Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Detective Fiction Weekly, February 17, 1934

This is the first appearance of the Park Avenue Hunt Club on the cover of DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY, with only the second story in the long-running series. And to be honest, in this cover by Lejaren Hiller, an artist I hadn't heard of, the guys look more like villains than the heroes they actually were. Judson Philips, the author of that series and many others, and Edward Parrish Ware are the only authors I recognize in this issue. The others who contributed stories are Herbert O. Yardley, Augustus Muir, and Milo Ray Phelps. The Park Avenue Hunt Club stories have been reprinted in a couple of expensive hardcovers that are no longer available. I'm hoping we'll get some affordable trade paperback and/or e-book editions at some point. The ones I've read are really good.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Detective Fiction Weekly, May 14, 1938

This issue of DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY sports a simple but effective cover by Emmett Watson. Inside are stories by some good authors including Judson Philips, William E. Barrett, Lawrence Treat, Arthur Leo Zagat, Edward S. Williams, Cyril Plunkett, and Bert Collier, who's the only one in that group I've never heard of. I've read and enjoyed many stories by Philips and Zagat, Treat had a successful career as a mystery author, and Barrett, although he's remembered for his mystery and aviation pulp stories, is best known as the author of LILIES OF THE FIELD.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Mystery Book Magazine, Summer 1948

This is a nice dramatic cover on this issue of MYSTERY BOOK MAGAZINE. I don't know the artist. When I spotted it while looking through the Fictionmags Index, I got excited for a minute because this issue features a Mike Shayne story I hadn't heard of, "Murder is a Habit". But a little investigation seems to indicate that it's actually a condensation of the novel BLOOD ON THE STARS. Any confirmation or other information will be much appreciated. Besides the Shayne story, this issue includes yarns by Judson P. Philips, Roy Vickers, Cyril Plunkett, O.B. Myers, Jules Archer, and house-name John L. Benton.

UPDATE: The cover artist is Rudolph Belarski. Thanks to Ed Hulse for that identification. The artwork was recycled for the cover of a Mike Shayne novel, fittingly enough, on BODIES ARE WHERE YOU FIND THEM, Popular Library #192.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Argosy, July 17, 1937

"144 Pages of Fine Fiction", and that's no lie. If not for the blasted serials, ARGOSY might well be my favorite pulp of all time. Great authors and top-notch stories, week after week. In this issue, we have a Fisher and Savoy novelette by Donald Barr Chidsey (illustrated by a fine Rudolph Belarski cover) and stories and serial installments by Theodore Roscoe, Luke Short, Frank Richardson Pierce, Judson Philips, William Chamberlain, and John Hawkins. I'll bet it's a thoroughly entertaining issue.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Argosy, May 13, 1939

For the last pulp post of the year, we return to an old favorite magazine, ARGOSY. I'm not quite sure what's going on in this cover by Marshall Frantz for the May 13, 1939 issue, but it's intriguing, I'll give it that. And I'm sure the stories inside are pretty good, too, since the authors include Donald Barr Chidsey, Hugh Pentecost (Judson Philips), Philip Ketchum, Fred MacIsaac, Richard Sale, and Bennett Foster. That's a really good lineup.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Detective Fiction Weekly, December 22, 1934

Okay, now that's a gruesome cover. I actually had this issue years ago and I'm pretty sure I read the Park Avenue Hunt Club story because I really liked that series by Judson Philips, but I don't remember any of the others. There are plenty of good authors in this issue, too: H. Bedford-Jones, Fred MacIsaac, Richard Sale, Anthony Rud, and George A. Starbird. Mostly, though, I remember that gory cover.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Argosy, November 30, 1935

Have I ever written anything with barnstormers in it? I don't think so. Maybe I should, one of these days. I doubt if I could top George Bruce, though. He was one of the top aviation pulp writers. Elsewhere in this issue of ARGOSY are stories by Judson Philips, Murray Leinster, J.D. Newsom, Anthony M. Rud, and Arthur Hawthorne Carhart, all dependable pulpsters (and Philips and Leinster went on to long, successful careers as novelists, of course).

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Detective Fiction Weekly, January 8, 1938

I like all the Park Avenue Hunt Club stories by Judson Philips that I've read in DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY. I haven't read this one, "The League of Disaster", but I'm sure it's good. Somebody needs to do a complete collection of this series. While they're at it, a collection of the Morton and McGarvey stories by Donald Barr Chidsey would be welcome, too. This issue also has a Bulldog Drummond story in it, as well as part of a serial by T.T. Flynn. DETECTIVE FICTION WEEKLY was a fine pulp featuring many of the best authors.

Sunday Morning Bonus Pulp: Argosy, November 26, 1938

I use a lot of ARGOSY covers in this series because it was a great pulp, one of my favorites, and generally had fine covers. The numerous serials make it a problem for collectors sometimes, but the issues are generally worth seeking out. This issue has a striking cover and stories by the great Theodore Roscoe, Judson Philips, Eustace L. Adams, Frank Richardson Pierce, and a reprint from A. Merritt. Good stuff.