Artist Profile: Hubert Rogers (1898 — 1982)


Born into a prominent family in Ablerton, Price Edward Island, Canada, Hubert Rogers went on to become one of the most influential artists of the pulp era.  While he worked in all genres, Rogers was best known for his illustrations and cover work for Astounding Science Fiction.  Rogers’s portraits of aliens, astronauts, and especially his spaceships all influenced how a generation grow up thinking about space exploration, extraterrestrial life, and the future.

Rogers, whose grandfather was governor of Prince Edward Island, served in the Canadian army during World War I and trained at the Massachusetts Normal Art School.  After retiring from working as an illustrator, he devoted himself to landscapes and commissioned portraits of historic Canadian and American politicians, justices, celebrities, businessmen, and Commissioners of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Here’s a small sampling of his work:

The Phantom Detective Covers of Robert Bonfils


by Robert Bonfils

In the 1960s and 70s, it was common for paperback publishers to reprint old pulp stories in novel form.  Though the stories would remain the same, the covers would often be updated to reflect the times and to hopefully bring in new readers.

Corinth Books, which previously specialized in softcore paperbacks, reprinted over twenty of the Phantom Detective’s adventures.  The Phantom Detective had originally been published from 1932 to 1952 so. when Corinth started reprinting his tales, they knew that they needed a cover artist who could make the stories appeal to a contemporary audience.  They selected the legendary Robert Bonfils, who was one of the first artists to be profiled on this site.

Below are the adventures of the Phantom Detective, reimagined by Robert Bonfils: