Running for sixteen issues in 1919, 'The Thrill Book' was a magazine of 'strange, bizzare, occult, mysterious tales, ' but not quite a fantastic-fiction magazine, mixing various types of adventure stories with often outstanding fantasy, horror, and science fiction. This volume is a facsimile reprint of the first issue

A MYSTERY CLASSIC IS BORN . . . The Black Mask is without a doubt the single most important magazine for the modern mystery field. In its pages writers such as Earl Stanley Gardner and Dashiell Hammett reshaped the established view of mystery fiction, creating the tough-guy sleuth. The May 1920 issue - the magazine's second - shows the groundwork being laid for future issues, with a featured mystery novel by Hamilton Craigie and plenty of fast-paced adventures by authors such as Greye La Spina, Harold Ward, Frank Blighton, and Walter Grahame.