PETE RICE MAGAZINE was launched by Street & Smith about the same time as DOC SAVAGE, with covers by Walter Baumhofer, who also provided Doc's covers. This is the first issue. The stories were reminiscent of the Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies, set in the contemporary West but with plenty of hard-ridin', fast-shootin' Western action. Ben Conlon wrote all the full-length Pete Rice stories under the name Austin Gridley. After the magazine was cancelled, the character moved to WILD WEST WEEKLY for a while, with other authors using the Gridley house-name. I've read one or two of the Pete Rice novels and thought they were okay without being terribly impressed. I wouldn't mind reading another one sometime to see if that opinion holds up.
1 comment:
The Pete Rice series never impressed me either. Too much emphasis on the hero element made the stories kind of hard to believe. The fact that the series continued in WILD WEST WEEKLY after PETE RICE MAGAZINE ceased publication, gives further hints that the stories were for the teen age boy market.
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