Weird Menace: The Spicy Art of H.J. Ward
On the heels of the hardship of the Great Depression and Prohibition in the United States and on the long eve of war, there was a need for escapism. The silver screen offered some respite but also prevalent was the great choice of magazines available at news vendors. Named 'Pulp' after the rough, cheap paper they were printed on all manner of subjects were available for readers to peruse - westerns, romances, sports, adventure and also the worlds of horror, crime and mystery. Amongst the latter was a breed of magazine known as 'Shudder Pulps' or 'Weird Menace'. Reveling in torture, murder and occult crime these pulps needed bold and brazen covers to temp readers into the dark depths within. Step forward Hugh Joseph Ward, a young artist from Philadelphia.
Illustrating covers for magazines such as Spicy Mystery Stories and Spicy Detective Stories, HJ Ward's work frequently depicted women in various states of undress being menaced by a range of villainous miscreants. It has been said that he used his own wife as a model hence a number of the women having a similar look.
HJ Ward's life and career were sadly cut short by his death in 1945, from lung cancer aged only 35 years.
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