Category Archives: Art

Artwork of the Day: Invaders Of Earth (by Morton Roberts)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Cover by Morton Roberts

The original hardback edition of Invaders of Earth was published in 1952 and it featured 22 short stories about alien invasion, all of which had been written between 1907 and 1952.  When Pocket Books published a paperback edition in 1955, seven stories were cut for space.  The cover above is for the paperback edition and was done by Morton Roberts.  I think the three humans featured on the cover are meant to be imprisoned, though it looks like it would be an easy prison from which to escape.  The red sky that always seemed to accompany any alien invasion in the 50s is present in the background.

Invaders of Earth was just one of the 40 science fiction anthologies that Groff Conklin edited.  Along with writing sci-fi himself, Conklin was also a poet and an author of home improvement books.

Artwork of the Day: Cockpit (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

Cockpit was published in 1953.  In Britain, it was published under the title Image in the Dust.  In the U.S., it was called Cockpit.  Considering the book’s cover blurb — An Auto Racer …. A Drug Adddict … And The Woman They Shared — I think it’s possible that the title might have had a double meaning.

The book was written by a British writer named Elleston Trevor.  Warick Scott was one of the many pseudonyms that Trevor used.  Cockpit was the first of three books which Trevor wrote as Scott.  The other were called The Doomsday Story and The Naked Canvas.

The identity of the artist who did this cover is not known.  The woman they shared bears a strong resemblance to Marilyn Monroe while the two men in her life look like generic pulp cover men.  I’m worried that one of them appears to be standing in the middle of the track.  That’s probably the drug addict.

Artwork of the Day: Sea Nymph (by Paul Rader)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Cover by Paul Rader

Sea Nymph was published in 1963 by Midwood Books.  Peggy Swenson was one of the many pseudonyms used by the writer Richard E. Geis.  Gies wrote 15 books as Swenson.  According to the cover, Sea Nymph is about a woman who “wanted to learn skin diving but she learned a warmer sport.”  Water polo, maybe?

The cover is by Paul Rader.  This site has featured a lot of Rader’s work and it will probably feature even more before the year ends.  As usual for paperback covers of the era, the cover hints at more than it shows.   I assume that the hairy arm with the huge hand attached belong to her diving instructor.  The violet tattoo is an interesting choice.

Artwork of the Day: Lover Boy (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

This book was first published in 1959 but the cover is from a 1961 reprinting.  The cover artist is unknown.  Like many pulp covers of the era, it equates bare shoulders with sex.  I like the contrast between the mansion and the sailboat in the background and the woman and the man in the foreground.  The cover blurb may read “The unashamed story of lonely women in a New England town … and the man who wove a net of passion around them all,” but unashamed is not the feeling that I’m picking up from the facial expressions on this cover.  Getting down that hill barefoot is not going to practical so I hope she remembers what she did with her shoes.

Artwork of the Day: Only The Bed (Artist Unknown)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

This book was published in 1959.  Don Holliday was a name that was used by several writers who were represented by literary agent Scott Meredith.  Pseudonyms like Don Holliday were used to protect both the reputations of Meredith and the writers who churned out a book-a-month for publishers like Midwood.  Among the writers who were wrote under the name Don Holliday: Hal Dresner, Robert Silverberg, Donald Westlake, and Lawrence Block.  While I was doing some research on Midwood and Don Holliday, I came across a post at Vintage Sleaze Paperbacks that attempted to determine which of the Don Hollidays actually wrote Only The Bed.

The cover artist is unknown.  I like the way that the bars of the resemble the beds of the prison, suggesting that the couple on the cover as prisoners of their own lust.

Artwork of the Day: Wild and Wicked (by David Hatfield)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by David Hatfield

Wild and Wicked was first published in 1965, by Midwood Books.  Laura DuChamp was a pen name for Sally Hastings, who wrote several soft-core books for Midwod.  She also wrote under the name March Hastings.  The artist responsible for this cover is unknown.  When I saw it, my first thought was “Church group gone wild.”

8/1/21 UPDATE: David Hatfield has contacted us to let us know that he’s the artist responsible for this wonderful cover.  His signature can be seen on the right side of the cover, next to the shoulder of the boy in the striped shirt.  Thank you, David, for letting us know so that we could properly credit you for this cover!

Artwork of the Day: No Swimming

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Erin Nicole

A few years ago, I took this picture on the campus of Richland Community College.  At the time, I liked the contrast between the tranquil campus and the harshness of the sign.  As peaceful as the creek looked and as content as the campus’s ducks may have been, there was also danger.

I took a semester at Richland and I still like to visit the campus with my camera.  As you can see in this picture, there’s a picturesque creek that runs through the campus.  Both students and ducks love the creek.  (The ducks are so popular that Richland even named its mascot the Thunderduck.)  Even those who are no longer or were never students at Richland enjoy going up to the camps and walking along the creek.  It’s impossible to look at the creek without being tempted to jump in and go for a swim.  A few years ago, a man who wasn’t even enrolled at the college gave into the temptation and drowned.  I’ll follow the sign’s advice.

I picked this for today’s artwork of the day because I feel like the first day of a new year is much like that creek.  You want to dive right in but there’s still dangers.  That’s especially true this year.  Are you going to swim or not?