Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Paperback 454: Twilight Men / Andre Tellier (Lion Books 24)

Paperback 454: Lion Books 24 (1st ptg, 1950)

Title: Twilight Men
Author: Andrew Tellier
Cover artist: Stella Lincoln

Yours for: $16

Lion24.TwiMen

Best things about this cover:
  • "... and ladies and gentlemen, your host ... Gene Rayburn!"
  • This cover answers the question: "Is there a game show called 'Gay Mystery Date' in heaven?"
  • Kind of odd to have "The Story of a Homosexual" feature a cover with a man emerging from what looks like an ermine-fringed vagina. Or the exploding face of Abe Lincoln.
  • Wait, this tagline feels familiar: "The Story of a Homosexual." Hang on ... yes. Here we go. Interesting. So this is Lion Books 24. Double that number, and you get Lion Books 48, which has *this* tagline:

DarkTunnel.GAY


Just add "SPY"!

And the back cover:

Lion24bc.TwiMen

Best things about this back cover:
  • "More Than One Man In Every Five" — now *that* sounds like a party!
  • "... have tasted of the forbidden fruits of homosexuality"; "forbidden fruits" = gay euphemism for "balls."
  • Kinsey! No "frank," but a near-frank in "unadorned." That's pretty close.
  • "We ask that you examine your conscience ... oh, man, it's fucking scary and dark in there. Stop. We take it back. Get out! Shut the door!"

Page 123~

Slips of rejection filled up the pigeon-holes of his desk and overflowed into the drawers.

Whoa. I'm not up on mid-century homosexual slang, but that sounds like some hot gay action.

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

7 comments:

Eggmaster said...

mmm...ermine-fringed vagina

Jack said...

Ross MacDonald wrote a gay pulp novel called 'The Dark Tunnel?'

Wow, who knew?

Tulse said...

I hate it when my filled pigeon-holes overflow into my drawers, because the stains just never come out.

borky said...

Cover:

On today's episode of Behind the Velvet Bumhole...

LAVENDAR - Why British gays insist the bus they ride in on must be just the right shade...

WRECK-TUM - why over endowed guys're not a good idea for gay tyros...

ANAL BLEACHING - why it's a no-no for your underwear...

DREAM MEN, NIGHTMARE WOMEN - how heterosexual bitches constantly ruin perfectly good homosexual men...

GAY FASHION - why homosexuals'll never swap prissy brylcreem coifs and bowties for biker moustaches, hairy chests and sweaty arses.

capewood said...

The book "preaches no cause" but the back cover blurb is rather judgmental with phrases like "forbidden fruit", "offers on solution" and "examine your conscience".

I had to look up the word "unavailing" to get the context. It means "achieving little or nothing; ineffective". So I guess it means he couldn't get it on with poor Marianne.

Random White Guy said...

If Kinsey wasn't already dead I'd have to kill him. All these bad books trying to hop on the Kinsey Report gravy train have about filled up the pigeon-holes and overflowed into the drawers.

borky said...

Cover:

Glamour gal/transvestite, "Okay guys, here's the plan - he's already starting to dilate, so strap yourself to the nearest turd and fire yourself to freedom!"