Pulpfest 2012 Day Two

Pulpfest continued today with the dealer's room officially opening at 9 AM. I wasn't able to be there right at the open but I did have a chance to stop by on my lunch break since the convention is being held a five-minute walk from where I work this year. There was a lot of activity (as you can see in the picture below) but the room was spacious enough that nothing felt crowded or cramped. I picked up a couple dozen (mostly science fiction) digest magazines for my collection.

Pulpfest 2012 Dealer's Room

After work and a quick run for dinner, I went back to the convention. As luck would have it, Guest of Honor Mike Resnick and I struck up a conversation in the hall and while most of the rest of the convention attendees were off at dinner, he and I had a conversation for 20 or 30 minutes. It was a lot of fun talking with him about various conventions he'd been at, authors we both liked, etc.

Before long, though, it was time to head to the room where the panels are being held. The first panel was part of FarmerCon VII (the Philip Jose Farmer-themed convention running concurrently with Pulpfest). Paul Spiteri moderated a discussion with Christopher Paul Carey and Win Scott Eckert about the Wold Newton universe, their own experiences collaborating with Philip Jose Farmer, and more.

From left to right: Paul Spiteri, Christopher Paul Carey & Win Scott Eckert

After that, Mike Resnick gave his Guest of Honor presentation to the audience. It was very entertaining with lots of fun anecdotes and reminiscences.

Pulpfest 2012 Guest of Honor Mike Resnick

The next session was a panel discussion about Mars in the pulps. Ed Hulse moderated and four others discussed the subject, with each of them focusing on one particular author. Henry G. Franke on Burroughs, Garyn G. Roberts on Bradbury, Will Murray on Otis Adelbert Kline, and Stephen Haffner on Leigh Brackett. With five people up there, this was a fast-paced discussion with lots of opinions around the room about both the individual writers and their works as well as just why Mars was such an object of attention to pulp writers.

Left to Right: Franke, Roberts, Hulse, Murray and Haffner

The final speaker of the night was David Saunders who presented information about artist James Allen St. John. St. John was the illustrator for many Edgar Rice Burroughs works. Some gorgeous color reproductions displayed as part of the presentation were a highlight.

David Saunders

The final event of the evening was a film program. The first item shown was some test footage from a proposed animated version of the John Carter stories dating back to 1936 with Bob Clampett and John Coleman Burroughs (ERB's son) involved. The project did not get funding, though, so these brief snippets are all which was made. After that, a short movie titled Last Flight, shot in New Zealand and set on Mars was shown. The documentary I, Tarzan was the final screening for the evening, but with midnight fast approaching, I decided not to stay to watch this one.

Another exciting day of Pulpfest 2012 is over but there's more fun yet to come!