Saturday, May 19, 2012

Saturday Morning Western Pulp: Fighting Western, May 1945

I'm not particularly fond of this cover, but this issue is of some interest anyway (at least to me) because of the featured story by E. Hoffmann Price, "Grubstake", which he expanded into a novel of the same name and sold to Zebra Books in 1979. This book marked Price's return to publishing after being out of it since the early Fifties. He went on to sell a couple of fantasy novels and four science-fiction novels to Del Rey in the Eighties. I haven't read any of them. The other authors in this issue of FIGHTING WESTERN include a couple I've heard of (and even read) Giff Cheshire and Lee E. Wells, and a couple I haven't, Charles Handley and Warren Bean.


  

7 comments:

Walker Martin said...

I never bothered to collect this title which according to THE ADVENTURE HOUSE GUIDE TO THE PULPS, lasted 31 issues from 1945 to 1950. Just about all the covers showed damsels in distress.

I remember E. Hoffman Price wrote alot for this publisher which also put out the Spicy and Speed titles.

Todd Mason said...

Gerald W. Page gets a little credit, too...he published an original Price story in the seventh annual YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES a coupla years before the 1979 novel...and a damned good one, if more a grim adventure story (a la THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK or THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO) than horror...

James Reasoner said...

I didn't know that, Todd. I may have to look for that volume. Thanks for the tip.

Todd Mason said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Todd Mason said...

Argh. It's been a bad day for me. I've managed to conflate E. Hoffman Price and H. Warner Munn...the latter being the one who published such an original in FIFTH annual from Page for DAW Books...

7 • Introduction (The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series V) • essay by Gerald W. Page
9 • The Service • (1976) • shortstory by Jerry Sohl
17 • Long Hollow Swamp • (1976) • shortstory by Joseph Payne Brennan
27 • Sing a Last Song of Valdese • [Kane] • (1976) • shortstory by Karl Edward Wagner
44 • Harold's Blues • (1976) • shortstory by Glen Singer
56 • The Well • novelette by H. Warner Munn
94 • A Most Unusual Murder • (1976) • shortstory by Robert Bloch
107 • Huzdra • shortstory by Tanith Lee
126 • Shatterday • (1975) • shortstory by Harlan Ellison
140 • Children of the Forest • (1976) • novelette by David Drake
159 • The Day It Rained Lizards • shortstory by Arthur Byron Cover
179 • Followers of the Dark Star • (1976) • shortstory by Robert Edmond Alter
194 • When All the Children Call My Name • shortstory by Charles L. Grant [as by C. L. Grant ]
214 • Belsen Express • (1975) • shortstory by Fritz Leiber
227 • Where the Woodbine Twineth • [Southern Appalachia] • (1976) • shortstory by Manly Wade Wellman

James Reasoner said...

It would be easy enough to get those two confused. Looks like a mighty good line-up in that anthology even without Price.

Todd Mason said...

Well, though not as fiction writing, there was Price's (actually Price, this time!) occasional column, in the likes of Page's WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY magazine in the early '70s and perhaps elsewhere, "The Jade Pagoda"...keeping his hand in...