Saturday, September 29, 2012

TOMMY HANCOCK GETS A TITLE SHOT!

TOMMY HANCOCK GETS A TITLE SHOT!

Fight Card scores another main event by bringing New Pulp maven Tommy Hancock into the Fight Card Team.  Hancock will get his shot at a Fight Card title in early 2013, adding another exciting installment to the Fight Card canon.

Tommy is a writer, editor, publisher, podcast host, and audio voice actor, but beyond all those things he is first and foremost a fan.   Pulp, comics, movies, TV, old time radio, and new audio drama, Hancock is steeped in all sorts of pop culture up to the brim of his fedora. 

A partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, Hancock is also one of the leading figures in the organization of the New Pulp Movement.   Aside from Pro Se, Hancock is also an editor and writer for Moonstone Books, and editor for Kerlak Publishing as well as having written for Airship 27, Age of Adventure, Pulpwork Press, and a few companies where work is still up coming. 

The founder and organizer of Pulp Ark, the Official New Pulp Convention, Hancock is also the founder, organizer, and one of the four hosts of PULPED! The Official New Pulp Podcast. 

His novel Fight Card: Fight River will be published in March 2013

ON THE WEB

TOMMY HANCOCK
Twitter: @IdeasLkBullets

MCCAULEY AND FERGUSON GET ON THE FIGHT CARD!

MCCAULEY AND FERGUSON GET ON THE FIGHT CARD!

Fight Card is excited to announce the addition of Derrick Ferguson and Terrence P. McCaulley to the Fight Card Team of two-fisted, hard-punching,  writers who will have fighters slugging it out on the pages of Fight Card main events in 2013. 

New Pulp sensation Derrick Ferguson – the creator of the modern pulp hero Dillion – is a native of Brooklyn, New York.  His interests include radio/audio drama, Classic Pulp from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and the current New Pulp movement.

With his podcast partner, Thomas Deja, Derrick currently co-hosts the Better In The Dark podcast where he rants and raves about movies on a bi-weekly basis.  Derrick is also a rotating co-host of the PULPED! podcast, where he interview writers of the New Pulp Movement as well as discusses the various themes, topics, ebb and flow of what constitutes New Pulp and why you should be reading it.

His books include, Dillon and the Voice of Odin, Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell, Four Bullets For Dillon, Dillon And The Pirates of Xonira, and The Adventures of Fortune McCall, all of which are available through Amazon.com as paperbacks and ebooks.

Terrence P. McCauley is a proud native of the Bronx, NY.  He first gained recognition as a writer by winning TruTV's Search for the Next Great Crime Writer contest in 2008.

His short story Blood Moon of 1931 appeared in Matt Hilton's Acton: Pulse Pounding Tales Vol. 1 and his short story Lady Madeline's Dive appeared in the first edition relaunch of Thug Lit in 2012. Both anthologies are available for the Kindle at Amazon.com. His novels include, The Slow Burn from Noir Nation Books (as an e-book), and Prohibition from Airship 27, both of which will be published in late 2012.

McCauley’s novel Fight Card: Against The Ropes will be released in January 2013.

Ferguson’s Fight Card: Brooklyn Beatdown will be released in February 2013.

ON THE WEB

TERRANCE P. MCCAULEY
Twitter: @tmccauley_nyc   

DERRICK FERGUSON
Twitter: @DLFerguson1

Thursday, September 27, 2012

FIGHT MEMOIR: MY CALL TO THE RING!

FIGHT MEMOIR: MY CALL TO THE RING!

My Call To The Ring: A Memoir Of A Girl Who Yearns To Box is the story of Deirdre Gogarty, an Irish lass whose love for the fight game in the ‘80s sets her on a quest to become a world champion – not exactly an easy task even without the fact Ireland banned women from the sport at the time.

Gogarty’s story (written with Darrelyn Saloom) is well told and inspiring.  However, there are two things setting this memoir apart from other similar boxing travails.  The first is the atmosphere captured by the prose as it delineates the underbelly seediness of the training conditions faced by all but the highest level of boxers.  There is no glamour here, just hard graft – hitting and being hit in tattered rings jerry-rigged in sheds and garages, stifling hot air, and the uncertainty of where the next fight, the next dollar, and sometimes even the next meal are going to come from.

Secondly, and most important to the success of the narrative, is the way Gogarty’s ‘voice’ has been captured.  You believe Gogarty is sitting next to you, sharing her fears, shortcomings, uncertainties, defeats and triumphs.

As with her opponents in the ring, it is ultimately Gogarty’s relentless courage and determination that leaves its mark on her readers. My Call To The Ring is a standout addition to the shelves of boxing literature.


ESO PODCAST GETS ON THE FIGHT CARD!

ESO PODCAST GETS ON THE FIGHT CARD!

THE EARTH STATION ONE PODCAST, HOSTED BY PULPMEISTERS BOBBY NASH AND MIKE FABER, STRAPS FIGHT CARD CO-CREATOR PAUL BISHOP INTO THEIR GEEK SEAT FOR AN INTERVIEW ABOUT ALL THINGS FIGHT CARD, PULP, AND BEYOND ...

TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST CLICK HERE


Sunday, September 23, 2012

ALL PULP FEATURES FIGHT CARD!

ALL PULP FEATURES FIGHT CARD!

PULPMEISTER BOBBY NASH INTERVIEWS FIGHT CARD AUTHOR PAUL BISHOP (FIGHT CARD: FELONY FISTS) OVER AT THE ALL PULP BLOG ...

Pulp novels covered a wide range of genres. New Pulp Author Paul Bishop is working with a talented crop of writers to bring back the sweet science to pulp. Welcome to Fight Card.

All Pulp recently sat down with Bish to discuss his writing, the Fight Card Series, and all things pulp. Pulpsters, meet Paul Bishop.

AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.

PB: I’ve been voraciously reading pulp stories since my early twenties starting with reprints from the detective story magazines (such as Black Mask), and eventually moving on to the standard hero tales like the Shadow and Doc Savage.  When I started collecting pulps, I found myself drawn to the adventure, sports, and western pulps as they were more affordable and plentiful. 

I first got hooked on collecting copies of Argosy and Adventure – magazines containing stories from the likes of H. Beresford Jones, Talbot Mundy, and the swashbuckling tales of George Challis (Max Brand).  A long run of Street and Smith’s Sport Story was next as I collected tales by Jackson Scholz under his many pseudonyms.  All of this led to Fight Stories Magazine and my fixation and enjoyment of fight fiction, which would eventually inspire the Fight Card series of novelettes I currently write and edit.

FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE

Friday, September 21, 2012

FIGHT FICTION: POOR FOOL!


FIGHT FICTION: POOR FOOL! 

HERE'S A BOXING 'PULP' I'VE NEVER COME ACROSS BEFORE ... POOR FOOL (1953) BY ERSKINE CALDWELL ... BLONDIE WAS THE POOR FOOL.  HE JUST COULDN'T HELP HIMSELF ... JUST SNAPPED IT UP FROM E-BAY ...

Monday, September 17, 2012

AVAILABLE NOW: FIGHT FICTIONEERS MAGAZINE VOLUME 2!

AVAILABLE NOW: FIGHT FICTIONEERS MAGAZINE VOLUME 2!

CELEBRATING THE BEST IN FIGHT FICTION . . . 

FOR YOUR FREE COPY OF THIS ACTION PACKED E-ZINE SEND AN EMAIL REQUEST TO:

fightcardseries@gmail.com

Fight Fictioneers Magazine (FFM) is a vehicle for both promoting the Fight Card series and also the best fight fiction in general.  Immense thanks are due to our Fight Card team member in Australia, David Foster (Fight Card: King Of The Outback), for his hard work and diligence in formatting and bringing this issue of FFM into the virtual world (as he did with Vol 1). 

Hopefully, there will be another issue to kick off the new year as we march into 2013 with the Fight Card banner held high.  FFM Vol 2 will be made available for free to anyone who asks for a copy, so please distribute copies to your friends and fans. Any feedback would also be appreciated ...

Fight Fictioneers Magazine Volume 1 can still be accessed under the Fight Fictioneers tab on the new Fight Card website (www.fightcardbooks.com). Thx to author and Fight Card team member Jeremy Brown for his efforts in creating and maintaining the Fight Card website.

Upcoming Fight Card releases through the end of the year include Fight Card: Golden Gate Gloves (October - Robert Evans), Fight Card: The Knockout (November - Robert Randisi), and our second internationally set Fight Card tale (following Fight Card: King Of The Outback), Fight Card: Irish Dukes (December - Mike Faricy).  Covers can be found on the Fight Card website www.fightcardbooks.com.

Congratulations to Fight Card authors Mel Odom (Omega Blue), Eric Beetner (The Devil Doesn't Want Me), Heath Lowrance (City Of Heretics), Mike Faricy (Bombshell), and David Foster (The Librio Defection / Bushwhacked - both under his James Hopewood pseudonym), among others for the successful launching of new critically acclaimed titles - all available on Amazon.  Way to go, gang!

There are other specific plans afoot for Fight Card in 2013, which I will reveal both as they firm up and as I am allowed to talk specifics. 

THX TO ALL THE FIGHT CARD FANS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE SERIES THIS YEAR ... 

FIGHT COMICS: FIRST FIGHT!

FIGHT COMICS: FIRST FIGHT!

INTERVIEW WITH BRYAN G. BROWN

As fight movies (Red Belt, Warrior), fight novels (Suckerpunch, Choke Hold), and modern fight pulps (Fight Card MMA: Welcome To The Octagon ... Coming January 2013) have expanded the fight fiction genre to include the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), so to have the fight comics.  In 2010, the venerable Joe Palooka – star of innumerable strips, comic books, and films from the ‘20s to the ‘50s – was rebooted in the caged octagon and splashed in vivid panels of color between comic book covers and web-based formats.

Recently, Bryan G. Brown, a young teller and illustrator brought his “real life experience entering a mixed martial arts tournament” to the pages of the professionally produced comic book series First Fight.  Brown’s tale is that of an everyman – an average Joe with little or no fight experience who sees in the physical combat of MMA a personal calling and redemption.  First Fight is filled with uncertainty, determination, set-backs, promise, and hope.  However, what makes First Fight so differ rent is the personal sense of vulnerability in the tale spread across its pages.  It is this vulnerability, the true sense of tapping in to Brown’s feelings that make First Fight a first rate illustrated narrative.

In the three issues of First Fight published so far, Brown has given us a new ordinary hero for whom to root – one who flies in the face of conventional comic characters.  First Fight not only gives us a new spin on fight comics, but expands the larger comics genre for a new generation of fans.
Brown graciously has taken time from his busy schedule to talk with Fight Fictioneers Magazine about the Genesis of First Fight and where his tale is pointed in the future ...

FFM: Tell us about your comic book influences. Were you aware of other fight comics before creating First Fight?

I have too many influences to name, but I’ll throw out a few: Al Feidstein, Johnny Craig, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Erik Larsen, Sam Keith, Todd McFarlane, Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Frank Miller, Alex Ross, Ralph Steadman, Jon Krause, Goya, Frida Kahlo – As I said, too many! I’ve read tons of comics, which had fight scenes in them, so I was definitely aware. When I first illustrated First Fight 1 in 2008, however, I had never read another fight comic featuring mixed martial arts (MMA).

FFM: How extensive is your personal background in boxing and/or MMA?

I first started training back in 2007, and stopped after several months. In 2010, I started training at Balance Studios and have since competed in numerous grappling tournaments like Grappler’s Quest and NAGA. Balance is headed by Rick and Phil Migliarese III. At Balance, we do some sparring with gloves, but primarily we focus on the art of Gracie Jiu Jitsu and rolling with our gis on.

FFM: How did you come to decide to tell an autobiographical story in comic form?

Before I started training, I felt like I’d hit some sort of art block. After competing in my first Grappler’s Quest tournament, I felt very motivated to express myself and ended up using the language of comics.

 FFM:  What did you want to achieve through this style of storytelling?

After competing in my first tournament, I felt pretty crushed … drawing the comic really helped change my perspective. It was pretty much like art therapy for me. I just wanted to create something honest and true to myself while trying to show the beauty of mixed martial arts.

FFM:  How long does it take you to produce an issue of First Fight?

It takes so long it’s ridiculous. I do everything in the comic while I’m also juggling other projects on a regular basis, so its taken me more than a year to finish an issue at times. I’m stepping it up though, and from here on, my goal is to put out two issues a year.

FFM: Tell us about the mechanics of self-publishing a comic book project.

In December 2009, I won a Xeric Grant for the first issue of First Fight and that’s pretty much what motivated me to go for it. I began selling stuff at conventions and it’s gone really well. With the money from the grant, I’ve been able to get my work out there, but I want to do a whole lot more. There are many great people and organizations who have helped me including Ka-Blam Comics who handle the majority of the printing.

In addition to having them as a sponsor, I am also indebted to Brian Cimins, president of Grappler’s Quest. They are the largest grappling company in the US and are referred to pretty prominently in the First Fight series. Through his organization, Brian has helped distribute issues of the comic at their events nationwide. You can get the comics through their site (www.grapplers.com), through the Indyplanet catalogue, or you can download digital versions of the comic at www.drivethrucomics.com.

FFM: What have you learned in this process?

I’ve learned a lot about myself through this experience. Training gives you a whole new way of looking at things, and I wake up every day giving thanks for what I get to do. It’s kind of a funny balance to have one foot in the art world and the other in the world of martial arts, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

FFM: How have you gone about promoting First Fight?  Is it difficult wearing all the different hats (writer, illustrator, publisher, promoter)?

It’s as hard as you make it out to be. I love my life and I’m just really thankful for the people who have helped support my artwork as well as the comic. Promoting can be tricky because at the same time you need to be producing other work, which I do on a regular basis, so you just have to accept the fact you can only get so much done each day. I’m realistic with my goals, but I have big plans for this series even though it may take me a decade to finish it. Heck, if it takes 50 years I’ll enjoy every moment..

FFM: What are your plans for First Fight, both in its storyline and as a physical comic series?

First Fight will be a limited series, approximately 12-15 issues long. I have other projects in the works, which may determine the actual length of each comic. Expect to see a lot of shots of Balance Studios, where I train, as well as its many interesting members.

FFM: Do you have any personal favorites among fight films or fight novels?

I love all types of fight films like Rocky, Bloodsport, The Matrix, and Fight Club. I also really enjoyed he Kill Bill films as I love Tarantino’s abilities to put his own spin on fight scenes. I also revere Sam Sheridan’s book, A Fighter's Heart, and I'm currently reading the sequel, A Fighter's Mind. Fiction-wise, I read mostly Stephen King paired with something written by Eckhart Tolle. Of course, I read tons of comics – Erik Larsen draws my favorite fight scenes in his comic, Savage Dragon. I always love hearing suggestions on what I should read - send them to my twitter @bryangbrown and throw me a follow while you’re at it. 

Thanks to Bryan G. Brown for talking with Fight Fictioneers.  For more on his comic series First Fight visit the website at www.bryangbrown.com

Sunday, September 9, 2012

CRIME FACTORY 11 INTERVIEWS FIGHT CARD AUTHORS!


CRIME FACTORY 11 INTERVIEWS FIGHT CARD AUTHORS!

Crime Factory 11 is live ... and amid its blood stained pages you'll find an interview with Figth Card authors Paul Bishop, Eric Beetner and Mel Odom, where they talk about Boxing Pulps and Fight Fiction with fellow Fight Card author David Foster ... this should be of interest to all fans of the Fight Card series.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

FIGHT CARD: ★ COMING SOON! ★

FIGHT CARD: ★ COMING SOON! ★

FIGHT CARD: GOLDEN GATE GLOVES . . . OCTOBER 2012

FIGHT CARD: THE KNOCKOUT . . . NOVEMBER 2012

FIGHT CARD: IRISH DUKES . . . DECEMBER 2012

Sunday, September 2, 2012

FIGHT CARD'S HEATH LOWRANCE GLOVES UP!

FIGHT CARD'S HEATH LOWRANCE GLOVES UP!

THE JUST RELEASED FIGHT CARD: BLUFF CITY BRAWLER IS ANOTHER HARD-PUNCHING TALE.  THIS TIME, THE WRITER BEHIND THE JACK TUNNEY PSEUDONYM – POUNDING ON HIS BATTERED, HARDBOILED TYPEWRITER – IS HEATH LOWRANCE, WHO NOW GIVES US HIS TAKE ON THE FIGHT CARD SERIES . . .

HEATH LOWRANCE GLOVES UP!

I’m not a big sports fan. When I pop up to the liquor store for a pack’a smokes and the clerk says, “Hey, you catch the game last night?” I can only smile and say, “No, man, I missed it”—while thinking, Game? What game? It’s just not anything I care about. Except for boxing.

Yeah. Boxing. Now, that’s a sport, friends. Mano-a-mano, as they say. It’s probably because I’ve never really been what you call a “team player”. Makes it hard to get interested in team sports. But boxing, the sweet science, is all about two men facing off, each with their own set of skills, not relying on anyone else. It’s a testament of endurance, wit, speed, strength. How can someone not be interested in watching that?

I came to the world of reading fight stories late in life. Like many readers, my first experience with the sub-genre was Robert E. Howard, a writer I adore with a passion bordering on obsessive geekiness. Growing up, I’d read all his Conan stuff, his Solomon Kane stories, his Lovecraftian horror, anything I could find. So, I was elated a few years ago when Wildside Press started putting out Howard’s lesser-known stuff—among them a nice collection of his best fight stories, Waterfront Fists And Others. In my 40’s by that time, I devoured those stories with as much enthusiasm as my 14-year-old self had devoured the Conan tales.

Since then, I’ve read a lot of Jack London’s great boxing stories as well, but most of my reading in the sub-genre has been through the excellent Fight Card series. I’m happy to tell you, this terrific series lives up to the high standards set by Howard and London.

And I’ve learned a great deal from them. Each writer who has taken on the mantle of Jack Tunney is an expert at delivering fast-paced, exciting stories centered around the ring. Each one knows how to keep the story barreling along in the best pulp tradition, and each one gives us fight sequences and action scenes that are sharp, clear and thrilling.

I was pleased to be given the opportunity to be Jack Tunney. My fight story is called Bluff City Brawler. It’s a man-on-the-run story, with lots of ring action, lots of suspense, and, hopefully, some characters you can get behind. It’s a fight story, that’s what it is. Because, honestly, could you see reading a story about any other kind of sport other than boxing? I couldn’t.

FIGHT CARD: BLUFF CITY BRAWLER

Tom Riley makes a meager living in the ring in Detroit, but it’s good enough for him. He ain’t ambitious. A few bucks and a rather high opinion of himself are all he needs.

But when he accidentally kills a connected mobster, he’s forced on the lam and winds up in Memphis—the Bluff City—where, he struggles to make a new life for himself. But his past mistakes are about to catch up to him, in spades. The Detroit Mob is closing in, and Tom’s future is about to be decided in blood—and in the ring.

Bluff City Brawler—Another rousing novel in the Fight Card series!


HEATH LOWRANCE

Heath Lowrance is the author of the novels City Of Heretics, from Snubnose Press, and The Bastard Hand, from New Pulp Press. His collection of short stories, Dig Ten Graves, is also available at Amazon.com, as are his Hawthorne series of weird western stories and a straight Western called Miles to Little Ridge. His other stories have appeared at Crime Factory, Shotgun Honey, Chi-Zine, Pulp Metal, and other places. He’s been a movie theater manager, a tour guide at Sun Studio, a singer in a punk band, and a regular donor of blood for money. He lives in Lansing, Michigan, and can be found blogging at http://psychonoir.blogspot.com

AVAILABLE NOW! FIGHT CARD: BLUFF CITY BRAWLER!

AVAILABLE NOW!  FIGHT CARD: BLUFF CITY BRAWLER!

JUST RELEASED – FIGHT CARD:BLUFF CITY BRAWLER $2.99 FOR YOUR KINDLE.  THIS LASTEST TWO-FISTED FIGHT CARD NOVEL IS FROM THE HARDBOILED TYPEWRITER OF HEATH LOWRANCE WRITING UNDER THE SERIES PSEUDONYM – JACK TUNNEY . . .

Tom Riley makes a meager living in the ring in Detroit, but it’s good enough for him. He ain’t ambitious. A few bucks and a rather high opinion of himself are all he needs. But when he accidentally kills a connected mobster, he’s forced on the lam and winds up in Memphis—the Bluff City. He struggles to make a new life for himself there.

But his past mistakes are about to catch up to him, in spades. The Detroit Mob is closing in, and Tom’s future is about to be decided in blood—and in the ring.