Tag: hollywood fiction

October 1934 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

October 1934 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Fred Craft

~ W.T. Ballard, “Snatching Is Dynamite”, ‘Lennox & ‘The Secret Five’ of Hollywood’, 9th of 27 BM stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 9th of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Finger Man”, “Finger Man”, unnamed LA PI, first person narrator, first book appearance in the collection The Simple Art of Murder (Houghton Mifflin hardcover, 1950), first paperback, Trouble is My Business (Pocket, 10/51), various paperback editions, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Vintage, 2007), 3rd of 11 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Immunity Murders”, 21th of 32 with Stuart “Black” Burton, ‘square-shooting gambler from the Southwest, often entangled with the law’, with his wife Vivian, 28th of 39 stories in BM

~ Horace McCoy, “Somebody Must Die”, last of 14 Frost stories with ‘Capt. Jerry Frost, Texas (Air) Ranger,  last of 17 appearances in BM

~ Thomas Walsh, “Best Man”, ‘Carver, plain-clothesman, Homicide; reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Omnibus (1946)’, 4th of 6 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

different cover –

[updated 1/25/26]

February 1, 1924 issue ~ cover art by Onestus Uzzell

February 1, 1924 issue

better image than previously posted

cover art by Onestus Uzzell

~ Carl Asher, “And This Is How It Is”, ‘short story; “a satire”’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ John Ayotte, “Rifles”, ‘Capt. Ayotte has departed Hawaii in fact & fiction’, 8th of 10 stories in BM

~ Ray(mond King) Cummings, “T. McGuirk, Movie Actor”, ‘8th of 14 McGuirk stories, billed as “the quaintest character in the Underworld” & honest, more of less’, 8th of 15 stories in BM

~ Charles M. Green [pseud. of Erle Stanley Gardner], “The Verdict”, last of 3 stories in BM under this name

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Night Shots”, ‘the Op [3rd of 22] or as BM bills him ‘Mr. Hammett’s nameless detective’, 6th of 45 stories in BM

~ C.S. Montanye (Carleton Stevens), “The Sandalwood Box”, 5th of 10 with ‘Captain Valentine, that ‘attractive European scalawag’, adventurer and rascal’, 21th of 29 stories in BM

~Jennings Perry, “The Master of the Maisie”, 1st of 2 stories in BM

~ Herman Petersen, “That Yellow Devil”, 1st of 2 parts, ‘Madame Pinar, Eurasian’, 16th of 20 stories in BM

~ Henry Serrano, “The Ghost of the Hesperides”, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Don Cameron Shafer, “The Hunters”, ‘tiger-hunting in India’, author’s sole appearance in BM

~ Charles Somerville, “The ‘Cat’ Detective’, 24th of 47 articles in the ‘Manhunter’ series

~ Edward Parrish Ware, “The Kid’s Hole Card”, ‘Western’, 3rd of 9 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

[cover updated 11/8/25]

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

March 1933 issue

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

~ Norbert Davis, “Kansas City Flash”, ‘Mark Hull, ex-stunt man, in Hollywood & L.A; reprinted in The Hard-Boiled Detective (1977)’, 2nd of 13 stories in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Red Jade”, 48th of 73 Ed Jenkins in Chinatown with Soo Hoo Duck, Ngat T’oy; ‘see p.5 for a letter from ESG to JTS’ [Joseph T. Shaw, ed.], 69th of 99 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Rough Reform”, 20th of 37 with Captain Steve MacBride and local reporter Kennedy, reprinted in Too Young to Die: Complete Cases of MacBride & Kennedy, v.3 (Altus, 2013), 45 of 67 stories in BM

~ Norvell Page, “The Confessional”, ‘2nd of 3 Jules Tremaine stories; Manhattan and 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. Carries On”, 2nd of 4 stories with ‘Kenneth Osborne from ‘No’th Cah’lina’; 1st person narrator’, 19th of 23 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley “Help Wanted”, ‘6th (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’, 6th of 26 stories in BM. Reprinted in South Wind: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy (Steeger Books, 2021).

~ Roger Torrey, “A Night in Menlo”, ‘Western; Deputy Marshall Henry Corbin in town of Menlo’, 2nd of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

November 1930 issue ~ cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer

November 1930 issue

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

better image than previously posted

~ Eugene Cunningham, “Border Guns”, ‘Western; Johnny Hearne, Border patrolman’, 4th of 14 stories in BM

~ Tom Curry, “The Man from Headquarters”, 20th of 23 with Macnamara (Mac), NYPD 1st grade dick, 35th of 39 stories in BM

~ Dashiell Hammett, “Death and Company”, ‘last Op [22nd] story and DH’s final appearance in BM’, last of 45 stories in BM

~ Nels Leroy Jorgensen, “Lone Hand Tactics”, 2nd of 3 with Rio Kennedy of the Customs Service in Santo Domingo, 20th of 39 stories in BM

~ Frederick L. Nebel, “Rough Justice”, 1st of 15 stories with ‘tough dick Donahue of Interstate’, 26 of 67 stories in BM, reprinted in The Black Mask Boys (1985, Morrow), reprinted in Tough as Nails (2012, Altus)

~ James P. Olsen, “Horror Hacienda”, ’Wolf Cazell in New Mexico’, 2nd of 6 Western stories in BM

~ Raoul [Fauconnier] Whitfield, “Death in a Bowl”, last of 3 serialized parts, ‘Ben Jardinn, Hollywood eye, & murder in Hollywood Bowl’, ‘(originally titled The Maestro Murder)’, published in hardcover in 1931 by Knopf, 43rd of 67 stories in BM [see also 24 stories as Ramon Decolta]

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop