The Covers of Red Mask Detective Stories


In 1941, Red Mask Detective Stories had a brief run.

There were only three issues of Red Mask Detective Stories published and the third issue was renamed Red Hood Detective Stories, as if a hood is somehow better than a mask.  From what I’ve gathered, it sounds like it was a typical pulp detective magazine that never broke through.  Even if it had been a hit, it would probably wouldn’t have survived the paper shortages that came with the U.S. entry into World War II.

Red Mask Detective Stories may not be as well-known as some of the other pulps of the era but I like the covers.  Here are the three covers of Red Mask Detective Stories, all of which were done by an artist named Samuel Cahan.

March 1941

May 1941

July 1941