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Friday, March 11, 2011

Mean Streetmaps

Mean Streetmaps
SOLD OUT!

Bear Alley Books is proud to announce the publication of Mean Streetmaps, a collection of essays on crime noir ranging from the origins of hard-boiled writing in the pages of Black Mask, the novels of James M. Cain, W. R. Burnett and Mickey Spillane—and of their British copyists Ben Sarto, 'Griff' and Dail Ambler—to the movies of Joe Eszterhas and David Fincher. This eclectic collection also includes essays on the crime novels and movies of Hollywood's worst director, Edward D. Wood, Len Deighton's Harry Palmer novels, Sexton Blake's infamous nemesis, Zenith the Albino, and a new take on George Orwell's classic essay 'Raffles and Miss Blandish'.

Contents

Some Rats Have Two Legs [Griff] (available on Kindle)
"Let Me Die in Drag" [Edward D. Wood's crime films and novels]
You the Jury: Joe Eszterhas
Raffles and Richard Allen [George Orwell vs. Skinhead] (available on Kindle)
The Lady Holds a Gun [Dail Ambler] (a much expanded version is now available in Forgotten Authors Volume 1)
Deadline for Crime [Duncan Webb fights the prostitute rackets]
In Self Defence [Pete Costello obscenity case] (available on Kindle)
Restless Predators [British gangsters]
Mean Streetmaps (available on Kindle as Hard-Boiled: Black Mask, Carroll John Daly and the Origins of Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction)
Waiting for Darkness [W. R. Burnett] (available on Kindle)
You the Jury: Mickey Spillane
Twisted Hopes and Crooked Dreams [James M. Cain's Double Indemnity]
White Hunter, Black Heart (expanded version available on Kindle as Zenith: Prince of Chaos)
"Ferociously Cool" [Len Deighton's Harry Palmer]
You the Jury: David Fincher
"I Kill 'Em Inch by Inch!" [Ben Sarto] (available on Kindle)

Reviews
"Given his personal sphere of interest, he is, as to be expected, always interesting and highly informative on the pulp underbrush of crime fiction as cultivated by such names as ‘Griff’, Ben Sarto and Dail Ambler – and if those names mean nothing to you, don’t worry about it; you are not alone. Expanding into more classical noir crime fiction, Holland also pens very decent essays on James M. Cain, Caroll John Daly and Black Mask magazine and first rate ones on W. R. Burnett and Mickey Spillane – of whom you certainly should have heard."—Mike Ripley, Getting Away With Murder, June 2011.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Frontline UK - OUT OF PRINT

OUT OF PRINT!
Sorry, this book is no longer available.

The year is 1976 and Britain has been crushed under the heel of the invading forces of the Yellow Moon. But there is resistance to the invaders. Scattered throughout the country are men fighting back, men like Sergeant Sam Strong and the crew of his Scorpion tank.

Sergeant Strong and his crew are taking part in a military exercise when aircraft fly overhead, swinging around to make a dummy run on the tanks... but this is no dummy run! Air bases and other military installations across the country are under attack and invading forces are taking beaches around the coast.

How a lone Scorpion tank and its three-man crew—Strong, Bunny and Tanner—evade capture and then take the battle to the enemy makes for a thrilling adventure of British pluck in the face of a powerful enemy. Before 2000AD launched its own "Invasion" ten months later, there was "Frontline UK".

Featuring superb artwork by Ian Kennedy and Clemente Rezzonico, Frontline UK collects together for the first time the full story of the Yellow Moon invasion from the pages of D. C. Thomson's all-action comic, Bullet.

As well as the complete story, a trio of features in Frontline UK introduce the author and artists of the strip while the introduction reveals the origins of the story in the pages of a 1950s Wizard serial and how that story had previously been interpreted as a comic strip.

Arena - OUT OF PRINT

OUT OF PRINT!
Sorry, this book is no longer available.
Welcome to the greatest, most exciting sport ever! The ultimate conflict—to the death! Men locked in mortal combat employing strength and cunning and the most ingenious weapons the 21st century can devise. This is the story of one man's struggle against the system and his desperate battle for survival in the—
ARENA
Collected for the first time, "Arena" is set in the dark future of a 21st century in which corporations are all-powerful, protected by heavily militarized police forces and a legal system that removes dissenting voices by sentencing men to fight violent gladiatorial battles broadcast to the masses as entertainment from the Arena

Journalist Mark Sabor is sent to the Arena after criticizing the government. Even as he trains to fight, forces are at work to make sure he will never survive. Pitted against merciless opponents whose sole objective is to kill the newcomer any way they can, Sabor must use his wits and strength to survive.

But for Sabor the battle isn't just about surviving. It's about fighting back!

Trained in every form of weapon, the Arena warriors make a formidable army. Sabor becomes part of the resistance, searching for the truth about who controls the government and, through them, mankind's fate. And when he discovers the truth, it will be a bigger shock than he could ever have imagined.

From the pages of The Crunch, "Arena" marked the British debut of Argentina's master of the fantastic, Enrique Alcatena, who turned Dave H. Taylor's gripping scripts into a super-stylish science fiction epic. Although his artwork appeared anonymously, Alcatena built up a strong fan base in the UK in the pages of Starblazer, Warlord and Victor. Meanwhile, author Dave H. Taylor was also responsible for scripting many of D. C. Thomson's most popular characters, amongst them Alf Tupper the Tough of the Tracks, Billy the Cat and Starhawk. Together they created a memorable dystopian tale that still has the power to thrill.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Bear Alley Books: Corrections and Additions

When we publish an index, that isn't the end of the story. I have been researching British comics since the 1980s and the field is so vast that it's a rare week when nothing new is discovered. Ongoing research means that published indexes can sometimes require updating and may contain the occasional error. Hence this page, which I will use for corrections and additions and – hopefully – catch any mistakes before the wrong information becomes too widespread.

COUNTDOWN TO TV ACTION

p.99 Caption should indicate that Brian Lewis is top left and Jon Davis is top right rather than vice versa.
p.110 For clarity, Channel should be Channel TV.
p.186 An additional annual, The Persuaders, should have been included as it was published by Purnell & Sons for Polystyle in August 1972. A contents listing will be forthcoming when I can track down a copy.

HURRICANE & CHAMPION (1st edition)

p.32 Rob o' the Wood. Artwork for story 11 is by Martin Salvador, not Guido Buzzelli. Although Buzzelli did contribute to Thriller Picture Library's Robin Hood issues, none of his stories were reprinted in Hurricane, so his name should also be removed from the creators index on page 44.
p.41 Whacker. The queried source story was not 'La Bulle de Silence' (Spirou 1433-1458) but the earlier 'La Maison d'en face' (1297-1318, 1963). (Thanks to MCT16 for the update.)

LION: KING OF PICTURE STORY PAPERS

p.15 Art: Dudley Wynne.
p.44 There is no reference to the source of quotes from Chris Lowder as there are for others who are quoted in the introduction. These are from correspondence c.1994.
p.71 The strip is Carson's Cubs.
p.79 The strip is Gargan.
p.85 The strip is The Fugitive From Planet Scror.
p.113 The story numbering for Captain Condor should be continuous and not jump from 26 to 38, caused by the removal of text stories to the text section.
p.128 The strip on the far left is Jungle Jef.
p.129 Gary Keane's last episode of Paddy Payne was the issue 367, dated 28-02-59, and Joe Colquhoun took over the following week with issue 368, dated 07-03-59.
p.130 The strip is Billy the Kid.
p.139 The strip on the far right is Jimmi from Jupiter.
p.141 Artwork for Highway Danger is by Bert Vandeput.
p.144 The strip is Quest of the Firebird.
p.151 The strip is Andy's Army.
p.168 The illustration is of Dan Dexter.
p.170 The illustrations are of (top) Captain Condor and Tuff Dawson, (bottom) Bill Duggan.
p.176 Mr. Smith of MI51/2 (C10). David Slinn suggests that the art is possibly by Rex Moreton. "There was a chap who worked in the style of Mr, Smith called Rex Moreton, but it is difficult to be sure whether this is him or not." Moreton can also be added to the creators' index.
p.177 Mild Bill Hiccup (C18). Scripts by Ron Clark; the latter needs to be added to the creators' index. The artwork has been teh subject of some discussion with some believing it to be by Chiqui (Jose de la Fuente) and some believing it is Juan Rafart. I believe the latter is more likely as De la Fuente was, at that time, drawing war stories for the UK. Rafart needs to be credited as the artist on page 178.
p.194 The compiler of the Airfix Modellers Club was Kelvin Gosnell, whose name should be added to the creators' index.
p.249 The strip on the far right is Drive For Your Life

NOT FORGOTTEN 2009-10

p.25 Giorgio Bellavitis made his first contributions to Albo Uragano, which is misspelled.

RANGER: THE NATIONAL BOYS' MAGAZINE

p.131 For clarity it should be noted that the artist for Looking Into Things episode 8 is unknown.
p.133 Caption should say "far right" rather than "opposite".