Ron Goulart

Ron Goulart (born January 13, 1933) is an American pop-culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author.

In his fiction-writing, Goulart is best-known for his humorous crime and science fiction, especially that dealing with robots; his crime fiction often involves historical Hollywood figures, such as Groucho Marx. His first professional publication was a reprint, in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, of a parody of a pulp magazine readers' letters column, originally published in the University of California, Berkeley college humor magazine the Pelican.

Ron Goulart's fiction is characterized by several themes, notably technology gone wrong (usually through incompetence rather than malice), heroes with superhuman powers, and wicked humor. His early career in advertising has influenced much of his work. In the early 1960s, Goulart wrote all the text for several issues of "Chex Press": this was a parody of a newspaper, "published" on the back panel of boxes of cereal (Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Corn Chex) manufactured by the Ralston Purina company.

Among his pop-culture historical writing, Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of the Pulp Magazines (1972) might still be his most famous book-length work, though his The Hardboiled Dicks: An Anthology And Study of Pulp Detective Fiction (1967) has also been influential. He has also written, on comics and many other topics, for the nostalgia magazine P.S. and many others, and has conducted the book review column for Venture Science Fiction.

In the 1970s, Ron Goulart wrote several Phantom novels featuring Lee Falk's The Phantom for Avon Books, using the pen-name "Frank Shawn". Goulart have also written comic book stories and short stories with the character for Moonstone Books from 2003 and beyond.

Ron Goulart ghost wrote the popular TekWar series of books credited to the actor William Shatner (Shatner is said to have written the outlines for the books, although that is in dispute). He has also ghosted novels featuring the Phantom, Flash Gordon, and the pulp character the Avenger. In addition, he has written scripts for a number of comics including the Star Hawks comic strip he created with artist Gil Kane, as well as the comic book version of TekWar.

Selected Bibliography

Series

  • Barnum System
    • 9 A Whiff of Madness (1976)
  • Battlestar Galactica
    • Greetings From Earth (1983) with Glen A. Larson
    • Experiment In Terra (1984) with Glen A. Larson
    • The Long Patrol (1984) with Glen A. Larson

Novels

  • After Things Fell Apart (1970)
  • Clockwork Pirates (1971)
  • A Talent for the Invisible (1973)
  • Nutzenbolts (1975)
  • The Panchronicon Plot (1977)
  • Calling Dr. Patchwork (1978)
  • The Wicked Cyborg (1978)
  • Hello, Lemuria, Hello (1979)
  • Hail Hibbler (1980)
  • Upside Downside (1982)
  • Big Bang (1982)
  • The Prisoner of Blackwood Castle (1984)
  • Hellquad (1984)
  • Experiment in Terra (Battlestar Galactica Series No. 9) (1984) with Glen A. Larson
  • Suicide, Inc. (1985)
  • Brainz, Inc. (1985)
  • Greetings from Earth (Battlestar Galactica Series, No 8) (1985) with Glen A. Larson
  • Galaxy Jane (1986)
  • Starpirate's Brain (1987)
  • Daredevils, Ltd. (1987)
  • The Curse of the Obelisk (1987)
  • Everybody Comes to Cosmo's (1988)
  • Groucho Marx, Private Eye (1999)
  • Elementary, My Dear Groucho (1999)
  • Star Hawks: The Complete Series (2004) with Gil Kane

Collections

  • Broke Down Engine and Other Troubles with Machines (1971)
  • Ghost Breaker (1971)
  • What's Become of Screwloose? and Other Inquiries (1971)
  • The Chameleon Corps & Other Shape Changers (1972)
  • Nutzenbolts and More Troubles with Machines (1975)
  • Odd Job #101 And Other Future Crimes and Intrigues (1975)

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