The cover to the left is part of a brand new line of paperback thrillers that harken back to the glory days of the pulps. In the months ahead Hard Case Crime will be bringing readers the best of the old and new noir writers.

Pulp is back and I for one couldn’t be happier. As a kid growing up in the 50s & 60s,
I was lucky enough to see a truly unique media
evolution. The old, garish pulp magazines of the pre-war years were quickly vanishing to be replaced by the new and glossier paperbacks.

All the major companies realized that these cheap, inexpensive books, sold primarily through the small drugs stores of America, were attractive because people could easily slip them into a back pocket or a purse. It was fast and quick reading for a mobile society. And for the most part, they covered all the major genres.

Chief among these were the self-same topics that had popularized the pulps themselves; horror, science-fiction, fantasy, historical romances, mysteries…and the crime thrillers.
Somehow no other single genre ever meshed so perfectly with these mini-books than the noir
inspired crime books. Writers like Mickey Spillane, Richard S.Prather, Brett Halliday, Ed McBain and hundreds of other tough-guy penmen flourished. And the covers, on those magnificently trashy covers of the sexy dames wtih the smoking guns in their hands. Totally the stuff that dreams were made of.

There is a resurgence of “pulp” in our culture today, as clearly evidence in such movies as SKY CAPTAIN & THE WORLD OF TOMORROW and the forthcoming SIN CITY. Whereas a brand spanking new paperback company has appeared on the scene as the true heir to those wonderful old drug-store series, HARD CASE CRIME. So far they’ve released a half dozen titles, all winners. And their lists of coming titles reads like a whos who of crime fiction masters.

Learning of my love for pulps, the good people at Hard Case Crime were decent enough to put me on their review list and I feel like I’ve just won the lottery. Expect to see my reviews here and on other sites in the near future. People, happy days are here again!

Have a great week, Ron.