Designing a hero

With the first Hanged Man story out in High Adventure History and more stories coming soon, I have been asked about the character and how I came up with him.  I figured this would be a good place to share that information.  

Designing the Hanged Man.  What makes a pulp character?  

-     For me, when I think of the great, defining pulp characters that I love, the first thing that occurs to me is the image.  For me, it is always the striking visual silhouette of a character that sticks out in my mind and captures my imagination.  Look at a few of the really big names in the Pulp pantheon.  

For the Shadow, it is the slouch hat pulled down low, the coat and cape billowing out behind him in the cold wind.  All in a black that seems deeper and darker than the night itself.  The red scarf obscuring his face and trailing behind him.  And the twin .45's breathing smoke in the moonlight.  All of these together create an undeniably powerful and evocative figure.  

Dave Steven's character The Rocketeer is another memorable silhouette.  If your only experience with the character comes from the Disney movie, you are missing out on some great pulp comics.  However, the movie did do a great job of capturing that imagery that is so central to the character.  From the brassy gold color of his distinctive, finned helmet to the red leather of his flight jacket.  Instantly recognizable, and both retro and timeless.  And let's of course not forget to mention the rocket-pack.  All very, very cool.  

And there are more.  Indiana Jones with the hat, jacket, and bullwhip.  Solomon Kane with his puritan garb and simple sword.  

So when it came time for me to create my own pulp character, I knew I needed to look at what made these silhouettes so memorable to me and attempt to capture that.  I wanted the Hanged Man to have a distinct imagery that would allow him to stand out from other pulp heroes, but at the same time, clearly be a branch of the same tree.  I also realized that since I would be working with strictly text and little to no illustration, I need to have the imagery of my character down cold, so I could convey it in the story.  

History-

My first consideration in designing the Hanged Man was that this was not just a pulp character, but a character from a very distinct historical period.  I wanted him to feel genuine and grounded in the reality of that time period, especially as I knew I was going to be playing with plots and set pieces that would stray from the realistic and into the supernatural even.  By setting the character in the 13th Century, I could draw upon not only the rich visual tapestry of the medieval world of knights and castles, but also the mixture of religion and superstition that was such a facet of life in the time.  

Impact-

I knew that I wanted the visual impression of the Hanged Man to be powerful, not only in the reader's mind, but in the perception of those he encountered.  I wanted him to be just a bit terrifying, not only to the evil-doers but even to those he encountered.  Central to the idea of the Hanged Man was that he had been brought back from the dead, so a key aspect of his iconography would be his burial shroud.  I pictured this as a tattered and ragged cloak.  This would give him that classic caped avenger look, while still remaining distinct to his origin.  I also knew that I would be encompassing this into the character's  fighting style for those action scenes.

Second, one of the things that stuck with me in reading about the effects of hanging upon a person is that often, the blood vessels in their eyes will burst, causing them to have a blood red color to them.  I thought this would be a powerful effect for my revenant of revenge.  

Weapon of choice

For pulp heroes, this is often a distinctive addition to their iconography.  I wanted something as unique and memorable for my character.  Since he is the Hanged Man after all, I had to have his noose.

 I wanted the noose to remain around his neck, and in the coming tales, it will come to have a greater significance, but from the start, I wanted the rope to be both part of costume and weapon.  The length of the rope is coiled around his right arm, with a round stone at the end.  This stone is his grave marker, and with it tied to the end of the rope, makes a fearsome, distinctive weapon.  

So now, i had my cloaked and hooded figure, blood-red eyes all afire, and the means of his own death now his weapon of justice.  Things seemed to be coming together well. There was just one problem.  He was a bit too imposing and noticeable for anything but terrifying evil-doers.  

What i needed was a secret identity.  There is a reason the Shadow is secretly millionaire Lamont Cranston (among others), or Superman puts on those glasses to become mild-mannered Clark Kent.  It lets them access parts of their world and their narrative that their other persona could not.  So, for the Hanged Man, I needed something for him to travel inconspicuously.  Furthermore, I needed something that could hide those blood colored eyes.  I settled on the idea of a traveling, blind beggar and gambler, where a strip of cloth could obscure his eyes.   The blind man persona was a bit of a homage to the old Daiei Studios Zatoichi movies, featuring the wandering, blind swordsman.  

So there he is.  My pulp hero, the Revenant of Revenge, the Hanged Man.  The first Hanged Man tale, The 13 Coils came out in High Adventure History by Pro Se Productions, and is the origin story for the character.  More are coming soon.  Thanks for reading.  

A new, exciting direction for short fiction

The always amazing Pro Se Productions has unveiled its latest project:  Pro Se Single Shots Signature   Line.  These will be short pulp stories offered individually and electronically.  Pro Se partner and editor-in-chief, Tommy Hancock explained the new line this way.   “The concept of digital singles affords Pro Se the ability to really bring the concept of Pulp storytelling and even, in a indirect way, the idea of recurring tales from a consistent stable of authors on a regular schedule –much like classic Pulps did- into the 21st Century.  This kernel of an idea took root with us rather quickly and brings us now to possibly the most exciting announcement Pro Se has made in a long time. Pro Se Single Shot Signatures.”

The rest of the announcement can be found here.  Pro Se Single Shots

The most exciting aspect of this announcement for me though is that Pro Se has invited me to be one of the pioneering authors on this exciting venture.  My series will be featuring my medieval, pulp hero, the revenant of revenge himself, the Hanged Man.  

In the coming weeks, I will be posting some background on the character here, as well as information about the series of stories themselves.  Looking forward to sharing these exciting stories with all of you.  

A brief review of Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer

Brief Book Review on Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer

Wonderbook is a unique approach to a writing guide, and I couldn't be happier with it.  I first heard about Wonderbook in a facebook posting, and the beautiful cover image combined with the bold statement that the book offered a new and unique approach to creating imaginative fiction appealed to me.  As I looked into the book, I kept encountering great reviews.  I decided I needed to get a copy and see what it was all about.  

In the last three years, I have switched over almost exclusively to electronic books, so I was kind of bummed that there was no ebook for Wonderbook.  Honestly though, now I am glad all they had available was the hard copy.  There is something just...right about being able to hold this thing in your hands, flip through the glossy pages, and marvel at the art.  It is a really beautiful book.  

The overall structure of the book, the lessons, tips, and suggestions it offers, all are presented logically but without an overtly linear feeling to things.  This really spoke to me as I read it.  The author has taken effort to make the book accessible as a reference, but it is his suggestion that you read through the book fully, and I would agree.  This leads to what was probably my biggest surprise and also, my highest praise for the book.  

It is a blast to read.

It makes you want to try things with your own writing.  It fires up the imagination.  It lives up to the hype.  

Wonderbook webpage:  http://wonderbooknow.com/

Amazon page:   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419704427/?tag=httpwwwjeffva-20

Pro Se Podcast interview

The Pro Se Productions podcast from last month interviewed the authors featured in High Adventure History.  It was a blast to talk to the editor and other authors and such topics as pulp in general and the historical periods and inspirations for our stories.  Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Pro Se Podcast

The Hanged Man comes to life in High Adventure History

The Hanged Man- The 13 Coils  The gallows could not kill him, and now the hangman's rope around his neck is his instrument of justice and savage vengeance.  

High Adventure History is out now from Pro Se Productions, one of the leaders in the field of New Pulp.  The overall theme of the collection was to take Pulp characters and put them in a different historical setting.    My story in the book is called "The Hanged Man: The 13 Coils," and it focuses on a classic Pulp avenger hero but in the world of Medieval England.  
The collection is available in both print and ebook formats on Amazon.
Here

The Appeal of Pulp

There is just something appealing about pulp. It is something that I have loved for a long time and as I began working on these first few new-pulp projects, I began to wonder why. What was it that drew me to this. I know that it may be my early love for the Indiana Jones movies of my youth, or the box of comic books I inherited from a grandfather I never got to meet, but evidently take after in many ways. But the more I thought about it, the more the English teacher in me kept looking at Pulp as a genre, holding it up to the light to look at its facets and figure out where the magic was.

 Then it hit me. It is the combination of simplicity and richness, as weird as that sounds. Pulp is painted in broad strokes, with capital letters, but everything is larger than life. Good is good, and bad is bad, and the action is large. The stories are simple without being simplistic. The characters are resonant.

 But there is something even deeper than that. The real reason, the true secret of the appeal of pulp.

 Pulp is fun.

 Yeah, that's really it. Pulp is stories created for the purpose of fun. It is in the nature of pulp to push the envelope of credibility. I often have to explain to my students the idea of the willing suspension of disbelief. That sometimes to enjoy a story, you have to willingly give up the cynical side of yourself and go along for the ride. Pulp takes that one step further. It is a genre driven by the notion that the "rule of cool" trumps all, and where some would consider that a detriment to it, it is what I love most about it.

Would it be hard for the Shadow to reload both those .45 caliber pistols at the same time? Who cares! He looks cooler with two guns than with one.

 Does Doc Savage have an unlimited supply of shirts so they can keep getting ripped up? Who cares! It makes him look cooler.

 Has no one really been able to look past those glasses that reporter is wearing and see the man of steel beneath? No, because secret identities are awesome.

 So what is the appeal of pulp? For me, it is the simple fact that in a good pulp story, "because its cool" is a good enough reason to explain a hell of a lot.