Introducing New Pulp Author Ginger Johnson

Ginger Johnson: With her husband, Tom, she published ECHOES and several genre magazines, contributing articles and fiction. She created Mr. Minus, a new pulp hero in the mold of Captain Zero, plus helped compile essays on the new pulp heroes. A long time fan of Doc Savage and the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, she became a pulp fan in the 1960s with the explosion of pulp reprints. She has also written western and mystery short stories, The Cowboy From Texasand The Suicide That Wasn’t.

Tales of Masks & Mayhem V #1

 Tom Johnson holding a copy of Ginger’s TALES OF MASKS & MAYHEM V#1: Ginger selected the stories appearing in this anthology series she started back around 2005. There have been four issues, each with great new pulp stories. Be sure to check them out.

TALES OF MASKS & MAYHEM V #1: Stories selected by Ginger Johnson and edited by K. G. McAbee. All-new pulp tales featuring Doc Atlas, The Night Hawk, The Tarantula, The Scarecrow, The Black Ghost, The Grey Monk, and Secret Agent "X" and written by Maxentius Andor Scarlatti, Therese Drippe, John L. French, Lance Curry, Michael A. Black, Debra Delorme, Will Murray and Tom Johnson. Available for Review in PDF. Also available from ALTUS PRESS and Amazon for $21.85 at http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Masks-Mayhem-K-G-McAbee/dp/1440457204/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444759638&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=tales+of+masks+%26+mayhem+V1

New Pulp And New Pulp Heroes

New Pulp And New Pulp Heroes

Clancy O’Hara’s PULP #7

The hero pulp magazines ended in the summer of 1953, while genre pulp magazines continued through the late fifties, and even into the 1960’s. One had the gall to hang on until about 1972. But the end had arrived. Men’s adventure paperbacks were taking the place of those old magazines on the racks, and digest magazines replaced the SF, Mystery, Western & Romance pulps.

The pulp magazines had kept to a strict moral code watched over by publishers and editors, though some of the covers might have gave a different impression of what was inside. By 1953, however, the hero pulps were not immune to the changing time, and the morals were beginning to evaporate. The final issues of The Phantom Detective, Dan Fowler (G-Men Detective), and The Black Bat (Black Book Detective) contained strong hints of sex and rougher language. But by then their time was dying, and the paperbacks had taken over for good.

Jerry Page’s The Armadillo

Let’s concentrate on the pulp hero, or I might use the term NEW PULP HERO at this phase. When did it start? That’s easy. The first we absolutely know of for sure, was Jerry Page’s The Armadillo, a masked hero that appeared in print just a few years after the hero pulp magazines ceased in the mid 1950s. By the 1960s there were new stories of The Shadow, to prove that OLD PULP HEROES were not dead. And others were writing clones of Doc Savage and Tarzan, like Phil Farmer and Lin Carter, among others. I don’t have a good track on all the new pulp heroes that were strangely appearing in paperback, but I could name some, if pressed. Even major comic book houses like Marvel and DC were bringing their characters out in prose paperback editions.

Tom Johnson’s The Black Ghost

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a concerted effort to maintain this new pulp/new pulp hero tradition until 1995. In January of that year – dated Winter - it all changed. The culprit was Clancy O’Hara’s PULP FICTION MAGAZINE - changed to PULP, A FICTION MAGAZINE with the third issue and just plain PULP with the seventh issue. And the first new pulp characters to arrive in Clancy’s magazine were Aaron B. Larson’s Haakon Jones, and Tom Johnson’s The Black Ghost, both appearing in early issues. In June 1995, Tom & Ginger’s FADING SHADOWS magazines kicked off with CLASSIC PULP FICTION STORIES and ran through December 2004, and the new pulp/new pulp heroes were claiming their place as “new pulp fiction”. Clancy may have been the first to call it NEW PULP, but we at FADING SHADOWS called it NEW STORIES IN THE PULP TRADITION. I’m not really sure when the NEW PULP banner started, but I imagine someone at Pro Se could fill us in.

As the reader can see, NEW PULP is really quite old. I still prefer NEW STORIES IN THE PULP TRADITION, however. Doesn’t that make sense? But whatever we call it, since 1995 NEW PULP FICTION has been going strong, and we’ve definitely seen some interesting characters show up on radar. In January 2015, the modern day pulp fiction will be twenty years old. Haakon Jones and The Black Ghost will also share that honor.

My Kindle Books Part Three

CRIME’S DARK STREETS: $0.99. Dark streets that lead to ebony alleys in the city’s immigrant district culminate in a spider’s web of fear when emissaries of evil abduct homeless children. When The Masked Avenger promises protection to the city’s unwanted children, can he keep that promise? Follow our paladin as he embarks on his second dangerous mission!

CRIME’S DEATH PLAGUE: $0.99. The trail begins in a Chicago orphanage, but when a boy is kidnapped, it takes The Masked Avenger to New York City where he must uncover the identity of a German scientist and stop him from releasing a deadly virus and killing everyone in New York. Can one man, even such as The Masked Avenger, succeed when America looks to be doomed?

THE DEATH TOWER: $0.99. What was a German agent after in America? During Secret Agent X's recovery at the Montgomery Mansion after the battle with Zerna's drug gang in 1937, Betty Dale falls
into a trap while following a suspect and is captured by a German Spy. Her
whereabouts are unknown, and indeed, it's not known if she's even alive. Agent hasn't fully recovered from his previous battle with the underworld, yet it's imperative for him to locate and rescue the
girl. For she is more precious to him than anything in the world. Should
 Betty be harmed, he will exact vengeance on those responsible!


HUNTER’S MOON: $1.99. The Moon Man in his best adventure since Frederick C. Davis. With the police closing in on Angel's hideaway, the
 danger for the Moon Man is escalating for Great City's Robin Hood. To
compound matters, tragedy strikes close to home. This time, he won’t be
 able to provide help to someone close to him. Sergeant Steve Thatcher, seeing the people struggling to survive, dons the mysterious garments of the Robin Hood thief to relieve the filthy rich of their ill-gotten gains
to be distributed among the poor by ex boxer Ned Dargan. When they come up against an illegal weapons manufacturer masquerading as a toy company, his fiancé is taken prisoner by criminals and he must not only remove them of their money, but put a stop to their weapons sale overseas.

SEVEN MEN OF GREED: $0.99. When the Man In Purple uncovers an evil plot of massive greed, his team of rogues plan to remove their ill-gotten gain from their vaults, one criminal at a time, but he soon discovers that these seven men of crime are as vicious as any mad dog, and a wrong move on his part could easily end his young adventurous career. Follow the Three Rogues as they pit their brains and skills against the evil genius behind The Hooded Circle of 7.

THE SILENCE OF DEATH: $1.99. Colonel Jeremiah Custer's Wild West Show comes across murder in a small Texas town. A mystifying murder mystery ensnares the famous criminologist and sharpshooter when his
team encounters a young boy accused of mayhem. The lad cannot deny the
charges for he can neither hear nor speak. The scientific brain of the
greatest man hunter is put to task as he attempts to unravel this new crime! The ex intelligence officer puts his scientific brain to work to
prove that the deaf mute boy is not the killer. Follow Colonel Custer and
his aides as they unravel this deep mystery, and bring to justice this evil
murderer.

THESE ALIEN SKIES: $2.99. UFOs have been an enigma to people for centuries, but in the 20th Century they made their presence felt worldwide. MSgt Edwards experienced them first hand in the Air Force, when lights in the sky took control of a nuclear missile complex in North Dakota. After retiring, he joined AIM - Alien Intelligence Monitors, and now investigates sightings; is it possible an alien from outer space guides him with a message for Earth?

THE SUICIDE THAT WASN’T: $0.99. By Ginger Johnson.  A local small press publisher, who was also a collector of old Pulp Magazines, was reported to have committed suicide, but Joe and his partner, Amy are on the case. Following some clues at the scene led them to think that it had been murder instead.

My Kindle Books Part Two

WORLD’S OF TOMORROW: $3.99. In the far future, the worlds of tomorrow will bring many dangers to the travelers of the star ways. Space Rangers like Captain Steve Danger will be hard pressed to protect those settlers on distant planets. Even the Ghosts, the secret police, will have trouble discovering the mysterious galactic thief known as the Forever Man. Here are five exciting tales of our future problems on worlds of tomorrow.

BAD MOON RISING: $2.99. The short novel of a Recon Team and the dangers they faced in Vietnam. These men weren’t heroes, they were only men who wanted to survive and go home. This is a collection of short episodes facing the fictional combat team led by SSgt Martin at the height of the war. Some things you may not have known about the Vietnam War.

THE BLACK SHADOW: $0.99. Chu Chul, the evil Chinese mastermind, thought to be long dead is back to win the throne of China. But first he vows to kill his mortal enemy, Dorus Noel. After Chu Chul robs a Korean temple of valuable treasures to finance his army, a mysterious assassin appears in New York’s Chinatown to assist Noel in his battle with the evil Chinaman. Could The Black Shadow be Dorus Noel’s new houseboy? Go with Noel and Kim Young Ju, as they search for the mastermind’s opium den while the black cloak of The Black Shadow watches over the dark streets of Chinatown.

THE COWBOY FROM TEXAS: $0.99. By Ginger Johnson. He lives alone, like a hermit. What is this cowboy hiding from? Is he hiding from a past that he doesn’t want to catch up with him? Is he hiding from the law? Is he hiding from his family? What could make a man hide from life like this? What kind of past could make a man live a life of isolation?

 DOUBLE DANGER TALES #64: $1.99. Compere was not able to get Peggy away from the door leading to the stairwell, and knew danger lay in that direction. He increased his deadly fire, but became a non-moving target himself. A bullet from a gangster’s gun clipped the little gas container on his belt, and suddenly two skull-faced apparitions appeared, one on each wrist of his hands. With a slight movement of his wrists, the gas-filled balloons flew from his outstretched arms with a loud hiss, each flying in opposite directions. The appearance of the banshees was so sudden, gangsters turned their fire on the escaping balloons, and Compere accounted for four more hoodlums as their guns were diverted from him. Unfortunately, his luck was running out. He heard a light sound from behind, a short sigh from Peggy, and then felt the cold hard steel of a gun barrel digging into his spine. A vicious voice grunted from behind, "Drop your cannons, friend, or this girl gets a bullet in the head!"

DOUBLE DANGER TALES #65: $0.99. Two of the greatest Greek heroes were Hercules and Atalanta, and both have survived in their own identities, as well as being the patterns for many other heroes of print, song, and screen. But no hero has ever achieved the strength of the mighty Hercules. Nor has any arrow ever flown as swift and true as one shot from the bow of Atalanta! Monsters from the land, sea, and moon face our heroes in these exciting pulp adventures! In this double action adventure, Atalanta seeks out The Golden Lion, and Hercules battles The Moon Goddess. If you like strong heroes, beautiful heroines, and fast action, then go no further, this adventure is for you!

THE EYES OF SATAN: $1.99. From war-torn Europe comes a mastermind with plans to unite all the mobs under his leadership, but while he is making future plans, a small-time thief murders his young bride, calling for vengeance first. That vengeance results in the death of three people; the small time thief, a respected jewel dealer, and a city cop. Those murders bring in the underworld’s dreaded nemesis, The Phantom Detective. But when the lovely Muriel Havens, daughter of the Phantom’s only contact, Frank Havens, is kidnapped, can even the master detective run down the killer before death strikes again?

THE SOUL STEALERS: $2.99. Angels have walked among mankind since the dawn of civilization. Although we may not recognize them, or even see their presence, they are always with us. Perhaps they whisper advice in our dreams, or guide our governments without their knowledge, angels are moving us towards a higher good. Some even protect us in our final day, when violent death reaches out for our very soul - these are the Soul Sealers!

CRIME’S LAST STAND: $0.99. In this debut adventure of the masked hero, will evil win out? Blood covers the streets as gangsters kill indiscriminately. As a little boy lies helpless in the hospital, a new paladin takes up arms to bring the killers to justice. Can even the great Masked Avenger survive the final battle with the city's underworld when crime makes its last stand?