Happy Dinosaur Day!


by Alex Schomburg

Today, we observe Dinosaur Day!

The first recorded discover of dinosaur fossils occurred in 1820 and, since then, dinosaur remains have been found on all seven continents.  Richard Owen, an English anatomist, came up with the word “Dinosauria” in 1842. The word comes from the Greek word “deinos,” meaning terrible or fearfully great, and “sauros,” meaning reptile or lizard. He applied the term to three animals that fossilized bones had been found of over the previous few decades.

The best way to observe today is to go down to a museum and take a look at the fantastic creatures who inhabited this planet before human beings came along.  But if you can’t get to a museum today, check out these magazine and paperback covers below.  Not surprisingly, dinosaurs were very popular with the pulps.  Here’s just a few of them:

by Edmund Emshwiller

by CC Senf

by Earle Bergey

by Hans Wessolowski

 

by Thomas Beecham

Artist Unknown

by Jerome Podwil

 

The Futuristic Covers of Future Science Fiction


January, 1954. Artwork by Alex Schomburg

Future Science Fiction was a magazine that started in 1939 and was initially published until 1943.  The World War II paper shortage brought the magazine to a temporary end but, in 1950, the magazine was relaunched and ran for another ten years.  Future featured stories about aliens, different worlds, and future wars.  Writers such as Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, and Philip K. Dick appeared in the magazine.  Today, though, the magazine is best remembered for covers that brought a distinct pulp sensibility to the science fiction genre.

Here are just a few of the covers of Future Science Fiction.

March, 1939. Artwork by Frank R. Paul

August, 1942. Artwork by John Forte, Jr.

October, 1942. Cover by Hannes Bok

August, 1950. Artwork by Earle Bergey

October, 1950. Artwork by Leo Morey

March, 1951. Artwork by Milton Luros

1952, September. Artwork by Peter Poulton

1954, March. Artwork by Alex Schomburg

Summer, 1957. Artwork by Frank Kelly Freas

February, 1959. Artwork by Edmund Emshwiller

June, 1959. Artwork by Virgil Finlay

February, 1960. Artwork by Paul Orban

The Spectacular Covers of Startling Stories


by Earle Bergey

Startling Stories was a sci-fi pulp magazine that ran from 1939 through 1955.  It went through many different editors and formats during that time but one thing that was always consistent was the quality of the magazine’s covers.  Though most of the covers were done by Earle Bergey, a few other notable pulp artists also made contributions to the magazine.  Below is a small sampling of the spectacular covers of Starting Stories!

by Alex Schomburg

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Earle Bergey

by Edmund Emshwiller

by Edmund Emshwiller

by Howard V. Brown

by Howard V. Brown

by Howard V. Brown

by Rudolph Belarski

by Rudolph Belarski

by Rudolph Belarski

by Walter Popp

Celebrate Dinosaur Day With The Pulps!


by Alex Schomburg

Happy Dinosaur Day!  Today is the day when we  celebrate the former rulers of our planet!  Dinosaurs were alwasy a popular subject with the pulps.  Pulp magazines were full of stories about modern-day dinosaurs and speculation about why the real ones when extinct.  Putting a dinosaur on the cover of a magazine or a paperback was a good way to catch the attention of readers all over.  Today, let’s celebrate Dinosaur Day with the help of the pulps!

Artist Unknown

Artist Unknown

by Edmund Emshwiller

by Frank R. Paul

by George Gross

by Howard V. Brown

by J. Allen St. John

by J. Allen St. John

by Lawrence Sterne Stevens

by Thomas Beecham

Happy Dinosaur Day!

by Jerome Podwil

The Covers of Fantastic Universe


by Edmund Emshwiller

It’s a new year and I don’t know about you but I feel like looking to the future.  From 1953 to 1960, Fantastic Universe did just that.  It was one of the many sci-fi magazines to be published in the 50s.  While it was never as financially successful as some of the other magazines of the age, it has since been acclaimed for the quality of its writing and for its covers!

Here, to get 2022 off to a good start, are a few of the covers of Fantastic Universe:

by Virgil Finlay

by Alex Schomburg

by Alex Schomburg

by Ed Moritz

by Frank Kelly Freas

by Leo Margulies

by Virgil Finlay

by Virgil Finlay

by Virgil Finlay

by Virgil Finlay

by Virgil Finlay