Top Secret Kill

The D.C. Man #1: “Top Secret Kill” by James P. Cody*. Brian Peterson works in DC as a Lobbyist. However, he has become better known as a go-to man to solve your problems, and in Washington senators always end up with problems. Ex-football player, and ex-military intelligence operative, he knows how to use weapons, including judo and karate. Senator Haynes Brickman has a leak in his committee, and classified documents are being passed to foreign governments. He hires Peterson to investigate and stop the leak, no matter what it takes. A fairly good story, with some good action, and a nice plot, but the really interesting thing about this series is, it was written by a priest. *James P. Cody is his birth name, but when he joined the priesthood he took the name of Peter T. Rohrbach. I didn’t uncover this data, someone else did, and I apologies for not remembering the researcher’s name. It’s obvious that the author read some men’s action novels before writing his own series. This is a lot more tame than most of the men’s action novels, still the author did a good job on his first outing with Top Secret Kill.

The Corinth/Regency Paperbacks

THE CORINTH/REGENCY PAPERBACKS

       In the early 1960s, a West Coast publisher – CORINTH/REGENCY started reprinting the Phantom Detective, an early pulp magazine character, in paperback. Jon Hanlon, a pulp enthusiast, presumably was the editor for the several series that followed – and was possibly the reason behind the reprint series.

         CORINTH/REGENCY was basically a pornographic publishing house, and had very few straight stories being printed under their imprint.

         But for 48 issues – CR 101 – CR 148 – CORINTH/REGENCY reprinted 22 Phantom Detective stories, 8 issues of Operator #5, 7 issues of Secret Agent X, and 4 issues in the Doctor Death series 3 novels by Harold Ward, and 1 short story collection from the magazine. They also reprinted 5 titles from Dusty Ayres – 4 novels of Dusty Ayes and 1 issue containing short stories from the magazine. And finally, two issues from the Terror Tales series, consisting of short stories from that magazine title.

         Due to poor distribution these series were hard to locate at the time, and too, when most paperbacks were selling for forty and fifty cents, the CORINTH/REGENCY line was priced at sixty cents, which hurt their sales tremendously. The series ended in the mid 1960s. There were several reasons for this: threatened lawsuits, plus the defeat of a California pornography law. Today this series is a most sought after collection, and the one time price of sixty cents has now shot up to $10.00 or $15.00 per copy, if you can even find them now.

         The covers were beautiful and gaudy, but very little good girl art. Following is a brief synopsis about the character and pulp history of the series reprinted.

         The Phantom Detective: The character was based on D. L. Champion’s Mr. Death that ran in 1932. Leo Margulies, head editor of the Ned Pines pulp house, BETTER PUBLICATIONS, had Champion make some changes to his story, and in February 1933 the Phantom Detective was born full-grown in his own magazine. It lasted for twenty years, ending in 1953 with 170 issues.

         The character was very popular in its day, and the stories must have been written by just about every big name in the field back then. Robert Wallace was the house name used on the series, but because of the many writers involved, the stories were very uneven, and the character seemed to change with each story.

         Operator #5:  One of the most sought after series in the pulp magazines at one time. This series was begun in April 1934 in POPULAR PUBLICATIONS. The author writing under the Curtis Steele house name at the time was Frederick C. Davis, but after the first year or so other writers took over the series – most notably, Emile C. Tepperman. The series only lasted for 48 issues, ending in November 1939.

         Secret Agent X: The super spy was never given a name. The character was created by Paul Chadwick, under the Brant House house name, but was eventually turned over to several writers. It began with the February 1934 issue, lasting for 41 stories, and ending with the March 1939 issue.

         Dusty Ayres: This series was written exclusively by Robert Sidney Bowen. Beginning with the July 1934 issue it only lasted for twelve issues, ending with the July 1935 issue. Bowen once stated the series was only planned for twelve issues, no more.

         Doctor Death: This series started as a short story character in ALL-STORY DETECTIVE, written by Edward P. Norris. It graduated to its own magazine with novel-length stories in February 1934, this time written by Harold Ward under the Zorro house name. The series only lasted in its own magazine for three issues, ending with the April 1935 issue.

         Terror Tales: These two novels were just filled with selected short stories.

        

The Paperbacks

CR 101       The Phantom Detective  (7/40)         The Vampire Murders

CR 102       The Phantom Detective   (6/37)         The Dancing Doll Murders

CR 103       The Phantom Detective   (7/37)         The Beast-King Murders

CR 104       The Phantom Detective   (2/38)         Tycoon of Crime

CR 105       The Phantom Detective   (8/38)         The Broadway Murders

CR 106       The Phantom Detective   (4/40)         The Daggers of Kali

CR 107       The Phantom Detective   (12/43) Murder Under The Big Top

CR 108       The Phantom Detective   (5/41)         The Trail To Death

CR 109       The Phantom Detective   (7/38)         Yellow Shadows of Death

CR 110       The Phantom Detective   (3/40)         Murder Trail

CR 111       The Phantom Detective   (11/40) The Green Glare Murders

CR 112       The Phantom Detective   (1/38)         Fangs of Murder

CR 113       The Phantom Detective   (2/41)         The Curio Murders

CR 114       The Phantom Detective   (12/41) Murder Stalks A Billion

CR 115       The Phantom Detective   (8/40)         Murder Money

CR 116       Operator #5 (7/35)  Legions of The Death-Master

CR 117       The Phantom Detective   (11/38)  Death Glow

CR 118       Doctor Death  (2/35) 12 Must Die

CR 119       The Phantom Detective   (3/43)         Stones of Satan

CR 120       Operator #5 (3/35)         The Army of The Dead

CR 121       Doctor Death  (3/35) The Gray Creatures

CR 122       Secret Agent X  (2/34) The Torture Trust

CR 123       The Phantom Detective  (9/40) The Melody Murders

CR 124       Operator #5 (5/34)         The Invisible Empire

CR 125       Doctor Death  (4/35) The Shriveling Murders

CR 126       Secret Agent X  (11/34)  Servants of The Skull

CR 127       The Phantom Detective  (5/40) The Uniformed Killers

CR 128       Operator #5 (9/34)         Master of Broken Men

CR 129       Doctor Death  (SS)        Doctor Death And Other Terror Tales

CR 130       Secret Agent X  (2/38) Curse of The Mandarin’s Fan

CR 131       The Phantom Detective  (7/39) The Forty Thieves

CR 132       Operator #5 (8/35) Hosts of The Flaming Death

CR 133       Dusty Ayres           (7/34)  Black Lighting

CR 134       Secret Agent X  (6.34)  City of The Living Dead

CR 135       The Phantom Detective  (8/38)  Death Under Contract

CR 136       Operator #5 (5/35)         Blood Reign of The Dictator

CR 137       Dusty Ayes  (8/34)           Crimson Doom

CR 138       Secret Agent X  (4/34)  The Death-Torch Terror

CR 139       The Phantom Detective   (12/37) The Corpse Parade

CR 140       Operator #5 (4/35)         March of The Flame Marauders

CR 141       Dusty Ayres           (9/34)  Purple Tornado

CR 142       Secret Agent X  (9/34)  Octopus of Crime

CR 143       Terror Tales #1 (SS) The House of Living Death And Others

CR 144       Operator #5 (6/35)  Invasion of The Yellow Warlords

CR 145       Dusty Ayres         7/35) The Telsa Raiders

CR 146       Secret Agent X  (1/35)  The Sinister Scourge

CR 147       Terror Tales #2( SS) Death’s Loving Arms And Others

CR 148       Dusty Ayes  (SS)   Black Invaders Vs. The Battle Birds   

         This was a good series for the paperback collector, especially for those that can’t afford the original pulp magazine editions, plus they are a neat set to have. The reprints were well done, except for some updating. The series gives a brief sample of a few of the great pulp heroes. The stories themselves were taken from the best of the series of pulps, and well worth reading. CORINTH/REGENCY was a pornographic publishing house that, for a brief period, reprinted a fantastic series of paperbacks. I wish there had been more.

Skin Deep

The Destroyer #49: “Skin Deep” by Warren Murphy (Molly Cochran). “Someone has made off with a nuclear-armed jet bomber just as world leaders are meeting in New York to discuss peace, requiring Chiun and Remo to come to the rescue.” Zoran, a Nazi doctor in the concentration camps during WWII has evading Doctor Smith for 36 years. Now, he has stolen a Stealth plane with atomic warheads, and plans on striking New York. He has a camp next a leper colony on an island near Miami, and continued his experiments on the lepers. Chiun and Remo reach the village of the damned where they learn of Doctor Zoran. Remo is captured while Chiun swims to Miami to contact Doctor Harold Smith, then Smith returns to finally capture the doctor he’s been hunting all these years. This was actually one of the better novels during this time period. A nice read.

Concubine

“Concubine” by Elsie Dean: Part of a double novel from Universal Publishing in 1953. The second novel, “Savage Mistress” by Jon Hartt, I haven’t read yet. The title is a bit misleading, as this is not the story of a concubine but a play on Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”. Little Flower, of the House of Chiang is left without a family and taken to live in the House of Wong. The old Wong has a mistress named Morning Glow, but she’s becoming too old, and tells Little Flower she must escape before Wong calls her to his bedchamber. She tells her about an American missionary in town that will help you people, and then devises a plan for her to escape.

         Little Flower escaped and the missionaries take her in. Tom and Celcilia give her a room, but Celilia does not approve of her, while Tom helps does. Staying with them is their young nephew, Almose, who they want to study and become a missionary also. But young Almose has other plans; he wants to be an artist. When Almose and Little Flower meet they are instantly attracted to each other, and eventually become lovers. Almose has married her before God through a painting, but telling her he must leave shortly for school, but will come for her once he becomes a master artist and created his masterpiece.

         After he leaves, Little Flower discovers she is pregnant. The story now takes on the harsh reality of betrayal and heartbreak. Tom & Cecilia take Little Flower and her daughter to America where the young daughter, Mara (named after the Virgin Mary), has artistic talent like her father. Little Flower learns that Almose has married another artist and will never return to her. Lee Yuen, who had met her on the boat to America, knows the ways of Americans, and their hatred of non-whites, and tells her that she will eventually need his help. The time comes when her only ally, Tom, dies of cancer, and Cecilia moves in with her sister, and there is no place for Little Flower and her daughter.

         She goes to Lee Yuen, and he treats her good. She does not have to share his bed, but keeps house for him, and he promises to wait till she loves him. However, Mara grows cold against Little Flower for the trouble her mother has caused her. It has not been easy for Mara being a half-caste. After graduating high school Mara leaves for New York and art school.

Now the story comes full circle, as Mara meets her father, and Little Flower discovers that Lee Yuen is running the largest drug cartel in San Francisco, and she is little more than a prisoner in the house as Lee Yuen’s madness is now apparent, and she learns the truth behind the disappearance of Almose, and who was behind it from the very beginning.

This was a sad story of two young people torn apart by the madness of someone else, and their love destroyed for evil purposes, but the ending is heart-warming, and touches the heart. It is really nothing like I thought it would be, and yet much better than advertised.