The Pulptress

The Pulptress #1

by Tommy Hancock, Ron Fortier, Terry Alexander

She appears, an enigma, a guardian angel in a mask and fedora, her past shrouded in mystery. Where did she come from? What secrets in her past drove her to become a crusader for justice? Who is The Pulptress? The Pulptress, the masked woman of mystery, makes her debut on the New Pulp scene in a collection of stories sure to thrill and amaze you. Leading off with an introduction by The Pulptress' creator, Tommy Hancock, this collection features stories by Terry Alexander, Ron Fortier, Erwin K. Roberts, Andrea Judy, and Tommy Hancock! With a fantastic cover by Mitch Foust and beautiful design work by Sean Ali, this collection is a must have! It's time You met The First Lady of New Pulp! The Pulptress! From Pro Se Productions!

Genres: Pulp

94 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2012

Reviews

[Karl]

PULP NEVER DIES…It Just Buys a New Fedora

Contents:

007 - Introduction -"Under the Fedora, Behind the Mask" by Tommy Hancock
009- "Black Mask, Big City" by Tommy Hancock
023 - "The Portrait" by Terry Alexander
045 - "Butchers Festival" by Ron Fortier
056 - "Voice to a New Generation" by Erwin K. Roberts
072 - "The Bone Queen" by Andrea Judy

Cover art by Mitch Foust

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. My two favorite stories were the story about the portrait and the second The Bone Queen. As the Bone Queen is most recent on my mind, I will say it was very action packed, and that the Point of view being from the Pulptress was well played. Being in the shoes of the character draws you in more. It followed the feel of the other stories well, as well. And it felt believable, even if the bone queen is magic and the pulptress not. Loved the dynamics, and the culture references were well done as well.

[Jeremy Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I met Tommy Hancock at MidSouthCon, he introduced me to his brand of New Pulp with Pro Se. I was ecstatic! I grew up listening to cassette recordings of old pulp radio shows while trying to find as many copies of those stories as possible. With the introduction of this fine folio, Pro Se has created an original, iconic character that is well-developed by a series of the authors contributing to this anthology. Each tale in it serves to highlight another facet of the gem known as The Pulptress, and I hope to read more about her in future editions.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of five short stories by five different authors serves as a good introduction to the character known as The Pulptress. She is an interesting character, a likable hero with a true sense of justice that drives her. While she is certainly a capable fighter and a smart tactician, she is not invulnerable so the action always has realistic consequences. I chose to read these stories between novels (as I often do with short stories) so as to stretch out the experience and keep them fresh.

I found all five stories to be fun reads even though the styles varied quite a bit from one to the next. Some were quite “pulpy” such as the first story, written by Tommy Hancock, the editor of this volume as well as the force behind Pro Se Productions. Others were written in a more traditional adventure story-telling style. Despite being stories from different authors, I didn’t find any glaring inconsistencies with The Pulptress’s personality or methods. Several of the stories did involve other main characters or heroes that seemed like they could well be that author’s main hero creation and they perhaps adapted an existing story to become a Pulptress story. Doesn’t matter. Fun reading all the same.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pulptress is the offspring of two unnamed Golden Age Pulp heroes, trained from birth by many mentors. A master of disguise and martial arts, she fights for justice in domino mask and fedora. There are guest teamings with The Voice, Dillon, and Brother Bones. The two best stories are "Butcher's Festival" by Ron Fortier (which also exists in Brother Bones: Tapestry of Blood) and "The Bone Queen" by Andrea Judy (which exists as a Pro Se Single Shot). The other stories were not well done. Since any pulp fan will want the Brother Bone series, and the best story here can be bought cheap as a single, I would skip this volume. I read 'em so you don't have to.

Note: The Pulptress stories are set in the 21st century. It was my impression that the Brother Bones stories are set in the 1930s. Certainly, the team-up between Brother Bones and Lazarus Gray that I read a while back in The Adventures of Lazarus Gray, Vol. 5 was set in the '30s. So how can the Pulptress and Brother Bones team up? Sure, Brother Bones is undead and may be cursed to a never-ending quest for vengeance, but his aide, Blackjack Bobby Crandall, would be in a walker by the 2010s. Not sure who's at fault here, but chronology is important.

[Jonathan Sweet · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK stories, but invest in an editor. Too many grammatical errors and typos to make it an enjoyable read.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good anthology, but not a great one. Some of the stories were good, some not so good. However, the character - The Pulptress - is excellent and a great addition to the New Pulp world. I liked the mystery of her background that is slowly revealed throughout the stories. I wanted to read more of these stories to get more of her back story. She's been trained by many others, including my favorite New Pulp hero, Dillon, but we still don't know a lot about her. And despite the uneven quality of the various stories, they all had two things in common: the Pulptress was in them and they make the reader want to read more stories like these.

[Ethan Nahté · Rating 5 out of 5]

This chapbook introduces a kick-ass pulp heroine called The Pulptress. I enjoyed the high-energy, action-packed so much I immediately contacted the publisher and told him I wanted to submit a story for the next Pulptress collection. I believe that collection is due out early in 2016 and I am proud to be a part of it. In the meantime, "The Pulptress" is a very enjoyable read and every story is a winner.