Sally The Mākaʻikiu

A friend gave a copy of a huge anthology, The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps.

This is 1,100 pages of reprints from the pulp magazines of the 20's, 30's and 40's. Some of them are great stories, some not so great, but of historical interest to readers. A story by Carrol John Daly, "The Third Murderer" features Race Williams and is, perhaps, the first hard-boiled private eye story. The book contains stories by such greats as Raymond Chandler and Frederick Nebel, as well as many writers who are now consigned to obscurity.

One of those whom I'd never heard of before, is Adolphe Barreaux who wrote a comic strip for Spicy Detective Stories magazine called "Sally the Sleuth." Spicy Detective Stories published "racy" stories of sex and adventure, though, by today's standards, they seem quite tame. Sally the Sleuth was a two or three page strip that appeared in each issue. "Strip" is the operative word. Sally was a plainclothes detective whose adventures had little plot other than to get her out of her clothes and tied up. She is usually rescued by her boss, the chief.

One of her adventures takes her to Hawaii, which makes it relevant to this blog.


Barreaux seemed to think all Hawaiian women are buxom beauties who wear nothing but flimsy grass skirts and leis draped over their uncovered breasts, and that Hawaiian men wear loin cloths. This was after we'd entered World War II.

True to form, Sally is easily captured by the bad guy, who not only forces her to strip, but compels her to do a hula dance for him.

Sally is not one to give up. She attempts to escape, but fails, and, as punishment, the bad guy ties her up, though he generously allows her to keep her lei and protect her modesty.

Apparently Pulpville Press believes readers will want to read more of Sally, although they won't "see" much more her than the above pics. Three volumes of Sally's adventures can be purchased online here and on Amazon.