PREMIERE IN PURGATORY by Robert Leslie Bellem Purgatory, Arizona, lived up to its name when Dan Turner unwittingly took a case to return a poor devil to the chain gang. The fellow's pretty wife needed a doctor, but Dan thought she might be needing an undertaker more! MURDER FOR THE ASKING by Robert A. Garron He had done a horrible thing to her, and his razor was right there, and all she could think of was murder!

This cultural analysis of visual and narrative elements within Batman comics provides an important exploration of the ways readers and creators negotiate gender, identity, and sexuality in popular culture. Thematic chapters investigate how artists, writers, and fans engage with, challenge, and interpret gendered and sexual representations by focusing on one of the most popular and heated fictional rivalries ever inked: that of Batman and the Joker. The monograph provides critical insights into ways queer reading practices can open new forms of understanding that have generally remained implicit and unexplored in mainstream comics studies. This accessible and interdisciplinary approach to the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime engages diverse fields of scholarship such as Comics Studies, Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Literature, Psychoanalysis, Media Studies, and Queer Theory.

The famous "weird menace" pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s are among the rarest and most sought-after publications by collectors. The "Spicy" magazines -- which included Spicy Mystery, Spicy Adventure, Spicy Detective, and others -- published a titilating mix of fantasy, horror, mystery, and suspense, punctuated by episodes of torture, sadism, sex, and other risque elements. Although tame by current standards, and sometimes of dubious literary merit, these publications presented tales which thrilled a sensation-hungry audience. Despite the themes and constraints of the market, writers who would later become famous -- including Hugh B. Cave, E. Hoffman Price, Robert Leslie Bellem, and many more -- were frequent contributors. The February 1937 issue features Bellem, Hugh Speer, Justin Case (Hugh B. Cave), and many others -- plus all the classic "spicy" artwork!

Spicy Mystery Stories breaks down the strangest and sexiest cases of public domain comics! Milky mermaids, curvy catgirls, angelic models, hypnotized harems, sex robots, giantesses, love witches, jungle queens, goddesses, and ladies of Lovecraft! 100 Big Pages!

Pulp Magazines were popular culture for nearly seventy years. Their colorful covers beckoned the world weary reader to step into a new vibrant world of action, romance and adventure fiction. Pulp magazines filled the entertainment void for as little as a dime for millions of readers each and every week. Printed on cheap high bulk pulp paper, "The Pulps," bridged the gap between juvenile nickel weeklies and the more expensive glossy magazines and hardbound editions. Stories and titles of magazines varied as much as their readers. Come along with us and drink deep the adventure and excitement of "The Pulps."

A bibliography of various mystery novels published between November 1976 and Fall 1992.