PulpFest 2018 was recently held, and so we also get a new issue of The Pulpster, now up to #27. The focus of this issue is “WWI in the pulps”.
For that theme, we get a trio of works. Tom Krabacher takes a look at the war-time period of Adventure. I think most people are aware of the American Legion, the U.S. veterans association. Most probably don’t know that a prior organization with that same name was formed by Arthur Sullivant Hoffman, the editor of Adventure. But as his group was defunct, he passed along all rights to the new group. This is covered in an article published in the 1930s in the American Legion Monthly, reprinted here. Pulp fan George Evans wrote a series of works for the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society (PEAPS) on the air-war pulps, and Mike Chomko edited them together into an essay.
In honor of Philip José Farmer‘s 100th birthday, we get a short biographical essay he wrote in 1973. This followed by an article on Farmer by Joe Lansdale that appeared in the Best of Farmer collection in 2006.
We then get an different peek into pulp publisher Popular Publications, written by a former intern there in the waning years of the pulps as a letter to Al Tonkin.
David Smith looks at the pulp Suicide Squad, now being reprinted by Altus Press.
Rounding out the issue is a look at the first 10 years of PulpFest, which started in 2009, replacing the prior Pulpcon. And we get a memorial look the passing of several pulpsters, most notable is Al Tonik. I’ve seen many of his articles in the pulp fanzines I collect and read, and would love to see someone reprint his works, such as his series of “Ramblings of a Perambulating Pulp Fan,” so that present and future fans may learn from him.
I have yet to be able to attend a PulpFest, but maybe someday. At least I have another issue of The Pulpster to enjoy. Copies should be available from various vendors, in particular Mike Chomko, Books.
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