So far one area I’ve not touched on is any pulp-related clubs or organizations. Because as far as I know, most that do exist are fairly informal. An exception is the Burroughs Bibliophiles, a “literary society” dedicated to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and that organizes an annual convention and publishes a very nice journal on an irregular basis as well as a monthly newsletter. While I am a long-time Burroughs fan, I only became aware of them a few years back. I thought about joining them a couple of years back and did so when I ran into them again at Pulpfest 50 in 2022.
The organization got started in 1947 when Vern Coriell founded The Burroughs Bulletin with the approval of Burroughs himself. Later in 1960, fans of the Bulletin at the World Science Fiction Convention organized the Burroughs Bibliophiles, with the Bulletin as its official organ. Sadly, in 1977, the journal and organization floundered with the death of Coriell. It would be reorganized in 1990 by the late George McWhorter. He also restarted the fanzine as a glossy, professionally produced quarterly journal. Henry G. Franke III succeeded McWhorter as editor and publisher.
Their annual convention is called a Dum-Dum, and the next one is scheduled for two days in September 2023 in Rhinelander, Wis. You can find information on this one at the Bibliophiles’ website. Further, it looks like some larger local chapters also have their own gatherings. There is an ERBFest as part of Pulpfest that the group is involved in.
The Burroughs Bulletin is the main reason I joined. The current one, noted as the “New Series” was started in 1990 and has hit 100 issues. For completeness, the original Bulletin started in 1947 and ran for 68 issues until 1977, though apparently some numbers were not published. To give you an idea of these issues, here is info on the past three. All are quality printed on heavy, glossy paper with cardstock covers, 8.5- by 11-inches. Covers are in color, with quality black and white photos inside. Most issues are around 50 pages and saddle-stitched, but double or triple issues are two or three times and square bound. All the recent issues have been square bound, and I recently received #104/105 in late June/early July.
#100-102 (2019-20) As a triple issue, it comes in at 164 pages. It has a beautiful Mike Kaluta front cover, a Neal Adams back cover, and lots of other art in this issue with art galleries on Tarzan, Mars, Pellucidar, and other works.
As there are a wide range of articles in this one, I’ll not note every one. Akut and the mangani as a “missing link” is the subject of one. The early illustrators who did the Tarzan stories in pulps and books are highlighted in another. Joe R. Lansdale related how he worked on the Lost Adventure. Jim Malachowski relates the work that went into developing The Song of Opar. Pulp historian Will Murray provides two articles on Mars.
The recent publication efforts of ERB Inc. are reviewed. I would love to see an update on this. The influence of Willcox, Ariz., on the western writings of Burroughs is covered in one article. Artist Richard Hescox explains how he illustrated the Amtor/Venus novels. Lutha, the Ruritanian kingdom from The Mad King, is the subject of another piece. A strange one looks for the “Iron Mole” prop from the movie At the Earth’s Core and its fate. We get a look at the character of the Outlaw of Torn in one article. As this issue has a lot of art, I thought it interesting that one article looks at the artists’ interpretation of Burroughs’s work versus how they are described. Richard A. Lupoff writes about his biography Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure.
#103 (2021) At 64 pages, it is square bound. The front and back cover pieces are by Thomas Yeates of Tarzan and Jane. The highlight for me in the issue is the long article on the Semic International plans for a series of Burroughs comicbooks, which only some were created, and not all appeared in the U.S. It’s accompanied by several related articles. See my posting on the Dark Horse Tarzan comics for some of them. From Hemming Kure is a trio of articles
#104-105 (2022) This one comes in at 100 pages, with a nice Joe Jusko cover, and is an all-Tarzan issue. Ed Hulse provided articles on the Son of Tarzan and The Adventures of Tarzan movie serials from the early 1920s. This is followed by a picture gallery and more material on these two serials. There are several interviews, including actors who recently played Tarzan and artist Mike Grell. We get an in-depth article on the ant people for Tarzan and the Ant Men. Another interesting article looks at kavuru, along with others.
I think #106 will be a single issue but it won’t arrive for a few more months.
I have enjoyed every issue and am working on getting back issues.
The member newsletter is called The Gridley Wave, and runs two or more pages monthly. It’s usually sent out as a PDF, and for cost reasons, I prefer that method over mailing. Plus the mailed hardcopy is in black and white, whereas the PDF has color pics. As a newsletter, it gives regular updates for the members. The latest issue is #489, so we are getting near #500.
Since I’ve been a member, they have also been doing member Zoom calls about once a month or so, on weekends. It’s a great way to “meet” other members and find out what’s going on.
Membership is pretty reasonable. As the Bulletin isn’t as regular as it probably should be, membership is based on the number of Bulletins you’ll get (four or eight) and whatever number of the newsletter comes out. I think that is fair.
The membership application is on their website, and you can also get it at various pulp-related shows.
For me, based on the quality of the Bulletin, I felt the membership price was fair. If you are more than a casual fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his creations, I would highly recommend joining. And see if there is a local chapter in your area (or get one organized).
