The late 1950s and 1960s were the era of the male magazine, with names like Stag, True, For Men Only, Saga, Swank and Man’s World. There you’ll find “true” adventure and combat stories—typically about an average G.I. behind enemy lines put in command of a secret army of French gun-toting prostitutes to defeat the Italian army.
The new issue of Illustration magazine has a spotlight Charles Copeland (1924-1979), one of the illustrators who contributed to the men's pulps.
Copeland's work appears alongside other artists who became better known, such as Mort Kunstler and James Bama, and alongside writers who made it in the world of the ‘slick’ magazines and popular novels, such as Mario Puzo and Ian Fleming.
Illustration magazine #33 is on the newstands, but you can also order it on the website, or view thumbnail views of the contents. Dan Zimmer and his contributing writers like Lynn Munroe, who wrote the piece on Copeland, produce the magazine primarily as a labor of love, and since few in academia are devoting researchers to the topic, the key interviews with living illustrators who worked 50 years ago are being largely gathered by this magazine.
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Illustration Magazine
More about men's pulps at Illustrateur blog (in French)
Books:
It's a Man's World Adam Parfrey
Men's Adventure Magazines by Max Collins
More about this era of illustration at Today’s Inspiration blog