Darwination

I'm totally down with the crime -digests- as fitting the bill. Periodical. Correct size. Heck, it's why we call em digests. Humor digests, too, even if they don't fit the part of the possible definition of a collection of stories from various sources which gets left out here when we're talking about paperbacks (i.e. reader's digest, SF reprint digests). I'm a little more iffy on some of what I have traditionally thought of as paperbacks being called digests. I've got modern paperbacks that fit the size parameters of a digest and many a periodical that would fit in a digest bag that I wouldn't call a digest even if we specify their dimensions as saying digest-sized Some of the paperback series went out to the newsstands/retailers on a regular schedule in the forties into the early fifties which I was thinking had something to do with the digest label. I'm happy enough to stick with a simple definition based on the size when it comes to the PBs, though that does seem to exclude modern books of the same dimensions somewhat arbitrarily Really, I'm a convention follower, though, and solely a stranger in a strange land with some of the paperbacks stuffs...

KILLER batch today, Eric. I'm not sure I'm putting High Heel Homicide in the "tasteful" category, but I likey I actually prefer the cover for Night Drop, the double going on my pb huntlist - which is getting longer and longer by the day I like the cover on Long Pig, too, what's the back look like?

I'm not complaining about this awesome poll, I'm complaining about the poor taste of you voters This one got squeaked out, my fave of the war themed ones Would it crack the top 8? At least now I don't have to agonize over that particular question.

This hotness got two votes, smh

I do believe I understand now

I'm still a little confused by the term digest. We started a thread for em with some discussion, and I thought I had a grasp of it, but it seems like it's used a little differently in the paperbacks. I was thinking digest means saddle-stitched, but these unibooks aren't quite that. Is it cause they are still bound in signatures (thick though they may be) and not perfectly squarebound? I know I've been confused when Eric calls some of the Avon's digests... some randomish auction images - I see some of the uni-books had the saddle-stitching, too (this is what I think of as a pb digest): I've been surprised at how strong the font strike is on the digests that I've gotten, very good compared to the pulps. I'm sure it varies, though. Love the cover gloss on them, but they do seem *just a wee bit delicate* when it comes to scratching and tearing. I'm seeing some of the names from the romance pulps on these "sleaze" items like Peggy Gaddis and tons of Woodford from the girlie pulps. See plenty of names I'm totally unfamiliar with, too.

I'm most preferential to his pen and ink stuff, but he was pretty well versed. The guy was around for so long and in so many different publications - I've never really sat down and tried to learn about the scope of his career or map out his art (maybe cuz I'm so pulp-centric). I'm crazy about this one: Here's some of that pen and ink I'm talking about

That doubles thread is so good. I know where I'm going from now on when I need to find the source of Avon re-uses. Cheap bastards. A new one discovered just this morning as I was looking back at a pulp auction post at MCS I did last night. The Avenger cover was new to me, but The Perfect Crime issue is one I scanned way back when, and my copy had been languishing at eBay for a few months until somebody picked it up last week (happened to be a few copies up at the same time, kind of weird for a htf title). I'd been looking at that cover so long as I relisted the sucker over and over it was seared into my brain (not to mention the hours spent on the original cover restoration for the scan), and I had that aha moment after a little deja vu.

Awesome!

Liberty April 4, 1936, cover by Walter Baumhofer, longtime pulp artist best known for covers for Adventure and Doc Savage and *many* other pulps. In the late to mid 30s he began to "crossover" and his covers appeared on Liberty and The American Magazine and his interior illos appeared in the likes of Cosmopolitan, McCall's, Woman's Home Companion and other slicks. Splash within for William James Blackledge's Company of the Damned (hmm, it's Doc Savage heh heh) Also within, the conclusion of James M. Cain's Double Indemnity. Cain began his career as a newspaperman but went to work for H.L. Mencken at The American Mercury. He moved into novels and screenwriting during the height of his popularity in the 30s and 40s and his work would often appear in Liberty. While never writing for the pulps, outside of WWII service propaganda, Cain is often lumped into the noir or pulp category for his brand of crime fiction. Cain did, however, have a couple appearances in early Manhunt crime digests which are pulp in my book and sold many an Avon paperback. Illo from James Montgomery Flagg, who in his long, long illustrious career, to my knowledge, never did appear in the pulps.

This Red Circle pulp is on the way to my house, come to papa

FRENCH, ooh la la ah oui oui Frolics Scandals Stories

Ah, I get it now. The story here ties into the diet booklet the publisher is hawking in the issue. I always wondered what was up with the bizarre advertisement marring the bottom left corner of this romance masterpiece. The opening story from Mort Leav is a great one, too.

So, the April Prime Auction at MCS had about 150 pulps up. Not too many super prestige items but all sort of scarcer titles you don't see every day (some neat romance books for sure - why everyone ignores all the books but the ones I'm after, I do not know ). Surprisingly subdued action, but maybe that's the nature of the MCS Auctions, I admit I don't watch them often. I was busy so only kept an eye on some tracked items. Looking at the sales afterwards, I thought a lot of books went for very fair prices (likely far less than they'd fetch in a larger HA auction from what I've been seeing) and there's plenty of books I'd be more than happy to pay the hammer price for if I were after these titles. Lessee if I can pick out some A 6.0 Amazing from 1932 with great color $72 A weird but sharp Argosy with a dagger through a little dude o.O $31 This 1940 has a sealed tear but is pretty, err striking, $50 Exploding box to the face Dime Mystery 5.0 from 1948 $56 Staple rust to this one and dingy but solid, but not quite what the Saunders FFM have been fetching elsewhere lately $66 The Marvel name didn't bump this 4.0 up too much, does have a tear toward the spine tho $115 This 6.0 Planet looks pretty good, $81 A 1940 VG Shadow with hooded dudes on the cover, $54 A $26 Thrilling Adventures, I know there's a lowly cowboy on the cover but still A 1931 VG Weird Tales for $69 Not the greatest Brundage, I know, but a solid copy and a nice issue, $53 Hell, I even managed to win a book or two

https://www.comics.org/issue/275669/ 16, lemme see if I can dig out the art here for the eye test. EDIT: Nope, it's unscanned.

Now that's an interesting question. That had to be a very unique relationship. Running buddies? Bosom and boozing confidants? Matt keeping the whole thing together?

I defer to you gentle men's better judgment. There is a Baker attribution elsewhere in the series (along with Iger Shop attributions, and my thoughts were more along the lines of shopwork) at GCD but not solid.

I see uncredited Baker, am I crazy? From Star's True-to-Life Romances #7, April 1951. The first story, Illusion of Love

Gorgeous books! What's OO? And not to knock these gems in the slightest, but is it significantly easier to find these later 50s books "in grade" than earlier 50s Atlas romance?

I imagine people have been seeing these as they've been going up at eBay: Maybe a kind of neat accompaniment to a nice Cole. Stories from Ken Fitch, lots of Star scripts, I've seen some Avons as well as some pulp and maybe true story/confession scripts. Neat artifacts of the biz.

Since hopping on the paperback train, I'm getting better at catching the sources on the Avon Comics. I love Avon crime and romance comics, but the covers don't appeal to me so much when I see there's a better version out there. Seems like the comics version is always darker and muddied. (might not be true in all cases)

Guarantee this is Quintana/Quaintance. 100% not Bolles. Nice book!