western fiction – Page 7

December 1932 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

December 1932 issue

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

~ Paul Cain, “Red 71”, ‘Dick Shane on the fringes of the Underworld; “71” is NYPD code for gambling-joint’, reprinted in, The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946), and later released as one of the Seven Slayers (1950 Avon), reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), 8^th of 17 stories in BM

~ L.W. Claflin, “Thunder in the Darkness”, ‘Joe Stannard & road construction gang’, only appearance in BM

~ Eugene Cunningham, “Passing Through”, 1st of 2 Westerns with Pony Kerr, 6^th of 14 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “Merger with Death”, 47^th of 53 with Race Williams, 59th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “The Top Comes Off”, 2nd of 6 stories with attorney Ken Corning, ‘fighting young lawyer’, 66th of 99 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Red Pavement”, 11th of 15 stories with ‘tough dick Donahue of Interstate’, reprinted in The Arbor House Treasury of Detective & Mystery Stories from the Great Pulps (1983), reprinted in Tough as Nails (2012, Altus), 43 of 67 stories in BM

~ Joseph T. Shaw, “Fugitive”, last of 4 parts, “Jack Henderson, set in Far East, e.g., Rangoon”, Shaw’s last appearance of fiction in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Park Avenue Item”, ‘3rd (of 25) Jerry Tracy capers, columnist on the (NYC) Planet, ‘mixer with poor and rich, the crooked and the straight, trailer of trouble and happiness’, 3rd of 26 stories in BM

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[image updated 12/27/25]

October 1928 issue ~ cover art by F.R. Glass

October 1928

cover art by F.R. Glass

June 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

June 1936 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by John Drew

~ Raymond Chandler, “Goldfish”, Carmady #2 of 4, ‘see May 1936 issue, p. 127, for comment on RC’, first book appearance Five Murderers (Avon digest, 2/3/44), reprinted in the collection Trouble is My Business (Penguin UK, 1950), The Hard-Boiled Detective, (1977), 9th of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Fall Guy”, 17^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 19^th of 31 stories in BM

~ M.A. Gutschow, “The Wild Rose Hermit”, ‘another in the ‘Narrowest Escape’ series, see Charles E. Cox Jr.’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Two Tickets to Trinidad”, 26th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 33rd of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Hard to Take”, 36th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.4 (Altus, 2013), 65 of 67 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Storm Signal”, ‘16th (of 25) Jerry Tracy capers, columnist on the (NYC) Planet, ‘mixer with poor and rich, the crooked and the straight, trailer of trouble and happiness’, reprinted in Murder Maze: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy, vol.2 (Steeger 2022), 17th of 26 stories in BM

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January 1925 issue ~ cover art by H.C. Murphy

January 1925 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by H.C. Murphy

~ Frank Hepburn Crawford, “Silver Bullets”, ‘A weird, unusual tale’, only appearance in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Beyond the Law”, 1st of 73 with ‘Ed Jenkins, The Phantom Crook, 1^st-person narrator; a.k.a Bob Sabin, private detective; full name Edward Gordon Jenkins; more often than not, stories take place in San Francisco’s Chinatown’, 4^th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Mike or Alex or Rufus”, the Op [9^th of 22], 14^th of 45 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Corpse in the Woods”, 36th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series

~ Solon K. Stewart, “The Trail of the Feathered Snake”, ‘A Complete Mystery Novelette’, last of 3 appearances in BM

~ J. Paul Suter, “The Little Blonde Nightmare”, 2nd of 15 stories with The Reverend McGregor Daunt, ‘clergyman by profession and detective by choice’, 5th of 19 appearances in BM

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January 1925 British issue

[updated 1/3/26]

July 1932 issue ~ cover by J.W. Schlaikjer

July 1932 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Guthrie Brown,“Touchstone”, Western, 2^nd of 2 BM stories

~ Paul Cain, “Parlor Trick”, ‘criminal narrator’, later released as one of the Seven Slayers (1950 Avon), reprinted in The Arbor House Treasury of Detective & Mystery Stories from the Great Pulps (1983), reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), 5^th of 17 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Amateur Murderer”, 46^th of 53 with Race Williams, part 4 of 4, published as a novel in 1933, 58th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “Climbing Death”, aviation plays a roll, 21st of 24 Jo Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “New Boss”, 18^th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 25th of 39 stories in BM, reprinted Sept ’50 with different title, “Patsy in Slaughterland”]

~ J.J. Des Ormeaux, “The Devil Suit”, 2^nd and last ‘Jack McGuire, Federal dick, 1^st-person narrator, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)’, 4th of 5 stories in BM (pseudonym of Forrest Rosaire)

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Rough Stuff”, 45th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, 62nd of 99 stories in BM

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[image updated 10/27/25]