Author Archives: Dazzling Erin

The Controversial Covers of Spicy Mystery Stories

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Delos Palmer

Spicy Mystery Stories was published from 1934 to 1943 and was one of the many “Spicy” magazines of the pulp era.  The Spicy line featured the same stories as the other pulps, just with a lot more sex and violence.  It was a popular magazine but it was also so controversial with the moral guardians of the era that it was eventually forced to tone things down and change its name to Speed Mystery.

Below are some of the controversial covers of Spicy Mystery Stories!  As always, the artist has been credited when known:

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Allen Gustav Anderson

Artist Unknown

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

The Evil Schemes of Dr. Death

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Who was Dr. Death?  His original name was Rance Mandarin and he used to be a professor at Yale University until he was driven mad by his hatred of technology.  Through the occult, Mandarin hoped to turn back time and reduce civilization back to a simpler, more primitive state.  Standing in his way were the members of the Secret Twelve, one of whom was apparently the President of the United States.

In 1935, Dr. Death appeared in three issues of his own pulp magazine, with cover art from Rudolph Zirm.  The magazine didn’t last long but it did find an audience years later when, in the 60s, Corinth Books reprinted the Dr. Death stories in paperback form.  These paperbacks all had covers by Robert Bonfils, who brought a different visual spin to the character than Zirm had.

Below are the 6 covers of Dr. Death!

by Rudolph Zirm

by Rudolph Zirm

by Rudolph Zirm

by Robert Bonfils

by Robert Bonfils

by Robert Bonfils

Finally, Dr. Death was driven mad by technology in the 1930s.  Can you imagine what would have happened to his brain if he had lived during our time?