An exchange in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, Tribune on the merits of pulps caught my attention recently. The instigator of this exchange was Donald Raub, then a schoolboy attending what used to be Central High School in Scranton, Pa who sent many letters to the editor. The first letter was this screed printed on 15 May,… Continue reading Point, Counterpoint: Contemporary opinions of the pulps from 1940
Category: Pulp Magazines
Ham & Eggs: The successful pulp recipe of Alfred L. Gehri
We live in amazing times. Things previously impossible because they’d cost too much to try are now feasible. Like me buying pulps off EBay and shipping them across the world or diving into the lives of pulp authors by reading old newspapers and journals online.A few weeks ago, I read my first issue of Popular… Continue reading Ham & Eggs: The successful pulp recipe of Alfred L. Gehri
Allen Anderson – The Gunfighting gal
Allen Anderson painted over a hundred and fifty pulp covers for Ace Magazines and Fiction House. This is one of his best, from Bob Lesser’s collection. The printed cover was almost as good as the painting.
Stereotyping in the pulps
There are those who believe that the past was uniformly dark. With the pulps, this attitude leads to an unreasoning belief that all pulp authors and editors were biased, that they never challenged any social or cultural norms and tacitly endorsed the biases and prejudices of their times. That this is wrong should be obvious,… Continue reading Stereotyping in the pulps
Pulp Art: Wings, December 1932 by Rudy Belarski
From time to time, I’m going to share an original pulp cover with you. This one, like a lot of them, is from Robert Lesser’s collection. The cover for Fiction House’ Wings, December 1932 by Rudolph Belarski, possibly illustrating Derek West’s The Wash-Out Kid. The magazine cover is missing from the FictionMags Index but I… Continue reading Pulp Art: Wings, December 1932 by Rudy Belarski
Issue Review: Gangster Stories, December 1929
When Prohibition was enacted in America in 1920, it made production and sale of illicit alcohol very attractive. Organized crime was attracted by the high margins in this trade and the noveau riche gangsters it spawned were celebrities in their day. Gangsters and their lives were topics of public interest. The first pulp publisher to… Continue reading Issue Review: Gangster Stories, December 1929
Wild West Weekly October 14 1933
Wouldn’t this cover by Walter M. Baumhofer have been perfect for the Robert E. Howard collection Skull-face and others?
Ace Sports February 1943: Norman Saunders cover
I love the sneaky way Norman Saunders got his signature twice into this painting. One near the bottom right where you’d expect to find it and one on the player’s jersey. Do you know any of other covers like this?
The woman behind Munsey’s science fiction/fantasy pulps
Famous Fantastic Mysteries was launched in 1939. The stories were reprints from the Munsey files – stories from the early years of All-Story, Cavalier and Argosy. For fans who had grown up after these titles had died or changed direction, this was their first encounter with the best of the stories from that era. It… Continue reading The woman behind Munsey’s science fiction/fantasy pulps
Issue Review: Blue Book, 1907 May
I recently read this issue of Blue Book. It’s the very first issue under the Blue Book title, under which name it would remain in monthly publication for more than 49 years. It’s scarce; I haven’t seen a copy for sale in a dozen years. Blue Book is underrated despite being one of the Big… Continue reading Issue Review: Blue Book, 1907 May