(William Timmins’ cover for the January 1947 issue of Astounding Science Fiction)
A hand from a body off canvas enters the fray…. An alien’s hands wrap around the Earth, amused or disturbed by its creations? A hand rises from a variety of desolate landscapes… Is it the remnant of a robotic construct or a relics from some age old creator?
This particular theme — a powerful force depicted via an often disembodied hand — has yielded some fantastic covers. Brian Lewis’ cover for the 1958 issue of Science Fantasy is one of my favorites. I find the scene — a group of people discovering a robotic hand reaching from the fields — incredibly evocative. As always the covers of Karel Thole, the well-known Dutch artist who did the majority of the covers for the major Italian sci-fi publishers, are wonderful.
And the early Powers cover….
What are your favorites?
Enjoy!
(Joseph W. Tillotson’s cover for the July 1951 issue of Amazing Stories)
(Karel Thole’s cover for the 1979 edition of Urania #815)
(Jack Gaughan’s cover for the 1965 edition of Paingod and Other Delusion (1965), Harlan Ellison)
(Richard Powers’ cover for the July 1953 issue of Beyond Fantasy Fiction)
(Brian Lewis’ cover for the 1958 issue of Science Fantasy)
(Ron Turner’s cover for the 1953 edition of The Hell Fruit (1953), John Russell Fearn)
(Alex Ebel’s cover for the 1976 edition of Uncertainty (variant title: The Ultimate Weapon) (1936), John W. Campbell)
(Karel Thole’s cover for the 1962 edition of Urania #285 (Untouched by Human Hands) (1954), Robert Sheckley)
(Karel Thole’s cover for the 1964 edition of Urania #327 (Lords of the Psychon) (1963), Daniel F. Galouye)
(Uncredited hideous cover for the 1976 edition of New Dimensions: Science Fiction Number 5 (1976), ed. Robert Silverberg)
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