Tough guys and bad girls, masked heroes and space vixens, men of bronze and scarlet women will descend on the Chicago area along with their creators, collectors and fans for the ninth annual Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention from Friday through Sunday, May 1 to 3, in Lombard.

The event will celebrate the uniquely American form of popular literature. Attendees will hear from pulp fiction historians, see vintage pulp cover art, watch films inspired by the great pulp writers and find rare issues of such seminal publications as “The Shadow,” “Spicy Detective,” “Amazing Stories,” “Black Mask,” “Weird Tales” and thousands more.

The medium, which thrived from the Roaring Twenties through World War II, vied with radio and the movies as the era’s most popular form of entertainment. The 10-cent magazines printed on coarse pulpwood paper and boasting eye grabbing (and often lurid) four-color cover paintings introduced such greats as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ray Bradbury, L. Ron Hubbard, H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Heinlein to the American public. The pulps are widely recognized as the inspiration for such current pop culture mainstays as “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones” and virtually every comic book hero from Batman to Spider-Man.

Highlight of this year’s convention is a celebration of the once infamous, now highly regarded (and considered relatively innocent) Spicy pulps. In the heyday, titles included “Saucy Movie Tales,” “Spicy Mystery” and “Private Detective.” The salute to the Spicys on their 75th anniversary will include an exhibit of rare pulp cover art (including many by the king of the Spicy covers, HJ Ward), rarely seen feature films inspired by the Spicy pulps and special exhibitions and panel discussions about the unique genre.

Other attractions

• 100-table dealer showroom boasting one of the largest assemblies of vintage pulp, paperback, old time-radio, movie memorabilia and related material in the world. Affordable reprints, hard-to-find books, fanzines and original artwork also will be offered for sale.

• Pulp Film Festival on Friday and Saturday, screening pulp era shorts and features saluting the genre’s greatest heroes and creators, including two films spotlighting the Spicy's most famous creation, Detective Dan Turner. The fast-talking, slang-spewing hawkshaw is portrayed by William Marshall in the rarely seen 1947 Republic feature, “Blackmail.” Marc Singer essays the role in the 1990 TV movie, “Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective,” written by Turner historian John Wooley who will be in attendance.

• Pulp Art Show displaying original pulp and paperback art all three days. The show will offer an exhibition by Hubert Rogers, famed science fiction cover artist noted for his other worldly work on the landmark pulp “Astounding.” Mr. Rogers’ family will be in attendance throughout the show.

• Friday and Saturday Night auction of rare and sought after pulp magazines, pulp art and memorabilia from the archives of Munsey Publications (the company that introduced the pulp concept) and the collection of award-winning pulp artist Frank Hamilton.

Admission costs $35 for all three days; $25 on Friday; $25 on Saturday; and $15 on Sunday. Ages 13 and younger may attend for  free with parent. The fee includes access to all events and a program book containing pulp articles and reprints.

Hours are noon to midnight Friday; 9 a.m. to midnight Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, 70 Yorktown Center. For details, call (888) 627-9031.

For more information about Spicy pulps, visit www.vintagelibrary.com/pulpfiction/genres/spicy.php. For general information, visit www.windycitypulpandpaper.com or contact Doug Ellis at (847) 217-4241 or info@windycitypulpandpaper.com.