Arnold Magazines: Man's Exploits #1

After publishing Quality Comics, Busy Arnold began Arnold Magazines in late 1956. I'm in the process of writing up a larger article on this subject, but wanted to share some spicy scans from one of his mens' adventure magazines, Man's Exploits. These images are from issue #1 (June 1957), and the cartoons are by Bill Ward (signed "McCartney"). 

As I was finishing the Quality Companion, I was just learning more about this endeavor and it is covered briefly. My work online seeks to catalog the entire operation, which was edited by Quality’s Al Grenet and Dick Arnold. Jim Amash spoke with both of these men for Alter Ego #34 (March 2004). George Hagenauer also wrote a sidebar in that issue, “Busy Arnold’s Other Magazines,” which summarizes the genres of this era nicely. All were published either bimonthly or quarterly.

This issue was part of the largest category of magazines,  the men's adventure magazines, or "sweats": Rage for Men, Man's Exploits, Gusto, and Courage. Each of these also contained spreads with ladies posed in various states of dress on beaches, in nature, and in the boudoir.

I have to abundantly thank Frank Motler (a men’s magazine indexer) and Phil Stephensen-Payne (who runs Galactic Central). They selflessly offered their knowledge and data to me during this process. Galactic Central compiles information from many sources and includes checklists and cover images. 

[ spicy images after the break! ]

Read the work-in-progress at Cosmic Teams: Arnold Magazines: The Sweats