Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper

by Leonard Apa

Thomas Malloy has just witnessed the worst trauma a child can suffer. With nowhere to turn he seeks out the only man he feels can help him, The Scarlet Scrapper! The trouble is that Frank Hodge is no kind of hero, he just plays one on the radio. Hodge, a veteran who drinks too much, is dealing with his own inner demons. Now he must decide if he will continue down the disastrous path he has been on since returning from the war, or if he can become the hero Thomas needs him to be. A story of action, adventure and heart, where hero and villain collide in a showdown for an innocent boy' s life.

294 pages, Paperback

Published September 23, 2025

About the author

Leonard Apa is a high school English teacher living in New Jersey. His short fiction has been published in CAPED: An Anthology of Superhero Tales, Deadman's Tome Campfire Tales Book One, the first issue of Creepy Campfire Quarterly, and The Good Fight 5: The Good Fight. He was also featured in the "Reject a Hit" segment of Writer's Digest. Leonard's debut novel Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper was released by Running Wild Press on September 23rd, 2025. He is currently hard at work on a new project.

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have seen movies from the 1930s and 1940s, or read the books of James M. Cain (some of which were adapted into movies), you will easily slip into the world of the Scarlet Scrapper. The bad guys are ruthless, our protagonist is troubled, a child needs protection, and the women are understanding and beautiful. I actually visualized this story in black and white: a medium that allows the narrative take center stage.

Frank Lodge plays the Scarlet Scrapper in a radio program. Where the Scarlet Scrapper is brave and disciplined, Frank is a boozing womanizer who despises his professional persona. When Frank—dressed as the Scarlet Scrapper—saves a boy from the hoodlums sent to kill him, Frank finds himself thrown into the roles of a hero and pseudo-father. Can Frank protect the boy, and possibly find redemption? Will he also win the girl?

I enjoyed this action filled book. It is fun, the characters are relatable, and the action is nonstop. I am glad that I have been able to read several books from Running Wild Press; the authors are fresh voices that deserve to be read and enjoyed.

I would like to thank Running Wild Press and LibraryThing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Thomas Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t usually go for noir novels or mysteries in general, but I really enjoyed this one. The inclusion of radio plays throughout the story breaks up the narrative in a really fun and unique way. There’s more to this than a mystery- it’s also a hero origin story done in a way that I’ve never seen before. It’s fun throughout and paced quickly enough to keep you engaged from start to finish. Definitely worth giving this one a try if you’re into noirs or anti-hero origin stories.

[Tiago Resende · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulp fiction, especially of the heroic variety, was admittedly a spotty genre. For every giant shade cast by the likes of The Phantom and The Shadow, with in-depth storylines and accompanying lore, there were plenty of vapid afterthoughts, whose sole purpose was to keep that magazine industry rolling. Every young boy clung to these churned out stories, under the societal and economic pressures of wartime. They had little, but they sure were wealthy in inspiration of great values and masculinity. It was important, back then.

Were the Scarlett Scrapper to exist in this timeline, it would have been huge. Before we got treated to Kickass in the 00's, this would have definitely caused a big impression. It never misses the candid acknowledgement that the pulp hero is merely a radio drama fiction, for a culture rife with young boys desperately clinging to the selfless courage of long since absent soldiers overseas; an excuse to peddle war bonds and yet another programming slot to introduce advertisements and propaganda. And somehow, this jaded actor called Frank Hodge is confronted with the need to live up to this farce, that did nothing other than pay his bills in the throes of alienation. The farce has to stop sometime and a man has to step up and be brave. If only to keep a grieving boy from harm's way. But real life has tangible consequences for someone taking up a vigilante role so woefully unprepared. The real world vulnerability here is quite high, which in relation to something like Kickass, it opts not to cheapen the struggle with extraneous elements (like overpowered child assassins, I mean, c'mon). Trust me, it's all the better for it.

This is pulp with plenty of human depth and heart. No character is a floating device of fancy, they're all grounded in the reality of a homeland buckling under the war effort. Cops would be corrupt, crooks are elevated to business men, and working class families often had to deal with pressures from both. You cannot escape the 40's in this piece, it is in the descriptions, the thoughtful tonality of the prose, the period-accurate dialogue... But most importantly, the heart. You will hang on to Hodge and Thomas, as their struggle to salvage the little both have left in the face of the everyday big city monster will keep you cheering and doing so with the exact same stylings of the setting, which is plainly a testament of good writing and attention to detail - without becoming mired in excessive exposition and poor pacing. It feels like pulp, but in relation to most instances of the genre... It's way better.

You have to read this if you never got into any of the pulp heroes.
This is an absolute must if you have.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of great books lately and I try not to grade them on a curve, but reading a not-so-good one after so many good ones gets me all confused. Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper is not a bad book and Leonard Apa is not a bad writer. In fact, considering I got this book for free (thanks Library Thing and Running Wild Press) I shouldn't have any complaints. Yet...
I like me a good pulp story and this book is definitely that. It takes place in the early '40s, during the heat of WWII, in New York City. The protagonist is a gruff, war veteran named Frank. Like millions of stories before this one, he's a cranky alcoholic with a lot of ghosts in his closet. He hates himself and his job, and has ruined the only relationship he's ever had, yet is still obsessed with her. He meets a kid in need and reluctantly agrees to help him, discovering his true strength and humanity along the way. Often when I read books like this, I feel like the story lines are obvious, but I'm usually wrong. Unfortunately, with this book I pretty much knew everything that was going to happen very early on.
In addition to that, the characters lacked depth. We get to see inside of Frank's head a little bit (though his change from loner who doesn't care about anyone or anything to lovable hero happens a bit too quickly and without explanation) it wasn't enough to truly care about him. The other characters were mostly two dimensional cliches. I don't know the author and have never read anything else by him, but I get the feeling from his writing that he can do better. But maybe I just think that because he's from New Jersey.
There were too many editing mistakes too. This is the second book I've read by Running Wild Press and they both made it crystal clear that they are not spending enough money on editors. There was a whole, two page scene that was repeated fifty pages apart. That seems pretty dang noticeable.
Anyway, this book comes out next month and would make a decent airplane or prison read.

[Rod Gilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one has written anything like this in decades. This is a jewel for readers of thrilling action with more heart than your favorite romance!
A man at the bottom of his life, holding on by the kindness of his only friend.
A boy who watches as his entire life is ripped apart.
A beautiful, intelligent woman.
A gangster with plenty of thugs.
All of these are thrown into a tornado of brutal violence, horrific despair, and the one thing they didn't believe existed - Hope.
Is it possible, really, for a fictional hero to actually come to life?
Find out in this raw, gripping, masterfully written story!
If you like to read at all, any genre, this book should be first on your list!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is set in the 40s and feels like it was written then. But that’s because this is pulp fiction. And if you love reading pulp then you would enjoy this book. Frank Hodge is a radio actor and he plays the Scarlet Scrapper, a super hero that always get in a pickle but manages to get out at the end of each episode. Frank hates his job and hates his life. But when he meets Thomas Malloy, whose parents were just murdered, he changes and becomes the Scarlet Scrapper for real. Full of action, full of thrills and even some romance.

[David Buzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonard Apa has cooked up the genuine article: the kind of rip-snorting, cliff-hanging, two-fisted pulp adventure that would have Chester Gould grinning over his drawing board, Lamont Cranston laughing from the shadows, and Arch Oboler grinning behind the creaking door of the "Inner Sanctum."

"Introducing the Scarlet Scrapper" is Saturday-night radio reborn between two covers. One of the most entertaining and fun novels I've read this year. Highly recommended!