I'll pound you to a "Pulp" if you don't show off yours!

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A couple pick-ups today:

Been wanting an issue of Phantom Detective for a while, trying to get one example of each of the longer-running hero titles. By longer running, I mean at least 10-15 issues, the ambiguity there being because Green Lama was 14 issues, I believe, and seems to be a pain to find. So if I get one, I'll go with the lower number but until then I'll stick with the higher. I think the titles that count are these:

Shadow (325 issues)

Doc Savage (181 issues)

Phantom Detective (170 issues)

The Spider (118 issues, I still need an issue)

G-8 and his Battle Aces (110 issues, I still need an issue)

The Black Bat (62 issues of Black Book Detective)

Operator #5 (48 issues)

Secret Agent X (41 issues, I still need an issue)

The Whisperer (26 issues, I think. Not positive on the length of the 2nd run)

The Avenger (24 issues)

Captain Future (20 issues including 3 novel-length stories in Startling)

Green Lama (14 issues of Double Detective, I still need an issue)

Am I missing any other hero pulps of significant length? I'm not counting Nick Carter as a hero pulp as such, and I'm not talking about characters who had extensive but sporadic pulp appearances like Tarzan and Conan. And I'm not counting appearances in short stories in the pulps after their title died, like the Avenger or Whisperer or the Captain Future shorts as opposed to the novel-length stories.

Oh, I did mention a couple pick-ups, right?

Missing the back cover, sadly. But the last issue I needed from the later part of the run, starting from the first Purple Invasion issue. So issues 26-48 complete, and 35 of 48 overall. In addition to one of each major hero title, I want all of one title and Op #5 is the one I'm going for. Still a ways to go, but at least I'm at the point where I know I'll pull it off eventually.

off the top of my head for issues that went ten or more for superheroes in one pulp title

bill barnes

dusty ayres

jungle stores' kigor

pete rice

rio kid

the skipper

shorter runs include

secret six 4

ghost/greet ghost 7

wu fang 7

yen sin 3

captain satan 5

dr death 3 as titled plus the all detectives

captain combat

captain satan 5

hopalong Cassidy 2

lone ranger 8+ashcan

sheena (only 2 issues)

domino lady (gl with this one) the saucy romantic adventures title

etc

Here's a link you should read:

http://www.altuspress.com/the-ultimate-pulp-superhero-index/

theres also an alternate black bat character different than the one you have mentioned. he had a six issues self titled pulp. VHTF a copy of any of them.

Oh, I did mention a couple pick-ups, right?

 

 

Missing the back cover, sadly. But the last issue I needed from the later part of the run, starting from the first Purple Invasion issue. So issues 26-48 complete, and 35 of 48 overall. In addition to one of each major hero title, I want all of one title and Op #5 is the one I'm going for. Still a ways to go, but at least I'm at the point where I know I'll pull it off eventually.

Nice pick ups Eric!

I've recently discovered a masked hero from the early 30s that seems to have flown under the radar as he never had his own title and was mostly a back up feature in a general interest pulp. I hope to put a reprint collection together if can acquire all of his 13 appearances. About half way there now.

what about Zorro ?

what about Zorro ?

Like Tarzan or Conan, Zorro didn't have his own series as such; just various appearances. Mind you, I would love to get at least one Tarzan and Conan and Zorro story into my collection. But that's a separate goal from one issue of each of the long-running hero pulp series, as I defined it up there. (Trying not to get too crazy on projects.)

What issue was that Zorro page you just posted from?

Argosy 4/22/33 - saw your criteria but couldn't resist the Fox...

Argosy 4/22/33 - saw your criteria but couldn't resist the Fox...

I can respect that position.

Like I said, I don't have any Zorro appearances. I do have an appearance of one of McCulley's other continuing characters...

That one showed up in here:

Not a very impressive copy, but it was the first hero pulp (and one of the first 3 or so pulps as opposed to digests) I ever got so I'm fond of it anyway.

Gernsback comes back. Some pretty far out stuff from Paul.

Yummy bedsheet. I read it failed pretty dramatically? Literary tastes had moved on?

Gernsback comes back. Some pretty far out stuff from Paul.

 

Yummy bedsheet. I read it failed pretty dramatically? Literary tastes had moved on?

 

 

 

I've heard it failed pretty badly, despite a few good authors in the mix. The most interesting in that issue is the winner of that month's Short-Short+ story contest. It's Anne McCaffrey's first published story, and one of only two she had published in the 50's.

Newly arrived!

 

 

WOW

Awesome book, Jeff!

I figured it was high time I joined the club.

 

Welcome to the club!

For no clear reason that Science Fiction Plus brought to mind another book with a somewhat odd appearance by a creator not often seen in the pulps.

This issue features the only story one writer ever did for the pulps. But us comic fans know him better as an artist...

I know, given the nature of the pulps, that it wasn't unusual for an artist not to illustrate a story they wrote- Hanes Bok comes to mind as somebody who both wrote and drew, but not necessarily the same story. But wouldn't it have been amazing to see C. C. Beck draw for the pulps?

A couple of pulps from my collection

MOAR

nice copies of some of the best issues of the coolest pulp of all

Been too quiet in here for a while...

So here's a late Doc Savage I just got. It's the last digest issue, with the last 3 issues of the series returning to the pulp format. It's also got John D. MacDonald's last work in the title, with a story that's actually longer than the lead Doc 'novel'. They were also clearly squeezed for space getting ready for the format change- there's only 1 1/2 ad pages in whole issue, and the Doc story doesn't even get an illustration.

For those who don't already have this reference book in their collection, I'd heartily recommend Ed Hulse's Blood 'N' Thunder Guide to Pulp Fiction. It provides a excellent overview of the pulp's rise as an inexpensive provider of popular fiction in the first half of the 20th century and the tweaking that publishers did in trying to second guess the public's taste.

While primarily focusing on the evolution of pulps by genre, the Blood 'N' Thunder Guide also covers competition for circulation between editors & publishers, the writers who submitted stories (from hacks to the legends), cover art, format size, trim, etc. IMO, this is a superb general history book for aspiring pulp collectors.

Most folks reading this thread may already own this (it's been around awhile), so I may be preaching to the choir. Also, there are other great reference books on pulps that shouldn't be overlooked that are more genre specific (SF, western, crime, adventure, etc.). While not a price guide, the B&TGTPF should be useful for collectors trying to sort the wheat from the chaff and seeking a little practical advice to assist in their hunt.

It's also a very good read. (thumbs u