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Your narrator, the Leader
The Leader attended his favorite show of year, Pulpfest, 1-3 August 2024 held at the Doubletree hotel in Pittsburg-Cranberry, Pennsylvania. The Leader always enjoys talking to his dealer friends Mark Hickman, Ray Walsh, Tim Paxton, Timothy Kupin, Todd Warren, Bill Thade and Craig Poole. He especially enjoyed going to out to dinner with pulp and comic book dealer Tom Martin which is customary at this show. Some of his favorite people at Pulpfest are the coterie of aficionados associated with Men's Adventure magazines: Bob Deis, Wyatt Doyle, Eric Blackburn, Innes Weir and of course Jacqueline Pollen.
This year for the first time the Leader also participated in Pulpfest's usual Saturday night auction. He placed eight bids on science fiction art and reference books and lost them all except one: a high grade copy of Worlds Of Tomorrow by Forrest J. Ackerman. The Leader was also pleased to buy from Pulpfest promoter Jack Cullers with whom he had never done any previous business a collection of high grade pre 1970 science fiction paperbacks which is one of the Leader's collecting interests.
The Leader's only regret for for this year's Pulpfest was the absence of his dealer friend Tom Skemp who has been selling the Leader bargain priced magazine and fanzine merchandise the last two years.

Click here for Page 1 of the Leader's Report on Pulpfest 1-3 August 2024
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Saturday 3 August 2024
Tom Martin
One of the Leader's favorite dealers at Pulpfest, Tom Martin always has interesting pulps and comic books for sale. Here's Tom talking with a customer.
Tom Martin
Tom with some pulps whose covers share the frequently used motif of "women in peril." Nobody did that better than the pulps. At right is a pre-code comic book Chilling Tales #17, 1953 with the usual garish Matt Fox cover.
Ben Rankin
I last saw Ben Rankin of Tallstories Books and Art Gallery from Rock Hill, South Carolina at the HeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina last June 2024. Here's Ben showing off some of his nice condition pulps and artwork. Unknown later Unknown Worlds was a fantasy rather than a science fiction pulp. It ran from 1939-1943. It was edited by the famous John W. Campbell who also edited the best science fiction pulp Astounding Science Fiction. Although Unknown was fantasy, Campbell made sure his writers used some type of logical foundation for the fantasy elements in the stories.
Ben Rankin
Ben with two hardcover books featuring enduring pulp magazine characters, Conan the Barbarian and the Shadow.
Craig Poole
Craig Poole of Richmond, Virginia along with Doug Ellis always have the largest selection of original art at Pulpfest. Craig told me the large paiting of a cowboy in front of him is over 100 years old and he preferred to trade it instead of sell it.
Craig Poole
Craig with original digest / paperback art showing the common theme of a sexy woman being admired from afar by a potential male suitor. If you want to see how the suitor makes out you have to read the book.
Craig Poole
Craig with another original paperback book cover and the accompanying paperback. You can buy the paperback most anywhere but if you want the painting, you have to see Craig.
Bob McGeeney
Bob McGeeney with a Famous Fantastic Mysteries pulp with an outlandish Virgil Finlay cover. The cover is illustrating the novel "The Face In The Abyss" by the popular fantasy writer Abraham Merritt, first published in hardcover in 1945. It was common for a novel to be serialized over two or three or more issues of a pulp magazine before appearing in hardover or paperback book form.
Doug Ellis
Big time pulp and original art collector Doug Ellis with some of his original art. Doug also promotes the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention near Chicago, Illinois each April. The show is larger than Pulpfest and I want to go but it's a long way to drive from my town of Virginia Beach, VA. I hope to make it however next April 2025.
Todd Warren
I first met Todd Warren at last year's Pulpfest and was impressed with his high grade pulp inventory. Todd told me he used to be a comic book dealer but now prefers dealing in pulps.
Todd Warren
Todd with three examples of fantasy and science fiction pulps with especially eye-catching covers.
The All Story Weekly pulp from 1919 Todd is holding is probably the most expensive pulp in the dealers' room. Author Johnston McCulley's other characters Broadway Bab and Captain Fly-By-Night didn't leave much mark on popular literature. But the first appearance of the main character in "The Curse Of Capistrano" made a big splash still resonating with us today. Yes, this pulp magazine story marks the debut of Zorro!
Todd Warren
Todd an original painting by Virgil Finlay, late in his career. Todd said he thinks the painting is from the 1960s.
Martin Swiatkowski
I see fellow collector Martin Swiatkowski each year at Pulpfest and each year I ask him to pose for a photo with some of what he bought during the show. Here's Martin with part of this year's haul of interesting collectibles.
Bob Deis, Wyatt Doyle, Jackie Pollen
Bob and Wyatt with their selection of magazines and books derived from Bob's large collection of Men's Adventure magazines. Jackie Pollen always shares a table with Bob and Wyatt to sell some of the art and collectibles from her late husband artist Sam Pollen's estate. I'm glad to see Jackie wearing the science fiction dye sublimated T-shirt I traded her for some of Mr. Pollen's collectibles.
Bob Deis, Wyatt Doyle
Bob and Wyatt standing next to their new big advertising banner and brandishing some of their books. That wraps up the Leader's Report for Pulpfest 2024. I'll see all these wonderful people back here next year!
Click here for Page 1 of the Leader's Report on Pulpfest 1-3 August 2024
Click here for Page 2 of the Leader's Report on Pulpfest 1-3 August 2024