miker (& others):
_Paperback Parade_ is one of my all-time favorite
"magazines", and I firmly believe that it is worth supporting
by anyone who is at all seriously interested in vintage
paperbacks, mysteries in general, noir, "sleeze" ... and All
That Jazz.
I put "magazine" in quotes deliberately. It is, in truth -- a
'fanzine' -- digest-sized, 100+ pages center-stapled, with
color 'board' covers, graphically chaotic, and with more
typoes-per-page than a Rick Sneary LoC
... but I read each issue cover-to-cover, which is rare for
me with any magazine/fanzine these days.
Lot's of b&w cover-cuts, Indexii, and photographs. It
comes out two or three times a year. (Gary has finally given
up on the "bi-monthly" charade, I note.)
I don't know whether it's carried by any 'specialist'
bookstores (should you be so lucky!) but the website is
at
It, as with the magazine, is less-than-optimally designed,
but if you plow thru it, you'll find details on PP -- as well
as any number of the many booklets (usually) tpbs, Gary
Lovisi has published -- several otherwise unavailable Howard
Browne mysteries, a Dick Lupoff collection on 'a writer's
life', for example, tons of obscure used magazines and
paperbacks....
Also tidbits such as this, from the 'News' page:
> Coming soon: new books by veteran science fiction
author Michael
> Kurland, Images, Lollygags & Conceits (with a
Kelly Freas cover!) and an
> original traditional mystery by crime master, Julius
Fast, A Trunkfull of
> Trouble (done in the classic Dell Map Back design!).
Both books are trade
> paperbacks with color covers and can be pre-ordered
now for $20.00 each
> (+$2.00 Media Mail postage).
[No, I don't get any financial consideration from Gary for
these un-solicited plugs; I simply try to support small-press
presses I enjoy.]
And yes, I do have the Issue with the 'Circus/Carnival'
novels article; but don't have the energy (after the above.
<g>) to look it up, re-read the article, and then list
out the citations... Sorry.
###
For all those wavering, given some of the less-than-objective
comments being made ... Vachss _is_ definitely an acquired
taste, both to read and, I hear, to meet -- a bit of the
Ellroy-syndrome, perhaps. But a friend who went to one of the
signings said a good portion of Vachss'is table was allocated
to _other_ non-present authors he was recommending to his
readers
(in this case, Lansdale, and a couple of others) ... and when
was the last time you heard of a prima-donna author doing
_that_!
I read all the Burke's up to the one where
Vachss-discovered-email -- which was fully as 'bad' as the
first fanzine I published after *I* discovered email, so I
know of where I speak -- so I gave up on 'Burke' ... until I
was offered firsts of the last three for $5/each -- so they
go into the TBR stacks, and some day.....
But I am, at this moment, two-thirds of the way thru his
"paperback original" homage to the 50s/60s Gold Medal
mysteries - "The Getaway Man" -- and it _is_ a romp! Even if
you can't stomach 'Burke', I think most rara-avians will
enjoy this one.
No, the "Burke" novels are not, well, Cheerful. Indeed, they
make Paul Cain, Goodis, Thompson, et al, seem downright
Pollyannaish. But, from everything I've been able to find out
-- Andrew Vachss is not a poser: the victims of child porn
are his passion, and he does put the proceeds from his novels
toward their defense.
Like his work, or loathe it -- it has not so far been
demonstrated to me that, even if more than likely fallible,
he is a hypocrite. And that's all I can ask of any
crusader....
But all that is prelude to my recommendation is that if you
are a
"hard-boiled" fan, you search out a book simply titled:
"Sex Crimes"
It is, gasp, non-fiction, and I can't cite publication
details (my copy, which I picked up, remaindered, in the
mid-90s, is long-buried), but you might "search" by
author:
Alice Vachss.
Yes, _his_ wife ... who was, in fact, Sex Crimes Prosecutor
for one of the NYC boroughs, in the 80s ... and who, he has
acknowledged, is the 'model' for the (very hot!) sex crimes
prosecutor, who is often Burke's nemesis ... and constant
lust-object.
All that aside, Alice's book is considerably more scary than
most of her husband's books.
Dunno if that makes it "hard-boiled" in terms of the List.
But close enough for me.
Enough. For today!
Bill Bowers
"Right
now the Hard-Boiled Hero looks like a candidate for a Spousal
Abuse Seminar."
--Fred
Zackel, Rara-Avis
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