Toward the end of 2020, Bold Venture Press came out with their fall 2020 issue of Pulp Adventures, #37.
This time it features a cover by Robert McGuire, though I’m not sure from where, and as always there is a great selection of new and classic pulp stories in a wide range of genres, along with some non-fiction works related to the stories. In particular, we get stories by E.C. Tubb, Charles Boeckman, and Erle Stanley Gardner.
For classic pulp fiction, we get story another “lost” story from Gardner, creator of Perry Mason, that has never been reprinted. “The Trap,” like the story from last issue, appeared in the Chicago Ledger in 1925 under Gardner’s Charles M. Green pseudonym. And like that story, full info on this story is lacking in bibliographies. This short story is about a store owner trying to figure out who is stealing from him.
From Charles Boeckman, we get another mystery tale, “Nymph in the Keyhole” from the first issue of Mystery Tales in 1958. When you’re a peeping tom, it’s hard to get folks to not think you might also be a murderer.
“Honor Bright” is another space tale from well known sf author E.C. Tubb, whom Bold Venture has been reprinting. This one is from U.K. pulp Futuristic Science Stories in 1955.
Finally, we have “Death Is My Shadow” by Day Keene from Private Detective in 1956. Sailor Raoul Danton made a promise to Johnny Oakhurst, and gets pulled into mystery and murder. We also get a nice article on Keene’s career as a pulp and paperback author.
For New Pulp, we get a nice selection of tales.
We get a pair of science-fiction tales. In “Mudbugs” by John Kojak, a mysterious object from space leads to a dangerous outbreak. In “Paandor’s Box” by Martin Roy Hill, mankind is gifted with various new high-tech devices. But is it to our benefit or others?
Maybe science fiction, maybe fantasy, “Superhero” by Lee Weinstein is about a daydreamer who dreams of being a superhero. But is it a dream?
For mysteries, we get several. “Clue, Though?” by Charlotte J.R. Baker is a kind of takeoff of the game Clue. While in “Blondes, Blondes, Blondes” by Jack Bludis, we get another story with his P.I. character, Ken Sligo, as he solves a murder mystery.
And interestingly, we get a Sherlock Holmes story in “His Hour Upon the Stage” by Adam McFarlane. Sort of. We get Sherlock Holmes’ daughter with Dr. Watson‘s son investigating a crime. Set in America in the 1930s, Dr. Watson’s son is also a doctor, though a coroner working in New York, and has Sherlock Holmes’ daughter help him solve crimes. I would like to see more of this pair.
In addition to a few sidebars with some works, we get an overview of the fall 2020 Pulp Adventurecon. And we get an overview of the “Enforcer” series, which was a western series published in Australia and recently reprinted.
It’s another great volume. We should get the next issue shortly. I have no idea what it will contain, but have to expect another E.C. Tubb tale, as well as another work by Charles Boeckman. I look forward to it.
