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BLB: ‘G-Man vs. the Red X’

The cover of 'G-Man vs. the Red X'
The cover of ‘G-Man vs. the Red X’

Happy New Year! Sorry, didn’t mean to yell. Sensitive to noise, are you? Having trouble reading this with bleary eyes? If so, I’m sure we all understand, and a few of us may even share your state. This blog entry is scheduled to be posted New Year’s Day, but if you weren’t feeling up to reading it then, and wanted to wait a while, that’s perfectly understandable.

So, what did you get for Christmas? I’ll bet more than a few of you got something pulp related. I did. I got a Big Little Book. My first. And let me tell you about it.

Big Little Books. You’ve all seen them. They are those small hardback books, about 3.5- x 4.5-inches in size, printed in the 1930s and 1940s, and meant for kids. Think of them as pulps for third or fourth graders… except they had hardback covers, were small (for small hands), and had lots of illustrations. If there was a subject that a 10-year-old kid would be interested in, it appeared in a Big Little Book.

These books-for-kids featured characters from radio and the movies and the comic strips. Andy Panda, Blondie and Dagwood, and Little Lulu showed up from the comics. Some BLBs (as they are now fondly referred to) featured western stars like Buck Jones, Gene Autry and Tom Mix. Not only western stars but also western authors, typified by Zane Gray. Tons of daily newspaper strip characters made their way into the BLBs. Buz Sawyer, Dick Tracy, Jungle Jim, Li’l Abner, Little Orphan Annie, Popeye, Secret Agent X-9, Smilin’ Jack, Mandrake the Magician, Tailspin Tommy, and Terry and the Pirates… and that only scratches the surface.

A wide variety of Big Little Books were available.
A wide variety of Big Little Books were available.

These books were aimed directly at the same kids who sat by their radios and listened to Captain Midnight, Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen, and Jack Armstrong. So these were immediate fodder for the BLBs. Disney was represented in the book series by Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies. Of course you could also find the classics in the form of Treasure Island, David Copperfield, The Lost Patrol, Robinson Crusoe, and The Three Musketeers. Tarzan started in the pulp magazines, but had a dozen or so Big Little Book adventures. The Shadow, another pulp staple, appeared in three Big Little Books.

It began in 1932 when Whitman books published The Adventures of Dick Tracy and soon it seems every other publisher was jumping on the bandwagon. Each had their own version of BLBs. There was Little Better Books, Fast-Action Stories, Dime Action Books and plenty more. Yes, publishers smelled money, and before you knew it they were producing nearly identical book series faster than rabbits make baby rabbits.

So, what’s with the name of the series: Big Little Books? Isn’t that kinda like jumbo shrimp? Or airline food? Or Microsoft Works? Or vegetarian meatballs? Okay, don’t get me started on oxymorons. (Although, if you have a favorite, you might put it in a comment, below.) But anyway, the name Big Little Books probably comes from the fact that although the cover was “little” it usually had over 400 pages and was an inch-and-a-half thick… or more. That was the “big” part.

So have any of you ever read a Big Little Book? You see them for sale on eBay, and you see them at an old book show, now and then… maybe at an antiques and collectibles show. Maybe you bought one or two, and have them safely sealed away in plastic and stored securely in a closet. You might even have thumbed through one and noticed that every-other-page was an illustration to help break up the text. But have you actually read one? Cover to cover? Were the stories any good?

Inquiring minds wanted to know, and I finally got my chance when I received a Big Little Book for Christmas. Yes, my first one! (Thanks, Joe!) So I decided to actually read it… the whole thing… and give you my impressions of it.

‘G-Man vs. the Red X’

G-Man vs. the Red X. That’s become my first Big Little Book in what is bound to be an ever-growing collection. There were seven books in the “G-Man” series that started in 1936 with G-Man on the Crime Trail and ended in 1941 with G-Man vs. the Fifth Column. The one that I hold in my hands at the moment is the third in the series and was from late 1936. The author and illustrator are not credited, but some Internet research indicates that it was written by Allen Dale and illustrated by Erwin L. Hess. Trust that information only if you trust Internet research. Did I hear someone just make a raspberry noise? AKA, a Bronx cheer?

The question should be "What" is the Mysterious Red X?
The question should be “What” is the Mysterious Red X?

Our story opens with Tod Morgan, a G-Man and son of the District Chief of G-Men. The Chief, his dad, has been killed… poisoned by a ruthless gang known as the Red X. It seems that the Red X gang is peddling poison to the masses. They have developed a very effective and cheap poison pill, extracted from special plants grown on their farm out in New Jersey. A farm called the Poison Garden. Subtle, eh?

They also grow marijuana out there, and this 1936 story pulls no punches when it comes to the evil of the devil’s weed. According to this story, “It’s known under many names: American hashish, marijuana, Mary Warner — ” Mary Warner? Now, that’s a new one on me. Keep in mind that I live in Oregon where it’s legal for anyone (over 21) to buy (in small quantities) and smoke (in private) marijuana. I’ve heard most common names for pot, weed, grass, cannabis, reefers, joints… well, you get the picture. I’m surprised I hadn’t heard the term “Mary Warner” before. But maybe the fact that this story was written in 1936 has something to do with it.

The story goes on to illustrate to every 10-year-old in the reading audience why they should avoid this fiendish horror-drug: “The Meriwether case last week. The boy went mad it seemed. He was with his girl and the end of the evening came when he yelled, ‘I love you too much to let you live!’ He drew a gun and shot her through the heart.” And then, since most 10-year-olds don’t have a sweetheart, the story gives a second example: “The Wellman boys. They ended up in the pinnacle of the Empire State. Jumped off to the first parapet. You know what a thousand foot fall does to you.” I’m sure many a youngster shuddered at the thought of what that drop did to the Wellman boys.

This story isn’t about marijuana, however. I think they just threw in that little aside as a public service announcement. This story is really about the pills of deadly poison that are poised to be widely distributed across the entire nation. Kill your neighbors. It’s fun! It’s easy! One pill will do it. Only $15 a pill. Got a lousy mother-in-law? A neighbor next door who raises a ruckus? Rub ’em out! Yes, people will be lined up to buy this stuff!

G-Man to the rescue!

Good old stalwart Todd Morgan, G-Man, is going to put a stop to all of this. And he doesn’t mind bending the law in order to do it. Now, keep in mind, this was 1936. So a little breaking and entering was acceptable, back then. Planting an illegal listening device was okay, too. The 10-year-old readers could understand right and wrong. But I’m sure they were a little vague on the gray areas such as legal rights.

As things wind up, Todd Morgan has to get the Emperor (leader of the Red X), Squint Eye Spinson and Bindy. Squint Eye Spinson is the one who killed Morgan’s father, although under orders from the Emperor. And Bindy, he was running the Poison Garden farm where the poison plants were grown… along with marijuana. Todd and his gang of G-Men rush the house. “This time, we can be a little rash,” he says. This time? They attack with tear gas, hand bombs, machine guns, Winchesters, and automatics. And the ensuing battle is surprisingly bloodless. Well, maybe not so surprising, considering the tender age of the reading audience.

The story winds up quickly. A few gangsters are put out of action, all are captured, and Todd Morgan has saved countless millions from a poisoned death from the hands of their annoyed neighbors. And all the little kiddies sighed in relief… and grabbed up the next Big Little Book in their stack.

For those interested, here is a list of the seven “G-Man” stories that Whitman published:

The final G-Man story in the series.
The final G-Man story in the series.
  • G-Man on the Crime Trail (1936)
  • G-Man Underworld Chief (1936)
  • G-Man vs. the Red X (1936)
  • G-Man and the Radio Bank Robberies (1937)
  • G-Man Breaking the Gambling Ring (1938)
  • G-Man and the Gun Runners (1940)
  • G-Man vs. the Fifth Column (1941)

If you’d like more information on the Big Little Books and all its competitors, the nice folks at BigLittleBooks.com know a lot more than I do. Visiting there, plus a Google search, should get your more than you ever knew you wanted to know.

G-Man. Or Todd Morgan, as he’s known in the story. That’s our hero. Yes, this crime story was written for children, and it shows. Simple plot… simple vocabulary… and every-other-page a drawing. Admittedly I was older than the target demographic, but even at that, it was still a fun read. It had that good old timey pulp feeling to it. And that was good enough for me!

2 Comments

  • Big Little Books were briefly revived in the 60’s. Dick Tracy, Lone Ranger, Popeye and Mickey Mouse all got new stories, along with such 60s TV shows as “The Invaders”, “Daktari” and “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”.

    • I do vaguely remember those. Of course, by then I was in my teens and I would have considered the books too young for me. But I think “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” caught my attention, briefly. I suspect I was more interested in the Doc Savage paperbacks, though.

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