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{{trope}}
[[File:
Once upon a time, there was [[Pulp Magazine|pulp]]. Pulp was a style of writing that emerged onto the scene in the 1920s, featuring a variety of stories printed on cheap paper (hence "pulp"). Back in the day, pulp content ranged from the [[Cosmic Horror Story|Cosmic Horror Stories]] of H.P. Lovecraft to noir pieces to the over-the-top action of ''[[Doc Savage]]'' to the [[Heroic Fantasy|sword-and-sandals]] fantasy of ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]''. The pulp era died down by the late '50s, when the leading distributor of pulp, the American News Company, went bankrupt.
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Then, people started looking back on the pulp era nostalgically, and when they did, they usually locked onto the over-the-top stories of heroes like ''[[The Shadow]]'', ''[[Doc Savage]]'', and ''[[The Phantom (comic strip)|The Phantom]]''. Many point to ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' and the sequel ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' movies, which took 1930s pulp adventures as an inspiration (along with a [[Real Life]] zoologist/paleontologist, Roy Chapman Andrews, who basically did what Indy did but in the Gobi Desert), as the keystone of the pulp resurgence, but whatever kicked it off, pulp has recaptured the heart of many a geek.
[[Two-Fisted Tales]] refers to stories told in a style that reflects fondly on the old pulps. This usually means the story will be set in the '20s or '30s, and focus on square-jawed, clever men (and women) of action. Other elements thrown in for flavor include:
* [[Mad Scientist|Mad Science]] and/or [[Weird Science]]
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* [[Adventurer Outfit]]s
As stated above, Two Fisted Tales don't often attempt to recapture the varied feel of all the old pulps; it's very rare you'll see someone trying to overlay the [[Doc Savage]] feel onto a Cthulhu story ([[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|not that it's impossible]]). Usually, it attempts to focus on the thrilling heroics, [[Tropes Are Not Bad|not that that's a bad thing]].
Related to [[
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==▼
* ''[[Baccano!]]''.
▲== Anime ==
* ''[[
* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', particularly the [[Sliding Scale
▲* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', particularly the [[Sliding Scale Long Name|more idealistic]] [[Manga]] version.
* ''Fortune and Glory'' by Fighting Frog Games▼
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* ''[[Tom Strong]]'' is [[Alan Moore]]'s take on the pulp hero living into the modern era.
* Marvel's ''[[Immortal Iron Fist]]'' is mostly a kung fu book, but features strong elements of pulp as well (especially with Orson Randall, the World War I era Iron Fist).
* In 1997 [[DC Comics]] had a "Pulp Heroes" event, in which all their annuals were written in the style of the pulps. Ones that particularly fitted the
* The [[EC Comics]] title ''Two-Fisted Tales'' began with stories of this genre but soon became a (much better) war comic.
* In ''[[Atomic Robo]]'', the titular character has fought Nazi mad scientists, Lovecraftian horrors, and an intelligent dinosaur, visited different dimensions, and encountered the ghost of Rasputin.
* [[DC Comics]]' ''First Wave'' imprint, a
* The picture above is from Dave Stevens's ''[[The Rocketeer (comics)|The Rocketeer]]'', adapted into a movie in 1991.
* [[Dominic Fortune]], a 1930s 'Brigand For Hire' in the [[Marvel Universe]]. Created by [[Howard Chaykin]].
* Parodied in ''[[Tales Designed to Thrizzle]]'' with ''Two-Fisted Poe''.
{{quote|
** Also, ''The result of a confusing memo: Two-Tailed Fists!'' with a pair of confused gangsters attacked by giant fists with tails.
* Marvel Noir, especially the ones that involve powers like Spider-Man.
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== [[Film]] ==
* The ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' movies.
* ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy]]'' and sequels.
* ''[[The Rocketeer (film)|The Rocketeer]]''
* ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]''
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* Cult classic ''[[The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension]]'', a purposeful knockoff of Doc Savage.
* ''The Adventures of [[The Librarian]]'' are a modern day pulp adventure spanning three films to date.
* ''[[Captain America: The First Avenger|Captain America the First Avenger]]'', what with gung-ho hero Cap and a group of [[Badass Normal
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[Philip Jose Farmer]]'s long writing career is marked by his great love of the pulps and he devoted great energy to his many Two Fisted Tales. Even his works which aren't in the genre are often informed by it. ''[[Doc Savage]]: His Apocalyptic Life'' provides a biography of the pulp era hero and links him to other period heroes.
* ''The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril'' has [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy|the authors of Doc Savage and The Shadow]] looking into the murder of [[H.P. Lovecraft]] and uncovering a global conspiracy.
* ''The Takers'' is an [[Indiana Jones]]-style homage novel by Jerry Ahern, about an [[Self-Insert Fic|action-adventure novelist]] and his [[Love Interest]]
* [[Kim Newman]]'s Dr Shade ... [[Alternate Character Interpretation|sometimes]]. Some of the stories featuring him are celebrations of the pulps and others (most especially "The Original Dr Shade") are [[Deconstruction
* Zach Parsons specifically called his book My Tank is Fight! "two fisted pulp history." And describes the development and potential use of various [[WW 2]] super/strange weapons.
* The ''[[Gabriel Hunt]]'' books, although set in modern times.
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* ''[[Terry and the Pirates]]''
== [[Tabletop
* ''Two-Fisted Tales'' from Precis Intermedia Games
* [[White Wolf]]'s ''[[Trinity Universe (game)|Adventure!]]''.
* ''[[Spirit of the Century]]''
* ''Pulp Hero'' for the HERO System.
** And its earlier incarnation ''Justice, Inc.''
* ''[[GURPS]] Cliffhangers''
** The new GURPS ''Age of Gold'' as well.
* The ''[[Eberron]]'' campaign setting for [[Dungeons and Dragons]] combines this with [[Dungeon Punk]].
* ''[[Crimson Skies]]'', later adapted into a series of PC and [[
* Many adventures had by the Sons of Ether in ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'', whose Tradition is chock-full of people with names like "Doc Eon" and "the Crimson Claw." Taking an appropriately two-fisted nickname seems to be standard even if you don't use it often.
* ''[[Genius: The Transgression]]'' gives detailed instructions on how to create a pulp tale in the sourcebook.
* ''[[Hollow Earth Expedition]]'' is made of this.
* If ''[[Savage Worlds]]'' can be said to have a "default setting," it's this. One of the first supplements was a Pulp Toolkit, and the whole system's emphasis on "Fast Furious Fun!" leads to a very pulpy game experience.
▲* ''Fortune and Glory'' by Fighting Frog Games
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* ''[[Bulletstorm]]'' embraces this demeanor, down to the unlikable but heroic lead.
* Parodied in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' with Saxton Hale, a pulp protagonist who owns the company that makes all of the characters' weapons.
* ''[[Dark Void]]''.
== Webcomics ==
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* ''[http://www.wormwoodshow.com Wormwood: A Serialized Mystery]'' - horror pulp centering around the mysterious northern Californian town of Wormwood.
* ''[[The Mercury Men]]''
* ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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* ''[[Tale Spin]]''
* ''[[Jonny Quest]]''
* The "[[
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Literature Genres]]
[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:
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