
cover art by William Luberoff
better image than previously posted

February 1933 issue
cover art by J.W. Schlaikjer
~ S. Omar Barker, “Two-Way Trick”, ‘Sheriff John Lonsdale, modern Western’, 3rd 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), 6th 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”, ‘1st 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”, 1st of 4 stories with ‘Kenneth Osborne from ‘No’th Cah’lina’; 1st 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

January 1932 – debut issue of only 7 published – one of the rarest of collectable pulps
cover art by Delos Palmer
better image than previously posted
[cover updated 2/11/26]

The first issue of this title includes stories by Walter B. Gibson (“Norgil”, the first appearance of “Norgil the Magician”), Lester Dent (the first appearance of “Click Rush the Gadget Man”), and Theodore Tinsley (the first appearance of “Carrie Cashin”, featured on the issue’s photo cover).
better image than previously posted