Another three months gone by, and what a three months! Time for some enjoyable escapism, and what better way to escape than losing yourself in a new issue of the Men's Adventure Quarterly? No. 11's theme is that post-World War II phenomenon the UFO, and as near as I can tell, belief in extra-terrestrial visitors is still quite widespread. As co-editor Bob Deis says, in the spirit of Fox Mulder, "I want to believe." Don't we all? After all, in the words of that other noted scholar Peggy Lee, "Is that all there is?" The one big obstacle to belief in the little green (or grey) men in their flying saucers is that little problem of physical proof. UFOlogy is kind of like religion that way: no one has ever actually produced a flying saucer or an extra-terrestrial, just as no one has ever produced God for all to see. But still we believe, or at least most people seem to, or say they do.

As usual with the MAQ, we get a great selection of stories from the men's adventure magazines that flourished from the early 1950s to the mid-70s, and they range from "true-ish" to "um, well, maybe this would convince Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson on a good day". Besides the archival stories and art, we get lots of entertaining and informative new material from Mr. Deis and his contributors, dealing with UFOs not just in the men's mags, but also in movies, TV shows, and popular "non-fiction" and fiction. The one reference I missed was the classic Byrds song "Mr. Spaceman", with those immortal lines:

Hey, Mr. Spaceman

Won't you please take me along

I won't do anything wrong

Hey, Mr. Spaceman

Won't you please take me along for a ride

Pick up the Men's Adventure Quarterly No. 11, and maybe you won't get a trip to Mars, but you'll most definitely have a fun ride.

One of the many reasons there are fewer open bookshops now is that, beginning in the 1980s, men stopped going inside them. The reason for that is that mainstream publishing has grown more and more hostile to their interests, and their focus has become more limp-wristed and leftist. As a result, men have in the interim gravitated more towards gaming, as well as hobbies even less intellectual.

But what's old is new again, and Men's Adventure Quarterly celebrates the heyday of men's publishing with themed issues and glorious graphics from the days when reading men were still men. The presentation here is vivid color on thick paper, and the quality of writing accompanies the reprinted material and quaint old ads. Those of you who may be unfamiliar with vintage pulp fiction would do well to let MAQ be your portal into masculine literature.

If all that weren't enough, do yourself a favor and check out the leggy dames from your grandparents' time--every page is a reminder that it's good to be male.

I tend to enjoy each issue of this publication, and one of the reasons is the way we can see the larger pop-culture "echoes" in the 20th Century as they reverberated through men's magazines. These were read by the men who fought in WWII and Korea, and the thoughts and habits that were on their mind shaped (in some ways) the tumultuous times that were to come (and were happening already). For example, the sexual licentiousness that was on the minds of men portends the unraveling of traditional sexual morays in the culture. Well, this issue shows a very important historical development -- the rise of belief in alien-controlled UFO's. Belief in alien visitors can be relevant to belief in scientific advancement, distrust of the government, and ultimately a paranoia about progress that would continue in the human mind to this day. I also enjoyed the extended review and pictorial about the Gary Anderson show U.F.O.

if your fan of anything from yesteryear's you probably already have these. for those who don't, these are reviews and reprints of the old men's magazine from the 50's and 60's with lots of pictures and interviews with authors, artist and collectors. a very cool and entertaining mag.

Bob Deis and Bill Cunningham never fail to entertain with another MAM reprint edition, this time on UFOs and aliens in pulp stories, starting with the first UFO tales from Project: Blue Book up to the post-Watergate paranoia era. Highly recommended.

What can I say about MAQ? Eleven issues in, and the quality is only getting better. Both in layout (which is amazing, visually one of the best magazines I have ever read) and content.

This trip is a wild one focused on UFOs, little green men, and things from the sky. Reprinting classic stories from Men's magazines of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, this magazine is a way to enjoy lost gems from those publications. Hard to impossible to find nowadays, here are selected articles that would be lost to time if not for MAQ.

I have purchased all eleven issues and love the theme concept of each one (next up Private Eyes, cannot wait). Look at the back issues and get a copy of a theme you are interested in....I recommend getting them all.

Choice covers and artwork of those classic magazines in every issue. This one on UFOs thrilled me when I read the article on Gerry Anderson's UFO TV series from the 70s, one of my favs, which included photos I had never seen before.

MAQ is a treasure of a find. Try this or any of the issues today. You won't regret it! Oh, did I mention they are available on Kindle? Looks great on the iPad.

In publishing, as well as any other business ventures, timing is crucial. Examples being the release of a new tanning oil just prior to the summer season. Or a movie about the Revolutionary War released the week of July 4th. These kind of thematic connections provide extra marketing boost to whatever it is being pitched. Thus, it is this reviewer’s opinion that editors Bob Deis and Bill Cunningham are two of the luckiest publishers today with the debut of their 11th issue of their “MEN’S ADVENTURE QUATERLY” focusing on the UFO craze of the 1950s and 60s at the same time Americans are caught up in the recent hubbub surrounding the sightings of Unidentified Flying Drones. These first appeared on the East Coast at the start of Dec. and have now spread across the entire country.

Could these drones be the work of the same aliens who sent UFOs to spy on us during the days of the Cold War? Or maybe the drones, like those UFOs are the work of Russian or Chinese spy cabals? Who knows? Much like the UFOs of bygone days, our own government is anything but forthcoming. What is it they are hiding now?

Happily, Deis and Cunningham don’t hide a single thing in this cornucopia of articles and photographs detailing the history of these sightings that so captivated America’s imagination after World War II. From factual articles by experts ala Major Donald E. Keyhoe to the bizarre antics of “abductee” George Adamski, this issue is filled with all kinds of delights. And if dry, expose text aren’t your thing, you can revel in the fun piece on Gerry Anderson’s early TV series UFO, or Gary Lovisi’s look “Space-Sploitation” paperbacks. Their regular Gal-lery section also features tributes to Ann Francis, Mara Corday and Patricia Laffan.

All in all, another great issue. We just wonder how long before they devote an issue to the UFDs. Unidentified Flying Drones.

I love these books. Great production values and lots of cool imagery.

Ack Ack! You'll get zapped if you don't check out the brand new issue of MAQ (Men's Adventure Quarterly), the excellent publication from Bob Deis and Bill Cunningham. Devoted to the classic pulp magazines and paperbacks of the past (along with related material), the theme of issue 11 is aliens, UFOs and other sci-fi related esoterica. 150 full-color pages and beautifully designed, required reading for all vintage pulp enthusiasts!

Great issue, excellent stories