Speed Detective was a crime pulp that was published for four years, from 1943 to 1947. Though many artists contributed covers for Speed Detective, all of the shocking covers below were illustrated by Hugh Joseph Ward.
January, 1943
May, 1943
June, 1943
July, 1943
August, 1943
September, 1943
November, 1943
July, 1944
February, 1945
by Earle Bergey
From 1934 to 1939, Bedtime Stories featured spicy stories and risqué covers that were done by some of the best pin-up artist in the pulp industry. Here is a sampling of just some of the playful covers of Bedtime Stories!
1933, by Enoch Bolles
1934, by Enoch Bolles
1934, by Enoch Bolles
1935, by Earle Bergey
1935, by Earle Bergey
1935, by Hugh Joseph Ward
1936, by Hugh Joseph Ward
1937, by Hugh Joseph Ward
1937, by Hugh Joseph Ward
1938, by Peter Driben
1938, by Peter Driben
1939, by Peter Driben
by Enoch Bolles
Sometime glamorous. Sometimes sordid. Sometimes dangerous. The life of the model has always been a popular subject for the pulps. Below are some pulp covers that deal not only with the experience of being model but also the weight of being an artist. There’s a price for everything.
by Ann Cantor
by Arnold Kohn
Artist Unknown
by Bernard Safran
by John Drew
by Paul Rader
by Rafael DeSoto
by Robert Bonfils
by Verne Tossey
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by Hugh Joseph Ward
If I’m going to be behind a machine gun or involved in any sort of combat, I would probably not want to be underdressed. This cover is from 1937 and was done by the prolific Hugh Joseph Ward!
by John Walter Scott
Since the start of the pulp era, cults have been a popular subject. Usually dressed in red and concealing their faces behind hoods, cult members have menaced, tortured, and frightened. Luckily, there’s often a strong-jawed hero right around the corner to take them out and save the day.
Here’s a few of the cults of the pulp era!
by George Hargis
by Harry Lemon Parkhurst
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by J. Allen St. John
by John Drew
by John Newton Howitt
by Rudolph Zirm
by Tom Lovell
by Walter Baumhofer
by Arnold Kohn
by John Newton Howitt
Are you scared of tentacles?
Whether they’re reaching down from the sky or coming out of the water, the idea of being grabbed and, even worse, squeezed by several slimy tentacles is a scary one! Perhaps that’s why it was such a popular image during the pulp age. Below is just a sampling of some of the era’s tentacle horror, courtesy of some of the best artists to work in the pulps!
by Earle Bergey
by Alexander Leydenfrost
by Edmund Emshwiller
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by L.B. Cole
by Lou Fine
by Rafael DeSoto
by Robert Bonfils
by Ron Embleton
by Rudolph Belarski
I don’t totally understand what’s happening on this cover from 1943 but it loos like a kidnapping. Credit for this impressionistic cover goes to Hugh Joseph Ward.
by Hugh Joseph Ward
This is from 1938. People really liked monkeys in the 30s.
This cover was done by the prolific Hugh Joseph Ward, whose work has been featured on this site many times in the past and will be featured many times in the future.
This is from 1944. When I first looked at this cover, I thought she was holding a bent or a broken sword but actually, I think that there’s supposed to be two, decorative swords hanging over the fireplace and she’s grabbing one of them to use on the man with the gun. It still looks strange to me. It’s still an exciting cover, though, combining guns, swords, and a roaring fire. That fireplace looks like it’s on the verge of getting out of control!
This cover was probably down by Hugh Joseph Ward, whose work has been featured many times on this tie and will probably continue to be featured many times in the future.
by Hugh Joseph Ward
This is the cover of the July 1937 issue of Spicy Detective Stories. The cover was done and signed by the prolific Hugh Joseph Ward.
The lesson here is don’t try to cheat at cards if you’re only in your underwear.
(We teach valuable lessons here at Through the Shattered Lens.)
Through the Shattered Lens 