Those SLEAZY Paperbacks!

HIP POCKET SLEAZE: THE LURID WORLD OF VINTAGE ADULT PAPERBACKS by John Harrison (2011 Headpress / 392 pp / tp)


While not exhaustive, Harrison's look at trashy paperbacks from the 50s-70s is quite impressive.  His introduction tells of his growing up in an area of Australia that was comparable to New York City's Times Square of yesteryear, complete with a second hand bookstore packed with rare goodies.


In his short history of paperbacks, Harrison explains how paperback novels were looked down upon (thanks to the usual, lurid subject matter) and explains how the film noir genre helped with their popularity.  .After giving a brief history of adult paperbacks, we get some amazing interviews with several legendary pulp authors, including Ann Bannon and Jim Harmon (there's even reviews of a few books penned by infamous film director Ed Wood, Jr.).


Perhaps the biggest draw to these vintage books were their eye-catching cover art.  Harrison takes a look at three of the masters (Gene Bilbrew, Eric Stanton, andBill Ward) then gives an interesting interview with Dede Aday MacDonald, daughter of Sanford Aday, who had spent much of his life publishing and distributing obscure paperbacks (and often being arrested for his efforts).


Before delving into the world of 70s paperbacks, Harrison gives some great reviews of several vintage adult titles, a few of which I've already sought out and ordered.


As a child of the 70s, I was completely fascinated with the section titled "When Softcore Hardened & the Sleaze Became Sick," which features interviews with editors and publishers who began to release some of the most explicit novels ever to see print (at the time).  Incest, beastiality, and satanism were common themes.  Some memorable titles included 'The Molester Stepmother,' 'Satan's Chicks,' and 'Human-Animal Sex,' which was one of several animal-themed books able to get away with obscenity charges by being released as a medical text.  Who says loop holes haven't existed forever?


While the main focus of the book is adult titles, other genres (horror, crime, Nazis, science fiction) are examined.  One horror novel that actually sounds quite good is titled 'Crocodile,' written by Carl Ruhen in 1981 for Horwitz Books.  The synopsis given sounds more disturbing than a dozen SyFy channel giant monster flicks combined.  There's also a section featuring several horror movie tie-in novels, including Dawn of the Dead, Squirm, Inseminoid, and, most shockingly, the seldom-seen UK comedy Queen Kong (!), which was made to cash in on the success of the 1976 remake of King Kong.  As the author states:


"The discovery of this paperback in my used bookstore has convinced me that any film may have its own tie-in novel sitting out there hidden on some musty old shelf, waiting to be rediscovered."  -pp. 231
Harrison then gives us a tour of witchcraft and Charles Manson-themed paperbacks, before coming to one of my favorite sections of the book.  Among the Miscellaneous, Offbeat, and Esoteric titles, the cover of one book actually made my stomach drop (hence why it's probably featured on the cover):

Author Robert Buchard's 1970 'Thirty Seconds Over New York' deals with an anti-American Red Chinese colonel who orchestrates a nuclear attack over Manhattan.  There's no need to get into the shocking, almost premonition-like nature of the cover.


The only uneven section is titled 'Classic Smut Film Rags,' which takes up over thirty pages.  While the author feels these porn-film review magazines "share the same dirty bed as adult paperbacks from this era," I found the inclusion put the book at a brief pause.


HIP POCKET SLEAZE concludes by interviewing two major adult paperback collectors, and offers a priceless appendix that's packed with resources for serious collectors.


Props given to Mr. Harrison for this huge undertaking, highlighted by Headpress' always beautiful page layouts and rare book cover art.  Any book lover will eat this one up in no time.