At loose ends and not too keen on writing over the Labor Day holiday weekend, I decided to start a week-long Marvel deep dive. I had re-watched Guardians of the Galaxy stuff for the third one, so I set those aside. And I had watched the Logan movies not too long ago, so I skipped X-Men stuff. With those parameters, I re-watched (with a couple first watches): Avengers: Infinity War Avengers: Endgame Iron Man 1 Captain America: The First Avenger…
“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Back in 2022, I covered three different Pulp genres of Robert E. Howard. The third looked at one of my REH favorites – the Adventure Pulps. I talked about Kirby O’Donnell’s “Gold from Tartary.” You…
I posted last week about several audiobooks I’ve been listening to. Audiobooks totally fit in with my lifestyle (to the extent I have one). I can listen to them while working, driving, writing, falling asleep, walking outside, and even watching soccer which I’m not too invested in. I wouldn’t get to a lot of the stuff I listen to, if I had to read it. I mean, you have never heard such caterwauling as the folks in the carpool when…
A (Black) Gat in the Hand takes another week off, as I’ve continued listening to audiobooks daily. Last month I talked about some of my Audible choices. Whether I’m working, writing, driving, or trying to fall asleep, I am often listening to an audiobook. Often it’s a repeat, so my attention doesn’t have to be focused. But also, new things I wouldn’t get to otherwise. EGIL & NIX – Paul S. Kemp My Dungeons & Dragons-playing middle-school self devoured Elric,…
“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Richard Deming’s career flourished during the end of the Pulps and the birth of the digests. He published short stories in five different decades. After serving in World War II, he was working for…
“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Pulp Fest took place last week in Pittsburgh. It’s a really cool event, and the Hilton Doubletree is a nice site. Steeger Books rolls out its summer line at this event. And for the…
“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Last year, Steeger Books put out its first deluxe edition hardback, containing all of Paul Cain’s short stories, as well as his lone novel, Fast One. I wrote the intro for Fast One, which is…
It’s a week off from A (Black) Gat in the Hand, as I am currently reading Pulp, but except for the constant revisiting of Norbert Davis’ Max Latin, I’m not listening to it (though The Continental Op is on tap). I am constantly listening to audiobooks. I’m fortunate that my mind can multi-task, and I listen to them while driving, working, writing, when I go to sleep at night. It lets me get to things I wouldn’t have time to…
“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) My life gets crazy busy in July, and stays busy to Christmas, when I get a break. It’s a task to get my planned weekly column done. Which can shift the ‘current one’ into ‘in…
“You’re the second guy I’ve met within hours who seems to think a gat in the hand means a world by the tail.” – Phillip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep (Gat — Prohibition Era term for a gun. Shortened version of Gatling Gun) Several hardboiled books were not actually novels at the start. They were multi-part serials in the Pulp magazines of the day. Perhaps the most famous of these is Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, which ran…