I’m currently working with my MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY co-editor Bill Cunningham on MAQ #11. All MAQ issues reprint vintage men’s adventure magazine stories and articles about them that fit the particular theme we choose for each issue. (The most recent issue available in print and Kindle editions as I write this post, MAQ #10, focuses on Vietnam War stories and artwork.”
The theme we chose for MAQ #11, which will be released in September 2024, is “Flying Saucers,” aka UFOs.
In case you didn’t know, MAMs published in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s played a major role in increasing awareness of UFO sightings and research and in spreading the belief that the U.S. government was covering up the facts about them.
One of the MAM stories we’re including is “Are They Hiding The Truth About Flying Saucers?” by Frank Edwards, from TRUE STRANGE, August 1957.
Writing the intro for Edwards’ article sent me down a rabbit hole about the particularly odd magazine it first appeared in.
TRUE STRANGE was published by Joe Weider and his brother Ben, the “Brothers of Iron.”
Joe and Ben are best known for the bodybuilding empire they created.
In the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, most MAMs, many other men’s magazines, and even comic books carried ads for Weider bodybuilding equipment and books.
In the ‘50s, Joe and Ben began sponsoring major bodybuilding contests, like the Mr. America and Mr. Universe contests, and launched the Weider publishing empire with bodybuilding magazines YOUR PHYSIQUE and MUSCLE POWER.
As you know if you read MAQ #8, Joe mentored Arnold Schwarzenegger and helped make him famous.
He also married Betty Brosmer, one of America’s most photographed glamour girl models. (MAQ #8 includes a special photo feature about Betty and an interview with her conducted by our regular contributor, Gary Lovisi.)
After Joe got into publishing periodicals, he noticed the growth of the men’s adventure magazine genre.
He decided to jump into it in his own way, first with two hybrid mags that included both bodybuilding and MAM style fiction and non-fiction—MR. AMERICA and AMERICAN MANHOOD.
In 1953, he created a more typical MAM titled FURY and five others that are more unusual.
Three of them—ANIMAL LIFE, SAFARI (a continuation of ANIMAL LIFE under a new name), and OUTDOOR ADVENTURES— were crosses between MAMs and hunting mags. Two are unique in the realm of MAMs due to their focus on supposedly true stories about strange and supernatural topics.
The first, TRUE WEIRD, was like a MAM crossed with the occult digest mag FATE and the WEEKLY WORLD NEWS supermarket tabloid.
It lasted for three issues starting in November 1955. (That first issue includes “Fish With Human Hands Attacked Me!”, artwork by Clarence Doore— one of the wild stories Wyatt Doyle and I reprinted in our Men’s Adventure Library anthology of MAM monster yarns, the CRYPTOZOOLOGY ANTHOLOGY.)
TRUE STRANGE was a continuation of TRUE WEIRD under a different name. It ran for seven issues, from October 1956 to February 1958. Joe was listed as the Publisher, Ben was listed as the Editor.
The back cover of the first issue highlights the quirky list of stories inside. They range from articles about witches, vampires and telepathy to Ilse, the infamous Nazi “Bitch of Buchenwald.”
All of the stories are purportedly fact-based. The TRUE STRANGE story about flying saucers in MAQ #11 fits that mold better than many others.
It’s an overview of documented sightings that were reported in mainstream news and official reports.
It’s also a good example of the scores of articles in MAMs that helped spread and reinforce the belief that the U.S. government was covering up the facts about UFOs.
One of the coolest aspects of TRUE STRANGE is that every issue has an amazing montage style painting by the great illustration artist Thomas Beecham (1926-2000).
Beecham did artwork for MAMs, outdoor sports magazines and paperbacks, then went on to become one of the world’s greatest wildlife artists.
His first TRUE STRANGE cover shows images from various stories inside. The final six feature awesome portraits of celebrities.
Marilyn Monroe is featured on the cover of the August 1957 issue the includes the flying saucer article we’ve reprinted. Beecham’s cover paintings on other issues feature James Dean, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Anita Eckberg, Bill Haley, and Sophia Loren.
I’m showing all seven covers in this post. Check them out and be amazed!
Here’s the front cover of TRUE STRANGE, October 1956, with a montage painting by Tom Beecham based on stories inside. Next to that is the back cover, which describes the issue’s content. As you can see, it’s wild stuff indeed. The front cover subhead under the title sums up the magazine as “INCREDIBLE ● WEIRD ● AND FACTUAL.” The back cover variation describes it as “ASTONISHING ● WEIRD ● BUT TRUE.”
Joe Weider, who is listed as the publisher on the masthead, explained his vision for the magazine on the contents page of that issue…
FROM THE PUBLISHER TO YOU…
IN a sense, this is a magazine of exploration. By that we do not mean geographical explorations, but journeys into subjects that are strange, unusual and mysterious. With evidence mounting everyday, attesting to the possibilities of weird phenomena, we feel on ever firmer ground. We shall attempt, constantly, to delve into the unknown…This magazine is completely open-minded. To repeat, we do not have the answers, but we are ready, willing and able to explore any and all phenomena. We shall not specialize in any one type of phenomena, but we shall explore anything that has to do with the strange and unknown.” – Joe Weider in his introduction to the first issue of TRUE STRANGE
Below is the cover of TRUE STRANGE, March 1957, featuring Beecham’s portrait of actor James Dean. In the background is the ranch used in Dean’s final movie GIANT and the car wreck he died in on September 30, 1955, before the film was released in 1956. Dean spoke from the grave according to a story in the March 1957 issue.
TRUE STRANGE, June 1957, showcases Beecham’s montage homage painting of Elvis Presley. “Did the Devil Send Elvis Presley?” a story inside asks? Well, of course he did!
Beecham’s cover painting for TRUE STRANGE, August 1957 shows scenes from the life of Marilyn Monroe, including his depiction of the famous “Golden Dreams” nude photograph of her taken by photographer Tom Kelley in 1948. The photo was used first used on calendars in 1952. The following year, PLAYBOY publisher Hugh Hefner bought the rights to the photo and used it as the first centerfold in the first issue of PLAYBOY, which hit newsstands in December 1953.
Another sex goddess, Anita Ekberg, is featured in the cover painting Beecham did for TRUE STRANGE, October 1957.
Beacham’s cover art for TRUE STRANGE, December 1957 goes with the story inside about the “STRANGE CULT OF ROCK AND ROLL.” This montage painting, featuring rock music pioneer Bill Haley in the center and Elvis to his left, has a scene of African drummers and nude dancers below them. That reflects the then common view of square adults that rock ‘n’ roll was a shameful mix of hypersexuality and black “jungle” music.
TRUE STRANGE, February 1958, the final issue, is features Beecham’s luscious portrayal of Sophia Loren and images that go with the story “THE MIRACLE THAT MADE SPHIA LOREN A STAR.”
With artwork and stories like those shown above, why did TRUE STRANGE only last for seven issues? My guess is that it was a bit too far out for the men who typically bought men’s adventure magazines and too filled with ads about Weider bodybuilding equipment, books and supplements to appeal to women.
Joe Weider was a savvy businessman who watched his bottom line and was always willing to make changes to make a profit or avoid a loss. Sometimes, when one of the many magazines he published didn’t seem to catch on, he would change it, the way he changed TRUE WEIRD into TRUE STRANGE. Similarly, he had a magazine named MR. AMERICA that morphed from being a bodybuilding mag in the ’40s to a MAM in the ’50s and then back to a bodybuilding mag again that lasted for decades. In the case of MR. AMERICA, the changes he made ultimately worked. In the case of TRUE WEIRD/TRUE STRANGE, they didn’t and he moved on.
By the way, in addition to being on Amazon worldwide, you can get the full color print editions of all MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY issues and paperback and hardcover editions of all books in the Men’s Adventure Library series I co-edit—with free shipping—in the MensPulpMags.com bookstore.
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