CHARLES COPELAND MAGAZINES


MAGAZINES SECTION DIRECTORY

MALE

MALE was one of the tent pegs of Martin Goodman's magazine empire, and one of the longest running men's adventure magazines, appearing from 1950 into the late 1970s. Charles Copeland became a MALE artist in 1957, and several of his early appearances are among my favorites, in large part due to MALE's cool decision to have its artists paint not just a title-page illustration for the Book Bonus, but eight additional drawings as well for the body of the story. Later on an anonymous staff artist took over the additional sketches.  MALE was published by Male Publishing Corp.

MALE January 1957 - Charles Copeland is the perfect artist for Gil Brewer's "House of Captive Women", condensed from the Gold Medal paperback A KILLER IS LOOSE. A sample of his additional illustrations:

February 1957 - "The Blonde Who Runs the Syndicate" - detail- says artist is Charles Copriano (in error)

(All of Copeland's title-page illustrations for MALE are duotones until noted otherwise.)

March 1957 - "An Inmate Has Escaped"

April 1957 - sepia duotone "The Night We Tore Up Tia Juana"

 

May 1957 - "Many Lovers For Stella"

July 1957 - "We Were Prisoners of Africa's Forbidden Tribe" <duotone

with 8 illustrations, sample:

April 1958 - "Madam Bee's Million Dollar Love House" (CALL HOUSE MADAM) - Wolsey. Duotone, with 8 drawings.

April 1958 continued - <example of additional art (see also Berkley G199)

August 1958 - "Alma Rattenbury and the Tragic Silk Pajamas" true crime by James Collier.>

December 1958 - "The Wonderful Binge of Baron Bum" (not shown)

January 1959 - "The Day Hollywood Shot Pancho Villa"

March 1959 - "Me and Louie Control 'Tall Girl' Island"

Compare Copeland's original art below to the printed magazine here: 

October 1959 - "The Revolt of  Nude Nan Patterson"

January 1960 - "The Naked Diary of Rhoda Ringman Hoyt". Reprinted in TRUE ACTION February 1964.

May 1960 - "The Debutante Who Seduced a Million Storm Troopers"  <detail. Reused: TRUE ACTION Feb 1963.

June 1960 - "Bar Room Girl Who Touched Off a Tribal War" red duotone

(Not shown)

July 1960 - "Sally Shack-Up and the Great Tokyo Manhunt"  detail>

August 1960 - "The Invading Yank and the Villa of Gay Chinese Widows"

September 1960 - "The Amorous Doc Who Shared His Patients' Beds"

October 1960 - "The Underground Dolls Who Seduced Italy's Frogman Fleet"

November 1960 - "The Prisoner in Fraulein Anna's Private Compound" (not shown)

January 1961 - "The White Emperor of Tononga Island" (not shown)

February 1961 - "Chicago Bill Otis' Army of Halfbreed Dolls"

March 1961 - "Baker's Dozen"   reused in TRUE ACTION June 1964 (not shown).

April 1961 - "The Yank Who Raided Russia's City of Exiled Women"

(MALE art now in four-color until noted otherwise)

July 1961 - "Mistress of The Mediterranean's Infamous Penal Hole". Yes, it really does say "penal hole".

August 1961 - "Imprisoned Yank in the Orient's 'Foolish Virgin' Spy Center".  Take that, you Red Commie buzzards.

November 1961 - "The Fast-Living Nymph Who Ruled an Illicit Diamond Empire". Reused in TRUE ACTION February 1970.

December 1961 - "The American Agent Who Kidnaped Moscow's Top Sex Kitten" four-color art was later used as a b&w illustration in TRUE ACTION September 1964

January 1962 - "The American Who Escaped The Soviet Middle East With Five Easy Ladies"

March 1962 - 2 illustrations for "The Bold American Who Blocked a Red Takeover in Macao". Title illustration reappears in TRUE ACTION June 1965.


April 1962 - "The Strange Redhead and her International Pleasure Legion". A choice example of four color illustration.

 

August 1962 - "The Girl in the Gold Bra"

 

September 1962 - "Nude Girl Divers of Shima Island" - detail. Reused in TRUE ACTION March 1965.

October 1962 - "The American Who Joined Red China's Train-Busting Outlaw Nymphs"  detail


November 1962 - "Sealed Up Alive in Singapore for Five Months" detail. Used again in TRUE ACTION May 1966.

December 1962 - "Hitler's Man-Hungry 'Lost Women' Brigade"

Charles Copeland Original Art MALE January 1963

January 1963 - "The Government Man and his Two Scandalous Love- Nests"

February 1963 - "The American Agent who Escaped Moscow's Dreaded Prison-On-Wheels"


March 1963 - "Hitler's Front-Line Legion of Amusement Girls"


April 1963 - "Yank Desert Raider Who Saved Our Casablanca Beachhead" detail

June 1963 - "French Streetwalkers Who Set Up Our Marseilles D-Day Landings"

September 1963 - "The Mountaintop Harem of a GI Dambuster" detail

October 1963 - "The Hunted American Who Ran a 'Sex Subway' Out of Wartime Berlin" (not shown)


December 1963 - "Red China's Female Army of Sex and Shock Troops" detail

MALE ANNUAL #1, 1963

Two b&w illustrations:  "Imprisoned for Six Months in Japan's Secret Female Garrison" from STAG June 1960 detail>

Copeland's second illustration in

MALE ANNUAL #1, 1963 is "The Amazon Queen Who Ruled an Experimental Sex Outpost"


January 1964 - "The Yank Who Led a Legion of Russian Convict Women" by Walter Kaylin.

<detail


March 1964 - "The Sleep-Around Playgirls of New York's East Side"


April 1964 - "GI Who Cut Off  Hitler's Bavarian 'Battle Maniacs'"


May 1964 - "One Last Night With Roma"  by Erskine Caldwell

August 1964 - "The Girl From Hong Kong's 'Hot Street'


October 1964 - "John 'Red' Marston's Island of Delight" by Mario Puzo writing as Mario Cleri.

Reused for TRUE ACTION Sept 1966.

November 1964 - "Notorious Compound of Prostitute Slaves" not shown

December 1964 - "Our Top Supersonic Expert is in Chinese Communist Hands" detail

1
MALE ANNUAL #2 – 1964.  Bill Devine, collector and editor of DEVINE’S GUIDE TO MEN’S ADVENTURE MAGAZINES, turned up this action-packed annual which includes  “My Body is For Kicks”, “suspense novel” version of the 1962 Gold Medal thriller SOMEONE AND FELICIA WARWICK by Raymond Mason, with the two illustrations shown here by Charles Copeland.    

1 1

1

1

Second-page Copeland illustration for “My Body is For Kicks.”

January 1965 - "Yank Who Smashed the Nazi War Criminals' Escape Ring" detail>

February 1965 - two illustrations for "French Girls' Barracks" (WOMEN'S BARRACKS) by Tereska Torres.

 

 February 1965 - second illustration

 

April 1965 - "The Kremlin School for Sex Spies"

(this is one of many Copelands not shown here that are available for viewing on the American Art Archives website. I recommend it highly).

May 1965> - "The Nymph at Armored Oasis 17" detail>

Reused in 1966 MEN ANNUAL.

 

June 1965 - "The Death Makers"

August 1965 - "Luxury Boat Tramp" reused in b&w for ACTION FOR MEN Sept 1969.

 

September 1965 - "Black Lace Blonde Out Of Havana"

 

October 1965 - two illustrations for "The Non-Stop Lover" (HANDSOME) by Theodore Pratt.


<Oct 1965, second page b&w illustration

November 1965 - "Hot Rod Tease" reused in STAG ANNUAL #6, 1969.

December 1965 - "Edge-of-Town Blonde" -

Signed C.C.

Male Annual #3, 1965 -

"School House Tramp" (from EPISODE IN PALMETTO) by Erskine Caldwell, b&w.

March 1966 - "The Girls in the Bordello on the 25th Floor" reused in b&w in TRUE ACTION February 1970.


April 1966 - "Gina, The Promiscuous Spy" detail


May 1966 - "Night School Tramp" by Alex Austin.  Reused in b&w in STAG ANNUAL #6, 1969, as "The Bedroom Lesson" by Jay Sorkin. Same story, same art, different title, different byline.


June 1966 - "U.S. Agent Who Invaded Hitler's House of Hostage Frauleins".  This four-color art is reused in b&w in ACTION FOR MEN May 1968 and TRUE ACTION Dec 1970 and in color for the cover of MALE ANNUAL, 1971.


August 1966 - "Saigon Nymph who led the Green Berets to the Cong's Terror HQs"

September 1966 - "My Two Years in the 'Barracks of Caged Young Girls'"



November 1966 - "Find the Kremlin's Blonde Nympho Hostage". This is repainted for ACTION FOR MEN July 1969.

 

December 1966 - "The Girls in the 'Villa of Untamed Desires'".

MALE ANNUAL #4, 1966 - cover>

and interior b&w reused from MALE Dec 1964.

 

February 1967 - "The Hot-Blooded Nymph Next Door", reused in MEN ANNUAL #3, 1969.

 
 

March 1967 - "Trapped Girls in the Riviera's Flesh Casino" by Mario Cleri (Puzo). Reused in TRUE ACTION Nov 1969 and MAN'S WORLD Dec 1971.

 
 

December 1967 - "All Night Date With Cindy"

Reused in ACTION FOR MEN January 1969.

 

MALE ANNUAL #5, 1967 - color cover

 Top painting appears to be Copeland, but the novel inside; "Beach House Tramp" (THE TEASE) by Gil Brewer, has art by Earl Norem. Lower two paintings are by Mort Kunstler.

February 1968 - "Karate Gym Nymph" reused in 1973 MEN ANNUAL.

March 1968 - "Party on Love Swap Highway"


May 1968 - "Girls of Pleasure Penthouse" by Mario Cleri (Mario Puzo) -

< detail

And second-page b&w illustration.>

June 1968 - "Lorna Loved Them All"

August 1968 - "Voluptuous Widow.Eager to Give" >

 

December 1968 - "Love-Break Girl"

 

Copeland original art for MALE ANNUAL #6


MALE ANNUAL #6, 1968 - color cover & three b&w illustrations for "The Big Night of Blondy Niles" by Erskine Caldwell.  Title-page illustration reuses color art from STAG Aug 1965, changing man's hair to match the story.  Also the two "paintings" on the wall behind her have been redrawn to fit the story.


MALE ANNUAL #6   <second-page illustration.

January 1969 - "Nude Saturday"


February 1969 - "Motel Woman" reused in FOR MEN ONLY ANNUAL #6, 1970 (without the stripe on the shirt) and in ACTION FOR MEN March 1972

March 1969 - "The Love Lottery" detail>


April 1969 - "Prescription: Nurse in the Nude"

June 1969 - "Blonde With the Violent Touch">

July 1969 - "The Bike Brutes" (two illustrations)


July 1969 - second illustration.

September 1969 - "The Taming of Mrs. Parris"

Two illustrations in MALE ANNUAL #7, 1969: "Weekend Romp With Liz" redraws STAG November 1966, and second-page illustration for "Hard Contract for a Mafia Blonde" (title page is by Gil Cohen) reused from MEN April 1965.

January 1970 - "The Little Love Arena"

 

February 1970 - "Garage Girl"

October 1970 - "The Topless Swap" reused for ACTION FOR MEN November 1972


December 1970 - "The Nude Who Wore Glasses"

Reused for different story (without her glasses) in ACTION FOR MEN January 1972. Not shown.

<January 1971 - "The Passion Vault"


February 1971 - "I Surrender, Mr. Big"

March 1971 - "Paint Me -- Love Me" >


June 1971 - "Cara's Love Cage".  Although "topless" photography is seen in MALE as early as 1969, the interior illustrations stay covered up until 1971.  Charles Copeland, who excelled at painting beautiful women, was a natural for this new assignment.  His nudes, like this one, are among MALE's best.

September 1971 - "The Cure".  Copeland's original art for this issue is two pieces cut together - one is the man at top, the other is the woman - suggesting that the editors may have asked him to repaint half of his first version of this painting. 

The same image was reused twice as a black & white interior: TRUE ACTION Sept 1972 and ACTION FOR MEN Sept 1973.


 

October 1971 - "Raid on the Nazis' Sex Circus Stalag" reused in TRUE ACTION October 1973.

 

December 1971 - "Buy Me Nude" detail

 
 

MALE ANNUAL "#6", 1971 - cover

Clearly misnumbered, we have just seen a MALE ANNUAL #6 in 1968.  The Annuals were coming out once a year for 7 years, but now they are either doing several each year or using some new numbering scheme, for the next one seen is #13.

Top illustration by Bruce Minney, bottom illustration by Copeland is familiar, from MALE June 1966, there in four-color, here in full color.

MALE ANNUAL #13, 1971 - "The Impatient Redhead" reprinted from STAG March 1970.  

 

March 1972 - "'Easy' Diner Girl"

April 1972 - "Judy's Night Game"


<May 1972 - "Busy-Bed Blonde"


MALE November 1972 – “Locker Room Nude” >
 
  
  
  
  MALE ANNUAL #15, 1972 - "Find Hitler and Kill Him" reuses art from STAG May 1968. 

April 1973 - "Diner Nude" detail>


May 1973 - "The Nympho Next Door"


August 1973 - "I Found Helga Roehm - Most Wanted Female War Criminal".  War stories trickle down to about one per issue in the 1970s and slowly disappear as MALE becomes an all-photo magazine.

MALE ANNUAL #17, 1973 - "The Seductress Next Door" reprinted from MEN May 1970.

Man's Life


Back To Top (Section Directory)


Lynn Munroe Books