Sunday 3 June 2012

The Detective Tales cover for June

I have decided to go slightly against clichés for this June's Detective Tales cover (dating from June 1942). Last May I had chosen an atypical cover too. Here, we do not have a damsel in distress but a... man in distress. The hero is tied up, in the attic, looking very much frustrated, while the fierce lady, after climbing a ladder and entering in the window, is cutting the rope,s ushing the helpless hero. There is danger lurking, if course: the hoodlum at the floor below, gun in hand, ready to go upstairs. It is simple, suspenseful and dynamic. Commenting on those pulp covers, I see that there are at least as many capable, strong women characters as there are damsels in distress. Maybe the world of hardboiled/pulp fiction is not as macho as one would think. Or rather, because it is a hard, violent, dangerous world, it creates many brave characters.

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