THE PULPSTER returns with a battle-scarred 27th issue at PulpFest 2018. As usual, it’s packed with a variety of interesting articles pertaining to the pulp magazines.
Assistant editor Peter Chomko and editor William Lampkin put the issue to bed earlier this week. After the July 4 holiday, our printer got to work on the magazine, readying it for the members of this year’s PulpFest and FarmerCon 100.
Number 27 will offer articles that tie into the themes of this summer’s pulp convention — the war pulps and the depiction of war in popular culture, and Grand Master of Science Fiction Philip José Farmer.
Tom Krabacher takes a look at editor Arthur Sullivant Hoffman’s World War I-era ADVENTURE and how it showed that pulps could be more than just escapist fiction. There’s also an article by Hoffman himself where he recounts the creation of the original American Legion in the pages of his magazine. And illustrator and cartoonist George Evans looks back at growing up reading air-war pulps.
There’s a short biography of Farmer, written by the man himself, as well as a piece on Farmer by PulpFest 2018 Guest of Honor Joe R. Lansdale.
But that’s not all:
A letter by author and editor Irene Cumming Kleeberg describes her time as a college intern working summers at Popular Publications in the early 1950s. David W. Smith examines the original Suicide Squad, a team of G-Men who battled crime well before DC Comics’ super-villain team-up took up that name. And Lampkin offers a glimpse at the reading material of Fatty Arbuckle’s cellmate.
Rounding out the issue, are columns by the editor, publisher Michael Chomko, and “Final Chapters,” in which editor emeritus Tony Davis remembers those of the pulp community who have passed away during the last year.
A longstanding tradition cherished by attendees of summer pulp cons, THE PULPSTER #27 will be released at PulpFest 2018. Every member of PulpFest — including supporting members — will receive a complimentary copy of THE PULPSTER.
PulpFest 2018 begins on Thursday, July 26, and runs through Sunday, July 29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. We’ll be welcoming Joe Lansdale — the author of over forty novels, numerous short stories, and more — as our Guest of Honor. The convention will also be hosting a rare gallery showing of original art by acclaimed writer-illustrator Mark Wheatley. Additionally, there will be author readings, a great programming line-up, two auctions featuring unique collectibles, and a dealers’ room filled with pulps, digests, men’s adventure magazines, collectible paintings and illustrations, rare first editions, vintage paperbacks, comic books, unique films and more. All this, plus you get ten dollars off the daily admission to Confluence. It’s taking place the same weekend as summer’s AMAZING pulp con! All you have to do is show your PulpFest badge at the door to Pittsburgh’s long-running science fiction, fantasy and horror conference.
You can join both PulpFest 2018 and FarmerCon 100 by clicking the Register for 2018 button on the PulpFest home page.
(The cover art for THE PULPSTER #27 was originally painted by Rudolph Belarski for April 1940 THRILLING ADVENTURES, published by Ned Pines’ Standard Magazines.
Following the convention, a limited number of copies of our program book will be available for purchase through Mike Chomko, Books. Please write to Mike — who also serves as the marketing and programming director for PulpFest — at mike@pulpfest.com or 2217 W. Fairview St., Allentown, PA 18104-6542 to reserve your copy. Mike also has selected back issues of THE PULPSTER. Please write to him to learn about availability.
For questions about submissions to THE PULPSTER or comments about the issue, please write to Bill Lampkin at bill@pulpfest.com. For any questions about advertising in future issues of THE PULPSTER, back issues, or ordering issue #27 of THE PULPSTER, please write to Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com.)
