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joe_nelson's review against another edition
5.0
The pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s bred the precursor to the superheroes that would follow. Heroes like Doc Savage, The Spider, The Shadow, and so many others, originated in those monthly magazines and dealt vigilante justice to the criminals of the world. And this loving homage to those heroes can stand tall among them.
In Tales of the Bagman, we get three "episodes" in the origin story of Mac McCullough, former baseball player, ex-shakedown man for the mob, and current vigilante (with the aid of a paper bag over his head to obscure his identity). The place is Chicago. The time is 1933, just before the repeal of Prohibition. And the action? It is plentiful!
Each story is semi-self contained, though they reference events and share direct continuity to the ones that came before, making it feel more like a modern television show than the old pulps, where everything reset each and every month.
Also modern is the more self-aware tone this takes, compared to the ultra-serious vigilantes of the original era. We get plenty of self-deprecating jokes, often cracked by Mac at his own expense, and a little wink and nod to the reader in the tone of the stories. It's refreshing to have some humor with the punching and shooting. And also refreshing is the rejection of the racism that plagued those old stories, making these adventures far more appealing.
The characters are splendid, with Mac being the perfect embodiment of the clumsy hero with a big heart, and his father-figure/voice of reason, Antoine "Crankshaft" Jones, provides a great, often sarcastic, counterpoint to the naive heroism Mac displays. There's also a host of side characters, some good, some bad, all well-written and with distinct voices.
And the action! Each story ups the stakes and the setpieces in spectacular fashion, culminating with a footchase on Chicago's famed El and an explosive shootout at the Lincoln Taphouse, with plenty of fisticuffs, near-misses, and gun battles throughout.
Sounds like I'm gushing with unreserved fanboy-ism. Were there any negatives to this book?
Yeah. In the second story we have the murder of a very important person to one of the main characters and his reaction is...underwhelming. I would expect a little more, you know, emotion?
Anything else? Nope. Other than that sole wrinkle, this is pitch-perfect pulp. I would devour the adventures of the Bagman in a monthly magazine for $0.10 from my local cigar shop or druggist! And I think anyone with even the slightest interest in the classic vigilante tales of old will absolutely delight in meeting Mac McCullough and his twin fists of justice.
In Tales of the Bagman, we get three "episodes" in the origin story of Mac McCullough, former baseball player, ex-shakedown man for the mob, and current vigilante (with the aid of a paper bag over his head to obscure his identity). The place is Chicago. The time is 1933, just before the repeal of Prohibition. And the action? It is plentiful!
Each story is semi-self contained, though they reference events and share direct continuity to the ones that came before, making it feel more like a modern television show than the old pulps, where everything reset each and every month.
Also modern is the more self-aware tone this takes, compared to the ultra-serious vigilantes of the original era. We get plenty of self-deprecating jokes, often cracked by Mac at his own expense, and a little wink and nod to the reader in the tone of the stories. It's refreshing to have some humor with the punching and shooting. And also refreshing is the rejection of the racism that plagued those old stories, making these adventures far more appealing.
The characters are splendid, with Mac being the perfect embodiment of the clumsy hero with a big heart, and his father-figure/voice of reason, Antoine "Crankshaft" Jones, provides a great, often sarcastic, counterpoint to the naive heroism Mac displays. There's also a host of side characters, some good, some bad, all well-written and with distinct voices.
And the action! Each story ups the stakes and the setpieces in spectacular fashion, culminating with a footchase on Chicago's famed El and an explosive shootout at the Lincoln Taphouse, with plenty of fisticuffs, near-misses, and gun battles throughout.
Sounds like I'm gushing with unreserved fanboy-ism. Were there any negatives to this book?
Yeah. In the second story we have the murder of a very important person to one of the main characters and his reaction is...underwhelming. I would expect a little more, you know, emotion?
Anything else? Nope. Other than that sole wrinkle, this is pitch-perfect pulp. I would devour the adventures of the Bagman in a monthly magazine for $0.10 from my local cigar shop or druggist! And I think anyone with even the slightest interest in the classic vigilante tales of old will absolutely delight in meeting Mac McCullough and his twin fists of justice.