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Today in pulp... the secret semiotics of sidearms: or, why you always see the same guns featured on pulp covers!
Fingers off triggers please...
Fingers off triggers please...
Now you may be surprised to learn this, but a book's cover does not always bear resemblance to its contents. Certain liberties are taken to inject the right sense of excitement and danger into the cover image, in the hope of enticing a sale.
And one of the key creative hacks of cover design is putting a gun front and centre. This primes the reader for excitement, danger and recklessness. At some point in the story something is going to go BANG!
Certainly in the pre-war years no pulp magazine was complete without a Colt 1911 or two blasting from the covers - even if the artists struggled with the slide action!
And by the post-war years, with new thrillers and spy novels being published every week, the firearm - rather than the punch in the face - had become the key ingredient in signalling the author's intent.
But it was the rise of the photocover in the 1970s that saw the visual grammar of firearms settle down into a recognisable format. There were rules - unwritten, but clearly shared between cover designers - about guns on book covers.
The first rule may seem surprising, but it holds: old guns are better than new guns for a pulp cover. A Luger P08 beats a modern handgun hands down when it comes to image impact.
Now you might argue otherwise: surely modern guns are new and exciting, more powerful and more exotic. Yes but... can you really imagine Dirty Harry with a Desert Eagle? Starsky and Hutch with a SIG Sauer?
Which leads us to the second rule: the gun is a visual shorthand for the hero's personality. Too modern, too flashy and you're telling people you have a dud hero - someone who uses gimmicks and technology rather than guts and gumption to solve his problems
Which leads us to the third rule: never outshine the master! The gun is a tool, not the be-all and end-all of the hero. It should be dependable, deployable and reliable - it shouldn't steal the show.
So.let's answer the first obvious question: does barrel length matter? Well it certainly stands out on the cover, but that can beg more questions than you need to!
A long barrelled carbine can make a hero seem... inadequate. As if he's over-compensating for something. It's also harder to stuff into a holster. Plus it can sometimes look like he's holding an air pistol rather than a sidearm.
Width, rather than length, is the key to a pulp pistol. Heft and girth matter more than barrel length. A thick piece signifies serious intent. In pulp the bigger the butt the better!
Silhouette also matters. Curves, bumps and a rugged grip emphasise the character of the protagonist through the shape of their firearm choice. Notice how the hero on the left looks more poised and intriguing than the one on the right. That's the gun talking!
So what's the top postwar pulp handgun? Well surprisingly it seems to be the Walther P1, modelled on the wartime P38. An exotic look, solid build, international pedigree and a slightly tapered aesthetic made this a hugely popular choice for book covers over many years.
The Walther P1 was a sign that you were an international man of mystery. You knew your way around wine. You drove a stick shift. You could probably speak French if you had to. It was an all round good choice.
In comparison the Colt 1911 and its derivatives were a bit... derivative. They were solid blue collar guns for heroes who didn't get out too often. They were the Big Mac to the Walther's bavette de flanchet. Nothing wrong with that, but they didn't stand out as much.
Revolvers are a different matter. That's a cop's gun: you pull it out when you're through talking and you make each shot count. You can spin the barrel, cock the hammer, break some lug's nose with the butt. Only the hard nosed carry a snub nose!
