The Trials of Hank Janson
The Trials of Hank Janson

Author: Steve Holland

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2023-09-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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A perfect storm of paper shortages and fly-by-night publishers in the years after World War II led to a boom in cheaply produced American-style hard-boiled crime fiction. Hank Janson, dubbed the 'Best of Tough Gangster Authors' - in truth a south London former shipping clerk turned publisher - sold five million copies of his novels to a public who craved excitement and escapism in Hank's violent, sexually charged world. The courts took a more damning view, destroying hundreds of thousands of paperbacks and magazines that were judged to be obscene. Janson's novels, with their voluptuous pin-up covers, were a regular target, but requests for guidance from authorities went unanswered. Then, Janson's publisher and distributor were arrested, tried and jailed. This is the story of Hank Janson, of his creator Stephen D. Frances, and how, out of the ashes of destruction orders levelled at cheap gangster novels, the Obscene Publications Act was reformed.

The Trials of Hank Janson
The Trials of Hank Janson

Author: Stephen Holland

Publisher: TELOS

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13:

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As well as a biography of the author Hank Janson, this is an account of the early 1950s Home Office crackdown on so called 'obscene' paperbacks, of which the Janson novels were the prime example. This book also details the full publishing history of the Janson stories from 1946 to the present day.

When Dames Get Tough
When Dames Get Tough

Author: Hank Janson

Publisher:

Published: 2017-07-13

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 9781845838775

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Classic pulp crime thrillers from the 1940s and 1950s. In their time, the Hank Janson novels, with their sleazy covers and no-holds-barred tales, were a guilty pleasure for millions of readers, but incurred the wrath of the establishment! This anthology of ultra-rarities reprints the first three Hank Janson novellas - When Dames Get Tough, Scarred Faces and Kitty Takes The Rap - which initially appeared in 1946 over two volumes (with the latter two collected together under the Scarred Faces title). Literally only a handful of copies of the original editions now survive. Also included in this Telos anthology, as a bonus, are two Hank Janson short stories from the scarce Underworld magazine.

Killer
Killer

Author: Hank Janson

Publisher: TELOS

Published: 2005-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781903889879

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Hank Janson's chance meeting with a beautiful female hitchhiker, Cora Tanter, is just the start of a thrilling tale involving an elderly archaeologist, his rich but suicidal young wife, and a haul of valuable Roman artefacts. And just who is the mysterious figure making repeated attempts to assassinate Hank himself? Add to this the complications of his on-off relationship with Chicago Chronicle colleague Sheila Lang, and Hank really has his work cut out this time! This reissue from Telos Publishing, complete with Reginald Heade's stunning original cover artwork, brings back into print, for the first time in decades, one of the books that featured heavily in the infamous Hank Janson obscenity trials of the 1950s.

Death Or Glory
Death Or Glory

Author: Steve Holland

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 776

ISBN-13: 9781741754063

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When it comes to telling stories about the Second World War few did it better than the authors of BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY. Here at last is the collection you've been waiting for, gathering together 12 of the toughest tales of war ever told. From the bomb-shattered roads of Europe to the stifling jungles of the Far East, below the crashing waves of the Atlantic or in the war-torn skies over England's green fields - these stories of courage and comradeship stirred the imaginations of generations of children whose parents and grandparents struggled against the Axis powers bent on enslaving nations. The stories you'll find in this volume have an incredible range, from action with the Desert Rats to top-secret missions for Military Intelligence via the nightmare dreams of a Captain in the airborne division and the heroic rise of Jack Charlton (not that Jack Charlton) to the head of Baker Company. It's not just rattling good history ... it's explosive! Attracting some of the finest talent from across Europe, these visceral pocket novels are reproduced 25 per cent bigger than the originals so you can revel in every glorious detail. If you remember these books from your schooldays, get ready to relive the excitement. If you're new to them ... have we got an experience for you!

Sci-Fi Art
Sci-Fi Art

Author: Stephen Holland

Publisher: Ilex Press

Published: 2011-03-28

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781907579325

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"Science fiction has always been about visions as much as ideas. Sci-Fi Art: A Pocket History surveys the visionary landmarks of this ever-evolving and popular art form, from the 19th century illustrations of the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, through the pulp magazines of the 1920s and 1930s, and on to the book and magazine covers of the 20th and 21st centuries. From J.J. Grandville to Frank R. Paul, Frank Kelly Freas to Chris Foss, and from Jim Burns to Vincent Di Fate, the grand masters of imaginative art are profiled, presented along with key examples of their work."--Back cover.

500 Essential Cult Books
500 Essential Cult Books

Author: Gina McKinnon

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781402774850

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500 essential cult books brings together some of the best cult books ever written, assembling an incredible list comprising fiction, memoirs, thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy epics, self-help tomes, graphic novels and children's books from across the ages.

The Art of Reginald Heade
The Art of Reginald Heade

Author: Stephen James Walker

Publisher:

Published: 2018-07-24

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 9781845831165

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Reginald Heade is renowned amongst vintage paperback fans and collectors as the pre- eminent British pulp fiction cover artist of the 1940s and 1950s. His beautifully-realised, erotically-charged depictions of a parade of sexy, scantily-clad young virgins and vixens - the so-called 'Heade women', for some of whom he is rumoured to have used local ladies-of-the-night as models - are near-legendary amongst lovers of classic pin-up art; and the original books on which they appeared are now highly-sought-after rarities - in some cases, only a handful of copies are known still to survive. In the lavishly-illustrated The Art of Reginald Heade, packed with hundreds of superb colour and black-and-white images, noted researcher Stephen James Walker presents the most comprehensive overview ever published of Heade's life and work. This encompasses not only all of his iconic paintings for the famous Hank Janson range, but also dozens of other outstanding pulp fiction covers, plus his less-well-known but equally exceptional work for adult hardback fiction dustjackets, children's books and periodicals, and even the pieces he produced at the end of his life under the alternative name Cy Webb. The Art of Reginald Heade is a glorious celebration of the artist's work, and an absolutely essential addition to the bookshelves of anyone with a taste for classic pin-up and book cover artwork. This deluxe special edition of the book is extensively revised and greatly expanded. With almost double the page-count of the standard edition, it features over 400 additional, ultra-rare Heade artwork images, and presents many others in larger size than before.

The Mushroom Jungle
The Mushroom Jungle

Author: Stephen Holland

Publisher: Zardoz Books

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13:

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Nominated for a Bouchercon Anthony Award. The definitive story of the emergence of the post war publishers, with an introduction to pre-war publishers. Extensive coverage of: the emergence of Panther, Corgi, Pan and others from the fly by night post war publishing world; the mystery surrounding publishers such as Scion, Gannet, Muir Watson, Brown Watson, R&L Locker, Harborough and many, many more; the search for the origins of those many pseudonyms and house names, such as Griff, Hank Janson, Ben Sarto, Vector Magroon, Volsted Gridban, Roland Vane, Dale Bogar. The story of the entanglement of publishing with a sleazy underworld and the complete low down on the Hank Janson Obscenity Trials. Also a run down on the 1950s comics purge, the superb artists of the period -- Reginald Heade, Ron Turner, Denis McLoughlin, James McConnell, Perl -- with prime examples of their work, and interviews and comments from the authors and publishers of the era. A superb book that documents Steve Holland's many years of research in a one well-illustrated authoritative volume. All the information is illustrated by many black and white and colour illustrations of those great paperback covers.