Artist Profile: The Weird Covers Of Mally and RLM

Posted on October 21, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

A 1911 graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, George William Mally is today remembered as the cover artist for the earliest issues of Weird Tales. He always signed his work “Mally” and then added RLM immediately afterwards. RLM stood for Rita Lena Mikelson, who was Malley’s wife. It’s not known how much Rita contributed to the covers, She was never credited on any of Malley’s post-Weird Tales work and it doesn’t ever appear that she ever attended art school or was credited with any work on her own. What is known is that Rita and George were married from 1917 until Malley’s death in 1971 and that they had two sons. Ruth passed away in 1977.

Here are a few Weird covers from Mally and RLM. All of these covers come from 1923 and 1924.

The Covers of Saturn: The Magazine of Science Fiction

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

Saturn: The Magazine of Science Fiction was a sci-fi/weird tale themed pulp magazine that was published from 1957 to 1958. In 1958, the magazine’s name was changed to Saturn Web Detective Stories and then it was changed again to Web Detective Stories once it became obvious that people didn’t think “hardboiled fiction” when they saw Saturn.

Here are the five coves of Saturn, back when it was The Magazine of Science Fiction.

by Leo Summers

Unknown Artist

Celebrate Labor Day With The Pulps!

Posted on September 7, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

by William George Fix

Are you still having trouble getting into the proper Labor Day mood? Don’t worry, the pulps are here to help!

Below are some pulpy covers celebrating the joys of having a job! If these don’t make you say, “Happy Labor Day!,” I don’t know what will!

by George Rozon

by Harry Schaare

by Ken Barr

by Robert Gibson Jones

by Manuel Ray Isip

by Tom Miller

by Julian Block

by Eric Stanton

Let’s Take A Pulp Tour Of The Cities!

Posted on July 3, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

by Hubert Rogers

With the 4th of July approaching, let’s celebrate the American city with the pulps! Ever since the early days of the pulp industry, writers and artists have excited readers with stories about the lives of those living in America’s cities. Here, curtsey of some of the best artists to have worked in the industry, is a pulp-guided tour of those cities!

by Rudy Nappi

by Robert Stanley

by Rafael DeSoto

by Robert Stanley

by Victor Olson

by Mike Ludlow

by Lou Marchetti

by Raymond Pease

by Walter Popp

by Robert Bonfils

The Scandalous Midwood Covers

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

Unknown Artist

Midwood Books was a publishing house that was active from 1957 to 1968. With a roster of pseudonymous authors, Midwood published “adult” novels that were aimed towards men. Today. their paperbacks are best known for their often racy covers and they are highly prized by collectors as a result.

Here is a small sampling of Midwood covers!

Unknown Artist

by Victor Olson

by Paul Rader

Artist Unknown

by Robert Maguire

by Paul Rader

by Rudy Nappi

by Paul Rader

by Bruce Minney

by Samson Pollen

by Robert Schulz

by John Dulillo

The Covers of Imagination

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Dazzling Erin

From 1951 through 1958, Imagination magazine brought stories of science fiction and horror to eager readers. Among the writers who appeared in Imagination were Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlien, Robert Sheckley, and John Wyndham. Today, the magazine is well-remembered for its exciting covers, which were done by some of the best artists working in the pulps. You can’t have art without Imagination.

Below is a sampling of The Covers of Imagination: Stories of Science and Fantasy.

1950, October, by Hannes Bok

1951, April, by Malcolm Smith

1952, May, by Malcolm Smith

1953, January, by Harold W. McCauley

1954, June, by Malcolm Smith

1954, July, by Harold W. McCauley

1954, September, by Bill Terry

1955, June, by Harold W. McCauley

1956, February, by Lloyd Rognan

1956, December, by Lloyd Rognan

1957, December, by Malcolm Smith

The Detective Fiction Covers of Lejaren Hiller

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Dazzling Erin

by Lejaren Hiller

Lejaren Hiller ws born in Wisconsin in 1880. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute and started his career in Paris. Eventually, he returned to America and found found regular work as an illustrator. Hiller would be known as one of the pioneer of photographic illustration, carefully staging his photographs so that they would be as exciting and as full of mystery as any of the more traditional pulp covers.

Even as Hiller found success as a photographer, he also continued to paint and draw. His 1930s covers for Detective Fiction Weekly remain popular amongst collectors. Here’s a sampling of his work for Detective Fiction Weekly:

Hiller passed away in 1969. His son, Lejaren Hiller, Jr., was a prominent chemist and composer.

Get Ready For Halloween With Pulp Witchery

Posted on October 29, 2022 by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

With Halloween rapidly approaching, let’s get ready for the big day with some pulp witchery!

by CC Senf

by Margaret Brundage

by Rafael DeSoto

by Rudolph Belarski

by Tommy Shoemaker

Unknown Artist

Artist Unknown

Pulp Vampires!

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Dazzling Erin

by Margaret Brundage

From the beginning of the pulp era to the modern day, horror has always been a popular genre. And with horror comes the vampires! Vampires were a popular subject for both the writers and the readers of the pulps. Much blood was spilt between the covers. Here are just a few of the vampires of the pulps:

by Paul Lehman

by John Newton Howitt

by Rafael DeSoto

by Sebastia Boada

By CC Senf

by H. William Reusswig

by Margaret Brundage

by Robert Bonfils

by Robert Maguire

by Rudolph Belarski

Unknown Artist

It’s not really October until a vampire comes tapping at your window, asking to be invited in.

Beware The Tentacles Of October!

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Dazzling Erin

by John Newton Howitt

Are you scared of tentacles?

Whether they’re reaching down from the sky or coming out of the water, the idea of being grabbed and, even worse, squeezed by several slimy tentacles is a scary one! Perhaps that’s why it was such a popular image during the pulp age. Below is just a sampling of some of the era’s tentacle horror, courtesy of some of the best artists to work in the pulps!