Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 138 - Adonis Classics, Part 23 of 25

Acquired Tastes XLIII

Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 138

Adonis Classics, Part 23 of 25

Greenleaf Classic Books, the publishers of  the Adonis Classics imprint, began in 1959 and continued until 1971, when management lost focus on the business due to the government's prosecution of obscenity, which became of major concern. 

By 1974, a new management team and staff were in place, operating out of an office at 7523 Raytheon Road in San Diego and production ceased on all existing imprints. In an attempt to break into mainstream markets, two new imprints were started which used cover art and titles that were not provocative. These efforts failed.

In 1975, with the loosening of censorship laws, the Adonis Classics imprint began production. It marks the end of Greenleaf Classic's Classic Age (1959-1975.) 

Adonis Classics would release a total of 252 titles during it's lifespan. 

The first twenty covers feature white backgrounds (with one exception) and colored drawings or black and white pencil illustrations. After the first two titles, a particular type-face was established, with the title appearing above the illustration. The distinctive Adonis Classics symbol was established with either the seventh or eighth title in the series.

After the first twenty titles, the imprint switched to their iconic red covers (though sometimes pink,) featuring a black and white pencil or ink illustration framed in a black circle which has an arrow attached - the universal sign for the planet Mars or to designate something as 'male.' The book's title at the top of the cover is similarly encased in a white circle with an arrow (the symbol for the planet Mars and 'male'.)

This week: 10 out of 10 covers were found.

All of today's titles are available as a downloadable e-book or PDF at Hommi Publishing, the leader in all things pulpy and gay.

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 Boy Slaves for Bikers

  Johnny Ross 

 AC331

I've never understood the allure of the whole biker phenomena. Films like Easy Rider and such make for great drive-in movie filler, but leave me cold. Still, there exists an entire catalogue - it's own genre, on the screen and in the annals of vintage gay pulp. In fact, there is a somewhat mainstream gay biker film called The Pink Angels. I've written about it in the past, but have yet to see it. Of course, they get it wrong - but in a campy, fun way - that is until the ending comes and all those fairies get slaughtered by a group of homophobic bikers. 

That? Probably not so fun.

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Chicken Boy Buns

Author: Wes Cranston 

AC332

This is not a tasty treat being served up by the likes of KFC or your local Popeye's. Nope, we are talking pure peach-fuzz heaven. And, I must admit, even though twinks do very little for (or to) me, I am not immune to the appeal of their perfectly rounded orbs or pert bubble butts. They appear like unexplored earth simply waiting for a brave soul to leave their footprints upon them. 

One thing that should not be left upon them? Permanent marks! Oh, I understand the appeal of giving those twin globes of youth a nice hand spanking - why, most of them just seem to be begging for it. But taking a belt to them? Never. A sin against nature. In such cases, the boy scout rule applies - always leave the area in as good or better condition than you found it. 

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Schoolboy Into B&D

Author: Wes Cranston

 AC333

This imprint seems to believe that the very young discover and indulge their kinks early in their sexual development. That may be true for some, but I believe it rather rare - back then. During the era when these books came out, there was no internet, no Grindr and being gay was still, even in 1984, something on the fringes of society, still whispered about, shunned, denied and existing in a shadow world. Yes, it was touched upon in cinema and literature, but the portrayals were far from flattering or something which promoted a healthy sense of self or bolstered one's life standing and self-esteem. Our 'otherness' kept us apart - from ourselves and the rest of society. 

That's not so today. The internet has brought kink porn into the bedrooms of adolescents the world over, so I can well imagine teens trying on different sexual identities on the road to discovering their true selves. The nature of kink, its genesis, is not a matter of biology but forged by life's early imprints on one's psyche and the sexual data/inputs available. Back in the 1970's and early '80's, unless you were one who frequented dirty bookstores, exposure to such schools of thought such as B&D were rare. If one were, at that young age, were to stumble into the net of an older sexual predator, well, that could only be termed unfortunate, for such arrangements tend to do much more harm than good - and, despite the claims of groups like NAMBLA - it's still straight up sex abuse, my dears.

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Chicken Punk

Author: Jason Bonds 

AC334

In my lifetime, I have seen angels in the steam rooms of bathhouses. Heavenly, yes... celestial, hardly.

This title, in relation to this illustration, it's very misleading; that's not punk, that's future club kid.

By 1984, Studio 54 had already wafted its way into memory.

As pictured, the figure on the left brings to mind the club kids of Lee Bowery's days, which is something that didn't appear on the scene until five years after the publication of this book. But our winged vision appears to be the type that would have been right at home in the environs of clubs like The Red Zone, The Chelsea, or World. 

As for the confines of a dank, gay bathhouse? Not so much.

Everybody knows that feathers and damp do not mix. 

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 Bondage Roommates

Author: Barry Dunn 

AC335

I've heard of roommates from hell. And, perhaps, at one time or another, I have qualified as one, but I can't imagine one going all Single White Female on you, chaining you up and going all dominatrix on your ass. 

So? This is a love story? 

And, if you look at the little date banner in the upper right corner, it's January of 1985!

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Slave Boys in Bondage

Author: Johnny Ross 

AC336

Take a walk on the catwalk and strut your stuff? Is this one of those most eligible bachelor charity auctions, as featured in numerous Hallmark movies? Nope. This is a good old fashioned slave auction - which strikes me as all kind of wrong, but then - different strokes for different folks. 

And it's odd... if this were a sci-fi novel, I would be comfortable with the notion, as I came up in an era when no one thought twice about it. If I remember correctly, Charlton Heston is subjected to such treatment at the hands of the apes in Planet Of The Apes. But in the age of 'woke', mixed with homo kink - something about this one makes me start gritting my teeth. 

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 Chicken on the Make

Author: Jason Bonds

AC337

A sexually aggressive twink on the prowl for a sugar daddy? I guess it's one way of getting your bread buttered. Though, as pictured in this illustration, all three members at this party appear to be close to the same age. I have yet to actually read any missive with the term 'chicken' in the title, so all my observations have been based on assumptions and my gut feeling. I think a great masters thesis could be written if one read all the titles this imprint had to offer with the word 'chicken' in the title and then began finding correlations between the books which would help explain the psychological make up of a person sexually stimulated by the thought of this type of relationship. I don't know why it is, but that sort of  niche literary analysis is the kind of exploration I rather adore.

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The Boy Stealer

Author: Scott Nelson 

AC338

I wonder if there is a defined difference between the terms 'twink', 'chicken', and 'boy'? Like a code. 

This imprint certainly seems to be obsessed with the idea of corrupting youth. Or, more likely, they simply knew their audience? Given the relatively large output of this imprint, it would make for an interesting study/analysis - but would it tell us more about the consumers or the writers and editorial staff? 

In publishing, there is a certain amount of guesswork involved in every decision; an editor banks on the idea that they can sell a given title to a particular type of reader. And, as the books which end up on the shelves of your local Dollar Store would seem to support, those editors are not always correct. 

We're on the downside of this imprints publishing history - only a dozen more titles left. Had they over saturated the market by producing the same type of book featuring similar themes and topics, or did they simply lose interest? Another possibility is a change in the market. If I recall correctly, by 1985, all the dirty bookstores in Minneapolis, for example, were shuttered. Were the publishers of this imprint hip to a change in the wind, sensing that their marketplace was under attack by urban developers and that soon they would be extremely limited as shelf space disappeared? 

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Chicken Schoolboys

Author: Johnny Ross

AC339

Boys playing with boys. There's a Pet Shop Boys song that immediately comes to mind - containing a line about something taking place behind the cricket shed - or something like that. It all seems rather innocent, quaint and furtive. 

That's certainly not what's pictured in this illustration. Though, I guess, once things start heating up behind said cricket shed... anything goes. 

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 Daddy's Buggerboy

Author: Wes Cranston

AC340

Tops and bottoms, tops and bottoms. Coming up, I thought one had to be one or the other. These days, everybody is verse; vers tops, vers bottoms and simply vers. Remaining sexually flexible certainly expands one's sexual market. And I remain open to all possibilities - now. In the first half of my sexual life I described myself as a 'hardcore top' and that was very true, until I met a little elf who dazzled me and performed a magic trick. From that moment on, any claim to be a 'hardcore' anything was up for debate. And it remains so. Oh, of course I have my preferences - those activities which satisfy some deep-seated psychological imperative, I suppose - but, overall... these days I'm fairly game for anything. 

 

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And that's all for now.

Next week: Ten more tantalizing, titillating titles.

Until then...

Thanks for reading! 

Roommates - Dixie D'Amelio