Paperback Warrior Primer - Kendell Foster Crossen

Kendell Foster Crossen (1910-1981) wrote crime-fiction novels under the name of M.E. Chaber, a pseudonym he used to construct the wildly successful Milo March series from the mid-1950s through the 1970s. He also contributed to the pulps using names like Richard Foster, Bennett Barlay, Ken Crossen, and Clay Richards. Paperback Warrior has covered a lot of the author's work, archived under the appropriate tag HERE. We also presented a podcast episode on the author HERE. To go one step further, we decided the author deserved a Primer article as well.

Kendell Foster Crossen was born in Albany, Ohio in 1910. He excelled athletically as a football player, a talent that earned him a scholarship at Rio Grande College in Ohio. After college, Crossen was employed as an insurance investigator, a tumbling clown and huckster for the Tom Mix Circus, and an amateur boxer. Tiring of the grind, Crossen bought a typewriter and hitchhiked to New York City.

In the 1930s, Crossen was employed as a writer for the Works Project Administration. There he contributed to the New York City Guidebook and was assigned to write about cricket in Greater New York. In 1936, Crossed answered an ad in the New York Times seeking an associate editor for the pulp magazine Detective Fiction Weekly. He gets the job and begins his ascension into the realm of pulp-fiction writers.

Crossen's first published story may have been “The Killer Fate Forgot”, a western story written with Harry Levin that appeared in 10 Story Western Magazine in January 1938. Sometime in the late 1930s Crossen quit his editing job and moved to Florida. In 1939, he wrote three crime-fiction stories that appeared in Detective Fiction Weekly, one of which used the byline of Bennett Barlay. Crossen continued using the Barlay name in 1940 with four more stories in Detective Fiction Weekly. That same year Crossen used the name Richard Foster to create a pulp-fiction hero known as The Green Lama. In Paperback Confidential, writer Brian Ritt describes the character:

“The Green Lama was the only Buddhist superhero to grace the pages of a pulp magazine”.

The creation of the character and stories originated when the editor of Detective Fiction Weekly, which was owned by the company Munsey's, called Crossen and requested the writer create a series character to compete with The Shadow, a pulp sensation at the time. Crossen had read a newspaper article about a New Yorker who flew to Tibet and studied Lamaism and was lecturing about the Buddhist practices. Crossen was intrigued by the exotic nature and conceived a character called the Grey Lama. Unfortunately, the color grey looks terrible on magazine covers – it doesn’t pop. Crossen changed the character into the Green Lama for a better look.

The character of the Green Lama’s real name is Jethro Dumont. He achieved super-powers through a combination of Buddhist studies and radioactive salts. His main power is the ability to shock by touch. There were 14 Green Lama stories in Double Detective. The character was adapted into comic book format in 1944 with contributions by Crossen. Those stories were reprinted in trade paperbacks by Dark Horse in 2007 and 2008 (HERE). A Green Lama radio show was broadcast on CBS in 1949. The Green Lama pulp stories are available in compilation trade paperbacks (HERE) and digital versions (HERE) by Steeger Press.

In October 1951, Crossen delved into the science-fiction detective scene with the pulp character Manning Draco. Draco is a 35-year old insurance investigator working for the Greater Solarian Insurance Company in a revamped New York, a place called Nuyork, in the 35^th century. The first Draco story was “The Merakian Miracle”, published in Thrilling Wonder Stories. There were five more stories featuring Draco published through 1954 and an early omnibus of stories titled A Man in the Middle. There was also a later collection of these stories published by Steeger (formerly Altus Press) in 2014.

By 1952, Crossen had contributed to pulps like Stirring Detective and Western Stories, Detective Fiction Weekly, Double Detective, All Star Detective, Keyhole Detective Cases, and even glossy magazines like Argosy. However, his most successful creation was just unfolding. By using his experiences as an insurance investigator, and the writing efforts on the Manning Draco stories, Crossen created the insurance investigator “private-eye” Milo March.

Milo March is an investigator for Denver-based Intercontinental Insurance. He used to be an OSS operative (that’s the precursor to the CIA) during WW2. Some of the Milo March books are traditional mysteries involving property crimes or stolen diamonds. However, some are spy stories that feature Army Intelligence pressing March back into service for a covert mission.

These Milo March stories were published in glossy magazines like Bluebook and the pulp Popular Detective. However, the majority of Milo March works was in the format of original novels first published in hardcover by Henry Holt and Company between 1952 through 1973. These were all published under the name M.E. Chaber, a pun on the Hebrew word “mechaber” meaning “writer”. The books have been reprinted several times with the most familiar being the Paperback Library reprints from the 1970s featuring covers by Robert McGinnis. One Milo March movie was created, The Man Inside, starring Jack Palance.

Using the name Christopher Monig, Crossen wrote another series of insurance investigator novels starring Brian Brett. He also created a series, under his own name, starring a U.S. Army Intelligence agent named Kim Locke. There were also two stories written by Crossen starring a futuristic advertisement agent named Jerry Ransom.

Crossen's papers and works are collected at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. He died at the age of 71 in Los Angeles in 1981.

Paperback Warrior spoke with the literary curator for Crossen's estate. Her name, Kendra, suggested the best Milo March books...

#2 No Grave for March

#3 The Man Inside
#6 A Lonely Walk
#9 So Dead the Rose
#17 Wild Midnight Falls

#5 The Splintered Man

You can purchase the Milo March paperbacks with McGinnis covers HERE. The reprinted editions in digital and physical are HERE.

The Doomsday Planet

New York author Harold Vincent Schoepflin (1893-1968) used the pseudonym Harl Vincent to write shorts for Amazing Stories, Astounding Stories of Super-Science, Fantastic Adventures, as well as the detective pulps of the early to mid 20th century. He managed to write one full-length novel in his career, The Doomsday Planet, published in two paperback editions beginning in 1966. 

An astronaut named Jack Donley has joined a space flight on a freighter called Meteoric. The reason he joined the voyage is in hopes that he can somehow learn more about his lover, Mera, and her strange disappearance on an earlier flight using this same trajectory. The Meteoric is on a customary trading flight but suddenly finds itself being vacuumed into another orbit and headed to a planet called Ormin. Donley is excited that the voyage is now reflecting the same incident that led to Mera's disappearance.

As the Meteoric makes a slow gravitational orbit onto Ormin the crew becomes frightened and experiences high levels of panic. However, an odd pulsating sound is introduced from the planet that seems to make the ship's passengers slip into a catatonic state. Donley, an admirable co-hero named Randle, and a Martian are three of a dozen or so passengers and crewmen that aren't affected by the sounds. They coordinate a proper and safe landing on Ormin.

On Ormin, the crew and passengers of the Meteoric travel into a domed city. There they are introduced to Apdar, an Ormin being that explains the planet was divided eons ago into two warring factions. The two factions annihilated the planet with nuclear weapons and half the planet now lives in an underground network of tunnels. The other half remains topside under the safety of the domed enclosure. Apdar's pulsating signal is putting this area of the cosmos into a deep sleep. The reason is that he telepathically can see that the immediate future features a large asteroid or planet colliding with Ormin and killing everyone. To prevent physical and mental pain Apdar is taking it upon himself to end everyone's suffering. Is it a mad power grab? A doomsday cult?

Donley and the crew get a different story from the leader of the underground beings. They see that none of this is actually happening and that Apdar is incorrect. Donley finds his lover as one of the hibernating sleepy people that Apdar has put down. Thankfully, with the help of the underground leaders, Donley has a chance of getting everyone awake again. The different portions of the narrative include Apdar's mission to keep everyone asleep, three rogue crewmen that have committed a heist, Donley's quest to find his lover, and a various chain of events that does rock the planet – just not an apocalyptic one. 

The Doomsday Planet was like an original Star Trek episode. It was presented as if Donley was Captain Kirk trapped on this wacky planet where people submit to an ideology. The book was written during the heights of the Cold War as well as America's segregation based on race. Vincent injects a cautionary warning of big government, nuclear build-up, and the inevitable violence that occurs between classes and races of people. The finale of the book features a “Watcher” type of being that addresses the planet's history and warring factions. This watcher being praises the efforts of both parties to reach an agreement of co-existence by the book's end. It isn't necessarily preachy, but the message is on the nose – get along to get along. 

If you enjoy vintage science-fiction that is breezy, with little mental taxation, then this book should do the trick. It isn't amazing. It isn't abysmal. It's an average read with a page-count of 148. You could do a lot worse. Get it HERE.

Conversations - The Book Graveyard & Bad Taste Books

Nick from The Book Graveyard and Bryan from Bad Taste Books drop in to help me out with a review of THE TERROR TRUCKERS, a 1977 vintage men's action-adventure paperback starring former Mafia hitman The Butcher. We dig into the series conception, writers, origin story, and the definitions of various CB radio slang terms. Watch it below, stream it at YouTube or listen to just the audio portion as a podcast episode on any streaming platform.

The Three Investigators #01 - The Secret of Terror Castle

Edgar Award winner Robert Arthur Jr. (1909-1969) attended college at William & Mary and University of Michigan. After graduation he worked as an editor and wrote stories for magazines like Collier's, Black Mask, Thrilling Detective, and The Phantom Detective. He later moved to Hollywood to write screenplays, television, and radio scripts. But, his most successful creation was a juvenile fiction series originally titled Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators. 

From 1964 until 1987, 43 books were published starring three teenage boys solving crimes. The first 31 installments included “Alfred Hitchcock” in the titles before dropping the famed Hollywood director's name for simply “The Three Investigators”. Arthur wrote books 1-9 and 11 before other writers like Dennis Lynds, Kin Platt, Mary Virginia Carey, and Marc Brandel became involved. 

From 1985 through 1987 there were four Find Your Fate Mysteries starring the investigators. These were written by Megan and H. William Stine. From 1989 through 1990 there was a 13-book series featuring the characters titled Crimebusters authored by Dennis and Gayle Lynds among others. 

In this series debut, The Secret of Terror Castle, three boys living in a fictional coastal California town called Rocky Beach, have won a contest that allows them the use of a Rolls Royce and a chauffeur named Worthington. The kids come up with an idea that they will be investigators and design business cards and a special colored coded “?” symbol to use in the investigations. The kids consist of Jupiter Jones (First Investigator, former child actor, spunky), Pete Crenshaw (Second Investigator, athlete, action), and Bob Andrews (Records and Research, librarian, nerdy).

The “terror castle” is first introduced as a way for the kids to obtain and solve their first case. Jupiter leads the trio to Alfred Hitchcock's studio office to pitch an investigation – discovering a real haunted house that the director can use for his next motion picture. Hitchcock isn't amused with the kids' idea and quickly dismisses them. But, before he scoots them out he agrees that he will introduce their mystery and resolution if they can find a haunted house – which they kinda do in a Scooby sort of way. This sets up an early theme where the end of each book features a brief introduction into the next mystery which will be unveiled in the following series installment. 

The Secret of Terror Castle is a cliffside mansion once owned and inhabited by a horror actor named Stephen Terrill. He “died” under mysterious circumstances years ago when his car plunged from the rocky highway. His body was never found. Since his death the mansion is apparently haunted by a mist-like appearance deemed Fog of Fear and a music-playing apparition named Blue Phantom. As the kids dig into Terrill's disappearance they are attacked by a gang inside the mansion, placed in a basement dungeon, and fall victim to a tunnel collapse. They also interview Terrill's suspicious assistant and befriend their chauffeur Worthington. 

By 1964 these types of juvenile stories had already ran through a marketing blitz and saturation thanks to Edward Stratemeyer,. His titles like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Kay Tracey set the standard for juvenile mystery stories. By having the Hitchcock name attached to this series certainly made publishing waves for Random House and led to commercial success. The formula is a familiar one – some type of supernatural element appears to exist and is later debunked by the heroes. But, the enjoyment is the trio's work ethic, characterization, and interaction with the various participants in the mystery. All three kids have their own skill-set and personality that enhances the overall title and individual stories. 

If you love a good mystery, no matter what your age is, then The Secret of Terror Castle is worth a stay. I really enjoyed this series debut and look forward to reading more.

You can get series installments HERE. You can also listen to a full audio dramatization of this novel, ripped from the 1984 Rainbow Communications cassette, HERE.

Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 118

This new episode hits the operating room for a deep dive into the life and career of successful surgeon, officer, and author Frank G. Slaughter. He wrote over 60 novels, sold 23 million copies, and was published in 23 languages. Eric connects to the author in a personal way and shares his experiences. Additionally, Eric reviews a 1991 vintage paperback titled Winterkill and discusses his most recent vintage fiction finds. Stream below, download HERE, or watch on YouTube HERE.

Listen to "Episode 118: Frank G. Slaughter" on Spreaker.

The Most Dangerous Game

One of the most common themes running through men's action-adventure fiction is man hunting man. Books like Penetrator #14 – Mankill Sport (1976), Peter Lefcourt's Deer Hunt (1976), and David Eddings High Hunt (1972) feature men hunting men in a variety of situations. The concept even spilled onto the big screen with Surviving the Game (1994) and the John Woo film Hard Target (1993). But, the origin of man versus man in the printed page began with a short story titled “The Most Dangerous Game”.

Richard Edward Connell Jr. (1893-1949) was an American author and journalist that saw his literary work published by the likes of The Saturday Evening Post. His most notable story is “The Most Dangerous Game”, a man versus man concept that appeared in Collier's in the January 19, 1924 issue. The story was also published with the title “The Hounds of Zaroff”. “The Most Dangerous Game” was adapted into a 1932 RKO Pictures film and a 1943 episode of CBS Radio's Suspense. 

The story begins when big-game hunter Sanger Rainsford falls from the top rail of a passenger ship during a late evening. Plunging into the dark oceanic depths, Rainsford attempts to swim back to no avail. He then makes a difficult swim to a nearby island that the locals scrutinize as a “ship trap”. There he is rescued on shore by a General Zaroff and his deaf-mute servant Ivan.

Over dinner and drinks Zaroff explains to Rainsford and readers that he has hunted wildlife all over the globe. He's desperate for a challenge and had become complacent with the typical big-game variety offered on all continents. Now, Zaroff lives on this tiny secluded island and has sailors conveniently trapped for sport. He stores the men in his cellar and gives them the opportunity to become human prey. They are supplied a three-hour start ahead of Zaroff, a high-powered rifle, and food for three days. If they can survive without being killed for three days then Zaroff will give them freedom. However, Zaroff explains he has hunted men for years and has never lost. The next morning Rainsford himself is forced into the most dangerous game.

Reading this story seemed mandatory after experiencing so much media that used Connell's basic premise. The dialogue between Rainsford and Zaroff dominates much of the story but was compelling enough to keep me vested. I really enjoyed both characters and how the author presented them with different moral codes. I also enjoyed the story's beginning with Rainsford's friend Whitney philosophizing about hunting. Whitney's theory that hunting is cruel and barbaric for the animals was an interesting foreshadowing that's directly opposed by Rainsford. I loved how the narrative unfolded and Rainsford became the animal. It was a neat twist and the book's finale was subjective on just what Rainsford plans next.

If you enjoy action-adventure in general then “The Most Dangerous Game” deserves to be read. The story is now in the public domain and can easily be found online. 

The Assassinator

David H. Vowell was a television writer for shows including Mod Squad, Mannix, and Adam-12. His paperback fiction output appears to be a couple noir books written in French, a Dragnet TV tie-in and this slim Los Angeles police procedural novel, The Assassinator, from 1975. 

Our narrator is a tough and cynical LAPD nameless detective who is investigating a series of seemingly random gunshot murders of people on the streets of Los Angeles getting their heads blown off by a shooter. The first three victims were a low-level dope dealer, a loan shark and a transsexual prostitute. 

The cop conducts a good and logical investigation allowing one interview to open the door to the next one. He also shares his evolving theory of the case as the reader rides along. The term “serial killer” was first used in 1974 - a year before The Assassinator was published, but the author never uses it here. Nevertheless, this is definitely a serial killer novel. And a damn good one at that. 

The narration is really interesting and at times, some of the best I’ve read. However, there’s very little dialogue in the novel. The narrator just tells the reader the substance of what was said in most conversations - back and forth. It’s an odd choice that gives the novel the feel of a story being told to you by a guy sitting on the next barstool. 

The mystery’s solution is weird and a bit out of left field but, upon reflection, satisfying. Mostly, I was left wishing Vowell had written more original crime fiction because The Assassinator is pretty awesome, and I can’t recall reading a book quite like it. At 138 pages, it’s the perfect short paperback to break a reading slump. Recommended.