This issue of Australia’s greatest men’s magazine Adam reached newsstands this month in 1974. The cover illustrates Alexander Tait’s story “The Catch,” about a boat captain who’s given a slow-acting poison in order to ensure his compliance in a smuggling scheme. Adam covers were always painted to order, and that’s especially clear here because not only does this lingerie bondage scene occur in the narrative, but the woman is described as having hair that “stuck out in all directions in some kind of afro style.”
What didn’t stick out in the story was a lot of talent or imagination, but that’s okay—there’s always another thing to enjoy in these mags. For example, we thought “Sex and Serpents” was rather interesting. It’s a factual story written by Paul Brock about snakes and sexual symbolism. Brock discusses cultures from ancient Egypt to modern Burma, and reveals that snakes are sometimes pickled or powdered. Our favorite anecdote involves an Appalachian preacher who allegedly used a live snake to beat three men and a woman into repentance for sexual sins. Afterward he probably beat his own snake. You know how it goes with these types.
Elsewhere in the magazine are the expected assortment of nude and semi-nude models, but one of them (panel eight below) is a photographed head and arms atop an illustrated torso. Can’t say we’ve seen that before. Maybe she had a rash that day. Or maybe she refused to pose nude. Imagine her surprise when the issue hit the racks. We can only hope she beat the photographer with a snake. Moving on, there’s art by Jack Waugh, and few cartoons that made us smile. Not laugh, mind you. Just smile. Scans below, and we’ll be revisiting Adam later this month.
