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Adam Lance Garcia Talks Green Lama: Crimson Circle

Published Thu, 24 Sep 2015 18:30:57 -0500

I'm a big fan of the old pulp magazines / novels and classic noir characters like The Shadow, The Phantom and The Avenger. And while those characters have achieved a decent amount of name recognition, other amazing characters from that era have not. Moonstone publishes new stories of some of these characters… one in particular is the Green Lama. I got a chance to talk with Adam Lance Garcia, the writer of the upcoming The Green Lama: Crimson Circle about the history of the character and what fans can expect from the new adventure.

DAN WICKLINE: For those who aren't familiar with the character, who exactly is the Green Lama and what is his history in print?

ADAM LANCE GARCIA: Created in 1940 by Kendell Foster Crossen the pulp magazine Double Detective, the Green Lama was the world's first Buddhist superhero. Jethro Dumont was an American millionaire who spent 10 years in Tibet. Upon returning to New York he witnessed a drive-by shooting that killed a young mother and her children, and when the killers escaped justice he became the vigilante known as the Green Lama. He's supported by a group of assistants, including such characters as Jean Farrell, Ken Clayton, and Lieutenant John Caraway.

Beyond the original pulps, the Green Lama also appeared in eight page shorts in Prize Comics before eventually receiving his own title at Spark Publications. He even had a radio show and CBS briefly considered turning it into a television series, but the pilot was never made.

DAN WICKLINE: Tell us about the new story. What is it about, when does it take place and what about it has you the most excited?

ALG: Crimson Circle is the latest in a series of licensed stories I've been writing for Moonstone, taking place several months after my last novel Unbound (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936814897), which featured the Green Lama and his associates defeating Nazis who tried to raise Cthulhu (because, why not?). Jethro and Jean returned to New York and have entered into a relationship, Ken has left to try and make in Hollywood, and Caraway is off in Germany trying to rescue his friend's family from the Nazis. They're all brought back together when a mysterious organization begins capturing or killing their allies.

And while Crimson Circle is a continuation of my stories, it's also a direct sequel to Crossen's original tales, picking up a number of plot threads left hanging seventy years ago. You won't need to read the Crossen's tales to appreciate the story, but for fans of the classic pulps, it'll hopefully be a welcome return to some of the Green Lama's most iconic storylines.

DAN WICKLINE: A hero is only as good as his villain, who is the antagonist in the new tale and how does he/she stack up against hooded man?

ALG: The Green Lama is facing off against the Collective, a secret organization that's been instrumental in the plotting the course of human history since before the Civil War. Believing the Green Lama to be vital to their plans, they send out an assassin known as Omega to hunt him down.

Whereas Unbound was a rollicking Indiana Jones style adventure, Crimson Circle is a conspiracy mixed with horror. Omega is a sociopath, systematically torturing and killing the Green Lama's allies. And while Jethro and his friends are trying to stop Omega they're also hunting down a cannibal serial killer that's terrorizing the city.

But beneath it all is a much larger, much darker force that will the lead the Lama and his allies to battle a powerful new villain who threatens upend everything they ever held dear.

DAN WICKLINE: The best stories tend to help the character grow in some aspect. What is the Green Lama's journey in the story and how is he better for having made it through?

ALG: I started writing these stories for my father. He collected the original comics and I wanted to give him the kind of tales that left an impact, that mattered.

Rather than try to reboot the characters and discard what makes them special or force them into modern day, my personal mandate has always been to stay as true to the canon of the original stories, (there's a handy timeline at the back of the book showing where my novels sync up with the Crossen's pulps) while actively moving the characters forward. I want to highlight what made these characters unique, while deepening them in a way that resonates with modern readers.

But this novel is incredibly transformative for the Lama and his associates. The official blurb promises "nothing will ever be the same," and that isn't some veiled half-truth. Every single character in this novel, from the Green Lama on down, has a life-altering experience, and those that survive, are left with a world they no longer recognize.

If Unbound was about elevating the Green Lama to stand alongside heroes like Doc Savage or the Shadow, Crimson Circle is about showing why he matters. I want to challenge readers' expectations of what pulp can be. This isn't a novel about heroes "doing good" for the sake of doing good, nor is it simply about moving from action scene to action scene. This is a story about complex and complicated characters, where no one is safe, that sometimes even the most noble of intents lead to death and destruction.

DAN WICKLINE: Do you have plans for future Green Lama adventures? What else do you have on your list project wise?

ALG: The Green Lama will next appear in "Homecoming" a short story for Moonstone's upcoming Black Bat anthology. Beyond that, I have a lot more stand alone Green Lama stories lined up, as well as a few crossovers. I can't announce them just yet, but Moonstone is going to be keeping me busy for the next few years. I will however tease the crossover I'm working on right now may or may not include a deerstalker.

Outside of the Lama, I have story in Polis Books' upcoming sci-fi anthology Occupied Earth (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1940610524). And the first volume of my original graphic novel Sons of Fire (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1499584695) is still available on Amazon, and we're currently shopping the series to publishers.

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