Paperback Fanatic 11

Justin Marriott (ed.) – Paperback Fanatic #11 (August, 2009)

Contents

Editorial:
Fanatical Mail – Paperback fanatics from around the world have their say!
AGRO! – The Fanatic continues its look at Hell’s Angels pulps
Thirty Years Behind The Typewriter – Classic Steve Holland interview with versatile author Peter Leslie
I’ve Been Up So Long – Fanatic interviews publishing maverick Mark Howell. The NEL editor’s reminiscences of life with Laurence James, Jim Moffatt, Peter Haining, Bob Tanner & Co.
The Lives And Loves Of James Moffatt – Fanatic investigates the many pen-names of Richard ‘Skinhead’ Allen
Take A Journey to Dimension X – The Fanatic studies the ‘Jeffrey Lord’ sword and sorcery series Blade
A Green Dog Trumpeting – The Fanatic interviews Ian Miller one of the most idiosyncratic and distinctive of all paperback artists whose work includes The Sucking Pit, Errol LeCale’s Zombie, and the striking covers for the Panther reprints of Lovecraft’s At The Mountains Of Madness and The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward.

Edited by Justin Marriott : justinATjustincuitprint.free-online.co.uk
Designed by Glenn B Fleming : gbf15AThotmail.co.uk
Published August 2009: contact www.thepaperbackfanatic.com

Paperback Fanatic 9

Man, this is so hot through the letterbox, I haven’t even managed to extract it from the envelope!

Justin Marriott (ed.) – Paperback Fanatic #9 (February 2009)

A quick flick through before i settle down to actually read the thing, and what immediately catches the eye? Plenty! There’s a lengthy feature on The Man From O.R.G.Y. and his fellow international men of mystery as “The Fanatic dives into the world of sexy spies and double-d double agents.’ Curt Purcell of the incomparable Beyond The Groovy Age Of Horror investigates The Twilight World Of Eli Podgram, star of Nel’s six-part ‘Specialist’ series from the early ‘seventies. There’s an interview with and overview of Peter Tremayne’s career as a horror, fantasy and Crime author and John Mains’ interrogates Chris Lowder about his Mills & Boon Blood Of Dracula outing as Jack Hamilton Teed. Bootboys and Bovver girls are as well catered for as man or woman can ever be with Skinhead Revival: Richard Allen and his delinquent spawn unleashed across seven pages, one of which is commandeered by a certain Franklin ‘Suedehead’ Marsh! As you maybe guessed from the cover, the featured classic artist of the issue is Nel/ Mayflower serial offender Richard Clifton-Day and, of course, there is Fanatical Thoughts, the unmissable letters department, and a right old fiends reunited affair it is with loads of names familiar from this board offering their support and encouragement. Fanatical Thoughts is my absolute favourite department of any publication you care to mention.

As you’re no doubt aware, Justin is currently being kept very occupied by baby Sophie (wish you well, little one) so “No chance to update the PF site, but maybe you could mention £5.25 inc postage by paypal to my e-mail address and to pm me if they don’t know it.”

The email address is justinATjustincultprint.free-online.co.uk (replace the AT with @, obviously. Anti-spam precaution)

Thank you Justin!

Thinking Mans Crumpet ……

…. Is back! Co-editor Catherine C. recently informed us:

The idea is that there will be a January 2009 relaunch of the printed genre magazine aimed at female contributors – New Year, new editor, new start … that kind of thing. The ethos of the magazine is to encourage and inspire women writers and illustrators/artists – but we’ll let the men look at it too!

Phew!

Caroline continues:

And here’s the blurb with submission details:

TTMC is a magazine project edited by Caroline Callaghan and Coral King. Our main aim is to promote new and interesting female writers. We also feature a guest male writer in each issue. Artwork will be welcome, as will verse, articles, interviews and short stories.

Submissions are currently open for issue two, which is due in the new year. We would like to see examples of horror, science fiction and erotica, but all genres will be considered, and to encourage new writers we are not insisting on full technical formatting – as long as it’s legible that’s fine. Please submit your work by email to coralkingATlive.co.uk  (Replace the ‘AT’ with @)

Sorry, there’s no payment, but all contributors will receive a free copy, and all reviews will be published in the blog for you to use for promotional purposes on your own site. TTMC will also be for sale – details nearer the release date.

Issue one was very popular, so come on ladies, give it a go!

The best way to get involved is to contact them via womenwriters.

Good luck to all concerned! Can I be an honorary girl or something?

Paperback Fanatic: The November Relaunch

Justin writes:

Lots of news! Including I will become a dad in February, although I suspect you’re far more interested in news of my other mutant off-spring The Paperback Fanatic!

The new-look Fanatic will be with you in November 2008

All issues bar 7 are now sold out (I’ll get to the web-site and update it ASAP).

The Fanatic will be re-launched in November as a quarterly publication from Sequential Media. There will be some changes to make it feel more like a magazine, but it should still very much feel like 95% of the original Fanatic. The new publishers also wanted me to carry on with the design to preserve the look, but bearing in mind the increased workload I’ve turned that over to them.

I’m currently writing Volume 2, Issue 3, so there are two issues currently being proof-read and designed. Maybe you could post the new dummy cover for people to check out?

Volume 2, issue 1 content includes-

Skinhead Revival!
The Fanatic traces the rise and fall of the most notorious and collectible of 1970s paperbacks- the skinhead pulps from New English Library (I had to write this one for FM!)

Jim Steranko, The Ivy League Vampire
The Fanatic takes its regular look at the classic paperback artists – this time it’s the legendary Jim Steranko under The Fanatic microscope

Confessions of a Paperback Fanatic
The full story behind the mag you hold in your very hands!

Edgar Rice Burroughs in paperback
With a Princess of Mars movie in production, The Fanatic digs out its collection of British ERB paperbacks and takes a trip to Mars, Venus and Pellucidar

A Fistful of Pulps!
The Fanatic chats with Terry Harknett, the man behind the George G Gilman pseudonym and the million selling spaghetti westerns in print- Edge and Steele

Fanatical Thoughts
Fanatics from around the world have their say on the letters page

The Paperback Dungeon
Updates and corrections to previous features, as well as the latest news, reviews and gossip

Men’s Adventure
In this first instalment of a regular feature on Men’s Adventure pulps, The Fanatic looks at the Malko super-spy series

Pulp Horror Has Risen From The Grave!
The concluding part to The Fanatic’s study of the classic horror pulps of the 1970s

So there you go! Can’t wait to see it out there. I think the launch event will be at the ABC Fair in London in November, so nearer the time I’ll be looking to drum up some support from various alcoholic members of Vault to turn up and cause mischief!

The Thinking Man’s Crumpet: issue 1

Coral King (ed) – The Thinking Man’s Crumpet #1 (June, 2008)

Anna Stephens – Cassandra
Roswell Ivory – Origami
Caroline Callaghan – Transmat
Roswell Ivory – Lady Medusa
Bubo – Pollution Of Thought
Trudi Topham – Stiff
Virginia Powell – The Crowds Cheered
Emily Jones – Head

I’m hoping to get my hands on a copy v.soon, in the meantime ….

Coral writes:

Some background: TTMC was set up with two basic aims. Having been a member of the Vault of Evil for a while, I was inspired by the members’ various literary projects to create one of my own. However, my purpose was slightly different in that I decided to take submissions from female writers alone, to begin with. Thus my first aim was to provide a relaxed, encouraging atmosphere for women, who were perhaps wondering if writing was for them, to come forward and submit their work in an uncharged, “we’re all girls here” style arena. Ego-wise, I also hoped to be responsible for discovering the next Shirley Jackson or Poppy Z Brite. The other main issue that I have tried to address with this publication is that of “genre”. I do dislike that word. Rigidity by editors and publications over subject matter, and indeed word counts, formatting, style etc ad nauseum, can be intimidating for someone just starting out. By creating a magazine with no boundaries, where literally anything is considered, and may even be submitted by myspace message if so desired, I am hoping to coax out work that might otherwise remain unpublished, either because the author is unsure, or has perhaps been rejected as being “not what we’re looking for” by genre publications. I hope you will enjoy reading this superb collection of multi-genre stories, verse and flash fiction as much as I have! BLOGS coming soon: Should this publication be gender inclusive? Submissions for issue two required. Should submissions for artwork be opened? Should a section for non fiction, reviews, articles and such be included?

On a personal note, I do hope you’ll enjoy reading the top notch stories, verse and flash fiction in this first issue, and will be tempted to look out for number 2 this autumn. This labour of love was inspired by my chums at the Vault of Evil message board, and by Rog Pile, who also kindly donated some of his fantastic artwork to enhance the magazine. The lovely lady contributors have given their utmost to create a cosmopolitan mix of styles and genres. The next issue will include even more quality fiction.

Enjoy. Coral x.

Anyone desiring to review the magazine, also please contact me here: coralkingATlive.co.uk (substitute the ‘AT‘ with @ :anti-spam measure – demonik)

copies are available to order for the very reasonable sum of £2.50 plus .75p p+p; see the paypal button on the profile page at women writers

See also the Vault of Evil ‘The Thinking Man’s Crumpet’ thread. This is among our “better” ones, actually, as it covers the TMC project from its inception through to publication and TMC’s first review!

Paperback Fanatic 7

Justin Marriott (ed.) – Paperback Fanatic #7 (June, 2008)

New English Library Horror Pulps! Witches, warlocks, demons and virgin sacrifices feature in the first part of this study of the lurid and shocking horror pulps from the UK’s stalwart pulp publishers of the 1970s!

Laurence James- huge overview of the legendary editor and author of The Angels from Hell biker quartet, the Confessions books, the Witches as James Darke, Deathlands and so much more.

Jeff Jones- checklist and critical assessment of the highly collected fantasy cover artist.

Fred Nolan- a behind the scenes look at the British publishing industry with the larger than life Fred Nolan.

Just arrived this morning and needed to share it before i’ve even thought of hacking out one of my risible non-reviews.

Ordering details and much, much more from Paperback Fanatic. Justin’s magazine has made the nominations for best magazine in the 2008 British Fantasy Awards and, no disrespect to the other candidates, many of whose publications I’ve yet to investigate, but I’d so love to see a Fanatic win!

Pantechnicon 7

Pantechnicon 7 (June 1st 2008)

STORIES

DF Lewis – The Web Across The Door

DF Lewis offers a short slice of weird.

Johnny Mains – The Trapper

Harsh winter, rotting food, and ghosts take their toll on a trapper and his wife.
Contains scenes of a graphic nature.

Brian Wright – Blood

New job, new boss, same old corporate life. With telepathy, a ghost, and murder.

David Barnett – Death Knock

A dead journalist seems to be visiting relatives of the recently-bereaved. It falls to the Department for Extra-Usual Affairs to investigate.

Alister Davison – The King is Dead

JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley meet a newcomer to the afterlife. Only two of them have his best interests at heart.

Colin Sinclair – The Dopple Gang part two

Jake has a gun that can delete things. His only question now is who to kill first with it.

David Brookes – Tranquil Sea

An expedition to create a radio telescope using the Moon’s Daedalus Crater suffers Jovian interference.

Suzanne Jackson – Seeing the Light

She’s not crazy. And she’s going to show everyone exactly how not crazy she is. Even if it kills them.

FEATURES

Interview: Barry Wood

Caroline Callaghan chats to the Canadian author about his work and his future plans.

SF101: Olaf Stapledon

Sean Parker’s series continues with an exploration of Stapledon’s work.

Icon Oddities: The Musical Career of William Shatner.

Jamie Halliday kicks off a new series on the odd careers of genre icons, starting with the **** himself.

Horror Gems: Sundown

The next in Jamie’s Horror Gems series takes a look at this bargain-bucket treasure, unavailable on DVD.

Weird Tales: A Time-Travelling interview with DF Lewis.

Des and Caroline talk. And travel through time.

COLUMNS

The Fandom Menace

The Age of Innocence
SF: Is it really for you any more?

Time for some Perspective
And now, a look at the murky waters of Doctor Who fandom, and the raging battle of New Who vs. Old Who.

Don’t let the fact that there’s a soppy spaceship on the cover put you off – it’s obviously only there to placate the sci-fi brigade while their magazine is slowly but surely being colonised by ghastly horror! My thanks to the delightful Troo for this indepth breakdown of the content and profuse apologies for not getting around to circulating it sooner!

Download it for free from: Pantechnicon

See also Vault of Evil’s Pantechnicon 7 thread.

Filthy Creations 4

Rog Pile & Steve Goodwin (eds.) – Filthy Creations 4 (May 2008)

‘All Souls’ Day’ by Witold Pruszkowski

Sean Parker – Character
Noah Brown – The Snakes Inside
John Kenneth Dunham – The Lodge
Caroline Callaghan – Phone Number
Charles Black – Holding On
Franklin Marsh – The Horror Of Dreadstone Moor: Part V
Rog Pile – Bait
D. F. Lewis – Ghost Hunters

Verse by Virginia Powell
Art by Rog Pile & John Kenneth Dunham

Just arrived! See the Filthy Creations #4 thread on Vault of Evil!

£2.50 (including P&P), made out to R Pile

46 Trenoweth Estate
North Country
Redruth
Cornwall TR16 4AH
England
UK

All apologies! Long-overdue review of the truly great Filth 4 to follow just as soon as I come up with something that doesn’t read as dreadfully as my three attempts to date! You think the rest of this blog is awfully written ? Trust me, this is the “better” stuff …. :(

Paperback Fanatic

Paperback Fanatic : The Story so far ……

Justin Marriott (ed.) – Paperback Fanatic # 6 (Feb. 2008)

Peter Haining interview – long chat with the late Peter Haining about his trail-blazing days at the New English Library fiction factory. Discusses authors such as Jim Moffatt, Terry Harknett and Chris Priest, and books such as Skinhead, Chopper and Edge.

Haining’s Web of Terror- noted genre expert Mike Ashley’s dissection of Peter’s classic horror anthologies

Sexton Blake and The Guardians- Andy Boot’s investigation into the murky world of Bill Baker’s Press Editorial. Great stuff for any fan of 1960s pulp!

Philip Harbottle’s Vision of Tomorrow- how did the excellent SF mag Vision fail? Editor Phil reveals the inside story on the rise and fall of the UK’s only SF mag of the early 1970s.

Plus- Robert E Howard in UK paperback, NEL and the Mafia, letters, updates and reviews. 44 A4 pages.

Cover price £3.95, post-free to members of this site. Payment by paypal – details at Paperback Fanatic

This has just this minute arrived but see the Vault thread for comment on the mighty Paperback Fanatic # 6

Paperback Fanatic #5

Justin Marriott (ed) – Paperback Fanatic #5* (Nov. 2007)

Cover art: Ade Salmen

Right. Stuff in your strongest stomach because the eagerly awaited ‘When Animals Attack!’ special is finally upon us, 14 glorious glossy A4 sides devoted to the ‘Nasty’ creature feature novels that proliferated in the wake of James Herbert’s sex, gore and social commentary smash The Rats. As with the rest of the magazine, the article is offset with a plethora of cover reproductions treasury from the golden age. Even if you’ve never sampled the delights of Eat Them Alive, The Maggots, Worms, Night Killers or the mighty Crabs On The Rampage, you’ll qualify for the dreaded ‘overnight expert’ status once you’ve stomped and squelched your way through Justin’s crash course.

Following on from the Robert Lory scoop in the previous issue, an interview with Robert ‘Big Bob’ Tralins, a new name on me but responsible for a respectable stream of sexploitation and warped horrors for Popular, Belmont, Paperback Library and similar US cheapo publishers through the ‘swinging’ ‘sixties and ‘seventies. Sword & Sorcery he-men and she-women are well catered for with a Rivals Of Conan round-up and this issue also sees the conclusion of Legion Of The Damned, an exhaustive meditation on the joys of the pleasant, long-lived escapist Nazi war pulp craze. Finally, a welcome new feature is the self-explanatory Fanatical Thoughts – News, Updates, Letters, Gossip where various reprobates get to air their views.

For this reader, the best and most frustrating thing about Paperback Fanatic is that just when I think I can finally put a lid on all the genres I need to watch for when creepy crawling the junk-shops, Mr. Marriott will write something utterly intriguing about some old pile of rubbish or other and I’ll be all ‘Hmmm, but can I really live without Captive Of Gor‘?

Order your copy via paypal:
justinATjustincultprint.free-online.co.uk

* replace the AT with @ *

£3.50 post-paid UK
£5 post-paid mainland Europe
$8 post-paid to US and Canada.

* Perhaps I should attempt to explain the numbering system as it can get confusing. Issue 1 was Pulpmania!, issue 2 was Paperback Dungeon hence what I’ve always referred to as Paperback Fanatic #1 was actually #3.

I’m glad I’ve cleared that up to everybody’s complete satisfaction ….

Paperback Fanatic # 4

Paperback Fanatic #2 (Sept. 2007)

What did we do before Paperback Fanatic? If it only seems a couple of weeks since we were raving over the first issue, that’s because it is, so when a mysterious bundle squelched through my letterbox on Monday the last thing I was expecting it to contain was a proof of number 2!

It’s not as if I’m ever going to struggle to promote it to you people, but the eagle-eyed will have noticed that the cover features selected works from Robert Lory – and Justin has landed one of his biggest scoops ever! If you recall the interview-cum-career retrospective with Michel Parry way back in Pulp Mania, imagine the same treatment afforded to Mr. Lory …

To blithely trot out “worth the entry price for this alone” is true but also pays a huge disservice to the rest of the magazine. Justin has hit on a winning formula with his genre-hopping approach and number 3 showcases the artwork of Jan Parker and Bruce Pennington, the first in a two part investigation into the ‘German’ war fiction of Sven Hassel, ‘Leo Kessler’ and their acolytes, plus the usual feast of cover scans.

Order your copy via paypal
justinATjustincultprint.free-online.co.uk

* replace the AT with @ *

£3.50 post-paid UK
£5 post-paid mainland Europe
$8 post-paid to US and Canada.

Paperback Fanatic #3

The third issue of the legendary Justin Cultprint’s excellent The Paperback Fanatic (“The British magazine for collectors of pulp fiction”) is available now and if you enjoy browsing ‘seventies book covers this is certainly the magazine for you! The highlight for me is the catalogue of Sphere’s ‘seventies horror titles and there are also features on tacky kung-fu novels, the many faces of Paul Tabori and a piece on violent cops ‘The Special Squad’.

Here’s the cover!

Order your copy via paypal
justin@justincultprint.free-online.co.uk

£3 post-paid UK
£5 post-paid mainland Europe
$8 post-paid to US and Canada.

A Vault Of Evil version of the Sphere article is now available online here. My thanks to Justin for giving me permision to do this.

One Eyed Grey 5: Bank Holiday Weekend

Chris Roberts (ed.) – One Eyed Grey # 5 : Bank Holiday Weekend (fF&M Publications, May 2008)

‘a penny dreadful for the 21st century’

Chris Roberts – Editorial

Daisy Pearce – Black Prince (illustration Daniel Morgenstern)
Scott Wood – The Temple of Bacchus (photograph Alex Blair)
Cee Gee – Bank Holiday Weekend (illustration Celia Biscoe)
Richard Burdett – Bird Man (illustration Sara Bevan, photograph Robert Hackman)
Emily Cleaver – The Second Cellar (photograph Ken Johnson)
Andrew Flynn – The Toll Raven of Anerley Hill (illustration Alistair Kenward)
Benedict J Jones – Goin’ Underground (photograph Boris Green)
Martin Jones – EC Chainsaw Massacre III by (photograph Sarah Livingston)

Blurb:

Disappearing ladies, off licences on the sites of ancient temples, birds who charge tolls and one’s that stalk with the pigeon hordes. All this and a couple of nasty trips underground. What more could you want from a Bank Holiday Weekend?

Magic you say? We’ll we’ve got that as well in this edition of One Eye Grey which, in contrast to all the anniversary celebrations connected with Paris sixty eight, remains resolutely London two and eight.

“One Eye Grey is a collaborative effort bringing together people who fancied creating something chilling and pocket sized to read on the tube … ”

What a wonderful concept! Maybe they could throw in a can of Super strength to Circle Line ravers with next issue, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery?

In the spirit of the thing, I’ve been saving this specifically for my infrequent tube journeys, hoping that someone in the same carriage will be reading a copy which, you must admit, would be a caper!

Includes:

Richard Burdett – Bird Man: “A figure sauntered along the fields at 125 mph and looked at me, his eyes lightening in a blurred landscape. He walked straight through a man who was watching the train pass, leaving a brief pink mist. And he laughed. A woman down the coached coughed, then burst into flames ….

A pigeon-poisoner’s progress. The narrator reassures himself that Roger the tramp is a mental case prone to vivid hallucinations when he tells him about the Birdman and why he’s so grateful to Ken Livingstone for ridding Trafalgar Square of it’s pigeon population, After the terrible incident in Yorkshire, however, he no longer has the luxury of incredulity.

Benjamin Jones – Goin’ Underground: Editor Chris Roberts calls it right in his notes: “A welcome addition to the London legends of underground troglodyte communities who live off discarded burgers and unguarded commuters….”

It’s approaching midnight when a tube train arrives at Moorgate station minus one carriage. Guards Paulie, Jono, Dennis and narrator Steve enter the tunnel to see what’s become of it – and wish they hadn’t. Reads like a shudder pulp in miniature without the Scoobie Doo ‘rational’ ending and, like Mark Samuels’ Sentinels, Ron Weighell’s The Tunnel Of Saksaksalum and Robert Barbour Johnson’s ‘thirties classic Far Below, a delightfully unpleasant treat for Death Line/ Creep enthusiasts, although Ben has since informed me he doesn’t go a bundle on the latter film.

Emily Cleaver – The Second Cellar: Ok, so I cheated a bit with this one. I still had three pages to go when I got off the train so I completed it on a bench outside Tower Hill station. Just thought I’d best come clean about that.

Prof. Eckersley investigates a roadworks in the shadow of St. Giles Church where a 200 year old cellar has collapsed, exposing another beneath. Fantasising that – at last! – he’s about to make a significant archaeological find, Eckersley inadvisedly explores the premises after dark. It is located slap in the middle of what once was the Rookeries, home to the days beggars, cripples and desperately impoverished, and not all of them are at rest even now ….

Name-check for Geraldine, long-time proprietress of Bloomsbury’s Atlantis, the Occult bookshop in Museum Street.

Contact: F&M Publications