PulpFest is not only lauded for its fine programming but also for its large dealers’ room.
Beginning on Thursday, August 7, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry will be home to thousands of collectible pulp magazines and digests, vintage paperbacks, first-edition hardcovers and series books, original art, genre fiction, B-movies and serials, collectible comic books, and much more.
What dealers are we expecting at PulpFest 2025? In our posts this week, we’ll be profiling our dealers, telling you a little bit about each of them.
Brian K. Morris has been a freelance writer for over twenty years. A frequent guest at comic and book shows throughout the Midwest, he’s also an independent publisher, award-winning playwright, occasional actor, YouTuber, and a former mortician’s assistant. His books include The Original Skyman Battles the Master of Steam — which has been compared to Doc Savage — Santastein, The Terrors, and Vulcana: Rebirth of the Champion. Brian lives in Indiana with his wife and too many comic books. Visit Rising Tide Publications to learn more about this returning PulpFest dealer, and please welcome him back to this year’s convention.
Lamont Award winner Ed Hulse of Murania Press is the editor and publisher of the much-admired journal, Blood ‘n’ Thunder, and many other publications. He’ll have the 2025 edition of BNT at this year’s PulpFest, plus copies of the latest edition of his classic The Blood ‘n’ Thunder Guide to Pulp Fiction as well as his new book, The Art of the Classic Crime & Mystery Movies. In addition to his Murania Press books, Ed will be offering a selection of pulps, digests, hardcovers, and other paper collectibles. He’ll also be teaming up for a panel presentation on “The Masters of Adventure” and flying solo with a presentation on that Master of Blood and Thunder, Edgar Wallace.
The author of over seventy novels and assorted books, Will Murray will be selling copies from his various “The All-New Wild Adventures of . . .” series, as well as his non-fiction books, including Dark Avenger: The Strange Saga of The Shadow and Wordslingers: An Epitaph for the Western. New to PulpFest will be Knight of Darkness: The Legend of The Shadow. Of course, he’ll be glad to sign your purchases. One of the leading scholars of pulp history, Murray will be part of our panel on “Personal Demons and the Creative Mind” and join filmmaker Ron Hill for a discussion of “Doc Savage and the Bantam Revival.”
Phil Nelson is from Waverly, Ohio. He will be bringing an assortment of pulp magazines and new-condition Girasol Collectables pulp replicas. This very personable dealer will also have vintage paperbacks, comic books, and other collectibles. He’s a fan of detective and adventure fiction and has been attending both Pulpcon and PulpFest for many years.
One of our very first supporters when PulpFest came to Mars, Pennsylvania, was Todd McDevitt of New Dimension Comics. Owned by Todd since 1986, New Dimension has six stores in the Pittsburgh region, including one just 2.5 miles away from Pulpfest. Please visit the store while you’re in town. It’s at 20550 Route 19, Cranberry Township, PA 16066. Todd will be sharing his space with Rick Santman and other local dealers, offering our members some vintage and exciting treats. They’ve rented ten island tables at PulpFest 2025.
Bob Deis and Wyatt Doyle are the co-editors of The Men’s Adventure Library book series, published by New Texture. It collects classic stories and artwork from the men’s adventure magazines that were published from the 1950s through the 1970s. They’ll be selling copies of their books, including Gil Cohen: Inside/Out, part of a historic, multi-volume series showcasing the artist’s men’s adventure magazine covers and interior illustrations spanning three decades. For more information, please visit Bob’s Men’s Adventure Magazines blog at MensPulpMags.com and New Texture’s website, NewTexture.com. Bob and Wyatt will also be discussing the “Masters of Men’s Adventure Magazines” on Friday evening, August 8, at PulpFest 2025.
Will Oliver is a professor of criminal justice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. A former police officer and a retired Major in the U.S. Army Reserves, Will is the author of Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author, published by the University of North Texas Press. He will be selling copies of his new, 600-page biography and other books at this year’s PulpFest. Please welcome him to his first PulpFest as a dealer.
Mike Parsons has been collecting detective and science fiction since the early 1970s. Back then, while attending Michigan State, he worked for Ray Walsh at the Curious Book Shop. Now retired, he has a lot of duplicates and is thinning out his collection. A regular at the Windy City Pulp and Paperback Convention, Mike will have hardcover books, paperbacks, comics, some art, and a few pulps at this year’s PulpFest. A regular attendee of Pulpcon during the 1970s and 80s, please welcome back Mike Parsons to PulpFest for another go-round.
Point of Impact Publishing has been in business since 2022, publishing new action/adventure fiction in the vein of the classic Executioner, Destroyer, and Death Merchant series. Inspired by the short pulp novels you could buy on drugstore spinner racks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Nelson has proudly continued the grand tradition of series fiction with the Frenzi action series by R. J. Calder and the Parker-inspired John Lash series by Clint Reno. This is his first visit to PulpFest, venturing out from the wilds of Vermont to offer the full lineup of their books, and he couldn’t be more thrilled!
A resident of Virginia, Craig Poole has been attending pulp conventions for many years. He’ll be exhibiting a number of high-end illustrations in our PulpFest 2025 dealers’ room. Craig will have a mix of genres, but science fiction will be the primary focus.
Launching his first year at Pulpfest, Bill Cunningham of Pulp 2.0 will have a wide selection of pulpy offerings at his table, including the latest volumes of Men’s Adventure Quarterly, The Art of Ron Lesser, as well as comics, pulp, and non-fiction film books available for sale. Since 2010, Pulp 2.0 has specialized in designing and publishing new editions to preserve and enhance our pulp culture. A portfolio of sneak previews of upcoming books and projects will be on display at his booth. For more information, please visit www.pulp2ohpress.com.
Another first timer, Brandon Purvis of The Book Rapport is a vintage book dealer and collector with a special emphasis on science fiction. Committed to the preservation and re-homing of books, Brandon has been selling on eBay since 2018, developing a reputation for outstanding customer service. He also sells on WhatNot and occasionally posts book-related content to YouTube. Married to a Major in the United States Space Force, Brandon has a background in academic philosophy and also builds fine furniture. Please welcome him to PulpFest.
An American author and graphic artist, Wayne Reinagel is the author/illustrator of the Pulp Heroes and Modern Marvels series of pulp adventure novels and short stories. As the artist of the books, he has provided seventy-five full-color interior illustrations featuring faux covers of non-existent magazines, mimicking the style of art from the pulp era. A member of the Pulp Factory writers and artists group, Reinagel’s classic pulp revival novels and short stories are published by Knightraven Studios. We look forward to Wayne’s return to PulpFest.
Garyn and Virginia Roberts from Wisconsin will be bringing lots of good, fresh old treasures at bargain prices. They’ll have science fiction, mystery, and western pulps, young adult series books, Big Little Books, Golden and Silver Age comic books, pulp replicas, hardcovers, paperbacks, and more. Garyn is the winner of our 2013 Munsey Award. On Saturday, August 9, he will talk about his dear friend, “Ray Bradbury, Burroughs’ Disciple,” immediately before our 2025 auction.
A full-time proprietor of an antique toy shop by day and a mystery mavin by night, Joseph Saine returns to PulpFest for another go-round. Hailing from northwest Ohio, among Joe’s treasures will be a variety of pulps, a large collection of quality vintage paperbacks, Big Little Books, and more. A professional auctioneer, Joe is one of the leading dealers of antique toys and toy soldiers in the Midwest. He will be helping us with our annual Saturday night auction. Prepare to be entertained by Joe Saine at the microphone.
Rick Santman will be joining dealer Todd McDevitt of New Dimensions Comics and other local dealers at this year’s PulpFest. He’ll be selling science fiction hardcovers, a good assortment of pulps, vintage comics, and a bit of “cheesecake.” He’ll also have a dozen boxes of five-dollar 1950’s reader copy comics available at his tables.
From Waterloo, Illinois, Dave Schmidt will be bringing pulps and digests, collectible paperbacks, original artwork, and other paper ephemera. This will be his first PulpFest in many years. Visit Main Street Music for more information about this fine Midwestern dealer of paper collectibles.
World Fantasy Award winner Darrell Schweitzer has been publishing in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction fields since the early 1970s. He will be selling copies of his two-volume retrospective, The Best of Darrell Schweitzer, The Children of Chorazin and Other Strange Denizens — a Lovecraftian/weird short story collection — The Robert E. Howard Reader, Living with the Dead — a Shirley Jackson Award finalist — and anthologies that he has edited, including The Mountains of Madness Revealed and Cold War Cthulhu. Darrell will also have magazines such as Interzone, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magzine, Weirdbook, and back issues of Weird Tales (a magazine that he co-edited for 19 years). Finally, he will have a selection of Wildside Press titles, including their Robert E. Howard volumes and pulp facsimile reprints, as well as used hardcover and paperback books. Darrell has been a panelist at PulpFest, as well as a regular contributor to The Pulpster.
If you’re interested in selling at PulpFest, our dealers’ room is full. However, we are adding a limited number of tables in the pre-function hallway outside of the dealers’ room. These tables will cost $125 each and will be guarded by security overnight. If you are interested, please write to Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com to sign up for a spot.
If you want to visit our dealers’ room, you have to be a member of PulpFest 2025. To join the convention, click the registration button at the top of this page. Your PulpFest membership also includes memberships in DocCon XXI, ERBFest 2025, and Farmercon XX. That’s four conventions for one price!
If you’re from outside the area, don’t forget to book a room. The deadline to get the convention rate at the DoubleTree was Tuesday, July 15. You may be able to find a comparable hotel room by clicking here. If you’re looking for a roommate, write to Jack Cullers at his email address above.
We’ll be profiling more of our PulpFest 2025 dealers through tomorrow. Please visit our site on Friday, July 18, for our last profiles.
Leslie Silberberg is a writer and popular culture enthusiast who began posting on our website in 2022. She enjoys the science fiction pulps, particularly the work of such leading female writers as Leigh Brackett, Claire Winger Harris, Zenna Henderson, Judith Merril, C. L. Moore, Margaret St. Clair, Wilmar H. Shiras, Francis Stevens, and Leslie F. Stone. Many thanks to Ms. Silberberg for her contributions to pulpfest.com.
Our featured image is a magazine rack circa the winter of 1944-45, located in Vancouver, British Columbia. We’ll be running photographs of vintage newsstands and magazine racks all week. Special thanks to ThePulp.Net for sharing their collection of pulp photos from the early 20th century with us.
Our lead image was adapted by William Lampkin from from Walter Baumhofer’s cover for the April 1935 issue of Doc Savage Magazine, illustrating Lester Dent’s “The Spook Legion.” We’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze at this year’s PulpFest, as part of the return of Doc Con.
We’ll be celebrating that “Master of Blood and Thunder,” Edgar Wallace, on the sesquicentennial of his birth at PulpFest 2025. Author of countless thrillers, including “The Big Foot Murder Mystery,” published complete in the October 1929 issue of Complete Detective Novel Magazine, featuring cover art by Hans Wessolowski.
We’re also celebrating another “Master of Blood and Thunder,” Edgar Rice Burroughs, on the sesquicentennial of his birth at PulpFest 2025. The creator of Tarzan of the Apes, Burroughs “Lord of the Jungle” found popularity in pulps, books, movies, comic books, and other pop culture formats. Pictured above is Dell’s Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan #121 for November/December 1960, with cover art by Morris Gollub.
Our final image is the August 1959 issue of For Men Only, published by Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management and featuring cover art by Gil Cohen. A leading artist for the men’s adventure magazine market, Cohen is probably best remembered by pulp fiction for the many covers he created for the Mack Bolan series of The Executioner novels by Don Pendleton. Still living, Cohen is also known for his aviation art, particularly from the World War II period.
