Still playing catch-up with THE GOODS tonight, if you didn't notice last night there was no charming words to go with the photos of children in costumes of all shapes and sizes. So what we've got is a brief glimpse into the world of cheap fiction for all ages that ruled the newsstand before comics began to dominate the market.
Pulps had taken over the market of dime novels and penny dreadfuls, the prior provider for a fun affordable read for the public. With lurid covers and loads of sensational subjects to cover, they went all out competing for shelf space in a market overcrowded with titles.
Many of the 20th century's greatest writers worked in this market--names like Asimov, Bester, Bloch, Bradbury, Burroughs, Chandler, Christie, Derleth, Dick, Doyle, Fitzgerald, Grey, Herbert, Howard, Kipling, L'Amore, Leiber, London, Lovecraft, Silverberg, Sinclair, Twain, Vance and Wells graced the pages of these frowned upon pages of fiction.
Certain popular characters from the Pulps are heralded for having been a heavy influence on the birth of the comic book hero. Some of the most popular characters in the history of fiction that were created for the pulps are alive and well to this day. Icons from the era of flappers and the dawn of talkies that inspire a following into this new century are The Avenger, Buck Rogers, Conan the Barbarian, Doc Savage, Domino Lady, Flash Gordon, Fu Manchu, Green Lama, Hopalong Cassidy, John Carter of Mars, Ka-Zar, Kull, Secret Agent X, The Shadow, The Spider, Solomon Kane, Tarzan and Zorro.
A few of the greatest artist to come out of the Pulp market are Virgil Finlay and Norman Saunders. But there were tons of good ones and they are worth a look at: http://www.pulpartists.com/index.html
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