Paperback Fanatic #41

[jamesdoig]

Here you go Sev, though I don't have Kev's class - the issue is a larger size then the previous digests, which is a good move:





Heads Up! Justin has a piece showing off severed head cover art - lots me to show in subsequent issues I suspect.

Doom Mongerers Photo gallery of Doom Mongerer paperbacks

EV Cunningham - Photo gallery of Cunningham Pan paperbacks acquired by Justin at an expedition to Cardiff

The Hitt Squad - reproduction of correspondence between Laurence James and Fred Nolan

Australian Film Novelisations - my guff on paperback film novelisations of the great age of the late 70s and early 80s

Raymond Kursar Article by RK (from correspondence with Justin) on his writing career with Manor

All Hail the King - Jim O'Brien's excellent article on Brian Hayles

The Plantation Pulps of NEL - more of my guff, this one an article that got cut from Andrew Nette's latest volume on paperback pulp for space reasons

Segretissimo Great article (2nd part) by Rob Matthews on the Italian digest series

Crom's Tomes: 50 Years of Conan in Paperback - the title says it all, by Richard Toogood - another excellent article and photo gallery.

[severance]

Thank you James for starting this. The highlight for me in this issue is Richard's overview of Conan in paperback from the Ace Double "Conan the Conqueror/The Sword of Rhiannon" in 1953 all the way up to possible reprints by "Perilous Worlds." Great stuff all round and not backing away from his criticism of some of L. Sprague de Camp's editorial and authorial contributions. We used to have a wonderful thread of the plantation/slavery novels that NEL pumped out in the 70's on the previous incarnation of the Vault, and James gives a superb overview of how this, now politically incorrect, subject became such a literary phenomenon at the time. Personally I've only read a few of the Kenneth Bulmer contributions that he wrote as "Clint Rockman" and don't intend trying any others but the artwork of Richard Clifton-Dey is always a joy to behold.

The only (small) downside to the issue is the lack, again, of a letters page. and I know that in early drafts of the issue there was one as well as a feature on Timothy Truman for the "Artists Assemble!" project - so I'm wondering how Justin is going to wrestle with that in future. My contribution notwithstanding, another fantastic issue and the larger trade-paperback size allows more room for the articles to breathe and makes it even more of a visual feast that it always is. How Justin manages this along with every other one of his publications I'll never comprehend, but I'm glad that he does.

[dem bones]

Thanks James and Sev. I'm playing catch-up - not yet got copies of PF #41 or Sleazy #8, still have Pulp Horror #8 and MOV #11 to review. Will try right the latter if/ when I can get my head to go again. Justin would seem to have now adopted the oversized paperback format for all House of Fanatic publications and, I agree, it suits.

Justin Marriott [ed.] - Paperback Fanatic #41 (Paperback Fanatic, March 2019)

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