Acquired Tastes XLIII: Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 220 - Power Force Series, Part 5 of 6

Acquired Tastes XLIII:

Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 220

Power Force Series

Part 5 of 6

Today we take another look at the Power Force Series.

The Power Force Series was an imprint published by Arena Publications, who operated out of a facility at 12011 Sherman Road in North Hollywood, California, 91605. They published a total of 64 titles under this imprint between 1983 and 1986.

Arena Publications motto should have been "Everything old is new again." You'll see why in a moment.  

The book covers feature either dreamy, idealized artwork or, later in the imprint's history, photos from porn magazines. The background is a solid color with a white 'sash' near the top featuring the title in all-caps and the imprint's name, also in all-caps, floating above it. The author's name appears in the body of the sash in smaller print just below the title. Now, if the artwork looks familiar that's because you have seen it all before... when we took a look at the Blueboy Library imprint. And that's not the only thing borrowed. The books themselves are reprints from other imprints. And this is not the only imprint that Arena would use to republish these titles. Some of these books have been published under as many as four imprints, using different artwork for the cover.

My hunch is that Arena bought the rights to a bunch of previously published titles from imprints (The Blueboy Library, HIS69, Stud Series, RAM-10) on the wane or going out of business. They then maximized profits by republishing the books under several different imprints. Fortunately, they are upfront about this recycling; some of the other imprint books carry a 'sash' in the lower right corner warning the buyer that this contains previously published material.

Given that, imagine the frustration of the average buyer. Most people do not want to be in a dirty bookstore. And when they are, they want to grab something and get out as soon as possible. Let's say they don't bother to read the fine print. Imagine they get home and get ready to indulge in a bit of reading, only to discover it's a book they have already read or own? Now imagine that happening more that once. After a point... who isn't going to be buying books at dirty bookstores? Did this 'republishing' play a role in the extinction of paperbacks in dirty bookstores? 

Back Cover

These books currently sell for between $15-$25.

Here are the next twelve titles. This week, I found something for ten out of twelve.

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Hard Hat Hunks

 Author: Brad Rowen 

Power Force Series

 1985

 PF-141

(Cover not found.)

This was originally published as part of the HIS69 Series as HIS69-205.

 

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Lusting Lifeguards

  Author: Stu Johnson 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-142

This was originally published as part of the HIS69 Series as HIS69-435.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Buddies in Training

 Author: Brad Rowen 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-143

This was originally published as part of the HIS69 Series as HIS69-190.

 

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 Our Sex Island

  Author: Stu Johnson 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-144

This was originally published as part of the HIS69 Series as HIS69-229.

 

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Hunky Trade

 Author: Brad Rowen 

Power Force Series

 1985

 PF-145

This was originally published as part of the HIS69 Series as HIS69-236.

 

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  New Meat

 Author: Stu Johnson 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-146

This was originally published as part of the HIS69 Series as HIS69-434.

 

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Truck Stop Slave

 Author: Norm Peters 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-147

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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Apprentice Gay

 Author: Brad Rowen 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-148

 This was originally published by Lambda Press as LB-106

 

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 Gay Brotherhood

 Author: Norm Peters 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-149

This was originally published by Lambda Press as LB-110.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 Two Hunk Lovers

 Author: Brad Rowen 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-150

This is a five-timer: published by Lambda Press as LB-108, Barclay House as  BH-6119,  and then, again, twice, by Arena Publications as part of the Driveshaft Library as DS-144 and DS-188.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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 YM Weekend

 Author: Norm Peters 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-151

(Cover not found.)

This was originally published by Golden Boy Books as GB-124 and then, again, by Arena Publications as part of the Driveshaft Library as DS-103.

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 Loving Brothers

 Author: Brad Rowen 

Power Force Series

 1985 

PF-152

This was originally published by Golden Boy Books as GB-123 and then, again, by Arena Publications as part of the Driveshaft Library as DS-104.

Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.

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And that's all for now.

Next time: the final twelve tantalizing titles from the Power Force Series imprint.

Until then...

Thanks for reading.

My Island Home - Christine Anu