Paperback 948: Sin-Drome / Arthur A. Howe (Vega V-46)

Paperback 948: Vega Books V-46 (PBO, 1965)

Title: Sin-Drome
Author: Arthur A. Howe
Cover artist: that guy who did so many Vega / Fabian / Saber Books covers...

[Newest addition to the Doug Peterson Collection]

Estimated value: $15-20
Condition: 6/10

Best things about this cover:

• More awkward couch-posing. Great.
• More awkward "Sin"-punning. Great.
• Is "Dyserotic" a word?
• Ew, his right hand. Imagine that touching you. Ew.
• Suburban Insurance Salesman Vampires prefer the upper boob.
• LOL at the discreetly bolded "other"

Best things about this back cover:

• "The gun was the weapon which decided the balance of power in this situation." So sayeth SleazeNovelBot 5000.
• Man, this is the worst. It's like every sub-"Walker Texas Ranger" crime show where the killer / bad guy decides to delay and orate just long enough for the hero to come along with a roundhouse.
• I gotta say, the sexual sadism of the last part is kind of a new twist, though.
• Speaking of sadism, I shudder to think what previous owners have done to this book. Are those cigarette burns?

Page 123~

"Oh God! He's dangerous, Juelle. If he catches on there's no telling what he'll do."

Don't be cruelle, Juelle, you fooelle.

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

Paperback 903: Joy Killer / Ralph Brandon (Vega V-4)

Paperback 903: Vega Books V-4 (PBO, 1960)

Title: Joy Killer
Author: Ralph Brandon
Cover artist: Uncredited

Estimated value: $20 (unread / perfect condition)

[Newest addition to the Doug Peterson Collection!]

Best things about this cover:

• I think that's her underwear on the floor wax can there. I think. For their sakes, I really hope the floor wax is for the floor.
• Seaman Apprentice! Subtle.
• I can't get over the fact that together, their names make BABY KILLER.
• Once again, Vega (and Fabian, and Saber) books are the best, that is, the worst, in a good way. God bless Sanford Aday and his short-lived Fresno-based softcore ridicu-porn empire.

Best things about this back cover:

• That first sentence of the second paragraph makes me think the writer hasn't really mastered the art of the conjunction.
• So they're both kinky, but not in compatible ways? Am I reading that last sentence right?
• I believe that the title "Joy Killer" makes absolutely no sense. Unless there is some as-yet unmentioned character named Joy ... nope, even then, no sense.

Page 123~

"An orgy of sensual lust! Oh Killer, that sounds so exciting."
"I'm trying to help you, you depraved female. Now pay attention to what the book says."

There follows several pages of Killer reading aloud from some kind of sex-phobic sex manual for new wives, which is then followed by a marriage consummation scene in which "I plunged my throbbing masculinity into the depths of her quivering feminity [sic]."

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

Paperback 428: Lesbian Twins / Willi Peters (Vega Books V-2)

Paperback 428: Vega Books V-2 (PBO, 1960)

Title: Lesbian Twins
Author: Willi Peters
Cover artist: Uncredited

Yours for: $30


Best things about this cover:

• The title font is amazing—stuck somewhere between Wacky and Horror
• Composition here is also amazing—I especially love that her ass is at his eye-level, and the "Vega Book 50c" logo is like a caption over his head signifying "whoa...!" or "boing!" or "hubba hubba" etc.
• Remember Doublemint's short-lived ad campaign for "Adult Gum?" Me either.
• A book about lesbian twins by someone whose first *and* last names are slang for "penis!?" What are the odds?
• Like I believe that Bill here would find the idea of two hot young twins making out with each other "ugly." His akimbo arms say "well I never ..." but his ass-hungry eyes say something else.

Back cover is just a giant version of that "Vega Book 50c" logo, so we'll go straight to ...

Page 123~

"Bill, would you like to see the picture of the girl Jane lives with?"

The way she said it, speaking it all out unnecessarily [1], I was sure I got her message: Look, Bill, Jane is still a Lesbian [2].

The girl in the picture wore a leather jacket and levis [3] as she straddled her motorcycle.

"Looks more like a man," I couldn't help saying ... [4]

• [1] ??? "The way she said it, using her lips to form a syntactically coherent set of words..."
• [2] Love the capital-L Lesbian. More badass and imposing that way: appropriate considering the girl in question is a biker.
• [3] Capital-L Lesbian good; lower-case l / apostrophe-free levis, less so.
• [4] Pretty sure you could help saying, Bill. Although you do seem awfully mystified by words and the funny things they do, so who knows?

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]