Prince Valiant Vol. 6: 1947-1948

I've reached Volume 6 (1947-1948) of Fantagraphics' best yet reproduction of Prince Valiant. This one starts in Thule (Val's home), where a rogue Viking snatches Aleta and spirits her off to the west. Val chases him past Iceland and Greenland all the way to Niagra Falls, where they spend the winter with some noble early Americans. Hal Foster did a ton of research into how those folks lived, and poured it into these pages. 

Val's hosts in the New World are the fun-loving Tillicum Indians. They think Aleta is a Sun Goddess, and act like a bunch of godfathers when she gives birth to Prince Arn. 

Foster gives us a look at what Niagra Falls might have looked like 1500 years ago. Erosion, he says, shortens the falls by three feet per year.

Val teaches the wife-snatcher a lesson by treating him to the Big Swim. In the Spring, he finds his way across the ocean to Camelot, where there's more trouble afoot. And there are many more adventures ahead, because the series is now up to Volume 11.

FREE TODAY: John Hegenberger's CROSS EXAMINATIONS

Headache. Heartache. Neckache. Backache.

Those are the titles of the four novelettes in Cross Examinations, and are fair descriptions of the sort of trouble each case brings to Private Investigator Eliot Cross. Cross likes to think of himself as a hardboiled detective, and when circumstances demand it his tough side comes to the fore. But he's more than that. He's a guy with real emotions and a social conscience that sometimes gets in the way of his business.

The four stories in this book, which have an almost novel-like continuity, are a good blend of action, humor and pathos. In "Headache," an auto dealer is accused of setting a booby-trap that kills a would-be robber. It would be easy to excuse that, figuring anyone breaking into a business deserves what they get. But Cross finds this attitude disturbing, and his main motivation is to make sure other shop owners don't follow suit.

In "Headache," a State Sentor hires him to rescue her brother from a religious cult. It starts off as fun, with Cross passing himself off as a reporter named "Irwin Fletcher," but turns serious - in more ways than one - and forces Cross to examine where his real loyalties lie.

"Neckache" is a romp through the world of comic art, with hat tips to Milt Caniff, The Spirit, Captain America, Krazy Kat, Prince Valiant and Alley Oop, among others. It's a clear indication that the author has fine and varied taste in reading matter.

In "Backache," Cross finds himself embroiled in the theft of a rare edition of The Canturbury Tales. This one exposes more good taste, especially when Cross drops an inside joke for readers (or viewers) of The Big Sleep.

And to add an extra dimension, Cross's adventures take place in or near Columbus, Ohio in the ancient era of 1988. And we know that's true, because there are references to such icons of the time as Phil Collins, Mr. Natural and Magnum, P.I.

For an extemely limited time (I think today is the last day) Cross Examinations is free for the stealing over at Amazon. Snatch it now, before it's too late! That's HERE.

Overlooked Films: JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER

 

I suspect this movie is no more Overlooked than it deserves to be, but I'm not curious enough to find out. I'm hoping you'll watch it so I don't have to.



More Overlooked Turkeys at Sweet Freedom.

Stephen Mertz strikes again! Blaze! #6: ZOMBIES OVER YONDER!

When Steve Mertz pitched this entry in the Blaze series to Rough Edges Press publisher James Reasoner, James told him: If you're going over the top, go WAY over. And that's what he did!

Zombies Over Yonder takes the husband and wife gunfighting team of J.D. and Kate Blaze to the dying town of Yonder, Arizona Territory. The new owner of The Starlight Mine - a creepy dude who wears an opera cloak and calls himself Count Vlad - has the place going full steam, despite having fired all the miners. How's he do it? With a workforce of the Living Dead, natch.

Sounds like an employers dream, doesn't it? Zombies don't need wages, or coffee breaks, or even sleep. But they do need plenty of living - or recently living - flesh to feed their never-ending appetites. Will Mr. and Mrs, Blaze find themselves on the menu? Read Zombies Over Yonder and find out.

Along the way, you'll meet a black-clad albino gunman named Lucien Grubmire, a vengeful Apache named Iron Heart, a sleazeball cavarly commander named Hitchcock, a lissome lass named Blue Feather, and a baker's dozen of evil-eyed gummen slated to meet the undertaker.

Where else can you have this much fun for a measley $2.99?

Get it here: Blaze! Zombies Over Yonder (Blaze! Western Series Book 6)

The Art of TOM ROBERTS (Part 9)

Pulpy goodness from Black Dog Books, 2008. 

A Black Dog classic - from 2000. 

From Crippen & Landru, 2002.  (Thx to R. Robinson)

Parts 1 thru 8 of The Art of TOM ROBERTS are HERE.
Next week: Nooses galore.

Altus Gallery: Nephews, Step-Sons and Crazy Second-Cousins of Zorro

X-Rated Forgotten Books: The Trailsman 260 - BLOOD WEDDING by "Jon Sharpe" (2003)

(Editor's Note: An always-popular feature of Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine is the "No Comment Department." Following that noble tradition, I'm going to kick back and let Mr. "Sharpe" speak for himself.)

     He slowed down so that he could match her eager thrusting, moving with her until he could feel the pent-up flow ready to burst its dam.

     “Now,” he said, releasing her hips, and she gyrated like a snake on a griddle.     (pg. 30-31)

     Fargo exploded inside her, gushing hot bursts, one after the other like cannon fire.     (pg. 31)

     She broke the kiss and started to whoop.

     “YeeeeeHaaaaaaw! YeeeeeHaaaaaaw!”     (pg. 62)

     “YeeeeeHaaaaaaw! YeeHaw! YeeHaw! YeeHaw!”    (pg. 63)

     He felt a tremendous pressure building in him.. It seemed to start in his toes and work its way all the way up his legs, which tightened like a bowstring.     (pg. 64)

     “YeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!”     (pg. 65)

     Fargo saw that her breasts were even bigger than he thought, standing high and proud, with their erect nipples pointing straight at him like bullets.     (pg. 90)

     She immediately moved her hand from herself to his erection, which was already standing at attention like a soldier on parade.     (pg. 91)

     “You could use that for a club if you got in a brawl,” Angel said.     (pg. 91)

      His rampant erection jutted out in front of him like a spear, and Angel took it in both hands.     (pg. 92)

     Fargo was just at the point of explosion when Angel suddenly became still. He thought for an instant that he might have hurt her shoulder, but it wasn’t that. It was only the calm before the tornado struck. She bucked under him like an unbroken pony.     (pg. 92)

     “Even after all that just happened to us, you’re still stiff as a fence post.”     (pg. 116)

     He was about at his own limit, and when she started yelling, he shot into her, bucking up off the bottom of the pool with each volley.

     “YeeeeeHaaaaaaw! YeeeeeHaaaaaaw!"     (pg. 117)

TARZAN'S BACK! Return to Pal-ul-Don by Will Murray!

When I heard this book was coming out, I immediately set to re-reading Tarzan the Terrible, the Burroughs novel recounting Tarzan’s previous visit to Pal-ul-Don. Though I’m glad I did, as an ERB refresher, it wasn’t really necessary. Return to Pal-ul-Don is a stand-alone adventure, introducing readers to new wonders, new horrors and new races in this forgotten corner of Africa.

This makes Return to Pal-ul-Don accessible to everyone – from folks who know Tarzan only through comics or movies, right up to the die-hards who carry the whole canon around as part of their DNA.

Any way you look at it, this a book that would have made Burroughs proud. It’s a fine blend of action, mystery, suspense and jungle know-how. Tarzan himself is portrayed in the grand fashion—noble, fearless and somewhat conflicted, struggling to balance the savage and civilized elements of his character. As always, the Lord of the Jungle is fiercely loyal to his friends, and merciless to his enemies.

The story opens with our hero, as John Clayton, having just earned his wings in the R.A.F. That would seem to place it shortly before the events in the last Tarzan novel penned by Burroughs himself, Tarzan and the Foreign Legion. Flying Officer Clayton is primed to kick some Axis butts out of the air, but instead receives a mission more suited to his peculiar talents. A secret agent with information vital to the war effort has been lost in the African jungle, and Clayton is sent to retrieve both.

Finding himself back in Pal-ul-Don (The Land of Man), Tarzan makes new friends: a race of squatty guys wearing giant turtle shells, a hybrid warrior with a tail, and a trusty elephant he dubs Torn Ear. Chief among his enemies are a horde of spider-worshippers armed with blowguns and poisoned darts. Such cowardly weapons make Tarzan truly angry, and a truly angry Ape Man is a wondrous thing to see. 

Mr. Murray spins the tale with confidence and style, and it’s to be hoped this is only the first of a long series of new “Wild Adventures” of Tarzan from Altus Press.  

The trade paperback edition is available now, but coming soon is a hardcover edition with a wraparound cover and a bonus story. Which do you get? Tough choice. You’ll find the paper edition here: Tarzan: Return to Pal-ul-don (The Wild Adventures of Tarzan) (Volume 1)