‘Magazines I Remember’

Magazines I Remember is a collection of reminiscence from pulp author Hugh B. Cave of “some pulps, their editors, and what is was like to write for them.” Published by Tattered Pages Press, it was their second “Pulp Vault Pulp Study” volume, and sadly their last. Wish we could see a return of such a series.

Cave was active in the horror and fantasy fields, and got his start in the pulps in the 1920s and had works published in all the major magazines: Weird Tales, Adventure, Argosy, Strange Tales, Terror Tales, Dime Mystery, Black Mask, Spicy Mystery, Spicy Adventures, and more. He wrote something like a thousand stories in several genres. Interestingly, he was still putting out new work until 2000. He passed away in 2004.

This volume is based on his correspondence with fellow pulp author Carl Jacobi (though sadly only the letters he sent Jacobi, as the other side was lost to fire), with his added modern comments on it. It’s organized chronologically, starting around 1931 and running up to the 1990s. There are a few periods were there is no correspondence, so he fills us in on what happened. This is one of those works where you can jump in at some point and enjoy things, but might be better to start at either the beginning or at least the start of the chapter. This is almost a biography, but around his writing career, a sort-of “bio-bibliography,” though not rigorous as to all his works. Plus we get his comments and recommendations to Jacobi on his works.

For instance, in Chapter 8 we learn of how he started writing for several of the spicy pulps from Culture (Spicy Adventures, Spicy Mystery, etc). They actually approached him, and offered him a better pay rate than usual, which is kind of surprising. For these works he used the pen name of Justin Case and created to serial characters: The Eel and Peeper Poole. Some of these works have been reprinted.

If you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes of the pulp world, or a fan of Hugh Cave, this is a great read. I wish it was still in print (Black Dog Books?), or that we had more in the Pulp Vault Pulp Study series. I would think with POD it would be easier to keep such works available to readers today.