Monday, October 25, 2010

Paperback 365: Drawn to Evil / Harry Whittington & The Scarlet Spade / Eaton K. Goldthwaite (Ace D-5)

Paperback 365: Ace Double D-5 (PBO / 1st ptg)

Title: Drawn to Evil / The Scarlet Spade
Author: Harry Whittington / Eaton K. Goldthwaite
Cover artist: Norman Saunders / Norman Saunders??? (Uncredited)

Yours for: $65

AceD5.Drawn2Evil

Best things about this cover:
  • "Hey, tiger, whaddya think of this cami-" "Aw, shut yer yap, you loony dame!"
  • Hazel was afraid to tell Bill that his Vulcan salute still needed a lot of practice.
  • "Hey, babe, I just found a buyer for this stolen VHS tape I've got in my coat pocket! Gimme a high five! ... Up top? ... Aw, c'mon, don't leave me hangin', babe!"
  • "I will karate chop your ass, so help me God, woman!"
  • Norman Saunders was a cover painter in the great days of pulp fiction. His flair for the sensational and overdramatic is strongly in evidence here.

AceD5.ScarSpade

Best things about this back cover:
  • In my head, she is making the worst, whiniest, most horrible noise in her throat.
  • "Can someone please inflate the blow-up doll the rest of the way! Tom's gonna be here any second ..."
  • Are those gigantic ice cubes in the background?
  • "Nope, the spade's still black, sweetheart. Try again."
Page 123 (from The Scarlet Spade)~
Denver Calhoun's eyes smoldered in his broad, white face as he watched the full progress of O'Moriarty's exit.

So, some fat-faced white guy named Denver has the hots for some super-Irish guy. So what's new?

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

4 comments:

Frank said...

"Denver Calhoun" has to be just about the pulpiest name ever.

Anonymous said...

"In my head, she is making the worst, whiniest, most horrible noise in her throat."

Well, now that you mention it, I can easily imagine she's laughing like Fran Drescher in this moment.

Graham Powell said...

Two thoughts: In DRAWN TO EVIL, what the hell is going on in that picture in the background? Looks like the inside of Satan's taxi.

And in THE SCARLET SPADE, that woman with her back to us on the left has a rather attractive derriere.

Larry said...

The title of the book reminds me of Jessica Rabbit: "I'm not bad, I'm just DRAWN that way."