Buzz
Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, I recall the many 'men’s adventure' magazines I saw. These 'pulp' magazines were often full of covers featuring daring GI’s risking their lives to save their comrades from Hitler’s elite D-Cup Brigade, as Jay Leno humorously put it. They were sometimes known as 'sweat magazines' because the men on the covers were always shown drenched in sweat from battling Nazis’ D-Cup girls or fierce animals. My grandfather subscribed to some of these, and I remember sneaking a peek at them when we visited him and my grandmother. I also remember these magazines being stacked next to hunting and fishing magazines in the local barber shop.
These men's adventure pulp magazines were immensely popular in the 1950s and 1960s, before Playboy, Penthouse, Maxim, and Men’s Health took over. They gained popularity for several reasons. First, they were cheap, often priced at just a quarter. Secondly, they filled a gap for the 'adventure-seeking man' of the mid-20th century. But most importantly, they appealed to a specific generation of American men – those who were largely unconcerned with physical fitness or sculpted abs. These were men who had (mostly) served in World War II and Korea, and they saw themselves as rugged survivors who were familiar with danger, death, fear, and survival (or at least, they fantasized about it).
Each magazine featured a vibrant cover, designed to appeal to male fantasies – rescuing scantily clad women from savages or Nazis, surviving the wilderness, going on African expeditions, fighting Indians and cattle poachers in the Old West, and, my personal favorite, surviving attacks from wild animals!
At the peak of pulp magazine popularity, there were about fifty such magazines, but my favorite was 'Man's Life,' primarily because it focused on all sorts of wild animal attacks. The formula was always the same: commission an artist to create a striking cover and then have a writer craft a 'true-life' story around it. The artists constantly tried to outdo themselves, year after year, with wilder and more creative animal attack scenarios. But no matter how extreme the cover art became, the common theme of animal attacks remained. Here are ten of the most iconic 'man versus animal' covers from the classic 'Man's Life' magazine.
10. Ripped to Shreds by Massive Turtles!
The cover depicts the quintessential man’s adventure magazine hero—his shirt in tatters, blood dripping from wounds inflicted by vicious, leaping snapping turtles! I’ve personally had the misfortune of crossing paths with these ferocious creatures, and trust me, they are not to be trifled with. Their jaws are like steel traps, capable of severing a finger or another crucial appendage. I know that every time I’ve fought for my life against these terrifying snapping turtle hordes, I’ve always had a semi-conscious, scantily clad lady in one hand, while my other gripped my trusty knife. What I never knew until I picked up Man’s Life magazine was that snapping turtles attack in swarms and can leap right out of the water!
9. Weasels Shredded My Flesh!
Typically ranging from 9 to 18 inches in length and possessing slender bodies, weasels are renowned for their cunning and deceitful nature. These small, fur-covered animals are mostly known for hunting rodents in their burrows. However, fewer are aware of their terrifying capacity as man-eating predators! Weasels are particularly fond of human flesh, and if an unwary person wades waist-deep into water, they risk encountering a swarm of these ruthless killers. The only chance for survival is to seize one or more of the weasels and wield them as a weapon to fend off the rest. The cover and title of *Man’s Life* magazine served as the inspiration for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention's 1970 album of the same name.
8. Vampires Ripped My Flesh!
In the mid-20th century, the flesh of men was incredibly appetizing to a variety of dangerous creatures from across the globe, as evidenced by numerous reports where men had to fend off beasts that literally ‘ripped their flesh’. In the March 1956 issue of *Man’s Life*, we witness a man battling for his life against an onslaught of vampire bats! It seems he was trapped in a vampire bat cave without a knife, so he resorted to the only option available to him – his bare hands! Anyone familiar with how bats dart and flit through the air can attest to how easily they can be knocked from the sky. As with many men who face these flying pests, our subject had no shirt on, exposing his tender, juicy flesh to their sharp, blood-sucking fangs. This issue also features a story titled ‘Eaten Alive By Killer Pigs,’ though it seems the vampire bats made for a more exciting cover story.
7. Strangled by a Giant Gorilla!
A close relative of the feared Mountain Gorilla, the far rarer Kenyan River Gorilla has a notorious reputation for attacking any blonde woman wearing a red blouse who ventures into his territory. In this scene, we see such a woman in the gorilla's grasp, seemingly unconscious with wide, frightened eyes. Meanwhile, her hero fights the gorilla in waist-deep water armed only with a knife. He plunges the blade into the gorilla’s neck, which only serves to anger the beast further. Will they survive this brutal encounter? Find out by purchasing this issue, which also features a true survival story titled ‘Those Slimy Rodents Are Eating My Flesh!’
6. Red Tide of Death!
Bodies of water were notoriously perilous for shirtless men in the mid-20th century, evidenced by the countless incidents where aggressive creatures targeted those foolish enough to venture into their aquatic domain. In this issue, we find a man desperately swimming for safety aboard a wooden life boat, being pursued by swarms of venomous red snakes! The sheer number of snakes has transformed the water into a deadly, slithering red tide of death. Will he make it to the boat before he’s bitten to death? Can he even navigate through this tide of writhing reptiles? And, if he survives, will a near-naked, large-breasted mid-20th-century woman be waiting for him on the boat? Read this issue to uncover the thrilling conclusion.
5. Trapped in a Sea of Giant Crabs!
Once again, our mid-20th-century man and woman make the grave mistake of entering the water. This time, they face an onslaught of marauding giant crabs, eager to devour them with their massive pincers. The hero (the man) is armed with a pistol, but it’s clear he has already used all six shots, likely in a previous struggle against native savages on the island while trying to rescue his stunning red-headed companion. With no ammunition left, he can only resort to using the gun as a blunt weapon, attempting to strike the crabs into submission. As for the red-headed damsel, she is injured and bleeding, her torn blouse dangerously close to coming undone.
4. The Island of Man-Eating Rats!
Stranded and isolated on an island inhabited by ravenous rats, our mid-20th-century protagonist does the only thing he can to survive: he dives into the water! But these aren't ordinary rats—they're amphibious, man-eating rats! His cunning plan to evade their savage jaws is swiftly undone. With no other option, he rips off his shirt and fights back, using only his bare hands and rocks, desperately ing the rats as they tear into his flesh. Also in this issue – “The Big Cat Clawed my Guts!” If only that big cat were here to help with the rats.
3. Spider Monkeys Tore Me Apart!
Much like other fur-covered mammals, streams serve as the natural habitat for the insane, man-killing spider monkeys (and occasionally, Mars). Once again, we witness our mid-20th-century couple making the mistake of entering the water, only to be swarmed by vicious spider monkeys. This time, the woman’s flesh is being torn from her body as her male counterpart plunges through the water, knife in hand, hoping to rescue her. But will he reach her before her blouse is fully undone, exposing her breasts? The look of terror in her eyes communicates to the monkey perched on her shoulder: “Don’t touch my red hair, you damn dirty ape!”
2. Trapped in the Web of Creeping Death!
There seemed to be something about bodies of water in the mid-20th century. Anyone who ventured into them waist-deep would inevitably face an attack, often from creatures that had no business being there. In this case, our hero and heroine are besieged by deadly, flesh-eating giant spiders! They’ve walked right into a massive spider’s web, drawing the attention of the human-hunting spiders. Of course, he’s shirtless, and she’s wearing a red blouse, hanging by only a single button. As was typical for mid-20th-century damsels in distress, her blouse is always just a button away from revealing her naked breasts. He’s unarmed, with nothing but their wits and bare hands to defend themselves from the spider swarms.
1. Attacked by the Furred Furies of Hell!
Fending off the furred furies from hell is hard enough. But to do so while protecting your woman and holding her unbuttoned blouse together with your one free arm—that takes the skill and determination of only the most adventurous and sweat-drenched mid-20th-century man. And this guy pulls it off, and does so with style. A fury is tearing at his face while he guards it with one hand, all while holding his gorgeous redhead close with his other arm. Naturally, they’re waist-deep in water, the ideal environment for all furred furies of hell. Sadly, this cover is not currently available online, so an alternative is displayed above.
+ Journey to Damar
This cover of Man’s Life magazine breaks from tradition in several notable ways. First, and most obviously, it features zombies rather than animals emerging from the water to attack our courageous mid-20th-century couple. Second, both of them are fully clothed (the man even has his shirt on!) and both are armed—he with a rifle, she with a pistol. Her ammo belt around her waist is a stylish touch. But most importantly, they are both (for now) wisely staying out of the water! They were on what seemed like a romantic safari vacation to the Pacific paradise Isle of Damar. Little did they know, this paradise is actually a living nightmare where the dead roam the Earth—or at least, swim in the ocean. The zombies don’t just want to rip the flesh from their bodies; they aim to feast on their brains and internal organs. Especially if they set foot in the water.
