History Main / TwoFistedTales

Once upon a time, there was [[PulpMagazine 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 Stor|y}}ies of Creator/HPLovecraft to [[FilmNoir noir pieces]] to the over-the-top action of ''DocSavage'' to the [[HeroicFantasy sword-and-sandals]] fantasy of ''ConanTheBarbarian''. The pulp era died down by the late '50s, when the leading distributor of pulp, the American News Company, went bankrupt.

* ''VideoGame/ValiantHearts'' deconstructs this by placing it in the real-world context of World War 1. The early game focuses on the RagtagBunchOfMisfits tracking down a [[AristocratsAreEvil Diabolical German Baron]] who has kidnapped TheChick's ReluctantMadScientist father and used his genius to engineer devastating super-weapons in the name of German Imperialism. However, even once the apparent BigBad is defeated, the War itself continues on, and the game shifts focus to the GrayAndGreyMorality of the situation, and the extreme personal tole of the war on the protagonists.

* The novel ''Gods of Manhattan'', in the ''PaxBritannica'' series of {{Steampunk}} novels, features two-fisted adventurer Doc Thunder (Savage), and killer vigilante Blood Spider (the Spider, with elements of the Shadow), amongst others.

* ''{{Planetary}}'' features Axel Brass, one of the universe's "Century Babies" and a CaptainErsatz of Doc Savage, who once headed up an entire secret society of Captain Ersatzes based on the pulp heroes of the era. His adventures and dealings with Elijah Snow are regularly chronicled.

* In 1997 DCComics had a "Pulp Heroes" event, in which all their annuals were written in the style of the pulps. Ones that particularly fitted the TwoFistedTales paradigm were under the banners "My Greatest Adventure" and "Tales of the Unexpected". "Suspense Detective" also fitted to an extent, although that was more the PrivateDetective trope. "[[RomanceArc Young Romance]]" and "[[NewOldWest Weird Western Tales]]" were based on very different pulp genres.
* The ECComics title ''Two-Fisted Tales'' began with stories of this genre but soon became a (much better) war comic.
* In ''AtomicRobo'', the titular character has fought Nazi mad scientists, Lovecraftian horrors, and an intelligent dinosaur, visited different dimensions, and encountered the ghost of Rasputin.

* DCComics' ''[[FirstWaveDCU First Wave]]'' imprint, a TwoFistedTales & DieselPunk universe that includes DocSavage, Literature/TheAvenger, ComicBook/TheSpirit and [[JunglePrincess Rima the Jungle Girl]], as well as DCU characters who fit the paradigm like Franchise/{{Batman}} (who in this world is Radio/TheShadow, complete with twin guns) and ComicBook/BlackCanary.

* DominicFortune, a 1930s 'Brigand For Hire' in the MarvelUniverse. Created by HowardChaykin.

* AmicusProductions made four EdgarRiceBurroughs-inspired movies in the mid to late 70s, staring Doug [=McClure=] and featuring [[SpecialEffectsFailure big rubber monsters]],[[LostWorld lost worlds]],and [[NubileSavage insanely gorgeous women]].

* DCComics' ''[[FirstWaveDCU First Wave]]'' imprint, a TwoFistedTales & DieselPunk universe that includes DocSavage, Literature/TheAvenger, ComicBook/TheSpirit and [[JunglePrincess Rima the Jungle Girl]], as well as DCU characters who fit the paradigm like Franchise/{{Batman}} (who in this world is Radio/TheShadow, complete with twin guns) and BlackCanary.

* ''ComicBook/TomStrong'' is AlanMoore's take on the pulp hero living into the modern era.

* ''TheXFiles'' episode "Triangle" had elements of this, especially the big ballroom punch-up between British sailors and Nazi goons, not to mention [[AndYouWereThere Scully as a glamorous 1930s spy]] in a [[LadyInRed red dress]].

* ''BringEmBackAlive''

* DCComics' ''[[FirstWaveDCU First Wave]]'' imprint, a TwoFistedTales & DieselPunk universe that includes DocSavage, Literature/TheAvenger, TheSpirit and [[JunglePrincess Rima the Jungle Girl]], as well as DCU characters who fit the paradigm like Franchise/{{Batman}} (who in this world is Radio/TheShadow, complete with twin guns) and BlackCanary.

* Part 2 of ''JojosBizarreAdventure''

* WhiteWolf's ''[[TabletopGame/TrinityUniverse Adventure!]]''.

* ''The Takers'' is an ''Franchise/IndianaJones''-style homage novel by Jerry Ahern, about an [[SelfInsertFic action-adventure novelist]] and his LoveInterest -- an IntrepidReporter who investigates wacky UFO and occult stories -- who team up to investigate the murder of a CIA agent, and the log of a 19th Century expedition searching for {{Atlantis}}. It manages to work in {{Pirates}}, AncientAstronauts, MysteriousAntarctica, {{Flying Saucer}}s, ThoseWackyNazis, a MagnificentBastard and his KnifeNut [[DaddysLittleVillain daughter]], and a nuclear submarine! Great reading, but unfortunately the sequel wasn't up to scratch.

* DCComics' ''[[FirstWaveDCU First Wave]]'' imprint, a TwoFistedTales & DieselPunk universe that includes DocSavage, Literature/TheAvenger, TheSpirit and [[JunglePrincess Rima the Jungle Girl]], as well as DCU characters who fit the paradigm like {{Batman}} (who in this world is basically Radio/TheShadow, complete with twin guns) and BlackCanary.

* The ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movies.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[ComicBook/TheRocketeer The Rocketeer shows us how he uses his two fists.]]]]

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 ''TheShadow'', ''DocSavage'', and ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom''. Many point to ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' and the sequel ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movies, which took 1930s pulp adventures as an inspiration (along with a RealLife 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.

* DCComics' ''[[FirstWaveDCU First Wave]]'' imprint, a TwoFistedTales & DieselPunk universe that includes DocSavage, Literature/TheAvenger, TheSpirit and [[JunglePrincess Rima the Jungle Girl]], as well as DCU characters who fit the paradigm like {{Batman}} (who in this world is basically TheShadow, complete with twin guns) and BlackCanary.

* Marvel's ''ImmortalIronFist'' 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).

* ''GiantGorg''

* ''Series/{{Danger 5}}'' brings more of a '60s flavour to this, pastiching the silly men's adventure magazines of the decade. Despite it's very '60s aesthetic, however, it's set during WorldWarTwo and features a very silly Hitler as its BigBad.

* The Captain America arc "The Bloodstone Hunt" is essentially this - Cap has to travel around the globe to exotic locations to get the five fragments of the Bloodstone before Baron Zemo can. Each location is essentially a pulp location in itself.

* The Moonstone relaunch of ''{{Airboy}}'' focuses heavily on this.

* Drawing inspiration from the MedalOfHonor games, ''StationeryVoyagers'' has its [[FurAgainstFang Mosquatlons and Aviatets]] battling ''Film/{{Underworld}}''-style in caverns where a Hitler-worshiping vampire lord takes [[StupidJetpackHitler the pursuit of super weapons]] to new heights. While the heroic vampiress dresses up in a bomber jacket the likes of which could only come from a PulpMagazine. The Voyagers' entrance into that feud puts this right into DecadeDissonance / SchizoTech territory.