"Pulp" magazines got their name from the extremely cheap paper that was used to produce them. This inexpensive medium helped keep production costs down. Low production costs meant that the magazines could be sold cheaply—an important consideration during the Great Depression (1929–41; see entry under 1930s—The Way We Lived in volume 2), when the pulps were most popular. Many Americans wanted diversions from their troubles, but they could not afford to pay a lot for them.

The pulp magazines were cheap entertainment, aimed at the widest possible audience. Consequently, they emphasized escapism over great literature. Most of them specialized in one of the popular genres (categories), such as detective stories (Thrilling Mystery, Clues Detective), Westerns (Ace-High Western Stories, Texas Rangers), romance (Thrilling Love, True Story), science fiction (Amazing Stories, Marvel Science Stories, Dynamic Science Fiction), horror (Weird Tales, Dime Mystery), and swashbuckling adventure (World Wide Adventure...