That homophobic Captain Marvel post from earlier today reminded me of my AWESOME collection of men's action or "sweat" magazines from the '50s and '60s. These pulpy rags were tailor-made for former WWII soldiers who found themselves transformed into bored, emasculated suburban drones, and were extremely popular at the time. In fact, they were so popular there were well over 100 titles devoted to these types of magazines. The content was salacious—way more so than the Mercury, I'm sad to say—and would touch on such necessary topics as rescuing nymphos from Commie prison camps, how to properly stab an attacking shark, homophobia/eroticism, and killing Japs/Gooks/Nazis. OH! And the acquisition of loose, semi-nude women, of course.

My favorite part of these mags—and the reason I collect them—was because of the art, which was always fantastic and hilarious. My fave cover artist of the time was Mort Kunstler, who is currently known for his Civil War paintings, and produced the most AMAZING artwork for these pulps. Such as THIS. Anyway, while my dream is to one day own an original Kunstler, I'll keep collecting these really fun mags.

Here are five of my favorite covers in my collection.

1.

Fire Ants Ate Me Alive!
  • "Fire Ants Ate Me Alive!"

Four more after the jump.

2.

Ah... The Gentle Art of Hanging.
  • Ah... "The Gentle Art of Hanging."

3.

Is There a Case Against Virginity? Discuss.
  • "Is There a Case Against Virginity?" Discuss.

2.

Corpse-eating Cats: A Recurring Problem for the Post-War Male
  • "Corpse-eating Cats": A Recurring Problem for the Post-War Male

1.

Oh, the Atom Bomb Cant Kill Me? Whew! Good to know!
  • Oh, the "Atom Bomb Can't Kill Me"? Whew! Good to know!

If you are as into this shit as I am, you must buy this book. It's fan-fucking-tastic.