 I heard you the first time. I'm just choosing to ignore you. 
We've been told that this low rent cover for Justin Kent's 1955 fetish cheapie Touch Me Not! is by sleaze art master Eric Stanton. If so, it's a mere sketch compared to his normal style, but we'll accept that it's him. Last time we checked, Touch Me Not! was selling for $155, which is outrageous for something that looks like it was stapled at a Kinko's. But in this case at least, the buyer would get something historically significant. This book was central to an obscenity case brought in 1959 by the state of New York against Times Square bookstore owner Edward Mishkin that after seven years went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966. Mishkin lost the case, and Touch Me Not!, which had been confiscated with numerous other books, remained under wraps for fifty years. You can see plenty more Eric Stanton art by clicking his keywords below.
 Are you sure I need an entire superhero outfit? I'd feel more comfortable—and frankly more fabulous—fighting crime like this. 
Danny Shannon, the lead character in Peter Sinnot's 1966 sleazer Young Danny does not fight crime. We made that up. He's actually just a regular guy with no superpowers whatsoever, who gets a job working in a combo hotel/health club/steam bath where wild bondage parties are held, and becomes the favored staff member of all the guests. See what we just did there? Staff member? Anyway, by the mid-1960's sexploitation books of all types had reached the point where little was left to the imagination, and this one is a prime example, as its rear cover bluntly proclaims: “Once you enter this hotel prepare to get raped.... or rape... anything goes!”
Eric Stanton is on the cover chores here and—this is where we got the idea about crime fighting—he was strongly influenced style-wise by Jerry Robinson, the comic artist who created Robin of Batman and Robin, as well as Batman's butler Alfred, and the villain Two-Face. Stanton was also a friend of Steve Ditko, the man who illustrated the first Spider Man comics. In fact, Stanton claims that the character of Aunt Mae was his idea. Now we know exactly where the strong comic book feel of Stanton's art came from, and why Danny Shannon looks like a crimefighter having a costume fitting. Or maybe that's just us. You can see plenty more from Stanton here, here, and here.
 Grrrr... That shameless slut. If I hadn't seen her with my own two eyes—and the other two eyes on my chest—I would never have believed it. 
There's nothing quite like carny pulp, and this one has one of the better tag lines in sleaze history. The basic idea here is innocent Curtis Bryan joins a carnival only to find it a hotbed of sex, sin, and spouse swapping peopled by lesbian trapeze artists, a sex freak equestrienne, and more. Pretty soon he's in danger of being corrupted by all the crazy goings-on. The tagline: Enter normal... exit abnormal... That is inspired. The artwork is inspired too. It's by the uniquely great Eric Stanton, and the copyright is 1965.
 All that cutesy lovey-dovey stuff was the single me. Now that we're married let me introduce you to the real me. 
Above, the cover of New Bride by Glenn Allison, written for First Niter and published in 1960. The art is by Eric Stanton, formerly obscure, but in the midst of a renaissance these last several years, and deservedly so. Check some of his astonishing pieces here.
 This is the pleasure department, sir. Pain was consolidated here after last month’s corporate downsizing. 
More fun sleaze today, a cover for Myron Kosloff’s 1964 opus Dial “P” for Pleasure, from First Niter, a subsidiary of Connoisseur Publications, with Eric Stanton cover art. You get sexual hijinks at the Hotel Park-Ritz, with swapping, bondage, lesbianism, and all the other fun things in life. This was, if you can believe, made into a porn movie of the same name in 1978 starring Susan Wong and Sharon Mitchell.
 Well, it was a nice little island while it lasted. 
 At top you see a cover for Private Island by Dorian Cole, 1966, from After Hours Books, one of the lower rent practitioners of sleaze lit. The cover art is by Eric Stanton, whose decades of illustration work have been immortalized in two big collections by the German art book publisher Taschen. You see one of those covers here as well. Stanton was apparently known as the “Rembrandt of pulp culture,” at least according to Taschen. Them’s mighty bold words, but of course Taschen is trying to sell $50 coffee table books, so what else would they say?
In reality, Stanton was a unique artist whose simplicity of style translated nicely to low budget sexploitation paperbacks such as Shawna deNelle's Lady Boss, which we shared a couple of years ago. Or put another way, based on the above example could you see Stanton illustrating Mike Hammer or James Bond books? No, right? But he was a perfect match for sleaze imprints like After Hours. His effort for Private Island is nearly perfect, featuring his trademark elongated figures and bold color usage, and it ranks as a favorite cover for us.
 All these jobs are so alike they just start to fade together after a while. 
Secretary: “Somehow, I thought working for a woman would be different.” Lady Boss: “You’ll get no favors from me, sweetheart. I got where I am because I play the game the same way men do.” Secretary: “I understand that now. I think I’m missing a button.” Lady Boss: “You know what else is missing? A cup of coffee in my hand. Now get to brewing—chop chop!
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1910—Los Angeles Times Bombed
A massive dynamite bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21 people. Police arrest James B. McNamara and his brother John J. McNamara. Though the brothers are represented by the era's most famous lawyer, Clarence Darrow, of Scopes Monkey Trial fame, they eventually plead guilty. James is convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. His brother John is convicted of a separate bombing of the Llewellyn Iron Works and also sent to prison. 1975—Ali Defeats Frazier in Manila
In the Philippines, an epic heavyweight boxing match known as the Thrilla in Manila takes place between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. It is the third, final and most brutal match between the two, and Ali wins by TKO in the fourteenth round. 1955—James Dean Dies in Auto Accident
American actor James Dean, who appeared in the films Giant, East of Eden, and the iconic Rebel without a Cause, dies in an auto accident at age 24 when his Porsche 550 Spyder is hit head-on by a larger Ford coupe. The driver of the Ford had been trying to make a left turn across the rural highway U.S. Route 466 and never saw Dean's small sports car approaching. 1962—Chavez Founds UFW
Mexican-American farm worker César Chávez founds the United Farm Workers in California. His strikes, marches and boycotts eventually result in improved working conditions for manual farm laborers and today his birthday is celebrated as a holiday in eight U.S. states. 1916—Rockefeller Breaks the Billion Barrier
American industrialist John D. Rockefeller becomes America's first billionaire. His Standard Oil Company had gained near total control of the U.S. petroleum market until being broken up by anti-trust legislators in 1911. Afterward, Rockefeller used his fortune mainly for philanthropy, and had a major effect on medicine, education, and scientific research.
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