| The Thriller The Thriller was a weekly story paper first published in February 1929 by the Amalgamated Press aiming at older boys/young adults - and in particular ones who liked long creepy murderous tales. It had an auspicious start with "Red Aces" written by Edgar Wallace (1875-1932), which he also filmed in 1929 and who became one of the "regulars" most anticipated by the readers. Over the next 11 years he was followed by a long line of popular crime authors: Leslie Charteris, Barry Perowne, Berkeley Gray/Victor Gunn, John G. Brandon to name just a few. W.E. Johns, Pierre Quiroule, Gwyn Evans, Peter Cheyney, P.C. Wren, Sax Rohmer, John Creasey, E.P. Oppenheim - and many others! - all popped up as occasional visitors, the subjects ranging from the eerie to gangsters to plain murders. Usually complemented by splendidly dramatic illustrations, for example Arthur Jones especially for the 50 or so yarns featuring Detective Inspector McCarthy by Australian John G. Brandon (1879-1941). The Thriller provided many budding crime writers with a platform to establish themselves ... and in some cases a regular income; probably the most collectable issues today are the Saint issues by Leslie Charteris. From issue 423 in 1937 it became the Thriller Library, ending as War Thriller for its last 11 issues when the paper shortage forced its abrupt closure in May 1940 My thanks go to Gary for the introduction and the list of issues. A number of issues are available for download from the comicbookplus.com website. |
 |
