black mask magazine – Page 19

November 1926 issue ~ cover art by H.C. Murphy

November 1926

cover art by Henry C. Murphy

~ Carroll John Daly, “Half-Breed”, 16^th of 53 with ‘Race Williams among the Oklahoma oil-rich Indians’, reprinted in Them That Lives By Their Guns: The Collected Hard-Boiled Stories of Race Williams, Vol. 1 (Altus Press, 2015), 24th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Money, Marbles and Chalk”, 11th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, ‘still a ‘crook’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 19^th of 99 stories in BM

~ (Charles John) Cutcliffe Hyne, “The Guns for Cuba”, 1^st of 8 yarns with Captain Kettle, author’s debut in BM

~ Don Livingston, “The Awakening of Bash Langley”, ‘modern-day Western’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Grain to Grain”, ‘Corson & Gleason, ex-gangster and ex-boxer turned dicks’, reprinted in Street Wolf (Altus Press, 2014), 2 of 67 stories

~ Lt. Col. J.H. [John Henry] Patterson, D.S.O., “The Man-Eaters of Tsavo”, 2nd of 7 serialized parts of this ex-British Army officer’s account of building a railway in Kenya, 1898-1899; book published in 1927

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Delivered Goods”, ‘aviator hero; see headnote for data on RFW’, 7th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

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June 1945 Canadian issue

June 1945 Canadian edition

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May 1948 issue ~ cover art by Peter Stevens

May 1948

cover art by Peter Stevens

~ Curtis Cliff, “You’ll Never Die Rich”, 2nd of 3 with Honolulu PI Johnny Ford, 1^st person-narrator, 2^nd of 4 stories in BM

~ Richard Deming, “The Man Who Chose the Devil”, Manville “Manny” Moon, 1^st person narrator, private eye with an artificial right leg due to WWII, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 1^st of 6 stories

~ G.T. Fleming-Roberts, “Pattern for Shrouds”, ‘Red Morgan, newspaper editor; politics & murder’, 5^th of 8 stories in BM

~ W. Lee Herrington, [also published in BM as Alan Farley], “Your Funeral – Not Mine”, 2nd of 4 stories under this name in BM

~ Day Keene, “No Match for Murder”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ George F. Kull, “Death Is No Bargain”, Eddie Gates, private eye wearing glasses, 1^st person narrator, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

November 1944 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

November 1945 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ D.L. Champion, “Money Makes the Mare Go”, 19^th of 26 with Sackler, ‘here dubbed “The Shylock of the Shamuses”’, 21^st of 30 stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Never Kid a Killing”, 8th of 17 stories with ’Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 13th of 23 stories in BM

~ E. Hoffmann Price, “I’ll Be Slaying You”, ‘Dave Stanton in military service; Bagdad, California’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “Your Corpses Are Showing”, 13th of 14 with ‘Ken O’Hara, fighting reporter on Los Angeles’ Tribune, 21st of 27 stories in BM

~ Fergus Truslow, “Hardboot Homicide”, ‘ex-jockey Nick Apelman’, 2nd of 6 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

May 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

May 1936 issue

cover art by John Drew

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~ W.T. Ballard, “Blackmailers Die Hard”, 14th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 19th of 43 stories in BM

~ John K. Butler, “Dark Return”, ‘Mark Dana, ex-G-man’, 3^rd of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Murder Mixup”, 16^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 18^th of 31 stories in BM, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Beating the Bulls”, 63th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, ‘The Phantom Crook’, 88th of 99 stories in BM

~ Eric Taylor, “Murder to Music”, ‘Jess Arno, private eye’, 6th of 7 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1925 issue

February 1925 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Francis H. Harbaugh

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Face Behind the Mask”, 6^th of 53 with Race Williams, reprinted in Them That Lives By Their Guns: The Collected Hard-Boiled Stories of Race Williams, Vol. 1 (Altus Press, 2015) 14th the of 71 appearances in BM

~ James Parker Long, “Twice to Make Sure”, “‘Cautious, conservative business man’ as sleuth”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Harold Freeman Miners, “Topango Takes a Long Shot”, last of 4 ‘Topanga John, ancient desert rat’, last of 5 stories in BM

~ William Rollins, Jr., “Treasures That Dead Men Guard”, part 1 of 3, last of 3 stories with Jack Darrow, 10 of 23 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Death Ship”, ‘schooner Mary Beatrice & Chinese, see important headnote (p. 118) and editorial note (p.125) relating to series’, 37th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 38th of 49 total articles in BM

~ J. Paul Suter, “The Loud Voice of Time”, 3rd of 15 stories with The Reverend McGregor Daunt, ‘clergyman by profession and detective by choice’, ‘Daunt & one of his problems’, 6th of 19 appearances in BM

~ Kenneth Duane Whipple, “Tainted”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

July 1950 issue ~ cover art by Norman Saunders

July 1950 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Norman Saunders

~ Charles J. Beckman, “Satan’s Step-Daughter”, cop Mike O’Connell, only story in BM

~ Harmon Bellamy, “Shutterbug’s Long Shot”, only story in BM

~ Owen Couey, “Bring Your Own Body”, only story in BM

~ Westcott D. Gouldner, “All Work and No Slay”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ John D. MacDonald, “Jukebox Jungle”, last of 6 stories in BM

~ Robert Martin, “Lost in the Shrouds”, 5th of 6 stories with ’Dr. Clint Colby, medical detective’, 7th of 8 stories in BM

~ Hank Searls, “Nice Girls Don’t Murder”, ‘Pete Butler, San Francisco private eye’, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Robert Turner, “Nine Kills to Paradise”, 2nd of 4 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[post updated 6/1/24, 1/30/26, 3/1/26]

May, 1939 issue ~ cover art by J. George Janes

May, 1939

cover art by J. George Janes

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~ Carroll John Daly, “Murder Made Easy”, ‘Clay Holt’, 68th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Frank Gruber, “Funny Man”, 8th of 10with ‘Oliver Quade, The Human Encyclopedia’, ’Quade in Hollywood; see p. 5 for letter from FG on OG’, 12th of 14 stories in BM

~ H. Randolph Peacock, “Bare Facts”, ‘nudist camp setting; epistolary style’, last of 4 stories in BM

~ Stewart Sterling (pseud. of Prentice Winchell), “Strictly for Suckers”, 1^st of 3 stories with Vince Mallie, debut in BM, 1^st of 12 stories

~ Emile C. Tepperman, “Death of Sale”, ‘vacuum cleaner salesman’, last of 3 stories in BM

~ K. Webster, “Prison Break”, 2nd of 3 stories in BM

[post updated 4/25/25]

March 1944 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

March 1944

better image than previously posted

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ D.L. Champion, “Death for a Dollar”, 13th of 26 with Sackler, reprinted in Murder Costs Money: The Complete Black Mask Stories of Rex Sackler (Steeger, 2020), 15^th of 30 stories in BM

~ Leslie Charteris, “Murder Goes to Market”, 2^nd of 2 Saint stories, last appearance in BM

~ Dale Clark, “Hands Down”, 16th of 28 with house dick Mike O’Hanna story, at San Alpa Resort hotel, 18^th of 32 stories in BM

~ C.P. Donnel, Jr., “Clues in the Night”, 14th of 16 with Colonel Walter (Doc) Rennie, USA Medical Corps, 17^th of 20 stories in BM

~ Clyde Morehead, “Tears for Little Willie”, ‘short-short’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Ted Stratton, “Call the Undertaker”, ‘Trigg’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

February 1929 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

February 1929 issue

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

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~ Tom Curry, “The Taste of Blood”, 16^th of 23 with Macnamara (Mac), NYPD 1^st grade dick, ‘small-time crook develops into killer’, 27^th of 39stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Bracelets for Two”, 25th of 73 stories with Ed Jenkins, with his wife Helen Chadwick, 38th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Black Riddle”, last of 4 Continental Op stories that will go together to make up The Dain Curse (Knopf hc, 1929), reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), 39th of 51 stories in BM

~ Carl L. Martin, “Still Buzzards”, Deputy Lon Havens, Drew County, Bayou country, and friends in the delta, 5th of 6 in BM

~ Earl and Marion Scott, “Brewed at Benetti’s”, 1^st of 6 stories with ‘Phil Craleigh, once brilliant lawyer, now a drunk, given to bouts of reform’, 4th of 17 stories in BM as a couple

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “On the Spot”, ‘Gary Greer; 1st (of 9) in the Laughing Dead series, presented as separate stories rather than conventional serial; pub. As Five (1931) under the pseudonym of Temple Field’, 26th of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]. Reprinted in Laughing Death (Steeger Books, 2021).

[updated 6/4/24]