If you are a fan of the pulp
mystery men which took place during the 1930s and 1940s then you’ll want to
check out Paul Kupperberg’s new novella, The
Blank which is a Pulp style dime novel of the ‘30s & ‘40s. The title
character, Michael Harper, is a local pharmacist by day, catering to the needs
and ailments of his community on New York’s Lower East Side of New York City. However,
when the sun goes down, and the streets bustle with rackets, gunmen, and
dangers lurks in the shadows, he becomes the scarlet clad, masked vigilante
known as The Blank.
He is a masked vigilante in the classic
style of the Mystery Men of that era (The Spirit, The Clock, The Phantom
Detective, and all the rest). Much like his other books (A
Clockwork God, JSA Ragnarök,
The
Devil and Leo Persky) is an amazing story that builds a totally
believable if slightly fanciful world—Where you, as the reader, are totally
drawn into the “reality” that Kupperberg executes with a most profound style
and flare.
What he has done here, is given us
a new-yet-old tale of a hero who has risen to the cause of becoming a masked
hero. By day he is Doc Harper, the neighborhood pharmacist, a quiet man
with steady hands and an attentive ear behind the counter. However, when night
falls, Harper dons the crimson mask that strikes fear into his criminal foes which
he wears as a memorial to his father; a good cop who died in the line of duty.
However, everything changes when the city suddenly explodes in a mob war. The
Blank must now decide if an old man claiming to be hundreds of years old is a
benevolent healer...or a criminal mastermind forcing him into a deadly confrontation
with this mysterious stranger.
This mysterious stranger goes by many
names, including Professor Knickerbocker, Muhhekunneuw, Thomas Dare, and
others. He also claims to be hundreds of years old, an indigenous American, and
a direct descendent of Virginia Dare from the lost Roanoke colony. As it turns
out as “Professor Knickerbocker” he is dispensing alternative “home grown” medicine
he claims were taught to him by his ancestors to Doc Harpers patients. While as
Muhhekunneuw, he is directing members of the local Iroquois who used to inhabit
Manhattan, to wage a war on the local mobsters that now control the lower East
Side.
Our hero, as Doc Harper is concerned
that the “medicine” is potentially dangerous and really isn’t effectively
treating his patients’ actual ailments. As The Blank he is concerned with the
fallout and potential collateral damage to innocent civilians by the excesses
of the moob war Muhhekunneuw and his indigenous henchmen are waging. The closer
The Blank gets to Muhhekunneuw, the higher the stakes become, until there is a
full-on battle between the mobsters and the forces of Muhhekunneuw.
Needless to say, fans of
Pulp-style novels should most assuredly check this book out, as Kupperberg
effectively captures the style and tone of that bygone era with this intriguing
novella. Currently available either direct from Kupperberg, or from Amazon
(in either print or eBook form), The Blank is a fun novella that clocks in at 132
pages and provides a quick, easy read.
Paul Kupperberg is the author of
dozens of books of fiction and non-fiction for readers of all ages and an
Eisner Award-nominated writer of more than one thousand comicbook stories for
companies like DC, Archie and others.
