Pulp fiction, mostly old, something new.

[Dash Courageous]

Pulp fiction was the basis for many of us whose introduction to crime & mystery fiction.

I've seen books reprinting the crime/mystery sci-fi of that era, but I wonder why the high drama and fun of the pulps hasn't been tried in print?

There are few zines on the scene (some that focus more on specific parts of the era) that try to keep the style alive, myself encompensing the total of the time, or at least trying to, but for a time that spawned the most famous among those of us that link ourselves as readers and writers, that speak of them as influences, why is there no other forums for writers that actually writer pulp fiction to havet their voices heard?

I've known writers that don't write crime and only write heroes.

Sometimes their voices go unheard.

Thoughts?

[carole gill]

Would you say the Hard Case Crime novels are pulpy? I love them and think that they are--although believe me, I'll defer to you! I think pulp is a genuine art form both in writing and in art (book covers that sort of thing) and the pulpier and more lurid the better!
Would you say that pulp is at least a sub genre within the crime fiction genre itself?
btw, interested in what you said about writing heroes and no crime--well, I guess that's something else--I don't know.
Start a pulp forum! I'll go and put my two cents in (or 1 pence in anytime)!

[Dash Courageous]

Hard Case, my pal charles, focuses on the crime aspect of the time. Pulp fiction enveloped a wider spectum than just crime. Like the cut of his cloth I do. :-)

Heroes deal with the conflict that arises from the crime.

PI's, or the amature, are either hired and through events, drawn into solving or combating a crime.

Similiarly police are brought in to solve a case.

Heroes are either attacked by an old or current enemy, or brought in by a overt act of hostility that goes against tthe societal norm. Heroes focus on the greater good than the individual.

[carole gill]

Thanks for that! That's what I like to read and watch in films actually. The greater good--I The Jury then is representative of that right?
Please give me some examples of authors and their novels, so I can read them and know about it more.

[Dash Courageous]

Doc Savage, The Spider, a few from my own site keep the hero aspect alive. Like TJ Glenn and his Dr. Shadows, or PJ Lozito's Silver Manticore, Curtiss Steele's classic Operator 5, check out www.vintagelibrary.com for a lot of classic pulp material in book form. www.adventurehouse.com reprints some classic work also.

Aaaaannnd I'd invite you to give Blazing a look-see. There are four issues in the archive and the newest issue 5 up and running. :-)

[carole gill]

great I will do that! I already went over to your website earlier. so interested!
thanks Dash!

[PJ LOZITO]

That's a common misconception. Hard Case attempts to recreate the glory days of paperback originals.
Pulps were newstand magazines printed on cheap pulp paper that peaked in popularity between the 1930s and '40s. Paperbacks (along with TV and comic books) basically KILLED them. All the genres we are used to were represented in the pulps: mystery, horror, science fiction, romance, Westerns, masked avengers, war, adventure, etc.

[Dash Courageous]

Sure Angie.

There's a writer I know, or a couple, that write heroes in the sense that they aren't burdened by the usual angst saturating the types of main characters you usually see in current fiction. They may have issues, but those issues arise from conflict within the plot of the story and not just a vehicle to add some sort of "realism" to said character.

Traditionally, in a pulp type story, the conflict for the MC comes from, say an old flame returns from his/her past. You know that their return usually brings bad tidings. Through this vehicle, you learn about the character.

Modern writers are more inclined to throw it in there to give the character more substance, while more often than not, it becomes more talked about that the story or plot.

For pulp writers, the story and plot took precedence over the 'life' of the MC.

Heroes are concerned with resolving the conflict while dealing with the person issue, than the other way around.

[Richard Krauss]

Hi Dash, thanks for starting this thread. I've been enjoying what seems to be a growing interest in reprints of old pulps. I agree, it would be great to see more new material in this vein.

Clive Cussler's series are very heroic, but not my favorite. I recently read the first of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and really enjoyed it. The hero does think about the greater good, but he also struggles with the realities of daily life, like paying the bills.

Tor Books is coming out with The Darker Mask in August. It's an anthology title that features heroic fiction. Looks like a good read.

I see you've just published your 5th issue of Blazing Adventures. Congrats! I hope you're getting lots of readers.

[Dash Courageous]

Thanks. Interesting idea, fiction for entertainment, eh? :-) Crime fiction has boiled down to either light, or soapbox. Nothing wrong with either, but what happened to just plain ol' adventure? Clive's in the right vein.