Pulp websites

Here is a collection of links to other sites dealing with the pulps:

General

Street and Smith Preservation and Access Project

Syracuse University is creating a Street and Smith digital archives. You’ll find information of Street and Smith publications, including pulps, and details about the university’s plans for the archive.

Popular Publication Records

The New York Public Library’s page about its Popular Publications collection provides background on the pulp publishing company founded by Henry Steeger. The site also lists the contents of the library’s collection.

Rolling Back the Years: Popular Publications (Archived)

SF author and PulpFest Guest of Honor Frederik Pohl periodically writes a series of entries at his The Way the Future Blogs (Archived). This time out, he’s written a series on his memories of Popular Publications, the pulp house that produced The Spider, Dime Detectives, and Super Science Stories, which was edited by a young Pohl. The title links to the first part, here are links to part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6 (All archived).

Pulp fiction collection

Learn a bit about the Library of Congress’s Pulp Fiction Collection.

PulpFest

Since 2009, PulpFest has taken its place as one of the preeminent pulp conventions and a worthy successor of the defunct Pulpcon. The PulpFest website provides details about the upcoming convention, including guests of honor and programming. In addition, it regularly features informational posts and articles about themes of the upcoming convention.

The Pulpster

The annual magazine about pulp magazines, which is published for each summer’s PulpFest, has its own website. You’ll find details about the contents and covers of previous issues, as well as news about The Pulpster, information on article submissions, advertising in the magazine, and a short history of it.

Reminiscing about pulps

Author and pulp historian Nick Carr recalls the heyday of pulps in an article for Reminisce online magazine.

Roger Ebert’s Blog

He was best known for his critical writing about the movies and using his thumbs on TV’s At the Movies, but the late Roger Ebert wrote a terrific blog. In this entry, he recalled a favorite pastime as a youth: reading science–fiction pulps and digests. He said he enjoyed the covers more later in life.

The Pulp Magazines Project

David Earle, an assistant professor at the University of West Florida, and Patrick Belk, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Tulsa, have put together the Pulp Magazines Project, which they describe as “an open–access digital archive of early twentieth–century pulp magazines.” There are background articles about the pulp magazines, thumbnail cover scans, and links to a variety of vintage publication sites. Plans include an online library of digitized pulps.

Pulp glossary (Archived)

Adventure House used to host this pulp glossary — offering a brief explanation of pulp-magazine-related terms, as well as brief info on authors and characters — until a website redesign. The glossary is still available via the Wayback Machine at Archive.org.

Relatos Pulp

Relatos Pulp, or “Pulp Stories,” is a Spanish website focused on pulps — both the classic pulps and New Pulp — as well as related topics, such as TV, movies, books and comic books. The site began in 2010, is regularly updated, and includes an active forum. [Google Translation]

DC’s other comics

The title on this page is certainly a misnomer. These weren’t other “comics,” but rather pulp magazines. Based on articles by Will Murray for Comic Book Marketplace, this portion of Bob Hughes’s history of DC Comics outlines the company’s role in the publishing of “saucy,” Spicy, Speed, and other pulp lines.

Steranko on the pulps and Time on the pulps

Chris Kalb’s Doc Savage site, The 86th Floor, includes a couple of articles on the pulps and pulp reprints; one by Jim Steranko, the second from a 1971 Time magazine.

Pulp Superhero Index

Will Murray has expanded on Robert Weinberg and Lohr McKinstry’s Hero Pulp Index and refocused it on characters inspired by the success of The Shadow magazine in 1931. You’ll find characters, pulp magazines, authors, and publishers in this online timeline of the hero pulps.

Galactic Central

Phil Stephensen-Payne’s Galactic Central Publications website is a treasure trove of information. It offers author bibliographies, fiction magazine listings, covers and indexes, the Pulp Coming Attractions archive, a partial restoration of the old PulpTrader database, and so much more. It’s one of the indispensable pulp websites.

The FictionMags Index

William G. Contento is coordinating this index of magazine contents derived from information provided by members of the Fictionmags mailing list. The index ranges from fiction magazines from the late 1800s through the pulps and into the digests of the 1960s.

Gloria Stoll Karn

One of the few female artists working in the pulps, Gloria Stoll Karn painted and illustrated for a variety of magazines, including Black Mask, Dime Mystery, Love Book, and All-Story Love.

Norman Saunders, pulp illustrator

David Saunders, son of Norman Saunders, has put together a site devoted to his artist father. There’s a biography, checklist and details and samples of the elder Saunders’ work in magazines and for Topps cards.

Artist Spotlight: Walter Baumhofer

Advocate.com takes a look at pulp artist Walter Baumhofer and his work, with an emphasis on the appeal of some of his paintings to gay men.

Homer Eon Flint

A mystery death ended Homer Flint’s short fiction career in 1924. But the 35–year–old left behind a range of stories published in the early pulps (including mystery, humor, and scientific romance stories) and a young family. His granddaughter, Vella Munn has put together a website devoted to this early fictioneer.

Pulps at auction

Pulps turn up not just on eBay, but at such big-name auction houses as Sotheby’s, too. Diamond Galleries’ e–zine Scoop from 2003 includes an article about an auction including pulp–related items — including three original cover paintings from The Shadow pulp — from the collection of Forrest J Ackerman and from the estate of illustrator Charles Coll.

Pulp Crazy

Jason Aiken produces a video blog called “Pulp Crazy,” which looks at pulps and pulp characters. Links to websites mentioned in the videos appear with each post.

Pulpdom

The long-running zine Pulpdom ended publication in 2013. Now editor Caz Cazedessus is offering “Pulpdom Online” as free PDF issues. The zine’s website also has a brief history of science fiction and the pulps.

Character pulps

The Avenger in print and on radio

Robert Finnan’s page on The Avenger includes a listing of the hero’s magazine appearances and information on the short-lived radio series.

Dusty Ayres and his Battle Birds covers

General Atomic has posted eight covers from Dusty Ayres and His Battle Birds pulps. Witness action scenes from “Black Lightning,” “The Green Thunderbolt” and “The White Death.”

G-8’s Web base

In addition to his Doc Savage and The Spider sites, Chris Kalb has crafted a wonderful site devoted to the Flying Spy, which includes information on author Robert J. Hogan and interior artist J. Fleming Gould, the major characters in the series, an annotated bibliography of adventures and covers and interior art. Added features include screensavers, a “G-8’s Flight Helmet” kit, and a game. (The site requires Adobe Flash.)

Page of Grace

Thrilling Detective includes a page on Grace Culver, one of the popular back-page features of The Shadow magazine. Along with brief background information, you’ll find a list of the stories in which she appeared. The Web site also includes information on scores of other detectives.

Edmond Hamilton’s Captain Future

Larry Estep has put together a site devoted to Captain Future: Wizard of Science (later known as Man of Tomorrow). Learn more about Curt Newton and his fight against evil. The Web site includes information on Hamilton, the series’ writer, and a bibliography of the good captain.

Futuremania: The Captain Future Fan Site

This German website provides an extensive look at the Japanese and German animated Captain Future TV series. It also includes summaries of the original pulp novels and short stories, reprint info, and a profile of author Edmond Hamilton.

Captain Future: A German view

Sascha Goto’s Captain Future site includes information on the original pulp run of Edmond Hamilton’s character, as well as a Captain Future FAQ, and information on and sounds from the television program. The site is in German, but using Google Language Tools provides an adequate translation.

Capitaine Flam

This French site looks at Capitaine Flam, aka Captain Future. You’ll find e-texts, cover scans, and other inside features, as well as a history of Captain Future in pulp and video.

Lone Ranger Wiki: Lone Ranger Magazine Stories

The Lone Ranger Wiki focuses mostly on the character’s appearances in other media, but there is a listing of the stories appearing in the 1937 pulp, The Lone Ranger Magazine.

Operator 5’s online operations

Chris Kalb (see G-8 above) provides an overview of America’s Undercover Ace and a bibliography of his adventures. The site is part of Chris’s Hero Pulp Web site.

Zorro’s home on the Web

The official Zorro site includes a complete listing of Zorro’s pulp adventures, information on fan clubs, collecting Zorro and the 1998 movie, and the latest Zorro news.

Pulp heroes at Moonstone Books

Moonstone Books publishes novels, short stories, graphic novels, and comic books featuring a number of pulp characters, including The Avenger, The Black Bat, Domino Lady, the Phantom (Detective), Sheena, and others.

The pulp avengers

Brian Misiaszek has put together a FAQ about the pulps, pulp heroes, and how they can be used in role-playing games.

Pulp Culture review

Here’s a review of Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines with an eye toward role-playing games.

Edgar Rice Burroughs

The official ERB Inc. site

Edgar Rice Burroughs is probably most famous for Tarzan, but he wrote other pulp stories, including series featuring John Carter of Mars, Carson Napier of Venus, and David Innes. You’ll find plenty of information about Burroughs and his creations on this site, as well as links to sources for ERB comics and reprints and to the artists who drew them.

Another official ERB Inc. site

Formerly the site for Disney’s Tarzan movie, Tarzan.com has reverted to ERB Inc. as one of its two official sites.

ERBzine

Bill and Sue-On Hillman have put together an extensive Web site cataloging their ERBzine, a weekly online fanzine about Edgar Rice Burroughs, and ERB-related sources.

The Burroughs Bibliophiles

The Burroughs Bibliophiles, a “worldwide organization of aficionados who share a love for the works and characters” of Edgar Rice Burroughs, was founded in 1960. It publishes a quarterly zine, The Burroughs Bulletin, and a monthly newsletter, The Gridley Wave, and sponsors the annual summer convention, The Dum-Dum. Annual membership in the organization includes a subscription to both publications.

Tarzan of the Internet

Ed Stephan’s Web site offers a jungle-size list of links to Tarzan pages, as well as images from Tarzan’s pulp appearances.

Exploring ERB

Patrick H. Adkins has pulled together many of his contributions to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association (a group similar to the PEAPS). He offers some thoughtful perspectives on Burroughs and his creations.

Edgar Rice Burroughs Literary Archive

Ken Lopez Bookseller, which specializes in rare books and manuscripts, is offering for sale (asking price $375,000) an extensive collection of items belonging to Edgar Rice Burroughs: correspondence, manuscript materials, photographs, and memorabilia from the 1920s to the 1940s. This six-page website shows a rundown of items (illustrated with photographs) of the items broken down into time periods in ERB’s life.

John Carter official movie site

Here’s the official website of the 2012 Disney movie John Carter. Find out information about its production and cast.

The Game of Jetan

Here’s a different take on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars series. The web page, by Larry L. Smith and Hans Bodlaender, looks at the rules of Jetan, which is based on ERB’s “The Chessmen of Mars.”

Jetan, Barsoom’s Game of Chess

Here’s another page devoted to the rules of Jetan, the Martian game from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The Chessmen of Mars.”

Earth’s Core review

Steven H. Silver reviews Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “At the Earth’s Core” with an emphasis on how it stands up today.

Weird fantasy/horror

Robert E. Howard United Press Association

Keep up with the latest news regarding REH and his characters on the Web site for long-running amateur press association. In addition to news items, the REHUPA site includes tips on collecting REH, bibliographies and checklist information, a biography of Howard, photos of him, and literary criticism about his works.

Messages From Crom

Bill Thom runs this Robert E. Howard newsline blog. He promises the “latest news regarding REH books, pulp reprints, comics, audio, conventions, games, and whatever else seems applicable.”

The Barbarian Keep

Ed Waterman offers a bounty of information regarding Robert E. Howard and his works: from fan clubs and discussion groups to sources for REH books to fanzines and critical publications to information on REH movies and TV programs.

Robert E. Howard Archive

Steve Hogan and friends offer an insightful look at the creator of Conan, Solomon Kane, and other pulp barbarians.

Cimmerian Collection

In the Cimmerian Collection, Jeffrey Blair Latta reviews and lists the publication history books and stories by Robert E. Howard. He also includes covers of selected editions.

Conan the Official Web Site

Look for information about Conan collectibles, books, comics, games, and more at this site for Conan Properties International. There’s also a Conan bibliography listing all of the barbarian’s book appearances.

Conan the Barbarian Movie Blog

Originally focused the 2011 Conan the Barbarian movie, the blog has morphed into reporting any Conan news.

Clark Ashton Smith site

Boyd Pearson’s Web site, The Eldritch Dark, includes: biographical information on Smith; areas on his writings, including e-texts of his stories and poems; information about his art; and a Hyperborean glossary.

H.P. Lovecraft Archive

Learn more about the master of Weird Tales at Donovan Loucks’ site.

Science fiction/fantasy

Daily Kos Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club

Started in early 2011, this online book club posts periodically and welcomes comments on the current book. Unfortunately, the postings are mostly synopses of the books, and just a bit of analysis. Pulp stories covered include Alfred Bester’s “The Demolished Man,” Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “A Princess of Mars,” A.E. van Vogt’s “The Voyage of the Space Beagle,” Isaac Asimov’s “Caves of Steel,” H.P. Lovecraft, and E.E. “Doc” Smith’s “The Skylark of Space.”

William J. Heron Collection of Speculative Fiction

Visit the Web site of the Library Special Collections Department at Virginia Tech. You’ll find information about their collection, including a list of what they have, and images of pulp and paperback book covers.

Science fiction in French

NooSFere, the French encyclopedia of science fiction, includes covers and information about a variety of science-fiction pulp magazines, such as Astounding, Galaxy Science Fiction, and If.

Paskow Science Fiction Collection

Here is information about Temple University Library’s Paskow Science Fiction Collection, which includes some information on pulps and fanzines.

Buck Rogers in the pulps

Though you likely think of him as a comic strip character (or worse, as a TV character), Buck Rogers actually made his leap to the 25th century in the pulps. Most of this site looks at Buck’s comic, radio, film, and TV appearances, but there is a section on his Amazing Stories debut when he was known as Anthony “Buck” Rogers. The site also includes the first portion of Philip Francis Nowlan’s initial Buck Rogers story, “Armageddon, 2419.”

The Buck Rogers Fansite

This site focuses on all aspects of Buck Rogers, from pulps, comics, films, TV, reprints, and memorabilia.

Blueprint for Space exhibit (Archived)

Learn about the connection between science-fiction literature and fact at the website for “Blueprint for Space: Science Fiction to Science Fact,” an exhibit that was displayed at the Johnson Space Center in Texas in 1992. You’ll find science-fiction pulp covers and Wernher Von Braun’s sketches for 1950s-vintage spacecraft.

Mystery/hardboiled

Twists, Slugs, and Roscoes

Not sure what a flivver is? Or a roscoe? Or mazuma? Then William Denton’s Glossary of Hardboiled Slang is just what you need.

Miscellaneous

The Wold Newton family

Win Eckert takes a look at and expands on Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton theory of heroes and villains.

Charles Boeckman: Pulp and Modern Fiction Author and Musician

The website for Charles Boeckman Jr., who wrote under the name Charles Bockman Jr., features fiction excerpts and bits of biography about the author and jazz clarinetist. It’s maintained by his wife, Patricia Boeckman.

Edgar Wallace online

British author Edgar Wallace is the focus of this official site of the Edgar Wallace Society. Wallace was a popular author for British pulps.

Zane Grey’s West Society

The group’s Web site includes a biography of Zane Grey, information on the society, “How to Get Started Reading Zane Grey” and “Why You Should Read Zane Grey” sections. There’s also a checklist for Zane Grey’s Western Magazine and a bibliography of his stories and articles published in a variety of magazines, including pulps.

Dime novels and penny dreadfuls

Here is Stanford University’s collection of dime novels and penny dreadful papers and magazines. The site offers background on the popular fiction that led to the pulps.

Dime Novel Round-up

The 19th Century Girls’ Series Web site provides a content listing for Dime Novel Round-up zine, which looks at both dime novels, pulps, and other popular fiction genres.

Images

Pulp and comic book covers

Though chiefly a binary newsgroup for scans of comic book covers, you can find quite a few pulp covers there, too.

Pulp Covers: The Best of the Worst

The definition of “pulp” is broadly defined at this Posterous website, and includes pulp magazines, paperback books, and more. But for pulp magazine fans, you’ll find plenty of garish eye candy in the large-size covers posted on this site.

Comic Art Fans

Despite the name, Comic Art Fans has a lot for pulp fans. Yes, most of the art is comic book related, but search for “pulp” or a specific pulp artist, and more than likely you’ll turn up something of interest. A number of pulp fans have set up galleries there with photos of original paintings and drawings.

Magazine Art

This Web site devoted to magazine art, in general, includes a section focusing on the pulps, including Adventure, Uncanny Tales, and other science-fiction and fantasy titles.

William J. Heron Collection of Speculative Fiction

If you missed it above, this site at Virginia Tech’s library includes images of pulp and paperback book covers.

Tales of Future Past

While most of the magazine illustrations here are from non-fiction science publications, there are a selection of science-fiction pulp covers scattered throughout.

Enoch Bolles

The blog focuses on artist Enoch Bolles, who is best known for his pinup covers for pulps, such as Breezy. It includes cover images and model reference photos.

Pulp art on CD–ROMs

Though Graffix Multimedia sells CD–ROMs of pulp cover scans, their site includes numerous cover samples from mystery, detective, science-fiction, and western pulps.

Pulps: A Japanese view

This site from Japan includes an excellent selection of pulp cover scans. They are chiefly science-fiction pulps, such as Amazing, Captain Future, Planet and such, but also Argosy, Blue Book, and Weird Tales. The text at this site is in Japanese. (If you don’t read Japanese, Google Translate provides a reasonable solution.)

Poulpe pulps

Francesca Myman takes a slightly skewed look at pulp magazine covers with her poulpe pulp site. It’s the octopus — the animal, not the pulp character — that takes the place of the BEM* on these covers. (*Bug-Eyed Monster)

E–texts

PDF pulps

Larry Estep’s PulpGen site includes a page for downloading PDF versions of pulp stories. It’s a nice selection of stories by David Goodis, E. Hoffmann Price, Major R.T.M. Scott, Theodore Tinsley, and others. (Look under the “Download the Stories” subhead and browse by author, magazine or recent additions.)

ERB pulp text

Miscellanea, formerly known as Retro Novello, includes e-texts of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The Girl from Farris’s” and “The Efficiency Expert” for downloading. You’ll also find several stories by Sax Rohmer.

Online Books Page

Links to sites with electronic texts of books.

Gutenberg Project

Search the Gutenberg Project’s directory of electronic texts. Here you’ll be able to find many Edgar Rice Burroughs’ adventures, as well as many, many other novels — and all are free.

Clark Ashton Smith writings

The Fantasy Collector’s collection includes stories and poems by Smith.

Radio/TV/Film

The Serial Squadron

The Serial Squadron Web site, dedicated to movie, radio, and TV serials, includes information on serials featuring such pulp and dime novel characters as The Shadow, The Spider, Deadwood Dick, Tarzan, and others.

Old Time Radio show logs

Episode guides and air dates of a variety of old radio programs, including some based on pulp characters, such as The Shadow, Doc Savage, and Dr. Kildare.

Old Time Radio Show Catalog

OTRCat features a daily download from classic radio drama, as well as sells
MP3 and audio CDs of vintage radio programs, including a variety of science-fiction shows based on pulp writers’ stories.

Old time radio newsgroup

You will frequently find episodes of The Shadow and other pulp–related radio programs posted to this old-time radio newsgroup. Most appear to be in MP3 format.