Aggressors - The new hero pulp

Okay, I didn't really get aggressive but I did go for 2 reasons: Wold Newtonry and Aggressors and come back happy with the results so I can't complain. I didn't get everything I wanted but I got a heap of cool stuff none the less.

Wold Newton - well to kick off the con I participated in the Wold Newton Panel with my good mates (funny how people I'd only met in person a few hours before can be some of my best mates in the world) from left to right Win Eckert, Me, Chuck Loridans, John Small, and Pete Coogan(Thank you Dennis for taking the photos at the panel)The panel went really well except for the very nervous Aussie, the questions presented at the end were interesting and showed that the audience were listening.

I managed to get my hands on the first four issues of Farmerphile Magazine, which presents some previously unpublished short fiction by Philip Jose Farmer as well as serialising an unpublished novel. It also offers articles offering perspectives on Farmer, including Win Eckert's Wold Newtonry articles.

I also got the new edition of Tarzan Alive signed by Win Eckert. I already have a copy but this edition has a couple of bonus features, new material by Win Eckert and Mike Resnick as well as the addition of "An Exclusive Interview with Lord Greystoke" and "Extracts from the Memiors of Lord Greystoke" both by Farmer.


Whilst delving through a paperback stall looking for Aggressor novels I found "Escape from Loki" A Doc Savage novel by Farmer and "The Adventure of the Peerless Peer" Tarzan meets Sherlock Holmes by Farmer

And I got to meet and hang out with the Wold Newton gang

Left to right Chris Carey, Chuck Loridans, Dennis Power, Me, Win Eckert and his wife Lisa, John Small and his wife Melisa and sons Joshua and William. Henry Covert and Rachel crouching (Thank you to Andre for taking the photo)

We sat around discussing Wold Newtonry, exploring crossovers and comparing theories and writings.

Aggressors-
Stack of Aggressor comics, The Punisher, Vigilante, Huntress, Tomb Raider, Buckaroo Banzai were purchased most to reviewed at a later date here.

I visted the Gold Eagle booth where I got hold of the first book of the Rogue Angel series. I'll fully review the book later but it seems that Gold Eagle is getting out of Men's Adventure and focussing on the Silhouette Bombshell Women's Adventure line. Perhaps it's more that the bombshell line is new and hence the heavier promotion.


Lionsgate had a booth and they tell me that the Punisher 2 is still being scripted and that will be going ahead, later on I had a chat to Tim Bradstreet (Punisher cover artist) who mention that he's been busy on an animated prologue for the director's cut of The Punisher.

I met Valerie Perez, who is playing Lara Croft, in the fan movie Tomb Raider: Tears of the Dragonand she was wonderful lady even being nice when I turned into gushing fanboy. We did discuss the Lara Croft Challenge, the Australian version was run by FHM magazine, the American version is run by Maxim.

Whilst I wasn't able to get autographs I did get photos of Marv Wolfman and George Perez co-creators of Vigilante.

I also met The Huntress

Whilst not at the Comic Con I did ring and speak to Chet Cunningham, who wrote the Penetrator, The Executioner (7 novels) and The Avenger. He's a really nice guy who encouraged me to write more and tald me he was busy on a new series titled Scream (not connected to the movie series) So I'll be keeping an eye out.

In closing I had a blast and a half and I've needed a week and a half to get back into the swing of reality but it was sooooooo worth it.

SOmething a little different here's a short story I wrote. I wanted to explore the notion of the vigilante both the Aggressors and the pulp heroes before them.


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RETIREMENT DAY

The party had been a surprise and Ben Hearne mentally berated himself as he packed his files into storage boxes. He should have seen the clues and figured that his co workers would do something like that, after all he’d been an FBI agent for over thirty years now. He never even gave the sight of his first supervisor, Val Kildare, in the office a second thought. Perhaps the grief of the loss of his wife had affected him far more than he realised.

Ben had joined the FBI in 1971, fresh out of college, where his psychology degree had kept him out of the Vietnam war. His father was disappointed when hadn’t gone into practice, Ben knew his father had been hoping that he would join him in practice and eventually take over, but Ben had found criminal psychology much more interesting and the FBI offered the best opportunity to study the criminal psyche.

He started in the fledgling profiling section under the legendary Val Kildare. Kildare had taken Ben under his wing and had been recommended him to the Vigilante task force after three years.

The taskforce had been established in the 1930’s to track the illegal activities on American soil of unique individuals who took the law into their own hands. During the 1950’s the group had virtually been disbanded but a new wave of vigilantes had swept across America in the late sixties and revitalised the force to its former glory.

When Ben joined he had been given the task of profiling many of these new vigilantes, he threw himself into the study of the first wave of these vigilantes. He’d read reports from assistant commissioners of police, Scotland Yard, state troopers and other Law enforcement agencies, and the colourful exploits of men labelled The Shadow, The Spider, Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Saint, The Toff, The Falcon, The Just Men, and many others had consumed his life for three months.

He’d examined the speculations contained the reports on true identities of some of these vigilantes. And began his profile based on these hints, he’d starting by profiling Richard Wentworth as reports on The Spider, The Shadow and The Whisperer had all suggested that he was the man behind the masks, in fact Commissioner James “Wildcat” Gordon had been most insistent on this point. He’d then looked at other individuals named in the files such as Lamont Cranston, Kent Allard, Jethro Dumont, Richard Curtis van Loan and found that in many cases the suspects were wealthy men who had served in World War I and returned to civilian life unable to settle down and possibly feeling guilt over how their families had gained their wealth sought to use their skills learnt in WWI to redeem themselves. Many of these men appeared to have adopted or at least studied Eastern religions again suggestive of this desire for redemption perhaps to control the darkness in their souls that the war had unleashed.

His superiors had been pleased with his evaluation and he had loaned to various subcommittees of the taskforce to study the new vigilantes that seemed to be appearing daily. Hal Brognola had been impressed with his analysis of Mack Bolan but sadly his recommendation that Bolan be offered an amnesty and his skills be turned to counter terrorism had never been actioned with Bolan refusing to surrender and dying in a blaze of glory. He’d then worked briefly for the Penetrator taskforce with Dan Griggs from the Department of Justice. But mostly he worked with the taskforce in Washington. No arrests were ever made on the men and women had his profiles had suggested and Ben occasionally thought that his colleagues were secretly helping these vigilantes.

Occasionally, the Vigilante taskforces investigations into actions against the Mob and other criminals had uncovered illegal operations run by the CIA and other agencies using mercenary forces. He’d prepared profiles of groups known as Z-Commando, Hard Corps, CURE and Deadly Force Inc. but pressure from the higher ups had stalled those investigations. It was an office joke that they’d dealt with more letters than the postal service.

Oddly, it was these frustrations that helped him to understand why these vigilantes had started their war on crime. But in his heart, Ben knew that he never really understood these men and their quest. He had interviewed Frank Castle, The Punisher during his short confinement but Castle’s insistence on name rank and serial number answers to all his questions had given him little to work with.

Over the nineties, the number of vigilante incidents had dwindled and the taskforce was scaled back. After a warning from NSA agent Remo Murphy-Sapir to back off his investigation, Hearne had been transferred to counter terrorism in 2000.

Now in 2004 he was retiring. One of his investigations had gotten too close to a domestic terror cell and they had planted a car bomb. It had missed its target and killed his wife as she borrowed his car to quickly run to the market for some bread. In his grief Hearne had gone crazy and upset several assistant and deputy directors with his allegations of a conspiracy within the FBI.

Thanks to a former partner, Hearne had received counselling and decided to jump before he was pushed out of the FBI. By retiring first, he was able to keep his pension and benefits and he had decided that in his retirement, he would write a book on the vigilante phenomenon.

Hearne finished packing his files and began to clear the items from his desk, carefully packing his mug, lamp, gun and photos into another box. A few of Hearne’s co-workers offered to help him carry the boxes to the car, which he readily accepted.

He discussed his retirement plans as with them as they walked to his car. All agreed that the book was a great idea and that he should start right away. Patting his desk box Hearne laughed and told them that he had some research to do before he could start.

Once the car was loaded, Hearne drove off to prepare for his empirical research.

I've been asked if there are any Aggressors still being publised.

Gold Eagle is still publishing The Executioner, Superbolan and Stonyman series as well as The Destroyer although reports indicate that no Destroyer has been solicted by Gold Eagle for July of 06.

Warren Murphy's Ballybunion press is publishing several Destroyer spinoffs,such as New Blood, a fan written anthology. (Warren if you're reading this I have a contribution already for a second volume, I had assignments when you put out the call last time), The Assassin's Handbook, volumes 1 & 2, companions to the Destroyer series.

Del Ray appear to have stopped their Tomb Raider original novels at three, Amulet of Power, The Lost Cult and The Man of Bronze. (reports also indicate that there will be no further movies as Cradle of Life did not go as well as hoped. Top Cow is still publishing the regular Tomb Raider series although their second title Tomb Raider Journeys appears to have ceased publication.

Marvel is still publishing The Punisher regular series as well as various mini series and one-shots featuring the character.

DC has just finished their 6 issue revamp of THE VIGILANTE, this Vigilante has no ties to any of the previous bearers of that name.

Moonstone Press has released a Buckaroo Banzai preview for the 3 issue miniseries coming in May.

Amazing Fantasy #18 has an 8 page backup story featuring Mark Hazzard: Merc. Sadly this is a one time only deal.

Avon books is publishing the third book of Dennis Chalker's Home Team series: Weapon's Grade in July 2006.

Dynamite Entertainment has reportedly licensed the rights to Darkman. No word on a release date at this point.

I can honestly say that without this book this blog would not exist. How could this be I hear you ask? Until I'd read this book I was quite happy reading just the Destroyer. Sapir and Murphy's hero was the best, I remember getting into a fight with a schoolmate because he dared to suggest that Bolan, Able Team and Phoenix Force would beat Remo in a fight.

And I still believe that Remo would win. And this book proves it. See Murphy decided to have the Destroyer battle parody versions of Pinnacle's other heroes. Instead of Mack Bolan, the Executioner we have Mark Tolan, The Exterminator, instead of Bucher the ex mob boss, The Butcher, we have Al Baker, former numbers runner, The Baker and Richard Camellion, The Death Merchant is replaced by Nicholas Lizzard, The Lizard.

Chuin deals with The Baker and the Lizard in 2 seconds flat and Remo takes down the Exterminator in similar fashion.

After reading this novel, I was able to figure out the original characters thanks to the ads in the back of The Destroyer novels but I wanted to know more. Was the The Butcher a low life wannabe mobster? Was The Death Merchant an alcoholic with a pechant for dressing as a woman? Was Mack Bolan a kill crazy monster?

The internet was very little help in my search, I found webpages for the Destroyer and the Executioner but little on anyone else. (BTW did you know Butchers sell meat online?)

Hungry for knowledge I began to hunt down the orignal novels of those three series and then expanded to other aggressor series and then to here to share what I know with the world.


Stay tuned for part two where I will compare the originals to the parodies.