The pulp indie comic; does it exist?

[Christov]

I love a bit of pulp fiction (not talking about the film, mind). Smoky bars, corruptible heroes, and dangerous dames. We've got plenty of sci-fi and horror in the small press ranks, but what about good old noirish pulp?

A secondary question to this is, if there isn't a comic anthology about this genre, who would be interested in making one?

[Daveycandlish]

I don't know of any paper comics (but I'd love to read them) but there is this

http://huzzahnoir.blogspot.com/

which is rather marvellous

[uncle fester]

I'd be interested - given enough lead-in time (like some time in summer!). I'm sure there'd be a few others round these parts too.


EDIT: Check out this guy, he's practically breathing it...

http://robmorancomicart.blogspot.com/

[strontium_dog_90]

Sounds like a great idea - I'd be up for writing scripts for something like that, should it ever come to fruition.

[locustsofdeath!]

Yeah, everyone knows I'd throw in too.

[Cthulouis]

I'd be up for some art.

[stacey]

Parker The Hunter and Parker the Outfit, fantastic pulp noir, anyone read them?

[strontium_dog_90]

I've read The Outfit, it's great, not as good as the book, though - mind, very little is. Not got The Hunter yet, looking forward to finding it.

[Van Dom]

You can count on MY, eh, laptop...

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Ah, Raymond Chandler. Must re read some of those classics like The Big Sleep and Farewell, my lovely.

[JMWhiteley]

Not a small press title but I picked up this:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mammoth-Book-Best-Crime-Comics/dp/1845297105/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295357984&sr=8-1

It's got reprints of crime strips going back as far as the forties, and a couple of obscure Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman stories.  I picked it up at The Works for a fiver, so it's well worth the cash.

[Dark Jimbo]

I think you're confusing Pulp and Noir, but your point is well taken. There should be more of it.

[Emperor]

If we are talking pulp fiction then count me in:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_magazine

If its noir then I might have to ponder this situation.

[George Dread]

I like the idea of pulp work in the Summer, too. Something to look forward to. Put me down for art doodies.

[Christov]

While pulp does range many genres, I dare say the format is mostly remembered for the adventure/noir stories and characters. That's just my narrow view on it anyway, but don't worry, I'm not going to enforce anything in the way of genres used.

But yes, I'm overwhelmed by the response to this, and doing something for the summer sounds like ample time to organise and get the work done. However, I am a complete newbie to publishing and a bit of a knob when it comes to the logistics of these things, so would any of our veterans of the small press be interested in offering some advice or perhaps even serving under a producing role?

Now, pulp magazines generally have a trademark of being fairly lengthy, but if we are going to publish this I assume stories just can't run and run and run. That is, if we're doing print publication. Doing it as an online publication removes the element of 'holy shit we can't afford this number of pages', and I'm all in favour of digital distribution as I believe it is the future, but I'd like to see a few opinions on this before a page cap is set on scripts.

Anyway, as for content, I'm very glad some people have stepped forward already. This forum has a wealth of untapped skill, and I'm so thankful that people are actually interested in doing this.

Wikipedia defines the genres of pulp as such;

adventure
detective/mystery
fantasy/sword and sorcery
gangster
horror/occult
railroad
romance
science fiction
Série Noire (French crime mystery)
"spicy/saucy" (soft porn)
sports
war
westerns

I'm sure a bit of genre mixing is allowed to, so you're spoiled for choice in which direction you'd like to go. 

I'd like if those interested could send me some art samples or a few quick story ideas just to get a sense of what kind of stuff is going to be developing. If any of our local letterers could drop us a buzz too if this registers any interest, that'd be nice.

My email: christovcronin@googlemail.com

Oh yes, and thanks to those who referred to those wonderful blogspots and that Mammoth Book of Crime. I shall be feeding my eyeballs with those soon enough.