Vintage Pulp

December 8 2024

DECISIVE ACTION

When men get together weird things happen.

Above you see the cover of an issue of Action for Men published this month in 1962. We love to imagine the production meetings for these magazines. For this issue we can picture editor Noah Sarlat discussing Edwin’s Johnson’s story, “Lt. Clevenger’s Survival Hideout with Norway’s Hottest Blonde,” which is highlighted on the cover with eye-catching yellow text. We figure the story was originally titled, “Lt. Clevenger’s Survival Hideout.”

Sarlat: “Lt. Clevenger’s Survival Hideout? Boring! Add a blonde! A Norwegian blonde! A hot Norwegian blonde! I’ve got it—with Norway’s Hottest Blonde!”

The story is pretty good, with the requisite action and skin, and it comes with excellent art by Robert Stanley, whose work is easily recognizable because nobody painted women’s faces quite like him. Elsewhere there’s art by Ray Johnson and Shannon Stirnweis, and the cover was painted by James Bama. We have many other vintage men’s magazines sitting around, and hopefully we’ll be able to scan some of those soon.

Action for Men, James Bama, Ray Johnson, Shannon Stirnweis, Robert Stanley, Noah Sarlat, Edwin Johnson, Elkit Benit, magazine art, literature

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

January 19

1915—Claude Patents Neon Tube

French inventor Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube, in which an inert gas is made to glow various colors through the introduction of an electrical current. His invention is immediately seized upon as a way to create eye catching advertising, and the neon sign comes into existence to forever change the visual landscape of cities.

January 19

1937—Hughes Sets Air Record

Millionaire industrialist, film producer and aviator Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds. During his life he set multiple world air-speed records, for which he won many awards, including America’s Congressional Gold Medal.

January 18

1967—Boston Strangler Convicted

Albert DeSalvo, the serial killer who became known as the Boston Strangler, is convicted of murder and other crimes and sentenced to life in prison. He serves initially in Bridgewater State Hospital, but he escapes and is recaptured. Afterward he is transferred to federal prison where six years later he is killed by an inmate or inmates unknown.

January 17

1950—The Great Brinks Robbery Occurs

In the U.S., eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. The skillful execution of the crime, with only a bare minimum of clues left at the scene, results in the robbery being billed as “the crime of the century.” Despite this, all the members of the gang are later arrested.

January 17

1977—Gary Gilmore Is Executed

Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad in Utah, ending a ten-year moratorium on Capital punishment in the United States. Gilmore’s story is later turned into a 1979 novel entitled The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, and the book wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature.