The pulp Western publishing history underlying Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ ‘PULP’
In May 1944, American war correspondent Frederick Schiller Faust was killed in Italy while charging a German artillery position alongside the soldiers he was covering. At 52, he was the oldest correspondent on the front lines; prior to serving as a correspondent, the aspiring poet rose from humble beginnings to a lavish lifestyle through writing pulp fiction, including Western fiction under various pseudonyms, most notably as “Max Brand.” Faust’s extraordinary life is as interesting as the fiction he wrote. Similarly, the background of Max Winters, the protagonist of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips’ graphic novel PULP, is as exciting as his Western fiction, and Winters’ challenges highlight the publishing history of pulp Western magazines.
In February 1939, Winters, 67 years old, makes his living in New York City writing for pulp magazine Six Gun Western; the adventures of the character he created, the Red River Kid, are based on his youthful and secret outlaw days — when he went by his real name, Maxwell Williams, or his criminal nickname, the “Red Rock Kid.” Times are tough; competition among the Western pulps is fierce, and Winters’ editor, Mort, gives Winters the bad news that his word rate has been cut back to two cents a word.
This intense competition among a high number of Western pulp magazines reflects historical fact. As author Don Hutchinson states in his book The Great Pulp Heroes: “Although the pulps are now remembered chiefly for their mystery, science fiction, and horror, far and away the most popular titles in their heyday were Westerns. In his book, The Pulp Western, researcher John A. Dinan noted 184 separate magazines devoted exclusively to Western fiction — a list which he admits is incomplete.”
The first pulp magazine devoted exclusively to Western fiction appeared in 1919, publisher Street & Smith’s Western Story Magazine. Other titles from various publishers followed: Thrilling Western, Popular Western, Western Outlaws, Crack Shot, Blazing Western, etc.; there was even an actual Six-Gun Western, although it is distinguished from Winters’ magazine by a hyphen in the title.
As a writer, Winters draws upon his experiences in the West for his stories; this was not uncommon among the authors who wrote pulp Westerns (although none of them were former bandits, as far as posterity can determine). For example, Faust grew up working farms and ranches in California. He had moved to New York City to work as a writer; he earned a meager living at first, sharing a room with another writer. The room had no heat, and the winters were freezing. Because Faust had higher literary aspirations, he chose to write Westerns under the pseudonym “Max Brand.” In 1918, his first Western was published to huge success in the magazine All-Story. By the 1930s, Faust was a popular pulp writer, his most famous creation the non-Western protagonist Dr. Kildare; Faust was living lavishly, and drinking often, in Italy.
Winters is not so fortunate; as a writer, he is scraping by, earning a meager living. Winters also encounters the artistic limitations of the pulp format when he tries to move the Red River Kid beyond his conventional, repetitive “shoot ’em up” adventures; when he tries to write the Kid and his sidekick escaping to Mexico, leaving behind their outlaw lifestyle (reflecting Winters’ actual past; he and his friend, Spike, fled to Mexico for a time, to escape pursuit by the Pinkertons), Mort rejects it, telling Winters to “stick to the formula.” Later, Mort reveals that he has hired his young nephew to write Red River Kid stories as backups, at half the pay Winters receives. When Winters protests that the Kid is his character, Mort reminds him that the publisher owns all rights to the character.
Recurring series characters like the Rio Kid, the Pecos Kid, and Texas Ranger Jim Hatfield, among others, were common in pulp Westerns. Like Winters, the creators of these characters signed over all rights to their publishers. It was not uncommon for the characters to be assigned to other writers, and the publishers controlled the characters’ narrative adventures, relying on repetitive narrative formula rather than encouraging artistic experimentation. As an editor, Mort is an accurate reflection of the editorial management many pulp writers experienced. (Given Brubaker’s background in comics, it is tempting to speculate that Mort’s name and demeanor may have been inspired by Mort Weisinger, the notoriously heavy-handed editor of the Superman comics titles in the 1950s and 60s.)
Winters is beaten and mugged by some antisemitic goons he confronts in the subway, and suffers a heart attack; he later learns of Mort’s plans to supplant him with his nephew. Winters faces hard times; he is contemplating a robbery to help his financial situation — not for himself, but for a loved one he fears will be left with nothing when his heart gives out — when he encounters an old rival who steers him towards a larger criminal opportunity directed against Nazis operating in New York. A caper ensues, and Winters, the former Red Rock Kid, experiences the final adventure he could never write for the Red River Kid, all of it rendered in gorgeous, gritty detail by Phillips, with colors by Jacob Phillips.
PULP is a gripping story, mixing “shoot ’em up” action with poignant human moments and historic truth, challenging reader perceptions of the characters once celebrated as heroes in the pulp Westerns. But it is also a tribute to the pulp writers of a long-gone era, like Faust and his contemporaries, who crafted entertaining Western adventures for as little as a penny a word. Facing intense schedule pressures, no job security, and a lack of creative control, these writers nevertheless delivered volumes of entertaining Western adventure to a nation in dire need of imaginative escape.
NOTES AND FURTHER READING:
PULP (written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Sean Phillips, colors by Jacob Phillips; Image Comics, July 2020) Digital copies are available online, and physical copies may be found at your local comic shop.
The Great Pulp Heroes (Don Hutchison, New York: Book Republic Press, 2007)
Cheap Thrills: The Amazing! Thrilling! Astonishing! History of Pulp Fiction (Ron Goulart: Neshannock: Hermes Press, 2007)
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