Issue #7 of the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY, which I co-edit with the multi-talented writer, graphic designer and publisher, Bill “Mad Pulp Bastard” Cunningham, is now available on Amazon in the U.S., Amazon UK, Amazon Australia, Amazon Canada, and other Amazons worldwide.
In fact, you can get all issues of the MAQ via Amazon or directly from me via the online bookstore linked to this blog or my eBay listings.
Each issue of the MAQ has a theme. The theme of MAQ #7 is “Gang Girls.”
It features classic men’s adventure magazine stories from the 1950s and early-‘60s about female “juvenile delinquents” plus two later MAM stories about biker chicks involved with motorcycle gangs.
As in most MAQ issues, MAQ #7 also includes introductions I wrote about each story plus exclusive articles featuring vintage paperbacks and movies media related to the theme.
In MAQ #7, there’s a great article by popular retromedia maven and podcaster Jules Burt about the early “JD” or “Juvie” novels written by Evan Hunter (aka Ed McBain) and Harlan Ellison.
By the way, Jules’ “Collections & Unboxings” YouTube channel recently chalked up over 4 million views. Check it out and you’ll see why.
MAQ #7 also has an in-depth article about vintage “teensploitation” paperbacks by pulp culture historian Andrew Nette.
Andrew is, among other things, a novelist, writer of the Pulp Curry blog, and co-editor of several books that are must-haves for vintage paperback fans. One of them, which fits the theme of MAQ #7, is GIRL GANGS, BIKER BOYS, AND REAL COOL CATS: PULP FICTION AND YOUTH CULTURE, 1950 TO 1980.
Andrew has also co-edited two other excellent paperback history books, STICKING IT TO THE MAN: REVOLUTION AND COUNTERCULTURE IN PULP AND POPULAR FICTION, 1950 TO 1980 and DANGEROUS VISIONS AND NEW WORLDS: RADICAL SCIENCE FICTION, 1950–1985.
MAQ #7 includes lushly-illustrated articles by Bill Cunningham about gang girl movies and posters and an “MAQ Gal-lery” feature he put together about movie star Mamie Van Doren’s early juvie films.
The cover art for MAQ #7 was done by the great paperback and MAM artist Samson Pollen. It was originally used for the classic 1958 JD novel D FOR DELINQUENT.
If you’re a fan of the Men’s Adventure Library books I co-edit with Wyatt Doyle, you know that we’ve featured Sam’s artwork in three MAL books: POLLEN’S WOMEN: THE ART OF SAMSON POLLEN, which showcases his original artwork for MAM stories that feature alluring women characters, along with scans of the story spreads they were used for; POLLEN’S ACTION, which focuses on Pollen artwork depicting wild action/adventure scenes; and, POLLEN IN PRINT: 1955-1959, the first of a series that will be a chronological showcase of MAM art by Pollen.
As I note in my main introduction to MAQ #7, MAMs published in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s include stories about women involved various types of gangs: Western outlaw gangs, Depression era gangs like the Barker Gang and Bonnie and Clyde fame, Mafia gang molls, motorcycle gangs, and a sub-category I have dubbed the “weird gang subgenre.”
One of my favorite examples of the latter I mention in my intro to MAQ #7 is the “The Outboard Ravagers,” in MALE, August 1968, superbly imagined by artist Mort Künstler in his cover painting for that issue. Another is the whip-snapping, piggyback-riding “Surfboard Jungle” gals depicted by artist John Duillo on the cover of MAN’S DARING, September 1965.
Stories about those other types of gangs may show up in future issues of the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY. But in MAQ #7, our focus is on stories about two related types of gang girls: the female “Juvenile Delinquents” who were hot topics in books, magazines and the news in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, and the girls who hung with the motorcycle gangs that became infamous in the late ‘60s.
- “The Vicious Girl Gangs of Boston” from MAN TO MAN, August 1954
- “Tomboy Jungle” from FOR MEN ONLY, November 1957
- “Zip-gun Girl” from MAN’S ILLUSTRATED, September 1958
- “Street Queens Are Taking over Teenage Gangs” from WILDCAT ADVENTURES, January 1962
- “Lust on the Streets” from WILDCAT ADVENTURES, September 1963
- “The ‘Passion Angel’s Cycle Girls” from MEN, December 1967
- “Latest Terror Craze: Cycle Queens of Violence” from MAN’S CONQUEST, June 1970
MAN TO MAN, the periodical the first story is from, was a long-running men’s mag that debuted in December 1949 and continued into the 1980s. During the ‘50s and most of the ‘60s, it was kind of a hybrid, with a mix of elements from men’s adventure mags, girlie photo mags, CONFIDENTIAL-style scandal rags, and weird story mags like FATE. In the late ‘60s, it steadily morphed into a nude photo stroke mag.
“The Vicious Girl Gangs of Boston” story, by Henry S. Galus, is an interesting example of an exposé style shocker. And, to a geek like me, there’s a cool gang-related coincidence about the MAN TO MAN issue it comes from.
The bathing beauty on the cover is the American pinup photo model and actress Mona Knox. Mona’s acting career started with mostly minor, uncredited parts in films in 1950 and 1951. Then in 1952, she got her first significant roles in two movies involving gangs.
One was a comedy, HOLD THAT LINE (1952), featuring The Bowery Boys gang. The other was a serious film noir drama released that same year titled KID MONK BARONI.
That film features future STAR TREK star Leonard Nimoy in his first lead role. He plays the title character, a member of the NYC “Billy Goat Gang” who becomes a boxer. When Monk starts fighting dirty to win, his girlfriend Emily (actress Allene Roberts) dumps him. He then becomes infatuated with a floozy played by Mona Knox. After he buys her expensive furs and gifts, she dumps him, too.
Here’s another little coincidence. The year 1952 also saw the publication of one of the first classic “Girl Gang” novels, ZIP-GUN ANGELS by Albert L. Quandt, reprinted in 1952 as BOY CRAZY.
That novel was adapted into the “Book Bonus” story we reprinted in MAQ #7, “ZIP-GUN GIRL.”
I talk more about about that and other stories in MAQ #7 in Part 2 of my preview, which you can read at this link.
In the meantime, if you want to see a cool video preview of the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY #7, click this link or the image below to see the review posted by the popular retromedia maven Jules Burt on his great “Collections & Unboxings” YouTube channel.
And, if you want to see and read more about the MAQ, the books I co-edit, and men’s adventure mags in general, I encourage you to join the Men’s Adventure Quarterly Brigade Facebook Group and the Men’s Adventure Magazines & Books Facebook Group.
By the way, in addition to being available in a full color print edition, MAQ #7 is now available in a full color Digital Replica edition on Amazon in the US and worldwide. It’s an exact digital copy of the full color print edition, available free to Kindle Unlimited members or for $6.99 to non-members. Digital Replica Editions look great on an iPad, a Kindle Fire, or a computer monitor. Of course, there’s also a full color print edition of MAQ #7 and there will eventually be a black-and-white “Noir” edition. We started doing the three editions with different prices because our printing costs for the full color issues have increased and we wanted to make sure there were editions that were affordable for everyone. Bill is currently working on adding the Digital Replica and B&W editions to all issues of the MAQ. (Thanks, Bill!)
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