Margaret Brundage September 1933
Margaret Brundage July 1936
Margaret Brundage was relied upon by Weird Tales to draw suculent specimens of the fairer sex to bring th boys to the newstands .
James Van Hise, author of Pulp Master, describes Margaret Brundage's art: "Her covers of damsels in distress put her exotic females in situations as evocative as they were weird, and as delightful as they were strange". Indeed, Brundage is considered by some the queen of Weird Tales, for whom she worked for most frequently (Lesser 104).
All of the art to the right is typical of her work. Women in situations bordering on sado-masochism. Also typical is the lesbian undertones. Note the 'victim' in each example is posed in the universal damsel pose: arms raised and and pulled back, conveniently advertising their ample breasts. Each victim is being overpowered by equally beautiful, but obviously evil women. weilding some torture device.
Men of the time could hardly believe their eyes. They asked for these pulps in hushed tones, perhaps looking around to make sure no one that could recognize them was around. Here was a world where women were placed in situations where men hardly dared dream were possible. They would bring these stories home and read greedily to ry and find the story promised on the cover. It seems boys have always been boys.