Jason Waltman: A Man with a Plan

Jason Waltman was a visionary man. Sadly, he didn't live long enough to see those visions become realities. He was a fan of pulp, though, first and foremost. And he was perhaps the greatest cheerleader of my work I will perhaps ever know. 

He passed away on November 19 last year, not long after yet another glowing post on Facebook telling me, Bobby Nash, and Barry Reese how much he loved our work and supported us. And then he was gone. 

He had sent me these interview responses and I kept pushing them off because I had two series of interviews running back to back, and then Christmas came and knocked me off my schedule. 

But here it is, Jason. Late, but here. 

Jason Waltman was my friend, and I think you need to meet him. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My latest work has been a labor of love for the last 15 years. The book is called The World of Crastic.  A role-playing game for the world oldest role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 ruleset . The game is set on the world of Crastic. It's Victorian steampunk with mecha and magic. Players go against a warring nation trying to take over the world with an Emperor who acts like the Antichrist.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?

I want to be like the people I admire: Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Steve Jackson, Mark Tein Hagen. They sparked my imagination and creativity or role-playing game writing 

What inspires you to write?

My love for fantasy and science fiction. My recent pulp-related work on Facebook is to just sharpen my skills at writing.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

This book focuses on the grand war and its effect on the world around the players. And it has love stories among the non-players character the story centers around. My other future book will deal with more contemporary themes like Christian horror.

What would be your dream project?

A book featuring The Shadow and The Domino Lady -- a Shadow over the City of Angels.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

I wouldn’t compare myself to the great masters of the role-playing game before me.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Sometimes I get stuck with an idea that limits my world vision and I might need help to visualize the sight and sound of the role-playing world I have in mind.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?

My favorite writers have challenged and encouraged me to keep on writing. I would personally thank people like Bobby Nash, Barry Reese, and you, Sean. They have been my secret cheerleaders and supporters. They very much supported me asking them questions about writing. 

What does literary success look like to you?

Success is from looking at people sitting around a table and enjoying the adventures I create. And being able to hire freelance writers and artists. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

My next role-playing game world book will be called Guardian the Watch. It will deal with the end time of the Bible and people who are called to fight back the demon-possessed humans.

PUBLIC DOMAIN CHARACTERS: A USER'S GUIDE -- IF YOU LIKE...

by Frank Schildiner 

One of the issues that writers face is an inability to fulfill the lifelong desire of writing a character they love. Take me, for example; I am one of the last major fans of the occult work of Dennis Wheatley. My chances of writing his seminal hero, the elderly soldier/magus the Duke de Richleau are, as some of my Southern friends like to say, “slim to none and slim already left town”. Sad fact, but absolutely true. I have also reconciled to the fact that I will also never have the luck of writing the Shadow, John Thunstone, Shang Chi, Daredevil, or Kull the Conqueror.

 However, when examining the world of public domain heroes, you can enjoy a piece of your dream by grabbing some of the pastiche and homage characters that appeared over the years. Here are a few you may wish to consider.

If you like…

1. Doc Savage – One of the most imitated heroes in fiction, Doc Savage has influenced comics, films, and many other areas of media. However, he is basically untouchable and shall remain so for the next few lifetimes. Here are three characters, however, written in the pulp period based on the great adventurer that are available to writers:

a. Jim Anthony – half-Native American, half Irish, manly, strong, brilliant, and wealthy. Jim Anthony is a version of Doc that fought evil world-shaking foes (for his first 10 tales) and enjoyed the company of beautiful women. An excellent alternative. 

b. Thunder Jim Wade – Created by horror writing legend Henry Kuttner, Thunder Jim Wade grew up in an advanced civilization in Africa and even owns his own island. His favorite device is the Thunderbug, a combination plane/tank/sub and he battles evil-doers around the world. Also, he owns his own secret island as a base.

c. Captain Hazzard – Blinded as a child in an explosion, Hazzard developed a form of ESP before surgery restored his eyesight. A genius adventurer with a team of aides, Captain Hazzard only appeared one time in pulps and has received a few revivals since that single appearance. A great deal can be done if you read the first rather poorly written novel and take this Doc Savage pastiche your own direction.

2. The Shadow – The Shadow’s influence upon fictional heroes is probably the only one equal or greater to Doc Savage. Even legendary pulp hero Richard Wentworth, the Spider, emerged from this character’s influence. He did spawn several effective pastiches over the years, though most remain under the control of individuals or companies. Therefore, I will simply give you one that should fulfill your dreams:

a. The Black Bat – Tony Quinn, a crusading District Attorney, has acid thrown in his eyes by a gangster. Blinded, he secretly receives sight again from an experimental procedure that also grants him perfect night vision. Pretending his blindness continued, he dresses in a black costume and battles crime as the Black Bat. This one practically writes itself; the only thing lacking are interesting villains. The Black Bat’s enemies were dull and forgettable, which probably hurt sales. Always remember, his DC comics counterpart’s villains are known throughout the world by non-comic fans. If you create some fantastic enemies, the Black Bat may grant you your dreams of the Shadow.

3. Tarzan – Hero of pulp, films, radio, television and more, Tarzan is probably one of the top five best known fictional heroes in history. Whether people know him from the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, the many films using him in various capacities, or the television series that emerged, people know this archetype. Obviously, Tarzan is as untouchable as the above heroes (and do not listen to those who believe otherwise unless you plan on enriching lawyers), but he has many public domain peers. Here are a few:

a. Polaris of the Snows – Written in 1915 by Charles B. Stilson, Polaris was raised by his father in Antarctica and grew up a giant, blond Tarzan type. After his father passes away, he decides he will find civilization and discover his identity. Of course, he rescues a beautiful woman along the way and discovers a lost civilization in the process. Polaris is a basically forgotten character who has a slightly different direction for his origin.

b. Ki-Gor – Subject of over fifty novels, Ki-Gor is a blond jungle lord who had most of the ideas Burroughs brought in his tales. He possesses a beautiful wife, native friends who he trusts and  who provide good tales (under the better writers), and an Africa replete with lost civilizations, evil adventurers, and weird creatures. You really cannot go wrong with writing Ki-Gor if your dream is to write Tarzan tales.

c. Mowgli – Created by the legendary Rudyard Kipling, Mowgli and his Jungle Book stories are about as much fun as you can have reading fiction. Most know the characters from the Disney animated film (which I happen to adore), but there is so much greater depth to that world than any film can impart. Mowgli, Shere Khan the lame tiger, Bagheera the black panther, Baloo the sloth bear, Kaa the giant python, Mother and Father Wolf…I could go on for days of the rich world Kipling created. Mowgli and his tales are the stuff of dreams and a great choice for any prospective writer. One final note—the character of King Louis is NOT from Kipling. That is a Disney creation (played by musical great Louis Prima), so do not use him in your stories.

This is just a start, but the best plan is to usually start at the top of any list, so Pulp heroes you can write to get the feel of writing the untouchable should be no different.

===========================

Frank Schildiner is a martial arts instructor at Amorosi’s Mixed Martial Arts in New Jersey. He is the writer of the novels, THE QUEST OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE TRIUMPH OF FRANKENSTEIN, NAPOLEON’S VAMPIRE HUNTERS, THE DEVIL PLAGUE OF NAPLES, THE KLAUS PROTOCOL, and IRMA VEP AND THE GREAT BRAIN OF MARS.  Frank is a regular contributor to the fictional series TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN and has been published in FROM BAYOU TO ABYSS: EXAMINING JOHN CONSTANTINE, HELLBLAZER, THE JOY OF JOE, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THUNDER JIM WADE, SECRET AGENT X Volumes 3, 4, 5, 6, THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO: FRONTIER JUSTICE, and THE AVENGER: THE JUSTICE FILES. He resides in New Jersey with his wife Gail who is his top supporter and two cats who are indifferent on the subject.

NOTE: This article was originally posted at Bibliorati. It is reprinted here by permission. 

[Link] Old-time radio and comics heroes burst back onto the scene

By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
 
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? (Hint: The guy dresses up in a cape and runs around at night. And it's not Batman.)

The Shadow still knows — as do Flash Gordon, the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet and other heroes of 1930s and '40s radio shows, pulp magazines and movie serials.

These good guys are making a comeback, though mainly in comics and feature-length movies. Next month, The Shadow receives a comics reboot courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment, which also publishes ongoing series starring Flash Gordon and Green Hornet plus a new title with pulp hero The Spider that's due in May.

On the big screen, a masked Seth Rogen stung bad guys in last year's The Green Hornet. And in The Lone Ranger, in production for release in 2013, Armie Hammer rides tall as the title cowboy with Johnny Depp as his sidekick Tonto. Baby Boomers grew up watching the Clayton Moore TV series in the '50s, although the saga began as a 1933 radio show in Detroit.

Though these characters may not be as well known as today's comic-book superheroes or the Star Wars and Harry Potter clans, they were the bee's knees for a generation that was decades away from the Internet and iPods.

Before Batman, there was the alter ego Lamont Cranston donning the shadowy mask and hat while haunting radio waves as The Shadow, voiced by Orson Welles in the late '30s.

And before Superman and Captain America there was Flash Gordon, an all-American space adventurer who tussled with planetary tyrant Ming the Merciless in sci-fi comic strips by Alex Raymond and serial films starring Buster Crabbe.

"The '20s and '30s are seen as a very romantic age, with the criminal underworld of urban America and high adventure of exotic foreign locations providing a bit of an edge," says Garth Ennis, who is writing the new Shadow comic. "The reality, I'm sure, would have been mostly a lot more mundane and occasionally quite grim."

He's crafting The Shadow as a dangerous champion of law and order with a flair for the dramatic, and he is embracing one of the vigilante's oldest and most famous traits: his habit of laughing as he consigns his enemies to their doom.

"I decided to be fairly sparing with it," Ennis says. "If he started howling every time he threw a punch or fired a shot, it would get old fast. So I decided to preserve the laugh for moments of deep, dark, extreme humor."

His take on The Shadow comic is a bloody affair, where the mysterious figure dispatches bad guys with violent aplomb. More than 70 years ago, though, audiences had to visualize with their imagination what was going on during the radio-show exploits.

The popularity of the old Shadow and Green Hornet radio shows and their ilk in their heyday is best compared to programs children flock to today, such as Hannah Montana and Dora the Explorer, says Martin Grams Jr., a radio-show historian and author.

Back then, kids and adults would read books, pulps and comics because they were a cheap form of entertainment, and radio was an even bigger medium because it was free.

Continue reading: http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2012-03-20/Radio-stars-and-pulp-heroes-return-to-pop-culture/53659158/1

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#98) -- Favorite Pulp Hero

Who is your favorite classic pulp hero?

Okay. This is when the old school pulpsters probably stop reading anything I write, but in the interested of full disclosure, I actually didn't meet my favorite pulp hero in the pages of a book or magazine. I met him in the audio world of old radio shows.

That hero?

The Shadow.

You know, he who knows what evil lurks within the hearts of men. The vigilante who laughs and clouds men's minds. That guy. 

Only after the radio shows did I even begin to look for his prose adventures.

Addendum: My second favorite I never thought of as a pulp hero until recently. I just considered him a sci-fi character. Regardless, I do enjoy some John Carter of Mars, and I'm really looking forward to the new movie.