Illustrator Jim Thiesen: The bare•bones interview

by John Scoleri

I first became aware of artist Jim Thiesen in 1995 when he painted the cover to TOR Books' first publication of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. I immediately fell in love with the cover art, which I felt managed to capture the epic scope of Matheson's novel. I purchased the original art, and over time discovered that I was already familiar with a great deal of Thiesen's other art by sight, if not by name. I thought it as about time someone sat down to find out a little bit more about this artist who has provided artwork for such high profile writers as Stephen King, Brian Lumley, and Thomas Harris.

bare•bones: How long have you been illustrating book covers? Did you go to school for illustration?

Jim Thiesen: I didn't go to school specifically for illustration. I studied drawing, and some painting at The Art Students League in New York. But I learned most of my painting skills on the job. The first bit of illustration I did was a three-page comic that I wrote and sold to Heavy Metal Magazine ("Exit" - October 1982). I started illustrating for Toy companies (HG Toys and CBS Toys—both out of business) doing package illustrations and helping design new toy lines. That started in 1983. In 1987 I got an agent (Sal Barracca), and began doing book covers. I got pigeon-holed as the "Horror Guy," which I didn't mind at first because I liked monsters and ghost stories since I was a kid. But I like fantasy as well, and did get to do some. I got out of the illustration business in 1997 when the market shrank severely due to publishing companies finding cheep ways to get covers made (computer enhanced photos and stock images).  

bb: Can you describe your process? Do you work an art director's specifications, or do you normally read the books you're illustrating first?

JT: I only did one or two where I read the manuscript first and then came up with ideas for the cover.  Usually the art directors just gave me a general idea of what they wanted. With the horror stuff it was usually very simple, a scary hand or face. A simple, powerful, in-your-face image.        

bb: What goes into a finished piece? Do you start with thumbnail sketches, color comps etc.?

Rejected Beastnights concept

JT: I usually only did a black and white drawing. In the early days I had a manuscript to read (Beastnights by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro) and came up with an idea for the cover. I read the thing, got an idea, sculpted the idea (a woman on a horse with a flash light and a werewolf  jumping out of some bushes at her. I took some photos of the sculpture and did a drawing based on one of those. The publisher said it was too fantasy-like. They said, "we just want a face—the face of the monster, and that's it." So I did the face (see Gallery below). After that I didn't waste my time doing a lot of preliminary work.

bb: Have you run into many instances of having your work art directed?

JT: Yes the art directors have to earn their keep. Sometimes everything is perfect, and they love it, and sometimes they want something changed. On occasion, at the beginning of a piece, they ask for things that they really have not thought through. But I tried to please them as best as I could. Sometimes people in the company just feel the need to justify their position, or want to be part of something successful. So he or she will insist on changing some minor detail. Just to say that he had a hand in this project. Once when I was working with the Toy companies, I did a package illustration of a caveman being confronted by a T-Rex. The art director liked it, but after he took it before the board of directors for their approval, he brought it back to me saying that they wanted the caveman's head to be tilted up a little bit more. This was obviously not necessary.  So I said OK, and took the painting home, presumably (on his part) to make the change. However I made no changes at all. The next day I brought the painting back and showed it to the art director. "Oh yes," he said, "much better!" And the board of directors agreed! "Much better!" Ha! I don't miss their stupid games.

bb: When Tor began publishing Brian Lumley, they used Bob Eggleton illustrations. How did you come to illustrate the step-backs and ultimately covers of several of Brian Lumley's books? 

JT: I did a lot of covers for TOR, and quite a few for Brian Lumley, I think I did about 5 of them. How they came to me, you would have to ask my old agent about that. I just know that they came.

bb: In at least one case, you created a sculpture for a cover illustration (The Gilgul by by Henry W. Hocherman). Can you discuss how that came about?

JT: I actually did 4 sculptures for Zebra Books. Their philosophy was that the cover sells the book. So they would spend a lot of money on it. Creating those sculptures was a lot of fun.

Original sculpture for The Gilgul

bb: Are there any particularly interesting stories behind any of your pieces?

JT: Well, I have a fine art piece (right) that I worked on from time to time for about 12 or 13 years.  It is about fear (from not knowing who he truly is) and a lack of trust in the Universe. Not understanding that the Universe is on his side. He sees the helpful spirits (who are trying to guide him toward his desires ) as monsters trying to destroy his life. I made many changes over the years, and finally in 2008 I felt satisfied with what I had.

bb: You've obviously done a lot of horror illustrations—is this a genre you enjoy, or did you somehow fall into it?

JT: I did enjoy doing the horror covers. And I did get pigeon-holed as the Horror Guy!  But I also had the opportunity to do some fantasy pieces. 

bb: You provided the cover illustration for Doulas Preston and Lincoln Child's Relic, which went on to become a bestseller. Did you know when you got that assignment that the book was getting a bigger push from the publisher?

JT: I knew the book was doing well when they had me do the cover for a sequel. But nothing beyond that.

bb: Do you have a favorite of your works?

Lori

JT: Naturally I like some of my pieces better than others. I have my favorite fine art pieces, but of the old commercial pieces, I like Lori (Robert Bloch); one I think was called Blood Beast (Don D'Ammassa), there were several with decorative borders done for collections of short stories: Predators, Between Time and Terror, and Gallery of Horrors. I also like the sculpture of the bride (above). Actually I have quite a few, some I have made improvements to over the years.

bb: Are you working on any new projects currently?

JT: Yes I am always working on something. I just finished a piece which was one I did years ago and did not like, so I cut it into pieces. Then I worked on the pieces separately. I then assembled them in a new arrangement.  I had to make one small piece to add to make the whole thing work together. Now I have to mount and frame it. It's not my favorite, but it's better than it was. I am rarely completely happy with anything I do. At the same time I just finished another old piece I did not like. It's better now but still not the beat. I believe that my perfectionist attitude keeps my work constantly improving.

Stephen King Doubleday reissues

bb: When The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition was released, Doubleday also reissued Stephen King's first four books (Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining and Night Shift) with new covers that you painted. Each has a similar design, with part of the image extending beyond the traditional rectangle. Was this your idea, or were you asked to do this? 

JT: The format for the Stephan King covers was set up by the art director. 

bb: How did you come up with each concept for each book?

JT: As for the concepts for the covers, I was familiar with the stories. For The Shining, the art director wanted me to do an axe coming through a door. I thought that would not be very effective visually, so I did an axe chopping in a door the word REDRUM, which Stephen liked, but he said that there was no axe in the book, that was only in the movie. Which is why I then had to quickly do a second illustration for The Shining.   

1990 Doubleday Catalog

The Shining - Original

The Shining - Final

I Am Legend

bb: Were you aware of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend before you got the cover assignment?

JT: No, I was not familiar with the book.  The art director told me it was about vampires—lots of vampires!

bb: What was your vision for the cover art? Were you pleased with the results? I'm of the opinion that it in many ways it's the best thematic representation of the novel of all the cover art that has been used.

Orb TPB with digitally manipulated art

JT: I wanted to create lots of vampires, but I wanted them to flow like one continuous entity. I wanted to give them a kind of H.R.Giger-like feeling. I appreciate your appreciation of the piece. But as with most of my work, I would like to keep working on it. 

bb: Were you aware when Tor digitally manipulated the art for their Orb trade paperback? What are your thoughts on that versus your original painting?

JT: I was not aware of any of the things that TOR was doing with my work—and not compensating me for, which by law they are supposed to do.  As you know, last year I found out about quite a few of the things that TOR has been doing illegally with my art. Obviously I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about not getting paid, nor with the way they have manipulated my work. Unfortunately prosecuting them would not be financially worthwhile.

bb: That revised artwork (cropped - perhaps to remove a vampire baby, blurred, and one foreground head relocated - see below) has gone on to be used in several countries around the world, second only to the Will Smith movie tie-in art. How does it feel to have your art (albeit in an altered form) seen by millions of readers around the globe?

JT: The art has changed so much it hardly feels like mine anymore.

Jim Thiesen Art Gallery

Rejected preliminary sketch for Blood Beast

Original painting for Bloodwings

Revised final cover for Bloodwings

Original concept art for Beastnights

Preliminary sketch for Beastnights

Thomas Harris' Red Dragon for Simon & Schuster Audio

The Ballantine/Del Rey Paperback Covers of Ralph McQuarrie: A Checklist (1976-1987)

by John Scoleri

Ralph McQuarrie already had a varied career as a technical illustrator at Boeing and a movie poster artist (including The Legend of Boggy Creek and several others for producer Charles B. Pierce) when George Lucas hired him to do the illustrations for Star Wars that would change his life forever.

Among the many things Ralph's contributions to Star Wars led to, there is one frequently overlooked tangent—an entire line of science-fiction book cover illustrations for Ballantine/Del Rey. Long before I began work on The Art of Ralph McQuarrie (Dreams and Visions Press, 2007), I had already assembled a complete collection of his paperback book covers. Little did I know at the time (and unlike many contemporary book cover artists who rely solely on art directors) Ralph read every book he painted a cover for.

It all began in the summer of 1976, as Del Rey prepared to release the tie-in to Star Wars (six months before the film’s theatrical release). Judy Lynn Del Rey hired Ralph to provide the painting for that cover, having previously described seeing his Star Wars production paintings (which were also offered as a portfolio from Ballantine) as “seeing money.”

Based on that one cover (which was replaced on all subsequent printings of the novelization by the more familiar John Berkey artwork) Ralph began a long and fruitful relationship with Ballantine/Del Rey, the complete* results of which are documented below in chronological order of publication.

December 1976

Star Wars by George Lucas (Written by Alan Dean Foster).
Ralph’s concepts for the cover all included dynamic logos and type design, much more interesting than the plain yellow type ultimately used. Despite the fact that the characters had been realized on film by the time this painting was completed, Ralph chose to utilize an amalgam of his early concepts and the final character designs for the cover.

February 1978

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster
Ralph’s first hardcover jacket artwork for this sequel novel to Star Wars is one of his most famous Star Wars images not created for the films. Also used on the paperback released in April of 1978.

The Web of the Chozen by Jack L. Chalker
In an early issue of Locus before the book was published, author Chalker expressed his excitement that the artist who had worked on Star Wars was painting the cover to his next novel.

June 1978

The Best of Jack Williamson
While the fourth book released, this was the second painting Ralph completed for Del Rey. He used his wife Joan as the reference for the robot holding the groceries. The original painting was given to George Lucas as a gift.

July 1978

The World is Round by Tony Rothman
A favorite image of Ralph's Star Wars fans as it resembles a number of his early character costume sketches, however the true inspiration for the headgear featured was Flash Gordon, one of the few examples of science-fiction Ralph was fond of as a boy.

November 1982

The Jedi Master’s Quizbook by Rusty Miller
Ralph’s famous painting of Yoda was initially commissioned for a children’s book. Ralph took great pains to make a colorful piece featuring Yoda surrounded by his friends on Dagobah. When the art director decided the image would be ‘too scary’ for kids, the project was scrapped. The image was issued as a sticker for members of the Star Wars fan club before being used as the cover for this book of Star Wars questions assembled by a 11 year-old fan.

November 1983
 

The War for Eternity by Christopher Rowley
While commonly seen as resembling Ralph’s early concept for Chewbacca., Ralph's cat was the model for the creature on this cover. Ralph went on to paint covers for three of Rowley's books.

June 1985

Walk the Moons Road by Jim Aikin
Ralph worked through nearly a half dozen different concepts before arriving at the dancing creature for this cover.

July 1985

The Black Ship by Christopher Rowley
This is one of Ralph’s favorites of all his paintings.

August 1985

Red Flame Burning by Ward Hawkins
Ralph's original concept did not include the human character, which was added at the behest of the art director. This is the first of four covers Ralph would paint of Ward Hawkins books.

October 1985

Starquake by Robert L. Forward
The only other hardcover jacket artwork Ralph painted for Del Rey, also used on the paperback issued in September 1986.

Sword of Fire by Ward Hawkins
Ralph incorporated a great level of detail in the scenic background of this image, which was unfortunately obscured by the title.

December 1985
 

With Fate Conspire by Mike Shupp
Ralph only painted the cover for the first volume in this series.

January 1986

Sinister Barrier by Eric Frank Russell
A rare instance where the book in question was not a paperback original. Ralph used a friend for the photo reference for this painting.

July 1986

Blaze of Wrath by Ward Hawkins
Ralph enjoyed painting the lizard people from Hawkins' books.

November 1986

The Genesis Quest by Donald Moffitt
This is the first of two paintings Ralph did for Moffitt's books.

December 1986

Second Genesis by Donald Moffitt
The art director at Ballantine did not like this particular illustration, likening it to a "lunch box painting."

April 1987

Copernick’s Rebellion by Leo A. Frankowski

May 1987

Torch of Fear by Ward Hawkins

July 1987

Golden Sunlands by Christopher Rowley
Another very popular image as it is so evocative of Ralph's earlier Star Wars work.

August 1987

The Stone Arrow by Richard Herley
A departure in theme as well as size, this book featured Ralph’s first wraparound cover art, as would the remaining two book covers he painted for Ballantine, all part of Herley's Pagan's Trilogy.

October 1987

The Flint Lord by Richard Herley

December 1987

The Earth Goddess by Richard Herley


The Lost Del Rey Art of Ralph McQuarrie

During the making of The Empire Strikes Back, Ralph worked on numerous concepts for the cover of the novelization for that film. His final concept was a reformatting of his famous production painting of Luke Skywalker exiting his downed Snowspeeder. Unfortunately, Del Rey went with the Gone With the Wind style poster art instead.

Star Wars fans may remember the L. Neil Smith series of Lando Calrissian novels released in the early 80s. While Ralph did not provide the final cover art for those books, we recently uncovered his original concepts for the first book in the series, Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu. It's hard to believe that Del Rey went a different direction than using Ralph McQuarrie for a Star Wars book cover.

Following his work for Ballantine/Del Rey, Ralph went on to provide book illustrations for other companies, including Byron Preiss Multimedia, as well as having some of his movie poster artwork re-purposed on paperback book covers. If there's interest, I will cover those in a future article.

*It’s worth noting that the cover to Alexis Gilliland’s novel The End of the Empire, while credited to Ralph McQuarrie on the copyright page of the book, is not his painting (as evidenced by the presence of the actual artists signature on the cover). Unfortunately, if you search internet listings for Ralph's work you will often find this book included based on the incorrect attribution.

Richard Matheson - The Original Stories: The Science Fiction Digests Part 4

by John Scoleri

In the first eight parts of this ongoing series, I looked at Richard Matheson's short fiction appearances in Playboy, the Sci-Fi Pulps, the Mystery Digests, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Gauntlet Chapbooks and the first, second and third batch of Science Fiction Digests. We return now with the fourth part of the Science Fiction digests Matheson contributed to.

The Original Stories - Part 9: If, Imagination and Worlds Beyond

The bulk of Matheson's short stories originally appeared in science fiction digests like those featured in this installment.

"Brother To The Machine"
If - Worlds of Science Fiction
November 1952, Vol. 1 No.5

Subsequent appearances: Shock II, Duel: Terror Stories, Collected Stories TP v1

Editorial Comment: The dawning of intelligence is sometimes the greatest tragedy of all.

"Descent"
If - Worlds of Science FictionMay 1954, Vol. 3 No.3

Subsequent appearances: Collected Stories HC, Shores of Space, Collected Stories TP v2

Editorial Comment: How would you spend your last day under the sun?...Here's what happened in the livesof three young couples who would be part of that great underground exodus on the morrow...

Illustration by Alan Anderson

 Notes: This issue also features the story "Prominent Author" by Philip K. Dick.

"Being"
If - Worlds of Science Fiction
August 1954, Vol. 3 No. 6

Subsequent appearances: Collected Stories HC, Shores of Space, Duel: Terror Stories, Collected Stories TP v2

Editorial Comment: That It landed on Earth was perhaps destiny. That Les and Marian were making their trip in August was perhaps coincidence. That Ketter kept a zoo was perhaps unfortunate. However, It was hungry—and Les and Marian were making their trip and Ketter kept a zoo... A horror story you'll read with shivers down your spine!

Illustration by Virgil Finlay

 Notes: Matheson told Stanley Wiater in collected stories that he adapted his story for American International Pictures that went unproduced. Celebrated hackmeister Larry Buchanan's It's Alive! was an unauthorized adaptation of the story. This issue also features the stories "Exhibit Piece" by Philip K. Dick and "The Joy of Living" by William F. Nolan.

"Drink My Red Blood..."
Imagination
April 1951, Vol. 2 No. 2

Subsequent appearances (as "Blood Son"): Collected Stories HC, Shores of Space, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories, Bloodlines, Collected Stories TP v1

Table of Contents Comment: Jules was a strange little boy with a peculiar ambition: he wanted to be a vampire...


Editorial Comment: Then there's Richard Matheson who created quite a stir in Tony Boucher's book The Magazine of Fantasy an Science Fiction. You'll find a little shocker by Matheson in this issue. It's a bit on the grim side, and we think it's a story you won't easily forget. If you like this type of tale, let us know. It's not really science-fiction—or fantasy either. It's—off-trail. But whatever you choose to call it, we though it was quite good. Care for more?

Story Comment: People in the neighborhood avoided Jules. For he was not like other children; his one fond wish in life was to become an immortal-vampire!

Illustration by Ramon Raymond

Notes: This issue also includes "The Hungry House" by Robert Bloch (later adapted to the classic Thriller episode "The Hungry Glass").

"Letter To The Editor"
Imagination
January 1952, Vol. 3 No.1

Subsequent appearances (as "Advance Notice"): Collected Stories HC, Shock Waves, Collected Stories TP v1

Table of Contents Comment: We usually tear up letters warning of a Marian attack—but here's one with proof!

Editorial Comment: Letters warning of an invasion of Earth find their way into the editorial waste basket. But this one offered some proof to back it up!

Illustration by Herb Ruud

Notes: "Letter to the Editor," as it appeared in Imagination, was addressed to "Bill" (Imagination editor William L. Hamling) and signed "Dick." The story was followed by this editorial statement:

Editor's Note:

The above letter certainly sounds like a good gag. And we, like the rest of you readers enjoy a practical joke once in a while. Martains about to invade, indeed! We listen to the radio quite a bit and we haven't heard a single report of lights clustering around the moon—have any of you?

So ok, Dick's letter is a joke...

But we noticed one funny thing we could check on. Remember Dick said IMAGINATION had been published for five years? That got us thinking. So we took a look at the date of the letter and the postmark. They were the same. The envelope is postmarked  November 6, 1955.

Now how did the post office ever make such a silly mistake?

—The Editor.

When reprinted as "Advance Notice" the editor was changed to an agent, his name was changed to Don (like Matheson's agent Don Congdon), the writer's name was changed to Burt (Matheson's middle name is Burton), and the magazine changed to Grisly Space Stories. In his interview with Wiater in Collected Stories, Matheson notes he must have been foreseeing the future, in that Don was selected before Don Condgon was his agent. It appears he's misremembering, as the original story had so many changes when collected in Shock Waves in 1969 (by which time Congdon was his agent). Matheson also refers to a reference in the story, "We'll kill a Matheson story and stick in your piece instead," which was absent from the original publication.

"The Man Who Made The World"
Imagination
February 1954, Vol. 5 No.2

Subsequent appearances: Collected Stories HC, Collected Stories TP v2

Editorial Comment: The patient was obviously deranged, but Dr. Janishefsky had to make sure first. So he sat back in his chair and began to question...

Notes: Matheson is rather dismissive of this story in his comments to Wiater in Collected Stories. This issue also features John Christopher's "Rocket to Freedom."

"Clothes Make The Man" 
Worlds Beyond
February 1951, Vol. 1 No. 3

Subsequent appearances: Collected Stories HC, Shores of Space, Button, Button, Collected Stories TP v1

Editorial Comment: Which is really the stronger—yourself, or the carefully-composed image you present to the world?

Illustration unredited

Notes: The following contributor information is included on the inside back cover of this issue:

Richard Matheson tells us, "I was born of man and woman in the month of February of 1926. In New Jersey. In a house. My parents were exiled to Brooklyn when I had just begun to acquire the knack of dripping green. In this happy environment I spent my youth attending many public schools and one technical high school where I learned to hate science. This later proved helpful in writing science-fiction.

After working in a defense plant for a time, I enlisted in the Army hoping to become a second lieutenant. Later I found out what I had missed by not becoming a second lieutenant. I am still very grateful.

My hobbies are song writing, swimming, reading reection slips and sending unpublished letters to editors. I am not and never have been a member of the Communist Party. I vote straight Vegetarian ticket and love small dogs and cats. And my seven nieces and one nephew.

I wrote my first story when I was seven. Anti-war legislation willing, I shall write my last at about ninety-six."

There's more to come! Stay tuned for future installments of Richard Matheson - The Original Stories.

The Complete Guide to Manhunt Part 9

by Peter Enfantino

Continuing an issue by issue examination of the greatest crime digest of all time.

Vol. 1 No. 10 October 1953

The Girl Behind the Hedge by Mickey Spillane

(3500 words) *** illos: Tom O'Sullivan

Walter Harrison’s suicide is explained by his good friend Duncan. Decidedly un- Spillane-ish with an ending that would not sit well with today’s politically correct crowd.

Squeeze Play by Richard S. Prather

(4500 words) ***

Ann Crane’s husband Leroy has gone missing. She’s concerned because Leroy was an accountant for bigtime Mob man Wallace Hackman. Enter Shell Scott. Though the plot revolves around Leroy and Hackman, the emphasis on the brutal exchanges between Scott and Hackman’s right hand man, Pretty Willis.

Balanced Account by Richard Deming

(4000 words) *** illo: Don Rico

Gerlad Mason is accused of rape by the beautiful teenage girl next door. After his name is dragged through the mud by the press, the girl admits Mason never touched her. Mason decides that since he’s had to pay for his new rep, he may as well earn it.

Dead Heat by Robert Turner

(4500 words) **

Sadistic horse owner Lew Winters blackmails his jockey into fixing races.

The Idiot by Harold Cantor

(3500 words) ***

The occupants of Happy Dell Resort play a sick joke on a retarded young man. This is one of those rare stories that leads the reader to believe it’s going down one path but effectively veers down another. Though I’ve read stories very similar to this in the past (the obvious being Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN), the author gets extra credit for making his main protagonist both likeable and loathsome. “The Idiot” has all the earmarks of an ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode.

Professional Man by David Goodis

(8500 words) ***1/2 illo: Tom O'Sullivan

Elevator operator by day, hit man by night, Freddy Lamb is the best at what he does. He’s got the best girl in town too, but his boss has his eyes on her. When Freddy’s gal gives the cold shoulder to the chief, Freddy gets his next assignment: wipe out the dame. If written by an optomist, “Professional Man” would find Freddy offing his boss but, since this nasty little tale is penned by David Goodis, there’s no happy ending waiting on the last page. Downbeat slices of criminal life like this are what made Goodis such a hit in the 1950s and a favorite among hardcore crime readers to this day. Filmed by acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh (TRAFFIC, ERIN BROCKOVICH, OCEAN’S ELEVEN) for the Showtime series FALLEN ANGELS in 1995, starring Peter Coyote and Brendan Fraser.

Summer is a Bad Time by Sam S. Taylor

(4500 words) *1/2

Walt only wants to make his wife Della happy so he lets her accompany him on a business trip. Turns out that Della only wants to meet up with her side guy in one of Walt’s towns. Nothing new here, but the story is slightly redeemed by an overly sadistic revenge finale. Sam S. Taylor (1903-1994) wrote five stories for MH and four novels in the 1940s and 1950s, three originally in hardcover for Dutton (SLEEP NO MORE (1949), NO HEAD FOR HER PILLOW (1952), and SO COLD, MY BED (1953)) and one in paperback for Gold Medal (BRENDA (1952) under the psuedonym Lehi Zane .

Response by Arnold Marmor

(1000 words) ** illo: Houlihan

Jose Abrardo, police chief on a small island, is constantly feeling pressure from mobsters to allow gambling on his island. He’s not one to bow to ressure. It’s tough to appraise stories that are only a thousand words long, but “Response,” like most of the other short-shorts has nothing new to add to crime literature.

Where’s the Money? by Floyd Mahannah

(4000 words)** illo: Don Rico

When he was a young man, Joe drove a getaway car for a bank job gone wrong. After he and his partners do twelve years in the stir, the partners want to know what Joe did with the money. Joe insists he never had it but the bad guys aren’t buying that and they kidnap Joe’s daughter.

The Beat-Up Sister by John Ross MacDonald

(12,000 words) * ½

Lew Archer’s third MANHUNT case is also his worst. This time he’s hired by a girl who’s not only beautiful but also broke (am I the only one who wonders how these guys made a living when they never got paid?). She’s trying to find her sister, who may be the victim of foul play. Long and boring, “The Beat-Up Sister” is redeemed only by an explosive climax.

The Bobby-Soxer by Jonathan Craig

(1000 words) *

A cute little bobby-soxer is pulled into an alley and attacked until a crazed mob rescues her and beats her assailant.

This issue's Mugged and Printed features Mickey Spillane, David Goodis, John Ross MacDonald, and Richard S. Prather.

Also in this issue: Vincent H. Gaddis' Crime Cavalcade and Portrait of a Killer #5: Louis Peete by Dan Sontup.

Vol. 1 No. 11 November 1953

The Big Touch by Henry Kane

(14,000 words) *

Peter Chambers handles a blackmail scheme with the beautiful showgirl Annabel Jolly his prime suspect. Tediuos and cliched, even at this early stage of hardboiled PI fiction.

The Watcher by Peter Paige

(1500 words) ***

Marcia Smith has for years been known as something of a “tease.” When her main teasee happens upon Marcia being raped by two thugs, he considers letting the crime continue and teaching Marcia a lesson. Nasty twist ending.

The Bells are Ringing by Craig Rice

(3500 words) *

Super-Attorney John J. Malone is in the wrong place at the wrong time (as usual): he witnesses a prisoner blasting his way out of a jailhouse. Turns out the guy needs to get to his wedding to a dying woman. John J aids the felon on his journey. Ludicrous.

Case History by Charles Beckman, Jr.

(3500 words) **

PI Nick Scotch (of the Scotch Detective Agency) is attempting to find who’s blackmailing lovely Evelyn Rose. Slow read builds to a climax right out of left field.

The Right Hand of Garth by Evan Hunter

(5000 words) **

Gunman Ed is tired of sneaking around with his kingpin boss’ gorgeous girlfriend. When his boss hires a new gun, Ed sees a perfect way of getting out from under his boss’ shadow.

Six Stories Up by Raymond J. Dyer

(2000 words) ***

Paul threatens to jump off a ledge and a police chief attempts to talk him down. The kid claims he didn’t murder his employer. He ends up jumping and afterwards they find the boy’s boss with plenty of Paul’s fingerprints on his body.

Classification: Dead by Richard Marsten

(5000 words) **

A woman is shot dead hours after having an illegal abortion. Very reminiscent of McBain’s 31st Precinct mysteries, complete with his stylized staccato dialogue and police form reproductions.

A Long Way to KC by Fletcher Flora

(4500 words) ***

Escaping a two-thousand dollar debt, Dickie Cosmos flees to the high country and stumbles onto a veritable goldmine: a beautiful girl and her hillbilly husband who make their own moonshine and hoard the huge profits. Sensing a way out of his debt, Cosmos plans the mountain man’s quick demise. Familiar plot enlivened by good writing.

Coney Island Incident by Bruno Fischer

(8500 words) **

Ray Whitehead chances on the beautiful Cherry Drew on the beach at Coney Island. Thinking he’s in for a good time, he accepts her invitation back to her hotel room, only to find out that Cherry was involved in an armored car holdup and her partners are searching for her. Seems she got the loot and is being selfish with her co-horts’ slice of the pie. She uses Ray in an attempt to get her and the money out of town but she’s not fast enough. “Coney Island Incident” drags on far too long and is told so matter of factly that it most resembles a bad 1950s cop show episode.

Kid Stuff by Jonathan Craig

(2500 words) **

Chris is upset that his girlfriend Laurie has dumped him for an older, more experienced lover. He decides to stalk and kill them both. The “shock ending” is telecast so far in advance that it would have been a shock if it was a different ending!

This issue's Mugged and Printed features: Henry Kane, Evan Hunter, Bruno Fischer, and Craig Rice.

Also in this issue: Crime Cavalcade by Vincent H. Gaddis and Portrait of a Killer #6: Pat Mahon by Dan Sontup.

Next week: The final issue of 1953 plus The 10 Best Stories of the Year.