RARA-AVIS: Gryphon Books & more about vintage paperbacks

From: Rene Ribic ( rribic@optusnet.com.au)
Date: 08 Feb 2002


Anyone who is interested in vintage paperbacks both HB & non-HB just cannot go wrong with the magazine "Paperback Parade" edited & published by Gary Lovisi, a HB author that many here would be familiar with. This wonderful mag covers pb's in general but the heavy emphasis is on HB & the more sensationalist fiction of the 1950's & 1960's. Unfortunately, with exchange rates & postage being what it is a subscription costs a little too much cabbage for this little bunny but I have bought a couple of back issues that would be of great interest to many list members : # 15 has a priceless interview with Arnold Hano, Lion Books editor (the original publishers of Jim Thompson & David Goodis) by George Tuttle & is an issue dedicated mostly to noir; #33, a special Gold Medal issue with articles by George Tuttle, again, & an interview with Knox Burger, the editor of GM after Dick Carroll left & also apparently a literary agent with several noir authors, past & present, on his books.People should also check out Geo. Tuttle's tasty little webpage dedicated to noir : http://noirfiction.tripod.com/ Paperback Parade is published by Gryphon Books a small press devoted to HB, pulp & SF with a very heavy emphasis on HB. They also publish
"Hardboiled" magazine which looks excellent but I've never seen an issue in the pulp, as it were.Gryphon Books is a cornucopia of HB goodies, fiction & non-fiction, new & vintage (I think they were the original publishers of James Sallis's "Difficult Lives" about Jim Thompson, Chester Himes & David Goodis). When I win the lottery (I better start buying tickets) the 1st thing on the list is a sub to the mags & an order for their back catalogue. I recently asked Ed Gorman about the revival of the Black Lizard series to which he basically answered, not as far as he was aware of. He went on to bemoan the fact that his own company had tried to reissue similar material & couldn't even sell 500 copies. I feel that it's more of a distribution & marketing problem than a lack of interest in the public. I know it's a minority taste but I suspect there's a larger readership potentially out there that just needs to be reached.(Of course, Paperback Parade is no secret to people such as Bill Crider who is probably a contributor). So let's all support these guys as much as we can - I can't give a lot of financial support by way of buying a lot of Lovisi's & others' products but I can spread the word & the more of us that pick up even just 1 or 2 items from these guys will make it just a little more likely that someone will reprint a book like "Black Wings Has My Angel" & all of us, me included, would be able to read this reputed masterpiece & others). This community service announcement has been brought to you by the Post Baby Boom Noir Appreciation & Archaeological Society. All donations should be sent to the appropriate small presses such as Gryphon, Crippen
& Landru, Five Star and other comrades in arms.

Rene. PS Gryphon Books are at : http://www.gryphonbooks.com/index.html

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