A Phineas Pinkham Bibliography
This month we’re celebrating the talents of that pulp stalwart—Joe Archibald. Archibald wrote hundreds of stories for the pulps, both dramatic and humorous. His bread and butter it would seem was the humorous tale. He had long running series in several pulp titles. In the detective titles there was Alvin Hinkey, the harness bull Hawkshaw, in 10 Story Detective; Scoops & Snooty, the Evening Star’s dizzy duo, in Ten Detective Aces; and the President of the Hawkeye Detective Agency himself—Willie Klump in Popular Detective. While in the aviation titles he had Elmer Hubbard and Pokey Cook in Sky Birds; the one-two punch of Ambrose Hooley & Muley Spinks in The Lone Eagle, The American Eagle, Sky Fighters and War Birds; and last, but by no means least, the pride of Booneville—Phineas Pinkham in Flying Aces!
Joe Archibald’s Phineas Pinkham was the longest continuously running aviation character in the pulps. Running in the pages of Flying Aces from November 1930 until the magazine dropped it’s Fiction section in November 1943. In 151 stories, Pinkham bedevils the men of the 9th Pursuit Squadron, all the Hauptmanns and vons the Boche send his way and his hapless C.O. Major Rufus Garrity with his pranks, jokes and insane inventions that seem only to amuse Phineas.
Here is a checklist of his adventures:
title | magazine | date | vol | no |
1930 | ||||
Sneeze That Off | Flying Aces | Nov | 6 | 6 |
1931 | ||||
The Hardware Ace | Flying Aces | Feb | 6 | 9 |
Rock-A-Bye Jerry | Flying Aces | Jun | 9 | 1 |
Bargains For Blois | Flying Aces | Jul | 9 | 2 |
Tell It To The King | Flying Aces | Aug | 9 | 3 |
For Dear Old G.H.Q. | Flying Aces | Sep | 9 | 4 |
Crazy Like a Fox | Flying Aces | Oct | 9 | 5 |
Junkers—C.O.D. | Flying Aces | Nov | 9 | 6 |
Please Omit Flowers | Flying Aces | Dec | 9 | 7 |
1932 | ||||
Half-Shot at Chaumont | Flying Aces | Jan | 9 | 8 |
A Flyer In Tin | Flying Aces | Feb | 11 | 1 |
Too Good for Hanging | Flying Aces | Mar | 11 | 2 |
From Spad to Worse | Flying Aces | Apr | 11 | 3 |
Pride of the Pinkhams | Flying Aces | May | 11 | 4 |
No Money, No Flyee | Flying Aces | Jun | 12 | 1 |
Herr Tonic | Flying Aces | Jul | 12 | 2 |
Sky A LA Mode | Flying Aces | Aug | 12 | 3 |
The Reel Hero | Flying Aces | Sep | 12 | 4 |
The Bat’s Whiskers | Flying Aces | Oct | 13 | 1 |
Good To The First Drop | Flying Aces | Nov | 13 | 2 |
Shower Kraut | Flying Aces | Dec | 13 | 3 |
1933 | ||||
The Bull Flight | Flying Aces | Jan | 13 | 4 |
Sleuthing Syrup | Flying Aces | Feb | 14 | 1 |
Nothing But The Tooth | Flying Aces | Mar | 14 | 2 |
The Fryin’ Dutchman | Flying Aces | Apr | 14 | 3 |
The Grim Reaper | Flying Aces | May | 14 | 4 |
Spin Feathers | Flying Aces | Jul | 15 | 1 |
Take The Heir | Flying Aces | Aug | 15 | 2 |
Stage Flight | Flying Aces | Sep | 15 | 3 |
Herr Net | Flying Aces | Oct | 15 | 4 |
Bomb Voyage | Flying Aces | Nov | 16 | 1 |
The Frying Suit | Flying Aces | Dec | 16 | 2 |
1934 | ||||
Smell-Shocked | Flying Aces | Jan | 16 | 3 |
String ‘Em Back Alive | Flying Aces | Feb | 16 | 4 |
Hans Up | Flying Aces | Mar | 17 | 1 |
Hose De Combat | Flying Aces | May | 17 | 2 |
No Fuelin’ | Flying Aces | Jun | 17 | 3 |
Hunbugs | Flying Aces | Jul | 17 | 4 |
Intelligence Pest | Flying Aces | Aug | 18 | 1 |
Scrappy birthday | Flying Aces | Sep | 18 | 2 |
Tattle Tailwinds | Flying Aces | Oct | 18 | 3 |
Parlez Voodoo | Flying Aces | Nov | 18 | 4 |
Good Haunting | Flying Aces | Dec | 19 | 1 |
1935 | ||||
An Itch In Time | Flying Aces | Jan | 19 | 2 |
Crepe Hangers | Flying Aces | Feb | 19 | 3 |
Horse Flyers | Flying Aces | Mar | 19 | 4 |
Geese Monkeys | Flying Aces | Apr | 20 | 1 |
Cinema bums | Flying Aces | May | 20 | 2 |
Prop Eyes | Flying Aces | Jun | 20 | 3 |
Rice and Shine | Flying Aces | Jul | 20 | 4 |
Dog Flight | Flying Aces | Aug | 21 | 1 |
Pfalz Teeth | Flying Aces | Sep | 21 | 2 |
One Hun, One Hit, Three Errors | Flying Aces | Oct | 21 | 3 |
Sea Gullible | Flying Aces | Nov | 21 | 4 |
Fallen Archies | Flying Aces | Dec | 22 | 1 |
1936 | ||||
Spy Larking | Flying Aces | Jan | 22 | 2 |
T.N.T. Party | Flying Aces | Feb | 22 | 3 |
Doin’s In The Dunes | Flying Aces | Mar | 22 | 4 |
The Batty Patrol | Flying Aces | Apr | 23 | 1 |
Smells, Spells, And Shells | Flying Aces | May | 23 | 2 |
Sky Finance | Flying Aces | Jun | 23 | 3 |
Scratch-as-Scratch Can | Flying Aces | Jul | 23 | 4 |
Blois, Blois, Blacksheep | Flying Aces | Aug | 24 | 1 |
Fish and Gyps | Flying Aces | Sep | 24 | 2 |
Watch Your Steppes | Flying Aces | Oct | 24 | 3 |
C’est La Ear | Flying Aces | Nov | 24 | 4 |
Scrappy Birthday | Flying Aces | Dec | 25 | 1 |
1937 | ||||
Flight Opera | Flying Aces | Jan | 25 | 2 |
P.D.Q.—Boat | Flying Aces | Feb | 25 | 3 |
Smoke Scream | Flying Aces | Mar | 25 | 4 |
Poosh ‘Em Up, Pinkham | Flying Aces | Apr | 26 | 1 |
Wrong About Face | Flying Aces | May | 26 | 2 |
Bagger In Bagdad | Flying Aces | Jun | 26 | 3 |
Spree With Lemon | Flying Aces | Jul | 26 | 4 |
Swiss Wheeze | Flying Aces | Aug | 27 | 1 |
Peck’s Spad Boys | Flying Aces | Sep | 27 | 2 |
Scott Free-For-All | Flying Aces | Oct | 27 | 3 |
Crash or Delivery | Flying Aces | Nov | 27 | 4 |
Yankee Doodling | Flying Aces | Dec | 28 | 1 |
1938 | ||||
Flight Team Flight | Flying Aces | Jan | 28 | 2 |
Cat’s Spad-Jamas | Flying Aces | Feb | 28 | 3 |
Eclipse of The Hun | Flying Aces | Mar | 28 | 4 |
Hoots and Headlights | Flying Aces | Apr | 29 | 1 |
Kraut Fishing | Flying Aces | May | 29 | 2 |
The Spider and The Flyer | Flying Aces | Jun | 29 | 3 |
Zuyder Zee Zooming | Flying Aces | Jul | 29 | 4 |
Tripe of Peace | Flying Aces | Aug | 30 | 1 |
Cocarde Sharpers | Flying Aces | Sep | 30 | 2 |
Heir-O-Bats | Flying Aces | Oct | 30 | 3 |
Skyway Robbery | Flying Aces | Nov | 30 | 4 |
Happy Hunning Ground | Flying Aces | Dec | 31 | 1 |
1939 | ||||
A Haunting We Will Go | Flying Aces | Jan | 31 | 2 |
Don Patrol | Flying Aces | Feb | 31 | 3 |
Kaiser Bilious | Flying Aces | Mar | 31 | 4 |
Slaked Limeys | Flying Aces | Apr | 32 | 1 |
Spin Money | Flying Aces | May | 32 | 2 |
Flight Headed | Flying Aces | Jun | 32 | 3 |
The Airy Ape | Flying Aces | Jul | 32 | 4 |
Herr Dresser | Flying Aces | Aug | 33 | 1 |
Duc Soup | Flying Aces | Sep | 33 | 2 |
C’est La Goat | Flying Aces | Oct | 33 | 3 |
Nippon Tuck | Flying Aces | Nov | 33 | 4 |
Ye Ould Emerald Oil | Flying Aces | Dec | 34 | 1 |
1940 | ||||
Impropa Ganda | Flying Aces | Jan | 34 | 2 |
Fright Leader | Flying Aces | Feb | 34 | 3 |
Take It or Leafet | Flying Aces | Mar | 34 | 4 |
Briny Deep Stuff | Flying Aces | Apr | 35 | 1 |
Flight to the Finish | Flying Aces | May | 35 | 2 |
Pharaoh and Warmer | Flying Aces | Jun | 35 | 3 |
Dawn Parole | Flying Aces | Jul | 35 | 4 |
Horse of Another Cocarde | Flying Aces | Aug | 36 | 1 |
Air or Nautical | Flying Aces | Sep | 36 | 2 |
The Foil Guy | Flying Aces | Oct | 36 | 3 |
Bull Flight | Flying Aces | Nov | 36 | 4 |
Leave La Frawnce | Flying Aces | Dec | 37 | 1 |
1941 | ||||
Crow de Guerre | Flying Aces | Jan | 37 | 2 |
I Knew De Gaulle | Flying Aces | Feb | 37 | 3 |
Daze In Dunkirk | Flying Aces | Mar | 37 | 4 |
Zooming Zombies | Flying Aces | Apr | 38 | 1 |
Dawn Petrol | Flying Aces | May | 38 | 2 |
Jerry Prison Scamp | Flying Aces | Jun | 38 | 3 |
The Eyes Have It | Flying Aces | Jul | 38 | 4 |
Nieuport News | Flying Aces | Aug | 39 | 1 |
Chuting Star | Flying Aces | Sep | 39 | 2 |
Zoom Like It Hot | Flying Aces | Oct | 39 | 3 |
Gleech of Promise | Flying Aces | Nov | 39 | 4 |
Gas Me No Questions | Flying Aces | Dec | 40 | 1 |
1942 | ||||
Tanks For The Memory | Flying Aces | Jan | 40 | 2 |
The Moor The Merrier | Flying Aces | Feb | 40 | 3 |
Hot Francs | Flying Aces | Mar | 40 | 4 |
Contact Bridge | Flying Aces | Apr | 41 | 1 |
The Crate Impersonation | Flying Aces | May | 41 | 2 |
Grim Ferry Tale | Flying Aces | Jun | 41 | 3 |
Maltese Doublecross | Flying Aces | Jul | 41 | 4 |
Spy and Ice Cream | Flying Aces | Aug | 42 | 1 |
Air Screwball | Flying Aces | Sep | 42 | 2 |
Glider Than Air | Flying Aces | Oct | 42 | 3 |
Flight Headed | Flying Aces | Nov | 42 | 4 |
Pot Luck | Flying Aces | Dec | 43 | 1 |
1943 | ||||
Heir Minded | Flying Aces | Jan | 43 | 2 |
Chateau Theory | Flying Aces | Feb | 43 | 3 |
Pinkham’s Pixies | Flying Aces | Mar | 43 | 4 |
Laughing Gas Model | Flying Aces | Apr | 44 | 1 |
Hide and Go Sheik | Flying Aces | May | 44 | 2 |
Jappy Landing | Flying Aces | Jun | 44 | 3 |
Three Aces Feast | Flying Aces | Jul | 44 | 4 |
Italian Vamoose | Flying Aces | Aug | 45 | 1 |
Czech Mates | Flying Aces | Sep | 45 | 2 |
Gamboling With Goebbels | Flying Aces | Oct | 45 | 3 |
Sounds Vichy | Flying Aces | Nov | 45 | 4 |
“Haw-w-w-w-w!†As a bonus, here’s Phineas Pinkham mirthquake from 1934. From the February number of Flying Aces Phineas goes to some inventive extremes to get a captured flyer back in “String ‘Em Back Alive!”
Major Garrity had an idea. It involved sending Phineas Pinkham back to training school in his stolen Fokker to teach rookies to fight. Phineas had an idea, too. It involved taking that stolen Fokker across the lines to teach the Mad Butcher not to fight. Lay your bets, gentlemen!
- Download “String ‘Em Back Alive” (February 1934, Flying Aces)
Editor’s Note: This story was posted a number of years ago, but this is an update PDF with Archibald’s illustrations included to add to the merriment!