It’s hard to believe in this age when there are annual pulp conventions across North America that, at one time, there were no organized gatherings specifically geared toward pulp fiction and the magazines in which it appeared. But that was the case when three St. Louis pulp fans — Ed Kessell, Earl Kussman, and Nils Hardin — teamed up and founded Pulpcon.
After consulting with longtime science-fiction fan, James “Rusty” Hevelin, Kessell took the lead and began to organize what was planned as a one-shot convention. Adopting the name Pulpcon and advertising in the leading pop culture fanzines of the day, Kessell and his cohorts were able to attract about 100 pulp fans to the Colony Motor Hotel in Clayton, Missouri over a June weekend in 1972.
With science-fiction writers Leigh Brackett and Edmond Hamilton and pulp magazine cover artist Graves Gladney in attendance, the first Pulpcon was a rousing success. As the convention was ending, people began to ask for an encore. And so was born the first convention meant to specifically honor pulp magazines.
In the years that followed, Hevelin became the guiding light of Pulpcon, organizing annual conventions — generally during the summer months — in Dayton and other Ohio cities. There were also gatherings in Arizona, California, Missouri, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Altogether, 39 Pulpcons took place, including two off-season conventions. Unfortunately, following several years of diminishing attendance, the last Pulpcon was held in Dayton, Ohio in August 2008.
Hoping to keep alive a summer gathering specifically geared toward pulp fiction and art, three longtime members of the Pulpcon organizing committee — Jack Cullers, Barry Traylor, and Mike Chomko — asked Ed Hulse, the publisher of the pop culture fanzine Blood ‘n’ Thunder and a convention organizer himself, to join them in founding a new convention. Planned as a successor to Pulpcon, the new convention took on the name PulpFest and sought to widen the focus of the annual confab. Although centered around pulp fiction and pulp magazines, PulpFest was launched on the premise that the pulps profoundly affected American popular culture. The rough paper magazines reverberated through countless mediums — comic books, movies, paperbacks and genre fiction, television, men’s adventure magazines, radio drama, and even video, computer, and role-playing games.
Planned as the summertime destination for fans and collectors of vintage popular fiction and related materials, PulpFest sought to honor pulp fiction and pulp art by drawing attention to the many ways they have inspired writers, artists, film directors, software developers, game designers, and other creators over the decades.
Beginning with its first convention in 2009, PulpFest has annually drawn hundreds of fans and collectors of vintage popular fiction and related materials to its summertime festivities. In addition to a large dealers’ room, the convention offers a wide range of interesting and entertaining programming each and every year. We hope to see you at this year’s PulpFest. You’ll have an AMAZING time!
Our featured image is excerpted from George Rozen’s cover art for the August 1, 1933 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Rozen’s successor at the magazine was Graves Gladney, one of the guests at the first Pulpcon. Our lead image is a flyer for that first Pulpcon, held in Clayton, Missouri over a June weekend in 1972. Its successor, PulpFest, is still going strong after more than 50 years.
Start making your plans to attend this year’s PulpFest. To learn how you can register for the convention, please click here.
