I just finished reading a great anthology by David Noe called Fantastic 4N1. The first two stories are about two old Pulp heroes of the 1930s & 40s.
The first was The Purple Scar, a plastic surgeon who wore a mask of his dead brother that was killed and had his face mutilated. Mike Murdock created a death-mask of his brother and dyed it purple, hence the name The Purple Scar. While I’ve never read any of the Pulp stories of The Purple Scar, I have read about the character and knew of his origin. What’s better than one Purple Scar? How about two, or even three? This great story explains all. I enjoyed his take on the character and plan on finding more new and older tales of the hero.
The next hero is The Moon Man, Steve Thatcher. If you ever read any Spider-Man comics and saw the villain, Mysterio, you will have an idea of what The Moon Man looks like. Unlike The Purple Scar, I have read several of The Moon Man’s stories, both in Pulp and New Pulp. David Noe has written a fantastic story with The Moon Man and a character from an even earlier time. Go treasure hunting with The Moon Man and discover more than expected.
In the third story is David Noe’s own character, Minsa Van Whey. One of the more unusual and dare I say spooky characters I’ve seen. This story grabbed me from the start and I wasn’t sure how it would end. How often have you read a story that introduced characters later that you hope would become a main character. Minsa’s story has love, adultery, murder, betrayal and that is just the start. Get ready for a wild ride and make sure the light is on while you read.
Now for the fourth story, Lobo. He appeared in two old comics and is now appearing in All New Popular Comics #1, Amazon has the issue available. Lobo is an African-American ex-Civil War soldier. He reminds me a bit of Clint Eastwood in his unnamed gunfighter role, but with a twist. I’m looking forward to reading more of Lobo in both prose and comics.
David Noe is a writer that will be on my list of need to read. Be sure and buy all his books.
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