Surfing Alien

Memory of Love by Bessie Breuer Avon 196 1949 $15 SOLD to Norrin's Lawyer Sweet headlights GGA credited to Ann Cantor, but as I revealed in my article, she was an art agent subbing work out to artists like Johnson. It is gorgeous work, whoever painted it and is indicative of how Avon moved on from the stiff art of the earlier 1940's during this time. Fine/Fine Plus Solid spine with slight slant. Great colors, smooth covers with minimal wear and creasing. A very collectible copy.

Not sure - he just recently shared the news on the Facebook page for Illustration and I haven't had a chance to go back and read the reactions. We'll find out more.

I believe it's this Still depressing I know!

Musk, Hashish and Blood by Hector France Avon 415 1952 $60 SOLD to mstrange Another iconic headlights/nipple cover by Raymond Johnson - one I call a "Fridge Magnet book" - because it has literally been made into fridge magnets and postcards the world over. This is the 2nd numbering of the title. Very Fine/Very Fine Plus - I'd call it VF/NM but has a small writing in --script on the first page. Bright, glossy and immaculate in every other way, including the lamination.

Virtuous Girl by Maxwell Bodenheim Avon 168 1948 $30 SOLD to mstrange Cover art by Raymond Johnson. One of my all time favorite Good Girl covers. A breakthrough cover for Johnson and Avon. I loved his work so much I wrote an entire biography on Johnson for Illustration magazine For those who haven't read the article, here's a condensed version of what I said about this one: With Maxwell Bodenheim’s “Virtuous Girl” (Avon #168), released in June 1948, Johnson’s paperback cover painting style emerged virtually full blown. The Troeger-Phillips agency received the assignment, for which Johnson executed an iconic image that in many ways was unlike anything Avon, or any other publisher had released before. “Virtuous Girl” is extraordinarily large. She takes up more than 75% of the cover territory. She is clearly not a virtuous girl, virginal white dress notwithstanding. Her face, makeup and hair are bold and striking, her strap falling off her shoulder and breast and nipples painted peeking through the diaphanous dress fabric. Her legs are crossed but garters showing and toes pointed up playfully, all with the signature Johnson shading that he was using in his magazine work. The cover is powerful in scale and execution and comes across as much more three dimensional than any previous Avon cover. (Yes that's a plug for y'all to go buy up the remaining copies from Dan at Illustration! He is sadly closing down the magazine after 20 some odd years of amazing work ) Fine/Fine Plus. Solid tight spine has some slant but the pages are tight. Covers are smooth with minimal creasing and edgewear, some dimpling and foxing on the back. Incredibly difficult to find this not creased up. I know because Ruben, Bruce Brenner & I scoured the interwebs for a year for copies of Johnson's books with covers decent enough to not touch up. This one was a bear!

Well, I promised some Avons so here we go. Lot's of great covers here. As i've said a million times, I'm an Avon guy at heart.

Well I got my package from @catrick339 pb sale and was thrilled to acquire some of his stash I've been slacking a bit on my JD purchases lately so was glad to get two upgrades and one, "Basement Gang", that I've never managed to pick up before. These three are my favorites of the bunch. Gang Girl is by Robert Silverberg and the Little Caesars features cover art by George Ziel, one of my favorites. It's funny because I recently posted the three digests with the Basement Gang cover and now can show the Beacon PB version as well. The delinquents are actually in a different pose on the bed on this one, although the broad at the door is in about the same position. There is still one more version, a Magazine publication, that I need to complete the set. Thanks Rick for letting these loose!

Probably because it was really funny, I still remember random lines out of that book ... "and the entrails of goats were found tied in square knots" ...weirdly more than any I can remember out of the actual trilogy

I have to work pretty full time tomorrow in the day, but I have a nice little stack of Avons pulled to list and some other pretty odds and ends, including a few higher end pieces I may see if there's an appetite for

Last one for tonight. I think I need to re-cap the few still up in the back pages... I'll figure that out tomorrow. At The Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs Ace 03324 1973 $35 SOLD to N e r V 2nd or 3rd print of the 1st Frazetta pb edition. Incredible Good Girl babe and monster by Frazetta cover with great detail. Very Fine. Super glossy, appears unread. Scarce to me as i don't think I offered one before Nearly perfect but has a tiny piece of extra cardboard to the cover at back bottom that has a little tear. If that ain't nit-pickin', I don't know what is

Tarzan and the City Of Gold by Edgar Rice Burroughs Ace F-205 1st print of the 1st US PB and the only Ace/Frazetta edition. June 1963 $35 SOLD to mstrange Literally a killer Frank Frazetta Tarzan cover. Very Fine Minus/Very Fine - Stunner. Super glossy, bright and new looking. No creasing. A color flake to the lower right corner, tiny thumb bend on the back and a slight curl to the book from storage are about all there is to mention. Light toning to the pages. A very fresh feeling copy.

The Oakdale Affair by Edgar Rice Burroughs Ace 60563, July 1974 $35 SOLD to N e r V The First paperback edition and first/only Frazetta paperback edition. There were 2 later printings of this edition but this is the 1st. The lighting doesn't do justice to this cover, it's much moodier and smoother in hand than my phone shows. Very Fine/Near Mint. I keep looking for a defect on this and can't find it. Super square and glossy with no creases. Razor sharp corners. Even the bound-in advertising card is mint. Off white pages. A stunner. You won't be upgrading this.

The atmosphere is incredible. You can almost smell the sleaze

The Land Of Hidden Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs Ace 47013 2nd Frazetta Ace Tall edition. Not dated, probably 1973 or 1974 $25 SOLD to N e r V Incredible Frazetta Black Panther cover. Tension right there. Very Fine. Glossy and new. Great colors. Virtually no wear, a hint of a bend to the lower right front cover. Razor sharp, you could cut someone with it.

The Deadly Kitten by Carter Brown Signet D3345 First Edition First Printing. December 1967 $25 SOLD to crassus That is quite the beach babe by McGinnis. A killer for sure. Fine Plus/Very Fine Minus. Another glossy new looking book. Square and tight, great pages. Has a tiny scrape at the price, a finger bend, a few tiny indents and bits of wear that I took the grade down a bit for. Despite those little things, a pretty top copy of a crazy good cover book.

The Up-Tight Blonde by Carter Brown Signet P3955 First Edition First Printing. August 1969 $25 SOLD to crassus A very classy way to sneak a nude on a pb cover by Robert McGinnis I don't know what's better, the painting or what's behind the painting? Very Fine Minus. Super glossy and new looking. Square and tight with excellent page quality. Little bits of wear here and there. A superior copy.

The Million Dollar Babe by Carter Brown Signet S1909 First Edition First Printing. February 1961 $20 SOLD to jimjum12 Another early Carter Brown with gorgeous chest-lights cover by Barye Phillips . I'd bet on that. Fine/Fine Plus. Bright and glossy. Spine is solid and tight, has slight slant. Tiny chips to the spine tips and hairline reader crease. Nice page quality. She's still a million bucks to me.

She's purty right!

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos Popular Library 221 $35 SOLD to mstrange Classic Earl Bergey GGA cover art. A "fridge magnet" cover, known to collectors everywhere. A pretty looking copy of a very pretty cover. Very Good/Very Good Plus. Looks Fine/Fine plus but has some wrinkling to the page block, not the covers. Spine has some slant, binding is tight, pages supple. Great color. Covers are smooth without creases, just a bunch of edge/corner wear.

Tales of Chinatown by Sax Rohmer Popular Library 217 $50 SOLD to goldust40 Iconic Rudolph Belarski GGA cover art. One of the most recognized and reprinted covers in the Vintage Paperback hobby. I'm constantly looking for and upgrading with this book so I can one have for sale. Tough to grade this one. Calling it Fine/Fine Plus. Spine has some slant, binding is tight like new, pages tight and supple. Great centering. Covers are bright smooth and glossy, only a hint of edgewear. Some fading to the page edge dye. A great looking copy

Jailbait by William Bernard Popular Library #392 1st Printing 1952 $15 SOLD to n2wdw @30% off Classic Belarski JD cover art and one of the most famous pb covers ever for sure. Very Good. Spine is solid with slight slant. Has a bunch of light creases and general wear, book has a bend to it from storage that would probably straighten out with a backing board in the bag. Covers retain some gloss, pages tight and supple. A must have that still looks nice on display.

I need to take a dinner break but I'll be back later with a trio of classic Pops and then some art books

The Perfect Frame by William Ard, Popular Library #416 1952 $20 SOLD to mstrange Nice Headlights/Nipple GGA - it's uncredited - the guys look a lot like Belarski dudes but the girl is a bit different. Ard was a great noir writer. Fine Plus. Spine is solid with slight slant. Covers are glossy, pages tight and supple. Crease on back cover and a few thumb bends here and there. Minimal wear otherwise.

Speaking of Walter Popp, switching over to some Popular Library's starting with a nice Walter Popp Good Girl that slipped through the last sale No Angels For Me by William Ard, Popular Library #591 $20 SOLD to mstrange Nice GGA by Popp on front and back covers. Fine/Fine Plus. Spine is solid and square. Covers are glossy, pages tight and supple. Light reader's crease and thumb crease. Minimal wear otherwise. A pretty copy of a skinny little book that is usually trashed.

Gutter Gang by Jay de Bekker Beacon Books B108 The fat 1st printing. 1954 $30 Classic JD/Drug book with cover art of a James Dean looking tough staring down a moll by Walter Popp Near Fine. Square and tight with good color and smooth covers. Spine is sunned and pages have spotting and toning but that front cover looks great.