Review
TRUE CRIME TRUE NORTH: THE GOLDEN AGE OF CANADIAN PULP MAGAZINES
by Carolyn Strange and Tina Loo
Raincoast Books, 111 pp.
According to Carolyn Strange and Tina Loo, the authors of this thoroughly researched look at Canadian pulp, the stunning images to grace the covers of torrid true crime magazines were often more sensational than what was contained within. Sadly, the same can be said of True Crime True North.
This volume is filled with illustrations of buxom women, rugged Mounties and fiendish killers, and the vintage kitsch value of the images is more than worth the time it takes to thumb through the book.
However, despite their research, the two authors have little to say. The book starts promisingly with a brief history of pulp magazines, with a specific focus on Canadian pulp. As is usually the case with history, the "why" is much more compelling than the "what." Putting the specified canon of pulp writing and their authors in context is interesting, but the rest of the book fails to offer any further insight. Each chapter looks at a specific sub-genre within Canadian pulp, identifying the archetypal characters, the deliberate use of stereotyping and the formula inherent in the form, but before long the authors are merely cribbing notes from the original texts. Offering summaries of some of the key examples is no substitute for a critical eye and, for that reason, True Crime True North is ultimately lacking.
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