STAG : Man’s Own Magazine (Spring 1946)

The second world war is over. And out of those ashes arose a plethora of new publications, borne from the minds of civilians and veterans alike. STAG: Man’s Own Magazine (Vol 1 # 1, Spring [March] 1946) was edited by Bevis Winter, and claimed to be exclusively for “men.” The opening pages are written and signed by the editor, welcoming readers out of the hell of war to the progress of tomorrow.

It’s also littered with stock-photos of Hollywood actresses in various poses.

• Page 2 – Cyd Charisse
• Page 27 – Jean Kent
• Page 28 – Margaret Lockwood
• Page 32 – Marilyn Maxwell
• Page 37 – Phyllis Calvert
• Page 41 – Ava Gardner
• Page 42 – Frances Rafferty
• Page 67 – Patricia Roc

An assortment of articles aimed at men include historical male figures, sports, men’s dress code, household, automobiles, etc. Then there are the usual cartoon and comic joke-snippets interspersed by artists such as “Merlin,” Geoffrey Wadlow, and a pair of others.

The real gems are the fiction stories, most of which are supplied by quality writers.

• Ralph L. Finn – A Dame with a Difference (pages 7-11)
  A man jaded on women finds the woman of his dreams and they romance each other to pieces but he bails out on her when marriage is brought into the equation.
• Hervey Elliot Scott – He Shot a Fat Lady (pages 16-20)
  A humorous circus murder story, involving the presumed murder of the Four Ton Florrie by the India-rubber Man. The police try him for murder, he is convicted, but, when they attempt to exact vengeance in the name of the law, bullets bounce off him, hanging him only stretches his neck, electrocution fails, etc. You get the idea. We then are informed that the Fat Lady is not dead! She merely was in a coma due to the folds of her fat, where the bullet had lodged.
• Dennis Wynne – And the Blood Coursed Freely (pages 21-26)
  The story involves a man reliving his youthful days through a variety of action-filled silly scenarios; finding a beautiful woman, fighting and losing her. Purely a humorous tale.
• Denys Val Baker – Water (pages 49-51)
  Baker delves deep into the sinister fascination a hydrophobic deals with on a regular, daily basis, in all forms and fears.
• Gerald Kersh – Vision of a Lost Child (pages 55-58)
  A man grows up re-living a nightmarish tragedy from childhood in his dreams and each time he sleeps, he sinks deeper and deeper in mud. Believing that when the mud succeeds in creeping over him that he will die, he puts off sleep for over a week and seeks the aid of a psychologist. In the end, he falls asleep, and the mud wins. A deep, dark story by a clever writer of weird stories.
• Brett Ogilvie – The Abnormal Talent (pages 62-66)
  A painter’s works-of-art come to life upon completion, only, he desires to exit the business lest he go insane. When asked by a friend to draw a gun, he performs the task. It is used against him. Thus dying, all his creations-come-to-life immediately vanish. However, the dead artist returns to life, sans his former ability! A entrancingly humorous fantasy.