Before it was a movie, The Seven Year Itch was a play starring Vanessa Brown and Tom Ewell. Tom Brinkmann takes a look inside People Today’s cover story in The Digest Enthusiast No. 15.
Now available in four editions:
15C—print with color interior from lulu.com and amazon
15BW—print with b&w interior from amazon
15—Kindle color print replica
15— Magzter color print replica
Tom Brinkmann writes about unusual off-the-beaten-path magazines, digests, and tabloids. A regular contributor to The Digest Enthusiast, his latest article, “The Creature from the Black Lagoon with The Seven Year Itch,” appears in issue ten. Tom is also an illustrator and publisher. His latest artzine, Squint 7, features 16 pages of his amorphic images and portraits presented in classic mini-comics’ format. Send inquiries to Tom at vaioduct at aol dot com.
Two volumes of Tom’s book, Bad Mags, were published in 2008 (Vol. 1) and 2009 (Vol. 2). Now out of print, copies are still available in secondary markets.
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
Excerpt from Tom Brinkmann’s article on The Occult Digest from The Digest Enthusiast book seven:
The Occult Digest was taken over by [Marie] Harlowe who merged it with her own publication, The Telepathic Magazine, that she had been publishing through her own Maha Publishing Company located at 1221 East 55th Street, Chicago. The Occult Publishing Company was replaced by Maha Publishing, the name coming from the first two letters of Harlowe’s first and last names. Costs were cut once more after Harlowe took over, the magazine was literally down-sized to 5.25” x 8.25” with thirty pages, no illustrations, and less ads. It was in many ways a different magazine from late 1939 on. And, the subtitle was changed to “Dedicated to the laws of higher Mind-Soul expansion.”
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
Advertising in digest magazines often feature other publications, books, and pamphlets that may be of interest to their readers. Tom Brinkmann’s article on The Occult Digest from The Digest Enthusiast book seven includes several ads from the magazine. Two of them are shown below.
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–July 2017. His books, Bad Mags Volume 1 (2008) and Volume 2 (2009) are available from secondary outlets, including amazon.com
Excerpt from Tom Brinkmann’s article on The Occult Digest from The Digest Enthusiast book seven:
“The Occult Digest Stands for ‘ONE LAW – ONE LIFE – ONE TRUTH – Eternal Progress Through Successive Embodiments’” “The ‘Occult’ You Will Quickly ‘Digest’ – Read with Zeal – Studied With Zest” The Occult Digest’s first issue was dated January 1925 and stated on the contents page, “Volume 1 – No. 1 – Old Serial No. Vol. IV No.1 formerly ‘Psychic Power.’” There were ten issues of The Occult Digest published in 1925, all of which had interesting artwork on the covers and illustrations inside. The first issue was edited by Effa Danelson and the Managing Editor, Ross K. New, and, it had a cover illustration by Louise Huelster; the other covers were by Paul Lehman (1889–1945) who did six covers and S. Mahrea Cramer (1896–1991) who did three covers; they both did inside illustra- tions as well. The three by Cramer were beautiful illustrations, the best of the ten covers in my opinion.
The Occult Digest Dec. 1925 cover image from Galactic Central.
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–July 2017. His books, Bad Mags Volume 1 (2008) and Volume 2 (2009) are available from secondary outlets, including amazon.com
Excerpts from Tom Brinkmann’s article on The Occult Digest from The Digest Enthusiast book seven:
Psychic Power: Evolutionary Immortality started its publication with volume 2, number 1, dated February 1923 and was published monthly through volume 3, number 12, December 1924.
An ad for the magazine in its own pages read: “Psychic Power is the largest Magazine of its kind on this continent or elsewhere. Newsy, up-to-date, and with a well informed staff of writers at its disposal. 5,ooo Copies Every Month For Sale at Book Stores and News Stands.”
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–July 2017. His books, Bad Mags Volume 1 (2008) and Volume 2 (2009) are available from secondary outlets, including amazon.com
Squint No. 6 by TDE columnist Tom Brinkmann arrived in yesterday’s mail. First previewed in The Digest Enthusiast No. 8 in June 2018, the long-awaited artzine is finally in print, showcasing 16 black-and-white amorphic images and portraits presented in a classic mini-comics format zine.
The piece was published and distributed with Copy That! #60. Editor D. Blake Werts opens CT! 60 with a reminder that he’s scaling back the frequency of his mini-comics interview/newszine and would either like to see someone else take the reins or continue himself on a quarterly or bi-annual schedule. The previous monthly schedule has prevented him from tackling some other projects he’s been sidelining for several years, but isn’t talking about yet.
This edition of CT! features news from Alan Sissom, Andy Nukes, Blair Wilson, Clark Dissmeyer, Charles Brubaker, Dale Martin, George Erling, Ian Shires, Marc Myers, and Matt Jones. Plus there’s a page highlighting the latest edition of The Digest Enthusiast (No. 9) which leads off with an interview with writer/filmmaker Susan Emshwiller, and a cover by her famous father, Ed Emshwiller. CT! 60 also includes cartoons by Bob Vojtko and R.C. Harvey, and covers by Tom Motley (front) and E. Buzzizyk (back).
Copy That! No. 60 (including Squint No. 6)
$3.00 postage paid
D. Blake Werts
12339 Chesley Drive
Charlotte, NC 28277
Excerpt from Tom Brinkmann’s article on The Occult Digest from The Digest Enthusiast book seven:
Psychic Leader (July–December 1922) was the title of Effa Danelson’s first magazine and was essentially the first volume of what would eventually become The Occult Digest. Later, she would offer a bound volume of the Psychic Leader for sale in her subsequent publication, Psychic Power.
Tom Brinkmann writes about unusual, off-the-beaten-path magazines, digests, and tabloids. His Bad Mags website was active from June 2004–July 2017. His books, Bad Mags Volume 1 (2008) and Volume 2 (2009) are available from secondary outlets, including amazon.com
