Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention returns to Lombard April 21-23
Before there were comic books, there were pulps - highly-consumable fiction magazines and novels with incredible cover art and illustrations that jumped off newsstands around the country.
Now, as vintage comic book values soar, pulps are poised to rise as well.
Fans will celebrate the pulps from April 21-23 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center.
"Pulps were the precursors of modern-day science-fiction, fantasy, horror and comic books," says Vincent Zurzolo, president of ComicConnect.com, the industry's leading online auction house.
"They've earned their place in the collectibles pantheon. But due to their age and primitive printing techniques, it's difficult to find many pulps in great condition."
Most significantly, it's expected that the leading comic book grading company, CGC, will soon begin grading pulps. Currently, pulps are graded by the dealers themselves, rather than a third party - using a 10-point grading scale similar to the one used throughout the world of comic collecting. That scale was created by ComicConnect's Stephen Fishler in the late 1990s.
"As soon as grading companies start grading and encapsulating pulps, the market will explode," predicts Zurzolo. "This has happened in every collectible that's been certified so far, including video games, trading cards, comics and coins."
5 Fast Facts about Pulps
• Published in the late 19th and early 20th century, pulps included a mash-up of stories, art, nonfiction and even poetry in a range of categories.
• Iconic writers like Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar Rice Burroughs created some of their best-known works for pulps.
• Pulps paved the way for comic books, by combining art with text and publishing serialized stories of popular characters - including the seeds of superheroes.
• Pulps relied on superlatives like "amazing," fantastic" and "uncanny," an attention-getting technique Marvel Comics would carry on.
• Pulps often sported violent, scary and steamy themes. They're famous for 'Good Girl' covers of beautiful women menaced by aliens, monsters, detectives, etc.
Rising interest in pulps
"Pulps are a super-cool, rare, up-and-coming collectible," Zurzolo said. "They feature beautiful, racy, often graphic covers, especially compared to comics - and of course, they're available for a fraction of the price."
For some, the scarcity of these fragile collectibles is part of their appeal. After all, the term "pulp" comes from the cheap wood pulp paper they're printed on. Typically, the pages were left untrimmed, leaving them prone to chipping and flaking.
ComicConnect's auctions frequently offer something for collectors at every level. Here are some examples of sought after pulps:
• Hugo Gernsback's "Amazing Stories": Gernsback is considered "The Father of Science Fiction" for creating "Amazing Stories," the first pulp magazine devoted to science fiction.
• "Issues of Weird Tales," a fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine that premiered a number of H.P. Lovecraft's best-known stories, including "The Hound" (February 1924) and the first appearance of Robert E. Howard's "Conan the Barbarian" (December 1932).
• First appearances of the Spider, the Avenger, and runs of other early heroes including The Shadow, The Spider, Operator #5, The Avenger and Doc Savage - direct influences on Golden Age superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Captain America.
And there are hundreds of remarkable "good girl," bondage, sci-fi and crime covers that appeal to collectors of every stripe and level.
"The Lombard convention is a perfect jumping on point for new pulp collectors," said Zurzolo, who has sold eight million and multimillion dollar comics and earned multiple Guinness Book of World Records entries for comics bought and sold.
"It's also a great opportunity for experienced collectors to fill gaps in their collections."
On Friday, early bird entry starts at 9:30 a.m. and the dealer room opens at 11 a.m. Dealer Room hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, 70 Yorktown Center. The large dealer room will welcome around 100 dealers from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. There will be 180 tables with pulps, vintage paperbacks, science fiction, fantasy and mystery hardcovers, Golden and Silver Age comics, original art, movie memorabilia, and more.
The art show will feature a display from hero pulps such as The Shadow and Doc Savage. Film programming curated by Ed Hulse runs Friday and Saturday, and the evening events will include a presentation on hero pulps. On Sunday morning, the New Pulp Sunday event will be devoted to the colorful world of New Pulp, organized by Ron Fortier of Airship 27 Productions.
They will host two auctions, starting with the Friday night sale of 200 lots from the estate of well known collector Robert Weinberg. The Saturday night auction is filled with material from several consignors.
For information, visit windycitypulpandpaper.com/home/.