Here we have the third issue of this excellent fanzine devoted to “men’s adventure magazines”: Men’s Adventure Quarterly. This time the focus is on vigilante justice. Think series like Mack Bolan and the like in books, or Death Wish and similar movies. And we even get some Mack Bolan in this volume!
As before, publisher Bob Deis (Men’s Adventure Library) and graphic designer Bill Cunningham (Pulp 2.0 Press) have put out an excellent issue with guest editor Chuck Dixon (comicbook author and novelist who co-created Bane and wrote many Punisher stories). All provide some great intros.
This is another well-designed issue, with both color and black-&-white artwork, articles, and reprints that include fiction, non-fiction, cartoons, ads, and pictorals. It comes in at about 150 pages, and is 8.5- x 11-inches in size, like all the rest.
Full disclosure, I was sent a copy to review.
For those not aware, here’s a little bit on men’s adventure magazines (or MAMs): These were an outgrowth of the pulps, with many of the first ones being pulp magazines that changed their focus and format. Paper changed from pulp to slick. So MAMs are not pulps, but a replacement of them in popular literature.
Focus was on what interested men: pinups of girls and stories of lurid adventure, as well as non-fiction. Many claimed to be “true life” adventures, but probably most were not, or were heavily exaggerated. These magazines ran from the 1940s until the ’70s, and I view the numbered men’s adventure paperback series as one of the replacements of them.
Now the focus on this issue is “vigilante justice,” with a particular focus on Mack Bolan. While I’m aware of the character, I never read any of the novels. As a long-time science-fiction fan, I was never into most of the numbered men’s paperback series like The Executioner, Able Team, and all the rest. I did get into The Destroyer more because several of the stories had a science-fictiony element that made the series more interesting to me. So I read many of them up into the late ’80s, when I lost interest. But I remember seeing all those series on the shelves of many used bookstores, along with the Nick Carter, Killmaster series. Now, like those old used bookstores, they are harder to find.
I did find it interesting that Don Pendelton, who created The Executioner, also coined the term for this new genre: “Action/Adventure.” That makes since as I think before that, the only similar series again was Nick Carter, Killmaster, and it wasn’t originally numbered. Something that actually frustrated me. But with the Executioner, the number of the volume was important, or at least, they were more promenant on the cover and spine.
Pendelton wrote only the first 40 or so novels before selling off the character to Harlequin Books(?!?), which established the Gold Eagle and Worldwide Library imprints to publish it and others, especially the various spinoff of The Executioner like Able Team, Phoenix Force, Stony Man, et al.
To a degree I see these “Action/Adventure” series as a kind of “grandchildren”‘ of the pulps through both MAMs and paperbacks. In part, they replaced the MAMs. Certainly, the idea of them being numbered and often owned by the publisher and farmed out to different authors is similar to how many of the pulp heroes were really owned by the publisher, with house names hiding who the author(s) were.
So here we get reprints of the first two Executioner novels, or more precisely, the condensed versions of them that ran in MAMs. An interview with Linda Pendelton, who is in control of Don’s work, is included, with some good info. I knew of how Marvel Comics’ The Punisher was based on Mack Bolan, but not to the extent shown.
And we have a brief look at the short-lived (four issues) Don Pendleton’s The Executioner Mystery Magazine digest. The publisher was a Leonard J. Ackerman, and I couldn’t help wonder if there was any connection with the famous science-fiction editor, publisher, and collector Forest J. Ackerman? And we get a overview of artist Gil Cohen who not only did many MAM covers, but also many Mack Bolan covers as well, with many shown here.
For the rest of MAQ No. 3 (yes, there’s more), we get a trio of fiction pieces, all with good introductory materials. One is about someone going up against the mob, another deals with outlaw bikers, and the third on Vietnam vets with ambutations going up against criminals.
And last but not least, we get a gallery on famous pinup girl Bettie Page. I discovered her when she was re-introduced to folks through Dave Steven‘s excellent The Rocketeer comics, that led to an explosion of interest in her. Here we get some more tame pinup photos and a sidebar on Jack Farragasso‘s work with her, both photos and paintings. I have his recent book of his early photos of her, as well.
Wow, just another great issue. I’m not clear on what next issue’s theme is other than they will be including Jane Dolinger, who was an author and model. I have to admit I’m not familiar with her.
I hope people are checking out this series, as each issue has maintained the high-quality work throughout. Even if you only have a passing interest in MAMs, take a look.
