This is the first issue of MYSTERY NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES, a short-lived Weird Menace pulp that managed six issues total in 1939, '40, and '41. I have no idea who painted that cover, but it's a wild one. [Update: The cover art is by William Soare. Thanks to b.t. for the ID!] The presence of house-name Mat Rand in the Table of Contents, as well as Abner Sundell being the editor, tells us that this is a Columbia pulp, undoubtedly a very low-budget affair, but it certainly looks intriguing. The other authors on hand, other than Rand, all seem to be real guys: Arthur J. Burks, Harold Ward, Vernon James, Dugal McDougal, and Lazar Levi. I recognize Burks and Ward, the other guys not so much. But I'd be interested in checking it out if I had a copy, which I don't, and it doesn't appear to be available on-line. I'm trying to remember if I've ever read anything by Arthur J. Burks. He wrote almost everything for the pulps except Westerns. I ought to try some of his stories.
4 comments:
The cover is by William Soare — he did a number of memorable covers for the Gangster, Spicy and Weird Menace pulps, as well as more ‘respectable’ magazines like THE SATURDAY EVENING POST and BOY’S LIFE.
b.t.
Thanks! I updated the post.
You’re very welcome, James. Oh, and if you’re VERY curious about the stories in that issue of MYSTERY NOVELS, Adventure House published a replica back in 2009, and copies are still available at Amazon. I bought a copy myself at the time but (big surprise) have never gotten around to reading it, so unfortunately I can’t vouch for the quality of any of the stories. Soare’s cover art is reproduced beautifully at least :)
b.t.
Thanks for the tip! A copy of that reprint is sitting in my Amazon cart at this very moment, along with some other books I don't have space to store nor time to read. But at this late date, I think it's safe to say I'm not going to stop buying books.
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