The famous Spicy pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s are among therarest and most sought-after publications by collectors. The Spicymagazines -- which included Spicy Mystery, Spicy Adventure, Spicy Detective and others -- published a titilating mix of fantasy, horror, mystery, action-adventure and suspense, punctuated by episodes oftorture, sadism, sex and other risque elements. Although tame by currentstandards, and sometimes of dubious literary merit, these publications presentedtales which thrilled a sensation-hungry audience. Despite the themes andconstraints of the market, writers who would later become famous --including Hugh B. Cave, E. Hoffman Price, Robert Leslie Bellem and many more-- were frequent contributors. The December 1939 issue of SpicyAdventure Stories includes works from Robert Leslie Bellem, Lew Merrill(Victor Rousseau), Hugh Speer, Ken Cooper, Clayton Maxwell, Clark Nelson andHarley L. Court.
