Men Of Violence 4

[dem bones]

Apologies for three stub-posts on the spin, but it's a start. Along with the two Pulp Horror's and Sleazy Reader #4, I devoured this in an evening last week, but have yet to jot down any notes on the content. Will make a start on that tonight.

Justin Marriott (ed) - Men Of Violence #4 (July, 2015)

Fire In The Streets: John Messman's The Revenger series.
Screw The Hateful 8: Martin Cruz Smith's 'Nick Carter' adventure, The Devil's Dozen.
The Dirty Half-Dozen: Charles Whiting's The Destroyer series.
Hit-Man: Roosevelt Mallory's Radcliff series.
Return Of The Mutha-Truckers: Bob Ham's Overload series.
The Stewart Dossier: Linda Stewart's contribution to the Nick Carter series.
Men Of Violence Books ?!?

[dem bones]

No full colour glossy treatment for the latest Men Of Violence. As befits the subject matter, its a raw and very zippy (32 pages) black & white 'zine, fired off inside a week without so much as a cursory proof read. And all the work of the tireless Mr. Fanatic.

As with The Sleazy Reader, so too with MOV. While the prospect of wading through stacks of these all action macho fantasies in search of the odd juicy bit doesn't enthuse me, reading about them, and, especially, the guys and (very occasionally) girls who speed-wrote them is, of course, another matter.

You know the story. Moody, flawed lone vigilante, operating outside a law that failed him when the syndicate / Commies/ the Man/ neo-Nazi's/ a deranged hippy cult/ punk rockers/ a psycho [delete as applicable] murdered/ raped/ kidnapped [ditto] the only woman who ever gave a damn for him. Often his killing spree ultimately benefit a community/ country/ the entire world, but that's neither here nor there to our guy as misanthropy runs deep in a social leper. Several of the books referenced in this and previous issues of MOV are variations on the tried and trusted theme, but, as legion discerning fans will be quick point out, it is far from a case of read one men's adventure, you've read them all, because the more accomplished authors invariably pilfer something new from Dirty Harry, Death Wish, Shaft, The Mechanic, First Blood & Co., to spike the mix.

In Bob Ham's Overload series, for example, Special Forces commandos Marc Lee and Carl Browne, don't like the Mafia, so when the mob infiltrate Marc's pa's trucking company it doesn't sit well with them at all. Apparently Mr. Ham's gimmick is a fondness for extreme male genital torture, leading some unkind souls to speculate that Mark & Carl's close friendship was the inspiration for cult underground comic Fag Truckers In Denial.

Vietnam Vets are popular protagonists. In Roosevelt Mallory's Blaxploitation series, Radcliff - The Hit Master, our battle-hardened anti-hero returns home to Harlem to find his job prospects are as bleak as the day he left to fight for his country. It's either starve or put his hard won new skills to good use as the coldest, most ruthless hired assassin in the business. Radcliff goes with option two, earning him the unwelcome attentions of the Mob ...

Charles Whiting's 'Destroyer' novels chronicle the adventures of a Dirty Dozen tribute act let loose on WWII.

Pick of the issue for this reader is the interview with Linda Stewart who penned a pair of Nick Carter's in the early seventies. Linda shines a light on one of the several pitfalls of hackwork - in this case, a change of series editor - especially if, like her, you take a pride in your craft.

[ripper]

If I have the correct series, those 'Destroyer' books would be under Whiting's Duncan Harding alias. I think I read one or two years ago but can't remember much at all about them. The guy wrote so many series under different names that they start to blur for me.

[dem bones]

Aug 3, 2016 12:28:37 GMT ripper said:

If I have the correct series, those 'Destroyer' books would be under Whiting's Duncan Harding alias. I think I read one or two years ago but can't remember much at all about them. The guy wrote so many series under different names that they start to blur for me.

I'm not much cop at this, but it seems that Pinnacle & Sphere published six Whiting 'Dirty Dozen'-indebted Destroyers under his own name between 1974-5. The following year Futura issued a WWII naval adventure, Destroyer 1: Flotilla Attack as by 'Duncan Harding'. So, looks to me we're talking two entirely different series'?

[ripper]

Thanks, Dem. Yes, I think you are right. The only 'Destroyer' series I was aware of by Whiting was the one he wrote as Duncan Harding. I think I know the books you were talking about but I wasn't aware that they were also known as the 'Destroyer' series. I don't think I have read any of them, but they sound interesting.

[dem bones]

At least you've nearly read one of the books featured in the issue, which is a lot more than I can say!

[dem bones]

By my reckoning, still the rawest, roughest issue of MOV to date, #4 is now available in new paperback format via Am*zon Uk

Hope to provide details later in the week, but the all-new Paperback Fanatic #37 is now available from same outlet: UK

Can't find equivalent US links as yet, but will try update as more info becomes available.

[jamesdoig]

Oct 23, 2017 19:00:53 GMT dem bones said:

Hope to provide details later in the week, but the all-new Paperback Fanatic #37 is now available from same outlet

Looking forward to it - I guess, like last year, Justin has got it ready in time for the paperback fair.

[andydecker]

Thanks for the info!