ove of American culture—often its most wonderfully "lowbrow" elements, such as drag racing and pop music—knows no national boundaries. Thus it's only mildly surprising to discover that a site devoted to the glories of pulp magazines—those fragile, garish publications that flourished mainly in the United States during the first half of the 20th century—should originate from a Portuguese fan named Nuno Miranda. His labor of love, The Pulp Zone, reflects his expertise as writer and graphic artist, as well as his immense affection for this extinct medium so suited to bravura, melodramatic storytelling.
The main page of this site offers an efficient and informative welcome. Then comes an embarrassment of riches. Visiting the "Gallery," we find numerous magazines arrayed by clickable title. Choosing Bill Barnes, Air Adventurer, for instance, brings us to glorious cover scans and a fascinating history of this little-known zine, once so popular that it had Latin American editions! Then the "Heroes" wing of this museum acquaints us with such individuals as Doc Savage, the Spider and Captain Future. A look at actual text from the pulps—such as Hugo Gernsback's editorials—is obtained at "Stories." Samples from the vibrant pulp letter columns and information on individual artists and writers each have their own offshoots from the main page. Plenteous links are found under the "Reading" and "Browsing" header. And, lastly, the "Bookshop" offers recommended volumes purchasable through links to the big online bookstores.
If, like me, you are nostalgic for the literature of an era you've never personally experienced, this site is a fine time-travel machine!
— Paul Di Filippo
Site of the Week—October 15, 2001
he mission of Unknown Movies is to bring obscure and little-known pictures to the attention of interested Web visitors. Covering films ranging from East Side Story (a film about Iron Curtain musicals) and Dogs (killer canines attack a remote university campus), Unknown Movies dredges up overlooked gems, camp classics and more than a few dead ducks.
Reviews form the core content of this site. Each review delivers enough information to give browsers an accurate idea as to whether a particular movie might be worth seeing. Well-written, insightful and funny, they also provide photos. The reviews are indexed both alphabetically and by genre, with an SF section that includes films like Omega Doom and Attack of the Teenage Vixens from Outer Space. However, reviews are not all the site has to offer. An active letters section discusses movies already reviewed, suggests other flicks worthy of consideration and generally lets film buffs connect with each other over trivia and other areas of interest. Meanwhile, another section of the page plays matchmaker for collectors who are looking to trade their videos. A third has links to other top-notch movie sites.
Unknown Movies also contains a "Why" section which attempts to justify its existence by extolling the archaeological delights of watching films nobody else has seen, and which proudly displays the page's Legion of Muck award from www.badmovies.org. Whether or not visitors buy into the site's philosophy, one thing is certain. Unknown Movies offers delightful reading matter for dedicated film fans and cinema dilettantes alike.
— A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—October 8, 2001
ne of the most miraculous aspects of the World Wide Web is its sheer unpredictability. No one who designed the network could ever have forecast the many odd-yet-essential functions it has come to handle. Certainly one of the more humane unforeseen uses of the Web was the creation of online memorials, sites dedicated to preserving the memory of the deceased. These "virtual cemeteries" bring the honorable ancient practices of our ancestors into the 21st century.
Now the SF genre has such an online mortuary of its own: George Willick's Spacelight. Here are arrayed scores of deceased SF authors, ranging from Douglas Adams to Roger Zelazny. Chronologically speaking, their death dates range from those of Jules Verne to the newly deceased Fred Hoyle.
And behind each name, Willick supplies a plethora of facts and links. When available, a photo of the author smiles out from the top of each entry. Then, a characteristic quote from the author headlines a literate, cogent summary of his or her life and career. Vital stats—birth date, death date, place of interment, etc.—give us the hard, sobering reality of their lifespan. And links to online biographies, bibliographies and obituaries further flesh out the vanished individual.
Not only is this site a fine tool for the scholar or researcher, but it also provides for the average fan the same kind of quietude and consolation one experiences when visiting an old graveyard of the physical kind.
— Paul Di Filippo
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