black mask magazine – Page 15

August 1942 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

August 1942 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ D.L. Champion, “Killer, Can You Spare a Dime?”, 9^th of 26 with Rex Sackler, 10^th of 30 stories in BM

~ Norbert Davis, “Bullets Don’t’ Bother Me”, ‘Sam Carey & Japanese agents in wartime San Francisco’, 11^th of 13 stories in BM

~ C.P. Donnell, Jr., “Dead Ahead Lies Yesterday”, 10th of 16 with Colonel Walter (Doc) Rennie, USA Medical Corps [perhaps a prequel as Hagemann notes ‘psychiatrist-detective’ enters US Medical Corps], 10^th of 20 stories in BM

~ John Lawrence, “Treasonable Facsimile”, 2nd of 2 stories with disbarred attorney, Larssen T. (Larceny) Kyne, 13^th of 14 stories in BM

~ Peter Paige, “Death Is a Souvenir”, ’Captain Hammer (private eye), “one-man war department’” 11th of 12 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1943 Canadian issue

May 1931 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

May 1931 issue

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

better image than previously posted

~ William Donald Bray, “The Man Who Cased Himself”, ‘a suspected killer joins in the hunt to catch himself’, 7^th of 12 stories in BM

~ Ramon Decolta (Raoul Whitfield), “Red Dawn”, 4^th of 6 parts in the ‘Rainbow Diamonds’ sequence that take Jo Gar from Manila to San Francisco, 13^th of 24 Gar stories in BM, reprinted in West of Guam: The Complete Cases of Jo Bar (Altus Press, 2013)

~ Grimes Hill (pseud. of Frederick Lewis Nebel), “The Spot and the Lady”, ‘short-short‘, 2^nd of 2 stories in this issue by the author, last of 2 stories under this name in BM, reprinted in Street Wolf (Altus Press, 2014),

~ Horace McCoy, “Headfirst into Hell”, 9th of 14 stories with ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger & Eddie Giles in Mexico (“Mañana land”)’, 10^th of 17 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Beat the Rap”, 14th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Shakedown: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.2 (Altus, 2013), 31 of 67 stories under Nebel in BM [2^nd story in this issue, see Grimes Hill]

~ Joseph T. Shaw, “Derelict”, last of 4-part serialization of his 1930 novel, ‘murder, romance and disaster on a deserted ocean liner’, 5th of 9 fiction pieces in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Soft City”, ‘Center City yarn’, 1^st of 2 stories in this issue by RFW, 47th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

February 1936 issue

cover art by John Drew

better image than previously posted

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “Rat Bait”, 4^th of 7 Chuck Thompson stories, 9^th of 21 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Portrait of Murder”, 15^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 15^th of 31 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Shylock Is Murdered”, 24th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 31st of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “No Hard Feelings”, 34th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, they reverse roles in this story, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.4 (Altus, 2013), 63 of 67 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Body Snatcher”, ‘15th (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’, 16th of 26 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[cover updated 10/27/25]

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

cover art by Rafael de Soto

November 1944 issue

better image than previously posted

~ Merle Constiner, “Killer Stay ‘Way from My Door”, ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, 7th of 11 of the McG stories; usually rural setting’, 7^th of 12 stories in BM

~ Brett Halliday (pseud. of David Dresser), “A Taste for Cognac”, 1^st of 2 Mike Shayne stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Blind Bogey”, 2nd of 17 stories with ’Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 7th of 23 stories in BM

~ Robert Reeves, “Murder A.W.O.L.”, 8th Cellini Smith, ‘on his induction day, WWII’, 10th of 12 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

October 1939 issue ~ cover art by Edgar A. Whitney

October 1939 issue

cover art by Edgar A. Whitney

better image than previously posted

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “Murder on the Gayway”, 6^th of 7 Beeker stories, ‘SF World’s Fair, Treasure Island Nude Ranch’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 20^th of 21 stories in BM

~ William Cole, “Waiting for Rusty”, ‘short-short’, only appearance in BM

~ Tiah Devitt, “The Haunted Inn”, last of 2 stories in BM

~ Mark Harper, “Death Rides Double”, ‘motorcycle cop’, pseudonym of Joseph T. Shaw, editor of BM, only fiction to appear under this name in the magazine

~ Fred Hodgkins, “Strangle-Hold”, 2^nd of 3 stories in BM

~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “Moron’s Holiday”, last of 29 stories in BM

~ Roger Torrey, “Kill That Witness”, ‘12th (of 14) in Pat McCarthy series, with Marge Chalmers often his “sidekick”; he is ex-NYC cop, ex-agency man (Chicago & St. Louis) who dislikes cops’, 39th of 50 appearances in BM

~ Cornell Woolrich, “Collared”, ‘see p.31 for letter from CW on this story’, 14th of 24 (22 original) stories to appear in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

September 1946 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

September 1946 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

better image than previously posted

~ Dale Clark, “The Sound of the Shot”, 26^th of 28 stories with O’Hanna, ‘with movie people & Hollywood beauty contest’, 30^th of 32 stories in BM

~ William Campbell Gault, “Hot-House Homicide”, ‘debut of Mortimer Jones (Jonesy), private cop, narrator, drives a Duesenberg’, 1^st of 9 stories in BM

~ C.M. (Cyril) Kornbluth, “Beer-Bottle Polka”, ‘Tim Skeat, private cop, 1^st person narrator, in NYC’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 1^st of 2 stories in BM, both with Skeat

~ Julius Long, “This Is Murder”, 14th of 17 stories with ‘Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 19th of 23 stories in BM

~ William Rough, “Don’t Burn Your Corpses Behind You”, ‘Ben Slabbe, p.i., who has his own agency; 4th of 5 capers’ in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

November 1938 issue ~ cover art by James Lunnon

November 1938 issue

cover art by James Lunnon

better image than previously posted

~ W.T. Ballard, “Mobster Guns”, 20th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 30th of 43 stories in BM

~ Hugh B. Cave, “Curtain Call”, 4th of 9 stories in BM

~ Eric Howard, “Fifty Grand Frail”, ‘Tim Ryan, private snoop, 1st person narrator’, 5th of 6 stories in BM

~ Edgar Pangborn, “Bullet Song”, ‘Tom Paradine, music critic’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Station K-I-L-L”, ‘23rd (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’, 24th of 26 stories in BM

~ Donald Wandrei, “Tick, Tock”, ‘time bomb’, 5th of 6 stories in BM

[cover updated 1/28/26]

February 1942 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

February 1942 issue

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

better image than previously posted

~ W.T. Ballard, “The Colt and the Killer”, 26th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 39th of 43 stories in BM

~ William E. Brandon, “Wake Up and Give!”, ‘skullduggery & a college bequest’, 4^th of 7 stories in BM

~ John Lawrence, “Murder, Maestro, Please”, ‘Jamie Harrod, ‘Maestro of Swing’, 1^st -person narrator, framed for murder; set in Detroit’, 11^th of 14 stories in BM

~ Peter Paige, “The Night You Shot Hitler”, ’Murder of an RAF pilot in NYC’, 10th of 12 stories in BM

~ C.G. Tahney, [pseud of Charles Green, not to be confused with Charles M. Green], “And a Little Child Shall Bleed Them”, Nickie and Uncle Pat, 3rd of 5 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

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September 1931 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

September 1931 issue

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Carroll John Daly, “Death for Two”, 42nd of 53 with RW, Race ‘Williams pinch-hits for his friend, Sergeant O’Rourke’, reprinted in Shooting out of Turn: The Collected Hard-boiled Stories of Race Williams, v.3 (Altus, 2017), 54th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Promise to Pay”, 37th of 73 Ed Jenkins, with Lui Sing Fong, patriarchal master of Chinatown, 2nd of 3 connected stories (7/1931 and 12/1931), 54th of 99 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “The Sound of Guns”, 16th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, ‘set in NYC’, 22nd of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Pearls are Tears”, 6th of 15 stories with ‘tough dick Donahue of Interstate’, reprinted in Tough as Nails (2012, Altus), 34 of 67 stories in BM

~ Stewart Stirling, (‘possible pseud. of Stewart Sterling?’), “Pushover”, 4^th of 8 stories with ‘Johnny Hi Gear, a.k.a. K-5, Undercover Agent’, ‘…& boxing fix’ [Sterling and Stirling were pen names of Nathaniel Prentice Winchell, 20 total stories in BM]. Reprinted in Boomerang Dice: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Johnny Hi Gear (Steeger Books, 2020).

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Red Terrace”, ‘Alan Van Cleve, wealthy sportsman, man-about-town, 2nd (of 6) segment in The Skyline Murders series; printed as separate stories rather than conventional serial’; pub. as Killer’s Carnival (1932) under pseudonym of Temple Field’, 50th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

January 1946 issue ~ cover art by Gloria Stoll

January 1946 issue

cover art by Gloria Stoll

better image than previously posted

~ Dale Clark, “I Ain’t Got No Body”, 23rd of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 26^th of 32 stories in BM

~ Merle Constiner, “Hand Me Down My Thirty-Eight”, ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, 9th of 11 of the McG stories; usually rural setting’ 10^th of 12 stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Date with Dynamite”, 9^th of 17 stories with ’Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 14th of 23 stories in BM

~ C.G. Tahney, [pseud of Charles Green, not to be confused with Charles M. Green], “There’s Dough in Murder”, Nickie, aka ‘Sherlock in short pants’, last of 5 stories in BM