The Spirit of Vengeance!

One of my oldest Internet friends is Chris Munn. Chris is, arguably, the biggest Ghost Rider fan and expert on the freakin’ planet. Last year he released a book titled Wheels on Fire: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider from 1972-1983. I immediately bought it, devoured it, and recommended it to others.

Shortly thereafter, Chris approached me with some fantastic news – he was working on a follow-up, one that would deal with my personal favorite of the Ghost Riders: Daniel Ketch. He then asked me if I would be interested in writing the forward to the book. Of course, I jumped at the chance.

You can now purchase Road to Vengeance: An Unofficial Guide to Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider, From 1990-1993 (Unofficial Guides to Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider from Amazon.com for a paltry $14.95. Definitely go and support Chris — he’s a fantastic writer and he captures the nuances of the stories and their characters quite well.

Our art today is courtesy of Felipe Smith and you can view more of his works at DeviantArt.

Bob Howard Returns

The Cowboy and the Conqueror by Teel James Glenn

The first volume in this series was pretty audacious in its premise: author Robert E. Howard doesn’t commit suicide but instead decides to travel the world, during which he crosses paths with no less than Count Dracula. It was a fantastic book and when I heard a sequel was coming, I was very excited.

This book is very different from the first in that this tale is told from the perspective of a German writer. This means that REH is somewhat removed from the reader. We don’t get to see the ins and outs of his thoughts and he becomes a little more larger-than-life as a result.

Also, our writer is a thinly disguised Adolf Hitler.

Yes, so you probably wonder about that part, don’t you? I was amazed that TJ Glenn would actually try to portray this alternate history version in such a positive light… but there is a scene near the end when our writer-Hitler is confronted with the knowledge of what he’s like in OUR world… and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t make the entire book worth it. It’s a tremendous creative risk that was taken here and I’m so impressed (and, as a writer myself, more than a bit jealous) that it was paid off.

If you enjoyed the first book, you owe it to yourself to move on to the second volume. Let’s hope there’s a third book soon.

Recommended Link

If you’re a dedicated follower of this blog, chances are that you’re also a fan of classic and/or new pulp. If so, you owe it to yourself to check out ThePulp.Net. This site not only has news and reviews, it also has some great blogs (including my personal favorite, the Pulp Super-Fan). I’m not making anything off this referrel but while you’re there and commenting on the latest post, let ’em know that I sent ya!

Our image today is by artist Gilbert Monsanto and depicts a character named Ephemera. She’ll be appearing in a volume of the Straw-Man series that’s launching soon. Enjoy this sneak peek!