Tag Archives: Norman Saunders

Get off me, awful robot!

Running a bit late this morning, I know…

Woman in a torn gown facing a hideous robot-insect-man, cover by Norman Saunders for Famous Fantastic Mysteries June 1950.

The June 1950 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries featured a cover by the great Norman Saunders, while Lawrence Sterne Stevens continued to do interesting things on the interior pages illustrating S. Fowler Wright’s story “The Adventure of Wyndham Smith.” The following, with its caption, feels very mad science.

Science fiction brain surgery image by Lawrence Stern Stevens.
“The ego which would waken today in the body of Colpech-4XP was to be that of the primitive Wyndam Smith…”

While Stevens’s final illustration has a strangely decadent, almost Aubrey Beardsley-like feel.

Interior illustration by Lawrence Sterne Stevens for "The Adventure of Wyndam Smith."
“Velluta pulled off the outer cloak of Swartz-02A while Wyndam held her.”

This issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries can be read or downloaded from the Internet Archive.

“I’ll show you, feeble old man…”

…with my patented gender-swapping de-aging ray! Ha!

A cover by Norman Saunders for the November 1950 cover of Marvel Science Stories.

Well, that’s one possible interpretation of what’s going on here. The lush style here can only mean a cover by the great Norman Saunders for this November 1950 cover of Marvel Science Stories.

Vincent Napoli was busy with interior art on this one, giving us this tempting time-temptress.

Vincent Napoli interior illustration for Gardner Fox's story "Temptress of the Time Flow," in the November 1950 Marvel Science Stories.
“In one swift motion, Trenton twisted Thag downward.”

This issue of Marvel Science Stories is available to be read and downloaded at the Internet Archive.

Early tube girl in an unusual source

A. Merritt’s Fantasy Magazine was a very short-lived venture in speculative fiction publishing — the ISFDB discloses only five issues published in 1949 and 1950, but it sure managed to publish some splendid art. This tube-girl cover painting on the October 1950 cover was done by the great Norman Saunders, and an interior illustration to Elinor Cowan Stone’s story “The Devil-Fish” has an illustration by Virgil Finlay.

This issue is available for reading and download at the Internet Archive.

Black Mask bonus pulp: Dirge in Bolero Time

Another Norman Saunders cover painting, this time for January 1950 It might not have quite the Innsmouth vibe that some earlier and rougher pulp covers did, but still, a frogman abducting a dame in a slinky dress is about as pulp as it gets.

The painting in cover context:

And that about covers it for pulp for a while. But fear not, because starting tomorrow we’ll be turning to American pulp’s weird and sexy continental offspring. Stay tuned!

Pulp Parade #328: An earth-shattering ka-boom

This is Marvel Science Stories for February 1951, cover by Norman Saunders. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here. I found this version of the cover at Pulp Covers, where the curators have also made the entire issue available for download as well as some fine interior art, in this case all by Vincent Napoli. For example, this illustration for Bryce Walton’s story “The Man.”

This example of the tube-girl meme for another Bryce Walton story, “The Difference.”

And this warrior-girl illustration to the title story, Alfred Coppel’s “Forbidden Weapon.”

Pulp Parade #326: The Guilding Gun

This is Marvel Science Stories for November 1950, cover by Norman Saunders. The ISFDB entry for this issue is here. I found this version of the cover at Pulp Covers, where the curators also include some interior art, including this piece by Frank R. Paul illustrating Lloyd Arthur Eschback’s “Overlord of Earth.”

And this rather dynamic illustration by Vincent Napoli illustrating A Bertram Chandler’s “Fire Brand!”

You can download and read the entire issue at the Internet Archive.