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Uncategorized August 2, 2019

BCMM1: Summary

Excerpt from the review of Black Cat Mystery Magazine No. 1 from The Digest Enthusiast No. 7:

“The ABCs of Murder,” a humorous poem by Josh Pachter, fills out the back cover. Oddly, it’s run landscape; I suppose to maximize the type size.

Black Cat Mystery Magazine is a welcome new arrival for fans of crime fiction magazines. Its content fulfills its promise of something for all mystery readers—hardboiled, cozy, noir, crime, private eye, suspense, and thriller. Each story is a satisfying example of its sub-genre. My favorites were those by Michael Bracken, Kaye George, and Fletcher Flora; but I lean toward the dark side. If you enjoy the full range of crime fiction, you’ll love the variety here. And frankly, variety is what a great anthology is all about.

Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Editors: John Gregory Betancourt and Carla Coupe
Cover: Fotolia
6” x 9” 150 pages
POD $12.00, Kindle $3.99

Reviews July 30, 2019

Analog Sept. 1972

Excerpt from Joe Wehrle, Jr.’s article on “The Telzey Amberdon Stories of James H. Schmitz” in The Digest Enthusiast No. 7:

The Symbiotes (Analog September 1972). Trigger Argee discovers an eight-inch tall man hiding among utensils on her restaurant lunch table. She helps him escape his pursuer and teams up with Telzey, but is captured when Telzey leaves to contact the Psychology Service for help, and wakes up later in a distant star system. Then begins an odyssey to escape and free the little people, during which she discovers she has latent, if limited, psionic abilities that she needs to cultivate for her own protection. After her adventure, Telzey assures her that being a functioning psi is not such a disadvantage. Reprinted in T’nT: Telzey and Trigger.

Uncategorized July 29, 2019

Six Out of Five Stars

Conclusion from the review of Down & Out: The Magazine No. 1 in The Digest Enthusiast No. 7.

When I first heard about The Magazine—its publisher and editor—my expectations soared. The potential to achieve something truly outstanding was not only exciting, but seemed entirely possible. I wasn’t disappointed. The Magazine is off to a stellar start. Every story and feature is an absolute winner. I only wish I could give it six stars instead of the five available on amazon and Goodreads.

Vault July 28, 2019

A Journal of Esoteric Thought, Practice, and Expression

Excerpt from Tom Brinkmann’s article on The Occult Digest from The Digest Enthusiast book seven:

This current manifestation of the title, The Occult Digest, is also a digest in the true sense of the word, which does not refer to its size (8” x 10” book), but its content. It does link its title and lineage to The Occult Digest published by Danelson, saying:

“The Occult Digest originated in the early 1920s and endured several re-births and transformations. Black Moon is honoured to be instrumental in the current re-birth of this historical publication and it is our goal to bring this time-tested entity into the present day to give voice to the many writers, artists and poets representing the myriad facets of esoteric thought, practice, and expression.“

A regular contributor to TDE, Tom Brinkmann writes about unusual, off-the-beaten-path magazines, digests, and tabloids. His Bad Mags website was active from June 2004 to July 2017. His books, Bad Mags Volume 1 (2008) and Volume 2 (2009) are available from secondary outlets, including amazon.com

Vault July 27, 2019

Harry Harrison Takes Over

Rocket Stoires Vol. 1 No. 3 Sept. 1953
Harry Harrison takes over when Lester del Rey tells John Raymond he’s through.

Contents
Wade Kaempfert: An Editorial on Men Who Dared
Irving E. Cox “Apprentice to the Lamp” art by Alex Ebel
James E. Gunn “Killer” art by Kelly Freas
Chester Cohen “Flower Girl” art by Joseph Eberle
Stanley Mullen “The Robot Moon” art by H.R. Smith
Alger Rome “Underestimation” art by Joseph Eberle
Kirby Brooks “Technical Difficulty”
Noel Loomis “Day’s Work” art by H.R. Smith
The World S-F Convention
Kenneth Wright: On the Shelves
Felix Boyd (Harry Harrison*) “An Artist’s Life” art by Milton Berwin

Publisher: John Raymond
Editor: Wade Kaempfert (Harry Harrison*)
Assoc. Editor: John Vincent, E. Lynn
Art Director: Milton Berwin
Cover: Civillitti
160 pages, 35¢

*Page 489, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines by Marshall B. Tymn and Mike Ashley, 1985 Greenwood Press

Read Vince Nowell, Sr.’s article “When Things Go Wrong—The Lester del Rey/John Raymond Fiasco” in The Digest Enthusiast book seven.

Vault July 25, 2019

Alfred Hitchcock Dec. 1966

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine Vol. 11 No. 12 Dec. 1966
Alfred Hitchcock: Dear Reader
Contents
Max Van Derveer “The Holiday Spirit”
J.A. Mas “The Deadly Handyman”
Lawrence Block “Some Things a Man Must Do”
James N. Semple “Lull in Homicide”
Dan J. Marlowe “The Annuity”
Bob Bristow “The Message”
Mike Brett “Crooks, Satchels, and Selma”
Parley J. Cooper “The Servant Problem”
Carl Henry Rathjen “Jump Job”
Jack Webb “Day of the Tiger”
Robert Edmond Alter “No Place Like Home”
Wenzell Brown “The Blue Man”
Richard O. Lewis “Shakedown”
James McKimmey “The Magic Tree”

Editor: G.F. Foster
160 pages, 50¢

Contents from Galactic Central.

Vault July 22, 2019

One-and-Done

Excerpt from Steve Carper’s series “One-and-Dones” that appears in The Digest Enthusiast No. 7–9:

“Jacob R. Brussel was a New York bookstore owner noted for carrying erotica, connected with the small world of taboo-breaking books and writers. He published and distributed an early (and then completely illegal) edition of Tropic of Cancer and also the much less noted Oragenitalism. An Encyclopaedic Outline of Oral Technique in Genital Excitation.

“. . . a second 1945 release, One Hundred Years of American Humor, edited by J. Brussel, whose existence knocks an otherwise perfect one-and-done example off the list. Both covers of the anthology raise questions. The front cover says “Price 25 cents”yet the “Now 10¢.” stamp is clearly not an after-market artifact. Could this rarity have two printings?”

Now Available from McFarland: Steve Carper’s Robots in American Popular Culture. And be sure to check out the companion website robotsinamericanpopularculture.com.

Reviews July 21, 2019

BCMM No. 1’s Classic Reprint

Excerpt from the review of Black Cat Mystery Magazine No. 1 from The Digest Enthusiast No. 7:

“Beside a Flowering Wall” by Fletcher Flora is reprinted from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine April 1968. A spinster is visited by the lost love of her life. “The wonder was that he had [once] loved her, for she had been a plain girl, as she was a plain woman, with an odd faded look as if she had been laundered too many times in boiling water.” The crime here was the loss of what might have been, until the opportunity to erase it forever arose.

Opening Lines July 20, 2019

Opening Lines

“Nothing ruins a midnight stroll through Deep Ellum like being kidnapped.”
“A Death in Deep Ellum” by William Dylan Powell Switchblade #2 July 2017

Reviews July 17, 2019

Psience Fiction

Excerpt from Joe Wehrle, Jr.’s article on “The Telzey Amberdon Stories of James H. Schmitz” in The Digest Enthusiast No. 7:

Child of the Gods (Analog March 1972). A dangerously accomplished psi takes control of Telzey’s mind when her guard is down, forcing her to deal with an alien creature that is causing disasters at his crystal mine on Maunafra. He is also illegally mining djeel, the oil which the alien needs to escape the planet on which it has been stranded—which is the root cause of the problem. Reprinted in T’nT: Telzey and Trigger.