Pollen’s Action: The Art of Samson Pollen (DELUXE HARDCOVER ART BOOK)

This listing is for a brand new copy of the book POLLEN’S ACTION: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN, co-edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle with Sam. Samson Pollen (1931–2018), was one of the great men’s adventure magazine and paperback artists, along with artists like Mort Künstler, James Bama, Gil Cohen, Bruce Minney, Vic Prezio, Mel Crair, and Basil Gogos.

He was one of the grandmasters of interiors illustrations for stories that appeared in men’s adventure magazines published by Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management Company in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Magazine Management (which also launched the Marvel comics empire) published some of the best and longest-lasting MAMs, such as ACTION FOR MEN, FOR MEN ONLY, MALE, MAN’S WORLD, MEN, STAG, and TRUE ACTION.

Unlike most other top artists who did artwork for those periodicals, Pollen preferred to do interior illustrations rather than cover art. He liked the greater room for expression provided by the 2-page spreads most MAM interior artwork was used for. Thus, most of the paintings are a horizontal format, designed to be printed across two pages in a magazine. Some were printed across two pages vertically, like a centerfold.

Only a small percentage of the interior spreads in the Magazine Management men’s magazines were published in full color. Most were either black-and-white illustrations or “duotones”— paintings created with and printed in shades of a single color and black.

Pollen was a grandmaster of both black-and-white and duotone art. Indeed, many of his duotones look like they are full color. POLLEN’S ACTION reproduces scores of classic MAM original paintings by Pollen along with scans of the 2-page magazine spreads they were used. It’s a follow-up to POLLEN’S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN, which focuses on MAM artwork Sam did that feature alluring femmes fatales and exotic “native” girls.

To do justice Pollen’s artwork, both of those volumes are printed in a horizontal 8.5″ x 11″ format. Thus, the paintings he created for 2-page spreads in the magazines are shown on single pages in the book. Both books are deluxe hardcovers printed on high quality paper.

The majority of the photos of the original paintings included POLLEN’S ACTION and POLLEN’S WOMEN were taken by Pollen himself. Almost none of these original paintings have been shown in any other art books before.

A third book in the series, POLLEN IN PRINT: 1955-1959, is a chronological presentation of Pollen’s work as it was first seen by MAM readers in the pages of men’s adventure magazines published between 1955 and 1959.

All three Pollen books were co-edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle and include commentary by Sam Pollen taken from interviews Deis and Doyle recorded with him before he passed. All are published via Doyle’s New Texture imprint and are available from Amazon worldwide, BudsArtBooks.com and other independent booksellers, or directly from co-editor Bob Deis via his MensPulpMags.com website.

You can see an extensive flip-page preview of POLLEN’S ACTION by clicking this link

Pollen’s Women: The Art of Samson Pollen (DELUXE HARDCOVER ART BOOK)

POLLEN’S WOMEN is a lush visual archive collecting some of artist Samson Pollen’s most memorable pieces, selected from the hundreds of jaw-dropping illustrations Pollen provided for men’s adventure magazines (MAMs) from the 1950s through the 1970s. Sexy women were a regular component of story illustrations published in the more than 160 MAM titles that flourished from the early 1950s through the mid-1970s, and nobody painted beautiful and dangerous femmes like Pollen. Much of the artist’s work—literally, hundreds of pieces—saw print in the Atlas/Diamond group of MAMs from Marvel Comics founder Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management Company. Until now, almost none of these illustrations have seen print since their original publication in those latter-day pulps. POLLEN’S WOMEN collects the artist’s sexiest and most lethal female portraits in a deluxe hardcover edition, with an autobiographical introduction by the artist. Edited by Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle for The Men’s Adventure Library.

POLLEN IN PRINT 1955-1959, our new Samson Pollen art book

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post refers to the special edition of POLLEN IN PRINT 1955-1959 that came with perks via an Indiegogo campaign listing. That campaign has ended. However, the book…

An interview about our book POLLEN’S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN…

As noted in previous posts on this blog, I love the fanzines published by UK paperback and action/adventure media maven Justin Marriott. Justin began publishing his flagship fanzine THE PAPERBACK…

POLLEN’S ACTION: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN, our second book showcasing Sam’s men’s adventure magazine art

Simply put, Samson Pollen was one of the greatest of the many artists who provided illustrations for the men’s adventure magazines (MAMs) that flourished from the early 1950s to the…

Original Samson Pollen artwork featured in POLLEN’S WOMEN – now available from Sam…

The books in the Men’s Adventure Library series of books I co-edit and publish with Wyatt Doyle all feature classic artwork from men’s adventure magazines published in the 1950s, 1960s…

POLLEN’S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN…

I’m very happy to announce the release of POLLEN’S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN, the latest book in the Men’s Adventure Library series that I co-edit and publish with…

Pollen in Print: 1955-1959 art book (DELUXE HARDCOVER)

POLLEN IN PRINT: 1955-1959 is a 140-page, 8.5” x 11”, hardcover art book featuring classic men’s adventure magazine (MAM) illustrations by artist Samson Pollen, printed on high quality paper in full color. It’s a follow-up to two previous highly-praised books POLLEN’S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN and POLLEN’S ACTION. (Which I also offer for sale in separate listings.)

This latest release in the acclaimed Men’s Adventure Library series reproduces Samson Pollen’s illustrations for men’s adventure magazines published between 1955 and 1955 in chronological order using high resolution scans. Like POLLEN’S WOMEN and POLLEN’S ACTION, this book is a horizontal 8.5” x 11” format, so every example of what was originally a 2-page spread in the magazines is shown complete on a single page in the book, with no “page seam.”

About our book POLLEN IN PRINT: 1955-1959

Artist Samson Pollen created hundreds of classic illustrations for the men’s adventure magazines (MAMs, for short) published in the 1950s, 1960s and 197os. He was one of the top illustrators who…

NEW! The full color, deluxe hardcover edition of the classic HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS collection

“Walter Kaylin, come back!”
     – Mario Puzo, author of THE GODFATHER

“Outrageous and wonderful.”
     – Bruce Jay Friedman (STERN, LUCKY BRUCE, SHAMPOO), Kaylin’s editor at MEN and MALE

HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS collects some of the best men’s adventure magazine stories written by Walter Kaylin (1921-2017), one of the greatest writers who worked for the MAM genre in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In 2014, men’s pulp culture historian Robert Deis and indie publisher Wyatt Doyle worked with Walter to publish a limited run of a black-and-white paperback edition of his classic stories. Now Deis and Doyle have published a new full-color, expanded edition of the Kaylin collection in paperback and deluxe hardcover editions. This listing is for the deluxe hardcover edition.

Under his own name and the pseudonyms Roland Empey and David Mars, Walter Kaylin wrote everything from war stories, exotic adventure yarns, and Westerns to Cold War spy stories, science fiction and sexed-up noir. Most of his stories appeared in the MAMs published by Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management company (birthplace of Marvel Comics), such as ACTION FOR MEN, FOR MEN ONLY, MEN, MALE, MAN’S WORLD and STAG.

In addition to collecting some of Walter’s best stories, HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS includes special introductions by Deis, Doyle, and Walter’s daughters, Jennifer Kaylin and Lucy Kaylin, who became successful writers in their own right.

It also includes Walter’s own reminiscence about his days as a men’s adventure story writer and an exclusive article about him written by novelist, playwright and screenwriter Bruce Jay Friedman (1939-2020). Friedman was an editor for Magazine Management before becoming famous. He hired Walter and another then unknown writer, Mario Puzo, to pen action/adventure yarns for the magazines he edited. Both Friedman and Puzo, who later became famous for his novel THE GODFATHER, considered Kaylin to be one of the best of the many writers who wrote stories for MAMs.

In 1987, when writer/musician Josh Alan Friedman (Bruce Jay’s son) interviewed Puzo about his days working for the Goodman MAMs, Puzo singled out Kaylin for praise. “He was great! He was outrageous, he just carried it off,” Puzo exclaimed. “Walter Kaylin, come back!”

Now, Walter is back in a way that’s bigger and better than ever, in the new, expanded full color edition of HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS. It’s available in both a high quality 6″ x 9″ paperback and a special 330-page, 6 ½” x 9½” deluxe hardcover with a wraparound dust jacket.

Both editions have additional content not included in the now out-of-print 2014 paperback. Both feature full color reproductions of the covers and interior illustrations from the magazines Walter’s stories first appeared in—painted by top pulp adventure artists like Mort Künstler, Earl Norem, James Bama, Gil Cohen, Robert E. Schulz and Samson Pollen.

This listing is for the deluxe hardcover version of the new HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS collection. The full color paperback edition is available in a separate listing in this bookstore.

You can see an extensive flip-page preview of E-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS by clicking this link. You can see an extensive video preview of HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS by clicking the image below.

NEW! The full color paperback edition of the classic HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS collection

“Walter Kaylin, come back!”
     – Mario Puzo, author of THE GODFATHER

“Outrageous and wonderful.”
     – Bruce Jay Friedman (STERN, LUCKY BRUCE, SHAMPOO), Kaylin’s editor at MEN and MALE

HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS collects some of the best men’s adventure magazine stories written by Walter Kaylin (1921-2017), one of the greatest writers who worked for the MAM genre in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In 2014, men’s pulp culture historian Robert Deis and indie publisher Wyatt Doyle worked with Walter to publish a limited run of a black-and-white paperback edition of his classic stories. Now Deis and Doyle have published a new full-color, expanded edition of the Kaylin collection in paperback and deluxe hardcover editions. This listing is for the deluxe hardcover edition.

Under his own name and the pseudonyms Roland Empey and David Mars, Walter Kaylin wrote everything from war stories, exotic adventure yarns, and Westerns to Cold War spy stories, science fiction and sexed-up noir. Most of his stories appeared in the MAMs published by Martin Goodman’s Magazine Management company (birthplace of Marvel Comics), such as ACTION FOR MEN, FOR MEN ONLY, MEN, MALE, MAN’S WORLD and STAG.

In addition to collecting some of Walter’s best stories, HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS includes special introductions by Deis, Doyle, and Walter’s daughters, Jennifer Kaylin and Lucy Kaylin, who became successful writers in their own right.

It also includes Walter’s own reminiscence about his days as a men’s adventure story writer and an exclusive article about him written by novelist, playwright and screenwriter Bruce Jay Friedman (1939-2020). Friedman was an editor for Magazine Management before becoming famous. He hired Walter and another then unknown writer, Mario Puzo, to pen action/adventure yarns for the magazines he edited. Both Friedman and Puzo, who later became famous for his novel THE GODFATHER, considered Kaylin to be one of the best of the many writers who wrote stories for MAMs.

In 1987, when writer/musician Josh Alan Friedman (Bruce Jay’s son) interviewed Puzo about his days working for the Goodman MAMs, Puzo singled out Kaylin for praise. “He was great! He was outrageous, he just carried it off,” Puzo exclaimed. “Walter Kaylin, come back!”

Now, Walter is back in a way that’s bigger and better than ever, in the new, expanded full color edition of HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS. It’s available in both a high quality 6″ x 9″ paperback and a special 330-page, 6 ½” x 9½” deluxe hardcover with a wraparound dust jacket.

Both editions have additional content not included in the now out-of-print 2014 paperback. Both feature full color reproductions of the covers and interior illustrations from the magazines Walter’s stories first appeared in—painted by top pulp adventure artists like Mort Künstler, Earl Norem, James Bama, Gil Cohen, Robert E. Schulz and Samson Pollen.

This listing is for the paperback version of the new HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS collection. The deluxe hardcover edition is available in a separate listing in this bookstore.

You can see an extensive flip-page preview of E-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS by clicking this link. You can see an extensive video preview of HE-MEN, BAG MEN, & NYMPHOS by clicking the image below.

Cuba: Sugar, Sex, and Slaughter – stories & art featuring Cuba and Fidel Castro (HARDCOVER)

“I Saw Havana Go Berserk” … “Havana’s Amazing Flesh Market” … “Bayamo’s Night of Terror” … “Terror! Cuban Hell-Cats Scare Castro’s Cutthroats” … “Squirm in Hell, My Lovely Muchacha!”

The stories published in men’s adventure magazines (MAMs) from the late 1950s through the late 1970s were notorious for their eye-popping, politically incorrect, often lurid artwork, their tough, unapologetic pulp fiction, and their exposé-style “news” articles designed to shock and titillate. Mixing fact with fiction and supplemented with sexy, violent pulp illustration art and photos, the magazines published hundreds of stories about Cuba and Fidel Castro, chronicling, illuminating, and dramatizing the earth-shaking events in Cuba in those explosive years in ways no other American print or electronic media did at the time—or has dared to since!

Men’s Adventure Library Journal editors Robert Deis and Wyatt Doyle follow their acclaimed I Watched Them Eat Me Alive with the second installment of a new kind of anthology. An expertly curated selection of fast-paced, testosterone-boosted fiction and artwork with history and context supplied by the editors, Cuba: Sugar, Sex, and Slaughter’s highlights include an exclusive pictorial reminiscence by men’s adventure supermodel Eva Lynd, who reveals details of her time as an American showgirl and model in Havana in the final days before the revolution … a portfolio from pantheon illustration artist Samson Pollen (Pollen’s Women) … and a thrilling account of international intrigue, adventure, and escape by Robert F. Dorr (A Handful of Hell), the celebrated and controversial author (and retired senior diplomat) to whom the book is dedicated.

Cuba: Sugar, Sex, and Slaughter is available as a 158-page softcover and as a 178-page expanded hardcover with additional content—20 more color pages of hard-hitting fiction and outrageous artwork.

Buy direct from us and get free media rate shipping in the US.

The hardcover edition of this book includes bonus content not included in the trade paperback edition.