black mask magazine – Page 2

March 1, 1923 issue ~ cover art by A. Rose

March 1, 1923 issue

cover art by A. Rose

~ John Ayotte, “Okolehao”, ‘short-short, ‘A tragedy of Hawaii’, JA’s debut in BM’, 1^st of 10 stories

~ Eustace Hale Ball, “The Trail of the Scarlet Fox”, part 4 of 6 parts with various subtitles, 4th of 13 appearances in BM

~ Black Mask Crime Review, ‘A Crime Expert’s Review of the Hall-Mills Tragedy; Article; anonymous;1^st segment in this irregular, short-lived Department; no indexed beyond this point’

~ Crowley Conmarr, “Under the Hide of Tu Son”, ‘A Weird Tale’; 1^st-person narrator; Chinese character’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Jack J. Gottlieb, “With His Enemies’ Aid”, ‘A Mystery of the D.A.s office’, authors 8^th and final story in BM

~ John Hanlon, “The Door”, ‘A Skit with Spirits’, last of 3 stories in BM

~ John Holden, “The Perfect Plan”, ‘Gerald Drago, embezzler’, author’s only story in BM

~ Francis James, “Sinister Images”, Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman (‘the young Central Office Man’) with Police Chief Shannon, 3rd of 4 parts, 5th of 20 appearances in BM

~ Roy L. McCardell, “Pieces of Men”, ‘daytime story’, last of 5 appearances in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “The Ghost Ship”, ‘Complete Mystery Novelette of the Cannibal Isles’, 6th of 20 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “Old Clothes”, ‘fictitious names are given…changed a bit for necessary reasons’, 3rd of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 3^rd of 49 total articles in BM

~ Gregory Stragnell, MD, “Our Dreams”, “short-lived Department devoted to ‘one of the newest sciences – psychoanalysis’; not indexed beyond this point”

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

March 1939 issue ~ cover art by Edgar A. Whitney

March 1939 issue

cover art by Edgar A. Whitney

better image than previously posted

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “Renegade in Rio”, 4^th of 7 Beeker stories, ‘see p. 31 for note on “Beek”’, 18^th of 21 stories in BM

~ William E. Brandon, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, ‘actually has sympathetic black character’, 2^nd of 7 stories in BM

~ Kenneth A. Fowler, “Escape”, ‘short-short’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Take It or Leave It”, ‘3^rd and last Pete Wennick story’, 93rd of 100 appearances in BM

~ Frank Gruber, “The Sad Serbian”, ‘small-time con man in Chi.’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 11th of 14 stories in BM

~ Elmer E. Meadows, “Alias Mr. Fate”, ‘Jewish boy in NYC’s ghetto’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “You Gotta Live Right”, ‘Arizona’, 11th of 27 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

December 15, 1923 issue ~ cover art by H.C. Murphy

December 15, 1923 issue

cover art by H.C. Murphy

~ Charles Hilan Craig, “The Wanderer”, Western, only story to appear in BM

~ H.B. Davenport, “Weapons”, last of 2 stories in BM

~ Donald Feak, “Emeralds!”, ‘Pirates’, last 3 stories in BM

~ Henry W. Fisher, “Executioners I Have Met”, ‘4th^t of 6 ‘true’ articles with various subtitles’

~ Charles M. Green [pseud. of Erle Stanley Gardner], “The Shrieking Skeleton”, 1^st of 3 stories under this name, ESG’s debut in BM

~ Thomas de V. Harper, “A Melanesian Holiday”, ‘short-short’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Francis James, “The Sand Devil”, Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman with Police Chief Shannon, 2nd of 4 parts, 11th of 20 appearances in BM

~ William Rollins, Jr., “The Wolf of the Du Mont Thiers”, ‘advertised as “A Strange Story of Strange People”’, 5th of 23 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Loot Ship”, 21st of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 22^nd of 49 total articles in BM

~ Emmett Welsh, “The Slippery Eel”, ‘billed as “A Complete Fast-Moving Novelette”; NYC police; oddly, in 15 Nov 1923 issue (p.42) author is listed as Robert E. Welch’, author’s sole appearance in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

March 1928 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

March 1928 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~ Tom Curry, “The Gang”, DeVrite, NYPD undercover ‘secret agent’, 2nd of 7, 21st of 39 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Egyptian Lure”, 22^nd of 53 with RW,‘The Name Race Williams Stand for Service’, 31st of 71 appearances in BM

~ Bob Du Soe, “All Over a Pup”, ‘waterfront bum takes on hijackers because of a dog’, 2nd of 3 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Whispering Feet”, 20th of 73 with Ed Jenkins, with Soo Hoo Duck & Ngat T’oy, ‘see endnote, p.73, for data on series’, 30th of 99 stories in BM

~ Henry Leverage, “The Clue Upstairs”, ‘Big Scar, yegg, just out of stir‘, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Anderson McCully, “The Masked Trail”, ‘story of the Far North’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Bentley B. MacCay, “Bullfrogs”, ‘Louisiana tale’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Everett H. Tipton, “Killers Should Run”, ‘Western’, 3^rd of 7 stories in BM

~ Wilber Wheeler [see Riblew Reelhew, Mar & May ’27], “The Trail of Sudden Death”, ‘Western’, 2nd of 2 under this name in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

February 1933 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

February 1933 issue

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ S. Omar Barker, “Two-Way Trick”, ‘Sheriff John Lonsdale, modern Western’, 3^rd of 4 stories in BM

~ William E. Barrett, “Behind the Star”, ‘Black Bart Doyle, chief of detectives & Michael Costigan, chief of police’, only original story in BM (there is one reprint of a story from another source, Mar. ‘51)

~ Charles G. Booth, “Sister Act”, Det. Blair & Joe Ricardo; reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946), 6^th of 7 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “The Hour of the Rat”, 47th of 73 Ed Jenkins in Chinatown with Soo Hoo Duck, Ngat T’oy; ‘the “hour” is 11pm (Chinese time cycle)’, 68th of 99 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Doors in the Dark”, 19th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), reprinted in Shakedown: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.2 (Altus, 2013), 44 of 67 stories in BM

~ Norvell Page, “Those Catrini”, ‘1^st of 3 Jules Tremaine stories; Little Italy; (ed. note) a projected & potentially important series that never developed’ [Hagemann doesn’t explain his editor’s note], only these 3 stories in BM. Reprinted in Black Harvest: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jules Tremaine (Steeger Books, 2021).

~ William Rollins, Jr., “K.O. Comes Clean”, 1^st of 4 stories with ‘Kenneth Osborne from ‘No’th Cah’lina’; 1^st person narrator’, 18th of 23 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Ball and Chain”, ‘5th (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’, 5th of 26 stories in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

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

June 1932 issue

cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

~ Thomson Burtis, “They Don’t Shake Hands in Arkansas”, ‘Slats Kirke in Detroit’, 4^th of 6 appearances in BM

~ Paul Cain, “Velvet”, ‘Kells & Granquist; part 3 of Fast One’, reprinted in The Complete Slayers (2011 Centipede Press), Black Mask: The Complete Stories (2013 Mysterious Press), Lead Party: The Complete Fiction Works of Paul Cain (Steeger, 2024), 4^th of 17 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Amateur Murderer”, 45^th of 53 with Race Williams, part 3 of 4, published as a novel in 1933, reprinted in If Death is Respectable: The Collected Hard-boiled Stories of Race Williams, v.4 (Altus, 2018), 57th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Norbert Davis, “Reform Racket”, ‘Dan Stiles; one-time gunman’, 1^st of 13 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Cooking Crooks”, 44th of 73 with Ed Jenkins, ‘with Norma Gay’, 61st of 99 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “The Golden Rule”, 11th of 14 Frost stories ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger’, reprinted in Headfirst into Hell: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Front, Vol. 2 (Steeger, 2025), 13^h of 17 stories in BM

~ Henry Wallace Phillips, “A Touch of Nature”, Western mystery, last of 8 with Red Saunders who ‘fights a “wild man in kilts”’, last of 12 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

May 1949 issue

May 1949 issue

cover art attributed to both Norman Saunders and Peter Stevens

~ Ed Barcelo, “Suicidal Slay Ride”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Bruno Fischer, “Five O’Clock Menace”, ‘1^st-person narrator in barber’s chair, reprinted, The Hard-Boiled Detective (1977)’, 4^th of 5 stories in BM

~ John P. Foran, “Copper, Come Back to Me”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ John D. MacDonald, “Murder in One Syllable”, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 4^th of 6 stories in BM

~ Robert Martin, “Death’s Glass Slipper”, 2nd of 6 stories with ‘Dr. Clint Colby, medical detective’, 4^th of 8 stories in BM

~ Marian O’Hearn, “Diary of a Deadly Dame”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Fergus Truslow, “Pardon My Poison Platters”, ‘the record business’, last of 6 stories in BM

[updated 3/1/26]

May 15, 1923 issue ~ cover art by A. Rose

May 15, 1923 issue

cover art by A. Rose

better image than previously posted

~ Raymond J. Brown, “Phantom Bullets”, part 4 of 5, only work in BM

~ Jack Carlton, “Four Shots”, ‘cemetery tale’, 1of 2 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “Three Gun Terry”, 1^st of 2 with PI Terry Mack, 4th of 71 appearances in BM, reprinted in The Black Mask Boys (1985, Morrow). Reprinted in The Man in the Shadows: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Terry Mack (Steeger Books, 2021).

~ Carl Glick, “In the Grey Dawn”, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Charles T. Jordan, “A Matter of Postage”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “In Mutiny”, ‘A weird thing’, 7th of 20 stories in BM

~ Robert Russell, “The Snake”, 2nd of 3 stories in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Clue in the Turf”, ‘“Honest John” Brunen, murder victim & Ellis Parker, detective’, 8th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 8^th of 49 total articles in BM

~ Joe Taylor, “Ragged Seams”, 8th of 12 tales in ‘My Underworld’ series, 9^th of 13^th appearances in BM

September 1934 British issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

September 1934 British issue

cover art by Fred Craft

June 1926 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

June 1926 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~Tom Curry, “The House of Jewels”, 8^th of 39 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Forget ‘Em All”, 9th of 73 Ed Jenkins stories, ‘The Phantom Crook’, 16^th of 99 stories in BM

~ Cecil F. Hilleary, “The Lost Bullet”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Frederick Jackson, “Risky Whiskey”, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Black Burton Sits In”, 2nd of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, 2nd of 39 stories in BM

~ Colin Martins, “Ho-o-o-o for Tango!”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Ralph E. Renaud, “Telling the Cock-eyed World”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Henry S. Whitehead, “Gahd Laff”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Jenny Meets the Boys”, ‘border air-story’, 3rd of 68 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]