Most of the time, I review pulps that I like after having read them. Not so with Flash Gordon Strange Adventure Magazine (FGSAM). Reading it was like watching a badly-made B-movie, and since Mystery Science Theatre 3000 showed that an audience exists that appreciates such a thing, here’s my attempt to grab a slice of… Continue reading Review: Flash Gordon Strange Adventure Magazine: So bad it’s good
Tag: Issue Review
New Detective Magazine, May 1935 – Vicious villains
This is not the Popular Publications pulp you might be familiar with. It’s an earlier magazine published by Two Books Magazines. Two Books Magazines was a publishing venture of Roy S. de Horn, former editor at Doubleday. Along with New Detective Magazine, Two Books also put out New Western and Big-Book Western. If those names… Continue reading New Detective Magazine, May 1935 – Vicious villains
Battle Stories, December 1930: Killer Stories?
After a long series of articles on Black Mask, I felt the need for a change. So here’s a review of a pulp title you don’t see that often: Fawcett’s Battle Stories. It was an attempt to cash in on the large and active group of American World War 1 veterans. These veterans had already… Continue reading Battle Stories, December 1930: Killer Stories?
Secrets of the Mask, part 20: The latest Avatar
Now we come to the latest avatar of Black Mask, as a magazine this time. Published by Steeger Books, the first issue came out in 2016 and the latest, the fifth, in 2019. Put out by Matt Moring at what was then Altus Press and has now become Steeger Books, it came in a very… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 20: The latest Avatar
Secrets of the Mask, part 19: By the Book
Last week, we read about Keith Alan Deutsch’s attempt to revive Black Mask in 1974. That failed after one issue. The 1985 revival, as an anthology book, was much better. Let’s find out how that happened. The Unusual Suspects Bear with me while I make the introductions. I promise they’ll connect later. William I. Jovanovich(1920-2001)… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 19: By the Book
Secrets of the Mask, part 18: Reappearance
The last issue of Black Mask we saw was published in 1951, soon after which the magazine ceased to appear, till its sudden reappearance in 1974. Let’s find out how. After the decline of its pulp empire in the 1950s, Popular Publications published a much smaller group of magazines. Argosy was a slick men’s magazine… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 18: Reappearance
Secrets of the Mask, part 17: Last Legs
Earlier in this series of Black Mask reviews, we took a look at issues from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Here’s one from 1951 when the whole industry was on its last legs and most titles were only a few issues away from sudden death. The first thing you see is the logo, unrecognizably… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 17: Last Legs
Secrets of the Mask, part 16: Sex appeal
Last week we saw Harry Widmer took over Black Mask after Ken White left. He changed the look of the magazine, but were there changes in the content to appeal to a new audience and if so, what were they? Let’s find out by examining the January 1950 issue. Sex appeal The cover harks back… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 16: Sex appeal
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