“Tales of Masks and Mayhem” Vol. II is the second of four collections continuing from Tom Johnson‘s Fading Shadow’s zines, such as Double Danger Tales and Classic Pulp Fiction Stories (which ran some original pulp heroes until DDT was created and they were moved there), and highlights New Pulp hero stories, featuring both originals and public domain characters.
This collection includes these stories:
• “First Flight,” by K.G. McAbee and Johnson. It features Shadowhawke, an original, a character like The Shadow but set during the ’20s. There are some interesting, original elements with this character. As far as I know, no other stories with this character have been done. Reprinted from DDT #46.
• “Wolf’s Clothing,” by John L. French. Grey Monk is an original pulp hero set in modern times. The Grey Monk is also like The Shadow, and has appeared in the first three volumes of this series. This story brings together three stories: “Things Left Undone” in DDT #54, “Seeds of Evil” in DDT 55 and “The Only Justice” in DDT #57. There is a volume from Wild Cat Books reprinting all the Gray Monk stories, but it may be out of print.
• “Arctic Terror,” by Michael A. Black. Doc Atlas is Mike’s Doc Savage pastiche, but he is set as a post-WWII character instead of a post-WWI character. Atlas has appeared in the first three volumes, and in a novel, “Melody of Vengeance.” This story first appeared in Gryphon Double #9 (Gryphon Books, 1994) and was later reprinted in Fading Shadows’ Exciting UFO Stories #3. It’s set in 1951, and pits Doc Atlas against something like the “Thing” from the old b&w movie. Or does it?
• “Midnight Moon,” by Terry Nudds. The Moon Man is a classic pulp hero now in the public domain who is a Robin Hood-like character who steals from the corrupt and gives to the poor. This story is from CPFS #10.
• “For The Life Of A Child,” by Debra Delorme. Her story features Scarecrow, a original pulp hero set in modern times. He appeares in the first 3 volumes of this series. This story is from CPFS #15.
• “The Beginning,” by Ginger Johnson. This story is an origin story for Mr. Minus. He’s an original, modern pulp hero in the mold of Captain Zero, who turns invisible from midnight until dawn. It appears this story was originally published in CPFS #8 as “The Origin of Mr. Minus.”
• “The Lady Of Death,” by G. Wayman Jones. This story of the Black Bat appeared in DDT #32. Black Bat is a classic pulp hero now in the public domain.
• “The Chine Connection,” by Alanna Morgan. The Fox is a modern, female hero pulp character, and this story is reprinted from DDT #24 and #25. This character is an American trained as a ninja. Female heroes was pretty rare in the original pulp world. Elements in the story hint at a past encounter with Scarecrow, which I think was “Trouble Times Three” which wasn’t reprinted in any of these volumes.
Another great collection of New Pulp stories. Check it out this volume and the others in this series.
