After two years of countless cancellations and postponements, the convention scene is becoming more “normal.” June 2022 will have no less than five pulp-related conventions.
Starting things off from June 2 – 4 will be the 2022 Dum-Dum, the annual gathering of Edgar Rice Burroughs enthusiasts. The convention is being hosted by the Texas Chapter of the Burroughs Bibliophiles in San Antonio. Included in each member’s registration will be the first book printing of “The Terrible Tenderfoot,” the pulp version of The Deputy Sheriff of Comanche County. You can download a registration form on the convention’s website.
To book a room at the convention’s host hotel — the Drury Plaza Hotel San Antonio North Stone Oak — call 210-494-2420 or visit the Drury’s website. You must use the group number 10003545 and make your reservation by May 6 to get the special convention rate.
To learn more about the 2022 Dum-Dum, please visit erbzine.com/dumdum/ or contact Jim Goodwin at jimmiecg@prodigy.net or by phone at 940-704-6499.
New Dimension Comics owner Todd McDevitt — a regular PulpFest dealer — and general manager Jon Engel launched 3 Rivers Comicon in 2016. After hearing complaints from customers about the increasing cost of conventions and how the shift to an array of pop culture had left comics in the shadows, they felt challenged. “We made it our mission to do it,” McDevitt said. “This is going to be a comic convention. If you want something else, go somewhere else.”
This year’s convention will run from June 4 – 5 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in the heart of Pittsburgh. Tickets are available through the convention’s website or at any of the six New Dimension Comics locations. They will also be available at the door.
Weekend events will include panels, gaming, photo opportunities, and costume contests for kids and adults. There will also be an exclusive beer brewed for the convention that will be released during the 3 Rivers Comicon VIP Party. Visit the convention’s website for more information on events, as well as the convention’s guests and exhibitors.
Robert E. Howard Days will take place June 10 and 11 at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas. The theme of this year’s convention will be Howard’s influence on role-playing games, board and tabletop games, card games, and video games. The convention’s guest of honor will be Frederik Malmberg, a life-long gamer and head of Heroic Signatures, a subsidiary of FunCom, the folks who run the Conan Exiles video game.
The 2022 Howard Days will also salute the 90th birthday of Conan the Cimmerian. The character first appeared in the story, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” originally published in the December 1932 issue of Weird Tales. Additionally, the convention will celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the first Conan movie, Conan the Barbarian. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, and Max von Sydow, the film was directed by John Milius and written by Milius and Oliver Stone.
The annual gathering of Two-Gun Bob’s fans is sponsored by Project Pride of Cross Plains and the Robert E. Howard Foundation, with help from the members of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. Visit the Howard Days home page or Facebook site to learn more about this great event. You can also get more information by emailing Bill Cavalier at 2cavaliers@sbcglobal.net.
The second Pulp Fiction Convention will take place on Sunday, June 12, at the Doubletree by Hilton Cleveland – Westlake. It’s being organized by Jeff Harper, a longtime comic book convention promoter and supporter of PulpFest. This annual event celebrates adventure, crime, fantasy, horror, noir, science fiction, and western fiction.
On June 26, Jeff will also host the Akron-Canton Comic-Con in Akron, Ohio, while his Buckeye Comic-Con will take place July 17 in Columbus, Ohio. Check out Jeff’s webpage for more information on all of his conventions.
The summertime Monster Bash returns from June 24 – 26 at the Marriott Pittsburgh North in Mars, Pennsylvania, just a few miles from the PulpFest host hotel. To book a room for the convention, call 724-772-3700 and be sure to ask for the special Monster Bash rate. You can also book a room here.
The International Classic Monster Movie Conference and Film Festival will feature Hammer Film star Caroline Munro, Patrick Wayne — son of actor John Wayne — Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman, the stars of the 1970s television show Land of the Lost, and many other guests. Click here for the current guest list.
The convention’s film schedule will include The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, House on Haunted Hill, The Mask of Fu Manchu, Nosferatu, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, 20 Million Miles to Earth, and other horror and monster classics. There will also be guest talks and interviews, a live musical performance by The Bash Boys, game shows, taco night, monster-sized sheet cakes, drive-in movie night, and other events. Click here for a look at the current programming schedule.
Monster Bash celebrates the classic horror and science fiction films of the silent era through the 1980s. It’s a film festival; a place to meet the people in the movies, behind the movies, and fellow fans of the movies; and a monster memorabilia shopping gala. To check out some of the convention’s dealers, click here.
Visit the Monster Bash website or write to creepyclassics@creepyclassics.com for further information.
Hopefully, these five conventions will get you warmed up for the big event . . . PulpFest 50, celebrating “A Half-Century of Pulp Cons,” in recognition of our golden anniversary.
PulpFest 50 will also honor the centennial of Fiction House, the pulp magazine and comic book publisher that gave us Action Stories, Fight Comics, Jumbo Comics, Jungle Stories, Lariat Story Magazine, North-West Romances, Planet Stories, Rangers Comics, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, Wings, and many other classic titles.
Additionally, our fiftieth summertime PulpFest will salute the ninetieth anniversary of Popular Publications’ “Dime” line of pulp magazines, particularly Dime Western and Dime Mystery. Both magazines debuted in 1932 and played a major role in the evolution of popular fiction.
PulpFest 50 will also be joined by FarmerCon XVII, celebrating the life and times of Philip José Farmer, longtime pulp fan and Grand Master of Science Fiction.
PulpFest 50 will take place from August 4 – 7 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. You can become a member of the convention by clicking the Registration button on the PulpFest website. If you need lodging, you’ll also be able to book a room through our site.
The 1941 edition of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Deputy Sheriff of Comanche County featured cover art by the author’s son, John Coleman Burroughs. Burroughs’ novel was originally serialized by Standard Magazines’ Thrilling Adventure under the title, “The Terrible Tenderfoot.” It appeared in the magazine from March through May 1940.
Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian initially appeared in the novella, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” originally published in the December 1932 number of Weird Tales. The cover art for the issue — illustrating Otis Adelbert Kline’s “Buccaneers of Venus” — was painted by J. Allen St. John.
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad was released in 1973 with special effects by Ray Harryhausen. It is the second of three Sinbad films released by Columbia Pictures. The film stars John Phillip Law, Caroline Munro, and Tom Baker.
Our postcard was adapted by PulpFest advertising director William Lampkin from Walter Baumhofer’s cover art for the April 1934 Dime Western Magazine, published by Popular Publications.
