#french pulp

Art: Michel Gourdon

Some friends have gotten me into the Lupin III movies recently. The character is a fun mix of comedy and actual competence, like if Austin Powers got to be totally badass on occasion. In the Anime, the titular Lupin III is the grandson of the archetypical Gentleman Thief character Arsène Lupin from French fiction.  I did some research into why Arsène Lupin of all characters seems to have such a big fanbase in Japan. It goes back a ways - in fact, in 1923, a silent movie was released in Japan that was basically an Arsène Lupin story in all but name - the character's name being replaced with Akira Naruse due to the Lupin character not being Public Domain yet. I thought I'd incorporate Akira Naruse into the Apex Society Universe as a separate character, modeled on Lupin III (though set in the 1930s). He's a charming, mostly capable but sometimes bumbling international thief and treasure hunter who keeps getting himself mixed up in crazy adventures. As a wanted criminal, he's found himself at odds with the increasingly Nationalistic Japanese government, and often works jobs for Apex Society member Doctor Xian.

 I put his name as an homage to the theory on the Wold Newton family/Crossover Universe group that Doc Arden was an alias for Doc Savage (Doc Arden was a French precursor to Doc Savage) and I added the reference of him having two belts to Planetary's Doc Savage expy, Doc Brass.

Qui Veut Mourir Pour L'art?

Seattle Mystery Bookshop

I'm waiting until I've finished drawing 20 pages (ie chapter one) before I put anything up, but it shouldn't be too long now.

A french pulp from the eighties. Maybe the ultimate french pulp magazine from the period...Superb contents (short-stories, comics, feature articles, biographies, interviews, book reviews). A must for any pulp fan. The direction was assured by Richard D. Nolane and Charles Moreau.

Art: Michel Gourdon.