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SMB Noir

For the Fans of Hardboiled, Pulp & Gumshoe Art

Back in 2013, our tumblr site was started and ran until 2018, when they decided it was too "adult" - too lurid, supposedly. We followed the exodus to newtumbl and four years of dedication vanished in June of 2023. That work was not only new posts but upgrades of hundreds of old tumblr posts as well. So far, there has been no way to rescue those posts, so this will be the third version of this project. And, I'll warn you in advance, I may slip in covers that are not crime or mystery but just because I like the artwork. Enjoy!

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Tag: smoking

December 1956 issue

December 1956

Posted on November 12, 2024December 4, 2025Categories Hardboiled, magazine, true crime, updatedTags dame, femme fatale, pulp illustration, smoking, true crime exposeLeave a comment on December 1956 issue

1951 Avon

1951 Avon

exploitative lingerie photo cover of Canadian ice skating star Marty Collins

Posted on November 9, 2024October 19, 2024Categories crime comic, Hardboiled, pulp, true crimeTags avon comic, dame, marty collins, reform school girl, smokingLeave a comment on 1951 Avon

cover art by Robert McGinnis

1959 Crest paperback reissue

cover art by Robert McGinnis

better image than previously posted

1958 Mystery House hardcover, 1st ed.

[post updated 4/24/25]

Posted on November 9, 2024April 24, 2025Categories crime fiction, finest kind, Hardboiled, hardcover, paperback, pulp, updatedTags cigarette girl, crest paperback, finest kind, gil brewer, mystery house hardcover, robert mcginnis, smokingLeave a comment on cover art by Robert McGinnis

April 1943 issue

April 1943

Posted on October 28, 2024October 19, 2024Categories Hardboiled, magazine, true crimeTags daring detective magazine, pulp illustration, smoking, women in prisonLeave a comment on April 1943 issue

cover art by Howell Dodd

Gouache on board, 13.25 x 13.5 in. (sight)
Not signed

paperback cover of Free and Easy by Luther Gordon, Ecstasy, 1951.

Posted on October 27, 2024October 19, 2024Categories original art, paperback, pulp, spicyTags dame, ecstasy novel magazine, howell dodd, lurid, luther gordon, sleazy, smokingLeave a comment on cover art by Howell Dodd

1952 Metro Goldwyn Mayer

1952 Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Posted on October 26, 2024October 19, 2024Categories film noir, HardboiledTags armored car, coleen gray, heist, jack elam, john payne, kansas city fiction, lee van cleef, metro goldwyn mayer movie, smokingLeave a comment on 1952 Metro Goldwyn Mayer

October 1912 issue ~ cover art by Jay Hambidge

October 1912

cover art by Jay Hambidge

included “Excess Baggage” by Rex T. Stout – his 4th published story

Posted on October 21, 2024October 19, 2024Categories magazine, mystery, pulpTags rex stout, short stories magazine, smoking, top hat, tuxLeave a comment on October 1912 issue ~ cover art by Jay Hambidge

June 25, 1946 issue ~ cover art by Benton Clark

June 25, 1946

cover art by Benton Clark

Posted on October 17, 2024October 3, 2024Categories action fiction, adventure, crime fiction, Hardboiled, mystery, pulp, western fictionTags a.a. caffrey, benton clark, short stories magazine, smoking, t.t. flynn, w.c. tuttle, wanted posterLeave a comment on June 25, 1946 issue ~ cover art by Benton Clark

Femme Fatale x 2

September 1949 issue

cover art attributed to Milton Luros

better images than previously posted

cover art repurposed for January 1957 Crime and Justice issue

Posted on October 14, 2024October 3, 2024Categories crime fiction, finest kind, Hardboiled, magazine, mystery, pulpTags crack detective stories, crime and justice magazine, dame, femme fatale, handcuffs, smoking, woman with a gunLeave a comment on Femme Fatale x 2

June 1953 issue

June 1953

Posted on October 9, 2024October 3, 2024Categories magazine, true crimeTags dame, inside detective magazine, pulp illustration, smokingLeave a comment on June 1953 issue

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