The first La Plata Doc Con is past now. Wish I could have attended. I’m eager to hear Arizona Brother of Bronze Jay Ryan’s report. Jay is hosting this year’s Arizona Doc Con, the ninth one if you’re keeping track. He took his camcorder to La Plata, Mo., to videotape the events.
It will be fun to see the sites from Lester Dent’s home town and listen to Jay’s commentary.
Cons — such as the La Plata one, the upcoming Arizona Doc Con and others listed under “Pulp events” on the TPN home page — are a great way to meet up with fellow pulp fans. (There’s always a con coming up.)
Local gatherings are another way. Mark Halegua, Ed Hulse and others in the New York City area have formed the Gotham Pulp Collectors Club. (In fact, their most recent gathering was last Saturday.)
If there’s no organized get-together in your area, start your own. It doesn’t need to be anything formalized. Until I moved to Arizona a couple of years ago, Scotty Phillips and I used to get together for lunch in Clearwater several times a year to talk pulps, about anything we’d purchased recently or discovered online. Plus, I got to look at Scotty’s latest pulp cover painting reproductions. That was always a treat!
There were several other pulp fans in the Tampa Bay area. I intended to try to set up a get-together for all of us, but I always pushed it to the back burner. Guess what? I never got around to it before we moved. Wish I had now.
I was lucky to move into an area that already had an organized group of pulp fans. Rob Smalley, Jay, Paul Cook and Courtney Rogers – all from the Phoenix area – were meeting up every few months for a “Doc Day,” then hosting the annual Arizona Doc Con. I was welcomed into the fold. Since then, we’ve had other Phoenix area pulp fans join, including Phil Matthews and Jack Suto. (We’re hoping Steve Ringgenberg will be joining us when he can.)
If you don’t live in an area with an organized pulp gathering, start one yourself! It doesn’t have to been anything fancy. Just get the word out that you’re interested and meet up for lunch at a cafe, someone’s house or a library meeting room. It won’t cost you anything (except your burger), but you’ll be rewarded with a great new set of friends who share an interest in the pulps.
If you’re free on Saturday, Nov. 11, and can get to the Phoenix area, you’d be welcome to attend this year’s Arizona Doc Con. We’re celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Empire State Building (often considered Doc Savage’s headquarters).
It’s a day-long event, with discussions, quizzes, videos and a raffle, among other things. We’ll be gathering at Jay Ryan’s house just north of Phoenix. You can get complete details at Rob Smalley’s Doc Con page.
It’s marked on my calendar. I hope you’ll put it on yours, If not, I hope another pulp gathering will be on your calendar soon.
– William
So, Bill, are you planning on attending the Windy City Pulp Con in May 2007. Team Hazzard will be there in full force. Yours truly, fellow writer Martin Powell and pulp artists Rob Davis & Tom Floyd. Should be a blast.
Hi, Ron,
I’d like to get to Windy City. It’s not on my calendar right now, but after the first of the year, things might change. Sounds like quite a gathering already! (And it’s a bit easier to fly to Chicago than to Dayton from Phoenix!)