PULPS - TEXAS NOIR STYLE

What are Pulps?


James Gunnison, of adventurehouse.com writes: Pulp magazines became popular just before the first world war. Originally began as "Dime Novels," another cheap publication focused mostly toward young boys and girls. Frank A. Munsey turned his dime novel publication - GOLDEN ARGOSY into the new form of "Pulp" magazine. This change was a larger page count, full color covers and a focus on an older audience. The paper used was inexpensive newsprint or pulp paper, hence the term. Street & Smith created their first pulp when they re-titled their Dime Novel - Nick Carter Weekly into DETECTIVE STORY MAGAZINE.

Between World War I and World War II, the pulps became one of the dominate forces in popular culture. Magazines and writers came and went by the score. Some key magazines that came into being included: (they are not in any particular order)





Black Mask (detective magazine later known as the home of Hardboiled fiction)

Weird Tales (horror, fantasy and some science fiction, later known as the home of Conan the Barbarian)

Detective Story Magazine (the first detective fiction magazine began in 1915)

Amazing Stories (credited as being the first science fiction magazine)

The Shadow (credited as being the first and one of the most important "Hero" pulp characters)

The Phantom Detective (the second detective character pulp, following closely on the heals of The Shadow and the longest running hero pulp character 1931 - 1953)

Ranch Romances (one of the longest running pulp publications - beginning in 1924 and ceasing publication in 1964)

Argosy (also known as Argosy All-Story and even All-Story, although All-Story was a separate magazine that combined with Argosy. These magazines brought us Tarzan, Zorro, Dr. Kildare and much, much more.)

Doc Savage (the second of hero pulps published by Street & Smith)

The Spider (the first hero pulp tried by what would be the largest publisher of pulps - Popular Publications)

G-8 and His Battle Aces (the second hero created by Popular Publications - the first as an W.W.I spy and aviator)

Dime Detective Magazine (Popular Publications first true hit with the public and credited with saving the fledgling publishing house)

Dime Mystery Magazine (the first "weird menace" magazine that started a trend that most every publisher except for Street & Smith tried. The magazine centered around horror and what could be called sadistic covers and stories - highly collected today for their ghoulish and garish covers)

Underworld (credited as the first "gangster" pulp. Later published by the king of gangster pulp publishers Harold Hersey who also gave the public Racketeer Stories, Gangster Stories, Gangland Stories, Greater Gangster Stories, Speakeasy Stories, Mobs, Dragnet, Detective Dragnet, Courtroom Stories and more)

Western Story Magazine (credited as the first dime novel to pulp western stories fiction weekly)

As paperbacks and comics took over each end of the spectrum that the pulps served, the industry saw a decline. Yet if you could define the "heyday" of the pulps, you would have to proclaim the 30's as the "pulp 30's." The majority of the magazines published found their way onto the newsstands and into millions of homes during that turbulent time. From depression through the start of World War II, the pulps helped millions escape from their troubled lives.