This 1957 issue of Sure-Fire Detective Stories features an early work by Harlan Ellison.
The prolific writer was a frequent contributor to the pulps beginning in 1949 (if my research is correct).

But Harlan isn't why I grabbed this scan, it's because this image is another great sample of pulp cover illustration. It's got a little bit of everything here ...

• Every headline has an exclamation point! It! Makes! Things! Exciting!
• The illustration captures the heat of the moment.
• The young woman is dressed pulp-appropriate with her sexy red dress and stockings.
• The thug, what you can see him, looks like a dastardly ruffian.
• The cash spilled out on the floor tells us a huge portion of the story — the thug was mugging the girl!

The issue is packed with other features, a rundown of which can be seen here.


An internet search of "Boss of the Big House" also finds this issue of Detective Comics with the same title from 1951.