The Crime, Mystery, & Gangster Fiction Magazine Index

Magazine Contents Lists: Page 899

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    Snappy Detective Stories   (about)
    Following the initial success of Spicy Detective Stories the publishers attempted to reserve the “Spicy” adjective for themselves by producing ashcan issues for two proposed companion titles, Spicy Mystery Stories and Spicy Adventure Stories. Simultaneously, the same publishers (Harry Donenfeld & Frank Armer) produced three more ashcan issues, for a parallel line of “Snappy” titles. Each of these issues was 12 pages long and was dated July 1934. The three Snappies never did achieve real publication but, possibly in response to the launch of Snappy Detective Mysteries by a rival publisher, a second set of ashcan issues was prepared and copyrighted. They were a bit more substantial than the first issues (36 pages) and were all dated May 1935.

    • Publishers:
      • Trojan Publishing Corp.; 125 East 46th Street, New York 17, NY: Snappy Detective Stories, Jul 1934.
      • Culture Publications, Inc.; 900 Market Street, Wilmington, DE: Snappy Detective Stories, May 1935.

    Snappy Detective Stories [Volume One Number One, July 1934] (Trojan Publishing Corp., 16pp, pulp)
    This issue was an “ashcan” edition produced solely for the purposes of securing copyright. The issue was never distributed to the public.
    Details taken from Table of Contents.

    Snappy Mystery Stories   (about)
    Following the initial success of Spicy Detective Stories the publishers attempted to reserve the “Spicy” adjective for themselves by producing ashcan issues for two proposed companion titles, Spicy Mystery Stories and Spicy Adventure Stories. Simultaneously, the same publishers (Harry Donenfeld & Frank Armer) produced three more ashcan issues, for a parallel line of “Snappy” titles. Each of these issues was 12 pages long and was dated July 1934. The three Snappies never did achieve real publication but, possibly in response to the launch of Snappy Detective Mysteries by a rival publisher, a second set of ashcan issues was prepared and copyrighted. They were a bit more substantial than the first issues (36 pages) and were all dated May 1935.

    • Publishers:
      • Trojan Publishing Corp.; 125 East 46th Street, New York 17, NY: Snappy Mystery Stories, Jul 1934.
      • Culture Publications, Inc.; 2242 Grove Street, Chicago, IL: Snappy Mystery Stories, May 1935.

    Speakeasy Stories   (about)
    One of several gangster pulps published by Harold B. Hersey. However, by the time it was published, in 1931, public interest in gangsters was fading and it only lasted for four issues.

    • Publishers:
      • Good Story Magazine Co., Inc.; Myrick Building, Springfield, MA: Speakeasy Stories.

    Special Detective   (about)
    Launched by the then editor of Detective Fiction Weekly, Special Detective featured a blend of fiction (mainly by authors familiar from Detective Fiction Weekly) and factual articles. After the third issue the former were phased out and the magazine continued as a true crime magazine.

    • Publishers:
      • Haig-Kostka Publications, Inc.; 434 Main Street, Mount Morris, IL: Special Detective.

    Spicy Detective Stories:   (about)
    Spicy Detective Stories was one of the notorious Spicy pulps published by Culture Publications in the late 1930s which concentrated on a simple formula—fast action stories laced with sex. It ran for nine years under that title before the forces of reform forced it to change to the rather more sedate Speed Detective. Note that from late 1935 through late 1937, most issues appeared in two different versions—one uncensored and the other self-censored. The censored version was identifiable by a star within a box located at the top of the cover. The interior illustrations were typically “toned down” in the censored versions and some even had variant contents. Also in 1941 & 1942, most of the stories were retitled stories, attributed to “fake” authors, from earlier issues (or from other Culture magazines) apparently as part of a fraud by the editors.
    Details on these retitled reprints supplied by Ben Chapman and Kenneth R. Johnson. In addition, Kelly Mordaunt identified many of the cover artists.

    Spicy Detective Stories

    • Publishers:
      • Culture Publications, Inc.; 900 Market Street, Wilmington, DE: Spicy Detective Stories.

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