At PulpFest 2024, we’ll be celebrating “Spice, Spies, Shaw, and More!”
While Frank Armer and Harry Donenfeld were introducing “Spice” to the genres of adventure, detective, and weird-menace fiction, other publishers such as Popular’s Henry Steeger and Magazine Publishers’ A. A. Wyn turned to spies.
With Standard Magazines, Street & Smith, and Popular Publications striking gold with their new hero pulps, Wyn jumped on the bandwagon with Secret Agent X.
Launched in early 1934, Secret Agent X was a master of disguise. Known as “the man of a thousand faces,” he worked undercover fighting crime and the enemies of the United States. No one knew his real name. Created by Paul Chadwick, Secret Agent X had a fairly long run, lasting 41 issues and running until early 1939.
Just two months after Periodical House introduced their super-spy, Harry Steeger added Secret Service Operator #5 to Popular’s growing line of hero pulps. Introduced with its April 1934 number, the series was created by the talented Frederick C. Davis. The prolific author contributed to a wide range of genres, including aviation, detective, war, weird menace, and western fiction. In his later years, Davis even wrote for Cosmopolitan.
Month after month, Jimmy Christopher, Secret Secret Operator #5, faced down America’s enemies in such adventures as “Cavern of the Damned,” “Blood Reign of the Dictator,” and “Invasion of the Crimson Death Cult,” all penned by Fred Davis, writing behind the Popular house name of Curtis Steele. In later issues, Emile C. Tepperman and Wayne Rogers were hidden behind the Steele name.
Backing up the tales of Jimmy Christopher in Popular’s Operator #5 pulp was Arthur Leo Zagat’s Red Finger, a Secret Service agent who protects New York City from foreign agents and saboteurs. He was just one of many espionage heroes who engaged in intrigue and derring-do.
We hope you’ll join PulpFest 2024 on Thursday, August 1, at 8:35 pm as we welcome espionage expert Tim King for a look at these and other “Spy Heroes of the Pulps.”
A lifelong fan of The Shadow, Tim King was introduced to the Orson Welles version by his late mother. “If you like Batman then you’ll love The Shadow.” Did she know that the first Batman story was almost a line-for-line recreation of Ted Tinsley’s “Partners of Peril?” Only The Shadow knows.
A career investigator for the Department of Defense and US Intelligence Services, Tim spoke at PulpFest 2015 about the similarities between the methods of The Master of Darkness and those employed by the counterespionage services of the same era. He also presented at PulpFest 2021 on the use of stage magic in Walter B. Gibson’s Shadow novels.
In the footsteps of Walter Gibson and others, Tim is a member of the Society of American Magicians — serving on the paranormal investigations committee. He also belongs to the Office of Strategic Services Society, an organization that honors the heroic accomplishments of the OSS during World War II. Tim has written for Sanctum Books, The Shadowed Circle fanzine, and moderates The Shadow Knows Facebook group. His book, In the Shadow of Houdini, is forthcoming.
PulpFest 2024 begins on August 1 and runs through August 4 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. We’ll be celebrating “Spice, Spies, Shaw, and More” at this year’s convention.
The general public is welcome to attend our evening programming events free of charge. To learn more about our programming, please click the Schedule button at the top of this page.
For those who also want to enjoy our dealers’ room, you can join PulpFest by clicking the registration button at the top of this page. And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree. They’re going fast!
If you want to sell at this year’s PulpFest, our wall tables are sold out. Island tables are still available, but they won’t last long. Register soon!
Our featured image is excerpted from George Rozen’s cover art for the August 1, 1935 issue of The Shadow Magazine, featuring Walter B. Gibson’s “The Man from Scotland Yard,” one of several espionage adventures featuring The Dark Avenger.
Pretty much every pulp hero worth his salt tangled with spies or saboteurs at one time or other in their recorded adventures.
Our lead image was adapted by PulpFest advertising director William Lampkin from Norman Saunder’s cover art for the June 1938 issue of Secret Agent X.
Written by Paul Chadwick, “The Torture Trust” was the first of 41 adventures featuring “The Man of a Thousand Faces.” J. George Janes contributed the cover for the February 1934 issue of Secret Agent “X.”
Frederik C. Davis’ Jimmy Christopher adventure, “Invasion of the Dark Legions,” was the lead story in Operator #5 for October 1934, with cover by John Newton Howitt. The issue also featured the first of Arthur Leo Zagat’s Red Finger “Second-Hand Death.”
You could find spies and saboteurs all over the pulps. In addition to Secret Agent “X,” A. A. Wyn’s Ace Magazines also published Spy Novels Magazine (pictured above is the February 1935 issue, with cover by Rafael DeSoto) and Spy Stories (also pictured above is the March 1929 Spy Stories, with cover by Walter Baumhofer). Other pulps included Fact Magazine’s Fact Spy Stories, Munsey’s Famous Spy Stories, Chain Publishing’s Secret Service Detective Stories, Carwood’s Secret Service Stories, Standard’s Thrilling Spy Stories, and others. Later years brought us Republic Features’ American Agent, Leo Margulies’ The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Magazine, Pamar Enterprises’ Intrigue, and others.
For more on Operator #5 and other spy pulps, please visit our YouTube Channel.
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