The New York Times examines the "tortured, campy legacy" of the art of postwar men's magazines via two coffee table books: Feral House's (superior) "It's a Man's World" (2003) and Taschen's new "Men's Adventure Magazines in Postwar America". The illustrations for these "armpit slick" stories may be quaint art historical relics, but we think contemporary porn should try recycling some of their ideas: somehow, "The 1,000 Sex Slaves of the Whip-Mad Sheik" and "Forbidden Orgy of the Naked Pearl Girls!" sound a lot hotter than, say, "Cum Drippers 7".

"Oh, Those Pulpy Days of 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh'" (NY Times)

Order: "Men's Adventure Magazines in Postwar America" and "It's a Man's World" (Amazon)

Previously: Pulp Art Palace, The Art of Robert Bonfils, Lesbian Pulp Fiction, Girl Watchers, Eric Stanton, Tijuana Bibles