PULP COVER FRIDAY PRESENTS: A SMORGASBORG OF TERROR!

Or, another romp through some pretty weird pulps magazines, most of which I’d never heard of before. There must be a million of ‘em.

First up is the cover for TRUE STRANGE STORIES, May 1929, mainly because of another article I really want to read: “How I Get Paid For Being A Pest.” Sounds profitable!

Next is TRUE MYSTIC SCIENCE (12-38). For your final exam, discuss the symbolism present in this photo. (Also, note the article on mystic India by Talbot Mundy, one of my favorite forgotten writers, who did some terrific historical fiction, as well as his mystic novels about the American adventurer, Jimgrim and his sidekick Rangit Singh. Great stuff.)

Who can resist TRUE MEN STORIES (2-57)? Although — Lizards from Hell? Really? At the very least you’d expect them to be breathing fire.

I just really liked this cover for TRUE GANG LIFE (11-35).

This, also. (THRILLS, 7-27, not 7-35 as written on cover).

PERSONAL ADVENTURE STORIES (9-37). It’s written in first person, so it must be true. TWO stories I’d kill to read: “I Ate Human Flesh” seems fairly straightforward but “American Girls’ Legs Saved My Life” is somewhat more mystifying.

That’s one big gator! (SECRET SIX,1-35)

Another pretty good cover. (SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE, 2-32)

Okay, this is clearly the story “Blood of Chaka.” But why is everyone else wearing a sombrero? (Red Blooded Stories, 11-28)

This is probably the gayest cover I’ve ever seen on a pulp magazine. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. (Red Star Adventures, 6-40)

Finally, back to an old tried and true favorite, TERROR TALES (5-40), which manages to capture three of their most beloved tropes in one scene: girls in glass, cultists in red, and tomato soup.