Pulpflakes Blog: The Secrets Of The Pulps

For over five decades, the pulp magazines entertained people all over the world. Discover the people behind them; the authors, editors, illustrators and their stories. Look behind the scenes and learn the secrets of storytelling.

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  • Simple, Fast search of the FictionMags Index

    Simple, fast search of the FictionMags Index. It’s finally here. https://pulpflakes.com/fmisearch/ The FictionMags Index (FMI) is the biggest online index of English language fiction published in periodicals. Search the FMI by author or artist name, magazine title or look for a specific issue by date or issue number. Tips and tricks While search tolerates partial……

  • Secrets of the Mask, part 11: Exploring the darkness

    Last week, we found Fanny Ellsworth taking over from Joe Shaw as the Black Mask editor. She changed the magazine, selecting stories with a deeper tinge of darkness than Shaw would have. Let’s see how, taking the December 1938 issue as an example. I selected it because it’s right in the middle of Ellsworth’s reign……

  • Secrets of the Mask, part 10: Let Darkness Fall

    Last week, we took in an issue at the peak of Joe Shaw’s reign; it delivered hard-boiled at it’s peak but circulation didn’t improve. The publisher brought in a new editor, Fanny Ellsworth. She wasn’t afraid to tinker with Shaw’s formula and introduced darkness into Black Mask’s fiction. Did it work? Fanny Louise Ellsworth (1905-1983)……

  • Secrets of the Mask, part 9: Hard times

    The seeds of greatness were there in last week’s review of an early Shaw edited issue, this week we’ll see them blossoming to their full glory in the November 1933 issue and possibly understand why hard times were happening despite that. The package The cover is by J. W. Schlaikjer, whose run of about fifty……

  • Secrets of the Mask, part 8: February 1927, Hammett’s back

    Last week, we read how Joe Shaw joined Black Mask and changed it; this week, I’m reviewing the February 1927 issue, from the first year of Joe Shaw’s editorial reign. At this point the magazine hadn’t developed into the 100% pure hard-boiled version it became later. Westerns, detective and adventure stories were promised by the……