Bob Deis
@bobdeis
I’m a #pulp culture historian who focuses on vintage men’s adventures magazines and paperbacks. I co-edit the Men’s Adventure Library book series, the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY magazine, and the ART OF RON LESSER book series. My website is MensPulpMags.com
OUT NOW! Our new art book MORT KÜNSTLER: COVERED, VOL. 1, the first in a series that showcases the eyepopping men's adventure magazine covers created by Mort Künstler, one of America's greatest illustration artists. It's available now from Amazon or the New Texture website, here-> bit.ly/MKCvol1
SIR!, Oct. 1954. This cover painting by Mark Schneider goes with the story inside that addresses the question: "CAN THE H-BOMB STOP SEX?" Short answer: Yes! (Scan via the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY BRIGADE Facebook Group→ bit.ly/MAQgroup)
Art by Frank McCarthy from OUTDOOR LIFE, March 1963. (Scan via the Men's Adventure Magazines & Books Facebook Group-> bit.ly/mensadventureFB). Thanks to artist Joe Jusko for telling me what issue this was in!
These pages in THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS (bit.ly/45C19Fb) showcase three of the Louis L'Amour Western paperbacks with Lesser cover art. The page at left includes the reference photo of the famed male model Steve Holland that Ron used for HELLER WITH A GUN.
My Shark Week blog post (bit.ly/SharkWeekMPM) notes that many shark attack stories reprinted in our book MANEATERS are pure fiction. But some, like the one from VALOR, are true. The two downed airmen in the story actually did fight off sharks with their fists for 22 hours before they were rescued.
#SHARKWEEK? Long before that existed, men's #pulp adventure magazines published gripping shark attack stories & great shark artwork. Some of the best are collected in MANEATERS: KILLER SHARKS IN MEN'S ADVENTURE MAGAZINES (amzn.to/2W7ay7j), which has Foreword by Steve Cheskin, creator of Shark Week.
Artist Alberto Vargas became known for the famous "Vargas Girl" pinup paintings he did for ESQUIRE magazine in the 1940s. In the 1950s, he also painted Vargas Girls for CAVALIER magazine. Then in the 1960s, for PLAYBOY. This one is on the back cover of CAVALIER, Nov. 1952. #pinup #illustration #art
This cover painting by Gil Cohen for MEN, February 1968, is among those featured in our new book COHEN: INSIDE/OUT—THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION (amzn.to/4c878Wp). The deluxe hardcover edition is now available from Amazon, Bud's Art Books, and my MensPulpMags.com bookstore.
Bob Larkin did the masterful illustration for this story in MAN'S WORLD, April 1971. It's a "Book Bonus" version of the Edward S. Aarons novel ASSIGNMENT STAR STEALERS, first published by Gold Medal in 1970. (Scan via the MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY BRIGADE Facebook Group→ bit.ly/MAQgroup)
My friend Jason "Java" Croft recently released the Summer 2026 issue of BACHELOR PAD, his cool retro pinup magazine and "Digest of Atomic Age Culture." I heartily recommend it. You can get a print or digital copy on his website here → bachelorpadmagazine.com. @javabachelor.bsky.social
Hmmmm. I bought a copy but when I tried to download it I got this error message? Any idea how to get the download to work on my end?
Shortly before the film LAWRENCE OF ARABIA was released in 1962, the July 1962 issue of SIR! ran the article "Lawrence of Arabia: Desert Fighter and Woman Hater." That issue was full of odd, sex-related stories. Scan via the Men's Adventure Quarterly Brigade Facebook Group> bit.ly/MAQBrigade. #pulp
In honor of National Camera Day (June 29), here are some photos of pinup and men's adventure magazine model Eva Lynd, taken in 1957 by photographer Earl Leaf. You can see more of Earl's photos of Eva and learn about her book, EVA: MEN'S ADVENTURE SUPERMODEL, by clicking this link→ bit.ly/EvaLyndPics
THE ART OF RON LESSER, VOL. 3: WILD, WILD, WESTERNS showcases nearly 200 of Lesser's classic Western paperback covers. One of my favorite sections features his covers for J.T. Edson's "Floating Outfit" series. Here are some pages from that section. More info here-> bit.ly/RonLesserWes...
GIL COHEN: INSIDE/OUT—THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION is a new, full-color hardcover art book showcasing classic men’s adventure magazine covers and interior illustrations artist Gil Cohen created during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. It's available now from Amazon (amzn.to/4c878Wp) and MensPulpMags.com.
Happy #JAWS DAY! June 20 is the anniversary of the release of JAWS in 1975. Long before that, men's adventure magazines featured many great shark stories and illustrations. Some of the best are collected in our anthology MANEATERS: KILLER SHARKS IN MEN'S ADVENTURE MAGAZINES (amzn.to/2W7ay7j).
The "JET-STREAM JOY GIRL," as depicted by artist Earl Norem on the cover of ACTION FOR MEN, Nov. 1967—one of many illustrations in our book collecting men's adventure magazine artwork and photos featuring bikers and motorcycle gangs, BARBARIANS ON BIKES (amzn.to/2bWDlQY).
Sunday funnies done men’s adventure magazines style… From MALE, Oct. 1958. Cartoon by Charles Rodrigues. More by and about him in my blog post at the following link-> www.menspulpmags.com/classic-char...
A classic D-Day story in ARGOSY, September 1967 with artwork by Shannon Stirnweis. Scan via the Men's Adventure Magazines & Books Facebook Group (bit.ly/mensadventureFB).
MAN'S STORY, April 1962…It’s one of many classic men’s adventure magazine covers shown in MEN'S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY #9 (amzn.to/3QpI2Yf), the Croc Attack issue. MAQ #9 reprints wild MAM stories and artwork featuring crocs and gators, plus articles by pulp culture mavens John Harrison & Andrew Nette.
Recent news about “disclosures” of UFO info hidden by the government, reminded me that men’s adventure magazine stories helped create UFO conspiracy theories. We included several in MEN’S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY #11, the UFO issue (amzn.to/3UMJllV) — like this John A. Keel story about “Men in Black.”
Lawrence Block wrote stories for men’s adventure magazines under before he was famous. “Book Bonus” versions of Block novels also appeared in MAMs. They are collected in THE NAKED AND THE DEADLY: LAWRENCE BLOCK IN MEN’S ADVENTURE MAGAZINES (amzn.to/3HUQt8Z). One of my faves is “Bring On the Girls.”
A witty cartoon by Robert "Bob" Schochet (1936–2016), from from MAN'S MAGAZINE, Sept. 1973. Schochet's cartoons appeared in many men's and mainstream mags, and in the humor magazines HUMORAMA and SICK. (Scan via the Men's Adventure Magazines & Books Facebook Group-> bit.ly/mensadventureFB).
From GIL COHEN: INSIDE/OUT—THE ARCHIVE COLLECTION (amzn.to/4c878Wp), our new art book showcasing Gil’s men’s adventure magazine artwork, here's his duotone illo for a story in MALE, Nov. 1963. It's a wild D-Day commando mission story by Eugene Joseph.