PulpFest 2018 will begin this afternoon at 3 PM, as our dealers begin to erect their displays for “Summer’s Great Pulp Con!” All members — dealers included — will be able to register for the convention from 4 to 8 PM, at the entrance to our dealers’ room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. Everyone can pick up their registration packets at this time. To help things move smoothly, please bring along a completed registration form. You can download a copy by clicking here or through the link found on our registration page.
There will be free early-bird shopping in the dealers’ room from 5:30 to 8:30 PM for loyal attendees who help to defray the convention’s costs by staying at our host hotel. The cost is $30 for those who stay elsewhere. Our full evening programming slate will begin at 8:40 PM with a presentation by Sai Shankar on Leonard H. Nason — Soldier and Writer.
2018 marks the centennial of the armistice that ended the First World War. Also called “The War to End All Wars” and “The Great War,” PulpFest will be honoring the 100th anniversary of the war’s end by focusing on the so-called “war pulps” of the early twentieth century and the depiction of war in popular culture.
We’ll also be celebrating the century mark of Grand Master of Science Fiction Philip José Farmer. PulpFest and its associated convention — FarmerCon — will be saluting the acclaimed author of such works as ESCAPE FROM LOKI, THE DARK HEART OF TIME, the classic Riverworld series, and more.
And don’t forget about our Guest of Honor — Joe Lansdale — the award-winning author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. The convention will also be hosting a rare gallery showing of original art by Mark Wheatley. Mark is a much acclaimed comic book artist, book illustrator, and graphic designer.
We’ll also have author readings, films, and even a Farmer Jam at this year’s PulpFest.
You can find additional details about all of our programming by clicking the button found at the top of our home page. Each event on the schedule is linked to a post that provides further information on that event. Just click on the event’s title. Watch for the “panels” banner to find our programming area at the convention.
When our programming is over, PulpFest members are welcome to socialize together in our hospitality suite at the DoubleTree. You’ll be able to enjoy drinks and snacks with your comrades in collecting and talk about the things that you love and collect. Perhaps you’ll even clear up some of the great mysteries of the pulps with your pals — both old and new — at PulpFest 2018. You sure can’t do that on your smart phone!
If you are not from the Pittsburgh area and have yet to book your room for this year’s PulpFest, you can try calling 1-800-222-8733 to reach our host hotel. Perhaps there is an opening. Please be sure to mention PulpFest in order to receive any special convention deals that may still be available.
The DoubleTree is very conveniently located at the intersection of three major roadways in Cranberry Township. It’s just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Interstate-79. The address is 910 Sheraton Drive, Mars, Pennsylvania. We have a map on our home page or click here for a link to a large map of the area.
For those of you who have not yet registered for PulpFest 2018, Thursday evening will be an ideal time to do so. Our full weekend memberships will be available at the door, with early-bird shopping costing an additional $30 for those members not staying at the DoubleTree. Please click one of the Register buttons on our home page for further details.
From 3 PM to 11 PM on Thursday, the dealers’ room will be open for exhibitors to set up their displays. At this point, we urge all of our dealers to take full advantage of our generous load-in and set-up period. Access to the dealers’ room for unloading will be through the ballroom back entrance and the nearby banquet dock. Click here for a map showing the loading area of the hotel and here for a map of the DoubleTree’s Grand Ballroom.
Remember that we’ll also be offering early-bird shopping in the dealers’ room from 5:30 to 8:30 PM on Thursday evening, an extra three hours of selling opportunities to people who are ready to buy!
Although the focus of PulpFest is pulp magazines and related materials, digests, vintage paperbacks, men’s adventure and true crime magazines, first-edition hardcovers, series books, dime novels, original art, Big Little Books, B-movies, serials and related paper collectibles, old-time-radio shows, and Golden and Silver Age as well as pulp-related comic books and games are also allowed.
(EC Comics’ TWO-FISTED TALES ran for 24 issues from 1950 through 1955. Originally an adventure comic, its focus turned toward war, following the start of the Korean War. Like all of EC’s comics, it featured well-written stories and top-notch art. Wally Wood, George Evans, and Jack Davis — who drew the cover for issue #34, dated July – August 1953 — were just some of the great illustrators who worked on the book.
Popular culture scholar Michelle Nolan will explore the depiction of war in the four-color format on Thursday evening. She will discuss the many costumed and military heroes who battled fascism during World War II, the “true war” type of comics, the humor books such as DEVIL DOG DUGAN and SGT. BILKO, and how war comics exploded during the Korean War. She’ll compare and contrast DC and Marvel — the leading publishers of war comics during the 1950s, talk about the explosion of Charlton war comics in the 1960s, and dissect the artistic success of Harvey Kurtzman’s war titles for EC.
Our complete schedule for Thursday, July 26, is below. If you’d like to access our schedule via your mobile phone or tablet, go to http://pulpcon.org/schedule/.)
PULPFEST 2018 SCHEDULE
Thursday, July 26
Dealers’ Room
3:00 PM – 11:00 PM — Dealers’ Room Set-Up
4:00 PM – 8:00 PM — Early Registration
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM — Dealers’ Room Open for Early-Bird Shopping
Programming
8:40 – 9:10 PM — Leonard H. Nason — Soldier and Writer (Sai Shankar)
9:20 – 9:50 PM — Edgar Rice Burroughs and The Great War (Henry G. Franke, III)
10:00 – 10:40 PM — Life and Death on the Front Lines: The War Comics (Michelle Nolan)
10:45 – 11:15 PM — FarmerCon 100: World Building and Writing in the Nine Continuity (Paul Spiteri with Win Scott Eckert & Frank Schildiner)
11:25 – 12:30 AM — FarmerCon 100: MOI, TARZAN — (George McWhorter, Philip José Farmer, & Francis Lacassin)
