Tag: bob larkin

September 1924 UK issue ~ cover art by L.L. Balcom

September 1924 UK issue

cover art by L.L. Balcom

most contents the same as US Sept. 1924

~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “The Dragon Fly”, 14th of 29 stories in BM [US Jan.’23]

~ Royce Brier, “Black and Blue”, ‘set in Mexico’, last of 5 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Accommodatin’ a Lady”, 1st of 10 Bob Larkin stories, 1st person narrator, author’s first appearance in BM under this name (see June, 1924), 2nd of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Women, Politics and Murder”, the Op [11th of 25], reprinted in The Big Book of the Continental Op (Vintage, 2017), in The Girl with the Silver Eyes: The Complete Black Mask Cases of the Continental Op, vol.2 (Steeger, 2023), 18th of 51 stories in BM

~ Francis James, “The Long Hand of Middleton”, Prentice, Harvard-trained criminologist turned policeman, 16th of 20 appearances in BM

~ Jud Pierce, “Sunrise”, ‘short-short’, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Ray Raymond, “The Curse of the Long Tooth”, ‘South Seas mystery’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The Rough Diamond”, 33rd of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series, 34th of 49 total articles in BM

~ George A. Wright, “The Mountain Comes to Mohammad”, author’s only appearance in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

The Black Bird

cover art by H.C. Murphy

~ Eugene Cunningham, “Bar Nuthin’, Puzzle Buster”, ‘Western;with Bar Nuthin’ is main character’, 2nd of 14 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Hanging Friday”, 9th of 10 Bob Larkin stories, 44th of 99 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “The Maltese Falcon”, part 1 of 5 serialized parts before hardcover publication (1931), reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 35th of 45 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “Dirty Work”, 1st of 14 stories with ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 2nd of 17 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “New Guns for Old”, 6th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, ‘MacBride in Richmond City without Kennedy’, reprinted in Winter Kill: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kenney, v.1 (Altus, 2013), 18 of 67 stories in BM

~ Henry Wallace Phillips, “The Pets”, 3rd Red Saunders, 6th of 12 stories in BM

~ Lester Reynard, “’He’s Give the Works’” [title as Hagemann gives it], ‘Ted Bland; airplanes’, 3rd of 5 stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “The Squeeze”, Gary Greer, 8th (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’, 33rd of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

It is no overstatement to claim that the publication of this issue of this magazine was a landmark event in American Literature.

While those involved with publishing the magazine would’ve known that they had something special on their hands with Hammett’s story, no one then could’ve understood the magnitude of the influence of it on everything that came since – the entire history and run of mystery fiction stems from this issue, and one could argue that all of Film Noir comes from this as well.

This issue of Black Mask, and this story, altered history.

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop