Acquired Tastes XLIII:
Gay Pulp Fiction, Part 220
Power Force Series
Part 6 of 6
Today we take a final 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?
Hard Packed Hunks
Author: Norm Peters
Power Force Series
1985
PF-153
Norm Peters is a pseudonym used by the prolific William Maltese.
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Lust Brothers
Author: Brad Rowen
Power Force Series
1985
PF-154
This was published by the Golden Books imprint as GB-121 and then republished, again, by Arena Publishing as part of the Drive Shaft Series as DS-106.
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Hunky Rockers
Author: Norm Peters
Power Force Series
1985
PF-155
This was published by the Golden Books imprint as GB-122 and then republished, again, by Arena Publishing as part of the Drive Shaft Series as DS-107.
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Two Hunks on the Make
Author: Brad Rowen
Power Force Series
1985
PF-156
This was published by the Golden Books imprint as GB-112 and then republished, again, by Arena Publishing as part of the Drive Shaft Series as DS-108.
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Street Wise Hunks
Author: Norm Peters
Power Force Series
1985
PF-157
This was published by the Golden Books imprint as GB-101 and then republished, again, by Arena Publishing as part of the Drive Shaft Series as DS-109.
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Balling Hunks
Author: Brad Rowen
Power Force Series
1985
PF-158
This was published by the Golden Books imprint as GB-111 and then republished, again, by Arena Publishing as part of the Drive Shaft Series as DS-110.
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Homo Hang Up
Author: Norm Peters
Power Force Series
1986
PF-159
This was originally published by Brandon House under the title Hang-Up by James Colton as BH-3068
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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The World of Homosexuality
Author: Gilbert Justinson
Power Force Series
1986
PF-160
This was originally published by Brandon House under the title The Boys by Gilbert Justinsen as BH-2083.
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Hot Hunk Jock
Author: Norm Peters
Power Force Series
1986
PF-161
This was originally published by Spartacus Books as SB-109.
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Biker Hunks
Author: Brad Rowen
Power Force Series
1986
PF-162
This was originally published by Spartacus Books as SB-110.
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Campus Stud
Author: Jay Kaye
Power Force Series
1986
PF-163
This was originally published by Lambda Press as LB-104, then republished, again, twice, by Arena Publishing as part of their Drive Shaft Series as DS-142 and DS-175.
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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Gay Voyage
Author: Scott Bryman
Power Force Series
1986
PF-164
This was originally published by the 101 Enterprise imprint under the title of Boy Farm as 101-43, then by Lambda Press under the title of Gay Voyager as LB101, and then republished, again, by Arena Publishing as part of their Drive Shaft Series as DS-141.
Available as a downloadable PDF or ebook at Hommi Publishing.
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And that's it for the Power Force Series.
Up next: more vintage gay pulp fiction titles from another imprint.
Until then...
Thanks for reading!
Fantastic Voyage - Lakeside
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