Title: This Girl For Hire
Author: G.G. Fickling
Cover artist: Uncredited
Best things about this cover:
- Honey West was a brief but important crime fiction phenomenon - an early, nakeder version of today's modern female detectives. See, Honey West lost her clothes a lot. It was her thing. Like ... a wordless catchphrase or facial tic or something. A girl's gotta do etc. See back cover.
- My wife's first comment: "Is she pregnant?" - I believe the tenting of the coat is meant to convey motion, specifically a spinning motion as Honey West rounds on a would-be assailant. According to this drawing, she is a south paw. And she has broken the heel of her left shoe. And yet she persists. True grit!
- Alliteration!
- "This Gun for Hire" is a sensational film noir (1942) starring Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd.
- "See her on 'Burke's Law' ... Whoops. We're sorry. While you blinked, 'Burke's Law' was canceled. Good bye."
- Honey actually went on to have her own show. Go here for more than you ever wanted to know about Honey West.
- Again, I hope you are noticing how covers get crappier, in general, after 1959. Too much text, not enough hot lady with gun, I say.
Best things about this back cover:
- Well, if you're a feminist who happens to have no sense of humor ... then, nothing.
- If you're a feminist who does have a sense of humor (like most I know), then you should find this hilarious. What did it take for a female detective to get some street cred back in the day? Now you know: a penchant for accidental nudity.
- I have a way, way hotter version of this book that dates from the late 50's. Honey's not naked on that one, but she is more than two inches tall, at least.
RP
5 comments:
Four em dashes and two ellipses on the back cover? That punctuation is outta control.
"She's playing with a deck that's as stacked as she is" is a phrase of bad beauty.
How sweet that G.G. Fickling was actually a husband-and-wife team. Now that must have been quite some interesting marriage.
Do you have some of the other juicy-sounding Honeys like A Gun for Honey or Honey in the Flesh or Blood and Honey or Honey on Her Tail? Sticky stuff!
I remember that tv show but wasn't a large fan of it.
38-22-36?!
Physically impossible, I say.
No wonder she keeps busting out of her clothes.
"Do you like G.G. Fickling?"
"I don't know, you naughty boy. I've never G.G. Fickled."
OK, who's the Canadian facebooker who has linked to this page? Damned facebook won't tell me a thing.
Thanks,
RP
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