Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/08/01/hugo-gernsbacks-introduction.html
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Wee! Pulps are neat! I have been delving more into their history a little bit lately, and they were a fertile breeding ground for many beloved characters and authors. These in turn inspired and were ripped off to form many of the old Comic Book heroes, which in turn inspired new heroes down the line.
I only own 4, 2 Sci-Fi ones, 1 Western one I found at an antique store, and 1 Shadow. But they do make reprints of some of them, which I recently acquired a few reprints of The Shadow magazine.
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What a lineup: Wells, Verne & Poe!
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I understand why Poe is a popular example but I also think of Mark Twain. For instance his story “Sold To Satan” came out shortly after Marie Curie discovered radium. Satan glows because he’s made of the stuff, and it makes him a heavyweight.
“I stand six feet one; fleshed and blooded I would weigh two hundred and fifteen; but radium, like other metals, is heavy. I weigh nine hundred-odd.”
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I’ve always found it odd/cool that Hugo Gernsback (born Hugo Gernsbacher) was his real name. It sounds like a character name from one of the stories you’d find in pulp.
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Aw, dead already?
Fun fact - look into how much Superman ripped off of Doc Savage. I mean they out right stole the “Fortress of Solitude”.
Batman was a copy of The Shadow, with Bill Finger saying that the first Batman stories were basically reworked Shadow stories. The utility belt was taken from Doc Savage.
Now I am not condemning anyone here, I just think it is interesting how much we owe some of these early pulp writers and characters to some of our current favorite pop icons.
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