An interesting New Pulp character who has been around for awhile but I only recently discovered is Mike Chinn‘s Damian Paladin. Per the author, the character is inspired by The Shadow, Howard Chaykin‘s The Scorpion, and Dominic Fortune, as well as the author’s interest in early aircraft.
I’m not too familiar with Chinn who lives and writes in the U.K. He is both a writer and editor, and he edited the trio of collections of New Pulp heroes from Alchemy Press. I have reviewed the first collection and wasn’t that impressed. So how is he as an author?
Damian Paladin has appeared in two works so far, both collections of short stories. The first one, The Paladin Mandates, came out in 1998 from Alchemy and only appeared in the U.K. (though you can probably get it through Amazon, which I did). We get six short stories of various lengths, and three appeared previously in the ’80s. So the character has been around a while! These stories should be read in order as they introduce Damian, his business partner Leigh Oswin, and Damian’s skill at dealing with supernatural threats.
As noted, taking inspiration from The Scorpion and Dominic Fortune, we get hints that Damian may be older then he appears, and his outfit is similar to what those characters wear. One of the stories reveals that he is very old! He seems to have a sixth sense about the supernatural. He uses his fighting and flying skills to deal with things, so no powers or spells, by and large, though he may use special items at times. Some of the things he deals with include ancient river spirits, monstrous underground things, ghosts, golems, vengeful Egyptian gods, and more. He has an outfit similar to The Scorpion, and carries around both a rapid-fire Mauser and a Browning automatic. Overall, he’s a sort-of occult detective with a strong aviation flavor.
With Leigh, they open up and run a swanky restaurant, which gives Damian a place to hang out between ghost breaking. We’ll also learn more about Leigh and her connections to Damian that even she doesn’t know.
Most recently, Pro Se Press has put out a second collection of Paladin stories last year, Walkers in Shadows. It’s in seven parts, or short stories, and like the first collection, it’s best to read them in order, as some characters show up in following stories and events in prior stories have an impact later on. This volume is set after the prior one, so you might want to read that first, but it’s not required. We meet a few other immortals, include one who is apparently Paladin’s father! And some of the events in these stories have an impact on Leigh. In between, Paladin deals with various supernatural threats, such as a gateway to another world, zombies in Harlem, Templar treasure hidden in Texas, vampires, and more.
Overall, while I enjoyed these stories, there just seems to be something not quite pure pulp with the character. He seems a little too carefree for a near immortal who you would feel would be a little more cynical or the like. But the stories are enjoyable and the characters are fun. Check him out.
