Men's Adventure Quarterly #10- The Vietnam Issue

The new MAQ magazine just came out and it’s a hard-hitting time capsule collection of vintage fiction, non-fiction, art and attitudes from the era of the ‘Nam. Besides introductions, comments for context and a few articles related to the subject, everything inside was originally printed in various Men’s Adventure Magazines of the 60s and 70s and painstakingly compiled by co-editors, Robert Deis and Bill Cunningham.

I was born in 77 and grew up in a culture with an ever-increasing nostalgia for the 60s era culminating in the 90s. Everything I know about Vietnam I learned from the movies, television, and music. My dad, too young, just missed the age of the draft, my grandparents were too old and none of my relatives were in it. Or protested it. So basically, I have no real-world based connection on the actual substance of the situation, war or conflict.

Normally for anything Bob Deis and his multiple cohorts put out, that’s no problem. It’s usually all schlocky and fantastical fiction blurring the lines of the real world with outlandish scenarios made for purely entertainment purposes. This was different though. I found the Vietnam issue all too real.

The first piece of material is a true account written as fiction called, The First GIs to Die In Vietnam from Man’s Magazine in January of 1963. Four US soldiers are taken prisoner by the Viet Cong. Two of them are executed. Two live to tell the tale. There are real world news articles included along with photos of the soldiers. And lastly an afterword written by Bob Deis with the current facts of the story as we know them now in 2024. I’m going to be honest, it really got to me.

That’s when I realized this wasn’t going to be wild made-up animal attacks, outlaw bikers or forbidding hitmen. I had to rearrange my preconceptions. I had to get mentally prepared for this one, because it was going to be heavy. It was going to make me feel emotions and venture into a place I actively try to avoid; the real world. The First GIs to Die In Vietnam set the tone for me and though there are some schlocky tales contained within this issue, the first story rolls around in the back of your mind reminding you of the seriousness behind the tales. I surmise this was done on purpose to honor the soldiers who were there. To come out swinging with a more exploitive story like, say, Saga of Mad Mike Kovacs and His Battling Lepers of Vietnam, it might have been taken as a dismissive shrug to the soldiers who fought and died. They want you to know, yeah we’re going to have some fun here but at the same time, these were real human beings who deserve our utmost respect. And to that point I feel they truly did it with class and sincerity.

So, what about the magazine?!

This is another stellar collection compiled by Bob Deis and Bill Cunningham, who also did all of the graphic design. Spectacular original cover art scans enhanced by Bill’s design expertise. Along with stories from heavyweights in the Vietnam fiction genre like Glenn Infield and Robert F Dorr, not to mention one from The Godfather author himself, Mario Puzo, there are reprints of some non-fiction articles like the torrid history of Sergeant Barry Sadler, the singing Green Beret soldier and Casca creator/author who had a number one hit with his song, The Ballad of the Green Berets. And a piece about how soldiers were inauspiciously treated when they returned home not only from protesters but the work force, the communities, and a completely dismissive Government.

Visually, as previously stated, we get high resolution images of the covers of the original magazines along with the art contained within. Credited if possible. An article about the most famous paperback/ Men’s adventure face Steve Holland. A much-appreciated gallery and article about Raquel Welch and her time overseas with Bob Hope entertaining the troops. An article about military issue comics by Bill Cunningham and one of my favorite pieces in the magazine is an article by paperback aficionado, Paul Bishop, about Vietnam centered paperbacks which then leads into Saigon Commandos author Nicholas Cain’s article about his recollections of the origins of the Saigon Commandos movie.

So yeah, I sounded a little dramatic at the beginning of this review. I think that first story just really hit me in the gut. But it does get lighter, it does get silly and fun, there are indeed still paintings of barely clothed women in distress…or kicking ass! There is a leper brigade that fights off the Viet Cong with a lone US super soldier. There is lots of action, of course. Fight scenes in the air, in the jungle and even underground in those nightmare tunnels. There is a little bit of everything in this issue and I not only completely enjoyed it, but it gave me an insight into who the actual people who fought. Not the politics- pro or anti, but the human beings behind the uniforms.

The magazine and other great releases can be purchased here:Mens Pulp Mags

Foxx! By Zack Tyler

Foxx! was an adult western series that had six entries from 81-82 and was written by Mel Marshall under the pseudonym Zack Tyler.

I picked this one up because I liked the premise of a detective in an old west setting. I imagined a crossover of sorts, like a Mickey Spillane private detective in early 1900s San Francisco with a Western flair.

So right off, that’s not what this is. Foxx works for C&K Railroad as their in-house detective. That’s cool though, trains are fun. A hobo has found a bomb under the tracks of the railway and Foxx is sent out to investigate. There is a brief shootout with a mystery sniper and Foxx single handedly diffuses the bomb. He now has to figure out who planted the bomb and why.

The writing was very dry. The dialogue was extremely basic. Almost to the point where it sounded like it was a young adult novel. The titular character is a stern personality but he’s also very proper. I started to get the feeling this was either a YA book or it was aimed toward Christians or Mormons or something. I was a little worried about the cover art also as this was prime adult western era and the cover seemed to be a little tame. I mean, the art looks great, don’t get me wrong, but it looked kind of rated G even with the “red-hot women” blurb on the cover.

Everything putters along plot wise. It’s slow for sure. Many in-depth descriptions of the terrain, his surroundings, where his boots were made etc. It was too much. It dragged everything down to a crawl. The terminology and vernacular of old west is, I’m assuming, on point though. He really gives you all the slang and terms of antiquated machinery. It was impressive. I imagine that anyone who is really into Westerns would love it. Me, I just wanted some light atmosphere, a bit of crime, sleaze, gun battles and violence.

I almost quit about a quarter way through and then something strange happened. The widow who is new in town asks Foxx to see her home. He abides as he’s a gentleman. She invites him in for some hot toddy…and then grabs his boner. And then immediately after that he goes to an abandoned building where he has kept a prisoner overnight who he has hand cuffed and stripped naked and shoved into a tiny closet for twelve hours with no food or water.

So! This is an adult Western. But honestly even those parts were dry. Ba-dump-bum. Foxx as a lead character is unoriginal. He is the toughest, smartest guy, has an ever-hard dick, sleeps for two hours a night and is never groggy and of course he was raised by Native Americans which gives him an edge in hunting and torture. There is nothing that makes him stand out from his fellow ever-hard adult Western contemporaries.

Everything in this book was so just so bland. I found myself drifting off when the descriptions would go on and on. I realized I missed three whole paragraphs and would skim back over to make sure I didn’t miss anything important, and I never did.

There is an interesting scene where he gets raped at gunpoint by a mystery lady. HA! Is that supposed to turn us dudes on?

Also, there is a ridiculous hot hair balloon climax scene that takes us back into YA territory.

Kind of disappointing. I’d probably still pick up the others in the series if I ran across them though. Who knows, maybe it gets better. But at this point, he’s definitely no Scout.

Dell 1981

books of the week- horror, fantasy, spy, crime, sleaze and Spaceballs

A quick closer look at the random books we posted on our social media accounts from the last couple weeks.

These are all unread books on my shelf.

Unbalanced Acts by Jeff Raines 1990

The Wrath by David Robbins 1988

Castaways in Time by Robert Adams 1979

Secret: Hong Kong by Franklin M Davis 1962

Spaceballs by Jovial Bob Stein 1986

Otherworld by Kenneth C Flint 1992

Viscous Wench by Herb Montgomery 1962

The Mexican Connection by Alexander Mason

I grabbed this at the bookstore thinking it was going to be some over the top “tough on crime” conservative leaning view that I could simultaneously laugh at and enjoy the tough as nails violence and action. With that being my mental state, I dove in and for the first quarter of the book I was right. And then something weird happened…

The Mexican Connection is about a medium size drug smuggling ring of everyday average white middle-class guys flying down to Mexico to pick up shipments of mostly weed and later coke and pills (ludes dude!) I couldn’t help but see Tim Allen’s mug shot when picturing these guys. There is a walking hard-on of a narcotics agent who is hell bent on stopping these borderline hippies from bringing the wicked weed into HIS country. This guy has no problem bending the rules until they break. He’ll kill, he’ll torture, he'll piss on your civil rights. His introductory description sounds like someone is describing an erect penis. It is hilariously overplayed. And once again, with the idea of what I thought the premise of this book was going to be, I thought for sure this was going to be our hero. A boner that never falters. But do you know what happens to a dick that is constantly hard? You have to go to the hospital. It’s not a good thing. So yeah, I hated this guy right off the bat.

The drug dealers on the other hand were extremely likeable. Especially the main character. They are intelligent, resourceful, levelheaded, and honestly not bad guys. They’re not killers. They don’t beat women. They don’t even really do drugs. They just want to get enough money to retire.

As I was reading, I was curious why the drug dealers were being made out to be relatable. And alternatively, the parts with the narcotics agent, he comes off like a total ass. His coworkers don’t like him. He fucks up. He’s bested by the main drug dealing character in an awesome way and when it happens you are elated. He’s such a cock and the other guys are your buds.

But the scene that really turned the whole idea of what this book was about was when the narcotics agent is on the hunt, staying at some shitty hotel. There is a knock on the door. The hotel owner’s fat wife comes in all flirty. She is described in the most hilarious unflattering way.

“She was short and gross, her body a boggling array of compound curves; large, flapping breasts hung on her sloping chest belly like shingles on a roof. There was enough dark hair in her crotch to stuff a mattress and past her thighs he could see the burgeoning flanks of her ass.

‘C’meer’ she beckoned...”

The cop is repelled by the sight of her but feels himself getting turned on and goes, what the hell, and fucks her.

And that’s when I knew, this man isn’t the hero of the story! He’s the clown. He’s the loser. He’s the bad guy. And let me tell you from that point on this book blazes.

The drug dealers are the good guys, or at least the ones you want to come up in the end. They have one final big deal and then it’s retirement time. A million dollars of quaaludes. How 70s. They have the psycho loser cop on their ass and he doesn’t mind killing them. The feds are also involved. The tails are obvious, and they know they are being watched. They must plan this last trip right under everyone’s noses which is difficult enough as it is but there is more bad news as it seems someone in their small organization has been giving the cops information.

The action of the drug deal is on point. It starts with the perspective of the connection in Mexico and what he has to do to get the quaaludes and then put them on the road to the Americans. It gets bloody and violent. The suspense climbs and climbs as the load gets closer to the US in our friend’s plane. The agents are right on their ass and seem to know the game plan. It’s extremely exciting and has a rewarding ending.

Leisure Books 1977

The Dead of Winter by William H Hallahan

This starts off with a missed hit and a phone call that says, “you missed, it’s my turn.”

Right off from the cover art and this opening chapter I thought this was going to be a back and forth, killer versus killer story. Many mentions of “human being the ultimate game” type comments. One of the main characters is even a big game hunter. That premise didn’t really appeal to me. I could just imagine how tedious it would get like that boring movie Killing Season with Robert DeNiro and John Travolta (where he plays a Serbian. Ha!)

I kept reading though and was pleasantly surprised. What we have here is a Russian Doll mystery with killer vigilante flavor. Each answer leads to another question. It’s simplistically laid out for you also. The main character even makes a freaking list in the book of what the riddles are that need solved.

There are four friends set to play poker that evening but one doesn’t make it as he’s been methodically beaten with a blackjack that separated each and every one of the muscles in his body, leaving him alive and in incredible pain. The remaining three meet at the hospital just in time to get some cryptic dying words before his heart putters out.

The three swear vengeance upon the maniac who would do something like this to their friend.

One, as previously stated, is a big game hunter and a salesman, the other is a philosophy teacher at the local college and the main character is in marketing.

You’d think it would be the big game hunter who is screaming for blood but it’s actually the philosophy teacher. Such an odd choice that I found refreshing. I mean, why not? A philosophy teacher is a human being also with the same emotions running through their body. You would figure a big game hunter would be the one gung-ho for hunting down the killers, but I guess it is possible that they actually just like the “sport” of killing big, beautiful innocent animals and don’t get off on the actual murder. I doubt it, but it is possible.

The star of the book is the marketing guy. He solves riddles in his best backdoor Sherlock Holmes way. He pushes the story forward and is the point man in the shooting department. He lacks a certain emotion, and all of his actions seem to come from a place of logic. I mean, he’s not Mr. Spock or anything, he definitely gets angry, but he has a coldness about him. Sure, why does a marketing guy have all these assets of a professional killer? Once again…why not?! You don’t think there are people out there leading mundane lives with that aptitude dormant inside them?

I definitely don’t want to give anything away here but obviously their dead friends’ life had some secrets of a nefarious nature.

Are they actually the hunters or are they being hunted? It builds on paranoia and the mystery is not only who are these people who orchestrated the death of their friend but are these same people aware of the three and their intentions of revenge.

This thing has mystery after mystery as the three avenge their fallen buddy. His world unravels as they hunt down the persons responsible. You never see any of it coming. At least I didn’t. It’s actually quite brilliant which is surprising considering how basic the actual prose was. It’s also not straight forward. It will leave you on a big reveal and then drop you in what you think is the next move but its actually a few steps ahead and then while the story is continuing on it fills in the gaps of the steps. It’s brilliant in that way. Almost pseudo-linear but not as out of sync as say like Pulp Fiction. Every page of this I was enthralled to know what was coming next. A page turner, as they say.

After I finished this I set it down and thought, this might have been the best mystery book I’ve ever read. A couple weeks later as I write this I don’t know if I’d go exactly that far but it was without a doubt the most exciting mystery book I’ve ever read and though I have seen a couple reviews online the contrary to this, I found it completely satisfying, end and all.

Avon Books 1972

Book Haul- Feb 2024

Don't feel like reading? Watch the video instead...

First up we made a quick stop at the Antique Mall. Not the best place to find books but every once in a while you find something.

I got this Dell map back, The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope by C.W. Grafton. A lawyer looks into a woman’s stock inheritance and is surprised to find someone trying to kill him along with multiple murders in the past. The map backs were a Dell staple from 1942-51 and was created and mostly illustrated by a woman named Ruth O’ Neal.

Also grabbed this 1954 Signet Georges Simenon- Belle with a salaciously suggestive noir cover. I’ve only ever read Maigret by Simenon but I’ve seen mentioned that his non-Maigret titles are more literary than the cover art would lead you to believe.

Next we went to Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs. They have quite a nice selection of collectible vintage books and comics along with newer independent releases. They also don’t have a bathroom and you’ll be hard pressed to find a bathroom anywhere in Yellow Springs so make sure you go first or at least map out where the possible bathrooms are as we almost had a pee pants moment.

We grabbed this Dennis Wheatley Black Magic Book, Strange Conflict. Dennis Wheatley was part of the occult secret society circles and “once had lunch with Aleister Crowley”- some guy on Wikipedia.

Snagged a couple Maigret paperbacks. I love these short little Dells. They are so cute.

Also got this risqué Maigret with the Strangled Stripper.

Found a 1964 Ace Sci-Fi of the man, Robert E Howard’s Almuric. It’s about a manly man who strangles his boss and then is shot into space by a scientist to a world called Almuric with monsters and beautiful ladies. Originally appeared in the pages of Weird Tales. Sounds perfect.

Was excited to find this 1960 Orrie Hitt sleaze novel, The Cheat. It’s about a corrupt cop and a bar who lets prostitutes handle their business for a cut of the money. I once saw a female bartender drag a woman out of a bar bathroom for that exact thing. Guess she wasn’t on the take. She needed to read more Orrie Hitt.

Lastly from Dark Star my wife found this Coven 13 digest from 1969. Did a short search on it and it looks like the creator Arthur H Landis was inspired by Weird Tales and tried to do something like that. You have to appreciate that he did it a little different. In 1971 the subscription was sold to William L Crawford and he restarted the magazine as Witchcraft & Sorcery.

Up next we stopped by a kind of crappy used media store next to our local Trader Joes called, 2nd and Charles. I usually don’t find much there and this time was no different. But I did grab these two…

The Green Eyes of Bast is a non- Fu Manchu Sax Rohmer book about a psychic detective which if you watched my last review video I reviewed a book called The Seth Papers by Frank Lauria which also had a psychic detective and let me just say, I’m a fan. Like that book this one has to do with the secrets of ancient Egypt. And cats.

Got this hilariously tough looking Cop Killer by Tom Philbin. It’s main character is a cop named Joe Lawless who is the commander of the Felony Squad located in the Bronx, the toughest precinct in New York City. And we’re talking mid-80s New York here, so I bet this thing is grimy as all get out.

Once again, we stopped over at Bell Book and Comic. I swear every time I think I’ve completely drained that place, I once again come out with a stack of books.

I have really enjoyed the Monarch books that I’ve read so far. I love how pulpy the art and stories feel, how short the novels are. Novellas if you wanna be a snoot about it. Monarch was the paperback publishing wing of Charlton Comics which I also love. I don’t know, I’m just drawn to them.

Picked up my very first Karl Edward Wagner. This is a collection of stories featuring Kane, a warrior in the vein of Conan obviously. It even has a Frazetta cover.

Found the US version of Who Fears the Devil? By Manly Wade Wellman. I got the UK version either last haul or the one before and it’s hard for me to pass up any Silver John books. Silver John is a balladeer, traveling through the hills and mountains fighting demonic monsters and other worldly creatures. It’s very folkish. Like Woody Guthrie fighting monsters instead of Fascism. Also it’s hilarious how buff this Silver John is. He’s not only walking from town to town, it looks like he’s putting in a couple hours in the gym too.

Lastly, I picked up this copy of The Monster from Earth’s End solely on the recommendation from the Paperback Warrior blog who put it in the same world as Who Goes There? by John W Cambell or the movie that was based off of that story, John Carpenter’s The Thing.

The final book store of the haul is of course, Half Priced Books. Not one month goes by that we don’t stop in there. They always have something new. We actually went there twice. The first time was on Valentines after a lovely evening of Pho. The store was closing in ten minutes so I just grabbed some books. I may not have got them had I had more time but what are you gonna do, walk out with nothing? I don’t think so.

I had just read an adult Western called Foxx and it was kind of lame (review coming soon) but I was itching for more Western and I love Native stuff so why not a mix of both? Cheyenne #13 Wendigo Mountain by Judd Cole. A wendigo is a mythological creature that eats human flesh. I’m really hoping one appears in this story but I doubt it.

I got this amazing looking Super Cop Joe Blaze- The Thrill Killers by Robert Novak but is actually written by Len Levinson. I like how the guy on the cover has that dried out by salt water face ala Jack Palance.

A rare sighting these days is an 80s horror paperback but this one looks to be amazing. Almost Human by James V Smith Jr is about a woman who is kidnapped by a terrorist group who intends to mate her with genetically spawned cannibalistic creatures. What?!

Grabbed these two Pyramid Fu Manchu books mostly because I loved the cover art. It looks very Scooby Doo to me.

Trail cover art by Robert Macguire. Island cover art by Charles Copeland.

1957 Mike Shayne book Murder and the Married Virgin. I have a few of the 60s versions with the little Mike Shayne drawing and the beautiful painted covers but I couldn’t pass up this old Dell map back version.

Eric Ambler’s Epitaph for a spy. UK version.

Colin Forbes Target 5 looks to be a Alistair Maclean-ish cold war espionage novel.

And lastly The California Coven Project by Bob Stickgold. A modern day witch hunt tale set in the 80s.

Angel Eyes by Robert Dietrich

Robert Dietrich aka E Howard Hunt.

If you watched my all 80 books read in 2023 in order from worst to best video, you might remember that last year’s number one book was Calypso Caper by Robert Dietrich. Also, a “Steve Bentely Thriller.”

Steve Bentley is not a private detective. He’s not a cop. He’s not a former cop. He’s not a lawyer. So, who the hell is this guy solving murders? He’s a CPA. Ha! It’s a good thing that Hunt can write intriguing crime because it’s the most ridiculous mystery protagonist job ever. If it was just a one-time plot, sure. But a whole series where the guy who does your taxes solves violent murders on the regular is ludicrous.

That being said, man this is good stuff. Essentially, it’s a private detective story. Bentley knows the local hoods, the mobsters, the detectives, street hustlers etc. And not by doing their taxes. He mixes it up with them. He’s tough with his fists, carries a gun, talks hard-boiled, gets laid…everything you need him to be doing. And luckily for the reader, he is never doing taxes. And to be honest, he’d be the last person I want balancing my accounts cause he’s got a lot of bullshit going on.

Bentley comes home from work one evening and the once vacant apartment across the hall is now occupied by a hot vixen standing in her doorway. She’s all liquored up. Barely clothed. Upset about being stood up. And now she is willing to take any man who happens to be standing in the hallway. Same old story, it’s happened to us all hundreds of times. Steven Bentley isn’t one to neglect a damsel in distress, so he heads on over for a drink. It’s the least he can do.

He's well on his way to having a great night when she passes out. Only slightly disappointed, he heads home. At two separate times in the night, he hears someone banging on her door. Each time he goes out and has a conversation. Morning rolls around and surprise, she’s been murdered. He takes it upon himself to put his tax business on hold and find the killer.

It’s Washington DC so we have some political players. There are also some hoods. Reporters. Mega rich power people. Working class shlubs. Curvy dames. And I mean curvy. The way Hunt describes one of them you’d think it was Raven De La Croix. Bentley also says things like, “with a body like that why would you ever want to be anything but a woman?” When commenting on one of the female characters career intentions. Needless to say, it’s a little dated but if you’re looking for a novel that will take you back to the fifties with all of its scars, this is it.

The story is smooth and uncomplicated with plenty of twists and turns that you don’t see coming. And a few that you do. I mean we’re kind of working off a hardboiled P.I. template here by 1961. Just like Hunt’s previous novel I read, The Calypso Caper, this one is fun and breathable. It cruises along at a nice pace. If you can forget that he’s a CPA and not a private investigator or some such job that would warrant solving mysteries, it’s a damn solid little novel.

Dell 1961

Cover art : Robert McGinnis