October 1939 issue ~ cover art by Norman Saunders

cover art by Norman Saunders

oil on canvas, 30 x 21 in

October 1939 issue

better image than previously posted

then used on August 1949 10-Story Detective Magazine

[updated 6/7/24]

cover art by John Howitt

JOHN WALTER SCOTT (American, 1907-1987)
Shoot-Out, Star Detective Stories pulp cover, July 1938
oil on canvas, 29 x 20.25 in., signed lower right

also used on June 1941 issue of Detective Short Stories

[updated 5/3/25]

Summer 1935 issue

Summer 1933

This was the only issue of the title…“Rumored to have been shut down before wide distribution due to risqué content, with only a few copies actually making it to the newsstands. Some sources claim it came out in 1933, others in 1935.”

better image than previously posted

“Published as a direct challenge to Spicy Detective Stories, the stories in Vice-Squad Detective were even sexier and it is believed that most copies were seized by police prior to distribution, which may explain why there was no second issue. Although dated as 1933 by many authorities, its publication was noted in the July 1935 issue of Author & Journalist.” (philsip)

cover art by Dalton Stevens or Stockton Mulford?

January 1935 – cover art attributed to Rudolph Belarski

[post updated 6/5/24- 10/29/25]

January 1938 premiere issue ~ cover art by Emery Clarke

January 1938

better image than previously posted

[image updated 4/22/24]

cover art by Emery Clarke repurposed from February 1935 issue of Ten Detective Aces

[updated 5/5/25]