Exploring the subcultures of mid-20th-century America, this encyclopedia comprehensively documents the huge quantity of cult magazines that thrived beneath the mainstream. Chronicling the period between 1925 and 1990, prior to the rise of the Internet age, the book reveals how thousands of these specialized magazines were produced, gratifying the secret life of every fad, taste, obsession, and hush-hush desire. Nothing was beyond the scope of the imaginative publishers and eccentric editors, the guide shows, as it goes behind the scenes of titles such as Amazing Stories, Doctor Death, Gee-Whiz, Jaybird, Phantom Detective, and True Thrills. Featuring full-color reproductions of hundreds of distinctive cult cover images, this reference's backgrounds, histories, and essays offer a complete picture of a bygone era.