TOP TEN(ISH) MOMENTS FROM PULPFEST 2025

PulpFest 2025 is officially in the books. Which means so are FarmerCon XX, ERBFest 2025, and DocCon 2025. I had a phenomenal time hanging out with old friends, making new friends, spending too much money, staying up too late, and driving to/from Cranberry PA … but it was all worth it. There were way more than 10 Top Moments of the Con(s), but here are a bunch of them:

BEING MISTAKEN FOR WIN ECKERT’S BROTHER

Win and I have known each other a good few years now. But this is the first time anyone seeing us next to each other has sincerely asked “are you guys brothers?” (In this case, our waitress at Primanti Brothers during our Wednesday night Pre-Con dinner). I, for one, took the question as a compliment. Check out my interviews with Win HERE and HERE to get a sense of why I consider it a compliment.

“Twins” Anthony R. Cardno and Win Scott Eckert

BEING A (SMALL) PART OF THE RETURN OF DOCCON

DocCon (the convention dedicated to all things related to Doc Savage) has a venerable history but has taken a few years off … until Jen DiGiacomo had the idea to revive it as the latest “mini-con” to happen under the PulpFest banner. I was a (very small) part of the planning committee (being perhaps the Least Knowledgeable Doc Savage Fan Ever), my main contribution being a marketing idea (that didn’t happen for this year but may be considered for 2026, so I don’t want to spoil it) and then being the “sub-in” guy at the DocCon tables when the other folks, mainly Ron Hill (who I interviewed HERE), needed to be on panels or introducing the film.

DocCon crew, L to R: Anthony R. Cardno, Anthony Rais, Bill Lampkin, Ron Hill, Scott Cranford

THE EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS INC PANEL

Okay, most of what Cathy Mann Willbanks (ERB Inc’s Vice President of Operations) and Christopher Paul Carey (Vice President of Publishing) announced on this panel had already been announced at San Diego Comic Con … but that didn’t stop me from being excited to hear the details in person. They announced upcoming novels (the next ERB Universe novel from the aforementioned Win Scott Eckert; a new Barsoom novel from Chris L. Adams under the “Wild Adventures” banner; new ERBU novels in the Land That Time Forgot and Monster Men series); a new John Carter and Woola action figure set from Frazetta Girls; and several new animation projects including a Victory Harben ERBU animated series in development! (My Interviews with Christopher Paul Carey HERE and HERE.)

Most of the ERB Inc panel. L to R: Christopher Paul Carey, Henry G. Franke III, Win Scott Eckert, Chris L. Adams, Douglas Klauba. Missing because my phone is a jerk: Cathy Wilbanks. SORRY, Cathy!

THE WICKER MAN

During a conversation with Craig McDonald during which I bought his used copy of the novelization of The Wicker Man, I discovered that not only is there a novelization of the film … the film was also based on a long out-of-print novel called Ritual by David Pinner (and that novel has a sequel, The Wicca Woman)! How out of print is it? So out of print that there’s no English language paperback edition (only a Spanish language version) and the original hardcover is going for over $1,000 on the secondary market. But there IS a reasonably priced e-book version of both of Pinner’s books. Which you know I’ve already ordered. (Interview with Craig McDonald HERE).

L to R: The copy of The Wicker Man novelization I bought from Craig McDonald, the cover to the e-book of Ritual, the cover to the e-book of Wicca Woman.

FLINCH-FEST

To say that I think highly of Jim Beard and John C. Bruening, co-founders of Flinch! Books, is an understatement. (And no, it’s not just because Jim included my essay on Jack Kirby’s short-lived 1970s DC Comics series The Sandman in his book Jack of All Comics! a few months ago. But why pass up a chance at a shameless plug? Also, HERE’s the Interview about the book with Jim.) Flinch! started ten years ago, and their panel at PulpFest talked a little about that history and featured reading from their new and upcoming releases (Jim’s fourth Sgt. Janus book, and John’s upcoming fourth Midnight Guardian book). These two have such an easy, funny, rapport. They are also great dinner companions and conversationalists. I also probably spent way too much time chatting with them at their table and lost them a few sales. (Kidding.)

L to R: Flinch! Books co-founders John C. Bruening and Jim Beard.

CHRISTOPHER LEE

During that conversation with Craig McDonald about The Wicker Man, our friend Kim Turk mentioned having seen some anthologies with Christopher Lee’s name on the cover as Editor, and I went to check out them out. Kim patiently waited for me to notice the real prize she’d already seen … a hardcover copy of Lee’s memoir … signed by the man himself! Reader, you know I bought it immediately.

MARK WHEATLEY AND DOUG KLAUBA

It is incredibly fun to sit in a room and watch two amazing artists, both of whom have drawn Tarzan and other Edgar Rice Burroughs characters, talk about all the great artists who have drawn the Lord of The Jungle over the years, including what they admire about those artists’ work. (Click on their names to find my interviews with Mark Wheatley and Doug Klauba.)

L to R: Mark Wheatley, Douglas Klauba

DOC SAVAGE, THE JLA, AND THE JSA

Did I mention that I spent too much money? I’m not going to post pictures of every book, magazine, and print I bought … but along with the Christopher Lee book, the other Most Pricey purchases including six original Doc Savage pulps (I’ll post 1 or 2 of their covers below) and four Silver Age Justice League issues featuring the annual crossovers with the Justice Society. (I was also eye-ing a Golden Age issue of The Black Knight, but it was way outside my price range.)

FARMERCON DINNER AND LOBBY HANGOUTS/CHATTING AT DEALER AND AUTHOR TABLES

The reason I started attending this convention was to meet in person my fellow Philip Jose Farmer fan friends, who had been so welcoming to me in various online forums, and hanging out with them at dinner(s) and in the lobby after even programming ends is always one of, if not THE, highlight of the weekend. It was no different this time, even though our numbers were slightly smaller than usual thanks to scheduling conflicts and other things. There is such a big overlap between PJF, ERB, and Doc Savage fans at this convention that most of the people I’ve mentioned above, and many I haven’t, were present at all times. And visiting with authors like Glen Held, Brian K. Morris and Charles F. Millhouse and artists like Don Simpson and folks like Henry Franke of the Burroughs Bibliophiles at their tables is always fun as well. (Interviews with Glen, Henry, Brian and Charles at the links; interview with Don coming soon!)

L to R: Anthony R. Cardno, Brian K. Morris, Charles F. Millhouse (The “Middle Initial Squad”)

For those interested, my report on PulpFest 2024 can be found HERE. And my interview with Mike Chomko of the PulpFest committee can be found HERE.

PULPFEST 2024 Report

Those who follow me on Instagram or are friends with me on Facebook know that I spent this past weekend (actually, 5 days: July 31 to Aug 4) at Pulpfest in Cranberry, Pennsylvania. Pulpfest is a convention dedicated to the pulp magazines of the early 20th century (so called because they were printed on pulp/newsprint paper as compared to the “slick” magazines). It’s a convention I look forward to every year, probably my favorite. (Yes, I also love Readercon, held in Quincey, Massachusetts in July, but for different reasons.)

Before I talk about why I love Pulpfest so much and tell you a bit about this year’s convention, allow me to present you with a photo featuring every pulp magazine I own:

Yes, that’s it. Five pulp magazines. One issue of Startling Stories (which happens to include stories by the great Robert Bloch and also John Broome); one issue of Doc Savage (including the novel The Flaming Falcons); three issues of Planet Stories (one of which has a story by Fredric Brown, another of which has a short novel by Gardner F. Fox). And I am perfectly fine with the fact that I only own five pulp magazines, none of them in any salable condition (in fact, they were all gifts from a friend, duplicates of his own collection).

So why go to a convention dedicated primarily to pulp magazines, if I don’t collect pulp magazines?

Camaraderie.

See, Pulpfest is really three conventions in one. While the focus of Pulpfest panels is the preservation of the history of pulp magazines in all their multi-genre splendor (pulps ranged from romance/spicy to horror, adventure, mystery, western, science fiction, fantasy, and probably some genres I’m forgetting, to the “single character” pulps (both heroic, like The Shadow, The Avenger, and Doc Savage, and the villainous, like Doctor Satan.)), they also have welcomed FarmerCon (dedicated to celebrating the work of Philip Jose Farmer) and ERBFest (dedicated to celebrating the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs). And next year (2025), Pulpfest will expand to being “FOUR conventions for the price of one!” with the addition of DocCon, celebrating Doc Savage.

I started going to Pulpfest because of FarmerCon. I’d been online friends for quite a few years with a group of fans of Philip Jose Farmer and was finally convinced to meet them in person when Pulpfest relocated from Columbus, Ohio to Pittsburgh (Cranberry) Pennsylvania around 2018. I could (and will, one of these days) write an entire post, or even series of posts, about how Phil Farmer’s books (most notably, his fictional biographies of Tarzan and Doc Savage) inspired and intrigued me. Among the group of Farmer fans, I am easily the least knowledgeable about Farmer and his works. But that’s okay, they don’t hold it against me. They welcomed me with open arms, and I absorb their knowledge (and their book recommendations and writing advice) eagerly. These people have become more than friends (and far more than just online acquaintances) over these past few Pulpfest/FarmerCons.

Many of the FarmerCon folks are also big fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs – another relatively early influence on me (thanks in part to an adult neighbor who lent me some of the novels after seeing me reading some Marvel and DC Tarzan and John Carter of Mars comics), and another author about whom I am the least knowledgeable among our friend group when we gather. (See above for why I’m fine with that.) This year, it was decided to hold an ERBFest as part of Pulpfest, including the 2024 Dum Dum Banquet (if you’re fan of the Tarzan books, you know why it’s called that).

Many of the FarmerCon and ERBFest folks are also big fans of Doc Savage. You see where this is going – lather, rinse, repeat the above.

I LOVE (yes, in all caps) just hanging out and talking with all of these people in the hotel lobby until way later than is healthy for me, as well as attending panels and dinners and wandering the dealers’ room having conversations with the people I know, and people I’ve never met before. I usually don’t stop smiling and laughing the whole time I’m there unless I’m sleeping. These folks are “good medicine,” as my father used to say.

The panels I attended this year included:

·       “The Women of Edgar Rice Burroughs,” where panelists Cathy Mann Wilbanks (Vice-President of Operations at Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.) and Bernice Jones discussed both the real women in Burroughs’ life (his mother, daughter, and two wives) and the strong, independent, progressive-for-the-time women in his fiction (Jane Porter Clayton, wife of Tarzan; Dejah Thoris, wife of John Carter of Mars; Duare, wife of Carson of Venus; Maggie Lynch, the main character of Burroughs’ novel The Girl From Farris’s; and many others). If there was one complaint from the attendees, it was that the panel wasn’t long enough to cover all of the strong, capable female characters Burroughs created (notable absences: Meriem, wife of Korak (son of Tarzan); Betty Caldwell and Llana of Gathol (from the John Carter books); and Virginia Maxon (from Burroughs’ The Monster Men).

·       “Flinch!Fest,” focused on current and recent releases from small press publisher Flinch! Books, during with Flinch co-publishers Jim Beard and John C. Bruening read passages from their stories in the western anthology Six Gun Legends, Bruening’s novel The Midnight Guardian: Gods and Sinners, and the Flinch anthology Quest for the Space Gods: The Chronicles of Conrad von Honig, which led into panel guest Brian K. Morris reading from the newest Flinch release, Quest for the Delphi Occulus, which Morris wrote for the press and which also features Conrad von Honig.

·       “The Universe According to Edgar Rice Burroughs,” during which ERB Inc Vice-President of Operations Cathy Mann Wilbanks and Vice-President of Publishing / Creative Director Christopher Paul Carey were joined by Joe Ferrante, one of the producers of the upcoming John Carter of Mars: the Audio Series (currently funding on Kickstarter), to discuss the audio project (including a video message from Sean Patrick Flannery, who will be voicing John Carter)  before launching into announcements of the next slate of ERB Universe books (including a new Land That Time Forgot novel, Fortress Primeval, by Mike Wolfer in 2025, as well as the very soon to release A Princess of Mars: Shadows of the Assassins by Ann Tonsor Zeddies (the first full length Dejah Thoris novel) and several projects featuring Victory Harben), as well as the next slate of books in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library.

·       “Farmercon XIX Panel,” moderated by Keith Howell, during which Meteor House Press publishers Paul Spiteri and Win Scott Eckert discussed the recent Meteor House releases of The Full Account (which combines, in alternating chapters, Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days with Philip Jose Farmer’s The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, which tells the same story from a different, more science fictional, angle) and the Secrets of the Nine Omnibus (which brings together under one cover Farmer’s A Feast Unknown, The Mad Goblin, and Lord of the Trees, as well as some connected short stories and essays by Eckert, Frank Schildiner, and others). They were joined by Meteor House author Sean Lee Levin, who talked about his non-fiction release Crossovers Expanded: The Secret History of the World Volume 3 as well as his fiction debut chapbook The Lazarus Cabal.

Sadly, due to my own poor scheduling, I had to miss several panels, including “Burroughs, Farmer, and Pulp,” in which author Craig McDonald interviewed one of my favorite artists, Douglas Klauba, about his work on various book covers for Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc and Meteor House. I would have loved to listen to Doug talk about his process.

I also got to see the world premiere of We Are Doc Savage, a documentary about Doc Savage fandom directed by Ron Hill, which will soon be making the film festival rounds. I readily admit I teared up several times, and finished the documentary thinking not only how wonderful Doc Savage fandom is in general and how the Doc Savage stories have influenced so many people but also thinking “Damn, I know some really incredibly cool and wonderful people,” since so many of my friends were interviewed for the film.

And of course, I bought stuff. Too much stuff. No pulps, but a lot of paperbacks, some hardcovers, two art prints (one by Doug Klauba, the other by Mark Wheatley), some comics, and a small pile of DVDs. On the vintage paperback side, I made progress filling in some series I’m re-collecting (including Dark Shadows and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and started (and possibly completed) two more (Strange Paradise and Mathew Swain). I also found a first edition hardcover of the novelization of Miracle on 34th Street. And I bought current releases from the tables of small press publishers Flinch! Books, Becky Books, Stormgate Press, Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., and Meteor House, as well as from authors Craig McDonald and Brian K. Morris. If you’d like to see pictures of everything I purchased, head on over to my Instagram page.

I could go on and on about the dinner time and late-night conversations; there were SO MANY in-jokes, and so many instances of just basking in friends talking about the things they love. But this post is already way longer than my usual.

Pulpfest 2024 is over … but Pulpfest 2025 (including Farmercon XX, ERBFest, and DocCon!) is a mere 53 weeks away: Thursday, August 7th through Sunday, August 10th, 2025, at the Doubletree by Hilton in Cranberry, PA. Join us!