Robert Lesser

A great overview of pulp magazine art from all genres; mystery, war, western, science fiction. Lots of photos and reminiscences. Well worth it. An easy and fast read.

Here, the illustrations alone are worth the price of admission. The reproductions are of a very nice quality, and in most cases the author has managed to use the original pieces, devoid of the typography the pulp magazines slapped on. The book is a visual delight.

The text is also interesting and informative, though the scholarship felt a little off-kilter at times. There were a couple of facts that I know for certain to be wrong, and a few other places where the author introduced interesting show more ideas but never followed through with them. The most glaring, thing, though, was that the rest of the book belied his introduction. Lesser opens the work with the statement that Americans don't judge art by its origins, and that even commercial art is highly valued in American society. He proceeds, throughout the rest of the book, to describe just how reviled and undervalued pulp art has been and continues to be, finding acceptance only with a select few collectors and fans.

That said, though, the book does have merit. It serves as a good survey of several different genres of pulp art, and the illustrations really do make it worthwhile. The appendixes are nice, too; they include a selection of reprinted letters-to-the-editor, a guide to begining a pulp art collection, and a series of short biographies of the best of the artists. show less

This is a collector's reference work of comic art and collectibles by a world-class collector. The chapters on original art are moderately helpful; the sections on character collectibles are more interesting and comprehensive. A useful book for the collector, although the main effect of these books is usually to instill in me a wish to be rich. Profusely illustrated, although the illustrations are a little washed-out.