Sat 4 Aug 2018
CON REPORT: PulpFest 2018, by Walker Martin.
Posted by Steve under Collecting , Conventions , Pulp Fiction[48] Comments
by Walker Martin
Dedicated to the memory of Rusty Hevelin.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens is one of my favorite novels and starts off with the famous passage, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness”. It continues later, “…it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…” This just about sums up my feeling after Pulpfest 2018.
So what happened? On the drive back home, what made me attack a vending machine which tried to keep my dollar bill? The thing was seven feet tall but somehow I was so energized and angry that I shook the small bag of pretzels loose. What made me walk away from arguing with a bunch of fellow collectors, muttering curses, and angry?
People that have known me for a long time know that the love of my life is Pulpcon/Pulpfest. I’ve been attending them since the first one in 1972. My vacation plans are always scheduled around the convention, I’ve attended them with severe back problems, once against the advice of both my chiropractor and physician. I’ve even gone to the show when my employer said I could not go. Like my good pal Harry Noble, I’d probably attend even knowing I had a terminal illness.
I see Pulpfest as a big event, a big party or picnic. I go to have a good time, not to argue with other collectors and finally walk away grumbling. I had heard rumors of a big announcement which was to be made at the business meeting. It still surprised me to hear the news that Pulpfest might go back to Columbus, Ohio next year and what’s more might be connected in some way with a comic book convention.
The committee mentioned that assistance would be provided by an unnamed comic book dealer and convention organizer. As far as I know only very few collectors questioned this plan. I was one plus one committee member said he agreed with me and a couple other collectors were also doubtful.
But most seemed to accept this news. You may notice I dedicated this report to Rusty Hevelin who was responsible for continuing Pulpcon for over 25 years. With Rusty I knew I could walk into the dealer’s room and not see piles of comic books, it would not be another science fiction convention, it would not be full of new pulp books written mainly by non-collectors and amateur writers. It would not be a nostalgia convention. By god, it would be a convention for pulp and book collectors even if only 100 to 200 showed up. They at least would be serious collectors often bringing boxes of pulps, books, vintage paperbacks, slicks, digest, and original art.
Everybody seemed to be moaning about how the attendance was not growing but was stuck at about 375. Still, this was far more than the old Pulpcon ever achieved in 37 years. There may be a thousand or so pulp collectors in the US. But most of them won’t ever come to Pulpfest because of health problems, financial problems, or they can’t get away from their job or family responsibilities. 400 and something is about the maximum that we can expect, though the Windy City Convention has claimed to break the 500 mark. I really don’t see any big increase in attendance being possible unless we want to import a ton of comic collectors, new pulp people and walk ins that seldom buy anything.
But I’m a pulp collector and I want to talk and deal with other pulp collectors. Many comic book collectors seem to like slabbing the books. I’m completely against this because I want to read the things. I don’t want them in a sealed plastic case. But comics are big money and pulps are not. I don’t see us co-existing at all. True, the committee has some personnel problems. Ed Hulse left a few years ago which I saw as a big blow. Bill Lampkin could not make it this year due to family responsibilities, Chuck Welch will soon be moving to Canada, Jack Cullers and Barry Traylor are my age which means they are getting older, to put it kindly.
It’s time for me to talk about the convention and stop with my complaints, especially since I seem to have few supporters. Nothing has been decided yet by the committee and we will have to see what happens. I really like the Double Tree Hotel however and hope we return next year.
First, the programming was outstanding as usual. I skipped the new pulp presentations because I don’t care about new pulp. They mainly strike me as non-collectors and as I have said many times, collectors are my favorite type of people. But Thursday the best thing on the program was Sai Shankar talking about the great WW I author, Leonard Nason. I’ve often wondered why people travel to Pulpfest and then miss the programming due to the fact they are stuffing their face.
Well, I’ll be damned if I didn’t miss Sai Shankar, who is one of my friends, talking about one of my favorite ADVENTURE writers, Leonard Nason! His talk was scheduled for 8:40 and we sat down to eat in the hotel restaurant at 7:00 or perhaps even before 7:00. But the service was so slow that we were there forever and as a result we all missed Sai’s talk. Laurie Powers complained to the manager that due to the slow service we missed the program.
Friday, there were three panels I enjoyed mainly because I have problems with the subjects. I love the art of the men’s adventure magazines and have collected it in the past. I mean what is there not to love about Nazis turning girls into gold ingots? No wonder they lost the war! Bob Deis and Wyatt Doyle talked about the art and the fiction. I often have problems with the fiction but I love the magazines anyway. I know the WW II vets loved them also! They had a table full of their latest books including POLLEN’S WOMEN: The Art of Samson Pollen. I hope they can publish a reference book listing and discussing the many men’s adventure titles. We need such a guide book.
Then I liked the panel on the air war pulps hosted by Don Hutchison. Bill Mann, Chris Kalb and company are doing a great job reprinting many authors of the aviation magazines. I have problem reading these stories but I’m working on it and hope to someday be able to appreciate the fiction. Finally the son of John Fleming Gould talked about his father’s art.
Saturday, started off with the dreaded business meeting which just about ruined my evening but the announcement that Bill Lampkin had been awarded the Munsey Award cheered me up. Bill edits the excellent PULPSTER magazine and is also on the committee. Then the guest of honor, Joe Lansdale, was interviewed. David Saunders gave an excellent talk on the Art of the War Pulps. David discusses art at each Pulpfest and I hope this tradition continues.
For just about the first time the auction was scheduled for two evenings at Pulpfest. Usually the auction is only one night but there was so many lots, over 400 total! Both nights the auction lasted from 10 pm to past 1 am. Some collectors griped that there was nothing at the auction. I disagree. Friday night saw a run of ARGOSY from the thirties, almost 600 issues of WILD WEST WEEKLY from 1927 through 1943, a set of PLANET STORIES, and many miscellaneous lots. The highest priced item by far was the five boxes of Al Tonik’s research papers. It went for $2000.00.
Saturday night saw many lots of WESTERN STORY, many sport titles, and the best conditioned set of SF digests that I have ever seen, and I’ve been collecting for over 60 years. The entire run of these magazines were in astonishing beautiful condition. Nice paper, new looking covers, that great scent of new magazines. I had them all but I was tempted to buy them all just for the beautiful condition. Seeing these lovely magazines reminded me once again about why I am a collector. They are beautiful. Sets of AMAZING, FANTASTIC, GALAXY, ASIMOV’S, ANALOG, F&SF, IF, NEW WORLDS, SCIENCE FANTASY, NEBULA, and IMAGINATION. The IMAGINATION set may be the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Though I had them all already, I bought the 5 lots making up the over 200 digest issues of AMAZING because the condition was just so much better than my own set.
THE PULPSTER, number 27, was the usual excellent issue. 48 large size pages discussing Arthur Sullivant Hoffman’s ADVENTURE, the American Legion in ADVENTURE, artist George Evans and the aviation pulps, Philip Jose Farmer, and a great letter from a college student talking about her the summers she worked for Popular Publications.
I was told that attendance was around the 375 mark which I think was great. The dealer’s room was always buzzing with a lot of activity. The hospitality room was well stocked with craft beer and one night about a dozen pizzas were delivered.
Hopefully soon we will see two new magnificent books about pulp titles we seldom talk about. Laurie Powers book on the romance pulps and the life of Daisy Bacon, the excellent editor of LOVE STORY and DETECTIVE STORY. Michelle Nolan’s book on the sport pulp titles should also be a groundbreaking book on a seldom discussed topic. We desperately need books like these two because I’m tired of the same old hero pulp discussion. I know, I know, everyone loves the hero pulps but after all they were aimed at the teenage boy market and are not really adult fiction. Let’s talk about something new like love and sports!
So, you may be wondering what did I buy? Actually this was one of the better Pulpfests for me finding unusual items. As I mention already above, I bought at the auction a lovely set of AMAZING, 1953-1980’s. Simply stunning condition. Here is a listing of what else I found of great interest:
1–Lot of 54 of the 71 isssues of AMRA. AMRA was a SF fanzine published between 1959 and 1982. Edited by George Scithers, it was famous mainly for the articles on Swords and Sorcery. The famous artists and authors that appeared in the magazine are too numerous to name but include Roy Krenkel, Poul Anderson, L. Sprague de Camp, Avram Davidson, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, and many more. AMRA won the Hugo for best fanzine in 1964 and 1968.
I bought these from Chet Williamson who also sold an interesting Hammett item to someone else and some rare ALL STORY issues. I was a subscriber to AMRA but I sold my issues a long time ago and now I’m rebuilding the set, something I done so many times, with so many magazines.
2–THE AGE OF THE STORYTELLERS: British Popular Fiction Magazines, 1880-1950 by Mike Ashley. This book was published at a hundred dollars but at only $25 I had to get this second copy to add to my first copy. That’s right, the book is so great that you must buy two copies!
3–A framed, signed drawing by the great Edd Cartier. This was only $225 so I had to add it to my Cartier collection which now numbers over 15 drawings. You can never have too many Cartier drawings.
4–A framed painting by pulp collector Lester Belcher showing Sonny Tabor riding on a horse. I knew Lester and he was not an artist but he loved WILD WEST WEEKLY, so he attempted to paint one of the characters from the magazine. I consider it a great piece of “outsider” art done by one of my former friends that I miss. Price at the auction was only $10. Everyone thought it poorly done but to me, knowing Lester, it is priceless.
5–A Richard Powers painting for the Ballantine 1964 paperback, TARZAN AND THE CITY OF GOLD. Done in a different style than usual with Powers. After I bought it the art dealer told me two other collectors stopped by and were disappointed to learn that it had been sold.
6–Two Guest of Honor plaques from Pulpcon. I already have the one given to Walter Baumhofer but I couldn’t pass up these two. One was from 1994 and given to artist R. G. Harris in Tucson. It shows four cover paintings that he did for the pulps. The second is a real treasure since Elmer Kelton was one of the great western writers. It was given to him when he was the guest at the Pulpcon in 1998. It shows four covers from RANCH ROMANCES containing four of his early stories. I hunted for these plaques for decades, now I have three of them!
7–Now the most unusual story of them all. I now have three cover paintings of the paperback western BADLANDS BOSS by Bradford Scott. All by the same artist, Rudy Nappi. It’s possible that there is no other cover painting that was painted three times by the same artist. Back in the early 1980’s I bought the original cover painting at Pulpcon for $100.
Then several years later I was at Al Tonik’s house for a Tonikcon and there was the same cover by Rudy Nappi also. Al explained that he was not aware the the original cover had survived and so he commissioned Rudy Nappi to paint an exact recreation of the cover. Price he paid was also $100. But the painting was damaged in the mail when the board was bent in order to stick in Al’s mailbox. So he contacted Nappi and told him the sad story and Nappi agreed to paint the painting again for no charge. So now Al had two paintings.
He gave me the damaged one and kept the good one. Actually you can’t see the damage until you look closely and see the board has been bent. Then after Al Tonik’s death what comes up for auction? The third Rudy Nappi cover painting of the same paperback. Since I had two I had to buy the third one also and got it for only $30 at the auction. You can’t make up such an insane story.
So ends my report. Despite my complaints, I truly appreciate the hard work of the committee. Thanks Mike Chomko, Jack Cullers, Sally Cullers, Bill Lampkin, Chuck Welch, and Barry Traylor. Plus the many helpers, and of course thanks to for Sai Shankar for the use of some of the photos he took during the convention. Stay tuned to pulpfest.com for news of next yea’s show.
August 5th, 2018 at 4:31 pm
Well, Walker, I hope that you are OK with me, a non-collector, saying how much I enjoy your writings. Please continue.
August 5th, 2018 at 5:13 pm
Howard, I should say I like collectors *and* readers. I’ll give a break also if you love film noir movies or baseball. Hopefully I can keep writing and Steve can keep posting!
August 5th, 2018 at 6:11 pm
I was going to ask about the impact reprints and ebooks were having on pulp original prices (if any), but you seem to have answered that.
Since I don’t get to attend I have limited say, but to inject my two cents, I dislike the idea that every con has to be a “media event.” 375 seems like a good number for a hardcore collectors event and in order to “boost” that means crowding in a great many people and features that won’t appeal to that hard core.
It seems like one of those “what good does it do to gain the world and lose your soul” situations.
August 5th, 2018 at 7:00 pm
David, I agree about the 375 attendance figure. There were some complaints about the figure not increasing but 375 is still far better than the old Pulpcon ever did during the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s. I can remember some Pulpcons that had around a hundred serious pulp collectors and I still considered these shows a success.
August 6th, 2018 at 11:06 am
Hi Walker,
Great report as always. Auction action was indeed fast and furious, lots of westerns. Attendance was fine and remained about the same as previous events I’ve attended.
As you say, the committee needs some support to get things done. I think they’re looking for logistical support, and i think it should explore that option, as long as we are assured that PulpFest can maintain its independence.
Overall, excellent con, and I’ll be unhappy if we go back to the Columbus Convention Center from this great hotel. But not enough to stop attending 😉
August 6th, 2018 at 11:43 am
I agree Sai, we must support this convention and keeping attending. Something I’ve been doing for most of adult life. I guess that’s why I feel so strongly about Pulpfest; it’s been such a big part of my collecting and reading habits.
August 6th, 2018 at 1:20 pm
Walker-
I can’t remember a more enjoyable pulp convention report since that scene in Dr. Strangelove when Keenan Wynn shot up the Coke Machine with his M-16! Angry Pulp Collectors RULE!!
— David
August 6th, 2018 at 1:28 pm
Great convention report as you always provide Walker. Love the hotel and will be happy if they return for another year. Long term changes may be needed for survival. We had comics dealers at this convention–one with a major end of the room display and others with racks of comics alongside the pulps. I looked at some because my oldest grandsons love hero comics and (surprising to me) prefer those from the 50s & 60s to “modern” comics. Did not buy as I was spending on pulps and a few paperbacks. I did buy some old movies from the nostalgia dealers. Who can resist a complete run of Mr. Moto flims? Best presentation to me by far was Sai’s very informative Leonard Nason talk. I hope that meal was absolutely wonderful Walker.
August 6th, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Thanks David. As I mentioned to several collectors at the convention, your discussion on WW I art was excellent. Since the theme of Pulpfest was World War, then we have to provide some battles!
August 6th, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Richard, the meal was mediocre and not worth missing Sai’s Leonard Nason talk. But I was high bidder on the Leonard Nason book of excerpts from the AMERICAN LEGION magazine.
Sai offered to repeat the talk for me but we were so busy buying pulps that we missed doing that also!
August 6th, 2018 at 1:47 pm
I’m really sorry I missed this one, Walker — I just bought a house and was moving in… But that means that I now have a dedicated “Pulp Room” for my collection. I hope that the focus will remain pulp, front and center, but I wouldn’t mind some overlap with comics. I’m fascinated by that moment of transition and how the pulp form splintered and evolved (devolved?). I guess that comics that are in close proximity or overlapping the pulp form would be welcome, but I agree that the fetishization of modern comics, which attempt to produce their own aura of scarcity by pandering to “collectors” with different covers of the same issue, would dilute pulpcon and turn it into another beast entirely.
Regardless, thanks for the wonderful post and I’m sorry I didn’t get to catch up with you this year!
August 6th, 2018 at 1:53 pm
Walker, the usual great PulpFest report. I’m sorry to hear about your fight with the vending machine and glad that it didn’t harm your writing ability.
Nothing is set in stone concerning next year’s PulpFest. We’re still very much exploring our options. There’s a strong chance that we’ll return to the DoubleTree in 2019.
I’m currently putting together our programming ideas for 2019 (David Saunders has already agreed to a presentation on the cover artists for WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE, which will be 100 years old in 2019). Thankfully, a couple of people have stepped forward to help with our advertising and some of the writing for our website. Now if we can only find some people to help our erstwhile chairman with the many hours he devotes to the convention.
We’re discussing various ideas to keep PulpFest going for years to come. But we can’t do it without members. That goes for each and every one of the pulp or paperback-related conventions in North America. We need the support of everyone who enjoys pulp fiction and/or pulp art. And that just doesn’t mean “liking” a facebook page or reading a post.
If you want pulp and/or paperback conventions to independently continue, you have to vote with your feet and attend the shows. It’s not always easy; our advertising director Bill Lampkin couldn’t attend this year because of family obligations. But more often than not, if you can attend, you should attend.
Where else can you meet and talk with people who like the same stuff that you care for? And besides, thanks to AbeBooks, Meteor House, and the PulpFest organizing committee, there’s pizza and beer in the hospitality suite.
Mike Chomko
PulpFest Marketing & Programming Director
August 6th, 2018 at 1:53 pm
I like PulpFest just the way it is and would prefer to see the con stay at its current venue. But it needs to be pointed out that the proposed alignment with a Columbus-based comic convention has been mischaracterized as a “takeover” of our show, which is not really fair.
Unless I’m grossly misinterpreting what was reported at the business meeting (and subsequently explained to me in further detail by a committee member), PulpFest would not be subsumed into the comic-book convention; rather, it would be a satellite event, much as FarmerCon has become a satellite event for PulpFest. Our group would have its own dealer room and programming room, and we would maintain complete autonomy over the content of PulpFest. Most importantly, we would retain the PulpFest name and trademark, so if the alignment proved unsatisfactory in any way our group would be free to dissolve the partnership and revert to the previous order.
My understanding was that an alliance would principally benefit the Columbus organizer by adding our “room nights” (the total of hotel rooms booked by convention attendees) to his total, thus increasing his leverage in negotiating with the host hotel and the Convention Center. I gathered that the revenue derived from our dealer tables would go to the organizer to offset his cost of renting the Convention Center facilities, but that shouldn’t matter to us because *he’d* be the one on the hook for that enormous expense.
Personally, I think the idea is worth exploring, if only because the PulpFest committee is burned out and now short one of its most productive members. I would be right there alongside Walker if I believed the comic-convention promoter intended to “take over” PulpFest for some nefarious purpose. Ours is a relatively small group (by the way, I don’t believe the “official” attendee count of 375; a friend of mine who registered Thursday night on site had a badge number of 221) and shrinking rather than growing. Frankly, we’re not worth taking over.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:01 pm
I thoroughly enjoyed the event and the conversations throughout. I prefer Mars, PA to the previous venues, but leave the final decision to the collective wisdom of the principal organizers. Too many books, too little time.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:10 pm
Mike, thanks for the update on Pulpfest’s future. I hope the convention does indeed return to the Double Tree hotel. You and the other committee members(along with the helpers) do an excellent job with the convention. David Saunders on the cover artists of WESTERN STORY sounds great.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:33 pm
My first Pulpcon was 1995, and I miss the dealers who only sold pulp magazines: Deveny, Holroyd, Hawkins, Heit, Irwin, McGonigle, even Dave Alexander. Now, dealers selling only original pulps are in the minority. Like Walker, I have no use for redundant “new pulp”. The originals are still available, and where are the new collectors they were supposed to bring in? Partnering with comic conventions is a bad idea. Look what happened to San Diego Comic con;it is now a media show with dealers selling old comics relegated to the margins.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:39 pm
Ed, thanks for your feedback concerning the Columbus plan. My experience with the comic book dealers and collectors has not been that good. Though Rusty Hevelin ran Pulpcon with the help often of Richard Clear, I had many discussions with Rusty and we agreed about the subject of comics.
I could give you many examples of my distrust but let me mention one event that almost derailed Pulpcon. In 1980 a group of Chicago collectors were supposed to host Pulpcon. The summer passed with no convention because they were busy with the Chicago Comic Convention. In other words forget Pulpcon and lets do the bigger comic show.
I saw Rusty at a NYC SF convention and he agreed with me that we had to have a Pulpcon even if it was late in the year and poorly attended due to last minute planning. He went ahead and held the show in Ohio during November. I’m not sure we had a hundred attendance but we all had an enjoyable time trading and selling pulps.
I understand your argument but I’m against such a plan. There must be a better way to fund Pulpfest and ensure it’s future. I hope Mike Chomko, Jack Cullers, Bill Lampkin, Barry, and other volunteers can come up with such a plan. It would be a shame to give up such a great venue as the Double Tree in Pittsburgh. I know I’m in the minority but I have no interest in comics at all. Sure, that’s where the money is but pulp collecting is not all about the money and pulps are my first love.
Watch out, if I get upset enough I’ll start talking about poetry and literary magazines, then everyone will be sorry. Come to think about it, Steve may even be willing to publish my piece on how I came to collect such magazines.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:46 pm
Alfred Jan, in a short post, brings up some interesting points(See comment #14). By the way, I’ve been thinking a lot recently of all my old friends that used to deal and collect pulps back in the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s and they were some of the finest pulp and book collectors I’ve ever known.
I miss them more than I can ever say.
August 6th, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Walker, an excellent report, which brought the convention to life for me. The photos certainly helped. My pulp and digest-collecting days are now behind me—well, except for 20 years of F&SF and several other smaller runs, OTHER WORLDS, VENTURE, etc.—but I certainly enjoyed sharing your enthusiasm.
I still have my collection of pulp and paperback artwork, though the last thing I bought was a tiny piece by Leo & Diane Dillon. But then, you’ve got an entire house; I’ve got an apartment.
August 6th, 2018 at 4:49 pm
Good to see someone addressing not just a review of the convention, but the potential/possible future direction. Few pennies for thought: operating a convention is a numbers game. Hotels will not provide vendor/seminar rooms for free, program guides cost money, and postage is still necessary for promotional mailings. As an attendee of more than 20 conventions a year, and convention promoter myself, I can state for certain that convention promoters only make revisions/changes to the operational aspect as it relates to the bottom line.
When (rising) costs are not a factor, conventions operate the same way year after year. When operational costs rise, adjustments are made. Whether the program guide gets smaller in size, admission costs go up $5 per person, per day, cost of vendor tables goes up, a drastic move to a different hotel, or partnering with another event… the necessity ensures the conventions do not close down. Regardless of what the new venue looks like, neighboring events, additional attendees wearing superhero costumes, etc., the convention will still have their usual attendees, vendors and events.
Old-Time Radio conventions granted permission for vendors selling VHS, DVD, movie posters and products non-OTR related years ago to offset expenses, but still maintained all of the panels and seminars as OTR event-related, and kept the usual OTR vendors, so the changes were merely additions, not changes. A change of wallpaper and kaleidoscope windows will not change the venue and the regulars who keep coming back year after year. If the alternative is to die away silently, I welcome change. Especially is someone in Columbus is willing to pay most of the expenses and provide the venue… then who cares about an additional fifty people walking through the door wearing superhero costumes?
And I love film noir. Cannot get enough of it. Just wrote an article for the MANC program guide defining just what “film noir” is.
MG
August 6th, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Walker, good seeing you at Pulpfest. I also like the DoubleTree and hope we can return there. I wonder if the new, proposed arrangement would have one membership price for both cons or separate prices?
August 6th, 2018 at 6:46 pm
Martin, thanks for your comments about conventions. You certainly have enough experience about organizing them.
August 6th, 2018 at 6:48 pm
Lohr, I have the impression that right now everything is still undecided. I love the Double Tree also.
August 6th, 2018 at 7:55 pm
David,(comment #11), I’m glad to hear you bought a house and have a pulp room. That’s how I started out with one room but as the years march on I managed to slowly take over the house. Now I have all 5 bedrooms plus living room, family room, basement, full of books and pulps.
I hope you can make it next year.
August 6th, 2018 at 7:59 pm
George(comment 14), I always enjoy seeing you and talking about pulps. I was hoping, as a physician, that you would discover the secret to living longer and then we would not have to worry about so many books, so little time.
August 6th, 2018 at 10:28 pm
Comment 19–Andy, despite having a house and thus more room than an apartment, I’ve run out of space and I’ve often said ok I have enough art and I have to stop buying paintings and illustrations. I’ve run out of wall space and I have many pieces leaning against walls and bookcases.
Despite saying no more, no more, I still see artwork that I love and have to buy. It’s an addiction but a pleasurable one and so far has not hurt my health like smoking, drugs, or alcohol. You have more control and are not as crazy as I am? But it’s a lot of fun.
August 7th, 2018 at 9:14 am
Walker,
Thanks for the email. Saw other reports on Facebook including live posts by Laurie and saw you bidding on and buying Amazing digests.
Alfred Jan made me feel ancient mentioning me with the other former pulp dealer attendees.
The mention of the possibility Pulpfest being part of a comic convention scared me.
Thank again.
August 7th, 2018 at 9:17 am
Jack, I had the same reaction about Pulpfest and comic conventions. I scared me also. We both were members of the early Pulpcon so we know how Rusty felt about comics.
August 7th, 2018 at 5:47 pm
Walker, Another great Con report. I now regret not buying some of those Digests. The Science Fantasy,New Worlds,Nebula- All British, but I just couldn’t stay up. On the way back I saw you fighting that vending machine. It was frightening. At last I saw the real Walker Martin. It was like something out of Weird Tales or the Hulk comic.
August 7th, 2018 at 5:49 pm
As Ed Hulse wrote, whatever happens to PulpFest in the future — be it staged next to a comic book convention or alone — it will remain an independent entity. Whatever we do, the organizing committee is committed to doing what is best for PulpFest and the pulp community.
Like others have written here, I miss dealers such as “Deveny, Holroyd, Hawkins, Heit, Irwin, McGonigle, and Dave Alexander.” Unfortunately, most of these dealers have two things in common: they largely sold original pulps and they are either deceased or no longer active convention dealers.
Most contemporary pulp collectors did not buy their pulps fresh off the newsstands. Most of us were introduced to the hobby through paperback reprints such as Doc Savage, Conan, and Tarzan. What if Jack Deveny or Rusty Hevelin had said, “I have no use for these paperback reprint people?”
Granted, “new pulp” doesn’t bring in large crowds of people to PulpFest, Windy City, or other conventions. That doesn’t mean that “old pulp” collectors should bad mouth “new pulp.” It can serve as a gateway to “old pulp,” just as those Doc Savage paperbacks with the Bama covers did back in the sixties.
That’s why PulpFest has offered its “New Fictioneers” readings since its first convention in 2009. That’s why Windy City has its “New Pulp Sunday.” Neither convention has garnered huge numbers of new fans via “new pulp,” but their numbers are large enough that they do help the conventions pay their bills.
PulpFest offers its “new pulp” programming in the afternoon, when most “old pulp” people are in our dealers’ room. Evenings are reserved for “old pulp” and related programming.
Personally, I don’t collect much “new pulp.” Will Murray’s books and mass market stuff like George Mann’s “Ghost” novels (which seem like steampunk versions of The Spider) and Lovecraft inspired works. I’ve met some very good people in the “new pulp” community. They come to PulpFest year after year. Personally, I’m very happy that they help to support the convention that I help to organize.
You don’t have to like “new pulp.” But please stop slamming it and complaining about those who support it. All that does is make such people feel unwelcome. And that’s not what PulpFest, Pulpcon, Windy City, or the pulp community at large is supposed to be about.
August 7th, 2018 at 7:49 pm
Digges, I have the NEW WORLDS, SCIENCE FANTASY, NEBULA, sets already but these sets were so beautiful that I was tempted to buy them anyway. Simply stunning condition.
August 7th, 2018 at 7:55 pm
Michael I appreciate the thankless job that you and the committee are doing in keeping Pulpfest alive. I also appreciate the great work that Jack and Sally Cullers and their helpers do. Not to mention the fine work of Barry, Bill Lampkin, and Chuck.
I look forward to the future of Pulpfest.
August 8th, 2018 at 3:31 pm
Walker, I was rather surprised the Nappi painting only brought $30.00 at the auction but I am happy you got it.
August 8th, 2018 at 3:38 pm
I was surprised also, Barry. I figured I had to bid on it in order to have all three versions done by Nappi. But $30 was a lot lower than I expected.
August 8th, 2018 at 7:14 pm
Walker:
You and I have shared many a PulpCon and PulpFest.
I always enjoy your reports and especially, your enthusiasm. Garyn and I have been carrying on the traditions that you have so ably created and enhanced. Health issues plague me, but my enthusiasm for Pulps has never wavered.
August 9th, 2018 at 7:10 am
Thanks Don. We all share this enthusiasm for the old pulps. They were great magazines and it’s a shame we don’t have them any longer on the newsstands. I can’t even find the digest magazines on the stands!
August 9th, 2018 at 1:24 pm
Who is Walker Martin???
Does anyone really know…sure we know that he will wrestle with a vending machine…anytime or anyplace or that no beer is safe within his grasp but who is the real Walker Martin?
…and what is his strange obsession with Percy Helton?
…will he win his secret race to become the only attendee of PulpCon 1 to make it alive to the 50th anniversary of that fabled event?
…will he take to his grave the shame of being caught talking to a “new pulp” fictioneer in the dealer’s room?
and last but not least
…will he force his pal, Scott to listen to dixieland music and watch Fox news on their next trip to England??
These are the burning questions that we cannot ignore!
(Great PulpFest report as usual, my friend…get a publisher to put these in a book so the rest of the world can enjoy them…ya bum!)
August 9th, 2018 at 1:50 pm
With Scott, familiarity does indeed breed contempt. We’ve now been friends for 42 years and shared many pulpish and film noirish moments.
I do consider Percy Helton to be one of the greatest characters actors based on his role in the film, WICKED WOMAN. Even my wife was impressed by this movie and Percy’s part.
I love jazz but prefer bebop or avant garde music. The last time I played Cecil Taylor, Scott and Nick Certo ran up to me begging I shut off the music since it hurt their ears.
I admit to attending Pulpcon one in 1972 and we are getting down to the Last Man Standing.
And finally, several collectors have mentioned to me that the memoir series should be published. However no publisher has stepped forward!
August 10th, 2018 at 9:58 am
As usual, Walker, a terrific concise report on the convention. You can count me in as someone who loves PulpFest just the way it is. Like the old maxim says, “if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it!”
Don
August 10th, 2018 at 10:53 am
Thanks Don. It will be interesting to see what develops. We all love Pulpfest and hope for the best. I’m looking forward to the future.
August 11th, 2018 at 4:54 pm
Great report, Walker! It’s always good to see you at the conventions. Maybe one day I’ll make it up to the convention in New Jersey and perhaps talk you into letting me visit your vast collection of pulps and art!
You guys always ride together to the conventions in that van. I wish I could ride along just hear the stories I’m sure that you all tell! 🙂
I’ll be looking forward to seeing you at the next con!
August 11th, 2018 at 5:21 pm
Hi Scott. The next convention will be the Adventure House show that John Gunnison will be hosting in early September. It’s the first of many I hope. Then you might want to attend the one day Bordentown, NJ show that Rich Harvey puts on: Adventurecon, in November. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the Windy City Pulp convention in April!
August 13th, 2018 at 7:56 pm
Scott Cranford says: “You guys always ride together to the conventions in that van. I wish I could ride along just hear the stories I’m sure that you all tell!”
Ah, if the Great White Whale could only talk….
But you’d probably be surprised that a good many of the stories are not being told but REtold. Kinda like reminiscences about the Big Game shared by former high-school friends who reunite at the local gin mill when they come home every year for Thanksgiving with the family….
August 13th, 2018 at 10:48 pm
Many of our stories are about collectors no longer with us but they live on through our memories. For instance Harry Noble was one of our group since the 1970’s and died in 2006 at age 88. A dozen years later we are still telling and retelling stories about Harry who was a larger than life character and collector.
One favorite is the time one of us asked Harry what he did in Panama in WW II. As he pondered his response, his long time girlfriend Vera, said “Harry played banjo and hung out with whores”.
Thinking about my two years in the army, I knew a lot of guys who did that!
August 14th, 2018 at 9:09 am
I agree with Walker about Percy Helton in “Wicked Woman” featuring Beverly Michaels in the title role. It is left out of many books on film noir, but one author said that all the characters are bad, and that they should all move to Mexico and stay there! Michaels had plotted to go there with Richard Egan after he sold his bar and dumped his wife for her. But Percy Helton had plans of his own.
August 14th, 2018 at 10:15 am
Percy Helton was in hundreds of film but WICKED WOMAN was perhaps his biggest role and the strangest one. He had the movie poster to the film hanging over his bed and thought it to be his best role. He should have won an academy award for his part. My friends who love film noir have taken to calling me Percy. I consider it an honor!
September 6th, 2018 at 5:27 pm
The news has just been announced on the Pulpfest.com website. Pulpfest 2019 will be returning next year to the same hotel and city. It will be held August 15, Thursday, through August 18, Sunday at the DoubleTree hotel in Pittsburgh. See pulpfest.com for more details.
September 6th, 2018 at 5:44 pm
Great news!