BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO
Bruce Jones was already a fan of Otis Adelbert Kline's work on an alien planet, when he was asked by Sequential Pulp to pen Sword of Venus, the adaptation of three of Kline's novels featuring Robert Grandon's adventures on Venus. Jones told us one of the challenges is figuring out what to incorporate and what needs left out. "Adapting a book is always tough. What do you cut and how? You have to kill all your darlings as the saying goes but it can be anguish-inducing; one man’s verisimilitude is another’s exposition."

THE PULSE: A lot of our readers might not know much about Otis Adelbert Kline or his work with Robert Grandon on the planet Venus; why do you think this sci-fi writer is one whose work a modern audience is going to appreciate now?

BRUCE JONES: An appetite for good adventure stories well told doesn’t really wax and wane with time, only with changes in medium. Kline’s work certainly has all the necessary ingredients and then some. Our series is a “romance” in the adventure sense of the word, something you don’t see very often today and whose time has come again I think. It’s a hybrid, really, a distillation of science fiction, swash buckler and good old fashion adventure with a soupcon of horror in the mix. I think it could be very big. This is Star Wars before there was Star Wars. Everyone today has stolen from Kline and the pulp writers in one way or another. This is where it began. And, in many ways, is still the best. Pretty remarkable when you think that some of the ideas used in these stories--regarded as outlandish even in their time--are common place reality today.


THE PULSE: I know you're a fan of a lot of classic tales, was Kline on your radar before this opportunity to adapt his works or was he someone you took a refresher course on after hearing about Sequential Pulp Comics?

JONES: I didn’t need a refresher course to revisit Kline. That was one of the perks of this assignment, the chance to cozy up and pore over these great adventure stories again, something I hadn’t done with this level of concentration since high school. I’m pleased to say they hold up wonderfully. Oh, you have to cut them some slack for 30’s hyperbole and affectation—the style of the period they were written-- but hell, you can say that about Melville. Bottom line is: it’s great stuff.


THE PULSE: If you were already a fan of his works, what is it about his style that appeals to you the most? If this is a writer you newly discovered, what stands out in your mind about his sense of style and storytelling abilities?

JONES: He was just a natural story-teller. I’ve heard the critic’s comparisons to Burroughs and all that. My personal theory is that most of that was sour grapes on Burroughs’ part, and I’m a Burroughs fan. Sure, there are similarities of form and structure, but neither author invented the romantic adventure tale. And Kline work stands just fine on its own.


THE PULSE: What appeals to you the most about these pulp type tales?

JONES: Their absolute lack of inhibition. For instance, not all that much was known about the planet Venus when Kline was writing and, though some may find his take quaint and clearly dated--I love the breadth of freedom this afforded him and many of the old writers. When the science isn’t available you extrapolate. Kline was smart enough to realize that just because there was no proof of things like transcendental teleportation that’s no reason not to use the theory in propelling an exciting story. Asimov once said that now that he was sure time travel was impossible that still wasn’t going to prevent him from using it as a handy plot device. Funny thing is, not long after Asimov’s death, some scientists began to believe time travel might in fact be plausible. By the time we finally do get up close and personal with planets like Venus we’re bound to find we were as much wrong about our technical assumptions as we were right, that’s just the way science works. In any case, Kline knew as much about his hard science as most writers of his time, he was no laggard.


THE PULSE: What sets a pulp apart from a modern story? What elements make it actually be a pulp in your opinion?

JONES: It’s one of those words people bandy about, more as an indicator of time and period than a literary description. The name derived from the cheap wood pulp used to produce the old magazines; it lasted about a day before turning brown as any collector of “Big Little Books” knows. Like any art form there were great pulp writers and pretty awful ones, those that endure like Robert E. Howard and those long forgotten, most of them deservedly. It was difficult to make a living writing for the cheaper selling periodicals of the 20’s and 30’s, especially during the Depression years. Speed was the name of the game for authors—that and just getting enough work to survive. The average comic book company today pays far better than the best pulp houses of yesteryear. Back then, they didn’t want it good, as the saying goes, they wanted it Tuesday.

It was a business built on volume and cheap production costs--escapism in a time people desperately needed to escape. As a result, the publishers of those magazines were pretty adamant about their editorial dictates: fast movement, a modicum of plot and an emphasis on action and sex. Male oriented. Even so, some great stories if not always great writing emerged from that arena. It was a great training ground for some who became “literary authors,” later, a place to hone their craft. And it put bread on the table. Some say the modern comic book replaced the pulps. Whatever the case, they we’re a unique form in a unique time and we won’t see their like again. And it’s not just nostalgia; there’s real craft and talent to be found there, you just have to know where to look. I’d recommend starting with Argosy and Weird Tales.


THE PULSE: How do you keep the classic qualities but also make a story that today's audience is going to appreciate, follow and enjoy?

JONES: Well, I don’t think you really do, at least not in the sense of pleasing everyone. But then, you can’t do that anyway, right? For my part, I’ve tried to retain the colorful flavor and linear plotting of the pulps while trimming back some of the more antiquated dialogue, over-use of adjectives and labored prose. I’m not saying I’ve made the comic better than the pulps--they don’t need improvement taken within context—but comics is a business just as the pulps we’re a business and we’re trying to attract both the older readers and the younger ones not familiar with the genre. Do this without alienating or confusing them—while trying to remain true to the spirit of the era. It’s a tight wire act. But it comes down to the same thing writing always comes down to: you have to eventually please yourself or it doesn’t ring true. Probably if a few readers don’t take to our efforts right away we aren’t doing our job.


THE PULSE: Kline wrote a few novels with Grandon set on Venus. How much of that is going to be incorporated into these twenty four comic books under the Swords of Venus title?

JONES: Adapting a book is always tough. What do you cut and how? You have to kill all your darlings as the saying goes but it can be anguish-inducing; one man’s verisimilitude is another’s exposition. I’ve been assigned to three Kline novels to begin: Planet of Peril, Prince of Peril and Port of Peril. Public interest and sales figures will doubtless play a role in where we go from there but I’m optimistic. You just don’t find this kind of great stuff at the average newsstand anymore and it’s high time. Readers love undiscovered country. I think word-of-mouth alone will bear this out.

THE PULSE: What elements have you updated or modernized here?

JONES: Just those I’ve mentioned. I’m not going overboard to make these things “hip” or trying to target some specific demographic; these are for everybody. There’s so much legitimate color and romance in Kline’s original stories adapting them doesn’t require breaking your neck editorializing.


THE PULSE: What is the planet Venus like? What kind of beings inhabit it?

JONES: Well, obviously nothing like what our best information says about the planet today. You can breathe on it for one thing and the gravity ratio on Kline’s planet is about equal to that of Earth’s. But the flora and fauna or wholly of his imagination and delightfully so. You can see some terrestrial analogies in creatures like, say the ‘sabits,’ but Kline paints them with great skill and panache. And he he’s always just enough this side of believable to keep even jaded readers turning pages.


THE PULSE: For those unfamiliar with the story, how does Grandon wind up on Venus? Is it like a Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon thing?

JONES: That would be telling. I’ll just say “no.” it’s nothing like Flash or Buck. But you realize pretty early on that how Grandon got there is of less intrinsic importance than what he does upon arriving.


THE PULSE: I'd guess you're influenced by the source material, but what else is playing a part in how you're chronicling Grandon's adventures on Venus?

JONES: Hopefully how much fun I’m having retelling these tales in the graphic format—their first time as comics to my knowledge. I’m not taking the job lightly or “doing it with my left hand” that’s for sure. But neither am I oblivious to the kick of re-exploring my childhood worlds and memories again. For me, it’s like coming home. My hope is that it might prove the same for some young reader of today…or even some older reader.


THE PULSE: What's coming up in the first Swords of Venus arc?

JONES: Grandon’s departure from Earth and arrival on Venus, the initial story and character setups, the various alien locations he traverses, his foils and friends, love interests, those who will help and guide him on his other-worldly journey and those who betray and prove treacherous. There’s actually a lot at stake plot-wise even in the first book—like the whole planet, for instance.


THE PULSE: What's it like having Eduardo Barreto bring your words to life?

JONES: I haven’t seen his art on the series yet! At least not beyond some preliminary sketches. But I liked what I saw a lot. And let’s not forget about those terrific Tom Yeates covers! Fantastic! And the perfect choice for our books! Talk about the most under-used artist in the field today! This guy is aces! What’s wrong with these publishers?


THE PULSE: You've done a lot of work in comics, what made you want to be a part of Sequential Pulp Comics? What did this company offer you that you just weren't getting elsewhere?

JONES: I think Sequential Pulps offers some interesting alternatives not found in abundance with other companies. I also have a soft spot in my heart for the entire pulp era. I wasn’t old enough to enjoy or even see most of it; I got it second hand from used bookstores mostly. But there’s a sensibility in them that’s hard to replicate, which is one of the reasons writing this series has been such a challenge. Sequential’s attitude about comics reminds me of what the field was like when I was young, a wider spread of genres, an infinite spread, really. More competition and diversity. Costumed heroes and stories are fine, but there’s room for so much more. I miss that. I also miss the old San Diego Comic Convention—as opposed to the new San Diego Media Convention. The specialness is gone. But at least Sequential Pulps is trying something different. The irony is that they’re going to the same well to do this that began this whole thing in the first place, even spawned the superhero craze with characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage. My fear is that if today’s fixation on the superhero trend wears off as it did in the late forties, will there be anything left to replace it the way crime and horror comics did then? Or will that mark the end of the format? Time will tell, I guess.

THE PULSE: Kline was supposed to have a feud with Edgar Rice Burroughs that rivals the Hatfields and McCoys; what did you know of this literary battle? What do you think of it?

JONES: I was aware of it as I noted above. And sure, Burroughs was instrumental in encouraging a certain kind of take on the romantic adventure tale. I love Burroughs stuff, but there was and is room for others to work the field. The phonograph wasn’t invented to play one record. Now the younger readers are scratching their heads and going, “What’s a ‘phonograph’?


THE PULSE: How is working on something like this different than DC's The War That Time Forgot?

JONES: Actually, in some fundamental ways, more similar than you might think. That particular title is not a bad analogy. And I hope not just another superhero fight fest. But to say more would be to give away much…and you know me!

Oh, boy-o-boy-o-boy! I can.not.*wait!* for this!!