamilton with a page of photos of covers of pulps and comic books with Hamilton stories. In addition to writing science fiction pulp magazine stories in the 1930s and 1940s Hamilton also had a long career at DC Comics writing Superman stories and science fiction stories for Strange Adventures and Mystery In Space. I first became acquainted with Edmond Hamilton's novels when in the late 1960s I somehow came across probably this edition of a paperback book The Star Kings. I let a friend, Bobby Christianson, in my junior Bartlett Junior High School class read it and he liked it as much as I did. But, he kept mispronouncing the name of Hamilton's super-disintegrator gun (standard equipment for space opera novels) the Disruptor. Bobby kept calling it the Disputer. Years later I obtained a copy of the 1947 issue of Amazing Stories where The Star Kings originally appeared and enjoyed looking at the large story illustrations that of course weren't in my paperback book.

Will Murray Author Will Murray writes current novels on vintage pulp fiction characters like Tarzan, Doc Savage and the like. But he also writes interesting articles on the history of comic books. This is the first Pulpfest where I found him sitting at his table so I could take his picture. Here's Will with a recent issue of TwoMorrows Publishing magazine Retro Fan with his article on how Spider-Man was partly derived from the 1930s pulp masked crime fighter character the Spider. In 1974 I bought the newly released Fireside Books paperback Origins Of Marvel Comics by Stan Lee. Lee said in the book one of his inspirations for the creation of Spider-Man were the pulp magazine Spider stories he had read as a kid in the 1930s. I suspect when I read Will's article I will get a more detailed and probably more accurate account of the Spider / Spider-Man connection.	Bob Deis Bob Deis and his partner Wyatt Doyle are among the preeminent authorities on Men's Adventure magazines. In addition to their website they also have a Facebook page with more information about this genre of magazines. Here's Bob with his latest quarterly softcover book Men's Adventure Quarterly that he edited with another collaborator, Bill Cunningham.	Wyatt Doyle, Bob Deis And here they are together - those mad masters of machismo and masculine mayhem - Wyatt and Bob! I was intrigued by the book The Art of Ron Lesser Vol.1 Deadly Dames and Sexy Sirens. Bob offered me a generous discount so I bought it.

Jacqueline Pollen Jacqueline Pollen is the widow of Sampson Pollen was was a prolific artist for the Men's Adventure magazines. She has been setting up next to Bob Deis and Wyatt Doyle's table at Pulpfest for the last few years to sell original paintings and other artifacts from Mr. Pollen's estate. Jackie told me Mr. Pollen's painting here of the lady with the cat is her when she was about 25 years old.	Paul Herman Here's Paul Herman with an eye-catching insert style poster poster of The Girl Hunters from the book by the most famous hardboiled crime writer of them all, Mickey Spillane.	Rick Santman Rick Santman with something you don't see very often: a printing plate for a comic book cover. The comic book is The Illustrated History of the F.B.I. #6, 1959 which is part of "The World Around Us" series published by Gilberton that also published the Classics Illustrated comic books. Here's a closer look at the plate.

Martin Swiatkowski Sharp eyed collector Martin Swiatkowski always finds interesting items at Pulpfest and here is with two of his finds for this year.

Henry Franke, Gary Buckingham It was late in the afternoon and the dealers' room was getting ready to close but Edgar Rice Burroughs expert Henry Franke wasn't at his table. He was off giving scholarly presentations on ERB somewhere. His colleague Gary Buckingham at my insistence kept phoning him and Henry finally arrived just in time to have his picture made. If you have any questions about Edgar Rice Burroughs you would be wise to ask Henry or Gary.

Bob Deis, Wyatt Doyle, Lewis Forro, Jacqueline Pollen, Eric Blackburn This wraps up the Leader's Report for Pulpfest 2023. I look forward to seeing all these lovely people again at Pulpfest 2024!

Click here for Page 1 of the Leader's Report on Pulpfest 3-5 August 2023

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Click here for the Main Introduction Page to see the Leader's Report on the Savannah Comic Con and the Virginia Comic Con