The summer of 1984 found me reading the adventures of Remo Williams: The Destroyer, The Soldiers of Barrabas, The Phoenix Force, and a handful of other action novels that were in print. It also introduced me to the character that would forever change my life: Buckaroo Banzai! Dr. Banzai was an astrophysicist, neurosurgeon, rock star, race car driver, presidential adviser, martial arts master, and about a dozen other things that I could mention here. He is the reason why I do all the things and stretch my horizons more and more on a daily basis. At any rate, the character was inspired by the pulp character Doc Savage. The world he lived in was very similar to that of Flash Gordon, The Phantom, The Spider, The Shadow, and the host of pulp figures who came before. I gained an appreciation for these two-fisted heroes of daring do who fought evil, regardless of the odds… and usually got the dame at the end. I still love those books. But, last weekend at the Akron Comic Con I was introduced to something else… something I never knew existed… NEW PULP!
Newpulpfiction.com defines it as “…fast-paced, plot-oriented storytelling of a linear nature with clearly defined, larger than life protagonists and antagonists, creative descriptions, clever use of turns of phrase and other 
aspects of writing that add to the intensity and pacing of the story”. The website goes on to add, “New Pulp is a movement of writers, artists and other imaginative souls to create new Pulp Fiction for the modern age.” As you can see, it is not very far removed from its predecessor. Being new to this version of the genre, I have yet to read any of the novels, but I did leave the convention with five books to give me a good introduction. It seems to be a rather tight community as well. The writers and publishers all support each other’s works and market to perspective buyers. This is something that I find very attractive and makes me even more intrigued about the movement.
New Pulp seems to embrace the weird west as well as the modern day adventurers. There is a place for the gum shoe and the aviation hero, too. It is not as defined by time and place as it is by content and style… very cool! I am fighting the urge to buy all of the books, so I am going to start with what I currently have… so I can justify buying more! On top of that, the publishing companies are all small press, and you know how pulp that is and it just screams to my little rebellious heart! If you’re curious, check out Jim Beard and Derrick Ferguson. Also, hop over to Airship 27 to see if there’s something that you’ll like there. Oh, and you’re welcome!
