First Draft

This week’s selection is the tale of a missionary and a Voodoo houngan:

The last word goes to the Neville Brothers doing that Voodoo that they do so well:

I can’t remember if I first read The Plague in high school or college.But I recall the profound impact it had it on me. It’s a powerful book that, according to a French speaking friend, is one of the best French to English translations ever. It’s certainly timely in the age of COVID-19.

There are many swell covers to choose from. We begin with the original hardback dust jackets.

I had to include the paperback cover on the left. It was the edition I read. It may be time to revisit it.

This 1961 novel continues this week’s theme; only without the exclamation point. Things are bad enough without using one.

Bruce Graeme was of one several pen names used by Graham Montague Jeffries. He was best known for the Blackshirt series for which he used the name Richard Verill. None of those covers has the impact of this 1955 book. The title is pretty darn cool as well.

We have side-by-side covers of a 1956 sci-fi tome by Jerry Sohl. The second cover is from an Australian edition of the book.

This week’s punny title is creepy but accurate. For your consideration, four titles with the word corpse in them. These book covers date from the mid-1940’s.

What’s not to love about the title Space Lawyer? Here’s the original dust cover:

Alternate title: A Babe, an Alien and a Space Pirate.

Achoo. Please pass the tissues.

Many Southerners eat cabbage, black-eyed peas, and cornbread for luck on New Year’s Day. The same may be true of the title character in this book. You never can tell.

Speaking of cornbread, here’s a musical selection by my friend David Bankston:

Another day, another holiday themed regular feature.

Since my Now Be Thankful post has migrated to Bayou Brief, it’s time to get back to the basics with a book cover that ran in 2015 and 2016:

As urban commie pinkos, we here at First Draft believe in recycling. This post is a rerun from last Thanksgiving with some lagniappe at the end:

If your crazy right-wing Uncle who watches too much Fox News goes off on you today, please do not re-enact this book.

How about some cheesecake for dessert?

When I promise lagniappe, I mean it. So do Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg. This is the first time that exceedingly odd couple cooked together on teevee:

The impeachment hearings ate my week. At least I’m not charred:

This post is dedicated to my friend and fellow pulp fiction aficionado Kevin Allman. He’s  leaving Louisiana and returning home to California. Happy trails, amigo.

The last word goes to Emmylou Harris: