flashgun casey – SMB Noir

October 1935 issue ~ cover art by Rudolph Belarski

October 1935 issue

cover art by Rudolph Belarski

~ W.T. Ballard, “You Never Know About Women”, 1^st of 7 with ‘Red Drake, undercover investigator for the State Racing Commission, 1^st-person narrator’, 15^th of 43 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Mr. Casey Flashgun Murder”, 14^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 14^th of 31 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Crash and Carry”, 61th of 73 stories with Ed Jenkins, ‘The Phantom Crook’, 86th of 99 stories in BM

~ Preston Grady, “Massacre”, ‘Ned price, p.i., in South Carolina, 1^st-person narrator; smuggling & Chinese villain.’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Leslie T. White, “The City of Hell”, ‘four honest cops “put the Indian sign on a city of graft”’, author’s sole appearance in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

June 1935 issue ~ cover art by Rudolph Belarski

June 1935 issue

cover art by Rudolph Belarski

better image than previously posted

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “Hide-Out”, ‘1^st G-Man Chuck Thompson story of 7; CT, Special Agent, FBI, in LA’, 6^th of 21 stories in BM

~ W.T. Ballard, “Murder Makes a Difference”, 2^nd of 2 Jimmy DeHaven stories, 14^th of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Nevada Gas”, Johnny DeRuse, first book appearance Five Murderers (Avon digest, 2/3/44), first hardcover appearance The Simple Art of Murder (Houghton Mifflin, 1950), then Pickup on Noon Street (Pocket, 1/52), various paperback editions 5^th of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Thirty Tickets to Win”, ‘Flashgun Casey at the race-track’, 11^th of 27 Casey, 11^th of 31 stories in BM

~ Roger Torrey, “Dead Men Can Talk”, last of 11 Dal Prentice capers, Magna City police dick, ‘one tough guy’, 16th of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[cover updated 11/9/25]

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

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Gangsters and Gun Molls #3, 1952

Gangsters and Gun Molls #3, Avon, 1952

Art taken from Avon Paperback #143, entitled “Flash Casey” by George Harmon Coxe. Art credit from Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1948.

cover art by Gerald Gregg

originally published in Sept. 1941 issue of Black Mask Magazine as “Killers are Camera Shy”,

1948 Dell mapback, mapback by Ruth Belew

better image than previously posted

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]

July 1951 issue ~ cover art by Harry Barton

July 1951

cover art by Harry Barton

~ Francis K. Allan, “Model for Death”, ‘reprint, not originally BM’, 2^nd appearance in BM

~ Agatha Christie, “The Face of Helen”, reprint, not originally in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Once Around the Clock”, Flashgun Casey, reprinted from May ‘41, reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Detective (1977)

~ Robert C. Dennis, “Ride a Green Hearse”, last of 10 stories in BM, has the honor of being the last original story published in BM

~ G.T. Fleming-Roberts, “The Paper Doll”, last of 8 stories in BM [Hagemann does not note if this is original or a reprint]

~ Richard Sale, “Nail Down the Lid”, ‘reprint; not from BM’

LAST ISSUE OF THE ORIGINAL MAGAZINE

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

August 1940 issue ~ cover art by Rafael DeSoto

August, 1940 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Rafael DeSoto

~ Wyatt Blassingame, “10,001 Motives for Murder”, 2^nd of 6 stories with The Bishop, political writer on a Southern newspaper, 60ish and peg-legged, 4^th of 8 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Case and the Blonde Wren”, 19^th of 25 with Flashgun Casey; ‘Wren = Women’s Royal Naval Service officer’, 23^rd of 29 stories in BM

~ G.T. Fleming-Roberts, “Rats Breed Rats”, ‘Detective Sergeant Bill Teed, tough cop, & Pop Walter, sentimental reporter’, 1^st of 8 stories in BM

~ Eaton K. Goldthwaite, “The Frame Didn’t Fit”, ‘Duke Brian & Franny Steinmetz, ‘ex-felons from Philly’, now private dicks, more or less, Brian narrates’, 1^st of 5 stories in BM

~ John Graham, “Too Tough”, ‘Vic Smail, kidnapper’, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Charles E. Jestings, “Jim Gregg: A Prison Poem”, 2nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Stewart Sterling (pseud. of Prentice Winchell), “Ten Carats of Lead”, 1^st of 9 stories with ‘Special Squad (pawnshop detail), NYPD, & Det. Mike Hansard’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 4^th of 12 stories

~ Roger Torrey, “Murder – For No Reason”, ‘debut of Bryant (4 stories), a regular U.S. Army man, who works in a CCC camp; 1^st-person narrator’, 46th of 50 appearances in BM

September 1936 issue ~ cover art by John Drew

September 1936 issue

cover art by John Drew

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “Men of the FBI”, 6^th of 7 with LA FBI agent Chuck Thompson, 11^th of 21 stories in BM

~ W.T. Ballard, “There’s No Excuses for Murder”, 15th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, ‘LaBrea Tar Pits figure into the story’, 21st of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “The Curtain”, PI Carmody #3 of 4, reprinted in the anthology Killer in the Rain, 1963 Hamish Hamilton UK hardcover, first book appearance, 10^th of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Too Many Women”, 18^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 21st of 31 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Murder Maze”, ‘17th (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’, ‘Tracy meets a Coney Island “Hindu”, reprinted in Murder Maze: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy, vol.2 (Steeger 2022), 18th of 26 stories in BM

[cover updated 11/8/25]

March 1935 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

March 1935

cover art by Fred Craft

~ Jack Bertin, “Rider in the Night”, last of 5 with Chip Huard, last of 6 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Earned Reward”, 10th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 10^th of 31 stories in BM

~ James Duncan, “Crook Bait”, 2^nd of 3 with ‘fat man’/investigator Ivor Small

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Ghost of a Chance”, last of 15 stories with ‘tough dick Donahue of Interstate’, reprinted in Tough as Nails (2012, Altus), 58 of 67 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Death By Arrangement”, “Max Ward, ‘the famous little Broadway ticket broker’, erroneously titled ‘Death by Appointment’ on table of contents”, only non-Jerry Tracy story, 10th of 26 stories in BM