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Post by dem bones on Jul 19, 2014 13:43:33 GMT
Stone the crows! Following a total info blackout worthy of the Velvet Underground circa the post-Cale third album, not one but TWO new issues of Paperback Fanatic arrived in this morning's post (packet bearing one of those dreaded customs & excise stickers unseen since we'd receive issues of International Vamire direct from Amsterdam in the 'nineties). The impossibly sleazy PF #29 is the nearest thing to a solo issue we've seen from Mr. Marriott since the switch to digest format. Anyway, diligent bastard that I am, thought I'd shove up the info before getting down to the enjoyable business of actually reading the issues. So here goes. Justin Marriott (ed.) - Paperback Fanatic #29 (July, 2014) Fanatical Thoughts - The Renegade Publishers issue Fanatical Mails - Readers' letters. Andrew Kersten, Chris Mikul, Colin Clynes, Dave Hyman, Nigel Taylor, Jim Walker, Tom Tesarek, Stuart Williams, Andy Boot, Kev Demant. The Renegade Publishers & Friends American Hysteria - Wisdom House Nostalgia Ain't What It Used To Be - Everest publishers (yes, that one) Get Banner! - Banner Books A - Zebra - Zebra Books, but probably not the one you're thinking of. Top (Shelf) Sellers! - Top Sellers And Flamingp I Fought The Law - The Trials and Tribulations of Freeway Venus Press Six Continental Sin Publishers - Bedside, Chariot, Magnet (not that one), Bell-Ringer, Gaslight and Imperial Page. Whacking Off! - Essex House Erotica Chills & Boon - Laser & Venture books Never Mind The Haddocks - Peter Haddock Imprints Major Minor Books - Major Books I realise the above might as well be written in Sanskrit for all the good it will do anyone reading this, so will try shed some light over coming days. We are on possibly more familiar ground with the companion volume, which, while no less eclectic, includes quite possibly the most almost-comprehensive horror tie-in gallery ever published. Justin Marriott (ed.) - Paperback Fanatic #30 (July, 2014) PAJ - Interview with SF & Fantasy Artist Peter Andrew Jones Warm Flesh & Hot Lead - The 'Adult Western' Genre James Doig & Graeme Flanagan - James Workman - A Scot-Aus Pulp Legend The Human Crossbow - The Crusader fiction of Andrew J. Offult The Mad Reader! - The Mad magazine paperbacks. Nigel Taylor Lure Of The White Worm - Bram Stoker's other strangely strange horror novel Dawn Of The Dead - The Horror Movie Tie-ins. More info, subscription details etc from the Fanatic Megastore. |
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Post by redbrain on Jul 19, 2014 20:55:09 GMT
Is that Joe Stalin shining a torch on the young woman on the cover of Violent Desires? And is she saying: "Why Comrade Stalin, it's an honour to meet you. May I have your autograph?"
He asks: "Comrade, you have a violent desire for my autograph?"
She replies: "Yes, comrade, almost as violent as my desire for socialism in one country."
The young lady on the cover of Gutter Lust certainly seems thirsty for her Vimto.
As to the Virgin Witch, I wonder for how much longer she intends to remain a virgin.
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Post by pulphack on Jul 21, 2014 4:31:42 GMT
Cold war sleaze paperbacks - now there's a genre... there must be a load of them, surely? Yet judging from what I've seen in Justin's overviews of the sleaze boom, surprisingly few. Which probably says a lot about the state of American psychology at the time!
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Post by jamesdoig on Jul 28, 2014 9:57:00 GMT
#29 and #30 arrived today - the 50 page horror movie tie-in section is a cracker. And the renegade publisher issue is a real eye-opener - haven't heard of most of those publishers. Great stuff.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 28, 2014 10:41:13 GMT
Have finally wrestled back the mags from the bride of dem - you will no doubt be delighted to learn she found them even more twisted and depraved than ever so well done the contributors - time to attempt some kind of commentary. #29, the 'Renegade Publishers' mini-special is crammed with books the majority of us are unlikely to have stumbled upon in W. H. Smiths. Six Continental Sin Publishers is a riot of magnificently overheated titles, bad girl - bad sex cover art, and some of the most lunatic strap-lines ever conceived by the human mind. Cases in point, Lee Shepard's Body Bait ("He took a young High School girl and used his body to pound her into a woman"), Laverne P.'s I Am A Lesbian ("Her husband is another woman. Her friends are dykes and dolls," and Tony Haunt's Wanton Sex-Star from Gaslight Books whose cover showcases badly drawn topless broad in action. Whatever your sexual inclination, there should be something in the Imperial catalogue to offend, especially if you harbour any good old "abnormal urges." Or as Ken Worthy would have it. "Told - for the first time - the real story behind what might easily become. Not the 'Beat Generation', not the 'Lost Generation' but the SIck Sick Sick Homosexual Generation!" Everest Books are a personal guilty pleasure. Seldom can so short-lived a publisher have bashed out so many endearingly rubbish titles. The novelisations of Queen Kong and Zoltan Hound Of Dracula by Jim Moffat and Ken Johnson respectively being two horror indispensables and at least one of the PF/ Vault regulars will tell you they ran a neat line in Crossroads tie-ins. Justin concludes "To compile an Everest checklist is a challenge because of their practice of using the same ISBN code whether it be for paperback, hardback or for Alpine, their children's imprint. And lets face it, it's not a sensible use of anyone's time." So time for Vault to step up our game in that direction then. Personal pick of the articles in #30 is James Doig & Graeme Flanagan on genre-hopping and globe-trotting Aus-pulp veteran James Workman who sometimes wrote under the Horowitz house names, James Dark and Victor Kain. To best of my knowledge, have only read one of his horror stories, The Mummy's Curse in Nightmare Stories, (1962), unless he was also AKA D. W. Preston, the author of the not exactly tasteful Whistler's Mother featuring the 'Plastic Surgeon Murderer' in same collection (to these untrained eyes, the styles are not dissimilar). Chills & Boom. When Mills & Boon briefly briefly dipped a tentacle into the horror - mens adventure market and just as quickly withdrew it, leaving only six titles to show that it had not all been a hideous dream. But ... at least one of the six is brilliant. Peter Tremayne's The Hound Of Frankenstein, the print equivalent of Hammer films at their most adorable. [more to follow ...] |
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Post by jamesdoig on Jul 29, 2014 9:10:00 GMT
Personal pick of the articles in #30 is James Doig & Graeme Flanagan on genre-hopping and globe-trotting Aus-pulp veteran James Workman who sometimes wrote under the Horowitz house names, James Dark and Victor Kain. Thanks Dem! Graeme is pretty sick at the moment and I'm sure he'll appreciate the kind words. Currently we're doing one on the Australian Phantom Books series and another on Richard Wilkes-Hunter's Gothic series for Horwitz (ie Caroline Farr). |
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Post by dem bones on Jul 29, 2014 14:09:59 GMT
Thanks Dem! Graeme is pretty sick at the moment and I'm sure he'll appreciate the kind words. Currently we're doing one on the Australian Phantom Books series and another on Richard Wilkes-Hunter's Gothic series for Horwitz (ie Caroline Farr). Am very sorry to hear that James. Please which Graeme my best. I really love how the Aus-pulp articles stack up - they're like individual book chapters. It has all made for quite an education. Agree with you that the fifty page (!) gallery of horror flick novelizations and tie-ins is a bit special, and I reckon there is still a marathon article to be written on the subject if anyone's feeling brave. Meanwhile, here's eight personal favourites failed to make the cut. Frank Lauria - Communion . (Corgi, July 1977). Mummy & Daddy's joint best little girl in the world goes berserk in and around the church. Arthur Herzog - The Swarm (Pan, 1976). It could happen, and Mr. Herzog provides the charts to prove it. Great cover image of a killer bee snooping at a keyhole. Alexander Thynne - Blue Blood. The Marquis of Bath's fictional debut. An everyday tale of drug abuse, Satanism, child-sacrifice and madness. Image of a be-cloaked and quite possibly inebriated Oliver Reed dominates the cover. 'John Sayles' - Piranha. (Nel, 1978). The thinking man's Jaws. 'William Lauder' - The Uncanny (Arrow, 1977). A 'when cats attack' portmanteau adapted from Michel Parry's original script. Cover features a terror-stricken Susan Penhaligan. Ralph Martin - The Man Who Haunted Himself (Tandem, 1970). Extreme doppelgänger distress for Roger Moore, then at the zenith of his Man at Debenhams-enhanced powers as cover shot ably attests. Tim Greaves - Vampyres (Strega, 2001). A belated novelization of the raunchy blood-sucking bi-girls romp. With added sex. Front cover could have used a little work, mind. |
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Post by mcannon on Jul 30, 2014 2:07:33 GMT
>> Personal pick of the articles in #30 is James Doig & Graeme Flanagan on genre-hopping and globe-trotting Aus-pulp veteran James Workman who sometimes wrote under the Horowitz house names, James Dark and Victor Kain. Thanks Dem! Graeme is pretty sick at the moment and I'm sure he'll appreciate the kind words. Currently we're doing one on the Australian Phantom Books series and another on Richard Wilkes-Hunter's Gothic series for Horwitz (ie Caroline Farr). >> I've sorry to hear that about Graeme. I met him about 20 years ago when I bought a pile of books and magazines from him at ludicrously low prices - he said that he didn't mind, as they were going to a good home where they'd be appreciated! I used to bump into him occasionally, but haven't for some years. A very nice bloke. Mark |
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Post by jamesdoig on Jul 30, 2014 9:17:35 GMT
>> I've sorry to hear that about Graeme. I met him about 20 years ago when I bought a pile of books and magazines from him at ludicrously low prices - he said that he didn't mind, as they were going to a good home where they'd be appreciated! I used to bump into him occasionally, but haven't for some years. A very nice bloke. Mark Yes, Graeme's a good guy, with an awful lot of knowledge and some interesting acquaintances over the years - as a kid he sent Dennis Wheatley a fan letter and corresponded with him for a while, he showed Robert Bloch around when he was in Australia for a convention in the 80s, visited Forry Ackerman, corresponded with Fritz Leiber, Richard Matheson, amongst various others, and I guess I don't know the half of it! |
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Post by dem bones on Jul 31, 2014 18:24:02 GMT
Yes, Graeme's a good guy, with an awful lot of knowledge and some interesting acquaintances over the years - as a kid he sent Dennis Wheatley a fan letter and corresponded with him for a while, he showed Robert Bloch around when he was in Australia for a convention in the 80s, visited Forry Ackerman, corresponded with Fritz Leiber, Richard Matheson, amongst various others, and I guess I don't know the half of it! I think Justin should give serious consideration to arranging interviews with the pair of you. On with the latest oh so exciting instalment of our soap review. The renegade publishing special is particularly impressive when you consider that solid information about many of these enterprises seem flimsier than the buxom Miss Body Bait's négligé and even mr. fanatic appears to be short a few titles. The American Hysteria Wisdom House article, for example, won't have me selling my body to acquire God In Hollywood or The Day The Communists Took Over America, but I enjoyed reading about them. Something I love about the horror genre; whenever I get to deluding myself that i'm beginning to know a little about this game, somebody hits me with a bunch of titles I never heard of. This week it's the six Major titles - J. B. Herman's Black Sabbat in particular looks devilishly appealing - next week, who knows? Admittedly, i only read it the once, and that roughly a century ago, but Nigel Taylor's review of Lair Of The White Worm makes it all sound so riveting - even the business with the kite. Referring back to my bad old spazzy 'marking system', then-me awarded Lair ... just one measly blue asterisk (denoting "rubbish-to-average"). And you say Kim Newman reckons it's "Stoker's worst novel"? A rematch it is then. |
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Post by jamesdoig on Aug 1, 2014 6:28:06 GMT
i think Justin should give serious consideration to arranging interviews with the pair of you. Dunno about me, but certainly Graeme - or if Justin can't do it, I interviewed Graeme a few years ago. |
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Post by andydecker on Aug 1, 2014 18:29:56 GMT
Tim Greaves - Vampyres (Strega, 2001). A belated novelization of the raunchy blood-sucking bi-girls romp. With added sex. Front cover could have used a little work, mind."
Yes, this cover is really disappointing.
Two very strong issues of PF. I am not a big fan of Peter Andrew Jones, but this was a very good interview. It sadly shows again how the making of professional covers becomes a lost art.
Loved the tie-in gallery. There are so many novels which are impossible to get. Never knew that there were so many Hammer novelisations.
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Post by jamesdoig on Aug 1, 2014 23:01:25 GMT
[/p] Two very strong issues of PF. [/quote] I should have said earlier that really liked Nigel Taylor's article on Lair of the White Worm - that sort of discursive personal view of paperbacks, covers and collecting is a good idea. |
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Aug 2, 2014 11:00:19 GMT
There are so many novels which are impossible to get. Never knew that there were so many Hammer novelisations. It's probably my only criticism of Paperback Fanatic. I got a glimpse of the Burroughs issue. I had seriously collected Edgar Rice Burroughs since I was ten years old. I thought I knew a lot about Burroughs. After reading Paperback fanatic I realised that after 40 years of obsessive collecting I knew next to nothing. Not only that, I hadn't even seen some of the covers. It's humbling. I am still plagued though by one question and as PF seems to be omniscient can you tell me if there was ever an British four square edition of John Carter of Mars? |
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Post by dem bones on Aug 2, 2014 13:00:35 GMT
There are so many novels which are impossible to get. Never knew that there were so many Hammer novelisations. It's probably my only criticism of Paperback Fanatic. I got a glimpse of the Burroughs issue. I had seriously collected Edgar Rice Burroughs since I was ten years old. I thought I knew a lot about Burroughs. After reading Paperback fanatic I realised that after 40 years of obsessive collecting I knew next to nothing. Not only that, I hadn't even seen some of the covers. It's humbling. I am still plagued though by one question and as PF seems to be omniscient can you tell me if there was ever an British four square edition of John Carter of Mars? according to the The Internet Speculative Fiction Database there were four square editions of all Burroughs' Mars books, and as you would expect, some of the covers are absolutely gorgeous. Gods Of Mars (1961) A Princess Of Mars (1961) The Warlord of Mars (1961) The Chessmen of Mars (1962) The Master Mind of Mars (1962) Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1962) Synthetic Men Of Mars (1964) Swords Of Mars (1966) A Fighting Man of Mars !966) John Carter Of Mars (1967) Llana of Gathol (1967) |
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