art

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Spaceships Under Construction

/ Joachim Boaz / 11 Comments

(James B. Settles’ cover for the October 1948 issue of Amazing Stories)

A spaceship rearing from the plain, scaffolding surrounds its lithe form…  A classic image (the new Star Trek movie for example)!  Often utilizing a very traditional science fiction trope which I’ve dubbed Rocket Field Figure, cover art concerning spaceship construction is often more stylized than realistic.  My favorite is Carlo Jacono’s cover for the Italian edition of The Stars are Ours (1954).  I’m not sure that he is actually the artist due to the fact that MANY foreign editions use the work of American or British artists  modified slightly (this is not a hard fast rule, the work Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: My Top 15 Science Fiction Covers

/ Joachim Boaz / 28 Comments

1. Harold Bruder’s cover for the 1967 edition of Pyschogeist (1966), L. P. Davies.

Because everyone loves lists…

…I’ve selected from my collection of cover art, placed in no particular order, my fifteen favorite science fiction covers of all time.  Of course, lists being lists, and the fact that I’ve only seen a portion of all the covers ever made, it is incomplete and maleable.  Although many of the most famous sci-fi artists (Powers, Lehr, and pulp masters such as Wesso) feature, some of my favorites are by lesser known artists whose visual contributions to the field should not be forgotten (Bruder, Podwil, Foster, Schongut, etc).

A few points to consider: 1) The artist rarely had control over the font.  If the graphic designer responsible for putting together the final cover wasn’t up to snuff, the text often doesn’t Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Disembodied Brains, Part I

/ Joachim Boaz / 5 Comments

(Gerard Quinn’s cover for the December 1956 issue of New Worlds)

Disembodied brains — in large metal womb-like containers, floating in space or levitating in the air (you know, implying PSYCHIC POWER), pulsating in glass chambers, planets with brain-like undulations, pasted in the sky (GOD!, surprise) above the Garden of Eden replete with mechanical contrivances among the flowers and butterflies and naked people… The possibilities are endless, and more often than not, taken in rather absurd directions.

I’ve cobbled together a large variety of images from pulp magazines to covers from the late 70s.  My favorites include Valigrusky’s Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions No. XXXI (Dick + Zelazny + Tucker + Smith)

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

Another wonderful assortment (some from Central Texas bookstores, some from my father as presents, some semi-forgotten works from a few months ago that I forgot to post about)…  Regardless, I’m almost finished Zelazny’s Jack of Shadows (1971) and am quite impressed (I loved This Immortal and Lord of Light).  Another PKD, Dr. Bloodmoney or How We Got Along After the Bomb (1965),  swells my already extensive collection of his novels and short story collections — again, the premise is vintage PKD surrealism (girl with twin brother growing inside of her in a post-apocalyptical wasteland).  I bought the Wilson Tucker novel, Tomorrow Plus X (1956), because of the gorgeous Richard Powers cover…  A few of his works are supposedly readable, but this one is probably justly forgotten.  The Cordwainer Smith collection, Space Lords (1965), will be my first exposure to his work — very excited!  Now that I think about it, I do have a copy of Norstrilia (1975) languishing somewhere.

Enjoy!

1. Jack of Shadows, Roger Zelazny (1971)

(Robert Pepper’s cover for the 1972 Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Scenes from the Control Room

/ Joachim Boaz / 10 Comments

(Malcolm Smith’s cover for the October 1953 issue of Imagination)

Inspired by some of the cover art I found for my earlier post Through the View Screen, Through the Window, I decided to focus on the image of gazing from within the control room of a spaceship (either at objects within or scenes outside the view screens).  The trope is extraordinarily effective at conveying the action of a story: the unfolding canvas of an epic battle, the tension of charting a course through the stars and nefarious nebulae, the destruction of cities, the last glance at a beautiful astronaut adrift, or even, Earth within grasp!

I’ve tried not to be redundant in the covers I use — with this Continue reading →

Updates: Recent Acquisitions No. XXIX (Dick + White + Harrison + et al.)

/ Joachim Boaz / 24 Comments

A return to old familial haunts yields a heart warming stash of gems and a few radiating a more dubious aura…

And more Richard Powers’ covers for my growing collection….

Most importantly, I picked up my fourteenth or fifteenth Philip K. Dick novel! I will acquire ALL of them eventually.

And another Ace double — little did I know (but I should have guessed considering the egregious art and interior images) that is was sci-fi of the more comic variety.  But, I wanted at least one of Lafferty’s novels after reading a few of his impressive short stories.

Enjoy!

1. Star Surgeon, James White (1963)

(Richard Powers’ cover for the 1963 edition) Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Eye[s] in the Sky

/ Joachim Boaz / 27 Comments

(Ed Valigursky’s cover for the 1957 edition of Eye in the Sky (1957), Philip K. Dick)

Inspired by Ed Valigursky’s stunning cover for the 1957 edition of Philip K. Dick’s early novel Eye in the Sky (1957), I kept on the lookout for novels with similar disembodied eyes (floating, gazing with menacing presence at fearful scurrying forms arrayed below).  I discovered that it was a common theme — sci-fi artists use eyes to illustrate otherworldly (alien, spiritual) presence, big brother-esque governmental control, inhuman powers…  Few equal the true presence of Ed Valigursky’s cover but are fascinating nevertheless.

Many years ago I read Eye in the Sky but remember little.  I was intrigued but not blown away by Simak’s Way Station (below).  Dr. Futurity (below) is waiting to be read on my shelf and Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Underwater Expeditions (futuristic submarines, unusual sea life, underwater cities) Part I

/ Joachim Boaz / 19 Comments

(Paul Lehr’s cover for the 1968 edition of Conquerors from the Darkness (1965), Robert Silverberg)

A cornucopia of underwater sci-fi cover art images!  As always, Paul Lehr’s covers are among my favorite for he masterfully renders the green-blue depths and textures of water inundated worlds (especially above, Conquerers from the Darkness).  Watery worlds evoke unusual underwater life, a place fraught with danger where humans and aliens meet, unusual cityscapes (domes, water impervious shields, a plethora of transport craft) and of course, the vehicles for transportation (for example below, the futuristic submarine in Treasure of the Black Flacon and 21st Century Submarine, etc)  evoke the same giddy sense of adventure as when first reading Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) or watching Richard Fleischer’s surprisingly good 1954 film adaptation of the novel.

There are countless films, sci-fi TV shows, novels, short stories Continue reading →

Adventures in Science Fiction Cover Art: Domed Cities of the Future Part II

/ Joachim Boaz / 164 Comments

(Dean Ellis’ cover for the 1970 edition of Eight Against Utopia (1967), Douglas R. Mason)

Part II of my sci-fi art series on domed cities of the future (perhaps doomed as well) — part I.

Glass-domed against pollution, the ravages of evil space creatures, the vacuum of space (below: April, 1954 edition of If), adverse climates/atmospheres (below: The Sands of Mars, Trouble on Titan)?  Or, nagging fears that something might come — whatever it might be.  And of course, to keep people in (above: Eight Against Utopia).   Some of these seemingly fragile domes contain devastating weapons (below: The Lunar Eye), or are part of a vast computer network (below: Matrix), or contain the last remnants of a previous metropolis (below: The Years of the City)

Some truly wonderful works of art….  Are any of the books Continue reading →