Action Pulp!

February 1, 2026

By Adam Messer

Darryle Purcell is a writer and artist who concocts stories laced with humor, action and adventure to kill his audience with laughter.

Please introduce yourself.

Howdy, Adam. 

I’m Darryle Purcell. I write and illustrate a variety of humorous, action, pulp series, including the Hollywood Cowboy Detectives, the Man of the Mist, Ghost Squad, Vermin Justice and others.

Back in the late-Jurassic Period of 1965, I graduated high school, joined the Army and, following basic, infantry and jump-school training, arrived in South Vietnam on December 1. I served in the Central Highlands with the First Battalion (Airborne), Eighth Cavalry, First Cavalry Division until November 16, 1966. Upon my return stateside, I went through medic training and served my remaining time, first in the 101st Airborne and then in the 82nd Airborne divisions, until my ETS (End of Term in Service) in June, 1968.

After my graduation from California State University Long Beach with a BA in Art, I worked in layout and character design at Filmation Associates animation studios during the 1973 television season, followed by a few years in educational comic books, freelance illustration and gag cartoons and eventually into southern California daily newspapers in 1982 creating graphics, designs, editorial cartoons and eventually becoming an assistant managing editor. In 1993, I left California to become managing editor of the Mohave Valley Daily News in Arizona. That was a 12-year stretch where I continued to draw editorial cartoons, write editorials and columns and, stir the political pot until joining Mohave County as public information director. I retired at the end of 2012 and began my pulp fiction years. 

What genres do you write and why?

I consider most of my books to be humorous, action pulps. I like lots of action, implied violence and some necessary realviolence. But I also like my protagonists to be self-aware that they are not always right and sometimes make mistakes. “Nobody’s perfect.” Like my Hollywood Cowboy Detectives characters, best friends like to rattle each other’s cages. That releases tensions and shows the readers that these guys may be hard-fighting warriors, but they are very human and can still laugh at themselves, or at least each other.

I learned in South Vietnam that one must have a sense of humor, or one can lose one’s mind. So, none of my protagonists wear capes. They have feet of clay but are willing to do whatever it takes to bring about a just conclusion. My Airship27 Geezer books are illustrative of that concept. The Geezers are Vietnam veterans like fictional Mack Bolan, Able Team and Phoenix Force heroes who fight against mobsters, saboteurs, traitors and garden-variety bad guys. The main difference is the aforementioned heroes never grew old. However, the Geezers,well into their 70s and struggling with aches, pains, Metamucil needs and the fact that one of them is restricted to a wheel chair, are still able to take up arms against enemies who would target the innocent.

What is your earliest memory of reading?

Comic books. Plastic Man, Blackhawk and a variety of funny animal and other humorous and action comics. I was a big fan of Walt Kelly’s Pogo comic strip, as well as Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon and, oh, just about everything I could get my hands on. Growing up on a small (10-acre) ranch in northern California was somewhat quiet. So, I sent fan letters and drawings to a variety of cartoonists (as well as cowboy stars) and was very pleased when I received responses. Both Walt Kelly and Charles M. Schulz sent me complimentary letters regarding my art. Kelly also sent me his latest book. I wanted to be like them.

When did you know you wanted to write? How did it happen?

In later elementary school and high school, I loved writing both funny and scary stories as much as I did drawing cartoons. I knew that the best comic-strip artists wrote their own material. In college, I took almost as many creative writing classes as I did art classes. And I learned in my newspaper years that one could have as much fun writing facetious editorial columns as one did drawing editorial cartoons.

What’s one of your favorite scenes in one of your books?

This is a short clip from my 13th Hollywood Cowboy Detectives novel, Mystery of the Midnight Soldiers.

I lifted the little chauffeur into my arms and carried him up the steps, out of the cellar and onto the facility’s manicured grounds. There didn’t seem to be any snipers or thugs in the area, so I ran as fast as I could toward the creepy front entrance of the allegedly haunted, castle-like structure while cradling my bleeding friend like he was a newborn. Blood streamed off the side of his head and streaked my shirt. I gasped for air as my body told me I really needed to start going to the gym. Halfway to the front door I heard the loud satanic roar behind me.

“Oh, sh*t!” I sputtered, as I looked over my shoulder and saw a black cloud pouring out of the barn loft. The dark mist swirled and grew as it formed into the giant cavalry demon and his snarling black horse galloping in my direction. Flames snorted out of that skull-headed devil horse while the blue-uniformed fiend slashed with his sabre and let out a scream that would have scared an Irish banshee out of her shroud. 

“Can you go just a little faster?” Nick Danby asked, as he looked up into my eyes.

“You a$@&4!” I shouted, while I ran. “You’re alive!”

“Not for long if you don’t pick up the speed, grampaw!”

I swerved left to the tall Texas privet hedge next to the building and threw Nick into the foliage.

“Hey!” he squawked, as he tumbled into the thick shrub.

I turned to face the savage beast with my Luger in my hand.

What makes a good character? A bad one?

A good character has many human traits, such as the aforementioned sense of humor about him or herself, and life’s vicissitudes. A lot of my male protagonists tend to be like normal soldiers from my era. They all can forget exactly what they should be doing when they are confronted by a pretty woman. Their second priority in most situations is usually to enjoy a cold bottle of beer, that is, if they are not confronted by a pretty woman. And my women all seem to come off just as facetious as the men. 

A really good villain is truly evil. That character at some point will figuratively toss puppies to crocodiles. The best villain is one that appears through the first four-fifths of the book as a kind-hearted, caring friend of the protagonist(s) only to be revealed as someone who tosses puppies to crocodiles. 

What moves the story for you?

Danger. Action. Romance. Treachery. A battle against impossible odds. Justice delivered. 

What is your favorite book and why?

My favorite books from other writers are Craig Johnson’s Longmire novels and Lee Goldberg’s Eve Ronin series. Those books are great!

It’s a bit more difficult to select a favorite from my own titles. Usually, I will say the one I just finished is my favorite. Right now, the yet-untitled Hollywood Cowboy Detectives novel that I’m working on is my favorite. I also have to favor the Geezers books, especially the first one, as it contains one story that takes place in Vietnam’s Central Highlands in 1965.

As for funniest action adventures, I recommend either my Vermin Justice books or my Ghost Squad series. The former has comic-book creators Vernon Jiles (AKA Vermin) and Tenacity Mills take on extremely evil villains with occult abilities and hardened street thugs, all the while assisted by their unique cartoon characters. The latter pits unemployed newspaper editor Mike Scott and his extremely tolerant wife Betty against extraterrestrial, supernatural and run-of-the-mill, earthbound black guards who threaten the free world. Of course, they have the assistance of the Ghost Squad, including the late swashbuckler Doug Fairbanks, Peter Lorre and friends.

What do you want to say to your audience?

I do hope you get a kick out of my books. I really enjoy writing them, which is why I’m still at it. I’ve tried to deliver some of the action and thrills I used to love when watching the old Saturday matinee serials while buffering them with a few laughs. They are not War and Peace or The Grapes of Wrath. They’re closer to Hellzapoppin’. Have fun.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Write something that you would enjoy reading. Once again, have fun. 

If you are young, listen to your teachers. If you are assigned to write something that is completely different than where you are comfortable, do so anyway. You’ll learn something. Try different styles. College is the best place to make mistakes. Both successful endeavors and failed attempts will assist you in your future decisions. And don’t forget to let your mentors who took the time to work with you, some who gave you the opportunity to advance in your career, know how much you appreciate them. When you are older, they may not be around to thank.

If you are just retiring from the workforce and thinking of trying your hand in fiction, reach into your memories. A western writer can translate a personal war story into an old-west setting for an adventure. And all of us older folks have plenty of romantic situations in our past that could be drawn on for drama or, like me, comedy.

Do you have anything else you would like to add?

Thank you, Adam. It’s always fun trying to answer questions about my own work. Quite often I learn something that I hadn’t thought about before.

Right now (mid-2020s), we have a cornucopia of new pulps from which to choose. That tells me the market for both traditional adventures and imaginative reboots is healthy. That’s good news for writers and readers.

Website: amazon.com/author/darrylepurcell