Science Fiction Art
(1975 - Bounty Books)

(compilation & commentary by Brian Aldiss) This book focuses on the art of the science-fiction pulps (both the painted covers and the interior drawings) with a perfunctory section on the most famous sci-fi newspaper comic strips. There are eight thematic chapters, Delightful Doomsdays, Vacuum-Busters, Beyond The Beyond, Here Be Monsters, Spires And Sewers, Interplanetary Pets, Hands Without Heads, and Men Of Metal, along with both an Artists and a Magazine Gallery. 109 of the 128 pages are dominated by the art, with 83 of those a featuring a large reproduction. 13 pages of the remainder are inexplicably black-&-white reproductions of color works. I do like the presentation of the illustrations, which in the original magazines were many times in two parts with the title and the beginning of the story arranged about them. In this volume, those two-part pieces are presented on the same page, but with some separation between the two parts (since they rarely seem to fit together without distortion). The couple that are blown-up, so as to fill a double-page spread, usually continue to 'work'. The captions identify the magazine that is a piece's source and frequently the author & story that is being illustrated. The artist is identified as well, if not in the commentary that accompanies a large number of the artworks or their groupings. The 'well-presented' artists are: Earle Bergey, Hannes Bok (2), Chesley Bonestell, Howard V. Brown, R.M. Bull (2), Dick Calkins, Edd Cartier (2)***, Elliot Dold (3), Clarence Doore, Serge Drigin, Ed Emshwiller (4), Gene Fawcette, Virgil Finlay (5), Frank Kelly Freas (2), Robert Fuqua (2), Jack Gaughan, Robert Gibson Jones, Vernon Kramer, Julian S. Krupa (3), Alexander Leydenfrost (2), Earl Mayan, Leo Morey, Ramon Naylor, Paul Orban (2), Frank R. Paul (9), David Pelham, Bruce Pennington, Walter Popp, Gerard Quinn (2), Hubert Rogers (3), Rod Ruth (2), John Schoenherr, Alex Schomburg (2)***, Henry Sharp (4), Don Sibley, Malcolm Smith, George Solonevich, J. Allen St. John**, Lawrence Sterne Stevens, William Timmins (2), Herman Vestal (4), René Vidmer and Wesso (6).

** - Note that the 'well-presented' pieces here by Emshwiller, and St. John, cannot additionally be found so in their own collections up on The List.

*** - Note that in regards to the 'well-presented' pieces here of Cartier and Schomburg, some, but not all, can also be found so in their own collections on The List.

other Sci-Fi art collections

Planet Of The Apes Artist Tribute