Pulp International

vintage and modern pulp fiction; noir, schlock and exploitation films; scandals, swindles and news

THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT

Give them an inch, pretty soon they'll suppress your wages and come for your pension.

When Never Give a Millionaire an Even Break was written in 1963 there were plenty of American millionaires. Now there are literally millions of them, and tons of multi-millionaires, which means Henry Kane’s fun title is more relevant than ever. It made us eager to read the book, but when we did a while back we thought it was average. We circled back to it today, though, because we like the purple and red color palette on this minimalist cover. It’s uncredited from Lancer Books, 1963. You can read more about this here.

Lancer Books, Henry Kane, Robert McGinnis, cover art, literature, deaths

CLASS WARFARE

Is there anything money can't buy? Evidence seems to suggest no.

Never Give a Millionaire an Even Break is a title that spoke to us. Lancer Books published two editions, the second of which, above, from 1966, borrows Ron Lesser art originally used on the front of Robert Dietrich’s Curtains for a Lover. The story is about a private dick named Peter Chambers and his beautiful stage actress girlfriend Arlene Anthony, who’s coveted by two millionaires. One is her ex, so there’s that problem. The other is a phony tough guy and real-deal asshole who tries to buy Chambers off, then threatens him, then—maybe—tries to frame him for murder. Kane’s glib writing style takes a little getting used to, but he’s clever, we’ll give him that. Is the story worthwhile? It’s more convoluted than usual, yet still manages to be average, in our opinion. But since it’s the twenty-second entry in a Peter Chambers series (something we didn’t know beforehand) we suspect better capers came earlier. We’ll keep watch for one of the first few books.

Lancer Books, Henry Kane, Ron Lesser, cover art, literature

GOOD TO BE BAD

If I'd known being evil was this much fun I'd have started doing it years ago.


For a novel of terror and obsession Henry Kane’s 1963 thriller Frenzy of Evil has a pretty cheery cover. Apparently being evil is unmitigated joy. Obviously, this is another one of those paintings that was made independently of the book, then grabbed because it was available. It’s jarringly out of sync with the title, as well as the story. What you get here is a rather elegantly written tale about a rich old guy and his hot young wife, and the dark road his jealousy and sadism carry him down. Basically, he’s convinced she’s cheating and decides to murder her bedmate—as soon as he figures out who it is. The funny part is she isn’t cheating at all. But the main character is so amoral that the possibility of her fidelity never occurs to him. His mistaken assumption foreshadows several other errors, including a crucial one concerning the identity of his wife’s not-really-lover. The story is filled out by numerous other characters, some of whom have their own demons and problems that might push them to consider murder too. Enjoyable stuff from Kane. Our first book from him, but probably not our last. 

Dell Publications, Henry Kane, cover art, literature

FLASHY GORDON

Cats always get in the way at the worst moments.


The above cover from the Milan based publishers Longanesi & Co. features U.S. glamour model Virginia Gordon fronting a 1959 translation of Ed McBain’s The Pusher. McBain is basically a legend, but is it a stretch to call Gordon legendary too? We don’t think so. She was Playboy magazine’s January 1959 Playmate of the Month, and because of that her photos are highly collectible and expensive. You’d see two important reasons why if not for a mischievous cat, but you can outmaneuver him by clicking here or here.

Below we have a few more fronts from Longanesi, including Jonathan Craig’s Case of the Village Tramp, which also has Gordon on the cover, and John Jakes’ detective novel Johnny Havoc, featuring Carol Baker giving a nice over-the-shoulder glance. Like Australia’s Horwitz Publications and several other non-U.S. companies, Longanesi used (probably) unlicensed images of Hollywood starlets and glamor models as a matter of habit. We’ll show you more examples of those a bit later. 
Italy, Milan, Longanesi & Co., Virginia Gordon, Ed McBain, Evan Hunter, Jonathan Craig, John Jakes, Henry Kane, John McPartland, Adam Knight, Carol Baker, cover art, literature, cover collection

TO HEL AND BACK

Caught you! Get back to the book cover you came from, young lady, and stay there!

Above is a rather nice cover for Knipoog naar de hel, which in Dutch means “wink to hell.” Must be one of those colloquialisms we run across in foreign titles sometimes. This was published by the Rotterdam based company Uitgeversmij de Combinatie, and it’s a translation of Henry Kane’s 1964 thriller Snatch an Eye. As you can see at right (unless you’re on a mobile device, in which case it’s above), Uitgeversmij borrows art from Frank Kane’s (no relation) 1956 Dell Publications novel Green Light for Death. The art for that was by Victor Kalin. The Dutch art is obviously a reworking of the original.

So here we go again. Is the copy by Kalin? Was it licensed? In this case, we think the art is Kalin’s original, rather than a knock off by some random unknown, because the actual figure is identical, though the background has been replaced and the spotlight has a marginally different outline. Perhaps this was licensed and Kalin actually got paid, but we doubt it. Why bother to change it in that case? More likely it was appropriated via the use of a good camera, a crisp negative, and a little retouching. Whatever the case may be, we really like this piece.

Netherlands, Rotterdam, Uitgeversmij de Combinatie, Frank Kane, Henry Kane, Victor Kalin, cover art, literature

HANG TIME

Thirty feet in the air.

Below you see covers featuring characters who died suspended by their necks. Were they suicides? Murder victims? Hint: the books wouldn’t be very interesting if they were suicides. There are others we could share, but thirty feet sounded nicer than thirty six or thirty eight. Maybe we’ll add more later. For now see two in the same style here and here.

Frances Lockridge, Richard Lockridge, H.W. Roden, F.A. Chittenden, Henry Kane, Peter Storme, Perry Stowe, Stuart Friedman, Earl Norman, Marcel Allain, Griff, Frances Crane, Hank Spencer, Craig Rice, cover art, literature, cover collection

ABBETTING AFTER THE FACT

A long overdue collection of Bob Abbett covers.

We’ve compiled a collection of Bob Abbett covers, something we should have done years ago. Throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, working in a couple of distinct styles, he produced some of the most striking book fronts to be found on newsstands. See eighteen pieces of evidence below.

Bob Abbett, Richard Foster, Robert Bloomfield, John Dickson Carr, A.A. Fair, Jack Webb, Ben Barzman, James McKimmey, Richard Deming, Seymour Kern, Henry Kane, Robert Carroll, Wade Miller, Robert Caine Frazer, Robert W. Krepps, Vin Packer, Richard Telfair, Adeline McElfresh, Robert Paul Smith, cover art, literature, cover collection

DEAD AIM

They all deserved it. You can be sure of that.

A few years ago we shared a collection of pulp covers featuring women holding smoking guns. Most of them, but not all, were standing over dead victims. Today we decided to revisit the idea, but this time feature only women standing over men they’ve just gunned down. We found many examples, but these are five of the best. Kind thanks to the original uploaders.

Manhunt Magazine, Scott Meredith, Sidney Meredith, Hank Janson, Jack Webb, Henry Kane, James Savage, Robert Maguire, cover collection, cover art, literature
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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1962—Canada Has Last Execution

The last executions in Canada occur when Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin, both of whom are Americans who had been extradited north after committing separate murders in Canada, are hanged at Don Jail in Toronto. When Turpin is told that he and Lucas will probably be the last people hanged in Canada, he replies, “Some consolation.”

1964—Guevara Speaks at U.N.

Ernesto “Che” Guevara, representing the nation of Cuba, speaks at the 19th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. His speech calls for wholesale changes in policies between rich nations and poor ones, as well as five demands of the United States, none of which are met.

2008—Legendary Pin-Up Bettie Page Dies

After suffering a heart attack several days before, erotic model Bettie Page, who in the 1950s became known as the Queen of Pin-ups, dies when she is removed from life support machinery. Thanks to the unique style she displayed in thousands of photos and film loops, Page is considered one of the most influential beauties who ever lived.

1935—Downtown Athletic Club Awards First Trophy

The Downtown Athletic Club in New York City awards its first trophy for athletic achievement to University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger. The prize is later renamed the Heisman Trophy, and becomes the most prestigious award in college athletics.

1968—Japan's Biggest Heist Occurs

300 million yen is stolen from four employees of the Nihon Shintaku Ginko bank in Tokyo when a man dressed as a police officer blocks traffic due to a bomb threat, makes them exit their bank car while he checks it for a bomb, then drives away in it. Under Japanese statute of limitations laws, the thief could come forward today with no repercussions, but nobody has ever taken credit for the crime.

1965—UFO Reported by Thousands of Witnesses

A large, brilliant fireball is seen by thousands in at least six U.S. states and Ontario, Canada as it streaks across the sky, reportedly dropping hot metal debris, starting grass fires, and causing sonic booms. It is generally assumed and reported by the press to be a meteor, however some witnesses claim to have approached the fallen object and seen an alien craft.

1980—John Lennon Killed

Ex-Beatle John Lennon is shot four times in the back and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman had been stalking Lennon since October, and earlier that evening Lennon had autographed a copy of his album Double Fantasy for him.

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HELLO YELLOW

Italian artist Benedetto Caroselli illustrated this set of predominantly yellow covers for Editrice Romana Periodici's crime series I Narratori Americani del Brivido.

JUST TO BE FAIR

The cover of Paul Connolly's So Fair, So Evil features amusing art of a man who's baffled and will probably always be that way.

WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT

Cover art by the great Sandro Symeoni for Peter Cheyney's mystery He Walked in her Sleep, from Ace Books in 1949.

PARIS BLEUS

The mysterious artist who signed his or her work as F. Harf produced this beautiful cover in 1956 for the French publisher S.E.P.I.A.

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