With Ken White’s departure, the magazine was edited by Harry Widmer who had previously worked at Ace (1904-1970). Widmer is a man of mystery; one of those editors whose contributions to the pulps are unrecognized even by most pulp fans. He grew up in New York, I couldn’t find out anything about his childhood and… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 15: Ace Editor
Category: Detective
Secrets of the Mask, part 14: The new hard-boiled
Last week, we saw Popular Publications was struggling to make money on Black Mask at the fifteen cent price point in 1946. How could they make it work? In May 1946, Black Mask went to publishing every other month, a sure sign of trouble. Detective Fiction Weekly had stopped publication in 1944. Dime Detective was… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 14: The new hard-boiled
Secrets of the Mask, part 13: Nickel and Dime Detective
There’s visible improvement in the January 1942 issue of Black Mask. More pages, for a start. 128 pages excluding the covers, and a readable font. There are nineteen pages of ads, so actual fiction is around 112 pages. One more story than the Ellsworth era issue we saw recently. The price is the same, fifteen… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 13: Nickel and Dime Detective
Secrets of the Mask, part 12: Popular Culture
Last week we saw how the competition was hurting Black Mask during Fanny Ellsworth’s editorial reign. And hinted that it might need a bigger backer. That backer was Popular Publications, a phenomenon created by Harry Steeger and Harold Goldsmith, who had started with four titles and a combined print run of 400,000 copies. While Battle… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 12: Popular Culture
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… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 11: Exploring the darkness
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)… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 10: Let Darkness Fall
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… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 9: Hard times
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… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 8: February 1927, Hammett’s back
Secrets of the Mask, part 7: Shaw spells success
Last week, we found Phil Cody looking for an editor. He found the right man. Joseph T. “Cap” Shaw always wanted to be a writer and editor. He was editor of his college newspaper and a track athlete. After graduation, he became a reporter and then worked at a publishing company before joining a textile… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 7: Shaw spells success
Secrets of the Mask, part 6: Unmasking Cody
A little help from my friends Last week, I was able to review an issue of Black Mask from 1925 in the middle of Phil Cody’s editorial reign. Before that happened, I could only guess at his editorial direction from looking at the covers and the tables of contents. Cody came in after George W.… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 6: Unmasking Cody