(Rod Turner’s cover for the 1952 edition of The G-Bomb (1952), Vargo Statten (i.e. John Russell Fearn)
Make sure to check out Part I and Part II if you haven’t. Some of the doomed cities are stunning!
Of all the 50s pulp covers, Rod Turner’s series for Vargo Statten’s novels (John Russell Fearn) has become one of my favorites (above). Although they adhere to every possible cliché, the pure exuberance of delivery is addicting — the books themselves are supposed to be pure drivel.
Enjoy monks among ruins, spaceships hovering above the fragments of past cities, hordes emerging from the wrecked husks of our august metropolises, the attack of metal missile casings, and nature’s revenge…
Oart(Uncredited cover for the 1961 edition of A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959), Walter Miller, Jr.)
(Uncredited cover for the 196 edition of The Prodigal Sun (1964), Philip E. High)
(Malcolm Smith’s cover for the June, 1954 issue of Imagination, Stories of Science and Fantasy)
(Uncredited cover for the 1954 edition of False Night (1954) (expanded into Some Will Not Die, 1961), Algis Budrys)
(Uncredited cover for the 1965 edition of The Last Hope of Earth (1965), Lan Wright)
For similar posts on science fiction cover art, consult the INDEX
Science Fiction and Other Suspect Ruminations 
Love Slaves to the Metal Horde.
The G-Bomb shouldn’t be good. But it is.
Love Slaves to the Metal Missile Casings 😉 Or pointy trashcans….
You’ve read The G-Bomb?!?
I always head out to my local used book store in search of these books you post. I’ve been trying to find Some Will Not Die for years, so far without success.
I actually found Some Will Not Die today in the book store today — hehe…. Austin, TX. Sadly, where I live has a much smaller selection. Amazon tends to be where I procure a large chunk of my books.
I’m always tempted to resort to Amazon, but it’s always much more fun to find it locally. We’ve got some really great places to find vintage sci-fi here in St. Louis – anything I’m looking for usually turns up if I wait long enough.
I’m no fan of Budrys — I hated The Falling Torch — I still haven’t finished it (I’ve read at least 40 books since starting it — haha)…
At least if ones buy used old paperbacks from Amazon ones often still supporting small bookstores…. But, my local (Bloomington, Indiana) has one used book store — I always find something but the turnover in the collection is rather lengthy.
My favorites among that batch are the G-Bomb and Slaves to the Metal Horde. The Metal Horde should be absolutely absurd, but yet it isn’t! There’s a sense of real menace in both covers.
I agree! Well, not sure about G-Bomb having menace… the alien, well, looks silly. But, the hanged man and the burning wreckage conjures the dread in Slaves to the Metal Horde…
Dr who Davros could have been inspired by this pulp cover me thinks.
Thanks for the comment. Which of 6 covers are you referring to?