Customer Reviews

Detective Magazines (Midi) (German Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A wonderful wrap-up of this very down market publishing phenomenon whose main title, True Detective, was selling two million copies monthly in the late thirties. Not bad sales considering that it was competing against several dozen imitators on the newsstands. After the Second World War sales of the genre slowly declined decade after decade until the mid-nineties when the remaining eleven titles folded.

The 336 pages basically present the decades (from the twenties to the nineties) with hundreds of color covers and a nice touch I thought, quite a few inside spreads. Another title that has plenty of inside spreads and covers is Cyanide and Sin: Visualizing Crime in 50s America. The covers relied on paintings right up the sixties, so much better to exaggerate the sexuality of the distressed dame caught up in some criminal deviance. Contrived studio photos took over from art and all the while over-the-top cover lines promised far more than was inside: True Detective, February 1976 main cover was 14 VICTIMS FOR THE SEX-MAD 'GORILLA MAN!' or True Police Cases, June 1968: SIN, SEX and SADISM in a MALE-FEMALE JAIL!

As well as all the covers there are some interesting chapters about the writers, cover artists and a spread about the leading publishers and their titles. The book's author Eric Godtland contributes a feature on the significance of females smoking on so many covers and Marc Gerald tells of his experiences as an editor for True Detective in 1989.

True Crime is a beautifully produced book in the Taschen series covering popular print culture. It belongs right next to their Men's Adventure Magazines and the six volume History of Men's Magazines, Vol. 1 (Dian Hanson's The History of Men's Magazines).

***SEE INSIDE THE BOOK by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

This oversize volume is a real treat, with hundreds of great images from the risque' and overheated "true crime" genre. Not only is the book a visual delight, but it really goes in depth to explain the genesis, flowering and eventual demise of this type of literature. Of course, it was sneered at as "sub-literature" back then, but it's a vibrant facet of American popular culture. The book's production values are first-rate. You won't go wrong owning this one.

Excellent overall collection of True Detective and other covers through the decades. Pages of text in French, German and English.
Even if you read only English...more space for more photos and covers! You get your money's worth in weight as this slick page volume is heavy! Interesting to see what was 'taboo' and criminal and what is considered illegal/immoral today.

Great read, but don't fall asleep with it on top of you!

I think I would have given it 4 or 5 stars if they would have given at least 10 of the detective stories mentioned on the front pages. They give just few and more over they cut them before the middle.