Killing Trade, 2008, Don Pendleton
The thing I find most interesting about the super-macho he-man military adventure genre, apart from the fact that it actually still exists, is that they always seem to have these very hot men on the covers.
Latent homoeroticism or masterful exploitation of idealized self-image amongst the readership: you decide.
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“Justice turns deadly” and seexxxxxxxxy
Oh, my, you have such a big … gun. And, what’s this, it’s …warm. Why I bet you’ve been shooting this thing all over town, haven’t you?
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Seriously, it’s idealized self-image. Aimed as guys who’d LIKE to be able to jump into a convertible without opening the door but likely couldn’t jump up onto a curb to avoid getting taken out by the UPS van. Not that I’m complaining about their taste in cover boys.
Last month the hubby and I were on vacation and visited Forbidden Planet (London). Some amazing stuff but we noted the sizeable number of post-apocalyptic “romance novels.” The covers featured either:
- a hot, shirtless guy looking concerned or
- a couple but the woman was invariable clothed and rather drab looking while he was nipples to the wind
I can only assume this means, should the world end, the safest place will be the all-male gyms (where cover boys get their guns and pecs, presumably) and all our shirts will be blown away so don’t bother trying to save them.
The Executioner faces a deadly menace, as tiny jeeps nearly set his crotch on fire.
It looks like Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs. “Today we’ll be shooting people in the face.”
Man, what is this photoshop sh*t? Give us back back our totally airwolf fully painted, he-man, super butch covers!
“Latent homoeroticism or masterful exploitation of idealized self-image amongst the readership: you decide.”
Why choose, says I?
Not rugged enough. He looks more like a substitute teacher than a man of action.
Dorian, I hope you’ve seen this web-site:
http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/the-ruthless-guide-to-80s-action/
It’s par for the course in the “action” genre. My favourite, “They Live!” has a lot of fun with it: there’s definitely some deliberately homoerotic moments there, eg. the scene on the construction site; and it also rolls in the wrestling angle for good measure.
cf. Raymond Chandler’s “noir” books, a couple of which I read recently and where I noticed a couple of moments that were blatantly and unnecessarily homophobic.
If I’m straight and think the homoeroticism of the action genre in all mediums adds to the charm, am I actually in the closet?
Yeah, doesn’t quite live up to the painted Mack Bolan of the 80s. As noted, looks more like a substitute teacher. Or a home improvement show host.
@Chris T. – re: Chandler – Funny, I went on a chandler bender a long time back myself. I remember reading a collection of short stories in which I’d swear the hero actually does it off-screen with a guy. The hero is hiding out in a motel, the hulking mob thug shows up at the room, they get really drunk together and fade to black… Or something like that. I remember re-reading that scene about 5 times to figure out if that’s really what was going on.
@ Hal: I’ve never read any of the short stories – something I may have to change soon. I love his prose and everything else he puts in his novels but for those odd jarring notes…
@ Lugh: only if you also feel the urge to beat one off after watching one : )
Also, “Killing Trade”? I know some like a bit of rough trade now and again, but really…