MEN'S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY #11

by Robert Deis, Bill Cunningham (editor), Gary Lovisi (contributor)

149 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2024

About the author

Robert "Bob" Deis is a pulp and pop culture historian who collects and writes about vintage men's adventure magazines (MAMs) and paperbacks published in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He co-edits, with indie book publisher Wyatt Doyle, the MEN'S AVENTURE LIBRARY book series. That series now includes over 20 illustrated story anthologies and art books. Bob also co-edits the MEN'S ADVENTURE QUARTERLY magazine with graphic designer and pop culture maven Bill Cunningham. The MAQ reprints MAM stories and artwork and discusses paperback, movie and TV shows related to each issue's theme. Bob and Bill also co-edit THE ART OF RON LESSER book series, which showcases Lesser's famed paperback cover art, historical artwork, and more recent paintings. Bob's main website is www.MensPulpMags.com. He also writes a blog about famous quotations, www.ThisDayinQuotes.com. Bob lives near Key West, Florida with his beautiful wife (who graciously tolerates his piles of old magazines and books), their three dogs and four cats.

Reviews

[Dan Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another three months gone by, and what a three months! Time for some enjoyable escapism, and what better way to escape than losing yourself in a new issue of the Men's Adventure Quarterly? No. 11's theme is that post-World War II phenomenon the UFO, and as near as I can tell, belief in extra-terrestrial visitors is still quite widespread. As co-editor Bob Deis says, in the spirit of Fox Mulder, "I want to believe." Don't we all? After all, in the words of that other noted scholar Peggy Lee, "Is that all there is?" The one big obstacle to belief in the little green (or grey) men in their flying saucers is that little problem of physical proof. UFOlogy is kind of like religion that way: no one has ever actually produced a flying saucer or an extra-terrestrial, just as no one has ever produced God for all to see. But still we believe, or at least most people seem to, or say they do.

As usual with the MAQ, we get a great selection of stories from the men's adventure magazines that flourished from the early 1950s to the mid-70s, and they range from "true-ish" to "um, well, maybe this would convince Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson on a good day". Besides the archival stories and art, we get lots of entertaining and informative new material from Mr. Deis and his contributors, dealing with UFOs not just in the men's mags, but also in movies, TV shows, and popular "non-fiction" and fiction. The one reference I missed was the classic Byrds song "Mr. Spaceman", with those immortal lines:

Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won't you please take me along
I won't do anything wrong
Hey, Mr. Spaceman
Won't you please take me along for a ride

Pick up the Men's Adventure Quarterly No. 11, and maybe you won't get a trip to Mars, but you'll most definitely have a fun ride.

[Daniel L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about MAQ? Eleven issues in, and the quality is only getting better. Both in layout (which is amazing, visually one of the best magazines I have ever read) and content.

This trip is a wild one focused on UFOs, little green men, and things from the sky. Reprinting classic stories from Men's magazines of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, this magazine is a way to enjoy lost gems from those publications. Hard to impossible to find nowadays, here are selected articles that would be lost to time if not for MAQ.

I have purchased all eleven issues and love the theme concept of each one (next up Private Eyes, cannot wait). Look at the back issues and get a copy of a theme you are interested in....I recommend getting them all.

Choice covers and artwork of those classic magazines in every issue. This one on UFOs thrilled me when I read the article on Gerry Anderson's UFO TV series from the 70s, one of my favs, which included photos I had never seen before.

MAQ is a treasure of a find. Try this or any of the issues today. You won't regret it! Oh, did I mention they are available on Kindle? Looks great on the iPad.

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of stories from the old men's adventure magazines, this set focuses on UFOs. They're not quite as much fun as the previous sets, which were admittedly fiction, and thus told complete stories. These claim to be true (though most certainly aren't), and thus they have no resolutions, ending simply with questions about what the reader might believe about them.

[Egghead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aliens among us?
Chicken warmer UFOs
want women, oil fields