If you're a guy and of a certain age, you'll remember the men's magazines. Popular from the 50s to the 70s, these cheap publications offered up large servings of violent action, fast cars, and loose women. They were often called "lad's magazines" to distinguish them from more serious periodicals such as GQ and Men's Health.
For Men Only was a typical lad's magazine, with lots of gunfights and sex. The issue shown here featured the James-Younger gang's disastrous robbery at Northfield, Minnesota. I wrote a book on this raid, and I bet it was more accurate than this hormone-driven coverage. I can't say for sure, though, since I haven't read this issue. I'm more curious about that white god who ruled a tribe of amorous women!
With cable TV providing 24-hour soft porn and cage fighting, men's magazines are mostly a thing of the past, with a few holdouts such as Maxim keeping the torch lit. So it looks like I won't be writing any popular-level Wild West articles laden with sex and violence anytime soon.
Home to author Sean McLachlan and the House Divided series of Civil War horror novels. A Fine Likeness, the first in the series, is available now. This blog is dedicated to the Trans-Mississippi Civil War and historical fiction, and occasionally veers off into adventure travel when I go somewhere interesting.
Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Midlist Writer blog, where he talks about writing, adventure travel, caving, and everything else he gets up to. He also reproduces all the posts from Civil War Horror, so drop on by!
Friday, July 12, 2013
Wild West Photo Friday: Jesse James in a Men's Magazine
Labels:
history,
Missouri,
Missouri history,
Old West,
Sean McLachlan,
Western,
Westerns,
Wild West,
Wild West Photo Friday
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I missed that one, but I was probably around the cutoff age when it ended.
ReplyDeleteThere are still online mags. Maybe add some wormholes to the Western classics!
ReplyDelete