The Complete Guide to Manhunt Part 12

by Peter Enfantino

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

Vol. 2 No. 3 May 1954

144 pages, 35 cents

The Blonde in the Bar by Richard Deming

(6700 words) ** illo: Tom O’Sullivan

Sam's far from the most attractive guy so he's, to say the least, a bit surprised when a doll named Jacqueline picks him up in the bar. His suspicions become founded when the dame drops her scam on him post-coitus. She pleads mercy for her sister, who's been arrested on prostitution charges and Sam just happens to be a cop. Sam's new girl promises a payday of $500 if he comes through but this man is made of sterner stuff. When later he finds that the woman is the front for a mafia hood trying to buy local cops, Sam goes to his boss and sets up a sting. Not much in the way of excitement here, Blonde in the Bar is populated by molls in sheer negligees and hoods who talk tough as channeled through a long-winded Oxford professor ("When we have helped into office the officials we want, we'll be in a position to dictate appointments and promotions in the police department" says one Monk Cartelli!). I do have to say I enjoyed this final exchange between Sam and Jacqueline after Sam lowers the boom:

"Sam, you liked me a lot that- that other night. Can't you- isn't there some way you can give me a break?" "Sure, babe, sure...I can give you a break. I'll take you down to the can just the way you are, instead of stopping first to kick your teeth down your throat."

Murder of a Mouse by Fletcher Flora

(4000 words) **

Charles Bruce murders his wife and stages suicide, not knowing that the woman had plans of her own. A dull story, enlivened a bit by its twist.

The Woman on the Bus by R. Van Taylor

(4000 words) *

A man and his young son offer shelter to a very strange woman. Laughable climax.

Broken Doll by Jack Webb

(6000 words) ** illo: Houlihan

An airport cop catches the strangest case of his career: a beautiful corpse, clad only in a coat left aboard a plane. A slow-paced whodunit with a bizarre wrap-up. One year later, Webb wrote a novel with the same title but otherwise no similarity to the MANHUNT tale. One half of the team from the novel, Detective Golden makes a brief appearance in the short story.

...Or Leave It Alone by Evan Hunter

(5000 words) *** illo: Houlihan

Back in 1954, this harrowing tale of Joey the hophead, and the troubles he encounters while trying to recover his stash, would probably be considered cutting edge fiction. Today it’s still good writing (albeit a padded) from the master of dark crime but its impact is obviously lessened by our everyday exposure to the horrors of drug addiction. Would I still recommend the read? Certainly. But it’s not among Hunter’s best and you can tell the man was paid by the word at times.

Lead Ache by Frank Kane

(11,000 words) **

Johnny Liddell is hired by The Dispatch to investigate the murder of their ace reporter Larry Jensen. The writer was working on a story involving dance clubs and white slavery. Liddell is aided by (beautiful) reporter Barbara Lake, who evidentally looks just as good in a skimpy dress as behind a typewriter.

The Right One by Jonathan Craig

(2000 words) *** illo: Houlihan

Bizarre little short-short about a stripper and the man she picks up at her club. A nasty climax that isn’t telegraphed a bit.

The Old Flame by James T. Farrell

(5000 words) * illo: Tom O’Sullivan

Arnold Benton has a tryst with his ex-sister-in-law and spends 4500 words feeling guilty about it. Literally page after page of “It’s nice to see you, isn’t it?” and “Yes, it’s nice to see you too.” I have no idea why this would be considered for publication in MANHUNT as there is not one line of suspense or criminal activity (unless adultery qualifies) whatsoever. James T. Farrell (1904-1979) was the author of the famous STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGY.

A Clear Picture by Sam S. Taylor

(1500 words) *

A man tries to set up his wife and her lover with tickets to a boxing match. An excellent biography of Sam S. Taylor can be found here: http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=395

You Know What I Did? by Charles Beckman, Jr.

(3000 words) *** illo: Tom O’Sullivan

Joe Allen comes home from work to find his young son missing. Effective tale of violence and revenge.

Mugged and Printed features James T. Farrell, Richard Deming, Jack Webb, and Frank Kane.

Also in this issue: Vincent H. Gaddis’ Crime Cavalcade and Portrait of a Killer #9: Theodore Durrant by Dan Sontup. The Murder Market’s H. H. Holmes reviews several current crime novels including Nothing in Her Way by Charles Williams. “Footprints” by Fred L. Anderson is a non-fiction piece about the use of footprints by police at crime scenes.

Vol. 2 No. 4 June 1954

144 pages, 35 cents

Skip a Beat by Henry Kane

(16,500 words) *1/2 illo: Tom O’Sullivan

PI Peter Chambers is summoned to the home of famous columnist Adam Woodward and hired on as the writer’s bodyguard. Woodward is about to out someone very famous as a communist and he’s sure that violence may follow. Before the commie rat-bastard can be named though, Woodward is plugged full of holes. Since the corpse is all paid up, Chambers decides to investigate. “Skip a Beat” is yet another PI story that takes way too long (about 16,500 words too long, atcually) to state the obvious. The only saving grace here is a nasty bit of carnage during a fight between Chambers and a hired gun:

I knocked the gun out of his hands, yanked him up, swung from the bottom and it caught him on the mouth. It ripped the skin off my knuckles but it knocked his teeth clean through his upper lip, and he looked like he was smiling some sort of ghastly unearthly smile, the blood all over him, before he went down. I put a finger in his collar and got him up. I garbbed the lip between my thumb and forefinger and grabbed it clear.

Points South by Fletcher Flora

(3500 words) ** illo: Houlihan

After losing thousands in a poker game, Andy Corkin loses his cool and belts a connected man. He’s told he has 24 hours to live so he starts living.

My Enemy, My Father by John M. Sitan

(1500 words) ** illo: Houlihan

A nasty short-short about a teen warring with his domineering father.

The Choice by Richard Deming

(5000 words) ***1/2

Climbing the political ladder, three or four rungs at a time, George Kenneday begins clean and naively believes he remains clean despite “little favors” he grants to the local syndicate. Through the years, those favors become bigger and Kenneday’s excuses become exponentially bigger. A strange, fascinating study of political corruption, with just a bare minimum of dialogue, topped with a slap in the face climax.

Double by Bruno Fischer

(7000 words) **1/2 illo: Tom O’Sullivan

Detective Gus Taylor is a particularly violent cop when he needs to be. Right now he feels the need. He’s convinced that actress Holly Laird killed her producer John Ambler, but can’t get the girl to confess. So he harrasses her, beats her, and when that doesn’t work he goes after her boyfriend. “Double” is a strange case: it goes way out there with its subject matter but then pulls back and softens its stance with its cotton candy climax. Too soft for my tastes.

Butcher by Richard S. Prather

(4000 words) ***

Shell Scott stumbles his way into the serial killer known as “The Butcher” when he’s driving home one night and happens upon a dismembered leg. He then aids the police to find the killer when it’s revealed the limb belonged to a young girl Shell knew. Extremely graphic for its time and tackling a subject that wasn’t addressed much (yet) in the sexual predator/serial killer.

A harder edge than we’re used to seeing in a Shell Scott story and Prather would have never gotten away with his final line in today’s “politically correct” climate.

No Vacancies by Craig Rice

(6000 words) *

John J. Malone, lawyer fro the people, is hired by a man accused of murdering his social butterfly wife. JJ instinctively knows the man is innocent. How does he know? The coffee he drinks? He just knows. I could go on about the telecasted plot devices, the wildy irrational coincidences, the “with-it” hip dialogue, and the obligatory expository, but it would just read like I was rerunning my last review of a John J. Malone story.

Die Like a Dog by David Alexander

(4000 words) **

Skid row bum Jack drinks his days away until he meets an interesting man with a blond old dog and a story about a faded starlet.

There is no Mugged and Printed this issue. Featured are Crime Cavalcade by Vincent H. Gaddis and Dan Sontup’s Portrait of a Killer #10: Rose Palmer. H. H. Holmes’ The Murder Market includes reviews of Richard Powell’s classic Say It With Bullets and Wade Miller’s South of the Sun. “Homicide, Suicide, or Accident?” by Fred L. Anderson is another study of police procedures and crime scene investigations.

The Health Knowledge Genre Magazines Part Two: Magazine of Horror

by Peter Enfantino

The first part of this overview of the Health Knowledge genre digests edited by Robert A. W. Lowndes, covering Magazine of Horror 1-12 can be found here.

No. 13 Summer 1966

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Hubert Carter

(4) The Thing in the House – H. F. Scotten

(11,750 words; from Weird Tales, May 1929)

(5) *Divine Madness – Roger Zelazny (2750 words)

(3) *Valley of the Lost – Robert E. Howard (8750 words)

(2) Heredity – David H. Keller

(5250 words; from Life Everlasting)

(6) *Dwelling of the Righteous – Anna Hunger (6500 words)

(1) Almost Immortal – Austin Hall

(19,500 words; from All-Story Magazine, October 7, 1916)

Notes: the first ad for Health Knowledge’s second genre digest, Startling Mystery Stories, appears on the inside front cover. RAWL discusses the new magazine in It Is Written. Book reviews include The Dark Brotherhood by H. P. Lovecraft and “diver’s hands” (this was one of the hardcovers Arkham House published featuring Lovecraft story fragments finished up by August Derleth), Something Breathing by Stanley McNail (also Arkham House), and several short reviews. The Howard story has an interesting history. “Valley of the Lost” was originally scheduled for Strange Tales but that pulp went belly-up before "Lost" saw print. In 1965, Glen Lord (executor for the Howard estate) sent a manuscript to RAWL titled “King of the Lost People,” proclaiming that it was the story once slated for Strange Tales. Lowndes excitedly accepted the story for publication. Just as the issue was coming off the press, Lord contacted Lowndes with the news that “Valley of the Lost” was, oops, not really “King of the Lost People,” because Lord had just found another “six boxes of Howard’s papers and files” and “Valley of the Lost” was among the papers included (with annotations by Strange Tales editor Harry Bates). Definitely two different stories. The real “Valley of the Lost” later ran in Startling Mystery Stories.

In the letters page, Franklin J. C. Hiller of Rochester, New York says, referring to the Gray Morrow cover on #12: “At last! A cover that doesn’t look as though it were a weak, misguided attempt to steal readers away from Web Horror Fiction (sic) in the lowest depths of its sado-masochistic stage.” My kind of letter-hack! Lots of “famous people” in the letters page: Pulp fan and mail order dealer Richard Minter; Malcolm Willets, co-owner of Collector’s Book Store, originally on Wilcox in Hollywood and later moved to Hollywood Blvd., the paradise of movie memorabilia fans for years before closing in 2002; and future Whispers Magazine and Press founder Stuart Schiff.

No. 14 Winter 1966/1967

130 pages, 50 cents

cover illo: Hubert Carter

The Lair of the Star-Spawn – August Derleth & Mark Schorer

(9750 words; from Weird Tales, August 1932)

Proof – S. Fowler Wright

(5000 words; from The Throne of Saturn)

The Vacant Lot – Mary Wilkins-Freeman

(6750 words; from The Wind in the Rose-Bush)

*Comes Now the Power – Roger Zelazny (2500 words)

The Moth Message – Laurence Manning

(10,500 words; from Wonder Stories, December 1934)

The Friendly Demon – Daniel DeFoe

(1500 words; unknown source)

*Dark Hollow – Emil Petaja (6000 words)

An Inhabitant of Carcosa – Ambrose Bierce

(1500 words; from Can Such Things Be?)

The Monster-God of Mamurth – Edmond Hamilton

(6750 words; from Weird Tales, August 1926)

Notes: In his introduction, RAWL writes beautifully of the recent passing of writer David H. Keller, finishing up with “…while not yet weary of this body we’re wearing, we do look forward to seeing him and arguing some points in his stories when the time comes.” “The Vacant Lot” is illustrated by Peter Newell, the first such interior illustration in MOH. “The Moth Message” is the third “Stranger Club” story appearing in MOH, but it’s actually the fourth in the series. The jumbling of the stories is explained in It Is Written by RAWL (he decided the science fiction tales should run in the just-launched Famous Science Fiction, which is advertised in this issue). Also in It Is Written, RAWL discusses Weird Tales in the Thirties, a 41-page critical look at the Unique Magazine (where can I find this stuff?), written by Reginald Smith. Truly, this is the kind of thing where RAWL shined. The editor comes across as an encyclopedia of pulp knowledge in his comments regarding Smith’s publication.

For some reason, a Reckoning for this issue’s stories was never run so we’ll never know what the favorite story was. Based on what I’ve seen from past picks, I’d guess it would be the Hamilton.

No. 15 Spring 1967

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(4) The Room of Shadows – Arthur J. Burks

(10,000 words; from Weird Tales, May 1936)

(6) *The Flaw – J. Vernon Shea (4000 words)

(5) The Doom of London – Robert Barr

(4500 words; from The Idler, November 1894)

(2) *The Vale of Lost Women – Robert E. Howard (7500 words)

(3) The Ghoul Gallery – Hugh B. Cave

(8750 words; from Weird Tales, June 1932)

(1) Lilies – Robert A. W. Lowndes

(17,250 words; originally “Lure of the Lily” from Uncanny Tales (Canadian), January 1942)

Notes: In his intro, RAWL assures all science fiction loathers that SF is dead in MOH and thrives in Famous Science Fiction. “The Doom of London” is introduced by Sam Moskowitz, who gives a detailed biography of author Barr. “The Vale of Lost Women” is a never-before-published tale of Conan the Barbarian, another treasure from Glen Lord’s seemingly bottomless trunk of unsold REH. In the letters page, Jason Van Hollander, later a very respected genre artist, writes in to ask about the authenticity of the Robert E. Howard story in the previous issue. Van Hollander remarks that the word “television” is used in a story written in 1936 and TV didn’t become reality until the 1940s. RAWL reminds readers that Hugo Gernsback discussed television in 1909. August Derleth corrects RAWL’s estimation (in a previous issue) of Derleth’s total output. The author asserts that he’s had 5,000 appearances in over 500 magazines and the list grows every day.

No. 16 Summer 1967

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(5) Night and Silence – Maurice Level

(1600 words; from Weird Tales, February 1932)

(t-3) Lazarus – Leonid Andreyeff

(8750 words; from Weird Tales, March 1927)

(7) *Mr. Octbur – Joseph Payne Brennan (1000 words)

(1) The Dog That Laughed – Charles Willard Diffin

(8750 words; from Strange Tales, September 1931)

(6) *Ah, Sweet Youth – Pauline Kappel Prilucik (4500 words)

(4) *The Man Who Never Was – R. A. Lafferty (4000 words)

(2) The Leaden Ring – S. Baring-Gould

(5750 words; from A Book of Ghosts)

(t-3) The Monster of the Prophecy – Clark Ashton Smith

(16,250 words; from Weird Tales, January 1932)

*A Song For Men That Laugh (verse) – Robert E. Howard

Notes: In his intro, RAWL bemoans the fact that new writers often write sloppy prose and use the sloppy prose of Howard and Burroughs as an excuse. “The Dog That Laughed,” “The Leaden Ring” and “The Monster of the Prophecy” are illustrated but the artists are not acknowledged. Readers react, both pro and con to the Conan story that ran in #15.

No. 17 Fall 1967

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Virgil Finlay

*A Sense of Crawling – Robert Edmond Alter (2000 words)

The Laughing Duke – Wallace West

(9000 words; from Weird Tales, February 1932)

* Dermod’s Bane – Robert E. Howard (2250 pages)

The Spell of the Sword – Frank Aubrey

(5500 words; from Pearson’s Magazine, February 1898)

“Williamson” – Henry S. Whitehead

(7500 words; from West India Lights)

The Curse of Amen-Ra – Victor Rousseau

(25,750 words; from Strange Tales, October 1932)

Notes: I wrote a long essay on Robert Edmond Alter’s contributions to Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine that appeared on September 23 on this site. In that article, I said that Alter’s death was a mystery. He had supposedly died in 1966 but stories continued to appear for years after. In his intro to “A Sense of Crawling,” RAWL fills in some of the blanks (I wish I had thought to check this before writing the AHMM piece): Alter died after contracting pneumonia during amputation surgery for cancer. RAWL continues that: “Alter died the very day that his agent, Larry Sternig wired him that Boy’s Life and Argosy had accepted a story each, that Avon would publish his novel, The Red Feather, and that Putnam wanted his 14th boys’ book, First Comes Courage. Alter never saw the telegram.” A very sad ending for a great writer, one who needs a major reassessment. There was no It Is Written and the Editor’s Page is simply a couple paragraphs to explain where the pages went (RAWL insists that his editorial comments would not get in the way of longer stories). Prolific spot and comic book artist Joe Doolin illustrates “The Laughing Duke.” The Howard story is another discovered manuscript. Sam Moskowitz introduces “The Spell of the Sword.” Moskowitz, much like his literary descendant Mike Ashley, wrote so well that much of the time his intros were better than the stories themselves. “The Curse of Amen-Ra,” a killer mummy tale, is illustrated by pulp artist Amos Sewell (I don’t have the original Strange Tales issue but I assume that this is where it’s from).

No. 18 November 1967

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(2) In Amundsen’s Tent – John Martin Leahy

(8250 words; from Weird Tales, January 1928)

(4) * Transient and Immortal – Jim Haught (3500 words)

(3) * Out of the Deep – Robert E. Howard (3000 words)

(5) The Bibliophile – Thomas Boyd

(1000 words; from The Bookman Magazine, January 1927)

(6) *The Ultimate Creature – R. A. Lafferty (3500 words)

(1) Wolves of Darkness – Jack Williamson

(31,000 words; from Strange Tales, January 1932)

Notes: RAWL’s editorial page is back, this time focusing on the troubles behind-the-scenes with MOH’s publishing frequency. Years later, RAWL would document those troubles in the Outworlds piece. Pulp artist Hugh Rankin illustrates “The Amundsen’s Tent.” RAWL explains that “Out of the Deep,” yet another new Howard find from Glen Lord, is a “sequel of sorts” to “Sea Curse” which appeared way back in the May 1928 issue of Weird Tales. The striking illustration used for “Wolves of Darkness” was actually the cover (by H. W. Wesso) of the issue of Strange Tales it appeared in. A second illo is by Amos Sewell. “Wolves” was the longest story (to that point) to appear in MOH. An Index to Volume Three appears this issue. In It Is Written, RAWL addresses the pros and cons of using interior illustrations (the printing press they used made most of the illos too dark) from the original sources. Roger Dard of Perth, Western Australia begs the editor not to ignore stories that appeared in the lesser pulps like Terror Tales and Horror Stories. RAWL responds: You’re right that there were a few very good weird tales in Horror Stories and Terror Tales, some by authors who also appeared in WT, others by writers not known to WT readers. Unfortunately, I do not have access to old copies of these magazines, which are now extremely rare and which, I suspect, are collected these days by lovers of sadistic stories.” Future fantasy and science fiction writer Greg Bear also writes in, as does Mike Ashley. I wish I could reprint the particularly vitriolic letter from Gary Morris about Seabury Quinn’s Jules de Grandin (“Quinn’s stories are definitely unoriginal, and written with a false air of sophistication. Ugh!” To which I say—Amen!).

No. 19 January 1968

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(3) The Red Witch – Nictzin Dyalhis

(12,750 words, from Weird Tales, April 1932)

(8) *The Last Letter from Norman Underwood – Larry Eugene Meredith (3500 words)

(6) The Jewels of Vishnu – Harriet Bennett

(500 words; from The Strand Magazine, January 1904)

(4) The Man from Cincinatti – Holloway Horn

(2000 words; from Astounding, November 1933)

(7) *Ground Afire – Anna Hunger (4000 words)

(5) The Wind in the Rose-Bush – Mary Wilkins-Freeman

(7000 words, from The Wind in the Rose-Bush)

(1) The Last of Placide’s Wife – Kirk Mashburn

(9750 words; from Weird Tales, September 1932)

(2) The Years Are As a Knife (verse) – Robert E. Howard

Notes: C. C. Senf illustrates “The Red Witch.” Sam Moscowitz introduces “The Jewels of Vishnu.” There’s an uncredited illo for “The Man from Cincinatti.” Peter Newell illustrates “The Wind in the Rose-Bush.” There’s an ad for the Fall issue of Startling Mystery Tales featuring “The Glass Floor,” by Stephen King (his first pro sale). “The Last of Placide’s Wife” is the sequel to “Placide’s Wife,” which appeared in MOH #10. A newly re-titled book review column, Inquisitions, covers Travelers By Night, edited by August Derleth in greater detail than RAWL had ever attempted (about 1600 words). In an expanded It is Written, Don Thompson (later the co-editor of The Comics Buyer’s Guide) and Emil Petaja contribute letters of comment. Also expanded, RAWL’s editorial pages trumpet a British writer of horror named J. Ramsey Campbell. Health Knowledge’s newest publication, World Wide Adventure (“Action for Men” and “Daring Stories”) is announced

No. 20 March 1968

130 pages, 50 cents

Cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(4) The Siren of the Snakes – Arlton Eadie

(6500 words; from Weird Tales, June 1932)

(6) *The Rack – G. G. Ketcham (2250 words)

(1) A Cry from Beyond – Victor Rousseau

(8700 words; from Strange Tales, September 1931)

(2) *Only Gone Before – Emil Petaja (6000 words)

(5) The Voice – Nell Kay

(8000 words; from Ghost Stories, July 1928)

(3) The Monsters – Murray Leinster

(19,500 words; from Weird Tales, January 1933)

Notes: On The Editor’s Page, RAWL discusses his fondness for the pulp Ghost Stories, a short-lived rival to Weird Tales. “The Siren of the Snakes” is illustrated by T. Wyatt Nelson. An illo by Amos Sewell accompanies “A Cry from Beyond.” For some reason, halfway through the issue, the customary two-column page gives way to no columns. This lasts just three stories (from the Rousseau through the Kay) and then returns to the two-column format. The Petaja story was bought for Weird Tales but never used.

A very nice illustration of a giant scorpion eating a man by J. M. Wilcox runs with “Monsters.” In It Is Written, RAWL discusses the “controversy” surrounding the publishing (in #18) of Williamson’s “Wolves of Darkness” (some question running such a long story). The editor also addresses the quarterly vs. bi-monthly schedule of MOH, blaming an old printer and distribution problems for the quarterly start.

No. 21 May 1968

130 pages, 50 cents

cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(1) Kings of the Night – Robert E. Howard

(14,750 words; from Weird Tales, November 1930)

(6) *The Cunning of Private Rogoff – David A. English (1600 words)

(2) The Brain-Eaters – Frank Belknap Long

(5250 words; from Weird Tales, June 1932)

(3) A Psychichal Invasion (Part One) – Algernon Blackwood

(11,000 words; from John Silence)

(5) Nasturtia – Col. S. P. Meek

(4000 words; from Strange Tales, September 1931)

(4) The Dark Star – G. G. Pendarves

(13,600 words; from Weird Tales, March 1937)

Notes: Well, he teased us with the no-column format briefly last issue. Beginning this issue, no columns at all (thus confounding my 250-words a column mathematics). “Kings of the Night,” a Bran Mak Morn tale, is illustrated by Hugh Rankin. T. Wyatt Nelson illustrates “The Brain-Eaters.” In It Is Written, RAWL informs a letter writer that he bought a copy of the first Weird Tales (March 1923) in the 1950s for $35 and sold it in 1967 to a friend because “he had no further need for it, and could get much more mileage from selling it and investing the proceeds in Mozart and Richard Strauss operas.” The last time I saw one for sale, it was priced at nearly ten grand.

No. 22 July 1968

130 pages, 50 cents

cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(1) Worms of the Earth – Robert E. Howard

(13,500 words; from Weird Tales, November 1932)

(6) *Come – Anna Hunger (5000 words)

(4)They Called Him Ghost – Laurence J. Cahill

(7500 words; from Weird Tales, June 1934)

(5) The Phantom ‘Rickshaw – Rudyard Kipling

(9500 words; from The Phantom ‘Rickshaw)

(3) *The Castle in the Window – Steffan B. Aletti (3750 words)

(2) A Psychichal Invasion (Conclusion) – Algernon Blackwood

(11,500 words; from John Silence)

Notes: On the Editor’s Page, RAWL raves about then just-released Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison. “Worms of the Earth,” a Bran Mak Morn adventure, is illustrated by J. M. Wilcox. In the Inquisitions book review department, RAWL recommends Strange Gateways by E. Hoffman Price. Book dealer Robert Madle writes in a long letter about his publishing of David H. Keller’s "The Abyss" (which would be serialized in #23 and 24) in 1948. Muriel Eddy writes about the death of her husband, author C. M. Eddy.

No. 23 September 1968

130 pages, 50 cents

cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(1) The Abyss (Part One) – David H. Keller

(24,500 words; from The Solitary Hunters and The Abyss)

(4) The Death Mask – Mrs. H. D. Everett

(4000 words; uncredited source)

(5) * One By One – Richard M. Hodgens (3000 words)

(3) The Thirteenth Floor – Douglas M. Dold

(5250 words; from Strange Tales, November 1931)

(2) Leapers – Robert A. W. Lowndes

(13,250 words; from Future, December 1942)

Notes: On the Editor’s Page, RAWL writes about the life and death of David H. Keller. John V. Baltadonis illustrates “The Abyss.” H. W. Wesso illustrates “The Thirteenth Floor.” The RAWL story, “Leapers” originally appeared, in a shorter version, under the pseudonym of Carol Grey. In It Is Written, RAWL recounts the origin of the story. Donald A. Wollheim, then editor of Stirring Science Fiction asked RAWL if he could come up with a Lovecraftian story. Lowndes submitted “The Leapers,” but the zine went under before it could see publication. When Lowndes became editor of Future, he ran his own story under the pseudonym. L. Sprague de Camp and Steffan B. Aletti write in.

No. 24 November 1968

130 pages, 50 cents

cover illo: Virgil Finlay

(t-2) Once in a Thousand Years – Frances Bragg Middleton

(12,000 pages; from Weird Tales, August 1935)

(1) *The Eye of Horus – Steffan B. Aletti (3250 words)

(t-2) Four Prose-Poems – H. P. Lovecraft

(3250 words; from Beyond the Wall of Sleep)

(4) A Diagnosis of Death – Ambrose Bierce

(1500 words; from Can Such Things Be?)

(3) The Abyss (Conclusion) – David H. Keller

(28,000 words; from The Solitary Hunters and The Abyss)

Notes: On the Editor’s Page, RAWL discusses the life and career of H. P. Lovecraft. The four “prose-poems” are: Memory, What the Moon Brings, Nyarlathotep, and Ex Oblivione. I believe these are also known as “fragments.”

“Once in a Thousand Years” is illustrated by Vincent Napoli and Hugh Rankin. The same illustration from the first part of “The Abyss” is used this issue as well. “The Eye of Horus” becomes the first new story to place first in The Reckoning. In the Inquisitions column, Lowndes reviews H. P. Lovecraft’s Selected Letters II 1923-1929 and The Green Round by Arthur Machen. Future acclaimed authors Tim Powers (On Stranger Tides) and Richard Brautigan (The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western) write in.

Next Wednesday: The conclusion of Magazine of Horror

Richard Matheson - The Original Stories: The Slicks

by John Scoleri

In the first 10 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, the first, second, third and fourth groups of Science Fiction Digests, and The Twilight ZOne and other contemporary magazines. With today's installment, we look at Matheson's contributions to the slicks. 

The Original Stories - Part 11: The Slicks

While Matheson was a up and coming writer, he placed several stories in pulp magazines (sci-fi covered previously, mystery/horror/western to come), named for the low grade paper on which they were printed. Matheson also had several stories in the 'slicks,' which were magazines printed on nicer paper, including Playboy magazine (covered previously) and the following magazines.

"The Conqueror"
Bluebook Magazine
May 1954, Vol. 99 No. 1

Subsequent appearances: Collected Stories HC, Shock Waves, By the Gun (as "Go West, Young Man"), Collected Stories TP v2

Story Comment: The strange young man rode West with a purpose—to fulfill a grim dream of glory.

Illustration by Charles Geer

Notes: While reprinted in several of his collections under its original title, when included in his Western short story collection By the Gun, Matheson used the alternate title. The first line differs in the two reprinted versions, the Western omitting the beginning of the opening sentence, "On that afternoon in 1871," which itself is different from the original appearance, which starts, "That afternoon in 1871." Perhaps Matheson felt such an introduction was unnecessary amidst a collection of Western stories. While not the rarest of Matheson short fiction appearances, this one remains one of the most expensive due to its including the first appearance of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel, Live and Let Die.



"SF Unlimited"
Writer's Digest
April 1956, Vol. 36 No. 5

Subsequent appearances: He Is Legend (chapbook)

Editorial Comment: The market has shrunk, but the scope for epression is bigger than it ever was.

Illustration Uncredited

Notes: Another tough find, as it seems Writer's Digest wasn't a magazine folks have held onto through the ages.


Aside from introductions and appreciations in other books, this, Matheson's only non-fiction article, has only been reprinted in the at one time indispensable He Is Legend edited by Mark Rathburn and Graeme Flanagan. In many ways rendered obsolete by the publication of Matthew Bradley/Stanley Wiater/Paul Stuve's The Richard Matheson Companion aka The Twilight and Other Zones, it still is a nice addition to any Matheson collection as it contains several nice tributes to Matheson along with this non-fiction piece.

"The Untouchable Divorcee"
Stag
May 1956, Vol. 7 No. 5

Subsequent appearances: N/A

Editorial Comment: She had a model's figure, the lovely face of a child, a woman's lips. She was the kind of girl you wanted to marry—and shouldn't. 

All illustrations by Geygan

Notes: This profusely illustrated story was another abridgement of Matheson's first novel, Someone is Bleeding (like "The Frigid Flame" from Justice, published just seven months earlier, as documented previously).

"The Frenzied Weekend"
For Men Only
June 1956

Subsequent appearances: N/A

Editorial Comment: He had killed two men and a third lay dying—but now he had what he wanted. He was alone with her and no one could interfere.

Notes: I became aware of this abridgment of Matheson's second novel, Fury on Sunday in the pages of Matthew Bradley's Richard Matheson On Screen.

Illustrations by Bill Thomas

"Get Off The Circle 7"
Men True Adventure
July 1958, Vol. 7 No. 7

Subsequent appearances (as "Boy In The Rocks"): By The Gun

Editorial Comment: It took more than men with guns to clear the range—t took a 16-year-old kid with guts.

Story Comment: It was getting to look as if nothing could drive the Tiner Gang out of the Panhandle. Then up rode a stubborn kid with more guts than ammunition. 

Illustration Uncredited

Notes: "Get Off The Circle 7" is a reprint of Matheson's "Son of a Gunman" (from  the December 1955 issue of Western Stories—to be covered in a future installment). Matheson is erroneously listed as Charles Matheson in the table of contents.

"Dead Line"
Rogue
December 1959, Vol. 4 No. 9

Subsequent appearances (as "Deadline": Collected Stories HC, Shock II, Collected Stories TP v3

Editorial Comment: Warshaw shows to double advantage this month with the above-mentioned cartoon-work and a piece of serious art—monoprint—for Richard Matheson's seasonal and softly scary "Dead Line.") Is any comment necessary to introduce Matheson, author of The Shrinking Man and A Stir of Echoes?

Story Comment: It's a matter of doors: opening or closing at the final stroke.

Illustration by Warshaw

Notes: This issue of the would-be Playboy clone also features stories by Charles Beaumont ("Genevieve, My Genevieve") writing as C.B. Lovehill, and Harlan Ellison ("Eyes of Dust").

"A Drink of Water"
Signature: The Diners Club Magazine
April 1967, Vol. 2 No. 4

Subsequent appearances: Collected Stories HC, Shock Waves, Collected Stories TP v3

Illustration Uncredited

Notes: A particularly rare Matheson appearance, in the Diners Club magazine, of all places.

I wanted to share one more piece of Matheson ephemera from the July 1956 issue of Startling Detective. No, not the feature article "Kidnapped Nurse and the Rapist Torture Killer"—a quarter-page ad for Matheson's new (at the time) novel The Shrinking Man. The magazine was a Fawcett publication, parent corporation of Fawcett/Gold Medal, who published the novel. If anyone has awareness of a similar advertisement for I Am Legend circa 1954, please let me know!

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

       

The Complete Guide to Manhunt Part 11

by Peter Enfantino

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

Vol. 2 No. 1 January 1954

160 pages, 35 cents

Guilt-Edged Blonde by John Ross MacDonald

(4500 words) **

Lew Archer is hired by Nick Nemo to be his bodyguard but Nick is gunned down before Lew can guard his body. Not one to turn a blind eye to a paying customer (even if that customer is a corpse), Lew sticks around to see if he can smoke out Nemo’s killer.

The Six-Bit Fee by Richard Deming

(4000 words) *

Manville Moon investigates the murder of a crime writer.

Finish the Job by Frank Kane

(6000 words) ** illo: Tom O'Sullivan

Johnny Liddell muscles and guns his way to the man who killed Barney Shields. Not nearly as riveting as its prequel, “The Icepick Artists” (Dec 1953), “Finish the Job” is redeemed by a refreshingly nasty climax. When Liddell decides the police won’t bring Barney justice, Johnny runs over the bad guys in his rented Buick.

Over My Dead Body by Harold Q. Masur

(4500 words) **

Lawyer Scott Jordan comes home from a fishing trip to find out one of his girlfriends, Delia Harley, has been murdered. It turns out the girl had recently found out she was adopted at a very young age and her biological parents, now both dead, had been very wealthy. One of the surviving relatives wanted to make sure no one discovered that Delia would be next in line for the inheritance,

The Wrong Touch by Henry Kane

(13,000 words) **

PI Peter Chambers is hired by an underworld figure to prove the murdered man in his study is not his handiwork. Overlong, but a nice double twist at the climax.

...And Be Merry by Craig Rice

(500 words) *

Billed as “a John J. Malone story,” this is nothing more than a fragment. Malone is called to the apartment of a woman who’s been posioned with cyanide but the cops can’t find a trace around the apartment. Eventually, the path leads to the woman’s psychiatrist who spills the beans: the woman loved to lick her wallpaper. Yep.

Pattern for Panic by Richard S. Prather

(27,500 words) **** illo: Tom O'Sullivan

Shell Scott’s in Mexico helping the wife of an army general. Seems the beautiful senora has inadvertently made a blue movie and her co-star is back to blackmail her. But is blackmail the real story here? Meanwhile, Shell is mixed up in a subplot involving an eccentric scientist who has invented a deadly nerve gas and has been kidnapped by men who would use that nerve gas to further their political futures. A delirious cocktail of snakes, mad scientists, torture, two-timing babes and a rollicking action-filled climax that sees Shell Scott doing his best Count Dracula impersonation. Author Prather’s hatred of communism is driven home time and again throughout the story.

Shortly after PATTERN appeared in MANHUNT, it was submitted to Gold Medal, who turned it down. Not wishing to miss out on a sale, Prather changed Scott’s name to Cliff Morgan and sold it to Berkeley, who published it in 1955. It was later reissued in 1961 (with the Scott name re-inserted) by Gold Medal.

There was no Mugged and Printed this issue. Dan Sontup's Portrait of a Killer was also a no-show. There was a Crime Cavalcade by Vincent H. Gaddis. There were 16 extra pages in this issue, ostensibly to fit in the Prather novel.

Vol. 2 No. 2 February 1954

144 pages, 35 cents

Runaway by Richard Marsten

(9500 words) ** illo: Tom O'Sullivan

Johnny Trachetti is the suspect in the murder of gang member Angelo (The Wop) Brancusi. Johnny didn’t do it but he knows the cops will pin it on him so they can close the case early. So he runs…and runs…and runs from mishap to mishap. If it seems like a condensed version of a longer story, especially in its rushed climax, that’s because it is. A few months after “Runaway” appeared in Manhunt, Gold Medal released an expanded version, retitled Runaway Black.

The Rope Game by Bryce Walton

(5000 words) ***

Larry used to have a way with the gals but now spends his time at the bottom of a bottle. Ten thousand dollars gets him to clean up his act for at least enough time to run a con on a beautiful woman. He needs to get her in compromising positions for some photos her husband can use against her in divorce court. Great character study. Larry seems to be on the brink of redeeming himself but can a guy this far in the gutter really change his ways?

Deadlier than the Mail by Evan Hunter

(5000 words) *1/2

By his sixth outing, the “solve crime and hit the bottle” routine is growing weary not only for Matt Cordell and Manhunt readers but also, I think, for Evan Hunter himself. “Deadlier Than the Mail” is a lazy tale about the theft of welfare checks during Christmas. There’s not a lot to it and the “snappy patter” between characters is forced and embarrassing:

“How old are you, Fran? Sixteen?” 

“Nineteen, if you’re worried about Quentin Quail. Hey, boy, what is it with you? You still got eyes for that bitchy wife of yours?”

“Can it, honey.” 

“Sure, so carry the torch. Let me help you burn it brighter, boy. I need the dough.”

“Because your old man’s checks have been lifted?” 

“Sure, but that don’t cut my ice, boy. The old man never gave me a cent anyway. The holidays are coming and I use what I’ve got to get what I want.”

She cupped her breasts suddenly, reaching forward toward me. “Come on, boy, it’s good stuff.” 

“I’m on the wagon.” I paused. “Besides, I’m broke.” 

“Mmm. Well, I ain’t Santa Claus.”

That kind of awful dialog (so awful that, if I didn’t know better, I’d suspect that Hunter was farming out work to beginning writers) and a ludicrous expository damn this entry to the bottom of the Matt Cordell bottle.

The Disaster by Emmanuel Winters

(1500 words) ** illo: Dick Francis

Steve Obel tries to cope with the fact that his cowardice led to the death of 28 men in a mining accident.

I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Craig Rice

(9000 words) *

Charlie Bekker wakes from a night of drinking and whoring (or so he thinks from the evidence) and finds himself in the company of a dead model. Running from the scene, he happens into the bar frequented by one John J. Malone. The lawyer is a bit upset since he’s just found out the star witness in one of his big cases has been found dead in a motel room. Yep, that’s right. In the small, coincidental world of JJ Malone, everything ties together and the news gets out fast (though Rice notes that Bekker stumbles into the bar just a few hours after he finds the dead girl, Malone is already reading about in the paper!). Once Charlie confesses his innocence to Malone, the lawyer does what any lawyer would do: he puts the man up in a hotel, gets him a job, and tells him to lay low, all on pro bono. John J then devises a plan of coincidences and ludicrous twists and turns. Surely this story could have been told in half the space.

Heels are for Hating by Fletcher Flora

(6000 words)**

Jackie Brand just wants a little dough so that he can retire from boxing and he and his wife can start their own business. When Jackie is offered ten grand to take a fall in his next fight, he greedily accepts but then finds himself trapped in a war between underworld goons. As Flora states towards the end of the story: “…he’s learned of my double-cross. Or is it a triple-cross? It’s getting too damn complex to follow.” Indeed. Flora again enters the world of sports betting that he excelled at in his novel, The Hot Shot, but this time the results are a bit too talky.

The Onlooker by Robert Turner

(1000 words) *

Blake’s world comes apart when he witnesses his woman making love to a soldier. No surprise ending here.

Comeback by R. Van Taylor

(3000 words) ****

Six years after being involved in a hit-and-run that left him an amnesiac, Fred Stevens is living the good life with his wife Marge and son Billy until he notices a strange man following him, appearing wherever he goes. Finally the man presents his case: he claims Fred was actually a vicious gangster named Johnny until he lost his memory. Now the man wants his half of the cut of $150,000 they stole on their last job. Fred pleads with the man that he knows nothing about the money but the goon’s not taking “no” for an answer. A tense little short story that reminded me a bit of David Cronenberg’s excellent film A History of Violence. "Comeback" and History share an equally brutal climax.

Mr. Chesley by Robert Zacks

(1000 words) **

Mr. Chesley’s about to pay dearly for his heroin trafficking.

Shadow Boxer by Richard Ellington

(5500 words) *1/2 illo: Tom O'Sullivan

PI Steve Drake is hired by ex-con Jack Cordello to find his sweetheart, missing since he went into the stir three years before. Drake discovers the girl is alive and very well off. Ellington manages to avoid most of the usual PI trappings that I’ve moaned about before but he just can’t help himself when it comes to the big finale expository. An expository I’m still trying to figure out.

The Man who Found the Money by James E. Cronin

(2600 words) **** illo: Tom O'Sullivan

William Benson finds a money clip containing 92 thousand-dollar bills and, after thinking it over a couple times, does what any good sam would do: he goes to the police. He soon finds he should have done what 98% of the planet would have done. Well-done, with a nasty bite in its climax. Faithfully adapted in 1960 for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, starring Arthur Hill as the hapless Benson. Amazingly, this is Cronin's only Manhunt story. In fact, I can't find any further stories by the author.

Also in this issue: Mugged and Printed features bios on Craig Rice, Richard Marsten, Evan Hunter, and Richard Ellington; Dan Sontup's Portrait of a Killer #8 focuses on Richard Coffey; H.H. Holmes' Murder Market reviews several new books; Crime Cavalcade by Vincent H. Gaddis; and Leonard S. Gray's "Holdup Man" is a very short story that ends with a quiz for the reader.

Foreign Editions:

Various Australian editions of Manhunt began appearing in October 1953. The first, running monthly for 13 issues through October 1954 retained the Manhunt title but further incarnations were retitled. Verdict Detective Story Monthly appeared for 9 issues, beginning in March 1955. A third, Phantom Suspense-Mystery Magazine appeared sometime in the 1950s (the issues are undated but most of the contents listed on the cover appeared in Manhunts from 1954. The later two magazines also reprinted stories from rival digest magazines of the period. The first issue of Verdict includes "All at Once, No Alice" by Cornell Woolrich (originally from the March 2, 1940 Argosy and reprinted in the November 1951 Ellery Queen) while Phantom reprinted "Sudden Death" by Max Franklin/Richard Deming (from Pursuit, November 1955).

The British got into the act as well in August 1953. 13 issues appeared through September 1954.

Since I don't own any of these foreign editions, I can't compare contents. In fact, all my info for these came from Galactic Central.

We'll cover Bloodhound (the later British Manhunt reprinting from the 1960s) at a later date.