Saturday, November 12, 2016

THE PULP CALENDAR: November 12

Johnston McCulley's Zorro is one of those pulp characters who still has a toehold on public consciousness thanks to such recent phenomena as Isabel Allende's novel, the two Antonio Banderas pictures and a number of graphic novels including one co-written by Quentin Tarantino teaming the old fox with Django. Given Zorro's endurance, it may be surprising to see a 1932 Argosy with a Zorro novelette that doesn't put that most famous character on its cover. Yet enduring popularity doesn't necessarily mean consistent popularity, and at this particular moment W. Wirt's soldier of fortune Jimmie Cordie, the hero of many a violent Asian adventure, presumably was the more popular character, at least with Argosy readers. This is sort of an all-star issue, also sporting the first episode of a two-parter by Theodore Roscoe and continuing A. Merritt's Burn, Witch, Burn. There are also short stories by William E. Barrett and Richard Howells Watkins, the conclusion of a three-part serial by William McMorrow, the continuation of another by "Captain" Dingle, a non-fiction piece by Lowell Thomas and a Stookie Allen "Men of Daring" profile of Bat Masterson. Regardless of who gets the cover it looks like a pretty good package overall.

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