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Convention extols pulp fiction
PulpCon has been in Dayton more often than any other city, an organizer says.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
DAYTON — The 36th Annual PulpCon is a gathering for people interested in "pulp magazines" — the pre-comic book magazines featuring characters such as Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian, and of course, their damsels in distress.
The event is at the Dayton Convention Center this weekend and features vendors of all kinds of pulp products. These products start around $10 and can cost up to $1,000, said Jack Cullers, who helps run PulpCon.
Pulp fiction memorabilia, used paperbacks and other collectibles are on sale at the PulpCon event.On Friday and Saturday, PulpCon featured a special presentation from Glenn Lord, who has compiled the work of, and is considered the expert on, Robert E. Howard, whose most famous work is Conan the Barbarian.
"This is the history of modern popular entertainment," said John Goodwin, a publisher at the event.
"The major blockbusters that you've seen over the last decade were either pulp pieces or based on pulp themes," Goodwin said, citing "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Superman."
The event grew out of the WorldCon science fiction convention.
Rusty Hevelin, one of the first organizers of PulpCon, had attended WorldCon regularly since 1946. Science-fiction pulp magazines are a staple at such events. Some of the pulp vendors, including Hevelin, discussed having a convention with just pulp — and not just science-fiction pulp.
One day at WorldCon, Hevelin received a phone call from a colleague who wanted half an hour to discuss having a pulp convention. "And we didn't talk for half an hour," Hevelin said. "We talked for three hours."
PulpCon has held more conventions in Dayton than any other city. The location usually is determined by the person who finds the best deal, said Hevelin, who has helped organize it most years.
The first PulpCon in St. Louis in 1972 attracted 90 people participants. Since then, the event has more than doubled in size.
"Dayton is one of the few places that has a convention that honors the pulps," Goodwin said.
The event continues today.
How to go
What: 36th Annual PulpCon
Where: Dayton Convention Center
When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today
