Saturday, July 16, 2011

Saturday Morning Western Pulp: Max Brand's Western Magazine, June 1950

Since this pulp didn't come out until several years after Frederick Faust's death in Italy during World War II, I assume Popular Publications worked out a deal with his heirs for the use of Faust's most famous pseudonym.  MAX BRAND'S WESTERN MAGAZINE was an all-reprint title, but plenty of good stories were published there that readers might not have seen in their original appearances.  This particular issue features stories by J.E. Grinstead, who was an actual cowboy when he turned to writing, well-known Western pulp author Bennett Foster, and a guy from Cross Plains, Texas, named Robert E. Howard, who is represented in this issue with the story "Vulture's Sanctuary".  MAX BRAND'S WESTERN MAGAZINE always featured a reprint by, who else, Max Brand, and the one in this issue is "Crazy Rhythm", a title that doesn't exactly sound very Western to me.  But I haven't read the story, so I could easily be wrong about that.  MBWM may be all reprint, but there's still a lot of good reading to be found in it.

5 comments:

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Another fine nostalgia-inducing cover, Mr. Reasoner! "...and a guy from Cross Plains, Texas, named Robert E. Howard, who is represented in this issue with the story..." I liked that — for a guy who went on to create the most famous barbarian.

Walker Martin said...

According to that great index to the pulps, THE ADVENTURE HOUSE GUIDE TO THE PULPS, Max Brand's Western Magazine, lasted for 33 issues, from Dec 1949 through Aug 1954. By then the digest magazines were taking over and except for a couple titles like RANCH ROMANCES, the pulp era was over.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I can't believe another Saturday is here but it must be because here is the western pulp.

Ron Scheer said...

Great post, thanks...Of the tiny fraction of Max Brand stories I've read, I actually know CRAZY RHYTHM. It's in the 3rd vol of MAX BRAND'S BEST WESTERN STORIES, ed. by William F. Nolan. An ex-con finds himself in a card game with the brothers of the three men he once killed. "Crazy Rhythm" is playing on a phonograph. According to my notes, it was first published in ARGOSY, 2 March 1935.

markhinton@montanawriter.com said...

As a kid, the bunk house where my uncle worked had a huge library of westerns and western magazines. Max Brand's Western Magazine was one of many yellowed, dog-eared magazines I cut my teeth on. I have many fond memories of long summer evenings laying in my bunk reading them. Thanks.