Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7th and 8th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Pulp Research Books


Pulp Research Books
Many research books were written in the early days of pulp fandom. There are too many books on science fiction to attempt to list, so I’ve limited this one to the lesser-covered pulps. I know I am overlooking many fine books. Nor does this list cover the area of comic books! If you see something that I should have listed, please contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com Following is a short list:
The Secret Agent “X” Companion by Tom Johnson & Will Murray (Altus Press)
Operator #5: The History of the Purple Wars by Harrison Stievers (Tom Johnson) from Altus Press
The Phantom Detective Companion by Tom Johnson (Altus Press)
G-Man Companion by Tom Johnson (Altus Press)
The Black Bat Companion by Tom Johnson (Altus Press)
From Shadow to Superman (The Belmont Shadows of the 1960s) by Tom Johnson (Fading Shadows, Inc.)
“The Green Ghost” (And Other Articles) by Tom Johnson (Fading Shadows, Inc.)
Twenty Years of Murder by Don Hutchison
Dime Detective Companion by James L. Traylor (Altus Press)
The Pulp Hero by Nick Carr (Wild Cat Books)
Master of the Pulps by Nick Carr (Wild Cat Books)
America’s Secret Service Ace (Operator #5) by Nick Carr (Weinberg’s Pulp Classics)
The Flying Spy (G-8) by Nick Carr (Weinberg’s Pulp Classics)
The Other Detective Pulp Heroes by Nick Carr
The Western Pulp Hero by Nick Carr
The Amazing Pulp Heroes by Frank Hamilton & Link Hullar
Daring Adventurers by Rick Lai (Altus Press)
Criminal Masterminds by Rick Lai (Altus Press)
Chronology of Shadows (The Shadow) by Rick Lai
Chronology of Bronze (Doc Savage) by Rick Lai (Altus Press)
Gangland’s Doom by Frank Eisgruber, Jr. (Altus Press)
The Spider by Robert Sampson
Deadly Excitements by Robert Sampson
Yesterday’s Faces (set of volumes) by Robert Sampson
The Western Pulps by John Dinan
Sports in the Pulp Magazines by John Dinan
Adventure by Robert Kenneth Jones
The Gray Nemesis (The Avenger) by Howard Hopkins (Golden Perils)
Pulp Man’s Odyssey (On Hugh Cave) by Audrey Parente
Horrors and Unpleasantries (The Horror Genre) by Sheldon Jaffery
Lester Dent: The Man, His Craft and His Market by Martin Laird
Danger Is My Business: An Illustrated History of the Pulp Magazines by Lee Server
The Shadow Scarpbook by Walter Gibson
Duende: The History of the Shadow by Will Murray
Writings in Bronze by Will Murray
Wordslinger: An Epitaph For The Western by Will Murray
Doc Savage: Arch Enemy of Evil: Pulp & Reprint History by Larry Widen & Chris Miracle
Captain Future Handbook by Chuck Juzek (Wild Cat Books)
Pulp Magazines: An Informal History by Ron Goulart (Ace Paperbacks)
Detective and Mystery Fiction: An International Bibliography of Secondary Sources by Walter Albert (Brownstone Books)
Mystery, Detective and Espionage Magazines by Michael L. Cook (Greenwood Press)
Monthly Murders Complied By Michael L. Cook (Greenwood Press)
Hero Pulp Reprint Index by Bill Thom (Fading Shadows)

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2 comments:

  1. JeanetteDecember 23, 2013 at 3:45 PM

    We moved to WF in 1933 and I grew up there until we moved to Dallas in 1948. Loved going to the movies and particularly loved Wichita Falls history. Have written alot about WF and still do on facebook. The Gem was owned by Mr.McIlheran and I went to school with his daughter Dorothy May. We double dated one time when I was a Soph. and of course got in free, but our dates did buy us popcorn and a Black Cow sucker. I remember seeing some Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Sabu movies there. The Gem wasn't a very large theater but I went to almost all of the theaters in WF during those years except the Azteca and the Isis which were for black patrons. Also remember seeing lots of serials at some of the theaters and of course the cartoons and news and short subject films. Regards, Jeanette Howeth Crumpler

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  2. Tom JohnsonDecember 23, 2013 at 3:53 PM

    Thanks Jeanette. Yes, I loved the theaters when I lived on Ohio Street. Once we moved, after three years, I seldom went back to them. Oh, I went to the Strand, State, and Wichita theaters, but I never returned to the Gem, Tower, Texas, or Ritz. I never went to the Majestic as far as I can remember. The Ritz and Texan came and went with the tide, if I remember correctly. Thanks for visiting the Site, please come back often.

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