TALES FROM C.A.M.P.: Jackie's
Back!
C.A.M.P. IS BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT!
TALES FROM C.A.M.P.: Jackie's
Back!
Three Jackie Holmes novels from the 1960s
plus a historical summary
by
Victor J. Banis
in one volume
Click here to read
the first Chapters of
each novel
Rally Round the Fag
Blow the Man Down
Gothic Gaye
These are three selected titles of the series about the man from C.A.M.P.
and his adventures with Sophie,
saber-toothed white poodle, plus the author's historical summary of the era
when these books were originally
written, in the 1960s, and how writers of gay fiction in those days were
flirting with prison stripes! Available in
a luxurious 6" x 9" paperback (see bottom of page) and each novel separately
as e-books.
These novels are also available individually at the author's Gay History web site.
REVIEWS:
Victor J. Banis may be the only writer whose literary career is owed in part
to governmental harassment. In 1964 he was charged—and subsequently
acquitted on a technicality—with distributing obscene, i.e. homosexual
material (the book in question containing what Banis states was "a couple
of tepid lesbian scenes"). He had written the book on a whim but now a sense
of outrage and sheer bullheadedness impelled him to continue writing. If
not for the legal harassment, Banis might have left writing altogether. And
we would all have been the poorer for it.
Among this prolific author's work are ten C.A.M.P. novels
and three of the novels, "Rally round the Fag," "Blow the Man Down," and
"Gothic Gaye" have been reissued in one book, Tales from C.A.M.P.:
Jackie's Back! by GLB Publishers as part of their Gay History Writers
Series. In these stories, written in the years leading up to Stonewall, we
first meet the incomparable Jackie Holmes.
Jackie is a paragon: black belt in various martial arts,
a superb athlete, master of disguise, connoisseur of art and fine living
and with the kind of sharp-edged intelligence that would have made him the
top of any field he chose. All of this could have made him insufferable were
it not for his self-deprecating wit and his bawdy sexuality. By present day
standards the sex is rather tame, amusing rather than erotic, carefree fun
rather than romantic or steamy.
Jackie, aided by his faithful poodle, Sophie, works for
an organization known as C.A.M.P. whose goal is the protection and advancement
of gays worldwide. His work requires him to avert World War Three, unravel
mysterious disappearances and foil the machinations of C.A.M.P.'s arch nemesis,
B.U.T.C.H. (Brothers United To Crush Homosexuality)
Even while thwarting plans of world destruction, Jackie
still finds time to arrange trysts with amorous suitors or teach his straight
colleagues the wonders of gay sex. To this end, Jackie is always available
to knowledge seekers and keeps himself wide open for questions no matter
how probing or deep the topic.
Holmes is a wittier, handsomer James Bond or the man
from U.N.C.L.E (remember that TV series?) with a greater sense of humour
and more developed libido. The character of Jackie Holmes was one of the
very first of the happy gay characters. He was not suicidal, filled with
self-loathing, a drug addict nor a criminal. This was a remarkable achievement
at a time when most gay characters were shown as criminals, mentally unstable
or merely pathetic. By contrast Holmes is unapologetically, proudly, jubilantly
gay. He gives free rein to his sexual appetites and indulges without guilt
or qualms.
While the C.A.M.P. novels are an important part of gay
history, this is not the reason to read them. Enjoy them for their humour
and fast-paced adventures. Most of all, read them because of the extraordinary
Jackie Holmes— the gayest, funniest, sexiest world saviour you'll ever
meet.
Visit http://www.glbpubs.com
and http://www.victorjbanis.com
— Ralph Higgins, Wayves
------------------------
Forty years ago, gays in fiction were in a sad state.
They were tragic, flawed, ultimately doomed
characters headed for evil, death or the madhouse. With the burden of
homosexuality and its incumbent
immorality, how could they be anything else? But along came writer Victor
J. Banis who decided to create
gay characters who are happy and well-adjusted and who, more importantly,
stay that way through the final pages.
The result was a series of pulpy novels starring sexy
gay rights crusader and super-spy Jackie Holmes.
The stories were hard to find for decades but Tales from
C.A.M.P. reprints three of the novels for a whole
new audience of readers, and they won't be disappointed.
Like James Bond and The Man from UNCLE, Jackie Holmes
is a suave, sexy, super-spy hero who is
called upon to stop world wars, nab super-villains and battle the forces
of evil. But unlike 007, Holmes works
for the police unit of an international association dedicated to the cause
of homosexuals, an underground
organization called C.A.M.P. (the acronym is a mystery).
Instead of damsels in distress, Holmes uses his skills
and charm to save gays and he does it with such
(homo) sexual gusto and zeal that men both straight and gay find themselves
falling for his seductive charm
and hyper-sexuality.
Banis offers up three stories in this latest release
from GLB Publishers. In Rally Round the Fag, Jackie
travels to Sweden and Spain dressing in drag and fighting bulls to stop a
world war and bed the undercover
straight Swedish agent, Sven. In Blow the Man Down, Jackie
and U.S. agent Andy Parks find themselves in
Atlantis to stop the diabolical Mother Schmucker from flooding the world.
And in Gothic Gaye, Jackie
investigates the mysterious Castle Gaye and the baron von der Gout with a
foursome of cute young lads at
his side. The stories are a bit outrageous but the imagination and merriment
with which they are presented
make them a funny and fast-paced delight.
Banis is considered a pioneer for these stories —
they combine to create the very first gay mystery series
in print. Banis himself says the writing could be better and there are some
leaps of faith required by the reader
but overall these stories are amusing and entertaining gay pulp fiction.
Included in the collection is an interesting interview
with Banis on his career and the state of gay literature today.
He is a welcome voice from the past and these reprinted stories should help
give him his due as one of the first
authors to make gay people more than just tragic plot devices.
---Will Louis, X-Factor (Phoenix)
-------------------------------------
--------------------------------
Jackie Holmes is the hero of Victor Banis's Tales from C.A.M.P.
, a reissue of four books—Rally Round the Fag, Blow the Man Down,
Gothic Gaye and (a new) An Accidental Hero. Jackie's
a secret agent for a "vast underground operation known only by the code letters,
C.A.M.P., dedicated to the cause of the homosexual, to the advancement and
the protection of homosexuals throughout the world." Gay literary historian
D. Wayne Gunn says Banis's is the first gay series, with the first openly
gay and proud hero. Though the series began in 1966, it still seems timely,
with its frank attitudes toward gay sex. Jackie's "tales" present a strong,
confident gay man who's out to change the world, much like Vietnam vet turned
gay avenger Alex Kane, hero of a series by late John Preston, and Jules Cassidy,
the sexy gay FBI agent in Suzanne Brockmann's Hot Target.
Due to his uncanny resemblance to a dead female informant,
Jackie is forced into drag in Rally Round the Fag, which takes
him from San Francisco to Stockholm, where he encounters Sven, a handsome
Swede who finds his female persona quite attractive—as well as the
informer's lesbian lover, who's equally interested in getting beneath Jackie's
drag. If you're willing to suspend your disbelief at the antics James Bond
gets up to, you'll love Jackie. And his meeting with a homophobic Secret
Service agent at a gay nude beach at the beginning of Blow the Man
Down is worth the price of this reissue from GLB Publishers.
—Neil Plakcy , author of Mahu
------------------------------
Each novel available as separate e-books —
Download to your computer: $8.00 per format
Rally Round the Fag
(Acrobat)(Text)(Rich Text)(Internet)(Word)(WordPerfect)(MsReader)(PRC)
Download to your computer: $8.00 per format
Blow the Man Down
(Acrobat)(Text)(Rich Text)(Internet)(Word)(WordPerfect)(MsReader)(PRC)
Download to your computer: $8.00 per format
Gothic Gaye
(Acrobat)(Text)(Rich
Text)(Internet)(Word)(WordPerfect)(MsReader)(PRC)
The Printed book:
| Large Paperback 6" x 9" 320 pages |
USA |
Canada |
Overseas |
| $15.95 Plus Shipping and Handling |
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