Science Fiction Day is observed every year on January 2nd. The date was chosen to honor the birthday of Isaac Asimov. To help you get in the mood for Science Fiction Day, here are some classic covers from Science Fiction Magazine! Keep watching the skies!
by A. Leslie Ross
by Alex Schomburg
by Allen Gustav Anderson
by Edmund Emshwiller
by Frank R. Paul
by Harold Bennett
by Leo Morey
by Milton Luros
It’s the start of a new year and it seems like all things are possible! Here are some Fantastic covers to help spark your imagination and get you in the mood for the future!
by Alex Schomburg
by Lloyd Birmingham
by Lloyd Birmingham
by Edmund Emshwiller
by George Schelling
by Lloyd Birmingham
by Leo Summers
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
56 years ago today, the first manned spaceflight to the Moon touched down on the lunar surface. Let’s celebrate this wonderful anniversary with a little help from the pulps! Not only were these covers illustrated by some of the finest artists working in the business but they also show how people imagined life on the Moon before Neil Armstrong took his one small step.
by Edmund Emshwiller
Such violence! This cover is from 1956.
In the 1950s, there was actually two magazines called Science Fiction Adventures. Neither one of them ran for very long. The first Science Fiction Adventures lasted for two years, from 1952 to 1954 and it was canceled due to low sales. The name was then used for another magazine, that ran from 1956 to 1958 and which was also canceled for low sales. After the second cancellation, publishers got the hint and didn’t use the name again.
Below is a handful of covers from both versions of Science Fiction Adventures.
November, 1952, by H.R. Van Dongen
March, 1954. By Mel Hunter
December, 1956. By Edmumd Emshwiller
August, 1957. By Robert V. Engle
September, 1957. By Edmund Emshwiller
December, 1957. By Edmund Emshwiller
January, 1958. By John Schoenherr
April, 1958. By Edmund Emshwiller
by Edmund Emshwiller
This cover is from 1957.
by Edmund Emshwiller
This cover is from 1959.
by Edmund Emshwiller
This cover is from 1960.
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
Through the Shattered Lens 