Darwination

It's H.L. Larsen in White Princess of the Jungle 2 - That scan was one I edited from the JVJ project at the digital comics museums. More redheaded jungle goodness within The "Strange Mission" story is reprinted from Slave Girl Comics which have got to be some of the most iconic redhead covers of the golden age. Cimmerian's edit work here. The first is Larsen, GCD credits the second to Larsen, too:

I don't swim in these waters - did this one end about where it should have?

You lecherous bums!

A couple first pbs from bc's seller from a couple of my fave authors. I don't think I'm gonna read this again but recall it as an interesting portrait of black life in WW2 Los Angeles. I remember the use of the word "peckerwood" as a slang for whitey which was a word I've heard used since in a racial context but it was more of just a goofy word in whitebread Kansas. An early novel but a good one, maybe some very loose/obtuse similarities to Richard Wright's Native Son. I've still got some of Himes other stuff I haven't read, so there's no need for a re-run, but I'm happy to have the pb (and a deal at that) Another cheap first. Not a bad copy all in all, the cover definitely conveys a sense of mounting anxiety and dread - of the Westian variety, not the Lovecraftian

We have some similar tastes, John. This one's going on the huntlist. Lots and lots of Chiriacka on the huntlist Might be one I get picky over, too, with the white cover. Really like the freebie, as well. Not always a fan of the many "porch" covers I see on the trashy "hotel" and southern life covers, but this is laid out a little different.

Speedy - Max Brand (1958.Pocket 1221) cover Robert Shulz Speedy *tweak* Gotta watch out for the tweakers Love it.

Shipping many parcels out today and going Ground Advantage (my wife says Priority would make no difference in terms of safety of handling, it'll all go through the Memphis center). Fingers crossed. Lordy, don't make me upcharge my buyers and go FedEx Want to talk dysfunctional cities, I have to imagine Memphis would be somewhere near the top of the list, but there's plenty others "down here" like Jackson, MS, or Montgomery, AL.

I like it, too, but I skipped it because of some of the roughness. Wouldn't have been surprised to see it hit $100 even in that shape, but I have a hard time predicting Atlas results. The bot description was pretty funny - all the AI needs to add is "Pre-code"

Even some of the brownest pulp stock can still be really thick and supple. I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water because of page color. Conversely, you can find some middle tones that are dry and brittle. I don't doubt the high end collectors will concern themselves with page color, but there's probably not going to be a lot of options when it comes to earlier books in high grade. We'll see!

I sold this one but could see myself picking back up a different copy, dueling redheads, I can only guess what profanity a previous owner to myself inserted in the cut out square

I got a kick out of this eBay auction. I was going to point it out earlier, but I wanted to wait until it ended just in case any people were watching and would resent any competition. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335370406188 The funny part is the description. I guess eBay's AI has figured out that this is the way to get eyes on a comic and drive prices? And people really trust AI to write their auction descriptions? Girl Confessions #21 (1953 Atlas Comics) 2.5 Good girl Baker Cole Romance Love Girl Confessions #21 is a comic book from Atlas Comics published in 1953. It belongs to the Golden Age era of US Comics and the Girl Comics series. The issue number is 21 and it features a romance love story by Baker Cole. The genre is Good Girl. Actual artists in the issue include Jay Scott Pike, Mike Sekowsky, and Morris Weiss. Cover by Al Hartley. Baker Cole does not appear in the issue.

This looks to share a lot of the same plot fodder as They Shoot Horses... I Should Have Stayed Home - Horace McCoy (1951.Signet 884) cover Ray Pease I actually think this is a very neat pb cover, totally unlike most. A scene of contemplation and boredom. An iron probably sitting idle and too hot from being ignored, a cigarette that needs ashing. It sounds like a melodrama (from the reviews not the back cover blurb LOL) which is surprising, but I think it will be good no matter what because of McCoy's prose.

Keep this quiet or people will be abusing this power all over the forum before you know it.

Yeah, FedEx has been doing the air for express and priority, and the USPS was doing the end part of the ground delivery for some of their services. UPS won the air contract from USPS and will be taking over that part The USPS will still be doing the end delivery for UPS Surepost, and my understanding is FedEx will be going it alone in terms of their end delivery. The new and seemingly very able player in delivery has been Amazon but they're only shipping their own customer's stuff -for now-

So, an update to posts here since I'd hopped in on the current state of USPS. Three packages lost last month, but since the last post I received personal phone calls from Beverly Hills, Enumclaw (WA), and my local PO, as well as an email from VA. One of my packages was found but two seem lost (for which I've refunded the customers, absolutely not their problem) and files have been noted for the (not super easy) claims process. Mind you, two packages are still lost (one being a not super expensive but super rare magazine), but I have to give kudos for the surprising and completely unexpected reach out from all these locales. The common denominator amongst all the packages seem to be a sad state of affairs in the Memphis regional facility. Do I feel better about sending more packages out via Ground Advantage? Nope. But I guess the occasional lost package is the cost of doing business unless I want to go with a costlier service which doesn't exactly make much sense for the lower cost items I tend to be selling. P.S. I agree wholeheartedly a new Postmaster is needed. Installing a bureaucrat that is opposed to the agency they run?? Ridiculous no matter what your political affiliations may be The USPS may be inefficient and full of issues, but it also acts as competitor/price balance to the other shipping services. My wife works in pricing for one of these competitors, and I can fairly say they price to match each other (not in collusion - it's just how these things work). The USPS helps keep the private shipper's prices down (and in fact ends up doing a lot of the end mile footwork for both companies anyways).

An appropriate title for the thread

I did not even know William Faulkner had a brother who was also an author I guess he changed his name, too (the u is added) A younger version of me having a moment with Will down in Oxford town on a pilgrimage to Rowan Oak. Love Oxford, btw. Neither of my kids would consider it as a school (even though I think there's some sort of in-state tuition exchange program with TN). It *is* kind of a backwards place but very charming. The Oxford American, which has since relocated, was a killer mag that had all sorts of good stuff on some of the authors we talk about here. Not gonna go hunting my stack which has been relegated to the attic for a pic of the one I'm thinking about even though this is a horrible image from the mag's official site : The music issues/cds were probably the best part of the mag (it may be still around but was a shadow of its former self when I stopped reading it). Fat Possum Records is also out of Oxford that had some modern stuff on their new label (Black Keys, El-P) but is (imo) most notable for helping preserve/continue the Mississippi Hill Country tradition in the blues (Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, etc.). I'll try a John Faulkner. I still will read a William Faulkner book once in a while. I daresay some of his books fall into the crime/noir/pulp whatever categorization we talk about here. Sanctuary's one I'm thinking of.

I was in a comic shop down in Birmingham last week and saw tons of 20 and 30 dollar very new modern slabs even at 9.8 I don't quite understand the rush to put anything and everything in a box. Only the house wins with a lot of these books...

He's not really one of my guys but he did a bunch of Gold Medals during this year. I agree about the detail work, but he does have some works in this year that are more detailed than others. Avati was a guess, too, but it doesn't quite look like him, and he only has a couple of Gold Medals in this stretch.

I had a good round, just one bullseye but otherwise more consistent (my goal in these things). The tough thing for me was how to treat the crease on the Web of Spiderman. I didn't hit it hard enough, as I thought it was somewhat faint. It's good practice for me grading these newer high grade books, something I don't tend to do very often. For all the cries of subjectivity and misgrading, I'm totally impressed by the members here that consistently rock these things. It shows there is a method to the madness...

These are gorgeous, Doc. I believe there were some other shorter running Pines Astrology titles that might have popped up as well (Your Personal Astrology?), and I agree the subject matter fits his style. I honestly prefer these covers and illustrations to most of his comic work - heresy, I know. There's some truly fantastic covers in those 20 years (riffs on Dali, a mix of wartime propaganda and cosmic iconography, experiments in airbrushing, etc.), and the splash work is detailed and contemplative. Astrology magazines were a very stable market from the 30s into the 50s and many of our comics publishers participated. Pines, Ace, Gleason, Goodman off the top of my head, and I'm sure just about everybody else was represented, too. In these magazines, you can find all sorts of neat appearances from the world of pulp and comics illustration (even if some of the more boring magazines - which the Pines magazines are not - are just charts and tables). As for the price you're offering here, I think that's excellent, too. Comic book dealers who have caught on will sell them for one or two hundred bucks an issue. Sure, there's the typical matter of the bound volume being trimmed, but you also get the excellent preservation offered by the binding not to mention the easy readability factor. Great offer!

There's a weird, bright exuberance to a lot of these horrible scenes on the Belarski covers >< I like this one that showed up this week on a cover to cover scan at the pulpscans group where one of these poor Belarski girls terrorizes a man for once.