Here's some real world finds that I located out in W.Virgina one my way home, nothing too exciting, but to me I find lots to dig into when I get new stuff, as I'm sure you all do too. The Star Western is from Feb 1954, the cover artist is unknown to me, one thing to notice is above the title is Big Romances of the West, kind of sets the tone of the issue. As you can see from this fine illustration that these are not your push over women, like my wife says "built to pull plows". The second story by Dan Kirby, Night Rider, has a opening blurb to the effect of "Outlaw Jack McCord wanted a slim, Blonde, lovely Melissa more than anything. And, Like everything else, he has to get her away from another man---at the point of a gun!" The next story by William E Cook The Failure, has a opening line: "There was only one place a man could trust that double-crossing daughter of hell Dan Keene pursued--smug and tight and helpless--in somebody else's arms!" I see a pattern of the kind of stories you or I are going to read.
And here too, is something that I don't see everyday in a pulp mag: The Cattle Queen Pin-up! Very cool, I must say, a lead into Lee Floren's Cattle Queens Die Proudly! Finally, my favorite artist over at Standard pubs in the Dec. 1952 issue of Texas Rangers Gerald McCann who illustrates Giles A Lutz' Throw Lead Or Die. I haven't read any of his work, but look forward to that one. The lead off story of the Rangers is by Peter Germano writing under the Jackson Cole name, the story is Land Of The Lost. Other stories are by Robert Horton with the Wedding Gift and Gordon Shirreffs' Face of Fear. The cover by Sam Cherry is a classic boarding of the bat wings! Over all a nice find, look forward to some more reading.
That issue of STAR WESTERN is from the last year of its life. It lasted over 200 issues before dying in 1954. I see that TEXAS RANGERS lasted a few years longer. Nice finds.
ReplyDeleteHey Walker, Yeah, I was thinking that Star Western was looking for some new lease on life with including some more romance (which was thriving at the time)in its title. They are pretty much fun to read, as are Ranch Romances, where Gerald McCann did a lot of work. He did work for every Standard pulp publication it seemed, I suppose for 10 buck a double truck page he had too. Would have like to have interviewed that guy. I would like to get in to distribution of the pulps, seems I get a lot of Blue books, and Popular Pubs' stuff out in the real world, being the midwest mostly. Newstand photos show a lot of neat things...Jonathan
DeleteThat's a really good issue of TEXAS RANGERS. Germano's Hatfield stories are consistently good. His "Rendezvous at Quito", in the next-to-last issue of the magazine, is one of the best in the entire run.
ReplyDeleteHey James, Good to know about Germano, may have to get it more towards the top of my pile of reads. At least at 114 pages they are a quicker read. Looks like Peter Germano worked for Mike Shane Mystery Mag in 1975, did you ever get to meet the guy there? It would be cool. Looks like that Rendezvous story was his last one for Texas Rangers too. Jonathan
ReplyDeleteNo, I never had anything to do with Germano, but I like his work. Supposedly he wrote some of the Mike Shayne stories for MSMM, as well as non-series stories under his own name. He wrote at least one more Jim Hatfield novel that was never published because the magazine was cancelled, but he rewrote it into one of his Barry Cord novels. In fact, a number of his Hatfields were rewritten into stand-alone Western novels published under the Barry Cord name. A pretty common practice at the time. Some of the pulpsters got everything they could out of a story.
DeleteJames, That's too bad about not getting to know Germano. But some great info on his later work. Doesn't look like his Barry Cord work in pulps extended past 1957, so as you say a paperback novel or hardcover, and did he write a ton of stuff in the pulps under that name, wow. Fiction mags is a great place for info. Jonathan
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