VEGAS HEI$T Arrives in Trade Paperback and on Kindle!

Press Release – For Immediate Release

In the Spirit of Parker and Ocean’s 11 -- They’re Aiming to Knock Over 1965 Sin City!

White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in trade paperback and Kindle e-book formats of Van Allen Plexico’s VEGAS HEIST, the new crime novel from the creator of the Sentinels novel series.

John Harper and Saul “Salsa” Salzman have pulled jobs together before, but nothing like this. It's the holiday season of 1965 and the fabulous Caesars Palace Resort and Casino is about to open in Las Vegas. And its vault is filled to bursting with cash. Harper and Salsa roll into town with inside information: A secret way into the underground levels beneath the casino, leading right to the vault itself.

Putting together a small but highly skilled team, they make their move, aiming for untold riches. But jobs like this never go as planned. A beautiful widow, a jealous enforcer and a murderous rival casino owner all want a piece of the pie.

Before New Year's Day 1966 arrives, Harper and Salsa will be lucky to escape Sin City with their lives!

“When planning a heist, it’s good to learn from the masters, and it’s clear that Van Allen Plexico has,” says Charles Ardai, Editor of Hard Case Crime. “From Richard Stark to Lionel White to Ocean’s Eleven, the fingerprints of the greats are all over this smart, snappy casino job.”

“This is quite a departure for me,” adds Plexico, “but I’ve been a huge fan of Richard Stark’s PARKER novels for years, along with both versions of OCEAN’S ELEVEN and even the recent DEN OF THIEVES and LOGAN LUCKY and all the rest in that vein.  I’ve channeled all that love and all that fun into what I think is a blast of a Sixties heist tale, where all the best-laid plans go out the window and the Law is swarming and maybe, just maybe, somebody’s getting away with a whole lot of cash.”

Now in its fourteenth year, White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 5-by-Genre and reached #1 on the New Pulp Bestsellers List, and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort and Avengers scribe David Michelinie to Hard Case Crime’s Charles Ardai and Kirkus Reviews.

VEGAS HEIST is a $14.95, 6x9 format trade paperback and a $2.99 Kindle eBook from White Rocket Books.

236 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1986391429 (6x9” Trade Paperback)

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1986391426
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/VEGAS-HEIST-Van-Allen-Plexico-ebook/dp/B07B7FT9SD

For more information: 
www.whiterocketbooks.com
www.plexico.net

Blackthorn of Mars rides again!

Blackthorn, Princess Aria and Oglok ride again! A young man desperate to save his sister from the raiders who kidnapped her to slavery... An ancient undead released after half a millennium... Four sorcerous First Men who will kill half a world to keep their darkest secret... And three champions who will stand for Mars against horror and tyranny--or die trying! Join Earth General John Blackthorn, Princess Aria of Mars, Oglok the Mock-Man and an ever-expanding cast of rebels, monsters, magicians and villains battling to solve the mystery of the ancient Harmony Spires. From award-winning author, I. A. Watson comes a new novel in Van Allen Plexico’s Blackthorn universe, where magic and technology are one and Humanity must face its ultimate challenge.

Longtime denizens of the Pulp Factory may recall the multi-author SF setting put together by Van Plexico when we were all much younger. It's post-apocalyptic Mars by way of Kirby and Burroughs, and there was an anthology. Then Van made me do a novel. Then I wrote some weekly (or was it daily?) promotional shorts for the novel. Then the shorts became a novel. Then Van threw away his computer with it on (this is extreme editing). Now, much revised and again expanded, said novel has appeared to drag you back to the Red Planet where science and sorcery meet swords and swashbuckling.

Anyway, if your SF taste runs to matinee-cliffhanger and warring arch-villains vs a princess and her hero then you may wish to give this a look. It's there on Amazon.

2015 PULP FACTORY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Van Allen Plexico receives his award from Rob Davis.

On Friday night, April 17th, at this year’s Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention, the sixth annual Pulp Factory Awards were presented.   These awards spotlight the best in new pulp fiction and artwork from the previous year.  The award trophies were presented by the Yahoo Pulp Factory Group Moderator, Ron Fortier and Rob Davis, Art Director for Airship 27 Productions.

The Best Pulp Novel went to Van Allen Plexico for his space opera, “Legion III : Kings of Oblivion from White Rocket Books.

The Best Pulp Short Story went to Ian Watson for his “The Fort of Skulls” which appeared in “Pride of the Mohicans” from White Rocket Books.

For the very first time, the Best Pulp Anthology/Collection award went to White Rocket Books for “Pride of Mohicans.”

The Best Pulp Cover went to Mark Williams for his painted cover to “Legion II : Sons of Terra” from White Rockets.

Best Interior Illustrations went to Fabio Listrani for his illustrations in “Zombies Vs. Robots: No Man’s Land” from IDW.

Our congratulations to all the winners and especially to White Rocket Books for their near sweep.  The awards themselves reflected nominations from twenty-four new pulp publishers.

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST EXPANDS NEW PULP COVERAGE

 

Press Release – For Immediate Release

THE WHITE ROCKET PODCAST EXPANDS NEW PULP COVERAGE

Critically Acclaimed Podcast Adds Additional Features to Serve New Pulp Community

(April 3, 2013)  White Rocket Books proudly announces that the critically-acclaimed weekly podcast, The White Rocket Podcast with Van Allen Plexico, immediately will move to a more New Pulp-oriented format and add additional features to more extensively serve writers, artists, publishers and fans of the New Pulp community.

The White Rocket Podcast has proven to be an unquestioned critical and listener success in its five-plus months “on the air,” having received nearly five thousand discrete channel visits and attracting hundreds of ongoing subscribers.  It has been publicly recognized for its organization and focus, production values, variety of topics and guests, one-on-one discussion/interview format, and above all for its entertainment and informational value.

After its first month in production, the White Rocket Podcast was invited to join the Earth Station One (ESO) Network of programming, where it has prospered, reaching an additional crossover audience with the New Pulp message and expanding its presence in the market.

Each roughly one-hour-long episode thus far has featured noted New Pulp author and publisher Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels; Lords of Fire) discussing some aspect of popular culture with a special guest.  Popular episodes have included the ongoing series on “Superheroes in Novels and Beyond” and interviews with authors working in the superhero pulp genre, such as Jeff Deischer and Ian Healy.

New features will include additional interviews with key figures in the New Pulp community and industry; book reviews; audiobook segments and previews; occasional video interview segments, as pioneered by White Rocket at the 2012 Windy City Pulp and Paperback Convention; and the New Pulp Best Sellers List Discussion, examining that week’s crop of best sellers.

Fans of the show can rest assured that other popular topics, including action movie discussions with film critics such as Mark Bousquet and novel discussions with authors such as Mark Finn, Rick Lai, and James Hickson, will continue.

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and reached #1 on the New Pulp Best-Sellers List, and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.  The White Rocket Podcast, a member of the ESO Network of shows, began in October 2012.

The Podcast can be found on iTunes (White Rocket Podcast) or at White Rocket’s home on the Web:  www.whiterocketbooks.com.  All past episodes can be found at http://whiterocket.podbean.com.

Follow White Rocket on Twitter: @WhiteRocketBook and on Facebook (White Rocket Books).

Follow Van: @VanAllenPlexico and (Van Allen Plexico) on Facebook.

Blackthorn on sale for less than a buck!

White Rocket Books’ award-winning anthology, Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars is on sale for only $0.99 on Kindle for a limited time.

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars features stories by Bobby Nash, Sean Taylor, Mark Bousquet, Ian Watson, James Palmer, Joe Crowe, and Van Allen Plexico with interior illustrations by Chris Kohler under a cover by James Burns.

Get all the details at www.bobbynash.com
Amazon Kindle link: www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-on-Mars-ebook/dp/B006FBRHG8

New Blackthorn Review!

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars edited by Van Allen Plexico 2011 White Rocket books.

Review By Brad Mengel- New Pulp Reviewers Round Table

I’ve long been a fan of the planetary romance; an Earthman travels to another planet and has adventures. Van Allen Plexico’s Blackthorn is a fun addition to the genre.

Plexico’s introduction tells us about the inspiration of the character, mixing Burroughs with Kirby to create a new hero with a contemporary twist.  John Blackthorn is a United States Army General who is killed in duty on a mission in Afghanistan, he and two of his men awaken on a post-apocalyptic Mars in new bodies through the magic or science of The Black Sorcerer.  Blackthorn escapes the custody of The Black Sorcerer and begins adventuring with two Martian companions Princess Aria and Oglok The Mock-Man (a sort of Lion-Human hybrid) .

The three travel around inciting rebellion against The Black Sorcerer and the other three First Men who ruled Mars as well as any number of petty tyrants and warlords.  This is concept that can be played out across any number of volumes as this future post-apocalyptic Mars has become a collection of feudal states.

The eight stories in this volume are exciting and interesting adventures. Series creator Plexico opens and closes the volume.  “Bastion OfThe Black Sorcerer” introduces John Blackthorn and his companions in a way that gives us all the information that we need to understand the stories and is still an exciting adventure.  The other story “Epilogue: Red Planet Blues” finishes the collection and hints at the direction that the series will continue if there are future volumes.

Each story manages to explore some facet of Martian society and coheres together with no detail in one story contradicting another story.  “Quest for the Eye” by Joe Crowe is the shortest story in the collection but tells a funny side adventure and “Ghosts of Acheron” by I.A.  Watson offers a major revelation about one of Blackthorn’s companions as well as a dangerous new enemy.   I like the fact that the series has the scope to allow for these different types of stories. 

Indeed the concept allows itself open to any number of books and stories with Blackthorn and his allies travelling Mars.  The fact that this future Mars has been terraformed makes me wonder if other planets in the solar system  have been similarly transformed and colonised  if so the series might travel the solar system.  I look forward to future books in the series.

Buy now: Amazon | B&N

SENTINELS: THE GRAND DESIGN -- OMNIBUS PAPERBACK

Press Release – For Immediate Release 

The First Trilogy of Van Allen Plexico’s Superhero Novel Series—At Last in a One-Volume Edition! 

White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in trade paperback format of Van Allen Plexico’s SENTINELS: THE GRAND DESIGN, a one-volume collection of the first three novels in the famed cosmic superhero saga!

Weighing in at a whopping 624 pages and with a stunning painted cover by celebrated artist Mitch Foust, the “Grand Design” Omnibus also features no fewer than fifteen full-page interior illustrations by series artist Chris Kohler.

The book contains all three volumes of the first Sentinels trilogy (When Strikes the Warlord, A Distant Star, and Apocalypse Rising) in their entirety, introducing the heroes and villains (and those in between) that make up this fascinating and compelling superhero universe.  

What begins as an attempted abduction of a young student from her college campus quickly spirals out to engulf a diverse collection of individuals, including billionaire inventor and hero-wannabe Esro Brachis, beloved national savior (and amnesiac) Ultraa, wisecracking daredevil Damon “Cavalier” Sinclair, and mysterious alien powerhouse Vanadium.  Can this motley crew come together as a team in time to save the Earth from conquest or destruction?
Through the eyes of central character Lyn Li, a Chinese-American teen that possesses amazing electromagnetic powers, we encounter aliens and androids, geniuses and demigods, megalomaniacal arch-villains, space-borne monsters, and everything else one would expect from a classic Bronze-Age comic series—in New Pulp novel form!

“For most of my life I’ve loved the concept of a superhero team made up of very distinct individuals who barely get along with one another,” says author Van Allen Plexico.  “The fun comes in watching them encounter mind-blowing menaces and have to find a way—some way!—to work together long enough to miraculously save the day.  Throw in the ability that a novel series provides, to allow characters to really change and grow (and even die!) along the way, and you get what I strongly believe is a saga every superhero comics fan will love.  And with Chris Kohler illustrating the whole thing, you can’t go wrong!”

Plexico’s Sentinels series has been praised by Kirkus Reviews for offering “a fresh take on the superhero theme,” and by Pulp Fiction Reviews as “spectacular, action-packed, imaginative and wonderful.”  Noted superhero novelist Ian Thomas Healy called them “Kirbyesque,” describing Volume One as “the first book that successfully translates the feel of a comic book into prose.” 

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

On sale as of August 8, 2012, SENTINELS: THE GRAND DESIGN (Omnibus) is a $21.95, 6x9 format trade paperback from White Rocket Books.  (The individual novels are already available as $2.99 e-books for Kindle and other e-readers.)

624 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0-98413-925-5 (6x9” Trade Paperback; 15 full-page illustrations)

On Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Sentinels-The-Grand-Design-Omnibus/dp/0984139257

Blackhorn invades The Kirby Museum!

Kirby-Vision (The Kirby Museum) salutes Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars cover artist, James Burns - http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/kirby-vision/2012/08/08/blackthorn/

 

BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS Online Serial Adventure!

Press Release – For Immediate Release

BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS Online Serial Adventure!

Continuing the Adventures of the Award-Winning New Pulp Warrior and his Allies!

(July 10, 2012)  A young man desperate to save his sister from the raiders who kidnapped her into slavery…  An ancient undead released after half a millennium… Four sorcerous First Men who will kill half a world to keep their darkest secret…  And three champions who will stand for Mars against horror and tyranny—or die trying!

Award-winning author I.A Watson’s online novel set in the futuristic Martian world of BLACKTHORN offers readers a serial adventure in the tradition of old-time pulps, showcasing the vibrant characters and lush settings of this popular and successful series. 

 Join Earth General John Blackthorn, Princess Aria of Mars, Oglok the Mock-Man and an ever-expanding cast of rebels, monsters, magicians, and villains as the mystery of the ancient Harmony Spires is explored.  Following on from BLACKTHORN:  THUNDER ON MARS and meshing with the upcoming BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS novel, also by Watson, this stand-alone full-length serial adventure offers a glimpse of a future where magic and technology are one and humanity must face its ultimate challenge.

“This serial adventure gives readers everything they could ask for,” says White Rocket Books Publisher Van Allen Plexico.  “An award-winning character, written by an award-winning writer—and set in the fantastic world of post-apocalyptic Mars.  It’s an absolute grand slam!”

Jump in on the ground floor at www.whiterocketbooks.com/blackthorn with Chapter 1: “A Night in the Deadlands.”  A desperate young man must cross the wasteland where everything dies – but nothing stays dead!

Tune in for new chapters every Monday and Thursday!

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Editor Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

Find new installments of the series and links to buy copies of the original THUNDER ON MARS anthology by visiting www.whiterocketbooks.com

ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2: Avengers books now on Kindle!

Press Release – For Immediate Release

ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2: Avengers books now on Kindle!

Best-Selling Trade Paperbacks Covering Marvel’s Avengers -- Now on Amazon Kindle

White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in Kindle e-reader format of ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2, the wildly popular guidebooks that cover all five decades of Marvel’s AVENGERS superhero team—the comics, stories, creators and characters.

ASSEMBLED! breaks down the history of the Avengers comics by “era,” with chapters focusing on the greatest and most memorable stints by the top Avengers creators, from the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby run and the Roy Thomas period, through George Perez’s two eras,  all the way to Brian Michael Bendis, and everything else in between.  Each chapter was authored by a different noted Avengers expert, presenting the good and the bad of that creative team’s run, as well as commentary, humor, and analysis of the characters and events involved.  Additional chapters explore the Ultimates, West Coast Avengers, Thunderbolts and more. The book concludes with a massive chronology of Avengers history and a look at the top Avengers highlights of every single year from 1963 up to publication.  The book’s Introduction was provided by Keith R. A. DeCandido, editor of the Marvel Novels line from Byron Preiss Multimedia.

ASSEMBLED 2 presents an in-depth look at the “Big Three” Avengers:  Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, individually and as the leading forces behind the team itself.  The Introduction to this volume is by none other than Marvel Comics Vice-President and longtime Avengers editor Tom Brevoort.  The volume also includes multiple chapters exploring the histories of the greatest Avengers villains, Ultron and Kang (not to mention Thanos), as well as a look at Young Avengers and the epic Avengers Forever.  The book concludes with an in-depth chronicling of all the Avengers appearances in prose novels through the years.

The two books were created and edited by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian), who originated the very first and longest-running Avengers fan web site, AvengersAssemble.net, way back in 1995.  Contributors—collectively known as the “Jarvis Heads”—include such comics-culture luminaries as Sean McQuaid (Marvel Handbooks), David Medinnus (Star-Spangled Site), Joe Crowe (RevolutionSF), Ian Watson, Karen Walker (Back Issue), Mark Bousquet, Sharon Karibian, Rob Clough, Scott Harris, and many more.

Proceeds from the sale of the books go to the HERO Initiative charity for retired comics professionals, as chosen by legendary artist George Perez.

“These two books have become absolute favorites of so many Avengers fans,” notes Plexico, “and we Jarvis Heads are very proud to have brought them to the public. With the astonishing success of the Avengers movie, and with these new electronic editions, we hope to reach a whole new generation of fans and turn them on to the rich and epic history of our favorite group of assemblers!”

White Rocket Books is a leader in both New Pulp adventure and nonfiction pop culture commentary books.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

ASSEMBLED! and ASSEMBLED 2 are $2.99 each in the Kindle store at Amazon.com.  They are also available as trade paperbacks.

ASSEMBLED!  Five Decades of Earth’s Mightiest

248 pages in print edition

ASIN: B00820UESS
 ASSEMBLED 2: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Villains
186 pages in print edition
ASIN: B0082PXQH4

On Amazon.com:
ASSEMBLED!
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/ASSEMBLED-Decades-Earths-Mightiest-ebook/dp/B00820UESS
Paperback:  http://www.amazon.com/Assembled-Mightiest-Unauthorized-Opinions-Analysis/dp/0615154441

 ASSEMBLED 2
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/ASSEMBLED-Earths-Mightiest-Villains-ebook/dp/B0082PXQH4
Paperback:  http://www.amazon.com/Assembled-Earths-Mightiest-Heroes-Villains/dp/0984139206