Pulp Fiction Classics (for RodS) by Chipka
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Description
Rod’s birthday has come and gone, but here’s a dedication to that particular day, and warm birthday wishes as only I can deliver them: late. Ah, but when one writes science fiction, moves dental equipment, and communes with woodlice, yellow-jackets, and earwigs, one’s perception of time is…well…shifted.
I found this gem of a window display right beside a bunch of classic Tom Swift novels: they’ve appeared earlier in my gallery, and so this is—in a sense—the second half of a genre-fiction book cover diptych. I have no idea who any of these writers are, but I know (with relative certainty) that they were interested, at least in terms of writing novels) in sultry, surly, somewhat dangerous women. These are the literary equivalents of Russ Meyer films: Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill! being my favorite, though other flicks like: Astro Zombies are pretty good too, but they're not Russ Meyer movies. Such books—they date quickly!—are one of the hidden marvels of the literary world. They’re easy to dismiss, but like a Russ Meyer film, they’re filled with quirky characters, legitimate human insights, and some rather juicy psychological undercurrents that would keep psychologists and psychiatrists rather happy and excited for decades to come: I suspect pulp/genre writers exploit all of the psychosexual pathologies we have yet to name. Genre/pulp fiction has always produced some of the most memorable (and under-appreciated) literature around, though—unfortunately—it’s ignored by people more interested in Literature. What’s ironic about that is that nearly all of the literature we venerate is simply very old pulp fiction. (Indeed, the bulk of "Classic" Russian literature is like Russ Meyer without the jiggling titties...it's psychological insight, murder, death, mayhem, unrequited love, half-requited lust, and everything else...including the proverbial kitchen sink, along with a few dirty jokes too and deliriously creative puns!) Literature pronounced with that fake-British accent, doesn't come anywhere near the good stuff.
When I first saw these various beauties, I was more interested in the Tom Swift novels beside them (just out of frame here.) In seeing these, and the Tom Swift novels, I was transported to a world far more colorful (and bouncy) than the contemporary version of Chicago. Something about the term “vixens” reminded me of some of the witty work I’ve seen in Rod’s gallery, and needless to say, that brought a smile to my face. Another smile erupted, when I combined these beauties in my mind with the Tom Swift novels, just off-screen to the right. I’m now inspired to write: Tom Swift and the Electrovoracious Vixens or something like that. Or maybe Tom Swift and the Vibrotactile Vixens…which would, of course, reveal that Tom Swift is the inventor of everything including the push-button bachelor pod, complete with the zero-g waterbed with built-in back massage features and matching his and hers beverage dispensers.
I must return to the book store featured here, in the hopes of acquiring The Scarlet Venus…or maybe even The Vanishing Vixen. Words beginning with the letter “V” tend to work well in book titles, and lets face it, vivacious, voluptuous, violent vixens simply don’t get enough literary ink these days: I mean, Shakespeare wrote quite a few, and so did the Russian greats (Anna Karenina is the primordial, quintessential bosom-heaving über-Vixen of literature, if you ask me, which you didn't.) And Shakespeare came up with many of the most intriguing vixens and vixenettes and flat-out juicy stuff the world has ever known.) It’s time for more.
And so, in honor of a birthday that I slightly missed, here is a bevy of beautiful babes (some are apparently bad babes too) for those who enjoy bevies of beautiful babes. And so, happy belated birthday to Rod, and as always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting.
Comments (23)
Faemike55
I'm not sure which is better, the picture, which is fantastically loaded with literary gems, or the narrative which is loaded with literary insights in any case, very wonderful, albeit late birthday wish for Rod
sandra46
TERRIFIC SHELF I LOVE THOSE COVERS
netot
Wonderful: a photo that you can read and text that you can see.
flavia49
marvelous shot!! great retro covers!!
RodS
Oh, this is just PRICELESS, Chip! Every bit of it - the photos is just, well vivacious! I just love all those pulp fiction books - soooo cool! And your narrative..... Let's just say I'm gonna have a grin on my face all night while putting in another 8 hours in that hellhole. My co-workers are going to wonder what the heck I'm plotting, now! :-D Thank you for the wonderful dedication, my friend! You've definitely lifted my day! And provided some inspiration, too - my hyperactive little muse is putting all kinds of render ideas into the 6 remaing brain cells still functioning! I see a book cover coming up in the near future! LOL! And be sure to let me know when you publish Tom Swift and the Electrovoracious Vixens - I want a First Edition! Thanks a million, Chip!
Orinoor
Really entertaining and certainly takes me back to a time as a child when we traded boxes of books with other families and there was just no telling what you would get. I seem to recall an entire box devoted to such gems and I read and forgot them all....
Jean-Luc_Ajrarn
Babelicious collection! :) At first your title made me think of fake orange juice. (that would be "pulp fiction"). ;)
wotan
Beautiful shot and composition!
jocko500
wonderful shot of these books
auntietk
These are Harlequin Romances written for a male audience ... what a fascinating concept! Fantasy sells ... people think their lives aren't enough somehow. I love seeing all these books, which were pretty much throw-away paperbacks when they came out (just like the bodice rippers of today) and here they are, enshrined (there's no other word for it) in the bookshop window. LOVE this shot! There's so much here to see and to ponder. Nicely done!
blinkings
THE IRON VIRGIN!!!!!!!!!!!
helanker
OH WOW! That reminds me of the huge case of good old pocketbooks, my hubby has in one of the sheds outside. We simply have no room for them inside this little cottage. I should take a shot of some of them for all the colors sake, some day :) Awesome collection of old pocketbooks. Excellent shot, Chip :-)
geckogr
there you really found an interesting motiv. older books ..... great !
durleybeachbum
Fabulous!! I wonder what a prospective employer would make of your CV in that first paragraph!
bmac62
Ah ha,...verily a very veridicious verbomania to vesicate the genre:) A little stilted commentary on your commentary...but it did provide me with the fun of playing with v's. City store windows make for fascinating subjects and you've fascinated me with both your image and your thoughts about pulp fiction. And from what I know about William Shakespeare, I am sure he'd agree with you observations also! Bravo and Happy Birthday to Rod one more time from me too.
angora
love it! and love the lighting!
jmb007
interessant!
evielouise
I read most every night before sleep rushes in It's safer than pills and healthier and cheaper I think I mentioned before I can print some of your readings and read them also at the same time as it sinks in better somehow (same time same station will tune in"Smile ☺))
KatesFriend
'Tom Swift and the Electrovoracious Vixens', I like the idea of that. I'd actually go out and learn how to read if someone wrote that tale. And would Mr. Swift be battling these Electrovoracious Vixens? Or would he be joining forces with them to fight a common foe? And, in the process, discover several sides of himself which he never knew existed. And the Vixens might learn something too. It almost writes itself. Just think of what the cover art would be like. Do I hear "Poser challenge"? I always thought that pulp fiction was a mechanism for satirizing the faux morality of the times they were written. Perhaps by throwing its counter culture in one face. I suspect this is why this art form was largely panned out of hand. Too many saw a piece of themselves in these pages. Or perhaps its the moral relativism that some find disturbing in the end. By the way, in the background, is that The Time Tunnel?
kgb224
Stunning capture and post work my friend. God Bless.
jac204
Love the capture of our pop culture.
nikolais
Except for the covers, nothing much has happened in here... the pulp is the very same... Frequency of Vs is a riddle to me... "the way you name it the way it sails". "Victory" starts with "v" but does it explain anything?
myrrhluz
What fun looking through the titles. I like "Self-Made Widow" and "Tall, Dark, and Dead." When I saw both "Strange Bedfellows" and "The Strange Bedfellow", I searched it on Amazon and found all kinds of strange bedfellows. The one on the upper self here is subtitled "The First American Avant-Garde". There is a "Strange bedfellows: sex and science fiction" which includes a story by Theodore Sturgeon, and can be bought new for $92.47 or used for $0.25. A book with the intriguing title, "The Ten Commandments Strange Bedfellows Japanese Language Book." There are many books on politics, a few on religion, a Star Trek comic, and several Harlequin Romances. Very interesting read, and great dedication and image!