Pulp fiction really came into its own in the 1920s. This was the ground floor for all the stories which were adapted into classic Film Noirs. The 1930s saw the invention of the mass market paperback novel, but the pulp magazines of the 1910s and 1920s helped pave the way for the Raymond Chandlers and… Continue reading Books set during the Roaring Twenties
Author: Pagourgis
Welcome to the Roaring Twenties
Put on your Peaky Blinders Irish step-dancing hat and mix together some bathtub gin and bitters, we’ve made it back to the Roaring Twenties. When it comes to nostalgia entertainment the sweet spot seems to be 20 – 30 years. With shows like Stranger Things reminding us of The Goonies and E.T. from the 80s… Continue reading Welcome to the Roaring Twenties
Christmas Pin-Ups
Because it’s Christmas Eve and I noticed a reoccurring theme in some of Alberto Vargas’ Christmas Pin-up girls. He loves to have them with Santa masks. Were Santa masks that big a thing back then? I remember a couple of George Bailey’s kids wearing a rubber Santa mask when George wigs out on the family… Continue reading Christmas Pin-Ups
Crime Movies with a Touch of Christmas
We’re not talking about Die Hard or Lethal Weapon because that argument’s played out and we already covered that ground last year. Anyway, here are some movies we love that have Christmas moments in them. Whether or not they’re all “Christmas Movies?” That’s up for debate. Trading Places (1983) Not all comedies age well, Trading… Continue reading Crime Movies with a Touch of Christmas
Pulp Paperback Artists – Robert Maguire
If people are going to judge your book by its cover, you want an artist like Robert A. Maguire (August 3, 1921 – February 26, 2005) painting your bookjacket. From the 1940s to the 1990s Robert Maguire’s artwork sold a lot of books. In the world of pulp paperbacks, when newspapers weren’t reviewing these lurid… Continue reading Pulp Paperback Artists – Robert Maguire
Throwbacks: The Neo-Noir work of Sean Phillips and Ed Brubaker
In the world of neo-pulp, there are few as prolific and successful as the partnership of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. Together they’ve created such successful comics and graphic novels as Criminal, Incognito, Fatale, The Fade Out, and Kill or be Killed. With Brubaker penning the story and Phillips illustrating, the Brubaker/Phillips partnership is one of the… Continue reading Throwbacks: The Neo-Noir work of Sean Phillips and Ed Brubaker
Vintage Christmas Ads & An Eggnog Recipe
It’s 1964 and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is limping into ’65 in serious financial trouble. They want to have a laid back Christmas party, well they have to have a laid back party because the budget can’t account for anything else. But Roger Sterling finds out that the heir to the Lucky Strike throne, Lee Garner,… Continue reading Vintage Christmas Ads & An Eggnog Recipe
The Rat Pack and Old Vegas
I’m gonna warn you now, there’s a lot of videos in this one. Bust out the Jack Daniels, it’s Frank Sinatra’s birthday today. In honor of Ole Blue Eyes himself, we’re gonna talk about the Rat Pack. Both of my Grandfathers were Frank Sinatra fans, as were their entire generation. Whatever that ‘it factor’ is,… Continue reading The Rat Pack and Old Vegas
The Americana Art of Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (April 15, 1889 – January 19, 1975) was the Woodie Guthrie of Americana Art. He, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry were the main artists of the Regionalist art movement, where artists depicted rural and small-town America during the Great Depression. His work is like a Steinbeck novel on canvas. When I look at some of these… Continue reading The Americana Art of Thomas Hart Benton
Chinatown the Series and a Neo-Noir Renaissance
With tv shows like Fargo, True Detective, The Killing, Ozark, Mindhunter, Broadchurch, Top of the Lake, The Americans, Veronica Mars, Luther, and The Dublin Murders (we’re really excited to check that one out). It seems that we have been in the middle of a Neo-Noir renaissance for some time now. All of this probably started… Continue reading Chinatown the Series and a Neo-Noir Renaissance